Xerox Corporation

Murray O Meetze, Jr

Kenneth J Rieck

Arthur Harold Kahn

Kenneth G Christy

John D Gramlich

Dennis C DeYoung

Thomas P Lambert

Charles W Stohrer

Heiko Rommelmann

Alberto Rodriguez

Lisbeth Sophia Quesnel

Keith Lamar Willis

LeRoy A Baldwin

Neil A Frankel

Charles E Smith

Timothy G Struczewski

Rhonda L Staudt

David K Young

Debora M Litwiller

Cesidio J DiCesare

Binns C Handy

A printing device is provided comprising multiple marking engines including at least one marking engine and at least another marking engine that during operation place marks on output media. A power supply is further provided that selectively supplies selected levels of power from the at least one marking engine to the at least another marking engine for selected times so as to rotate readiness from the at least one marking engine to the at least another marking engine for operation to and from a dormant state. Power from the power supply is selectively distributed to the multiple marking engines so that the at least one marking engine is readied for operation while the at least another marking engine is removed from readiness.

Power regulator of multiple integrated marking engines

A more intuitive and easier to use repositionable sheet stack edge guide, in which a single simple manual movement of a single visible upstanding member in either of the opposite possible repositioning directions can both automatically unlatch the edge guide latching system from its previously latched position by the partial pivoting of that member and also move the edge guide in its desired repositioning direction.

Simplified movement printer sheet stack edge guide

A reduced footprint image producing machine including (a) an image output terminal (IOT) having (i) a moveable imaging member including an imaging surface; (ii) latent imaging devices for forming a latent electrostatic toner image on the imaging surface; (iii) a development unit for developing the latent electrostatic image on the imaging surface into a toner image; (iv) a transfer station for transferring the toner image from the imaging surface onto a toner image carrying sheet; (v) a fusing apparatus for heating and fusing the transferred image onto the toner image carrying sheet; and (b) a footprint-reducing tower mounted on top of the IOT and containing (i) machine electronics and controller assembly, and (ii) machine environment conditioning devices including cleaning and exhaust fans along with portions of associated manifolds, thereby preventing the addition of protrusions to a rear of the IOT, and thus reducing the installed foot print of the machine.

Image producing machine having a footprint-reducing tower

An overlay for use with a display screen, comprising at least one first tactilely readable area, wherein the display screen includes a first feature thereon, wherein the tactilely readable area includes information in a tactilely readable format, and wherein the information identifies a first feature displayed on the screen.

Tactile overlays for screens

Footprint-reducing tower for an image producing machine

Image producing machine

In a printing apparatus, verification of the correctness of a particular replaceable module takes place before an operating element of the printing apparatus fully engages the replaceable module. A printing apparatus coupler establishes a communication link with a tag on the replaceable module as the replaceable module is being inserted into the printing apparatus. The printing apparatus coupler receives module identifying information from the tag. The coupler determines from the identifying information whether the replaceable module is appropriate for that location in that printing apparatus, and performs either an acceptance action to accept the replaceable module, or a rejection action to reject the module.

Insertion verification of replaceable module of printing apparatus

An overlay for use with a video screen having a display thereon, comprising at least one first tactilely readable area corresponding to a feature of a first graphical display on the screen.

This invention relates to the packaging and subsequent removal of dry marking materials that tend to clump or bridge when shipped or stored in containers. Human operators are presently instructed to agitate such containers before installation into a marking engine but such agitation is unreliable. The present invention involves placement of agitation vanes on a displaceable inner seal within the cartridge such that such vanes will break apart clumps and bridges of the marking material during installation of the container upon the marking engine.

Dry ink replenishment bottle with internal plug agitation device

A high capacity copy sheet supplying system for reproduction apparatus, in which a large and heavy stack of copy sheets may be much more easily and accurately loaded therein, by a sheet supplying container insertable into the sheet supply input. This container has sheet stack confining side walls, a bottom wall with plural spaced apertures, and a false bottom tray insert loosely overlying that bottom wall on which the stack of copy sheets is supported. Plural lift rods are operatively connecting with an elevator system to provide movement of the lift rods up through the apertures in the bottom wall of the sheet supplying container, to engage and lift the false bottom tray and the large and heavy stack of copy sheets supported thereon by engagement of the ends of the lift rods, so as to lift up the large stack of copy sheets from within the sheet supplying container into engagement with a fixed position sheet feeder, and then to automatically maintain feeding of sheets from the top of the stack by maintaining with the elevator system the level of the top of the stack until the sheets are depleted by the sheet feeder. The same container can be used for an output stacker. It also may have a contents viewing window.

High capacity automatic sheet input system for a reproduction apparatus

An enlarged buckle chamber is positioned within an easily accessible, copy sheet transport path and used to compile sheets during fault cycle down in copiers/printers whenever sheets are prevented from reaching the output in sequence by jammed sheets. The user can then clear most jams by accessing the jam area plus the 'easy to reach' area where internally purged sheet are gathered, thereby avoiding having paper distributed all over the paper path.

Internal purge for easy jam clearance in copiers/printers

A simple and low cost system for temporarily but securely holding together stacked document sheets in discrete 'packaged' sets, for reproduction job collection and distribution without permanent binding or sheet damage. It is particularly suited for automatic application to collated copy sheet output of a copier, shared printer or facsimile machine. Each job or selected output stack of printed sheets may be temporarily bound by small adhesive tape segments, much smaller than the sheets, so as to maintain the sheet set integrity under distribution and other handling, yet allow removal of the tape whenever desired to unbind the stacked sheets without any damage to the sheets, unlike stapling or other such permanent binding. It has been found that by wrapping one small tape segment around each of two opposing edges of a job stack of multiple sheets, with adhesion of at least part of each tape segment only to small opposing edge areas of the top and bottom sheets of the stack, that a whole job stack can be integrally held together for convenient set separation, handling and distribution, yet separated at any time, unmarked and undamaged, by easily peeling or tearing off the tape segments. Encoding tape segments with set identifying indicia, and/or tape removal assistance, and cover sheets, may be compatibly provided.

Method of multiple copy sets distribution with temporarily taped set

A stalled sheet folding and flattening apparatus for reducing a sheet, stalled between a withdrawable and a fixed component of a cut sheet handling system of a sheet handling machine, into a shape and size suitably enabling reliable removal of the stalled sheet through even a relatively narrow gap between the withdrawable and fixed components of the sheet handling system. The stalled sheet folding and flattening apparatus includes a fixed component of the sheet handling system connected to a frame of the machine and having a first section of a sheet path; a withdrawable component of the sheet handling system mounted to the frame, and having a sheet flattening side defining a relatively narrow gap between a fixed surface within the machine and the withdrawable component, and including a second section of the sheet path adjoining the first section of the sheet path; and a sheet folding device mounted to the fixed component. The sheet folding device includes a generally U-shaped portion defining a slot and having a sheet contact surface forming a part, of an edge of the first section of the sheet path, for contacting and deflecting into a first fold, an edge of a sheet stalled across an interface between the first and the second sections of the sheet path, when the withdrawable component is being pulled out of the machine. The sheet contact surface of the U-shaped portion has a first radius of curvature defining a first concave surface for deflecting and folding the stalled sheet, and a second radius of curvature defining a second surface for guiding the folded sheet out of the slot.

Stalled sheet folding and flattening apparatus in an electrostatographic

In a sheet handling machine having a frame, and a cut sheet handling system including a sheet path, a stalled sheet pulling and crushing apparatus for reducing a sheet, stalled across an interface between a withdrawable and a fixed component of a cut sheet handling system into a shape and size suitably enabling reliable removal of the stalled sheet through a relatively narrow gap between the withdrawable and fixed components of the sheet handling system. The stalled sheet pulling and crushing apparatus includes a fixed component of the sheet handling system connected to a frame of the machine and having a first sheet gripping nip forming a first section of a sheet path; a withdrawable component of the sheet handling system mounted movably to the frame, and having a sheet flattening side defining a relatively narrow gap between a fixed surface within the machine and the withdrawable component, the withdrawable component including a second sheet gripping nip forming a second section of the sheet path for adjoining the first section of the sheet path; and a movable sheet pulling device comprising a rotatable roller mounted to the fixed surface and projecting partially into the narrow gap for contacting and rotatably applying a sheet pulling force on the stalled sheet in a first direction to pull an end of the stalled sheet out of the first sheet gripping nip, as the withdrawable component is being pulled in a second and different direction relative to the first direction. The rotatable roller as mounted cooperating with the sheet crushing side of the withdrawable component to accordion fold and crush the pulled out stalled sheet without a tear, into a shape and size suitably enabling reliable removal of the stalled sheet through the narrow gap.

Stalled sheet pulling and crushing apparatus in an electrostatographic

In a hard copy document production machine using a plurality of different type cartridges containing different document production consumable materials, an orientation-independent cartridge type discriminating system assembly suitable for enabling non-burdensome orientation-independent loading of a correct cartridge into a cartridge opening in the machine, and for resiliently intercepting and preventing loading of an incorrect cartridge into the cartridge opening. The discriminating system assembly includes a resilient assembly mounted to a portion of the frame of the machine defining the cartridge opening, a first spring member, and a pivotable elongate member connected to the spring member for providing resilient cartridge contact with a cartridge being inserted. The elongate member has a displaceable portion, and a cartridge blocking portion spaced from the displaceable portion in a direction of cartridge insertion. The displaceable portion has a cartridge-type first specific distance measured from the cartridge blocking portion, and the cartridge blocking portion has a first position within the cartridge opening, and a second position adjacent the cartridge opening. The discriminating system assembly also includes a displacer device formed on a surface of a cartridge being inserted into the cartridge opening, and has a cartridge-type specific second distance measured from a lead edge of a cartridge of the type of cartridge being inserted. The cartridge-type specific second distance determines a correct cartridge when it is equal to the cartridge-type specific first distance, and the displacer device extends continuously and uniformly in a direction transverse to the direction of cartridge insertion, so as to enable non-burdensome, orientation-independent loading of a cartridge into the cartridge opening.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Murray O Meetze, Jr