JPS6341815B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a paper feeding device in a printer, particularly an automatic paper feeding mechanism that loads cut media stored in a cassette and supplies the media in the cassette one by one to the printer. More specifically, regarding the paper feeding device that has the printer, after the medium is fed from above or behind the printer device, the printing process is performed while it is wound around the print platen, the medium is ejected from the top or back again. The present invention relates to a paper feeding device that can be particularly effectively implemented in a printer having a media path having a large diameter.

An example of the conventional structure of a printer with an automatic paper feed mechanism having such a media path is shown in FIG.
In the figure, 1 is a platen, 2 is a print head, 3 and 4 are medium guide rollers, 5 is a stacker that stores the ejected cut media, and 6 and 7 are dischargers that hold the cut media and send it out to the stacker 5. A roller, 8 is a medium guide plate, 9 is a cassette loading section connected to the medium guide plate 8, 10 is a cassette loaded in this cassette loading section 9, and 11 is pressed against the upper surface of the cut medium stored in the cassette 10. It is a pick crawler that has the function of feeding cut media one by one to the printer.In conventional devices, the friction feeding means such as the pick crawler 11 is usually mounted on the frame of the paper feeding device, but it is not attached to the cassette. Some are built into the paper feeder and are driven from the main body of the paper feeder. 12,1
3 is a pulley fixed to the platen 1 and the discharge roller 6, 14 is a pulley connected to the pick roller 11 via a clutch (not shown), 15 is a timing belt wound between the pulleys 12, 13, and 14, 16 is a sensor for detecting the supply of medium. The paper sheets in the loaded cassette 10 are sent out one by one to the platen 1 by the frictional driving force of the pick roller 11, and after the printing process is performed while being wound around the platen 1, the paper sheets are transferred to the discharge roller. It is held between 6 and 7, sent upward, and discharged into the stacker 5. The medium guide rollers 3 and 4 are
The sensor 16 is provided to accurately align the media along the platen 1, and the sensor 16 detects the leading or trailing edge of the media and generates a source signal to indicate when to start or stop the program-controlled operation. A clutch (not shown) interposed between the pick roller 11 and the pulley 14 is provided because it is necessary to allow the pick roller 11 to freely rotate during printing operation in order to prevent double feed.

Single sheet media and continuous sheet media are generally widely used in computer printers, but when attempting to process continuous sheet media in conventional printers having the above-mentioned mechanism, the stacker 5, Ejection rollers 6, 7, medium guide plate 8, pick roller 11,
This is accomplished by removing the entire upper frame of the printer device on which the sensor 16 and the like are mounted, and replacing it with a tractor unit that can be mounted in place of the upper frame. However, the attachment and detachment of the upper frame is
Since a large number of devices are attached to the upper frame, the weight is large, and the task of connecting and disconnecting signal lines to the clutch and sensor 16 is extremely troublesome for the operator.

The object of the present invention is to provide a paper feeding device that can reduce the burden on the operator and easily convert between cut media and continuous media. A friction feeding means, such as a pick roller 11, which serves to feed the cut media one by one to the printer, is built into the cassette itself that stores the cut media, and a rotational force transmission means that can freely connect and detach the friction feeding means is provided. In a paper feeding device equipped with a cut sheet feeding structure that is driven from the main body of the paper feeding device through The cassette for continuous paper is installed in the cassette loading section of the main body of the apparatus in place of the cassette for supplying single-sheet media, and the rotational force transmission means is driven in synchronization with the platen, thereby supplying continuous paper. The system is designed to perform the transfer.

If the stacker 5 for discharging cut media is provided close to the platen, this stacker 5 will block the path of the continuous media when processing continuous media. A slit may be provided in the relevant portion, or the stacker 5 may be removed or evacuated. In this way, single sheet media and continuous sheet media can be exchanged by simply exchanging the regular cassette and the continuous sheet cassette, and if necessary, removing or retracting the stacker, reducing the burden on the operator. At the same time, the time required for media conversion is also significantly reduced. Furthermore, since a friction feeding means such as the pick roller 11 is attached to the cassette itself, it is possible to accurately set the contact position of the pick roller and its pressure in advance according to the size and quality of the media used. This reduces the burden on the operator when replacing media, and enables more accurate automatic paper feeding of cut media.

Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given based on the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 5.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are side views showing the configuration during automatic processing of single-sheet media and processing of continuous media, respectively, and in the figures, members having the same structure and function as those in FIG. 1 are shown. are given the same numbers as in FIG. 5a is a retractably mounted stacker; 10a is a cassette containing a pick crawler 11a; 17 is a gear fixed to the shaft of the pick crawler 11a; 18 is a gear supported on the frame and exposed to the cassette loading section 9; 19 is a gear meshing with this gear 18, 20 is a pulley connected to gear 19 via a clutch (not shown), and 15a
is a timing belt wound between pulleys 12, 13, and 20, and gear 18 is connected to cassette 10a.
It is provided at a position where it meshes with a gear 17 supported on the cassette 10a when the cassette is loaded into the cassette loading section 9. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of this cassette 10a, and the gear 18 meshing with the gear 17 is shown in imaginary lines. Note that 29 in FIG. 2 is a slit formed in the stacker 5a, and is provided so that when it is desired to process a cut medium by hand, the medium can be fed from this slit 29 to the platen 1. It is something that was given.

Reference numeral 21 in FIG. 3 is a continuous book cassette loaded in the cassette loading section 9 in place of the cassette 10a, and the structure of this continuous book cassette 21 is clearly shown in FIG. Here, reference numeral 22 denotes a tractor, which is constructed by a drive shaft 23 and a driven shaft 24 which are supported on the side wall of the continuous book cassette 21, and a gear 25 corresponding to the gear 17 of the cassette 10a is fixed to the drive shaft 23. It is set up. 26 is an upper presser plate, 27 is a lower presser plate, and 28 is a continuous book guide formed by extending the bottom part.

In the state shown in FIG. 3 in which the continuous paper cassette 21 configured as described above is loaded into the cassette loading section 9 and the stacker 5a is retracted, the continuous paper medium is loaded onto the tractor 22 from the rear of the printer device (right side in the figure). The paper is supplied to the platen 1 through the lower surface of the tractor 22 , is wound around the platen, is printed, and is then discharged through the upper surface of the tractor 22 . The driving force to the tractor 22 is supplied by the gear 18 which meshes with the gear 25 when the continuous book cassette 21 is loaded, as in the case of the pick roller 11a. Furthermore, Statsuka 5
As can be understood from FIG. 3, if the stacker 5a is provided at a sufficient distance from the platen 1, the passage of the continuous medium can be secured even if the stacker 5a is fixedly provided.

Note that if the paper feed device is configured as a unit that can be attached to or detached from the main body frame of the printer, it should be attached to the axis of the platen 1 so that the belt 15a does not have to be attached or detached when attaching or detaching the paper feed device. An intermediate shaft equipped with a gear that meshes with the fixed gear is provided on the frame on the paper feeder side, and a timing belt is wound around the pulley fixed to the intermediate shaft and the pulley attached to the gear 18 via a clutch. It is configured to drive.

As can be fully understood from the description of the above embodiments, according to the paper feeding device of the present invention, the cassette for supplying cut media can be replaced with a cassette for continuous sheets, and if necessary, the stacker can be removed or evacuated. Since it is possible to convert the medium only by performing the work of converting the medium, the burden on the operator when converting the medium can be greatly reduced, and the remarkable effect of being able to perform the medium conversion work in an extremely short time can be obtained. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of the structure of a conventional paper feeding device, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are views showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the state during processing of continuous paper, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cassette for single sheets, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cassette for continuous paper. In the figure, 1 is a platen, 2 is a print head, 9 is a cassette loading section, 10a is a cassette, 11a is a pick roller, 12, 13 are pulleys, 15a is a timing belt, 17, 18, 19 are gears, 20 is a pulley, 21 is a continuous book cassette, 22 is a tractor,
23 is a tractor drive shaft, and 25 is a gear.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A cassette 10 equipped with a friction feeding means 11a
A cut medium is stored in the cassette 10a and the friction feeding means 1 is transferred to the friction feeding means 1 via a removable rotational force transmitting means 18 provided between the cassette 10a and the cassette loading section 9 of the main body of the apparatus.
1a from the main body side to supply the media in the cassette 10a one by one to the printer, and a continuous feed device equipped with a tractor 22 driven via the rotational force transmission means 18. A cassette 21 is provided separately, and this cassette for continuous feeding is loaded into the cassette loading section 9 of the main body of the apparatus in place of the cassette 10a for supplying cut media. A clutch is interposed in the drive mechanism to release the driving force to the transmission means, which loads the continuous book cassette 21 into the cassette loading section 9 and synchronizes the rotational force transmission means 18 with the platen 1. A paper feeding device for a printer, characterized in that it feeds continuous media by being driven.