Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Corporation

Yoshiaki Ibuchi

Mitsuru Ogura

Naoyuki Kamei

Akira Tamagaki

Minoru Tomiyori

Yasushi Matsutomo

Yoshifumi Maitani

Susumu Murakami

Masanobu Deguchi

Kazuhiro Matsuyama

Tomohiko Okada

Kimihide Tsukamoto

Toshiaki Kobayashi

Katsuyoshi Fujiwara

Hideshi Izumi

Akihiko Taniguchi

Takateru Yamamoto

Shunju Anzai

Motoaki Okitsu

Shougo Iwai

Takashi Makiura

Tadaaki Kawano

Haruyoshi Migita

Hidenori Ohnishi

Hiroaki Uchiyama

Yoshikazu Nishikawa

Koichi Eto

Akira Kohno

Shinichiro Hiraoka

Kunihiko Sakaguchi

Atsushi Saito

Kouji Aoki

Yoshigumi Maitani

An image-forming apparatus is provided which includes a document reading section for reading image information from a document, and an image-forming section for forming an image on a sheet of paper based upon the image information of the document read by the document reading section. A space section is formed below the document reading section, which accommodates the image-forming section and serves as a discharge section to which the sheet of paper bearing the image formed in the image-forming section is discharged. The space section is surrounded by peripheral walls of an apparatus main body including the image-forming section. The image-forming apparatus further includes a paper post-treatment section that subjects the sheet of paper bearing the image to post-treatments, such as an adjustment process and a stapling process, in a virtually horizontal state, and that is placed between the document reading section and the space section.

Image forming apparatus with paper post-treatment device

An image forming apparatus includes a drum having a hollow polyhedron cylinder of which facets have windows. A liquid crystal cell is attached to each window of the drum for receiving image light from out side the drum on the one surface thereof to pick up a document image therein, and for receiving second light on the back surface thereof inside the drum to cause the image to be read out. The drum is rotated so that the liquid crystal cell provided on each window of the drum can sequentially receive first light reflected by the document on the one surface thereof out side the drum and second light irradiated by a second irradiating device on the back surface thereof inside the drum. A photoreceptor for receiving second light reflected by the back surface of the liquid crystal cell forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to a document image, which is developed, transferred onto a copy paper and fixed.

Copying apparatus having liquid crystal cells

A document platen driving device is provided with an endless gear connected to a document platen, whereon a document is placed, which reciprocates. A sun gear is secured to a fixed station within a space surrounded by the endless rack, and a planetary gear meshing with the endless rack and with the sun gear is also provided within the space. The planetary gear is a double gear composed of a large gear and a small gear having different pitch circle diameters. It is arranged such that the document platen is moved forward by meshing the small gear with the endless rack, and moved backward by meshing the large gear with the endless rack. In this arrangement, the backward moving speed of the document platen can be set faster than the forward moving speed, thereby permitting a reduction of the entire time required for a copying process, especially for a successive copying process.

Document platen driving device

A document platen on which a document is placed is movably installed on the main body of a copying machine. A motor for producing a driving force is provided. An input gear to which the driving force is transmitted is located in a fixed position. A planetary gear is positioned such that it engages with and moves around the input gear. An endless gear is connected to the document platen. The endless gear has internal teeth in the form of a closed loop which engages with the planetary gear. When the planetary gear, which engages with both the input gear and the endless gear, moves around the input gear once, one reciprocating movement of the document platen is caused. With this configuration, since there is no need to provide a switching mechanism including clutches and solenoids that is used in a conventional device, the number of components is reduced, and thereby decreasing the manufacturing costs.

Driving device for a document platen and copying machine incorporating a

In a method of transporting a photosensitive sheet for image forming operation, the photosensitive sheet is transported forward through an exposure section where a latent image is formed thereon, and then through a pressure-developing section where the photosensitive sheet is pressed against an image receiving sheet to develop the latent image and form a visible image on the image receiving sheet. In this pressure-developing process, the length of the photosensitive sheet which is drawn out from the sheet-feeding rod is measured. Then, the photosensitive sheet is further transported forward until the image receiving sheet is separated therefrom. Thereafter, the photosensitive sheet is transported backward by the length measured in the pressure-developing process. Since the photosensitive sheet is transported backward by the measured length after the image forming operation, the unused portion of the photosensitive sheet remaining between the exposure section and the pressure-developing section can be accurately transported backward to be used for the next image forming operation.

Method of transporting a photosensitive sheet

An image forming apparatus includes a pressure development unit having a pair of press rollers, an eccentric cam for regulating the pressure, and a power transmission unit for transmitting a driving force to the eccentric cam, in which the power transmission unit includes a one-way clutch providing only one directional path for the power transmission.

Image forming apparatus with a pressure development unit

A copying machine using a slide projector, in which the slide projector is situated such that its light path does not coincide with that of the optical device so as to secure a smooth circulation of cooling air through the copying machine. The lack of coincidence of the optical paths is compensated by adjusting the position of a photosensitive sheet with respect to that of an exposure plate so as to effect the reliable formation of an image whether light is reflected from a document placed on a document table or projected through a slidefilm by a slide projector.

Copying machine

A speed control device used in an image forming apparatus which includes a detector for checking whether the backing of an image receiving sheet is made of ordinary paper or OHP film, and is capable of controlling the rotating speeds of the motors depending upon the type of the image receiving sheet, i.e., an ordinary paper type or an OHP film type, thereby ensuring that the thermoplastic resin is molten to achieve optimum fluidity irrespective of the type of image receiving sheet.

Process speed control device for image formation

A pressure roller device includes upper and lower roller holders and small diameter upper and lower pressure rollers which are supported by the upper and lower roller holders, respectively. Upper and lower backup rollers, which are, respectively, provided at upper and lower sides of the upper and lower pressure rollers, remote from a point of contact of the upper and lower pressure rollers are rotatably supported by the upper and lower roller holders, respectively. The upper roller holder is rotatably supported, at one end of the upper and lower roller holders, by the lower roller holder. A pressing mechanism presses the upper roller holder against the lower roller holder, which is provided at the other end of the upper and lower roller holders, with the upper roller holder being rotated so as to be pressed against the lower roller holder, such that the upper and lower pressure rollers are brought into pressing contact with each other by the upper and lower backup rollers.

Pressure roller device

An apparatus for the formation of images comprising a lamp which is disposed below a photosensitive sheet staying at a buffer section and which is turned on during the period of a light-exposure step, and a light-blocking plate which directs the light from the lamp into a portion of said photosensitive sheet between a pressure-transfer section and the front end of a latent image, whereby pressure-rupturable capsules on a non-image area of the photosensitive sheet are hardened and do not rupture when pressurized at the pressure-transfer section, thereby preventing chromogenic materials contained therein from flowing out onto the pressure rollers ore other devices, preventing the pressure rollers and/or the inside of the apparatus body from being stained with the chromogenic materials, and preventing the photosensitive sheet from becoming crumpled or from causing jamming.

Apparatus for the formation of images

A copying machine including a first light source for illuminating an original on an original table, a second light source for illuminating a slidefilm, a slide projector having a slidefilm support which supports a slidefilm movably and the second light source, a mirror which is movable to a reflecting position for reflecting the light reflected from the original onto the photosensitive member as well as to a retracted position for allowing the light from the slide projector to be directly projected onto the photosensitive member, a detector for detecting whether the mirror is in the reflecting position or in the retracted position, and a light regulator for regulating power supply to either one of the first light source or the second light source which is selectively put into operation on the basis of the detected result of the detector.

Copying machine with multiple light sources

An image forming apparatus has a main body and an optical device provided in the main body for producing an exposure light of an image signal. The image forming apparatus also has a media cartridge detachably mounted to the main body. The media cartridge includes a supplying shaft on which unused photosensitive and pressure sensitive sheet is rolled for continuously supplying the unused sheet, an exposure section where the supplied unused sheet is exposed by the exposure light for forming a latent image on the supplied unused sheet, a pressure developing section to which an image receiver sheet is supplied and at which the receiver sheet is superposed and pressed onto the exposed sheet for pressure-developing an image onto the receiver sheet from the latent image, and a winding-up shaft for winding up the used sensitive sheet.

Image forming apparatus and media cartridge for use in the same

A stirrer roller of a developing device for electrophotography has elliptical plates obliquely attached to an axis such that they are mutually parallel and their projections in the directions of the axis are circular. Each plate has notches or holes symmetrically positioned with respect to the center such that the trajectories of these notches do not overlap when the roller rotates around its axis.

Stirrer roller of developing device in electrophotographic copying

A projection unit, which is mounted in a copying machine and used to project an image of a light permeable original onto a prescribed exposure point on a photosensitive material, comprising a light source for exposure in a box, an original holding means which holds the original in a prescribed position with respect to the light source and the photosensitive material and is disposed movably in the box so that the image of the original is scanned in a prescribed direction with respect to the photosensitive material, a driving means for moving the original holding means in the scanning direction, a transmission means provided between the original holding means and the driving means which is capable of moving between an engaged position in that the transmission means is coupled to the original holding means and driving means so as to transmit power of the driving means to the holding means and a disengaged position in that the transmission means is not coupled to the original holding means and the driving means, and a switching means for putting the transmission means into the engaged position or disengaged position.

Projection unit for a light permeable original in a copying machine

A method of loading a media sheet, in which after a rolled media sheet coated with photo-setting microcapsules has been mounted on a supply portion, a front end portion of the media sheet is taken up by a take-up shaft from the supply portion through a pair of pressure rollers, comprising the steps of: taking up the front end portion of the media sheet by the take-up shaft; cancelling a pressing force of the pressure rollers such that a predetermined amount of the media sheet is further taken up by the take-up shaft; and recovering the pressing force of the pressure rollers.

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Nara, Japan

Yoshiaki Ibuchi