Tray to hold sheet media for printing
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsJuan David Ramos Negron, Emma Frances Kelp-Stebbins
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In one example, a tray to hold sheet media for printing includes: a movable support to support a downstream part of a stack of media sheets in the tray; a barrier near a downstream end of the support, the barrier movable between a closed position in which, when a stack of media sheets is on the support, the barrier blocks a downstream end of the stack and an open position in which, when a stack of media sheets is on the support, the barrier does not block a downstream end of at least part of the stack; and an actuator configured to move the barrier from the closed position to the open position.
Claims14
A tray to hold sheet media for printing, the tray comprising:
- a movable lift plate to support a stack of media sheets in the tray;
- a barrier near a downstream end of the lift plate, the barrier movable between a closed position in which, when the stack of media sheets is on the lift plate, the barrier blocks a downstream end of the stack and an open position in which, when the stack of media sheets is on the lift plate, the barrier does not block a downstream end of at least part of the stack of media sheets, wherein the barrier is a wall positioned between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the lift plate;
- and
- a rack and pinion actuator connected to the barrier and configured to move the barrier from the closed position to the open position when the lift plate moves toward a pick position.
A system for a printer, comprising:
- a housing;
- a removable tray in the housing to hold sheet media for printing, the tray including a movable lift plate to support a stack of media sheets;
- a barrier near one end of the lift plate, the barrier movable between a closed position in which, when the stack of media sheets is supported on the lift plate, the barrier completely blocks a downstream end of the stack and an open position in which, when the stack of media sheets is supported on the lift plate, the barrier does not block the downstream end of at least a top part of the stack of media sheets, wherein the barrier is a wall positioned between a first sidewall and a second sidewall of the lift plate;
- and
- an actuator having a rack coupled to the housing and a pinion on the tray operatively connected to the barrier, the pinion configured to engage the rack and move the barrier to the open position when the lift plate moves toward a pick position.
A method for a tray that holds a stack of sheet media for printing, the tray including a lift plate movable to and from a pick position, the method comprising:
- moving a barrier, positioned near a downstream end of the lift plate, to an unblocked position to unblock at least a top part of the downstream end of the stack of sheet media while simultaneously moving the lift plate to the pick position, wherein the barrier is a wall that extends from a first sidewall to a second sidewall of the lift plate;
- and
- moving the barrier to a blocked position to block the downstream end of the stack of sheet media while simultaneously moving the lift plate away from the pick position.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.