Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

Thomas W Ruhe

Jeffrey R Blackman

Thomas E McCue, Jr

Matt G Driggers

Larry A Jackson

Kevin D O'Hara

Brently L Cooper

Jefferson Patrick Ward

David N Olsen

Robert M Yraceburu

Jason M Quintana

Daniel R Dwyer

Alan Shibata

Geoff Wotton

Raymond C Sherman

Todd Michael Gaasch

Paul William Martin

Jiangxiao Mo

Geoffrey C Mayne

Robert K Beretta

Eric S Schuh

Corlene M Ankrum

Hunter Dane Cantrell

Stephen Tse Deng

Robert Reiss

An interleave member including a media control conforming surface and a media, crash prevention surface. The media crash prevention surface to periodically contact and guide the media to the media control conforming surface. The media control conforming surface conforming to a surface of the media control member.

Media crash prevention surface to contact and guide media

A support rod is mounted to maintain straightness of a support surface of a printer. The support rod is used to preload the support surface in a direction opposite of an expected transverse load upon the support surface. The preloading supplied by the support rod counteracts a bending force on the support surface resulting from the expected transverse loading.

Printer support surface with support rod

A media loading and separation system includes a spring pick block with an inclined surface having a lower end; an indentation, formed near the lower end of the inclined surface, having a substantially vertical surface; and a spring arm movably disposed in response to a media stack with respect to the inclined surface between rearward and forward positions. The media separation system can also include a corner media separator to engage a corner of the media stack.

Media loading and separation system for printer

The spacing between the printhead of an inkjet printer cartridge and the print medium is dynamically controlled by an apparatus that slightly rotates the carriage that holds the cartridge. In one embodiment, the rotation is effected by actuation of a cam that resides between the rotatable carriage and a fixed part of the printer. The printhead-to-paper spacing is thus optimized for highest print quality.

Dynamically adjustable inkjet printer carriage

An inkjet printing method of fixing ink to a print medium is disclosed. An embodiment of the method comprises depositing ink drops on a print medium with an inkjet printhead, the ink including a solvent and the print medium including a first surface. The method additionally comprises vibrating the print medium by applying ultrasonic energy to displace drops of the solvent to the first surface of the print medium to accelerate evaporation of the drops of solvent. An apparatus for use in an inkjet printing device is also disclosed. An embodiment of the apparatus comprises an ultrasonic source configured to apply ultrasonic energy to a print medium to displace drops of ink solvent to a first surface of the print medium thereby accelerating evaporation of the drops of solvent. An inkjet printing device including the method and apparatus is also disclosed. Further characteristics and features of the method and apparatus are described herein, as are examples of various alternative embodiments.

Apparatus and method using ultrasonic energy to fix ink to print media

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

Print media drying time need not be set to an artificially high 'worst case' drying time. Instead a reliable drying time is estimated based upon factors, such as temperature, humidity, media type, print quality and ink drop volume. When the estimated drying time is undesirably slow, the estimated and actual drying time is reduced by altering the ink composition of the image to be printed. One technique is to over-print or under-print with composite black rather than a true pigment black. Another technique is to deplete the black ink used throughout the image.

Method and apparatus for determining and controlling inkjet printing

Modular duplexing module for an inkjet printing mechanism

A rising rate integral spring drive belt system for driving a carriage carrying an inkjet printhead is quieter and more economical than earlier systems. An integral spring drive belt of a resilient material is secured to the carriage and driven by a motor to selectively move the carriage across the printzone. The belt is of a resilient elastomeric material. The belt has an integral spring portion with two segmented members defining a void therebetween and a web member coupling together the two segmented members. The remainder of the belt has a constant spring constant, while the spring portion has a higher spring constant which varies with the degree of tension experienced by the belt. The variable spring constant allows the spring portion to more readily respond to and damp periodic belt tension vibrations to provide a quieter, more economical printing mechanism. A method is provided driving an inkjet printhead carriage.

Integral spring drive belt system for inkjet carriages

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.

Image alignment during duplex printing

A carriage drive system includes a timing belt pivotally anchored to a carriage. A drive motor rotates the timing belt, moving the carriage along a carriage path. The drive belt moves along a pair of pulleys. A first pulley is coupled to the motor's drive shaft. A second pulley is coupled to an idler spring. The idler spring determines the belt tension when the belt is stationary. Acceleration of the carriage alters the belt tension. A pivot connection occurs between the drive belt and the carriage. During acceleration, the pivotal connection rotates shortening the effective length of the belt, which in turn stretches the idler spring, and increases belt tension. While the carriage is at rest or moving at constant velocity, the pivot connection serves to reduce side load impact on the drive motor's shaft and windings. The pivot connection also isolates the carriage from high frequency vibrations.

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La Center, WA, United States of America

Thomas W Ruhe