JPH05124277A - Automatic paper feed device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an automatic paper feed device capable of feeding continuous form paper and cutform wherein the device itself is small in size and an enough working space for mounting the continuous form is provided. CONSTITUTION:There is provided in front of a device a mounting section 71 capable of mounting an automatic paper feed device. In the mounting section 71, a pin tractor 31 for continuous form is provided. In a state that the automatic paper feed device is not mounted, a paper feed roller 49 and a separation roller 51 spring up with center at a first shaft 53 so as to form a large space for opening a pressing plate 41 of the pin tractor 31. The mounting processing of the continuous form is performed in this state. When the automatic paper feed device is mounted, the paper feed roller 49 and the separation roller 31 in a state sprung up rotate in the direction of an arrow D by the work of a second connected bar, so that a cutform placed in the automatic paper feed device can be supplied.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeder for supplying printing paper to a printer such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various printing papers have been used in printing devices such as printers. As the printing papers, for example, strip-shaped continuous papers having a large number of holes on both sides, or one by one. A cut sheet of paper is known.

The continuous paper and single-cut sheets are fed into the main body of the printer by a unique paper feed mechanism for printing, and the paper feed mechanism is, for example, engaged with holes on both sides of the continuous paper. A pin tractor for feeding continuous sheets and a sheet feeding cassette for storing a large number of single-cut sheets and sequentially feeding the uppermost sheets are used.

Some of the above-mentioned printing apparatuses are provided with either a pin tractor or a paper feed cassette. In recent years, however, a single printing apparatus is used as a pin tractor so that various forms of documents can be created. Some are equipped with a paper feed cassette. For example, in the printing apparatus P1 shown in FIG. 7, the continuous paper P3 is fed to the lower rear side of the apparatus by the pin tractor P2 arranged on the rear side (right side of the figure) of the apparatus. The pin tractor P2 is provided with continuous paper P during paper feeding.
3 so that it does not come off from the pin tractor P2.
A pressing plate P7 for pressing the side end portion of is attached.
On the other hand, a paper feed cassette P4 is arranged on the front side (left side in the drawing) of the apparatus, and the cut sheet P5 is fed from the paper feed cassette P4 to the upper rear side of the apparatus and stored in the stacker P6. There is.

[0005]

However, in the printing apparatus P1 as described above, the sheet feeding cassette P4 is provided on the front side of the apparatus.
However, since there is the pin tractor P2 that feeds the continuous paper P3 to the rear side, there is a problem in that it is necessary to turn to the rear side in order to perform operations such as changing the continuous paper P3.

As a countermeasure against this, there has been considered a device in which both the paper feed cassette P4 and the pin tractor P2 are provided on the front side of the device, and the paper feed cassette P4 is arranged above the pin tractor P2. However, when changing over the continuous paper P3, it is necessary to perform an operation such as flipping up the pressing plate P7, so that it is necessary to secure a space of a certain size above the pin tractor P2. The paper feed cassette P4 had to be arranged considerably above the pin tractor P2. As a result, since the front side of the device becomes large, operability such as switching of switches and replacement of cut sheets and the like deteriorates, and there is another problem that it is difficult to secure a place to install the large device. Was there.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic sheet feeder which can reduce the size of the apparatus to improve the operability and reduce the space for installing the apparatus. ..

[0008]

To achieve this object, the present invention provides a continuous paper feeding mechanism for feeding continuous paper to the main body of the apparatus, and a continuous paper feeding mechanism provided on the same side as the continuous paper feeding mechanism.
An automatic paper feeding device for feeding a large number of cut sheets to a device body, the cut sheet holding mechanism being provided above the continuous paper feeding mechanism, A separating and feeding mechanism that separates and feeds the single-cut sheets into the device body, and a separating and feeding mechanism that moves the separating and feeding mechanism to widen the distance between the continuous paper feeding mechanism and the separating and feeding mechanism. The gist is an automatic paper feeding device including a paper mechanism moving unit.

[0009]

In the automatic paper feeder of the present invention, the continuous paper feeding mechanism feeds the continuous paper to the main body of the apparatus and is provided on the same side as the continuous paper feeding mechanism to hold a large number of single-cut sheets. The holding mechanism feeds paper to the main body of the device.

When feeding a single-cut sheet, the separate paper feeding mechanism provided above the continuous paper feeding mechanism separates the single-cut sheets from the single-cut sheet holding mechanism and takes them out. And feed them in sequence. On the other hand, when the continuous paper feed mechanism changes the continuous paper, the separation paper feed mechanism moving means moves the separation paper feed mechanism in a predetermined direction to widen the distance between the continuous paper feed mechanism and the separation paper feed mechanism. This makes it easy to change continuous forms.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 of the present embodiment prints the paper sent in the printer body 3,
Mainly, three types of paper feed mechanisms 5, 7, 9 for feeding paper into the printer body 3, a transport mechanism 11 for transporting the fed paper, and a printing mechanism 1 for printing on the transported paper
3 and a stacker 14 that stores printed sheets.

The printing mechanism 13 is composed of a platen 15 and a printing section 17 which is arranged so as to face the platen 15 with a sheet conveying path interposed therebetween. The transport mechanism 11
Are various types of transport plates 19 that regulate the paper transport path,
It is composed of a large number of conveyance rollers 21 arranged along the conveyance path to convey the sheet.

The three types of paper feed mechanisms 5, 7, 9 are continuous paper feed mechanism 5 for feeding continuous paper LP.
Further, a cut sheet feeding mechanism 7 for sequentially feeding the cut sheets TP one by one, and a manual sheet feeding mechanism 9 for manually feeding one sheet are provided. Of these, the continuous paper feeding mechanism 5 is provided on each of the front and rear sides of the lower portion of the printer body 3.
The pair of pin tractors 31 and 32 are provided, and the continuous paper LP is fed in the directions of arrows A and B by the rotation of the pin tractors 31 and 32, respectively. In other words, the continuous paper feeding mechanism 5 has the first paper feed path K1 indicated by the solid line in the figure.
And the second paper feed path K2 indicated by the dotted line, the continuous paper LP of different forms is fed in each direction.

Further, the single-cut sheet feeding mechanism 7 adjoins a paper feed cassette 33 on which a large number of single-cut papers TP are placed and which is detachably attached to the front side of the printer 3 main body, and an upper front portion of the paper feed cassette 33. And the separate sheet feeding mechanism 35 arranged in the same manner, so that the third sheet feeding path K3 shown by the one-dot chain line in the figure is formed.

Further, the manual paper feed mechanism 9 comprises a paper feed plate 37 arranged above the paper feed cassette 33 and a manual paper feed plate 39 formed on the upper surface of the separation paper feed mechanism 35. As a result, a fourth sheet feeding path K4 shown by a two-dot chain line in the figure is formed.

Next, the structure of the separating and feeding mechanism 35 and its surroundings, which is the main part of this embodiment, will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 2 shows a state in which the paper feed cassette 33 is not attached to the printer body 3. Figure 2
As shown in FIG. 3, the continuous paper LP is arranged on the pin tractor 31, and the pin tractor 31 has about 9 inside.
A holding plate 41 that can be rotated by 0 degrees is attached. The holding plate 41 prevents the continuous paper LP from falling off the pin tractor 31 by being pushed inward and pressing both ends of the continuous paper LP from above. A hole portion 45 is provided so as not to disturb the rotation of the pin 43.

Above the pin tractor 31, the separating and feeding mechanism 35 described above is provided, and the separating and feeding mechanism 3 is provided.
A sheet feeding roller 49, a separating roller 49, and the like for removing the single-cut sheet TP from the sheet feeding cassette 33 and separating the sheet are provided on the sheet 5. The separating / feeding mechanism 35 is fixed to a first shaft 53 that is rotatably supported by a frame body (not shown), and rotates about the first shaft 53 in the directions of arrows C and D by a predetermined angle. It is possible to move.

A first connecting rod 55 is fixed to the first shaft 53 at a constant angle with respect to the separating / feeding mechanism 35, and as shown in FIG. The extending second connecting rod 57 is rotatably connected. A second shaft 59 is rotatably connected to the lower portion of the second connecting rod 57.
On the shaft 59, the second shaft 59 is locked by the upper third shaft 61.
A spring 63 is attached to bias the arrow in the direction of arrow E. Further, a substantially V-shaped drive plate 67 is rotatably attached to the lower fourth shaft 65.
A roller 68 is provided on the right side (in the drawing), and the left side is rotatably supported by the second shaft 59.

The first, third and fourth shafts 53, 61,
Since the end portions of 65 are attached to the frame body, the mutual positional relationship does not change, but the second shaft 5
Only 9 is moved by the bias of the spring 63 or the roller 68. Next, a sheet feeding operation in the printer 1 having the above-described configuration and an operation of the separation sheet feeding mechanism 35 associated with the operation will be described.

First, as shown in FIG.
Is not attached to the printer body 3, the spring 6
Due to the urging force of 3, the separation sheet feeding mechanism 35 rotates in the direction of the arrow C, and a space is provided between the pin tractor 31 and the separation sheet feeding mechanism 35 (where the pressing plate 41 is raised) to attach the continuous paper LP. Will be provided.

Therefore, after the continuous paper LP is attached to the pin tractor 31 in this state, only the continuous paper LP can be fed and printed. Further, once the continuous paper LP is mounted, the continuous paper LP can be fed even if the paper feed cassette 33 is attached.
When the cut sheet TP is fed using the paper feed cassette 33, as shown in FIG.
1, a paper feed cassette 33 on which a large number of cut sheets TP are placed
Put on.

At this time, the front plate 73 of the paper feed cassette 33 is
Since it presses in the direction of arrow F while contacting the roller 68 of the drive plate 67, as shown in FIG.
It rotates in the direction of arrow G against the urging force of. By this rotation, the second connecting rod 57 is pulled in the arrow H direction, so that the first connecting rod 55 and the first shaft 53 rotate in the arrow D direction. As a result, the separating / feeding mechanism 35 fixed to the first shaft 53 is also rotated in the direction of arrow D, as shown in FIG. 4, and is arranged at a position for feeding the cut sheet TP.

Therefore, in this state, the pin tractor 31
Is driven to feed the continuous paper LP, and the paper feed / separation rollers 49 and 51 are driven to feed the cut sheets TP sequentially from the paper feed cassette 33. .. At this time, which paper is fed depends on which of the paper feed / separation rollers 49 and 51 or the pin tractor 31 is powered.

In this embodiment, the paper feed roller 49
Rotates at the start of paper feeding, sends the leading edge of the cut-sheet paper TP to the separation roller 51, and then becomes idle. Further, the separation roller 51 cooperates with the friction plate 52 (FIG. 2) that is in pressure contact with the separation roller 51 to separate the cut sheet paper TP. After being bitten by the conveyance roller 21 of FIG.

On the other hand, when the continuous paper LP is replaced, the paper feed cassette 33 is first pulled out from the mounting portion 71 and separated. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Since the roller 68 of the second shaft 59 is not pressed by anything, as shown in FIG.
The second connecting rod 57 is pulled up in the direction of arrow E. This pulling operation causes the first connecting rod 55 and the first shaft 53 to rotate in the direction of arrow C, so that the separating and feeding mechanism 35 fixed to the first shaft 53 also moves in the direction of arrow C as shown in FIG. It will rotate and be pulled up.

As a result, the paper feed cassette 33 described above is used.
The same as before mounting the pin tractor 31 and the separation sheet feeding mechanism 3
Since a sufficient space is provided between the continuous sheet LP and the sheet 5, the pressing plate 41 can be flipped up to easily carry out work such as changing over the continuous paper LP. As described above, in the automatic sheet feeder of this embodiment, the separation sheet feeding mechanism 35 is rotated upward when the sheet cassette 33 is not attached to the printer body 3.
Since a wide space is secured between the separating / feeding mechanism 35 and the pin tractor 31, the pressing plate 41 can be flipped up to easily attach the continuous paper.

Further, a paper feed cassette 33 is attached to the printer body 3.
By mounting the sheet feeding / separating mechanism 35, the separating / feeding mechanism 35 can be lowered and placed at a predetermined position. Therefore, by driving the sheet feeding / separating rollers 49, 51 of the separating / feeding mechanism 35, Therefore, it is possible to continuously feed the cut sheets TP one by one. At this time, although the drive of the pin tractor 31 is cut off,
Since the continuous paper LP is still hung on the sheet 1, the continuous paper LP can be fed by stopping the paper feed from the paper feed cassette 33 and driving the pin tractor 31.

Further, when the continuous paper LP is replaced, the paper feed cassette 33 is removed to move the separation paper feed mechanism 35 upward so that the space between the separation paper feed mechanism 35 and the pin tractor 31 is increased. Since a large space is provided again, the continuous paper LP can be easily replaced.

In other words, in the present embodiment, the pin tractor 31 and the paper feed cassette 3 are configured by the above-described operation.
3 can be arranged close to each other, so that the printer 1
There is an advantage that the front side of the device can be compactly integrated and the entire device can be downsized. As a result, the operability of the printer 1 is improved, and the installation area of the printer 1 can be reduced.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
It will be explained based on. The printer 81 of this embodiment is different from that of the previous embodiment in the structure for moving the separation / feed mechanism 83. As shown in FIG. 6, the separation / feeding mechanism 83 in this embodiment is normally urged upward by a spring 85 so as to widen the space below. on the other hand,
When the paper feeding cassette 87 is attached and paper is fed from the paper feeding cassette 87, the lever 89 is pushed down to rotate the separation paper feeding mechanism 83 downward, and the separation portion 91 on the frame side is fixed. It is configured.

That is, in the present embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the separating and feeding mechanism 83 is not moved in conjunction with the paper feeding cassette 87, but only the separating and feeding mechanism 87 can be moved independently. Therefore, there is an advantage that the same effect as that of the above-mentioned embodiment can be obtained, and the structure can be simpler than that of the above-mentioned embodiment.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments and can be modified within the scope of the present invention.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when the continuous paper is changed, the separating / feeding mechanism moving means moves the separating / feeding mechanism in the predetermined direction. Since it is possible to widen the distance between the continuous paper feeding mechanism and the separation paper feeding mechanism, it is easy to change the continuous paper.

Further, since the single-cut sheet feeding mechanism and the continuous sheet feeding mechanism can be arranged close to each other on the same side of the apparatus, the apparatus can be made compact, and the operability of the apparatus can be improved and the apparatus can be installed. This has the effect of reducing the space for doing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a separation sheet feeding mechanism when a sheet feeding cassette is not attached.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mechanism for moving a separating and feeding mechanism.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a separation sheet feeding mechanism when a sheet feeding cassette is attached.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a mechanism for moving a separating and feeding mechanism.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a mechanism for moving a separation / feeding mechanism of another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 81 ... Printer 31, 32 ... Pin tractor 33, 87 ... Paper feed cassette 35, 83 ... Separation paper feed mechanism 63, 85 ... Spring

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A device main body, comprising: a continuous paper feeding mechanism for feeding continuous paper to a device body side; and a single-cut paper holding mechanism provided on the same side as the continuous paper feed mechanism for holding a large number of single-cut papers. In an automatic paper feeder that feeds sheets, a separation unit, which is provided above the continuous paper feeding mechanism, separates and supplies the single-cut sheets from the single-cut sheet holding mechanism to the device body side. An automatic sheet feeding device comprising: a sheet feeding mechanism; and a separating sheet feeding mechanism moving unit that moves the separating sheet feeding mechanism to increase a distance between the continuous sheet feeding mechanism and the separating sheet feeding mechanism.