Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masanori Matsuda

Satoshi Takanashi

Hiroshi Tanabe

Hiroshi Kawano

Hideaki Mochimaru

Hiroshi Fujiwara

Yasukuni Omata

Toshiaki Higaya

Kunio Hibi

Katsuhiko Miki

Norimasa Sohmiya

Mitsuru Seto

Takahiro Shinga

Katsumi Kurihara

Yuzou Kohno

The sheet feeding apparatus feeds sheet media between a feed roller and a separating member pressed into contact with the feed roller, and separates and conveys sheet media held between the feed roller and the separating member one by one by utilizing differences in frictional coefficients between the feed roller, the separating member, and the sheet media. The sheet media are separated and conveyed while periodically changing the pressurizing force of the reverse roller against the feed roller.

Method of and apparatus for feeding sheets, image formation apparatus, and method of manufacturing gears

An image forming apparatus includes a first image bearing member, a second image bearing member, and a fixing device. A first visual image formed on the first image bearing member is transferred onto the second image bearing member to be transferred from the second image bearing member onto a first side of a recording medium, and a second visual image formed on the first bearing member is transferred from the first image bearing member onto a second side of the recording medium, so that the visual images are obtained on the first and second sides of the recording medium respectively. The visual images on the first and second sides of the recording medium are fixed by the fixing device in a state that the second image bearing member and the recording medium are overlapped with each other.

Image forming apparatus and method for improving image quality of double sided prints

In an image forming apparatus, a fixing device for fixing a toner image on a paper has an oil applying member for applying oil to a heat roller, and an impurity fixing member for fixing the impurities, including toner and paper dust, to the cleaning member. The impurities transferred from the applying member to the cleaning member are fixed to the cleaning member. As a result, the applying member suffers from a minimum of contamination and can be cleaned when contaminated. This obviates the reverse transfer of the contamination from the applying roller to the heat roller which would lower image quality.

Fixing device for fixing a toner image on a transfer medium by heating

A highly reliable sheet feed device for a copier, facsimile apparatus, printer or similar image forming apparatus and having a plurality of sheet storing portions which are arranged substantially horizontally and serially in an intended direction of sheet transport. The device surely feeds sheets from the storing portions one by one and eliminate sheet jams and defective sheet feed. Further, the device is simple and miniature and capable of accommodating a plurality of kinds of sheets therein.

Sheet feed device for an image forming apparatus

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Kanagawa, Japan

Masanori Matsuda