Patents Examined by Gerald W McClain
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Patent number: 7726646Abstract: A sheet in accordance with the present invention includes sheets as print mediums for a printer and a package member surrounding the sheets which have been stacked up. The sheet package is configured so that the sheets can be set in the printer together with the package member exposing part of the sheets. The package member is integrally provided with a flap part which can expose part of the sheets by being opened when the sheet package is set in the printer and cover the exposed part of the sheets by being closed when the sheet package is not used.Type: GrantFiled: March 17, 2003Date of Patent: June 1, 2010Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Koji Sugiyama, Hiroshi Taira, Minoru Yamamoto, Keiji Seo, Takashi Okumura, Katsuhiko Shimada, Mutsuo Naoe
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Patent number: 7722026Abstract: A sheet conveyer device to convey a sheet in a conveyer path, including a first roller pair arranged in an intermediate position in the conveyer path, a feeder to feed the sheet toward the first roller pair during a feeding operation, a discharge portion, on which the sheet is discharged, a second roller pair arranged in the conveyer path in a position closer to the discharge portion than the first roller pair, a control unit to control the first and the second roller pairs to rotate synchronously, and a judging system to judge whether a sheet feeding error has occurred in the feeder, is provided. The control unit controls the first and the second roller pairs to rotate synchronously in a second direction during the feeding operation and in a first direction when the judging system judges that the sheet feeding error has occurred during the feeding operation.Type: GrantFiled: April 8, 2009Date of Patent: May 25, 2010Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Kensuke Hirate, Shunsuke Mizutani
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Patent number: 7717417Abstract: The present application is directed to devices and methods for moving media sheets in an image forming device. In one embodiment, a contact member includes a contact roller that contacts a top-most media sheet in a stack of media sheets positioned on a support surface in an input area of the image forming device. A hub extends outward from an axial side of the contact roller. The hub includes a smaller length than the contact roller, forming a gap between the hub and the top-most media sheet when the contact roller is in contact with the top-most media sheet. The hub prevents or reduces transverse buckling of the top-most media sheet when it is moved from the stack of media sheets.Type: GrantFiled: June 20, 2007Date of Patent: May 18, 2010Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventor: Niko Jay Murrell
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Patent number: 7717420Abstract: An apparatus for feeding sheets in sheet-processing machines includes a transport belt which transports sheets from a first location to a second location. The transport belt can be driven at variable speed by a drive. The speed of the transport belt can be controlled by a control device in such a way that, through the use of a combination of at least two speed profiles, the number of sheets on the transport belt and the transfer of the sheets at the first and second locations can be adjusted. A printing press having the apparatus is also provided.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2008Date of Patent: May 18, 2010Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AGInventors: Jochen Bechtler, Oliver Nowarra
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Patent number: 7712736Abstract: A printer apparatus includes a paper cater plate portion for carrying paper on which an image is printed, a prescribed shaft portion arranged above the paper carrier plate portion, a paper feed roller for feeding the paper provided on the shaft portion, a pushing member for pushing the paper carrier plate portion toward the paper feed roller, a cam provided on the shaft portion, and a cam abutment portion provided in the paper cater plate portion and abutting on the earn. The cam is formed from a resin and includes a cut-out portion so that a portion of the cam abutting on the cam abutment portion when the paper cater plate portion is lifted is elastic.Type: GrantFiled: July 5, 2005Date of Patent: May 11, 2010Assignee: Funai Electric Co., Ltd.Inventor: Kiyoshi Chinzei
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Patent number: 7708268Abstract: A pile of sheets is held by a separator/feeder and a vibrator is brought into contact with a first region of the pile with a first contact pressure. High frequency vibrations are applied from the vibrator to the sheet. A takeout mechanism is brought into contact with and pressed against the pile with a second contact pressure and sheets are taken out one by one from the top surface of the pile by the takeout mechanism. A first sensor detects the position of the vibrator and outputs a first detection signal, while a second sensor detects the uppermost surface of the pile and outputs a second detection signal. A control section selects first and second contact pressures according to the first and second detection signals and maintains the first and second contact pressures.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 2007Date of Patent: May 4, 2010Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha ToshibaInventors: Kiminori Toya, Hideki Nukada, Yuko Kobayashi
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Patent number: 7703764Abstract: A document feeding device includes a document placing tray, a document ejection tray disposed above the document placing tray, a feeding path, a first reversal path, a second reversal path, and a reversing mechanism. The document ejection tray has a flap portion capable of rocking up and down to provide a first ejection mode and a second ejection mode. The reversing mechanism is configured to temporarily eject part of a document to the document ejection tray.Type: GrantFiled: March 23, 2009Date of Patent: April 27, 2010Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Takuro Kusama
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Patent number: 7703765Abstract: Embodiments herein include a printing or copying device that includes a media transport belt and a vacuum manifold. The vacuum manifold has an air intake positioned adjacent the media transport belt and has a vacuum blower or other air moving device that forces air out an air outlet of the manifold. The vacuum blower forces air from the vacuum manifold through the air outlet to create vacuum within the manifold. The vacuum manifold also includes transport belt openings that are sized, shaped, and positioned to allow the transport belt to pass into the vacuum manifold. The media transport belt is positioned partially within, and partially outside the vacuum manifold, such that the media transport belt is positioned to move through (within) the vacuum manifold from a first transport belt opening to a second transport belt opening.Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2006Date of Patent: April 27, 2010Assignee: Xerox CorporationInventor: Robert Charles Standing
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Patent number: 7699308Abstract: An apparatus for diverting sheet material, in particular bank notes (BN), includes a diverting plate (4) with a first diverting edge (7) disposed on a slant and preferably a second diverting edge (8) disposed on a slant. The sheet material is guided and transported from the rear side (6) of the diverting plate (4) around the first diverting edge (7) to the front side (5) and further around the second diverting edge (8) back to the rear side (6). If the diverting edges (7, 8) are aligned relative to the transport direction (1, 2, 3) of the sheet material e.g. in each case at a slant angle of 45°, this apparatus permits the sheet-material transport direction to be diverted by 180°, whereby the transport path is shifted parallel. Thus, a continuous bank-note stream can be diverted uninterruptedly while retaining the sheet-material orientation relative to the transport direction.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2007Date of Patent: April 20, 2010Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbHInventors: August Häusler, Ralf Linck, Markus Sperl
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Patent number: 7699307Abstract: A medium delivery apparatus, includes: a medium insertion portion; a medium delivery port; first and second medium guide surfaces; a feed roller; a first pressing member; a second pressing member; a rotating member; an urging member, configured to give an urging force acting in a first rotation direction to the rotating member to rotate the second pressing member toward the protruding position; an elastic member, configured to cause the second pressing member and the rotating member to abut against each other; and a stationary abutting portion, against which the rotating member abuts when the first pressing member is placed in the vicinity of the waiting position.Type: GrantFiled: February 3, 2009Date of Patent: April 20, 2010Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Toshiyuki Sasaki
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Patent number: 7694956Abstract: A recording apparatus has a paper feeder wherein single sheets of paper can be set, a paper delivery device for transporting paper fed from the paper feeder to a recorder, and a control unit for controlling operation of the paper feeder and the paper delivery device. The control unit has a skew removal execution mode of only the first sheet of paper where the paper tip is bitten into a paper delivery roller forming a part of the paper delivery device and then the paper delivery roller is reversely rotated for ejecting the paper tip for the first sheet of paper at the start of recording and then forward rotating the paper delivery roller for delivering the sheet of paper whose skew is removed to the recorder and delivering the second and later sheets of paper to a record area without executing the skew removal.Type: GrantFiled: May 14, 2007Date of Patent: April 13, 2010Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Masaki Shimomura, Kazuhisa Kawakami, Tsuyoshi Yamanaka, Masafumi Furuyama, Toru Fukushima
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Patent number: 7690644Abstract: A supply station for positioning enclosures on an enclosure-collating path of a mail-processing installation allows a simple conversion from operation for processing a stack of comparatively flexible, thin enclosures to operation for processing a stack of comparatively thick, essentially inflexible enclosures. The conversion is achieved using a magazine housing inside a supply station housing mounted so that it can be secured in two different pivot positions, whereby in one pivot position the lowermost enclosure of a stack of enclosures is bent using a vacuum arrangement in which the front end of the enclosure in the withdrawal direction can be gripped by a gripper, while in a second pivot position of the magazine housing, the front end in the withdrawal direction of a lowermost, comparatively thick and essentially inflexible enclosure is pushed by means of a pusher arrangement directly into the open claws of the gripper.Type: GrantFiled: October 8, 2004Date of Patent: April 6, 2010Assignee: Pitney Bowes Deutschland GmbHInventors: Martin Sting, Christian Botschek, Rainer Oberheim
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Patent number: 7686298Abstract: A method of removing media lateral DC position errors in a long paper path using closed loop correction is disclosed. The amount of lateral DC media shift error generated (or the lateral DC correction required) in the paper path is sensed by a CCD or full width array sensor located in the downstream paper path. In the closed loop, this information is used to energize a motorized actuator in the upstream paper path to correct for lateral DC errors in the media path. Thus, the paper is delivered to the downstream media path within specifications.Type: GrantFiled: November 5, 2007Date of Patent: March 30, 2010Assignee: Xerox CorporationInventors: Alexander J. Fioravanti, Rakesh Suresh Kulkarni, Abu Islam, Keith Andrew Buddendeck, Saurabh Prabhat
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Patent number: 7681877Abstract: An image forming device includes a paper supply apparatus including an adjustable knock-up plate to store a plurality of papers and having a lifter, a pick-up roller and feed roller to pick up each of the plurality of papers and feed each of the plurality of papers into the image forming device respectively, a motor to drive a plurality of units in the image forming device including the knock-up plate, and a brake unit to selectively transmit and disconnect power to the lifter. The lifting operation of the knock-up plate, to smoothly supply papers to the image forming device, is performed by receiving power from an existing arbitrary motor installed within the image forming device, and not from an exclusive motor that is solely used to drive and lift the knock-up plate.Type: GrantFiled: January 9, 2008Date of Patent: March 23, 2010Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventor: Jung-yun Won
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Patent number: 7677555Abstract: A sheet conveying apparatus includes a sheet containing unit that contains sheets; a sheet conveying unit that conveys the sheets; a separating unit that separates a single sheet from the sheets; a holding unit that holds the separating unit; and a vibration applying unit that applies a vibration to any one of the sheets conveyed by the sheet conveying unit and the separating unit before starting conveyance of the sheets.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 2008Date of Patent: March 16, 2010Assignee: Ricoh Company, LimitedInventors: Mizuna Tanaka, Yasuo Matsuyama, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tomoyoshi Yamazaki, Toshikane Nishii, Kazuyoshi Kondo, Yasuhide Ohkubo, Haruyuki Honda, Ippei Kimura, Masafumi Takahira
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Patent number: 7677560Abstract: An apparatus for deflecting sheet material from a first transport direction to a second transport direction while maintaining the orientation of the sheet material comprises a deflecting area (5) with a sheet-material supply zone (5a) and a sheet-material removal zone (5b), as well as at least one slider (11) with slider elements (12), which engages on the trailing edge of the sheet material to be deflected. By moving the slider from the sheet-material supply zone to the sheet-material removal zone around a rotation axis (13) the sheet material is deflected by the desired deflection angle. The sheet-material transport path preferably has two steps and the rotation axis (13) of the sliders (11) is preferably arranged in such a fashion that the slider elements (12) substantially only engage with the sheet-material transport path in the deflecting area (5) and emerge from the sheet-material transport path both upstream of the sheet-material supply zone (5a) and downstream of the sheet-material removal zone (5b).Type: GrantFiled: August 7, 2006Date of Patent: March 16, 2010Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbHInventor: August Häusler
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Patent number: 7677548Abstract: A cassette for mounting on an image forming apparatus body and supplying media to the apparatus body. The cassette includes a first tray, a second tray and a slide mechanism. The first tray and second tray are each able to contain multiple media. The slide mechanism allows the trays to be movable relative to each other. The first tray has an oblique surface and a first separation portion, and the second tray has an oblique surface and a second separation portion. Each of the oblique surfaces can separate an uppermost medium from other media such that distal ends of the media during delivery abut against the oblique surface. Each of the first and second separation portions guides the separated medium along the oblique surface in a paper feeding direction. The first separation portion has a different structure than the second separation portion provided for the second tray.Type: GrantFiled: May 23, 2008Date of Patent: March 16, 2010Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventor: Hiroki Chino
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Patent number: 7673875Abstract: Based on the type of sheet and the detection result of double feed, carrying a sheet is stopped. Carrying of a predetermined type of sheet is not stopped even when double feed is detected. The predetermined type of sheet is a sheet having air space inside thereof (an envelope, an OHP sheet, Kent paper, or the like).Type: GrantFiled: December 12, 2006Date of Patent: March 9, 2010Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Muneyuki Motohashi, Tsuyoshi Iwamoto
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Patent number: 7673873Abstract: A tray for receiving printed media from a printer, the tray including a print well, a ramp and at least two side walls. There is at least one support member extending from the tray adapted to engage the printer and position the tray such that the print well is laterally offset from the exit slot of the printer and prints exiting from the printer overhang one of the side walls of the tray. A ledge feature projects from the side wall that exiting prints overhang, the ledge feature configured to bias movement of the printed media exiting the printer and in contact the ledge feature to fall into the print well.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2004Date of Patent: March 9, 2010Assignee: Eastman Kodak CompanyInventors: Robert F. Mindler, Robert C. Cohoon, Theodore J. Skomsky
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Patent number: 7665728Abstract: A document feeding device includes a document placing tray, a document ejection tray disposed above the document placing tray, a feeding path, a first reversal path, a second reversal path, and a reversing mechanism. The document ejection tray has a flap portion capable of rocking up and down to provide a first ejection mode and a second ejection mode. The reversing mechanism is configured to temporarily eject part of a document to a space portion between the document placing tray and the document ejection tray.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2009Date of Patent: February 23, 2010Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Takuro Kusama