Wrinkle preventing registration mechanism
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorDavid F. Cahill
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A registration mechanism for registering a moving receiver sheet relative to a toner image on a moving image bearing member in an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus. The registration mechanism includes members which define a sheet travel path, a registration gate, and a device for feeding the sheet to the registration gate. The registration mechanism also includes sheet deflecting members for deflecting the sheet in a zigzag manner between the sheet feeding device and the registration gate, so as to increase the beam strength of such sheet
Claims10
In an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus having means including a moving image bearing member for forming and transferring toner images to a moving receiver sheet, a registration mechanism for registering the sheet, the registration mechanism comprising:
- (a) first and second plate-face members defining a sheet travel path;
- (b) an upstream sheet feeding means and a downstream sheet feeding means positioned within said sheet path for feeding sheets seriatim along said sheet path;
- (c) releasable stop means positioned within said sheet travel path immediately upstream of said downstream sheet feeding means for stopping and aligning the lead edge of a sheet fed by said upstream sheet feeding means;
- and
- (d) sheet-path zigzagging means including a first sheet deflecting member separate from said first and second plate-face members, said first sheet deflecting member being mounted from said first plate-face member and projecting into said sheet travel path between said stop means and said upstream sheet feed means for putting a bend into a sheet feeding through said downstream sheet feeding means, thereby increasing the beam strength of, and removing transverse folds from a free and unsupported portion of the sheet feeding downstream of said bend and into said downstream sheet feeding means.
An electrostatographic reproduction apparatus including:
- (a) means for forming a toner image on a moving image bearing member;
- (b) means for transferring the toner image onto a receiver sheet;
- (c) means for feeding the receiver sheet along a sheet travel path to said image transferring means;
- and
- (d) sheet registration means for registering a moving receiver sheet relative to said moving image bearing member, the registration means comprising:
- (i) a registration gate;
- (ii) means for feeding the receiver sheet along the sheet travel path to said registration gate;
- and
- (iii) sheet path zigzagging means for putting a bend into the feeding sheet immediately upstream of said registration gate so as to increase the beam strength of the sheet feeding to said registration gate, said zigzagging means including a first sheet deflecting member being positioned downstream of said sheet feeding means and projecting into the sheet travel path beyond a straight line within said path drawn in the direction of sheet travel through a sheet feeding nip of a second downstream sheet feeding means for deflecting the feeding sheet substantially transversely in a first direction, and a second sheet deflecting member being positioned downstream of said first sheet deflecting member for deflecting such sheet substantially transversely in a second direction opposite to said first direction.
In a reproduction apparatus, a mechanism for preventing wrinkling sheets registered in a sheet registration assembly, the mechanism comprising:
- (a) first and second plate-face members defining a first sheet-travel path, said first sheet-travel path including a sheet buckling region formed in said second plate-face member;
- (b) first and second sheet feeding means, located across said first sheet-travel path upstream and downstream respectively of said sheet buckling region relative to sheet travel, for feeding the full intrack dimension of a sheet along said first sheet-travel path, said second, downstream sheet feeding means being located to receive and feed a free and unsupported intrack portion of a sheet from said first, upstream feeding means;
- and
- (c) a first sheet deflecting member, separate from said first and second plate-face members, said first sheet deflecting member being mounted from said first plate-face member across from said buckling region and having a portion thereof projecting significantly into said first sheet-travel path, and said projecting portion of said first sheet deflecting member having a sharp edge for creating a sharp bend in a sheet feeding into and through said downstream sheet feeding means, thereby removing transverse folds in said sheet and preventing wrinkling therein.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.