Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Dennis Sonnenburg

Darren W Wilcox

Alpha N Doan

John F Meyer

Howard G Wong

Miquel Boleda

Eng-Long Goh

Example embodiments of a media handling accessory and method are illustrated and described, wherein the accessory includes a media input tray and a duplexing path.

Media handling accessory and method

A printing system for selectively printing with dye-based and/or pigment-based inks depending upon factors including, but not limited to, the type of media, the nature of the print job, and the level of print quality desired. The printing system includes a print head with two (or more) pigment-based black pens, a dye-based black pen, and a plurality of color pens. In a preferred embodiment, the pens are arranged in the following sequence: KABCMY, K being a dye-based black ink dispenser, A and B being pigment-based black ink dispensers, C being a dye-based cyan ink dispenser, M being a dye-based magenta ink dispenser, and Y being a dye-based yellow ink dispenser. This print head arrangement allows the selective printing with dye-based and/or pigment-based inks functionality to be implemented for different types of print media without having to replace print heads and/or cartridges of the printing system. This print head arrangement also accommodates bi-directional printing and under/overprinting printer system features.

Printing system for selectively printing with dye-based ink and/or pigment-based ink

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

An ink-jet printhead assembly including an elongated printhead carriage for supporting a plurality of printheads for movement across a path of travel of print media. The carriage includes a pair of ends and a region disposed equidistant the ends. The carriage supports a pair of staggered printhead arrays and each one of the pair of printhead arrays includes a plurality of spaced apart printheads. At least two of the plurality of printheads have an orifice plate having an edge disposed adjacent the central region, wherein the centrally disposed edge of each one of the orifice plates is collinear with an edge of each of the other centrally disposed orifice plates.

Printhead assembly and method of using same

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.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Dennis Sonnenburg