Abstract: An ink dispensing device for selectively dispensing ink pellets into an ink reservoir which comprises casing and a slide, said casing and said slide defining therebetween a first sluice and a second sluice, each of which is adapted to accommodate at least one ink pellet, and means for moving the slide and/or the casing relative to each other whereby a pellet is discharged from the first sluice into the second sluice and simultaneously a pellet is discharged from the second sluice into the ink reservoir.

Abstract: A device for discharging sheets has a holder for a stack of sheets such that the stack is pressed against a conveyor roller disposed at a fixed location above the holder. The holder is pivotably secured to a movably mounted support with the pivot axis being parallel to the roller axis and being situated between the roller and the center of gravity of the holder and straight beneath the center of gravity of the stack. Springs are connected to the support which exert an upwardly directed force on the holder. As a result of this configuration, the stack, irrespective of its size, is pressed against the conveyor roller with a substantially constant force and the sheets are discharged in substantially the same direction.

Abstract: A sensor senses the height of a stack of sheets in a magazine. The sensed height is scaled according to the thickness of individual sheets to determine the number of sheets available. At the start of a run of, for example, a copying machine, the number of sheets available is compared to the number of sheets required to complete the run and, if the number available is insufficient, an indication of this fact is given to the operator and an inhibit device may prevent operation of the copying machine. In one embodiment, a counter causes a sampling circuit to determine and display the number of sheets available at predetermined intervals, preferably at the beginning and end of each run.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image on a surface of a strip-type photoconductor. A working supply of developer material, held readily available for application to the photoconductor, is carried from a holding device to the photoconductor by means of a rotatable applicator. A magnet, magnetically coupled to the applicator, brings the developer material on the applicator into sufficient contact with the photoconductor to cause the developer material to brush the image bearing surface of the photoconductor, thereby developing the latent image on the same. The developer material is collected before being returned to the working supply, and fed to the middle of the working supply to facilitate mixture and blending therewith.

Abstract: In a process and apparatus for fixing thermoplastic image material onto paper, wherein the image material in thermally softened condition is transported through a pressure zone while being pressed between and in contact with the paper and belt moving together through said zone, and upon leaving said zone the paper and belt are separated from each other by forced movement of the belt along a path curved away from the paper, the fixing of the image material to the paper is achieved reliably in a simple manner, with little sensitivity to variations of temperature or of the character of the belt surface, by maintaining the thickness of the belt, the speed of movement of the belt and the radius of curvature of said path in a relationship defined by the formula: (D .times. V/R).gtoreq. 0.05, in which D represents said thickness (in meters), V represents said speed (in meters per second), and R represents said radius (in meters).

Abstract: An improved apparatus is provided for developing an electrostatic charge image on a support being moved through a magnetic brush-forming field between a permanent magnet and a rotating cylinder that transports a powder mixture of toner particles and magnetizable carrier particles into said field from a supply of the mixture held in a tray. A wall of the tray bordering the path of the mixture on the cylinder is formed with an edge over which an excess of powder escapes instead of accumulating objectionably in a region between the support and the cylinder. As toner becomes deficient in the tray it is replenished by fresh powder mixture properly proportioned for use, which mixture is supplied into a shorter part of a trough that also receives the powder returned down the cylinder from the magnetic brush region.