Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masahide Yamashita

Yasushi Nakazato

Jun Yamane

Kohji Ue

Osamu Satoh

Toshiyuki Kabata

Hiroshi Nakai

Kumiko Hatakeyama

Shinya Tanaka

Masato Iio

Tomio Kondou

Masanori Suzuki

Keiko Shiraishi

Kohki Katoh

Kunio Hasegawa

Yohichiroh Watanabe

Toyoshi Sawada

Akihiro Kotsugai

Kazuhito Watanabe

Mikiko Imazeki

Kousuke Suzuki

Jun Aoto

Yasuo Hirano

Naoyuki Ozaki

Mitsuru Seto

Kohsuke Suzuki

Shigeru Fukuda

Yasuaki Iwamoto

Satoshi Mochizuki

Jun Yura

Masaichi Sawada

Takenori Oku

Masami Tomita

Hitoshi Shimizu

Shuji Hirai

Fumihiro Sasaki

Takuya Murata

Koichi Kato

Shigekazu Enoki

Yasushi Koichi

Kumi Hasegawa

Osamu Ariizumi

Keita Maejima

Yohei Kushida

Taku Kumiya

Yohichiro Watanabe

Takashi Okada

Koji Suzuki

Hiroshi Yamashita

Yasuo Suzuki

Hiroaki Matsuda

Hiroaki Takahashi

Takeshi Shintani

Hiroto Higuchi

Shigeru Emoto

Mitsuo Aoki

Akihiko Gotoh

Yasuo Asahina

Ryota Yamashina

Kimitoshi Yamaguchi

Shinichi Kuramoto

Akihiro Sugino

Takuya Saito

Takashi Bisaiji

Mie Yoshino

Maiko Kondo

Yoshiaki Kawasaki

Takaaki Ikegami

Bing Shu

Hideo Nakamori

Takayuki Koike

Michio Kimura

Yoshihiro Suguro

Tomomi Tamura

Hachiroh Tosaka

Mayumi Yoshihara

Hiroyuki Yoshikawa

Kazuyuki Yazaki

Makoto Ohsaki

Shintaroh Takahashi

Shokichiro Hino

Noriyuki Ochiai

Shinichiroh Yagi

Shoichi Sugimoto

Tsutomu Hayashi

Yosushi Nakazato

A powder-amount detection device includes a first electrode, a second electrode, a third electrode and a voltage detector with the second electrode adjacent to the first electrode on the powder container and have a smaller surface area than a surface area of the first electrode. The third electrode is on a side opposite to the second electrode with the powder container interposed between the third electrode and each of the first electrode and the second electrode. The voltage detector detects voltages of the first electrode and the second electrode by detecting charging and discharging behaviors of the first electrode and the second electrode when a voltage is applied between the third electrode and each of the first electrode and the second electrode for a short time, and detects the amount of powder in the powder container based on the voltages of the first electrode and the second electrode.

Powder-amount detection device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A powder-amount detection device includes an outer electrode, an inner electrode, and a detector. The outer electrode is disposed outside a powder container to be replaceably installed to an image forming apparatus. The inner electrode is disposed inside a powder supply port of the powder container. The detector is configured to apply an electric field between the outer electrode and the inner electrode to detect a capacitance between the outer electrode and the inner electrode.

An image forming apparatus includes an electrophotographic photoreceptor that bears a latent image, an electrostatic charging unit that negatively charges the electrophotographic photoreceptor uniformly with electricity, and a latent image writing unit that writes a latent image on the electrophotographic photoreceptor. A one-component developing unit renders the latent image visible by developing thereof. A transfer device transfers the toner image from the electrophotographic photoreceptor onto a transfer medium. The inequality C&#xd7;V&#x3c;Q&#x2266;1.5&#xd7;C&#xd7;V is satisfied where C is an electrostatic capacitance of the electrophotographic photoreceptor, V is an absolute value of a surface potential of the electrophotographic photoreceptor after it is electrically charged by the electrostatic charging unit in an electrostatic charging process, and Q is an absolute value of an electrical charge calculated based on an amount of electrical current sent to the electrophotographic photoreceptor in the electrostatic charging process.

Residual voltage reducing processing cartridge, image forming apparatus with same, and image forming method

An apparatus, system, and method of predicting failure of a fixing device of an image forming apparatus are provided. Based on a plurality of sheet transfer time values of the fixing device, a first characteristic value that is an average value of the plurality of sheet transfer time values, and at least one of a second characteristics value that indicates the variance of the plurality of sheet transfer time values and a third characteristics value that indicates the maximum value of the plurality of sheet transfer time values are calculated. Using a determination result generated based on the first characteristics value and the at least one of the second and third characteristics values, failure of the fixing device is predicted.

Apparatus, system, and method of predicting failure of image forming apparatus

A management apparatus includes: a receiver that receives, via a network, status data based on control system data for stabilizing image forming from an image forming apparatus formed by image forming units; an inference unit that determines abnormality occurrence symptom, and calculates an index of the abnormality occurrence symptom, of the image forming units based on the received status data; a replacement part information acquisition unit that acquires information including a replacement date from a maintenance management system via the network when receiving a diagnosis request from a terminal of a maintenance person; a judgment table generator that calculates weight information of the symptom determination index value; a integrated diagnostic information generator for the image forming units based on the symptom determination index value and the weight information; and a integrated diagnostic information notification unit transmitting the integrated diagnostic value information to the terminal of the maintenance person.

Management apparatus, management system, and management method

A rotation measuring mechanism capable of measuring a rotation amount and a displacement amount of a rotary member in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis is provided. An exemplary combination of the rotation measuring mechanism includes a detection target rotating in synchrony with the rotary member and range sensors. Each time the detection target rotates once, each sensor outputs one cycle of a sine wave. The amplitude of the sine wave output from the sensor varies in accordance with the displacement of the detection target together with the rotary member in the direction perpendicular to the axis, thereby obtaining the rotation amount and the displacement amount of the rotary member.

Rotation measuring mechanism, sheet conveyance apparatus, original reading apparatus, and image forming apparatus

An image carrier deterioration degree evaluating apparatus for evaluating a degree of deterioration of an image carrier of an image forming apparatus, the image carrier deterioration degree evaluating apparatus including: an image deletion detecting unit that detects image deletion by obtaining latent image information written on the image carrier; an image deletion reducing unit that performs a process of reducing image deletion when the image deletion detecting unit detects image deletion, and an image carrier deterioration degree evaluating unit that drives the image deletion detecting unit and the image deletion reducing unit alternately one or more times each, and evaluates a degree of deterioration of the image carrier by using the latent image information obtained one or more times by the image deletion detecting unit.

Image carrier deterioration degree evaluating device, image carrier failure predicting device, and image forming apparatus

A first feature quantity computing unit that computes a first feature quantity representing an average of a plurality of driving loads recorded by a driving load of a fixing section recording unit of an image forming device that records the driving load acquired by a driving load acquiring unit that acquires the driving load, a second feature quantity computing unit that computes a second feature quantity representing a deviation of the plurality of the driving loads, and a diagnosis unit that performs failure diagnosis including estimation of a cause of a failure of the fixing section using the first feature quantity and the second feature quantity are used.

Failure diagnosis device, failure diagnosis method, image forming device, and recording medium

A management device for an image forming apparatus including a status data collection unit where multiple types of status data are received from the image forming apparatus and stored in a status database, a target data creation unit where multiple types of target data are created based upon the multiple types of status data, a first stage determination unit where the multiple types of target data are identified as being above or below reference values set for each type, and a second stage determination unit where a weight value set for each status data type is attached to the determination results of the multiple types of status data of the first stage determination unit and as a whole of the multiple types of status data determined with majority logic for abnormal occurrence prediction.

Management device of an image forming apparatus

A data collecting unit receives a plurality of types of status data from an image forming apparatus and stores the status data in a status database. A data generating unit generates a plurality of types of target data for determining a maintenance sign, based on the status data. A first determining unit determines whether each of the status data exceeds a predetermined reference value. A second determining unit performs weighted majority decision based on a determination result from the first determining unit and a weight value set for each of the status data, and determines whether there is a maintenance sign taking all the status data into consideration.

Management apparatus, management system, operation status determination method, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a failure prediction unit, an image identification unit, a simulated-image generating unit, and an output unit. The failure prediction unit prepares an index value indicating a condition of the image forming apparatus based on multidimensional signal, obtained by monitoring the image forming apparatus, and compares the index value with a first threshold value to predict a failure mode of the image forming apparatus. The image identification unit identifies types of abnormal images based on the failure mode predicted by the failure prediction unit. An identified abnormal image is predicted to be appear a given time later. The simulated-image generating unit generates a simulated image of the identified abnormal image. The output unit outputs the identified abnormal image as the simulated image.

Apparatus and method for generating a simulated image including an identified image abnormality

A protective agent for an image bearing member of an image forming apparatus. The protective agent is applied onto a surface of the image bearing member and includes a hydrophobic organic compound (A), an inorganic fine particle (B), and an inorganic lubricant (C).

Protective agent for image bearing member, protective layer setting unit, and process cartridge

A protective layer forming device including: a protective agent block containing a metal soap, a protective agent supplying unit configured to supply a protective agent onto a photoconductor, and a pressing unit configured to press the protective agent supplying unit against the protective agent block, wherein the protective agent supplying unit is rotated while being pressed against the protective agent block by the pressing unit, so that the protective agent block is micronized to make the protective agent in the form of fine powder, and the protective agent in the form of fine powder is supplied onto the photoconductor, thereby forming a protective layer on the photoconductor, and wherein the protective agent in the form of fine powder has a particle diameter of 200 &#x3bc;m or smaller and contains protective agent particles of 20 &#x3bc;m to 200 &#x3bc;m in an amount of 1% by mass to 70% by mass.

Protective layer forming device, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge

A system abnormality determining method comprises the steps of transmitting fake abnormal information representing an abnormal condition of the target instrument from the target instrument to a condition determination device via a network during a test operation of the target instrument instead of condition information, determining if the condition determination device can determine the target instrument as being abnormal based on the fake abnormal information, and operating the target instrument in a normal operation condition when the condition determination device can determine the target instrument as being abnormal.

Condition determining system, method of detecting abnormality of condition determining system, and image forming apparatus

A fault prediction method predicts a plurality of faults in a target device, and includes the steps of collecting internal information of the target device output from the target device, generating one or more criteria for defining a deviation from a normal state based on the collected internal information of the target device, incorporating the one or more criteria into a device state discriminator, identifying a deviation from a normal state in the target device according to the one or more criteria using the device state discriminator, and outputting a fault prediction as a result of the identifying step to a user. One or more of the steps are performed by a processor.

Fault prediction method, fault prediction system, and image forming apparatus

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Tokyo, Japan

Masahide Yamashita