JPH01261165A - printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

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

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a printing device, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a printing device, and more particularly, the direction in which printing paper is ejected is variable. The present invention relates to a horizontal insert type printing device.

[Prior Art] With the spread of Japanese word processors (hereinafter referred to as WP), there is an increasing need for diversification of printing media, that is, printing paper. Epson Corporation "Epson Vr'-135K
J Catalog (Vr'85-W TOI-61,10
, 28) Published October 1986, 280, a common printing method is to print by pressing a key on a ribbon with a print head while paper is wrapped around a platen in a printing device and transported.

However, in the printing method described above, since the paper is wound around the platen, there are restrictions on the size, size, and thickness of the paper, and in order to obtain normal printing results, it is necessary to use paper called high-quality paper. The reality is that we are encouraging users to do so. Therefore, postcards, envelopes, or thin paper (
It must be said that it is virtually impossible to print on paper such as 46 paper (equivalent to i30 pupil paper).

In order to deal with this, for example, ``Nippon Phoenix Co., Ltd.'' sells [Rakuraku Setter T] for printing postcards.
There is a method of printing using a postcard mount, such as YPEIIJ, but this method requires a special mechanism such as a tractor mechanism or bin feed in order to transport the mount in addition to the postcard mount.

In addition, a printing method that can greatly alleviate the constraints of print media such as postcards, envelopes, and even thin paper is to transport the paper parallel to the platen. For example, the horizontal inserter printer rMIcROLINE 5320 manufactured by Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.
S 1986.10 (Oki Bi) 2K" is available.

This printing device prints by feeding paper from the front of the device, and the direction in which the paper is ejected after printing is set on the operation panel of the printing device to the rear or front of the device. The selection is made using a switch.

However, in conventionally proposed horizontal insert type printing devices, in order to obtain optimal print quality or prevent print head failure, the distance between the print head and the platen, that is, the print head It was necessary to adjust the distance between the paper and paper using a paper thickness adjustment lever, etc. Also, if the paper you use is thin, the paper is not stiff, so the edges of the paper will curl after printing. If a copy of the paper is bent, and even though you have taken great pains to print it, it will lose its quality as a document, and if the paper is significantly bent,
It can cause paper jams and even cause printing equipment failure.

On the other hand, aside from the thin printing paper mentioned above, in general, ejecting the printed paper from the front side of the printing device means that the paper set for the printing device used in combination with WP is from the front side of the printing device. Since the process is performed from the beginning, the operator can perform a series of paper handling operations while sitting, resulting in excellent work efficiency.

As a method for automatically adjusting the paper thickness, for example, an automatic print head spacing adjustment mechanism described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-262161 has been previously proposed. However, even in this case, the thickness of the paper and the direction in which the paper is ejected are not taken into account.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In other words, in the past, it was necessary to specify the paper ejection direction as the front or rear side of the printing device using a switch installed in the printing device, which made operations extremely complicated for the operator. Since you are forced to perform multiple operations while considering the paper ejection direction, there is a high possibility that you will make an operational error.

The object of the present invention is to provide a horizontal insert type printing device with:
The printing device itself automatically determines the paper ejection direction after printing according to the thickness of the printing paper without operator intervention, eliminating the need for the operator to judge the paper ejection direction based on the thickness of the paper. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved printing device that does not require an operating source and can prevent problems such as paper jams caused by operator errors.

[Means to solve the problem]

The object is to provide a means for feeding printing paper from the front side of the apparatus and discharging the paper to the front and rear sides of the device, and a means for detecting the thickness of the paper after feeding the printing paper. ,
゛In a printing device equipped with a means for determining the distance between the print head and the platen according to the detection result, the paper thickness of the printing paper fed to the device is determined based on a preset paper thickness. is thinner than the reference thickness,
The ejection direction of the paper is automatically set to the rear side of the device, and conversely, if the paper thickness of the printing paper fed to the device is thicker than the standard thickness, the paper ejection direction of the paper is automatically set to the rear side of the device. This is achieved by providing means for automatically setting the orientation to the front side of the device.

[Effect]

According to the present invention having the above configuration, the printing apparatus automatically adjusts the ejecting direction of the printed paper according to the thickness of the printing paper without any operation by an operator. Therefore, the operator is freed from the complicated operation of determining the paper ejection direction based on the thickness of the paper, and according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent problems such as paper jams due to operator errors. can.

[Embodiment] The present invention will be explained below based on an embodiment of the present invention in one drawing. Fig. 1 is a flowchart from feeding paper to a printing device to discharging the paper, and Fig. 3 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the printing mechanism, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall control system of the printing device, FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the printing device, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of an operation panel indicated by reference numeral 40 in FIG.

In FIG. 3 showing details of the printing mechanism, 1 is a print head, 2 is a carriage on which the print head 1 and an ink ribbon cassette 5 are mounted, and 3 is a ribbon protector. 4 protrudes slightly from the tip of the print head 1 to prevent staining of the paper. 6 is a flat platen, and this flat platen 6 is fixed to a side frame 8. Reference numeral 7 denotes a paper guide frame, and the paper guide frame 7 guides the running of the printing paper 23.

Reference numeral 9 indicates a guide shaft that penetrates and engages the front part of the carriage 2, and reference numeral 10 indicates a bearing 1 provided on the carriage 2.
1 and a slide beam engaged with a guide 12. The guide shaft 9 is smoothly and rotatably fitted into an elongated hole 13 provided in the side frame 8, and the slide beam 10 is fixed to the side frame 8.

The carriage 2 is supported so that it can move parallel to the platen 6 and also move in a direction perpendicular to the platen 6 together with a guide shaft 9 . That is,
The curidge 2 is moved in a direction parallel or perpendicular to the platen 6 by a power source and a power transmission mechanism attached to a side frame (not shown) located on the opposite side of the side frame 8. In addition, each member fixed to the side frame 8 is also connected to the side frame 8.
It is also attached to the side frame (not shown) located on the opposite side.

14 is a cam attached to the guide shaft 9. 16
is a cam follower rotatably attached to the side frame 8. A spring 18 is stretched from the end of the guide shaft 9 to the side frame 8, and the spring 18 pulls the guide shaft 9 in one direction.

19 is a slit disk fixed to the guide shaft 9, and 20 is a slit detection element. 23 is a printing paper, and the printing paper 23 is passed through an LF motor (not shown),
The front feed roller 22 moves the carriage 2 in a direction perpendicular to the printing direction. The rear feed roller 21 is in charge of discharging the printing paper 23 after printing, and 24, which is driven by the LF motor, is a PE sensor.
The presence or absence of the sensor arm 25 is detected by vertical movement of the sensor arm 25. Further, the PE sensor 24 is fixed to a sensor board 26 by soldering or the like, and the sensor board 26 is fixed to the lower part of the paper guide frame 7.

Here, the operating system of the printing apparatus described above is
! I will explain based on FIGS. 1 to 2 and 4 to 6 using also the number i. In FIG. 4 showing the overall control system of the printing apparatus, the control section includes a CPU 30, a storage section 31. W.P.
It consists of an interface part 32 such as and five parts of various dry nozzles.

The storage section 31 includes a control program 31a that controls the printing device, a "feedback pulse-paper thickness" storage section 31b that determines the thickness of the paper according to the number of feedback pulses from the slit detection element 120, and a "feedback pulse-paper thickness" storage section 31b that determines the thickness of the paper according to the number of feedback pulses from the slit detection element 120. "Paper thickness - carriage position" storage section 31c that stores the carriage position; "Paper thickness - paper delivery direction" storage section 31 that determines the paper ejection direction according to the paper thickness;
It consists of d.

Further, power to the control section and the power section is supplied from a power supply unit 38.

But, a printing device! ! Operation panel 4 of 50 (Figure 5)
Paper set switch 41 provided at 0 (Fig. 6)
When you press , the CPU 30 starts the LF motor driver section 3.
4, the LF motor 37 (attached to the side frame, not shown, which is located on the opposite side of the side frame 8 in FIG. Direction of movement).

As a result, the front feed roller 22 rotates, the printing paper 23 is fed, and when the printing paper 23 passes the PE sensor 24, the PE sensor 24 detects the passing of the printing paper 23 at the CP.
U 30 Let me know. The CPU 30 uses the control program 31a to print a predetermined amount of printing paper 23 (paper 2
3), the LF motor 37 is stopped. Here, if there is no response from the PE sensor 24 even though the LF motor 37 is rotating, the alarm lamp 42 on the operation panel 40 will blink and the operation of the printing device 50 will be stopped. Execute processing.

Next, the CPU 30 instructs the SP motor driver unit 35 to reverse rotation (in the direction in which the carriage 2 moves away from the platen 6), and rotates the SP motor 36 (in this embodiment, the SP motor 36 is rotated similarly to the LF motor 37). Although the mounting state of the SP motor 36 is omitted from the illustration, the SP motor 36
Like the FL motor 37, it is attached to a side frame (one not shown) located on the opposite side of the side frame 8 in FIG. 3, and the guide shaft 9 is rotated by the SP motor 36).

Here, the slit disk 19 is rotated by the guide shaft 9 in synchronization with the SP motor 36, and the SP motor 36 rotates until the feedback pulse from the slit detection element 20 is no longer output, and then stops. That is, when the SP motor 36 rotates in the reverse direction, the guide shaft 9. The print head 1 mounted on the carriage 2 moves away from the platen 6 by the cam 14 etc. and moves in the direction of widening the print head gap, and the carriage 2 stops at the initial position. Next, the CI'U 30 moves to the SP motor 36
SP Momo-5154835 is instructed to rotate in the forward direction (rotate the carriage 2 in the direction closer to the platen 6). Then, if the signal continues to be sent, the carriage 2
The distance between the ribbon protector 3 and the printing paper 23 attached to the ribbon becomes narrower, and finally the ribbon protector 3 and the printing paper 23 come into contact with each other. Furthermore, in this state,
As the forward rotation signal continues to be sent, the load on the SP motor 36 gradually increases, and while the rotational force of the SP motor 36 is greater than the load, the carriage 2 continues to rotate the platen 6 through the printing paper 23. Keep pressing, but at this time SP
Motor 36 sometimes causes tax adjustment (early tax adjustment)
. However.

The CPU 30 constantly counts the number of forward rotation signals output to the sp motor driver section 35 and the number of feedback pulses from the slit detection element 20, and compares the amount of increase in both, and therefore determines the step-out initial position. the cam 14
As the rotation speed decreases by □ degrees, the rotation of the SP motor 36 is stopped based on the difference between the positive rotation signal for the SP momo-5154835 and the increase in the number of feedback pulses from the slit detection element 20. By the way, the CPU 30 counts the total number of feedback pulses from the initial position of the carriage 2 to the stop position of the SP motor 36, and has previously stored in the "feedback pulse-paper thickness" storage section 31b the "feedback pulse number". The absolute thickness of the printing paper 23 is determined by reading out the absolute paper thickness corresponding to
For example, in the primary order to determine whether or not C
PU30 is a “paper thickness-carriage position storage unit” 31
Based on the information from c, SP Momo-51
54835, the SP motor 36 is operated to move the carriage 2, and the printed paper 23 is sent to the "paper thickness and paper direction storage unit" 31d.
For example, in the case of 30 kg paper, the paper discharge direction is automatically set to the rear side of the printing bag ff150 because it is less than the predetermined value of 0.08 wm. Further, in the case of paper that is thicker than a predetermined value, such as a postcard, the paper ejection direction is automatically set to the front side of the printing device 50.

Note that thin printing paper is ejected to the rear side of the printing device, and on the other hand, apart from the thin printing paper mentioned above, in general,
The advantages of discharging printing paper from the front side of the printing device have already been described.

Further, in the above embodiment, the automatic paper thickness adjustment mechanism employs a method in which the carriage 2 butts against the platen 6, but there are other mechanisms.

For example, there is no problem in adopting other automatic paper thickness adjustment means such as a light detection method.

Furthermore, it goes without saying that the criterion value for determining the direction in which the paper is ejected to the front side or the rear side of the printing device 50 can also be set to a value other than the above-mentioned 0 and 08 m.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention is as described above, and as is clear from the description of the illustrated embodiments, according to the present invention, in a horizontal insert type printing apparatus, the horizontal insert type printing apparatus can perform operations according to the thickness of printing paper without operator's operation. The printing device itself automatically determines the paper ejection direction after printing, eliminating the need for the operator to perform complicated operations to determine the paper ejection direction based on the thickness of the paper, and preventing paper jams caused by operator errors. It is also possible to prevent such problems.

Further, according to the present invention, after printing, the paper can be ejected to the front side or the rear side of the printing device.

Compared to the case where selection is made using a switch provided on the operation panel, the installation of the switch and related wiring can be omitted, contributing to the simplification of the operation panel and cost reduction. It also has.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a flowchart from feeding paper to the printing device to ejecting the paper, Fig. 2 is a detailed flowchart of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a flowchart for printing. 4 is a block diagram showing the overall control system of the printing device, FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the printing device, and FIG. 6 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the mechanism.
The drawing is an enlarged plan view of the operation panel indicated by reference numeral 40 in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Print head, 2... Carriage, 6... Flat platen, 14... Cam, 19... Slit disk, 20... Slit detection element, 23... Print paper, 24... ...PE sensor. 22nd (phantom 30th/4-cam 24-FE begging knob 412th) 6th (2)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A means for feeding printing paper from the front side of the apparatus and discharging the paper from the front side and the rear side of the apparatus, and a means for detecting the thickness of the paper after feeding the printing paper, and a means for detecting the thickness of the paper. In a printing device comprising a means for determining the spacing between the print head and the platen according to the result, the paper thickness of the printing paper fed to the device is determined based on a preset paper thickness as the reference. If the paper thickness is thinner than the standard thickness, the ejection direction of the paper is automatically set to the rear side of the device, and conversely, if the paper thickness of the printing paper fed to the device is thicker than the standard thickness, , a printing device comprising means for automatically setting the paper ejection direction of the paper to the front side of the device.