JP2864522B2 - Printers using continuous and cut-sheet forms - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a printer used as a data output device of a computer or a printing device of a word processor.

[Prior Art] A conventional printer has a structure in which a tractor device is provided behind a printing unit including a platen and a print head, a cover for covering the tractor device is opened, and continuous paper is loaded from above the printer. . A sheet feeding device for feeding one sheet at a time from the stacked cut sheets is installed in an inclined state above the platen, and cut sheets are loaded into the sheet feeding device from obliquely above the front of the printer. Also, continuous paper after printing,
The cut sheet is discharged to the front of the sheet feeding device.

The printer is used by being installed on a desk alongside a computer body and a CRT display.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, conventionally, a place for installing a printer must be secured beside a computer main body and a display. In addition, a sufficient space must be left above the printer for inserting and discharging paper. Therefore, installing a computer system including a computer body, a display, a printer, and the like requires a large space.

In order to solve this problem, it is conceivable to place the printer above the display using a dedicated shelf, but it becomes difficult to insert and discharge paper on the upper surface of the printer. Further, even if the printer is placed under a computer desk, it is difficult to insert and discharge the paper, which is not practical.

An object of the present invention is to solve these problems, to provide a printer that can be placed under a display, for example, and to save the installation space of a computer system.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing device, a cut-sheet feeding device for stacking and storing cut-sheet paper, a tractor device for transporting continuous paper, A switching device for selectively supplying cut-sheet paper and continuous paper to the printing device, wherein the printing device is arranged near one side surface in a flat box having a flat upper surface; The tractor device is disposed in proximity to the other side opposite to the tractor device, and between the printing device and the tractor device, continuous paper is formed by the upper surface of the surface that is maintained at a position where the distance from the upper surface of the box is substantially equal. A guide device for guiding is arranged, and the cut-sheet feeding device is arranged below the guide device.

[Operation] As described above, by arranging the printing device, the cut-sheet feeding device, the tractor device, and the guide device, the entire device is arranged to be flat despite the use of two types of foreign paper. As a result, the boxes that house those internal devices can be flattened and their tops can be flattened. Then, a CRT display or the like can be installed on the flat upper surface of the printer, and the installation place of the computer system can be reduced.

[Embodiment] In a printer according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
11 is flattened.

The printing device 20 (FIG. 1) is installed in the box 10 on the right side. The printing device 20 includes a platen 21 extending in a direction parallel to the right side surface 12 and the upper surface 11 of the box 10, and a printing device mounted on a carriage 23 slidable on guide shafts 22, 22 extending in the same direction. And a head 24. In the illustrated embodiment, the print head 24 faces the platen 21 from below and prints on the lower surface of the printing paper.
The vertical relationship with 24 may be reversed.

Rollers 30 for frictionally feeding the printing paper are arranged in a pair up and down closer to the inside of the box 10 than the printing device 20. An outlet 13 for printing paper is formed on the right side surface 12 of the box 10. Guide plate between roller 30 and discharge port 13
A printing paper 31 is disposed between the platen 21 and the print head 24 to guide the printing paper to the discharge port 13.

A guide device 40 for continuous paper, which will be described later, is disposed closer to the inside of the box 10 than the roller 30.
Below 40, a paper feeder 50 for stacked cut sheets is arranged.

The sheet feeding device 50 slidably mounts a sheet feeding cassette 53 for accommodating stacked cut sheets 52 on the upper surface of the substrate 51, and contacts the upper surface of the cut sheets 52 to send out the cut sheets one by one. A friction roller 54 is provided. When the sheet cassette 53 is inserted onto the substrate 51, the cut sheet 52 is lifted by a well-known push-up mechanism (not shown).
Is pushed up toward the friction roller 54. An openable door 14 is provided on the right side surface 12 of the box 10 so that the sheet cassette 53 can be put in and out of the box 10 in an open state.

The guide device 40 is composed of two plates 41 and 42 that are divided into front and rear (left and right in FIG. 1) in the moving direction of the continuous paper. The front (the tractor device side described later) plate 41 is provided in a fixed state at the upper end of a side plate 55 rising from both sides of the substrate 51 of the sheet feeding device. One end of the rear plate (roller 30 side) is inserted into the hole 43 of the front plate 41 and is connected to the plate 41 so as to be swingable around a horizontal axis. Both plates 41, 42
Are always pressed together by springs 44 so that their top surfaces are maintained substantially coplanar.

The guide device 40 and the sheet feeding device 50 can swing integrally about a horizontal shaft 56 provided at the end of the substrate 51 on the side opposite to the roller 30. Thereby, the two devices 40 and 50 can be made to face the roller 30 alternatively.

The rear plate 42 of the guide device 40 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), pins 45 are provided on both sides in the sheet moving direction, and the pins 45 are fitted into arc-shaped long holes 46 of the chassis 15. The guide device 40 descends about the horizontal axis 56 and the pin
When the bottom 45 abuts against the lower end of the long hole 46, the rear plate 42 is held with its front end facing the roller 30. Guide device
When 40 rises, the pin 45 contacts the upper end of the long hole 46,
The rising of the rear plate 42 is stopped regardless of the rising of the front plate 41. This keeps the height of the box 10 as small as possible.

A tractor device 60 for supplying continuous paper is installed on the left side in the box 10. The tractor device 60 has a pair of shafts.
61 and 62 are provided with a pair (only one is shown) of frames 63 slidably provided in the paper width direction. The frame 63 supports two pulleys and a belt with a pin stretched between the pulleys in the same manner as the well-known structure. The pin is held in a hooked state. On the left side 16 of the box 10, a door 17
The opening 17 for the continuous paper 65 is formed between the upper end of the door 17 and the left side surface 16.

The tractor device 60 is supported by a pair of parallel links 66 so as to be able to enter and exit from the left side of the box 10 as shown in FIG. One link 66 is provided with a lock lever 67,
The tractor device 60 is held in the box 10 by locking to a lock pin 68 provided in the box 10. In this state, the gear 69 on the tractor device meshes with the gear 70 on the drive source side,
The pin belt is driven.

By opening the door 17 to release the lock between the lock lever 67 and the lock pin 68 and pulling the tractor device 60 out of the box 10, the cover 64 can be opened to mount or release the continuous paper 65.

The tractor device 60 can be designed not only manually but also so as to be moved in and out by a driving source such as a motor.

4 (a) and 4 (b) show a receiving tray 80 for receiving the cut sheet discharged from the discharge port 13. The receiving table 80 is provided so as to be able to enter and leave a groove 81 formed on the right side surface of the box 10.
The pedestal 80 in (a) has two bars 82 and 83 each having a vertical axis 8
The auxiliary bar 85 is provided so as to be rotatable around 4, and an auxiliary bar 85 is further slidably provided on the shorter bar 83. In the cradle 80 of (b), a pantograph-like auxiliary bar 87 is connected to a main bar 86 rotatable around an axis 84,
It is stored in the groove 81 in a folded state.

When printing on continuous paper, the tractor device
60 is pulled out of the box 10 and the front end of the continuous paper is
And the tractor device is returned into the box 10. Further, the guide device 40 is lowered around the shaft 56, and is arranged such that the upper surface thereof is located on a line connecting the tractor device 60 and the roller 30 as shown by a solid line in FIG. Then, by starting the tractor device 60, the continuous paper is fed along the upper surface of the guide device 40. By rotating the roller 30 by a fixed amount from the time when the leading end of the continuous paper is detected by the sensor 90, the first line on the paper is fed to a position facing the print head 24. After printing, the sheet is discharged from the discharge port 13.

When printing on cut-sheet paper, the tractor device 60 and the roller are used to replace the continuous paper remaining in the printing device 20.
Reverse 30. From the time when the leading edge of the continuous paper is detected by the sensor 90, the reverse rotation is further continued for the distance between the sensor 90 and the tractor device 60 and stopped. Then, the continuous paper is stopped with the leading edge hooked on the tractor device 60. Thereafter, the sheet feeding device 50 is raised around the shaft 56, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
To face. Then, by starting the friction roller 54, the cut sheet can be supplied to the printing apparatus 20 through the roller 30 one by one. (At this time, the tractor device 60 is stopped.) As in the above embodiment, the continuous paper is transported substantially horizontally from the inlet on the left side of the box 10 to the discharge port on the right side. By arranging the paper feed cassette 53 substantially horizontally in the direction from below to the printing apparatus 20, the upper surface 11 of the box can be made a flat surface substantially parallel to the continuous paper. In addition, since the upper surface 11 of the box, the continuous paper 65, and the cut paper 52 are positioned substantially parallel to and close to each other, the box can be configured in a flat shape. Further, since the friction roller 54 is located at the end of the paper feed cassette 53 on the printing device side and the tractor device 60 is located above the other end, the friction roller and the tractor device can be configured to be flatter without interference.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the printer can be placed on the computer main body 102, and the CRT display 101 can be further used thereon. The switches of the printer are provided on the front of the printer for easy operation.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, although two types of paper are used, the printer can be flat and the upper surface can be flattened. This makes it possible to install the printers one on top of the other, and to save a great deal of space for installing the computer system.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the front, FIG.
4 (a) and 4 (b) are explanatory views of the operation of the guide device and longitudinal sectional views of main parts thereof, FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b) are plan views showing different embodiments of the receiving stand, respectively, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the arrangement of a printer. In the figure, 10 is a box, 20 is a printing device, 50 is a cut-sheet feeding device, and 60 is a tractor device.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-71673 (JP, A) JP-A-62-87368 (JP, A) JP-A-63-251264 (JP, A) JP-A 64-64 69371 (JP, A) JP-A-62-116436 (JP, A) JP-A-61-151662 (JP, A) JP-A-63-189651 (JP, U) JP-A-1-161042 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 29/00 B41J 11/48

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A printing device, a cut-sheet feeding device for stacking cut-sheet paper, and a tractor device for feeding continuous paper;
A switching device for selectively supplying cut-sheet paper and continuous paper to the printing device, wherein the printing device is arranged near one side surface in a flat box having a flat upper surface; The tractor device is disposed in proximity to the other side opposite to the tractor device, and between the printing device and the tractor device, continuous paper is formed by the upper surface of the surface that is maintained at a position where the distance from the upper surface of the box is substantially equal. A printer, wherein a guide device for guiding is arranged, and the cut-sheet feeding device is arranged below the guide device.