JP2006168893A - Sheet paper positioning mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet positioning mechanism suitably positioning paper sheets different in thickness and ease of fold to a paper abutting face of a paper carrying passage. <P>SOLUTION: A paper sheet S is pinched by a paper positioning roller 15 with outer peripheral groove 14 and a pinch roller 16 for pressing the paper and is fed, and then an end part of the paper sheet S is abutted on the paper abutting face 12 disposed on one side of the paper carrying passage 2. When the paper sheet S is thin and easily folded is fed, the paper sheet S is gently curved and is fed only by means of boundary parts between the outer peripheral groove 14 and roller outer peripheral faces 20, 20 on both sides of the outer peripheral groove, so that a carrying force applied to the paper sheet S becomes small, and the paper sheet S is not susceptible to being folded in a paper feeding direction substantially. Therefore, the end part of the thin and easily folded small paper sheet S is abutted on the paper abutting face 12 with desired force. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in a sheet positioning mechanism that positions an end portion of a sheet on a sheet abutting surface provided on one side of a sheet conveying path along a sheet conveying direction.

  As this type of paper positioning mechanism, for example, a medium processing apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is already known.

  The medium processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided on one side of a sheet conveyance path by holding a sheet by a width-shifting feed roller and a width-shifting pressure roller and feeding the sheet in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. Align the edge of the paper against the reference surface and correct the posture of the paper, and then retract the pressure-adjusting pressure roller from the paper conveyance path so that it does not interfere with the paper conveyance direction. It is configured to feed.

  In the medium processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the width adjusting pressure roller is pressed against the width adjusting feed roller by a biasing means such as a spring with a constant force. If the pressing force of the width adjusting pressure roller is set high, the edge of the paper will be strongly abutted against the reference surface when thin paper is inserted, and the paper will be bent or refracted. If the pressing force of the width adjusting pressure roller is set low, the transport force in the width adjusting direction becomes insufficient when thick paper is inserted, and slip occurs between the paper and the width adjusting feed roller, causing the edge of the paper to move. There is a possibility that problems such as being unable to accurately hit the reference surface may occur.

  In this regard, FIG. 8 of Patent Document 1 discloses that the amount of compression of the spring varies according to the thickness of the paper, but this is simply because the difference in the thickness of the paper is absorbed by the change in the overall length of the spring. It only shows the points. Certainly, from a technical point of view, when the paper is thin and the compression amount of the spring is reduced, the pressing force of the pressure roller is reduced, and when the paper is thick and the compression amount of the spring is increased, the pressure roller is pressed. Although it is true that the pressure increases, the bending and refraction of the paper is influenced not only by the thickness of the paper but also by the strength of the paper, so the pressure force of the pressure roller is simply based only on the thickness of the paper. It is unlikely that paper bending and refraction and slips occurring between the paper and the width-feeding roller can be prevented by a method of automatically adjusting the angle.

  On the other hand, as a method for preventing bending and refraction occurring in the sheet when the sheet is brought close to the butting guide, a secondary curved surface having a gentle cross-sectional shape in the plane perpendicular to the sheet pushing direction is used. A sheet feeding device that positively curls the sheet so as to substantially increase the waist strength of the sheet in the width-shifting direction, thereby preventing the sheet from bending and refraction in the width-shifting direction. This is proposed as Patent Document 2.

  However, this is only for handling thin and weak sheets, and is not useful for thick sheets or strong sheets, and also presses the upper surface of the sheet placed on the table. Therefore, it is considered that it is difficult to move the sheet smoothly in the width-shifting direction.

JP 2000-281234 A (FIG. 8) JP 58-47735 A (FIG. 4)

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a paper positioning mechanism that can improve the disadvantages of the prior art and can accurately position various papers having different thicknesses and stiffnesses on the paper abutting surface of the paper transport path. There is.

The paper positioning mechanism of the present invention is a paper positioning mechanism that positions the end of the paper on the paper abutting surface provided on one side of the paper transport path along the paper transport direction. ,
A paper positioning roller having an outer peripheral groove at a substantially central portion in the axial direction and having the rotation shaft substantially aligned with the paper transport direction; and a thickness that can be inserted into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller; A paper pressing member that can move toward and away from the radial outside of the paper positioning roller across the paper conveyance path with respect to the groove is disposed at the entrance of the paper conveyance path,
Rotation driving means for rotationally driving the paper positioning roller, contact / separation moving means for moving the paper pressing member relative to and away from the paper positioning roller, and paper inserted into the entrance of the paper transport path A paper detection sensor for detecting this, and an abutting detection sensor for detecting that the paper abuts against the paper abutting surface,
The contact and separation of the sheet pressing member in the direction in which the sheet pressing member approaches the outer peripheral groove of the sheet positioning roller from when the sheet detection sensor detects insertion of the sheet until the contact detection of the sheet is detected by the abutting detection sensor. Control means for releasing the operation of the contact / separation movement means after operating the movement means and driving the rotation driving means to separate the paper pressing member from the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller is provided. It has a configuration.

In the above configuration, first, at a stage before the sheet is inserted into the entrance of the sheet conveyance path, that is, in an initial state where the operation of the contact / separation moving unit is released, the sheet pressing member is the outer peripheral groove of the sheet positioning roller. It is located outside the paper transport path that is separated from the paper.
Therefore, the user can insert the paper into the entrance of the paper transport path without being disturbed by the paper pressing member.
When a sheet is inserted into the entrance of the sheet conveyance path by the user's hand, the sheet detection sensor detects the insertion of the sheet, and the control unit operates the contact / separation moving unit and the rotation driving unit.
As a result, the sheet pressing member moves across the sheet conveyance path from the radially outer side of the sheet positioning roller in a direction approaching the outer peripheral groove of the sheet positioning roller, and at the same time, rotational driving of the sheet positioning roller is started.
As a result, the paper positioned at the entrance of the paper transport path is sandwiched and pressed between the paper positioning roller and the paper pressing member, and the direction of the rotation axis of the paper positioning roller is orthogonal to the rotation of the paper positioning roller. That is, the feed is applied in the direction toward the sheet abutting surface provided on one side of the sheet conveyance path.
At this time, if the paper is thin and weak, a paper pressing member having a thickness that can be inserted into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller pushes the paper into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller, and the paper is set with the central portion of the outer peripheral groove as a vertex. Is gently curved to separate the paper from the roller outer peripheral surface located on both sides of the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller, so that only at the boundary between the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller and the roller outer peripheral surface located on both sides of the outer peripheral groove. The paper positioning roller comes into contact with the paper. Since the contact area between the paper positioning roller and the paper is small, the conveyance force applied to the paper by the rotation of the paper positioning roller is smaller than when the roller outer peripheral surface comes into contact with the paper. The stiffness of the paper with respect to the direction is substantially increased. Therefore, the problem that the end of the thin and weak sheet is abutted against the sheet abutting surface with an excessive force is solved, and the problem that the end of the sheet is bent or refracted is improved.
On the other hand, when the paper is thick and stiff, even if the paper pressing member abuts on the paper, the paper pressing member does not curve the paper and push it into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller. The outer peripheral surfaces of the rollers located on both sides of the sheet are in contact with the sheet uniformly. Since the contact area between the paper positioning roller and the paper becomes relatively large, the conveyance force applied to the paper by the rotation of the paper positioning roller also increases, and at the same time, the increase in the frictional resistance accompanying the increase in the contact area causes the paper and the paper positioning roller to Slip is also prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to correct the posture of the sheet by abutting the end of the thick and stiff sheet against the sheet abutting surface with a sufficient force.
In this way, a single paper positioning roller can be used to position the end of various papers with different thickness and stiffness on the paper abutment surface. The conventional technique of adjusting the contact force between the paper and the width-feeding feed roller by varying the compression amount of the paper, more specifically, if the paper is thin, the spring is compressed to reduce the amount of compression, and the conveyance in the positioning direction Unlike conventional technology that weakens the force and increases the compression amount of the spring to increase the conveying force in the positioning direction applied to the paper if the paper is thick, the edge of the thin and firm paper should be It is possible to correct the posture of the sheet by abutting against the abutting surface. Because thin and stiff paper is difficult to bend, the outer peripheral surfaces of the rollers positioned on both sides of the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller will be in contact with the paper uniformly, and sufficient rotation will be applied by the rotation of the paper positioning roller. is there.
Also, for thick and weakly paper, the paper pressing member can slightly curl the paper by slightly pushing the paper into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller. As a result, the portion of the roller outer peripheral surface located on both sides of the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller comes into contact with the paper, and the contact area between the paper positioning roller and the paper is the above two cases. Medium as a standard. Therefore, it is possible to improve the problem that the end of the thick and weak paper abuts against the paper abutting surface with an excessive force and deforms, and the problem that positioning becomes inaccurate due to insufficient conveyance force.
Furthermore, the change of the form of the sheet when the sheet pressing member is pressed against the sheet, specifically, whether or not the sheet is curved and its degree, in other words, the characteristics (thickness and stiffness) of the sheet itself. Since the paper conveyance force in the positioning direction is adjusted using the difference, unlike the conventional technology that adjusts the paper conveyance force by changing the amount of compression of the spring, aging on the device side, including deterioration of the spring, etc. This also improves the problem that the adjustment of the sheet conveying force is hindered.
When the end of the sheet is evenly abutted against the sheet abutting surface, the abutting detection sensor detects the contact of the sheet, and the control unit releases the operation of the contact / separation moving unit. As a result, the paper pressing member retreats to the outside of the paper conveyance path spaced from the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller. Accordingly, the force that presses the sheet against the sheet positioning roller is eliminated, and no substantial conveying force is applied to the sheet.
The processing operation necessary for positioning the edge of the sheet on the sheet abutting surface located on one side of the sheet conveying path is thus completed. For transporting the paper along the paper transport path, various transport means such as a well-known paper transport roller and a paper transport belt can be used.
As described above, the technical idea of the present invention is that the paper positioning is performed according to whether or not the paper is curved when the paper pressing member that holds the paper together with the paper positioning roller having the outer circumferential groove is pressed against the paper. The size of the contact area between the roller and the paper is automatically adjusted, and finally the paper conveyance force in the positioning direction that varies depending on the size of the contact area, that is, according to the characteristics of the paper. The paper conveyance force is determined automatically, and the paper is brought into contact with the paper abutment surface with an appropriate force to correct the posture of the paper. It is also intended to prevent inadvertent deformation by positively curving without causing it and giving the paper an apparent waist strength.

  Further, it is desirable that the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller is formed of a low friction member, and the outer peripheral surface of the paper positioning roller excluding the outer peripheral groove is formed of a high friction member.

  By applying such a configuration, in addition to the size of the contact area between the paper positioning roller and the paper, the magnitude of friction per unit area between the paper positioning roller and the paper is also adjusted. Therefore, there is a problem that the end of the thin and weak paper is abutted against the paper abutting surface with an excessive force, a problem that the conveying force in the positioning direction for the thick and strong paper is insufficient, and a thick It is possible to more effectively prevent the problem that slip occurs between the strong paper and the paper positioning roller.

  Further, it is preferable that the paper pressing member is constituted by a paper pressing pinch roller rotatably supported by an axis parallel to the rotation axis of the paper positioning roller.

  When feeding in the positioning direction, the paper pressing pinch roller, which is a paper pressing member, rotates following the movement of the paper, so there is no risk of inadvertent damage to the paper, and resistance that prevents paper movement is reduced. Therefore, the sheet can be smoothly conveyed in the positioning direction.

  Furthermore, the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller can be formed by a V-groove, and the portion of the paper pressing member facing the outer peripheral groove can be formed in a convex shape following the V-groove.

When such a configuration is applied, as a result, when the paper pressing member is a fixed piece, its cross-sectional shape is a wedge shape, and when the paper pressing member is a rotating body, that is, a paper pressing pinch roller. Has a wedge shape with an outwardly convex cross-sectional shape when the paper pressing pinch roller is broken by a plane including its rotation axis.
The combination of the V-shaped outer peripheral groove and the wedge-shaped paper pressing member can accurately curve the thin and weak paper, so that the above-described effect can be achieved more reliably.

  Further, the rotation driving means described above can be constituted by a sheet conveying roller that contacts the sheet positioning roller and rotates while transmitting a rotational force to the sheet positioning roller. When such a configuration is applied, the sheet conveying pinch roller that can move toward and away from the outer side in the radial direction of the sheet conveying roller across the sheet conveying path and the sheet conveying roller with respect to the sheet conveying roller is further applied. Second contact / separation moving means for relatively moving the conveying pinch roller is provided, and the control means detects the contact of the paper after the paper detection sensor detects the paper insertion. It is desirable that the second contact / separation moving unit is operated in a direction in which the paper transporting pinch roller is separated from the paper transporting roller.

Since the sheet positioning roller is rotationally driven by the sheet conveying roller, a separate driving source is provided for each of the sheet conveying roller for moving the sheet along the sheet conveying path and the sheet positioning roller for positioning the sheet on the sheet abutting surface. There is no need to provide the device, and the manufacturing cost of the device can be reduced.
Since the sheet positioning roller is driven to rotate by the sheet conveying roller, driving the sheet positioning roller is an essential requirement for driving the sheet positioning roller. However, the sheet conveying roller holds the sheet together with the sheet conveying roller. The second pinch roller is retracted from the sheet conveying roller by the second contact / separation moving means from when the sheet detection sensor detects insertion of the sheet until when the contact detection of the sheet is detected by the abutting detection sensor. Therefore, the rotation of the paper transport roller is hardly transmitted as a feeding force to the paper, and even if the paper transport roller is driven to position the paper on the paper abutting surface, the paper does not move in the paper transport direction. There is no worry of being transported.

  The configuration in which the paper positioning roller is rotationally driven by the paper transport roller is, for example, abutting a conical portion formed on the end surface of the paper positioning roller with a conical portion formed on the end surface of the paper transport roller, and attaching the paper positioning roller. This can be realized by pressing from the radially outer side of the paper transport roller toward the radially inner side by the biasing means.

  By pressing the paper positioning roller from the radially outer side to the radially inner side of the paper transport roller, the rotation of the paper transport roller can be reliably transmitted to the paper positioning roller.

  When a configuration in which the paper positioning roller is rotationally driven by the paper transport roller is applied, the paper positioning roller and the paper transport roller are set so that the outer peripheral surfaces of the paper positioning roller and the paper transport roller face the paper transport path from above the paper transport path. It is preferable that the sheet pressing member and the sheet conveying pinch roller are fixedly disposed above the conveyance path so that the sheet conveyance member can be moved into and out of the sheet conveyance path from below.

Since protrusions can be removed from the lower surface of the paper transport path, it is possible to prevent inadvertent catching when the paper is inserted into the entrance of the paper transport path. Although the outer peripheral surface of the paper positioning roller slightly protrudes from the upper surface side of the paper transport path, the paper inserted from the entrance of the paper transport path tends to come into contact with the lower surface of the paper transport path due to its own weight. It is sufficient to remove the protrusions from the underside of the road.
Further, as described above, in order to drive the paper positioning roller, it is indispensable to drive the paper transport roller. While holding the paper with the paper pressing member and the paper positioning roller, the paper positioning roller is driven to rotate. While the paper conveyance roller also rotates while positioning the paper on the paper abutting surface, the outer peripheral surface of the paper conveyance roller only protrudes slightly from the upper surface side of the paper conveyance path into the paper conveyance path. Therefore, there is little concern that the upper surface of the paper is rubbed by the rotation of the paper transport roller.
In particular, in the case of thin and weak paper, the paper is curved in a convex state with the part contacting the paper pressing member as a boundary, so the paper transport roller that protrudes from the upper surface side of the paper transport path to the paper transport path The possibility that the upper surface of the sheet and the upper surface of the sheet are in contact with each other is very low, and it is possible to effectively solve the problem that the thin and weak sheet is jammed due to the influence of the sheet conveying roller.

The paper positioning mechanism of the present invention grips the paper and feeds it to the paper by a paper positioning roller having an outer peripheral groove at a substantially central portion in the axial direction and a paper pressing member having a thickness capable of entering the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller. Since the edge of the paper is abutted against the paper abutting surface provided on one side of the paper conveyance path, the paper pressing member causes the paper positioning roller to The paper is pushed into the outer peripheral groove, and the paper is fed only at the boundary between the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller and the outer peripheral surface of the roller positioned on both sides of the outer peripheral groove in a state where the paper is gently curved with the central portion of the outer peripheral groove at the top. be able to. As a result, the contact area between the paper positioning roller and the paper can be reduced, and the conveyance force applied to the paper by the rotation of the paper positioning roller can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that the end of the thin and weak paper is abutted against the paper abutting surface with excessive force and the end of the paper is bent or refracted. .
On the other hand, when the paper is thick and firm, the paper pressing member does not curve the paper and push it into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller, so the outer peripheral surfaces of the rollers positioned on both sides of the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller are uniform. The conveyance force applied to the paper by the rotation of the paper positioning roller can be increased by contacting the paper with the paper, and slippage between the paper and the paper positioning roller can be prevented by increasing the frictional resistance accompanying the increase in the contact area. Therefore, the end of the thick and strong paper can be abutted against the paper abutting surface with a sufficient force to correct the posture of the paper.
In addition, the conventional technique of adjusting the contact force between the paper and the width-adjusting feed roller by changing the amount of compression of the spring considering only the difference in the thickness of the paper, more specifically, if the paper is thin, the spring Unlike the conventional technology, which reduces the amount of compression and weakens the conveying force in the positioning direction applied to the paper, and thickens the paper, it increases the compression amount of the spring and increases the conveying force in the positioning direction applied to the paper. It is possible to correct the posture of the paper by abutting the edge of the stiff paper against the paper abutting surface with a sufficient force.
In addition, for thick and weakly paper, the paper pressing member can bend the paper slightly into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller, so that the paper can be curved very gently, on both sides of the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller. Since the portion of the outer peripheral surface of the roller that is close to the outer peripheral groove abuts on the paper and the contact area between the paper positioning roller and the paper becomes medium, the conveyance force that the rotation of the paper positioning roller gives to the paper is also medium, The problem that the edge of a thick and weak sheet is deformed by being abutted against the sheet abutting surface with an excessive force, and the problem that positioning is inaccurate due to insufficient conveyance force for a thick sheet can be improved. .
That is, the change in the form of the sheet when the sheet pressing member is pressed against the sheet, specifically, the presence / absence of the curve of the sheet and its degree, in other words, the characteristics (thickness and stiffness) of the sheet itself. Since the paper conveyance force in the positioning direction is adjusted using the difference, unlike the conventional technology that adjusts the paper conveyance force by changing the amount of compression of the spring, aging on the device side, including deterioration of the spring, etc. This also improves the problem that the adjustment of the sheet conveying force is hindered.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the main part of an embodiment in which the paper positioning mechanism of the present invention is applied to a passbook printer 1 for printing on a paper S such as a passbook or a slip, and FIG. 2 shows the same embodiment. It is the plane sectional view which showed the principal part about.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper conveyance path 2 of the passbook printer 1 is formed by a space between an upper plate 3 and a lower plate 4 that are arranged by being overlapped with each other at a certain distance in the vertical direction. A sheet S such as a bankbook or a slip is conveyed from the left side to the right side. Of course, after the printing process on the paper S is completed, the paper S may be sent back toward the entrance 19 which is the insertion position.

The paper transport rollers 5 and 6 and the paper transport pinch roller 7 are known means, and the paper transport rollers 5 and 6 are publicly known such as an arbitrary gear train or a timing belt by a paper transport motor M ₁ capable of rotating forward and reverse. The paper conveying pinch roller 7 is rotationally driven synchronously through the power transmission means, and is rotatably attached to the tip of the swingable arm 8 and is fixed to the paper conveying roller 6 by the biasing force of the spring 9. It is possible to cope with the difference in thickness of the paper S by being pressed by the force of.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the sheet conveying roller 5 is configured by integrally arranging five sheet conveying rollers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e. Two paper transport rollers 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, and 6e are integrally arranged in parallel.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper transport rollers 5 and 6 are fixedly disposed from above the paper transport path 2 with the outer peripheral surface facing the paper transport path 2.

  A print head 10 is disposed on the upper plate 3 between the paper transport roller 5 and the paper transport roller 6 so that the front end thereof faces the paper transport path 2. A platen 11 is disposed on the plate 4.

  The platen 11 can move in a direction in which the platen 11 contacts and separates from the print head 10 according to the thickness of the paper S. This movement is realized by various actuators including a solenoid or the like, or a spring that urges the platen 11 toward the print head 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet abutting surface in this embodiment is configured by a side plate 12 positioned on one side of the sheet conveying path 2, and the sheet S such as a passbook or a slip has a sheet conveying direction, that is, The end is brought into contact with a side plate 12 provided on one side of the sheet conveyance path 2 along the left-right direction in FIG. 2 so that the posture is corrected and the sheet is taken into the sheet conveyance path 2 from the entrance 19. ing. Hereinafter, the side plate 12 is referred to as a sheet abutting surface 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main part of the paper positioning mechanism 13 in this embodiment is provided with an outer peripheral groove 14 in a substantially central part in the axial direction, and the direction of the rotary shaft 23 is made substantially coincident with the paper transport direction. The sheet positioning roller 15 has a thickness that can be inserted into the outer circumferential groove 14 of the sheet positioning roller 15, and can move toward and away from the outer side in the radial direction across the sheet conveyance path 2 with respect to the outer circumferential groove 14 of the sheet positioning roller 15. The paper pressing member 16, the paper transport roller 5 that functions as a rotational driving means for rotationally driving the paper positioning roller 15, and the contact / separation moving means for moving the paper pressing member 16 relative to and away from the paper positioning roller 15 Used as an arm 17 that functions as an eccentric cam 18 that is also part of the contact / separation moving means and supports the arm 17 from below, and an entrance 19 of the paper transport path 2 A paper detection sensor S1 for detecting that the S has been inserted, the abutting detection sensor S2a for detecting that the sheet S is in contact with the sheet abutting surface 12 is constituted of a S2b.

  The body of the paper positioning roller 15 is made of a low friction synthetic resin such as POM, and is provided with a V-shaped outer circumferential groove 14 at a substantially central portion in the axial direction, and rollers positioned on both sides of the outer circumferential groove 14. High-friction urethane rubber or the like is integrally wound around the outer peripheral surfaces 20 and 20.

  That is, the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 is formed of a low friction member, and the outer peripheral surfaces 20 and 20 of the paper positioning roller 15 excluding the outer peripheral groove 14 are formed of a high friction member.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a conical portion 21 is formed on the end surface of the paper transport roller 5b, which is one of the paper transport rollers 5, while a conical portion 22 is formed on the end surface of the paper positioning roller 15. The conical portions 21 and 22 are in contact with each other to transmit the rotation of the paper transport roller 5 b to the paper positioning roller 15.

  Accordingly, it can be said that the paper transport roller 5 b serving as a rotation driving unit for the paper positioning roller 15 is a rotation driving unit that contacts the paper positioning roller 15 and rotates while transmitting a rotational force to the paper positioning roller 15.

  The paper positioning roller 15 is rotatably supported via a rotation shaft 23 fixed to the tip of a stay 24 fixed to the inclined surface portion 3 a of the upper plate 3, and further, the tip of the stay 24 and the paper positioning roller 15 are supported. A spring 25 as an urging means is interposed between the two and the rotary shaft 23, and presses the paper positioning roller 15 from the radially outer side to the radially inner side of the paper transport roller 5b. Thus, inadvertent slippage between the conical portion 21 and the conical portion 22 is prevented.

  Here, it is also possible to form the conical part 21 and the conical part 22 in the shape of a bevel gear so as to be engaged with each other. Also, technically, instead of pressing the paper positioning roller 15 from the radially outer side to the radially inner side of the paper transport roller 5b, the paper transport rollers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, and 5e are integrally fixed. The same effect can be obtained by urging the shaft 26 in the direction from the top to the bottom in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper pressing member 16 is a paper pressing pinch rotatably supported by a shaft 27 fixed to the tip of the arm 17 so as to be parallel to the rotation shaft 23 of the paper positioning roller 15. It is composed of rollers. Hereinafter, the paper pressing member 16 is referred to as a paper pressing pinch roller 16.

  The paper pressing pinch roller 16 has a thickness that can be inserted into the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15, and a portion facing the V-shaped outer peripheral groove 14 is formed in a convex shape that follows the groove shape of the outer peripheral groove 14. Has been. Since the paper pressing pinch roller 16 is a rotating body, as shown in FIG. 1, the outer peripheral surface of the paper pressing pinch roller 16 when the paper pressing pinch roller 16 is divided by a plane including the shaft 27 has an outwardly convex wedge shape. Thus, regardless of the rotation posture of the paper pressing pinch roller 16, the portion facing the V-shaped outer circumferential groove 14 can be formed into a convex shape following the groove shape of the outer circumferential groove 14.

  The arm 17 constituting a part of the contact / separation moving means for moving the paper pressing pinch roller 16 is swingable about a shaft 28, and supports the lower surface of the arm 17 and a part of the contact / separation movement means. The arm 17 swings in accordance with the rotational posture of the eccentric cam 18 that constitutes the sheet 17 so that the sheet pressing pinch roller 16 attached to the tip of the arm 17 with respect to the outer circumferential groove 14 of the sheet positioning roller 15 has a sheet conveying path 2. It moves toward and away from the outside in the radial direction across

In this embodiment, the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ is used as a drive means for the eccentric cam 18, and the lower surface of the arm 17 is supported by the long axis of the eccentric cam 18 in a state where the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ is excited, as shown in FIG. In this manner, the paper pressing pinch roller 16 at the tip of the arm 17 enters the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15, while the excitation of the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ is released, the short shaft of the eccentric cam 18 causes the arm 17 to move. The lower surface is supported and the arm 17 swings in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 due to its own weight, and the paper pressing pinch roller 16 is separated from the paper positioning roller 15 and retracts below the paper transport path 2. The rotary solenoid SOL _{1 is} also one of the components of the contact / separation moving means.

  In addition, when the paper S is fed in the paper transport direction, the paper transport pinch roller 29 that holds the paper S together with the paper transport roller 5 is freely rotatable at the tip of the arm 30 that constitutes a part of the second contact / separation moving means. Is attached.

  The arm 30 constituting a part of the second contact / separation moving means for moving the paper conveying pinch roller 29 is swingable about the shaft 28 described above, and supports the lower surface of the arm 30 to support the second contact / separation. The arm 30 swings according to the rotational posture of the eccentric cam 31 that constitutes a part of the moving means, so that the paper transport pinch roller 29 attached to the tip of the arm 30 transports the paper to the paper transport roller 5. The paper transport roller 5 moves toward and away from the outside in the radial direction across the path 2.

In this embodiment, the rotary solenoid SOL ₂ is used as a drive means for the eccentric cam 31, and the lower surface of the arm 30 is supported by the short shaft of the eccentric cam 31 in a state where the excitation of the rotary solenoid SOL ₂ is released. When the rotary solenoid SOL ₂ is excited while the sheet conveying pinch roller 29 is separated from the sheet conveying roller 5 and retracts below the sheet conveying path 2 as shown in FIG. The arm 30 is pushed up and swings in the counter clockwise direction in FIG. 1 against its own weight, so that the paper transport pinch roller 29 at the tip of the arm 30 contacts the paper transport roller 5. The rotary solenoid SOL _{2 is} also one of the components of the second contact / separation moving means.

Furthermore, the arm 32a of the stopper 32 integrally formed by the arm 32a and the shielding plate 32b is swingably attached to the shaft 28 described above. The stopper 32 is driven by, for example, a direct-acting solenoid SOL ₃ , and in a state where the excitation of the solenoid SOL ₃ is released, as shown in FIG. When the sheet S is prevented from entering the side and the solenoid SOL ₃ is excited, the stopper 32 swings around the shaft 28 in the clockwise direction in FIG. The shielding plate 32b is retracted to allow the paper S to enter the downstream side.

  As described above, the paper positioning roller 15 and the paper pressing pinch roller 16 constituting the main part of the paper positioning mechanism 13 are disposed in the vicinity of the entrance 19 of the paper transport path 2. The sheet conveying roller 5 functioning as the rotation driving means is fixedly arranged from above the sheet conveying path 2 into the sheet conveying path 2 so as to face the outer peripheral surface. The sheet pressing pinch roller 16 and the sheet conveying pinch roller 29 is arranged so as to be able to appear in and out of the sheet conveying path 2 from below the sheet conveying path 2.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing an outline of the configuration of the control means 33 that drives and controls each part of the bankbook printer 1 and its paper positioning mechanism 13.

  The main part of the control means 33 is constituted by a CPU 34 for arithmetic processing, a ROM 35 storing a control program for the CPU 34, a RAM 36 used as temporary storage means for arithmetic processing, and the like.

Signals from the paper detection sensor S1 and the contact detection sensors S2a and S2b are read into the CPU 34 via the input / output circuit 37, and the rotary solenoids SOL ₁ and SOL ₂ and the solenoid SOL ₃ and the paper transport motor M ₁ described above are read. The drive is controlled by the CPU 34 via the input / output circuit 37 and each driver.

  The print head 10 is driven and controlled by the CPU 34 via the print control circuit 38 and the input / output circuit 37.

  The input / output interface 39 is connected to a computer such as a bank in which the bankbook printer 1 is installed to exchange information with the CPU 34. Character data to be printed on the paper S by the print head 10 is as follows. The data is supplied to the CPU 34 from a computer such as a bank via the input / output interface 39.

  Next, the operation of the sheet positioning mechanism 13 will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 showing the outline of the program stored in the ROM 35 and the operation principle diagrams of FIGS.

  First, when the passbook printer 1 is powered on, the CPU 34 enters a standby state waiting for the signal from the paper detection sensor S1 to be turned off (step a1). The paper detection sensor S1 is composed of a photocoupler or the like installed above and below the paper conveyance path 2, and outputs an ON signal and is inserted into the paper conveyance path 2 while the light on the light emitting side is detected on the light receiving side. When the light is blocked by the sheet S, the OFF signal is output.

In the initial state immediately after the power is turned on, the excitations of the rotary solenoids SOL ₁ , SOL ₂ and solenoid SOL ₃ are both released, and the sheet pressing pinch roller 16 is separated from the sheet positioning roller 15 and is below the sheet conveying path 2. In addition, the sheet conveying pinch roller 29 is separated from the sheet conveying roller 5 and retracted below the sheet conveying path 2, while the shielding plate 32 b of the stopper 32 protrudes into the sheet conveying path 2 to the downstream side. The paper S is prevented from entering the paper.

  Therefore, the user can easily insert the sheet S from the entrance 19 of the sheet conveying path 2 without being obstructed by the sheet pressing pinch roller 16 and the sheet conveying pinch roller 29.

  At this time, the sheet S inserted from the entrance 19 of the sheet conveyance path 2 has a strong tendency to come into contact with the lower plate 4 of the sheet conveyance path 2 by its own weight, so it is sufficient to remove the protrusion from the lower plate 4. The paper positioning roller 15 and the paper transport roller 5 that slightly protrudes from the upper plate 3 of the path 2 into the paper transport path 2 do not hinder the insertion of the paper S.

  When the sheet S is inserted into the entrance 19 of the sheet conveyance path 2 by the user's hand, the sheet detection sensor S1 detects this and outputs an OFF signal, and the CPU 34 detects the sheet in the determination process of step a1. An OFF signal from the sensor S1 is detected.

  At this stage, the shielding plate 32b of the stopper 32 protrudes into the paper transport path 2 to prevent the paper S from entering the downstream side, so there is a concern that the paper S is inserted deeper than necessary by the user's hand. There is no.

Next, the CPU 34 that detects the insertion of the paper S excites the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ that constitutes a part of the contact / separation moving means for moving the paper pressing pinch roller 16 (step a2), and the drive source of the paper transport roller 5 in it the start of forward rotation of the sheet conveying motor _{M 1} (step a3), enters a standby state to wait for abutting sensor S2a, signals from S2b both become OFF (step a4, step a5). The abutting detection sensors S2a and S2b are also composed of photocouplers or the like installed above and below the paper conveyance path 2 in the same manner as the paper detection sensor S1 described above, while the light on the light emitting side is detected on the light receiving side. Is configured to output an ON signal and output an OFF signal when light is blocked by the paper S.

When the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ is excited, the paper pressing pinch roller 16 moves across the paper conveyance path 2 from the radially outer side of the paper positioning roller 15 in a direction approaching the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15.

Further, the sheet conveying motor M ₁ starts forward rotation, the sheet conveying rollers 5 and 6 are rotated in the counter clock-wise direction in FIG. 1, as a result, the sheet conveying roller is a part of the sheet conveying roller 5 The sheet positioning roller 15 in contact with 5b starts to rotate in the direction in which the sheet S is fed toward the sheet abutting surface 12, that is, the direction in which the sheet S is fed upward from the bottom in FIG.

  Accordingly, the sheet S positioned at the entrance 19 of the sheet conveying path 2 is sandwiched and pressed between the sheet positioning roller 15 and the sheet pressing pinch roller 16, and the rotation of the sheet positioning roller 15 causes the sheet S to pass through the sheet conveying path 2. The feed is applied in the direction toward the sheet abutting surface 12 provided on one side.

  At this time, the paper transport roller 5 rotates in the paper transport direction, but as described above, the paper transport pinch roller 29 is separated from the paper transport roller 5 by the action of the second contact / separation moving means to transport the paper. Since the sheet transport roller 5 is retracted below the path 2, the rotation of the sheet transport roller 5 is hardly transmitted as a feed force to the sheet S, and the sheet transport roller 5 is moved to position the sheet S on the sheet abutting surface 12. Even if it is driven, there is no fear that the paper S is inadvertently conveyed in the paper conveyance direction.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the shielding plate 32b of the stopper 32 is protruded into the sheet conveying path 2 to prevent the sheet S from entering the downstream side, so that the sheet S passes downstream from the position of the shielding plate 32b. It is impossible to be sent to the side.

  Here, the characteristics of feeding in the positioning direction that changes depending on the characteristics of the paper S will be described.

  First, when the paper S is thin and weak, the paper pressing pinch roller 16 pushes the paper S into the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 and, for example, as shown in FIG. , The sheet S is gently curved, and the sheet S is separated from the roller outer peripheral surfaces 20 and 20 located on both sides of the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15, so that the outer peripheral groove 14 and the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 are The sheet positioning roller 15 comes into contact with the sheet only at the boundary between the roller outer peripheral surfaces 20 and 20 located on both sides of the sheet.

  Accordingly, the contact area between the sheet positioning roller 15 and the sheet S is small, and the friction of the outer peripheral groove 14 is small, so that the conveyance force applied to the sheet S by the rotation of the sheet positioning roller 15 is the roller outer peripheral surface. 20 and 20 are smaller than those in contact with the paper S, and at the same time, the curvature of the paper S substantially increases the stiffness of the paper S relative to the positioning feed direction.

  As a result, the problem that the end of the thin sheet S, that is, the upper end of the sheet S in FIG. 2 is abutted against the sheet abutting surface 12 with excessive force is solved, and the upper end of the sheet S is eliminated. Problems such as bending and refraction are improved.

  At this time, the paper transport roller 5 is rotating in the paper transport direction, but the thin paper S is convex upward with the portion in contact with the paper pressing pinch roller 16 as a boundary as shown in FIG. The upper surface of the sheet S is positively separated from the sheet conveying roller 5 as shown in FIG. 5 in a certain section downstream from the sheet pressing pinch roller 16. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 1, it is possible to reliably avoid contact between the sheet conveying roller 5 protruding from the upper surface side of the sheet conveying path 2 to the sheet conveying path 2 and the upper surface of the sheet S. Problems such as jamming of weak paper S in contact with the paper transport roller 5 can be effectively solved.

  On the other hand, when the sheet S is thick and firm, even if the sheet pressing pinch roller 16 contacts the sheet S, the sheet pressing pinch roller 16 curves the sheet S and pushes it into the outer circumferential groove 14 of the sheet positioning roller 15. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, the roller outer peripheral surfaces 20 and 20 positioned on both sides of the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 are in contact with the paper S uniformly.

  Accordingly, the contact area between the sheet positioning roller 15 and the sheet S is relatively large, and the friction between the roller outer peripheral surfaces 20 and 20 is large, so that the conveyance force applied to the sheet S by the rotation of the sheet positioning roller 15 is also large. At the same time, slip between the paper S and the paper positioning roller 15 is prevented by an increase in frictional resistance accompanying an increase in contact area.

  Accordingly, the posture of the sheet S can be corrected by abutting the end of the thick and stiff sheet S, that is, the upper end of the sheet S in FIG.

  Further, in the case of the thin sheet S, the sheet S does not easily bend even if the sheet S itself is thin, and substantially the outer peripheral groove of the sheet positioning roller 15 as in the example of FIG. 14, the roller outer peripheral surfaces 20, 20 located on both sides of the roller 14 are in contact with the paper S uniformly. Therefore, the rotation of the paper positioning roller 15 applies a sufficient force to the paper S to push the end of the paper against the paper S. The posture of the sheet S can be corrected by abutting against the contact surface 12. Since the sheet S is strong, there is no fear of bending or refraction at the end.

  In the case of the conventional technology that automatically adjusts the contact force between the paper and the width adjusting feed roller by changing the amount of compression of the spring considering only the difference in paper thickness, the spring is compressed if the paper is thin. The amount inevitably decreases. Therefore, the paper cannot be pressed with a strong force against the width-feeding roller, and the paper cannot be fed with a strong force. It is impossible to correct the posture of the paper by hitting it.

  Further, in the case of the thick paper S, the paper pressing pinch roller 16 slightly pushes the paper S into the outer circumferential groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 so that the paper S is more gently than in the example of FIG. It will be curved. In this case, the sheet S is slightly separated from the roller outer circumferential surfaces 20 and 20 located on both sides of the outer circumferential groove 14 of the sheet positioning roller 15, but since the degree of curvature is small, the roller outer circumferential surface is close to the outer circumferential groove 14. 20 and 20 are in contact with the sheet S to some extent, and the conveyance force applied to the sheet S by the rotation of the sheet positioning roller 15 can be made medium.

  Accordingly, the end of the thick and weak sheet S is not deformed by being abutted against the sheet abutting surface 12 with an excessive force, and the sheet S is not sufficiently abutted due to insufficient conveyance force. The problem is also improved.

  As described above, when the sheet pressing pinch roller 16 is pressed against the sheet S, the change of the form of the sheet S, specifically, whether or not the sheet S is curved and the degree of bending, in other words, the characteristics of the sheet S itself. The paper conveyance force in the positioning direction is automatically adjusted using the difference in (thickness and waist strength), so unlike the conventional technology that adjusts the paper conveyance force by changing the compression amount of the spring, the spring This also improves the problem that the adjustment of the sheet conveying force is hindered by the aging of the apparatus such as deterioration of the sheet.

In this way, the fact that the end of the paper S is properly abutted against the paper abutting surface 12 to correct the posture of the paper S, and the abutting detection sensors S2a and S2b are both turned OFF in steps a4 and a5. Once detected in the process, CPU 34 temporarily stops the forward rotation of the sheet conveying motor M ₁ is a driving source of the paper transport roller 5 (step a6), to move the paper pressing pinch roller 16 against The excitation of the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ constituting a part of the separating / moving means is released (step a7).

  As a result, the paper pressing pinch roller 16 is separated from the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 and retracts to the outside of the paper conveying path 2, and the force that presses the paper S against the paper positioning roller 15 is eliminated. The conveying force in the positioning direction is also substantially eliminated.

  The processing operation necessary for positioning the end portion of the sheet S on the sheet abutting surface 12 located on one side of the sheet conveying path 2 is thus completed.

During this time, that is, from when the paper detection sensor S1 detects the insertion of the paper S to when the contact detection sensors S2a and S2b detect the contact of the paper S, the CPU 34 of the control means 33 detects the paper positioning roller 15. The sheet pressing pinch roller 16 is moved closer to the outer circumferential groove 14, the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ of the contact / separation moving means is operated, and the sheet conveying roller 5 which is the rotation driving means of the sheet positioning roller 15 is driven. while operating the motor M _1, so that had released the excitation of the rotary solenoid SOL ₂ of the second contact away moving means from the sheet conveying roller 5 in a direction to separate the paper transporting pinch roller 29.

Next, the CPU 34 excites the rotary solenoid SOL ₂ constituting a part of the second contact / separation moving means for moving the paper transport pinch roller 29 to bring the paper transport pinch roller 29 closer to the paper transport roller 5, the sheet S is clamped (step a8), and energizes the solenoid SOL ₃ for driving the stopper 32 is retracted shielding plate 32b in the lower sheet conveying path 2 between the paper transporting pinch roller 29 and paper transport roller 5 allowing the entry of the sheet S to the downstream side Te (step a9), to again start the forward rotation of the sheet conveying motor M ₁ (step a10).

  As a result, the sheet S sandwiched between the sheet conveying roller 5 and the sheet conveying pinch roller 29 is conveyed in the sheet conveying path 2 from the sheet conveying direction, that is, from the left side to the right side in FIGS. It will be done.

Thereafter, the print head 10 is driven to perform a printing process or the like on the paper S, and the paper S is discharged to the downstream side of the paper transport path 2 or sent back to the entrance 19 of the paper transport path 2 and a series of processes. Ends. Since the processing after positioning the end of the paper S on the paper abutting surface 12 is already known and is not directly related to the gist of the present invention, the description is omitted as the conventional processing (step a11). To do. In this embodiment, the excitation of the rotary solenoids SOL ₂ and SOL ₃ is released particularly when a series of processing ends, and the paper transport pinch roller 29 is retracted from the paper transport path 2 to the outside. the shielding plate 32b of the stopper 32 protrudes in the sheet conveying path 2, also stops driving of the sheet conveying motor M ₁ is assumed to return the respective portions of the sheet positioning mechanism 13 in the initial state (energization of the rotary solenoid SOL ₁ Has already been canceled at the time of execution of step a7).

  Here, another embodiment relating to the paper pressing member and the contact / separation moving means will be briefly described with reference to FIG. The difference from the above-described embodiment is that the paper pressing member is fixed to the lower plate 4 instead of moving the paper pressing member by the contact / separation moving means, and the paper positioning roller 15 side is moved. It is.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the paper pressing member is formed by a fixed piece 40 having a wedge-shaped cross-sectional shape, and is integrally fixed to the lower plate 4 that forms the paper transport path 2. As a specific configuration for moving the paper positioning roller 15 up and down, for example, the base portion of the stay 24 shown in FIG. 1 is pivotally attached to the inclined surface portion 3a and is located above the paper conveying path 2. A configuration in which the tip of the installed direct acting solenoid is pivotally attached to the tip of the stay 24 and the stay 24 is swung by the expansion and contraction of the solenoid can be applied.

  As long as it is possible to move the paper pressing member relative to and away from the paper positioning roller 15, the structure of the contact / separation moving means may be any, and the paper positioning roller 15, the paper pressing member, It does not matter which is fixed and which is movable. In addition, aside from the fact that the structure becomes complicated, theoretically, both may be moved.

  Further, instead of the fixed piece 40 in the example of FIG. 7, a paper pressing pinch roller that does not move up and down may be rotatably arranged on the lower plate 4, or in the example of FIG. It is also possible to provide a fixed piece 40 as shown in FIG.

  As the paper pressing member, a member that rotates following the movement of the paper S, such as the paper pressing pinch roller 16 in the example of FIG. 1, is particularly desirable, and thus the problem of inadvertent damage to the paper S can be solved. In addition, since the resistance that hinders the movement of the paper S is reduced, the paper S can be smoothly transported in the paper positioning direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction.

  Further, the outer peripheral groove 14 of the paper positioning roller 15 is particularly preferably a V-groove, and the sheet S, which is thin and weak, is accurately curved by the combination with the paper pressing pinch roller 16 or the fixed piece 40 having a wedge-shaped cross section. You can increase the apparent strength of the waist.

Furthermore, the paper positioning roller 15 can be configured to be driven to rotate by a dedicated drive source. However, as in the above-described embodiment, the paper transport motor M ₁ that is the drive source of the paper transport rollers 5 and 6 is used. As a driving source of the paper positioning roller 15, the manufacturing cost of the paper positioning mechanism 13 or the passbook printer 1 can be reduced.

  The present invention is not limited to a passbook printer or a device that performs a printing operation. For example, a device that prints characters on a sheet, such as a device that optically reads characters written on a sheet, or the like, a printing head, a scanner, etc. It can be used for general devices that need to be optimized in position and posture.

It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the principal part about one Embodiment at the time of applying the paper positioning mechanism of this invention to a passbook printer. It is the plane sectional view showing the important section of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an outline of a configuration of a control unit that drives and controls each unit of a passbook printer and a sheet positioning mechanism according to the embodiment. It is the flowchart which showed the outline of the program stored in the control means of the embodiment. FIG. 6 is an operation principle diagram showing the operation of the sheet positioning mechanism of the embodiment (when the sheet is thin and the waist is weak). FIG. 6 is an operation principle diagram illustrating the operation of the paper positioning mechanism of the embodiment (when the paper is strong). It is the fragmentary figure which showed simply other embodiment in connection with a paper press member and an approach / separation moving means.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Passbook printer 2 Paper conveyance path 3 Upper plate 3a Slope part 4 Lower plate 5 Paper conveyance roller (rotation drive means)
5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e Paper conveying roller 6 Paper conveying roller 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, 6e Paper conveying roller 7 Paper conveying pinch roller 8 Arm 9 Spring 10 Print head 11 Platen 12 Side plate (paper abutting) surface)
13 Paper positioning mechanism 14 Outer peripheral groove (V groove)
15 Paper positioning roller 16 Paper pressing member (paper pressing pinch roller)
17 Arm (part of contact / separation means)
18 Eccentric cam (part of contact / separation moving means)
19 Entrance 20 Roller outer peripheral surface 21 Conical part 22 Conical part 23 Rotating shaft 24 Stay 25 Spring (biasing means)
26 Shaft 27 Shaft 28 Shaft 29 Paper conveying pinch roller 30 Arm (second contact / separation moving means)
31 Eccentric cam (part of second approaching / separating means)
32 Stopper 32a Arm 32b Shielding plate 33 Control means 34 CPU
35 ROM
36 RAM
37 Input / output circuit 38 Print control circuit 39 Input / output interface 40 Paper pressing member (fixed piece)
S Paper S1 Paper detection sensor S2a, S2b Abutting detection sensor M ₁ Paper transport motor SOL ₁ Rotary solenoid (part of contact / separation moving means)
SOL ₂ rotary solenoid (part of the second contact / separation means)
SOL ₃ solenoid

Claims (7)

A paper positioning mechanism for positioning an end of the paper on a paper abutting surface provided on one side of the paper conveyance path along the paper conveyance direction,
A paper positioning roller having an outer peripheral groove at a substantially central portion in the axial direction and having the rotation shaft substantially aligned with the paper transport direction; and a thickness that can be inserted into the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller; A paper pressing member that can move toward and away from the radial outside of the paper positioning roller across the paper conveyance path with respect to the groove is disposed at the entrance of the paper conveyance path,
Rotation driving means for rotationally driving the paper positioning roller, contact / separation moving means for moving the paper pressing member relative to and away from the paper positioning roller, and paper inserted into the entrance of the paper transport path A paper detection sensor for detecting this, and an abutting detection sensor for detecting that the paper abuts against the paper abutting surface,
The contact and separation of the sheet pressing member in the direction in which the sheet pressing member approaches the outer peripheral groove of the sheet positioning roller from when the sheet detection sensor detects insertion of the sheet until the contact detection of the sheet is detected by the abutting detection sensor. Control means for releasing the operation of the contact / separation movement means after operating the movement means and driving the rotation driving means to separate the paper pressing member from the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller is provided. Paper positioning mechanism.   2. The paper positioning according to claim 1, wherein the outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller is formed of a low friction member, and the outer peripheral surface of the paper positioning roller excluding the outer peripheral groove is formed of a high friction member. mechanism.   The paper positioning member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the paper pressing member is configured by a paper pressing pinch roller rotatably supported by an axis parallel to a rotation axis of the paper positioning roller. mechanism.   The outer peripheral groove of the paper positioning roller is formed by a V-groove, and the portion of the paper pressing member facing the outer peripheral groove is formed in a convex shape following the V-groove. The sheet positioning mechanism according to claim 2 or claim 3.   The rotation driving means is constituted by a sheet conveying roller that contacts the sheet positioning roller and rotates while transmitting a rotational force to the sheet positioning roller, and the sheet conveying roller straddles the sheet conveying path with respect to the sheet conveying roller. A paper conveying pinch roller that can move toward and away from the outside in the radial direction of the roller, and a second contact / separation moving means for moving the paper conveying pinch roller relative to and away from the paper conveying roller, The direction by which the sheet conveying pinch roller is separated from the sheet conveying roller by the control means from when the sheet detecting sensor detects insertion of the sheet to when the contact detection sensor detects the contact of the sheet. The second contact / separation moving means is actuated in the first, second, third or fourth aspect. Paper positioning mechanism.   The conical portion formed on the end surface of the paper positioning roller abuts on the conical portion formed on the end surface of the paper transporting roller, and the paper positioning roller is radiated from the radially outer side of the paper transporting roller by the urging means. The paper positioning mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the paper positioning mechanism is pressed inward.   The paper positioning roller and the paper transport roller are fixedly disposed with the outer peripheral surface facing the paper transport path from above the paper transport path, and the paper pressing member and the paper transport pinch roller are configured to support the paper transport. 7. The paper positioning mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the paper positioning mechanism is arranged so as to be able to appear and retract in the paper transporting path from below the path.

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