Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yuki Oshikawa

Emi Kita

Hideo Yoshizawa

Yoshihiro Fujiwara

Kiyonori Tsuda

Kohichi Utsunomiya

Takuzi Yoneda

Koichi Kato

Yoshiyuki Fukuda

Junichi Matsumoto

Yasunobu Shimizu

Masaaki Yamada

Atsushi Inoue

Takuya Seshita

Yutaka Takahashi

Noriyuki Kimura

Ryusuke Mase

Keiko Matsumoto

Mugijirou Uno

Kei Saito

Naohiro Kawashima

Yuuki Tsuchiya

Akira Azami

Yoshiko Ogawa

Yuuji Ishikura

Yoshiharu Kishi

Kenji Kikuchi

Satoru Yoshida

Tadashi Hayakawa

Seiji Terazawa

Hitoshi Ishibashi

Yoshio Hattori

Koichi Sakata

Yasufumi Takahashi

Shuntaroh Tamaki

Masashi Nagayama

Susumu Tateyama

Tomoji Ishikawa

Yoshitaka Fujinuma

Koichi Yamazaki

Hiroyuki Uenishi

Yuuki Satoh

Sadayuki Iwai

Takahiro Adachi

Junichi Terai

Kaori Mitsuishi

Toshiki Hayashi

Yuzuru Ozawa

Hiroyuki Iwasa

Kentaroh Tomita

Kentarou Matsumoto

Tatsuya Ohhira

Maiko Koeda

Michitaka Sasaki

Hiroyuki Okaji

Eriko Maruyama

Sho Akiyama

Hotaru Hashikawa

Mugijiro Uno

Sohichi Abe

Tsutomu Iwata

Klyonori Tsuda

A toner container () includes a rotatable container body (). The container body includes an opening portion () and a plurality of projections (). The opening portion is on a first end, which is opposite a second end, of the container body in a rotation axis direction. The plurality of projections are each protrude inward and have a slope inclined with respect to the rotation axis direction. The plurality of projections are disposed such that, out of two adjacent projections in the rotation axis direction, one projection closer to the first end of the container body in the rotation axis direction overlaps the other projection closer to the second end of the container body in the rotation axis direction, in an area of the one projection closer to the second end and an area of the other projection closer to the first end in the rotation axis direction.

Toner container and image forming apparatus

A circuit board unit includes a plurality of circuit boards disposed side by side with a gap in a direction substantially perpendicular to a predetermined direction in which the circuit board unit is detachably mounted to a body of an apparatus. At least one of the plurality of circuit boards includes an end-face terminal on an end face facing an adjacent one of the plurality of circuit boards. The end-face terminal is attachable to and detachable from a terminal of the apparatus that is inserted between an adjacent pair of the plurality of circuit boards in conjunction with a mounting operation of the circuit board unit to the body of the apparatus.

Circuit board unit, detachable unit, and image forming apparatus

A circuit board unit includes a circuit board, and a relay. The circuit board includes an exposed terminal. The relay contacts the exposed terminal in a conductive manner. The relay includes a first contact and a second contact. The first contact contacts the exposed terminal. The second contact is disposed at a position away from the first contact and contacts and separates from a terminal of an apparatus in conjunction with attachment and detachment of the circuit board unit to and from a body of the apparatus. The relay relays conduction between the exposed terminal and the terminal that contacts the second contact.

Circuit board unit, attachment unit, and image forming apparatus

A toner container includes a container body, a gear, a held portion, an information storage device, a holding portion, and a connecting portion. The container body is rotatable around a rotation axis. The gear is disposed on a leading end of the toner container in the attaching direction of the toner container. The held portion is disposed such that the gear is exposed on the leading end in the attaching direction. The information storage device communicates with the body of the image forming apparatus. The holding portion is held by the held portion via the connecting portion. The information storage device, the holding portion, and the connecting portion are disposed at oblique positions excluding positions on a horizontal line and a vertical line. The connecting portion covers a part of the gear in a rotation direction and includes a rib-shaped portion that connects the held portion and the holding portion.

Toner container including a rotatable container body, a gear, and a held portion

A developing device includes a developing roller, a developing case, and a support. The developing roller includes a sleeve and a magnetic field generator. The sleeve is rotatable and includes a hollow shaft at an axial end of the sleeve. The magnetic field generator is irrotationally disposed inside the sleeve and includes a non-rotating shaft at an axial end of the magnetic field generator. The non-rotating shaft penetrates through the hollow shaft and projects outward. The developing case is configured to store developer and rotatably supports the hollow shaft. The support includes a fitting portion into which the non-rotating shaft of the magnetic field generator is irrotationally fitted. The support is supported on the developing case using the fitting portion as a main-positioning portion.

Developing device and image forming apparatus incorporating same

A powder container case includes a first member, a second member, a main joint, and an additional joint. The first member and the second member are joined to form an edge portion of a case opening. The main joint is disposed between the first member and the second member, and has an end portion at the edge portion of the case opening. The additional joint is disposed adjacent to the end portion of the main joint.

Powder container, developing device, and image forming apparatus with multiple joints to prevent leakage

A developing device includes a developer conveyer, a bearing, a flange, and a developer mover. The developer conveyer is rotatable and configured to convey a developer. The bearing rotatably supports a support shaft of the developer conveyer. The flange is disposed at an end portion of the developer conveyor to regulate a movement of the developer in an axial direction of the developer conveyer. The developer mover is disposed on a surface of the flange facing the bearing and configured to move the developer that enters between the flange and the bearing.

Developing device, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus

A developing device includes a developer bearer and a stirring conveyor. The stirring conveyor includes a first conveying chamber including a conveying member and a second conveying chamber to receive the developer from an end of the first conveying chamber. The conveying member includes a forward winding blade, a reverse winding blade, and a shaft portion on which the forward winding blade and the reverse winding blade are mounted with a space therebetween. A circumferential phase of the conveying member at a start position of the reverse winding blade is different from a circumferential phase of the conveying member at an end position of the forward winding blade. The conveying member is disposed in the first conveying chamber so that the space is opposite a portion at which the second conveying chamber receives the developer from the end of the first conveying chamber.

Developing device including a conveyor with a space between blades and image forming apparatus including same

A developer container includes a plurality of components combined together to form a space to store a developer. The plurality of components includes a first component and a second component. The developer container further includes a sealant to bond the first component and the second component, and a position regulator to regulate relative positions of the first component and the second component so as to maintain a distance between an adhesion portion of the first component and an adhesion portion of the second component.

Developer container, developing device, and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a developing device including at least one stirring rotator configured to stir a developer in the developing device, a driver configured to drive the at least one stirring rotator in forward and reverse rotation, a device detector configured to detect whether the developing device is set in the image forming apparatus, and control circuitry configured to execute a warm-up operation. In the warm-up operation, the driver drives the at least one stirring rotator alternately in the reverse rotation and the forward rotation in response to a detection of setting of the developing device in the image forming apparatus by the device detector and a detection of a predetermined condition.

Image forming apparatus including control circuitry to execute a warm-up operation

A developing device includes a developing roller, a cover to cover the developing roller from above the developing roller, a filter to cover a vent of the cover to filter air and collect toner passing through the vent, and a pressing member engaged with the cover in which the filter is installed. The cover includes a projecting support to support the filter. The pressing member holds the filter between the pressing member and the cover. The projecting support is projected from one end toward the other end of the vent in a transverse direction of the vent at a part of the cover in a longitudinal direction of the developing roller to block the vent, and cantilevered on the one end. A gap is provided between a tip of the projecting support and an inner edge of the cover on the other end.

A conveying device, which is included in an image forming apparatus, includes a conveying body, a conveyance passage, and an inlet portion. The conveying body has an elastic material and is configured to convey one of toner and developer. The conveyance passage includes the conveying body therein. The one of toner and developer is conveyed to the conveyance passage in a conveying direction as the conveying body rotates. The inlet portion is formed at an upstream side of the conveyance passage and is configured to pass the one of toner and developer therethrough into the conveyance passage. The conveying body has an exposed portion exposed through the inlet portion being exposed inside the conveyance passage. A portion of the exposed portion of the conveying body includes a high rigidity portion having rigidity greater than rigidity of a non high rigidity portion of the conveying body.

Conveying device and image forming apparatus incorporating the conveying device

A developing device includes a developer bearer disposed facing a latent image bearer in a developing range to transport developer by rotation, a support to support the developer bearer and including a holder mount, a rod-shaped developer regulator disposed facing a surface of the developer bearer across a gap, and a holder secured to the holder mount of the support to hold the rod-shaped developer regulator. The rod-shaped developer regulator extends in an axial direction of the developer bearer.

A developing device includes a developer bearer to carry developer to a developer range where the developer bearer faces a latent image bearer, a development casing forming a developer storing part storing the developer to supply to the surface of developer bearer, a developer through opening communicating a space in where the developer bearer is disposed and the developer storing part, a cover sheet covering the developer through opening at the developing casing, and when the cover sheet is removed, the developer pass through the developer through opening, a sheet collecting shaft to collect the cover sheet by rotating, and a transmitting mechanism to transmit a force for rotating to the sheet collecting shaft. The transmitting mechanism does not transmit the force to the collecting shaft after the cover sheet is collected.

Developing device, image forming apparatus, and process cartridge

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Kanagawa, Japan

Yuki Oshikawa