Claims
- 1. An exit mechanism for printed media and documents exiting from a print station of a printer comprising:
- an exit chassis, said chassis including a longitudinal first edge;
- a series of spaced guide ribs including an integral beam pivotably mounted adjacent to said first edge; and
- spring members extending between said chassis and said beams for providing a normal force on said guide ribs and on the printed media and documents, whereby printed media of one thickness and printed media or documents of a greater thickness conveyed past said beams are accommodated by pivoted movement of said beams compressing said spring members, with respect to the printed media or documents of the greater thickness.
- 2. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein said chassis includes a series of cut-outs in said first edge, each cut-out including an integral shaft extending across said first edge, each of said guide ribs including an integral snap-in for rotatively mounting said guide ribs on respective ones of said shafts.
- 3. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein each of said guide ribs include a spaced pair of guide surfaces.
- 4. The mechanism of claim 3 further including at least one star wheel mounted between said guide surfaces and freely rotatable with respect to said guide surfaces.
- 5. The mechanism of claim 4 wherein the guide surfaces and star wheels are simultaneously pivoted by the printed media or document of the greater thickness.
- 6. The mechanism of claim 1 further including a pair of conical wheels rotatively attached to said chassis, said conical wheels being adapted to curve side edges of a printed media, when the printed media is exiting from said guide ribs.
- 7. The mechanism of claim 1 further including a series of stops on the exit chassis to prevent full rotation of respective ones of said integral beams, wherein said stops extend integrally from an edge of said chassis opposite said guide ribs and wherein said spring members are coil springs extending from an underside of said beams and an interior surface of said chassis.
- 8. The mechanism of claim 1 wherein each said guide rib include a pair of guide surfaces and a pair of snap-in slots extending rearwardly from said guide surfaces and further including a rotatable star wheel assembly inserted into each of said snap-in slots.
- 9. The mechanism of claim 1 further including a snap-in groove on said beam and at least one star wheel having a shaft snap-inserted into said groove.
- 10. In combination, a common printer platen for conveying printed media and documents to a printer exit including a roller and a guide ribs assembly comprising a beam, a series of spaced guide ribs and at least one star wheel forming a nip with the roller; and
- wherein said assembly including said beam, said guide ribs and said at least one star wheel are pivotable relative to said roller to accommodate printed media or documents of a first range of thickness and printed media or documents of a second range of greater thickness passing through the nip.
- 11. The combination of claim 10
- wherein said guide ribs assembly is pivotally mounted on an exit chassis.
- 12. In combination, a common printer platen for conveying printed media and documents to a printer exit including a roller and a series of spaced guide ribs forming a nip with the roller:
- wherein said guide ribs are pivotable relative to said roller to accommodate printed media or documents of a first range of thickness and printed media or documents of a second range of greater thickness passing through the nip;
- wherein said guide ribs are pivotally mounted on an exit chassis; and
- wherein said guide ribs each include an integral beam cantilevered transversely across said exit chassis, and wherein said exit chassis includes a series of stops extending from said exit chassis toward said guide ribs, said beams being limited in rotation by respective ones of said stops and being movable was from said stops by movement of the printed media or a document of the greater thickness past said guide ribs.
- 13. The combination of claim 12 further comprising a series of coil springs extending from an underside of said beams and an interior surface of said exit chassis for providing a normal force on said beams, said guide ribs and said printed media or document.
- 14. The combination of claim 13 wherein each said guide rib include a pair of guide surfaces and a pair of snap-in slots extending rearwardly from said guide surfaces and further including a rotatable star wheel assembly inserted into each of said snap-in slots.
- 15. In combination, a common printer platen for conveying printed media and documents to a printer exit including a roller and a series of spaced guide ribs forming a nip with the roller:
- wherein said guide ribs are pivotable relative to said roller to accommodate printed media or documents of a first range of thickness and printed media or documents of a second range of greater thickness passing through the nip;
- wherein said guide ribs are pivotally mounted on an exit chassis; and
- further including a pair of conical wheels rotatively connected to said exit chassis for conveying the printed media to the printer exit.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/585,058, filed Jan. 11, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,623 issued Jul. 29, 1997 which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/145,355, filed Oct. 29, 1993, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
4135308 |
Apr 1992 |
DEX |
0188376 |
Jul 1989 |
JPX |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
585058 |
Jan 1996 |
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Parent |
145355 |
Oct 1993 |
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