US20220097986A1 - Media size sensor assemblies - Google Patents
Media size sensor assemblies Download PDFInfo
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- US20220097986A1 US20220097986A1 US17/296,520 US201917296520A US2022097986A1 US 20220097986 A1 US20220097986 A1 US 20220097986A1 US 201917296520 A US201917296520 A US 201917296520A US 2022097986 A1 US2022097986 A1 US 2022097986A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- media
- width adjustment
- storage tray
- sensor
- adjustment wall
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H1/00—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated
- B65H1/04—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated adapted to support articles substantially horizontally, e.g. for separation from top of pile
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H1/00—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated
- B65H1/26—Supports or magazines for piles from which articles are to be separated with auxiliary supports to facilitate introduction or renewal of the pile
- B65H1/266—Support fully or partially removable from the handling machine, e.g. cassette, drawer
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H7/00—Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles
- B65H7/02—Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles by feelers or detectors
- B65H7/14—Controlling article feeding, separating, pile-advancing, or associated apparatus, to take account of incorrect feeding, absence of articles, or presence of faulty articles by feelers or detectors by photoelectric feelers or detectors
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2405/00—Parts for holding the handled material
- B65H2405/10—Cassettes, holders, bins, decks, trays, supports or magazines for sheets stacked substantially horizontally
- B65H2405/11—Parts and details thereof
- B65H2405/114—Side, i.e. portion parallel to the feeding / delivering direction
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
- B65H2511/10—Size; Dimensions
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
- B65H2511/10—Size; Dimensions
- B65H2511/12—Width
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2511/00—Dimensions; Position; Numbers; Identification; Occurrences
- B65H2511/20—Location in space
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2515/00—Physical entities not provided for in groups B65H2511/00 or B65H2513/00
- B65H2515/60—Optical characteristics, e.g. colour, light
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
- B65H2553/00—Sensing or detecting means
- B65H2553/40—Sensing or detecting means using optical, e.g. photographic, elements
- B65H2553/41—Photoelectric detectors
- B65H2553/414—Photoelectric detectors involving receptor receiving light reflected by a reflecting surface and emitted by a separate emitter
Definitions
- Printers, copiers, scanners, and other such media handling devices may include storage trays for holding a volume of media (e.g., print media such as paper).
- a storage tray within a media handling device e.g., a printer, copier, scanner, etc.
- a media handling device may be able to receive a variety of media sizes.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a media handling device including a media size sensor assembly according to some examples
- FIG. 2 is a top view of a media storage tray and the media size sensor assembly for use within the media handling device of FIG. 1 according to some examples;
- FIGS. 3-5 are sequential cross-sectional views taken along section A-A in FIG. 2 according to some examples;
- FIG. 6 is a plot showing example readings from a sensor of the media size sensor assembly of FIG. 1 according to some examples
- FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method according to some examples.
- FIG. 8 is a top view of another media storage tray and media size sensor assembly for use within the media handling device of FIG. 1 according to some examples.
- FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along section B-B in FIG. 8 according to some examples.
- the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .”
- the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to be broad enough to encompass both indirect and direct connections. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other devices, components, and connections.
- axial and axially generally refer to positions along or parallel to a central or longitudinal axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “lateral” and “laterally” generally refer to positions located or spaced to the side of the central or longitudinal axis.
- the word “or” is used in an inclusive manner.
- “A or B” means any of the following: “A” alone, “B” alone, or both “A” and “B.”
- the word “generally” or “substantially” means within a range of plus or minus 10% of the stated value. In some examples, other ranges may be used when described as being substantially a value.
- the terms “downstream” and “upstream” are used to refer to the arrangement of components and features within a printer or scanning device with respect to the “flow” of media through the printer or scanning device during operations.
- a first component of such a device receives media after it is output from a second component of the device during operations, then the first component may be said to be “downstream” of the second component and the second component may be said to be “upstream” of the first component.
- a “media handling device,” refers to any device that holds or stores media for printing or copying operations.
- the term “media handling device,” includes printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and combinations thereof.
- “media” refers to any medium or substrate that may have images, data, text, etc., printed or deposited thereon. The term specifically includes paper, but may also include a variety of other substrates including, textiles, polymers, composite materials, etc.
- a storage tray for a media handling device may be able to hold a variety of different media sizes.
- a width adjustment wall (or a plurality of width adjustment walls) movably coupled to the storage tray may be moved so as to re-size a receptacle for holding the media within the storage tray.
- a user may not know what size media is loaded within a storage tray, and may therefore physically access the storage tray prior to initiating a media handling operation (including e.g., printing, scanning, copying, etc.).
- the user and their computer
- may be remote from the location of the media handling device e.g., such as in an office setting), and accessing the media storage tray may not be a user-friendly experience.
- examples disclosed herein include media size sensor assemblies for media handling devices that are to automatically determine a size of the media that is stored within a storage tray of the media handling device.
- media size sensor assemblies for media handling devices that are to automatically determine a size of the media that is stored within a storage tray of the media handling device.
- media handling device 10 is a printer that includes an outer housing 12 , and a media storage tray 20 (or more simply “storage tray 20 ”) disposed within the housing 12 .
- Storage tray 20 includes a longitudinal axis 15 , a first or upper side 20 a and a second or lower side 20 b opposite upper side 20 a .
- Upper side 20 a is to support media 30 (e.g., paper) thereon during operations.
- storage tray 20 includes a width adjustment wall 24 .
- width adjustment wall 24 is movable along upper side 20 a of storage tray 20 so as to accommodate different sizes (e.g., widths) of media 30 thereon.
- media handling device 10 is a printer
- a printing assembly 18 is disposed within housing 12 that is to print or otherwise deposit printing medium (e.g., ink, toner, printing fluid, etc.) thereon to form an image, text, etc.
- printing medium e.g., ink, toner, printing fluid, etc.
- Any suitable type of printing technique may be used within printing assembly 18 , such as, for instance, ink jet printing, laser printing, dot-matrix printing, etc.
- media handling device 10 includes an output 14 from housing 12 that is to receive print media emitted from printing assembly 18 .
- media handling device 10 includes a media feed path 16 that extends from storage tray 20 to printing assembly 18 , and then from printing assembly 18 to output 14 .
- media 30 may be advanced along media feed path 16 via a plurality of roller pinches during operations.
- media feed path 16 is generally C-shaped as it extends from storage tray 20 to output 14 , and thus, media feed path 16 may be referred to as a “C-path.”
- width adjustment wall 24 is movably coupled to storage tray 20 .
- width adjustment wall 24 may include a projection 25 that is slidably engaged within a slot 29 extending through storage tray 20 (i.e., slot 29 extends through sides 20 a , 20 b of storage tray 20 ).
- width adjustment wall 24 includes a plurality of projections 25 that engage with a plurality of slots 29 extending through storage tray 20 .
- Storage tray 20 also includes a first lateral edge 21 and a second lateral edge 23 radially opposite first lateral edge 21 about axis 15 .
- Slot 29 extends in a radial direction from (or proximate to) first lateral edge 21 such that as width adjustment wall 24 is moved radially along slot 29 , the position of width adjustment wall 24 between lateral edges 21 , 23 is adjusted.
- a wall 22 is disposed along all or a portion of second lateral edge 23 .
- a media receptacle 27 is defined within storage tray 20 between width adjustment wall 24 and the wall 22 along second lateral edge 23 .
- the receptacle 27 may include a lateral width W 27 extending laterally or radially across storage tray 20 between walls 24 , 22 .
- width adjustment wall 24 is to adjust (e.g., increase and decrease) the lateral width W 27 , and therefore adjust a size of media (e.g., media 30 in FIG. 1 ) that may be received within receptacle 27 .
- storage tray 20 may include a pair (or more) of width adjustment walls 24 that are radially or laterally spaced from one another. During operations, both width adjustment walls 24 may be slid or translated along storage tray 20 toward or away from one another to adjust a size of a receptacle (e.g., receptacle 27 ) disposed therebetween.
- a receptacle e.g., receptacle 27
- media handling device 10 also includes a media size sensor assembly 100 disposed within housing 12 .
- media size sensor assembly 100 is to detect a position of width adjustment wall 24 (or one of the width adjustment walls 24 in some examples) along storage tray 20 and therefore a size (e.g., width) of media disposed within receptacle 27 during operations.
- Media size sensor assembly 100 generally includes a sensor 102 , and a plurality of reflective surfaces.
- the plurality of reflective surfaces of media size sensor assembly 100 comprise a first reflective surface 104 , a second reflective surface 106 , and a third reflective surface 108 .
- Sensor 102 and first reflective surface 104 are mounted within housing 12 of media handling device 10 such that the position of these components is fixed (that is, within media handling device 10 ).
- second reflective surface 106 and third reflective surface 108 are coupled to width adjustment wall 24 of storage tray 20 such that these components may move with width adjustment wall 24 along storage tray 20 during operations.
- first reflective surface 104 is coupled to an upper side 24 a of width adjustment wall 24 and second reflective surface 106 is coupled to a lower side 24 b of width adjustment wall 24 . More particularly, first reflective surface 104 is mounted to width adjustment wall 24 such that first reflective surface 104 is disposed on upper side 20 a . In addition, second reflective surface 106 is projected through a laterally extending slot 26 in storage tray 20 such that second reflective surface 106 is disposed on lower side 20 b .
- first reflective surface 104 extends in a first lateral or radial direction from width adjustment wall 24 radially toward wall 22 and second lateral edge 23
- second reflective surface 106 extends in a second lateral or radial direction that is opposite the first lateral direction.
- second reflective surface 106 extends radially from width adjustment wall 24 toward first lateral edge 21 .
- First reflective surface 104 , second reflective surface 106 , and third reflective surface 108 are to reflect different amounts of light (or radiation) when exposed to a set or determined amount of input light (or radiation).
- the first reflective surface 104 , second reflective surface 106 , and third reflective surface 108 have different reflectivity or reflectance values (wherein reflectivity refers to the ratio of radiation reflected by a surface or material to the incident radiation in some examples).
- the first reflective surface 104 may reflect a first amount of light
- second reflective surface 106 may reflect a second amount of light
- third reflective surface may reflect a third amount of light.
- the first amount of light may be less than the second amount of light
- the second amount of light may be less than the third amount of light.
- the first reflective surface 104 may have a first reflectivity R 104
- the second reflective surface 106 may have a second reflectivity R 106
- the third reflective surface 108 may have a third reflectivity R 108 , wherein R 104 , R 106 , and R 108 conform to the following inequality:
- first reflective surface 104 reflects substantially no light.
- first reflective surface 104 may actually be a non-reflective surface (e.g., an absorber).
- number, arrangement, and relative reflectivity of the reflective surfaces e.g., reflective surfaces 104 , 106 , 108 ) may be varied in other examples from that specifically shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
- sensor 102 may be any suitable sensor that is to sense or detect an amount of light or radiation (such as reflected light or radiation).
- sensor 102 may comprise an optical sensor that is to detect light (or other radiation) rays and then convert these detected light rays into an electronic signal (e.g., such as a signal having a voltage, current, or other parameter indicative of the detected light ray).
- sensor 102 may include a transmitter 103 and a detector 105 .
- Transmitter 103 is to emit a light of known character, quality, color, etc.
- detector 105 is to detect light.
- transmitter 103 emits light, and any of this light that is reflected back toward sensor 102 is detected by detector 105 .
- transmitter 103 may be referred to as a light source.
- Transmitter 103 may output any suitable type or source of radiation or light, such as, for example, visible light, infrared light, etc.
- detector 105 may utilize any suitable mechanism(s) or material(s) for detecting light or radiation such as, for example, photoconductive devices, photovoltaic devices, photodiodes, phototransistors, etc.
- transmitter 103 may be a separate device or unit from detector 105 , and in other examples, transmitter 103 and detector 105 are incorporated into a singular sensor 102 .
- sensor 102 is coupled to a controller 110 that may be disposed within housing 12 of media handling device 10 .
- Controller 110 may be a standalone controller or general control unit for media size sensor assembly 100 or may be incorporated or integrated into a controller or control unit for media handling device 10 .
- controller 110 is to receive output signals from sensor 102 that are indicative of the amount of light (e.g., reflected light) detected by detector 105 and, based on these output signals, determine a position of the width adjustment wall 24 .
- controller 110 may comprise any suitable device or assembly which is capable of receiving an electrical or mechanical signal and transmitting various signals to other devices (e.g., sensor 102 ).
- controller 110 includes a processor 112 and a memory 114 .
- the processor 112 executes machine-readable instructions (e.g., non-transitory machine readable medium) provided on memory 114 , and upon executing the machine-readable instructions (e.g., non-transitory machine readable medium) on memory 114 , provides the controller 110 with all of the functionality described herein.
- the memory 114 may comprise volatile storage (e.g., random access memory), non-volatile storage (e.g., flash storage, read only memory, etc.), or combinations of both volatile and non-volatile storage. Data consumed or produced by the machine-readable instructions can also be stored on memory 114 .
- Controller 110 may include an internal power source (e.g., battery, capacity, wall plug, etc.—not shown), or may utilize the power source for the media handling device 10 (e.g., again a battery, capacity, wall plug, etc.—not shown).
- Controller 110 is coupled or linked to sensor 102 by a conductive path 116 , which may comprise any suitable wired and/or wireless conductive path for transferring power and/or control signals (e.g., electrical signals, light signals, etc.).
- conductive path 116 may comprise conductive wires (e.g., metallic wires), fiber optic cables, conductive leads, etc.
- conductive path 116 may comprise a wireless connection (e.g., WIFI, BLUETOOTH®, near field communication, infrared, radio frequency communication, etc.).
- sensor 102 may generate an output signal indicative of an amount of light (e.g., reflected light) detected by detector 105 .
- the output signal from sensor 102 may comprise a voltage reading.
- a higher voltage reading or value in the output signal from sensor 102 may indicate a higher level or amount of light detected by detector 105 .
- Controller 110 may then convert or relate the voltage readings in the output signal from sensor 102 into a position of width adjustment wall 24 along storage tray 20 (e.g., via look table(s), calculation, etc.).
- width adjustment wall 24 is shown in three different lateral or radial positions in relative to wall 22 along second lateral edge 23 in FIGS. 3-4 .
- the position of width adjustment wall 24 shown in FIGS. 3-5 corresponds with different values of width W 27 for receptacle 27 .
- FIG. 6 shows a plot of voltage versus time corresponding to the voltage readings that are representative of the output signals generated by sensor 102 when width adjustment wall 24 is transitioned among the positions shown in FIGS. 3-5 .
- width adjustment wall 24 is translated radially or laterally toward wall 22 such that width W 27 is at a first value, which may be a minimum value of width W 27 in some examples.
- first value which may be a minimum value of width W 27 in some examples.
- second reflective surface 106 are aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) with sensor 102 .
- light rays 120 that are emitted from transmitter 103 are directed onto third reflective surface 108 which is fixed within media handling device 10 along lower side 20 b of storage tray 20 as previously described.
- third reflective surface 108 has a relatively high reflectivity R 108 (as compared to the reflectivity values R 104 , R 106 of first reflective surface 104 and second reflective surface 106 , respectively), and thus, a relatively high amount of light rays 120 is reflected back to sensor 102 (particularly detector 105 ) by third reflective surface 108 as a reflected ray 121 .
- the detector 105 detects reflected ray 121 and sensor 102 generates an output signal including a voltage reading or value V 1 that is indicative of the detected light ray 121 .
- third reflective surface 108 may be referred to as a “mirror.” This output signal may be communicated to controller 110 (see e.g., FIG.
- width adjustment wall 24 is translated radially or laterally away from wall 22 from the position of FIG. 3 (previously described) such that width W 27 is at a second value that is greater than the value of width W 27 in FIG. 3 .
- the second value of width W 27 may be mid-length value of width W 27 that is between a relative minimum and maximum in some examples.
- second reflective surface 106 covers third reflective surface 108 and thus is aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) with sensor 102 .
- second reflective surface 106 has reflectivity R 106 that is lower than the reflectivity R 108 of third reflective surface 108 as previously described, and thus, reflected ray 122 may be dimmer or less intense, etc., than reflected ray 121 in FIG. 3 . Accordingly, when detector 105 detects reflected ray 122 , sensor 102 generates an output signal including a voltage reading or value V 2 (see e.g., FIG.
- This output signal may be communicated to controller 110 (see e.g., FIG. 1 ) which then may determine the position of width adjustment wall 24 based thereon.
- the voltage value V 2 may indicate (e.g., to controller 110 ) that width adjustment wall 24 is at the position shown in FIG. 4 from a time t 2 to a time t 3 .
- a transition zone 126 may exist between voltage values V 1 and V 2 from time t 1 to time t 2 .
- This transition zone 126 may represent the output signal(s) from sensor 102 while width adjustment wall 24 was transitioned (e.g., slid, translated, etc.) from the position in FIG. 3 to the position in FIG. 4 .
- the amount of light detected by sensor 102 e.g., by detector 105
- width adjustment wall 24 is translated radially or laterally away from wall 22 from the position of FIG. 4 (previously described) such that width W 27 is at a greater than the value of width W 27 in FIG. 4 .
- the second value of width W 27 in FIG. 5 may be maximum value of width W 27 in some examples.
- first reflective surface 104 covers third reflective surface 108 and thus is aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) with sensor 102 .
- light rays 120 that are emitted from transmitter 103 are directed onto first reflective surface 104 , and a reflected ray 123 is directed back to sensor 102 (e.g., detector 105 ) by first reflective surface 104 .
- first reflective surface 104 has a reflectivity R 104 that is lower than the reflectivities R 108 , R 106 of the third reflective surface 108 and second reflective surface 106 , respectively, as previously described.
- reflected ray 123 may be dimmer or less intense, etc., than reflected rays 121 , 122 in FIGS. 3, 4 , respectively.
- sensor 102 when detector 105 detects reflected ray 123 , sensor 102 generates an output signal including a voltage reading or value V 3 (see e.g., FIG. 6 ) indicative of the detected light ray 123 that is lower than the voltage values V 1 , V 2 of the reflected rays 121 , 122 , respectively.
- This output signal may be communicated to controller 110 (see e.g., FIG. 1 ) which then may determine the position of width adjustment wall 24 based thereon.
- the first reflective surface 104 may reflect very little or substantially no light as previously described.
- the voltage reading V 3 in FIG. 6 may be zero or substantially zero.
- the voltage value V 3 may indicate (e.g., to controller 110 ) that width adjustment wall 24 is at the position shown in FIG. 5 from a time t 4 to a time t 5 .
- a transition zone 128 may exist between voltage values V 2 and V 3 from time t 3 to time t 4 . Like transition zone 126 , this transition zone 128 may represent the output from sensor 102 while width adjustment wall 24 was transitioned (e.g., slid, translated, etc.) from position in FIG. 4 to the position in FIG. 5 .
- the amount of light detected by sensor 102 e.g., by detector 105
- media size sensor assembly 100 may automatically detect or sense the position of width adjustment wall 24 along storage tray 20 , and thus, also the size (e.g., width) of receptacle 27 . If media (e.g., media 30 in FIG. 1 ) is installed or stored within receptacle 27 , the detected or determined size of receptacle 27 may then be communicated to a user such that they will know what size media is available for operations (e.g., printing operations).
- media e.g., media 30 in FIG. 1
- controller 110 may determine the position of width adjustment wall 24 (and thus the width W 27 of receptacle 27 ) by applying a variety of different analysis techniques. For instance, in some examples, controller 110 may determine whether a voltage output from sensor 102 (e.g., voltages V 1 , V 2 , V 3 , etc.) is approximately equal to a predetermined value. In other examples, controller 110 may determine whether a voltage output from sensor 102 is above and/or below a particular threshold value (or a plurality of threshold values). In still other examples, controller 110 may determine whether a voltage reading or value output from sensor 102 is within a predetermined range of values or within one of a plurality of predetermined ranges of values.
- a voltage output from sensor 102 e.g., voltages V 1 , V 2 , V 3 , etc.
- controller 110 may determine whether a voltage output from sensor 102 is above and/or below a particular threshold value (or a plurality of threshold values). In still other examples, controller 110 may determine whether a
- controller 110 may determine that a voltage reading V (e.g., voltage readings V 1 , V 2 , V 3 , etc.) is within a predetermined range of values that may be defined by and between (V+X) and (V ⁇ X) (wherein X is a predetermined variance or tolerance based on variances within media handling device 10 and/or media size sensor assembly 100 , etc.).
- V voltage readings
- V ⁇ X voltage readings
- each position of width adjustment wall 24 e.g., the positions in FIGS. 3-5
- controller 110 may determine that the width adjustment wall 24 is in the position associated with the preselected range of voltage values.
- a voltage value e.g., voltages V 1 , V 2 , V 3 , etc.
- controller 110 may determine that the width adjustment wall 24 is in the position associated with the preselected range of voltage values.
- a method 200 of detecting or determining a position of a width adjustment wall (e.g., width adjustment wall 24 ) and thus a size of media disposed within a storage tray (e.g., storage tray 20 ) is shown.
- a width adjustment wall e.g., width adjustment wall 24
- a size of media disposed within a storage tray e.g., storage tray 20
- FIGS. 1-5 described above.
- method 200 may be practiced with other systems, devices, and assemblies.
- references to media handling device 10 and media size sensor assembly 100 is meant to described one potential implementation of the features of method 200 and is not intended to limit the application of method 200 more broadly (e.g., to other systems, devices, assemblies).
- method 200 includes emitting light from a light source within a media handling device at 202 .
- a light source within a media handling device 10 .
- method 200 next includes sensing a first amount of light reflected from a first reflective surface at 204 .
- sensor 102 e.g., detector 105
- method 200 next includes determining that a width adjust wall of a storage tray in the media handling device is in a first position at 206 based on the first amount of light sensed at 204 .
- controller 110 may determine that width adjustment wall 24 is in a particular position along storage tray 20 based on the light sensed or detected by detector 105 within sensor 102 .
- block 206 in FIG. 7 may involve determining whether some feature of characteristic of the reflected light is within a predetermined range, is approximately equal to a predetermined value, is above/below a predetermined threshold, etc., so as to indicate a position of the width adjustment wall within the storage tray.
- method 200 includes sensing a second amount of light reflected from a second reflective surface at 208 .
- sensor 102 e.g., detector 105
- the light sensed by the sensor 102 may be reflected from a different one of the surfaces 104 , 106 , 108 by a movement of the width adjustment wall 24 along storage tray 20 as previously described above.
- method 200 next includes determining that a width adjust wall of a storage tray in the media handling device is in a second position at 210 based on the second amount of light sensed at 208 .
- controller 110 may determine that width adjustment wall 24 has changed to a new position along storage tray 20 based on a change in the light sensed or detected by detector 105 within sensor 102 .
- the 7 may involve determining whether some feature of characteristic of the reflected light is within a predetermined range, is approximately equal to a predetermined value, is above/below a predetermined threshold, etc., so as to indicate a position of the width adjustment wall within the storage tray.
- media size sensor assembly 300 shares many components and features with media size sensor assembly 100 , previously described above. Thus, features of media size sensor assembly 300 that are shared with media size sensor assembly 100 are identified with the same reference numerals and the description below will focus on the features of media size sensor assembly 300 that are different from those in media size sensor assembly 100 .
- media size sensor assembly 300 includes first reflective surface 104 coupled to side adjustment wall 24 as described above for media size sensor assembly 100 .
- media size sensor assembly 300 also includes sensor 102 , controller 110 , and third reflective surface 108 as shown and described above for media size sensor assembly 100 (see e.g., FIGS. 1 and 3 ).
- media size sensor assembly 300 in place of second reflective surface 106 , media size sensor assembly 300 includes a second reflective surface 306 , which shares many attributes with second reflective surface 106 , previously described (e.g., the reflectivity R 106 ).
- Second reflective surface 306 also includes a projection 308 extending outward or away from axis 15 of storage tray 20 in a generally radial or lateral direction.
- projection 308 may include the same reflective properties as the rest of reflective surface 306 ; however, in other examples, the reflectivity of projection 308 may be different from the other portions of second reflective surface 308 (e.g., projection may not have the same reflectivity R 106 as the rest of second reflective surface 306 ).
- second reflective surface 306 is pivotably coupled to width adjustment wall 24 .
- second reflective surface 306 is pivotably coupled to lower 24 b of width adjustment wall 24 via a shaft 316 that extends along an axis 315 .
- Axis 315 may extend in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction of longitudinal axis 15 of storage tray 20 .
- second reflective surface 306 (including projection 308 ) may be allowed to pivot about axis 315 via shaft 316 .
- second reflective surface 306 is pivotably or rotationally biased about axis 315 such that projection 308 is biased to extend away from axis 15 in a generally radial direction as shown in FIG. 8 .
- Any suitable device or method may be used to rotationally bias reflective surface 306 about shaft 316 , including, for instance, torsion spring(s), utilizing a torsion shaft for shaft 316 , etc.
- storage tray 20 may be withdrawn (e.g., again, fully or partially) from housing 12 to allow media (e.g., media 30 in FIG. 1 ) to be inserted within receptacle 27 .
- media e.g., media 30 in FIG. 1
- projection 308 may be engaged with internal wall 310 until it advances to a clearance or pocket 314 that provides sufficient space for second reflective surface 306 and projection 308 to rotate (under the rotational bias described above) to the original outward projecting position of FIG. 8 .
- damage to second reflective surface 306 is avoided within a relatively narrow opening of housing 12 , even if width adjustment wall 24 is laterally adjusted to provide a maximum value for width W 27 .
- Examples disclosed herein have included media size sensor assemblies for media handling devices (e.g., media size sensor assembly 100 ) that are to automatically determine a size of the media that is stored within a storage tray of the media handling device (e.g., media handling device 10 ).
- media size sensor assemblies for media handling devices (e.g., media size sensor assembly 100 ) that are to automatically determine a size of the media that is stored within a storage tray of the media handling device (e.g., media handling device 10 ).
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- Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
Abstract
Example media size sensor assemblies and media handling device including the example media size sensor assemblies are disclosed. In an example, the media size sensor assembly includes a sensor to be mounted within the media handling device, the sensor to detect reflected light. In addition, the media size sensor assembly includes a plurality of reflective surfaces to be coupled to a width adjustment wall of a storage tray of the media handling device, such that movement of the width adjustment wall is to align a selected one of the plurality of reflective surfaces with the sensor. The reflective surfaces of the plurality of reflective surfaces are to reflect different amounts of light.
Description
- Printers, copiers, scanners, and other such media handling devices may include storage trays for holding a volume of media (e.g., print media such as paper). In some instances, a storage tray within a media handling device (e.g., a printer, copier, scanner, etc.) may be able to receive a variety of media sizes.
- Various examples will be described below referring to the following figures:
-
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a media handling device including a media size sensor assembly according to some examples; -
FIG. 2 is a top view of a media storage tray and the media size sensor assembly for use within the media handling device ofFIG. 1 according to some examples; -
FIGS. 3-5 are sequential cross-sectional views taken along section A-A inFIG. 2 according to some examples; -
FIG. 6 is a plot showing example readings from a sensor of the media size sensor assembly ofFIG. 1 according to some examples; -
FIG. 7 is a flow chart of a method according to some examples; -
FIG. 8 is a top view of another media storage tray and media size sensor assembly for use within the media handling device ofFIG. 1 according to some examples; and -
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along section B-B inFIG. 8 according to some examples. - In the figures, certain features and components disclosed herein may be shown exaggerated in scale or in somewhat schematic form, and some details of certain elements may not be shown in the interest of clarity and conciseness. In some of the figures, in order to improve clarity and conciseness, a component or an aspect of a component may be omitted.
- In the following discussion and in the claims, the terms “including” and “comprising” are used in an open-ended fashion, and thus should be interpreted to mean “including, but not limited to . . . .” Also, the term “couple” or “couples” is intended to be broad enough to encompass both indirect and direct connections. Thus, if a first device couples to a second device, that connection may be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection via other devices, components, and connections. In addition, as used herein, the terms “axial” and “axially” generally refer to positions along or parallel to a central or longitudinal axis (e.g., central axis of a body or a port), while the terms “lateral” and “laterally” generally refer to positions located or spaced to the side of the central or longitudinal axis.
- As used herein, including in the claims, the word “or” is used in an inclusive manner. For example, “A or B” means any of the following: “A” alone, “B” alone, or both “A” and “B.” In addition, when used herein including the claims, the word “generally” or “substantially” means within a range of plus or minus 10% of the stated value. In some examples, other ranges may be used when described as being substantially a value. As used herein, the terms “downstream” and “upstream” are used to refer to the arrangement of components and features within a printer or scanning device with respect to the “flow” of media through the printer or scanning device during operations. Thus, if a first component of such a device receives media after it is output from a second component of the device during operations, then the first component may be said to be “downstream” of the second component and the second component may be said to be “upstream” of the first component.
- As used herein, a “media handling device,” refers to any device that holds or stores media for printing or copying operations. For instance, the term “media handling device,” includes printers, copiers, scanners, fax machines, and combinations thereof. As used herein, “media” refers to any medium or substrate that may have images, data, text, etc., printed or deposited thereon. The term specifically includes paper, but may also include a variety of other substrates including, textiles, polymers, composite materials, etc.
- As previously described, a storage tray for a media handling device may be able to hold a variety of different media sizes. To accommodate differently sized media, a width adjustment wall (or a plurality of width adjustment walls) movably coupled to the storage tray may be moved so as to re-size a receptacle for holding the media within the storage tray. In some circumstances, a user may not know what size media is loaded within a storage tray, and may therefore physically access the storage tray prior to initiating a media handling operation (including e.g., printing, scanning, copying, etc.). However, the user (and their computer) may be remote from the location of the media handling device (e.g., such as in an office setting), and accessing the media storage tray may not be a user-friendly experience. Accordingly, examples disclosed herein include media size sensor assemblies for media handling devices that are to automatically determine a size of the media that is stored within a storage tray of the media handling device. As a result, through use of the disclosed media size sensor assemblies within a media handling device, printing and/or copying operations may be improved.
- Referring now to
FIG. 1 , amedia handling device 10 is shown. In the example ofFIG. 1 ,media handling device 10 is a printer that includes anouter housing 12, and a media storage tray 20 (or more simply “storage tray 20”) disposed within thehousing 12.Storage tray 20 includes alongitudinal axis 15, a first orupper side 20 a and a second orlower side 20 b oppositeupper side 20 a.Upper side 20 a is to support media 30 (e.g., paper) thereon during operations. In addition,storage tray 20 includes awidth adjustment wall 24. As will be described in more detail below,width adjustment wall 24 is movable alongupper side 20 a ofstorage tray 20 so as to accommodate different sizes (e.g., widths) ofmedia 30 thereon. - In this example, because
media handling device 10 is a printer, aprinting assembly 18 is disposed withinhousing 12 that is to print or otherwise deposit printing medium (e.g., ink, toner, printing fluid, etc.) thereon to form an image, text, etc. Any suitable type of printing technique may be used withinprinting assembly 18, such as, for instance, ink jet printing, laser printing, dot-matrix printing, etc. In addition,media handling device 10 includes anoutput 14 fromhousing 12 that is to receive print media emitted fromprinting assembly 18. Thus,media handling device 10 includes amedia feed path 16 that extends fromstorage tray 20 toprinting assembly 18, and then fromprinting assembly 18 tooutput 14. While not specifically shown, in some examples,media 30 may be advanced alongmedia feed path 16 via a plurality of roller pinches during operations. As shown inFIG. 1 ,media feed path 16 is generally C-shaped as it extends fromstorage tray 20 tooutput 14, and thus,media feed path 16 may be referred to as a “C-path.” - Referring now to
FIG. 2 , as previously described,width adjustment wall 24 is movably coupled tostorage tray 20. In particular, in some examples,width adjustment wall 24 may include aprojection 25 that is slidably engaged within aslot 29 extending through storage tray 20 (i.e.,slot 29 extends throughsides width adjustment wall 24 includes a plurality ofprojections 25 that engage with a plurality ofslots 29 extending throughstorage tray 20.Storage tray 20 also includes a firstlateral edge 21 and a secondlateral edge 23 radially opposite firstlateral edge 21 aboutaxis 15.Slot 29 extends in a radial direction from (or proximate to) firstlateral edge 21 such that aswidth adjustment wall 24 is moved radially alongslot 29, the position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 betweenlateral edges wall 22 is disposed along all or a portion of secondlateral edge 23. Thus, whenwidth adjustment wall 24 is installed onwall 22 as shown inFIG. 2 , amedia receptacle 27 is defined withinstorage tray 20 betweenwidth adjustment wall 24 and thewall 22 along secondlateral edge 23. Thereceptacle 27 may include a lateral width W27 extending laterally or radially acrossstorage tray 20 betweenwalls width adjustment wall 24 is to adjust (e.g., increase and decrease) the lateral width W27, and therefore adjust a size of media (e.g.,media 30 inFIG. 1 ) that may be received withinreceptacle 27. - In some examples,
storage tray 20 may include a pair (or more) ofwidth adjustment walls 24 that are radially or laterally spaced from one another. During operations, bothwidth adjustment walls 24 may be slid or translated alongstorage tray 20 toward or away from one another to adjust a size of a receptacle (e.g., receptacle 27) disposed therebetween. - Referring now to
FIGS. 1 and 2 ,media handling device 10 also includes a mediasize sensor assembly 100 disposed withinhousing 12. As will be described in more detail below, mediasize sensor assembly 100 is to detect a position of width adjustment wall 24 (or one of thewidth adjustment walls 24 in some examples) alongstorage tray 20 and therefore a size (e.g., width) of media disposed withinreceptacle 27 during operations. Mediasize sensor assembly 100 generally includes asensor 102, and a plurality of reflective surfaces. In this example, the plurality of reflective surfaces of mediasize sensor assembly 100 comprise a firstreflective surface 104, a secondreflective surface 106, and a thirdreflective surface 108.Sensor 102 and firstreflective surface 104 are mounted withinhousing 12 ofmedia handling device 10 such that the position of these components is fixed (that is, within media handling device 10). In addition, secondreflective surface 106 and thirdreflective surface 108 are coupled towidth adjustment wall 24 of storage tray 20 such that these components may move withwidth adjustment wall 24 alongstorage tray 20 during operations. - Referring now to
FIG. 3 , firstreflective surface 104 is coupled to anupper side 24 a ofwidth adjustment wall 24 and secondreflective surface 106 is coupled to alower side 24 b ofwidth adjustment wall 24. More particularly, firstreflective surface 104 is mounted towidth adjustment wall 24 such that firstreflective surface 104 is disposed onupper side 20 a. In addition, secondreflective surface 106 is projected through a laterally extendingslot 26 instorage tray 20 such that secondreflective surface 106 is disposed onlower side 20 b. In addition, firstreflective surface 104 extends in a first lateral or radial direction fromwidth adjustment wall 24 radially towardwall 22 and secondlateral edge 23, while secondreflective surface 106 extends in a second lateral or radial direction that is opposite the first lateral direction. As a result, secondreflective surface 106 extends radially fromwidth adjustment wall 24 toward firstlateral edge 21. - First
reflective surface 104, secondreflective surface 106, and thirdreflective surface 108 are to reflect different amounts of light (or radiation) when exposed to a set or determined amount of input light (or radiation). Thus, in some examples, the firstreflective surface 104, secondreflective surface 106, and thirdreflective surface 108 have different reflectivity or reflectance values (wherein reflectivity refers to the ratio of radiation reflected by a surface or material to the incident radiation in some examples). More specifically, in some examples, ifsurfaces reflective surface 104 may reflect a first amount of light, secondreflective surface 106 may reflect a second amount of light, and third reflective surface may reflect a third amount of light. The first amount of light may be less than the second amount of light, and the second amount of light may be less than the third amount of light. Accordingly, the firstreflective surface 104 may have a first reflectivity R104, the secondreflective surface 106 may have a second reflectivity R106, and the thirdreflective surface 108 may have a third reflectivity R108, wherein R104, R106, and R108 conform to the following inequality: -
R108>R106>R104 (1). - In some examples, the first
reflective surface 104 reflects substantially no light. Thus, in some examples, firstreflective surface 104 may actually be a non-reflective surface (e.g., an absorber). In addition, the number, arrangement, and relative reflectivity of the reflective surfaces (e.g.,reflective surfaces FIGS. 1 and 2 . - Referring now to
FIGS. 1 and 3 ,sensor 102 may be any suitable sensor that is to sense or detect an amount of light or radiation (such as reflected light or radiation). For instance, in some examples,sensor 102 may comprise an optical sensor that is to detect light (or other radiation) rays and then convert these detected light rays into an electronic signal (e.g., such as a signal having a voltage, current, or other parameter indicative of the detected light ray). In some examples,sensor 102 may include atransmitter 103 and adetector 105.Transmitter 103 is to emit a light of known character, quality, color, etc., anddetector 105 is to detect light. Accordingly, during operations,transmitter 103 emits light, and any of this light that is reflected back towardsensor 102 is detected bydetector 105. In some examples,transmitter 103 may be referred to as a light source.Transmitter 103 may output any suitable type or source of radiation or light, such as, for example, visible light, infrared light, etc. In addition,detector 105 may utilize any suitable mechanism(s) or material(s) for detecting light or radiation such as, for example, photoconductive devices, photovoltaic devices, photodiodes, phototransistors, etc. In some examples,transmitter 103 may be a separate device or unit fromdetector 105, and in other examples,transmitter 103 anddetector 105 are incorporated into asingular sensor 102. - As shown in
FIG. 1 ,sensor 102 is coupled to acontroller 110 that may be disposed withinhousing 12 ofmedia handling device 10.Controller 110 may be a standalone controller or general control unit for mediasize sensor assembly 100 or may be incorporated or integrated into a controller or control unit formedia handling device 10. - Generally speaking
controller 110 is to receive output signals fromsensor 102 that are indicative of the amount of light (e.g., reflected light) detected bydetector 105 and, based on these output signals, determine a position of thewidth adjustment wall 24. Accordingly,controller 110 may comprise any suitable device or assembly which is capable of receiving an electrical or mechanical signal and transmitting various signals to other devices (e.g., sensor 102). In particular, as shown inFIG. 1 , in this example,controller 110 includes aprocessor 112 and amemory 114. - The processor 112 (e.g., microprocessor, central processing unit, or collection of such processor devices, etc.) executes machine-readable instructions (e.g., non-transitory machine readable medium) provided on
memory 114, and upon executing the machine-readable instructions (e.g., non-transitory machine readable medium) onmemory 114, provides thecontroller 110 with all of the functionality described herein. Thememory 114 may comprise volatile storage (e.g., random access memory), non-volatile storage (e.g., flash storage, read only memory, etc.), or combinations of both volatile and non-volatile storage. Data consumed or produced by the machine-readable instructions can also be stored onmemory 114.Controller 110 may include an internal power source (e.g., battery, capacity, wall plug, etc.—not shown), or may utilize the power source for the media handling device 10 (e.g., again a battery, capacity, wall plug, etc.—not shown). -
Controller 110 is coupled or linked tosensor 102 by aconductive path 116, which may comprise any suitable wired and/or wireless conductive path for transferring power and/or control signals (e.g., electrical signals, light signals, etc.). For example, in some implementations,conductive path 116 may comprise conductive wires (e.g., metallic wires), fiber optic cables, conductive leads, etc. In other implementations,conductive path 116 may comprise a wireless connection (e.g., WIFI, BLUETOOTH®, near field communication, infrared, radio frequency communication, etc.). - In some examples,
sensor 102 may generate an output signal indicative of an amount of light (e.g., reflected light) detected bydetector 105. In some examples, the output signal fromsensor 102 may comprise a voltage reading. In some of these examples, a higher voltage reading or value in the output signal fromsensor 102 may indicate a higher level or amount of light detected bydetector 105.Controller 110 may then convert or relate the voltage readings in the output signal fromsensor 102 into a position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 along storage tray 20 (e.g., via look table(s), calculation, etc.). - Referring now to
FIGS. 3-6 ,width adjustment wall 24 is shown in three different lateral or radial positions in relative to wall 22 along secondlateral edge 23 inFIGS. 3-4 . Thus, the position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 shown inFIGS. 3-5 corresponds with different values of width W27 forreceptacle 27. In addition,FIG. 6 shows a plot of voltage versus time corresponding to the voltage readings that are representative of the output signals generated bysensor 102 whenwidth adjustment wall 24 is transitioned among the positions shown inFIGS. 3-5 . - Referring first to
FIGS. 3 and 6 ,width adjustment wall 24 is translated radially or laterally towardwall 22 such that width W27 is at a first value, which may be a minimum value of width W27 in some examples. In this position, neither the firstreflective surface 104 nor the secondreflective surface 106 are aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) withsensor 102. As a result,light rays 120 that are emitted fromtransmitter 103 are directed onto thirdreflective surface 108 which is fixed withinmedia handling device 10 alonglower side 20 b ofstorage tray 20 as previously described. In this example, thirdreflective surface 108 has a relatively high reflectivity R108 (as compared to the reflectivity values R104, R106 of firstreflective surface 104 and secondreflective surface 106, respectively), and thus, a relatively high amount oflight rays 120 is reflected back to sensor 102 (particularly detector 105) by thirdreflective surface 108 as areflected ray 121. Thedetector 105 detects reflectedray 121 andsensor 102 generates an output signal including a voltage reading or value V1 that is indicative of the detectedlight ray 121. In some examples, thirdreflective surface 108 may be referred to as a “mirror.” This output signal may be communicated to controller 110 (see e.g.,FIG. 1 ) which then may determine the position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 based thereon. As shown inFIG. 6 , the voltage value V1 may indicate (e.g., to controller 110) thatwidth adjustment wall 24 is at the position shown inFIG. 3 from an initial time (t=0) to a time t1. - Referring now to
FIGS. 4 and 6 ,width adjustment wall 24 is translated radially or laterally away fromwall 22 from the position ofFIG. 3 (previously described) such that width W27 is at a second value that is greater than the value of width W27 inFIG. 3 . The second value of width W27 may be mid-length value of width W27 that is between a relative minimum and maximum in some examples. In this position, secondreflective surface 106 covers thirdreflective surface 108 and thus is aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) withsensor 102. As a result,light rays 120 that are emitted fromtransmitter 103 are directed onto secondreflective surface 106, and areflected ray 122 is directed back to sensor 102 (e.g., detector 105) by secondreflective surface 106. In this example, secondreflective surface 106 has reflectivity R106 that is lower than the reflectivity R108 of thirdreflective surface 108 as previously described, and thus, reflectedray 122 may be dimmer or less intense, etc., than reflectedray 121 inFIG. 3 . Accordingly, whendetector 105 detects reflectedray 122,sensor 102 generates an output signal including a voltage reading or value V2 (see e.g.,FIG. 6 ) indicative of the detectedlight ray 122 that is lower than the voltage value V1 indicative of the reflectedray 121 reflected from thirdreflective surface 108. This output signal may be communicated to controller 110 (see e.g.,FIG. 1 ) which then may determine the position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 based thereon. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , the voltage value V2 may indicate (e.g., to controller 110) thatwidth adjustment wall 24 is at the position shown inFIG. 4 from a time t2 to a time t3. Atransition zone 126 may exist between voltage values V1 and V2 from time t1 to time t2. Thistransition zone 126 may represent the output signal(s) fromsensor 102 whilewidth adjustment wall 24 was transitioned (e.g., slid, translated, etc.) from the position inFIG. 3 to the position inFIG. 4 . As a result, the amount of light detected by sensor 102 (e.g., by detector 105) may transition or reduce at a constant or variable rate during this time period between the voltage values V1 and V2. - Referring now to
FIGS. 5 and 6 ,width adjustment wall 24 is translated radially or laterally away fromwall 22 from the position ofFIG. 4 (previously described) such that width W27 is at a greater than the value of width W27 inFIG. 4 . The second value of width W27 inFIG. 5 may be maximum value of width W27 in some examples. In this position, firstreflective surface 104 covers thirdreflective surface 108 and thus is aligned (e.g., vertically aligned) withsensor 102. As a result,light rays 120 that are emitted fromtransmitter 103 are directed onto firstreflective surface 104, and areflected ray 123 is directed back to sensor 102 (e.g., detector 105) by firstreflective surface 104. In this example, firstreflective surface 104 has a reflectivity R104 that is lower than the reflectivities R108, R106 of the thirdreflective surface 108 and secondreflective surface 106, respectively, as previously described. Thus, reflectedray 123 may be dimmer or less intense, etc., than reflectedrays FIGS. 3, 4 , respectively. Accordingly, whendetector 105 detects reflectedray 123,sensor 102 generates an output signal including a voltage reading or value V3 (see e.g.,FIG. 6 ) indicative of the detectedlight ray 123 that is lower than the voltage values V1, V2 of the reflectedrays FIG. 1 ) which then may determine the position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 based thereon. In some examples, the firstreflective surface 104 may reflect very little or substantially no light as previously described. Thus, in these examples, the voltage reading V3 inFIG. 6 may be zero or substantially zero. - As shown in
FIG. 6 , the voltage value V3 may indicate (e.g., to controller 110) thatwidth adjustment wall 24 is at the position shown inFIG. 5 from a time t4 to a time t5. Atransition zone 128 may exist between voltage values V2 and V3 from time t3 to time t4. Liketransition zone 126, thistransition zone 128 may represent the output fromsensor 102 whilewidth adjustment wall 24 was transitioned (e.g., slid, translated, etc.) from position inFIG. 4 to the position inFIG. 5 . As a result, the amount of light detected by sensor 102 (e.g., by detector 105) may transition or reduce at a constant or variable rate during this time period between the voltage values V2 and V3. - Therefore, during operations media
size sensor assembly 100 may automatically detect or sense the position ofwidth adjustment wall 24 alongstorage tray 20, and thus, also the size (e.g., width) ofreceptacle 27. If media (e.g.,media 30 inFIG. 1 ) is installed or stored withinreceptacle 27, the detected or determined size ofreceptacle 27 may then be communicated to a user such that they will know what size media is available for operations (e.g., printing operations). - Referring now to
FIGS. 1, 3, and 6 , in some examples,controller 110 may determine the position of width adjustment wall 24 (and thus the width W27 of receptacle 27) by applying a variety of different analysis techniques. For instance, in some examples,controller 110 may determine whether a voltage output from sensor 102 (e.g., voltages V1, V2, V3, etc.) is approximately equal to a predetermined value. In other examples,controller 110 may determine whether a voltage output fromsensor 102 is above and/or below a particular threshold value (or a plurality of threshold values). In still other examples,controller 110 may determine whether a voltage reading or value output fromsensor 102 is within a predetermined range of values or within one of a plurality of predetermined ranges of values. More specifically, in some examples,controller 110 may determine that a voltage reading V (e.g., voltage readings V1, V2, V3, etc.) is within a predetermined range of values that may be defined by and between (V+X) and (V−X) (wherein X is a predetermined variance or tolerance based on variances withinmedia handling device 10 and/or mediasize sensor assembly 100, etc.). In some examples, each position of width adjustment wall 24 (e.g., the positions inFIGS. 3-5 ) may have a predetermined range of voltage values associated therewith. Thus, during operations, if a voltage value (e.g., voltages V1, V2, V3, etc.) is within one of these preselected ranges, thencontroller 110 may determine that thewidth adjustment wall 24 is in the position associated with the preselected range of voltage values. However, even still other analysis methods may be employed bycontroller 110 in other examples, and the above described analysis methods are merely intended to describe some implementations. - Referring now to
FIG. 7 , amethod 200 of detecting or determining a position of a width adjustment wall (e.g., width adjustment wall 24) and thus a size of media disposed within a storage tray (e.g., storage tray 20) is shown. In describing the features ofmethod 200, reference may be made to themedia handling device 10 and mediasize sensor assembly 100 ofFIGS. 1-5 (described above). However, it should be appreciated thatmethod 200 may be practiced with other systems, devices, and assemblies. Thus, references tomedia handling device 10 and mediasize sensor assembly 100 is meant to described one potential implementation of the features ofmethod 200 and is not intended to limit the application ofmethod 200 more broadly (e.g., to other systems, devices, assemblies). - Initially,
method 200 includes emitting light from a light source within a media handling device at 202. For instance, in the example ofFIGS. 1-5 , light is emitted fromtransmitter 103 ofsensor 102 withinmedia handling device 10. Referring back toFIG. 7 ,method 200 next includes sensing a first amount of light reflected from a first reflective surface at 204. For instance, in the example ofFIGS. 1-5 , sensor 102 (e.g., detector 105) may detect or sense an amount of light reflected from one of thereflective surfaces - Referring again to
FIG. 7 ,method 200 next includes determining that a width adjust wall of a storage tray in the media handling device is in a first position at 206 based on the first amount of light sensed at 204. For instance, as previously described above for the example ofFIGS. 1-5 ,controller 110 may determine thatwidth adjustment wall 24 is in a particular position alongstorage tray 20 based on the light sensed or detected bydetector 105 withinsensor 102. In some examples, block 206 inFIG. 7 may involve determining whether some feature of characteristic of the reflected light is within a predetermined range, is approximately equal to a predetermined value, is above/below a predetermined threshold, etc., so as to indicate a position of the width adjustment wall within the storage tray. - Next,
method 200 includes sensing a second amount of light reflected from a second reflective surface at 208. For instance, in the example ofFIGS. 1-5 , sensor 102 (e.g., detector 105) may detect or sense an amount of light reflected from another one of thereflective surfaces sensor 102 may be reflected from a different one of thesurfaces width adjustment wall 24 alongstorage tray 20 as previously described above. - Referring again to
FIG. 7 ,method 200 next includes determining that a width adjust wall of a storage tray in the media handling device is in a second position at 210 based on the second amount of light sensed at 208. For instance, as previously described above for the example ofFIGS. 1-5 ,controller 110 may determine thatwidth adjustment wall 24 has changed to a new position alongstorage tray 20 based on a change in the light sensed or detected bydetector 105 withinsensor 102. In some examples, as was previously described above forblock 206, block 210 inFIG. 7 may involve determining whether some feature of characteristic of the reflected light is within a predetermined range, is approximately equal to a predetermined value, is above/below a predetermined threshold, etc., so as to indicate a position of the width adjustment wall within the storage tray. - Referring now to
FIGS. 8 and 9 , another example of mediasize sensor assembly 300 is shown. Mediasize sensor assembly 300 shares many components and features with mediasize sensor assembly 100, previously described above. Thus, features of mediasize sensor assembly 300 that are shared with mediasize sensor assembly 100 are identified with the same reference numerals and the description below will focus on the features of mediasize sensor assembly 300 that are different from those in mediasize sensor assembly 100. - In particular, as shown in
FIGS. 8 and 9 , mediasize sensor assembly 300 includes firstreflective surface 104 coupled toside adjustment wall 24 as described above for mediasize sensor assembly 100. In addition, while not specifically shown, mediasize sensor assembly 300 also includessensor 102,controller 110, and thirdreflective surface 108 as shown and described above for media size sensor assembly 100 (see e.g.,FIGS. 1 and 3 ). However, in place of secondreflective surface 106, mediasize sensor assembly 300 includes a secondreflective surface 306, which shares many attributes with secondreflective surface 106, previously described (e.g., the reflectivity R106). Secondreflective surface 306 also includes aprojection 308 extending outward or away fromaxis 15 ofstorage tray 20 in a generally radial or lateral direction. In some examples,projection 308 may include the same reflective properties as the rest ofreflective surface 306; however, in other examples, the reflectivity ofprojection 308 may be different from the other portions of second reflective surface 308 (e.g., projection may not have the same reflectivity R106 as the rest of second reflective surface 306). - In addition, as is best shown in
FIG. 9 , secondreflective surface 306 is pivotably coupled towidth adjustment wall 24. In particular, in some examples, secondreflective surface 306 is pivotably coupled to lower 24 b ofwidth adjustment wall 24 via a shaft 316 that extends along an axis 315. Axis 315 may extend in a direction that is perpendicular to a direction oflongitudinal axis 15 ofstorage tray 20. During operations, second reflective surface 306 (including projection 308) may be allowed to pivot about axis 315 via shaft 316. In some examples, secondreflective surface 306 is pivotably or rotationally biased about axis 315 such thatprojection 308 is biased to extend away fromaxis 15 in a generally radial direction as shown inFIG. 8 . Any suitable device or method may be used to rotationally biasreflective surface 306 about shaft 316, including, for instance, torsion spring(s), utilizing a torsion shaft for shaft 316, etc. - Referring still to
FIGS. 8 and 9 , during operations, whenstorage tray 20 is withdrawn (e.g., totally or partially) fromhousing 12 ofmedia handling device 10, whilewidth adjustment wall 24 is positioned such that secondreflective surface 306 is extended laterally or radially beyond first lateral edge 21 (e.g., in the manner shown inFIG. 8 ),projection 308 will engage with an internal wall orsurface 310 withinhousing 12 thereby causing secondreflective surface 306 to rotate or pivot about axis 315 via shaft 316. More specifically, during withdrawal ofstorage tray 20 fromhousing 12, the engagement betweenprojection 308 andwall 310 may cause secondreflective surface 306 to rotate indirection 312 such thatstorage tray 20 may continue to progress out ofhousing 12. In some examples,storage tray 20 may be withdrawn (e.g., again, fully or partially) fromhousing 12 to allow media (e.g.,media 30 inFIG. 1 ) to be inserted withinreceptacle 27. Whenstorage tray 20 is reinserted withinhousing 12,projection 308 may be engaged withinternal wall 310 until it advances to a clearance orpocket 314 that provides sufficient space for secondreflective surface 306 andprojection 308 to rotate (under the rotational bias described above) to the original outward projecting position ofFIG. 8 . As a result, damage to secondreflective surface 306 is avoided within a relatively narrow opening ofhousing 12, even ifwidth adjustment wall 24 is laterally adjusted to provide a maximum value for width W27. - Examples disclosed herein have included media size sensor assemblies for media handling devices (e.g., media size sensor assembly 100) that are to automatically determine a size of the media that is stored within a storage tray of the media handling device (e.g., media handling device 10). Through use of the disclosed media size sensor assemblies within a media handling device, printing and/or copying operations with the media handling device may be improved by allowing a user to quickly and easily determine the size of media stored within the media handling device and that is therefore available for such printing and/or copying operations.
- The above discussion is meant to be illustrative of the principles and various examples of the present disclosure. Numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to embrace all such variations and modifications.
Claims (15)
1. A media handling device comprising:
a storage tray to store media;
a width adjustment wall coupled to the storage tray; and
a media size sensor assembly coupled to the storage tray, the media size sensor assembly comprising:
a sensor to detect reflected light; and
a plurality of reflective surfaces coupled to the width adjustment wall,
wherein the width adjustment wall is to move relative to the storage tray to align a selected one of the plurality of reflective surfaces with the sensor, and
wherein the reflective surfaces are to reflect different amounts of light.
2. The media handling device of claim 1 , wherein the media size sensor assembly comprises a controller coupled to the sensor, wherein the controller is to determine a position of the width adjustment wall based on an amount of reflected light detected by the sensor.
3. The media handling device of claim 1 , wherein a first of the plurality of reflective surfaces is coupled to the width adjustment wall on a first side of the storage tray, and wherein a second of the plurality of reflective surfaces is coupled to the width adjustment wall on a second side of the storage tray that is opposite the first side.
4. The media handling device of claim 3 , wherein the second of the plurality of reflective surfaces is pivotably coupled to the width adjustment wall.
5. The media handling device of claim 4 , wherein the second of the plurality of reflective surface is pivotably biased relative to the width adjustment wall.
6. The media handling device of claim 5 , wherein the first of the plurality of reflective surfaces is to reflect a first amount of light to the sensor, and wherein the second of the plurality of reflective surface is to reflect a second amount of light to the sensor that is greater than the first amount of light.
7. A media size sensor assembly for a media handling device, the media size sensor assembly comprising:
a sensor to be mounted within the media handling device, the sensor to detect reflected light; and
a plurality of reflective surfaces to be coupled to a width adjustment wall of a storage tray of the media handling device such that movement of the width adjustment wall is to align a selected one of the plurality of reflective surfaces with the sensor and wherein the reflective surfaces are to reflect different amounts of light.
8. The media size sensor assembly of claim 7 , comprising a controller coupled to the sensor, wherein the controller is to determine a position of the width adjustment wall based on an amount of reflected light detected by the sensor.
9. The media size sensor assembly of claim 8 , wherein a first of the plurality of reflective surfaces is to be coupled to the width adjustment wall on a first side of a the storage tray, and wherein a second of the plurality of reflective surfaces is coupled to the width adjustment wall on a second side of the storage tray that is opposite the first side.
10. The media size sensor assembly of claim 9 , wherein the second of the plurality of reflective surfaces is to be pivotably coupled to the width adjustment wall.
11. The media size sensor assembly of claim 10 , wherein the first of the plurality of reflective surfaces is to reflect a first amount of light to the sensor, and wherein the second of the plurality of reflective surface is to reflect a second amount of light to the sensor that is greater than the first amount of light.
12. A media handling device comprising:
a storage tray to store media;
a width adjustment wall coupled to the storage tray; and
a controller to:
receive a signal from an optical sensor, the signal indicating an amount of reflected light; and
determine, based on the amount of reflected light, a position of the adjustment wall along the storage tray.
13. The media handling device of claim 12 , comprising a plurality of reflective surfaces coupled to the width adjustment wall, wherein the reflective surfaces are to reflect different amounts of light.
14. The media handling device of claim 13 , wherein a first reflective surface of the plurality of reflective surfaces is coupled to the width adjustment wall on a first side of the storage tray, and wherein a second reflective surface of the plurality of reflective surfaces is coupled to the width adjustment wall on a second side of the storage tray that is opposite the first side.
15. The media handling device of claim 14 , wherein the second reflective surface is pivotably coupled to the width and is pivotably biased relative to the width adjustment wall.
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
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PCT/US2019/038507 WO2020256740A1 (en) | 2019-06-21 | 2019-06-21 | Media size sensor assemblies |
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US20220097986A1 true US20220097986A1 (en) | 2022-03-31 |
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US17/296,520 Abandoned US20220097986A1 (en) | 2019-06-21 | 2019-06-21 | Media size sensor assemblies |
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WO (1) | WO2020256740A1 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP4378865A1 (en) * | 2022-11-30 | 2024-06-05 | Ricoh Company, Ltd. | Distance detector, sheet feeder, and image forming apparatus |
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WO2015187125A1 (en) * | 2014-06-02 | 2015-12-10 | Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. | Printer |
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- 2019-06-21 US US17/296,520 patent/US20220097986A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 2019-06-21 WO PCT/US2019/038507 patent/WO2020256740A1/en active Application Filing
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US6073925A (en) * | 1996-04-17 | 2000-06-13 | Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd. | Image forming apparatus |
US20110169215A1 (en) * | 2010-01-08 | 2011-07-14 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd | Paper feeding device and image forming apparatus having the same and control method thereof |
US20180095401A1 (en) * | 2016-09-30 | 2018-04-05 | Kyocera Document Solutions Inc. | Sheet stacking unit, and sheet conveying device and image forming apparatus each including the sheet stacking unit |
US20200301339A1 (en) * | 2019-03-18 | 2020-09-24 | Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. | Document transport device and image forming apparatus |
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