US 10,310,429 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus

AssigneeCanon Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorYuichi Tanabe

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a sensor and a shutter to cover a window for the sensor. The shutter includes a detection hole to uncover the window and a cover portion to cover it. In an opening position of the shutter, the window and the hole are opposed to each other, and in a closing position of the shutter, the window and the cover portion are opposed to each other. A holder for the sensor includes a side wall opposed to a side of the sensor remote from a sheet feeding path and extended in a widthwise direction. As viewed in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the belt, the side wall is provided with a first area overlapping the hole in the closing position and a second area overlapping the window in the closing position. The first area is below the shutter and lower than the second area.

Claims15

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an image bearing member;
a rotatable intermediary transfer belt configured to receive a toner image from said image bearing member at a primary transfer portion opposing said image bearing member;
a secondary transfer roller configured to contact said intermediary transfer belt to transfer the toner image from said intermediary transfer belt onto the recording material at a secondary transfer portion;
a feeding path configured to feed the recording material to said secondary transfer portion;
a sensor unit provided below said intermediary transfer belt and opposed to said intermediary transfer belt and said feeding path at a position downstream of said primary transfer portion and upstream of said secondary transfer portion and including a sensor configured to detect the toner image on said intermediary transfer belt and a shutter configured to open and close the sensor;
wherein said shutter includes an exposing portion configured to expose a window of said sensor to permit detection of the toner image on said intermediary transfer belt and a cover portion configured to cover said window of said sensor,
wherein said sensor unit is provided with a side wall disposed at a position upstream of said sensor with respect to a rotating direction of said intermediary transfer belt and crossing with a plane of said shutter,
wherein said side wall is provided with a cut-away portion at a top end thereof,
wherein as viewed in a direction facing said side wall, said cut-away portion overlaps an imaginary range provided by extending said exposing portion in a direction perpendicular to a surface of said shutter when said shutter is in a closing position, and
wherein a lower end of said cut-away portion is below a lower surface of said shutter, and is opposed to said exposing portion when said shutter is in the closing position.

7 more elements

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an image bearing member;
a rotatable intermediary transfer belt configured to receive a toner image from said image bearing member at a primary transfer portion opposing said image bearing member;
a secondary transfer roller configured to contact said intermediary transfer belt to transfer the toner image from said intermediary transfer belt onto a recording material at a secondary transfer portion;
a feeding path configured to feed the recording material to said secondary transfer portion;
and
a sensor unit provided below said intermediary transfer belt and opposed to said intermediary transfer belt and the feeding path at a position downstream of said primary transfer portion and upstream of said secondary transfer portion and including a sensor configured to detect the toner image on said intermediary transfer belt and a shutter configured to open and close the sensor,
wherein said shutter includes an exposing portion configured to expose a window of said sensor to permit detection of the toner image on said intermediary transfer belt and a cover portion configured to cover said window of said sensor,
wherein said sensor unit is provided with a side wall disposed at the position upstream of said sensor with respect to a rotating direction of said intermediary transfer belt and crossing with a plane of said shutter,
wherein said side wall is provided with an opening,
wherein as viewed in a direction facing said side wall, said opening overlaps an imaginary range provided by extending said exposing portion in a direction perpendicular to a surface of said shutter when said shutter is in the closing position, and
wherein a lower end of said opening is below a bottom surface of said shutter, and is opposed to said exposing portion when said shutter is in the closing position.

8 more elements

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an image bearing member;
a rotatable intermediary transfer belt configured to receive a toner image from said image bearing member at a primary transfer portion opposing said image bearing member;
a secondary transfer roller configured to contact said intermediary transfer belt to transfer the toner image from said intermediary transfer belt onto a recording material at a secondary transfer portion;
a feeding path configured to feed the recording material to said secondary transfer portion;
and
a sensor unit provided below said intermediary transfer belt and opposed to said intermediary transfer belt and said feeding path at a position downstream of said primary transfer portion and upstream of said secondary transfer portion and including a sensor configured to detect the toner image on said intermediary transfer belt and a shutter configured to open and close the sensor,
wherein said shutter includes an exposing portion configured to expose a window of said sensor to permit detection of the toner image on said intermediary transfer belt and a cover portion configured to cover said window of said sensor,
wherein said sensor unit is provided with a side wall disposed at a position upstream of said sensor with respect to a rotating direction of said intermediary transfer belt and crossing with a plane of said shutter,
wherein an upper end of said side wall includes a first upper end and a second upper end at positions different from each other with respect to a moving direction of said shutter,
wherein as viewed in a direction facing said side wall, said first upper end overlaps an imaginary range provided by extending said exposing portion in a direction perpendicular to a surface of said shutter when said shutter is in the closing position,
wherein as viewed in the direction facing said side wall, said second upper end overlaps an imaginary range provided by extending said window portion in a direction perpendicular to a surface of said shutter, and
wherein a top end of said first upper end portion is at a level lower than that of said second upper end, and when said shutter is at the closing position, a gap formed between said first upper end portion and said shutter is opposed to said window.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/846,459Filed 19 Dec 2017
Priority: JP 2016-24573519 Dec 2016
Published: US 2018/0173143 A121 Jun 2018
Granted: 4 Jun 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G03G 15/5054
Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode…: by…
G03G 15/0131
Details of unit: for transferring a pattern to a second base
G03G 2215/00059
Image density detection: on intermediate image carrying member, e.g. transfer belt
G03G
Electrography

Family

US 2018/0173143 A1Pre-grant publication · published 21 Jun 2018
US 10,310,429 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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