Claims
- 1. A media sheet pick and feed system comprising:
- a pick roller shaft mounted for rotation;
- a media sheet support surface for supporting a stack of media sheets during pick and feed operations, said support surface separated from said pick roller shaft by a fixed distance during said operations;
- arm means coupled to and extending from said pick roller shaft;
- pick roller means rotatably supported by said arm means so as to rest upon an upper most media sheet of said stack, and drivingly engaged with said pick roller shaft;
- drive means juxtaposed to, and for rotating said pick roller shaft and having first and second directions of rotation; and
- clutch means positioned between said drive means and said pick roller shaft, having a driving state and a non-driving state and in said driving state, coupling said drive means to said pick roller shaft to cause a rotation thereof and a pick rotation of said pick roller means said clutch means in said non-driving state being uncoupled from said pick roller shaft to enable free wheeling of said pick roller shaft and pick roller means while still in contact with a media sheet being fed.
- 2. The media sheet pick and feed system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:
- feed roll means positioned in a feed direction from said pick roller means and coupled to said drive means while said drive means is rotating in said first direction of rotation, said feed roll means thereby caused by said drive means to rotate to impede a media sheet from moving in a feed direction while said pick roller means is rotating in a pick direction, said feed roll means and pick roller means cooperating to thereby enable an alignment of said media sheet against said feed roll means.
- 3. The media sheet pick and feed system as recited in claim 2 wherein said feed roll means responds to a rotation of said drive means in said second direction of rotation to feed a media sheet in engagement therewith.
- 4. The media sheet pick and feed system as recited in claim 1, wherein said arm means extends from said pick roller shaft in a direction in which said media sheets are to be fed and enables said pick roller means to continuously contact a media sheet at a point downstream from said pick roller shaft in a feed direction of said media sheets.
- 5. The media sheet pick and feed system as recited in claim 3, wherein said arm means includes: a pair of arms rotatably coupled to said pick roller shaft; and said pick roller means includes a pick roller mounted on an axle between said pair of arms at an extremity thereof that is most distant from said pick roller shaft, and gear means drivingly coupling said pick roller to said pick roller shaft.
- 6. The media sheet pick and feed system as recited in claim 5 wherein said clutch means comprises:
- a first gear coupled to said drive means and mounted at one extremity of an arm by a fixed axle;
- a second gear, including frictional means, mounted on a translatable axle mounted at a second extremity of said arm, rotation of said first gear by rotation of said drive means in said first direction enabling said frictional means to cause movement of said arm and second gear into driving engagement with drive means on said pick roller shaft, rotation of said first gear in an opposite direction by said drive means enabling said frictional means to cause movement of said arm and second gear out of engagement with said pick roller shaft.
- 7. The media sheet pick and feed system as recited in claim 4 wherein a stack of media sheets are insertable and removable from said media sheet support surface while engaged with said media sheet pick and feed system, insertion of said stack of media sheets and causing a rotation of said arm means and pick roller means about said pick roller shaft.
- 8. The media pick and feed system as recited in claim 5 further comprising:
- means for preventing said pick roller means from contacting said media sheet support surface during a rotational driven state.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/238,601 filed on May 3, 1994, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (5)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
2851458A1 |
Nov 1978 |
DEX |
3177239 |
Aug 1991 |
JPX |
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
238601 |
Aug 1994 |
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