Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Yuuki Kikushima

Shuutaroh Yuasa

Masami Okamoto

Keisuke Kubota

Kenji Nozawa

Kaori Hemmi

Fumihiro Hirose

Kensuke Yamaji

Yoshikuni Sasaki

Sho Sawahata

Genichiro Kawamichi

Arinobu Yoshiura

Masahiro Yamazaki

Masahiko Satoh

Ken Onodera

Seiji Saitoh

Akitomo Kuwabara

Hiroshi Suzuki

Satoshi Aizawa

Yuuta Kanda

Kazuhiro Shimojima

Masami Takeshita

Hidenori Iwanaga

Takeshi Terakado

Soushi Kikuchi

Mamoru Takayama

Hidenori Takayasu

A separation member that is used to separate a conveyance object from two rotation members, the conveyance object having been sent out from a nip that is formed by the two rotation members that are in contact with one another, the separation member includes a wavy part directed toward the nip and inclined from a normal to a center line of the two rotation members at a predetermined angle. The wavy part covers a contact zone where the conveyance object can come into contact with the separation member along a conveyance direction and along a width direction of the conveyance object, and the wavy part has a plurality of depressions parallel to each other and extending in a direction inclined from the conveyance direction and inclined from the width direction, at least two of the depressions overlapping along the conveyance direction.

Separation member, separation device, fixing device, and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a fixing rotator, a pressure rotator, a cooling assembly, and an air regulation plate. The cooling assembly blows air onto an outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator to cool the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator. The air regulation plate is disposed opposing the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator with a clearance between the air regulation plate and the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator, to regulate a flow direction or amount of one of air to be blown onto the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator and air having been blown onto the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator. The air regulation plate has a leading end opposing the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator. The leading end has a shape following the outer circumferential face of the pressure rotator.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus including the fixing device

A fixing device includes an endless fixing belt stretched taut across a first roller and a second roller and rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation. A pressure rotator is pressed against the first roller via the fixing belt to form a fixing nip between the pressure rotator and the fixing belt, through which a recording medium is conveyed. A separation aid, disposed downstream from the fixing nip in the direction of rotation of the fixing belt to separate the recording medium from the fixing belt, includes a contact face contacting an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt and a bulge disposed at a center of the contact face in a longitudinal direction of the separation aid. The bulge projects toward the inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt relative to each lateral end of the contact face in the longitudinal direction of the separation aid.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus that include a separation aid disposed downstream from the fixing nip

A fixing device includes a fixing belt looped over a first roller and a second roller and rotatable in a predetermined direction of rotation and a pressure rotator to press against the first roller via the fixing belt to form a fixing nip between the fixing belt and the pressure rotator. A separation aid, disposed downstream from the fixing nip in the direction of rotation of the fixing belt, contacts an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt to decrease a radius of curvature of the fixing belt. A polishing roller, disposed downstream from the separation aid and upstream from the second roller in the direction of rotation of the fixing belt, contacts an outer circumferential surface of the fixing belt. An opposed roller, disposed opposite the polishing roller via the fixing belt, forms a polishing nip between the polishing roller and the fixing belt.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a cylindrical heat roller; a plurality of heaters disposed inside the heat roller, extending along a longitudinal axis of the heat roller; and a heat adjuster, disposed among the plurality of heaters, to adjust heat from one to another of the plurality of heaters. An image forming apparatus includes an image forming section to form an image on a recording medium; and the fixing device as described above, to fix the image onto the recording medium.

A fixing device includes a heating roller, a fixing roller, an endless fixing belt, a pressure roller, a temperature gauge, and a cooling device. The fixing belt is stretched between the heating roller and the fixing roller. The pressure roller includes a core rod and an elastic layer formed on an outer circumferential surface of the core rod, and is pressed against the fixing roller via the fixing belt to form a nip portion to thermally fix an image on a recording medium passed through the nip portion. The temperature gauge measures the surface temperature of the pressure roller. The cooling device includes plural cooling units arranged parallel to a rotation axis of the pressure roller, and cools the pressure roller while adjusting the amount of cooling for each of the cooling units in accordance with the surface temperature of the pressure roller measured by the temperature gauge.

Fixing device having a cooling device for a pressure member

A fixing device includes a guide disposed downstream from a fixing nip formed between a fixing rotator and a pressure rotator, through which a recording medium is conveyed. A pressure rotator side separator, disposed downstream from the fixing nip in a recording medium conveyance direction, includes an opposed tip disposed opposite an outer circumferential surface of the pressure rotator and a separation-conveyance face that separates the recording medium from the pressure rotator. The opposed tip and the separation-conveyance face define a hypothetical circle having a curvature not smaller than 1/20 that intersects a guide face of the guide at an intersection at which a hypothetical tangent is tangent to the hypothetical circle. The hypothetical tangent and the guide face define a downstream intersection angle that is downstream from the hypothetical tangent in the recording medium conveyance direction and is greater than 90 degrees.

Fixing device including a separator to separate a recording medium from a pressure rotator and image forming apparatus including the fixing device

A fixing device includes a first roller contacting a fixing belt to generate a rotation friction force therebetween to rotate the fixing belt and a second roller contacting the fixing belt to exert a first inhibition force to the fixing belt in a direction opposite a direction of rotation of the fixing belt. A separation aid is disposed downstream from a fixing nip formed between the fixing belt and a pressure rotator in the direction of rotation of the fixing belt to decrease a curvature of the fixing belt and exert a second inhibition force to the fixing belt in the direction opposite the direction of rotation of the fixing belt. The second inhibition force is added to the first inhibition force to obtain a combined inhibition force that is smaller than the rotation friction force between the fixing belt and the first roller.

A fixing device includes a fixing belt stretched taut across a fixing rotator and a support rotator. A pressure rotator is pressed against the fixing rotator via the fixing belt to form a fixing nip between the fixing belt and the pressure rotator, through which a recording medium bearing a toner image is conveyed. The pressure rotator includes a recess defining an outer diameter of each lateral end of the pressure rotator in an axial direction thereof that is greater than an outer diameter of a center of the pressure rotator in the axial direction thereof. A first separator is disposed downstream from the fixing nip in a recording medium conveyance direction and contacts an inner circumferential surface of the fixing belt. The first separator is isolated from the pressure rotator and includes a projection disposed opposite the recess of the pressure rotator.

Fixing device and image forming apparatus that include a separator disposed downstream from a fixing nip

A fixing device includes an elastic rotator and a cooler disposed opposite the rotator to cool the rotator with cooling air. A mover contacts and moves the rotator to a first position where the rotator is disposed opposite the cooler with an increased first interval therebetween and a second position where the rotator is disposed opposite the cooler with a decreased second interval therebetween. A rectification plate is movably mounted on the cooler to contact the rotator constantly to guide the cooling air to the cooler.

An earthquake resisting apparatus includes a load transmitting member which has a surface area larger than an installation area of an installation object, a movement limiting member which is arranged between the load transmitting member and an installation floor, the movement limiting member being bonded to the load transmitting member and having a coefficient of static friction between the movement limiting member and the installation floor when a load acts on the installation object in a horizontal direction in a state in which the installation object is fixed to the load transmitting member, in which the coefficient is larger than or equal to a predetermined value, and a fastening part which connects the installation object and the earthquake resisting apparatus.

Earthquake resisting apparatus

A printing system including: a first printer that forms an image on continuous-form printing paper, and includes a pre-heating unit that preliminarily heats the continuous-form printing paper prior to fixation and a fixing unit that performs the fixation; and a second printer that forms an image on the continuous-form printing paper fed from the first printer. The second printer includes a jam detecting unit that detects, at a detection position upstream of a position where the second printer forms the image on the continuous-form printing paper, and a control unit that controls the jam detecting unit such that the jam detection is not performed for a period of time, over which a deformed portion of the continuous-form printing paper which has been at rest at the pre-heating unit of the first printer passes through the detection position of the jam detecting unit.

Method and system for printing having a web jam detecting unit

A fixing device includes a conveying unit configured to convey a recording medium; a conveyance stopping unit configured to stop conveyance of the recording medium; a heating unit having a heating plane and configured to heat a part of the recording medium, which part is laid over the heating plane; and a cooling unit configured to cool the part of the recording medium, whose conveyance has been stopped, by applying cooling air to the part of the recording medium from above.

A disclosed cooling structure includes a casing including a bottom plate arranged in a bottom portion of the casing and having a through hole formed in the bottom plate; a heat source to be cooled accommodated in the casing; a suctioning unit configured to suction outer air from an outside of the casing to an inside of the casing via the through hole in the bottom plate; an open and close member including an outer air path for carrying the suctioned outer air and being capable of opening and closing relative to the casing; and an outer air applying unit configured to cool the heat source by the carried outer air received from the open and close member.

Cooling structure, image forming apparatus having cooling structure, and electronic apparatus having cooling structure

A component replacement support tool for a fusing unit with a roller that contains a lamp cartridge includes a roller insertion/removal guide shaft and a lamp protection member detachably housed in the roller insertion/removal guide shaft. The fusing unit includes a replacement opening via which the roller or the lamp cartridge can be removed from or inserted into the fusing unit along an axis of the roller for replacement. The roller insertion/removal guide shaft is inserted into the roller along the axis of the roller and fixed so as to guide the roller when the roller is removed from or inserted into the fusing unit via the replacement opening. The lamp protection member is inserted between the roller and the lamp cartridge when the lamp cartridge is pulled out of or inserted into the roller along the axis of the roller via the replacement opening.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Yuuki Kikushima