JPH04257475A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize a printing unit without being influenced by a size of a circuit part by a method wherein a circuit part outputting a drive signal is bulit in a paper receiving part, and a printing unit is arranged above the paper receiving part. CONSTITUTION:An electrically equipped chamber 10 is formed to a bottom part of a paper feed body 2 of a paper receiving part 1. An electrical equipment case 11 and a circuit substrate 12 being a circuit part connected to electrical parts contained in the electrical equipment case 11 are provided to the electrically equipped chamber 10, and an electrical source is also provided to the electrical equipment 11. A printing unit 16 is provided above the paper receiving part 1. A connector 46 being an input part for inputting supply voltage and an image signal, etc., is fixed to a case 18 of the printing unit 16. A connector 47 fixed to the circuit substrate 12 is provided to the paper receiving part 1. These connectors 46, 47 are connected with each other by a cable 48. Since the printing unit 16 is arranged above the paper receiving part 1, the printing unit 16 can be miniaturized without being influenced from a size of the circuit part.

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, as shown in FIG. 6, paper in a paper feed cassette 101 provided at the bottom of a housing 100 is pulled out while being reversed by a paper feed roller 102.
In the process of transporting the paper in the direction of the arrow, the developed image formed on the photoreceptor 104 is transferred to the paper, and the transferred image transferred to the paper is transferred to the fixing roller 10.
There is a printing device that fixes the image at a speed of 5. The electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor 104 by applying charges to the photoreceptor 104 from the charger 106 to charge the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 104, and to this charged portion, an image signal is transmitted from the exposure unit 107. This is done by scanning the corresponding optical signals. This electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device 108, and this developed image is transferred onto paper by a transfer charger 109. Further, the photoreceptor 104 is cleaned by a cleaning unit 110.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the paper in the paper feed cassette 112 attached to the side surface of the housing 111 is transferred to the photoreceptor 10 via the paper feed roller 102 and the conveyance roller 103.
There is a printing device that transfers the developed image on the photoreceptor 104 to the paper during the process of supplying the paper to the photoreceptor 104 and then discharging the paper to a paper ejection receiver 113 formed on the top surface of the housing 111. Note that the principle of forming and fixing an image on the photoreceptor 104 is the same as that shown in FIG. 6, so the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and explanations will be omitted.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The paper feed cassette 101 is built into the housing 100 in the one shown in FIG. 6, and the paper feed cassette 112 is held in the housing 111 in the one shown in FIG. There is a limit to how small the 111 itself can be made. In addition, the drive signals are diverse, such as scanner reading signals, character information, database storage information, control signals for paper feed rollers, etc., and the circuit section that outputs these drive signals becomes large. The fact that the printer is built into the housings 100 and 111 of the printing device also poses a problem that hinders downsizing of the printing device.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention as claimed in claim 1 provides a paper storage section that is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a large number of sheets of paper in a stacked state, and a paper storage section that is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a plurality of sheets of paper in a stacked state; a printing unit disposed above the paper storage unit and having a paper feed roller and an image forming unit in contact with the paper storage unit; and a printing unit arranged along the lower surface of the paper in the paper storage unit and sending a drive signal to the printing unit. It consists of an output circuit section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a printing unit is detachably attached to the paper storage section, and the input section of the printing unit and the circuit section are connected by a cable.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the printing unit is provided with an input section that is selectively connected to the circuit section of the paper storage section or an external drive signal input device.

[0008]

[Operation] According to the invention of claim 1, the circuit section for outputting the drive signal is built into the paper storage section, and the printing unit is arranged above the paper storage section, so that it is not affected by the size of the circuit section. It becomes possible to downsize the printing unit.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the invention, it is possible to select a usage pattern such as removing the printing unit from the paper storage section and placing it on the desk, and placing the paper storage section inside or below the desk. can be used widely.

[0010] According to the third aspect of the invention, the printing unit removed from the paper storage section is connected to a drive signal input device of a card type or notebook type personal computer, electronic notebook, etc.
It is possible to select a mode of use in which a drive signal is input from this drive signal input device.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. 1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional front views. In the figure,
1 is a paper storage section. The paper storage unit 1 is held movably in the width direction of the paper 4 by a flat paper feed body 2 that is slightly larger than A4 size paper 4 and a protrusion 3 formed at the bottom of the paper feed body 2. It consists of a mounting plate 5 and a pressing plate 6 which is held on the paper feed main body 2 so as to be able to rise and fall freely. 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 includes an electrical equipment case 11 and a circuit board that is a circuit connected to the electrical parts housed in the electrical equipment case 11. 12 are provided. This electrical component case 11 is also provided with a power source. A plurality of legs 14 that come into contact with a desk top are fixed to a base plate 13 that closes the bottom of the electrical equipment room 10. Further, a lid 15 is attached to the upper surface of the paper feed main body 2 so as to be openable and closable.

[0012] 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 charges 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 similar to 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.

Furthermore, 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 which is an input section 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 fixed to the paper storage section 1. are provided, and these connectors 46
, 47 are connected by a cable 48. The connector 46 can also be used with the cable 4 for drive signal input devices such as card-type or notebook-type personal computers or electronic notebooks.
8 and selectively connected.

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.

Here, the exposure section 29 receives a print signal from the circuit board 12 and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 24. Further, a motor that rotates the paper feed roller 23, the photoreceptor 24, the fixing roller 27, the developing roller 26, and the regulating roller 27;
A voltage from a power source in the paper storage section 1 is applied to the charger 28, the auxiliary brush 30, the static eliminator 30a, and the transfer roller 39 via the cable 48.

In FIG. 3, the stop lever 49 is biased by a spring 50, and its protrusion 53 presses against 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. In this case, since the paper conveyance path 32 is straight, even if stiff paper such as a postcard is inserted through the manual paper feed port 35, the paper will not bend.

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 circuit board 12 that outputs the drive signal is built into the paper storage section 1 and the printing unit 16 is arranged above the paper storage section 1, it is not affected by the size of the electrical component case 11 or the circuit board 12. It becomes possible to downsize the printing unit 16 without causing any problems.

Further, a photoreceptor 2 is placed below the paper conveyance path 32.
4, the mounting position of the image forming section 31 can be lowered, and the photoreceptor 24 is located closer to the paper feed roller 2.
3, the distance between the paper storage section 1 and the paper conveyance path 32 can be reduced, and the distance between the paper storage section 1 and the paper conveyance path 32 can be reduced. Each process unit can be easily arranged within a small space. Moreover, the printing unit 16 can be placed without protruding from the upper surface of the paper feed main body 2 installed on a desk, and the paper 4 after printing can also be ejected onto the lid 15 of the paper feed main body 2. This allows the installation space to be extremely small.

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, in FIG. 4, the printing unit 16 can be removed from the paper storage section 1 by rotating the hook 58 counterclockwise and removing the fulcrum shaft 17 from the groove 55. Therefore, by placing the printing unit 16 on a desk and arranging the paper storage section 1 inside or below the desk, it is possible to select a usage pattern such as using a large area of the desk.

Furthermore, the connector 46 of the printing unit 16 removed from the paper storage section 1 is connected to a drive signal input device such as a card-type or notebook-type personal computer or an electronic notebook using a cable 48. This makes it possible to select the mode of use in which the drive signal is input to the printing unit 16.

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

[0029]

Advantageous Effects of the Invention The invention according to claim 1 provides a paper storage section that is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a large number of sheets of paper in a stacked state;
A printing unit is arranged above the paper storage unit and includes a paper feed roller that contacts the top layer of paper in the paper storage unit, and an image forming unit; Since the circuit section for outputting the drive signal is built in the paper storage section, and the printing unit is arranged above the paper storage section, the circuit section outputs the drive signal to the printing unit. This has the effect that the printing unit can be made smaller without being affected by the size of the printing unit.

[0030] According to the invention of claim 2, in claim 1, the printing unit is removably attached to the paper storage section, and the input section of this printing unit and the circuit section are connected by a cable, so that the printing unit can be attached to the paper storage section. It is possible to select usage patterns such as removing the paper storage section from the desk and placing it on the desk, and arranging the paper storage section inside or below the desk, thereby making it possible to use a wider area of the desk.

[0031] According to the invention of claim 3, in claim 2, the printing unit is provided with an input section that is selectively connected to the circuit section of the paper storage section or an external drive signal input device. This has the effect that the removed printing unit can be connected to a drive signal input device such as a card-type or notebook-type personal computer or an electronic notebook, and a mode of use can be selected in which a drive signal is input from the drive signal input device.

[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 section.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state of paper being fed from a manual paper feed slot.

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 side view of the paper feed roller.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the internal structure of a conventional printing device.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the internal structure of a conventional printing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Paper storage section 4 Paper 12 Circuit section 16 Printing unit 23 Paper feed roller 31 Image forming section 46 Input section 47 Cable

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A paper storage unit that is placed on a flat loading surface and stores a large number of sheets of paper in a stacked state; a paper feed roller that contacts the top layer of paper in the paper storage unit; and an image forming unit. and a circuit section disposed along the lower surface of the paper in the paper storage section and outputting a drive signal to the printing unit. printing device. 2. The printing device according to claim 1, wherein a printing unit is detachably attached to the paper storage section, and an input section of the printing unit and a circuit section are connected by a cable. 3. The printing device according to claim 2, wherein the printing unit is provided with an input section selectively connected to a circuit section of the paper storage section or an external drive signal input device.