Printer with optical data link to carriage
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorsRichard I. Klaus, Eric L. Ahlvin, J. P. Harmon, Steven Goss
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Abstract
A printer featuring an optical data link between the printer's controller and its reciprocal, carriage-mounted printhead is described. Print data are conveyed from the controller to the printhead via a fixed point on the edge of the carriage and status data may be conveyed in the reverse direction. Power is supplied to the printhead via dual parallel rails on which the carriage is supported for reciprocation by the chassis-mounted carriage drive motor. Preferably, the optical medium is infrared light, and uses conventional driver/receiver devices.
Claims11
A carriage assembly for use in a printer chassis comprising:
- a carriage support for supporting a carriage for lateral movement relative to the printer chassis;
- a carriage which is supported on said carriage support and which moves bi-directionally along a carriage path thereon;
- a printhead mounted on said carriage for bi-directional movement with said carriage;
- and
- an optical data link for providing a printhead controlling signal to said printhead, said optical data link including an optical data transmitter fixed on said printer chassis for transmitting an optical signal and an optical data receiver mounted on said carriage for bidirectional movement with said carriage, said optical data receiver being configured to receive said optical signal from said optical data transmitter while said optical data receiver moves with said carriage along said carriage path.
A carriage assembly for use in a printer chassis comprising:
- a carriage support for supporting a carriage for lateral movement relative to the printer chassis;
- a carriage which is supported on :said carriage support and which moves bi-directionally relative to the printer chassis along a carriage path;
- a printhead mounted on said carriage for bi-directional movement with said carriage;
- and
- a free-air optical data link for providing a printhead controlling signal to said printhead, said optical data link including an optical data transmitter which is fixed to said printer chassis and an optical data receiver which is fixed to said carriage, said optical data receiver being configured to receive said optical signal from said optical data transmitter over a free-air optical data path while said carriage reciprocates along said carriage path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.