Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Shota Shinoya

Isao Kishi

Junichi Hashimoto

Nao Itabashi

Motoaki Mushika

Yasushi Okabe

Fumikazu Sato

Koji Abe

Yasuhiro Suzuki

Hiroki Mori

Takeyuki Takagi

Masatoshi Shiraki

Yuwen Wang

Hiromitsu Mizutani

Takashi Fujiwara

Kazutoshi Nakamura

Shohei Ichikawa

Hiroyuki Shingai

Shinichi Hatakeyama

Naoto Ozeki

Hiroaki Shigeno

Yuji Takimoto

Isamu Sakata

A printer includes an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method, and a recording unit configured to record an image on a sheet by an inkjet method. An image recording position of the recording unit is located above an image forming position of the image forming unit.

Printer

An image forming apparatus includes a discharging tray for supporting a sheet, an operation panel and a supporting member. The sheet is discharged toward a sheet discharging direction that is a direction toward which the sheet is discharged. The operation panel is located at a position which is different from the position of the discharging tray in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet discharging direction and above the discharging tray. The supporting member is disposed at the discharging tray and capable of supporting the discharged sheet with the discharging tray. A front end portion of the supporting member is located above an upper surface of the discharging tray. At least a part of the front end portion of the supporting member overlaps the operation panel when viewed in the width direction.

Image forming apparatus

A multifunction device includes an image reading unit, an image forming unit, a lower housing, an upper housing, an operation panel, and a contacting/separating portion. The upper housing includes: a front wall from which the operation panel protrudes frontward; and a rear end portion pivotably connected to the lower housing. The upper housing is pivotable between a seated position and an ascent position relative to the lower housing. The operation panel has a panel front end and a panel bottom surface formed with a groove recessed upward therefrom. The contacting/separating portion is provided at the panel bottom surface. The contacting/separating portion abuts on the lower housing when the upper housing is at the seated position and is separated away from the lower housing when the upper housing is at the ascent position. The groove includes a first groove part positioned between the panel front end and the contacting/separating portion.

Multifunction device including operation panel provided at pivotable upper housing

A drawer includes: a photosensitive drum; a drawer frame; a connector; a drawer memory; and a holder. The photosensitive drum is rotatable about a drum axis extending in a first direction. The drawer frame holds the photosensitive drum. The drawer frame has an outer surface. The connector has a plurality of terminals arrayed in an arraying direction. The drawer memory stores information on the photosensitive drum. The drawer memory is electrically connectable to at least one of the plurality of terminals. The holder is positioned at the outer surface of the drawer frame and holds the connector. The holder is movable relative to the drawer frame in the arraying direction of the plurality of terminals.

Drawer including drawer frame, connector, and holder holding the same and movable relative to drawer frame

An image forming apparatus includes a drawer and a main body. The drawer includes a drawer-side electrical contact part and a socket. The main body includes a main body-side connector including: a main body-side electrical contact part; and a holder including a base, a panel, and an elastic member interposed between the base and the panel. The holder holds the main body-side electrical contact part to be movable in an intersection direction intersecting with an extension and contraction direction of the elastic member. When the holder contacts the socket, the panel moves relative to the base in the intersection direction together with the main body side-electrical contact part, and the main body side-electrical contact part and drawer-side electrical contact part are in contact with each other.

An image forming apparatus includes a drawer, a drawer-side electrical contact, a cover, a main body-side electrical contact and an elastic member interposed between a base and a panel. The main body-side electrical contact and the panel are held to be movable relative to the base in a third direction as being an extension and contraction direction of the elastic member. The image forming apparatus takes: a first state where the cover is open, the drawer-side electrical contact contacts the main body-side electrical contact, and the elastic member has a first length; and a second state where the cover is closed, the drawer-side electrical contact contacts the main body-side electrical contact, and the elastic member in the third direction has a second length shorter than the first length.

An image forming apparatus including a drawer and a main body. The drawer includes a frame holding a photosensitive drum rotatable about an axis extending in a first direction and a drawer-side connector including a drawer-side electrical contact part. The main body includes: a housing including a main body-side electrical contact part; a shaft extending in the first direction; a unit removably insertable to the housing; and a connection member. One end in a third direction intersecting with the first and second directions of the unit is fitted to the housing and the other end is supported to the shaft via the connection member. The main body-side connector is supported to the unit. The drawer-side electrical contact part and the main body-side electrical contact part are interconnected when the drawer is accommodated.

A sheet conveying apparatus installed in an image forming apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a first guide member provided to a rear cover and configured to guide a sheet along a conveying path, a second guide member provided to the rear cover and configured to be movable between a first position where the sheet is guided to a nip of intermediate discharging rollers and a second position farther from the nip in a sheet conveying direction than the first position, and a movement mechanism configured to move the second member. When the rear cover is moved from a closed position toward an opened position, the movement mechanism moves the second guide member from the first position to the second position.

Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming engine, a re-conveyance path configured to guide a sheet, on which an image is formed by the image forming engine, to be switched back and re-conveyed toward the image forming engine. The apparatus also includes a discharge tray, and a discharge path configured to guide the sheet in a sheet discharge direction toward the discharge tray. A stack lever is configured to contact a top surface of the sheet on the discharge tray and press the sheet toward the discharge tray. A guide member is configured to form a part of the re-conveyance path, extend up to a position downstream of the stack lever in the sheet discharge direction above the stack lever, and guide the sheet being conveyed along the re-conveyance path, between the guide member and the stack lever.

Image forming apparatus having a guide member forming a reconveyance path

A developing cartridge including: a housing capable of accommodating therein toner; a developing roller rotatable about a first axis extending in an axial direction; a supply roller rotatable about a second axis extending in the axial direction; a coupling rotatable about a third axis extending in the axial direction; a developing roller gear rotatable about the first axis together with the developing roller; a supply roller gear rotatable about the second axis together with the supply roller; a large-diameter gear rotatable about the third axis together with the coupling and meshing with the developing roller gear; a small-diameter gear rotatable about the third axis together with the coupling and having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the large-diameter gear, and an idle gear rotatable about a fourth axis extending in the axial direction and meshing with the supply roller gear and the small-diameter gear.

Developing cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes: a fixing member; a holding member; and a cam member. The holding member holds the fixing member such that the fixing member can be displaced between a pressure contact position and a separation position. The cam member is rotatable about an axis in a first direction and a second direction. A distance between a cam surface of the cam member and the axis is reduced in the second direction. A part of the cam surface is in contact with the holding member at a first position in a state where the fixing member is at the separation position, and away from the holding member at a second position in a state where the fixing member is at the pressure contact position. The first direction is opposite to a direction from the first position to the second position about the axis with a smaller central angle.

Image forming apparatus capable of suppressing generation of noise upon turning on image forming apparatus

A fuser includes a heater, a presser, a support member that supports the presser to allow the presser to move between a nip position where the presser is in pressured contact with the heater, and a separated position where the presser is separated from the heater, a first spring, a first cam, a first gear, a second gear, a second spring, and a second cam. The second cam has a cam profile that, when the presser moves from the separated position to the nip position, causes the second gear to move in a direction along a second axis against urging force of the second spring to increase the urging force of the second spring.

Growing community of inventors

Nisshin, Japan

Shota Shinoya