Abstract:
A feeder tray having movable front section to allow for loading of stock without having to load over the front section of the tray.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
       [0001]     All references cited in this specification, and their references, are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for teachings of additional or alternative details, features, and/or technical background.  
         [0002]     Disclosed in the embodiments herein is a sheet feeder tray having a movable front section to allow for loading of sheet stock without having to load over the front section of the tray.  
         [0003]     Copiers, printers, and other media image production devices employ feeder trays for storing media, such as paper, plastic, cardboard, sheet metal, etc. Feeder trays allow for rapid image production onto the media without, for example, the need to provide the media one piece, or sheet, at a time. By mounting the feeder tray on a track or slider, feeder trays may be moved in and out of the body of the media image production device to allow overhead access into the body of the tray. Media is then top-loaded into the tray.  
         [0004]     There are a number of different known types of feeder trays systems known, as well as corresponding hardware for feeding media from the trays into the media image production devices. Systems may have adjustable position stack edge guides and stack end guides to accommodate stacking therein, and feeding therefrom, a range of different sized media pieces, such as sheets. Systems may also comprise stack elevators for vertically moving up a stacking tray to maintain the top of a large stack of media, for example paper, on the stacking tray in engagement with a sheet feeder as the media is sequentially fed from the top of the stack.  
         [0005]     Drawer-type feeder trays may be characterized as suffering a number of defects. The architecture of such trays requires that one load media stock over the barrier of the front of the drawer-type feeder tray. This may result in an ergonomic problem. This problem may be exacerbated in, for example, high capacity reproduction devices that permit several reams of media, such as paper, to be loaded concomitantly to permit high volume of printing and/or copying. Media image production devices may further comprise multiple drawer-type feeder trays to permit storage of multiple types or dimensions of media, so as to allow quick change between one type of stock and another type of stock in the image production process. The multiple drawer concept has led in some cases to the height of trays from the floor reaching over three feet.  
         [0006]     So-called “multipurpose feeder shelves” are also known. The capacity of such shelves typically is significantly less than drawer-type feeder trays. A shelf may be used as a manual feed route for the device. A multipurpose feeder shelf may comprise a horizontally-hinged door on the media image production device that contains proximate to a feeder mechanism in the device. Adjustable guides may be attached to the shelf to permit storage of small amounts of media feeder stock on the shelf and to provide better feed of stock into the device. The horizontally-hinged door is moved from a vertical position in respect of the media image production device to a horizontal position to the device to form a shelf upon which stock may be placed. Such a mechanism does not provide protection of the stock from the ambient environment, as does a drawer-type feeder tray, and does not protect against unintended access to the feeder mechanism designed to remove feed stock from the tray.  
         [0007]     Side-opening doors with stationary trays are also known, as for example as employed in the Lakes high capacity (hi-cap) feeder. The tray itself, however, does not comprise a door. There is also known media image production devices that lower certain bulk packages of the stock one at a time. Sealing the area around the loaded stock to reduce possible safety concerns may compromise the users ability to manually guide and control the stock for insertion and removal within the tray.  
         [0008]     Loading reams of material over the height of a drawer-like feeder tray may present ergonomic challenges for persons of certain stature or suffering from certain physical maladies (e.g. arthritis, wheel-chair bound). If the drawer-like feeder tray is located high above the floor, such challenges are exacerbated. Mishandling of stock loading may occur as well as exacerbation of physical maladies.  
       REFERENCES  
       [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,302,390 B1, commonly assigned, teaches a sheet stacking tray system for stacking different sizes of copy sheets on a stack supporting tray to be fed upstream to a reproduction apparatus for printing, on which tray the stack is registered against a side registration edge. An upstanding stack rear edge guide is track mounted for movement at an angle to that side registration edge to provide a large repositioning movement in the upstream direction together with automatic lateral movement toward or away from that side registration edge, so as to engage the rear edge of a stack of larger sheets further from the registration edge, more centrally of the downstream edge of those sheets, and to engage smaller sheets closer to the registration edge and thus more towards their centers.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0010]     Aspects disclosed herein include  
         [0011]     a media image production device having a media feeder tray for retaining sheets comprising a bottom member, a front member, two side members, and an optional back member, each member defining a surface for contacting a quantity of sheets, the front member being operatively configured to be able to be pivotably-moved about either or both of said two side members and/or said bottom member; the feeder tray being optionally configured within the media image production device to be movable from a position outside the media image production device to a position inside of the media image production device;  
         [0012]     a sheet feeder tray dimensioned for fitting within a media image production device and operatively configured to provide media to a feeder system within such media image production device, the feeder tray comprising a bottom member, a front member, two side members and an optional back member, each member defining a surface for contacting a quantity of sheets, the front member of the feeder tray being pivotably-movable about either or both of the two side members and/or the bottom member;  
         [0013]     a media feeder tray for retaining sheets comprising a bottom member, a front member and two side members, and an optional back member, either or both of said side members or bottom member comprising a insertion structure into which a portion of said front member may be interned; and  
         [0014]     a method comprising: loading media sheets into a tray comprising a bottom member, a front member, two side members and a optional back member, each member defining a surface for contacting a quantity of sheets, the front member being operatively configured to pivotably-move about either or both of said two side members and/or said bottom member; placing the loaded tray into a media image production device having a media feeder system at a position in the media image production device such that media from the tray is feed into the media feeder system of the media image production device. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0015]     Various of the above mentioned and further features and advantages will be better understood from this description of embodiments thereof, including the drawing figures wherein:  
         [0016]      FIG. 1   a  and  FIG. 1   b  respectively show a prior art media imaging device constituting a printer and a conventional feeder tray; and  
         [0017]      FIGS. 2A-2C  illustrate different configurations of embodiments of a drawer-type feeder tray permitting pivotable-movement of the front member to allow front loading of stock. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]     In embodiments there is illustrated a feeder tray configured to fit within a media image production device and operatively pivotably-move with its media feeder, such feeder tray comprising a bottom member, a front member, two side members, and an optional back member, the front member being operatively configured to be able to be pivotably-moved about either or both of said two side members and/or said bottom member.  
         [0019]     In an embodiment, the front member of the feeder tray is configured to mesh with the front panel of the media image production device so as to form a portion of the front panel of such media image production device. The front member of the feeder tray may comprise a latch, notch, catch, protrusion or other tray access feature that allows for easy manipulation of the tray from one position to another position. The front member may comprise one or more members wherein one or more members may be pivotably-moved to another member. Thus, the front member may comprise one or more members that are foldable upon one another.  
         [0020]     In an embodiment, the front member is designed to pivotably-move about one of the sides of the tray so that the front member is cantilevered about such side. Alternatively, the front member may be operatively constructed so as to be able to be pivotably-moved about either side such that one side or the other can be selected as the pivot point about which cantilevering of the front member is conducted. In yet, another embodiment the front member is pivotably-moved about the bottom of the tray so as to form a shelf when the member is pivoted downward toward the bottom of the tray. In yet another embodiment, the front member of the tray is attached to both side walls in a manner to allow pivotable-movement about a point on both side walls, eventuating alternatively in a shelf or a covering with respect to the bottom member of the tray. Such constructs of the tray allow access to the recess of the feeder tray without having to invade the open dimension of the tray.  
         [0021]     In another embodiment, there is provided a media feeder tray comprising a bottom member, a front member and two side members, and an optional back member, either or both of said side members or said bottom member comprising insertion structure into which a portion of said front member may be interned. In such embodiment the front member may comprise multiple elements wherein, for example, one element may be interned within, for example in a void therein, or on, for example in a track on the outside thereof, one of said side members, and the other element may be interned within or on the other said side member. The front member may also comprise two or more elements that are pivotably-movable with respect to one another in a manner that the elements can be folded upon each other folded elements may be interned within a side member or bottom member. A stack module slidable in and out of the media tray through the front member when the front member is interned in either the side walls of bottom wall may also be provided.  
         [0022]     A media feeder tray in accordance with the disclosures herein may be operationally configured with respect to the media imaging device to be capable of sliding in and out of said media imaging device.  
         [0023]     The feeder tray may also include structure that fits within another structure in the media image production device so as to permit the tray to be slid in and out of the device, such as, without limitation, wheels or track fitting into a track or groove found within the media image production device. The media image production device may include any of the operative features presently interacting with feeder trays such as air fluffers for partially separating or levitating the uppermost sheets of a stack of sheet media, sheet de-skew and registration systems.  
         [0024]     In one embodiment the tray is stationary within the media image production device or slidable in and out of such device, but further includes within the tray a stack module that is slidable out of the tray when the front member is pivotably-moved so as to cause a front opening. In this embodiment, the stack module may comprise one or more stack edge guides. Top loading into the stack module when extending from the tray is also envisioned, in particular when a stack edge guide is positioned in the front of the module. When a stack edge guide is positioned in the front of the module, front loading into the module may also be accomplished by providing for a movable or pivotably-moving front stack edge guide.  
         [0025]     A feeder tray of this specification may be used with any media image production device, including printers, copiers, multifunction machines or systems, xerographic or otherwise. The media may include any material upon which an image, such as print, may be formed and may be “sheet” material, a thin flat piece of material.  
         [0026]     Now turning to the Figures, in  FIG. 1   a  there is shown a prior art media imaging device  10  constituting a printer. The media imaging device comprises a number of feeder trays  15  and  20  as well as feeder shelf  25  which pivotably-moves with the front of the printer from a closed position (shown) to an open shelf position. Feeder trays  15  and  20 , and feeder shelf  25 , may be filled with media, such as paper sheets which are used by the printer to produce imaged sheet  35  emanating out of the printer at opening  30 . Further detail of a feeder tray of the type depicted by feeder trays  15  and  20  are shown in  FIG. 1   b . In such conventional feeder trays, stacked media  50  is placed into the drawer by pulling the drawer-like tray from the media production device and filling the tray through its open top. Front  45  of the tray and sides  40  of the tray, as well as optional back wall (not shown) are contiguous and immovable.  
         [0027]     Now turning to  FIGS. 2A-2C , there is shown different configurations of embodiments of a drawer-type feeder tray  40  of the present specification wherein the front member  45 . 1  and  45 . 2  of tray  40  is shown to pivotably-move about the bottom member of tray  40 . In FIG,  2 A, front member  45 . 1  is shown to pivotably-move about the bottom member of tray  40  such that a shelf substantially parallel to the bottom member is formed. The shelf is kept in place by pivot slide  55  which is selected to allow front member  45 . 1  to move further than the horizontal position. In  FIG. 2B , pivot slide  55  is shown to be selected to allow front member  45 . 2  to be a vertical position with respect to the bottom member of tray  40 . Movement of front member allows frontal access into the tray to allow front loading of stock  50  into tray  40 . Tray  40  may comprise one or more guides  60  of an internal stack module in which stock  50  is placed. As shown in  FIG. 2C , such stack module  65  may be operational configured to slide out tray  40  to allow top loading into the stack module to avoid issues with any front stack guides.  
         [0028]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also that various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.