Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yuichi Kobayashi

Manabu Mochizuki

Kenzo Ariyama

Mitsuhiro Nonaka

Tsuneo Kurotori

Kenji Kojima

Seiichi Miyakawa

Itsuo Ikeda

Ichiro Tsuruoka

Tadaaki Kanno

Satoshi Shinguryo

Haruhiko Fukuda

Toshiaki Kameyama

Hiroaki Takenouchi

Masato Jinbo

Tsuneo Kunotori

A sheet feed device installed in a copier or like recording apparatus for selectively feeding sheets in an automatic and a manual mode. The device include a sensor sensitive to a movement of a manual insertion tray to an operative position away from an inoperative one. When the sensor has sensed such a movement of the tray while a sheet cassette is in a sheet feed position, a drive mechanism which is driven by a DC motor shifts the sheet cassette from the sheet feed position to a standby position. The tray is made up of a front tray and a rear tray which is connected to the front tray in an upward rotatably manner. While the tray is attached to the sheet feed position, a tray guide guides the movement of the front tray to the sheet feed position.

Sheet feed device for recording apparatus

A device applicable to an electrophotographic color copier or a color ink jet printer for selectively supplying visualizing liquids of different colors, e.g. black, red, green and blue or a mixture thereof to a photoconductive drum, paper or like recording medium to form a visible image on the medium which corresponds to an image of an original document. The device includes a black liquid vessel, a red liquid vessel, a blue liquid vessel, and a cleaning liquid vessel. The liquids from the various vessels are selectively fed to the device and, after a visualizing operation or a cleaning operation, selectively returned to the respective vessels by two switching units. Residual toner particles are returned to the black liquid vessel. A purifying member for capturing toner or like visualizing agent which is contained in the black liquid is situated between an overflow port of the black liquid vessel and the other liquid vessels and cleaning liquid vessel. Each of the liquid vessels other than the black and cleaning vessel is provided with an overflow port at a slightly higher level than a liquid level upper limit thereof, an effluent vessel communicating to those overflow ports. Another effluent vessel is communicated to the overflow port of the black liquid vessel.

Developing device for electrophotographic color copier

A developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an imaging surface includes a developing electrode disposed opposite to the imaging surface and a control circuit for controlling the potential of the developing electrode. In one form, when the control circuit causes the developing electrode to be electrically floating, the upper limit of the voltage excursion is set at different levels as desired. In another form, the control circuit includes a sensor for sensing the potential of the imaging surface thereby allowing to carry out so-called fixed bias or auto-bias developing modes. In a further form, the mode of developing operation is automatically set depending upon the position of a pressure plate which is to be placed on an original for keeping the original in position during copying process.

Developing device

A heat-fixing device includes a heat plate along which a transfer medium bearing thereon a toner image is advanced during which the toner image becomes fixed to the transfer medium by fusing, the heat plate including a plurality of heating sections arranged along the direction of advancement of said transfer medium each of the heating sections being provided with at least one electrical heater. The device also includes a control circuit for controlling the operation of the heaters such that, under a non-steady-condition, only selected ones of the heaters are set in operation thereby only the corresponding heating sections are positively heated; whereas, under a steady-state condition, all of the heaters are operated at the same time thereby maintaining all of the heating sections at a predetermined temperature.

Device for heat-fixing a toner image

An improved multiple reproduction apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an original holder for holding thereon an original from which multiple copies are to be made and an optical system for leading a light image of the original to a desired position, the optical system constituting a part of the exposure system of the apparatus. Either of the original holder or optical system is movably provided with respect to the other, which is fixedly provided on the apparatus. The present apparatus further comprises wait time control means so that the original holder or optical system stays still for a predetermined period of time at its home position in response to the size of the original or copy paper.

Multiple reproduction apparatus

A device comprising detection means disposed in a predetermined position on the path of movement of an original scanning system in an electrophotographic copying apparatus for detecting the movement of the original scanning system and producing a signal to actuate a copy sheet feed mechanism of the copying apparatus whereby the leading end of each copy sheet can be brought into index with the leading end of an intermediate image for coordinating the printing of the original image with the scanning thereof.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Yuichi Kobayashi