JPH08259051A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a device of simple structure for recording images on rolled paper, to which a low cost manual feed mechanism is added. CONSTITUTION: An image recording device is constituted in such a way that a paper guide 13 for manually feeding abuts on the front of a roller 14 which feeds rolled paper, and any of both of rolled paper 1 and paper sheet 9 are fed from the roller 14 which feeds rolled paper. This constitution eliminates a feed roller which feeds exclusively paper sheet and a sensor which detects the presence and absence of paper sheets, reducing the number of mechanical part items. Thus, paper sheets can be fed in a simple constitution.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus such as a printer and a plotter, and more particularly to an image recording apparatus mainly using roll paper and further including a manual feed mechanism using sheet paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various types of image recording apparatuses have been known which mainly use roll paper and are provided with a manual feed mechanism. An example is shown in FIG. In the apparatus, main mechanical parts such as an exposing part, a developing part, and a heat fixing part are formed inside one structural body, and an image is formed by the following procedure.

First, the roll paper 1 is cut into a predetermined length by a cutter 2. The photoconductor 3a is charged by the charging device 3b, a latent image is formed by the exposing device 4, and toner is attached by the developing device 5a to visualize the latent image. Then, the photoreceptor 3a and the roll paper 1 are brought into close contact with each other, and the visible image is transferred onto the roll paper 1 by the transfer device 6. (Hereinafter, the paper cut by the cutter 2 is referred to as cut paper, and the paper not cut by the cutter 2 is referred to as sheet paper 9.) After separating the roll paper 1 by the separator 7, the roll paper is separated by the heat fixing device 8. The toner image on 1 is fixed. The manual sheet 9a is inserted from near the registration roller 10a, and the manual sheet feeding roller 10a is inserted.
b and the sheet paper presence sensor 11 detect and position the image to form an image through the same path as in the above process.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned prior art has the following problems. The conventional manual feed mechanism is
The roll paper 1 is added to the path for forming an image and is composed of the manual feed roller 10b and the sheet paper presence / absence sensor 11, which causes a problem that the mechanism is complicated and the cost is high to realize it. Was.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problems in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus having a simple mechanism and low cost. In order to solve the above problems, in an image recording apparatus provided with a roller that supplies roll paper, a cutter that cuts the roll paper to a predetermined length, and a roller that removes slack of the roll paper, a paper guide for manual feeding is Both the roll paper and the sheet paper are contacted in front of the roller for supplying the roll paper, and both the roll paper and the sheet paper are fed from the roller for feeding the roll paper. It is characterized by having a case that also serves as a guide, a paper guide housed inside the case, and a guide that regulates the width direction of the paper.

[0006]

EXAMPLES The image recording apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to Examples. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an embodiment of the present invention. The case 12 also serves as an exterior cover, and is configured to pull out the paper guide 13.
The roll paper 1 is fed by pulling out the paper feed unit 31 of the one-dot chain line portion in FIG. Roller 1 for supplying roll paper
4 (hereinafter referred to as a supply roller) is rotationally driven counterclockwise by a chain and a motor (not shown). The cutter 2 located above it is rotationally driven by the same drive system as the supply roller 14. Furthermore, the roller 15 above it
(Hereinafter, referred to as a cutter upper roller.) Is arranged so that the roll paper 1 does not sag when the roll paper 1 is cut. The registration roller 10a is rotationally driven clockwise by a chain and a motor (not shown). The photoconductor 3a has a three-layer structure in which the photosensitive layer on the conductive substrate is covered with a transparent insulating layer, and is rotated counterclockwise by a motor (not shown).

The charger 3b is positioned so as to keep a distance of about 1 mm from the photoconductor 3a. The exposing device 4 and the developing device 5a are brought into contact with the photoconductor 3a by a roller (not shown), and the distance between the exposing device 4 and the photoconductor 3a and the developing device 5a.
The distance between the photoconductor 3a and the photoconductor 3a is kept constant. The cleaner 16 is configured such that the blade portion 17 uniformly presses in the radial direction of the photoconductor 3a. The transfer device 6 and the separator 7 are positioned so as to keep a distance of about 12 mm from the photoconductor 3a. The thermal fixing device 8 is rotationally driven by a chain and a motor (not shown).

Next, the operation of FIG. 1 will be described. First, the operation of the process will be described. When the image recording apparatus receives a signal from a controller (not shown), the photoconductor 3a starts rotating counterclockwise in the figure. The photoconductor 3a is negatively charged by the charger 3b supplied with a negative high-voltage current from the high-voltage power supply. Then, when it reaches the exposure device 4, the image pattern is exposed according to a command from the controller,
An electrostatic latent image is formed and enters the developing device 5a. In the developing device 5a, the toner on the sleeve 5b comes into contact with the photoconductor 3a, so that the electrostatic latent image is developed and visualized. Next, the roll paper 1 sent from the paper feed unit is brought into close contact with the photoconductor 3a, and the visible image on the photoconductor 3a is transferred onto the roll paper 1 by the transfer device 6 by charging with a positive high-voltage current from the high-voltage power supply. It After the transfer, the roll paper 1 is transferred to the photoconductor 3 by the separator 7.
It is separated from a and guided to the heat fixing device 8. Photoconductor 3a
The residual toner is wiped off by the edge of the pressed blade 17, and the next process cycle is repeated again.

The operation of feeding the roll paper 1 will be described. Simultaneously with the rotation of the photoconductor 3a, the supply roller 14 and the cutter upper roller 15 rotate counterclockwise, which is the paper conveyance direction, and the registration roller 10a rotates clockwise, so that the roll paper 1
Pull out the leading edge of the roll paper 1. If the leading edge of the sheet does not reach the jam sensor 18 within a certain time, it is determined as an error. The leading end of the pulled-out roll paper 1 passes through the cutter 2 and the cutter upper roller 15 and then passes through the registration roller 1
Bite into 0a. Here, several meters from the registration roller 10a
There is a jam sensor 19 at a position after passing m, and if the leading edge of the roll paper 1 does not pass within a certain time, it is an error. When the pulled-out amount of the roll paper 1 reaches a predetermined cut size, for example, A4, the clutch of the cutter 2 (not shown) is turned on and the rotary blade 20 of the cutter 2 rotates clockwise to cut the roll paper 1. Further, there is a jam sensor 21 about 100 mm ahead of the photoconductor 3a, and if the leading edge of the roll paper 1 does not pass within a certain time, it is an error. The roll paper 1 that has passed the jam sensor 21 passes through the heat fixing device 8. There is a jam sensor 22 about 10 mm ahead of the heat fixing device 8, and if the leading edge of the roll paper 1 does not pass within a certain time, it is an error. If the trailing edge of the cut sheet does not pass within a certain time, an error will occur. The cut sheets that have passed through the jam sensor 22 are stacked on the stacker.

Further, the manual feed mechanism portion of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The case 12 is rotatably attached to frames (not shown) on both sides by a pin 23 driven into the case 12. Latch 2
4 are attached to both sides of the shaft 25.
A lever 26 is attached to the center of the shaft 25. The paper guide 13 is attached so that it can be stored in the case 12, and the paper guide 13 is attached with a guide 27 that restricts the width direction of the sheet paper.
To switch the roll paper 1 standby state to the sheet paper 9 standby state, first pull the lever 26 in the direction of the arrow to disengage the latch 24 from the pin 28 and rotate it to the contact pin 29 attached to the side frame (not shown). The manual feed mechanism is positioned. Next, the paper guide 13 is pulled out from the case 12 until it comes into contact with the paper guide 30. After that, the sheet paper 9 is set as shown in FIG. 1 described above, and the paper feeding unit 31 of the one-dot chain line portion is pushed into the main body.

FIG. 3 shows the roll paper 1 in the standby state. The case 12 is hooked on a pin 28 attached to a side frame (not shown) by a latch 24. In this state, the outer case and the case 12 are substantially flush with each other.

FIG. 4 shows a sheet paper standby state.
This position is determined by the contact pin 29 described above. FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the manual feed mechanism section. Insert the sheet paper 9 from the direction of the arrow and set it.

Next, a print sequence for manual feeding is shown. First, the paper feed unit 31 in the one-dot chain line portion is pulled out, and that portion is pulled out. The roll paper 1 is removed from the supply roller 14 while rotating the knob 32 attached to the supply roller 14 clockwise. The case 12 is tilted toward the apparatus main body, the paper guide 13 is pulled out from the case 12, and is pulled out until it abuts the paper guide 30 of the main body. Here, the sheet paper 9 of a predetermined size is set along the guide 27 that regulates the width direction. Knob 32 of supply roller 14
Is fed to the supply roller 14 and rotated until the leading edge of the sheet paper 9 is aligned to the position of the mark on the paper guide 30.

Next, the sheet feeding unit 31 is returned to the inside of the apparatus main body, and the setting of the sheet paper 9 is completed. The subsequent sequence is the same as that of the roll paper 1. The manual feed mode can be released by reversing the above. If one sheet is printed, the process is terminated here. If a plurality of sheets are printed, the above operation is repeated. The above-mentioned image recording apparatus has been shown as an example of the electrophotographic apparatus, but it can also be applied to image recording apparatuses of other methods.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, the manual paper guide of the image recording apparatus is brought into contact with the front of the roll paper supply roller so that both the roll paper and the sheet paper can be easily operated. Since the roll paper supply roller is used for feeding, a sheet paper supply roller and a sheet paper presence sensor are not required. Therefore, the mechanical parts can be omitted and the sheet paper can be fed with a simple structure, resulting in low cost. In addition, since the number of mechanical parts is reduced, the weight of the device can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of an image recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the manual feed mechanism portion of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a roll paper standby state of the manual feed mechanism unit of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a sheet paper standby state of the manual feed mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a manual feed mechanism section of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a conventional image recording device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Roll Paper 2 Cutter 3a Photosensitive Member 3b Charging Device 4 Exposure Device 5a Developing Device 5b Sleeve 6 Transfer Device 7 Separator 8 Heat Fixing Device 9 Sheet Paper 10a Registration Roller 12 Case 13, 30 Paper Guide 14 Supply Roller 15 Cutter Upper Roller 16 Cleaner 17 Blade part 18, 19, 21, 22 Jam sensor 20 Rotating blade 23, 28 Pin 24 Latch 25 Shaft 26 Lever 27 Guide 29 Degree contact pin 31 Paper feed unit 32 Knob

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image recording apparatus comprising: a roller for supplying roll paper; a cutter for cutting the roll paper to a predetermined length; and a roller for removing the slack of the roll paper. An image recording apparatus, wherein both the roll paper and the sheet paper are in contact with before the supply roller and are supplied from the supply roller. 2. The sheet feeding unit for manual sheet feeding includes a case that also serves as an exterior and a paper guide, a paper guide housed inside the case, and a guide that regulates the width direction of the paper. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: