Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a fixing device, a motor, and a controller. The fixing device includes a heating unit and a first temperature sensor. The controller is configured to perform driving the fixing device. The driving includes a heating process. The controller is further configured to perform, during the heating process: a first control operation in which the controller rotates the motor at a first rotational speed and adjusts a duty cycle of electric power suppled to a heater of the heating unit to a higher value as a deviation between a target temperature and a temperature detected by the first temperature sensor becomes greater; and a second control operation in which the controller rotates the motor at a second rotational speed lower than the first rotational speed and restricts the duty cycle within a range lower than or equal to a restricted value.

Abstract: A sheet postprocessing device includes a saddle binding device configured to stack a plurality of recording sheets on a table, abut leading edges of the respective recording sheets against a leading edge cursor, thus to align the leading edges with each other, and bind the center of the recording sheets and fold the recording sheets, and a first pressing member supported so as to pivot in a direction toward and away from the table. The first pressing member is made to pivot toward the table by self-weight thereof, allows the leading edge of the recording sheet delivered to the table to pass toward the leading edge cursor, and presses a portion of the recording sheet in a proximity of the leading edge, at a position upstream of the leading edge cursor, in a delivery direction of the recording sheet.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a sheet-supplier, a photoconductor, a fuser and a controller. The controller is configured to, in a case where the number of sheets to be printed indicated by a printing job is less than a first predetermined number of sheets, start supplying a sheet by a sheet-supplier at a timing when a second period of time has been passed from a timing when the temperature in the fuser has reached a second temperature, and, in a case where the number of sheets to be printed is equal to or greater than the first predetermined number of sheets, start supplying the sheet by the sheet-supplier at a timing when the second period of time has been passed from a timing when the temperature in the fuser has reached a first temperature larger than the second temperature.

Abstract: A fixing device includes: an endless belt; a heater; a stay; a holder having a heater supporting surface and a contacting surface in contact with the stay; and a pressure roller having a diameter that becomes smaller from each end of the pressure roller in an axial direction toward a center of the pressure roller in the axial direction. In a state prior to assembling the holder with both the stay and the heater, a distance in an orthogonal direction between the heater supporting surface and the contacting surface at a center of the holder in the axial direction is longer than a distance in the orthogonal direction between the heater supporting surface and the contacting surface at each end of the holder in the axial direction. The orthogonal direction is orthogonal to the axial direction.

Abstract: A fixing device incorporated in a main body of an image forming apparatus includes a heater, a rotatable body, and a pressure roller. The rotatable body is configured to be heated by the heater. The pressure roller is configured to form a nip region in cooperation with the rotatable body to nip a sheet at the nip region between the pressure roller and the rotatable body. The pressure roller includes a shaft, and an elastic layer covering a peripheral surface of the shaft. The elastic layer has a thickness of at least 1 millimeter to at most 3 millimeters. The pressure roller has a peripheral surface whose hardness is in a range of at least 60 to at most 67 on the Asker C scale.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to correct the deviation of a sheet in the width direction occurring on a conveyance path from a sheet correction mechanism (4) to a discharge tray. A sheet shift portion (41, 43, 44) moves a sheet in the width direction. A conveying position detecting portion (45, 46, 47) detects the position of the sheet in the width direction. A discharge position detecting portion (54, 8a) detects a discharge position of the sheet, in the width direction, discharged onto a discharge tray (33) in a sheet discharge portion (31). A control portion (8b) derives an amount of deviation between the discharge position and a discharge reference position based on a detection result of the discharge position detecting portion (54, 8a). Furthermore, the control portion (8b) corrects a conveying position of the sheet in a sheet conveying portion according to the amount of deviation.

Abstract: A sheet ejection device includes an ejection roller pair, a stacking tray, a protrusion member and a movement mechanism. The protrusion member is supported to be able to reciprocate between a protrusion position and a retraction position in a predetermined movement direction. The movement mechanism includes: a rotation shaft; a holding member; and a rack and pinion mechanism which includes a pinion gear and a rack gear. In at least a part of the rack gear in the movement direction, a narrow width region is provided which includes a narrow width gear and a cutout portion. In the narrow width region, the pinion gear is slidable between a meshing position and a release position, and in a state where the pinion gear has slid to the release position, the protrusion member can be relatively moved with respect to the pinion gear in the movement direction.

Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus includes a first conveying member, a processing tray, a first processing unit, a reference plate, an alignment member, a home-position detection unit, a drive unit, and a control portion. The alignment member has a shaft joined to a drive unit to rotate, and one or more alignment paddles protruding in a radial direction of the shaft. The control portion calculates a contact assumed interval in which the trailing end of the sheets may make contact with the alignment paddle and an interference timing at which the alignment paddle interferes with a carry-in path of the sheets. If the interference timing falls within the contact assumed interval, the control portion temporarily changes the rotation speed of the alignment member from a reference speed to shift the phase of the alignment paddle so that the interfere timing falls outside the contact assumed interval.

Abstract: An intersection determination is made regarding whether or not a traffic route included in map information intersects a boundary between areas on a basis of the traffic route and an area shape between areas that are adjacent in the map information, the intersection determination being made for each pair of adjacent areas. On a basis of a weight determined for the boundary in a case where the intersection determination is made that no intersection exists, a movement cost graph expressing a movement cost for each area that accounts for the weight is constructed. A corrected shortest distance between areas is calculated on a basis of the movement cost graph. A human mobility between areas is estimated for each timestep, the timestep being the length of a predetermined time interval, according to a predetermined function for estimating the human mobility between areas on a basis of the corrected shortest distance between areas and a population of each of the areas at different predetermined times.

Abstract: A fixing device includes: an endless belt; a heater; a stay; a holder having a heater supporting surface and a contacting surface in contact with the stay; and a pressure roller having a diameter that becomes smaller from each end of the pressure roller in an axial direction toward a center of the pressure roller in the axial direction. In a state prior to assembling the holder with both the stay and the heater, a distance in an orthogonal direction between the heater supporting surface and the contacting surface at a center of the holder in the axial direction is longer than a distance in the orthogonal direction between the heater supporting surface and the contacting surface at each end of the holder in the axial direction. The orthogonal direction is orthogonal to the axial direction.

Abstract: A sealing device includes an inner peripheral surface that is a surface facing an outer peripheral surface of a shaft, and an outer peripheral surface that is a surface facing an inner peripheral surface of a shaft hole. The inner peripheral surface has an inner peripheral recessed surface that is an annular surface recessed to an outer periphery side. The outer peripheral surface has an outer peripheral recessed surface that is an annular surface recessed to an inner periphery side. The inner peripheral recessed surface of the inner peripheral surface contacts the outer peripheral surface of the shaft. The outer peripheral recessed surface of the outer peripheral surface contacts the inner peripheral surface of the shaft hole.

Abstract: When discharging a sheet onto a discharge tray, a control unit sets position of the discharge tray in an up and down direction to a predetermined discharge position. When loading the sheet onto a processing tray, the control unit sets the position of the discharge tray in the up and down direction to a loading position lower than the discharge position.

Abstract: A sheet discharger includes a sheet discharge outlet, a discharge member, a sheet discharge tray, a sheet hold-down member, a drive portion, and a control portion. The sheet discharge tray is disposed downstream from the sheet discharge outlet with respect to a discharge direction and is a tray on which a sheet discharged through the sheet discharge outlet is loaded. The sheet hold-down member is swingable between a hold-down position at which the sheet loaded on the sheet discharge tray is held down at an upstream part thereof in the discharge direction and a retracted position retracted upward from the hold-down position. The drive portion drives the sheet hold-down member. The control portion determines, in accordance with characteristics of the sheet, whether or not to execute a sheet hold-down operation in which the sheet hold-down member is moved to the retracted position and to the hold-down position.

Abstract: A sheet postprocessing apparatus includes a table configured to receive a plurality of sheets delivered thereto, and inclined downward toward a downstream side in a sheet delivery direction, a leading edge cursor provided on a far side on the table in the delivery direction, and configured to align respective leading edges of the sheets abutted against the leading edge cursor, and a postprocessing device including a stapling device that binds a central portion in the delivery direction, of the sheets stacked on the table, and a center folding device that folds the sheets along the central portion. The table includes an upper face region that allows the sheet to slide thereon, and a plurality of slip sheets of a belt-like shape, each extending on the upper face region along the delivery direction, with a clearance between each other in a width direction orthogonal to the delivery direction.

Abstract: Provided is a sheet post-processing apparatus in which a control portion repetitively performs a width-direction alignment operation including a first alignment operation of moving width regulating members from standby positions to first regulating positions after a sheet that is carried in onto a processing tray has been aligned in a carry-in direction by abutting of an edge of the sheet against a reference plate, and a second alignment operation of moving the width regulating members from the first regulating positions to the standby positions after performing the first alignment operation, and then moving the width regulating members to second regulating positions. The sheet post-processing apparatus satisfies C1>C2>P1?C3 where P1 is a size in a width direction of the sheet, and C1, C2, and C3 are intervals between the width regulating members at the standby positions, the first regulating positions, and the second regulating positions, respectively.

Abstract: A sheet postprocessing device includes a saddle binding device configured to stack a plurality of recording sheets on a table, abut leading edges of the respective recording sheets against a leading edge cursor, thus to align the leading edges with each other, and bind the center of the recording sheets and fold the recording sheets, and a first pressing member supported so as to pivot in a direction toward and away from the table. The first pressing member is made to pivot toward the table by self-weight thereof, allows the leading edge of the recording sheet delivered to the table to pass toward the leading edge cursor, and presses a portion of the recording sheet in a proximity of the leading edge, at a position upstream of the leading edge cursor, in a delivery direction of the recording sheet.

Abstract: Provided is a sheet post-processing apparatus in which a control portion repetitively performs a width-direction alignment operation including a first alignment operation of moving width regulating members from standby positions to first regulating positions before a sheet that is carried in onto a processing tray is aligned in a carry-in direction by abutting of an edge of the sheet against a reference plate, and a second alignment operation of moving the width regulating members from the standby positions to second regulating positions after the sheet has been aligned in the carry-in direction by the reference plate. The sheet post-processing apparatus satisfies C1>C2>P1?C3 where P1 is a size in a width direction of the sheet, and C1, C2, and C3 are intervals between the width regulating members at the standby positions, the first regulating positions, and the second regulating positions, respectively.

Abstract: A sheet post-processing apparatus successively performs: a control in a first mode to move a pair of side end cursors to respective first positions where edges of the side end cursors facing a tray come into contact with an ejected sheet above and away from the tray and move the side end cursors to respective holding positions located inwardly of the sheet in a width direction; and a control in a second mode to move the side end cursors to respective lateral positions located outwardly of the sheet in the width direction, move the side end cursors to respective second positions where the edges of the side end cursors facing the tray come close to or into contact with the tray, and move the side end cursors from the lateral positions to respective abutment positions where the side end cursors abut against ends of the sheet in the width direction.

Abstract: The sheet postprocessing device includes a sheet conveyance path, a sheet tray, a carry-in guide, a processing part, a discharge member, a blower device, and an intermediate conveyance part. The sheet tray includes an upstream-side stacking part. The intermediate conveyance part is provided at a position within a range from the upstream-side stacking part to the downstream-side stacking part in a conveyance direction, and allows a sheet to pass therethrough below the processing part. The intermediate conveyance part is made up by including an upstream part including a first clearance through which the sheet passes, and a downstream part placed on a downstream side of the upstream part and including a second clearance through which the sheet passes. A size of the second clearance in a planar direction perpendicular to a surface of the sheet is wider than a size of the first clearance in the planar direction.

Abstract: A sheet post-processing device includes: a loading assist mechanism including a flapping member, a pressing member, a first power transmission mechanism that pivots the flapping member from a first ready-to-pivot position, a second power transmission mechanism that pivots the pressing member from a second ready-to-pivot position, a rotary member that transmits, during rotation in a first direction, power to the first power transmission mechanism, and transmits, during rotation in a second direction, power to the second power transmission mechanism, and a drive source that rotates the rotary member; and a control device that controls the drive source to control an angle of rotation of the rotary member in the first direction, thus controlling an angle of pivoting of the flapping member, and controls the drive source to control an angle of rotation of the rotary member in the second direction, thus controlling an angle of pivoting of the pressing member.