Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Other

Jeffrey R Blackman

Thomas W Ruhe

Kevin D O'Hara

Thomas E McCue, Jr

Larry A Jackson

Daniel R Dwyer

Kenneth R Williams

Matt G Driggers

Richard Alan Kelley

Gene D Jones

Mark Groenenboom

Carl D Beckett

Craig D Sunada

Eric S Schuh

Corlene M Ankrum

A print spittoon is removably mounted in a slot of a print support to periodically receive drops of liquid spit from a printhead. Among other features, the spittoon includes a portion of an absorbent sheet provided a location recessed from a surface of the print support.

Printing spittoon

Printers and apparatus to clean printer surfaces are disclosed. An example apparatus to clean a surface in a printer includes an endless cleaning material loop and an advancer to advance the cleaning material loop when the loop is not engaged with the surface and to not advance the loop when the loop is engaged with the surface.

Printers and apparatus to clean printer surfaces

Barcodes can be produced by feeding reel-stock media and receiving a drive signal from a printing device. The media receives, exterior of the printing device, print imaging as a barcode pattern or barcode indicia corresponding to the drive signal. Barcode-bearing media is thereby produced externally of the printing device but making use of the printing device resources.

Barcode printing module

A duplexing module that is attachable to a printer that has a simplex media-handling system. The duplexing module is used in conjunction with the simplex system to carry out the print media handling (flipping) that is required for duplex printing. The module includes a single drive roller and an entry guide. The printer feed roller moves the printed media sheet along the entry guide to the drive roller of the duplexing module. The duplexing module includes an exit guide that extends between the drive roller and the feed roller. The print media (having one side printed) moves with the rotated drive roller until it reaches the exit guide. The printed side of the print media is thus directed against the feed roller of the printer so that the opposite side of the media is presented for printing.

Duplexing module for printer

A modular duplex media handling system is installable for use with a print recording system having a simplex media handling system. During first side printing a media sheet is fed along a first media path in the simplex system from feed rollers to metering rollers and into a print zone. After first side printing and prior to releasing the media sheet, the metering rollers feed the media sheet back along the first media path to the feed rollers. The feed rollers in turn feed the media sheet completely into the duplex module where the media moves along a loop path (in effect flipping the media sheet). The media sheet then is fed back to the feed rollers and along the first media path for second side printing. A humidity sensor in the duplex module signals to the print recording system whether the duplex handling system is installed.

Print recording apparatus having modular autoduplex mechanism

A modular duplex media handling system is used in conjunction with a simplex media handling print recording apparatus. The duplex media handling system is linked by a transmission to a print recording system drive motor. The drive motor drives feed rollers and metering rollers or the simplex media handling system. The transmission is media-activated to allow the duplex handling drive rollers to be disengaged, engaged for rotation in the same direction as the feed rollers, or engaged for rotation in the opposite direction as the feed rollers.

Media-activated transmission for modular autoduplex mechanism

A modular duplex media handling system used in conjunction with a simplex media handling print recording apparatus, includes a drive roller having a simple gear linkage. The simple gear linkage provides a fixed rotational relationship between the drive roller and a feed roller of the simplex handling apparatus. A media guide pivots about the drive roller's axle between a first position into which it is biased, and a second position into which it is deflected by a media sheet. From the first position, a media sheet retracting from a print zone can enter the duplex media handling system. From the second position, a media sheet can move from the input tray around the feed roller into the print zone, or move out of the duplex media handling system back into the input tray to await refeeding for second side printing.

Modular autoduplex mechanism with simple linkage

Modular duplexing module for an inkjet printing mechanism

A media sheet is picked and moved along a media path toward a print zone. During the operation a media sensor detects whether the media sheet is properly oriented to receive print recording. For example, for glossy paper, photographic paper or letterhead there is a proper side of the paper for recording and a backside of the paper which typically does not receive print recording. If the proper side is not oriented to receiving print recording, then the media sheet is flipped by a modular duplex media handling system.

Automatic alignment of media for proper print side orientation

During first side printing a media sheet is fed along a first media path from feed rollers to metering rollers and into a print zone. After first side printing, the metering roller stops prior to releasing the media sheet into the output tray. The metering roller reverses direction to move the media sheet back along the first media path onto the feed roller, and into the modular duplex handling system. The media sheet is flipped, then fed back for second side printing. Second side printing is performed in either one of book mode or tablet mode. In book mode, the top of the page is the same edge of the media sheet for the first side and the second side. In tablet mode, the media sheet edge at the top of the first side corresponds to the bottom of the second side.

Growing community of inventors

Vancouver, WA, United States of America

Jeffrey R Blackman