Developer station with cross conveyance
AssigneeOce Printing Systems GmbH
InventorJoseph Knott
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A printer or copier has a developer station with a toner dispenser in which the toner is fed from a toner box to a transverse transport above a dosing apparatus. The transverse transport includes a helix driven by a drive mechanism. The helix has a pitch H that varies along its length or a thickness D that varies along its length so that the speed of conveyance in the transverse direction decreases over the conveyance path. The rotational speed of the helix is variable by adjustment of the effective length of a drive arm or an extent of an eccentric.
Claims20
A developer station, comprising:
- a cross-conveyance apparatus constructed to convey toner in a conveying direction,
- a dosing apparatus disposed to receive the toner conveyed by said cross-conveyance apparatus,
- an intermediate receptacle having first and second ends, said intermediate receptacle supplying toner to said dosing apparatus,
- a toner box that opens into the intermediate receptacle at said first end of said intermediate receptacle, and
- said cross-conveyance apparatus conveying toner in the intermediate receptacle via a conveyance path over an entire printing width from the first end of the intermediate receptacle to the second end in the conveying direction transverse to a displacement direction of a carrier material that is to be provided with toner and is released onto the carrier material in a dosed manner by said dosing apparatus, a ratio of an amount of the toner that is conveyed transversely per unit of time relative to the amount of the toner that is released in a dosed manner per unit of time being adjustable.
A method for conveying toner from a toner box to a dosing apparatus, comprising the steps of:
- conveying toner from a first end of an intermediate receptacle at which the toner is received from said toner box to a second end of said intermediate receptacle over said dosing apparatus;
- and
- adjusting a ratio of a quantity of the toner conveyed per unit of time and relative to a quantity of toner released in a dosed manner by said dosing apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.