Abstract: A fixing device includes a main body mounted on an image forming apparatus body; a fixing member that is included in the main body and that fixes an image to a recording medium; a pair of conveying rolls that is supported by the main body and that conveys the recording medium to which an image is fixed by the fixing member, the pair of conveying rolls comprising a driven roll and a driving roll disposed under the driven roll; and an exterior portion that is formed in the main body, disposed under the driving roll, forms an exterior face of the main body, and also forms an exterior face of the image forming apparatus body while the main body is mounted on the image forming apparatus body.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image carrier; a transfer member that transfers an image onto a recording medium; a leading-end holding member that holds a leading-end side of the recording medium, which is fed to the transfer member, between the leading-end holding member and an outer circumferential surface of the transfer member, in such a way to restrict displacement of the recording medium and to restrict movement of the recording medium in a direction away from the transfer member; and a rear-end holding member that holds a rear-end side of the recording medium, in the transporting direction thereof, between the rear-end holding member and the outer circumferential surface of the transfer member, in such a way to allow displacement of the recording medium in the transporting direction and to restrict movement of the recording medium in the direction away from the transfer member.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for sheet feeding from a media stack in an image production device is disclosed. The method may include fluffing a stack of media with a predetermined amount of air flow, sensing sheet separation in the media stack using a bar code scanning device, determining if the sheet separation meets predetermined criteria, wherein if the sheet separation does not meet the predetermined criteria, adjusting the air flow used for fluffing the media stack.

Abstract: A sheet conveying device with a sheet conveyance path through which a sheet is conveyed include: a sheet guide that has a first end rotatably supported to move a second end to be close to or away from the sheet conveyance path; and a sheet detecting section that has a first end protruding beyond the sheet guide and a second end rotatably supported so that the first end is pushed by the sheet and rotated. A rotation shaft of the sheet detecting section is disposed farther from the sheet conveyance path than a rotation shaft of the sheet guide, and the sheet guide is provided with a moving portion for moving the first end of the sheet detecting section to an inside of a guide face of the sheet guide.

Abstract: A method of aligning transport modules in a printing system, the method including passing at least one substrate media in a process direction through two adjacent belt driven transport modules with one of the two transport modules having a belt steering control disabled. Each of the two transport modules including a transport belt for engaging and conveying the at least one substrate media, which transfers skew between the two adjacent transport modules. The method including detecting a first cross-process position of the transport belt in one of the two adjacent transport modules using a first edge sensor and detecting a second cross-process position of the transport belt in the other of the two adjacent transport modules using a second edge sensor. Further, aligning the two adjacent transport modules based on a relative skew between the two transport modules indicated by the first cross-process position and the second cross-process position.

Abstract: A computation resource control apparatus includes an activation unit, a first queue managing unit, an allocating unit and a second queue managing unit. The activation unit activates a computation resource being in a stop state in accordance with a computation request. The first queue managing unit adds the computation resource which is being activated to a first queue. The allocating unit allocates the computation resource, which is output from the first queue, to the computation request to execute a computation process corresponding to the computation request. The second queue managing unit adds the computation resource which has completed the computation process to a second queue and places the computation resource, which is output from the second queue, in the stop state.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit and a control unit. The image forming unit forms an image on a print medium. The control unit controls the image forming unit so as to divide an image larger than the print medium into pieces and to form the image pieces on a plurality of print media. The control unit forms an image formed on a different print medium in a margin where the image is not formed when the print medium contains the margin in case that the image forming unit divides the image into pieces and forms the image pieces on the plurality of print media.

Abstract: A marketing sign is constructed of a sheet material. The sheet material includes a free portion, a base portion and a connecting portion that couples the base portion to the free portion. The base portion includes an engaging piece and a support piece. The engaging piece is coupled to the support piece at a base bend line and configured to engage with a portion of a product display structure having a price holder. The connecting portion is defined between a first connecting bend line spaced apart from a second connecting bend line by a first distance. The first connecting bend line is adjacent the support piece of the base portion and the second connecting bend line is adjacent the free portion. The first distance substantially corresponds with a top edge thickness of the price holder.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: a rotary body; a rotary body retaining member; pressure members that press the rotary body retaining member along a direction to bring shaft portions of the rotary body into positioning grooves; and an operation member. When an open/shut cover is in an open position, the operation member comes into contact with the rotary body retaining member so as to press the rotary body retaining member in a direction to bring the shaft portions of the rotary body out of the positioning grooves. When the open/shut cover is swung to, a close position, the operation member is contacted by the rotary body retaining member pressed by the pressure members, thereby bringing the operation member into contact with part of the apparatus body and keeping the operation member still. The rotary body retaining member and the operation member touch each other through elastic buffering members.

Abstract: An electrophotographic developer is provided which includes: a toner that includes toner base particles and an external additive attached to a surface of the toner base particles and has an amount of Al on the surface of the toner base particles of from about 0.002 to about 0.02 atm %; and a carrier that includes magnetic particles and a coating resin layer that coats the magnetic particles, the coating resin layer including particles with a volume-average particle diameter of from about 80 to about 800 nm, such as organic particles or inorganic particles having an organic layer on a surface of the inorganic particles, the carrier satisfying any one of the following formulas, where SP1, SP2 and SP3 represent a solubility parameter of resin of the coating resin layer, the organic particles, and the organic layer respectively: about 10>|SP1?SP2|>about 4??(1); and about 10>|SP1?SP3|>about 4??(2).

Abstract: A document processing apparatus has an attachment unit and a storage. The attachment unit attaches a comment to an electronic document as additional information. The comment relates to a modification of the electronic document. The storage associates the comment with modified place information and stores them. The modified place information indicates a modified place of the electronic document, when the electronic document is modified based on the comment.

Abstract: An image forming system includes an image forming unit that forms images on recording materials; a stacking unit used for stacking the recording materials having the images formed thereon as a bundle; a first binding unit that binds, by a first binding operation, first edge portions of the bundle; a second binding unit that binds, by a second binding operation, second edge portions of the bundle; a reversing transporting unit that reverses front and back surfaces of the recording materials having the images formed thereon, and that transports the reversed recording materials to the stacking unit; and a controller that performs control to determine whether or not to cause the reversing transporting unit to reverse and transport the recording materials, on the basis of orientations of the images with respect to the recording materials and positions of the first and second binding operations.

Abstract: A carrier for developing an electrostatic charge image, including a core, and a coating layer including a resin and inorganic oxide particles that exhibit electroconductivity, by which the core is coated, wherein the inorganic oxide particles have, when they are aggregated, an aggregation size of or when they are not aggregated, a primary particle size of, from 230 nm to 970 nm.

Abstract: An electrostatic latent image developing toner includes a mother particle which contains a coloring agent, a release agent and a binder resin; and an inorganic particle which is added to the surface of the mother particle, and wherein a relation between a relaxation time t and a relaxation modulus G(t) which are determined from the dynamic viscoelasticity measurement made on the toner satisfies the following equations (1) and (2); G(t1)<100 Pa??(1) 515<(G(t2)?G(t1))/(log(t1)?log(t2))<1,230??(2) wherein t1 represents the maximum relaxation time and t2 represents the minimum relaxation time.

Abstract: The electrophotographic photoreceptor includes a substrate and a photosensitive layer disposed on the substrate, wherein a surface layer of the electrophotographic photoreceptor contains fluorine-containing polymer particles and a dispersion aid for the fluorine-containing polymer particles, and the surface layer has convex portions with diameters of from 200 ?m to 500 ?m spaced at an average interval of from 600 ?m to 950 ?m.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes a first dynamic reconfigurable processor, a second dynamic reconfigurable processor, and a controller. The first dynamic reconfigurable processor is assigned to a first group of image processing operations that are executed regardless of whether or not correction data from a printer is used. The second dynamic reconfigurable processor is assigned to a second group of image processing operations that are executed using correction data from the printer. The controller performs control to execute the first group of image processing operations during interruption of operation of the printer by changing an image processing setting so as to cause the second dynamic reconfigurable processor assigned to the second group of image processing operations to execute the first group of image processing operations.

Abstract: A layered structure including a base, and an elastic layer and a release layer positioned on the base in this order, the layered structure satisfying at least one of Formula (1): an interlayer peeling force between the elastic layer and the base at a temperature of from 20° C. to 30° C.<a cohesive failure force of the elastic layer at a temperature of from 20° C. to 30° C.; or Formula (2): an interlayer peeling force between the elastic layer and the release layer at a temperature of from 20° C. to 30° C.<a cohesive failure force of the elastic layer at a temperature of from 20° C. to 30° C.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for selection of default media based on media size in an image production device is disclosed. The method may include receiving a request to display a printer user interface, displaying the printer user interface, the printer user interface having selections to enable a user to select a default media type for each default media size, receiving one or more default media selections from the user using the printer user interface, receiving a request to print a print job, and printing the print job with media designated by at least one of the one or more default media selections.

Abstract: A conveying device including: a rotating body that rotates; a conveying belt that rotates while nipping a conveyed member between the conveying belt and the rotating body, thereby conveying the conveyed member; a pressing member that is disposed at an inner periphery of the conveying belt along a conveying belt rotation axis direction and presses the conveying belt towards the rotating body; a pair of support members that are respectively disposed at each of two rotation axis direction edge sides of the conveying belt and that support the pressing member; and a contact member that is disposed at the inner periphery of the conveying belt along the conveying belt rotation axis direction, makes sliding contact with the rotating conveying belt, and is supported so as to be independently displaceable relative to the pressing member.

Abstract: A conveying device includes: a rotating roll; a conveying belt that rotates, nipping a conveyed member between the conveying belt and the rotating roll; and a pressing member that is disposed at the inner periphery of the conveying belt and pressing the conveying belt towards the rotating roll. The pressing member includes an opposing face formed with a pressure point where the pressing force of the conveying belt towards the rotating roll is greatest, and an inclined face that is formed at the belt rotation direction upstream side relative to the pressure point. The inclined face inclines at an angle relative to a parallel line such that the inclined face separates away from the rotating roll, and the parallel line being parallel to a tangent to the rotating roll outer peripheral surface and passing through the pressure point.