Abstract: A developer supply container includes a developer accommodating portion 2a for accommodating toner, a developer supply opening 5b for discharging the toner accommodated in the developer accommodating portion 2a from the developer supply container 1, a feeding portion 2b for feeding the toner in the developer accommodating portion 2a toward the developer supply opening 5b, a rotatable drive receiving portion 7a for receiving a rotational force for rotating the feeding portion 2b, and a holding projection 4h held by a holding mechanism 304 provided in the developer supply container 1 to determine a position of the developer supply container 1, wherein the developer supply opening 5b is disposed between the drive receiving portion 7a and the holding projection 4h. By this, a stability of connection between the discharge opening of the developer supply container and the receiving port of the image forming apparatus side is improved.

Abstract: An intermediate transfer unit, which is supported by an image forming apparatus, includes: a moving mechanism which is capable of moving to an abutting position at which a first transfer member abuts against a intermediate transfer belt and a separating position at which the first transfer member is separated from the intermediate transfer belt; and a changing mechanism which changes a biasing force for abutting a second transfer member against the intermediate transfer belt, wherein the biasing force is changed such that the biasing force when the first transfer member is at the separating position becomes weaker than the biasing force when the first transfer member is at the abutting position.

Abstract: An acoustic wave acquiring apparatus is used that includes: an array light source including a plurality of elements emitting measurement light; a controller controlling the wavelength of the measurement light, for each of or the plurality of elements; a Fabry-Perot interferometer including a first mirror upon which the measurement light is incident and a second mirror upon which an acoustic wave from a subject is incident; an optical sensor measuring a light quantity of reflected light by the first and the second mirror; and a processor acquiring an intensity of the acoustic wave on the basis of a change of the light quantity of the reflected light, which is a distance between the first mirror and the second mirror, occurring due to the incidence of the acoustic wave.

Abstract: A toner supply unit for use in an image forming apparatus includes a bottle gear provided on a toner bottle to receive a driving force when the toner bottle is mounted to a mounting portion, and a discharging mechanism provided on the toner bottle to discharge a predetermined amount of toner from a discharging portion with the rotation of the bottle gear. A controller controls the driving force inputted to the bottle gear in a period from input of the driving force to the bottle gear to a predetermined number of rotations of the toner bottle to be smaller than the driving force inputted to the bottle gear at a time when the discharging mechanism first discharges the predetermined amount of toner from the discharging portion after the predetermined number of rotations.

Abstract: A toner supply unit for use in an image forming apparatus includes a bottle gear provided on a toner bottle to receive a driving force when the toner bottle is mounted to a mounting portion, and a discharging mechanism provided on the toner bottle to discharge a predetermined amount of toner from a discharging portion with the rotation of the bottle gear. A controller controls the driving force inputted to the bottle gear in a period from input of the driving force to the bottle gear to a predetermined number of rotations of the toner bottle to be smaller than the driving force inputted to the bottle gear at a time when the discharging mechanism first discharges the predetermined amount of toner from the discharging portion after the predetermined number of rotations.

Abstract: An inadvertent swing of a steering roller is restricted with a versatile configuration. A belt conveying device includes a belt member configured to be stretched around a steering roller and a roller member, and a movement mechanism configured to move the roller member. The roller member is movable to a first position and a second position where the roller member is moved further inward on an inner peripheral side of the belt member than the first position by the movement mechanism. In the movement mechanism, a restriction portion capable of restricting a swinging range of the steering roller more in a case where the roller member is at the second position than in a case where the roller member is at the first position is provided.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, an image forming unit forms a first image of a first color and a second image of a second color. An obtaining unit obtains information related to relative positions of a first measurement image, which is formed on an image carrier, of the first color and a second measurement image, which is formed on an image carrier, of the second color. A generation unit generates correlation data based on first information corresponding to a first image forming speed and second information corresponding to a second image forming speed. A controller, in a case where the image forming unit forms an image at the second image forming speed, corrects relative positions of the first image and the second image based on the first information in advance and the correlation data.

Abstract: A measurement apparatus capable of measuring a position and a size of an absorber with high accuracy, which includes: a light source unit for emitting a pulse beam; an illumination optical unit for leading the pulse beam emitted by the light source unit to an inside of an inspection object; and an acoustic signal detection unit for detecting a photoacoustic signal generated by the pulse beam in which the illumination optical unit includes a first and second illumination optical units that are arranged so that the inspection object is irradiated with the pulse beam from both sides thereof opposingly; and the acoustic signal detection unit is provided so that a detection surface of the acoustic signal detection unit is positioned on the same side as that of one of irradiation surfaces of the inspection object which the first and second illumination optical units irradiate with the pulse beam.

Abstract: A toner supply unit for use in an image forming apparatus includes a main body, a driving device supplying a driving force, a controller to control the driving force, and a toner bottle containing toner, dismountably mounted to a mounting portion, and including a discharging portion for discharging the toner. A movable shutter member on the toner bottle moves between a closing position and an opening position for opening the discharging portion, and a bottle gear is provided on the toner bottle and receives the driving force. The driving force supplied to the bottle gear when a discharging mechanism first discharges the predetermined amount of toner from the discharging portion after the shutter member moves to the opening position is smaller than the driving force supplied to the bottle gear during moving of the shutter member to the opening position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a bottle which is detachably mounted on an apparatus body to store toner; a shutter which is disposed on the bottle to open and close a discharge port which discharges the toner; and a shutter slider which is disposed in the apparatus body to open and close the shutter by engaging therewith along with an insertion operation of the bottle. The shutter slider is disposed to be movable from a first position, which allows the shutter to be located at a closed position at which the discharge port is closed by the shutter when the bottle is mounted on the apparatus body, to a second position, in which the discharge port is to be opened and closed by the shutter along with an operation of attaching and detaching the bottle to and from the apparatus body.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable bottle which is detachably attached to an apparatus main body and which stores toner, the rotatable bottle having a discharge port from which the stored toner is discharged, a shutter which is disposed on the bottle, and which opens and closes the discharge port, and an engaging member, which is movably disposed on the apparatus main body, and which is able to engage the shutter. The image forming apparatus further includes a driving portion which transfers a driving force to the rotatable bottle, and an opening mechanism which is configured to open the shutter by the driving force from the driving portion.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a rotatable bottle which is detachably attached to an apparatus main body and which stores toner, the rotatable bottle having a discharge port from which the stored toner is discharged, a shutter which is disposed on the bottle, and which opens and closes the discharge port, and an engaging member, which is movably disposed on the apparatus main body, and which is able to engage the shutter. The image forming apparatus further includes a driving portion which transfers a driving force to the rotatable bottle, and an opening mechanism which is configured to open the shutter by the driving force from the driving portion.

Abstract: The present invention addresses the problem of providing: a method for purifying a liquid using a porous polyimide and/or polyamideimide membrane having excellent impurities (e.g., metals) removal performance which is preferably compatible with a flow rate, and also having an excellent stress, an excellent breaking elongation and the like; a method for producing a chemical solution or a cleaning solution employing the purification method; a filter medium comprising the porous membrane; and a filter device equipped with the porous membrane. A method for purifying a liquid, comprising causing a portion or the whole of the liquid to pass through a porous polyimide and/or polyamideimide membrane having communicated pores from one side of the membrane to the other side of the membrane by the action of a differential pressure between the two sides.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, an endless belt and a plurality of stretching rollers. The stretching rollers includes a tiltable steering roller, a sliding member, a first stretching roller having a smallest diameter, and a second stretching roller having a largest diameter of the diameters. With respect to rotational axis directions of the stretching rollers, lengths of contact portions of the stretching rollers with the belt are shorter than a width of the belt, the length of the contact portion of the first stretching roller with the belt is a first length, the length of the contact portion of the second stretching roller with the belt is a second length shorter than the first length, and end positions of the contact portions of the first and second stretching rollers with respect to the rotational axis direction are different from each other.

Abstract: A photoacoustic apparatus according to the present invention includes a light source, a conversion element configured to receive photoacoustic waves generated from light from the light source irradiated to a subject and output a signal, a color information acquiring unit configured to acquire information regarding color on the subject, a coefficient information acquiring unit configured to acquire information regarding an optical coefficient of the subject corresponding to the information regarding color of the subject acquired by the color information acquiring unit, and a subject information acquiring unit configured to acquire subject information based on the signal output from the conversion element and the information regarding the optical coefficient acquired by the coefficient information acquiring unit.

Abstract: A subject information acquisition apparatus includes: an acoustic wave detector which detects an acoustic wave which is generated from a subject by irradiating light and outputs a detection signal; an amplifier which amplifies the detection signal which is output from the acoustic wave detector; a gain control unit which changes a gain of the amplifier as time elapses, according to a gain control table, in order to correct a drop in intensity of the acoustic wave caused by attenuation of fluence inside the subject; and a signal processing unit which obtains information inside the subject based on the signal amplified by the amplifier. Measurement under a plurality of measurement conditions, where at least fluence distribution inside the subject or a position of the acoustic wave detector differs, is possible, and the gain control unit changes the gain control table according to the measurement conditions.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a developer accommodating container having a discharge opening for discharging the developer with rotation thereof; a developer receiving device; a driver rotating the container; a detector detecting rotation of the container; an openable member movable between a closing position and an opening position; a moving mechanism for moving the openable member from the closing position to the opening position in a state that the container is being rotated, and to stop a driving force to the openable member after the movement of the openable member to the opening position. A controller operates the driver with a predetermined fixed input value during the openable member moving from the closing position to the opening position and switches the input value on a signal from the detector such that when the openable member is in the opening position, the container rotates at a predetermined speed.

Abstract: An object information acquiring apparatus of the present invention includes a light source generating light having a first and a second wavelength, a conversion element receiving photoacoustic waves from an object and outputs first and second reception signals, a characteristic information acquiring unit acquiring first and second characteristic information distributions and acquiring a substance concentration distribution inside the object, a position shift acquiring unit acquiring a position shift between the first and second characteristic information distributions, and a display controlling unit displaying an image based on the substance concentration distribution and the position shift.

Abstract: A photoacoustic apparatus includes a light source configured to generate a plurality of light beams having wavelengths different from each other, a conversion element configured to receive a photoacoustic wave that is generated in a subject in response to being illuminated with the respective light beams having wavelengths different from each other and output a signal for each wavelength, an information acquisition unit configured to acquire information in terms of a concentration of a substance existing in the subject by using the signal for each wavelength, and a specifying unit configured to specify a coefficient and instruct the information acquisition unit to use the specified coefficient in acquiring the information in terms of the concentration, wherein the specifying unit specifies, as the coefficient, a value representable by a formula including an amount of light having each wavelength, and wherein the information acquisition unit acquires information in terms of the concentration by using the coeff

Abstract: An object information acquiring apparatus is used, which includes: a conversion element receiving an acoustic wave from an object irradiated with light with a plurality of wavelengths and converts the acoustic wave into an electric signal; a memory storing a lookup table or a relational expression that represents a relation between the wavelength of light and a transformation coefficient based on an intensity of an acoustic wave from a standard sample with a known coefficient relating to light absorption and the coefficient for the standard sample; a transformation coefficient acquiring unit that acquires the transformation coefficient from the memory; and a signal processing unit acquiring specific information on the object, using an electric signal and the transformation coefficient.