US 8,910,929 B2Granted

Printer architecture enabling narrow or wide front facing orientation

AssigneeXerox Corporation

InventorsMartin Scott Walsh, Timothy Crawford, Mark H. Tennant, Aaron L. Boyce, Edward F. Burress, Isaac S. Frazier, John E. Fanning, Brent R. Jones, Todd D. Smith, Trevor J. Snyder, Carl T. Urban, Paul Van Gasse, Paul Woodward

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Abstract

A printer architecture that enables a printer (or other media processing device) with an elongate foot print to be configured with media input and operator controls oriented at either a narrow end or a wide side thereof, that surface becoming the “front” of the unit. Controls and/or display(s) are mounted such that either the end or side orientation can be accommodated. The media input tray includes a separate assembly so that selection of the tray with access to end or side complements the user control panel in establishing the front of the machine. The combination of control/display mounting and oriented media tray structure integration with the print engine to establish which of the printer surfaces is considered the front allows for multiple orientations of the printer and greater flexibility to the customer.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A media processing device comprising:

a main media processing unit having a housing with an elongate footprint, the housing having a relatively narrow first side adjacent a relatively wide second side, the housing including an interface port located adjacent the first and second sides and a portion of a drawer enclosure configured to cooperate with an associated media tray, the portion of the drawer enclosure including a media size sensor adapted to sense a media size of media supported in the associated media tray when attached to the housing;
and
an interface unit adapted to be received in the interface port in at least two orientations, a first orientation being aligned with the first side of the housing and a second orientation being aligned with a second side of the housing;
whereby when the interface unit is received in the interface port in the first orientation, the first side of the housing is the front of the paper processing device, and whereby when the interface unit is received in the interface port in the second orientation, the second side of the housing is the front of the paper processing device;
the interface unit including a display, the display directed towards the first side of the housing when the interface unit is in the first orientation, and the display directed towards the second side of housing when the interface unit is in the second orientation.

2 more elements

A media processing device kit comprising:

a main media processing unit having a housing with an elongate footprint, the housing having a relatively narrow first side adjacent a relatively wide second side, the housing including an interface port located adjacent the first and second sides;
an interface unit adapted to be non-rotatably received in the interface port in two orientations, a first orientation being aligned with the first side of the housing and a second orientation being aligned with a second side of the housing, whereby when the interface unit is received in the interface port in the first orientation, the first side of the housing is the front of the paper processing device, and whereby when the interface unit is received in the interface port in the second orientation, the second side of the housing is the front of the paper processing device;
a first media tray having an elongate footprint and a media drawer opening to a narrow side of the media input tray for use with the interface unit in the first position, and
a second media input tray having an elongate footprint and a media drawer opening to a wide side of the media input tray for use with the interface unit in the second position.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/655,697Filed 19 Oct 2012
Published: US 2014/0111911 A124 Apr 2014
Granted: 16 Dec 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

G03G 21/1609
Arrangement or disposition of the entire apparatus: for space saving, e.g. structural arrangements
B41J 11/003
Handling copy materials differing in width: paper-size detection, i.e. automatic detection of the length and/or width of copy material
Y10T 29/49826
Method of mechanical manufacture: assembling or joining
G03G
Electrography