Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masanori Kawasumi

Masami Tomita

Toshio Koike

Yuji Arai

Takeshi Shintani

Takeshi Uchitani

Eisaku Murakami

Hiroyuki Nagashima

Naohiro Kumagai

Hiroshi Hosokawa

Ken Amemiya

Kiyonori Tsuda

Kazuhiko Umemura

Takaaki Tawada

Yoshiyuki Kimura

Hiroshi Ono

Hiroshi Ishii

Masahiko Satoh

Makoto Kikura

Shunichi Hashimoto

Kazuosa Kuma

Yutaka Fukuchi

Kazuki Suzuki

Yutaka Takahashi

Takatsugu Fujishiro

Shin Kayahara

Kazuhisa Sudo

Takeo Suda

Shinichi Kawahara

Shin Hasegawa

Akira Shinshi

Tomoko Takahashi

Satoshi Hatori

Yoshiki Hozumi

Nobuo Kuwabara

Masato Tanaka

Naoto Watanabe

Hiroyuki Sugiyama

Yoshinori Nakagawa

Hideo Yoshizawa

Hiroshi Nakai

Atsushi Kurokawa

Satoshi Takano

Hitoshi Ishibashi

Yoshio Hattori

Eiji Kurimoto

Takeshi Kojima

Atsushi Sampe

Masato Yanagida

Satoshi Narumi

Ryuta Takeichi

Tokuya Ojimi

Haruji Mizuishi

Takuzi Yoneda

Hideki Zemba

Yuusuke Noguchi

Takuji Yoneda

Tokuya Ohjimi

Eiji Shimojo

Hiromichi Ninomiya

Takeshi Tabuchi

Hirokatsu Suzuki

Takuya Suganuma

Hiroomi Harada

Masaharu Furuya

Shuji Tanaka

Takaya Muraishi

Hiroshi Mizusawa

Mugijirou Uno

Mugijiroh Uno

Kazunori Karasawa

Hirohmi Tamura

Kazuya Saitoh

Hiroya Hirose

Wakako Murakami

Kentaroh Matsumoto

Hideyo Watanabe

Hiroki Atari

Tsutomu Yamakami

Muraishi Takaya

Atsuhsi Sampe

Kaoru Yoshino

Yosuke Saito

Ichiro Kadota

Tomoji Ishikawa

Ryuji Yoshida

Akira Fujimori

Shigekazu Enoki

Keiichi Yoshida

Yutaka Narita

Naoyuki Ozaki

Keiji Kunimi

Kenichi Taguma

Satoru Ishikake

Masaharu Yokono

Teruyuki Kasuga

Yuji Ishikura

Tetsuya Senoh

An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit, a unit holder, and circuitry is provided. The image forming unit includes a color toner unit, a replaceable black toner unit, and a replaceable special toner unit that form a color toner image, a black toner image, and a special toner image, respectively. The unit holder selectively and detachably holds the replaceable black toner unit or the replaceable special toner unit. The circuitry controls the image forming unit to perform: a normal operation, when the unit holder holds the replaceable black toner unit, that forms a color-black image; a special operation, when the unit holder holds the replaceable special toner unit, that forms a color-special image; and a toner amount increase control that increases an amount of the color toner per unit area in the color toner image in the special operation than that in the normal operation.

Image forming apparatus for increase of color toner in a color toner image in a special operation

The image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearing member; a charging device charging the surface of the latent image bearing member; a latent image forming device forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the latent image bearing member; a developing device supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image; a cover film supplying device supplying a cover film to the surface of the latent image bearing member at a cover film supplying position located on an upstream side from the development position so that the toner image is formed on the cover film covering the surface of the latent image bearing member; and a cover film separating device separating the cover film bearing the toner image thereon from the surface of the image bearing member before the cover film bearing the toner image thereon reaches the cover film supplying position.

Electrophotographic image forming method and apparatus with a cover film supplying device

An image forming apparatus that has a monochrome mode and a full color mode as image forming modes, includes: a power supply unit configured to supply power thereto; a main power switch configured to turn on and off the power supply unit; a mode switching unit configured to selectively and manually be switched between the monochrome mode and the full color mode, wherein the main power switch and the mode switching unit are integrally formed as one mode switch; a power supply interrupting unit configured to interrupt power supply to a part that is necessary to form an image in a mode other than the monochrome mode, when the mode switch is set to the monochrome mode.

Image forming apparatus

A cleaning roller cleaning a surface of a cleaning component, wherein the cleaning roller is provided in a roller configuration having a cylindrical shape and has a portion in contact with the cleaning component, the portion being made of a melamine resin foam having a continuous foam structure, the melamine resin foam being provided by heating compression from an original configuration in a radial direction, and wherein the portion in contact with the cleaning component has a continuous foam structure and a tensile strength in a range of 1.7&#xb1;0.5 kg/cm, and an image forming apparatus incorporating the same.

Charging device, process cartridge, image forming apparatus, and toner

By using a black-image forming device, an abrasive pattern is formed on a sheet conveying belt so that toner is input to a contact section where a cleaning blade is in contact with the sheet conveying belt. After the toner is input to the contact section where the cleaning blade is in contact with the sheet conveying belt and then the sheet conveying belt makes one or more revolutions, a process control is performed in which Y, M, and C toner patterns and B toner pattern are transferred onto the sheet conveying belt.

An image forming apparatus includes a first image carrier, a second image carrier, an intermediate transfer member disposed facing the second image carrier, a conveyance belt to transport a transfer sheet, disposed facing both the first image carrier and the intermediate transfer member, a first transfer member to transfer a first toner image formed on the first image carrier onto the transfer sheet, a second transfer member to transfer a second toner image formed on the second image carrier onto the intermediate transfer member, and a third transfer member disposed downstream from the second image carrier in a rotation direction of the intermediate transfer member, to transfer the second toner image from the intermediate transfer member onto the transfer sheet transported by the conveyance belt. The first image carrier and the intermediate transfer member inflect the conveyance belt at a first inflection angle and a second inflection angle, respectively.

Image forming apparatus preventing gaps between a conveyor belt and transfer sheet

A toner bottle includes: a bottle main part to contain toner therein and having a rotational axis; an outlet at an end of the bottle main part; a spiral raised ridge in an inner wall of the bottle main part and arranged to deliver the toner contained in the bottle main part to the outlet by rotation of the bottle main part around the rotational axis; a plurality of toner guiding portions on a side of the spiral raised ridge adjacent to the outlet and arranged to move the toner to the outlet beyond the spiral raised ridge; and a gear adjacent to the outlet to rotate the bottle main part around the rotational axis. The bottle main part has a diameter larger than a diameter of the outlet, and the gear is formed integrally with the bottle main part between the outlet and the plurality of toner guiding portions.

Developer container, developer supplying device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus for use with a toner container which dispenses toner to the image forming apparatus, depending on an angular position of a rotatable cap of the toner container. The rotatable cap has a handle attached thereto. There is a toner container holder to support the toner container which permits the cap of the toner container to rotate. The image forming apparatus has a cover to selectively cover and uncover the toner container. There is also a device which moves with movement of the cover which interacts with the handle of the toner container.

The present invention provides a charging device which comprises a charging roller () and a cleaning component (). The charging roller charges a surface of an image-recording medium () with a voltage which is applied from an external source. The cleaning component cleans a surface of the charging roller. The charging roller includes a resistance adjustment layer which is made of a resin composite and formed on an outer periphery of a core metal. The hardness of the charging roller is 45 degrees or more in JIS D hardness. The cleaning component has a portion which is in contact with the charging roller. This portion is made of resin foam which has a continuous foam structure. The density of the resin foam is 5 to 15 kg/mand its tensile strength is 1.7&#xb1;0.5 kg/cm.

A novel development device includes a developer roller, a developer reservoir, a rotatable conveyor, and a replenisher unit. The developer roller is configured to supply toner particles to the electrostatic latent image. The developer reservoir is configured to hold the developer therewithin for application to the developer roller. The rotatable conveyor is configured to rotate within the developer reservoir to convey the developer toward the developer roller. The replenisher unit has a tubular member terminating at a port opening in the developer reservoir. The replenisher unit is configured to direct a particulate material through the tubular member into the developer reservoir via the port. The particulate material is toner particles, carrier particles, or a mixture of toner particles and a given amount of carrier particles. The port is submerged in the developer within the developer reservoir as the rotatable conveyor rotates.

Development device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus using the development device

A method of installing a toner container and a container. The container includes a body for storing toner, a handle attached to an end of the container, an opening for discharging the toner to an image forming device, and a shutter which selectively opens and closes the opening due to rotation of the handle. There is a gear which protrudes through the end of the container, and rotation of the gear causes toner in the body to be moved from the body of the container into the end of the container and subsequently out through the opening of the end of the container.

In an image forming apparatus, an area applied with a lubricant, i.e., an area of a lubricant layer having a uniform thickness, is obtained by spreading the lubricant by a lubricant smoothing blade. The area applied with a lubricant covers an area cleaned by a cleaning blade, i.e., a contact portion of the cleaning blade with a photoconductor.

Image forming apparatus, lubricant applying device, transfer device, process cartridge, and toner

A developer container has a main part accommodating a developer therein and is detachably attached to a main part of an image forming apparatus. The developer container comprises an outlet provided at a side of the developer container to discharge the developer from the developer container. An input unit is provided adjacent to the outlet and has a small-diameter portion an inside diameter of which is smaller than a diameter of the container main part wherein, when the developer container is attached to the image forming apparatus, the input unit is engaged with a drive motor of the image forming apparatus to receive a rotating force of the drive motor. A developer guiding unit causes the developer inside the developer container to be moved to the outlet beyond the small-diameter portion of the input unit by rotation of the developer container.

A charging device, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus are provided. The charging device includes a charging roller configured to charge an image carrier and a cleaning roller configured to clean the charging roller while making contact with a surface of the charging roller. The charging device further includes a bearing member including a first portion configured to rotatably support a rotational shaft of the charging roller and a second portion configured to rotatably support a rotational shaft of the cleaning roller. The charging device also includes an elastic member provided outside of the second portion of the bearing member with respect to an axial direction of the rotational shaft of the cleaning roller such that the charging roller makes contact with the image carrier when the first portion of the bearing member is pressed by the elastic member.

Charging device including charging roller and cleaning roller

A lubricant supplying device including a molded lubricant having a Martens hardness of about 40 N/mmto about 70 N/mmmeasured with a test force of 50 mN and a load-applying period of 30 seconds, a rotative member including a fibrous brush of a thickness of about 5 deniers to about 15 deniers in a circumference of a rotative supporting axis of the rotative member with a density of about 20,000 fibers to about 100,000 fibers per square inch, and configured to apply lubricant shavings of the molded lubricant to an image bearing member held in contact with a cleaning member and to remove the lubricant shavings remaining on the surface of the image bearing member, and a pressing member configured to press the molded lubricant against the rotative member at a pressure force ranging from about 2 N/m to about 12 N/m.

Method and apparatus for image forming and effectively applying lubricant to an image bearing member

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Kanagawa, Japan

Masanori Kawasumi