US5049947A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Rotating brush decision gate
Assignee: Xerox Corp
•
Filing: 1989-07-03
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Granted: 1991-09-17
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Expires: 2009-07-03
Abstract
Abstract An automatic printing machine which forms an image on a sheet substrate has a multi-mode sheet output station in the form of a brush decision gate having a bidirectionally rotatable cylindrical fibrous brush to direct sheets upwardly over the top of the brush in a first sheet transport path when rotated in a counter clockwise direction and downwardly under the bottom of the brush in a second sheet transport path when rotated in a clockwise direction, the brush being selectively rotated in a clockwise and counter clockwise direction.
Inventors
- 👤 David J. Fish
- 👤 Gerard R. Sturnick
- 👤 Peter A. Sardano
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 21:08
CPC Classifications
G; G03; G03G; G03G15/00; G03G15/65; G03G15/6555; G03G15/6573; B; B65; B65H; B65H29/00; B65H29/58; G03G15/22; G03G15/23; G03G15/231; G03G15/232; G03G15/234; B65H2404/00; B65H2404/50; B65H2404/56; B65H2404/561; G03G2215/00; G03G2215/00362; G03G2215/00367; G03G2215/00417; G03G2215/00421; G03G2215/0043; G03G2215/00438; G03G2215/00535; G03G2215/00649; G03G2215/00658; G03G2215/00675; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S271/00; Y10S271/902
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
136 words
An automatic printing machine comprising means to form an image on a sheet substrate at a given process speed and a multi-mode sheet output station comprising a brush decision gate having a bidirectionally rotatable cylindrical fibrous brush to direct sheets upwardly over the top of said brush in a first sheet transport path when rotated in a counter clockwise direction and downwardly under the bottom of said brush in a second sheet transport path when rotated in a clockwise direction and means to selectively rotate said brush in a clockwise and counter clockwise direction at a speed faster than the process speed of said printing machine and wherein each of said first and second paths has at least one pair of bidirectionally rotatable nip rolls to selectively drive a sheet forward and backward through said nip.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
136 words
An automatic printing machine comprising means to form an image on a sheet substrate at a given process speed and a multi-mode sheet output station comprising a brush decision gate having a bidirectionally rotatable cylindrical fibrous brush to direct sheets upwardly over the top of said brush in a first sheet transport path when rotated in a counter clockwise direction and downwardly under the bottom of said brush in a second sheet transport path when rotated in a clockwise direction and means to selectively rotate said brush in a clockwise and counter clockwise direction at a speed faster than the process speed of said printing machine and wherein each of said first and second paths has at least one pair of bidirectionally rotatable nip rolls to selectively drive a sheet forward and backward through said nip.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
40 words
The printing machine of claim 1 wherein said nip rolls in each of said first and second paths and said brush decision gate form therebetween a bidirectional sheet transport path between said nip rolls in said first and second paths.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
The printing machine of claim 2 including sheet guide baffles to guide a sheet being transported in each of said paths between the baffle and the brush.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The printing machine of claim 3 wherein said brush decision gate comprises at least two rotatable cylindrical fibrous brushes axially mounted on a shaft.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
90 words
The printing machine of claim 4 wherein said shaft is pivotally mounted, the guide baffle in the second transport paths has slots therein opposite each axially mounted brush and the ends of the fibers of said brush are in interference with the top lip of the slot so that when the brush is rotated clockwise the reaction forces between the brush and the top lip pivot the brush down and when the brush is rotated counterclockwise, the reaction forces between the brush and the top lip pivot the brush up.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
The printing machine of claim 5 wherein said printing machine is an electrostatographic printing machine with a fuser and a pressure roll forming a nip therebetween and said brush is adjacent said nip and pivotally mounted about said fuser roll.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
43 words
The printing machine of claim 2 wherein said first sheet transport path terminates in an output catch tray adjacent to said pair of bidirectionally rotatable nip rolls in said first path to enable simplex (N-1) stacking or duplex (1-N) stacking in the tray.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
81 words
The printing machine of claim 7 including means to rotate said nip rolls to drive a sheet forward into the catch tray and including means to reverse the direction of rotation of said nip rolls before the trail edge of a sheet being fed to the tray exits the nip rolls to enable said brush when rotating in the counterclockwise direction to direct said sheet through said bidirectional sheet transport path to the nip rolls in said second sheet transport path.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
44 words
The printing machine of claim 2 further including a generally horizontal stacking tray at the output of said second pair of bidirectionally rotatable nip rolls and including means to turn a sheet into said stacking tray to enable simplex (1-N) stacking in the tray.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
81 words
The printing machine of claim 9 including means to rotate said nip rolls to drive a sheet forward into said stacking tray and including means to reverse the direction of rotation of said nip rolls before the trail edge of a sheet being fed to the tray exits the nip rolls to enable said brush when rotating in a clockwise direction to direct said sheet through said bidirectional sheet transport path to the nip rolls in said first sheet transport path.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
26 words
The printing machine of claim 2 further including a duplex tray with sheet feeder at the output of said second pair of bidirectionally rotatable nip rolls.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
28 words
The printing machine of claim 1 including sheet guide baffles to guide a sheet being transported in each of said paths between the rotatable brush and the baffle.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
24 words
The printing machine of claim 1 wherein said brush decision gate comprises at least two rotatable cylindrical fibrous brushes axially mounted on a shaft.
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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) | 1994-09-16 | 1995-03-18 | 1995-09-17 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1998-09-16 | 1999-03-18 | 1999-09-17 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2002-09-16 | 2003-03-18 | 2003-09-17 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |