Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Takundo Isobe

Shinji Kato

Nobuyuki Satoh

Hideo Kikuchi

Hiroshi Ono

Shigeyuki Araki

Goro Mori

Masami Miyajima

Toshio Shimazaki

Takamasa Hayashi

Hideaki Sugata

Toshitaka Senma

Masaru Takahashi

Masahiro Yamamoto

Kazuyuki Futami

Ken-ichirou Asada

An image forming apparatus which allows an independent and easy replacement of replaceable image forming devices including an image forming unit detachably provided in the image forming apparatus. The image forming unit includes a housing, a plurality of replaceable devices, and a nonvolatile memory. The plurality of replaceable devices are replaceably mounted inside the housing. The nonvolatile memory is mounted on the housing and stores lifetime information of the image forming unit and each one of the plurality of replaceable devices.

Method and apparatus for image forming capable of effectively recycling image forming unit

A belt rotates and carries a plurality of images. A scale is provided along at least one side of entire of the belt. A sensor reads the scale on the belt to obtain scale information. An actual speed calculating unit calculates a speed of the belt from the scale information. A control unit provides a control to correct speed of the belt according to the speed calculated. The control unit includes a frequency-correcting unit that performs correction of only a frequency component that is fluctuating of low frequency that is smaller than a predetermined frequency that is developed due to a change in a speed of the belt, from among speed fluctuations of the belt to adjust the speed of the belt to a predetermined target speed.

Transfer apparatus, image forming apparatus, and method of belt-speed correction

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body and a rotary developing unit or revolver. The apparatus body includes a connection unit having a single optical transmission/receipt section. The revolver includes a connection unit having four optical transmission/receipt sections arranged at the intervals of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction of the revolver. All the transmission/receipt sections are spaced from the axis of the revolver by the same distance. When the revolver is brought to a stop at a preselected developing position, one of the four transmission/receipt sections of the revolver faces the transmission/receipt section of the apparatus body without fail. The connection units include a current transformer for feeding power from the apparatus body to the developing unit. The connection units face each other at parallel surfaces thereof.

Image forming apparatus having power and control signal transfer to a revolver without contacting the revolver

A color image forming apparatus for superimposing images formed on a plurality of photoconductive elements onto a copy sheet includes a sensor for reading a transfer member and a positional deviation detecting pattern formed on the transfer member, a memory for storing information relating to an area having no roughness, such as a scar, on the transfer member, a detector for detecting the area having no roughness on the basis of a signal read by the sensor and for causing the memory to store the information relating to the area, and a color deviation corrector for correcting color deviation on the basis of the signal generated by the sensor reading the positional deviation detecting pattern. The positional deviation detecting pattern is formed at an area of the transfer member having no roughness.

Color image forming apparatus with positional deviation detecting

An image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording medium at a number of different dot densities. The image forming apparatus includes a light source part for emitting a light beam, a light detection part for detecting a light beam from the light detection part detecting a light beam from the light source part and for supplying a signal indicative of a power of the detected light beam when a monitored voltage obtained by the light beam is approximately equal to a reference voltage, a memory part for storing a number of power data corresponding to the number of different dot densities, an input part for inputting a first dot density selected, a power data control part for supplying a signal indicative of a changed power data which is changed from a value of said power of the detected light beam with a power data stored in the memory means which is located by the selected first dot density, and a driving part for operating the light source with the signal from the power data control part allowing the light source to emit a light beam with the changed power, the changed power being appropriate for forming an image on the recording medium at the selected first dot density.

Image forming apparatus with plural dot densities

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Kanagawa, Japan

Takundo Isobe