US20100230889A1

US20100230889A1 - Printing apparatus

Info

Publication number: US20100230889A1
Application number: US12/709,080
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenji Eoka; Fumiharu Iwazaki; Kouji Muramatsu; Takahisa Iwaki; Tetsuya Seki
Original assignee: Toshiba TEC Corp
Current assignee: Toshiba TEC Corp
Priority date: 2009-03-13
Filing date: 2010-02-19
Publication date: 2010-09-16

Abstract

There is provided a printing apparatus in which a first printing medium which is inserted through an inserting port is fed toward a predetermined printing location by a first feeding path unit, and the first printing medium is discharged through the inserting port in a direction opposite to the feeding direction. The first printing medium which is fed to the printing location is printed by a first printing unit. A page turning mechanism having a page turning function for the first printing medium is arranged inside of the first printing unit when seen from the inserting port. A second printing unit having a different printing type from the first printing unit is arranged further inside than the page turning mechanism when seen from the inserting port. A second printing medium which is printed in the second printing unit is reversely fed by the first feeding path unit through a merging portion from the second feeding path unit and then is discharged through the inserting port.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from prior Japanese Patent Applications 2009-61010 filed on Mar. 13, 2009, 2009-61011 filed on Mar. 13, 2009, and 2009-61012 filed on Mar. 13, 2009, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which has two types of printing units with different printing types.

BACKGROUND

Currently, dot printers are used for printing for passbooks or the like used in financial institutions or the like. Such a dot printer has a dot head which moves along a printing direction and performs printing by striking the passbook on a platen together with an ink ribbon using dot pins installed in the dot head. Further, when the printing for the passbook or the like is performed as described above, it is required to perform printing for business forms such as accounts or the like.
Conventionally, printing for the business forms, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-2007-190904, is performed by a dot printer used for printing for the passbook.
In this respect, the printing for the passbook or the like should be performed by the dot printer, but it is not necessary that the printing for the business forms should be performed by the dot printer. As well-known in the related art, since a dot head in the dot printer performs printing by moving so as to transverse a feeding direction of a printing target, the printing speed is relatively slow. Thus, using the dot printer to also perform printing for the business form causes a prolonged printing time, which is not preferable in view of effectiveness.
In Japanese Utility Model Application No. 63-93688, a method is disclosed that a passbook is printed by a dot printer, and a related business form is printed, for example, by a thermal printer which uses a line head capable of high speed printing.
However, since this related art has a structure in which a passbook printing unit as the dot printer and a business form printing unit as the thermal printer are merely installed together, miniaturization of the apparatus is difficult to achieve. In such a kind of printer, the passbook and the business form are given back to a user after printing. In this respect, if the user forgets to take the passbook and the business form which are given back, collecting units for automatically collecting the passbook and the business form into a capture bin are required. However, with such a structure that the printers having the different printing types are merely installed together, the automatic collecting units should be independently installed, and thus, miniaturization of the apparatus is difficult to achieve, and also application to ATMs or the like in financial institutions is difficult.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the invention is to provide a printing apparatus which is capable of performing printing for a first printing medium such as a passbook and a second printing medium such as a business form using suitable printers for each medium, thereby achieving miniaturization of the apparatus, and enhancing user convenience.
A printing apparatus according to the invention includes: an inserting port; a first feeding path unit which feeds a first printing medium which is inserted through the inserting port toward a predetermined printing location in a downstream direction, and feeds the first printing medium in a direction opposite to the downstream direction to be discharged through the inserting port; a first printing unit which performs printing for the first printing medium which is fed to the printing location; a page turning mechanism which is arranged inside of the first printing unit when seen from the inserting port and has a page turning function of the first printing medium; a second printing unit which is arranged further inside than the page turning mechanism when seen from the inserting port and is different from the first printing unit in terms of printing types; and a second feeding path unit which merges a second printing medium which is printed in the second printing unit into a downstream side of the first feeding path unit with reference to the first printing unit to be discharged through the inserting port on the first feeding path unit.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an appearance diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram mainly illustrating an internal feeding path unit of the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagram of a configuration of a merging portion in the printing apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an appearance diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating when a part of an upper surface of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the invention is opened; and

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram mainly illustrating an internal feeding path unit of the printing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In FIG. 1, an inserting port 11 for a first printing medium such as a passbook (hereinafter, referred to as a passbook) is installed in a left end part (in the figure) of an apparatus body 10. The inserting port 11 also serves as a discharging unit of the first printing medium and a second printing medium to be described later, after printing thereof.
Further, a first printing unit 12 which performs printing for the inserted passbook is installed in a left side location of a central part (in the figure) of the apparatus body 10. As the first printing unit 12, for example, a dot printer having a serial head which moves along a printing direction is used. The passbook in which printing is completed by the dot printer 12 is reversely fed in the apparatus body 10 to be discharged through the inserting port 11 in the left end part (in the figure).
In the central part (in the figure) of the apparatus body 10, that is, inside of the dot printer 12 when seen from the inserting port 11, a page turning mechanism 13 which turns pages of the passbook is installed. When the printing in the dot printer 12 exceeds a final row of a printing page, the page turning mechanism 13 turns the page of the passbook to allow the performing of printing on the next page.
A second printing unit 14 is installed in a right side location (in the figure) of the apparatus body 10 to print the second printing medium (hereinafter, referred to as business form or sheet) including a business form such as an account. As the second printing unit 14, for example, a thermal printer having a static line head is used. The thermal printer 14 performs a predetermined printing operation for a sheet form supplied from a sheet supply unit 15 which is installed in a right end part (in the figure) of the apparatus body 10, and creates a business form such as an account.
The sheet supply unit 15 accommodates sheets wrapped in a roll shape. The thermal printer 14 receives a sheet from the sheet supply unit 15 from the right side (in the figure), performs a predetermined printing operation, and then feeds the sheet toward the left side (in the figure). The printed business form sheet passes through a feeding path unit in the apparatus body 10, which is to be described later, and then is discharged through the inserting port 11 in the left end part (in the figure).
Next, a configuration of the feeding path unit in the apparatus body 10 will be mainly described with reference to FIG. 2. In the apparatus body 10, a first feeding path unit 21 is formed in a straight line in a right direction (in the figure) through the inserting port 11 which is installed in the left end part (in the figure). The dot printer 12 is installed in a mid part of a downstream side (right side in the figure) of the first feeding path unit 21. The first feeding path unit 21 feeds the passbook inserted through the inserting port 11 to a predetermined printing location in the dot printer 12. Further, after printing by the dot printer 12, the passbook is reversely fed in a direction opposite (left direction in the figure) to the feeding direction and then is discharged through the inserting port 11.
The first feeding path unit 21 includes a plurality of pairs of an upper driving roller 22 and a lower pinch roller 23 which are arranged along the feeding direction with predetermined intervals. Further, in a location adjacent to the inserting port 11 in the first feeding path unit 21, a shutter 24 is installed to be opened and closed. The shutter 24 is closed so that the passbook may not enter inside of the apparatus body 10 in a normal state. In front of the shutter 24 are installed a sheet width detecting sensor (not shown) which detects the width of the sheet of the passbook inserted through the inserting port 11 and a sheet inserting sensor (not shown) which detects insertion of the passbook. The driving roller 22 and the pinch roller 23 for feeding are also installed in front of the shutter 24.
Further, inside (right side in the figure) of the first feeding path unit 21 with reference to the shutter 24, the pairs of the upper driving roller 22 and the lower pinch roller 23 are arranged at such an interval that the passbook having a minimum sheet length can be pinched by two pairs. A portion inside the first feeding path unit 21 with reference to the shutter 24 becomes an alignment location where the passbook is aligned with respect to the dot printer 12. In the alignment location are installed a sensor (not shown) for detecting the sheet length of the passbook, and a driving roller (not shown) and a pinch roller (not shown) for alignment (hereinafter, referred to as alignment rollers) or the like. The alignment rollers move the passbook toward an alignment unit which is formed in one side part (not shown) of the feeding path unit in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction.
The dot printer 12 includes a dot head 12 a and a platen 12 b which are arranged up and down the first feeding path unit 21. The platen 12 b is arranged on the first feeding path unit 21 in a direction (a direction perpendicular to the plane of the figure) transverse to the feeding direction. Further, the dot head 12 a reciprocates along the length direction, that is, in a direction transverse to the feeding direction of the first feeding path unit 21 above the platen 12 b. Then, the dot head 12 a performs printing for a printing page of the passbook which is positioned on the platen 12.
The movement width (printing width) of the dot head 12 a is set to a maximum width of a printing target passbook and varies according to the size of the passbook, but a printing starting point needs to be aligned to a preset point. In the alignment location, the passbook is moved in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction by the alignment rollers, and a side part of the passbook comes in contact with the alignment unit which is formed in one side part of the feeding path for alignment, and then, the starting point of the printing to be performed on the printing page by the dot head 12 a is aligned.
The page turning mechanism 13 is arranged inside the dot printer 12 when seen from the inserting port 11. If a passbook row detecting mechanism (not shown) detects that the printing page of the passbook which is being printed by the dot printer 12 exceeds the final row, the page turning mechanism 13 allows the printing for the next page by turning the page of the passbook. Since a configuration of the page turning mechanism 13 is known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The thermal printer 14 which is used as the second printing unit is arranged further inside the page turning mechanism 13 when seen from the inserting port 11. The thermal printer 14 receives a sheet from the sheet supply unit 15 from the right side (in the figure), performs a predetermined printing operation for the sheet, and then discharges the printed sheet towards the left side in the figure. The sheet which is printed in the thermal printer 14 is fed by a second feeding path unit 25 and merged into a downstream side (right side in the figure) of the first feeding path unit 21 with reference to the dot printer 12. The second feeding path unit 25 also includes a pair of up and down driving roller 22 and pinch roller 23, feeds the sheet which is printed by the thermal printer 14 in a left-downward direction, and then merges the sheet in the first feeding path unit 21. The printed business form sheet, which has been merged into the first feeding path unit 21, is (reversely) fed to the inserting port 11 in the left end part (in the figure) by the first feeding path unit 21 and then is discharged.
In a downstream end part of the first feeding path unit 21, that is, in a downstream side end (right side in the figure) from the merging portion with the second feeding path unit 25, a collecting unit (hereinafter, referred to as a capture bin) 26 is arranged. The capture bin 26, as described later, is used for collecting a passbook or a business form sheet which has been forgotten in the inserting port 11.
Further, in the merging portion of the first feeding path unit 21 and the second feeding path unit 25, a flapper 27 is installed to be switched, as shown in FIG. 3. The flapper 27 is configured to rotate with the right side (in the figure) thereof as a support. As shown in FIG. 3, the flapper 27 is elastically biased upward by a spring (not shown) in a normal state. If the sheet which is printed by the thermal printer is fed toward the first feeding path unit 21 from the second feeding path unit 25, the printed sheet comes in contact with the flapper 27. Thereafter, when the sheet is fed, the flapper 27 is compressed by the sheet to rotate downward, and thus, a merging path which leads to the first feeding path unit 21 is formed. In this respect, in the state that the flapper 27 is driven in a clockwise direction by an actuator (not shown), a collecting path connecting the first feeding path unit 21 and the capture bin 26 is formed as shown in the figure. The collecting path is formed for collecting the forgotten passbook or business form sheet which remains in the inserting port 11, and guides the passbook or sheet which is fed by the first feeding unit 21 to the capture bin 26. That is, the flapper 27 is installed in the merging portion of the first feeding path unit 21 and the second feeding path unit 25, and is able to be switched to form the above described merging path or collecting path.
Next, an operation thereof will be described. If the passbook is input to the inserting port 11, it is firstly determined whether the passbook is a correct passbook by the sheet width detecting sensor (not shown). Only if it is determined to be the correct passbook and if the sheet inserting sensor (not shown) senses the sheet, the shutter 24 is opened and feeding of the sheet starts using the driving roller 22 and the pinch roller 23. If the passbook reaches the alignment location, the length of the passbook is detected by a sheet length sensor and the passbook is stopped in a location corresponding to the alignment rollers (not shown), which is preset for every sheet length. The passbook is moved in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction by the alignment rollers, and one side of the passbook comes in contact with the alignment unit for alignment. That is, the printing page of the passbook is aligned to the starting point of the printing to be performed by the dot head 12 a.
If the passbook is correctly aligned, the printing location is detected by the passbook row detecting mechanism (not shown), the printing portion of the passbook is fed on the platen 12 b, and then, the dot head 12 a is operated to perform printing. Herein, if the printing is performed until the end of the page, the passbook is fed to the page turning mechanism 13, and then the page is turned. Thereafter, the passbook is reversely fed to the row detecting mechanism, it is confirmed whether the passbook is correctly turned, and then, the passbook is further fed to the platen 12 b for printing.
If the printing is completed for the passbook, the passbook is reversely fed by the first feeding path unit 21 and then is discharged through the inserting port 11. When a customer forgets to take the passbook, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the passbook is fed again in a downstream direction by the first feeding path unit 21. At this time, the flapper 27 is rotated in a clockwise direction around the support of the right side (in the figure), as shown in FIG. 3, the collecting path connecting the first feeding path unit 21 and the capture bin 26 is formed. Thus, the passbook which is fed in the downstream direction by the first feeding path unit 21 passes through the merging portion where the collecting path is formed by the flapper 27, and then is collected in the capture bin 26.
When the business form such as an account is printed, the sheet is supplied to the thermal printer 14 from the sheet supply unit 15, is printed by the thermal printer 14, is cut by a rotary cutter (not shown), and then, is fed in the left-downward direction (in the figure) by the second feeding path unit 25. Herein, the flapper 27 rotates in a counterclockwise direction around the support of the right side (in the figure), and thus, the merging path which leads to the first feeding path unit 21 from the second feeding path unit 25 is formed. Thus, the printed business form sheet passes through the merging portion where the merging path is formed by the flapper 27, and is merged into the first feeding path unit 21. The first feeding path unit 21 reversely feeds the merged business form sheet and discharges the business form sheet through the inserting port 11 located in a front side (left side in the figure) of the apparatus body 10.
When the customer forgets to take the business form sheet, as in the case of the passbook, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the business form is fed again in the downstream direction by the first feeding path unit 21, passes through the merging portion where the flapper 27 forms the collecting path, and then is collected in the capture bin 26.
As described above, since the inserting port 11 is installed in the front side (left side in the figure) of the apparatus body 10, the first printing unit (dot printer) 12 for printing the passbook is arranged in the front inside of the apparatus body 10 when seen from the inserting port 11, the second printing unit (thermal printer) 14 for printing the business form is arranged further inside thereof, and the page turning mechanism 13 having the page turning function of the passbook is arranged therebetween, effects such as miniaturization of the apparatus, improvement of throughput and prevention of jamming may be obtained.
That is, since the first printing unit 12 for printing the passbook is installed in the front side of the apparatus body 10, the second printing unit 14 for printing the business form is installed inside thereof, and the printed passbook and business form sheet are commonly discharged through the inserting port 11 which is installed in front of the apparatus body 10, user convenience can be enhanced and miniaturization of the apparatus can be achieved, compared with a printing apparatus in the related art in which printing units having different printing types are merely installed together.
Further, since the first printing unit 12 for printing the passbook has a method in which printing is performed by movement of the serial head such as a dot head 12 a, the printing processing speed including the printing speed and feeding speed of the printing target unit is slow, compared with a method in which printing is performed by the static line head such as a second printing unit 14 for printing the business form. In this embodiment, since the first printing unit 12 for printing the passbook having the relatively slow printing processing speed is arranged in front side near the inserting port 11 and the second printing unit 14 for printing the business form having the relatively fast printing processing speed is arranged further inside of the inserting port 11, the printing can be effectively performed without lowering overall throughput.
Further, in the state that two types of printing units 12 and 14 are respectively arranged inside and further inside when seen from the inserting port 11, when the printing targets are commonly discharged through the inserting port 11, the printing target which is printed by the printing unit 12 which is positioned in the relatively front side should be reversely fed by the first feeding path unit 21. On the other hand, the printing target which is printed by the printing unit 14 which is positioned further inside maintains the same feeding direction without reversing the feeding direction while the printing target is fed to the inserting port 11 from the second feeding path unit 25 through the merging portion by the first feeding path unit 21. In this embodiment, since the printing target of the first printing unit 12 which is arranged in the front side is the passbook which is not easily bent with a certain level of thickness, jamming is not generated even though the reverse feeding is performed by the first feeding path unit 21. Meanwhile, since the business form sheet which is the printing target of the second printing unit 14 is single thin sheet, if the reverse feeding is performed, jamming is relatively easily generated. However, in this embodiment, since the feeding direction from the second printing unit 14 to the inserting port 11 is the same direction, jamming is not likely to be generated in spite of the single thin business form sheet. That is, the arrangement of the first printing unit 12 and the second printing unit 14 enables stable printing with little possibility of jamming.
Further, when the printing of the passbook is performed, the page turning mechanism 13 having the page turning function is required, but in this embodiment, the page turning mechanism 13 is arranged between at the back side of the first printing unit 12 when seen from the inserting port 11, and the second printing unit 14. The arrangement is preferable in view of miniaturization of the apparatus without a reduction in the throughput. That is, since the page turning mechanism 13 requires an upper space in its structure, there is a limit in its installation location. In this embodiment, as described above, since the page turning mechanism 13 is arranged between the first printing unit 12 and the second printing unit 14, and there is not a large mechanical part in that region, a large space can be acquired on the page turning mechanism 13 without structural limit and miniaturization of the apparatus is also possible by the reasonable arrangement.
In addition, the page turning operation in the page turning mechanism 13 takes a relatively long time. It is preferable to decrease a movement distance of the passbook to the page turning mechanism 13 in view of shortening the processing time. In this embodiment, since the page turning mechanism 13 is arranged at the back of the first printing unit 12, the passbook which is printed in the first printing unit 12 can be directly moved to the page turning mechanism 13, thereby preventing the throughput from being significantly deteriorated. Moreover, since the page turning mechanism 13 is arranged at the back of the first printing unit 12, the first printing unit 12 having the relatively slow printing processing speed is closer to the inserting port 11. When printing the passbook, most of passbooks do not require page turning and are returned to the inserting port 11 after printing. Accordingly, since the ratio of the passbook which requires the page turning in the page turning mechanism 13 is low, it is preferable that the first printing unit 12 having the relatively slow printing processing speed is arranged adjacent to the inserting port 11, in view of improvement of the throughput.
Further, since in order to discharge the passbook which is printed in the first printing unit 12 and the business form sheet which is printed in the second printing unit 14 together through the inserting port 11, the first feeding path unit 21 is installed, the collecting unit (capture bin) 26 is installed in the end part on the side opposite to the inserting port 11, the switching flapper 27 is installed in the merging portion of the first feeding path unit and the second feeding path unit 25, the merging path which merges the business form sheet into the first feeding path unit 21 is formed in a normal state and the common collecting path for the passbook and the business form sheet may be formed when necessary. Since the collecting unit including the capture bin 26 can be commonly used for the passbook and the business form sheet as described above, utilization efficiency of each part of the apparatus can be enhanced and miniaturization of the apparatus can be achieved.
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.
In FIG. 4, a basic configuration of the apparatus body 10 is nearly the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. An inserting port 11 is installed in a left end part (in the figure), and a first printing unit 12 which performs printing for the inserted passbook is installed in a left side location of a central part (in the figure). As the first printing unit 12, for example, a dot printer having a serial head which moves along a printing direction is used.
The second printing unit 14 which performs printing for a second printing medium (hereinafter, referred to as business form or sheet) is installed in a right side location (in the figure) of the apparatus body 10. As the second printing unit 14, for example, a thermal printer having a static line head is used. The thermal printer 14 receives a sheet supplied from the sheet supply unit 15 accommodating the sheets wrapped in a roll shape from a right side (in the figure) of the apparatus body 10, to perform a predetermined printing operation and discharge the printed sheet toward the left side (in the figure), thereby creating a business form such as an account. The printed business form passes through a feeding path unit in the apparatus body 10 and then is discharged through the inserting port 11 in the left end part (in the figure).
Next, a configuration of the feeding path unit in the apparatus body 10 will be mainly described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In the apparatus body 10, the first feeding path unit 21 is formed in a straight line toward a right direction (in the figure) through the inserting port 11 which is installed in the left end part (in the figure). The dot printer 12 is installed in amid part of a downstream side (right side in the figure) of the first feeding path unit 21. The first feeding path unit 21 stops the passbook inserted through the inserting port 11 in a predetermined alignment location for alignment, as described in detail later, and then feeds the aligned passbook in a downstream direction toward a predetermined printing location of the dot printer 12. Further, after printing in the dot printer 12, the passbook is (reversely) fed in a direction opposite (left direction in the figure) to the feeding direction and then is discharged through the inserting port 11.
The first feeding path unit 21 includes a plurality of pairs of the upper driving roller 22 and the lower pinch roller 23 which are arranged along the feeding direction with predetermined intervals. FIG. 5 is a plane view illustrating an opening state of a part of an upper part of the first feeding path unit 21, and illustrates only the lower pinch roller 23. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in a location of the first feeding path unit 21 adjacent to the inserting port 11, the shutter 24 is installed to be opened and closed. The shutter 24 is closed so that the passbook may not enter inside of the apparatus body 10 in a normal state. In front (left side in the figure) of the shutter 24 are installed a sheet width detecting sensor (not shown) which detects the width of the sheet of the passbook inserted through the inserting port 11, and a sheet inserting sensor (not shown) which detects insertion of the passbook. In a portion in front of the shutter 24, the driving roller 22 and the pinch roller 23 for feeding are also installed.
Further, inside (right side in the figure) of the first feeding path unit 21 with reference to the shutter 24, the pairs of the upper driving roller 22 and the lower pinch roller 23 are arranged at such an interval that the passbook having a minimum sheet length can be pinched by two pairs. A portion inside the first feeding path unit 21 with reference to the shutter 24 becomes the above described alignment location where the passbook is aligned with respect to the dot printer 12.
In the alignment location on the first feeding path unit 21, an alignment shutter 31 is arranged along the feeding direction at an inside location (indicated by a thick dashed line B in FIG. 5), which is separated by a predetermined interval from a side end part (indicated by a thick solid line A in FIG. 5) of the first feeding path unit 21. The alignment shutter 31 is configured to be withdrawn from the first feeding path unit 21. The installation interval between the alignment shutter 31 and the side end part of the first feeding path unit 21 will be described later.
Further, in the alignment location on the first feeding path 21, one pair of alignment rollers including a upper driving roller 32 and a lower pinch roller 33 (the pinch roller 33 is only illustrated in FIG. 5) is installed in a direction perpendicular to the feeding rollers 22 and 23. The alignment rollers 32 and 33 moves the passbook which is stopped in the alignment location toward a side surface of the alignment shutter 31 and brings one side of the passbook into contact with the side surface of the alignment shutter 31 for alignment.
In FIG. 6, the alignment shutter 31 and the alignment rollers 32 and 33 are illustrated in a projective manner for simplicity of illustration.
In addition, in the alignment location is installed a sensor (not shown) for detecting the sheet length of the passbook.
The dot printer 12 includes the dot head 12 a and the platen 12 b which are arranged up and down the first feeding path unit 21. The platen 12 b is arranged on the first feeding path unit 21 in a direction (a direction perpendicular to the plane of the figure) transverse to the feeding direction. Further, the dot head 12 a reciprocates along the length direction, that is, in a direction transverse to the feeding direction of the first feeding path unit 21 above the platen 12 b. Then, the dot head 12 a performs printing for a printing page of the passbook which is positioned on the platen 12 b.
The thermal printer 14 which is used as the second printing unit is arranged further inside when seen from the inserting port 11. In a discharging side of the thermal printer 14, the second feeding path unit 25 is installed. The second feeding path unit 25 also includes feeding rollers including the driving roller 22 and the pinch roller 23 and feeds the sheet which is printed by the thermal printer 14 in a left-downward direction (in the figure) and merges the sheet in a downstream side (right side in the figure) of the first feeding path unit 21 with reference to the dot printer 12. The printed business form sheet which is merged in the first feeding path unit 21 is reversely feed to the inserting port 11 in the left end part (in the figure) by the first feeding path unit 21 and then is discharged.
In a downstream end part of the first feeding path unit 21, that is, in a downstream side (right side in the figure) from the merging portion with the second feeding path unit 25, the capture bin 26 is installed. The capture bin 26 is used for collecting a passbook or a business form sheet forgotten to pick up in the inserting port 11.
Further, in the merging portion of the first feeding path unit 21 and the second feeding path unit 25, a flapper 27 is installed so as to be able to be switched. The flapper 27 is configured to rotate with the right side (in the figure) thereof being a support. In the state that the flapper 27 rotates in a counterclockwise direction (in the figure), the flapper 27 forms a merging path which leads the business form sheet which is printed in the thermal printer 14 onto the first feeding path unit 21 from the second feeding path unit 25. On the contrary, in the state that the flapper 27 rotates in a clockwise direction (in the figure), a collecting path connecting the first feeding path unit 21 and the capture bin 26 is formed. The collecting path guides the passbook or sheet which is fed by the first feeding path unit 21 to the capture bin 26, in order to collect the forgotten passbook or business form sheet which remains in the inserting port 11.
Herein, the width of the business form sheet printed by the thermal printer 14 is larger than that of the passbook printed by the dot printer 12. The passbook and the business form sheet are respectively fed to the inserting port 11 of the passbook by reverse feeding of the first feeding path unit 21, after printing. Accordingly, the first feeding path unit 21 respectively feeds the passbook and the business form sheet which are different in size, and thus, the width across the feeding direction is set to be adjusted to the business form sheet having the larger size.
However, as described above, the dot printer 21 which performs printing for the passbook reciprocates the dot head 12 a in the direction transverse to the first feeding path unit 21 and performs printing for the printing page of the passbook which is positioned on the platen 12 b. The movement width (printing width) of the dot head 12 a is set to a maximum width of a printing target passbook. Further, even though the size of the passbook varies, a printing starting point needs to be aligned to a preset point. To this end, in the alignment location, the passbook is moved in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction by the alignment rollers 32 and 33, and the side part of the passbook comes in contact with the alignment unit for alignment, and then, a starting point of the printing to be performed by the dot head 12 a is aligned.
Herein, in order to simplify a configuration in the alignment location, it is conceivable that the alignment unit is installed and fixed in one side end part of the first feeding path unit 21, and the side part of the passbook comes in contact with the alignment unit by the alignment rollers 32 and 33 for alignment. However, in such a configuration, a useless space is formed in a side region of the first feeding path unit 21, and thus, miniaturization of the apparatus cannot be achieved.
That is, the dot head 12 a performs printing by reciprocating in the direction transverse to the first feeding path unit 21, and an acceleration region or a deceleration region is formed in opposite end parts of the movement region for each reciprocation. The printing is performed in a constant speed region therebetween. Thus, as described above, if the side end part of the first feeding path unit 21 is set to be the alignment unit, the starting point of the printing (an end part of the constant speed region) to be performed by the dot head 12 a becomes a point corresponding to one side end part of the first feeding path unit 21, and thus, a space for the acceleration region or the deceleration region should be formed in the side region of the first feeding path unit 21.
Thus, the alignment shutter 31 is arranged along the feeding direction at an inside location indicated by the dashed line B, which is separated by the predetermined interval from one side end part indicated by the solid line A, on the first feeding path unit 21. The starting point of the printing (the end part of the constant speed region) to be performed by the dot head 12 a for the passbook which is aligned by the alignment shutter 31 shifts inside the first feeding path unit 21 by the amount of the predetermined interval. That is, since the acceleration region or the deceleration region of the dot head 12 a is included inside of the first feeding path unit 21, a large space for the acceleration region or the deceleration region of the dot head 12 a does not need to be provided in the side region of the first feeding path unit 21.
If the interval from the side end part of the first feeding path unit 21 to the alignment shutter 31 is set to be equal to or larger than an acceleration distance or a deceleration distance of the dot head 12 a, a space for the acceleration region or the deceleration region of the dot head 12 a in the side region of the first feeding path unit 21 can be removed. However, the interval should not be necessarily set to equal to or larger than the acceleration distance or the deceleration distance of the dot head 12 a. Even if the interval is set to be shorter than the acceleration distance or the deceleration distance of the dot head 12 a, the starting point of the printing (the end part of the constant speed region) to be performed by the dot head 12 a shifts inside of the first feeding path unit 21 by the amount of the interval. Thus, the space for the acceleration region or the deceleration region of the dot head 12 a in the side region of the first feeding path unit 21 can be reduced, and miniaturization of the apparatus can be effectively achieved.
As described above, the alignment shutter 31 is arranged along the feeding direction at the inside location, which is separated by the predetermined interval from one side end part, of the first feeding path unit 21. Thus, the space for the acceleration region or the deceleration region of the dot head 12 a in the side region of the first feeding path unit 21 can be removed or reduced, and miniaturization of the apparatus can be achieved.
In this respect, since the alignment shutter 31 obstructs the feeding when the business form sheet which is printed in the thermal printer 14 is reversely fed to the inserting port 11 of the passbook, the alignment shutter 31 is configured to be withdrawn from the first feeding path unit 21. Specifically, the alignment shutter 31 is configured to move up and down by an operational unit (not shown) to be withdrawn above from the first feeding path unit 21.
Next, an operation thereof will be described. If the passbook is inserted through the inserting port 11, it is firstly determined whether the passbook is a correct passbook by the sheet width detecting sensor (not shown). If it is determined as the correct passbook, as a result, and if the sheet inserting sensor (not shown) senses the passbook, the shutter 24 is opened, and feeding of the sheet starts using the driving roller 22 and the pinch roller 23. At this time, the alignment shutter 31 moves down to the alignment location on the first feeding path unit 21, and an alignment reference in the first feeding path unit 21 becomes a location of the passbook which is shifted inside by the amount of the predetermined interval from one side end part thereof.
If the passbook reaches the alignment location, the length of the passbook is detected by a sheet length sensor (not shown) and the passbook is stopped in a location corresponding to the alignment rollers 32 and 33, which is preset for every sheet length. The passbook is moved in the width direction perpendicular to the feeding direction by the alignment rollers 32 and 33, and one side of the passbook comes in contact with the side surface of the alignment shutter 31 for alignment. That is, the printing page of the passbook is aligned to the starting position of the printing to be performed by the dot head 12 a.
If the passbook is correctly aligned, the printing location is detected by a passbook row detecting mechanism (not shown), a portion of the passbook to be printed is fed on the platen 12 b, and then, the dot head 12 a is operated to perform printing.
Herein, if the printing is completed for the passbook, the passbook is reversely fed by the first feeding path unit 21, and then is discharged through the inserting port 11. When a customer forgets to take the passbook, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the passbook is fed again in a downstream direction by the first feeding path unit 21. At this time, the flapper 27 which is installed in the merging portion of the second feeding path 25 is rotated in a clockwise direction around the support of the right side (in the figure), and thus, the collecting path connecting the first feeding path unit 21 and the capture bin 26 is formed. Thus, the passbook which is fed in the downstream direction by the first feeding path unit 21 passes through the merging portion where the collecting path is formed by the flapper 27, and then is collected in the capture bin 26.
When the business form such as an account is printed, the sheet is supplied to the thermal printer 14 from the sheet supply unit 15, is printed by the thermal printer 14, is cut by a rotary cutter (not shown), and then, is fed in the left-downward direction (in the figure) printed by the second feeding path unit 25. Herein, the flapper 27 rotates in a counterclockwise direction around the support of the right side (in the figure), and thus, the merging path which leads to the first feeding path unit 21 from the second feeding path unit 25 is formed. Further, the alignment shutter 31 on the first feeding path unit 21 moves up and is withdrawn from the first feeding path unit 21.
In such a state, the business form sheet which is printed by the thermal printer 14 passes through the merging portion where the merging path is formed by the flapper 27 from the second feeding path unit 25, and is merged onto the first feeding path unit 21. The first feeding path unit 21 reversely feeds the merged business form sheet and discharges the business form sheet through the inserting port 11. At this time, as described above, since the alignment shutter 31 is withdrawn from the first feeding path unit, troubles, such as jamming of the business form sheet which is reversely fed, can be prevented.
When the customer forgets to take the business form which is discharged to the inserting port 11 of the passbook, as in the case of the passbook, after a predetermined time has elapsed, the business form sheet is fed again in the downstream direction by the first feeding path unit 21, passes through the merging portion where the flapper 27 forms the collecting path, and then is collected in the capture bin 26. At this time, since the alignment shutter 31 is withdrawn from the first feeding path unit, the business form sheet which is fed in the collecting direction is prevented from jamming.
As described above, since the first printing unit 12 for printing the passbook is installed in the front side of the apparatus body 10, the second printing unit 14 for printing the business form is installed inside thereof, and the printed passbook and business form sheet are discharged together through the inserting port 11 which is installed in the front end part of the apparatus body 10, user convenience can be enhanced and miniaturization of the apparatus can be achieved, compared with a printing apparatus in the related art in which printing units having different printing types are merely installed together.
Further, since the first printing unit 12 for printing the passbook having the relatively slow printing processing speed is arranged in front side near the inserting port 11 and the second printing unit 14 for printing the business form having the relatively fast printing processing speed is arranged further inside for the inserting port 11, the printing can be effectively performed without lowering overall throughput.
Further, in this embodiment, the movement region including the acceleration region or the deceleration region of the serial head 12 a in the first printing unit 12 is included in the width of the first feeding path 21. That is, at the inside location separated by the predetermined interval from one side end part of the first feeding path unit 21 having the width which is set to be adjusted to the business form sheet having the large width, that is, by the interval corresponding to the acceleration distance or the deceleration distance of the above described serial head 12 a, the alignment shutter 31 is installed inside so that it can be withdrawn. Thus, when the passbook is printed in the first printing unit 12, the alignment shutter 31 is arranged on the first feeding path unit 21, and the printing starting point of the passbook is aligned to the constant speed region starting point of the serial head 12 a which is at the inside separated by the predetermined interval from one side end part of the first feeding path unit 21. Further, when the business form sheet which is printed by the second printing unit 14 is fed, the alignment shutter 31 is withdrawn from the first feeding path unit 21, thereby preventing obstruction to the feeding of the business form sheet.
As a result, the space corresponding to the acceleration distance or the deceleration distance of the serial head 12 a in the side region of the first feeding path unit 21 is removed or reduced, and thus, miniaturization of the apparatus can be achieved.

Claims

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

an inserting port;

a first feeding path unit which feeds a first printing medium which is inserted through the inserting port toward a predetermined printing location in a downstream direction, and feeds the first printing medium in a direction opposite to the downstream direction to be discharged through the inserting port;

a first printing unit which performs printing for the first printing medium which is fed to the printing location;

a page turning mechanism which is arranged inside of the first printing unit when seen from the inserting port and has a page turning function of the first printing medium;

a second printing unit which is arranged further inside than the page turning mechanism when seen from the inserting port and is different from the first printing unit in terms of printing types; and

a second feeding path unit which merges a second printing medium which is printed in the second printing unit into a downstream side of the first feeding path unit with reference to the first printing unit to be discharged through the inserting port on the first feeding path unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein a printing speed of the second printing unit is higher than that of the first printing unit.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the first printing unit has a serial printing type, and the second printing unit has a line printing type.

4. A printing apparatus comprising:

an inserting port;

a second printing unit which is arranged inside of the first printing unit when seen from the inserting port and is different from the first printing unit in terms of printing types;

a second feeding path unit which merges a second printing medium which is printed in the second printing unit into a downstream side of the first feeding path unit with reference to the first printing unit to be discharged through the inserting port on the first feeding path unit;

a collecting unit which is arranged on a downstream side of the first feeding path unit with reference to a merging portion of the first feeding path unit and the second feeding path unit; and

a flapper which is able to be switched in the merging portion of the first feeding path unit and the second feeding path unit, and switches the merging portion between a merging path which leads the second printing medium which is printed in the second printing unit, to the first feeding path unit from the second feeding path unit, and a collecting path which guides, when the first feeding path unit feeds the first printing medium or the second printing medium which is located in the inserting port in a downstream direction, the fed first printing medium or second printing medium toward the collecting unit.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4,

6. The apparatus according to claim 4,

7. A printing apparatus comprising:

an inserting port;

a first feeding path unit which feeds, after a first printing medium which is inserted through the inserting port is stopped in a predetermined alignment location, the first printing medium toward a predetermined printing location in a downstream direction, and feeds the printed first printing medium in a direction opposite to the downstream direction to be discharged through the inserting port;

a first printing unit which is installed in the printing location on the first feeding path unit and moves a serial head in a direction transverse to the first feeding path unit to perform printing for the first printing medium;

a second printing unit which is arranged inside of the first printing unit when seen from the inserting port and performs printing for a second printing medium by a static line head;

an alignment shutter which is arranged in a feeding direction at an inside location separated by a predetermined interval from one end part of the first feeding path unit and configured so that it is able to be withdrawn from the first feeding path unit;

an alignment roller which is installed on the first feeding path unit and moves the first printing medium toward a side surface of the alignment shutter to bring one side of the first printing medium into contact with the side surface of the alignment shutter; and

a second feeding path unit which merges the second printing medium which is printed in the second printing unit into a downstream side of the first feeding path unit with reference to the first printing unit;

wherein the alignment shutter is operated in a withdrawal state when the first feeding path unit feeds the second printing medium merged from the second feeding path unit.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the width of the first feeding path unit is set corresponding to the width of the second printing medium which is printed by the second printing unit, and an interval from the one end part of the first feeding path unit to the alignment shutter is an interval corresponding to an acceleration distance or a deceleration distance of the serial head.

9. The apparatus according to claim 7,

10. The apparatus according to claim 7,