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:
Dec. 20, 2011
Filed:
Nov. 14, 2008
Shinichiro Naruse, Fujisawa, JP;
Takayuki Niihara, Atsugi, JP;
Shinichiro Naruse, Fujisawa, JP;
Takayuki Niihara, Atsugi, JP;
Ricoh Company, Ltd., Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
An image forming apparatus includes a carriage, a plurality of sub-tanks, a main tank, and a plurality of supply tubes. The carriage includes a plurality of recording heads that jet liquid droplets of a plurality of colored ink. The plurality of sub-tanks supply the plurality of recording heads with the corresponding colored ink. The main tank supplies the corresponding colored ink to each of the sub-tanks. The plurality of supply tubes connect the main tank and the sub-tanks. The plurality of supply tubes are fused in a band-shape at a position between the main tank and the carriage, and a maximum of two of the supply tubes are fused together at a position corresponding to a groove of a tube fixing unit provided to the carriage.