Eastman-kodak Company

Eric P Hochreiter

Dennis R Zander

Paul Teremy

Bradley S Bush

William A Bergstresser

Franklin D Ehrne

Jeffrey Charles Robertson

David R Gotham

Terrence L Fisher, Sr

Alex David Horvath

Dale W Ryan

Jose E Rivera

Michelle M DeMeyer

Martin L Slade

R Winfield Trafton

Scott H Schwallie

Terrence Lee Fisher

Tomi Lahcanski

Duane J Farling

Thomas S Albrecht

Donald Steven Hensel

Gary L Erck

William I Morris

Bonnie J Patterson

Frederick J Schwab

William Andrew Bergstresser

Franklin D Ehrme

D Mathew Dobbins

James M Thomas

Stephen Michael Granby

A binding system for binding a set of media sheets, including a cylinder having an outer diameter and a length, and a retainer fabricated from a flexible material. The retainer has an arc-shaped cross-section having an inner diameter and an associated arc angle thereby providing an opening slot that extends along a length of the retainer. The binding system is adapted to bind the set of media sheets by wrapping the media sheets around the cylinder and inserting the wrapped cylinder into the retainer with the wrapped media sheets extending out of the opening slot in the retainer. The inner diameter of the retainer is less than the sum of the outer diameter of the cylinder and a total thickness of the wrapped media sheets so that the retainer flexes to provide a clamping force to bind the media sheets.

Binding system using concentric cylinders

An ink tank includes a body for retaining ink which body includes an outlet hole for permitting ink to pass from the reservoir body; a flange portion surrounding the outlet hole; a filter affixed to a periphery of the outlet hole that prevents ink transfer below a predetermined fluid pressure; and at least a first wick positioned in the flange portion and having fibers that are oriented in a direction perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to ink flow out of the outlet hole which permits transfer of ink while having a predetermined insertion force at or below a predetermined force during an insertion process of the ink tank.

Ink tank with a compliant wick

A binding system for binding a set of media sheets, including first and second binder pieces, each including an end cap, a retainer, a cylinder and a connection mechanism. The retainer has an arc-shaped cross-section having an associated arc angle thereby providing an opening slot that extends along a length of the retainer. The retainer and the cylinder are connected to the end cap such that the cylinder is positioned within the retainer. The binder pieces are adapted to bind the set of sheets of media by inserting the set of media sheets into the first and second binder pieces such that the media sheets are wrapped around the cylinders and extend out of the opening slots in the retainers, and engaging the connection mechanisms to connect the first and second binder pieces together.

Binding system using binder pieces with concentric cylinders

An ink tank includes a free-ink chamber; an ink supply port extending from the tank body, which ink supply port permits passage of ink from the free-ink chamber; a filter disposed in the ink supply port and having a first surface facing the free-ink chamber and a second surface opposite the first surface; a wick disposed in the ink supply port adjacent to the second surface of the filter and downstream of the filter; and a single gasket disposed in the ink supply port adjacent to and downstream of the wick.

Ink tank having a single gasket

A method of feeding a planar medium, includes providing a host tray having a feed edge adjacent to which the medium is extracted by a feeder, and having a spring plate for lifting the medium; nesting a media carrier in the host tray, wherein the media carrier includes a print biasing edge which forms an acute angle with the spring plate through the travel of the spring plate, so that the print biasing edge and the feeder together impose an angular acceleration on a planar medium disposed between the print biasing edge and the spring plate, so that the medium is rotated away from the print biasing edge; disposing a planar medium in the host tray over the spring plate; and extracting the planar medium at the feed edge using the feeder.

Planar-media-feed method

Apparatus for feeding a planar medium from a host tray with a media cavity, including a feed edge adjacent to which the medium is extracted, a sidewall perpendicular to the feed edge, and a spring plate for lifting the medium towards a feeder; a media carrier nested in the cavity, including an edge guide to prevent the medium from moving toward the sidewall, the edge guide having an alignment face for orienting the medium with respect to the feed edge; and an alignment guide in the cavity and having a media guide and a baseplate wider than the medium and disposed over the spring plate, so that the baseplate is lifted when the spring plate lifts. The alignment face and alignment guide together prevent the medium from skewing with respect to the feed edge while the medium is extracted by the feeder.

Planar-media-feed apparatus

A printing apparatus and method that provides for severing of prints from receiver media being printed. The receiver media is moved in a process direction past plural printing stations and the printing stations are recording images upon the receiver sheet. While printing is occurring a cutting mechanism having one or more cutting elements is operated to cut the receiver media along a transverse direction to separate a previously printed image on the receiver media from a portion of the receiver media being currently printed. The cutting mechanism includes a clamping member located proximate the one or more cutting elements for stopping movement of the receiver sheet downstream of the clamping mechanism to provide for a substantially square cut relative to the process direction of the receiver media.

Single pass multi-color printer with improved cutting apparatus and method

Printer

Printer with exit tray

Film scanning apparatus having a film cartridge chamber for receiving a film cartridge containing photographic film having images to be scanned, a film takeup chamber and a film scan gate therebetween. The apparatus has an upstream nip roller set positioned between the film cartridge chamber and the film scan gate and includes at least one drive roller and pinch roller set in which the drive roller has a compliant film engagement surface. A downstream nip roller set is positioned between the film scan gate and the film takeup chamber and includes at least one drive roller and pinch roller set in which the drive roller has a compliant film engagement surface. The upstream nip roller set exerts constant tensioning force on film in the film scan gate buffering the film in the film scan gate against variable tensioning effects on the film caused by the film cartridge. A drive motor is directly connected to the downstream drive roller set and the downstream roller set is drivingly connected to the upstream drive roller set by an elastic drive belt. A differential compression force is exerted on the pinch rollers such that the force on the downstream pinch rollers is greater than on the upstream pinch rollers thereby causing a film speed differential between the upstream and downstream roller sets that maintains a desired degree of tension on film transported through the film scan gate.

Film drive apparatus for a photographic film scanner

A cassette (10) for photosensitive web material includes a hollow housing (12) having a peripheral wall (16); an exit slit (42) extending through the peripheral wall; a device (20), located within the housing, for rotatably supporting a roll (22, 24) of web material; a mechanism (32, 38), located within the housing, for engaging a lead end (26) of a web material to drive the web material through the exit slit; a knife blade (134, 136) having a cutting edge (138) extended at an acute angle to the exit slit; a recess (132) for slidably mounting the blade for movement between a first position in which the exit slit is open, and a second position in which both the web material has been cut by the cutting edge and the exit slit has been closed by the blade to prevent entry of light into the housing through the exit slit; and a knife bed (142, 144) fixedly mounted on the housing, the blade being in sliding engagement with the knife bed, whereby the blade and the knife bed cooperate to scissor the web material as the blade moves to the second position, thereby cutting the web material and leaving a cut end of the web material inside the housing behind the exit slit closed by the blade.

Externally driveable cassette for photosensitive web material, with

Apparatus is disclosed for loading and unloading a discrete film strip into or from a film guide track (566) extending between an unexposed film chamber (562) and an exposed film chamber (564) within a camera (426), the camera being of a type including an external housing (428, 478) having a movable closure (484) giving access to the film guide track and the film having opposing longitudinal edges. The apparatus may include a frame (320, 352); a device (324-334, 348-356) supported by the frame for defining a first pair of opposed guide slots (336, 338) for receiving the longitudinal edges as the film is driven into the camera; and a device (370, 372, 378) supported by the frame for guiding the film from or to the first guide slots into or from the film guide track.

Apparatus for loading and unloading photographic film into or from a

A scanner includes a drawer, extendible outside the scanner, for loading the original into the scanner; and a drawer supporting arrangement for supporting the drawer for movement into and out of the scanner while scanning takes place during at least part of the movement. The scanner can either be a desktop unit coupled to a host computer or mounted in a drive bay of a computer, in which case the drawer is extendible outside the drive bay for loading the original into the scanner.

Scanner with drawer load and exit

A supporting arrangement for constraining unwanted motions of an original that is being supported for movement through a scanner includes a tray for transporting the original past an image scanning location and five datum surfaces for constraining motion. The tray includes two side rails and an elongated rib arranged underneath the tray generally parallel to the side rails. Three datum surfaces bear against the upper edges of the side rails, two of the datum surfaces positioned against one of the side rails and the other datum surface positioned against the other side rail so as to constrain unwanted motion of the tray in three degrees of motion, and a first force is then impressed against the bottom of the elongated rib. Two other datum surfaces bear against one side of the elongated rib so as to constrain unwanted motion of the tray in two additional degrees of motion, and a second force is then impressed against the other side of the elongated rib between the two datum surfaces. The tray is thereby allowed to move through the scanner without unwanted motions in other directions.

Arrangement for supporting a drawer in a drawer feed scanner

Apparatus is disclosed for loading and unloading a photographic camera (426) of a type including an external housing (428, 478) having a movable closure (484) giving access to a film guide track (566) within the camera, the guide track extending between an unexposed film chamber (562) and an exposed film chamber (564), the apparatus including a light tight housing (12, 14, 18); a source (24) for unexposed photographic film positioned within the light tight housing; a nest (74) for receiving a camera within the light tight housing; film loading device (72) extending between the source and the nest for guiding film from the source into the film guide track within the camera; a film unloading device ((82) for guiding film from the camera; a cutter (84) for cutting exposed film unloaded from the camera; a device (292, 708, 710, 878) for driving film from the source, along the loading device and into the camera; and a device (584, 602, 708, 710, 874) for driving film from the camera along the unloading means to the cutter.

Growing community of inventors

Bergen, NY, United States of America

Eric P Hochreiter