Stacking module with forced air flip assist
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsErwin Ruiz, Glenn David Batchelor, Ali R. Dergham, David J. Breed, Paul F. Brown, II, Mark A. Adiletta
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus is disclosed. For example, the apparatus includes a paper feed to feed print media a single sheet at a time, a plurality of rotating discs, wherein each one of the plurality of rotating discs comprises an elastomer ring to secure a leading edge of the single sheet against a registration wall and initiate a flipping process, an air duct to force an air flow towards the print media to levitate a trailing edge of the single sheet during completion of the flipping process, and a movable platform to hold a stack of the print media.
Claims18
An apparatus, comprising:
- a paper feed to feed print media a single sheet at a time;
- a plurality of rotating discs, wherein each one of the plurality of rotating discs comprises an elastomer ring to secure a leading edge of the single sheet against a registration wall and initiate a flipping process;
- an air duct to force an air flow towards the print media to levitate a trailing edge of the single sheet during completion of the flipping process, wherein the air duct further comprises:
- a blower to generate the air flow;
- and
- a valve coupled to the blower and the air duct to control the air flow;
- a movable platform to hold a stack of the print media;
- and
- a sensor to detect when the single sheet contacts the registration wall during the flipping process.
A method for flipping print media in a stacker module, comprising:
- activating, by a processor, a blower to generate an air flow while a valve is in a closed position;
- activating, by the processor, a paper feed to feed a single sheet of the print media in a stacker module;
- initiating, by the processor, a rotation of a plurality of rotating discs each having an elastomer ring to catch the single sheet of the print media to initiate a flipping process;
- detecting, by the processor, a leading edge of the single sheet contacting a registration wall;
- and
- opening, by the processor, the valve in response to the leading edge of the single sheet being detected against the registration wall to force the air flow through an air duct towards the single sheet to levitate a trailing edge of the single sheet during completion of the flipping process.
An apparatus, comprising:
- a paper feed to feed a single sheet of paper at a time, wherein the paper weighs less than 50 grams per square meter (gsm) and has a length of at least 19 inches;
- a plurality of rotating discs, wherein each one of the plurality of rotating discs comprises an elastomer ring, wherein the plurality of rotating discs rotate approximately 180 degrees to secure a leading edge of the single sheet against a registration wall and initiate a flipping process as the single sheet is fed through the paper feed;
- a blower to generate an air flow;
- a valve coupled downstream of the blower to control the air flow based on the leading edge contacting the registration wall;
- an air duct coupled downstream of the valve, wherein the air duct comprises an air wand, wherein the air wand has a width that is approximately equal to a width of the air duct and is coupled along the width of the air duct, wherein the air wand comprises a plurality of evenly spaced openings across the width of the air wand to force the air flow evenly across a width of a single sheet of the paper during the flipping process;
- a movable platform to hold a stack of the paper;
- and
- a sensor to detect when the single sheet of the paper contacts the registration wall during the flipping process.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.