Close coupled printhead and media rollers
View Patent ↗A inkjet type printer has a media feed roller and a printhead that prints near to where the roller engages the print media, so providing better printhead to media gap control. Preferably the printhead prints less than twice the roller radius from the line of engagement.
1. An inkjet type printer including:
a print media feed mechanism including first and second rollers arranged to engage print media and be rotatable about an axis to feed the print media along a printing path defined between the first and second rollers, the print media being engaged by the first and second rollers so as to be tensioned and unsupported through the printing path; and
a first printing mechanism located in the printing path and arranged to print one or more materials onto first surface of the print media being fed along the printing path by said feed mechanism,
wherein the first printing mechanism is located adjacent the first roller to print at least some of the one or more materials onto the print media less than 2R 1 from a first line of contact of the first roller with the print media, where R 1 is the effective outside radius of the first roller.
2. The printer of claim 1 wherein the first printing mechanism is located to print at least some material onto the print media less than R 1 from the first of contact.
3. The printer of claim 1 wherein the first roller is located upstream of the printing mechanism.
4. The printer of claim 1 wherein the first printing mechanism and the first roller are located on the same side of the print media.
5. The printer claim 1 wherein the first printing mechanism includes a first printhead, the first printhead located to print material within R 1 of the first line of contact.
6. The printer of claim 5 wherein the first printing mechanism includes a second printhead, the second printhead located to print material within 2R 1 of the first line of contact.
7. The printer of claim 1 wherein the feed mechanism further includes a third roller opposed to the first roller and located on an opposite side of the print media of the first roller and a fourth roller opposed to the second roller and located on an opposite side of the print media to the second roller, said third and fourth rollers arranged to engage the print media.
8. The printer of claim 7 including a second printing mechanism located in the printing path and arranged to print one or more materials onto a second surface of the print media being fed along the printing path by said feed mechanism,
wherein the second printing mechanism is located adjacent the third roller to print at least some of the one or more materials onto the print media less than about 2R 2 from a second line of contact of the third roller with the print media, where R 2 is the effective outside radius of the third roller.
9. The printer of claim 8 wherein the second printing mechanism is located to print at least some material onto the print media less than R 2 from the second line of contact.
10. The printer of claim 8 wherein the second printing mechanism includes a third printhead that is located to print material within R 2 of the second line of contact.
11. The printer of claim 10 wherein the second printing mechanism includes a fourth printhead that is located to print material within 2R 2 of the second line of contact.
12. The printer of claim 1 wherein the print media to first printing mechanism separation is about 0.75 mm.
13. The printer of claim 8 wherein the print media to second printing mechanism separation is about 0.75 mm.
14. An inkjet type printer including:
a print media feed mechanism including opposed first and second rollers that engage opposite surfaces of print media, said first and second rollers rotatable about an axis to feed the print media along a printing path; and
first and second printing mechanisms that print one or more materials onto respective first and second surfaces of the print media being fed along the printing path by said feed mechanism,
wherein the first printing mechanism is arranged to print at least some of the one or more materials onto the print media less than about 2R 1 from a line of contact of the first roller with the print media, R 1 being the effective outside radius of the first roller, and
wherein the second printing mechanism is arranged to print at least some of the one or more materials onto the print media less than about 2R 2 from a line of contact of the second roller with the print media, R 2 being the effective outside radius of the second roller.