A retracting device includes a housing that is disposed in or on an accommodating unit to be pulled out from an apparatus including a protrusion and that has a groove extending from a first position to a second position and having an opening formed at the first position, the first position corresponding to a position of the protrusion when the accommodating unit moving in a direction in which the accommodating unit is accommodated into the apparatus reaches a predetermined position and the second position corresponding to a position of the protrusion when the accommodating unit is accommodated in the apparatus, and a movable unit that is disposed in the housing and that moves, when the accommodating unit reaches the predetermined position and the protrusion enters the opening, while holding the protrusion to cause the protrusion to move along the groove and with respect to the housing toward the second position.

A method for detecting a non-authentic slave component in an electronic printer device which includes receiving a command from a master component in the device, identifying a response to the command based upon a frequency of a plurality of clock pulses used by the master component while sending the command, and sending the response to the master component for use as a basis in determining whether the slave component is one of an authentic slave component and a non-authentic slave component. The disclosed method may be performed by a replaceable slave component in an imaging device including a slave circuit communicating with a master circuit of the master component along a serial communications interface. The master circuit includes an instruction to change a clock frequency when sending a command to the slave circuit to trigger a unique response from slave circuits of authentic slave components.

A sheet conveying device includable in an image forming apparatus that uses a method of conveying a conveyance target medium and a method of forming an image, includes a position detector, a position adjuster, and circuitry. The position detector is configured to detect a position of a conveyance target medium. Based on a detection of the position of the conveyance target medium by the position detector, the position adjuster moves in at least one of a width direction of the conveyance target medium and a rotation direction of the conveyance target medium within a plane of conveyance of the conveyance target medium and repeatedly adjusts the position of the conveyance target medium while conveying the conveyance target medium. The circuitry changes a conveying speed of the conveyance target medium, according to a change of the position of the conveyance target medium after adjusted by the position adjuster.

To provide a non-oil-impregnated sliding bearing having superior low friction capable of suppressing an increase of a shaft temperature in a continuous use, and a bearing apparatus and an image forming apparatus provided with the sliding bearing. Sliding bearings 5a to 5c support rotation shafts on cylinder inner surface in a rotatable manner. Each of the sliding bearings 5a to 5c is formed of a molded member of a non-oil-impregnated resin composition that does not contain oil. The resin composition contains an injection-moldable ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene resin as a base resin, a polytetrafluoroethylene resin as an additive, and an acicular inorganic filler having Mohs hardness of 3 or less. The resin composition contains 65 vol % or more of the ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene resin, 5-25 vol % of the polytetrafluoroethylene resin, and 1-20 vol % of the acicular inorganic filler, based on the whole of the resin composition.

In a toric lens comprising a toric surface having a fine uneven structure, the fine uneven structure includes a plurality of holes, the plurality of holes have a hole depth H and a surface opening diameter φt which satisfy an expression of 0.3≤H/φt≤0.6, and (a) the plurality of holes have a hole structure having a cylindrical shape on a bottom surface side and a circular truncated cone shape having an opening diameter increasing toward a surface side, or (b) an angle θ formed between an opening portion and the surface of the plurality of holes satisfies 78°≤θ≤85°.

The electro-conductive member has an electro-conductive support, and an electro-conductive layer in this order, the electro-conductive layer including a matrix and domains, the matrix constituted by a first rubber composition containing a cross-linked product of a first rubber, the domains having electro-conductivity, and dispersed in the matrix, each of the domains constituted by a second rubber composition containing a cross-linked product of a second rubber and an electro-conductive particle, the first rubber and the second rubber being diene-based rubbers, the first rubber having at least one monomer unit, the second rubber having at least one monomer unit different from the monomer unit which the first rubber has; a difference of absolute values of SP values between the first rubber and the second rubber is 0.2 (J/cm.sup.3).sup.0.5 to 4.0 (J/cm.sup.3).sup.0.5; and a tan δ1/tan δ2 is 0.45 to 2.00.

A positional-deviation correcting device includes a reading device and control circuitry. The reading device reads recording media on which marks and each of adjustment charts having different image densities are formed in accordance with the image densities. The control circuitry acquires data on image formation positions of the marks on the recording media, based on a reading result of the marks; and corrects an image formation position of an image to be formed on a recording medium. The control circuitry calculates a correction value of the image formation position corresponding to an image density for each of the image densities corresponding to the adjustment charts on a one-on-one relationship, based on a reading result of the adjustment charts; interpolates correction values corresponding to the image densities on a one-on-one relationship; and calculates a correction value of the image formation position corresponding to another image density different from the image densities.

A sheet discharge device includes: a sheet discharge portion; a sheet stacking portion having a sheet stacking surface for stacking a sheet discharged from the sheet discharge portion; and a stopper in the sheet stacking portion against which, for alignment, the leading end of the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge portion is thrust. The stopper has a support portion, a restricting portion, and an urging mechanism. The restricting portion is supported pivotally on a pivot shaft on the support portion, and is arranged either in a retracted position to lie flat substantially horizontally along the sheet stacking surface or in a restricting position to stand upright substantially vertically to the sheet stacking surface. The urging mechanism urges the restricting portion, when in retracted position, in a direction from restricting position to retracted position and, when in restricting position, in a direction from retracted position to restricting position.

An image forming apparatus includes a transfer nip control member being movable to a pressing position, where a pressing force for positioning a transfer roller in a transfer nip releasing position is applied to a transfer unit in a closed position, and to a releasing position, where application of the pressing force is released; a fixing nip control mechanism for changing a relative position between a fixing roller and an opposing member to a fixing position, where a fixing nip is formed, and to a fixing nip releasing position; and an interlocking mechanism for moving the transfer nip control member in the releasing position to the pressing position in conjunction with a fixing nip releasing operation by the fixing nip control mechanism. The transfer nip control member in the pressing position is moved to the releasing position when the transfer unit is moved from the closed position to an open position.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion, a belt, an inner roller, an outer member, an inner roller position changing mechanism, an acquiring portion, and a controller. In a case that information acquired by the acquiring portion shows that first and second recording materials are coated paper, the controller controls a position changing mechanism so that a position of the inner roller when a toner image is transferred onto the second recording material is changed to a second position. In a case that the information acquired by the acquiring portion shows that the first and second recording materials are plain paper, the controller controls the position changing mechanism so that the position of the inner roller when the toner image is transferred onto the second recording material is maintained at a first position.