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:
Sep. 15, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 24, 1997
Noboru Katakabe, Kyoto, JP;
Masanori Yoshikawa, Osaka, JP;
Kenji Asakura, Osaka, JP;
Masahiro Aizawa, Osaka, JP;
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A color image forming apparatus having a simple mechanism for switching plural photosensitive drum units and still maintaining a high resolution image is provided. In the apparatus, each image forming unit including each color photosensitive drum is disposed around a rotating shaft of a carriage. Each photosensitive drum has a coupling plate at one end, which is engaged by a drive side coupling plate for transmitting a drive force to the photosensitive drum, when the image forming units is moved to the image forming position. An output shaft that rotates the drive side coupling plate supports an edge of a photosensitive drum shaft in alignment. A toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred onto a transfer belt, which rotates at a constant speed, one by one to form a multicolor image on the transfer belt. The multicolor image on the transfer belt is transferred onto a paper sheet. A transmission between a motor and the carriage include a worm gear.