JP3013955B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a printing apparatus having both a manual paper feed mechanism and an automatic paper feed mechanism (ASF). The present invention also relates to a device that has been made compact and has improved handling.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a printing apparatus, for example, there is one as shown in FIG. First, there is an apparatus main body 201, in which a platen 203 and a print head 205 arranged on a side facing the platen 203 are installed. Below the platen 203, a pinch roller 207, a roller 209, and a sheet detection sensor 211 are provided.
Etc. are arranged. The print head 205 is mounted on a carriage 213, and
Reference numeral 3 moves along the guide shafts 215a and 215b in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. Accordingly, the print head 205 also moves in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface with the movement of the carriage 213. The device main body 2
An ASF 215 is mounted on the document feeder 01, a manual feed guide member 217 is mounted as a manual paper feed mechanism, and a discharge stacker 219 is further installed.

According to the above configuration, the sheet supplied from the ASF 215 or the manual feed guide member 217 passes between the pinch roller 207 and the platen 203 and is wound around the platen 203 as shown by an arrow in the drawing. It is transported above the platen 203. In the course of this, predetermined printing is performed by the print head 205, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge stacker 219 side.

[0004] In addition to the above-described printing apparatus, there is also a printing apparatus as shown in FIG. This is a so-called horizontal printer, in which a print head 305 is installed above a platen 303 arranged in the apparatus main body 301. ASF3 is shown on the left side of the figure.
The manual feed mechanism 309 is installed above the ASF 307. Reference numeral 311 in the figure
Indicates a table of the manual paper feed mechanism 309. or,
A paper discharge tray 313 is provided on the right side in the drawing. or,
Before and after the platen 303, the transport roller mechanisms 315, 31
7 are provided respectively.

In the above configuration, first, the operation when the paper path is bidirectional will be described. For example, one sheet of paper is supplied using the table 311 of the manual paper feed mechanism 309, and printing is performed from above by the print head 305. After the printing is completed, the paper is discharged so as to return to the front side again.
This is the case when the paper path is bidirectional. On the other hand, in the case where the paper path is in one direction, for example, ASF
Paper is supplied from 307, and printing is performed from above by the print head 305. Paper printing has been completed is discharged directly to the discharge tray 31 3 at the right-hand side of FIG. When printing is sequentially performed on a large number of sheets, such one-way printing is performed.

[0006]

According to the above-mentioned conventional configuration, there are the following problems. First, the printing apparatus having the configuration shown in FIG. 14 has the following problem. (1) First, there was a problem of noise during printing. That is, in FIG. 14, the left side is the front side where the user is located, but since the print head 205 is located on the near side to the user, the sound when moving the print head 205, the tapping sound when printing, etc. Therefore, even if it is shielded by, for example, a lid that can be opened and closed, there is a limit to the sound insulation caused by the cover. (2) Next, there is a problem that the upper end of the sheet discharged onto the sheet discharge stacker 219 after the printing is finished is curled. This occurs because the sheet is wrapped around the platen 203, and accordingly, a problem of double wrapping also arises. This is also because the discharge stacker 219 is relatively small and does not hold the discharged paper on the entire surface.
This was caused by the configuration in which the sample was collected while standing on the surface of the sample No. 9. In the case of the configuration shown in the figure, the leading end of the discharged paper protrudes above the discharge stacker 219 and is held in a state of being held by the manual feed guide member 217 side. Further, the above problem becomes more remarkable as the amount of paper discharged onto the paper discharge stacker 219 increases. Therefore, in the conventional case, the paper discharged onto the paper discharge stacker 219 relatively frequently. Need to be removed, which was cumbersome. (3) Next, printing is performed on the left side in FIG. 14, that is, on the front side of the sheet as viewed from the user side, and the sheet is discharged onto the sheet discharge stacker 219 in the same direction (face-up). Paper ejection). Therefore, when printing is performed on several pages, the discharge stacker 2 is placed in a state where the page order is reversed.
19 (the first page is the lowest order and the second and third pages are sequentially stacked thereon), and the order must be changed later. There was a problem that was forced to. (4) Next, in the case of the printing apparatus shown in FIG.
When feeding paper from the manual guide member 217 as well as when feeding paper from the 15 side, the paper is transported so as to be wound around the platen 203. For example, when feeding a thick postcard or envelope from the side of the manual feed guide member 217, the same route is taken. Not only that the postcard and the envelope have a curl but also the paper feeding accuracy is reduced. There was a problem that it would. Also, assuming that these thick papers are conveyed,
A large pressing force is required for the pinch roller 207, which increases the required torque of the paper feed motor. (5) Next, the upper surface of the paper in the ASF 215 becomes the printing rear surface, and there is a problem that the printing surface of the paper to be printed cannot be visually confirmed. For example, there is a case where the paper has a printed portion such as a ruled line in advance, and it is desired to perform a desired printing along the printed portion. In such a case, the printed portion is checked and the paper is moved to a predetermined position. I want to set it, but as described above, it is located on the lower surface side in the ASF 215, so that the ruled line is set upside down and cannot be confirmed. It is easy to mistake the direction of the top and bottom. or,
In the first place, setting with the print surface facing back is an operation opposite to the user's feeling, and is apt to cause errors. (6) The ASF 215, the manual feed guide member 217, and the paper discharge stacker 219 are always in the state shown in the figure. There was also a problem that can not be. To deal with this, it is conceivable to remove them and pack them. However, this would complicate the work and would result in a plurality of packages. (7) Since the paper feed hopper and the paper discharge stacker 219 are both located at the top of the apparatus, when performing a large amount of printing, heavy paper is held at a high place and the apparatus tends to be unstable. And it was difficult to design to handle large amounts of paper.

The printing apparatus shown in FIG. 15 has the following problem. (1) First, also in this case, there was a problem of noise during printing. That is, in FIG. 15, the left side in the figure is the front side where the user is located, and the print head is not located on the front side as in the case shown in FIG. This is because the sound when moving the head 305 and the hitting sound when printing are greatly affected. In particular, if the paper path (feed-discharge) is not one-way but two-way, the paper cannot be held down near the printing unit due to the configuration, and the sound is struck through the front and rear feed / discharge ports. Directly leaked out, and the problem of noise became noticeable. (2) Next, for the configuration to move the paper in the horizontal direction,
There is a problem that a large space is required before and after the platen 303 (in the horizontal direction in FIG. 15). (3) Next, the page order must be changed later for face-up discharge, and compaction cannot be performed at the time of packing, as in the case of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. (4) In the case of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 15, a specific problem arises depending on whether the paper path is unidirectional or bidirectional. That is, in the case of one direction, it is troublesome to take out the paper from the paper output tray 311 after printing (when the paper output tray 311 is arranged rearward as shown in FIG. 15), and conversely, the ASF 307 Paper supply becomes difficult (contrary to ASF
307 is located behind). Further, in the case of bidirectional printing, the printed sheet is returned, so that the throughput is reduced and the ink is smeared. (5) In the case of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 15, the paper is moved in the horizontal direction and is not wound around the platen as shown in FIG. Problems do not arise, for example,
When feeding paper manually, it is necessary to manually push the paper to the specified position because gravity cannot be used, and the work is troublesome, and in some cases, the paper enters diagonally unless both hands are used. was there.

The present invention has been made on the basis of the above points, and its object is to firstly reduce the noise and to make the whole compact when not in use. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing device capable of improving the handling property.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus, comprising: an apparatus main body; and an operation unit disposed on a side of the apparatus main body where a user operates the printing apparatus. A platen disposed on the operation unit side in the apparatus main body, a carriage disposed on the opposite side of the operation unit with the platen interposed therebetween, and a serial impact mounted on the carriage and having a plurality of dot forming units. /> A print section consisting of a head and the serial impact
Prints inverted characters for the array of dot forming parts.
A printing control unit that controls the paper feeding unit, a paper feeding mechanism that is located above the printing unit and is located above the printing unit and supplies paper to the printing unit, and a printing unit that is below the printing unit and below the printing unit. And a discharge tray for receiving the paper printed and discharged by the printing unit.

Further, the printing device according to claim 2 isClaim 1
In the above-described printing apparatus, the paper feeding mechanism is an automatic paper feeding mechanism.
And manual feed to supply paper linearly to the printing unit
And a mechanism.
You. The printing device according to the third aspect is the printing device according to the first aspect.
Paper that has passed the printing section
So that the paper is discharged in the
A paper discharge mechanism that discharges paper for
is there. Further, a printing device according to claim 4 is the printing device according to claim 1.
In a printing device, the paper output tray is the leading edge of the paper to be discharged.
Move the paper adjuster to regulate the position in the paper
It is characterized by being provided movably.
A printing device according to claim 5 is a printing device according to claim 2.
Paper feed mechanism, paper feed mechanism,
A is that it is provided so that it can be stored
It is a feature.

[0011]

First, in the case of the printing apparatus according to the first aspect, as shown in FIG. 1, an apparatus main body A and an operation unit arranged on the side of the apparatus main body A on which a user operates the printing apparatus,
Serial Lee with the sides of the disposed on the operation unit side platen B and the platen B disposed opposite the operating unit carriage and the plurality of dot forming portion in the apparatus main body A
A printing unit L comprising an impact head C; sheet feeding mechanisms E and F disposed above the printing unit L and above the printing unit L to supply paper D to the printing unit L; A discharge tray G, which is disposed below the printing unit L and below the printing unit L and receives the paper D printed and discharged by the printing unit L, and the serial impact head.
It is controlled to print reverse characters for the array of dot forming units.
And a print control unit to be controlled . And
The paper D is supplied from the paper feeding mechanisms E and F to the printing unit L, where the serial impact head C and the platen B
Is printed, and the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray G side. At that time, the reverse character is marked by the control of the print controller.
Character will be executed.

Further, the printing device according to claim 2 is a printing device according to claim 1.
In the printing apparatus described above, the automatic paper feeder is used as the paper feed mechanism.
A mechanism for feeding the paper D linearly to the printing section L
And a sheet feeding mechanism F. Claims
3. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein
The paper D that has passed through the printing section L
At an angle to the paper discharge tray G so that the paper is discharged at
A paper discharge mechanism K for discharging paper is provided.
Paper D is discharged obliquely to the paper discharge tray G by the action of
It will be paper, and with paper D face down
The sheets are stacked neatly on the discharge tray G. In addition,
The printing device according to claim 4 is the printing device according to claim 1.
The paper discharge tray G regulates the leading edge position of the paper D to be discharged.
Move the paper adjuster M to be controlled in the discharge direction of the paper D
The paper adjuster M
Therefore, the position of the leading end of the sheet D is regulated according to the size of the sheet D.
Can be In addition, the printing device according to claim 5 is
Item 2. The printing apparatus according to Item 2, wherein the automatic paper feeding mechanism E
The paper feed mechanism F and the paper output tray G can be stored in the apparatus main body A.
Function, which allows the entire device to be
Can be pact.

[0013]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. First, there is a case 1 as an apparatus main body, and various mechanical units are built in the case 1. The configuration of these mechanisms will be described later in detail. On the upper surface side of the case 1 and on the front side (left side in the figure), a paper holder 3 for ASF is installed.
The paper holder 3 is moved through an arrow a in FIG.
It is rotatably mounted in the direction shown by. The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state at the time of non-use, and when used, it is raised to the near side in FIG. 2 to obtain a state as shown in FIG. The other main mechanical components of the ASF are built in the case 1.

A paper holder 7 of a manual paper feed mechanism is mounted on the upper side of the case 1 and on the rear side (right side in the figure). This paper holder 7 also has a hinge 9
It is mounted so as to be rotatable in the direction indicated by arrow b in the figure.
The state shown in FIG. 2 is a state at the time of non-use, and when used, it is raised to the near side in FIG. 2 to obtain a state as shown in FIG. The paper holder 7 has grooves 11a and 11b for inserting paper on both left and right sides.
The paper is inserted along a and 11b. It should be noted that, also in this manual paper feed mechanism, other main components are built in the case 1.

A paper discharge tray 13 is attached to the front side and lower part of the case 1. The paper supplied by ASF or manual feed and subjected to predetermined printing is discharged into the discharge tray 13. Output tray 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the reference numeral 3 is pulled out to a position shown by a virtual line in the drawing when used, and is stored in the case 1 when not used. Various operation switches 15 are provided on the upper surface of the case 1 and on the right side in FIG. An on / off switch 17 is provided on the front side of the case 1 and at the left end in the figure. In addition, Case 1
The configuration of the exterior including the above is merely an example.

Next, the configuration of various mechanisms in the case 1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 3, a carriage 19 is installed along a guide shaft 21 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the figure. On the carriage 19, a print head 23 is mounted, and an ink ribbon cassette 25 is mounted. The ink ribbon cassette 25 contains an ink ribbon 27. The ink ribbon 27 is sandwiched between the ink ribbon cassettes 27 and is struck by a print head 23 to perform predetermined printing on a sheet (indicated by a virtual line in FIG. 3) 29. .

A platen 31 is rotatably provided on the side facing the print head 23. Also, platen 3
1, a pair of pinch rollers 33a, 33
b is installed. The paper 29 is the platen 31
3 is supplied from above in FIG. 3, and is conveyed through the lower side of the platen 31 in FIG. At this time, predetermined printing is performed by the print head 23. Further, in the case of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment, the platen 31 is arranged on the front side as viewed from the user, and the print head 23 is arranged behind the platen 31. Unlike the conventional printing apparatus, the leading end of the paper 29 is supplied from above to the print head 23, so that when printing characters, reverse characters are printed. That is, the pin arrangement in the print head 23 is not 1 to 24 pin arrangement,
24 to 1 pin arrangement ( for example, 24 pins
On the other hand, data processing for one pin is performed). Thereby,
When viewed from the user's side, an upside down sentence is
Characters will be printed. The pinch roller 3
3a and 33b will be described later in detail mainly on their arrangement and the like.

Next, a description will be given of a configuration for performing paper feeding by the ASF and manual feed. As shown in FIG.
First, a PF motor 35 serving as a paper feed drive source is provided, and a gear 37 is coaxially fixed to the PF motor 35. A gear 39 meshes with the gear 37, and a gear 41 is coaxially fixed to the gear 39. The gear 41 is meshed with a platen drive gear 43.
To rotate. A gear 45 meshes with the platen drive gear 43, and a feed roller drive gear 47 meshes with the gear 45. A feed roller 49 is coaxially fixed to the feed roller driving gear 47. Therefore, by driving the PF motor 35 to rotate forward, the platen 31 and the sheet feeding roller 49 can be driven to rotate forward through the various gears. Another paper feed roller 51 is disposed on the side facing the paper feed roller 49.

The paper feed rollers 49 and 51 are for conveying the paper 29 supplied manually from the manual paper supply holder 7 described above. That is, when the paper 29 is manually supplied from the manual paper feed holder 7, the paper 29 passes between the paper guides 53a and 53b,
The leading end of the paper 29 is inserted into the position of the contact point between the paper feed rollers 49 and 51. From there, feed roller 4
It will be conveyed by the operation of 9 and 51. Paper feed rollers 49 and 51, paper guides 53a and 53b
Are components of the manual paper feed mechanism.

The rotation of the PF motor 35 is also transmitted to the ASF side. That is, another gear 55 is coaxially fixed to the gear 43, and this gear 55
Gear 57 is meshed with. A gear 59 meshes with the gear 57, and a gear 61 meshes with the gear 59. The gear 59 is provided with a clutch lever 63. The tip of the clutch lever 63 is formed in an arc shape, and a locking portion 65 is formed. The locking portion 65 is also formed in an arc shape. The gear 61 is rotatably supported on a shaft provided on the clutch lever 63 and serves as a planetary gear for the gear 59.

On the other hand, an electromagnetic solenoid 67 is provided, and a trigger 69 is attracted to the electromagnetic solenoid 67 by suction.
It is disposed so as to be detachable. Since the trigger 69 is attracted by the coil spring 71 when the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is in the non-excited state, the trigger 69 is in a state shown by a solid line in FIG. As a result, the locking portion 69a at the tip of the trigger 69 can be engaged with the locking portion 65 of the clutch lever 63. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is in the excited state, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is separated against the spring force of the coil spring 71, and becomes a state shown by a virtual line in FIG. Thereby, trigger 6
The engaging portion 69a at the end of the clutch lever 9 cannot be engaged with the engaging portion 65 of the clutch lever 63.

The forward rotation of the PF motor 35 is
When the engagement between the locking portion 69a of the trigger 69 and the locking portion 65 of the clutch lever 63 is released while the clutch lever 63 is being transmitted to the clutch levers 9 and 61, the clutch lever 63 is moved from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. It changes to the state shown by the line. Thereby, the gear 61 meshes with the gear 73. A pickup roller driving gear 75 is meshed with the gear 73, and the pickup roller driving gear 75 rotates forward. When the pickup roller driving gear 75 rotates forward, the pickup roller 77 on the ASF side starts rotating forward, whereby the paper 29 stored in the paper feed holder 3 of the ASF is separated and conveyed.

On the other hand, when the forward rotation of the PF motor 35 is transmitted to the gears 59 and 61, the trigger 6
9 is engaged with the engaging portion 65 of the clutch lever 63, the rotation is not transmitted to the gear 73 because the clutch lever 63 remains in the solid line state. Therefore, the sheet feeding operation on the ASF side is not performed. Further, when the clutch lever 63 is in the state indicated by the imaginary line and the sheet feeding operation by the ASF is performed,
When the PF motor 35 is rotated in the reverse direction, the clutch lever 63 shifts from the state shown by the imaginary line to the state shown by the solid line, and the sheet feeding operation on the ASF side stops. Also, at this time, if the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is in a non-excited state, the locking portion 69a of the trigger 69 is engaged with the locking portion 65 of the clutch lever 63, and thereby the state shown by the solid line in FIG. become. That is, since the tip of the clutch lever 63 is formed in an arc shape, the locking portion 69 of the trigger 69 is formed.
a and smoothly pushes back against the spring force of the coil spring 71. Then, the locking portion 69a is engaged with the locking portion 65.

Next, the structure of the separation pad mechanism centered on the pickup roller 77 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, a friction member 79 is provided on the opposite side of the pickup roller 77, and the friction member 79 is pressed toward the pickup roller 77 by a coil spring 81. On the paper feed holder 3 side, there is a support plate 83, and this support plate 83 is a coil spring 8
5 is urged upward in FIG. A plurality of sheets 29 are stored in a stacked state on the support plate 83. Then, the rotation of the pickup roller 77 causes the uppermost sheet 29 to be taken out and conveyed between the pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79. At this time, if two or more sheets of paper 29 are about to be double-fed, they are blocked by the action of the friction member 79, and only the uppermost sheet of paper 29 is conveyed. Such an action prevents double feed. The above is the configuration of the main components of the ASF.

The rotation of the PF motor 35 is also transmitted to the paper discharging means. That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a gear 87 is coaxially fixed to the gear 57.
A gear 89 meshes with the gear 87, and the gear 8
A pulley 91 is coaxially fixed to 9. Further, another pulley 93 is disposed at a position separated from the pulley 91.
Is wound. A paper discharge roller 103 is coaxially fixed to the pulley 91, and another paper discharge roller 105 is provided on the side facing the paper discharge roller 103. Therefore, when the PF motor 35 rotates forward, the gear 91 rotates forward, thereby rotating the transport belt 95 forward in a loop. Thus, the printed paper 29 is discharged to the discharge tray 13 side.
Reference numerals 97, 99, and 101 in the figure denote paper guides for guiding the paper 29.

The paper discharge roller 105 is provided on the paper guide 10.
1 is pressed against the sheet discharge roller 103 by a spring (not shown) attached to the sheet discharge roller 103. The distance between the position at which the discharge rollers 103 and 105 are attached and the paper feed rollers 49 and 51, or the distance between the position at which the discharge rollers 103 and 105 are attached and the pinch rollers 33a and 33b is approximately ten.
It is set to about 0 mm. This is to accommodate short sheets 29 such as postcards. The outer diameter of the discharge roller 103 is set to be 1.05 to 1.1 times the feed amount of the platen 31 or the feed roller 49. This prevents the paper 29 from being loosened.

A guide film 108 is attached to the above-described paper discharge mechanism. This guide film 1
08, the paper 29 is pressed against the transport belt 95 and discharged. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a static elimination tape 104 is attached to the guide member 102, and static electricity on the paper 29 is eliminated by the static elimination tape 104. The sheet 29 from which the static electricity has been removed is discharged toward the point A in FIG.
The traveling direction is changed to the side, and the vehicle advances while sliding on the paper discharge tray 13. The paper adjuster 106 can be arbitrarily set according to the entire length of the paper used, as indicated by the imaginary line in FIG. 6, so that when the leading edge of the paper collides with the paper adjuster 106, the paper 29 is guided by the guide film 108 at the rear end of the paper. It is set so that it will surely fall to the point B in FIG. 6 from the distant point. This allows for face-down paper stock that does not overlap.

Next, the configuration of the sheet detecting means will be described. In the case of this embodiment, the paper 29 supplied from the manual feed side
And the sheet 29 supplied from the ASF side are detected by a single sheet detecting unit. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, first, the first paper absence detection lever 107 is attached rotatably about the fulcrum 109. The first paper absence detection lever 107 is substantially L
It is shaped like a letter and is composed of a detecting piece 107a and a connecting piece 107b. The detection piece 107a is arranged so as to be able to protrude and retract on the paper feeding side by manual feeding. Apart from the first paper absence detection lever 107, the second paper absence detection lever 11
1 is installed so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum 113. The second paper absence detection lever 111 has a substantially U-shape, and includes an operation piece 111a, an intermediate piece 111b, and a connection piece 11a.
1c. Second paper out detection lever 11
The first intermediate piece 111b is disposed so as to be able to appear and disappear in the ASF side paper feed path.

The connecting piece 10 of the first paper absence detection lever 107
A pin 115 protrudes from 7b, while a long hole 116 is formed in the connection piece 111c of the second paper absence detection lever 111. The first paper absence detection lever 107 and the second paper absence detection lever 111 are connected by the pin 115 being movably engaged with the elongated hole 116. In addition, the photo sensor 117 is installed, and the operating piece 111a of the second paper absence detection lever 111 functions as a shielding plate that shields the photo sensor 117 from light. Then, these first paper absence detection levers 1
07 and the normal state of the second paper absence detection lever 111 are as follows.
Due to the clockwise rotation of the second paper absence detection lever 111 due to its own weight, the paper detection units of each lever are in a state of protruding into the paper path. Of course, a structure that obtains this state using a means such as a spring regardless of its own weight may be used.

For example, when the paper 29 is supplied from the manual feed side, the first paper absence detection lever 1
07 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. Thereby, the second paper absence detection lever 111 also rotates in the same direction. As a result, a state shown by a virtual line in FIG. 5 is obtained. As a result, the action piece 111a of the second paper absence detection lever 111 is deviated from the optical path of the photo sensor 117, whereby the photo sensor 117 detects that the paper 29 is present.

On the other hand, when the paper 29 is supplied from the ASF side, the second paper absence detection lever 111 pushes up the intermediate piece 111b by the paper 29 and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the action piece 111a of the second paper absence detection lever 111 is deviated from the optical path of the photo sensor 117, and thereby the photo sensor 1
17 is turned on, whereby it is detected that the paper 29 is present. When the paper 29 is not supplied from any of the manual feed ASFs, both the first paper absence detection lever 107 and the second paper absence detection lever 111 are in a state shown by a solid line in FIG. Then, the second paper absence detection lever 11
The first operating piece 111a is located in the optical path of the photo sensor 117, whereby the photo sensor 117 is turned off, whereby it is detected that there is no paper 29.

The positional relationship among the pickup roller 77, the friction member 79, and the pinch rollers 33a, 33b will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, assuming that the width dimension of the friction member 79 is (L ₁ ) and the interval between the pair of pinch rollers 33a, 33b is (L), the following is defined between (L ₁ ) and (L). There is a relationship as shown in equation (I). L ≧ L ₁ (I) The reason for this configuration is as follows. In other words, in the paper 29 passing through the position of the friction member 79, there is a possibility that the leading end portion of the paper 29 which is pressed by the friction member 79 may be curled. When the curled portion passes between the platen 31 and the pinch roller, there is a concern that the portion may interfere with the pinch roller and not be transported smoothly. Therefore,
With respect to the position of the friction member 79, the pinch rollers 33a, 3
By removing the position of 3b, the front end of the paper 29 and the curled portion are pinch rollers 33a, 33b.
This avoids interfering with the part b, thereby eliminating the above-mentioned concerns.

Next, the configuration of the control device of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, there is a microprocessor unit (MPU) 119, and this M
PU 119 is for controlling the entire printing apparatus.
It operates according to a program stored in advance in M121. There is also a RAM 123, which is
Various internal information can be stored and the interface (I
F) The print information input from the host computer 127 via the printer 125 is temporarily stored.
Also, an EEPROM 129 is installed, and the
The ROM 129 is for storing fluctuation information that needs to be saved even when the power is turned off and initial setting information for specifying various printing conditions and the like. Also, EE
A series of information stored in the PROM 129 is transferred collectively to the work area of the RAM 5 when the power is turned on, and is initialized under the designated conditions.

The input port 131 and the output port 13
3 and via the input port 131,
Signals from various panel switches 135 provided on the operation panel of the printing apparatus and various sensors (for example, the photosensor 117 described above) provided in each section of the printing mechanism are input to the MPU 119. Further, various control signals are output to the drive circuit 139 via the output port 133. That is, the carriage motor 14
1. PF motor 35, print head 23, various panel LE
D143, a control signal for the electromagnetic solenoid 67 and the like are output.

With reference to the flow charts of FIGS. 10 to 13, based on the above configuration, the operation will be described focusing on the paper feeding operation and the paper discharging operation. First, FIG. 10 is a flowchart when the user presses a paper feed / discharge switch (which also functions as a paper feed instruction and a paper discharge instruction) on the operation panel. The photo sensor 117 is in an off state. Is confirmed (sequence S1). The fact that the photo sensor 117 is turned off means that the paper 29 does not remain in the printing device, and it is determined that the paper feeding operation is to be performed now. When the photo sensor 117 is not turned off, that is, when the paper 29 is
If remains, the operation shifts to a sheet discharging operation (sequence S2). Note that this sheet discharging operation will be described later in detail. On the other hand, when the photo sensor 117 is off, the value X (X: PF motor 3
5) (sequence S3).

Next, the normal rotation drive of the PF motor 35 is started (sequence S4). By the forward rotation of the PF motor 35, the paper can be fed manually or by ASF. Next, whether the photo sensor 117 is on or off is checked until the value X of the step counter reaches 142 steps (sequences S5 and S6). In this embodiment, one step of the PF motor 35 is set to a 1/180 inch paper feed amount, and the above-mentioned 142 steps means that the paper 29 supplied by hand is sufficient to reach the position where the photo sensor 117 is driven. The number of steps is
The numbers are assumed to be approximately 20 mm from the contact point 9 or 51 as a starting point. The fact that the paper is fed so far and the photo sensor 117 is not turned on means that the paper 29 is not supplied from the manual feed side. Then, in that case, the operation shifts to the sheet feeding operation on the ASF side. That is, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned on (sequence S10),
The clutch lever 63 is set in a state shown by a virtual line in FIG. 4 to transmit the rotation from the PF motor 35 to the ASF side.

On the other hand, until the value X of the step counter reaches 142 steps, the photo sensor 11
When 7 is turned on, it means that paper has been fed from the manual feed side. Then, the step counter value X is 281
The normal rotation drive is performed until the number of steps is reached (sequence S
7). The 281 step is a paper feed amount until the leading end of the paper 29 reaches the front of the print head 23 and becomes ready for printing.
This is the position where 7mm has been sent. Next, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S8), and the printing operation is started (sequence S9).

On the other hand, when the paper feed is switched from the ASF side, the rotation from the PF motor 35 side is transmitted to the ASF side by the operations of sequence S10 and sequence S11, and the paper feed from the ASF side is performed. Will be. In sequence S10, after the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned on, the motor is driven forward by 25 steps (sequence S11).
If only 25 steps are sent, the clutch lever 63
Side, and after confirming that, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned off (sequence S12). Once the clutch lever 63 is switched to the ASF side, the switched state is maintained even when the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned off.

Next, in sequence S13, clears the value X of step counter, step count photosensor 117 while the value X reaches 265 steps printer to check whether to turn on is performed (sequence S14,
S15). The above-mentioned 265 steps means that the leading edge of the paper 29 sufficiently reaches the position where the photo sensor 117 is turned on if the paper is fed. If the photo sensor 117 is not turned on during that time, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S16), a paper-out error is output (sequence S17), and the process ends (sequence S).
18). In this case, there is no paper 29 in the paper holder 13 on the ASF side, and the user is urged to replenish the paper 29 by display means such as an indicator light.

If the photo sensor 117 is turned on while the value X of the step counter reaches 265 steps, the forward rotation is performed until the value X of the step counter reaches 335 steps (sequence S19), and the PF The motor 35 is stopped (sequence S20). Here 33
In the five steps, when the paper is fed to that point, the leading end of the paper 29 reaches the pinch rollers 33a and 33b (the leading end of the paper 29 passes through the pinch rollers 33a and 33b). Next, the PF motor 35 is reversely driven by 105 steps (sequence S21) and stopped (sequence S22). By the reverse rotation drive of the PF motor 35, the clutch lever 63 is returned to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, transmission to the gear 73 is stopped, and the rotation drive of the pickup roller 77 is stopped and does not move. On the other hand, since the sheet 29 is reversely fed by the pinch rollers 33a and 33b, the leading end of the sheet 29 is returned to the contact position between the pinch rollers 33a and 33b and the platen 31, whereby the sheet 29 bends upward and its restoring force. As a result, the leading end of the sheet 29 is about to bite into the contact portion, and the leading end of the paper 29 is aligned (skewed).

Next, the PF motor 35 is driven to rotate forward for 199 steps (sequence S23), and the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S24). As a result, the cueing of the paper 29 is completed, and then printing is started (sequence S25). The above is the description of the sheet feeding operation.

Next, returning to FIG. 11, the paper discharging operation will be described. In FIG. 10, the sheet discharging operation in sequence S2 will be described in detail. First, the value X of the step counter of the PF motor 35 is cleared to start the sheet discharging operation (sequence S26). Next, the PF motor 35 starts the normal rotation drive (sequence S27). Then, it is confirmed whether or not the photosensor 117 is turned off while the value X of the step counter reaches 2520 steps (sequence S28, sequence S29). Here 25
The 20 steps are based on the longest cut sheet (14 inches long) assumed in the printing mechanism of this embodiment.
This is because, if the paper 29 is left on the manual feed side, if the paper is fed, the rear end of the paper 29 will be sufficiently out of the position detected by the photosensor 117. If the photo sensor 117 does not shift to the off state during that time,
Since the paper 29 remains on the ASF side, not on the manual feed side, the flow shifts to sequence S30 to turn on the electromagnetic solenoid 67.

On the other hand, if the value of the step counter is 2
If the photo sensor 117 is turned off before reaching the 520 step, the photo sensor 117 is turned off after the photo sensor 117 is turned off (sequence S31), and the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S3).
2) Then, the process ends (sequence S33). 1 above
100 steps means that the rear end of the paper 29 is the photo sensor 1
This means the number of steps that provide sufficient paper feed to pass the 17 copies and then be completely discharged onto the discharge tray 13.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the sheet 29 does not remain on the manual feed side and the sheet 29 remains on the ASF side, after the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned on (sequence S30), A forward drive is performed for 25 steps (sequence S35). Then, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned off (sequence S36). Here, the electromagnetic solenoid 67
Is turned off, the switching state of the clutch lever 63 to the ASF side is maintained as it is. When the sequence branches to sequence S30 in sequence S28, although the paper 29 is present in the paper detection unit in any of the paper paths on the manual feed side ASF side, try driving the platen to feed the expected maximum length of paper. It is also when the paper 29 does not fall out of the detection unit, and the estimated situation is that the paper 29 is fed out of the ASF and stopped at the position immediately after the leading end of the paper 29 has acted on the paper detection lever, and the pinch roller 33a is still in operation. This means that the state has not reached 33b. Therefore, in the next step, the PF motor 35 is driven forward by 250 steps (sequence S37) to advance the sheet 29 by 35 mm. As a result, the paper 29 fed from the ASF is
The contact portions 3a, 33b and the platen 31 are reached. The feed amount is a position where the feed amount is about 10 mm or more from the position of the sheet detection lever on the ASF side, past the pinch rollers 33a and 33b. Then, reverse drive is performed in 25 steps (sequence S38). by this,
The clutch lever 63 is returned to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the drive transmission to the gear 73 is cut off, and the clutch lever 63 is locked to the trigger 69 by the reverse rotation drive of the PF motor 35 as described above. At this time, the leading end of the sheet 29 is reversely fed by several mm.
There is no special support because there is a margin for the leading end of the sheet 29 not to come off during the forward transfer of the step.

Next, the value X of the step counter is cleared (sequence S39). Then, while the value X of the step counter reaches 2520 steps, the photo sensor 1
It is confirmed whether or not 17 is turned off (sequence S40, sequence S41). The 2520 steps is the number of steps for providing a sufficient paper feed for the rear end of the paper 29 to pass through the position detected by the photosensor 117. If the photo sensor 117 has not been turned off during that time, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S42), an error is displayed (sequence S43), and the process ends (sequence S44). On the other hand, when the photosensor 117 is turned off while the value X of the step counter reaches 2520 steps, the normal rotation drive of 1100 steps is performed (sequence S45). This 1100 steps is a sufficient number of steps to completely discharge the sheet 29. 1100
When the forward drive in the step is completed, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S46), and then the process is terminated (sequence S47).

The above is the description of the operation of the paper feed / discharge switch on the operation panel. Next, the operation when the paper 29 is already in the apparatus when the power is turned on will be described.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, when the power is turned on by operating the power switch 17 (sequence S4).
8), the ON state of the photo sensor 117 is confirmed (sequence S49). If the photo sensor 117 is off, that is, if the paper 29 does not remain, a normal start-up operation is performed (sequence S50).
On the other hand, when the photo sensor 117 is turned on, the paper 29 remains, and the operation of discharging the paper 29 is performed.

First, the PF motor 35 starts reverse rotation driving (sequence S51), and then performs reverse rotation of 25 steps (sequence S52). That is, as an initial operation,
First, assuming that the ASF is in the connected state, the clutch lever 63 is released. After the reverse rotation of the 25 steps, the state of the photo sensor 117 is checked again (sequence S53), and it is checked whether the photo sensor 117 is turned off. That is, it is determined whether or not the leading end of the paper 29 has deviated from the detection position of the photo sensor 117 while the paper is fed in the reverse direction by 25 steps. If the photo sensor 117 is turned off during the reverse rotation of the 25 steps, it is determined that the paper 29 is approaching the manual feed.
Is continued in the reverse direction to completely discharge the paper 29 (sequence S54), stop the PF motor 35 (sequence S32), and end (sequence S3).
3). On the other hand, if the photo sensor 117 has not been turned off even after the reverse rotation of 25 steps in the sequence S52, the sheet 2 is not fed in the reverse direction.
This means that the discharge of No. 9 cannot be performed, so that the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S55), and the sequence proceeds to the already described sequence S26 in FIG. That is, the operation shifts to the operation of discharging the paper 29 by feeding the paper in the normal direction instead of feeding the paper in the reverse direction.

The above is an explanation of the operation focusing on the supply / discharge operation of the paper 29. Next, on the ASF side, the sheet 29 separated and supplied only by the pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79 is moved to the pinch rollers 33a,
The operation when approaching the position 3b will be described. A
Of the plurality of sheets 29 stored in a state of being stacked on the sheet holder 3 on the SF side, only the uppermost sheet 29 is separated and supplied. This is realized by the pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79. That is, the paper 29 taken out by the pickup roller 77 passes between the pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79,
At this time, when two or more sheets 29 attempt to pass, the operation is prevented by the friction member 79. Thereby, double feeding of the paper 29 is prevented.

On the other hand, by the action of the friction member 79,
The leading end of the paper 29 may be partially curled (part pressed by the friction member 79). The sheet 29 is fed as it is, and is pinched by a pinch roller 33a.
It is introduced between 33 b and the platen 31. At this time, if the curled portion of the leading end of the paper 29 abuts on the pinch roller, it interferes with the pinch roller and there is a concern that the paper 29 may not be smoothly introduced between the pinch roller and the platen. . In the case of this embodiment, the pinch rollers 33a and 33b are arranged at positions deviated from the position of the friction member 79. That is, the pinch roller 33
The distance (L) between the inner ends of a and 33b is set to be larger than the width (L ₁ ) of the friction member 79. That is, the configuration is such that the leading end of the paper 29 curled by the friction member 79 does not contact the positions of the pinch rollers 33a and 33b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the curled portion of the leading end of the sheet 29 from interfering with the pinch rollers 33a, 33b, thereby preventing the paper 29 from being smoothly introduced between the pinch rollers 33a, 33b and the platen 31. .

According to the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. (1) First, noise during printing can be reduced. This is because the platen 31 is arranged in front of the user and the print head 23 is arranged behind the platen 31 so that printing is performed from the back side of the paper 29 when viewed from the trouble of the user. When printing, the platen 31 or the print head 2 is used.
Needless to say, the portion where 3 is installed is shielded by the lid that can be opened and closed. (2) Next, when printing and discharging the paper 29 over a plurality of pages, since the sheets are stacked in the discharge tray 13 in the page order in a face-down state (face-down discharge), the pages are printed after printing. It is not necessary to change the order, and a complicated page changing operation can be eliminated. Further, since the printed paper 29 is stacked on the paper discharge tray 13 while being supported on the entire surface, curl occurs at the end of the paper discharged like a conventional paper discharge stacker, and the paper is double-wrapped. You don't have to. Further, since the paper is discharged obliquely to the paper discharge tray 13 by the paper discharge mechanism, the paper can be stacked on the paper discharge tray 13 in an orderly manner. Further, the paper discharge tray 13 has a paper adjuster 106, and the leading end regulating position can be adjusted according to the size of the paper 29, so that the paper 29 can cope with paper 29 of various sizes. Further, even when a large amount of printing is performed, the discharge stacker is located at the bottom of the apparatus, so that the apparatus can be processed with a large amount of paper without becoming unstable. (3) Next, in the paper holder 7 of the manual paper feed mechanism,
Since the paper 29 is supplied in a straight line and is discharged without winding around the platen 31, even when printing on thick paper such as a postcard or an envelope, the paper has a curl, Further, a large pressing force is not required for the pinch roller. Further, the paper feeding through the paper holder 7 of the manual paper feeding mechanism is configured to supply the paper 29 using gravity, so that a large paper feeding force is required even when the paper 29 is supplied. I will not do it,
Various mechanical components used for paper feeding (for example, the paper feed roller 4
9, 51, etc.), the specifications (pressing force and the like) are relaxed, and the cost can be reduced. (4) Next, the paper holder 3 of the ASF and the paper holder 7 of the manual paper feed mechanism can be folded and stored in the apparatus main body 1 side when not in use. Since it is configured to be slidable on one side, it can be made compact as a whole and not protruding when not in use. Therefore, it is convenient at the time of packing and the like. (5) Next, in the ASF paper holder 3, since the print surface of the paper 29 is laminated with the print surface facing upward, for example, it is possible to confirm the already printed portion, and the paper 29 is set at a predetermined position. It is effective in doing. Further, it is easy to confirm the remaining amount of the paper 29 in the paper holder 3 of the ASF.
Further, since both the paper holder 7 of the manual paper feed mechanism and the paper holder 3 of the ASF are located above the case 1, their handling is easy, and for example, the work of replenishing the paper 29 is also easy.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the ASF paper holder, the manual paper feed mechanism paper holder, and the discharge tray in the apparatus main body may be housed in various configurations other than those illustrated. In short,
It is only necessary to reduce the protrusion when not in use and make the whole compact.

[0052]

As described in detail above, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, first, the platen B is arranged on the operation unit side located on the near side where the user is located in the apparatus main body A,
Carriage and multiple units on the opposite side of the operation unit with the platen B
Since the serial impact head C having the dot forming portion is arranged and printing is performed from the back side of the paper D, the serial impact head C is arranged at a place separated from the user, thereby In addition, it is possible to reduce the noise caused by the sound when the serial impact head C moves and the sound when the printing is performed. Further, the paper feeding mechanisms E and F are arranged above, and the paper discharge tray G is arranged below,
The sheet D is supplied to the printing unit L from above and discharged downward. Thereby, the sheet feeding operation is facilitated by arranging the sheet feeding mechanisms E and F at the top first. At the same time, it becomes easier to discharge the paper in the face-down state to the paper discharge tray G. This is realized by the paper discharge mechanism K defined in claim 3, as a prerequisite because it is necessary to realize the flow of the paper D from above to below. Furthermore, paper D
Is caused to flow in the direction along the gravity, so that the operation is smooth. In addition, these functions and effects can be combined to provide a user-friendly printing apparatus. Also, a print control unit that prints reverse characters
The head can be placed upside down or
Can be used without changing the pin arrangement, etc.
With the configuration described above, a desired printing result can be obtained. When the paper feed mechanism is composed of an automatic paper feed mechanism E and a manual paper feed mechanism F that supplies paper D linearly to the printing unit L, it is possible to use either automatic or manual paper feed. Of course, in particular, in the case of manual feeding, since the paper D can be supplied linearly to the printing portion L, problems caused by curling due to the platen B are eliminated, and a large pressing force is not required for the pinch roller. . Further, when a paper discharge mechanism K for discharging the paper D obliquely to the paper discharge tray G so as to discharge the paper D passing through the printing unit L face down is provided, the paper D is discharged. The paper is discharged obliquely to the paper tray G, and can be stacked neatly on the paper discharge tray G in a face-down state. When the paper discharge tray G is provided with a paper adjuster M for regulating the leading end position of the paper D to be discharged so as to be movable in the paper discharge direction of the paper D, the paper adjuster M causes the paper D to be discharged. The effect of being able to regulate the position of the tip according to the size of the device can be obtained. When the automatic paper feed mechanism E, the manual paper feed mechanism F, and the paper discharge tray G are provided so as to be housed in the apparatus main body A, the entire apparatus can be made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view in a state where a paper holder is opened.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a paper feed / discharge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a detection unit for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and is a side view of a printing apparatus mainly showing a configuration of a detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a sheet;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a configuration of an ASF separation pad mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention, and is a view illustrating a relationship between a width of a friction member of a separation pad mechanism and a distance between inner ends of a pinch roller.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control device of the printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a sheet feeding operation in a diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a sheet discharging operation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining an initial operation at the time of power-on in a diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of shifting from an initial operation to a sheet discharging operation in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a conventional example and is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Paper Holder (ASF Side) 7 Paper Holder (Manual Feed Side) 29 Paper 35 PF Motor (Paper Feed Motor) 49 Paper Feed Roller 51 Paper Feed Roller 77 Pickup Roller 79 Friction Member 107 First Paper Out Detection Detector 111 Second Paper Out Detection lever 117 Photo sensor

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-272868 (JP, A) JP-A-2-64659 (JP, A) JP-A-62-244865 (JP, A) JP-A-4-298367 (JP, A) JP-A-3-61264 (JP, A) JP-A-2-310251 (JP, A) JP-A-5-9962 (JP, U)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An apparatus main body, an operation unit disposed on a side of the apparatus main body where a user operates a printing apparatus, a platen disposed on the operation unit side of the apparatus main body, and a platen interposed therebetween. A carriage disposed on the side opposite to the operation unit, and a plurality of dots mounted on the carriage;
A printing unit comprising a serial impact head having a forming unit, and the serial impact head having an array of dot forming units.
A print control unit that controls to print reverse characters , a paper feed mechanism that is arranged at an upper part of the apparatus main body and above the print part and supplies paper to the print part, and a lower part of the apparatus main body And a discharge tray disposed below the printing unit and receiving a sheet printed and discharged by the printing unit. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding mechanism comprises an automatic paper feeding mechanism and a manual paper feeding mechanism for feeding paper straight to the printing unit. Printer. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a paper discharge mechanism that discharges the paper that has passed the printing unit obliquely with respect to the paper discharge tray so that the paper is discharged in a face-down state. A printing device characterized by the above-mentioned. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper discharge tray is provided with a paper adjuster for regulating the leading end position of the paper to be discharged so as to be movable in the paper discharge direction. apparatus. 5. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the automatic paper feed mechanism, the manual paper feed mechanism, and the discharge tray are provided so as to be housed in the apparatus main body.