US4046469A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Photocopy machine having photoelectric paper cut-off sensor
Assignee: GRAPHIC ENTERPRISES
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Filing: 1976-08-10
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Granted: 1977-09-06
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Expires: 1996-08-10
Abstract
Abstract A reciprocating carrier-type photocopy machine having a photoelectric sensor for controlling a copy paper cut-off knife, to conform automatically the size of the copy paper to the size of the original document. A light emitter and photoelectric sensor are mounted beneath a glass platen over which a carrier, which contains the original document, moves for exposing the document to the reproducing mechanism contained beneath. An elongated rectangular mirror is mounted on the bottom surface of the carrier lid for reflecting the emitted light back to the sensor. The original document, when placed in the carrier, blocks the emitted light from being reflected from the mirror to the sensor until the trailing edge of the document passes the emitted light. The reflected light, upon passage of the document, then actuates the photoelectric sensor, which in turn actuates a solenoid of a copy paper cut-off knife to sever the copy paper from its supply roll. The emitted light preferably is infrared and is modulated at a predetermined frequency to which the sensor is tuned to prevent premature actuation of the cut-off knife by an extraneous light source.
Inventors
- 👤 Thomas E. Frank
- 👤 Roy E. Gum
- 👤 J. T. Shoupe
- 👤 Dennis L. Warner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 06:20
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/22; G03G15/28
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
270 words
A photocopy machine of the type having an original document carrier mounted for reciprocating movement on the top of a housing for moving the document across an external exposure station for reproduction of the document on a traveling web of copy paper fed from a supply roll of said paper located within the housing, said carrier having a lid and a transparent platen between which the document is placed; knife means for cutting the traveling web from the supply roll; and means controlling the reciprocating movement of the carrier and for controlling operation of the knife means; the improvement including: a. photoelectric means mounted beneath the transparent platen of the carrier rearwardly of the external exposure station and having light emitting means and light sensing means; b. a reflecting surface provided on the bottom of the carrier lid in alignment with the photoelectric means and adapted to pass over said photoelectric means upon forward movement of the carrier; c. electrical circuit means operatively connecting the photoelectric means with the knife means operating control means; and d. the light emitting means adapted to project a beam of light upwardly through the transparent platen of the carrier toward the carrier lid, with said light beam being blocked by a document in the carrier until passage of the trailing end of the document whereupon said light beam is reflected by the reflective surface of the lid and sensed by the light sensing means to actuate the knife means through the electrical circuit means to cut the traveling copy paper web to a length in direct relationship to the length of the original document.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
270 words
A photocopy machine of the type having an original document carrier mounted for reciprocating movement on the top of a housing for moving the document across an external exposure station for reproduction of the document on a traveling web of copy paper fed from a supply roll of said paper located within the housing, said carrier having a lid and a transparent platen between which the document is placed; knife means for cutting the traveling web from the supply roll; and means controlling the reciprocating movement of the carrier and for controlling operation of the knife means; the improvement including: a. photoelectric means mounted beneath the transparent platen of the carrier rearwardly of the external exposure station and having light emitting means and light sensing means; b. a reflecting surface provided on the bottom of the carrier lid in alignment with the photoelectric means and adapted to pass over said photoelectric means upon forward movement of the carrier; c. electrical circuit means operatively connecting the photoelectric means with the knife means operating control means; and d. the light emitting means adapted to project a beam of light upwardly through the transparent platen of the carrier toward the carrier lid, with said light beam being blocked by a document in the carrier until passage of the trailing end of the document whereupon said light beam is reflected by the reflective surface of the lid and sensed by the light sensing means to actuate the knife means through the electrical circuit means to cut the traveling copy paper web to a length in direct relationship to the length of the original document.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
31 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 1 in which the light emitting means is a near infrared light emitter; and in which the light sensing means is responsive to infrared light.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 2 in which the light emitting means is a light emitting diode; and in which the light sensing means is a silicon phototransistor.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
46 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 1 in which the light emitting means is modulated to a predetermined frequency; and in which the light sensing means is adapted to be actuated by a predetermined frequency generally equal to the modulated frequency of the light emitting means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
33 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 1 in which the carrier lid reflective surface is an elongated mirror mounted on the bottom of the carrier lid extending in the direction of carrier travel.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
37 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 1 in which the photoelectric means is mounted on a panel; and in which said panel is movably mounted beneath the document carrier for adjustment along the path of carrier travel.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
71 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 6 in which frame means are mounted on and extend longitudinally along the top of the housing; in which the carrier is movably mounted in the frame means; in which groove means are formed in the frame means; and in which the photoelectric means mounting panel is slidably received in the groove means for adjustably positioning the photoelectric means along the path of carrier travel.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
57 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 1 in which an internal exposure station is located within the housing; and in which the knife means is located upstream of the internal exposure station with respect to the traveling web a distance generally equal to the distance that the photoelectric means is located rearwardly of the external exposure station.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
55 words
The photocopy machine defined in claim 1 in which the knife means has a cutting blade and a solenoid controlling operation of said cutting blade; and in which the light sensing means, upon sensing the reflected light beam, actuates the cutting blade solenoid to cut the traveling web of copy paper from the supply roll.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
238 words
A photoelectric paper cut-off sensor for a photocopy machine of the type having an original document carrier mounted for reciprocating movement on the top of a housing for moving the document across an external exposure station for reproduction of the document on a traveling web of copy paper supplied from a roll of said paper located within the housing, and means for severing the traveling web of copy paper from the roll, wherein the improvement includes: a. light emitting means and light sensing means mounted in close priximity to each other beneath the document carrier rearwardly of the external exposure station; b. reflecting means mounted above the light emitting means and light sensing means, with a document being movable by the carrier between said light emitting and sensing means and the reflecting means; c. the light emitting means being adapted to project a light beam upwardly toward the reflecting means, with the light sensing means sensing said light beam when reflected by the reflecting means; and d. means operatively connected between the light sensing means and copy paper severing means for actuating said severing means upon the light sensing means sensing the reflected light beam, whereby a document in the carrier blocks the light beam from the reflecting means until passage of the document trailing edge, whereupon the light beam is reflected by the reflecting means to the light sensing means to actuate the copy paper severing means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
238 words
A photoelectric paper cut-off sensor for a photocopy machine of the type having an original document carrier mounted for reciprocating movement on the top of a housing for moving the document across an external exposure station for reproduction of the document on a traveling web of copy paper supplied from a roll of said paper located within the housing, and means for severing the traveling web of copy paper from the roll, wherein the improvement includes: a. light emitting means and light sensing means mounted in close priximity to each other beneath the document carrier rearwardly of the external exposure station; b. reflecting means mounted above the light emitting means and light sensing means, with a document being movable by the carrier between said light emitting and sensing means and the reflecting means; c. the light emitting means being adapted to project a light beam upwardly toward the reflecting means, with the light sensing means sensing said light beam when reflected by the reflecting means; and d. means operatively connected between the light sensing means and copy paper severing means for actuating said severing means upon the light sensing means sensing the reflected light beam, whereby a document in the carrier blocks the light beam from the reflecting means until passage of the document trailing edge, whereupon the light beam is reflected by the reflecting means to the light sensing means to actuate the copy paper severing means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
54 words
The photoelectric paper cut-off sensor defined in claim 10 in which the photocopy machine carrier has a transparent platen and a pivotally mounted lid; in which a document, when transported by the carrier, is placed between the platen and lid; and in which the reflecting means is mounted on the bottom of the lid.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
51 words
The photoelectric paper cut-off sensor defined in claim 11 in which the reflecting means is an elongated mirror mounted on the bottom of the lid; and in which said mirror extends longitudinally along the lid in the direction of travel of the carrier from adjacent the rear edge of the lid.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
62 words
The photoelectric paper cut-off sensor defined in claim 10 in which the light emitting means emits an infrared light beam; in which means is operatively connected to the light emitting means for modulating the emitted infrared light beam; and in which the light sensing means is responsive only to a modulated light beam having the same frequency as the emitted light beam.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
34 words
A photoelectric paper cut-off sensor defined in claim 10 in which the light emitting and sensing means are mounted on a panel; and in which said panel is adjustably mounted beneath the document carrier.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
69 words
The photoelectric paper cut-off sensor defined in claim 10 in which an internal exposure station is located within the housing of the photocopy machine; and in which the severing means includes a knife blade located upstream of the internal exposure station with respect to the traveling web, a distance generally equal to the distance that the light emitting and sensing means are located rearwardly of the external exposure station.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-09-05 | 1981-03-07 | 1981-09-06 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-09-05 | 1985-03-07 | 1985-09-06 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-09-05 | 1989-03-07 | 1989-09-06 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |