System and method for sheet transporting using dual capstan rollers
AssigneeECRM Incorporated
InventorsMichael C. Zembko, John W. Berrigan, John L. Connolly
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A platesetting system and method comprising a pair of dual capstan rollers that receives a recording medium and records an image on the received medium as the medium is transported through the system. The system and method advantageously enable at least a portion of the image to extend from a leading edge of the medium to a trailing edge of the medium.
Claims69
In a platesetting system that receives a recording medium and records an image on the received medium as the medium is transported through the system, a drive assembly for transporting the medium comprising:
- a first driven roller having a precision diameter;
- a second driven roller having a precision diameter;
- a first non-driven roller having an outer surface substantially centered in a vertical position about said first driven roller;
- a second non-driven roller having an outer surface substantially centered in a vertical position about said second driven roller;
- a first motor operationally connected to said first driven roller;
- a second motor operationally connected to said second driven roller;
- and
- a controller receiving as input the speed of an outer surface of said first and second driven rollers and optionally adjusting the speed of at least one of said first and second motors to provide a substantially same speed at the outer surface of said first and second motors for transporting the medium at the substantially same speed in first and second opposing directions as determined by simultaneous counterclockwise and clockwise rotation, respectively, of each of said first and second driven rollers.
In a system that receives a recording medium and records an image on the received medium as the medium is transported through the system, a drive assembly for transporting the medium comprising:
- a first driven roller, for transporting the medium, having a precision diameter and capable of rotating about a first axis in first and second opposing directions;
- a second driven roller, for transporting the medium, having a precision diameter and capable of rotating about a second axis in first and second opposing directions, in concert with said first driven roller, the speed at the diameter of said first and second driven rollers being substantially the same;
- a first non-driven roller having an axis of rotation that has a first horizontal offset and a first vertical offset from an axis of rotation of said first driven roller;
- and
- a second non-driven roller having an axis of rotation that has a second horizontal offset and second vertical offset from an axis of rotation of said second driven roller, wherein at least one of said first driven and non-driven rollers and said second driven and non-driven rollers contact the medium while the image is recorded on the medium.
In a platesetting system that receives a recording medium and records an image on the received medium as the medium is transported through the system, a method for transporting the medium comprising the steps of:
- positioning the medium between first and second driven rollers and respective first and second non-driven rollers;
- establishing a first substantially same speed, in a first direction of rotation, at a diameter of first and second driven rollers, having first and second respective diameters, to transport the medium;
- moving the medium to a position behind an imaging plane;
- establishing, prior to the medium reaching the imaging plane, a second substantially same speed, in a second direction of rotation, at a diameter of the first and second driven rollers;
- and
- recording an image during at least a portion of the second direction of rotation.
In a platesetting system that receives a recording medium and records an image on the received medium as the medium is transported through the system, a drive assembly for transporting the medium comprising:
- a first driven roller having a precision diameter;
- a second driven roller having a precision diameter;
- a first non-driven roller, having an axis of rotation that is in substantial alignment with said first driven roller for transporting the media, having an outer surface comprising at least a first and second set of axially-spaced annular ribs, the first set rotating about a first shaft, and the second set rotating about a second shaft axially aligned with the first shaft;
- a second non-driven roller, having an axis of rotation that is in substantial alignment with said second driven roller for transporting the media, having an outer surface comprising at least a third and fourth set of axially-spaced annular ribs, the third set rotating about a third shaft, and the fourth set rotating about a fourth shaft axially aligned with the third shaft;
- a first motor operationally connected to said first driven roller;
- and
- a second motor operationally connected to said second driven roller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.