Konica Minolta, Inc.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Shoichi Yoshikawa

Noboru Oomoto

Yoshiyuki Toso

Masahiro Yamaguchi

Masayuki Satou

Shigeru Tashiro

Takashi Fujiwara

Atsuhiko Shimoyama

Tadayasu Sekioka

Takayuki Ito

Kuniya Matsuura

Naoki Miyagawa

Fuminori Moro

Hiroshi Mizuno

Taisuke Minemura

Tou Matsunaga

Koji Yamamoto

So Yano

Hiroaki Umemoto

Naotoshi Kawai

Ryo Oshima

Yasuhiro Suzuki

Seiji Shibata

Takao Miyamoto

Shinichi Yabuki

Toshiyuki Sakai

Syuichi Katogi

Masashi Kawai

Hiroshi Ibaraki

Tomoyoshi Yukimoto

Tomofumi Ikeda

Provided are a sheet position detection apparatus, a sheet conveyance apparatus, and an image formation apparatus. The sheet position detection apparatus has a first and a second conveyance roller which are arranged to oppose across a sheet to be conveyed and to nip the sheet, and a detector configured to detect an end position of the sheet, the detector has a light emitter and a light receptor arranged on the first conveyance roller side, the light emitter and the light receptor are arranged such that a light emitted from the light emitter is reflected on a reflective face of the second conveyance roller and enters the light receptor, and the detector detects passage of an end of the sheet based on a change in the amount of light entering the light receptor when the sheet shields a light emitted from the light emitter.

Sheet position detection apparatus, sheet conveyance apparatus, and image formation apparatus

A toner storing container stores toner and is provided attachable to and detachable from an image forming apparatus. The toner storing container includes: a container body that includes an opening, and an inner circumferential surface extending toward the opening around a center line extending in one direction; and a toner conveyer that is attached onto the inner circumferential surface of the container body. The toner conveyer projects inward from the inner circumferential surface as well as spirally extends in the one direction around the center line.

Toner storing container, image forming apparatus, and method for manufacturing toner storing container

A fuser includes a pressure pad forming a nip with a fuser belt between the pad and a fuser rotator. A pressure face in contact with the belt has profiles in planes normal to the axis of the rotator. The profiles each include a reference section, the first to come into contact with the rotator with the belt in between when the pad forms the nip, and a boundary section at a threshold distance from the reference section in the width direction of the nip. When the pad is apart from the nip due to removal of a force applied by a pusher unit, the boundary section is, relative to the reference section, more largely displaced in the opposite direction to that of the rotator in one of the profiles located at a larger distance from a center portion of the pad in the axial direction of the rotator.

Fuser with pressure pad and image forming device having the same

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device that forms a fixing nip by a pressure rotator and a fixing belt that rotates while contacting the pressure rotator, and includes: a nip former that is disposed inside the fixing belt and that forms the fixing nip between the pressure rotator and the fixing belt; and a lubricant supplier that forms a lubricant-retaining space at a position between an inner surface of the fixing belt and the nip former on an upstream side of the nip former in a rotation direction of the fixing belt, wherein the lubricant supplier varies a volume of the lubricant-retaining space.

Image forming apparatus and fixing device with lubricant retaining space having a variable volume

A fixing device includes: a fixing belt with no ends configured to stretch rotatably; a heating unit configured to heat the fixing belt; a fixing member disposed outside the fixing belt and configured to be in contact with the fixing belt by pressurizing; a pressing member disposed inside the fixing belt and configured to press the fixing member with the fixing belt involved; and a lubricant supply unit configured to supply a lubricant to the inner periphery of the fixing belt so as to supply the lubricant between the pressing member and the fixing belt, wherein the lubricant supply unit is disposed inside the fixing belt, configured to hold the lubricant, and includes a holding unit provided with a lubricant ejection port having a longitudinal shape and extending along a width direction of the fixing belt.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

An exhaust air cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning duct for cleaning air to be exhausted from an exhaust port of an image forming apparatus. In the cleaning duct, a fan and a filter are provide between an inflow part connected with the exhaust port of the image forming apparatus and a discharge port for discharging air from the inside of the cleaning duct. The exhaust air cleaning apparatus further includes a pressure adjusting part for adjusting the pressure in the cleaning duct. The pressure adjusting part performs pressure adjustment so that the pressure at a pressure adjusting position located between the inflow part and the fan in the cleaning duct falls within an appropriate pressure range determined in advance to be equal to or less than atmospheric pressure.

Exhaust air cleaning apparatus and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus has a function to clean exhaust air from inside and to discharge cleaned air. The image forming apparatus has an exhaust air duct configured to guide internal air to outside, and a cleaning filter configured to clean air passing through the exhaust air duct. A cubic measure of an airflow path in the exhaust air duct during normal operation has a first value, and the cubic measure of the airflow path in the exhaust air duct during operation causing a large amount of harmful matters to be contained in the exhaust air from inside has a second value greater than the first value.

Image forming apparatus

A sheet member supply device () of an image forming apparatus () includes a sheet member stacking plate () in which sheet members (S) are stacked on the upper surface, a pickup roller () which makes contact with, from above, the uppermost layer of the sheet members (S) stacked on the sheet member stacking plate (), a stacking plate displacement mechanism () which displaces the sheet member stacking plate () upward, a motive power transmission mechanism () which transmits motive power obtained from a drive source () to the stacking plate displacement mechanism () and a paradox planetary gear mechanism () which is provided in the motive power transmission mechanism (). In this way, with a simple configuration, it is possible to reduce the unintentional downward displacement of the stacking plate.

Sheet member supply device and image forming apparatus

A tension roller which is brought into contact with an inner circumferential surface of an endless belt and is rotated and which can be moved to a first position where the belt is in a relaxed state and a second position where the belt is in a tensioned state, a butting member which butts against the belt, a force application unit which applies, to the butting member, a force acting in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the belt and a movement mechanism which moves the tension roller to the first position and the second position are provided. When the belt is rotated, the butting member is moved in the rotation direction of the belt by a friction force with the belt, and the movement mechanism moves the tension roller from the first position to the second position by the movement of the butting member in the rotation direction of the belt. When the rotation of the belt is stopped, the butting member is moved in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the belt by the force applied by the force application unit, and the movement mechanism moves the tension roller from the second position to the first position by the movement of the butting member in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the belt.

Belt tension adjustment mechanism and image forming apparatus

A sheet feeder having: a base portion configured to support thereon a stack of sheets piled on top of another; a blower configured to blow air to the stack of sheets supported on the base portion so as to float one or more sheets in an uppermost portion of the stack of sheets; a suction/feed system located above the base portion, the suction/feed system configured to suck the sheet floated by the blower and to feed the sheet in a predetermined feeding direction; a photographic device configured to take a picture of the one or more sheets floated by the blower; and an illuminating device configured to emit light to the one or more sheets floated by the blower a plurality of times during one exposure process carried out by the photographic device.

Sheet feeder and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus having: an inside-air duct having a first inlet to an inside of the image forming apparatus; a first ventilator provided in the inside-air duct; an outside-air duct having a second inlet to an outside of the image forming apparatus; a common duct into which the inside-air duct and the outside-air duct are merged; a second ventilator provided in at least one of the outside-air duct and the common duct; a filter provided in the common duct; and a control section that retrieves information indicative of an flow rate in the inside-air duct and increases a pressure produced by the second ventilator based on the retrieved information such that an flow rate in the outside-air duct is substantially constant with respect to an increase of the flow rate in the inside-air duct.

An image forming apparatus having: a rotating member adapted to support an image; a first drive source configured to generate a drive force; a transmission mechanism configured to transmit the generated drive force toward the rotating member, the mechanism including an upstream gear and a downstream gear configured to receive the drive force therefrom; a sensor configured to output a signal indicating a rotational status of the rotating member; a control circuit configured to generate a control signal appropriate for non-uniform rotation of the rotating member, on the basis of the signal outputted by the sensor; and an actuator configured to cause a rotation axis of the first drive source or the transmission mechanism to pivot, in accordance with the control signal, thereby changing a force with which the upstream gear pushes the downstream gear into rotation such that the non-uniform rotation is cancelled out.

Image forming apparatus for cancelling non-uniform rotation of a rotating member

An image forming apparatus has: an exhaust air duct capable of forming a first air flow path for an exhaust air cleaning function and a second air flow path for a room air cleaning function, the exhaust air duct having a common use space used in common for the exhaust air cleaning function and the room air cleaning function; a switching member configured to switch a flow path in the exhaust air duct, depending on which of the cleaning functions is activated; a fan configured to discharge air from the common use space in an active state of the exhaust air cleaning function and in an active state of the room air cleaning function; and a control unit configured to control the switching member and to adjust a rotation speed of the fan, depending on which of the cleaning functions is activated.

An exhaust purification apparatus includes: a purification duct configured to purify air to be discharged from a ventilation port in an image forming apparatus, the purification duct including: at least one inlet communicating with an interior of the purification duct for connection with the ventilation port in the image forming apparatus; an outlet configured to discharge air inside the purification duct to the outside; a fan configured to direct air from the inlet toward the outlet; a filter configured to recover particles in the air, the fan and the filter each being disposed in the purification duct at a position between the inlet and the outlet; an airflow detector configured to detect an airflow at the inlet; and a controller configured to execute a normal mode and an attachment determination mode.

Exhaust purification apparatus

A gloss measuring device that measures a gloss of an image formed on a sheet which is being transported, the gloss measuring device includes a light emission portion that emits light toward the sheet, a light reception portion that receives the light reflected specularly off the image formed on the sheet, and a position adjustment unit that performs adjustment such that the sheet being transported is in a measurement reference position.

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Okazaki, Japan

Shoichi Yoshikawa