Abstract: A pump, particularly a vane pump or roller cell pump, whereby the vane pump or roller cell pump is provided with a two-stroke contour ring, with a rotor, inside of which vanes or rollers are mounted in a manner that enables them to be radially displaced, with at least one side side plate, which seals the rotating group, with a casing and with a casing cover, whereby the rotor is driven by a shaft and the shaft is mounted inside the casing and, optionally, inside the cover.

Abstract: A switched reluctance machine includes a first element having a plurality of uniform poles and a second element having a first pole and a second pole. The first pole has a wide face and the second pole has a narrow pole face. The first and second elements are disposed for movement relative to each other such that the wide and narrow poles are moveable in spaced relation to the plurality of uniform poles.

Abstract: An image heating apparatus includes a heater; a film having a side for sliding movement relative to the heater through a lubricant and another surface contactable to a recording material carrying an image; driving member for driving the film in contact therewith; and wherein when the heater is not effecting its heating operation, a friction between the film and the driving member is smaller than a friction between the film and the heater.

Abstract: In an electrostatic both-side printing system, a first image forming unit is provided upstream of an image printing medium when viewed in the transporting direction of the image printing medium, and a second image forming unit is provided downstream of the image printing medium. A medium transporting path for transporting the image printing medium is formed between the first and the second image forming units. A first transferring unit, located facing the first image forming unit with the medium transporting path intervening therebetween, for applying no charge onto the rear side of the image printing medium, which does not face the first image forming unit. A second transferring unit being located facing the second image forming unit with the image printing medium with the medium transporting path intervening therebetween, in a state that the second transferring unit is apart from a first toner image formed on the image printing medium by the first image forming unit.

Abstract: A fixed frame includes a photosensitive drum and a developing unit, and a movable frame is openable with respect to the fixed frame. The developing unit, which has two pairs of protrusions thereon, is detachably mounted to the fixed frame by engaging the protrusions with two pairs of guides provided on the fixed frame. One pair of guides includes a portion for momentarily catching one pair of the protrusions as the developing unit is being mounted to the apparatus, and each of the other pair of guides includes a inclined portion having the shape of an arc centered on the momentarily catching portion, whereby an impact to the developing unit is alleviated. The developing unit has a shutter which moves to a position for covering a peripheral surface of a developing sleeve when the developing unit is being dismounted, and which retracts from the developing sleeve covering position and moves to a position for covering the photosensitive drum when the developing unit is being mounted.

Abstract: In a fixing apparatus for an electrophotographic apparatus which comprises a suction apparatus (14) for attracting a rear surface of recording material (6) which continues longitudinally and holds a toner image on a major surface thereof, a preheater (10) for preheating the recording material while adhering the recording material to the preheater by attracting force of the suction apparatus, and a pair of fixing rollers (11) formed by a heat roller and a pressure roller urged to each other, wherein the recording material is sandwiched and carried while being heated and pressurized by the heat roller and the pressure roller at a pressing portion therebetween thereby to fix the toner image on the major surface of the recording material, the fixing apparatus further comprises a recording material lifting apparatus (15) having a projection member (15a) movable relative to the surface of the preheater.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus which includes a document transporting device for sequentially transporting a group of original documents to a predetermined position on a document platen one by one. The group of original documents includes main body pages and partition pages which have a dimension different from the dimension of the main body pages. The image forming apparatus also includes an image forming device for forming an image of each of the original documents on a respective copy sheet in synchronization with an operation of the document transportation device. Sheet supplying means which have a plurality of supply portions and which feed copy sheets one at a time from the supply portions to the image forming device are also included.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet, mode setting unit for setting a test mode for a detection of a cause for a defect in the formed image, a control unit for causing the image forming means to form a plurality of sample images by changing operating conditions of the image forming unit when the test mode is set by the mode setting unit, an input unit for manually inputting a result of comparison of the plurality of sample images and display unit, wherein the control unit determines the particulars of the detection for the cause of the defect in the formed image or contents of the test mode to be subsequently carried out in response to an input of the input unit and, at the same time, causes the display unit to perform a display of the cause for the defect in the formed image or a display of the contents of the test mode to be subsequently carried out.

Abstract: A full-color image forming apparatus having a photo-conductive belt on which mono-color toner images are respectively formed, an intermediate transfer belt onto which the mono-color toner images are respectively transferred to form a full-color toner image, and a transfer member for transferring the full-color toner image onto a copy sheet. The intermediate transfer belt includes timing marks printed thereon which are detected by a sensor to generate an image forming start signal for each of the first mono-color toner image forming processes. The start signal is generated by a controller only when cleaning of the intermediate transfer belt has completed and the cleaning blade has left therefrom. A timer may be used to delay the starting of the first mono-color image forming process until the transfer belt returns to a normal operating speed after the cleaning blade is removed from the transfer belt.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus performs a stable developing characteristic for an electrostatic latent image including a halftone image expressed by a binary manner. The apparatus includes a photoreceptor having a surface and an electrostatic image forming device for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor, the electrostatic latent image including a digitally-reproduced binary latent image. The apparatus further includes a developing device for developing the electrostatic latent image. The developing device includes a two-component developer including magnetic carrier particles and toner particles. The apparatus also includes a bias applying device for applying a bias voltage between the developing device and the photoreceptor for defining a relatively high contrast potential of the digitally-reproduced binary latent image to be developed.

Abstract: After the jam is cleared or after instruction of the start of printing, in order to remove the residual toner on an endless transfer belt or a secondary transfer roller, the endless transfer belt rotates in a state that the cleaner is contacted with the endless transfer belt and the secondary transfer roller is retracted from the endless transfer belt without applying the voltage by the voltage application means, and after one or more rotations of the endless transfer belt, the endless transfer belt continues to rotate in a state that the cleaner and the secondary transfer roller are contacted with the endless transfer belt with applying the voltage by the voltage application means.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image heating apparatus comprising a first heater, a second heater having a heat generating distribution different from that of the first heater, a heated member to be heated by the first heater and second heater, a temperature detection element for detecting a temperature of the heated member, and a power supply controlling means for controlling power supply to the first heater and second heater on the basis of a temperature detected by the temperature detection element. The power supply controlling means serves to stop the power supply to the first heater when the temperature detected by the temperature detection element reaches a first temperature, and to stop the power supply to the second heater when the temperature detected by the temperature detection element reaches a second temperature different from the first temperature.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus of transverse transfer type, toner images, carried by a toner-image carrying member extended by a plurality of rollers in a direction perpendicular to a direction of feed of printing paper, are transferred by a transfer opposed roller to the printing paper in a direction perpendicular to the direction of feed of the printing paper to be fixed. Among the rollers extending the toner image-carrying member, at least one of those rollers except for the transfer opposed roller, which comes closest to the transfer opposed roller at starting and terminal ends of a longest path of movement of the transfer opposed roller, respectively, is provided at a position spaced from a transfer surface of the printing paper, to which the toner images are transferred, by a distance larger than a diameter of the transfer opposed roller.

Abstract: An image processing system includes a main image processing unit and an auxiliary unit detachably attached to the main image processing unit. The auxiliary unit includes a first drive source. The main unit on the other hand includes a second drive source and a mechanism for transporting a sheet. These drive sources are so operated that when the auxiliary unit is attached to the main unit the transporting mechanism is powered by the first drive source in the auxiliary unit and when the auxiliary unit is not attached to the main unit the transporting mechanism is powered by the second drive source in the main unit.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a lubricant is fed to an image carrier on which a toner image is to be formed. An endless rotatable transfer member conveys a recording medium to which the toner image is to be transferred from the image carrier. The transfer member is capable of contacting the surface of the image carrier to which the lubricant has been applied. As a result, an adequate amount of lubricant is evenly applied to the transfer member to reduce the coefficient of friction of the surface of the transfer member, thereby enhancing the cleanability of the transfer member.

Abstract: A communication control device connected between an image forming apparatus and a communication line in an image forming apparatus supervising system which connects the image forming apparatus and a host machine by the communication line. Assume that particular data of an image forming apparatus which is updated day by day should be read periodically. Then, even when the power supply to the image forming apparatus is shut off, a host machine can access the apparatus to read the data which should be read periodically, and receive it. In addition, the data can be preserved until the next time for reading. The data is stored in a first memory until the data is ready for transfer to the host machine, at which time the data is transferred to a second memory and then to the host machine.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus and method form respective carrier images corresponding to at least one specified area of a manuscript image of a manuscript document by designating at least one specified area of the manuscript image with a user-actuated divisional image forming key configured to designate the at least one specified area and deciding at least one of a paper size of a recording paper and a number of sheets of the recording paper in accordance with a size and a number of the at least one specified image area.

Abstract: The document scanner of the present invention includes a reading assembly of simple, compact and light-weight construction. The reading assembly includes an optical system having a relatively short focal length. The reading assembly is thus simply configured in a compact manner close to the document to be scanned. The optical system is also configured to extend in a particular direction beyond the document viewing area for improved resolution of images from a bound document adjacent the binding. The reading assembly further includes a compact and light-weight illumination source which is low in power consumption, and thus, may be powered by batteries. The stand-alone document scanner of the present invention is particularly suited to portability.

Abstract: A toner supply container for supplying toner to a toner accommodation container for containing toner to be used for developing a latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member includes a flexible toner accommodating portion having side walls at longitudinal opposite ends, the side walls having respective inward projected portions so that the toner accommodating portion is collapsed when external force is applied thereto; an opening, provided in the toner container, for permitting supply of the toner from the toner accommodating portion to the toner accommodation container; a sealing member for removably sealing the opening; wherein when the external force is applied, the toner accommodating portion is collapsed while the projected portion being folded, so that a volume of toner accommodating portion is reduced in a direction crossing with a longitudinal direction thereof.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a member to be charged for carrying an electrostatic latent image; a contact charging means for contact charging the member to be charged and a developing means for developing the latent image. The developing means includes a developer having a magnetic toner and fine powder treated with a silicone oil or varnish-treating agent, wherein the magnetic toner particles include a binder resin and contain from 10-70 wt. % of magnetic fine powder. An image forming method includes the steps of contact charging, latent image forming and developing with a developer having the binder resin, 10 to 70 wt. % magnetic fine powder and fine powder treated with a silicone oil or varnish-treating agent.