Abstract: A printing system includes a media transport assembly adapted to route media through a media path of the printing system, a motor adapted to drive the media transport assembly, and a power transmission arrangement operatively coupling the motor with the media transport assembly. The media transport assembly includes a pick assembly adapted to draw the media into the media path and a feed assembly adapted to feed the media through the media path. A portion of the power transmission arrangement is adapted to rotate in a first direction to couple the motor with the pick assembly and the feed assembly and rotate in a second direction opposite the first direction to couple the motor with the feed assembly and decouple the motor from the pick assembly.

Abstract: A power transmission arrangement includes a shaft, a first gear mounted on the shaft, a plate supported by the shaft and rotatable between a first position and a second position, a second gear supported by the plate and engaged with the first gear, and a third gear supported by the plate and movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position with the second gear when the plate is rotated between the first position and the second position.

Abstract: A printer having a housing, including a bottom wall, a front wall, and a cover pivotally attached to the housing and rotatable between an open and a closed position. A tray is provided for supporting print media from below wherein the tray is pivotally attached to the housing for movement between a printer operational position and a printer non-operational position, wherein the tray is disposed between the cover and the front wall when the tray is in the printer non-operational position.

Abstract: A media feed mechanism includes a picking device, a first feedroller and a second feedroller. The picking device picks a sheet of media from a media source. The first feedroller moves the sheet of media along a feed media path. During a skew correction phase, the first feedroller rolls in a forward direction feeding the sheet of media forward and the second feedroller turns in a reverse direction preventing the sheet of media from progressing past a nip of the second feedroller. This results in skew correction. After skew correction is performed, the second feedroller turns in the forward direction advancing the sheet of media for printing.

Abstract: A power transmission arrangement includes a shaft, a first gear mounted on the shaft, a plate supported by the shaft and rotatable between a first position and a second position, a second gear supported by the plate and engaged with the first gear, and a third gear supported by the plate and movable between a disengaged position and an engaged position with the second gear when the plate is rotated between the first position and the second position.

Abstract: A printer having a housing, including a bottom wall, a front wall, and a cover pivotally attached to the housing and rotatable between an open and a closed position. A tray is provided for supporting print media from below wherein the tray is pivotally attached to the housing for movement between a printer operational position and a printer non-operational position, wherein the tray is disposed between the cover and the front wall when the tray is in the printer non-operational position.

Abstract: A transmission for transmitting rotary power in forward and reverse directions from a programmable source of input motion such as an electric motor uses individually rotatable coaxially mounted lock plates each having a pawl receiving socket therein providing access to an arcuate slot of selected angular length permits engagement and disengagement of the transmission only when input torque is applied thereto in forward and reverse directions to rotate the transmission input gear through pre-defined angles. The pawl is part of a frictionally driven shift arm on which a driven shift gear is also mounted whereby the driven shift gear is pivotally moved into and out of engagement with the output gear or gears of the transmission when the pawl is pivotally moved out of or into the sockets in the lock plates.

Abstract: A transmission for transmitting rotary power in forward and reverse directions from a programmable source of input motion such as an electric motor uses individually rotatable coaxially mounted lock plates each having a pawl receiving socket therein providing access to an arcuate slot of selected angular length permits engagement and disengagement of the transmission only when input torque is applied thereto in forward and reverse directions to rotate the transmission input gear through pre-defined angles. The pawl is part of a frictionally driven shift arm on which a driven shift gear is also mounted whereby the driven shift gear is pivotally moved into and out of engagement with the output gear or gears of the transmission when the pawl is pivotally moved out of or into the sockets in the lock plates.

Abstract: An adaptive method for handling media is provided for an inkjet printing mechanism having a printhead that prints on media in a printzone. A drive motor, a spacing adjuster, a controller storing a tolerance adjust value, and a media support member are provided, with the support member defining a printhead-to-media spacing in the printzone. The tolerance value is summed with a value selected for the type of media or image to determine a total motor drive value. In a coupling step, the motor is operatively coupled to the support member using the spacing adjuster. Following the coupling step, in an adjusting step, the printhead-to-media spacing is selectively adjusted by the driving spacing adjuster with the motor for the total drive value. A method is provided of accommodating manufacturing tolerance variations accumulated during assembly of an inkjet printing mechanism having a printhead that prints on media in a printzone.

Abstract: Time between recording print on one media sheet and a subsequent media sheet is substantially reduced by ejecting, picking and loading within a single transmission state. In a continuous feed mode multi-sheet job, individual media sheets are continuously picked and loaded. The leading edge of one media sheet is substantially adjacent to the trailing edge of the prior media sheet. A media support plate is maintained in a raised position during the entire continuous feed cycle. The support plate biases a paper stack into communication with a pick roller. As the trailing edge of one media sheet exits the media stack, the leading edge of the next media sheet is already in position for engagement with the pick roller. Upon completion of print recording, a media sheet is ejected into an output tray by accelerating the media sheet. Such acceleration is achieved while remaining in the single transmission state.

Abstract: An adaptive method for handling media is provided for an inkjet printing mechanism having a printhead that prints on media in a printzone. A drive motor, a spacing adjuster, a controller storing a tolerance adjust value, and a media support member are provided, with the support member defining a printhead-to-media spacing in the printzone. The tolerance value is summed with a value selected for the type of media or image to determine a total motor drive value. In a coupling step, the motor is operatively coupled to the support member using the spacing adjuster. Following the coupling step, in an adjusting step, the printhead-to-media spacing is selectively adjusted by the driving spacing adjuster with the motor for the total drive value. A method is provided of accommodating manufacturing tolerance variations accumulated during assembly of an inkjet printing mechanism having a printhead that prints on media in a printzone.

Abstract: A second feed roller of smaller diameter than a first feed roller is included in a media handling system. A print zone is located adjacent to the second feed roller away from the first feed roller to lower the location of the print zone. During ejection, a pivot mechanism moves from a first position adjacent to the printhead to an intermediary position. This causes arms to extend and rails to retract. The motions then pause and/or reverse, prior to full extension and full retraction. Next, the pivot mechanism moves to a second position causing the arms to fully extend and the rails to fully retract. The varied motion (e.g., pause and/or reversal) assures that the arms push at an edge of the media sheet to reliably move a media sheet into an output tray without the media sheet sailing from the printer.

Abstract: An adaptive media handling system is provided for an inkjet printing mechanism having a printhead that prints on media in a printzone. A motor drives a media advance mechanism to move the media through the printzone, where the media is held by a media support member adjacent the printhead. A spacing adjuster is operatively engaged by the motor to position the media support member for a selected spacing between the media and the printhead. Fresh media is picked from a supply container using a lifter member operatively engaged by the spacing adjuster. The spacing adjuster may be a dual-sided cam, with one side for spacing adjust and the other for media picking. Motor rotation of the spacing adjuster adjusts the printhead-to-media spacing to a selected value, for instance, to accommodate manufacturing tolerances, or in response to the type of media or the type of image being printed.

Abstract: A second feed roller of smaller diameter than a first feed roller is included in a media handling system. A print zone is located adjacent to the second feed roller away from the first feed roller to lower the location of the print zone. During ejection, a pivot mechanism moves from a first position adjacent to the printhead to an intermediary position. This causes arms to extend and rails to retract. The motions then pause and/or reverse, prior to full extension and full retraction. Next, the pivot mechanism moves to a second position causing the arms to fully extend and the rails to fully retract. The varied motion (e.g., pause and/or reversal) assures that the arms push at an edge of the media sheet to reliably move a media sheet into an output tray without the media sheet sailing from the printer.

Abstract: A method and apparatus is achieved for creating or restoring a high friction surface to a drive roller 52. Abrasive pads 12 define a scrubbing surface for acting upon a media roller's surface 54-58. As the roller's surface is scrubbed, creping occurs which increases the surface's coefficient of friction, and more particularly, the coefficient of friction between the roller and media sheet ("COF(rm)"). In one embodiment, the creping apparatus is formed by a pair of plates 16, 18 hinged along one edge 30 and open along an opposite edge 28. A spring 19 is positioned between the plates biasing the plates apart at the open end. One or more abrasive pads are attached to the outer surface of one plate 18. The spring is selected to provide a specific biasing force. To create or restore a high friction surface, the apparatus 10 is positioned adjacent to the roller 52.

Abstract: A sheet media realignment mechanism is described for use in, for example, a printer. Preferably, the mechanism includes a lever located in the sheet-feeding path adjacent and beneath a rotatable member that mounts a plurality of sheet-feeding rollers. At the beginning of a sheet-feeding cycle, the lever is urged from its extreme upstream pivotal orientation by a pivot-mounted strut into a downstream orientation in which a top sheet of the printer's infeed stack is fed by frictional forces into the feed zone. Upon release of the lever by the strut at a predefined pivotal orientation of the rotatable member, the lever is urged farther into an extreme downstream orientation by the sheet being advanced.

Abstract: An improved printer paper stack-handling device is described. In its preferred embodiment, the stack-handling device includes a pivot member with a downwardly inclining paper top-of-stack contact surface. The device also includes a force mechanism, e.g. a leaf spring, to pivot the member into contact with the top sheet of a paper stack. The spring and the pivot member's inclined contact surface produce a variable top sheet bias for corresponding variable paper stack heights, to properly laterally align the top sheet against a fixed, opposing guide rail, for feeding to a printer input port.

Abstract: An improved printer paper pullout apparatus is described. In its preferred embodiment, the pullout apparatus includes a grasping mechanism, a capture mechanism and a securing mechanism. The grasping mechanism facilitates concurrent paper tray and paper stack movement from a printer feed zone. The securing mechanism ensures proper paper gripping before the paper tray can be released and extended from the printer feed zone. In addition, the grasping mechanism is shaped and positioned on the paper tray for ease of operator grip when manually extending the paper tray from the printer feed zone.

Abstract: A separator is provided for use in a sheet pick-up system, the separator including a rigid body having a base portion and a wear-resistant upstanding portion. The separator is mounted adjacent the printer's input port and is biased toward a motor-driven roller, pinching input sheets between the roller and the separator's upstanding portion so that the roller may pull the top sheet across the second sheet and the upstanding portion. A frictionally adherent pad is formed in operative association with the body so as to extend in a region forward of the upstanding portion and contact the second sheet to oppose intake thereof.

Abstract: A paper handling system is provided which allows for controlled passage of a pivot between a normally biased initial position and a task-performing position. The pivot includes a sheet-directing member and a track which is fixed relative to the sheet-directing member and is movable to the task-performing position in opposition to pivot bias. A follower, which is configured for selected travel along the track, selectively applies a force against the track in opposition to biased sheet-directing member movement. A processor-controlled printhead carriage is used to trigger and then to regulate pivot rotation.