Method of development of custom colors without changing developer housing
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorsClark V. Lange, Daniel M. Bray
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for producing a toner of a custom color in a developer unit including a housing defining a reservoir for storing a supply of toner, a donor member for transporting toner to an imaging surface; including: identifying custom color requested; determining color of toner in the reservoir; detoning toner on the donor member if the color of toner in the reservoir is beyond a predefined value in color space from the custom color requested; calculating and dispensing primaries toner colors to be added to the reservoir to obtained the custom color requested; mixing the primary toner colors dispensed in the reservoir; and evaluating and comparing the color components of the toner being mixed to the custom color requested.
Claims11
A method for producing a toner of a custom color in a developer unit including a housing defining a reservoir for storing a supply of toner, a donor member for transporting toner to an imaging surface;
- comprising:
- identifying custom color requested;
- determining color of toner in the reservoir;
- detoning toner on said donor member if the color of toner in the reservoir is beyond a predefined value in color space from said custom color requested;
- calculating and dispensing primary toner colors to be added to the reservoir to obtain the custom color requested;
- mixing said primary toner colors dispensed in said reservoir;
- and
- evaluating and comparing the color components of said toner being mixed to said custom color requested;
- said evaluating and comparing comprises:
- sensing color components of said toner being mixed in said reservoir with a first sensor;
- detoning toner on said donor member;
- and
- sensing color components of said toner being detoned with a second sensor;
- and
- repeating said calculating and dispensing in response to said sensing until color components of said toner being mixed to said custom color requested are within a predefined value in color space;
- said evaluating and comparing further comprises:
- printing with said toner;
- sensing color components of said toner with a third sensor.
An apparatus for developing a latent image recorded on an imaging surface, comprising:
- a first developer unit for developing a portion of said latent image with a toner of a custom color, said first developer unit including a housing defining a reservoir for storing a supply of toner;
- a dispenser for dispensing toner of a first color and toner of a second color into said housing, said dispenser including means for mixing toner of said first color and toner of said second color together to form toner of said custom color;
- a donor member for transporting toner of said custom color on an outer surface of said donor member to a development zone;
- means for loading a toner layer of said custom color onto said outer surface of said donor member;
- a purging system, adjacent to said donor member, for detoning toner from said donor member and said reservoir;
- and
- a color controller, in communication with said dispenser and purging system, for adjusting color components of said custom color.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.