The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 26, 2002
Filed:
Dec. 04, 2000
Applicant:
Inventors:
Jamison B. Slippy, Middleton, ID (US);
Steven R. Folkner, Boise, ID (US);
Assignee:
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B65H 7/02 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B65H 7/02 ;
Abstract
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining media level in a cassette. A single, fixed media level sensor is located adjacent to where the media is fed from the cassette. The bottom of the cassette is moved up until the top piece of media triggers the fixed sensor. The number of steps of the stepper motor (or the time an analog motor is on) indicates the distance the bottom of the cassette must be raised before the top of the media stack hits the sensor. The number of steps is used directly to determine the height of the stack of media and, therefore, the level of media in the cassette.