Abstract: An end cover part which is used to close an end of a cylindrical body, and transmits a driving force of a rotatable driving shaft to the cylindrical body, includes a cover member having a tubular portion into which the driving shaft is to be fitted, and a to-be-fitted portion which is disposed in a flange-like manner in a periphery of the tubular portion, and which is to be fitted into an end portion of the cylindrical body; cut surfaces which are disposed respectively on an inner circumference of the tubular portion of the cover member and an outer circumference of the to-be-fitted portion and concentrically about a common reference central axis; and a recess as defined herein.

Abstract: A charging device includes a discharge electrode that extends along an axial direction of a member to be charged; and a potential control plate disposed between the member to be charged and the discharge electrode and curved along a peripheral surface of the member to be charged. The potential control plate includes three or more structural lines that are arranged in a circumferential direction of the member to be charged and that linearly extend along the axial direction, and connecting portions arranged in the axial direction, each connecting portion connecting two or more of the three or more structural lines to each other, the two or more structural lines being next to each other in the circumferential direction. The structural lines connected by one of the connecting portions and those connected by another one of the connecting portions are at least partly different from each other.

Abstract: A cleaning device includes a rotary member that contacts with an image carrier and moves materials on a surface of the image carrier along a rotation direction of the rotary member; a scraping member that contacts with the rotary member to scrape the materials adhering on the rotary member; a collected material receiving portion disposed downstream of a contact portion of the rotary member and the scraping member in a gravity direction; plural openings provided along a width direction of the image carrier by a partition member, through which the materials scraped by the scraping member pass to the collected material receiving portion; a protrusion portion that is arranged between the openings and the contact portion of the rotary member and the scraping member, and protrudes toward an upstream side in a rotation direction of the rotary member.

Abstract: A charging device includes a charging member that charges an outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical image carrier; an electrode member that has the shape of a plate having a longitudinal direction in an axial direction of the image carrier and that is disposed above the charging member; an attachment member that has a curved surface which is curved along the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier, the electrode member being attached thereon; and a pushing member disposed between the electrode member and the image carrier, the pushing member pushing the electrode member toward the curved surface so that the electrode member is curved to follow the curved surface.

Abstract: A charging device includes a charging member that charges an outer peripheral surface of a cylindrical latent-image carrier; an electrode member including a curved portion that is formed by press working so as to extend along the outer peripheral surface of the latent-image carrier, the curved portion having an electrode to which a voltage is applied, the electrode being disposed between the charging member and the latent-image carrier; a cleaning member that is movable along the curved portion in an axial direction of the latent-image carrier and that cleans the electrode; and a receiving portion formed in the curved portion at a position outside the electrode, the receiving portion receiving the cleaning member to release a contact pressure between the curved portion and the cleaning member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a latent-image carrier that is rotatable and carries a latent image on an outer peripheral surface thereof; a transfer unit that transfers a developer image obtained by developing the latent image with developer onto a transfer medium; a cleaning unit that is disposed downstream of the transfer unit in a rotational direction of the latent-image carrier and removes the developer from the latent-image carrier after the developer image is transferred; a light source that is disposed between the transfer unit and the cleaning unit and emits light for removing electric charge from the latent-image carrier; and a guiding member that is disposed below the cleaning unit and above a transport path of the transfer medium, receives the developer that falls from the cleaning unit at an upper surface thereof, and guides the light to the latent-image carrier.

Abstract: A charging device includes a charger facing a rotatably supported image carrier and configured to charge the image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed, and a movement mechanism configured to move the charger between a charging position at which the charger is close to the image carrier and a retracted position at which the charger is retracted away from the image carrier. The movement mechanism includes a support member supporting the charger that has been moved to the retracted position by the movement mechanism, and a movable member configured to move when a driving force from a drive source is transmitted thereto. The movable member moves to the charging position or the retracted position when the movable member is moved in a direction of a rotational axis of the image carrier while being in contact with the support member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a charger facing a rotatably supported image carrier, the charger being configured to charge the image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is to be formed; a movement mechanism configured to move the charger between a charging position at which the charger is close to the image carrier and a retracted position at which the charger is retracted away from the image carrier; a positioning structure including a first reference member that is provided on the charger and a second reference member that is provided on the image carrier, the first reference member and the second reference member are in contact with each other when the charger is at the charging position such that the charger is held in the charging position; and a pushing member configured to push the charger against the image carrier when the charger is at the charging position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developer housing that holds a developer; a lubricant supply brush that rotates when in contact with the developer housing, and that supplies a lubricant to a surface of the developer housing; a lubricant that is in contact with the lubricant supply brush; a first voltage supply unit that supplies an AC voltage on which a DC voltage is superimposed to the lubricant supply brush; a determination unit that determines whether or not a usage state of the developer housing is a state at an initial stage; and a controller that controls the first voltage supply unit to supply the AC voltage on which the DC voltage is superimposed to the lubricant supply brush, prior to start of execution of an image forming operation if the determination unit determines that the usage state of the developer housing is the state at the initial stage.

Abstract: Terminals of upstream and downstream sides of an in-service line and a detour line are connected by optical couplers. An optical oscilloscope is connected to one optical coupler, and a chirped pulse light source is connected to the other optical coupler to thereby form dualized lines. The detour line includes an optical line length adjuster for compensating for the phase difference of optical transmission signals that occurs because of the optical line length difference with the in-service line. Pulse light in which an optical frequency is chirped is transmitted from the chirped pulse light source. The pulse light is branched by the second optical coupler, passes through the in-service line and the detour line, is multiplexed again by the first optical coupler, and is measured by the optical oscilloscope.

Abstract: An end cover part which is used to close an end of a cylindrical body, and transmits a driving force of a rotatable driving shaft to the cylindrical body, includes a cover member having a tubular portion into which the driving shaft is to be fitted, and a to-be-fitted portion which is disposed in a flange-like manner in a periphery of the tubular portion, and which is to be fitted into an end portion of the cylindrical body; cut surfaces which are disposed respectively on an inner circumference of the tubular portion of the cover member and an outer circumference of the to-be-fitted portion and concentrically about a common reference central axis; and a recess as defined herein.

Abstract: An end cover part is used to close an end of a cylindrical body, and transmits a driving force of a rotatable driving shaft to the cylindrical body, and the end cover part includes a cover member having a tubular portion into which the driving shaft is to be fitted, and a to-be-fitted portion which is disposed in a flange-like manner in a periphery of the tubular portion, and which is to be fitted into an end portion of the cylindrical body; and three cut surfaces which are disposed respectively on inner and outer circumferences of the tubular portion of the cover member and an outer circumference of the to-be-fitted portion, and concentrically about a common reference central axis.

Abstract: A blood pressure measurement device is characterized in that the said device is designated to arithmetically apply to the computed blood pressure value a correction value that is in accordance with the difference in atmospheric pressure between the position of the blood pressure transmitting part and the position of the heart of the subject wearing the blood pressure transmitting part as obtained from the sensor signal, on the basis of the internal pressure variation of the blood pressure transmitting part.

Abstract: A cleaning device includes a rotary member that contacts with an image carrier and moves materials on a surface of the image carrier along a rotation direction of the rotary member; a scraping member that contacts with the rotary member to scrape the materials adhering on the rotary member; a collected material receiving portion disposed downstream of a contact portion of the rotary member and the scraping member in a gravity direction; plural openings provided along a width direction of the image carrier by a partition member, through which the materials scraped by the scraping member pass to the collected material receiving portion; a protrusion portion that is arranged between the openings and the contact portion of the rotary member and the scraping member, and protrudes toward an upstream side in a rotation direction of the rotary member.

Abstract: A charger includes: a first electrode; a second electrode that has a mesh pattern and is arranged on a side closer to a photoconductor than the first electrode; a cleaner that moves along the second electrode to clean the second electrode by a brush thereof. The second electrode has the mesh pattern successively arranged in a certain direction, and a peripheral region of the mesh pattern of the second electrode has been changed to prevent catching of the brush of the cleaner.

Abstract: A discharger includes: a discharge electrode member that is placed opposedly to a member to be charged; an opposed electrode member that is placed opposedly to the discharge electrode member; and a power source circuit that applies a discharge voltage for generating a discharge between the discharge electrode member and the opposed electrode member, and the electrode member having a surface that includes a covered layer covered by a covering material is formed on a surface opposed thereto, and the covering material containing a carbon atom, or a carbon atom and another atom or other plural atoms as a main component, and having an SP3 structure by a carbon atom.

Abstract: A transfer target object separation apparatus includes: a transfer target object movement member that moves a transfer target object while in contact with a first surface of the transfer target object; and a transfer target object separation suction section that sucks a second surface of the transfer target object opposite the first surface to separate the transfer target object from the transfer target object movement member. The transfer target object separation suction section includes a first cylindrical rotation member that has a suction inlet, and a second cylindrical rotation member that is fitted on the first cylindrical rotation member and has a hole through which the second surface of the transfer target object is sucked.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developer housing that holds a developer; a lubricant supply brush that rotates when in contact with the developer housing, and that supplies a lubricant to a surface of the developer housing; a lubricant that is in contact with the lubricant supply brush; a first voltage supply unit that supplies an AC voltage on which a DC voltage is superimposed to the lubricant supply brush; a determination unit that determines whether or not a usage state of the developer housing is a state at an initial stage; and a controller that controls the first voltage supply unit to supply the AC voltage on which the DC voltage is superimposed to the lubricant supply brush, prior to start of execution of an image forming operation if the determination unit determines that the usage state of the developer housing is the state at the initial stage.

Abstract: A discharger includes: a discharge electrode member that is placed opposedly to a member to be charged; an opposed electrode member that is placed opposedly to the discharge electrode member; and a power source circuit that applies a discharge voltage for generating a discharge between the discharge electrode member and the opposed electrode member, and the electrode member having a surface that includes a covered layer covered by a covering material is formed on a surface opposed thereto, and the covering material containing a carbon atom, or a carbon atom and another atom or other plural atoms as a main component, and having an SP3 structure by a carbon atom.

Abstract: A color image forming apparatus, comprising: a plurality of image forming stations, each including a photo conductor on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developing member which develops the latent image as a visible toner image, and a single motor pinion which drives both of the photo conductor and the developing member, and a transfer belt, onto which the toner image is transferred, and which is driven by the single motor pinion of a first one of the image forming stations.