Claims
- 1. A duplexing module attachable to a printing device that has a feed roller that moves a sheet of print media to and from a print source, comprising:
an entry guide located adjacent to the feed roller when the duplexing module is attached to the printing device thereby to receive the sheet of print media from the feed roller; an exit guide located adjacent to the feed roller when the duplexing module is attached to the printing device to direct the sheet from the duplexing module to the feed roller; and a drive roller mounted to have surface portions adjacent to the entry and exit guide members and configured for moving the sheet from the entry guide to the exit guide.
- 2. The module of claim 1 further comprising a path along which the sheet moves in the duplexing module between the entry and exit guides, the path being substantially circular.
- 3. The module of claim 2 wherein the drive roller is arranged so that the sheet moves from the entry guide to the drive roller and from the drive roller to the exit guide such that between the entry and exit guides the path of the sheet in the duplexing module substantially corresponds to the circumference of the drive roller.
- 4. The module of claim 3 wherein the path is circular for about 270 degrees.
- 5. The module of claim 1 wherein the drive roller has a diameter that is substantially greater than the diameter of the feed roller.
- 6. The module of claim 1 further comprising gear linkage for connecting a reversible drive motor in the printing device to the drive roller of the duplexing module so that the drive motor drives both the feed roller and the drive roller.
- 7. The module of claim 6 including a transmission connected between the drive motor and the drive roller for driving the drive roller in a one direction as the feed roller is driven in either of two opposing directions.
- 8. A method of making a duplexing module for a printing device that has a feed roller for moving a sheet of print media, the method comprising the steps of:
providing an entry guide along which may be slid a sheet of print media away from the feed roller; providing an exit guide along which may be slid a sheet of print media toward the feed roller; and mounting a single rotatable duplexing roller so that the entry guide and the exit guide are both substantially tangent to the periphery of the roller such that a sheet of print media will slide from the entry guide, onto the rotating roller and from the roller onto the exit guide.
- 9. The method of claim 8 including the step of arranging the duplexing roller so that the sheet of print media that is slid onto the roller will be rotated by the roller through about 270 degrees.
- 10. The method of claim 8 including the step of sizing the duplexing roller to have a radius of about 2 inches.
- 11. A method of flipping a sheet of print media to enable printing on both sides of that sheet, comprising the steps of:
directing a sheet of print media from a feed roller to a print source with a first side of the media exposed to receive printing thereon; moving the sheet from the feed roller onto a drive roller; rotating the drive roller with the sheet thereon; redirecting the sheet from the drive roller back to the feed roller with a second side of the sheet exposed for printing thereon.
- 12. The method of claim 11 including the steps of providing an entry guide between the feed roller and the drive roller and sliding the sheet along the entry guide from the feed roller to the drive roller.
- 13. The method of claim 12 including the steps of providing an exit guide between the drive roller and the feed roller and sliding the sheet along the exit guide from the drive roller to the feed roller.
- 14. The method of claim 11 wherein the directing step includes rotating the feed roller in a first direction and the redirecting step includes rotating the feed roller in a direction that is opposite the first direction.
- 15. The method of claim 11 including the step of sizing the drive roller to have a diameter that is greater than the diameter of the feed roller thereby to enable the use of a single drive roller for flipping the sheet.
- 16. The method of claim 11 wherein the rotating step includes rotating the sheet on the drive roller through about 270 degrees so that upon moving from the drive roller the sheet is redirected to a location on the feed roller near a location where the sheet moves from the feed roller during the step of moving the sheet from the feed roller onto the drive roller.
- 17. The method of claim 11 wherein the rotating step is carried out with a single drive roller.
- 18. The method of claim 14 wherein the drive roller is rotated in only a single direction.
- 19. The method of claim 11 wherein the rotating step comprises rotating the drive roller in a single direction irrespective of the rotation direction of the feed roller.
Parent Case Info
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/607,679, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/283,107, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,231. Both of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
Continuation in Parts (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09607679 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
Child |
09795625 |
Feb 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09283107 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
09607679 |
Jun 2000 |
US |