Back to results
US 12,503,329 B2Granted
Image forming apparatus
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsKeisuke Asano, Ippei Kimura
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an ejection port, a stacker, a fan, and a duct. From the ejection port, a sheet is ejected to an ejection space in an ejection direction. The stacker stacks the sheet ejected from the ejection port, and the ejection space is disposed above the stacker. The fan is disposed outside the ejection space to suck air. The duct is connected to the fan. The duct has an exhaust port and a guide. The exhaust port is disposed above the ejection port and downstream from the ejection port in the ejection direction to exhaust the air from the exhaust port toward an upper face of the sheet in the ejection space. The guide connects the fan and the exhaust port to guide the air from the fan to the exhaust port.
Claims17
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an ejection port from which a sheet is ejected to an ejection space in an ejection direction;
- a stacker to stack the sheet ejected from the ejection port, the ejection space disposed above the stacker;
- a fan disposed outside the ejection space to suck air;
- and
- a duct connected to the fan, the duct including:
- an exhaust port disposed above the ejection port and downstream from the ejection port in the ejection direction to exhaust the air from the exhaust port toward an upper face of the sheet in the ejection space;
- and
- a guide connecting the fan and the exhaust port to guide the air from the fan to the exhaust port,
- the image forming apparatus further comprising a side wall defining a part of the ejection space
- wherein the duct includes:
- a first portion including first multiple exhaust ports including the exhaust port;
- and
- a second portion including second multiple exhaust ports including the exhaust port,
- the first portion is disposed from one end to a center of the duct in a width direction orthogonal to the ejection direction,
- the second portion is disposed from another end to the center of the duct in the width direction,
- the one end is closer to the side wall than the another end, and
- a number of the first multiple exhaust ports is larger than a number of the second multiple exhaust ports.
14 more elements
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an ejection port from which a sheet is ejected to an ejection space in an ejection direction;
- a stacker to stack the sheet ejected from the ejection port, the ejection space disposed above the stacker;
- a fan disposed outside the ejection space to suck air;
- and
- a duct connected to the fan, the duct including:
- an exhaust port disposed above the ejection port and downstream from the ejection port in the ejection direction to exhaust the air from the exhaust port toward an upper face of the sheet in the ejection space;
- and
- a guide connecting the fan and the exhaust port to guide the air from the fan to the exhaust port,
- wherein the duct includes:
- a first portion including first multiple exhaust ports including the exhaust port;
- a second portion including second multiple exhaust ports including the exhaust port;
- and
- a third portion including third multiple exhaust ports including the exhaust port, and
- the second portion is disposed at a center between the first portion and the third portion in a width direction orthogonal to the ejection direction, and
- a number of the second multiple exhaust ports is larger than each of a number of the first multiple exhaust ports and a number of the second multiple exhaust ports.
12 more elements
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- an ejection port from which a sheet is ejected to an ejection space in an ejection direction;
- a stacker to stack the sheet ejected from the ejection port, the ejection space disposed above the stacker;
- a fan disposed outside the ejection space to suck air;
- and
- a duct connected to the fan, the duct including:
- an exhaust port disposed above the ejection port and downstream from the ejection port in the ejection direction to exhaust the air from the exhaust port toward an upper face of the sheet in the ejection space;
- and
- a guide connecting the fan and the exhaust port to guide the air from the fan to the exhaust port,
- wherein:
- the duct includes multiple exhaust ports including the exhaust port,
- the multiple exhaust ports are disposed at intervals in a width direction orthogonal to the ejection direction,
- the duct further includes an operation portion including the multiple exhaust ports arranged at intervals in a direction inclined from the width direction,
- the duct further includes a non-operation portion adjacent to the operation portion in the width direction,
- the non-operation portion has the multiple exhaust ports arranged at intervals in the width direction, and
- the operation portion has a length shorter than the non-operation portion in the ejection direction.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.