Image forming apparatus capable of erasing an image recorded in a sheet
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsMasumi Sato, Keizo Yasuda, Motokazu Yasui, Kenichi Hasegawa, Eiji Sawamura, Masahiko Sato, Yasuhisa Kato, Masano Ehara
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Abstract
An image forming apparatus has an erasing device therein which automatically erases an image formed on a sheet by a recording agent implemented by a decolorizable coloring agent, e.g., toner. The erasing device emits light having a wavelength range of 820 nm or so while generating heat and may be constituted by a halogen lamp. As a result, the sheet is regenerated and can be repetitively used.
Claims29
An image forming apparatus having a function of recording a visible image on a sheet by depositing a recording agent implemented as a coloring agent on said sheet, and a function of erasing a visible image recorded on said sheet by said coloring agent, said apparatus comprising:
- recording means for recording said visible image on said sheet fed to said recording means;
- and
- erasing means constructed integrally with said image recording means for erasing said visible image recorded on said sheet by said coloring agent.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.