Abstract: A wheel supporting mechanism for adjusting height of a housing supported by the wheels is provided. The wheel supporting mechanism includes wheels supporting a housing; an axle extending from each of the wheels; a wheel mounting member, which has a bearing rotatably supporting the axle, and which has a first end portion and a second end portion; a pivot supporting portion, which pivotally supports the wheel mounting member in relation to the housing; a pivot restriction member that restricts pivoting of the wheel mounting member by being engaged with a vicinity of the second end portion; and an adjustment member that adjusts a height of the housing in relation to the wheel by restricting a pivoting range of the wheel mounting member by connecting the pivot restriction member to the housing.

Abstract: A sheet-handling device comprising an intermediate conveyer passage, an intermediate tray, introduction rollers, conveying rollers and a controller. The controller rotates the introduction rollers and the conveying rollers forward and reverse so as to convey two pieces of sheets successively introduced into the intermediate conveyer passage until their trailing ends separate away from the introduction rollers. The conveying rollers are halted in a state where the leading ends are nipped. After the leading ends of the two pieces of sheets have been nipped in an overlapped manner by the conveying rollers, the conveying rollers are rotated forward to convey the two pieces of overlapped sheets into the intermediate tray.

Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus (1) includes a punching unit (P), an end-binding unit (S) which aligns end portions of a sheet bundle piled on a processing tray (2) and performs a stapling process, and a middle-binding and middle-folding unit (C) which performs a stapling process on the center of the sheet bundle and then folds centering around the stapling portion to be in a brochure form. The middle-binding and middle-folding unit (C) is independently provided on the lower side of the end-binding unit (S) and a middle-binding and middle-folding feeding path (27) feeds sheets to the middle-binding and middle-folding unit (C) without via the processing tray (2) of the end-binding unit (S).

Abstract: An exposure apparatus which comprises a reticle stage configured to hold a reticle, and executes multiple exposure of a substrate in a lot to light using a plurality of reticles. The apparatus comprises a calculator configured to calculate a conveyance times taken to convey each of the plurality of reticles to the reticle stage, based on arrangements of the plurality of reticles before start of a process of the lot and a controller configured to determine a sequence in which the plurality of reticles are used, based on the conveyance times of the plurality of reticles calculated by the calculator.

Abstract: A commodity trade assisting system, for assisting a shop in exhibiting a commodity traded at the shop in a virtual shop and managing it, includes: a communication unit for communicating with a shop terminal which records and manages information on the commodity over a network; a database for storing commodity information sent from the shop terminal as information on the commodity to be sold over the network and received by the communication unit; and an application server (AS) having a function of preparing and posting explanation and other reports about the commodity shown on a commodity guide page of the virtual shop with reference to the commodity information sent from the shop terminal and received by the communication unit and a function of transmitting a signal representing a request to send back information on the commodity to be sold over the network at predetermined time intervals to the shop terminal, updating the information in the database according to the information sent back from the shop termi

Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus (1) includes a punching unit (P), an end-binding unit (S) which aligns end portions of a sheet bundle piled on a processing tray (2) and performs a stapling process, and a middle-binding and middle-folding unit (C) which performs a stapling process on the center of the sheet bundle and then folds centering around the stapling portion to be in a brochure form. The middle-binding and middle-folding unit (C) is independently provided on the lower side of the end-binding unit (S) and a middle-binding and middle-folding feeding path (27) feeds sheets to the middle-binding and middle-folding unit (C) without via the processing tray (2) of the end-binding unit (S).

Abstract: An office machine includes a housing body, a bearing unit secured to the housing body and a caster wheel supported to the bearing unit to be rotatable about a horizontal axis. The bearing unit is secured to a bottom plate forming a lower face of the housing body. The bottom plate defines an opening, through which the caster wheel is introduced to a position upwardly of the bottom plate to be supported to the bearing unit.

Abstract: A sheet-handling device comprising an intermediate conveyer passage, an intermediate tray, introduction rollers, conveying rollers and a controller. The controller rotates the introduction rollers and the conveying rollers forward and reverse so as to convey two pieces of sheets successively introduced into the intermediate conveyer passage until their trailing ends separate away from the introduction rollers. The conveying rollers are halted in a state where the leading ends are nipped. After the leading ends of the two pieces of sheets have been nipped in an overlapped manner by the conveying rollers, the conveying rollers are rotated forward to convey the two pieces of overlapped sheets into the intermediate tray.

Abstract: An electrophotographic black toner comprising a colorant and a binder resin, wherein the toner has a metal oxide as the colorant of 20% by weight or less, said metal oxide having magnetization of 40 emu/g or smaller, and said toner has color coordinates such that L* has a value of 10 to 25, a* has a value of −3.0 to 3.0, and b* has a value of −3.0 to 3.0 as determined by a fixed image formed with the toner, as well as an electrophotographic developer and an image forming method using said electrophotographic black toner are provided. According to the present invention, the electrophotographic black toner having a high volume-specific resistance value, achieving a sufficient degree of blackness, less likely to cause high background and providing a high quality image can be obtained.

Abstract: A developer for a trickle developing method is used in formation of a full color image and is made of a mixture of a toner and a carrier. The toner contains inorganic fine particles as an internal additive and an external additive, a volume average particle diameter D50v of the toner is between 5.0 and 9.0 &mgr;m, a true specific gravity of the carrier is between 3.00 and 4.60, a volume average particle diameter of the carrier is between 15 and 60 &mgr;m, and the ratio of the volume average particle diameter of the carrier to the volume average particle diameter of the toner is between 3.00 and 7.00, and an image forming method using the developer.

Abstract: An electrophotographic black toner comprising a colorant and a binder resin, wherein the toner has a metal oxide as the colorant of 20% by weight or less, said metal oxide having magnetization of 40 emu/g or smaller, and said toner has color coordinates such that L* has a value of 10 to 25, a* has a value of −3.0 to 3.0, and b* has a value of −3.0 to 3.0 as determined by a fixed image formed with the toner, as well as an electrophotographic developer and an image forming method using said electrophotographic black toner are provided. According to the present invention, the electrophotographic black toner having a high volume-specific resistance value, achieving a sufficient degree of blackness, less likely to cause high background and providing a high quality image can be obtained.

Abstract: A full color electrophotographic toner including toner particles containing at least a binder resin, a colorant and a wax, and external additives, at least one of the external additives being rutile titanium oxide having a volume resistivity of 1×1014 to 1×1018 &OHgr;cm, and a dispersion absolute deviation a of rutile titanium oxide being 0.17 or less, and a full color electrophotographic developer and an image forming method using the same are provided. In the full color electrophotographic toner, the full color electrophotographic developer and the image forming method of the invention, a retransfer phenomenon of the transferred toner can be prevented, a chargeability and a transferability are not problematic at all, a charging amount of the toner in long-term use can be rendered appropriate and stable, and a fluidity is also excellent.

Abstract: Provided is a method for image formation capable of stably outputting high-quality images with no image density unevenness for a long period of time, in which the images formed are free from image defects of edge deletions and other deletions therein and which ensures good and uniform developability everywhere in the latent image region to be developed with preventing the latent image support used from being degraded.

Abstract: A developer for a trickle developing method is used in formation of a full color image and is made of a mixture of a toner and a carrier. The toner contains inorganic fine particles as an internal additive and an external additive, a volume average particle diameter D50v of the toner is between 5.0 and 9.0 &mgr;m, a true specific gravity of the carrier is between 3.00 and 4.60, a volume average particle diameter of the carrier is between 15 and 60 &mgr;m, and the ratio of the volume average particle diameter of the carrier to the volume average particle diameter of the toner is between 3.00 and 7.00, and an image forming method using the developer.

Abstract: Provided is a toner having good offset resistance and capable of giving non-glaring, high-quality images with high OHP transparency, and a method of image formation with it. The toner includes at least a binder resin, a colorant and a wax. The THF soluble component of the toner, as analyzed through gel permeation chromatography, has a number-average molecular weight falling between 2500 and 5500, a weight-average molecular weight falling between 13000 and 25000, and a peak molecular weight falling between 5000 and 15000, and contains a fraction having a molecular weight of at least 105 in a ratio of at most 10% by weight of the component and a fraction having a molecular weight of at least 104 in a ratio of from 30 to 70% by weight of the component, and the wax in the toner has a DSC endothermic peak falling between 50 and 120° C.

Abstract: A full-color latent image developing toner composed of toner particles containing a binder resin, a coloring agent, and a surface lubricant, and at least one kind of an external additive, wherein the toner contains at least about 3% the surface lubricant, the toner includes irregular-shaped particles of ML2/A≧125, and when the emission voltage caused by the carbon originated in the binder resin of the toner particles is X and the emission voltage caused by the element originated in the external additive is Y, and when the relationship between X(⅔) and Y are primary-regressed to the straight line passing through origin of a coordinate, the correlation factor of the element originated in at least one external additive is not less than 0.4. As the external additive, a titanium compound obtained by reacting TiO(OH)2 prepared by a wet method and a silane compound is preferably used.

Abstract: Provided is an image-forming process including a step of forming an electrostatic latent image on a latent image-carrier and a step of developing the latent image by a developer on a developer-carrier disposed facing the electrostatic latent image-carrier, a developer contains a color toner containing a wax which amount is from 1 to 10% by weight of the toner is used, and the developer-carrier wherein a ten-point average roughness (Rz) of the surface thereof of and the average spacing (Sm) of roughness peaks meet the following formula is used; 5.ltoreq.Rz.times.20.ltoreq.Sm. By the process, the conveying property of the developer is good, staining of the surface of the developer-carrier can be prevented, and images having a high quality and excellent in the fixing property over a long period time is obtained even in the case of using oil-less color toners containing a wax.

Abstract: The present invention provides toner for an electrostatic latent image developer, said toner being excellent in fluidity, chargeability, developability, transferability, and freedom from fogging on a photoreceptor and contamination of the interior of a developing device. The toner for an electrostatic latent image developer comprises spherical toner particles characterized by a shape index ML.sup.2 /A of less than 125 and has a correlation coefficient between X.sup.2/3 and Y, obtained by linear regression with respect to a straight line which passes through the origin of coordinate axes, of more than 0.6 where X is the light emitting voltage due to the carbon derived from the binder resin of the toner particles and Y is the light emitting voltage due to the element derived from the external additive.

Abstract: Linear curdlan gels can be produced continuously by heating an aqueous suspension of curdlan at a temperature not lower than 85.degree. C. during and/or after passage through a small-diameter tubing with a sectional area of 0.1 to 30 mm.sup.2 at a discharge rate not exceeding 500 cm/sec. The thus obtained gels can be utilized as various food materials.

Abstract: By addition of polyglutamic acid or an edible salt thereof, in the case of breads and cakes, the baked volume is increased, an elastic and delicate grain of crumb is assured and a moist texture is provided, in the case of cookies and biscuits, a minimum of dimensional change on baking and a less stodgy texture are assured, in the case of noodles, the body and firm texture are increased and the dissolution of solid matters into boiling water is decreased.