Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Soichiro Nishimura

Fumikazu Sato

Yoshinori Ito

Hideaki Deguchi

Yasushi Okabe

Tsutomu Suzuki

Satoru Ishikawa

Mitsuru Horinoe

Kazumasa Makino

Shusaku Tsusaka

Hitoshi Nakai

Takeshi Fuwazaki

Masatoshi Sakaguchi

Shougo Sato

Nao Itabashi

Takashi Shimizu

Takeyuki Takagi

Makoto Ishii

Takahiro Nishimoto

Kazushi Fukuta

Yasuhito Bandai

Takeshi Takami

Eiji Tanaka

An image forming apparatus, comprising a case that accommodates an image forming unit; a sheet cassette that is capable of moving relative to the case; and a cover disposed above the sheet cassette, wherein the cover covers a side of the case in which the sheet cassette is removably set in the case, the cover is capable of opening and closing, and a slot, through which a sheet is capable of being inserted, is formed between the cover and the sheet cassette with a lower end of the cover defining an upper end of the slot.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus having removable/replaceable process cartridges is provided. One of the removable/replaceable process cartridges is removed/replaced from a panel which is different than a panel from which the other removable/replaceable process cartridges is removed/replaced. One of the removable/replaceable process cartridges is associated with an exposure device which is only used to expose a portion of that process cartridge while the other removable/replaceable process cartridges are associated with at least one other exposure device. An image forming apparatus may include two or more different types of exposure devices. An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of guide members for guiding portions of an exposure device arranged on a panel of the image forming apparatus such that when the door or panel is arranged on the image forming apparatus, the exposure device is guided into position by the guide members.

A process cartridge including a main frame including a first side wall and a second side wall, and an image carrying member supported by the first side wall and the second side wall in a manner that permits the image carrying member to rotate. The image carrying member is movable between a retracted position and an extended position. When viewed from the first side wall side or the second side wall side, the image carrying member is concealed by the first side wall or the second side wall in the retracted position. When viewed from the first side wall side or the second side wall side, at least a portion of the image carrying member extends beyond a periphery of the first side wall or the second side wall in the extended position.

Process cartridge and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus having removable/replaceable process cartridges is provided. One of the removable/replaceable process cartridges may be removed/replaced from a panel which is different than a panel from which the other removable/replaceable process cartridges may be removed/replaced. One of the removable/replaceable process cartridges may be associated with an exposure device which is only used to expose a portion of that process cartridge while the other removable/replaceable process cartridges may be associated with at least one other exposure device. An image forming apparatus may include two or more different types of exposure devices (e.g., laser based, light emitting diode based, etc.). An image forming apparatus may include a plurality of guide members for guiding portions of an exposure device arranged on a panel of the image forming apparatus such that when the door or panel is arranged on the image forming apparatus, the exposure device is guided into position by the guide members.

An image forming apparatus includes a cover member that is capable of being opened and closed, wherein the cover member includes a discharge tray that is capable of holding printed recording medium, and an automatic document reader that is provided above the discharge tray, wherein when the cover member is opened to a predetermined position, the automatic document reader supports the printed recording medium placed on the discharge tray so that the printed recording medium does not fall therefrom when the cover member is open.

A method of reusing a developing device that can be detachably mounted in a body of an image-forming device includes: preparing a used developing device that includes a developer-carrying member that carries a developer thereon, and a gear mechanism having a plurality of gears that transfer a driving force inputted from the image-forming device to the developer-carrying member; and replacing at least one gear in the gear mechanism with at least one replacement gear that has stronger gear teeth, gear teeth that have a larger module, or gear teeth that have a greater working depth than the at least one original gear.

Method of reusing developing device used in image-forming device

An image carrying member cartridge includes an image carrying member; a charging device disposed along an axial direction of the image carrying member for charging the image carrying member; a cleaning member disposed below the charging device and along the axial direction of the image carrying member and provided to remove adherents from the image carrying member; and a cartridge housing that accommodates the image carrying member, the charging device and the cleaning member. The cartridge housing includes a sheet outlet below the cleaning member for discharging a recording medium. Ends of the cleaning member in the axial direction of the image carrying member are located closer to a center of the image carrying member in the axial direction as compared with ends of an opening of the sheet outlet in the axial direction.

Image carrying member cartridge and image forming apparatus

A brush holder for use in a process cartridge is integrally formed with a brush attachment portion, an extended end portion, a central extended portion, a downward extended portion, an electrode connection portion, and an electrode portion. The brush holder is formed longer than a brush. A holder supporting wall is provided at a brush mounting portion. The brush holder is supported by fitting a recess defined between the brush attachment portion and the downward extended portion onto the holder supporting wall.

A cartridge includes: a casing having a wall defining a developer accommodating portion inside the casing, a filling port being formed through the wall in fluid communication with the developer accommodating portion; a cylindrical wall portion formed on the wall at a circumferential edge of the filling port and protruding from the wall outside the casing, the cylindrical wall portion having an inner peripheral surface, an outer peripheral surface, and an end surface positioned between the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface; a closure member which is fitted in the cylindrical wall portion, while being in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical wall portion, to close the filling port; and a protruding portion that is provided on at least one of the end surface and the closure member at its contact portion between the end surface and the closure member and that protrudes toward the other one of the end surface and the closure member.

Developer cartridge including developer filling port cap and recycling method thereof

An image forming apparatus includes: a transfer member that transfers a developer image onto a transfer medium to form an image on the transfer medium; a bias applying unit that applies a transfer bias to the transfer member; and a bias control unit that controls the transfer bias to be applied to the transfer member by the bias applying unit, wherein a longitudinal length of the transfer member is formed to be shorter than a width of the transfer medium having a maximum width on which the image is to be formed with the image forming apparatus.

Image forming apparatus and process cartridge

A cartridge includes a cleaning unit. A casing having a wall that is formed with at least one opening that allows communication between an interior and an exterior of the casing. The cleaning unit is accommodated in the casing and that confronts the wall with a space being formed between the cleaning unit and the wall. At least a part of the cleaning unit confronts the at least one opening. The at least a part of the cleaning unit is in communication with the exterior of the casing via the at least one opening.

Process cartridge for image-forming device

An image forming device includes a paper dust removal unit that removes paper dust from a photosensitive member. The paper dust removal unit includes a brush-shaped member affixed to a plate by a two-sided tape. The brush-shaped member is peeled off from the plate so as to re-use the plate and the like of the paper dust removal unit. The tensile strength of the two-sided tape is greater than the shear adhesive strength between the two-sided tape and the plate, so that the two-sided tape is prevented from tearing partway when the brush-shaped member is peeled off.

Process cartridge including paper dust removal member

An image forming apparatus including: a developing device that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image bearing body into a visible image by using a charged developer, so as to form a developer image on the image bearing body; a developing-bias supplying device that supplies, to the developing device, a developing bias necessary for developing the electrostatic latent image into the visible image; a transfer device that transfers the developer image formed on the image bearing body onto a recording medium; a transfer-bias supplying device that supplies, to the transfer device, a transfer bias necessary for transferring the developer image onto the recording medium; and a controller that carries out at least one of (A) developing-bias-dependent transfer-bias control for controlling the transfer bias supplied by the transfer-bias supplying device to the transfer device, on the basis of the developing bias supplied by the developing-bias supplying device to the developing device, and (B) operation-amount-dependent developing-and-transfer-bias control for controlling the developing bias supplied by the developing-bias supplying device to the developing device and the transfer bias supplied by the transfer-bias supplying device to the transfer device, on the basis of an operation amount of the image forming apparatus.

Growing community of inventors

Handa, Japan

Soichiro Nishimura