JP2003128302A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device with a simple mechanism and capable of providing a great convenience to users dealing with paper jamming. SOLUTION: A printer forms an image on paper with dots by discharging ink droplets on paper. The printer 1 is provided with sensors SSBF and SSAF for detecting at which stage paper jamming has occurred inside a main body, before printing, during printing or after printing, and an alarm lamp for lighting to distinguishably indicate the stage the paper jamming has occurred, before, during or after printing, according to the detection result by the sensors SSBF and SSAF.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an inkjet printer for forming an image on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the widespread use of terminal devices such as personal computers in general consumer life, printer devices for printing image information including documents created by these terminal devices as documents have become widespread. ing. An image forming apparatus typified by such a printer apparatus usually has a structure in which a paper feed tray for storing paper to be fed is detachable. When the image forming apparatus is of a type that prints by an inkjet method, the ink tank is detachable so that the ink tank can be replaced. The image forming apparatus can perform a printing operation in a state where the paper feed tray storing the paper is attached to the main body, and the paper fed from the paper feed tray and printed is punched in a part of the main body. Paper is ejected from the paper ejection port. The user is required to replenish the paper feed tray with paper or replace the ink tank as necessary.

[0003]

By the way, in the conventional image forming apparatus, in order to inform that the paper is jammed inside the main body, that is, jammed, the fact is notified via a predetermined display device. I have something to do. The user can recognize that the paper is jammed by this notification and can remove the jammed paper from the main body.

However, such an informing mechanism merely informs that the paper is jammed. Therefore, in an image forming apparatus of a type that prints by an inkjet method, when the paper is jammed during printing, when the user removes the paper, the ink comes in contact with the ink before drying attached to the paper. Since there is a risk of soiling clothes, clothes, etc., the user needs to be careful when removing the paper. In particular, in an image forming apparatus in which the inside of the main body is difficult to see, the user
Since it is necessary to groping for the jammed paper without knowing where the jammed paper is, it is highly likely that the hands, clothes, etc. will be soiled even with due care.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and image formation capable of providing excellent convenience with a simple mechanism to a user who performs processing after paper is jammed. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An image forming apparatus according to the present invention that achieves the above-mentioned object is designed to eject ink droplets onto a recording medium, such that the ink droplets land on the recording sheet. An image forming apparatus for forming an image with dots on a sheet, the detecting means detecting whether the paper is jammed inside the main body before printing, during printing, or after printing, and depending on the detection result by this detecting means. In addition, a light emitting means is provided for notifying whether the paper is jammed before printing, during printing, or after printing so as to be identifiable.

In such an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the light emitting means performs a predetermined lighting operation in accordance with the detection result of the detecting means, and the paper is jammed before printing, during printing, or after printing. Informs that it is identifiable.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments to which the present invention is applied will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is of a type that prints by an ink jet method, and is applied to a printer apparatus having a so-called serial head shorter than the page width of a recording medium. is there. As shown in the external view of FIG.
Is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer casing, and includes a front panel 20 that is an operation surface that requires user operations such as attachment / detachment of a paper feed tray, removal of paper from a paper exit, and replacement of an ink tank. An object can be placed on the upper surface by providing it on one surface facing the user and making the upper surface substantially flat. In particular, the printer device 1 is provided with a lamp for notifying that the paper is jammed inside the main body, that is, jammed, and whether the paper is jammed before printing or whether the paper is jammed during printing or after printing. Can be notified in a distinguishable manner. In addition,
In the following description, unless otherwise specified, the printer device 1
The one surface facing the user is referred to as the front surface, and the right and left side surfaces when the front panel 20 is viewed from the front are referred to as the right side surface and the left side surface, respectively.

As shown schematically in FIG. 2, the printer device 1 has a cover 10 that forms the upper surface and both side surfaces of the printer device 1 when one surface facing the user is the front surface, and the front surface of the printer device 1. A front panel 20 that is an exterior panel that forms a sheet, a main body 30 that forms the bottom surface and the back surface of the printer device 1, a paper feed tray 40 that is a paper feed tray means for storing the paper to be fed, and will be described later. A paper discharge door 50 that covers the paper discharge port 22 and an ink exchange door 6 for exchanging ink tanks 100a and 100b described later.
0 and a paper discharge tray 70 which is a paper discharge tray unit for discharging printed paper, and
An option device 80 for implementing various extended functions described later is provided as necessary.

The cover 10 forms the upper surface and both side surfaces of the printer device 1 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and at least the surface forming the upper surface is a substantially flat surface. Cover 10
Are mounted after being positioned with respect to the main body 30, and form the outer casing of the printer device 1.

The front panel 20 forms the front surface of the printer device 1 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a substantially flat main surface. As shown in FIG. 3, the front panel 20 has a paper feed tray attaching / detaching port 21 for attaching / detaching the paper feed tray 40 to / from the main body 30, and a paper ejection port 22 for ejecting the printed paper. , Ink tanks 100a, 10
0b, an optional device attaching / detaching port 24 for attaching / detaching the optional device 80 to / from the main body 30, and a switch group 90 which is at least one or more operators for various operations. A switch opening 25 for exposing and a lamp group 9 which is at least one light emitting element for notifying various states of the printer device 1 concerned.
At least a lamp opening 26 for exposing 1 to the outside is provided.

Here, the switch group 90 is composed of, for example, a power switch of the printer 1 and operation switches for performing various other operations such as mode switching. Further, the lamp group 91 indicates, for example, that the power is ON, a status lamp indicating that printing is being performed, a notification that the paper is jammed inside the main body 30, and the ink tanks 100a and 100b. It is composed of a warning lamp or the like for notifying that the replacement is required. For example, the printer device 1 detects that a paper jam has occurred by a sensor provided inside the main body 30, and controls the lighting of a lamp that notifies that the paper is jammed inside the main body 30. At this time, in the printer device 1, as will be described later, in order to indicate whether a paper jam has occurred during the paper feeding operation or a paper jam during the paper ejection operation, a blinking pattern, a lighting color, etc. It is equipped with multiple lamps that can be changed or adapted to each situation. Further, the printer device 1 electrically counts the ink ejection amount from the ink tanks 100a and 100b, and when the counted ejection amount is equal to or larger than a predetermined capacity, the ink tanks 100a and 1b are ejected.
The lamp that notifies that 00b needs to be replaced is turned on. At this time, the printer device 1 uses the ink tank 100
As a lamp for notifying that a and 100b need to be replaced, it blinks to show which of the color ink tank 100a and the black and white ink tank 100b needs to be replaced. The pattern, lighting color, etc. are changed, and each ink tank 100a, 100
It is equipped with multiple lamps corresponding to b. The printer device 1 may include, as the lamp group 91, a lamp for prompting closing of the opened paper discharge door 50, if necessary. In this case, the printer device 1 is provided with a sensor for detecting whether or not the sheets are stacked on the upper surface of the opened discharge door 50, and the lamp is turned on when the sheets are open without being stacked. The lighting may be controlled.

The front panel 20 as described above includes the main body 3
The outer casing of the printer device 1 is formed after being positioned with respect to 0. On the front panel 20, as will be described later, a paper ejection door 50 is attached so as to cover the paper ejection port 22, and an ink exchange door 60 is attached so as to cover the ink exchange port 23.

The main body 30 is a printer device 1 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.
To form the bottom surface and the back surface of the. That is, the printer device 1 forms at least the cover 10, the front panel 20, and the main body 30 into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer casing. In addition, in the printer device 1, an object having a predetermined weight is covered by the cover 1.
It goes without saying that the specifications of the cover 10, the front panel 20 and the main body 30 are set so that no trouble will occur even when the cover 10 is placed on the upper surface of the No. 0. Body 30
As will be described later in detail, as various driving mechanisms inside, the ink tank carriage 111 is used when performing a printing operation.
A head unit drive mechanism 31 for driving the head unit 110 configured by mounting the ink tanks 100a and 100b in the sheet width direction, and the ink tank 1.
Ink tank 100 when replacing 00a and 100b
It has an ink tank drive mechanism 32 for driving and transporting a and 100b, and a paper reversal drive mechanism 33 for reversing the paper fed from the paper feed tray 40 and sending it to the printing unit by the head unit 110. Also, the main body 30
Although not shown here, as described later, as an additional mechanism, a paper discharge door opening mechanism for opening the paper discharge door 50 in a state where the paper discharge port 22 is closed, It has a lock mechanism for preventing the user from manually opening the ink exchange door 60 with the ink exchange port 23 closed. Furthermore, the main body 30
Has an electric control section 34 for supplying power and controlling at least the above-described switch group 90 and lamp group 91 and other various electric systems (not shown) inside. Furthermore, the main body 30 may have an automatic paper ejection mechanism (not shown) for automatically ejecting the jammed paper, as will be described later.

The main body 30 is, as shown in FIG.
Inside thereof, it is formed so as to have at least a space in which the paper feed tray 40 is mounted and a space in which paper is discharged from the front surface where the front panel 20 is mounted to the printing portion. That is, in the main body 30, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 is arranged inside and along the right side surface of the main body 30, and the electric control section 34 is arranged along the left side surface and the left side surface thereof. And the head unit drive mechanism 31 and the paper reversal drive mechanism 33 are arranged on the back side and along the back side, so that the central portion can be fed and discharged. Is provided. In the printer device 1,
The space in which the paper feed tray 40 is mounted is the front panel 20.
It has a structure that communicates with the paper feed tray attachment / detachment port 21 and the space where the paper is discharged communicates with the paper discharge port 22 of the front panel 20.

Further, in the printer device 1, the space in which the paper is discharged is a space in which the user inserts his / her hand in order to take out the paper when the paper is jammed inside the main body 30. That is, if a user has a paper jam inside the main body 30 in the process of discharging the paper,
The paper can be removed by inserting a hand from the paper exit 22 of the front panel 20. Further, as will be described later, in the main body 30, a jammed paper removal port 35 is formed on the back surface for taking out the paper inside the main body 30 when the paper is jammed in the process of being fed. Has been done. The main body 30 has a maintenance lamp, which is a light emitting element that emits light when a paper jam occurs, as will be described later. That is, the main body 30 illuminates the inside of the main body 30 when the paper jam occurs due to this lamp so that the user can easily recognize the internal state when inserting the hand to remove the jammed paper. It should be noted that this lamp can be replaced by, for example, the light emission of a sensor provided inside the main body 30 such as a sensor (not shown here) for detecting the type of the sheet to be printed, specifically, the width of the sheet.

The paper feed tray 40 is, as shown in FIG. 1, via the paper feed tray attaching / detaching port 21 of the front panel 20.
It is attached to the main body 30. The paper feed tray 40 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the sheet can be detached from the main body 30 by being pulled out through the paper feed tray attaching / detaching port 21. As shown in the figure, the paper feed tray 40 has a substantially box shape and stores a plurality of paper sheets. At this time, the sheet is positioned according to the size and stored in the sheet feed tray 40. The printer device 1 is set in a state in which paper can be supplied by pulling out the paper feed tray 40 toward the front, and in a state in which printing operation can be performed by mounting the paper feed tray 40 in the state shown in FIG. To be done.

As shown in FIG. 1, the paper discharge door 50 has a flat plate shape having a substantially planar main surface, and is provided so as to cover the paper discharge port 22 of the front panel 20. Specifically, the discharge door 50 contacts the front panel 20 by being magnetically attracted by a magnet provided inside the main body 30 so as to face the back surface side (not shown) of the button 51.
The discharge port 22 is covered. Printer device 1
The provision of the paper discharge door 50 can significantly reduce the possibility that dust and the like will enter the inside of the main body 30 from the paper discharge port 22, and will give a visually high-class feeling. . As will be described later, when the printing operation is started, the discharge door 50 is driven by a driving force in a direction against the magnetic attraction force of the magnet by the discharge door opening mechanism inside the main body 30. As shown in FIG.
It is opened by its own weight in the direction of arrow a with the fulcrum as the fulcrum. That is, in the paper discharge door 50, the gear portion 52 is rotatably attached to the front panel 20 via a pin (not shown), and can be opened and closed centering on the pin.
When the paper discharge door 50 of the printer device 1 is opened, the paper discharge port 22 is exposed. In the printer device 1, as shown in FIG. 6, the printed sheet P is ejected from the ejection port 22 and is ejected from the ejection tray 70 described later in a state where the ejection door 50 is opened. The sheets are stacked on the upper surface of the sheet discharge door 50. Therefore, the discharge door 50 also functions as an auxiliary discharge tray together with the discharge tray 70 in the opened state. Note that the opened paper discharge door 50 is manually closed by the user at a desired time after the printing operation is completed, but is automatically closed after confirming that no paper is placed. Such a configuration may be adopted.

Here, the paper printed by the printer device 1 is ejected on the basis of the right side when the front panel 20 is viewed from the front. That is, in the printer device 1, when printing is performed on a sheet having a width significantly shorter than the longitudinal width of the sheet discharge port 22, such as a sheet of postcard size, although not shown, By storing the paper with the right side of the paper feed tray 40 as a reference, FIG.
As shown in, the printed sheet P is discharged from the sheet discharge port 22 with the right side as a reference. Therefore, in the printer device 1, when a paper jam occurs during the paper ejection process, there is a variation depending on the size of the paper and other conditions. Expected to be high. Therefore, in the printer device 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the discharge port 22 is formed in a shape in which the length in the height direction of the right side portion is increased. That is, in the printer device 1, the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 is provided on the front panel 20.
Is provided not in the right side region of the opening that is originally a part of the paper discharge port 22 but in the upper left region thereof, so that the volume of the right side portion of the paper discharge port 22 is increased. As described above, in the printer device 1, the maintenance space for removing the jammed paper in the process of discharging the paper can be made larger, and even if the paper having the minimum size is jammed, the user can The sheet can be easily taken out. As will be described later, the printer device 1 is configured to guide external illumination light into the inside of the main body 30, such as a case where all or part of the back surface of the paper discharge door 50 is a mirror surface. be able to. That is, the printer device 1 guides external illumination light to the inside of the main body 30 so that the user can easily recognize the internal state when inserting a hand to remove the jammed paper, and Can be illuminated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink exchange door 60 has a substantially flat main surface and is provided so as to cover the ink exchange port 23 of the front panel 20. Specifically, the ink exchange door 60 has a support portion 62 shown in FIG. 8 rotatably attached to the front panel 20 via a pin (not shown), and is openable / closable about this pin. The push button 61 is fitted into the notch hole 27 provided in the front panel 20 to cover the ink exchange port 23. Note that FIG. 8 shows a view of the ink replacement door 60 as viewed from the back surface side. When replacing the ink tanks 100a and 100b, the ink replacement door 60 is opened in the direction of the arrow b with the support portion 62 as a fulcrum, as shown in FIG. Specifically, in the printer device 1, the ink tanks 100 a, 100
When replacing b, the user pushes the push-in button 61, so that the ink tank drive mechanism 32 inside the main body 30 is actuated, and the ink tank 100a provided inside the main body 30 is operated. The ink exchange box 120 to which 100b is attached is moved toward the ink exchange port 23. Then, in the printer device 1, the side wall 120a of the ink exchange box 120 facing the ink exchange port 23 comes into contact with the ink exchange door 60 to push the ink exchange door 60 outward. And apply force. With this,
In the printer device 1, the ink replacement door 60 is opened as shown in FIG.
a is also opened by being removed from the other side wall of the ink exchange box 120, and the ink exchange box 120 equipped with the ink tank 100a (and / or the ink tank 100b) is exposed to the outside. In this state, the user can replace the desired ink tank.

The printer device 1 is, for example, CMY.
A color ink tank 100 a containing (cyan, magenta, yellow) ink and a black and white ink tank 100 b containing K (black) ink can be attached to the ink exchange box 120.

In the printer device 1, when the replacement of the ink tank 100a (or the ink tank 100b) is completed, the user presses the push button 61 to cause the ink tank drive mechanism 3 inside the main body 30 to be described later.
2 is activated, and the ink replacement box 120 is attached to the main body 30.
Ink tank carriage 111 provided inside the printer
By being moved in the direction of, the ink exchange door 60 closes the ink exchange port 23, as shown in FIG. In the printer device 1, when the ink replacement box 120 reaches the ink tank carriage 111 inside the main body 30, the ink tanks 100 a, 1
00b is attached to the ink tank carriage 111.
In the printer device 1, a lock mechanism inside the main body 30, which will be described later, does not open the ink exchange door 60 in a state where the ink exchange port 23 is closed, even if the user tries to open it manually. .

As shown schematically in FIG. 10, the paper discharge tray 70 is usually arranged so as to cover the main surface of the paper feed tray 40 mounted inside the main body 30 (not shown) so as to cover its main surface, and is opened. Together with the paper discharge door 50 in the cut state, the paper discharge path for the printed paper sent out from the right side of FIG. Here, in the discharge tray 70, as shown in FIG. 11, the edge portion on the side where the discharge door 50 is provided overlaps the edge portion of the opened discharge door 50 in the vertical direction. And the upper surface of the paper discharge tray 70 is located above the upper surface of the opened paper discharge door 50. As described above, the printer device 1 vertically overlaps the edge portion of the sheet discharge tray 70 and the edge portion of the opened sheet discharge door 50, thereby allowing the sheet discharge tray 70 and the sheet discharge door 50 to overlap with each other. It is possible to prevent a gap from being generated between them, and by positioning the upper surface of the paper discharge tray 70 above the upper surface of the opened paper discharge door 50, the printed paper is discharged from the paper discharge tray 70. It is possible to prevent the step at the boundary of the paper door 50 from being clogged as a barrier. Therefore, in the printer device 1, the sheet can be smoothly discharged to the outside. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the paper discharge tray 70 can be detachably detached from the main body 30 by being pulled out through the paper discharge port 22 of the front panel 20. In the printer device 1, as shown in the figure, the discharge tray 70 is adjusted and mounted such that a part of the discharge tray 70 is exposed from the main body 30, so that the length of the sheet in the discharge direction is long, for example. It is possible to prevent the discharged paper from falling off from the printer device 1 when performing printing on the paper.

The option device 80, which will be described in detail later, is attached to the main body 30 as necessary and is, for example, an expansion unit that functions as an interface between the printer device 1 and an external device. The optional device 80 is configured by covering a substrate (not shown) with a metal casing having a shielding property. As shown in FIG. 13, the option device 80 includes the front panel 2
Through an optional device attaching / detaching port 24 of 0, it can be attached / detached to / from a slot attached to the front panel 20 inside the main body 30 not shown here. Here, as described later, a panel 28 having substantially the same shape as the option device attaching / detaching port 24 is attached to the option device 80, and the panel 28 is used to attach / detach the slot.

Further, as shown in the external view of FIG. 14, the printer 1 is provided with a lid 36 on the back surface of the printer 1 for covering the jammed paper removing port 35 described above.
The lid 36 is detachable from the main body 30.
In the printer device 1, when the lid 36 is removed, the above-described paper reversing drive mechanism 33 for sending the paper fed from the paper feed tray 40 to the paper discharge path is externally supplied as shown in FIG. It is made visible. If the paper is jammed inside the main body 30 before being sent to the paper discharge path, the user removes the lid 36 and inserts a hand from the jammed paper removing port 35 to remove the paper. You can

Further, the printer device 1 is provided with a power cord inserting portion 37 for inserting a power cord on the back surface.
In the printer device 1, the power cord insertion portion 37
Power is supplied from the household outlet via the. Further, the printer device 1 may be, for example, a so-called USB (Universal Serial Bus) or IEEE (Inst
IEEE Std. 13 approved by the Itute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
94-1995: IEEE Standard for a High Performance seria
A bus connection unit 38 is provided for connecting a serial bus in conformity with IEEE 1394, which has various standards based on the Bus standard as a basic specification. The printer device 1 can be connected to a host computer or the like via the bus connection unit 38 to receive image data to be printed and various control signals.

Next, various drive mechanisms inside the main body 30 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 16, the main body 30 has a head unit drive mechanism 3 as various drive mechanisms inside.
1, an ink tank drive mechanism 32, and a paper reversal drive mechanism 33.

The head unit drive mechanism 31 includes a main body 30.
The head unit 110 is reciprocally driven in the direction of arrow c in the figure by using a drive motor or the like (not shown) as a drive source, with the shaft 31a spanning over both side surfaces as the axis. Specifically, when the printing operation is not performed, the head unit drive mechanism 31 has a head on the right side where an ink tank drive mechanism 32, which will be described later, is disposed inside the main body 30, as shown in FIG. The head unit 110 is moved so that the unit 110 is located. Head unit 11
At 0, the position is the home position. Further, the head unit drive mechanism 31 reciprocally drives the head carriage 111 in the direction of arrow c in the figure during the printing operation. That is, in the printer device 1, the ink tanks 100a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10a, 10b are formed over the printing portion formed along the shaft 31a of the head unit drive mechanism 31.
The serial head type printing operation is performed by reciprocally driving the head unit 110 to which 0b is attached in the paper width direction. In the printer device 1, the ink tanks 100a and 100b are provided with the main body 30.
A drive element (not shown) that is driven under the control of a control unit (not shown) provided inside the ink tanks 100a and 100b is used. Ink is ejected.

In the ink tank drive mechanism 32, the ink replacement box 120 is moved in the direction of the arrow d in the figure using a drive motor (not shown) as a drive source along a rail 32a that extends from the front surface to the back surface of the main body 30. Drive back and forth. Specifically, as described above, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 operates when the user presses the push-in button 61, and the ink tanks 100a and 100b mounted on the head unit 110 that need to be replaced are replaced. The ink exchange box 120 is attached to the ink exchange box 120, and the ink exchange box 120 is moved toward the ink exchange port 23. At this time, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 can expose the ink replacement box 120 to the outside in a few seconds after the ink replacement box 120 is closest to the head unit 110. Then, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 is activated again when the user presses the push button 61 after the replacement of the ink tanks 100a and 100b is completed, and moves the ink replacement box 120 toward the head unit 110. In addition, when a predetermined load is applied when the ink replacement box 120 is moved toward the head unit 110, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 detects the load and detects the load of the ink replacement box 120. A mechanism to stop the movement is attached. As a result, in the printer device 1, even if the ink replacement door 60 is about to be closed while the user inserts his / her finger into the ink replacement port 23, the ink replacement box 120 can be moved quickly. Is stopped and the ink tank drive mechanism 32 is opened so that the ink replacement door 60 is opened.
Can be activated.

Further, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 is provided with the ink exchange box 120 in order to operate the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130, a part of which is shown in the figure, during the printing operation. It reciprocates in the direction of arrow d in the figure.
That is, in the printer device 1, as described above, when the printing operation is started, the paper discharge door 50 is opened, and the driving force for opening the paper discharge door 50 is generated by the movement of the ink exchange box 120. . The discharge door opening mechanism 130 will be described later.

Further, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 has the above-mentioned lock mechanism so that the ink replacement door 60 is opened according to the transport position of the ink replacement box 120. That is, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 prevents the user from manually opening the ink replacement door 60 except when the ink tanks 100a and 100b are replaced. This lock mechanism will also be described later.

When the printing operation is started, the paper reversing drive mechanism 33 uses a drive motor (not shown) or the like as a drive source for a roller 33b rotatably supported by a shaft 33a installed across both side surfaces of the main body 30. Rotate in the direction of e. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17, the paper reversing drive mechanism 33 rotates the roller 33b in the direction of the arrow f in FIG.
The paper P is reversed by being wound from the lower part of 3b, and is sent out from the upper part of the roller 33b to the printing part PL by the head unit 110. The paper inversion drive mechanism 33 is
The head unit 1 is driven by the head unit drive mechanism 31.
Printing of each line on the paper P is performed such that when 10 is moved and the paper 33 is printed by the ink droplets ejected from the ink tanks 100a and 100b for one line, the roller 33b is rotated by a predetermined angle. The roller 33b is sequentially rotated every time and is sent to the paper discharge path.

A printer device 1 having the above-mentioned components
Performs the printing operation as follows.

First, in the printer device 1, the user has a switch group 90 exposed from the front panel 20.
Turn on the power by pressing the power switch at
By pulling out the paper feed tray 40 from the paper feed tray attaching / detaching port 21 of the front panel 20 to store a predetermined number of sheets of paper and pushing the paper feed tray 40, the paper feed tray 40
Is attached to the main body 30. Then, in the printer device 1, one end of the paper is pressed against the reversing roller 33 b in the paper reversing drive mechanism 33. Further, in the printer device 1, the user pushes the push button 6 as necessary.
Pressing 1 activates the ink tank drive mechanism 32, and the ink tanks 100a and 100b are replaced through the opened ink replacement door 60 of the front panel 20.

In the printer device 1, when the preparation for the printing operation is thus completed and the printing operation is started,
The paper discharge door opening mechanism 130 is operated to open the paper discharge door 50, and the roller 33b is rotationally driven by the operation of the paper reversing drive mechanism 33, so that one paper is sent out from the paper feed tray 40. Be done.

Subsequently, in the printer device 1, the sheet that has been inverted and sent out by the operation of the sheet inversion drive mechanism 33 is sent out to the printing section. Then, in the printer device 1, the head unit drive mechanism 31 operates at a predetermined timing to move the head unit 110, and ink droplets are ejected from nozzles (not shown) in the ink tanks 100a and 100b to land on the paper. By doing so, information including characters and / or images is printed as dots on the paper. Then, in the printer device 1, the sheets are sequentially sent out by the operation of the sheet reversing drive mechanism 33, discharged from the sheet discharge port 22 of the front panel 20, and the upper surface of the sheet discharge door 50 opened from the sheet discharge tray 70. Stacked across.

The printer device 1 produces a printed matter by performing such an operation. As described above, since the printer device 1 can perform all the main operations through the front panel 20, it is possible to freely use the upper surface which is a flat surface, and for example, to place an object. You can That is, the printer device 1 can be stacked and housed together with other AV equipment.

As described above, the printer device 1 has, as the lamp group 91, the warning lamp for notifying that the paper is jammed in the main body 30. The warning lamp can notify whether the paper is jammed before printing or whether the paper is jammed during printing or after printing. That is, the warning lamp can distinguishably inform whether the paper jam occurs during the paper feeding operation or the paper jam occurs during the paper discharging operation. On this occasion,
The printer device 1 detects whether the paper jam occurs before printing, during printing, or after printing by a detection unit such as at least one sensor. The following may be considered as this detection method.

First, in the first method, at least one sensor capable of discriminating the front-rear position in the traveling direction of the sheet with respect to the printing portion PL is provided as the detecting means, and the position where the paper jam occurs is detected by this sensor. It is something to detect.

For example, in the printer device 1, as shown in FIG. 18, it is conceivable to provide the sensor SS _BF in a part of the paper feed path of the paper P that is reversed by the paper reversal drive mechanism 33. The sensor SS _BF is capable of detecting whether or not the paper P is present at the installed corresponding position, and when the paper P does not reach the corresponding position within a predetermined time or after the predetermined time has elapsed. Also generates an error signal when the paper P is not fed from the corresponding position.

When the paper P is fed from the paper feed tray 40, the printer apparatus 1 normally feeds the paper P in a predetermined time.
Therefore, in the printer device 1, when the sensor SS _BF detects that the paper P does not reach the corresponding position within a predetermined time after the paper P is started to be fed from the paper feed tray 40, and Even after the lapse of a predetermined time, it is determined that the paper P has not been sent out from the corresponding position and the sensor S
When detected by S _BF , it is determined that a paper jam has occurred before printing, that is, during the paper feeding operation, and an error signal is generated by the sensor SS _BF . The printer device 1 controls the lighting operation of the warning lamps in the lamp group 91 described above by the electric control unit 34 based on the error signal from the sensor SS _BF .

On the other hand, the printer device 1 uses the sensor SS _BF.
When the paper P that has passed through the corresponding position reaches the printing portion PL, the head unit driving mechanism 31 moves the head unit 110 to start printing. At that time, if an abnormal situation occurs during printing and the printing operation and the paper discharge operation are stopped, the printer device 1 determines that a paper jam has occurred during printing, that is, during the paper discharge operation, The electric control unit 34 controls to perform a lighting operation different from the above-described lighting operation of the warning lamp when a paper jam occurs during the paper feeding operation. For example, in the printer device 1, as described above, the blinking pattern such as the blinking interval of the warning lamp and / or the lighting color is changed depending on whether the paper jam occurs before printing or during printing. Let Further, the printer device 1 may be equipped with a plurality of lamps that are turned on as warning lamps depending on whether the paper jam occurs before printing or during printing.

The printer device 1 has a sensor SS _BF.
Is not provided in a part of the paper feed path of the paper P that is inverted by the paper inversion drive mechanism 33, and is not capable of detecting whether or not the paper P is present at the corresponding position. A device that detects a load applied to a drive motor (not shown) that supplies a drive source that drives the motor may be used. That is, in the printer apparatus 1, the operation of the paper reversing drive mechanism 33 is usually hindered due to the bending of the paper due to paper jam, and as a result, the load on the drive motor increases. When the sensor SS _BF detects that a load equal to or more than a predetermined allowable value is applied to the drive motor, the printer device 1 determines that paper jam has occurred before printing, and the printer device 1 supplies the paper. The paper operation may be stopped and an error signal from the sensor SS _BF may be generated.

As described above, the printer device 1 has the printing unit P.
At least one sensor SS _BF capable of discriminating the front-back position of the sheet in the traveling direction with respect to L is provided.
S _{B F} by can detect the position where the paper jam has occurred, based on the error signal by the sensor SS _BF, by controlling the lighting operation of the warning lamp, the paper at any state during the printing before or printing It is possible to inform whether or not a clogging has occurred.

Next, the second method uses the above
Sensor SS according to the first method described above _BFIn addition to
Provide at least one sensor and use these sensors
The position where the paper jam occurs is detected.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18, the printer device 1 is provided with a sensor SS _BF in a part of the paper feed path of the paper P that is reversed by the paper reversal drive mechanism 33, and the printing unit. A sensor SS _AF is provided near PL.
The sensors SS _BF and SS _AF are each capable of detecting whether or not the paper P is present at the installed corresponding position, and when the paper P does not reach the corresponding position within a predetermined time and when the paper P does not reach the corresponding position. If the paper P is not delivered from the corresponding position even after the lapse of time, an error signal is generated.

As described above, the printer device 1 causes the sensor SS _BF to generate an error signal when the sensor SS _BF is used to detect the occurrence of a paper jam before printing.

On the other hand, the printer device 1 uses the sensor SS _BF.
When the sheet P that has passed the corresponding position of (1) reaches the corresponding position of the sensor SS _AF , the head unit drive mechanism 31 moves the head unit 110, and printing is started.
Therefore, the printer device 1, although the paper P sheet P has reached the printing unit PL within a predetermined time, by what the sensor SS _AF even after a predetermined time has elapsed the sheet P is not fed out from the corresponding position If detected, it is determined that a paper jam has occurred during or after printing, that is, during the paper discharge operation, and an error signal is generated by the sensor SS _AF .

The printer device 1 uses the sensor SS _AF.
For example, as shown in FIG. 19, the sensor for detecting the type of the printing paper can be substituted. That is, the printer device 1 includes the head unit 1
A sensor SS _AF for detecting the width of the sheet to be printed is provided at a position corresponding to the printing portion PL, which is a part of the ink tank carriage 111 in the sensor SS 10.
Based on the detection result by _AF , the head unit drive mechanism 31 moves the head unit 110 to a corresponding position to start printing. The printer device 1 may use the sensor SS _AF to detect whether or not a paper jam has occurred during the paper discharge operation.

Further, the printer device 1 is provided with the sensor SS _AF.
Is not provided for the purpose of detecting whether or not the paper P is present at the corresponding position, provided in the vicinity of the printing unit PL, but for a drive motor (not shown) that supplies a drive source for driving the head unit drive mechanism 31. A device that detects the applied load may be used. That is, in the printer device 1, as described above, when a paper jam occurs, not only the operation of the paper reversing drive mechanism 33 but also the operation of the head unit drive mechanism 31 is hindered, resulting in a large load on the drive motor. Become. The printer device 1 uses this to determine that a paper jam has occurred during or after printing when the sensor SS _AF detects that a load equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable value is applied to the drive motor. Alternatively, the paper discharge operation may be stopped and an error signal generated by the sensor SS _AF may be generated.

The printer device 1 has such a sensor SS.
_The electric control unit 34 controls the lighting operation of the warning lamps in the lamp group 91 based on the error signal from the _{BF 1} and SS _AF . For example, in the printer device 1,
As described above, the blinking pattern such as the blinking interval of the warning lamp and / or the lighting color is changed depending on whether the paper jam occurs before printing, during printing, or after printing. Further, the printer device 1 may be provided with a plurality of lamps that are turned on as warning lamps depending on whether the paper jam occurs before printing, during printing, or after printing.

As described above, the printer device 1 has the printing unit P.
At least two sensors SS _BF and SS _AF that can determine the front and rear position of the paper in the traveling direction with respect to L are provided, and the position where the paper jam occurs can be detected by these sensors SS _BF and SS _AF . Sensor SS
By controlling the lighting operation of the warning lamp based on the error signal from _{BF 1} and SS _AF , it is possible to inform whether the paper jam occurs before printing, during printing, or after printing.

Then, the third method is as a detection means,
The position where the paper jam occurs is detected by combining the detection result by at least one sensor that detects the occurrence of the paper jam and the detection result by the sensor that detects the occurrence of the print signal.

Specifically, the printer device 1 is, for example,
By using a sensor provided in a part of the paper feed path or the paper discharge path described above, a sensor that detects a load applied to the drive motor that drives the head unit drive mechanism 31 or the paper reversal drive mechanism 33 described above, and the like. , Detects that a paper jam has occurred. The printer device 1 does not need to determine the position where the paper jam has occurred by using this sensor alone, and only needs to detect that the paper jam has occurred. Then, the printer device 1 determines whether or not a print signal is generated, that is,
Whether or not ink is ejected from the ink tanks 100a and 100b is detected by a control unit (not shown) or the like.

When only the error signal from the sensor for detecting the occurrence of the paper jam has occurred, the printer device 1 judges that the paper jam has occurred before printing, and the electric control unit 34 causes the lamp group 91 to operate. Control the lighting operation of the warning lamp in. On the other hand, when the printer apparatus 1 detects that an error signal is generated by the sensor that detects the occurrence of a paper jam and that a printing signal is also generated, the paper jam occurs during printing or after printing. The electronic control unit 34 controls to perform a lighting operation different from the lighting operation of the warning lamp when a paper jam occurs before printing.

As described above, the printer device 1 combines the detection result of at least one sensor that detects the occurrence of a paper jam and the detection result of the sensor that detects the occurrence of a print signal, thereby It is possible to detect the position of the jam and control the lighting operation of the warning lamp according to each situation to inform whether the paper jam occurred before printing, during printing, or after printing. be able to.

The printer device 1 determines whether the paper is jammed before printing or whether the paper is jammed during printing or after printing by applying, for example, the first method to the third method described above. Can be notified in a distinguishable manner. Therefore, when the paper jam occurs during printing or after printing, the user can recognize the fact.When removing the paper, the user may come into contact with the ink before drying attached to the paper. The risk of soiling hands, clothes, etc. can be reduced.

Note that the printer device 1 may have an automatic paper ejection mechanism for automatically ejecting jammed paper from the paper ejection port 22 of the front panel 20 as described above. That is, although not shown, the printer device 1 is provided inside the main body 30 under the control of the control unit (not shown) when the paper causing the paper jam can be discharged to the outside. The paper ejection mechanism is activated to eject the paper to the outside. On the other hand, when it is impossible to eject the paper that has caused the paper jam to the outside, the printer device 1 does not operate the automatic paper ejection mechanism and notifies the warning lamp.

As described above, the printer device 1 changes the subsequent processing according to the paper jam condition,
Even when a paper jam occurs during or after printing, the user does not need to insert his / her hand into the main body 30 when the paper can be automatically ejected, and the hand, clothes, etc. The risk of soiling can be greatly reduced. Note that such an automatic paper discharge mode can also be realized, for example, by the user pressing a switch (not shown) in the switch group 90 described above.

As described above, the printer device 1 illuminates the inside of the main body 30 in order to improve the convenience of the user who inserts his / her hand into the main body 30 when a paper jam occurs. Means can be provided.

Specifically, as described above, the printer device 1 can be provided with a light guide member for guiding the external illumination light to the inside of the main body 30 as the illumination means. For example, in the printer device 1, the rear surface of the paper discharge door 50, that is, the entire upper surface or a part of the upper surface of the paper discharge door 50 that is opened is a mirror surface that is installed at a predetermined angle. Can be guided inside the body 30. Also,
The printer device 1 may use a method other than a mirror surface on the back surface of the paper discharge door 50. For example, by providing an arbitrary light guide member in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 22, external illumination light can be emitted from the main body. The light may be guided to the inside of 30.

As described above, the printer device 1 is provided with at least one maintenance lamp, which is a light emitting element that emits light when a paper jam occurs, as the illumination means. Good. For example, as shown in FIG.
A lamp LM is provided in a part of the conveyance path of No. 3, and when the above-mentioned detection unit detects that a paper jam has occurred, the electric control unit 34 turns on the lamp LM. In addition,
The lamp LM is, for example, also be replaced by light emission of the sensor provided in the main body 30 such sensors for detecting the type of paper to be printed, such as a sensor SS _{A F} described above. Of course, the printer device 1 may be provided with a separate lamp LM in addition to the light emission of the sensor, and the interior of the main body 30 may be illuminated by both.

As described above, the printer device 1 includes the main body 30.
By illuminating the inside of the sheet, it is possible for the user who removes the jammed paper to recognize the state of the inside. Therefore, the user can easily remove the paper, and further reduce the risk of soiling the hands, clothes, and the like. The printer device 1 is
You may make it provide both a light guide member and a light emitting element as an illumination means.

Next, the discharge door opening mechanism 130 for opening the discharge door 50 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 20, the discharge door opening mechanism 130 includes a support portion 131 fixed to a side wall 39 provided inside the main body 30, and a pin 1 for the support portion 131.
Rotating lever 1 rotatably attached via 31a
32, a rotation member 133 that is rotatably attached to the support portion 131 via a pin 131a and that rotates with the rotation of the rotation lever 132, and is provided in parallel with the support portion 131 on the side wall 39. The latching piece 134 and the latching piece 13 that is rotatably attached to the support portion 131 via a pin 131a and that rotates with the rotation of the rotating lever 132.
1b and the hooking piece 134, and the hooking piece 13 is installed.
A tension coil spring 135 for urging 1b in the direction of an arrow g in the figure and a lower tip portion of the turning lever 132, which is not attached to the supporting portion 131, are provided in contact with each other, and the turning lever 132 is provided in the figure. The leaf spring 136 that urges in the direction of the arrow h, and the pin 133a with respect to the rotating member 133.
And a button 54 provided on the paper discharge door 50 connected to the connecting arm 137 for converting the turning operation of the turning member 133 into a linear operation. And a latch member 138 that holds and releases the fitting with a cutout hole portion 139b provided in a support plate 139, which will be described later, and a support plate 139 that supports the paper discharge door 50 in the closed state.

In such a discharge door opening mechanism 130, the rotation lever 132 is attached not to be perpendicular to the support portion 131 but to be inclined by a predetermined angle. Here, the rotating lever 132 is attached with the lower tip end portion inclined from the vertical direction toward the front panel 20 by a predetermined angle. In this state, the rotating lever 132 is in a steady state due to the biasing force acting in the direction of arrow g in the figure by the tension coil spring 135 and the biasing force acting in the direction of arrow h in the figure by the leaf spring 136. It is said that The paper discharge door opening mechanism 130 rotates the rotary lever 132 attached to the support portion 131 in this way in the direction of arrow i in FIG.
The connecting arm 137 is pulled in the direction of arrow g in the figure, and the button 54 and the cutout hole portion 1 are pulled by the latch member 138.
A driving force for releasing the engagement with 39b is generated. Specifically, in the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130, when the turning lever 132 is turned to the left in the figure, the turning member 133 also turns to the left in the figure. Accordingly, the connecting arm 137 is pulled so that the latch member 1
A driving force is applied to 38. On the other hand, in the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130, when the turning lever 132 is turned to the right in the figure, the turning member 133 also turns to the right in the figure, and with this, When the connecting arm 137 is pulled, a driving force is applied to the latch member 138. Here, in the paper ejection door opening mechanism 130, the driving force applied to the latch member 138 is adjusted by adjusting the distance by which the connecting arm 137 is pulled according to the turning operation of the turning lever 132. However, it is possible to switch between holding and releasing the fitting of the button 54 and the cutout hole portion 139b.

Here, the discharge door 50 has the magnet 1 provided on the support plate 139 as shown by the broken line in FIG.
The metal piece 53 provided on the back side of the button 51 is magnetically attracted by 39a, and the metal piece 53 is juxtaposed on the back side of the button 51 with respect to the cutout hole portion 139b provided on the support plate 139. When the button 54 is fitted, it is brought into contact with the support plate 139 to cover the paper discharge port 22. In this state, as shown in FIG. 21 (A), the rotation lever 132 is rotated by a predetermined angle α from the perpendicular line shown by the chain line portion in the figure to the left direction by the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130. When the turning lever 132 is turned so as to be in the state, the turning lever 132 is actually attached to the support portion 131 while being inclined by a predetermined angle β. The rotation angle is α-β, the distance by which the connecting arm 137 is pulled is small, and the fitting force between the button 54 and the cutout hole portion 139b is not released by the driving force applied to the latch member 138. Absent. On the other hand, in this state, the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130 causes the turning lever 132 to be turned by a predetermined angle α from the vertical line to the right in the figure, as shown in FIG. The rotation lever 13
When 2 is rotated, the rotation angle of the rotation lever 132 is actually α + β, the distance by which the connecting arm 137 is pulled is large, and the button 54 and the button 54 are moved by the driving force applied to the latch member 138. The fitting with the cutout hole portion 139b is released. As a result, the paper discharge door 50 is opened by its own weight in the direction of arrow j in the figure.

Now, in order to generate the driving force for opening the paper discharge door 50, it is necessary to rotate the rotating lever 132. Therefore, the printer device 1
In the above, the reciprocating drive of the ink exchange box 120 by the ink tank drive mechanism 32 is used as a drive source for rotating the rotary lever 132. That is, in the printer device 1, as shown in FIG. The rotary lever 132 is rotated by passing through and contacting the rotary lever 132.

For more specific description, FIG.
As shown in (A), the rotating lever 132 is brought into a steady state by the biasing force of the tension coil spring 135 (not shown) acting in the right direction in the figure and the biasing force of the leaf spring 136 acting in the thickness direction. On the other hand, it is assumed that the contact claw member 121 moves from the right side in the direction of arrow k in the figure. In this case, in the printer device 1, as shown in FIG. 1B, the contact claw member 121 abuts and pushes the rotating lever 132, whereby the rotating lever 132 moves in the direction of arrow l in the figure. Rotate. However, in the printer device 1, as described above, since the rotation lever 132 is attached to the support portion 131 while being tilted by a predetermined angle, the distance by which the connecting arm 137 is pulled is small, and the latch member is small. The driving force applied to the 138 does not release the fitting between the button 54 and the cutout hole portion 139b. Therefore, in this case, the paper discharge door 50 does not open and remains in a state of covering the paper discharge port 22. In the printer device 1, when the contact claw member 121 passes the rotation lever 132, the rotation lever 132 returns to the steady state position by the restoring force of the tension coil spring 135 described above.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6C, it is assumed that the contact claw member 121 moves from the left side of the rotating lever 132 in the steady state in the direction of arrow m in the figure. To do. In this case, in the printer device 1, as shown in FIG.
By abutting and pushing 32, the pivot lever 132 pivots in the direction of arrow n in the figure. Then, in the printer device 1, as described above, the connecting arm 13
The distance that 7 is pulled is large, and the driving force applied to the latch member 138 causes the button 54 and the cutout hole portion 1 to be removed.
The fitting with 39b is released. As a result, the discharge door 5
0 is opened by its own weight, and the printed sheet can be discharged to the outside. At this time, in the printer device 1, the leaf spring 136 is bent downward as the pivot lever 132 pivots. In the printer device 1, when the contact claw member 121 passes the rotation lever 132, the rotation lever 132 returns to the steady state position by the restoring force of the tension coil spring 135 and the restoring force of the leaf spring 136.

As described above, in the printer device 1,
When the printing operation is started, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 drives the ink exchange box 120 to reciprocate, thereby operating the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130 and opening the paper discharge door 50. With such a mechanism, in the printer device 1, the paper discharge door 50 is always opened when the printing operation is started,
The user does not care about the opening / closing state of the paper discharge door 50 before the printing operation. In the printer device 1, the ink replacement box 120 is provided while the printing operation is being performed.
May be continuously reciprocated, but may be reciprocated at least once before the printed sheet is ejected.

Next, a lock mechanism for locking the ink replacement door 60 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 23, the lock mechanism 140
Is provided along the ink tank drive mechanism 32 not shown here, and is connected to the ink exchange door 60.
The lock mechanism 140 includes a link member 141 whose one end is rotatably attached to the support portion 63 of the ink exchange door 60 via a pin (not shown), and one end of the link arm 141 with respect to the other end. Is rotatably attached via a pin 141a, an operating piece 143 rotatably attached to the operating arm 142 via a pin 141a, and an operating piece 143.
Is rotatably attached via a rotation support shaft 144a, and as the operating piece 143 rotates, arrows o and p in FIG.
The operating member 144 that rotates in the direction of the
A hooking piece 145 provided on the extension line on the other end side of 2,
Hooking piece 142a formed on the other end of the operation arm 142
And the latching piece 145, and the operation arm 14 is installed.
2 has a tension coil spring 146 for urging 2 in the direction of arrow q in the figure.

In such a lock mechanism 140, the operation arm 142 and the connecting arm 141 are pulled in the direction of the arrow q in the figure by the urging force of the tension coil spring 146, and the ink exchange door 60 is not opened accordingly. It is configured. Further, in the lock mechanism 140, the distal end portion of the actuating member 144 is bent substantially at a right angle to form the lock claw member 144b, and a part of the operation arm 142 in the longitudinal direction is projected in a T shape. An engagement claw member 142b that engages with the lock claw member 144b is formed. Further, the lock mechanism 140
Although not shown in the figure, for example, a torsion coil spring or the like is attached to the rotation support shaft 144a, biases the actuating member 144 in the direction of arrow o in the figure, and engages with the lock claw member 144b. The claw member 142b is configured to engage.

In this way, the lock mechanism 140 can lock the ink exchange door 60 with the ink exchange port 23 closed by the engagement of the lock pawl member 144b and the engagement pawl member 142. .

On the other hand, the lock mechanism 140 must be unlocked and the ink replacement door 60 must be opened when replacing the ink tanks 100a and 100b. Therefore, in the printer device 1, the lock is released by using the contact claw member 122 projecting from the bottom surface of the ink replacement box 120 to the ink replacement door 60 side. That is, in the printer device 1, the slope portion 143a is provided on the upper surface of the operating piece 143 of the lock mechanism 140, and the ink tank drive mechanism 32 moves the ink replacement box 120 in the direction of arrow r in the figure. Then, the lower surface of the contact claw member 122 contacts the slope portion 143a, whereby the lock is released.

More specifically, in the lock mechanism 140, the lower surface of the contact claw member 122 abuts on the slope portion 143a, and the ink replacement box 120 causes the slope portion 14 to move.
By moving along 3a, the operating piece 143 rotates about the pin 141a in the direction of arrow p in the figure. Accordingly, in the lock mechanism 140,
The actuating member 144 also rotates about the rotation support shaft 144a in the direction of arrow p in the figure, and the engagement between the lock claw member 144b and the engagement claw member 142b is released.

In the printer device 1, when the lock is released in this way, as described above, the side wall 120a of the ink exchanging box 120 contacts the ink exchanging door 60, whereby the ink exchanging door 60 is released. Is released. On the other hand, in the printer device 1, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 drives the ink replacement box 120.
Starts to move in the direction of arrow q in the figure, the operating arm 142 and the connecting arm 141 are pulled in the direction of arrow q in the figure by the restoring force of the tension coil spring 146, and the ink replacement door 60 is accompanied by this. Is blocked.
At this time, in the lock mechanism 140, as the lower surface of the contact claw member 122 passes through the slope portion 143a, the actuating member 144 is urged again in the direction of the arrow o in the figure, and the lock claw member 144b. The state where the engaging claw member 142b is engaged is restored.

As described above, in the printer device 1,
The lock mechanism 140 locks the ink exchange door 60 in a state where the ink exchange port 23 is closed, so that it cannot be opened even if the user tries to open it manually. Therefore, in the printer device 1, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the user unnecessarily opens the ink exchange door 60, and dust or the like is discharged from the ink exchange port 23 to the main body 30.
It is also possible to reduce the possibility of being mixed inside.

Next, the option device 80 will be described.

The option device 80 is a unit for expanding the function of the printer device 1, and is, for example, a USB.
An interface for transmitting / receiving data to / from an external device by wire communication such as or IEEE 1394 or wireless communication such as infrared ray or Bluetooth can be considered. Further, the optional device 80 may be a drive device in which a recording medium such as a memory card can be attached and detached.
The printer device 1 can also perform a process of converting data supplied from an external device or data recorded on a recording medium via the option device 80 into a format suitable for printing. The optional device 80 will be described here as an interface that transmits and receives data by wire communication.

Specifically, the option device 80 is shown in FIG.
As shown in 4, upper half 8 made of metal with a shielding property
1 and the lower half 83, and the substrate 82.

The board 82 is provided with a bus connecting portion 82a for connecting a bus and a connector portion 82b for electrically connecting with the main body 30. When the option device 80 is an interface for transmitting and receiving data by wireless communication, the substrate 82 is provided with a light receiving portion for receiving a signal instead of the bus connecting portion 82a.

On the side wall of the lower half 83, a notch 83a for exposing the bus connecting portion 82a of the substrate 82 to the outside of the lower half 83, and the connector portion 82b of the substrate 82 to the outside of the lower half 83. A cutout portion 83b is provided for making it. Also, the lower half 83
Openings 83c and 83d for attaching a panel 28, which will be described later, are formed in the side wall of the.

Such an optional device 80 is provided with the substrate 8
2 is screwed inside the lower half 83, and the upper half 81 covers the lower half 83.
As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate 82 is sandwiched between the upper half 81 and the lower half 83 to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer casing. As a result, the option device 80 can be made resistant to static electricity, noise, etc., and hard to break.

Further, a panel 28 shown in the figure is attached to the optional device 80. As described above, the panel 28 has a main surface that is substantially the same shape as the option device attaching / detaching port 24 of the front panel 20. On the main surface of the panel 28, when the optional device 80 is attached to the main body 30, the bus connecting portion 8 exposed from the cutout portion 83a.
An opening 28a is formed to expose 2a to the outside. Further, the panel 28 is provided with flexible mounting members 28b and 28c on the back surface. Panel 2
As shown in FIG. 26, reference numeral 8 designates these mounting members 28b,
28c are attached to the option device 80 by being inserted into the openings 83c and 83d of the option device 80, respectively. Here, the mounting member 28b,
Each of the 28c has a wide tip end and has a substantially T-shaped cross section as a whole.
The tip portion has a function as a stopper so that the tip portion does not easily come off when it is inserted into the opening portions 83c and 83d. Further, the panel 28 is provided with claw members 28d, 28e having a substantially L-shaped cross section on both sides on the back surface and adapted to be fitted into the option device attaching / detaching ports 24 of the front panel 20.

As shown in the same figure, such a panel 28 is provided with a play between the flexible mounting members 28b and 28c and the openings 83c and 83d of the option device 80. It is attached to the device 80 with a degree of freedom. The optional device 80 to which the panel 28 is attached is detachable from the main body 30 via the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 of the front panel 20. At this time, when the optional device 80 is attached to the main body 30, the panel 28 is fitted into the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 after the optional device 80 is attached to the main body 30, and is attached to the front panel. Used together with 20. Further, when the optional device 80 is removed from the main body 30, the panel 28 is pulled out from the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 and used as a handle for removing the optional device 80 from the main body 30.

The optional device 80 as described above is attachable / detachable to / from the slot 150 shown in FIG. 27 through the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 of the front panel 20.
The slot 150 is attached to the main body 30 so as to communicate with the optional device attaching / detaching port 24, and stores the optional device 80 by urging the optional device 80 by spring members 151 and 152 provided on the upper surface and both side surfaces. The slot 150 has a spring member 15
By urging the option device 80 with 1,152, the option device 80 can be brought into close contact with the upper half 81 and the lower half 83 of the option device 80, and grounding can be reliably performed. Further, the slot 150 is provided with a connector portion 153 on the inner side wall into which the option device 80 is inserted. The main body 30 is electrically connected to the option device 80 by inserting the connector portion 82b of the option device 80 into the connector portion 153.

As described above, in the printer device 1, the panel 28 is attached to the option device 80, so that the operability is greatly improved, and the printer device 1 gives a visually high-class feeling. In addition, in the printer device 1, by integrating the optional device 80 and the panel 28 with a simple structure, it is possible to avoid the possibility of losing the components of each single unit and to reduce the cost. The panel 28 is provided on the main body 30 as an optional device 8.
When 0 is not attached, it can be attached to the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 independently, and can also serve as an exterior together with the front panel 20. As a result, in the printer device 1, dust or the like is discharged from the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 to the main body 3
It is possible to reduce the possibility of being mixed into the inside of 0 and to give a visually high-class feeling.

As described above, the panel 28 is attached to the option device 80 with a degree of freedom and is movable with respect to the option device 80. This is for easily and securely mounting the option device 80 in the slot 150. That is, in consideration of mass-production of the option device 80 and the slot 150, the option device 80 and the slot 150 usually have individual differences due to variations in production. In other words, the option device 8
The 0 and the slot 150 have predetermined dimensional tolerances. Here, when the panel 28 is not movable with respect to the optional device 80 and is integrated, the positional relationship between the panel 28 and the optional device attaching / detaching port 24 is uniquely determined. , Optional device 8
0, the installation position of the connector portion 82b and the slot 1
It is conceivable that the installation position of the connector portion 153 in the slot 50 may be displaced and the option device 80 may not be mounted in the slot 150. Therefore, in the printer device 1, the panel 28 is attached to the optional device 80 with a degree of freedom, the connector portion 82b and the connector portion 153 are securely inserted, and the panel 28 is removed in order to cancel the displacement of these installation positions. The optional device attaching / detaching port 24 is moved and adjusted.

The printer device 1 has such a panel 28.
By mounting the optional device 80 to which is attached to the main body 30, image data transmitted from an external device can be received and the image data can be printed. More specifically, the printer device 1 mounts the optional device 80 on the main body 30 and then, as shown in FIG.
Bus connection portion 8 exposed through the opening 28a in 8
By connecting a cable 201 to which the digital still camera 200 is connected to 2a, the image data photographed and recorded by the digital still camera 200 is directly received without passing through a computer or the like as a host, and printing is performed. can do.

That is, the printer device 1 can receive the image data via the bus connecting portion 38 provided in the main body 30 as described above, but can also be received by the optional device 80 attached to the main body 30. Image data can be received. Therefore, the printer device 1
Each time an external device is connected, it is not necessary to wire to the back surface of the main body 30 where the bus connection portion 38 is provided, and since the connection can be made from the front surface, the user does not need to perform any complicated work and the cost is high. It can provide convenience. Needless to say, the printer device 1 can be more conveniently connected to a stationary external device such as a computer at all times through the bus connection portion 38.

As described above, in the printer device 1 shown as the embodiment of the present invention, the operation surfaces for performing all the main operations are collectively provided on the front panel 20, so that the front panel 20 is used. It is possible to carry out all the main operations. Therefore, since the printer device 1 is excellent in operability and can mount an object on the upper surface, the printer device 1 can be housed in a stack even when housed together with other AV equipment, which saves space in an installation place. It is possible to achieve high efficiency and convenience without requiring complicated work for the user. In addition, the printer device 1 can greatly reduce the possibility that dust and the like will enter the inside of the main body 30 and is excellent in storability of paper, and thus can provide high reliability to the user. As described above, the printer device 1 is highly reliable and excellent in operability, and provides excellent convenience. In particular, the printer device 1 is provided with a detection unit that detects whether the paper is jammed before printing, or whether the paper is jammed during printing or after printing, and the notification mode by the warning lamp is changed according to each situation. Therefore, when the user removes the paper causing the paper jam, it is possible to reduce the risk of contacting the ink before drying adhering to the paper and soiling the hands and clothes. On the other hand, it is possible to provide excellent convenience with a simple mechanism.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the ink tank drive mechanism 32 replaces the ink in order to open the paper discharge door 50. Although the paper discharge door opening mechanism 130 that is operated by the movement of the paper box 120 is provided, the paper discharge door 50 may be opened by another mechanism that does not utilize the movement of the ink replacement box 120. Good.

In the above-described embodiment, the contact claw member 122 of the ink replacement box 120 is used to unlock the ink replacement door 60, but the contact claw member 122 is used. It may be canceled without using.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printer apparatus 1 has been described as forming an outer casing having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. However, the present invention, as shown in, for example, FIG. The printer device may have a shape formed by cutting down a straight line connecting the two points in the height direction as an outer casing. In such a printer device, the substantially flat surface S formed by cutting down is provided with the same function as the front panel described above, so that the user can perform the main operation from the front side. That is, the present invention can be applied to any shape of the outer casing as long as one surface facing the user is a substantially flat surface and the one surface is an operation surface.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the printer device 1 is described as having a serial head and printing by the ink jet system. However, the present invention is not the serial head but the paper feeding direction of the paper. The present invention is also applicable to a printer device having a line head in which a plurality of drive elements are arranged in a substantially vertical direction with respect to, and is also applied to a type of printing by thermal transfer, not by an inkjet method. It is possible. When the present invention is applied to a type in which images are printed by thermal transfer, each part for replacing an ink ribbon is provided instead of each part for replacing an ink tank.

As described above, it goes without saying that the present invention can be appropriately modified without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0101]

As described above in detail, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, ink droplets are ejected onto a recording medium such as a recording medium so that the ink droplets land on the recording medium. An image forming apparatus that forms an image with a detection unit that detects whether the paper is jammed inside the main body before printing, during printing, or after printing, and according to the detection result by this detection unit, A light emitting means is provided for illuminating and notifying whether the paper is jammed before printing, during printing, or after printing.

Therefore, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention performs the predetermined lighting operation by the light emitting means in accordance with the detection result of the detection means, and the paper is jammed before printing, during printing, or after printing. By informing the user whether the paper is jammed or not, it is possible to reduce the risk of soiling the user's hands and the clothes that remove the paper that has caused the paper jam. And can provide excellent convenience.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the configuration of the printer device.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view for explaining a configuration of a front panel included in the printer device.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device, and is a diagram for explaining a state in which a paper feed tray included in the printer device can be detachably detached from a main body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which a paper discharge door included in the printer device is opened.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device and is a diagram for explaining a state in which a printed sheet is discharged from a sheet discharge outlet with a sheet discharge door being opened. is there.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the external appearance of the printer device, in which when printing is performed on a paper having a width significantly shorter than the width of the discharge port in the longitudinal direction, the printed paper is FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining how a sheet is discharged from a sheet discharge port.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of an ink exchange door included in the printer device, which is a view of the ink exchange door as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device, and is a diagram for describing a state in which an ink replacement door is opened and an ink replacement box equipped with an ink tank is exposed to the outside. .

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a main part of the printer device and is a diagram for explaining a paper discharge tray provided in the printer device.

FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of the main part of the printer device, illustrating the discharge tray.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device, and is a diagram for describing a state in which the discharge tray can be detachably detached from the main body.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the option device is detachably attached to the main body.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view for explaining the outer appearance of the printer device, which is a view of the printer device seen from the back side.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the printer device, illustrating a state in which a lid is removed and a paper reversing drive mechanism provided inside the main body is visible from the outside. It is a figure.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating an internal configuration of a main body of the printer device.

FIG. 17 is a side cross-sectional view of the main part of the printer device, which is a diagram for explaining the operation of the paper inversion drive mechanism.

FIG. 18 is a side cross-sectional view of the main part of the printer device, in which a sensor for detecting the occurrence of a paper jam and a maintenance lamp that emits light when the paper jam occurs are described. FIG.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a head unit included in the main body of the printer device, as an alternative to a sensor for detecting that a paper jam has occurred during printing or after printing.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a state in which a sensor for detecting the type of paper to be printed is provided.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a paper discharge door opening mechanism provided inside the main body of the printer device.

FIG. 21 is a side cross-sectional view of a main part for explaining the operation of the paper discharge door opening mechanism, FIG. , (B) are diagrams illustrating a state in which the rotation lever is rotated rightward.

FIG. 22 is a side sectional view of a main part for explaining the operation of the paper discharge door opening mechanism, in which (A) shows the contact claw member moving from the right side with respect to the rotating lever in the steady state. FIG. 7B is a diagram for explaining a state in which the rotation lever is rotated by the contact claw member abutting and pushing the rotation lever from the state shown in FIG. And (C)
FIG. 6D is a diagram illustrating a state in which the contact claw member moves from the left side with respect to the rotating lever in the steady state.
[Fig. 6] is a view for explaining a state in which the rotating lever is rotated by the contact claw member abutting and pushing the rotating lever from the state shown in (C).

FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a lock mechanism included in the main body of the printer device.

FIG. 24 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the configuration of the option device.

FIG. 25 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an optional device and a panel attached to the optional device.

FIG. 26 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of an optional device and a panel attached to the optional device, and is a diagram for describing a state in which the panel is attached to the optional device.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of relevant parts of the printer device, illustrating the configuration of slots in which optional devices are mounted.

FIG. 28 is a diagram for explaining a usage example of the option device.

FIG. 29 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer device different from the printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 printer device, 10 cover, 20 front panel, 21 paper feed tray attaching / detaching port, 22 paper ejection port,
23 ink exchange port, 24 optional device attaching / detaching port, 25 switch opening, 26 lamp opening, 28 panel, 28a, 83c, 83d opening, 28b, 28c mounting member, 28d, 28e
Claw member, 30 main body, 31 head unit drive mechanism, 32 ink tank drive mechanism, 33 paper reversal drive mechanism, 34 electric control section, 35 jammed paper removal port,
36 lid, 37 power cord insertion part, 38 bus connection part, 40 paper feed tray, 50 paper discharge door,
60 ink replacement door, 70 paper discharge tray, 80 optional device, 81 upper half, 82 substrate, 8
2a bus connection part, 82b, 153 connector part,
83 lower half, 83a, 83b notch, 90
Switch group, 91 lamp group, 100a, 100b
Ink tank, 110 head unit, 111
Ink tank carriage, 120 ink replacement box, 130 discharge door opening mechanism, 140 locking mechanism, 150 slot, 151, 152 spring member, LM lamp, SS _AF , SS _BF sensor

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shinobu Hidaka             6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             -Inside the corporation F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AQ04 AQ05 AR01 AS02                       BB15 CD01 HH01 HJ02 HV09                       HV32                 3F048 AA05 AB01 BA14 BB02 BC01                       CC07 DA06 DA08 DB01 DC00

Claims (31)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image with dots on the paper by ejecting ink droplets onto the paper, which is a recording medium, and landing the ink droplets on the paper. Detecting means for detecting whether the paper is jammed inside the main body during printing or after printing, and depending on the detection result by the detecting means, whether before printing or during printing or after printing. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a light emitting unit that notifies whether or not paper is jammed so as to be identifiable. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting means performs a predetermined lighting operation according to a detection result of the detection means indicating that the paper is jammed before printing. . 3. The light emitting means performs a predetermined lighting operation different from the predetermined lighting operation according to a detection result of the detection means indicating that the paper is jammed during printing or after printing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection means includes at least one sensor capable of discriminating a front-back position in a traveling direction of the sheet with respect to a printing position. 5. The sensor is provided in a part of a paper feed path for the paper, and can detect whether or not the paper is present at a corresponding position, and the paper is jammed before printing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus detects the fact. 6. The light emitting means is responsive to a detection result of the sensor indicating that the paper is jammed before printing.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus performs a predetermined lighting operation. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the light emitting means performs a predetermined lighting operation different from the predetermined lighting operation when the printing operation and the paper discharge operation are stopped. apparatus. 8. A drive mechanism that constitutes a paper feed path for the sheet is provided, and the sensor detects a load applied to a drive motor that supplies a drive source for driving the drive mechanism. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4. 9. The light emitting means, when the sensor detects that a load equal to or greater than a predetermined allowable value is applied to the drive motor, notifies that the paper is jammed before printing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus performs a lighting operation. 10. The detection means further includes at least one other sensor in addition to the sensor, wherein the other sensor is provided in the vicinity of the printing position, and the paper is placed at a corresponding position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein it is possible to detect whether or not the sheet is present, and to detect that the paper is jammed during printing or after printing. 11. The light emitting means, when it is detected by the other sensor that the sheet passing through the corresponding position of the sensor is not delivered from the corresponding position of the other sensor after a predetermined time has elapsed. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein a predetermined lighting operation is performed to notify that the paper is jammed during printing or after printing. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the other sensor detects a type of the sheet. 13. A drive motor, comprising: a head unit drive mechanism for transporting and driving a head unit in which the ink tank containing the ink is mounted, wherein the other sensor supplies a drive source for driving the head unit drive mechanism. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image forming apparatus detects a load applied to the image forming apparatus. 14. The light emitting means detects that the paper is jammed during printing or after printing when it is detected by the other sensor that a load more than a predetermined allowable value is applied to the drive motor. 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a predetermined lighting operation for notifying is performed. 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means includes at least one sensor for detecting that the paper is jammed and a sensor for detecting whether or not a print signal is generated. apparatus. 16. The light emitting means, when only the detection result of at least one sensor for detecting the jam of the paper is obtained, predetermined lighting for notifying that the paper is jammed before printing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the image forming apparatus operates. 17. The light emitting means detects a jam of the paper by at least one sensor that detects that the paper is jammed, and a print signal by a sensor that detects the occurrence of the print signal. 16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, further comprising performing a predetermined lighting operation for notifying that the paper is jammed during printing or after printing when it is detected that the occurrence of the sheet has occurred. 18. The image according to claim 1, further comprising an automatic paper discharge mechanism for automatically discharging the jammed paper when the jammed paper can be discharged to the outside. Forming equipment. 19. The light emitting means performs a predetermined lighting operation according to the detection result of the detecting means when the jammed paper cannot be discharged to the outside. 18. The image forming apparatus according to item 18. 20. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting unit is a light emitting element that changes a blinking pattern and / or a lighting color in accordance with a detection result of the detecting unit. 21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting means is a plurality of light emitting elements which emit light in accordance with a detection result of the detecting means. 22. A paper feed tray means attachment / detachment opening for attaching / detaching a paper feed tray means for accommodating the paper to be fed to the main body, and a paper ejection opening for ejecting the printed paper. An exterior panel that is provided and has a substantially planar main surface and forms one surface of an outer casing; And a paper discharge door that is opened to discharge the paper from the paper discharge port.The paper discharge door functions as auxiliary paper discharge tray means in the opened state. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharged printed sheets are stacked on an upper surface. 23. The exterior panel is provided with an ink exchange port for exchanging an ink tank enclosing the ink. The ink exchange port is closed to open and close the exterior panel. 23. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising an ink exchange door that is attached and is opened to exchange the ink tank through the ink exchange port. 24. A discharge tray means is provided inside the main body, the discharge tray means constituting a discharge path for the printed sheet, and the discharge door is sent out from the discharge tray means in an opened state. 23. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, wherein the printed sheets discharged from the sheet discharge port are stacked on the upper surface. 25. The paper discharge tray means has an area in which an edge portion on a side where the paper discharge door is provided overlaps an edge portion of the opened paper discharge door in a vertical direction, 25. The image forming apparatus according to claim 24, wherein an upper surface of the paper discharge tray means is arranged so as to be located above an upper surface of the opened paper discharge door. 26. The image forming apparatus according to claim 24, wherein the paper discharge tray means is detachable from the main body via the paper discharge port. 27. The exterior panel exposes at least one operator opening for exposing at least one or more operators for various operations and at least one light emitting element for various status notifications to the outside. 23. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, further comprising: a light emitting element opening for making a hole. 28. The image forming apparatus according to claim 27, wherein the light emitting means is a light emitting element exposed to the outside through the light emitting element opening. 29. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, wherein when the paper is jammed inside the main body, the jammed paper can be removed from the paper discharge port. 30. The exterior panel constitutes one surface which faces a user of the outer casing.
The image forming apparatus described. 31. The image forming apparatus according to claim 22, wherein an upper surface of the outer casing is a substantially flat surface.