Stalling operation of imaging devices

• US 10,442,227 B2
• Filed: 07/31/2015
• Issued: 10/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Huang, Xiao-Xi, Ong, Vincent L-H, Zhou, Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): Worku, Negussie
• Application Number:
  US15/571,002
• Publication Number:
  US 20180162152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,537 Days
• Field of Search: 271 1013, 271117, 271114, 271273, 271 1004, 271 1012, 271 11, 271110, 271118, 271125, 271126, 271127, 271147, 271198, 271213, 27126501, 271274, 271275, 271 34, 271 901, 271 905, 271 906, 271 908, 271 91, 271 911, 358296
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/006 Means for preventing paper jams or for facilitating their removal
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/0018 in the sheet input section of automatic paper handling systems
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/02 Framework
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/38 Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/01 indicating an entity as a function of which control, adjustment or change is performed, i.e. input
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/03 indicating an entity which is measured, estimated, evaluated, calculated or determined but which does not constitute an entity which is adjusted or changed by the control process per se
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2403/42 Spur gearing
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2403/422 involving at least a swing gear
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2403/70 Clutches; Couplings
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2403/722 Gear clutches
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2404/1531 the transport surface being a cylinder
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/20 Location in space
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2511/528 Jam
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2513/412 Direction of rotation of motor powering the handling device
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2553/51 Encoders, e.g. linear
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1311 leading edge
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/12 Single-function printing machines, typically table-top machines
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0669 Driving devices therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 5/062 between rollers or balls
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 7/06 : responsive to presence of faulty articles or incorrect separation or feed B65H7/14 takes precedence

Abstract

Examples of stalling of operation of imaging devices are described herein. In an example, the imaging device includes an input roller assembly to transport a medium in the imaging device and a line feed roller assembly disengagably coupled to the input roller assembly to selectively drive the input roller assembly. To stall the operation of the imaging device, a line feed shaft of the line feed roller assembly can be automatically disengaged from the input roller assembly to discontinue advance of the medium along a print path.

Claims

1. An imaging device comprising:

an input roller assembly to transport a medium from an input tray towards an image-forming assembly; and

a line feed roller assembly disengagably coupled to the input roller assembly to selectively drive the input roller assembly, the line feed roller assembly comprising;

a line feed shaft coupled to an actuator to;

obtain a drive from the actuator; and

disengage from the input roller assembly to discontinue advance of the medium; and

a drive control assembly mounted on the line feed shaft to disengage the line feed roller assembly from the input roller assembly to stall operation of the imaging device, the drive control assembly comprising;

a swing arm mounted on the line feed shaft, wherein the swing arm bears a transition fit on the line feed shaft;

a driving transmission member fixedly mounted on the line feed shaft to rotate with the line feed shaft; and

an engaging transmission member rotatably mounted on the swing arm and engaged with the driving transmission member, wherein the engaging transmission member is to engage and disengage from the input roller assembly by actuation of the swing arm to selectively drive the input roller assembly.

2. The imaging device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a drivetrain assembly coupling the line feed roller assembly to the input roller assembly, wherein the line feed roller assembly is disengagably coupled to the drivetrain assembly.

3. The imaging device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a control device to control the actuator to rotate the line feed shaft, wherein rotation of the line feed shaft is to actuate the swing arm to engage and disengage the engaging transmission member from the drivetrain assembly.

4. The imaging device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the line feed roller assembly comprises an encoder disc mounted on the line feed shaft and operably coupled to the control device, wherein the control device is to control the rotation of the line feed shaft based on an angular position of the encoder disc.

5. The imaging device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the driving transmission member is to rotate with the line feed shaft to drive the engaging transmission member when the engaging transmission member is engaged with the drivetrain assembly.

6. The imaging device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the swing arm is to stall when the engaging transmission member is engaged with the drivetrain assembly, and wherein the line feed shaft is rotatable when the swing arm is stalled.

7. The imaging device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the swing arm comprises:

a plurality of lateral plates, a body of each lateral plate defining a hole therein for being mounted on the line feed shaft, wherein a central axis of the hole is substantially perpendicular to a plane of the lateral plate; and

a clip element for binding the plurality of lateral plates, wherein the clip element is adjustable to adjust the transition fit of the swing arm on the line feed shaft.

8. A method comprising:

detecting jamming of a medium in an imaging device; and

disengaging a line feed roller assembly from a drivetrain assembly to stall operation of the imaging device of advancement of the medium along a print path, wherein the line feed roller assembly transmits a drive to the drivetrain assembly in an engaged position to advance the medium along the print path and the line feed shaft disengages from the input roller assembly to discontinue advance of the medium, wherein the disengaging comprises;

rotating a line feed shaft of the line feed roller assembly in an engagement direction by a first number of counts to engage the line feed roller assembly with the drivetrain assembly; and

rotating the line feed shaft in a counter-engagement direction opposite to the engagement direction by a second number of counts to disengage the line feed roller assembly from the drivetrain assembly, the second number of counts being less than the first number of counts.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first number of counts is about four times the second number of counts.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the disengaging comprises rotating the line feed shaft in the counter-engagement direction to actuate a swing arm to engage an engaging transmission member mounted on the swing arm with the drivetrain assembly.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processing resource to:

determine that a medium is jammed along a print path in an imaging device;

trigger an actuator to rotate a line feed shaft of the imaging device and disengage from the input roller assembly to discontinue advance of the medium, in response to the determining that the medium is jammed; and

disengage the line feed shaft from an input roller assembly of the imaging device, in response to the triggering, to discontinue advance of the medium along the print path and stall operation of the imaging device.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 11 comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to actuate a swing arm mounted on the line feed shaft to disengage an engaging transmission member mounted on the swing arm from a drivetrain assembly, to disengage the line feed shaft from the input roller assembly.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 12 comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to:

rotate the line feed shaft in an engagement direction by a first number of counts to a homing position, wherein the engaging transmission member mounted on the swing arm is engaged with the drivetrain assembly in the homing position; and

rotate the line feed shaft in a counter-engagement direction opposite to the engagement direction by a second number of counts to disengage the engaging transmission member from the drivetrain assembly, the second number of counts being less than the first number of counts.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 13 comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to rotate the line feed shaft in the counter-engagement direction at a speed about one-fifth of a speed of rotating the line feed shaft in the engagement direction.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as claimed in claim 11 comprising instructions executable by the processing resource to cooperate with an encoder disc mounted on the line feed shaft to regulate rotation of the line feed shaft.