Savin Corporation

Dietmar Eberlein

Max Schultes

Peter Feher

Robert J Tusso

A document feeder for advancing original documents to the exposure platen of an electrophotographic copier which is capable of operating in either a semiautomatic or fully automatic mode. In the semiautomatic mode, an original to be copied is manually inserted face up into an inlet where it is engaged by the semiautomatic transport assembly inverted and advances to a proper position for copying. After exposure the document is again inverted and guided into a receiving tray overlying the platen. In the automatic mode of operation, a second tray normally maintained in an inoperative position is swung down to a position at which its feed end is adjacent the feeder inlet. Documents to be copied are placed face up as a stack in the second tray, and feed rollers carried by the tray are actuated to advance documents individually from the stack to the inlet. In a preferred embodiment, a driven feed roller is disposed below the retarding roller at a fixed spacing therefrom to feed sheets from the bottom of the stack so that the sheets are collected in the stacking tray in their original order. In the same embodiment, a guide strip having fingers extending between the feed roller and reduced-diameter portions of the retarding roller is resiliently urged into engagement with the feed roller to press the sheet being fed firmly against the roller to ensure reliable feed regardless of sheet thickness.

Automatic original document feeder for electrophotographic copier

An improved pick-off device for a copying machine of the type in which the developed image is transferred from the surface of a photoconductor to a sheet of copy paper in which a thin semi-rigid blade having a knife edge at a transversely tapered end thereof is releasably secured to a resiliently restrained element of a clutch assembly mounted at a position at which the knife edge of the blade is resiliently biased into engagement with the photoconductor at a location in the path of the leading edge of a sheet to which an image has been transferred to guide the sheet into a narrow space between the normally stationary clutch element and a continuously driven clutch element. In response to the entry of the sheet into the narrow space the two clutch elements are coupled to cause the restrained element to move with the continuously driven element against the action of the restraining means to carry the sheet away from the photoconductor surface. After a predetermined concomitant rotation of the clutch elements as the leading edge of the copy sheet enters the nip between an upper delivery roller and a lower delivery roller which moves with the continuously driven clutch element, the normally restrained clutch element is advanced relatively to the continuously driven clutch element to release the sheet and to restore the knife edge precisely to its initial position.

Pick-off device for electrostatic copier

A jam detector for use in a plain paper copying machine of the type in which the copy paper to which the image has been transferred from the surface of a photoconductive drum is removed from the drum by a pick-off element which acts on a narrow strip of the copy paper extending rearwardly from the leading edge of the paper along one side edge thereof wherein the leading edge of a narrow or skewed or otherwise misdirected copy paper which misses the pick-off element is engaged by a jam detector element positioned in the path of the paper a predetermined distance inboard of the pick-off element to cause the jam detector element to disable the machine and to illuminate the jam indicating signal light. The arrangement is such that the machine cannot be reset for the next operation until such time as the jammed copy paper is removed from the machine. In an alternate embodiment, the jam detector element directs the sheet which has missed the pick-off element to guides which carry the paper back toward the output rolls of the machine which feed the paper back to the usual delivery location.

Misfeed detector for copy machine

A control system for a copying machine having a scanning optical system and main and auxiliary supplies of copy paper of different size and adapted for use with a collator having a back bar, in which a signal which is produced when the machine is turned on automatically sets the machine to feed paper from the main supply and sets the initial scan to the length of the longest copy and in which a signal which is a measure of the length of the first copy being made in a given operation sets the length of the scan and positions the collator back bar in accordance with the length of the first copy.

Copier scan and collator back bar control

A copy set separating tray for use with a document copier operable to produce multiple collated sets of copies is mounted for manual movement between first and second positions transversely displaced relative to the copy delivery path of the copier to offset successive sets of copies to permit their ready separation. Movement of the tray in either direction between the first and second positions indexes a counter having a visual display to remind the operator how many copies or sets have been made.

Growing community of inventors

New City, NY, United States of America

Dietmar Eberlein