Heuer, Wilhelm

A two-component developer (DP) has a variation width of a shear friction coefficient of 0.02 or less, within a range where a surface coverage of toner particles (1) with respect to one carrier particle (2) in the two-component developer (DP) is 20% or more and 45% or less.

A liquid conveyance device (12, 15) includes a flow path (121, 151), a pump (122, 152), a liquid leakage detection portion (124, 154), a pump power supply circuit (125, 155), and a latch circuit (126, 156). The liquid leakage detection portion (124, 154) detects leakage of the liquid in the flow path (121, 151) and in the pump (122, 152), and outputs a liquid leakage detection signal. The pump power supply circuit (125, 155) turns on and off a power supply for the pump (122, 152). The latch circuit (126, 156) receives and holds the liquid leakage detection signal, and transmits the liquid leakage detection signal to the pump power supply circuit (125, 155) so as to cause the pump power supply circuit (125, 155) to turn off the power supply for the pump (122, 152).

A toner conveying device (32) incudes a vertical conveying portion (34a), a horizontal conveying portion (34b), a conveying member (25), and a loosening member (50). The vertical conveying portion (34a) conveys toner, or developer containing toner, by letting it fall vertically. The horizontal conveying portion (34b) is coupled to a lower end part of the vertical conveying portion (34a) and conveys, with a conveying member (25), the toner or developer horizontally. The loosening member (50) has a wound spring portion (51) and a weight (52) fixed to a lower end part of the wound spring portion (51). In the wound spring portion (51), a press-in portion (51a) in a hollow cylindrical shape is formed in which turns of the metal wire material are put in close contact together. The weight (52) has an inserted portion (52a) press-fitted in the press-in portion (51a) and a projecting portion (52b) rising from an outer circumferential edge of an upper end part of the inserted portion (52a) so as to taper off upward.

The sheet postprocessing device (1) includes a stacking tray (5), a conveyance unit (3), a discharge tray (9), and an air blower (12). The discharge tray (9) is placed on a downstream side of the stacking tray (5) in a sheet conveyance direction, permitting sheets to be discharged thereon. The air blower (12) blows an air flow, toward the downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction, to between a lower surface of the sheet conveyed from the conveyance unit (3) to the stacking tray (5) and a sheet laying surface (5a) of the stacking tray (5) or an upper surface of the sheet stacked on the stacking tray (5).

A toner storage container includes a container body (40) and a cap member (42). The cap member (42) includes a hook portion (62) that takes a restricting posture or a non-restricting posture. The hook portion (62) has a base part (80) and an arm part (81). The arm part (81) extends in a straight line along the axial direction from the base part (80), has a tip (83) facing the protruding part (71) along the axial direction in the restricting posture, and elastically deforms such that, in the non-restricting posture, the tip (83) is retracted radially outward so as not to face the protruding part (71) along the axial direction. The hook portion (62) has an operation hole (84) formed in it extending radially inward from its radially outer face.

An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head (51) and a maintenance unit (81). A guide member (812) of the maintenance unit (81) is supported to the maintenance unit (81) so as to be reciprocatable from a maintenance surface (81a) of the maintenance unit (81) in a normal direction thereof toward and away from an ink ejection surface (51a) of the recording head (51) and contacts the recording head (51) during a maintenance process.

A toner includes a toner particle. The toner particle includes a toner core (2a). The toner core (2a) contains a binding resin, a magnetic particle and a carbon nanotube. The content of the magnetic particle in the toner core (2a) is equal to or greater than 30.0% by mass and equal to or less than 50.0% by mass, and the content of the carbon nanotube in the toner core (2a) is equal to or greater than 0.10% by mass and equal to or less than 1.00% by mass.

An inkjet recording apparatus (9) includes a recording head (7) and an ink circulation portion (8) including an ink storage container (100). The ink storage container (100) includes a main body portion (1), a lid portion (2), an ink inflow port (3), an ink outflow port (4), and a bubble discharge port (5). The ink circulation portion (8) includes a plurality of ink storage containers (100) for one recording head (7). The recording head (7) has a plurality of ink feed ports (70). The plurality of ink feed ports (70) are connected respectively to the ink outflow ports (4) of the corresponding ink storage containers (100) and feeds the ink flowing out through the ink outflow ports (4) of the corresponding ink storage containers (100) to the recording head (7).

A recording head (17a to 17c) includes an ink ejection portion (41) having a plurality of ejection nozzles (18) for ejecting ink and an ink reservoir (43) coupled to the ink ejection portion (41). The ink reservoir (43) includes an in-head flow passage (46) coupled to a common flow passage (40) for circulating ink, an air bubble separation portion (47) that separates air bubbles contained in ink flowing through the in-head flow passage (46), a valve member (50) that opens and closes an air bubble discharge port (47b) formed in a top part of the air bubble separation portion (47), and an ink discharge flow passage (48) extending downward from an ink inflow port (47a) formed in a lower end part of the air bubble separation portion (47) and coupled to the ejection nozzles (18) in the ink ejection portion (41). The in-head flow passage (46) is coupled substantially horizontally to the ink discharge flow passage (48) and a junction portion (52) between the in-head and the ink discharge flow passages (46, 48) is below the ink inflow port (47a).

A sheet post-processing apparatus (100) includes a discharge port (101), a discharge section (2), a discharge tray (T1), a processing tray (3), a folding section (1), a support member (5) that includes a support portion (50) supporting a part of a sheet (S) placed on the processing tray (3) from below, the part protruding via the discharge port (101) so as to be positioned above a discharge tray (T1), and that is movable between a protrusion position, at which the support portion (50) protrudes so as to be positioned above the discharge tray (T1), and a retraction position, at which the support portion (50) is retracted, and a control section (7). When newly loading a Z-folded sheet (Sz) onto the processing tray (3) in a state in which a sheet (S) is placed thereon, the control section (7) moves the support member (5) from the protrusion position to the retraction position.