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US 2013/0156481 A1Published application
Flexible Gear Rack Carriage Transport in a Printing Apparatus
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsTimothy Carlyle Shaw, Jamie Kelso, David W. Johnson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A durable gear strap couples components in an imaging device to a driving force. The gear strap includes a strip having a plurality of rigid sections and a plurality of flexible sections. Gear teeth on the strip enable rotation of a gear to move the gear strap in a track. At least one engagement member extends from one of the rigid sections to couple a component to the gear strap for movement.
Claims21
A gear strap comprising:
- a strip having a plurality of rigid sections interspersed with a plurality of flexible sections formed from essentially one material, the rigid sections being thicker in cross-section than the flexible sections to enable the flexible sections to bend;
- a plurality of teeth formed on the rigid sections and the flexible sections of the strip, the plurality of teeth being configured to engage a gear to enable the gear to move the strip in response to rotation of the gear;
- and
- at least one engagement member extending from one of the plurality of rigid sections of the strip, the engagement member being configured to receive a coupling member to enable the one rigid section to move the coupling member in response to movement of the strip.
1 more element
A printing apparatus comprising:
- a support plate;
- a track positioned in the support plate, the track having a first wall and a second wall;
- a gear positioned on the support plate proximate to one side of the track;
- and
- a gear strap positioned in the track between the first wall and the second wall, the gear strap further comprising:
- a strip having a plurality of rigid sections interspersed with a plurality of flexible sections formed from essentially one material, the rigid sections being thicker in cross-section than the flexible sections to enable the flexible sections to bend;
- a plurality of teeth formed on the rigid sections and the flexible sections of the continuous strip, the plurality of teeth being configured to engage the gear to enable rotation of the gear to move the continuous strip in the track;
- and
- at least one engagement member extending from one of the plurality of rigid sections of the strip, the engagement member being configured to receive a coupling member to enable the one rigid section to move the coupling member in response to movement of the strip.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.