Copier and multifunction paper cassette

Abstract

A xerographic copier having a removable, multifunction paper cassette, the cassette functioning as the copier's paper supply, the copier's exit tray and the copier's single-sheet bypass entry station. The cassette is held at an acute angle to the horizontal, and includes a substantially solid upper wall whose lower portion includes a slot which exposes the paper supply stack's top sheet to paper feed roller means. Paper is fed, one sheet at a time, to a paper path which includes a transfer station and a hot roll fusing station. This paper path traverses a loop, such that the finished copy comes to rest on the solid upper wall of the cassette. The lower portion of this solid upper wall includes a movable paper gate which, when closed, allows multiple copies to be stacked before removal by the operator. If the operator wishes to copy in the bypass mode, a single sheet is inserted onto the cassette's solid upper wall, and the gate is opened, allowing the lower edge of the bypass sheet to be placed on top of the top sheet of the paper supply stack. This bypass sheet is used as the next sheet in a copy process. Removal of the cassette, or movement of the paper gate to its open position, controls the copier's interimage erase station to erase for the longest paper which can be used in the copier.