1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic recording apparatus which records a plurality of images of different colors on a print medium, and more particularly to an electrophotographic recording apparatus which includes a plurality of image-forming sections aligned in line.
2. Description of Related Art
One such conventional apparatus is an electrophotographic recording apparatus where image-forming sections for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images record images of the corresponding colors in sequence.
The images of the four colors are recorded one upon another on a sheet of print medium. The print medium is transported on a loop-like transport belt that runs at a predetermined constant speed so that the print medium travels at a constant speed through the image-forming sections. The print medium is attracted to the transport belt by the Coulomb force and passes between the photoconductive body and the transfer member at each image-forming section.
The respective image-forming sections are usually detachably mounted to the main body of the recording apparatus and therefore they are replaceable. If the image-forming sections are not accurately positioned relative to each other, the recorded images are out of register. In order to prevent such an out-of-registration problem, the image-forming sections have positioning means which serves to accurately position themselves.
However, even if the image-forming sections are individually positioned with a predetermined accuracy, dimensional errors among the image-forming sections are accumulated, necessitating some correction or adjustment for precise alignment. Further, using a belt for transporting the print medium requires, skew correction of the belt, means for applying electrostatic force to the belt, means for replacing the belt. The use of the belt renders the apparatus larger and more complex, increasing the manufacturing costs.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds