Electrophotography – Document handling
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-24
2001-10-16
Chen, Sophia S. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Document handling
C399S367000, C399S405000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06304742
ABSTRACT:
Providing more compact and easier to use printers is particularly desirable for office and home use. Disclosed in the embodiment herein is a highly compact system in which a single plural function module mounted on a print engine can provide plural sheet handling functions with a superposed and conveniently positioned copy sheet output tray, as well as document sheet input and output trays of a document handling unit, for reduced space requirements, with both a copy sheet and the document handling trays in the same top module.
It may be seen from the disclosed embodiment that this copy sheet output stacking tray may be desirably provided at the very top of the overall printer unit, for user convenience in unobstructively observing and removing finished printed sheets. As shown, this copy sheet stacking tray may be desirably mounted superposed over both the document input and document output stacking trays of the document handler of this same module, thus not requiring any increase in the overall machine “footprint,” or desk space.
Furthermore, the copy sheet output stacking tray of this plural mode module embodiment can be an alternative output tray relative to another output tray desirably provided with a different sheet stacking orientation. That is, the copy sheet output path within the module leading to the copy sheet output stacking tray can desirably have an arcuate sheet path (desirably shared with the inverter sheet path), and that copy sheet output path may desirably be different from another copy sheet output path from the printer to another, side, output, tray, so as to provide a different number of natural sheet path inversions, and thereby desirably provide a choice of sheet stacking outputs suitable for properly collated face up or face down output sheet stacking, for 1 to N or N to 1 sheet order printing, and simplex or duplex sheet printing.
In particular, the disclosed embodiment discloses a multifunction printer with a print engine, an input tray for original document sheets to be imaged, an output tray for those document sheets, and a copy sheet output tray for copy sheets from the print engine, in which all three trays are vertically superposed over one another and over the print engine, without substantially extending laterally of the print engine, to provide improved access and a reduced footprint area for the printer. Preferably all three trays are provided by a single integral module providing a complete document handling unit, mounted on top of the print engine, with the copy sheet output tray on top. The copy sheet output tray may be an integral extension of the document handling unit. Preferably all three trays open towards the same side of the printer, above the print engine, so that the original document sheets and the copy sheets may all be conveniently accessed. The disclosed document handler may have a simple sheet transport path with a single large diameter sheet inverting and imaging station roller or drum for inverting the document sheets between the document input tray and the document output tray partially around that drum.
The use of various modular components in printers (this term as used herein broadly includes copiers, multifunction, and other reproduction machines) is well known to those in that art. One example is shown in Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,581 issued Dec. 15, 1998 to George J. Roller, and other art cited therein. Others are provided in printers with print engines similar to the example shown in the embodiment herein, such as Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,835,823; 5,784,671; 5,778,284; 5884,123; and 5,881,340.
It has been well know for many years to provide a document handling module on top of copiers or other printers, for feeding image bearing sheets from a stack thereof to be imaged for one or more of electronic image storage, electronic transmission, faxing, local or remote printing, direct copying, etc.. An example is Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 5,534,989 issued Jul. 9, 1996 to Robert F. Rubscha, et al, and other art cited therein. Various other types of document (original sheets) feeding systems are also known in the art, such as Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,180 to Looney. The present plural mode module and system is not limited to details of a specific document handling system.
However, such prior art document handling modules were limited in function to handling the original document sheets, per se, and did not compatibly provide the other valuable printer functions within the same modular unit and space as disclosed herein.
Further by way of background, it is know in the art, as described for example in prior Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,749,024; 5,215,298; 4,459,013; to be desirable (to provide proper page order collation) to output stack copy sheets face down if they are printed in forward or 1 to N order, and to output stack copy sheets face up if they are printed in reverse or N to 1 order. It is likewise known to provide two different output paths and output trays for this purpose, to accommodate either printing order, or for optimal simplex or duplex printing orders. It is also well known to feed the original documents with a document handler to a copier, scanner, or facsimile machine in 1 to N order, from the top of a face-up stack, as shown in various of the above-cited document handler patents, or from the bottom of a face down stack. However, some other copiers such as that described for example in Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 4,278,344, and some other scanner or multifunction systems, feed the original documents from the bottom of a face up stack, which feeds the sheets to be imaged in N to 1 order. Thus, especially for a networked printer mode of operation, it is known to be desirable to be able to accept electronic documents in either order, without having to use a copy sheet reversing type of output path inverter, i.e. to have two different copy sheet output paths, one of which provides a natural inversion in the output path relative to the other.
Various sheet inverting systems with sheet reversing chutes for duplexing are known in the art, for copies or documents, including, for example, gateless or Mylar flap gated inverters with curved baffles defining the reversing chute so as to flip the trail edge over to the inverter exit rolls. E.g., Xerox Corp. U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,017 issued Apr. 12, 1994.
A specific feature of the specific embodiment disclosed herein is to provide in a multifunction printer with a print engine, an input tray for original document sheets to be imaged, an output tray for said original document sheets, and a copy sheet output tray for copy sheets from said print engine, the improvement wherein: all three said trays are vertically superposed over one another and over said print engine, without substantially extending laterally of said print engine, to provide improved access and a reduced footprint area for said multifunction printer.
Further specific features disclosed in the embodiment herein, individually or in combination, include those wherein said copy sheet output tray for said copy sheets from said print engine is on top of both of said input tray for said original document sheets to be imaged and said output tray for said original document sheets; and/or wherein all three said trays are provided by an integral module mounted on top of said print engine; and/or wherein all three said trays open towards the same side of said multifunction printer, above said print engine, so that said original document sheets and said copy sheets may be conveniently accessed; and/or wherein there is an integral module mounted on top of said print engine comprising a document handling unit providing said input tray for original document sheets to be imaged and said output tray for said original document sheets, and wherein said copy sheet output tray is an integral extension of said document handling unit; and/or wherein said input tray for said original document sheets to be imaged and said output tray for said original document sheets are operatively connected by a sheet transport pat
Faguy Gary A.
Nunes Vicente P.
Chen Sophia S.
Tran Hoan
Xerox Corporation
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