Abstract: A fixer (heater) includes a heat roller and a pressure roller pressing each other. The fixer heats a heated material by passing the heated material through a press region where the heat roller and the pressure roller meet. The fixer further includes an external heat roller heating the pressure roller from outside the pressure roller. A transit time taken for any given point on the heated material to pass through the press region is less than or equal to 2.3×10?2 sec. The surface temperature, T1 (° C.), of the heat roller and the surface temperature, T2 (° C.), of the pressure roller satisfy T1-T2?100 (° C.), and preferably satisfy T1-T2?70 (° C.). The load on the heat roller is reduced, and so is the power consumption.

Abstract: A fixer (heater) includes a heat roller and a pressure roller pressing each other. The fixer heats a heated material by passing the heated material through a press region where the heat roller and the pressure roller meet. The fixer further includes an external heat roller heating the pressure roller from outside the pressure roller. A transit time taken for any given point on the heated material to pass through the press region is less than or equal to 2.3×10?2 sec. The surface temperature, T1 (° C.), of the heat roller and the surface temperature, T2 (° C.), of the pressure roller satisfy T1?T2?100 (° C.), and preferably satisfy T1?T2?70 (° C.). The load on the heat roller is reduced, and so is the power consumption.

Abstract: The present invention is made to provide a pretransfer charging device, which allows (i) reduction of generation of discharge products such as ozone and nitroxide, (ii) excellent uniform charging, (iii) continuous stable charging for a long period of time, and (iv) restraint of distortion of a toner image. The pretransfer charging device includes (i) ion generation needles each provided face to face with an image carrier such as a photoconductor drum or an intermediating transfer belt, and (ii) a high-voltage power supply for applying a negative voltage to each of the ion generation needles. The voltage to be applied from the high-voltage power supply is not less than an ion production threshold voltage but is less than a corona discharge threshold voltage. With this, no corona discharge occurs but negative ions can be generated. This makes it possible to solve various problems caused due to the corona discharge.

Abstract: A fixing device cleaning device, provided on a fixing device having a heating member and a pressing member pressed against the heating member at a predetermined contact pressure, comprises a cleaning member, formed in a scraper shape, which is pressed against the heating member, or the pressing member, so as to remove developer from a surface of the heating member or the pressing member. The cleaning member includes one or more opening sections in a vicinity of a contact point with respect to a cleaning target surface of the heating member or the pressing member.

Abstract: The invention provides a fixing unit including a fixing roller and a pressure roller pressed against the fixing roller inside a housing, for holding and conveying a sheet carrying an image formed by a developer between the fixing roller and the pressure roller thus to fix the image onto the sheet, including a removal section that removes an unfixed developer adhered to the fixing roller or the pressure roller, and an air vent located close to the removal section.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image recording device and a recording material supply device, and an external recording material supply device is connected to the recording material supply device in parallel. In a main body of the recording material supply device, a space is formed between the inner wall on a peripheral equipment connecting side and a longitudinal transport path so as to allow the longitudinal transport path to open from a front side of the recording material supply device. The longitudinal transport path is provided for transporting the recording material from the recording material supply device to the image recording device.

Abstract: An embodiment of a screw conveyor includes a rotating shaft and a conveying blade helically formed around and loosely coupled with the rotating shaft. One or both of two edges of the conveying blade is/are only fixed to the rotating shaft, and a gap is provided between the rotating shaft and the conveying blade. Thereby, the conveying blade can be vibrated in a center axis direction of the rotating shaft by rotation of the rotating shaft and conveyed waste developer.

Abstract: A projection type display apparatus includes a projection lens barrel holding a projection lens, a micro mirror type display element, and a main body which holds the micro mirror type display element and on which the projection lens barrel is mounted. The projection lens barrel is formed with a barrel-side reference surface which becomes a mounting reference in a direction of an optical axis, and the main body is formed with a mounting reference surface against which the barrel-side reference surface abuts. The main body has an adjusting mechanism which adjusts a length between a reflection surface of the micro mirror type display element and the mounting reference surface.

Abstract: The projection display apparatus includes rotation regulating elements for inhibiting a rotation of the mount ring in a tightening direction, and a stopper element displaceable between a non-locked position and a locked position, wherein the stopper element is displaced to the non-locked position when the mount ring is rotated to a rotating position in a loosening direction from a predetermined position in the tightening direction, and is displaced to the locked position when the mount ring is rotated to the predetermined position in the tightening direction.

Abstract: Within a fixing roller (231) are disposed a main heater lamp (234a) for heating a central portion of the fixing roller and a sub-heater lamp (235a) for heating opposite end portions of the fixing roller. MRnh, SRnh and ?Rnh satisfy the formula (1) or (2): ?Rnh?30.5·Ln(Ht)+382??formula (1) MRnh??21.9·Ln(Ht)?198,??formula (2) where MRnh is a mean value of heat distribution in a no-heat generating section of the main heater lamp; SRnh is a mean value of heat distribution in the a no-heat generating section of the sub-heater lamp; ?Rnh is the sum total of these mean values; and Ht=vp/(Mh·?) where vp is a fixing speed (m/s), Mh a heat capacity per unit length of the heating member (J/(° C.·m)) and ? a heat conductivity of a material forming the heating member (W/(m·° C.)).

Abstract: A fixing device (23) of the present invention includes a fixing roller (131) contacting a toner image surface, and a pressure roller (132) contacting a surface opposite to the toner image surface. In the fixing device (23), a printing sheet (P) on which unfixed toner image is formed passes through a fixing nip portion (Y) where the fixing roller (131) and the pressure roller (132) are in contact with each other, so that the above-described toner image is fixed on the printing sheet (P). The fixing device (23) further includes a control circuit (150) which controls heater lamps (134 to 136) so that a surface temperature of the pressure roller (132) is in a temperature range defined by a cold offset occurring boundary temperature (Thc) of the fixing roller (131) and/or a hot offset occurring boundary temperature (Thh) of the fixing roller (131).

Abstract: A fixing device comprising a fix member for touching an unfixed image on a recording medium, and a press member for being pressed against the fixing member, so as to fix the unfixed image on the recording medium by transporting the recording medium through a nip between the fix member and the press member, wherein (100·K1)?(K2)?(320·K1) where K1 is a heat transmission coefficient of the press member and K2 is a heat transmission coefficient of the fix member. With this arrangement, it is possible to transmit heat to toner and the recording medium in a short time. Thus, it is possible to attain high-speed printing.

Abstract: An image recording system is configured in which a plurality of image recording apparatuses provided with a recording medium storage portion are disposed in a line, and a recording medium storage means shared by these image recording apparatuses is provided, and a recording medium that has been recorded by the plurality of image recording apparatuses is transported toward the recording medium storage means and stored in the recording medium storage means.

Abstract: A fusing device (23) has heat reflectors (238) and (239) positioned in consideration of the fact that convective heat loss from respective outer surfaces of the heat reflectors (238) and (239) depends on orientation of the outer surfaces. More specifically, each of the heat reflectors (238) and (239) are positioned so as to have a convective heat transfer coefficient ? of up to 0.9. The convective heat transfer coefficient ? is given by the following expression: ?=(Su+0.77Sh+0.54Sd)/(Su+Sh+Sd), were Su is a projected area of an outer surface of each of the heat reflectors on an upper horizontal plane, Sh is a projected area of the same on a vertical plane, and Sd is a projected area of the same on a lower horizontal plane.

Abstract: A single-electron transistor comprising at least a substrate, a source electrode and a drain electrode formed on top of the substrate opposing to each other, and a channel arranged between the source electrode is disclosed wherein the channel is composed of ultra fine fibers. By having such a constitution, a sensor can have excellent sensitivity.

Abstract: A toothed belt transmission is provided in which a toothed belt is trained around drive and driven pulleys. Each toothed pulley has a circumferential periphery formed with a plurality of teeth. Adjacent teeth are assigned as a first tooth portion and a second tooth portion. Respective tooth portions have arcuate portions at corners defined between tooth edges and tooth surfaces. A line touching the arcuate portions of the first and second tooth portions is assigned as a common tangential line. A line passing over a starting point of the arcuate portion of the tooth edge of the first tooth is assigned as a first tangential line. An angle between the common tangential line and the first tangential line falls in a range between 6° and 14.4°.

Abstract: An information recording and reproducing apparatus with a ring buffer, in which user can know a state of the ring buffer in a real-time manner and a monitoring method of the ring buffer. A ring buffer monitor image signal is generated which indicates an image showing a relative positional relation of a current recording position and a current reproducing position in the ring buffer.

Abstract: Within a fixing roller (231) are disposed a main heater lamp (234a) for heating a central portion of the fixing roller and a sub-heater lamp (235a) for heating opposite end portions of the fixing roller. MRnh, SRnh and ?Rnh satisfy the formula (1) or (2): ?Rnh?30.5·Ln(Ht)+382??formula (1) MRnh??21.9·Ln(Ht)?198??formula (2), where MRnh is a mean value of heat distribution in a no-heat generating section of the main heater lamp; SRnh is a mean value of heat distribution in the a no-heat generating section of the sub-heater lamp; ?Rnh is the sum total of these mean values; and Ht=vp/(Mh·?) where vp is a fixing speed (m/s), Mh a heat capacity per unit length of the heating member (J/(° C.·m)) and ? a heat conductivity of a material forming the heating member (W/(m·° C.)).

Abstract: A time management section is configured to change an output voltage in accordance with a temperature change characteristic of a lamp allowed to cool down. For restart of the lamp after the turn-off of the lamp, the lamp is cooled by a fan before the operation of turning on the lamp when it is judged that the temperature of the lamp is higher than a predetermined value, based on the output voltage from the time management section. The lamp is immediately turned on without the cooling of the lamp by the fan when it is judged that the temperature of the lamp is lower than the predetermined value.

Abstract: The invention provides a fixing unit including a fixing roller and a pressure roller pressed against the fixing roller inside a housing, for holding and conveying a sheet carrying an image formed by a developer between the fixing roller and the pressure roller thus to fix the image onto the sheet, including a removal section that removes an unfixed developer adhered to the fixing roller or the pressure roller, and an air vent located close to the removal section.