JPH0224676B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a method for storing sheet paper stacked and stored in a paper feed stacker on a platen of a printer or other printing device.
This invention relates to an automatic paper feeder for a printing device that feeds sheets one by one and stores the paper after printing on a platen in a paper discharge stacker.

[Prior Art] Generally, this type of device has a platen of a printing device.
A paper feed stacker is arranged on the paper input side, a paper discharge stacker is arranged on the paper exit side, and a guide for forming a paper path is provided between each stacker and the platen (see Japanese Utility Model Application No. 58-89347).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, in the above device, when printing on a number of sheets that do not require automatic feeding from the paper feed stacker or on sheets of a size that cannot be automatically fed, the paper feed stacker is In addition to the paper path from the stacker, it is necessary to provide a manual paper insertion port from outside the device to the platen.

The present invention has been made to solve the following disadvantages when the manual paper insertion slot is formed between the paper feed stacker on the back side of the device and the paper discharge stacker on the front side of the device.

In other words, the paper that is manually inserted from behind the paper stacker is wound around the platen and then its leading edge is guided toward the paper stacker, which has the drawback that it is difficult to correct the posture of the paper.

Normally, the paper that is manually inserted into the platen is wound around the platen in a loop shape, and the leading and trailing edges of the paper are overlapped and corrected to correct the skew of the paper, but this is not possible with the above structure, and the paper Correcting the posture requires relying on the user's intuition, which may lead to frequent printing errors such as tilted printing lines.

On the other hand, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 58-283395, Publication No. 58-
Publication No. 32937 and Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 56-21538 disclose an automatic paper feeder in which a paper feed stacker and a paper discharge stacker are both disposed on one side of a platen, and a manual paper feed mechanism is provided. This method cannot be directly applied to a register in which a paper feed stacker and a paper discharge stacker are arranged on the back side and the front side of the platen.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned points, the main object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed device for a printing device that can easily and accurately adjust the posture of manually fed paper inserted between a paper feed stacker and a paper discharge stacker. The purpose is to

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an insertion slot for manual paper feeding from the outside of the device to the platen between the paper feed stacker and the paper discharge stacker, and
A paper guide that forms a paper ejection path between the platen and the paper ejection stacker is arranged on the insertion port side so that the leading edge of the paper wrapped around the platen can overlap the rear end of the paper at the insertion port. The paper guide is characterized in that it can be freely opened and closed toward the insertion slot.

[Function] In the present invention, the paper guide is set in the open position so as to open toward the manual paper insertion slot, and then the paper is inserted from the insertion slot toward the platen, the paper is wrapped around the platen, and the paper is inserted into the insertion slot. To easily and accurately correct the posture of paper by guiding the leading edge and aligning the leading edge of the paper with the trailing edge of the paper.

If the paper guide is left in the open position, the printed paper will be ejected to the insertion slot side, while if it is returned from the open position to the closed position, the printed paper will be ejected to the paper stacker. However, in this case, it is possible to shift to the automatic paper feeding mode without removing the manually printed paper from the platen position.

[Example] The configuration will be described below in detail based on an example shown in the drawings.

The printing device indicated by the general symbol A includes a platen 1, a head carriage 2 that can reciprocate in the left and right directions along the platen 1, and a printing head 3 mounted on the carriage 2. The head carriage 2 is equipped with a shaft attached to a frame. The printer is connected to a stepping motor so as to reciprocate from side to side along the same direction, and is controlled by the motor to step to each printing position.

The platen 1 shown in the figure is composed of a rotating cylinder, which rotates by a predetermined angle around a rotating shaft 1a by a stepping motor (not shown), and feeds the paper in line with the printing by the reciprocating movement of the head. It's summery.

4 is a pinch roller pressed against the platen.

The paper feed device indicated by the overall symbol B is the paper feed stacker 5.
A paper feed means 6 such as a roller or belt that separates sheets one by one from the stacker 5, a paper discharge stacker 7, a paper discharge roller 8 that discharges the paper to this stacker 7, and a printing device from the paper feed stacker 5. It is composed of a paper feed path 9 leading to the platen 1 and a paper discharge path 10 leading from the platen 1 to a paper discharge stacker 7.

Then, the device frame 11 is attached to the printing device A, and the sheets stacked and stored in the sheet feed stacker 5 are fed one by one to the platen 1, and the sheets after printing are stored in the sheet discharge stacker 7.

Therefore, the present invention enables the user to easily set paper on the platen 1 when such a paper feeding device is not used.This will be explained with reference to the illustrated embodiment. In addition to the paper feed path 9 that leads to the paper feed stacker 5 and the paper output stacker 7, the platen 1 is
An insertion slot 12 for manual paper feeding is formed. The paper discharge path 10 guides the paper from the platen 1 to the paper discharge stacker 7. In particular, the illustrated paper ejection path 1
0 is equipped with a curved paper guide 10a that is deflected by more than 90 degrees so that the paper from the platen 1 is reversed and ejected to the paper ejection stacker 7, so that the printed paper stored in the paper ejection stacker 7 is placed in the same page. The order never goes out of order.

Of the paper guides forming the paper ejection path 10, the paper guide 10a on the insertion port 12 side is the paper guide 10a on the insertion port 12 side.
The paper ejection path 10 can be opened and closed freely to open the paper discharge path 10 toward 2, and the leading edge of the paper inserted through the insertion opening 12 can bypass the platen and overlap the trailing edge of the paper at the insertion opening 12.

In the illustrated example, the paper guide 10a is attached to the device frame 11 so that it can be opened and closed, and the paper from the platen 1 is transferred to the paper stacker 7 in the state shown in FIG. 2 (closed state) and the state shown in FIG. 3 (opened position). The paper from the platen 1 is guided to the manual paper insertion slot 12, respectively.

In the present invention, the paper discharge stacker 7 is arranged in a position where the paper from the platen 1 is stored with the paper turned upside down.
The paper feed stacker 5 may be arranged in two stages, upper and lower, almost parallel to the paper feed stacker 5.Although one paper feed stacker 5 has been described above, the paper feed stacker is arranged in two stages, upper and lower, and two different types of paper are stocked and selected. The paper may be fed from one stacker to the platen.

In short, paper feed stacker 5 and paper output stacker 7
The paper guide 10 on the insertion port 12 side of the paper guides that forms the manual paper insertion port 12 from the outside of the device to the platen 1 and constitutes the paper ejection path 10.
A can be opened and closed freely toward this insertion port 12.

To explain its operation, when paper is automatically fed from the paper feeding position, the paper feeding means 6 is activated upon receiving a paper feeding instruction signal from the printing device A. (The paper feed means 6 is connected to a drive motor or to the rotating shaft of the platen 1.) By driving the paper feed means 6, the sheets on the paper feed stacker 5 are stacked into one sheet by a corner claw (13 in the figure). The paper is separated and delivered to the paper feed path 9. This paper passes through the paper feed path 9 and hits the press contact portion between the platen 1 and the pinch roller 1a, and the paper feed means 6 is stopped by a detection signal from the illustrated sensor S.

Next, the platen 1 is rotated by a predetermined angle, the paper is wound around the platen 1, and the paper is set at the printing position.The platen 1 is intermittently rotated by a predetermined angle to advance the line when printing with the print head 3.

After printing on the platen 1, the paper is fed out sequentially from the leading edge to the paper discharge path 10. At this time, the paper guide 10a forming the paper discharge path 10 moves the paper from the platen 1 into the paper discharge stacker in the state shown in FIG. The paper from the platen 1 is discharged and stored in the paper discharge stacker 7.

Note that the paper ejection roller 8 may be composed of a pair of rollers that press against each other, but the one shown in the figure includes a driving roller 8a interlocked with the platen 1 and a spring 1 attached to the driving roller 8a.
The paper is conveyed out by the paper guide 10a which is pressed into contact with the paper guide 10a at 4.

Therefore, if such a paper feeding device is not used, the paper guide 10a is placed in the state shown in FIG.
is set in the open position so that it opens toward the manual paper insertion slot 12.

Next, the paper is inserted toward the platen 1 through the insertion slot 12 and brought into contact with the pinch roller 1a, and the platen 1 is manually rotated clockwise in the figure to wrap the paper and guide the leading edge of the paper into the insertion slot 12.

In such a state, the paper is aligned with the leading edge of the paper to correct its posture. After correcting the paper posture, the platen 1 is rotated counterclockwise to return the leading edge of the paper to the initial printing position and the printing process is started.

In this printing process, if the paper guide 10a is returned from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG.
If the printing process starts in the state shown in the figure, the paper after printing will be ejected to the insertion slot 12 side, but the paper guide 10
a may be located at any position. Paper guide 1
0a is returned to the closed position and the printed paper is ejected to the paper discharge stacker 7. When switching to automatic paper feeding next time, the user does not have to take out the printed paper from the platen 1 position by manual feeding, which saves the user's effort. This has the advantage that it can be omitted.

Incidentally, as one embodiment of the present invention, it is also possible to provide a trigger piece in the manual paper insertion slot 12 that moves according to the leading edge of the paper, and to open the paper guide 10a with this trigger piece. There is an advantage that the paper guide 10 can be automatically switched from the position shown in FIG. 2 to the position shown in FIG. 3 simply by inserting the paper into the insertion slot 12.

[Effects of the Invention] Since the present invention has the configuration described above, the paper guide is set in the open position so as to open toward the manual paper insertion slot, and then the paper is inserted from the insertion slot toward the platen. The leading edge of the paper is guided to the insertion slot by wrapping the paper around the paper, and the leading edge of the paper is aligned with the trailing edge of the paper to easily and accurately correct the posture of the paper, without worrying about deterioration of print quality due to misalignment of the paper posture.

If the paper guide is left in the open position, the printed paper will be ejected to the insertion slot side, while if it is returned from the open position to the closed position, the printed paper will be ejected to the paper stacker. However, in this case, it is possible to shift to the automatic paper feeding mode without removing the manually printed paper from the platen position.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the entire device, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the main parts, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operating state. 1...Platen, 5...Paper feed stacker, 7...
...Paper stacker, 12...Insertion slot, 10a...
Paper guide.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Arrange a paper feed stacker on the back side of a platen equipped with an appropriate print head and a paper discharge stacker on the front side, feed paper from the paper feed stacker to the platen, and store the paper from the platen into the paper discharge stacker after printing. In the paper feeding device, an insertion slot for manually feeding paper from the outside of the device to the platen is provided between the paper feed stacker and the paper discharge stacker, and the leading edge of the paper wound around the platen is inserted into the insertion slot. Of the paper guides that form a paper ejection path between the platen and the paper ejection stacker so as to be able to overlap with the rear end, the paper guide disposed on the insertion slot side can be freely opened and closed toward the insertion slot. Characteristic paper feed device for printing devices.