Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masahiko Kamijo

Hiroshi Saitoh

Yozo Matsuura

Shigemi Kanda

Hirotaka Hatta

Hidehiko Fujiwara

Osamu Kiuchi

Kohta Takenaka

Shiro Kondo

Kota Takenaka

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive member, a transfer mechanism, a fixing mechanism, a sheet ejection mechanism, and a driving source. The transfer mechanism including a transfer roller that transfers a toner image carried on a photosensitive member onto a recording sheet. The fixing mechanism fixes the toner image onto the recording sheet with heat and pressure. The fixing mechanism includes a fixing roller and a pressure plate, and applies heat and pressure to the toner image on the recording sheet when the recording sheet is caused to pass through a fixing nip portion. The sheet ejection mechanism ejects the recording sheet and includes sheet ejection rollers. The driving source drives the photosensitive member, the transfer roller, the fixing roller, and the sheet ejection rollers to transfer the recording sheet at a linear speed in a substantially constant manner from the photosensitive member through to the sheet ejection mechanism.

Method and apparatus for image forming capable of effectively performing a fixing process

A fixing apparatus includes a fixing roller, a base, and a sheet-shaped pressing member. The fixing roller includes an inner heater. The base includes a mounting portion upstream from the fixing roller in a sheet transportation direction. The sheet-shaped pressing member includes a fixing side which is fixed to the mounting portion of the base and a free side downstream from the fixing side in the sheet transportation direction. The free side contacts the fixing roller with its upper surface under pressure to form a nip area. In the fixing apparatus, a recording sheet having a toner image passes through the nip area formed so as to receive heat and pressure.

Method and apparatus for toner image fixing using a sheet-shaped pressing member

A cleaning device for cleaning a photoconductive element of an electrophotographic apparatus. A cleaning mechanism is held in contact with a surface of the photoconductive element of the electrophotographic apparatus. The cleaning mechanism includes a cleaning member, for example a cleaning blade, held in contact with the surface of the photoconductive element for removing toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductive element. A rotatable magnet body is provided in close proximity to the cleaning member for causing the toner removed by the cleaning member to magnetically deposit on the rotatable magnet body. The rotatable magnet body may be further provided such that it does not contact the photoconductive element. A scraping member scraps off toner deposited on the rotatable magnetic body and a waste toner tank has an external opening through which the toner removed by the cleaning member is collected. The rotatable magnet body blocks the external opening of the waste toner tank such that the toner collected in the waste toner tank is prevented from flowing outside through the external opening of the waste toner tank. Further, each of the plurality of magnets may be magnetized in a direction parallel to a direction of movement of the photoconductive element.

Cleaning device for cleaning residual toner from a photoconductive

In a cleaning device and a eveloping device installed in an electrophotographic device, a cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) has a cleaning unit including a cleaning blade for removing a toner left on a photoconductive element after image transfer and a waste toner tank for collecting it, and a developing unit accommodating a fresh toner tank storing a fresh toner. The waste toner tank and fresh toner tank are connected together such that the fresh toner tank is movable relative to the developing device independently of the waste toner tank.

Cleaner and toner magazine for electrophotographic apparatus

In a cleaning device and a developing device installed in an electrophotographic device, a cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) has a cleaning unit including a cleaning blade for removing a toner left on a photoconductive element after image transfer and a waste toner tank for collecting it, and a developing unit accommodating a fresh toner tank storing a fresh toner. The waste toner tank and fresh toner tank are constructed integrally with each other and connected together such that the fresh toner tank is movable to the developing device.

A combined cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) applicable to an image forming apparatus and implemented as a single unit made up of a device for supplying a toner to a developing unit and a cleaning device for removing and storing part of the toner which remains on a photoconductive element after image transfer. The CTM has an electromagnetic shutter or a permanent magnet for preventing the toner left on the photoconductive element without being collected by the cleaning device from being scattered around in the apparatus. When a toner reservoir included in the toner supply device is emptied and, at the same time, a waste toner tank in the cleaning device is filled up, a supplementary toner is filled in the toner reservoir via a predetermined opening and the waste toner is discharged from the waste toner tank via another predetermined opening.

Combined cleaner and toner magazine for an image forming apparatus

A cleaning unit provided in a xerographic image forming apparatus removes residual toner from a photosensitive belt after a transfer process for transferring a developed image from the photosensitive belt to a recording sheet. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade for scraping the residual toner from the photosensitive belt, and a housing for storing the residual toner scraped by the cleaning blade. The cleaning blade has a slanting surface formed between a top surface of the cleaning blade and an end of the cleaning blade, the slanting blade slanting from the top surface toward the end of the cleaning blade so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the top surface. The developer scraped by the cleaning blade is entered in the housing via the slanting surface and the top surface of the cleaning blade. The cleaning unit further includes a sweeping plate for feeding the residual toner scraped from the photosensitive belt by the cleaning blade into the housing, via a top surface of the cleaning blade.

Cleaning unit provided in xerographic image forming apparatus for

A toner supplying device for use in an image forming system includes a cleaner portion for removing a residual toner from a photosensitive medium of the image forming system so as to store the residual toner therein, and a toner supplying portion, integrally formed with the cleaner portion, having a compartment for storing toner and a mechanism for supplying the toner to a developing unit so that a toner image is formed on a copy sheet in accordance with an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive medium. In this device, the toner supplying portion includes an agitator member for agitating the toner within the toner supplying portion so as to prevent the toner from sticking to an inside wall of the toner supplying portion.

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Kawasaki, Japan

Masahiko Kamijo