Compact printer with static page width printhead
View Patent ↗A compact printer is provided with a static page width printhead. An elongate support case defines a docking bay and has a personal computer (PC) interface connector protruding from one end thereof. A print media cartridge is configured to dock in the docking bay in a releasable manner. A page-width printhead assembly is mounted across an opposite end of the support case to said one end. The printhead assembly includes a static ink ejection printhead configured to eject ink upon print media supplied from the cartridge.
1. A printer comprising:
an elongate support case defining a docking bay and having a personal computer (PC) interface connector protruding from one end thereof;
a print media cartridge configured to dock in the docking bay in a releasable manner; and
a page-width printhead assembly mounted across an opposite end of the support case to said one end, and including a static ink ejection printhead configured to eject ink upon print media supplied from the cartridge.
2. A printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the print media cartridge has a metal cover incorporating a pair of integral leaf springs arranged to bear against a print media stack in the cartridge.
3. A printer as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the printhead assembly further includes rollers arranged to withdraw an endmost sheet from the stack, forward the sheet across the printhead, and eject the sheet from the printer via an exit slot.
4. A printer as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the printhead assembly further includes an electric motor for driving the rollers by way of a gear box.
5. A printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the printhead is a MEMS device incorporating CMOS technology.
6. A printer as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the printhead is controlled by an integrated circuit (IC) mounted on a flexible printed circuit board (PCB) beneath a floor of the docking bay.