Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.

Ricoh Printing Systems, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd.

Susumu Tateyama

Kenji Ishii

Takeshi Watanabe

Tatsuya Kubo

Yoshitaka Fujinuma

Shinnosuke Koshizuka

Akihiro Takayama

Tomoyasu Hirasawa

Emi Kita

Hiroaki Miyagawa

Kentaro Nodera

Hiromitsu Fujiya

Keisuke Ikeda

Teppei Kikuchi

Keisuke Yuasa

Masayoshi Nakayama

Yasuaki Toda

Kenichi Takehara

Yutaka Shoji

Hiroyuki Uenishi

Makoto Nakura

Tsutomu Nakagawa

Yuji Suzuki

Takashi Suzuki

Takeshi Mochizuki

Kazutaka Setoma

Kentarou Nodera

Shinji Kato

Noboru Tokuyasu

Kiyonori Tsuda

Tomofumi Yoshida

Hirobumi Ooyoshi

Koichi Kato

Yuki Oshikawa

Koichi Yamazaki

Shintaro Yamada

Hisao Okada

Takao Kumasaka

Yuzuru Simazaki

Kenji Asuwa

Satoshi Aizawa

Kazuhiro Shimojima

Kohichi Yamazaki

Yukinori Sakuma

Yuusuke Kumagawa

A powder container includes a powder chamber for containing powder for forming images, a powder outlet formed in a face of the powder container, and a shutter assembly to open and close the powder outlet and including first and second shutters. The first shutter is movable between a sealing position to close the powder outlet and an open position to open the powder outlet and includes a pressed member to cancel retention of the first shutter at the sealing position. The second shutter includes a pressing projection that interferes with the pressed member of the first shutter and is movable between a shielding position to cover the pressed member without interference between the pressing projection and the pressed member and a releasing position to press the pressed member with the pressing projection.

Powder container, powder supply device, and image forming apparatus including same

An image forming apparatus includes a conveyance path to convey a recording medium; an image forming device to form an image on the recording medium; a heating device to heat the recording medium; an image detector disposed downstream from the heating device in a direction of conveyance of the recording medium, to detect the image on the recording medium; and a protector projecting beyond the image detector toward the conveyance path. The protector is to protect the image detector; and a heat conductive holder holds the protector.

Image forming apparatus

A recording-material cooling device includes a first cooling member, a second cooling member, an approach-and-separation member, and a positioning member. The first cooling member is disposed at a first face side of a recording material to absorb heat of the recording material. The second cooling member is disposed at a second face side of the recording material to absorb heat of the recording material. The approach-and-separation member brings the first cooling member and the second cooling member close to and away from each other. The positioning member positions the first cooling member and the second cooling member relatively brought close to each other by the approach-and-separation member.

Cooling device and image forming apparatus including same

A recording-material cooling device includes a first belt, a first cooling unit, and a second cooling unit. The first belt is disposed at a first face side of a recording material. The first cooling unit has a first heat absorbing surface to contact the first belt to absorb heat of the recording material. The second cooling unit has a second heat absorbing surface to directly or indirectly contact the recording material to absorb heat of the recording material. The second cooling unit is disposed at a second face side of the recording material. The first and second cooling units are offset from each other in a transport direction of the recording material. Each of the first and second surfaces has a shape in which an inner area protrudes beyond opposed ends in the transport direction. The first and second surfaces overlap each other in a direction crossing the transport direction.

A recording-material cooling device is disposed downstream from a fixing device in a transport direction of a recording material. The fixing device includes a fixing member and a pressing member to fix an unfixed toner image on the recording material. The recording-material cooling device includes a first cooling unit disposed at a same side as the pressing member relative to the recording material, a second cooling unit disposed at a same side as the fixing member relative to the recording material, and a third cooling unit disposed at the same side as the pressing member relative to the recording material. The first cooling unit, the second cooling unit, and the third cooling unit are arranged in an order of the first cooling unit, the second cooling unit, and the third cooling unit from upstream to downstream in the transport direction of the recording material.

A liquid type cooling device, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes a heat releasing unit to release heat of a coolant that passes therethrough, and multiple air blowing fans disposed facing the heat releasing unit to blow air to the heat releasing unit. A cooling capacity of the liquid type cooling device varies according to a type of a recording medium on which an image is formed.

Cooling device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A liquid type cooling device, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes a heat receiving part including a heat receiving unit to transport heat from a cooling target to a coolant and a heat releasing part including a heat releasing unit, a cooling fan, and an air flowing space. The heat releasing unit has a coolant flowing path and an air flowing path through which air passes and conducts heat exchange with the coolant. The air flowing space has an air inlet port and an air outlet port. When the air flowing path has an upstream region and a downstream region along a coolant flowing direction of the coolant flowing path, air at high temperature flows into the upstream region of the air flowing path. Alternatively, the heat releasing unit may have a coolant inlet port, a coolant outlet port, and the air flowing path.

Liquid cooling device that arranges a coolant flowing direction in accordance with a temperature gradient of a cooling airflow and image forming apparatus incorporating the same

An image forming apparatus includes a cooling conveyor to cool a recording material having an image fixed by heat while sandwiching and conveying the recording material. The cooling conveyor includes a conveyance belt, a cooling member, and a cooling unit. The conveyance belt sandwiches and conveys the recording material. The cooling member absorbs heat of the recording material via the conveyance belt. The cooling unit maintains the cooling member at low temperature. The cooling conveyor performs control of stopping the cooling unit in a standby state of the image forming apparatus, activating the cooling unit and performing a preliminary cooling operation to decrease temperature of the cooling member after a shift from the standby state to image forming operation, and then bringing the recording material into contact with the conveyance belt.

Growing community of inventors

Ibaraki, Japan

Susumu Tateyama