Printing system with compact transfer roller

• US 6,918,665 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2003
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Memjet Technology Ltd. (Memjet Limited)
• Original Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Limited
• Inventors: Silverbrook, Kia
• Primary Examiner(s): Hirshfeld, Andrew H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Crenshaw, Marvin P.
• Application Number:
  US10/703,666
• Publication Number:
  US 20040090509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 617 Days
• Field of Search: 347/103, 347/2, 347/104, 347/171, 101/327, 101/335, 101/407.1, 101/492, 400/184
• US Class Current: 347/103
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0095 Detecting means for copy material, e.g. for detecting or sensing presence of copy material or its leading or trailing end
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/42 Controlling printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/076 Construction of rollers; Bearings therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/103 for the sheet feeding section
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 19/202 Drive control means for carriage movement
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/00 Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed mounting, arrangement or disposition of types or dies B41J1/00
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/0057 where an intermediate transfer member receives the ink before transferring it on the printing material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/01 Ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04528 aiming at warming up the head
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04543 Block driving
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04551 using several operating modes
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04563 detecting head temperature; Ink temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04586 controlling heads of a type not covered by groups B41J2/04575 - B41J2/04585, or of an undefined type
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/04591 Width of the driving signal being adjusted
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/155 for line printing
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/165 Preventing or detecting of nozzle clogging, e.g. cleaning, capping or moistening for nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16508 connected with the printer frame
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/023 with reduced dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/04 Means for attaching machines to baseboards
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/17 Cleaning arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/38 : Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/445 : Printers integrated in other types of apparatus, e.g. printers integrated in cameras
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 3/60 : for printing on both faces of the printing material
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/10 : using a liquid developer
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/50 : Machine control of apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern, e.g. regulating differents parts of the machine, multimode copiers, microprocessor control sequencing control G03G21/14
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/6529 : Transporting G03G15/6555 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 2221/1642 : for the transfer unit
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/00 : Interconnection of, or transfer of information or other signals between, memories, input/output devices or central processing units interface circuits for specific input/output devices G06F3/00 ; multiprogram control therefor G06F9/46; multiprocessor systems G06F15/16
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/00 : Digital computers in general details G06F1/00 – G06F13/00; Data processing equipment in general
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/12 : Digital output to print unit , e.g. line printer, chain printer
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/00 : Methods or arrangements for marking the record carrier in digital fashion
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/02 : using printers
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/102 : using ink jet print heads
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/16 : Means for paper feeding or form feeding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1814 : including print-ready data, i.e. data already matched to the printing process
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 15/1815 : Receiving print data in mixed format
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/23 : Reproducing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32561 : using a programmed control device, e.g. a microprocessor
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32587 : Controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32593 : Using a plurality of controllers, e.g. for controlling different interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32603 : Multi-bus systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/41 : Bandwidth or redundancy reduction by scanning H04N1/17 ; methods or arrangements for coding, decoding, compressing or decompressing digital video signals H04N19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/504 : Reproducing the colour component signals line-sequentially

Abstract

A compact motorized transfer roller for a printer is disclosed. The roller has a cylindrical body with an outer surface and an interior space. A motor is located in the interior space and rotates the body. The rotating body advances and prints on a sheet of media. In some embodiments, the motor is a stepper motor and uses a gear assembly in which worm gear carried by an output shaft of the motor cooperates with one or more reduction gears.

Claims

1. A compact motorized transfer roller for a printer, comprising:

a cylindrical body having two ends, an outer surface and an interior space, wherein each of said ends is supported by low friction bearings carried by a pair of cooperating end caps, and a first end carries an internal gear; and

a motor located in the interior space, said motor driving the internal gear for rotating the outer surface and advancing print media;

wherein the outer surface is adapted to carry ink and make a printing impression on the print media.

2. The transfer roller of claim 1, wherein:

the motor is a stepper motor.

3. The transfer roller of claim 1, wherein:

the motor drives the internal gear through an intermediate drive train.

4. The transfer roller of claim 3, wherein:

the drive train is a reducing gear assembly.

5. The transfer roller of claim 4, wherein:

the assembly further comprises a worm gear carried by an output shaft of the motor, the worm gear cooperating with one or more reduction gears.

6. The transfer roller of claim 1, wherein:

the transfer roller is coated with titanium nitride.

7. The transfer roller of claim 1, further comprising:

a page width inkjet printhead which ejects ink onto the body.

8. The transfer roller of claim 1, further comprising:

a page-width cleaning sponge contacting the transfer roller and adapted to clean the transfer roller after it has printed onto the sheet.

9. The transfer roller of claim 8, further comprising:

a page-width wiper, contacting the transfer roller and located between the sponge and the ink ejecting area.

10. The transfer roller of claim 1, further comprising:

a second transfer roller, being a similar motorized transfer roller located on an opposite side of a media path of the printer;

the transfer roller and the second transfer roller adapted to print, simultaneously on opposite sides of a sheet in the path.

11. The transfer roller of claim 10, wherein:

each transfer roller further comprises a page-width cleaning sponge adapted to clean ink from the transfer roller after it has printed onto the sheet.

12. The transfer roller of claim 11, wherein:

each transfer roller further comprises a page-width wiper, contacting the transfer roller and located between the sponge and an ink ejecting area of a printhead.

13. The transfer roller of claim 1, in combination with a pick-up roller which is adapted to feed a sheet to the transfer roller, the pick up roller having a molding which acts in conjunction with a sensor to position the pick up roller into a parked position which allows a paper tray of the printer to be withdrawn without touching the pick up roller.

14. The transfer roller of claim 1, in combination with an optical sensor mounted in the printer for finding the start of a sheet and engaging the motor accordingly.

15. A printer having a transfer roller according to claim 1, and further comprising:

a media tray for a stack of media and an output slot;

a generally linear media path extending between the tray and the output slot;

the transfer roller being located between the tray and the slot and adapted to print an image on a sheet delivered from the tray.

16. The printer of claim 15, further comprising:

a page width inkjet printhead which ejects ink onto the body.

17. A printer having two transfer rollers according to claim 1, and further comprising:

a media tray for a stack of media and an output slot;

a generally linear media path extending between the tray and the output slot;

the transfer rollers being located between the tray and the slot and adapted to print an image on both sides of a sheet delivered from the tray.

18. The printer of claim 17, further comprising:

two page width inkjet printheads which each ejects ink onto a body of a different transfer roller.