Xerox Corporation

Richard Alan Campbell

Linn C Hoover

Robert Alan Clark

Ali Rafic Dergham

Timothy Gordon Shelhart

Glenn David Batchelor

Daniel Raymond Knopp

Senthil Sivaraman

Chu-Heng Liu

Paul J McConville

Douglas K Herrmann

Jason Mathew LeFevre

Seemit Praharaj

Michael Jon Levy

David A VanKouwenberg

James Lawton Giacobbi

Matthew Ryan McLaughlin

Victoria Lynn Warner

John T Newell

A surface treatment module is positioned within a printing system to treat the surface of three-dimensional objects prior to printing of the objects. The surface treatment module includes an actuator operatively connected to an applicator so operation of the actuator presses a portion of a cleaning membrane against the surfaces of the three-dimensional objects to remove material from the object surfaces and retracts the applicator and cleaning membrane from the object surface before the objects pass by an array of printheads in the printing system for printing.

Module for a three-dimensional (3D) object printer to prepare 3D objects for surface printing

A device for offsetting sheets as they are conveyed in a paper path toward a stacker includes a narrow channel mounted to a set of linked arms which when moved in a process direction (upstream-downstream) articulate in a cross process direction (inboard-outboard) to register the sheets at various locations for stacking or finish processing. The linked arms keep the channel parallel to the paper path at all times regardless of inboard-outboard offset.

Parallel edge guides for sheet offset

A cap is positioned to contact a printhead when the printhead is not ejecting liquid ink. The cap and the printhead create a sealed space adjacent printhead nozzles when contacting each other. A flexible blade is positioned to contact the printhead when the printhead is not in contact with the cap. The flexible blade is adapted to fold over to spread a liquid solution on the nozzles in a first direction, and the flexible blade is adapted to remove excess amounts of the liquid solution from the nozzles in a second direction. A humidifier is connected to the cap and adapted to supply a moisture form of the liquid solution to the sealed space. A moisture sensor is connected to the cap. The humidifier is adapted to vary supply of the moisture to the sealed space based on the amount of moisture detected by the moisture sensor.

Cap and application devices stabilizing ink in nozzles of inkjet printheads

A modular radial impeller drum for cooling print media in a printing device are disclosed. For example, the modular radial impeller drum includes a plurality of impeller modules coupled together to form a surface to transport the print media. Each one of the plurality of impeller modules includes a cylindrical outer surface, a cylindrical center axis inside of the cylindrical outer surface, and a plurality of impeller blades coupled between the cylindrical outer surface and the cylindrical center axis, wherein each one of the plurality of impeller blades are angled, wherein the plurality of impeller modules are coupled together such that the plurality of impeller blades of each one of the plurality of impeller modules are aligned across a length of the modular radial impeller drum.

Modular radial impeller drum for printing devices

A roller for a transport belt of a vacuum transport assembly includes an elongate cylindrical body adapted for a rotatably fixed connection to a vacuum transport assembly. An outer surface of the roller defines a hollow inner channel, which extends along an axial region of the body. The outer surface is a running surface for a transport belt. An inlet at one end of the hollow inner channel receives air from an air source. Perforations are formed in the outer surface for allowing air pressure to be discharged from the hollow inner channel toward the transport belt. The air diffuses through the transport belt to detack a sheet from the transport belt.

Blower roll to assist paper detack from vacuum transports

Devices include one or more inkjet printheads, a reusable jetting sheet that is adjacent to nozzles of the printheads, support structures (e.g., drive rollers) contacting the sheet, and a cleaning station contacting the sheet. The reusable jetting sheet includes an opening, that is at least as large as the sets of nozzles, and a jetting area spaced from the opening. The support structures are adapted to move the reusable jetting sheet relative to the sets of nozzles. The inkjet printheads are adapted to eject ink from at least some of the nozzles, through the opening, to print media when the opening is positioned adjacent to the sets of nozzles, to print on print media. The inkjet printhead is further adapted to eject ink from at least some of the nozzles to the jetting area when the jetting area is positioned adjacent to the sets of nozzles to perform maintenance jetting.

Inkjet reusable jetting sheet with cleaning station

The automation of the assembly of a stack of substrates in the process of forming an object includes a blanking die having a push through plate to drive the blanked sheets onto a set of locating pins, thereby creating a very accurate stack. An image forming device may print and develop images onto a web that is subsequently die cut and stacked onto a curing platen. The die cutter cuts individual sheets out of the web and cuts or pre-cuts alignment holes into each sheet that would be accepted by the curing platen having locating pins corresponding to the alignment holes in the sheet. The die cutting operation includes a tamping device that would accurately transfer the sheets from the die to the curing platen. This stack may then be removed and/or processed to form a 3D object.

Substrate blank shearing and precise stack location apparatus and method for web fed presses

A modular radial impeller drum for cooling print media in a printing device are disclosed. For example, the modular radial impeller drum includes a plurality of impeller modules coupled together to form a surface to transport the print media. Each one of the plurality of impeller modules includes a cylindrical outer surface, a cylindrical center axis inside of the cylindrical outer surface, and a plurality of impeller blades coupled between the cylindrical outer surface and the cylindrical center axis, wherein the plurality of impeller blades the plurality of impeller modules is varied across a length of the modular radial impeller drum.

Modular radial impeller drum with variable blade segments for printing devices

A direct-to-object printer includes a sliding arm that carries a plurality of printheads over a planar member for the printing of objects on the planar member and that rotates the plurality of printheads after the printheads have passed over the planar member. The printer then moves the sliding arm in the opposite direction over the planar member to print a different portion of the objects on the planar member while maintaining the same order of the printheads.

System and method for printing on three-dimensional objects with ultraviolet curable inks in a direct-to-object printer

A printing system treats the surface of three-dimensional objects to be printed to improve the printing of the articles of manufacture. The system includes a surface treatment module that is positioned to part of the printing process and to treat the object surfaces prior to the surfaces being printed. The treatment of the surfaces within the module include operating an applicator to press a portion of a cleaning membrane against the surfaces of the three-dimensional objects to remove material from the object surfaces and to retract the applicator and cleaning membrane from the object surface to enable the objects to pass by an array of printheads for printing.

System and method for preparing three-dimensional (3D) objects for surface printing

A direct-to-object printer includes a printhead pivoting subsystem. The printhead pivoting subsystem includes an actuator that rotates a frame in which a plurality of printheads is mounted. This rotation pivots the printheads about a pivot position to enable the printheads to change orientation with reference to a surface of an object being printed to accommodate contours of the object.

System and method for pivoting a printhead in a direct-to-object printer during printing of an object

A three-dimensional object printing module has been developed. The printing module includes a first processing station configured to perform an operation. The printing module further includes a track configured to guide a cart moved by a motive force in a first direction to the first processing station and to guide the cart moved by the motive force in the first direction from the first processing station. The printing module further includes at least one lead screw disposed parallel to the first direction along the track at the first processing station and configured to engage the cart at the first processing station. The printing module further includes an actuator operatively connected to the at least one lead screw and configured to rotate the lead screw bi-directionally about a longitudinal axis of the lead screw to enable the cart to move along the track at the processing station without the motive force.

Modular multi-station three-dimensional object printing systems

A direct-to-object printer includes a vaporizer to attenuate the effect of oxygen inhibition on the curing of non-aqueous ultraviolet (UV) marking material ejected onto the surface of an object printed by the printer. The vaporizer includes a heating element to form a vapor from a solution of solvent and particulate and a pressurized air source to direct the vapor toward the object to enable a portion of the vapor to condense on the object. The condensed vapor forms a barrier that attenuates the effect of oxygen inhibition on the curing of non-aqueous UV marking material.

System and method for attenuating oxygen inhibition of ultraviolet ink curing on an image on a three-dimensional (3D) object during printing of the object

A method and apparatus sense the replacement of a used component with a new component within the apparatus using sensors within the apparatus. The method/apparatus can then automatically display a message on a graphic user interface of the apparatus in response to the sensing of the replacement. This message provides information for recycling the used component, and the message provides a shipping option for shipping the used component to an appropriate recycling location. If the shipping option is selected, the method/apparatus retrieves a shipping address from memory within the apparatus and prints a shipping label for shipping the used component to the recycling location using a printing engine operatively connected to the apparatus.

Return label generation

Embodiments described herein include a composite feeding mechanism configured to process one or more jobs using a stack of feeder trays. The composite feeding mechanism can include the stack of feeder trays, a base unit, and a feeder unit. The feeder trays can hold substrate media to satisfy jobs and the base unit can support the stack of feeder trays. The feeder unit can remove the substrate media from a feeder tray located at the top of the stack to satisfy a job requirement.

Growing community of inventors

Rochester, NY, United States of America

Richard Alan Campbell