JPH0336668B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a printer. Typewriter. The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeder for a printing device that automatically feeds and discharges paper to and from a platen of a word processor or other suitable print head.

Generally, in this type of apparatus, sheets stacked on a sheet stacker are separated one by one and fed to a platen, and after printing is performed on the platen, the sheets are stored in a sheet discharge stacker by a discharge roller.

In conventional devices, the paper on the paper feed stacker is fed by the feed roller toward the platen, and after the platen holds the paper, the feed roller is pressed against the paper on the paper stacker. In this state, turn off the drive of the feed roller, then rotate the platen slightly in the opposite direction to set the printing start position.After printing as appropriate while rotating the platen in the normal direction again, the paper reaches the pair of ejection rollers that are pressed against each other. Then, the paper is stored in the stacker by this discharge roller.

By the way, recently I've been using a computer to create shapes. Complex printing processes such as graph processing or vertical text writing using word processors are becoming more common.

Therefore, depending on the printing processing method, printing may be performed while repeatedly feeding the line forward and backward on the paper. Therefore, it is necessary to freely transport the paper from the paper feed direction to the paper discharge direction or the opposite direction (backfeed).

However, with conventional automatic paper feeders, the range in which the platen can reverse itself while holding paper is limited to
Since the paper on the paper feed stacker is in pressure contact with the paper feed roller, it is possible to give the paper a slight deflection, and after the paper has been caught by the paper ejection roller, the platen must be reversed. It is not possible to backfeed the paper in the paper feeding direction, and it is not possible to backfeed the paper in the paper feeding direction. graph. For complex printing such as vertical text processing, operators had to insert sheets of paper into the platen one by one and print without using an automatic paper feeder, which was a very troublesome task.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and after the paper is fed out from the automatic paper feeder to the platen, it is held in the platen and then rotated in the forward and reverse directions as desired. The main purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic paper feeder for a printing device which is capable of feeding a large number of lines, and which is compact and inexpensive as a whole.

The gist of the present invention to achieve the above object is to automatically feed paper to a printing device that prints by moving the print head in the main scanning direction and rotating the platen in the forward and reverse directions in sub-scanning. The automatic paper feeding device for a printing device includes a feeding unit that engages with paper stacked on a paper feed stacker to feed the paper to the platen, and a feeding unit that engages with paper from the platen to feed the paper into a paper discharge stacker. and an ejecting means for ejecting the paper to the platen, and in response to a loading signal from the feeding means to the platen, both the feeding means and the ejecting means move to a retracted position away from the paper, and the paper is ejected from the platen. According to the rotation in both forward and reverse directions, the paper is transported beyond both the feeding means and the ejection means.
The automatic paper feeding device for a printing device is configured to be freely movable, and in response to the completion signal of the printing operation, the ejection means engages with the paper and ejects the paper to a paper ejection stacker.

The configuration will be described in detail below based on one embodiment shown in the drawings.

First, what is shown is a case where the paper feeding means and the paper ejection means are constructed by swinging and shifting one roller.

In FIG. 1, the printing device includes a print head 2, a platen 3 facing the print head 2, a pinch roller attached to the platen 3, and sensors 22 and 23 for detecting paper sheets provided near the platen. . An automatic paper feeder indicated by the general symbol 1 is installed so as to be located at the feed/discharge ports 8 and 9 of the platen 3, and the automatic paper feeder 1 includes a paper feed stacker 6 having a separating claw 10 and stacking paper p. A paper feed roller 7 that feeds out the paper p from the paper stacker 6 one by one, and a paper feed guide plate 17 that guides the paper p to the platen 3 are provided. A discharge roller 14 leading to a paper discharge stacker 15 is placed close to the paper discharge stacker 15.

The paper feed roller 7 of the automatic paper feeder 1 described above is pivotally supported by a lever 19, as shown in FIG. 2, and the rear end of this lever 19 is attached to the frame of the automatic paper feeder 1. The plunger 20 is 3
A solenoid (latching solenoid) 16 that moves in stages and remains stationary is suspended from a wire at two points via a spring as shown in the figure. Accordingly, when the plunger 20 of the solenoid 16 moves to the position shown in the figure A, the paper feed roller 7 is fixed at a position A' where it contacts the paper p on the paper feed stacker 6, and the plunger 20 of the solenoid 16 moves to the position shown in the figure B. When the paper is moved to the position B', the paper p is pressed against the discharge roller 14 and is discharged to the paper discharge stacker 15, and the plunger 20 of the solenoid 16 is moved to the position B'.
When the paper feed stacker 6 moves to the position c shown in the figure, the paper feed stacker 6
A fixed value is set at an intermediate position C' that does not touch the upper paper p and the discharge roller 14.

The paper feed roller 7 is driven by a timing belt 21 by a driving means (not shown) connected to a shaft 24.
It can be rotated through.

Next, the operation of printing using the automatic paper feeder 1 of the present invention will be explained with reference to FIG.

When the print start signal is input, the solenoid 16
is excited and the paper feed roller 7 is brought into pressure contact with the paper p on the paper feed stacker 6, and then rotated by the driving means, the uppermost paper p is separated into one sheet by the separating claw 10, and is moved along the paper feed guide plate 17. transported.
Thereafter, when the leading edge of the paper is detected by the sensor 22 provided in the printing device, the plunger 20 of the solenoid 16 moves to position c after a predetermined period of time, and thereby the paper feed roller 7 is moved to the paper feed stacker 6. It is located at an intermediate position c, which is separated from the upper paper pressure contact feeding position. Further, the fed paper p is loaded onto the platen 3 by rotation of the platen 3. At this time, the time when the paper p is loaded onto the platen and the timing when the paper feed roller 7 is separated to the intermediate position are set to be approximately the same. Furthermore, the paper p is fed as the platen 3 rotates, and the paper p is fed to the next sensor 2.
3 detects paper, the platen 3 rotates in the reverse direction for a preset period of time, sets the printing start line, and starts printing in this state.

By the way, this printing is performed by advancing the line by rotating the platen 3 (in the clockwise rotation direction in the drawing), but when printing is performed up to the trailing edge E of the paper p, the leading edge F of the paper p is the longest size paper, and the discharge stacker 15 When the platen is rotated in reverse (counterclockwise direction as shown in the figure) and the paper is returned to the initial printing start position (back feed), the trailing edge of the paper (E in the figure) is fed along the paper feed guide plate 17. It passes below the paper roller 7 and is located on the paper feed stacker 7.

In this case, the movement range of the paper is controlled by sensors 22 and 23 so that the paper is always engaged with the platen 3.

After repeating the above operations, when a printing end signal is input, the solenoid 16 is energized, the plunger 20 moves to B, and the paper feed roller 7 is moved to the discharge roller 1.
When it is fixed at a position B' where it comes into pressure contact with 4 and then driven to rotate, it cooperates with the ejection roller 14 to eject and store the paper p on which printing has been completed in the ejection stacker.

In this embodiment, the paper feed roller 7 is placed at a position where it presses against the paper p on the paper feed stutter, at a position where it presses against the discharge roller 14, and at a position where it presses against the paper p on the paper feed stacker. Although the paper feed roller 7 was configured to be selectively positioned at an intermediate position where it does not touch any of the ejection rollers 14 and used as both the separation feed roller and the paper ejection roller, it is possible to use the paper feed roller 7 only as a separation roller. The ejection roller may be configured as a pair of rollers, each of which separates from the paper, and the roller that separates from the paper is the paper feed roller. It is not limited to the paper ejection roller; for example, a paper relay roller disposed at an appropriate position depending on the paper size may be configured so that it can be disengaged from the paper when the paper is loaded on the platen 3. In short, any configuration that allows the paper to move freely after the paper is loaded onto the platen 3 is sufficient.

With the above configuration, when paper is loaded onto the platen, the feeding means and the ejection means both move to the retracted position in response to the loading signal.
The paper passes through the feeding means and the ejection means,
It can freely move in the forward and reverse directions in conjunction with the forward and reverse sub-scanning motion of the platen, and can fully cope with complicated printing operations of the printing device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall side view of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of its main parts, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of its operation. 2... Print head, 3... Platen, 6... Paper feed stacker, 7... Paper feeding means (ejection means), 1
5... Paper discharge stacker.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An automatic printer for a printing device that automatically feeds paper to a printing device that prints by moving the print head in the main scanning direction and rotating the platen in the forward and reverse directions in sub-scanning. The paper feeding device includes a feeding unit that engages with the paper stacked on the paper stacker to feed the paper to the platen, and a discharge unit that engages with the paper from the platen and discharges it to the paper stacker. and, in response to a paper loading signal from the feeding unit to the platen, both the feeding unit and the ejecting unit move to a retracted position away from the paper;
According to the forward and reverse rotation of the platen, the paper can be freely moved beyond both the feeding means and the ejection means, and the ejection means transfers the paper to the paper in response to the completion signal of the printing operation. An automatic paper feed device for a printing device, characterized in that the automatic paper feed device for a printing device is configured to engage with each other and discharge the paper to a paper discharge stacker.