Patent ID: 6015143
Filing Date: 2000-01-18
Classification: B65H,H04N,Y10T

Abstract:
An automatic print media feeder system comprising: a computer input device having a flat-bed document receiving surface for helping to provide a portion of a document feed path having a terminal end,a removable document feeder overlying the document receiving surface of the input device to provide a low profile small workplace form factor system and to provide the document feed path, said removable document feeder including:an upstanding output tray for holding at least one document;wherein the upstanding output tray is disposed at the terminal end of the document feed path for supporting from below only a portion of the document to facilitate the providing of said low profile small workplace form actor system;said output tray having an insufficient height dimension relative to a height dimension of the document along its lateral axis to prevent the document from collapsing and falling from the output tray under the force of gravity;said output tray further having a document receiving surface with a shallow concave curvature sufficient to bend the document into a sufficiently stiff semi-cylindrical form along its lateral axis to prevent the document from collapsing and falling from the output tray under the force of gravity; andalignment means mounted adjacent to said output tray for aligning the output tray and document feed path with the document supporting surface of the input device and for enabling the removable document feeder to be raised and lowered parallel to the document supporting surface without removing said document feeder from the input device.