DOCUMENT TRANSFER DEVICE

Abstract: A document transfer device for transferring documents to a collection station, the transfer device including: means for selectively moving a document to the collection station; and guide means to prevent documents being transferred from being hampered by contact with any documents already in the collection station, wherein the transfer device is incorporated into a printer (706) with integral document binding means (605) to transfer documents from the binding means to the collection station (619).

Description: DOCUMENT TRANSFER DEVICE FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the handling of documents and in particular the movement of bound documents between stations CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present invention are disclosed in the following co-pending applications filed by the applicant or assignee of the present invention simultaneously with the present application PCT/AU00/00518, PCT/AU00/00519, PCT/AUOO/00520. PCT/AU00/00521 , PCT/AU00/00523, PCT/AUOO/00524, PCT/AU00/00525, PCT/AU00/00526, PCT/AU00/00527, PCT/AU00/00528, PCT/AU00/00529. PCT/AUOO/00530, PCT/AUOO/00531 , PCT/AU00/00532, PCT/AU00/00533, PCT/AU00/00534, PCT/AUOO/00535 PCT/AUOO/00536, PCT/AU00/00537, PCT/AU00/00538, PCT/AU00/00539, PCT/AU00/00540, PCT/AUOO/00541. PCT/AU00/00542. PCT/AU00/00543, PCT/AU00/00544. PCT/AU00/00545, PCT/AU00/00547, PCT/AU00/00546, PCT/AU00/00554, PCT/AU00/00556 PCT/AU00/00557. PCT/AUOO/00558, PCT/AU00/00559, PCT/AU00/00560, PC r/AU00/00561. PCT/AU00/00562 PCT/AU00/00563. PCT/AU00/00564. PCT/AU00/00566, PCT/AUOO/00567. PCT/AU00/00568, PCI /AU00/00569, PCT/AU00/00570, PCT/AUOO/00571 , PC I /AUOO/00572 PCT/AUOO/00573 PCT/AU00/00574 PCT/AUOO/00575, PCT/AUOO/00576, PCT/AU00/00577. PCT/AU00/00578, PCT/AUOO/00579, PCT/AU00/00581 , PCT/AUOO/00580, PCT/AU00/00582, PCT/AU00/00587, PCT/AU00/00588, PC1 /AU00/00589, PCT/AU00/00583, PCT/AU00/00593, PCT/AU00/00590, PCT/AU00/00591 , PCT/AU00/00592, PCT/AU00/00594, PCT/AU00/00595, PCT/AU00/00596, PCT/AUOO/00597, PCT/AU00/00598, PCT/AU00/00516, and PCT/AU0O/O05 I 7 The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated herein by cross-reference BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the advent of the Internet has come the opportunity for the print media industry to publish "on-line" rather than producing and distributing traditional paper based publications On-line publishing has a number of advantages From the consumer s point of view information is available on demand, information can be navigated via hypertext links information can be searched and information can be automatically personalized From the publisher s point of view, the costs of printing and physical distribution are eliminated and the publication becomes more attractive to advertisers as it can be targeted to specific demographics and linked to product sites On-line publication also has disadvantages Computer screens are inferior to paper At the same quality as a magazine page, a SVGA computer screen displays only about a fifth as much information Both CRT's (Cathode Ray Tubes) and LCD's (Liquid Crystal Displays) have brightness and contrast problems, particularly, when ambient light is strong Ink on paper, being reflective rather than emissive is both bright and sharp in ambient light Accordingly, people have a natural preference to read newspapers magazines catalogues brochures and other publications in a bound paper based format Printers that incorporate a binding means may be connected to the Internet and conveniently used for the on-line publication of the bound documents Ideally any regularly received periodical publications would be automatically printed bound and awaiting collection at the subscriber's convenience However, if a number of periodicals are automatically printed while the subscriber is out or otherwise unable to clear the document collection station, the documents already awaiting collection may impede the transfer of further documents to the collection station and therebv delay other printing operations SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide means to effectively transfer printed documents from one station to another Accordingly, the present invention provides a document transfer device for transferring documents to a collection station, the transfer device including - 2 - means for selectively movmg a document to the collection station, and guide means to prevent documents being transferred from bemg hampered by contact with any documents already m the collection station Preferably, the transfer device is incorporated into a pnnter with integral document bmding means to transfer documents from the bmdmg means to the collection station In some forms of the present invention, the means for selectively movmg a document is at least partially defined by a base member for supporting documents, the base member being movable to selectively remove support for the document to allow it to transfer to the collection station Conveniently, the bound document may transfer to the collection station under the action of gravity In one particularly preferred form, the base member is a lunged exit hatch, lungedly mounted opposite a flexible foil, the hatch adapted to selectively rotate about its h ge such it becomes a document chute which is configured to cooperate with the flexible foil to prevent documents bemg transferred from bemg hampered by contact with any documents already in the collection station In some embodiments the transfer means further includes a plurality of flexible foils havmg different lengths to accommodate different sized bound documents Preferably the transfer device has a sensor means for sensing when there is no more capacity m the collection station m order to suspend further pnnting until the collection station is able to receive another bound document In a further preferred form, the transfer device has a tamper sensor to detect document jams or other interference acting to prevent the exit hatch from returning to a document support position Embodiments of the invention that have been incorporated mto a pnnter are preferably adapted to pnnt the full width of the page simultaneously It will be appreciated that by providing a document transfer device in accordance with the present mvention, documents can transferred to a collection station with little nsk of disruptions from interference with documents in the collection station awaiting collection With the aid of modern pnnters and computer network technology, the invention has many applications in on-line publication of newspapers, magazines, brochures and so on The present invention will be descnbed with particular reference to the Applicant's netpage system An overview of this system is set out below It has been developed to allow a large number of distributed users to interact with networked information via pnnted matter and optical sensors thereby to obtain interactive pnnted matter on demand from high-speed networked color pnnters For this purpose, the Applicant has developed a range of netpage pnnters Of these, the wallpnnter is designed to be wall mounted in the area where the user would normally first consume the morning news such as in the kitchen or beside the breakfast table In light of this, it is expected that the wallpnnter will be one of the most widely used of the netpage pnnters and therefore it will be descnbed in detail below to illustrate one specific embodiment ol the invention However, it will be appreciated that this is merely one example of the invention, which may be embodied in many other forms BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. Figure 1 shows a front three-quarter view of the wallpnnter, Figure 2 shows a section through the length of the wallpnnter, Figure 2a is an enlarged portion of Figure 2 showing a section of the duplexed pnnt engmes, Figure 3 shows a simple exploded view of the wallpnnter, Figure 4 shows an exploded view of the ink cartndge, Figure 5 shows three-quarter views of the ink cartndge. - 3 - Figure 6 shows a three-quarter view of a smgle ink bladder, Figures 7a and 7b show lateral and longitudinal sections of the ink cartndge, Figure 8 shows a front three-quarter view of the open media tray, Figure 9 shows the ink, air and adhesive supply hoses to the pnnt engmes, Figure 10 shows a front three-quarter view of the electncal system of the pnnter, Figure 11 shows a rear three-quarter view of the electncal system, Figure 12 shows a front three-quarter view of the wallpnnter with the lower front cover removed, Figure 13 shows a section through the binder assembly, Figure 14 shows a rear three-quarter view of the open glue wheel assembly, Figure 15 shows a section through the bmdmg assembly and the exit hatch, Figure 16 shows a three-dimensional view of an interface module, Figure 17 shows an exploded view of an interface module, Figure 18 shows a top three-quarter view of the media tray, and Figure 19 shows a section through the top part of the pnnter DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS Note Memjet™ is the trade mark of Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd, Australia In the preferred embodiment, the mvention is configured to work with the netpage system, an overview of which follows The system is descnbed m this specification to reduce the need for external reference when attempting to understand the context m which the preferred embodiments and aspects of the present invention operate In its preferred form, the netpage system relies on the production of, and human interaction with, netpages These are pages of text, graphics and images pnnted on ordinary paper, but which work like mteractive Web pages Information is encoded on each page usmg ink, which is substantially invisible to the unaided human eye The ink, however, and thereby the encoded information, can be sensed by an optically imagmg pen (the netpage pen) and transmitted to the netpage system In the preferred form, active buttons and hyperlinks on each page can be clicked with the netpage pen to request information from the network or to signal preferences to a network server In one embodiment, text wntten by hand on a netpage is automatically recognized via the pen, allowing forms to be filled m In other embodiments, signatures recorded on a netpage are automatically venfied, allowing e-commerce transactions to be securely authonzed The netpage pen works in conjunction with a netpage pnnter, an Internet-connected printing appliance for home, office or mobile use The pen is wireless and communicates securely with the netpage pnnter via a short-range radio link The netpage pnnter delivers, penodically or on demand, personalized newspapers, magazmes, catalogs, brochures and other publications, all pnnted at high quality as interactive netpages Unlike a personal computer, the netpage pnnter is an appliance which can be, lor example, wall-mounted adjacent an area where the morning news is first consumed, such as m a user's kitchen, near a breakfast table, or at the household's point of departure for the day It also comes in tabletop, desktop, portable and miniature versions Netpages pnnted at their point oi consumption combine the ease-of-use of paper with the timeliness and interactivity of an interactive medium The netpage system is made considerably more convenient because of the functional supenonty of the netpage pnnters At the heart of these pnnters are high-speed microelectromechamcal system (MEMS) based inkiet (Memjet™) pnntheads descnbed in vanous co-pending and co-filed applications from the list above In the preferred - 4 - form of this technology, relatively high-speed and high-quality pnntmg is made more affordable to consumers In its preferred form, a netpage publication has the physical charactenstics of a traditional newsmagazine, such as a set of letter-size glossy pages pnnted in full color on both sides, bound together for easy navigation and comfortable handling A netpage pnnter prints pages of photographic-quality images and magazme quality text at a rate of over 30 double sided sheets per mmute (that is, more than 60 pages per mmute) They come in a vanety of forms, including wall-mounted versions, tabletop versions, portable versions, and pocket versions Given the nature of the netpage system, it is envisaged that one of the most commercially relevant forms of netpage pnnter will be the wall mounted version referred to as wallpnnter For convenience, the present invention will be descnbed in detail with reference to this specific version shown in the accompanying drawings The vertically-mounted netpage wallpnnter 600 is shown fully assembled in Figures 1 and 2 As best shown m Figures 2, 2a and 19, it prmts netpages on A4 sized media usmg duplexed 8/2" Memjet™ pnnt engines 602 and 603 It uses a straight paper path with the paper 604 passmg through duplexed pnnt engines 602 and 603 which pnnt both sides of a sheet simultaneously, in full color and with full bleed A multi-DSP raster image processor (RIP) rastenzes pages to internal memory, and a pair of custom pnnt engme controllers expand, dither and pnnt page images to the duplexed pnntheads m real time An integral bmdmg assembly 605 applies a stnp of glue along one edge of each pnnted sheet, allowing it to adhere to the previous sheet when pressed against it This creates a final bound document 618 which can range m thickness from one sheet to several hundred sheets The binding assembly will be considered m close detail below with particular reference to Figures 13, 14 and 15 Referring to Figures 1 to 9, the wallpnnter 600 consists of a main chassis 606, which accommodates all major components and assemblies As best shown in Figure 8, it has a pivoting media tray 607 on the front upper portion, which is covered by a front molding 608 and handle molding 609 The front molding 608, handle molding 609 and lower front molding 610 can vary m color, texture and finish to make the product more appealmg to consumers They simply clip onto the front of the wallpnnter 600 Figures 10 and 11 show the wallpnnter electncal system in isolation A flexible pnnted circuit board (flex PCB) 611 runs from the media tray 607 to the mam PCB 612 It includes lour different color LEDs 613, 614, 615 and 616 and a push button 617 The LEDs show through the front molding and indicate "on" 613, "ink out" 614, "paper out" 615, and "error" 616 The push button 617 elicits pnnted "help" in the form of usage instructions, pnnter and consumable status information, and a directory of resources on the netpage network Pnnted, bound documents 618 exit through the base of the wallpnnter 600 into a clear, plastic, removable collection tray 619 This is discussed m greater detail below with specific reference to Figure 15 The wallpnnter 600 is powered by an internal 110 V/220V power supply 620 and has a metal mounting plate 621 that is secured to a wall or stable vertical surface by four screws Plunged keyhole slot details 622 in the metal plate 621 allow for four spigots mounted on the rear of the pnnter to hook onto the plate As best shown m Figures 2 and 19, the wallpnnter 600 is prevented from being lifted off by a screw, which locates the chassis molding 606 to the plate 621 at one position behind the media tray 607 Referring to Figures 16 and 17, the side of the wallpnnter 600 mcludes a module bay 624 which accommodates a network mterface module 625 which allows the prmter to be connected to the netpage network and to a local computer or network The interface module 625 can be selected and installed in the factory or in the field to provide the interfaces required by the user The modules may have common connector options, such as IEEE 1394 (Firewire) connection, standard Centronics pnnter port connection or a combined USB2 649 and Ethernet 650 - 5 - connection This allows the consumer to connect the wallpnnter 600 to a computer or use it as a network pnnter Figure 17 shows the exploded assembly of the module 625 The interface module PCB 651, (with gold contact edge stnps) plugs directly mto the main wallpnnter PCB 612 via an edge connector 654 The different connector configurations are accommodated m the module design by use of a tool insert 652 Fmger recesses 653 on either side of the module 625 allow for easy manual insertion or removal Turning to Figure 19, the main PCB 612 is attached to the rear of the chassis 606 The board 612 mterfaces through the chassis moldmg 606 to the interface module 625 The PCB 612 also cames the necessary penpheral electronics to the Memjet™ pnntheads 705 This mcludes a main CPU with two 32MB DRAMs, flash memory, IEEE 1394 interface chip, six motor controllers, vanous sensor connectors, mterface module PCB edge connector, power management, internal/external data connectors and a QA chip Figure 8 shows the front hatch access to the paper 604 and the ink cartndge 627 Refernng to Figure 18, paper 604 is placed mto a lunged top tray 607 and pressed down onto a sprung platen 666 The tray 607 is mounted to the chassis 606 via lunges 700 Each hmge has a base, a lunge lever and a hinge side Pivots on the base and paper/media tray 607 engage the lever and side such that the paper/media tray 607 rotates m a manner that avoids kinkmg the supply hoses 646 The paper 604 is positioned under edge guides 667 before bemg closed and is automatically registered to one side of the tray 607 by action of a metal spnng part 668 An ink cartndge 627 connects mto a pivotmg ink connector molding 628 via a senes of self-sealing connectors 629 The connectors 629 transmit ink, air and glue to their separate locations The ink connector moldmg 628 contains a sensor, which detects a QA chip on the ink cartndge and venfies identification pnor to pnntmg When the front hatch is sensed closed, a release mechamsm allows the sprung platen 666 to push the paper 604 against a motorized media pick-up roller assembly 626 Figure 4, shows the complete assembly of the replaceable ink cartndge 627 It has bladders or chambers for storing fixative 644, adhesive 630, and cyan 631, magenta 632, yellow 633, black 634 and infrared 635 inks The cartndge 627 also contains a micro air filter 636 m a base moldmg 637 As shown m Figure 9, the micro air filter 636 interlaces with an air pump 638 mside the pnnter via a hose 639 This provides filtered air to the pnntheads 705 to prevent ingress ol micro particles into the Memjet™ pnntheads 705 which may clog the nozzles By incorporating the air filter 636 withm the cartndge 627, the operational life of the filter is effectively linked to the life of the cartndge This ensures that the filter is replaced together with the cartndge rather than relymg on the user to clean or replace the filter at the required intervals The cartndge 627 has a thin wall casing 640 The ink bladders 631 to 635 and fixitive bladder 644 are suspended within the casing by a pin 645 which hooks the cartndge together The single glue bladder 630 is accommodated in the base moldmg 637 This is a fully recyclable product with a capacity for pnntmg and gluing 3000 pages (1500 sheets) Refernng to Figures 2, 2a, 10, 11 and 19, the motonzed media pick-up roller assembly 626 pushes the top sheet directly from the media tray 607 past a paper sensor (not shown) on the first pnnt engine 602 mto the duplexed Memiet™ pnnthead assembly Two Memjet™ pnnt engines 602 and 603 are mounted in an opposing in-line sequential configuration along the straight paper path The paper 604 is drawn mto the first pnnt engine 602 by integral, powered pick-up rollers 626 The position and size ol the paper 604 is sensed and full bleed pnntmg commences Fixative is pnnted simultaneously to aid drying m the shortest possible time As best shown m Figure 2a, the Memjet™ pnnt engines 602 and 603 include a rotary cappmg, blotting and platen device 669 The capping device seals the Memjet™ pnntheads 705 when not in use It uncaps and rotates - 6 - to produce an integral blotter, which is used for absorbmg ink fired from the pnntheads 705 dunng routine pnnter startup maintenance It simultaneously moves an internal capping device inside the Memjet™ pnnthead 705 that allows air to flow mto the protective nozzle shield area The third rotation of the device moves a platen surface into place, which supports one side of the sheet 604 dunng pnntmg The paper exits the first Memjet™ pnnt engme 602 through a set of powered exit spike wheels (aligned along the straight paper path), which acts agamst a rubbenzed roller These spike wheels contact the 'wet' prmted surface and continue to feed the sheet 604 mto the second Memjet™ pnnt engine 603 This second pnnt engine 603 is mounted the opposite way up to the first m order to pnnt the underside of the sheet 604 As shown in Figures 2, 2a, 9, 13 and 14, the paper 604 passes from the duplexed pnnt engines 602 and 603, into the bmder assembly 605 The pnnted page passes between a powered spike wheel axle 670 with a fibrous support roller and another movable axle with spike wheels and a momentary action glue wheel 673 The movable axle/glue assembly 673 is mounted to a metal support bracket and it is transported forward to interface with the powered axle 670 by action of a camshaft 642 A separate motor powers 675 this camshaft Both motors 676 are controlled by the Memjet™ pnntheads The glue wheel assembly 673 consists of a partially hollow axle 679 with a rotating coupling 680 for the glue supply hose 641 from the ink cartndge 627 This axle 679 connects to a glue wheel 681 , which absorbs adhesive by capillary action through radial holes A molded housing surrounds the glue wheel 681 , with an opemng at the front Pivoting side moldings 683 and sprung outer doors 684 are attached to the metal support bracket and hmge out sideways when the rest of the assembly 673 is thrust forward This action exposes the glue wheel 681 through the front of the molded housmg Tension springs 685 close the assembly and effectively cap the glue wheel 681 dunng penods of inactivity As the sheet 604 passes into the glue wheel assembly 673, adhesive is applied to one vertical edge on the front side (apart from the first sheet of a document) as it is transported down into the binding assembly 605 It will be appreciated that this arrangement applies adhesive to each page dunng pnntmg so that the paper movement through the pnnter is not interrupted or stopped at a separate gluing station This increases the pnnter speed, however, it requires that the pages move through the pnnter in "portrait" configuration (that is, in a direction parallel to the long edges) This in turn requires the paper tray, binding station and collection station to be m portrait configuration This may make the overall length of the pnnter too great to conveniently fit mto areas having limited space In these situations, the media tray, bmdmg station and collection station can be arranged in "landscape" onentation (short sides parallel to paper movement) to shorten the length of the pnnter However, the glumg assembly must still be able to apply glue along the long side of the pages In this version of wallpnnter (not shown), the adhesive is applied to the longitudinal edge ol each page with a reciprocatmg glue stop The "portrait" binder assembly 605 is best shown in Figure 13 It has a metal support chassis 686, a sprung molded binding platen 687 that runs on four traverser rods, a molded angled platen 689 which supports the document 618 after the sheet 604 has been moved across, and an exit hatch 690 with support bracket 691 The pnnted page 604 is fed in until it rests on the exit hatch 690 The bmdmg platen 687 is propelled forward at high speed via a looped system of wheels 692 and a sprung steel cable 693 that attaches to a powered cable winder shaft 694 As the cable winder shaft 694 is rotated, the cable loop 693 shortens and transports the binding platen 687 forward This powered shaft 694 has a slip clutch mechanism and provides the necessary speed to push the sheet 604 forward onto the rear of a previous sheet, glue/b d it then return under the action of return spnngs 699 to the home position to accept the next pnnted sheet A single operating cycle of the reciprocating platen takes less than 2 seconds The binding assembly 605 binds pages one by one into a bound document, thereby producing bound documents without significantly adding to the time taken to pnnt the separate pages of the document Furthermore it applies the adhesive directly pnor to pressmg it agamst the previous page This is more effective than applying adhesive to the rear of each page and sequentially pressing each page to the subsequent page because any mterruption m the pnntmg process such as replemshmg the paper supply may allow the adhesive applied to the last adhered page to detenorate and become less effective The cable 693 is sprung to allow for positive pressure to be applied to the previous sheet to aid bmding Furthermore, the angled platen 689 is shallower at the top than at the base in order to support the document 618 in an over axis configuration A sensor (not shown) operatively connected to the control of the stepper motor, may be used to determine the position of the last page bound to the document to allow the platen to accurately adhere the next page to it A paper tapper 643 knocks the sheet 604 to one side of the binder 605 as it is transported across to the angled platen 689 The mam PCB 612 controls motors 695, 696 and 697 for the cable wmder shaft 694, the tapper 643 and the exit hatch 690 respectively When a document 618 is bound and finished, the powered exit hatch 690 opens A tamper sensor (not shown) is provided to detect document jams or other mterference acting to prevent the exit hatch 690 from closmg The tapper 643 also tap aligns the pnnted document 618 dunng ejection out of the binder 605 mto the collection tray 619 Plastic foils 698 on the lower front molding 610 work together with the hatch 690 to direct the finished document 618 to the back of the collection tray 619 and feed any further documents into the tray without hitting existing ones A plurality the flexible foils may be provided, each havmg different lengths to accommodate documents having different page sizes The collection tray 619 is molded in clear plastic and pulls out of its socket under a certain loading Access for removmg documents is provided on three sides The invention has been descnbed herein with reference to the specific examples only Skilled workers in this field will readily recognize many vanations and modifications, which do not depart from the spint and scope of the broad inventive concept

Claims: CLAIMS 1 A document transfer device for transfernng documents to a collection station, the transfer device including means for selectively movmg a document to the collection station, and guide means to prevent documents being transferred from bemg hampered by contact with any documents already in the collection station, wherein the transfer device is mcorporated into a pnnter with integral document bmdmg means to transfer documents from the bmding means to the collection station 2 A document transfer device accordmg to claim 1 wherem the means for selectively moving a document is at least partially defined by a base member tor supportmg documents, the base member bemg movable to selectively remove support for the document to allow it to transfer to the collection station 3 A document transfer device according to claim 2 wherem the bound document transfers to the collection station under the action of gravity upon removal of support by the base member 4 A document transfer device accordmg to claim 3 wherem the base member is a hinged exit hatch, hmgedly mounted opposite a flexible foil, the hatch adapted to selectively rotate about its hinge such it becomes a document chute which is configured to cooperate with the flexible foil to prevent documents bemg transferred from being hampered by contact with any documents already m the collection station 5 A document transfer device according to claim 4 wherein the transfer means further includes a plurality of flexible foils having different lengths to accommodate different sized bound documents 6 A document transfer device accordmg to claim 1 further including a sensor means for sensmg when there is no more capacity m the collection station in order to suspend further pnntmg until the collection station is able to receive another bound document 7 A document transfer device according to claim 4 further including a tamper sensor to detect document iams or other interference acting to prevent the exit hatch from returning to a document support position 8 A document transfer device according to claim 1 wherein the pnnter is adapted to pnnt the full width ot a page simultaneously

Inventors: KING TOBIN ALLEN, LAPSTUN PAUL, KING, TOBIN, ALLEN, LAPSTUN, PAUL
Applicants: KING TOBIN ALLEN, LAPSTUN PAUL, SILVERBROOK RES PTY LTD, KING, TOBIN, ALLEN, LAPSTUN, PAUL, SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY. LTD.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B41J11
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J3, B41J11, B41J13, B41J29, B42C1, B42C9, B42C19, B65H29, B65H37, G06F3, G06K9, G06K17, H04L9, H04N1, H04N7, H04Q7