International Business Machines Corporation

Leon C Brown

Uscoe J Fitts

Willard Leon Gudgel

Jesse L Campbell

Earl G Edwards

Charles E Peterson

Stanley L Pond

Peter G Robinson

Clement C Wilson

David R Polakowski

A fuser roll apparatus in a toner fixing station associated with an electrophotographic or xerographic device for fixing a toner image onto a copy sheet by the application of heat and pressure. The fusing apparatus includes a pair of fuser rollers and a linkage mechanism coupling a control cam and the fuser rollers. An electromechanically operated latch, in the form of a solenoid, is interposed in the linkage mechanism coupling the control cam and fuser rollers. So long as the solenoid is energized, the opening of the rollers is controlled solely by the rotation of the cam. If the solenoid is deenergized however, the rollers are maintained in an open position. Thereafter, until the solenoid is again energized, the rollers remain open and are unaffected by rotational movement of the cam.

Electromechanically operated fuser roll closure

A corona wire, either directly or through an auxiliary element, engages the spiral thread of a screw-like stub member mounted on the housing of a corona charging apparatus to provide a simple, low cost and easily assembled corona wire adjuster. The stub member is mounted on the housing such that it may be rotationally driven much like a screw, but, unlike a screw, will not move into or out of the housing as it is rotated. Rotation of the stub member causes the corona wire to move in a direction parallel to the stub member axis in response to the thread engagement and thereby change its position relative to a photoconductor surface.

Corona wire adjuster

A xerographic copier having a removable, multifunction paper cassette, the cassette functioning as the copier's paper supply, the copier's exit tray and the copier's single-sheet bypass entry station. The cassette is held at an acute angle to the horizontal, and includes a substantially solid upper wall whose lower portion includes a slot which exposes the paper supply stack's top sheet to paper feed roller means. Paper is fed, one sheet at a time, to a paper path which includes a transfer station and a hot roll fusing station. This paper path traverses a loop, such that the finished copy comes to rest on the solid upper wall of the cassette. The lower portion of this solid upper wall includes a movable paper gate which, when closed, allows multiple copies to be stacked before removal by the operator. If the operator wishes to copy in the bypass mode, a single sheet is inserted onto the cassette's solid upper wall, and the gate is opened, allowing the lower edge of the bypass sheet to be placed on top of the top sheet of the paper supply stack. This bypass sheet is used as the next sheet in a copy process. Removal of the cassette, or movement of the paper gate to its open position, controls the copier's interimage erase station to erase for the longest paper which can be used in the copier.

Copier and multifunction paper cassette

An electrophotographic copier having a hot roll fuser assembly. This assembly is slidably supported by a pair of rails. When the fuser assembly is locked into its fusing position, within the copier, it is relatively inaccessible for purposes of inspection, cleaning and/or jam clearance. In its withdrawn, inoperative position, a single manually operable jam clearance handle is operator accessible. Manual actuation of this handle, from a folded to an extended position, is effective to move both a sheet peeler or detach bar, and a sheet transport channel away from the fusing nip. When the handle is moved back to its folded position, the sheet detach bar and transport channel are accurately positioned, and locked in an operative position closely adjacent to the downstream side of the fusing nip, so as to aid in release of the sheet from the fusing nip, and to guide the sheet away from this nip.

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

Leon C Brown