JP2001163460A - Paper feeding cassette and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize a printer by reducing the size of a chip housing part. SOLUTION: A chip housing part 34 and a carrier belt 36 are arranged on an upper surface of a paper feeding cassette 12. The carrier belt 36 is arranged under a cutting device 26 when setting the paper feeding cassette 12 in a printer 10. Chips 40 cut by the cutting device 26 drop on the carrier belt 36. The carrier belt 36 places the dropped chips 40 to carry these chips to the chip housing part 34. The carried chips 40 are orderly arranged to be accumulated in the chip housing part 34 to thereby improve housing efficiency of the chip housing part 34, so that since the chip housing part 34 can be reduced in the size, the printer 10 can be miniaturized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed cassette and a printer, and more particularly, to a paper feed cassette and a printer for storing chips generated by cutting recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a thermal printer which heats a color thermal recording paper by a thermal head and records a full-color image in three color planes sequentially. In the thermal printer, the thermal recording paper reciprocates while nipping by the transport roller.
Since the thermal head is arranged at a position close to the transport roller, an image cannot be recorded on a portion corresponding to the distance between the transport roller and the thermal head, and this portion becomes blank. The thermal head nips the thermal recording paper between the thermal head and the platen roller.However, heating the platen roller at the part of the thermal head that protrudes from the thermal recording paper may cause the thermal deformation of the platen roller or shorten the service life. Or deteriorate. Therefore, margins are left on both sides of the thermal recording paper, and an image is recorded inside the margins. For these reasons, printed thermal recording paper has margins formed along four sides.

[0003] Recently, the number of users who desire prints without margins is increasing. Although a postcard size is widely used as a thermal recording paper, there is a problem that this size is too large and inconvenient when attaching a photo album. For this reason, there are known cutters provided with cutting means such as a shear type front and rear end cutter for cutting margins at the front and rear ends of recording paper after recording and a rotary cut type slitter for cutting side margins of recording paper. ing.

[0004] When this cutting means is provided, chips in the blank space are scattered in the printer. Therefore, there has been known a printer provided with a chip storage section for storing chips so that chips can be easily taken out of the printer and discarded. For example, in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-151736, a scrap box is provided below the cutting means as a chip storage unit.
A proposal has been made in which the waste box is made a drawer type so that the accumulated chips can be easily taken out of the printer. Further, in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-204557, a chip storage section is provided in a sheet cassette for storing a plurality of recording sheets, and when the sheet cassette is set in a printer, the chip storage section is located below the cutting means. It has been proposed to collect chips in such a manner that they are arranged.

[0005]

However, in the method of disposing the chip storing portion below the cutting means and depositing the cut chips in the chip storing portion, the chips are kept dropped. , Chips remain randomly deposited. Also, since the area where chips are deposited is concentrated,
Inside the chip storage portion, a portion where chips are accumulated and an empty portion are separated. For this reason, the storage efficiency of the chip storage unit is poor, which causes the chip storage unit to become large. As a result, the printer in which the chip storage unit is provided also becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to reduce the size of a printer by reducing the size of a chip storage section by efficiently storing chips generated when cutting recording paper in the chip storage section.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a paper feed cassette according to claim 1 is provided for a printer having cutting means for cutting a part of recording paper. A recording paper storage unit for storing a plurality of recording papers, a unit for transporting chips cut by the cutting unit to the chip storage unit, and a chip storage unit for storing chips transported by the transportation unit. It is characterized by having.

In the paper feed cassette according to the present invention, the chip storage portion and a chip receiving portion for receiving dropped chips are provided above the recording paper storage portion, and the chip receiving portion is provided with the chip receiving portion. Means are provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the sheet feeding cassette provided with a cover for covering the chips stored in the chip storing portion. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the cover is formed of a transparent material. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feed cassette, a lid for taking out the chips stored in the chip storage portion is provided on the cover so as to be freely opened and closed.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the paper feed cassette, the transport means is a belt that carries the cut chips and transports the chips to the chip storage section, and a part of the belt enters the chip storage section. It is characterized in that it is arranged in the chip receiving portion in an uneven state.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sheet cassette, convex portions extending in the width direction are provided on the outer surface of the belt at a constant pitch. In the paper feed cassette according to the present invention, ribs are arranged on both sides of the belt to protect the belt. According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the drive shaft around which the belt is wound has a crown portion having a substantially rhombic cross section at a position where the drive shaft engages with the belt.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer in which the cutting means for cutting a part of the recorded recording paper is provided in the printer main body, the cutting means is disposed below the cutting means and cut by the cutting means. And means for transporting the chips that have fallen down, and a chip storage section for storing the chips transported by the transporting means.

[0013] In a printer according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, the transport means is detachable from the printer main body integrally with the chip storage portion. According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the twelfth aspect, the transport unit and the chip storage unit are provided above a cassette that stores a plurality of recording sheets.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the printer, the transport means is a belt that carries the cut chips and transports the chips to the chip storage section, and a part of the belt enters the chip storage section. It is arranged in a state.

In a preferred embodiment, the printer further comprises a discharge roller disposed above the belt for discharging the cut recording paper. The discharge roller is provided at a position where the discharge roller and the conveying means face each other. A protective cover is provided to prevent the chip being conveyed from coming into contact with the paper discharge roller.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer for cutting a recording sheet in a conveying direction by utilizing a conveying force of the recording sheet, and a chip cut by the slitter when the chip enters the chip storing section. And a chip guide that guides the chips so as to be stored in the chip storage portion while sliding the upper surface thereof without contacting the ends of the already stored chips. It is.

[0017]

In FIG. 2, a front opening 11 is formed in a front surface of a thermal printer (hereinafter, referred to as a printer) 10. The front opening 11 is provided with a paper feed cassette 12
Is set in the cassette chamber 13 in a detachable manner. The thermal recording paper (hereinafter, referred to as recording paper) 14 pulled out from the paper feed cassette 12 and printed is discharged from the front opening 11. A main switch 16 and a pilot lamp 17 are provided beside the front opening 11.

In FIG. 3, a paper feed roller 18 for pulling out recording paper 14 from the paper feed cassette 12 is provided in the interior of the cassette storage chamber 13 in the printer 10. A fixing lamp 21, a conveying roller 22a, a conveying roller 22b, a thermal head 23 for performing thermal recording, and a platen drum 24 facing the fixing lamp 21, a conveying roller 22a and a conveying roller 22b are arranged along a conveying path 19 on which the drawn recording paper 14 is conveyed. I have. The printed recording paper 14 is transported in the reverse direction (B direction) in the transport path 19 and is discharged from the opening 13 through the paper discharge path 15a. A cutting device 26 for cutting the margin of the recording paper 14 is provided on the paper discharge path 19a.

As is well known, the thermal head 21 is provided with a heating element array in which a number of heating elements are arranged in the main scanning direction, and performs thermal recording on the recording paper 14. The recording paper 14 is a well-known color thermosensitive recording paper composed of three thermosensitive coloring layers of cyan, magenta, and yellow.
Irradiation of ultraviolet light of nm causes the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer to lose its coloring ability.

The fixing lamp 21 is a yellow fixing lamp 2
1a and a magenta fixing lamp 21b. The yellow fixing lamp 21a irradiates the recording paper 14 having been subjected to the thermal recording of the yellow image on the yellow heat-sensitive coloring layer with ultraviolet rays of 420 nm to lose the coloring ability of the yellow heat-sensitive coloring layer. The magenta fixing lamp 21b is provided on the recording paper 1 after thermal recording of a magenta image on the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer.
4 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays of 365 nm, and the coloring ability of the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer is lost.

The cutting device 26 includes a front end cutter 27.
, A rear end cutting cutter 28, and a pair of slitters 29. The front end cutter 27 includes a fixed blade 27a and a movable blade 27b extending in the main scanning direction of the recording paper. Then, the movable blade 27b descends and cuts off a front end margin, which is a margin on the front end side of the recording area of the recording paper 14. Similarly, the rear end cutting cutter 28 is also composed of a fixed blade 28a and a movable blade 28b, and cuts off a rear end margin, which is a margin on the rear end side of the recording area of the recording paper 14.

The slitter 29 includes an upper blade 29a and a lower blade 29b.
The recording paper 14 is moved in the sub-scanning direction to cut off both side margins formed on both sides of the recording paper 14 in the width direction. Near the front opening 11 of the slitter 29, a chip guide 31 for guiding chips (margin) cut off by the slitter 29 toward the upper surface of the sheet cassette 12 is formed. It should be noted that other types of these cutters can also be used. Further, the cutting device 26 may be constituted by only the cutters 27 and 28, or may be constituted by only one of the cutters 27 and 28.

A paper discharge roller is provided coaxially with the slitter 29, and the recording paper 14 whose margin is cut by the paper discharge roller is discharged out of the printer 10.

The cassette chamber 13 is disposed below the cutting device 26, and the chips cut off by the cutting device 26 fall into the cassette chamber 13 as they are. When a partition plate is provided between the cutting device 26 and the cassette chamber 13, an opening is formed in the partition plate.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, the paper feed cassette 12 is set in a cassette chamber 13 in a state where it is about half of the whole. The paper cassette 12 holds a plurality of recording papers 1.
The cassette body 32 is a recording paper storage section for storing the sheets 4 in a stacked manner, and a lid 33 of the cassette body 32. A push plate 30 for pressing the uppermost recording paper 14 against the paper feed roller 18 is provided inside the cassette main body 32. The push plate 30 is urged upward by a spring. Due to this bias, the uppermost recording paper 14 is pressed against the paper feed roller 18 even when the number of recording papers 14 decreases.

The lid 33 is attached to the cassette body 32 so that it can be opened and closed. The lid 33 is provided with a knob 39 at an end thereof. When the recording paper 14 is supplied, the lid 33 is opened with the knob 39 and the recording paper 14 is supplied to the cassette body 32.

On the upper surface of the lid 33, a chip storage portion 34 and a chip receiving portion 35 are provided. The chip receiving portion 35 enters the cassette chamber 13 and is disposed below the cutting device 26 when the paper feed cassette 12 is set in the printer 10. Recording paper 1 cut by cutting device 26
The chip 40 of No. 4 falls and is received by the chip receiving portion 35. The chip receiving portion 35 is provided with a transport belt 36. The dropped chips 40 are transported by the transport belt 36 and stored in the chip storage unit 34.

The chips 41 cut off by the slitter 29 are also stored in the chip storage section 34. Further, the chip storage section 34 is provided with an upper cover 42 that covers the stored chips 40 and 41.

The upper surface of the upper cover 42 is used as a paper discharge tray, and receives the recorded recording paper 14 whose margin has been cut by the cutting device 21 and discharged from the front opening 11. Guide plates 42a are provided at both side ends of the upper surface of the upper cover 42 to prevent the discharged recording paper 14 from dropping from the upper surface of the upper cover 42.

The upper cover 42 is made of, for example, transparent plastic. By doing so, the chip storage unit 3
From the outside, it can be easily confirmed from the outside how much chips are accumulated. The end of the upper cover 42 is a take-out lid 42b which can be freely opened and closed. The chips 40 and 41 accumulated in the chip storage portion 34 are opened and discarded.

An end of the upper cover 42 from the conveyor belt 36 is an opening, and this opening is a first insertion port 4 for inserting each chip 40.41 into the chip storage section 34.
6 and second insertion ports 47 provided on both sides thereof. From the first insertion port 46, the cutters 26, 27
The chips 40 of the recording paper 14 cut in the step enter. The transport belt 36 is arranged in a state where a part thereof enters the chip storage portion 34 from the first insertion port 46.

For this reason, the chips 40 are conveyed by the conveyor belt 36 and stored in the chip storage section 34 from the first insertion port 46. The three conveyor belts 36 are arranged in the width direction of the recording paper 14. Since each of the transport belts 36 is arranged in accordance with the length of the recording paper 14 in the width direction, the transport belt 36 receives the falling chips 40 without breaking the posture in which the longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the transport direction. Since the transport belt 36 transports the chips 40 while maintaining the posture thereof, the chips 40 are accumulated in an orderly state in the central portion of the chip storage unit 34. The number of the conveyor belts 36 is not limited to three, but may be one, two, or four or more.

On the other hand, the chips 41 cut by the slitter 29 enter from the second insertion opening 47. Second insertion slot 4
7 has a guide 48 on its side and a receiving plate 49 below it.
Is provided. The guide plate 48 guides the chips 41 so that the chips 41 can smoothly enter both ends of the chip storage portion 34 by contact with the chips 41. As a result, the chips 41 are arranged and accumulated at both ends of the chip storage section 34.

The receiving plate 49 is for receiving one end of the chips 41 accumulated in the chip storing section 34. When the chips 41 enter the chip storage section 34 from the second insertion opening 47, the chip guide 31 enters the chip storage section 34 without the leading end of the chip 41 abutting on the receiving plate 49. Guide to Thereby, the chip storage unit 3
4 and the end of the swarf 41 that has already been deposited.
This prevents the occurrence of jamming due to contact with one end.

A protective cover 50 is provided below the slitter 29 and the discharge roller. The protective cover 50 is for preventing the chips 40 conveyed by the conveyor belt 36 from being kicked in a direction opposite to the direction in which the chips 40 are conveyed in contact with the slitter 29 and the discharge rollers. Further, by providing the protective cover 50, it is possible to prevent the chips 40 from getting entangled with the slitter 29 and the paper discharge roller and causing malfunction thereof.

Each of the transport belts 36 is supported by two shafts, a drive shaft 51 for driving them and a driven shaft 52. A gear 53 is attached to one end of the drive shaft 51, and a drive motor 54 provided in the printer 10 is engaged with the gear 53 to drive the drive shaft 51. The drive motor 54 is controlled by a controller, and the cutter 27,
The rotation starts with the operation of 28 and stops after rotating for a certain period of time. This rotation time is determined in advance according to the distance for transporting the chips 40.

The transport belt 36 is formed of a flexible material such as rubber. The transport belt 36 includes
Convex portions 36a are provided at a constant pitch on the surface on which
Are formed. The convex portion 36a is a non-slip which prevents the chip 40 from slipping on the upper surface when the chip 40 is transported by the transport belt 36.

Since a plurality of conveyor belts 36 are arranged, if one of the conveyor belts 36 slips, the posture of the chips 40 may be lost. For this reason, the slip is prevented by providing the skid on the transport belt 36 so that the chips 40 are transported while maintaining the falling posture. Thereby, the chips 40
Will not be randomly deposited in different positions, and the storage efficiency of the chip storage section 34 will be improved.

Further, each of the conveyor belts 36 has a drive shaft 5 such that the positions of the respective convex portions 36a are aligned along the width direction.
1, attached to the driven shaft 52. This suppresses a change in the posture of the chips 40 when the chips 40 fall on the conveyor belt 36 as compared with the case where the positions of the respective convex portions 36a of the respective conveyor belts 36 are not aligned.

Further, since the slip is prevented, the chips 40 are surely conveyed within the rotation time of the drive motor 54, so that the chips 40 remain at the lower position when the cutting device 26 is operated next time. Will be gone. In this example, the non-slip is a convex portion, but may be a concave portion.

Further, ribs 56 are provided on both sides of each conveyor belt 36. The rib 56 is for preventing the engagement position of the transport belt 36 with the drive shaft 51 and the driven shaft 52 from being displaced by the contact when the user accidentally touches the transport belt 36. . Also,
When the transport belt 36 is being driven, the drive shaft 51,
It is empirically known that the rotation of the driven shaft 52 shifts the engagement position between each of the shafts 51 and 52 and the conveyor belt 36. For this reason, by providing the rib 56, the displacement of the transport belt 36 during driving is prevented.

The rib 56 is formed integrally with the upper surface of the lid 33. As a material of the lid 33, for example, plastic is used. In the case of performing plastic molding, traces of a gate for injecting a resin into a mold remain on the surface of the molded product. For this reason, when molding the lid 33, it is preferable to arrange the gate between the ribs 56 and perform the molding. In this way, the trace of the gate is
Since the cover 33 is covered, the appearance of the lid 33 is improved.

As shown in FIG. 6, the drive shaft 51 and the driven shaft 52 are provided at positions where they are engaged with the transport belt 36.
A crown portion 58 is provided. This crown portion 58
Is for preventing a displacement of the transport belt 36 during driving. The crown portion 58 has a substantially rhombic cross-sectional shape, and is formed such that the diameter of the shaft gradually increases from both end portions 58b toward a central portion 58a having the maximum diameter. Note that the axial length Wc of the crown portion 58 is, assuming that the width of the transport belt 36 is Wb.
Preferably, the length satisfies the expression Wc ≧ Wb / 2. The width L of the central portion 58a is theoretically preferably as small as possible. However, in order to secure the accuracy of the crown portion 58, the central portion 58a has a constant width.

FIG. 7 shows the electrical configuration of the printer. The controller 61 controls each part of the printer. The controller 61 includes a cutter driving unit 62, a slitter driving unit 63,
The motor driver 64 is connected. Cutter drive unit 6
2 drives the cutters 27 and 28 and a slitter driving unit 63
Drives the slitter 29. The motor driver 64
The drive motor 54 is driven. The drive motor 54 is controlled so that the cutters 27 and 28 operate and the rotation thereof is started.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. When printing a full-color image with the printer 10, first, the main switch 16 is turned on. And
When a print start operation is performed after inputting image data to be printed from a personal computer or a scanner, the paper feed roller 1
8 rotates, and the uppermost recording paper 14 in contact with the paper feed roller 18 is pulled out from the cassette body 32. Recording paper 1
No. 4 is fed in the reverse direction (arrow B in FIG. 3) with its rear end at the top. Therefore, the front end is the conveying roller 22a.
Paper is fed until it is nipped.

When the front end is nipped by the transport roller 22a, the paper is fed in the forward direction (arrow A in FIG. 3). During the paper feeding, the thermal recording of the yellow image is performed on the print area of the recording paper 14 by the thermal head 23.
During the thermal recording of the yellow image, the yellow fixing lamp 21a is turned on, and the thermally recorded yellow image is fixed. At this time, the recording paper 14 is fed toward the paper discharge path 19a. In addition, in the branch part of the conveyance path 19,
Although not shown, a transfer path switching device is provided.

When the recording of the yellow image is completed, the recording paper 14 is pulled back to the print start position again. Then, similarly to the thermal recording of the yellow image, the recording of the magenta image and the fixing by the magenta fixing lamp 21b are performed on the print area. After magenta recording, cyan recording is performed in the same manner. Further, even during the cyan recording, the magenta fixing lamp 21b is turned on, and the uncolored portion is bleached.

When printing is completed, the transport rollers 22a
Continuously rotates to feed the front end of the recording paper 14 toward the paper discharge path 19a. When the transport roller 22b nips the recording paper 14, the front end of the recording paper 14 is sent to the cutting device 26.

In the margin cutting, when the front end cutting position of the recording paper 14 reaches the front end cutting cutter 27, the paper feeding is temporarily stopped, and the movable blade 27b descends to move the front end side of the recording area of the recording paper 14 away from the recording area. Cut off the front margin, which is the margin of.
Thereafter, the paper is fed again, and when the scheduled cutting position of the rear end side of the recording paper 14 reaches the rear end cutting cutter 28, the paper feeding is stopped again, and the movable blade 28b descends to move the recording paper 14 out of the recording area. Cut off the trailing margin, which is the trailing margin. The cutting cutter on the front end side and the cutting cutter on the rear end side may be used as one.

The front end margin and the rear end margin cut off by the front end cutting cutter 27 and the rear end cutting cutter 28 become chips 40 and fall on the conveyor belt 36. Since the rotation of the transport belt 36 has been started when printing is completed, the chips 40 are transported toward the chip storage unit 34. Since the convex portion 36a is provided on the upper surface of the transport belt 36, the chips 40 do not slip during the transport. As a result, the dropped chips 40
Is transported while maintaining a posture orthogonal to the transport direction. The transported chips 40 are stored in the chip storage section 34 from the first insertion port 46, and are arranged and accumulated in the central portion thereof.

When the chips 40 are transported, the chips 40 are retracted from a position below the cutting device 26. Therefore, there is no possibility that the chips 40 are accumulated at the lower position of the cutting device 26 and the stacked chips 40 and the cutting device 26 are entangled with each other, thereby causing the cutting device 26 to malfunction.

Further, since the protective cover 50 is provided below the slitter 29 and the paper discharge roller, the chips 40 during the transportation do not come into contact with the slitter 29 and the paper discharge roller. Thus, there is no possibility that the chips 40 are entangled with the slitter 29 and the paper discharge roller and cause malfunctions, and are not kicked in a direction opposite to the direction in which the chips 40 are transported.

On the other hand, in the recording paper 14 fed again after cutting the front margin, the margins on both sides are cut off in order from the leading portion after cutting by the pair of slitters 29. The chips 41 on both sides generated at the time of cutting are bent downward by the chip guide 31 and enter the chip storage section 34 through the second insertion opening 47. At this time, since the chips 41 are guided by the guide plate 48, the chips 41 do not enter the central portion where the chips 40 are accumulated, and are arranged and deposited on both ends of the chip storage unit 34.

The chips 41 that have entered the chip storage section 34
Is deposited with one end thereof resting on the receiving plate 49. Then, the chip 41 is moved to the chip storage section 34 without the tip of the chip 41 coming into contact with the receiving plate 49.
The next chip 41 is guided to the second
When entering from the insertion opening 47, the chip enters the chip storage section 34 while sliding on the upper surface of the accumulated chip 41 without contacting the end of the already accumulated chip 41. For this reason, the end of the chip 41 entering the chip storage section 34 does not abut against the end of the chip 41 already deposited, thereby causing jamming.

As described above, since the chips 40 and 41 are arranged and stored in the chip storage section 34, the storage efficiency of the chip storage section 34 is improved. The recording paper 14 from which the surrounding margins have been completely cut off is discharged onto the upper surface of the upper cover 42 from above the front opening 11.

When the recording paper 20 is refilled in the cassette body 34, the paper feed cassette 12 is taken out of the printer 10. At this time, the take-out lid 42b is opened and the chips 40, 41 is discarded.
Further, since the amount of the chips 40 and 41 accumulated in the chip storage section 34 can be checked from the outside through the transparent upper cover 42, the disposal time of the chips 40 and 41 can be easily determined.

In the above example, as means for transporting chips,
Although an example using a transport belt has been described, the transport belt may not be used, and for example, a diaphragm or the like may be used. Further, a slidable or rotatable chip stacking member may be provided, and the chip cut by the cutting means may be scraped out from its drop position and conveyed to the chip storage section by the chip stacking member.

Although the upper surface of the upper cover that covers the chip storage section is used as a paper discharge tray, a paper discharge tray may be separately provided in the printer. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the chip cover with the upper cover.

Further, in the above-described example, an example is described in which the sheet cassette is provided with the chip storage section and the transporting means. However, either or both of the chip storage section and the transporting means may be provided in the printer. . In this case, it is convenient to dispose the stored chips if at least the chip storage section is provided detachably from the printer main body.

In the above example, a printer using a paper feed cassette containing recording paper cut in advance to a predetermined size is described. For example, a long recording paper is rolled. A printer using a wound recording paper roll may be used.

In the above example, a so-called guillotine cutter, which comprises a fixed blade and a movable blade and cuts the recording paper by lowering the movable blade, is used as a cutter for cutting the margins at the front and rear ends. However, other cutters may be used, for example, a cutter including a fixed blade extending in the width direction of the recording paper and a disk blade reciprocating between the initial position and the cutting end position along the fixed blade. May be used.

In the above embodiment, an example of a color thermal printer has been described. However, it is needless to say that any type of printer having a cutting device for cutting a margin, for example, a thermal transfer printer, an ink jet printer, a laser printer or the like can be applied. is there. In addition to cutting off margins around the print area, the cutting device may cut off some margins or cut long recording paper into sheets. Furthermore, the present invention can be used not only for margins but also for cutting off edges of recording paper.

[0063]

According to the present invention, since a chip storing section for storing the chips of the recording paper cut by the cutting means in the printer and a means for transporting the chips to the chip storing section are provided, the chips are stored in the chip storing section. Since the chips are arranged and accumulated in the section, the storage efficiency of the chip storage section is improved. As a result, the chip storage section can be made compact, and as a result, the printer can be downsized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a cutting device and a sheet feeding cassette.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a printer and a sheet cassette.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of a sheet feeding cassette.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a sheet cassette.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a shaft.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 printer 12 paper feed cassette 26 cutting device 27, 28 cutter 29 slitter 31 chip guide 32 cassette body 33 lid 34 chip storage unit 35 chip reception unit 36 transport belt 36a convex portion 42 upper cover 42b take-out cover 50 protective cover 51 drive shaft 52 Driven shaft 54 drive motor 56 rib 58 crown

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yuichi Ozawa 2-18-10 Shimura, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Inside Nidec Copal Co., Ltd. (72) Hirofumi Seki 2-18-10 Shimura, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Japan Within Nidec Copal Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tatsuya Kamada 2-18-10 Shimura, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Nidec Copal Co., Ltd. (72) Kiyoshi Toma 2-18-10 Shimura, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Japan F-term in Nidec Copal Corporation (reference) 2C061 AQ04 AR01 AS14 CE01 CE07 CF01 CF06 3F343 FA02 FB04 GA03 GB01 GC01 GD01 HA14 HB03 HC04 HC12 HC22 HD18 JA01 KA02 KA13 KA20 KB03 KB08 KB10 KB13 KB14 KB19

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A printer provided with a cutting means for cutting a part of a recording paper, a recording paper storage section for storing a plurality of recording papers in a paper cassette to be loaded, and cutting by the cutting means. Means for transporting chips to the chip storage unit;
And a chip storage section for storing chips transported by the transport means. 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein said chip storage portion and a chip receiving portion for receiving dropped chips are provided above said recording paper storage portion, and said transport means is provided in said chip reception portion. The sheet cassette according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, further comprising a cover for covering the chips stored in the chip storage section. 4. The sheet cassette according to claim 1, wherein said cover is formed of a transparent material. 5. The paper feed cassette according to claim 1, wherein a cover for taking out the chips stored in the chip storage portion is provided on the cover so as to be freely opened and closed. 6. The chip transporting means is a belt that carries the cut chips and conveys the chips to the chip storage unit, and the belt is attached to the chip receiving unit while a part of the belt enters the chip storage unit. 2. An arrangement according to claim 1, wherein
6. The paper cassette according to any one of items 1 to 5. 7. The sheet feeding cassette according to claim 6, wherein the belt is provided at its outer surface with convex portions extending in a width direction at a constant pitch. 8. The paper feed cassette according to claim 6, wherein ribs are arranged on both sides of the belt to protect the belt. 9. The belt is wound around a drive shaft,
This drive shaft has a position where it engages with the belt,
9. The sheet cassette according to claim 6, wherein a crown portion having a substantially rhombic cross section is provided. 10. A printer provided with a cutting means for cutting a part of recorded recording paper in a printer main body, wherein the cutting means is disposed below the cutting means, and conveys chips which have been cut and dropped by the cutting means. And a chip storage section for storing chips transported by the transport means. 11. The printer according to claim 10, wherein said transport means is detachable from a printer main body integrally with said chip storage portion. 12. The transporting means and the chip storage section,
The printer according to claim 10, wherein the printer is provided above a cassette that stores a plurality of recording sheets. 13. The conveyor according to claim 1, wherein the transporter is a belt that carries the cut chips and transports the chips to the chip storage unit, and the belt is disposed such that a part of the belt enters the chip storage unit. The printer according to claim 10, wherein: 14. A printer according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge roller disposed above said belt for discharging cut recording paper, and a protective cover provided at a position where said discharge roller and said conveying means face each other. The printer according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein a chip to be conveyed does not come into contact with the discharge roller. 15. A slitter for cutting a recording sheet in a conveying direction by using a conveying force of the recording sheet, and when a chip cut by the slitter enters the chip storing portion, a leading end thereof is already formed. 15. A chip guide for guiding chips so as to be stored in the chip storage portion while sliding on the upper surface of the stored chips without contacting the ends of the stored chips. The printer described.