Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Osaka Sanso Kogyo Ltd.

Kawasaki Steel Corporation

Kubota Corporation

Kyocera Mita Corporation

The Boc Group, Inc.

Osaka Oxygen Industries, Ltd.

501 Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Osaka Sanso Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Mita Industrial Co., Ltd. (a Corp. of Japan)

Shigeki Hayashi

Hiroyuki Ueda

Hiroshi Kubota

Naoyuki Ishida

Tadakazu Ogiri

Hiroki Morishita

Masahiro Hashizume

Shinichi Kotera

Koichi Yasuda

Yasuhiko Moriuchi

Masanobu Maeshima

Hiroshi Ishida

Osamu Yoshimura

Kohichi Yasuda

Hiroshi Kimura

Masami Fuchi

Susumu Taniguchi

Yoshinori Makiura

Katsuhide Yamaguchi

Hiroaki Nakamura

Yasuo Hatate

Takashi Sakanaka

Yoshiyuki Nakahara

Tadahiro Ohmi

Hiroshi Nakamura

Tetsuya Fujii

Shinichi Kawabata

Kazuto Okazaki

Toshikazu Sakuraya

Takeshi Aoki

Akira Makihara

Hirotsugu Ogawa

Fumio Nakahara

Takahiko Kijima

Sigeo Matsui

Taichi Tagawa

Richard C Paciej

Robert Sherman

Shigeo Matsui

Munetaka Mukainishi

Jeffrey Davidson

Eiji Ohta

Yasuo Hatade

Tadakazu Oogiri

Shigeru Kikuchi

Yogo Tukahara

Masahiko Kumagai

Yasuto Suzu

Yasumitsu Mizuguchi

A power transmission mechanism includes a first motor, a second motor, a first input shaft to which power is transmitted from the first motor, a second input shaft to which power is transmitted from the second motor, a first output shaft to transmit power to a first driven portion, a second output shaft to transmit power to a second driven portion, and a transmission mechanism which includes a planetary gear mechanism to receive power from the first input shaft and from the second input shaft, and is operable to send power from the first input shaft and from the second input shaft to the first output shaft and the second output shaft.

Power transmission mechanism and working vehicle

The image-forming machine has an electrostatic latent image-bearing member on which an electrostatic latent image will be formed and an exchangeable developing unit. The developing unit includes a developing housing, a developing agent contained in the developing unit and a developing agent applicator for applying the developing agent onto the surface of the electrostatic latent image-bearing member. A counter is provided that counts the number of times the developing unit has been used and that can be reset. In the developing unit is disposed a developing agent depletion detector that detects the depletion of the developing agent. The developing unit further has a reset that resets the counter when the use of the developing unit is started. When the developing agent depletion detector has detected the depletion of the developing agent, a developing unit exchange signal is formed to indicate that the developing unit be renewed. The developing unit exchange signal is formed even when the counter has counted a predetermined number that corresponds to the life of the developing unit.

Image-forming machine equipped with an exchangeable developing unit

Method of measuring the dew point or frost point of a gas having low

A scorotron charger has a charging wire extending in a specified direction supported in a housing member including a pair of side walls each extending in a direction parallel to the charging wire. An electrode member having a U-shape in cross section is mounted in the housing member and has a bottom plate in the form of a a grid electrode and a pair of upright side plates extending along the charging wire. A plurality of cutouts are formed in the side plates and are so arranged that positions of the cutouts in one side plate are displaced from that of cutouts in the other side plate. A plurality of projections are formed on the side walls of the housing member at positions corresponding to the respective cutouts for engaging with the cutouts.

Scorotron charger for use in an image forming apparatus

A facsimile apparatus, which receives image information and records the information on a paper sheet, features a device for recording received image information, a storing device for storing received information and an environmental condition detecting device for detecting environmental conditions in the vicinity of the facsimile apparatus. The facsimile apparatus also includes a control unit for preventing the recording device from recording the received information on a paper sheet, and instead causing the storing device to store the received image information in response to the environmental condition detecting device detecting an unsuitable environmental condition. The control unit also causes the recording device to record the image information, which has been stored in the storing device under the environmental condition unsuitable for the recording operation, in response to the environmental condition detecting device subsequently detecting environmental conditions suitable for the recording operation by the recording device.

Facsimile apparatus having environmental condition sensor

In an image forming apparatus using a transfer unit of a roller transfer method, the contact between the transfer unit and a photoreceptor drum can easily be canceled. The transfer unit is brought into contact with the photoreceptor drum by supplying an upward pushing force to a supporting member of the transfer unit, and a lever engaging with the supporting member to push down the supporting member is provided to connect with a front cover of the apparatus body. The transfer roller, the pre-transfer roller for feeding a sheet to the photoreceptor drum and driving force transmitting gears provided therebetween are supported by the same member to fix their relative positions so that the driving force is constantly transmitted from the transfer roller to the pre-transfer roller.

Image forming apparatus employing movable support for transfer roller

A transfer roller which transfers a toner image to a recording sheet fed in a gap between a photoreceptor drum and the transfer roller, and a pre-transfer guide which guides the recording sheet are pushed to be displaceable by a spring by use of a roller so that a predetermined gap is maintained between the photoreceptor drum and the transfer roller and that the positions of the transfer roller and the pre-transfer guide depend on the position of the photoreceptor drum. The recording sheet P on which an image has been transferred is conveyed to a conveying guide. A post-transfer guide which receives the abutment of the end of the image transferred recording sheet and guides the recording sheet to the conveying guide is provided to be displaceable integrally with the transfer roller and the pre-transfer guide. The post-transfer guide is made of a resin with a resistance of 10.sup.10 .OMEGA. to 10.sup.16 .OMEGA..

Displaceable transfer apparatus having a post-transfer guide

If it is desired to display the number of copies which can be outputted corresponding to the defined capacity of a developer which is determined by an image forming apparatus, a document which is thought to have a substantially average black ratio of the respective black ratios of images actually recorded by the image forming apparatus is prepared. The prepared document is set in reading means. An image of the set document is read by reading means. The black ratio of the image of the document is calculated on the basis of an output of the reading means. The number of copies which can be outputted corresponding to the defined capacity of the developer which is determined by the image forming apparatus is calculated on the basis of the calculated black ratio. The calculated number of copies which can be outputted is displayed.

Image forming apparatus

In a transfer unit of a non-contact roller transfer method, both ends of a transfer roller shaft are supported independently of each other so as to be movable upward and downward, and an upward pushing force is provided thereto. A gap maintaining roller provided in the vicinity of each end portion of the transfer roller shaft is always in contact with the surface of a photoreceptor drum so that the gap between the surface of the photoreceptor drum and the transfer roller is maintained uniform and fixed. Further, both ends of a pre-transfer guide for guiding the sheet to the photoreceptor drum are supported in a manner such that the movement of each end accords with the movement of the end portion of the transfer roller, so that the distance between the photoreceptor drum and the pre-transfer guide is maintained uniform and fixed.

Image transferring unit of non-contact type roller method

A transferring apparatus transfers a toner image formed on the surface of a photoreceptor drum onto a sheet. The photoreceptor drum surface and a transfer roller are arranged in such manner that a gap larger than the thickness of the sheet is left between the photoreceptor drum and transfer roller, and a lower guide member for guiding the sheet in such direction that the sheet abuts the drum surface at a predetermined angle is arranged between a resist roller pair and the drum. The sheet which abuts the drum surface by way of the upper surface of the guide member is in close contact with the drum surface while being bent and deformed along the drum surface. A conveying roller is provided, opposite the upper surface of the lower guide member, with a predetermined gap between, at a position close to but out of contact with the drum surface. The conveying roller may also be arranged to contact the transfer roller.

Toner image transferring apparatus and positional arrangement of

An image-forming machine equipped with a transfer device means of the type not using a transfer corona discharger is disclosed. A charge supply member is disposed opposite to an image forming member on whose surface a toner image is to be formed and at a greater distance than the thickness of a transfer material from the image forming member. In a transfer zone, the surface of the transfer material is brought into contact with the surface of the image forming member. In a charge supply zone, the transfer material is contacted with the surface of the charge supply member. In the direction of conveyance of the transfer material, the charge supply zone is positioned downstream of the transfer zone.

Image-forming machine with toner image transfer means having a charge

An image-forming machine equipped with a transfer device of the type not using a transfer corona discharger is disclosed. A charge supply member is disposed opposite to an image forming member on whose surface a toner image is to be formed, and at a greater distance than the thickness of a transfer material from the image forming member. A voltage of a predetermined polarity is applied to the charge supply member. In a transfer zone, the surface of the transfer material is brought into contact with the surface of the image forming member, while the back of the transfer material is not contacted with the surface of the charge supply member.

Image-forming machine with toner image transfer means

Metal tube oxidation treatment apparatus

The present invention provides a method for surface passivating stainless steel articles against the effects of corrosive materials having activities anywhere from aqueous salt solutions to corrosive gases such as hydrogen chloride and silane. Additionally, after the treatment and exposure of the article to moisture, when the article is subsequently flushed with a dry gaseous fluid, the time that the article takes to exhibit an acceptable moisture outgassing rate is reduced over an untreated article. In accordance with the present invention, the surface to be passivated is flushed with a dry gaseous fluid, chemically non-reactive with the stainless steel and containing essentially no oxygen. During such flushing, the articles is baked and cooled. The baking is accomplished at a predetermined temperature and time (preferably between about 250.0.degree. C. and about 500.0.degree. C. for about 4.0 hours) to effect, within the oxide layer, a reduction in adsorbed moisture and hydroxide content and an increase in chromium content. The article is allowed to cool after the baking step. Such gaseous fluid can comprise argon having a moisture content of no greater than 10.0 ppb and an oxygen content of about 10 ppb. No improvement was seen in a sample in which nitrogen was used. When nitrogen shows no improvement, the article should be flushed with a rare gas during baking which additionally should contain 10 ppb nitrogen or less.

Stainless steel surface passivation treatment

An image-forming machine having a conveying passage for conveying a sheet material through a transfer zone, a first and a second feed device for feeding the sheet material to the conveying passage, a first feed passage for conducting the sheet material delivered from the first feed device to the conveying passage, a second feed passage for conducting the sheet material delivered from the second feed device to the conveying passage, and a first and a second opening-closing member for opening and closing the first and second feed passages. Various improvements are made on the first and second opening-closing members. Further provided are an improvement for suppressing noises, an improvement for preventing folding of a sheet material, an improvement for easily switching over to a mode of forming an image on both surfaces of a sheet material, an improvement for accurately conducting the sheet material from a reversal holding portion to a return passage, and an improvement for positioning the sheet material received in the receiving-refeeding device at a predetermined widthwise position in the above and other types of image-forming machines.

Image-forming machine

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Shigeki Hayashi