Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Shionogi Company Limited

Takahiro Fukunaga

Kuniaki Nakano

Susumu Murakami

Yoshie Iwakura

Hiroshi Kida

Shoichiro Yoshiura

Hideshi Izumi

Hideaki Hagihara

Minoru Tomiyori

Yoshito Numata

Hidehisa Asada

Keiji Dohi

Yasushi Taniguchi

Kazuo Nakamura

Masakiyo Okuda

Masahiro Nishijima

Masanori Yamada

Manabu Matsumoto

Takashi Utsumi

Yasushi Nakanishi

Syoichiro Yoshiura

Masanobu Deguchi

Takashi Matsuda

Toyoaki Nanba

Masashi Hirai

Masaru Tsuji

Kozo Takahashi

Junya Masuda

Kenichi Iwamoto

Jinichi Nagata

Masahiko Fujita

Michiyuki Suzuki

Yukio Kanaoka

Katsuyoshi Fujiwara

Tadasu Taniguchi

Akihiko Taniguchi

Yoshikado Yamada

Kenzo Yoshida

Shinji Kato

Michiaki Nishimura

Hideo Yoshikawa

Junichi Kajiwara

Eiichi Shimizu

Kiwamu Morita

Masanobu Yamamoto

Tadaaki Kawano

Ken-ichi Iwamoto

Shigenori Morimoto

Osamu Nakayama

Haruo Sayama

Souichi Takata

Koji Wakamoto

Hiroaki Uchiyama

Tatsuya Ogawa

Tamami Nagasawa

Ryohsuke Sugiyama

Yukio Nakai

Yukinari Sato

A steam generating container A heated by a heat source includes: a water evaporation chamber into which water is supplied by a water supply device; a leading opening to lead steam from the water evaporation chamber, and ejection openings ejecting steam led through the leading opening into a heating chamber containing food. A buffer chamber connecting through the leading opening and with the ejection openings is provided between the water evaporation chamber and the heating chamber. Even when bumping water enters the buffer chamber through the leading opening, the bumping water having entered flows inside the buffer chamber. Thus, the bumping water is hardly ejected into the heating chamber through the ejection openings.

Cooking device

Cooking device including buffer chamber

An image forming apparatus includes a scanner section, an image forming section, and a functional unit. The scanner section is configured to read image information by scanning an image bearing side of a document sheet. The image forming section is located above or below the scanner section with a space section provided therebetween and is configured to perform image formation processing on a recording medium based on the image information read. The space section has at least one open vertical side. The functional unit is removably fitted into the space section through the open side.

Image forming apparatus

A cleaning blade for removing residual toner left on the surface of an intermediate transfer belt after the second transfer is supported integrally with movement of a tension roller. In the case where the tension roller moves to make a tension of the intermediate transfer belt constant, then, following this, the cleaning blade moves. Thus, the contact state of the cleaning blade with respect to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt is kept constant, and thus cleaning of the intermediate transfer belt can be performed stably.

Intermediate transfer system and method for cleaning intermediate transfer belt

Provided is an image forming apparatus support structure which permits improvements in both strength and dimensional accuracy, and which can also accommodate increases in size. Because respective coupling member(s) and steel channel of respective post member(s) may be sequentially and individually connected, it is possible to improve support structure dimensional accuracy, it being possible to assemble support structure(s) such that deviation(s) in the respective coupling member(s) and the respective post member(s) offset(s) one another. Furthermore, steel channel is suitable for supporting load(s) in vertical direction(s). Moreover, respective coupling member(s) may serve as brace(s) when interposed between respective post members. Where this is the case, strength of the overall support structure may be made extremely high, and strain exhibited by the overall support structure may be reduced.

Image forming apparatus support structure

A transfer device has a control circuit. The control circuit initiates supplying transfer power to one or more first transfer rollers and to a second transfer roller when a first transfer operation is initiated by a first transfer roller positioned most upstream with respect to a direction in which an intermediate transfer belt travels. The control circuit stops supplying the transfer power to the one or more first transfer rollers and to the second transfer roller when a second transfer operation is completed by the second transfer roller. The transfer power supplied to the one or more first transfer rollers and to the second transfer roller, respectively, is free from fluctuation during a period from the initiation of the first transfer operation performed first to the completion of the second transfer operation.

Electrostatic image transfer device using intermediate transfer belt having simplified image transfer voltage requirements

A transfer device is provided including an intermediate transfer belt and transfer rollers associated with respective of photosensitive drums. Each of the transfer rollers and the intermediate transfer belt define therebetween a contact range of which center lies downstream of the center of a contact range (transfer nip region) defined between the associated photosensitive drum and the endless belt in the direction of movement of the endless belt. The transfer roller deforms the path of movement of the intermediate transfer belt by contacting the intermediate transfer belt, and the resulting deformation causes the intermediate transfer belt to contact the periphery of the photosensitive drum over a predetermined range.

Transfer device

An image forming apparatus includes a pair of optical sensing devices for monochrome image forming and full-color image forming which are disposed at the rear of the image forming apparatus and a pair of generally L-shaped light shielding members for monochrome image forming and full-color image forming which are mounted swingably on a rear side of an image transfer unit with one end of each light shielding member attached to one of two sliding members. When each of the sliding members moves back and forth, the light shielding member for monochrome image forming or full-color image forming, whichever applicable, swings and the relevant optical sensing device detects the other end of the light shielding member.

A transfer device has a plurality of first transfer rollers provided, one in each of a plurality of first transfer regions. The first transfer rollers are arranged downstream of respective image carriers in a traveling direction of an intermediate transfer belt, so as to be out of contact with the image carriers through the belt. In the first transfer region that is located most upstream in the traveling direction, there is a pressure member provided upstream of the image carrier in the traveling direction for pressing the intermediate transfer belt against the image carrier.

A transfer device has primary transfer rollers supported so as to be upwardly and downwardly movable within a path of movement and opposed to respective of photosensitive drums across a portion of an intermediate transfer belt. There are also provided a slide member for full-color image formation and a slide member for monochromatic image formation, which are capable of reciprocation in a horizontal direction. The transfer device includes roller lifting means each L-shaped and each having one end supporting an associated one of the transfer rollers for rotation and another end engaging an associated one of the slide members, and first and second coaxial rotating cams. The transfer device is capable of switching between three paths of movement of the intermediate transfer belt selectively by the first and second rotating cams rotating together.

Transfer device with coaxial rotating cams

Support structures for containing and supporting components forming a digital copier are configured with square pipes and are provided separately in association with a plurality of units of the digital copier. The effect of distortion is eliminated when the support structures are joined to maintain positional accuracy. Square pipes are combined to form each of a first support structure for containing and supporting various components forming the digital copier, for example, an image forming process portion and a fixing portion and a second support structure for containing and supporting various components to be incorporated therein as needed, for example, a sheet supplying portion. To combine the first and second support structures, square pipes and square pipes orthogonal to each other are joined in the regions of joining surfaces. This makes it possible to prevent, for example, distortion and twisting between the supporting structures.

Support structure for an image processing device

A sheet post-processing apparatus having a post-processing tray arranged upright, a post-processing device such as stapler etc., an offset tray to which post-processed sheets are discharged, includes: the third and forth discharge rollers for introducing the sheet into the post-processing tray from its bottom and discharging the sheet after post-processing to the offset tray; a sheet guide arranged opposing the post-processing tray, a pusher mechanism and paddlers, for aligning the sheets to be stacked so as to be substantially upright and pressing the sheet by particular portions when the sheet is introduced into the post-processing.

Sheet post-processing apparatus

A document feeder includes: a document detecting device arranged on the top of the copier body, for detecting a document inserted from the outside; a feed roller arranged adjacent to the document detecting device, on the top of the copier body, for feeding an inserted document into a space between the original table and the original cover, in response to the detection of a document by the document detecting device; and an original cover lifting device arranged on the top of the copier body, for lifting the original cover to create a gap between the original table and the original cover, in response to the detection of a document by the document detecting device. Alternatively, the feed roller further has a rotary cam on its shaft, so that the cam rotates to lift the original cover up as the feed roller rotates in the document feeding direction. Then, after the document is fed in place, the feed roller is reversely rotated in a constant time, whereby the document cover is sunk to press the document onto the original table.

Document feeder and cover for an image forming apparatus

The present invention relates to a sandwich immunoassay for rapidly and readily measuring N-peptide using two kinds of monoclonal antibodies recognizing different portions of the N-peptide. The method for measuring N-peptide or a precursor thereof includes the steps of: incubating a mixture containing a sample and a first monoclonal antibody recognizing a portion of N-peptide; adding a labelled second monoclonal antibody recognizing a portion of N-peptide to the mixture, followed by further incubation; and detecting the resulting antigen-antibody complex in the mixture. Alternatively, the method includes the steps of: incubating a mixture containing a sample, a first monoclonal antibody recognizing a portion of N-peptide, and a labelled second monoclonal antibody recognizing another portion of N-peptide; and detecting the resulting antigen-antibody complex.

Monoclonal antibodies for N-peptide

Hybridoma producing a monoclonal antibody for N-peptide

Growing community of inventors

Sakurai, Japan

Takahiro Fukunaga