Patent ID: 7874665

Claim:
A printer comprising: a media tray; a print engine with a printhead; at least first and second auxiliary media trays; and a delivery passage extending from a base of the printer to the printhead past the media tray via which media is supplied from the media tray to the printhead, wherein the base is configured to engage an upper surface of the first auxiliary media tray, the base having a first opening for delivering first auxiliary media supplied by the first auxiliary media tray into the delivery passage, and a lower surface of the first auxiliary media tray is configured to engage an upper surface of the second auxiliary media tray, the lower surface having a second opening for delivering second auxiliary media supplied by the second auxiliary media tray into the delivery passage via an auxiliary delivery passage of the first auxiliary media tray; wherein, the first auxiliary media tray has a first picker roller for sequentially picking sheets of the first auxiliary media and feeding them to the first opening, and a first transport roller for sequentially feeding sheets of the second auxiliary media along the auxiliary delivery passage to the first opening, the first picker roller being driven by a first picker motor and the first transport roller being driven by a first transport motor such that the first picker roller and the first transport roller are independently operable; and, the second auxiliary media tray has a second picker roller for sequentially picking sheets of the second auxiliary media and feeding them to the first transport roller via the second opening and a second transport roller for sequentially feeding sheets of a further auxiliary media along the auxiliary delivery passage to the second opening, the second picker roller being driven by a second picker motor and the second transport roller being driven by a second transport motor such that the second picker roller and the second transport roller are independently operable; wherein, the second auxiliary media tray has a control system and power and data contacts in the upper surface for connection to complementary contacts in the lower surface of the first auxiliary media tray, such that the second picker motor and the second transport motor are operated by the control system to supply media to the print engine as required.