Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Yakult Honsha

Takuya Akiyama

Seiichi Kogure

Yutaka Goto

Yuuki Aoki

Takeshi Sakashita

Atsushi Nakamoto

Daisuke Hamada

Hiroshi Kikuchi

Hideki Kimura

Yusuke Ishizuka

Yutaka Takahashi

Masanari Fujita

Takahiro Seki

Takeshi Yamashita

Yuuji Meguro

Kazuhiro Shimada

Naoki Takai

Kenji Nakamura

Emi Kita

Naoki Nakatake

Kazuki Matsumoto

Masahiro Ohmori

Keiichiro Juri

Mitsutoshi Kichise

Hirotaka Hatta

Junji Fujimoto

Kazunori Matsuda

An image forming apparatus includes a toner image bearer, a transfer device, a cleaner, a bias power source, and circuitry. The toner image bearer bears a toner image. The transfer device performs a transfer process. The cleaner contacts the toner image bearer to remove transfer residual toner that is subject to the transfer process and remove untransferred toner that is not subject to the transfer process. The bias power source applies one of a first bias and a second bias different from the first bias to the cleaner. The circuitry controls the bias power source to output the first bias to the cleaner in response to a start of an image forming operation to remove the untransferred toner from the toner image bearer and control the bias power source to switch an output from the first bias to the second bias.

Image forming apparatus

A powder conveying device includes a drop conveyance passage, an intersecting conveyance passage, a conveying screw, and a floating member. Powder entering from an inflow port drops in the drop conveyance passage. The intersecting conveyance passage communicates with a lower end of the drop conveyance passage and extends in an intersecting direction that intersects the drop conveyance passage. The conveying screw is disposed in the intersecting conveyance passage and rotates in a specified direction to convey the powder in the intersecting direction. The floating member is movably installed in the drop conveyance passage and floats in the drop conveyance passage to move by contact with the conveying screw. The inflow port and the floating member interfere with each other to prevent the floating member from coming out of the inflow port of the drop conveyance passage.

Powder conveying device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

For providing a method capable of physically and objectively evaluating the consistency and state of a stool, provided is a method for measuring a stool consistency with a texture analyzer provided with a probe, the probe having a shape capable of measuring a consistency of a stool in a liquid form and in a solid form.

Method for measuring stool consistency and method for evaluating stool state using same

A cleaning blade for an intermediate transfer medium is provided. A cleaning target of the cleaning blade is an intermediate transfer medium. The cleaning blade includes an edge layer and a coating layer. The coating layer provided on a forefront end of the edge layer at which the edge layer contacts the intermediate transfer medium contains a first fluorine-based resin and a second fluorine-based resin incompatible with the first fluorine-based resin. The cleaning blade for an intermediate transfer medium has a Martens hardness of 0.5 N/mmor greater and 3 N/mmor less at a location having a distance of 20 μm from a ridgeline of the forefront end of the edge layer.

Cleaning blade for intermediate transfer medium, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer; a nip forming member configured to form a transfer nip between the image bearer and the nip forming member; a nip pressure changer configured to change a nip pressure of the transfer nip; a transfer bias applier configured to apply, to the transfer nip, a transfer bias in which an AC component is superimposed on a DC component; and a DC component adjuster configured to adjust the DC component in the transfer bias, according to the nip pressure that is changed by the nip pressure changer.

Transfer bias and pressure in an image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable image bearer, a transfer rotator, a detector, and circuitry. The image bearer bears an image. The transfer rotator transfers the image from the image bearer onto a recording medium sandwiched and conveyed between the image bearer and the transfer rotator. The detector detects length information indicating a length, in a direction of conveyance of the recording medium, of the image on the recording medium. The circuitry corrects a correction value, based on the length information detected by the detector and a target value of the length information, to correct an image magnification, in the direction of conveyance of the recording medium, of the image to be formed on the recording medium. The circuitry controls an image forming operation of forming the image on the recording medium with the correction value.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a transfer rotator, an adjuster, and circuitry. The image bearer bears a toner image. The transfer rotator contacts the image bearer to form a transfer nip between the transfer rotator and the image bearer. The transfer rotator transfers the toner image from the image bearer onto a sheet conveyed to the transfer nip. The adjuster adjusts at least one of a relative difference in linear velocity of the transfer rotator to the image bearer at the transfer nip and a relative contact pressure of the transfer rotator to the image bearer at the transfer nip. Based on a difference in image magnification, in a direction of conveyance of the sheet, of toner images transferred onto surfaces of one or more sheets conveyed to the transfer nip, the circuitry causes the adjuster to reduce the difference in image magnification.

Image forming apparatus and adjusting method

A roller unit includes a roller, an arm, a holder, a tension spring, and a restriction member. The arm rotatably holds the roller. The holder swingably holds the arm. The tension spring includes a first hook at one end of the tension spring and a second hook at another end of the tension spring. The first hook is hooked on an arm-side hook of the arm. The second hook is hooked on a holder-side hook of the holder. The restriction member is configured to restrict movement of the tension spring in a state in which the first hook or the second hook is unhooked.

Roller unit, belt device and image forming apparatus

A belt running device includes a plurality of rollers, a belt, a guide, a regulating member, and an abutting member. The belt is wound around the plurality of rollers and configured to rotate. The guide is provided at an end of an inner peripheral surface of the belt. The regulating member is provided at an end of at least one roller of the plurality of rollers in the axial direction of the at least one roller and configured to contact the guide and regulate a movement of the belt in the axial direction of the at least one roller. The abutting member is configured to contact an outer peripheral surface of the belt to press the belt inward in a vicinity of a contact start point at which the guide and the regulating member start to contact when the belt runs.

Belt running device, transfer device, and image forming apparatus

A belt device includes a belt that is rotatable and a driving rotator to drive and rotate the belt and to be accidentally adhered with a foreign substance. The driving rotator includes a coating layer as a surface layer. The coating layer includes a plurality of fine particles.

Belt device including a coated driving rotator, transfer device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearers, a plurality of developing devices, a plurality of first transfer devices disposed opposite the plurality of image bearers, a second transfer device, a cleaning device to remove toner remaining on the intermediate transferor after a secondary transfer process, and a processor to control the plurality of developing devices to perform a refresh process to discharge toner from the plurality of developing devices to the plurality of image bearers. Among toner of the colors, toner having a first circularity first reaches the cleaning device and toner having a second circularity higher than the first circularity subsequently reaches the cleaning device in the refresh process.

An image forming apparatus includes an intermediate transfer body, a plurality of image bearers, a plurality of developing devices, a plurality of primary transfer devices, a secondary transfer device, and a cleaner. The plurality of image bearers are disposed side by side along the intermediate transfer body. In a refreshing mode, the plurality of developing devices form toner images on the plurality of image bearers during a non-image-formation period and the cleaner cleans a surface of the intermediate transfer body. In the refreshing mode, a toner image formed on one image bearer of the plurality of image bearers, which differs from a most downstream image bearer of the plurality of image bearers in a direction of conveyance of the intermediate transfer body, reaches the cleaner first of the toner images formed on the plurality of image bearers.

Image forming apparatus that performs a refreshing operation

A process unit includes a rotatable image bearer, an optical writing head to expose the image bearer within an maximum exposure range in an axial direction of the image bearer, a developer bearer, spacers disposed in axial end portions of the image bearer to determine a position of the optical writing head relative to the image bearer and slidingly contact the image bearer, a cleaner disposed downstream from the developer bearer in an image bearer rotation direction, and a remover to slidingly contact the axial end portion of the image bearer to remove a substance adhering thereto. In the axial direction, inner ends of the spacers are positioned inside a toner layer range of the developer bearer extending beyond a largest sheet width. The remover is disposed downstream from the cleaner and crossing a line extending from the inner end of the spacer perpendicularly to the axial direction.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Takuya Akiyama