Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Other

Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Naoki Yamane

Tatsuhiko Yoshii

Koji Murata

Naoki Mizutani

Satoru Nakamura

Takeshi Fujimura

Toshinori Muraoka

Masanobu Maeshima

Eiji Nimura

Kiyonori Yamamoto

Mitsuhiro Goda

Nariaki Tanaka

Kazuya Yamashita

Yoshihisa Tanaka

Yasuhiro Hayashi

Tsuyoshi Koyanagi

Masahiro Tsutsumi

Lin Lu

Kotaro Kawasaki

Toshio Hori

Koji Shin

Hiroaki Shiba

Shigeru Nishiyama

Shinji Ito

Koshiro Tomimori

Kohshiroh Tomimori

Akira Matayoshi

Hiromichi Ninomiya

The image forming apparatus includes a moving unit, a movable connector, a fixed connector, a wire, a fixed wire guide and a movable wire guide. The moving unit is supported by a casing in an upwardly and downwardly moving manner. The movable connector is provided in the moving unit. The fixed connector is provided in the casing. Both ends of the wire are connected to the movable connector and the fixed connector. The wire has a length longer than a distance between the movable connector and the fixed connector at lifting of the moving unit. The fixed wire guide is supported on the bottom plate of the moving unit. The movable wire guide is supported on the bottom plate of the casing. At least one of the movable wire guide and the fixed wire guide is supported rotatably.

Image forming apparatus

An inkjet recording apparatus includes a printing and conveying unit, a recording head, a raising and lowering mechanism, and a controller. The printing and conveying unit conveys a sheet with the sheet loaded on a loading surface thereof. The recording head is disposed opposite to the loading surface and ejects ink onto the sheet conveyed by the printing and conveying unit. The raising and lowering mechanism includes a wire in contact with the printing and conveying unit. The raising and lowering mechanism winds the wire to raise and lower the printing and conveying unit relative the recording head in a cross direction interesting with the loading surface. The controller controls a winding operation by which the raising and lowering mechanism winds the wire according to a degree of inclination of the wire relative to the cross direction.

Inkjet recording apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a moving unit and a lifting and lowering mechanism. The moving unit is supported by a casing in an upwardly and downwardly moving manner. A fixed pully and a winding pully are provided in the casing. A movable pulley is provided in the moving unit. A wire is configured to be wound around the fixed pulley and the movable pulley. One end of the wire is fixed to the casing and the other end of the wire is fixed to the winding pulley. A rack is provided in the casing along an upper-and-lower direction. A pinion is provided in the moving unit and configured to be engaged with the rack. The winding pulley is rotated to wind and unwind the wire via the fixed pulley and the movable pulley, and the moving unit is lifted and lowered while the pinion being engaged with the rack.

An image forming apparatus includes a head unit, a conveyance unit, a lifting and lowering mechanism, a drive source and a transmission mechanism. The head unit is provided with an inkjet head having a discharge opening through which an ink is discharged. The conveyance unit is supported in an upwardly and downwardly movable manner in directions close to and apart from the head unit from a lower side. The lifting and lowering mechanism is configured to lift and lower the conveyance unit. The drive source is configured to drive the lifting and lowering mechanism. The transmission mechanism is configured to transmit driving force from the drive source to the lifting and lowering mechanism. The transmission mechanism includes a warm gear, a warm wheel meshed with the warm gear and a resistance applying member configured to apply resistance to rotation of the warm gear.

A development device includes a developer container, a developer bearing member, a mixing/transporting member, an opening/closing member, and a drive mechanism. The developer container contains a developer. The developer bearing member is rotatably supported by the developer container. The developer bearing member also has a surface facing an image bearing member on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed. The developer is borne on the surface of the developer bearing member. The mixing/transporting member mixes and transports the developer in the developer container. The opening/closing member opens and closes a developer outlet for discharging an excess of the developer in the developer container. The drive mechanism drives the opening/closing member in association with driving of the developer bearing member or the mixing/transporting member to open the developer outlet.

Development device and image forming apparatus including the same

An image forming apparatus includes a shield case in which a circuit board mounted with an electric circuit is contained. The shield case has an electrical conductive case main body and an electrical conductive lid member. The case main body has an aperture formed in a part of one face. The lid member has one end turnably supported by the case main body and the other end fastened to the case main body by a screw when the aperture is closed. The case main body and lid member have an engaged part and an engaging part engaged with each other when the aperture is closed. The engaging part is formed so as to clamp the engaged part. The shield case is configured so that contact force between the engaging part and engaged part is increased, if the screw is rotated in a fastening direction when the aperture is closed.

Image forming apparatus including a shield case in which a circuit board mounted with an electric circuit is contained

A toner transportation device according to the present disclosure includes a transportation screw that has a rotational shaft and a transportation fin formed on an outer circumferential surface of the rotational shaft and a toner transportation pipe that has a circular shape in cross section. The transportation screw is rotatably positioned in the toner transportation pipe. A support member is attached to the rotational shaft that has a bearing portion having an annular shape and rotatably fitted onto the rotational shaft and that has a plurality of leg portions radially protruding outward from an outer circumferential surface of the bearing portion. A distance between an axis of the rotational shaft and a tip of each leg portion is greater than a radius of the transportation fin and equal to or less than a radius of an inner circumferential surface of the toner transportation pipe.

Toner transportation device and image forming apparatus equipped with the same

A film member in a development device can vibrate with respect to an internal wall in the development device. An idler gear in the development device includes a projection and is reciprocally movable between a first position and a second position. The first position is a position where the projection is apart from an end edge of the film member in response to a rotation of a toner supply roller when image formation is performed. The second position is a position where the projection overlaps with the end edge of the film member in response to a reverse rotation of the toner supply roller when image formation is not performed. The projection causes the film member to vibrate by intermittently coming into contact with the end edge of the film member along with a rotation of the idler gear at the second position.

A toner conveying device of the present disclosure includes a conveying screw, a toner conveying pipe, and a plurality of convex portions that are formed on an inner wall surface of the toner conveying pipe. The conveying screw has a rotary shaft and a conveying vane that is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft. The toner conveying pipe has a circular section, and the conveying screw is rotatably disposed inside the toner conveying pipe. Each of the convex portions is formed within an area defined by half the circumference along the inner wall surface of the toner conveying pipe and supports the conveying screw so that an axial center of the rotary shaft substantially coincides with a center axis of the toner conveying pipe.

Toner conveying device and image forming apparatus including the same

A toner case includes a main body that contains toner, a discharge port located in the main body through which toner is discharged, an agitating unit rotatably positioned in the main body for agitating the toner, a transportation unit rotatably positioned in the main body for transporting the toner toward the discharge port, and a driving unit that drives the transportation unit and the agitating unit. The driving unit is rotatable forward and backward. When the driving unit rotates in one rotation direction, the agitating unit and the transportation unit rotate. When the driving unit rotates in the other rotation direction, the transportation unit does not rotate and the agitating unit rotates in the same direction as a direction in which the agitating unit rotates when the driving unit rotates in the one rotation direction.

Image forming apparatus having rotatable member drive mechanism in toner case

A toner transportation device includes a first toner case that contains toner; a second toner case including a main body containing toner transported from the first toner case, a second discharge port located in the main body that discharges toner, and a second transportation unit rotatably positioned in the main body, and that transports toner to the second discharge port; a second driving unit that drives the second transportation unit; a detecting unit that detects the number of rotations of the second transportation unit and outputs a rotation detection signal; and a control unit that estimates the amount of toner remaining in the first toner case based on an accumulated number of rotations represented by the rotation detection signal.

Toner transportation device, image forming apparatus, and method of detecting the amount of toner remaining

A toner transportation device includes a toner case and a drive section. The toner case includes a main body containing toner, and an agitating unit rotatably mounted in the main body that agitates the toner. The drive section includes a driving unit driving the agitating unit, a detection unit detecting a driving unit driving state, and a control unit able to transmit a drive instruction signal to the driving unit and receive a detection signal regarding the driving unit driving state from the detection unit. The control unit determines whether the toner case is in an overload state in accordance with a detection signal reception state. The control unit performs a retry control, causing the driving unit to repeatedly rotate the agitating unit forward and backward when the control unit determines that the toner case is in an overload state.

Toner transportation device, toner case, image forming apparatus, and method of controlling toner transportation device

An image forming apparatus includes: a storage container which horizontally stores a waste toner; a full detection sensor which detects whether the waste toner reaches a full position; a near detection sensor which detects whether the waste toner reaches a near position; and a conveyance portion which is provided inside the storage container, includes an axial rod, and rotates about the axial rod, wherein the conveyance portion includes: a first spiral protrusion which conveys the waste toner to the near position; a second spiral protrusion which conveys the waste toner from the near position to the full position; and a third range which is provided between the first spiral protrusion and the second spiral protrusion and through which the waste toner passes at a speed lower than the conveyance speed of the first spiral protrusion and the second spiral protrusion.

A toner-remaining-amount detection sensor includes a rubber member, an actuator, a transmission sensor, and a holder member which integrally holds the rubber member, the actuator, and the transmission sensor. The actuator is supported by the holder member so as to move to a first position at which the transmission sensor detects that a toner remaining amount in a toner storage container is a predetermined amount or more when a toner pressure in the toner storage container acts on the rubber member, and to move to a second position at which the transmission sensor detects that the toner remaining amount in the toner storage container falls below the predetermined amount when the toner pressure in the toner storage container does not act on the rubber member. When the actuator is at the second position, the actuator partially comes into contact with the holder member so that a gap is formed between the actuator and the rubber member.

Toner-remaining-amount detection sensor and toner storage container provided therewith

An image forming apparatus is provided with an image bearing member for bearing a toner image while rotating, a toner image forming device for forming the toner image on the image bearing member, a neutralizer for neutralizing electric charges on the image bearing member by irradiating light to the charged image bearing member after the toner image formed on the rotating image bearing member is transferred to a transfer material, and a frame for supporting the neutralizer. A first clearance is present between the neutralizer and the frame.

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Osaka, Japan

Naoki Yamane