Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Mitsuru Ogura

Yoshiaki Ibuchi

Shougo Iwai

Takeshi Yoshida

Shoichiro Yoshiura

Naoyuki Kamei

Yoshifumi Maitani

Takashi Kubo

Masanobu Deguchi

Kunio Ohashi

Kimihide Tsukamoto

Toshiaki Kobayashi

Akira Tamagaki

Minoru Tomiyori

Yasushi Matsutomo

Keizo Fukunaga

Hiroshi Mori

Takashi Makiura

Koichi Moriyama

Tetsuya Yamaguchi

Hidenori Ohnishi

Kenji Okada

Shunichi Hayashiyama

A cleaning device is provided with a cleaning unit () disposed downstream from a position at which a toner image is transferred to a paper. The cleaning unit () is provided with a cleaning blade () for scraping off residual toner attached to an image bearing member and a toner catching sheet () for preventing the residual toner or paper dust which have been scraped off from falling outside the cleaning unit. The free length in the toner catching sheet () between affixed positions of a first end portion which is affixed to the cleaning unit () and a second end portion which abuts an outer circumferential portion of the image bearing member is determined by an amount of paper dust buildup on the outer circumferential portion of the image bearing member.

Cleaning device for an image forming apparatus

A document platen driving device is provided with an endless gear connected to a document platen, whereon a document is placed, which reciprocates. A sun gear is secured to a fixed station within a space surrounded by the endless rack, and a planetary gear meshing with the endless rack and with the sun gear is also provided within the space. The planetary gear is a double gear composed of a large gear and a small gear having different pitch circle diameters. It is arranged such that the document platen is moved forward by meshing the small gear with the endless rack, and moved backward by meshing the large gear with the endless rack. In this arrangement, the backward moving speed of the document platen can be set faster than the forward moving speed, thereby permitting a reduction of the entire time required for a copying process, especially for a successive copying process.

Document platen driving device

A document platen on which a document is placed is movably installed on the main body of a copying machine. A motor for producing a driving force is provided. An input gear to which the driving force is transmitted is located in a fixed position. A planetary gear is positioned such that it engages with and moves around the input gear. An endless gear is connected to the document platen. The endless gear has internal teeth in the form of a closed loop which engages with the planetary gear. When the planetary gear, which engages with both the input gear and the endless gear, moves around the input gear once, one reciprocating movement of the document platen is caused. With this configuration, since there is no need to provide a switching mechanism including clutches and solenoids that is used in a conventional device, the number of components is reduced, and thereby decreasing the manufacturing costs.

Driving device for a document platen and copying machine incorporating a

A method and an apparatus for the formation of images are disclosed. The method utilizes a photosensitive sheet on which image-forming areas are successively allocated. The image-forming areas are successively transported into a light-exposure section to be subjected to entire surface exposure and then into a buffer section to be temporarily stored there. Then, the storage image-forming areas are successively transported into a pressure-transfer section to be subjected to a pressure-transfer process while one of the subsequent image-forming areas is subjected to the entire surface exposure at the light-exposure section. The apparatus includes transport rollers for transporting the photosensitive sheet. The transport rollers are so located that they come into contact with the intermediate areas between the image-forming areas of the photosensitive sheet when one of the image-forming areas remains stationary at the light-exposure section to be subjected to the entire surface exposure.

Method for the formation of images and an apparatus for performing the

A method for the formation of images utilizing a plurality of optical image memories into each of which image information is written and from each of which said image information is read out sequentially to obtain image-information light that is used for the formation of images; wherein said image information written into one of said optical image memories is read out therefrom at the time when other image information is being written into another predetermined optical image memory.

Method for the simultaneous optical storage of a first image, optical

A copying machine with a charger including a charging wire for charging the surface of a photosensitive drum and a convergent optical system for forming a focused image of an original on the surface of the drum. The copying machine further includes a waste toner unit, a cleaning unit for cleaning the charging wire and optical system which consists of a first cleaning member for grasping therebetween the charging wire stretched in the charger during cleaning, and a second cleaning member kept in contact with the surface of the convergent optical system, wherein the cleaning members are supported as to be movable in a longitudinal direction of the charging wire and the convergent optical system when cleaning the charging wire and the optical system.

Image forming unit with a charger wire and optics cleaning mechanism

A pressure roller device includes upper and lower roller holders and small diameter upper and lower pressure rollers which are supported by the upper and lower roller holders, respectively. Upper and lower backup rollers, which are, respectively, provided at upper and lower sides of the upper and lower pressure rollers, remote from a point of contact of the upper and lower pressure rollers are rotatably supported by the upper and lower roller holders, respectively. The upper roller holder is rotatably supported, at one end of the upper and lower roller holders, by the lower roller holder. A pressing mechanism presses the upper roller holder against the lower roller holder, which is provided at the other end of the upper and lower roller holders, with the upper roller holder being rotated so as to be pressed against the lower roller holder, such that the upper and lower pressure rollers are brought into pressing contact with each other by the upper and lower backup rollers.

Pressure roller device

An image forming apparatus with comprises a pair of pinch rolls operable to press a web of donor sheet, supplied from a roll thereof, a receptor sheet together to accomplish an image development by an application of a pressure thereto, and an automatic loader operable to set a leader sheet, secured to a radially outermost end of the roll of donor sheet, in a sheet transport path including the pinch roll pair and then to secure the leader sheet to a take-up spool having an adhesive region formed thereon for connection with the leader sheet. The take-up spool is driven in a first direction about a longitudinal axis of the take-up spool during an automatic loading and in a second direction counter to the first direction about the longitudinal axis of the take-up spool during an image forming operation. The leader sheet has a leading end which is wound around and secured to the take-up spool then driven in the first direction, and the remainder of the leader sheet is folded backwards along a score line, defined therein, to overlay the leading end. The leading end of the leader sheet is formed with at least one through-hole for connection of the remainder of the leader sheet with the adhesive region on the take-up spoon through the through-hole after it has been folded backwards.

Image forming apparatus and leader sheet therefor

An exposure device has a bar-like lamp with a filament having luminescent and non-luminescent members connected in alternating series. A filter is disposed in the vicinity of the lamp and is composed of a plurality of filter plates arranged in a longitudinal direction of the filament. Seams between the filter plates are positioned vis-a-vis with the non-luminescent members of the filament of the lamp to reduce disturbances by the seams to the light emerging from lamp.

Exposure device with filter

An image forming apparatus comprises a carriage freely attached and removed containing a photosensitive sheet, copy paper whereon a latent image that was formed on the photosensitive sheet is transferred by pressure developing rollers, a winding shaft whereon the used photosensitive sheet is wound, a loading guide plate, capable of pivoting freely, incorporated in the carriage and installed on the opposite side of a jam processing operation section on the transportation path of the photosensitive sheet, a tension spring mounted on the loading guide plate that maintains the loading guide plate in a loading position guiding the photosensitive sheet toward the winding shaft, and in a retreat position creating a transportation path for the copy paper between the loading guide plate and a copy paper guide plate, a horizontal shaft mounted over the surface of the loading guide plate that drives the loading guide plate to a retreat position in accordance with the tension of the photosensitive sheet when the photosensitive sheet is wound on the winding shaft, a winding sensing switch that operates in response to the stretching action of the photosensitive sheet, and a contact member mounted on a member of the main body of the apparatus that drives the loading guide plate in the loading position when the loading guide plate is drawn out together with the carriage.

Image forming apparatus

A projection unit, which is mounted in a copying machine and used to project an image of a light permeable original onto a prescribed exposure point on a photosensitive material, comprising a light source for exposure in a box, an original holding means which holds the original in a prescribed position with respect to the light source and the photosensitive material and is disposed movably in the box so that the image of the original is scanned in a prescribed direction with respect to the photosensitive material, a driving means for moving the original holding means in the scanning direction, a transmission means provided between the original holding means and the driving means which is capable of moving between an engaged position in that the transmission means is coupled to the original holding means and driving means so as to transmit power of the driving means to the holding means and a disengaged position in that the transmission means is not coupled to the original holding means and the driving means, and a switching means for putting the transmission means into the engaged position or disengaged position.

Projection unit for a light permeable original in a copying machine

A method of loading a media sheet, in which after a rolled media sheet coated with photo-setting microcapsules has been mounted on a supply portion, a front end portion of the media sheet is taken up by a take-up shaft from the supply portion through a pair of pressure rollers, comprising the steps of: taking up the front end portion of the media sheet by the take-up shaft; cancelling a pressing force of the pressure rollers such that a predetermined amount of the media sheet is further taken up by the take-up shaft; and recovering the pressing force of the pressure rollers.

Method of loading media sheet

In an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the scanning operation of an original can be controlled independently from the pressing transferring operation of an image of an original, so that both the scanning speed and the pressing-transferring speed can be adjusted respectively at the optimum speed. Moreover, the suspension roller for suspending a photoreceptive sheet has a common driving source with the optical system, it is advantageous that no special driving means or no special synchronizing means for the suspension roller is needed, and manufacturing cost can be reduced with a simple easy design.

An image forming apparatus passes a photosensitive sheet between a pair of pressure rollers which are normally pressed against each other. A pressure relieving mechanism is provided so as to release the pressure between these rollers if it is detected that the photosensitive sheet is not being properly transported to the pressure rollers such that the operator can remove the cause of the abnormal condition.

An image forming apparatus has a pair of rollers normally in contact with each other. An invisible image is formed on a light-accepting sheet in the form of a roll sheet coated with microcapsules which harden when exposed to light. The image carrying sheet is kept half-way wrapped around one of these rollers and compressed between them together with an image receiving sheet such that microcapsules remaining soft are ruptured and a visible image is formed on the image receiving sheet. After each cycle of image forming processes is completed, the roll sheet is moved backward by a specified distance to reduce waste and the rollers are moved apart so that the roll sheet can correct itself if it is beginning to wrinkle or to move sideways.

Growing community of inventors

Nara, Japan

Mitsuru Ogura