Abstract: A thermal ink jet printhead for a printer has a temperature sensor attached thereto for monitoring the operating temperature thereof. A maximum printhead operating temperature is stored in a memory of the printer's control circuitry and, if the printhead temperature sensed by the temperature sensor during a printing operation exceeds the maximum operating temperature stored is the memory, a signal is generated indicating that the printhead has stopped ejecting ink droplets and must be checked for depriming or a depleted ink supply.

Abstract: As the individual pages of a book having a gutter and outside edge margins and being held at least partially open are being automatically sequentially turned over, in coordination therewith a flattening force is applied to the unimaged gutter margin areas of the book for flattening the pages after they have been at least substantially turned over, and unimaged outside edge margins of the book are clamped by automatic clamping members in coordination therewith, for appropriate page viewing and/or imaging. The flattening force may be applied with a V shaped reciprocally movable member, which may also be partially self-centering in the book gutter, and may also open to push outwardly on the then-open pages, as applied.

Abstract: The pages of a book being held at least partially open may be sequentially automatically turned over from one side of the book to the other by pivoting an elongated arm from one side of the book toward the other and turning over individual pages with a vacuum head pivoting relative to the elongated pivoted arm about a different pivot axis as the elongated arm moves to reduce undesirable forces on the individual book pages being turned over. The vacuum head may initially pivot to bend the edge of an individual page up away from the book, to aid in page separation, and then subsequently differently pivot to help peel the same page gently away from the vacuum head and flip it over onto the opposite side of the book. This may be assisted by moving frictional belts on the vacuum head.

Abstract: The pages of a book being held at least partially open may be sequentially automatically turned over from one side of the book to the other by pivoting an elongated arm from one side of the book toward the other and turning over individual pages with a vacuum head pivoting relative to the elongated pivoted arm about a different pivot axis as the elongated arm moves to reduce undesirable forces on the individual book pages being turned over. The vacuum head may initially pivot to bend the edge of an individual page up away from the book, to aid in page separation, and then subsequently differently pivot to help peel the same page gently away from the vacuum head and flip it over onto the opposite side of the book. This may be assisted by moving frictional belts on the vacuum head.

Abstract: As the individual pages of a book having a gutter and outside edge margins and being held at least partially open are being automatically sequentially turned over, in coordination therewith a flattening force is applied to the unimaged gutter margin areas of the book for flattening the pages after they have been at least substantially turned over, and unimaged outside edge margins of the book are clamped by automatic clamping members in coordination therewith, for appropriate page viewing and/or imaging. The flattening force may be applied with a V shaped reciprocally movable member, which may also be partially self-centering in the book gutter, and may also open to push outwardly on the then-open pages, as applied.

Abstract: A printing device having a frame, an input holding area, and an output holding area. The frame supports a printhead and a feed roller system for feeding print medium to the printhead. The input holding area is disposed on the frame. The output holding area is disposed on the frame. The input holding area holds print medium to be fed into the feed roller system. The output holding area has a support section to receive and support print medium output from the feed roller system. The support section of the output holding area has a bypass feed slot formed therein. The bypass feed slot is substantially straight. The bypass feed slot includes a first slot portion and a second slot portion adjoining the first portion. The second slot portion has a slot width different from the first slot portion.

Abstract: A media transport system for transporting a media sheet in a marking device includes an entrance drive assembly, an exit drive assembly and a vacuum generator that applies a vacuum force to the media sheet to form a wide, flat printing zone. The entrance drive assembly receives and transports the media sheet in a process direction by contacting top and bottom surfaces of the media sheet, thereby exerting an entrance drive force on the media sheet. The exit drive assembly receives and transports the media sheet by contacting the top and bottom surfaces of the media sheet, thereby exerting an exit drive force on the media sheet. The vacuum force is applied to the media sheet in an area of the media sheet between the entrance drive assembly and the exit drive assembly. The vacuum force on the media sheet acts in a vacuum force direction substantially normal to the process direction.

Abstract: An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer has an ink supply in a housing, a printhead fixedly attached thereto, and an interface seal between the housing and printhead. The ink is contained in an absorbent material in the housing which is partitioned from the printhead assembly by a housing wall having a vent and an ink outlet. The ink flow path from the housing outlet to the printhead inlet is produced by a recess in the outer surface of the housing wall covered by the interface seal. The seal is a porous member having a thermosetting adhesive layer on one side thereof. The porous member has a slot therethrough, and the adhesive is the type not attacked by the ink. The surface of the porous member with the adhesive is bonded to the housing wall. The thermosetting adhesive moves through the porous member and bonds to the printhead surface containing the ink inlet to the housing wall, when the adhesive is cured.

Abstract: An ink jet printbar assembly is provided with a plurality of printhead die assemblies mounted on a single flat substrate. The printhead die assemblies are linearly aligned along the substrate length. Each die assembly includes a line of nozzles having the same active print length. The individual die assemblies are spaced from adjacent die assemblies such that the last functional nozzle on one end of a die assembly is spaced a distance which is less than the active print length from the first adjacent functional nozzle on the next adjacent die assembly.

Abstract: A printing machine of the type in which liquid ink is deposited on a recording medium for printing gray scale images. The printing machine includes a printhead having ink ejecting nozzles of different sizes. Nozzles of the same size are arranged in groups and groups of nozzles are offset from one another. Ink drops of one group are deposited at locations corresponding to the points of a grid and ink drops of another group are deposited at locations corresponding to points not on the grid. Gray scale printing is achieved by the variation in drop size produced by different groups of nozzles as well as offsetting nozzles of one or more groups of nozzles from a reference group of nozzles printing on the points of a grid.

Abstract: The invention discloses a system and method for sensing changes in the weight of an ink reservoir which supplies ink to a printhead which ejects ink onto a recording medium during a printer operational mode. The ink reservoir, whether located separately from the printhead, as in a plotter or pagewidth printer embodiment, or mechanically attached to the printhead and moved in a scanning printhead architecture, has its weight supported by a structure. A strain gage or other weight sensor is affixed to the supporting structure and incorporated in a circuit which produces an output signal representative of resistive changes in the weight sensor. Since a resistive change in the weight sensor is caused by a decrease in the supply of ink in the reservoir during continued printer operation, the output signal is proportional to the ink level.

Abstract: An ink jet printer includes a printhead having a plurality of segments each having ink ejecting nozzles, each segment supplied with ink of a different characteristic. Means are provided for moving the printhead in a direction transverse to the advancing movement of a recording medium. Means are further provided for moving the printhead between two or more positions along the recording medium advance direction. Thus, the printhead can print a swath of ink of a first characteristic from one segment and then be moved to print a second swath from a second segment with ink of a second characteristic. In one embodiment, a printhead has two segments, one printing in black, and the other in color. A shift mechanism is enabled to move the printhead between a black print position and a color print position. The invention contemplates alternate color printing swaths at alternate printing positions along the same printing swath, or a combination thereof.

Abstract: A finishing apparatus for receiving and attaching sets of sheet material in succession. A movable bin array including plurality of bins are provided for receiving the sheet in each individual bin. Rollers are provided for transporting a copy sheet to the finishing apparatus to one of each individual bin. Registration of the sheet is accomplished by the uphill nature of the each individual bin in the bin array sloping towards a registering portion of a gate assembly, and the action of a tamper mechanism registers the sheets. A stapling means having a cam that is radially urged moves in a plane substantially parallel to the orientation of the the bin array. The action of the cam drives the stapler means into a notched area of each individual bin positioned thereat so that registered sheet sets therein may be stapled in the notched area.

Abstract: An electronic input/output apparatus for a computer system which includes a computer and a computer screen, includes a mechanical mouse and a printhead integral with the mouse, both being attached to the computer through an electrical interconnection means. The mouse is represented by a cursor on the computer screen based on movement of the mouse. The electrical interconnection means provides data signals between the computer and the electronic input/output apparatus for the mouse and additionally for the printhead which is capable of printing data displayed on the computer screen which has been passed over by the cursor. The printhead, upon activation by a print button or the like, prints onto a substrate as the I/O apparatus is moved across the substrate. Control of the printing operation is done by monitoring and controlling the data sent to the printhead based on positional and velocity values obtainable by a tracking mechanism within the mouse.

Abstract: An ink jet printer includes a platen having a planar surface sized to hold a sheet upon which an image is to be printed flat on the planar surface. The platen is movably mounted for linear reciprocal movement between a sheet receiving position and a sheet releasing position. In operation, a sheet is fed onto or otherwise acquired on the platen. The sheet can be held on the platen by a holddown force such as by vacuum or electrostatic attraction. The platen moves a sheet held thereon across a full width printhead located between the two positions to print an image on the sheet. Sheets are released from the platen at the sheet releasing position which may include an output tray. After the sheet is released from the platen, the platen is reciprocated back to the receiving position to accept another sheet.

Abstract: An ink supply for an ink jet printer, preferably comprises a bellows filled with liquid ink. The bellows has first and second opposite end walls and a bellowed side wall attached to and extending between the first and second end walls to define a variable volume ink chamber. The bellows is movable between an extended position and a contracted position and is biased toward the contracted position. The first end wall includes an outlet which, when opened, permits the ink to be expelled from the bellows at a low pressure. A rigid frangible shell is provided to support the bellows and to retain the bellows in an extended position during storage and prior to use. The bellows may include a magnet which, when used in combination with a printer and a sensing device, can detect and signal a near empty or empty ink supply condition.

Abstract: Apparatus is provided for forming an envelope capable of containing sheet material therein having a width equal to the width of the envelope by performing the steps of: feeding a sheet having a width and a length from a tray in a predetermined direction; folding the sheet across its width into a single fold to form first and second flaps, each flap having a width equal to the width of the sheet; pressing the first and second flaps together; and applying an adhesive tape over ends of the sheet to secure the first and second flaps together to form an envelope having an internal width at least the same as the width of the sheet, the adhesive tape completely forming the ends of the envelope.

Abstract: A finishing apparatus adapted to receive and fasten collated sets of copy sheets is provided. The finishing apparatus includes a stacking tray in which successive sets of fastened copy sheets can be stacked. The copy sheets are compiled on a movable compiling member, a portion of which is positioned selectively over the stacking tray. A paper path is used to transport the copy sheets to both the stacking tray and the movable compiling member so as to position one portion of each copy sheet in the stacking tray with the remaining portion of each copy sheet being located in the movable compiling member. A fastener, such as a stapler is positioned adjacent to the movable compiling member.

Abstract: In a sheet stacking system, especially for a printer or copier set complier, in which sheets are sequentially fed for stacking into a stacking tray to a stacking registration wall position, a sheet stacking assistance and control system is provided by partially supporting and rotating an endless weighted chain-like lose element member, e.g., a metal bead chain, from above the stacking tray, preferably by two spaced and commonly driven pulleys, so that a first chain portion continuously moves downwardly towards the stacking tray in the path of said sheets being fed in the stacking tray to help pull them down, and then the chain flexes so that a substantial second chain portion continuously lies on the top sheet being stacked and continuously drags it towards the registration position, and then desirably an immediately following third chain section is pulled through the registration wall and sharply arcuately dropped there below the stack top level to continuously drag down the sheet edges there.

Abstract: In a multi-bin sorter for collating sheets of paper or the like from a fixed sheet output into sets in the bins, with a system for sorter bin loading in which the bins are opened relative to one another adjacent the fixed sheet output, the bins are respectively intermediately pivotally mounted in an array to a common mounting system (with a fixed spacing at their pivotal mounting positions) for common linear vertical movement as an integral unit with a simple drive system, yet individually pivoted open for loading by a fixed pivotal control guide system, preferably a generally linear cam track with a transition for engaging individually integral extensions of said bins to pivot them about their intermediate pivotal mounting into the sorter bin loading position relative to the next adjacent bin, when the bin array is commonly vertically moved by the drive system.