Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Jun'ichi Murano

Hiroshi Tanabe

Takaya Muraishi

Ichiro Komuro

Kazunori Karasawa

Kazuhiro Nishido

A paper guide device for guiding a sheet of paper to an image transfer device includes an upper guide plate and a lower guide plate, and an elastic transfer guide plate which is attached to the upper paper guide plate. A free end of the elastic transfer guide plate faces the transfer device and is bent downward such that a bend or crease line is perpendicular to a paper feed direction. The free end of the elastic transfer guide plate is parallel to paper feed direction at a transfer position to better orient/direct the paper as it approaches a photosensitive member or image transfer location. The arrangement allows for a compact paper feed design, while avoiding adverse effects which can occur where paper (particularly thicker paper) springs as it exits a paper guide.

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Sayama, Japan

Jun'ichi Murano