Greeting card feeder module for inkjet printing

• US 20020127043A1
• Filed: 04/12/2002
• Published: 09/12/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Garboden, Mark, Gaasch, Todd M., McCue, Thomas E. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 6,659,667 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 400/188
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0025 Handling copy materials differing in width
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0055 Lateral guides, e.g. guides for preventing skewed conveyance of printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/485 Means for selecting a type of copy material amongst different types of copy material in the printing apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/0063 Handling thick cut sheets, e.g. greeting cards or postcards, larger than credit cards, e.g. using means for enabling or facilitating the conveyance of thick sheets B41J11/20, B41J13/12 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/103 for the sheet feeding section
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/106 for the sheet output section
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/12 specially adapted for small cards, envelopes, or the like , e.g. credit cards, cut visiting cards
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/60 for printing on both faces of the printing material

Abstract

A hardcopy printing mechanism and a greeting card feeder retrofit kit therefor, along with a retrofitting method are provided for printing images on a first-sized media, and on both surfaces a second-sized greeting card media without removing the first-sized media from its normal supply tray. The hardcopy device may be an electrophotographic or inkjet printer preferably equipped with a duplexer module which inverts media from a printed first surface to an opposing second surface for printing an image thereon. For a printer having an alignment surface, and a width adjuster to push the first-sized media against the alignment surface, the greeting card feeder includes a biasing member which pushes the card stock against the alignment surface. The retrofit kit includes a supply of pre-scored greeting card stock and a software program with a group of greeting card images for a consumer to select from to print store-bought quality greeting cards.

Claims

1. A hardcopy printing mechanism for printing images on a first-sized media and on opposing first and second surfaces a second-sized media, comprising:

a frame defining a printzone;

an image generator which selectively applies a colorant to a presented surface of media when in the printzone;

a movement mechanism which selectively presents a surface of media into the printzone;

an inverting mechanism which selectively inverts media from the first surface to the second surface for presentation into the printzone;

a first supply device which stores a supply of said first-sized media for selection by the movement mechanism; and

a second supply device which receives a sheet of said second-sized media for selection by the movement mechanism while the supply of said first-sized media remains stored in the first supply device, wherein said movement mechanism presents the first surface of said second-sized media to the image generator, the inverting mechanism inverts said second-sized media and said movement mechanism presents the second surface thereof to the image generator.

2. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said image generator comprises an inkjet printhead.

3. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said inverting mechanism comprises a duplexer unit.

4. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said first supply device comprises an input tray.

5. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said second supply device comprises an output tray defining a slot therein for receiving said second-sized media.

6. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 5 wherein said second-sized media comprises greeting card media having a width and a length, and the output tray defines said slot to have a width sized to receive said width of the greeting card media.

7. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 1 further including an alignment surface, and a first width adjustment member which is adjustable to push the first-sized media against the alignment surface;

and

wherein the second supply device includes a biasing member which pushes the second-sized media against the alignment surface.

8. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 7 wherein the biasing member comprises a coil spring.

9. A hardcopy printing mechanism according to claim 1 wherein:

said image generator comprises an inkjet printhead;

said inverting mechanism comprises a duplexer unit;

said first supply device comprises an input tray;

said second-sized media comprises greeting card media having a width and a length;

said second supply device comprises an output tray defining a slot therein for receiving said second-sized media, with said slot having a width sized to receive said width of the greeting card media;

the hardcopy printing mechanism further includes an alignment surface, and a first width adjustment member which is adjustable to push the first-sized media against the alignment surface; and

the second supply device includes a biasing member which pushes the second-sized media against the alignment surface.

10. A retrofit kit for modifying a hardcopy printing mechanism having a frame, an input tray for storing a supply of a first-sized media, a duplexer unit for inverting media, a controller responsive to input signals to print images, and an output tray for receiving printed sheets of media, comprising:

a replacement tray which replaces the output tray after removal from the frame, with the replacement tray defining an input slot sized to receive a second-sized media while the first-sized media remains in the input tray; and

a storage medium storing an operating program and a selection of images which generate input signals for the controller in response to selection of an image.

11. A retrofit kit according to claim 10 wherein the storage medium comprises a CD ROM disk.

12. A retrofit kit according to claim 10 further including a supply of the second-sized media.

13. A retrofit kit according to claim 12 wherein each sheet of the second-sized media supply has a scoring mark which facilitates folding of the sheet along the scoring mark.

14. A retrofit kit according to claim 12 wherein the second-sized media supply comprises greeting card stock.

15. A retrofit kit according to claim 10 wherein the hardcopy printing mechanism further includes an alignment surface, and a first width adjustment member which is adjustable to push the first-sized media against the alignment surface, and the replacement tray includes a biasing member which pushes the second-sized media against the alignment surface.

16. A retrofit kit according to claim 10 firther including a packing container which bundles together the replacement tray and the storage medium.

17. A retrofit kit according to claim 10 wherein:

the storage medium comprises a CD ROM disk;

the retrofit kit further includes a supply of the second-sized media comprising greeting card stock with each sheet having a scoring mark that facilitates folding of the sheet along the scoring mark;

the hardcopy printing mechanism further includes an alignment surface, and a first width adjustment member which is adjustable to push the first-sized media against the alignment surface;

the replacement tray includes a biasing member which pushes the second-sized media against the alignment surface; and

the hardcopy printing mechanism further includes a packing container which bundles together the replacement tray, the storage medium, and the supply of greeting card stock.

19. A method according to claim 18 further including the step of testing the installation of the replacement tray and the loading of the operating program by:

loading a sheet of the second-sized media into the input slot of the replacement tray;

selecting an image from said selection of images; and

instructing the operating program to generate input signals corresponding to the selected image and to deliver said generated input signals to the controller to instruct the hardcopy printing mechanism to print the selected image on the loaded sheet of the second-sized media.

20. A method according to claim 18 wherein the hardcopy printing mechanism further includes an alignment surface, and the method further includes the step of pushing the second-sized media against the alignment surface.

18. A method of retrofitting a hardcopy printing mechanism having a frame, an input tray for storing a supply of a first-sized media, a duplexer unit for inverting media, a controller responsive to input signals to print images, and an output tray for receiving printed sheets of media, comprising the steps of:

removing the output tray from the frame;

installing a replacement tray in the frame, with the replacement frame defining an input slot sized to receive a second-sized media; and

loading an operating program having a selection of images which generate input signals for the controller in response to selection of an image.