Patent Publication Number: US-6659668-B2

Title: Printer access door and method of using same

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to inkjet printers and, more particularly, to access doors, or access doors, utilized in such printers. 
     Printers of various types are operated daily in thousands of business organizations, university campuses and homes. The typical ink-jet printer utilizes an access door pivotally attached to the printer housing to facilitate access to the printer interior for print cartridge replacement or for clearing paper jams. Generally, the access door opens upwardly in relation to the housing and, of course, this factor mandates that there be sufficient clearance for the door as it moves to the open position. 
     With ongoing development, printers are becoming more efficient and more compact. Thus, in some cases, a user may desire to place a printer on a shelf but is limited because vertical clearance is not available to accommodate the printer while the access door is open for servicing. The alternatives are to place the device on another surface or to remove it from the shelf when access to printer components is necessary. 
     In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have an ink-jet printer that is suitable for use on a shelf or where vertical height is limited. Such a printer would enable access to print cartridges or to paper jams without requiring the vertical clearance of conventional printers. 
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet printer including a housing having an access door and a web. The web includes a first pair of hinge elements pivotally connecting the web and the housing, and a second pair of hinge elements pivotally connecting the web and the access door, wherein the first pair of hinge elements and the second pair of hinge elements cooperate for relative movement of the access door toward and away from the housing. 
     The present invention affords several advantages. For example, it is not necessary to provide vertical clearance for a simple hinged, conventional door since the dual pairs of hinges enable the access door to arc upwardly and back in relation to the housing, within a relatively smaller envelope. Thus, print cartridges and paper jams are accessible while conservation of valuable shelf space is achieved. 
     Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front elevational, partially cut away, view of a printer that is constructed according to the present invention showing the access door in a closed position; 
     FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the access door shown in FIG. 1 showing the relationships between the access door and hinge elements when the access door is in the closed position; 
     FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the printer of FIG. 1 showing the access door in an open position; 
     FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the printer of FIG. 1 showing the relationships between the access door and hinge elements when the access door is in the open position; 
     FIG. 5 is a partial side elevational view of the printer of FIG. 1 showing the relationships of access door and hinge elements in the access door open and closed positions; and 
     FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a hinging apparatus and some of the hinge elements of the printer of FIG.  1 . 
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiment is to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to embraced within their scope. 
     In the following detailed description and in the several figures of the drawings, like elements are identified with like reference numerals. 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a novel printer  10  that is constructed according to the present invention. The printer  10  includes a housing  12  having a forward extending interior wall  15 . An access door  21  is pivotally attached to the interior wall  15  for rotation from a closed position to an open position. When access to the printer is desired for cartridge replacement or clearance of a paper jam, the user simply rotates the access door into the open position. In the process, the access door  21  arcs back and over the top of the housing  12 . In this manner, access to printer components is enabled within a lower vertical height, as compared to conventional printers. 
     The printer  10  use, or operational, condition will first be considered with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, the access door  21  is closed and the hinge elements associated with the door are disposed as indicated generally by the arrow A (FIG.  2 ). The access door includes a curvilinear shell  23 . This shell rests on a pair of positioners or locators, such as the locator  16 , mounted on the interior wall  15 , when the door is closed. A button  22 , located on the front of the door  21 , is useful as the door is moved from one position to another. 
     Pivotal movement of the access door  21 , relative to the housing  12 , is accomplished by a hinging apparatus  31 , shown best in FIG.  6 . The apparatus  31  includes a strengthening member  43  attached to an elongated lift bar, or web  33 . The strengthening member  43  supports a first pair of hinge elements, indicated generally by reference numeral  62  in FIG. 4, that include a pivot pin  45 , having a collar  49 , mounted at one end of the member  43  and a boss, or pivot pin receiver  47 , mounted at the other end. The interior wall  15  includes a receiver  48  for receipt of the pivot pin  45  for rotational movement therewithin. At the opposite end of the member  43 , a pivot pin  59  projects into the receiver  47  for rotational movement therewithin. It will be noted that cooperation between the first pair of hinge elements, and their respective housing mounted elements, enable rotational movement of the web  33  relative to the housing  12 . 
     In a like manner, rotational movement of the web  33  relative to the access door  21  is accomplished by means of a second pair of web mounted hinge elements, indicated generally by reference numeral  64  in FIG. 4, that act in cooperation with access door  21  mounted hinge elements. In this regard, the web  33  includes an arcuate shaped bridge  34  disposed between a pair of pivot pin receivers  51  and  53 . The receivers are attached at a flat surface, such as the surfaces  35  and  36 , to the underside of the shell  23 . Openings  55  and  57  are formed in the receivers  51  and  53 , respectively. These openings receive pivot pins, such as the pins  38  and  41 , respectively, for enabling pivotal movement of the access door  21  relative to the web  33 . 
     As set forth above, the access door  21  is pivotally mounted by means of two sets of pivots to enable movement within a small envelope. The condition of the printer  10 , with the access door  21  in the opened position, is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The changed relationship, as compared to that shown in FIG. 2, between the hinging apparatus  31  and the access door  21  is shown generally by the arrow B (FIG.  4 ). 
     Finally, the relative positions of the access door  21  and the housing  12  are shown in FIG. 5 in which the open access door position is indicated generally by the arrow A and the closed position is shown in phantom generally by the arrow B. 
     It will be evident that there are additional embodiments and applications that are not disclosed in the detailed description but which clearly fall within the scope of the present invention. The specification is, therefore, intended not to be limiting, and the scope of the invention is to be limited only by the following claims.