Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd.

Shintaro Yamada

Ryuji Inoue

Shin Murayama

Shuuichi Nakagawa

Kenji Asuwa

Tomofumi Yoshida

Kazushige Oonishi

Hirobumi Ooyoshi

Taichiro Yamashita

Toru Miyasaka

Yuji Nagatomo

Masahiro Yagi

Takao Tsurimoto

Tadahiro Yoshida

Rumi Konishi

Shinji Aoki

Junichi Abe

Tetsumaru Fujita

Rie Mitani

Shintaro Kuroaki

Kei Hasegawa

Kazushige Ohnishi

Tatsunari Sato

Yuusuke Furuichi

Yasunobu Shimizu

Yoshiyuki Shimizu

Osamu Saito

Kenzo Tatsumi

Susumu Tateyama

Yoshimichi Ishikawa

Chiyoshi Nozaki

Yasuhide Ohkubo

Kohta Sakaya

Toshihiro Matsunaga

Manabu Hamada

Yoshihiro Fukuhata

Akira Shimada

Takafumi Miyazaki

Hiroaki Katoh

Shuichi Nakagawa

Akihiro Kawasaki

Yoshiko Ogawa

Nobuaki Fukasawa

Atsushi Onose

Katsushi Nakada

Hidekazu Shono

Kyoko Abe

Katsuki Hotta

Masayuki Kakio

Yasutomo Otake

Satoshi Narita

Munetaka Kashiwa

Ryouhei Ohi

Eiji Morito

Yohsuke Terada

Yukinobu Kamei

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image forming device and a visualizing device. The latent image forming device forms a latent image with an adhesive on a base material. The visualizing device causes particles to adhere to the latent image to visualize the latent image as an uneven image. The particles each contains an insoluble substance.

Image forming apparatus

A toner conveying device includes a toner conveying section and a toner conveyor. The toner conveying section includes a bent portion and an outlet port. The bent portion bends in a predetermined direction. The outlet port discharges toner. The toner conveyor is bendable and driven by a driving device to rotate to convey toner. The toner conveyor is disposed in the toner conveying section such that a first end of the toner conveyor is coupled to the driving device and a second end of the toner conveyor is a free end. The toner conveyor includes a reverse-flow conveying portion, between the outlet port and the free end, to convey the toner from the second end to the first end.

Image forming apparatus with a toner conveying device having a reverse-flow conveying portion

Provided is a busbar connecting device that can achieve good workability and high reliability at the same time. The busbar connecting device includes: a connection portion in which a busbar conductor and a current conductor of a bushing are connected; an insulation busbar connector covering the connection portion; a work hole communicating with the connection portion from an outside of the insulation busbar connector; and an insulating plug inserted into the work hole and sealing the insulation busbar connector, wherein a surface pressure between an inner circumferential surface of the work hole and an outer circumferential surface of the insulating plug is greater at a deep part of the work hole than at a shallow part of the work hole.

Busbar connecting device

A gas-insulated switching device includes: a vacuum valve having a movable contact provided on one side of a movable conductor and a fixed contact provided to a fixed conductor; an insulation rod connected to another side of the movable conductor led out from the vacuum valve through a bellows; an operation rod connecting the insulation rod and an operation device; an airtight container in which the insulation rod, the other side of the movable conductor, and the operation rod are accommodated; and an intermediate pressure chamber formed by communication between internal spaces of the bellows and the airtight container. A sliding contact member is provided to the other side of the movable conductor. The sliding contact member is connected, via the airtight container, to a main circuit conductor. A communication portion provided between the airtight container and the sliding contact member allows communication inside the airtight container.

Gas-insulated switching device

A gas-insulated switching device including, inside a pressure tank: a vacuum valve having a movable contact provided on one side of a movable conductor, and a fixed contact provided to a fixed conductor; an insulation rod connected to another side of the movable conductor led out through a bellows from the vacuum valve; and an airtight container in which the insulation rod and the other side of the movable conductor are stored, wherein an internal space of the bellows and an internal space of the airtight container communicate with each other, one side of the vacuum valve is fixed to a tank wall via an insulation support body, another side of the vacuum valve is connected to the tank wall via the airtight container, and the airtight container insulates the vacuum valve and the tank wall from each other, and is slidable in a movable direction of the movable conductor.

An electrical device connector includes: a bus bar which includes a hollow portion extending in an axial direction and through holes extending in an axis-orthogonal direction, and which electrically connects a plurality of switchgears to each other; terminal members including bus bar support portions in which the bus bar is inserted, and including electrical device connection portions in which the insulation plugs are inserted and fixed; and stud bolts each having one end fixed to the corresponding switchgear, each extending in the axis-orthogonal direction through the corresponding through hole, and each fixing the corresponding insulation plug at the other end. Gaps are each formed between the corresponding stud bolt and the bus bar so as to allow communication between the hollow portion and an internal space of the corresponding terminal member.

Electrical device connector and switchgear

An image forming apparatus includes a latent image bearer to bear a plurality of halftone images having a same image density and a high-density image located one cycle downstream of the latent image bearer from at least one of the plurality of halftone images, a transferor to apply a predetermined transfer voltage to transfer the plurality of halftone images and the high-density image, a transfer electric field forming target to bear the plurality of halftone images and the high-density image transferred from the latent image bearer, a detector to detect image densities of the plurality of halftone images on the transfer electric field forming target, and a controller to determine a primary transfer voltage applied at a time of image formation, based on image density variations of the plurality of halftone images detected by the detector.

Image forming apparatus including an image density detector of halftone images

To obtain a pressure tank that achieves a high manufacturing efficiency and does not hamper storage of an open/close portion such as a vacuum valve in a pressure tank. A pressure tank of the present invention includes: a tank body having at least one penetrating slit-shaped mortise and having a space formed inside the tank body; a reinforcing member having a tenon portion formed at an end thereof so as to be directed in one direction, and having an electric field relaxation portion on a side opposite to the tenon portion, the reinforcing member being attached to an inner wall surface of the tank body with the tenon portion inserted into the mortise; and a welding portion sealing and fixing the mortise and the tenon portion with no gap therebetween, the welding portion being formed by melting an end of the tenon portion from outside of the tank body.

Pressure tank, gas insulated switchgear using same, and pressure tank manufacturing method

A switchgear includes a stationary contact, a movable contact able to be shifted between a closed position and an opened position, an electromagnetic actuator able to generate power for shifting the movable contact, the electromagnetic actuator including a stator and a movable element, and a power transmission unit able to shift the movable contact, and to press the movable contact against the stationary contact. The power transmission unit includes a drive unit-side spring bearing portion able to be shifted together with the movable element, a contact-side spring bearing portion to be opposed to the drive unit-side spring bearing portion, and able to be shifted together with the movable contact, and a spring member provided between the drive unit-side spring bearing portion and the contact-side spring bearing portion.

Opening and closing device

An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a photoconductor, an irradiator, a developing device including a developing roller, a development bias applying device, a toner supplying roller and a supply bias applying device, and a controller. The controller changes supply bias offset by reference to at least one of five parameters including photoconductor travel distance, operation temperature of the developing device, operation humidity of the developing device, continuous operating time of the developing device, and color information of image to be produced. After changing the supply bias offset, the controller forms plural toner patterns for image density adjustment on the photoconductor by changing the development bias, and sets the development bias to a certain bias based on the image densities of the plural toner patterns so that the image produced by the developing device has a targeted image density.

Image forming apparatus that utilizes toner roller bias voltages for image density adjustments

A toner container includes a substantially tetrahedral toner-containing portion having an openable edge to discharge toner contained in the toner-containing portion, and a reference fold along which the toner container is foldable after the openable edge is opened. The reference fold extends from the openable edge and is provided on medians of two triangular faces of the toner-containing portion adjoining each other along the openable edge.

Toner container, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A semiconductive member including an alkali metal salt having the formula (M).X in a surface layer thereof. M represents Na, K, or Li; X represents Cl, Br, I, F, CHCOO, CFCOO, CH(COOH)CHCOO, (CHCOO), CH(COOH)CHCOO, (CHCOO), (HOOC)Ar(COO), Ar(COO), (HOOC)Ar(COO), (HOOC)Ar(COO), Ar(COO), (HOOC)Ar(COO), (HOOC)Ar(COO), (HOOC)Ar(COO), Ar(COO), Ar&#x2014;SO, Ar(SO), an oligomer or a polymer having an acrylic acid anion unit, or an oligomer or a polymer having an methacrylic acid anion unit; Ar represents a benzene ring, a naphthalene ring, or a biphenyl ring; and n is a numeral equivalent to the anionic valence of X.

Semiconductive member, and developing roll, charging roll, transfer belt, and image forming apparatus using same

A developing device develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier with toner. The developing device includes a developer carrier, a developer supplying unit that supplies a developer on the developer carrier, a layer shaping member that shapes the developer supplied on the developer carrier into a thin layer, and an electric-field control member that is arranged downstream of a shaping nip formed between the developer carrier and the layer shaping member and that controls an intensity of an electric field generated between the developer carrier and the layer shaping member.

Device for developing an electrostatic latent image, and process cartridge and image forming apparatus including the same

A developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image on an image carrier by supplying a one-component developer to the image carrier. Good images can be obtained over long periods of time, without printing history becoming apparent on account of residual developer. The developing device has a developer carrier that is rotatable and disposed facing an image carrier; and a conductive developer supply and recovery member rotatably arranged so as to abut the developer carrier. The rotation direction of the conductive developer supply and recovery member is opposite to the rotation direction of the developer carrier at a position where the developer carrier and the conductive developer supply and recovery member abut each other. A contact pressure P between the developer carrier and the conductive developer supply and recovery member is set so as to satisfy the relationship 0 (kPa)&#x3c;P&#x3c;5.0 (kPa).

Developing device, process cartridge and image forming apparatus

A developer regulating member capable of stably regulating the thickness of a developer even when used for a long time, while preventing the increase in the production cost, a developing device having the developer regulating member, an image forming apparatus having the developing device, a process cartridge, and a method of producing the developer regulating member. The average crystal particle diameter D [&#x3bc;m] of a plate-like member provided in a layer-thinning blade which functions as the developer regulating member and which abuts against a developing roller functioning as a developer carrier, and the curvature radius R [&#x3bc;m] of a bent portion satisfy the relationship of D&#x2266;60.53&#xd7;R&#xd7;10&#x2212;12.61.

Developing device having developer regulating member, and image forming apparatus using developing device

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Tokyo, Japan

Shintaro Yamada