JP2822192B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in the following order.

A. Industrial application fields B. Summary of the invention C. Conventional technology D. Problems to be solved by the invention E. Means to solve the problems F. Function G. Example G ₁ . Overall configuration of printer G ₂ . Configuration of paper feed unit G ₃ . Configuration of paper feed tray and its lock mechanism G ₄ . Configuration of the paper feed mechanism and paper feed G _5. Configuration of paper discharge unit and paper discharge tray G ₆ . Configuration of head moving mechanism G ₇ . Configuration of ribbon cartridge storage section G ₈ . Drive system configuration G ₉ . Configuration of driving force switching mechanism G ₁₀ . H. Effects of the Invention H. Effects of the Invention A. Industrial Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method in which a printing paper (printing paper) is wound around a platen, and color printing is performed by a thermal head (printing head) on the printing paper via an ink ribbon. The present invention relates to a printer such as a color printer of a thermal transfer system for performing the following.

B. Summary of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer that prints on print paper in a print unit in a printer body.A paper supply tray provided on the printer body is provided with a paper feed tray for detachably mounting print paper. An opening for exposing a portion of the printing paper is formed at the bottom of the paper feeding tray, and a paper feeding means is brought into contact with the back surface of the lowermost printing paper exposed from the opening to form the printing section. By transporting the print paper so that the back surface of the print paper is in contact with the peripheral surface of the platen and feeding the print paper to the platen from the lower side of the paper feed tray, the front side of the print paper (print screen) ) Can be fed to the platen in order starting from the lowest print paper of a plurality of print papers set up, and the last print can be smoothly and reliably done without damaging the print screen of the print paper. It is obtained to be able to feed the platen.

C. Prior Art For example, there is known a printer that winds a print paper fed from a paper feed tray around a platen and prints the print paper via an ink ribbon with a thermal head. The general configuration of the printer will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 38 and 39. Reference numeral 200 denotes a printer main body, and upper and lower positions facing the printing unit 201 in the printer main body 200 are provided with a paper discharge unit 202. The paper feeding units 203 are arranged. A paper feed roller 204 is provided as a paper feed unit at a position between the paper discharge unit 202 and the paper feed unit 203 near the paper feed unit 203, and a print paper 205 is placed on the paper feed unit 203. A paper feed tray 207 having a bottom plate 206 is provided detachably. At the time of paper feeding, the bottom plate 206 in the paper feeding tray 207, as shown in FIG.
By a moving mechanism (not shown), the back surface of the uppermost printing paper 205 stacked on the bottom plate 206 with the back surface (the surface opposite to the printing screen) facing upward is rotated upward so as to press against the paper feed roller 204, and When the paper is discharged, as shown in FIG. 39, the back surface of the uppermost print paper 205 is rotated downward so as to be separated from the paper feed roller 204.

Then, the print paper 205 conveyed to the platen 208 of the printing unit 201 by the paper feed roller 204 and wound around the platen 208 via the pinch roller 209 and the like, the platen 208 is moved in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 38. During the three rotations, printing is performed via the ink ribbon 211 by the thermal head 210 of the printing unit 201, and when the paper is discharged, the platen 208 is rotated in the same direction as described above, as shown in FIG. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge unit 202 via the branch guide 212 and stacked.

D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the paper feeding method of the conventional printer, a plurality of printer papers set on the bottom plate 206 of the paper feeding tray 207 are used.
The uppermost print paper 205 is pressed against the back surface of the print paper 205 by a paper feed roller 204 provided above the paper feed tray 207, so that the print paper 205 is
When the lowermost print paper 205 is fed, the upper surface (print screen) of the lowermost print paper 205 is placed on the bottom plate 206 of the paper feed tray 207. There was a drawback that the print was easily damaged due to contact and adversely affected the print.

Note that the bottom plate 206 of the paper feed tray 207 and the lowermost print paper
This can be dealt with by inserting a protective sheet between the 205 and using abrasion-resistant printed paper, but has the disadvantage of increasing the cost.

In addition, when the remaining amount of the print paper 205 in the paper feed tray 207 becomes small and the print paper 205 is fed one after another to the paper feed tray 207, the old print paper (lowest There is a problem that the print paper located in the) remains forever.

When printing on the front surface (print screen) of the printing paper 205, if the printing paper 205 is lengthened and both ends of the printing paper 205 are overlapped and wound around the platen 208, the printing paper 205 is printed during printing. Although it is possible to print without displacement, there is a drawback that printed paper printed at the time of discharge is faced down and stacked.

Therefore, the present invention is capable of feeding the platen from the lowermost print sheet in the sheet feed tray, and reliably feeding the last sheet of print paper to the platen without damaging the printing surface of the print sheet. It is intended to provide a printer capable of performing the following.

E. Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a paper supply unit in a printer body facing a printing unit thereof, and a paper supply tray on which print paper is placed is detachably mounted on the paper supply unit. An opening for exposing the back surface of the printing paper is formed at the bottom of the paper feeding tray.
Under the paper feed tray of the printer main body, the print paper is brought into contact with the back surface of the print paper exposed from the opening of the paper feed tray so that the back surface of the print paper comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the platen of the printing unit. And a lock mechanism that locks the mounting state when the paper feed tray is mounted, while the paper feed means is interlocked with the paper feed means and the paper feed means is in contact with the back surface of the print paper. And a lock release prohibition mechanism for prohibiting release of the lock operation of the lock mechanism.

F. Action The paper feeding means contacts the back of the lowermost print paper exposed from the opening at the bottom of the paper feed tray, and is conveyed so that the back of the print paper comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the platen of the printing unit. Paper. As a result, the lowermost print paper of the plurality of print papers set in the paper feed tray is sequentially fed to the platen, and the last one is printed on the platen without damaging the surface (print screen) of the print paper. Paper is fed reliably. When the paper feed tray is mounted, the mounting state is locked by the lock mechanism, and the release of the lock operation is prohibited by the lock release prohibition mechanism while the paper feed unit is in contact with the back surface of the print paper. This prevents the paper feed tray from coming off unexpectedly during paper feeding, printing, or the like.

G. Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

G ₁ . 17 is a thermal transfer type color printer. In FIG. 17, a printer main body 2 includes a rectangular frame type inner chassis 3 and a rectangular box type case-like outer chassis 4 which covers the inner chassis 3. It is roughly configured. As shown in FIG. 2, a paper supply tray receiver (paper supply unit) 5 and a paper discharge tray receiver (paper discharge unit) 6 are provided on the right side of the front (front) of the printer body 2 in a shelf shape. It is arranged on the lower side and the upper side, respectively, facing the printing section 7 located.

A paper feed mechanism 10 for transporting print papers 8 one by one to a printing unit 7 is provided between a front plate 3a and a rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 below the paper feed tray receiver 5 of the printer body 2 by a drive shaft. It is rotatably (swinging) supported via 11 and
Between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the chassis 3 between the printing unit 7 and the discharge tray receiver 6, a plurality of discharge rollers 12 for sending the print paper 8 printed by the printing unit 7 to the discharge tray receiver 6 side.
Is rotatably supported via a support shaft 13. A platen 14 is rotatably supported via a support shaft 15 between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 substantially at the center of the printing unit 7. The printing section 7 below the platen 14 is a ribbon cartridge storage section 16.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
A cover is exposed at the upper right side of the front of the outer chassis 4 of the printer main body 2, and the paper feed tray 5 and the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 are openably and closably supported at the lower right and left sides of the front of the outer chassis 4. 4a and a cover 4b.

G ₂ . Configuration of Paper Feeding Unit As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the paper feeding tray receiver (paper feeding unit) 5 is made of a synthetic resin and formed in a rectangular plate shape. The front plate is disposed between the rear plates 3b.
It is fixed to the upper part of the opening 3c opened at the right center of 3a with screws or the like. On both sides of the paper feed tray receiver 5, a pair of U-shaped hook portions 5a, 5a extending downward and facing each other are integrally formed. A sheet feed tray 20, which will be described later, is detachably housed in the pair of hook portions 5a, 5a.

Further, as shown in FIGS.
A rectangular recess 5b that is recessed downward is formed in the center of the lens. A pair of guide grooves 5c, 5c is formed in the longitudinal direction of the recess 5b (the direction orthogonal to the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3). On the back surface of the concave portion 5b, an eject member 18 for feeding out a part of the paper feed tray 20 so as to be exposed to the outside of the printer main body 2 is slidably provided along the pair of guide grooves 5c, 5c. is there. As shown in FIG. 8, the eject member 18 is formed in a plate shape having a substantially U-shaped vertical cross section and an L-shaped side surface, as shown in FIG. That is, a pair of upright portions 18a, 18a inserted into the pair of guide grooves 5c, 5c are formed on both sides of the eject member 18 in a protruding manner. The base ends 18b, 18b of the pair of uprights 18a, 18a are
Is formed so as to protrude outward in an L-shape so as to slide on the upper surface. As a result, the eject member 18 is attached to the pair of guide grooves 5c in a state where the hook portion 18c abutting on the leading end portion of the paper feed tray 20 on the leading end side hanging down in the L shape is suspended on the back surface of the concave portion 5b. , 5c.

In addition, a pair of base ends 18b, 18b of the ejection member 18 are provided.
A pair of tension coil springs (tensile elastic members) 19, 19 are provided between the L-shaped notches 18d, 18d and a pair of notches 5d, 5d on the rear plate 3b side of the inner chassis 3 of the recess 5b. Is interposed. As a result, the eject member 18 is constantly pulled and urged toward the rear plate 3b.

G ₃ . Configuration of Paper Feeding Tray and Lock Mechanism Thereof As shown in FIG. 7, the paper feeding tray 20 is formed of a synthetic resin in a rectangular box shape, which is slightly larger than the printed paper 8 and has a completely open upper part. The flange 21a of the side 21 and the flange 21a of the other side 22 are inserted into a pair of hooks 5a, 5a of the paper tray receiver 5, so that the paper tray can be mounted on the tray 5 freely. Then, at the bottom of the paper feed tray 20
An opening 24 for exposing about half of the back surface (the surface opposite to the printing screen) of the print paper 8 set in the paper feed tray 20 is formed in the minus side portion 21 from the center of 23.

Further, the front part 25 side of the paper feed tray 20 is a gripping part. The inside of the front part 25 and the tip part 26 facing the front part 25
On the inside of each of the bases 23, a base 27a of a pair of sending levers 27, 27 for sending the lowermost print papers 8 placed on the bottom 23 one by one to the printing unit 7 side is supported by a pin. Claw portions 27 formed by bending the tip sides of the pair of delivery levers 27, 27
b and 27b are located at the respective corners of the paper feed tray 20 on the side of the opening 24, and by placing the respective corners of the printing paper 8 on the side of the opening 24, one sheet of the printing paper 8 is placed. It can be sent to the printing unit 7 side by side.

Also, the front end of the center of the back surface of the bottom portion 23 of the paper feed tray 20
A locking portion 28 is formed on the 26 side. The locking portion 28 has a long tapered surface 28a, a V-shaped surface 28b, and a short tapered surface 28c that are inclined by approximately 45 ° with respect to the distal end portion 26, and is formed to protrude into a substantially triangular prism. Thus, on the rear plate 3 b side of the inner chassis 3, the mounting state of the paper feed tray 20 mounted on the paper feed tray receiver 5 is maintained by being disengaged from the locking portion 28. A lock mechanism 30 for releasing is provided.

As shown in FIG. 8, the lock mechanism 30
A substantially rectangular lock plate 32 rotatably supported by a notched bent horizontal portion 3d of 3b via a shaft 31 and one end 32a of the lock plate 32 on one end 32a of the paper feed tray receiver 5 side. Lock pin 33
And the hook 32b at the other end of the lock plate 32 to the rear plate 3b.
And a tension coil spring 34 for rotatingly urging the lock plate 32 so as to come inside. Thus, when the front portion 25 of the paper feed tray 20 is pressed and inserted into the paper feed tray receiver 5, the lock plate 32 resists the tensile force of the tension coil spring 34 as shown in FIGS. 20 (a) to 20 (c). Rotate and lock pin
33 is locked to the V-shaped surface 28b of the locking portion 28 of the sheet feeding tray 20, and is mounted and locked. In order to release the mounting lock state, the front part 25 of the paper feed tray 20 is further pressed to thereby release the state shown in FIG.
As shown in (e), the lock pin 33 is
The mounting lock is released from the character-shaped surface 28b.

G ₄ . Configuration of Paper Feeding Mechanism and Paper Feeding System As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the paper feeding mechanism 10 that transports the lowermost print paper 8 of the paper feed tray 20 mounted on the printer main body 2 to the printing unit 7 includes: A drive shaft 11 rotatably bridged between a front plate 3a and a rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3;
A rotating shaft 37 which revolves through a pair of arm members 36, 36 by the rotation of the rotating member 11;
A paper feed roller (feed means) 38 made of rubber, which conveys the print paper 8 one by one, is interposed on both sides of the feed roller 38 between the drive shaft 11 and the rotary shaft 37, and the torque of the rotary shaft 11 is And a limiter 39 for controlling the control.

Each of the limiters 39 is a compression member interposed between each of the arm members 36 rotatably supported by the drive shaft 11 and each of the drive gears 40 fixed to the drive shaft 11 inside the respective arm members 36. A first limiter 41 composed of a coil spring, each of the arm members 36 rotatably supporting the rotary shaft 37, and provided on the rotary shaft 11 inside each of the arm members 36, meshing with each of the drive gears 40. The second interposed between the driven gear 42 and
And a limiter 43.

Each of the second limiters 43 is fixed to a rotary shaft 37 and rotatably supports the driven gear 42 with a felt 44 interposed therebetween. The limiter rotary shaft 45 rotates toward the arm members 36 of the limiter rotary shaft 45. A spring retainer 46 that is freely supported, and the driven gear 42 is disposed on the side of the driven gear 42 of the limiter rotating shaft 45.
Felt retainer 48 rotatably supported with a felt 47 in between, and a spring retainer 46 and a felt retainer
And a compression coil spring 49 interposed therebetween.

Thus, the first limiter 41 includes a pair of arm members.
The torque of the drive shaft 11 around the drive shaft 11 is controlled, and the force required to lift the weight of the paper feed roller 38 and the print paper 8 is controlled. The second limiter 43 controls the torque of the paper feed roller 38 and is controlled to a force necessary to separate and transport the print paper 8. Note that the pair of arm members 36, 36 are prevented from falling off by the respective washers 50. Further, on the upper surfaces of the pair of arm members 36, 36, leaf springs 51 which are in contact with the lower edges 27c of the pair of delivery levers 27, 27 of the paper feed tray 20, respectively, are attached. This pair of leaf springs
By the elastic biasing force of 51,51, the pair of delivery levers 27,27
Claw portions 27b, 27b are always pressed against the print paper 8 set on the bottom portion 23 of the paper feed tray 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, an intermediate paper guide plate 52 made of a synthetic resin as a paper feed guide member is provided so as to extend from the paper feed roller 38 in the inner chassis 3 to one peripheral surface of the platen 14. It is. Further, a metal upper paper guide plate 53 is arranged between the paper feed tray receiver 5 and the platen 14.

Above the platen 14 in the inner chassis 3, a mounting frame 54 made of synthetic resin and constituting an opening is mounted. The attachment frame 54 is provided with a paper guide plate 55 made of synthetic resin as a guide member for covering the other one peripheral surface from directly above the platen 14 so as to be detachable. This paper guide plate 55
Is a plurality of ribs 55a extending vertically in an arc shape on the platen 14 side.
have. A pair of ribs 55a, 55a located in the middle
Between them, a pinch roller 56 that contacts the platen 14 is rotatably supported via a shaft 57.

The upper surface of the paper guide 55 is covered with a metal plate-like lid 58 which is engaged and disengaged by the upper edge of the front plate 3a and the upper edge of the rear plate 3a of the inner chassis 3. I have. That is, one end of the lid 58 can be inserted and locked in a pair of locking holes 3e, 3e of the rear plate 3b, while a U-shaped stopper 59 made of synthetic resin is provided on the other end. Is fixed. The lid 58 can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 2 by engaging and disengaging a pair of claws 59a, 59a formed on the distal end side of the stopper 59 at a predetermined position on the upper edge of the front plate 3a. I can do it.

As shown in FIG. 17, a rectangular opening 4c is also formed in the outer chassis 4 corresponding to the lid 58. The opening 4c can be opened and closed by a rectangular lid 4d.

G ₅ . Configurations of Paper Discharge Portion and Paper Discharge Tray As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper discharge tray receiver 6 is made of resin and has a rectangular box shape with open front and upper surfaces. It is attached to a predetermined position on the upper right side between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b. The bottom of the paper receiving tray receiver 6 has two steps of high and low bottoms 6a and 6b. After that, the high bottom 6a on the plate 3b side is located at the first paper discharging position and the front plate 3a. The lower bottom portion 6b is at the second paper discharge position.

A pair of vertically long openings 6d, 6d extending from a rear edge of the bottom portion 6a to an upper portion of a rear portion 6c which stands upright are formed substantially in the center of the high bottom portion 6a of the paper discharge tray receiver 6. A pair of paper push-out portions 60a, 60a protrudingly formed at the tip of a substantially U-shaped paper ejection push-out claw 60 are allowed to be freely protruded and retracted from the pair of openings 6d, 6d. That is, the lower end 60b of the base of the ejection push-out claw 60 is attached to the mounting plate 9 attached between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b.
Is rotatably supported by the pin 9a. A pin 61 is buried at the base of the ejection push-out claw 60 and projects horizontally. As a result, the pair of paper push-out portions 60a, 60a of the ejection push-out claw 60 rotate about the pins 9a of the mounting plate 9 and protrude from the pair of openings 6d, 6d above the high bottom portion 6a. It has become. Further, a horizontal guide piece 6e for guiding the discharged print paper 8 protrudes from the rear portion 6c. The pin 61 protruding from the base of the ejection push-out claw 60 is linked to an operation plate 125 described later via a slide plate 62 and a rotation plate 63, and the slide plate 62 moves back and forth. The pair of paper push-out portions 60a, 60a of the ejection push-out claw 60 are provided with the pair of openings 6d,
Appears to appear in 6d.

On the lower bottom 6b of the paper discharge tray receiver 6, a paper discharge tray 64 is removably stored as shown in FIG. Further, above the upper paper guide plate 53,
A pair of upper and lower paper guide plates 65 and 66 are disposed on the upper edges of the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3. Below the lower paper guide plate 66, a pinch roller 67, which is in contact with the platen 14, is rotatably supported via a support shaft 68. These upper and lower paper guide plates 65,6
The print paper 8 printed and discharged between 6 is inserted, pressed against the respective discharge rollers 12, and stacked on the discharge tray 64. A light reflection type paper edge sensor 69 for detecting the edge of the print paper 8 and determining the start of printing is arranged near the platen 14 between the lower paper guide plate 66 and the upper paper guide plate 53.

G ₆ . Configuration of Head Moving Mechanism As shown in FIG. 1, below the platen 14 of the printing unit 7, a head moving mechanism 71 for bringing a flat thermal head (print head) 70 into contact with and separating from the platen 14 is provided. It is set up.

As shown in FIG. 11, the head moving mechanism 71 is swingably supported by a support shaft 72 spanned between a front plate 3a and a rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, and a head to which the thermal head 70 is fixed. A pair of compression coil springs 76, 76, which are pivotally supported on the support shaft 72 together with the head support member 73 on both sides of the support member 73 and the head support member 73, and between the heat radiating plate 74 and the bottom plate portion 75a of the thermal head 70. Sub head support member 7 with
5, a pair of links 77, 77 having one end pivotally supported on both ends of the tip of the sub-head support member 75, and a pair of links 7
Pins 78, 78 protruding from the other end of 7, 77 have concave portions 79a, 79a at the tip.
Are engaged to swing the head support member 73 and the sub head support member 75 toward the platen 14 side.
9, a drive shaft 80 which penetrates and fixes the bases of the pair of drive arms 79, 79 and is rotatably supported on the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, respectively.
75, a ribbon roller 82 rotatably supported via a pair of L-shaped auxiliary arms 81, 81.

As shown in FIG. 12, the head support member 73 is formed in a U-shaped plate shape, and insertion holes 73a, 73a through which the support shafts 72 are inserted are formed at bases on both sides thereof. is there. Each of the insertion holes 73a is formed in a long hole extending in the head pressing direction of the platen 14, and the head support member 73
Can freely move to the platen 14 side.
Thereby, the self-alignment of the thermal head 70 can be easily achieved. In this case, the thermal head
The head pressure 70 is provided by the pair of compression coil springs 76 when the head support member 73 is pressed against the platen 14 by the drive arms 79 with the support shaft 72 as a fulcrum. This pair of compression coil springs 76,76
The head support member 73 is moved by the platen 14
It swings to the side, but is regulated to a predetermined value by the flanges 75b on the upper edges on both sides of the sub head support member 75.

The ribbon roller pressure of the ribbon roller 82 is given separately from the head pressure by a tension coil spring 83 interposed between each of the auxiliary arms 81 and the sub head support member 75.

G ₇ . Configuration of Ribbon Cartridge Storage Unit As shown in FIG.
Has a space in which the ribbon cartridge 85 can be stored. The ribbon cartridge 85 includes a supply ribbon reel 87 in which an ink ribbon 86 in which a coloring area composed of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) coloring portions is continuous is wound inside a main body thereof, and a winding ribbon for winding. The ribbon reel 88 is rotatably supported. The cue of the Y color of the ink ribbon 86 is detected by a light transmission sensor 89. The transmission sensor 89 includes a light emitting unit 89a and a light receiving unit 89b.
It is composed of

The ribbon cartridge storage section 16 is provided between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3.
An upper holding plate 90 for holding a supply ribbon reel side 87 of 85;
A lower holding plate 91 that holds the take-up ribbon reel 88 of the ribbon cartridge 85 is generally configured. And
The front plate 3a has an insertion opening 92 for a ribbon cartridge 85, and the rear plate 3b has a supply driven reel base 93 and a take-up drive reel base 94 attached diagonally upward and downward, respectively. is there.

As shown in FIG. 15, the supply driven reel base 93 and the take-up drive reel base 94 have respective shafts 96 and 97 projecting inward from a rear plate 3b fixed to a mounting plate 95 having an L-shaped cross section. Each of them is rotatably supported via a corresponding one of them, and has limiter gears 98 and 99 between the mounting plate 95 and the rear plate 3b. Further, the reel bases 93 and 94 are provided with reel claws 93a and 94a that are engaged with the supply ribbon reel 87 and the take-up ribbon reel 88 of the ribbon cartridge 85, respectively, so as to project from the rear plate 3b side.

G ₈ . Structure of Drive System As shown in FIGS. 3 and 16, the drive shaft 11 of the paper feed mechanism 10, the support shaft 13 of the discharge roller 12, and the support shaft 15 of the platen 14 are located outside the rear plate 3 b of the inner chassis 3. A drive gear 100 for the feed roller, a drive gear 101 for the discharge roller, and a drive gear 102 for the platen are fixed to each end.

The drive gear 100 for feeding paper meshes with a small-diameter intermediate gear 104 via a large-diameter intermediate gear 103. This small diameter intermediate gear 104
The first shift gear 107, which is constantly urged to the outside through the compression coil spring 106 to the shaft 105 via the driving force switching mechanism 140 described later, moves from the neutral state to the inside against the compression force of the compression coil spring 106. (The rear plate 3b side). This first shift gear 107 is
The driving force switching mechanism 140 reciprocates to the outer, neutral, and inner positions as described above. The small-diameter gear portion 108b meshes with the large-diameter gear portion 108a and the platen driving gear 102. And the large-diameter gear portion 108a of the intermediate gear 108 composed of

The large-diameter gear portion 108a of the intermediate gear 108 has a second
The compression coil spring 11 is attached to the shaft 109 via the driving force switching mechanism 150 of
Second shift gear 1 constantly biased outward through 0
It is in mesh with the eleven small diameter gear portions 111a. The large-diameter worm gear portion 111b of the second shift gear 111 is moved inward (to the rear plate 3b side) by the second driving force switching mechanism 150 such that the second shift gear 111 resists the compression force of the compression coil spring 110. Stepper motor (second drive source) 112 when moved
Of the worm 113. further,
The small-diameter gear portion 111a of the second shift gear 111 has a pinion 1
The gear 14 is in mesh with the drive gear 101 for the paper discharge roller.

When the first shift gear 107 is moved outward by the compression force of the compression coil spring 106 by the driving force switching mechanism 140, the first shift gear 107 meshes with the limiter gear 99 of the take-up drive reel base 94 via the intermediate gear 115. The take-up drive reel base 94 is rotated.

The inner chassis 3 of the drive shaft 80 of the head moving mechanism 71
A head drive gear 120 is fixed to an end outside the rear plate 3b. The head drive gear 120 has a large-diameter gear portion 121.
and a small diameter gear portion 121b of the head idler gear 121 composed of the small diameter gear portion 121b. The large-diameter gear portion 121a of the head idler gear 121 is provided with a stepping motor (first
And a small-diameter gear portion 124b of an intermediate gear 124 composed of a large-diameter worm gear 124a and a small-diameter gear portion 124b that mesh with the worm 123 of the stepping motor 12
It can rotate freely by the driving force of 2.

A pin 126 protruding from one end of an operation plate 125 for rotating the paper ejection push-out claw 60 is inserted and engaged at a predetermined position on the side surface of the rear plate 3b of the head drive gear 120. This operation plate 125 is formed in a long L-shaped plate shape,
Long holes 12 formed in the longitudinal direction on both sides and the upper part
The pins 5a, 125b, and 125c are supported by being reciprocally movable in the longitudinal direction by inserting the pins 127, 128, and 129 projecting from the rear plate 3b. The upper bent portion 125d of the operation plate 125 includes
The rotating plate 63 of the ejection push-out claw 60 is pivotally supported by a pin.
As a result, the operation plate 125 is moved back to the head drive gear 120 side as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, whereby the pair of paper pushing portions 60a, 60a,
60a is immersed in the pair of openings 6d, 6d of the paper discharge tray receiver 6, and moves forward as shown by the solid line in FIG. High bottom 6
It protrudes above a.

The pin 127 of the rear plate 3b on the side of the feed roller driving gear 100 is provided with an eject stopper (prohibiting means) that engages with and disengages from the hook portion 32b of the lock plate 32 that protrudes and retracts outside the rear plate 3b of the lock mechanism 30. ) The base of 130 is pivoted. The eject stopper 130 is formed in an arm plate shape, and a pin 131 protruding from the operation plate 125 is inserted into and engaged with a long hole 130a formed in the center in the longitudinal direction. This allows
When the operation plate 125 reciprocates, the eject stopper 130 swings as shown by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. By holding the hook portion 32d in a protruding state, it is possible to prevent the mounting of the paper feed tray 20 attached to the printer main body 2 and locked by the lock mechanism 30 from being unexpectedly unlocked during paper feeding or printing. ing.

Also, the large-diameter gear portion 121a of the head idler gear 121
A protrusion 121c, a V-shaped cam surface 121d, and a concave portion 121e are formed on the outer surface. The base ends 132a and 133a of the brake arms 132 and 133 for the supply driven reel base and the take-up drive reel base are in contact with the protrusion 121c and the cam surface 121d. Each of the brake arms 132 and 133 is formed in a rectangular shape, and is rotatably supported via each of the support shafts 134 and 135. Further, tension coil springs 137, 138 are interposed between the bases of the brake arms 132, 133 and the support shaft 136 rotatably supporting the head idler gear 121, and the tip portions 132b, 133b are provided at the respective reels. The limiter gears 98 and 99 of the tables 93 and 94 are meshed with each other and can be separated from each other.

G ₉ . Configuration of Driving Force Switching Mechanism Driving force switching mechanism 140 includes a cam gear 143 including a small diameter gear portion 141 meshing with the head idler gear 121, a large diameter cam portion 142 having an uneven cam surface 142a on one side, and the inner chassis. 3, a rod-shaped support portion 145a is rotatably supported by a U-shaped mounting plate 144 fixed to the rear plate 3b, and one end 145b abuts against the cam surface 142a of the cam gear 143, and the other end plate is used. Spring part 1
46 is brought into contact with one side surface of the first shift gear 107, and the shift gear 1 is
The shift lever 145 moves the 07 to three positions of outside, neutral, and inside.

A pair of pin portions 141a, 141a is provided on one side surface of the small-diameter gear portion 141 of the cam gear 143. This pair of pin portions 141
The U-shaped mounting plate 14 fixed to the mounting plate 95
A base 149a of an L-shaped lock arm 149 rotatably supported via a spring 148 is brought into contact with and separated from 7.
When the base portion 149a comes into contact with the pair of pins 141a, 141a, the claw portion 149b on the tip end of which engages with the supply driven reel base 93 against the urging force of the spring 148 has a position corresponding to that of the reel base 93. Separated from the lock engagement part 98a of the limiter gear 98,
The reel base 93 rotates.

The second driving force switching mechanism 150 includes a head idler gear 121
Has a hook-shaped tip 151a that is inserted into and separated from the recess 121e of the
A substantially rectangular operating lever 151 having a hole 151b formed in the center and a pin 151c protruding from the base, and the base being pivotally supported by the pin 151c of the operating lever 151, the upper and lower parts of the center are One of the pin portions 152b protruding into the hole 1 of the operation lever 151.
51b, the other pin portion 151b is pivoted to the mounting plate 95, and an intermediate operation lever 152 having a long hole 152a at the tip.
And a bar-shaped support portion 153 on the bracket portion 95a of the mounting plate 95.
c is rotatably supported, one end 153a thereof is inserted into and engaged with the elongated hole 152a of the intermediate operation lever 152, and the leaf spring portion 153b at the other end is connected to one side of the second shift gear 111. , And the leaf spring portion 1 is
53b, a shift lever 153 for moving the shift gear 111 to two positions inside and outside.

G ₁₀ . Operation of Embodiment According to the printer 1 of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, at the initial stage before printing (when the paper tray 20 is taken in and out,
(Including when the ribbon cartridge 85 is inserted and removed, and when the print paper 8 is jammed, etc.).
The paper ejection push-out claw 60 protrudes above the high bottom 6a of the paper ejection tray receiver 6. At this time,
As shown in FIGS. 27 and 28, the first shift gear 107 is in a neutral position, and the second shift gear 111 is in a position away from the worm 113 of the stepping motor 112.

In this state, as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, when the paper feed tray 20 is mounted on the paper feed tray receiver 5, the paper
Is locked in its mounted state by the lock mechanism 30, as shown in FIG. 20 (c). At this time, the hook 32b of the lock mechanism 30 projects outward from the rear plate 3b, as shown in FIG. When a print button (not shown) is pressed, the stepping motor 122 is driven, and the head drive gear 120 and the like are rotated. The rotation of the head drive gear 120 etc. causes the second
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 30, the first shift gear 107 is moved to the outer position by the driving force switching mechanism 140 and meshes with the limiter gear 99 of the take-up drive reel base 94 via the intermediate gear 115. By driving the take-up drive reel base 94, as shown in FIG. 23, the cueing of the ink ribbon 86 is performed, and the second shift gear 111 is moved by the second driving force switching mechanism 150 to the stepping motor 112. Warm 113
And the platen 14 and the paper discharge roller 12 rotate (the second shift gear 111 is in this position until the paper is discharged). At the time of cueing of the ink ribbon 86, the brake arm 132 and the lock arm 14 of the supply driven reel base 93 are provided.
9 and the brake arm 133 of the take-up drive reel base 94 are turned off, and the cue of the ink ribbon 86 is smoothly performed. Further, the operation plate 125 moves forward by the head drive gear 120, and the eject stopper 130 is locked to the hook portion 32b of the lock mechanism 30, so that the lock of the mounting lock state of the paper feed tray 20 cannot be released. This prevents unexpected removal of the paper feed tray 20 during subsequent paper feeding, printing, or the like. In addition, the ejection push-out claw 6
The pair of paper push-out portions 60a, 60a of the pair 0 are formed from a pair of openings 6d, 6 of a rear portion 6c from above the high bottom portion 6a of the discharge tray receiver 6.
Immerse yourself in d. The paper ejection push-out claw 60 is stopped in this state until the paper is ejected.

Then, the first shift gear 107 is driven by the stepping motor 122 via the driving force switching mechanism 140 and the like,
As shown in FIG. 31, the paper feed roller driving gear 1 of the paper feed mechanism 10 is moved to the inner position and is moved through the intermediate gears 103 and 104.
Meshes with 00. Due to the rotation of the feed roller drive gear 100, the feed roller 38 moves upward as shown in FIGS. Press against the back. The print paper 8 is fed to the platen 14 by the rotation of the feed roller 38. In addition, at the time of this paper feeding, the brake arm 132,
133 and the lock arm 149 are on.

The printing paper 8 that has reached the platen 14 is rotated by the platen 14 in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
It is wound around the circumference of 14. When the printing paper 8 is loaded, the first shift gear 107 is located at the neutral position as shown in FIG. Thus, a series of sheet feeding operations is completed.

Next, when the head drive gear 120 is rotated by the driving of the stepping motor 122, the thermal head 70 is moved by the head moving mechanism 71 to press the ink ribbon 86 against the platen 14, as shown in FIG. At this time, as shown in FIG. 35, the first shift gear 107 is located at the outer position as in the case of cueing the ink ribbon 86, and rotates the take-up drive reel base 94. At this time, the brake arm 133 and the lock arm 149 are turned off, but the brake arm 132 is kept on, so that an appropriate brake is applied to the supply driven reel base 93 during printing to prevent idling, and the ink ribbon 86 is given a moderate back tension. From this state, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C
(Cyan) printing is performed.

When the printing on the printing paper 8 is completed, as shown in FIG. 26, the platen 14 rotates in the direction opposite to the feeding direction,
The sheet is conveyed and discharged onto the discharge tray receiver 6 by the discharge roller 13, guided and regulated by the rear portion 6 c and the guide piece 6 e, and set on the high bottom portion 3 a of the discharge tray receiver 6. At the time of this paper ejection, as shown in FIG.
Is in the neutral position, and only the platen 14 and the discharge roller 13 rotate by the driving of the stepping motor 112.
Thereafter, when the operation plate 125 moves backward, the operation plate 125
A pair of paper push-out sections 60 of the ejection push-out claw 60 interlocked with the
a, 60a returns to the original position and projects from the pair of openings 6d, 6d, so that the printed printing paper 8 set on the high bottom 6a is pushed out onto the paper discharge tray 64. Then, the paper discharging operation is completed.

In this manner, the paper feed roller 38 is pressed against the back surface of the lowermost print paper 8 exposed from the opening 24 that exposes a part of the print paper 8 formed on the bottom 23 of the paper feed tray 20, and the platen 14 The paper is conveyed so that the back side of the paper touches the peripheral surface, and the paper is
Since the paper is fed to the feed tray 14, the print paper 8 can be set in the paper feed tray 20 with the surface thereof facing upward. Paper can be fed to the platen 14 sequentially from the lower print paper. As a result, the last sheet can be fed smoothly and reliably without damaging the printing surface of the print sheet on the platen 14.

Further, the both ends of the printing paper can be wound around the platen 14 so that the printing paper 8
Can be printed in a stable printing state without deviation from the platen 14, and a printed paper with beautiful printing can be obtained.

Further, as described above, the paper feed roller 38 is
Since the print paper 8 is moved from the lower side of the paper 20 so as to be pressed against the print paper 8 and fed to the platen 14, there is no need to provide a complicated paper feed roller press-contact means in the paper feed tray 20. Cost can be reduced.

H. Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, a paper feed tray on which print paper is placed is detachably provided in a paper feed unit provided in the printer body, and the print tray is provided at the bottom of the paper feed tray. An opening for exposing a part of the paper is formed, and the paper feeding means is brought into contact with the back surface of the lowermost print paper exposed from the opening, so that the back surface of the print paper is formed on the peripheral surface of the platen of the printing unit. The print paper is fed to the platen from the lower side of the paper feed tray so that it can be set in the paper feed tray with the surface of the print paper facing up.
The plurality of print papers set in the paper feed tray can be sequentially fed to the platen from the lowest print paper. As a result, the last sheet can be fed smoothly and reliably without damaging the printing surface of the printing paper on the platen, and the printing paper can be wound around the platen with both ends overlapped.

A lock mechanism for locking the mounting state when the paper feed tray is mounted; and a lock release prohibition mechanism for prohibiting release of the lock operation of the lock mechanism while the paper feeding means is in contact with the back surface of the print paper. So that when feeding paper,
At the time of printing or the like, the paper feed tray is prevented from coming off unexpectedly.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part of a printer main body of a printer showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main part, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a rear view, FIG. 4 is a schematic side view, FIG. 5 is a plan view of a paper feed tray receiver, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of a lock portion of the sheet feeding tray, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the sheet feeding mechanism, FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the sheet feeding mechanism, and FIG. 11 is a head moving mechanism. 12 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the head moving mechanism, FIG. 13 is a side view of the head moving mechanism, FIG. 14 is a rear view of the head moving mechanism, and FIG. 15 is a ribbon cartridge driving system. FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the entire drive system, FIG.
FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the entire printer, FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the paper feed tray is being mounted, FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the mounted state of the paper feed tray, and FIGS. 20 (a) and (b). , (C),
(D) and (e) are explanatory diagrams sequentially showing locking and unlocking of a paper feed tray, FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a state before paper feeding, and FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing a state at the time of paper feeding. 23, FIG. 23 is a schematic explanatory view showing the ink ribbon cueing, FIG. 24 is a schematic explanatory view showing the paper feeding time, FIG. 25 is a schematic explanatory view showing the printing time, FIG.
FIG. 26 is a schematic explanatory view showing the paper ejection, FIG. 27 is a bottom view of the main part of the drive system at the initial stage, FIG. 28 is a side view of the main part of the drive system at the initial stage, and FIG. FIG. 30 is a side view of the main part of the drive system at the time of cueing of the ink ribbon, FIG. 31 is a bottom view of the main part of the drive system at the time of paper feeding, and FIG. 32 is paper feeding. FIG. 33 is a bottom view of the driving system main part at the time of loading and discharging, FIG. 34 is a side view of the driving system main part at the time of loading and discharging, and FIG. FIG. 36 is a bottom view of a driving system main part at the time of printing, FIG. 36 is a side view of the driving system main part at the time of printing, and FIG.
FIG. 37 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a print paper during jamming, FIG. 38 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a paper feed state of a conventional printer, and FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a paper discharge state of a conventional printer. 1 printer, 2 print body, 5 paper feed tray (paper feed section), 7 printing section, 8 print paper, 14 platen,
20: paper feed tray, 23: bottom, 24: opening, 38: paper feed roller (paper feed means).

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A paper feed unit is provided in a printer body facing a printing unit thereof, and a paper feed tray for mounting print paper is detachably provided in the paper feed unit, and a bottom portion of the paper feed tray is provided. While forming an opening for exposing the back side of the printed paper,
Under the paper feed tray of the printer main body, the print paper is brought into contact with the back surface of the print paper exposed from the opening of the paper feed tray so that the back surface of the print paper comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the platen of the printing unit. And a lock mechanism that locks the mounting state when the paper feed tray is mounted, while the paper feed means is interlocked with the paper feed means and the paper feed means is in contact with the back surface of the print paper. And a lock release prohibition mechanism for prohibiting release of the lock operation of the lock mechanism.