Hewlett-Packard Company

James L Chan

James J Girard

Chuin K Lim

Ng L Hock

Lee G Keen

Ah B Tan

Method and apparatus are described for accelerating a printer carriage motor for variable durations depending upon the available time between a lateral carriage stop and the first data to be printed in a given swath. The printer's controller is programmed to preview buffered print data, to determine for each print swath when the first printable matter will be printed and to cause the carriage motor to accelerate a variably greater length of time until such printable matter is to be printed. The controller causes the printhead to prim such printable matter in each swath at variably higher speeds representing the amount of time the motor was accelerated.

Variable-duration printer carriage motor acceleration method and

A portable ink-jet printer and sheet feeder which can be battery powered. The printer may be manually fed paper for operation independent of the sheet feeder. The printer and sheet feeder are mounted on a base and locked at 90 degrees to one another. They may then be rotated into two operating modes in which automatic sheet feeding occurs, one of which provides a straight paper feed path for relatively stiff print media and/or printing relatively dense graphics. A paper output system includes a pair of wings and a deflector which place various arches in the paper as it emerges from the printer to maintain it over the previously printed sheet to permit it to dry. The printer may be configured by driving a print carriage having an arrow thereon to different positions adjacent a menu. When the arrow is opposite a desired configuration option, the option is selected by pressing a button.

Snap-on control panel

Printer sheet feeder having a retractable sheet stack support

Portable printer and sheet feeder

A passive wet paper handling system for use, preferably, with an ink jet printer. The wet paper handling system includes an edge separator extending generally upward from an output platform of the printer and inclined away from a printer paper exit slot for deflecting the leading edge of a wet media generally upward as the media exits the printer. A pair of deflector wings are also mounted on the output platform extending generally upward from the output platform and inclined away from the paper exit slot. The deflector wings are spaced apart from the paper exit slot so that the leading edge of the media first contacts the edge separator and then contacts the deflector wings. A respective one of the deflector wings are disposed to each side of the edge separator, for contacting and deflecting corresponding lateral edges of the media generally upward so as to impart a bowed shape to stiffen the media and thereby maintain it spaced above a previously printed media at least until the trailing edge emerges from the paper exit slot.

Method and apparatus for separating sheets emerging from a printer

Growing community of inventors

Singapore, Singapore

James L Chan