International Business Machines Corporation

Alfonso A Rosati

Richard A Lamos

John H Rhodes, Jr

Michael D Avritt

A bender bar intercepts xerographic copier paper traveling from a transfer corona to the fuser rolls in a manner that compensates for sheet skew before the sheet arrives at the nip of the transfer rollers. The bender bar is fixed in position but adjustable so that copy sheets encountering the bar can have different path lengths with respect to opposite ends of the bar as encountered by the sheets. The sheet leading edges arrive at the fuser roll nip in a manner that compensates for any transfer distortion caused by factors such as axial misalignment between the fuser and input rolls, engagement of the paper by other elements associated with the transfer station paper path, or the like.

Guidance correction method and apparatus for copy paper path in a copier

The free end of a cantilever-mounted photoconductor belt capstan is rigidly secured to the machine frame by a pivotable mechanism including a slide pin and dog arrangement for cooperating with a receiving block on the machine frame. This same mechanism is arranged to operate a tension applying/relieving shoe against the inner surface of the photoconductor belt. Pivoting of the mechanism to the open position results in an open access to the capstan so that a closed-loop photoconductor belt is easily removed or installed on the capstan.

Latching and tensioning mechanism for closed-loop belt supporting capstan

Apparatus shown for feeding documents of selected width singly from a stack in alignment without buckling. Guides are provided at either side of a bin for holding a stack of documents. One guide is fixed and the other adjustable in order that the bin may hold stacks having documents of selected widths. A shingler (combing wheel) shingles the documents forward to a separator/restraint station, which feeds the documents singly. In order to properly align the sheets for separation, the adjustable guide is connected by an adjustment device to the shingler wheel. The adjustment device (e.g., cable and pulley) is arranged to move the shingler wheel half the distance the adjustable guide is moved. This keeps the shingler wheel centered with respect to the documents. The separator/restraint station is positioned so as to always be to the side of the shingler wheel towards the fixed guide to abut each separated sheet against an alignment edge thereof for precise alignment thereof.

Document feed sheet aligner

Sheets are delivered to receptacles by a traveling distributor which includes an incrementally movable carriage. A continuous loop belt or belts such as in a vacuum plenum transport convey the sheets to the carriage where a roller arrangement on the carriage diverts the belts and thus the sheets into a direction in alignment with the receptacles. The rollers then divert the belt away from the receptacles so that the sheets continue into the receptacles. The rollers are mounted so as to place the belt or belts in tension during normal operation but are movable to relieve the belt tension to facilitate paper removal from the belt in jam clearance procedures.

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Longmont, CO, United States of America

Alfonso A Rosati