Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless belt, a rotatable pressing member, a pad member inside of the belt, and a sliding member held by the pad member and sliding on an inner circumferential surface of the belt in a nip. The rotatable pressing member nips and feeds a recording material in the nip in cooperation with the belt and fixes a toner image on the recording material by applying heat and pressure. The sliding member includes a base material layer on which a plurality of projections projecting toward the rotatable pressing member are formed on a side sliding with the belt and a sliding layer provided on an outer surface of the plurality of projections. A shape of a surface of the sliding layer is a curved surface and a radius of curvature R of the curved surface satisfies 300 ?m?R?850 ?m.

Abstract: A fixing device includes an endless belt, a rotatable pressing member, a pad member inside of the belt, and a sliding member held by the pad member and sliding on an inner circumferential surface of the belt in a nip. The rotatable pressing member nips and feeds a recording material in the nip in cooperation with the belt and fixes a toner image on the recording material by applying heat and pressure. The sliding member includes a base material layer on which a plurality of projections projecting toward the rotatable pressing member are formed on a side sliding with the belt and a sliding layer provided on an outer surface of the plurality of projections. A leading end of the plurality of projections is a plane and an average roughness (Ra) of the plane satisfies 0.13 ?m?Ra?1.67 ?m.

Abstract: A dust-collecting device includes a cylindrical casing and an insertion part. The casing includes an introduction port introducing dust-containing air. The insertion part is positioned inside the casing to allow a swirling flow of the dust-containing air to be formed between the insertion part and the casing. The insertion part includes a cylindrical side surface part spaced away from and facing the casing and a projection part. The projection part includes, in a side of the first dust-collecting part, a projection surface projecting outward from the side surface part. The projection surface includes plural straightening parts and a connection part. The straightening parts are formed spirally toward the side of the first dust-collecting part, from upstream to downstream sides of the swirling flow. The connection part connects a downstream end side of one of the straightening parts and an upstream end side of another one of the straightening parts.

Abstract: A home appliance control system includes at least one home appliance, a server, a scheduler, and terminal devices. The server is configured to communicate with the at least one home appliance and may be configured to control an operation of the at least one home appliance. The scheduler may be stored in the server and configured to store each of schedule information of a plurality of users. The terminal devices are configured to access the scheduler. The terminal devices are configured to send the schedule information to the scheduler. The server is configured to control the operation of the at least one home appliance based on common schedule information among the schedule information of the users stored in the scheduler.

Abstract: A dust collecting device achieving higher efficiency in dust-and-dirt separation while suppressing adhesion of dust and dirt, and a vacuum cleaner equipped therewith. The dust-collecting device includes a cylindrical casing and an insertion part. The casing includes an introduction port allowing dust-containing air to be introduced inside. The insertion part is disposed inside the casing to allow swirling flow of the dust-containing air to be formed between the insertion part and an inner surface of the casing. The insertion part includes a cylindrical enlarged part, an opening part, and a wall part. The opening part is formed on a surface of the enlarged part in a side of a first centrifuge separator. The wall part projects at least at a position corresponding to an outside of the opening part, from the surface of the enlarged part in the side of the first centrifuge separator, toward the first centrifuge separator.

Abstract: A mobile image forming apparatus includes a body, a recording device supported by the body and configured to form an image on a recording medium, a roller provided to the body and configured to rotate on the recording medium while the body is moved in a scanning direction for image formation. The mobile image forming apparatus further includes a switching device configured to switch a state of the mobile image forming apparatus during image formation between a roller contact state in which the roller is in contact with the recording medium and a roller contactless state in which the roller is contactless with the recording medium.

Abstract: A dust-collecting device includes a cylindrical casing and an insertion part. The casing includes an introduction port introducing dust-containing air. The insertion part is positioned inside the casing to allow a swirling flow of the dust-containing air to be formed between the insertion part and the casing. The insertion part includes a cylindrical side surface part spaced away from and facing the casing and a projection part. The projection part includes, in a side of the first dust-collecting part, a projection surface projecting outward from the side surface part. The projection surface includes plural straightening parts and a connection part. The straightening parts are formed spirally toward the side of the first dust-collecting part, from upstream to downstream sides of the swirling flow. The connection part connects a downstream end side of one of the straightening parts and an upstream end side of another one of the straightening parts.

Abstract: A mobile image forming apparatus includes a body; a recording device supported by the body and configured to form an image on a recording medium, and at least one roller provided to the body and configured to rotate on the recording medium while the body is moved in a scanning direction for image formation. The mobile image forming apparatus further includes at least one pressing member disposed in contact with the at least one roller and configured to press the at least one roller in a roller axial direction.

Abstract: A controller includes: a main processing unit that executes a program; and a monitoring unit that monitors a signal, output from the main processing unit, to reset the main processing unit when detecting an abnormality in the main processing unit. The main processing unit includes: a detection unit that resets the main processing unit when detecting an incorrect access of another program to a protection target region of the program; a first testing unit that intentionally executes the incorrect access to the protection target region to test whether the main processing unit is reset by the detection unit; and a second testing unit that intentionally outputs a signal indicating an abnormal state to the monitoring unit to test whether the main processing unit is reset by the monitoring unit. When detecting the incorrect access, the detection unit causes the second testing unit to intentionally output the signal.

Abstract: A mobile image forming apparatus includes a body; a recording device supported by the body and configured to form an image on a recording medium, and at least one roller provided to the body and configured to rotate on the recording medium while the body is moved in a scanning direction for image formation. The mobile image forming apparatus further includes at least one pressing member disposed in contact with the at least one roller and configured to press the at least one roller in a roller axial direction.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a body, a recording device supported by the body and including a recording section configured to form an image on a recording medium, and two roller portions provided to the body. The two roller portions are configured to rotate on the recording medium while the body is moved in a scanning direction for image formation. The two roller portions are combined into a roller unit to rotate coaxially.

Abstract: A mobile image forming apparatus includes a body, a recording device supported by the body and configured to form an image on a recording medium, a roller provided to the body and configured to rotate on the recording medium while the body is moved in a scanning direction for image formation. The mobile image forming apparatus further includes a switching device configured to switch a state of the mobile image forming apparatus during image formation between a roller contact state in which the roller is in contact with the recording medium and a roller contactless state in which the roller is contactless with the recording medium.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a recording head that discharges an electrically substantially neutral droplet of ink onto a recording medium; a transport unit that transports the recording medium such that a recording surface of the recording medium is substantially orthogonal with respect to an ink discharge direction of the recording head; and an electric field generating unit that generates an electric field when the recording head discharges the droplet of ink. The electric field is substantially parallel to the ink discharge direction in terms of intensity.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including an image forming device to form an ink image on a recording sheet, a discharger to discharge the sheet bearing the ink image in a face-down manner, and a stacker to stack the discharged sheet thereon. The stacker includes a first surface to deform a rear end portion of the sheet, and a second surface which has a surface to press a front end portion of the sheet and is slanting so as to rise in the sheet discharging direction. The first and second surfaces are arranged such that the first surface or an extended surface thereof intersects at an angle with the second surface or an extended surface thereof to form an intersection line and such that when the front edge of the recording sheet reaches the second surface, the rear edge of the recording sheet has not yet been discharged by the discharger.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a charger, a reverse passage, and an auxiliary conveyance roller. The belt is looped around at least two rollers to adhere a recording medium thereto by electrostatic force and convey the medium. The belt defines a normal conveyance area in which the medium is conveyed in a first direction. The reverse passage delivers the medium turned around in an area downstream from the belt in the first direction and sends the medium back again to a portion of the belt upstream from the head in the first direction. The reverse passage includes an opposite conveyance area of the belt in which the medium is conveyed in a second direction opposite the first direction. The auxiliary conveyance roller is disposed at least one of an entry part and an exit part of the opposite conveyance area.

Abstract: An opening and closing mechanism includes a movable member removably mounted relative to a main body of an apparatus, an opening and closing member having a cover portion, protrusions, and pivot shafts, and shaft position adjusters to change positions of the pivot shafts while the cover portion pivots between a closed position and an open position. The opening and closing member is arranged so that, on an imaginary plane perpendicular to a central axis of each pivot shaft on which each pivot shaft and the movable member are projected, a projected portion of each pivot shaft is positioned to interfere with a projected portion of the movable member when the cover portion is placed at the closed position, and the cover portion is positioned so as not to interfere with a trajectory of movement of the movable member while the cover portion pivots toward the open position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a reverse passage, and a charger. The belt is looped around at least two rollers to adhere a recording medium thereto by electrostatic force and convey the medium. The belt defines a normal conveyance area in which the medium is conveyed in a first direction with the medium facing the head. The reverse passage sends the medium back again to a portion of the belt upstream from the head in the first direction. The reverse passage includes an opposite conveyance area of the belt in which the medium is conveyed in a second direction and a bypass passage to guide the medium separated from the opposite conveyance area toward the normal conveyance area. The charger is disposed between the bypass passage and an outer surface of the belt to charge the outer surface of the belt.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including a conveyance unit to intermittently convey a recording medium in a conveyance direction, a carriage movable in a main scanning direction and including a recording head, a conveyance path having a curved portion provided downstream from an imaging range of the recording head, a first discharge member provided downstream from the imaging range to discharge the recording medium, and a second discharge member provided downstream from the first discharge member and having a nip to sandwich the recording medium to discharge the recording medium. A length of the conveyance path extending from a downstream edge of the imaging range to the nip is longer than a maximum length of the recording medium usable in the image forming apparatus to prevent a leading edge of the recording medium from being sandwiched by the second discharge member when the carriage performs last scanning movement.

Abstract: Disclosed is an image forming apparatus including a recording head; a cap member capping the nozzle surface of the recording head and including a release port and a suction port; a suction unit in communication with the suction port; a switch unit opening and closing the release port to the air and capable of adjusting the opening amount of the release port to at least a first opening amount and a second opening amount larger than the first opening amount; and a control unit that controls the suction unit and the switch unit so that the release port is opened to the first opening amount to have a predetermined amount of air flow into the cap member after the cap member is suctioned by the suction unit, and the release port is then opened to the second opening amount.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus including: a recording head having a nozzle surface in which nozzles to eject liquid droplets in a horizontal direction or a direction slanted from the horizontal direction are formed, the nozzle surface being disposed in a vertical direction or a direction slanted from the vertical direction; a head tank to supply liquid to the recording head; a suction cap to cap the nozzle surface of the recording head; a suction member connected to the suction cap to suck out liquid from the nozzles by the suction cap; a valve member to open or close a sealed space formed by capping the nozzle surface with the suction cap to atmosphere; a liquid supplier to supply the liquid to the head tank and return the liquid from the head tank; and a control unit to control servicing of the recording head.