JPH0797074A - Paper feeding tray locking device for color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To inhibit the lock release of a paper feeding tray without having adverse effect on a paper feeder or a printer. CONSTITUTION:A lock release inhibiting member 123 is inserted between the rear panel 4d of a paper feeding tray 4 inserted in a printer body 3 and a fixed stopper 127 formed on a chassis-106 at the rear so as to inhibit the lock release of the paper feeding tray 4. At that time, the lock release inhibiting member 123 is driven in and out between the rear panel 4d and the stopper 127 by a paper discharge motor 108 independent of a paper feeder and a printer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed tray lock device for a color printer which prints a color image by a thermal transfer method using a cut sheet of printing paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a photographic printing paper cut into A3 size or the like is supplied from a paper feed tray to a platen and wound around the outer periphery of the platen, and an ink ribbon hung between a pair of reels is heated by a thermal head. The pressure is applied to the cut paper on the outer circumference, and the cut paper is transferred by the rotation drive of the platen, at the same time, the ink ribbon is transferred integrally with the cut paper, and the transfer operation of the cut paper and the ink ribbon is repeated several times, so that the ink A sublimation color material (dye) of yellow, cyan, and magenta (three primary colors) applied to the ribbon is printed on the cut paper by the thermal transfer method so that a color image is printed on the cut paper. There is a color printer.

In the color printer of this type, the lock arm of the lock mechanism is pushed for the first time by the rear panel of the paper feed tray inserted in the printer body to lock the paper feed tray with the lock arm. Then, press the front panel of the paper tray that is inserted and locked in the printer body, and push the lock arm for the second time on the rear panel to unlock the paper tray by the lock arm and feed the paper. The tray is configured so that it can be pushed out in front of the printer body by an eject spring by a pop-up method.

Therefore, in this type of color printer, if the front panel of the paper feed tray is inadvertently pressed during paper feeding or printing, the paper feeding tray is unlocked even during paper feeding or printing. As a result, the paper feed tray is pushed out in front of the printer body by a pop-up method, which causes inconveniences such as a paper feed error, a printing error, and a paper jam.

Therefore, in the conventional color printer, the paper feeding device is rockably driven in the vertical direction, and the paper feeding tray inserted from below into the paper feeding tray prohibits unlocking of the paper feeding tray. The lock release prohibition lever driven by the head moving mechanism of the printing apparatus is configured to prohibit the lock release of the paper feed tray.

[0006]

However, in the former case, since it is necessary to increase the accuracy of engagement between the paper feed tray and the paper feed lever, it is necessary to remarkably improve the parts accuracy and the assembly accuracy of both of them. Cost more. Also, during printing, the paper feed lever must always be inserted from below in the paper feed tray, so when storing the maximum number of cut sheets in the paper feed tray, There is a problem that it is disadvantageous in saving space because it is necessary to open a large space between the top cut sheet.

Further, in the latter, since the lock release prohibiting lever is driven by the head moving mechanism of the printing apparatus,
There is concern that the motor torque of the head moving mechanism may be insufficient. In addition, since the distance between the head moving mechanism and the lock release prohibiting lever is long, the interlocking mechanism between them becomes complicated and there is also a problem that space saving is also disadvantageous.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a color system capable of prohibiting unlocking of a paper feeding tray without adversely affecting a paper feeding device or a printing device. It is an object to provide a paper feed tray lock device for a printer.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION To achieve the above object, a paper feed tray lock device of a color printer according to the present invention comprises a paper feed tray inserted in the printer body by a first push operation of the paper feed tray. In the paper feed tray lock device of the color printer, which is equipped with a push-push type locking mechanism that locks the paper feed tray and unlocks the paper feed tray by the second push operation by the paper feed tray. A lock release prohibiting member for prohibiting the second push operation of the paper feed tray locked by the lock mechanism by the first push operation is provided, and the lock release prohibiting member is provided on the rear panel of the paper feed tray and The lock release prohibition part is configured so that it can be freely taken in and out between the stopper formed on the chassis at the rear and the stopper. By independent by motor against the sheet feeding device and the printing device is obtained by adapted and out driven between the rear panel and the stopper.

[0010]

The sheet feeding tray locking device of the color printer according to the present invention constructed as described above comprises the rear panel of the sheet feeding tray inserted in the printer body and the fixed stopper formed on the chassis behind the sheet feeding tray. A lock release prohibition member is inserted between the lock tray and the paper feed tray to prohibit the lock release, and at this time, the lock release prohibition member is provided to the rear panel and the stopper by a motor independent of the paper feed device and the printing device. It is driven in and out between and.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a paper feed tray lock device for a color printer of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of Color Printer] First, an outline of the color printer will be described with reference to FIG.

This color printer 1 uses photographic paper in A3 size.
A color image is printed on a cut sheet 2 cut into a size or the like. Then, at a position near one side of the front panel 3a of the printer body 3 (a position near the right side in FIG. 13), from the bottom, the insertion port 5 of the paper feed tray 4, the discharge port 6 of the cut paper 2, the operation panel 7, and the like. Is provided.
Further, the printing device 8 is housed at one side (left side in FIG. 13) of the mounting position of the paper feed tray 4 in the printer body 3, and the platen 80 of the printing device 8 ejects paper from a paper ejection device described later. It is arranged parallel to the direction of arrow d.

Then, a large number of cut sheets 2 are fed to a paper feed tray 4
The sheets are vertically stacked and accommodated at one time, and the sheet feeding tray 4 is horizontally inserted into the printer body 3 from the insertion opening 5 of the front panel 3a in the direction of the arrow a, and the sheet feeding tray shown in FIG. The tray lock device 12 locks the paper feed tray.

At the start of printing, the uppermost cut sheet 2 in the paper feeding tray 4 is placed on the platen 80 of the printing device 8 from below by the paper feeding device, which will be described below. Arrow b, which is the direction perpendicular to the direction
Paper is fed from the direction.

After the printing is completed, the cut sheet 2 is discharged from the upper side of the platen 80 of the printing apparatus 8 to the upper position of the paper feed tray 4 in the direction of arrow c which is the opposite direction of the direction of arrow b.

Then, after that, by the sheet discharging device described later, the cut sheet 2 is in a direction orthogonal to the arrow c direction which is the transport direction of the cut sheet 2 at the time of printing, and the sheet feeding tray 4
The sheet is ejected in the direction of arrow d, which is the opposite direction to the mounting direction, and is horizontally fed to the sheet ejection port 6.

[Explanation of modes of color printer] Next,
Each mode of the color printer will be described in order with reference to FIGS.

First, FIG. 9 shows the mounting state of the paper feed tray 4, and the paper receiving plate 4 is placed on the bottom portion 4a of the paper feed tray 4.
b is placed, and a large number of cut papers 2 are stacked on the paper receiving plate 4b and housed in the paper feed tray 4.
Then, the paper feed tray 4 is horizontally inserted between a paper feed lever 90 constituting the paper feed device 9 arranged at the bottom of the printer body 3 and a paper feed belt 91, and the paper feed tray 4 has a bottom 4 a. The opening 4c formed in is set right above the paper feed lever 90.

Next, FIG. 10 shows the paper feeding mode. The paper feeding lever 90 of the paper feeding device 9 is rotationally driven by the rotating shaft 92 in the direction of arrow e which is the upper direction to the paper feeding position. The paper lever 90 is inserted into the paper feed tray 4 from below through the opening 4c and the paper receiving plate 4b is pushed up to press the uppermost cut paper 2 against the paper feed belt 91 from below.

Then, when the paper feed belt 91 and the platen 80 of the printing device 8 are rotationally driven in the directions of arrows f and g, the uppermost cut sheet 2 is sent out in the direction of arrow c and the cut sheet 2 is fed. It is guided by 93 and is wound around the outer periphery of the platen 80 from below.

At this time, a pair of pinch rollers 81 which are pressed against the outer periphery of the platen 80 which is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow g and are rotated in synchronization with each other, and as shown by a one-dot chain line only immediately after the start of sheet feeding. Is rotated about the fulcrum shaft 82 in the direction of the arrow h, and then the cut sheet 2 is guided by the thermal head 83 which is separated and returned in the direction of the arrow h ′ and is wound around the outer periphery of the platen 80 in the direction of the arrow c.

Then, once the cut sheet 2 is sent in the direction of arrow c to the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG.
As shown in, the paper feed lever 90 is moved to the printing position by the arrow e '.
11 and the platen 80 is reversely rotated in the direction of the arrow g ′ to return the cut sheet 2 in the direction of the arrow c ′ as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is set at the printing start position on the paper feed table 94 which is already set. During this time, the thermal head 83 is shown in FIG.
It is separated from the platen 80 in the direction of the arrow h ′ as shown by the dotted line.

Next, FIG. 11 shows the printing mode. In the printing apparatus 8, the ink ribbon 84 is attached to the platen 8.
Take-up reel 85 and supply reel 86 arranged above and below 0
It is wound between the platen 80 and the thermal head 83, and is vertically stretched between the platen 80 and the thermal head 83. And
Dyes, which are sublimable coloring materials of yellow, magenta, and cyan (three primary colors), are applied along a surface of the ink ribbon 84 on the platen 80 side in a pattern repeated at a constant pitch.

Then, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 11, the thermal head 82 is rotated in the direction of arrow h about the fulcrum shaft 82, and the thermal head 82 causes the ink ribbon 84 to move.
Is pressed against the cut paper 2 on the outer periphery of the platen 80 from the direction of arrow h, and the platen 80 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow g. Then, the cut sheet 2 is transported in the direction of the arrow c, and the friction torque between the cut sheet 2 and the ink ribbon 84 causes the ink ribbon 84 to be sent out integrally with the cut sheet 2 in the direction of the arrow i, and the first printing step. Is done.
At this time, the ink ribbon 8 fed in the direction of arrow i
4 is wound around the take-up reel 85 in the direction of arrow j.

In the first printing step, the yellow dye on the ink ribbon 84 is sublimated by heating the thermal head 83, and at the same time, the yellow dye is thermally transferred to the cut paper 2.
Print a yellow image on.

Next, as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 11, the thermal head 83 is separated from the platen 80 in the direction of the arrow h ', and the platen 80 is reversely driven in the direction of the arrow g', so that the cut sheet 2 After returning to the direction of the arrow c'on the paper feeding table 94, the second printing process similar to the above is performed, and the magenta dye of the ink ribbon 84 is sublimated and transferred at the same time to transfer the yellow image of the cut paper 2. The image of magenta is overlaid on and printed.

Then, in the same manner, the third printing step is performed to sublimate the cyan dye of the ink ribbon 84 and at the same time to perform thermal transfer to superimpose the cyan image on the yellow and magenta images of the cut paper 2. To print, and finally,
Prints a color image composed of yellow, magenta, and cyan dyes.

Next, FIG. 12 shows the sheet discharge mode. After the printing process is completed, the sheet discharge roller 100 disposed obliquely above the platen 80 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow k, and the sheet discharge roller 100 is driven. The cut sheet 2 pressed by the pinch roller 101 is discharged in the direction of arrow c, and placed on the sheet discharge tray 102 of the sheet discharge device 10 described later. Then, after this, the sheet discharge device 10 discharges the cut sheet 2 in the direction of arrow d in FIG. 13 and sends it to the sheet discharge port 6.

[Outline Description of Paper Discharge Device] Next, an outline of the paper discharge device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

First, the paper feed tray 4 in the printer body 3
A paper output tray 102 of the paper output device 10 is provided on the lateral side of the platen 80 of the printing device 8 above the mounting position of the paper output device 10. The paper output base 102 is a horizontal plate connected to the paper output port 6. The low part 102a and the high part 102b having substantially the same height as the discharge roller 100 are formed in a stepped shape.

A pair of slits 103 are formed in the high part 102b in parallel with the direction of the arrow d, which is the paper discharge direction. The high part 102b is inserted through these slits 103.
A pair of vertical and parallel paper ejection arms 1 projecting above b
A paper discharge lever 104 having 04a is provided rotatably around the fulcrum shaft 105 in the directions of arrows m and m '.

Then, as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 7 and 8, the cut sheet 2 after printing is printed from the platen 80 to the arrow c.
The cut sheet 2 is ejected in the direction, and is placed across the lower part 102a and the upper part 102b of the paper ejection tray 102.

Next, the paper discharge lever 104 of the paper discharge device 10 is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow m from the backward movement position shown by the solid line in FIGS. The paper arm 104a moves the two points on the rear end 2a of the cut sheet 2 by the arrow d.
Push parallel to the direction.

Then, the cut sheet 2 is pushed out in parallel with the direction of the arrow d, and as shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 7 and 8.
The cut sheet 2 is slid in the direction of arrow d from the high part 102b of the paper output tray 102 to the low part 102a, and the front end 2b of the cut sheet 2 is formed under the operation panel 7 of the printer body 3. It is sent to the paper discharge port 6.

Then, the operator can insert the fingertip into the recess 6a formed in the lower central portion of the sheet discharge port 6 and pull out the cut sheet 2 from the sheet discharge tray 6.

[Detailed Description of Paper Discharging Device] Next, FIGS.
The details of the paper discharge device 10 will be described below.

First, the arrow a on the rear side of the paper discharge tray 102
On the direction side, a motor mounting plate 107 is vertically mounted on the chassis 106. And this motor mounting plate 1
A paper discharge motor 108 is attached to one side of the motor 07 in an upward direction, and a worm 109 fixed to a motor shaft 108 a of the paper output motor 108 is attached to a motor attachment plate 107 via a gear train 111 having a worm wheel 110 and a cam gear 112. Is linked to. Therefore, the motor 108
The cam gear 112 is configured to rotate in the normal and reverse directions around the gear shaft 112a in the directions of arrows n and n'through the worm 109, the worm wheel 110, and the gear train 111.

The fulcrum shaft 10 is attached to the motor mounting plate 107.
5 is horizontally fixed, the lower end of the paper discharge lever 104 is rotatably attached to the fulcrum shaft 105 in the directions of arrows m and m ′, and the cam driven lever 113 is also attached to the same fulcrum shaft 105 by arrows o and o ′. It is attached so that it can rotate in any direction. A cam pin 114 integrally formed on one side surface of the cam gear 112 is loosely fitted in a cam driven hole 115, which is an elongated hole formed in the cam driven lever 113. A connecting arm 113a integrally formed on the upper portion of the cam driven lever 113 is connected to a connecting portion 104b integrally formed on an intermediate portion of the paper discharge lever 104 in the vertical direction.

Then, the arc-shaped light reflection plate 1 made of aluminum foil or the like is formed on the other side of the cam gear 112 by adhesion or the like.
The position detector 118 of the cam gear 112 is constituted by 16 and a light reflection type optical sensor 117 which is attached to the motor mounting plate 107 and detects both ends 116a and 116b of the light reflection plate 116 in the rotation direction.

[0041]

[Description of Operation of Paper Discharge Device] Next, the operation of the paper discharge device 10 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG.
When 4 is moved back to the returning position in the direction of the arrow m ′, the optical sensor 117 of the position detector 118 detects the one end 116 a of the light reflecting plate 116.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 and FIG.
When the discharge motor 108 is driven to rotate in the normal direction by the discharge command signal, the cam gear 112 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow n.

Then, the cam pin 114 is moved to the cam driven hole 11 by the cam pin 114.
5 is driven in the direction of arrow n to rotate the cam driven arm 113 in the direction of arrow o around the fulcrum shaft 105, and the connecting arm 113a causes the paper discharge lever 104 to move to the fulcrum shaft 105.
1 is rotated in the direction of arrow m from the backward movement position shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 to the forward movement position shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6.

Then, the pair of paper ejection arms 104a of the paper ejection lever 104 push the two points of the rear end 2a of the cut paper 2 in parallel to the direction of the arrow d, and the cut paper 2 is moved as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. From the high part 102a to the low part 102 of the paper ejection tray 102
Push in the direction of arrow d up to b, and the tip 2a of the cut sheet 2
Is sent to the paper exit 6.

Then, as shown in FIG.
When 04 reaches the forward movement position, the optical sensor 117 of the position detector 118 detects the other end 116b of the light reflection plate 116,
By the signal from the optical sensor 117, the paper ejection motor 1
08 is driven in reverse rotation.

Then, the cam gear 112 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction in the arrow n'and the cam driven lever 113 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction in the arrow o ', and the paper discharge lever 104 is moved to the discharge lever 104 by the connecting arm 113a. The reverse rotation is performed in the direction of the arrow m'from the forward movement position of 6 to the backward movement position of FIGS. 1, 3, and 5. Then, as shown in FIG.
The optical sensor 117 detects the one end 116a of the light reflection plate 116 again, and the sheet discharge motor 108 is stopped by the signal from the optical sensor 117.

[0048]

[Description of Paper Feed Tray Lock Device] Next, the paper feed tray lock device 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6 and 8.

As shown in FIG. 8, the paper feed tray lock device 12 is located behind the vertical rear panel 4d of the paper feed tray 4 which is inserted into the printer body 3 from the insertion port 5 in the direction of the arrow a (paper feed). Arrow a, which is the insertion direction side of the tray 4.
Mounted on the chassis 106.

The paper feed tray lock device 12 is equipped with a push-push type lock mechanism 120 fixed on the chassis 106.
The lock arm 121 formed in a substantially L-shape that protrudes downward from 0 toward the arrow a'direction is locked from above by the lock arm locking portion 122 integrally formed on the rear panel 4d of the paper feed tray 4. By doing so, the paper feed tray 4 is configured to be locked in the printer body 3.

That is, when the paper feed tray 4 is pulled out of the printer body 3 in the direction of the arrow a'in FIG. 8, the lock arm 121 of the lock mechanism 120 reaches the backward movement position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. It is projected in the arrow p'direction which is the upper front direction.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is inserted into the printer body 3 from the direction of arrow a,
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, the rear panel 4d of the paper feed tray 4 inserted from the arrow a direction pushes the lock arm 121 in the arrow a direction for the first time.

Then, the lock arm 121 is guided by the internal mechanism of the lock mechanism 120 and is pushed to the lock position shown by the solid line in FIG. The lock arm 121 is locked from above and the lock arm 121 is automatically locked by the internal mechanism of the lock mechanism 120, so that the paper feed tray 4 is locked at the insertion position in the printer body 3. It is locked as it is by 121.

Next, with the paper feed tray 4 in the locked state, as shown in FIG.
The front panel 4e of the paper feed tray 4 shown in FIG.
Push in the direction. Then, as indicated by the one-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the rear panel 4d of the paper feed tray 4 pushes the lock arm 121 in the direction of arrow a for the second time.

Then, in this second push operation,
The lock arm 121 is guided by the internal mechanism of the lock mechanism 120 and is pushed in parallel in the arrow a direction from the locked position shown by the solid line to the unlocked position shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG. The lock of the arm 121 is automatically released.

Then, after that, the lock arm 121 is moved by the built-in spring (not shown) of the lock mechanism 120 as shown in FIG.
4 is automatically pushed in the directions of arrows a'and p'from the unlocked position shown by the one-dot chain line to the return position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 and the lock arm 121 is fed. At the same time as the tray 4 is automatically disengaged above the lock arm engaging portion 122, the paper feed tray 4 is automatically ejected from the inside of the printer body 3 by a certain amount in the direction of arrow a'in FIG. 13 by an eject spring (not shown). Extruded into. After that, the paper feed tray 4 is attached to the printer body 3
It will be pulled out by hand in the direction of arrow a from inside.

[0057]

[Description of Lock Release Inhibiting Member] Next, the lock release inhibiting member 123 provided in the lock mechanism 120 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the upper end of the unlocking prohibiting member 123 is rotatable in the front and rear direction in the directions of arrows q and q'through a horizontal fulcrum shaft 124 on the lower end of one side surface of the cam driven lever 113 of the paper discharge device 10. Is attached to. A torsion spring 125 that urges the unlocking prohibiting member 123 to rotate in the direction of arrow q ′ is attached around the fulcrum shaft 124, and a projection 126 that pushes the unlocking prohibiting member 123 in the direction of arrow q is driven by the cam. It is integrally formed on one side surface of the lever 113.

Then, the lock release prohibiting member 123
Is a rear panel 4d of the paper feed tray 4 and a vertically fixed stopper 127 formed on the chassis 106 behind (on the side of the arrow a) (fixed by bending or integrally forming or fixing with screws). It is configured so that it can be freely taken in and out in the directions of arrows r and r'from above. In addition,
A lock release prohibiting member 123 is provided on the upper end of the stopper 127.
Is formed with a slope 123a for guiding.

[0060]

[Description of Operation of Lock Release Inhibiting Member] First, when the power is turned on, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, and 6, the paper discharge motor 108 is driven to rotate normally, and the cam gear 112 is rotated in the direction of arrow n. It is driven to rotate.

Then, the paper discharge lever 104 is rotated to the forward movement position in the direction of the arrow m, and the cam driven lever 113 is moved.
As a result, the fulcrum shaft 124 of the lock release prohibiting member 123 is raised in the arrow o direction around the fulcrum shaft 105, and the lock release prohibiting member 123 is pulled up in the direction of the arrow r from between the rear panel 4e of the paper feed tray 4 and the stopper 127. .

At this time, the projection 126 of the cam driven lever 113 causes the lock release inhibiting member 123 to twist the spring 125.
The lock release prohibiting member 123 is pulled up in the direction of arrow r by pushing in the direction of arrow q against.

Next, when the print button is pressed, the above-described paper feeding and printing are performed, and as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, the paper discharge motor 108 is reversely rotated and the cam gear 112 is driven. Is reversely rotated in the direction of arrow n '.

Then, the paper discharge lever 104 is rotated in the direction of the arrow m'to the return position, and the cam driven lever 11 is moved.
3, the fulcrum shaft 124 of the lock release prohibiting member 123 is lowered in the arrow o'direction around the fulcrum shaft 105, and the lock release prohibiting member 123 is placed between the rear panel 4d of the sheet feeding tray 4 and the stopper 127 in the arrow r'direction. Inserted from.

At this time, the lock release inhibiting member 123 is guided by the inclined surface 127a of the stopper 127 and smoothly inserted between the rear panel 4d and the stopper 127 in the direction of the arrow r '. And the cam driven lever 1
The protrusion 126 of 13 is separated from the lock release prohibiting member 123 in the arrow q'direction, and the lock release inhibiting member 123 is brought into contact with the rear panel 4d from the arrow q'direction by the torsion spring 125.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, when the lock release inhibiting member 123 is inserted between the rear panel 4d of the sheet feeding tray 4 and the stopper 127, the lock release inhibiting member 123 is released. It becomes impossible to push the paper feed tray 4 in the direction of arrow a at all, and the unlocking of the paper feed tray 4 is prohibited.

Only during the above-described paper discharge, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6, in synchronization with the paper discharge lever 104 which is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow m, the unlocking prohibiting member 12 is released.
3 is pulled up in the direction of arrow r from between the rear panel 4d and the stopper 127, but was rotated in the direction of arrow m ', as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, at the time of feeding and printing. In synchronization with the paper discharge lever 104, the lock release prohibiting member 123 causes the rear panel 4d and the stopper 127 to operate.
Is held in the state of being inserted from the direction of the arrow r'between.

Therefore, during feeding or printing, the front panel 4e of the feeding tray 4 shown in FIG. 8 is inadvertently pushed in the direction of arrow a, so that the locking of the feeding tray 4 is inadvertently released. As a result, the paper feed tray 4 is pushed out in the direction of arrow a by the pop-up method, and there is no inconvenience such as a paper feed error, a printing error, and a paper jam.

When the series of operations of the above-mentioned paper feeding → printing → paper discharging is completed or the power is turned off, the paper discharging lever 104 moves to the forward movement position as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 6. The lock release prohibiting member 1
23 is pulled up in the direction of the arrow r from between the rear panel 4d and the stopper 127, the paper feed tray 4 is moved in the direction of the arrow a.
By pushing in the direction, the lock arm 121 of the lock mechanism 120 is unlocked, and the paper feed tray 4 can be pulled out from the inside of the printer body 2 in the arrow a'direction.

The above is a description of one embodiment of the present invention.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention.

[0071]

The paper feed tray lock device of the color printer of the present invention constructed as described above has the following effects.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a lock release prohibiting member is inserted between a rear panel of a paper feed tray inserted in the printer body and a fixed stopper formed on the chassis behind the paper feed tray, and a paper feed tray is provided. The lock release prohibition member is controlled by a motor independent of the paper feeding device and the printing device so that the lock release prohibiting member is driven in and out between the rear panel and the stopper. Inadvertent unlocking of the paper feed tray during printing or printing can be prevented in advance, and inconveniences such as paper feeding errors, printing errors, and paper jams can be prevented.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lock release prohibiting member is inserted between the rear panel of the paper feed tray and the stopper on the chassis to prohibit the lock release of the paper feed tray. Since it is not necessary to increase the engagement accuracy as in the case of the paper feed lever that also serves as the lock release prohibiting member, and the component accuracy and the assembly accuracy can be reduced, the cost can be reduced.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the lock release prohibiting member unrelated to the paper feed lever prohibits the lock release of the paper feed tray outside the paper feed tray, the maximum number of cut sheets stored in the paper feed tray is stored. It is not necessary to open a large space between the paper feed roller and the uppermost cut paper in the paper feed tray, and the color printer can be downsized by saving space.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the lock release prohibiting member is driven by the motor independent of the paper feeding device and the printing device, there is a concern that the torque of the motor of the head moving mechanism of the printing device is insufficient. There is no adverse effect on the paper feeding device or printing device.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lock release prohibiting member is inserted between the rear panel of the paper feed tray and the stopper formed on the chassis behind the paper feed tray to prohibit the lock release of the paper feed tray. Positions of the release prohibiting member and the stopper can be set arbitrarily, the degree of freedom in design is great, and the cost can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the lock release inhibiting member is driven by the cam gear driven by the motor, the rotational force of the motor is easily changed in direction by the cam gear to supply the lock releasing inhibiting member. It is possible to smoothly move in and out between the rear panel of the paper tray and the stopper.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the motor is composed of a paper discharge motor, and the unlocking inhibiting member and the paper discharge lever are driven in synchronization by the cam gear driven by the paper discharge motor. One paper discharge motor can drive both the paper discharge lever and the lock release prohibiting member, and the number of motors can be reduced to reduce the number of assembling steps and reduce the cost. Further, since the load applied to the paper discharge motor during the paper discharge operation is very small, there is no fear of insufficient torque of the paper discharge motor due to driving the lock release prohibiting member by the paper discharge motor.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there are provided a paper discharge lever and a paper discharge motor which are conveniently arranged above the rear panel of the paper feed tray in the printer body, and a lock release prohibiting member which is put in and taken out behind the rear panel of the paper feed tray. Since they can be interlocked, in particular, the distance between the paper discharge motor and the lock release mechanism is short, the interlocking mechanism between them can be simplified, and space can be saved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a paper discharge device and a paper feed tray lock device in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention in a lock release prohibited state of a paper feed tray.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing an unlockable state of the paper feed tray of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view showing a locked state of the paper feed tray by the lock arm of the lock mechanism in the state of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway side view showing the unlocking operation of the paper feed tray by the lock arm of the lock mechanism in the state of FIG. 2;

5 is a partially cutaway side view showing the position detection state of the cam gear position detector in the state of FIG. 1, viewed from the side opposite to FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway side view showing the position detection state of the cam gear position detector in the state of FIG. 2, as seen from the side opposite to FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the outline of the entire paper discharge device.

8 is a cross-sectional side view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional front view showing the state before the start of sheet feeding of the color printer.

FIG. 10 is a sectional front view showing a paper feed mode of the color printer.

FIG. 11 is a sectional front view showing a printing mode of the color printer.

FIG. 12 is a sectional front view showing a paper discharge mode of the color printer.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the entire color printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Color Printer 2 Cut Paper 3 Printer Body 4 Paper Feed Tray 4d Paper Feed Tray Rear Panel 4e Paper Feed Tray Front Panel 5 Paper Feed Tray Insertion Port 7 Operation Panel 8 Printing Device 9 Paper Feeding Device 10 Paper Ejecting Device 12 Paper Feeding Tray lock device 102 Paper ejection table 104 Paper ejection lever 105 Paper ejection lever fulcrum shaft 106 Chassis 107 Motor mounting plate 108 Paper ejection motor 111 Gear train 112 Cam gear 113 Cam driven lever 114 Cam pin 115 Cam driven hole 120 Lock mechanism 121 Lock arm 122 Locking arm locking part of paper tray 123 Lock release prohibition member 124 Lock release prohibition member fulcrum shaft 127 Stopper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A push that locks the paper feed tray by a first push operation by a paper feed tray inserted in the printer body and unlocks the paper feed tray by a second push operation by the paper feed tray. In a paper feed tray lock device of a color printer having a push-type lock mechanism, a second push operation of the paper feed tray inserted into the printer body and locked by the lock mechanism in the first push operation A lock release prohibition member for prohibiting the lock release prohibition member is provided, and the lock release prohibition member is configured to be freely inserted and removed between the rear panel of the paper feed tray and a stopper formed on the chassis behind the rear panel. Between the rear panel and the stopper by a motor independent of the paper feeding device and the printing device. Paper feed tray lock device of a color printer, characterized by being configured so as to be put drive. 2. A paper feed tray lock device for a color printer according to claim 1, wherein said lock release prohibiting member is driven by a cam gear driven by said motor. 3. The motor according to claim 2, wherein the motor is a paper discharge motor, and the lock release prohibiting member and the paper discharge lever are driven in synchronization by the cam gear driven by the paper discharge motor. Paper tray lock device for color printer.