Xerox Corporation

Dennis G Gerbasi

Bruce Earl Thayer

Clark V Lange

Norman E LaTour

Ronald E Auty

Moritz Patrick Wagner

David R Stookey

Ralph J Weber

James J Teich

Christopher B Miller

Thomas A Prentiss

Matthew P Daniels

Nero R Lindblad

Timothy David Jonathan Spink

Steven W Baldwin

John M Bonislawski, Jr

Karen H Kuntz

According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided an apparatus and method to detect when a consumable such as a toner bottle is replaced before end of life (EOL), throwing out toner that could be used for future printing incurs a cost. In metered accounts, the supplier incurs the cost of this waste. This disclosed process proposes monitoring the approximate rate of toner and then calculating the average amount of consumption per bottle since the last time the bottle was detected as empty. This then determines the toner consumption per bottle yield rate. Yield rate (YR) is calculated based on the estimated amount of toner delivered from a known bottle quantity at the point when the current bottle goes empty. The yield rate is displayed as a gauge on the user interface of the printer.

Method and apparatus for premature consumable replacement detection on printing systems

An apparatus and printing machine that contain a cleaner brush with long sweeper fibers orientated along the overall width of the brush, and having a greater length than the majority of fibers of the brush to remove the particles that adhere to the cleaner housing and thus, prevent toner droppings.

Cleaning brush having fibers of different lengths

A method, apparatus and printing machine are disclosed that contain a monitoring system that includes a sensor and artificial stress conditions to determine the cleaner brush life. A comparative analysis is performed from the data provided by the monitoring system of a normal cleaning residual toner particle mass and artificial stress conditions cleaning residual toner particle mass to predict brush cleaner life reliably.

Monitoring cleaning performance to predict cleaner life

An apparatus in which a six bar linkage cleaner brush retraction/engagement mechanism enables brush retraction (and engagement with the photoreceptor) while providing good control over the brush interference and the capability of changing all of the timing parameters through clutch actuation times in software and clutch shaft speed. The mechanism allows the brushes to retract and engage the photoreceptor independently of one another with relatively soft contacts to the photoreceptor to minimize impacts to photoreceptor motion quality. A four position clutch is used to provide magnetic pole sensor outputs to the system controller to decide when the clutch, which drives the six bar linkage, is engaged and disengaged. The index wheel of the clutch has four equally spaced magnets that are located relative to the retraction crank shaft so that there is a significant amount of time between detecting a pole and the corresponding desired state. An encoder is used to monitor the mechanical drift of each cleaner state.

Dual brush cleaner retraction mechanism and variable inertia drift

An apparatus and method for retracting the cleaner from an imaging surface and preventing toner leakage. An apparatus and method that describes a DESB (i.e. dual electrostatic brush) cleaner in a multi-pass operation that not only has to clean the toner from the photoreceptor, but has to retract from the photoreceptor. The two brushes pivot about two defined pivot points in the cleaner housing during the retraction cycle to disengage from the photoreceptor during multi-pass operations. The first brush is pivoted up and the second brush is pivoted down. A further disclosure is the apparatus and method of using thin sliding and flexible plastic seals for a dual ESB that has moving (e.g. camming in and out) housings. The seals prevent leakage of the toner particles from the cleaner housing.

Retracting cleaner with defined pivot points and/or sliding seals

An apparatus and method for stopping rotation and retracting a cleaning brush away from contact regions to avoid the occurrence of flat spots or voids in the cleaning brush and prevent toner emissions from the cleaning brush as it is retracted. The cleaning brush is rotated about a pivot point to move the cleaning brush away from contact with the photoreceptor and the detoning roll. The pivot point is positioned so that the variation in interference to the detoning roll is minimized for variations in the interference and location of the brush against the photoreceptor. Each cleaning brush has a housing that moves in conjunction with the movement of the cleaning brush in order to avoid contact between the housing and the cleaning brush. This cleaning apparatus also enables development of multi-layer color images.

Non-rotating retracted cleaning brush

A method to evaluate the cleaning performance of brush cleaners by measuring the brush to photoreceptor nip width (e.g cleaning footprint or contact zone) using an ESV sensor or ETAC sensor. This nip width measurement is automatically made using one of the sensing devices. The nip width measurement is converted into diagnostic information using a software algorithm or similar mode of conversion. The diagnostic information can be used in a variety of ways such as a diagnostic tool for a technical representative to warn against the end of brush life, to adjust cleaner biases for automatic changes in setup to achieve better cleaning, to predict brush replacement, to correct brush BPI (i.e. brush to photoreceptor interference) for an under or over engaged brush.

Automatic measurement of cleaning brush nip width for process control

An apparatus and method is disclosed for increasing brush life and reducing emissions by removing accumulated toner using detoning cycles. A further embodiment of the disclosure is a method for periodic brush-reversing detoning cycle occurring during a standby condition.

Detoning cycle to increase brush life and reduce emissions by removing

A method and an apparatus for identifying cleaner retraction timing faults in an electrostatographic printer. A toner image or patch is developed on the photoreceptor during the non-printing mode of the printer. After cleaning by a retractable cleaner, the portion of the image or patch not cleaned is measured and compared to a predetermined length in order to determine cleaner retracting timing faults in the cleaner subsystem.

Diagnostic procedure to identify cleaner retraction timing faults

An apparatus for a central augering system within a cleaning system. This central auger system provides several advantages including: 1) reduction in size of the overall cleaner; 2) prevention of bridging in the cleaner housing due to the close proximity of the auger to the detoning roll the toner falls directly into the auger; and 3) the second detoning roll which sees only a small amount of toner is lubricated by the toner in the auger.

Cleaner system with central augering

An apparatus and method for moving a cleaning brush, periodically or continuously, to avoid flat spots or voids in the cleaning brush fibers when the printing machine is in standby or off. Periodic movement of the cleaning brush or slow rotation of the cleaning brush when the machine is in a non-operational mode prevent brush 'set' from occurring thus, preventing motion quality errors in the printing operation.

Slow brush rotation in standby to avoid brush flat spots

An apparatus and method that uses a toner valve to seal the interface between a cleaner housing and waste container. The toner valve incorporates a two piece valve of which the larger, called the main valve, is housed in the cleaner housing, and the smaller, called the lid, is housed in the top of the waste container. When the waste container is inserted onto the cleaner housing, the main valve of the cleaner housing is coupled to the lid of the waste container. A handle extending from a shaft in the main valve enables movement of the complete toner valve. The coupling of the two piece toner valve enables the toner valve to work as a single unit when the handle is rotated, opening the waste container and the cleaner housing and providing a totally sealed open path for the toner to fall from the cleaner housing to the waste container. Further rotation of the two piece toner valve closes both the cleaner housing and the waste container. The main valve seals the cleaner housing preventing toner from escaping and the lid seals the waste container preventing toner from spilling upon removal from the cleaner housing.

Cleaner/waste bottle interface sealing via toner valve

An apparatus is disclosed that includes an electrostatic brush cleaner that optimizes the brush interference with the imaging surface and the detoning roll for increased detoning efficiency. The brush-to-detoning roll interference is always kept greater than the brush-to-imaging surface interference for increased detoning efficiency.

Optimizing electrostatic brush interferences for increased detoning

An apparatus and method for preventing nonuniform accumulation of toner collected in a waste container of particles cleaned from a surface. The apparatus and method for disturbing the particles to provide uniform accumulation of toner in the waste container are driven by the same cam shaft, cam or solenoid used by the cleaner brushes for engaging and retracting the cleaner brushes from the surface. The waste container or cleaner subsystem is either thumped, moved back and forth, internally agitated or in some way disturbed to enable uniform toner distribution inside the waste container and better utilization of the storage capacity of the waste container.

Retraction activated waste bottle mechanism for uniform toner

A cleaning apparatus for achieving a non-uniform load on the detoning roll to prolong the life of the detoning roll by preventing premature wear of the detoning roll ends. The uniform load on the scraper blade is prevented from wearing the detoning edges before the middle due to unequal toner distribution in the present invention. This results in a higher frictional force on the edges of the detoning roll than in the center. To prevent wearing of these edges, the ends of either the scraper blade or the scraper blade holder are angled away from the detoning roll enabling a desirable working load to be achieved at the center where sufficient toner can lubricate the blade edge without overloading the blade ends where toner collection is generally minimal. The present invention increases the scraper blade life and reduces detone roll wear without reducing cleaning performance.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Dennis G Gerbasi