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:
Sep. 28, 2010
Filed:
Aug. 28, 2006
Haruo Hashimoto, Ibaraki, JP;
Takamitsu Ikematsu, Ibaraki, JP;
Katsumi Kumada, Ibaraki, JP;
Masato Moribe, Aichi, JP;
Haruo Hashimoto, Ibaraki, JP;
Takamitsu Ikematsu, Ibaraki, JP;
Katsumi Kumada, Ibaraki, JP;
Masato Moribe, Aichi, JP;
Ricoh Printing Sysetms, Inc., Minato-ku, Tokyo, JP;
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Nagoya-shi, Aichi, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording sheet; an image reading unit provided above the image forming unit so as to open and close with respect to the image forming unit; an automatic document feeder provided above the image reading unit so as to open and close with respect to the image reading unit; and an open-close regulation mechanism that regulates opening and closing movements of the automatic document feeder so that when the image reading unit is closed with respect to the image forming unit, the automatic document feeder is capable of opening with respect to the image reading unit, and when the image reading unit is opened with respect to the image forming unit, the automatic document feeder is prevented to open with respect to the image reading unit.