Infographix, Inc.

Todd A Kahle

Robert E Gunst

James H Westoby

James E Grace

An electrostatic image developer dispenser forms a uniformly thick and uniformly charged layer of developer particles on a transport surface of a conveyor for delivering particles from a reservoir to a development region adjacent to a photoreceptor. A magnet bar assembly inside the tubular conveyor attracts particles to the transport surface for conveyance to the development region. A magnetic doctor blade presents a surface parallel to the transport surface to establish a regulating gap between the doctor blade surface and the transport surface. The doctor blade extends in the transport direction from opposite one pole of the magnet bar assembly toward an opposite pole downstream from the one pole, to concentrate and orient the magnetic field in the particle layer formation area. In one embodiment, the magnet bar assembly has a pole plate opposite from the doctor blade surface and angularly offset therefrom in a direction opposite to the transport direction. In another embodiment, the magnet bar assembly has two pairs of opposed magnets. A scraper blade bears against the transport surface to remove developer particles from the transport surface after they have passed through the development region. A cleaning blade is provided in the dispenser that bears against the photoreceptor to remove developer particles therefrom upstream from the development region and recycle the removed particles back into the reservoir.

Electrostatic image developer dispenser

An assembly for rotating an image formed by a group of light rays has a first prism with a transparent first facet through which the light rays enter. The image light rays entering the first facet strike a second facet at angles of incidence greater than the critical angle and are reflected toward a third facet. The third facet is silvered to reflect substantially all of the image light rays back toward the second facet so that the light rays strike the second facet at less than the critical angle and exit the first prism. A second prism is spaced from the first prism to receive light rays from second facet. After entering the second prism, such light rays strike one of its facets and are reflected toward and through an exit facet. The facets of the second prism are angled to minimize image distortion and compensate for lateral offset of the light rays exiting the assembly. A version of the assembly is described in which the second prism is replaced by a mirror.

Prism for image rotation

A microfilm viewer/printer projection system particularly adapted for full plane plain paper copying has a first, a second and a third mirror which selectively project a document image from a horizontal object plane to a vertical viewing plane or a horizontal exposure plane. In the view mode, the first and second mirrors reflect the document image to a screen which defines the viewing plane. An AC motor movement drives the first and second mirrors to a print mode, in which the second mirror is parked in a parking zone which is enveloped by the projection path from the object plane to the exposure plane, which is defined by a belt type photoreceptor. In the print mode, the first mirror reflects the entire document image to the third mirror, which is a black mirror, and the third mirror reflects the entire document image to the photoreceptor, to expose the photoreceptor to the entire document image simultaneously.

Microfilm viewer/printer projection system

Combined microfilm viewer and printer

An electrophotographic copier includes a transfer/charge section, a developer/cleaner section, and a photoreceptor having a surface with first and second image areas. Copies are produced by moving the photoreceptor a half revolution so that the first image area passes through the transfer/charge section in which a uniform charge is applied to the first image area. The charged first image area is exposed to a light image producing an electrostatic image on a surface of the photoreceptor. Toner is applied to the exposed first image area as it passes through the developer/cleaner section. The toned image is transferred to paper by moving the first image area through the transfer/charge section, after which the toner is fused onto the paper. When an another copy is to be made, the second image area passes through the transfer/charge section to apply a uniform charge to that image area while the developer/cleaner section removes residual toner from the first image area. Then the second image area is used to produce the next copy. Otherwise the transfer/charge section is not activated and only the residual toner is removed from the first image area before the copying process ends.

Growing community of inventors

Hartford, WI, United States of America

Todd A Kahle