Lexmark International, Inc.

Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Other

Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc.

Donn Duane Bryant

Benjamin Alan Askren

Paul Douglas Horrall

William Michael Connors

Michael Craig Leemhuis

Michael William Lawrence

Don W Stafford

Geoffrey Kirk Carlson

Larry Steven Foster

Jason Paul Hale

Jeffrey Alan Abler

Peter Alden Bayerle

Edward Lawrence Kiely

Steven Wayne Parish

Brad W Towe

John Edward Borsuk

Lenci Robert Kappes

Robert Flynt Strean

Brian Lester Boettcher

Mark William Amann

Michael David Maul

Curtis Ray Droege

Derek Masami Inouye

Joshua Carl Poterjoy

Tom E Stickler

Jennifer Marie Murphy

Christopher Lee Baker

Laura Leigh Garcia

Edward Lynn Triplett

Jeffrey Lawrence Tonges

Donald Wayne Stafford

David Amos Ward

Gary Scott Overall

David Erwin Rennick

Scott Richard Castle

Charles Stanley Aldrich

James Philip Harden

Alan T Pullins

Michael David Lattuca

Frank Marion Hughes

Benjamin Erich Kant

David Michael Cseledy

Peter W Bracken

Billy Joe Jones

Darren Wayne Tosh

Phill Douglas Cole

Brian David Smith

Robert Allen Samples

Abigail Susanne Marsh

Michael Scott Leiter

Kevin Scott Kennedy

David Lawrence Peter

A system and method for user friendly replacement of printer platen rolls includes a roll assembly having a support shaft with a bearing seated in a flange at one end. A crescent notch in a printer chassis receives the shaft into an interior of the notch. The assembly is moved axially so that a flange neck nests in the notch with a flange lip contacting a surface of the chassis. A lock contacts the lip to prevent axial motion of the assembly when installed. An opposed side of the shaft is placed in a bearing on an opposite side of the chassis.

Line printer having user replaceable platen rollers

A pre-feed system and method for a liner-less label printer includes a drive roller that is configured to peel liner-less labels from a reel and pass print stock comprising the labels to an in-line label printer at a consistent rate. An idler roller disposed in proximity to the drive roller creates a nip for pulling labels from the reel. Label stock is fed to one or more print heads while supported by a support plate comprising projections extending from a planar surface, contacting an adhesive side of the labels. The projections are aligned in rows substantially perpendicular to a travel direction of the moving print stock and in a plurality of columns substantially parallel to the travel direction of the moving print stock, with projections on alternate rows offset from projections on adjacent rows and projections on alternate columns offset from projections on adjacent columns.

Liner-less label pre-feed system and method

A system and method for enhanced speed thermal printing has a drive roller for contacting thermochromic medal to a thermal printhead. The drive roller includes a cam which causes the drive roller to decelerate as it approaches the printhead such that contact with the thermal printhead and the thermochromic media is at a highest force point. The drive roller accelerates as it is pulled back from the printhead prior to a next printing cycle.

Enhanced speed thermal printer

A hold down finger for a finisher process tray contacts the top sheet of paper on a paper tray to prevent subsequently printed pages from disturbing pages disposed on the paper tray. The hold down finger includes gears that move a portion of the hold down finger that contacts the top sheet of paper from a retracted position to a forward hold down position along a substantially elliptical path. After each sheet is printed and placed on top of other pages in the paper tray, the paper tray lowers and the hold down finger continues along the substantially elliptical path back to the retracted position. A rack gear associated with the paper tray engages a cylindrical gear of the hold down finger to return the hold down finger to the retracted position if the paper tray is forced upwards while the hold down finger is in the forward position.

Paper tray hold down finger system and method

A system and method for printing includes a transfer belt configured to transfer toner from a photoconductive drum of a toner-based printer to a paper. A transfer platen positions at least a portion of the transfer belt to be in proximity to a photoconductive drum. For color printing, a transfer platen is associated with a corresponding photoconductive drum for each distinct color of toner. The transfer platen is shaped to improve the transfer of toner from the photoconductive drum to the transfer belt. The transfer platen is substantially fixed in a non-rotatable position. The transfer platen includes electrically conductive foam. The transfer platen includes a low friction conductive top layer over the electrically conductive foam.

Transfer belt platens

A system and method for cooling electrostatic process units includes an impeller in communication with a shaft associated with a rotating component of the electrostatic process unit such as a toner mixer, a waste auger, a developer, or a photoconductive drum. When the shaft rotates, the impeller rotates and causes air to be directed into a cooling duct. The cooling duct directs the air over one or more components of the electrostatic process unit such as the developer or a doctor blade. The air directed over the components cools the electrostatic process unit.

Electrostatic process unit fan impeller and cooling duct

A system and method for passively cooling electrostatic process units includes a thermally conductive housing and a doctor bar. The thermally conductive housing is disposed over the developer roller of the electrostatic process unit and conducts heat from inside the electrostatic process unit to a plurality of ribs disposed on along the length of the electrostatic process unit. Heat transferred to the plurality of ribs is dissipated through convection with surrounding air. Heat from the thermally conductive housing is also transferred through conduction to a printer chassis through contact of the thermally conductive housing with the printer chassis. The doctor bar conducts heat from the junction of the doctor blade and the developer roller to a plurality of ribs disposed on the doctor bar where the heat is dissipated through convection with the surrounding air.

Thermal elements for electrostatic process units

A system and method for urging stray toner away from sealing areas on rotating shafts in electrostatic process units includes a shaft that is associated with a rotating component of the electrostatic process unit such as a toner mixer, a waste auger, a developer, or a photoconductive drum. The shaft includes sealing areas at either end of the shaft that are configured to prevent toner leakage through the sealing areas, and protruding ridges in the sealing areas that encircle the shaft. The protruding ridges are angled relative to the axis of the shaft such that rotation of the shaft causes the protruding ridges to urge stray toner away from the sealing areas. The protruding ridges substantially reduce toner leakage through the sealing areas of rotating shafts of electrostatic process units.

Angled ridges on electrostatic process unit shafts

An electrophotographic imaging device, including at least one photoconductive member, a printhead unit, at least one shutter-wiper member, and at least one shutter actuator. The at least one shutter-wiper member is moveable in a first direction between a first position in which the shutter-wiper covers the at least one exit lens of the printhead unit and a second position in which the at least one shutter-wiper does not cover the at least one exit lens so as to allow the at least one light beam generated by the printhead unit to pass therethrough. The at least one actuator is coupled to the at least one shutter-wiper member such that movement of the at least one shutter actuator in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction causes the corresponding shutter-wiper member to move in the first direction.

Automated lens cleaning and shutter system for an electrophotographic imaging device

An imaging unit for an electrophotographic image forming device having positional control features for aligning the imaging unit in a supporting frame in the image forming device. The positional control features include on each end wall, first and second bullet noses and a stop arm positioned between the two bullet noses. The first and second bullet noses engage support or datum surfaces provided in corresponding openings in the frame. The stop arm receives a biasing force that rotates the imaging unit into its final operating position. A latching assembly is provided on one end wall to prevent the imaging unit from ejecting from the frame.

Positional control features for an imaging unit in an electrophotographic image forming device

An electrophotographic printer having an intermediate transfer belt (ITB) module having an endless belt wrapped around a first and second roll and a plurality of imaging drums, all mounted in a frame between a rear panel and an access panel pivotally mounted to the front panel. The first and second rolls lie in an ITB reference plane and the imaging drums lie in an imaging drum reference plane that is mutually planar to the ITB reference plane. A camming device, mounted to one of the front panel and the access panel, rotates the access panel to provide a skewing adjustment to ITB module and plurality of imaging drums to substantially correct a skew error caused by the racking of the front panel with respect to the rear panel with the access panel maintaining mutual planarity between the ITB reference plane and the imaging drum reference plane.

Deskewing mechanism for an intermediate transfer belt module and imaging drums in an electrophotographic printer

A toner seal comprises a j-shaped seal having an upper seat portion and a leg portion, the leg having a front face extending between first and second edges of said leg portion, a lip seal extending along at least one of the first and second edges of the leg, and, the lip seal having a length extending from the upper seat portion along the leg.

Developer roll lip seal

Developer unit

Growing community of inventors

Lexington, KY, United States of America

Donn Duane Bryant