Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kunio Hibi

Hideo Kikuchi

Tamaki Kaneko

Sunao Ikeda

Yohtaro Kakitani

Tugio Okuzawa

Tsuneo Kurotori

Katsuhiro Echigo

Mitsuaki Urakawa

Hisamitsu Mizuno

Hiroshi Tanabe

Makoto Obu

Yusuke Takeda

Seiichi Miyakawa

Hidenori Tomono

Hiroshi Fujiwara

Sadayuki Iwai

Koichi Noguchi

Mitsuo Hasebe

Tomio Sasaki

Masatoshi Saitoh

Toshio Inada

Takahiro Shinga

Mutsuo Watanabe

Masanori Matsuda

Katsumi Kurihara

Hiroshi Hirose

Masayosi Watanuki

Tokuzo Kaneda

Chuuji Ishikawa

Hitoshi Hoshi

Satoshi Takanashi

Kozoh Sudoh

Youichi Ueda

Hidenori Kanno

Kazuo Akita

An air discharging apparatus to discharge pressurized air at a predetermined timing is disclosed. The disclosed air discharging apparatus includes an air pump including a cylinder and a piston configured to reciprocate in the cylinder; an opening and closing member provided at an air discharge opening of the air pump and configured to open and close the air discharge opening; and a switching mechanism providing mechanical coupling between the piston and the opening and closing member. The mechanical coupling keeps the opening and closing member in a closed state until the piston reaches a predetermined position in a compression stroke and switches the opening and closing member to an opened state when the piston reaches the predetermined position.

Air discharging apparatus and image forming apparatus

A method of repetitively using a sheet or similar toner image carrier produced from an image forming apparatus, and a toner applicable thereto. A toner forming an image on the toner image carrier is removed to erase the image. The toner image carrier is implemented as a synthetic sheet. Use is made of a toner whose adhering force to the sheet is weaker than the adhering force of a conventional toner.

Method and apparatus for repetitively using a toner image carrier sheet

An apparatus which forms a discharge electric field in order to discharge an object. The apparatus includes an electrode member facing and separated by a preselected gap from the object, and a power source which applies a discharge voltage to the electrode member to thereby cause discharge to occur between the object and the electrode member. Further, the electrode member at the gap includes a material selected in association with the gap so that a functional relationship between the discharge voltage and a discharge current caused by the discharge voltage is a continuous function.

Image forming device which forms an electric field to discharge an object

A liquid applying member and a tool are provided. The liquid applying member includes an applying roller which can stably apply an unstabilizing liquid to a transfer paper. The tool is referable for manufacturing the applying roller. A large number of recess portions independent from each other are provided on a circular circumferential surface of the applying roller for applying the unstabilizing liquid which unstabilizes an attachment state between the toner and the transfer paper to the transfer paper having a toner image formed thereon. The recess portion can be formed by pressing the rotating tool constructed with a roller member made of a material harder than that of the surface portion of the applying roller and provided with projecting portions formed on a circular circumferential surface thereof, so as to engage with the recess portions having a target shape of the applying roller to the raw material of the applying roller.

Liquid applying member and a tool for manufacturing that member

An apparatus for removing images on an image carrier sheet to allow the image carrier sheet to be repeatedly used. The apparatus includes an image removing member for removing images from an image carrier sheet, the images being fixed on the image carrier sheet. A liquid supply supplies a liquid to the image removing member and a transporting mechanism transports the image carrier sheet with the fixed images to the image removing member. The fixed images on the image carrier sheet are removed by the image removing member when the liquid supplied to the image removing member is applied to a surface of the image carrier sheet. A pressing member presses the surface of the image carrier sheet against the image removing member, the image removing member including a squeeze roller. The liquid supply means includes a liquid supply roller and the transporting mechanism comprises a pair of transport rollers. The squeeze roller is rotated at a higher speed than the pair of transport rollers.

Apparatus for repetitively using a toner image carrier

A device for removing only a toner forming a toner image on a toner image carrier produced from an image forming apparatus form the toner image carrier, so that the carrier may be repetitively used. The toner image carrier is implemented as a synthetic sheet. Use is made of a toner whose adhering force to the sheet is weaker than the adhering force of a conventional toner.

Device for removing a toner from a toner image carrier

A highly reliable sheet feed device for a copier, facsimile apparatus, printer or similar image forming apparatus and having a plurality of sheet storing portions which are arranged substantially horizontally and serially in an intended direction of sheet transport. The device surely feeds sheets from the storing portions one by one and eliminate sheet jams and defective sheet feed. Further, the device is simple and miniature and capable of accommodating a plurality of kinds of sheets therein.

Sheet feed device for an image forming apparatus

An automatic document feeder of an electrophotographic copying apparatus includes a feeding tray, a device for feeding to an exposing station one document sheet after another from a stack of document sheets piled on the feeding tray by starting with the lowermost document sheet of the stack, and a device for returning the document sheets to the feeding tray and placing same on the uppermost document sheet of the stack after the document sheets have been treated for exposure. The automatic document feeder further includes a sensor for sensing that a job sheet is disposed beneath the lowermost document sheet of the stack of document sheets on the feeding tray. The job sheet is placed beneath the lowermost sheet of the stack of a series of document sheets piled on the feeding tray by successively stacking the document sheets with the first document sheet of the series constituting the lowermost document sheet of stack or placed over the uppermost document sheet of the stack which is constituted by the last document sheet of the series, and has a mark on its surface for controlling the automatic document feeder and a main body of the copying apparatus.

Automatic document feeder

A copying machine which takes copies of a draft sheet by slit exposure while it is being conveyed. This copying machine includes a draft correction apparatus. This draft correction apparatus is provided with holding bars attached to a copying machine body so as to turn round the center line of a convey way for the draft, a pair of curved guide plates leaving therebetween a distance sufficient for forming a curved convey way constituting a part of said convey way, at least a pair of solenoids which are attached to the copying machine body on both sides of the draft convey way for turning said holding bars, draft sensors which are provided corresponding to said solenoids on both sides of the center line of the draft convey way this side of the solenoids, and a control means which inputs detection signals from the draft sensors and outputs working signals corresponding thereto against solenoids.

Copying machine equipped with a correction apparatus for draft

A sheet arranging system for use with a sorter, collator, etc., providing a sheet arranging section defined by receiving rollers, delivery rollers and a forward reference edge, wherein sheets fed on the basis of rearward reference are moved toward a forward reference. The sheet arranging section has sheet obliquely moving means located therein for obliquely moving toward the delivery rollers and the forward reference edge the sheet released from the receiving rollers in accordance with the rearward reference irrespective of the size of the sheet, while so rotating the sheet that a corner of the leading edge of the sheet near to the operator is moved away from the forward reference edge.

Sheet arranging system

A deflector (C) is movable relative to bin (E) to selectively deflect sheets into the bins (E) for collation. An enable signal for a next collation operation is generated when a sensor (94) senses that the required number of sheets for collation have been discharged into the bins (E). The sensor (94) in combination with a sensor (45) which senses sheets entering the collator (2) detect a sheet jam and enable computation of the number of jammed sheets by subtracting the number of sheets discharged into the bins (E) from the number of sheets entering the collator (2).

Collating apparatus for copying machine

A sorter for a copy machine is equipped with a portion adapted to receive sheets inserted manually for use as covers or partitions of the copies in the sorter. The sorter may be formed of one or more sorter portions arranged serially and is provided with a memory register for memorizing information corresponding to the number of sheets to be inserted manually, a count register for counting the number of sheets for manual insertion, and a circuit for inhibiting the manual insert operation for a predetermined period of time after the contents in the memory register becomes equal to the contents in the count register, thereby attaining the precise and reliable collation and sorting of the sheets to be inserted as covers and partitions.

Copier sorter with memory and counter controlled inlet gate for manually

A sheet distribution method is provided which, when a stop switch (20) to stop a copying operation of a copying machine (1) or an interrupt switch (21) to interrupt the copying operation is depressed during the copying operation in a collation mode or an assortment mode, inhibits any further copying operation while keeping only a copy sheet conveyor section operative to deliver already fed copy sheets to a collator 82). When the number of copy sheets stored in the collator (2) has coincided with the number of fresh sheets fed out of the copying machine (1) during that copying operation, the conveyor section is made inoperative and the next copy start and variation in the operating mode of the machine (1) or preset number of sheet to be copied are permitted.

Sheet distribution method and apparatus

A bin for receiving sheets arranged in an apparatus for collating or sorting of sheets fed successively, which includes a rear end portion, a front end portion and an intermediate inclination portion connected therebetween. The front end portion includes a stopper or stoppers extending substantially vertical for stopping a front end of the sheet fed into the bin and a straight guide portion, on which the stopper or stoppers attached. The rear end portion includes an upright plate extending substantially vertical used for stopping and aligning a rear end of the sheet and a plate inclined so as to go down forwards in sheet feeding direction. The intermediate inclination portion is connected at front and rear end with the straight guide plate and the inclined plate of the rear end portion direct or through curve portion. In this bin the sheet can be aligned by using falling motion of the sheet with the own weight.

Bin for receiving sheets

A sorter connection apparatus disposed between a copying machine and a sorter, which is capable of feeding individually copy sheets discharged from the copying machine into the sorter, comprising a lower guide plate connecting the sheet outlet of the copying machine to the sheet inlet of the sorter, an upper guide plate situated above the lower guide plate, mounted detachably on the lower guide plate through a detachment device, and a sheet transportation roller which is in contact with the lower surface of the upper guide plate and at least the outer peripheral portion of which is made of an elastic material which can be easily deformed under application of pressure thereto. The sheets are transported, while held between the upper guide plate and the sheet transportation roller.

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Yokohama, Japan

Kunio Hibi