JP2001106344A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure a small installation area. SOLUTION: This printer has a paper holding and feeding part feeding paper sheets while holding them upright, a printing part printing the fed paper sheets, and a paper holding and discharging part discharging printed paper sheets while holding them upright. Both the parts are provided at a side of a printer body. Paper sheets are carried and printed while they are held upright. Accordingly, the dominating ratio of the printed medium holding and carrying passage to the printer installation area is reduced, thereby attaining the purpose.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 11A and 11B are schematic views showing a conventional printer. As shown in the figure,
The conventional printer has a paper feed holding unit 101, a printing unit 102, and a paper discharge holding unit 103, and the paper as a print medium is horizontally or inclined at the paper feed holding unit 101 and the paper discharge holding unit 103. It is held and printed in the horizontal direction.

[0003]

As described above, conventionally, since the print medium is held horizontally or inclined, an installation area is required, and it is difficult to reduce the installation area. Furthermore, since the paper held horizontally or inclined is fed out and conveyed in the horizontal direction, the installation area of the printer needs to be large enough to handle the paper in the horizontal direction, and it is difficult to reduce the installation area. there were.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer according to a first aspect of the present invention, comprising: a sheet holding unit for holding and feeding a print medium in an upright state; A printing unit that prints on the medium, and a paper discharge holding unit that holds the printed print medium in a discharged state, wherein the paper feed holding unit and the paper discharge holding unit are side portions of a printer main body. It is provided in. Further, a printer according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a paper feed unit for feeding a print medium in an upright state, a printing unit for printing in a print medium in an upright state, and the feeding unit in a print medium upright state. A paper feed path for transporting the paper from the paper section to the printing section, a paper discharge section for discharging the print medium in an upright state, and a paper discharge for transporting the print medium from the printing section to the paper discharge section in an upright state And a transport path.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Embodiment FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG.
Has a display unit 2 for displaying the status of the printer and the like, and an operation unit 3 for setting the printer and the like. Reference numeral 5 denotes a side plate as a means for supporting a print medium to be fed in an upright state, and is provided on the side surface of the printer main body 1 with a gap therebetween, and is a feed holding unit for holding a print medium to be fed. 4 are formed. Reference numeral 17 denotes a side plate as a means for supporting the discharged print medium in an upright state. A paper discharge holding unit 16 for holding a print medium to be printed is formed.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view from the top of the printer according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper supply holding unit 4 includes a first medium supply roller 7 and a second medium supply roller 9 serving as sheet supply means on the printer main body 1 side, and a first medium supply roller 9 on the side plate 5 side. A leaf spring 6 as a means for pressing the print medium at a position facing the medium feeding roller 7
A separation piece 8 is provided at a position facing the second medium feeding roller 9 as a means for feeding the printing medium one sheet at a time. Here, the first and second feeding rollers 7, 9
In both cases, a member made of rubber or the like having a large friction coefficient with respect to the print medium is used. As the leaf spring 8, a stainless steel plate or the like is used. The separating piece 8 has a structure for preventing double feeding of the recording medium, and a member having a large friction coefficient with respect to the printing medium is used. However, a groove may be provided on these members so that the paper is easily caught. Good.

A printing unit 20 is provided on the downstream side of the paper supply holding unit 4 in the medium transport direction, and means for vertically transporting the print medium between the paper supply holding unit 4 and the printing unit 20. The first medium transport guide 11 is provided. On the downstream side of the printing unit, a second medium transport guide 14 is provided as means for transporting the print medium to the paper discharge holding unit 16 in a state of standing upright. The first and second medium transport guides 11 and 14 each have a curved surface for guiding the print medium in the transport direction. This curved surface may be formed by a rib provided along the medium transport direction.

[0008] The first medium transport guide 11, the printing unit 20,
The second medium transport guide 14 adjusts the transport direction of the print medium to 18
They are arranged so as to be rotated by 0 degrees, and a platen 10 is provided at the center. On the outer periphery of the platen 10,
A first medium pressing roller 1 for pressing a printing medium on a platen on each of an upstream side and a downstream side of the printing unit 20;
3. A second medium pressing roller 14 is provided.

On the downstream side of the second medium transport guide 14, a paper discharge roller 15 and a paper discharge pressing roller 19 as means for discharging the print medium to the paper discharge holding unit 16 are provided. The platen 10 and the paper discharge roller 15 are both connected to a line feed motor (hereinafter, referred to as “LF motor”) via a gear or the like, and are rotated so as to convey the print medium at the same speed. The paper discharge holding unit 16 has, on the side plate 17 side, a biasing member 18 as a means for urging the discharged print medium toward the main body and pressing the paper discharge medium. Urging member 1
8 has a role of moving the print medium to the main body side,
For example, a member having weak elasticity such as a polyester film or a thin plastic plate is used.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the printing unit 20 according to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the printing unit 20 uses an inkjet print head. As shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 24 is slidably mounted on a vertically extending carriage shaft 23 and is movable along the carriage shaft 23. The carriage 24 is provided with a head unit 21 and an ink cartridge 22, and a gear belt 25 for driving the carriage 24 is connected thereto. The gear belt 25 is supported by a drive gear 26 and an idle gear 28. The drive gear 26 is connected to a spacing motor 27 for driving the carriage up and down, and can cause the head to perform main scanning in the vertical direction according to an instruction from a printer control unit (not shown).

A weight 29 is attached to the gear belt 25 at a position symmetrical to the carriage 24 with the drive gear 26 and the idle gear 28 interposed therebetween. The weight 29 is
The weight is set to be substantially equal to the weight of the carriage 24 having the head 21 and the ink cartridge 22, whereby the load on the spacing motor 27 when the carriage 24 is driven up and down can be made substantially constant. . Although the present embodiment has been described using an inkjet print head, the print head is not limited to this, and a thermal or dot impact print head that performs printing by performing main scanning in the vertical direction is also applicable. .

FIG. 4 shows a paper feed holding unit 4 according to the first embodiment.
5 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line AA in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5,
The first feeding rollers 7 are attached to the shaft 21 in two rows, are disposed on the printer main body 1 side, and are connected to a drive unit (not shown) below the main body 1. Similarly, the second feeding rollers are attached to the shaft 22 in two rows and provided on the printer main body 1 side. The lower side of the main body 1 is connected to a driving unit (not shown). The shaft 21 and the shaft 22 are connected via a gear to one paper feed motor (not shown) so as to be driven in conjunction with the shaft 21 and the shaft 22. The first feeding roller 7 has a flat portion 7a cut in a D shape, and the flat portion 7a faces the paper feed holding portion 4 side in a standby state of the printer, and
The flat portion 7a is provided without protruding from the printer body 1.

The leaf spring 6 has a medium pressing portion 6a, a medium introducing portion 6b, and a fixing portion 6c. The medium pressing portion 6a is disposed so as to face the first feeding roller 7. The leaf spring 6 has two first feeding rollers 7-1 and 7-
2, respectively. Here, the leaf spring 6 is fixed with an inclination such that the medium introduction portion 6b has an inclination in each of the upward direction and the lateral direction.
Accordingly, the printing medium 70 can be inserted smoothly regardless of whether the printing medium 70 is set from above, from the side, or from an obliquely upward direction.

The separating pieces 8 are provided to face the two second feeding rollers 8 respectively. The separating piece 8 is a rubber piece having elasticity, one end of which is fixed to the side plate 5 side, the other end forms a free end 8a, and the free end 8a is attached to the second feeding roller 9 by its elastic force. Mounted to be biased. When the print medium 70 is set in the paper feed holding unit 4, it is held so as to be pressed against the main body 1 by the urging force of the two leaf springs 6-1 and 6-2.
The printing medium 70 can be held upright.

First feed rollers 7 provided in two rows
And the vertical position of the leaf spring 6 is the length L of the print medium 70.
In contrast, it is desirable to set the print medium 70 at positions L / 4 to L / 3 of the medium length from both ends of the print medium in the vertical direction, thereby holding the print medium 70 vertically without bending. can do. Similarly, the positions of the second feeding rollers 9 and the separation pieces 8 provided in two rows are also set at positions L / 4 to L / 3 of the medium length from both ends of the print medium in the vertical direction of the print medium 70, respectively. It is desirable that the upper and lower sides of the print medium P be fed in a well-balanced manner when fed. A bottom guide 24 for transporting the print medium horizontally is formed on the bottom surface of the paper supply holding unit 4. The bottom surface guide 24 extends from the paper supply holding unit 4 along the first medium transport guide 11 and further to the printing unit 2.
0 is formed. Accordingly, even when the print medium 70 is set upright, the print medium 70 can be conveyed from the paper supply holding unit 4 to the print unit 20 without skew.

FIG. 6 shows a paper discharge holding unit 1 according to the first embodiment.
6 is a cross-sectional view from the side showing details of FIG. 6, and FIG. 7 is a BB cross-sectional view in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the paper discharge rollers 15 are mounted on the shaft 23 in two rows, are disposed on the printer main body 1 side, and are connected to a drive unit (not shown) below the main body 1. The paper discharge press roller 19 is attached to the side plate 17 side facing the paper discharge roller 15, and is positioned so that a tangent line between the paper discharge press roller 19 and the paper discharge roller 15 is inclined to the side plate 17 side. I have. Thus, the print medium to be discharged is guided toward the side plate 17 side. The vertical position of the paper discharge rollers 15 and the paper discharge pressing rollers 19 provided in two rows is, for the length L of the print medium 70, L / 4 to L of the medium length from both ends of the print medium in the vertical direction. It is desirable that the print medium 70 is set at the position of / 3 so that the upper and lower sides of the print medium 70 can be discharged in a well-balanced manner when fed.

The urging member 18 includes an urging portion 18a and a fixed portion 1
8b is formed, and is attached to the side plate 17 so that the urging portion 18a extends toward the main body. The leading end position of the urging portion 18a in the paper discharging direction is determined by the width W of the discharged printing medium 70.
In contrast, the position is not more than W / 2 on the side of the discharge roller 15. Thus, the rear end of the discharged print medium 70 can be reliably moved toward the main body 1 by utilizing the waist of the print medium 70. As for the vertical position, the discharge rollers 1 arranged in two rows
The height position ranges from 5-1 to 15-2.
As described above, since the urging portion 18a is provided at least at the height position overlapping the position of the paper discharge roller 15, the paper discharge holding portion 1 does not cause the print medium to be discharged to jam.
6 while being urged toward the main body 1 side. In addition, the discharged print medium 70 can be held in an upright state without bending.

A bottom guide 25 for horizontally transporting the print medium is formed on the bottom surface of the paper discharge holding unit 16. The bottom surface guide 25 extends from the paper discharge holding unit 16 to the printing unit 20 along the second medium transport guide 14. It is formed over. Accordingly, even when the print medium is set upright, the print medium 70 can be skewed from the print unit 20 without skew.
Can be transported to

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of the printer according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the printer control unit 31 includes an interface unit 32 for communicating with a host 40 such as a personal computer, and a print head driver 3.
3, a spacing motor driver 34, a paper feed unit driving motor driver 35, an LF motor driver 36, the display unit 2, and the operation unit 3 are connected. A print head is connected to the print head driver 33, and drives the print head 21 in accordance with an instruction from the printer control unit 31. A spacing motor driver 34, a paper driver driving motor driver 35,
The LF motor driver 36 is connected to a spacing motor 27, a paper feed motor 37, and an LF motor 38, and drives each motor at a predetermined timing according to an instruction from the printer control unit 31.

Next, the operation of the printer will be described. In the standby state of the printer, the print medium 70 is held by the paper feed holding unit 4 in the vertically standing state as described above. When a print instruction and print data are transmitted from the host 40 in FIG. 8, the printer control unit 31 receives a print instruction signal and print data via the interface unit 32, and starts a printing operation. First, the printer control unit 31 instructs the paper feed unit drive motor driver 35 to drive the paper feed motor 37 to feed the held print medium 70. When the feed motor 37 rotates, the first feed roller 7 and the second feed roller 9 start rotating.

In FIG. 5, when the first feeding roller 7 starts to rotate in the counterclockwise direction, the peripheral surface of the roller protrudes into the paper feed holding unit 4, and the held print medium 70 is moved by frictional force as shown in FIG. Sent to the right. Since the printing medium 70 is pressed by the leaf spring 6 toward the first feeding roller 7, the printing medium 70 is reliably fed by the frictional force. The fed print medium 70 is further conveyed rightward in the figure by the second feed roller 9 rotating counterclockwise. Here, the frictional force f1 between the second feeding roller and the print medium 70 is the frictional force f2 between the print medium 70 and the separation piece 8.
And f2 is set to be larger than the frictional force f3 between the print media 70, it is possible to prevent the print media 70 from being fed multiple times. Further, the first feeding roller is intermittently driven by, for example, an intermittently driven intermittent gear (not shown).
The rotation stops after one rotation, and does not rotate until the fed print medium 70 is carried out of the paper supply holding unit 4.

Next, the printer control unit 31 shown in FIG.
After instructing the paper feed motor 37 to rotate, the LF motor driver 36 is instructed to drive the LF motor 38 after a predetermined time, and the platen 10 shown in FIG. 2 is rotated. In other words, the print medium 70 fed from the paper feed holding unit 4 advances along the medium transport guide 11 in FIG. 2 and reaches the second feed roller until it strikes between the platen 10 and the first medium pressing roller 12. 9 transported. At this time, the leading end of the print medium 70 stops running once, and the timing of starting printing on the print medium 70 is measured. Thereafter, when the rotation of the platen 10 is started, the printing medium 70 is conveyed to the printing unit while being held by the medium pressing roller 12.

After the leading end of the printing medium 70 passes through the printing unit 20 and is pressed by the second medium transport roller 13, when the printing area of the printing medium 70 reaches the printing unit, the printer control unit 31 27 is stopped, and printing is started by the printing unit 20. 8 transmits print data to the print head driver 33 to instruct the print head 21 to drive the print head 21.
It instructs the spacing motor driver 34 to scan the carriage 24, and performs predetermined printing at a predetermined position on the first line. When printing of the first line is completed, the LF motor 38 is driven to perform a line feed, and printing is performed for the next line.
By repeating this, predetermined printing is performed on the printing medium 70.

As described above, printing is performed,
The print medium 70 advances along the second medium transport guide 14, is folded back by 180 degrees with respect to the paper supply holding unit 4, and is held between the paper discharge roller 15 and the paper discharge pressing roller 19. Here, since the medium conveyance speed by the paper discharge roller 15 and the platen 10 is equal, the print medium 70 is conveyed as it is. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the print medium 70-2 is nipped and discharged by the paper discharge roller 15 and the paper discharge pressing roller 19. The print medium 70-2 is held between the paper discharge roller 15 and the paper discharge holding roller 19 and guided to the paper discharge holding unit 16. At this time, the paper discharge roller 15 and the paper discharge holding roller 19
Is inclined to the side plate 17 side as shown in the figure, so that the leading end of the print medium 70-2 is guided toward the side plate 17 side. Thereafter, the leading end of the print 70-2 medium is discharged so as to be guided to the main body 1 along the urging member 18.

When printing is completed and the rear end of the print medium 70-2 leaves the second medium pressing roller 14, the print medium 70-2
-2 is conveyed by the rotation of the discharge roller 15. When the rear end of the print medium comes off from between the paper discharge roller 15 and the paper discharge press roller 19, the print medium is urged toward the main body 1 by the urging member 18, so that the print medium 7 in FIG.
It is moved to the main body side like 0-1. Subsequently, the print medium to be printed and discharged is sequentially superimposed on the previous print medium and discharged, so that the order of the discharged print media does not mix.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the paper supply holding unit for holding and feeding a medium in a vertical position and the paper discharge holding unit for discharging and holding a medium in a vertical position are described. Have
These were provided on the side of the printer body. In addition, since the print medium is transported vertically from the paper supply to the paper discharge in a vertical state and the print medium is folded back by 180 degrees, the printer body is set up with the paper supply holding unit and the paper discharge holding unit upright. It can be provided in parallel so as to face both side surfaces. Therefore, since the surface area of the printing medium, the holding area of the printing medium, and the area of the transport path are independent, the installation area of the printer can be reduced. Further, since the printing section is provided in the folded portion, the size of the printer can be further reduced.

FIG. 9 shows a first embodiment according to the present invention, in which the first embodiment is inclined. FIG. 10 is an aspect in which the first embodiment according to the present invention is made vertical. According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the print medium is transported in the horizontal direction in a state where the print medium is transported vertically, and as shown in FIG. It is also possible to adopt a mode in which the printing is carried out by being conveyed as indicated by an arrow in FIG. Further, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 0, it is also possible to adopt a mode in which the feeding direction of the print medium is completely vertical, and the print medium is conveyed as indicated by an arrow in the drawing to perform printing.

Second Embodiment FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the printer main body 41 includes a paper feed holding unit 4 for holding a fed print medium.
2. It has a paper discharge unit 43 for discharging a print medium. FIG. 13 is a sectional view from the top of the printer according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the paper feed holding unit 42 is provided with a back plate 45 and a holding plate 44 as means for holding a print medium in an upright state. The printing medium is set with its leading end side set in a paper feeding unit 46 provided in the printer main body, and its rear end side supported by a holding plate 44 and set upright. The configuration of the leaf spring 6, the first feeding roller 7, the separating piece 8, the second feeding roller 9, and the like as sheet feeding means provided in the sheet feeding section 46 is the first.
This is the same as the embodiment.

On the downstream side of the paper supply holding section 42 in the print medium transport direction, there is provided a medium transport guide 47 as a means for transporting the print medium in an upright state. Also,
A first medium press roller pair 48 is provided on the downstream side, and a printing unit 53 is provided further on the downstream side. The printing unit 53 in the present embodiment includes a print head 51 of a thermal type and an ink ribbon 52. The print head 51 has heating elements arranged in a vertical direction over at least the entire printing area, and an ink ribbon 52 is provided so as to cover the heating elements of the print head 51. A platen 49 is provided at a position opposing the printing unit 53 with the printing medium transport path interposed therebetween. A second medium press roller pair 50 is provided downstream of the printing unit 53. First medium holding roller pair 48
The second medium press roller pair 50 is connected to a drive motor (not shown) via a gear (not shown) so as to be driven in association with the medium. A paper discharge unit 43 is provided downstream of the second medium press roller pair 50.

FIG. 14 shows a paper discharge unit 43 according to the second embodiment.
It is sectional drawing from the upper surface which shows. As shown in FIG.
The paper discharge unit 43 is a main body discharge unit frame 5 formed in a cylindrical shape.
7, a rotation guide 54, a flexible guide 55, a flexible guide storage section 56, and a cylindrical guide 58. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a rotation guide 54 according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 16 is a rotation guide 5 shown in FIG.
4 is a sectional view of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the rotation guide 54 includes a paper discharge guide 61, a paper discharge port 62, a cylindrical wall 63, a rotation knob 64, an upper ring 65, a lower ring 66, and a flexible guide engagement. A groove 67 is provided.

The paper discharge guide 61 is formed so as to extend outward from the paper discharge port 62, and directs the print medium discharged from the paper discharge port 62. The cylindrical wall 63 closes the opening 57a provided on the side surface of the cylindrical portion of the main body discharge section frame 57 shown in FIG. 14, and is provided in a range that always closes the opening 57a over the rotatable range of the rotation guide.
The rotary knob 64 is exposed on the upper surface of the printer main body 41 with the rotary guide 54 set on the main body. The operator can rotate the rotation guide 54 in an arbitrary direction by using the rotation knob 64. The upper ring portion 65 and the lower ring portion 66 each have an annularly closed shape,
It is rotatably fitted to fitting portions (not shown) provided on the upper and lower portions of the main body discharge section frame 57. Thereby, the rotation guide 54 can be rotatably attached.

The flexible guide engaging groove 67 is provided in the paper discharge guide 61 at the back of the paper discharge port 62 and over substantially the entire area of the paper discharge port 62 in the vertical direction. FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the flexible guide 55 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG.
Are formed with an engaging portion 55a and a guide portion 55b. As the flexible guide 55, a member having elasticity, for example, a stainless steel plate for a spring, a polyester film, or the like is used. As shown in FIG. 14, the flexible guide 55
The engaging portion 55a is engaged with an engaging groove 67 provided in the rotation guide 54, and the guide portion 55b is inserted into the flexible guide storage portion 56. Flexible guide 55
As shown in FIG. 14B, the length of the guide portion 55b is such that it does not come off from the flexible guide storage portion 56 within the rotatable range of the rotation guide 54.

As shown in FIG. 14, the paper discharging section 43 configured as described above can be rotated in the paper discharging direction. FIG. 14A shows a state in which the paper is discharged straight to the left in the drawing. In this case, the stopper 54a provided on the rotation guide 54 at the point a contacts the storage opening wall 56a (shown in FIG. 14B) of the flexible guide storage 56, and the rotation guide 54 is moved further. It does not rotate in the direction.

FIG. 14B shows a state in which the paper discharge direction is rotated counterclockwise by θ degrees. In this case, the paper discharge guide rib 54a formed on the rotation guide 54 at the portion b abuts on the body frame opening wall 57b (shown in FIG. 14A), and the rotation guide 54 is moved further in the counterclockwise direction. It does not rotate.

When the rotation guide 54 is set at an angle within the rotatable range, the flexible guide 55
Is pulled out and receives a bending moment between the engagement portion 55a and the flexible guide storage portion 56. However, since it has elasticity, it always has a curved shape. For this reason, the print medium discharged from the printing unit can be reliably discharged to the discharge port 62.
Can lead to The rotatable range is θ as shown in the figure.
Within this range, the operator can freely set the paper discharge direction within this range.

Next, the operation will be described. The operations from the supply of the print medium to the printing are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof will be omitted, and only the operation of the paper discharge unit 43 will be described. First, when the paper is to be discharged straight, as shown in FIG. 14A, the leading end of the print medium on which printing has been performed is held between the second medium pressing roller pair 50 and conveyed into the paper discharge unit 43. Then, the leading end of the print medium first comes into contact with the cylindrical guide 58. The leading end of the print medium abutting on the cylindrical guide 58 is bent toward the discharge guide 61 of the rotation guide 54, and the print medium is discharged from the discharge port 62 along the discharge guide 61.

Next, in the case where the discharge is performed by bending, FIG.
As shown in (b), when the leading end of the printed print medium is nipped by the second pair of medium pressing rollers 50 and conveyed into the paper discharge unit 43, the leading end of the print medium is first moved to the cylindrical guide 58.
Abut so that The leading end of the printing medium that has contacted the cylindrical guide 58 is conveyed toward the flexible guide 55. Next, the leading end of the print medium abuts along the flexible guide 55, is conveyed as it is along the flexible guide 55 toward the paper discharge port 62, and then is discharged from the paper discharge port along the paper discharge guide 61. .

FIG. 18 shows a paper discharge unit 43 according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a holding state of a print medium discharged inside the printer. As shown in FIG. 18, the discharged print medium 71 is
3 are sequentially held in an upright state. At this time, the print medium 71-1 discharged first has elasticity due to the strain of the medium, and is held along the curved inner surface of the discharge unit, and the print medium 71-2 discharged next is sequentially stacked. Is held. As described above, in the second embodiment, since the print medium is transported and printed in a state where the print medium is set up from the paper supply to the paper discharge, the surface area of the print medium is independent of the print medium transport path. In addition, since the transport direction changing means for arbitrarily setting the transport direction of the print medium is provided, the paper discharge direction can be selected according to the place where the printer is installed. Therefore, the space can be effectively used.

In the first embodiment, the printing section is described by using the ink jet system, and in the second embodiment, the printing section is described by using the thermal transfer system. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, an electrophotographic system may be used. It may be something.

[0040]

As described above, the printer according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a paper feed holding unit for holding and feeding a print medium in an upright state, and a print unit for printing on a fed print medium. And a paper discharge holding unit that holds the printed printing medium in a discharged state. The paper supply holding unit and the paper discharge holding unit are provided on the side of the printer main body. The ratio of the area of the holding portion of the print medium to the area can be extremely small, and the installation area of the printer can be reduced.

The printer according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a paper feeding unit for feeding a print medium in a standing state, a printing unit for printing in a state in which the printing medium is standing, and a state in which the printing medium is standing. A paper feed path for conveying the paper from the paper feeding section to the printing section,
Since the print medium has a paper discharge unit that discharges paper with the print medium set up and a paper discharge conveyance path that conveys the print medium from the print unit to the paper discharge unit with the print medium set up, the print medium is discharged from paper feed to paper discharge. It is transported in a state where it is set up. Therefore, the ratio of the area of the conveyance path of the printing medium to the area of the printer is extremely small, and the area of the printer can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view from the top of the printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a printing unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing details of a sheet feeding holding unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating details of a paper discharge holding unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a control block diagram of the printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an aspect in which the first embodiment according to the present invention is inclined.

FIG. 10 is a vertical view of the first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic view showing a conventional printer.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view from the top of the printer according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view from the top illustrating a paper discharge unit according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a rotation guide according to a second embodiment.

16 is a cross-sectional view of the rotation guide shown in FIG.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a flexible guide according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a holding state of a print medium discharged in a discharge unit according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer main body 4 Paper feed holding part 7 1st feeding roller 9 2nd feeding roller 10 Platen 11 1st medium conveyance guide 14 2nd medium conveyance guide 15 Paper discharge roller 16 Paper discharge holding part 20 Printing part

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Hisashi Tsukagoshi 4-11-11 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo F-term in the offshore company data (reference) 2C061 AQ04 AQ05 BB02 CC01 3F054 AA01 AC05 BA11 BB24 3F343 FA02 FB04 GA04 GB01 GC01 GD02 HA12 HB01 JA01 KB03 KB06 KB14 KB17 KB18 KB19

Claims (6)

[Claims] A feeder that holds and feeds a print medium in an upright state, a printer that prints on the fed print medium, and discharges the printed print medium. A paper discharge holding unit that holds the paper in a state, wherein the paper feed holding unit and the paper discharge holding unit are provided on a side of a printer body. 2. A printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a fold-back portion on a print medium conveyance path between the paper supply holding portion and the paper discharge holding portion, which folds the conveyance direction of the conveyed print medium by 180 degrees. 1 printer. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the folding unit has a rotatable platen, the print medium is folded and conveyed along a peripheral surface of the platen, and the printing unit is provided to face the platen. The printer according to claim 2. 4. A paper feed unit for feeding a print medium in an upright state, a printing unit for performing printing in a state in which the print medium is upright, and the printing from the paper supply unit in a state in which the print medium is upright. A paper feed path for transporting the print medium to the printer, a paper discharge section for discharging the print medium in an upright state, and a paper discharge transport path for transporting the print medium from the printing section to the paper discharge section in an upright state. A printer comprising: 5. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the paper discharge unit includes a medium transport direction changing unit that changes an angle of the print medium in a transport direction. 6. The printer according to claim 4, wherein said medium conveyance direction changing means has a rotatable medium conveyance guide.