JPS64298B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a media storage device that inverts and stores media ejected from a printer, copying machine, etc. so that the order is not reversed. .

(B) Background of the Technology In recent years, there has been a desire for a simple and inexpensive device that can store sheets such as forms output from printers, copiers, etc. in a stacker that is a receiving tray without reversing the order. .

(C) Prior art and problems Conventional stackers have two methods: one method is to store sheets such as forms ejected from the printer body into the stacker as is, one method is to forcibly reverse the sheets within the printer body, and the other method is to reverse them to the top or bottom of the stacker device and then output them. I found a way to do that. However, the method of storing sheets such as forms ejected from the printer body directly into the stacker has the disadvantage that the order of the sheets is reversed and replacement work is required. In other cases, the paper conveyance path becomes complicated, the mechanism becomes complicated, and the cost of the equipment becomes expensive.Also, the equipment becomes larger due to its structure, and the sheet take-out position is too low.
It also has the disadvantage that maintenance is not easy. Furthermore, the method of inverting and discharging to the upper or lower part of the stacker device has disadvantages in that the operator area is structurally narrow and the position for taking out sheets such as forms is low.

For this reason, for example, as proposed in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 52-170047, there is a guide plate that guides the paper ejected from the ejection roller of the main body of a copying machine in a substantially vertical direction, and a tip of the guide plate. A media storage device is equipped with a stop member disposed in the storage section for stopping the ejected paper, and a storage section disposed opposite to the guide plate for reversing and storing the ejected paper. There is one in which a barb-like member is provided on the guide plate side for pressing in the direction.

However, in such a media storage device,
The ejected paper is pushed toward the storage section, so
If the paper is approximately the same length as the length of the accommodating section, it can be easily inverted and stored, but if the paper is short, the paper ejected from the ejection roller will glide, and the paper may be The end of the paper is pushed toward the storage section, causing the paper to be skewed, curled, or turned inside out, making it impossible to store the paper in a stable and orderly manner.

In addition, even if the paper is long, if the paper is not stiff, the trailing edge will only stiffen, and the trailing edge will be pressed toward the storage section using the barb member.
There was also the problem of paper folding.

(D) Purpose of the invention In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the purpose of the present invention is to
Media storage that allows paper, whether long or short, to be stored in the storage unit stably and orderly without causing skew, curling, flipping, folding, etc. of the paper that is reversed and stored in the storage unit. The goal is to provide equipment.

(E) Structure of the Invention The object of the invention is to provide a substantially dogleg-shaped lower guide plate for guiding the medium discharged from the upper device downward; a stop member for stopping the conveyance of the
a storage section that is arranged opposite to the lower guide plate and stores the ejected medium in an inverted manner; and the ejected medium is conveyed toward the stop member with the ejected medium sandwiched between the lower guide plate and the lower guide plate. a conveyance roller that applies a conveying force to the medium and flips the rear end of the medium toward the storage section to reverse and store the medium in the storage section. This is accomplished by a containment device.

(F) Examples of the invention Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a medium storage device according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the sheet pulling mechanism, Fig. 3 is a diagram of various types of conveyance rollers, Fig. 4 is a side view of the tray section, Fig. 5 is a front view thereof, and Fig. 6 is a diagram of the stacker of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing the whole.

In the drawing, 1 is a printer main body, 2 is an ejection roller that ejects printed sheets such as forms A to a stacker, and 3 is a lower guide connected to the printer main body 1 and fixed to both side plates (not shown). 3, an upper guide 4 is provided along the lower guide 3 up to a point in front of the conveyance roller 5, and opens upward together with the cover 6 around a hinge 7. The conveyance roller 5 is pivoted on a shaft 8 in a state where it contacts the lower guide 3 at about 1/2 of the lower guide 3 or is offset (set so that the leading edge of the sheet is below the stopping position during sheet stocking). It rotates in the direction of the drawing section 21 at a surface speed higher than the speed of the sheet to be discharged. In addition, the conveyance roller 5
The outer periphery is formed into a brush shape as shown in Fig. 3a, or made of rubber or resin into a feather shape as shown in Fig. 3b, or made of soft sponge as shown in Fig. 3c. be done. The lower part of the lower guide 3 is inclined in the opposite direction to the upper part, and is linked to the sheet retracting mechanism 9 in a state that slightly protrudes along the surface of this part. The seat retracting mechanism 9 is provided inside the lower guide 3 and is connected to the notch 24 of the lower guide 3.
The shafts 10 and 11 are supported in a slightly protruding state toward the tray 15 side, which will be described later, as shown in FIG. 2a.
A sheet retracting belt 14 is looped around pulleys 12 and 13 supported by the sheet A, and the retracting belt 14 rotates in the direction of the retracting section 21, that is, in the direction of arrow a, at a speed equal to or higher than the speed of the discharged sheet A. . The pulleys 12 and 13 may be replaced by rubber or sponge rollers as shown in FIG. 2b, as long as they can be retracted uniformly. The retracting portion 21 is arranged slightly above the bent portion 25 of the lower guide 3. 15
is a tray provided with steps 19 and 20, and has a surface that runs along the sheet pull-in belt 14, the lower part of which is bent as horizontally as possible to store a specified amount of sheets, and its surface is covered with anti-slip material made of sponge, velvet, etc. A plate 16 is attached. Two rollers 27 are fixed horizontally on both sides of the bending part 26, and a linear roller 28 is fixed horizontally on the lower side, and a rail 29 is provided on the side plate of the device (not shown).
and the shaft 30, the sheet retracting mechanism 9 of the lower guide 3 is maintained offset to the notch provided in the horizontal bending portion 26 of the tray 15 in the moving direction, and the tray 15 is prevented from interfering with others. It is movable in the horizontal direction (arrow b). Note that the tray 15 is pressed against the sheet retracting mechanism 9 side with a constant load at any position in the movement range by a constant spring 31, which has one end attached to the bottom of the tray 15 and the other end attached to the device base. The damper 32 is provided on the shaft 30. Tray 1
5 is provided with stepped portions 19 and 20, but by providing such stepped portions 19 and 20, the phenomenon in which the rear end of a long sheet A breaks from the center immediately after passing the conveyance roller 5 ( This is a relief to prevent a buckling phenomenon (this phenomenon is called a buckling phenomenon), and allows the rear end to move smoothly toward the tray 15.

The medium storage device according to the present invention has such a structure, and its operation will be explained next. The sheet A, such as a form, discharged from the printer 1 is directed downward by the upper guide 4, and then moved by the conveyance roller. 5, it runs along the lower guide 3. The leading edge of the traveling sheet A is drawn between the lower guide 3 and the tray 15 at the drawing section 21 by the sheet pulling belt 14 of the sheet pulling mechanism 9, and the leading edge is bent, so that the rear part of the subsequent sheet A is pulled into the tray 15. Fall to the side. The leading end of the drawn sheet A abuts against a non-slip plate 16 provided below the tray 15 and stops. When the leading edge of the sheet A hits the anti-slip plate 16, if the trailing edge of the sheet A is so short that it passes the conveyance roller 5, the trailing edge of the sheet will be reversed due to its own elastic force. The paper is then turned upside down and stored on the tray 15. However, in the case of a long sheet in which the leading edge of the sheet has not yet passed the conveyance roller 5 when it hits the anti-slip plate 16, the sheet may become an inchworm as shown by broken lines B and C in the figure. The center part of the paper bulges up from the lower guide 3 and is placed on the tray 15 from the side closer to the tip. Immediately after the leading edge of the sheet hits the anti-slip plate 16 and the trailing edge passes the conveying roller 5, the brush-like surface of the roller 5 bounces the sheet toward the tray 15, flipping the trailing edge of the sheet and flipping the entire sheet upside down. are stored on the tray 15.

Note that the seat retracting belt 1 of the seat retracting mechanism 9
4 continues to rotate, but the pressing force is small, and the sheet is caught in a small gap between the lower guide 3 and the tray 15, and the leading end is offset by the lower guide 3, retracting mechanism 9, and tray 15. Maintains its condition without buckling. Here, anti-slip plate 1
Reference numeral 6 is provided to prevent the leading end of the sheet in the portion where the lower guide, the retracting mechanism 9, and the tray 15 are not offset from being rolled up toward the retracting mechanism side 9, and the retracting mechanism due to bending of the leading end. This prevents the retraction force from decreasing due to the gap between the tray 9 and the tray 15 expanding more than necessary.

In this way, the sheets are drawn in one after another, and the tray 15 is moved by the rollers 27 and linear rollers 28 on the rails 29 and shaft 30 by the thickness of the drawn sheets. When it comes to the front of the damper 32, a stack full detection section (not shown) provided in advance is activated and the delivery is stopped.

When some or all of the stored sheets are taken out, the tray 15 moves toward the retraction mechanism 9 by the amount taken out by the action of the conston spring 31, stack full detection is canceled, sheet feeding is resumed, and sheets are repeatedly stocked. .

(G) Effects of the Invention As explained above in detail, the medium storage device according to the present invention has an upper guide 4 that changes the direction of the sheet A such as a form discharged from a printer or a copying machine, and Retracting mechanism 9 for retracting and reversing
This is a simple device consisting of a transport roller 5 for reversing the rear end of the sheet A, and a stepped tray 15 that can be moved back and forth for sequentially storing the sheet A drawn in by the drawing mechanism 9. Sheet A ejected from printer 1 etc. due to the provision of
is dropped on a lower guide 3, and at the lower part of the guide 3, the leading end of the sheet A is turned over and pulled in, and the elasticity caused by the bending of the sheet A is transmitted to the rear and reversed. . Next, by providing the conveyance roller 5, the conveyance roller 5
has a brush-like periphery, so if the sheet is long, the tip of the sheet will be placed in tray 1.
When the sheet reaches the anti-slip plate 16 of No. 5, the rear end of the sheet is peeled off by the conveying roller 5, and the sheet flies off.
In addition to assisting in the reversal of the sheet, the conveyance roller 5 acts as a restraint for short sheets to ensure stable running, until the leading edge of the sheet reaches the anti-slip plate 16 of the tray 15 and is moved to the retracting mechanism 9. This allows the sheet to be turned inside out. Further, the tray 15 is provided at the final stage of the reversing mechanism in the medium storage device according to the present invention,
The printer 1 is movable according to the amount of sheets that reach the anti-slip plate 16, and by taking out some or all of the stored sheets, the printer 1 can be moved toward the retracting mechanism 9 by the amount taken out. Twisted sheets can be operated continuously. The addition of the stepped portions 19 and 20 to the tray 15 allows for smoother reversal of the rear end of the sheet by bending the part following the leading end to the reversing side more than the inverted surface of the leading end of the sheet. Since the sheet advances, the tray 15 that comes into contact with the portion following the leading end of the sheet is provided with a step, which is very effective in assisting the reversal of the sheet.

As described above, the media storage device according to the present invention does not require a complicated mechanism, enables continuous reversal regardless of sheet size, does not take up much space, is easy to maintain and operate, and can be provided at low cost. This has an excellent effect.

Further, a conveyance roller is provided that pinches the paper discharged from the discharge roller and guided to the approximately dogleg-shaped lower guide plate between the lower guide plate and applies conveyance force toward the stop member. Therefore, even if the paper is short, the leading edge of the paper can reach the stop member reliably, and in the case of long paper, this conveyance roller bounces the trailing edge, so the waist of the paper can be adjusted. It is possible to stably accommodate the container in the storage portion without causing any damage.

Further, even if the paper is long and has a weak stiffness, it can be stably inverted and stored in the storage unit without folding the paper.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a medium storage device according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the sheet pulling mechanism, Fig. 3 is a diagram of various aspects of the conveying roller, Fig. 4 is a side view of the tray section, Fig. 5 is a front view thereof, and Fig. 6 is a medium according to the present invention. It is a perspective view showing the whole accommodation device. 3...Lower guide, 4...Upper guide, 5...
Conveyance roller, 9... Retraction mechanism, 14... Sheet retraction belt, 15... Tray, 16... Anti-slip plate, 17, 18... Rubber or sponge roller,
19, 20...Step part, 22...Rail, 27...
Colo, 28...Linear Colo, 29...Rail,
31...Conston spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A substantially dogleg-shaped lower guide plate for guiding the medium discharged from the host device downward; and a lower guide plate disposed at the tip of the lower guide plate to stop conveyance of the medium. a stop member; a storage portion disposed opposite to the lower guide plate and in which the ejected medium is inverted and accommodated; the ejected medium being sandwiched between the lower guide plates in the direction of the stop member; a conveyance roller that applies a conveyance force to convey the medium and flips the rear end of the medium toward the storage section to reverse and store the medium in the storage section. media storage device. 2. The medium accommodating device according to claim 1, wherein the accommodating portion is a plate-shaped body having a stepped portion at an intermediate portion. 3. The medium accommodating device according to claim 1, wherein the accommodating portion is configured to be able to be separated from the lower guide plate depending on the amount of medium to be accommodated. 4. The medium storage device according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance roller is made of a rubber or resin material formed into a blade shape.