Abstract:
Methods, apparatuses, and systems that facilitate common feed path printing devices to discern between original media and blank media are described herein. The novel systems may include, among other things, a print and a scan mechanism having a common input path to receive a first and a second media, the first media being original media to be scanned by the scan mechanism, and the second media being blank media to be printed on by the print mechanism. The system may further include a divider and a first sensor. The divider being configured to provide to the common feed path the first and the second media by defining a first and a second input slot to locate the first and the second media, respectively, wherein the divider to provide the first and the second media to the common feed path via the first and second input slots. The first sensor may detect absence of the first media in the first input slot.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/884,327 filed Jan. 10, 2007, entitled “FOUR METHODS FOR DISCERNING ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS TO BE SCANNED OR COPIED FROM PAGES TO BE PRINTED IN MULTIFUNCTION DEVICE WITH COMMON PAPER PATH,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    Embodiments of the present invention relate to the field of printers, and more particularly, to discerning original media from blank media to a printer having a common feed path. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    There has been a greater and greater demand for devices that are compact and highly functional to accommodate today&#39;s mobile and dynamic lifestyles. For instance, computing devices, including laptop computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are already very compact and mobile while still being able to offer the same types of functionality offered by their bigger brethren. 
         [0004]    In recent years, there has also been a trend to make other devices, such as peripheral devices associated with these computing devices, similarly more compact and mobile. Such devices include printers or printing devices. A printing device, as described herein, refers to single function devices, such as copiers or fax machines, or multifunction devices, such as printer/copy/scan/fax machines. These printing devices typically have at least two functions that they must perform. First, they must be able to scan or copy (herein “scan”) original media such as original documents embodied in, for example, sheets of written or printed paper. Second, they must be able to print onto blank media, such as blank sheets of paper. 
         [0005]    Recently, printing devices having common feed paths have been proposed. These devices use only a single input path to process both original media (i.e., scan or copy the original media) and blank media (i.e., print onto the blank media). One drawback associated with these common feed path printers is that they are unable to automatically distinguish between original media from blank media or blank sheets that are being fed to the common feed path. 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
       [0006]    According to various embodiments of the present invention, methods, apparatuses, and systems are provided that facilitate common feed path printing devices to discern between original media and blank media. The novel systems may include, among other things, a print and a scan mechanism having a common input path to receive a first and a second media, the first media being original media to be scanned by the scan mechanism, and the second media being blank media to be printed on by the print mechanism. The system may further include a divider and a first sensor. The divider being configured to provide to the common feed path the first and the second media by defining a first and a second input slot to locate the first and the second media, respectively, wherein the divider functions to provide the first and the second media to the common feed path via the first and second input slots. The first sensor may detect absence of the first media in the first input slot. In some embodiments, the system may further include an input tray coupled to the divider. 
         [0007]    In some embodiments, the system may further include a processor to control the print mechanism to initiate printing onto the second media based, at least in part, on the detection by the sensor of the absence of the first media in the first input slot. The system may further include a roller to feed to the common input path the first media prior to feeding the second media to the common input path. In some embodiments, the print mechanism may further comprise a second sensor to detect absence of the second media in the common input path. 
         [0008]    In some embodiments, the divider may be a stationary divider relative to the input tray. For these embodiments, the first sensor may be coupled to the divider and disposed at the first input slot, and the divider may be a flipper that is at least partially rotatable relative to the input tray. The flipper may have a U-shape and may be comprised of an elongated member and two perpendicular members, the elongated member having two opposite ends and the two perpendicular members being coupled to the two ends of the elongated member, the two perpendicular members further being partially rotatably coupled to the input tray. 
         [0009]    In some embodiments, the flipper may be configured to be coupled to the input tray to be rotatably located in at least two different selected positions relative to the input tray, a first position when the first input slot is devoid of the first media and a second position when the first input slot includes the first media, the second input slot being located, at least in part, between the divider and the input tray and the first input slot being located, at least in part, on a side of the divider opposite of the second input slot. In some embodiments, the flipper may be further configured to be coupled to the input tray to automatically reposition from the first position to the second position when the first input slot is devoid of the first media. In some embodiments, the first sensor may be configured to detect a position of the flipper divider relative to the input tray and to indicate when the first input slot does not include the first media. 
         [0010]    In some embodiments, the divider may be a shutter configured to be placed between the first and the second input slots, the second input slot to be at least partly located between the shutter and the input tray, and the first input slot to be at least partly located between the sensor and the shutter on a side of the shutter opposite of the second input slot. For these embodiments, the first sensor may include a scan element to detect absence of the first media in the first input slot by scanning a surface of the shutter to detect a characteristic of the surface of the shutter. In some embodiments, the shutter includes a bar code, and the scan element may be configured to read the bar code when the first media is absent in the first input slot to detect the absence of the first media in the first input slot. 
         [0011]    In some embodiments, the divider may be configured to provide to the common feed path a first media comprised of first one or more paper sheets through the first input slot and a second media comprised of one or more paper sheets through the second input slot, the first one or more paper sheets being one or more original documents to be scanned by the printing device and the second one or more paper sheets being one or more blank sheets to be printed on by the printing device. 
         [0012]    The novel methods may include scanning, by a printing device having a common feed path, a surface of a medium; and determining, by the printing device, whether the medium is an original medium to be scanned by the printing device or a blank medium to be printed on by the printing device, said determining based, at least in part, on the scanning. In some embodiments, the medium may be a sheet having a surface bordered by edges, and said determining may be based on scanning of a portion of the surface located along an edge. 
         [0013]    In some embodiments, the determining may be based on scanning of a portion of the surface located within two inches of an edge. For example, in such embodiments the user may be advised to load the first sheets into the device in an orientation so that printed matter on the first sheets will be contained within two inches of the leading edge. The distance of two inches from the edge may be used as an example of the distance between the scan element and the beginning of the print zone of the printing device and could be greater or less depending on the particular physical embodiment of the printing device. More particularly, for these embodiments, the sensor may scan only a portion of the surface of the print medium that is within a distance from the leading edge of the medium that is equal to the distance between the scanning element (i.e., sensor) and the print zone of the printing device. In some embodiments, the printing device may include a print zone. For these embodiments, the scanning and the determining may be completed prior to an edge of the medium reaching the print zone. In some embodiments, the determining may include determining based on detection of data on the surface of the data media, and if data is detected, determining that the medium is an original medium, otherwise determining that the medium is a blank medium. In some embodiments, the scanning may include scanning an entire surface of the medium, and said determining includes determining based, at least in part, on the scanning of the entire surface. 
         [0014]    These and other aspects of various embodiments of the present will be described in greater detail in the following description. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The present invention will be described by way of exemplary embodiments, but not limitations, illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like references denote similar elements, and in which: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a printing device and a first media dispensing device, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a plan or top down view of the media dispensing device of  FIG. 1 , in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the printing device and the media dispensing device of  FIG. 1  loaded with original and blank media, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a printing device and a second media dispensing device, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is another perspective view of the printing device and the second media dispensing device of  FIG. 4  loaded with blank media, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is another perspective view of the printing device and the second media dispensing device of  FIG. 4  loaded with both original and blank media in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a printing device and a third media dispensing device loaded with blank media, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  is another perspective view of the printing device and the third media dispensing device of  FIG. 7  loaded with both original and blank media, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  schematically illustrates a printing system, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0025]    In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is depicted by way of illustration embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of embodiments in accordance with the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
         [0026]    Various operations may be described as multiple discrete operations in turn, in a manner that may be helpful in understanding embodiments of the present invention; however, the order of description should not be construed to imply that these operations are order dependent. 
         [0027]    For the purposes of the instant description, the phrase “A/B” means A or B. For the purposes of the instant description, the phrase “A and/or B” means “(A), (B), or (A and B).” For the purposes of the instant description, the phrase “at least one of A, B and C” means “(A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C) or (A, B and C).” For the purposes of the instant description, the phrase “(A)B” means “(B) or (AB),” that is, A is an optional element. 
         [0028]    Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment, but they may. 
         [0029]    According to various embodiments of the present invention, apparatuses and methods are provided that facilitates a common feed path printer to distinguish between original media (herein “originals”) and blank media (herein “blanks”) provided to the common feed path. The terms “medium” or “media” as used herein may refer to one or more sheets of paper or other types of media that may be printed on. 
         [0030]      FIGS. 1-3  illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention. In particular,  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a printing device and a media dispensing device in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention. The printing device  10  may be a laser printer, an ink-jet printer, or any other type of common feed path printing device. As further depicted, the printer  10  may include a common feed slot  22  that may be provided or fed with both originals and blanks by the media dispensing device  12 . The media dispensing device  12  may include a mechanical divider (or simply “divider”)  20  that is mounted to a common input tray (or simply “tray”)  16 . As will be further described herein, the divider  20  may define a first and a second input slot for loading originals and blanks. Attached to the divider  20  are edge guides  18  to properly align the originals and blanks when they are dispensed or fed into the common feed slot  22 . In some alternative embodiments, the divider  20  and the tray  16  may be a single unitary piece. The tray  16  may provide structural support for the originals and blanks to be loaded into the media dispensing device  12 . The divider  20  may be stationary relative to the tray  16 . 
         [0031]    The divider  20 , when mounted onto the tray  16 , may define two input slots where the originals and the blanks may be correspondingly placed. As will be more clearly illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , one of the input slots is located adjacent to the tray  16  and behind or rear of the divider  20 , and the other input slot is located in front of the divider  20  and the other input slot (i.e., towards the front of the printing device  10 ). The blanks (i.e., the blank media or sheets that will be printed on by the printing device  10 ), may be loaded into the input slot located towards the rear of the printing device  10  behind or rear of the divider  20 , while the originals (i.e., the original media or sheets that will be scanned or copied by the printing device) may be loaded into the input slot located nearer to the front of the printing device  10  and in front of the divider  20 . In this description of the first embodiment, as well as for the other embodiments to be described herein, the input slot for the originals will be referred to as the first input slot, while the input slot for the blanks will be referred to as the second input slot. 
         [0032]    After loading the originals and blanks in the media dispensing device  12 , the originals and blanks may be provided to the common feed slot  22 , which is the entry point for the common feed path of the printing device  10 , via the first and second input slots. Although not depicted, along the common feed path and near the common feed slot  22  of the printing device  10  may be a roller (i.e., “pick roller”) to feed the originals and/or blanks in the media dispensing device  12  into the common feed path. Because of the orientation of the media dispensing device  12  relative to the print device  10 , and the presence of the pick roller, the media (i.e., originals or blanks) that are the most forward of the printing device  10  will always be fed first into the common feed path before media that are located towards the rear of the printing device  10  are fed into the common feed path. Thus, since the originals are located on the first input slot, which is forward of the second input slot where the blanks are placed, originals will always be fed into the common feed path before the blanks. 
         [0033]    The edge guides  18  are horizontally slidable along the divider  20  and may be used to guide the originals and blanks into the common input slot  22 . That is, the edge guides may be used to aid the user in positioning and aligning originals as well as blanks. 
         [0034]    A sensor  24 , such as a transmissive or reflective optical sensor, may be mounted with the divider  20  in a position such that the presence of originals in the first input slot may be detected as will be further described herein.  FIG. 2  is a plan view of the divider  20  of  FIG. 1  in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the divider  20  defines a first and a second input slot. The first input slot  28  is located at the front of the divider  20 , while the second input slot  30  is illustrated as being located at the rear of the divider  20  and in front of the tray  16 . The originals may be loaded into the first input slot  28  using the edge guides  18  such that the left edge of the originals are aligned to the left side of the first input slot  28  (note that in  FIG. 1 , the originals would be aligned to the right side). 
         [0035]    The sensor  24 , in this case, is an optical sensor  24  and is located on the left side of the first input slot  28 . Note that in alternative embodiments, other types of sensors other than an optical sensor  24  may be employed in order to detect the presence or absence of originals in the first input slot  28 . The optical sensor  24  may be of a type employing a light emitting diode (LED) mounted on one side of the sensor, and a light sensing photo transistor mounted on the other side of the sensor. When originals are placed between the two sides of the optical sensor  24 , the light from the LED is blocked from the photo transistor and the output from the photo sensor will be a “high” logic value to indicate presence of originals. On the other hand, if originals are not present in the first input slot  28 , light can impinge on the photo transistor and the output from the photo sensor will be a “low” logic value to indicate absence of originals. 
         [0036]    The printing device  10  may have programming instructions such as in the form of firmware that instructs the printing device  10  to use the output of the optical sensor  24  to determine proper behavior. For example, if the user requests that originals are to be copied, the printing device  10 , executing the firmware, may first check that the output from the sensor  24  is at a “high” value to determine the presence of at least one original. If at least one original is detected in the first input slot  28 , then the copy job may be allowed to proceed when the printing device is allowed to copy or scan the detected original or originals. 
         [0037]    The printing device  10 , again executing the firmware, may then control the picking and scanning of the original or originals in the first input slot  28  until the optical sensor  24  provides a “low” value indicating that all of the originals in the first input slot  28  have been fed to the common feed slot  22 . As the originals are being scanned, data from each original (e.g., page) may be stored in memory until the last original has been picked and scanned. The printing device  10  may then begin the printing of the blanks that have been placed into the second input slot  30 . During each attempt to process a blank (e.g., blank sheet of paper), the printing device  10  may use a sensor that is located in a print mechanism of the printing device  10  to determine if the blank has been successfully picked and brought into the correct position for printing. By making use of this print mechanism sensor, a second sensor disposed at the second input slot  30  may not be needed in order to determine the presence or absence of blanks in the second input slot  30 . 
         [0038]      FIG. 3  is another perspective view of the printing device  10  and media dispensing device  12  of  FIG. 1  in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention. In particular,  FIG. 3  illustrates the media dispenser device  20  loaded with originals  32  and blanks  34  in the first and second input slots  28  and  30 , respectively. Both the originals  32  and blanks  34 , through the first and second input slots  28  and  30 , may be directed to the common feed slot  22 , to be eventually fed to the common feed path of the printing device  10 . 
         [0039]    In a second embodiment of the present invention, a mechanical flipper is employed as the divider for distinguishing or separating the originals from the blanks.  FIGS. 4-6  illustrate this second embodiment. More particularly,  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a printing device  10  and a flipper divider  50  that is rotatably attached to a tray  16  in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention. As in the previous first embodiment, the flipper divider  50  defines two input slots for originals and blanks. The tray  16  and the flipper divider  50  may combine to form a media dispensing device. The flipper divider (or simply “flipper”)  50  may be positioned and repositioned into at least two positions relative to the tray  16 . In a first or default position, the flipper  50  is down and towards the front of the printing device  10  as depicted in  FIG. 4 . In this position, and as depicted in  FIG. 4 , only the blanks  34  may be loaded into the second input slot  30 , which is located directly adjacent to the tray  16 . Thus,  FIG. 4  illustrates the flipper  50  being in its default position before originals  32  have been loaded, and the blanks  34  already placed into the second input slot  30 . 
         [0040]    Absent of any external influence, such as the user lifting the flipper  50 , the flipper  50  may be designed to rest at its first (default) position. This may be accomplished, for example, by coupling the flipper  50  to a coil or spring that provides at least a small rotational force on the flipper  50 . In particular, the flipper  50  may have a U-shape and may be comprised of an elongated member  66 , having two ends, and two perpendicular members  64  coupled to the two ends of the elongated member  66 . The two perpendicular members  64  may be partially rotatably coupled to the tray  16 , which allows the flipper  50  to at least partially rotate relative to the tray  16 . In order to accomplish this, in one embodiment, and as previously described, a coil or spring may be coupled to the perpendicular members  64  and the tray  16  in a manner such that the flipper  50  is always in the first position (i.e., down and towards the front of the printing device  10 ) when no external influence is being applied to the flipper  50 . Of course, other alternative methods may be employed in order to accomplish this function other than using a coil or spring. Further, in an alternative embodiment, the flipper  50  may have an L-shape rather than a U-shape and may be rotatably coupled to the tray  16  at only one end. 
         [0041]    For the embodiment, a sensor may be used to detect the position of the flipper  50 . The sensor may be an opto-interrupter sensor, a contact sensor, or another type of sensor. The sensor may be used in order to detect and indicate the presence or absence of originals. 
         [0042]    When originals are to be loaded into the first input slot  28  (as depicted in  FIG. 5 ), which is located in front of the raised flipper  50 , the flipper  50  must be raised and placed into a second upright position as depicted in  FIG. 5 . The originals may then be placed in front of the flipper  50  in the first input slot  28 . Note that when originals are loaded into the first input slot  28 , the forward force provided by the flipper (e.g., via the coil) on the originals should be small enough so that a single original can prevent the flipper  50  from settling back down into its first default position. Otherwise, the sensor may provide a false indication that no originals are present in the first input slot  28 .  FIG. 6  depicts when both originals  32  and blanks  34  have been loaded into the first and second input slots  28  and  30   
         [0043]    In this second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the printing device  10  may include firmware that uses the output of a sensor that indicates the position of the flipper  50  to determine proper behavior. For example, if the user requests that the originals are to be copied, the printing device  10 , executing the firmware, must first check to see if the flipper  50  is in the up position, based on the output provided by the sensor, to determine the presence of at least one original in the first input slot  28 . If it is determined that at least one original is present, the copying operation may commence. 
         [0044]    The printing device, executing the firmware, may then control the picking and scanning of the originals until the flipper  50  falls back to its first default position, which will be detected by the sensor. The scan data that results from scanning operation of each of the originals is stored in memory until the last original has been fed into the printing device  10  and scanned. The printing device  10  may then begin the printing of the blanks based on the stored data. During each attempt to process (i.e., print) a blank, the printing device  10  may use a sensor, such as paper sensor, located in the print mechanism of the printing device  10  in order to determine if the blank has been successfully picked and brought into the correct position for printing. Note that the print mechanism sensor may detect not just the blanks, but also the originals in the common feed path. 
         [0045]    In a third embodiment, a mechanical shutter is employed as the divider in order to separate and distinguish between originals and blanks as illustrated in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . In particular, and as before, the shutter divider may be used to define a first and a second input slot for originals and blanks. In doing so, the shutter divider separates the originals from the blanks. Referring to  FIG. 7 , which is a perspective view of the shutter divider (or simply “shutter”)  72  in its first default position, which is against a sensor  70 , mounted above a printing device  10  in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention. The sensor  70  may be a scan element with glass encasing the scan element. 
         [0046]    The first input slot for the originals may be located between the shutter  72  and the sensor  70 , while the second input slot for the blanks may be located between the shutter  72  and the tray  16 . In  FIG. 7 , the blanks  34  are illustrated loaded into the second input slot  30  between the shutter  72  and the tray  16 . In order to load blanks  34  into the second input slot  30 , the user may let the shutter  72  remain in its first default position against the sensor  70 . 
         [0047]    A bar code may be imprinted on a top surface of the shutter  72 , opposite the sensor  70 . Thus, the sensor  70  may be designed to read the bar code if there is no obstruction between the sensor  70  and the shutter  72  to prevent the sensor  70  from reading the bar code. If the sensor  70  is unable to read the bar code, then that may indicate that one or more originals are present in the first input slot  28  (see  FIG. 8 ) between the shutter  72  and the sensor  70 . However, if the sensor  70  is able to successfully read and recognize the bar code imprinted on the surface of the shutter  72 , then that may indicate that there is or are no originals in the first input slot. 
         [0048]    In order to load the originals into the first input slot  28 , which is located at least in part between the shutter  72  and sensor  70 , the user may lift the sensor  70  away from the shutter  72  in order to place the originals between the shutter  72  and the sensor  70 . As described above, when an original is placed in the first input slot between the shutter  72  and the sensor  70 , the bar code on the shutter  72  is obstructed from the view of the sensor  70 .  FIG. 8  depicts when blanks  34  have been placed into the second input slot  30 , and when originals  32  have been placed into the first input slot  28 . 
         [0049]    Note that in alternative embodiments, the sensor  70  may be designed to scan for other characteristics of the surface of the shutter  70  other than bar codes. For example, in some alternative embodiments, the surface of the shutter  72  may be coated with a particular pigmentation that is distinct from the pigmentation of the original media to be loaded into the first input slot. In this case, the sensor  70  may be designed to detect the specific pigmentation of the surface of the shutter  72  in order to determine whether originals are present in the first input slot. In yet other embodiments, the sensor  70  may scan for other symbols or patterns other than bar codes on the surface of the shutter  72 . 
         [0050]    For the shutter embodiment, the printing device  10 , executing its firmware, may be designed to use the data from the sensor  70  to detect the presence of the bar code on the shutter  72  to determine proper behavior. For example, if the user requests that originals are to be copied, the firmware may first collect and analyze data received from the sensor  70  to determine whether the bar code on the shutter  72  is detected. If the bar code is detected, then the printing device  10  may conclude that no originals  32  are present in the first input slot  28  between the shutter  72  and the sensor  70 . On the other hand, if the bar code is detected, then the printing device  10  may conclude that at least one original is present. If at least one original  32  is present, then the copy job can proceed. 
         [0051]    The printing device  10 , executing its firmware, may then control the picking and scanning of the originals until the bar code is detected. The data for each scanned original may be stored in a memory as the originals  32  are being fed through the common feed path of the printing device  10 . Once the last original has been fed and scanned by the printing device  10 , as determined by the output of the sensor  70 , the printing device  10  may then begin the printing of the blanks  34  that are located in the second input slot  30  between the shutter  72  and the tray  16 . During each attempt to process a blank, the printing device  10  may use a sensor located in a print mechanism of the printing device  10  to determine if the original has been successfully picked and brought into the correct position for printing. 
         [0052]      FIG. 9  is a common feed path printing system in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. The system  90  may include a media dispenser  92  that includes at least one of the dividers previously described, a print mechanism  94 , a scan mechanism  95 , a control circuitry  96 , a non-volatile memory  98  and a volatile memory  99 . In addition to a divider, which defines a first and a second input slot, the media dispenser  92  may include a tray and a sensor to detect the presence or absence of originals in the first input slot. The scan mechanism  95  may include various electronic and mechanical components needed for scanning operations including optical components. In contrast, the print mechanism  94  may include various electronic and mechanical components needed for printing including, for example, a toner. The print mechanism  94  may further include a sensor, such as paper sensor, in order to detect the presence or absence of blanks. Although not depicted, originals and blanks to be provided to the scan and print mechanisms  95  and  94 , may be provided by the media dispenser  92  via a common feed path. 
         [0053]    The control circuitry  96  may include a processor to receive and process data from the sensors as well as to control the print and the scan mechanisms  94  and  95  based at least in part on the data received from the sensors. The control circuitry  96 , and more particularly, the included processor, may execute programming instructions stored in the non-volatile memory  98  or volatile memory  99  in order to implement the various operations described previously. In some instances, the programming instructions may be in the form of firmware, which may be stored in the non-volatile memory  98 , or alternatively, may be hardwired into the control circuitry  96 . The volatile memory  99  may be used by the control circuitry  96  to store scanned data received from the scan mechanism  95  during a scanning operation of the originals. The stored scanned data may then used by the control circuitry  96 , to control the print mechanism  94  in order to print onto the blanks supplied by the media dispenser  92 . 
         [0054]    In a fourth embodiment, mechanical components are minimally employed in order to distinguish between originals and blanks. That is, in the fourth embodiment, no dividers may be used in order to distinguish originals from blanks. The fourth embodiment may be implemented by a printing device executing a set of programming instructions stored in a storage medium (e.g., memory  98  or  99  in  FIG. 9 ). 
         [0055]    In this approach, an original or a blank may be picked up and fed through the common feed path of the printing device. A sensor, such as an optical sensor, which may be disposed at the beginning portion of the common feed path, may scan the first portions of the leading edge of the medium (either original or blank) being fed through the common feed path. The portions to be scanned may be scanned before the leading edge of the media reaches the print zone of the printing device. The printing device may collect data provided by the sensor of the scanned portions of the medium as the medium is being fed through the common feed path. If the printing device is unable to detect any data on the portions of the medium that was scanned (i.e., not being able to detect any text, patterns, or figures other than, for example, white), then it may conclude that the medium is a blank and may begin the printing operation once the medium reaches the print zone. Thus, in some embodiments, the sensor may scan only a portion of the surface of the medium that is within a distance from the leading edge of the medium that is equal to the distance between the scanning element (i.e., sensor) and the print zone. 
         [0056]    This approach may be particularly reliable if blanks are white (rather than, for example, a relatively dark toned paper) and all originals have data in the portions to be scanned. In some embodiments, the portions of the medium to be scanned may be within 2 inches of a leading edge of the medium. One issue that may arise under this approach is that if an original only has a small portion of its surface with data (e.g., imprinted text or image), then the original could be accidentally printed on if the data on the surface is not detected. In this case, the printing operation may be stopped before the original reaches the print zone. In order to make the detection of originals more reliable, the user may be instructed to load originals into the device in an orientation that would place the original content of a page that it is not fully cover with information so that the information would be nearest the leading edge that first passes by the scan element in the common feed path. 
         [0057]    In an alternative embodiment, the entire medium may be scanned before a decision is made as to whether the medium is a blank or an original. In this embodiment, originals may be fed first followed by blanks. The printing device may assume that all of the media being initially fed to it are originals. As each original is being fed through the common feed path, each original is being scanned. When the first blank is fed through the common feed path, the printing device will scan the entire first blank to determine that it is, indeed, a blank. Of course, since the first blank may have to go completely through the common feed path in order for the printing device to determine that it is a blank, the first blank may not be printed on. However, based on the identification of the first blank, the printing device may be programmed to recognize that subsequent media fed into the printing device will be blanks. As a result, the printing device may commence its printing operation beginning on the second blank to be fed to the printing device. 
         [0058]    Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art and others, that a wide variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may be substituted for the specific embodiments illustrated and described without departing from the scope of the present invention. This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the embodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is manifested and intended that various embodiments of the invention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.