JPH05169745A - Page printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stack printed papers while protecting their secrecy. CONSTITUTION:Multiple stage trays 9, 10 are installed vertically on a box 1 in which a printing mechanism of an electrophotographic system is contained, and a locking mechanism 18 for fixing at least one of the trays to the box is installed. When confidential papers are printed, a discharge route is shifted to the locked tray 10 by a gate member. When the locking mechanism unlocked with a key, a drawer 11 can be removed from the tray so that the objective papers are obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a page printer suitable for printing print data of a networked word processor, personal computer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a page printer, a page printer having a high printing speed is usually connected to a plurality of networked word processors and personal computers, and the page printer is commonly used. For this reason, a plurality of print documents are mixed and stacked in one tray, and when a target document is taken out, the document of another person is also noticed, and the document cannot be kept confidential. is there.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to stack documents while keeping them confidential. It is to provide a new page printer that can be sorted and stocked if necessary.

[0003]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, a plurality of upper and lower trays are provided at the upper part of a housing which accommodates an electrophotographic printing mechanism therein, and at least A means for locking one of them in the housing and a means for changing the discharge path of the recording paper discharged from the printing mechanism are provided.

[0004]

In the case of a normal printed matter, printing can be carried out in a plurality of trays by sorting with the lock mechanism released. On the other hand, when printing a document that must maintain confidentiality, a tray that allows the printed document to be taken out by blocking the tray with a lock mechanism and printing with the discharge path switched to this tray. Can be discharged.

[0005]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a housing containing a printing mechanism, and as shown in FIGS. A transfer mechanism such as the transfer unit 3 for accommodating the electrophotographic printing is accommodated, and writing is performed by a laser beam (not shown) based on print data from a networked host device, and a toner image is transferred onto a recording sheet. Then, the sheet is discharged to the fixing unit 4 on the upper side and thermally transferred to perform printing. A cassette 5 for accommodating the recording paper P is provided below the housing 1, and one recording paper pulled out by a paper feed roller 6 is guided by a paper guide 7 and sent out to the photosensitive drum 2. There is.

Reference numerals 9 and 10 denote first and second trays respectively provided on the upper portion of the housing 1 in two steps, and the first tray 9 is opened at the upper portion and the front portion (left side in the figure). Cage,
Further, the second tray 10 has an opening 10a formed on the front side, and a drawer 11 can be inserted therein. Further, at the rear ends of the first and second stockers 9 and 10 (on the right side in the drawing), discharge rollers 12 and 13 for further discharging the recording paper discharged from a discharge mechanism 15 described later are provided. There is.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a sheet discharge mechanism, the lower end of which is positioned close to the sheet discharge port of the fixing unit, and a solenoid is provided in a region facing the second tray 10 whose periphery is shielded by the housing 1. A gate member 17 connected to an electromagnetic driving means 16 such as the above is arranged so as to selectively guide the printed recording paper to either the first tray 9 or the second tray 10. Has been done.

The drawer 11 is formed in a structure capable of being housed in the second tray 10 and closing the opening 10a of the tray 10 when it is inserted into the tray 10, and a lock mechanism 18 provided in the housing 1. Is configured to have a concave portion 19 that engages with. In the figure, reference numerals 20 and 21
Shows a guide plate for guiding the recording paper to the tray.

In this embodiment, when print data is output, one sheet of recording paper is pulled out from the lower cassette 5 by the paper feed roller 6 and conveyed to the photosensitive drum 2.
After the toner image is transferred, it enters the fixing unit 4 and the toner image is fixed. In this state, since the gate member 17 is opened (FIG. 2 (A)), the recording paper moves to the upper end of the paper discharge mechanism 15, and the paper discharge roller 12 arranged there causes the recording paper to move to the first position. It is accommodated in the tray 9.

Subsequently, when the second document is to be stored separately from the previously printed document, a drive signal is output to the electromagnetic drive means 16 to rotate the gate member 17 toward the paper passage ( Figure 2 (b)). When printing is performed in this state, the recording paper ejected from the fixing unit 4 is guided by the gate member 17 to move to the paper ejection roller 13 and is ejected to the second paper ejection tray 10. As a result, the two documents are separately stored in the first tray and the second tray.

On the other hand, when it is desired to print a document requiring confidentiality, the drawer 11 is inserted into the second tray 10, the drawer 11 is fixed to the housing 1 by the lock mechanism 18, and the gate member 17 is further provided. Is positioned on the print passage side (FIG. 2B). When a document is printed in this state, the recording paper discharged from the fixing unit 4 will not be printed on the gate member 17.
Is discharged to the second tray 10 and is accommodated in the drawer 11 inserted in the tray 10. As a result, the document is stored in the tray 10 in a state where the surroundings are all shielded, and it is possible to prevent the document from being exposed. When the printing is completed, the lock mechanism 18 is released by the key and the drawer 11 is taken out from the tray 10, so that the target document can be obtained.

In this embodiment, the drawer 11 can be inserted into the tray 10 so that the drawer 11 is locked. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the tray 10 has an opening 10a whose periphery is shielded. Even if the door 20 is provided and fixed to the housing 1 by the lock mechanism 21 that can be operated by the key, the same effect is obviously obtained.

In this embodiment, the lock mechanism 1
The operation of 8 and 21 and the drive of the gate member 17 are operated independently of each other.
It is also possible to provide detection means for detecting that the tray is closed by 1 and to activate the electromagnetic drive means 16 by a signal from this to automatically position the gate member 17 on the print passage side. To do.

Further, in this embodiment, the lower tray 10 can be closed, but the upper tray is shielded by the top plate, and a drawer can be inserted into this and a door is provided to lock them. It is clear that you can do it.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A plurality of trays are provided on the top and bottom of the housing that accommodates the electrophotographic printing mechanism, and at least one of the trays is locked to the housing and a discharge path for the recording paper discharged from the printing mechanism. Since it is equipped with a means for changing, confidential documents are discharged to a locked tray to prevent inadvertent exposure. It can be stored separately in trays.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are perspective views showing a printer main body and an drawer used for the printer main body according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2A and 2B are sectional views showing the structure of the same apparatus. FIG. 2A shows a state in which the gate member is open, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the gate member is closed. is there.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Housing 2 Photoreceptor Drum 5 Recording Paper Cassette 9, 10 Tray 11 Drawer 15 Paper Ejection Mechanism 17 Gate Member 18 Lock Mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tray having a plurality of upper and lower trays is provided on an upper part of a housing containing an electrophotographic printing mechanism therein, and at least one of the trays is locked to the housing and the tray is discharged from the printing mechanism. A page printer having a means for changing the discharge path of the recording paper.