Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Lawrence P. Kessler
  • Patent number: 7113735
    Abstract: A precision release agent management system for an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus fuser device. The precision release agent management system includes a reservoir adapted to contain a release agent. A wick absorbs release agent from the reservoir. A metering member receives release agent from the wick, which is supported for resiliently urging into operative contact with the metering member. A blade member is associated with the metering member to establish a desired thickness of release agent on the metering member, and a donor member is adapted to receive release agent from the metering member, and operatively contact the fuser device to apply the release agent thereto. A plurality of features is associated with the reservoir for precise alignment of the donor member, the metering member, and the metering blade.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Ruediger Schlien, Randall J. Taylor, Fangsheng Wu, Gregory L. Kowalski, Richard Berg, Mikhail E. Fishkin, David F. Cahill
  • Patent number: 7110611
    Abstract: A method for the compression of two-value framing mask data (4) is described, with which the assembly of background image data (2) and variable image data (3) to a physical page (1) is controlled, whereby the framing mask data (4) are partitioned into blocks (7), horizontal sequences of blocks (7) with the same content are coded as run lengths, and in horizontal sequences of blocks (7) with dissimilar content, only the lines of a block (7) that differ from the preceding block (7) are coded. The partitioning of the framing mask data (4) into the blocks (7) coincides with the block structure in the compressed background image data (2) and/or in the compressed variable image data (3).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Rainer Prosi
  • Patent number: 7092664
    Abstract: A digital printing or copying machine (1) is proposed for the one-sided or double-sided printing onto a substrate (5), using at least one toner. The machine (1) includes at least one fixation device (3) for fixing the toner image on the substrate (5). The fixation device (3) has at least one heating device (13) for melting the toner image, past which the substrate (5) can be taken. The machine (1) is distinguished by a guide device (17) for the free floating movement of the substrate (5) in the effective range of the heating device (13).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Gerhard Bartscher, Knut Behnke, Dirk Dobrindt, Gerald Erik Hauptmann, Hans-Otto Krause, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Kai-Uwe Preissig, Domingo Rohde, Detlef Schulze-Hagenest, Peter-Alexander Püschner
  • Patent number: 7092668
    Abstract: Handling a printing medium in a microwave fuser mechanism of a printing machine so as to prevent damages and disruptions that can occur because of the presence of condensed water. The invention is achieved by removing moisture from the microwave mechanism and by, at least, supporting conveyance of the printing medium by flowing air, and also by preventing moisture from being conveyed into other parts of the microwave mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Knut Behnke, Hans-Otto Krause, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Domingo Rohde, Detlef Schulze-Hagenest, Lars Seimetz
  • Patent number: 7088946
    Abstract: Adjusting a gloss for a print image by adjusting the cooling of the print image. Further, a toner for a printing press adjusting gloss by adjusting cooling includes 1% to 30% aliphatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic acids, aliphatic alcohols or their salts, or olefinic hydrocarbons.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Knut Behnke, Hans-Otto Krause, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Domingo Rohde, Detlef Schulze-Hagenest, Lars Seimetz, Dinesh Tyagi
  • Patent number: 7068959
    Abstract: Preventing the imaging forming process of an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus having a plurality of imaging modules in tandem relative to a receiver transport belt moveable along a transport path from becoming contaminated with fuser release oil. A substantially uniform layer of the pigmented marking particles from the development subsystem of the image forming process is deposited onto the photoconductive member of the image forming process during any non-imaging cycles of the process, including cycle down, non-imaging skip frames, or recovery from a receiver jam. The substantially uniform layer of pigmented marking particles acts as a barrier to block fuser release oil from the photoconductive member and as a vehicle to carry away contaminating fuser release oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Richard G. Allen, Thomas N. Tombs, David M. Rakov
  • Patent number: 7058348
    Abstract: Producing an enhanced gloss electrophotographic toner image on a substrate by coating colored fusible toner particles supported on a substrate with a layer of clear toner containing an offset preventing wax, transporting the substrate bearing clear toner coated colored fusible toner particles through a fuser zone to fuse the fusible toner particles and produce a substrate bearing a fused clear coated toner image, and transporting the substrate bearing the clear coated fused toner image through downstream glossing device to re-fuse the fused toner image to increase the gloss of the previously fused toner image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: June 6, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Muhammed Aslam, Dinesh Tyagi, Rodney R. Bucks
  • Patent number: 7035556
    Abstract: A method and an apparatus for preventing damage inside a printing machine caused by the radiation of microwaves emanating from microwave mechanisms. Undesired effects of the microwave radiation are automatically detected and then limited by countermeasures. Special provision is made for detecting an electrical discharge, or smoldering or burning of a printing medium inside the microwave mechanism, and then initiating suitable countermeasures.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Knut Behnke, Hans-Otto Krause, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Domingo Rohde, Detlef Schulze-Hagenest, Lars Seimetz
  • Patent number: 7032519
    Abstract: Controlling a sensor mechanism for a printing machine, in which the sensor mechanism in a printing machine detects, in an initial operational mode, at least one mark and the detection of the mark initiates a second operational mode in which the optical density and the color of the mark are detected by the sensor mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Wolfgang Eberhard Luxem, Ralph Petersen
  • Patent number: 7035557
    Abstract: A method for correction of the calibration of the register mark accurately and/or register accurate printing process of an electrophotographic printing unit, preferably of a color-printing unit. Large surface toner fields are placed on a conveyor belt for the substrate to be printed, particularly in the larger spaces between the substrate sheets to be printed. The influence of a toner field placed on a conveyor belt for print substrate sheets on the register mark and/or registration of the printing process is identified, and such influence is expressed in the form of at least one correction value or parameter suitable for the correction of the calibration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Jan Dirk Boness, Ingo Klaus Michael Dreher, Heiko Hunold, Stefan Schrader
  • Patent number: 7034265
    Abstract: Cleaning a microwave device, in particular for drying print substrate in a printing machine, with a microwave source providing an irradiation field and a resonator chamber, wherein a microwave-penetrable material on the inside surfaces of the resonator chamber for forming a material layer that allows any dirt accumulated on it to protrude into the irradiation field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Knut Behnke, Hans-Otto Krause, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Domingo Rohde, Detlef Schulze-Hagenest
  • Patent number: 7031634
    Abstract: In an apparatus for cleaning particulates from a moving web, a dust seal blade assembly which is easily mounted to a cleaning blade to reduce internal dusting in a cleaner apparatus and for trapping of lint, paper dust, or fibrous material and which might also reduce the effects of oil contamination. The arrangement provides a low-cost, operator-replaceable cartridge having one or more wiper blades with at least one of them having the dust seal blade assembly and enclosed within a particle sump assembly that is easily removed from association with the web being cleaned.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Francisco L. Ziegelmuller, Carol K. Dunn, Maria B. Carrone, Kenneth J. Brown, Douglas C. Anderson
  • Patent number: 7017900
    Abstract: Transporting an essentially sheet-shaped element, particularly for transporting a print material sheet in a printing press in which the sheet-shaped element is taken hold of by at least one rotating transport having at least one mouth-like receptacle for introducing the front-edge region of the sheet-shaped element at a grasping location in its front-edge region, entrained up to a delivery location and delivered there, the sheet-shaped element being bent during the entraining over a rotation or curvature radius. The sheet-shaped element is taken hold of by at least one grasping device in the region of the mouth-like receptacle, particularly actively and in a compulsory manner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 1, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Dirk Dobrindt
  • Patent number: 7010260
    Abstract: Transporting print material covered on the front side with toner for back side printing in which the toner is prefused on the front side of the print material by heating the toner over its glass transition temperature prior to returning the print material for back side printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Knut Behnke, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Domingo Rohde
  • Patent number: 7007946
    Abstract: Apparatus for depositing sheets on a stack, which permits essentially free access to the stack and can be implemented with a low outlay of materials and costs. The apparatus includes on the side of the stack (1) that faces a machine, tongues (5, 6) with which frictional elements (3, 4) can be brought into and out of contact and which can be moved in the conveying direction (10) of the sheets (2) and in the opposite direction, and can be lowered onto the stack (1), and wherein on the side of the stack (1) that faces the machine, at least one hold-down (7) is provided which can be moved in the conveying direction (10) of the sheets (2) and in the opposite direction, and can be lowered onto the stack (1).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Dirk Dobrindt, Lutz Rebetge
  • Patent number: 7006782
    Abstract: This invention relates to an improved fusing station for fusing a toner image to a receiver when the fusing station includes a fuser roller having a hardness from about 50 to about 80 Shore A and an outside coating comprising a low damping fluorocarbon thermoplastic random copolymer roller coating formulation having a tan delta from about 0.01 to about 0.15 and containing from about 1.5 to about 2.5 parts per hundred (pph), based upon the weight of the copolymer of a curing agent having a bisphenol residue and a pressure roller having a smaller outer diameter than the fuser roller and positioned in pressure contact with the fuser roller to form a fusing nip between the pressure roller and the fuser roller. A method is also provided for fusing toner images to receiver sheets using the fusing station.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Jiann-Hsing Chen, Joseph A. Pavlisko, David F. Cahill, Charles E. Hewitt, Jr.
  • Patent number: 6993278
    Abstract: A digital printer or copier machine (1) is proposed for the single-sided or double-sided printing of a substrate (11), with at least one fixing device (3) for fixing toner onto the substrate (11), whereby the fixing device (3) has at least one heating device for fusing the toner. The machine has, in addition, at least one transport device (17), in order to supply the substrate (11) to the heating device, to guide it past the heating device and/or to further transport it from the heating device, whereby the transport device (17) has at least one suction belt (19) that is provided with a number of through-passage openings (21) and can be impinged with a vacuum. The machine (1) is characterized in that the suction belt (19) is constructed as a mesh.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Gerhard Bartscher, Frank-Michael Morgenweck, Kai-Uwe Preissig, Domingo Rohde, Detlef Schulze-Hagenest, Ralf Gerald Allner, Thomas Biber, Markus Weber
  • Patent number: 6993280
    Abstract: A fuser roller for a printing machine that is equipped with internally located heating elements and has a cylindrically shaped body that is closed off at each end by flanges. At least one connecting element, that is moveable in a rolling motion, is provided between the body and the flanges. A spring plate urges the flange, via an offset that has a chamfer, against the connecting element that is located inside an annular groove. The annular groove can also have a chamfer. Changes in the connection can be balanced out by movements of the connecting elements and commensurate pulling up of the flange by the spring plate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Wolfgang Heinrich Alberstadt, Christian Compera
  • Patent number: 6990307
    Abstract: A device (100) for the transport of particles (30), in particular development particles (30) with a first magnetic roller (11) and a second magnetic roller (22) , in which the first magnetic roller (11) and the second magnetic roller (22) form a gap, and with a photographic element (1) for the particles (30), which moves through the gap, while the magnetic rollers (11, 22) turn in the same direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 10, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 24, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Thomas Dera
  • Patent number: 6969207
    Abstract: Recognizing a print substrate in the vicinity of a sensor within a printing machine, whereby a change in the capacitance of the system formed by the sensor and a surface of an area in which a print substrate should be recognized, is recognized by the sensor. In this way, print substrates can already be identified on the basis of a dielectric constant that is different from that of air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Dirk Kahl, Wolfgang Eberhard Luxem, Karlheinz Walter Peter, Sönke Schmidt