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US 6,556,803 B2Granted
Image forming apparatus for synthetic resin sheets
AssigneeTohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd.
InventorsHiroshi Akema, Noboru Onodera, Haruki Morikawa
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A printer or similar electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on an optical disk or similar synthetic resin sheet is disclosed. The apparatus of the present invention exerts a preselected pressure for each of image transfer and image fixation to thereby insure high quality images. Further, the apparatus matches the moving speed of the surface of a synthetic resin sheet and the peripheral speed of an image carrier or that of a fixing member. In addition, the apparatus protects the image carrier and fixing member from damage and prevents a parting agent from depositing on at least the image forming range of the image carrier.
Claims50
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- toner image forming means for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof that is resiliently displaceable when subjected to a force other than a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- conveying means for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means;
- fixing means including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- and
- rollers mounted on at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member at preselected positions for causing the surface of said holding member to be resiliently displaced such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member overlap each other by a preselected amount.
6 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- toner image forming means for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof;
- conveying means for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means;
- fixing means including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- wherein the tops of said pair of lugs and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member contact each other such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and said circumference overlap each other by a preselected amount.
5 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- toner image forming means for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof;
- conveying means for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member formed with a pair of tugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means;
- fixing means including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- and
- rollers mounted on at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member at preselected positions and capable of contacting a surface of said support member to thereby resiliently displace said surface such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member overlap each other by a preselected amount.
6 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- conveying means including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- and
- fixing means including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- wherein a surface of said holding means is formed with lugs at opposite sides of a portion of the synthetic resin whose width, as measured in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance, is smaller than a maximum width of said synthetic resin sheet, said lugs having a substantially same height as said synthetic resin sheet and contacting said image carrier and said fixing member while said synthetic resin sheet is conveyed.
2 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- conveying means including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- and
- fixing means including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- wherein the surface of said holding member is formed with lugs at a downstream side in a direction of sheet conveyance, said lugs having a greater height than said surface and contacting said image carrier and said fixing member while the synthetic resin sheet is conveyed.
2 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- conveying means including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- fixing means including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- and
- biasing means for biasing said holding member toward at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member;
- wherein at a downstream side in the direction of sheet conveyance a surface of said holding member is formed with lugs each including an upward slant, which rises from the downstream side toward an upstream side and is higher in level than said surface, said slant contacting at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member first.
3 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- conveying means including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- and
- fixing means including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting a pressure;
- wherein said lugs comprise first lugs positioned at opposite sides of a portion of the synthetic resin whose width is smaller than the maximum width and having substantially a same height as said synthetic resin sheet and second lugs positioned at a downstream side in the direction of sheet conveyance and having a greater height than the surface of said synthetic resin sheet, said first lugs and said second lugs contacting said image carrier outside of an image forming range of said image carrier.
2 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- conveying means including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means by exerting an image transfer pressure;
- and
- fixing means including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by exerting a fixing pressure;
- an image transfer pressure receiving member for receiving the image transfer pressure on contacting said image carrier;
- and
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- a fixing pressure receiving means for receiving the fixing pressure on contacting said fixing member;
- wherein a portion of said image transfer pressure receiving member expected to contact said image carrier does not contact said fixing member during fixation while a portion of said fixing pressure receiving member expected to contact said fixing member does not contact said image carrier during image transfer.
6 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- a toner image forming device for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof that is resiliently displaceable when subjected to a force other than a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- a conveying device for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a transferring device for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device;
- a fixing device including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- and
- rollers mounted on at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member at preselected positions for causing the surface of said holding member to be resiliently displaced such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member overlap each other by a preselected amount.
6 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- a toner image forming device for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof;
- a conveying device for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device;
- a fixing device including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- wherein the tops of said pair of lugs and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member contact each other such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and said circumference overlap each other by a preselected amount.
5 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- a toner image forming device for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof;
- a conveying device for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device;
- a fixing device including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- and
- rollers mounted on at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member at preselected positions and capable of contacting a surface of said support member to thereby resiliently displace said surface such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member overlap each other by a preselected amount.
6 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- a conveying device including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- and
- a fixing device including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- wherein a surface of said holding device is formed with lugs at opposite sides of a portion of the synthetic resin whose width, as measured in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance, is smaller than a maximum width of said synthetic resin sheet, said lugs having a substantially same height as said synthetic resin sheet and contacting said image carrier and said fixing member while said synthetic resin sheet is conveyed.
2 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- a conveying device including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- and
- a fixing device including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- wherein the surface of said holding member is formed with lugs at a downstream side in a direction of sheet conveyance, said lugs having a greater height than said surface and contacting said image carrier and said fixing member while the synthetic resin sheet is conveyed.
2 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- a conveying device including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- a fixing device including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- and
- a biasing device for biasing said holding member toward at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member;
- wherein at a downstream side in the direction of sheet conveyance a surface of said holding member is formed with lugs each including an upward slant, which rises from the downstream side toward an upstream side and is higher in level than said surface, said slant contacting at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member first.
3 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- a conveying device including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- and
- a fixing device including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a pressure;
- wherein said lugs comprise first lugs positioned at opposite sides of a portion of the synthetic resin whose width is smaller than the maximum width and having substantially a same height as said synthetic resin sheet and second lugs positioned at a downstream side in the direction of sheet conveyance and having a greater height than the surface of said synthetic resin sheet, said first lugs and said second lugs contacting said image carrier outside of an image forming range of said image carrier.
2 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising:
- a conveying device including a holding member for conveying the synthetic resin sheet while holding said synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring a toner image formed on an image carrier, which has an endless, movable surface, to a surface of the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device by exerting a image transfer pressure;
- and
- a support member formed with a pair of lugs at opposite sides thereof in a direction perpendicular to a direction of sheet conveyance for supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein tops of said pair of lugs are resiliently displaced when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of said synthetic resin sheet;
- a fixing device including a fixing member, which has an endless, movable surface, for fixing the toner image on the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by exerting a fixing pressure;
- an image transfer pressure receiving member for receiving the image transfer pressure on contacting said image carrier;
- and
- a fixing pressure receiving device for receiving the fixing pressure on contacting said fixing member;
- wherein a portion of said image transfer pressure receiving member expected to contact said image carrier does not contact said fixing member during fixation while a portion of said fixing pressure receiving member expected to contact said fixing member does not contact said image carrier during image transfer.
6 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- toner image forming means for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof;
- conveying means for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein said support member is resiliently displaceable when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of the synthetic resin sheet;
- transferring means for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying means;
- fixing means including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- and
- rollers mounted on at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member at preselected positions and capable of contacting a surface of said support member to thereby resiliently displace said surface such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member overlap each other by a preselected amount,
- wherein said support member is formed with a slant inclined toward said image carrier or said fixing member from a downstream side to an upstream side in a direction of sheet conveyance at a downstream end of said support member, and said slant is capable of contacting said image carrier or said fixing member.
7 more elements
An apparatus for forming an image on a synthetic resin sheet, comprising;
- an image carrier;
- a toner image forming device for forming a toner image on said image carrier;
- a holding member for holding the synthetic resin sheet on a surface thereof;
- a conveying device for conveying the synthetic resin sheet held on the surface of said holding member along a preselected path;
- a support member supporting said holding member such that the surface of said holding member is resiliently displaceable, wherein said support member is resiliently displaceable when subjected to a force other than a weight of said holding member and a weight of the synthetic resin sheet;
- a transferring device for transferring the toner image from said image carrier to the synthetic resin sheet being conveyed by said conveying device;
- a fixing device including a fixing member for fixing the toner image transferred to the synthetic resin sheet;
- and
- rollers mounted on at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member at preselected positions and capable of contacting a surface of said support member to thereby resiliently displace said surface such that an image surface of the synthetic resin sheet and a circumference of at least one of said image carrier and said fixing member overlap each other by a preselected amount,
- wherein said support member is formed with a slant inclined toward said image carrier or said fixing member from a downstream side to an upstream side in a direction of sheet conveyance at a downstream end of said support member, and said slant is capable of contacting said image carrier or said fixing member.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.