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:
May. 04, 2004
Filed:
Mar. 22, 2002
Applicant:
Inventors:
Futoshi Hamada, Toyokawa, JP;
Eiji Nakane, Okazaki, JP;
Assignee:
Minolta Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G 1/500 ; G03G 1/501 ; G03G 1/508 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G03G 1/500 ; G03G 1/501 ; G03G 1/508 ;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes a transfer belt unit having a driving roller, a follower roller whose outer peripheral portion is formed of an elastic material and a transfer belt which is made of a resin and stretched between the driving roller and the follower roller. The elastic modulus of the outer peripheral portion of the follower roller is lower than that of the driving roller. The transfer belt unit is configured to be bent in the middle, or to change its direction in the longitudinal direction thereof.