Pitney Bowes Inc.

Transact Technologies, Inc.

Other

Maidbot, Inc.

Steven A Supron

Morton Silverberg

Eric A Belec

Bruce Harris

Leo L Wologodzew

James A Salomon

Samuel W Martin

Carl A Miller

Micah Estis Green

David Moroniti

Steven Whitehead

Robert P Rebres

Christopher Julius Stefan

Anthony E Yap

Joseph H Marzullo

David E Weeks

William A Salancy

John J Mercede, Jr

Jeffrey S Koepele

Shae Lynn Wilson

David W Hubbard

Michael A Brown

Kenneth A Schulz

Michael D Ballard

Franklin J Buckley

Christopher D Clark

Roger J Rimbey

William V Pickering, Jr

Ming Xiao

Jason P Paradis

Geoffrey S Coleman

Joseph K Patterson

Russell W Holbrook

Gary S Jacobson

Roman Czernik

Charles F Murphy, Iii

James A Fairweather

Norman R Lilly

Walter J Baker

Dean H Foster

Sung S Chang

Stephen R Payne

Neil F Baldino

Anthony Chiappetta

David E Kayser

Christopher S Riello

Francesco Porco

Arthur Rubinstein

James Morabito

David Privin

Chiping Sye

Robert F Bullivant

Brian S Thompson

Bret K Taylor

Christopher Uschmann

Martin Mulroy

David Murcko, Deceased

By Linda Murcko, Administrator

Susan E Perrin

Anthony W Chiappetta

Vacuum brush motor assembly

Wheel motor assembly

Battery

Robot body

A docking station for a removable printer mechanism is provided, together with methods for providing a removable printer mechanism. The docking station may have a base with parallel side arms adapted to be fixed to an interior of a printer housing. Side walls may extend from each of the parallel side arms. The side walls may be adapted to guide the printer mechanism into a docked position in the printer and to removably fix the printer mechanism in the docked position. A clamping element may be provided which is adapted to clamp and hold a printer-side cable connector in position to accept a corresponding cable connector of the printer mechanism. The printer mechanism may easily be slid into and out of the docking station for repair or replacement.

Docking station for a removable printer mechanism and methods of providing a removable printer mechanism

A docking station for a removable printer mechanism is provided, together with methods for providing a removable printer mechanism. The docking station may have a base with parallel side arms adapted to be fixed to an interior of a printer housing. Side walls may extend from each of the parallel side arms. The side walls may be adapted to guide the printer mechanism into a docked position in the printer and to removably fix the printer mechanism in the docked position. A bridge element may extend between the parallel side arms at a rear of the base. A clamping element may be fixed to the bridge element and be adapted to hold a printer-side cable connector in position to accept a corresponding cable connector of the printer mechanism. The printer mechanism may easily be slid into and out of the docking station for repair or replacement.

A tilting touch screen for a printer and a printer having such a tilting touch screen are provided. The tilting touch screen may include a touch screen housing, a touch screen located in the touch screen housing, means for pivotally connecting the touch screen housing to a printer housing, the printer housing defining an opening closable by the tilting touch screen, and a controller for controlling the printer in communication with the touch screen. The screen tilts open for direct access to the print mechanisms and paper buckets for service or paper loading, without requiring the removal of any additional covers.

Tilting touch screen for printer and printer with tilting touch screen

A cutter for a printer is provided, together with corresponding methods. The cutter has a fixed blade and a movable blade. The fixed blade is arranged on a cover bracket. The cover bracket is movable between an open and a closed position. The movable blade is arranged on a printer frame. The movable blade is adapted to move from a home position into engagement with the fixed blade for cutting paper media during a cutting action. In the open position of the cover bracket, the fixed blade and movable blade are separated, enabling paper jams to be cleared and paper to be loaded.

Cutter for a printer

A self-adjusting paper bucket for a printer is provided, together with methods for providing such a self-adjusting paper bucket. The paper bucket may have a curved base portion for accepting paper rolls of varying widths. A guide may be movably mounted to each side of the base portion. The guides may be movable between a first position extending towards a center of the paper bucket and a second position folded against sides of the paper bucket. A biasing element may be provided for each of the guides for biasing the corresponding guide into the first position. In the first position, the guides may accept a first paper roll having a first width and may center the first paper roll in the base portion. In the second position, the guides may accept a second paper roll having a second width greater than the first width and may center the second paper roll in the base portion.

Self-adjusting paper bucket for a printer and methods for providing a self-adjusting paper bucket

A configurable cutter mechanism for a printer and corresponding methods are provided. The cutter mechanism may comprise a rotary cutter mounted for rotation about a rotation axis and for translation across at least a portion of a width of a paper path perpendicular to the rotation axis. A fixed blade assembly may be provided that is adapted to cooperate with the rotary cutter. The fixed blade assembly may extend across the width of the paper path. A controller may be provided for controlling a variable length of travel of the rotary cutter across the width of the paper path. The paper path runs between the rotary cutter and the fixed blade assembly.

Configurable cutter mechanism for a printer and method for configuring a cutter mechanism for a printer

In accordance with one example embodiment of a configurable printer for different paper sizes and types in accordance with the present invention, the configurable printer may comprise a print mechanism, a controller for controlling the print mechanism, a paper bucket for receiving a first sized paper roll to be printed, a divider for a paper bucket for reducing a width of the paper bucket to accept a second sized paper roll which is smaller than the first sized paper roll, and a bucket sensor adapted to sense at least one of insertion of the divider into the paper bucket and removal of the divider from the paper bucket and to provide a paper size signal to the controller. The controller controls the print mechanism in response to the paper size signal from the bucket sensor.

Configurable printer for different paper sizes and methods for configuring a printer for different paper sizes

To ensure a proper stacking order of paper tickets that exit a transaction-based printer, a stacking nip is provided which accepts a first ticket. The first ticket is fed into the stacking nip, and then advanced by the stacking nip for a fixed distance until a trailing edge of the first ticket is positioned before the stacking nip. A second ticket is then fed towards the stacking nip. The first ticket is held in the stacking nip with the trailing edge positioned before the stacking nip until a leading edge of the second ticket overlaps the trailing edge of the first ticket. The trailing edge of the first ticket and the leading edge of the second ticket are then simultaneously advanced through the stacking nip. The first ticket is ejected from the stacking nip into a ticket bin once the trailing edge is advanced through the stacking nip.

Methods and apparatus for shingle stacking of tickets in a ticket printer

An alternate ticket exit is provided in the event of a blockage of the primary ticket exit of a printer. Printed tickets are fed from a stacking nip into a ticket bin via a first ticket exit. A second ticket exit is provided which leads away from the ticket bin. Tickets are diverted into the second ticket exit in the event the ticket bin has reached capacity or the first ticket exit is blocked. By diverting tickets out of the second exit when the ticket bin has reached capacity or when the first ticket exit is blocked, the tickets are allowed to exit the printer and paper jams are prevented.

Methods and apparatus for stacking tickets in a ticket printer with an alternate ticket exit

A dual-purpose printer for printing receipts and validating forms is provided. The printer comprises a receipt drive roller for driving paper through a receipt path, a dual-purpose roller capable of contacting the drive roller, and a validation idler roller adapted to be brought into and out of engagement with the dual-purpose roller. The receipt path is formed between the receipt drive roller and the dual-purpose roller. A validation path is formed between the validation idler roller and the dual-purpose roller. Rotation of the receipt drive roller in a first direction enables driving of paper through the receipt path. When the validation idler roller is in engagement with the dual-purpose roller, rotation of the dual-purpose roller in the first direction enables discharging of a form from the validation path.

Methods and apparatus for printing receipts and validating forms

A system and method for accumulation of media invention includes a series of upper and lower transport belts for feeding media seriatim along a path of travel. An accumulator pocket is positioned between the upper and lower drive belts along the path of travel. An upper and a lower accumulator ramp is positioned adjacent the accumulator pocket are moveable between a first position and a second position. The first accumulator ramp position is such that the lower ramp is positioned to engage media moved seriatim along the path of travel to guide the media to form a forward accumulation of media in the accumulator pocket. The upper accumulator ramp second position is such that the upper accumulator ramp is positioned to engage media moved seriatim along the path of travel to guide the media to form a reverse accumulation of media in the accumulator pocket. One or more rollers can be mounted to cooperate with the lower accumulator ramp and one or more rollers can be mounted to cooperate with the upper accumulator ramp to reduce forces which would tend to cause previously assembled media collations to shear apart during transport into the accumulator pocket. The upper and lower accumulator ramps may also be positioned to enable transport of media through the system without the accumulation of media in the accumulation pocket.

Forward and reverse media accumulation system

Growing community of inventors

Ithaca, NY, United States of America

Steven A Supron