Patent Application
20100032886
1. Technical Field
The presently disclosed embodiments are directed to composite substrate feeding mechanisms having stackable feeder trays for holding a variety of substrate media.
2. Brief Discussion of Related Art
Conventional substrate feeders for use with printing systems generally include drawers for holding a predetermined size and quantity of paper. For example these drawers typically can hold between 550 and 3000 sheets of paper. These inflexible drawers limit the functionality of some printing systems. For example, because of the size of these drawers, only a limited number of drawers can be included in a substrate feeder. For long job runs such drawers provide an acceptable level of performance, since a user requires a larger number of sheets of paper to be available for each job run. However, for users who wish to perform shorter job runs, in some cases with more variability in job size, paper size, and paper type, these conventional substrate feeders can be burdensome and impractical.
Users typical implement “work arounds” so that these conventional substrate feeders function in a desired manner. For example, users may insert false loading material, such as cardboard, into a drawer of a substrate feeder to create a feeding jam at the end of a job run to stop the sheet feeding process so that the next job can be identified, prepared, and started. This mode of operation is not only inconvenient for the user, but also can lead to wear and tear of the substrate feeder and/or the printing system.
According to aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a composite feeding mechanism. The composite feeding mechanism includes feeder trays, a base unit, and a feeder unit. The feeder trays hold substrate media and are stackable on each other. The base unit supports a stack of the feeder trays. The feeder unit removes the substrate media from a first one of the feeder trays located at the top of the stack to satisfy a job.
According to other aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a printing system. The printing system includes a composite feeding mechanism configured to process one or more jobs using a stack of feeder trays. The composite feeding mechanism is also configured to adjust a vertical position of the stack so that a top one of the feeder trays is selected to satisfy a first one of the one or more jobs and to separate the top one of the feeder trays from the stack from a remainder of the feeder trays in the stack after the first one of the one or more jobs is satisfied. The composite feeding mechanism is further configured to discharge the top one of the feeder trays after the top one of the feeder trays is separated from the stack.
According to further aspects illustrated herein, there is provided a method for satisfying jobs in a printing system. The method includes adjusting a vertical position of a stack of feeder trays to facilitate removal of substrate media from a top one of the feeder trays in the stack to satisfy a job and removing the substrate media from the top one of the feeder trays. The substrate media is used to generate printouts. The method also includes removing the top one of the feeder trays from the stack after the job is satisfied so that a subsequent job can be processed.
Exemplary embodiments include a composite feeding mechanism to enable multiple predefined job runs in a sequential manner. The composite feeding mechanism can include a base unit on which feeder trays can be stacked. A feeder unit can be configured to remove substrate media from the feeder trays for use in a printing job.
As used herein, a “composite feeding mechanism” refers a one or more devices that facilitate satisfaction of jobs in a printing system that may require different substrate media.
As used herein, a “printing system” refers to one or more devices used to generate “printouts”, which refers to the reproduction of information on “substrate media”. As used herein, “substrate media” refers to, for example, paper, transparencies, parchment, film, fabric, plastic, or other substrates on which information can be reproduced.
A printing system can use an “electrostatographic process” to generate printouts, which refers to forming and using electrostatic charged patterns to record and reproduce information, a “xerographic process”, which refers to the use of a resinous powder on an electrically charged plate record and reproduce information, or other suitable processes for generating printouts, such as an ink jet process, a liquid ink process, a solid ink process, and the like.
As used herein, “feeder trays” refer to compartments for holding substrate media to be fed through a printing system.
As used herein, “stackable” refers to the ability to place feeder trays on top of other feeder trays to form a “stack”, which refers to a substantially vertical column of feeder trays.
As used herein, a “base unit” refers to a device with a surface on which a stack of feeder trays can be placed so that the base unit supports the stack of trays.
As used herein, an “elevator module” refers to a device that can raise and/or lower a feeder tray or a stack of feeder trays in a substantially vertical direction.
As used herein, a “feeder unit” refers to a device that receives a stack of feeder trays and is configured to remove substrate media from the feeder trays to satisfy one or more jobs.
As used herein, the terms “job” and “run” are used interchangeably and refer to a process of printing or reproducing information on substrate media. Jobs or runs can use a predetermined amount of substrate media, where a “job size” or a “run size” refers to the amount of substrate media required for completing a job or run.
As used herein, “vertical” generally refers to a substantially up and down direction, where moving in the vertical direction can be considered moving in the direction of the gravitational force or against the gravitational force.
The base unit 110 can include an elevator module 116 that can be used to displace the feeder trays supported by the base unit 110 in a substantially vertical direction. The elevator module 116 can be used to shift the feeder trays 120 in an upward and/or downward direction. The elevator module 116 can be implemented as a hydraulic system, a pulley system, a pneumatic system, a gear system, and the like, and can be controlled manually using controls 160 disposed on at least one of the base unit 110 and the feeding unit 130, or by controls remote to the composite feeding mechanism. In some embodiments, the control of the elevator module 116 can be automated such that a computing device determines when to operate the elevator module 116.
The feeder trays 120 can be configured to hold substrate media. One or more of the feeder trays 120 can be configured to hold a specified amount, type, and/or size of substrate media. For example, one or more feeder trays 120 can be configured to hold 50 sheets of plain letter sized paper and one or more other trays can be configured to hold 100 sheets of plain A4 sized paper. In some embodiments, one or more of the feeder trays 120 can be adjustably configured to hold different amounts, types, and/or sizes of substrate media so that the feeder trays 120 can be flexibly configured based on a job to be performed.
The feeder trays 120 can be stacked to form a vertical column of feeder trays 120, which can be supported by the base unit 110. The feeder trays 120 can be configured to interface with each other so that the stack 118 of feeder trays 120 can be stably formed such that the feeder trays 120 are substantially fixed in their position in the stack. In this manner, the feeder tray 121 at the top of the stack 118 can be supported by the feeder tray 122 directly below, which in turn can be support by the feeder tray 123 directly below the feeder tray 122, and so on.
The feeder trays 120 can be preloaded with substrate media and stacked based on jobs to be performed. The stack 118 of feeder trays 120 can be arranged in an order corresponding to the order in which the jobs are to be performed. For example, feeder trays 121-128 can be stacked, where feeder tray 121 is at the top of the stack and corresponds to a first job to be performed, and feeder tray 128 is at the bottom of the stack and corresponds to a last job to be performed using the stack 118. In this manner, a user can load a number of feeder trays and form a number of stacks, which can be used to satisfy jobs. In addition, while a stack (of feeder trays) is being used to satisfy jobs, a user can begin preparing another stack of feeder trays for subsequent jobs. By preloading feeder trays and performing stacks, a time between jobs (e.g., a down time) can be reduced or eliminated; thereby providing a high level of efficiency.
The feeding unit 130 can facilitate removal of substrate media from the feeder trays 120 so that the substrate media can be transported through a printing system. The feeding unit 130 can include a housing 132 having a door 134 and cavity 136 for receiving the stack 118 of feeder trays 120 supported by the base unit 110, and a substrate removal mechanism 138, such as vacuum feed head, friction retard unit, stalled roller unit, and the like, for removing substrate media from the feeder trays 120. The feeding unit 130 can also include sensors 140 for sensing various aspects of the feeder trays 120, such as a number of feeder trays 120 in the stack, whether the feeder tray at the top of the stack has been positioned for removal of the substrate media held thereby, etc.
For embodiments where the base 110 is independent of the feeding unit 130, the base unit 110 can be rolled into the cavity 136 and can be docked with respect to the feeding unit 130. For embodiments, where the base unit 110 and the feeding unit 130 are integrally formed, the base unit 110 can be configured as a drawer that can be pulled out from the cavity 136 or can be stationary within the cavity 136. To access the cavity 136, the door 134 of the feeding unit 130 may be opened. When the door 134 is closed, the feeding unit 130 can sense whether there are feeding trays 120 within the cavity 136 using at least one of the sensors 140. In some embodiments, the feeding unit 130 can sense a number of feeder trays 120 that are with the cavity 136 as well as other information about the feeder trays 120 and substrate media held thereby.
The substrate removal mechanism 138 is positioned towards or at the top end of the cavity 136 on an internal surface of the housing 132. When the feeding unit 130 senses that one of the feeder trays 120 in positioned so that substrate media held thereby can be removed, the substrate removal mechanism 138 to facilitate removal of the substrate media from the positioned one of the feeder trays 120 to satisfy a job requirement. For example, the feeder tray 121 at the top of the stack 118 of feeder trays 120 may be holding twenty (20) sheets of plain letter sized paper to satisfy an outstanding job. The substrate removal mechanism 138 can facilitate removal of the sheets of paper by removing one sheet of paper at a time from the top feeder tray 121 until the job is complete.
In some embodiments, the feeding unit 130 can include a tray separator 150 to separate the feeder trays 120 from the stack 118 and a used tray holder 154. For example, when a job has completed, the feeder tray 121 on top of the stack 118 can be removed by the tray separator 150, which can also discharge the feeder tray 121 from the feeding unit 130 via discharge path 152. The tray separator 150 can work in cooperation with the elevator module 116 to aid in the removal of the feeder tray 121. For example, the elevator module 116 can lower the stack 118 of feeder trays 120 and the tray separator 150 can lift the feeder tray 121 off of the stack 118 or the tray separator 150 can hold the feeder tray 121 in a fixed position and the elevator module 116 can lower the stack 118 of feeder trays 120 so that the feeder tray 121 is separated from the stack 118. The used tray holder 154 can receive the feeder trays 120 that are separated from the stack 118 and discharged from the feeding unit 130. The discharged feeder trays 120 can be stacked on the tray holder 154 so that the user can remove the discharged feeder trays 120 and reuse the discharged feeder tray for other jobs.
The side walls 208 and 214 can extend in a generally orthogonal direction from a perimeter of the broad bottom surface 206. The side walls 208 and 214 can be configured so that side walls 208 are opposingly spaced and side walls 214 are opposingly spaced. The side walls 208 can be contoured so that the side walls 208 have jog 210 forming a ridge 212 that can be substantially parallel to the broad bottom surface 206 and the side walls 214 can be substantially planar. The contoured side walls 208 provide an increased perimeter at the top open portion 216 of the feeder tray 200 compared to the perimeter defined by the broad bottom surface 206. When feeder trays are stacked, the ridge 212 formed by the contoured side walls 208 can rest on the top edges of corresponding side walls of another feeder tray so that the feeder trays are at least partially nested one within the other. In this manner, feeder trays in a stack rest on at least a portion of the feeder trays below them in the stack and a portion of the feeder tray including the broad bottom surface can extend into the compartment of a feeder on which it is stacked. As a result, the feeder tray 200 can be stacked in a stable configuration.
The feeder tray 200 can include a resiliently biased feeder plate 220 disposed at the bottom of the compartment 218 on the broad bottom surface 206 of the feeder tray 200 (
The top of the feeder tray 200 can be open to allow easy loading and removal of substrate media 219. When substrate media 219 is loaded into the compartment 218 of the feeder tray 200, the substrate media 219 can compress the resilient member 224 so that the plate member 222 moves closer to the broad bottom surface at the proximate end of the feeder tray 200 decreasing the slope of the ramp formed by the resiliently biased feeder plate 220. The resiliently biased feeder plate 220 can function to ensure that the substrate media 219 held by the feeder tray 200 is position in a manner that facilitates removal of the substrate media 219 by the substrate removal mechanism 138 (
The feeder tray 200 can include a registering mechanism 240 that can interface with the one or more of the sensors 140 of the feeding unit 130. The registering mechanism 240 can be formed as openings 242, such as slots, holes, indents, or the like, formed in the feeder tray 200 for receiving one or more of the sensors 140. When one or more of the sensors 140 detect the registering mechanism 240, the feeding unit 130, based on a signal from one or more of the sensors 140, determines that the feeder tray 200 is suitably positioned to allow the feeding unit 130 to begin removing substrate media from the feeder tray 200.
The feeder tray 200 can include identifiers 250 disposed on one or more surfaces of the feeder tray 200. The identifiers 250 can provide information regarding the feeder tray 200 and the content of the feeder tray 200. For example, in some embodiments, the identifiers 250 can include indicia, colors, glyphs, bar codes, customer replaceable unit monitors (CRUMs), radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, other radio frequency devices, or other suitable mechanism for conveying information. The user can place one or more of the identifiers 250 on the feeder tray 200 and/or one or more of the identifiers 250 can be predisposed on the feeder tray 200 during manufacturing.
One or more of the sensors 140 can detect the identifiers 250 and can generate signals used by the feeding unit 130 to determine information about the feeder tray 200 and the contents of the feeder tray 200. For example, one of the identifiers 250 can provide information pertaining to the capacity of the feeder tray 200 (i.e. the amount of substrate media 219 can be held by the feeder tray 200), an amount of substrate media 219 placed in the feeder tray 200, a size of substrate media 219 being used (e.g., letter, A4, legal size, etc.), a type of substrate media 219 being used (e.g., bond paper, parchment, plain paper, photo paper, etc.), a job or run number, and the like. The feeding unit 130 can log the information obtained from the identifiers 250 to associate job processing information with a particular feeder tray, can use the information obtained from the identifiers 250 to queue jobs to be processed, and/or can use the information obtained from the identifiers 250 to determine a number of jobs remaining.
For example, in some embodiments, the identifiers 250 can be CRUMs. CRUM technology defines a process by which a state or status of consumable subsystems can be monitored to enhance the efficiency or productivity of a process. For embodiments where one or more of the identifiers 250 are CRUMs, the CRUMs can monitor and provide feedback to the composite substrate feeding mechanism pertaining to information about the feeder tray 200, such as an amount of substrate media remaining in a feeder tray 200, a type of substrate media loaded in the feeder tray 200, a location of the feeder tray 200 in the stack, and the like.
The CRUMs can include a memory device for storing the information about the feeder tray 200 and can be operatively connected with the one or more sensors of the feeding unit. Various electronic memory systems may be used in the CRUM including ROM, RAM, EEPROM, magnetic, optical, and the like. The information about the feeder tray 200 stored CRUM may be updated, for example, with a count of sheets removed from the feeder tray 200 by the feeding unit. For example, the CRUMs can be pre-programmed with a value corresponding to a total number of sheets of substrate media reflecting a maximum number of printouts that can be made generated using the feeder tray 200 and/or a value corresponding to a location in the stack. The value corresponding to the total number of sheets of substrate media can decline as each sheet is removed from the feeder tray 200. The value corresponding to the location in the stack can decline as feeder trays above the feeder tray 200 are removed from the stack.
In some embodiments, the identifiers can be RFID tags. An RFID tag refers to a device that can be disposed on an object and can communicate with other devices using RF signals, such as one or more of the sensors of the feeding unit, which can be RFID readers. The RFID tags can include an integrated circuit having memory that stores and/or a processor to process information, such as information about feeder trays, and that can modulate and/or demodulate an RF signal. The RFID tags can also include an antenna that propagates RF signals from the RFID tags and receives RF signals from other devices. The RFID tags may or may not include a power source to power the RFID tags.
For embodiments where one or more of the identifiers 250 are RFID tags, the RFID tags can be used to monitor and provide feedback to the composite substrate feeding mechanism pertaining to information about the feeder tray 200, such as an amount of substrate media remaining in the feeder tray 200, a type of substrate media loaded in the feeder tray 200, a location of the feeder tray 200 in the stack, and the like. The information about the feeder tray 200 stored in the RFID tag may be updated, for example, with a count of sheets removed from the feeder tray 200 by the feeding unit. For example, the RFID tags can be pre-programmed with a value corresponding to a total number of sheets of substrate media reflecting a maximum number of printouts that can be made generated using the feeder tray 200 and/or a value corresponding to a location of the feeder tray 200 in the stack. The value corresponding to the total number of sheets of substrate media can decline as each sheet is removed from the feeder tray 200. The value corresponding to the location of the feeder tray 200 in the stack can decline as feeder trays above the feeder tray 200 are removed from the stack.
The feeder trays 120 can be stacked on the base unit 110 which can be moveably positioned with respect to the feeding unit 130 so that, for example, the base unit 110 can be moved into the cavity 136 of the feeding unit 130 (
The transport mechanism 502 can be operatively connected to the feeding mechanism 130 to receive the substrate media as it is being removed from the feeder tray 121. The transport mechanism 130 can function to transport the substrate media from the feeding mechanism 100 to the printing mechanism 504 in a sequential manner. The transport mechanism 502 may be formed from nip rollers, air fluffers, or other mechanisms known to those skilled in the art for transporting substrate media.
The printing mechanism 504 can be operatively connected to the transport mechanism 502 and can receive the substrate media from the transport mechanism 502. Once the printing mechanism 504 has received the substrate media, the printing mechanism 504 can use an electrostatographic process, a xerographic process, or other suitable process for printing information on the substrate media to produce printouts corresponding to the print job being processed, such as an ink jet process, liquid ink, solid ink, and the like.
The printouts can be sent through the finishing mechanism 506, which is operatively connected to the printing mechanism 504. The finishing mechanism 506 can perform one or more finishing operations specified in the print job, such as collating, hole punching, stapling folding, saddle-stitching or binding, inserting tabs or sheets between printouts, and the like. Once the finishing operations are completed the printouts are stacked by the finishing mechanism 506.
When the job is complete, the feeder tray 121, which may have some substrate media remaining therein can be removed from the feeding mechanism 130. In some embodiments, the feeder trays 120 are removed manually by the user. For example, when a job is complete, the printing system 500 may alert the user that the tray should be removed so that the next job in the queue can be started. The user can then open the door on the feeding unit 130 and remove the feeder tray 121 from the stack.
In other embodiments, the feeder tray 121 can be automatically removed from the feeding unit 130 when a job is complete. For example, upon completion of a job the feeding unit 130 can separate the feeder tray from the stack 118 using the tray separator 150 and can discharge the feeder tray through the discharge path 152 to the used tray holder 154, where the feeder tray 121 can be placed by the feeding unit 130.
After the feeder tray 121 has been discharged from the feeding unit 130, the feeding unit can operate the elevator module to again raise the stack 118 of feeder trays 120 so that the feed tray 122 is positioned for the next job. The printing system can repeat the above described process for feeder tray 122 and the remaining feeder trays 120 in the stack 118.
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations, or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
