Xerox Corporation

Russell C Rackett

Jason P Rider

Joseph Salvatore Vetromile

Geoffrey C Williams

Elden R Morrison

Brian Roy Ford

Donato D Evangelista

Leroy R Requa

A method and apparatus for cooling copy sheets in a high speed copy machine while en route to an output tray. The invention utilizes a blower connected to manifolds positioned on opposite sides of copy sheets transported in a paper path en route to the output tray. Airflow is supplied to both sides of copy sheets as they are conveyed throughout the paper path in order to cool the copy sheets before they enter the output tray and thereby prevent fusing of the copy sheets together.

Paper cooling system

Paper guide

This invention discloses a method and apparatus for properly placing copy sheets from a high speed copy machine into an exit tray. The invention utilizes a variable speed motor to control the rollers which reside at the end of the paper path. One or more paper guides mounted to the drive rollers, enable the motor to operate over a wide range of speeds, yet still work efficiently. The motor accelerates to its highest speed as the copy sheet enters the nip between the drive and idler rollers, and is decelerated to its slowest speed as the trailing edge of the copy sheet exits the nip. The trailing edge of the copy sheet then moves off of the roller and onto the paper guide. The speed of the motor can then be increased without having to wait for the copy sheet to move into the output area. This substantially reduces the period of time required to reproduce copies.

Paper guide for high speed document reproduction

An apparatus and method for slowing down the ejection velocity of the print media into an output tray, without the use of active velocity control of the exit nip or interface, utilizing a non-circular drive roll running against a leaf spring. The regions of contact of the non-circular drive roll are driven at a velocity slower than the incoming sheet velocity, and the spaces between the regions of contact are used to enable relaxation of buckling generated in the print media (e.g. print sheets). The print media travels at the velocity of the upstream nips until they are entirely under the control of the non-circular drive roll exit nip, thus enabling the sheets to be ejected from the exit nip, at a slower velocity, improving stacking registration.

Segmented drive roll for exit nip prior to exit trays

An apparatus and method that describes utilizing a corrugation slip nip system, including a variable force idler that encompasses three stages, to prevent buckling of copy sheets traveling at a high rate of speed upon exiting from a high speed printing machine to the exit tray for stacking. Buckling concerns are eliminated by allowing the sheet, driven by a high speed positive drive nip, to slip through the slower speed corrugation nip, yet still having enough drive force in the slip nip to drive the sheet into the exit tray. In order to vary the normal force on the sheet, a three stage variable force idler is used. The first stage oversizes the inner diameter of the idler rollers on the idler shaft. The second stage uses a slot in the spring which allows the idler shaft to move upward without deflecting the spring. These first two stages are particularly adapted for light weight paper. The third stage occurs when the idler shaft is topped out in the shaft slot such that the paper deflects the spring causing additional force to be applied to the paper to drive the paper out of the system and into the exit tray. The third stage is reached only where heavy weight paper is used because heavy weight paper has sufficient beam strength to deflect the spring.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Russell C Rackett