Xerox Corporation

Alfred J Claflin, Jr

David G Anderson

Fred F Hubble, Iii

Francisco Zirilli

James P Martin

Andrew James Bonacci

John Chinnici

David A D'Angelantonio

Jaime Soley

A sheet feeding device for an electrophotographic printing machine that minimizes trail edge flip when delivering a sheet to a photoreceptor at a desired tangential position. The sheet feeding device includes a baffle member which has two control points, one of which is an idler roller. The baffle further includes a ramp member which controls the trail edge of a sheet to maximize the beam length to reduce the bending energy which results in trail edge flip.

Sheet pre-transfer device

A charging device comprises a housing defining a charging chamber. Two tensioning shafts are mounted on opposite ends of the housing. The charging device comprises a control grid attached to the grid tensioning shafts, thus substantially covering the chamber opening. The control grid is comprised of a conductive material capable of being stretched along its length. As a result, the grid becomes flat when opposing rotating forces are applied to the two tensioning shafts.

Charging device with grid tensioning shafts

A charging device includes a housing defining a chamber, the chamber having a floor, the floor having disposed therein an elongated slot pressure port and a plurality of circular hole vacuum ports. Four air flow conduits are disposed under the chamber floor to provide separate pressure air flows and vacuum air flows through the chamber. These four air flow conduits comprise two pressure conduits and two vacuum conduits. The two pressure conduits and two vacuum conduits are respectively connected at one of their ends by two turn-around connectors. Separate pressure air supply connections and vacuum air supply connections are applied to the respective other ends of the two pressure conduits and two vacuum conduits. As a result, pressure air is applied at both ends of the pressure conduit adjacent to the floor, thus causing pressure air flow through the pressure port and into the chamber. Simultaneously, vacuum air is applied at both ends of the vacuum conduit adjacent to the floor, thus causing vacuum air flow to be extracted from the chamber through the vacuum ports. The pressure air flow and the vacuum air flow combine to provide continuous air flow through the chamber.

Charging device with separate pressure and vacuum air flows

A multiple port rotary indexing vacuum valve in a liquid ink printer including a selecting member and a multiple port member. The selecting member, defines an aperture therethrough and a first axis, including a first oscillatory surface. The multiple port member defines a plurality of ports and a second axis, including a second oscillatory surface wherein the second oscillatory surface is matable with the first oscillatory surface so that relative movement therebetween aligns the aperture of the selecting member with one of the plurality of ports of the multiple port member.

Multiport rotary indexing vacuum valve in a liquid ink printer

A maintenance system for an ink jet printer of the type having a full width array printhead has a movable carriage with a droplet sensor and a nozzle recovery device. As the carriage moves along the length of the printhead, each nozzle checked, one at a time, by the droplet sensor for the presence or absence of an ejected droplet and if the droplet has the correct directionality. Any problem nozzle is identified during a single traversal of the carriage across the printhead, and during a second traversal, the identified problem nozzles have a recovery operation performed on them such as being cleaned to remove any dried ink or other contaminating particles or being primed in the case of a clogged nozzle. The problem nozzles which have had a recovery operation performed on them and checked again by the droplet sensor is required for the entire array of nozzles, and ink is conserved since only predetermined nozzles are printed.

Drop sensing and recovery system for an ink jet printer

A maintenance apparatus for maintaining an ink jet printhead. The maintenance apparatus includes a maintenance station having a first member, a translation apparatus connected to the maintenance station which generates a translation force to translate the maintenance station along a path, and a displacement apparatus connected to the translation apparatus and operatively coupled to the first member for displacing the first member with respect to the translation apparatus. The maintenance apparatus minimizes system complexity by using the energy which translates the maintenance station for extending and retracting the capping member which seals the area around the front nozzle face of an ink jet printhead during periods of non-use. A lead screw and a motor move the maintenance station in a direction towards an ink jet printhead for maintenance operations and a actuating lever and camming system move the capping member into contact with the front face of the ink jet printhead.

Maintenance apparatus using translation forces to move cap member for

An ultrasonic liquid wiper for an ink jet printer maintenance station has a cleaning nozzle confrontingly aligned but spaced from printhead nozzles suspected of having viscous plugs of partially dried ink. A cleaning solution is held within the cleaning nozzle by surface tension to form a meniscus and is caused to bulge toward into contact with the printhead nozzle face and form a bridge of cleaning solution therewith. In addition to dissolving ink, the cleaning solution is ultrasonically excited by a piezoelectric material immediately upstream of the cleaning nozzle to provide a high frequency energized liquid wiper to facilitate viscous plug removal without having physical contact with the printhead nozzle face, thereby preventing wear of any hydrophobic coating on the nozzle face. A vacuum nozzle is positioned on each side of the cleaning nozzle to remove the cleaning solution deposited on the nozzle face, together with any ink dissolved therein. The cleaning nozzle optionally dwells for predetermined time periods to more effectively loosen and/or dissolve the viscous plugs of ink. The cleaning nozzles may have different concave shapes to aid in the ultrasonic cleaning action of the cleaning solution.

Growing community of inventors

Ontario, NY, United States of America

Alfred J Claflin, Jr