Patents by Inventor Peter Brown Pickett
Peter Brown Pickett has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
-
Patent number: 8837967Abstract: A device and method for determining and applying a transfer voltage in an imaging apparatus is provided. A servo voltage is determined based in part upon a change in an environmental condition. A determination is made whether or not to perform a new transfer servo operation based upon at least one of an amount of time passing since the last transfer servo operation was performed and a comparison of the determined servo voltage and a servo voltage used in a prior transfer servo operation. A transfer servo operation includes charging a photoconductive drum to a charge corresponding to a printing voltage.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2010Date of Patent: September 16, 2014Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Alan Stirling Campbell, Brandon Alden Kemp, Peter Brown Pickett
-
Patent number: 8824929Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photoconductive drums, each photoconductive drum transferring a portion of a toner image to an intermediate transfer member. The photoconductive drums are individually rotated to a printing speed such that a downstream photoconductive drum starts rotating prior to an adjacent upstream photoconductive drum starts image transfer. Similarly, an upstream photoconductive drum starts deceleration when its following downstream station has transferred image.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2010Date of Patent: September 2, 2014Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Alan Stirling Campbell, David Brian Langer, Peter Brown Pickett, David Anthony Schneider
-
Backup roll with capacitive coating and an imaging device transfer station employing the backup roll
Patent number: 8433227Abstract: A toner transfer station of an electrophotographic imaging device employs a backup roll having an inner electrically grounded cylindrical metal base core and an outer surface layer disposed about the inner base core. The outer surface layer may be formed of a polyurethane elastomer material to provide a capacitive coating with a thickness greater than 15 microns, a dielectric constant less than 12 and a resistivity of less than 3.00E+13 Ohm-cm.Type: GrantFiled: August 20, 2009Date of Patent: April 30, 2013Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Bryan Michael Blair, Bartley Charles Gould, II, Peter Brown Pickett, Julie Ann Gordon Whitney -
Patent number: 8126342Abstract: A system for tailoring a transfer nip electric field includes a transfer roll, a backup roll forming a transfer nip with the transfer roll, and a pre-nip roll positioned upstream from the transfer and backup rolls and the transfer nip such that a toner image-supporting transfer belt moving past the pre-nip, transfer and backup rolls separately makes contact with, wraps partially around, and rotates each of the rolls as a media sheet is fed into the transfer nip after first passing through a gap defined between the pre-nip and transfer rolls such that by presetting the position, geometry and charge of the pre-nip roll relative to the transfer and backup rolls and the transfer belt an electrical field at the transfer nip can be tailored for enhanced toner transfer from the transfer belt to the media sheet.Type: GrantFiled: December 8, 2008Date of Patent: February 28, 2012Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Nicholas Fenley Gibson, Brandon Alden Kemp, Brad Edward Mattingly, Michael Todd Phillips, Peter Brown Pickett, Gregory Lawrence Ream, Christopher Michael Smith, Julie Ann Gordon Whitney
-
Publication number: 20110293327Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photoconductive drums, each photoconductive drum transferring a portion of a toner image to an intermediate transfer member. The photoconductive drums are individually rotated to a printing speed such that a downstream photoconductive drum starts rotating prior to an adjacent upstream photoconductive drum starts image transfer. Similarly, an upstream photoconductive drum starts deceleration when its following downstream station has transferred image.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 19, 2010Publication date: December 1, 2011Inventors: Alan Stirling Campbell, David Brian Langer, Peter Brown Pickett, David Anthony Schneider
-
Patent number: 8064812Abstract: An intermediate toner transfer belt includes an endless member made of a layer of a material having an endless functional surface adapted to transfer a toner image. The layer of material is textured so as to define a multiplicity of protruding portions of the material spaced apart from each other and integral with and extending outwardly from a remaining base portion of the material. The protruding portions have outer tips spaced apart from one another with outer surfaces thereon also spaced apart from one another such that the endless surface of the endless member is formed by the spaced apart outer surfaces of the outer tips of the protruding portions of the material. Further, the protruding portions are irregular in pattern and shape relative to one another and generally undulate toward and away from the remaining base portion of the material.Type: GrantFiled: April 4, 2008Date of Patent: November 22, 2011Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Alexander D. Meade, Kathryn D. Mullins, Peter Brown Pickett
-
Publication number: 20110280598Abstract: A device and method for determining and applying a transfer voltage in an imaging apparatus is provided. A servo voltage is determined based in part upon a change in an environmental condition. A determination is made whether or not to perform a new transfer servo operation based upon at least one of an amount of time passing since the last transfer servo operation was performed and a comparison of the determined servo voltage and a servo voltage used in a prior transfer servo operation. A transfer servo operation includes charging a photoconductive drum to a charge corresponding to a printing voltage.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 23, 2010Publication date: November 17, 2011Inventors: Alan Stirling Campbell, Brandon Alden Kemp, Peter Brown Pickett
-
Patent number: 7912400Abstract: The present application is directed to devices and methods for removing toner from a belt within an image forming apparatus. In one embodiment, the device includes a housing that forms an enclosed interior space. The housing may include an inlet that leads into the interior space. A blade may be positioned in proximity to the inlet to remove the toner from the belt and direct it into the inlet. An auger may be rotationally positioned within the interior space to move the toner along a longitudinal width of the device. An agitating member may be rotationally positioned within the interior space to move the toner from the inlet towards the auger. The agitating member may include a flexible arm that contacts against at least one of the blade and the auger during rotation.Type: GrantFiled: September 18, 2007Date of Patent: March 22, 2011Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Peter Brown Pickett, Jason Martin, Frank Hughes, Hrishikesh Pramod Gogate
-
Backup Roll with Capacitive Coating and an Imaging Device Transfer Station Employing the Backup Roll
Publication number: 20110044733Abstract: A toner transfer station of an electrophotographic imaging device employs a backup roll having an inner electrically grounded cylindrical metal base core and an outer surface layer disposed about the inner base core. The outer surface layer may be formed of a polyurethane elastomer material to provide a capacitive coating with a thickness greater than 15 microns, a dielectric constant less than 12 and a resistivity of less than 3.00E+13 Ohm-cm.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 20, 2009Publication date: February 24, 2011Inventors: Bryan Michael Blair, Bartley Charles Gould, II, Peter Brown Pickett, Julie Ann Gordon Whitney -
Publication number: 20100142981Abstract: A system for tailoring a transfer nip electric field includes a transfer roll, a backup roll forming a transfer nip with the transfer roll, and a pre-nip roll positioned upstream from the transfer and backup rolls and the transfer nip such that a toner image-supporting transfer belt moving past the pre-nip, transfer and backup rolls separately makes contact with, wraps partially around, and rotates each of the rolls as a media sheet is fed into the transfer nip after first passing through a gap defined between the pre-nip and transfer rolls such that by presetting the position, geometry and charge of the pre-nip roll relative to the transfer and backup rolls and the transfer belt an electrical field at the transfer nip can be tailored for enhanced toner transfer from the transfer belt to the media sheet.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 8, 2008Publication date: June 10, 2010Inventors: Nicholas Fenley Gibson, Brandon Alden Kemp, Brad Edward Mattingly, Michael Todd Phillips, Peter Brown Pickett, Gregory Lawrence Ream, Christopher Michael Smith, Julie Ann Gordon Whitney
-
Publication number: 20090252541Abstract: An intermediate toner transfer belt includes an endless member made of a layer of a material having an endless functional surface adapted to transfer a toner image. The layer of material is textured so as to define a multiplicity of protruding portions of the material spaced apart from each other and integral with and extending outwardly from a remaining base portion of the material. The protruding portions have outer tips spaced apart from one another with outer surfaces thereon also spaced apart from one another such that the endless surface of the endless member is formed by the spaced apart outer surfaces of the outer tips of the protruding portions of the material. Further, the protruding portions are irregular in pattern and shape relative to one another and generally undulate toward and away from the remaining base portion of the material.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 4, 2008Publication date: October 8, 2009Inventors: Alexander D. Meade, Kathryn D. Mullins, Peter Brown Pickett
-
Publication number: 20090074445Abstract: The present application is directed to devices and methods for removing toner from a belt within an image forming apparatus. In one embodiment, the device includes a housing that forms an enclosed interior space. The housing may include an inlet that leads into the interior space. A blade may be positioned in proximity to the inlet to remove the toner from the belt and direct it into the inlet. An auger may be rotationally positioned within the interior space to move the toner along a longitudinal width of the device. An agitating member may be rotationally positioned within the interior space to move the toner from the inlet towards the auger. The agitating member may include a flexible arm that contacts against at least one of the blade and the auger during rotation.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 18, 2007Publication date: March 19, 2009Inventors: Peter Brown Pickett, Jason Martin, Frank Hughes, Hrishikesh Pramod Gogate
-
Patent number: 6712442Abstract: In a method of operating an inkjet printer, an intermediate transfer member is movable in an advance direction. A carrier supports a printhead, and is movable relative to the intermediate transfer member in a direction generally perpendicular to the advance direction. The printhead defines a plurality of raster lines extending over the intermediate transfer member at a non-perpendicular, fixed angle vector relative to the advanced direction. A bitmap image is defined which corresponds to an image to be formed on the intermediate transfer member. The bitmap image includes a plurality of rows and columns of pixels, with at least one image data corresponding to each pixel. The bitmap image is skewed such that the image data for at least one column within the bitmap image is shifted a predetermined number of pixel locations, dependent upon the fixed angle vector.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2002Date of Patent: March 30, 2004Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventor: Peter Brown Pickett
-
Publication number: 20040056912Abstract: In a method of operating an inkjet printer, an intermediate transfer member is movable in an advance direction. A carrier supports a printhead, and is movable relative to the intermediate transfer member in a direction generally perpendicular to the advance direction. The printhead defines a plurality of raster lines extending over the intermediate transfer member at a non-perpendicular, fixed angle vector relative to the advanced direction. A bitmap image is defined which corresponds to an image to be formed on the intermediate transfer member. The bitmap image includes a plurality of rows and columns of pixels, with at least one image data corresponding to each pixel. The bitmap image is skewed such that the image data for at least one column within the bitmap image is shifted a predetermined number of pixel locations, dependent upon the fixed angle vector.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 23, 2002Publication date: March 25, 2004Inventor: Peter Brown Pickett
-
Patent number: 6709096Abstract: A layered intermediate used in inkjet printing contains a release coat formed on a transfer medium in an area where an image has not been printed. The release coat is formed of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) or a PVP copolymer and at least one solvent selected from the group consisting of glycol solvents and diol solvents. A viscous coating of PVP or the PVP copolymer is formed on the transfer medium in an area where an image has been printed. A release layer formed from components in the release coat and components in the ink is formed on the viscous coating. A first ink layer is formed on the release layer of flocculated ink. A second ink layer is formed on the first ink layer, of ink that is substantially not flocculated.Type: GrantFiled: November 15, 2002Date of Patent: March 23, 2004Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Bradley Leonard Beach, Ligia Aura Bejat, Gerald Lee Fish, Philip Jerome Heink, David Starling MacMillan, Jean Marie Massie, Peter Brown Pickett, Ronald Lloyd Roe, Sean David Smith
-
Patent number: 6471427Abstract: A printhead carrier assembly in an ink jet printer includes a carrier moving along a linear path. At least one rotatable bearing is attached to the carrier. The at least one rotatable bearing has at least one axis of rotation. A rotatable shaft has a surface in contact with the at least one bearing such that the shaft is nonparallel to the at least one axis of rotation of the at least one rotatable bearing. The shaft is substantially parallel to the linear path of the carrier. Rotation of the shaft causes the at least one rotatable bearing to roll along a helical path on the surface of the shaft to thereby carry the carrier along the linear path.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 2001Date of Patent: October 29, 2002Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Richard Gordon Boyatt, III, Peter Brown Pickett
-
Publication number: 20020146268Abstract: A printhead carrier assembly in an ink jet printer includes a carrier moving along a linear path. At least one rotatable bearing is attached to the carrier. The at least one rotatable bearing has at least one axis of rotation. A rotatable shaft has a surface in contact with the at least one bearing such that the shaft is nonparallel to the at least one axis of rotation of the at least one rotatable bearing. The shaft is substantially parallel to the linear path of the carrier. Rotation of the shaft causes the at least one rotatable bearing to roll along a helical path on the surface of the shaft to thereby carry the carrier along the linear path.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 6, 2001Publication date: October 10, 2002Inventors: Richard Gordon Boyatt, Peter Brown Pickett
-
Patent number: 6457801Abstract: A dry time sensor apparatus for an ink jet printer includes a light source emitting light onto a selected area of ink on a print medium such that the light reflects off of the selected area of ink. A reflective device receives the reflected light and reflects the light a second time back onto the selected area of ink such that the light is reflected a third time by the selected area of ink in a predetermined direction. The predetermined direction is substantially nonvarying over a range of angles of orientation of the print medium and a range of distances of the print medium from the light source. A reflected light detecting device receives the light reflected in the predetermined direction.Type: GrantFiled: June 27, 2001Date of Patent: October 1, 2002Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.Inventors: Gerald Lee Fish, Philip Jerome Heink, Peter Brown Pickett