Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Brother Kogyo Kabsuhiki Kaisha

Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.

Yoshiya Tomatsu

Yasushi Okabe

Naoya Kamimura

Hiroshi Igarashi

Makoto Souda

Junichi Hashimoto

Atsushi Hayakawa

Yoshito Takakuwa

Takashi Shimizu

Yohei Hashimoto

Mitsugi Tanaka

Masayuki Okumura

Yoji Tsujishita

Yoshihito Takakuwa

Tsutomu Suzuki

Takuji Matsuno

Shigeki Kato

Kenji Sakakibara

Tatsuya Shindo

Shigeyuki Hayashi

Yumio Matsumoto

Yoshiteru Hattori

Takeshi Izaki

Masahito Kajita

Takehiro Masuda

Masaki Yasuda

Yohei Nishimura

Eiji Shibata

Hideo Nishigaki

Katsuyoshi Sonobe

Kiyomitsu Kumazawa

Takao Nakazawa

A printer includes: a conveyor conveying a sheet in a conveying direction; a first supporting part positioned on an upstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the conveyor, and having a first supporting surface; a side guide making contact with at least one of both ends, in a width direction of the sheet, in the first supporting surface, the width direction being orthogonal to the conveying direction and parallel to the first supporting surface; a suction-attraction force generator generating a suction-attraction force in an area, in the first supporting surface, which is adjacent to the side guide and in which the sheet passes; a second supporting part positioned on a downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the conveyor, and having a second supporting surface; and a recording part recording an image on the sheet supported by the second supporting surface.

Image recording apparatus

First and second flanges protrude from a shaft portion in a direction crossing an axial direction. The first and second flanges define a position of a roll fitted to the shaft portion in the axial direction. First and second facing surfaces face the roll. First and second contact portions protrude from the first and second facing surfaces in the axial direction. The first and second contact portions are configured to contact a paper tube. A screw member is rotatable relative to the shaft portion, the first flange, and the second flange, thereby changing a relative position of the first flange and the second flange between a hold position at which the first and second contact portions press and hold the paper tube in the axial direction and a separation position at which at least the first contact portion or the second contact portion is separated from the paper tube.

Medium supporting device and printing apparatus

An image recording apparatus includes a pair of conveying rollers configured to convey a sheet in a conveying direction, a recording unit located downstream of the pair of conveying rollers in the conveying direction and configured to record an image on the sheet, a first side-guide located upstream of the pair of conveying rollers in the conveying direction and configured to come into contact with at least one of opposite ends of the sheet in a width direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. The first side-guide is movable in the width direction. The image recording apparatus further includes a second side-guide located downstream of the pair of conveying rollers and upstream of the recoding unit in the conveying direction, the second side-guide being configured to come into contact with at least one of opposite ends of the sheet in the width direction and movable in the width direction.

A print device includes a supply unit, a print unit, a conveyer, a tensioner, and a rotor. The conveyer is configured to nip and to convey, with a pair of rollers, a long medium in a conveyance direction. The tensioner is configured to contact a second surface of the medium to cause the medium to bend. The tensioner is pivotably supported at a position upstream of the conveyer in the conveyance direction. The rotor is rotatably supported at a position upstream of the conveyer in the conveyance direction, and positioned downstream, in the conveyance direction, of an upstream end portion, in the conveyance direction, of the tensioner. The rotor is positioned such that an upper end of the rotor and a nipped point are at a same height. The rotor is configured to contact the second surface.

Print device and conveyance device with tensioner

A conveyor includes: a receiver that detachably receives a roll-like sheet; a conveyance unit that conveys the sheet in a conveyance orientation along a conveyance surface; and a tensioner that applies tension to the sheet at a position upstream of the conveyance unit in the conveyance orientation. The tensioner includes: a frame having a groove pair extending in a first direction along the conveyance orientation; a guide having a curved surface that contacts the sheet and an engagement member pair that engages with the groove pair; a pivoting member that pivots around an axis extending in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction and parallel to the conveyance surface; a transmission member that transmits pivoting of the pivoting member to the guide; and an urging member that applies urging force including a component in the first direction to the guide.

Conveyor and image recording apparatus

There is provided a printing apparatus including: a recorder; first and second conveying rollers; a first member which includes the first conveying roller and in which the first conveying roller is supported shakably; and a second member which includes the second conveying roller. The first member includes: a roller support having: an extending part which extends in an extending direction of a rotation shaft of the first conveying roller, and first and second supports which rotatably supports first and second ends of the rotation shaft of the first conveying roller, respectively; and at least one pressing part configured to press a central area of the extending part in a pressing direction extending from the first conveying roller to the second extending roller, in a state that the first and second conveying rollers are brought into contact with each other.

Printing apparatus

A gear transmission device includes a frame, a sun gear including a first shaft having a first axis, a driven gear, a planet gear movable between an engaged position and a disengaged position and including a second shaft having a second axis, an auxiliary gear including a third shaft, a first guide portion to guide the second shaft, and a second guide portion to guide the third shaft. At least a portion of the third shaft is positioned opposite to the driven gear relative to a first imaginary line passing the first axis and the second axis of the planet gear located at the disengaged position. As the sun gear rotates with the auxiliary gear in mesh with the planet gear, the third shaft moves with contacting a guide surface and the second shaft moves in a direction opposite to a direction in which the third shaft moves.

Gear transmission device and image forming apparatus

A gear transmission device includes a frame, a sun gear, a driven gear, a planetary gear, a contact member, and a guide. The guide guides the contact member as described below. When the planetary gear is at a meshing position, a first tooth portion and a first contact portion of the contact member are away from the planetary gear. When the planetary gear is at a farthest position, the first contact portion is in contact with the planetary gear and the first tooth portion is away from the planetary gear. When the planetary gear is between the meshing position and the farthest position, the first tooth portion moves in mesh with the planetary gear in a direction opposite to a moving direction of the planetary gear around the sun gear, and the first contact portion is switched between a state in contact with the planetary gear and a state away from the planetary gear.

An image-forming apparatus includes: a drum unit including a photosensitive drum; an exposure head configured to expose the photosensitive drum to light; a developing cartridge configured to store developer therein; and a support member configured to support the exposure head and the developing cartridge. The support member is pivotally movable between an exposure position and a separation position. The exposure head is able to expose the photosensitive drum to light at the exposure position. The exposure head is positioned away from the photosensitive drum when the support member is at the separation position.

Image-forming apparatus including drum unit and support member for supporting developing cartridges and exposure heads

A boss for a self-tapping screw includes a main body having an inner peripheral surface and an outer peripheral surface, a plurality of reinforcing ribs connected with an outer peripheral surface, and a plurality of inner wall portions extending parallel to the central axis. Each of the plurality of inner wall portions are disposed at a portion of the inner peripheral surface opposite to a corresponding one of the plurality of reinforcing ribs across the main body. Each of the plurality of inner wall portions includes a specific portion opposite to the corresponding one of the plurality of reinforcing ribs across the main body. The specific portion is closer to the central axis than other portions of the each of the inner wall portions.

Boss for self-tapping screw

There is provided an opening and closing apparatus, including: a main body; an openable body pivoting between a closed position and an open position; a connecting part connecting an end of the main body and an end of the openable body; a rack provided in one of the main body and the openable body; and an arm, wherein a part, of a pitch line of the rack, which makes contact with a pitch circle of the pinion in a state that the openable body is positioned in the vicinity of the closed position is an inclined line which is inclined to approach the other of the main body and the openable body having no rack, as the inclined line is farther away from the connecting part with the openable body being in the closed position.

Opening and closing apparatus and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus, having an image forming unit, a document reader unit pivotable on the image forming unit through a hinge, a retainer to retain the document reader unit in the open position, is provided. The retainer includes a first link member rotatably coupled with the image forming unit and the document reader unit through a first coupling section and a second coupling section; a second link member rotatably coupled with the image forming unit and the document reader unit through a third coupling section and a fourth coupling section; and a tension coil spring. The first link member includes a first contacting part that faces and contacts the second link member along a tensile direction of the tension coil spring when the document reader unit is in a closed position.

Image forming apparatus with retainer for pivoting document reader unit

An image forming apparatus includes a main body; a process unit configured to be attached to and removed from the main body, the process unit being configured to integrally hold a plurality of image carriers arranged in a first direction; a plurality of developing cartridges provided in corresponding association with the image carriers, the developing cartridges configured to be attached to and removed from the process unit, each of the developing cartridges including a corresponding developer carrier, each of the developing cartridges being configured to supply developer to a corresponding image carrier; and a pressing mechanism provided in the main body, the pressing mechanism configured to press the developing cartridges, when attached to the process unit, in a direction that the developer carriers contact the image carriers.

Pressing mechanism for a developing cartridge

An image forming apparatus includes: a main body having an opening; a photoconductor unit including a photoconductor and removably mountable to the main body through the opening by moving the photoconductor unit in a first direction; an exposure member; and a moving mechanism configured to move the exposure member closer to and further from the photoconductor. The moving mechanism includes: a fixed shaft having an axial line thereof fixed relative to the main body; a first arm including one end portion thereof which is supported rotatably around the axial line of the fixed shaft; a movable shaft having an axial line thereof which is movable relative to the main body; and a second arm including: one end portion supporting the exposure member; and another end portion connected to the first arm via the movable shaft, and the second arm being swingable around the axial line of the movable shaft.

Image forming apparatus including LED exposure system with linking mechanism for moving exposure member

Image forming apparatuses include: a casing; an image forming unit removable from the casing in a first direction; and plural developer cartridges. The cartridges may be attached and detached with respect to the image forming unit in a second direction that is inclined toward the first direction. Other image forming apparatuses include: a casing; an exposure device; a plurality of cartridges configured to be attached and detached with respect to the casing in a first direction; and a recording medium transport system for transporting recording media adjacent the photosensitive members in a second direction. The first direction may be inclined with respect to the second direction, and at least a portion of optical paths of the light emitted from the exposure device may extend parallel with the first direction. Aspects also relate to image forming units, e.g., for use in image forming apparatuses as described above.

Growing community of inventors

Kasugai, Japan

Yoshiya Tomatsu