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:
Dec. 01, 1998
Filed:
Dec. 19, 1997
Jon Peter Zogg, Chesapeake, VA (US);
James Richard Crickmore, Grafton, VA (US);
Richard Irving Stow, II, Hampton, VA (US);
Mitsubishi Chemical America, Inc., Chesapeake, VA (US);
Abstract
An improved grounding plate or contact assembly is provided for a photosensitive drum of an image forming apparatus such as a printer or photocopier. The arrangement ensures contact between the grounding plate/contact assembly and a contact area disposed on an interior surface of the drum regardless of the rotational orientation of the grounding plate/contact assembly with respect to the drum. In a preferred form of the invention, the grounding plate includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced contact members and is mounted upon a flange which is inserted into the end of the drum. Since the circumferential spacing of the contact members is less than a length of a laser scribed contact area on the interior surface of the drum, contact between the laser scribed area or patch and one of the contact members is ensured despite variations in the rotational or angular position of the flange with respect to the drum. Additional advantages are provided by the arrangement of the radially outwardly extending contact members with respect to a radially inwardly projecting contact member (which contacts a grounding shaft) so that satisfactory contact is not diminished by deflection of the contact members as the flange is assembled onto a drum and a grounding shaft is inserted through the flange.