Sheet media marking system
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Company
InventorChee W. Wong
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invented sheet media marking system provides a platen which is configured to rotate a sheet of medium about a marker so as to accommodate marking of the sheet. The platen preferably takes the form of a rotatable drum, the interior of which supports the sheet at a predetermined distance from the printhead which is suspended within the drum. A printhead support is used to hold the printhead in a fixed rotational orientation relative to the platen's axis of rotation, each rotation passing the sheet across the printhead for marking thereof in a swath of print. The sheet is advanced using a medium advancing mechanism which directs movement of the sheet along the interior surface of the drum.
Claims15
A sheet media marking system which comprises:
- a rotatable drum having a slot through which the sheet medium is inserted and expelled, and an arcuate interior surface configured to support the sheet medium in a corresponding arcuate shape;
- a printhead within said drum, said printhead being capable of producing markings on the sheet medium;
- a printhead support which resides within said rotatable drum, said support being arranged to hold said printhead in a predetermined rotational orientation;
- a media advancement mechanism in operative relation with said drum, said mechanism including a movable shoe capable of gripping the sheet medium and directing the sheet medium through a predetermined sheet medium path;
- and
- a drum drive operatively connected to said drum to effect selected rotation of said drum about a first axis, and thus rotation of the sheet medium about said printhead to accommodate marking of the sheet medium in a print swath defined by a rotation of said drum.
In a sheet media marking system which defines a path along which a sheet medium passes, and which includes a marker and an opposing sheet-supporting platen operatively mounted on a system chassis, a medium advancing mechanism which comprises:
- a grip member including a generally planar blade which extends across the sheet medium path, and a shoe projecting from said blade and including a frictional surface capable of gripping the sheet medium which is to be moved along the sheet medium path;
- and
- a bearing arrangement operatively interposed the system chassis and said grip member to provide for movement of said grip member, and thus the sheet medium, along the sheet medium path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.