US4781478A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Technique for automatic centering of carriage in a printing apparatus to assist with insertion of paper
Assignee: Tokyo Electron Ltd
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Filing: 1986-09-05
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Granted: 1988-11-01
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Expires: 2006-09-05
Abstract
Abstract A printing apparatus includes a platen, a carriage, a guide member, and a carriage drive. A printing head is mounted on the carriage. The carriage can move in the axial direction of the platen, so that the printing head can print data on a sheet of paper set on the platen. The guide member guides the sheet of paper inserted in the gap between the platen and the guide member, into the gap between the platen and the printing head. The carriage driver moves the carriage to a predetermined position within a region opposing the central portion of the platen when no sheet of paper is detected to be set on the platen.
Inventors
- 👤 Toru Eguchi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 17:58
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/485; B41J2/505; B41J13/00; B41J13/0009; B41J13/0018; B41J19/00; B41J19/18; B41J19/20; B41J19/202; B41J19/30; B41J21/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim
137 words
A printing apparatus comprising: a platen; a carriage supporting a printing head for printing data on a sheet of paper set on the platen, and being movable in the axial direction of the platen; a first guide member attached to the carriage and opposing the platen, for guiding a sheet of paper which is inserted in a first gap between the platen and the first guide member into a second gap between the platen and the printing head; carriage drive means for moving the carriage to a predetermined position within a region opposing the central portion of the platen; and first control means for sensing an occurrence of removal of said sheet of paper from said second gap, and for actuating said carriage drive means upon such an occurrence to move said carriage to the predetermined position.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
137 words
A printing apparatus comprising: a platen; a carriage supporting a printing head for printing data on a sheet of paper set on the platen, and being movable in the axial direction of the platen; a first guide member attached to the carriage and opposing the platen, for guiding a sheet of paper which is inserted in a first gap between the platen and the first guide member into a second gap between the platen and the printing head; carriage drive means for moving the carriage to a predetermined position within a region opposing the central portion of the platen; and first control means for sensing an occurrence of removal of said sheet of paper from said second gap, and for actuating said carriage drive means upon such an occurrence to move said carriage to the predetermined position.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
36 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second guide member for guiding the sheet of paper along the circumference of the platen into the gap between the platen and the first guide member.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
63 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said carriage drive means has detector means for generating an output signal upon detecting that no sheet of paper is set on the platen, and second control means responsive to the output signal from the detector means, for moving the carriage to the predetermined position within the region opposing the central portion of the platen.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
37 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said detector means has a photodetector provided near the front edge of the second guide member, for detecting the sheet of paper being guided by the second guide member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
64 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said second control means has a memory for storing the data representing the position of the carriage, and a drive control unit responsive to the output signal from the detector means, for moving the carriage over the distance between the predetermined position and the position of the carriage represented by the data stored in the memory.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
59 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a position detector for detecting the home position of the carriage, wherein said second control means moves the carriage to the home position when a power supply switch is turned on, and then moves the carriage to the predetermined position in response to the output signal from the detector means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
63 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said carriage drive means has detector means for generating an output signal upon detecting that no sheet of paper is set on the platen, and second control means responsive to the output signal from the detector means, for moving the carriage to the predetermined position within the region opposing the central portion of the platen.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
64 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said second control means has a memory for storing the data representing the position of the carriage, and a drive control unit responsive to the output signal from the detector means, for moving the carriage over the distance between the predetermined position and the position of the carriage represented by the data stored in the memory.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
59 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a position detector for detecting the home position of the carriage, wherein said second control means moves the carriage to the home position when a power supply switch is turned on, and then moves the carriage to the predetermined position in response to the output signal from the detector means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
72 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said second control means includes distance measuring means for detecting a distance over which said sheet of paper is fed after the output signal is generated from said detecting means, and a control unit connected to said distance measuring means to move said carriage to the predetermined position when detecting that the distance detected by said distance measuring means has reached a preset value.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said distance measuring means is counting means whose contents are changed each time said sheet of paper is fed by a preset unit of feed distance.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first control means includes detector means for detecting the end of said sheet of paper while the sheet of paper is fed.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
25 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said detector means is located a preset distance ahead of the platen in a paper feeding direction.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
54 words
A printing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said first control means includes means responsive to the output of said detector means and to the number of lines the sheet of paper is fed in the paper feeding direction to determine said occurrence of removal of the sheet of paper from the second gap.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1991-11-01 | 1992-05-02 | 1992-11-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1995-11-01 | 1996-05-02 | 1996-11-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1999-11-01 | 2000-05-02 | 2000-11-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |