Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hideki Kamiyama

Mitsuru Takahashi

Yasunori Kawaishi

Toshiaki Motohashi

Hideo Yu

Takashi Bisaiji

Satoshi Takano

Katsuya Kawagoe

Itaru Matsuda

Yuko Harasawa

Yoshihiro Sakai

Hiromi Ogiyama

Shin Kayahara

Yuuji Sawai

Hideya Furuta

Kenichi Mizuma

Minoru Sugiyama

Satoru Uchida

Ryuuichi Minbu

Leo Munakata

An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an intermediate image transfer belt passed over a plurality of support members and movable while carrying a toner image of preselected polarity transferred thereto. An electrode member contacts the inside surface of the belt and is applied with a preselected voltage for transferring the toner image from the belt to a recording medium. A contact member with high electric resistance contacts the belt at a position adjacent the electrode member and includes an insulating layer thereon.

Image forming apparatus including an intermediate image transfer belt and high resistance contact member

An image forming device and a belt device therein are provided. Even though the perimeter of the intermediate transfer belt is changed, a good cleaning ability for the intermediate belt can be maintained. The toner image supporting surface of the intermediate transfer belt between the first and the secondary transfer devices is bent to the inner surface side by a bending member, and cleaned by a cleaning device. An opposite member is disposed at a position opposite to the cleaning device to sandwich the intermediate transfer belt. In this way, even though the position of the bending member is changed by the perimeter deviation of the intermediate transfer belt, the position for removing the residual toner to clean the intermediate transfer belt does not change, so as to maintain a good cleaning ability.

Belt device and image forming device using the same

An image forming apparatus of the type forming a toner image on a photoconductive drum or similar image carrier, transferring it to a paper or similar transfer medium via an intermediate transfer body, e.g., belt, and fixing it on the medium by a fixing device is disclosed. Just after the transfer of a toner image of the last color which is to lie over the other toner images on the intermediate transfer belt, the peripheral speed of the belt is switched to a comparatively low speed matching a fixing and paper transport speed. At this instant, the belt is moved away from the drum. The length of the transfer medium and the distance between a paper transfer position and a fixing position is compared. For a relatively short transfer medium, the peripheral speed of the belt is not switched to the low speed.

Image forming apparatus for fixing a toner image at a first speed or at

A device incorporated in an image forming apparatus for transferring a toner image from a photoconductive element to an intermediate transfer belt and then from the intermediate transfer belt to a sheet or similar recording medium. An electrode member is implemented as a belt drive roller and located at the rear of a portion of the intermediate transfer belt which lies in a position for transferring the toner image from the belt to a sheet. The electrode member has a specific volume resistance of 10.sup.7 .OMEGA.cm to 10.sup.12 .OMEGA.cm.

Image transferring device for an image forming apparatus

The apparatus includes a photoconductive element and a transfer belt, with an electrode or bias applicator located downstream from a nip formed between the photoconductive element and the transfer belt. Upstream from the nip, a roller is provided which can also act as an electrode, or which can be held in an electrically floating state. A bias voltage can be provided to the roller upstream from the nip, with the voltage equal to or less than the voltage applied to the downstream electrode so as form a potential gradient. In addition, the applied voltages can be varied based upon the position of a sheet of paper, or in response to changes in humidity.

Image transferring device and medium separating device for an image

An image forming apparatus includes a photoconductive element and a transfer belt, with an electrode or bias applicator located downstream from a nip formed between the photoconductive element and the transfer belt. Upstream from the nip, a roller is provided which can also act as an electrode, or which can be held in an electrically floating state. A bias voltage can also be provided to the roller upstream from the nip, with the voltage equal to or less than the voltage applied to the downstream electrode. In addition, the applied voltages can be varied based upon the position of a sheet of paper, or in response to changes in humidity.

An image recording apparatus is disclosed which includes an intermediate transfer belt rotatable in a reciprocating motion. Before the belt is rotated back and forth for forming a composite toner image, it is rotated in the opposite direction to the image forming direction. This provides the belt with substantially the same deviation in both the forward movement and the reverse movement. Hence, the apparatus insures desirable images by preventing the individual toner images from being brought out of register due to the deviation of the belt.

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Yokohama, Japan

Hideki Kamiyama