Patents by Inventor Keith L. Willis

Keith L. Willis 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).

  • Publication number: 20090267285
    Abstract: A media path crossover for a printing system includes a first crossover pathway on which sheets of print media are conveyed across a crossover junction without interruption and a second crossover pathway on which sheets of print media are conveyed across the crossover junction without interruption. The second crossover pathway intersects the first crossover pathway at a crossover junction. The first crossover pathway comprises a first input path and a first output path and the second crossover pathway comprises a second input path and a second output path. At least the first input path includes a first access panel, whereby a sheet can be cleared therefrom while continuing conveyance of media along the second crossover pathway.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2009
    Publication date: October 29, 2009
    Applicant: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Keith L. Willis
  • Patent number: 7575232
    Abstract: A media path crossover for a printing system includes a first crossover pathway on which sheets of print media are conveyed across a crossover junction without interruption and a second crossover pathway on which sheets of print media are conveyed across the crossover junction without interruption. The second crossover pathway intersects the first crossover pathway at a crossover junction. The first crossover pathway comprises a first input path and a first output path and the second crossover pathway comprises a second input path and a second output path. At least the first input path includes a first access panel, whereby a sheet can be cleared therefrom while continuing conveyance of media along the second crossover pathway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 18, 2009
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Keith L. Willis
  • Publication number: 20090190937
    Abstract: Document processing systems and methods are presented in which a graphical user interface is used to set a user-selectable refill level for a print engine consumable, such as toner, replenisher, paper, etc. Once the user-selectable level has been reached, the user is notified and is prompted to either refill the print consumable or to continue use of the document processing system without refilling.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 28, 2008
    Publication date: July 30, 2009
    Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keith L. Willis
  • Publication number: 20080309964
    Abstract: Displays are provided for a graphical user interface including a device capacity mimic in a job manager in a system, such as a xerographic machine. The displays include a visual representation of the available capacity of each of a number of devices for the system, such as each output destination for a printer with multiple output destinations. The device capacity mimic shows the effect of jobs in progress on the available capacity, each job consuming a portion of the available capacity. Using this mimic, the user may, for example, revise the destination of jobs that have been planned but not yet started (e.g., by dragging the job). A mimic view of this information with a graphical user interface for managing the device assignments is provided. Thus, a user may not only view information about the device assignments for jobs, but also control or manage the device assignments for jobs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 15, 2007
    Publication date: December 18, 2008
    Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventors: Keith L. WILLIS, Marc J. KROLCZYK
  • Publication number: 20080175607
    Abstract: A method and system for allowing user control of tray usage policy. In the event that a system purge signal is generated, indicating a purge of existing product in the production pathway, and a system sensor indicates that a tray is not empty, production output will be delayed until a user responds to an alert that existing product in the output tray may be mixed will the purged product, or until a predetermined time period has elapsed at which time the system will automatically perform the purge event, thereby mixing non-production quality product and production quality product in the tray. The user may be presented with options based on the operating mode of the image forming device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 18, 2007
    Publication date: July 24, 2008
    Applicant: XEROX CORPORATION
    Inventor: Keith L. WILLIS
  • Patent number: 7009719
    Abstract: Informing the user when consumables and/or customer replaceable units will have to be resupplied, changed and/or replaced, relative to the jobs sent to the image forming system, is a beneficial way to avoid unnecessary printing delays. When a job is added to a job queue or repositioned within the job queue, a warning can be associated with that job, and displayed to the user. With this information, the user can pre-emptively add a consumable and/or to replace a customer replaceable unit to avoid delays and maintain productivity. Alternatively, if such a system fault would occur prior to an urgent job reaching the top of the job queue, the user can manipulate the order and/or presence of the various jobs in the queue to ensure the high-priority job is completed before the consumable is fully exhausted and/or the customer replaceable unit reaches the end of its useful life.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2006
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Keith L. Willis, Thomas Myers
  • Patent number: 6964414
    Abstract: In a printing apparatus or copier, a vertical portion of a paper path is formed between two flat members. To remove jammed paper from the path, one of the flat members is moved, by a hinge, from the other, releasing any sheet in the path. Released sheets drop down the path and land on a bottom structure. The bottom structure causes a sheet landing thereon to incline away from the hinge, so that a user can remove the sheet without having to reach far into the path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 24, 2003
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2005
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Keith L. Willis
  • Publication number: 20040109699
    Abstract: A modular toner image producing machine having plural modules including redundant modules is provided and includes (a) a photoreceptive module including a movable endless photoconductive member having an image bearing surface; (b) toner image forming modules for forming a toner image on the image bearing surface, each of the toner image forming modules including module-specific fault detectors; (c) at least one sheet feeding module for feeding a copy sheet to receive the toner image from the image bearing surface; (d) a fusing module for heating and fixing the toner image onto the copy sheet forming a hard copy; (e) at least one finishing module for preparing and arranging a series of hard copies into sets thereof for removal by an operator; and (f) a control module including a main electronic control system having a centrally located user interface device, and distributed module-specific control subsystems, each having a dedicated module and being connected to the main electronic control system and to module
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2002
    Publication date: June 10, 2004
    Applicant: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen F. Skrainar, Stanley H. Brumaghim, Keith L. Willis
  • Patent number: 6748186
    Abstract: A modular toner image producing machine having plural modules including redundant modules is provided and includes (a) a photoreceptive module including a movable endless photoconductive member having an image bearing surface; (b) toner image forming modules for forming a toner image on the image bearing surface, each of the toner image forming modules including module-specific fault detectors; (c) at least one sheet feeding module for feeding a copy sheet to receive the toner image from the image bearing surface; (d) a fusing module for heating and fixing the toner image onto the copy sheet forming a hard copy; (e) at least one finishing module for preparing and arranging a series of hard copies into sets thereof for removal by an operator; and (f) a control module including a main electronic control system having a centrally located user interface device, and distributed module-specific control subsystems, each having a dedicated module and being connected to the main electronic control system and to module
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 8, 2004
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Stephen F. Skrainar, Stanley H. Brumaghim, Keith L. Willis
  • Publication number: 20030090696
    Abstract: Informing the user when consumables and/or customer replaceable units will have to be resupplied, changed and/or replaced, relative to the jobs sent to the image forming system, is a beneficial way to avoid unnecessary printing delays. When a job is added to a job queue or repositioned within the job queue, a warning can be associated with that job, and displayed to the user. With this information, the user can pre-emptively add a consumable and/or to replace a customer replaceable unit to avoid delays and maintain productivity. Alternatively, if such a system fault would occur prior to an urgent job reaching the top of the job queue, the user can manipulate the order and/or presence of the various jobs in the queue to ensure the high-priority job is completed before the consumable is fully exhausted and/or the customer replaceable unit reaches the end of its useful life.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2001
    Publication date: May 15, 2003
    Inventors: Keith L. Willis, Thomas Myers
  • Patent number: 6349191
    Abstract: A container assembly for storing material for delivery to or from a printing machine, the assembly including a container having a chamber for storing the material and a first mouth member, the container releasably co-operable with a conduit device having a second mouth member projecting therefrom and a screw-on mating mechanism positioned on the second mouth member, the container including a plurality of bump-like projections adapted to lift the mating mechanism so as to easily permit the container to be inserted into or removed from the machine and easily permit the first mouth member to be in contiguous relation to second mouth member, whereby the screw-on mating mechanism is adapted to screw onto the first mouth member and secure the container to the device permitting the material to flow between the container and the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2000
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2002
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Keith L. Willis
  • Patent number: 6010127
    Abstract: An enlarged buckle chamber is positioned within an easily accessible, copy sheet transport path and used to compile sheets during fault cycle down in copiers/printers whenever sheets are prevented from reaching the output in sequence by jammed sheets. The user can then clear most jams by accessing the jam area plus the "easy to reach" area where internally purged sheet are gathered, thereby avoiding having paper distributed all over the paper path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 1997
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2000
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Cesidio J. DiCesare, John D. Gramlich, Lisbeth S. Quesnel, Murray O. Meetze, Jr., Leroy A. Baldwin, Charles E. Smith, Keith L. Willis