Xerox Corporation

Conduent Business Services, LLC

Faming Li

Eric Scott Hamby

Augusto E Barton

Jing Zhou

Xuejin Wen

Daniel James McVeigh

Anthony Salvatore Condello

Paul Michael Fromm

Eric Michael Gross

Donald M Bott

Yongsoon Eun

Erwin Ruiz

Mandakini Kanungo

Eric J Shrader

Steven Matthew Russel

Joannes N M deJong

Grace T Brewington

Samir Kumar

Michael David Shepherd

Jack Gaynor Elliot

Nicholas P Kladias

Richard W Seyfried

Martin Krucinski

Jeffrey Nyyssonen Swing

Marina L Tharayil

Lina Fu

Brendan H Williamson

Fusheng Xu

Yuanjia Zhang

Yu-An Sun

Jinhui Yao

Bo Hu

Dennis F Quebe, Jr

A method and a non-transitory computer readable medium for generating polygons within a geographic region that satisfy a query are disclosed. For example, the method extracts a plurality of nodes, a plurality of service providers and information associated with the plurality of nodes and the plurality of service providers of the geographic region from a geographic data source, creates a node table based on the information that was extracted, receives the query for one or more nodes having a predefined number of service providers within a travel budget, determines the one or more nodes from the node table that satisfy the query, and generates one or more generate polygons around the one or more nodes that satisfy the query within the geographic region.

Method and system for generating polygons within a geographic region that satisfy a query

A fluid level sensor is configured for identifying a fluid level in a small volume reservoir, such as a fluid reservoir in an ejector head. The reservoir includes a plurality of vertically arranged chambers. A plurality of piezoelectric transducers is distributed over the chambers in a one-to-one correspondence. At least one electrical conductor is electrically connected to each piezoelectric transducer in the plurality of piezoelectric transducers to enable each piezoelectric sensor to receive an electrical signal to a portion of a wall of the chamber to produce an acoustical wave in the chamber and to transmit an electrical signal from each piezoelectric transducer in response to a fluctuating pressure on each piezoelectric transducer produced by the acoustical wave in the chamber.

Ink level sensor formed with an array of self-sensing piezoelectric transducers

Embodiments described herein are directed to characterizing a media curler for a printing. Test curls can be imposed on media having input curls with known input values using a media curler to be characterized. The media curler can impose the test curls based on curler settings of the media curler. Resulting output values from an interaction between the test curls and the input curls can be measured and the curler settings can be characterized based on the known input values and the resulting output values so that the media curler can be configured to respond to incoming media having a known input curl by applying curler setting to achieve a desired output curl.

System and method for media curler characterization

A method, non-transitory computer readable medium, and apparatus for routing a call using a hybrid call routing scheme are disclosed. For example, the method receives a call for a customer agent at a call center, identifies a list of available customer agents, calculates a hybrid score for each one of the available customer agents, wherein the hybrid score is based upon a combination of a longest-idle-agent routing parameter, a performance based routing parameter and a tuning parameter, selects a customer agent from the list of the available customer agents having a highest hybrid score and routes, by the processor, the call to the customer agent that is selected.

Method and apparatus for routing a call using a hybrid call routing scheme with real-time automatic adjustment

A fixing device includes a first fixing member a second fixing member that are movable to engage and disengage a fixing nip defined by the first and second fixing member. The fixing nip is disengaged to accommodate entry and exit of a cut sheet, and engaged to accommodate warm-pressure fixing a marking material image to the cut sheet.

Apparatus, methods, and systems for engaging and disengaging a fixing nip for cut sheet processing

Various embodiments provide materials, apparatus, and methods for forming an image. Exemplary imaging apparatus can include one or more light sources configured to treat toner images after they are transferred on an image receiving substrate (e.g., a copy sheet). The toner images can be formed of an opto-thermal toner containing opto-thermal elements in a toner composition. The fuser subsystem may or may not be configured in the disclosed imaging apparatus.

Efficient fusing and fixing for toners comprising opto-thermal elements

An indirect media flatness measurement system, and method, by which the appropriate level of hold-down force may be determined with some degree of quantitative accuracy. In an ink jet printer that is operative to subject a substrate media to a hold down force during printing, the method including printing a predetermined test image having a predetermined pattern on a substrate media using an ink jet print apparatus to produce a test print. Optionally, pattern may be an array of test symbols. The test symbol may include a line printed on the substrate media in a direction perpendicular to a process direction of the printer. The test print is compared with the predetermined test image, including measuring drop placement errors of test symbols. The height of the substrate media at the location of each test symbol is calculated based upon the drop placement error.

Indirect media flatness measurement

A fuser assembly stepped power control system includes a controller that outputs control signals to independently control individual lamps in the fuser assembly. Multiple lamps are turned on with a delay between actuation of each lamp to reduce in-rush current. Control signals are output by the controller as a function of temperature error.

Methods, apparatus, and systems for fuser assembly power control

According to aspects of the embodiments, there is provided methods and systems that incorporate a model predictive controller (MPC) in an image reproduction machine with known disturbance information. The MPC uses the control action at a current time in order to minimize the impact of an impending disturbance as well as to maximize current control performance. The impending disturbance is used by the MPC to determine an incremental change that combines steady state and transient state impact on the image reproduction machine. Disturbance such as print media type, image content type, physical dimension of the print media, weight of the print media, and print job data can be employed. Further, control of the image reproduction machine is generated in real time over a receding horizon, for the purpose of minimizing a cost function indicative of image variation, energy consumption, or the like.

Printing process model predictive control with disturbance preview

An asymmetrical printer includes a housing () and a first fuser member () rotationally supported in the housing. The first fuser member has a first fuser member end () and a second fuser member end (). The first fuser member fuses an image on a media sheet traveling in a media sheettravel direction (). A fuser nip () has a fuser nip width dimension () parallel to the media sheet travel direction and having a fuser nip length () from the first fuser member end to the second fuser member end. The fuser nip length is perpendicular to the media sheet travel direction. The fuser nip width dimension is asymmetrical along the fuser nip length. A second fuser member () is rotationally supported in the housing and coupled to the first fuser member at the fuser nip. The second fuser member fuses the image on the media sheet.

Apparatus and method for an asymmetrical printer fuser nip

An apparatus () and method () that adjusts a printer fuser nip is disclosed. The apparatus can include a media transport () configured to transport a media sheet () in a media sheet travel direction. The apparatus can include a fuser assembly () configured to fuse an image on the media sheet. The fuser assembly can include a fuser nip () that can have a fuser nip width () parallel to the media sheet travel direction. The apparatus can include a controller () coupled to the fuser assembly, where the controller can be configured to control operations of the apparatus. The apparatus can include a nip width profile generation module () coupled to the controller, where the nip width profile generation module can be configured to determine fuser nip width parameters based on media sheet properties and based on fuser assembly properties. The fuser assembly can be adjusted according to the fuser nip width parameters.

Apparatus and method for adjustment of a printer fuser nip

Apparatuses useful for printing and methods of controlling a temperature of a surface in an apparatus useful for printing are disclosed. An exemplary embodiment of the apparatuses includes a first roll including a first outer surface and at least one first heating element for heating the first outer surface; a second roll including a second outer surface; a nip between the first outer surface and the second outer surface; a first temperature sensor for sensing a pre-nip temperature at a pre-nip location; and a first voltage modulator connected to each first heating element and the first temperature sensor. The first voltage modulator receives a temperature signal from the first temperature sensor indicative of the pre-nip temperature and modulates an AC voltage supplied to each first heating element to maintain each first heating element continuously ON at a power level ranging from partial power to full power to control the pre-nip temperature.

Apparatuses useful for printing and methods of controlling a temperature of a surface in apparatuses useful for printing

Apparatuses useful in printing and methods of mitigating media edge wear effects on fixing belts in printing are provided. An exemplary apparatus useful for printing onto media includes a first roll including a first surface; a second roll including a second surface; a fixing member including a third surface; a fixing belt supported on the first surface and second surface, the fixing belt including a surface forming a nip with the fixing member; a registration distribution system for translating the first roll, second roll, fixing member and fixing belt, as a unit, transversely with respect to a media travel path of media received at the nip; and a belt steering mechanism connected to the second roll for translating the fixing belt across the first surface of the first roll at the nip, transversely to the media travel path, while the registration distribution system translates the first roll, second roll, fixing member and fixing belt transversely to the media travel path.

Growing community of inventors

Penfield, NY, United States of America

Faming Li