Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Shingo Kuboki

Hideo Yoshizawa

Hiroshi Hosokawa

Kenji Kikuchi

Shinji Tamaki

Shunji Katoh

Michiharu Suzuki

Jun Shiori

Daisuke Hamada

Takahiro Adachi

Natsumi Matsue

Yuji Arai

Yutaka Ikebuchi

Arinobu Yoshiura

Tetsuo Suzuki

Kohichi Utsunomiya

Motoyoshi Yamano

Hideo Nagafuji

Shohei Saito

Masashi Ohnishi

Daisuke Sawada

Qifeng Cui

Yuuki Nobuoka

Takahiro Kikuchi

Yuichi Harashima

Satoshi Endoh

Yohichi Tsukamoto

A powder container contains powder and is attached to an image forming apparatus including: a conveying nozzle to convey the powder; a powder receiving hole of the conveying nozzle to receive the powder from the powder container; an apparatus main-body gear to transmit a driving force to the powder container; and a container receiving section including the conveying nozzle and receiving the powder container. The powder container includes: an opening at one end of the powder container in a longitudinal direction; a nozzle receiver at the opening to receive the conveying nozzle; a conveyor to convey the powder; and a container gear to drive the conveyor by meshing with the apparatus main-body gear. The container gear is to mesh with the apparatus main-body gear at a position closer to the opening than the powder receiving hole in the longitudinal direction. The opening is to mate with the container receiving section.

Powder container

A developer supply device includes a body, a developer supply unit drawably insertable into the body, and a developer container removably installable in the developer supply unit. The developer container contains a developer and includes a developer discharge port. The developer supply unit includes a lever that closes the developer discharge port when the lever has moved to a first position and opens the developer discharge port when the lever has moved to a second position, and a lock that engages an engagement portion of the lever in conjunction with an operation of drawing the developer supply unit from the body to restrict the lever from moving from the first position to the second position and disengage from the engagement portion in conjunction with an operation of inserting the developer supply unit into the body to allow the lever to move from the first position to the second position.

Developer supply device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A powder container for an image forming apparatus includes: a rotatable powder storage storing powder; an opening on one end of the powder storage, through which a nozzle can be inserted; and a scooping portion to scoop up powder on an opening side, and supply the powder to a powder receiving hole of the nozzle when the powder storage rotates. The scooping portion includes a scooping surface extending inwardly from an inner wall surface of the powder storage and an inner end portion extending in a rotation axis direction of the powder storage, with an edge approximately parallel to the rotation axis. In a cross-section perpendicular to the rotation axis, the scooping surface is inclined toward an upstream side in a rotation direction of the powder storage with respect to a virtual line that passes through the rotation axis and is tangent to the edge of the inner end portion.

Powder container and image forming apparatus

Toner container

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer having a shaft to rotate in a normal direction for image formation and a reverse direction, a charging device, a latent image forming device, a developing device including a developer bearer having a shaft, a driving source, a drive transmission device to transmit a driving force from the driving source to the shaft of the latent image bearer and the shaft of the developer bearer. The developer bearer rotates in a predetermined direction during image formation and transports developer including toner to a developing range facing the latent image bearer, thereby developing the latent image on the latent image bearer. The drive transmission device is configured to inhibit transmission of the driving force to the shaft of the developer bearer when the latent image bearer rotates in the reverse direction.

Developing device, and image forming apparatus and process cartridge incorporating same

A developing device includes a casing having an opening, the casing to contain developer, and a developer bearer including a magnetized range to cause developer to stand on end on a surface of the developer bearer and an end range outside the magnetized range in a longitudinal direction of the developer bearer. The developer bearer is disposed in the casing and partly exposed from the opening with a casing gap secured between the surface of the developer bearer and an inner face of the casing. The developer bearer generates, by rotation, sucked-in airflow to collect a floating toner from the opening into the casing, and the casing gap is smaller in the end range than the magnetized range.

Developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A paper conveyance device comprises: a conveyance member having a conveyance surface for conveying a recording medium, the conveyance member extending in a first direction along a front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus that has an opening member for exposing inside of the apparatus, and including a handle disposed on an exposure surface of the opening member, and a swing pivot point that is used to swing the conveyance member around the first direction to expose the conveyance surface when the handle is operated in the open state. The handle is disposed in at least one position in a range between positions near a center of the conveyance member in the first direction. The positions are a certain distance away from the center of the conveyance member along the first direction.

Paper conveyance device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A process cartridge is detachably mounted on an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus. An embodiment of the cartridge includes a developer bearer arranged to be opposed to an image bearer in a developing device and rotates; a positioning member that supports the image bearer and the developer bearer at respective ends thereof, and fixes a distance between rotating shafts of the image bearer and the developer bearer; a rotating shaft arranged on a rotating member arranged on the developing device, and having a part protruding from an outer surface of a housing frame of the process cartridge; a gear that is arranged at a distal end of the rotating shaft and transmits a rotational driving force transmitted from the apparatus main body; and a bearing that is arranged between the positioning member and the gear, is fixed to the housing frame, and supports the rotating shaft.

Process cartridge and image forming apparatus

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Kanagawa, Japan

Shingo Kuboki