Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Satoru Ishikake

Hirokatsu Suzuki

Takashi Bisaiji

Ryuji Yoshida

Hiroomi Tamura

Tsuneo Kurotori

Masanori Kawasumi

Yosuke Saito

Kazutaka Yamamoto

Manabu Mochizuki

Yoshihiro Arai

Takamasa Ozeki

Hirohmi Tamura

Hiroki Atari

Hideyo Watanabe

Kimie Toda

A protection barrier including openings through which an irradiation target passes through the protection barrier, wherein the protection barrier is configured to surround a light path of laser light emitted from a laser device towards a recording medium disposed on the irradiation target, and surround the irradiation target, and wherein a light intensity of laser light leaked from the openings is 390 &#x3bc;W or less.

Protection barrier and laser irradiation system

An image forming apparatus including multiple imaging units and a fixing unit is provided. Each of the imaging units includes an image bearing member, a developing device containing a toner including a pressure-induced phase transition resin or a thermoplastic resin, a transfer device, and an image bearing member cleaner, and is adapted to form a toner image with the toner. The fixing unit includes a pressure fixing device adapted to fix the toner including the pressure-induced phase transition resin on the recording medium by applying a temperature Tb and a pressure Pb thereto in a pressure fixing nip, and a heat fixing device adapted to fix the toner including the thermoplastic resin on the recording medium by applying a temperature Ta and a pressure Pa thereto in a heat fixing nip. The image forming apparatus satisfies the following inequations: Tb&#x3c;Ta and Pb&#x3e;Pa.

Image forming apparatus with fixing unit adapted to fix toner including pressure-induced phase transition toner

Provided is an image recording system for recording an image on a recording medium attached to a conveyed article, including: a conveyor device conveying the conveyed article in a predetermined conveying direction; and a recording device provided on at least one side of the conveyor device in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction and capable of contactlessly recording the image on the recording medium being located at a position facing itself. The image includes a scan image to be read by a reading device. The conveyor device decelerates the conveyed article by observing a position at which the recording medium will face the recording device as a target stop position. The recording device records the scan image on the recording medium after the conveyed article reaches the target stop position and while the amplitude of vibration of the conveyed article is equal to or smaller than a reference value.

Image recording system, image rewriting system, and image recording method

The image forming method comprising: forming a toner image on an image carrier; transferring the toner image formed on the image carrier onto a recording medium; and transforming the toner image on the image carrier into a semi-film by applying a pressure. And the image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier; a toner image forming unit configured to form a toner image on the image carrier; a transfer unit configured to transfer the toner image formed on the image carrier onto a recording medium; and a toner image transforming unit configured to transfer the toner image on the image carrier into a semi-film by applying a pressure to the toner image.

Image forming method and image forming apparatus for transforming a toner image into a semi-film

An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of housing units that houses toners of mutually different colors, at least one toner inside of the plurality of housing units being to be used for forming a toner image on a recording medium; and a fixing unit configured to fix the toner image on the recording medium to the recording medium, wherein a housing unit among the plurality of housing units that houses a toner with a lowest peak temperature of loss elastic modulus is disposed in a portion with a lower temperature than a temperature of a portion where another housing unit is disposed, or in a position farther from the fixing unit than a portion where another housing unit is disposed.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus using electrophotography includes a waste toner container and an accommodation unit. The waste toner container collects developer used for forming images and ejected from an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus as waste toner. The accommodation unit detachably accommodates the waste toner container in the image forming apparatus. The accommodation unit includes a reduction device to reduce a force required for withdrawing the waste toner container from an interior to an exterior of the image forming apparatus. The reduction device contacts a bottom face of the waste toner container when the waste toner container is partially withdrawn from a fully mounted position of the waste toner container in the accommodation unit to the exterior of the image forming apparatus.

Waste toner collection unit for an image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus that has a monochrome mode and a full color mode as image forming modes, includes: a power supply unit configured to supply power thereto; a main power switch configured to turn on and off the power supply unit; a mode switching unit configured to selectively and manually be switched between the monochrome mode and the full color mode, wherein the main power switch and the mode switching unit are integrally formed as one mode switch; a power supply interrupting unit configured to interrupt power supply to a part that is necessary to form an image in a mode other than the monochrome mode, when the mode switch is set to the monochrome mode.

An image forming apparatus includes a first fixing device that applies heat to a non fixed toner image and a second fixing device arranged downstream of the first fixing device, which applies pressure and fixes the non-fixed toner image onto a recording member.

Image forming apparatus including a fixing device configured to apply heat and method thereof

A toner containing section contains toner, and includes a toner stirring member penetrating the toner containing section for stirring the toner. A rotation member is attached to the toner stirring member and revolves around a rotational shaft of the toner stirring member. A pushing member revolves around the rotational shaft of the toner stirring member to push the rotation member. A stopper section having a stopper body is provided to contact the rotation member. An optical detection device is provided to detect the rotation member temporarily stopping at the stopper section. The rotation member separates from the pushing member by own weight and stops at the stopper section waiting for arrival of the pushing device thereon when an amount of toner remaining in the toner containing section decreases to a prescribed level and the pushing member arrives at an upper dead point. The toner stirring member is formed in a crank sate partially plunging into the toner. The rotation member is attached to the toner stirring member at an outside of the toner containing section.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Satoru Ishikake