# US 12,297,067 B2 · Belt device, transfer device, and image forming apparatus

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- Number: US 12,297,067 B2
- Document ID: US12297067B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/977,327
- Filed: 2022-10-31
- Published: 2023-09-21
- Granted: 2025-05-13
- Earliest claimed: 2022-01-24
- Assignees: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
- Applicants: Hiroki Matsuura
- Inventors: Hiroki Matsuura
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12297067B2

## CPC

- B65H 5/025: {between belts and rotary means, e.g. rollers, drums, cylinders or balls, forming a transport nip}
- G03G 15/1615: {relating to the driving mechanism for the intermediate support, e.g. gears, couplings, belt tensioning}
- B65H 2404/25: Driving or guiding arrangements
- B65H 2404/2692: Arrangement of belts in pressure contact with a roll of material
- B65H 2801/06: Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
- B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- G03G: ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY

## Abstract

A belt device includes a belt wound around support rotators, to travel as the support rotators rotate; a belt contact member on a rotation shaft of one of the support rotators, to contact an end of the belt and move in an axial direction of the rotation shaft with the belt; a displacement member on the rotation shaft and including an inclined face to move the one support rotator, to move in the axial direction as the belt contact member moves; a guide to contact the inclined face and restrict a moving direction of the displacement member; a shaft support rotatably supporting the one support rotator and the rotation shaft; a restriction member to restrict movement of the one support rotator and the rotation shaft; and an elastically deformable intermediate member between the shaft support and the restriction member, to prevent the shaft support from contacting the restriction member.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A belt device, comprising:
a belt wound around a plurality of support rotators and configured to travel by rotation of the plurality of support rotators;
a belt contact member disposed on a rotation shaft of one support rotator of the plurality of support rotators, the belt contact member being configured to contact an end of the belt and move in an axial direction of the rotation shaft together with movement of the belt in the axial direction;
a displacement member disposed on the rotation shaft and including an inclined face configured to move the one support rotator, the displacement member being configured to move in the axial direction in accordance with movement of the belt contact member;
a guide configured to contact the inclined face and restrict a moving direction of the displacement member;
a shaft support disposed on the rotation shaft and configured to rotatably support the one support rotator and the rotation shaft;
a restriction member disposed on the rotation shaft and secured to the rotation shaft to limit axial movement thereof on the rotation shaft, the restriction member being configured to restrict movement of the one support rotator and the rotation shaft in the axial direction; and
an intermediate member disposed on the rotation shaft and between the shaft support and the restriction member in the axial direction, the intermediate member being configured to elastically deform and restrict contact between the shaft support and the restriction member.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The belt device of claim 1, wherein
the intermediate member is disposed on an axially outer side of the shaft support, and
the restriction member is disposed on an axially outer side of the intermediate member.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

A transfer device comprising the belt device according to claim 1.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

An image forming apparatus comprising:
the transfer device according to claim 3; and
an image forming device configured to form an image to be transferred by the transfer device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

An image forming apparatus comprising:
the belt device according to claim 1; and
an image forming device configured to form an image on the belt or a recording medium conveyed by the belt device.