JPH07314828A - Medium conveying guide - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the delay of starting printing even if a medium is set on a conveying passage with any of right and left side ends as a reference end in the case of setting the medium and to realize a small-sized light-weight movable guide. CONSTITUTION:A movable guide 14 which is slidably moved integrally with a print head 2 is formed in size of about half or less of a sliding width of the guide 14 at its lateral width, and a stand-by position is located substantially at the center of the slidably moving width of the guide 14 except at the time of driving. Upper stationary guides 15a, 15b for supporting the upper side of a medium are formed with a part opposed to the guide 14 in parallel when the guide 14 is disposed at the standby position in such a manner that an oblique part 17a inclined at the obliquely upper side is provided at the parallel part. Tapered parts 16a-16d so inclined that a gap between the guides 15a and 15b opposed to one another via the guide 14 is gradually extended toward its outer end are provided at the right and left ends from the parallel part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a medium conveyance guide used for a serial printer or the like to sandwich and convey a sheet-shaped medium, and conveys it between a print head and a platen to print on the medium. The present invention relates to the shape and mechanism of a medium conveyance guide that performs the above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing apparatus used for printing a medium such as a bankbook or a voucher in a bank or the like, the insertion of the medium is detected, and then the inserted medium is conveyed to a printing section, and the conveyance direction is changed. The print operation is performed by the print head that travels in the direction orthogonal to. 5 is a plan view showing the structure of a conventional medium transport guide, FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5, and FIG.
In the case of a sheet-shaped medium such as a slip sheet or a passbook, the sheet is conveyed on a conveying path described later and is printed at a predetermined position by a print head. Reference numeral 1a is a bent portion in which a corner of the medium 1 is bent upward.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a print head which reciprocates in the horizontal direction to perform a printing process on the medium 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a rod-shaped platen which is arranged so as to maintain a predetermined gap from the tip of the print head 2. 3 and the print head 2 form a printing unit. Reference numeral 4 denotes a movable guide mounted on a carriage portion on which the print head 2 is mounted. The movable guide 4 has a shape in which only a peripheral edge of a substantially rectangular flat plate member is obliquely bent toward the print head 2 side. The bent portion guides the medium 1 to the lower side of the movable guide 4. Although not shown, the movable guide 4 is provided with a hole portion at its substantially central portion for allowing the tip of the print head 2 to protrude downward from the movable guide 4, and the movable guide 4 is provided with the print head 2. Together with this, it has a structure that can be slid horizontally.

Reference numerals 5a and 5b are lower fixed guides 6a and 6 made of thin plate materials arranged in front and back with the platen 3 interposed therebetween.
Reference numeral b denotes an upper fixed guide which is arranged to face the lower fixed guides 5a and 5b with a predetermined gap therebetween, and has a structure in which the movable guide 4 is sandwiched between the front and rear. The upper fixed guides 6a and 6b have taper portions 7a and 7b, which are inclined so that the gap gradually widens toward the end portions, on the opposite sides facing each other. In a portion excluding 7b, inclined portions 8a and 8b are formed by bending a predetermined width obliquely upward along the side thereof, and a plurality of upper fixed guides 6a located forward of the print head 2 in the traveling direction are provided with a plurality of inclined portions. The notch 9 of
Further, the upper fixed guide 6b located on the rear side also has a plurality of square holes 10.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a clamp roller provided corresponding to each of the cutout portion 9 and the square hole 10, and is arranged so as to project upward from a square hole (not shown) formed in the lower fixed guides 5a and 5b. The feed roller 12 and the clamp roller 11 sandwich the medium 1 between the lower fixed guides 5a and 5b and the upper fixed guides 6a and 6b. It is supposed to do.

Further, 13a and 13b are medium reference guides provided along both sides of the upper and lower fixed guides 5a and 5b and 6a and 6b, and here, one medium reference guide 13 is provided.
It serves as a reference guide when the medium 1 runs on the b side,
When the medium 1 is inserted into the apparatus for printing, it is used as a guide for alignment by inserting the medium 1 with its left side edge abutting.

The left end of the print head 2 and the movable guide 4 is, as shown in the drawing, the left medium reference guide 1.
The position in contact with the 3b side is the standby position. In the above-described configuration, when printing is performed, first, the medium 1 is inserted between the lower fixed guide 5b and the upper fixed guide 6b, and the left end side of the medium 1 is abutted against the medium reference guide 13b, and the print portion direction is set. Slide it to and hit a stopper (not shown) to form a medium set.

When the medium 1 is set at this predetermined position, the medium setting is detected by a sensor (not shown) or the like, and the print head 2 and the movable guide 4 are driven by this, and the left end of the movable guide 4 is It stops at the standby position shown in the figure, that is, at the medium reference guide 13b side. After this,
The medium 1 is sandwiched between the feed roller 12 and the clamp roller 11 from above and below, and the feed roller 12 is rotationally driven to be conveyed to the printing unit along the medium reference guide 13b.

Then, when the medium 1 reaches the printing section and is further passed therethrough and a predetermined printing position is conveyed to a position corresponding to the printing head 2, the printing head 2 is transmitted from a host device (not shown) or the like. The printing is started based on the received print data. At this time, even if the medium 1 is bent as shown in the drawing, the central portion of the medium 1 first enters the lower side of the movable guide 4 and then enters the space between the platen 3 and the medium. Then, the printing process by the print head 2 progresses, and the front end of the medium 1 enters between the upper and lower fixed guides 6a and 5a located in front of the platen 3, but one end side (the left end side in the figure) of the upper fixed guide 6a is The taper portion 7a is formed so as to spread in the transport direction, and the upper fixed guide 6a facing the movable guide 4 has a central portion and the other end side (the right end side in the drawing) that is bent obliquely upward. Since the portion 8a is formed, the medium 1 is surely guided by the inclined portion 8a to the lower side of the upper fixed guide 6a, and is bent at the left end side.
The upper fixed guide 6a is gradually guided to the lower side along the tapered portion 7a, and the bent portion 1a is conveyed without being caught anywhere.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional technique, the standby position of the print head and the movable guide is on the one side with respect to the width of the conveying path, and on the right end side (of course, in the drawings shown in the conventional example). However, if the medium is set with the left side as the reference, there is a problem that the start of printing is delayed.

When the print start is started from the left side of the set medium, the print head is waiting on the right end side in the figure, so that the print head is first returned to the print start position and then the print is started. Since the movement of the print head is increased to start the printing, there is a problem that the printing start is delayed. Further, since the standby position of the print head is on the right side (or left side), it is necessary to make the movable guide large enough to reach the medium reference guide side, which increases the size of the movable guide and, as a result, drives the movable guide. There is a problem that the driving means becomes large in size, which in turn leads to a large size and a high price of an apparatus equipped with the medium conveyance guide, an increase in vibration, and the like.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and prevents the start of printing from being delayed depending on the printing direction because the movable guide has the standby position at either the left or right end. Further, even when the medium set is set with any one of the side edges of the medium as a reference end, a delay in the start of printing depending on the printing direction is prevented, and a small and lightweight excellent medium conveyance guide with less vibration is provided. The purpose is to

[0013]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention, as a first means, first moves integrally with a print head for printing by sliding in a direction orthogonal to the medium conveying direction. Then, a movable guide for guiding the medium near the printing portion so as to be flat, a platen extending in the direction in which the movable guide moves, and a lower side which is disposed so as to oppose to the front-back direction of the medium with the platen sandwiched therebetween. A fixed guide, an upper fixed guide which faces the lower fixed guide with a predetermined gap, and which is arranged in front of and behind the medium conveyance direction with the movable guide interposed therebetween to form a medium conveyance path; A plurality of rotatable feed rollers with a part of the peripheral surface protruding into the conveyance path from either the upper fixed guide or the lower fixed guide, and the feed rollers facing each other with pressure. In a medium conveyance guide comprising a clamp roller for nipping and conveying a recording medium, the movable guide is formed such that its lateral width is about half or less of the sliding movement width of the movable guide, and the movable guide is not driven. The standby position is approximately at the center of the slide movement width of the movable guide, and the upper fixed guide forms a portion facing the movable guide in parallel when the movable guide is in the standby position, and the parallel portion is slanted to the parallel portion. An inclined part that is inclined upward is provided, and the left and right ends outside the parallel part are inclined so that the gap between the upper fixed guides facing each other with the movable guide interposed therebetween gradually widens toward the outer end. A tapered portion is provided.

As a second means, in the medium transport guide, the movable guide is formed so that its lateral width is less than about half the sliding movement width of the movable guide, and the movable guide is slid except when driving. The standby position is approximately at the center of the moving width, and the upper fixed guide forms a part facing the movable guide in parallel when the movable guide is in the standby position and inclines obliquely upward to this parallel part. The inclined part is provided, and on both sides of this parallel part,
The feed roller and a guide roller having a substantially conical shape whose outer diameter is gradually reduced from the feed roller toward the outer end portion are provided so as to extend to the end portion of the conveying path.

[0015]

According to the above-mentioned structure, the medium is placed on the lower fixed guide and is slid to be inserted into a predetermined position for setting, and when this is detected, the clamp roller is driven and the feed roller is set. The medium is sandwiched between the two, and the medium is conveyed toward the printing unit along the conveying path between the upper and lower fixed guides by the rotational force of the feed roller which is rotationally driven at the same time.

At this time, the medium first enters the lower side of the movable guide integrally formed with the print head from the center of the leading edge side due to the shape of the upper fixed guide, and the print head is driven to perform the printing process. As it goes, it passes through the printing section and is conveyed between the upper fixed guide and the lower fixed guide located in front of the platen. Also here, due to the shape of the upper fixed guide, the inclined portion of the parallel portion formed in parallel with the movable guide is guided to the lower side of the upper fixed guide. Further, since the upper fixed guide is formed with a taper portion at both ends of the parallel portion so that the opening gradually widens toward the outer end portion, the medium may have a bent portion at its corner or the like. However, the taper portion gradually pushes it apart and smoothly draws it between the upper fixed guide and the lower fixed guide.

According to the structure shown as the second means, in the upper fixed guide having the parallel portion in the portion facing the movable guide, the guide rollers are directed from the parallel portion to the left and right end sides through the feed rollers. Are provided,
Since the peripheral surface of the guide roller has the same function as the tapered portion in the first means, the folded portion of the medium is straightened while being straightened and conveyed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Some embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a medium transport guide of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram thereof. In the figure, 1 is a medium, 1a is a folded portion, 2 is a print head, 3 is a platen, and 5 is a platen.
a and 5b are lower fixed guides, 11 is a clamp roller, 1
Reference numerals 3a and 13b denote medium reference guides, which are substantially the same as those described in the conventional example and have the same configuration, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given here and the description thereof will be omitted.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a movable guide having a shape in which a rectangular peripheral portion, which is arranged so as to surround the front end of the print head 2 and faces the platen 3, is bent in the print head direction, and is integral with the print head 2. Slide to. 15
Reference numerals a and 15b denote upper fixed guides arranged in front of and behind the movable guide 4, and as shown in the drawing, portions of the movable guide 14 facing the front end side and the rear end side of the movable guide 14 are referred to as the movable guide 14. The sides are parallel to each other, and the remaining portions are tapered portions 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d that are inclined in a direction of expanding toward the left end or the right end, respectively.
Further, the medium 1 is provided with a movable guide 14 and an upper fixed guide 16 in a parallel portion facing the movable guide 14.
It has inclined portions 17a and 17b that are inclined obliquely upward with a predetermined width so as not to protrude above a. 18 is the upper fixed guide 15a, 15b
A plurality of square holes are formed in a predetermined arrangement in order to arrange the clamp rollers 11 that sandwich and convey the medium 1 by a feed roller (not shown) arranged below.

In the first embodiment, the standby position of the print head 2 and the movable guide 14 is set to the center of the transport path as shown in the figure. Therefore, the movable guide 14 is not close to the left and right medium reference guides 13a and 13b. Now, when the printing process is performed on the medium 1 by the medium transport guide having the above-described configuration, first, the medium 1 is brought into contact with either one of the medium reference guides 13a and 13b at the left end or the right end, and the medium reference guide is abutted. When it slides along the lower fixed guide 5b and is inserted to a predetermined set position, it is detected by a sensor or the like (not shown), the medium 1 is nipped between the feed roller and the clamp roller 11 from above and below, and the feed roller is driven to rotate. Is conveyed toward the printing unit.

At this time, the medium 1 first enters the lower side of the movable guide 14 from the central portion of the leading end side due to the shape of the upper fixed guide 15b, and eventually the print head 2 is driven to perform a printing process. It is conveyed to the lower side of the upper fixed guide 15a located in front of the movable guide 14. The upper fixed guide 15a has tapered portions 16 and 16c formed at both ends thereof, so that the medium 1
Even if there is a bent portion 1a in the taper portion 16,1
While being gradually spread by 6c, it is smoothly drawn into between the upper fixed guide 15a and the lower fixed guide 5a.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the medium transport guide of the second embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. In these figures, the same reference numerals are given to the substantially same parts as those in the first embodiment. In the figure, 19a, 19b
Is an upper fixed guide, and the upper fixed guide 19a,
19b, as shown in the figure, a part of substantially the center of the facing sides facing each other is projected toward the movable guide 14 to form the convex portions 20a and 20b, and the convex portions 20a and 20b are formed.
The leading edge of 0b is a movable guide 1 arranged in the gap.
4 are parallel to each other along the outer shape of
The left and right ends of a and 20b are formed obliquely along the shape of a guide roller described later.

Further, feed rollers 12 are arranged at the left and right ends sandwiching the convex portions 20a and 20b, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 4, these feed rollers 12 are vertically opposed to the clamp rollers 11 provided on the side of the lower fixed guides 5a and 5b, and the clamp rollers 11 are rotated by the rotation of the feed rollers 12. The medium 1 is sandwiched by 11 and conveyed.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a guide roller arranged coaxially with the feed roller 12, and each of these guide rollers 21 has one end side close to the feed roller 12 and has substantially the same outer diameter as the feed roller 12. The diameter of the medium 1 is gradually reduced as it approaches the medium reference guides 13a and 13b on both outer sides to form a substantially conical shape that widens the frontage toward both ends of the transport path.
On the other hand, the same taper portion as that shown in the first embodiment is constructed.

Further, 22a to 22f are upper fixed guides 1.
9a and 19b are inclined portions provided on the opposite sides, and as shown in FIG. 4, even if the medium 1 has a bent portion 1a, the upper fixed guides 19a and 19b can be inclined obliquely upward.
It leads to the lower side of 9b. In the above-mentioned structure, the feed roller 12 is rotationally driven by a drive mechanism (not shown), and is brought into pressure contact with the feed roller 12 by a pressure contact mechanism (not shown) of the clamp roller 11. The same applies to the first embodiment.

With the above structure, when the medium 1 is set at a predetermined position, detected by a sensor (not shown), nipped by the clamp roller 11 and the feed roller 12, and the conveyance is started, the guide roller 21 and the feed roller 12 also come into contact with each other. At the same time, they are rotated integrally, and the bent portion 1a of the bent medium 1 is conveyed while being corrected by the taper portion of the peripheral surface thereof.

When the medium 1 passes through the printing portion after passing through the printing portion, the medium 1 goes from the central portion thereof to the lower side of the upper fixed guide 19a and the feed roller 12, and then the inclined portion of the upper fixed guide 19a. It enters from 20a and then from the feed roller 12, and is eventually guided between the guide roller 21 and the lower fixed guide 5a by the guide rollers 21 arranged on the left and right sides thereof.

Even at this time, even if the medium 1 has a bent portion 1a at a corner or the like, the medium 1 is gradually drawn in while being corrected by being stretched by the taper portion of the peripheral surface of the guide roller 21. The inclined portions 22b and 22c, which are located in front of the guide roller 21 and have a sufficient inclination, are surely guided to the lower side of the upper fixed guide 19a and smoothly conveyed without being caught anywhere.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, first, the medium in the vicinity of the printing portion is flattened by sliding with the print head for printing by sliding in the direction orthogonal to the medium conveying direction. A movable guide that guides the movable guide, a platen that extends in the direction in which the movable guide moves, a lower fixed guide that is disposed to face the front and rear of the medium in the transport direction of the medium, and the lower fixed guide. Any one of an upper fixed guide and an upper fixed guide or a lower fixed guide which face each other with a predetermined gap and which are arranged in front of and behind the medium conveying direction with the movable guide interposed therebetween to form a medium conveying path. A plurality of rotatable feed rollers with a part of the peripheral surface projecting into the transport path from one of them, and a clamp for sandwiching and transporting the medium by being pressed against the feed rollers in opposition. In the medium conveying guide, the movable guide is formed so that its lateral width is less than about half the sliding movement width of the movable guide, and the sliding movement width of the movable guide is almost equal to the sliding movement width except when driving. With the center as the standby position, the upper fixed guide forms a part facing the movable guide in parallel when the movable guide is in the standby position, and the parallel part has an inclined portion inclined obliquely upward. Since the left and right ends on the outside of the parallel portion are provided with tapered portions so that the gap between both upper fixed guides facing each other with the movable guide interposed therebetween is gradually widened toward the outer end, Even if there are folds at the corners of the medium, the medium is caught everywhere by the inclined part of the parallel part provided in the central part of the upper fixed guide and the taper parts provided at the left and right ends. It had to be able to transport smoothly without the.

As another means, in the medium conveying guide, the movable guide is formed so that its lateral width is less than about half the sliding movement width of the movable guide, and the movable guide slides when not being driven. The standby position is approximately in the center of the width, and the upper fixed guide has a part facing the movable guide in parallel when the movable guide is in the standby position and is inclined obliquely upward to this parallel part. An inclined portion is provided, and on both sides of the parallel portion, the feed roller and a guide roller having a substantially conical shape whose outer diameter is gradually reduced from the feed roller to the outer end portion are extended to the end portion of the conveyance path. The guide roller has the same action and effect as the tapered portion by being provided.

Therefore, the movable guide can be made about half or less of the sliding width of the movable guide, and the size of the movable guide can be greatly reduced to reduce the weight of the drive system and the apparatus itself. It has become possible to reduce the size and further reduce the vibration of the device. Further, since the standby position of the movable guide is set to be substantially at the center of the moving width, the printing process can be started from either the left or right side, and therefore, the medium can be set by using either of the left and right ends as a reference end, Therefore, there is no difference in the processing time until the start of printing.

Further, in the structure provided with the guide roller,
The shape of the upper fixed guide can be greatly simplified,
It enables cost reduction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a medium transport guide according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a medium carrying guide according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the structure of a conventional medium transport guide.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 medium 1a bent portion 2 print head 3 platen 5 lower fixed guide 11 clamp roller 12 feed roller 13 medium reference guide 14 movable guide 15 upper fixed guide 16 taper portion 17 inclined portion 19 upper fixed guide 20 convex portion 21 guide roller 22 inclined Department

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A movable guide that slides in a direction perpendicular to a medium transport direction and moves integrally with a print head for printing to guide a medium near a print position to be flat, and the movable guide. A platen extending in the moving direction, a lower fixed guide that is disposed to face the front and rear of the medium in the transport direction with the platen sandwiched between the platen, and a lower fixed guide that faces the lower fixed guide with a predetermined gap and the movable guide. An upper fixed guide that forms a transport path for the medium by arranging them in front of and behind the medium in the transport direction, and a part of the peripheral surface from either the upper fixed guide or the lower fixed guide into the transport path. A medium transport guide including a plurality of rotatable rotatable feed rollers and a clamp roller that is in pressure contact with the feed rollers to clamp and transport the medium. The movable guide is formed such that its lateral width is about half or less of the sliding movement width of the movable guide, and the center of the sliding movement width of the movable guide is set to the standby position except when driving, and the upper side The fixed guide is formed such that a part thereof facing the movable guide when the movable guide is in the standby position is formed in parallel, and an inclined portion inclined obliquely upward is provided in the parallel portion, and left and right outside the parallel portion. A medium conveying guide, wherein both end portions are provided with taper portions which are inclined so that a gap between both upper fixed guides facing each other with the movable guide interposed therebetween is gradually widened toward an outer end portion. 2. A movable guide that slides in a direction orthogonal to the medium transport direction and moves integrally with a print head for printing to guide the medium near the printing position to be flat, and the movable guide A platen extending in the moving direction, a lower fixed guide that is disposed to face the front and rear of the medium in the transport direction with the platen sandwiched between the platen, and a lower fixed guide that faces the lower fixed guide with a predetermined gap and the movable guide. An upper fixed guide that forms a transport path for the medium by arranging them in front of and behind the medium in the transport direction, and a part of the peripheral surface from either the upper fixed guide or the lower fixed guide into the transport path. A medium transport guide including a plurality of rotatable rotatable feed rollers and a clamp roller that is in pressure contact with the feed rollers to clamp and transport the medium. The movable guide is formed such that its lateral width is about half or less of the sliding movement width of the movable guide, and the center of the sliding movement width of the movable guide is set to the standby position except when driving, and the upper side The fixed guide is formed such that a part thereof facing the movable guide when the movable guide is in the standby position is formed in parallel, and an inclined portion inclined obliquely upward is provided in the parallel portion, and both sides sandwiching the parallel portion are provided. A medium conveyance guide characterized in that the feed roller and a guide roller having a substantially conical shape whose outer diameter is gradually reduced from the feed roller toward the outer end portion are provided so as to extend to the end portion of the conveyance path.