Printing system with compact print engine
AssigneeSilverbrook Research Pty Ltd
InventorKia Silverbrook
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed is a print engine having a page-width printhead assembly and a motorized transfer roller located adjacent to the printhead. The transfer roller is also adjacent to the sheet media path of the device which uses the engine. The printhead is oriented to print directly onto the transfer roller. The engine has a second roller closely adjacent to the transfer roller and on an opposite side of the path for pressing the sheet onto the transfer roller. In some embodiments, the printhead has a surface adjacent to the transfer roller that carries capping seals on either side of the ink ejecting area. The printhead is held off of the transfer roller by a solenoid but parked against the transfer roller when not in use.
Claims17
For a printer with a path for a sheet of media, a print engine comprising:
- a page-width printhead assembly having an ink ejecting area;
- a motorized transfer roller located both adjacent to the printhead and adjacent to the path for printing onto the sheet;
- the printhead oriented to print directly onto the transfer roller, wherein the printhead is held off of the transfer roller by a solenoid and has a surface adjacent to the transfer roller that carries capping seals on either side of the ink ejecting area;
- and
- a second roller closely adjacent to the transfer roller and on an opposite side of the path for pressing the sheet onto the transfer roller;
- and wherein, when not in use, the printhead is parked against the transfer roller, the seals bearing against the transfer roller until the solenoid is activated.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.