International Business Machines Corporation

John H Rhodes, Jr

Bernard L Wilzbach

William D Clark

Alfonso A Rosati

Joe M Hopping

Teddy A Rehage

Mark D Garner

Deborah B Griego

An electrophotographic printing machine utilizing a scanning light beam to produce generated characters is disclosed. The start of character generation is controlled by the edge position of paper receiving the image. Edge position of the paper is sensed prior to entry of the paper into the print receiving station. Signal(s) representing the edge position are sent to data processing control means. The signals are converted into an appropriate shift factor for controlling the start of pel generation. In that manner, the image to be generated is shifted in accordance with paper position so that proper margins are maintained regardless of paper position.

Electronic image registration

A bender bar intercepts xerographic copier paper traveling from a transfer corona to the fuser rolls in a manner that compensates for sheet skew before the sheet arrives at the nip of the transfer rollers. The bender bar is fixed in position but adjustable so that copy sheets encountering the bar can have different path lengths with respect to opposite ends of the bar as encountered by the sheets. The sheet leading edges arrive at the fuser roll nip in a manner that compensates for any transfer distortion caused by factors such as axial misalignment between the fuser and input rolls, engagement of the paper by other elements associated with the transfer station paper path, or the like.

Guidance correction method and apparatus for copy paper path in a copier

A document feed device, illustrated with a copier machine, for recirculating documents through a processing station. A movable portion of the document feed device is mounted for pivoting movement to expose a lower document feed path. The movable portion contains several document moving rollers but no prime movers, gears or belts; these rolls are driven by frictional contact with each other and ultimately by contact with a set of driven rollers located in the nonmoving portion of the document feed device. The rollers comprising a document moving nip are oppositely skewed relative to the direction of document travel in order to move documents gently toward a reference edge and coefficients of friction of roller materials are chosen to insure correct document alignment.

Recirculating document feed apparatus and method for aligning documents

An electrophotographic copier has an extended transport path, including a storage for duplex functions, for copying documents which may be reproduced, to a selectable number of copies, from a master. The master is positioned first at an imaging station, so that the desired number of image transfers to copies can be made. The master document transport system recirculates the imaged master, holding it at a storage station spaced apart from the image station, while a second master is positioned at the image station. The system need not be delayed by requiring that all of the copy documents reach an exit position before the second master is inserted. Moreover if a jam occurs in any of a number of modes of operation the system is able to recall one or two masters as needed to complete the run in most expeditious fashion. By employing a first run adjacent the image station and a second run moving in the opposite direction and adjacent thereto, documents at the storage station may selectively be returned to the image station, to the entry mechanism for the system, or may be exited from the system. When duplex copies are being made from simplex or duplex masters, for example, a jam occurring when copying on the second side is followed by completing the copies in the duplex bin, then recalling the first master to undertake duplex copying of the number of added copies needed to make up the number lost in the jam. The system can therefore operate in semiautomatic or automatic document feeding modes to provide simplex copies, duplex copies from simplex masters, or duplex copies of duplex masters.

Document handler

Paper aligning rolls wherein the drive roll is skewed to the direction of travel in order to move paper toward a referencing edge while the backup roll is oppositely skewed to urge the paper away from the referencing edge. By selecting the coefficient of friction of the drive roll to be higher than the coefficient of friction of the backup roll, the paper is moved into the referencing edge with a controlled small resultant force tending to not crumple the paper. This system maintains a high forward drive force while minimizing the force tending to crumple.

Growing community of inventors

Longmont, CO, United States of America

John H Rhodes, Jr