Abstract:
An efficient collator. The collator includes a first mechanism for selectively separating physical output from a device. A second mechanism is coupled to the first mechanism and facilitates angling and/or rotating the first mechanism based on the physical output. In a specific embodiment, the second mechanism includes a controller that generates control signals to control the second mechanism to facilitate automatic positioning of the first mechanism about a curved track.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of Invention  
         [0002]     This invention relates to systems and methods for organizing output. Specifically, the present invention relates to collators for organizing output, such as printer output.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Related Art  
         [0004]     Printers are employed in various demanding applications including mass printing, document publishing, and so on. Such applications often demand specialized mechanisms for organizing printed output, such as print job separators and sorters or collators.  
         [0005]     In many printing systems, documents are output to a single output tray. A user then manually sorts or separates printer output by printer job or other criteria. Unfortunately, manual print job separation and output sorting is undesirably tedious for many applications.  
         [0006]     To facilitate printer output organization, rear-mounted collators with accompanying print media flippers may be employed. In an exemplary laser printing system with a rear-mounted collator, print media, such as paper, often exits the printer fuser near the top front of the printer and then passes toward the back of the printer. In these systems with rear-mounted collators, print media output from the fuser is then flipped and fed to a collator. The media flipper ensures that the output print media appears properly oriented in the output bins associated with the collator. Unfortunately, media flippers are often expensive, and the rear-mounted collators are often undesirably bulky and lack customizability. In addition, paper trays of rear mounted collators often do not efficiently accommodate lengthy print media, such as legal documents, and may interfere with user-access to printer access doors positioned below the print media output bins.  
         [0007]     Alternatively, front-mounted collators are employed. Print media output bins associated with these collators often face toward the rear of the printer to minimize space occupied by the printer. However, the collator blocks user-access to the printer output from the front of the printer, and consequently, printer output must be accessed from the side or rear of the printer, which is less user friendly. For example, to facilitate user-access to the printer output, the printer may require sideways or backward positioning, which is undesirable for certain applications.  
         [0008]     Hence, a need exists in the art for an efficient system and method for organizing printer output that facilitates user-access to the printer output and that neither requires a media flipper nor requires sideways or backward printer orientation. There exists a further need for a system that can efficiently organize printer output; efficiently accommodate print media of differing lengths; and allow easy access to printer access doors.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     The need in the art is addressed by a collator constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. In the illustrative embodiment, the inventive collator is adapted for use with printers. The collator includes a first mechanism for selectively automatically separating printer output. A second mechanism, which is coupled to the first mechanism, facilitates angling and/or rotating the first mechanism based on the printer output.  
         [0010]     In a specific embodiment, the second mechanism includes a controller that generates control signals to control the second mechanism to facilitate automatic positioning of the first mechanism. The second mechanism includes a curved track in communication with one or more output trays. Movement of the curved track and positions of the output trays on the curved track are selectively controlled by a motor via the control signals. The second mechanism includes adjustable paper guides for facilitating directing the printer output into an output tray.  
         [0011]     In the specific embodiment, the second mechanism includes a paper level sensor that communicates with the controller. The third mechanism generates a control signal to the motor to position a different output tray in a printer output path when the paper level sensor indicates that the current output tray is full. The output trays are positioned approximately perpendicular to the curved track and are rotatable about an axis of the track. The curved track enables the output trays to be sufficiently rotated to expose printer access doors or other printer features or to enable users to retrieve media manually before sorting by the collator.  
         [0012]     The novel design of the specific embodiment of the present invention is facilitated by the second mechanism, which employs the nonlinear, curved track, to selectively move output trays into and out of position to separate print jobs and to accommodate filled output trays. Employing the curved track and allowing the trays to move along the curved track or with the curved track, results in space-efficient collators that can be readily positioned to enable easy access to printer-access doors, printer output media, and to accommodate print media larger than the output trays. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]      FIG. 1  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of a conventional printer with a rear-mounted collator.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of a printer having an accordion-style collator in a partially expanded state according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of the printer of  FIG. 2  with the accordion-style collator in a collapsed state for accommodating extra-long print media.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of the printer of  FIG. 2  with the accordion-style collator in a vertical position to facilitate user-access to printer access doors.  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a top view of an output tray of the accordion-style collator of  FIG. 2 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a side cross-sectional view of the output tray of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a front cross-sectional view of the output tray of  FIG. 5  looking into the tray.  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  shows a gear mechanism for positioning side paper guides of the tray of  FIG. 5 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a top view of an alternative embodiment of the collator of  FIGS. 2-4  adapted to facilitate independent control of paper tray position.  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the collator of  FIG. 9 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]     While the present invention is described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications, it should be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings provided herein will recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodiments within the scope thereof and additional fields in which the present invention would be of significant utility.  
         [0024]     The following review of a printer having a conventional rear-mounted collator is intended to facilitate an understanding of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 1  is a simplified diagramatic side view of a conventional printer  10  with a rear-mounted collator  12 . The collator  12  has fixed output trays  14  mounted on a collator body  18  and facing toward the front of the printer  10 . The output trays  14  may prevent complete opening of a front printer-access door  16  and may obstruct user-access to other access doors (not shown) below the output trays  14 . A media flipper  20  is positioned below the collator body  18  in the media path  22 . The media path  22  passes through fuser rollers  24  before passing through the media flipper  20 .  
         [0026]     In operation, print media passes through the fuser rollers  24 , where heat and pressure are applied to fuse toner to the print media, the toner being deposited previously via an electrophotographic process. The print media then passes through the media flipper  20 , where the print media is flipped to preserve media orientation when the print media passes to the output trays  14 . For example, if print media exits the fuser rollers  24  face-down, the media flipper  20  ensures that the print media will enter the output trays  14  face-down. If the media flipper  20  is omitted or replaced by a simple roller, face-down media leaving the fuser rollers  24  would enter the output trays  14  face-up. Similarly, face-up media would switch to face-down in the output trays  14 . Consequently, without the media flipper  20 , the first page of a document may end up as the last page, and hence, require reordering.  
         [0027]     Print media entering the collator body  18  passes through various electronics and/or conveyor systems (not shown) designed to sort the print media into different output trays  14 . Print media is often sorted by printer job and/or output tray capacity.  
         [0028]     The requisite media flipper  20  and the electronic sorting mechanism (not shown) in the collator body  18  for selectively redirecting print media output from the media flipper  20  into appropriate output trays  14  are relatively complex and expensive. Furthermore, in large printers, the output trays  14  are relatively bulky and may stack to levels that are difficult to reach by hand. In addition, the collator  12  may not adequately handle print media that is longer than the output trays  14 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 2  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of a novel printer  30  having an accordion-style collator  32  in a partially expanded state constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention. For clarity, various components, such as power supplies, toner cartridges, computers, operating systems, and so on, have been omitted from the figures. However, those skilled in he art with access to the present teachings will know which components to implement and how to implement them to meet the needs of a given application.  
         [0030]     The accordion-style collator  32  is equipped with collapsible output trays  34  that are mounted on a curved track  36  that is positioned on or in a curved collator body  38 . The curved track  36  may extend about the circumference of the collator body  38 . Alternatively, the curved track  36  may extend about a portion of the circumference of the collator body  38  to meet the needs of a given application. The curved track  36  facilitates angling and/or rotating, i.e., nonlinear positioning of the output media trays  34  as discussed more fully below.  
         [0031]     The curved track  36  may be implemented in accordance with methods known in the art. For example, curved tracks employed on certain compact disc holders, such as the CD storage rack, part No. S1793, available at The Sharper Image, may be adapted by one skilled in the art to construct the track  36  without undue experimentation.  
         [0032]     For the purposes of the present discussion, nonlinear positioning refers to moving the trays  24  to different positions, resulting in the surfaces of the trays  34  being positioned at different angles relative to their initial positions. Examples of nonlinear tray movements include twisting or rotating about a predetermined axis. Linear tray movements include translating the entire tray on one direction or another.  
         [0033]     Movement of the curved track  36  and the positions of the output trays  34  on the curved track are controlled by a motor  42 , which is shown positioned about a longitudinal axis  40  of the collator body  38 . A printer controller  46  runs collator controller software  48 . The collator controller software  48  receives input from a software application  50 , which may be running on an external computer (not shown). The collator controller software  48  communicates with a print media level sensor  44  that is positioned in the collator body  38  to sense the level of print media in an output tray  54  that is currently being filled. The current output tray  54  is positioned so that an open end of the tray  54  receives print media output from the fuser rollers  24 . The collator controller software  48  provides control commands to the collator motor  42 , which is geared to selectively move paper trays  34  along or with the curved track  36 . In the present specific embodiment, the curved track  36  is designed so that media trays  34  can move independently and are not permanently fixed with respect to each other. However, the media trays  34  can also move in unison. In this case, allowable movement of one tray depends on current positions of other trays  34 . Independent tray movement capability is not required in some applications.  
         [0034]     For purposes of the present discussion, a printer is any mechanism used to generate a desired image, such as text, on physical output, such as paper, transparencies, and so on. Consequently, fax and copy machines are considered printers for purposes of the present discussion. The collator  32  may be adapted to devices other than printers, such as mail sorters, without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
         [0035]     In operation, print media follows an abbreviated print media path  52  that passes through the fuser  24  and any exit and enters the current media tray  54 . The media level sensor  44  is positioned in the collator body  38  and monitors the level of print media in the current media tray  54  and provides an appropriate signal to the collator controller  48  when the current media tray  54  is full. The collator controller  48  selectively commands the motor  42  to move the current media tray  54  via the curved track  36  and gearing (not shown) when the current media tray  54  is full, when a new print job is ready for printing, when a different mailbox collator position is selected, or in response to other conditions that necessitate moving the current media tray  54 . The current media tray  54  is moved out of position, and a subsequent empty media tray is then positioned, via commands sent to the collator motor  42 , to receive print media output from the fuser rollers  24 .  
         [0036]     The collator controller  48  determines that a new print job is ready via novel methods or via methods known in the art. For example, the printer controller  46  may communicate with or run printer driver software (not shown) that tracks current print jobs and forwards print job status information to the collator controller  48 . Similarly, the application software  50 , which may include printer driver software, sends data corresponding to a document to be printed to the printer controller  46  for printing. The collator controller  48  determines when the document is finished printing, and actuates the paper trays  34  accordingly.  
         [0037]     The bases of the printer trays  34 , which are mounted on the curved track  36 , move along or with the curved track approximately about the longitudinal axis  42  of the collator body  38 . By using the nonlinear curved track  36  rather than a liner track, space is conserved, and enhanced flexibility in tray positioning is achieved. For example, as discussed more fully below, the paper trays  34  may be collapsed down to accommodate print media that is to large or long to fit in the media trays  34  and may be manually or automatically rotated up to facilitate user access to the printer access door  16 . In addition, print media in the trays  34  is easily accessed by a user and does not require that the printer  30  be positioned sideways on a desk to facilitate user-access to the printer output. Furthermore, use of the unique collator  32  obviates the need for an expensive media flipper (see  20   FIG. 1 ) or other media-sorting mechanical mechanisms. In addition, the collator  32  is readily adapted to existing printers without significant physical modification.  
         [0038]     Details of mechanisms for implementing tracks that enable independent actuation of objects connected to the track, such as the curved track  36 , are known in the art and may be adapted to for the purposes of the present invention without undue experimentation. Furthermore, motors for actuating such tracks in response to controls signals are known in the art and may be adapted for the purposes of the present invention without undue experimentation.  
         [0039]     Alternatively, the media trays  34  are rigidly or flexibly attached to the curved track  36 , and the entire collator body  38  is selectively rotated by the motor  42  to achieve desired positioning of the media trays  34 . Hence, instead of controlling each tray  34  independently, the collator controller  48  selectively rotates the collator body  38  to achieve the desired tray orientation and to effectively sort printer output. Alternatively, only the track  36  is moved, and positions of each tray  34  are not individually controlled, but are controlled collectively via movement of the track  36 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 3  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of the printer  30  of  FIG. 2  with the accordion-style collator  32  in a collapsed state for accommodating extra-long print media  56 . The output media trays  34  are sized so that when they are completely folded down, facing the fuser rollers  24 , the lengthy print media  56  may pass over the top of the trays  34 . The output media trays  34  may be made collapsible to meet the needs of a particular application to enable the lengthy print media  56  to pass over the output media trays  34 . In addition, collapsing of the trays  34  as shown in  FIG. 3  may be automatically performed via the collator controller  48  and motor  42  in response to information from the software application  50  indicating that the extra long print media  56  will be printed.  
         [0041]     Those skilled in the art with access to the present teachings may readily implement various modules, such as the collator controller  48 , printer controller  46 , the software application  50 , without undue experimentation. Furthermore, these modules may be implemented in hardware, software, and/or firmware. The printer  30 , including the collator  32  and accompanying trays  34  may also be implemented by those skilled in the art without undue experimentation.  
         [0042]      FIG. 4  is a simplified diagrammatic side view of the printer  30  of  FIG. 2  with the accordion-style collator  32  in a vertical position to facilitate opening the printer access door  16 . The user-access door  16  may enable user-access to various internal printer components, such as buttons or rollers (not shown) to facilitate clearing paper jams, and so on. In addition, some printer models may include access doors (not shown) positioned on the printer  30  between the fuser rollers  24  and the collator  32 . Access to such doors would be enabled by the vertical position of the trays  34 .  
         [0043]     The output media trays  34  may be positioned vertically as shown in  FIG. 4  either manually, via manual override, or automatically. The output media trays  34  may be automatically vertically positioned via the collator controller  48  and motor  42  in response to a control signal generated by driver software or application software  50  in response to predetermined criteria and/or user input.  
         [0044]     Furthermore, in certain applications, such as very large print jobs that do not fit within the collator output trays  34 , a user may disable the collator  32  by vertically positioning the output trays  34 . The vertically positioned output trays  34  enable the user to easily access printer output that bypasses collator output trays  32 . This is particularly useful for facilitating small media retrieval, such as retrieval of 3×5 cards, business cards, and so on. Hence, the versatile design of the collator  32  may facilitate selectively disabling the collator  32  or accessing other printer features.  
         [0045]      FIG. 5  is a top view of an output tray  34  of the accordion-style collator  32  of  FIGS. 2-4 . The output tray  34 , which is facing up in  FIG. 5 , includes adjustable horizontal media guides  60  and  61 , which control the horizontal positioning of output print media and ensures that the output print media stacks neatly. The horizontal guides  60 ,  61  may be adjusted laterally to accommodate different width output media.  
         [0046]     An adjustable rear media stop  62  extends horizontally under a top surface  66  of the output media tray  34 . The media guides  60 ,  61  and rear media stop  62  are mounted to a bottom surface  64  and/or a top surface  66  of the output media tray  34 . The top surface  66  of the output media tray  34  has a curved cut-away shape to facilitate user-access to print media positioned in the output media tray  34 .  
         [0047]     The rear media stop  62  may be manually positioned at different longitudinal positions via grooves or other securing-mechanisms (not shown) in the bottom surface  64  and/or top surface  66 . Alternatively, automatic positioning of the rear stop  62  may be employed without departing from the scope of the present invention. Various micro-motors and guide tracks (not shown) strategically positioned within the output media tray  34 , which communicate with the collator controller  48  of  FIGS. 2-4 , could be employed to implement an automatic control of the rear stop  62  to accommodate different length print media.  
         [0048]     The top surface  66  is partially supported by a side support wall  70  that extends from the bottom surface  64  to the top surface  66  and to a rear tapered section  68 . The rear tapered section  68  is designed to fit the curved track  36  of  FIGS. 2-4 . The vertical height of the output media tray  34  and the extent to which the rear tapered section  68  is tapered, are application-specific and may be determined by one skilled in the art to meet the needs of a given application. Generally, the more gradual and narrow the taper and the thinner the output media tray  34 , the more paper trays  34  can be accommodated on the curved track  36  of  FIGS. 2-4 .  
         [0049]     The taper  68  may be omitted without departing from the scope of the present invention. In certain applications, especially those employing thin trays or a collator track (see  36  of  FIG. 4 ) with a gradual curve, the taper  68  is not required.  
         [0050]      FIG. 6  is a side cross-sectional view of the output tray of  FIG. 5 . The entire paper tray  34  may be made collapsible by making the horizontal paper guides  60 ,  61 , the rear stop  62 , the tapered section  68 , and the support wall  70  from flexible, foldable, or otherwise collapsible material.  
         [0051]      FIG. 7  is a front cross-sectional view of the output tray  34  of  FIG. 5  looking into the output media tray  34  as seen by incoming print media. View of the tapered section  68  of  FIGS. 5-6  is partially obstructed by the rear stop  62 .  
         [0052]      FIG. 8  shows a gear mechanism  80  for positioning side paper guides of the tray of  FIG. 5 . The gear mechanism includes a left saw-toothed beam  82  that is connected to a left paper guide  60  at one end and extends into a space between paper guides  60 ,  61 . The left saw-toothed beam  82  faces downward so that the accompanying teeth face downward. A right saw-toothed beam  84  extends from a right paper guide  61  into the space between paper guides and faces up toward the teeth of the left saw-toothed beam  82 . A toothed gear  86  is positioned between the left and right saw-toothed beams  82  and  84 . Teeth of the toothed gear  86  ride in the grooves formed by the teeth of the saw-toothed sections  82  and  84 .  
         [0053]     The various components of the gear mechanism  80  are arranged so that rotation of the toothed gear causes the paper guides  60 ,  61  to translate horizontally. Similarly, movement of one of the paper guides  60  or  61  causes the other paper guide  61  or  60 , respectively, and toothed gear  86  to move accordingly.  
         [0054]     The gear mechanism  80  may be driven via a small electric motor (not shown) in each tray  34  of  FIG. 2  to enable automatic adjustment of the paper guides  60 ,  61  to accommodate different media sizes. The small electric motors would be responsive to control signals received by the collator controller  48 .  
         [0055]      FIG. 9  is a top view of an alternative embodiment  32 ′ of the collator  32  of  FIGS. 2-4  adapted to facilitate independent control of paper tray position. The collator  32 ′ includes two rotatable disks  90  that are rigidly connected by a concentric axle  92 . The disks  90  are selectively rotated by the motor  42 . The disks  90  include inward pointing lifter pins  94 , which are adapted for use with special paper trays  34 ′. The special paper trays  34 ′ have channels  96  through which the lifter pins pass freely when the trays  34 ′ are disengaged from the collator  32 ′. The special paper trays  34 ′ include notches  98  designed to catch and engage the lifter pins  94  when the trays  34 ′ are inserted into an engaged position via a solenoid  100 . The solenoid  100  may be controlled via signals from the controller  48  of  FIGS. 2-4  or via manual control.  
         [0056]     Alternatively, collator  32 ′ could be implemented with a rack analogous to the Sharper Image CD rack. The solenoid  100  could move the paper trays in and out of tray holders (analogous to the CD holders in the Sharper Image CD rack). Unfilled trays may be selectively loaded into the tray holders upon filling, and the collator  32 ′ may then move the filled tray out of the way. After a top tray is filled, it could be pushed in to a holder and moved out of the way, and may remain in the holder until it is emptied and returned to the initial position.  
         [0057]      FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view of the collator  32 ′ of  FIG. 9 . For illustrative purposes, the special trays  34 ′ include a bottom tray  102 , a middle tray  104 , and a top tray  106 . The bottom tray  102  and the middle tray  104  are disengaged from the collator  32 ′, while the top tray  106  is engaged. The top tray  106  will move from its current position when the disks  90  are rotated.  
         [0058]     Thus, the present invention has been described herein with reference to a particular embodiment for a particular application. Those having ordinary skill in the art and access to the present teachings will recognize additional modifications, applications, and embodiments within the scope thereof.  
         [0059]     It is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover any and all such applications, modifications and embodiments within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0060]     Accordingly,