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:
Mar. 17, 1987
Filed:
Oct. 22, 1984
Edward F Mayer, San Jose, CA (US);
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A cleaning system for an electrophotographic copying apparatus utilizes an electrostatically active belt which is movable relative to the moving surface of the photoconductive drum. As the electrostatic belt moves past the surface, the electrically charged toner is picked up by the belt and carried away from the drum. At a position remote from the drum, the toner is scraped from the belt, preferably to be reused in later cycles of the system. Preferably, the belt is translucent, and a flourescent lamp is mounted behind the belt to discharge the surface of the drum of the remaining latent image as the toner is removed. Typically, the moving belt incorporates an electrostatic grid having alternating charged portions. These charged interleaved portions of the belt attract the electrically charged toner and hold it to the belt as the toner is moved away from the surface of the drum.