Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Bridgestone Corporation

Satoshi Hatori

Kaoru Yoshino

Takeshi Shintani

Hideyasu Seki

Yuji Arai

Akio Kosuge

Yuta Azeyanagi

Akira Fujimori

Takaya Muraishi

Naohiro Kumagai

Ryohta Gotoh

Yasushi Akiba

Hiroshi Ono

Toshio Koike

Kiyonori Tsuda

Ken Amemiya

Nobuo Kuwabara

Daisuke Tomita

Nobuyuki Taguchi

Atsushi Sampe

Tomoji Ishikawa

Hiromichi Ninomiya

Naoto Watanabe

Takeo Suda

Shinichi Kawahara

Takuma Iwasaki

Yasuhito Kuboshima

Takeshi Fukao

Michiya Okamoto

Yoshiyuki Kimura

Satoshi Narumi

Haruji Mizuishi

Kenji Honjoh

Yuta Kawashima

Hiroyuki Nagashima

Shinji Tamaki

Shinya Karasawa

Kazuhito Watanabe

Tsutomu Katoh

Yoshinori Ozawa

Tetsuroh Tanigawa

Satoshi Takano

Tsukuru Kai

Keisuke Uchida

Masanori Kawasumi

Takaaki Tawada

Hisashi Shoji

Nobuo Kikuchi

Hiroshi Mizusawa

Nobuto Yokokawa

Fumihito Itoh

Norio Kudo

Misao Tanzawa

Norio Kudoh

Tetsuro Miura

Kiyotaka Ohta

Masami Tomita

Hiroshi Hosokawa

Shinji Kato

Toshiya Satoh

Mitsuru Takahashi

Kunihiro Ohyama

Jun Okamoto

Kazuhiko Umemura

Takatsugu Fujishiro

Yoshiki Hozumi

Masahiko Shakuto

Shinichi Namekata

Hideki Zemba

Kazuyuki Sugihara

Takashi Bisaiji

Shigekazu Enoki

Ryuta Takeichi

Hiroyuki Uenishi

Kenji Maeda

Takeyoshi Sekine

Takuzi Yoneda

Tokuya Ojimi

Takeshi Tabuchi

Wakako Murakami

Hajime Teraji

Leo Munakata

Hideyo Watanabe

Akinori Kobayashi

Norio Yamagami

Etsuo Kakizaki

A toner conveyance device includes a toner conveyance path through which toner is transported. The toner conveyance path includes a flexible portion, a toner conveyor inside the conveyance path to convey the toner, and a restrictor outside the toner conveyance path to restrict deformation of the toner conveyance path.

Toner conveyance device and image forming apparatus

An electric charging-diselectrifying device includes an electric charging member that contacts an image bearer to form an electric charging nip between the electric charging member and the image bear. The electric charging member electrically charges multiple electric charge regions in the image bearer located both upstream and downstream of the electric charging nip in a direction of rotation of the image bearer. An electric charge removing device is provided to remove electric charge borne on the image bearer by irradiating the multiple electric charging regions of the image bearer with light. The electric charging member is made of a material that allows the light emitted from the electric charge removing device to penetrate the electric charging member.

Electric charging-diselectrifying device, process cartridge with electric charging-diselectrifying device, and image forming apparatus with process cartridge

A toner conveyance device includes a conveyance channel through which toner is transported, communicating with a conveyance origin and a destination container disposed inside an image forming apparatus, a conveyor disposed in the conveyance channel to rotate in the conveyance channel, a driving source to drive the conveyor; and a slide-assist sheet attached to an inner face of the conveyance channel positioned facing the conveyor.

Toner conveyance device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A charging device includes a charger and a power supply circuit. The charger is disposed opposing a latent image bearer. The power supply circuit applies to the charger an alternating voltage obtained by superimposing a pulsating voltage on a direct-current voltage. The alternating voltage generates normal discharge from the charger to a surface of the latent image bearer and reverse discharge from the surface of the latent image bearer to the charger. A pulse ON time of a voltage component toward a reverse discharge side relative to a desired surface potential Vde of the latent image bearer is shorter than a pulse ON time of a voltage component toward a normal discharge side relative to the desired surface potential Vde of the latent image bearer.

Charging device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer, an electric charging member to electrically charge the latent image bearer uniformly while forming an electric charging nip therebetween by contacting the latent image bearer. A value obtained by dividing a moment of inertia of area of the latent image bearer by the cube of length thereof ranges from about 0.000058 [mm] or more to about 0.000145 [mm] or less. A width of the electric charging nip in a direction of rotation at longitudinal ends of the latent image bearer is larger than that at a longitudinal center thereof. A difference between the width of the electric charging nip in the direction of rotation at the longitudinal ends of the latent image bearer and that at the longitudinal center thereof is larger than an amount of deformation of the latent image bearer generated during rotation at the longitudinal center thereof.

Process cartridge capable of suppressing filming and image forming apparatus with same

A lubricant supplying device includes: lubricant; a supplying member that supplies the lubricant to a lubricant supply target; and a remaining amount detecting unit that detects that a remaining amount of the lubricant is equal to or smaller than a certain amount. The remaining amount detecting unit includes a first electrode member and a second electrode member. The lubricant supplying device includes a member that causes at least a part of the second electrode member to move and causes the second electrode member to abut the first electrode member with an increase in consumption of the lubricant.

Lubricant supplying device, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge

A lubricant supply device includes a solid lubricant, a lubricant holder to hold the solid lubricant, a lubricant supply member to supply lubricant to a lubrication target, a pressing member to press the solid lubricant toward the lubricant supply member, and a pressing force adjuster to change an amount of pressing force exerted by the pressing member.

Lubricant supply device, process unit, image forming apparatus, and process unit manufacturing method

An image forming apparatus includes a waste toner conveying device including a primary conveyor to convey waste toner discharged from a plurality of primary cleaners and a secondary conveyor to convey waste toner discharged from a secondary cleaner. A relay conveyor conveys the waste toner discharged from the primary conveyor and the secondary conveyor. A waste toner container receives the waste toner discharged from the relay conveyor. The primary conveyor, the secondary conveyor, and the relay conveyor are disposed at one end of the image forming apparatus in a front-to-rear direction thereof. A secondary conveyor outlet of the secondary conveyor is disposed below a primary conveyor outlet of the primary conveyor and above an inlet of the waste toner container.

Image forming apparatus and waste toner conveying device incorporated in same

A solid lubricant supply system includes a solid lubricant supplier to receive and supply solid lubricant to a solid lubricant supplying target. A pair of first and second moveable planar electrodes is opposed to each other. The second moveable planar electrode is partially moved toward the first moveable planar electrode as the solid lubricant is consumed. A residual solid lubricant quantity detecting unit is provide to detect a quantity of the residual solid lubricant at a first stage, in which the residual solid lubricant quantity is below a given level, by detecting electric conduction between the pair of first and second moveable planar electrodes when the pair of first and second moveable planar electrodes contacts each other. The first moveable planar electrode is enabled to further move together with the second moveable planar electrode when it is contacted and pressed by the second moveable planar electrode.

Lubricant supply system, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge

A detachable device, which can be included in an image forming apparatus, includes a unit drive mechanism, and a cover disposed at one end and an opposite end in the given attachment/detachment direction to cover the unit drive mechanism thereof. The cover includes a first cover and a second cover. The first cover includes at least one first inlet port to intake air from the apparatus body and guide the air to the detachable unit. The second cover includes a second inlet port to intake the air guided into the detachable unit and an air outlet port to exhaust the air introduced from the second inlet port to the apparatus body.

Detachable unit and image forming apparatus incorporating same

In an embodiment, provided is a lubricant supplying device that includes: a solid lubricant; a supplying member that supplies lubricant of the solid lubricant to a lubricant supplying target; and a remaining amount detecting unit that detects an amount of the solid lubricant being at a given amount or less. The remaining amount detecting unit is provided on a downstream side in a rubbing direction of the supplying member with respect to the solid lubricant.

A lubricant applicator includes a block of lubricant, a supply member contactable against the block of lubricant to scrape the block of lubricant, and a lubricant gauge to detect whether a remaining amount of lubricant is less than a threshold value. The lubricant gauge includes a rotary member rotatable about a pivot, a pressing member disposed opposite the rotary member to rotate the rotary member by pressing a contact part of the rotary member as the block of lubricant is consumed, and a detection part of the rotary member opposite to the contact part across the pivot of the rotary member. A length of the rotary member from the pivot to the detection part is longer than a length of the rotary member from the pivot to the contact part.

Lubricant applicator, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge

A lubricant applicator includes a block of lubricant, a supply member contactable against the block of lubricant to scrape the block of lubricant, and a lubricant gauge including a first electrode and a second electrode. The lubricant gauge is electrically connected to the first electrode and the second electrode to detect whether an amount of lubricant remaining is less than a threshold value based on establishment of electrical continuity between the first electrode and the second electrode. One of the first electrode and the second electrode includes a projection projecting toward the other one of the first electrode and the second electrode.

An image carrier includes a tubular image carrier body to carry an image on an outer circumferential surface thereof, a shaft disposed inside the image carrier body, a first flange mounted on the shaft, and a second flange spaced apart from the first flange in an axial direction of the image carrier and mounted on the shaft. Each of the first flange and the second flange includes a through-hole contacting the shaft, a first engagement portion to engage a lateral end of the image carrier body in the axial direction of the image carrier, and a second engagement portion, constituting at least a part of the through-hole, to engage the shaft. The second engagement portion is disposed inboard from the first engagement portion in the axial direction of the image carrier.

Image carrier, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Satoshi Hatori