JPH04257474A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep a printing unit in a stable state above a paper storing part and to achieve miniaturization of the whole of a printer. CONSTITUTION:A paper storing part 1 to be placed on a flat placing suface 14a is provided. A printing unit 16 having a paper feed roller 23 coming in contact with upmost layer paper 4 laminated in the paper storing part 1 and an image forming part 31 is attached onto the paper storing part 1. Thereby, the printing unit 16 can be arranges almost within an upper surface of the paper storing part 1. Therefore, installing space of the whole of the recorder is reduced and further, an upper printing unit 16 of the paper storing part placed in a stable state on the placing surface 14a is kept. Thereby, though this printing unit 16 is miniaturized, it is maintained together with the printing unit 1 in stable state.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing device.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a paper feed cassette that is detachably attached to the side of the main body of a printing device. Such a printing device has a larger shape than the paper feed cassette and is installed on a mounting surface such as the top of a desk, and the main body of the printing device does not move even when the paper feed cassette is attached or removed.

0003

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Nowadays, the size of the paper to be printed on must be at least A4 size, and printing devices are now required to be smaller. Therefore, even if a printing device is made smaller, if a paper feed cassette is attached to the circumferential side of the main body of the printing device, the printing device will tilt due to the gravity of the paper feed cassette and become unstable. In particular, when attaching and detaching the paper feed cassette, extra external force acts on the main body of the printing device, making the posture of the printing device increasingly unstable.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention as claimed in claim 1 provides a paper storage section which is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a large number of sheets of paper in a stacked state, and the top layer of paper in the paper storage section is A printing unit having an image forming section and a paper feed roller that comes into contact with the sheet was attached to the upper part of the paper storage section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, an opening is formed on the upper surface of the paper storage section, and the printing unit is attached to the paper storage section so as to be openable and closable so as to face the opening.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the printing unit is disposed in a range substantially above the paper storage section, the installation space of the entire apparatus can be reduced. In addition, since the printing unit is held at the top of the paper storage section, which is stably supported on a flat mounting surface, it is possible to maintain the printing unit in a stable state together with the paper storage section even if the printing unit is downsized. .

[0007] According to the second aspect of the invention, by opening the printing unit, paper can be easily replenished from the opening surface of the paper storage section.

[0008]

Embodiment A first embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 5. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional front views. In the figure, 1 is a paper storage section. This paper storage section 1 is A4
A flat paper feeding body 2 that is slightly larger than the size of the paper 4 and a protrusion 3 formed on the bottom of this paper feeding body 2 feed the paper 4.
It consists of a mounting plate 5 which is held movably in the width direction of the paper feeder body 2, and a press plate 6 which is held movably on the sheet feeding main body 2. Guides 7 for supporting both side edges of the paper 4 are formed on both sides of the mounting plate 5. Further, although the pressing plate 6 holds the sheets 4 in a stacked state and is biased by a spring 8 in a direction away from the mounting plate 5, the guide 7 may be provided with a stopper 9 that contacts the top layer of sheets 4. This limits excessive upward movement. Further, an electrical equipment compartment 10 is formed at the bottom of the paper feed main body 2, and the electrical equipment compartment 10 is provided with an electrical equipment case 11 and a circuit board 12 connected to the electrical parts housed in the electrical equipment case 11. It is being A plurality of legs 14 are fixed to a base plate 13 that closes the bottom of the electrical equipment room 10, and are brought into contact with a mounting surface 14a such as the top surface of a desk. Further, a lid 15 is attached to the upper surface of the paper feed main body 2 so as to be openable and closable.

[0009] A printing unit 16 is provided above the paper storage section 1. This printing unit 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes a case 18 which is rotatably held on both sides of the paper feed main body 2 by a fulcrum shaft 17, a support 19 fixed to this case 18, and a support body 19 which is rotatably held by the case 18 by a fulcrum shaft 20. It has a cover 21. A developer container 22 for storing developer is integrally formed in the case 18. The case 18 also includes a paper feed roller 23, a photoreceptor 24 whose outer diameter is approximately half the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 23, a developing roller 25, and a developer layer with a thickness A regulating roller 26 and a fixing roller 27
are rotatably held, and a motor (not shown) for driving these rotating bodies is fixed.

The support 19 includes a charger 28 that applies a voltage to the photoreceptor 24 to charge the photoreceptor 24, and a charger 28 that irradiates the charged portion of the photoreceptor 24 with a light signal corresponding to an image signal. An exposure section 29 that forms an electrostatic latent image and a photoreceptor 24
An auxiliary brush 30 that evens out the developer remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the
and a static eliminator 30a that removes the electric charge from the photoreceptor 24. The exposure section 29 is formed by arranging a large number of edge light emitting elements in a line. and,
The aforementioned photoreceptor 24, the developing roller 25 and regulation roller 26 in the developer container 22, the fixing roller 27 and the press roller 41, the charger 28, the exposure section 29, the auxiliary brush 30, and the static eliminator 30a. , and a transfer roller 39 form an image forming section 31.

A paper conveyance path 32 is formed between the case 18 and the cover 21, and the paper conveyance path 32 and the extension surface (paper feed path) of the uppermost layer of paper 4 on the press plate 6 are different from each other. , a plurality of ribs 34 connected by a reversing path 33 formed by a part of the outer circumferential surface of the paper feed roller 23, and for promoting the guiding action of the paper 4 through this reversing path 33.
is formed in the case 18. Further, a manual paper feed port 35 is formed at the end of the paper transport path 32 on the paper feed roller 23 side.

Further, a paper guide surface 37 is formed on the toner cartridge 36 mounted in the developer container 22, and a paper guide plate 38 facing the paper guide surface 37 is held by the cover 21. The transfer roller 39 is rotatably held in the cover 21 in contact with the photoreceptor 24 . The paper guide plate 38 is formed of a leaf spring, and a pinch roller 40 and the press roller 41 are rotatably held at both ends thereof while being urged toward the case 18 side. As a result, the pinch roller 40 is brought into pressure contact with the paper feed roller 23, and the press roller 41 is brought into pressure contact with the fixing roller 27. Further, near the tip of the press plate 6 in the paper storage section 1, a lever 43 having a friction member 42 at the tip is biased clockwise by a spring 44 and is held rotatably about a support shaft 45. has been done. Thereby, the friction member 42 is brought into elastic contact with the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 23. Further, a connector 46 for inputting power supply voltage, image signals, etc. is fixed to the case 18 of the printing unit 16, and a connector 47 connected to the circuit board 12 is provided in the paper storage section 1, These connectors 46 and 47 are connected by a cable 48.

Furthermore, the case 18 is provided with a stop lever 49. As shown in FIG. 3, this stop lever 49 is urged clockwise by a spring 50 and is rotatably held by a support shaft 51, and a stop shaft 52 facing the side edge of this stop lever 49 is attached to the case 18. It is erected on the side of the Further, a protrusion 53 is formed at the lower end of the stop lever 49 and comes into contact with the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2. Here, FIG. 3 shows the paper feed main body 2.
2 is a side view showing the relative relationship between the upper surface 2a of the printer and the case 18 of the printing unit 16. FIG. That is, when the case 18 rotates upward about the fulcrum shaft 17, the relative position with respect to the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2 changes. When the relative position of the upper surface 2a to the case 18 is L, the case 18 is located at the lower position and is in contact with the upper surface 2a of the sheet feeding main body 2. In this state, the upper surface 2a and the projection 53 contact each other. The rotational movement of the stop lever 49 is blocked, so that the upper part of the stop lever 49 projects into the manual paper feed port 35. When the relative position of the top surface 2a with respect to the case 18 is H, the case 18 is located at the upper position and is separated from the top surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2. In this state, the stop lever 49 is moved by the spring as shown by the imaginary line. It rotates clockwise due to the biasing force of 50, and its tip retreats below the manual paper feed port 35.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the support structure of the case 18 of the printing unit 16 with respect to the paper feed main body 2. The fulcrum shaft 17 and the pin 54 are provided on the front and back surfaces of the case 18.
has been erected. Further, on the front and back sides of the paper feed main body 2, an L-shaped groove 55 for holding the fulcrum shaft 17 and a pin 5 are provided.
A notch 56 having an opening on the top surface into which the pin 54 is fitted is formed, and a hook 58 that is rotatably held on the support shaft 57 and latched to the pin 54 is provided. This hook 5
8 is biased in one direction by a spring 59,
Excessive rotational movement is prevented by the pin 60.

FIG. 5 shows the paper feed roller 2 partially in cross section.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing the support structure of No. 3; That is, a drive shaft 61 is provided that is connected to a motor via a spring clutch (not shown). The drive shaft 61 includes a hub 63 that is prevented from rotating by a pin 62, and a hub 63 that is fixed to the drive shaft 61 by a pin 62.
a hub 6 rotatably and slidably fitted in the axial direction of the hub 1;
4 and an elastic roller 65 that is rotatably fitted to one hub 63 and fixedly fitted to the other hub 64. The hub 64 is biased in one direction by a spring 66, and the hub 64 is biased in one direction by a spring 66.
A rotation transmitting portion 67 is formed on the opposing surfaces of the rotation transmitting portions 3 and 64 and is removably engaged with each other through a relationship between a protrusion and a groove. Further, a pair of rings 68 disposed on both sides of the paper feed roller 23 are fixedly fitted onto the drive shaft 61. These rings 68 are set to have an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 23, but a portion of the outer periphery is provided with a protrusion 6 that protrudes with a radius larger than the radius of the paper feed roller 23.
9 is integrally formed. These protrusions 69 function to press the top layer of paper 4 on the press plate 6 and separate the paper 4 from the paper feed roller 23 when the paper feed roller 23 is stopped. The spacing between the sides is set to match the width of the postcard.

In such a configuration, when printing using the paper 4 in the paper storage section 1, as shown in FIG. Maintain the state in which it is in contact with 2a. In this state, as described above, the tip of the stop lever 49 protrudes upward from the manual paper feed port 35, so that the paper feeding operation from the manual paper feed port 35 is prohibited. Then, when the paper feed roller 23 is driven clockwise, the sheets 4 stacked on the press plate 6 are separated one by one by the friction member 42 and pulled out, and are reversed toward the paper transport path 32 through the reversing path 33. . A photoreceptor 24 is attached to the paper 4 conveyed along this paper conveyance path 32.
The upper developed image is transferred by the transfer roller 39, and the transferred image is fixed by the fixing roller 27. The paper 4 with the image transferred in this way is discharged onto the top surface of the lid 15 of the paper storage section 1.

In FIG. 3, the stop lever 49 is biased by a spring 50, and its protrusion 53 presses the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2, and the reaction force of the pressing force acts as an upward rotational force on the printing unit 16. However, when feeding paper from the paper storage section 1, as shown in FIG. Rotational movements are prevented.

Therefore, in FIG. 4, the spring 5
When the hook 58 is rotated counterclockwise against the biasing force of the spring 50 and removed from the pin 54, the stop lever 49 is rotated clockwise due to the biasing force of the spring 50, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Since the projection 53 presses the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2, the reaction force causes the printing unit 16 to rotate upward about the fulcrum shaft 17. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, a gap s is formed between the left upper surface of the paper feed main body 2 and the left lower surface of the case 18. In this state, the upper end of the stop lever 49 is retracted below the manual paper feed port 35, so that paper can be fed from the manual paper feed port 35.

As described above, the paper 4 in the paper storage section 1 is reversed by the paper feed roller 23 and conveyed to the photoreceptor 24.
Further, the paper inserted from the manual paper feed port 35 is also conveyed to the photoreceptor 24 by the paper feed roller 23, and it becomes possible to convey sheets of different paper feed paths with only one paper feed roller 23.

Furthermore, since the printing unit 16 is arranged in a range substantially above the paper storage section 1, it is possible to reduce the installation space of the entire apparatus. Furthermore, since the photoreceptor 24 is disposed below the paper conveyance path 32, the mounting position of the image forming section 31 can be lowered. Since it is formed with a diameter, it is possible to reduce the distance between the paper storage section 1 and the paper conveyance path 32, and the image forming section 31
It becomes possible to easily arrange each process unit for charging, development, transfer, etc. within a small space. Furthermore, the printing unit 16 can be placed without protruding from the top surface of the paper feed main body 2 which stores the paper 4 and is placed on the placement surface 14a such as the top surface of a desk, and the printing unit 16 can be placed on the paper 4 after printing.
Since the paper can also be discharged onto the lid 15 of the paper feed main body 2, the installation space can be extremely reduced.

In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the paper feed roller 23 is set to about 20 mm, and the outer diameter of the photoreceptor 24 is set to about 10 mm. As a result, the length of the printing unit 16 in the paper feeding direction is about 70 mm, the height is about 30 mm, and the width corresponds to the width of A4 size paper 4, making it compact enough to be owned by an individual. Further, even if the size of the paper 4 to be used changes, only the width dimension of the printing unit 16 changes somewhat, and the height and length of the printing unit 16 are maintained within a certain dimension.

Furthermore, since the printing unit 16 is held at the top of the paper storage section 1, which is supported in a stable state on a placement surface 14a such as the top surface of a desk, it can be fixed in a stable state even if it is downsized. maintained.

Furthermore, when replenishing the paper 4 to the paper storage section 1, the lid 15 is removed. In FIG. The printing unit 16 can be removed from the section 1. As a result, the upper part of the paper storage section 1 on the paper feed roller 23 side is opened, and the paper 4 can be easily replenished.

Although the above embodiments have been explained using a printing unit that forms images by electrophotography, the present invention is also applicable to those using an image forming unit equipped with a line-type thermal head or an inkjet printer head. It is something that

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 6 and 7. The same parts as in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The printing unit 70 in this embodiment has a case 71 that is detachably held on the upper surface of the left end of the paper feed main body 2 . A developer container 22 containing developer is integrally formed in this case 71. The case 71 also includes a paper feed roller 23 and a photoreceptor 2.
4, a developing roller 25, a regulation roller 26, a fixing roller 27, a transfer roller 39, and a press roller 41 are rotatably held, and a motor (not shown) drives these rotating bodies. is fixed. moreover,
This case 71 holds a charger 28, an exposure section 29, an auxiliary brush 30, and a static eliminator 30a. Further, a paper discharge tray 72 extending leftward from below the fixing roller 27 is detachably attached to the case 71.

In this configuration, the paper 4 in the paper storage section 1 is fed to the photoreceptor 4 by the paper feed roller 23,
Further, the photoreceptor 24 and the fixing roller 27 transport the paper toward the paper discharge tray 72, and during this transport process, the image is transferred from the photoreceptor 24 to the paper 4 and the transferred image is fixed.

When replenishing the paper 4 to the paper storage section 1, as shown in FIG.
0 can be removed. This opens the upper part of the paper storage section 1 on the paper feed roller 23 side, making it easier to replenish the paper 4 into the paper storage section 1.

[0028]

According to the invention as claimed in claim 1, a paper storage section is provided which is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a large number of sheets of paper in a stacked state, and a paper feeder that contacts the top layer of paper in the paper storage section is provided. Since the printing unit having the paper roller and the image forming section is mounted on the upper part of the paper storage section, the image forming section is disposed in a range substantially above the paper storage section, so that the installation space of the entire apparatus can be reduced. In addition, since the image forming section is held above the paper storage section that is stably supported on a flat mounting surface, it can be maintained in a stable state together with the paper storage section even if the image forming section is downsized. It has the following effects.

[0029] According to the second aspect of the invention, an opening is formed on the upper surface of the paper storage section, and the printing unit is provided in the paper storage section so as to be freely openable and closable so as to face the opening. This has the effect of making it easy to replenish paper into the paper storage unit.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state in which paper is fed from a paper storage unit, according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional front view showing a state of paper being fed from the manual paper feed port.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the opening/closing operation of the manual paper feed slot by the stop lever.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the support structure of the printing unit with respect to the paper storage section.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the paper feed roller.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state in which paper is fed from a paper storage unit, according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state in which the printing unit is removed from the paper storage section.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Paper storage section 4 Paper 14a Placement surface 16 Printing unit 23 Paper feed roller 31 Image forming section 70 Printing unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A paper storage section is provided which is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a large number of sheets of paper in a stacked state, and the paper storage section includes a paper feed roller that contacts the uppermost layer of paper in the paper storage section, and an image forming section. 1. A printing device, characterized in that a printing unit having a printing unit is mounted on an upper part of the paper storage section. [Claim 2] An opening is formed on the top surface of the paper storage section,
2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein a printing unit is mounted in the paper storage section so as to be openable and closable so as to face the opening.