Sequenced cleaner retraction method and apparatus
US5493383A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 18, 1994 |
| Grant date | Feb 20, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 18, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03G2221/001
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus and method using eccentrics, driven by a two-level gear, to sequentially retract and engage the brushes in the non-imaging region of the photoreceptor surface. The first brush, in the direction of motion of the photoreceptor, is brought into contact with the surface, in the non-imaging region, at the beginning of the cleaning cycle, using eccentrics. As the surface moves, the first brush in contact with the surface cleans residual toner from the imaging area, while the second brush is sequentially brought into contact with the surface in the non-imaging region. After the cleaning cycle is complete, the first brush coupled to an eccentric gear is retracted from the surface, in the non-imaging region. As the surface continues to move, the second brush also coupled to an eccentric gear, now in the non-imaging region, is retracted from the surface. Then, development of the image on image begins. The brushes are sequentially retracted using a two-level gear, one gear being 90 degrees out of phase with the other, to drive the eccentric gears of the brushes via idler gears. Each gear of the two level gear has a circumference which includes two 90 degree segments with gear tee…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.