Abstract: A vacuum pump has, in at least either a stator disc to be disposed or a rotating disc to be disposed, a Siegbahn type molecular pump portion in which a spiral-shaped groove with a ridge portion and a root portion is engraved (disposed), and is structured to ensure high conductance at a returning flow channel formed at the outer periphery (outside) of the Siegbahn type molecular pump portion. This structure is created by a communicating portion (a groove portion, a slit) formed on each rotating disc, or an oblique plate disposed on the stator disc and the communicating portion formed on the rotating disc. The “communicating portion,” “groove portion,” and “slit” are configured to have “concave” shapes, a concave portion is provided by engraving a groove radially inward from an outer diameter portion (toward a side of a shaft of the vacuum pump) in the rotating disc (or stator disc).

Abstract: A vacuum pump component includes a stationary disk that is formed with a spiral groove (helical groove) having a ridge portion and a valley part and has a projecting (protruding) portion on both or either one of an inner-diameter portion of the disk which faces a rotary cylinder (rotator cylinder-shaped portion) and an inner-diameter side of a stationary cylinder disposed on an outer peripheral side of the stationary disk. A second vacuum pump component includes rotary disk formed with a spiral groove having a ridge portion and a valley part and having a projecting (protruding) portion on both or either one of an outer-diameter portion of a rotary cylinder disposed on an inner peripheral side of the rotary disk and an outer-diameter portion of the rotary disk which faces a spacer.

Abstract: A sheet feeder, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes an attraction body disposed facing a bundle of sheets, a charger to charge the attraction body to electrostatically attract an uppermost sheet of the bundle of sheets to the attraction body, a liquid supplier to supply a liquid to dissolve discharge products to the attraction body, and a liquid remover to remove the liquid from the attraction body. Further, a method of removing discharge products includes counting the number of sheets fed from a sheet container, determining that the number of sheets reaches a predetermined threshold value, confirming that a current time falls within a predetermined period of time or receiving a turn off signal to turn off a power supply, removing the discharge products from a surface of an attraction body, and resetting the number of sheets or further turning off the power supply.

Abstract: A sheet feeder, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes an endless attraction belt that is rotatably disposed facing a top surface of a sheet stack, a belt charger to attract an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack, and a sheet separator to press the attraction belt against the sheet stack, bend a contact region to which the uppermost sheet is attracted and contacted to the attraction belt, and separate the uppermost sheet from a subsequent sheet or other sheet of the sheet stack. In this configuration, a curvature of a contact surface of the sheet separator with respect to the attraction belt is changeable.

Abstract: A sheet feeder, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes an endless attraction belt that is rotatably disposed facing a top surface of a sheet stack, a belt charger to attract an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack, and a sheet separator to press the attraction belt against the sheet stack, bend a contact region to which the uppermost sheet is attracted and contacted to the attraction belt, and separate the uppermost sheet from a subsequent sheet or other sheet of the sheet stack. In this configuration, a curvature of a contact surface of the sheet separator with respect to the attraction belt is changeable.

Abstract: A sheet conveyor incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes an attraction/separation unit including an attraction belt, a first tension roller, and a second tension roller, a support member to support the attraction/separation unit, a roller drive unit to rotate one of the first and second tension rollers, a charging member to uniformly charge a surface of the attraction belt, a mechanism to swing the attraction/separation unit to move the attraction belt reciprocally about the support member between a sheet attraction position and a sheet conveyance position being located farther from the sheet stack than the sheet attraction position, and a pressing member disposed inside a loop of the attraction belt to press the attraction belt at the sheet attraction position toward the sheet stack and separating from the attraction belt at the sheet conveyance position.

Abstract: A stator disk includes a connection hole for improving exhaust efficiency in a vacuum pump including a Seigbahn type molecular pump portion, and a vacuum pump including the stator disk. The vacuum pump according to an embodiment includes a Seigbahn type molecular pump portion and includes, in a stator disk disposed therein, a connection hole that connects an upper space (an inlet port side region, an upstream side region) with a lower space (an outlet port side region, a downstream side region) in the axial direction of the stator disk.

Abstract: An object is to reduce an adhesion amount of a product in a vacuum pump as a whole and effectively prevent occurrence of a trouble in a vacuum pump electric system due to a magnetic flux leak. A vacuum pump includes a rotor enclosed in a pump case, a rotating shaft fixed to the rotor, a supporting means that rotatably supports the rotating shaft, a driving means that rotates the rotating shaft, and thread-groove-exhaust-portion stators that form thread grove exhaust passages between the thread-groove-exhaust-portion stator and an outer circumferential side of or an inner circumferential side of the rotor. A heating portion is provided below the thread-groove-exhaust-portion stators. The heating portion includes a yoke, a coil, and a heating plate. The heating portion heats the yoke and the heating plate with electromagnetic induction heating by feeding an alternating current to the coil.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a sheet container accommodating a recording medium therein, a sheet separating feeder including a sheet feeding body and a sheet separating body, an image forming part, and a bend applier. The sheet feeding body feeds the recording medium along with a surface movement thereof while the recording medium contacting the surface thereof. The sheet separating body forms a sheet separation nip region with the sheet feeding body and sandwiches the recording medium in the sheet separation nip region. The sheet separating feeder separates and feeds the recording medium contacting the sheet feeding body. The image forming part forms an image on the recording medium. The bend applier having a leading end of an elastic material contacts and bends the recording medium before the sheet separation nip region and generates a wrinkle extending on the recording medium in a sheet conveying direction.

Abstract: Provided are a vacuum pump part and a vacuum pump suitable for performing adequately the processing of forming a coating on the surface of a fiber-reinforced composite material. In a vacuum pump part, a plating layer, which is a coating serving as a coating layer, is formed on the surface of a second cylindrical member of a cylindrical shape which is constituted by a fiber-reinforced composite material. The plating layer is formed through a removal processing step for removing a surface portion including a parting agent layer from the surface of the second cylindrical member of a cylindrical shape, and a roughening step for roughening a surface of the second cylindrical member after the surface portion including the parting agent layer has been removed.

Abstract: A sheet conveyor incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes an attraction/separation unit including an attraction belt, a first tension roller, and a second tension roller, a support member to support the attraction/separation unit, a roller drive unit to rotate one of the first and second tension rollers, a charging member to uniformly charge a surface of the attraction belt, a mechanism to swing the attraction/separation unit to move the attraction belt reciprocally about the support member between a sheet attraction position and a sheet conveyance position being located farther from the sheet stack than the sheet attraction position, and a pressing member disposed inside a loop of the attraction belt to press the attraction belt at the sheet attraction position toward the sheet stack and separating from the attraction belt at the sheet conveyance position.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a sheet container, an image forming part to form an image, a sheet feeding rotary body to feed the recording medium, a sheet separating rotary body to contact the sheet feeding rotary body and rotate with the sheet feeding rotary body with a sheet separation nip region formed therebetween, a rotation adjusting unit to adjust rotation of the sheet separating rotary body, a sheet containing unit to contain the recording media therein, a sheet separating body storing unit disposed at one end of the sheet containing unit to store the sheet separating body therein, and a load resistance applying mechanism to apply a rotational load resistance different from a contact force generated by contacting of the sheet separating rotary body with the sheet feeding rotary body, to the sheet feeding rotary body with no rotation driving force applied thereto.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a sheet container detachably attachable to the apparatus body and accommodating recording media therein, an image forming part to form an image on each of the recording media, a sheet separating part to separate the recording media one by one, feed the recording medium toward the image forming part, and include a sheet feeding body and a sheet separating body to rotate in contact with the sheet feeding body and form a sheet separation nip region with the sheet feeding body, a sheet containing unit to contain the recording media therein, and a sheet separating body storing unit disposed at one end of the sheet containing unit to store the sheet separating body therein. The sheet container being pulled out from the apparatus body by moving from the sheet containing unit to the sheet separating body storing unit.

Abstract: An IPM motor for a vacuum pump suitable for use as a motor for a small vacuum pump is provided. The IPM motor for a vacuum pump includes: a rotor core in which a rotor shaft of the vacuum pump is pressed and which also has magnets embedded therein; and a stator core which surrounds the rotor core and around which stator windings are wound. The magnets per pole embedded in the rotor core are each split into two pieces and inserted in respective magnet slots in the rotor core. A hole for stress concentration relaxation is provided at either end of each pair of magnet slots in which permanent magnets split into two pieces are embedded in each pole. The rotor core has a multilayer structure having a plurality of rotor core laminations stacked vertically in an axial direction of the rotor shaft. The rotor core laminations stacked vertically are positioned with a skew angle determined by using the holes for stress concentration relaxation.

Abstract: A sheet conveyor incorporated in an image forming apparatus includes an attraction/separation unit including an attraction belt, a first tension roller, and a second tension roller, a support member to support the attraction/separation unit, a roller drive unit to rotate one of the first and second tension rollers, a charging member to uniformly charge a surface of the attraction belt, a mechanism to swing the attraction/separation unit to move the attraction belt reciprocally about the support member between a sheet attraction position and a sheet conveyance position being located farther from the sheet stack than the sheet attraction position, and a pressing member disposed inside a loop of the attraction belt to press the attraction belt at the sheet attraction position toward the sheet stack and separating from the attraction belt at the sheet conveyance position.

Abstract: A sheet feeder, which is incorporated in an image forming apparatus, includes an endless attraction belt that is rotatably disposed facing a top surface of a sheet stack, a belt charger to attract an uppermost sheet of the sheet stack, and a sheet separator to press the attraction belt against the sheet stack, bend a contact region to which the uppermost sheet is attracted and contacted to the attraction belt, and separate the uppermost sheet from a subsequent sheet or other sheet of the sheet stack. In this configuration, a curvature of a contact surface of the sheet separator with respect to the attraction belt is changeable.

Abstract: A sheet separation/conveyance device that is included in an image forming apparatus includes an attraction/separation unit including an endless belt on which a region of attraction and a region of no attraction that divides the region of attraction are aligned in a sheet conveying direction, the endless belt configured to hold an uppermost sheet placed on top of a sheet stack contained in an image forming apparatus by using electrostatic attraction, a charger configured to charge a surface of the endless belt, the charger including an electrode configured to contact the surface of the endless belt due to a supply of a voltage and a detector configured to detect a charged condition on the surface of the endless belt based on a detection result obtained when the electrode contacts the endless belt, and a sheet conveying unit configured to convey the uppermost sheet held by the electrostatic attraction.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device incorporable in an image forming apparatus includes a sheet holder to hold multiple sheets including an uppermost sheet placed on the sheet holder, a sheet separating and feeding unit disposed above the sheet holder and movable between a first position and a second position, a controller to control operations performed by the sheet separating and feeding unit moving between the first position and the second position, and a sheet regulator disposed downstream from the sheet holder in the sheet feeding direction to regulate movement of the multiple sheets on the sheet holder in the sheet feeding direction. The controller controls the separating and feeding unit to move the uppermost sheet forward to abut against the sheet regulator and backward to its original position on the sheet holder to separate the uppermost sheet from the multiple sheets on the sheet holder.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming mechanism for forming a toner image on a recording medium, and a fixing device for fixing the toner image on the recording medium. The fixing device including a fixing film, a pressure member, a contact member, a heating device, a holding member, and at least one of a low friction member and a thermal conductivity improving member provided between the fixing film and the contact member. The fixing film heated by the heating device via the contact member comes into contact with the recording medium. The pressure member comes into pressure contact with the fixing film. The contact member comes into pressure contact with the pressure member via the fixing film to form, between the fixing film and the pressure member, a nip portion through which the recording medium is passed. The holding member holds the contact member and the heating device.

Abstract: A sheet feeder includes an attraction separation unit including an attraction belt facing the upper surface of a stacked sheet bundle to attract an uppermost sheet thereof, and rotatably supported by a support member at a position upstream of the attraction belt in a sheet feeding direction; and a swing device for swinging the attraction separation unit around the support member as a fulcrum to move the attraction belt between an attraction position and a feed position more distant from the sheet bundle than the attraction position is. The swing device includes a first drive transmitting portion attached to a downstream end portion of the attraction separation unit and a second drive transmitting portion attached to the body of the sheet feeder and connected with the first drive transmitting portion. The first drive transmitting portion and the rack connect to swing the attraction separation unit.