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US 5,337,135 AGranted
Higher productivity trayless duplex printer with variable path velocity
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsMichael A. Malachowski, David R. Kamprath
Life of this patent
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AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsMichael A. Malachowski, David R. Kamprath
Estimating the term…
In a printing system capable of printing and outputting collated sets of plural duplex copy sheets from input job sets of plural page images using a trayless duplexing buffer loop path of a known normal plural copy sheet length for recirculating the copy sheets imaged on one side back to be imaged on their opposite sides; operating in a continuous loop burst-interleave mode, using a variable speed duplex drive, for driving at least a major portion of the duplexing path sheet feeders at at least two different sheet feeding speeds so as to initially feed a limited number of the sheets to be printed on one side, less than the duplexing path length, at full rate without skips, to the duplexing path to be selectively partially fed therein at substantially higher than normal velocities, and to variably selectively reduce the velocity of the duplexing path with the initial sheets therein, to generate sheet interleaving spaces between these duplexing path sheets, so that they may be interleaved for their second side printing with subsequent first side prints until the final sheets of the job, which are also fed through the duplexing path at higher than normal speeds for different distances so as to close up interleaving spaces. This increases the duplex copying rate of the printing system by reducing or eliminating skipped pitches without requiring an increase in the given or normal printing rate.
In a duplexing reproduction apparatus of a given sheet printing rate, with a control system for printing and outputting collated duplex copy sets of plural duplex copy sheets from input jobs of plural page images, wherein said collated duplex copy sheets have one said input page imaged on their first side and then another said input page imaged on their second side, in proper collated order, and wherein said duplexing reproduction apparatus has a trayless buffer loop duplexing path with duplexing path sheet feeders providing a duplexing path of a known plural copy sheet length at said given sheet printing rate for recirculating in said duplexing path with said duplexing path sheet feeders said copy sheets imaged on their first sides back to be imaged on their second sides to make said collated duplex copies, the improvement comprising:
In a duplexing method for more efficiently printing collated duplexed sets of duplex copy sheets from a multipage job set of electronically reorderable page images with a printer, for a printer having a trayless duplexing loop path with duplex transport drives for recirculating copy sheets imaged on their first sides back to be imaged on their second sides to produce said collated duplex copy sets, the improvement wherein:
In a duplexing method wherein copy sheets being duplexed are recirculated for their second side imaging in a trayless loop duplexing path to generate collated sets of duplex copy sheets from a plural sheet input job, which duplex path is at least partially filled with said sheets at the beginning of each input job and depleted at the end of each input job;
In a duplexing method for more efficiently printing collated duplex sets of duplex copy sheets from a multipage job set of electronically reorderable page images with a printer having a trayless duplexing loop path with duplex transport drives for recirculating copy sheets imaged on their first sides back to be imaged on their second sides to produce said collated duplex copy sets said duplex transport drives are normally driven at a normal sheet feeding speed;
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.