Loading patent…
AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.
InventorsHideomi Sakuma, Shinji Imoto, Yohichi Itoh, Hiroshi Yasuda, Akira Ishii
Estimating the term…
An image-forming apparatus includes an endless conveyor belt, a counter roller, and a clutch part. The endless conveyor belt is rotatable to convey paper with a surface of the conveyor belt being charged. The counter roller holds the paper between the conveyor belt and the counter roller and conveys the paper. The clutch part is caused to slip by the difference in velocity between the conveyor belt and the counter roller. The counter roller is driven through the clutch part.
An image-forming apparatus, comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
Drawings are temporarily unavailable. Open the PDF at USPTO
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in…:…
Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in…:…
Sheet holders, retainers , movable guides, or stationary guides: for the sheet feeding section
Sheet holders, retainers , movable guides, or stationary guides: for the sheet output section
Term ended 5 Oct 2024 (estimated)
The present invention relates generally to image-forming apparatuses, and more particularly to an image-forming apparatus that uses a conveyor belt to convey a sheet of paper.
An ink-jet printer is a well-known one of image-forming apparatuses (or image-recording apparatuses) such as printers, facsimile machines, and copiers. The ink-jet printer performs recording on a recording medium such as paper (recording paper) by ejecting ink from a recording head. The recording medium is not limited to paper. The recording medium refers to a medium on which an image is formable. The recording medium may be an OHP (overhead projector) sheet, for instance. The ink-jet printer can record a high-definition image at high speed with low running cost and reduced noise. Further, the ink-jet printer enjoys another advantage of easiness in recording a color image using multiple color inks.
A well-known ink-jet head includes, as a part for generating energy to eject ink, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator, a shape memory alloy actuator, or an electrostatic actuator. The thermal actuator utilizes the phase change of liquid caused by film boiling using an electrothermal transducer such as a heat element. The shape memory alloy actuator utilizes the phase change of metal caused by a change in temperature. The electrostatic actuator employs an electrostatic force.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ink-jet recording apparatus as an image-forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a plan view of part of the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
A description is given below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of embodiments of the present invention.
A description is given of a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ink-jet recording apparatus as an image-forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of part of the ink-jet recording apparatus. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing part of a conveying part of the ink-jet recording apparatus.