Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yozo Matsuura

Hiroshi Saitoh

Masahiko Kamijo

Shiroh Kondoh

Kazuhiro Yuasa

Hirotaka Hatta

Shigemi Kanda

Eiji Takenaka

Masanori Yoshimura

Hiromichi Ema

Yoshiya Itoh

Yuji Koseki

Hiroyuki Kiyoi

Toshihisa Nakamura

Shiro Kondo

Masahiro Kawabe

Yoshiya Ito

Toshiyuki Nakama

In a cleaning device and a eveloping device installed in an electrophotographic device, a cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) has a cleaning unit including a cleaning blade for removing a toner left on a photoconductive element after image transfer and a waste toner tank for collecting it, and a developing unit accommodating a fresh toner tank storing a fresh toner. The waste toner tank and fresh toner tank are connected together such that the fresh toner tank is movable relative to the developing device independently of the waste toner tank.

Cleaner and toner magazine for electrophotographic apparatus

In a cleaning device and a developing device installed in an electrophotographic device, a cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) has a cleaning unit including a cleaning blade for removing a toner left on a photoconductive element after image transfer and a waste toner tank for collecting it, and a developing unit accommodating a fresh toner tank storing a fresh toner. The waste toner tank and fresh toner tank are constructed integrally with each other and connected together such that the fresh toner tank is movable to the developing device.

In a developing device for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a toner conveyor roller intervenes between a conveyor roller and a developing region where a photoconductive element is located. A toner is electrically transferred from the conveyor roller to the toner conveyor roller and conveyed by the toner conveyor roller to the developing region. This prevents inversely charged toner particles from being brought to the developing region, thereby insuring high quality development.

Developing device for an image forming apparatus which uses bias

A combined cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) applicable to an image forming apparatus and implemented as a single unit made up of a device for supplying a toner to a developing unit and a cleaning device for removing and storing part of the toner which remains on a photoconductive element after image transfer. The CTM has an electromagnetic shutter or a permanent magnet for preventing the toner left on the photoconductive element without being collected by the cleaning device from being scattered around in the apparatus. When a toner reservoir included in the toner supply device is emptied and, at the same time, a waste toner tank in the cleaning device is filled up, a supplementary toner is filled in the toner reservoir via a predetermined opening and the waste toner is discharged from the waste toner tank via another predetermined opening.

Combined cleaner and toner magazine for an image forming apparatus

A toner supplement control device incorporated in an image forming apparatus for executing the supplement of a fresh toner to a developing unit only when a particular document image process mode is under way. The particular process mode is any one of a document image receive mode, a document image record mode, a document image copy mode, a supervisory report record mode, etc. In the event of initialization of the apparatus, during ordinary recording operation, and when a cleaner and toner magazine (CTM) is to be replaced, whether or not a fresh toner is present in the CTM is determined on the basis of the condition of a fresh toner existing in a developing unit.

Toner supplement control device operative concurrent with image forming

An electrophotographic apparatus capable of forming a high quality image by a contact type developing system using a photoconductive belt and a developing roller. The belt has a tubular configuration. A single friction roller is made of rubber and received in the tubular belt to drive it in a rotary motion. The friction roller has an outside diameter smaller than the inside diameter of the belt to provide the belt with a slack. The developing roller contacts the slack of the belt and, therefore, contacts the belt over a sufficient nip width.

Electrophotographic apparatus

A cleaning unit provided in a xerographic image forming apparatus removes residual toner from a photosensitive belt after a transfer process for transferring a developed image from the photosensitive belt to a recording sheet. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade for scraping the residual toner from the photosensitive belt, and a housing for storing the residual toner scraped by the cleaning blade. The cleaning blade has a slanting surface formed between a top surface of the cleaning blade and an end of the cleaning blade, the slanting blade slanting from the top surface toward the end of the cleaning blade so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the top surface. The developer scraped by the cleaning blade is entered in the housing via the slanting surface and the top surface of the cleaning blade. The cleaning unit further includes a sweeping plate for feeding the residual toner scraped from the photosensitive belt by the cleaning blade into the housing, via a top surface of the cleaning blade.

Cleaning unit provided in xerographic image forming apparatus for

A paper cassette unit includes a base part installed in an image forming system, a paper cassette having a compartment in which sheets of paper are accommodated, the paper cassette being detachably mounted in the base part, a cassette cover for covering an opening of the compartment when the paper cassette is mounted in the base part, and a connecting part connecting the cassette cover to the base part in such a way that only the cover stays in the base part when the paper cassette is demounted from the base part. The paper cassette unit also includes a size indicator for indicating size of the sheets of paper, the size indicator being detachably mounted in the paper cassette and having an integrally formed operating part including a set of projections corresponding to the indicated size, and a detection part for detecting the size of sheets of paper in use, the detection part having a set of switches depressed by corresponding projections of the operation part when the paper cassette is mounted in the base part.

Paper cassette unit

A recording apparatus which includes a photosensitive member and an image forming unit for forming a latent image on the photosensitive member. A developing unit develops this latent image by supplying toner to the photosensitive member so that a visible image corresponding to the latent image is formed on the photosensitive member. A transfer unit transfers the visible image from the photosensitive member to a recording sheet. A magazine unit having a first chamber for storing toner and a second chamber for storing scrap toner obtained by scraping residual toner from the photosensitive member is also provided. The magazine unit is detachably mounted to a housing of the recording apparatus. A supply mechanism supplies toner from the first chamber of the magazine unit to the developing unit. A detector detects whether an amount of toner in the developing unit is equal to or less than a predetermined amount and a controller activates the supply mechanism when the detector detects that the amount of toner is equal to or less than the predetermined amount. The supply mechanism features a gutter with a groove for accommodating developer and a rotation mechanism for rotating the gutter at an appropriate timing to deposit the developer in the gutter into the developing unit. A shutter which is opened when the magazine unit is mounted in the housing of the recording apparatus and which is closed when the magazine unit is removed from the housing may also be provided.

Electrophotographic recording apparatus having magazine unit for storing

An image forming apparatus, which forms a predetermined image on each recording paper of a plurality of recording papers and ejects each recording paper therefrom through a feed path, includes a body and a first lid. The first lid is pivotably provided on the body so as to pivot from a closing position to an opening position, and the feed path is mostly exposed when the first lid is located at the opening position. The body includes photosensitive member, a latent image forming device, and a developing device, whereas the first lid includes merely a transfer device so that the first lid is light enough to be opened easily. In addition, a jammed paper can be removed easily from the feed path because the feed path is mostly exposed when the first lid is located at the opening position.

Image forming apparatus with a first and second lid

A xerographic image recording apparatus includes a photosensitive body moved along a circuitous path, an electric discharging unit for eliminating electric charges from the photosensitive body, a precharging unit for charging the photosensitive body electrically, an image writing unit for writing an image on the photosensitive body, an image developing unit for coating the photosensitive body by the toner to form a toner image on the photosensitive body, a recording sheet feeding unit for feeding a recording sheet along a sheet path, an image transfer unit for transferring the toner image onto a recording sheet, a cleaning unit for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive body after the transfer of image on the recording sheet is completed, a toner supply tank for supplying the toner to the image developing unit, and a toner recovery tank for collecting the toner removed by the cleaning unit from the photosensitive body, wherein the toner supply tank and the toner recovery tank are assembled into a unitary body to form a detachable magazine.

Image recording apparatus having a toner supply tank and a toner

A facsimile machine provided with a page printer for printing image data on one or more cut sheets of recording medium. In the case where at least two differently sized cut sheets of recording medium are selectively used for recording of received image data, the facsimile machine includes a control system to keep the first selected size until recording of all of the image data of the same original document has been completed. In another embodiment, the amount of a single page of data and the size of cut sheet of recording medium in use are constantly monitored, and if the amount of a single page of data is equal to or less than half of the size of cut sheet of recording medium in use, then two pages of data are recorded on a single cut sheet of recording medium.

Facsimile machine having a page printing function

A magnetic cleaning device for cleaning a surface to be cleaned by removing magnetic particles therefrom includes a rotatable sleeve of a nonmagnetic material on the outer peripheral surface of which is planted a plurality of fibers to form a fur brush, a plurality of magnets disposed inside of and along the inner peripheral surface of the sleeve, a rotatable magnetic roll disposed adjacent to the sleeve for having the magnetic particles transferred from the sleeve to the roll, and a collection unit including a scraper to scrape the transferred particles off the roll.

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Tokyo, Japan

Yozo Matsuura