Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Darren W Wilcox

Dennis Sonnenburg

Alpha N Doan

D Bradley Short

Samuel A Stodder

Joseph P Milkovits

Edward P Maher

Dan Scott Caputo

Raymond Kuo-Sheng Lee

William H Kellogg

Samuel A Stoddar

Raymond K Lee

Media slot panel

Handle for printing mechanism lid

In a scanning unit such as a facsimile machine, an automatic document feeder transports individual sheets from a stack of documents along a document path over a scanning window to an output tray. An upper guide member includes an integrated chassis which provides most of the functional features required for picking individual sheets from a stack of documents in an input tray and transporting the sheet past a scanning window. The various components incorporated in the integrated chassis include a document separation mechanism, pre-scanning pinch rollers, post-scanning pinch rollers, a spring-loaded limiter with minimal paper path obstruction, a hinging mechanism to facilitate manual access to the document path, a latching mechanism, referencing datums, and ESD grounding including ESD brushes adjacent the document path and an ESD shield for a circuit board housed in the upper guide member. In the preferred form, the integrated chassis is formed from an enlarged sheet metal plate which attaches to the underside of a manual control/display panel with the circuit board sandwiched therebetween.

Integrated chassis for automatic document feeder in a scanning unit

Both a printing-medium support (such as a platen) and a printhead-carriage slide-rod are supported and located in common from a single chassis. Preferably a pair of positive stops is used to locate the slide-rod, and a biasing retainer forcibly abuts the rod against, selectively, either stop of the pair of positive stops. Alternatively the two positive stops are instead used to locate the print-medium support--or separate pairs of such stops are used to locate both the slide-rod and the print-medium support respectively. A respective biasing retainer forcibly engages each located support element against one or the other of its stops. In another facet of the invention, an accurate system establishes and adjustably controls printhead-to-print-medium spacing without an assembly fixture. An adjustable mechanism (such as the biasing retainer mentioned above), distinct from both support elements, locates one of the two supports relative to the other. The mechanism includes components that enable adjustment to control the spacing between the printhead and the printing medium--but these adjustment-enabling components contribute zero uncertainty to the spacing. The assembly method includes positioning the slide-rod with its two ends in respective oversize mounting holes of a chassis, and attaching to each end of the slide-rod a respective retainer to force the slide-rod end in one of exactly two opposite directions against the mounting-hole edge.

Fixtureless, accurate system and assembly method for controlling

A combination printer and scanner comprises a frame, rollers mounted in the frame for defining a single paper path therethrough, an automatic sheet feeder mounted to the frame for selectively providing to the single paper path clean paper print sheets, and an automatic document feeder mounted to the frame for selectively providing to the single paper path documents having text and/or graphics printed thereon to be scanned. The combination printer and scanner further comprises a scanner station mounted in the frame for scanning documents conveyed through the single paper path and a printer station mounted in the frame for printing text and/or graphics on print sheets conveyed through the single paper path. A document feeder cartridge is normally positioned adjacent a scanner window of the scanner station to partially define a segment of the single paper path adjacent the scanner station. The document feeder cartridge may be manually removed to permit the clearing of paper jams, the cleaning of the scanner window and the removal of debris.

Removable document feeder cartridge for combination printer and scanner

A multiple-function printing device provides for picking pages from a stack of sheets in a sheet feeder for roller-driven movement along a first path through a printing station to an output stacker, and for picking pages from a stack of documents in a document feeder for roller-driven movement along a second path through a scanning station to the output stacker, with at least a portion of the first and second paths being commonly shared, the scanning station being underneath the commonly shared path, and with common mechanisms including a first pick and second pick for picking from the document and sheet pages, providing roller-driven movement through the processing stations. A media chassis is provided, including an integral platen, with integral spaced side walls which rotatively mount each of picks on and between at least one of the side walls. A prescan drive roller, a fixed deflector and a gear train are attached to a side wall of the chassis, the latter for driving the respective picks.

Multiple-function printer with common mounting chassis feeder/output

In a scanning unit such as a facsimile machine, an automatic document feeder transports individual sheets from a stack of documents along a document path over a scanning window to an output tray. Precise co-planar referencing is provided between a pick roller mounted on a frame beneath a document path and a document separator mechanism mounted on an upper guide member which moves between an open position for allowing manual access to the document path to a closed position for scanning document sheets. An integrated sheet metal chassis on the upper guide member provides a direct reference path between a central portion of the chassis which carries the document separator mechanism as well as Z axis and Y-axis (media transport direction) reference datums on both side edges of the channels which are engaged by a rigid vertical reference arm. A latching device is located closely adjacent to the reference datums to securely hold the upper guide member in a predetermined closed position, as well as determine positioning in the X axis. A pair of pivotal arms at the post-scanning end of the chassis allow clearance in the X-axis and Y-axis while providing secondary referencing in the Z-axis.

Precision referencing/latching system for document separation and

An improved separator pad and spring assembly for a paper separator system is described. With this invention, securing the separator pad to the spring assembly and securing the spring assembly to a frame do not affect the characteristics of the separator pad since the separator pad is secured without being distorted by any clamping pressure. The resilient separator pad is secured to a separator spring and to a frame using shoulder screws, or equivalent fasteners, where the shoulder portions of the screws tightly secure the spring to the frame but where the heads of the screws are prevented from tightly clamping down on the resilient separator pad. This ensures that no distortion of the separator pad occurs. A feed roller (or stripper roller) is used to separate a bottommost sheet from a stack of sheets. Paper-feed springs oppose the end portions of the feed roller, while the centrally located separator pad opposes the middle portion of the feed roller.

Paper separator spring assembly for facsimile or copy machine

In a scanning unit such as a facsimile machine, an automatic document feeder transports individual sheets from a stack of documents along a document path over a scanning window to an output tray. An upper guide member includes an integrated rigid chassis for positioning document control components adjacent the scanning window. The document control components included a central pre-scanning pinch roller, a full width hold-down limiter, and a central post-scanning pinch roller which are each mounted with their own separate biasing springs on the integrated chassis. Two elongated wire springs respectively engage both ends of the hold-down limiter, while two sets of cantilever leaf springs provide strong and weak spring biasing, respectively, to the pre-scanning and post-scanning pinch rollers.

Scanning unit with independent spring-loaded document control components

A graduated, highly tensioned metallic codestrip is used in a large-format automatic image-related device such as a D-size or larger plotter, yielding positional precision even better than those of prior small-format devices. Preferably perforations in the strip are the graduations, used in determining position of a carriage that holds image transducers (e. g., pens). The strip passes through a slot (open along one edge, closed at the other) in a perforation sensor. The image transducers are very close to the slotted sensor and the strip, to minimize the effect of disturbances arising between the strip and transducers. Two unperforated portions of the strip--one relatively broad, and another relatively narrow border portion--provide very good structural stability for the tensioned strip. Stability under tension is enhanced by wrapping the strip partway around a stanchion at each end. The perforations are formed between the two unperforated portions at a periodicity of one hundred fifty orifices or more per inch, defining position within one three-hundredth of an inch or better. Preferably the strip is oriented with the narrow border nearer the closed edge of the sensor slot. In a multielement marking-device system the novel strip yields fine coordination for marks in adjacent swaths or by plural pens. It also helps meet stringent demands of bidirectional marking.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Darren W Wilcox