Abstract: A scanner for reading indicia on a member, surface, sheet, or similar object. Several laser diodes are used to separately generate laser beams which are scanned across the member as separate beams. The light spots produced by the beams on the member are not coincident with each other. Light reflected from the scanned member is imaged onto a linear CCD array which combines or integrates the reflected light produced by each spot to produce the resulting data for the corresponding location. Controlling the output of the laser diodes can customize the overall wavelength of the scanning light and the energy profile of the light across the scan. Some component tolerances of the system are reduced because less than the entire light spot is used to illuminate an area imaged onto the CCD sensors.

Abstract: A printed circuit board holder wherein several boards are securely held in place in a fixture by force exerting devices pushing against the board edges. The fixture includes recessed openings where the boards are located and force exerting devices positioned between pairs of the openings. The force exerting devices include an elliptical member which is mounted flush with the boards and is rotatable to push the two adjacent boards apart from each other. Contact is made only with the board edges to provide a smooth surface across the force exerting means, the circuit boards, and the fixture.

Abstract: An apparatus is employed for drying liquid, preferably ink, on a medium, which entails heating air and blowing it across the surface of the medium at high velocity. The heated air is recaptured and recirculated resulting in lower energy usage for heating and a reduced relative humidity of drying air to enhance drying. Various structural configurations are disclosed but each has a common feature of creating an air dam at the point of entry of a medium along a media path and at the exit point. The use of a baffle adjacent to the medium path acts as a deflector for the heated air to distribute it across the medium surface at high velocity and also creates ports for expressing and recirculating heated air.

Abstract: In a laser printer, light beams need to be focused onto a printing surface to form points where print indicia are to effect a print image. In a printer where it is desirable to have variable pitch print characters, a new method has been employed to create variable print character pitches. Multiple non-parallel points of light are emitted through a collimating lens onto a wedge shaped optical component which directs the multiple beams of light into parallel alignment. The optical wedge has one planar surface perpendicular to at least one light beam emitted through the collimating lens. This light beam is normal to the perpendicular planar surface and passes through the wedge without being deflected. The optical wedge also has one or more planar surfaces that direct the other light beams into parallel alignment with the undeflected light beam.

Abstract: A method and personal banking machine is described by which two items such as cash and statement can be issued simultaneously through one and the same gate. The optimum point in time is determined and adaptively controlled by which the front edge of statement touches the bundle of bank notes during issuing movement of the bank notes. Then both, bank notes and statement, are moved together to their respective end positions. The method and the machine starts the statement transport after a certain monitored delay time (DELTA-STATEMENT). By calculating out of the time difference between the point in time at which the bank notes reach the end position and the statement reaches its end position, a new time delay (DELTA-STATEMENT) is calculated for the next combined cash and statement issue operation. The method provides for the simultaneous issuance of bank notes and a statement through a common exit gate.

Abstract: A data storage system for an electronic color printer which stores data according to what information the data represents. When the data represents area fill and image information, the data is stored in the page buffer according to mode 1 of the invention wherein a plurality of pixels are all defined to have the same color. This color is defined in the memory in a uniform color space format. When the data to be stored is representing text or line graphics information, the data is stored in the page buffer according to mode 2 of the invention. In mode 2, two-bit binary values in the page buffer are assigned to each pixel of a multi-pixel cell. These two-bit values point to additional bytes in the memory block of the page buffer which in turn point to discrete colors in a spectrum of 256 colors. Thus, each pixel within the pixel cell can be printed in a color selected by the color portion of the page buffer.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for increasing the throughput speed in copiers and printers which produce color transparency output sheets separated by special or slip sheets. A frame transfer sequence is used wherein separate component color images for different output sheets are intermixed on different areas of the transfer member at the same time. After one area contains all of the component images, the composite image is removed and the corresponding frame is skipped while the interleaving sheet is fed through the transfer station of the apparatus. The sequence is repeated until the desired number of output copies are obtained. The invention is applicable to both intermediate and direct transfer reproducing apparatus.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for generating a process control patch on a charge-retaining member in a photocopier or printer. Patch data is stored in binary form for a small portion of the first two lines of the patch. This data is replicated throughout the patch to provide the pixel data for the entire patch. Blank pixel data is sent to the printhead during portions of line scans which do not contain the control patch.

Abstract: An electrophotographic copies having a document scanner which determines the location of registration marks on the platen. The scanner is initially operated in a calibration mode without a document on the platen. The platen is scanned and the data obtained is processed to determine when transitions from low to high density occur. These occurrences are translated to scanner locations to obtain the locations of the edges of the registration marks or guides, and the locations are stored in memory. In subsequent scannings of documents, only data within the determined locations of the registration edges is stored in memory.

Abstract: Apparatus and method for obtaining a constant copy output rate in color copiers having a transfer station which produces more than one color copy at substantially the same time. The time lapse between making another set of color copies, necessitated by transferring several color image frames in sequence, is utilized to provide the constant output rate. The sheet transport system between the transfer station and the fuser station is controlled such that it delivers the copy sheets to the fuser at time intervals different than that at which they are received from the transfer station. According to the preferred embodiment, the conveyor is stopped for a predetermined time between delivering each sheet to the fuser from the same set.

Abstract: A visual indication system for easily providing information about the status of the output terminals of a solid state relay. A two-electrode neon glow lamp is connected across the output terminals of the relay in series with a current limiting resistor. The shunting impedance of the relay output terminals prevents voltage from inducing a glow in the neon lamp in certain modes of terminal configuration. When the terminals are ON, neither electrode glows. When the terminals are OFF, both electrodes glow. If the AC relay fails in a half-wave mode, only one of the electrodes will glow.

Abstract: Streaming magnetic tape system used as an electronic recirculating feeder for copiers and printers. Scanned and digitized original pages are stored on tape by high speed thin film parallel heads. The tape is reversed and the heads are shifted after one-half of the pages are stored on the tape. Storage of the second half of the pages results in the tape being back at the place of beginning, thus eliminating time-consuming rewinds. In one embodiment, the pages are counted before recording to ascertain the middle tape reversal location.

Abstract: Optical printhead for hard copy printers and copiers. The printhead includes a fiber optic lens array having a reinforcing and locating bar permanently bonded to the side and exact center of the lens. The bar has a dimension parallel to the axis of the fibers which is much more accurate than the length of the lens along the same axis. Centering of the lens array is easily and accurately accomplished by centering the bar. The bar also stiffens and straightens the lens array to maintain desired focal characteristics. The printhead also includes an accurately dimensioned mounting plate which is used to attach the printhead to the printer. A stress relieving structure is used to support the electronic circuitry and LED's in the printhead from a rigid heat sink.

Abstract: An electrophotographic copier-printer having a continuous intermediate transfer roller. Several color component images are transferred in registration to the intermediate roller and then the composite image is transferred to a hard copy material such as a paper sheet. The images transferred to the intermediate roller come from specific locations on a seamed photoconductive belt. The roller circumference is not an integral fraction of the belt length, thereby allowing the belt position to precess along the roller during component image transfers. The seam of the belt is confined to a precess region between image areas on the roller. This precessing allows the roller to be varied in size by an amount dependent upon the amount of allowed precessing and the number of component images transferred.

Abstract: Endless web laser printer having enhanced copy registration. Compensation is made for the position of the laser beam along the scan line when the image scanning is to begin. The extra delay in starting the image scan is translated to an equal and extra delay for feeding the paper to the image transfer station. Up to one full line of misregistration can be corrected. Dividing the scan line into segments decreases the possible number of extra delay time quantities consistent with the perceivable improvement in registration tolerance.

Abstract: Electrostatographic apparatus for providing bound sheet sets suitable for folding. The sides of the sheet sets are staggered so that, upon folding, the edges become accurately aligned. Staggering is accomplished by progressively cutting the sheets shorter as they are to be positioned in the stack, and aligning the stacked sheets in a trapezoidal shape before stapling the sheets together. Aligning is accomplished by an inclined surface which makes an acute angle of approximately 32.degree. with the flat surface of the sheets. Movement of the images on the sheet is also provided to keep the outside borders on the various sheets equal.

Abstract: Modular optical LED printhead arranged for a fixed focus distance outside the printhead structure. A supporting and registration plate contains a rectangular opening in which the lens is located. The plate is secured to the overall LED supporting structure of the printhead by end members which, with side members, completely seal the LED's and connections from contaminants. The registration plate has at least two surfaces thereon which mate with surfaces in the associated apparatus to accurately position the plate. During the alignment process of the printhead, the lens and plate are adjusted to provide a focus at a fixed distance from one of the registration surfaces of the plate. Alignment of the lens across the axis of the LED array is provided by recessed set screws and a shim. Because of the fixed distance from the registration surface, the printhead can be installed in suitably constructed apparatus without further alignment.

Abstract: Apparatus for wrapping and sealing stacks of paper sheets from the output of high speed copiers and printers. The apparatus includes a paper handling assembly, a sealing assembly, rolls of a plastic film material, and a tote or hopper system. The paper handler permits single sheet feeding and inverting of sheets when desired. The sealing assembly wraps the stack of sheets with the plastic film and lowers a U-shaped sealing bar assembly around the wrapped package to seal simultaneously three sides thereof. Two of the three sides are parallel and near the edge of the plastic film, and are sealed with non-severing type seams. The third side is perpendicular to the other two sides and is sealed with a severing type seam. The severing type seam is made with a heating element on one side of the sealed plastic layers, and a non-heated cut-off wire located on the other side. The cut-off wire is also used to control the temperature in the seal area.

Abstract: An optical LED printhead for hard copy printing using a photoconductive transfer system. The printhead includes a linear array of LED's formed by the side-by-side mounting of modular circuit tiles, each containing LED and driver chips. The tiles are bonded to a backing plate constructed of a material with the same thermal coefficient of expansion as the tiles. Slots at the ends and in the middle of the backing plate are aligned with pins in a heat sink of dissimilar material. Differential thermal expansion between the heat sink and the backing plate is controlled by the slot and pin arrangement to allow relative movement in predefined directions which relieve stress but which do not degrade the alignment of the LED's. A printed circuit board and the backing plate are fastened to the heat sink through spring loaded screws extending through oversized holes. Upon mounting, the circuit tiles are located in a rectangular opening in the printed circuit board.

Abstract: A memory redundancy circuit is described incorporating a sequential row or column counter associated with a plurality of programmable row or column decoders. The sequential row counter includes a sequence circuit for each programmable row decoder. The sequence circuit and programmable row decoder incorporate fixed and variable threshold transistors such as metal nitride oxide semiconductor (MNOS) transistors. The threshold of the variable threshold transistors are switched in response to address signals and control signals to permit redundancy. A disable circuit is also described to permit removal of the redundancy circuits to permit retest of the other circuits.