Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd

Kia Silverbrook

Robert John Brice

Tobin Allen King

Geoffrey Philip Dyer

Gregory Michael Tow

Attila Bertok

Christopher Hibbard

Paul Ian Mackey

Paul Lapstun

Matthew John Underwood

Zsolt Szarka-Kovacs

Nicholas Damon Ridley

An electronic pen having a retractable nib for interacting with a surface. The pen comprises a slidably movable cartridge having a nib for contacting the surface, a retraction mechanism for retracting the cartridge, an actuator coupled to the retraction mechanism, a force sensor providing a reaction to an axial force transmitted from the cartridge, and a processor configured for generating force data indicative of a force detected by the force sensor. The retraction mechanism comprises a barrel for receiving the cartridge, which is adapted for seating the cartridge in either an extended position or a retracted position, whereby the axial force from the cartridge is transmitted to the barrel in the extended position. A biasing mechanism biases the cartridge towards the extended or retracted positions.

Electronic pen with retractable nib and force sensor

An electronic pen for interacting with a surface. The pen comprises a cartridge having a nib for contacting the surface, a capacitive force sensor cooperating with said cartridge for sensing a nib force transmitted axially through the cartridge, and a processor configured to generate force data indicative of a force detected by the force sensor. The capacitive force sensor comprises: a spring having an integral conductive moving plate resiliently biased towards a reference position, a conductive fixed plate and a dielectric separating said plates.

Electronic pen having fast response time

An electronic pen comprises a retractable cartridge, a retraction mechanism for extending and retracting the cartridge, a button for actuating the retraction mechanism, a sensing arrangement for sensing a configuration of the pen, and a processor cooperating with the sensing arrangement. The processor is adapted to configure a state of the pen in response to input signals from the sensing arrangement. The sensing arrangement comprises a button sensor coupled to the button, which senses actuation of the button and a cartridge sensor for sensing whether the cartridge is extended or retracted.

Retractable electronic pen with sensing arrangement

An electronic pen comprises a retractable cartridge having a nib, a force-actuable device that is actuated by a nib force transmitted axially through the cartridge from the nib, a retraction for retracting the cartridge, a button for actuating the retraction mechanism, and a decoupling mechanism for biasing the button away from coupled engagement with the retraction mechanism and thereby the force-actuable device.

Retractable electronic pen comprising actuator button decoupled from force sensor

An electronic pen comprises a user-replaceable cartridge having a nib, a force sensor for sensing a nib force transmitted axially through the cartridge from the nib and a retraction mechanism for retracting the cartridge. The retraction mechanism comprises a barrel adapted for seating the cartridge in either an extended position or a retracted position, and a first biasing mechanism for biasing the cartridge towards the extended or retracted positions. A second biasing mechanism biases the barrel towards engagement with the force sensor.

Electronic pen with retractable and replaceable cartridge

A sheet feed mechanism includes a chassis for supporting a stack of sheets; a top sheet engaging member for engaging a top most sheet of the stack; a stack engaging structure, a first end of the stack engaging structure engaging the stack of sheets to bias a top most sheet of the stack of sheets against the top sheet engaging member, the stack engaging structure being supported from the chassis by a resilient member; a friction surface extending perpendicularly from a second end of the stack engaging structure opposite to the first end; a lock mechanism having a lock arm hingedly connected to the chassis, the lock mechanism including a biased contact foot for engaging the friction surface to retard a rectilinear movement of the stack engaging structure; and an actuator for engaging and disengaging the contact foot from the friction surface.

Sheet feed mechanism

An inkjet printer has a body mounting first and second gear assemblies. The first assembly cooperating with a motor gear and having a code feature. The second assembly rotatably cooperating with the first assembly and a capper for capping a printhead. The code feature cooperates with a holding feature of a mounting arrangement used to mount the second assembly so that the cooperation maintains the first assembly at a predetermined position during the mounting of the second assembly. The first assembly has first and second gears connected by a common shaft. The first gear meshes with the motor gear and the second gear meshes with the second assembly. The second assembly has a third gear mounted to the body by a pin which meshes with the second gear. The third gear is an eccentric gear.

Printer having eccentrically coded capping mechanism

A method of assembling a gear arrangement for a capper of an inkjet printer includes the steps of: mounting a first gear assembly to the printer to cooperate with a motor gear for driving rotation of the first gear assembly, the first gear assembly including a driving gear from which a code feature protrudes, the driving gear meshed with the motor gear; engaging the printer with a jig; and mounting a second gear assembly to the printer using the jig, the second gear assembly mounted to cooperate with the first gear assembly to be rotatable therewith and to further cooperate with a capper for capping a printhead so that the rotation of the second gear assembly moves the capper out of and into capping position. The step of mounting the second gear assembly further includes a step of sliding a slider block of the holding feature about the code feature of the driving gear, whereby the code feature cooperate with the holding feature to maintain the first gear assembly at a predetermined position during the mounting of the second gear assembly.

Method of assembling printhead capping mechanism

A gear arrangement for a capper of an inkjet printer comprises a first gear assembly mounted to the printer so as to cooperate with a motor gear for driving rotation of the first gear assembly, the first gear assembly having a code feature; and a second gear assembly mounted to the printer so as to cooperate with the first gear assembly to be rotatable therewith, the second gear assembly, in use, cooperating with a capper for capping a printhead so that the rotation of the second gear assembly moves the capper out of and into its capping position. The code feature of the first gear assembly is arranged to cooperate with a holding feature of a mounting arrangement used to mount the second gear assembly to the printer, the code feature being configured so that the cooperation with the holding feature maintains the first gear assembly at a predetermined position during the mounting of the second gear assembly. A common shaft is mounted connecting the first gear and two second gears to the body so that each of the second gears mesh with the second gear assembly. A pin of two third gears is mounted to the body so that each of the third gears mesh with a respective one of the second gears of the first gear assembly.

Printhead capping mechanism having multiple gear assemblies and method of assembling same

A printer is provided which has a support frame having a first slot, a plate having a tab configured to slidably engage with the first slot in order to mount the plate to the support frame and a bearing positioned in a hole of the plate, and at least one elongate roller supported at a longitudinal first end by the bearing and at a longitudinal second end by the support frame. The bearing is configured to allow pivotal movement of the roller about the second end during the sliding engagement of the plate and support frame and to allow, in use, rotation of the roller for transport of print media within the printer.

Printer having easily mountable media transport arrangement

A method of picking sheet media in a printer is provided. In the method a pick-up roller is caused to contact with sheet media of a supply of sheet media, the pick-up roller is rotatably driven with a motor via a gear assembly so that the pick-up roller picks up the sheet media and delivers the picked sheet media to a sheet media transport mechanism for transporting sheet media past a printhead, and substantially at the point of delivery of a leading edge of the picked sheet media to the sheet media transport mechanism by the pick-up roller, a first gear of the gear assembly is disengaged from a second gear of the gear assembly to cease the driving of the pick-up roller.

Method of picking media in printer

A printer comprising: a support frame; and a sheet media pick-up device pivotally mounted to the support frame so as to be pivotable relative to a supply of sheet media, the pick-up device comprising: a driven roller arranged to be rotated so as to contact and pick-up sheet media from the supply of sheet media and deliver the picked sheet media to a sheet media transport mechanism of the printer; and a motor for rotatably driving the roller, wherein the motor and driven roller are arranged to pivot with the pick-up device, the pick-up device being configured to pivot so that the driven roller is consistently positioned to contact and pick-up the sheet media as the supply of sheet media is successively depleted after each pick-up.

Printer having compact media pick-up device

A method of assembling a gear arrangement for a capper of an inkjet printer, the method comprising the steps of: mounting a first gear assembly to the printer so as to cooperate with a motor gear for driving rotation of the first gear assembly, the first gear assembly having a code feature; and mounting a second gear assembly the printer so as to cooperate with the first gear assembly to be rotatable therewith, the second gear assembly, in use, cooperating with a capper for capping a printhead so that the rotation of the second gear assembly moves the capper out of and into its capping position, wherein in the step of mounting the second gear assembly the code feature of the first gear assembly is arranged to cooperate with a holding feature of a mounting arrangement used to mount the second gear assembly to the printer, the code feature being configured so that the cooperation with the holding feature maintains the first gear assembly at a predetermined position during the mounting of the second gear assembly.

A sheet feed mechanism includes a chassis for supporting a stack of sheets; a top sheet engaging member for engaging a top most sheet of the stack; a stack engaging structure for engaging the stack and biasing the top most sheet against the top sheet engaging member, the stack engaging structure hingedly connected to the chassis at a hinge axis; a friction surface extending from the stack engaging structure, the friction surface extending in a curvature parallel to a locus of the stack engaging structure about the hinge axis; a lock mechanism having a lock arm hingedly connected to the chassis at the hinge axis, the lock mechanism further having a biased contact foot for engaging the friction surface to retard a movement of the stack engaging structure about the hinge axis; and an actuator for engaging and disengaging the contact foot from the friction surface. The friction surface is arranged to extend beneath the biased contact foot, and the actuator is adapted to pivotally actuate the biased contact foot upwards and downwards to respectively disengage and engage the biased contact foot with the friction surface.

A printer comprising: a sheet media transport mechanism for transporting sheet media past a printhead; a pick-up roller arranged to be rotated so as to contact and pick-up sheet media from a supply of sheet media and deliver the picked sheet media to the sheet media transport mechanism; and a gear assembly for communicating a driving force of a motor to the pick-up roller so as to rotate the pick-up roller, wherein a first gear of the gear assembly is arranged to disengage from a second gear of the gear assembly substantially at the point of delivery of a leading edge of the picked sheet media to the sheet media transport mechanism so as to cease communication of the driving force of the motor to the pick-up roller.

Growing community of inventors

Balmain, Australia

Robert John Brice