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US 6,785,504 B2Granted
Apparatuses for color image formation, tandem color image formation and image formation
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsMotokazu Yasui, Hiroyasu Shijo, Masumi Sato, Tomotoshi Nakahara
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Abstract
The color image formation apparatus of the invention can include an image formation unit that is placed diagonally in relation to the vertical direction, a largest paper-feed tray that is placed below the image formation unit and feeds paper to image formation sections of the image formation unit, and a small-size paper-feed tray, placed below the image formation unit and above the largest paper-feed tray, which feeds paper to the image formation sections of the image formation unit.
Claims5
An image formation apparatus comprising:
- an image substrate adapted to form an image on a sheet;
- a transfer conveyance belt device disposed opposite to said image substrate and adapted to convey the sheet;
- and
- a heat fixing device adapted to receive the sheet from the transfer conveyance belt device, the heat fixing device comprising a pressure roller contacting a fixing belt that surrounds an auxiliary roller and a fixing roller, the heat fixing device forming a nip region having a starting point between the pressure roller and the fixing belt at a location contacting the auxiliary roller and having an end point between the pressure roller and the fixing belt at a location contacting the fixing roller, the fixing belt being separate from the transfer conveyance belt device,
- wherein the transfer conveyance belt device is adapted to convey the sheet to the starting point of the nip region,
- wherein the heat fixing device is adapted to eject the sheet therefrom in an approximately horizontal direction, and
- wherein the starting point of the nip region is lower than the end point of the nip region.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.