JPH07383B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printer device used as an information output device in an information processing system.

—Summary of the Invention— In the conventional printer device, there is a problem that a single device has a limit when performing various print processes on various sheets, and a plurality of printer devices having different structures must be prepared. . In view of this, the present invention enables both the pushing and pulling feeding processing of continuous form paper and the feeding processing of single-cut sheets in a printer device in which the paper passages are formed in a substantially flat plane, thereby enabling a single printer. The device is designed to handle more diverse printing jobs.

-Prior Art-As a printer of an information processing system, continuous form paper and cut form paper have been conventionally used, and a printer device capable of processing both continuous form paper and cut form paper has been conventionally known. However, in such a conventional apparatus, the processing of continuous form paper is generally limited to either one of the push-feeding and the pulling-feeding. On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
By switching the direction of the tractor device 56 to the printer device that performs the printing process by winding the continuous form paper 50 around the rotary platen 51, the continuous form paper is pushed and fed (imaginary line in FIG. 9) and pulled and fed. There is known a printer device that can be used together with (the solid line in the figure).
No. 38287).

-Problems to be solved by the invention-However, in the case where the processing of continuous form paper is performed by pushing and feeding, line feed accuracy is poor, and in the case where pulling and feeding is performed, continuous form paper can be automatically retracted when processing single-cut sheets. In addition, there is a restriction such that the 1-inch cutting process cannot be performed. Further, in the structure shown in FIG. 9, since the printing process is performed while the sheet 50 is wound around the platen 51, it is impossible to perform the printing process on, for example, thick paper or envelopes, and thus, in the case of a large number of copy sheets, the sheet cannot be printed. There were inconveniences such as the print line positions being out of alignment.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned restrictions inevitably caused by the structure of the printer device, can perform various print processes on more various papers, and provides a printer device excellent in operability for the operator. It was made for the purpose of doing.

-Means for Solving Problems-Next, the structure of the present invention will be described with reference to the reference numerals of the illustrated embodiment. In the printer device, at least the basic components of the printing unit 3 formed between the print head 2 and the platen 1, the tractor device 6 for feeding the continuous form paper 50, and the roller pair 4 for feeding the cut sheet paper. However, in arranging these constituent elements, the apparatus of the present invention adopts an arrangement structure in which at least the paper passage in the vicinity of the printing unit 3 is made substantially one plane, and one of the printing units 3 is provided. A tractor device 6 and a roller pair 4 on the other
The roller pair 5 is disposed between the tractor 6 and the printing unit 3.

The tractor device 6 is driven by a rotation drive device capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions so that the continuous form paper 50 can be pushed and pulled. The roller pair 4 is provided with an upper roller 4b that is urged by its own weight or a weak spring to contact the lower roller 4a in a free state, and this support member is urged in a direction to elastically press the upper roller 4b against the lower roller 4a. A connecting pair 28 with play in member 30;
Coordinated through 32. Further, there is provided an operating body 22 for setting the urging member at three positions, that is, a position where the coupling pair is linked on one side, a position where the coupling pair is separated, and a position where the coupling pair is linked on the other side. The operating body 22 and the tractor device are provided. In conjunction with the forward / reverse switching of 6, the roller pair 4 is brought into contact with the tractor device 6 in a free state when the continuous-form paper is pushed in and fed so as to be driven in synchronization with the tractor device 6. When the second roller pair 5 is provided with the above configuration, the second roller pair 5 is the above roller pair 4
Is abutted and driven in conjunction with.

-Operation- In the apparatus of the present invention, a wide variety of papers are formed by forming the continuous paper 50 and the paper passage of the single-cut paper on a substantially flat surface at least in the vicinity of the printing unit 3 by the above-described structure at the time of pushing and pulling and feeding. In addition, the rotation of the tractor device 6 can be switched between forward and reverse to switch between continuous feeding and pulling feeding of the continuous form paper 50. The roller pair 4 for feeding the form paper is separated to reduce the feed load applied to the paper, and the roller pair 4 for feeding the form paper is abutted with a weak force when the continuous form paper is pushed and fed. By positively applying tension to the paper with pair 4,
It prevents the line feed accuracy from deteriorating at the time of pushing and feeding, and also prevents the paper from being damaged by the excessive feeding force given to the paper from the roller pair 4, and when the single-cut paper is fed, the roller pair 4 has a strong force. Abutting against each other enables reliable feeding of cut sheets.

-Embodiment- FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state when the continuous form paper 50 is pushed and fed in the apparatus of the present invention having a second roller pair, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a state when it is pulled and fed. Is.

In the figure, 1 is a platen, 2 is a print head, 3 is a platen 1.
And a print head 2 formed between the print head 2 and the print head 2. Numerals 4 and 5 are roller pairs that control the feeding of cut sheets, and these roller pairs 4 and 5 are arranged as close to the printing unit 3 as possible, and each roller pair is axially mounted at a fixed position. Drive roller 4a,
5a and driven rollers 4b, 5b which move up and down to come into contact with and separate from the drive rollers 4a, 5a. Reference numeral 6 denotes a tractor device arranged further outside the roller pair 5, and the drive pulley 6a of this tractor device, the drive rollers 4a and 5a of the roller pair, and the platen 1 are connected to each other by a timing belt (not shown) so as to be synchronously rotatable. A pulse motor capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions is used as a drive source for these. Reference numeral 7 denotes a pair of discharge rollers for cut sheets, and 9 denotes a stacker for discharged cut sheets.

A cutting edge 10 for 1-inch cutting is provided further outside the roller pair 4. Below this cutting edge 10, a slit for feeding cut sheets and continuous form paper to be pulled is provided.
An opening 11 is provided, and a paper feed tray 12 is provided so as to be connected to this. In a device that automatically feeds cut sheets, the automatic paper feeding device is installed at the position of the paper feed tray 12.
Reference numerals 13 and 14 denote photoelectric sensors for finding the top of the sheet, and reference numeral 15 denotes a photoelectric sensor for detecting the evacuation of the push-in continuous ledger sheet when processing single-cut sheets.

FIG. 8 shows a more practical embodiment in which the automatic paper feeder 71 is installed at the position of the paper feed tray 12 in FIG. 72 is an automatic paper feed roller, 73 is a lift table, and 74 is a single-cut sheet stacked on the lift table 73. In FIG. 8, the paper feed tray 12 is arranged above the automatic paper feeder 71, and the stacker 9 for single-cut paper is a double-structured guide plate for guiding the paper from the tractor device 6 to the roller pair 5. 9a and back plate 9b, and guide plate 9a
Is rotated and switched as shown by the solid line and imaginary line in the figure, and the back plate 9b is switched by being rotated around the branch pin 75 in the figure as shown by the solid line and the imaginary line. The solid line indicates the feeding state of continuous form paper, and the imaginary line indicates the feeding state of cut sheet paper. The back plate 9b is rotatable because it is the tractor 6
This is so that the continuous form paper can be loaded into the left side of the drawing.

Furthermore, in the case of FIG.
14 is installed at the same position on the roller pair 4 side, and the roller pair 5 and the printing unit 3 are brought close to each other to reduce the size of the apparatus and also to reduce the upper margin of the paper at the time of pushing and feeding, When the continuous form paper collides with the print head 2 or the like, the head of the paper is not detected, so that the paper jam can be detected in advance. Note that the push-in continuous form sheet is cueed by detecting the edge of the sheet by the sensor 14 and then retracting the sheet by a predetermined amount. Further, the sensor 15 for detecting the withdrawal of the sheet is arranged in the intermediate portion of the tractor device 6 so that the sheet edge detection and the paper end detection at the time of withdrawal can be combined.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 8, the second roller pair 5 is provided between the tractor device 6 and the printing unit 3 because the upper margin of the sheet at the time of feeding the push-in continuous form sheet is provided. In FIG. 8, the function of the discharge roller pair 7 of FIG. 1 for further pulling out the cut sheet and sending it to the stacker 9 is also borne.

FIGS. 3 to 5 show the contact / separation mechanism of the roller pairs 4 and 5. In this embodiment, the roller pair 4 is made strong and the roller pair 5 is made weak at the time of feeding a cut sheet. The roller pairs 4 and 5 are brought into abutting contact with each other weakly when the continuous form paper is pushed and fed, and the roller pairs 4 and 5 are separated from each other when the continuous form paper is pulled and fed. In FIGS. 3 to 5, reference numeral 21 denotes a control shaft arranged below the platen 1, 22
Is a cam plate fixed to the control shaft 21, and the cam plate has two stages.
Projections that become 22a and 22b are formed. Reference numerals 24 and 25 denote inverted L-shaped arms that axially support the driven rollers 4b and 5b at their upper ends. These arms 24 and 25 are pivotally supported by pins 26 and 27, and the lower end of the arm 24 is a fork. 28 is
A protrusion 29 is formed on the lower end of the arm 25. 30 and 31
Is a pin 32, 33 that fits on the fork 28 and the protrusion 29 at the upper end.
Is an L-shaped link having a lower end extending below the cam plate 22, and cam followers 34 and 35 are formed at the extending ends of the L-shaped links 30 and 31 in a direction to open the links outward. Biasing springs 36, 37 are provided.

The contact / separation of the roller pairs 4 and 5 is performed as follows by rotating the control shaft 21.

In the state shown in FIG. 3, the cam followers 34 and 35 are separated from the cam plate 22, so that the L-shaped links 30 and 31 have the springs 36 and 37.
Is urged outward by. This urging force is transmitted from the pin 32 to the fork 28 and urges the lower end of the L-shaped arm 24 to open outward so that the driven roller 4b is brought into contact with the drive roller 4a by the urging force of the spring 36. Since the L-shaped arm 25 is simply provided with the projection 29 at the lower end, the L-shaped arm 25 does not engage with the pin 33 that opens outward, and the driven roller 5a simply drives by its own weight.
Abut 5b. This state is the feeding state of cut sheets.

In the state of FIG. 4 in which the control shaft 21 is rotated to bring the cam follower 35 into contact with the lower step 22a of the protruding portion, the L-shaped link 3
The pins 0 and 31 are swung inward, the pin 32 is positioned between the forks 28, and the L-shaped link 30 and the arm 24 are disengaged from each other.
Since 33 still does not contact the protrusion 29, the driven rollers 4b and 5b contact the drive rollers 4a and 5a by their own weight in this state. This state is the pushing and feeding state of continuous form paper.

In the state shown in FIG. 5 in which the control shaft 21 is further rotated to bring the cam follower 35 into contact with the higher step 22b of the protruding portion, the L-shaped links 30 and 31 swing further inward, and the pin 32, 33 is a fork
28 and the protrusion 29 are pushed inward. This pushing action causes the L-shaped arms 24 and 25 to swing inward, and the driven rollers 4b and 5b
Are separated from the drive rollers 4a and 5a. This state is the pulling and feeding state of continuous form paper.

The forward / reverse switching of the tractor device 6 and the rotation stop of the tractor device 6 at the time of feeding a single-cut sheet may be performed in conjunction with the rotating operation of the control shaft 21.

During pulling feeding and continuous feeding of continuous form paper, the line feed direction of the paper passing through the printing unit 3 is reversed, and the reference sides thereof are also opposite. Therefore, the print information given to the print head 2 is switched as follows in accordance with the forward / reverse conversion of the tractor device 6.

As an example in the case where the print head 2 is a serial type mounted on a carrier that travels in the paper width direction, as shown in FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the left and right sides of the tractor device 6 are configured. Set both tractor units 61 and 62 movably in the paper width direction, set the tractor unit 61 to the left end reference position when pulling and feeding, and set the tractor unit 62 to the right end reference position when pushing and feeding,
Set the other tractor unit according to the paper width. And when pushing and feeding, character generator
The dot pattern output from 41 is inverted only through the dot inversion circuit 42 and applied to the row memory 43, and the scanning direction of the print head 5 is made opposite to the scanning direction at the time of pulling and feeding. That is, at the time of pulling and feeding which is the left side reference of the paper, the output pattern of the character generator 41 is filled as it is from the left side of the line memory 43, and the print head 2
While running from left to right, the line memory 43 is read from left to right for printing, while at the time of pushing and feeding, the vertically inverted pattern is filled into the line memory 43 from the left,
The printing is performed by reading the row memory 43 from left to right while moving the print head 22 from right to left. Generally, the print head 2 performs reciprocal printing, but the read state of the row memory 43 when the print head 2 travels in the opposite direction to that described above is shown by an imaginary line in the figure. That is, the output pattern of the character generator 41 is vertically inverted by the dot inversion circuit 42, and the scanning direction of the print head 2 is also inverted to horizontally invert the printing.

As another alternative to this, as shown in FIG. 7, a two-dimensional memory 45 for storing print information for one page of print paper is used.
It is also possible to employ a means which is provided with the above and which changes the direction of reading information from the memory in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the tractor device 6. In FIG. 7, the solid line shows the state during pulling and feeding, and the imaginary line shows the state during pushing and feeding.

-Effects of the Invention-According to the apparatus of the present invention described above, it is possible to perform both the push-feeding process and the pulling-feeding process of continuous form paper,
Further, it is possible to perform printing processing on single-cut sheets, and since the paths of the sheets during each of these processes can be formed in a substantially straight line, restrictions on printing processes and sheets used in conventional printer devices are lifted, and a very wide range is achieved. It is possible to provide a printer device capable of various printing processes. Furthermore, when pulling and feeding continuous form paper, the roller pairs for feeding single-cut sheets are separated to reduce the paper feed load, and when pushing and feeding continuous form paper, the roller pair placed near the printing unit By adding an additional feeding force to the paper to improve the line feed accuracy at the time of pushing and feeding, and when feeding single-cut sheets, the roller pair nips the paper with a strong force to reliably feed the single-cut sheets. Thus, it is possible to realize an ideal paper feed state during each of these processes. Also,
If the left side of FIG. 1 or 8 is the front side of the device, the processing for printed paper such as 1-inch cut at the time of push-in continuous book processing, loading operation of cut paper and pull continuous paper is all in front of the machine. It can be performed on the side, the operability of the apparatus is improved, and the work load on the operator is reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 6 are views showing a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view showing a continuous feed sheet being pushed and fed, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing a pulling feed state, FIG. 3 is a side view showing a contact / separation mechanism of a roller pair, FIGS. 4 and 5.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing its operation, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a means for inverting the information given to the print head. FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing another means that can be substituted for the means of FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a side view showing a second embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a side view showing an example of a conventional printer device. is there. 1: Platen, 2: Print head 3: Printing part, 4,5: Roller pair 6: Tractor device, 10: Paper cutting edge 21: Control axis, 22: Cam plate 24, 25: L-shaped arm, 30, 31: L-shaped link 34,35: Cam follower 61,62: Tractor unit 41: Character generator 42: Dot inversion circuit, 43: Line memory 45: Two-dimensional memory, 50: Continuous paper

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Shuji Imamura 98, Unoke-nu, Unoke-cho, Hebei-gun, Ishikawa Prefecture Usac Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inazawa Sada Nishikawa 98 Uno-nu, Unoke-cho, Hebei-gun, Ishikawa Prefecture No. 2 within Usac Electronics Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor, Kazuhiro Tanaka No. 98, Unoki Nu, Unoki-cho, Kawakita-gun, Ishikawa Prefecture (56) References JP-A-60-214980 (JP, A) ) JP-A-62-135384 (JP, A) JP-A-62-116174 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-58-120041 (JP, U)

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A tractor device (6) having a printing portion (3) formed of a print head (2) and a platen (1) facing each other and a tractor device (6), and at least the printing portion (3) being sandwiched therebetween. In a printer device in which a pair of paper feed rollers (4) capable of contacting and separating from each other on the side opposite to 6) is provided, and a passage for paper passing through the printing unit is formed on a substantially one plane, the tractor device (6) Are driven by a rotation drive device capable of forward and reverse rotation to perform printing by pushing and feeding the continuous form paper, and printing by pulling and feeding, and the paper feed roller pair (4) is a swingable support member (24). ) Is provided with an upper roller (4b) which is rotatably supported at one end thereof and which abuts the lower roller (4a) in a free state, and the other end of the support member (24) is provided with a playable pair (28,3).
2) via an urging member (30) that urges the upper roller (4b) against the lower roller (4a).
The urging member (30) is operated by the operation body (22) for setting the position of the pair of paper feed rollers (4), and thus the connecting pair (28, 32).
A position where the paper feed roller pair (4) is repressed by linking the paper feed roller pair on one side, and a position where the paper feed roller pair (4) abuts in a free state by releasing the connection pair (28, 32). The connection pair (28, 32) is linked to the other side to set the paper feed roller pair (4) at three positions, that is, a position where the operation body (22) and the tractor device (6) are directly connected. A printer device of an information processing system in which a pair of paper feed rollers (4) abuts in a free state and is driven in synchronization with a tractor device (6) when the continuous form paper is pushed and fed in association with reverse rotation switching. 2. A second paper feed roller pair (5) is provided between the tractor device (6) and the printing unit (3), and the second paper feed roller pair (5) is provided.
The pair of rollers is driven in contact with and separated from the pair of rollers (4) according to claim 1, and is driven.
The printer device according to the item. 3. The print head is mounted on a carrier running in the paper width direction, and both left and right tractor units constituting the tractor device are movable in the paper width direction.
The dot pattern of the character generator is vertically inverted and provided to the row memory, and dot inversion means and scan inversion means that inverts the mutual relationship between the traveling direction of the carrier and the readout direction of the row memory are provided. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the printer device is interlocked with the forward / reverse switching device of the rotary drive device according to claim 1. 4. A two-dimensional memory for storing print information for one page of printing paper, and a direction of reading information from the memory in cooperation with the forward / reverse switching device of the rotary drive device according to claim 1. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the printing direction and the traveling direction of the print head are changed.