Minolta Company, Ltd.

Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Yanmar Power Technology Co., Inc.

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yanmar Co., Ltd.

Yoshikawa Iron Works Ltd.

Shuichi Nakagawa

Ryuji Inoue

Hiroshi Goto

Jiro Fukudome

Yoichi Fujieda

Yoshika Hatasako

Yuichiro Tanaka

Hiroshi Mizuno

Akihito Ikegawa

Tateki Oka

Junji Machida

Hiroshi Murasaki

Yuji Enoguchi

Kouichi Etou

Masahiko Matsuura

Tetsumaru Fujita

Chikara Tsutsui

Hirofumi Hasegawa

Shintaro Yamada

Hidetoshi Miyamoto

Naoki Toyoshi

Tomoaki Yokoyama

Shin Murayama

Hitoshi Sekino

Makoto Shimazoe

Minoru Yamada

Yoshiko Yaoi

Kazuo Kobayashi

Seiichi Yoshikawa

A thermoelectric power generation device including a thermoelectric element having a first side provided to a heating unit and a second side provided to a cooling unit, and a heat transfer pipe arranged in a passage in which a high temperature fluid flows. The heating unit and the heat transfer pipe have internal spaces communicating with each other. The internal space of the heating unit and the internal space of the heat transfer pipe form a circulation path in which a heat medium is circulated. An outlet of the heat transfer pipe from which the heat medium is discharged is provided in a position higher than an inlet of the heat transfer pipe into which the heat medium flows. The heat transfer pipe vaporizes the heat medium flowing in the circulation path by using heat of the high temperature fluid. The heating unit condenses the heat medium vaporized.

Thermoelectric power generation device

A thermoelectric generation system is provided with: a thermoelectric element; a heating unit; a cooling unit; a heat transfer unit; a pressure gauge; a first valve; and a control unit. The thermoelectric element uses a temperature difference to generate power. The heating unit has a first heat medium path through which a heat medium passes, and heats the thermoelectric element by means of the heat of the heat medium. The cooling unit cools the thermoelectric element. The heat transfer unit has a second heat medium path through which the heat medium passes and which is connected to the first heat medium path, and heats, by using a heat source, the heat medium reduced in temperature as a result of heating the thermoelectric element. The pressure gauge detects the rise or fall of a value (pressure of heat medium) in accordance with the temperature of the heat source.

Thermoelectric generation system

A thermoelectric power generation device including: a heating unit having a heat medium passage in which a heat medium flows; a cooling unit having a cooling liquid passage in which a cooling liquid flows; a thermoelectric element having the heating unit and the cooling unit so as to generate power by utilizing a temperature difference between a condensation temperature of the heat medium and a temperature of the cooling liquid; a power generation output detection unit configured to detect a power generation output of the thermoelectric element; a heat medium pressure detection unit configured to detect a pressure of the heat medium; a storage unit for storing, in advance, a relationship between a power generation output of the thermoelectric element and the pressure of the heat medium; and an abnormality detection unit configured to detect an abnormality taking place in the thermoelectric power generation device.

Thermoelectric power generation system

A thermoelectric power generation system including a plurality of thermoelectric power generation devices. Each of the thermoelectric power generation devices includes: a heating unit having a heat medium passage in which a heat medium flows; a cooling unit having a cooling liquid passage in which a cooling liquid flows; a thermoelectric element having the heating unit and the cooling unit so as to generate power by utilizing a temperature difference between a condensation temperature of the heat medium and a temperature of the cooling liquid; and a heat transfer pipe communicated with the heat medium passage to form a circulation path in which the heat medium circulates. The heat transfer pipes of the respective thermoelectric power generation devices are arranged in a single flow path in which a high temperature fluid flows. The heat medium passages of the thermoelectric power generation devices are structured to communicate with each other.

A thermoelectric power generation device including: a heating unit having a heat medium passage in which a heat medium flows, a cooling unit having a cooling liquid passage in which a cooling liquid flows, a thermoelectric element having the heating unit on one side and the cooling unit on another side, the thermoelectric element configured to generate power by utilizing a temperature difference between a condensation temperature of the heat medium that undergoes latent heat transfer in the heat medium passage and a temperature of the cooling liquid; and the thermoelectric power generation device further including a heat medium adjusting unit configured to adjust the pressure or the temperature of the heat medium.

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 developing device includes a toner bearing member holding a toner on its surface for conveyance of the toner to a development region where the toner bearing member opposes an image bearing member via a predetermined gap therebetween; a regulating member pressed against the surface of the toner bearing member for regulation of the amount of toner conveyed to the development region; and a developing bias source for applying an alternating electric field between the toner bearing member and the image bearing member. The developing device features the use of the toner bearing member including a conductive substrate formed with an elastic layer, an intermediate layer and a surface layer on the surface thereof, respective volume resistances &rgr; and of which layers satisfy a condition &rgr; , the toner bearing member having an arithmetic average surface roughness in the range of 0.8 to 2.5 &mgr;m, and the use of the toner having a volume-average particle size of 3 to 8 &mgr;m.

Developing device

A developing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a developer carrying member for holding a developer and introducing the developer into a developing area opposite to the image carrying member at a required distance; a voltage applying device for applying an AC voltage to the developer carrying member; and a resistor inserted between the developer applying device and the developer carrying member, the AC voltage applied to the developer carrying member from the voltage applying device through the resistor being composed of a rectangular wave, and a time period during which a voltage, which is exerted in the direction in which the developer is fed to the image carrying member, in the AC voltage is less than 50% of a time period during which the AC voltage is exerted.

Developing apparatus including an AC voltage applying device

A development device according to the invention has an arrangement wherein a developer carrying member holding a toner thereon and an image bearing member with an electrostatic latent image formed thereon oppose each other across a predetermined gap therebetween, and a power unit applies an alternating voltage to the gap for supplying the toner from the developer carrying member to the image bearing member, the development device satisfying any one the following conditions: ##EQU1## where a (.OMEGA.) denotes a resistance component of an impedance (a+b.multidot.i) of the developer carrying member, -b (.OMEGA.) denotes a capacitative reactance component of the impedance thereof, and f (Hz) denotes a frequency of the alternating voltage.

Development device

An image forming apparatus for making tone reproductions using a variable area toning method. In addition to an image carrying member, on which a latent image is formed, and a developer, to develop a formed latent image, the apparatus is characterized by having a subsystem to form a plurality of first latent images having different dot area indexes, a subsystem to form a plurality of second latent images having different resolutions, first and second detector systems to respectively detect the image characteristics of the first and second latent images, and first and second correction subsystems to correct development conditions in accordance with respective outputs from the first and second detector systems.

Image forming apparatus and method of controlling the same

In a developing device according to the present invention, a developer carrying member in which a dielectric layer is formed on the surface of a conductive base substrate is used. In conveying a monocomponent developer containing no carrier to a developing area opposite to the image carrying member with the developer held on the surface of the developer carrying member, to develop a latent image formed on the image carrying member by the developer, the dielectric layer in the developer carrying member satisfies the following conditions:

Developing device and developer carrying member

The present invention is directed to a developing device using a developer carrying member in which an insulating layer is formed on the surface of a conductive base substrate for regulating, in conveying a developer to a developing area opposite to an image carrying member with it being held on the surface of the developer carrying member, the amount of the developer conveyed to the developing area upon pressing a regulating member against the surface of the developer carrying member, wherein a regulating member in which a dielectric layer satisfying the following relationship (1) is formed on an electrical conductive member is used as the regulating member, to press the dielectric layer against the developer carrying member:

Developing device and regulating member

A development system that contains a developer carrier for carrying a developer on the surface thereof to a development region opposite to an image bearing body, and a regulating member biased into contact with the surface of the developer carrier by a predetermined pressure for regulating an amount of developer carried by a developer transport member. The developer carrier has a surface coated with fine particles with an average particles size of between 3 and 30 .mu.m which are bonded with the surface.

Developing roller having another coating of fine particles

A rivetting machine has a hydraulic cylinder connected with a hydraulic power source, the cylinder including a piston shaft, a motor-driven spindle extending through and journaled to the piston shaft, and a rivet head forming tool secured to the bottom end of the spindle and carrying a forming shaft. A controller of the machine has a linear encoder for detecting the axial position of the piston shaft, an electric hydraulic servo valve provided in a hydraulic circuit between the hydraulic power source and the hydraulic cylinder, a machining data input unit for inputting machining data of the work rivet into a programmable control unit. The control unit receives the output of the linear encoder and the input machining data and controlling the hydraulic cylinder via the electric/hydraulic servo valve based on the machining data and the output of the encoder.

Controller for rivetting machine

The present invention discloses a mono-component developing device comprising a rotatable drive roller which confronts a rotatable photoreceptor, a flexible member arranged on the exterior surface of the drive roller and having a peripheral length greater than a peripheral length of the drive roller, an elastic pad provided on the side opposed to the side confronting the photoreceptor of the drive roller, and an elastic plate arranged at both ends of the flexible member in an axial length thereof. In the developing device having the above construction the flexible member onto which a toner is supplied is pressed toward the photoreceptor by the elastic pad while being pressed by the elastic plate in the axial direction of the flexible member, so that the flexible member contacts with the surface of the photoreceptor on the side confronting the photoreceptor of the drive roller to supply the toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor surface.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Shuichi Nakagawa