The following U.S. patents are fully incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,975 to Hadimioglu et al. (“Apparatus and Method for Moving a Substrate”); and U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,284 to Wolf et al. (“Process, Lateral and Skew Sheet Positioning Apparatus and Method”).
This invention relates generally to media transport systems, and more particularly to modular, reconfigurable media path modules within such a transport system.
Paper transport systems within printing systems are generally constructed from custom designed units, usually consisting of heavy frames supporting pinch rollers driven by one or a few motors. One such system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,322,069 to Krucinski et al., which utilizes a plurality of copy sheet drives, pinch rollers, and belts to transport paper through the printer system. Another approach is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,303,017 to Smith, which is directed to a system for avoiding inter-set printing delays with on-line job set compiling or finishing. Smith accomplishes this through the use of sheet feeders and diverter chutes with reversible sheet feeders, also utilizing pinch rollers driven by motors. However, because prior art transport systems are custom designed to meet the differing needs of specific printing systems, field reconfigurability and programmable reconfigurability are not possible.
It is an object of this invention to provide frameless standard modules, consisting of standard subunits, which can be linked physically, electrically and electronically by attachment to an external frame, and from which any path for transporting flexible media could be constructed.
Briefly stated, and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a frameless media path module is provided for a media processing system feeding media streams through a media path structured for serial or parallel flows. The frameless media path module includes a plurality of media guides and not less than two media transport nips operated by at least one actuator. Means is included for attaching the frameless media path module to a supporting structure. Media state sensing electronics detect media edge or relative motion and intermodule electrical communication capability is provided.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a reconfigurable media path assembly is provided for a media processing system feeding media streams through a media path structured for serial or parallel flows. The reconfigurable media path assembly includes not less than one frameless media path module having a plurality of media guides, not less than two media transport nips, module attachment means, at least one actuator, intermodule electrical communication means, and media state sensing electronics. The frameless media path modules are attached to a support assembly.
The foregoing and other features of the instant invention will be apparent and easily understood from a further reading of the specification, claims and by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Paper transport systems, constructed from custom designed units generally consisting of heavy frames supporting pinch rollers driven by one or a few motors, are utilized extensively in industry, but have limitations in regard to part reusability and reconfigurability. Standard paper path modules from which any paper path could be constructed would enable shorter time-to-market, lower cost through economies of scale, high part reusability, field reconfigurability, and programmable reconfigurability. The media path modules disclosed herein consist of an integrated, flexible sheet transport and guide assembly with motor driven drive nip units, paper convergence guide units, sheet edge and/or relative motion detection units, and power/computation/communication units. The modules are fixed in place to an external frame to form a modular system which is physically strong and electrically bussed.
Turning to
For the purposes of clarity, a cylindrical nip is illustrated as the transport mechanism for this embodiment. Cylindrical nips are pinch rollers which contact the media from both sides along a line. One of the cylinders is driven rotationally about its axis and the other is an idler which supports or provides the normal pinching force. It should be noted that other actuation means to provide tangential media forces can be used instead. An example of one such alternate means of actuation is a spherical nip actuator, which contacts the media in only a small area and is in principle capable of driving the media tangentially in an arbitrary direction, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,284 to Wolf et al. (“Process, Lateral and Skew Sheet Positioning Apparatus and Method”) incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Another example of an alternate means of actuation is a piezoelectrically driven brush or brushes to move the media in a desired direction, as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,975 to Hadimioglu et al. (“Apparatus and Method for Moving a Substrate”) incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
These basic elements may alternately be configured as shown in configurations 140 and 180, which also include media inlet guides 165 and media exit guides 170. In configuration 140 media inlet guides 165, flexible media guides 160, and transport nip 145 are configured to impart an angular directional change in the media path. In configuration 180, flexible media guides 185, media inlet guides 175, media outlet guides 170, and media transport nips 190 and 195 impart dual angular directional changes in the media path. The modules include media edge sensors and driven transport nips with media inlet guides. All drive and control electronics as well as communication bus drivers are mounted onto the guide using any of many methods known in the art, for example flexible printed circuit board technology. All intermodule electrical signals for power and communication are passed to the modules by connectors which connect either with other modules or with the external frame.
The term module here refers to an assembly of guides, rollers, motors, sensors, and optional computational and communication components. Different module types with different properties may be provided for different purposes, e.g., transport modules, gate modules with additional switch and motor, registration modules, etc. Turning now to
Alternative means to assemble a frame to hold the media modules are possible. For example, instead of parallel panels, an open structure of beams may be assembled to form a rigid frame as in an open frame bridge. As another alternative, a solid housing of fixed or variable size could serve a similar purpose. In another embodiment, the transport modules may be attached directly to a rigid frame, rather than being supported by rods. This approach, although it may limit field reconfigurability of the transport system, would still provide flexibility in assembly in a manufacturing environment. Interlocking mechanisms to connect modules to the frame may be selected from many alternative means known to the art. All drive and control electronics as well as communication bus drivers are mounted on the modules or within the frame. All intermodule electrical signals (power and communication) are passed through by connectors, either with other modules or via the frame, which mate as part of the operation of connecting modules to the frame and to other modules.
The embodiments described with respect to
This embodiment is further illustrated in
Alternative means to assemble a double-wide frame to hold the media modules are possible. For example, instead of parallel panels, an open structure of beams may be assembled to form a rigid frame as in an open frame bridge. As another alternative, a solid housing of fixed or variable size could serve a similar purpose. In another embodiment, the transport modules may be attached directly to a rigid double-wide frame, rather than being supported by rods. This approach, although it may limit field reconfigurability of the transport system, would still provide flexibility in assembly in a manufacturing environment. Interlocking mechanisms to connect modules to the frame may be selected from many alternative means known to the art. All drive and control electronics as well as communication bus drivers are mounted on the modules or within the frame. All intermodule electrical signals (power and communication) are passed through by connectors, either with other modules or via the frame, which mate as part of the operation of connecting modules to the frame and to other modules.
Another possible arrangement of transport path assemblies is illustrated in
Various means may be utilized to assemble a double-wide frame to hold the media modules in the double-wide embodiments contemplated in
While the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to specific embodiments, further modification and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art. For example, the modules may utilize separately driven nips and the nips can be independent in the cross-process direction as well, to permit deskewing and other operations requiring more than one degree of freedom. Additionally, other types of sheet state sensors, such as relative motion detectors, can be used in place of or in addition to sheet edge detectors. It is to be understood, therefore, that this invention is not limited to the particular forms illustrated and that it is intended in the appended claims to embrace all alternatives, modifications, and variations which do not depart from the spirit and scope of this invention.
This is a Divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/357,761 filed Feb. 4, 2003 in the name of Markus P. J. Fromherz et al., and claims priority therefrom. This divisional application is being filed in response to a restriction requirement in that prior application and contains re-written and/or additional claims to the restricted subject matter.