JPS6290271A - Self-contained and self-supporting type erected vertical type printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to printers, and more particularly to stand-alone printers for use with computers or other similar devices. In this computer or other similar device:
The printer is self-contained, occupies minimal space, and is relatively inexpensive and is compatible with single-cut paper as well as continuous paper if desired.

[Technical background of the invention]

Modern personal computers include some type of keyboard input device, a central processing and disk drive unit, and a monitor, typically using a cathode ray tube (CRT). In the case of word processing, the original text to be printed, that is, the document, is displayed on a CRT screen,
edited and printed by a printer. This printer uses folded or sprocket-fed continuous paper, which occupies considerable space and requires physical space for storage at the inlet and outlet.

Additionally, the front and rear paper guides result in significant paper waste. Furthermore, this printer is extremely difficult to use with low cost bond or copy paper, and when such a machine becomes jammed with paper, it is necessary to disassemble almost the entire unit to remove it. The horizontal printing unit resembles a flat typewriter without a keyboard.
It is very heavy and unwieldy, so it has to be placed on the table next to you or you have to take up a lot of work space to put the printer on. Printers are often located away from where you type. This is inconvenient for the operator from a printing point of view. This is because the operator must move from the typing location to the printing location. This is particularly noticeable when cut paper is used.

As Ike's technical background, one type of device for transporting paper from a magazine to a printing office machine was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4.248.
．． No. 415. In this case, a removable tilted paper magazine is used with existing separate printers. Therefore, this patent is for add-on type printers and not for stand-alone type self-contained printers. In this patent, inversion of the printer platen aligns the paper as it is fed from the magazine to the platen by a picker roller. In this patent, no vertical hopper is used, and there is no detailed description of how the paper is pulled from the bin. Additionally, the use of paper magazines complicates the machine and requires additional parts. This additional part generally leads to a more expensive machine. Furthermore, if the machine becomes jammed or otherwise becomes unusable, there will be no alternative paper in the path that feeds the paper to the printing mechanism, and the picker mechanism will no longer work7.-
Stay 1 IhyuA “Soyomo V” movement A disappears.

Additionally, the platen and picker rollers are driven by belts, which are subject to stretching and breakage.

The provision of electronics between the hoppers is neither shown nor taught in this patent.

Also, there is no discussion of making the device bottom heavy to provide an independent, self-contained printer with small bottom dimensions. Other feeding devices for printers that do not constitute stand-alone printers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,366.206;
No. 5 and No. 4,069,402. Each of these devices is intended to be attached to existing equipment and is primarily concerned with paper feeding as opposed to stand-alone printers.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides a vertical, self-contained and stand-alone printer, rather than a horizontal printer or a printer with a tilted magazine. This printer is bottom-heavy with a printing device and has a particularly small width-wise bottom dimension, so that it can be used in close proximity to monitors or CRTs used in personal computers. Conventional printers are so wide that they require a wide table, but the printers in question are self-supporting, stable, and
And in one embodiment, it is shaped like a toaster. In this case, spaced vertical inlet and outlet hoppers are used. The hopper's inlet and outlet are located at the top of the unit, similar to the opening in a toaster. In one embodiment, the outlet opens at the front of the unit facing the operator, forming a forward facing opening through which printed sheets can be removed. This front access allows the printer to be placed on the shelf directly above.

During operation, paper is inserted into the printer through the inlet and stored in the printer's inlet hopper. To facilitate sheet insertion, in one embodiment this side of the hopper is swingable outwardly to allow insertion of cut sheets. In other embodiments, the insertion of the paper takes place from the top, so that no space is required for sideways rocking. Blink is equipped with biscar rollers driven by a one-way clutch and a two-way motor. This picker roller picks up a sheet of storage paper and moves it downward. The roller is then curved by a guide and guided into a roller nip between a cylindrical platen and a pinch or roller. In one embodiment, the platen is driven by a two-way stepper motor through a one-way clutch, and the platen moves only in the drive direction. In other embodiments, this platen reversal is prevented. When the motor drives the picker roller, the platen forms an immovable roller nip between it and the pinch roller. This causes the paper to be perpendicular to the roller gap between the platen and the pinch roller.

When the paper reaches the platen and is at right angles, the bi-directional motor reverses and drives the exit roller and one-way clutch for the platen. In short, the same motor drives the platen, exit roller and picker roller. Therefore, the bidirectional motor can be activated to drive the platen for printing. Printing occurs between the platen or the bottom of the exit hopper.

[Embodiments of the invention]

These and other features of the invention will be better understood in connection with the detailed description of the embodiments based on the figures.

FIG. 1A shows an independent vertical printer IO having a vertically upright portion J2 and a rearwardly extending portion 14. This portion 14 defines the depth of the unit running from front to back on the right side of the printer. The unit is double-ended arrow I
It has the appearance of an L-shaped structure with bottom dimensions indicated at 6 and 18, and is relatively small compared to the personnel computer, whose outline 20 is indicated by a dash-dotted line. The personal computer includes a display 22 that rests on a dual disk drive unit 24.

As can be seen from this figure, the printer has on its top side 32 an inlet 30 allowing the insertion of paper, 34. Paper enters the printer's inlet hopper through the inlet, as described below. As will be discussed below, the side portions, generally indicated by the reference numeral 36 and illustrated in FIG. 2, are in one embodiment swingable from the body of the unit. In other words, it is possible to insert a cut sheet. Other variations allow insertion without opening the inlet hopper.

Referring again to FIG. 1A, it can be seen that the cut sheet extends above the top surface 32 of the printer. In this case, the length of the paper used in the printer is not limited to the vertical length. Thus, the printer can easily accommodate 8'/2 x 11 inch letter paper as well as 68'/2 x 13 inch legal paper.

In one embodiment, a narrow finger slide, not shown, is provided to prevent long legal forms from sagging at the input and output ports.

Printing takes place under the direction of internal electronics driven, for example, by a personal computer or a dedicated word processor. Such a printing control device is designated as a whole by the reference numeral 40, and is provided on the upper surface 42 of the 5 character portion of the printer extending to the right. If the shelf is provided with 5 parts used for storage, then instead of the above:
The control device may be mounted on the front of the printer to facilitate handling operations. Furthermore, a pushbutton 41 is attached to the control device. This pushbutton is mounted on the sloping surface of FIG. 2 on the front of the printer. The printer does not move backwards when the push button is pressed. Referring again to FIG. 1A, a lip protrusion 44 is provided so that a disk or firmware manual for a disk drive may be stored upright along a side 46 of the printer.

Cut sheets or other material to be printed are collected in an exit hopper having an exit 50 on the top surface 32 in a first-in, first-out order. This outlet, in one embodiment, extends below the front face 54 of the printer IO, such as outlet 50'. Paper can therefore be removed from both arrows 56 and 58, since the exit hopper is exposed through a groove extending from the top face downwardly. With the vertically extending front groove 50',
Since the paper can be removed in the direction of the operator, the entire printer and/or associated machinery can be placed on the shelf directly above. The opening of the outlet hopper facing the operator has the advantage of saving space. This is because devices, books, etc. can be placed on a shelf directly above the printer without affecting the removal of the printed material.

As shown in FIG. 1B, side portion 46 is hinged to the printer body and can be pivoted to the right as indicated by arrow 59. Thereby, the side part separates from the main body of the printer along line 59', exposing the printer's internal equipment 60 and allowing replacement of printer parts;
Also, paper jams can be easily removed. The internal apparatus includes a stationary ribbon cartridge 61 and a relatively heavy drive motor assembly 63 for the cartridge and ribbon. This drive motor assembly serves to bottom weight the unit.

FIG. 2 shows a swingable side 36 that is hingedly attached to the printer. Side portion 36 has a groove or hole 62 that accommodates a sheet of paper.

This groove is formed by an inner side wall 64 of the printer IO, which will be described later.

The inlet hopper is formed by an inner side wall 66,66' and an opposing side wall 63,64. This wall66.66
' are provided at each end of the groove 30 that is formed when the swingable side 36 moves towards the right into the closed position.

Also shown in this figure is a spring loaded member 70. This member is secured to a frame 74 at a point 72. Attached to this frame are side sections 36.

When side 36 is closed, spring member 70 moves toward arrow 76.
Since a pressing force is generated in the direction of , the paper between the spring member 70 and the picker roller 8° is pressed against the picker roller. Additionally, the paper in the inlet hopper rests on the bottom of the hopper, which has two upright corner tabs 84.

This corner tab is used until the picker roller is activated.
Hold the paper in the hopper.

No.! In FIG. 3, which has the same reference numerals as elements in FIGS. A, 1B, and 2, the printer IO
A cut sheet 86 is stored between the picker roller 80 and the picker roller 80. The slips are held in place by tabs, as described above.

As can be seen from this figure, a curved guide member 80 is arranged below the hopper and a further guide 92 is provided. The paper in the inlet hopper is thereby directed toward the roller nip 94 between the platens 96. The associated pinch roller 98 may include a braking mechanism, generally designated by the reference numeral 100. This braking mechanism limits free movement of the platen except when the platen is driven in the direction indicated by arrow 102. Alternatively, a separate drive motor may be attached to the platen. This drive motor prevents movement of the platen until it is activated. In other embodiments, the platen mounting is configured to provide sufficient inertia or abrasion to maintain the platen stationary except when driven. All of the above allows the paper to be squared within the roller nip between the platen and the associated roller.

An exit roller 104 is provided just above the platen. The material to be printed is driven by exit rollers into an exit hopper after it has been printed by a bottom-heavy printing mechanism, generally indicated by device 110. The device includes a ribbon drive assembly 111 and a ribbon drive gear 113. In the illustrated embodiment, the impact printer uses a platen as a receiver. Printer 110 is driven by printer and motor electronic controls 112 contained within the inlet and outlet hoppers.

In this case, the outlet hopper is formed by side walls 114 and 116, with wall 116 forming the outer part of the printer housing. The printing mechanism, like motor 120, is housed in the L-shaped bottom portion of the printer. This motor can be placed at the bottom of a free standing vertical unit as shown in FIG. Motor 120, in this embodiment, is a relatively large bidirectional stepper motor that is controlled by printer and motor electronic controller 112. The weight of the motor contributes to the stability of the printer. This is because the motor is located at the bottom of the unit.

Since the motor 120 and the electronics for driving the printer 110 are relatively light, they can be placed relatively high above the printer body without significantly affecting the printer's center of gravity. If the printing mechanism motor is located at the bottom of the unit, the bottom weight will greatly improve the stability of the printer in question. Heavier components are located below the center of gravity of the unit at the bottom of the circuit board, whereas
The transformer used is attached to the base of the printer to make it bottom heavy.

In one embodiment, motor 120 includes one-way clutch 122
The picker roller 80 is driven via the.

This causes the shaft connected to the clutch to rotate in the direction of arrow 126, so that the picker roller 80 is driven in the direction of arrow 124. Otherwise, due to the reverse rotation of motor 120, picker roller 80 is free to rotate.

A drive reversing unit 140 is attached to motor 120. Thereby, the picker roller 80 moves toward the arrow 12
4, the exit roller 104 is free to rotate and the platen 96 is braked to a stop by the braking action of the pinch roller 98 or by friction or inertia. Reversal of motor 120 drives platen 96 in the direction of arrow 102 through a one-way clutch 142 associated with the platen. Exit roller 104 is then driven in the direction of arrow 144 via one-way latch 146 .

The three one-way clutches used in one embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail in connection with FIG.

A paper sensor 150 is positioned through guide 90 to properly operate the printer and motor electronic controls. The leading and trailing edges of the sheet passing around platen 96 are thereby sensed and printer 110 is operated normally by electronics 112. Further, motor I20, which is activated by sensing the paper with sensor 150, can be driven in different manners to properly print through printer 110.

4A, 4B and 4C illustrate the paper path within the printer. As you can see from these figures,
The actual picker roller 80 is driven in the direction of arrow +24 so that the sheet 160 is bent by the corner tab 84 at a point 162. This is clearly shown in Figure 4A. The purpose of the tab is to remove only one sheet of paper at a time, as usual.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the ejected paper 160 is driven into the roller nip 94 between the platen 96 and the pinch roller 98 and is driven into the roller nip 94 between the platen 96 and the pinch roller 98, following the arrow! 64 direction. The cooperation of rollers 80 and guides 90 drives the paper into the roller nip, as indicated by the paper bulge at 166.

After driving the picker roller 80 by a predetermined amount by supplying a predetermined number of pulses to the insect stepping motor 120, the bidirectional motor 120 causes the insect to move based on the predetermined stepping motion of the insect. and then reversed. Then, as shown in FIG. 4C, the platen 96 is moved toward the arrow 102 to drive the paper 160 by the printhead portion 70 of the printer+10.
Rotate in the direction of. The printer is activated by the passage of paper passing sensor I50. The sheet curves along the bend of the guide 90, cooperates with the platen 96, continues to curve upward, reaches the exit roller 104, and exits the exit hopper 50.
driven to. In this outlet hopper 50 another sheet 172 is already present in a first-in, first-out order and stands on the bottom part +74 of the outlet hopper. The force exerted by the brake of FIG. 4A is insufficient to influence the movement of roller 98 or platen 96 in the drive direction.

The purpose of the brake is to provide a constant roller gap that drives the paper at right angles.

The braking mechanism also serves to stabilize the line position of the printing process. Constant roller clearance is provided by a separate motor and drive or by the stationary platen itself.

Although an impact printer is shown in this example, other printing mechanisms may be used including electrostatic printheads, thermal printheads, and inkjet printheads. These printheads can be used at the platen 96 or between the platen 96 and the exit hopper.

In one embodiment, the side wall 46 of the unit is swingable, which not only allows for the handling of possible paper jams, but also provides access to the printer mechanism and from a convenient location for the operator, such as printing type, dage-wheels, etc. , matrix, thermal print head or ribbon can be replaced.

An optional alternative paper path is illustrated in Figures 5A and 5B by the trajectory of paper 200 through a groove 202 in a side wall 203 of the printer body. Upper guide 204 guides the paper toward roller nip 94 . The paper passes around the platen 96 and is pulled out by the exit roller 104.
Then, it moves to the exit hopper 50. This alternative paper path is useful when folded or sprocket-driven continuous paper is used in the printing process. This alternate paper path can be used when the inlet hopper assembly fails. Therefore, printing can be performed in the so-called "flexible mode" despite such a failure.

Figure 6 shows a motor housed inside the printer body! 20
is the indication. The output shaft of motor 120 directly drives bidirectional clutch 122 . This clutch +22 is connected to a picker roller drive shaft 220. The output shaft drives the exit roller shaft 228. This exit roller cooperates with a drive gear 224, which drives the bidirectional clutch +4
6, the one-way clutch is arranged on a shaft 226 connected to the exit roller shaft 22 that fixed the exit roller 104.
Drive 8. Gear 224 drives idler gear 230;
The idler gear drives a drive gear 232 attached to the shaft 234 of one-way clutch I42, which drives platen 96. As can be seen, pinch roller 98 is provided along axis 238.

A print carriage, indicated generally at 240, carries a conventional stationary ribbon cassette 242. The ribbon 245 is pulled out from the cassette, and the ribbon 245 is pulled out from the cassette.
44 and a gear train (not shown) and then returned to the ribbon cassette by the print carriage drive motor 243. All of these devices are heavy, so they are attached to this base of the printer for stability.

As can be seen, a single motor operates as shown in FIG. 3 to drive each roller and platen in the required direction. Other drive mechanisms may also be used, including a separate motor for platen 96.

Although a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described, modifications and substitutions will occur to those skilled in the art that fall within the spirit of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined as indicated in the following claims.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figures 1A and 1B are isometric projections of a stand-alone vertical printer, showing that the printer has a relatively smaller base dimension than if it were mounted on top of a personal computer section; Figure 2 shows that the side of the inlet hopper can be freely swung to expose the device; FIG. A partial cross-sectional and perspective view of the printer showing that it can be opened;
Figure 3 shows the stack of sheets in the inlet hopper and the mechanical drives for the picker roller, outlet roller and platen, with the printing device and platen drive located at the bottom of the unit for increased stability. FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C are cross-sectional views of a stand-alone vertical printer, illustrated as follows: from the inlet hopper, through the roller gap between the platen and pinch rollers, and into the outlet hopper Figures 5A and 5B show the movement of a sheet of paper through the exit rollers of a vertical printer, where the sheet enters from the left side and advances into the roller nip between the platen and the pinch rollers. FIG. 6 is a side view of the blink showing the use of a single drive motor and three one-way clutches. 10...Printer, 12,14...Printer part, 16.18,56,58,59,76゜102
．． 124,144,164...Arrow, 20...Outline, 22...Display, 24...Drive unit, 30...Inlet, 32...Top surface, 34,16
0,200...paper, 36...side, 40...
-Control device, 41...Push button, 42...Top surface, 44...Edge projection, 46...Side surface, 50...
・Exit, 54...front, 59'...line, 60
...internal device, 61...ribbon cartridge,
62... Hole, 63... Drive motor assembly, 64
...Side wall, 66.66' ...Wall, 70.
... Spring member, 72 ... Location, 74 ... Frame, 80 ... Picker roller, 84 ... Corner tab, 86,172 ... Cut paper, 9
2...Guide, 94...Roller gap, 96...
・Platen, 98...Pinch roller, 100
...braking mechanism, 104...exit roller, 1
10... Printing mechanism, 111... Ribbon drive assembly,
112...Electronic control device, 113...Drive gear, 114.116...Side wall, 120...
・Motor, 122.142, 146... One-way clutch, 140... Drive reversal unit, 150...
Paper sensor, 162... locations, 166...
bulge, 174...bottom part, 202...groove, 2
03... Side wall, 204... Upper guide, 220...
... Picker roller drive shaft, 224 ... Drive gear, 226 ... Axis, 228 ... Exit roller,
230... Idle gear, 242... Ribbon cassette, 243... Printing caliper drive motor,
244... Carriage belt, 245... Ribbon Drawing 88 (no change in content) FIG, IB FIG, 6 Procedural amendment, Crab, October 27, 1985

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A self-contained and self-contained upright vertical printer comprising a vertically disposed housing, the housing having a spaced apart vertically disposed inlet hopper and an outlet hopper. , each hopper has a groove opening in the top surface of the housing, and a printing device is housed in the bottom of the housing to make it bottom-heavy, so that the printer has very small bottom dimensions, and A printer characterized in that it can be used beside a print drive device. 2. The vertical printer has an L-shaped body, and in order to increase the stability of the printer by weighting the bottom of the printer, the printing device is installed in the L-shaped bottom portion of the printer body extending to the right; To facilitate removal of the printing device within the L-shaped portion and to provide easy access to the replaceable printing device for clearing paper jams, the L-shaped portion has a removable top portion. A printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. An electronic device is placed between the spaced vertical hoppers, and the weight of the electronic device is less than the bottom weight of the printing device installed at the bottom of the printer, thereby A printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic drive of the printer is arranged in a stable and convenient position. 4. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the outlet of the outlet hopper is open to the front of the printer. 5. The printer has a platen and a pinch roller at its bottom and includes an alternate paper path, the alternate paper path being a bypass extending from the inlet hopper to the platen, and the alternate paper path connecting with a groove in the side wall of the printer. , a guide means from the groove to a roller gap between the platen and the pinch roller. 6. A printer according to claim 5, characterized in that the printer has an exit roller and the guiding means are curved to force the paper around the platen and guide it to the exit roller. 7. The inlet hopper has a corner tab, a cavity for receiving a cut sheet, a picker roller, means for biasing the sheet against the picker roller, and a curved section for curving the sheet as it is removed from the hopper. including guiding means so that one sheet of paper is extracted at a time;
The picker roller moves the paper downwardly into the corner tab, the printer includes a platen and a pinch roller forming a roller gap therebetween, and the paper picked by the picker roller is moved between the platen and the platen by the guide means. The guide means is curved to curve up to the roller gap between the picker rollers, the printer includes an exit roller, and the guide means is curved such that the paper passing through the platen curves upwardly towards the exit roller. 2. A printer according to claim 1, wherein said means is curved past said platen. 8. A motor capable of bidirectionally driving the picker roller, exit roller, and platen, and one-way clutch means, the input shaft of the clutch means being directly connected to the two-way motor, and each output shaft Claim 7, characterized in that it is connected to a drive shaft for the picker roller, the platen and the exit roller, and that no belt drive means are used for driving the roller and the platen. printer. 9. an inlet hopper includes a picker roller adjacent thereto, a swingable side part forming a wall of the inlet hopper, the side part in its open position allowing the insertion of paper into the inlet hopper; 2. The printer of claim 1, wherein the paper is biased toward the picker roller in the closed position. 10. A patent characterized in that the outlet hopper of the printer has a hinged surface that allows access to the interior of the printer for changing the ribbon and printhead and for removing paper jams if necessary A printer according to claim 1. 11. The printer includes an exit roller and a platen adjacent the exit hopper, further comprising a paper edge sensor disposed between the platen and the exit roller and means responsive to the sensor output for actuating a printing device. A printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the printer comprises: 12. A tilted control panel is disposed in front of the printer, and at least one push-button control switch is mounted on the tilted control panel, and the tilt of the control panel is such that pressing the switch does not cause rearward movement of the printer. The printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the angle is determined. 13. In self-contained and self-contained independent vertical printers, a housing having two spaced adjacent vertical hoppers, a printing device provided at the bottom of the housing, and an alternative passage through the printer. a paper path, each hopper being adapted to accommodate a number of straight cut sheets, each hopper having a cavity surrounded by a straight line therein, each hopper cavity having a cavity surrounded by a straight line; a pinch roller having a groove in the upper part of the housing, one of the hoppers forming an exit hopper, and a groove opening vertically in front of the printer, the printing device being positioned next to the platen; guiding means for guiding paper from the inlet hopper into a roller nip between the platen and the pinch roller; a picker roller for moving the paper from the inlet hopper; and a picker roller for driving the printed paper to the outlet hopper. an exit roller disposed between the platen and the exit hopper, the paper path extending from the groove to a roller between the platen and the pinch roller; A printer characterized in that it includes means for guiding paper into the nip. 14. The printer according to claim 13, further comprising paper edge sensing means provided between the platen and the printing device for sensing the starting and ending edges of the paper sheets coming from the inlet hopper. . 15. The printer according to claim 13, wherein the housing is L-shaped, and the printing device is disposed in the L portion extending to the right of the housing. 16. An electronic circuit board is placed between spaced hoppers, and the weight of the printed circuit board and its components is
14. The weight of the printing device is negligible compared to the weight of the printing device, so that the stability of the printer is not affected by the provision of an electronic control device for the printer. printer. 17. The printing device includes an impact printer, the weight of the impact printer is as great as the bottom weight of a freestanding vertical printer, thereby stabilizing the printer so that the printing device does not move; An impact printer includes a carriage, a ribbon, and a printhead movable laterally on the carriage, the ribbon and printhead being operable to print on a sheet of paper located between a platen and the printhead. 14. The printer of claim 13, wherein said platen serves as a receiver for said impact printer. 18, bidirectional motor drive means for driving the picker roller, platen and exit roller, and one-way clutch means provided between said roller and motor means and between said platen and said motor means, said clutch 14. The printer of claim 13, further comprising means for the bidirectional motor to drive the picker roller in one direction and for the bidirectional motor to drive the platen and the exit roller in the other direction. 19. In a self-contained and self-contained independent vertical printer, a housing having two spaced adjacent vertical hoppers, a printing device provided at the bottom of the housing, and an alternative passage through the printer. a paper path, each hopper being adapted to accommodate a number of straight cut sheets, each hopper having a cavity surrounded by a straight line therein, each hopper cavity having a cavity surrounded by a straight line; a groove in the upper part of the housing, the printing device having a platen and a pinch roller disposed next to the platen, and guiding means for guiding paper from an inlet hopper to a roller nip between the platen and the pinch roller; the paper path including a picker roller for moving paper out of the entry hopper and an exit roller disposed between the platen and the exit hopper for driving printed paper to the exit hopper; includes a groove on one side of the housing and means for guiding paper from the groove to a roller nip between the platen and the pinch roller. 20. In a self-contained and self-contained independent vertical printer, a housing having two spaced adjacent vertical hoppers, a printing device provided at the bottom of the housing, and a spaced apart an electronic circuit board disposed between provided hoppers, each said hopper being capable of accommodating a number of straight cut sheets, each hopper being surrounded by a straight line within said hopper; each hopper cavity has a groove in the upper part of the housing, and the weight of the printed circuit board and its components is negligible compared to the weight of the printing device, thereby increasing the stability of the printer. A printer characterized in that its performance is not affected by the provision of an electronic control device for the printer. 21. In a self-contained and self-contained freestanding vertical printer, an L-shaped housing having two spaced adjacent vertical hoppers and an L-shaped portion extending to the right at the bottom of the housing; a printing device provided therein, each hopper being capable of accommodating a number of straight cut sheets, each hopper having a cavity surrounded by a straight line therein; A printer characterized in that the cavity has a groove in the upper part of the housing.