Asahi Kogaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Asahi Kogaku Kogyo K.k.

Kirin Holdings Kabushiki Kaisha

Masahiro Kita

Ikuo Negoro

Kiyoshi Negishi

Tomoyuki Nishikawa

Tsutomu Sato

Ryoji Honda

Takaaki Yano

Tatsuya Yoshida

Shoji Kamasako

Hiroyuki Yamaguchi

Yoshimi Saito

Katsuhiko Nishimura

Yasuhisa Ano

Goro Kitamura

Atsushi Chikama

Kazuyoshi Shiraishi

Tsutomi Sato

Kiyoshin Negishi

Toshihiro Isshiki

Kazuyuki Shinho

An oligopeptide having a good anti-inflammation effect on microglia has been found, and based on this finding, a composition to be used for suppressing the inflammation of microglia is provided. Inflammation suppression action of a dipeptide has been comprehensively analyzed using the proinflammatory cytokine production of microglia as an indicator. As a result, it has been revealed that an oligopeptide including the sequence LH, DV or MH has a good inflammation suppression effect. The composition containing any of these oligopeptides can provide a composition having the effect of suppressing the excessive inflammatory action of microglia.

Inflammation-suppressing composition including peptide

A continuous form printer is provided with two rotary encoders, corresponding to different paper feed intervals, and mounted coaxially on a drive shaft. The drive shaft drives a tractor for feeding the paper. The rotary encoders are read by photo-interruptor sensors, and the sensor signals are selected by a selector. The selector is able to select either one of the sensor signals generated by the encoders, or a signal formed by performing an AND operation on the two sensor signals. A controller controls a motor driving the drive shaft according to the selected signal, the selected signal corresponding to a chosen feeding interval. The controller is further able to precisely adjust the leading edge of the paper to a predetermined position based on the selected sensor signal, a known paper length, and a paper top sensor.

Feeding controller for printer

An electrophotographic printer is capable of using a plurality of types of continuous form recording media having different page lengths, respectively. In the printer, a photoconductive member is charged and exposed to light carrying image data to form a latent image. In operation, one of the plurality of types of recording media is selected, and a portion of the photoconductive member corresponding to a page of the selected one of the plurality of types of recording media is exposed to light. In another embodiment, a laser beam printer utilizes a continuous-form recording sheet, wherein two control members are provided for, respectively, controlling the recording sheet so as to be discharged from the printing device after a printing operation, and for controlling the recording sheet so as to be located at a position from which a printing operation is restarted. Thus, recording sheets are not wasted when printer output is started.

Electrophotographic printer using a continuous-form recording sheet

Continuous form printer having multiple feed sensors and method

A device for positioning a tip portion of a continuous form provided in a laser printer when the continuous form is set in the laser printer. The device includes a pair of fixing rollers provided at a position separated by a predetermined interval from a photosensitive drum, a tractor unit, a feed sensor, a tip sensor, and a control unit. The tractor unit is provided between the fixing rollers and the photosensitive drum to feed the continuous form toward the fixing rollers, the feed sensor outputs feed pulses in accordance with an amount fed of the continuous form, the tip sensor senses the tip portion of the continuous form. The control unit counts the number of feed pulses sensed by the feed sensor to feed one page of the continuous form so as, to discharge one page from the outlet mouth of the printer when a positioning of the tip portion is needed.

Continuous form positioning device with control of rollers in response

In a fixing device employed in an electrophotographic imaging apparatus for fusing an unfixed toner image carrier on a recording sheet, a heat roller and a back-up roller are provided. The heat roller is provided with a heater mechanism installed therein, wherein the heater mechanism is arranged such that the temperature of a portion of the heat roller corresponding to the passing area of the recording sheet is higher than that of the other portions of the heat roller so that the temperature distribution of the heat roller heated by the heater mechanism becomes substantially uniform along its axial direction while the recording sheet is passing through the nip between the heat roller and the back-up roller.

Heat roll fixing unit with uniform heat distribution

An apparatus utilizing a continuous-form sheet having a plurality of perforations at predetermined intervals of length is provided with a plate member for upwardly guiding the sheet discharged from the apparatus. A connect member provided on the plate member, as well as the apparatus, are arranged to be brought into and out of engagement with each other. The continuous-form sheet discharged from the apparatus is bent at the perforations and falls beyond the plate to be neatly folded.

Sheet guide mechanism for use in an imaging device

An imaging device is provided utilizing a continuous-form recording sheet (i.e., continuous-form sheeting), having a plurality of transverse perforations at predetermined intervals of length, on which the desired image is formed. At least an oscillating member which is driven by a rotating shaft is provided for oscillating continuous-form sheeting discharged from the imaging device. The oscillation caused by the oscillating member forwardly propagates the sheeting toward the imaging device. The continuous-form sheet is alternately and accurately folded at the transverse perforations in opposite directions, and stacked in a vertical direction between two folding positions as the continuous-form sheeting is discharged from the imaging device.

Mechanism for folding continuous-form sheet

A cartridge detachably coupled to a device is provided, for supplying a substance adapted to be accommodated in the cartridge to the device through an opening formed on the device. The cartridge includes a flange portion located on a surrounding portion of the opening of the device, and a supply port to be received in the opening. The supply port is covered by a sheet member, which is folded to be double-layered and to have both end portions of the first and second layers positioned at the same side. The first layer is adhered to the peripheral surface of the supply port, and a sealing member is secured to the flange portion and positioned between the flange portion and the surrounding portion of the opening, when the cartridge is coupled to the device, for tightly closing the opening. A slit is formed through the superposed pair of the flange portion and the sealing member for passing both end portions of the sheet member so that both end portions remain outside of the cartridge when the cartridge is coupled to the device.

Toner cartridge

An inside contamination preventing mechanism is provided that is adapted to be positioned in an imaging apparatus utilizing an electrophotographic system for forming an image on a predetermined recording medium and having an air directing mechanism including an air intake portion through which air flows from the outside of the imaging apparatus and a driving member for driving the air to a predetermined portion through a predetermined area within the imaging apparatus, and a toner containing member that is located adjacent to the air intake portion for containing the toner particles remaining in the imaging apparatus after an imaging operation onto the predetermined recording medium. The inside contamination preventing mechanism includes a cover member provided on an inner surface of the imaging apparatus for covering an opening of the toner containing member. Thus, it becomes possible to prevent the toner from floating in the air, and accordingly, it becomes possible to keep the inside of the imaging apparatus clean.

Inside contamination prevention structure for a device utilizing toner

An electrophotographic image forming apparatus is provided using a continuous form recording medium, in which the recording medium is nipped between a pair of fixing rollers, at-least-one of which is driven to rotate. The recording medium is fed in response to the rotation of the pair of fixing rollers. The peripheral speed of the at-least-one roller of the pair of fixing rollers is set to be faster than that of the photoconductive drum by a predetermined ratio so that slack of the recording medium between the photoconductive drum and the fixing rollers may be eliminated. Thus, the recording medium is fed properly without the occurrence of skewing between the photoconductive drum and the fixing rollers.

Electrophotographic image forming apparatus having continuous form skew

A heat roll fixing device for an electrophotographic image recording apparatus is provided with a cleaning felt extending in the axial direction of the heat roller and arranged to contact the circumferential surface of a heat roller for removing toner thereon with oil being oozed from the cleaning felt and applied to the circumferential surface of the heat roller. In order to evenly spread or absorb the oil, it is particularly applied onto the circumferential surface of the heat roller while it is located at its retracted position when printing operation is started, with the heat roller being controlled to rotate for a predetermined period of time before being shifted to its operable position. Then the rotation is stopped and the heat roller is shifted to the operable position. The rotation of the heat roller is restarted after another predetermined period of time has passed since the required operation of the image recording apparatus.

Fixing device having a cleaning element

A data recovery device is employed in a printer using a continuous form recording medium for reprinting data after printing has been interrupted. In the data recovery device, the number of pages remaining in a predetermined area of the feed path of the recording medium is counted. A plurality of page buffers are sequentially read out and printed. The printing operation is controlled such that the one of the data storing means from which the data is read out and printed by the printing means is identified based on the number of the pages remaining in the predetermined area.

Data recovery device for printer

A method for adjusting a length of a doctor gap of a development device which is employable within an electrophotographic printer. The doctor gap is formed between a circumferential surface of a development roller and an extreme edge of a doctor blade that is arranged to be movable along a radius direction of the development roller. A dummy member, including a circle-shaped part whose radius value is a sum of a radius value of a development roller and the doctor gap is mounted in the development device. A position of the doctor blade along the radius direction is adjusted and fixed at a position at which the doctor blade and the circle-shaped part of the dummy member are in contact with each other. The dummy member is then removed from the development device. Thus, it becomes possible to accurately set a doctor gap with a simple structure, and the outer circumferential surface of the development roller is not scratched.

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Tokyo, Japan

Masahiro Kita