JPH04246562A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a printer section not bulky without requiring a space for exclusive use for its installation and to make the same equipped with such function that becomes capable of printing, as occasion demands, with a number of sheets fed continuously. CONSTITUTION:This device is composed of a printer main body 11 equipped with a sheet delivery port 12 for discharge of sheets P on which images are formed, an ink head 23 provided in the printer main body 11 for ejection of ink to the sheet P for formation of images, and a sheet-feeding unit 121 that is equipped with a sheet insertion port 122 that is installed in the vicinity of the sheet delivery port 12 of the printer main body 11 and is made to supply a plurality of sheets inserted from the sheet insertion port 122 one by one continuously to the ink head 23 of the printer main body 11.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in an image forming apparatus equipped with an inkjet printing device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses that integrally incorporate a scanner and a thermal transfer printer are known. Since this known device is a thermal transfer printer, it requires an ink film, increases running costs, and increases in height due to the built-in printer, making it impossible to store it on a desk or the like.

[0003] Inkjet printers are also known. In this device, a sub-tank is connected to an ink cartridge, and an ink head is connected to this sub-tank. This ink head has a plurality of liquid channels for ejecting ink droplets onto a substrate and a plurality of orifices communicating with the liquid channels, and the ink in each liquid channel is heated in a pulsed manner to bring about so-called nucleate boiling. The liquid droplets ejected from the orifice due to this are printed on the paper.

0004

Problem to be Solved by the Invention The present inventor focused on an inkjet printer as a printer, and developed a scanner.
The present inventors have discovered that by separating the printer section and the inkjet printer section, the printer section can be made thinner and stored on a desk or the like.

The present invention has been made based on this knowledge, and allows printing even when the printer unit is stored in a drawer of a desk or the like, and also enables continuous supply of paper. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be easily handled.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a housing having a paper insertion slot, and an ink jetting means disposed within the housing for jetting ink at a predetermined timing to form an image. a means for reciprocating the ink ejecting means; a conveyance means for guiding the ink jetting means to a position to be operated within the housing; and a paper feeding unit that continuously supplies sheets one by one to the ink ejecting means of the housing.

[0007]

[Operation] With the above means, the inkjet printer section can be separated, making it possible to reduce the thickness. Furthermore, paper feeding efficiency can be improved by continuously feeding paper one sheet at a time from the paper feeding unit. Furthermore, by locating the paper input port of the paper feed unit near the paper output port of the housing, it is possible to take out and insert paper from the same direction.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described with reference to illustrative embodiments. In the inkjet printer according to the present invention, a paper insertion port (paper discharge port) 12 is formed by opening the front surface of a printer main body (housing) 11, and a paper insertion cover 13 can be opened and closed in this insertion port 12. It is installed. Further, next to the paper insertion slot 12, a power key, an online key, and a paper feed key (not shown) are arranged in this order.

Inside the main body 11, an inkjet unit 14, its carriage 15, a control circuit 16, and a power source or battery 17 are arranged in order from the top. Also, inside the main body 11, there is a guide path 1 for paper P (indicated by a chain line).
8 is formed in a U-turn shape from the front to the bottom of the main body 11 and from the bottom to the top of the rear side. This guide path 18 includes a paper conveying means, which has a first guide roller 19 in the front part for conveying the paper inserted from the insertion opening 12, a second guide roller 20 in the center part, and Third guide rollers 21 are disposed at the rear, and a bending portion 18a for bending the paper into a substantially U-shape is provided at the rear. Here, if the depth dimension of the main body 11 is Y and the length of the paper in the insertion direction is L, the paper is inserted by making a U turn inside the main body 11, so the length L of the paper in the insertion direction is It can be inserted even if it is longer than the depth dimension Y of. Furthermore, a detector (not shown) is provided near the front guide roller in the main body 11 to detect the leading edge of the paper P (the trailing edge when inserted). Further, the main body 11 is provided with a connector (not shown) on the front side surface near the insertion port 12.

As shown in FIG. 10, the inkjet unit 14 includes an ink jetting means as an image forming means, which includes an ink tank 22 and an ink head 23 connected to the tank. The width of the ink jet port 23a of the ink head 23 is H, and the dimensions of the unit are A and B.
, C (A>B>C), this width H is arranged in the vertical direction so that ink is ejected in the direction along the dimension C direction (perpendicular to the A-B plane). Engagement recesses 24 are formed on both sides of the inkjet unit 14, and a connector 25 is attached to one side.

As shown in FIG. 11, the carriage 15 is formed into a frame shape, and has fixtures 26 on both sides and a connector 27 on one side. Then, the engagement recess 24 of the unit is engaged with the fixture 26, and the connectors 25, 2
7 to mechanically and electrically connect the inkjet unit 14 to the carriage 15. A guide groove 28 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the carriage 15, and guide holes 2 are provided at both sides of the lower surface.
9 and 30 are respectively attached, and upper and lower guide rails 31 and 32 pass through them, respectively. A belt conveyor 33 is attached to the guide hole portion 30, and by driving the conveyor 33 with a carriage motor 34, the carriage 15 is guided by the guide rails 31 and 32, moves laterally, and is attached to the carriage 15. The inkjet unit 14 is moved in the lateral direction of the paper P. Incidentally, the printer main body 11 is detachably attached to the upper surface of the paper feed unit 121, as shown in FIG.

A paper insertion port (paper input port) 122 is provided at the front of the paper feed unit 121, and a large number of sheets of paper P are inserted in a stacked state through this paper insertion port 122 and stored therein. A paper insertion port (paper input port) 122 of the paper feed unit 121 is located close to the lower side of the paper insertion port (paper discharge port) 12 of the printer main body 11.

Further, a paper feed section 123 is provided at the rear side of the paper feed unit 121. This paper feeding section 123 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed roller 124 is provided, and a gear 126 and a rotating arm 127 are attached to a rotating shaft 125 of the paper feed roller 124. A gear 129 and a pickup roller 130 are attached to the rotating end of the rotating arm 127 via a shaft (not shown). Further, a protrusion 131 is protruded from the base of the arm 127, and the lower part of the intermediate arm 132 is in contact with the protrusion 131. A solenoid 133 is connected to the middle part of the intermediate arm 132, and a spring 13
4 is connected.

The biasing force of the spring 134 is slightly stronger than the force that lowers the pickup 130 due to its weight, and normally lifts the pickup roller 130. Gear 126 of the paper feed roller 124
A toothed belt 135 is stretched between the gear 129 of the pickup roller 130 and the gear 129 of the pickup roller 130. Further, a drive motor 137 is connected to the rotating shaft 125 of the paper feed roller 124 via a deceleration section 136. Further, a pad 138 is opposed to the paper feed roller 124, and this pad 1
38 is the paper feed roller 1 due to the pressing force of the spring 139.
Pressed to 24. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, a gate 140 is rotatably provided at the curved portion 18a on the rear side of the guide path 18. As shown in FIG.

This gate 140 is rotatably supported,
The paper feed unit 12 is in the position shown by the solid line due to its own weight or biased by a spring (not shown).
When the paper P is sent from 1, it is pressed by the paper P, rotates, and guides the paper to the printer section. The above inkjet printer is a scanner (
or a computer).

The electric circuit between the scanner and the inkjet printer is as shown in FIG.
Main control unit 1 that controls the entire printer and scanner
00 is provided, and signals from an operation panel 101 for inputting various printer conditions are input to this main control unit 100, and a carriage motor 34, a paper feed motor 10
Motor drivers 103 and 10 that drive 2, respectively.
4 and the image processing circuit 105, respectively. That is, the main control unit 100 stores control programs for a motor driver 103 that drives the carriage motor 34, a motor driver 104 that drives the paper feed motor 102, and an image processing circuit 105. The main control unit 100 also receives signals from the operation panel 110 of the scanner via the interface 106, outputs signals to the LED lamp 82, and controls the motor driver 111 that drives the carriage motor 78. be. Further, the signal from the photoelectric conversion element 83 of the scanner is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 112, and is sent to the image processing circuit 1 via the interface 106.
05, and this circuit controls the head driver 107 of the inkjet printer to control the ejection interval of ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head 23.

When printing information from a scanner (or a personal computer) using an inkjet printer, open the paper insertion cover 13 to release the insertion slot 12, and connect the scanner and printer connectors.

For example, when feeding paper manually, the paper is inserted into the paper insertion slot 12 of the inkjet unit. When paper P is inserted, guide roller 1
9, 20, and 21 are operated, and the paper P is guided by these guide rollers 19, 20, and 21 and inserted into the main body 11. When a paper detector (not shown) detects the leading edge of the paper (the trailing edge at the time of insertion), insertion is stopped and the setting of the paper is completed. Also, place the original on the platen glass 77,
The setting of the original is completed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, after setting desired conditions by operating the respective operation panels 101 and 110, the scanner and printer are turned on. The LED lamp 82 is activated by a signal from the main control unit 100 to emit light, and the light reflected from the document surface passes through a first mirror 84, a fiber lens 85, and a second mirror 86, and then passes through a photoelectric sensor that is a line sensor. The signal is input to the conversion element 83. The signal from the photoelectric conversion element 83 is A/D converted, enters the image processing circuit 105, converts it into a signal for inkjet printing, and sends the converted signal to the head driver 107. Then, the carriage motor 34 is driven in synchronization with the head driver 107, and ink droplets are ejected from the inkjet head 108 based on the drive of the head driver 107, and the carriage motor 34 is driven in synchronization with the head driver 107. ,
Perform inkjet printing on paper P. When reading one line of the original with the scanner and printing one line with the printer is completed, the carriage motor 78 in the scanner section is driven to move the carriage one line in the main direction and read the next line. , and also drives the paper feed motor 102 of the inkjet unit in synchronization with the drive of the scanner to drive the guide rollers 19, 20, 21.
is rotated in the opposite direction (the direction in which paper P is sent out), and the next line is printed while pulling out paper P. Printing is performed sequentially in this manner.

On the other hand, when it is desired to continuously supply a large number of sheets, the drive motor 137 of the paper feed cassette 121 is driven to rotate, and the solenoid 133 of the paper feed section 123 is turned on. By turning on the solenoid 133, the intermediate arm 132 is rotated clockwise against the biasing force of the spring 134. As a result, the arm 137 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, and the pickup roller 130 is lowered to come into contact with the paper P.

Further, due to the rotation of the drive motor 137, the paper feed roller 124 is rotated via the deceleration section 136, and the toothed belt 134 is run to rotate the pickup roller 130. Paper P is taken out.

As shown in FIG. 5, the taken out paper P is fed between the paper feed roller 124 and the pad 138, and is guided along the guide 141 to the U-turn section 18 of the transport path 18.
sent to a. This paper P is transported by the feed rollers 21, 20
, 19 are conveyed in the direction of the arrow, and an image is printed in the same manner as described above. Thereafter, sheets of paper are continuously fed in the same manner and images are printed.

[0023]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention,
Since it is an inkjet method that forms images by jetting ink onto paper, running costs are low. Furthermore, since the housing is separated, the size is reduced and it can be used inside a desk or the like, allowing effective use of space. Furthermore, since the paper feeding unit is provided, paper can be continuously fed one by one, and paper feeding efficiency can be improved.

Furthermore, since the paper input port of the paper feed unit is located near the paper discharge port of the casing, paper can be taken out and put in from the same direction, making it easier to handle the paper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a printer with a paper feeding unit, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a connection state of a scanner with a printer in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the printer with paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view showing the paper feeding unit and printer in FIG. 1 in a separated state.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of paper in the printer with the paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the paper feeding section of the paper feeding unit in FIG. 1;

7 is a side view showing the gate of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating state of the gate in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operating state of the gate in FIG. 7;

10 is a perspective view showing an inkjet unit included in the printer of FIG. 1. FIG.

11 is a perspective view showing a carriage included in the printer of FIG. 1. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Printer main body, 12... Paper discharge port, 23... Ink head (ink ejecting means), 121... Paper feeding unit, 1
22...Inlet.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A casing having a paper insertion slot; an ink jetting means disposed within the casing for jetting ink at predetermined timing to form an image; means for reciprocating the ink jetting means; A conveying means for guiding the paper to a position to be operated within the casing, and a paper insertion port of the casing, which continuously supplies a plurality of sheets of paper input from the paper insertion port one by one to the ink jetting means of the casing. An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper feeding unit is detachably attached to the housing.