# US 8,042,807 B2 · Transport for printing systems

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- Number: US 8,042,807 B2
- Document ID: US8042807B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 11/614,370
- Filed: 2006-12-21
- Published: 2008-06-26
- Granted: 2011-10-25
- Earliest claimed: 2006-12-21
- Assignees: Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated
- Inventors: David K. Biegelsen; David G. Duff; Erik L. Swartz; Ashish V. Pattekar
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US8042807B2

## CPC

- B65H 29/12: by means of the nip between two, or between two sets of, moving tapes or bands {or rollers}
- B41J 3/60: for printing on both faces of the printing material
- B41J 13/076: Construction of rollers; Bearings therefor
- B65H 27/00: Special constructions, e.g. surface features, of feed or guide rollers for webs (rollers in general F16C13/00)
- B65H 2404/1115: toothed roller
- B65H 2404/11221: involving spring
- B65H 2404/14: Roller pairs
- B65H 2404/521: Reliefs
- B65H 2601/251: Smearing
- B65H 2801/06: Office-type machines, e.g. photocopiers
- B65H 2801/12: Single-function printing machines, typically table-top machines
- Y10T 74/1987: Rotary bodies
- B65H: HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION

## Abstract

A transport system for cut sheet media has a first and second cylinder to form a nip, a support subsystem to transport edges of cut sheets having at least one image into and out of the nip, and an array of contact points on each cylinder to make contact with the cut sheets without marking the image. A wheel for a print medium transport system has an outer rim having a series of contact points, an inner hub supporting a means to accommodate a drive shaft, and an internal spring connecting the outer rim to the inner hub. A method of transporting cut sheets in a printing system forms a nip between at least one pair of cylinders, each cylinder having an array of contact points, guides a first edge of a cut sheet into the nip, and uses the arrays of contact points to transport the cut sheets through one of either a fusing or drying process.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A transport system for cut sheet media, comprising:
a first and second cylinder arranged so as to form a nip;
a support subsystem to transport edges of cut sheets having at least one image into and out of the nip; and
an array of contact points of one of brushes, belts with points, punctured metal or starwheels, on each cylinder extending from a surface of the cylinder, the array of contact points to contact the cut sheets, such that only the array of contact points contact the cut sheets;
wherein:
the first and second cylinders are disposed such that the surface of the first cylinder is separated from the surface of the second cylinder by a distance greater than a sum of a distance from the surface of the first cylinder to a distal end of a longest contact point of the first cylinder and a distance from the surface of the second cylinder to a distal end of a longest contact point of the second cylinder when the contact points contact the cut sheets; and
for each of the first and second cylinders, a combined surface area of distal ends of the contact points is less than a surface area of the surface of the cylinder.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, wherein the support subsystem further comprises a fluidic bearing means.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The transport system of claim 2, wherein the fluidic bearing means comprises at least one of air knives, air jets, steam knives or steam jets.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, comprising a motor to drive the first cylinder and a drive wheel between the first and second cylinders to drive the second cylinder at a same speed as the first cylinder.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, the transport system comprising multiple pairs of first and second cylinders arranged along a process direction, where each of the first and second cylinders of the pairs includes a corresponding array of contact points.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The transport system of claim 5, the transport system comprising a speed control to operate each pair of cylinders with rotational motions slightly different from that of a previous pair of cylinders.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, the transport system comprising a barrier interdigitated with the arrays of contact points to form a zone in the transport system;
wherein the barrier is offset from sides of the contact points such that the contact points can deform an amount before contacting the barrier.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, wherein the array of contact points on the first cylinder is offset in a lateral direction by a fraction of the distance between contact points on the second cylinder shaft.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, wherein the contact points of at least one of the first cylinder and the second cylinder are disposed in random locations.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The transport system of claim 1, wherein for each of the first cylinder and the second cylinder, the cylinder includes a plurality of disks disposed along the cylinder and the contact points of the cylinder are disposed on outer rims of the disks.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The transport system of claim 10, wherein at least one disk of the first cylinder and the second cylinder includes:
an inner hub to accommodate a drive shaft; and
an internal spring connecting the outer rim to the inner hub, the internal spring lying in the plane of the outer rim and the inner hub, the internal spring to allow the outer rim to translate inward towards the inner hub.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The transport system of claim 10, wherein at least one disk of the first cylinder and the second cylinder is compliant.

### Claim 13 (depends on 10)

The transport system of claim 10, wherein for each of the first cylinder and the second cylinder, the disks of the cylinder have random relative azimuthal orientations.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The transport system of claim 10, wherein for each disk, the contact points of the disk extend from the outer rim of the disk.