Xerox Corporation

Charles E Smith

Thomas Acquaviva

James F Matysek

Douglas F Sundquist

Paul F Schmitt

Douglas E Webb

Eugene Stephen Evanitsky

Lisbeth Sophia Quesnel

Keith Lamar Willis

Murray O Meetze, Jr

Joseph L Filion

LeRoy A Baldwin

Richard C Schenk

Robert M Mara

John D Gramlich

Riley L Warddrip

Charles W Spehrley

Brian F Walsh

Charles J Mirabella, Jr

James E Britt

Cesidio J DiCesare

Thomas M Spangenberg

Michael B Tanaka

Robert G Palifka

The present invention is a method and apparatus for modifying line synchronization signals that drive at least one secondary image exposure device in a multicolor printing or reprographic system. The ability to alter the line synchronization signals enables the accurate registration of a multiple color images on a photoconductor in response to detected photoreceptor motion. More specifically, the first color image is deposited on the photoreceptor using a servomotor control system to control photoreceptor velocity as a function of the desired raster line spacing, or the frequency at which the individual raster lines are deposited. All subsequently added colors in the single-pass printing system are added under the control of phase-locked loops, wherein the line synchronization pulses are produced as a function of the photoreceptor speed, to correct for variations from the nominal photoreceptor velocity.

Method and apparatus for adjusting a line synchronization signal in

An enlarged buckle chamber is positioned within an easily accessible, copy sheet transport path and used to compile sheets during fault cycle down in copiers/printers whenever sheets are prevented from reaching the output in sequence by jammed sheets. The user can then clear most jams by accessing the jam area plus the 'easy to reach' area where internally purged sheet are gathered, thereby avoiding having paper distributed all over the paper path.

Internal purge for easy jam clearance in copiers/printers

An apparatus in which an advancing copy sheet is disclosed. The apparatus includes a moving imaging member having a toner image thereon. The copy sheet contacts an imaging member to transfer a toner image from the imaging member to the copy sheet. A fusing member fuses the toner image to the copy sheet and advances the copy sheet at an adjustable velocity while the copy sheet receives the toner image from the imaging member. A controller communicates with the imaging member and the fusing member to maintain the velocity of the copy sheet with that of the imaging member. The velocity is maintained at a selected relationship. An imaging member drive moves the imaging member at a first velocity. The imaging member drive includes: a crystal clock that generates a fixed reference signal, a programmable divider which receives the signal and generates a control signal, and a servo motor responsive to the control signal. A fuser drive rotates the fuser roll to advance the sheet at a second velocity. The fuser drive includes: a voltage controlled oscillator that generates a signal responsive to the velocity differential between the imaging member drive and the fuser drive, a programmable divider which receives the signal from the voltage controlled oscillator and generates a control signal, and a servo motor responsive to the control signal. The controller includes a fixed frequency divider that receives a signal from the voltage controlled oscillator and generates a measurement signal as a function thereof.

Apparatus for controlling sheet velocity

A method of recovery from a machine paper jam with a plurality of sheets in a duplex tray of a machine operating in a pre-collation mode to provide multiple copy sets, including the steps of recycling the plurality of pre-collated or pre-ordered serial sheets in the duplex tray out of and back into the duplex tray to reorient the images on the sheets, reimaging the sheets that have exited the duplex tray but are still in process, stacking the reimaged sheets into the top of the duplex tray and recycling a second time the plurality of sheets originally in the duplex tray at time of jam into the duplex tray to reorient the images on the sheets for a second time.

Photocopier with duplex tray save after jam

A method of automatically placing ordered paper stock (covers or inserts) from sets of paper stock, the sets of paper stock comprised of an arbitrary number of covers or inserts, into finished copy sets. In a reproduction job run, and with the method of automatic recovery from a machine paper jam in which the copy sheets or paper stock in process has become misoriented comprising the steps of selecting an automatic paper stock ordering option at the operator interface, programming the required order of the paper stock in a finished set of reproduced documents, determining the repetitive frequency of the insert sheets, and automatically selectively inserting or discarding insert sheets in order to provide sets of copy sheets with uniformly placed paper stock. Also, a method for automatically recovering after an operator jam clearance by selectively purging paper stock to maintain the continuity of the ordered paper stock in the completed copy sets.

Control of pre-ordered stock

An apparatus which delivers to an operator offset batches of sheets reproduced from at least one set of documents. The operator selects the number of sheets or sets of sheets successive batches to be offset from one another. In this way, the number of copy sheets in the batch may range from a partial set of copy sheets to multiple sets of copy sheet. Also, the operator may select no offset within a job providing a straight stack with no distinction between batches or sets.

Apparatus for offsetting sheets

A dual mode apparatus in which set of sheets are delivered to an operator. The operating mode of the apparatus is selected, and sets of sheets are received and supported at a loading station. In response to the selected mode of operation, sets of sheets are advanced from the loading station to the unloading station for delivery to the operator. In one mode of operation, the sets of sheets are advanced from the loading station to the unloading station after the completion of each job. In another mode of operation, the sets of sheets are advanced from the loading station to the unloading station after the maximum number of sets of sheets have been stacked at the loading station independent of the number of jobs.

Dual mode set delivery apparatus

In a copying system utilizing a recirculating document handler (RDH) presenting documents to the platen of a copier for copying, with an RDH document stacking tray and an additional document input directly to the platen, and a three zone distributed drives feeding system for first feeding the documents from the stacking tray to the platen, secondly feeding the documents over the platen for copying, and thirdly feeding the documents from the platen back to the stacking tray after they have been copied, to normally form a complete document recirculation path, and sensors for sensing document jams and the position of jammed documents in the document paths connecting with a control system controlling the RDH, including stopping the RDH in response to sensing a jam and determining which documents have been copied before a jam and providing instructional displays to the operator for operator jam clearance (document removal) and job recovery; an improved jam clearance and job recovery system determining whether a document has resulted in a jammed document being present in a first, second, or third document path jam zone, corresponding to the three distributed drive zones, and automatically providing a preliminary job recovery operation before the RDH is fully stopped, by correspondingly selectably independently operating the document feeding zones to feed unjammed documents in the third jam zone to the stacking tray or feed unjammed documents in the first jam zone to the platen, so that documents are directerd to be operator removed from only one zone, if any. The operator is variably display instructed to place these removed documents either face up in the stacking tray, or face down in the separate document input, depending on the jam detection position and document removal position and copier operating condition, and the copier is restarted for job completion without manual document reordering.

Document handler jam clearance and job recovery system

Providing plural precollated sets of copies by plurally recirculating a set of documents and normally making two consecutive identical copies per document per circulation, at one-half the copying rate of the copier, feeding these pairs of identical copy sheets separately into two of only 3 (or 4) movable compiler bins, sequentially accumulating and stacking these copy sheets into completed, compiled, collated copy sheet sets in each of the two compiler bins, and then removing the sets one at a time for finishing, from the opposite side of the bins, and sequentially changing, for subsequent circulations of the sets of documents, which 2 of the 3 compiler bins are being fed pairs of copy sheets, and which compiler bin is not, so that a compiled set of copy sheets may be removed from its bin or left in awaiting finishing of a prior set without having any copy sheets fed into that bin, in coordination with and without interfering with said feeding and directing of other copy sheets into other compiler bins. Preferably two copy sheets are fed into the same compiler bin in directly immediate sequence (the second copy of one document and the first copy of the next document) to reduce the number of operations of the bin gates. When there are an odd number of documents, preferably three identical copies are made of each document in a final copying circulation of the document set and fed into all 3 bins, unless the copies are duplex and there are too many documents for plural duplex buffer sets.

Copying system for on-line finishing

An apparatus in which a plurality of sheets are attached to one another to form a booklet thereof. The sheets are compiled to form a set which is then advanced to a stapling apparatus and/or a binding apparatus. The set of sheets may be secured to one another by either stapling, binding, or a combination of both.

Printing machine finishing station

In a system for recirculative precollation copying of a set of simplex document sheets in reverse serial order on a copier providing a choice of precollated simplex or duplex (two-sided) copy sheet copying, more efficient duplex copying without an initial document counting circulation is provided by assuming that the copy sheets selected for duplex copying are non-orientation sensitive copy sheets such as plain paper (rather than special orientation restricted copy sheets requiring consistent inversion for proper output or binding edge orientation, such as sheets prepunched with binder holes, certain preprinted sheets, etc.) by making an initial assumption as to whether there are an odd or even number of simplex document sheets in the set of document sheets before they are counted, by making a selection of whether it is desired to copy odd or even document sheets in the first circulation of the document set for copying, then, in response to this initial assumption and selection and choice of duplex copying, automatically circulating the set of document sheets for copying onto copy sheets on the first circulation of the document set before they have been counted, wherein the copying of document sheets on the first circulation is restricted to copying only alternate document sheets in accordance with the assumption and selection, counting the number of document sheets during the first copying circulation to actually determine whether there are an odd or even number, then automatically in the second circulation, in response to this actual determination, copying only the other alternate document sheets (not copied in the first circulation) twice (onto two copy sheets) if the initial assumption was erroneous, or automatically copying all of the document sheets once if the initial assumption was correct. Ones of the two copies of document sheets copied twice in the second circulation are made on the back side of copy sheets copied in the first circulation, and the others of the two copies are made onto additional copy sheets to provide a desired buffer set thereof (preferably of only even pages) enabling duplex copying of all document sheets on subsequent circulations of the document set. The initial assumption and selection are preferably made to avoid ever copying a last (first copied) odd document sheet in the first circulation by copying only the next-to-last and subsequent alternate document sheets.

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Pittsford, NY, United States of America

Charles E Smith