Kyocera Mita Corporation

Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Kyocera Corporation

Tetsuo Tanda

Hiroaki Ohashi

Tetsuro Tomoe

Kenichi Tanabe

Hiroaki Miyamura

Saeko Toda

A recovery system for a recording head of the present disclosure includes a wiper, a drive mechanism, a first rotary mechanism, and a control portion. The first rotary mechanism causes the wiper to rotate. The control portion is capable of executing the recovery operation of a recording head including an ink push-out operation in which ink is forcibly pushed out, a first wipe-off operation in which purged ink is wiped off, a rotary moving-away operation in which, while being caused to move in a first direction, the wiper is caused to rotate toward an obliquely lower side in a second direction opposite to the first direction, thus moving away from the ink discharge surface, and a second wipe-off operation in which ink is wiped off by causing the wiper to move in the second direction.

Recovery system for recording head, ink-jet recording apparatus including the same, and recovery method for the recording head

An ink-jet recording apparatus according to the present disclosure includes a recording portion, a wipe unit, a cleaning mechanism, a wipe moving-up/down mechanism, a transfer surface moving mechanism, and a control portion. The wipe unit has a wipe blade that wipes purged ink that is forcibly discharged from an ejecting nozzle. The cleaning mechanism has a cleaning member onto which ink adhering to a tip end surface of the wipe blade is transferred. The control portion controls the wipe moving-up/down mechanism to force the wipe blade to repeat contacting and leaving a plurality of times the transfer surface of the cleaning member substantially vertically to remove the ink present on the tip end surface of the wipe blade, and controls the transfer surface moving mechanism in such a manner that the tip end surface of the wipe blade contacts a clean portion of the transfer surface.

Ink-jet recording apparatus

An inkjet recording apparatus of the present disclosure includes a recording portion having a recording head, a cap unit that caps the recording head, a wipe unit that performs a recovering process of the recording head, a wipe moving mechanism that moves the wipe unit in a horizontal direction, and a wipe lifting mechanism that moves the wipe unit in an up-down direction. In a case where capping is performed with respect to the recording head by means of the cap unit, the cap unit is moved to the first position by means of the wipe moving mechanism, with the cap unit located over the wipe unit, and then the cap unit is lifted up by means of the wipe lifting mechanism.

Inkjet recording apparatus

A cap for capping an ink discharge opening of a nozzle head includes a cap main body and an atmosphere communication unit. The cap main body is configured to cap the ink discharge opening. The atmosphere communication unit is configured to couple an internal space of the cap main body to atmosphere in a state where the cap main body caps the ink discharge opening. The cap main body is configured to couple the internal space to the ink discharge opening in a state where the ink discharge opening is capped. The atmosphere communication unit includes a venthole integrally formed to the cap main body, and a tube coupled to the venthole so as to couple the internal space to atmosphere. The tube includes one end coupled to the venthole using press fitting.

Cap for capping ink discharge opening of nozzle head in ink-jet recording apparatus

A fixing device for fixing a toner image on a recording medium includes a toner fusing unit that is operable to fix the toner image on the recording medium and that includes a pressure member and a heating member in contact with the pressure member to form a fixing nip therebetween; an electromagnetic-induction heating unit having a coil disposed along an outer surface of the heating member and configured to generate a magnetic flux for applying induction heating to the heating member, and a core unit disposed opposite the heating member with the coil interposed therebetween to provide for a magnetic path around the coil, the core unit being configured to rotate about an axis extending across the width of the recording medium; and a drive unit formed integrally with the electromagnetic-induction heating unit and configured to rotate the core unit.

Fixing device with drive unit for core unit, image forming apparatus and electromagnetic-induction heating unit

An image forming apparatus includes a first housing, a second housing on which the first housing is mounted, a first roller, a second roller, a nipping pressure adjusting mechanism, an induction heating unit and a retaining mechanism. A first rotary shaft of the first roller is rotatably supported by the first housing in a state of being positionally immovable. A second rotary shaft of the second roller is rotatably supported by the first housing in a state of being positionally movable. The nipping pressure adjusting mechanism changes the posture of the second roller between a first posture that the second roller is pressingly contacted with the first roller with a first pressure, and a second posture that the second roller is pressingly contacted with the first roller with a second pressure lower than the first pressure. The relative positions between the second roller and the induction heating unit are retained.

Image forming apparatus for performing fixing processing by induction heating system

A fixing device includes a housing, a cover member pivotally mounted on the housing, and operable to change the posture thereof between a closing posture and an opening posture, and a first and second urging member. A first conveyance roller for conveying a sheet is rotatably supported on the housing, and a second conveyance roller to be pressingly contacted with the first conveyance roller is rotatably supported on the cover member. The first urging member applies, to the cover member in the opening posture, an urging force for returning the cover member from the opening posture to an intermediate posture between the opening posture and the closing posture. The second urging member applies, to the second conveyance roller, an urging force with which the second conveyance roller is pressingly contacted with the first conveyance roller when the cover member is in the closing posture.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus with a cover for generating a stable nipping pressure on a conveyance roller pair

A fixing unit is provided with a heating mechanism configured to define an arcuate heating zone, a heating roller including a circumferential surface extending along the heating zone, a belt wound on the heating roller along the circumferential surface, a tensioner configured to apply tension to the belt; and a biasing mechanism configured to bias the tensioner in a biasing direction along an extending direction of the belt between the heating roller and the tensioner.

Fixing unit and image forming apparatus with built-in fixing unit

A fixing unit for fixing a toner image formed on a sheet is provided with a belt unit including a belt configured to press the sheet, a reference roller configured to nip the sheet in cooperation with the belt, and a supporting element configured to support the belt unit and the reference roller. The belt unit includes first and second rollers on which the belt is wound. The supporting element includes a supporting plate configured to support the first, second and reference rollers.

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing body and a developer apparatus with mutually opposing first and second side faces to supply a developer to the image bearing body. The developer apparatus is installed removably on a frame with first and second wall surfaces opposing the first and second side faces respectively. First and second fulcrum sections project respectively on the first and second side faces. First and second installation grooves are provided respectively on the first and second wall surfaces and have open upper ends that receive the first and second fulcrum sections respectively. First and second supporting structures support the first fulcrum and second fulcrum sections that are fit respectively into the first and second installation grooves.

Image forming apparatus with structure for suppressing rising of developer agitating roller at start of rotation

A developing unit is disclosed that includes a sub rotary developing unit, a toner supply device, and a drive device. The sub rotary developing unit has a developing roller in the interior thereof, and an elastic seal made of an elastic member with a slit sealing an opening on the sub rotary developing unit. The toner supply device supplies toner from a nozzle at the tip thereof to the sub rotary developing unit. The drive device drives the tip of the nozzle of the toner supply device into the sub rotary developing unit through the slit on the elastic seal in order for the toner supply device to supply toner into the sub rotary developing unit, and pulls the tip away when toner is properly supplied.

Developing unit connection for toner supply device

An image forming device is disclosed, and includes a photosensitive drum, a laser unit for irradiating the photosensitive drum with laser light, developing units for developing the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum, a toner container for containing toner to be supplied to the developing device, and toner supply pipes located so as to be movable between a supply position for supplying the developing units with the toner in the toner container, and a retracted position apart from the developing units. The toner supply pipes are located in a laser light path of the laser unit in the supply position, and are located so as to allow the laser light from the laser unit to reach the photosensitive drum in the retracted position.

Color image forming device having a movable toner supply member being disposable in a laser light path

A toner supply device is disclosed that supplies toner contained in a toner container to a developing device in an image forming device. The toner supply device includes a conveyance pipe for conveying the toner from the toner container to the developing device downward, and at least one supply pipe for supplying the toner from the conveyance pipe to the developing device downward. The conveyance pipe is connected to the toner container for conveying the toner from the toner container to the developing device. The supply pipe has an upper portion connected to the conveyance pipe and a lower end capable of advancing into the developing device. In addition, a conveyance member is rotatably located in the supply pipe for conveying the toner downward. The supply pipe is located such that a center axis of the supply pipe is slanted relative to the horizontal line at a repose angle of the toner or more.

Toner supply device

An apparatus for controlling toner concentration includes a toner concentration detector, a toner supplier, a wave-former that periodically scrapes off toner from a detecting face of the toner concentration detector and thereby forms a wave of decreasing output of the toner concentration detector, and an about-minimum value detector that detects a minimum of the decreasing output. A toner concentration detection retarder is actuated from the time the minimum is detected. The toner supplier is actuated based on the detected toner concentration after the toner concentration detection retarder is released of action. The toner concentration detector includes a waveform measurer that measures the output of the toner concentration detector over a predetermined period longer than the period of one cycle of a scraping cycle, and an about-minimum value judger determines the minimum or its vicinity of the output value measured by the waveform measuring device; and the toner concentration detector is actuated based on the value judged as the minimum or its vicinity by the about-minimum judger before the toner supplier is actuated.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Tetsuo Tanda