The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 07, 2025
Filed:
Jul. 27, 2023
Hiroshi Ando, Kanagawa, JP;
Hiroshi Ando, Kanagawa, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes a head, a detector, and circuitry. The head forms an image on a recording medium. The detector detects a vertical movement of the recording medium and a distance to the recording medium in a vertical direction. The detector includes an optical sensor to project light to the recording medium and receive the light reflected from the recording medium. The circuitry sets a first area based on a result of detection performed by the detector. The first area is an area in which the recording medium and the head collide with each other. The circuitry retracts the head to prevent the recording medium and the head from colliding with each other, in a case where a position of the head is in the first area.