Printers may have one or more input trays to hold blank media. Scanners and automatic document feeders (ADF) may also have an input tray to hold documents to be scanned. Both types of input trays typically have adjustable media guides for media/documents of different widths.
Printers, scanners and ADFs have at least one input tray to hold blank media or documents to be scanned. Most input trays can accommodate media of different widths. The media/documents in the input trays need to be aligned to the paper path to prevent miss-feeds, skewed feeds, media jams or the like. For proper alignment the front edge of the media/document should be perpendicular to the loading direction. The loading direction is the direction of motion of the media as it enters the paper path of the device (i.e. the printer, scanner or ADF).
Most input trays align the media using a pair of media guides that align the two side edges of the media parallel with the loading direction. The pair of media guides move in opposite directions when changing widths to keep the media centered in the media tray. The media guides can typically move between a number of different positions corresponding to a number of different media widths. Some media trays only have one media guide that forces the media against one side of the media tray.
Moving the media guilds to the correct position/location may not be easy. Some media guides can be positioned at any location between a maximum width and a minimum width. Other types of media guides may only have a few set positions available between the maximum width and the minimum width. Either type of media guide can be incorrectly set for the media currently loaded into the media tray. When the media guides are at a first width and media of a smaller width is loaded in the media tray, miss-feeds, skewed feeds or media jams may occur.
Some types of media guides are spring loaded towards the media in the media tray. When the spring force is too high, the side edges of the media can be bent or wrinkled which may cause miss-feeds. Increasing the width of the media guides against the force of the spring may also be difficult.
In one example, an input tray will only have two different media guide positions for two different media widths. An over-center device will force the media guide towards the first position when the media guide is closer to the first position than to the second position and will force the media guide towards the second position when the media guide is closer to the second position than to the first position.
The over-center device will snap the media guide into one of the two positions dependent on which position the media guide is closest too when a user release the guide. When a user move the media guide less than half way from one position to the other position, the over-center device will snap the media guide back into the first position. When a user move the media guide more than half way from one position to the other position, the over-center device will snap the media guide into the second position.
The media support surface 104 is located in the bottom of the input tray 102 and supports media stacked in the input tray 102. The media guide 106 is positioned above the media support surface 104. Media is held between the media guide 106 and one side of the media tray 102. The media guide 106 is coupled to the over-center device 108. Therefore the media guide 106 only has two positions for two different media widths. The over-center device 108 will force the media guide 106 towards the first position when the media guide 106 is closer to the first position than to the second position and will force the media guide 106 towards the second position when the media guide 106 is closer to the second position than to the first position. In this example only one media guide 106 is shown. In other examples there may be a pair of media guides that move in opposite directions when changing widths and keep the media centered between the two media guides.
Each media guide (206A and 206B) comprises a support arm (214A and 214B) that extends perpendicularly from the inner surface (230A and 230B) of the media guide (206A and 206B). The two support arm (214A and 214B) are positioned in a groove 222 formed in the bottom of the input tray 202. The two media guides (206A and 206B) extend above the support surface 204 and hold media between their inner surfaces (230A and 230B).
The two media guides (206A and 206B), along with their support arms (214A and 214B), can move from a first position to a second position along groove 222 (as shown by arrows 226). The two media guides (206A and 206B) move perpendicular to a loading direction (as shown by arrow 227). The loading direction is the direction of motion of media as it enters a paper path of the device (i.e. the printer, scanner or ADF). The first position (as shown) is for media of a larger width W1 and the second position is for media of a smaller width W2 (see
Coupling device 220 connects the two media guides (206A and 206B) together and causes them to move the same distance but in the opposite directions in groove 222. For example, when moving from the first position into the second position, the two media guides (206A and 206B) move towards each other. In this example coupling device 220 is a bell crank 212 that rotates about axis 210 (as shown by arrow 228). The two over-center devices are forcing the two media guides away (206A and 206B) from each other when the media guides (206A and 206B) are in the second position.
Because the bell crank 212 rotates about an arc and the two support arms (214A and 214B) move in a linear direction in the groove 222, there is some clearance between the two support arms (214A and 214B) and the groove 222 and/or between where the two support arms (214A and 214B) attached to the bell crank 212 to accommodate the difference in the motions. This clearance may allow the inner surfaces (230A and 230B) of the two media guides (214A and 214B) to become miss-aligned with respect to each other when the media guides (206A and 206B) are moving between the first position and the second position.
There are two pairs of stops 218, one pair on each side of the input tray 202. The two over-center devices force each end of the two media guides (206A and 206B) against the stops 218 when the media guides (206A and 206B) are in the first position. This keeps the inner surfaces (230A and 230B) of the two media guides (214A and 214B) parallel with each other when the media guides (206A and 206B) are in the first position.
The input tray 202 has 2 pair of slots (224A and 224B) formed in the bottom surface with a slot (224A and 224B) located underneath each end of the media guides (206A and 206B). Each end of the two media guides (206A and 206B) has a mount (232A and 232B) that extends from the bottom of the media guide (206A and 206B) through the slot (224A and 224B). The mounts (232A and 232B) couple the two over-center devices to the media guides (206A and 206B) (see
In this example, the middle sections of the two leaf springs (234A and 234B) are attached to the bottom of the input tray 202 and the two ends of the leaf springs (234A and 234B) are attached to the media guides (206A and 206B). In other examples the middle of the leaf springs (234A and 234B) may be attached to the media guides (206A and 206B) and the two ends of the leaf springs (234A and 234B) may be attached to the bottom of the input tray 202.
In this example the mounts (232A and 232B) are ‘V’ shaped but in other examples other shapes may be used. The tips of the leaf springs (234A and 234B) fit into the ‘V’ shape, holding the leaf springs (234A and 234B) in place. The distance between each pair of ‘V’ shaped mounts is selected such that the leaf springs (234A and 234B) are compressed once they are loaded into the mounts (232A and 232B). Because the leaf springs (234A and 234B) are compressed, the leaf springs (234A and 234B) will be buckled in one direction when the media guides (206A and 206B) are in the first position (as shown in
In the example describe above, the coupling device 220 between the two media guides (206A and 206B) was a bell crank 212. In other examples, other types of coupling devices may be used in the input tray 202.
A rack and pinion coupling device does not need as much clearance between the support arms (314A and 314B) and the groove 222 in the input tray 202 as a bell crank 212. With tighter tolerances between the support arms (314A and 314B) and the groove 222 in the input tray 202, the inner surfaces (230A and 230B) of the media guides (206A and 206B) may remain parallel with each other even when the media guides (206A and 206B) are moving between the two positions. Therefore when using this type of a coupling device, hard stops may not be needed at the two different positions of the media guides (206A and 206B).
In the examples describe above the over-center devices are leaf springs (234A and 234B). Other types of over-center devices may be used in the input tray 202.
The slide 444 can move between two positions. The first position is where the mound 448 is on the right side of the high point of the spring (as shown). The second position is where the mound 448 is on the left side of the spring high point. As the slide is moved towards the left (in the current view) the mound 448 begins to compress the spring 446. The force generated by the compress spring 446 acts to force the slide 444 back towards the first position until the tip of the mound 448 passes to the left of the high point 452 of the spring 446. Once the tip of the mound 448 passes to the left of the high point 452 of the spring 446, the force of the spring 446 forces the slide towards the second position.
The over-center device shown in
A stack of media or a document 580 is shown loaded into the input tray 502. The pick wheel 584 is positioned over the input tray and moves the top page of media/document in a loading direction (as shown by arrow 527) towards device body 582. The loading direction is parallel with a paper path inside the device 500. Device 500 may be a printer, an automatic document feeder (ADF) a scanner or the like.
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