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:
Apr. 13, 1999
Filed:
Apr. 24, 1998
Minolta Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic method in which a toner image formed on an image carrier is transferred to a transfer medium, the image forming apparatus being equipped with a fixed-voltage transfer controller that controls the transfer voltage such that it will be maintained at a prescribed voltage, a current detector that detects the transfer current, a voltage detector that detects the transfer voltage, and a switching controller that, when the transfer current detected by means of the current detector falls outside a prescribed range, switches from fixed-voltage transfer control performed by the fixed-voltage transfer controller to fixed-current transfer control in which the transfer current is controlled such that the transfer current will be maintained at a prescribed control current, the image forming apparatus performing optimal image transfer at all times by, after the switching, setting as a new voltage level the voltage level detected by means of the voltage detector while the fixed-current transfer control is active, and then returning once again to fixed-voltage transfer control by means of the fixed-voltage transfer controller.