Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes a sheet feeding roller, a sheet conveying roller, a separation roller, and a cleaning member. The sheet feeding roller is rotated to feed the sheet in a predetermined sheet feeding direction. The sheet conveying roller is disposed on a downstream side of the sheet feeding roller in the sheet feeding direction. The separation roller forms a separation nip between the sheet conveying roller and the separation roller. The cleaning member is disposed on an upstream side of the separation nip in the sheet feeding direction, and cleans a surface of the separation roller. The cleaning member is configured to be deformable to be separated from the surface of the separation roller when the sheet feeding roller does not feed the sheet and to come into contact with the surface of the separation roller by the sheet fed by the sheet feeding roller.

Abstract: A document transport device includes a document tray, an actuator, a delivery roller, a rotary shaft, a sheet feeding roller, a separation member, a slider movable along the rotary shaft, between a connected position where the slider is linked with the sheet feeding roller to transmit rotational force thereto, and a separated position where the slider is spaced from the sheet feeding roller, thereby disconnecting transmission of the rotational force to the sheet feeding roller, and an operation lever rotatably supporting the slider, and configured to move parallel to an axial direction of the rotary shaft, when the actuator rotates. When no document is on the document tray and the actuator is not rotating, the operation lever moves the slider to the separated position, and when the document is placed on the document tray and the actuator rotates, the operation lever moves, thereby moving the slider to the connected position.

Abstract: The intermediate transfer unit includes: an endless intermediate transfer belt which is turned around while carrying a toner image on its outer circumferential surface; and a plurality of rollers on which the intermediate transfer belt is turnably stretched, wherein the intermediate transfer belt has, on its inner circumferential surface, an information recording area in which belt information has been recorded, and the intermediate transfer belt has a mark at a position in the outer circumferential surface where a positional relationship between the mark and the information recording area comes to a specified relationship.

Abstract: A processor derives a plurality of unit density values which are each an average value of sensed densities for each of a plurality of unit areas sectioned for each unit length in a test toner image. The processor derives a weighted average of the plurality of unit density values to derive a test image density used for adjusting a control parameter in a printing portion. The unit length is a greatest common factor of two target lengths corresponding to perimeters of two types of target rotating members out of the plurality of rotating members. When a number of the plurality of unit areas is represented by n, n is a value obtained by subtracting 1 from an added value of a first constant and a second constant. The first constant and the second constant are values obtained by respectively dividing the two target lengths by the unit length.

Abstract: A gripping mechanism (3) includes a gripping roller (32) and a holder (31) that houses the gripping roller (32). A gripped portion (42) of a first component (4) is gripped between an outer surface of the gripping roller (32) and an inner surface of the holder (31) through action of gravity acting on the gripping roller (32). Preferably, the gripping roller (32) includes a core (321) that is cylindrical or columnar in shape and a covering section (322) that is an elastic body covering a circumferential surface of the core (321). Preferably, the covering section (322) has a circumferential surface with a friction coefficient greater than a friction coefficient of the circumferential surface of the core (321).

Abstract: A light guide device includes: a housing main body; a side member attached to a side portion in the housing main body; a light guide body supported by the housing main body and including a light incident surface to which light enters; a light source substrate held by the side member and including a light element that emits the light toward the light incident surface; and a positioning portion configured to position the light element to a reference position with respect to the light incident surface. The positioning portion includes: an abutting member provided in the housing main body and configured to abut on a mounting surface in the light source substrate on which the light element is mounted; and an elastic member held by the side member and configured to press the light source substrate toward the light guide body to position the light element to the reference position.

Abstract: Provided is an information processing apparatus that enables an objective determination of an estimation of work related to printing. A data acquiring unit acquires a job for estimation. A unit estimating unit calculates an estimation of the work for each specific unit of the job acquired by the data acquiring unit. An entire estimating unit estimates and updates the estimation of the work for the entire job in real time based on the estimation of the work for the specific unit at the time calculated by the unit estimating unit. An estimation presenting unit presents the estimation of the work calculated by the entire estimating unit in real time.

Abstract: An OCR system which acquires character data from a form (50) through OCR processing is characterized by: managing an OCR information table (34e) in which an issuer name of an issuer on the form (50) is associated with a font name of a font used in the OCR processing; and, when the OCR processing is performed on an issuer-recorded content reading target area in the form (50), performing the OCR processing (S156) in the font indicated by the font name associated in the OCR information table with the issuer name of the issuer of the form (50).

Abstract: A sheet processing apparatus includes a plurality of folding devices, a control unit that controls a job involving a folding process, and an input unit that accepts settings for the job from a user. The input unit accepts, from the user, specification of a priority preference out of a plurality of predetermined preferences related to the folding process. The control unit selects, out of the plurality of folding devices, a folding device that can perform the folding process with the settings for the job made by the user as a target folding device. If a plurality of target folding devices are present, then based on the priority preference, the control unit determines, out of the plurality of target folding devices, a folding device with which to perform the folding process.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes: a sheet rack; a pair of side plates movable along a width of a sheet on the sheet rack and abuttable against both widthwise ends of the sheet; a widthwise drive device that moves the side plates along the width of the sheet; a pair of end detecting devices provided one for each of the side plates and capable of detecting both the ends of the sheet abutting the side plates, respectively; and a control device that includes a processor, controls the widthwise drive device through the processor executing a control program to allow the widthwise drive device to move, based on outputs of the end detecting devices, the side plates until abutment against both the ends of the sheet, acquires respective travel distances of the side plates moved by the widthwise drive device, and determines a size of the sheet based on the travel distances.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a control portion, an ink collector, and a suction portion. The ink collector includes a plurality of ink receivers that receives ink that has passed through openings of the conveyance belt during execution of flushing and a suction path leading from each of the ink receivers to the suction portion. The suction path includes a plurality of first flow paths each connected to each of the plurality of ink receivers, a merging chamber in which the plurality of first flow paths merges together and that is linked to the suction portion, and ink separation walls that are provided in the merging chamber and are impinged on by airflows that have passed through the first flow paths so that the ink contained in the airflows is separated from the airflows.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a control portion, an ink collector, and a suction portion. The ink collector includes a plurality of ink receivers that receives ink that has passed through openings of the conveyance belt during execution of flushing and a suction path leading from each of the ink receivers to the suction portion. The suction path includes a plurality of first flow paths each connected to each of the plurality of ink receivers and a merging chamber in which the plurality of first flow paths merges together and that is linked to the suction portion. As each of the first flow paths, the plurality of first flow paths is provided in parallel between each of the ink receivers and the merging chamber.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a control portion, an ink collector, and a suction portion. The ink collector includes a plurality of ink receivers that receives ink that has passed through openings of the conveyance belt during execution of flushing, a waste ink tank disposed below the ink receivers, a suction path that is formed in the waste ink tank and leads from each of the ink receivers to the suction portion, and an ink absorber that is filled in the waste ink tank and absorbs the ink sucked from the ink receivers. The suction path is formed by void spaces surrounded by the ink absorber.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a magnetic toner, an image bearing member, and a development device. The image bearing member is an amorphous silicon photosensitive drum. The magnetic toner includes toner particles. The toner particles each include a toner mother particle containing a binder resin and a magnetic powder and alumina particles attached to a surface of the toner mother particle. The alumina particles each include a core containing alumina and a conductive layer covering the core. The conductive layer contains antimony tin oxide. The alumina particles have a number average primary particle diameter of at least 0.15 ?m and no greater than 0.50 ?m. The alumina particles have a specific resistance of no greater than 250 ?·cm. The alumina particles have an X-ray intensity ratio of at least 0.25 and no greater than 0.35.

Abstract: An ink jet recording device includes a record head, a waste ink container, and a suction mechanism that sucks gas from the waste ink container. The waste ink container includes a suction port connected to the suction mechanism, a first receiving port that receives ink, a porous absorbing member, and a first air duct formed as a space without the absorbing member, so as to connect the first receiving port and the suction port. The waste ink container further includes a blocking member having a lower gas permeability than the absorbing member, and the blocking member is disposed on a path from the first receiving port to the suction port via inside the absorbing member without passing through the first air duct.

Abstract: A drying device (7) is a drying device which dries a sheet while conveying the sheet. The drying device (7) includes a conveying part (15) which conveys the sheet in a predetermined conveyance direction; a heating part (13) which is arranged above the conveying part (15) and dries the sheet conveyed by the conveying part (15); and a supporting part (17) which supports the conveying part (15) in a heating position where the sheet is heated by the heating part (13), by power supplying, wherein when the power supplying to the supporting part (17) is cut off, a force by which the conveying part (15) is supported in the heating position is weakened, and the conveying part (15) is lowered to a retreating position separated downward from the heating part (13).

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a controller that allows a display device to display a settings screen for setting of a function by a user and executes a job based on a user setting made through the settings screen; and a backup device that backs up as backup data the user setting on a storage device each time the user setting is made. When execution of the job based on the user setting is completed, the controller deletes the user setting from the storage device. When, in newly displaying a settings screen on the display device for another job, the user setting for a function configurable on the settings screen is saved on the storage device, the controller determines the content of the user setting as a content of a setting for the job and allows the display device to display the settings screen showing the content of the setting.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a storage device and a control device. The storage device stores a document. The control device includes a processor and functions, through the processor executing a control program, as a character recognizer and a tag generator. The character recognizer analyzes the document stored in the storage device and recognizes characters contained in the document. The tag generator analyzes, based on a recognition result of the character recognizer, a sequence of characters contained in the document and generates a tag expressing a feature of descriptive content of the document.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head including a plurality of nozzles for ejecting ink, a conveyor belt that has a plurality of apertures and conveys recording media one by one, a control unit, an ink receiver, and a pipe-shaped ink discharge flow path. The control unit controls drive of the recording head and the conveyor belt to perform flushing, in which the ink is ejected from the nozzle of the recording head to pass through one of the apertures, at a timing different from a timing contributing to image recording. The ink receiver is disposed to face the recording head sandwiching the conveyor belt therebetween, to receive the ink after passing through the aperture when the flushing is performed. The ink discharge flow path is connected to the ink receiver. When the flushing is performed, a predetermined amount of liquid is stored in the ink receiver.

Abstract: An action member is movable between a first position at which a unit bias member is sandwiched between the action member and a heating unit and a second position. A movement mechanism operates in conjunction with a movement of an operation portion to cause the action member to move from one of the first position and the second position to another one of the first position and the second position. A contact portion of the heating unit comes into contact with a fixing unit by a bias force received from the unit bias member when the action member is at the first position. The action member includes an engagement portion which engages with a part of the heating unit when the action member moves from the first position to the second position. The heating unit engages with the engagement portion to move from a reference position to an evacuation position.