Printing device door spring

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11267270-B2
Application number	US-201616065348-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2016
Priority date	Apr 12, 2016
Publication date	Mar 8, 2022
Grant date	Mar 8, 2022

Abstract

A door for a printing device may include a spring having a first and a second end, the second end coupled to the door and the first end biased away from a surface of the door and a groove into which the first end of the spring may be placed into wherein when the first end of the spring is placed into the groove, the door is deflected in the direction that the spring is biased.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A door for a printing device, comprising:
a spring having a first and a second end, the second end coupled to the door and the first end biased away from a surface of the door; and
a groove into which the first end of the spring is engaged;
wherein when the first end of the spring is placed into the groove, the door is deflected in a direction that the first end of the spring is biased.

2. The door of claim 1 , wherein the deflection of the door is greater when the door is open than when the door is closed against the printing device.

3. The door of claim 2 , wherein the door further comprises a number of door offsets to maintain the door a predetermined distance from the printing device when the door is closed against the printing device.

4. The door of claim 3 , wherein the door maintains between a 0 to 0.1 mm gap between the door and a surface of the printing device when the door is closed against the printing device.

5. The door of claim 1 , wherein the door is made of a resilient material that deflects under the biased force from the spring.

6. The door of claim 1 , wherein the spring is a leaf spring.

7. The door of claim 1 , wherein the groove is integrally formed in material of the door.

8. The door of claim 1 , wherein the groove is located between the surface of the door and a piece of material coupled to the surface of the door.

9. A printing device, comprising:
a media output bin; and
a door downstream of the media output bin running perpendicular to the media output bin, the door comprising:
a flat spring comprising a first end placed within a groove defined on a surface of the door and a second end coupled to the surface of the door.

10. The printing device of claim 9 , wherein the flat spring has a bias to pull a portion of the door towards an end of the media output bin.

11. The printing device of claim 10 , wherein the portion of the door is a top portion of the door closest to a surface of the media output bin.

12. The printing device of claim 11 , wherein the door is pulled towards the end of the media output bin creating a gap between the media output bin and the door less than 0.1 mm.

13. The printing device of claim 11 , further comprising a number of magnets coupled to the top portion of the door closest to the surface of the media output bin.

14. The printing device of claim 9 , wherein the flat spring is made of stainless steel.

15. The printing device of claim 9 , wherein the door further comprises a number of guide ribs between the media output bin and the door to align the door with the media output bin.

16. The printing device of claim 9 , wherein, when the door is closed, a portion of the door abuts the media output bin such that some deflection of the door due to bias of the flat spring is overcome.

17. A method of manufacturing a printing device door, comprising:
fitting a first end of a spring into a groove formed on an interior surface of the printing device door, the first end of the spring biased away from the interior surface of the printing device door to exert force to deflect and bend a portion of the printing device door at the groove in a direction of the spring bias; and
coupling a second end of the spring to the interior surface of the printing device door.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein coupling the second end of the spring to the interior surface of the printing device door comprises:
forming a number of holes in the second end;
mating the number of holes with a number of posts formed on the printing device door; and
coupling a fastener to the posts securing the spring to the interior surface of the printing device door.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the fastener is a metal frame of the printing device door.

20. The method of claim 17 , further comprising installing the printing device door in a printing device, wherein, when the door is closed, a portion of the printing device counters some of the deflection of the printing door due to the bias of the spring.

Assignees

• Hewlett Packard Development Co

Inventors

• Lo Kevin
• Roels Tim

Classifications

• B41J13/106

  for the sheet output section · CPC title

• B41J29/13 Primary

  Cases or covers · CPC title

• F16F1/26

  Attachments or mountings ({F16F1/182, F16F1/22} B60G11/10 take precedence) · CPC title