Triple mode printer
OwnerHanan Yosefi, Erez Zimerman +2inventors
InventorsHanan Yosefi, Erez Zimerman, Avi Zehavi, Nadav Hollander
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system for enabling a wide format ink jet printer to print onto discontinuous flexible media. A wide format inkjet printer includes a print head and a feed roller that can be configured as a flat bed printer for printing onto stiff media or as a roll to roll printer for printing onto continuous flexible media. Addition of a tray connected to a vacuum pump that can be fed using the feed roller when in flat bed configuration enables the printer to be used for printing onto flexible discontinuous media.
Claims20
A system for printing onto discontinuous media comprising a printer, a vacuum pump and a tray;
- the printer comprising a print head and a feed roller for roll to roll printing by forwarding media passed the print head;
- the tray comprising an upper plate joined to a parallel lower plate by a perimeter edge, the upper plate and lower plate being separated by a separation to form a hollow box, the upper plate being provided with an array of through holes, hollow box being coupleable to a vacuum pump for evacuation of air from within, such that the discontinuous media placed over at least a portion of the array of holes is held in place by suction created by the vacuum pump and may be advanced past the print head by the feed roll for printing thereonto.
A method of printing onto discontinuous media, by
- (i) providing a digital printer comprising
- a print head;
- a feed roller;
- a guide roller;
- a vacuum pump and
- a tray comprising an upper plate joined to a parallel lower plate by a perimeter edge, the upper plate and lower plate being separated by a separation to form a hollow box, the upper plate being provided with an array of through holes, hollow box being coupleable to a vacuum pump for evacuation of air from within;
- (ii) positioning the discontinuous media on the tray and holding in place using the vacuum pump;
- (iii) positioning the tray onto the feed roller and the guiding roller, and
- (iv) forwarding the tray past the print head using the feed roller.
A tray and framework for retrofitting to a wide format printer for supporting small pieces of discontinuous media and allowing the wide format printer to print the small pieces of discontinuous media, such that the tray may be positioned on the feed roller and guide roller of a roll to roll printer and moved by the feed roller past a printhead;
- the tray comprising an upper plate joined to a parallel lower plate by a perimeter edge, the upper plate and lower plate being separated by a separation to form a hollow box, the upper plate comprising an array of through holes, the tray being coupleable to a vacuum pump for evacuation of air from within, such that the discontinuous media placed over at least a portion of the array of holes is held in place by suction created by the vacuum pump, and the framework for partially covering the upper plate of the tray and for providing apertures into which the discontinuous media to be printed may be positioned.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.