Lexmark International, Inc.

Armando V Flores

Michael Craig Leemhuis

John Wayne Gassett

Darin Michael Gettelfinger

Edward Alan Rush

Scott Stephen Williams

James Philip Harden

Stephen Todd Olson

Bernard L Wilzbach

Todd Alan Dutton

Earl G Edwards

Daniel L Huber

Michael Earl Kennedy

Height barriers (15a, 15b) on the bottom of the feed arm frame (5) are located a distance above the bottom of paper drawer (1) of a printer (13). the drawer is pulled out to load paper, and then pushed in. If the paper stack (25) is high enough to encounter the barriers, paper which encounters the barrier is pushed off the top of the stack as the drawer moves further. The pushed paper emerges in front of the printer and is removed by the operator. Back restraint (17) is integral to the elevated region (17b) followed by an inclined region (17a). Overloading of paper is prevented and the paper stack not uncompressed during subsequent paper feed.

Paper stack height control

A media pass through configuration for printers in which media is fed from superimposed and removable media holders, such as trays, through a media path to a print engine. A rack disposed in either the frame of the printer or other modular and stackable media option, is dimensioned for receiving at least one media carrying, removable tray disposed beneath the print engine. A door, hinge and latch combination, the hinge connected intermediate the door and either the frame of the printer or the frame of the modular option so that the door opens in a plane swingable substantially about one longitudinally extending edge of the media path to the print engine, and outwardly and away from the front of the tray. The latch is positioned remotely from the hinge for moveably attaching the door to the printer in a position confronting the tray when the door is in a closed or first position, and open for facilitating tray removal when the door is in an open or second position. A media guide is mounted on the interior of the door for guiding different media in front of the tray, into the media guide path and to the print engine. In one instance, the media guide includes a chute having converging interior walls therein for urging media therethrough in a predetermined path. In another configuration, the media guide includes a portion of the chute on the door and a second portion of the chute formed on the portion of the tray confronting the interior of the door. In either of the forgoing, the doors may be individually opened to allow entrance to the confronting media tray or ganged to permit simultaneous access to all the trays and media being fed to the print engine.

Media pass through configuration for printers

Two stacked paper trays (43, 45) are connected electrically by cable (53) and are physically combined, as by bolts. The combined unit has a single microprocessor (49). The paper trays communicate status, such as paper size and paper amount to the microprocessor. The microprocessor reports upon interrogation from a control processor (61) of a printer (7) that it is a multiple tray unit and reports the status for each unit. This avoids the use of a microprocessor with each tray.

Status reporting from multiple tray accessory

A printer (1) and portable stations (2 and 3) when located side-by-side form a guide (1a, 2a, and 3a) for paper sheets sent out by printer 1. The paper is moved upward into U-shaped guide 1a by pinch rollers (6 and 7) and then moved laterally by pinch rollers (8 and 9) in guide 1a. Similar rollers are in guides 2a and 3a to direct the paper to the selected station and then downward.

Printer with distribution stations having U-shaped sheet guide

A printer (1) has paper feed pinch rollers (21, 23 and 25, 27) with their backup rollers canted 5 degrees toward reference guide surface (19). Preceding idler roller (15) is also canted 1.5 degrees toward the guide surface. A sheet (3) fed by D roller (11) first encounters the idler roller and is moved toward the guide surface as a function of its stiffness. Very light sheet slip over the idler roller entirely, while heavier sheets are moved toward the guide surface by the idler roller. The pinch rollers direct all sheets toward guide surface but slip before deforming even very light paper.

Universal paper feed

Paper tray (3) has a camming surface (60). Sets of nip rollers (22 and 24; 26 and 28) are permanent in the printer. One of set of nip roller is pivotally mounted and biased by springs (50, 56) to a follower (54). With the tray inserted, the follower is cammed to stretch the springs to apply desired nip force. The height of the cam surface may be varied to change that force for different paper contained in the tray. With the tray removed, the nip force is removed and jammed paper may be easily removed, particularly since area of the nip rollers is close to the front of the machine and near the opening left when the tray is removed.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

Armando V Flores