Abstract: A single sheet feeder for moving individual sheets from the top of a stack includes a driven sheet separator roller mounted on an arcuately moveable support arm, the roller having an annular sheet engaging friction surface and a bottom sheet retard pad in opposed relationship to the separator roller. In a first embodiment the retard pad has a specially configured sheet engaging surface having a sheet retarding portion which is angled downwardly from the direction of sheet movement to reduce excessively high separator roller drive torque requirements. In a second embodiment, the sheet support surface has a recess proximate the sheet retard pad for receiving the driven separator roller to prevent contact of the driven roller with the sheet support to avoid excessively high separator roller drive torque. Arcuate movement of the roller toward the sheet support is arrested by contact of the roller support arm with any suitable part of the sheet feeder chassis such as the retard pad or stack.

Abstract: The footprint of a document scanning unit such as a copier, facsimile machine or document scanner or combinations thereof is reduced by causing overlap of the leading and trailing edges of long document sheets to be scanned in the document delivery roller system downstream of the scanning station. Differential slippage of the overlapping ends between a drive roller and a pinch roller is provided in a first embodiment. A second embodiment uses a moveable pinch roller in the document delivery system to selectively open and close a gap to permit slippage of the leading and trailing edges of the document. A third embodiment uses three document delivery rollers defining two spaced nips in which the leading and trailing edges of a long document are simultaneously present and a crenellated roller surface to guide the leading edge of the document to the desired nip in the delivery system.

Abstract: The footprint of a document scanning unit such as a copier, facsimile machine or document scanner or combinations thereof is reduced by causing overlap of the leading and trailing edges of long document sheets to be scanned in the document delivery roller system downstream of the scanning station. Differential slippage of the overlapping ends between a drive roller and a pinch roller is provided in a first embodiment. A second embodiment uses a moveable pinch roller in the document delivery system to selectively open and close a gap to permit slippage of the leading and trailing edges of the document. A third embodiment uses three document delivery rollers defining two spaced nips in which the leading and trailing edges of a long document are simultaneously present and a crenellated roller surface to guide the leading edge of the document to the desired nip in the delivery system.

Abstract: A small footprint device, such as an inkjet printer, having a set of printhead cartridges for applying ink droplets to a medium sheet, the printer including a housing having a pair of side plates. A platen, mounted in the housing between the side plates, helps to define a centrally disposed print zone. Sets of centrally disposed wiper openings, and cap openings, within the platen, help to facilitate, respectively, printhead cartridge wiping services before the medium sheet has passed through the print zone and printhead capping services after the medium sheet has passed through the print zone. A set of rib members extend upwardly from the platen top surface for substantially avoiding residual ink contamination on the underside of the medium sheet as it passes through the print zone.

Abstract: An insulated substantially flat multi-conductor flexible printhead carriage trailing cable fabricated as a unit for conducting de-multiplexed electrical printhead control signals to inkjet printheads mounted on a moveable carriage is provided with a longitudinally extending cut and Z-fold at the carriage end for efficient fabrication of a plurality of units from a single manufacturing panel.

Abstract: A flexible printhead signal de-multiplexing and interconnect circuit for mounting on the carriage of an inkjet printer receives multiplexed signals through a carriage trailing cable and includes signal de-multiplexers and other circuitry for de-multiplexing the control signals on the printhead carriage. A flexible circuit forms a generally three-sided channel configuration including side or wing panels which may have portions folded back on themselves to provide additional areas for connection of additional circuit components and enclosing the additional circuit components if desired. Electrical connections are also provided for an optical position encoder.

Abstract: A pinch roller acts in combination with a drive roller to provide a nip through which sheets are passed in a sheet handling system. To reduce hand-off errors in the line feed accuracy of the sheet handling system, the pinch roller includes a compliant outer surface and soft undersurface volume. The flexibility of the outer surface allows the pinch roller to shift its holding force from the media to the pinch roller as the media leaves the nip between the rollers. This reduces the force seen by the media in the direction of the media travel, thus reducing the localized push on the back edge of the media. The soft undersurface volume is formed by a foam core.