Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Tetsuya Morita

Tomonori Watanabe

Saya Minoshima

Mariko Uchida

Hikaru Iino

Masataka Kamiya

Koyo Yamamoto

Takashi Arakawa

Yoshihiro Takeda

Hirotaka Tatematsu

Ayaka Ohira

Makoto Mori

A chute is located between a transfer roller and a fuser in a direction crossing both a first direction along a drum axis direction and a second direction crossing the first direction. The chute causes a sheet having passed through a transfer nip to be directed toward a fixing nip. The chute is movable in the second direction between a first position and a second position shifted from the first position toward one side in the second direction. The chute located at the second position is farther away from an imaginary plane passing through the nips than the chute located at the first position. A reciprocating mechanism is located on an other side of the chute in the second direction. The reciprocating mechanism reciprocates by drive force from the drive source and presses the chute to move between the first position and the second position.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes: a frame; a cover movable between a closed position and an open position; a fixing unit including a heating member and a pressure roller configured to form a nipping region therebetween; an adjustment mechanism configured to adjust a nipping pressure between the heating member and the pressure roller in conjunction with movement of the cover; and a link mechanism connected to both the adjustment mechanism and the cover. The adjustment mechanism includes an arm pressing the heating member such that the heating member and the pressure roller form the nipping region. The link mechanism includes: a first link connected to the cover; a second link connected to the first link and pivotally movable about an axis extending in a width direction; and a third link connected to both the second link and the adjustment mechanism. The third link is movable in a front-rear direction.

Image forming apparatus including cover, adjustment mechanism, and link mechanism connected to both cover and adjustment mechanism

A sheet feeder includes a sheet tray, a feed roller, a sheet feed frame, a contact element, a guide frame, a photosensor, a shield, and a linkage. The feed roller feeds a sheet on the sheet tray. The sheet feed frame holds the feed roller. The contact element is pivotable relative to the sheet feed frame. The guide frame is disposed below the sheet feed frame. The photosensor includes a light emitter and a light receiver. The shield is movable between a light transmission position and a light shield position. The linkage connects the contact element and the shield such that the shield is movable as the contact element pivots. The light receiver receives the light emitted from the light emitter when the shield is at the light transmission position. The shield at the light shield position shields the light receiver from the light emitted from the light emitter.

Sheet feeder and image forming apparatus

A sheet feeder includes a separation roller, a retard roller, and a return latch. The separation roller rotates in a forward direction to separate a sheet and transport the separated sheet in a sheet transport direction. The retard roller forms, together with the separation roller, a nip point and rotates in a reverse direction to return a sheet in a direction opposite to the sheet transport direction. The return latch moves from a retracted position to a protruding position to return a sheet remaining after separation by the separation roller to a position upstream of the nip point in the sheet transport direction. The return latch, when at the retracted position, is retracted from a sheet transport path and, when at the protruding position, protrudes to the sheet transport path.

An image forming apparatus includes a casing, an image forming unit movable between an accommodated position and a shifted position, an actuator, an urging member, a cam, and a contact portion. The actuator includes a pivot shaft and a protrusion protruding therefrom. The protrusion at a standby position crosses a conveyance path and is contactable with a sheet conveyed along the conveyance path. When the image forming unit is at the accommodated position, the contact portion and the cam contact each other and maintain the protrusion at the standby position against an urging force of the urging member. As the image forming unit moves from the accommodated position to the shifted position, the contact portion and the cam move away from each other such that the protrusion pivots from the standby position, by the urging force, to a retracted position at which the protrusion is retracted from the conveyance path.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit and a re-conveyor. The re-conveyor includes a first bevel gear, a second bevel gear, a first re-conveying roller, a shaft member, a first engaged member, a second engaged member, and an engaging member. When the second bevel gear is rotated in a rotational direction by a driving force transmitted from the first bevel gear, the engaging member is moved to a second position and engaged with the first and second engaged members to rotate the shaft member in a rotational direction. When the shaft member is rotated in the rotational direction by a driving force transmitted from the first re-conveying roller, the engaging member is moved to a first position, disengaged from the second engaged member, and engaged with the first engaged member to interrupt transmission of the driving force from the shaft member to the second bevel gear.

An image forming apparatus includes a second conveyance guide diverging from a first conveyance guide at a bifurcation and joining the first conveyance guide at a junction, the bifurcation being downstream of a first position of an image former in a conveyance direction, the junction being upstream of the first position in the conveyance direction, first and second sensors disposed in second and third positions between the junction and the first position along the first conveyance guide, respectively, and a controller that, when a sheet passes through the second and third positions for a second time, detects a surface characteristic of a side of the sheet by the first sensor and determines an image forming condition for the side based on the surface characteristic of the side and a basis weight detected by the second sensor when the sheet passed through the second and third positions for a first time.

Image forming apparatus, method, and computer-readable medium for setting image forming conditions in duplex printing

A sheet conveyer to shift a sheet at one side of the sheet conveyer in a widthwise direction is provided. The sheet conveyer includes a pair of rollers, a regulative guide arranged at a position closer to the one side than the pair of rollers in the widthwise direction, a first guide arranged at a position upstream from the pair of rollers with regard to a conveying direction to contact a first area on a first face of the sheet at a position closer to the one side in the widthwise direction than a widthwise center of the sheet, and a second guide arranged at a position upstream from the pair of rollers with regard to the conveying direction to contact a second area on a second face of the sheet. The second guide partly overlaps the first guide in a direction of height.

Sheet conveyer and image forming apparatus

A sheet feeding device has a sheet feed tray, a metallic pressure plate configured to support the plurality of sheets, the sheet feed tray being rockable about a rocking fulcrum between a descending position and an ascending position, a sheet feed roller configured to convey sheets supported by the pressure plate in a sheet conveying direction one by one, and an elastic member made of metal and arranged on the sheet feed tray, the elastic member engaging with the pressure plate and being electrically connected to the pressure plate, the elastic member contacting metal arranged outside the sheet feed tray to ground the pressure plate. The pressure plate has an engaging part configured to engage with the elastic member, the engaging part displacing in a direction where a contact pressure with respect to the elastic member increases when the pressure plate displaced from the descending position to the ascending position.

Sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus employing the same

A sheet conveying apparatus includes a bottom plate, a side restriction member extending in a sheet conveying direction, a drive roller rotatable about a first axis substantially orthogonal to the sheet conveying direction, and a driven roller facing the drive roller and rotatable about a second axis inclined relative to the first axis. The driven shaft includes a shaft portion and an elastic portion. The shaft portion integrally includes a first extending portion, a second extending portion, and an intermediate portion located therebetween. The elastic portion is fitted over the intermediate portion. The first extending portion includes a first protruding portion. The second extending portion includes a second protruding portion. A first distance from the second axis to an outer peripheral surface of the first protruding portion is greater than a second distance from the second axis to an outer peripheral surface of the second protruding portion.

Sheet conveying apparatus and image forming apparatus including the same

An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a sheet supply tray, and a restriction member configured to restrict movement of the sheet supply tray to outside of the main body and including an arm configured to move between a restriction position and a withdrawal position, and a restriction release surface. One of the main body and the sheet supply tray includes the restriction member. The other one includes a first inclined surface and a contact surface. The restriction release surface is configured to, when the sheet supply tray moves from an inside position toward outside of the main body, contact the restriction member to cause the restriction member to move from the restriction position to the withdrawal position by that the sheet supply tray located at the outside position pivots around a downstream end of the sheet supply tray in the attachment direction.

An image forming apparatus includes a casing including a first side frame, a second side frame, and an opening, a cartridge configured to be attached to and removed from the casing through the opening, and an openable member configured to open and close the opening. A first side and a second side of the cartridge are supported by the first side frame and the second side frame, respectively, when the cartridge is attached to the casing. A part of the cartridge attached to the casing protrudes in a removal direction of the cartridge relative to an end of each of the first side frame and the second side frame in the removal direction. The openable member includes a wall portion. When the openable member closes the opening, the wall portion of the openable member is spaced apart in the removal direction from the part of the cartridge attached to the casing.

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Tetsuya Morita