Patent ID: 8181953

Claim:
A printing system comprising: a first tray configured to hold a plurality of sheets of recording media; a second tray spaced apart from the first tray along a first direction and configured to hold a different plurality of sheets of recording media; a light emitter; an optical sensor spaced apart from the light emitter; a contacting component positioned to selectively contact an individual sheet of media within the first tray or an individual sheet of media within the second tray; a member that is movable by the contacting component in order to provide a signal that is selectively indicative of the position of the individual sheet of media in the first tray or the position of the individual sheet of media within the second tray, the member comprising: a first region of varying degree of light-blocking capability; and a second region of varying degree of light-blocking capability, the second region being spaced apart from the first region along a direction that is substantially parallel to the first direction; and wherein the member is opaque, the first region of varying degree of light-blocking capability comprises a first open area in the member, the second region of varying degree of light-blocking capability comprises a second open area in the member, and wherein the first open area varies in width along the first direction and the second open area varies in width along the first direction.