Patents by Inventor Christopher Edward Rhoads

Christopher Edward Rhoads 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: 9709936
    Abstract: A system and method for controlling the fuser heater of an electrophotographic imaging device, including determining an initial temperature of the fuser heater; calculating a plurality of warm-up times for heating the fuser heater to a first predetermined temperature based on the initial temperature and a plurality of previously determined warm-up times taken over a plurality of line voltages and stored in memory of the electrophotographic device; determining an actual warm-up time for heating the fuser to the first predetermined temperature; selecting a first calculated warm-up time and a second calculated warm-up time from the plurality of calculated warm-up times; determining a first line voltage value and a second line voltage value corresponding to the first and second warm-up times, respectively, and calculating a current line voltage based on the actual warm-up time, the first and second calculated warm-up times, and the first and second line voltage values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 18, 2017
    Assignee: LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
    Inventors: Steve Brennen Ball, Jichang Cao, Christopher Edward Rhoads
  • Patent number: 8849146
    Abstract: An imaging device, including one or more imaging units for use in transferring toner to media sheets, one of the imaging units being a black imaging unit for transferring black toner; a media transport path having a duplex path, the duplex path having at least one set of rollers for independently moving media sheets through the duplex path; and a controller operatively coupled to the one or more imaging units and the media transport path, for staging one or more media sheets in the duplex path for a period of time. The period of time results in an increase in the interpage gap which may be utilized while the imaging device interrupts a printing operation to perform any of a number of operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 30, 2014
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Alan Stirling Campbell, Christopher Edward Rhoads
  • Publication number: 20140079427
    Abstract: An imaging device, including one or more imaging units for use in transferring toner to media sheets, one of the imaging units being a black imaging unit for transferring black toner; a media transport path having a duplex path, the duplex path having at least one set of rollers for independently moving media sheets through the duplex path; and a controller operatively coupled to the one or more imaging units and the media transport path, for staging one or more media sheets in the duplex path for a period of time. The period of time results in an increase in the interpage gap which may be utilized while the imaging device interrupts a printing operation to perform any of a number of operations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2012
    Publication date: March 20, 2014
    Applicant: LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL, INC.
    Inventors: Alan Stirling Campbell, Christopher Edward Rhoads
  • Patent number: 6519443
    Abstract: A method for calculating a print medium pick time for an imaging apparatus that transports media at variable speeds along a media path, includes the steps of providing a staging process for varying a transport velocity of a media sheet before transferring an image to the media sheet at the image transfer location, the staging process being used for positioning a top writing line margin of the media sheet in relation to the image at the image transfer location; determining a time period t1 corresponding to a time when a pick motor is started to pick the media sheet to a time when the staging process is started; determining a derived time period t2 representative of a normalized time from when the staging process is started to a time when a media path sensor senses the media sheet; and determining a compensated calculated pick time for the media sheet by summing the time period t1 with the time period t2.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2003
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Christopher Coriale, Christopher Edward Rhoads