Various of the above-mentioned and further features and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the specific apparatus and its operation or methods described in the examples below, and the claims. Thus, they will be better understood from this description of these specific embodiments, including the drawing figures (which are approximately to scale) wherein:
FIG. 1, labeled “prior art,” is a perspective view of a single stack edge guide also showing an exemplary sheet stack, which side guide can unlatch to move in one direction towards a stack edge by pushing on an upstanding latch releasing lever, but in order to move in the opposite direction to receive a large size paper stack requires a separate latch releasing pinching action coordinated together with a movement of the side guide in the direction opposite from the direction required to push on the latch releasing lever;
FIG. 2, labeled “prior art,” is a side view of the FIG. 1 example, showing the unidirectional-only unlatching of that stack edge guide;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a novel exemplary modification of the stack edge guide of FIGS. 1 and 2 which provides simple integral latch releasing for stack edge guide repositioning movement in either desired direction by single direction movement in the desired direction of the upstanding latch releasing lever;
FIG. 4 is a side view of the example of FIG. 3 further illustrating the integral simplified pushing or pulling movement of that stack edge guide with integral bi-directional unlatching possible with a single finger movement of the upstanding latch releasing lever in the desired stack edge guide movement direction;
FIG. 5, labeled “prior art,” is a perspective view of another stack edge guide which can only unlatch to move by a latch releasing pinching movement in only a single direction which is transversely of either of the needed directions of motion of the stack edge guide; and
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment, a novel exemplary modification of the stack edge guide of FIG. 5, which provides simple integral latch releasing for stack edge guide repositioning movement in either desired direction by single direction movement in that desired direction of an upstanding latch releasing lever, possible with a single unidirectional finger movement.
By way of further background, adjusting paper trays for different sizes of print media, as in the prior art examples of FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 and the art cited above, often requires two simultaneous if not conflicting manual actions: pinching or squeezing a latch release actuator in one direction; and pushing and/or pulling the stack edge guide in a different desired repositioning movement direction. This relatively complex and unintuitive combined motions action may be particularly difficult for some people with limited manual dexterity. Yet stack edge guides without this complexity, such as those without positional latching, may not maintain their reset position reliably enough for certain paper feeding applications. In particular, stack side guides typically largely control and determine the initial lateral registration and skew of the sheets being fed from the stack thereof in the tray when properly positioned contacting or closely adjacent to the stack edges. The disclosed embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4, and FIG. 6, retain an integral latching mechanism that automatically latches reliably yet unlatches to allow the guide to be moved in either direction by a simple manual pushing or pulling action in the same direction of movement as is then desired to reposition the stack edge guide. Yet when that pushing or pulling action is released, both of these embodiments provide automatic re-latching in the desired release position of the stack edge guide. Furthermore, as may be seen, many of the existing conventional latching system and stack edge guide components may be desirably retained and re-utilized therewith to reduce re-tooling and manufacturing costs for these disclosed embodiments.
Describing now in further detail these two exemplary embodiments with reference to the Figures, there are shown here two different examples of a simple repositionable stack edge guide with the above-described and other advantages, numbered 10 in FIGS. 3 and 4, and 20 in FIG. 6. These stack edge guides 10 or 20 are easily manually repositionable in any of various sheet stacking trays to accommodate different sizes of print media sheet stacks 12, yet automatically latch in their desired re-set positions. Typically, as here, one or more stack edge guides 10 or 20 are linearly slide mounted on simple slide tracks on or under the sheet stacking tray surface [not relevant to this description because not requiring any modification, and variously shown in cited art] so as to be slidable towards at least one present print media sheet stack 12 edge position for sheets stacked in the tray, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, or bi-directionally slidable into new positions to receive therein a new stack of sheets of a different size.
Further, referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, latching system 14 or 22 may be provided on or as a part of stack edge guides 10 or 20 for engaging and disengaging the stack edge guide from a selected latching position from among multiple different latching positions. A latching system may be typically provided, as in these examples, by engagement of a projecting latching engagement member 15 or 23 respectively, with an elongated toothed (or alternatively, apertured or frictional surface) track or rack 30 extending parallel to the slide tracks for the stack edge guide 10 or 20. The present system is applicable to many different such stack edge guide position latching systems.
Turning further to the subject improvements, the disclosed embodiments 10 and 20 provide automatic latching yet integrated manual latch releasing and movement of a movable sheet stack edge guide in a single simple and unidirectional manual movement which is in, and provides, the desired repositioning movement direction of stack edge guide 10 or 20 itself. There is in these examples an upstanding readily visible integral unlatching and movement actuating lever member 16 or 24, respectively, that can be operated even with a single movement of one finger to both release and move the sheet stack edge guide bi-directionally. This vertically extending member 16 or 24 can automatically unlatch the latching system 14 or 22 to move the edge guide 10 or 22 simply by pushing or pulling on it with a single finger in the desired movement direction. The member 16 or 24 pivots in that same direction to release the latch. No counterintuitive transverse or opposite direction squeezing or lifting movement is required for unlatching and movement. Thus, disclosed in both embodiments 10 and 20 is a mechanism that can latch a sheet stacking edge guide reliably in a desired position yet allow the guide to be moved in either direction to a new desired position by a simple unidirectional manual pushing action. The extending member 16 or 24 need only be partially pivotal through a small acute angle, or pivotal within effective such stop limits, such that additional manual force beyond a small force needed to for unlatching by such limited pivoting of that member 16 or 24 moves the stack edge guide 10 or 20 instead.
The exemplary sheet stack edge guide 10 mechanism of FIGS. 3 and 4, as particularly shown in FIG. 4, comprises an integral deformable plastic part 17 mounted to but extending from the rest of the stack edge guide 10 by a flexible extension 17A. This part 17 includes the upwardly extending actuator lever 16 at the other side of the flexible extension 17A. In the normal, un-actuated, solid line, position thereof teeth 17B extending downwardly intermediately of the flexible extension 17A engage underlying teeth on the toothed track or rack 30 to latch the stack edge guide 10 thereto in that position. Movement of the lever 16 in one direction—moving the guide 10 inwardly—causes pivotal flexure of the flexible extension 17A about its connection area 17C to the side guide 10 and thus lifting of the teeth 17B away from the track 30, to unlatch and allow movement of the side guide 10 in that same direction of lever 16 movement. Movement of the lever 16 in the opposite direction—to move the guide 10 outwardly—causes (as shown in phantom) upward flexure of the flexible extension 17A about an integral pivot heel or pivot areas 17D at its outward end (under the lever 16) which is pivoting against the tray surface on opposite sides of the track 30 as shown in FIG. 2. That opposite lever 16 movement thus also lifts the teeth 17B away from the track 30, to also unlatch and allow movement of the side guide 10 in that opposite direction of lever 16 movement. When movement force is removed from the lever 16 the internal spring force in the flexible extension 17A returns itself and the lever 16 automatically to their normal positions, thus also re-inserting the teeth 17B down into track 30, to latch and prevent movement of the side guide 10 from its new position.
The other exemplary embodiment 20 of a repositionable stack edge guide shown in FIG. 6 is a modification of the prior art example of FIG. 5. As in FIG. 5 there is a “U” shaped member 25 with a thinner and flexible central or bottom interconnection, here 25A between a left side portion 25B integral the rest of the repositionable stack edge guide 20 and right side portion 25C that is not, and thus may be manually pinched pivotably towards the left side portion 25B. A spring 26 therebetween pushes the right side portion 25C away. This pushes down the bottom of the right side portion 25C, which pushes down its integral latching tab 25D into the tooth positional latching rack 30 on the stacking tray surface.
As modified in FIG. 6, a transverse pinching movement is no longer required to release this latching tab or latch engagement tab 25D to allow stack edge guide repositioning. An upstanding tabbed lever 24 is pivotally mounted by a pin 27 to right side portion 25C to be movable in either of the movement directions of the stack edge guide 20. The bottom of this lever 24 has two oppositely laterally extended camming edge surfaces 24A and 24B engageable with a fixed surface 28 added to the fixed left side portion 25B. Pushing the upstanding tabbed lever 24 in either of the two opposite movement directions of the stack edge guide 20 pivots it to force down one of the two camming surfaces 24A and 24B against the fixed surface 28. That lifts up its pin mounting 27, which lifts up its attached right side portion 25C, which lifts its integral latching tab or latch engagement tab 25D away from the latching rack 30. Thus allowing unlatched movement of the edge guide 20 in the same direction in which the lever 24 is being pushed or pulled.
The claims, as originally presented and as they may be amended, encompass variations, alternatives, modifications, improvements, equivalents, and substantial equivalents of the embodiments and teachings disclosed herein, including those that are presently unforeseen or unappreciated, and that, for example, may arise from applicants/patentees and others.
Patent Application
20080001346
