Patent ID: 7158750

Claim:
A paper transport apparatus comprising: one or more image carrier or carriers carrying toner; one or more transfer means, each transfer means having a surface that rotates and comes in contact with one of the image carrier or carriers at an upstream end of a first nip or nips, for causing one or more toner image or images formed on at least one of the image carrier or carriers to be electrostatically relocated onto one or more sheet or sheets of paper passing through said first nip or nips; and one or more paper transport means disposed upstream in one or more transport directions relative to at least one of the first nip or nips and comprising one or more pair or pairs of pressure rollers holding one or more lead edge portion or portions of at least one of the sheet or sheets of paper in one or more second nip or nips formed therebetween and rotating so as to cause transport of same; wherein at least one of the paper transport means is disposed to the side, on which at least one of the image carrier or carriers is present, of a plane more or less tangent to at least one of the first nip or nips formed between at least one of the image carrier or carriers and at least one of the transfer means; one or more lead edge portion or portions of the at least one sheet or sheets of paper is or are transported from at least one of the paper transport means, with one or more lead edge portion or portions of said sheet or sheets of paper being oriented along a trajectory toward at least one of the transfer means which is located on the opposite side of the plane therefrom, and at least one of the pressure roller pair or pairs comprises one or more drive roller or rollers and one or more idler roller or rollers; at least one of the chive roller or rollers comprises at least one metal roller; and at least one of the idler roller or rollers comprises at least one electrically conductive elastic roller.