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:
Jun. 30, 2026
Filed:
Aug. 06, 2024
Kazuhiko Watanabe, Kanagawa, JP;
Shotaro Hoshi, Kanagawa, JP;
Takaaki Tawada, Kanagawa, JP;
Hirofumi Fujii, Kanagawa, JP;
Kazuhiko Watanabe, Kanagawa, JP;
Shotaro Hoshi, Kanagawa, JP;
Takaaki Tawada, Kanagawa, JP;
Hirofumi Fujii, Kanagawa, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes an image bearer, an image forming unit, a transferor, a cleaner, and circuitry. The image bearer is movable in a moving direction at multiple linear speeds. The image forming unit contacts the image bearer to form one or more patterns on the image bearer with toner. The transferor contacts the image bearer to form a transfer nip. The cleaner contacts the image bearer to clean the one or more patterns on the image bearer. The circuitry is configured to set one of the multiple linear speeds, determine a number of the one or more patterns based on the one of the multiple linear speeds, and control the image forming unit to form one pattern on the image bearer or form multiple patterns on the image bearer at a predetermined interval in the moving direction.