Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Sony Corporation

Satoru Hori

Koji Miyake

Kensuke Nakajima

Yuji Aoshima

Kazuhiro Saito

Takashi Yokokawa

Toshiyuki Miyauchi

Naoki Yoshimochi

Yosuke Ninomiya

Naohisa Fujita

Satoru Furuya

Takashi Horiguti

Shun Ikeura

Hidetoshi Kawauchi

Atsuna Saiki

Yasuhiro Iida

Toyohiko Awano

Takashi Nakazawa

Naomasa Okimura

Kiyoshi Sakoh

Manabu Ono

TaeSung Kim

Akitoshi Akaike

Takeshi Kawamura

Keita Asahina

Takafumi Yoneyama

Naoyuki Iwata

An imaging system includes a belt roller extending in an axial direction, an endless belt to rotate about the belt roller, a steering roller located inside the endless belt and extending in the axial direction, a steering roller actuator located at an end portion of the belt roller in the axial direction to contact the endless belt, and a support. The steering roller actuator is displaceable in the axial direction in response to a shifting of the endless belt so as to tilt the steering roller with respect to the axial direction. The support supports the endless belt in a gap formed between the belt roller and the steering roller actuator when the steering roller actuator is displaced in the axial direction.

Imaging system with steering roller actuator

An imaging system includes a transfer belt that is rotatable, a transfer roller that contacts the transfer belt, and a conductive device that contacts a surface of the transfer roller, to supply a bias to the transfer roller. The transfer roller has a hollow portion.

Imaging system with transfer roller

An imaging apparatus includes a transfer belt, a transfer roller, a conductive roller, and a power source. The transfer roller includes a metal shaft electrically floating during an imaging operation. The conductive roller has an electrical resistance lower than an electrical resistance of the transfer roller. The power source is electrically connected to the conductive roller, and the power source includes a first supply path to supply a first electrical bias to the conductive roller during an imaging operation and a second supply path to supply a second electrical bias to the transfer roller during a cleaning operation.

Imaging apparatus including power source to supply electrical bias to transfer roller and conductive device

A transfer device includes a transfer roller, a power source and a switch device. The transfer roller may transfer an image formed on an image carrier to a transfer medium in an imaging apparatus. The transfer roller includes a rotation shaft including a conductive material, and a ion conductive member disposed around the rotation shaft. The power source may generate a transfer voltage. The switch device may selectively connect, during rotation of the transfer roller, a power-feed path from the power source to the transfer roller, among a plurality of power-feed paths based on whether the image is being transferred or not being transferred, to thereby reverse the direction of an electric field applied by the transfer voltage to the ion conductive member.

Preventing polarization of a transfer roller using an ion conductive member

An imaging system includes an endless belt, a tensioning system that applies tension to the endless belt, a contact member that engages with the endless belt, and a detector that detects slack at a part of the endless belt. A controller causes the contact member to be separated from the endless belt so that the tensioning system reduces the slack of the endless belt in response to the detector detecting the slack.

Imaging system

An imaging system includes a belt roller, an endless belt, a steering member, a tilting mechanism, and a link mechanism. The endless belt rotates about the belt roller which extends in a longitudinal direction. The steering member is located inside the endless belt. The tilting mechanism is operably coupled to a center portion of the steering member. The link mechanism is operably coupled to the tilting mechanism and operates the tilting mechanism so that the steering member is tilted in response to a displacement of the endless belt in the longitudinal direction of the belt roller.

Imaging system including link mechanism to pivot steering member

An imaging system includes a pair of belt rollers, a steering roller, a wheel, and a link mechanism. The pair of belt rollers includes a first roller and a second roller to drive an endless belt along a belt path. The steering roller is between the first roller and the second roller. The steering roller is tiltable to engage the endless belt. The wheel is at an end of the first roller in abutment with an edge of the endless belt, to move in an outward direction along a rotation axis of the first roller, when the endless belt shifts away from the belt path toward the wheel. The link mechanism is between the wheel and the steering roller to tilt the steering roller in response to a sliding movement of the wheel in the outward direction, to urge the endless belt to shift toward the belt path.

Belt driving device with tiltable steering member

A belt driving device includes: an endless belt; a stretch roller to engage the endless belt, the stretch roller including a rotary shaft; a steering roller spaced apart from the stretch roller within the endless belt; an adjustment member located along the rotary shaft of the stretch roller, the adjustment member movable along the rotary shaft; and linking mechanism to couple the adjustment member to the steering roller, the linking mechanism to engage a contact surface of the adjustment member. The contact surface includes contact points positioned at different distances from the rotary shaft to raise the linking mechanism during movement of the adjustment member, to cause the steering roller to tilt at an angle, and to maintain an alignment of the endless belt.

Drive for belt

A belt driving device to drive an endless belt, includes a drive roller and a suspension roller which extend in a first direction and face each other in a second direction. The belt driving device includes a steering roller located between the drive roller and the suspension roller in a tiltable manner. A pulley (or wheel) is located at an end portion of the steering roller. The belt driving device includes a link mechanism which presses the end portion of the steering roller to tilt the steering roller with the movement of the pulley (or wheel).

Belt driving device with steering roller

A particle collection system of an imaging apparatus includes an air flow generation device to generate an air flow for transporting airborne particles, a charging device that is located upstream of the air flow generation device in a ventilation direction to charge the floating fine particles in the air flow, and a particle collection device that is located downstream of the charging device in the ventilation direction to collect the airborne particles which are charged by the charging device. The charging device includes a discharging electrode and a counter electrode, and the particle collection device includes a tubular ventilation passage. A length of the tubular ventilation passage in the ventilation direction is greater than an opening diameter of the tubular ventilation passage, and the opening diameter of the tubular ventilation passage is less than or equal to a gap between the discharging electrode and the counter electrode.

Particle collection system with discharging electrode

A device for removing toner attached to a transfer roller in an image forming apparatus is disclosed. The device includes a bar brush to contact an outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller, where the bar brush extends along a part of a longitudinal length of the transfer roller. The device includes an elongated cleaning member to contact the outer circumferential surface of the transfer roller, where the elongated cleaning member extends along the longitudinal length, entirely, of the transfer roller.

Toner removal from transfer roller

An imaging system comprises a pair of belt rollers to drive an endless belt along a belt path, the pair of belt rollers comprising a first roller and a second roller. A steering roller is located between the first roller and the second roller. The steering roller is tiltable to engage the endless belt. A wheel is located at an end of the first roller in abutment with an edge of the endless belt, to move along a rotation axis of the first roller, in an outward direction, when the endless belt shifts toward the wheel. A link mechanism transfers a movement of the wheel in the outward direction, to a tilting of the steering roller, in order to urge the endless belt to shift away from the wheel toward the belt path.

A powder holding container includes: a tubular shaped section that is formed in a tubular shape with a hole formed in a tube wall for letting powder pass through; an opening and closing member that moves in a straight line inside the tubular shaped section to open and close the hole; a projection portion that projects out from the opening and closing member and enters the hole; and a resilient tab that is formed by a cutout provided in the opening and closing member, and is resiliently deformable in directions in which the projection portion enters or exits the hole.

Powder holding container with an opening and closing member having a resilient tab surrounded by a cutout

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member rotatably supported in a body of the image forming apparatus, and bearing a developer image; a developing device including a developing container, a developing member, and a transporting member, the developing container containing a developer, the developing member disposed so as to oppose the image bearing member, the developing member having thereon the developer in the developing container and rotating to develop a latent image, the transporting member transporting the developer in the developing container while stirring the developer, the developing device being unremovably supported with respect to the body of the image forming apparatus; and a damping member disposed with respect to an axial direction of a rotational axis of the developing member so as to be situated at an end portion of the developing container in the axial direction, and restraining vibration of the developing container.

Image forming apparatus

A roll supporting mechanism rotatably supports an electrically-conducted roll. The roll supporting mechanism includes an electrically-conducting portion that contacts with a circumferential portion of an outer periphery of the electrically-conducted roll to conduct electricity to the electrically-conducted roll, and an insulating portion that contacts with the other circumferential portion of the outer periphery of the electrically-conducted roll at a contact portion smaller than a contact portion of the electrically-conducting portion and that is formed by an insulating material.

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Yokohama, Japan

Satoru Hori