Importance

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Abstract

An improved full color electrophotographic print engine using flexible belts to carry a photosensitive electrostatic image developer and a transfer belt for building up composite developed images. Each belt, and an optical scanner, are driven by mechanically independent motors which are synchronized by an electronic digital controller implementing precise servos. The use of the flexible belts allows the machine to be relatively inexpensive, very small compared to previous full color print engines, and yet maintain precise registration of color composite images. An improved fuser mechanism with increased dwell time at constant machine speed is also shown. The fuser includes a pair of spaced-apart rollers, both of which urge a sheet of image receptor against the heated roller over a predetermined angular portion of the roller. The machine is specifically designed to be used interchangeably with an optical bench source as a copier or with a laser bench as a laser printer. Improved copy quality monitoring by sensing actual amounts of toner deposited on a photoreceptor belt is also shown. Also, improved downwardly facing gravity-fed toner deposition modules are shown including an embodiment which has a purely magnetic gate for opening and closing the toner supply.

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First Claim