Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Ryoichi Matsushima

Toshitaka Iwago

Hirofumi Kondo

Yoichi Horaguchi

Yasuhiro Kato

Masayoshi Hayashi

Masato Sueyasu

Reiko Toyama

Takashi Ohama

Shigeharu Katayama

Kazuhiro Hoshiya

Yoshinori Osakabe

Makoto Hattori

Yasuo Tamaru

Michifumi Ishigami

Kazutoshi Nakamura

Nobuhiko Suzuki

Shusaku Tsusaka

Hiroyuki Shingai

Takuro Kusama

Kotaro Kurokawa

Takaaki Mukai

Masanori Hamaguchi

Hiroshi Uchigashima

An image forming apparatus that utilizes a communication device is disclosed. A communication unit of a housing which corresponds to an antenna portion is provided at a position at which the communication unit can be seen without obstruction from the upper side. A communication device such as a smartphone can be brought close to or into contact with the communication unit readily. Accordingly, wireless communication between the antenna portion and the communication device can be established.

Image forming apparatus including antenna in cover

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus which utilizes a communication device is disclosed. A communication unit of a housing which corresponds to an antenna portion is provided at a position at which the communication unit can be seen without obstruction from the upper side. A communication device such as a smartphone can be brought close to or into contact with the communication unit readily. Accordingly, wireless communication between the antenna portion and the communication device can be established.

According to aspects of the invention, there is provided a multi-function device, which is provided with a housing, an image forming unit accommodated in the housing, and an image scanning unit arranged above the housing. The housing includes a frame supporting the image forming unit, the image scanning unit being secured to the frame and an outer cover attached to outside the frame to form a side wall of the housing. The continuous surfaces extending in an up-and-down direction are defined by at least part of side walls of the image scanning unit and at least part of the outer cover, and first grip portions having first grip faces, which extend from the continuous surfaces toward inside of the image scanning unit, are provided on the side walls of the image scanning unit.

Multi-function device with image scanning unit and grip portion

Image forming apparatus with communication device

A sheet conveying device to convey a sheet in a sheet path is provided. The sheet conveying device includes a separator roller, which is arranged to be rotatably in contact with the sheet to apply conveying force to the sheet, a pad assembly including a separator pad, which is arranged to be in contact with the sheet stack to apply convey resistance to the sheet stack, and a holder, which is swingably attached to a base member and holds the separator pad, the base member being in a fixed position with respect to the separator roller, a spring, which urges the pad assembly toward the separator roller, and a slidable member, which is attached to the pad assembly to be integrally movable with the pad assembly and to be slidably in contact with a first slidable section in the base member.

Sheet conveying device

There is provided an automatic document feeder, comprising: a document tray; an output tray; a movable ejection flap configured to be movable between a first position where the document for which the image reading is finished is sunk into a position between the output tray and a bottom of a stacked document already staked on the output tray and a second position where the document is ejected on the output tray without being sunk into the position; a setting unit configured to set the movable flap to one of the first position and the second position; a change unit configured to change a position of the movable flap to the second position in response to a fact that a predetermined condition is satisfied in a state where the position of the movable flap has been set to the first position through the setting unit.

Automatic document feeder and image reading device

A document feeder includes a feed tray, a catch tray, a carrying path extending from the feed tray to the catch tray via a scanning position, a reversal path diverging from a point on the carrying path downstream relative to the scanning position and connecting to a point on the carrying path upstream relative to the scanning position, a switchback mechanism conveying a sheet back to front from the reversal path toward the scanning point, an ejection mode switching mechanism having a flap provided upstream relative to the catch tray movably relative to an ejection roller, the ejection mode switching mechanism switching an ejection mode by moving the flap between a first mode to eject the sheets on already-ejected sheets and a second mode to insert the sheets under already-ejected sheets. The flap forms part of the reversal path in the first mode.

Document feeder and document scanning device provided with the same

A document scanning device, configured to sequentially eject and insert sheets under a stack of already-ejected sheets, includes a feed tray, a document table, a catch tray, a feeder feeding sheets from the feed tray to the catch tray, a scanner performing scanning in one of a first mode to scan the sheets fed by the feeder and a second mode to scan a sheet placed on the document table, an ejection detector detecting a sheet on the catch tray, and a controller. In response to an instruction to start the scanning, the controller forbids the scanner to start the scanning when determining with the ejection detector that a sheet is on the catch tray, and allows the scanner to start the scanning in a selected one of the first mode and the second mode when determining with the ejection detector that no sheet is on the catch tray.

Document scanning device

A document feeder includes a sheet tray loaded with sheets stacked thereon in a predetermined direction, a pickup unit pulling in sheets on the sheet tray and feed the sheets, a separation unit that separates a sheet from the sheets fed through the pickup unit and feeds the separated sheet, so as to convey the sheets sequentially on a sheet-by-sheet basis, and a guide unit that forms a carrying path extending from the sheet tray to the separation unit. The guide unit has an entrance portion provided at a side of the sheet tray relative to the separation unit, as an entrance of the sheets on the sheet tray into the carrying path. The carrying path has a longer length in the predetermined direction at a downstream side in a sheet carrying direction relative to the entrance portion than a length in the predetermined direction of the entrance portion.

Document feeder and image scanning device provided with the same

An automatic document feeder (ADF), which is capable of feeding a document for double-sided reading, includes an input tray, an output tray, which are vertically arranged, a U-shaped document feed path, which is made up of an upper portion, a curved portion, and a lower portion, feeding rollers disposed in the document feed path, a bidirectional feed path connected to a connection position, a bidirectional feed roller provided in the bidirectional feed path, a bypass connecting a branch position and the connection position, and an ADF cover, which is rotatable with respect to an ADF frame. A paper jam is readily cleared with a simple structure and reasonable cost.

Automatic document feeder

A high-voltage circuit board and a main circuit board are arranged on the outer side surface of a left frame, and a conveyance path is provided so as to downwardly incline from a feed position near the uppermost part of the outer peripheral surface of a paper feed roller, toward an image formation position. Thus, the height position of an image forming section within a body casing can be lowered. As a result, the height of a laser printer can be made lower.

Image forming apparatus having power circuit board arranged on side thereof

Feeding systems for documents or other sheet materials include: (a) an inlet; (b) an outlet; (c) a feed path extending between the inlet and outlet; and (d) a feed system that moves materials along the feed path. The systems further may include: (e) a bidirectional feed path extending from the feed path; (f) a supply system that moves materials to the feed path; (g) a bidirectional drive system that moves materials along the bidirectional feed path; and/or (h) a bidirectional feed path access control system. Drive systems may be provided for driving the feed system and at least one of the supply system, the bidirectional drive system, and/or the access control system such that operation of the feed system is independent of operation of the other systems and/or such that a single motor may be used to drive any or all of the systems.

Document or sheet material feeder

A document feeder includes a document feed unit that feeds a document along a document feed path extending from a document loading section to a document output section via a scanning position. The document feed unit includes a first feed roller pair nipping and feeding a document opposed to the scanning position at a position downstream in a feed direction from the scanning position, and a second feed roller pair nipping and feeding the document fed by the first feed roller pair at a document feed speed higher than that of the first feed roller pair at a position downstream in the feed direction from the first feed roller pair.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Ryoichi Matsushima