Image alignment during duplex printing

• US 6,018,640 A
• Filed: 03/31/1999
• Issued: 01/25/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Blackman, Jeffrey R., Ruhe, Thomas W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Sophia S.
• Application Number:
  US09/283,824
• Time in Patent Office: 300 Days
• Field of Search: 399/13, 399/38, 399/76, 399/82, 399/85, 399/107, 399/110, 399/364, 399/374, 399/401, 271/186, 271/225, 271/902, 101/229, 101/230, 101/231, 400/636
• US Class Current: 399/364
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/60 for printing on both faces of the printing material

Abstract

During first side printing a media sheet is fed along a first media path from feed rollers to metering rollers and into a print zone. After first side printing, the metering roller stops prior to releasing the media sheet into the output tray. The metering roller reverses direction to move the media sheet back along the first media path onto the feed roller, and into the modular duplex handling system. The media sheet is flipped, then fed back for second side printing. Second side printing is performed in either one of book mode or tablet mode. In book mode, the top of the page is the same edge of the media sheet for the first side and the second side. In tablet mode, the media sheet edge at the top of the first side corresponds to the bottom of the second side.

Claims

1. A method for printing to a first side, then to a second side, of a media sheet, the media sheet having a first edge and a second edge, the method comprising the steps of:

feeding the media sheet, with the media sheet first edge as a leading edge and the media sheet second edge as a trailing edge, along a first media path from a feed roller onto a metering roller and into a print zone for print recording onto a first side of the media sheet,

as the media sheet moves through the print zone, stopping rotation of the metering roller while a trailing edge of the media sheet is gripped by the metering roller;

sensing that a duplex media handling module is installed, the duplex media handling module including a set of duplex media handling rollers;

while the trailing edge of the media sheet is gripped by the metering roller, reversing rotation of the metering roller;

moving the media sheet back along the first media path from the metering roller to the feed roller,

feeding the media sheet from the feed roller onto the set of duplex media handling rollers;

moving the media sheet with the set of duplex media handling rollers along a loop media path, the media sheet departing contact with the feed roller during movement along the loop media path;

feeding the media sheet from the set of duplex media handling rollers back onto the feed roller with the media sheet second edge as the leading edge and the media sheet first edge as the trailing edge;

feeding the media sheet along the first media path from the feed roller onto the metering roller and into the print zone for print recording onto the second side of the media sheet; and

rotating an image to be printed on the second side; and

printing the rotated image onto the second side of the media sheet during the step of feeding the media sheet into the print zone for second side print recording.

2. The method of claim 1, in which the feed roller and the metering roller are linked to rotate in a common forward direction during print recording onto the first side of the media sheet and during print recording onto the second side of the media sheet, and in which the feed roller and the metering roller are linked to rotate in a common reverse direction during the steps of moving the media sheet back along the first media path from the metering roller to the feed roller, and feeding the media sheet from the feed roller onto the set of duplex media handling rollers.

3. A method for printing to a first side, then to a second side, of a media sheet, the media sheet having a first edge and a second edge, the method comprising the steps of:

feeding the media sheet, with the media sheet first edge as a leading edge and the media sheet second edge as a trailing edge, along a first media path from a feed roller onto a metering roller and into a print zone for print recording onto a first side of the media sheet;

as the media sheet moves through the print zone, stopping rotation of the metering roller while a trailing edge of the media sheet is gripped by the metering roller;

while the trailing edge of the media sheet is gripped by the metering roller, reversing rotation of the metering roller;

moving the media sheet back along the first media path from the metering roller to the feed roller;

feeding the media sheet from the feed roller onto a set of duplex media handling rollers,

moving the media sheet with the set of duplex media handling rollers along a loop media path, the media sheet departing contact with the feed roller during movement along the loop media path;

feeding the media sheet from the set of duplex media handling rollers back onto the feed roller with the media sheet second edge as the leading edge and the media sheet first edge as the trailing edge;

feeding the media sheet along the first media path from the feed roller onto the metering roller and into the print zone for print recording onto the second side of the media sheet;

rotating an image to be printed on the second side;

printing the rotated image onto the second side of the media sheet during the step of feeding the media sheet into the print zone for second side print recording; and

wherein the set of duplex media handling rollers are linked via a transmission to the feed roller, and further comprising, during the step of moving the media sheet with the set of duplex media handling rollers along the loop media path, the step of;

jogging the rotation of the feed roller from a reverse direction to a forward direction, back to the reverse direction and again to the forward direction while the media sheet is out of contact with the feed roller;

wherein during the step of jogging, the transmission is shifted into neutral to discontinue rotation of the set of duplex media handling rollers, then shifted into gear to rotate the set of duplex media handling rollers and move the media sheet further along the loop media path;

wherein prior to the step of jogging the feed roller is rotating in the reverse direction while the set of duplex media handling rollers are rotating in a first direction and after the step of jogging the feed roller is rotating in the forward direction while the set of duplex media handling rollers are rotating again in the first direction.

4. A print recording apparatus for recording print onto a media sheet, comprising:

a print recording source;

a simplex media handling assembly for moving a media sheet along a media path into a print zone adjacent to the print recording source to receive print recording, the simplex media handling assembly comprising a feed roller;

a drive motor for driving rotation of the feed roller;

a removable duplex media handling module interfacing with the simplex media handling assembly to provide a media path for flipping the media sheet for second side printing; and

a control apparatus for controlling movement of the media sheet and recording of print onto the media sheet, the control apparatus operating in either one of a book-format mode or a tablet-format mode, wherein in one of either the book-format mode or the tablet-format mode an image to be printed on one side of the media sheet is rotated prior to being printed;

wherein the duplex media handling module comprises a transmission for coupling a set of duplex handling drive rollers to the drive motor, the transmission having a neutral position, first position and a second position, wherein while the transmission is in the neutral position the set of duplex handling drive rollers are not engaged to rotate;

wherein while the transmission is in the first position the set of duplex handling drive rollers are engaged to rotate in the same direction as the feed roller; and

wherein while the transmission is in the second position the set of duplex handling drive rollers are engaged to rotate in the opposite direction as the feed roller.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, in which the control apparatus signals the drive motor to change motion of the feed roller and cause the transmission to change positions.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, in which the duplex media handling module includes a loop path for the media sheet, and in which the control apparatus allows the media sheet to travel only in one direction along the loop path.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, in which the loop path has a media sheet entry point and a media sheet exit point at the feed roller.

8. A control system for a printing operation, the control system interfacing with a print recording system having a drive motor, a feed roller and a metering roller, the control system controlling print recording onto a media sheet and movement of the media sheet, the media sheet having a first edge and a second edge, the control system comprising:

means for testing whether a duplex media handling module is installed in the print recording system;

means for disabling a duplex print recording mode of operation when the duplex media handling module is not installed;

means for enabling the duplex print recording mode of operation when the duplex media handling module is installed;

means for signalling the drive motor to rotate the feed roller and the metering roller in a forward direction to feed the media sheet, with the media sheet first edge as a leading edge and the media sheet second edge as a trailing edge, along a first media path from the feed roller onto the metering roller and into a print zone for print recording onto a first side of the media sheet;

means for signalling the drive motor, as the media sheet moves through the print zone, to stop rotation of the metering roller and feed roller while a trailing edge of the media sheet is gripped by the metering roller;

means for signalling the drive motor, during a duplex printing operation, while the trailing edge of the media sheet is gripped by the metering roller, to reverse rotation of the metering roller and feed roller into a reverse direction and to engage a transmission of the duplex media handling module into a gear which causes rotation of a set of duplex media handling rollers in a first direction, the media sheet being moved back along the first media path onto the set of duplex media handling rollers; and

means for rotating an image to be printed on one side of the media sheet to print record in one of either book-format mode or tablet-format mode.

9. The control system of claim 8, further comprising:

means for signalling the drive motor, during a duplex printing operation, to jog the rotation of the feed roller and the metering roller from the reverse direction to the forward direction, back to the reverse direction and again to the forward direction while the media sheet is out of contact with the feed roller, wherein during the jog, the transmission is shifted into neutral to discontinue rotation of the set of duplex media handling rollers, then shifted out of neutral to rotate the set of duplex media handling rollers and move the media sheet further along a loop path within the duplex media handling module, and wherein prior to the jog the feed roller is rotating in the reverse direction while the set of duplex media handling rollers are rotating in the first direction and after the jog the feed roller is rotating in the forward direction while the set of duplex media handling rollers are rotating again in the first direction to allow the media sheet to be fed along the first media path for second side printing.