Eastman-kodak Company

Brian J Kwarta

Donald Saul Rimai

Thomas Nathaniel Tombs

James Douglas Shifley

Arun Chowdry

Christopher J White

Hwai-Tzuu Tai

James R Reda

Kenneth H Womack

David H Outterson

A bound document having a plurality of sheets is produced. Image data for a cover image is received and dividing along a sheet-edge curve into first and second image portions. The first image portion is printed on an inner cover sheet so that an alignment location is defined on the inner cover sheet corresponding to the sheet-edge curve. The inner cover sheet and the plurality of sheets are bound together. The second image portion is printed on an outer cover sheet, and is printed borderlessly with respect to a selected edge of the outer cover sheet. After the binding step, the outer cover sheet is affixed to the inner cover sheet so that the selected edge aligns with the alignment location to form the bound document.

Producing bound document having inner cover sheet

Systems for producing bound electrophotographic prints are provided. In one aspect there is provided a system with a print engine having a printing module to form a toner image on a receiver, a fuser with a heater that heats the toner image to fuse the toner image to a receiver to form a print, a stacking system that stacks the print and a sheet in a stacking area with the fused toner image between the print and the sheet. A heating system has a heat source that applies a heat along an edge of the stack, and a controller that causes the toner image to have toner in a binding area proximate to the heated edge of the stack and in an image area that is separated from the binding area by a separation area. A portion of the heat applied at the edge of the stack heats the binding area to cause toner in the binding area to fuse for a second time and a residual portion of the heat applied heats the separation area, but the separation area does not heat the image area to an extent sufficient to fuse toner in the image area.

Electrophotographic print binding system

Toner is applied to a receiver having an area to be folded and a separate area not to be folded. Non-fold and fold-area screening patterns are selected. The non-fold screening pattern has a toner coverage greater than 50% and the fold-area screening pattern has a toner coverage less than 50%. Image data to be applied to the receiver in the area to be folded and the area not to be folded are received. The image data in the area not to be folded are processed using the non-fold screening pattern and the image data in the area to be folded are processed using the fold-area screening pattern to provide screened data. Toner corresponding to the screened data is applied to the receiver. The applied toner is fused to the receiver, so that the area to be folded includes fused toner.

Reducing toner cracking with screening patterns

A booklet is produced including an outer sheet and an inner sheet folded and nested together. A print image having a thickness is printed where it is between the two sheets when they nest together. A cut length is calculated using the thicknesses of the sheets and the thickness of the print image, so that when the sheets are folded and the inner sheet is nested into the outer sheet, the edges of the inner sheet will not protrude beyond the edges of the outer sheet. The inner sheet is cut to the calculated cut length either before or after printing. The cut inner sheet and the outer sheet are folded and nested together to produce the booklet.

Calculating booklet sheet length using toner thickness

A booklet with a cover sheet and a plurality of inner sheets is produced. The cover sheet is folded to begin the booklet. One at a time, the inner sheets are selectively printed, folded, and nested into the booklet. When each inner sheet is nested in the booklet, an edge of the inner sheet protrudes beyond an edge of the cover sheet. The protruding edge of the inner sheet is cut flush with the corresponding edge of the cover sheet.

Making booklet by iteratively folding and cutting

A booklet is produced. Selectively-printed sheets are cut to length, inner sheets being shorter, and stacked on a ramp set at an adjustable angle to a sheet support. This aligns the fold axes of all the sheets so they can be fastened and folded. Gravity is used to hold the sheets in place on the ramp and sheet support.

Stacking booklet sheets on adjustable-angle ramp

A finisher for a receiver moving in a feed direction includes a cutting device having a cutting blade and a scoring blade on opposite sides of the receiver and oriented perpendicular to the feed direction, and a scoring notch on the opposite side of the receiver from, and parallel to, the scoring blade. An actuator selectively causes the scoring blade to engage the scoring notch as the receiver moves between the scoring blade and scoring notch, so that the receiver is scored, or causes the cutting blade to engage the scoring blade, so that the receiver is cut. A controller receives a job specification including one or more cut or score location(s) on the receiver and causes the receiver to be cut at the cut location(s) or scored at the score location(s).

Finisher for cutting or scoring receiver

Methods for forming bound electrophotographic prints are provided. In one aspect a method comprises the steps of applying a toner to a receiver to form a toner image with having toner in a binding area and in an image area. The binding area is proximate to a binding edge of the receiver and the image area that is separated from the binding area by an separation area. The toner image is fused to form a print, and a sheet and the prints are stacked with the toner in the binding area of the print confronting the sheet along a binding edge of the sheet. Heat is applied at the binding edges to cause the toner in the binding area to fuse for a second time. A residual portion of the applied heat heats the separation area but the separation area does not heat the image area to an extent sufficient to fuse toner in the image area.

Electrophotographic print binding method

Apparatus for cutting a moving receiver includes a plurality of cutting devices and a transport mechanism for selectively moving the cutting devices perpendicular to the feed direction of the receiver. Each cutting device includes two parallel cutting wheels and a pressure wheel arranged so that the cutting wheels are pressed laterally against the pressure wheel to form two cutting areas and a chad area arranged laterally between the cutting areas. A drive mechanism rotates the cutting wheels or pressure wheel of two or more of the cutting devices so that the rotating cutting wheels engage the moving receiver to cut the moving receiver parallel to its feed direction. A controller receives a job specification including two or more specified cut locations and causes the transport mechanism to laterally position two or more of the cutting devices to cut the moving receiver in the specified cut locations.

Slitter with translating cutting devices

The present invention is a system and method that performs a scaling and thresholding operation or a scaling and halftoning operation for each pixel from an image sensor in a single step. The system creates, depending on a mode selected, scaled threshold values or scaled dither matrix values from the scan of a reference document and a predetermined threshold or a predetermined dither matrix. The values are loaded into a single memory. The output of the memory is supplied to a comparator which compares the pixel data from the scanner sensor to the scaled threshold values or the scaled dither matrix values. The serial output of the comparator is converted into parallel data and stored for further processing.

Uniformity correction and threshold or halftoning conversion unit and

The present invention is a clock signal apparatus for a document scanner that only produces a clock signal when pixel data is output. The apparatus includes a timing and control unit 94 that not only controls the sensor analog output process along with the conversion of the analog signals to digital data, but also provides a video clock signal only when the sensor data is present at the output of the scanner. The unit 94 also provides an intersensor period during which no pixel data is output and no clock signal is produced. The unit 94 supplies a horizontal synchronization signal before the video clock is started and a horizontal synchronization signal immediately after the last data is transmitted. The receiving unit 72 latches the data synchronous with the video clock signal. The video clock signal includes multiple edges allowing the various edges to control various stages of further processing of the sensor data.

Asynchronous, noncontinuous video clock apparatus

The present invention is an apparatus and method that performs resolution conversion by averaging the pixel data produced by a sensor. The averaging operation includes storing 400 dots per inch (dpi) pixel data in alternating latches 94 and 96, adding the contents of the alternate latches using an adder 98 and dividing by two by transferring the carry and the most significant bits of the addition result to the next stage, thereby accomplishing a shift by right. The averaging includes an average of two adjacent pixels for a 200 dpi output, an average of four adjacent pixels for the 100 dpi output and a rolling average of two pixels for the 300 dpi output, where the rolling average has a repeat cycle of four pixels.

Method and apparatus for image data resolution conversion

Projectors and cameras disposed about an object under test obtain digital moire information of overlapping aspects (views) of the object. The system is calibrated using a calibration pattern of straight lines on a flat reference surface and a projected pattern of lines which are perpendicular to the lines of the calibration pattern and contain marker fringes between predetermined lines. Each aspect is calibrated individually by stepping the calibration pattern along the axis of each camera so as to obtain a plurality of tables which relate phase information to distance in each of a plurality of planes spaced successively closer to the camera. The calibration tables define a calibrated volume in space between the cameras and projectors. When the object under test is located in this volume, the video signals from the camera are converted into digital moire information. This information is directly related to the calibration information and is converted with the aid of the calibration information into absolute distance measurements along the perimeters of cross-sections through the object.

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Pittsford, NY, United States of America

Brian J Kwarta