Abstract: A scanner unit has first and second carriages located below a glass document table. The first carriage has a first frame extending from a front side to a rear side along the document table, i.e. in a main scanning direction. The scanner unit contains, at the front side and the rear side, two rails that support the opposite ends of the first frame such that the first frame can slide in a sub-scanning direction. The scanner unit also contains, at the front side and the rear side, inhibiting elements for receiving a part of the first frame when the first carriage has slid along the rail to a hold position, thereby inhibiting the movement of the first carriage in the main scanning direction, and also for holding another part of the frame together with the rail when the carriage has slid to the hold position, thereby inhibiting the vertically upward movement of the frame.

Abstract: A structure for supporting wires driven by armatures displaced under electrical excitation for coils and applying an impact force for a printing operation of a sheet. Extremity ends of the wires are supported independently and slidably by guide holes arranged at extremity end guides which are set such that wires having rear ends adjacent to each other within a certain range are applied as one sub-group, the extremity ends of the wires being arranged on a straight line in the sub-scanning direction, and the arrangement positions of the extremity ends of the wires in the main scanning direction are different in response to a difference in the arrangement positions of the rear ends of the wires for every sub-group different in that the bending stress of the corresponding is low as compared with that where the extremity ends of all the wires are arranged on the straight line.

Abstract: The invention provides an image reader provided with an automatic document feeder which has a switchback path and can perform a both-faces processing operation, and which makes it possible to simplify the control of a switchback operation and handle a long-sized document sheet without making the diameter of a feed roller large and making the switchback path unnecessarily long. An automatic document feeder of the invention comprises a feed path for feeding a document sheet drawn out from a paper feed stacker to an image reading portion facing a feed roller, a switchback path c for making a document sheet which has been processed at the image reading portion switchback, a pair of switchback rollers which are provided so as to make a document sheet switchback in the switchback path and are able to turn forward and backward, and a paper discharge path for discharging a document sheet being in the switchback path onto a paper discharge stacker.

Abstract: A color image forming apparatus and method includes a plurality of recording medium arranged along a conveying path for forming electrostatic latent images, a plurality of developing units installed respectively in the neighborhood of the plurality of recording medium for feeding developers having different lightness to the respective electrostatic latent images formed on the plurality of recording medium and forming developed images a plurality of transfer units for multiple-transferring the developed images formed respectively on the plurality of recording medium sequentially on a material to be transferred which is conveyed along the conveying path, and a plurality of collectors for collecting the respective residual developers on the plurality of recording medium after passing the transfer units in the plurality of developing units respectively.

Abstract: A motor-driven pump with a plurality of impellers, includes a pump housing provided on an electric motor, and an impeller unit provided in an inner space of the housing, the housing having two fluid inlet port regions on two sides near and away from the motor in a longitudinal direction of an output shaft of the motor, and having one fluid discharge port region between the inlet port regions, and the unit including a pair of impellers having a partition wall fixed to the output shaft, directing to the discharge port region, and partitioning the inner space into two portions near and away from the motor, and a pair of blade groups provided on both sides of the partition wall.

Abstract: When a discharged toner box 3 is detached, discharged toner is prevented from being scattered. A discharged toner collecting apparatus 1 includes a discharged toner box 3 for storing discharged toner, a discharged toner nozzle 4 for injecting discharged toner into the interior of the discharged toner box 3, and a connecting portion 5 to which the nozzle 4 is connected. At the position where the nozzle 4 and the connecting portion 5 are connected, a washing fluid feeding unit 6 for feeding washing water to wash the inner surface of the nozzle 4 is provided. The washing fluid feeding unit 6 is constituted by a washing fluid tank 14 for storing washing water, a washing fluid nozzle 15 for ejecting the washing water to an inner surface of the nozzle 4, and the washing fluid feeding unit 16 for feeding the washing water to the nozzle 15.

Abstract: A transferring body apparatus has a cylindrical base and an elastic member covering the cylindrical base therewith on which an image is transferred. The elastic member has a hardness (JIS-A) of 60 to 80 degrees, a thickness of 0.2-0.8 mm, a tensile stress of 40 kgf/cm2 or more. Assuming an outer diameter of the base is an inner diameter of the elastic member is r, 1.03≦R/r≦1.15 is R, and satisfied. Assuming a surface roughness of the outer surface of the base is S1 &mgr;m Rz, and a surface roughness of the inner surface of the elastic member is S2 &mgr;m Rz, S1+S2≦12, S1≦5, is satisfied.

Abstract: The developing apparatus includes a developer roller for supplying a developing agent to an electrostatic latent image carried on a photosensitive belt such as to visualize it, and a layer thickness regulating device for regulating a thickness of a layer of the developing agent on the developer roller to a constant thickness, wherein the layer thickness regulating device further includes a metal-made support spring member having a bent portion in the middle there of, and an elastic member set on the support spring member via a metal-made substrate having a thickness larger than that of the support spring member, such as to be brought into contact with the developer roller.

Abstract: In a light scanning unit in accordance with the invention, an image forming optical system has an image forming lens having at least one surface which is asymmetrical in a first direction on a boundary point constituted by a position at which a light flux passes through an optical axis between respective reflective surfaces of a polygon mirror and a photosensitive drum.

Abstract: In a state in which plural public folders are set in a digital multi-functional peripheral (MFP) and made public on a network, a first PC transmits, at the time of activation, designated to-be-monitored folder list data on first PC to a second PC. When second PC has received the designated to-be-monitored folder list data from first PC, second PC collates the received designated to-be-monitored folder list data with its own designated to-be-monitored folder list data. Second PC returns to first PC permission/non-permission data that rejects designation of a public folder as a to-be-monitored folder, if the public folder has already been designated as a to-be-monitored folder (“exclusion process”) and permits access to other public folders.

Abstract: The developing sleeve comprising a metal substrate and a ceramic-dispersion-plated metal film containing ceramic particles dispersed therein and formed on a surface of the metal substrate. The developing apparatus is equipped with this developing sleeve and the image forming apparatus has this developing apparatus.

Abstract: A developing apparatus is provided which includes a hollow cylindrical sleeve which is rotationally driven and a magnetic shaft which is rotationally driven inside the sleeve. The magnetic shaft causes magnetic toner to adhere to a peripheral surface of the sleeve by magnetic force. The magnetic toner adhering to the peripheral surface is supplied to a developing position by rotation of the sleeve and adheres to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive body. The center of rotation of the magnetic shaft is deviated from the center of rotation of the sleeve nearer to the photosensitive drum, and frontward along the direction of rotation of the sleeve from a line connecting the center of rotation of the sleeve and the center of rotation of the photosensitive body.

Abstract: An electric motor pump with axial-flow impellers includes an electric motor having an output shaft both end portions of which are connected to axial-flow impeller units, and a pair of pump housings provided on both sides of the motor in the longitudinal direction of the output shaft and including fluid inlet and outlet ports, the pump housings cooperating with the impeller units to suck fluid into the housings through the inlet ports, move the fluid in the longitudinal direction and discharge the fluid from the outlet ports, thrust forces applied to the output shaft by the impeller units are canceled.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an image forming system and a control method thereof and is characterized as follows. In a client personal computer, at least application software for display a list having a predetermined structure for synchronizing electronic information and image information, and electronic information are stored. The application software is started, and stored electronic information or image information transmitted from a composite type image forming apparatus through a network is checked in into the list. Otherwise, electronic information, which has been existing on the list, is checked out onto the image forming apparatus or a network printer. Further, the image information and the electronic information are synchronized.

Abstract: A moving direction of the wire dot printer head is defined as a main scanning direction. The guide holes in the extremity end guide supporting the extremity ends of the wires of the present invention are arranged along an arc curved only in one direction of the sub-scanning direction in such a way that the arrangement positions in the main scanning direction are made different. With such an arrangement as above, all the wires are not driven at once and accordingly, it is possible to reduce the capacitance of power supply and noise. Further, since the extremity ends of the wires are arranged along an arc curved only in one direction in response to the arrangement state of the guide holes of the extremity end guide, the extremity ends of the wires can easily fed to the guide holes of the extremity end guide by a method for holding the plurality of wires at a plane of arcuate surface formed at the tool such as a wrench.

Abstract: A communication terminal unit including a display controller which gives a display identifying a facsimile mode and display the input facsimile number in a display when a facsimile number is input from an input section in the case where the facsimile mode is selected in a mode setting section, and give a display identifying an e-mail mode and display the input e-mail address when an e-mail address is input from the input section in the case where the mail mode is selected in the mode setting section.

Abstract: In the image forming apparatus and method of the present invention, the reference clock is rendered common and a reference multiplication/division circuit is provided before a motor control part, if two motors which output different numbers of FG pulses per rotation are used or if motors which output equal numbers of FG pulses per rotation are used at different deceleration ratios. As a result, synchronization with FG cycles can be achieved.

Abstract: When a carriage goes forth, a scan motor is first acceleratively operated, then is operated by a constant speed, and finally is operated deceleratively. When the carriage goes back, the scan motor is operated by a constant speed from beginning to end.

Abstract: Two sawtooth sensor patterns are combined so that they engage with each other. These sensor patterns are arranged so that a light beam passes sawtooth portions in a horizontal scan direction. A light beam's scan position is determined by integrating a difference between output signals from these sensor patterns. It is possible to provide a highly sensitive circuit for processing signals from the sensors and to improve detection accuracy for light beams.