JP7619648B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printer that prints on long paper such as roll paper, and in particular to a printer that has a presenter function that loops the paper and holds it inside the device until it is cut, and ejects the cut paper outside the device.

In printers that print and issue receipts, tickets, etc., if the recipient forcibly pulls out the piece of paper that is ejected from the outlet during printing, or blocks the outlet and prevents the paper from being ejected, this can cause poor printing or paper jams. To prevent this from happening, printers are available that have a presenter function that temporarily stores the paper inside the device until printing and cutting are complete, and exposes the leading edge of the paper from the outlet after cutting is complete.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a method in which a loop-forming space is provided below the paper transport path, and while the paper is prevented from being discharged from the discharge outlet, a downward loop is temporarily stored in the loop-forming space below the printed paper, and after printing and cutting of the paper is completed, the paper is fed out from the discharge outlet, and if the paper is not received and remains at the discharge outlet, it is collected.

Patent Document 2 also describes a presenter and a printer system using the presenter, which includes a discharge path (first path) having a discharge section (first paper discharge section) that discharges paper, a recovery path (second path) having a recovery section (second paper discharge section) different from the discharge section, an insertion section (paper input section) that is common to both the discharge path and the recovery path, and a transport mechanism that transports paper along the discharge path and the recovery path. The transport mechanism includes a transport belt that is laid between the insertion section, the discharge section, and the recovery section to form the discharge path and the recovery path, and a drive device that switches and drives the transport belt between a first direction from the recovery section toward the discharge section via the insertion section and a second direction from the discharge section toward the recovery section via the insertion section. When the transport belt is driven in the first direction, it draws paper inserted in the insertion section from the insertion section into the discharge path and transports it to the discharge section, and when it is driven in the second direction, it draws paper inserted in the insertion section from the insertion section into the recovery path and transports it to the recovery section. The paper is sorted in the insertion section by changing the driving direction of the transport belt.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-273260 JP 2014-12565 A

During print transport, the transport mechanism clamps the leading edge of the paper, forming a downward loop of the paper inside the presenter section. The presenter section's transport rollers are then rotated forward to eject the paper from the outlet, or the transport rollers are rotated in reverse to collect the paper at the outlet.

However, in conventional presenter units that use a transport roller to perform the above-mentioned paper discharge and recovery operations, there were cases where the paper discharge operation was not performed correctly when the transport roller was rotated forward to forcibly discharge the paper. Also, when the transport roller was rotated in the reverse direction to recover the paper, the paper would not fall due to the narrow area in which the loop was formed and the effects of static electricity, etc., and the paper could not be discharged from the recovery port.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a printer that can prevent malfunctions when discharging and collecting paper.

In order to solve the above problem, the printer according to the present invention includes a printer unit that prints and sends out paper, and a presenter unit that further transports the paper sent out from the printer unit and feeds it out from an outlet, and pulls it back and collects it if the paper that has been fed out is not received. The presenter unit is provided below the discharge path from the printer unit to the outlet, and has a temporary holding unit that includes a paper storage space for forming a downward loop of the paper, a recovery port that is provided at the bottom of the temporary holding unit and discharges the paper that has been pulled back from the outlet, and a paper transport unit that transports the paper to the outlet or the recovery port. The paper transport unit includes a transport roller provided in the discharge path, a tension roller that is arranged opposite the transport roller across the discharge path, and a transport belt that assists the transport operation by the transport roller, and the transport belt is adjacent to the discharge path and the temporary holding unit, and is not in contact with the tension roller.

According to the present invention, the paper discharge and recovery can be promoted by using the conveyor belt without interfering with the paper discharge and recovery operations by the conveyor roller, thereby improving the reliability of the paper discharge operation from the discharge port and the recovery operation of the paper whose head has been fed from the discharge port.

It is preferable that one end of the conveyor belt contacts the discharge path together with the conveyor roller, the other end of the conveyor belt is located near the recovery port, and the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt extends in the depth direction of the temporary storage section. This allows the conveyor belt to assist both the paper discharge operation and the recovery operation by the conveyor roller, and a small and efficient conveyor mechanism equipped with a conveyor belt can be realized.

The paper transport section includes a first pulley supported on the rotation shaft of the transport roller and around which one end of the transport belt is wound, and a second pulley arranged near the recovery port and around which the other end of the transport belt is wound, and it is preferable that the diameter of the first pulley is smaller than the diameter of the transport roller and the diameter of the second pulley is smaller than the diameter of the first pulley. This can reduce the effect of the transport belt impeding the discharge and recovery operations by the transport roller, and can increase the reliability of the paper discharge and recovery operations.

It is preferable that the conveyor belt and the tension roller are disposed at the center of the width of the discharge path, and the conveyor belt is disposed opposite the tension roller across the discharge path. This allows the conveyor belt to assist both the paper discharge operation and the paper recovery operation performed by the conveyor roller, and a small and efficient conveying mechanism equipped with the conveyor belt can be realized.

It is preferable that the conveying surface of the conveyor belt facing the temporary storage section is inclined downward and away from the temporary storage section. This creates a space that widens toward the bottom of the temporary storage section, allowing a downward loop of paper to be stably formed within the temporary storage section.

The paper transport section includes a drive mechanism that drives the transport roller, and the drive mechanism preferably includes a clutch gear that releases the transmission of the drive force to the transport roller when the load resistance force received when rotating the transport roller to discharge the paper from the discharge outlet exceeds a reference level. This makes it possible to prevent paper jams that occur when the paper is forcibly sent out when the discharge outlet is blocked and the paper cannot be discharged.

It is preferable that the paper transport section further includes a rotation detection sensor that detects the rotation of the transport roller, and when it detects that the transport roller is rotating as a result of the paper being pulled after being headed out of the discharge outlet, it resumes the rotational drive of the transport roller to promote the discharge of the paper. This allows the paper to be discharged without damaging the paper or the transport mechanism, and improves the reliability of the paper discharge and collection operations.

The printer unit includes a roll paper storage unit that stores roll paper, a print head that prints on paper continuously supplied from the roll paper, a platen roller that sends the paper printed by the print head to the presenter unit, and a cutting unit that cuts the printed paper. The presenter unit further includes a first detection sensor provided upstream of the discharge path from the transport roller, and when the first detection sensor detects that the leading end of the paper has reached just before the transport roller, the presenter unit sends the paper to a position where the paper cannot be fed out and holds the paper between the transport roller and the tension roller, and then further prints the paper by the printer unit to form a downward loop of the paper in the temporary holding unit, and after the printer unit finishes printing and cuts the paper, it preferably drives the transport roller to feed the paper out from the discharge port. With this configuration, a printer with a presenter function that temporarily holds the discharge of the paper until printing on the paper is completed can be provided.

If the paper that has been fed from the discharge port is not received within a certain period of time, the presenter unit preferably reverses the conveying roller and the conveying belt to send the leading edge of the paper to the temporary holding section, and then discharges the paper from the recovery port. In this way, the present invention can provide a printer that is capable of recovering paper.

The present invention provides a printer that can prevent malfunctions when discharging and collecting paper.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a paper transport section of the presenter section. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the printer according to this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the paper transport section of the presenter section.

The following describes in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 is a schematic side cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 according to this embodiment is a printer with a presenter function, and includes a printer unit 10 that prints receipts and the like, and a presenter unit 20 that receives paper printed by the printer unit 10 and transports it to the discharge port 3 or the recovery port 4. The printer unit 10 and the presenter unit 20 are provided inside the printer housing 2, and perform printing operations and paper discharge/recovery operations upon receiving instructions from a control unit (not shown).

The printer unit 10 is, for example, a thermal printer, and includes a roll paper storage unit 11 that stores roll paper R that continuously supplies paper P such as thermal paper, a printing unit 12 that prints information such as characters and figures on the paper P sent out from the roll paper R, and a cutting unit 15 that cuts the printed paper P. The printing unit 12 includes a print head 13 that faces the thermal surface of the paper, a platen roller 14 that abuts against the surface of the paper opposite the thermal surface to send out the paper, and a drive motor (not shown) that drives the platen roller 14. The printing unit 12 performs a printing operation according to instructions from the control unit. The cutting unit 15 includes a fixed blade 15a, a movable blade 15b that faces the fixed blade 15a across the paper transport path, and a movable blade drive mechanism 15c that drives the movable blade 15b forward and backward. The cutting unit 15 performs a cutting operation of the paper P according to instructions from the control unit.

Paper P supplied from the roll paper R is printed by the print head 13, then sent out by the platen roller 14 and discharged from the paper discharge port 16 of the printer unit 10. As shown in the figure, the paper discharge port 16 of the printer unit 10 is connected to the paper inlet port of the presenter unit 20, and the paper P discharged from the printer unit 10 is fed into the presenter unit 20. When an instruction to cut the paper is given by the control unit, the printer unit 10 temporarily suspends the paper feed operation by the platen roller 14, and the cutting unit 15 cuts the paper. The cut paper P is then transported by the transport mechanism on the presenter unit 20 side.

The presenter unit 20 is a device that transports the paper P discharged by the printer unit 10 to the discharge port 3 or the recovery port 4. The presenter unit 20 includes a temporary storage unit 21 that forms a temporary storage space for the received paper P, and a paper transport unit 22 that transports the paper P along the discharge path 23 or the recovery path 24.

The temporary holding section 21 is a paper storage space that extends below the discharge path 23 that runs from the paper discharge outlet 16 of the printer section 10 to the discharge outlet 3, and also serves as a recovery path 24 that runs from the discharge path 23 to the recovery port 4. The recovery port 4 is provided at the bottom of the temporary holding section 21, and paper P discharged from the recovery port 4 is sent to a paper recovery container (not shown) that is located below the presenter section 20.

The paper transport section 22 includes a transport roller 25 provided adjacent to the discharge path 23 near the discharge opening 3, a tension roller 26 arranged opposite the transport roller 25 across the discharge path 23, a transport belt 27 that rotates together with the transport roller 25 to assist the transport operation by the transport roller 25, and a drive mechanism (not shown) that includes a drive motor that drives the transport roller 25.

The transport roller 25 is supported by a rotating shaft 25x disposed below the discharge path 23, and an upper end of the transport roller 25 is in contact with the discharge path 23. The tension roller 26 is supported by a rotating shaft 26x disposed above the discharge path 23, and a lower end of the tension roller 26 is in contact with the discharge path 23. While the transport roller 25 is a drive roller, the tension roller 26 is a driven roller that rotates together with the transport roller 25, and is pressed against the transport roller 25 by pinch pressure.

The transport roller 25 is connected to the drive motor via a rotation transmission mechanism (paper discharge sliding mechanism) that includes a clutch gear, and the rotational force from the drive motor is transmitted to the transport roller 25 via the clutch gear. If a load resistance force exceeding a reference level is applied when the transport roller 25 is driven, the clutch gear releases the transmission of the drive force and the rotational force is not transmitted to the transport roller 25, preventing paper jams caused by the transport roller 25 forcibly transporting the paper P.

The conveyor belt 27 is an endless belt that is stretched between a first pulley 29a (drive pulley) supported on the rotating shaft 25x of the conveyor roller 25 and a second pulley 29b (driven pulley) disposed near the recovery port 4. Therefore, one end of the conveyor belt 27 contacts the discharge path 23 together with the conveyor roller 25, and the other end of the conveyor belt 27 is located near the recovery port 4. The conveyor belt 27 is adjacent to the discharge path 23 and the temporary storage section 21, and its longitudinal direction extends in the depth direction of the temporary storage section 21 formed below the discharge path 23. As a result, the conveyor belt 27 sends the paper P along the recovery path 24 to the recovery port 4, and also serves as a side wall that divides the temporary storage section 21.

The conveying surface of the conveyor belt 27 facing the temporary holding section 21 is preferably inclined downward, away from the temporary holding section 21. This forms a space whose width increases toward the bottom of the temporary holding section 21, so that a downward loop of the paper P can be stably formed within the temporary holding section 21. To configure the temporary holding section 21 in this way, it is preferable that the diameter of the second pulley 29b is smaller than the diameter of the first pulley 29a.

The presenter unit 20 is provided with multiple detection sensors that detect the presence or absence of paper P. The first detection sensor 31 is disposed on the discharge path 23, detects whether paper is present on the discharge path 23, and transmits a paper detection signal. The second detection sensor 32 is disposed near the temporary holding unit 21 (on the recovery path 24), detects whether paper is present in the temporary holding unit 21, and transmits a paper detection signal. The rotation detection sensor 33 is a rotary encoder that detects the number of rotations of the transport roller 25, and can detect whether the transport roller 25 is rotating or not.

The control unit is connected to the drive motor of the presenter unit 20, the first detection sensor 31, the second detection sensor 32, and the rotation detection sensor 33. The control unit can measure the paper feed amount by acquiring, for example, the number of rotations of the transport roller 25. The control unit is configured to drive the drive motor in an appropriate rotation direction and rotation speed to transport the paper P.

Figure 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the paper transport section 22 of the presenter section 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the paper transport section 22 includes a transport roller 25 disposed below the discharge path 23, a tension roller 26 disposed above the discharge path 23, and a transport belt 27 extending downward from the installation position of the transport roller 25. The transport roller 25 has a pair of main rollers 25a, 25b supported on a rotating shaft 25x, and a first pulley 29a is provided between the left main roller 25a and the right main roller 25b, and the pair of main rollers 25a, 25b and the first pulley 29a are integrally formed as a single roller member.

The transport roller 25 is disposed at the center of the width of the discharge path 23, and a pair of transport auxiliary rollers 28a, 28b are provided on both sides of the transport roller 25. The pair of transport auxiliary rollers 28a, 28b have the same shape and size, and are disposed at appropriate positions in the width direction of the discharge path 23 so that the paper P can be sent out straight. The diameter of the transport auxiliary rollers 28a, 28b is preferably the same as that of the transport roller 25, and the width of the transport auxiliary rollers 28a, 28b is preferably narrower than that of the transport roller 25. As shown in the figure, the transport auxiliary rollers 28a, 28b are also integrated with the transport roller 25 to form a single roller member, and are fixed to the rotation shaft 25x.

The tension roller 26 is also disposed at the center of the discharge path 23 in the width direction and is pressed against the outer circumferential surface of the transport roller 25 (a pair of main rollers 25a, 25b). While the transport roller 25 is fixed to the rotating shaft 25x and rotates together with the rotating shaft 25x, the tension roller 26 is simply supported rotatably on the rotating shaft 26x and is configured to rotate together with the transport roller 25.

The conveying belt 27 is disposed between a pair of main rollers 25a, 25b that constitute the conveying roller 25. That is, the conveying belt 27 is disposed at the center of the width of the discharge path 23, and one end of the conveying belt 27 is wound around a first pulley 29a provided between the pair of main rollers 25a, 25b. The other end of the conveying belt 27 is wound around a second pulley 29b that is disposed below the conveying roller 25. Therefore, the conveying belt 27 extends downward from the vicinity of the discharge path 23. The second pulley 29b is a driven pulley that is rotatably supported on a rotating shaft 29x.

The diameter of the first pulley 29a around which one end of the conveyor belt 27 is wound is smaller than the diameter of the pair of main rollers 25a, 25b that make up the conveyor roller 25. Therefore, the height of the upper end surface of the conveyor belt 27 that faces the discharge path 23 is lower than the height of the upper end surfaces of the pair of main rollers 25a, 25b, and the conveyor belt 27 is not in contact with the tension roller 26. In other words, since the conveyor belt 27 is separated from the tension roller 26, the paper P is not sandwiched between the conveyor belt 27 and the tension roller 26.

The first pulley 29a is formed integrally with the pair of main rollers 25a, 25b. In order to prevent the conveyor belt 27 from shifting relative to the first pulley 29a, it is desirable to provide a step on both sides of the outer peripheral surface of the first pulley 29a in the width direction. By having the pair of main rollers 25a, 25b also serve as such steps, it is possible to realize a conveyor roller 25 equipped with a pulley function that stably supports the conveyor belt 27.

As shown in the figure, the upper end of the transport roller 25 faces the lower end of the tension roller 26 across the discharge path 23, so that the paper P passing through the discharge path 23 is clamped between the transport roller 25 and the tension roller 26. In contrast, since the paper P is not clamped by the transport belt 27, the leading end of the paper P that has been pulled from the discharge outlet 3 is pulled, and the transport roller 25 is detected as having rotated together with the paper P. This makes it possible to prevent the transport roller 25 from rotating together with the paper P when the transport roller 25 is rotated to forcibly discharge the paper P from the discharge outlet 3 by driving the transport roller 25 to rotate, as the transport belt 27 acts as a resistance. In other words, the transport roller 25 can assist the transport of the paper P by the transport roller 25 without impeding the discharge promotion operation of the paper P, and the transport capacity of the paper P in the discharge direction or recovery direction can be increased.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 according to this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 10.

The printer unit 10 starts printing on paper in response to instructions from the control unit. The printed paper is sent out sequentially by the platen roller 14 and ejected from the printer unit 10.

The leading edge of the paper P sent into the presenter section 20 passes through the discharge path 23 formed above the temporary holding section 21 and reaches a position just before the transport rollers 25, as shown in FIG. 3. At this time, the transport belt 27 rotates together with the transport rollers 25, so that the paper P can be transported along the rotation direction of the transport belt 27, and the leading edge of the paper P can be reliably transported along the discharge path 23. In other words, it is possible to prevent the leading edge of the paper P from being transported erroneously along the recovery path 24.

After that, when the first detection sensor 31 detects that the leading edge of the paper P has reached the vicinity of the transport roller 25, the transport roller 25 rotates a predetermined amount and then pauses. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the leading edge of the paper P is pulled in and clamped between the transport roller 25 and the tension roller 26, and the leading edge of the paper P stops just before it exits the discharge port 3.

As the printing operation by the printer unit 10 continues, the length of the paper P fed into the presenter unit 20 becomes even longer. However, because the leading end of the paper P is stopped from being fed out by the transport rollers 25, as shown in FIG. 5, the long paper P that has nowhere to go bends between the printer unit 10 and the transport rollers 25, loops downward, and is temporarily stored in the temporary storage unit 21.

When the printing operation by the printer unit 10 and the operation of feeding the paper P are completed, the paper P is cut by the cutting unit 15 as shown in FIG. 6. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotation of the transport roller 25 is resumed and the leading edge of the paper P is edged out from the discharge opening 3. That is, the transport roller 25 rotates a certain amount from the stopping position of the paper P and then stops, so that the leading edge of the paper P protrudes slightly from the discharge opening 3. This allows the recipient to pull out the paper P from the discharge opening 3 and collect it.

If the paper P is edged from the discharge port 3 during printing or before cutting, it may cause printing defects or paper jams if the recipient pulls it out forcefully or blocks the discharge port 3, preventing the paper from being discharged. However, such problems can be avoided if the paper P is edged after the printing operation is completed and the paper P is cut.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the recipient pulls on the leading edge of the paper P that has been ejected from the ejection port 3, the transport roller 25 rotates due to the pull of the paper P, and the rotation detection sensor 33 detects this rotation, thereby detecting that the paper P has been pulled. This detection serves as a trigger to immediately start driving the transport roller 25 in the forward direction, facilitating the ejection of the paper P.

If the conveyor belt 27 were to clamp the paper P between itself and the tension roller 26, as with the conveyor roller 25, the conveyor roller 25 would be less likely to move smoothly when the paper P was pulled, and the accuracy of detecting that the paper P had been pulled would be reduced. However, in this embodiment, the upper end of the conveyor belt 27 is sufficiently spaced away from the tension roller 26, and the paper P is not clamped between the conveyor belt 27 and the tension roller 26. This allows the conveyor roller 25 to move smoothly in accordance with the movement of the paper P, and makes it possible to reliably detect that the paper P has been pulled.

As shown in FIG. 9, if the paper P is forcibly discharged and the discharge port 3 is blocked, the load resistance against the forward rotation of the transport roller 25 becomes very large, causing the clutch gear between the transport roller 25 and its drive motor to slip and stop the rotation of the transport roller 25. This makes it possible to prevent paper jams near the discharge port 3.

The paper P is maintained in the leading edge state (see FIG. 7) for a certain period of time, but if the recipient does not pull out the paper for a certain period of time, the paper P is collected into the device. As shown in FIG. 10, when collecting the paper, the transport roller 25 rotates (reverses) in the opposite direction to the paper discharge direction to collect the paper P. When the transport roller 25 reverses, the paper P on the discharge path 23 is sent back inside the device and sent to the temporary storage section 21. At this time, the transport belt 27 also rotates together with the transport roller 25, so that the leading edge of the paper P is smoothly sent below the temporary storage section 21 and discharged from the collection port 4 provided at the bottom of the temporary storage section 21.

As described above, the printer 1 according to this embodiment is equipped with a conveyor belt 27 in which the presenter unit 20 cooperates with the conveyor roller 25 to assist the conveying operation by the conveyor roller 25, and the conveyor belt 27 is adjacent to the discharge path 23 and the temporary holding unit 21, so that the paper P can be smoothly conveyed not only in the discharge direction but also in the recovery direction. In addition, the conveyor roller 25 and the conveyor belt 27 serve as a conveying mechanism in the discharge direction and a conveying mechanism in the recovery direction, so that a small and efficient conveying mechanism capable of conveying the paper P in two directions can be realized. Furthermore, because the conveyor belt 27 is not in contact with the tension roller 26, the discharge promotion operation by the conveyor roller 25 can be smoothly performed when the paper P is pulled out from the discharge opening 3.

Figure 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing another configuration of the paper transport section 22 of the presenter section 20.

As shown in FIG. 11, the main rollers 25a, 25b, the auxiliary transport rollers 28a, 28b, and the first pulley 29a around which one end of the transport belt 27 is wound may be independently configured as separate roller members, and each may be individually fixed to the rotating shaft 25x. In addition, the number of main rollers constituting the transport roller 25 is not limited to two, and may be four or more. Furthermore, the number of auxiliary transport rollers is not particularly limited. Even with such a configuration, the same effects as those of the above embodiment can be achieved.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Printer 2 Printer housing 3 Discharge outlet 4 Recovery outlet 10 Printer section 11 Roll paper storage section 12 Printing section 13 Print head 14 Platen roller 15 Cutting section 15a Fixed blade 15b Movable blade 15c Movable blade drive mechanism 16 Paper discharge outlet 20 Presenter section 21 Temporary storage section 22 Paper transport section 23 Discharge path 24 Recovery path 25 Transport rollers 25a, 25b Main roller 25x Transport roller rotation shaft 26 Tension roller 26x Tension roller rotation shaft 27 Transport belt 28a, 28b Transport auxiliary roller 29a First pulley 29b Second pulley 29x Second pulley rotation shaft 33 Rotation detection sensor P Paper R Roll paper

Claims (9)

A printer unit that prints and sends out paper;
a presenter unit which further conveys the paper sent out from the printer unit and ejects the paper from an ejection port, and which pulls back and collects the paper when the paper is not received;
The presenter unit includes:
a temporary holding section provided below a discharge path extending from the printer section to the discharge outlet and including a paper storage space for forming a downward loop of the paper;
a recovery port provided at a bottom of the temporary storage section and configured to discharge the paper that has been pulled back from the discharge port;
a paper transport unit that transports the paper to the discharge outlet or the recovery outlet,
The paper transport unit includes:
A conveying roller provided in the discharge path;
a tension roller disposed opposite the conveying roller across the discharge path;
a conveyor belt that assists the conveying operation of the conveyor roller,
the conveyor belt is adjacent to the discharge path and the temporary storage section and is not in contact with the tension roller;
The printer is characterized in that the conveyor belt contacts the paper in the temporary storage section to convey the paper . one end of the conveyor belt faces the discharge path together with the conveyor roller,
the other end of the conveyor belt is located near the recovery port,
The printer according to claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal direction of the transport belt extends in a depth direction of the temporary storage section. The paper transport unit includes:
a first pulley supported on a rotation shaft of the conveying roller and around which the one end of the conveying belt is wound;
a second pulley disposed near the recovery port and around which the other end of the conveyor belt is wound;
The diameter of the first pulley is smaller than the diameter of the conveying roller,
The printer of claim 2 , wherein the second pulley has a smaller diameter than the first pulley. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the conveyor belt and the tension roller are disposed at the center of the width of the discharge path, and the conveyor belt is disposed opposite the tension roller across the discharge path. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the conveying surface of the conveying belt facing the temporary storage section is inclined downward in a direction away from the temporary storage section. the paper transport unit includes a drive mechanism that drives the transport roller;
2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism includes a clutch gear that releases the transmission of drive force to the transport roller when a load resistance force received when rotating the transport roller to discharge the paper from the discharge opening exceeds a reference level. the paper transport unit further includes a rotation detection sensor that detects rotation of the transport roller;
2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a conveying roller that is adapted to convey the paper to a paper feed port, the conveying roller being rotated when the conveying roller is detected to be rotated by the paper feed port. the printer unit includes a roll paper storage unit that stores roll paper, a print head that prints on paper continuously supplied from the roll paper, a platen roller that sends the paper printed by the print head to the presenter unit, and a cutting unit that cuts the printed paper;
the presenter unit further includes a first detection sensor provided upstream of the conveyance roller in the discharge path,
when the first detection sensor detects that the leading end of the paper has reached just before the transport roller, the presenter unit sends out the paper to a position where the paper cannot be fed out, so that the paper is held between the transport roller and the tension roller, and then causes the printer unit to further print on the paper, forming a downward loop of the paper in the temporary holding unit;
2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a conveying roller that drives the paper to eject the paper from the ejection opening after the paper is cut upon completion of printing by the printer unit. The printer according to claim 1, wherein if the paper fed from the discharge port is not received within a certain period of time, the presenter unit reverses the conveying rollers and the conveying belt to send the leading end of the paper to the temporary holding unit, and then discharges the paper from the recovery port.

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