Printer sheet feed apparatus with single driver

Abstract

A print medium sheet feeding system for an ink jet printer having a print head with a planar array of jets is provided by clamping the leading edge of a paper after it is passed through a printing zone to a rotating assembly of parallel disks. The sheet is pulled through the printing zone by rotating the disk with the clamp being carried with the rotating drum. A platen may be provided which has a flat surface in the printing zone forming a tangent to the outer surface of the rotating disks. Alternatively, the platen may be removed and the sheet held in tension between the clamp and a nip region formed by a spring plate held against a restraining plate. In an alternative embodiment, the sheet is initially clamped against the drum by the combination of a lever arm which is selectively engagable with the drum for rotation therewith and an attached actuating arm having a plate which secures a sheet to the drum surface. The resulting clamp rotates with the drum until the sheet passes below idler rollers which are biased against the drum surface. These rollers then hold the sheet against the drum for motion of the sheet with the drum surface. The actuating arm is released from the drum after a sheet passes below the rollers, thereby allowing any sized sheet to be fed through the system.