Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Shinya Karasawa

Michiya Okamoto

Takuma Iwasaki

Ken Amemiya

Yuta Azeyanagi

Hiroyuki Uenishi

Daisuke Tomita

Hiromichi Ninomiya

Takeshi Shintani

Satoshi Hatori

Takeshi Kojima

Kenji Honjoh

Kohsuke Yamamoto

Norio Kudo

Daisuke Sawada

Hajime Teraji

Kentaroh Nodera

Yuji Arai

Toshio Koike

Tatsuya Kubo

Kazuki Yogosawa

Takatsugu Fujishiro

Yuuki Tsuchiya

Masanori Moro

Hideki Kimura

Naohiro Kumagai

Akio Kosuge

Nobuyuki Taguchi

Takaaki Tawada

Shinichi Kawahara

Nobuo Kuwabara

Akira Fujimori

Takeshi Fukao

Takaya Muraishi

Yasuhiro Maehata

Yasushi Akiba

Kentaro Nodera

Yasuhito Kuboshima

Tokuya Ojimi

Takeshi Tabuchi

Masanari Shimamoto

A positioning member defines a facing distance between a first rotating body and a second rotating body. The positioning member includes a fitting portion, a groove, and a restricting member. A fitted portion of the first rotating body is to be rotatably fitted into the fitting portion. The groove has a groove shape extending in a predetermined direction from an opening to an abutting portion. A shaft portion of the second rotating body is to be slidably movable in the groove. The restricting member restricts movement of the shaft portion in the predetermined direction in a state in which the shaft portion abuts on the abutting portion in the groove. The restricting member is detachably disposed on the groove.

Positioning member, holding device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A process cartridge includes an image bearer, a developer bearer, and a positioning member. The image bearer is rotatable. The developer bearer is rotatable and opposite to the image bearer. The positioning member determines an opposing distance between the image bearer and the developer bearer, and includes a fitting portion and a groove. A fitted portion of the image bearer rotatably fits to the fitting portion. The groove extends from a ceiling portion to a bottom portion. A shaft portion of the developer bearer is slidingly movable in the groove. The groove is formed such that the shaft portion of the developer bearer contacts the bottom portion and is supported by the bottom portion. The ceiling portion of the groove is open upward so that the shaft portion of the developer bearer is insertable to and removable from the groove.

Process cartridge and image forming apparatus incorporating same

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearer, an exposure device, a development unit, an adjuster, and a magnetic member. The exposure device forms a latent image on a surface of the image bearer. The developing unit renders the latent image visible with developer including toner and carrier. The adjuster contacts each of the image bearer and the exposure device to regulate a distance between the image bearer and the exposure device. The magnetic member is arranged side by side with the adjuster in a direction of rotation of the image bearer.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge

A lubricant applicator includes a lubricant, a supply member contactable against the lubricant to supply the lubricant to a target, and a lubricant gauge to detect whether an amount of lubricant remaining is less than a threshold value. The lubricant gauge includes a rotary member rotatable about a shaft, a pressing member to press and rotate the rotary member as the lubricant is consumed, a contact part of the rotary member pressed by the pressing member, and a detection part of the rotary member opposite to the contact part across the shaft of the rotary member.

Lubricant applicator, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge

A sealing member is attached to a second member attached to and detached from a first member having a first opening through which powder passes and having a second opening that communicates with the first opening when the second member is coupled to the first member, and prevents the powder from leaking from a coupling portion between the first opening and the second opening. The sealing member includes: a first elastic member with a first surface arranged on the second member; and a second elastic member arranged on at least a part of a periphery of the first elastic member and having hardness different from that of the first elastic member.

Sealing member, toner conveying device, and image forming apparatus

A cleaning device comprises: a to-be-cleaned member; a cleaning member that cleans the surface of the to-be-cleaned member; a conveying member that conveys a substance removed from the surface of the to-be-cleaned member to outside of the device; a rotatable collecting member that conveys with its surface the substance toward the conveying member; and a partitioning member that guides the substance from the collecting member to the conveying member. The collecting member comprises a conveying portion that carries and conveys the substance; and a protrusion that protrudes toward an upstream side of the conveying portion in a rotating direction of the collecting member. One end of the partitioning member faces the rotating collecting member, and the other end faces the conveying member. The conveying portion and the protrusion are brought into contact with the partitioning member by the rotation of the collecting member.

Cleaning device and image forming apparatus

The waste toner container includes: a waste toner detection unit configured to detect a state in which a toner surface of waste toner at that position is displaced up to a ceiling portion or near the ceiling portion. The waste toner detection unit includes: a flexibility member installed so as to cover an opening portion formed in the ceiling portion or a side wall and is configured to be deformed by a direct or indirect push by the waste toner; and a movable member formed so as to contact the flexibility member from outside of the container and so as to be displaced by the direct or indirect push by the waste toner interposing the flexibility member such that displacement thereof is detected by a detection unit. The displacement of the movable member is limited by a regulating member.

Waste toner container and image forming apparatus

An image carrier surface treatment device is disposed opposite an image carrier rotatable in a first rotation direction and carrying a toner image. The image carrier surface treatment device includes a roller rotatable in a second rotation direction while contacting an outer circumferential surface of the image carrier. The roller includes a shaft projecting from each lateral end of the roller in an axial direction thereof. A rolling-element bearing is fitted on the shaft of the roller to support and position the roller inside the image carrier surface treatment device.

Image carrier surface treatment device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A tandem-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes multiple color image forming units using a dry toner, a first black image forming unit using the dry toner, and a second black image forming unit using a wet toner and performs an image formation with the dry toner in a first printing mode and an image formation with the wet toner in a second printing mode. The image formed in the second printing mode with the wet toner is fixed to a recording medium at a temperature lower than the image formed in the first printing mode with the dry toner. Each of the image forming units corresponds to a process cartridge that is removably installable in the tandem-type electrophotographic image forming apparatus and including an image carrier and other image forming components integrally therein.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge incorporated therein

An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier removably installed in the apparatus to carry an image; a transfer member contacting with the image carrier to transfer the image onto the transfer member or a recording medium; a contact and separation mechanism causing the transfer member to contact with or separate from the image carrier; and a removable unit removably installed in the apparatus from the same direction as an installation direction of the image carrier to be disposed proximal of the image carrier and the transfer member in the installation direction, and at least partially overlapping the image carrier and the transfer member as viewed in the installation direction. The removable unit interferes with the contact and separation mechanism and is prevented from being installed in the apparatus, when the transfer member is separated from the image carrier by the contact and separation mechanism.

Image forming apparatus having transfer belt contact and separating mechanism interfering with removable unit

A lubricant supplying device includes a compressing spring that has one end coming into contact with a holding member in order to bias a solid lubricant toward a lubricant supplying roller and a casing that covers the outside of the device. Then, the casing includes an opening portion that allows the other end of the compressing spring, having the one end coming into contact with the holding member, to be exposed therethrough, and the casing further includes a cover member that is installed in the opening portion in a removable manner so that the cover member comes into contact with the other end of the compressing spring.

Lubricant Supplying Device, Process Cartridge, and Image Forming Apparatus

A charging device, which is incorporable in a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus, includes a charging roller and a cleaning device. The charging roller charges an image bearing member having a surface on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The cleaning device cleans the charging roller. The cleaning device includes a cleaning roller, a shaft, and support members. The cleaning roller contacts the surface of the charging roller to clean the surface. The support members rotatably support the cleaning roller, each of which including a slot. The slot allows a variable distance between the charging roller and the cleaning roller, and is inclined, in the direction of rotation of the charging roller, relative to a straight line connecting the rotation center of the charging roller and the rotation center of the cleaning roller.

Charging device, including a cleaning device to clean a charging roller

A process cartridge detachably installable in an image forming apparatus including a first sub-unit to hold an image carrier, a second sub-unit to hold a developer bearing member, a first positioning member to position first ends of the image carrier and the developer bearing member in a longitudinal direction, respectively, and a second positioning member to position second ends of the image carrier and the developer bearing member opposite the first ends in the longitudinal direction, respectively. The second sub-unit has a protruding portion protruding outward to a first end of the second sub-unit beyond the first positioning member in the longitudinal direction. An opposing surface of the protruding portion provided to face the first positioning member is dimensioned to conform to a cross-section of the first positioning member perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

Process cartridge and image forming apparatus including same

A lubricant applying device includes a solid lubricant, and a rotatable applying member scraping lubricant off the solid lubricant and applying the scraped lubricant onto an application subject. In the lubricant applying device, a pressing unit applies that applies an applying pressure of pressing the solid lubricant against the applying member and that varies the applying pressure in accordance with a rotation speed of the applying member.

Lubricant applying device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Shinya Karasawa