Patent Application
20170341430
In many printing devices, a printing medium passes from an input holder to an output holder via a printing medium path, the printing medium path including a printing zone in which a printing element prints on the printing medium is printed on. The two holders may be disposed on the same side of the printer, or on opposing sides, for example. The holders may take the form of rolls, for example, and the media holders may be accessed in order to, for example, re-supply the input holder and/or to remove a medium on which printing has been completed from the output holder.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details of certain examples are set forth. Reference in the specification to “an example” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least that one example, but not necessarily in other examples.
The holder system 100 includes a first printing medium holder 104a, and a second printing medium holder 104b, referred to herein as the “first holder 104a” and “second holder 104b” respectively. The holder system 100 includes a connection mechanism 103 to connect the holder system to a printer. The holder system 100 also includes a pivot mechanism 102, connected to each of the first holder 104a, the second holder 104b and the connection mechanism 103. The pivot mechanism 103 is pivotable so that the first holder 104a and the second holder 104b move relative to the connection mechanism 103 between a first configuration of the holder system 100 and a second configuration of the holder system 100.
The holders 104a, 104b of the example holder system 100 of
The holders 104a, 104b may facilitate removal of the printing medium 114, so that the printing medium 114 may be replaced, for example. For example, the medium support 107b may be slidably movable on the support arms 106 to vary the distance between the medium supports 107a, 107b to facilitate the fitting and removal of the support medium 114 and/or to accommodate different sizes of printing medium 114. Printing media 114 that the holders 104a, 104b may support include paper, flexible card, textiles, or any other type of medium.
The connection mechanism 103 in this example takes the form of a support structure comprising support plates 110a, 110b at respective ends of the holding system and holes 112 (which may be threaded), which may be used to fix the holder system to a printing device, as described below.
The pivot mechanism in this example takes the form of a rotatable shaft 102. The shaft 102 passes through a hole 108 in each of the support plates 110a, 110b, and connects to end parts 105a and 105b. The shaft can be rotated in the hole 108 and thus rotatably coupled to the support plates 110a, 110b. In some examples, the shaft 102 is mounted in the hole 108 on bearings (not shown). The holders 104a, 104b, are thus fixedly coupled to the shaft 102 via the end parts 105a, 105b, forming a rigid structure which can pivot within the hole 108 in the support plate 110a, so that with the shaft 102 forms a common axis of rotation about which the holders 104a, 104b pivot. That is, the holders 104a, 104b move relative to the connection mechanism 103 by rotating concurrently with the shaft 102.
In the example of
When printing, the printing medium 114 passes along the printing media path 206 shown in
In the above example, the holder system 100 is in the second configuration when printing. However, in other examples, printing may be performed with the holder system 100 in the first configuration. A diverter may be used for this purpose, for example. In still other examples, it is possible to perform printing with the holder system 100 in either the first configuration or the second configuration.
When the holder system 100 is in the first configuration, the first holder 104a is externally accessible and when the holder system 100 is in the second configuration, the second holder 104b is externally accessible, for example by a human operator. This enables, for example, the printing medium 114 to be removed and/or supplied to each of the holders 104a, 104b, by changing the configuration of the holder system 100. Thus, both holders 104a, 104b can be accessed from the same side of the printer 200, which enables, for example, the printer 200 to be placed next to another object, such as a wall, without access being inhibited.
In some examples, the height of the first holder 104a in the first position is substantially the same as the height of the second holder 104b in the second configuration. Thus, an operator may access and manipulate each of the holders 104a, 104b at substantially the same height, alleviating the operator from, for example, having to adopt stressful postures to access a holder.
The amount of space under the holder system 100 which may be used for storing accessories 202 may be increased compared to prior art in which holders are held at fixed positions above one another. For example, the holder system 100 may be put into the second configuration to increase the space available under the holder system 100, facilitating access thereto.
In some examples, one or both of the first and second configurations are stable configurations, in which the holder system 100 is held in a stable respective position.
When moving the holder system 100 from the second configuration to the first configuration, the lever 304 may be placed in a release state (e.g., raised), for example, by a human operator, and the catch 302 thereby released, enabling the holder system 100 to be pivoted to the first configuration. Once the holder system 100 has been pivoted to the first configuration, the weight of the holder system 100 may keep the holder system 100 stable in the first configuration, for example. The holder system 100 thus pivots between the first configuration and the second configuration based on engagement of the lever mechanism 300.
At block 402, the operator changes the configuration of the holder system 100. For example, the operator may change the configuration from the first configuration to the second configuration by causing the holder system 100 to pivot about the shaft 102, through approximately 90 degrees, bringing the second holder 104b to substantially the same height as the first holder 104a. The holder system 100 may be held in the second configuration by the fixing mechanism 300 described above, for example.
At block S404, the operator manipulates the holder 104a, 104b which was not manipulated at block S400. For example, the operator may manipulate the second holder 104b. The second holder 104b may be an output holder and the manipulation may comprise removing a printing medium on which printing is completed, for example. With the holder system 100 in the second configuration, the operator may additionally access the accessories stored under the holder system 100, to replenish ink supplies, for example.
The above arrangements are to be understood as illustrative examples. Further arrangements and modifications to those arrangements are envisaged. For example, although in the above examples, the holder system 100 was described as being caused to pivot between the first and second configurations by manual manipulation, in some examples an electric or other motor may cause the pivoting.
It is to be understood that any feature described in relation to any one example may be used alone, or in combination with other features described, and may also be used in combination with one or more features of any other of the examples, or any combination of any other of the examples. Furthermore, equivalents and modifications not described above may also be employed without departing from the scope of the accompanying claims.
