JPS6387269A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a curled paper to be securely engaged to a paper-feeding rotary body, by providing a paper feeder with a support member for papers. CONSTITUTION:When papers are contained between a mount base 57 and a support member 83, the base 57 presses the paper under the function of a spring 59, whereby the papers are maintained between the base 57 and the support member 83. When a paper cassette 22B containing the papers therein is mounted into a mounting space 43, the papers are securely engaged to a paper-feeding roller 30 because the length of a paper-containing frame 47 along a paper-feeding direction is set to be shorter than the length of the papers. When a printer A is operated under this condition, the roller 30 is rotated to feed out the paper from the cassette 22B.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a paper feeding device attached to a printing device such as a printer or a personal word processor.

[Description of prior art]

Generally, a printing device such as a printer is supplied with paper for printing from a paper feeding device. This paper feed device is attached to the paper feed/discharge port of the printing device, and supplies the paper from the paper feed stacker to the platen of the printing device using the paper feed roller. The sheet is passed between a guide pressed against a sheet ejecting roller and stored in a sheet ejecting stacker. Recently, consideration has been given to installing such a paper feeding device in the printer section of a personal word processor that can also print on cards such as postcards. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when printing on postcards using a personal word processor, etc., the text is often printed on the back and the address is also printed on the front, so it is difficult to refeed postcards that have been printed on one side. When loading the postcards into the paper feed stacker, the postcards are curled and the engagement between the postcards and the paper feed roller is poor, making it difficult to feed the postcards.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a paper feed device that can reliably engage a paper feed rotary member even if the paper is curled.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Configuration> Paper is fed to the printing unit fiA of a printer as shown in Figure 1. c22B is detachably attached to the paper feed port of the printing device A to separate and feed paper sheets one by one. The printing section aA is, for example, a thermal transfer printer, and includes a platen 1 for backing up and printing paper in the printing section P, and a printing element 2.
, a carriage 3 carrying this printing element 2 and moving step by step at each character interval, a platen paper feeding mechanism 4 that feeds the paper at the position of the platen L in steps in the row direction, and a drive device for this paper feeding mechanism 4. rIM (Fig. 5), the print element 2 prints on the paper in response to the print signal output from the computer or the input key, and the carriage 3 is moved step by step according to the character spacing to print the next print. It is designed to execute printing. When printing for one line is completed, the paper feed mechanism 4 is operated to step feed the sheet to the next line. The platen 1 is fixedly supported by a frame 6 within the casing 5. This platen 1 is composed of a shaft-like stem member positioned in the paper width direction, and its surface facing the paper is made of an elastic material such as rubber. A U-shaped paper path 7 is formed on the ridge of the platen 1, and the paper is taken in from the paper feed lower a at one end, printed on the platen 1, and then ejected from the paper discharge lower b at the other end. It looks like this. The paper path 7 is equipped with a paper feed mechanism 4 that feeds paper to the platen 1 portion and at the same time feeds the paper in steps at the platen 1 portion as follows. In the illustrated example, since the platen 1 does not have a paper feeding function, a paper feeding roller 8 is rotatably supported on the frame 6 in addition to the platen 1 and adjacent to the platen 1. One end is connected to the drive motor M shown in FIG. 5 by a full-vehicle transmission mechanism 9, and the other end is provided with a knob 10 for manual rotation shown in FIG. A paper guide 11 is arranged opposite to the paper feed roller 8 across the paper path 7, and a pinch roller 12.
13 is placed. These pinch rollers 12 and 13 are arranged in two rows near the paper feed lower a and near the platen l, and are fixed to the frame 6 with screws 15 so as to be in constant pressure contact with the paper feed roller 6 side by a leaf spring holder 14. It is. The carriage 3 is movable left and right in the paper width direction, with its rear end 3a attached to the guide rail 16 of the frame 6, and its tip 3b attached to the guide rail 16 of the frame 6.
are fitted onto the shafts 17 attached to the frame 6, respectively. Although not shown, as usual, the pulleys at the left and right ends of the platen 1 are fixed to endless wires, and at the same time, a stepping motor is connected to one of the pulleys. Therefore, a printing element 2 consisting of a thermal head is swingably attached to the carriage 3 on a shaft 19 so that it comes into contact with the platen 1 during printing and separates when not printing, and is connected to the printing control circuit by flexible wiring. ing. Further, a ribbon tape is mounted on the carriage 3, and the tape is wound up in response to the movement of the carriage 3 in the printing direction. Reference numeral 20 in the figure indicates a paper sensor placed in the paper feed path 7, which detects the trailing edge of the paper being printed, determines the last line to be printed, and stops the printing operation. At the same time, the paper feed roller 8 is rotated by a predetermined amount to eject the paper from the ejection lower b. In the illustrated printer, the paper feeding mechanism 4 is composed of a paper feeding roller 8 placed near the fixed platen 1, but instead of this, the platen itself is composed of a rotatable roller-like member, and the pinch roller is pressed against the paper feeding roller 8. After that, a drive motor may be connected to this roller-like platen, and the paper may be fed by rotation of the platen. The paper feeding device B is detachable from the frame 6 of the printing device A.
A device frame 21, a paper feed stacker 22 connected to the paper feed lower a of the printing device A, and a paper feed rotating body, such as a paper feed roller 30, that engages with the topmost sheet of paper stacked and stored in the paper feed stacker 22. , a paper feed path 31 that guides the paper fed out by the paper feed roller 30 to a pressure contact point between the paper feed roller 8 and the pinch roller 12, and a paper ejection rotor disposed near the paper ejection lower b of the printing bag 2tA. For example, it includes a paper ejection roller 25, a paper ejection guide 26 that faces the paper ejection roller and guides the sheet to the paper ejection stacker 23, and can be opened and closed, and a paper ejection stacker 23. The device frame 21 has a pair of left and right side plates 32.3 as shown in FIG.
3 and a bottom plate 34 that connects the left and right side plates 32 and 33, and the left and right side plates 32 and 33 have a rotating shaft 30a of the paper feed roller 30, a rotating shaft 35 of the paper discharge roller 25, and their transmission gears. 36°37.38,39,40, printing device? A chucking member 41,42 to tA is attached. The paper feed stacker 22 is attached to the bottom plate 34, and at the same time, the tip 34a of the bottom plate 34 forms a paper feed path 31 that guides the paper fed out by the paper feed roller 30 to the paper feed lower a. And the rotating shaft 30a attached to the left and right side plates 32, 33
is equipped with a paper feed roller 30, and gears 36, 38, 3 similar to the rotating shaft 35 of the paper ejection roller 25 described above.
9.40, it is connected to the drive device M on the printing device A side, so that the paper feed roller 30, platen paper feed roller 8, and paper discharge roller 25 rotate integrally at the same timing. In other words, the rotating shaft 8 of the platen paper feed roller 8 is driven by gear transmission from the output shaft 41 of the drive motor M built in the printing bag 21A.
Power is transmitted to a. The gear 36 on the paper feeder B side meshes with the gear 42 in this gear transmission system, and the gear 36 is connected to the gear 36.
7, the rotating shaft 35 of the paper discharge roller 25 is driven, and similarly, the rotating shaft 30a of the paper feeding roller 30 is rotated by gears 36, 38, 39, and 40. The paper feed roller 25 is composed of two or more rollers separated by a distance in the width direction (the one shown in the figure is composed of three rollers).
This is so that various types of paper with different paper thicknesses and paper widths can be fed by replacing the paper feed stacker 22, which will be described later. The positional relationship between the paper width and the rollers is selected so that paper with a small width size is fed by two rollers. A mounting space 43 for the paper feed stacker 22 is prepared between the paper feed roller 30 and the bottom plate 34, and the bottom plate 34 of this space 43 has a space 43 for feeding paper that approaches from the rear end toward the front end in the paper feed direction. A plate spring guide 44 facing directly below the roller 30 is attached. This plate spring guide 44 applies a spring action to urge the paper feed stacker 22 mounted in the mounting space 43 toward the paper feed roller 30 side.
It is made up of an inclined plate-like member that also serves as a guide when inserting. The paper ejection stacker 23 is composed of a paper trailing end holder section 23, a backside holder section 23b, and a manual feed slit 27 into which sheets are inserted through the gaps shown in the drawings. The manual feed slit 27 is connected to a path 28 prepared to feed manual paper to the pressure contact point between the paper feed rotary 30, the paper feed roller 8, and the pinch roller 12 of the printing device A. A paper ejection path 29 from the paper ejection lower b of the printing device A to the paper ejection stacker 23 is configured between the paper ejection roller 25 and the paper ejection guide 26. The paper is ejected at the same speed as the paper conveyance speed of the feeding mechanism 4. The paper ejection guide 26 rotates around a shaft 73, and its inner side contacts the paper ejection roller 25. The paper feed stacker 22 of this embodiment includes two or more paper feed cassettes each accommodating sheets of different widths and types. In this example, there are two paper feed force rollers)
It is composed of 22A and 22B. The first paper feeder 2) 22A is constructed by attaching separating claws 46a and 46b to the left and right sides of the paper storage frame 45 shown in FIG. , the second paper feed cassette 22B forms a paper feed gap G between the paper feed roller 30 and the paper feed roller 30 at the tip of the paper storage frame 47 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The end abutting pieces 48a and 48b are provided, and are respectively attached to the mounting space 43 of the device frame 21. The first paper feed force cellar) 22A is composed of left and right side plates 45a, 45b and a bottom plate 45c, which are integrally molded from resin with a paper storage frame 45, and these left and right side plates 45a. The rear end of an arm lever 50 having separation claws 46a, 46b at its tip is supported by a pin 49 on 45b, and the separation claws 46a
, 46b are installed so that they can swing up and down. As shown in FIG.
2a and 52b are embedded therein to reduce the load when the paper feed roller 30 rotates when the paper in the cassette 22A-1 runs out. At the same time, the cassette 22A has a projection 53 hanging down at the bottom, and this projection 53 is adapted to match a guide groove 54 formed in the bottom plate 34 of the device frame 21, and the cassette 22A is inserted into the mounting space 43 and set. When doing so, the guide groove 54 is used to position δ in the left and right direction. Furthermore, the case 7) 22A and the device frame 21 are held in the state shown in FIG. 1 by fitting and locking a locking protrusion 55 formed on one side into a locking hole 56 formed on the other side. ing. In other words, in the state shown in FIG. It is urged toward the roller 30 side. Next, in the paper feeder (y) 22B, as shown in FIG.
are arranged so that they can move up and down. In other words, the rear end of the paper table 57 is supported by a bin 58 on the bottom plate 47c of the storage frame 47, and the tip is supported so as to be vertically movable around the bin 58. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the paper mounting table 57 is biased toward the paper feed roller 30 by a spring 59 disposed at . The illustrated cassette 22B is designed so that cards such as postcards can be stored in both horizontal and vertical positions.
A sliding side plate 60 is attached to one of the a and 47b so that the position in the radial direction can be adjusted. In other words, the width dimensions of the left and right side plates 47a and 47b are set according to the size of the horizontal position, and the slide side plate 60 is supported by fitting its bent piece 61 into the guide groove 62 of the bottom plate 47c. By moving the side plate 60 to the right side in FIG. 4, it is possible to hold the paper in a vertical position. This paper feed force cera) 22B has the paper feed cassette 2) 22B.
Similar to A, a protrusion 53 is formed hanging from the bottom plate 47c, and is adapted to be fitted into a guide groove 54 of the device frame 21, and at the same time a latching protrusion 55 is provided. Then, the left and right side plates 47a, 4
A positioning piece having a U-shaped groove 63 extending from 7b is fitted to the rotating shaft 34 of the paper feed roller 30, and the paper feed roller 30
and the paper feed cassette 22B, especially the paper feed roller 3.
0 and the tip abutment piece 48a is kept constant. The tip abutting pieces 48a and 48b are integrally formed with the storage frame 47, and simultaneously lock the leading edge of the paper on the paper table 57 and simultaneously feed the topmost sheet of paper in cooperation with the paper feed roller 30. The paper feeding gap corresponding to the thickness of one sheet of paper is formed between it and the roller so that the paper feed gap is equivalent to the thickness of one sheet of paper.
, 48b are arranged at positions facing the center of the paper feed roller 30. This is to prevent non-feeding or double-feeding by arranging the tip abutment pieces 48a, 48b at the center of the paper feed roller where the undulation is least when the paper undulates or curls in the width direction. A support member 81 protruding above the platform 57 is provided on the side plate 47b.
．． 83 is attached to hold the stored paper between it and the mounting table 59 under the action of a spring 59. The paper storage frame 47 is formed so that the length in the paper feeding direction is shorter than the length of the paper, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. For example, the length of the paper storage frame 47 is 3/4 of the paper length. . Furthermore, a slope 85 inclined diagonally upward is formed near the tip abutting piece 48b. This slope 85 is provided to facilitate feeding out of the corner end of the curled paper. <Operation> In the above configuration, this device operates as follows. For example, when using the second paper feed cassette 2) 22B, if the paper is stored between the mounting table 57 and the support members 81 and 83 before being inserted into the mounting space 43, The loading table 57 pushes the paper by the action of the spring 59, and the sheet is held between the loading table 57 and the support members 81, 83. In particular, it is strongly held between the platform 57 and the support member 81. When the paper feed force cell (22B) containing paper in this manner is mounted in the mounting space 43, the length of the paper storage frame 47 in the paper feeding direction is formed to be shorter than the length of the paper, so that the paper is inserted as shown in FIG. Even if the paper is bent and curled, it will firmly engage the paper feed roller 30. When the printing device A operates in such a state, the paper feed roller 30 rotates and the paper in the cassette 22B is sent out. This paper is sent to the platen 1 by the paper feed roller 8, and printed by the printing element 2. The paper is guided by the paper discharge guide 26 and is discharged while being held between the paper discharge guide 26 and the paper discharge roller 25. The leading edge of this paper rises along the paper discharge star 2 force 23,
When the trailing edge leaves the paper discharge roller 25, the trailing edge falls onto the paper trailing edge receiver 23a and is stored in the paper discharge stacker 23. The above operations are repeated to perform continuous paper feeding and continuous printing. <Effects of the Embodiment> According to the embodiment described above, the support members 81 and 83 protruding above the mounting table 57 are provided on the side plate 47b of the paper storage frame 47, so that the paper can be stored in the paper storage frame 47. At this time, the loading table 57 pushes the paper due to the action of the spring 59, and the sheet is held between the loading table 57 and the supporting members 81 and 83. Therefore, the paper stored in the paper feed force cellar) 22B is difficult to come off, making it convenient to move the paper feed force cellar) 22B. Furthermore, even if the paper is curled and swollen, it can be held down. In addition, since the length of the paper storage frame 47 in the paper feeding direction is made shorter than the length of the paper, the more the trailing edge of the paper protrudes from the rear of the paper storage frame 47, as shown in FIG. 9, the more the paper is warped. Even if the paper is thick or curled, the leading edge of the paper is pressed against the paper feed roller 30 by the curling force, resulting in a good state of engagement, which reduces non-feeding of the paper.

[Modified example]

Although one embodiment of this invention has been described above, this invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the following modifications are possible. In the embodiment described above, the support members 81 and 83 were attached to the side plate 47b, but the support members may also be attached to the slide side plate 60.

【Effect of the invention】

In summary, the present invention provides a paper storage frame constituting a paper feed stacker that is detachable, has a length in the paper feeding direction shorter than the length of the paper, and is rotatably supported on the paper storage frame. Since the supporting member is provided opposite to one side of the table, it is possible to obtain a paper feeding device in which the paper can be reliably held on the paper feeding rotating body even if the paper is curled.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 9 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the overall configuration of a printing device and a paper feeding device, FIG. 2 is a plan view, and FIG. 3 is a feeding device. 4 is a plan view showing the configuration of the first paper feed cassette, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the drive transmission mechanism, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are views of the second paper feed cassette. The diagrams showing the structure, FIGS. 8 and 9, are diagrams showing a state in which paper is set in the second paper feed tray 7-2. A...Printing Khitan B...Paper feeding device l...
Platen 22...Paper feed stacker 23...
Paper discharge star 2 22A...First paper feeder 22B...Second paper feeder 7-2 30...Paper feed roller 47...Paper storage frame 57
... Paper platform 59 ... Spring 81.8
3...Supporting member

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A paper feed device that is attached to a printing device and feeds paper stored in a paper feed stacker to the printing device by a paper feed rotation body that engages with the paper, the paper feed stacker comprising:
A removable paper storage frame whose length in the paper feeding direction is shorter than the length of the paper, a mounting table rotatably supported on the paper storage frame and elastically applied upward, and A paper feeding device comprising: a support member that is provided facing upward and supports the paper placed on the writing table. 2. The paper feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the paper storage frame forms a paper feeding gap for one sheet with the paper feeding rotary body, and is placed on the table. A paper feeding device comprising a leading end abutting member that engages with a leading edge of a sheet of paper.