Xerox Corporation

John H Hinton

Daniel W Costanza

William J Nowak

Edward C Bock

James D Rees

Roger W Budnik

David K Shogren

Keith Allan Nau

Philip J Giguere

William T Foti

Cedric R Burns

Joseph R Pecoraro

Motor polygon assemblies having a housing, a cantilevered stationary shaft within the housing, a rotating sleeve, a multifaceted polygon mounted on the rotating sleeve, and a cover over the housing. The cover includes a protrusion that contacts the free end of the cantilevered stationary shaft. The protrusion stabilizes the free end.

Outboard support for cantilevered air bearing stationary shaft

A Raster Output Scanner (ROS) assembly is mounted within a printing machine frame so as to maintain a very precise relationship with the photoreceptor being imaged. A ROS housing is mounted in relation to the photoreceptor so that, while the housing is fixed to a machine frame by isolators to damp out vibrations and transients, a mechanical latching to a photoreceptor backer bar provides a degree of rotational movement consistent with movement of the photoreceptor. Thus, errors created by photoreceptor motion are compensated for. The invention discloses a 3 or a 4 point mounting arrangement which affords a high degree of stability coupled with conformance with exacting registration tolerances.

Mounting arrangement for a raster output scanner

A single pass highlight color printer is disclosed which utilizes two pairs of Raster Output Scan (ROS) systems mounted symmetrically about a common polygon motor assembly. Four identical optical systems are thus provided, 180.degree. apart with diode laser outputs directed from a ROS frame parallel and separated to allow the appropriate spacing for xerographic components situated adjacent the xerographic belt. Each ROS unit includes a 90.degree. mirror pair which is mounted on a roof mirror carriage which in turn is connected to a focus carriage via an adjustable guide system. The interaction between the focus carriage and the roof mirror carriage enables a skew alignment and process (beam steering) adjustment to be accomplished with a high degree of precision.

Single pass color printer

An alignment mechanism is provided for adjusting the optical center line of scanning beams generated in a ROS system. The collimator lenses which collimates the output of a diode laser source are mounted within a lens barrel. The lens barrel is positioned so as to be biased against the sides of a housing in which the ROS components are located. The barrel has eccentric rings mounted along its circumference which, when rotated, inpart motion to the lens barrel so as to change the center line of the collimated beam output. This provides adjustment of the scan line center line at the image plane.

Alignment method and apparatus for optical imaging systems

A single pass highlight color printer is disclosed which utilizes two pairs of Raster Output Scan (ROS) systems mounted symmetrically about a common polygon motor assembly. Four identical optical systems are thus provided, 180.degree. apart with diode laser outputs directed from a ROS frame parallel and separated to allow the appropriate spacing for xerographic components situated adjacent the xerographic belt. Each ROS unit includes a 90.degree. mirror pair which is mounted on a roof mirror carriage which in turn is connected to a focus carriage via a flexible guide system. The interaction between the focus carriage and the roof mirror carriage enables a skew alignment and process (beam steering) adjustment to be accomplished with a high degree of precision.

Single pass color printer having improved process and slow registration

Polygon scanners of the type used in ROS printers, are subject to centrifugal caused distortion at the mirror (facet) surface at certain rotational speeds. This distortion can affect the performance of the scanning beam at an image plane. Techniques are provided for predicting the radial facet distortion at expected rotational speeds, and for specific polygon designs. In one embodiment, the surfaces of the polygon facets are modified to incorporate the reverse of the radial distortion curve which is predicted at the rotational load. When operating at the rotational load, the facet surface then deforms to a desired planar (flat) configuration. In another embodiment, the polygon element structure is modified by adjusting the polygon modules of elasticity, weight density, and the polygon continuum to achieve a distorted facet surface at rotational speed which provides the functions normally provided by a post polygon lens.

Polygon scanner with predictable facet deformation characteristics

An illumination lamp assembly is provided for scan/illuminating a document during a document scan mode. The assembly includes an elongated lamp partially enclosed by a pair of elliptical reflectors. The lamp ends are centered at the focal point of the two reflectors and the lamp is releaseably secured between fixed end blocks and a retaining bias means arrangement which centers lamp at the reflector focal point and permits adjustment-free removal and replacement. Vibrational strobing of the lamp is decreased by providing at least one elastomeric O-ring around the lamp circumference to increase the lamp stiffness and raise the natural frequency of the lamp into a range where the resonant effects of the strobing are reduced.

Illumination lamp assembly for a document scan system

An optical scanning carriage is arranged to be moved along guide rails placed in a plane beneath, and parallel to an object plane. Magnets are incorporated into the carriage base to provide an attractive force between the carriage and the guide rails. This attractive force is designed to balance and neutralize forces associated with high scan rates which would tend to lift the carriage from its sliding contact along the guide rails.

Optical scanning carriage

A document reproduction system is disclosed which employs an imaging array assembly positioned to transmit reflected images from a document in an object plane onto an imaging plane. The imaging assembly includes a 1X lens array and at least one reduction/enlargement lens array. The overall dimensions of the total imaging area of the reproduction system are reduced from conventional fixed lens or fixed document system by providing means for moving the document, imaging assembly and imaging plane in certain prescribed relationships. These means include a pulley/cable/clutch arrangement which enables changes in velocity relationships which are required for a unity magnification mode of operation as well as those for a reduction or enlargement modes of operation.

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Ontario, NY, United States of America

John H Hinton