Lexmark International, Inc.

Royden Thomas Kern

David Lee Merrifield

Gary Allen Denton

Jarrett Clark Gayne

Matthew Lee Rogers

Philip Jerome Heink

Katherine Marie Gilliam

Robert Dan Bennett, Iii

Dominique Renee Rowe

Elliott Vincent Jernigan

Asmund Vego

JoAnn Whitney Hebner

Daniel Enrique Alonzo

Ronald Willard Baker

Alan Stirling Campbell

Mark Alan Wahl

Scott Richard Castle

David Starling MacMillan

James Philip Harden

Jean Marie Massie

Julie Ann Gordon Whitney

Ronald Todd Sellers

Sean David Smith

Johnny Ray Sears

Michael Wesley Baskette

Randall Steven Gall

Andrew Charles Hogan

Jason Edward Gordon

Hishikesh Pramod Gogate

Robert Dan Iii Bennett

A developer unit according to one example embodiment includes a housing having a reservoir for storing a developer mix that includes toner and magnetic carrier beads. A magnetic roll includes a stationary core and a sleeve positioned around the core that is rotatable relative to the core. The stationary core includes at least one permanent magnet having circumferentially spaced magnetic poles. An upper and a lower magnetically permeable metal shunt are positioned at each axial end of the magnetic roll. Each upper shunt and each lower shunt is positioned axially outboard of the core and in close proximity to the outer surface of the sleeve.

End sealing and magnetic field truncation of a magnetic roll of a dual component development electrophotographic image forming device

A developer unit according to one example embodiment includes a housing having a reservoir for storing a developer mix that includes toner and magnetic carrier beads. A magnetic roll includes a stationary core and a sleeve positioned around the core that is rotatable relative to the core. The stationary core includes at least one permanent magnet having circumferentially spaced magnetic poles. An upper and a lower magnetically permeable metal shunt are positioned at each axial end of the magnetic roll. Each upper shunt and each lower shunt is positioned axially outboard of the core and in close proximity to the outer surface of the sleeve. A combination of the upper shunt and the lower shunt at each axial end of the magnetic roll surrounds greater than 180 degrees of the outer surface of the sleeve.

End sealing and magnetic field truncation of a magnetic roll of a dual electrophotographic image forming device

A skiving seal for blocking toner from entering a gap between adjacent a rotatable member in a toner container system of an image forming apparatus. The skiving seal includes a flexible sheet having a surface and a length. The skiving seal includes a tubular portion formed by folding the flexible sheet over itself from an edge extending along the length of the flexible sheet without creasing the fold and adhesively adhering a portion of the folded portion of the flexible sheet to the surface of the flexible sheet along the length of the flexible sheet. The skiving seal includes an adhesive-coated area unobstructed on the surface of the flexible sheet for adhesively affixing the skiving seal in the toner container system.

Tubular skiving seal for a rotary toner metering mechanism and methods for forming the tubular skiving seal

A toner container system includes a reservoir for containing toner having a rotatable member positioned within an opening through the reservoir and a skiving seal for blocking toner from entering a gap between the opening and the rotatable member. The skiving seal is positioned along the length of the rotatable member and is adhesively affixed adjacent to the rotatable member along the gap in the skiving direction of rotation of the rotatable member. The skiving seal includes a flexible sheet having a length corresponding to the length of the gap and a tubular portion adjacent to the gap formed by folding the flexible sheet over itself from an edge extending along the length of the flexible sheet, without creasing the fold, and adhering a portion of the folded portion of the flexible sheet to the surface of the flexible sheet along the length of the flexible sheet.

Tubular skiving seal for a rotary toner metering mechanism

The present invention provides a toner container system, such as a toner cartridge, having a first reservoir for containing toner and a second reservoir for receiving toner from the first reservoir and transferring the toner to an image forming apparatus, and a toner transfer mechanism disposed between the first and second reservoirs, the transfer mechanism including a generally cylindrically shaped rotatable roller member having a plurality of equally spaced recesses disposed around the circumference thereof and being rotatable in angular increments wherein the recesses are alternately open to the first reservoir in a first position for each recess and open to the second reservoir in a second position for each recess, whereby toner is transferred from the first reservoir to the second reservoir upon rotation of the roller member, a Geneva drive mechanism including a drive gear operatively connected to the roller member for advancing the roller member in one angular increment for each complete rotation of the drive gear; and a locking mechanism operatively interconnecting the drive gear and rotatable member, whereby the drive gear is intermittently locked after each incremental angular advancement of the roller member to prevent actuation of the toner transfer mechanism while the rotatable member rotates through a recess at the second position thereof.

Geneva drive and locking mechanism therefor in a toner metering mechanism for an image forming apparatus

The present invention provides a toner container system, such as a toner cartridge, comprising a housing including a first reservoir for containing toner and a second reservoir for receiving toner from the first reservoir and transferring the toner to an image forming apparatus, and a toner transfer mechanism that includes a rotatable roller member having in the surface thereof a recess defined by a concave surface having a radius of curvature, and wherein the roller member is rotatable from a first position at which the recess is open to the first reservoir and a second position at which the recess is open to the second reservoir, for conveying toner from the first reservoir to the second reservoir upon rotation of the roller member from the first position to the second position, and a rotatable wiper member disposed within the second reservoir and being sized and having a flexible distal end rotatable through the recess in contact with the concave surface when the roller member is in the second position.

Rotating toner cleaning member for a toner delivery device in an image forming apparatus

The present invention relates to a device or method which may reduce starvation in the transfer of an image forming substance to a developing location within an image forming apparatus. The device may include a first roller having a surface which is capable of supplying an image forming substance to a developing location. A second roller may then be included having a surface in rotating contact with the first roller. The second roller is capable of supplying image forming substance to the first roller. The second roller may comprise foam having a specified porosity, electrical conductivity, and/or be configured to rotate in a desired direction and/or desired speed relative to the first roller.

Apparatus and method for transfer of image forming substances

The present disclosure relates to a device and/or method for conveying a quantity of image forming material between selected regions in a printing device or printer cartridge. A roller is provided having a surface that may include a recess capable of transferring a quantity of image forming material. The recess may include a convex surface. A wiper is configured to engage at least a portion of the roller surface and/or the convex surface in the recess to assist in the removal of image forming material that may otherwise accumulate on the roller surfaces. Such roller design and wiper configuration may therefore cooperate to improve the consistency of image forming material transfer.

Toner metering apparatus

The present invention relates to engagement or transfer of an image forming substance within a reservoir of an image forming apparatus. This may be achieved by a device such as a paddle that may include an additional component for engagement or transfer of the image forming substance. The component may be, for example, wire material. The component may also include a body section and an axially aligned projection.

Image forming substance engaging device

A device and method for storing toner within an image forming apparatus having an upper reservoir and a lower toner reservoir. A pass through region between the reservoirs may journal a rotatable metering bar. The bar may include convex depressions to dispense toner from the upper to the lower reservoir. The convex shape reduces the toner adherence to the bar, particularly in the case of chemically polymerized toner.

Reducing adhesion of toner to metering devices

A coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid to a printing substrate. The coating apparatus has a rotatable first roll and a rotatable second roll, each having a surface energy. The second roll is positioned adjacent to the first roll and defines with the first roll a first nip through which the printing substrate passes A metering device is provided for applying a substantially uniform layer of coating liquid onto the second roll. The second roll in turn transfers the coating liquid to the printing substrate. The surface energy of the second roll is greater than the surface energy of the coating liquid. In one embodiment, the metering device includes a rotatable third roll and a doctor blade contacting the third roll, each having a surface energy. The surface energy of at least a portion of either or both the third roll and doctor blade is less than the surface energy of the coating liquid.

System and method of coating print media in an inkjet printer

A coating apparatus for applying a coating liquid to a printing substrate. The apparatus includes a rotatable first roll, and a rotatable second roll positioned adjacent to the first roll and defining with the first roll a first nip through which the printing substrate passes. The apparatus also has a metering device for applying a layer of coating liquid onto the second roll, which in turn transfers the coating liquid to the printing substrate. The apparatus further has a controller that communicates with at least the second roll, wherein the controller performs the steps of determining whether the idle time of the second roll is longer than a predetermined threshold, setting a pre-spin flag if the idle time of the second roll is longer than a predetermined threshold, and directing the second roll to perform a pre-spin upon the presence of the pre-spin flag.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

Royden Thomas Kern