Abstract: The present invention provides printers and methods of forming an image. One embodiment of the invention provides a printer including a frame; a drive assembly coupled with the frame and configured to transport media along a media path within the printer; an imaging assembly configured to receive a plurality of images and provide the images upon the media; and an image controller configured to selectively vary the resolution of the images. A method of forming an image according to the invention comprises providing media at a print velocity; providing a first reference signal; converting the first reference signal to a second reference signal; forming an image upon media according to the second reference signal; following the forming, outputting media having the image thereon; and adjusting the second reference signal responsive to the forming.

Abstract: An infrared thermal sensor assembly for sensing the temperature of a target, the sensor assembly including a heat sink having a bore therethrough; a thermopile housed in the bore; and a heater operative to heat the heat sink.

Abstract: An infrared thermal sensor assembly for sensing the temperature of a target, the sensor assembly including a heat sink having a bore therethrough; a thermopile housed in the bore; and a heater operative to heat the heat sink.

Abstract: An infrared thermal sensor assembly for sensing the temperature of a target, the sensor assembly including a heat sink having a bore therethrough; a thermopile housed in the bore; and a heater operative to heat the heat sink.

Abstract: A printer is disclosed and which includes a frame; a movable lifting member borne by the frame; a rotatable pressure drum borne by the frame; a rotatable fusing drum borne by the lifting member; a rotatable image drum borne by the frame and positioned in contact with the fusing drum; an articulation assembly pivotally borne by the frame and movable along a course of travel, the lifting arm engaging the articulation assembly, and wherein movement of the articulation assembly imparts movement to the lifting arm, the lifting arm carrying the fusing drum along a course of travel into, and out of, contact with pressure drum; and an image forming assembly borne by the frame oriented adjacent to the image drum.

Abstract: A printer output paper collector 70 is described for refolding and stacking fanfold paper 20 that is discharged from a continuous form printer 12. The collector 70 includes a base 72 with opposing end walls 74 and 76 having guiding surfaces for receiving the fold lines or ends of the sheets and guiding the sheets downward to progressively form the restack. The collector 70 has a resilient support assembly 82 that includes a central pedestal 84 extending above the base 72 for supporting the restack above the base 72. A resilient plastic sheet member 102 is mounted on the pedestal 84 with cantilevered wing sections 108 and 110 extending from the pedestal 84 outward toward the end walls 74, 76 to resiliently support the restack adjacent the fold lines. As the height and weight of the restack increases, the additional weight causes the wing sections 108, 110 to deflect downward to maintain the top layer 62 of the restack substantially flat to facilitate the refolding of the sheets 26.

Abstract: A continuous-form electrophotographic printer 10 measures velocity information each time a new continuous-form media 12 is loaded into the printer to compensate for differences in media, printer wear, and variations in manufacturing tolerances. The continuous-form electrophotographic printer 10 includes a media motion assembly 53 which moves the continuous-form media 12 at a constant velocity initially past an image transfer station 20 and then past an image fixing station 22. A media motion sensor 49 measures the movement of the media 12 and outputs a signal at equal predetermined segments of the media. An image forming device 60 at the image transfer station 20 places multiple scan lines at a predetermined scan rate on a drum 28. A scan line sensor 78 senses each scan line. A speed control system 52 varies the velocity of the media for sequential segments of media and counts the number of scan lines per media segment.

Abstract: A printer output paper collector 10 is described for refolding and stacking fanfold paper 20 that is discharged from a continuous form printer 12. The collector 10 includes a frame 40 with a base 41, a printer stand section 42 and a restacking section 44. The restacking section 44 has a platform 46 for receiving the discharged paper that is to be restacked. Helical refolding guides 60 and 62 are mounted on vertical shafts 64 and 66 respectively for rotation in opposite directions to initially engage the fanfold paper and to refold the paper and restack the paper. The helical refolding guides 60 and 62 include helical spiral elements 68 and 70 that rotate with the shafts 64 and 66, and are permitted to move vertically to maintain the vertical elements 68 and 70 on top of the restack as it progressively increases in height.

Abstract: An apparatus for removing media jams from a printer throat in a printer in its preferred form is a sheet of flexible material having two linear arrays of spaced pin apertures aligned along opposing sides thereof. The pin apertures are sufficiently spaced to align and mate with pins of a pin drive mechanism of a media feed system. The media feed system advances the apparatus through the printer throat to remove any pieces of media or other debris lodged therein. The sheet of flexible material has a thickness which is at least 50% of the thickness of the printer throat and a compressive strength greater than that of the media or debris lodged in the printer throat. The apparatus provides an efficient, inexpensive, and effective way to remove media jams from a printer. A method for removing media jams using this apparatus is also discussed.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a ribbon guide assembly for a printer. A ribbon guide assembly (40) includes a ribbon guide (50) and a guide support (45). The ribbon guide (50) is employed on a replaceable printer ribbon cartridge to guide an exposed print section of a print ribbon (64) over a print head (80) of the printer. The ribbon guide (50) of the present invention has four members (56, 58, 60, 62) disposed between a bottom platform (52) and a top platform (54), whereby the members define a path for the print ribbon. The ribbon guide also has two collars (66, 68) coupled to the bottom platform and two of the members. Each of the collars defines a substantially circular opening. The guide support (45), affixed to the print head carriage, has two cylindrical alignment rods (90, 92) extending upward substantially perpendicular from the path of the carriage.

Abstract: An electrophotographic printer 10 is described having a print justification control for controlling the justification of the print should the linear speed of the print media 12 passing through the printer 10 be out of synchronization with the rotation of the photo conductive drum 40. The printer has a scan sensor 82 for scanning each scan line. A processor 90 compares the number of actual scan lines to a desired number of scan lines for each print media segment. A print moving sensor is provided to generate a signal for each movement of a print segment of the media. A comparison is made by the processor 90 to determine the number of actual image information scan lines placed in each media segment and for duplicating scan lines should the number of actual scan lines exceed a preset number. If the linear speed of the print media is greater than the circumferential speed of the electro conductive drum, then a processor 90 deletes scan lines.

Abstract: A continuous-form electrophotographic printer 10 for printing an image onto a continuous-form media 12 includes a media motion assembly 53 which moves the continuous-form media 12 at a velocity initially past an image transfer station 20 and then past an image fixing station 22. An image transfer assembly 28 at the image transfer station 20 transfers an electrophotographic image onto the continuous-form media 12. The media motion assembly 53 includes a roller-fusing assembly 42 at the image fixing station 22 to affix the electrophotographic image to the continuous-form media 12. The roller-fusing assembly 42 includes a fuser roller 44 heated to a predetermined temperature and a fuser temperature sensor 47 adjacent the fuser roller to monitor the fuser temperature.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a computer printer ribbon cartridge for a printer having multiple print heads positioned at preset spaced distances on a reciporcating print head carriage. The printer ribbon cartridge (50) has a cartridge housing (52) for mounting on the print head carriage. A print ribbon (54) is mounted in the cartridge housing (52) and has an exposed print section which extends in front of the multiple print heads (102a, 102b, 102c). Multiple ribbon guides (62a, 62b, 62c) are slidably coupled on the exposed print section of the print ribbon (54) and, when coupled to the print heads, the ribbon guides guide the print ribbon over the printing face of the print heads.

Abstract: A roll-fusing assembly for printing upon continuous length print stock of substantially different widths and thicknesses includes structure for compensating for differences in thermal expansion across the pressure roller when engaging differing print stock widths. In a preferred embodiment this includes stepped pressure roller sections of reduced diameters and a contacting heat transfer roller for normalizing surface temperatures across the width of the pressure roller. The disclosed method involves normalizing surface temperatures across the pressure roller to compensate for the differences in thermal expansion that will occur about the pressure roller exterior directly exposed to the heated fusing roller when handling relatively narrow continuous length print stock or stock of differing thicknesses.

Abstract: A preferred embodiment of this continuous-form electrophotographic printer as illustrated in the drawings having an image transfer device 38 positioned at the image transfer station for placing images on individual sheets 14 of a continuous-form 12. Downstream, a distance A, is a fixing device at an image fixing station 32 for fixing the image onto the individual sheet 14. The printer 10 includes a control means 76 for moving the continuous sheet forward when a stop signal is received to position a leading edge of a sheet at the image fixing station 32. When a restart signal is received, the control system initiates the continuous-form feeding means 38 to move the continuous-form 12 forward until a leading edge of a succeeding sheet is positioned at the image transfer station.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for printing multiple lines of characters simultaneously on a dot matrix printer and making available to the user a choice of alternate line spacings without physical or mechanical alteration of the printhead. The printhead includes an uninterrupted array of print elements having a total height greater than the combined total height of the multiple lines that are simultaneously printed plus the combined height of the intervening line spaces. By directing columnar character data to selected sets of print elements, the printhead can produce characters of a constant height with selected variations in interline spacing.

Abstract: A preferred embodiment of a wire matrix print head assembly 10 is described having a housing 16 supporting a plurality of print wires 22 that are capable of moving between retracted nonprint positions and extended print positions for printing indicia onto a print medium. The assembly has a plurality of electromagnetic actuators associated with corresponding print wires 22 for rapidly driving a selected wire upon energization of corresponding electromagnetic actuator. Each electromagnetic actuator has a yoke 76 with five magnetically interconnected poles 84, 86, 88, 92 and 96 and two electrically interconnected coils 100 and 102 surrounding poles 86 and 92 respectively. Each electromagnetic actuator includes an armature 74 biased against and pivoting about an outer pole 88 to move an inner end against a print wire when the coils 100 and 102 are concurrently energized with the same directional polarity. Coils 100 and 102 are separated by the center pole 84.

Abstract: A web feed tractor mechanism 10 is illustrated in the drawings for moving a web material in a longitudinal direction in which the web material has perforations along edge sections 16 and 18 for enabling precision movement of the web particularly for use in computer output printing. The web tractor mechanism has two parallel tractors 34 and 36 that support and drive tractor drive belts 54 and 56. The belts 54 and 56 have drive pins 70 and 72 respectively for engaging the perforations along the opposite side edge section 16 and 18. Preferably the pins 70 have a reduced cross-section that is both longitudinally and laterally symmetrical, with lateral and longitudinal dimensions that are substantially equal. The surfaces of the pins 70 engage the inside edge of the perforations and drive the web forward while preventing lateral movement of the edge section 16 to provide lateral stability.

Abstract: A printer sound enclosure includes a perimeter wall defining a printer receiving compartment. A cover is positioned on the perimeter wall and is movable to permit access to the compartment for installing and operating a printer. An air duct is situated on the enclosure for open communication with an air vent on the printer housing. The air duct permits free passage of air for cooling purposes into or away from the printer housing. The air duct facilitates cooling of the printer components without requiring the use of an auxiliary fan on the enclosure. Sound reducing material is situated within the compartment and air duct to minimize sound emissions from the enclosure as the printer operates.