Xerox Corporation

Keith Andrew Buddendeck

Barry Paul Mandel

Jeffrey J Folkins

Steven Robert Moore

Lloyd A Williams

Joannes N M deJong

Saurabh Prabhat

Abu Saeed Islam

Martin Krucinski

Alexander J Fioravanti

Ming Yang

Thomas Jay Wyble

Paul J DeGruchy

Rakesh Suresh Kulkarni

Marina L Tharayil

Eilleen R Aviles

A system and method for measuring a lead edge and/or a trail edge media curl utilizing a dual cross beam sensor. The dual cross beam sensor includes one or more pairs of emitters (e.g., a pair to two pairs of emitters) and one or more detectors positioned sequentially in a media path so that a media passes via dual cross beams. Timing data with respect to the media can be measured as the media crosses via the dual cross beam sensor from a leading edge and/or trailing edge. A true instantaneous media speed and a curl height (i.e., media tip height or media curvature) can be simultaneously calculated from the timing data associated with the lead edge/trail edge with respect to each single cross beams of the dual cross beam sensor. An average curl height can be then calculated to enhance the accuracy of the media curl measurement.

Dual cross beam sensor system and method for measuring lead edge and/or trail edge media curl

A drive roll/idler roll nip release mechanism utilizes the motor used for the drive nip, coupled with one-way clutches, to power the nip release as a sheet is handed off to a downstream nip. A drive shaft is coupled to a first one-way clutch in one direction and an idler cam shaft is coupled to a second one-way clutch in the opposite direction. This allows the idler cam shaft to be driven only when the motor is reversed, and the drive shaft to be driven only when the motor is moving forward. The one-way clutch on the drive shaft allows the drive wheels to freewheel when the motor is reversed in order to engage the nip release. Thus, the nip release is activated while the drive nip continues to rotate in the direction of sheet motion.

Drive roll/idler roll nip release mechanism

A method of removing media lateral DC position errors in a long paper path using closed loop correction is disclosed. The amount of lateral DC media shift error generated (or the lateral DC correction required) in the paper path is sensed by a CCD or full width array sensor located in the downstream paper path. In the closed loop, this information is used to energize a motorized actuator in the upstream paper path to correct for lateral DC errors in the media path. Thus, the paper is delivered to the downstream media path within specifications.

Method and system for correcting lateral position error

A system for automatically releasing selected plural sheet feeding nip sets spaced along a print media sheet feeding path of a printer, wherein the idler rollers are rotatably mounted on common idler shafts and a selectable partial rotation system driven by a single low cost motor is flexibly connected to those plural idler shafts to partially rotate eccentric lift cams on each idler shaft into the underlying surface as to lift the idler shaft and thereby move the idler rollers away from their normally mating sheet feed rollers to release all the sheet feeding nips, enabling sheet deskew, inversion, acceleration, deceleration, or sheet jam clearance in that selected area of the sheet feeding path.

Printer paper path plural nips releasing system

An ink image producing machine has (a) imaging devices, including at least one ink jet print head and an image receiving station for producing an ink image on a heated substrate; (b) a substrate handling assembly including holding devices for holding supplies of substrates, and transport feeding devices for transporting and feeding substrates in a substrate direction towards the image receiving station; (c) a first substrate heating assembly located upstream of the image receiving station for initially heating each substrate being fed and transported from the holding devices; and (d) a second substrate heating assembly located downstream of the first substrate heating assembly and upstream of said image receiving station, relative to the substrate feeding direction, for controllably re-heating each substrate, initially heated by the first substrate heating assembly, to a desired ink image receiving temperature.

Multi-stage pre-transfer substrate heating assembly

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Keith Andrew Buddendeck