Abstract: A cartridge is set in a printer main unit, and has a remaining toner measurer which measures toner in a toner chamber upon setting of the cartridge. A cartridge memory stores information of a remaining toner amount measured previously. CPU compares the remaining toner amount measured newly with the remaining toner amount measured previously and read from the cartridge memory. If there is an increase in the toner, the cartridge is determined as improper cartridge reloaded with the toner. An alarm signal is generated. Also, printing is inhibited. In another preferred embodiment, shortage information is assigned to the cartridge upon using up the toner. The cartridge, if it has the shortage information, is determined as improper. If a characteristic of the toner is not within a reference range, the cartridge is determined improper. In another preferred embodiment, an upper limit of the number of times of toner reloading is predetermined.

Abstract: An image taking apparatus of the present invention includes: a shooting lens which comprises a plurality of lens groups and which has a variable focal length and adjusts a focus; and a lens barrel which accommodates the shooting lens and which can advance and retract. The lens barrel comprises a lens advancing/retracting mechanism which retracts at least one of the lens groups from a shooting optical axis when the lens barrel is retracted, and which advances the lens group retracted when the lens barrel is retracted to the shooting optical axis when the lens barrel advances. The shooting lens forms a fixed focus shooting optical system by the remaining lens group among the plurality of lens groups excluding the lens group which is retracted from the shooting optical axis.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a shooting apparatus which is thinner than a conventional shooting apparatus. A lens barrel is brought into an accommodated state from a shooting state by retracting at least one of lens groups constituting the shooting lens from an optical axis, and by bringing at least a portion of one of the other lens groups remaining on the optical axis or an image pickup element into a non-using state in which an opening is left opening at a predetermined opening diameter.

Abstract: A lens barrel has its collapsed length which can be further decreased and its extended length which can be further increased. A photographic apparatus incorporates the lens barrel into its body. A lens barrel is equipped with a first gear which is rotatably supported by a straight-ahead key ring and rotates being driven by rotation of a middle tube and a second gear which receives driving force from the first gear and retracts a second lens group to a predetermined retracted position off the optical axis of a zoom lens during collapse and advances the second lens group onto the optical axis during extension. The second gear lacks teeth in that part which faces the first gear when the second lens group is at the retracted position during collapse. Consequently, the first gear runs idle while facing that part thereby holding the second lens group at the retracted position.

Abstract: A lens barrel has its collapsed length that can be further decreased by removing unnecessary space and bringing lens groups close to each other and a photographic apparatus incorporates the lens barrel. When the lens barrel is collapsed, at least a fourth lens group is retracted from a photographic optical axis by an advance/retract mechanism. In that case, a first lens group and third lens group are aligned along the optical axis and stuffed into the lens barrel, the fourth lens group is placed on the top, bottom, right, or left side of these lenses, and a second lens group is placed on the top, bottom, right, or left side of the first and third lens groups. This reduces the length of the lens barrel. During extension, the second and fourth lens groups are advanced onto the photographic optical axis by the advance/retract mechanism to extend the lens barrel greatly.

Abstract: An electronic control system comprises a power source, a controller and a power source relay for supplying and cutting off a supply of power to the controller. A fusion detecting circuit includes a capacitor and a first resistor connected to the power source relay to detect fusion of the power source relay. A second resistor is connected in parallel to the first resistor. A switching element is connected to one of the first resistor and the second resistor in series. The switching element is set to an ON-state when the power source relay is set to the OFF-state, thereby discharging a charge accumulated in the capacitor through the first resistor and the second resistor.

Abstract: A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, wherein the main assembly includes a motor, a main assembly side gear for receiving driving force from the motor, a hole defined by twisted surfaces, the hole being substantially coaxial with the gear, and a main assembly side grounding contact provided in the hole, the process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum; process mechanisms actable on the photosensitive drum; and a projection engageable with the twisted surfaces, the projection being provided at a longitudinal end of the photosensitive drum, wherein when the main assembly side gear rotates with the hole and projection engaged with each other, rotational driving force is transmitted from the gear to the photosensitive drum through engagement between the hole and the projection; and a cartridge side grounding contact electrically connected with the electrophotographic photosensitive drum for electrically grounding the

Abstract: A cartridge is set in a printer main unit, and has a remaining toner measurer which measures toner in a toner chamber upon setting of the cartridge. A cartridge memory stores information of a remaining toner amount measured previously. CPU compares the remaining toner amount measured newly with the remaining toner amount measured previously and read from the cartridge memory. If there is an increase in the toner, the cartridge is determined as improper cartridge reloaded with the toner. An alarm signal is generated. Also, printing is inhibited. In another preferred embodiment, shortage information is assigned to the cartridge upon using up the toner. The cartridge, if it has the shortage information, is determined as improper. If a characteristic of the toner is not within a reference range, the cartridge is determined improper. In another preferred embodiment, an upper limit of the number of times of toner reloading is predetermined.

Abstract: By molding a plurality of vacuum valves (7), (13) having differing functions together with an input member (3) and an output member (21) en bloc in a resin layer (23) to form a switch gear (1), the present invention seeks to achieve dielectric strength without resorting to the use of SF6 gas, while rendering the whole device more compact and reducing both the number of parts and the man hours required for molding.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device in which sheets contained in a sheet container detachably attached to an apparatus main body are fed by a sheet feeder, including a sheet support member provided in the sheet container to vertically move while supporting the sheets, a lifter for raising and lowering the sheet support member, a cam member to lower the sheet feeder to bring it into contact with the sheets when the sheets are sent out and to raise the sheet feeder to an upper initial position on standby, a detector for detecting the height of the sheets according to the position at which the sheet feeder abuts against the sheets, and a controller for controlling the raising and lowering operations of the lifter on the basis of the detection result of the height of the sheets as obtained by the detector to maintain the uppermost surface of the sheets at a predetermined height, in which, when the sheet container is accommodated in the apparatus main body, the raising operation of the cam member is canceled by the sheet conta

Abstract: A process cartridge detachably mountable to a main assembly of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The apparatus includes a motor, a driving rotatable member for transmitting a rotational driving force having a twisted hole formed at a central portion and having a non-circular cross-section with corner portions, and a transfer roller. The process cartridge includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum, process components, a twisted projection of non-circular cross-section provided at a longitudinal end of the drum that is engageable with the twisted hole at three positions to receive the driving force from the main assembly, and a gear for transmitting the driving force received by the twisted projection to the transfer roller when the process cartridge is mounted to the main assembly.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus include an image bearing member for carrying toner; a rotatable endless belt member for transferring the toner from the image bearing member onto a transfer material; a plurality of transfer means for constituting a plurality of transfer areas and for supplying to the belt member electric charge for transferring the toner from the image bearing member onto a transfer material; first stretching means, contacted to the belt member at a first contact area, for stretching the belt member; second stretching means, contacted to the belt member at a second contact area, for stretching the belt member, wherein the plurality of transfer areas is disposed between the first contact area and the second contact area which are adjacent to each other, and the plurality of transfer areas include a first transfer area which is closest to the first contact area; and abutting means for abutting to the belt member at a position between the first transfer area and the first contact area; wherein the abu

Abstract: A cartridge is set in a printer main unit, and has a remaining toner measurer which measures toner in a toner chamber upon setting of the cartridge. A cartridge memory stores information of a remaining toner amount measured previously. CPU compares the remaining toner amount measured newly with the remaining toner amount measured previously and read from the cartridge memory. If there is an increase in the toner, the cartridge is determined as improper cartridge reloaded with the toner. An alarm signal is generated. Also, printing is inhibited. In another preferred embodiment, shortage information is assigned to the cartridge upon using up the toner. The cartridge, if it has the shortage information, is determined as improper. If a characteristic of the toner is not within a reference range, the cartridge is determined improper. In another preferred embodiment, an upper limit of the number of times of toner reloading is predetermined.

Abstract: An iontophoresis device useful for administering an ionic drug by iontophoresis has an iontophoresis electrode section (active electrode section) and a ground electrode section (inactive electrode section) both of which are to be connected to a power source. The iontophoresis device includes elements (members) of both of the electrode sections are all formed of membrane bodies, and includes ion exchange membranes different in ion selectivity, one being selective to ions of the same species as charged ions of the ionic drug and the other to ions different in species from the charged ions of the ionic drug that are arranged in the iontophoresis electrode section, and at least an ion exchange membrane selective to ions opposite to the charged ions of the ionic drug is arranged in the ground electrode section. The iontophoresis device can administer the ionic drug stably over a long period of time at high transport efficiency.

Abstract: A fuel cell is disposed inside a camera housing in the vicinity of a front panel, an upper panel, and a side panel in parallel with the respective panels. The invention provides broader cell area and adequate power can be supplied reliably.

Abstract: A receiving apparatus includes a receiving section for receiving image data output from an autonomously traveling robot at a predetermined output position and a storage section for storing the image data received from the robot at the receiving section.

Abstract: The image forming apparatus including a belt member having a convex portion, effecting a circular movement, a first tensioning member for tensioning said belt member and a second tensioning member for tensioning said belt member, drive receiving means for receiving force by a circular movement in a direction of the circular movement of said belt member, wherein an angle of said second tensioning member to said first tensioning member by inputting the force by the movement into said drive receiving means, and wherein the force by the circular movement is input by contacting said convex portion to said drive receiving means.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, includes a rotatable image bearing member; a developing member for developing a latent image formed on the image bearing member; a cleaning blade for removing a developer from the image bearing member, the cleaning blade being cooperative with the image bearing member to form a nip in which the cleaning blade is contacted to the image bearing member within a predetermined area; and a controller for executing a first step of stopping rotation of the image bearing member after completion of an image forming operation for forming an image on the recording material; a second step of rotating, after the first step, the image bearing member through a predetermined peripheral distance in a rotational direction which is the same as a direction in which the image bearing member is rotated during the image forming operation; a third step of rotating, after the second step, the image bearing member in a rotational direction which is opposite the di

Abstract: A cartridge is set in a printer main unit, and has a remaining toner measurer which measures toner in a toner chamber upon setting of the cartridge. A cartridge memory stores information of a remaining toner amount measured previously. CPU compares the remaining toner amount measured newly with the remaining toner amount measured previously and read from the cartridge memory. If there is an increase in the toner, the cartridge is determined as improper cartridge reloaded with the toner. An alarm signal is generated. Also, printing is inhibited. In another preferred embodiment, shortage information is assigned to the cartridge upon using up the toner. The cartridge, if it has the shortage information, is determined as improper. If a characteristic of the toner is not within a reference range, the cartridge is determined improper. In another preferred embodiment, an upper limit of the number of times of toner reloading is predetermined.

Abstract: To provide a digital camera which is thinner than conventional when a lens barrel is collapsed, and is improved in suppression of degradation of image quality due to dust or the like introduced into the lens barrel. A lens barrel has: an optical-member advancement/retraction mechanism that retracts any of plural optical members from an optical axis for picture taking when the lens barrel is collapsed, and advances the optical member, which is retracted when the lens barrel is collapsed, onto the optical axis for picture taking when the lens barrel is extended; and a cleaning member that cleans at least either of the optical member or one, which is adjacent to the optical member, of the plural optical members and a solid-state image pickup section as a result of retracting or advancing the optical member by the optical-member retraction/advancement mechanism.