Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Naohiro Funada

Shingo Nishizaki

Yuji Ikeda

Ryo Takenaka

Yusuke Ozaki

Masashi Satoh

Daisuke Inoue

Hiroshi Seo

Jun Okamoto

Hiroshi Adachi

Yutaka Naitoh

Seiji Saitoh

Natsuko Ishizuka

Toshiharu Hachisuka

Kazushi Takei

Tomohide Kondoh

Junichi Shimoda

Takuya Kemmochi

Yutaka Aso

Tomoo Asami

Yuu Wakabayashi

Masao Katoh

Kengo Tanaka

Masashi Hommi

Sumihiro Inokuchi

Norio Muraishi

Masaki Karakawa

A fixing device includes at least one temperature detector and a device-side connector. The at least one temperature detector is configured to detect a temperature of the fixing device. The device-side connector is configured to transmit a temperature detection signal from the at least one temperature detector to an image forming apparatus body by mutual contact between a terminal of the device-side connector and a terminal of a body-side connector of the image forming apparatus body. A lead wire of the at least one temperature detector is branched into a plurality of wires connected to the device-side connector.

Fixing device including at least one temperature detector and a device-side connector and image forming apparatus including same

A wiring board includes a substrate, a connector on the substrate, and at least one monolithic ceramic capacitor including a pair of electrodes and mounted at a mounting angle on the substrate. The connector has an insertion-removal position at which a stress starts in insertion and removal of a counterpart connector into and from the connector. When a first line segment connects centers of the electrodes in a plan view, and a second line segment connects a center of the insertion-removal position and a center of the first line segment in the plan view, the mounting angle is an angle between the first line segment and the second line segment and is from 0 to 90 degrees. The mounting angle is from 0 to 5 degrees or from 85 to 90 degrees in an area within 10 mm from a periphery of the connector on the substrate.

Wiring board

A fixing device includes a fixing member, at least one temperature detector, and a device-side drawer connector. The at least one temperature detector is configured to detect a temperature of the fixing member, the at least one temperature detector including a plurality of lead wires. The device-side drawer connector has a terminal portion configured to fit with a terminal portion of a body-side drawer connector of an image forming apparatus body to connect the plurality of lead wires of the at least one temperature detector to the image forming apparatus body. The device-side drawer connector is configured to branch a signal wire of the plurality of lead wires of the at least one temperature detector into a plurality of systems. A plurality of earth wires of the plurality of lead wires of the at least one temperature detector is short-circuited to each other.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including same

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a driver, an image forming device, a sensor, and circuitry. The driver drives and rotates the image bearer. The image forming device forms a toner image on the image bearer driven and rotated by the driver. The sensor emits light to the image bearer and receives reflected light. The circuitry controls the driver and the image forming device to form a first toner image with a first color and a second toner image with a second color different from the first color. The circuitry controls the sensor to detect specularly reflected light and diffusely reflected light from the first toner image and the second toner image. The circuitry calculates an amount of misalignment of the first toner image and the second toner image based on a value of the specularly reflected light and a value of the diffusely reflected light.

Image forming apparatus, image forming method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image forming unit, a toner image detecting unit, and a detection processing unit. The image bearer is configured to bear a toner image. The image forming unit is configured to sequentially form groups of pattern images for a plurality of colors in a sub-scanning direction of the image bearer, each of the groups including pattern images of the same color at a predetermined interval. The toner image detecting unit is configured to detect the pattern images formed on the image bearer. The detection processing unit is configured to recognize whether an interval between adjacent pattern images of the same color corresponds to a set interval, to exclude an image for which the interval does not correspond to the set interval among the detected pattern images.

Image forming apparatus and pattern detection method by image forming apparatus

A powder detector includes a driver to drive a motor, a stirrer to stir powder in a vessel, a vibration plate disposed in the vessel and vibrated by a flip of the stirrer rotated by the motor, and circuitry. The circuitry detects a vibration of the vibration plate, estimates an amount of powder based on a detection result of the vibration, and causes the driver to drive the motor from a starting point, so as to move the stirrer to a preset halt position. The starting point is a rotation angle of the motor on detection of the vibration.

Powder detector, control method of same, and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A sheet thickness detector incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes a sheet conveying member to rotate and convey a sheet in a sheet conveyance direction, a driven sheet conveying member to contact the sheet conveying member and form at least one first transfer nip therebetween in a lateral direction and to displace by an amount equivalent to a thickness of the sheet passing through the first transfer nip and rotated with the sheet conveying member in the sheet conveyance direction, a displacement member to contact the sheet conveying member and form a second transfer nip smaller than the first transfer nip in the lateral direction and to displace by an amount equivalent to the thickness of the sheet passing through the second transfer nip and supported at a support member, and a displacement amount detector to detect an amount of displacement of the displacement member.

Sheet thickness detector and image forming apparatus including same

A sheet thickness detecting device for detecting a thickness of a sheet includes a fixed roller rotatably supported by a shaft so that the fixed roller faces the sheet; a movable roller rotatably provided so that the movable roller and the fixed roller sandwich and feed the sheet, and configured to be displaced in accordance with the thickness of the sandwiched sheet; a swing member rotatably supporting the movable roller and including a shaft so that the swing member is swung around the shaft, wherein the swing member further includes a detection target part formed in a manner that a distance between the detection target part and the shaft is greater than that between a position where the movable roller is supported by the swing member and the shaft; and a detecting unit detecting the displacement amount of the detection target part of the swing member.

Sheet thickness detecting device, feeding device, and image forming apparatus

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Kanagawa, Japan

Naohiro Funada