Patents Assigned to NexPress Solution LLC
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Patent number: 6294782Abstract: An apparatus for a corona wire housing comprising a continuous piece of corona wire mounted in a serpentine fashion around multiple pulleys with a single tension spring tensioning the continuous piece of corona wire and fixed terminals supporting the ends of the wire.Type: GrantFiled: March 26, 1999Date of Patent: September 25, 2001Assignee: Nexpress Solutions LLCInventor: Andreas Dickhoff
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Patent number: 6275672Abstract: A mechanism for adjusting the location of a rotatable mixer and rotatable transport mechanism within the development station housing of an electrographic reproduction apparatus development station. The development station includes a housing, a rotatable mixer assembly located in a developer material reservoir within the housing, a developer device for applying developer material to an electrostatic image to be developed, a rotatable transport mechanism for moving developer material from the reservoir to the developer device, and a drive mechanism for rotating the rotatable mixer, the rotatable transport mechanism, and the developer device. The adjustment mechanism describes a first locating device for adjustably positioning the drive mechanism relative to the reservoir of the development station housing, and a second locating device for adjustably positioning the rotatable mixer and the rotatable transport mechanism relative to the development station housing.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 1999Date of Patent: August 14, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: James George Blum, Kenneth Joseph Brown, Christopher Stephen Garcia, Donald Steven Hensel, Gary Edwin Nichols, Paul Essic Thompson
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Patent number: 6263177Abstract: A document printer/copier comprises a pair of drum-support members for rotatably supporting an image-recording drum and, optionally, an intermediate image-transfer drum. At least one of such drum-support members is adapted to be decoupled from the drum(s) it supports and be moved to a position within the machine frame in which it does interfere with the replacement of the drum(s)'s outer layer. Preferably, such member comprises a selectively energizeable clamp which, when energized, clamps onto an axle bearing of a drum and thereby supports the drum for rotation. When de-energized, the clamp releases the drum bearing, enabling the drum-support member to be slid axially along the drum axis to a position spaced from the drum axle, and thereafter pivoted to a position spaced from the drum axis where it does not interfere with drum servicing and/or replacement.Type: GrantFiled: May 19, 2000Date of Patent: July 17, 2001Assignee: Nexpress Solutions LLCInventors: James D. Shifley, Gregory L. Kowalski, Christian Compera
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Patent number: 6259873Abstract: A cantilever drum-mounting apparatus adapted for use in a document printer/copier comprises: (i) a housing having an opening therein; (ii) a carriage movably mounted within the opening and adapted to receive, retain and rotatably support an axle of a drum; and (iii) a plurality of guide rollers, rotatably mounted on the carriage and engageable with opposing outer surface of the housing, for limiting movement of the carriage to a direction substantially normal to the axis for drum rotation. Preferably, movement of the carriage is controlled by the actuator of an air cylinder that cooperates with one or more reference surfaces within the housing opening to locate the drum axle at a desired position.Type: GrantFiled: May 19, 2000Date of Patent: July 10, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: James D. Shifley, Gregory L. Kowalski, Andreas Dickhoff, Andreas G. Nagy
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Patent number: 6252207Abstract: A mechanism for controlling temperature of the at least one heated fuser element of a fuser, for a reproduction apparatus having a heater for the fuser element, operating at a desired temperature to permanently fix a marking particle image to a receiver member. The temperature controlling mechanism includes a temperature sensing element producing a signal corresponding to a sensed temperature of the fuser element. A temperature sensing face member defines a cavity for receiving the temperature sensing element therein. The temperature sensing face member has a surface configured to correspond to the configuration of the fusing element. A housing is provided having an interior chamber for receiving the temperature sensing face member at one end. Air is substantially trapped in the interior chamber adjacent to the temperature sensing face member.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 1999Date of Patent: June 26, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: David Francis Cahill, James Van Orchard
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Patent number: 6246852Abstract: A grid electrode for attachment to a corona charger includes a series of substantially parallel grid wires extending in a longitudinal direction of the wires. A flat metallic plate member is formed integral with the wires at one of the longitudinal ends of the wires. A cap member is connected to the plate member. The cap member includes a cover segment having a surface that overlies and is in planar contact engagement with a substantial portion of a respective plate member with a thickness of at least 0.5 millimeters and the cover segment being formed of a material that is substantially electrically more resistive than the flat metallic plate member.Type: GrantFiled: November 12, 1999Date of Patent: June 12, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: Warren G. Branch, III, David E. Hockey, Gerald L. Kelly, George R. Walgrove, III
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Patent number: 6243555Abstract: A reproduction apparatus and method provides first and second toner image bearing members (TIBMs). Each of the TIBMs has a respective toner image that is moved through a respective transfer nip with a web that has or supports a toner image receiving surface. Each TIBM in each nip has a predetermined amount of pre-nip wrap by the web and a predetermined amount of post-nip wrap by the web. Electrostatic transfer, preferably in a constant current transfer mode, of a toner image at each transfer nip is made to the receiving surface so that a toner image transferred by the second TIBM is deposited on the receiving surface so as to form a composite image with the toner image transferred to the receiving surface by the first TIBM.Type: GrantFiled: December 28, 1999Date of Patent: June 5, 2001Assignee: Nexpress Solutions LLCInventors: Diane M. Herrick, Thomas N. Tombs, Graham S. Wright
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Patent number: 6240267Abstract: The invention concerns a printing apparatus including a cylinder, mounted in side walls, that has a sleeve-shaped sheath that can be replaced through an opening in a side wall. The object of the invention is to develop a printing apparatus in which replacement of a sleeve-shaped sheath is simplified, and the risk of damage to the sheath is reduced. The invention proposes that a detachably attached sheath (19) that projects laterally from the cylinder (1) on the side toward the opening be provided on the enveloping surface (18) of the cylinder (1); that a holding apparatus (23, 24, 25, 26, 28), which can be set against and moved away from the interior of the projecting part (21) of the sheath (19), be provided for the sheath (19), the holding apparatus (23, 24, 25, 26, 28) being physically integrated with a bearing element (16) of the cylinder (1); and that in order to replace the sheath, the bearing element (16) can be positioned in a location which uncovers the opening.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2000Date of Patent: May 29, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventor: Christian Compera
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Patent number: 6226474Abstract: A device for cooling receiver members after image fixing by the fuser assembly in an electrographic reproduction apparatus wherein a marking particle image is fixed to a receiver member with application of heat by the fuser assembly, the receiver member traveling along a transport path. The cooling device includes an upper housing and a lower housing respectively associated with the receiver member transport path, on opposite sides thereof, immediately downstream, in the direction of receiver member travel along the transport path, of the fuser assembly. The upper and lower housings respectively have transport path guide plates for guiding receiver members along the transport path.Type: GrantFiled: December 16, 1999Date of Patent: May 1, 2001Assignee: Nexpress Solutions LLCInventors: Gregory Leo Kowalski, Tsutumu Miura, Curtis Lee Vernon
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Patent number: 6221550Abstract: An electrostatographic toner composition comprises a polymeric binder and a charge control agent selected from the group consisting of 4H-pyrans having the following general structure: where R1 and R2 are the same or different, each representing H or an alkyl, an aryl or a heterocyclic group, or R1 and R2 taken together may form a saturated hydrocarbon ring; R3 and R4 each represent an alkyl or an aryl group; X and Z are the same or different, each representing a cyano substituent, or an alkanoyl, an aroyl, an alkoxycarbonyl, an aryloxycarbonyl, an arylaminocarbonyl, or an alkylaminocarbonyl group. An electrostatographic developer comprises particles of the described toner composition together with carrier particles.Type: GrantFiled: March 31, 2000Date of Patent: April 24, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: John Charles Wilson, Gretchen Schmidt McGrath, Satyanarayan Ayangar Srinivasan
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Patent number: 6222176Abstract: An auto-ranging densitometer includes a photodetector and an amplifier circuit adapted to produce an output signal proportional to intensity of light on the photodetector. The amplifier circuit has multiple gains that successively increase. An analog to digital converter converts the output signal of the amplifier circuit to digital format. A gain select logic outputs a gain code used to select the gain of the amplifier. A density signal generator circuit includes two LUTs, one of the LUTs being adapted to receive the output of the analog to digital converter and produce an output density scaled to include only low order bits; and the other of the LUTs being to receive the gain code and produce an output density scaled to include only high order bits. The outputs of the two LUTs are concantenation added to produce a summation density signal.Type: GrantFiled: November 4, 1998Date of Patent: April 24, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: Allen J. Rushing, William A. Hameister
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Patent number: 6201556Abstract: A mechanism for supporting said light-emitting device in said reproduction apparatus in an electrographic reproduction apparatus having a light-emitting device for forming, on a dielectric support member, a charge pattern corresponding image-wise to information to be reproduced. The light-emitting device support mechanism includes a carriage attached to the reproduction apparatus and movable relative thereto to a first operative position and a second remote position. A pivot mechanism is supported by the carriage so as to provide a pivot axis, the light-emitting device being mounted on the pivot mechanism for movement about the pivot axis. A reference feature is located in the reproduction apparatus, the reference feature located in a predetermined relation relative to the dielectric support member.Type: GrantFiled: November 19, 1999Date of Patent: March 13, 2001Assignee: Nexpress Solutions LLCInventors: Charles John Bennett, Carl Allen Luft, Jay Leroy Margut, William David Van Arsdale
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Patent number: 6196542Abstract: A device for delivering, depositing, and aligning sheets in a stack container of an apparatus by a sheet handling device. The sheet handling device includes a delivery mechanism delivering sheets along a sheet delivery direction, and a sheet deposition mechanism. The sheet deposition mechanism, driven in a circulating fashion, has a sheet alignment and hold-down member. The delivered and deposited sheets are aligned against a sheet stop lying at right angles to the sheet delivery direction and are held down on the sheet stack container. To provide precise, reliable, and rapid stacking of sheets, the sheet deposition mechanism is independently controlled for completely guided lowering and deposition of a delivered sheet. Moreover, the sheet deposition mechanism and the sheet alignment and hold-down member can be operated in a discontinuously circulating fashion and in synchronism with sheet delivery.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 1999Date of Patent: March 6, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventor: Franz Allmendinger
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Patent number: 6168867Abstract: A fuser member having a support metallic core and an outer layer of material formed over the metallic core, the outer layer including composite material, including a silicone T-resin; a crosslinked poly(dialkylsiloxane), wherein the poly(dialkylsiloxane) has a weight average molecular weight before crosslinking of about 5,000 to 80,000; and an aryl silane crosslinking agent.Type: GrantFiled: December 3, 1998Date of Patent: January 2, 2001Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLCInventors: Stephen V. Davis, Jiann H. Chen, Joseph M. Szostek