Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Shota Onishi

Masakazu Uehara

Hironori Takahashi

Tomohiro Watatani

Yuhiro Sakai

Masami Fuchi

Masuo Kawamoto

Takuya Kawasumi

Kazunobu Ishikawa

Yusuke Tsukamoto

A sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet storage portion that stores sheets. The sheet storage portion has a bottom wall portion and a circumferential wall portion. The circumferential wall portion has a pair of support protruding portions and a groove portion. The pair of support protruding portions protrude from opposite inner circumferential faces facing each other along the axial direction of a pivot axis to be inserted in through holes, and pivotably support the sheet stacking plate. The groove portion is concave outward along the axial direction from the opposite inner circumferential faces facing each other along the axial direction of the pivot axis, and extends along the pivoting direction of the projection portion. With the sheet stacking plate raised, the projection portion is disposed in the groove.

Sheet feeding apparatus and image forming apparatus therewith

A fixing device according to the present disclosure includes a rotatable endless belt and an end portion holder. The end portion holder supports each of end portions of the fixing belt rotatably, and has a cylindrical part along which an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt slides and an end wall part which faces an end surface of the fixing belt. The end wall part has a restraint part which faces an outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt with a predetermined interval and restrains the fixing belt from turning up.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

Provided is a fixing device including: a fixing belt; a pressure roller which pressurizes toner on a sheet that passes through a pressure area; a pair of retention members each including a shaft-supporting portion which rotatably guides one of both end portions of the fixing belt in an axial direction, and a restriction surface which restricts a movement of the fixing belt in the axial direction; and a frame including a pair of side plates which rotatably support both end portions of the pressure roller in the axial direction as well as support the fixing belt via the pair of retention members, in which attachment positions of the pair of retention members in the pair of side plates are provided such that a gap becomes larger on a downstream side of a passing direction of the sheet with respect to the pressure area than on an upstream side.

A fixing device includes a pressure member, and a holder. The pressure member forms a pressure area between the pressure member and a fixing belt. The holder is provided inside the fixing belt, has a sliding surface in contact with an inner peripheral surface of the fixing belt via a lubricant, and holds a heater for heating the fixing belt. The holder includes a plurality of slits and a blocking portion. The plurality of slits are arranged in an axial direction on the sliding surface upstream of the pressure area in a passing direction of a medium and guide movement of the lubricant from upstream to downstream in a rotational direction of the fixing belt. The blocking portion restricts an outflow of the lubricant from each of the slits and restricts a fall of the fixing belt into each of the slits.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus capable of suppressing deformation of fixing belt and excessive adhesion of lubricant

An information processing method includes the following executed by a computer: acquiring a first image and object data of an object appearing in the first image, extracting a portion of the first image that corresponds to a difference between the object data and an object detection result obtained by inputting the first image to a trained model, the trained model receiving an image as input to output an object detection result, acquiring a second image that includes a portion corresponding to the same object data as object data corresponding to the extracted portion of the first image, reflecting an image based on the extracted portion of the first image in the portion of the acquired second image that corresponds to the same object data, and generating training data for the trained model.

Information processing method and information processing system

A fixing device includes a fixing member, a pressure member, and a pair of retention members each including a restriction surface. The restriction surface restricts a movement of the fixing member in an axial direction. The restriction surface includes a first contact area and a second contact area. The first area is an area more on a downstream side of a passing direction of a medium than a center of a pressure area in the passing direction, and also closer to the pressure area than an apex of the fixing member on an opposite side of the pressure area. The first contact area and the second contact area are each tilted at a certain gradient so as to be set apart from the end portion of the fixing member in the axial direction from a side of the apex toward a side of the pressure area.

A fixing device includes a heating roller, a pressing roller, a heating part, a heat insulating member and a bearing. The pressing roller holds a sheet with the heating roller. The heating part heats the heating roller. The heat insulating member is fitted on an end portion in an axial direction of the heating roller, has a heat-resistance to heat applied from the heating roller and has an inclined shape in which an outer diameter becomes small toward an inside in the axial direction of the heating roller. The bearing supports the heating roller through the heat insulating member.

An image forming apparatus is provided with a printing device, a sheet conveyance path, a protective cover, a swing member, and a biasing member. The sheet conveyance path includes an upper guide portion and a lower guide portion. The swing member is supported inside a main body and can swing upward from a standard position. The biasing member biases the swing member to the standard position. The swing member includes the upper guide portion. The protective cover includes the lower guide portion and a contact portion. The contact portion pushes the swing member upward when the protective cover pivots in an outward position from a closed position. The protective cover can pivot from the closed position to an open position as the contact portion pushes the swing member upward.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device, a fixing device, a high voltage power supply board, a main body housing and a door. The door is provided in the main body housing so as to face the fixing device. The fixing device includes a fixing member, a pressure roller, a charge applying device, a fixing housing and a contact member. The fixing member is rotatable. The charge applying device is applied with a voltage from the high voltage power supply board and applies a charge to the fixing member. The fixing housing stores the fixing member, the pressure roller and the charge applying device. The contact member is provided in the fixing housing at a position accessible by opening the door and to which a feed line on the high voltage power supply board side and a feed line on the charge applying device side are connected.

An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device, a discharge roller pair, a cooling fan, a detection portion, and a cooling fan control unit. The discharge roller pair discharges a sheet on which a toner image has been fixed in the fixing device to a discharge tray via a discharge port. The cooling fan cools the sheet discharged on the discharge tray by blowing air thereto. The detection portion detects a rear end of the sheet being conveyed from the fixing device toward the discharge port. The cooling fan control unit performs control so that, within a prescribed period from a point in time of detection of the rear end of the sheet by the detection portion to when the rear end passes through the discharge roller pair, a rotation speed of the cooling fan is reduced to be lower than a reference speed used to cool the sheet.

Image forming apparatus with a cooling fan which suppresses sticking of sheets

A fixing device includes a heating body, a pressuring body, a lateral plate supporting the heating or pressuring body, a first supporting body supporting the heating or pressuring body, a second supporting body including a roller, a tensile spring between the first and second supporting bodies, an eccentric cam, a rotating shaft, a protrusion, a driving part, and a pressing member. The cam is supported between the first and second supporting bodies swingable in the lateral plate and has a depression gradually inclined from an upstream side to a downstream side in a rotation direction. The protrusion is protruded from the rotating shaft and meets the depression. The pressing member presses the cam opposite the protrusion. The cam rotates and meets the roller to shift the second supporting body and to extend and contract the spring, and changes a nip pressure from a first pressure to a lower second pressure.

A photosensitive drum unit includes a photosensitive drum, a drum shaft, a resin frame, and a conducting member. The drum shaft is inserted through the photosensitive drum. The resin frame supports opposite ends of the drum shaft. The conducting member is a substantially coil-shaped spring member having a first end adjacent to the resin frame and a second end opposite to the first end. The conducting member is tapered from the first end toward the second end. The first end forms a first opening and the second end forms a second opening. A circle inscribed in the second opening has a diameter larger than an outer diameter of the drum shaft.

Photosensitive drum unit and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus of the present disclosure includes an image carrier, an intermediate transfer unit, a secondary transfer roller, and a fixing unit. The intermediate transfer unit includes an intermediate transfer belt, and a driving and driven rollers that rotatably stretch the intermediate transfer belt, and the intermediate transfer unit is insertable/drawable with respect to an apparatus main body. The secondary transfer roller and the intermediate transfer belt constitute a nip portion. The fixing unit is disposed above the intermediate transfer unit, and fixes a toner image on a recording medium. The intermediate transfer unit includes an entry restriction member that restricts entry of a recording medium into a space between the intermediate transfer unit and the fixing unit.

Image forming apparatus including intermediate transfer unit and fixing unit

A windbreak plate is assembled to a thermistor mounting member for mounting a thermistor to a housing, and the thermistor is covered by the windbreak plate from a paper entry path side. The thermistor mounting member has exposure parts which are exposed to the paper entry path from the windbreak plate. The exposure parts (a second plate part and a third plate part) are level with the windbreak plate and constitutes a part of the windbreak plate.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including a windbreak plate covering a thermistor from a paper entry path side

An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present disclosure is an image forming apparatus of which the apparatus main body is provided with an IC card reader that reads data input to a noncontact IC card. The IC card reader is installed at an angle enabling a detection surface to face downward relative to the apparatus main body.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Shota Onishi