JPH0675982B2 - Recording paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording paper feeding device used in a printer or the like, and particularly to thick paper such as envelopes and postcards and thin paper such as plain paper and the like. The present invention relates to an improvement of a recording paper feeding device having a structure that feeds regardless of the thickness of the paper.

<Prior Art> In printers and the like, conventional recording paper feeding devices are fed by a fixed path regardless of the thickness of the paper.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, the conventional recording paper feeding device has the following problems.

The problems of the conventional technique will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 which are diagrams for explaining the problems of the conventional technique.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, the recording paper P that is automatically loaded is
The recording paper is fed by the combined structure of the platen 1 and the two pressure contact rollers 2 and 3.

At this time, as the recording paper P becomes thicker, its hardness (stiffness) increases, and the recording paper P is warped to the side opposite to the platen 1 by the reaction force A as shown by the arrow in FIG.

Therefore, as a printing mechanism, as shown in FIG.
Suppressor plate 4 is installed to provide force B that suppresses reaction force A.

However, when an attempt is made to suppress the reaction force A by the suppressing plate 4, partial floating occurs and the gaps δ ₁ and δ ₂ are formed.

As a result, the pressure required for printing is reduced, which causes a problem that clear printing cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of this conventional technique, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording paper feeding device that can realize recording paper feeding in an optimum state regardless of the thickness of the recording paper. To do.

<Means for Solving Problems> A recording paper feeding device of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is a recording paper feeding device having a structure for feeding a recording paper according to rotation of a platen. When a normal paper is selected, the recording paper is supplied to the paper supply port, and the paper thickness of the recording paper is selected. The recording paper is fed substantially along the platen diameter according to the rotation of the platen, and when thick paper is selected, the recording paper is once fed from the paper supply port to the front portion according to the rotation of the platen and then the front portion. From the above, the recording paper is fed toward the upper position of the platen.

<Structural Features> In order to achieve such an object, the present invention is a recording paper feeding device that feeds paper fed from a paper feeding port to a printing side while pressing it against a platen by a feeding roller and a feeding roller. A first paper guide plate that presses the paper sent by the feed roller against the platen; and when the paper sent from the first paper guide plate is thin, presses the paper together with the first paper guide plate against the platen,
When the paper fed from the first paper guide tray is thick, a weir portion for releasing the pressing of the paper and a thin paper fed by the weir portion and the platen are provided so as to be guided along the platen. A second paper guide plate having one side and having a second side for guiding the cardboard from the paper supply port to a front portion located on a substantially linear extension when the weir is released from the platen. A shielding plate provided to prevent the cardboard sent to the front part from going back through the second side of the second paper guide tray; and the cardboard sent to the front part to the second paper guide. A front feed roller that feeds the platen in the opposite direction to the platen along a third side provided so as to be sandwiched between the first side and the second side of the plate; If the paper is thick, use the front feed roller to The recording paper is sent to the printing side while pressing it against the platen via the sending roller,
When the paper supplied from the paper supply port is a thin paper, the first paper guide tray sends the paper along the platen to the printing side while pressing the paper against the platen via the sending roller. Recording paper feeding device.

<Embodiment> An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 1 which is a structural diagram of a recording paper feeding apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the same parts as those in FIGS. 3 and 4 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, the broken line P ₁ is a recording paper such as thin paper or plain paper (hereinafter referred to as “regular paper”), and a two-dot chain line
P ₂ is a thick recording paper (hereinafter referred to as “thick paper”), and when simply referred to as recording paper, it is P as in FIGS. 3 and 4.
Reference numeral 5 is a paper supply port for supplying the recording paper P, 6 is a first paper guide plate provided at the lower end portion of the paper supply port 5 for guiding the recording paper P supplied to the paper supply port 5, and 7 is a paper supply port. 5 is a feed roller which is provided at the lower end portion of the paper feed port 5 to feed the recording paper P from the paper supply port 5 to the first paper guide tray 6, and 8 is provided at the lower end portion of the paper supply port to confirm the supplied recording paper P. The confirmation sensor 9 is a selection lever that selects the type of the recording paper P and determines the traveling direction according to the thickness and the type of the recording paper P. This selection lever 9
A weir portion 9a, which is housed in the first paper guide tray 6 and serves as a weir in the feeding direction of the recording paper P, can be moved in the first paper guide tray 6 as shown by an arrow β in the figure. Is set to. The selection lever 9 may be manually operated or may be automatically operated. However, in the case of automatic, for example, in the vicinity of the confirmation sensor 8 or the weir 9a
It is necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the thickness of the recording paper P in front of the sheet. 10 is a second paper guide plate. The first side 10a of the second paper guide plate 10 (hereinafter referred to as side 10a) is
For example, the platen 1 that can guide the normal paper P ₁ from the lower portion 1a to the upper portion 1b of the drum 1 according to the rotation direction of the drum 1 indicated by the arrow ω
The shape is similar to the circular arc of and the second and third sides 10
The b and 10c (hereinafter referred to as sides 10b and 10c) are shaped so that the thick paper P ₂ can be delivered so as to be pressed against the platen 1 by its own reaction force. That is, 10b corresponding to the bottom is thick paper P
So that an opening of the path between the first sheet guide plates 6 to separate the front portion F once located substantially straight extension on the paper feed port 5 ₂ from the bottom 1a of the drum 1 Along with the front part F for guiding the cardboard P ₂ guided to the front part F to the upper part 1b of the platen 1, the side 10c has a substantially flat shape so as to form the path between the first paper guide plate 6 and the first paper guide plate 6. It has a curvature shape determined by the relationship with the upper portion 1b of the platen 1. Therefore, in this embodiment, the overall shape of the second paper guide plate is formed so that its cross section has a substantially triangular shape. Therefore, the thick paper P ₂ is once separated from the lower portion 1a of the drum 1 and guided to the front portion F when the weir 9a is pushed down by the selection lever 9. Reference numeral 11 is a blocking plate made of a thin member having elasticity (for example, a thickness of about 0.15 mm) such as a leaf spring. In this blocking plate 11, the thick paper P ₂ is the first paper guide plate 6 and the second paper guide plate 6.
When it is guided to the front portion F through the path between the thick paper P ₂ and the front side F, the shaft 11a is rotated about the axis 11a as shown by the arrow d in the front side to warp the thick paper P ₂ to the front side F. is moved, when the thick paper P ₂ which has moved to the front side F by way of the second upper 10b of the paper guide plates 10 for guiding inverted on top of the platen 1 to the next, second by the tip portions of the cardboard P ₂ Rotate to the paper guide side as shown by the solid line in the figure to rotate the first paper guide tray 6
And, it functions to block the original path formed by the second paper guide tray 10. Reference numeral 12 detects the presence of the thick paper P ₂ moving to the front side F, and based on this detection signal, a detailed description will be given below. Here, the front feed roller with a motor is controlled (driven) to pull and move the thick paper P _2. After the last end of the thick paper P ₂ has passed, it controls (stops) the front feed roller and outputs a detection signal that serves as a basis for temporarily stopping the platen 1 (a circuit for this is omitted). Is. However, it goes without saying that if the mechanism (configuration) does not require the platen 1 to be temporarily stopped, the signal circuit configuration for temporarily stopping the platen is not required. 13
Is provided in the front portion F, and a pair of combinations for pulling the thick paper P ₂ to the front portion F under electrical control based on the detection value of the front-side paper detection sensor 12 and pulling it or reversing it toward the platen 1 side. Is a front feed roller with a motor. Reference numeral 14 is a paper delivery confirmation sensor provided to confirm the delivery of the thick paper P ₂ from the front portion F and drive the platen 1. Here, when it is not necessary to temporarily stop the platen 1, the paper feeding confirmation sensor 14 is not always necessary. 15 is a recording paper P such as a normal paper P ₁ and a thick paper P _2.
Is a sending roller for sending out. Here, for example, when the recording paper P is to be cued, the rotation of the delivery roller 15 may be detected and carried out.
At least two paper feed confirmation sensors 14 are installed and one of them is used for driving the platen 1 (when the platen 1 is temporarily stopped on the thick paper P ₂ ), and the other one is used for recording paper P. It is also possible to detect the position of the leading edge and use it for the cueing of the recording paper P.

In FIG. 1, a structure such as thick paper or large recording paper P ₃ can be inserted (paper can be fed) from the front side entrance Fa side, and in this case, the entrance is indicated by a broken line. If the front sensor 16 is provided as shown, and the recording paper P ₃ is detected and the front feed roller 13 is driven,
The following is the same as the automatic paper feeding operation for thick paper P ₂
The recording paper can be fed to the upper part 1b of the. However, at this time, the platen 1 is driven by the detection value of the platen 16, the platen 1 is driven by the front side paper detection sensor 12, or the platen 1 is driven by the paper feeding confirmation sensor 14. Whether to do so may be decided at the design stage. Needless to say, such a structure in which the recording paper P ₃ is inserted from the front entrance Fa is not necessarily required in the present invention.

The overall operation of such a configuration will be described.

Since the feed roller 7 and the feed roller 15 are pressed against the platen 1 with a certain force, these rollers are
Rotates at the same time as. Since the dam portion 9a is normally designed to dam the gap formed by the first paper guide tray 6 and the second paper guide tray 10, the normal paper P ₁ supplied to the paper supply port 5 Is confirmed by the confirmation sensor 8, and the feed roller 7
And the platen 1 rotates to move as shown by the broken line.

On the other hand, in the case of the thick paper P ₂ , the weir portion 9a is pushed down as shown by the arrow β by manually operating the selection lever 9 in the direction of the arrow γ, and as a result, the thick paper P ₂ becomes the first paper guide tray 6 and Move in the gap / path with the second paper guide tray 10 as shown by the chain double-dashed line.
This movement of the cardboard P ₂ causes the blocking plate 11 to move to the front side by the shaft
Rotate in the direction of arrow θ around a and bend it as indicated by the alternate long and short dash line. Therefore, the thick paper P ₂ is
After passing through 12, the sheet is sent to a front feed roller 13 with a motor, which is controlled based on the detection value of the front side sheet detection sensor 12. The motor of the front feed roller 13 performs a rotation operation such that the thick paper P ₂ is pulled by the detection signal of the front side paper detection sensor 12. After the last edge of the thick paper P ₂ passed through the front side paper detection sensor 12 (at this time, the blocking plate 11 extends straight), the front side paper detection sensor 12 rotated in the pulling direction according to the detection value of the front side paper detection sensor 12. The motor of the front feed roller 13 stops (the thick paper P ₂ is sandwiched by the front feed roller 13). At this time, for example, the rotation of the platen 1 is stopped as described above. Next, based on a detection signal of the front side paper detection sensor 12 of the passage of the last end of the thick paper P ₂ , for example, after a lapse of a predetermined time (in this case, a timing may be set using a timer, for example), the front feed roller
The motor 13 rotates in the reverse direction, and the front feed roller 13 that rotates in the reverse direction pushes back the thick paper P ₂ (Note that at this time, the thick paper P ₂ passes through the front paper detection sensor 12 again, but the detected value at this time is For example, blinding may be performed in relation to the rotation direction of the front feed roller 13.) The pushed back thick paper P ₂ is guided to the upper portion 1b of the platen 1 via the upper portion 10c of the second paper guide tray 10. At this time, the blocking plate 11 is reversed (-θ) at the end of the thick paper P ₂ as shown by the solid line in the figure, and the original path formed by the first paper guiding tray 6 and the second paper guiding tray 10 is blocked. . Therefore, the thick paper P ₂ is the upper portion 10 of the second paper guide tray 10.
It is pushed up to the upper part 1b of the platen 1 via c. The rotation of the platen 1 is restarted by a signal of the paper delivery confirmation sensor 14 when the thick paper P ₂ passes, and the automatic heading is performed in relation to the delivery roller 15 (that is, a fixed amount is fed) and the rotation is stopped. In this way, the automatic paper feeding operation of the thick paper P ₂ is completed.

By the way, in the case of inserting a recording paper such as a thick paper or a large shape from the front side entrance Fa, the front sensor 16 detects the insertion, and the front feed roller 13 starts rotating,
Thereafter, as in the case of the thick paper P ₂ , the blocking plate 11 is pushed up, the platen 1 is rotated by the paper delivery confirmation sensor 14, and the delivery roller 15
The automatic paper feeding is completed by performing automatic cueing at step (i.e., feeding a fixed amount) and stopping.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG.

That is, as described above, for example, the recording paper P ₃ may not be inserted from the front-side entrance Fa. In this case, the front sensor 16 shown by the broken line is unnecessary. Further, when the platen 1 is temporarily stopped and the lowering operation is omitted, the paper feeding confirmation sensor 14 for the purpose of re-driving the platen 1 is not necessary, and naturally the detection output of the front side paper detection sensor 12 is used. It goes without saying that the configuration of temporarily stopping the platen 1 can be omitted.

Furthermore, the confirmation sensor 8 is not always necessary in the case of FIG. This is because, for example, the user can confirm that the recording paper P is present in the paper supply port 5, and this confirmation operation may be performed by manually operating a switch or the like.

Furthermore, the front feed roller according to the present invention is not limited to the one with a motor, and may be configured as shown in FIG. 2 showing another embodiment of the present invention. By doing this as shown in FIG. 2, not to mention automatic,
It is possible to perform optimum recording paper feeding and cueing even manually.

In FIG. 2, the cardboard P ₂ is the same as when the platen 1 is manually rotated (the illustration showing the knob for manually rotating is omitted) and when it is automatically rotated. It is configured to be able to send in the best condition. The major difference from FIG. 1 in this case is that a drive mechanism for the front feed roller 130 is provided.

That is, when the platen 1 is manually or automatically rotated in a certain direction, the rotation of the platen 1 is transmitted to the rotation transmission mechanism 17
Is used to mechanically drive the front feed roller 130 forward or reversely (in FIG. 1, the motor electrically performs the same operation as described above).

A detailed description will be given below with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 80 denotes a cardboard confirmation sensor for confirming the passage of the cardboard P ₂ . Rotation transmission mechanism 17
Is a solenoid 17a which is turned on by a detection signal from the thick paper confirmation sensor 80 and is turned off by a final end passage signal of the thick paper P ₂ of the front side paper detection sensor 12, and one end oscillated by the solenoid 17a is assembled to the platen 1. A support member 17c, which is attached to the other end, for example, a rocking lever for assembling and supporting a gear 17b (which can also be configured by crimping using a material such as rubber), and rotation of the platen 1 to the gear 17b When the solenoid 17a and the rotation transmitting member 17d for transmitting are turned on, the entire member including the supporting member 17c swings as shown by an arrow φ in the figure, and the gear 1
7b moves to the position of the broken line and meshes with the gear 17b so that the gear 17b
Front forward rotation gear 17d ₁ for receiving the rotation of the front feed roller 130 and rotating the front feed roller 130 forward (at this time, the rotation direction of the front forward rotation gear 17d ₁ is opposite to the rotation direction of the platen 1 as shown in the drawing) And this front forward rotation gear 17
a gear 17e which receives the rotation of d _1, and the rotation transmitting member 17f for transmitting the rotation of the gear 17e to the front feed roller 130, the front feed roller 130 have gears 17b meshing as shown by the solid line in the drawing by the off solenoid 17a For example, a front reversing gear 17g (rotational direction is the same as that of the platen 1) mounted coaxially with the front feeding roller 130 for reversing the rotation, the rotation of the front feeding roller 130 is a normal rotation (thick paper). the direction of rotation) or reverse pulling the P ₂ causes (rotational direction be transmitted cardboard).

In this other embodiment, when the platen 1 is rotated manually or automatically, the platen 1 is provided with a support member 17c and a solenoid 17a for controlling the swinging direction of the support member 17c. , Gears 17d ₁ or 17g to be engaged at the swing destination of a gear 17b provided at the tip of the support member 17c
The rotation of the front feed roller 130 can be reversed. In addition, in the other embodiments, the solenoid 17a is turned on by the detection signal of the thick paper confirmation sensor 80, but this can be performed by the detection signal of the front paper detection sensor 12. However, at this time, if the feed speed of the thick paper P ₂ is high, it is possible that the rotation direction of the front feed roller is not determined because it is immediately after passing through the front side paper detection sensor 12, but generally the front side paper detection sensor 12 is Solenoid 17 immediately after passing
Since a is turned on, the mesh between the gear 17b and the gear 17g is disengaged, so at least the rotation of the front feed roller is not reversed, so it is unlikely that the cardboard P ₂ fed will be reversed. There is no difference in the structure. still,
In FIG. 1, since the front feed roller 13 is controlled by the motor, it can be treated as if there is no delay due to such a mechanism, and even if the detection signal of the front side paper detection sensor 12 is used, I can't think of such a problem.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments of the present invention,
According to the recording paper feeding apparatus of the present invention, any recording paper is always uniformly pressed against the platen and fed, so that clear printing can be obtained regardless of the thickness of the paper. With cardboard, there is no curling tendency. Further, there is an effect that the range of use can be widened such that thin paper to thick paper and the like can be easily and variously automatically mounted by one device of the present invention according to various uses.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural view of a recording paper feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are explanations of problems of the conventional technique. FIG. 1 ... Platen, 5 ... Paper supply port, 6 ... First paper guide plate, 7 ... Feed roller, 8 ... Confirmation sensor, 9 ... Selection lever, 10 ... Second paper guide plate, 11 ... … Blocking plate, 12 …… Front side paper detection sensor, 13 …… Front feed roller, 15
...... Sending roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording paper feeding device for feeding a paper fed from a paper feed port to a printing side while pressing it against a platen by a feed roller and a feed roller, wherein the paper fed by the feed roller is pressed against the platen. When the paper guide plate and the paper sent from the first paper guide plate are thin, the paper is pressed against the platen together with the first paper guide plate,
When the paper fed from the first paper guide tray is thick, a weir portion for releasing the pressing of the paper and a thin paper fed by the weir portion and the platen are provided so as to be guided along the platen. A second paper guide plate having one side and having a second side for guiding the cardboard from the paper supply port to a front portion located on a substantially linear extension when the weir is released from the platen. A shielding plate provided to prevent the cardboard sent to the front part from going back through the second side of the second paper guide tray; and the cardboard sent to the front part to the second paper guide. A front feed roller that feeds the platen in the opposite direction to the platen along a third side provided so as to be sandwiched between the first side and the second side of the plate; If the paper is thick, use the front feed roller to The recording paper is sent to the printing side while pressing it against the platen via the sending roller,
In the case of thin paper, the recording paper feeding device is characterized in that the first paper guiding tray feeds the paper along the platen to the printing side while pressing the paper against the platen via the feeding roller.