Patent Application
20110268552
This invention relates to paper feeding stations in marking systems and, more specifically, to a novel stacker assembly used in said stations.
While the present invention can be effectively used in a plurality of suitable paper or sheet-handling systems, it will be described for clarity as used in electrostatic marking systems such as electrophotography. In an electrostatographic reproducing apparatus commonly used today, a photoconductive insulating member may be charged to a negative potential and thereafter exposed to a light image of an original document to be reproduced. The exposure discharges the photoconductive insulating surface in exposed or background areas and creates an electrostatic latent image on the member which corresponds to the image areas contained within the original document. Subsequently, the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductive insulating surface is made visible by developing the image with a developing powder referred to in the art as toner. During development, the toner particles are attracted from the carrier particles by the charge pattern of the image areas on the photoconductive insulating area to form a powder image on the photoconductive insulating area. This image may be subsequently transferred or marked onto a support surface such as a copy paper (from a feeding station) to which it may be permanently affixed by heating or by the application of pressure.
As above noted, there are many systems that feed or transport paper or other sheet media to the system before the media is marked or treated. These marking systems could include electrostatic marking systems, non-electrostatic marking systems and printers or any other system where paper or other flexible sheet media or receiving sheets are fed or transported internally to a print engine for marking. The present invention can be used as a stacker before a print engine or before entering a finishing station.
The feeder stacker tray assembly in these marking systems usually comprise a stacker tray, controller sensors and height stack switches. Sheet stacker assemblies are well known in the art such as those disclosed in Xerox Corporation U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,188,353; 5,261,655; 5,409,202; 5,476,256; 5,570,172; 5,842,695; 6,443,450 and 6,575,461. The disclosures of these Xerox Corporation patents are incorporated by reference into this disclosure.
Large format media and paper stack featuring ID cards attached to the main sheet are difficult to load into paper trays in substantial quantities due to build up in the area where the cards are attached. If the location of the cards is not near an edge and is located where standard tiltatron design will not work, the paper stack cannot be easily used. Therefore, cards embossed on paper such as ID cards create an uneven stack due to the thickness of the paper containing the ID card and maintaining a flat upper stack surface needed for proper feeding of the paper. Papers with embossed cards are referred to at Xerox Corporation as DocuCards (a trademark of Xerox Corporation). The term “DocuCards” as used in this disclosure refers to all size paper with embossed cards on their surface.
This invention provides a flat paper tray plate system for DocuCards. The tray is designed to support the main stack while incorporating a vertically movable plate that supports the ID card (or credit card) portion of the sheet. In one embodiment, the movable portion of the plate is supported by vertical spring-loaded cylinders (similar to cafeteria plate stacks). As the stack is built up (loading the paper tray), the movable plate lowers, compensating for the larger stack height buildup under the ID cards. This allows the entire paper stack top to stay substantially flat and allows a larger number of sheets to be loaded into the feeder paper tray. This design allows for the horizontal feeding of specific DocuCards made up of two cards offset on a carrier sheet. The present invention is very desirable in one embodiment when modularized to allow various placements of the spring cylinders and fixed versus moving sections of the plate in order to accommodate various card configurations.
The present invention utilizes a flat paper tray plate that is designed to support the main stack and incorporates a vertically movable plate that will support the ID card portion of the sheet. As the stack is built up (loading the paper tray), the movable plate will lower, compensating for the faster stack height buildup under the ID cards. This will allow the entire paper stack to stay flat and allow a larger number of sheets to be loaded into the paper tray.
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In summary, this invention provides a paper stacking tray comprising two separated paper supports, one a fixed paper support plate, (conforming plate) and the other a vertically movable support plate. The vertically movable support plate when supporting a paper stack is positioned on a plane below the fixed support plate and is configured to support a section of the paper containing an ID or credit card. The movable support plate is positioned at a location in the stacking tray where the credit card on which said paper will be supported and will rest on the movable support plate on a plane below a remainder of the paper, thereby providing a substantially flat paper top stack portion for easy movement of paper from the stack. In the stacking tray the vertical movable spring loaded cylinders and the vertically movable support plate are configured to lower as a stack of paper is increased thereon. The conforming plate and the vertically movable support plate are configured to be moved to various locations in the stacking tray in order to accommodate various card containing paper configurations.
The stacking tray is modularized to be easily fitted into a feeding station of a marking apparatus. The stacking tray in one embodiment has the fixed support plate which from a top view has an L-shaped configuration. The stacking tray in one embodiment has the fixed support plate which from a top view has a rectangular configuration. The stacking tray is configured wherein both the fixed support plate and the vertically movable support plate are supported on a base support plate. The stacking tray of this invention is configured wherein a number of sheets that can be loaded thereon is increased to about 250 sheets from about 75 sheets of the prior art trays. In the stacking tray, a gap is provided between the fixed paper support plate and the vertically movable support plate. Also provided in this invention is a method in a marking system of stacking papers having an ID or credit card attached thereto which comprises providing in a stacking tray two separated paper supports, one a fixed paper support plate and the other a vertically movable support plate. A stack of the papers is loaded onto the two separated paper supports where the portion of paper holding ID or credit card is loaded onto the vertically movable support plate and the remainder of the paper is stacked onto the fixed paper support plate, thereby providing the stack with a substantially flat top portion for convenient feeding of the papers to a print engine or a further processing station.
It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
