Multiple orientation image forming device and carriage for use with same

#1. Field of the Inventions

#The present inventions are generally related to image forming devices and, more specifically, image forming devices including reciprocating carriage and guide rail systems.

#2. Description of the Related Art

#Detailed description of preferred embodiments of the inventions will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of printer carriage in accordance with a preferred embodiment of a present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the printer carriage illustrated in FIG. 1.

#The following is a detailed description of the best presently known modes of carrying out the inventions. This description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the inventions. Additionally, it is noted that detailed discussions of various internal operating components of printers which are not pertinent to the present inventions, such as specific details of inner workings of facsimile machines desktop printers, including their controllers and image processing systems, have been omitted for the sake of simplicity.

#As illustrated for example in FIGS. 1 and 2, a printer carriage 10 in accordance with one embodiment of a present invention reciprocatingly slides (or scans) back and forth along a guide rail 12 that defines the carriage scan axis. The exemplary printer carriage 10 consists primarily of a main body 14 having a front bar 16, L-shaped side walls 18, and an alignment web 20 that divides the interior of the main body into first and second chambers. The first and second chambers respectively house first and second removable ink jet printhead cartridges 22 and 24 (also referred to in the art as “pen cartridges,” “print cartridges” and “cartridges”). A suitable printhead cartridge is the Hewlett-Packard TIJ 1.0 printhead cartridge (part no. 92261A). A pair of latch members 26 and 28, which are pivotably attached to a hinge 30, hold the printhead cartridges 22 and 24 in place.

#The exemplary printer carriage 10 also includes a pair of identical bushings 32 (also referred to in the art as “bearings” and “glide bearings”) which slidably support the carriage on the guide rail 12. An anti-rotation pin 34 mounted on the opposite side of the printer carriage 10 slides within a horizontally extending c-shaped anti-rotation guide 36. A roller may be used in place of the anti-rotation pin if desired. In either case, the slot formed by the anti-rotation guide 36 should be slightly larger than the pin 34 or roller (i.e. about 0.02 mm larger) to limit rotational movement about the carriage scan access to the extent practicable without preventing movement of the pin or roller in the scan direction. An endless belt and motor arrangement (not shown) may be used to drive the printer carriage 10 back and forth along the guide rail 12 in a conventional manner. The bushings 32 and anti-rotation pin 34 provide a printer carriage support system which prevents movement in five of the six possible directions.