JPS63193866A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a feeder to be easily fitted and detached without spoiling the degree of freedom in designing a main body of an apparatus, by so constructing the feeder that it can be freely engaged with a support means provided in the main body having a recording means, and it can be maintained at a position relative to a printer. CONSTITUTION:An inserting port 6 for receiving a postal card 5 and a discharging port 7 for delivering the postal card are provided at positions of a main body 1 corresponding to a printer 4. The main body 1 is provided with a support means 8 formed from a metallic round rod in a U-shaped form, fixed to the lower face of the main body 1 in the state of being disposed on the rear side of the main body 1 and having an upper part parallel to the upper face of the main body 1. A feeder 9 disposed on the upper side of the main body 1 comprises fitting members 11, 12 opened on the lower side to be fitted to the support means 8 for the purpose of restricting the position of the feeder 9 in the directions of arrows 10 and a gripping member 14 for restricting the position of the feeder 9 in the directions of arrows 13. The feeder 9 comprises a hopper part 15 capable of containing a plurality of postal cards 5 and a containing part 16 for printed postal cards 5, and further comprises a mechanism for feeding out one postal card at a time from the hopper part 15 and a mechanism for guiding the postal card to the containing part 16.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Field of Application The present invention relates to peripheral equipment such as personal computers and word processing equipment, and more specifically, a postcard feeder (hereinafter referred to as a feeder) is attached to the main body of the equipment. The present invention relates to a printing device that can print postcards continuously by realizing a configuration that allows postcards to be attached and detached at the correct position.

Conventional Technology When printing postcards, conventionally, postcards have been manually loaded one by one into the main body of a word processor or the like, or a feeder for continuous supply has been used. In particular, when a feeder is used, it is common to have mounting holes or the like provided on the top surface of the device body.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, this conventional device has drawbacks such as the holes and the like restricting the degree of freedom in designing the device itself. In extreme cases, when using only the main body of the device, prepare a separate cover to cover the mounting holes, etc.
This prevented deterioration of the appearance and the falling of foreign objects.

The present invention solves the conventional problems when attaching the feeder described above, without impairing the design freedom of the device body, without worrying about the appearance of foreign objects, and by realizing easy attachment and detachment. This is an attempt to solve the problem.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve this object, the printing device of the present invention includes a main body having at least a recording means, a support means disposed on the main body, and a support means formed to be able to fit into the support means. The feeder is configured to maintain a relative positional relationship with the printer.

Operation When the member extending from the feeder is fitted into the support, the feeder is restricted in its longitudinal and lateral positions with respect to the main body. On the other hand, the weight of the feeder acts toward the main body so that the lower end of the feeder comes into contact with the top surface of the main body to define its vertical position with the main body, thereby keeping the distance between the main body and the feeder constant. Therefore, the postcard receiver between the feeder bodies acts to stabilize the transfer position.

Embodiment In FIGS. 1 and 2, a main body 1 includes a keyboard 2, a liquid crystal display 3. It has a built-in printer 4 and includes a circuit section (not shown) including a CPv for controlling the printer 4. At a position of the main body 1 corresponding to the printer 4, an insertion slot 6 for receiving postcards 6 and a discharge lower for sending out the postcards are prepared. Further, the main body 1 has a support 8 fixed to its lower surface, which is located on the rear side and is made of a U-shaped metal round bar. The support 8 is constructed to have appropriate rigidity and aesthetic appearance, and has an upper portion that is parallel to the upper surface of the main body 1. The feeder 9 located above the main body 1 is fitted with a support 8 and has a fitting member 11, 12 with a downward opening that restricts the direction of the arrow 10 (front and back) of the feeder 9 and the direction of the arrow 13 (left and right). It is equipped with a clamping member 14 that restrains the. Furthermore, the feeder 9 includes a hopper part 16 into which a plurality of postcards 5 can be loaded, and a storage part 1 in which printed postcards 6 can be stored.
6, and a mechanism for feeding sheets one by one from the hopper part 16 and a mechanism for leading them to the storage section 16 are also prepared.

A signal cable 17 that connects to a circuit section on the main body side that controls these mechanisms, which will be described later, and an external power cord 18 that supplies power to the feeder 9 are provided.

Note that descriptions regarding these circuits and power supplies will be omitted.

The Ho Soba part 16 drives the loaded marking 5 on the driving roller 1.
A press plate 20 for pressing the base plate 9 is arranged so as to be rotated about a support shaft 21 . The spring 22 is installed between the press plate 20 and the feeder frame, and constantly presses the press plate 20. The drive roller 19 is interlocked with a gear 22 (FIG. 3) in a gear box 21 built into the feeder 9. Therefore, as the gear 22 rotates counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 3, the drive roller 19 sends out the top layer postcard 6 toward the printer 4.

In Fig. 2.6.6, the postcard 6 being transferred is configured to pass between a fixing member 23 and a pressure member 24, which are separation means. The fixing member 23 is made of, for example, a rubber-based material that can have a large frictional force with the postcard 6, and the pressing member 24 has an elastic plate shape and has only a small frictional force. For example, it is made of a metal spring with a thickness of about 0.24I11.

At all times, these parts 23,24 are in contact with the required force. Therefore, when the postcard 6 passes, it contacts the front and back sides of the postcard 6 and serves to prevent the postcards 6 from being overlapped. The markings 5 which have passed through the separating means are transported towards the printer 4 across a hot interrupter 26 which allows the edges of the postcards 5 to be detected with light.

Thereafter, the postcard 5 is transported to a predetermined position by a known drive mechanism of the printer 4 and printed.

In FIGS. 3 and 4, gear 22 and gear 26 are always in mesh with each other. The gear 27 rotates while being pressed by a spring 30 toward the friction material 29 on the clutch lever 28, and meshes with the gear 31.

The clutch lever 28 and gear 31 are connected to a fixed shaft 32 (Fig. 4)
You can rotate around the center. The gear 31 is connected to a stepping motor (not shown) for driving the feeder 9 mechanism. The stepping motor is designed to repeat forward rotation and reverse rotation as required, and the gear 31 is driven in synchronization with this. The gear 32 is interlocked with a discharge roller 33 shown in FIG. A roller 34 that is elastically pressed is attached to the discharge roller 33.
The postcard 6 is arranged so that it can be held and sent. Therefore, by rotating the discharge roller 33 in the counterclockwise direction, the printed postcards 5 from the printer 4 are appropriately transferred to the storage section 16. In this way, the drive roller 19. In order to switch the operation of the discharge roller 33 and drive it, the rotation of the gear 27 is reversed by 8 times in the forward direction using the forward and reverse directions of the stepping motor. The clutch lever 28 is moved according to the rotational direction of the gear 27. When gear 31 rotates clockwise, clutch lever 28 rotates in the opposite direction of arrow 36 to engage gear 27 with gear 26 . Then, the drive roller 19 is rotated to send out the postcard 6.

On the other hand, as the gear 31 reverses, the gear 27 engages with the gear 32 and operates to drive the discharge roller and discharge the postcard 6. At this time, the meshing between gear 27 and gear 26 is naturally released. In this way, with the mechanism that displaces the clutch lever 28 in accordance with the forward and reverse rotation of the motor at the required time, the postcard 5 is transferred to the hopper part 1 of the feeder 9.
6 to the printer 4, and then, after printing, to the storage section 16 of the feeder 9 again. This operation is executed until there are no more postcards 6 in the hopper part 16.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the feeder of the present invention has a simple structure that is held by a support on the main body, a fitting member, and a clamping member.
It is extremely easy to install and remove. In addition, since the feeder only contacts the main body at the bottom end, there is no need to prepare a special shape on the top surface of the main body, increasing the degree of freedom in equipment design, and making it possible to maintain aesthetics regardless of the presence or absence of a feeder. Design can be prioritized

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printing device in an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main part, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the main part of a postcard feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
A sectional view taken along arrow A, FIGS. 5 and 6 are configuration diagrams showing the state of the separation means of the postcard feeder. 1...Main body, 8...Support, 9...
...Feeder, 4...Printer, 11.12.
...Mating member, 6...Postcard, 14...
...Holding member. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person1-
Bookbinding No. 3 Zuka 5 Zuka 6 Diagram Row 2'5rEfE'

Claims (1)

[Claims] A main body having at least a recording means, a support means disposed on the main body, and formed to be detachably attached to the support means,
A printing device comprising a feeder that can maintain a relative position with the recording means.