Xerox Corporation

Ernest L DiNatale

Timothy Gordon Shelhart

Robert A Austin

Youti Kuo

Robert Alan Clark

George J Roller

Thomas W Morgan

Frank R Walsh

Kenneth Wayne Luff

Stephen R Partilla

Robert John Yax

A sheet separating mechanism and a method of separating sheets that includes a retard surface carrier that causes a retard surface to apply an alternately higher and lower friction force against the edge of an underlying sheet. The alternation of the higher and lower friction force can be coupled to a vacuum sheet feeder. The retard surface can be translated to present a next portion of the retard surface to the edge of the next underlying sheet with the translation coupled to the vacuum sheet feeder.

Sheet separating apparatus and method of separating sheets

A sheet separating and feeding system for separating a top sheet from a stack of sheets for sheet feeding, wherein a vacuum feed head has a two dimensional array of multiple vacuum tubes for vacuum engaging the top sheet, and a control system whereby at least a portion of the multiple vacuum tubes are variably positionally controlled relative to the top sheet to engage the top sheet at different levels in a different plane than the external surfaces of the other vacuum tubes so as to provide a variable three dimensional sheet corrugation inducing surface with the multiple vacuum tubes that is variable for different sheet properties.

Sheet feeder vacuum feed head with variable corrugation

A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a stack of sheets in a direction of movement to a process station, including: a sheet tray for holding the stack of sheets; an air plenum, positioned above the stack of sheets, for picking up a sheet from the stack of sheets when a vacuum force in the air plenum; a paper fluffer for blowing air between individual sheets in the stack.

Sheet feeding apparatus having an air fluffer

A sheet feeding apparatus for feeding a stack of sheets in a direction of movement to a process station, including: a sheet tray for holding the stack of sheets; an air plenum, positioned above the stack of sheets, for picking up a sheet from the stack of sheets when a vacuum force in the air plenum; a paper fluffer for blowing air between individual sheets in the stack, the paper fluffer having a system for adjusting air flow between individual sheets.

Sheet feeding apparatus having an adaptive air fluffer

A 1-N and N-1 cut sheet receiving and stacking apparatus for receiving and selectively stacking sheets to a top location, as well as to a bottom location on a stack of such sheets. The sheet receiving and stacking apparatus comprises a frame, a sheet supporting member mounted to the frame for receiving and supporting a stack of cut sheets. Importantly, the cut sheet receiving and stacking apparatus includes at least one cut sheet lifting and locating assembly mounted to the frame for locating a cut sheet being received to a top location of the stack, and for lifting the stack and locating a cut sheet being received to a bottom location of the stack. The cut sheet lifting and locating assembly has a first down position for locating a cut sheet being received to the top location of the stack of cut sheets, and at least a first up position for lifting the stack of cut sheets thereon and locating a cut sheet being received to the bottom location of the stack.

1-N and N-1 cut sheet receiving and stacking apparatus

In a document handler in which simplex or duplex document sheets are fed from a document tray overlying the copier platen of a copier to one side of the platen, with a single inversion and a document side edge registration and deskewing system in the simplex path; a unidirectional, continous loop, but non-circular duplex document inversion path integral with and partially in common with the simplex path is provided at the same side of the platen. This duplex path has first and second inverting path segments separate from the simplex path, and a third path segment utilizing the simplex path. Duplex documents to be inverted are fed into the first path segment, which extends up from the platen outside of the simplex path and on through the second path segment to connect with the simplex path upstream of the side edge registration system and passing through the single inversion in the simplex path so that duplex documents being inverted are returned to the platen inverted from their previous orientation after re-registration by the same document side edge registration system as is used for simplex documents. A self-actuating platen edge guide, and two RDH modification versions, are also disclosed.

Duplex document handler

A system for setting or adjusting the proper registration position of the original document in a copier having a document feeder providing a variable document registration position on the platen, and numeric data key entries programmable in specialized diagnostic modes, and non-volatile memory. The system involves registering and copying a test sheet using the document feeder in its initial, unadjusted, registration setting. The test sheet has a test pattern of registration position indicia with identifying numeric indicia, and also having a registration window at an optically reversed position on the test sheet from the test pattern and a cursor pointing to a specific position within the window. The test sheet is laid over a same-size copy of the test sheet, with the sheet edges aligned, but with the two sheets rotated by 180 degrees relative to one another, so that the copy of the test pattern on the copy sheet underlies and is visible through the registration window of the test sheet, whereby the cursor on the test sheet points to a specific registration identifying numeric indicia within the test pattern copy. By activating a selected diagnostics mode of the copier and then entering the identifying numeric indicia into the numeric data key entries of the copier the copier automatically resets in non-volatile memory the registration position of the document feeder by a preprogrammed distance corresponding to the entered numeric indicia.

Copier/document handler customer variable registration system

Method and apparatus for advancing two simplex documents from an input stack to a copying platen, for making a desired number of duplex copies therefrom. A first simplex document is advanced to a registration position, a second simplex document is subsequently advanced to a registration position with respect to the first document, and the documents thus registered are moved simultaneously to a copying position for sequential copying, and subsequent to scanning the documents a desired number of times to produce a number of copies, are moved to an output.

Two-up automatic document feeder for simplex to duplex copying

A corona generating device together with a coronode wire end block assembly is described, wherein the end block includes a spring member adapted for connection to a coronode wire which operates as a circuit breaker at the contact point of the end block thereby terminating the power supply, and preventing a potentially dangerous and destructive arcing situation in the event the wire ruptures. In a preferred embodiment the end block assembly comprises a conductive electrode having at one end a coronode contact and, at the other end a conductive plug adapted for engagement with a power supply contact, with the electrode being positioned in an electrically insulating holder between the coronode contact and the conductive plug. The conductive spring is mounted to the electrically insulating holder on one side of the coronode contact with the other end of the conductive spring being connected to the coronode wire. The device further includes a spring means to tension the coronode wire and the spring such that the spring means is in electrical contact with the coronode contact, whereby the coronode wire may be energized and wherein in the event that the coronode wire ruptures, the spring acts as a circuit breaker returning to its untensioned position breaking electrical contact with the coronode contact.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Ernest L DiNatale