Abstract: An image forming apparatus having an image carrier that carries a toner image; an opposed member that is provided so as to be opposed to the image carrier; an application device that applies a bias to the opposed member; and a control device that controls the application device to apply a first bias and thereafter a second bias to the opposed member so as to remove toner from the opposed member. The first bias has an absolute value that is large enough to cause discharge from the opposed member into air. The second bias has an absolute value that is too small to cause discharge from the opposed member into the air, and has a reverse polarity to the first bias.

Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning residual toner that, in an image forming device of an intermediate transfer type, remains on an outer circumferential surface of an intermediate transfer member after a transfer. The cleaning device includes: a charging brush operable to contact with and charge the residual toner; and a cleaner that is disposed downstream of the charging brush in a toner transport direction of the intermediate transfer member, and is operable to electrostatically adsorb the charged residual toner, wherein electrically conductive bristles have been planted randomly in the charging brush to be distributed evenly in density.

Abstract: A front end rigid portion constitutes a front end of an endoscope insertion unit in an endoscope. The front end rigid portion is provided with an illumination optical system irradiating an observation target area with illumination light and an imaging optical system having an imaging element imaging the observation target area. The endoscope includes a heat emission member which is connected to the front end rigid portion and extends in the longitudinal direction of the endoscope insertion unit. The heat emission member is formed by mixing fiber-piece-shaped fillers with a resin material.

Abstract: The object of the invention is to provide a reclining device which improves engagement between a lock gear and a gear plate for reliable locking without requiring high dimensional accuracy. Four lock gears comprising a pair of first lock gears 40, and a pair of second lock gears 50 in which a gap between the second lock gear 50 and guide protrusions 12, 13 is larger than a gap between the first lock gear 40 and guide protrusions 11, 12 are adopted. Due to elastic function of a biasing member body 90a of an biasing member 90, both the second lock gears 50 are biased radially and inwardly and toward the guide protrusion 13 of the base plate 10.

Abstract: A reclining device capable of eliminating mechanical play in a front-rear direction of a seat back is provided. Particularly, a reclining device reliably capable of locking and releasing is provided at an inexpensive cost. Movable guides are slidably disposed respectively between lock gears and a fixed guide. Each of the movable guides is formed in a shape that the width thereof gradually decreases from the outer end toward the inner end. In the sliding faces of the respective movable guides, a sliding face on the lock gear side is arranged to be parallel to a movement direction of the lock gear and the sliding face at the fixed guide side is inclined with respect to the sliding face at the side of the lock gear. Each of the movable guides engages with a spring and the spring imparts a force to the movable guides in an inner direction of a base plate.

Abstract: A vehicle seat reclining apparatus is provided in which the strength of a connecting portion positioned directly or nearly directly below a receiving wall face of a guide portion of a fixed-side housing is higher than in a conventional reclining apparatus. A protruding guide portion is provided in a fixed-side housing used to configure a reclining apparatus. A receiving wall face that makes contact with a locking gear used to configure the reclining apparatus and which thus guides movement of the locking gear, and a top face that is continuous with that receiving wall face, are formed in the guide portion. A tapered chamfer portion is present at an edge of the receiving wall face where the receiving wall face and the top face of the guide portion intersect. A thick portion with a tapered face that corresponds to the chamfer portion is provided directly or nearly directly below a base end portion of the receiving wall face.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises: a rotatable image carrier operable to carry a toner image on a surface thereof; a transfer part operable to electrostatically transfer the toner image carried on the surface of the image carrier, onto a transfer material; a cleaning member that is in contact with the surface of the image carrier and that is operable to clean toner remaining on the surface of the image carrier after transfer by the transfer part; and a voltage supplier operable to apply, to the cleaning member, a bias voltage that is for cleaning the surface of the image carrier and that has a polarity opposite to a normal charging polarity of the toner.

Abstract: A reclining device capable of eliminating mechanical play in a front-rear direction of a seat back is provided. Particularly, a reclining device reliably capable of locking and releasing is provided at an inexpensive cost. Movable guides are slidably disposed respectively between lock gears and a fixed guide. Each of the movable guides is formed in a shape that the width thereof gradually decreases from the outer end toward the inner end. In the sliding faces of the respective movable guides, a sliding face on the lock gear side is arranged to be parallel to a movement direction of the lock gear and the sliding face at the fixed guide side is inclined with respect to the sliding face at the side of the lock gear. Each of the movable-guides engages with a spring and the spring imparts a force to the movable guides in an inner direction of a base plate.

Abstract: Disclosed is an image formation apparatus for forming an image by transferring, onto a recording sheet, a toner image that has been transferred from an image carrier onto an intermediate transfer belt 11, the image formation apparatus comprising: a cleaning member 91 that has electrical conductivity, that is provided on an outside of a rotation path of the belt 11, and that is operable to remove residual toner on the belt 11 by coming into contact with a circumferential surface of the belt 11; a driven roller 13 that is provided on an inside of the rotation path and that faces an inner circumferential surface of the belt 11 in a position opposite from the cleaning member 91; a power supply 96 operable to apply voltage to the cleaning member 91 and the driven roller 13 such that the residual toner is electrically attracted to the cleaning member 91, wherein the driven roller 13 includes an elastic member 13b whose surface is in contact with the belt 11.

Abstract: A reclining device capable of eliminating mechanical play in a front-rear direction of a seat back is provided. Particularly, a reclining device reliably capable of locking and releasing is provided at an inexpensive cost. Movable guides are slidably disposed respectively between lock gears and a fixed guide. Each of the movable guides is formed in a shape that the width thereof gradually decreases from the outer end toward the inner end. In the sliding faces of the respective movable guides, a sliding face on the lock gear side is arranged to be parallel to a movement direction of the lock gear and the sliding face at the fixed guide side is inclined with respect to the sliding face at the side of the lock gear. Each of the movable guides engages with a spring and the spring imparts a force to the movable guides in an inner direction of a base plate.

Abstract: When a number of print pages, a driving time or a toner adhering amount exceeds a cleaning trigger value during no transfer operation, a circumferential speed of a secondary transfer roller is changed with respect to a circumferential speed of an intermediate transfer belt so as to clean the secondary transfer roller. Particularly, a surface of the secondary transfer roller is totally cleaned when the circumferential speed of the secondary transfer roller is made relatively faster and then slower or vice versa than the circumferential speed of the intermediate transfer belt because the surface of the secondary transfer roller is elastically deformed in both upstream and downstream directions so that the residual toner on the uneven foam surface of the secondary transfer roller is extruded.

Abstract: A first roll brush is formed from material having the positive triboelectric charge polarity against toner. A positive bias is applied to the first roll brush through a first collection roller by a first bias application device. A second roll brush is formed from material having the negative triboelectric charge polarity against toner. A negative bias is applied to the second roll brush through a second collection roller by a second bias application device. Thus, the first and second roll brushes are applied by each of biases having polarity identical to the triboelectric charge polarity of material of the roll brush against toner. This enhances cleaning performance of both the roll brushes and prevents degradation of the cleaning performance.

Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning residual toner that, in an image forming device of an intermediate transfer type, remains on an outer circumferential surface of an intermediate transfer member after a transfer. The cleaning device includes: a charging brush operable to contact with and charge the residual toner; and a cleaner that is disposed downstream of the charging brush in a toner transport direction of the intermediate transfer member, and is operable to electrostatically adsorb the charged residual toner, wherein electrically conductive bristles have been planted randomly in the charging brush to be distributed evenly in density.

Abstract: A reclining device capable of eliminating mechanical play in a front-rear direction of a seat back is provided. Particularly, a reclining device reliably capable of locking and releasing is provided at an inexpensive cost. Movable guides are slidably disposed respectively between lock gears and a fixed guide. Each of the movable guides is formed in a shape that the width thereof gradually decreases from the outer end toward the inner end. In the sliding faces of the respective movable guides, a sliding face on the lock gear side is arranged to be parallel to a movement direction of the lock gear and the sliding face at the fixed guide side is inclined with respect to the sliding face at the side of the lock gear. Each of the movable-guides engages with a spring and the spring imparts a force to the movable guides in an inner direction of a base plate.

Abstract: A vehicle seat reclining apparatus is provided in which the strength of a connecting portion positioned directly or nearly directly below a receiving wall face of a guide portion of a fixed-side housing is higher than in a conventional reclining apparatus. A protruding guide portion is provided in a fixed-side housing used to configure a reclining apparatus. A receiving wall face that makes contact with a locking gear used to configure the reclining apparatus and which thus guides movement of the locking gear, and a top face that is continuous with that receiving wall face, are formed in the guide portion. A tapered chamfer portion is present at an edge of the receiving wall face where the receiving wall face and the top face of the guide portion intersect. A thick portion with a tapered face that corresponds to the chamfer portion is provided directly or nearly directly below a base end portion of the receiving wall face.

Abstract: After-transfer remaining toner is reversely transferred from a transfer member to an image carrier. A toner collecting/charging device for temporarily collecting and charging the after-transfer remaining toner remaining on the transfer member includes a toner collecting/charging roller which is provided in such proximity to the transfer member as not to make contact with a primarily transferred toner image, and which has a collecting function of temporarily collecting the after-transfer remaining toner and a charging function of charging the after-transfer remaining toner to a specified polarity, power supplies which are so connected that a voltage in which an AC voltage is superimposed on a DC voltage is applied to the roller, and a selector switch for changing a waveform of the AC voltage so that the toner collecting/charging roller is switched between a toner-collecting mode and a toner-releasing mode.

Abstract: The object of the invention is to provide a reclining device which improves engagement between a lock gear and a gear plate for reliable locking without requiring high dimensional accuracy. Four lock gears comprising a pair of first lock gears 40, and a pair of second lock gears 50 in which a gap between the second lock gear 50 and guide protrusions 12, 13 is larger than a gap between the first lock gear 40 and guide protrusions 11, 12 are adopted. Due to elastic function of a biasing member body 90a of an biasing member 90, both the second lock gears 50 are biased radially and inwardly and toward the guide protrusion 13 of the base plate 10.

Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor device comprising a gate electrode which is formed on a semiconductor substrate through a gate insulating film and in which a plurality hexagonal rings are mutually connected so as to form a honeycomb structure, drain diffusion layers each formed in the semiconductor substrate on the inside of one hexagonal ring, source diffusion layers formed in the semiconductor substrate on the inside of a plurality of hexagonal rings which are adjacent to the hexagonal ring having the drain diffusion layer formed therein, and, insulating layers formed between respective source diffusion layers in the semiconductor substrate.

Abstract: A storage medium for a game relating to the present invention contains: (1) a game program for calling up drawing functions for prescribed scenes in accordance with the progress of the game; (2) animation data including sprite data forming two-dimensional still images, and motion data capable of generating animations by causing the sprites to change with each frame; and (3) a drawing program for generating rendering data (drawing commands) positions, colours, texture co-ordinates, and the like, for each sprite in a frame (display screen), according to the animation data specified by the drawing function. In general terms, animation data is data capable of generating moving images (animations) of characters as intended by a designer, and this animation data can be developed separately from the game program.

Abstract: There is provided a semiconductor device comprising a gate electrode which is formed on a semiconductor substrate through a gate insulating film and in which a plurality hexagonal rings are mutually connected so as to form a honeycomb structure, drain diffusion layers each formed in the semiconductor substrate on the inside of one hexagonal ring, source diffusion layers formed in the semiconductor substrate on the inside of a plurality of hexagonal rings which are adjacent to the hexagonal ring having the drain diffusion layer formed therein, and, insulating layers formed between respective source diffusion layers in the semiconductor substrate.