
(12)
United
States
Patent
Nakazato
et
al.
US006400917B2
(10)
Patent
N0.:
(45)
Date
of
Patent:
US
6,400,917
B2
Jun.
4,
2002
(54)
IMAGE
FORMING
APPARATUS
FOR
REDUCING
BANDING
CAUSED
BY
VIBRATION
OF STACKED
IMAGE
FORMING
CARTRIDGES
(75)
Inventors:
Yasushi
Nakazato;
Kazuyuki
Shimada;
Tomohiro
Nakajima,
all
of
Tokyo
(JP)
(73)
Assignee:
Ricoh
Company,
Ltd.,
Tokyo
(JP)
(
*
)
Notice:
Subject
to
any
disclaimer,
the
term
of
this
patent
is
extended
or
adjusted
under
35
U.S.C.
154(b)
by
0
days.
(21)
Appl.
No.:
09/805,246
(22)
Filed:
Mar.
14,
2001
Related
US.
Application
Data
(62)
Division
of
application
No.
09/305,275,
?led
on
May
5,
1999,
now
Pat.
NO.
6,236,820.
(30)
Foreign
Application
Priority
Data
May
7,
1998
(JP)
.........................................
..
10-124640
May
12,
1998
(JP)
....
..
10-128728
Apr.
7,
1999
(JP)
.........................................
..
11-099724
(51)
Int.
Cl.7
..............................................
..
G03G
21/16
(52)
US.
Cl.
.....................
..
399/111;
347/232;
347/257;
399/110;
399/112
(58)
Field
of
Search
...............................
..
399/110,
111,
399/112,
118,
107, 126, 178, 179,
177;
347/138,
152,
245, 263, 232,
257
(56)
References Cited
U.S.
PATENT
DOCUMENTS
5,208,640
A
*
5/1993
Horie
et
al.
5,752,137
A
*
5/1998
Haneda
5,787,324
A
*
7/1998
IWasaki
....................
..
399/112
5,848,329
A
*
12/1998
Aoyama
et
al.
......
..
399/111
X
5,907,749
A
*
5/1999
Nomura
et
al.
5,953,559
A
*
9/1999
Obu
.........................
..
399/110
6,191,801
B1
*
2/2001
Hiraoka
et
al.
...........
..
347/232
6,249,305
B1
*
6/2001
Miyamoto
et
al.
........
..
347/232
*
cited
by
examiner
Primary
Examiner—Susan
S.
Y.
Lee
(74)
Attorney,
Agent, or
Firm—Oblon,
Spivak,
McClelland,
Maier
&
Neustadt,
PC.
(57)
ABSTRACT
An
image
forming
apparatus
including
a plurality
of
image
forming
cartridges
removably
mounted
to
an
apparatus
body
one
above
the
other
is
disclosed.
Structural
members
each
partition
off
a
space
betWeen
nearby
image
forming
car
tridges
mounted
to
the
apparatus
body.
The
apparatus
is
capable of
obviating
banding
ascribable
to
the
vibration
of
the
cartridges.
18 Claims,
36
Drawing
Sheets
226m
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