Hewlett-packard Company

Michael Gustafson

Paul D Faucher

Stephan Walter Emmenegger

Allan G Olson

Glenn W Gaarder

Paul McCarty

A non-planar single sheet separator wall preferably inclined at about 25&deg; from the vertical away from a paper stack first engages the side corners of the leading edge of a sheet of paper or other media picked from the top of the generally horizontal or downwardly inclined stack by a roller or pusher and causes the corners of the sheet to first curl upwardly along the wall before the central portion of the leading edge of the sheet engages the central portion of the separator wall. The separator wall configuration substantially eliminates downward curling of one or both leading corners of a sheet which is purposely upwardly bowed by an elastomeric pad near the center of the separator wall to reduce multi-sheet picks and separator jams.

Non-planar single sheet separator wall and apparatus

A transmission for transmitting rotary power in forward and reverse directions from a programmable source of input motion such as an electric motor uses individually rotatable coaxially mounted lock plates each having a pawl receiving socket therein providing access to an arcuate slot of selected angular length permits engagement and disengagement of the transmission only when input torque is applied thereto in forward and reverse directions to rotate the transmission input gear through pre-defined angles. The pawl is part of a frictionally driven shift arm on which a driven shift gear is also mounted whereby the driven shift gear is pivotally moved into and out of engagement with the output gear or gears of the transmission when the pawl is pivotally moved out of or into the sockets in the lock plates. Rotation limit stops are provided on the lock plates at selected angular positions so that the transmission can be engaged or disengaged for transmission of torque in both forward and reverse directions only when the motor is rotated through a sequence of predetermined angles in predetermined directions.

Lock plate transmission

A pick mechanism including a pick roller, a pick arm supporting the pick roller and an actuation system adapted to move the pick arm from an idle position to a pick position and impart additional normal force to the pick roller. The magnitude of the additional normal force, which is greatest when the tray is full, decreases as the size of the stack in the tray decreases.

Pick mechanism and image forming device including the same

A single sheet feeder for moving individual sheets from the top of a stack includes a driven sheet separator roller mounted on an arcuately moveable support arm, the roller having an annular sheet engaging friction surface and a bottom sheet retard pad in opposed relationship to the separator roller. In a first embodiment the retard pad has a specially configured sheet engaging surface having a sheet retarding portion which is angled downwardly from the direction of sheet movement to reduce excessively high separator roller drive torque requirements. In a second embodiment, the sheet support surface has a recess proximate the sheet retard pad for receiving the driven separator roller to prevent contact of the driven roller with the sheet support to avoid excessively high separator roller drive torque. Arcuate movement of the roller toward the sheet support is arrested by contact of the roller support arm with any suitable part of the sheet feeder chassis such as the retard pad or stack. support surface before the driven roller contacts the support surface.

Single sheet feeder with angled multi-sheet retard pad

A transmission for transmitting power from a printing device drive to drive a media pick roller to pick individual sheets of print media from a supply tray through the printing device without the necessity of requiring a separate pick roller motor and controls. The transmission uses a sun gear and a planet gear with a cam track and follower to move the planet gear into and out of driving relationship with the pick roller.

Swing arm transmission for driving sheet feed mechanism of a printing device media input tray

The invention relates to a high capacity paper tray cabinet and transport apparatus for transporting sheets of paper or other print media from the high volume tray to a printer which sits on top of the cabinet. A pivotally mounted convex paper guide and a pivotally mounted concave paper guide housing at the rear of the cabinet define a paper path therebetween which extends generally vertically and then curves to a generally horizontal direction for feeding paper to the single sheet paper path in the printer through an access aperture in the rear wall of the printer. Paper drive rollers and an electrical resistance paper pre-heater are mounted in the apparatus proximate the discharge end of the paper path such that pre-heated paper can be immediately fed at the appropriate location of the paper path in the printer, preferably an inkjet printer.

Growing community of inventors

San Diego, CA, United States of America

Michael Gustafson