Patents by Inventor James L. Pratt

James L. Pratt 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: 10464315
    Abstract: A method of operating a printer enables activation signals of variable lengths to be generated for operation of a sintering head. The activation signals are generated with reference to a distance between activation signals for a first component to be a first determined distance and a duration of the activation signals for the first component to be longer than the first predetermined distance. This distance and duration are set to values that enable the generation of activation signals before the first predetermined distance is reached to maintain an activation signal until the generation of the activation signals is terminated. By generating a different number of activation signals, the duration of an initial activation signal can be varied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: William R. Harris, Patrick Shuman, James L. Pratt
  • Publication number: 20190308836
    Abstract: A registration system for a printing device and a method for controlling the same are disclosed. For example, the registration system includes at least one sensor to detect a position of a print media, a platform comprising at least one multi-rotational wheel, and a processor communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor and the at least one multi-rotational wheel, wherein the processor calculates a desired movement of the at least one multi-rotational wheel based on the position of the print media.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 9, 2018
    Publication date: October 10, 2019
    Inventors: Jacob R. McCarthy, Timothy D. Slattery, Joseph M. Ferrara, JR., James L. Pratt, Dara N. Lubin, Ron Edward Dufort, Elizabeth M. Crossen, Daniel M. McHugh, Rachel Lynn Bierasinski, Frank Berkelys Tamarez Gomez, Paul M. Fromm, Erwin Ruiz
  • Patent number: 10329109
    Abstract: A sheet registration system includes a transport member on which a sheet is conveyed in a process direction, a vacuum shuttle, and a feedback system. The vacuum shuttle includes a vacuum head which applies suction to the sheet and actuators for rotating the vacuum head in a plane parallel to a plane of the transport member and translating the vacuum head in a cross-process direction. In response to feedback instructions generated by the feedback system, the actuators move the vacuum head, relative to the transport member, while the vacuum is applied to the sheet. The sheet registration system is suitable for use in a printer for reducing skew and lateral offset of sheets of print media.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: XEROX Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph M. Ferrara, Jr., Timothy D. Slattery, Jacob R. McCarthy, James L. Pratt
  • Patent number: 6034368
    Abstract: In an electrostatographic imaging apparatus employing at least one charging device, in an electrostatic charge process involving the creation of latent electrostatic images, A method for controlling corona current generation by said at least one charging device is disclosed. The method comprising the steps of: generating an AC current and an AC voltage with a power supply; measuring the steady state negative half cycle of current, filtering capacitive current spikes from said negative half cycle current measurement and generating a corona current feedback signal in response to said filtering step; and dynamically adjusting the AC voltage in response to the corona current feedback signal so that the steady state negative half cycle of current measured in said measuring step remains constant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 6, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Jing qing Song, Kenneth W. Pietrowski, James L. Pratt
  • Patent number: 5730438
    Abstract: A copier or printer connecting with a standard commercial electrical power line source and having a limited peak power consumption can still provide an electrically powered sheet stapling system by driving the stapler from an electrical storage battery power supply, the batteries of which are electrically connecting with an integral low voltage electrical power supply of the reproduction apparatus only for low power slow recharging. The stapler is operable for stapling sheets, powered solely by the storage batteries, even when the copier or printer, including its integral low voltage electrical power supply, is completely turned off, i.e., fully disconnected from the power line source. This stapler can also be operated when the reproduction machine is fully operating at its peak power consumption, including the operation of other, internal, stapling, because this stapler's operation does not increase that peak power consumption.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 1996
    Date of Patent: March 24, 1998
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Douglas E. Webb, Frederick B. Clark, James L. Pratt, Douglas W. Buch, Kevin M. Carolan
  • Patent number: 5642268
    Abstract: A power supply for a magnetron generating a DC output having a low voltage ripple content at the power supply output for energizing the magnetron. The power supply includes a voltage and current controlled regulator circuit transmitting an output signal having a voltage level and current level established according to the voltage across the magnetron and the current flowing through the magnetron. The ripple content of the power supply output is less than approximately 5-7% and causes the magnetron to operate in a relatively narrow bandwidth of approximately .+-.5 Megahertz. In one embodiment, an output of an induced sawtooth waveform is generated by turning on and turning off an AC supply to the power supply circuit to induce a ripple voltage for causing the magnetron to enter the correct operating frequency. In another embodiment, a regulator circuit generates a square wave signal having a period of oscillation based on the current flowing through the magnetron.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 24, 1997
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: James L. Pratt, Michael J. Hill