JP3520383B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cut sheet (cut sheet).
The present invention relates to a POS printer that performs printing. 2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as this type of printer,
2. Description of the Related Art Printing on recording paper by an impact dot system or an inkjet system is known. [0003] Further, this type of POS printer is capable of printing on forms such as slips and single-sheet recording paper (hereinafter referred to as cut paper) such as paper pieces such as checks. It has been known. In such a printer, the cut sheet is sent to the printing unit by a roller arranged near the cut sheet insertion port, and the cut sheet printed by the printing unit is sent to the outside of the printer by the roller arranged near the discharge port. Had been sent out. And when inserting the cut paper,
A device has been devised to separate the rollers at the insertion opening to facilitate the insertion of cut paper. [0004] However, such a printer has the following problems. Conventionally, this type of printer uses a paper path of cut paper placed in this way to record the result of slip processing on almost the entire surface of a relatively large sheet such as a slip (hereinafter referred to as slip printing). ) Inserts paper from the slip printing slot and passes the paper through the printing section.
The paper was conveyed so as to be discharged from the slip printing outlet. For example, when printing for confirmation of payment of about 5 or 6 lines in a predetermined area of a card-shaped piece of paper such as a check (hereinafter referred to as "validation printing"), on the other hand, from the slip printing outlet, Then, the user inserts the paper piece to the back of the printing unit, and performs printing while sending the paper piece toward the discharge port again. In order to insert various kinds of paper into such a paper path for cut paper, the roller on the insertion side is separated when slip printing is performed, and the roller on the discharge side is separated when validation printing is performed. Although it is desirable, in the paper feed mechanism of a printer using a conventional cut sheet, the opening and closing of the cut sheet insertion side roller and the opening and closing of the cut sheet discharge side roller are independently performed by different power sources (plungers and the like). Therefore, the mechanism was complicated and its control circuit was individually required. Further, in such a POS printer, paper must be inserted into an opening suitable for its intended use. However, the POS printer has a plurality of openings for inserting and discharging paper. In addition, the opening may serve as both insertion and ejection, and there is a risk of erroneous insertion. Further, there is also known a printer which prints on a recording paper for roll receipt (hereinafter referred to as roll paper) and issues a receipt separately from cut paper. In such a POS printer, a part of the paper path of cut paper is used as a paper path for roll paper, and each paper is conveyed to a common printing unit, and each paper is sent to a different outlet as described above. Each paper path is formed so as to be conveyed. By increasing the number of openings for inserting and discharging the paper, the risk of erroneous operation and erroneous insertion is further increased. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems of the prior art. In a printer handling various types of paper, it is possible to open and close a roller when cutting paper is fed with one power. An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that facilitates insertion of paper and prevents erroneous insertion of various papers. According to the present invention, there is provided a printer for printing on cut paper and validation paper, wherein the cut paper is inserted from a lower paper insertion port, and after printing, an upper discharge port is provided. The validation paper is inserted from the upper discharge port, is discharged again from the discharge port after printing, and a first transport roller pair is provided near the paper insertion port. A second conveying roller pair is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port, and the first conveying roller pair, the third conveying roller pair, and the printing are provided in a paper path between the paper insertion port and the discharge port. A head and the second transport roller pair are arranged in this order. When the first transport roller pair is open, the second transport roller pair is closed, and the first transport roller pair is closed. When closed, the second transport roller pair Is controlled to be open by the same drive source, the third transport roller pair is normally closed, and when the validation paper is inserted from the discharge port, the second transport roller pair is opened. Closing the first transport roller pair, holding the lower end of the validation paper in contact with a validation stopper provided coaxially with one axis of the third transport roller pair, and closing the paper path; The second conveyance roller pair is closed and the second conveyance roller pair is driven to discharge the validation paper from the discharge port. When the cut paper is inserted from the paper insertion port, When the transport roller pair is opened, the second transport roller pair is closed, and when the insertion of cut paper is detected, the first transport roller pair is closed and the first transport roller pair is driven. The third When the sheet reaches the feed roller pair and is conveyed by the third conveyance roller pair, the leading end of the cut sheet rotates the validation stopper to open the paper path of the cut sheet. . By arranging the third roller at such a position, after inserting the paper for slip printing,
After the first roller is closed, the sheet is conveyed by the first roller, and after the sheet reaches the third roller portion, the sheet can be conveyed by the third roller. Further, after the sheet is further conveyed and reaches the second roller, the sheet can be conveyed by the second roller by separating the first roller and closing the second roller. That is, the length of the cut sheet is longer than the longer one of the distance from the first roller to the third roller and the distance from the second roller to the third roller. If there is, it can be transported,
Even a very short cut sheet (cut sheet) can be printed on the entire surface. Further, since the number of rollers for simultaneously nipping and driving the sheet is always 2 or less, the sheet is pinched by unnecessarily many rollers, and a problem such as wrinkling of the sheet hardly occurs.
Paper can be transported reliably. A preferred embodiment of a printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. 1 and 2 show the overall configuration of a printer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal configuration, and FIG. FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, in a printer 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, a main body cover 2 made of resin or the like is provided.
A roll paper S is disposed behind the inside of the printer, and a paper transport unit 3 for transporting the roll paper is provided in front of the roll paper S. On the other hand, an ink-jet printing unit 4 for printing on roll paper S or the like is disposed adjacent to the paper transport unit 3 in front of the paper transport unit 3.
Is covered by a main body front cover 5 made of resin or the like. The above-described roll paper S, paper transport section 3 and printing section 4 are mounted on a main body frame 6 made of metal or the like. The printing section 4 in the present embodiment performs printing by a known ink jet system.
As shown in (1), the printing unit 4 is configured to be movable between both side portions of the main body frame 6 along a guide rail 7 attached to the main body frame 6. Then, as shown in FIG.
Are arranged such that the inkjet head 4a for performing printing faces the platen unit 8 provided in the paper transport unit 3. As shown in FIG. 2, a cap device 4b is provided at a position adjacent to the paper transport unit 3. The cap device 4b is configured to move the printing unit 4 to cover the nozzles of the inkjet head 4a when printing is not performed for a predetermined time or more. Thereby, even when printing is not performed for a long time, it is possible to prevent the nozzles from drying. On the other hand, the roll paper S is rotatably supported by a pair of support rollers 10 and 11 arranged in parallel with the winding core 9, and its leading end is pulled upward from the lower side of the apparatus main body. It is configured as follows. In the paper transport section 3, a transport path for the roll paper S is formed. That is, the paper transport unit 3 reverses the feed direction of the roll paper S by the paper guide unit 12 and the transport roller 13, and the printed roll paper S from the discharge port 16 provided in the upper cover 15 by the transport roller 14. Is configured to discharge. When a cut sheet described later is not inserted, printing can be performed on the roll sheet S. As shown in FIG. 1, the main body upper cover 15
The platen unit 8 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 17 so that the platen unit 8 approaches and separates from the ink jet head 4a with opening and closing of the main body upper cover 15 to facilitate insertion of the roll paper S. Have been. That is,
The platen section 8 and the transport roller 14 are supported rotatably about the axis of the transport roller 13. The transport roller 14 and the platen section are supported by a spring attached to a lever 46 fixed to a frame that supports them. Reference numeral 8 is urged in a direction to retract from the inkjet head 4a. With this mechanism, when the main body upper cover 15 is closed, the pressing lever 47 fixed to the inside of the main body cover 15 presses the upper portion of the lever 46, and the platen section 8 is maintained in a printable state close to the inkjet head 4a. Is done.
On the other hand, to set the roll paper,
When the lever is opened, the press-contact state between the lever 46 and the holding lever 47 is released, so that the platen section 8 is retracted from the inkjet head 4a by the spring force of the spring attached to the lever 46, and the inserted roll paper The leading end of S is smoothly guided to the outlet 16 via the printing unit. In the center of the upper part of the main body, a discharge port 18 for discharging cut paper 200 subjected to slip printing is formed by the main body upper cover 15 and the main body front cover 5. As will be described later, the discharge port 18 also serves as an insertion port at the time of validation printing. This outlet 18
, A pair of transport rollers 19 and 20 (second rollers) are provided. Further, a pair of transport rollers 21 and 22 (third roller) are provided between the paper transport unit 3 and the printing unit 4, and a pair of transport rollers 23 and 24 (first roller) are provided below the printing unit 4. ) Is provided. Then, these transport rollers 23 and 24 and a pair of guide members 25,
The transport path of the cut paper 200 is formed by 26, and as shown in FIG. 2, when slip printing is performed, the cut paper 200 is inserted from the paper insertion slot 27. FIGS. 3 and 4 show the paper transport unit 3 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the above-mentioned transport rollers 13 and 14 are formed of a metal U-shaped support frame 28.
The support frame 28 is attached to a metal transport frame 29 for forming a paper transport path. Here, the transport roller 13 for reversing the transport direction of the roll paper S is made of a non-slip material such as rubber, for example, and its drive shaft 30 is connected to a drive motor (not shown). Then, the transport roller 13 and the transport roller 1
4 is configured to rotate in the same direction by a gear mechanism (not shown). In the present embodiment, the support frame 28 is mounted so as to be rotatable about the drive shaft of the transport roller 13. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The first transport rollers 23a and 23b for transporting
Shaft 3 rotatably attached to opening / closing lever 37
1 and the second transport rollers 21a, 21b
Is provided on a shaft 100 rotatably attached to the transport frame 29. As shown in FIG. 4, the first transport rollers 23a and 23b are composed of a driving pulley 32, a belt 33 and a driven pulley 34 driven by a motor (not shown).
It is configured to be driven via The second transport rollers 21a and 21b are driven by a gear 35 driven by the above-described motor and a gear 36 meshing with the gear 35. The opening / closing lever 37 is configured to be rotatable around a shaft 32a having a driving pulley 32 at one end and a gear 35 at the other end. Further, the transport mechanism and operation of the cut sheet during slip printing will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, the roll paper transport mechanism shown in FIG. 1 is omitted. The paper insertion slot 27 is provided with upper and lower guide members 26, 2
5 guides the cut paper 200. When the cut sheet 200 is inserted, the transport rollers 23a and 23b are separated from the rollers 24a and 24b, and do not hinder the insertion of the cut sheet 200. When the cut sheet 200 is inserted, the distal end portion 101a of the form stopper 101 projects from the lower guide member 25 by the spring force of the spring 103, and the cut sheet 200 is stopped at the position of the form stopper 101. A paper detector 102 is provided at substantially the same position as the leading end 101a of the form stopper 101, and detects insertion of the cut sheet 200. This detector also detects the end of the cut sheet and can be used for setting the bottom margin. Note that, as shown in FIG.
3 is separated from the roller 24, the transport rollers 20
And the transport roller 19 are in pressure contact with each other.
From the side, cut sheets cannot be inserted. When the cut paper 200 is in the form stopper 101
When the paper detector detects that cut paper has been set at the position, the controller (not shown) energizes the iron core of the plunger 104 to operate in the direction of arrow A. As a result, at the same time that the discharge conveying roller 20 is separated from the roller 19 via the levers 105 and 106, the spring 107 presses the pin 37a of the opening / closing lever 37, and the opening / closing lever 37 is turned around the shaft 32a by the arrow C.
Therefore, the transport rollers 23a and 23b are pressed against the rollers 24a and 24b with the cut sheet 200 interposed therebetween. At this time, in conjunction with the movement of the opening / closing lever 37 in the direction of arrow C, the foam stopper 101 rotates against the spring force of the spring 103, and the tip end 101a is lowered below the lower guide member 25. Then, the transport rollers 23 and 24 are driven to send out the cut paper 200 to the front of the print head.
The rotation of the transport roller 23 is performed by transmitting the rotation of the drive pulley 32 provided on the shaft 32 a to a driven pulley 34 coaxial with the transport roller 23 via a belt 33. Adjustment of the tension of the suspended belt 33 is performed by an adjustment pulley 37 b provided on a part of the opening / closing lever 37. When the cut sheet 200 advances due to the rotation of the rollers 23 and 24, the transport rollers 21 and 2 disposed in the middle
Guided between two. The intermediate transport rollers 21 and 22 are always in a pressure contact state, and the rotational force of a drive motor (not shown) is
It is configured to be constantly transmitted from a shaft 32a as a drive shaft via gears 35 and 36. Roller 21, 2
The cut sheet 200 sent by 2, 23, 24 is guided between the guide member 39 and the head 4a, and a desired printing process is performed. That is, while the drive motor (not shown) for driving the transport roller is stopped, printing is performed for one line while moving the inkjet head 4a in the direction of the guide rail 7, and then the transport roller is driven again and the predetermined amount ( The operation of driving the transport roller and printing again with the inkjet head 4a is repeated. The cut sheet that has passed between the guide member 39 and the head 4a is led to a space between the discharge conveying rollers 19 and 20. The feed amount from the position where the cut sheet 200 abuts on the leading end portion 101a of the form stopper 101 to the position between the discharge conveyance rollers 19 and 20 is determined by the controller of the motor that drives these conveyance rollers.
It is set in advance. When the cut sheet 200 is transported by a predetermined amount according to the set value, the cut sheet 200 reaches between the transport rollers 19 and 20. At this timing, when the iron core of the plunger 104 is energized to operate in the direction of arrow B, the lever 1
The roller 20 comes into pressure contact with the roller 19 via the rollers 05 and 106, and the leading end of the cut sheet 200 is nipped between the rollers 19 and 20 so that the cut paper 200 can be conveyed by the rollers 19 and 20. The pressing force at this time is determined by the spring force of the spring 108. When the iron core of the plunger 104 operates in the direction of arrow B, the spring 107 is pushed up by the abutting portion 105a of the lever 105, the engagement with the pin 37a of the opening / closing lever 37 is released, and the opening / closing lever 37 is rotated about the shaft 32a. It turns in the direction of arrow D. Thereby, the transport rollers 23
The pressure-contact state between the roller and the roller 24 is released and separated. In this state, the cut sheet is made of two pairs of transport rollers 19, 20, 2
Sent by rotation of 1,22. At this time, the foam stopper 101 is moved by its spring
1a attempts to protrude from the lower guide member 25 into the paper path, but the spring force of the spring 103 is very weak and does not push up or penetrate the cut paper 200, and does not hinder the advance of the cut paper 200. As described above, when slip printing is performed, immediately after the cut sheet is inserted, the transport rollers 23 and 24 are used.
To transport the cut paper, and the leading edge of the cut paper is
After passing through Nos. 1 and 22, two pairs of transport rollers 23 and 2
After the sheet is conveyed at 4, 21 and 22 and the leading end of the cut sheet reaches the conveying rollers 19 and 20, two pairs of conveying rollers 20 and 1
After the sheet is conveyed by 9, 21 and 22, and the rear end of the cut sheet passes through the conveying rollers 21 and 22, the cut sheet is conveyed only by the conveying rollers 19 and 20. When the sheet is conveyed in this manner, the length of the cut sheet 200 becomes equal to the distance from the rollers 23 and 24 to the rollers 21 and 22, or the length of the rollers 21 and 22.
If the sheet has a length longer than the longer one of the distances from the rollers to the rollers 19 and 20, even a very short cut sheet (cut sheet) can be accurately conveyed. In addition, since the number of rollers for simultaneously nipping and driving the cut sheet is always two pairs or less, the sheet is nipped by more rollers than necessary, and it is unlikely that a problem such as wrinkling of the sheet occurs, and the sheet is transported reliably. be able to. Next, the transport mechanism and operation of the cut sheet during validation printing will be described in detail. The validation printing of the printer of the present invention is performed in the following procedure. That is, in a state where the transport rollers 18 and 19 are separated from each other, a paper piece such as a check is passed from the discharge port 18 during slip printing to the transport rollers 21 and 22.
After inserting into the vicinity and setting the paper piece, the plunger 104 is energized by a specific command or key operation,
After the transport rollers 19 and 20 are pressed against each other and a paper sheet is sandwiched,
While printing on a piece of paper by the print head 4a,
The transport rollers 20 and 19 are driven to transport the paper piece again in a direction to be discharged from the discharge port. As described above, in a state in which the paper piece used for the validation printing can be inserted, the transport rollers 23 and 24 are in the closed state, so that there is no possibility that the slip printing paper is erroneously inserted from the insertion opening 27. . FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing the vicinity of an intermediate conveying roller. FIG. 7 shows a state in which a sheet 500 for validation is inserted, and FIG. 8 shows a cut sheet 2 for slip printing.
00 shows a state in which 00 is inserted. A plurality of validation stoppers 222 are rotatably supported coaxially with the intermediate conveyance roller 22. Each validation stopper 222 includes a spring 22
3, the convex portion 222b is urged in a direction in which the convex portion 222b comes into contact with the window 251 provided in the paper guide.
The paper path is closed by the upper surface 222a. As shown in FIG. 7, when a paper sheet 500 for validation printing is inserted from the discharge port 18 side with the rollers 19 and 20 separated from each other, the validation stopper 2
The leading end of the paper piece 500 abuts on the upper surface 222a of the 22 and is positioned. At this time, the leading end of the paper piece is
There is no contact with 1,22. After that, plunger 10
4 to bring the transport rollers 20 and 19 into pressure contact.
The transport rollers 20 and 19 are driven to perform printing on the piece of paper 500. As shown in FIG. 8, when the cut sheet 200 for slip printing is transported, the transport rollers 21 and 2 are used.
2, the leading end of the cut paper 200 pushes up the projection 222b of the validation stopper, and the validation stopper 222 rotates in a direction in which the paper path opens. This makes it possible to transport the cut sheet 200 further upward. Further, as in the present embodiment, if the validation stopper 222 is formed coaxially with the transport roller 21 or 22, the cut sheet can be transported by the transport roller 21 or 22.
The validation stopper 222
The paper can be easily passed through even a paper having a very small stiffness and a short distance to a portion contacting the paper, and does not hinder conveyance during slip printing. The plunger shown in the above embodiment is
It is preferable to use a self-holding plunger. Thus, it is sufficient to energize and return the iron core only for a certain period of time, and power consumption can be reduced. When printing is performed on the roll paper S, the transport rollers 23 and 24 are opened and the transport rollers 1
It is preferable to keep 9, 9 closed. Thereby, when printing the roll paper, the transport rollers 19, 20
The side is closed and a piece of paper for validation printing cannot be inserted into the printing section. Also, the transport roller 2
3, 24 are open, but the foam stopper 1
Since the leading end 101a of the “01” protrudes into the paper path, cut paper for slip printing cannot be inserted into the printing unit. As described above, when the roll paper is printed, the insertion port 27, the discharge port 18 and the printing section of the paper path of the cut paper are both closed so that the cut paper is erroneously cut during the printing of the roll paper. Is not inserted. Further, according to the structure of the present invention, the plunger is operated by a specific command or key operation, and the rollers 19 and 20 are separated and pressed against each other, so that the common printing section and the paper path for slip printing are performed. Using a part of
Validation printing, in which another cut sheet is inserted from the cut sheet discharge side to perform printing, is also possible, and it is possible to provide printing forms according to various uses and paper types, and at the time of each printing mode,
There is no possibility that paper of a different print mode is erroneously inserted. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the present invention is applied to a printer using an ink jet system as a print head. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various print heads such as a dot impact system can be used. Can be applied to printers using Further, the present invention is not limited to a printer for printing a slip and printing for checking a check, but can be applied to various printers. As described above, according to the present invention, in a printer that handles various types of paper, the roller can be opened and closed with a single power when cutting paper is fed, so that various types of paper can be easily inserted. In addition, it is possible to provide a printer that prevents erroneous insertion of various types of paper. [0055]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an entire internal configuration of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the embodiment viewed from the front. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a paper transport unit in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism of a transport roller for transporting cut sheets in the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the operation of the cut sheet transport system in the embodiment. FIG. 6 is a side view showing another operation of the cut sheet transport system in the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the operation of the validation stopper according to the embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view showing another operation of the validation stopper according to the embodiment. [Description of Signs] 4a Inkjet heads 19, 20 Discharge side transfer rollers 21, 22 Intermediate transfer rollers 23, 24 Insertion side transfer roller 37 Opening / closing lever 101 Form stopper 104 Plunger

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-47770 (JP, A) JP-A-61-162458 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 13/00-13/32 B41J 11/48

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] In a printer for printing on cut paper and validation paper, the cut paper is inserted from a lower paper insertion port, and discharged from an upper discharge port after printing. Wherein the validation paper is inserted from the upper discharge port and is discharged again from the discharge port after printing, and a first transport roller pair is provided near the paper insertion port; A second conveying roller pair is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port, and the first conveying roller pair, the third conveying roller pair, the print head, and the like are provided in a paper path between the paper insertion port and the discharge port.
The second transport roller pair is arranged in the order, the second transport roller pair is closed when the first transport roller pair is open, and the first transport roller pair is closed when the first transport roller pair is open. When the second conveyance roller pair is open, the interlocking control is performed by the same drive source, the third conveyance roller pair is normally closed, and when inserting the validation paper from the discharge port,
The second conveyance roller pair is opened, the first conveyance roller pair is closed, and the validation paper of the validation paper is provided coaxially with one axis of the third conveyance roller pair and closed by a validation stopper that closes a paper path. Holding the lower end thereof, closing the second pair of transport rollers, driving the second pair of transport rollers to discharge the validation paper from the discharge port, and inserting the cut paper into the paper insertion port. When inserting the first transport roller pair, the first transport roller pair is opened, the second transport roller pair is closed, and when the cut sheet insertion is detected, the first transport roller pair is closed and the first transport roller pair is closed. When the cut paper is driven and the leading edge of the cut paper reaches the third transport roller pair and is transported by the third transport roller pair, the distal end of the cut paper rotates the validation stopper, and the cut paper is rotated. Paper A printer characterized in that a path is opened.