Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Sharp Corporation

Masaru Tsuji

Atsuyuki Katoh

Yoshitaka Matsumoto

Yoshinobu Tateishi

Yasuaki Fukada

Keizo Fukunaga

Toyokazu Mori

Syoichiro Yoshiura

Kazuhiro Matsuyama

Hiroshi Tachiki

Kimihide Tsukamoto

Eiichi Kido

Osamu Fujimoto

Toshiya Mikita

Yuhi Yui

Yoshinori Shiraishi

Hidetoshi Kaneko

Itaru Kawabata

Hiroaki Yoshida

Yoshiya Kinoshita

Yuji Sugimoto

Shinji Imagawa

Kenji Sugimura

Yoshikazu Kawasaki

Toshiaki Kagawa

Toshio Yamanaka

Hiroshi Kida

Toyoaki Nanba

Junya Masuda

Jinichi Nagata

Takahiro Fukunaga

Atsushi Ide

Shoichiro Yoshiura

Toshihide Ohgoshi

Tadasu Taniguchi

Haruo Nishiyama

Shunju Anzai

Yuhi Akagawa

Yasunori Minakuchi

Hidenobu Mandai

Yoshikazu Kondoh

Kouzou Yamaguchi

Hideo Yoshikawa

Shinichi Azumi

Masanobu Yamamoto

Mitsuyoshi Terada

Masaki Saka

Hiroshige Araki

Akira Nakashima

Kouji Yamaji

Koji Wakamoto

Yoshinori Ohtsuka

Naoyuki Yamane

Takashi Sugito

Atsushi Kadoya

Masayuki Nagatani

Syunju Anzai

Hideki Umeda

Atsuyuki Kato

Hideki Gotoh

Yoshikazu Kondo

An image forming apparatus comprises a main body, a post-processing device, an objective working section, a light source and a shade member. The post-processing device is disposed freely displaceable between a retracted position at which it is received by an intra-body paper discharge section of the main body and a protruded position at which it is drawn to one side face side. The objective working section is disposed on an upstream side face of the post-processing device in the drawing direction of the post-processing device. The light source is disposed on the upstream side face of the post-processing device, and lights up the objective working section at the protruded position. The shade member is disposed on the upstream side face of the post-processing device and in the front face side from the light source, and blocks direct projection light of the light source to the front face side.

Image forming apparatus provided with post-processing device

Disclosed is a paper feeding device () including: a paper stacking tray () that carries thereon stacked sheets of printing paper and moves up/down along a stacking direction of the sheets of printing paper; a paper transport member (e.g., paper transport belts ()) that sucks and transports a sheet of printing paper from the paper stacking tray (); a separation fan () that generates an air flow separating the printing paper stacked on the paper stacking tray (); an air sucking fan () that generates an air flow sucking a sheet of printing paper stacked on the paper stacking tray (); and a relay duct () that guides air coming out of the air sucking fan () to the separation fan (). The relay duct () extends along a straight line from an air outlet () of the air sucking fan () to an air inlet () of the separation fan ().

Paper feeding device and image forming device

A paper feed device includes a paper stacking shelf, a paper trailing edge guide that regulates a position of a paper bundle, a contact member that is disposed on the paper trailing edge guide, and a position switch portion that moves the contact member to either a withdrawn away position or a contact position with respect to an upper face of the paper bundle. The position switch portion is provided with a rod that is moved in conjunction with an operation for causing the paper feed device to be pulled out from and pushed into the accommodation space, and a rotatable member that is rotated in conjunction with the movement of the rod. The position switch portion supports the contact member, and causes the contact member to be rotationally moved to either the withdrawn away position or the contact position in conjunction with the rotation of the rotatable member.

Paper feed device and image forming apparatus provided with the same

Air is taken in through air holes of a paper transfer belt and through air inlets of an air intake duct, and a recording sheet of paper is sucked onto front surfaces of the paper transfer belts, forming the recording sheet of paper into a curved (waved) shape along the front surfaces of the paper transfer belts.

Feeder and image forming apparatus provided with the feeder

A discharge tray apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is a discharge tray apparatus wherein a plurality of sheets of recording paper that have been successively transported at a fixed speed and a fixed interval, discharged from a discharge opening, and have landed on a discharge tray, are received and placed onto the discharge tray, the discharge tray apparatus being provided with a discharge tray moving means that performs a tray shift operation that moves the discharge tray in a horizontal direction approximately perpendicular to the discharge direction, such that after a preceding paper successively transported earlier has been placed on the discharge tray, a succeeding paper succeedingly transported after the preceding paper is placed at a position different from the placement position of the preceding paper on the discharge tray. This discharge tray moving means performs the tray shift operation with a decelerating movement that reduces the movement speed of the discharge tray just before movement of the discharge tray stops.

Discharge tray apparatus

A post-processing device includes an introductory feed path, a processing tray, a post-processing section, a catch tray, a sheet delivery section, and a control section. The post-processing section is configured to perform post-processing on the sheet placed on the processing tray. The catch tray is disposed below the processing tray. The sheet delivery section has an upper rotary member and a lower rotary member which are disposed at an end of the processing tray lying on a catch tray side so as to be movable toward and away from each other. The control section causes the upper rotary member and the lower rotary member to press against each other at latest by the time a leading edge of a first sheet of a group of sheets to be post-processed at a time is brought into contact with the catch tray.

Post-processing device and image forming apparatus provided with the same

A paper discharge apparatus that sequentially discharges paper through a discharge outlet, stacks and stores the paper is provided, the apparatus includes: a discharge tray including a fixed tray that is fixedly disposed spaced apart from the discharge outlet, and a swing tray that is disposed between the fixed tray and the discharge outlet and that is axially supported so as to be capable of swinging at or near an end portion of the fixed tray; and a drive control unit that controls an angle of inclination of a surface of the swing tray with respect to a surface of the fixed tray by swinging the swing tray. In this paper discharge apparatus, paper discharged from the discharge outlet is received on the fixed tray and the swing tray of the discharge tray.

Paper discharge apparatus, post-processing apparatus, and image forming apparatus

In one embodiment, a charge removal member, which removes static electricity built up on paper waste, is disposed in a collecting containerused for collecting the punch wastegenerated by punching transported paper. The charge removal memberis disposed in an open top portion of the collecting container, in a location corresponding to a hole-punching punchdisposed in the punching unit, with a proximal end portionof the charge removal membersupported by the collecting containerand the distal end portion of the charge removal memberforming charge removal comb-shaped needlesextending towards the central portion of the collecting container.

Punching apparatus

A transport roller is provided in a transport path in order to transport paper, the transport roller transporting the paper downstream in the transport path by making contact with the paper, and At least one contact portion that makes contact with the paper is provided in the transport roller. The contact portion is deformable in a direction that releases pressing force received from the paper when transporting the paper.

Transport roller, transport mechanism, and image forming apparatus

In a sheet detecting sensor, light emitted from a linear light emitting element is blocked by a sheet from entering a light receiving element which is located immediately below the sheet. Only light receiving elements which are not immediately below the sheet, receive light from the linear light emitting element. Light passing through a point in a vicinity of an edge portion of the sheet enters only a light receiving element which is located immediately below that point, but not the other light receiving elements. In addition, even when the position of a sheet varies vertically, the same light receiving element receives light passing through the same point in a vicinity of the edge portion of the sheet. Therefore, even when the position of a sheet varies vertically, the edge position of the sheet can be accurately detected.

Sheet detecting apparatus and image forming apparatus

A switchback transport mechanism includes a first transport section, a second transport section, a third transport section, and a transport control section. The first transport section applies propelling force to a sheet in the guiding path. The second transport section applies propelling force to a sheet in the ejecting path. The third transport section has a first transport member and a second transport member placed so as to be attached to and detached from each other. The third transport section selectively applies propelling forces in a frontward direction and a backward direction to a sheet in the switchback transport path through the first and second transport members. The transport control section controls operations of the first, second, and third transport sections. The transport control section detaches the first and second transport members from each other in a time period when no sheet is being transported by the third transport section.

Switchback transport mechanism and image forming apparatus provided therewith

In the present applying mechanism, a part of a guide sheetbulges (arches) away from an oil application roller, with respect to a vertical line S passing through the center of a pipe. In other words, in the present applying mechanism, a part of the guide sheethas a shape of avoiding (bypassing) the oil application rollerthat has a high temperature. With this, oil flowing on the guide sheetis kept away from the high-temperature oil application roller. The present applying mechanism can include an edge, or gap, in the guide sheetfor backing-up flow of oil to before the application roller in order to ensure even distribution of the oil to the application roller. The present applying mechanism can include a narrow gap between the pipeand guide sheet

Releasing agent applying mechanism, fixing device, and printing apparatus

A fixing apparatus of the present invention is provided with (i) a roller, to which releaser gets applied (ii) a releaser applying member for applying the releaser on the roller by touching the roller while the roller is rotating, and (iii) a releaser dripping section for dripping the releaser to be applied on the roller by the releaser applying section, the fixing apparatus further including a guiding member for receiving the releaser dripped from the releaser dripping section, and for guiding, along a surface thereof, a certain amount of a total amount of the thus received releaser to a touch position at which the releaser applying member touches the roller. With this arrangement, it is possible to provide a fixing apparatus in which reduction in the amount of the releaser to be applied on the roller is avoided so as to surely prevent the toner offset and the jamming in the convey path, even if toner and/or debris is adhered, as a result of long use of the image forming apparatus, on the touch position at which the releaser applying member for applying the releaser touches the roller to which the releaser applying member applies the releaser.

Fixing apparatus with guiding member for guiding releaser

By application of a voltage from a power source, a transfer roller carries out both transfers of (A) a first transfer for transferring a toner image on a photoreceptor to an intermediate transfer medium and (B) a second transfer for transferring overlapped color toner image on the intermediate transfer medium at once onto a recording sheet. A transfer voltage in accordance with, for example, a sheet thickness, as detected by sheet type detection of a sheet type detecting section is applied to the transfer roller in each stage. When the sheet type detecting section detects that the recording sheet is longer than a periphery of a fixing belt, a heater lamp is turned on in advance at any instant between a time when the recording sheet is brought into contact with the fixing roller and a time when the fixing roller completes one rotation, taking into consideration a time required for conduction of heat from the heater lamp to the fixing belt. As a result, it is possible to reduce ozone generated and make the device compact, and desirable transfer characteristics in accordance with a sheet type are obtained, thus realizing uniform fixing of an unfixed toner image onto the recording sheet, from the front end to the rear end.

Image forming apparatus having improved image transfer characteristics

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Masaru Tsuji