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Home » North America » USA » Miami International Airport | Code: MIA
Miami Airport Guide
In this section you will find traveller airport reviews as well as our Miami Airport Guide with info on WiFi, lounges, facilities and services....and yes, even the names of some airport hotels in case you decide that sleeping in the airport is not for you!
The best spot is just before concourse A on upper level, there is a quite large alcove where nobody would disturb you. -Sitos
Airport Overview
To help you plan your layover or overnight sleepover, we are here to give you the low-down on what travellers have reported back to us during their time at Miami International Airport.
What to Expect
- The Miami airport has 3 interconnected terminals: North (Concourse D), South (Concourses H and J), and Central (Concourses E, F, G).
- The airport is open 24 hours. However, security checkpoints close depending on that night's flight schedule. Be sure to check ahead before exiting or entering the airside area.
- Several 24 hour concession options can be found landside. Airside, there is a 24 hour Einstein bagels in the North Terminal.
- People most often end up sleeping at this airport because of canceled flights.
- Some reviewers reported messy bathrooms and dirty seats at this airport. You may want to bring along hand sanitizer, tissues, and wipes.
- A few reviewers warned of long security lines at this airport.
- WiFi is available. See WiFi information in the airport guide below.
Where to Sleep
- Sleeping options are limited. Reviewers reported that all seats have armrests. Some reviewers slept successfully on the carpeted floor in the North Terminal.
- In the event of a canceled flight, airport staff may provide blankets or cots for stranded passengers.
- Consider bringing earplugs, a blanket and warm clothes, as the airport is reportedly cold and noisy throughout the night.
- For uninterrupted sleep, there is a hotel within the Central Terminal and other nearby hotels that provide free airport shuttles. See Airport Hotels in the airport guide below.
Good to Know
- Economy class passengers can pay to use one of the first class lounges. See Airport Lounges in the airport guide below for locations and rates.
- Showers can be found in a few of the lounges.
For more information about the services and facilities available, scroll down to continue exploring our Miami Airport Guide. Send us your airport tips to help us keep this information up to date.
Miami Airport Information
In this guide we may refer to locations as "landside" and "airside". Landside is the public area of the terminal located in the non-secure zone, before security. Airside is the secure area of the terminal that you must reach by going through security.
Airport Lounges
Pay-per-use, Single Visit Passes & Lounge Memberships
Regardless of what class of service you are flying, there are lounges that you can enter by paying at the door, purchasing a lounge pass or through a lounge membership program. Visit the individual lounge page for more details about the lounge itself and to also find out how you can gain lounge access with just an economy class ticket!
- American Airlines Admirals Club - Location: North Terminal, Airside, Concourse D, across from Gate D30. Showers are available. Lounge Access: Pay at the Door with proof of American Airlines ticket • Lounge membership programs. [ more lounge info ]
- American Airlines Admirals Club - Location: North Terminal, Airside, Concourse D, 3rd Floor, above Gate D15. Showers are available. Lounge Access: Pay at the Door with proof of American Airlines tickets • Lounge membership programs. [ more lounge info ]
- Centurion Lounge - Location: North Terminal, Concourse D, Airside, near Gate D12. Lounge Access: American Express® Card Members. [ more lounge info ]
- Premium Lounge - Location: North Terminal, Airside, Concourse E, 5th Floor, just beyond the security checkpoint. Showers are available. Lounge Access: Pay at the Door. [ more lounge info ]
- Club America - Location: Concourse F, Airside, 3rd Floor. Showers are available ($). Lounge Access:Prepaid lounge passes • Lounge membership programs. [ more lounge info ] buy a lounge pass
- Avianca VIP Lounge - Location: South Terminal, Concourse J South, Airside, 3rd Floor. Showers are available. Hours: open 24 hours. Lounge Access: Prepaid lounge passes • Lounge membership programs. [ more lounge info ] buy a lounge pass
- Delta Sky Club - Location: South Terminal, Airside, in the H and J Connector, to the left of the H Concourse Security. Lounge Access: Pay at the Door with proof of Delta Airlines ticket • Lounge membership programs. [ more lounge info ]
- VIP Lounge Miami - Location:South Terminal, Concourse J, Airside, near Gate J5 in the main departure lounge. Showers are available. Lounge Access: Prepaid lounge passes • Lounge membership programs. [ more lounge info ] buy a lounge pass
Military Lounge
A military hospitality lounge is available for active and retired military travelers. Inside this volunteer-run lounge you will have complimentary snacks and beverages, magazines, TV and Free WiFi. Location: Concourse E, Central Terminal, Level 2. Hours: 9:00AM - 9:00PM.
Airport Hotels
If sleeping in Miami Airport does not appeal to you, there is a hotel inside and near the airport:
- Miami International Airport Hotel - Located inside Central Terminal Concourse E, Level 2 (Departures). No airport shuttle. Day rooms are offered from 10:00AM to 6:00PM.
- Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel - (5 minutes from the airport) Free airport shuttle service runs every 15 minutes from 5:00AM to Midnight, and every 30 minutes after hours. For airport pick-up, please flag down the shuttle from the median passenger pick-up lane on Level 2 (Departures). Free shuttle service to surrounding area attractions within a 3 mile radius (subject to availability - reservation required)
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Miami Airport and Intermodal Area - (7 minutes from the airport) Free airport shuttle is available. When you arrive at the airport go to the 2nd level of departures, the shuttle runs every 30 minutes between 6:00AM and 11:00PM. You can also call the hotel (786-878-5555) to advise them of which exit you are at.
- Red Roof + Miami Airport - (8 minutes from the airport) Free airport shuttle available daily from 5:00AM - 12:30AM, every 30 minutes. Pick-ups are on the 2nd level for American Airlines (second curb) and for all other airlines head to the first curb.
- Embassy Suites Miami International Airport - (8 minutes from the airport) Free 24-hour airport shuttle service is available every 30 minutes.
- Element Hotel - (8 minutes from the airport) Free airport shuttle departs every 30 minutes.
To see more options there is a list of hotels near Miami Airport on Tripadvisor that can be sorted by price, distance, traveller rating and popularity.
Airport WiFi / Internet
WiFi is available at Miami Airport, connect to "MIA-WiFi" network. Access with advertising is free or you may purchase Standard Service without advertising for $4.95 or Premium Service without advertising for $7.95.
If you are not travelling with a mobile device, there are public internet workstations (printers also available) on the 7th floor, and also in the Lobby Bar of the Miami International Airport Hotel in Concourse E on the Departure Level of the main terminal. Fee: $4.95 for the first 20 minutes of access, 25-cents per min after. 50-cent per printed page. Both locations accept credit cards, and Lobby Bar also accepts cash. The ICE Business Center also has computers for use. See the More Services section below for details.
More Services & Facilities
- Art Exhibitions - There are several galleries and exhibits located throughout the terminals (landside and airside).
- ATMs / Cash Machines - ATMs are located throughout the airport (landside and airside).
- Baby Care Facilities - Need a comfortable and private place to nurse and care for your baby? Look for free-standing MIAmamas suites. Each suite has a fold-down table, two benches, a collapsible table, power outlet with USB, and are lockable for privacy. There's enough room in the suite for mama, baby, and their luggage or stroller, or even for a small family! Locations: Airside, near the following gates: D20 • D36 • E7-E9 • E21- E31 • F6 - F8 • G4 • H4 • J5 - J7.
- Banking - Bank of America offers full-service banking in the airport. Location: South Terminal, landside, Concourse J, 2nd Level. Hours: 9:00AM - 4:00PM.
- Business Center - Computers with internet and printing capabilities, currency exchange, faxing and a host of other services and products are available at the International Currency Exchange (ICE) Business Center. Location: Between Concourses H and J, airside.
- Baggage Carts - Available at various locations throughout the airport. Fee: $5.00.
- Car Rentals - Yes, see our Airport Transportation section below.
- Chapel - Gather your thoughts in peace or prayer at the airport's non-denominational chapel. The chapel also offers Christian services in English and Spanish on designated days, and a weekly Catholic mass. Location: North Terminal, Concourse D, 1st Level, landside, between International Arrivals and Carousel 22. Hours: Unknown, but a reader let us know that it is not open 24 hours. No overnight sleeping allowed here.
- Children's Play Area - Designed in collaboration with Miami Children's Museum, Plane Fun is an educational and interactive play area for kids. There's a child-sized control tower with working functions, a soft play section for toddlers, a simulated hot air balloon ride, and more! Location: Concourse E, airside, near Gate E5. Also accessible from Concourse D.
- Currency Exchange - International Currency Exchange (ICE) kiosks are available in these locations:
» South Terminal, Landside, Concourse H, Level 3, Arrivals (Hours: 1:00PM - 8:00PM)
» North Terminal, Concourse C, Level 2 (Hours: 7:00AM - 8:30PM)
» Central Terminal, Landside, Concourse E, Level 2 (Hours: 5:00AM - 11:00PM) • Landside, Concourse F, Level 2 (Hours: 10:30AM - 9:30PM) • Landside, Concourse G, Level 2 (Hours: 7:00AM - 5:00PM).
- Duty Free & Shopping - Duty Free Americas shops operate with varying schedules at the following locations: Concourse D East, airside, Gate D16 • Concourse D West, airside, Gate D30 • Concourse E, landside, 2nd Level • Concourse F, airside, Gate F11 • South Terminal, airside, H-J Connector • Concourse J, airside, Gate J6.
- Food & Drinks - Food concessions throughout the airport operate with varying schedules. These options are open 24 hours:
» Central Terminal, Landside, Concourse F, 2nd Level - Dunkin' Donuts • Cafe Versailles.
» Central Terminal, Landside, Concourse E, 2nd Level - Subway
» North Terminal, Airside, near Gate D26 - Einstein Bros. Bagels
» South Terminal, Airside, Concourse J (near Gate J8) - Earl of Sandwich
- Information Desk - Tourist Information Counters offer airport and tourist information from locations throughout the airport, including the main counter at Concourse E, Level 2, near the airport's hotel. Hours: 6:00AM - 10:00PM (daily). You can also flag down one of the Volunteer Ambassadors roaming around the airport, or make use of one of the white courtesy phones located on columns throughout Concourses D, E, F, G, H and J. The white courtesy phones are available 24/7 for information and airport-wide paging services.
- Luggage Storage & Lockers - Enjoy your layover unburdened by luggage! Store your luggage, coats and other personal items at The Baggage Checkroom. Location: Central Terminal, Concourse E, Level 2. Hours: 5:00AM - 9:00PM. Rate: ranges from $6.00 - $19.00/day/bag according to the size of the baggage.
- Luggage Wrapping - Available for a fee at kiosks located landside on the 2nd level of all three terminals. Hours: unknown.
- Mobile Charging - At the time of this update, we did not have any information about mobile charging availability. If you know, write a review or email us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
- Pet Relief Area - Both open and fenced-in pet relief areas are available outside of all three terminals on the Arrivals level. Indoor pet relief rooms have artificial turf and clean-up supplies, and are located airside near the following gates: D34 • F7 • G5 • J3.
- Pharmacy - Navarro Pharmacy - Location: South Terminal, Airside by the H-J Connector. Hours 6:00AM - 9:00PM • Air Essentials - Location: North Terminal, Landside, Concourse D East, Level 1. Hours: 6:00AM - 10:00PM.
- Rest Zones - Not available.
- Showers - Available in the Admirals Club Lounge and Club America lounges. [ see Airport Lounges above ]
- Smoking Area - Designated smoking areas are available outdoors, opposite Concourses D, E, F, H, and J on Levels 1 and 2. An indoor smoking lounge is available airside at the TGI Friday's in Concourse D (Gate D36).
- Salon & Spa Services - Manicures, pedicures, facials, massages and other express services are available at Jetsetter Spa. Location: South Terminal, landside, Concourse H, 2nd Level. Hours: 8:00AM - 9:00PM • Express salon services are also available at XpresSpa. Location: North Terminal, airside, Concourse D East, Gate D11. Hours: 7:00AM - 10:00PM.
- Therapy Dogs - Be on the look out for the airport's trained therapy dog, a golden retriever that walks around the terminal two days a week with its owner to snuggle with dog loving travelers.
- Yoga Room - A peaceful place to stretch and de-stress. Yoga mats are available for use. Location: Terminal H, landside, 1st Floor. Hours: 9:00AM - 9:00PM.
Airport Hours
The airport is open 24 hours.
Keep in mind that TSA, airline check-in and baggage drop hours vary according the flight schedule. Check these hours with your airline. If you are in the public area of the terminal (landside) you will not be able to get through to the secure area of the terminal (airside) until the morning.
Layover Sightseeing
Do you have a long layover? With the proper documentation and a long enough layover, you may have time to leave the airport and do some sightseeing. Here are a few Miami Airport Layover Sightseeing ideas. As this is a new page, if you have a suggestion for other layover sightseeing options, send a tip to firstname.lastname@example.com and we will add it to the list.
Airport Transportation: Getting To/From The Airport
Amtrak Connections
Tri-Rail is a commuter train connecting the airport to Downtown Miami. To access, head to the third level and use MIA Mover (automated people mover trail). Exit at the Miami International Airport Station and board the Tri-Rail P682 Northbound towards Mangonia Park. Exit at the MetroRail Transfer Station and walk less than five minutes to the Amtrak Station by heading east on NW 80th St toward NW 37th Ave. Total travel time using the MIA and Tri-Rail is about 25 minutes.
If you prefer to not walk at all, you can take the MIA to Miami International Airport Station as outlined above and then board Bus 42 - Opa-Locka Tri-Rail Station. Exit at NW 37 Av@# 8303 (Amtrak). On a good day, travel time should be about 30 minutes.
Finally, taxis can be found at the arrivals area outside baggage claim. Travelers are advised to ignore transportation solicitations inside the terminal as this is an illegal activity. To obtain legal and safe transportation, only use taxis located at the taxi stands where uniformed staff members will assist you. Travel via taxi should be about 20 minutes.
Car Rentals
Advantage • Alamo • All-Day • Avis • Budget • Dollar • Enterprise • E-Z • Hertz • National • Payless • Thrifty and more. Location: Rental Car Center, accessible by shuttle bus.
Hotel Shuttles
Several area hotels provide airport transportation service as a courtesy to their guests. Here are a few hotels offering airport shuttle service: Best Western Plus Miami Airport North Hotel & Suites • Clarion Inn & Suites Miami Airport • Comfort Suites Miami Airport North • Element Miami International Airport • Embassy Suites by Hilton Miami - International Airport • Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton - Miami Airport / Blue Lagoon • Hilton Miami Airport • Holiday Inn Express & Suites Miami Airport & Intermodal Area • Homewood Suites Miami-Airport / Blue Lagoon • Hyatt House Miami Airport • Pullman Miami Airport Hotel • Red Roof Plus+ Miami Airport • Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel • Sleep Inn at Miami International Airport • SpringHill Suites Miami Airport South.
Miami Beach Airport Metroflyer
This travels between the Miami Intermodal Center (MIA) and Miami Beach. The Miami Beach Airport Flyer makes traveling to/from Miami International Airport to Miami Beach fast, easy and convenient. For just $2.65 each way, passengers can ride aboard 40-foot buses. The Airport Flyer runs every 30 minutes and provides express service from 6:00AM to 11:40PM, seven days a week. For more details visit the Miami Dade web site.
Metrorail Orange Line
Metrorail's Orange Line offers visitors easy, affordable access to Miami International Airport. Trains serving the MIA Metrorail station are marked ORANGE LINE. For schedules and costs, visit the Miami Dade web site.
MetroBus / MetroRail
Connect to MetroBus and MetroRail at the Miami Central Station. To get to Miami Central Station from the airport, go to the third level and use the Skyride (moving sidewalks) to access the MIA Mover station. The MIA Mover, located between the Dolphin and Flamingo Garages, takes travelers directly to Miami Central Station.
The MetroBus serves major business, shopping, entertainment facilities and more. The For added convenience, MetroBus transit intersects with MetroRail and MetroMover. For more information on routes, schedules and rates, visit the Metro Dade MetroBus site.
The MetroRail is a rapid transit system that provides transportation from the airport to South Miami, Coral Gables, downtown Miami and more via two lines, Orange and Green. Some stations are also easily wheelchair accessible. For more information on routes, schedules and rates, visit the Miami Dade MetroRail site.
For travelers looking for more distant adventures, the Tri-Rail provides service to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. To access Tri-Rail, make your way to Miami Central Station. To get to Miami Central Station from the airport, go to the third level and use the Skyride (moving sidewalks) to access the MIA Mover station. The MIA Mover, located between the Dolphin and Flamingo Garages, takes travelers directly to Miami Central Station. Visit the Tri-Rail web site.
Taxis are available on the arrival (ground) level of the airport outside the baggage claim areas.
Have you been to this airport?
Last Updated: 14 November 2017
This guide is for informational purposes only to assist with your planning and is subject to change at any time. The information in this airport guide is based on information collected and/or received from the airports, lounges, hotels, transportation providers and their web sites. We are not representatives of any of the above mentioned service providers. To report errors, or to add/change any items mentioned in the guide, please contact us .


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A job posting surfaced on Google's LinkedIn profile that suggests the search and online advertising juggernaut is ramping up its stake in the digital games ground.
According to the job offer, Google is looking for a Product Manager to "grow its brand-new business -- Games at Google!". Based in Mountain View, this person will be responsible for designing "strategies for game distribution and discovery, player identity, game mechanics, and more".
The company notably writes in the job description that the new Google Games product manager will be "significantly influencing Google's social platform", which means he or she will likely end up reporting to Vic Gundotra.
Here's the full job posting:
[Via: TechCrunch]

subset: commoncrawl


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Maybe the Ducks, if you believe them, aren't suffering a crises of confidence.
But they sure appear to be a little shaky in that regard, and they're starting to sound that way, too.
"When they score one goal, all the heads go down and the body language goes, 'Here we go again,' " winger hairgrowthnow.net Teemu Selanne said. "We have to change that. The confidence level, when it's there, you're going to find ways to win the game, even when you don't play well."
The Ducks, who have won just once in their past 10 games, gave up early goals again Wednesday in a 4-2 loss to Nashville. walkingpneumonianow.net The Predators scored in the first two minutes of both the first and third periods.
"That's something that can really take the wind out of your sails, especially when it happens to you early in a game," defesneman Cam Fowler said. "It's up to us to battle through that adversity. You can tell many-calories.net on the bench that when those goals go in it kind of deflates us. But it's up to us to rally around each other."
The Ducks' next chance to rally around one another comes at 7:35 p.m. Friday at Honda Center against Vancouver.
— Reporting from Anaheim
Other recent posts on Ducks Blog:
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…film's title springs. Ultimately, it's an actors showcase, a gently funny reminder that love is a process of trial and error. Cast: Toni Collette, Thomas Haden Church, Oliver Platt, Nina Arianda, Ryan Eggold…
Talkwalker Alert: 50 results for [funny]
This entry was posted by Sara on November 21, 2014 at 4:47 pm, and is filed under Funny. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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James 3:13-18
James 3:13-18
"The Only True Wisdom"
1. What is Wisdom? (13)
a. What is Wisdom?
b. What is the Source of wisdom?
c. What are the types of wisdom and knowledge?
2. The wrong kind of wisdom (14-16)
a. Jealousy and selfish ambition (14)
b. Earthly wisdom not good (15)
c. Disorder and vile practices (16)
3. The right kinda wisdom (17-18)
a. Pure and peaceable... (17)
b. We are to have works of peace (18)
c. Are we part of the solution or part of the problem (18)


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Ballet Flats
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thesis statements, topic sentences, and transitions. Amanda Karim Writing Lab TA. Thesis Statements. A thesis statement is one sentence that briefly states your main point. A thesis statement must answer two questions for the reader: What is your topic?
Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author.While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server.
Amanda Karim
Writing Lab TA
… Murderers cannot kill other people and expect to continue their lives as if nothing happened. It is important that murderers go to jail so that they will learn the seriousnessof taking a person's life.
To prevent people from committing crime, society needs to send all murderers to jail so that everyone will understand the serious consequences of murder.


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text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|16 Apr 1985
|Filing date
|22 Dec 1982
|Priority date
|22 Dec 1982
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|William H. Ashbee, Donovan M. Janssen, Ronald J. Martin, William S. Seaward
|Original Assignee
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (16), Non-Patent Citations (8), Referenced by (118), Classifications (13), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This disclosure relates to electrophotographic machines and more particularly to electronic alignment of machine components to cause image receiving sheets to accurately mate with the image.
In electrophotographic machines, copies of documents or other subjects are produced by creating an image of the subject on a photoreceptive surface, developing the image and then fusing the image to copy material. In machines which utilize plain bond image receiving paper or other ordinary image receiving material not specially coated, the electrophotographic process is of the transfer type where a photoreceptive material is placed around a rotating drum or arranged as a belt to be driven by a system of rollers. In the typical transfer process, photoreceptive material is passed under a stationary charge generating station to place a relatively uniform electrostatic charge, usually several hundred volts, across the entirety of the photoreceptive surface. Next, the photoreceptor is moved to an imaging station where it receives light rays reflected from the document to be copied. Since white areas of the original document reflect large amounts of light, the photoreceptive material is discharged in white areas to relatively low levels while the dark areas continue to contain high voltage levels even after exposure. In that manner, the photoreceptive material is caused to bear a charge pattern which corresponds to the printing, shading, etc. present on the original document and is therefore, an electrostatic image of that document. Electrophotographic machines may also be organized to provide a printing function where the image on the photoreceptive surface results from character generation rather than from an optical review of an original document. Character generation may be produced, for example, by driving a light generating source from information held in digital memory. The light generating source may be a laser gun, an array of light-emitting diodes, light modulators, etc. which direct light rays to the photoreceptor and cause it to bear a charge pattern which is an image of the information used to drive the light generating source.
After producing an image on the photoreceptor, the next step in the process is to move the image to a developing station where developing material called toner is placed on the image. This material may be in the form of a black powder which carries a charge opposite in polarity to the charge pattern on the photoreceptor. Because of the attraction of the oppositely charged toner, it adheres to the surface of the photoreceptor in proportions related to the shading of the original. Thus, black character printing should receive heavy toner deposits, white background areas should receive none, and gray or otherwise shaded half-tone character portions of the original should receive intermediate amounts.
In a transfer machine, the developed image is moved from the developer to a transfer station where image receiving material, usually copy paper, is juxtaposed to the developed image on the photoreceptor. A charge is placed on the back-side of the copy paper so that when the paper is stripped from the photoreceptor, the toner material is held on the paper and removed from the photoreceptor. Unfortunately, the transfer operation seldom transfers 100% of the toner from the receptor to the copy paper. Toner remaining on the photoreceptor after transfer is called residual toner.
The remaining process steps call for permanently bonding the transferred toner material to the copy paper and cleaning the residual toner left on the photoreceptor so that it can be reused for subsequent copy production.
In the cleaning step, it is customary to pass the photoreceptor under a preclean charge generating station to neutralize the charged areas on the photoreceptor. The photoreceptor may also be moved under an erase lamp to discharge any remaining charge. In that manner, the residual toner is no longer held by electrostatic attraction to the photoreceptive surface and thus it can be more easily removed at a cleaning station.
In order to avoid overburdening the cleaning station, it is customary to remove all charge present on the photoreceptive surface outside of the image area prior to the development step. This is usually done by using an interimage erase lamp to discharge photoreceptive material between the trailing edge of one image and the leading edge of the next. Also, edge erase lamps are used to erase charge along the edges of the photoreceptor outside of the image area. For example, if the original document is 8.5�11 inches in size, and if a full sized reproduction is desired, the dimensions of the image on the photoreceptor will also be 8.5�11 inches. The interimage and edge erase lamps remove charge outside of the 8.5�11-inch image area.
In a nontransfer machine, specially prepared paper is used where the copy paper itself carries a coating of photosensitive material. By utilizing that technique, the image is electrostatically painted directly on the copy paper. The copy paper is sent through a developer and then to a fuser for permanent bonding. Machines of this type avoid the residual toner problem and therefore there is no need for cleaning stations, erase lamps, preclean generating coronas, etc. However, the resulting copy paper with its special photosensitive coating is much more expensive than plain bond copy paper and the special coating is considered to detract from the resulting product. As a consequence, nontransfer machines are usually favored only for low volume applications or where quality product is not essential.
In addition to the fundamental mechanisms used for producing a copy or print, modern electrophotographic machines have been developed with many features which are designed to ease the difficulty of using the machines. For example, semiautomatic document feeders (SADF), automatic document feeders (ADF) including recirculating automatic document feeders (RADF) ease the entry of originals. Collators are often added to the base machine so that collated sets of copies can be automatically produced. Many machines have a duplex function so that copies can be produced on both sides of the copy sheet. Other features add to machine versatility such as the production of copies which are a reduced or magnified version of the original document. Other features improve copy quality such as mechanisms for controlling the concentration of toner in machines which utilize a carrier/toner development mix. Many modern electrophotographic machines are controlled by microprocessors rather than by hardwired analog or digital logic. The use of microprocessors has enabled the addition of many new innovative functions at low cost such as, for example, error logs and automatic diagnostic capabilities to ease troubleshooting and improve maintenance. Microprocessor routines have also aided in the establishment of a degree of "artificial intelligence" to anticipate the operators needs in document feed operations, collate, and other areas. Additionally, microprocessors have made economical the addition of innovative functions such as the provision of separator sheets between different sets of copies within a collator.
The invention to be described herein makes use of servo mechanisms and microprocessor control to provide an electrophotographic machine with the intelligence to align its own components so that image receiving material, for example, an 8.5�11-inch sheet, can mate precisely with an 8.5�11-inch image area without the need for precision mechanical alignment of several paper path parts, image producing parts and document feeder parts as has been done previously.
The electronic alignment method and apparatus of the invention, in a specific embodiment described herein, makes use of a copy paper path in which the copy paper is moved forward under the control of a mechanism such as the "dual motor aligner" described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,917 incorporated herein by reference. The dual motor aligner is a microprocessor-controlled servo mechanism through which a receiving sheet is electronically positioned and aligned prior to sending the receiving sheet to a processing station such as the transfer station of an electrophotographic machine. With the dual motor aligner, a receiving sheet is moved sideways and rotated by two separately driven feed rollers so that the receiving sheet achieves a specific alignment without the need of mechanical reference edges. The amount of sidewise and rotational movement to reference the document and remove skew depends upon the amount of misalignment of the receiving sheet which is sensed by sensors located in the copy paper path. Information from these sensors is processed by the microprocessor to operate the separately driven paper feed rollers at different speeds in order to achieve the correct receiving sheet alignment. Additionally, the sensors gauge the forward movement of the receiving sheet so that its leading edge arrives at the transfer station in synchronism with the leading edge of the image. In that manner, the dual motor aligner does away with mechanical gating devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,018 describes a document feeding mechanism wherein sensors control the movement of the original document to a specific position on the document glass which is not necessarily located against any particular mechanical reference or registration edges. The invention to be described herein can make use of information derived from sensors located in the document feed path to control the position of the receiving sheet in the copy paper path.
In one aspect of this invention, method and means are provided for causing an image receiving sheet to mate with an image produced by an electrophotographic machine or the like without tedious, time-consuming and expensive mechanical adjustment of various mechanisms in the copy paper path and/or image producing system during the manufacturing process. The invention is of particular value on a manufacturing line but can also be utilized by maintenance personnel to correct alignment problems if such problems develop in the field. In addition, the invention can be used to automatically correct for misalignment problems as they develop.
In another aspect of the invention, the necessity of precision positioning of original documents on a document glass is removed by enabling an automatic electronic adjustment of the position of the receiving sheet so that the receiving sheet mates with the image despite misalignment of the original on the document platen.
In still another aspect of the invention, in a machine with duplex capability, the position of the duplex sheet is corrected even though different correction factors are needed from those used with simplex. This concept extends to the provision of different correction factors, as needed, for different situations such as positioning an original by an RADF, an ADF, an SADF, or by manual placement.
In its most basic form, the invention makes use of a mechanism such as a dual motor aligner and provides method and means to align the relative position of an image receiving sheet with an image on a photoconductor by measuring the spatial difference between the actual position of the image on the sheet with a nominal position. This may be accomplished through use of a reference pattern on a master image receiving sheet with a reference pattern on an original master in order to easily generate correction factors representative of the spatial difference and utilizing those correction factors to electronically control the relative position of receiving sheets and the image so that the sheets are fed to the processing station in synchronism with the latent image on the photoreceptor. In that manner, precision adjustment of mechanical parts is eliminated. Additionally, feedback apparatus can be added so that wear within the system can be automatically compensated and any other factors causing dynamic misalignment can be compensated.
The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will best be understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, the description of which follows.
FIG. 1 shows the copy paper path in an electrophotographic copier or printing machine of the transfer type.
FIG. 2 shows a copy paper path with a dual motor aligner.
FIG. 3 is an illustration of a receiving sheet in the copy paper path passing by sensors in order to develop the needed information for controlling the dual motor aligner.
FIG. 4 shows the vernier calibrations resulting from an original master and an image receiving master in order to develop correction factors for positioning receiving sheets in accordance with the position of the original.
FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts of microprocessor operation to implement various aspects of the instant invention.
FIG. 7 shows a document feeder with sensors for providing information to develop correction factors in accordance with placement of original documents.
FIG. 8 shows the correction of skew angle on a case-by-case basis.
FIG. 1 shows the copy paper path of a typical electrophotographic machine of the transfer type. In this machine, a drum 10 rotates in the direction A past a corona generator 11 which places a relatively uniform charge across the photoreceptive surface of the drum. Rotation of the drum brings the charged photoreceptive surface past an imaging or exposure station 12 where light rays create the desired image on the photoreceptive surface. These light rays are produced by module 13 which may be an optics module in the case of a copy machine, or it could be an electronically controlled printhead module in the case of a printer. Erase lamps 14 erase the charged area of the photoreceptor outside of the defined image area and the image is then developed by developer 15. Transfer to a sheet of image receiving material occurs under the influence of transfer corona 16. The photoreceptive surface continues to rotate to cleaning station 17 where the photoreceptor is cleaned and prepared for the next copying operation.
Image receiving sheets, usually paper, are located in bins 18 and 19 and are sequentially fed from either one of those bins into the copy paper path 25 to gate 20. At the proper time in the operating cycle, gate 20 releases the receiving sheet so that it can be moved through transfer station 16 to receive an image from the rotating drum 10. The receiving sheet continues through fusing rolls 21 to the exit apparatus 22. Should the duplexing function be selected, the receiving sheet will be diverted from exit apparatus 22 into duplex bin 23 from which it is fed back into the copy paper path to receive the image of an original on the opposite side of the sheet.
FIG. 2 shows the dual motor alignment mechanism which is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,917, incorporated herein by reference as mentioned above. The description to follow is in many respects the same as the description in that patent and does not describe the method and means of the instant invention.
The dual motor alignment mechanism can be incorporated into the copy paper path shown in FIG. 1 by removing the gate 20 which is no longer needed and moving a sheet from any one of bins 18, 19, or 23 into the transfer station 16 through dual motors 37 and 40 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a pictorial view of the dual motor aligner and associated mechanisms disposed relative to the photoconductive drum 10 of an electrophotographic machine. The function of the sheet handling apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is to remove sheets in sequential order from a stack, align each sheet in the θ, Y, and X coordinates and then gate each sheet into proper timed relationship with the position of the toned image on the rotating drum. A paper supply tray 18 includes an elevator mechanism, not shown, which adjusts the height of the topmost sheet on the stack in contact with sheet separating means. While any number of conventional sheet separating and forwarding means can be used, the particular sheet separating device shown in FIG. 2 is a rotary shingler 30. The rotary shingler 30 includes an elongated member 31 which has a plurality of free-rolling members 32 and 33. The rotary shingler 30 is driven so that the elongated member 31 and its attached free-rolling wheels 32 and 33 move onto the stack of sheets in bin 18 and move the sheets from the stack at an angle. As the topmost sheet is removed, a sheet restraining device 34 restrains the other sheets.
A paper transport path includes a lower guide plate 35 for guiding the separated sheet from the paper tray to the transfer station at drum 10.
A DC servo controlled motor 37 is connected to rotate drive rollers 38 and 39. Note that the outer surface of drive roller 38 is substantially greater than that of drive roller 39. The wide surface area on drive roller 38 is utilized for pulling a sheet from bin 18 after the leading edge of the sheet is positioned between the feed nip formed by the drive roller 38 and an adjustable backup roller (not shown). Since the feed nip is relatively wide, the sheet does not deviate from its initial skew angle, θ.
A second DC servo controlled motor 40 is positioned on the opposite side of the paper path and is connected to rotate drive roller 41. The feeding and aligning of the sheet is performed by drive rollers 39 and 41 coacting with backup rollers (not shown). To summarize to this point, the feed nip formed between feed roller 38 and its backup roller pulls the topmost sheet from tray 18 and after the sheet is moved a predetermined distance downstream, the backup roller is moved away from drive roller 38 leaving a stationary sheet positioned in the open nip of drive roller 39 and its associated backup roller (not shown). At this time the sheet has also been positioned in an open nip between drive roller 41 and its associated backup roller. Thereupon, these latter nips are closed and motors 37 and 40 are energized in order to rotate drive rolls 39 and 41 to align and gate the sheet to the transfer station. For further detail, refer to FIGS. 1 and 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,917.
Position encoders 42 and 43, that is, tachometers, are mounted on each of the DC servo controlled motors 37 and 40. The function of the tachometers is to measure the angular position and the direction in which the DC motor is rotating.
A pair of sensing devices are located along the copy paper path one of which is shown at 68. The function of the sensing devices is to sense the presence or absence of a sheet as it is transported along the paper path. Sensor 68 can be any conventional sensor such as an optical sensor or a pneumatic sensor. The sensors are mounted in the paper path so that a line interconnecting the center point of the sensors is inclined to imaginary side reference line 58. It should be noted at this point that line 58 is an imaginary reference edge against which a sheet is squared before it is gated onto photoconductor drum 12 according to the teachings of U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,917. Stated another way, all misalignment parameters are referenced relative to line 58. Connectors 70 and 72 connect to the sensors and to control mechanisms, not shown, for transporting data revealing actuation of the sensors.
In operation, a stack of sheets is loaded into tray 18 and rotary shingler 30 contacts the topmost sheet to move the same at an initial angle from the stack. The leading edge of the sheet is moved into a sensor, not shown, which generates a signal to remove the shingler 30 from contact with the stack. As the shingler is removed, the restraining device 34 contacts the stack to prevent movement of the other sheets from the stack. At this point in the feed cycle, the topmost sheet sits in line with feed roller 38. Its backup roller is activated to move upwardly to clamp the sheet between its surface and that of feed roller 38. Servo controlled motor 37 is activated to move the sheet into the paper transport path after which the backup roller to drive roller 38 is moved downwardly allowing the sheet to be driven along the paper path by the drive nip formed by drive rollers 39 and 41 and their respective backup rollers. The sensors activating connectors 70 and 72 are utilized to measure the timing relationship associated with the sheet and a controller adjusts the velocity of servo motors 37 and 40 so that the skew angle θ, the vertical alignment, (dimension Y) and the horizontal alignment, (dimension X) associated with the sheet are correct. After completion of the correction, the sheet is in edgewise alignment with the imaginary reference edge 58 and the leading edge of the sheet is gated by the drive rolls 39 and 41 into the transfer station to mate with the leading edge of an image.
The manner of correcting the position of the sheet will be briefly explained with reference to FIG. 3. A sheet 100 is caused to move in direction A by motors 37 and 40 driving rolls 39 and 41. Sheet 100 is moved in direction A at a particular skew angle, θ, which may be, for example, 10 degrees. As sheet 100 moves in direction A, the leading edge 101 comes into contact with sensors 68 and 68'. Should leading edge 101 strike these sensors simultaneously, sheet 100 will be exactly at the nominal skew angle. However, if sensor 68' is activated prior to sensor 68, this would indicate a different skew angle. Since the velocity of the sheet 100 in the A direction is known, timing the difference between activation of the two sensors 68 and 68' provides information needed to calculate the exact amount of skew in sheet 100. That calculation is performed by programmable logic means such as a microprocessor to produce corrective factors which may be stored for use in controlling motors 37 and 40. In that manner, the speed of motor 40 may be accelerated and the speed of motor 37 decelerated in order to rotate sheet 100 the precise amount needed to correct for the skew so that sheet 100 is sent in a square pattern down the length of lower guide 35 into the transfer station.
The amount of deviation of side edge 102 from a coincident relationship with the imaginary side reference edge 58 can also be calculated from sensor 68'. Note again in FIG. 3 that as sheet 100 moves across sensor 68', the leading edge of the sheet activates that sensor and as the sheet continues to move the sensor will be deactivated when side edge 102 crosses sensor 68'. Again, by knowledge of the constant velocity movement in direction A, measurement of the length of time that sensor 68' is covered by sheet 100 produces a measurement of the position of sheet 100 in the Y dimension. For example, if sensor 68' is crossed by sheet 100 close to the corner of sheet 100, the sensor 68' will be activated for a relatively short period of time whereas if sheet 100 is closer to edge 103 of the paper path, sensor 68' will be covered a longer period. After programmable logic means calculates the position of sheet 100 in the Y dimension, corrective action is taken by motors 37 and 40 to achieve the desired position.
Correction in the Y dimension occurs by beginning the skew angle correction at a different point in the movement of sheet 100 in direction A. Referring again to FIG. 3, note rollers 41 and 39 in solid outline relatively near the leading edge 101 of sheet 100 as compared to the position of these same rolls at 41' and 39'. Actually, of course, the position of the rolls do not change but what is intended to be illustrated here is that the position of the rolls relative to the sheet changes as sheet 100 moves in direction A. The point is, that if the skew angle correction is commenced when the rollers are near leading edge 101, side edge 102 will assume a different position than it does when the skew angle correction is begun when the drive rollers are at positions 41' and 39'. By calculating the time at which the skew angle correction begins, side edge 102 can be made to align accurately with the imaginary reference edge 58.
In order to accomplish synchronism in the X dimension, drive rollers 39 and 41 are caused to move at a relatively fast speed during the initial paper movement period. If that speed continued, the sheet 100 would be brought into the transfer station too soon to mate the leading edge of the sheet to the leading edge of the image, and would be moving too fast to synchronize with photoreceptor speed. Therefore, at the appropriate point to mate the leading edge 101 with the leading edge of the image, the speed on rollers 39 and 41 is dropped to match photoreceptor speed so that the sheet 100 moves at the correct velocity into the transfer station at exactly the right time to mate the leading edges. That correct time is determined from the times at which leading edge 101 crosses sensors 68 and 68'.
The referenced patent application, U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,917 describes the equations used for calculating the necessary time period to accomplish skew angle correction, correction in the Y plane and the correction in the X plane. Those equations are as follows:
t.sub.r =A(i.sub.2 -i.sub.1)+B, (1)
t.sub.y =C(i.sub.2 -i.sub.1).sup.3 +D(i.sub.2 -i.sub.1).sup.2 +E(i.sub.2 -i.sub.1)+F (2)
t.sub.6 =G(i.sub.3 -i.sub.2)+Ht.sub.r +It.sub.y +Jt.sub.r.sup.2 +Kt.sub.r (i.sub.3 -i.sub.2 +
Lt.sub.r t.sub.y +Mt.sub.r.sup.3 +Nt.sub.r.sup.2 (i.sub.3 -i.sub.2)+Pt.sub.r.sup.2 t.sub.y +Q. (3)
The values i1, i2 and i3 are the time measurements associated with paper actuation of the sensors 68 and 68', with time zero being the actuation of drive motors 37 and 40 after the nips 39 and 41 are closed. These times are recorded by the microcomputer. The value of the constants A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, P and Q are obtained theoretically from the geometry of the paper path. These values are stored in the microprocessor and the microprocessor utilizes the value of the stored constant together with time periods i1, i2 and i3 to calculate the needed values of tr, ty and t6. Once these values are calculated, the microprocessor interrogates the velocity profile and generates the velocity pulses for the time calculated.
In the dual motor aligner as described above and as more completely set forth in the referenced patent, it is presumed that the image of an original is always side edge referenced at the same location on the photoreceptor. Thus, imaginary reference edge 58 in the copy paper path is placed in alignment with that location presumed for the side edge of the image. To achieve accurate image positioning, this system requires accurate positioning of the original on the document glass, it requires an accurately and squarely positioned reference edge on the document glass, it requires precision optics so as not to shift the image, and it requires close tolerance mechanisms for holding photoreceptor position on a drum or belt arrangement. The invention, herein, about to be described, avoids the need for all of these requirements thus providing significant savings in the manufacturing process.
In the specific embodiment to be described, the instant invention makes use of the paper maneuvering capabilities of a mechanism such as the dual motor aligner to avoid the need for close manufacturing tolerances. In its basic form as used in a document copier machine, the invention calls for placing a master original carrying positional data on the document glass and a master target image receiving sheet with positional data in the paper feed. A copy of the master is then run to copy its information onto the master receiving sheet. In a printer version, the original master positional data is printed onto the photoreceptor by an electronically controlled printhead as is well known in the art.
An example of a result where the two masters contain vernier data is shown in FIG. 4. For example, the split vernier lines with the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 could be located on the master receiving sheet while the short middle line could be located on the original master. The cross hair at the center of verniers A and B would probably be located on the original master in this example with the split cross hairs located on the master receiving sheet. For point of reference along vernier B, the split outer vernier line at 5 is marked 106 while the short interior vernier line is marked 107. In viewing column B note that the vernier lines 106 and 107 line up along reference numeral 1. In viewing column A note that the outer and inner verniers line up across reference numeral -2. At the bottom of the sheet, column C shows that the outer and inner verniers line up at a +2.
Interpretation of the vernier information is as follows. If the image of the original and the master receiving sheet matched perfectly, the cross hairs in columns A and B would line up perfectly with the zero readings of the outside vernier scale and in column C the outer and inner verniers would also line up at zero. In the illustration shown, the verniers line up at a +1 on column B indicating that a Y correction needs to be made in order to match the position of the master receiving sheet to the position of the image in the Y dimension. In column A, the verniers line up at a -1 indicating that the leading edge of the master receiving sheet reached the transfer station too quickly and an adjustment has to be made in order to gate the receiving sheets properly.
By comparing the reading at the top of the paper in column A to the reading at the bottom of the paper in column C, the amount of skew can be calculated by subtracting the reading at column A from the reading at column C.
While other types of target masters could be used the above example using verniers provides the needed information to adjust the time factors named in the equations above in order to provide a correct positioning of the receiving sheet to the image. In order to utilize the information developed from the vernier, the operator on the manufacturing line may utilize the keyboard 26 (FIG. 1) on the control panel of the machine to enter the numbers A, B, and C into the machine and into the microprocessor. The processor then utilizes that entered information to calculate the required changes.
FIG. 5 shows the calculation performed by the processor to generate the corrections. It may be noted that when correcting skew angle, that correction must also be considered when correcting for the Y dimension. Consequently, at step 200 a change in the Y dimension for the amount of skew is calculated and in step 201 a change in the Y dimension for the desired Y change is calculated.
To complete the calculation, the change factors determined in steps 199 through 202 in FIG. 5 are added to the nominal time periods obtained through the application of the formulae 1, 2 and 3 set out above. Consequently, the final time periods are provided from the processor through application of the three formulae directly below.
T.sub.rf =T.sub.r +ΔT.sub.r (4)
T.sub.yf =T.sub.y +ΔT.sub.y +ΔT.sub.yθ (5)
T.sub.6f =T.sub.6 +ΔT.sub.6 (6)
Thus, there has been described a technique for setting up a machine from the assembly line to electronically adjust the paper path so that the receiving sheet will arrive at the transfer station to exactly mate with the image produced from an original on the document glass. This is done without tedious, time-consuming and expensive mechanical adjustment of the optical system, document handler, document glass and reference edges at the document glass.
As a further refinement, the machine can be equipped with an additional pair of sensors 168 and 168' as shown in FIG. 3. These downstream sensors sense the position of sheet 100 prior to the time that sheet 100 reaches the transfer station. In that manner, a feedback arrangement can be provided so that error in the gating of sheet 100 can be detected and the ΔT6 altered to create the needed adjustment. Should the leading edge 101 of sheet 100 strike sensor 168 prior to 168', the development of a skew angle error would be indicated and that information can be used to alter the ΔTr calculation in order to correct for the skew. Sensors 168 and 168' would not be capable of feeding back information to take corrective action in the Y dimension should an error develop there. Additional sensors could be added to sense the position of the side edge of the receiving sheet. Use of the information developed at sensors 168 and 168' is analogous to the vernier information described above but may be fed directly to the microprocessor without operator intervention.
FIG. 6 shows a preferred implementation for utilizing the information derived from downstream sensors 168 and 168'. In the technique shown in FIG. 6, the skew angle error for each sheet at the downstream sensors is accumulated at step 250 but no change is made in the basic skew angle correction made by the dual motor aligner motors 37 and 40. Instead, the error is accumulated over a desired number of receiving sheets flowing past the downstream sensors. When the count of the number of sheets Ns equals a desired sample, that is, when Ns equals 5000 at step 251, the accumulated error is divided by the number of sheets in the sample and that figure is used to correct the skew angle according to the techniques previously described. A similar technique to that shown in FIG. 6 for the correction in the X dimension can also be made in order to remove any accumulated error in gating the leading edge of the document to the leading edge of the image. Obviously, the number of sheets in the sample can be 5000 or any other number as desired.
The dynamic error correcting technique may also be applied to the location of the original document on the document glass. Obviously, if the location of the original document varies, the location of the image will change and there will be a need to correct the position of the receiving sheet to match the new location of the image. That can be accomplished with the mechanism shown in FIG. 7.
In FIG. 7 an original document positioning mechanism is shown which may be a part of a semiautomatic document feeder and/or a part of an automatic document feeder including a recirculating automatic document feeder. A vacuum transport belt 300 is driven by drive roll 24 to move documents in a direction 301 from an input side across a glass platen 302 to the exit side. When positioning a document, the leading edge of the document is passed beyond the exit edge of the glass to sensors 303 and 303'. The original document is then reversed and moved back onto glass platen 302 with the extent of the movement determined by the moment at which the edge of the document moves past sensors 303 and 303' in direction 304. In that manner, the corner of the document is positioned at the reference corner defined by imaginary lines 50 and 49. Obviously, this technique requires careful placement of the original document onto the vacuum transport belt 300 such that the corner of the document will align with the imaginary reference corner defined by lines 50 and 49.
In order to eliminate the need for such careful placement of an original document on the document transport belt 300, information from sensors 303 and 303' can be used to modify the action of the dual motor aligner so that the position of the copy paper is corrected to match whatever deviations are present in the placement of an individual document on the document glass. That is to say, if a skew is present in the original document, sensors 303 and 303' will be activated at different points in time as the leading edge of the document first reaches these sensors. Since the skew angle of the document will not change because it is held in place by the vacuum system, this information can be used to calculate a correction factor to the skew angle measure utilized by the dual motor aligner. This correction factor is determined using the same procedures already outlined above with reference to FIG. 5. In that manner, the copy sheet can be entered into the transfer station at a proper skew so that the skewed image resulting from the skewed original document is mated to a matching skewed receiving sheet.
FIG. 8 shows how information from sensors 303 and 303' can be used by the microprocessor to correct the skew angle on a case-by-case basis in the copying process. At step 260, the processor queries the sensors and at step 261 determines whether this data represents data for a new original on the document glass. With those determinations, an incorrect skew angle is sensed and a correction factor is calculated in the same manner as performed at step 199 in FIG. 5. This is done at step 262 after which the skew angle measure is altered in the same manner as described above. The technique shown in FIG. 8 will correct on a case-by-case basis the placement of receiving sheets entering the transfer station to accommodate skew in the placement of the original on the document glass.
If desired, the information from sensors 303 and 303' may be passed through a process such as shown in FIG. 6 where error data is accumulated for a specific number of new original before a correction is made to the placement of receiving sheets at the transfer station. This latter technique might be useful to accommodate changes in the document feeding system due to wear, for example.
What has been provided in FIG. 7 is a technique for eliminating the need for careful placement of originals on the document glass in relation to skew angle. The technique described can be extended to include additional sensors 310 for taking measurements in the Y dimension so that correction factors can be developed for that dimension as well. As shown in FIG. 7, sensors 310 are slightly offset one from another in the Y dimension thus enabling accurate sensing of the deviation of the side edge of the original from reference 49. Correction in the X dimension, leading edge registration, can be derived from a sensor at line 50 or from a tachometer on the drive motor of belt 300.
Note in FIG. 1 that three different copy paper bins are utilized to feed paper to the transfer station in that particular machine. In utilizing the techniques of the instant invention, the operator on the manufacturing line would place the master receiving sheet in one of the three bins for comparison to the original master, and then repeat the process for the other bins so that vernier adjustments can be observed for each of the three copy paper bins individually. In that manner, different correction factors depending on which copy paper bin is in use can be utilized to drive the dual motor aligner in an individualized fashion so that sheets can be mated to the image regardless of the bin from which the sheet originates.
Also, if a machine has the capability of moving a document onto the document glass in more than one mode, different correction factors may be needed for the placement of the original due to differences in each of these modes. To illustrate, suppose that the machine shown in FIG. 1 has a combined recirculating automatic document feed and a semiautomatic document feed together with the capability of manual placement of a document on the document glass. In this case, in order to completely set up the machine on the manufacturing line, a master original document would be placed in the recirculating automatic document feed and a master receiving sheet in bin 18. A copy would be made providing the operator the factors A, B, and C which are inserted into the machine through the keyboard as previously described. Next, the same procedure would be utilized except that the master receiving sheet would be placed in bin 19. A duplex operation would be run so that the factors A, B, and C could be calculated for the delivery,, of the copy sheet to the transfer station from bin 23. Next, correction factors A, B, and C are obtained for the case where the SADF is used to move the master orignal to the document glass. Once again, the master receiving sheet would be placed 18 for the generation of factors A, B and C. Next, the procedures would be excercised with the master receiving sheet placed in bin 19. Finally, the correction factors for lines 18 and 19 could be developed for manual placement of the original master.
With all of the above information loaded into memory associated with the microprocessor, the machine would be completely aligned. If the machine is also equipped with downstream sensors such as previously described and/or with sensors at the document feed, the machine could make dynamic changes throughout its life.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the invention could also be used to align machines in which photoreceptive paper is used in the copy process and that the invention is usable in any machine when the requirement is to move paper to a processing station in an accurate position for work. These and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|12 Oct 1979
|12 Jan 1982
|Eastman Kodak Company
|Copy sheet alignment for flash-on-the-fly copiers
|10 Mar 1980
|30 Mar 1982
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Data log retrieval system
|10 Mar 1980
|30 Mar 1982
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Automatic indirect testing to verify operational control
|24 Dec 1980
|8 Feb 1983
|Xerox Corporation
|Sheet registration actuation
|5 Nov 1981
|22 Nov 1983
|Xerox Corporation
|Apparatus and method for registering copy sheets in a variable pitch reproduction machine
|19 Nov 1981
|29 Nov 1983
|Xerox Corporation
|Sheet registration in a finishing station
|6 Aug 1981
|6 Dec 1983
|Hitachi, Ltd.
|Recording sheet conveying system of pressure fixing type electrostatic printing apparatus
|26 Jun 1981
|20 Dec 1983
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Variable thickness set compensation for stapler
|2 Aug 1982
|31 Jan 1984
|Xerox Corporation
|Document deskewing system
|2 Aug 1982
|31 Jan 1984
|Xerox Corporation
|Document deskewing system
|22 Mar 1982
|28 Feb 1984
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Pivoting reference edge
|7 Jun 1982
|13 Mar 1984
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Guidance correction method and apparatus for copy paper path in a copier
|16 Oct 1981
|27 Mar 1984
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Dual motor aligner
|10 Oct 1980
|22 Apr 1981
|EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY (a New Jersey corporation)
|Document copying method and apparatus which corrects for positional errors of a transferable image
|25 Aug 1982
|27 Apr 1983
|International Business Machines Corporation
|Sheet feeding and aligning apparatus
|22 Feb 1983
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|Recording apparatus
|"Automatic Paper-Sheet Feeding Apparatus", M. Shitochi, Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 4, No. 13, 1-30-80, p. 41M90.
|"Detecting Mechanism for Skew Feeding of Blank Form", K. Hatasawa, Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 5, No. 162, 10-81.
|Automatic Paper Sheet Feeding Apparatus , M. Shitochi, Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 4, No. 13, 1 30 80, p. 41M90.
|Detecting Mechanism for Skew Feeding of Blank Form , K. Hatasawa, Patent Abstracts of Japan, vol. 5, No. 162, 10 81.
|IBM Tech. Disc. Bul., "Copier Alignment", G. S. Herring and R. J. Perkins, vol. 23, No. 9, Feb. 1981, pp. 4009-4010.
|IBM Tech. Disc. Bul., "Servo-Controlled Paper Gate", J. L. Cochran and J. A. Valent, vol. 22, No. 12, May 1980, pp. 5268-5269.
|IBM Tech. Disc. Bul., Copier Alignment , G. S. Herring and R. J. Perkins, vol. 23, No. 9, Feb. 1981, pp. 4009 4010.
|IBM Tech. Disc. Bul., Servo Controlled Paper Gate , J. L. Cochran and J. A. Valent, vol. 22, No. 12, May 1980, pp. 5268 5269.
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|18 Sep 2008
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|Xerox Corporation
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|11 Dec 2008
|Xerox Corporation
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|9 Sep 2008
|12 Mar 2009
|Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
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|9 Jul 2009
|Hewlett-Packard Development Company Lp
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|Delhomme Jeremy
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|Xerox Corporation
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|23 Jun 2016
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|Hewlett-Packard Development Co., L.P., Houston
|23 Sep 1986
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|7 Feb 1990
|16 Aug 1990
|Michel Moulin
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|7 Nov 1990
|Marcello Baseggio
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|4 Nov 2004
|20 Jul 2005
|Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
|Image forming apparatus in which recording sheets having a tab are used
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|13 Jan 2010
|Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.
|Image forming apparatus in which recording sheets having a tab are used
|U.S. Classification
|399/395, 271/227, 198/394
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|22 Dec 1982
Owner name: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION, ARMON
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNORS:ASHBEE, WILLIAM H.;JANSSEN, DONOVAN M.;MARTIN, RONALD J.;AND OTHERS;REEL/FRAME:004080/0544
Effective date: 19821217
|22 Apr 1986
|Certificate of correction
|10 Aug 1988
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|13 May 1992
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|19 Nov 1996
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|13 Apr 1997
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|24 Jun 1997
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 19970416


text:
Sovereign Strikes $9M Deal In Ocala Fund Transfer Suit
Under the settlement agreement, Ocala and Sovereign will exchange blanket waivers and releases of all claims and causes of action that exist or may exist between them up to the date of the agreement, according to a motion to approve the deal filed by Ocala.
"The settlement...
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text:
MINI UK recently unveiled the special London 2012 edition models which will go on a limited run in celebration of the Olympics Games which will be held in the city next year.
Only 2,012 units of this MINI limited edition will be built and can be purchased as the MINI Cooper (£ 17,800), Cooper D (£ 19,080), Cooper SD (£20,860), and Cooper S(£ 20,125) variants. The cars will be following the colors of the Union Jack so will roll out in Lightning Blue, Silver, White, and Chilli Red. All versions and colors will have their mirror caps and roof in white featuring the graphics for the London 2012 Olympics.
The exterior of the MINIs will also have the sport stripes running over its roof, bonnet, and tailgate. The sides will also display the London 2012 Olympic Games graphic. The look of the London 2012 MINI models is completed by the 17 inch alloy rims with conical spokes which is not available to other models of the brand.
Among the most striking features of the car is the London skyline etched skilfully across the black dashboard of the MINI which silhouettes famous landmarks like the Tower Bridge, London Eye, and the Battersea Power Station. The special edition MINI will also have the tag London 1 of 2012 on its dashboard.
The stitching of the upholstery also reflects the colors of the London Olympics 2012 using blue, red, and white threads. The headrests has a logo of the 2012 Olympic games plus its consistency of the stitching with the Union Jack theme.
You can sign up for the presale list of the London 2012 special MINIs which opened earlier this month. The 2012 London Olympic inspired MINI Cooper models will hit the UK roads by March next year.


text:
'A beautiful, beguiling and multi-layered novel, Fugitive Blue tells the story of a young art conservator and her work on an unusual panel painting in striking ultramarine. As she restores the fragile artwork, she begins to speculate on its provenance - its controversial creation in Renaissance Venice and reappearance three hundred years later during a young nobleman's Grand Tour of Europe, passing through nineteenth-century Paris before its eventual arrival in Australia as one of the scarce possessions of a post-war Greek migrant family.
'Threaded through the painting's progress is the story of the young conservator's own life in contemporary Melbourne, her developing passion for her work and the demise of her relationship with an actor named Mark.' (Publisher's blurb)


text:
WOW! I have a really bad habit of starting up new stories when I'm not even done with the ones I'm supposed to be working on now, so I'll just make this a really long one-shot!
Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING SO DON'T SUE!
It was a snowy day in Japan or wherever Yotsuba lives. Yotsuba was a little girl with green hair and 4 little green pigtails. On this fine day Yotsuba-chan was sitting in the living room watching the blank TV screen.
"AHHHHH! AHHHHH! AHHHHH!" Yotsuba screamed. Kowai ran into the room with only his boxers on as usual.
"What's wrong Yotsuba? Are you hurt?" He asked.
"No, look!" she said pointing to the TV, "Did you see Boxer Man? He just stole the Flower Angel and took his boxers off his head. And guess what? HE LOOKS LIKE YOU!" Yotsuba then grabbed her water gun that was next to her and pointed it at Kowai.
"Prepared to get soaked Boxer Man!" Yotsuba said threateningly.
"Whoa whoa! I'm sure that we can work things out!" Kowai- I mean Boxer Man said with his hands up.
"Ok, then but first you have to take me out to build a snowman."
"Ok then, that seems like a good punishment." 'Boxer Man' said. Yotsuba then opened the door and pushed Boxer Man out into the snow.
"Hey…what the YOTSUBA!" Kowai shouted. He then started jumping, so he wouldn't freeze to death.
"Dancing won't open the door Boxer Man." Yotsuba said as she tried not to laugh.
"L-l-l-let m-m-m-me i-i-i-i-i-in." Kowai said with his teeth chattering.
"Nope," Yotsuba shook her head. "I can't let such an evil person such as Boxer Man inside my house, or I won't get any good presents from Santa."
"F-f-f-f-fine… I k-k-k-know Santa." Kowai said while still jumping up and down.
"Really?" Yotsuba said, while opining the door a crack.
"Y-y-yep. He t-t-t-told me tha-a-a-at i-i-its v-v-v-v-very naughty to l-l-l-l-lock p-p-p-people o-o-o-outside i-i-i-i-i-in the s-s-s-s-s-s-snow."
"Even Boxer Man?" Yotsuba asked.
"Even Boxer Man." Kowai said.
"Okay then, if Santa said so…" Yotsuba opened the door, but just as Kowai reached the door Yotsuba slammed it in his face.
"but Santa just told me that Boxer Man is a big fat lier!" Yotsuba then stuck her tongue out at him from the window and ran off.
Kowai stood there in the snow, wondering how he would get himself out of this situation. Yotsuba however ran to the phone in the TV room and called Jumbo.
"Hello?" Jumbo asked from over the phone.
"Jumbo! It's me Yotsuba!" Yotsuba said. "Listen, let's get down to business. Boxer Man is outside the house in his boxers telling me to open the door or I won't get any presents from Santa. What should I do?" Yotsuba asked him. Jumbo seemed to think this over.
"Hmmm…leave him out there. You can never trust people that wear boxers over their heads." Jumbo said while chuckling.
"Ok then, thanks Jumbo!" Yotsuba said while hanging up the phone. She then ran back to the window where Boxer Man was trying to make an igloo. Yotsuba saw this and quickly made instant ramen, ran upstairs and poured it all over the igloo melting it instantly.
"What the…?" Kowai pondered. Then he saw the ramen.
"YOTSUBA! You wasted perfectly good ramen!" Kowai shouted at her, "Now OPEN THE DOOR!"
"Eat that Boxer Man! That's your dinner!" Yotsuba shouted back. Kowai sighed then started to pick the ramen from out of the snow to eat since he didn't know when he would be let in again.
Ena was working on the paper cup phone she and Yotsuba made together back in the summer. She was finishing the final touches on it. Ena was adding plastic around the string so it wouldn't break easily so they could talk in the snow. Ena then threw the cup out the window but she missed and the cup hit Kowai's head.
"Oops." Ena said, "Let me try that again." Ena threw the cup again, this time it hit the side of the house and then fell again onto Kowai's head.
"Hey! Y-y-y-y-yotsuba is that y-y-y-y-you?" Ena screamed for she thought that the voice was a ghost and hurled the cup at Yotsuba's window, breaking the glass and making the cup soar into the house.
"Did tha-a-a-a-t glass j-j-j-j-just break?" Kowai said, "YOTSUBA!" Ena was now freaking out. First she had hit someone on the head with the cup twice, and now she had broken Yotsuba's window. Things were turning out really bad.
Yotsuba was up in her room reading about Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer when she heard the glass break. She quickly ran to the window, picked up the cup and said,
"Hi ENA!"
"Hi Yotsuba! Do you know who's in the snow?" Ena asked glad to talk to someone.
"Boxer Man! He kidnapped the flower angel so kicked him into the snow!" Yotsuba said.
"...and the weird part was that Boxer Man looked exactly like Daddy! Do you think that Daddy is Boxer Man Ena?" Yotsuba asked.
"Uh…hold on a sec." Ena said quickly. She then ran out of the room and downstairs to where Fuuka was writing about her love life in her diary.
"Fuuka! I need you, now!" Ena said quickly. She then grabbed Fuuka's arm and dragged her upstairs. When Fuuka was in Ena's room Ena gave Fuuka the cup phone and mouthed to her "Yotsuba."
"Hey, Yotsuba! Ena said that you called!" Fuuka said.
"Hi Fuuka!" Yotsuba said happily.
"Do you think that Boxer Man is Daddy?" Yotsuba asked.
Fuuka who thought that Yotsuba was kidding said "Of course he's Daddy. Why do you think that he's always in your house?" Fuuka said. Yotsuba didn't answer.
"Uh, Yotsuba? Yotsuba…?" Fuuka asked. Suddenly Ena and Fuuka could hear noise and it wasn't coming from the cup phone.
"Daddy,you're back to normal!" A loud slap could be heard, followed by
"NO! Boxer Man has turned you evil!...NO! LET GO OF ME BOXER MAN! LET GO OF ME! NO! NOT THE SECRET CHAMBER! NOOOOOOOOO!" Then the noise died down. Fuuka and Ena sighed, their life would never be normal with Yotsuba around.
Lol! I think that this was a very funny one-shot! Please review! (and I lied, this story was pretty short, only 1,000+ words sigh not my best work…)


text:
Benches Clear In Pittsburgh And Carlos Gomez In Middle Of It
by Clayton Richer | Posted on Sunday, April 20th, 2014
The benches cleared in Pittsburgh after Carlos Gomez pimped a triple he initially thought off the bat was a round tripper. The Pirates hurler Gerrit Cole took exception and expressed his discontent with Gomez. The respective benches cleared and outfielder Travis Snider tackled Gomez to add fuel to the fire. What do you know, just another day in the life of Brewers hot-head Carlos Gomez.


text:
Murray scrapes through after major scare against French wildcard
Mathias Bourgue got exactly what he expected in his second-round match against Andy Murray at the French Open - he lost, but the French wildcard left the Philippe Chatrier Court confident he'll do better one day.
Bourgue, the French No 16, is ranked 164th in the world, but he led the tournament second seed two sets to one. He won 16 points in a row in an eight-game winning streak that helped him claim the second set in impressive fashion.
He lost 6-2 2-6 4-6 6-2 6-3 as he eventually ran out of gas.
"Losing against Murray is what I was expecting, so I wasn't really that tense," Bourgue said. "Then when I got the break, and then again, I all of a sudden was able to relax and sort of play with the crowd. I was able to manage and stay on top of my emotions.
"This makes me realise how much progress I have made over the past six, seven months."
Murray got off to a solid start, opening a 6-2 2-0 lead, and there was no indication of the coming meltdown.
"I'm not sure I have ever had such a game level. It's interesting. I didn't feel like I was on the edge. I felt good," said Bourgue.
"He wasn't playing very rapidly. I felt he was giving me time to play, so I decided to just accept the rallies and every once in a while, make a big shot. I'm quite satisfied about some of the winning shots I was able to make."
Murray could only manage 12 points in the second set.
"There won't be many sets in the year where that's the case, so it's fairly rare," said the Scot.
"I was trying to find a way. It wasn't like I was not there mentally, but I just couldn't find the court. I was missing balls."
Next up for Murray is Croatian Ivo Karlovic, who became the oldest man to reach the third round of a grand slam for 25 years when the 37-year-old came through a marathon five-setter against Australian Jordan Thompson.
Karlovic, seeded 27, banged down 41 aces in a 6-7 (2) 6-3 7-6 (3) 6-7 (4) 12-10 victory against the 22-year-old wildcard.
"It's the only time when being old is okay," said Karlovic, a first-round casualty in seven of his previous 10 appearances at Roland Garros, after a four hour 32 minute epic.
Second seed Agnieszka Radwanska took advantage of Caroline Garcia's weak serve to advance into the third round with a 6-2 6-4 victory. The Pole broke six times as her French opponent looked nothing like the player who won the Strasbourg International last Saturday.
Indo Sport