Photoconductor storing apparatus for an electrostatic copier

Abstract

In a copier including a photoconductor having a plurality of photoconductive sections connected in series with one another to form an endless strip-type photoconductor, and including suitable instrumentalities for successively feeding the photoconductive sections from a zig-zag folded stack of such sections through several processing stations and back to the stack, there is provided apparatus for storing the photoconductive sections in the stack. The storing apparatus includes a receptacle having oppositely disposed walls defining an inlet opening and an outlet opening. The walls relatively converge towards one another from the inlet opening to the outlet opening, for guiding the folds of the photoconductive sections progressively closer to the outlet opening than the mid-portions thereof in transit through the receptacle. A pair of tamping devices, movably mounted on the opposite receptacle walls, cooperate with the receptacle walls for guiding incoming photoconductive sections toward the stack. In addition, apparatus is provided for moving the tamping devices out of step with one another toward and away from the stack, including, for example, one or more springs resiliently interconnecting the same to the respective tamping devices so as to maintain each of the tamping devices in engagement with the receptacle wall with which it is associated.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.