Abstract: A locking mechanism includes a first member that is provided on one side to lock and is rotated about a rotating shaft, a second member that is provided on the other side to lock and comes into contact with the first member to rotate the first member, a rotation applying member that further applies a rotational force to the first member rotated by the second member, a restriction portion that restricts movement of the first member to be rotated in a direction in which the first member is released from a locked state, and an elastic portion that allows the first member and the restriction portion to be in elastic contact with each other and allows the first member and the restriction portion to start to be in elastic contact with each other before the first member rotated by the second member is further rotated by the rotation applying member in a release direction which is the direction in which the first member is released from the locked state.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a housing, a cover that is opened and closed on the housing, a detection part that detects opening and closing of the cover using ON and OFF, a rotating part that is rotatably supported and turns on and off the detection part, a pushing portion that comes into contact with the rotating part to rotate the rotating part in a case where the cover is closed, and a rotation applying part that applies a rotational force to the rotating part rotated by the pushing portion in a direction in which the detection part is turned on in a case where the cover is closed.

Abstract: An opening/closing mechanism includes a first inclined portion disposed in an opening/closing body that opens/closes while a first shaft serves as a fulcrum in a main body, a second inclined portion disposed in the opening/closing body, and a swing portion that swings between the first inclined portion and the second inclined portion while a second shaft disposed in the main body serves as a fulcrum, in which during a closing operation of the opening/closing body, the swing portion applies a force in a closing direction of the opening/closing body by coming into contact with the first inclined portion, after applying a force in an opening direction of the opening/closing body by coming into contact with the second inclined portion.

Abstract: A cover includes: a cover main body that is attached to an attachment target and that has an inner surface facing an attachment target side; a first projection portion that protrudes from the inner surface and that is formed along a first direction; an attachment portion that is attached to the inner surface of the cover main body and that has a facing surface facing the inner surface; and a second projection portion that protrudes from the facing surface, that is formed along the first direction, and that is in contact with the first projection portion in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

Abstract: A latch mechanism of an opening/closing door, which is used in a device including an opening/closing door that opens/closes an opening of a device body by using the opening/closing door, restrains the opening/closing door at a closing position, and releases a restrained state when the opening/closing door is opened, the latch mechanism includes an elastic component provided in one of the opening/closing door and the device body facing the opening, having a spring member expanding/contracting to be elastically deformable in one predetermined direction, and holding both end positions of the spring member to be floatable via a holder, and a latch component provided in the other of the opening/closing door and the device body, coming into contact with the holder of the elastic component when the opening/closing door closes the opening, having a latch member restraining the elastic component in a state where the spring member is elastically deformed from an initial state, and moving the holder against a biasing fo

Abstract: An opening/closing mechanism includes a first inclined portion disposed in an opening/closing body that opens/closes while a first shaft serves as a fulcrum in a main body, a second inclined portion disposed in the opening/closing body, and a swing portion that swings between the first inclined portion and the second inclined portion while a second shaft disposed in the main body serves as a fulcrum, in which during a closing operation of the opening/closing body, the swing portion applies a force in a closing direction of the opening/closing body by coming into contact with the first inclined portion, after applying a force in an opening direction of the opening/closing body by coming into contact with the second inclined portion.

Abstract: A light emitting device includes a light emitting unit including plural light emitting elements arranged in one direction, the light emitting unit being positioned at a predetermined position at both ends in the one direction, the light emitting elements emitting light in a same direction; a dynamic vibration absorber including a weight positioned at a center of the light emitting unit in the one direction and an elastic portion that supports the weight such that the weight is capable of vibrating, the dynamic vibration absorber being attached to the light emitting unit to absorb vibration of the light emitting unit; and an attaching member including a portion inserted in a groove formed in the elastic portion of the dynamic vibration absorber, the portion being used to attach the dynamic vibration absorber to the light emitting unit.

Abstract: A light emitting device includes a light emitting unit including plural light emitting elements arranged in one direction, the light emitting unit being positioned at a predetermined position at both ends in the one direction, the light emitting elements emitting light in a same direction; a dynamic vibration absorber including a weight positioned at a center of the light emitting unit in the one direction and an elastic portion that supports the weight such that the weight is capable of vibrating, the dynamic vibration absorber being attached to the light emitting unit to absorb vibration of the light emitting unit; and an attaching member including a portion inserted in a groove formed in the elastic portion of the dynamic vibration absorber, the portion being used to attach the dynamic vibration absorber to the light emitting unit.

Abstract: An exposure device includes an exposure section, a weight, and an elastic portion. The exposure section includes plural light emitting elements arranged along an axial direction of an image holding member that is rotatable, is positioned with respect to the image holding member at both ends in the axial direction, and exposes the image holding member to light by emitting light to the image holding member. The weight is disposed so as to face the exposure section, and has a mass determined in advance. The elastic portion is elastic, and is disposed between the exposure section and the weight to support the weight so as to be vibratable.

Abstract: A natural frequency measuring device includes a receiving unit and a measuring unit. The receiving unit receives information of an image formed on a recording medium with vibrations of different frequencies provided to a member used to form the image. The measuring unit measures a natural frequency of the member from a frequency response characteristic using a misregistration amount of the image represented by the information of the image received by the receiving unit.

Abstract: An exposure device includes an exposure section, a weight, and an elastic portion. The exposure section includes plural light emitting elements arranged along an axial direction of an image holding member that is rotatable, is positioned with respect to the image holding member at both ends in the axial direction, and exposes the image holding member to light by emitting light to the image holding member. The weight is disposed so as to face the exposure section, and has a mass determined in advance. The elastic portion is elastic, and is disposed between the exposure section and the weight to support the weight so as to be vibratable.

Abstract: A natural frequency measuring device includes a receiving unit and a measuring unit. The receiving unit receives information of an image formed on a recording medium with vibrations of different frequencies provided to a member used to form the image. The measuring unit measures a natural frequency of the member from a frequency response characteristic using a misregistration amount of the image represented by the information of the image received by the receiving unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrier; a transferring unit; a fixing unit; a conveying unit; and a sheet shape detecting unit as defined herein, and a discharge position where the sheet is discharged from the conveying path, a feed position where the sheet is fed to the sheet conveying path and a detection position where the shape of the sheet is detected by the sheet shape detecting unit are arranged in this sequence along a sheet conveying direction to be close to one another, immediately downstream in the sheet conveying direction from a fixing position where the toner image is fixed to the sheet.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a toner transporting member that transports a toner layer while carrying the toner layer on a first surface of the toner transporting member, the toner transporting member including the first surface and a second surface; a heating unit including heating elements that contact the second surface that is opposite to the first surface of the toner transporting member, and that generate heat in accordance with image information, the first surface contacting a recording medium and carrying the toner layer; and a transferring unit that selectively transfers toner at an image portion to the recording medium as a result of causing each heating element of the heating unit to generate the heat with a temperature of the heating elements at the image portion and a temperature of the heating elements at a non-image portion being different from each other.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium, a glossiness imparting unit that imparts glossiness to the image formed on the recording medium, and a glossiness reducing unit that reduces the glossiness of at least a part of the image to which the glossiness has been imparted by the glossiness imparting unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a main body portion including an image carrier, an image-carrier driving unit, a latent-image forming unit, a developing-unit attachment section, and a transfer-unit attachment section. The developing-unit attachment section receives a first developing unit having plural developing members or a second developing unit having a single developing member. The transfer-unit attachment section receives a first transfer unit, which includes a first transfer member capable of retaining a recording medium and a first transfer driving unit that rotates the first transfer member, and a second transfer unit, which includes a second transfer member that cannot retain the recording medium. When the first developing unit and the first transfer unit are attached to the developing-unit attachment section and the transfer-unit attachment section, respectively, the first transfer driving unit is mechanically connected to the first developing unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes an image carrying member, a transfer member, a leading-end holding member, and a trailing-end holding member. The leading-end holding member is mounted on the transfer member and holds, on an outer peripheral surface of the transfer member, a leading-end portion of a recording medium fed to a sheet feeding position that is further upstream than a transfer position in a rotation direction of the transfer member. The trailing-end holding member rotates along the outer peripheral surface. The trailing-end holding member presses the recording medium against the outer peripheral surface while waiting at a waiting position that is further upstream than the transfer position and downstream than the sheet feeding position, and holds a trailing end portion on the outer peripheral surface while rotating together with the transfer member when the trailing end portion of the recording medium arrives at the waiting position.

Abstract: A transfer device includes a transfer body that transports a recording medium to a transfer position to transfer toner images to the recording medium; a leading-end gripping member that grips a leading-end portion of the recording medium when causing the recording medium to be wrapped around the transfer body and releases the leading-end portion when causing the recording medium that has been wrapped around the transfer body to become separated from the transfer body; and a moving member that moves, after a final toner image starts being transferred to the recording medium but before the leading-end gripping member releases the leading-end portion, the leading-end gripping member while the leading-end gripping member grips the leading-end portion in order to cause a leading-end side of the recording medium to become separated from the transfer body.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, the following inequalities (1) and (2) are satisfied: (L1?L3)×(V2/V1)<L2??(1) L2<(L1?L3+L4)×(V2/V1)??(2) where L1 denotes a peripheral length of an image carrier from an exposure position to a transfer position, L2 denotes a peripheral length of a transfer member from a gripping position to the transfer position, L3 denotes a length of a leading-end margin, L4 denotes a peripheral length of the transfer member, when recording media having a maximum transportable size are wrapped around the transfer member, between a trailing end of an image region of the first recording medium and a leading end of an image region of the second recording medium, V1 denotes a peripheral velocity of the image carrier, and V2 denotes a peripheral velocity of the transfer member.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes: an image carrier that is rotatably arranged and carries an image on an outer circumferential surface thereof; a transfer member that is rotatably arranged to face the image carrier and transfers the image carried on the image carrier onto a sheet held between the transfer member and the image carrier; a leading edge gripping member that is secured to the transfer member and grips a leading edge side of the sheet in a transport direction thereof on an outer circumferential surface of the transfer member; and a trailing edge holding member that is arranged to be rotatable around the transfer member, holds a trailing edge side of the sheet in the transport direction thereof between the trailing edge holding member and the outer circumferential surface of the transfer member, and bends to release the trailing edge side of the sheet in the transport direction thereof.