Lexmark International, Inc.

Matthew Christopher Coriale

John Parker Richey

Delbert Lester Elliott

Paul Douglas Horrall

Gregory Lawrence Ream

David Anthony Schneider

Harald Portig

Michael David Maul

Jason Lee Rowe

Derek Masami Inouye

Christopher Edward Rhoads

John Randolph McIntyre

Liqun Larry Wang

Jonathan Carey Frey

Wen-hsiung Adam Tseng

An image forming device includes a web server, and serves applets to a communicatively coupled computer. The applets execute on the computer, and control one or more operations and/or monitor one or more conditions or sensors in the image forming device. An applet may provide detailed instructions to the computer user as a diagnostic program executes on the image forming device. A list of available applets may be served to the computer, and one or more applets served in response to a user's selection from the list. A decision tree may be served, and one or more applets served as the user advances through the decision tree. Serving the diagnostic applets from the image forming device alleviates the need for a field repair technician to carry a large suite of diagnostic software to diagnose and repair a plurality of models, years, and configurations of image forming devices.

Image forming device diagnostics using served applets

A device and method for aligning a media sheet moving along a media path. An amount of skew that will occur as the media sheet moves along the media path is determined based on one or more physical characteristics. Previous testing of the device indicates that media sheets having particular physical characteristics will have a known amount of skew by the time they reach a predetermined location along the media path. The media sheet is moved the known amount so the media sheet is aligned. Test data is used to determine the amount of expected misalignment of the media sheet and the amount necessary to move the media sheet back into alignment.

Method and device to control the alignment of a media sheet in an image forming device

A method and device for removing media sheet jams within an image forming device. The position of the media sheets is monitored as the media sheets move through the image forming process. The occurrence of a media jam is detected, and the position of each media sheet within the device at the time of the jam is also detected. A message is displayed to an operator indicating the number of sheets within the device that should be removed to clear the jam. The order of media sheet removal may also be displayed to the operator.

Method and device for clearing media jams from an image forming device

Waste toner is detected in a container of an image forming apparatus. An auger is provided within the container. A switch is provided which is operable depending upon a torque associated with operation of the auger. A frequency of activation of the switch is detected. A &ldquo;not full&rdquo;, &ldquo;near full&rdquo; and &ldquo;full&rdquo; condition of the waste toner in the container is determined depending upon the frequency of activation of the switch.

Method of detecting waste toner in a container of an image forming apparatus

A method for calculating a print medium pick time for an imaging apparatus that transports media at variable speeds along a media path, includes the steps of providing a staging process for varying a transport velocity of a media sheet before transferring an image to the media sheet at the image transfer location, the staging process being used for positioning a top writing line margin of the media sheet in relation to the image at the image transfer location; determining a time period t corresponding to a time when a pick motor is started to pick the media sheet to a time when the staging process is started; determining a derived time period t representative of a normalized time from when the staging process is started to a time when a media path sensor senses the media sheet; and determining a compensated calculated pick time for the media sheet by summing the time period t with the time period t .

Method for calculating a print medium pick time for an imaging apparatus that transports print media at variable speeds

A method of aligning print images of an electrophotographic machine on a print medium includes providing a plurality of rotating photoconductive drums in the electrophotographic machine. Each of a plurality of laser beams is reflected off of a respective one of a plurality of reflectors. Each reflector rotates relative to the respective laser beam to thereby scan the laser beam across a respective one of the photoconductive drums to produce a scan line in a scan direction. The relative rotation between the laser beams and the respective reflectors is cyclically repeated to thereby produce a plurality of substantially parallel scan lines on each photoconductive drum. Each scan line is displaced from an adjacent scan line by a scan line separation distance in a process direction perpendicular to the scan direction. Toner is applied to each scan line on the photoconductive drums. A moving toner transfer medium contacts each photoconductive drum at a respective toner transfer nip. A first toner transfer nip is associated with a first reflector. A second toner transfer nip is associated with a second reflector. A length of the toner transfer medium between at least the first toner transfer nip and the second toner transfer nip is a non-integer multiple of the scan line separation distance. The length of the toner transfer medium has an integer portion and a fractional portion when expressed in units of the scan line separation distance. A speed of the rotation of the second reflector is temporarily increased or decreased dependent upon the fractional portion of the length. The toner is transferred from the photoconductive drums to the toner transfer medium. The toner is transferred from the toner transfer medium to the print medium. The machine controller provides raster image data to the respective laser printheads after accounting for the relative phase relationships between the respective reflectors. Raster scan data is synchronized in both scan and process directions to produce scans on the transfer medium that overlay those deposited at an earlier photoconductive drum.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

Matthew Christopher Coriale