Abstract: A removable rollfeed adapted to be attached to a printer comprising a pair of rollfeed supports, each having means for holding an end of a media shaft, wherein each said rollfeed support is independently mountable on a printer. Independent mounting considerably eases the task of attaching or removing the rollfeed apparatus from a printer since only one relatively small support need be handled and aligned with the printer at a time. No strengthening or stiffening members are required between the two rollfeed supports since the printer itself provides sufficient structural integrity between the supports once they are mounted on the printer. Preferably the rollfeed supports are slidably mountable to the underside of the printer.

Abstract: A cutter assembly which traverses across a media path to make a linear cut on the media includes a pair of cooperative rotary cutting blades. An upper rotary blade is mounted for passive rotation while a lower rotary blade is directly coupled to a lower drive wheel which engages the undersurface of a media guide member. The blades are slightly overlapping at their peripheral edges, with the lower blade in a fixed position, and the upper blade spring biased in an axial direction against the lower blade. An additional media-contacting wheel is mounted on the cutter assembly to be substantially vertically aligned with the lower drive wheel, and is spring biased downwardly toward the uppersurface of the media guide member in order to assure constant rotational engagement of the lower drive wheel with the media guide member during cutting.

Abstract: A removable rollfeed apparatus, adapted to be rigidly attached to a printer, holds a roll of media and is mountable on the underside of the printer. The attachment to the underside of the printer allows a desk-mountable printer to rest on the rollfeed apparatus and thus to be raised away from the desk. In an embodiment the rollfeed apparatus itself has feet which are utilized in place of any feet mounted directly on the printer and extends to the front of the printer so that the media shaft is held in front of and below the printer. Furthermore there is provided a printer having mounting positions on the underside of the printer for mounting i) feet on which the printer may rest on a desktop, ii) legs on which the printer may rest on a floor, and iii) rollfeed apparatus. This enables both desktop and freestanding printers to quickly and easily be configured with or without a rollfeed apparatus.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for making a linear cut across stationary media in a printer, particularly applicable to rollfeed media.. A self-contained cutter assembly is activated by a printer carriage to move across a media path through a cutting zone and includes a first wheel-driven rotary cutter which acts cooperatively with a second passive rotary cutter to cut through the media. The first rotary cutter is driven by a concentrically mounted drive tire having a diameter less than the diameter of the first rotary cutter, and is generally positioned under the media path. The second rotary cutter rotates freely, and is generally positioned above the media path. A media guide member on the printer has an output flange with a lower surface for engagement with the drive tire and an upper surface to provide underlying support for the media adjacent the cutting zone.

Abstract: A cutting apparatus in a strong plastic housing having two rotatable slitter blades. The cutting apparatus is mounted on a guide rail for movement by hand across a tightly held sheet of media such as paper, vellum or film. The slitter blades are mounted back-to-back at an angle, and the shafts to which the blades are mounted are positioned in the housing so that their longitudinal axes are not parallel to each other. This offset minimizes the region of contact between the two blades.

Abstract: Improvement are described in the sliding assembly of a plotter and for a method for the adjustment of the spacing between a printing head and the printing media. The improvements consist in that the sliding assembly which comprises the movable carriage and the printing head is mounted on a main sliding guide parallel to the printing media with simultaneous lengthwise sliding capacity on said main sliding guide as well as being pivotable thereabout, until an adjustment value of the spacing between the printing head and the printing media is obtained. An abutment limits the pivot distance of the sliding assembly. The abutment is comprised of a second guide that is parallel to the main sliding guide The sliding assembly comprises two units connected by means of an articulated joint, the mutual position of both units being adjustable as to the angle or rotation.

Abstract: A removable roll-feed apparatus that is removably attachable to a printer/plotter. Inexpensive printer/plotters will have the option of the attachment of a simple, but yet reliable, roll-feed apparatus which is easily attached to the printer/plotter without requiring any special training or dexterity on the part of an operator. Datum points and surfaces are provided to locate the printer/plotter in the X, Y and Z-directions, and when the roll-feed apparatus is attached to the printer/plotter, an operator will have the option of feeding the printer/plotter with roll media or single sheet media. Having the roll-feed apparatus attached to the printer/plotter does not restrict single sheet feeding. The roll-feed apparatus also provides a media self-alignment feature and a simple, but effective, hand-operated cutting apparatus to separate completed plots from the printer/plotter.