Compact printer with card dispenser
View Patent ↗A printing assembly includes a printer and card holder having separate housings that are adapted to engage one another. The card holder has a slider mechanism for engaging a topmost card in a stack and ejecting the card from an ejection slot of the card holder into a slot of the printer housing. The card is then engaged by rollers in the printer housing which feed the card past the printhead for printing.
1. A printing assembly comprising:
a printing subassembly comprising a printer housing, a printhead disposed within the printer housing, an inlet slot in the printer housing for receiving print media into the printer housing; and
a print media supply cartridge comprising a supply media housing adapted to store a supply of print media within the supply media housing, an ejection slot disposed in the supply media housing through which supply media is ejected, and a slider manually operated by a user to engage a top most print media element to urge the element towards said ejection slot;
wherein the supply media housing is adapted to engage the printer housing, such that the supply media housing ejection slot aligns with the printer housing inlet slot and such that actuation of said slider causes print media to pass from said print media supply cartridge into said printing subassembly.
2. The printing assembly of claim 1 further comprising at least one first roller disposed between the inlet slot and the printhead that engages the print media as it is received into the printer housing.
3. The printing assembly of claim 2 further including at least one second roller mounted to the printer housing, the second roller being arranged to cooperate with the first roller to draw print media past the printhead.
4. The printing assembly of claim 3 wherein each of the at least one second roller is resiliently biased against a corresponding first roller.
5. The printing assembly of claim 3 including two first and two second rollers, each second roller engaging a respective first roller.
6. The printing assembly of claim 5 where the printhead of the printer is located intermediate the two first rollers.
7. The printing assembly of claim 2 wherein, in use, the at least one first roller is powered by a motor.