JP2005200159A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer easy to install a paper feeding cassette in a cassette installation part while being provided with a shutter in an opening part thereof. <P>SOLUTION: This ink jet printer 1 is provided with a printer main body 1a wherein the paper feeding cassette 10 housing a plurality of laminated paper sheets S is inserted into the cassette installation part 16, a shutter 20 formed of a pair of shutter members 21 and 22 provided in the printer main body 1a to cover the opening part of the cassette installation part 16, and stopper parts 31 and 32 provided in the printer main body 1a to lock the shutter members 21 and 22, which are fallen inward the printer main body 1a to open, at the predetermined positions and to guide the paper feeding cassette 10 for insertion into the cassette installation part 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly to a printer including a paper feed cassette configured to be detachable from a printer body.

Conventional printers such as ink jet printers and thermal transfer printers are installed in a predetermined position in the room and are therefore relatively large in size. In the printer body, a plurality of sheets are directed to the processing unit one by one. A roller-type paper feeding device is provided.
In this type of roller-type paper feeding device, a paper feeding roller is arranged at the leading end in the paper feeding direction, and the uppermost of a plurality of sheets stacked on a hopper and a paper feeding tray attached to the printer body. In many cases, the vicinity of the leading edge of the paper is drawn by a paper feed roller and sent out. For this reason, a hopper that requires a certain length in the paper feed direction protrudes greatly toward the back side of the printer body, and the size of the printer increases.

Recently, along with the widespread use of image input devices such as digital cameras and digital video cameras, small printers that are easy to carry have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In such a small printer, by using a paper feeding device in which a paper feeding cassette is detachably attached to the cassette mounting portion of the printer main body, the printer main body can be reduced in weight and size and can be easily carried.
In other words, in the case of a small printer, when a removable paper cassette is mounted on the printer body, the printer body can be reduced in weight and size by exposing the paper cassette outside the printer body. When carrying the printer, it can be easily carried by removing the paper feed cassette from the printer body.

JP 2002-338123 A

By the way, in the case of a printer in which a paper feed cassette can be freely attached to and detached from the cassette mounting portion of the printer main body as described above, foreign matters such as dust do not enter from the opening of the cassette mounting portion from which the paper feeding cassette is removed during carrying. In addition, it is desirable to provide a shutter that can close the opening in the cassette mounting portion.
However, in the case where the shutter provided at the opening of the cassette mounting portion is configured to be opened to the inside of the printer body when the paper feeding cassette is mounted, the paper feeding cassette is inserted and guided in the rotation area of the shutter. It was not possible to provide a guide part to be used.

Therefore, when the paper cassette is inserted into the cassette mounting portion, the paper feeding cassette is inclined with respect to the cassette mounting portion and cannot be smoothly inserted, and there is a risk that the insertion may be troublesome or twisted. was there.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems, and to provide a printer in which a paper feed cassette can be easily mounted while providing a shutter at the opening of the cassette mounting portion.

  The above object of the present invention is to allow a paper feed cassette containing a plurality of sheets stacked and accommodated therein to be freely opened and closed to the printer main body so as to cover the opening of the cassette mounting part. A shutter provided and the shutter opened inwardly of the printer main body are locked at a predetermined position, and the printer main body is provided in the printer main body to guide the insertion of the paper feed cassette into the cassette mounting portion by the shutter. This is achieved by a printer having a stopper portion.

According to the above configuration, when the paper feed cassette is mounted, the shutter that is opened inward by being tilted inward of the printer main body is locked at a predetermined position by the stopper portion, so that the paper supply that is inserted into the cassette mounting portion is inserted. A paper cassette can be guided for insertion.
Therefore, when the paper feeding cassette is inserted into the cassette mounting portion, the paper feeding cassette can be smoothly inserted without causing an inclination with respect to the cassette mounting portion, and there is no possibility of troublesome or troublesome insertion.

Preferably, the shutter has a double door structure including a pair of shutter members rotatably attached to both edges of the opening of the cassette mounting portion.
In this case, the rotation area of the shutter that falls inward of the printer main body can be narrowed, and a compact and simple configuration can be achieved.

Preferably, the shutter urged in the closing direction by the elastic urging means is pressed and released by the insertion end of the paper feed cassette.
In this case, the shutter can be automatically opened and closed with a simple configuration.

According to the printer of the present invention, foreign matter such as dust can be prevented from entering from the opening of the cassette mounting portion by closing the opening with the shutter provided in the cassette mounting portion of the printer body, and the shutter The sheet feeding cassette to be inserted into the cassette mounting portion can be guided to be inserted.
Therefore, it is possible to provide a printer in which a paper feed cassette can be easily mounted while providing a shutter at the opening of the cassette mounting portion.

Hereinafter, a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer (printer) 1 according to this embodiment is configured such that a paper feed cassette 10 containing a plurality of sheets S is detachably attached to a cassette mounting portion 16 provided on the back side of the printer main body 1a. Inserted.

  The paper feed cassette 10 includes a base 10a formed in a substantially rectangular shape so as to accommodate the paper S, and a lid member 10c is provided on the side of the paper feed port to be attached to the printer main body 1a. A protective cover 10b that can be opened and closed is provided on the rear side of 10c (the side away from the printer main body). The protective cover 10b can be opened and closed while the paper feed cassette 10 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 16 of the printer main body 1a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a carriage (not shown) in which an inkjet head is mounted and reciprocated in the paper width direction is accommodated in the printer body 1a of the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment. On the outside, there is a head maintenance mechanism that performs wiping of dirt on the ink nozzle surface of the ink jet head, capping to prevent clogging of the ink nozzle, ink suction operation for sucking thick ink from the ink nozzle, etc. ing.

A cassette mounting portion 16 on which the paper feed cassette 10 is detachably mounted is partitioned on the back side of the printer main body 1 a by a paper guide 110 and a platen 112.
The paper S accommodated in the paper feed cassette 10 is conveyed by an auto sheet feeder (paper feed device) 15 connected to the paper feed motor 12 via a rotation transmission mechanism and the like, and rotated by a gear transmission mechanism. The rollers (paper transport means) 11 and 14 feed the paper at a constant pitch in a direction (left direction in FIG. 2) orthogonal to the carriage movement direction.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the auto sheet feeder 15 of the present embodiment includes a hopper 121, a separation pad 123, a paper return lever 125, a pressing member control mechanism 130, and a paper feed disposed in the paper feed cassette 10. The roller 120 is configured.
The hopper 121 is a pressing plate that is swingably attached to the bottom of the sheet feeding cassette 10, and the lower surface of the sheet feeding cassette 10 on the sheet feeding port side is a hopper pressing member (pressing member) of the pressing member control mechanism 130. ) 89 is urged toward the paper feed roller 120 side.

Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a hopper (pressing plate) that requires a certain length in the paper feed direction in the cassette mounting portion 16 of the inkjet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, and the hopper does not protrude from the back side of the printer main body 1a. Therefore, the size of the printer main body 1a can be reduced.
Further, the paper feed cassette 10 does not have to be provided between the cassette bottom and the hopper 121 with a spring member for urging the hopper 121 toward the paper feed roller 120, and the cassette thickness is reduced by that amount to make it compact. can do.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cassette mounting portion 16 of the printer main body 1a is provided with a shutter 20 that can be freely opened and closed to cover the oval opening of the cassette mounting portion 16.
As shown in FIG. 3, the shutter 20 of the present embodiment includes a pair of shutter members 21 and 22 that are rotatably attached to both edges of the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16 via pivots 21 a and 22 a, respectively. It has a double door structure.

The shutter members 21 and 22 are urged in a closing direction covering the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16 by elastic urging means (not shown) such as a torsion coil spring. It can be opened by being pressed.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, on the inside of the cassette mounting portion 16, the shutter members 21 and 22 that are opened to the inside of the printer main body 1a are locked at predetermined positions. The shutter members 21 and 22 are provided with stopper portions 31 and 32 for guiding the sheet feeding cassette 10 into the cassette mounting portion 16.

The stopper portions 31 and 32 of the present embodiment are integrally formed in pairs at the upper portions of both ends of the sheet guide 110 and the platen 112 in the sheet width direction, which define the cassette mounting portion 16, and the shutter member 21 that is opened is opened. , 22 abuts on both sides of the rocking ends and locks the shutter members 21 and 22 at predetermined positions so that the sheet feeding cassette 10 can be inserted and guided into the cassette mounting portion 16.
That is, the stopper portions 31 and 32 prevent the swinging ends of the shutter members 21 and 22 from further swinging, and hold the shutter members 21 and 22 in a substantially parallel state to each other. The insertion end of the paper feed cassette 10 is inserted and guided.

Hereinafter, the operation of the shutter 20 of the present embodiment will be described.
First, in a state where the paper feed cassette 10 is detached from the printer main body 1a, the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16 is closed by a pair of shutter members 21 and 22 constituting the shutter 20, as shown in FIGS. Thus, foreign matter such as dust is prevented from entering through the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16.

  The shutter members 21 and 22 are respectively urged to rotate in the closing direction covering the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16 by a torsion coil spring (not shown), and the shutters are rotated in the closing direction about the pivots 21a and 22a, respectively. The members 21 and 22 are positioned in a closed state covering the opening by abutting against the abutting portions 17 and 18 of the opening edge, respectively.

Next, when the paper feed cassette 10 is inserted into the printer main body 1a, as shown in FIG. The insertion end of the sheet feeding cassette 10 is inserted into the cassette mounting portion 16 while rotating the shutter members 21 and 22 in the opening direction against the force.
Then, the shutter members 21 and 22 which are opened to the inside of the printer main body 1a are locked at predetermined positions by the stopper portions 31 and 32, respectively, and are held in a substantially parallel state, thereby the cassette mounting portion. The upper and lower surface sides of the sheet feeding cassette 10 inserted into 16 can be guided to be inserted.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the insertion end of the paper feed cassette 10 is inserted further into the cassette mounting portion 16, the guide portions 110 a provided at both ends of the paper guide 110 in the paper width direction become the paper feed cassette. Insert and guide both sides of 10.
Therefore, when the paper feeding cassette 10 is inserted into the cassette mounting portion 16, the paper feeding cassette 10 can be smoothly inserted without being inclined with respect to the cassette mounting portion 16, and it takes time and effort to insert it. The paper feed cassette 10 can be easily mounted on the printer main body 1a.

  Furthermore, since the shutter 20 of the present embodiment has a double door structure including a pair of shutter members 21 and 22 that are pivotally attached to both edges of the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16, the inside of the printer main body 1a. The rotation area of each of the shutter members 21 and 22 that are tilted in the direction can be narrowed, and a compact and simple configuration can be achieved as compared with the case where a single shutter member is rotatably attached, and the printer main body 1a can be downsized. be able to.

  When the paper feeding cassette 10 is pulled out from the cassette mounting portion 16 of the printer main body 1 a, the shutter members 21 and 22 rotated by the elastic biasing force of the torsion coil spring are in a closed state covering the opening of the cassette mounting portion 16. Therefore, the shutter 20 can be automatically opened and closed with a simple configuration.

The configurations of the paper feed cassette, the printer main body, the shutter, the stopper portion, and the like according to the printer of the present invention are not limited to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, and can take various forms based on the spirit of the present invention. Needless to say.
For example, the configuration of the shutter according to the printer of the present invention is not limited to the double door structure having the pair of shutter members 21 and 22 as described above, and one shutter member is attached to one opening edge of the cassette mounting portion 16. It can also be set as the structure attached so that rotation was possible. In this case, it is desirable that the upper portion of the guide portion 110a on the other opening edge side is extended to the opening edge and the upper and lower surfaces of the sheet feeding cassette 10 are inserted and guided in cooperation with the shutter member.

Further, the configuration of the stopper portion according to the printer of the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the stopper portions 31 and 32, and the shutter member is locked at a predetermined position where the sheet feeding cassette can be inserted and guided. For example, the formation position, number, shape, and the like can take various forms.
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the ink jet printer has been described as the printer according to the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to various printers such as a thermal transfer printer.

1 is an external perspective view of an inkjet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional perspective view which shows the shutter open state of the inkjet printer shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing explaining the insertion operation | movement of the paper feed cassette in the inkjet printer shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a paper feed cassette is inserted in the ink jet printer shown in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

1 Inkjet printer (printer)
1a Printer body 10 Paper feed cassette 15 Auto sheet feeder (paper feed device)
16 Cassette insertion part 20 Shutter 21, 22 Shutter member 31, 32 Stopper part S Paper

Claims (3)

A printer main body in which a paper feed cassette containing a plurality of sheets of paper is detachably inserted into a cassette mounting portion;
A shutter provided in the printer body to be openable and closable so as to cover the opening of the cassette mounting portion;
A stopper provided in the printer main body for locking the shutter opened in an inward direction of the printer main body at a predetermined position, and for guiding the insertion of the paper feed cassette into the cassette mounting portion by the shutter;
With a printer.   2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the shutter has a double door structure including a pair of shutter members rotatably attached to both edges of the opening of the cassette mounting portion.   3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the shutter urged in the closing direction by the elastic urging means is pressed and urged by an insertion end of the paper feed cassette.