Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Panasonic Corporation

Takashi Hori

Junji Hirase

Susumu Murakami

Yoshie Iwakura

Tomohiko Fujii

Hironori Akamatsu

Kuniaki Nakano

Toshiki Yabu

Hideshi Izumi

Susumu Akamatsu

Minoru Tomiyori

Takateru Yamamoto

Ichiro Nakao

Genshu Fuse

Kazumi Kurimoto

Yasushi Okuda

Kazuhiro Adachi

Koutarou Tanaka

Takashi Ohzone

To provide an image forming device that can prompt a user to check whether a waste toner container is completely attached. The image forming device includes a housing, an access cover attached in an openable/closable manner to the housing, a waste toner container attachable to the housing with the access cover open, and a lock lever that locks the waste toner container and the housing. The access cover includes a protruding portion protruding toward an interior of the housing. The lock lever transitions between a locked state and a pressed state of being pressed by the waste toner container, and, when in the pressed state, moves to a preventing position at which the lock lever blocks the protruding portion and prevents the access cover from closing, and, when in the locked state, moves to a retracted position at which the lock lever does not block the protruding portion.

Image forming device

In a photosensitive drum, a drum flange is press-fitted to each end of a drum element tube. The drum flange includes a flange facing the drum element tube, and a press-in boss formed on a drum-facing surface side of the flange and press-fitted to the inner circumferential side of the drum element tube. The outer circumferential surface of the press-in boss is configured so that partial cylindrical surfaces to be in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum element tube and oppositely-facing partial cylindrical surfaces not to be in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the drum element tube are alternately formed along the circumferential direction. First openings formed to penetrate at least a part of the press-in boss are respectively provided on the proximal end side of the partial cylindrical surfaces in the press-in boss.

Photosensitive drum, process unit, and image forming apparatus

A process unit includes a photosensitive drum on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed, a charger that charges an outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum to a predetermined polarity and a predetermined potential, a cleaner that removes residual toner from the outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum, a process frame that holds the photosensitive drum and is provided with the cleaner, and a charger cover that holds the charger and is rotatably supported on the process frame so as to move the charger away from or closer to the photosensitive drum.

Process unit and image forming apparatus

To provide a charging device that allows a discharging electrode to be cleaned without damaging a protruding portion at an end portion of the discharging electrode. The device is provided with: a discharging electrode including a plurality of protruding portions arranged along a predetermined direction, the discharging electrode discharging electricity from at least part of the protruding portions; a cleaner for cleaning at least some protruding portions included in the plurality of protruding portions; a cleaner conveyance mechanism for conveying the cleaner along the predetermined direction for performing the cleaning, such that the cleaner interferes with at least some protruding portions included in the plurality of protruding portions; and a cleaner height adjustment mechanism for adjusting a height of the cleaner in a vicinity of the protruding portion where the cleaner reaches at first.

Charging device, image forming unit comprising the same, and image forming apparatus comprising the same

The present invention is directed to an MIS type semiconductor device, including a channel layer between a semiconductor body region and a gate insulating film, the channel layer having an opposite semiconductor polarity to that of the semiconductor body region. Since Vfb of the semiconductor device is equivalent to or less than a gate rated voltage Vgccof the semiconductor device with respect to an OFF-polarity, density of carrier charge that is induced near the surface of the semiconductor body region is kept at a predetermined amount or less with a guaranteed range of operation of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device and method for driving same

There is provided a charging device having high durability, of which controllability of charged potential of a photoreceptor is hardly impaired even with a some amount of contaminants such as a toner so that control of charged potential of a photoreceptor can be stably carried out to fall in an appropriate range over a long period of time, and moreover which is inexpensive. As a grid electrode, one prepared by forming a composite plated layer composed of three layers of an Sn plated layer, an Sn&#x2014;Co plated layer and a Ni plated layer is used. More preferably, an upper layer is an Sn plated layer, an intermediate layer is an Sn&#x2014;Co plated layer and a lower layer is a Ni plated layer.

Charging device and image forming apparatus

An ozone exhaust system in an image forming apparatus having a multiple number of process printing units, includes: exhaust ducts for exhausting ozone arising in the process printing units. In the ozone exhaust system, the exhaust ducts are mainly constituted of process printing unit's side exhaust ducts provided respectively along multiple charger cases and a main exhaust duct to which the process printing unit's side exhaust ducts are connected, and the process printing unit's side exhaust ducts are constructed so that the air current that flows into the charger cases and the air current that flows from the process printing unit's side exhaust ducts into the main exhaust duct are directed in the same direction.

Ozone exhaust system for image forming apparatus

In an image forming apparatus that uses a charging unit to charge a photosensitive drum, forms an electrostatic latent image by carrying out image exposure according to image information, and transfers to a paper the electrostatic latent image by developing the electrostatic latent image into a visible image using a developer so that the image information is presented, an exhaust ductfor exhausting air that contains ozone produced within a drum unit, which includes a photosensitive drumand a charging unit, and a ductfor taking in air, which draws in fresh air, are provided within the drum unitso that ventilation of the drum unitcan be carried out with excellent efficiency.

Image forming apparatus having charging unit with separate intake and exhaust ducts

When handle region(s) of disengaging lever(s) is/are pulled in direction(s) tending to cause disengagement of engagement between access-controlling body or bodies and main body housing(s), respective action edge(s) of rotating region(s) may rotate about shaft(s) in direction(s) tending to cause disengagement of engagement. Upon rotating in direction(s) tending to cause disengagement of engagement, respective action edge(s) of rotating region(s) may press on and impel support plate(s) of main body housing(s). In accompaniment thereto, disengaging lever(s) may move upward, and respective downwardly directed engagement projection(s) of access-controlling body or bodies may be lifted up and extricated from respective upwardly directed engagement projection(s) of main body housing(s). Moreover, when handle region(s) of disengaging lever(s) is/are pulled, respective sliding frame(s) of access-controlling body or bodies may move along respective guide rail(s) of main body housing(s) and toward exterior(s) of main body housing(s), greatly opening up access at opening(s) of main body housing(s).

Access-controlling mechanism and image forming apparatus

A semiconductor device is disclosed which comprises a semiconductor substrate and an insulating film disposed on the substrate. The insulating film is a oxynitride film prepared by nitriding a thermal oxide film, which has been formed on the substrate, in an atmosphere of nitriding gas. The nitriding is conducted for a nitridation time of 10.sup.6.6-T N.sup./225 seconds or shorter wherein T.sub.N is the nitridation temperature in degree centigrade, or conducted so as to have a nitrogen concentration of about 8 atomic % or less, at least in the vicinity of the interface between the oxynitride film and the substrate. Also disclosed is a method for the production of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device and a method for the production of the same

A semiconductor device is disclosed which comprises a semiconductor substrate and an insulating film disposed on the substrate. The insulating film is a oxynitride film prepared by nitriding a thermal oxide film, which has been formed on the substrate, in an atmosphere of nitriding gas. The nitriding is conducted for a nitridation time of 10.sup.6.6-T.sbsb.N.sup./225 seconds or shorter wherein T.sub.N is the nitridation temperature in degree centigrade, or conducted so as to have a nitrogen concentration of about 8 atomic % or less, at least in the vicinity of the interface between the nitride oxynitride film and the substrate. Also disclosed is a method for the production of the semiconductor device.

Semiconductor device having an oxynitride film

There are provided a MIS transistor having a substrate portion, a gate, a source, and a drain, a back-bias generator to be applied to the substrate portion of the MIS transistor, and a resistor interposed between the substrate portion of the MIS transistor and the back-bias generator so that the potential between the both ends thereof changes in a range from one value in the active mode to the other value in the standby mode of the MIS transistor. In the MIS transistor, the back bias is self-regulated so that it approaches to zero in the active mode, while it moves away from zero in the standby mode. Consequently, the threshold voltage is reduced in the active mode due to the back bias approaching to zero, so that higher-speed operation is performed. On the other hand, off-state leakage is suppressed in the standby mode due to the back bias moving away from zero. Thus, it becomes possible to constitute a semiconductor apparatus which operates at high speed with low power consumption.

High speed mis-type intergrated circuit with self-regulated back bias

Provided between a control gate electrode and a channel region of the EEPROM memory cell is a capacitor. Formed on the channel region are a first gate dielectric layer of silicon oxide, a first carrier capture layer of silicon nitride, a carrier migration layer of n.sup.31 polysilicon, a second carrier capture layer of silicon nitride, and a second gate dielectric layer of silicon oxide. The carrier capture state of the carrier capture layer is changed to generate a polarization state in the capacitor, and the generated polarization state is held as data. The gate dielectric layer is not destroyed since the movement of carriers is limited to within the capacitor, and by adjusting the carrier bound energy, low-voltage drive can be accomplished.

Semiconductor memory device and fabrication process

A semiconductor device comprising a substrate having thereon a capacitance part and an electrode, the capacitance part having two storage regions for conductive carriers, the storage regions having therebetween a first barrier region of a multi-tunneling structure, a second barrier region being provided among the storage region, semiconductor substrate and electrode, the first barrier region comprising two tunneling barriers and a low barrier region interposed therebetween, so that when the conductive carriers are moved between the storage regions to store memory by use of polarization characteristic, high voltage makes higher probability of conductive carrier shift and low voltage lower probability of the carrier shift in synergistic manner, whereby the semiconductor device having merits of writing, erasing and reading characteristic in DRAMs and flash EEPROMs memories.

Semiconductor nonvolatile memory with resonance tunneling

Disclosed are a semiconductor device possessing an insulating film which is a silicon oxide film containing nitrogen formed on a semiconductor substrate, with the hydrogen concentration ([H]) in this oxide film satisfying the condition of ##EQU1## where m.congruent.2.0.+-.0.4, n.congruent.2.5.+-.0.5

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Takashi Hori