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:
Jul. 08, 2003
Filed:
May. 04, 2001
Applicant:
Inventors:
Takaaki Yanagisawa, Tokyo, JP;
Tomotoshi Nakahara, Kawasaki, JP;
Masumi Sato, Yokohama, JP;
Kazuhisa Sudo, Kawasaki, JP;
Yoshio Hattori, Kawasaki, JP;
Kouta Fujimori, Yokohama, JP;
Assignee:
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G 1/508 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G 1/508 ;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a mount portion in which a toner container is expected to be set from above. When the toner container set in the mount portion runs out of toner, a spring causes the toner container to hop up away from a position where it is set. This promotes easy handling of the toner container in a limited space available in the apparatus.