JP2539806Y2 - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeder, and more particularly, to an automatic paper feeder capable of easily inserting a cut sheet manually.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an automatic sheet feeder which automatically separates cut sheets stacked on a hopper one by one and supplies the separated sheets to a printer. In such a device,
An apparatus that allows manual insertion of paper for printing on paper other than cut paper stacked on a hopper is also known.

[0003] The applicant of the present invention has proposed a configuration in which operability is improved in such a device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 02-172291.
A patent application has been filed for an automatic sheet feeder as shown by the specification and the drawings attached to the application for the aforementioned issue.

In this apparatus, the stacker can be retracted from a paper discharge port of the printer, and a manual insertion path is formed when the stacker is retracted.

[0005]

However, in such an apparatus, if the stiffness of a manually inserted cut sheet is weak, the cut sheet may enter the gap created when the stacker is retracted and cannot be fed. There was a problem that it occurred.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic paper feeder capable of reliably inserting cut sheets manually by a simple configuration without impairing operability. The purpose is to provide.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hopper for supplying paper to a paper insertion position of a printer, and a paper hopper adjacent to a paper discharge port of the printer and discharged from the paper discharge port. A working position where the printed paper is placed;
A stacker that is separated from the paper discharge port and is movable to a separation position that forms a manual insertion path for cut sheets, and a paper insertion port vicinity portion and the manual insertion path of the printer when the stacker is in the retracted position. A flexible member that guides the cut sheet manually inserted and inserted between the entrances and that does not hinder the movement by bending the stacker to the operation position according to the movement. .

[0008]

In the present invention having the above structure, when printing is performed on the short form sheets stacked on the hopper,
The stacker is moved to an operation position near the paper discharge port of the printer. At this time, the flexible member is largely bent. The short sheets stacked on the hopper are separated one by one and conveyed to a paper feed port of the printer. Then, the cut sheet printed by the printer is discharged from the paper discharge port and placed on the stacker.

On the other hand, when inserting a cut sheet manually, the stacker is retracted to the retracted position. This movement forms a manual insertion path. At this time, the flexible member connects the paper insertion opening and the manual insertion path entrance and guides the paper.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The printing unit 3 of the printer 1 includes a roller-shaped platen 4 and a print head 5 facing the front surface of the platen 4, and a ribbon cassette (not shown) containing a printing ink ribbon in front of the print head 5. The printing ink ribbon is attached to the print head 5 and the platen 4
And is interposed between them.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a pin roller for feeding continuous paper in the direction of the platen 4, and reference numeral 7 denotes a pin tractor. The platen 4, the pin roller 6 and the pin tractor 7
It is synchronously driven by a stepping motor (not shown), which is a driving source mounted therein, and is operated on a control panel in a cut sheet printing mode (including an automatic sheet feeding mode and a manual feed mode described later). The transmission of the driving force is cut off by operating the operation switch.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an automatic paper feeder disposed above the printing unit 3 in the printer 1. The automatic paper feeder 8 stores cut-sheet paper P in a stacked state, and one sheet at a time.
And a hopper 9 configured to feed the printing unit 3 from an insertion port EN on the rear surface of the printer 4 and stack the cut sheets P discharged from a discharge port (DI) above the printing unit 3 after printing. The hopper 9 is also provided with a stacker 10
Is extended upward and rearward on the upper surface of the printer 1, and a plurality of paper support pieces 12
Are detachably mounted, and are disposed such that the upper end of the sheet supporting piece 12 extends forward and upward.

The rear portions of the side frames 13, 13 which are a pair of left and right support members in the automatic sheet feeder 8, are connected by a left and right long rear frame 14, and a metal plate extending forward and downward from lower ends of the left and right side frames 13, 13 is provided. The bifurcated portions 15a, 15a of the arms 15, 15 are detachably engaged with the support shaft 4a of the platen 4.

A hopper 9 is provided on the front of the rear frame 14.
Are arranged in a so-called rearward inclined manner so that a pair of left and right sheet guides 17 extend rearward and upward, and at least one of the pair of sheet guides 17
Is movable in the width direction (left-right direction) of the paper guide body 17, and the stopper lever 18, which is rotatably attached to the back surface of the paper guide body 17 that moves, presses and contacts the rear frame 14, and It is configured to hold the position after the left-right movement adjustment.

A paper feed roller 19 which comes into contact with the upper surface of the cut sheet P stacked in the hopper 9 and feeds the cut sheet P one by one from above, and a pair of intermediate rollers 20, 21
With this, the cut sheet P is fed in the direction of the printing section 3, and the paper feed roller 19 and the intermediate roller pair 20, 21 which are the paper feed mechanism are connected to the shafts 22, 2 between the left and right frames 13, 13.
3 and 24, and the first gear transmission mechanism 25 disposed on the side of the right side frame 13 and the second gear transmission mechanism 26 disposed on the side of the left side frame 13 to form the printer 1 side. The power is transmitted from the drive source.

Reference numerals 16 and 16 denote the gear transmission mechanisms 25 and
26 is a side cover that covers 26.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a front wall plate, and reference numerals 28 and 29 denote sheet guides for guiding the cut sheet P in the direction of the platen 4. FB is a flexible film, one end of which is attached to the rear frame 14, and the other end of which is close to the paper guide 28. The film FB cooperates with the paper insertion port and the paper guide 28,
Insert the paper sent from the hopper into the insertion slot E
Lead to N. Reference numeral 30 denotes a left and right longitudinal cutter body for cutting the printed continuous form paper PL. The cutter body 30 attached to the swing arm 32 has a paper discharge port (D
In (I), the posture can be changed between a position approaching the front surface of the platen 4 and a retracted position, and the detachable front cover 31 that covers the front part of the upper surface of the printer 1 is provided with the print head 5. And the upper part of the ribbon cassette.

Reference numeral 33 denotes the paper guide 2 below the platen 4.
Reference numeral 34 denotes a light reflection type photo sensor attached to the lower surface side of the paper guide 29 and a leading end portion for feeding the cut sheet P. Detects the approach of a predetermined holding portion between the platen 4 and the pinch roller 33, and detects the arrival of the cut sheet P based on the presence or absence of light reflection on the surface of the cut sheet P,
Based on the output signal, the control device 63 counts the number of output pulses to the step motor in order to control the forward / reverse rotation of the platen gear, which will be described later.

Next, the structure of the first gear transmission mechanism 25 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described. Reference numeral 36 denotes a platen gear fixed to the shaft 4a of the platen 4, which is driven forward and reverse by the stepping motor. . Transmission gear groups 37, 38, 39 that mesh with the platen gear 36 and transmit power.
, The intermediate idle gear 40, which is idlely fitted to the shaft 23 to which one of the intermediate roller pairs 20, 21 is fixed, is rotated.

Reference numeral 41 denotes a sun gear having a gear portion formed in three stages of large, medium and small. The sun gear 41 is rotatably supported on a shaft 42, and the large idle gear portion 41a has the intermediate idle gear. 40 always mesh.

An idle main gear 43 meshing with the small-diameter gear portion 41c of the sun gear 41;
The free rotation sub gear 44 that rotates integrally with the shaft is rotatably supported by a shaft 46 projecting from a support plate 45 so as to freely rotate. Sun gear 4
The swing arm 48 swingably fitted on the first shaft 42 includes:
An oscillating gear 49 is provided, which always meshes with the medium diameter gear portion 41b of the sun gear 41 and can revolve while rotating.

Reference numeral 50 denotes an intermediate roller gear fixed to the shaft 23 of the intermediate roller 20, and reference numeral 51 denotes a transmission gear with a one-way clutch 52 also mounted on the shaft 23.
When the transmission gear 51 rotates clockwise (during reverse rotation of the platen 4), the one-way clutch 52 operates to transmit torque to the shaft 23, and when the transmission gear 51 rotates counterclockwise ( The transmission gear 5 with the one-way clutch 52 is configured so that the power transmission gear 5 with the one-way clutch 52 rotates when the platen 4 rotates in the forward direction (i.e., when the platen 4 rotates forward).
1 is engaged with the idle sub gear 44.

When the swing arm 48 swings counterclockwise, the swing gear 49 attached to the swing arm 48 is rotated.
However, the configuration is such that the idle gear 47 that always meshes with the intermediate roller gear 50 can move close to and mesh with the idle gear 47.

With this configuration, when the platen 4 and the platen gear 36 are rotated forward (see the solid arrow in FIG. 4, clockwise rotation and rotation of the cut sheet P in the paper feed direction), the sun gear 41 is rotated counterclockwise. Oscillating gear 49
Meshes with the idle gear 47 while rotating, and drives the intermediate roller gear 50 to rotate clockwise, so that the intermediate roller 20 can be rotated through the shaft 23 in the normal rotation (paper feed direction). At this time, the transmission gear 52 is transmitted from the sun gear 41 via the idle main gear 43 and the idle sub gear 44.
Is rotated counterclockwise, but the engagement with the shaft 23 is released by the action of the one-way clutch 52 at that time.

Conversely, as the sun gear 41 rotates clockwise due to the reverse rotation of the platen gear 36 (see the arrow in FIG. 6; counterclockwise rotation), the swing gear 49
1 while rotating while engaging with the middle diameter portion 41b and revolving away from the idle gear 47, the swing arm 48 rotates clockwise, but the engagement pin 53 protruding from the swing arm 48 , Support plate 45 or separate link plate 54
The swing arm 48 is locked in the locking groove 55 formed in the hole, so that the swing arm 48 is prevented from rotating further.

As shown in FIG. 7, the second gear transmission mechanism 26 provided on the side of the left side frame 13 is provided with a transmission gear group 57 for rotating the left intermediate roller gear 56 fixed to the shaft 23 of the intermediate roller 20. , 58 is transmitted to the left intermediate roller gear 59 attached to the shaft 24 to which the other intermediate roller 21 is fixed, while the idle gear 60 meshing with the left intermediate roller gear 56 is fixed to the shaft 22 of the paper feed roller 19. The paper feed gear 61 is engaged with the paper feed roller 61 to rotate the paper feed roller 19 in the cut sheet feeding direction (the direction of the solid line arrow in FIG. 7), and is inserted between the paper feed gear 61 and the shaft 22. The rotation to the shaft 22 is interrupted by the on / off operation of the electromagnetic clutch 62, and the electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned on / off by a signal from the control device 63.

Reference numeral 64 denotes a microswitch provided inside the side frame 13, and when a pressing portion 65c protruding from one of the stacker stays 65 in the lowest posture described later presses the microswitch 64, the control device 6 of the printer is controlled.
3 is set to an automatic paper feed mode by automatic paper feed 8. When the automatic paper feed mode is set, the electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned on, and the paper feed roller 19 becomes rotatable. Stacker 1
When 0 is raised to an intermediate position, the pressing portion 65c separates from the microswitch 64 and switches to the continuous paper printing mode or the manual feed mode. At this time, the electromagnetic clutch 6
2 is turned off, and the transmission of power to the paper feed roller 19 is cut off. Switching between the continuous paper printing mode and the manual feed mode can be performed by operating switches on the printer side.

FIG. 16 shows an electrical configuration connected to the microswitch 64. One terminal of the microswitch 64 is connected to the positive pole E of the power supply via the resistor R1, and the other terminal is connected to the ground (negative pole of the power supply). The plus side terminal of the microswitch 64 is connected to the input terminal of the NOT gate NOT1. An output terminal of the NOT gate NOT1 is connected to a base electrode of a transistor Tr1 for driving an electromagnetic clutch via an AND gate AND3. The control signal S2 supplied from the printer body is input to the other input terminal of the AND gate AND3. The collector terminal of the transistor Tr1 is connected to the positive pole E of the power supply, and the emitter terminal is connected to the control coil 62 of the electromagnetic clutch 62.
L. The output terminal of the AND gate AND3 is connected to a resistor R2, and the other terminal of the resistor R2 is connected to a light emitting diode D1. The other terminal of the light emitting diode D1 is connected to the ground. The light emitting diode D1 emits light in the automatic paper feed mode.
When the transistor Tr1 is turned off, the control coil 62L
Is mounted in parallel with the control coil 62L to release the instantaneous current generated in the control coil 62L.

Further, the positive terminal of the microswitch is further connected to the input terminals of AND gates AND1 and AND2. In addition, a control signal S1 input from the printer in connection with the state of the serial / manual switch on the printer side is input to the AND gate AND2, and is also input via the NOT gate NOT2.
Input to D1. These AND gates AND1, A
The output of ND2 is connected to the base electrodes of the driving transistors Tr2 and Tr3. These transistors Tr
The collector terminals of Tr2 and Tr3 are connected to the positive pole E of the power supply, and the emitter terminals are connected to the light emitting diodes D2 and D3 via resistors R3 and R4, respectively. These light emitting diodes D2 and D3 emit light in the continuous mode and the manual feed mode, respectively.

A pair of stacker stays 6 projecting rearward from both left and right ends of the tray 11 in the stacker 10.
Numerals 5 and 65 are detachably and rotatably mounted on the support shafts 66 of the side frames 13 and 13, and the stacker 10 is provided with a paper discharge port (DI) by a posture regulating means described below.
The posture can be selectively held in three postures: a minimum posture located in the vicinity, a halfway posture retracted from here and held at an upper position, and a maximum posture in which the tray 11 in the stacker 10 rotates largely upward. .

Next, the structure of the posture restricting means will be described. The base end is rotatably supported by an inner plate 67 fixed to the inside of one side frame 13 at a suitable distance (6).
8) The engaging portion 65a of the one stacker stay 65 is fitted to the tip end portion 70a of the rocker arm 70 urged upward by the spring 69, and the tray 11 of the stacker 10 approaches the upper surface of the front cover 31. Lower position (lowest position)
(See FIG. 8). Reference numeral 71 denotes a stopper that regulates the upward rotation angle of the rocker arm 70.

When the tray 11 of the stacker is rotated upward by hand, the rear end of the engaging portion 65a of the stacker stay 65 is pushed clockwise around the support shaft 66 by the rocker arm 70 in FIG. 1 and FIG. 10, the posture is held at the vertical middle position (intermediate posture) as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
In this position, the continuous paper PL printed from the pin roller 6 and the pin tractor 7 through the four platens is printed while being pressed by the cutter body 30 on the front surface of the platen 4. A manual insertion slot MA can be formed between the front wall plate 27 and the rear plate 11a of the tray 11 so that the cut sheet can be manually inserted between the front wall plate 27 and the rear plate 11a of the tray 11 through the paper outlet 73 of the guide body 72. . A flexible film FA is adhered to the manual feed guide 74, and the upper end of the film FA is in contact with the rear plate 11a at an acute angle (about 40 degrees). The material of the film FA needs to have appropriate flexibility, and in this embodiment, polyester is used. In this manner, when a continuous form is used, the continuous form paper having been printed is inserted between the film and the rear plate 11a while bending the film FA. In the case where the cut sheet is manually fed, the cut sheet can be printed by inserting the cut sheet between the lower front surface of the front wall plate 27 and the manual feed guide 74 toward the rear surface of the platen 4. Further, in the state of the minimum posture, the flexible film FA
As shown in (1), the stacker is bent at the leading end and the base, so that the stacker can be moved to the lowest position quickly and easily, and the film FA does not hinder the movement.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, a rod-shaped spring body 77 projects from a lock lever 76 pivotally supported (75) on the inner surface of one side frame 13. In this embodiment, the spring body 77 is formed integrally with the lock lever, but may be formed separately. The tip of the spring body 77 is locked to the inner plate 67, and the engagement portion 76 of the lock lever 76
When a is fitted into the notch engaging portion 65b at the tip of the stacker stay 65 of the stacker 10 which has been largely turned upward, the engaging portion 76a of the lock lever 76 is turned upward by the urging force of the spring body 77. The stacker 10
At a position where the tray 11 is largely turned upward and cannot fall.

In this maximum posture, the front cover 31 can be freely opened and closed without the presence of the tray 11 being in the way, and the replacement operation of the ribbon cassette (RC) can be easily performed.

When the lock lever 76 is pressed and rotated downward to release the engagement between the engaging portion 76a and the notch engaging portion 65b at the tip of the stacker stay 65, the spring body 77 is released.
Due to the sliding contact between the concave curved surface 76b of the lock lever 76 which rotates forward by the urging force and the tip of the stacker stay 65, the tray 11 can be lowered to the halfway position by its own weight while reducing the force.

The posture restricting means may be configured to change the rotational position of the swing lever attached to the stacker stay and to maintain the position.

Reference numeral 78 denotes the tray 1 of the stacker 10.
1 is a connection member made of a metal leaf spring for removing static electricity in the tray 1, and one end of the connection member 78 is a tray 1.
1, and the other end 78 a (bently bent) extends rearward along the inner surface of the stacker stay 65, and the lowest position of the tray 11 (FIG. 8).
) And halfway posture (see FIG. 10).
It is configured to slide on the side surface of the metal inner plate 67 so that static electricity can flow to the ground of the printer body.

Reference numeral 79 shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 is an interlocking mechanism for suppressing the turning position of the swing arm 48 so as to turn on and off the transmission of power to the intermediate roller 21 in the first gear transmission mechanism 25. The interlocking mechanism 79 includes a link plate 54 rotatably supported by a shaft 80 projecting from the support plate 45 or the side frame 13, and a pusher interposed between the link plate 54 and the stacker 10. The push lever 81 contacts the back surface of the tray 11 of the stacker and urges the tray 11 of the stacker upward by a biasing spring 82 such as a torsion spring. While the locking pin 83 provided on the push lever 81 is engaged with the locking portion 84 of the link plate 54, the link plate 54 is urged to rotate backward by the pulling spring 85. In this case, when the tray 11 is separated from the push lever 81, the locking pin 8 of the push lever 81 is
The urging force for rotating the link plate 54 forward through the three positions is set to be larger than the urging force for pulling the link plate 54 backward by the pull spring 85.

The link plate 54 is provided with a regulating groove 86 in which the engaging pin 53 projecting from the swing arm 48 of the first gear transmission mechanism 25 engages in a fan shape (the swing arm 4).
8 is wide at the base side and narrow at the distal side). When the tray 11 rotates upward so as to separate from the push lever 81, the lower side of the link plate 54 rotates forward, and the edge of the restriction groove 86 in the link plate 54 pushes the engaging pin 53 backward to swing the swing arm. 48 so that the engagement between the swing gear 49 attached to the idle gear 47 and the idle gear 47 is released (see FIG. 14), the power transmission to the intermediate roller 20 is cut off,
In addition, the engaging pin 53 is fitted into the narrow notch portion 86a of the regulating groove 86 to prevent the swing arm 48 from rotating freely.

On the other hand, when the tray 11 of the stacker pushes the push lever 81 backward, the lower side of the link plate 54 rotates backward, and the regulating groove 8 in the link plate 54 is rotated.
6, the engaging pin 53 of the swing arm 48
And the swing arm 48 can swing between a state where the swing gear 49 can mesh with the idle gear 47 and a state where the swing gear 49 can be separated so that the meshing is released.

The operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described below.

In printing the cut sheet P, the cut sheet P before printing is accumulated and stored in the hopper 9 of the automatic sheet feeder 8,
After folding the continuous guide body 72 so as to be located in front of the front cover 31 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the tray 11 of the stacker 10 is held so as to be at a position close to the upper surface of the front cover 31. State. Then, the microswitch 64 is pressed by the pressing portion 65c to be turned on. At this time, the control signal S2 supplied from the printer body is on. Then, the transistor Tr1 is turned on, the electromagnetic clutch 62 is turned on (power transmission state), and the light emitting diode D1 indicating the automatic paper feed mode is turned on. Then, when the printing operation mode is set, the cut sheet P is fed one by one from the top toward the platen 4 via the paper feed roller 19 and the intermediate roller pair 20, 21.

At this time, first, the stepping motor, which is the paper feeding motor, is started, and after a predetermined rotation speed (for example, 600 PPS) is reached in the slow-up operation, the motor is operated at a constant speed. Then, the platen gear 36 and the platen 4 are rotated forward (clockwise rotation in FIG. 4), and the intermediate roller pair 2 is rotated.
0 and 21 are rotated forward (rotation in the paper feeding direction), and at the same time, the paper feed roller 19 is also rotated forward with the electromagnetic clutch 62 being on to feed the cut sheet P in the hopper 9 in the platen 4 direction.

The leading edge of the cut sheet P is the photosensor 3
When the motor reaches four positions, the step motor senses this, and the stepping motor performs a slowdown operation. The motor is stepped by a predetermined number of pulses while decelerating and then stopped. At this time, the electromagnetic clutch 62
Is turned off by closing the AND gate AND3 by the control signal S2, and thereafter, even if the intermediate roller pair 20, 21 rotates, the paper feed roller 19 does not rotate.

Thereafter, the step motor rotates in the reverse direction and rotates stepwise by a predetermined number of pulses. In this state, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the platen gear 36 (platen 4) rotates in the reverse direction (counterclockwise rotation) while the first gear transmission mechanism 2 rotates.
5, the sun gear 41 is rotated clockwise through the transmission gears 37, 38, and 39 and the intermediate idle gear 40. Accordingly, the oscillating gear 49 meshing with the medium-diameter gear portion 41b of the sun gear 41 rotates in response thereto. While revolving clockwise,
Move away from the idle gear 47.

On the other hand, the small-diameter gear portion 41 of the sun gear 41
The transmission gear 51 is rotated clockwise through the idle main gear 43 and the idle sub gear 44 meshing with the gear c. At this time, the one-way clutch 52 provided on the transmission gear 51 is operated in the locking direction to drive the shaft 23 to rotate. Therefore, the intermediate roller 20 is rotated forward and the other intermediate roller 2 is rotated.
1 is fed in the direction of the platen 4, so that the form sheet P is rotated between the pair of intermediate rollers 20, 21 rotating in the forward direction, the platen 4 rotating in the reverse direction, and the pinch roller 33. A flexure can be created in the middle. At this time, since the flexible film FB is pushed and bent by the bending of the short form paper P, it does not prevent creation of the bending. With the elastic force of the cut sheet P itself due to the bending of the bending portion, the leading edge of the cut sheet P is made parallel to the axis of the platen 4 with respect to the contact portion between the platen 4 and the pinch roller 33. And the leading edge of the cut sheet P is
The contact portion between the pinch roller 33 and the pinch roller 33 can have a predetermined biting angle (contact angle) (see FIG. 6).

After executing the reverse rotation of the platen gear 33 by a predetermined number of pulses, the platen gear 33 is rotated forward again after a short stop time.

In this case, the sun gear 41 is rotated counterclockwise through the transmission gears 37, 38, 39 and the intermediate idle gear 40 in the first gear transmission mechanism 25 by the forward rotation force. The oscillating gear 49 meshing with the medium-diameter gear portion 41b revolves in a counterclockwise direction while rotating (the oscillating arm 48 rotates counterclockwise), meshes close to the idle gear 47 and engages the intermediate roller gear 50. Since the shaft 23 is rotated clockwise, the shaft 23 to which it is fixed, and thus the pair of intermediate rollers 20, 21 can be rotated forward in the paper feed direction.

Therefore, the switching timing of the forward rotation → reverse rotation → forward rotation is determined by the magnitude of the force acting to reversely rotate the pair of intermediate rollers 20 and 21 by the elastic force of the bending portion of the cut sheet P (single sheet). The strength of the paper's waist).

If the switching timing is set in consideration of the backlash between the gears of the first gear transmission mechanism 25 and the like, the operation timing of the cut sheet P suction operation can be stabilized. is there.

The sun gear 41 and the transmission gear 51 with the one-way clutch 52 have a two-stage structure of a free-running main gear 43 and a free-running sub-gear 44. It is connected so as to be playable and rotatable by the moving angle, thereby preventing the bending of the cut sheet due to the repetition of the normal rotation and the reverse rotation from increasing.

In order to print the cut sheet P in this manner, the swing arm 48 must maintain a state in which the swinging arm 48 moves far and near with respect to the idle gear 47. Therefore, the tray 11 in the stacker is held in the minimum posture. Then, since the push lever 81 is pushed backward, the link plate 54 can be held at the position of the backward rotation by the force of the pulling spring 58, and the swing arm 4 is inserted into the wide portion of the regulating groove 86 in the link plate 54.
8, the swing arm 48 can swing between a state where the swing gear 49 can mesh with the idle gear 47 and a state where the swing gear 49 can be separated so that the mesh is released.

On the other hand, when printing on the continuous form paper PL,
By operating the switch for selecting a continuous form / short form of the printer to enter the continuous form print mode, the stacker 10 is rotated upward to hold the halfway position, and the longitudinal guide portion on the free end side of the continuous form guide body 72. To the rear of the cutter body 30 at the discharge port (DI). Then, the pressing portion 65C is separated from the microswitch 64, the transistor Tr1 is turned off, the electromagnetic clutch 62 is isolated, and the light emitting diode D1 indicating the automatic paper feed mode is set.
Turns off. At this time, a back electromotive force is generated between the coils by the action of the control coil of the electromagnetic clutch 62, but this charge is released via the diode D4 and the resistor.
Also, the control signal S1 sent from the printer is turned on,
Since both input terminals of the AND gate AND2 are turned on, the light emitting diode D for indicating the continuous mode is set.
2 lights up.

In this state, the pin tractor 7 of the printer 1
And the continuous paper P sent to the platen 4 by the pin roller 6
After printing L with the print head 5, the continuous paper PL that has passed between the front surface of the platen 4 and the cutter body 30 passes upward through the paper outlet 73 in the continuous guide body 72 and faces forward. The continuous form paper PL is guided to the front upper surface of the front cover 31 by being restrained by the inner surface of the curved longitudinal guide portion. At this time, the passing path of the continuous form paper PL is obstructed by the flexible film FA. However, if the flexibility of the film FA is appropriately set, the continuous form paper P
L deflects the film FA and slips through the rear plate 11a.

In the halfway position, the force of the biasing spring 82 on the push lever 81 becomes more dominant than the force of the pulling spring 85, and the lower side of the link plate 54 is rotated forward so that The swing arm 48 is rotated backward, and the swing gear 49 attached to the swing arm 48 is always separated from the idle gear 47 and interrupts the power transmission to the intermediate roller 20. Of the intermediate roller pair 2
Unnecessary wear of the paper feed rollers 19 and 0, 21 can be prevented.

The operation of the power transmission mechanism of the automatic paper feeder of this embodiment when printing on manually inserted paper is the same as that for the continuous paper.
The paper is manually inserted through the manual insertion slot MA. At this time, the paper is guided to the paper insertion slot of the printer along the flexible film FA, so that the paper does not enter the gap generated by the movement of the stacker 10. At this time, since the control signal S1 sent from the printer is off, the signal is inverted by the NOT gate NOT2 and then input to the AND gate AND1. Therefore, both inputs are turned on, and the AND gate AND1 is turned on. Therefore, the diode D3 indicating the manual feed mode is turned on.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, film FA
In order to impart high flexibility to the film and maintain high durability, it is also possible to use a film having a large thickness and to provide a cut or the like. At this time, it is preferable that the cuts are cut at an acute angle with respect to the traveling direction so as not to hinder the advance of the cut sheet and the continuous paper that are manually inserted.

[0058]

[Effects of the Invention] As is apparent from the above description, in the configuration of the present invention, when the cut sheet is manually inserted, the cut sheet is moved into the gap generated by moving the stacker to the retreat position. It is reliably fed without entering.

Also, there are excellent effects such as an increase in the number of parts and an increase in the number of manufacturing steps as compared with the conventional apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a printer and an automatic sheet feeding and discharging apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a printer and an automatic paper feed / discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view taken along the line III-III of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the first gear transmission mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which bending is created.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the second gear transmission mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state where the stacker is set in a minimum posture.

9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG. 8, showing a connection body for removing static electricity.

FIG. 10 is a side view of a state where the stacker is in an intermediate position.

FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state where the stacker is held in a maximum posture.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the second gear transmission mechanism with the stacker in an intermediate position.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the interlocking mechanism with the stacker set in the lowest posture.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the interlocking mechanism with the stacker in an intermediate position.

FIG. 15 is a side sectional view in a state where the stacker is set in a minimum posture.

FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram showing a part of the electrical configuration of the printer of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9 Hopper 10 Stacker DI Paper discharge port (paper discharge port) EN Insertion port (paper insertion port) FA Flexible film (flexible member) MA Manual insertion port (manual insertion path)

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A hopper for supplying paper to a paper insertion position of a printer, an operation position adjacent to a paper discharge opening of the printer and a printed sheet discharged from the paper discharge opening, and the paper discharge opening A stacker that is more distant and movable to a separation position that forms a manual insertion path for cut sheets, and a stacker that is located between the paper insertion port vicinity of the printer and the manual insertion path entrance when the stacker is in the retracted position. Along with guiding the passed and manually inserted cut sheet paper,
A flexible member that does not hinder the movement of the stacker by being bent in response to the movement of the stacker to the action position.