Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Toshiyuki Uchida

Joh Ebara

Noriaki Funamoto

Keisuke Sugiyama

Yasuhisa Ehara

Kazuhiko Kobayashi

Kouji Amanai

Kazuhiro Kobayashi

Seiichi Handa

Yuji Matsuda

Narumi Sugita

Masumi Sato

Kazuyoshi Matsumoto

Takaya Muraishi

Masato Yokoyama

Hiroaki Murakami

Toshihiro Shimada

Yohei Miura

Junichi Murano

Katsunori Shoji

Osamu Takashima

Akihiko Tosaka

Masahiro Ishida

Naoki Matsuda

Kenji Tomita

Katsumi Masuda

Kiyoshi Tsukamura

Hiroshi Ishii

Koji Suzuki

Makoto Kikura

Kaoru Yoshino

Kazuosa Kuma

Yutaka Fukuchi

Kazuki Suzuki

Kimiharu Yamazaki

Yuusuke Noguchi

Handa Seiichi

Matsuda Yuji

Kobayashi Kazuhiko

Sugiyama Keisuke

A device includes a sound source, an electric board, an exterior member, an electric board container box, and a sound absorber. The sound source generates a sound at a time of operation. The electric board has a circuit mounting an electrical component. The exterior member surrounds the sound source and the electric board. The electric board container box houses the electric board. The sound absorber is at least partially disposed inside a virtual space corresponding to a thickness of the electric board container box in an interior space of the device.

Device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a multi-color misalignment calculator that calculates an amount of multi-color misalignment of multiple color misalignment detection test pattern images based on position readings outputted by multiple test pattern image detectors, an image formation condition adjusting unit that adjusts an image formation condition of the image forming apparatus in accordance with the amount of multi-color misalignment of the multiple color misalignment detection test pattern images calculated by the multi-color misalignment calculator, and a process control unit that initiates a first multi-color misalignment correction control mode including a skew misalignment correction process and a second multi-color misalignment correction control mode excluding the skew misalignment correction process to correct multi-color misalignment of the multiple color misalignment detection test pattern images. A memory stores the amount of skew misalignment calculated by the multi-color misalignment calculator when the process control unit initiates the second multi-color misalignment correction control mode.

Apparatus and method for forming image

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of latent image bearers, a latent image writer, a plurality of developing units, a primary transfer unit, a secondary transfer unit, an adjuster, a pattern image formation controller, a color deviation detector, a color deviation correction controller, and an image-formation-mode setting unit. The color deviation correction controller executes color deviation correction control in the separated state. The image-formation-mode setting unit sets a normal linear-velocity image formation mode in which an image is formed at a normal linear velocity and at least one non-normal linear-velocity image formation mode including a low linear-velocity image formation mode in which an image is formed at a low linear velocity slower than the normal linear velocity. A plurality of image formation velocities including the normal linear velocity and the low linear velocity is set, and an execution timing of the color deviation correction control in image formation at the normal linear velocity and an execution timing of the color deviation correction control in image formation at the low linear velocity are set independently from each other.

Image forming apparatus utilizing a plurality of image formation velocities

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearing member, a plurality of developing devices, a transfer device, a moving device, a color drift detector, a test pattern forming device, and a color drift correction device. The test pattern forming device forms a test pattern on the image bearing member. The color drift correction device corrects the color drift in a separating state in which the image bearing member and the transfer device are separated from each other. The test pattern forming device forms the test pattern again in an area on the image bearing member contacting the transfer device but not pressed by the transfer device after the color drift correction device corrects the color drift in the separating state, and the color drift correction device corrects the color drift in the contact state in which the image bearing member and the transfer device are in contact with each other.

Image forming apparatus

A drive unit for rotating a first rotary member and a second rotary member disposed around the first rotary member includes a drive source, an output gear driven by the drive source, a first gear greater in diameter than the output gear and configured to engage the output gear, a first joint member projecting from the first gear coaxially and coupled to the first rotary member, a second gear smaller in diameter than the first gear and connected between the first gear and the first joint member, a driven gear smaller in diameter than the first gear and disposed within an area of the first gear in a radial direction thereof to engage the second gear to be driven thereby, and a second joint member projecting from the driven gear coaxially and connected to the second rotary member.

Drive unit, and image forming apparatus and process cartridge incorporating same

An image forming apparatus includes: a first image carrier; a first image forming unit that forms an image; an intermediate transfer belt; a primary transfer unit that primarily transfers the image onto the intermediate transfer belt; a secondary transfer unit that secondarily transfers the image transferred further onto a recording medium; a second image carrier that transfers the image onto the recording medium; a second image forming unit that forms an image on the second image carrier; a direct transfer unit that directly transfers the image onto the recording medium; a recording medium carriage belt, and a driving roller that drives the recording medium carriage belt; a speed fluctuation detecting unit; and a drive control unit that controls driving of the driving roller so as to reduce the cyclic speed fluctuation of the carriage belt based on a detection result of the speed fluctuation detecting unit.

Image forming apparatus having a primary transfer unit, a secondary transfer unit, and a direct transfer unit

A drive transmission device includes drive transmission members including a detection target gear, a detection device detecting the rotational position of the target gear and including a position detection member and a detection unit, and a conductive protection member protecting the detection unit. The detection unit and the protection member are assembled to the same member to be installed to an external apparatus. If there is a dimensional error in the protection member causing a portion of the protection member closest to the target gear to shift in position relative to the detection unit beyond a predetermined range, the protection member comes into contact with the detection unit in the assembling process, and is corrected in shape by the detection unit, with the shift in position relative to the detection unit of the portion of the protection member closest to the target gear kept within the predetermined range.

Drive transmission device including a detection device and a protection member made of a conductive material

An image forming apparatus includes a recording medium transport belt which is suspended by a plurality of roller members. An image is secondarily transferred from a first image carrier through an intermediate transfer body to a recording medium. An image is directly transferred from a second image carrier to the recording medium. The image forming apparatus further includes a pattern image sensing unit which senses a pattern image transferred from the first image carrier and the second image carrier finally to the recording medium transport belt. Each of a distance from a secondary transfer position to a sensing position and a distance from a direct transfer position to the sensing position in a recording medium transport belt rotation direction is a natural number times a circumferential length of a roller member causing a speed change in the recording medium transport belt among the plurality of roller members.

An image forming apparatus includes a rotating member, a motor configured to rotate the rotating member, and a marking member having primary and secondary portions. The image forming apparatus also includes a mark sensor configured to detect the primary and secondary portions, and output a primary signal and a secondary signal, and a position sensor configured to determine a rotational position of the rotating member based on a primary reception time of one of the primary and secondary signals that comes immediately after the other of the primary and secondary signals when the position sensor receives the other of the primary and secondary signals at a start of a mark detecting operation. Further, the image forming apparatus includes a motor controller configured to control the motor based on the recognition result and make the rotational position consistent with a target position at a predetermined time during the mark detecting operation.

Method and apparatus for image forming capable of effectively eliminating color displacement by recognizing a rotational position of a rotating member with a mechanism using detection marks

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of image bearing members, each of which is configured to bear a portion of a pattern image including a plurality of reference images in a given form, an endless moving member facing the plurality of image bearing members and configured to receive the pattern image, an image detecting unit configured to detect the plurality of reference images, a rotational angle detecting unit configured to separately detect each image bearing member at a given rotational angle, and a controller configured to detect a speed deviation pattern for each revolution of each image bearing member. The controller is configured to detect the speed deviation pattern based on a result obtained from a phase component and a quadrature component of a frequency signal generated from the detection result obtained by the rotational angle detecting unit and a result of detecting the plurality of reference images in the pattern image transferred onto the endless moving member.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method of effectively detecting a speed deviation pattern of the image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a first image carrier facing an intermediate transfer belt, a primary transfer unit primarily transferring images on the first image carrier onto the intermediate transfer belt, a secondary transfer roller facing the intermediate transfer belt secondarily transferring images on the intermediate transfer belt onto a recording medium, a second image carrier provided upstream/downstream of a secondary transfer position in a recording medium conveying direction, a direct transfer unit directly transferring images on the second image carrier onto the recording medium, a recording medium carriage belt rotatably stretched across roller members including the secondary transfer roller supporting and conveying the recording medium to pass a direct transfer position and the secondary transfer position, and a displacement unit displacing the secondary transfer roller between a contact position where the recording medium carriage belt contacts the intermediate transfer belt and a separate position where it is separated therefrom.

An image forming apparatus includes a primary transfer device that primarily transfers a first image from a first image bearer onto a first belt unit at a primary transfer position, a secondary transfer device that secondarily transfers the first image from the first belt unit onto a printing medium at a secondary transfer position, and a direct transfer device that directly transfers a second image from a second image bearer onto the printing medium at a direct transfer position. A second belt unit is rotatably suspended by plural second rollers and carries and conveys the printing medium through the direct transfer position and the secondary transfer position. An interval between the direct transfer position and the secondary transfer position is prescribed natural number times of a circumference of one of the plural second rollers, which fluctuates a velocity of the second belt unit.

Image forming apparatus including first and second image forming devices and first and second belt units

A drive transmission device that performs drive transmission through a plurality of systems and includes a first involute spline joint to perform drive transmission to a primary rotating body to be driven and a second involute spline joint to perform drive transmission to a secondary rotating body to be driven.

Drive transmission device, and image forming apparatus and process cartridge using same

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Kanagawa, Japan

Toshiyuki Uchida