With Means To Urge Pack Toward Separator Patents (Class 271/126)
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Publication number: 20020038933Abstract: A drive mechanism for rotating a drive roller includes an input transmission mechanism for transmitting a drive force from a motor, an output transmission mechanism for transmitting the drive force to the drive roller, an intermediate transmission mechanism for selectively transmitting the drive force from the input transmission mechanism to the output transmission mechanism in either a first direction or a second direction, and a switching mechanism for moving the intermediate transmission mechanism to a first position to drive the output transmission mechanism in the first direction or a second position to drive the output transmission mechanism in the second direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 5, 2001Publication date: April 4, 2002Applicant: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Shusaku Tsusaka, Yoshiteru Hattori
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Patent number: 6349932Abstract: A paper feed device includes paper feed rollers to feed a sheet of paper. A paper loading device is loaded with at least a sheet of paper and lifts the loaded sheet of paper toward the paper feed rollers. A pressure differences decreasing device is mounted on the paper loading device and decreases differences of pressures among a plurality of positions where the paper feed rollers contact the sheet of paper.Type: GrantFiled: February 18, 2000Date of Patent: February 26, 2002Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventor: Nobutaka Suzuki
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Publication number: 20020014736Abstract: To provide actions for stably holding, storing and discharging bills in a state, in which many sheets of bills are stored or in a state, in which bills are folded or broken due to a condition of circulation or not only Japanese Yen bills but also foreign bills having different paper qualities are handled. Also, to provide a bill receiving/dispensing box with good operability involved when a staff charges bills in a storage section. The bill receiving/dispensing box comprises a stacking/separating mechanism, a push plate drive mechanism, a device for shifting a position of a separation/stack guide interlockingly with the push plate drive mechanism, a driving force connecting/disconnecting device for the push plate and lower bill support members, a push plate locking device, and a containable-type stand capable of inclining the bill receiving/dispensing box with the stacking/separating mechanism on a lower side.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 10, 2001Publication date: February 7, 2002Inventors: Riichi Katou, Akira Nomiyama, Shinji Shibata
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Patent number: 6334610Abstract: A leaf transfer mechanism unit, to be incorporated in general in an automatic teller machine, defines a leaf reception room between a pickup roller and a partition member. Behind the partition member, a leaf delivery room is defined between the partition member and a retrieval urging member. When the retrieval urging member is allowed to move forward within the limit of a front limit position, bills received in the leaf delivery room can be urged against the pickup roller. During this operation, the partition member is kept at a turnout position beyond the front limit position of the retrieval urging member. The pickup roller is exposed behind the partition member. Since the turnout position can be defined at the extension of the path of movement for the retrieval urging member, it is possible to avoid the partition member at the turnout position from largely and remarkably protruding out of the path of movement.Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 2000Date of Patent: January 1, 2002Assignee: Fujitsu LimitedInventors: Hayato Minamishin, Hayami Abe, Masato Koike
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Patent number: 6332608Abstract: The present invention relates to a sheet feeding apparatus in which sheet feeding out means, while a sheet is conveyed by a sheet feed roller and a retard roller, feeds out a succeeding sheet to an abutting portion of the sheet feed roller and the retard roller so that a leading end of the succeeding sheet overlaps a trailing end of a preceding sheet.Type: GrantFiled: December 29, 1999Date of Patent: December 25, 2001Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Masashige Tamura
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Patent number: 6328301Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet supplying apparatus comprising a sheet supporting means for supporting a sheet, a sheet supply means supported to contact with and separate from the sheet supported by the sheet supporting means and adapted to feed out the sheet by contacting with the sheet, a first biasing means for biasing the sheet supporting means toward the sheet supply means, and a second biasing means for biasing the sheet supply means toward the sheet supported by the sheet supporting means.Type: GrantFiled: July 9, 1996Date of Patent: December 11, 2001Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hiromichi Tsujii, Kiyoharu Yoshioka, Masao Amano, Kazuhide Kudo
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Publication number: 20010042953Abstract: A credit card stacker holding up to a predetermined number of cards in a lower section. Cards are supplied by a separator mechanism from the upper section of the card stacker, as they are depleted from the lower section by the issuing mechanism. The separator mechanism supports one edge of a card in the upper section only while the other edge of the card is supported by a predetermined number of cards in the lower section. When the number of cards in the lower section drops below the predetermined number, the separator allows cards to drop to the lower section.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 15, 2001Publication date: November 22, 2001Applicant: International Business Machines CorporationInventor: Yoshito Honda
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Patent number: 6315284Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus has a pair of feeding roller and separating roller an inter-shaft distance changing mechanism for the pair of rollers, and sheet detecting means, and a sheet fed is rammed against the surface on which the feeding roller and the separating roller overlap each other to thereby correct skew feeding, and the feeding roller and the separating roller are moved away from each other to thereby feed the sheet. When the passage of the fed sheet between the feeding roller and the separating roller is detected the feeding roller and the separating roller assume a state in which sheet feeding is impossible. By the above-described operation being performed for each sheet, the correction of skew feeding and the separation of a sheet are effected by the feeding roller and the separating roller.Type: GrantFiled: October 16, 2000Date of Patent: November 13, 2001Assignee: Canon Denshi Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Hiroshi Komuro, Kazuhide Sugiyama, Minoru Sashida, Katsuhiko Okitsu
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Publication number: 20010028144Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which various kinds of sheets can be used and which can be made compact and reduce the number of parts.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 13, 2001Publication date: October 11, 2001Inventors: Tomoaki Imura, Katsuhiko Oba, Eiji Wakiyama
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Patent number: 6296243Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus for supplying record sheets to an image forming apparatus, the sheet supply apparatus including a sheet supply table for supporting the record sheets stacked thereon, sheet supply means provided above the sheet supply table and contacting a topmost face of the record sheets for supplying the one record sheet to the image forming apparatus during one period comprising a sheet supply executing time period for supplying the record sheet to the image forming apparatus and a sheet supply nonexecuting time period for not supplying the record sheet thereto, left and right movement instructing means for instructing to move the sheet supply table in a direction orthogonal to a transfer direction of the record sheet, left and right moving means for moving the sheet supply table in response to an instruction from the left and right movement instructing means, and control means for executing a control of moving the sheet supply table when a sheet supply operation by the sheet supply means is stopType: GrantFiled: March 6, 2000Date of Patent: October 2, 2001Assignee: Riso Kagaku CorporationInventor: Yasuhiro Nishimura
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Patent number: 6293539Abstract: A medium feeding apparatus comprises a driving motor for moving a backup plate to press a medium against a pickup roller, piezoelectric elements for sensing slippage between the pickup roller and the medium which occurs while the roller rotates, and a controller for driving the driving motor to thereby vary a force for pressing the medium against the pickup roller, when the sensing means has sensed slippage between the pickup roller and the medium.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 2000Date of Patent: September 25, 2001Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha ToshibaInventors: Kunio Fukatsu, Masao Obama, Katsumi Inoue
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Publication number: 20010022423Abstract: A sheet feeder includes a cassette for storing a stack of sheets and pushing up the sheets, a main body case having a port through which the cassette is detachably attached, and a feeding mechanism for feeding each sheet in a feeding direction. The feeding mechanism includes a roller shaft disposed above the cassette attached to the internal place of the port and extending perpendicularly to the feeding direction from a side wall of the case, a pickup roller rotated for taking out the uppermost sheet, and a rise-spoiling member attached to the roller shaft, for spoiling a rise of the sheets when the cassette is withdrawn from the port. Particularly, the rise-spoiling member extrudes downward to a position below an upper edge of the port and extends from the pickup roller to the vicinity of the side wall of the case.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 13, 2001Publication date: September 20, 2001Applicant: Toshiba Tec Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Takahiro Kawaguchi
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Patent number: 6290225Abstract: A sheet feeder feeds sheets separated from a stack to a feed head which is translatable toward take away nip rolls. The sheets are separated from the stack by fluffers and acquired by an acquisition surface of the feed head which is in communication with a vacuum pressure. An air knife is used, in conjunction with a corrugation surface, to separate any secondarily acquired sheets from the acquisition surface. The time for acquiring the sheet is determined from the opening of a vacuum valve in communication with the feed head to the acquiring of the sheet by the acquisition surface. A controller adjusts the position of a supporting tray that supports the stack to maintain the sheet acquisition time as short as possible.Type: GrantFiled: November 23, 1999Date of Patent: September 18, 2001Assignee: Xerox CorporationInventors: Michael J. Linder, William R. Haag
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Publication number: 20010017439Abstract: The present invention relates to a sheet material conveying apparatus comprising first conveying means for conveying a sheet, material second conveying means for conveying, on a downstream side in a sheet material conveyance direction of the first conveying means, the sheet material and a plurality of guide members for forming a curving conveyance route located between the first conveying means and the second conveying means. The guide member forms the curving conveyance route located on an inner side among the guide members is a rotary body rotatably, which is arranged with no pressing member for pressing the sheet material to the rotary body.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 27, 2001Publication date: August 30, 2001Inventor: Souichi Hiramatsu
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Patent number: 6257569Abstract: An apparatus and method for delivery of sheet media to a printer includes a chassis, a drive motor, a media tray with elevatable pressure plate, a plurality of pick rollers situated opposite movable pinch rollers that come into contact with the pick rollers to form a roller assembly therebetween when in an extended position. A movable separator forms a throat between one of the pick rollers and the leading edge of the separator when it is in an extended position. A common transmission is used to simultaneously position the pinch rollers, separator, and the pressure plate. The apparatus also includes a media retarder for preventing multiple sheets of media from advancing through the apparatus at the same time. The method includes delaying the rotation of the pick rollers until a stack of media has been raised to press against the pick rollers, and the pinch rollers and separator are in an extended position.Type: GrantFiled: February 24, 1999Date of Patent: July 10, 2001Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventors: John D. Rhodes, Robert M. Yraceburu, Angela Chen, Steve O Rasmussen
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Patent number: 6254084Abstract: A feed enhancer for eliminating an unevenness in height from a paper stack to be printed by a printer. The printer has a paper feeder including a paper tray for storage of the paper stack on a top surface thereof and for feeding individual paper from the paper stack into the printer for subsequent printing. The feed enhancer has an elongated strip disposed at the top surface of the paper tray and positioned perpendicular to a direction in which the individual paper is fed into the printer such that the feed enhancer evens out the unevenness in height of the paper stack in an area of the paper stack that is to be fed into the printer. Also provided are a printer and printer tray having the feed enhancer of the present invention.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 1999Date of Patent: July 3, 2001Assignee: Olympus America Inc.Inventor: Andrew D. Hellmer
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Patent number: 6250500Abstract: An apparatus for individually dispensing printed articles such as newspapers comprises a housing and a movable table in the housing for carrying in readiness a stack of printed articles on the table. A removal device permits access to a printed article in respect of which payment has been made and a feed pushes a respective printed article out of the apparatus. An actuator is provided for activating the feed. A drive displaces the table by a desired travel length to the article-removal position, under the control of sensing and control device for controlling the travel length of the table. A braking and stopping means is operable to stop and release the drive in the operating cycle of the apparatus.Type: GrantFiled: August 9, 1999Date of Patent: June 26, 2001Inventor: Franz Schweiberer
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Patent number: 6189881Abstract: A sheet dispensing apparatus includes at least one pair of sheet stores, and a transport system for transporting sheets from the stores to a dispense position. The transport system includes, for each pair of sheet stores, a common feed member which, upon relative movement between the common feed member and the stores, can be moved between a pair of feed positions in each of which it engages a sheet in a respective one of the pair of stores so as to enable sheet(s) to be withdrawn from the corresponding store. The common feed member is able to take up also a neutral position in which, even if actuated, no sheets are fed from either store.Type: GrantFiled: May 11, 1998Date of Patent: February 20, 2001Assignee: De La Rue International LimitedInventors: Roger Walter Bolton, John Gerwyn Price, Deborah Suzanne Taylor
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Patent number: 6182962Abstract: In an apparatus for separating sheet material from a stack, the latter rests on a movable pressure plate, by adapted to feed the stack to a withdrawal device. The pressure under which the stack is urged against the withdrawal device is dependent upon the density of the stack. For determining the density, the apparatus comprises a density sensor which determines the density of the stack continuously during the separation process at least in the region of the withdrawal device.Type: GrantFiled: July 28, 1998Date of Patent: February 6, 2001Assignee: Giesecke & Devrient GmbHInventor: Karl Leuthold
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Patent number: 6175775Abstract: A method and an apparatus for optimizing a production output of a processing device for processing flat articles, the processing device including at least one processing arrangement for receiving and processing the flat articles and which has function parameters controllable through actuators. Actual values of the function parameters are detected. Deviations of the actual values of the function parameters from set values are thereafter evaluated according to an empirically determined algorithm. A correction value for at least one of the actuators is calculated based on results of the above evaluation, and the actuator is operated based on the correction value for controlling the function parameters.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 1996Date of Patent: January 16, 2001Assignee: Grapha-Holding AGInventor: Roland Grunder
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Patent number: 6168151Abstract: A card-like article is provided with an elevator assembly that can elevate a stacked array of cards to a discharge station. The elevator assembly can be incrementally advanced by reciprocating operating rods that extends between pairs of rails. The elevator assembly can be releaseably affixed to the rails by a braking assembly.Type: GrantFiled: October 7, 1998Date of Patent: January 2, 2001Assignee: Asahi Seiko Co., Ltd.Inventor: Tamotsu Tsuchida
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Patent number: 6155556Abstract: Information relating to the characteristics of the documents contained in a document cassette 16 is stored in a button memory 22 on the cassette housing and is read when the cassette 16 is inserted into a document feeding apparatus. The information is processed and correlated with data stored in the memory 74 of a control unit 70 to determine the optimum settings for a mechanism 10 for picking such documents. In particular, during a pick operation, a predetermined number of pulses are supplied to a stepper motor 50, so that when the friction belt 30 is moved into engagement with the documents of the cassette 16, an optimum pressure is exerted by the belt 30 on the documents in the cassette 16. A retard roller 52 is then moved to an optimum position in relation to the belt 30.Type: GrantFiled: July 10, 1998Date of Patent: December 5, 2000Assignee: NCR CorporationInventors: Andrew Lynch, Robert J. Suttie, George Petrie
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Patent number: 6129347Abstract: A substrate feeding system, and printers that use such feeding systems, that includes a feed roll and a retard roll that form a nip, a nudger roll for advancing a substrate from a substrate stack toward the nip, and an entrance guide between the nudger roll and the nip. The entrance guide has a contact surface that forms an angle of more than 100.degree. with the direction of motion of the substrate. The entrance guide further including a top section over which the substrate moves as it advances into the nip. The entrance guide is beneficially pivotally mounted such that when a retard roll is removed the entrance guide pivots out of the way, and such that when a retard roll is in place the entrance guide moves into position.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 1999Date of Patent: October 10, 2000Assignee: Xerox CorporationInventors: Janice S. Brooks, John D. Gramlich, Thomas P. Lambert, Dean Thomas, Michael J. Diehl, James T. Kayko, Gregory N. Carpenter
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Patent number: 6116591Abstract: A paper supply tray of a printer, including: a main body, for receiving sheets of paper or other printable material, insertable into and detachable from the printer; a guide, for supporting an edge of the received sheet, capable of sliding in the main body; a locking mechanism for immovably locking the guide; and a plurality of position determining holes formed in the main body along a path where the guide is slidable.Type: GrantFiled: April 1, 1999Date of Patent: September 12, 2000Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventor: Jeong-hoon Kim
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Patent number: 6101005Abstract: A document feeder comprises a hopper table on which documents are to be mounted, a feeding roller for transporting the documents mounted on the hopper table, and lifting system for raising and lowering the hopper table to position the topmost sheet of the documents mounted on the hopper table at a level of the feeding roller. The lifting system includes a hopper motor, and a drive mechanism for raising and lowering the hopper table by means of the driving force. The drive mechanism swings the hopper table when the hopper table is located between an lower limit position and a switching position above the lower limit position, or moves the hopper table vertically with maintaining its posture horizontally when the hopper table is located between the switching position and an upper limit position above the switching position. In addition, the height and the slant angle of the feeding roller sequentially conform to the movement of the hopper table in order to prevent jamming.Type: GrantFiled: January 27, 1998Date of Patent: August 8, 2000Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.Inventors: Takao Araki, Yoshihiro Ito
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Patent number: 6089562Abstract: Disclosed is a device for feeding a recordable paper to an image forming apparatus. The device according to the present invention is designed such that a document feeder is disposed on a knock-up plate on which recordable papers are stacked so as to feed a document using such a identical path of feeding the recordable paper when printing as that of feeding a document to be scanned. When scanning the document, the document feeder is positioned over the knock-up plate having the recordable papers stacked thereon to be adjacent to the feed roller. Accordingly, there is an advantage in that a structure of the image forming apparatus is simply, resulting in providing a convenience for an user.Type: GrantFiled: December 21, 1998Date of Patent: July 18, 2000Assignee: SamSung Electronics Co., Ltd.Inventors: Heung-kyu Jang, Seung-taik Hwang
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Patent number: 6091927Abstract: A document feeder including an operation panel configured to receive a feed start signal and a mode of operation designation from an operator; a stacking device configured to hold a stack of documents; a sensor configured to sense the stack of documents set on the stacking device; a motor configured to raise a leading edge portion of the stack of documents to a preselected position; and a controller configured to start the motor at a time dependent on the mode of operation designated by the operator.Type: GrantFiled: November 16, 1998Date of Patent: July 18, 2000Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Hitoshi Hattori, Hiroshi Fukano, Hiroshi Kubo, Motokazu Tamaoki
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Patent number: 6070867Abstract: The present invention provides a drive controlling apparatus used in a sheet supplying apparatus including a lift/lower sheet supporting device for supporting a sheet, a sheet supply mechanism for feeding out the sheet supported by the sheet supporting device, a biasing mechanism for biasing the sheet supporting device toward the sheet supply mechanism, and a separating mechanism for separating the sheet supporting device from the sheet supply mechanism in opposition to a biasing force of the biasing mechanism, and wherein the sheet urged against the sheet supply mechanism by the biasing mechanism is fed out by the sheet supply mechanism, said drive controlling apparatus adapted to transmit a driving force for operating the separating mechanism from a drive source and comprising a drive side device connected to the drive source, a driven side device connected to the separating mechanism, and a play setting device for providing a play for not transmitting the driving force within a predetermined range betweenType: GrantFiled: September 23, 1997Date of Patent: June 6, 2000Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Yuzuru Tsurumi, Shigeru Okamura, Hiroyuki Ishii, Takeshi Niimura, Ryuichi Kojima, Masahide Tanoue, Akira Yuza
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Patent number: 6045220Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus has a sheet supporting unit for supporting a plurality of sheets, a sheet supply device for feeding out the sheets supported by the sheet supporting unit, and a separator which can be elastically flexed to change an inclination angle thereof when the separator is urged by a sheet fed out by the sheet supply device for separating the sheet which rides over the separator from the other sheets. The separator is disposed in an inclined condition so that a tip end of an abutment surface, against which the sheets are to be urged and over which the sheet rides, of the separator before flexed is inclined with respect to a normal plane perpendicular to a sheet feeding direction by a predetermined angle toward the sheet supporting unit.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 1995Date of Patent: April 4, 2000Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takehiko Kiyohara, Soichi Hiramatsu, Hideki Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Inoue, Takashi Nojima, Hitoshi Nakamura, Akira Kida, Hideaki Kawakami, Takeshi Iwasaki
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Patent number: 6003857Abstract: A singulator apparatus includes a forwardly driving device and a reverse driving mechanism which operate together to separate individual articles from a stack of articles being transported thereto from an upstream feeding device. The singulator further includes a sensor which detects the presence of articles at the articles ingestion nip defined between the forwardly driving device and the reverse driving mechanism. A controller stops operation of the feeding device upon detection of the presence of articles by the sensor and initiate feeding by the feeding device if no articles are sensed by the sensor.Type: GrantFiled: October 3, 1997Date of Patent: December 21, 1999Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.Inventors: James Salomon, Dennis C. Inglesias, Robert P. Rebres, Anthony E. Yap
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Patent number: 6000689Abstract: An automatic paper feeder comprises: a pick roller for picking out paper accommodated in a paper cassette; a separation roller to which a torque limiter is connected, and which separates the paper picked out by the pick roller to feed the paper one sheet at a time; means for moving the separation roller into contact with or away from the pick roller; a lifter for lifting the paper accommodated in the paper cassette to cause the paper to be moved into contact with or away from the pick roller; and means for driving the lifter. The means for moving the separation roller into contact with or away from the pick roller and the means for driving the lifter are realized by a single driving means.Type: GrantFiled: July 17, 1996Date of Patent: December 14, 1999Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Ichiro Furuki, Takaaki Kase, Masahiko Shimizu, Keiichi Fukazawa, Yousuke Kobayashi
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Patent number: 5992993Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus has a separation member which is elastically flexible to change an angle thereof when the separation member is urged by a sheet fed out by a sheet supply unit, thereby separating the sheet which rides over the separation member from the other sheets, and a load releasing device for removing a load from the separation member to permit the separation member to return to its original state after the sheet is separated by the separation member and a guide for guiding the sheet separated by the separation member in the state where the separated sheet is not contacted with the separation member.Type: GrantFiled: February 22, 1995Date of Patent: November 30, 1999Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takehiko Kiyohara, Soichi Hiramatsu, Hideki Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Inoue, Takashi Nojima, Hitoshi Nakamura, Akira Kida, Hideaki Kawakami, Takeshi Iwasaki
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Patent number: 5988627Abstract: Paper is fed through the printing process of a printing machine by an apparatus which includes a paper-feeding mechanism that is driven by a motor, a paper setting mechanism for handling the sheets of paper being printed, and a paper sensor for detecting whether a sheet is being printed and providing selective control of the motor.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 1998Date of Patent: November 23, 1999Assignee: Umax Data Systems Inc.Inventors: Chin-I Lin, Wen-Tso Tseng, Cheng-Hui Yu
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Patent number: 5988630Abstract: The sheet feeder of a recorder includes a sheet support, a shaft extending over the support, a feed roller rotatable on the axis of the shaft, and collars mounted rotatably around the shaft. Disks may be formed on the shaft. Each of the collars is supported rotatably on one of the disks. The inner periphery of at least one of the collars in the widthwise middle area of the support is spaced from the periphery of the associated disk. Even if the support is curved in such a manner that it is convex toward the roller, the distance between the shaft axis and the point or line where the at least one of the collars is in compressive contact with the top one of the sheets stacked on the support is shorter than the distances between the axis and the points or lines where the collars near the lateral ends of the support are in compressive contact with the top sheet. All of the collars can keep the roller and the sheet spaced at a predetermined distance from each other. Consequently, the sheets can be fed properly.Type: GrantFiled: September 3, 1997Date of Patent: November 23, 1999Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Masafumi Kawaura
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Patent number: 5984297Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus for use in an image forming system includes a pivoting tray and a pivoting separating member which press against a feed roller. The movement of the tray and separating member is controlled by a cam having a first cam surface which controls the movement of the tray and a second cam surface which controls the movement of the separating member towards and away from a feed roller. The cam includes a gear having a segment without gear teeth. A spring pushes a third cam surface of the cam in order to rotate the cam so that the portion of the gear of the cam having teeth mesh with an idler gear which imposes a rotational force from a motor onto the cam.Type: GrantFiled: February 27, 1997Date of Patent: November 16, 1999Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventor: Yoshiaki Tanaka
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Patent number: 5967504Abstract: An improved envelope feeder is provided for single feeding of envelopes which may be of different sizes and thicknesses from a stack of such envelopes. The envelope feeder includes a separation roller having a plurality of disks, and retard members having surfaces which oppose the disks of the separation roller. The roller is movable with respect to the retard members in response to each of the envelopes moving between the surface of the separation roller disks and the retard members. A detector is provided for sensing the presence of each of the envelopes as they each move between the separation roller disks and the retard members. Responsive to this detector, a controller in the feeder automatically controls the spacing of the separation roller disks from the retard members to set the gap between their surfaces to match the thickness of each of the envelopes, whereby the envelopes move singularly between the separation roller disks and the retard members.Type: GrantFiled: August 15, 1997Date of Patent: October 19, 1999Assignee: Data Pac Mailing Systems Corp.Inventor: Richard A. Yankloski
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Patent number: 5954327Abstract: Paper sheets are fed through a printing machine by a compact apparatus including a feeding mechanism having a paper-fetching gear set, a toothed bar meshed with the gear set, a motor driving the feeding mechanism, a paper tray, a support shaft axially coupled to the paper tray, a lifting member pivotally coupled to the shaft and an actuator for driving the lifting member to move either towards or away from the paper fetching gear set.Type: GrantFiled: April 6, 1998Date of Patent: September 21, 1999Assignee: Umax Data Systems Inc.Inventors: Chin-I Lin, Jung-Ting Hsia, Wen-Jso Tseng
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Patent number: 5951003Abstract: A sheet supply apparatus is provided having a pressure plate for supporting sheets on a sheet supporting surface, a pick-up roller for feeding out the sheets supported by the pressure plate, a plate member for separating the sheets fed out by the pick-up roller one by one, and a separation pad provided on the sheet supporting surface of the pressure plate opposite the pick-up roller. The separation pad protrudes from the sheet supporting surface toward the sheets to contact frictionally the lower surface of the bottom-most sheet supported by the pressure plate. The separation pad has an upper surface which is higher at a portion opposing the pick-up roller than a portion downstream thereof, in a sheet feeding direction, relative to the sheet supporting surface of the pressure plate, to urge an end of a sheet fed out by the pick-up roller toward the pressure plate.Type: GrantFiled: November 28, 1997Date of Patent: September 14, 1999Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventors: Takashi Nojima, Soichi Hiramatsu, Hideki Yamaguchi, Hiroyuki Inoue, Hitoshi Nakamura, Akira Kida, Hideaki Kawakami, Takeshi Iwasaki
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Patent number: 5938189Abstract: The invention relates to a sheet-extracting device with a cassette for receiving a stack of sheets, and to a method of controlling the pressing force of the stack of sheets against the extracting device. The latter has extracting rollers (16) which are arranged on a floating shaft (34). For its part, the floating shaft (34) is centrally connected in a rationally fixed manner to a drive shaft (18) passing through it. The drive shaft (18) is mounted, by one end (20), in a frame-mounted bearing (21) and, by its other end (62), in a displaceable bearing (64). Acting on the bearing (64) is a force sensor (70, 74, 76) which is intended for determining the pressing force of the stack of sheets (12) against the extracting rollers (16). The pressing force is controlled such that it always moves within a narrow middle range between a minimum and a maximum possible value.Type: GrantFiled: March 10, 1998Date of Patent: August 17, 1999Assignee: Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AktiengesellschaftInventors: Gunter Holland-Letz, Peter Weigel, Waldemar Jager
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Patent number: 5934664Abstract: A paper feeding apparatus and a printer wherein an idle roller is brought into contact with a separation pad by a roller spring for generating urging force smaller than that of a separation pad for separating a paper sheet to be fed by a paper feeding roller having a D-shape side cross section from a next paper sheet; a restraining pin for restraining movement of the separation pad toward the paper feeding roller when the paper sheet is not held between the separation pad and the paper feeding roller is provided; a pair of conveying rollers are temporarily and inversely rotated after the leading end of the paper sheet has passed through a nipping portion between the pair of the conveying rollers and in a state where the paper sheet is not held between the separation pad and a circular-arc portion of the paper feeding roller so as to arrange the leading end of the paper sheet along the nipping portion so that diagonal conveyance of the paper sheet is smoothly prevented and the load acting on the fed paper sheeType: GrantFiled: June 25, 1997Date of Patent: August 10, 1999Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Susumu Murayama, Atsushi Nishizawa, Masaki Shimomura, Kenjiro Ishihara
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Patent number: 5927708Abstract: An envelope side guide for a mailing machine includes an elongate support means which is formed to be extendable and retractable in a telescopic manner is connected at one end to a portion of the frame of the mailing machine and supports an envelope guide means on the other end. In one embodiment of the invention, the support means is rigidly connected to the mailing machine frame, and the guide means is mounted so as to be vertically movable on the other end of the support means so that it can be raised above the feed deck of the mailing machine to permit oversized envelopes to be fed into the mailing machine. In another embodiment of the invention, the support means is pivotally connected to the mailing machine frame and the guide means is rigidly connected to the other end of the support means so that the guide means can be raised merely by pivoting the entire side guide assembly upwardly.Type: GrantFiled: December 19, 1997Date of Patent: July 27, 1999Assignee: Pitney Bowes Inc.Inventors: Neil F. Baldino, Pushpavadan S. Nagarsheth
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Patent number: 5899448Abstract: Sheet feeding apparatus includes a sheet feed device which operates to feed sheets towards or away from a sheet store. The sheet feed device has at least one resilient portion which flexes against its resilience relative to the remainder of the sheet feed device in response to contact with a sheet in the sheet store. A monitoring system is used to monitor the degree of flexure of the resilient portion to determine how full the sheet store is.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 1996Date of Patent: May 4, 1999Assignee: De La Rue International LimitedInventor: Steven Michael Hosking
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Patent number: 5895038Abstract: The present invention provides a sheet supply apparatus comprises a rocking sheet support plate for stacking sheets, a sheet supply, device capable of contacting with the sheets stacked on the sheet support plate for supplying them, a rotation control for controlling rotation of the sheet supply device by transmitting or not transmitting a driving force from a drive source, a cam for shifting the sheet support plate to abut or separate the sheet supply device and the sheet, and a rotation transmitting device for transmitting rotation to the cam.Type: GrantFiled: February 15, 1996Date of Patent: April 20, 1999Assignee: Canon Kabushiki KaishaInventor: Kazunori Takashima
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Patent number: 5893556Abstract: A printer is provided in which even if short sheets are fed therethrough, these sheets are properly fed and are prevented from twisting during a sheet feed operation. Thus a paper jam caused by a defective sheet feed operation can be prevented. The printer includes sheet feed rollers, a hopper that is retractable with respect to the sheet feed rollers 21, the hopper urging a sheet to be printed upon toward the sheet feed rollers 21, and a link that insures the hopper moves in parallel with the sheet feed rollers when retracted, and when even short sheets are placed within the hopper.Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 1996Date of Patent: April 13, 1999Assignee: Seiko Epson CorporationInventors: Takashi Akahane, Kiyoto Komuro
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Patent number: 5893555Abstract: A sheet feeding apparatus includes: a sheet feeding table on which sheets are stacked, the sheet feeding table being vertically movable; a sheet feeding roller mechanism provided in a vertical movement path of the sheet feeding table, the sheet feeding roller mechanism having a roller for feeding the sheets from the sheet feeding table one at a time, the roller being vertically displaceable; a spring for urging the sheet feeding roller mechanism in a direction of downward movement of the sheet feeding table; a detector for detecting when, during the upward movement of the sheet feeding table, the sheet feeding roller mechanism is lifted to a predetermined position against the spring, to stop the upward movement of the sheet feeding table; and a movable member movable and lockable for operating a change-over mechanism for changing the raised position of the sheet feeding roller mechanism which is obtained when the sheet feeding roller mechanism is detected by the detector.Type: GrantFiled: March 19, 1996Date of Patent: April 13, 1999Assignee: Riso Kagaku CorporationInventors: Sunichirou Kawada, Yoshihiro Noguchi
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Patent number: 5882005Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a large capacity paper feeder has a single pick-up roller capable of selectively feeding papers from an LCT (Large Capacity Table) or from a cassette removably mounted to the apparatus. The paper feeder, therefore, does not need a bulky paper feed unit for a cassette feed mode. In addition, a space for an LCT feed mode is not necessary above the pick-up roller, so that the height of the apparatus is not increased.Type: GrantFiled: May 22, 1997Date of Patent: March 16, 1999Assignee: Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yoshiyuki Araseki, Takenobu Kamada, Hitoshi Kimura
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Patent number: 5863036Abstract: A sheet feeding device for feeding sheets from a tray one by one and an image forming apparatus having the same are disclosed. A tray loaded with a stack of sheets, a separating member for separating a sheet paid out from the tray from the other sheets, and a driven conveyor roller are sequentially arranged around a single pick-up roller. With this arrangement, it is possible to reduce to a load to act on the sheet being conveyed by the pick-up roller and conveyor roller, and to prevent accidental continuous feed or simultaneous feed of a plurality of sheets.Type: GrantFiled: October 18, 1996Date of Patent: January 26, 1999Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.Inventors: Yoshiaki Tanaka, Eiji Takenaka, Iwao Matsumae
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Patent number: 5853171Abstract: A media level indicator is provided to identify the amount of media in an input stack of a sheet processing device. The media level indicator includes an odometer mechanism configured to survey the printer's feed mechanism so that it may quantify movement of a selected sheet during a predetermined feed operation. The quantified movement thereafter is interpreted to indicate the amount of media in the input stack.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 1997Date of Patent: December 29, 1998Inventor: Thomas J Halpenny
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Patent number: 5848786Abstract: The invention relates to a sheet-extracting device with a cassette for receiving a stack of sheets, and to a method of controlling the pressing force of the stack of sheets against the extracting device. The latter has extracting rollers (16) which are arranged on a floating shaft (34). For its part, the floating shaft (34) is centrally connected in a rotationally fixed manner to a drive shaft (18) passing through it. The drive shaft (18) is mounted, by one end (20), in a frame-mounted bearing (21) and, by its other end (62), in a displaceable bearing (64). Acting on the bearing (64) is a force sensor (70, 74, 76) which is intended for determining the pressing force of the stack of sheets (12) against the extracting rollers (16). The pressing force is controlled such that it always moves within a narrow middle range between a minimum and a maximum possible value.Type: GrantFiled: September 16, 1996Date of Patent: December 15, 1998Assignee: Siemens Nixdorf Informationssyteme AktiengesellschaftInventors: Gunter Holland-Letz, Peter Weigel, Waldemar Jager
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Patent number: 5794928Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, a large capacity paper feeder has a single pick-up roller capable of selectively feeding papers from an LCT (Large Capacity Table) or from a cassette removably mounted to the apparatus. The paper feeder, therefore, does not need a bulky paper feed unit for a cassette feed mode. In addition, a space for an LCT feed mode is not necessary above the pick-up roller, so that the height of the apparatus is not increased.Type: GrantFiled: February 13, 1996Date of Patent: August 18, 1998Assignee: Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd.Inventors: Yoshiyuki Araseki, Takenobu Kamada, Hitoshi Kimura