The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 17, 1998
Filed:
Mar. 21, 1997
Minolta Co., Ltd., Osaka, JP;
Abstract
A finisher is provided with a stapling unit which has a staple head and a staple anvil, the staple head and the staple anvil being separated and independently movable to a stapling point. When the staple head which contains staples is detected empty, the staple head goes to a staple cartridge exchange position. When a jam of staples is detected, the staple anvil goes to a retreating position. Also, a light emitting element is provided at the staple head and a light receiving element is provided at the staple anvil. First, the staple head is moved to/stopped at a specified stapling point, and then, the staple anvil is moved. The staple anvil is stopped when the light receiving element receives a light from the light emitting element.