Vertical form factor printer

Abstract

A printer having a substantially vertical form factor includes a base for supporting the printer; a substantially vertically extending body extending from the base; a print engine for printing an image onto print media, the print engine supported at a top of the substantially vertically extending body and overhanging a front surface of the substantially vertically extending body; a source tray assembly for holding a supply of print media, the source tray assembly provided against a back surface of the substantially vertically extending body; and a media collector arranged beneath the overhanging print engine, the media collector having a media collection surface defined from the front surface of the substantially vertically extending body, and one or more guide ribs provided on the media collection surface each terminating in a foot portion projecting from the front surface to catch sheets falling from an outlet of the overhanging print engine.

1 . A printer having a substantially vertical form factor, the printer comprising:
 a base for supporting the printer;   a substantially vertically extending body extending from the base;   a print engine for printing an image onto print media, the print engine supported at a top of the substantially vertically extending body and overhanging a front surface of the substantially vertically extending body;   a source tray assembly for holding a supply of print media, the source tray assembly provided against a back surface of the substantially vertically extending body; and   a media collector arranged beneath the overhanging print engine, the media collector having a media collection surface defined from the front surface of the substantially vertically extending body, and one or more guide ribs provided on the media collection surface each terminating in a foot portion projecting from the front surface to catch sheets falling from an outlet of the overhanging print engine.   
     
     
         2 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the print engine comprises a pagewidth inkjet printhead. 
     
     
         3 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the source tray assembly is inclined to the vertical by an angle of about 15° to 20°. 
     
     
         4 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the media collector is inclined to the vertical by an angle of about 10° to 15°. 
     
     
         5 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the source tray assembly comprises an input tray hingedly received by a receiving portion of the substantially vertically extending body formed on the back surface. 
     
     
         6 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the print engine comprises a media transport system for transporting media from the source tray assembly to the media collector via the print engine. 
     
     
         7 . A printer according to  claim 6 , further comprising a head unit hingedly engaged with the substantially vertically extending body so as to cover the print engine and media transport system. 
     
     
         8 . A printer according to  claim 7 , wherein the head unit comprises a user interface via which a user of the printer controls an operation of the printer. 
     
     
         9 . A printer according to  claim 8 , wherein the user interface comprises a touch screen for displaying information pertaining to the operation of the printer and allowing said user to control said operation by touching predefined areas of the screen. 
     
     
         10 . A printer according to  claim 9 , wherein the base comprises:
 power connectors for connection to an external power source for supply of power to the media transport system, the print engine and the user interface; and   data connectors for connection to an external data source for supply of data to the print engine and the user interface.   
     
     
         11 . A printer according to  claim 7 , wherein the head unit comprises a manual feeding slot located above the position of the print engine for manual feeding of media to the print engine. 
     
     
         12 . A printer according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a printhead incorporated in the print engine for printing on said media; and   a transport device for transporting the media through a delivery path from the media supply to the media collector via the printhead, wherein   the print media delivery path passes through an angle of at least 140°.   
     
     
         13 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the collection surface is arranged to impart a lateral curvature to the collected print media orthogonal to the feed direction of the media. 
     
     
         14 . A printer according to  claim 1 , further comprising a system for indicating a state of the printer, the system including:
 a light source arranged to emit light of a plurality of colours;   a light transmitting channel extending along a surface of the printer and arranged so as to transmit light from the light source and emit said light along a length of the channel; and   a controller arranged to control the light source in response to a detected operational state of the printer, so that the light transmitting channel emits predefined different colours to indicate predefined different states of the printer.   
     
     
         16 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the source tray assembly, print engine, and media collector define an inverted U-shaped media feed path along which the print media is fed, the print engine substantially defining an apex of the inverted U-shaped media feed path. 
     
     
         17 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the source tray assembly comprises a picker assembly provided at a top thereof, the picker assembly for feeding a sheet of print media upwards towards the print engine. 
     
     
         18 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the source tray assembly holds the supply of print media in an inclined vertical orientation. 
     
     
         19 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the media collector holds collected print media in an inclined vertical orientation. 
     
     
         20 . A printer according to  claim 1 , wherein the source tray assembly and the media collector are both inclined to the vertical.