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:
Aug. 03, 2004
Filed:
Oct. 08, 1999
Patrick A Batten, Ft Collins, CO (US);
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
A system, method and apparatus for translating a carriage from one position to another position utilizing an injection molded plastic translating system are disclosed. In a preferred embodiment, an injection molded plastic translating system is utilized within a flatbed scanner to translate a scanhead carriage along a desired path during the scanning process. The plastic translating system is formed utilizing gas injection molding techniques, resulting in a plastic translating system that does not warp. Further, the plastic translating system is smooth to allow the scanhead carriage to be translated with substantially no vibration. Also, the plastic translating system of a preferred embodiment results in very little wear after many translations of the carriage. Because the plastic translating system of a preferred embodiment may be molded as part of the base of the scanner or as part of a platform that is utilized within the scanner, the total number of parts utilized within the scanner is reduced and the total cost for assembling such scanner is reduced. Moreover, the injection molded plastic translating system disclosed herein may be utilized for many other types of devices that require a component to be translated from one position to another along a desired path.