Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Pui Wen Huang

Ching Yong Chua

Seng San Koh

Kok Sam Yip

Wee Lian Tan

Cherng Linn Teo

Choon Siang Peck

We-Lym Darren Siow

Baskar Parthasarathy

Kok Chai Chong

Kong Hock Lim

Kok Weng Chan

Ah Chong Johnny Tee

Sook Shin Chang

Sathiyamoorthy T Sivanandam

Seng Lim Wu

Khee Peng Ngoon

Seng Lim Richard Wu

Yi Xiong Anselm Lim

Yuh W Sum

Lian H Ng

Wei Shan Gwenda Teo

Printing techniques for print media are described herein. In an example, a printer includes print head and a feed roller to move a medium under the print head along a print path. The print head includes a first set of nozzles such that the first set of nozzles is proximal to the feed roller. Further, the print head is to print on a Top-of-Form (TOF) of the medium through the first set of nozzles.

Media printing

A kicker system comprises a rotatable roller for advancing media along a media path toward a print zone. A kicker is mounted on the roller for pivotal movement transverse to the rotational axis of the roller. A cam surface configured to engage the kicker during a portion of a rotation of the roller to thereby pivotably retract the kicker out of the media path. The kicker can be selectively actuated by controlling the relative rotation of the roller and the cam surface.

Active media kicker system

A sheet separator includes an advancing roller driven to rotate to move a sheet forwards along a sheet path, and a reversing roller driven to rotate to move a sheet backwards along the path. The reversing roller and advancing roller are mounted adjacently and are relatively movable between a pinched position and a separated position. The reversing roller has a torque limiter for allowing the reversing roller to slip and counter-rotate with the advancing roller when friction applied by the advancing roller on the pinched reversing roller exceeds a preset value. Overriding roller mounted therein allows a sheet to pass over a roller when the rollers are separated and to remain idle when the rollers are pinched.

Sheet separator

An embodiment of the invention provides a mechanism for controlling at least one ink transmission module, which controls a supply of ink using received control rotation. The mechanism includes an input, to receive control rotation. The mechanism also includes an output, to selectively transfer the control rotation to the ink transmission module. A control system is also provided to control the selective transfer of the output. The mechanism is moveable into a disengaged configuration by the control system, in which the output does not transfer rotation of the input to the ink transmission module, by a first predetermined sequence of rotations of the input, and into an engaged configuration, in which the output transfers rotation of the input to the ink transmission module, by a second predetermined sequence of rotations of the input.

Printing ink delivery control mechanism

The invention relates to a pick arm for picking a media from a media stack. The pick arm includes a first arm section and a second arm section which are pivotally connected together. Each of the first and second arm sections have respective first and second ends. A media roller is attached to the first end of the first arm section and the second end of the second arm section is attached to drive means configured to apply a torque to the pick arm. When the applied torque is insufficient to enable the pick arm to pick up a media and drive it up a separation wall, the media roller is arranged to automatically move from a first position to a second position. The second position being located distal from the first position in a direction away from the separation wall.

Auto compliant pick arm

A tray for holding a stack of media sheets for feeding into a printing mechanism is provided. The tray has a first media guide movable relative to a first wall of the tray in a first direction to vary a first spacing there between for accommodating different media sizes in the first direction. The tray also has a second media guide manually adjustable relative to a second wall of the tray in a second direction to vary a second spacing there between for accommodating different media sizes in the second direction. The second direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Furthermore, the movements of the first guide are synchronized with movements of the second guide so that adjustment of the first guide is automatically achieved through the manual adjustment of the second guide.

Paper tray for a printing mechanism

A tray for holding a stack of media sheets for feeding into a printing mechanism is provided. The tray has a first media guide movable relative to a first wall of the tray in a first direction to vary a first spacing therebetween for accommodating different media sizes in the first direction. The tray also has a second media guide manually adjustable relative to a second wall of the tray in a second direction to vary a second spacing therebetween for accommodating different media sizes in the second direction. The second direction is substantially perpendicular to the first direction. Furthermore, the movements of the first guide are synchronized with movements of the second guide so that adjustment of the first guide is automatically achieved through the manual adjustment of the second guide.

A sheet media handling system suitable for use with a printer is disclosed. The sheet media handling system includes a first support and a second support adjacent the first support. In use, the first support supports first sheet media and second sheet media on the first sheet media. The second support supports a portion of second sheet media that is not supported by the underlying first sheet media. A biasing means biases the second support. The biasing means is collapsible under the portion of up to a predetermined number of sheets of the second sheet media. During a pick cycle when the first support is moved to present supported media thereon to an infeed zone of the printer, the portion topmost of the second sheet media is brought to within a predetermined tolerance of the infeed zone.

Sheet media handling system and printer having the same

A pick-up mechanism and a method for performing a pick-up cycle in a reproduction machine. The pick-up mechanism comprises a pick-up control pinion which is firmly coupled to a control cam, and a drive gearing including a first rocker driving gear and a second rocker driving gear. The first and second rocker driving gears are mounted to a rocker device to be alternately engaged into and disengaged from, respectively, the pick-up control pinion. Upon starting the pick-up operation, the second rocker driving gear is drivingly engaged into a toothed section of the pick-up control pinion, and, in the course of the pick-up operation, the first rocker driving gear is drivingly engaged into the toothed section of the pick-up control pinion.

Pick-up mechanism and a method for performing a pick-up cycle in a reproduction machine

A removable bearing for mounting on a slot of a supporting wall is disclosed. The removable bearing includes a bearing member having a bore for receiving a rotatable shaft. The bearing also includes a handle fixedly attached to the bearing member. Attached to the handle is a latching member for engaging a corresponding aperture in the supporting wall when mounting the removable bearing thereon. The handle has an engagement portion that allows tool engagement for moving the handle away from the supporting wall to disengage the latching member when removing the bearing from the slot.

Removable bearing

An apparatus in a printer for adjusting pen-to-print medium spacing independently of the size of a print medium is disclosed. The apparatus includes a pen, a print platen, a datum, an bar and a means for moving the bar. The print platen supports a print medium for printing using the pen. The datum holds the print platen a first predetermined pen-to-print medium spacing away from the pen. The print platen is resiliently biased against the datum and can be moved away from the datum to define a gap therebetween. The bar is moveable into and out of the gap. When the bar is in the gap, the print platen rests against the bar to define a second predetermined pen-to-print medium spacing. A remotely sent parameter allows the apparatus to make the appropriate adjustment.

Apparatus for controlling pen-to-print medium spacing

An apparatus in a printer for adjusting pen-to-print medium spacing independently of the size of a print medium is disclosed. The apparatus includes a pen, a print platen, a datum, an arm and a means for moving the arm. The print platen supports a print medium for printing using the pen. The datum holds the print platen a first predetermined pen-to-print medium spacing away from the pen. The print platen is resiliently biased against the datum and can be moved away from the datum to define a gap therebetween. The arm is moveable into and out of the gap. When the arm is in the gap, the print platen rests against the arm to define a second predetermined pen-to-print medium spacing. A remotely sent parameter allows the apparatus to make the appropriate adjustment.

A print feed mechanism for feeding print media to a printing zone of a printer in which the feed mechanism is adjustable to vary the position of a pinch roller against a drive roller so as to vary the angle at which print media is fed to the printing zone.

Apparatus for feeding media in a printer

An apparatus capable of performing pick operations on multiple sizes in a printing device is disclosed. This apparatus separates a media sheet from a stack and drives it along a media path. The apparatus also corrects any pick skew of the media sheet caused during the pick operation before the media sheet is transferred to the drive roller. By ensuring that the traversing media sheet has a leveled leading edge, the pick skew of the media sheet is substantially eliminated.

Apparatus and a method for picking multiple-sized media sheets

A sheet media handling system for aligned feeding of sheet media of different widths is disclosed. This sheet media handling system caters to a wide-format printer which has two media trays, a main tray and a bypass tray positioned above the main tray. In such a printer, a larger width sheet medium in the bypass tray is insufficiently supported when a stack of smaller width sheet media is present in the main tray. Such a situation may result in skewing or jamming of the larger width sheet medium. The sheet media handling system overcomes such a problem by having a secondary pressure plate in addition to a primary pressure plate. This secondary pressure plate is moveable independently of the primary pressure plate so that the secondary pressure plate is operable to provide appropriate support for the partially supported larger width sheet medium in the bypass tray.

Growing community of inventors

Singapore, Singapore

Pui Wen Huang