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:
Feb. 04, 2003
Filed:
Oct. 27, 2000
Yuuji Sawai, Kanagawa, JP;
Toshiaki Motohashi, Saitama, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an intermediate transfer belt to which a toner image is transferred from an image carrier. A transfer roller contacts the intermediate transfer belt, forming a nip for image transfer. The transfer roller causes the toner image to be transferred from the intermediate transfer belt to a recording medium at the nip. A first and a second guide member cooperate to guide the recording medium to the nip. The end of the second guide member is positioned at the intermediate transfer belt side with respect to a line connecting a restriction point included in the first guide member and the inlet of the nip. This configuration causes a portion of the recording medium rearward of a portion entered the nip to bend in a convex configuration. The recording medium therefore surely remains in close contact with the intermediate transfer belt in a region where pretransfer is apt to occur.