Eastman-kodak Company

Michael H Parsons

James L Mohnkern

James Douglas Shifley

Kevin M Johnson

George R Walgrove, Iii

Alan Earl Rapkin

James A McGlen

William J Simmons

Thomas R Knapp

Gregory R Jantsch

Rene L Gobeyn

Frederick B Fox

An imaging system comprising a source of light movable with respect to a writing element and projectable thereon to generate an image, a focusing system is provided for focusing a light source which generates a first beam of light of a wavelength selected to be actinic with respect to the writing element. At least a portion of the first beam of light is absorbed by the writing element. The apparatus includes a roll supply of a donor material and a receiver material and a cutter to automatically supply donor sheets and receiver sheets independently to a writing platen or drum, and to selectively load and unload the donor sheets from superposition with the receiver sheet without disturbing the registration of the receiver sheet.

Laser thermal printer using roll material supply

Drum-shaped image and transfer members are controlled by a set of sensors and flags which determine the position of the leading edge of a toner image as it approaches a transfer zone and the leading edge of a receiving sheet as it approaches the transfer zone. A logic and control controls the speed of the transfer drum as it approaches the transfer zone to assure a predetermined spacial relationship between the two leading edges. The leading edge of the receiving sheet is sensed on the transfer drum by sensing a difference in reflectivity between the sheet and a low reflectivity area which the sheet overlies.

Image forming apparatus having image registration means

An imaging system comprising a source of light movable with respect to a writing element and projectable thereon to generate an image, a focusing system is provided for focusing a light source which generates a first beam of light of a wavelength selected to be actinic with respect to the writing element. At least a portion of the first beam of light is absorbed by the writing element. The apparatus comprises a material supply to automatically supply donor sheets and receiver sheets independently to a writing platen or drum, and to selectively load and unload the donor sheets from superposition with the receiver sheet without disturbing the registration of the receiver sheet. The material supply includes a carousel assembly with a plurality of roll supplies of the donors and the receivers. A single drive is provided for feeding material from whichever roll supply on the carousel is at the feed station.

Material supply carousel

An imaging system comprising a source of light movable with respect to a writing element and projectable thereon to generate an image, a focusing system is provided for focusing a light source which generates a first beam of light of a wavelength selected to be actinic with respect to the writing element. At least a portion of the first beam of light is absorbed by the writing element. The apparatus includes a supply of donor sheets and receiver sheets which are independently fed to a writing drum. The sheets are selectively wound in supply rolls so that the 'active' surfaces are oriented properly at the imaging station and have a 'set' which matches the curve of the drum.

Selectively wound material for a laser thermal printer

An imaging system comprising a source of light movable with respect to a writing element and projectable thereon to generate an image, a focusing system is provided for focusing a light source which generates a first beam of light of a wavelength selected to be actinic with respect to the writing element. At least a portion of the first beam of light is absorbed by the writing element. The apparatus comprises a material supply to automatically supply donor sheets and receiver sheets independently to a writing platen or drum, and to selectively load and unload the donor sheets from superposition with the receiver sheet without disturbing the registration of the receiver sheet. The material transport is arranged to selectively contact the donor and the receiver materials so that there is no cross-contamination.

Material transport that selectively contacts different materials

A sheet feeding apparatus in which a stack of sheets is supported and stored in a biased base tray. Successive uppermost sheets contained within the biased base tray are caused to move into engagement with a segmented feed roller. A cone shaped roller in combination with edge guides provide cross-track, in-track and skew alignment for the uppermost sheet after is it separated and advanced from the stack by the segmented feed roller. A biased retard pad prevents multiple sheet feeds from the stack.

Sheet feed and alignment apparatus

In a sheet feeder device of the vacuum belt type, the vacuum belt moves in a pivotal manner between a generally horizontal sheet acquiring position, in which the lower face of the belt confronts the top surface of the top sheet, lying generally flat atop the underlying stack sheet; and a tilted position, in which the belt lifts the leading end of the acquired top sheet away from the underlying sheet, flexes it to insure its separation from the underlying sheet and delivers it endwise to a sheet receiving unit.

Vacuum belt sheet feeder device

A device for assuring separation between a receiver member and a dielectric member in an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus. The electrostatographic reproduction apparatus includes a dielectric member adapted to carry a developed image, the dielectric member being movable along a travel path in which at some point the direction of travel is changed. Upstream of the change of direction of travel of the dielectric member, a mechanism is provided for electrostatically transferring a developed image from the dielectric member to a receiver member movable into register with the dielectric member. The separation device comprises an electrically conductive member of sharp edge configuration. The conductive member is located along a line transverse to and coincident with the desired travel path of the receiver member after separation of the lead edge of the receiver member from the dielectric member at a predetermined distance from the line of separation of the receiver member from the dielectric member as the dielectric member changes direction. Such predetermined distance is sufficient to enable separation of the lead edge of the receiver member from the dielectric member and approach contact with the receiver member to discharge electrical potential on the receiver member and prevent such electrical potential from effecting re-attachment of the receiver member to the dielectric member.

Device for facilitating receiver member separation

A method and apparatus for registering a sheet member with an indicia on the surface of a moving member which comprises means for driving a sheet member substantially tangentially of the moving member and between the moving member and a linear image sensor which is disposed adjacent the surface of the moving member. The linear image sensor senses the leading edge of the sheet member and, as the moving member is driven, the linear image sensor senses the passage of the indicia on the surface thereof as the member travels therepast. The distance between the indicia and the leading edge of the sheet member is sensed and an error signal is generated representative of the distance. The sheet member driving means is regulated so as to reduce the error signal and the sheet is attached to the moving member when the error signal is reduced to a predetermined value.

Method and apparatus for registering a sheet

Apparatus and methods for increasing the throughput speed in copiers and printers which produce color transparency output sheets separated by special or slip sheets. A frame transfer sequence is used wherein separate component color images for different output sheets are intermixed on different areas of the transfer member at the same time. After one area contains all of the component images, the composite image is removed and the corresponding frame is skipped while the interleaving sheet is fed through the transfer station of the apparatus. The sequence is repeated until the desired number of output copies are obtained. The invention is applicable to both intermediate and direct transfer reproducing apparatus.

Image forming apparatus with interleaved output sheets

A recirculating document feeder for a copier/duplicator removes sheets seriatim from the bottom of a stack of sheets, circulates a removed sheet to a position for copying, and then returns the sheet back onto the top of the stack of sheets. A sheet separator engages the sheet that initially is on top of the stack for separating the sheets in the stack that have been circulated along the path from those sheets in the stack that have not been circulated along the path. In response to feeding of the top sheet of the stack along the path, the separator is retracted and then returned to the top of the stack after the top sheet has been circulated for copying. The separator is driven along a generally rectilinear path and guided along that path by a pin in the separator that travels along a slot formed partially in each of two facing surfaces.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Michael H Parsons