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US 5,708,517 AGranted
Image forming apparatus
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorKenji Kameyama
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An image forming apparatus having a recording section for recording an image on a thermosensitive sheet paid out from a roller with a record head and a platen roller, and a reading section for reading a document with a scanner and a conveyor roller. The apparatus holds the head, presses the head against a platen roller, and has a conveyor roller mounted to the recording section, each in a unique configuration so as to reduce the number of parts and facilitate assembly.
Claims14
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- reading means for reading a document positioned at a reading section;
- a conveyor roller facing said reading section and rotated via a gear provided at one end thereof;
- and
- a roller holding member for rotatably holding said conveyor roller;
- said roller holding member being formed with a pair of aligned holes for removably mounting said conveyor roller when said conveyor roller is moved in an axial direction thereof;
- said roller holding member and said conveyor roller comprising respective abutments abutting against each other when said conveyor roller is moved to one side in the axial direction;
- one of said roller holding member and said conveyor roller comprising a deformable locking portion engaging, when said conveyor roller is moved to said one side, with the other of said roller holding member and said conveyor roller and deforming in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of said conveyor roller, said deformable locking portion being, when said abutments abut against each other, elastically restored to thereby restrict a movement of said conveyor roller to the other side in the axial direction.
4 more elements
An image forming apparatus comprising:
- reading means for reading a document positioned at a reading section;
- a conveyor roller rotatable while facing said reading section;
- and
- pressing means for pressing said reading section such that said reading section and said conveyor roller are pressed against each other by a predetermined pressure with the intermediary of a document;
- said pressing means comprising at least three elastically deformable pressing members respectively neighboring a center and opposite ends of said reading section in an axial direction of said conveyor roller for exerting pressures preselected such that when said reading section and said conveyor roller are straight, the pressure at said center is higher than the pressures at said opposite ends;
- said conveyor roller being deformed by a predetermined amount by the pressures of said pressing members while being supported at opposite ends thereof and, in turn, causing said reading section to deform complementarily thereto, whereby said reading section and said conveyor roller are pressed against each other by a substantially uniform pressure.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.