Corrugating baffle for on stack finishing system
AssigneeXerox Corporation
InventorDouglas K Herrmann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sheet stacking tray that includes a single pneumatic baffle which uses the pressure differential caused by the flow of air across a cross process curved bottom surface of the pneumatic baffle to hold the lead edge of sheets driven by an input nip into the sheet stacking tray above a stack especially for longer and lighter weight sheets as they are driven by the input nip to a registration wall.
Claims20
A sheet stacking system with a sheet stacking area for sequentially stacking printed sheets output of a reproduction apparatus being sequentially fed in a process direction to said sheet stacking area, the improvement in high speed sheet stacking and improved sheet control comprising:
- a stacking tray for receiving said sheets therein, said stacking tray including a registration wall where said sheets are registered thereagainst and form a stack within said stacking tray;
- an input nip for capturing said sheets and maintaining control of said sheets until they reach said registration wall;
- and
- a single pneumatic baffle that extends from an outlet of said input nip at least to said registration wall and includes a smooth bottom surface which is convexed throughout said smooth bottom surface in a cross process direction positioned parallel to and above the stack within said stacking tray, said single pneumatic baffle using a pressure differential caused by flow of air across said convexed smooth bottom surface to hold a lead edge of each incoming sheet above said stack as each incoming sheet is driven by said input nip to said registration wall while simultaneously maintaining each incoming sheet out of contact with said convexed smooth bottom surface of said single pneumatic baffle, and wherein said single pneumatic baffle is a sole source of air flow against each incoming sheet.
A printing machine adapted to print an image on a sheet, comprising:
- an imaging apparatus for processing and recording an image onto said sheet;
- an image development apparatus for developing the image;
- a transfer device for transferring the image onto said sheet;
- a fuser for fusing the image onto said sheet;
- and
- an output device for receiving said sheet from said fuser and stacking said sheet against a registration wall thereof, said output device including an input nip for driving said sheet into and through said output device with said input nip being adapted to maintain control of said sheet until said sheet reaches said registration wall, and a pneumatic baffle that extends from an outlet of said input nip at least to said registration wall and having a smooth bottom surface extending substantially an entire width of said output device and including only a single curve in a cross process direction to maintain said sheet above any previously compiled sheets within said output device while simultaneously preventing said sheet from contacting said smooth bottom surface of said curved pneumatic baffle.
A sheet stacking method for high speed sequentially stacking printed sheets output of a reproduction apparatus with improved sheet control, comprising:
- providing a stacking tray for receiving said sheets therein, said stacking tray including a registration wall where the sheets are registered thereagainst and form a stack within said stacking tray;
- providing an input nip for capturing said sheets and maintaining control of said sheets until immediately before said sheets reach said registration wall;
- and
- providing a pneumatic baffle that extends from an outlet of said input nip at least to said registration wall and includes a single continually smooth bottom surface extending substantially an entire width of said pneumatic baffle and convexed in a cross process direction and positioned above the stack of sheets within said stacking tray, said pneumatic baffle using a pressure differential caused by flow of air across said convexed smooth bottom surface of said pneumatic baffle to solely hold a lead edge of each incoming sheet above said stack as each incoming sheet is driven by said input nip to said registration wall while simultaneously maintaining each incoming sheet out of contact with said convexed smooth bottom surface of said pneumatic baffle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.