Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Tomotoshi Nakahara

Masumi Sato

Motokazu Yasui

Takaaki Yanagisawa

Kouta Fujimori

Hiroyasu Shijo

Junichi Matsumoto

Satoshi Muramatsu

Yoshio Hattori

Kazuhisa Sudo

Nobuo Iwata

Nobuo Kasahara

Tomoyuki Ichikawa

Hiroshi Ishii

Makoto Kikura

Kazuosa Kuma

Yutaka Fukuchi

Kazuki Suzuki

Yuusuke Noguchi

Hiromichi Ema

Akio Kosuge

Yoshinori Ozawa

Kazuhiko Yuuki

Yoshi Hattori

Hisao Murayama

Naoki Iwata

Ichiro Komuro

Hiroshi Takahashi

Goro Katsuyama

Masaaki Kabumoto

Kanae Amemiya

Masahiro Yonekawa

Masahiro Kurita

Koichi Noguchi

Yuji Yasuda

Michihito Ohashi

Toshiyuki Itoh

Keishi Nishioka

Masumi Satp

The color image forming apparatus comprises a transfer belt device which feeds a transfer member such as a paper and a plurality of image forming units. The image forming units are disposed facing toward the transfer belt device. The transfer belt device, at least in a portion in which the image forming units have been disposed, is arranged such that it is inclined with respect to the ground. Each of the image forming unit forms a desired image and sequentially transfers the formed image on the transfer member fed by the transfer belt device.

Color image forming apparatus, and toner replenishing apparatus

The present invention relates to an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus using a tandem-drum development, an indirect image-transfer method, and a vertical sheet supply path. An intermediate image-transfer member is angled relative to a horizontal line such that a rear side of the intermediate image-transfer member away from a recording sheet is lifted and a front side of the intermediate image-transfer member closer to the recording sheet is lowered. Further, image creating mechanisms of the tandem-drum development are aligned and arranged in parallel to a moving image transfer bed of the intermediate image-transfer member, such that one of the image creating mechanisms firstly forming an image faces the rear side of the moving image transfer bed and another one of the image creating mechanisms lastly forming an image faces the front side.

Desktop color image forming apparatus and method of making the same

The toner supply unit is provided with a preventing unit for preventing toner contamination due to toner leakage from that sealing valve. A mouth ring of the toner container is provided with the sealing valve. This valve is opened/closed by removing/inserting a nozzle.

Toner supply unit and image forming apparatus

The color image forming apparatus comprises a transfer belt device which feeds a transfer member such as a paper and a plurality of image forming units. The image forming units are disposed facing towards the transfer belt device. The transfer belt device, at least in a portion in which the image forming units have been disposed, is arranged such that it is inclined with respect to the ground. Each of the image forming unit forms a desired image and sequentially transfers the formed image on the transfer member fed by the transfer belt device.

A toner replenishing device includes a toner conveyance path for connecting a toner storing device with a developing device, a toner conveying device for conveying the toner from the toner storing device to the developing device along the toner conveyance path, and an air supplying device connected to the toner conveyance path vie an air supply path for supplying the toner storing device with air from a bottom of the toner storing device so as to agitate the toner pooling in the toner storing device.

Apparatus and method for replenishing a developing device with toner while suppressing toner remaining

A toner container includes a container body having a mouth-piece member positioned at a mouth of the container body. The mouth-piece member includes an opening to allow toner to be discharged from the container body, a valve configured to seal the opening and which allows a nozzle located at a setting portion of an image forming apparatus to protrude into the valve, and a least two guides provided at opposite sides of the mouth-piece member configured to engage with at least two setting guides at the setting portion of the image forming apparatus.

A container including a container body configured to hold toner and a mouthpiece configured to deliver toner from the container body. The mouthpiece includes a circular outlet and engagement portions configured as openings located at positions opposed to each other around the circular outlet. The circular outlet is positioned at a center location between the positions of the engagement portions, and the engagement portions are configured to engage with guide members provided at a setting portion on which the container is to be mounted.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Tomotoshi Nakahara