US 9,519,245 B2Granted

Image forming apparatus

AssigneeRicoh Company, Ltd.

InventorsHaruki Nagata, Ryo Hasegawa, Naoto Kochi, Atsushi Nagata, Takahiro Konishi

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Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, a nip forming device, a contact-and-separation device, a thickness information retrieving device, and a controller. The contact-and-separation device moves the image bearer and the nip forming device to contact and separate from each other. The controller controls the contact-and-separation device based on information on a thickness of a recording medium obtained by the thickness information retrieving device such that in a case in which a thickness of a preceding recording medium and a thickness of a successive recording medium are different in continuous printing in which a plurality of recording media is printed out continuously, the contact-and-separation device adjusts a space between the image bearer and the nip forming device when the preceding recording medium exits the transfer nip to a preset size corresponding to the thickness of the successive recording medium that enters the transfer nip.

Claims18

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus, comprising:

an image bearer configured to bear a toner image on a surface of the image bearer;
a nip forming device configured to contact the image bearer to form a transfer nip between the nip forming device and the image bearer and interpose a recording medium therebetween to transfer the toner image from the image bearer onto the recording medium in the transfer nip, the recording medium corresponding to at least one of three desired thickness groups;
a contact-and-separation device, including a stepping motor and an eccentric cam the contact-and-separation device configured
to stop in at least three cam positions that provide at least three desired sizes corresponding to the at least three desired thickness groups between the image bearer and the nip forming device, and
to move the image bearer and the nip forming device to contact and separate from each other;
a thickness information retrieving device configured to obtain information on a thickness of the recording medium;
a controller configured to control the stepping motor based on the information on the thickness of the recording medium such that in a case in which a thickness of a preceding recording medium and a thickness of a successive recording medium are in different thickness groups in continuous printing in which a plurality of recording media is printed out continuously, the controller is configured to control the stepping motor to adjust a space between the image bearer and the nip forming device when the preceding recording medium exits the transfer nip to one of the at least three desired sizes corresponding to the thickness group of the successive recording medium that enters the transfer nip;
and
the controller is configured to control the stepping motor to move the eccentric cam from a first cam position of the at least three cam positions to a second or third cam position before a trailing edge of the recording medium exits the transfer nip based on the information on the thickness of the recording medium.

6 more elements

A method for forming an image in an image forming apparatus, the method comprising:

bearing a toner image on a surface of an image bearer;
forming a transfer nip between a nip forming device and the image bearer and interposing a recording medium therebetween to transfer the toner image from the image bearer onto the recording medium in the transfer nip, the recording medium corresponding to at least one of three desired thickness groups;
moving the image bearer and the nip forming device to contact and separate from each other using a contact-and-separation device;
obtaining information on a thickness of the recording medium using a thickness information retrieving device;
controlling the contact-and-separation device, the contact-and-separation device including a stepping motor and an eccentric cam and configured to stop in at least three cam positions that provide at least three desired sizes corresponding to the at least three desired thickness groups between the image bearer and the nip forming device, based on the information on the thickness of the recording medium such that in a case in which the thickness of a preceding recording medium and a thickness of a successive recording medium are different in, continuous printing in which a plurality of recording media is printed out continuously,
controlling the stepping motor to adjust a space between the image bearer and the nip forming device when the preceding recording medium exits the transfer nip to one of the at least three desired sizes corresponding to the at least three desired thickness groups of the successive recording medium that enters the transfer nip;
and
controlling the stepping motor to move the eccentric cam from a first cam position of the at least three cam positions to a second or third cam position before a trailing edge of the recording medium exits the transfer nip based on the information on thickness of the recording medium.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 14/712,307Filed 14 May 2015
Priority: JP 2014-10928727 May 2014
Published: US 2015/0346651 A13 Dec 2015
Granted: 13 Dec 2016
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

G03G 15/1665
Of a toner pattern, e.g. a powder pattern , e.g. magnetic transfer: by introducing the second base in the nip formed by the recording member and…
G03G 15/1605
Of a toner pattern, e.g. a powder pattern , e.g. magnetic transfer: using at least one intermediate support
G03G 2215/00738
Detection of physical properties: of sheet thickness or rigidity
G03G 2215/0193
Structural features of the multicolour image forming apparatus: transfer member separable from recording member

Family

US 2015/0346651 A1Pre-grant publication · published 3 Dec 2015
US 9,519,245 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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