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:
May. 31, 1994
Filed:
May. 26, 1993
Noriaki Fukube, Soka, JP;
Katsumi Kurihara, Tokyo, JP;
Satoshi Takano, Tokyo, JP;
Hiroshi Tanabe, Yokohama, JP;
Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tokyo, JP;
Kazunori Bannai, Tokyo, JP;
Hiroyuki Inobe, Tokyo, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A sheet feeding and separting device incorporated in image forming equipment for feeding sheets one by one from a sheet stack while preventing two or more sheets from being fed together as far as possible and, when a plurality of sheets are accidentally fed together, surely separating one of them from the others. A pick-up member is implemented as an endless dielectric belt. An AC power source forms a charge pattern on the belt via an electrode. As a result, the belt retains a sheet by attraction and transports it due to the Maxwell stress generated in the sheet. When a plurality of sheets are fed together, an arresting member which faces the belt separates one of them from the others. Alternatively, a charge pattern may be formed on the surface of the arresting member.