International Business Machines Corporation

Fred R Mares

Ernest P Kollar

Donald F Colglazier

John L Fallon

George P Kimble

A multibin, cut-sheet xerographic copier capable of operating in a simplex or a duplex copy mode, wherein sheets are fed from a selected sheet stack, one at a time, to the copier's transfer station, by a sheet feeding means which includes a combing wheel. The combing wheel shingles the leading edge of the stack's top sheet to an open feed roller nip, to be sensed there by a pneumatic sensor. Sensing of this leading edge causes the combing wheel to be lifted off the stack. Subsequently, at a time determined by the copier's control logic, the drive nip closes to thereby feed the top sheet to the copier's paper registration gate, and then to its transfer station. As soon as this sheet's trailing edge has cleared the pneumatic sensor, and the drive nip has opened, the next sheet is staged at the shingled position, in the open drive nip. Side-one copied sheets, of intended duplex copies, are automatically stacked in a duplex bin. The bottom of the duplex bin includes a flat, resilient bottom-of-the-bin pad. This pad's position is adjustable in a plane parallel to the bottom of the duplex bin, to facilitate control of the direction in which side-one copied sheets are fed out to the copier's paper registration gate, for side-two copying.

Cut-sheet xerographic copier having combing wheel sheet feed and a

An improved apparatus for successively separating and feeding sheets from a stack of sheets is disclosed. A wave generator wheel, rotating in a plane generally parallel to the stack, and about a tiltable axis generally perpendicular to the stack, is tiltable in a first direction to contact the stack for shingling the stack, and in a second direction to contact the stack for restoring the stack to its unshingled state. Sheets in a stack are driven forward or rearward by simply tilting the rotating wheel. The wave generator wheel is used to first drive the stack's top sheet away from a feed nip, and to then drive the stack's top sheet into the feed nip.

Wave generator to shingle sheets

An electrophotographic copier having a cut sheet, two-bin, paper feed module which is selectively secured in copier-operative position, whereat it is operable to feed sheets to the copier's paper aligner and transfer station, or is removable to a copier-inoperative position whereat the module remains operative to feed sheets for the purpose of examination, analysis, and/or repair and maintenance of the paper feed module.

Copier having removable paper feed module

A multibin, cut-sheet xerographic copier capable of operating in a simplex or a duplex mode, wherein sheets are fed from a selected sheet stack, one at a time, to the copier's transfer station, by a sheet feeding structure which includes a resilient combing wheel. The combing wheel is of a unique resilient construction, such that it exhibits a spring rate and damping factor which minimizes acoustical noise and enhances reliable, repeatable shingling of the top sheet of a stack to a closable sheet drive nip.

Combing wheel

A multibin, cut-sheet xerographic copier capable of operating in a simplex or a duplex copy mode, wherein sheets are fed from a selected sheet stack, one at a time, to the copier's transfer station, by a sheet feeding means which includes a combing wheel. The combing wheel shingles the top few sheets, and particularly the single top sheet's leading edge, to a normally open feed nip. This nip is closed by copier logic to feed the top sheet to the transfer station. The feed nip comprises a fixed position, continuously rotating feed roller adapted to cooperate with the top surface of the top sheet. A solenoid controlled, nip-closing, composite pad is pivotable upward to press the top sheet against the feed roller. This composite pad includes a first low friction, nonresilient pressure pad cooperating with the feed roller, and a second, reduced thickness, resilient pad cooperating with the leading edge of the shingled sheets under the top sheet. A spring biases all shingled sheets away from the feed roller and toward the solenoid controlled composite pad.

Combing wheel feed nip with second sheet restraint

A multibin, cut-sheet xerographic copier capable of operating in a simplex or a duplex copy mode, wherein sheets are fed from a selected sheet stack, one at a time, to the copier's transfer station, by a sheet feeding means which includes a combing wheel. The combing wheel shingles the leading edge of the stack's top sheet to an open feed roller nip, to be sensed thereat by a pneumatic sensor. Sensing of this leading edge causes the combing wheel to be lifted off the stack. Subsequently, at a time determined by the copier's control logic, the drive nip closes to thereby feed the top sheet to the copier's paper registration gate, and then to its transfer station. As soon as this sheet's trailing edge has cleared the pneumatic sensor, and the drive nip has opened, the next sheet is staged at the shingled position, in the open drive nip. Means are provided to deshingle the stack when the copier's paper supply drawer is opened, as for reloading paper. The combing wheel, drive nip and associated assemblies are supported by a single frame member, and are thus removable as a unit for replacement or repair.

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Boulder, CO, United States of America

Fred R Mares