Xerox Corporation

Ssujan Hou

Daniel W Costanza

Lam F Wong

Jacob N Kluger

Michael F Leo

Joseph M Wing

Stephen C Arnone

Robert Michael Lofthus

William J Nowak

Michael John Martin

Michael Robert Furst

Lisbeth Sophia Quesnel

James M Casella

Mark A Adiletta

Mark Andrew Omelchenko

Paul J DeGruchy

Lloyd W Durfey

Orlando J Lacayo

A printing machine in which an endless web of sheet material is adapted to move along a path of movement. A recording device, in communication with the web of sheet material, prints information thereon. A fixing device, associated with the recording device, substantially permanently fixes the printed information to the web of sheet material. An inverter, positioned after the fixing device in the path of movement of the web of sheet material, inverts the sheet material enabling information to be printed on one side of the web of sheet material before inversion and information to be printed on the other side of the web of sheet material after inversion thereof.

System for managing a web of sheet material in a printing machine

A printed sheets output inverting and stacking system for printers printing normal size sheets oriented widthwise and long size sheets oriented lengthwise, with a disk type rotatable sheet inverting and stacking system positioned adjacent to one side of the printer output path with its axis of rotation parallel to the direction of sheet movement of the printer. A scuffer or other lateral sheet feeding system receives the printed sheet output of the printer and laterally moves each sheet towards one side of the printer output path, at right angles to the original direction of sheet movement, and into the sheet inverting slots of the rotatable disk inverter-stacker, so that the long size sheets are inverted widthwise, for increased stacking reliability.

Sheets stacking system with disk type inverter-stacker at right angle to

A non-resilient belt tensioning mechanism monitors and maintains tension in a photoreceptor belt. The belt tensioning mechanism causes one of at least a pair of rollers, around which a photoreceptor belt is entrained, to exert pressure against the photoreceptor belt to apply and maintain substantially constant tension in the belt.

Belt tensioner apparatus

A single pass, multi-color electrophotographic printing machine architecture uses a vertically oriented photoconductive belt. Transfer of the toner powder images occur at the lowermost portion of the photoconductive belt. The photoconductive belt is elliptically shaped, having a major and a minor axis. N image recording stations are positioned adjacent an exterior surface of the photoconductive belt on one side of the major axis thereof. N-1 image recording stations are positioned adjacent the exterior surface of the photoconductive belt on the other side of the major axis thereof. The image recording stations record electrostatic latent images on the photoconductive belt. This architecture optimizes image registration while minimizing the overall height of the printing machine.

Printing machine architecture

A method and apparatus is provided for transverse registration of image exposures on photoreceptive belts subject to lateral deviation from linear travel in which targets, corresponding in location to the image areas to be exposed, are used for the detection of lateral belt displacement and to control the transverse location of exposure scan. The targets each comprise a group of three slots formed in the belt, each slot inclined by some angle .theta. with respect to the transverse process direction of belt travel so that the duration of time between passage of the slots with respect to a spatially fixed sensing axis will vary with lateral displacement of the belt.

Apparatus for transverse image registration of a photoreceptor belt

An apparatus and method for controlling lateral movement of a belt supported on two or more rollers in an electrophotographic printing machine. The belt is rotated for several revolutions and the actual profile of the belt edge is sensed and stored. A steering roll is then tilted at an angle large enough to overcome any steering system backlash and the belt drift rate is measured. Incremental steering adjustments are then made in the opposite direction until the belt drift rate reverses direction. The steering system backlash is then determined as a function of the incremental angle (which is a known number of steering motor steps) and the number of corrective steering changes made. The backlash for the system in the opposite direction is then determined in the same manner. Steering corrections to the belt are then made with compensation for backlash so that the steering system is more responsive.

Apparatus and method for lateral belt control with backlash compensation

An electrophotographic printing machine is provided having an endless photoreceptor belt arranged to move in a predetermined path through a plurality of processing stations. The apparatus is used in conjunction with a method for automatically and repeatedly measuring and updating a steering coefficient used in an automatic steering mode. The method includes centering the belt and finding the average 'in' belt walk and 'in' belt walk rate and the average 'out' belt walk and 'out' belt walk rate, in order to determine the steering control coefficient. The method allows for a single machine to have its steering coefficient repeatedly updated.

Method and apparatus for determining and updating a photoreceptor belt

A gateless rocker inverter for reversing the lead and trail edges of a sheet includes two idler roll and drive roll nip pairs with the drive rolls continuously rotating in opposite directions. The idler rolls are attached to two ends of a coupler of a four-bar linkage which opens and closes the nips in sequence, first to drive the sheet forward and subsequently to drive the sheet in a reverse direction out of the inverter for duplexing purposes.

Gateless rocker inverter

A method for controlling lateral positioning of a longitudinally moving endless belt having at least two targets aligned with tolerances on a longitudinal fixed reference line, in which belt displacement from the fixed reference line is measured at least two times during each revolution of belt movement to provide a current value of measured displacement and at least one prior value of measured. The current value of measured displacement and the at least one prior value of measured displacement are averaged to provide a current average value of measured displacement and a current average value of measured displacement is calculated for each successive current value of measured displacement to provide a belt steering correction factor used to steer the belt as necessary to reduce the current average value of measured displacement to zero. Each of the targets is preferably an apertured pattern of N-shaped configuration formed in the belt. Apparatus for carrying out the method includes a steering roller about which a portion of said belt is trained, a yoke for supporting said steering roller for angular movement about a longitudinal axis, and a stepping motor/cam device for adjusting the angular position of said steering roller about said longitudinal axis.

Method and apparatus for belt steering control

A method and apparatus for transverse registration of image exposures on photoreceptive belts subject to lateral deviation from linear travel in which targets, corresponding in location to the image areas to be exposed, are used for the detection of lateral belt displacement and to control the transverse location of exposure scan. The targets are of a pattern defining a reference line and a line inclined with respect to the direction of belt travel so that the duration of time between passage of the target lines with respect to a spacially fixed sensing axis will vary with lateral displacement of the belt. The targets may assume a variety of specific patterns and the invention is applicable to single and multi-pass image exposure systems as well as to both modulated laser and light emitting diode types of exposure devices.

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Webster, NY, United States of America

Ssujan Hou