Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Naoki Ohta

Tomonori Tanaka

Mitsutaka Iwasaki

Yuuto Watanabe

Takuro Hoshio

Nagahito Ichijo

Kenji Inoue

Satoshi Shigezaki

Minoru Rokutan

Taketoshi Hoshizaki

Taichi Yamada

Makoto Takemoto

Fumio Ojima

Hiroyuki Miura

Tomohide Takenaka

Keita Sone

Yuichi Yashiki

Junichi Tomonaga

Hideyuki Akagi

Hiroyuki Fukuda

Yasushi Sakata

Yoshihiro Maekawa

Noboru Wada

Masayuki Takei

Keiko Ono

Yoshinori Kubo

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image forming units, an exposure device, and circuitry. Each image forming unit includes an image bearer, a charger, and a developer bearer. The circuitry acquires an image-density cycle fluctuation in a visible image for each image forming unit and performs image-density fluctuation-reduction control to cyclically change image forming conditions to reduce the image-density cycle fluctuation. The circuitry performs: first fluctuation-reduction control to correct a developing bias to cancel an image-density cycle fluctuation of a high-density image pattern; second fluctuation-reduction control to, after the first fluctuation-reduction control, correct a charging bias to cancel an image-density cycle fluctuation of a first low-density image pattern; and third fluctuation-reduction control to, after the first and second fluctuation-reduction controls, correct an exposure light amount to cancel an image-density cycle fluctuation of a second low-density image pattern.

Image forming apparatus to perform phase matching control to match phases of image-density cycle fluctuations

An image processing device includes an external memory interface to write image data to an image memory, and an inclination correction circuit. The inclination correction circuit generates coordinate information based on inclination information, detects, from the coordinate information, a minimum sub-scanning coordinate in each of divided areas of the image data, generates first read addresses for reading the divided areas of the image data from the image memory based on the minimum sub-scanning coordinate, reads the divided areas of the image data from the image memory based on the first read addresses, writes the divided areas of the image data to an internal memory, generates second read addresses for reading the divided areas of the image data from the internal memory based on the coordinate information, and reads the divided areas of the image data from the internal memory based on the second read addresses.

Image processing device, image forming apparatus, image processing method, and non-transitory recording medium to correct an inclination of image data in the image memory relative to an output medium

An image processing device includes a writing circuit to write image data to a first memory, a second memory with a capacity of lines, a coordinate generating circuit to generate coordinate information based on inclination information, a deviation calculating circuit to calculate a maximum deviation amount of the image data from the coordinate information, a division number calculating circuit to calculate a division number based on the number of the lines and the deviation amount, an address generating circuit to generate an address for reading each of divided areas of the image data from the first memory, a burst length calculating circuit to calculate a burst length based on the division number and a main scanning width of the image data, and a transferring circuit to read and burst-transfer the image data from the first memory to the second memory based on the address and the burst length.

Image processing device for correcting skew deviation, image forming apparatus, image processing method for correcting skew deviation, and non-transitory recording medium

An image processing device includes a writing circuit to write image data to an image memory and detect a write line number, a coordinate generating circuit to generate coordinate information based on inclination information, detect a minimum sub-scanning coordinate in each of divided areas of the image data, and generate first read addresses for reading the divided areas from the image memory, a reading circuit to read the divided areas from the image memory and detect a read line number, a reading control circuit to bring the reading circuit into a standby state and cancel the standby state, and a memory control circuit to generate write addresses for writing the divided areas to a memory, sequentially write the read divided areas to the memory, generate second read addresses for reading the divided areas from the memory, and sequentially read the divided areas from the memory.

Adjusting image data using divided areas

An electrostatic charging member includes a base material; and an outermost layer that contains a porous filler and a resin and has a gel fraction of at least about 50% and a surface roughness Rz in a range of about 2 &#x3bc;m to about 20 &#x3bc;m.

Electrostatic charging member, electrostatic charging device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

There is provided a charging member cleaning roller including: a core body; and an elastic layer that is provided on a peripheral surface of the core body and includes a polyurethane foam obtained from at least a polyester polyol, a foam stabilizer, and a catalyst. Moreover, there is provided a charging member cleaning roller including: a core body; and an elastic layer that is provided on a peripheral surface of the core body and includes a urethane foam having an open-cell structure, a resilience of approximately 15% to 30%, and a hardness of approximately 150N to 230N.

Charging member cleaning roller, charging member cleaning roller for charging device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus including a toner accumulating member disposed nearer to the housing than the cleaning blade and the lower seal are, wherein the toner accumulating member accumulates the toner at a tip of the cleaning blade, the toner accumulating member has at least one opening, and the following condition is satisfied: 0%&#x3c;S(O)/S(C)&#x2266;50%, wherein S(O) is a total opening area obtained by summing areas of all openings, and S(C) is an area of a rectangle defined by two sides having the same length as a length of the cleaning blade in its longitudinal direction and two sides having the same length as a distance between the lower end of the toner accumulating member and a position at the same height on the toner accumulating member as the lower end of the cleaning blade.

Image forming apparatus using electrophotography and process cartridge

A gateway apparatus includes facsimile and Internet communications mechanisms, a memory, and a communications controller. The facsimile communications mechanism receives facsimile communications protocols and facsimile information from a calling facsimile apparatus through the telephone network. The Internet communications mechanism transmits the facsimile information in a packet format to a called facsimile apparatus via a different gateway apparatus through the Internet and the telephone network. The memory stores data representing a calling facsimile number of the calling facsimile apparatus in association with a called facsimile number of the called facsimile apparatus. The communications controller determines before establishing a line connection whether the facsimile number of the calling facsimile apparatus is registered. The communications controller causes the different gateway apparatus to initiate a call to the called facsimile apparatus using the called facsimile number when the facsimile number of the calling facsimile apparatus is determined as registered. The communications controller establishes a line connection upon a receipt of an acknowledgement indicating the line is connectable.

Method and apparatus for facsimile transmission capable of effectively decreasing communication costs

A communications terminal which is coupled to a local area network and a public switched telephone network includes a first communications device transmitting and receiving an image or a text through the local area network using a first communications procedure and a second communications device transmitting and receiving facsimile image through the public switched telephone network using a second communications procedure. The communications terminal further includes a controller and a memory. The controller performs an information relay operation for relaying an image, sent from a facsimile terminal, to a data terminal. The controller further performs another information relay operation for relaying an image or a text, sent from a data terminal, to a facsimile terminal. The memory stores a data base which cumulatively retains a plurality of communications history files associated with the respective information relay operations and a communications history report page including data of the communications history files of the data base. The controller controls to transfer the communications history report page of the first data base to a data terminal when the data terminal selects the communications history report page using a page browsing procedure.

Apparatus and method of allowing user to browse history of relay transmission on data terminal

A developing sleeve for electrophotography is disclosed which has a coating film comprising electroconductive and preferably lubricating particles dispersed in an acrylic resin in which the content of components having a molecular weight lower than 500 is not higher than 3% by weight. The developing sleeve is effective in preventing development ghosts while preventing toner dusting during transfer from becoming worse and has a small environmental dependence of developing properties.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Naoki Ohta