Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Takashi Nagashima

Kiyoshi Morimoto

Hiroshi Kimura

Masahiko Hisajima

Yoichiro Irie

Yasuhiko Yoshikawa

Yutaka Shigemura

Kiyonori Yamamoto

Kiyoshi Shibata

Masahiro Watashi

Isao Yada

Shinsuke Yoshinaga

Toshihiko Yamamoto

Hideki Ishida

Hiroshi Kusumoto

Daisuke Hayashi

Shoichi Kitagawa

Mitsugu Miyamoto

Satoru Yonemoto

Ikuo Makie

Toshinori Nishimura

Ryoji Nishimura

Jun Azuma

Masashi Fujishima

Yukimasa Watanabe

Hiroyuki Hamakawa

Yukihiro Aikawa

Toshiyuki Nakamura

Ichiro Takahashi

Naruyuki Miyamoto

Keisuke Oba

Hideo Fukuda

Shingo Mori

Ayako Yashima

Hiroyuki Sakamoto

Masanori Toyoda

Kiyoaki Miyamoto

Ichirou Takahashi

Hiroyuki Arai

Naoki Nakashima

Munetaka Mukainishi

Shouichi Kitagawa

Masayoshi Okada

Disclosed are image forming apparatus [] which comprises removing a toner remained on the surface of the rotatable image carrier by cleaning means after going through developing means and transferring means; said cleaning means has an elastic blade and is contacted with the surface of the image carrier at a contact pressure within 8 to 20 g/cm, and a press-contact angle of the elastic blade of 12 to 30&#xb0;; and said image carrier is an organic photosensitive material having a photosensitive layer made of a binder resin containing an electric charge generating material and an electric charge transferring material; and image forming apparatus [], comprising a single-layer type photosensitive layer made of a binder resin containing an electric charge generating material, an electron transferring material and a hole transferring material, and the solid content of the binder resin is within 50 to 70 wt % of the whole solid content in the photosensitive layer and, a pair of paper transporting rollers are arranged on a path for transporting a transfer paper from paper feeding portion to transferring means, and a paper transporting roller at the side of the surface to be transferred among a pair of paper transporting rollers has cleaning means at the side of the surface to be transferred from the roller.

Image forming apparatus

A toner replenishing device for an image forming machine has a hopper housing with a toner agitating passageway and a toner carrying passageway, a toner agitator disposed in the toner agitating passageway for agitating recovered toner and fresh toner supplied to the toner agitating passageway and lifting them to the toner carrying passageway, and a toner carrier disposed in the toner carrying passageway for carrying the recovered toner and the fresh toner agitated and lifted by the toner agitator. The toner agitator has a first paddle disposed in a first end part of the toner agitating passageway, and a second paddle disposed on the other end part side of the toner agitating passageway and adjacent to the first paddle. The first paddle has the function of sending the toner to the other end part side of the toner agitating passageway, while the second paddle has the function of sending the toner to the first end part side of the toner agitating passageway.

Image forming machine toner replenishing device capable of agitating the

A toner density controlling apparatus adapted to control toner density by sensing a T/D level in a developer vessel by using a toner sensor performs a toner density controlling operation on the basis of an output of the toner sensor while maintaining an input control voltage to be applied to the toner sensor at a predetermined level in a definite control range where the toner sensor output decreases proportionally to the T/D level in a linear relation. Conversely, in an indefinite control range where the relationship between the toner sensor output and the T/D level is nonlinear, the input control voltage to be applied to the toner sensor is variably controlled so that the toner sensor output can be adjusted to an upper or lower limit level of the definite control range, and the toner density controlling operation is performed on the basis of the input control voltage. With such an arrangement, even if the definite control range where the toner sensor output decreases proportionally to the T/D level in a linear relation is narrow, the toner density controlling operation can be performed on the basis of the input control voltage in the other control ranges. Therefore, even if an image forming apparatus provided with such a toner density controlling apparatus is used in an extensively varied environment, the toner density can properly be controlled by using a single toner sensor.

Toner density controlling method and apparatus

A developer unit of the present invention has an agitating paddle which agitates a developer containing a magnetic carrier and a non-magnetic toner, and a toner is supplied from the toner hopper according to an output of a toner concentration sensor. After an agitation is finished which is performed when the power is turned on, the agitating paddle is periodically operated to agitate the developer. During the agitation, a toner concentration controller shifts a reference level with which the output of the toner concentration sensor is compared from a predetermined level to a higher level and then stepwisely returns it to the predetermined level.

Developer apparatus having toner concentration control

Toner cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes an original placement portion and a reference original portion outside of the original placement portion, a scanning device capable of selectively scanning either the original placement portion or the reference original portion, an image forming device for forming an image in accordance with the scanning device, a selection device for selecting the scanning of the original placement portion or the scanning of the reference original portion, and a reading device for reading an image of the reference original portion formed by the image forming device to evaluate a performance of the image forming device.

Image forming apparatus capable of evaluating image forming performance

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive body, a charge wire disposed along the photosensitive body at a specified spacing from the photosensitive body and adapted for charging the photosensitive body, the charge wire being tiltable on a plane passing an entirety of the charge wire and perpendicularly intersecting a surface of the photosensitive body. This apparatus is provided with a detector for detecting an image density distribution in a main scanning direction of copy paper, tilt angle calculator for calculating, based on a detected image density distribution, a correcting tilt angle of the charge wire to obtain a desired image density distribution in the main scanning direction, and a tilt angle controller for controlling the tilt angle in accordance with a calculated correcting tilt angle.

A scanning system driving device capable of quickly and gently starting a scanning system. This driving device includes an electromagnetic clutch for forward rotation, for transmitting a driving force from a driving source to a moving body for an optical system, and a control circuit for controlling the application of a voltage to the electromagnetic clutch. The control circuit applies a rated voltage in the form of pulses to the electromagnetic clutch at intervals of such OFF time that the moving speed of the moving body is reduced once when the illumination and the scanning of a document by the moving body are started.

Scanning system driving device

An apparatus for manually sending a sheet of paper to the sheet handling machine (i.e., a feeding mechanism inside of a copying machine or printer) equipped with an automatic sheet-feeding cassette. The sheet sending apparatus is composed of an upper chute and a lower chute articulated by gears. When the apparatus is used, the chutes make a flat angle to smoothly pass a sheet to the feed roller and the lower chute press down the stacked sheets of the sheet cassette. When the apparatus is not used, the chutes rotate and the lower chute leaves the feed roller. A sheet guide is attached at the lower end of the lower chute to prevent the sheet sliding on the chutes from falling in the sheet cassette, and the parts of the sheet guide corresponding to the separator of the sheet cassette is removed to allow natural flipping action of the sheet when the sheet is drawn out of the sheet cassette.

Sheet sending apparatus

A cooling system for an image forming machine which is provided with a single temperature sensor for detecting a temperature inside the image forming machine, an operating section for setting the number of sheets to be copied continuously, a judgment circuit for determining a voltage value applied to a cooling fan in accordance with the set number of sheets and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and a drive control circuit for controlling the voltage applied to the cooling fan in accordance with the voltage value determined by the judgment circuit and drive the cooling fan.

Cooling system for use in an image forming machine

A copying paper feeding device comprises a first and a second paper loading sections to be loaded with a stack of copying paper sheets, a first and a second paper delivery mechanism disposed respectively in the first and second paper loading sections, a first and a second paper introducing passage extending respectively from the first and second paper loading sections and terminating in a common point of junction, a paper conveying passage extending from the point of junction, a first conveyer roller pair disposed in the first paper introducing passage, and a second conveyor roller pair disposed at the point of junction or at an upstream part of the paper conveying passage. In performing a copying process, either the first or second paper delivery mechanism is selectively actuated. The first and the second conveyor roller pairs are interlocked with each other, and adapted to be started after the first or second paper delivery mechanism has been actuated. When the first paper delivery mechanism is selectively actuated, the roller pairs are started earlier by the time required to convey a copying paper from the first conveyor roller pair to the second conveyor roller pair than when the second paper delivery mechanism is actuated. The first conveyor roller pair exerts position-correcting and synchronism-adjusting actions on a copying paper delivered from the first paper loading section, and the second conveyor roller pair exerts position-correcting and synchronism-adjusting actions on a copying paper delivered from the second paper loading section.

Paper feeding device and a paper guiding device in a copying apparatus

A cleaning device in an electrostatic copying apparatus, for removing residual toner particles from the surface of a photosensitive member adapted to move through an endless conveying passage, includes a blade holding mechanism mounted pivotally around an axis extending substantially parallel to the surface of the photosensitive member and substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the photosensitive member, and a cleaning blade mounted on the blade holding mechanism. The cleaning device further includes a first spring elastically biasing the blade holding mechanism to a non-operating position in which the cleaning blade is away from the surface of the photosensitive member and an operating mechanism selectively positioning the blade holding mechanism against the elastic biasing action of the first spring to an operating position in which the cleaning blade is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive member. The operating mechanism includes a clutch with an input drivingly connected to the photosensitive member drive system, a cam, a cam follower, and a power transmission arrangement for transmitting power from the cam to position the blade holding mechanism so that the cleaning blade is pressed against the surface of the photosensitive member. The power transmission arrangement includes a first power transmission member, having an input terminal on which the cam acts, and a second power transmission member, having an output terminal acting on the blade holding mechanism.

Cleaning device in electrostatic copying apparatus

A variable magnification electrostatic copying apparatus comprising a transparent plate on which to place a document to be copied, an optical system for projecting the image of the document onto an electrostatographic photosensitive member at any desired projecting ratio selected from a plurality of projecting ratios in an exposure zone located along the moving path of the photosensitive member, and a driving means for moving at least a part of the optical system and the transparent plate relative to each other. The optical system includes at least one position-variable optical element assembly adapted to be held at any of a plurality of positions corresponding to the aforesaid plurality of projecting ratios. The variable magnification electrostatic copying apparatus includes a unique improved means for varying the projecting ratio of the optical system by moving the position-variable optical element assembly.

Electrostatic copying apparatus

An electrostatic copying apparatus including a support frame having a front support wall and a rear support frame. The support frame is mounted on a housing slidably in the front and rear direction between an operating position within the housing and a pull-out position outside of the housing. A rotating drum and a developing device are mounted on the support frame. Each of the rear surface of the front support wall and the front surface of the rear support wall has a semicircular receiving portion with an open top, and each end of the rotating drum has a shaft bearing member with a circular peripheral surface. By inserting each bearing member into the associated receiving portion, the drum is rotatably mounted. The developing device has a front wall and a rear wall, with a projecting portion formed at the end of each. An abutting lower edge is defined on each projecting portion, and an abutting front edge is defined on each of the front wall and the rear wall, below the projecting portion. The developing device is mounted between the front support wall and the rear support wall with each abutting lower edge abutting against the upper surface of the associated bearing member when that associated bearing member is inserted into its associated receiving portion and with each abutting front edge abutting against the side surface of the associated receiving portion.

Mount for a rotating drum and a developer within an electrostatic

A paper guiding device in a copying apparatus includes, in opposition, a lower guide plate having a main flat portion and an upper guide plate having a main flat portion. A plurality of rising pieces, having top edges and being laterally spaced apart upon the upper side of the main flat portion of the lower guide plate, rise above the lower guide plate and extend in the direction of movement of the copying paper. A plurality of hanging pieces, having lower edges and are laterally spaced apart on the lower side of the main flat portion of the lower guide plate, hang from the upper guide plate and extend in the direction of movement of the copying paper. The top edges and the lower edges define a path of movement of the copying paper while having minimal contact with the paper. A plurality of openings through the upper guide plate and an opening through each of the hanging pieces dissipate heat from the copying paper to substantially prevent the accumulation of moisture on the copying paper and in the improved paper guiding device.

Paper guiding device in a copying apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Takashi Nagashima