JP2574303Y2 - Horizontal printer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a horizontal printer which prints a medium set on a platen while moving a space in a horizontal direction along a horizontally provided platen. The present invention relates to a discharge stacker for discharging a medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 6 is a schematic side sectional view showing an internal structure of a conventional horizontal printer, and shows a moving route of a medium used in the horizontal printer. In the figure, 1
Is a medium handled by this horizontal printer, and is made up of a cut sheet of printing paper, a slip in which a plurality of sheets are bound, and the like.

[0003] Reference numeral 2 denotes a platen horizontally disposed in the center of the apparatus, and 3 denotes a print head which is disposed above the platen 2 so as to be opposed thereto. . And these platens 2
And the print head 3 constitute a printing unit. 4 is a carriage supporting the print head 3; 5b
Are two parallel guide shafts to which the carriage 4 is movably mounted, and the carriage 4 is provided with the guide shafts 5a. By moving the print head 3 along the platen 2, the print head 3 can be horizontally moved along the platen 2.

[0006] Reference numeral 6 denotes a ribbon protector provided around the lower end surface of the print head 3. When a print process is performed by the print head 3, an ink ribbon (not shown) is applied to the medium 1.
To prevent the medium 1 from being soiled by contact with the medium. 7
Reference numerals a to 7g denote guide frames for transporting the medium 1 in a horizontal direction. The guide frames are formed by arranging a plurality of pairs of two frames at a predetermined interval so that the medium 1 can easily pass when moving. doing. Reference numeral 8 denotes a plurality of pairs of feed rollers provided at predetermined positions between the medium guide frames 7a to 7g, and a first roller for conveying the medium 1 in the front-rear direction with the platen 2 sandwiched between the medium guide frames 7a to 7g. A transport path A is formed.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a stage provided on the front side of the horizontal printer so as to be connected to the front end of the first transport path A, and serves as a mounting table when the medium 1 is inserted into the printer. And also serves as a discharge unit for receiving the medium 1 discharged after the printing process is completed. Reference numeral 10 denotes a rear stacker provided on the opposite side of the stage 9, that is, at the rear end of the first conveyance path A. The rear stacker 10 receives the medium 1 discharged to the back side of the apparatus after the printing process is completed. The sheet is to be deposited.

Reference numerals 11a to 11d denote a medium guide frame disposed on the lower surface side of the stage 9 at predetermined intervals so that the medium 1 can easily pass when moving as in the case of the first transport path A. It is formed by holding and arranging a plurality of pairs of two frames. Reference numeral 12 denotes a pair of feed rollers provided between the medium guide frames 11a to 11d.
1d is connected to the front end of the first conveyance path A, so that the second conveyance path B that conveys the medium 1 fed from the automatic paper feeder (not shown) to the first conveyance path A. Are constituted by the recording medium guide frames 11a to 11d.

In the horizontal printer having the above configuration,
When the medium 1 is involved in the printing process, the following four media feeding paths can be obtained. First, the first path is the stage 9 disposed on the front side of the horizontal printer.
When the medium 1 is placed thereon and inserted in the direction of arrow C, the feed roller 8 is driven to rotate by the detection of a detection sensor (not shown), and the medium 1 on the stage 9 is taken into the first transport path A. Then, when the printing portion of the medium 1 reaches the printing portion of the platen 2 and the print head 3, the printing process is performed on the medium 1, and when the predetermined printing process is completed, the feed roller 8 After rotating in the opposite direction, the medium 1 is returned, transported in the direction of arrow D, and discharged onto the stage 9.

The second path is the same until the printing processing in the first path. After the printing processing, the feed roller 8 continues to rotate in the same direction as it is,
Is transported further to the back of the apparatus, and is eventually discharged to the rear stacker 10 on the back side of the apparatus as shown by the arrow E direction. Subsequently, the third path is a path using the second transport path B provided on the lower surface side of the stage 9 without using the stage 9, and the medium 1 is transferred from the automatic paper feeder (not shown) to the third path. 2 transport path B
When the feed roller 12 is fed in the direction of arrow F, the feed roller 12 starts to rotate, takes in the feed, and feeds it into the first transport path A via the connecting portion. The supply path of the medium 1 after being supplied to the first transport path A in this way is the same as the first path. That is, the print location of the medium 1 is the first
When the print section of the transport path A is reached, the print processing is performed here. When the print processing is completed, the feed roller 8 which has started rotating in the reverse direction is transported along the first transport path A toward the stage 9, It is discharged onto the stage 9 as shown by the arrow D direction.

Finally, the fourth path is the same as that up to the time of the printing processing of the third path. When the printing processing is completed, the first transport path A is further moved by the feed roller which is similarly driven to rotate. The sheet is conveyed to the back and discharged to the rear stacker 10 on the back side of the apparatus as shown in the direction of arrow E. By the way, among these first to fourth routes,
In both the first and third paths, the medium 1 is discharged onto the stage 9. Therefore, if the medium 1 that has been discharged forever remains on the stage 9, that is, the medium 1 must be removed by the operator. For example, since the next medium 1 cannot be discharged, the feeding operation of the next medium 1 cannot be performed. Therefore, even if a continuous process is to be performed, it is necessary to perform a process of removing the discharged medium 1 each time.

On the other hand, since the second and fourth paths are discharged to the rear stacker 10 on the back side of the apparatus, the rear stacker 10 is disposed at a position lower than the transfer position of the first transfer path A, and a plurality of sheets are stacked. Since the media 1 discharged to the rear stacker 10 is sequentially deposited, there is no need for the operator to perform a process of removing the discharged medium 1, thus enabling continuous processing. .

In the horizontal printer, a description of a sensor for detecting the leading end and the trailing end of the medium 1 and for detecting the presence or absence of the medium, and control means for the sensor are omitted.

[0012]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. First, according to the configuration of the conventional horizontal printer, the stacker for depositing and discharging the medium is provided as a rear stacker on the back side of the apparatus. Has to be reached to the back side of the device, and the operability is poor.

Further, since the rear stacker has a structure protruding rearward from the back side of the apparatus, there is a problem that the outer shape of the apparatus becomes large and a large installation space is required. Furthermore, since the stacker capable of stacking and receiving a plurality of discharge media is only one of the rear stackers provided on the back side in the conventional apparatus, even if the medium has different print contents, it can be separated. They cannot be discharged, but all are discharged to one rear stacker. For this reason, after the process is completed, the sorting process has to be performed for each print content, and there has been a problem that the working efficiency has been reduced.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a structure in which a stacker capable of accumulating and discharging a plurality of processed media is provided only on the back side of the apparatus. Reduced operability caused by
It is an object of the present invention to provide a horizontal printer that solves various problems such as an increase in installation space and a decrease in work efficiency, has good operability, and can improve work efficiency without increasing the installation space. It is assumed that.

[0015]

According to the present invention, a front stacker is provided below a stage on the front side of the apparatus in place of the rear stacker provided on the back side of the apparatus, and a front stacker is provided together with the rear stacker. Is also provided. In other words, it becomes a mounting table provided on the front of the apparatus and on which a single-sheet medium is to be placed when the medium is manually inserted into the apparatus, and receives the medium ejected after the printing process is completed inside the apparatus. A stage also serving as a discharge unit, a first transport path extending horizontally to the back of the apparatus so as to connect the rear end to the front end of the stage and transporting the medium in the front-rear direction; A printing unit that performs a predetermined printing process on a medium that has been transported along the transport path, a second transport path that takes in the medium automatically fed from the automatic paper feeder and sends the medium to the first transport path; After performing a printing process on a medium that has been sent from the stage or the second transport path to the first transport path and that has been transported to the printing section of the first transport path, End of the horizontal printer A front stacker which is disposed at a predetermined interval lower than a front end position of the first conveyance path, and has a bottom surface portion at a position lower than the one end portion and accumulates a plurality of media conveyed after the end of the printing process. The stage is provided on the lower surface side, and a rotation fulcrum is provided at one end of the stage so that the upper part of the front stacker can be opened and closed as a rotatable structure.

The end of the first transport path extending in the horizontal direction extends to the back side of the apparatus and is opened. One end of the first transfer path is connected to the end of the first path on the back side of the apparatus. The rear stacker, which is arranged at a predetermined interval lower than the first transport path, forms a bottom surface at a position lower than this one end, receives the medium transported after the printing process is completed, and deposits a plurality of sheets, Provided in the horizontal printer having a front stacker, a stacker for discharging medium accumulation,
It is provided at two places before and after the device.

[0017]

First, when the front stacker is provided on the lower surface side of the stage, the medium is discharged onto the stage provided on the front side of the apparatus when the printing process is completed. When the upper surface of the front stacker provided on the lower surface side is opened, one end of the front stacker, that is, a portion connected to the first transport path is lower than the first transport path and further lower than the one end. , The printing medium is conveyed toward the stage after the printing process is completed, and the medium 1 falls into the front stacker from the front end of the first conveyance path. Are discharged in this manner and are sequentially deposited on the bottom of the front stacker.

In the case where a rear stacker is provided not only on the front stacker but also on the back side of the apparatus at the end of the first transport path, the medium on which the printing process has been completed may be replaced with the front stacker and the rear stacker as necessary. Can be discharged to both. In other words, for example, when the print contents are different, each control means provided in a higher-level device or the like determines this, and in order to sort the discharge position of the medium for each print content, one is to the front stacker and the other is to the front stacker. When it is desired to change and control the discharge direction to the rear stacker, these can be received before and after the apparatus, respectively, and the deposition processing can be performed.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an internal schematic structure of the horizontal printer according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a main part of a structure of a front stacker. In FIGS. 1 and 2, parts that are substantially the same as those in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in the related art, and description thereof is omitted.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 15 denotes a stage provided on the front side of the apparatus, which inserts the medium 1 into a first transport path A disposed inside the apparatus when printing the medium 1. At the same time, it also functions as a discharge unit that also receives the medium 1 discharged after the printing process is completed in the first transport path A. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the stage 15 is provided with a rotation fulcrum 15a at an end on the near side with respect to the medium insertion direction, and has a structure capable of rotating around the rotation fulcrum 15a.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a front stacker provided on the lower surface side of the stage 15 so that one end 16a connected to the first transport path A is positioned lower than the front end of the first transport path A. A bottom portion 16 that is arranged and allows a plurality of media 1 to be deposited at a position lower than the one end portion 16a.
a. And the stage 15
By turning, the upper surface of the front stacker 16 is opened and closed.

Reference numerals 17a to 17d denote the front stacker 1.
A plurality of pairs of guide frames arranged further below 6,
Reference numeral 18 denotes a pair of feed rollers arranged at predetermined positions between the guide frames 17a to 17d. The feed rollers 18 take in the medium 1 fed from an automatic sheet feeding device (not shown) and A second conveyance path B that guides the sheet to A and feeds it. By the way, the role and components of the second transport path B are almost the same as those of the conventional structure, and only the inclination angle is changed. That is, the start end side of the second transport path B is lowered downward by the amount of the front stacker 16 provided between the stage 15 and the stage 15, and the inclination angle is increased accordingly.

The transport path associated with the printing process of the medium 1 having the above configuration has three paths as shown in the following explanatory diagram of the medium feeding path in FIG. First, the first path is the stage 1 placed on the front side of the horizontal printer.
When the medium 1 mounted on the medium 5 is inserted in the direction of arrow C, the medium 1 is taken into the first conveyance path A by the feed roller 8 which has started to rotate by detecting this by a detection sensor (not shown). Then, printing processing is performed at a position where the platen 2 and the print head 3 of the first transport path A reach the printing section, and when predetermined printing processing is completed, the path taken in by the rotation of the feed roller 8 in the reverse direction is used. Return, arrow D
It is discharged onto the stage 15 as shown in the direction.

The second path is for discharging the medium 1 from an automatic sheet feeder (not shown) onto the stage 15 similarly to the first path. That is, the second transport path B located below the stage 15 and the front stacker 16
Takes in the medium 1 fed from the automatic paper feeder as shown in the direction of arrow F, conveys the medium 1 upward by the feed roller 12, and sends it to the first conveyance path A from the connection portion. After the end of the printing process, the operation is the same as that of the first path.
Is transported in the direction of arrow D along the transport path A, and is discharged onto the stage 15.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2B, the third path is to rotate the stage 15 in the direction of arrow G about the rotation fulcrum 15a to open the upper part of the front stacker 16 and to carry out the first conveyance. By driving the feed roller 8 of the path A to discharge in the front direction of the apparatus, the medium 1 after the printing process is discharged onto the front stacker 16 is discharged.

That is, the medium 1 fed from the automatic paper feeder (not shown) as shown by the arrow F is taken into the second conveyance path B, and is fed by the feed roller 12 via the connection portion to the first conveyance path. It is sent to road A. The first transport path A transports the medium 1 to the printing unit, performs a printing process, and then transports the first transport path A toward the stage 15 by the feed roller 8. As a result, the medium 1 is conveyed as indicated by the arrow D and discharged from the first conveyance path A toward the front of the apparatus. However, since the stage 15 is open, the medium 1 is placed on the front stacker 16. Is discharged. At this time, since the one end 16a of the front stacker 16 is located at a position lower than the first transport path A and further has a bottom surface 16b at a position further lower than the one end 16a, the medium 1 is discharged from the first transport path A, and
6b.

Since the front stacker 16 is located at a position lower than the position of the first transport path A as described above, it does not hinder the subsequent ejection of the medium 1. Therefore, since the continuous processing of the medium 1 can be performed, the automatic sheet feeding apparatus continuously performs the next processing when the detection sensor (not shown) detects that the medium 1 has been discharged from the first transport path A. The medium 1 is fed. Thus, by repeatedly performing the medium processing operation, the front stacker 16
A plurality of media 1 will be deposited.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an internal schematic structure of a horizontal printer according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a medium feeding path according to the second embodiment. As a stacker for deposition, in addition to the front stacker described in the first embodiment, a rear stacker is provided on the back side of the apparatus.

That is, all the media 1 having different print contents and the like are confused and discharged into a single stacker. By providing two stackers before and after the printer device, the discharge position can be changed according to the print contents. Is to be separated. Here, the rear stacker is substantially the same as the rear stacker in the conventional example. That is, the terminal side of the first transport path A extends to the back side of the apparatus and is opened on the rear side, and one end of the first transport path A is located at a position lower than the terminal end of the first transport path A at the opened terminal side. 10a, and the bottom surface 10 is located at a position lower than the one end 10a.
The rear stacker 10 formed so as to have the “b” is attached such that one end 10 a is connected to the end of the first transport path A.

The front stacker 16 has the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment as described above. According to this configuration, there are five transport paths for the medium 1 as shown in FIG. Of these, the first to third routes are the same as in the first embodiment, and the fourth and fifth routes are added by discharging toward the rear stacker 10. In other words, the path that is inserted from the stage 15 in front of the printer apparatus, passes through the first transport path A, and is discharged to the rear stacker 10 on the back side in the direction of arrow E is the fourth path. The medium 1 from the paper device is taken in the direction of arrow F by the second conveying path B, fed to the first conveying path A, and after passing through the first conveying path A,
Again, the fourth path is similarly conveyed in the direction of arrow E,
The path for discharging to the rear stacker 10 on the back surface is the fifth path.

As a result, for example, there are two types of contents to be printed on the medium 1 fed from the automatic paper feeder. The rotation direction of the feed roller 8 is controlled for each type of print content in accordance with a control command from a host device, and it is possible to cope with a process of separating and discharging the front stacker 16 and the rear stacker 10.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, first, as shown in the first claim, a stage as a medium mounting table provided at the front of the apparatus extends horizontally from the front of the apparatus to the back. Alternatively, the medium fed from the second conveyance path that takes in and conveys the medium fed from the automatic paper feeder is conveyed in the front-rear direction, and the medium that has been subjected to the printing process by the printing unit is conveyed. In a horizontal printer having a first transport path for discharging, an end portion is disposed at a predetermined interval lower than a front end position of the first transport path, and a bottom portion is provided at a position lower than the one end portion. A front stacker for stacking a plurality of media conveyed after the printing process is provided on the lower surface side of the stage, and a rotating fulcrum is provided at one end of the stage to form a rotatable structure. The upper portion of Ntosutakka is obtained so as to be opened and closed.

By rotating the stage to open the upper portion of the front stacker, the medium conveyed from the first conveyance path is dropped into the front stacker and is sequentially deposited. That is, since the front stacker is disposed at a position lower than the position of the front end of the first conveyance path, the medium conveyed from the first conveyance path naturally falls downward from the front end thereof, and eventually. It will be deposited on the bottom part. Therefore, the operator does not need to remove the medium every time the medium is ejected, and can perform the continuous processing.

Further, since the rear stacker is not required, it is not necessary to secure a space for the rear stacker on the back side of the apparatus, and the installation space of the apparatus can be reduced. Further, since the front stacker is disposed on the front side of the apparatus, the medium accumulated on the front stacker can be easily removed after the process is completed, and it is not necessary to reach for the back side as in the conventional case, and the operability is reduced. improves.

Next, as set forth in claim 2, the first
The end of the transport path is extended to the back side of the device and opened,
On the back side of the apparatus so as to be connected to this end, one end is arranged at a predetermined interval lower than the first transport path,
In addition, since a bottom portion is formed at a position lower than the one end portion, and a rear stacker is provided for receiving the medium conveyed after the printing process and depositing a plurality of sheets, the medium is discharged to both the rear stacker and the front stacker. It became possible. That is, when the print processing content includes a plurality of types, all these media are not confused in a single stacker and are discharged without being separated. It is possible to cope with the case of separate discharge for each print content, such as one to the front stacker and the other to the rear stacker. As a result, it is not necessary to perform the work of sorting the medium again after the discharge is completed, and the workability can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an internal schematic structure of a horizontal printer according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of a main part showing a structure of a front stacker.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a medium transport path in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an internal schematic structure of a horizontal printer according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a medium transport path in a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side sectional view showing the internal structure of a conventional horizontal printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Medium 3 Print head 10 Rear stacker 10a One end 10b Bottom part 15 Stage 15a Rotation fulcrum 16 Front stacker 16a One end 16b Bottom part A A 1st conveyance path B 2nd conveyance path

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An apparatus provided on the front of the apparatus serves as a mounting table on which a medium in the form of a cut-sheet is to be placed when the medium is manually inserted into the apparatus, and has been discharged after printing processing has been completed inside the apparatus. A stage also serving as a discharge unit that receives the medium, a first transport path that extends horizontally to the rear of the apparatus so that the front end is connected to the rear end of the stage, and transports the medium in the front-rear direction; A printing unit that performs a predetermined printing process on a medium that has been transported along one transport path, and a second transport that takes in a medium that is automatically fed from an automatic paper feeder and sends it to the first transport path And a printing process is performed on a medium that has been sent from the stage or the second conveyance path to the first conveyance path and has been conveyed to the printing section of the first conveyance path. Horizontal printer that discharges media to Is disposed at a predetermined interval lower than the front end position of the first conveyance path, and has a bottom surface at a position lower than the one end to stack a plurality of media conveyed after the printing process. A horizontal printer, wherein a lower end of the stage is provided, and one end of the stage is provided with a rotation fulcrum so that the upper portion of the front stacker can be opened and closed. 2. An end of the first transport path extending in the horizontal direction is extended to the back side of the apparatus and opened, and one end is connected to this end on the back side of the apparatus. A rear stacker is disposed at a predetermined interval lower than the first transport path, and has a bottom portion formed at a position lower than the one end portion to receive the medium transported after the printing process and deposit a plurality of sheets. 2. The horizontal printer according to claim 1, wherein: