Xerox Corporation

Richard E Smith

Klaus K Stange

James R Cassano

Thomas J Hamlin

Thomas Acquaviva

Augustus W Griswold

John E Forward

Stephen J Wenthe

John R Yonovich

Herbert L Bresnick

Jack R Oagley

William J Woznicki

Daniel W Brooks

A baffleless, easily accessible, copy sheet transport apparatus without sheet baffles that enables viewing and accessing jammed sheets without opening any baffles. The transport includes a pulley driven narrow timing belt with biased idler rolls providing normal force on belt driven copy sheets. Unobstructive copy sheet side guides are included to enhance viewing and removal of copy sheets from the copy sheet transport.

Accessible copy sheet transport with side guides

An inverter for turning a sheet over and reversing the lead and trail edges of the sheet includes a disc stacker that works in conjunction with a vacuum transport. A sheet transported from a source is captured lead edge first by fingers or in a slot of the disc stacker which is rotating in a first direction. A vacuum transport is positioned adjacent the disc stacker and draws the sheet away from the disc stacker at a predetermined point and transports the sheet in a second direction opposite to the first direction trail edge first for further processing.

Sheet inverter apparatus

A multicolor imaging device capable of operating at higher than normal speeds when a full range of colors is not required. The imaging device includes four station groups each having a charge scorotron, a light source for exposing a photoconductive belt to a color signal, and a toner developer. When a color of a particular station is not required, the light source for that station is disabled and the charge scorotron of that station is enabled to allow a higher charging rate for the required colors, thereby allowing the belt to be propelled at a higher speed.

System and method for operating a multitone imaging apparatus

A copier of a type where an undeveloped electrostatic intermediate latent image from a document sheet may be temporarily retained on an electrostatic latent image retention member before being developed and transferred to a copy sheet, with document handling apparatus for sequentially feeding document sheets for individual copying, preferably automatically reordered in signature page order, with a system for sequentially forming at least two closely circumferentially adjacent plural latent images from at least two sequentially copied documents, and for directly sequentially developing and transferring these plural images in one pass onto one side of a single copy sheet. Apparatus is also shown for inverting and representing the copy sheet for similarly receiving plural images on the other side thereof, and for repeating the above steps to form sets of signature copy sheets.

Method and apparatus for automatic 'two-up' copying with intermediate

Signature printing with an automatic duplexing copier by simultaneously presenting plural document sheets to the imaging station of the copier in a predetermined nonserial page order for producing a set of signature copy sheets suitable for subsequent center-folding into signature sets, by loading a normal serial set of document sheets into an automatic document reordering and presenting system (associated with the copier) which automatically reorders that set of document sheets into a predetermined nonserial reordered page order for signature pair page order 'two-up' copying, and automatically presenting the pairs of automatically reordered document sheets to the imaging station of the copier to be copied in the reordered page order to provide collated page order signature sets automatically with the copier for on-line center-folding and finishing without requiring any manual reordering of either the document sheets or the signature copy sheets. The automatic reordering includes automatic 180.degree. rotation of alternate pairs of simplex document sheets to provide proper orientation of the document pages for the automatic duplex copier. The document sheets are either automatically separated into two stacks for two document sheets to be presented simultaneously lengthwise (short-edge-first) in parallel to one side of the imaging station, or reordered into one stack for sideways (long-edge-first) presentation from an orthogonal direction.

Automatic copier signature set production

A document handler employing a vacuum belt feeder having an air knife to aid in sheet separation. The quantity of air discharged from the air knife is varied in accordance with the number of documents placed in the document handler as determined by counting the documents fed through the document handler during the initial feed cycle.

Method for feeding documents to a copy machine

An automatic pre-collation duplex copier in which original documents having either an odd or even number of pages may be recirculatively copied in reverse serial order yet provide properly collated output duplex copy sets. A simplex/duplex copying system is disclosed in which, when an odd number of document sheets are detected in a first, non-copying, circulation of the document sheets, the copying of the last and subsequent alternate document sheets is inhibited during the first copying circulation, whereas if an even number of document sheets are detected, the copying of the second and subsequent alternate document sheets is inhibited during this first copying circulation, and these different copying sequences are reversed for the last copying circulation. All document sheets are copied during the intermediate circulations. A compatible duplex/duplex copying system is also disclosed.

Recirculating documents duplex copier

A bottom sheet feeder employing a vacuum feed assembly in conjunction with an air knife for separating and feeding sheets from a sheet stack. A self regulating blower input and output bleed valve assembly utilized in conjunction with a single blower regulates air flow through the blower to the air knife irrespective of the degree of air flow through the vacuum feed assembly caused by blockage thereof by the acquired sheets.

Sheet feeding apparatus

In a first embodiment a stop having a plurality of ports is connected to and covers an end of a rectangular sleeve. In a region near the stop a narrow wall of the sleeve also has a plurality of ports. A nozzle coupled to a pump provides a flow of air into the other end of the sleeve and the air exits through the ports. With this arrangement, a rectangular sheet inserted into said other end of the sleeve is fluidly brought into registration with the narrow wall and stop. As the sheet is brought into registration fluid injected or drawn through holes in a wide wall of the sleeve is used to force at least a part of the sheet against one of the wide walls and the resulting friction serves to brake the traveling sheet, thereby minimizing impact forces between the sheet, the narrow wall, and the stop. In a second embodiment, similar to the first, the narrow wall and stop include internal projections against which an inserted sheet is registered. In a third embodiment, similar to the first, a manifold is coupled to the ports and a vacuum pump is coupled to the manifold to accelerate registration. In a fourth embodiment, similar to the third, the pumps are replaced with a reversible pump to register and discharge a sheet.

Pneumatic registration apparatus

A method for changing the direction of travel of a sheet includes the steps of providing a pocket, guiding a sheet traveling in a first direction into the pocket, and providing a fluid stream in the pocket to bias the sheet in a substantially opposite direction, thereby reversing the direction of travel of the sheet.

Method for reversing the direction of travel of a sheet

A method for registering a stack of sheets with respect to perpendicularly related axes includes the steps of providing a first sleeve for accommodating the stack of sheets; providing a stop at one end of the sleeve; placing the stack in the sleeve; and providing in the sleeve a fluid stream, whereby the fluid stream moves the sheets down the sleeve in unison and moves the sheets into registration with a wall of the sleeve and the stop. In a modified method a second sleeve is provided in alignment with and adjacent to said first sleeve. The sheets are first placed inside the second sleeve and fluid is drawn from the first sleeve to move the stack. Assistance in moving the stack is provided by fluid injected into the second sleeve, care being taken to prevent a net flow of air out of a gap between the first and second sleeves.

Method for transporting and registering stacked sheets

A system wherein documents are presented to an exposure station of reproduction apparatus includes a housing in which a rack for storing documents is located. The rack includes a plurality of pockets in each of which a document may be stored, the rack being movable in a vertical direction so that any one of its pockets may be aligned with an opening in the housing. Fluid streams are used to either move a document in an aligned pocket through the opening and to the exposure station or from the exposure station into the pocket. Copies of documents presented to the exposure station are made by the reproduction apparatus. Adjacent the housing there is located an inverter into which documents from the rack are fluidically fed as desired. Inverted documents are returned to the rack with the assistance of a fluid stream. Inverted documents may be fed to the exposure station to provide duplex copies.

Fluidic feeding of documents to an exposure station

Apparatus for registering a sheet with respect to perpendicularly related axes is disclosed. Structurally, each embodiment disclosed includes (a) a sleeve for internally accomodating a sheet, at least one point on an inner narrow wall of the sleeve being aligned in parallel with one of the axes; (b) a retractable gate located at one end of the sleeve, in one position the gate having at least one point aligned in parallel with the other of the axes; and (c) means for providing in the sleeve a fluid stream having velocity components normal to each of the axes, whereby when the gate is in said position and a sheet is placed in the sleeve, the stream moves the sheet into abutment with each of said points.

Registration station

A system for presenting documents to a slit-scan xerographic exposure station includes a fluidic storage station having a housing in which a rack for storing documents is located. The rack includes a plurality of pockets in each of which a document may be stored, the rack being movable in a vertical direction so that any one of its pockets may be aligned with an opening in the housing. A fluid stream is used to move a document in a pocket aligned with the opening out of the storage apparatus and into engagement with transport apparatus. The transport apparatus includes a vacuum document drum which moves a document past the exposure station and, in one mode of operation, inverts the document prior to its return to a pocket at the station. In another mode of operation, the direction of travel of the drum is reversed after the document has been exposed and the document is returned without inversion. Another fluid stream is used to assist the return of an exposed document through the opening and into a pocket of the rack.

Document storage and transport apparatus

In a first embodiment, a stop having a plurality of ports is connected to and covers an end of a rectangular sleeve. In a region near the stop, a narrow wall of the sleeve also has a plurality of ports. A nozzle coupled to a pump provides a flow of air into the other end of the sleeve and the air exits through the ports. With this arrangement, a rectangular sheet inserted into said other end of the sleeve is fluidly brought into registration with the narrow wall and stop. After the sheet has been registered, fluid inserted or drawn through holes in a wide wall of the sleeve maintains the sheet in contact with one of the wide walls, thereby further registering the sheet. In a second embodiment, similar to the first, the narrow wall and stop include internal projections against which an inserted sheet is registered. In a third embodiment, similar to the first, a manifold is coupled to the ports and a vacuum pump is coupled to the manifold to accelerate registration. In a fourth embodiment, similar to the third, the pumps are replaced with a reversible pump to register and discharge a sheet.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Richard E Smith