Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Kyocera Mita Corporation

Yoshiaki Ikebata

Daisuke Eto

Toshinori Nishimura

Ryusuke Nakatani

Yumi Hirobe

Hiroki Morishita

Hirokazu Fujii

Kazuya Yamashita

Koju Yamamoto

Shinji Furuta

Tomohisa Soda

Yuta Nohara

Kenichi Hayashi

Lin Lu

Atsushi Ishizaki

Ayumi Nakano

An image evaluation system includes an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus. The image forming apparatus prints a reference document including pattern images. The image forming apparatus prints, on the reference document, a check region including check items with respect to the image quality of the printed result. The image forming apparatus reads the printed reference document to generate reference document data. The image forming apparatus transmits the generated reference document data to the information processing apparatus. Based on the received reference document data, the information processing apparatus recognizes a check item selected in the check region.

Image evaluation system

An image forming apparatus includes a toner container, a toner conveyance portion, a container attachment portion, and a biasing mechanism. The toner container has a toner outflow port at a tip portion thereof. The toner conveyance portion is provided in the toner container and conveys toner in the toner container toward the toner outflow port. The container attachment portion supports the toner container. The biasing mechanism applies a biasing force to change the toner container from a horizontal attitude to an inclined attitude in accordance with a toner conveyance operation of the toner conveyance portion. When the toner container is in the inclined attitude, the toner outflow port faces diagonally downward.

Image forming apparatus including toner container with changeable attitude

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, an image carrier, a developing device, a toner container, a container cover, a driver and a lock mechanism. The lock mechanism maintains the locking state if the container body is rotated in the first rotating direction by the driver, and receives a rotational drive force of the driver to switch the state thereof from the locking state to the unlocking state if the container body is rotated in the second rotating direction by the driver.

Image forming apparatus with a toner container having a cover and a cover locking mechanism that is switchable between a locked state and an unlocked state

An image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum, a development section, and a cooling unit. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum. The development section supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image. The cooling unit cools the development section. The cooling unit includes a heat receiving section, a heat radiating section, and a cooling tube. The heat receiving section receives heat from the development section. The heat radiating section radiates the heat received by the heat receiving section. The cooling tube returns a liquid coolant sent from the heat radiating section to the heat radiating section by way of the heat receiving section. The heat receiving section has a groove structure into which the cooling tube is fitted.

Cooling unit for an image forming apparatus

A toner container is for mounting to a mounting portion of an image forming apparatus along a mounting direction. The toner container includes a container body and an engaging protrusion. The container body houses a toner and rotates. The engaging protrusion projects from an outer peripheral surface of the container body. The engaging protrusion has a spiral pattern and rotates integrally with the container body. The mounting portion includes a lock portion is engageable with the engaging protrusion. Rotation of the container body and the engaging protrusion in one rotation direction in a state where removal of the toner container from the mounting portion is permitted causes the toner container to move to a back side (downstream) in the mounting direction while shifting an engaging part of the engaging protrusion relative to the lock portion to restrict the removal of the toner container from the mounting portion.

Toner container that restricts removal from mounting portion and image forming apparatus

A developing device includes a developer carrier, a thickness restricting portion, and an airflow rotor. The developer carrier rotates while carrying a developer on an outer circumferential surface thereof. The thickness restricting portion is disposed spaced apart from the developer carrier, and restricts the thickness of the two-component developer carried by the developer carrier. The airflow rotor is a rotor that rotates in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the developer carrier, at a position spaced apart from an upper surface of the thickness restricting portion and from the outer circumferential surface of the developer carrier. The airflow rotor generates airflow in a space between the airflow rotor and the upper surface of the thickness restricting portion.

Developing device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a job execution portion, an operation portion, and a storage portion. The job execution portion executes a job. The operation portion receives an operation of selecting a setting item used in a job to be executed, an operation of setting a setting value of a job to be executed, and an execution instruction for a job. The storage portion stores a content of a specific operation of making the operation portion into a state where a plurality of touch operations have been performed by one touch operation. The job execution portion makes a job execution speed different between a job for which the specific operation has been performed on the operation portion during setting operation, and a job set by only a normal operation without the specific operation during setting operation on the operation portion.

Image forming apparatus with dynamic job execution

An image forming apparatus (multifunction peripheral) includes an input portion and a job execution portion. The input portion includes an operation portion configured to accept user's setting input and stop of a job, and a communication portion, so as to accept a content confirmation input of a job to be executed. When executing a job for which the content confirmation input is not accepted, the job execution portion executes the job at lower speed for a predetermined number of sheets from first than a job for which the content confirmation input is accepted, and executes the job at the same speed after the predetermined number of sheets as the job for which the content confirmation input is accepted.

Image forming apparatus capable of printing at a plurality of speeds

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section, a housing, an image scanning section, an airflow generation section, a guiding air path, and a blow-off port. The image forming section forms an image on a sheet. The housing accommodates the image forming section therein. The image scanning section has a bottom portion and is disposed above the housing. The airflow generation section generates an airflow inside the housing. The guiding air path guides the airflow upward inside the housing. The blow-off port is communicated with the guiding air path and arranged so as to face the bottom portion of the image scanning section.

Image forming apparatus with blow-off port facing bottom portion of the image scanning section

A developing device includes a developer container, an agitation conveyance member, a toner detection sensor, and a scraper. Agitation conveyance member agitates and conveys a developer in developer container. Toner detection sensor detects a toner concentration or a remaining amount of toner in developer container. Scraper is provided in agitation conveyance member, and cleans a detection surface of toner detection sensor when agitation conveyance member rotates. Scraper includes a first member that comes into contact with detection surface of toner detection sensor when agitation conveyance member rotates forward, and a second member that comes into contact with detection surface of toner detection sensor when agitation conveyance member rotates reversely. First member has a wear resistance higher than that of second member, and a coefficient of friction between second member and detection surface is higher than a coefficient of friction between first member and detection surface.

Developing device having agitation conveyance member with scraper for wiping toner sensor and image forming apparatus having the developing device

An image forming apparatus has a printing section and a document reading section. The printing section prints on paper while transporting it. The document reading section includes a document transport portion which automatically transports, sheet by sheet, a document placed thereon. The document reading section generates image data by reading the document. The document reading section is operable in an ordinary reading mode in which it reads the document at a previously determined ordinary speed and in a quiet reading mode in which it reads the document at a quiet speed lower than the ordinary speed. The document reading section reads the document in the quiet reading mode when the printing section is not printing and in the ordinary reading mode when the printing section is printing.

Image forming apparatus and control method of an image forming apparatus having an ordinary reading mode and a quiet reading mode

A toner transporting device includes a screw that includes a spiral fin wound around a shaft portion and transports toner in the axial direction, and a toner crushing member that is disposed along the transport direction of the toner and crushes accumulated toner, wherein the toner crushing member includes a base portion that extends along the shaft portion of the screw, and a flexible plate member which is disposed at a position in which the flexible plate member bumps into and contacts the fin, and in which the downstream side in the transport direction of the toner in the screw is fixed to the base portion and the upstream side is separated from the base portion.

Toner transporting device and image forming apparatus including toner transporting device

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body, a housing body, and an outer wall member. The housing body can displace and rotate to a housing body fully closed angle position, a housing body fully open angle position, and a housing body non-access angle position. The outer wall member is disposed between the apparatus main body and the housing body, and connected to the apparatus main body to displace and rotate in response to the displacement and rotation of the housing body, and positioned at an outer wall fully closed angle position, an outer wall fully open angle position, and an outer wall non-access angle position that has an angular position enabling exposure of exchangeable components inside the apparatus main body but not enabling exchange by a user.

Image forming apparatus

A photoconductor drum support structure includes a photoconductor drum that is supported to rotate about a rotation axis; a drum shaft that passes through the photoconductor drum, and is disposed along a rotation axis; a notch formed on the first end in the rotation axis direction of the drum shaft; a drum frame that retains the photoconductor drum to rotate, the drum frame including an opening that is formed on the first end in the rotation axis direction on the drum frame, and enables insertion of the first end of the drum shaft, an engaging portion that is engaged with the notch formed on the drum shaft inserted into the opening, and that regulates displacement of the drum shaft towards the second end.

Photoconductor drum support structure, image forming apparatus, and method of manufacture for photoconductor drum support structure

An intermediate transfer unit of an image forming apparatus is provided between a plurality of developer containers for containing developer and a plurality of developing devices. The intermediate transfer unit includes an intermediate transfer unit for secondarily transferring primarily transferred developed images from the plurality of image carriers onto a paper, an intermediate transfer unit driving mechanism for driving the intermediate transfer unit, and a housing for supporting the intermediate transfer unit driving mechanism. One end of the housing includes a plurality of developer inlet ports positionally corresponding to the developer supply ports of the developer containers respectively, a plurality of developer outlet ports positionally corresponding to the developer receiving ports of the developing devices respectively, and a plurality of developer supply paths connecting between the developer inlet ports and the developer outlet ports respectively.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Yoshiaki Ikebata