US5585896A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Image forming apparatus with a contact member contacting an image carrier
Assignee: Ricoh Co Ltd
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Filing: 1994-11-09
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Granted: 1996-12-17
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Expires: 2014-11-09
Abstract
Abstract In an image forming apparatus, a charging member, image transfer member or similar contact member contacts an image carrier implemented as a photoconductive element. Even when a voltage is applied to the contact member in a relatively low temperature environment, the contact member is provided with an adequate charge potential or an image transfer potential.
Inventors
- 👤 Kouichi Yamazaki
- 👤 Sadao Takahashi
- 👤 Nobuo Kikuchi
- 👤 Kentaro Matsumoto
- 👤 Tadashi Hayakawa
- 👤 Yoshiaki Miyashita
- 👤 Takeshi Tabuchi
- 👤 Naomi Misago
- 👤 Hirohisa Otsuka
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-23 14:31
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/14; G03G15/16; G03G15/1665; G03G15/167; G03G15/1675; G03G15/02; G03G15/0208; G03G15/0216; G03G15/0266
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
142 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein an application of the voltage to the contact member is controlled based on whether the temperature sensing means is in the contact Position or the non-contact position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
142 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein an application of the voltage to the contact member is controlled based on whether the temperature sensing means is in the contact Position or the non-contact position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
149 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said control means controls said voltage applying means such that said voltage applying means does not apply the voltage to said contact member when said temperature sensing means is located at said contact position.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
149 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said control means controls said voltage applying means such that said voltage applying means does not apply the voltage to said contact member when said temperature sensing means is located at said contact position.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
164 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said moving means moves said contact member away from a surface of said photoconductive element when moving said temperature sensing means to said contact position or moves said contact member into contact with said surface of said photoconductive element when moving said temperature sensing means to said non-contact position.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
164 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said moving means moves said contact member away from a surface of said photoconductive element when moving said temperature sensing means to said contact position or moves said contact member into contact with said surface of said photoconductive element when moving said temperature sensing means to said non-contact position.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
130 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said temperature sensing means contacts said contact member outside of an effective image forming region.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
130 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said temperature sensing means contacts said contact member outside of an effective image forming region.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contact member comprises a charging member for charging, in contact with the surface of said photoconductive element, said photoconductive element by being applied with the voltage from said voltage applying means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
48 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contact member comprises an image transfer member for transferring, in contact with the surface of said photoconductive element, a toner image from said photoconductive element to a paper by being applied with the voltage from said voltage applying means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
139 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said temperature sensing means comprises a contact portion contacting said contact member and having a same hardness as the surface of said contact member.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
139 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member; wherein said temperature sensing means comprises a contact portion contacting said contact member and having a same hardness as the surface of said contact member.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
146 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; moving means for selectively moving said contact member into or out of contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; and control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; said temperature sensing means being located at a position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member when said contact member and said photoconductive element are spaced apart from each other or does not contact said surface when said contact member and said photoconductive element are held in contact with each other.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
146 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; moving means for selectively moving said contact member into or out of contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; and control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; said temperature sensing means being located at a position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member when said contact member and said photoconductive element are spaced apart from each other or does not contact said surface when said contact member and said photoconductive element are held in contact with each other.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
23 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said temperature sensing means contacts said contact member outside of an effective image forming region.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
40 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said contact member comprises a charging member for charging, in contact with the surface of said photoconductive element, said photoconductive element by being applied with the voltage from said voltage applying means.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
48 words
An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein said contact member comprises an image transfer member for transferring, in contact with the surface of said photoconductive element, a toner image from said photoconductive element to a paper by being applied with the voltage from said voltage applying means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
108 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a rotatable contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said temperature sensing means and said contact member relative to one another such that said contact member does not contact said temperature sensing means when said contact member is rotated.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
108 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a rotatable contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said temperature sensing means and said contact member relative to one another such that said contact member does not contact said temperature sensing means when said contact member is rotated.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
110 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said temperature sensing means and said contact member relative to one another such that said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member when a voltage is applied to said contact member.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
110 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said temperature sensing means and said contact member relative to one another such that said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member when a voltage is applied to said contact member.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
132 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a rotatable contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member, such that the temperature sensor does not contact the contact member when the contact member is rotated.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
132 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a rotatable contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for selectively moving said temperature sensing means to a contact position where said temperature sensing means contacts a surface of said contact member or to a non-contact position where said temperature sensing means does not contact said contact member, such that the temperature sensor does not contact the contact member when the contact member is rotated.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
99 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a rotatable contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said contact member such that said contact member does not contact said temperature sensing means when said contact member is rotated.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
99 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a rotatable contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said contact member such that said contact member does not contact said temperature sensing means when said contact member is rotated.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
101 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said contact member such that said contact member does not contact said temperature sensing means when a voltage is applied to said contact member.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
101 words
An image forming apparatus comprising: a photoconductive element; a contact member applied with a voltage in contact with said photoconductive element; voltage applying means for applying the voltage to said contact member; temperature sensing means for sensing a surface temperature of said contact member; control means for controlling the voltage to be applied from said voltage applying means to said contact member in response to an output of said temperature sensing means; and moving means for moving said contact member such that said contact member does not contact said temperature sensing means when a voltage is applied to said contact member.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-12-17 | 2000-06-17 | 2000-12-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-12-17 | 2004-06-17 | 2004-12-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-12-17 | 2008-06-17 | 2008-12-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |