Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Yoshiteru Hattori

Takuya Yamaguchi

Shusaku Tsusaka

Hideo Yoshihara

Sakae Ito

Atsushi Hayakawa

Hiroshi Igarashi

Tomitake Aratachi

Masamitsu Ukai

Atsuo Hirose

Wei Ming Wang

Shougo Sato

Yoshiya Tomatsu

Atsuhisa Nakashima

Yasuhiro Suzuki

Masahiro Ishii

Hideaki Deguchi

Hidetoshi Yano

Susumu Misu

Kazuya Asano

Yohsuke Hata

Takahiro Nozaki

Sachiko Yano, Legal Representative

Shinji Ohashi

An image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge, a photosensitive drum, a lever, and an electrical connector. The developing cartridge includes a developing roller rotatable about a first axis extending in a first direction, a memory storing information related to the developing cartridge, and an electrical contact electrically connected to the memory. The photosensitive drum is rotatable about a second axis extending in the first direction. The lever moves the developing cartridge between a first position where a surface of the developing roller contacts a surface of the photosensitive drum and a second position where the surface of the developing roller separates from the surface of the photosensitive drum. The electrical connector contacts the electrical contact in the second position of the developing cartridge, and separates from the electrical contact in the first position of the developing cartridge.

Image forming apparatus having developing cartridge movable relative to photosensitive drum

An image forming apparatus includes a main body including a fixing portion, a cartridge including a photosensitive member, a transfer unit disposed facing the photosensitive member of the cartridge, and a separation member configured to separate the photosensitive member from the transfer unit and including a fixing portion. The cartridge is configured to be disposed in a first position in the main body where the photosensitive member is separated from the transfer unit and in a second position in the main body where the photosensitive member contacts the transfer unit. When the separation member is fixed in the main body by engagement of the fixing portion of the separation member to the fixing portion of the main body, the cartridge is disposed in the first position, and when the separation member is removed from the main body, the cartridge is disposed in the second position.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus may include controls for changing a state of a developing roller from a stopped state to a rotating state. The change in state may be used to avoid deterioration of toner and/or a surface of the developing roller. Changes in state may occur at various times including at a timing corresponding to an outside of an image formation area, a timing corresponding to an inside of an image formation area and the like. In one arrangement, a first developing roller may continue to rotate (e.g., during monochrome printing), while one or more other developing rollers are switched between a stopped state and a rotating state. Alternatively or additionally, a roller which is caused to change states may remain stopped between the timing corresponding to a rear end of an image formation area and a timing corresponding to a front end of an immediately subsequent image formation area.

Image forming apparatus including a controller configured to switch a state of developing roller between a stopped state and a rotating state

An image forming device, comprising: a sheet-like medium accommodation unit; a supply member that carries a sheet-like medium; a pair of separation members that separate the sheet-like medium one by one; an image formation unit; a carrying path; a re-carrying unit to move inversely the sheet-like medium whose top face has been subjected to printing; a moving mechanism to move the supply member close to or away from the sheet-like medium and to move the pair of separation members close to or away from each other so that a path for the inversely carried sheet-like medium is formed; and a control unit to control the moving mechanism such that, when back-face printing is performed, the supply member is in a state of being moved away from the sheet-like medium and the pair of separation members are in a state of being moved away from each other.

Image forming device

An image processing device, comprising a supplying path; a re-carrying path; and a supply and separation mechanism to carry and separate a sheet-like medium, and wherein the supply and separation mechanism comprises: a sending roller; an independent roller and a retard roller, and the sending roller includes an arc part and a recess formed inside of a trace of an outer circumferential surface of the arc part, the independent roller is able to rotate independently of the sending roller, the retard roller, by stopping or rotating in an inverse direction of a supplying direction, causes a frictional resistance with respect to the sheet-like medium being sent out by the arc part to separate the sheet-like medium one by one, and the image processing device further comprises: a control unit configured to cause the retard roller to rotate in the supplying direction when re-supplying is executed.

Image processing device

An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of process cartridges and a pair of frames. Each of the plurality of process cartridges includes a photosensitive drum, a charger and a charger supporting wall. One of the pair of frames has a plurality of first openings such that air outside the pair of frames is sucked between the pair of frames through the first openings. The other of the pair of frames has a plurality of second openings such that air between the pair of frames is discharged outside the pair of frames through the second openings. The first openings are positioned on an opposite side of the charger supporting wall from the photosensitive drum. The second openings are positioned on the same side of the charger supporting wall as the photosensitive drum.

Image forming apparatus including chargers around which air passes

An image forming apparatus is provided, which includes a controller configured to switch a circumferential velocity of a development roller from a second circumferential velocity to a first circumferential velocity no later than when development of a photoconductive drum is started and to switch the circumferential velocity of the development roller from the first circumferential velocity to the second circumferential velocity after the development of the photoconductive drum is completed.

An image forming apparatus is provided, which includes a controller configured to determine a moment for switching a circumferential velocity of a development roller to a first circumferential velocity from a second circumferential velocity lower than the first circumferential velocity based on a moment when the controller issues to a sheet feeding unit an instruction to start feeding of a sheet, and to determine a moment for switching the circumferential velocity of the development roller to the second circumferential velocity from the first circumferential velocity based on a moment when a first detector detects existence of the sheet ejected from a registration roller.

An image-forming device includes: an image-forming unit; a sheet discharge unit; a sheet support unit; and a reading unit. The image-forming unit forms images on a recording sheet. The sheet discharge unit discharges, in a sheet discharging direction, a recording sheet formed with an image by the image-forming unit. The sheet support unit is disposed above the image-forming unit, and supports sheet discharged from the sheet discharge unit. The reading unit is disposed above the sheet support unit, with an underside surface of the reading unit opposing a top surface of the sheet support unit. The sheet discharge unit is configured to discharge the sheet diagonally upwardly so that sheet discharged by the sheet discharge unit contacts the underside surface of the reading unit.

Image-forming device

A color laser printer includes a belt conveying device having a conveyor belt for conveying a recording medium, an image forming unit that forms an image on the recording medium and a test pattern in a test-pattern area on a conveying surface of the conveyor belt, and a pressing member having a pressing surface that grows wider toward a downstream side with respect to a conveying direction in which the recording medium is conveyed and that presses the recording medium toward the conveying surface of the conveyor belt. The pressing member is disposed so that a prescribed gap is formed between the pressing surface of the pressing member and the test-pattern area on the conveying surface of the conveyor belt.

Image forming device capable of preventing detection error of test pattern on conveyor belt

An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus comprises an apparatus main body; a process unit having a drive input member; and a drive transmission member, wherein, the drive transmission member comprises: a guide core member having a distal end core portion which has a first outside diameter; and a proximal end core portion which has a second outside diameter that is larger than the first outside diameter; a reciprocating member in which the guide core member is inserted, the reciprocating member comprising: a distal end cylindrical portion which has a first inside diameter; and a proximal end cylindrical portion which has a second inside diameter that is larger than the first inside diameter; and a pressing member interposed between the guide core member and the reciprocating member for connecting the guide core member and the reciprocating member.

Image forming apparatus in which drive transmission member engages drive input member

An image forming apparatus includes; a main body; a detachable member; a cover; a displacement member movable between a preventing position and a permitting position; a one-way link mechanism provided for displacing the displacement member from the preventing position to the permitting position when the cover is opened from a state in which the cover is closed and the displacement member is disposed in the preventing position, and for keeping the displacement member in the permitting position when the cover is closed from a state in which the cover is opened; a position detection unit for detecting a position of the displacement member right after a power supply unit has been switched on; and a history determination unit for determining an existence of a history showing an opening and closure of the cover while the power supply unit is left off based on the position of the displacement member.

An opening-angle restricting device includes a main casing, a cover member, a string member, a take-up unit, and a stopper unit. The main casing has an inner space for accommodating an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium. The cover member is coupled to the main casing via a hinge. The cover member has an inner side that faces the inner space when the cover member is closed. The string member has one end fixed to the main casing. The take-up unit is provided at the inner side of the cover member. The take-up unit is configured to pay out and take up the string member. The stopper unit restricts paying out of the string member when an amount of payout in the string member reaches a predetermined amount, thereby restricting an opening angle of the cover member at a predetermined angle.

Opening-angle restricting device

An image forming apparatus is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a main body; process cartridges, each including a photosensitive drum and a developing roller; a body frame including a abutment portions and projecting portions; fixing members configured to rotate to a locked state where the fixing members bring the process cartridges into abutment with the abutment portions and to an unlocked state where the fixing members are spaced apart from the process cartridges; spacing members which move to a spacing position where the developing rollers are spaced apart from the photosensitive rollers and a permissive position where the developing rollers are in contact with the developing rollers; and a translation member reciprocating in a straight line for displacing the fixing members between the locked state and the unlocked state and moving the spacing members between the spacing position and the permissive position.

Growing community of inventors

Ichinomiya, Japan

Yoshiteru Hattori