OUTPUT ASSEMBLIES FOR PRINTERS
Example output assemblies for a printer device and printer devices incorporating the output assemblies are disclosed. In one example, the output assembly includes a support surface to support print media that is dispensed from the printer device along a feed direction. In addition, the output assembly includes a side surface that is coupled to the printer device and disposed above the support surface. The side surface is to transition between a first position and a second position. When the side surface is in the second position, the side surface is extended away from the printer device in the feed direction from the from the first position.
Latest Hewlett Packard Patents:
Printer devices may dispense print media onto an output tray during a printing operation, so that a user may remove the dispensed print media from the printer device thereafter. In some circumstances, a printer device may dispense collated print media stacks onto the output tray. Some printer devices may even insert a staple through the collated stacks of print media prior to dispensing them onto the output tray.
Various examples will be described below referring to the following figures:
In the figures, certain features and components disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of certain elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. In some of the figures, in order to improve clarity and conciseness, a component or an aspect of a component may be omitted.
In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to be broad enough to encompass both indirect and direct connections.
Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other devices, components, and connections. In addition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally refer to positions along or parallel to a central or longitudinal axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “radial” and “radially” generally refer to positions located or spaced to the side of the central or longitudinal axis.
As used herein, including in the claims, the word “or” is used in an inclusive manner. For example, “A or B” means any of the following: “A” alone, “B” alone, or both “A” and “B.” In addition, when used herein (including in the claims), the words “generally,” “about,” or “substantially” mean within a range of plus or minus 20% of the stated value. As used herein, the term “computing device” may refer to any suitable device that may execute, generate, or store machine readable instructions.
As previously described, a printer device may dispense collated print media stacks onto an output tray during a printing operation. The collated print media stacks may include a staple or a plurality of staples when they are dispensed onto the output tray. Staples typically cause a local increase in thickness within the corresponding print media stack proximate the staple location. Thus, if the staples in a plurality of dispensed collated print media stacks are aligned within the output tray, the combined local increases in stack thickness may eventually cause instability for the print media disposed within the output tray as additional print media stacks are dispensed onto the output tray. In addition, in some circumstances, the aligned staples of the dispensed print media stacks may be disposed proximate the opening in the printer device. In this case, the combined, aligned local increases in stack thickness may also lead to partial or complete obstruction of the opening in the printer device housing for dispensing print media (which can cause flipping or rolling of the subsequently dispensed print media).
Accordingly, examples disclosed herein include output assemblies for a printer device that comprise a movable side surface above the output tray that is to selectively extend and retract along the feed direction of the dispensed print media so as to selectively vary a position of successively dispensed, stapled print media stacks during operations. As will be described in more detail below, the selective variation of the positions of dispensed, stapled print media stacks within the output tray along the feed direction may allow for the staple locations of the collated print media stacks to be staggered. As a result, the stability of multiple stapled print media stacks dispensed onto the output tray may be improved.
Referring now to
Printer device 10 includes an outer housing 12 with an aperture 14 for dispensing print media during a printing operation. In addition, printer device 10 includes an output assembly 100 that is to receive and arrange print media that is dispensed from aperture 14 during a printing operation.
Referring now to
Any suitable system may be utilized to actuate output tray 110 along direction Y. For example, a driver (e.g., an electric motor) may be utilized to actuate output tray 110 along a track, gear rack, slot, etc. that is coupled to or incorporated on housing 12. In particular, in this example, as shown in
Referring again to
Referring still to
Cam 124 is coupled to and extends generally radially outward from shaft 122 with respect to axis 125. In this example, cam 124 is integrally formed on shaft 122. For example, shaft 122 and cam 124 may be molded, machined, or otherwise formed of the same material as one integral or monolithic body. In other examples, cam 124 is formed separately from shaft 122 and is then subsequently coupled or engaged to shaft 122 through any suitable manner (e.g., a set screw, welding, snap fit, etc.). Regardless of whether cam 124 is integral with shaft 122, during operations, as shaft 122 is rotated about axis 125, cam 124 is also rotated about axis 125 (i.e., cam 124 and shaft 122 rotated together about axis 125).
In addition, cam 124 defines a side surface 126 thereon. As will be described in more detail below, side surface 126 is to engage with print media that is dispensed into output tray 110 during printing operations. In this example, side surface 126 is a planar surface 126; however, surface 126 may have other shapes or profiles in other examples. For instance, side surface 126 may have a curved profile (e.g., concave, convex, etc.) in some examples. In addition, as shown in
Referring still to
Drive assembly 130 includes a driver 132 and a gear 134 operatively coupled to driver 132. Driver 132 may comprise any suitable driver or prime mover (e.g., electric motor, hydraulic motor, pneumatic motor, etc.). In this example, driver 132 is an electric motor. During operations, driver 132 selectively rotates gear 134 about an axis of rotation 135. Gear 134 may be directly mounted on an output shaft (not shown) of driver 132, or may be integrally formed on the output shaft of driver 132. In other examples, gear 134 may be indirectly coupled to driver 132 via other connections or assemblies (e.g., such as a gear train, a belt drive, etc.). Gear 134 comprises a plurality of gear teeth 136 circumferentially arranged about axis 135. In addition, gear 134 is positioned proximate to shaft 122 such that the teeth 136 on gear 134 engage with and mesh with the teeth 142 on arcuate member 140.
During operations, driver 132 may selectively rotate gear 134 in either direction about axis 135 (e.g., clockwise or counterclockwise). As shown in
Referring now to
When desired, the driver 132 of drive assembly 130 rotates gear 134 about axis 135, which in turn drives rotation of arcuate member 140, shaft 122, and cam 124 about axis 125 as previously described so that side surface 126 is pivoted from the first position (
Referring still to
In some examples, side surface 126 may be transitioned between the first position (
The specific design of cam 124 and shaft 122 may be greatly altered in various examples. For instance, referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
After the above described actuation of both the side surface 126 (e.g., in direction x) and the output tray 110 (e.g., in direction Y), a second print media stack 150″ (which also may be the same as print media stack 150 of
In some examples, the offset distance L may range from about 15 mm to about 50 mm, or from about 25 mm to about 35 mm. The magnitude of the offset distance L may be dictated by a number of different factors or parameters, such as for example, the dimensions of side surface 126, the circumferential rotation of shaft 122 about axis 125, the number and arrangement of gear teeth 136, 142, etc. In some examples, the offset distance L may be selectively varied by printer device 10 based on, for example, the dimensions of the print media stack 150, the location(s) of any staples 154, etc.
Referring now to
The above sequence may be repeated a number of times so that a plurality of print media stacks (e.g., print media stacks 150′, 150″, 150″′, etc.) may be piled upon output tray 110 in the Y direction. Even though print media stacks 150′, 150″, 150′″ each have a plurality of staples 154 extending therethrough proximate the lateral edges 156 (see
The above described operations have included actuating the side surface 126 of cam 124 between the first and second positions (see e.g.,
Therefore, by utilizing an output assembly (e.g., output assembly 100) including an actuatable side surface (e.g., side surface 126) within a printer device (e.g., printer device 10) according to the examples disclosed herein, the stability of stapled print media disposed on an output tray (e.g., output tray 110) may be enhanced. As a result, a larger number of stapled print media stacks (e.g., print media stacks 150, 150′, 150″, 150′″) may be reliably dispensed onto an output tray before a user retrieves them. Accordingly, the functionality of a printer device employing such an output assembly is enhanced.
The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various examples of the present disclosure. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
Claims
1. An output assembly for a printer device, the output assembly comprising:
- a support surface to support print media that is dispensed from the printer device along a feed direction; and
- a side surface that is coupled to the printer device and disposed above the support surface, wherein the side surface is to transition between a first position and a second position, wherein when the side surface is in the second position, the side surface is extended away from the printer device in the feed direction from the from the first position.
2. The output assembly of claim 1, wherein the side surface is disposed on a cam that is coupled to a shaft having a central axis, and wherein the shaft is rotate about the central axis to transition the side surface between the first position and the second position.
3. The output assembly of claim 2, comprising a second cam coupled to the shaft, wherein the second cam includes a second side surface, and wherein the second cam is axially spaced from the cam along the central axis.
4. The output assembly of claim 2, comprising a driver coupled to the shaft, wherein the driver is to rotate the shaft about the central axis.
5. The output assembly of claim 4, comprising:
- a first plurality of teeth coupled to the shaft; and
- a gear coupled to the driver that is engaged with the first plurality of gear teeth, wherein the driver is to rotate the gear to rotate the shaft about the central axis.
6. A printer device, comprising:
- a housing;
- an aperture in the housing to emit print media dispensed from the printer device along a feed direction; and
- an output assembly, comprising: a support surface coupled to the housing and disposed adjacent the aperture; and a side surface that is disposed above the support surface, wherein the side surface is to transition between a first position and a second position, wherein when the surface is in the second position, the side surface is extended away from the housing in the feed direction from the from the first position.
7. The printer device of claim 6, wherein the side surface is disposed on a cam that is coupled to a shaft having a central axis;
- wherein the shaft is rotate about the central axis to transition the side surface between the first position and the second position; and
- wherein the central axis is perpendicular to the feed direction.
8. The printer device of claim 7, comprising a second cam and that includes a second side surface coupled to the shaft;
- wherein the second cam is axially spaced from the cam along the central axis, and
- wherein the second side surface is circumferentially aligned with the side surface about the central axis so that when the side surface is transitioned from the first position to the second position, the second side surface is moved outward from the housing with the side surface.
9. The printer device of claim 7, comprising a driver coupled to the shaft, wherein the driver is to rotate the shaft about the central axis.
10. The printer device of claim 9, comprising:
- a first plurality of teeth coupled to the shaft; and
- a gear coupled to the driver that is engaged with the first plurality of gear teeth, wherein the driver is to rotate the gear to rotate the shaft about the central axis.
11. A printer device, comprising:
- a housing;
- an aperture in the housing to emit print media dispensed from the printer device along a feed direction; and
- an output assembly comprising: a support surface adjacent to the aperture; a cam coupled to a shaft having a central axis, wherein the central shaft and the cam are disposed above the side surface; and a driver coupled to the shaft, wherein the driver is to rotate the shaft about the central axis to selectively extend or retract the cam from or toward, respectively, the housing along the feed direction.
12. The printer device of claim 10, comprising a second cam coupled to the shaft, wherein the second cam is axially spaced from the cam along the central axis, and wherein the driver is to rotate the shaft about the central axis to selectively extend or retract the cam and the second cam from or toward, respectively, the housing along the feed direction.
13. The printer device of claim 10, wherein the central axis is perpendicular to the feed direction.
14. The printer device of claim 13, comprising:
- a first plurality of gear teeth coupled to the shaft; and
- a gear coupled to the driver and engaged with the first plurality of gear teeth, wherein the driver is to rotate the pinion gear to rotate the shaft about the central axis.
15. The printer device of claim 10, wherein the cam includes a side surface that is to engage with print media disposed on the support surface.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 4, 2018
Publication Date: Aug 19, 2021
Applicant: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (Spring, TX)
Inventors: Bradley Spencer White (Boise, ID), Daniel Scott Ellis (Boise, ID), Richard Nathan Gines (Boise, ID), Jeremy Ray Jensen (Boise, ID)
Application Number: 17/256,719