Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Mita Industrial Co., Ltd.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Electric Works Co., Ltd.

Goyo Paper Working Co., Ltd.

Takeshi Yoshida

Masayuki Kakuta

Yasuhiko Kida

Takeshi Matsuo

Tsuyoshi Nagao

Nariaki Tanaka

Yoshiyuki Takeda

Hiroyuki Harada

Masataka Irie

Toshiyuki Fukami

Yoshiyuki Asakawa

Takeshi Iketani

Kaname Nakatani

Hiroshi Okamura

Hitomichi Takano

Yasuhiro Miyake

Yoshiki Hayasaki

Takaaki Yoshihara

Akifumi Nagao

Taro Mikami

Yuji Suzuki

Hiroshi Kawahara

Takuya Sunada

Kazuhiko Kusuda

Yukinobu Yamazaki

Michinori Nakamoto

Yoshifumi Shirai

Masahiko Suzumura

Takashi Kishida

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit and a developing separation mechanism. The image forming unit includes an image carrier and a developing device. The developing device includes a developing member and movable in a developing position where the developing member is in contact with the image carrier and a separated position where the developing member is separated away from the image carrier, and is configured to be drawn out from an apparatus main body. The developing separation mechanism includes an arm member configured to interfere with the developing device from a downstream side of a draw-out direction so as to move the developing device from the developing position to the separated position, and to be turned to an upstream side of the draw-out direction by the image forming unit when the image forming unit is drawn out and then be separated from the developing device.

Image forming apparatus including image forming unit drawable from apparatus main body

A rotating body unit includes a pair of bearing portions and a first engagement portion. A pair of bearing support members support the bearing portions when at support positions, and release the bearing portions when at retraction positions. An auxiliary tool includes a pair of arm portions and a second engagement portion. When the auxiliary tool is engaged with the rotating body unit mounted in the mounting portion, the arm portions abut on and move the bearing support members from the support positions to the retraction positions. The second engagement portion engages with the first engagement portion after the bearing support members move to the retraction positions. As the auxiliary tool is separated from the mounting portion with the second engagement portion engaging with the first engagement portion, the rotating body unit is pulled out of the mounting space integrally with the auxiliary tool.

Sheet conveying device, image forming apparatus

A rotating body unit includes a rotating body and a frame body. The frame body includes a pair of bearing portions. A mounting portion includes a pair of opposing walls facing each other in a width direction, a mounting space formed between the opposing walls, a pair of bearing support members, and a pair of biasing members. The bearing support members are supported by the opposing walls to be movable in the width direction. The biasing members bias the bearing support members inward in the width direction. When the rotating body unit is inserted into the mounting space, the bearing portions abut on a pair of guide surfaces of the bearing support members and move the bearing support members from support positions to retraction positions, and the bearing support members move from the retraction positions to the support positions to support the bearing portions.

A holder supports a separation member. When a sheet cassette is attached to a main body portion, as the sheet cassette is moved in its attachment direction, a moving mechanism causes the holder to move from an initial position to an operation position. When the holder is at the initial position, the separation member is spaced from a feeding member and is able to pass below the feed-out member. When at the operation position, the holder presses the separation member against the feeding member. When the sheet cassette is attached to the main body portion, the moving mechanism causes the holder to move to the operation position after the separation member passes below the feed-out member. When the sheet cassette is drawn from the main body portion, the moving mechanism causes the holder to move to the initial position before the separation member reaches below the feed-out member.

Sheet feed device, image forming apparatus

A sheet stop mechanism includes a sheet stopper and a support mechanism. The sheet stopper is formed on a sheet stacking surface. The support mechanism supports the sheet stopper to be rotatable between a stored state and a standing state, wherein in the stored state, the sheet stopper is stored in the sheet stacking surface, and in the standing state, the sheet stopper stands from the sheet stacking surface diagonally upward toward a downstream in the sheet discharge direction. When the sheet stopper is in the standing state, the support mechanism supports the sheet stopper in such a manner that an angle formed between the sheet stopper and the sheet stacking surface becomes small as sheets stacked on the sheet stacking surface increase in number.

Sheet stop mechanism, image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a discharge rollers pair, a sheet pressing member and a discharge tray. The sheet pressing member includes a first rotational shaft, a detection piece and a corrugation piece. The corrugation piece protrudes in a radial direction different from a protruding direction of the detection piece from the first rotational shaft. When the detection piece is turned at a first angle into a first posture, the corrugation piece is changed into a contact posture where the corrugation piece comes into contact with the sheet to apply stiffness on the sheet. When the detection piece is turned at a second angle into a second posture, the corrugation piece is changed into a retracting posture where the corrugation piece separates from the sheet.

Image forming apparatus

A toner container includes a container body, a shutter, and an operation member. The container body contains a toner and has a discharging port discharging the toner. The shutter opens or closes the discharging port. The operation member is operated between a first operation position making the shutter close the discharging port and a second operation position making the shutter open the discharging port. In an upper face of the container body, a recessed part is provided in an area including an end at a side of the operation member. In the recessed part, an inclined face inclined upwardly from an upstream side to a downstream side in an operation direction when the operation member is operated from the first operation position to the second operation position is provided.

Toner container having operation member for making shutter open or close and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section, a conveyance guide and a static eliminator. The image forming section is configured to form the images on a sheet being conveyed along a first conveyance path. The conveyance guide is configured to define a second conveyance path that is designed to convey therealong the sheet being switched back thereto from the first conveyance path, the second conveyance path arranged at a position downstream of the image forming section in a conveyance direction of the sheet conveyed along the first conveyance path. The second conveyance path has an outlet area joined with the first conveyance path at a position upstream of the image forming section. The static eliminator is configured to eliminate static electricity from the sheet fed from the first conveyance path to the second conveyance path. The static eliminator is disposed in the outlet area.

A sheet conveyance apparatus includes an inner main unit, a guiding portion, a conveyance roller pair, a mounting portion, and an urging member. A pair of bearing portions supports a shaft portion of a driven roller. A supporting portion is located on an upstream side or a downstream side in a conveyance direction in the pair of bearing portions and supports a pair of extending portions from below. A pressing portion abuts on the pair of extending portions, from above, between the pair of bearing portions and the supporting portion to elastically deform the pair of extending portions. A regulating portion is located between the pair of bearing portions and the supporting portion in the conveyance direction and regulates an interval between the pair of extending portions such that the interval becomes wider than a length of a roller portion in a width direction.

Sheet conveyance apparatus that ensures reduced noise, and image forming apparatus including the same

An image forming apparatus includes a stopper member supported either in a storage posture stored in a storage part by turning in an upstream side or a restriction posture to prevent falling down of a sheet from a sheet stacking face by turning in a downstream side. The storage part has a first recess and a second recess deeper than the first recess. The stopper member has a pressed part supported in the second recess movably upward and downward and a main part supported in the first recess in the storage posture. When the pressed part is pressed downward in the storage posture, the pressed part is moved downward and the main part comes into contact with a downstream side edge of the first recess, the stopper member is turned around the downstream side edge into the restriction posture through a protrusion posture protruding above the sheet stacking face.

A sheet conveyance section () includes a roller (), a roll (), and a pressing member (). The roller () and the roll () carry a sheet (P) by sandwiching the sheet P. The pressing member () presses the roll () against the roller (). The roll () is supported so as to be movable independently of the pressing member () on condition that the pressing by the pressing member () is released.

Sheet conveyance device, image reading device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a housing, an image forming unit disposed inside the housing, a discharging portion, a stacking unit and a pressing member. The discharging portion is configured to discharge a sheet medium on which an image is formed by the image forming unit. The stacking unit is configured to stack the sheet medium discharged from the discharging portion. The stacking unit includes a stacking surface portion on which the sheet medium is stacked. The stacking surface portion includes a planar portion formed flat and a protruding portion configured to protrude upwardly from the planar portion. The pressing member is disposed in contact with an upper surface of the sheet medium stacked on the stacking surface portion.

An image forming apparatus includes a relay unit and a guide plate. The relay unit is detachably mounted in the in-body discharge section and receives a sheet discharged from the first exit port and conveys the sheet. The guide plate switches a conveyance path for the sheet discharged from the first exit port between a first path via the relay unit and a second path other than the first path. The relay unit includes a conveyance roller and a drive device. The conveyance roller conveys the sheet. The drive device rotates the conveyance roller. The drive device changes the posture of the guide plate between a first posture corresponding to the first path and a second posture corresponding to the second path.

A sheet feeding device comprises a structure as an option, on which an apparatus main body of an image forming apparatus having a lower face with a positioning depression is placed. The structure includes a mounting member, a reinforcement member and a positioning pin. The mounting member is located to face to a periphery of the lower face. The reinforcement member is located below the mounting member. The positioning pin includes an upper part having a guard part and a lower part. The pin penetrates the mounting member so that the upper part can fit in the positioning depression and the lower part can come into contact with the reinforcement member. When the apparatus main body is placed, the upper part fits in the positioning depression, the guard part comes into contact with an edge of the positioning depression and the lower part comes into contact with the reinforcement member.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Takeshi Yoshida