JP4501661B2 - Information processing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus.

  With the spread of personal computers and digital home appliances, information processing apparatuses that handle various types of information and perform predetermined processing have become widespread. An example of such an information processing apparatus is a printer (printing apparatus) connected to a personal computer or the like.

  The printer is equipped with a transport mechanism that feeds the paper to be transported one by one from the storage unit and transports it along a predetermined transport path in the device case that provides the appearance, and is mounted in the middle of the transport path. Various operation devices such as a recording unit for recording an image such as a character or a graphic on a sheet to be received and a recording unit operation mechanism for applying a predetermined moving operation to the recording unit as needed are incorporated.

  In addition, there are printers of the front feed / discharge type in which both a paper feeding unit and a printed paper discharge unit are arranged on the front side of the device in order to make the device compact and save space. . In such a front feed / discharge type printer, a paper cassette containing paper for paper feeding is usually arranged at the lower part of the front of the apparatus, and a paper discharge tray for discharging printed paper is placed above the paper cassette. With the arrangement, a substantially U-shaped transport path connecting between the paper cassette and the paper discharge tray is built in the apparatus case, and a recording unit is disposed in the middle of the substantially U-shaped transport path.

  The substantially U-shaped transport path in the apparatus case includes, for example, an arc-shaped transport section defined by an intermediate roller and a guide section curved in a substantially arc shape, starting from a paper cassette containing paper. , A paper feed roller pair disposed at a predetermined distance from the exit end of the arc-shaped transport unit, and a discharge transport mechanism that guides to a paper output tray on the front side of the apparatus via a recording unit disposed on the downstream side of the paper feed roller pair It consists of.

By the way, in the arc-shaped transport unit and in the section from the arc-shaped transport unit to the paper feed roller pair, the leading edge of the paper is likely to be warped and skewed, and paper jam is likely to occur. In view of this, a technique has been proposed in which a contact release mechanism is provided for separating the rollers and the like in the transport unit from the paper when a paper jam occurs (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
The contact release mechanism described in Patent Document 1 makes it easier to pull out jammed paper by releasing the pressing force of the roller when gripping and pulling out one end of the jammed paper from the paper feeding side or paper ejection side. It is.

  In addition, in order to remove paper jammed due to paper jam generated in the substantially U-shaped transport path, the guide part of the arc-shaped transport unit can be opened and closed by rotating together with the outer cover part, and the arc-shaped transport unit is externally A structure that is exposed to the surface is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2003-154893 A Japanese Patent No. 2529261

  When taking out jammed paper or the like from the U-shaped transport path, it is preferable that the U-shaped transport path is completely opened and closed. When opening and closing the U-shaped conveyance path, the U-shaped conveyance path is opened by releasing the lock and opening the opening / closing cover, but the lock member is biased using an elastic member such as a spring. With such a structure, there is a risk that the tip of the lock member may collide with the printer cover and be damaged when unlocked from when released. Even if there is no large collision, there is a possibility that the tip of the lock member is rubbed against the surface of the frame, the printer cover or the like for a long time by the urging force of the elastic member, and the lock member is worn. If the lock member is damaged or worn, the lock mechanism is damaged, and in the worst case, the open / close cover may not be kept closed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an information processing apparatus in which the reliability of the lock mechanism is improved by suppressing the consumption of the lock member.

The object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.
(1) The apparatus case includes a guide portion having an intermediate roller and an arcuate guide surface, which constitutes an arcuate conveyance portion curved in a substantially arcuate shape,
Information processing in which a pair of paper feed rollers that sandwich and convey the object to be conveyed sent from the arcuate conveying unit toward the processing position is provided at a position separated from the exit end of the arcuate conveying unit by a predetermined distance. A device,
The guide unit includes an auxiliary guide member that guides an object to be conveyed that protrudes from the exit end of the arcuate conveyance unit to the paper feed roller pair side and is fed toward the paper feed roller pair. It can be rotated and opened integrally with the outer wall of the device case located outside,
An open / close lever operable to lock and unlock the locking portion that restricts the rotation at a position where the guide portion is closed;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a stopper that contacts the opening / closing lever in the unlocked position when the guide portion is open, and holds the locking portion in the unlocked position.
(2) The information processing apparatus according to (1), wherein the locking portion is elastically biased toward a locking position.
(3) The information processing apparatus according to (2), wherein one corner of the stopper and one corner of the opening / closing lever lock facing the stopper are chamfered tapered surfaces.
(4) An auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism that retracts the auxiliary guide member in a direction away from the paper feed roller pair in conjunction with an unlocking operation of the locking portion by the opening / closing lever (1) or (2) ).

  According to the present invention, the stopper is held in contact with the open / close lever in the unlocked position at the position where the guide is open, and the lock is held in the unlocked position, so that the guide is open. In the case of a closing operation that displaces from a closed state to a closed state, the locking portion does not collide with the device case. A large breakage of the locking part due to the closing operation is prevented, and a breakage of the lock mechanism due to the structure is prevented beforehand. Further, according to the present invention, the state in which the locking portion is rubbed against the device case is reduced by adjusting the stopper so that the state in which the opening / closing lever abuts is maintained until the guide member has a predetermined angle. can do. Therefore, wear due to rubbing of the locking portion is reduced, and the lock mechanism can be used stably over a long period of time.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
1 to 7 show an embodiment of an information processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the information processing apparatus according to the present invention as seen from obliquely above the front side, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from obliquely above the rear side, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing a state of the sheet feeding mechanism when the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state of a sheet feeding mechanism during feeding of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a state during printing of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the opening / closing cover and the guide portion shown in FIG. 3 as viewed from the rear, and FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the opening / closing cover and the guide portion shown in FIG. .

  The information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is a front-feed / discharge-type business-use printer. As shown in FIG. A substantially box-shaped paper cassette 9 loaded with paper as a conveyed product is detachably mounted. Further, a paper discharge tray 11 for receiving the printed paper is provided so as to cover the open upper surface of the paper cassette 9. In addition, on both sides of the front surface of the device case 7, a display unit 13 for displaying an operation state and an operation unit 14 are provided.

  In the apparatus case 7, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a sheet feeding mechanism 21 that feeds out the sheets P stored in the sheet cassette 9 one by one to the rear of the apparatus, and a sheet fed by the sheet feeding mechanism 21. An arcuate conveyance unit 23 that conveys P along the arcuate conveyance path, a pair of paper feed rollers 25 and 26 that nipping and conveying the paper P conveyed from the arcuate conveyance unit 23 to the processing position, and the paper A recording unit 29 at a processing position for recording an image such as a character or a graphic on the paper P in the horizontal conveyance unit downstream of the feed roller pairs 25 and 26, and the paper P printed by the recording unit 29 are discharged from the front of the apparatus. A discharge transport mechanism 31 for discharging the paper tray 11 is incorporated. One of the paper feed roller pairs 25 and 26 is a drive roller 25 and the other is an auxiliary roller 26.

  The paper cassette 9, the arc-shaped transport unit 23, the paper feed roller pairs 25 and 26, the discharge transport mechanism 31, and the paper discharge tray 11 in the device case 7 are fed one by one from the paper cassette 9 at the lower front to the rear of the device. A substantially U-shaped transport path for turning the sheet P toward the front side of the apparatus by an arc-shaped transport path is formed.

  The sheet feeding mechanism 21 is configured such that the rear end of a frame 34 provided with a pickup roller 33 for feeding at the front end can be rotated in the vertical direction in the figure by a support pin 35. The sheet feeding mechanism 21 can bring the pickup roller 33 into contact with the uppermost sheet P in the sheet cassette 9 by swinging the frame 34 in the vertical direction. In the paper feeding mechanism 21, when the information processing apparatus 1 is stopped, the frame 34 is kept horizontal as shown in FIG. 3, and the pickup roller 33 is kept away from the paper P on the paper cassette 9. When the information processing apparatus 1 feeds the paper, the pickup roller 33 is pressed against the paper P on the paper cassette 9, as shown in FIG. As the pickup roller 33 rotates, the paper P on the paper cassette 9 comes into contact with the inclined separation pad 36 and is separated by the frictional force and the strength of the paper P while being fed out one by one to the arcuate conveyance unit 23 side. It is. When printing is started by the recording unit 29 after the paper feeding is completed, the frame 34 is returned to the original horizontal state as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the arcuate conveyance unit 23 includes a guide unit 38 that has a guide surface 37 that is provided outside the conveyance path (on the back side of the information processing device 1) and has a curved surface that is substantially arcuate. An intermediate roller 39 is provided on the inner side of the path (the front side of the information processing apparatus 1) and feeds the paper P from the lower side to the upper side of the guide surface 37. The guide portion 38 includes a retard roller 22 provided on the lower side and an assist roller 24 provided on the upper side. The sheet P sent out by the pickup roller 33 is nipped and conveyed by the intermediate roller 39 and the retard roller 22, and further nipped and conveyed by the intermediate roller 39 and the assist roller 24. As a result, the paper P is transported along the arc-shaped transport path, and the leading end thereof is directed to the front surface side, and is sent out to the linear path of the U-shaped transport path.

  The paper feed roller pair 25, 26 is provided at a position a predetermined distance away from the exit end of the arcuate conveyance path (downstream end of the arcuate conveyance unit 23) on the front side of the apparatus, as shown in FIG. In addition, the paper P sent out from the arc-shaped transport unit 23 through a substantially linear path is sandwiched and transported under the recording unit 29 which is the processing position.

  In the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the outer wall portion on the rear surface of the device case 7 located behind the guide portion 38 is locked / unlocked by sliding the pair of opening / closing levers 41, 42. Is formed as an openable / closable cover 16. A guide portion 38 is integrally attached to the inside of the opening / closing cover 16. Therefore, by opening the opening / closing cover 16, the arcuate conveyance path can be exposed to the outside.

  Hereinafter, the opening / closing structure of the opening / closing cover 16 and the guide portion 38 integrally attached to the opening / closing cover 16 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the opening / closing cover 16 includes a curved rear wall 16a and substantially half-moon shaped side walls 16b integrally formed on both sides thereof, and support pins 16c project from the lower side of the side walls 16b. It is installed. As shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing cover 16 has a rotation radius of a radius R1 having the support pin 16c as a rotation fulcrum as shown in FIG. The device case 7 is coupled in a rotatable state. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the opening / closing cover 16 is integrally provided with a hook-shaped hook portion 16 e formed toward the inside of the apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the open / close levers 41 and 42 attached to the open / close cover 16 have slide guides 41a and 42a mounted on the back surface of the open / close cover 16 and the width of the device by these slide guides 41a and 42a. Lever bodies 41b and 42b that are held so as to be linearly movable (slidable) in the direction (directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 6), and a spring 80 that elastically biases these lever bodies 41b and 42b in directions away from each other. It has. The spring 80 protrudes from the lever main bodies 41b and 42b and is disposed between the spring support portions 49a and 49b facing each other.

  Further, the open / close levers 41 and 42 include knobs 45 and 46 protruding from the lever operating opening 16d (see FIG. 6) opened in the open / close cover 16, and side walls opened in the side wall 16b as shown in FIG. By protruding from the opening 16f, locking rods 47 and 48 as locking portions to be inserted into the locking holes 7b and 7b of the frames 7a and 7a attached to the apparatus case 7 side are integrally formed. Yes.

  The state in which the tips of the locking rods 47 and 48 are inserted into the locking holes 7b and 7b of the frames 7a and 7a on the apparatus case 7 side is the locking state, and in this state, the opening / closing cover 16 cannot be opened. In the locked state, the locking bars 47 and 48 are urged toward the locking position by the elastic force of the spring, so that the locking bars 47 and 48 are always placed in the locking position unless the unlocking operation is performed by the opening / closing lever. Is done. Therefore, the opening / closing cover 16 can be reliably maintained in the closed position during normal use of the information processing apparatus 1.

  In this locked state, the pair of knobs 45 and 46 protruding from the opening 16d of the opening / closing cover 16 are in a state of being separated by a certain distance L as shown in FIG. In this state, as shown in FIG. 8, when the outer surfaces of the knobs 45 and 46 are pressed in directions approaching each other as indicated by arrows A and B, a pair of locking rods resists the elastic force of the spring. 47 and 48 slide inward in the width direction of the apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the knobs 45 and 46 are pressed until they come into contact with each other, the sliding movement of the locking bars 47 and 48 causes the tips of the locking bars 47 and 48 to open and close. The cover 16 is retracted to a position within the width dimension of the cover 16. As a result, the locking bars 47 and 48 are completely detached from the locking holes 7b and 7b of the frames 7a and 7a on the device case 7 side, and are unlocked with the device case 7 unlocked. . In this unlocked state, the opening / closing cover 16 can be opened rearward.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the guide portion 38 includes a guide main body 38a fixed to the back surface of the opening / closing cover 16, and a large number of ribs 38b erected on the guide main body 38a at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the apparatus. The curved surface formed at the edge of each rib 38b forms an arcuate guide surface 37.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the guide portion 38 protrudes from the exit end of the guide surface 37 toward the paper feed roller pair 25, 26 and is fed toward the paper feed roller pair 25, 26. Auxiliary guide member 51 is attached to prevent the occurrence of lifting and skewing by holding the weight by its own weight. As shown in FIG. 7, the auxiliary guide member 51 is a substantially comb-like structure in which protrusions 51a for suppressing the lifting of the paper P are arranged at appropriate intervals in the width direction of the apparatus.

  In the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the auxiliary guide member 51 is advanced and retracted with respect to the paper feed roller pair 25 and 26 in conjunction with the locking and unlocking operations of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42, and the opening and closing levers 41 and 42. During the unlocking operation, an auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism 53 for retracting the auxiliary guide member 51 in a direction away from the paper feed roller pair 25 and 26 is provided.

The auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism 53 includes a first rack and pinion 55 and a second rack and pinion 57.
As shown in FIG. 7, the first rack and pinion 55 meshes with the first rack 61 that slides as the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 are slid in accordance with the sliding operation. The first rack 61 is integrally formed with the lever main body 41 b of the opening / closing lever 41. The first rack 61 includes a pair of first pinions 63 that are rotationally driven by the movement of the first rack 61.

  The second rack and pinion 57 is integrally formed coaxially with the first pinion 63 and has a second pinion 65 that rotates integrally with the first pinion 63, and teeth that mesh with the second pinion 65 advance and retract the auxiliary guide member 51. The second rack 67 is arranged along the direction and imparts an advance / retreat movement to the auxiliary guide member 51 by a linear advance / retreat movement accompanying the rotation of the second pinion 65. The second rack 67 has teeth arranged in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the first rack, and linearly moves in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the first rack 61 by the rotation of the second pinion 65.

  When the knobs 45 and 46 of the open / close levers 41 and 42 are not unlocked, that is, in the locked state, the distal end portion of the auxiliary guide member 51 has a rotation radius R2 from the support pin 16c as shown in FIG. If the opening / closing cover 16 is rotated around the support pin 16c in this state, the support mechanism 70 supporting the auxiliary roller 26 interferes. However, when the knobs 45 and 46 of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 are unlocked and the auxiliary guide member 51 is retracted in the direction away from the paper feed roller pair 25 and 26 by the auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism 53, it is shown in FIG. As described above, the tip end portion of the auxiliary guide member 51 supports the auxiliary roller 26 even if the rotation radius from the support pin 16c is moved to the position of R3 and the support pin 16c is rotated in that state. The opening / closing cover 16 can be opened safely without interfering with the supporting mechanism 70. In addition, since the auxiliary guide member 51 is stored inside (lower side) of the flange portion 16e in the retracted state, the tip of the auxiliary guide member 51 is prevented from being damaged due to contact with other members in the apparatus. Can be removed.

12 is a perspective view showing a state in which the open / close cover 16 is being opened with the open / close levers 41 and 42 being unlocked, and FIG. 13 is an auxiliary guide from the guide portion 38 on the back surface of the open / close cover 16 shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a state in which the member 51 is removed and the first rack 61 of the first rack and pinion 55 is exposed. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the opening / closing cover 16 is opened with the opening / closing levers 41, 42 unlocked, the lower ends 41d, 42d of the opening / closing levers 41, 42 sliding to the unlocking position are contacted. In contact therewith, stoppers 73, 73 for locking the locking bars 47, 48 in the unlocked position are fixedly provided at the lower rear end of the device case 7. The stopper 73 is a locking wall formed at the rear end of the device case 7 facing the lower edge of the opening / closing cover 16.
When the open / close cover 16 is closed, the lower ends 41d and 42d of the open / close levers 41 and 42 are disengaged from the positions where they are engaged with the stoppers 73 and 73, thereby affecting the locking / unlocking operation of the open / close levers 41 and 42. Don't give.

  Further, the auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism 53 moves the auxiliary guide member 51 forward toward the paper feed roller pair 25 and 26 as the locking rods 47 and 48 move from the unlocking position to the locking position. That is, the auxiliary guide member 51 is moved from the exit end of the arcuate conveyance unit 23 to the paper feed roller pair 25 and 26 side in conjunction with the movement of the locking rods 47 and 48 to the locking position when the opening / closing cover 16 is closed. It is automatically placed at the protruding position. Therefore, when the information processing apparatus 1 is operated with the opening / closing cover 16 in the closed position to transport the paper P, the paper P sent from the arc-shaped transport unit 23 to the paper feed roller pairs 25 and 26 is transferred to the auxiliary guide member. 51 can always guide.

  Next, the relationship between the lower ends 41d and 42d of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 and the stoppers 73 and 73 that accompany the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  15A is a perspective view showing the relationship between the locking bar 47 of the opening / closing lever 41 and the side wall opening 7b formed in the frame 7a when the opening / closing cover 16 is in the locked state, and FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship between the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the stopper 73 in the same state. 16-20 is a figure explaining the operation | movement of the opening / closing lever 41 accompanying the operation | movement of the opening / closing cover 16, continuing in order from FIG. In FIG. 17A to FIG. 20A, a side view is used instead of a perspective view for easy understanding of the operation.

  First, as shown in FIG. 15A, in the locked state, the locking bar 47 of the opening / closing lever 41 is inserted into the side wall opening 7b of the frame 7a and locked. In this state, the opening / closing lever 41 cannot rotate and the opening / closing cover 16 does not open. In this state, as shown in FIG. 15 (b), the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 is located at a slide restricting position 74 located on the rear side of the stopper 73 (above the stopper 73 in FIG. 15 (b)). is doing.

  Next, when the knobs 45 and 46 of FIG. 16 (a) are operated and the open / close lever 41 is slid, the locking rod 47 comes out from the side wall opening 7b of the frame 7a, and the frame 7a and the locking rod 47 The lock during is released. At the same time, as the opening / closing lever 41 slides, the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 slides laterally from the slide restriction position 74 shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16B, the slide 73 is displaced laterally from the rear of the stopper 73 and is displaced to a slide displaceable position 75 (in FIG. 16B, diagonally above and to the left of the stopper 73). .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 17A, when the opening / closing cover 16 is gradually tilted, the position of the locking bar 47 is shifted from the side wall opening 7b of the frame 7a. At the same time, the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 is slid and displaced in a direction in which the side surface 41g approaches the side surface 73b of the stopper 73 as the tilting proceeds. In this state, as shown in FIG. 17B, the side surface 41g of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the side surface 73b of the stopper 73 are not in contact with each other, and the distal end portion of the locking rod 47 is supported by the frame 7a. Thus, the opening / closing lever 41 is positioned.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 18 (a), when the opening / closing cover 16 is further tilted from the state of FIG. 17 (a), the position of the locking bar 47 is substantially disengaged from the rear end 7c of the frame 7a. . In this state, as shown in FIG. 18B, the side surface 41g of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the side surface 73b of the stopper 73 are not in contact with each other, and the distal end portion of the locking rod 47 is in the frame 7a. And the side surface 7d of the device case 7, the opening / closing lever 41 is positioned.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 19A, when the opening / closing cover 16 is further tilted from the state of FIG. 18A, the position of the locking bar 47 is substantially disengaged from the rear end of the side surface 7d of the device case 7. Position. Before entering this state, that is, during the state shown in FIGS. 18A to 19A, as shown in FIG. 19B, the side surface 41g of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the stopper 73 The side surface 73b is in substantially abutting state, and the distal end portion of the locking bar 47 is supported by the side surface 7d of the device case 7 and can be guided by the side surface 41g of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the side surface 73b of the stopper 73. Thus, the opening / closing lever 41 is positioned.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 20 (a), when the opening / closing cover 16 is further tilted from the state of FIG. 19 (a), the position of the locking rod 47 is completely from the rear end of the side surface 7d of the device case 7. Fall off. In this state, at this time, as shown in FIG. 20B, the side surface 41 g of the lower end 41 d of the opening / closing lever 41 abuts the side surface 73 b of the stopper 73, and the side surface 41 g of the lower end 41 d can be guided by the side surface 73 b of the stopper 73. In this state, the open / close lever 41 is positioned. Therefore, even if the tip of the locking bar 47 is disengaged from the side surface 7d of the device case 7, the locking bar 47 does not protrude and is housed in the opening / closing cover 16.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, even if the tip of the locking bar 47 is detached from the side surface 7d of the device case 7, the locking bar 47 does not protrude and is housed in the opening / closing cover 16. . Therefore, even when the user does not operate the knobs 45 and 46 when the opening / closing cover 16 is closed from the unlocked state to the locked state, at least the side surface 41g of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 is supported by the side surface 73b of the stopper 73. Until it is not guided, that is, from the state of FIG. 20 through the state of FIG. 19 to the state of FIG. 18, the locking rod 47 does not protrude, and the locking rod 47 may collide with the device case 7. Absent.
In the above description, only the locking bar 47 side of the opening / closing lever 41 has been described, but the locking bar 48 side of the opening / closing lever 42 operates in the same manner.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16B, one corner of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the stopper 73 that are opposed to each other when the knob 45 of the opening / closing lever 41 is operated from the locked state. Each corner is chamfered to form a lever side tapered surface 41f and a stopper side tapered surface 73a. The lever-side taper surface 41f and the stopper-side taper surface 73a are configured such that the open / close lever 41 is locked and the open / close cover 16 is not completely opened due to interference between one corner of the lower end 41d of the open / close lever 41 and one corner of the stopper 73. It solves the problem of not closing. The lever side taper surface 41f and the stopper side taper surface 73a are attached at an angle substantially parallel to each other. Therefore, in the state of shifting from the locked state to the unlocked state, one side surface 41g of the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 is not completely guided by the side surface 73b of the stopper 73 (for example, the state shown in FIGS. 17 and 18). Even when the user releases the knob 45, the taper surfaces 41 f and 73 a are slidable with each other by the elastic force of the spring 80. Therefore, the lower end 41d of the opening / closing lever 41 and the stopper 73 are not locked, and the opening / closing lever 16 can be always kept in the locked state or the unlocked state.

  As described above, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the opening / closing levers 41 and 42 are unlocked and the opening / closing cover 16 starts to be opened in order to eliminate a paper jam caused by a paper jam or the like, the opening / closing cover 16 is started halfway. Lower ends 41d and 42d of the open / close levers 41 and 42 are locked in an unlocked state by a stopper 73 on the apparatus case 7 side. Therefore, the unlocked state is maintained even if the hand that has been unlocking the open / close levers 41 and 42 is released from the open / close levers 41 and 42, and the open / close operation of the open / close cover 16 is facilitated. In addition, since the auxiliary guide member 51 can be maintained at the retracted position with the open / close cover 16 open, the auxiliary guide member 51 does not hinder the operation when removing the jammed paper P.

  When the opening / closing cover 16 is closed after removing the jammed paper P, the locking bars 47 and 48 are unlocked by the stopper 73 until the opening / closing cover 16 reaches the normal closed position. Since the state is maintained, the open / close cover 16 can be returned to the closed position without causing the auxiliary guide member 51 to collide with other members without operating the open / close levers 41 and 42. When the opening / closing cover 16 is returned to the closed position, the opening / closing levers 41, 42 are disengaged from the stopper 73, and the opening / closing levers 41, 42 are automatically moved to the locked position by the elastic force of the springs. The cover 16 is fixed to the device case 7. That is, the operation for closing the opening / closing cover 16 can be simplified.

  In the above-described embodiment, the stoppers 73 and 73 guide the lower ends 41d and 42d of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 and the positions of the locking rods 47 and 48 during the state shown in FIGS. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stoppers 73 and 73 may be configured to guide the lower ends 41d and 42d of the open / close levers 41 and 42 before the state shown in FIG. When the stoppers 73, 73 guide the lower ends 41 d, 42 d of the opening / closing levers 41, 42, the lock rods 47, 48 are rubbed against the frame 7 a and the side surface 7 d of the apparatus case 7, and the state where the stoppers 73, 73 are rubbed is reduced. However, the elastic force of the spring 80 is distributed not only between the locking rods 47 and 48 but also between the stoppers 73 and 73 and the lower ends 41d and 42d of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 so that the locking rods 47 and 48 rub against each other. Since the applied force is reduced, the wear of the locking rods 47 and 48 is suppressed.

  Further, in the information processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the auxiliary guide member 51 that prevents the paper P fed from the arcuate conveyance unit 23 to the paper feed roller pairs 25 and 26 from being lifted and skewed is provided. The conveyance between the arcuate conveyance unit 23 and the paper feed roller pairs 25 and 26 can be stabilized and highly accurate. Since the auxiliary guide member 51 is attached to the guide portion 38 attached to the inner surface of the opening / closing cover 16 of the device case 7, it is necessary to assemble a dedicated mechanism or the like that supports the auxiliary guide member 51 on the device case 7 side. In addition, the auxiliary guide member 51 does not complicate the assembly process due to an increase in the number of parts to be assembled on the apparatus case 7 side.

Further, when a paper jam occurs in or around the arcuate conveyance unit 23 due to a paper jam or the like, the paper jam occurs by opening the guide unit 38 together with the open / close cover 16 by unlocking the open / close levers 41 and 42. Although the portion is exposed, when the opening and closing levers 41 and 42 are unlocked, the auxiliary guide member 51 is retracted into the guide portion 38 in conjunction with the operation of the opening and closing levers 41 and 42, as shown in FIG. The protrusion amount of the auxiliary guide member 51 from the guide portion 38 toward the paper feed roller pair 25, 26 side is small. Further, the auxiliary guide member 51 is stored in the flange portion 16e and is protected from contact with other members. Therefore, the auxiliary guide member 51 can be prevented from interfering with the surrounding support mechanism 70 and the like during the opening / closing operation of the guide portion 38 integrated with the open / close cover 16, and the apparatus for avoiding the interference of the auxiliary guide member 51. The layout of other mechanisms and the like in the case 7 is not pressed, and the opening / closing structure of the guide portion 38 can be easily installed.
Since the paper jam site can be exposed by opening the opening / closing cover 16, even when a paper jam occurs due to a paper jam or the like, the jammed paper can be directly accessed, the paper P is removed, and the paper jam is removed. It can be resolved quickly.

Further, in the information processing apparatus 1, it is possible to arbitrarily adjust the linear movement amount of the second rack 67 by changing the gear ratio between the first pinion 63 and the second pinion 65. The amount of linear movement of the auxiliary guide member 51 can be freely set without being restricted by the amount of movement of the opening / closing levers 41 and 42 required for the lock, and the auxiliary guide member 51 having a necessary and sufficient protruding length can be smoothly advanced and retracted. It can be moved.
Further, since the first rack 61 is formed integrally with the opening / closing lever 41, for example, if the second rack 67 is formed integrally with the auxiliary guide member 51, an auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism that moves the auxiliary guide member 51 forward and backward. Independent parts as 53 can be reduced, and the assembly process can be simplified by reducing the number of parts to be assembled.

  The information processing apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the printer described as the above embodiment. For example, a substantially U-shaped conveyance path similar to the above embodiment, such as a copy machine, a fax machine, a banknote change machine, or a ticket issuing machine, or a complicated conveyance path equipped with a plurality of the above-described arc-shaped conveyance units is used for the object to be conveyed. The present invention can be applied to various devices installed in the apparatus case as a transport path.

It is the perspective view seen from the front side slanting upper part of one embodiment of the information processor concerning the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the back side slanting upper part of one embodiment of the information processor concerning the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state of a sheet feeding mechanism when the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is stopped. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a sheet feeding mechanism during sheet feeding of the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state during printing of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is the disassembled perspective view seen from the back of the opening-and-closing cover and guide part shown in FIG. It is the disassembled perspective view seen from the opening-and-closing cover and guide part shown in FIG. It is a front view when the opening-and-closing lever of the guide part shown in FIG. 3 exists in a locking state. FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the rear of the opening / closing cover when the opening / closing lever of the information processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is unlocked. It is a front view when the opening-and-closing lever of the guide part shown in FIG. 3 exists in an unlocked state. FIG. 2 is a side cross-sectional view illustrating a retracted state of an auxiliary guide member when an opening / closing lever of the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 is in an unlocked state. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the information processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 in the middle of opening of an opening / closing cover. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which the auxiliary guide member is removed from the opening / closing cover shown in FIG. 12 and the rack of the first rack and pinion is exposed. It is the perspective view seen from the upper part of the rear-end part of the main body case equipped with the stopper which locks an opening-and-closing lever in an unlocking state. (A) is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the locking rod of the opening / closing lever and the side wall opening formed in the frame when the opening / closing cover is in the locked state, and (b) is the lower end of the opening / closing lever and the stopper in the same state It is a schematic diagram which shows the relationship. (A) is a perspective view which shows the relationship between the locking rod of the opening-and-closing lever of the state in which the knob was operated, and the side wall opening formed in the frame, (b) is the lower end of the opening-and-closing lever and the stopper in the same state It is a schematic diagram which shows a relationship. (A) is a side view of the opening / closing lever in a state where the opening / closing cover is tilted from the state of FIG. 16, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the lower end of the opening / closing lever and the stopper in the same state. (A) is a side view of the opening / closing lever in a state where the opening / closing cover is tilted from the state of FIG. 17, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the lower end of the opening / closing lever and the stopper in the same state. (A) is a side view of the opening / closing lever with the opening / closing cover tilted from the state of FIG. 18, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the lower end of the opening / closing lever and the stopper in the same state. (A) is a side view of the opening / closing lever in a state where the opening / closing cover is tilted from the state of FIG. 19, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between the lower end of the opening / closing lever and the stopper in the same state.

Explanation of symbols

1: Information processing device, 3: Lower case, 5: Upper case, 7: Device case, 9: Paper cassette, 11: Paper discharge tray, 16: Opening / closing cover, 21: Paper feeding mechanism, 23: Arc-shaped transport unit, 25, 26: paper feed roller pair, 29: recording unit, 31: discharge conveyance mechanism, 33: pickup roller, 34: frame, 35: support pin, 37: guide surface, 38: guide unit, 39: intermediate roller, 41 42: Opening / closing lever, 41a, 42a: Slide guide, 41b, 42b: Lever body, 45, 46: Knob, 47, 48: Locking rod, 51: Auxiliary guide member, 53: Auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism, 55: First 1 rack and pinion, 57: second rack and pinion, 61: first rack, 63: first pinion, 65: second pinion, 67: second rack, 73: stopper, 80: Ne

Claims (4)

In the apparatus case, comprising an intermediate roller and a guide part having an arcuate guide surface that constitute an arcuate conveyance part curved in an approximately arcuate shape,
Information processing in which a pair of paper feed rollers that sandwich and convey the object to be conveyed sent from the arcuate conveying unit toward the processing position is provided at a position separated from the exit end of the arcuate conveying unit by a predetermined distance. A device,
The guide unit includes an auxiliary guide member that guides an object to be conveyed that protrudes from the exit end of the arcuate conveyance unit to the paper feed roller pair side and is fed toward the paper feed roller pair. It can be rotated and opened integrally with the outer wall of the device case located outside,
An open / close lever operable to lock and unlock the locking portion that restricts the rotation at a position where the guide portion is closed;
An information processing apparatus comprising: a stopper that contacts the opening / closing lever in the unlocked position when the guide portion is open, and holds the locking portion in the unlocked position.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion is elastically biased toward a locking position.   The information processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one corner of the stopper and one corner of the opening / closing lever lock facing the stopper are chamfered tapered surfaces.   3. The information according to claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary guide interlocking mechanism that retracts the auxiliary guide member in a direction away from the pair of paper feed rollers in conjunction with an unlocking operation of the locking portion by the opening / closing lever. Processing equipment.

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