Vacuum transport for use in a xerographic printer
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsJohn V. Korhonen, Peter A. Mayfield, Colin Partridge, Simon Muggleworth
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vacuum transport for a printer or copier guides a sheet through a machine, such as from a photoreceptor toward a fuser. The vacuum transport includes a partially enclosed vacuum chamber having rollers rotatably mounted therein. Portions of the rollers protrude through openings in the top of the chamber. A series of ribs are disposed between the openings. Some of the ribs extend diagonally toward one end of the width of the paper path over the transport.
Claims17
A vacuum transport for conveying a sheet in a process direction within a printing apparatus, comprising:
- means defining a chamber, the chamber defining an external surface, the external surface defining a full width perpendicular to the process direction;
- a first plurality of openings defined in the external surface;
- a first plurality of ribs protruding from the external surface, the ribs being disposed between pairs of openings of the first plurality of openings, the ribs being oriented along the process direction;
- an axle rotatably mounted within the chamber;
- a plurality of rollers disposed on the axle, whereby a portion of each roller protrudes through one of the first plurality of openings.
A vacuum transport for conveying a sheet in a process direction within a printing apparatus, comprising:
- means defining a chamber, the chamber defining an external surface, the external surface defining a full width perpendicular to the process direction;
- a first plurality of openings defined in the external surface;
- a first plurality of ribs protruding from the external surface, the ribs being disposed between pairs of openings of the first plurality of openings, the ribs being oriented along the process direction;
- an axle rotatably mounted within the chamber;
- a plurality of rollers disposed on the axle, whereby a portion of each roller protrudes through one of the first plurality of openings.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.