JPH1115220A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To freely set the printing side of paper housed in a paper cassette, to either one of their sides by printing after guiding the paper to a main carrying path so that the directions of the faces of the paper are different when compared in the state of being set in the paper cassette. SOLUTION: Through a host computer 8 or operating panel 11, a printing side is set together with, for example, the number of prints. Using a controller 10 controlled by the host computer 8 or operating panel 11, a feed roller 5 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise to take the paper 7 in the paper cassette 6 out of a first carrying path 15a or second carrying path 15b. The paper is subjected to printing after being guided to the main carrying path 15c so that the directions of the faces of the paper 7 are different between them when compared in the state of being set in the paper cassette 6. This makes it possible to freely set the printing side of the paper 7 housed in the paper cassette 6 to either upper or lower side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for printing predetermined image information on paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer, which is a printing device for printing image information such as characters and figures on paper, is widely used as one of output devices of OA equipment.

Here, a conventional laser beam printer (hereinafter simply referred to as "printer") will be described with reference to FIG.

A paper path 7 extending from a paper cassette 6 in which the paper 7 to be printed is stored to a paper outlet 14 is provided.
Rollers 4 for feeding the paper toward the paper discharge port 14 are appropriately arranged. Further, a feed roller 5 for taking out the sheets 7 one by one and guiding the sheets 7 to the transport path 15 is provided rotatably counterclockwise in the case shown in the figure. A transfer drum 2 for transferring the toner image to the paper 7 and a fuser 3 for fusing the transferred toner image to the paper 7 are sequentially arranged on the transport path 15.

Further, an optical signal generator 1 for converting an image signal into an optical signal such as a laser beam or an LED is provided, and the transfer drum 2 is operated by the optical signal emitted from the optical signal generator 1. The outer peripheral surface is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed to form a toner image.

[0006] To such a printer, a host computer 8 for sending print instructions and data is connected via an interface cable 9, and a controller 10 provided inside the printer decodes the instructions from the host computer 8. It controls this printer.

Next, the operation of the conventional laser printer configured as described above will be described.

First, a print instruction signal issued from the host computer 8 is sent to the controller 10 via the interface cable 9. After the signal is decoded by the controller 10, under the control of the controller 10, the feed roller 5 rotates and the paper 7 stored in the paper cassette 6 is sent out to the transport path 15. The paper 7 is sent to the transfer drum 2 by the transport roller 4, where the toner image is transferred to the surface on the transfer drum 2 side, fixed by the fuser unit 3, and discharged from the paper discharge port 14 to the outside. .

In such a printer, the printing surface of the paper 7 is on the transfer drum 2 side, but this printing surface is
Is the upper surface or the lower surface of the sheet 7 set in the printer, and the printing surface is fixed.

[0010]

Therefore, in the conventional printer, paper having different colors on the front and rear sides, paper having different surface treatments, or paper which needs to be printed with a predetermined printing surface such as label paper is required. Has to check the direction of the printing surface when setting the paper in the paper cassette.

In addition, when printing on the opposite side of the paper that has already been printed on one side, it is necessary to check the printed surfaces one by one and set the paper in the paper cassette, which takes a great deal of time and effort. I was

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of freely setting a print surface of a sheet stored in a sheet cassette.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of automatically selecting an unprinted surface of a sheet stored in a sheet cassette and executing printing.

[0014]

In order to solve this problem, a printer according to the present invention is provided with a paper cassette in which paper is stored, and is provided rotatably clockwise and counterclockwise. A feed roller for taking out sheets one by one from a first direction or a second direction opposite to the first direction; A first transport path that guides the transport path and a sheet that extends from the second direction and that is connected to the main transport path and that is transported in the first transport path are opposite to the direction of the surface in the paper cassette. A second conveyance path for guiding the sheet to the main conveyance path in such a manner that
A transfer member installed on the main transport path and rotating at a predetermined speed to transfer the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface onto the sheet, and controlling the rotation direction of the feed roller to transfer the sheet in the sheet cassette to the first sheet. And a printing surface selecting means for selecting which side of the sheet is to be the printing surface by guiding the sheet to the main conveying path via either the second conveying path or the second conveying path.

Thus, the printing surface of the paper stored in the paper cassette can be freely set to any surface.

The printer according to the present invention further includes a paper cassette containing paper, a feed roller for taking out the paper contained in the paper cassette one by one from a predetermined direction,
A print sensor that is installed near the paper cassette and detects whether or not printing is performed on one side of the paper taken out of the paper cassette; a conveyance path through which the paper taken out of the paper cassette is carried; A transfer member that is installed on a road and rotates at a predetermined speed to transfer a toner image formed on an outer peripheral surface onto a sheet, and a position opposite to a sheet pickup position in a sheet cassette from between a print sensor and a transfer member in a conveyance path. The sub-conveying path formed so as to extend to the side and return the paper before reaching the transfer body to the paper cassette by reversing the direction of the surface in the paper cassette when it is taken out, and the paper is not printed by the print sensor If it is recognized that printing is performed, if it is recognized that printing has been completed, the sheet is inverted from the sub-conveyance path to the paper cassette before returning to the transfer body, and then taken out again. When the opposite face is recognized as unprinted, a control unit is provided to execute printing on this face, and when the opposite face is also recognized as printed, ejects the paper and performs these processes on the next paper. Things.

Thus, it is possible to automatically select a non-printed surface of the paper stored in the paper cassette and execute printing.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the first aspect of the present invention, a paper cassette containing paper and a paper cassette rotatably provided in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction are provided. A feed roller that takes out one sheet at a time from a first direction or a second direction opposite thereto, and is formed extending from the first direction and connected to the main transport path, and guides the paper in the paper cassette to the main transport path. A first transport path that extends from the second direction and is connected to the main transport path, and the sheet transported in the first transport path is opposite to the direction of the surface in the paper cassette. A second transport path for guiding the paper to the main transport path so that
A transfer member that rotates at a predetermined speed to transfer a toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface onto a sheet, and controls a rotation direction of a feed roller to transfer a sheet in a sheet cassette to a first conveyance path or a second conveyance path. A print surface selecting unit for guiding the paper to the main transport path via any one of the transport paths and selecting which side of the paper is to be the print surface, and printing the paper stored in the paper cassette. This has the effect that the surface can be freely set on any surface.

The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention provides:
A paper cassette containing paper, a feed roller for taking out the paper contained in the paper cassette one by one from a predetermined direction, and a paper roller installed near the paper cassette to print on one side of the paper taken out of the paper cassette. A print sensor that detects whether or not the printing is being performed; a transport path through which the paper taken out of the paper cassette is transported; and a toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface that is installed on the transport path and rotates at a predetermined speed. Is formed so as to extend from the transfer member that transfers the sheet to the paper and between the print sensor and the transfer member in the conveyance path to the opposite side of the paper take-out position in the paper cassette, and the paper before reaching the transfer body is taken out. A sub-conveying path that reverses the direction of the surface in the paper cassette and returns the paper to the paper cassette;
If the paper is recognized by the print sensor as unprinted, the printing is executed.If the paper is recognized as printed, the paper is reversed from the sub-conveyance path and returned to the paper cassette before reaching the transfer body. Take out again, and if the opposite side is recognized as unprinted, perform printing on this side.If the opposite side is also recognized as printed, discharge the paper and perform these processes on the next paper. The printer has a function of automatically selecting an unprinted surface of the paper accommodated in the paper cassette and executing printing.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In these drawings, members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a printer according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, the sheet 7 is taken out of the paper cassette 6 from the front (the first direction) and the opposite side (the second direction). , A first transport path 15a extending from the front and a second transport path 15b extending from the rear. A main transport path 15c is formed to join these transport paths 15a and 15b and reach the sheet discharge port 14, and the paper 7 in the paper cassette 6 is transferred to either the first or second transport path 15a or 15b. Through the main conveyance path 15c.

As a result, the sheet 7 guided to the main transport path 15c through the first transport path 15a and the second transport path 15
b and the paper 7 guided to the main transport path 15c,
In the paper cassette 6, the surfaces facing upward are opposite to each other. Note that these transport paths 15a, 15
A transport roller 4 for feeding the sheet 7 toward the sheet discharge port 14 is appropriately disposed at b and 15c.

The first transport path 15a and the second transport path 15b
A guide 12 for causing the paper 7 to flow into the main transport path 15c is installed at the junction of the two.

A feed roller 5 is provided for taking out the sheets 7 in the sheet cassette 6 one by one and sending them out to the first or second transport path 15a, 15b. The feed roller 5 can feed the sheet 7 from either the front or the rear of the sheet cassette 6 so that the sheet 7 can be sent out.
It is rotatable both clockwise and counterclockwise. Therefore, in the illustrated case, when the feed roller 5 is rotated counterclockwise, the sheet 7 is guided from the front through the first transport path 15a to the main transport path 15c, and the feed roller 5 is rotated clockwise. Then, the sheet 7 is guided from the rear through the second transport path 15b to the main transport path 15c with its front and back surfaces reversed.

On the main transport path 15c, a transfer drum (transfer member) 2 which rotates at a predetermined speed to transfer the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface to the sheet 7 and fuses the transferred toner image onto the sheet 7 The fuser sections 3 to be attached are sequentially arranged toward the paper discharge port 14. As a result, the sheet 7 passing through the first transport path 15a and the sheet 7 passing through the second transport path 15b have faces opposite to each other in the sheet cassette 6. Is transferred to the toner image. In addition,
The transfer member is not limited to such a drum shape, but may be formed in another shape such as a belt shape.

Further, an optical signal generator 1 for converting an image signal into an optical signal such as a laser beam or an LED is provided, and the transfer drum 2 is controlled by the optical signal emitted from the optical signal generator 1. The outer peripheral surface is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is developed to form a toner image.

A host computer (printing surface selection means) 8 for sending print instructions and data is connected to the printer via an interface cable 9, and a controller 10 provided inside the printer decodes instructions from the host computer 8. To control this printer. In addition, the printer has a controller 1
An operation panel (printing surface selection means) 11 is provided for issuing an instruction to 0 and performing a desired operation on the printer. In the present invention, any one of the host computer 8 and the operation panel 11 may be provided.

Then, the user operates the host computer 8.
Alternatively, in addition to basic instructions such as the number of prints, paper size, sorting, and the like, the operation panel 11 gives an instruction on which of the upper surface and the lower surface of the paper 7 stored in the paper cassette 6 to perform printing, that is, the printing surface. You can give instructions.

Next, the operation of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described.

Using the host computer 8 or the operation panel 11, the print side is set together with the settings such as the number of prints. Here, it is assumed that the number of prints is one.
The case where the upper surface (hereinafter simply referred to as “upper surface”) is set as the printing surface will be described.

When the upper surface of the paper 7 is designated as the printing surface, a command signal including the set contents is sent to the host computer 8.
Through the interface cable 9 or from the operation panel 11 to the controller 10.

The controller 10 decodes data indicating that the upper surface of the sheet 7 has been selected as the printing surface, and then rotates the feed roller 5 counterclockwise in the drawing. As a result, the paper 7 set in the paper cassette 6 is taken out from the front of the paper cassette 6 and the first paper path 15a
Through the main transport path 15c. Thus, the upper surface of the sheet 7 guided to the main transport path 15c faces the transfer drum 2 side. Therefore, the paper 7 is sent to the transport roller 4, and the toner image is transferred onto the upper surface by the transfer drum 2.

Thereafter, the toner image is fixed in the fuser unit 3 and is discharged to the outside through the paper discharge port 14.

Host computer 8 or operation panel 1
According to 1, when the lower surface of the sheet 7 set in the sheet cassette 6 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “lower surface”) is set as the printing surface, the controller 10 selects the lower surface of the sheet 7 as the printing surface. After decoding the data such as that, the feed roller 5 is rotated clockwise in the drawing. Thereby, the sheet 7 set in the sheet cassette 6 is taken out from the rear of the sheet cassette 6 and
Is guided to the main transport path 15c through the transport path 15b.
Here, since the sheet 7 is folded back by the second transport path 15b and guided to the main transport path 15c, the lower surface thereof faces the transfer drum 2 side. Therefore, the toner image is transferred to the lower surface of the sheet 7 by the transfer drum 2 while being sent along the main transport path 15c. Thereafter, the toner image is fixed by the fuser unit 3 and then discharged from the paper discharge port 14 to the outside.

As described above, according to the printer of the first embodiment of the present invention, the feed roller 5 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise by the host computer 8 or the controller 10 controlled by the operation panel 11, and the paper cassette is rotated. 6 is taken out of the first transport path 15a or the second transport path 15b, and the paper 7 is set in the paper cassette 6 so that the directions of the surfaces of the paper 7 are different from each other. Since the printing is performed while being guided to the transport path 15c, the printing surface of the paper 7 stored in the paper cassette 6 can be freely set to either the upper surface or the lower surface.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a printer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, a transport roller 4 is appropriately disposed on a transport path 15 extending from the paper cassette 6 in which the paper 7 is stored to the paper outlet 14, and in the illustrated case, The paper 7 taken out one by one from the front of the paper cassette 6 by the feed roller 5 rotating clockwise is transported by the transport rollers 4 to the transport path 1.
5 can be sent.

The print sensor 13 is located near the paper cassette 6.
Is installed, and it is detected whether or not printing is performed on the surface of the sheet 7 taken out of the sheet cassette 6 and the print sensor 13 in this manner.
As shown in the figure, the surface on which the print sensor 13 performs printing detection is a toner image transfer surface by the transfer drum 2 described below.

A transfer drum (transfer member) 2 for transferring the toner image to the sheet 7 and a fuser 3 for fusing the transferred toner image to the sheet 7 are provided on the transport path 15.
Are arranged in sequence toward. Further, an optical signal generator 1 that converts an image signal into an optical signal such as a laser beam or an LED to form an electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the transfer drum 2 is provided.

Here, as shown, a sub-transport path 15d is formed so as to extend from between the print sensor 13 and the transfer drum 2 in the transport path 15 to the side opposite to the position where the sheet 7 is taken out of the sheet cassette 6. Have been. The sub-transport path 15d is transported through the transport path 15 and
The sheet 7 before reaching the sheet cassette 6 is pulled back by switchback, and is re-contained in the sheet cassette 6 from the side opposite to the position where the sheet cassette 6 is taken out. The sheet is returned to the paper cassette 6 with the direction of the surface inside the sheet cassette 6 reversed.

The transport rollers 4 for returning the paper 7 to the paper cassette 6 in this manner are also arranged in the sub-transport path 15d. The transport path 15 and the sub-transport path 15d
A guide 12 for smoothly returning the sheet 7 from the transport path 15 to the sub-transport path 15d is provided at the branch point between the two.

A host computer (control unit) 16 for sending print instructions and data is connected to the printer via an interface cable 9, and a controller 10 provided inside the printer decodes the instructions from the host computer 16. It controls this printer. Further, the printer is provided with an operation panel (control unit) 17 for issuing an instruction to the controller 10 and performing a desired operation on the printer.

The host computer 16 and the operation panel 17 provide basic instructions such as the number of prints, paper size, and sorting, and print on the unprinted surface of the paper 7 stored in the paper cassette 6, that is, the unprinted surface. Is given. The specific operation of executing printing on the unprinted surface will be described later. In the present invention, any one of the host computer 16 and the operation panel 17 may be provided.

Next, the operation of the printer configured as above according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

The host computer 16 or the operation panel 17 is used to set the number of prints and the like, and to set the execution of printing on the unprinted side.

Then, a command signal including the setting contents is transmitted from the host computer 16 to the controller 10 through the interface cable 9 or from the operation panel 17.

The controller 10 decodes data indicating that printing is to be performed on the unprinted surface of the sheet 7 and then rotates the feed roller 5 counterclockwise in the drawing. Thus, the sheet 7 set in the sheet cassette 6 is guided to the transport path 15. At the same time, the print sensor 13 detects whether or not printing has been performed on one surface of the paper 7.

When the print sensor 13 recognizes that printing has not been performed on the surface, the paper 7 is transported along the transport path 15 by the transport rollers 4 and is moved to the detected unprinted surface. The transfer drum 2 transfers the toner image. Thereafter, the fuser unit 3 fixes the toner image, and discharges the toner image to the outside through the paper discharge port 14.

When the print sensor 13 recognizes that the surface has been printed, before the paper 7 reaches the transfer drum 2 and printing is performed, the paper cassette 6 is moved from the sub-conveyance path 15d to the paper cassette 6.
Is returned to. At this time, as described above, the paper 7 is returned into the paper cassette 6 from the side opposite to the take-out position of the paper cassette 6 by switchback, and the direction of the surface in the paper cassette 6 at the time of being taken out is reversed. . As a result, the surface opposite to the previous surface faces the print sensor 13. Thereafter, the paper 7 is taken out of the paper cassette 6 while the print sensor 13 detects whether or not printing is performed on the opposite surface.

When the opposite side is recognized as unprinted, the sheet 7 is transported through the transport path 15, the toner image is transferred to the unprinted side by the transfer drum 2, and
And is discharged to the outside from the paper discharge port 14.

When the opposite side is also recognized as having been printed, the sheet 7 is discharged from the sheet discharge port 14 without being printed because both sides are already printed. Then, a series of processes for performing printing on the unprinted surface of the next sheet 7 are performed. If the paper 7 has been printed on both sides, to notify the user of this and call attention,
It is desirable to inform the host computer 16 that double-sided printing has been completed, and provide a mode on the operation panel 17 of the printer to indicate that double-sided printing has been completed.

As described above, according to the printer of the second embodiment of the present invention, the controller 10 controlled by the host computer 16 or the operation panel 17 determines whether or not printing is performed on the paper 7 using the print sensor. Is sent to the conveyance path 15 while detecting the position. If the printing is not performed, the printing is executed on the surface. If the printing is completed, the sheet 7 is reversed via the sub-conveying path 15d and returned to the paper cassette 6, If the opposite side has not been printed, the printing is executed on that side, and if the opposite side is also printed, the printing is detected on the next sheet 7.
It is possible to automatically select an unprinted surface and execute printing.

In the above description, the present invention is applied to a laser beam printer. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other types of printers.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, the paper in the paper cassette is transported clockwise or counterclockwise by the printing surface selecting means to transport the paper in the paper cassette in the first transport path or the second transport path. When the paper is taken out of the paper path and the paper is set in the paper cassette, the paper faces are directed differently from each other, and the paper is guided to the main transport path for printing. An effective effect is obtained in that the printing surface can be freely set on any surface.

By this, even if the printing surface needs to be determined and printed, such as paper having different colors on the front and rear sides, paper having a different surface treatment, or label paper, the paper can be used. There is an effective effect that it is not necessary to confirm the direction of the printing surface when setting in the cassette.

Further, according to the present invention, the control unit detects the presence or absence of printing on a sheet by using a print sensor and sends the sheet to the conveyance path. If it is already printed, the paper is reversed via the sub-conveyance path and returned to the paper cassette.If the opposite surface is not printed, printing is performed on that surface. Since the print detection is performed on the paper, an effective effect is obtained in that the unprinted surface of the paper stored in the paper cassette can be automatically selected and printing can be performed.

As a result, it is possible to obtain an effective effect that it is not necessary to set the paper in the paper cassette and print on the unprinted surface while checking the printed surfaces one by one.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a structure of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a conventional printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Transfer Drum (Transfer Body) 5 Feed Roller 6 Paper Cassette 7 Paper 8 Host Computer (Printing Surface Selection Means) 11 Operation Panel (Printing Surface Selection Means) 13 Print Sensor 15 Transport Path 15a First Transport Path 15b Second Transport path 15c Main transport path 15d Sub transport path 16 Host computer (control unit) 17 Operation panel (control unit)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A paper cassette in which paper is stored, and a paper cassette rotatably provided in a clockwise and counterclockwise direction, wherein the paper stored in the paper cassette is moved in a first direction or a second direction opposite thereto. A feed roller for taking out one sheet at a time from a first direction, a first transport path extending from the first direction and connected to a main transport path, and guiding the paper in the paper cassette to the main transport path; The sheet that extends from the second direction and is connected to the main transport path and that is conveyed in the first transport path has a direction opposite to that of the sheet in the sheet cassette. A second transport path for guiding the sheet to the main transport path, and a transfer that is installed on the main transport path, rotates at a predetermined speed, and transfers the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface onto the sheet. Body and the feed roller Wherein said paper in said paper cassette rotation direction control to the first transport path or said second
And a print surface selecting unit for guiding the paper to the main transport path via any one of the transport paths and selecting which side of the paper is to be the print surface. 2. A sheet cassette in which sheets are stored, a feed roller for taking out the sheets stored in the sheet cassette one by one from a predetermined direction, and a feed roller installed near the sheet cassette, A print sensor that detects whether or not printing is performed on one surface of the paper to be taken out; a conveyance path through which the paper taken out from the paper cassette is conveyed; and A transfer body that rotates at a speed and transfers the toner image formed on the outer peripheral surface to the paper; and a side opposite to a paper take-out position in the paper cassette from between the print sensor and the transfer body in the transport path. The sheet before reaching the transfer member is inverted to the direction of the surface in the sheet cassette when the sheet is taken out, and the sheet cassette is formed. A sub-conveying path to return to the printer, and when the paper is recognized by the print sensor as unprinted, printing is performed, and when the paper is recognized as printed, the paper is transmitted before reaching the transfer body. If the reverse side is recognized as unprinted, printing is performed on this side if the opposite side is recognized as unprinted, and if the opposite side is also recognized as printed, A printer that discharges a sheet and performs these processes on the next sheet.