Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Masami Maetani

Kazuhiko Onuki

Shinji Murata

Masahiko Ito

Hitoshi Yanagawa

Fumio Tazawa

Yusuke Yamada

Hiroshi Ogawa

Masanari Shirai

Kazuhide Sugiyama

Satoshi Ono

Katsuhiko Okitsu

Yasutoshi Sugita

Hironobu Saito

Tomoo Tsunenari

In an image forming apparatus, a transporting path of a recording medium is provided in a direction extending from a lower region to a higher region. Furthermore, in order to allow a toner to be supplied from a toner supplying container to a developing device, an optical path of an image-exposure light from an exposing device to a photoreceptor is provided substantially in a horizontal direction, and the developing device is disposed below the optical path while the toner supplying container is disposed above the optical path. The image forming apparatus has a simple construction, and can be implemented at a relatively low cost and in a small size.

Image forming apparatus having a horizontal optical path

A developer supply container detachably mountable to a developer supply apparatus including a container body, for accommodating developer, including a discharge opening for permitting discharge of the developer therefrom, coupling device, disposed connectable to a coupling member of the developer supply apparatus, for rotating the container body, feeding device for feeding the developer toward the discharge opening in the container body by the rotation of the container body, and regulation device, disposed at a peripheral surface of the container body, for regulating mounting of the developer supply container on the basis of whether or not it is substantially fitted with a regulation member of the developer supply apparatus. After the developer supply container is set to the developer supply apparatus, the regulation device is capable of rotating the regulation member of the developer supply apparatus by a rotational force received by the coupling device while retaining engagement of the regulation device with the regulation member.

Developer supply container

There is disclosed a sheet feeding unit, for an image forming apparatus, provided with a sheet stacking means for stacking the sheets for image formation, an external cover surrounding the perimeter of the sheet stacking means, and a substantially vertical reversal path provided at a side of the sheet stacking means and serving for sheet reversing, the unit comprises a slit-shaped aperture provided in the external cover substantially horizontally and an inclined path connecting the slit-shaped aperture and the lower end of the reversal path, whereby the sheet dropping into the reversal path for example by the jammed sheet disposal in the image forming unit is smoothly discharged to the exterior of the unit and is prevented from remaining in the reversal path.

Image forming apparatus with built-in surface reverse path

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium includes an image bearing member, a developing device for developing a latent image formed on the image bearing member, a toner container for containing non-used toner to be used in development by the developing device, a transfer device for transferring a toner image formed on the image bearing member by the developing device onto the recording medium, a cleaning device for removing residual matter adhered to the image bearing member after the toner image was transferred by the transfer device, a separating device for separating foreign matter from toner removed from the image bearing member by the cleaning device, and a toner from which the foreign matter is removed by the separating device with the non-used toner from the toner container to the developing device.

Image forming apparatus with toner re-use feature

A developer extracting apparatus for extracting developer from a mixture of developer and foreign matter, includes a filter for permitting passage of developer and for inhibiting passage of foreign matter, protection means for protecting the filter, and a vibration applying means for applying vibration to the filter via the protection means.

Developer extracting apparatus and image forming apparatus using it

A film retrieval system comprises a light source for illuminating a film having marks applied thereon, a photo-detector for detecting light intensity transmitted from the illuminated film, a device for determining a reference in accordance with the light intensity detected by the photo-detector, a discriminator for determining the presence or absence of the mark by comparing the reference determined by the reference device and an output of the photo-detector and, a setting device for setting a detection point of the transmitted light intensity by the photo-detector at any point spaced from a leading edge of the film.

Retrieval system

When a film where a picture image is recorded in a vertical format is used in a reader printer with a horizontal type screen, the image rotating operation as well as the enlarging and reducing operations of the projected image, which should be changed over between the reader mode and the printing mode, may be performed easily through the operation of only one operation member.

Reader printer

A projection copying apparatus having an image forming lens, a first reflection member opposed to the lens, a reader optical path lens system and a printer optical path lens system. The reader optical path lens system includes a movable reflection member, and projects an image onto a screen when the apparatus is in a reading mode. When the apparatus is in a printing mode, a driving device moves the printer optical path lens system in such a manner to reflect light from the first reflection member onto a photosensitive medium. The movable reflection member is moved in and out of a reflection light path of the first reflection member to change the apparatus between the reading mode and the printing mode.

Projection copying apparatus

An image recording apparatus which is arranged to project image rays from an image bearing medium onto a screen by the mirrors of a reader system and, as required, to record the image on an image recording medium by rotating a rotary mirror in a scanning manner. The apparatus includes a plurality of reflection mirrors for transmitting image rays reflected by the rotary mirror onto the image recording medium. The mirrors are disposed such that the optical axes of the image rays reflected from the rotary mirror to the final-stage mirror are located in one plane.

Reader printer and image recording apparatus

A reader-printer has a first mirror rotatable to a first position in which it is capable of forming a reader optical path for projecting an image light onto a screen and a second position in which it is capable of forming a printer optical path for projecting the image light onto a photosensitive surface, a second mirror disposed in the reader optical path for disposed in the reader optical path for directing the light from the first mirror to the screen, a third mirror disposed in the printer optical path for directing the light from the first mirror to the photosensitive surface, a driving device for rotating the first mirror to the first position and the second position, and a detecting device disposed outside the reader optical path and the printer optical path for receiving the reflected light from the first mirror during the rotation of the first mirror and detecting the image density.

Reader-printer

A reader printer includes a rotatable scanning mirror disposed in an optical path formed between a projection lens and a printer section in correspondence with a printer mode, the scanning mirror being rotated to perform scanning of an image and a movable mirror disposed near such a printer mode optical path for movement between an inserted position where it is inserted in the optical path and a retracted position to which it is retracted from the optical path. Movement of the movable mirror causes mutual switching between the printer mode optical path and the reader mode optical path.

In a feeding apparatus wherein a web contained in a supply portion is taken up onto a reel, whereby the web is fed along a predetermined path, there is provided control means for rotatively driving the reel by a motor and controlling the driving current of the motor so as to reduce the rotational speed of the reel when the web in the supply portion draws near its terminal end.

Web feeding apparatus with web slowdown

An information retrieval system for retrieving desired information from information recorded in a record medium is disclosed. The information on the record medium is classified into at least two groups and a first mark is added to the lower class information and a second mark is added to the higher class information. The marks are detected by mark detection means and the feed of the record medium is controlled in accordance with the output of the mark detection means. When there is an error in the retrieval or in the input, the error is detected and the feed of the record medium is stopped.

Information retrieval system

A web transport device transports a web wound on one shaft to the other shaft by rotatively driving the shaft on the take-up side and causing the shaft on the supply side to be driven. When it is desired to stop the feeding of the web, a brake is applied to the shaft on the take-up side and the shaft on the supply side and during the braking, the brake applied to the shaft on the supply side is temporarily released for a predetermined time, whereby slack of a predetermined amount or more is formed in the web between the two shafts. To prevent the instability of the stopped position caused by the formation of such slack, web guide members adapted to bear against the web are provided along a web feeding path.

Growing community of inventors

Ageo, Japan

Masami Maetani