GB2391201A - Automatic loading of an inkjet cartridge into an inkjet printer using a shuttle carrier which moves to transfer a loaded cartridge to a printer carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

A shuttle system (100) transfers an ink-jet pen (30) between a carriage (200) and a shuttle access location on a printer front panel. When a pen load button is pushed, the shuttle will move to an access position. In the access position, the shuttle will open a door (60) and come beyond the front face of the printer. This allows the user to drop the pen(s) into place on the shuttle. Then when the button is pushed again, the pen shuttle will transfer the pens back into the printer, with the door closing, and automatically loads the pen(s) into the printer carriage (200) without manual user intervention. The pen shuttle will then move to a rest position for normal printer operation. If the pen load button is pressed again, the pen shuttle moves back to the carriage and unloads the pen(s) automatically. The pen shuttle again opens the access door and presents the pens to the user. The shuttle has pen wipers (320A-320D) and capping structures (342A) mounted for movement with the shuttle, allowing for pen service functions to be performed without the need for an additional service station.

Description

2391 201

LOADING OF; PRINTING ELEMENTS INTO A PRINTER

This invention relates to printers utilising removable printing structures. This patent application is also a divisional patent application of GB-0108230.4.

Printers such as ink-jet printers employ printing elements which require periodic removal and replacement. In the case of inkjet punters, the printing elements include 5 nozzle arrays typically mounted on pens or print cartridges, and can require periodic replacement as the nozzle array wears out. becomes clogged, or when an internal ink supply becomes exhausted.

In the past, the user has manually inserted and removed the inkjet pens or print cartridges into receptacles on the printer, e.g. on a traversing carriage. This in turn 10 requires that the receptacles be readily accessible to the user, typically by lifting a cover to gain access. User access becomes problematic for some printers, and so it would be advantageous to provide a solution to the problem of removing and replacing inkjet pens, print cartridges or other printing elements in a printer in which the user does not have ready access to the receptacle in which the printing element is mounted during 5 printing operations.

The present invention seeks to provide an improved printer.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of loading printing elements into a traversing carriage of a printer as specified in claim 1.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer 2 0 as specified in claim 4.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of unloading one or more inkjet pens from a traversing carriage of an inkjet printer as specified in claim 17.

In the preferred embodiment, a printer has a pen carrier provided for transport 2 5 ing the pen from a front panel or other location readily accessible to the user, to the printer carriage receptacle which holds the pen during printing operations. The user simply drops the ink jet pens into position on the carrier, and initiates a load sequence.

The carrier then takes the pens and loads them into the carriage for printing. This allows simple loading and unloading of inkjet pens even when the carriage is buried at the 3 0 back of the machine and the user only has access to the front face of the machine.

The preferred a method of loading inkjet pens into a traversing carriage of an inkjet printer is includes the following:loading an inkjet pen into a pen shuttle

( positioned at a shuttle access station; with the carriage positioned at a carriage loading station, moving the pen shuttle from the access station to the carriage loading station; and transferring the pen from the pen shuttle to a pen stall in the carriage.

The preferred printer includes a traversing carriage having a receptacle for 5 holding a printing element during printing operations. A printing element shuttle is arranged for movement along a shuttle path which includes a shuttle access station and a carriage loading station. The printer further has a shuttle drive system for moving the shuttle along the shuttle path, the shuttle and the carriage arranged to transfer a printing element between the carriage and the shuttle with the carriage positioned at the carriage 0 loading station.

An embodiment of the present invention is described below, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a partially-broken away isometric view of an embodiment of inkjet printer; 15 FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view taken along line ?-2 of FIG. I, showing the pen carrier; FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 2A-2A of FIG. 2; FIG. 2B is a side cross-sectional view showing the capping of a pen at the service area; O FIG. 3 is a partial top cross-sectional view, taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3A-3A of FIG. 3; FIG. 4 is an isolation view illustrative of a shuttle motor drive for the printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a partial side cross-sectional view taken along the same line as for FIG. 2 5 2, showing the shuttle in a loading'unloading position at the front of the printer, with the front panel door opened; FIG. SA is a partial side cross-sectional view taken along the same line as for FIG. 2, showing the shuttle being moved from the loading/unloading position; FIG. SIB is a partial side cross-sectional view taken along the same line as for 3 0 FIG. 2, showing the shuttle being moved away the loading/unloading position, with the front panel door and the shuttle door closed; FIG SC is a partial side cross-sectional view taken along the same line as for

f FIG. 2, showing the shuttle approaching the carriage to transfer a shuttle to the carriage; FIG. 6 is a partial side cross-sectional view taken along the same line as for FIG. 2, but showing the shuttle in position at the rear of the printer with the pen transferred between the shuttle and the printer carriage; 5 FIGS. 7A-7C illustrate top views of the shuttle loaded with To pens approaching and engaging the carnage to transfer the peas from the shuttle to the camage, and withdrawing after the transfer has been made; FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate in top views a pen transfer from the carriage to the shuttle; 0 FIG. 9 is a broken-away partial top view of the printer of FIGS. 1-8, showing the carriage, part of the media path, and the shuttle system; and FIG. 10 is a simplified control block diagram of the printer of FIGS. 1-9.

With reference to FIG. 1, which shows an embodiment of isometric view of a portion of a low profile, stackable inkict printer 50, the printer is particularly adapted 15 for use in a stacked arrangement with other equipment in a cabinet or the like. Thus, other equipment may be stacked over the printer 50. The printer includes an inkjet pen carriage 200 (FIG. 9) which carries two inkjet 30, 32 pens during printing operations, disposed at the back of the printer. The carriage is mounted for sliding movement along a slider rod 210, disposed in a generally parallel orientation relative to the front panel of 2 o the printer. Thus, with other equipment stacked adjacent the top surface of the printer 50, it would not be possible to access the printer carriage to manually install/remove the inkjet pens on/from the carnage. This invention provides a technique to transport the pens from the front of the printer to the back for loading in the carriage, and for unloading the pens from the carriage and transporting them to the front of the printer.

2 5 Of course, while the preferred embodiment is described with respect to an inkjet printer, the teachings herein can be employed with other types of printers and other printing structures or elements. For example, the printing structure or element can include or exclude an internal ink reservoir, and the printing structure or element could be an ink reservoir without a device for applying the ink.

3 0 The printer 50 includes a housing structure 52 and a front panel 54. The front panel has a set of front panel control switches 56 on one side of the printer, a print media access area 58, and a hinged access door 60 on the opposite side from the

( switches 56. A pull-out media input tray 55 and a pull-out media output tray 57 are positioned in the centre of the front panel. The trays allow the user to access the media trays from the front panel of the machine without requiring access from the top surface of the machine.

5 FIG. 9 is a top partially broken-away view of the printer with the top cover removed. This illustrates a portion of the media path and a platen surface 220 which supports the print medium at a print zone. The print medium is advanced from an input supply below output tray surface 230, driven through a 180 change in direction, and positioned on platen surface 220 for printing operations. The printer includes a drive l 0 roller system as part of a media advance system to pick a sheet of print medium from the input source, and incrementally advance the sheet through the print zone, after completion of a print swath. The pens are mounted on the carriage for traversal along the slider rod 210 to print each swath. The carriage 200 is positioned in the service station area 302 in FIG. 9. The carriage is driven along the rod 210 to traverse the print 5 area 302 during printing operations.

A pen shuttle system 100 is provided for transporting pens between the front panel 54 and a pen loadlunload area at the back of the printer. Particularly, the access door 60 provides an access location to a pen shuttle 110, to allow the user to remove pens from the shuttle and place pens in the shuttle for transport to the carriage at the 2 0 back of the printer. The pen shuttle is shown, e.g., in FIGS. 2-9.

The pen shuttle system 100 includes a shuttle I O mounted for movement along rails 102, 104. In this exemplary embodiment, the shuttle is driven by a leadscrew 130 rotated by a motor drive including motor 130, belt 132 and pulleys 134, 136 (FIG. 4). A threaded travelier nut structure 1 12 (FIG. 3A) is fixed to the underside of the shuttle 2 5 floor 1 14, and is threaded onto the leadscrew, so that rotational movements of the leadscrew are converted into linear movements along the leadscrew axis 1 30A. Of course, other techniques for driving the shuttle could alternatively be employed, including belt or cable drives, rack and pinion gear drive, and the like.

In this exemplary embodiment, the printer 50 has two pens, one a monochrome 3 0 pen, the other a tricolour pen, which are carried on the traversing carriage 200 during printing operations. The shuttle I I O is adapted to carry two pens 30, 32 (FIG. 7A) in this embodiment, corresponding to the number of pens carried by the printer carriage,

( although for other printers, the shuttle can carry a single pen, or more than two pens, as required for the particular printer. The shuttle has an interior wall 120 which defines two shuttle stall spaces 120A, 120B (FIG. 9).

The shuttle l lO includes a floor structure 114, and opposed side pen latch arms 5 116, 1 l 8, which are hingedly mounted to the floor structure by hinge joints which extend parallel to the axis l 30A of movement of the shuttle. For example, hinge joint l] 6A connects latch arm 116 to the lateral edge of the floor 1 14. As a result of the connection of the latch arms to the floor structure, the latch arms can pivot outwardly about the hinge joint connection to the floor from upright positions perpendicular to the 0 floor to positions away from the vertical, as shown in FIG. SA, to be discussed below.

Torsion springs bias the latch arms to the upright position. As shown in FIG. 9, for example, each latch arm l 16, 11 g has formed at a distal end a transverse tab portion l 1 6C, l l 8C. This tab portion acts as a stop surface to bear against the pen body, and hold the pen in position in the shuttle. Moreover, the distal end of each latch arm has 15 formed therein a feature l l 6B, I 1 8B which is engaged to open the latch arms as the shuttle engages the carriage.

The shuttle has an interior wall l 20 which defines two shuttle stall spaces l 20A, 120B (FIG. 9).

The shuttle I 10 further includes a shuttle door structure 122 hingedly mounted 2 o to the floor structure l 14 on a pivot pin 1 22C (FIG. 2), which extends transversely to the axis 1 30A. The door structure 122 includes side anus 1 22A, I 22B. The latch arms l 16, 1 18 are constrained from rotating about their pivots when the pens are being loaded into the shuttle by the side arms of the door structure, which are pivoted upwardly as shown in FIG. 5 during a front panel loading process.

2 A linkage comprising link arms 140, 142 is connected between the pen door 60 and a tension spring 146, attached to a subfloor structure 150 of the printer frame.

When the shuttle I O moves to the front of the printer, the shuttle comes into contact with the hinged door 60, causing the door to pivot open as the shuttle moves to the end of its forward travel, as illustrated in FIG. S. When the shuttle 1 10 is moved inside the 3 0 machine, the spring 148 acts on the linkage to close the pen door 60.

FIG. 5 shows one pen 30 and the shuttle lOO in the front load position. A pen: latch 160 is fixed to the printer frame structure 162 above the shuttle front load position,

one latch for each pen. As the user inserts the pen into the receptacle in the pen shuttle, the pen latch rides over and engages a datum feature 30A formed in the top lid 30B of the pen. The latch 150 holds the pen 30 to the shuttle, preventing the pen from shifting or moving out of the loading position when the shuttle is at the position shown in FIG. 5 5. The latch also provides tactile feedback to the user that the pen has been properly placed on the shuttle I 10. The latch has an "L" slope chat engages the corresponding datum surface 30A on the top lid 30B of the pen. As the shuttle l 10 is driven by the leadscrew away from the front loading position, the pen 30 is carried away from the latch] 60, becoming disengaged from the latch. As the shuttle continues its journey 10 toward the carriage, the pen 30 remains held at a tilted orientation relative to the vertical.

A pen plate 170, 172 (FIG. 9) is provided on the shuttle door 122 for each pen.

Each pen plate is spring-loaded to a reference so that when the door 122 is closed, the pen is biased to an angled position offset from the vertical, as shown in FIG. 5B. In this exemplary embodiment, the tilt angle is 7 from the vertical.

15 FIG. SA shows exemplary pen plate l 70, biased to an outward reference position by a spring l 70A. The plate l 70 is hinged for movement about pivot 1 70B. A stop surface structure 1 70C provides a reference stop to limit the outward movement of the plate to the reference position. When the pen 30 is transferred from the shuttle 110 to the printer carriage 200, as shown in FIG. 6, the orientation of the pen relative to the 2 o vertical changes from 7 to 0, and the spring 1 70A biasing the pen plate 170 compresses to allow the plate to move inwardly to accommodate the rotation of the pen.

FIG. 5A shows the shuttle positioned I I O at the front of its path of travel, with a pen 30 installed on the shuttle I 10 and the front panel door 60 and shuttle door 122 partially closed. The shuttle door opens by its own weight in this position. When the 25 shuttle 110 travels inwardly from the front position, the shuttle door 122 is closed by interaction of door side cam surfaces, e.g. surface 1 22C, with fixed ramp surfaces 1 02A, 1 04A defined on the guide rails 102, 104, as illustrated in FIG. 5B.

FIG. SC shows the pen shuttle I] O moved to its load/unload position relative to the printer carriage 200, to unload the pen into the carriage. As the shuttle approaches 3 0 the carriage load position at the rear of the printer, the ends of the door arms are captured within a locking channel 1 80A, 1 82A defined in respective lock structures 180, 182 located along the guide rails 102, 104 adjacent the carriage service area, preventing

the shuttle door from opening. The locking channels permit movement of the ends of the door arms along the direction of the shuttle axis, but constrains the door arms from rotating upwardly or downwardly. This allows the door to exert force against the pen as the shuttle brings the pen into engagement with the carriage, without allowing the door 5 to open. In an exemplary embodiment, the door exerts about 4 pounds of force on the pen as the pen is transferred into engagement with the carriage, and the locking structures prevent the door 122 from pivoting about its hinge in reaction to this transfer force. The printer carriage 200 is moved away from the service station position 300 0 (FIG. a) to provide clearance for the cap sled structure mounted on the shuttle 1 10 to: pass through. Once the sled structure is positioned behind the carriage path oftravel, the shuttle is stopped, and the printer carriage is moved to its position at the service station to receive the pens. After the printer carriage is in its stopped position at area 300, the shame I 10 continues its movement toward the rear of the printer to deliver the 5 pens to the carriage.

Each pen 30, 32 includes datum features used to locate the pen properly in position in the carriage. For example, pen 30 has datum features, e.g. 30C, protruding from the pen body side walls, e.g. side wall 30D (FIG. 5). The top lid feature 30A is used to receive a carriage pen latch spring, which is similar in structure and function to 2 o the fixed latch spring 160. Shown in FIG. 9 are the carriage latch springs 202A, 202B, as well as the carriage datum features 204A-204D which engage the pen side wall datum features, e.g. feature 30C. The carriage datum features and the latch springs register the position of the pens in the carriage pen stalls. The carriage also includes electrical interconnect circuitry (not shown) to provide electrical interconnection with 2 5 the TAB circuit (not shown) on the pens to be able to drive the pen printheads, in a manner well known in the art. The carriage further includes resilient side spring elements 208A, 209B and opposed side wall surfaces 208B, 209B (FIG. 3) to define pen stalls in the carriage. The spring elements are biased to push the adjacent sides of the pens against the opposed side wall surfaces, to hold the pens in position and into 3 0 engagement with the carriage datum surfaces 204A-204D (FIG. 9).

The pens mounted in the shuttle approaches the carriage with a 7 orientation relative to vertical, to position the pen datums above the carriage datums in order to

/ properly assemble the pen into the carriage stall.

FIG. 7A shows the shuttle with pens 30, 32, approaching the carriage 200, which is positioned in the loading position at the service station area 302 (FIG 9). The respective carriage latch springs 202A, 202B enters the corresponding top lid datum 5 feature 30A, SOB. Once the pen datum enters the corresponding carriage datum feature, the angle of the pen on the shuttle starts changing from the 7 offset to O0, i.e. to a vertical orientation. As this occurs, the carriage spring is deflected upwardly as it touches the top lid datum feature. As the shuttle continues its rearward motion, the pen drops into position with the pen datum, e.g. 30C, behind the carnage datum feature, e.g. 0 204A. As the pen angle changes on the shuttle, the corresponding pen plate spring, e.g. 1 70A, is compressed to accommodate the change in pen angle.

Another feature of the pen delivery is the rotation of the latch arms 1 16, 1 18 to release the pen to the camage. This is accomplished by the pins 1 1 6B, 1 1 BB on each latch arm coming into contact with a rotatable pen link 206A, 206B mounted on the 15 carriage. The links are arranged to rotate about a pivot 206A 1, 206B I as the respective pin 1 16B,] I 8B engages link end 206A2, 206B2, and are spring-loaded to the position shown in FIG. 7A. Continued motion of the shuttle 1 10 in the rearward direction provides a resultant force on the latch anns 1 16, 1 l 8 exerted by the links to rotate the latch arms and links outwardly as shown in FIG. 7B, pushing the transverse tab portion 2 0 1 1 6A, 11 8A away from the comers of the respective pen bodies, releasing the pens to the carriage.

FIG. 7C shows the shuttle 1 10 moving in the reverse direction toward the front of the printer, with the pens transferred to the carriage 200. Now the latch arms I 16, 118 have left their contact with the links 206A, 206B, and are riding along the side walls 2 5 of the pens, now secured in the carriage. Once the shuttle 110 is moved sufficiently toward the front of the printer that the latch arms are out of contact with the pens and carriage, the shuttle can be stopped in a rest position, with the wiper blades and capping sled positioned still behind the path of travel of the carriage. The carriage can now be moved to the print area 302 for printing operations. Alternatively, the shuttle can be 3 0 moved further to the front of the printer, so that the wipers and capping sled are also in front of the carriage travel.

FIGS. 8A-8C show a sequence for retrieving the pens from the carriage using

the shuttle 110. The shuttle and carriage are first respectively positioned such that the carriage is in the service station area 300 with the capping sled and wipers behind the carriage. In order to retrieve the pens from the carriage 200, the shuttle will move toward the rear of the printer toward the carriage. Now the pen links 206A, 206B are 5 held back away from contact faith the latch arms pins 116B, 118B by the pens 30,32 in the carriage stalls. Now the pen latch arm pins 116B, 11 FIB will engage respective features 206A3,206B3 on the pen links 206A, 206B instead of features 206A2,206B2, allowing the latch arms tab portions 116A, 118A to engage the pens (FIG. 8B). Now the shuttle 110 is driven toward the front of the printer. As this occurs, the latch arms 0 pull the pen free of the carriage, so that the pen is now mounted on the shuttle. The links 206A, 206B will return by action of their bias springs to the pen load position shown in FIG. 7A.

The shuttle 110 also carries service station components, to perform wiping, spitting and capping functions. These components include wiper blades 320A-390D, 1 5 322A-322D (FIG.3), and a sled structure 340 carrying cap structures 342A, 342B for capping pen nozzles for the pens mounted in the printer carriage. The wiper blades are fixed in position on a shuttle floor portion 114A. Wiper blades are provided to wipe not only the nozzle arrays of the pens, but also the sides of the pens adjacent each side of the nozzle arrays, where ink can collect. For wiping operations, the shuttle is positioned at 2 0 the rear of the printer, in a position such that the shuttle stalls and latch arms are forward of the carriage path of travel, and the capping sled is behind the carriage path of travel.

Now the carriage 200 holding the pens 30, 32 is moved to the service position 300.

With the carriage 200 fixed in position, the shuttle motor 23 1 is actuated to drive the shuttle along its axis, which is transverse to the direction of carnage movement. The 2 5 wipers engage the pen nozzles arrays to wipe accumulated dried ink and debris from the nozzle plate. Wiper blades for accomplishing this function are known, and are described, e.g. in U.S. Patent 5,455,609. The wipers also engage the sides of the pen adjacent each side of the nozzle array to wipe the adjacent pen surfaces.

The shuttle also accommodates a nozzle array ink spitting function. The floor of 3 0 the printer beneath the service station area is provided with a layer of absorbent material. The shuttle can be positioned so that the open space between the wipers and the capping sled is positioned directly beneath the pen nozzle arrays with the pens

in l v supported on the carriage. The pens can energised to spit ink droplets, which are collected by the absorbent material.

The capping sled 340 is mounted on four link arms, including link arms 344A, 344B (FIGS. 2, 2B), each of which have one end pivotally mounted on the shuttle 5 subfloor 114B and the other pivotally mounted to a corner of the sled. A spring guide 348 is also pivotally mounted to the shuttle floor, and carries a cod] spring 34SA which engages the bottom of the sled. With this arrangement, the sled can be rotated between a down position (FIG. 2), wherein the link anns define a small angle with respect to the shuttle subfloor, and an upright position (FIG. 2B) with the sled 340 elevated above the 0 subfloor and the link arms defining a right angle relative to the floor. A tab feature 346 protrudes upwardly from the sled and is for contacting a rear wall surface 200A of the carriage. To engage the caps 342A, 342B carried on the sled 340 Neolith the pens to cap the pen nozzle arrays, the shuale is positioned in a rearward position, with the shuttle pen 5 stalls and latch arms located forwardly of the carriage path of travel, and the sled located behind the carriage path of travel. Now the carriage holding the pens is brought to the service station position 300 and stopped. The shuttle motor 131 is driven to move the shuttle toward the front of the printer. The tab feature 346 on the sled engages the back wall surface 200A of the carriage. As the shuttle continues to move forward, the 2 0 engagement of the tab with the carriage wall results in rotation of the sled link awns upwardly, lifting the sled into a capping position (FIG. 2B). As the caps come into contact with the pen printhead area, the spring 348A allows some compliance movement of the sled relative to the pens. The shuttle is held in this position until the printer is ready for printing or other operation. Now the shuttle will be moved back 2 5 toward the rear of the printer. This allows the link arms to rotate downwardly, such that the sled 340 drops down, disengaging the caps from the pens. Once the sled is clear of the carriage and pens, the carriage can be moved out of the service station position to the print area 302.

A sled mounted on four pivoted link arms has been used in the past, e.g. the; 3 0 Hewlett-Packard PhotoSmart (RTM) photo printer. However, that printer employed a separate motor drive to move the sled transverse to the carriage trammel. According to an aspect of this invention, the wiping and capping functions are incorporated in the pen

( 1] shuttle, so that the drive needed for wiping and capping is shared with the pen shuttle.

It will be appreciated that the wiping and capping functions could be separated from the pen shuttle functions. In this case, the pen shuttle would not include wipers and caps, and need only employ the features needed to transfer pens between the front 5 loadlunload position and the carriage.

FIG. 10 is a control block diagram for the printer 50. The printer includes a controller 400, e.g. a microprocessor or ASIC, which is programmed to control the printer operation. The controller receives print jobs from a host 406, e.g. a personal computer, digital camera, or other source of print data, and acts to activate the media 10 advance system 404 to advance the print medium from the printer input tray through a print zone. The carriage holding the pens 30, 32 is driven by the carriage drive system 402 across the print zone, and the controller generates printhead firing commands to cause droplets of ink to be ejected from the respective nozzle arrays 31, 33 of the pens 30, 32 in a controlled manner. The print medium can be incrementally advanced! 5 through the print zone by the media advance system 404 to position fresh portions of the medium at the print zone after completion of carriage swaths. Upon completion of a print job, the media advance system moves the medium to the output tray of the printer.

The controller drives the shuttle drive motor 131 at appropriate times in response to front panel switches 56, to load or unload a pen from the carriage. Alternatively, 2 0 commands to initiate a load/unload operation could be generated by the controller automatically, say in response to an out-of-ink determination.

It is understood that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative of the possible specific embodiments which can benefit from the teachings herein. Other arrangements may readily be devised in accordance with these principles by those 2 5 skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

The present invention provides a method of loading printing elements into a traversable carriage of a printer, including the steps of: loading a printing element into a shuttle positioned at a shuttle access station; with the carriage positioned at a carriage loading station., moving the shuttle from the access station to the carriage loading 3 0 station; transferring the printing element from the shuttle to a printing element stall in the carriage.

Preferably, said transferring occurs automatically without any manual intervention by the user. The step of loading the printing element into

the shuttle may include manually placing the printing element in a shuttle receptacle location. The may be provided the step of engaging the printing element with a latching structure to support the printing element in a shuttle receptacle location during movement of the 5 shuttle from the access station to the carriage loading station. The may be provided the step of automatically disengaging the latch structure from the printing element at the carriage loading station to permit said transferring to occur.

The carriage printing element stall is preferably for mounting the printing element during printing operations, the carriage stall including a stall datum feature, and 10 wherein the printing element includes a printing element datum feature adapted for engaging the stall datum feature for registering the position of the printing element in the stall, the method preferably including the step of engaging the printing element datum feature with the stall datum feature during said transferring of the printing element from the printing element shuttle to the printing element stall. The transferring 5 step may include holding, the printing element at an angular orientation offset from the vertical as the printing element datum feature is engaged with the stall datum feature to facilitate a proper seating of the printing element datum feature with the stall datum feature. Advantageously, the shuttle access location is positioned at a printer front panel, 2 o and the carriage loading station is located behind the front panel. The carriage loading station may be located adjacent a rear part of the printer, and the shuttle may have a path of travel which extends generally transverse to a carriage scanning axis.

The shuttle preferably has mounted therein printing element servicing apparatus, the method preferably including the step of moving the shuttle to perform a printing 5 element servicing function.

The printing element may be an inkjet pen having a pen nozzle surface, and the printing element servicing apparatus may include a pen nozzle wiper blade, and said moving said shuttle to perform a printing element servicing function includes moving, the shuttle while the carriage has the pen mounted in said carriage stall and is located at 3 0 the loading station to pass the wiper blade across the pen nozzle surface.

The printing element may be an inkjet pen, and said printing element servicing apparatus may include a pen nozzle capping apparatus, and said molting said shuttle to

! perform a pen servicing function includes moving the shuttle while the cam age has the pen mounted in said carriage stall and is located at the loading station to position the capping apparatus for a capping function.

The printing element may include an inkjet pen, the printer being an inkjet 5 printing system.

The invention also provides a printer including a traversable carriage having a receptacle for holding a printing element during printing operations; a printing element shuttle arranged for movement along a shuttle path, the shuttle path including a shuttle access station and a carriage loading station; a shuttle drive system for moving the 10 shuttle along the shuttle path, the shuttle and the carriage being arranged to transfer a printing element between the carriage and the shuttle with the carriage positioned at the carriage loading station.

Preferably, said shuttle system is operable to transfer the printing element betwocn the carriage and the shuttle automatically without any manual intervention by 15 the user. There may be provided a front panel access door through which a printing element can be manually loaded or unloaded from the shuttle. There may be provided a latching structure operable to support the printing element in a shuttle receptacle location during movement of the pen shuttle between the access station and the carriage loading station. There may be provided carriage mounted link apparatus for automatica 2 0 11y disengaging or engaging the latch structure on the printing element at the carriage loading station to permit said transferring to occur.

The carriage receptacle preferably includes a carriage datum feature, and the printing element preferably includes a printing element datum feature designed for engaging the stall datum feature during a transfer from the shuttle to the carriage 2 5 receptacle for registering the position of the pen in the receptacle.

The shuttle preferably includes a movable plate structure for holding the pen at an angular orientation offset from the vertical as the pen datum feature is engaged with the stall datum feature to facilitate a proper seating of the pen datum feature with the stall datum feature.

3 0 The shuttle access location may be positioned at a printer front panel, and the carriage loading station may be located behind the front panel.

The carriage loading station may be located adjacent a rear part of the printer,

( and the shuttle may have a path of travel which extends generally transverse to a carriage scanning axis.

Preferably, the shuttle further has mounted therein printing element servicing apparatus, and the shuttle drive system is designed to move the shuttle to perform a 5 printing element servicing function.

Advantageously' the printing element is an inkjet pen having a nozzle array, and said printing element servicing apparatus includes a pen nozzle wiper blade, and said shuttle drive system moves the shuttle while the carriage has the pen mounted in said carriage receptacle and is located at the loading station to pass the wiper blade 0 across a pen nozzle surface.

Preferably, the printing element is an inkjet pen having a nozzle array, and said printing element servicing apparatus includes a pen nozzle capping apparatus, and shuttle drive system moves said shuttle while the carriage has the pen mounted in said carriage receptacle and is located at the loading station to position the capping apparatus 15 for a capping fimction.

Advantageously, said printing element includes an inkjet pen' and said printer is an inkjet printing system.

The disclosures in United States patent application no. 09/570,313, from which

this application claims priority, in British patent application no. 0108230.4, of which 2 0 this is a divisional application, and in the abstract accompanying this application arc incorporated herein by reference.

Claims (1)

1. ( CLAIMS

   1. A method of loading printing elements into a traversing carriage of a printer, including the steps of: 5 loading a printing element into a shuttle positioned at a shuttle access station, the shuttle having printing element servicing apparatus; with the carriage positioned at a carriage loading station' moving the shuttle from the access station to the carriage loading station; transferring the printing element from the shuttle to a printing element stall in l O the carriage; and moving the shuttle to perform a printing element servicing function using said printing element servicing apparatus.

   2. A method as in claim 1, wherein said printing element is an inkjet pen 5 having a pen nozzle surface, and said printing element servicing apparatus includes a pen nozzle wiper blade, and said moving said shuttle to perform a printing element servicing function includes moving the shuttle while the pen is mounted in said carriage stall to pass the wiper blade across the pen nozzle surface.

   2 0 3. A method as in claim 1, wherein said printing element is an inkjet pen, and said printing element servicing apparatus includes a pen nozzle capping apparatus, and said moving said shuttle to perform a pen servicing function includes moving the shuttle while the pen is mounted in said carriage stall and the carriage is located at the loading station to position the capping apparatus for a capping function.

   4. A printer, including: a replaceable printing element including a body structure comprising first and second generally planar and orthogonal sidewalls; a traversable carriage having a receptacle for removably holding the printing 3 o element during printing operations; a printing element shuttle arranged for movement along a shuttle path, the shuttle path including a shuttle access station and a carriage loading station, the shuttle

   i including a shuttle receptacle and receptacle surfaces for engaging the body structure of the printing element to hold the printing element within the shuttle receptacle in a unique orientation while the printing element is held in the receptacle and the shuttle is moving along the shuttle path; and 5 a shuttle drive system for moving the shuttle along the shuttle path, the shuttle and the carriage being arranged to transfer the printing element directly between the carriage receptacle and the shuttle receptacle with the carriage positioned at the carriage loading station.

   10 S. A printer as in claim 4, wherein said transferring occurs automatically without any manual intervention.

   6. A printer as in claim 4 or 5, comprising a front panel access door through which the printing element is manually loaded or unloaded from the shuttle.

   7. A printer as in claim 4, 5 or 6, comprising a latch to hold the printing element in proper position for corornencement of a pen loading movement by the shuttle.

   8. A printer as in claim 4, 5 or 6, including a latching structure to support the 2 o printing element in the shuttle receptacle in said unique orientation during movement of the pen shuttle between the access station and the carriage loading station.

   9. A printer as in claim 8, including carriage mounted link apparatus for automatically disengaging or engaging the latch structure on the printing element at the 2 5 carriage loading station to permit said transferring to occur.

   I O. A printer as in any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein said carriage receptacle includes a carriage datum feature, and wherein the printing element includes a printing element datum feature adapted for engaging the carriage datum feature 3 0 during a transfer from the shuttle to the carriage receptacle for registering the position of the pen in the receptacle

   f 11. A printer as in claim 10, wherein the shuttle includes a movable plate structure for holding the pen at an angular orientation offset from the vertical as the pen datum feature is engaged with the stall datum feature to facilitate a proper seating of the pen datum feature with the stall datum feature.

   5 12. A printer as in any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the shuttle access location is positioned at a printer front panel, and the carriage loading station is located behind the front panel.

   13. A printer as in claim 12, wherein the carriage loading station is located 0 adjacent a rear part of the printer which is inaccessible to a printer user during normal use of the printer and wherein the shuttle has a path of travel which extends generally transverse to a carriage scanning axis.

   14. A printer as in any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein the shuttle has mounted therein printing element servicing apparatus, and the shuttle drive system is operable to move the shuttle to perform a printing element servicing fimction.

   I S. A printer as in claim 14, wherein the printing element is an inkjet pen having a nozzle array, and said printing element servicing apparatus includes a pen! 2 0 nozzle wiper blade, and said shuttle drive system moves the shuttle while the carriage has the pen mounted in said carriage receptacle and is located at the loading station to pass the wiper blade across a pen nozzle surface.

   16. A printer as in claim 14, wherein the printing element is an inkjet pen 2 5 having a nozzle array, and said printing element servicing apparatus includes a pen nozzle capping apparatus, and shuttle drive system moves said shuttle while the carriage has the pen mounted in said carriage receptacle and is located at the loading station to position the capping apparatus for a capping fimction.

   3 0 17. A method of unloading one or more inkjet pens from a traversing carriage of an inkjet printer, the inkjet pens including a nozzle array for ejecting droplets of ink

   ( during printing operations, including the steps of: providing a pen shuttle moveable between a shuttle access station and a carriage unloading station, the pen shuttle having one or more shuttle receptacles for holding the one or more inkjet pens in a unique orientation; 5 with the carriage positioned at the carriage loading station and the one or more inkjet pens mounted in corresponding one or more pen stalls of the carriage, moving the pen shuttle to the carriage loading station; transferring the one or more inkjet pens directly from corresponding one or more pen stalls in the carriage to corresponding one or more shuttle receptacles of the l o pen shuttle, each of the one or more injet pens including a body structure comprising first and second generally planar and orthogonal sidewalls, the body structure being engaged by corresponding shuttle receptacle surfaces such that the one or more inkjet pens is mounted within the shuttle receptacle in a uniquely defined orientation; moving the shuttle from the camage unloading station to the shuttle access 1 5 location.

   18. A method as in claim 17, wherein said transferring occurring automatically without any manual intervention.

   2 0 19. A method as in claim 17, including the step of: manually removing the one or more inkjet pens from the shuttle at the shuttle access location.

   20. A method for simultaneously loading a plurality of printing elements into a 2 5 traversing carriage of a printer, comprising; loading the plurality of printing elements into respective shuttle receptacles of a shuttle positioned at a shuttle access station; with the carriage positioned at a carriage loading station, moving the shuttle from the access station to the carriage loading station; and 3 0 simultaneously transferring the plurality of printing elements directly from the shuttle to respective printing element stalls in the carriage without manual intervention.

   i 21. A method as in claim 20, wherein the respective shuttle receptacles are arranged in a side-by-side configuration in t'ne shuttle, and the respective carriage stalls are arranged in a corresponding side-by-side configuration in the carriage.

   5 22. A method as in claim 2O, wherein the step of loading the plurality of printing elements into the shuttle includes manually placing the plurality of printing elements in the plurality of corresponding shuttle receptacles.

   23. A method as in claim 20, wherein the shuttle access location is positioned at 10 a printer front panel, and the carriage loading station is located behind the front panel at a position not readily accessible for manual loading of the plurality of printing elements in the respective carriage stalls.

   24. A method as in claim 23, wherein the carriage loading station is located 5 adjacent a rear part of the printer, and wherein the shuttle has a path of travel which extends generally traverse to a carriage scanning axis.

   25. A method as in claim 23, wherein said plurality of printing elements includes a plurality of inkjet pens, and said printer is an inkjet printing system.