JPH06191107A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dispense with complicated operation such as the indication on a separate paper detection means or panel by discriminating whether paper is present on a manual feed side or on the side of an automatic paper feed mechanism when it is detected that paper remains in a printing device at the time of the closing of a power supply by a single paper detection means. CONSTITUTION:It is discriminated whether paper 29 is supplied from a paper holder 7 or a paper holder 3 before paper discharge operation is enabled. Therefore, at first, the rotation of a paper feed motor is set to the state transmitted to the paper holder 7 to execute a predetermined quantity of paper feed. When the rear end of the paper 29 is detected by paper detection means 107, 111, the paper discharge operation is executed as it is. When the rear end of the paper 29 is not detected by the paper detection means 107, 111, the rotation of the paper feed motor is set to the state transmitted to the paper holder 3 to execute a predetermined quantity of paper feed. When the rear end of the paper is detected by the paper detection means 107, 111, paper discharge operation is executed as it is.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly, to a printer provided with both a manual paper feed mechanism and an automatic paper feed mechanism (ASF). When it is detected that the sheet is present, the present invention relates to a device devised so that it is possible to determine whether the sheet remains on the manual feed side or the ASF side and eject the sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Some printers are equipped with both a manual paper feed mechanism and an ASF. The outline of the essential parts is shown in FIG. First, there are a paper path 201 by ASF and a paper path 203 by manual feeding. A pickup roller 205 is installed on the side of the sheet path 201, and by this pickup roller 205, among the plurality of sheets 209 stacked on the support plate 207 of the sheet holder,
The topmost sheet 209 is separated along the sheet path 201.
Supply. The support plate 207 is the coil spring 2
11, the roller 11 is urged toward the pickup roller 205. On the other hand, a pair of pinch rollers 213a and 213b is installed in the paper path 203 on the manual feed side, and the paper 209 is supplied along the paper path 203 by the pair of pinch rollers 213a and 213b.

On the other hand, a paper detection lever 215 is arranged on the paper paths 201 and 203, and a photo sensor 217 is connected to the paper detection lever 215.
The paper detection lever 215 is provided with action pieces 215a that are respectively arranged to project in the paper path 201 and the paper path 203.
215b is provided, and an action piece 215c that functions as a shielding plate is provided on the photosensor 217 side so as to project. Further, the paper 209 supplied from the paper path 201 or the paper path 203 is the pinch rollers 219a and 21a.
It will be introduced during 9b.

In the above structure, for example, when the sheet 209 is supplied from the sheet path 201 on the ASF side, the action piece 215a of the sheet detecting lever 215 is rotated, whereby the sheet detecting lever 215 is rotated. Action piece 2
By removing 15c from the photo sensor 217, the photo sensor 217 is turned on and the paper 209 is detected. Further, when the paper 209 is supplied from the paper path 203 side of the manual feed side, the paper detection lever 215
The action piece 215b of (1) rotates, and in this case also, the action piece 215c of the sheet detection lever 215 is disengaged from the photo sensor 217, so that the photo sensor 217 is turned on and the sheet 209 is detected.

[0005]

The above-mentioned conventional structure has the following problems. That is, whether the paper 209 is supplied from the ASF-side paper path 201 side or the manual paper-feed-side paper path 203 side can be detected by turning on the photo sensor 217, but it can be detected. However, there is a problem that it is not possible to determine from which side the sheet 209 is supplied, that is, ASF or manual feeding. This is the same when the paper 209 remaining in the printer is detected when the power is turned on. That is, when the remaining sheet 209 is detected by the above configuration when the power is turned on, it is
It is not possible to determine whether the sheet is on the side of the paper path 201 on the SF side or on the side of the paper path 203 on the manual feed side. Therefore, the paper 209 remaining in the printer cannot be discharged, and an error occurs. There was a problem that the display had to be performed and the standby state was required. For this, AS
It is conceivable that separate sheet detecting means may be installed on the F side and the manual feed side, or the sheet path may be discriminated by designation on the panel side so that the subsequent sheet ejection drive is performed. Then, the configuration becomes complicated and the cost is not preferable.

The present invention has been made on the basis of such a point, and its object is to detect a sheet fed from the ASF side and a sheet fed from the manual feed side by a single sheet detecting means. In such a case, when it is detected that the paper remains in the printer when the power is turned on, it is determined whether the paper remains on the ASF side or the manual side. An object of the present invention is to provide a printing device that enables subsequent paper discharge operations.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the printer according to the present invention is configured such that the rotation of the paper feed motor can be selectively transmitted to the manual feed side or the automatic paper feed mechanism side, and from the manual feed side. In a printing device configured to detect the fed paper and the paper fed from the automatic paper feed mechanism side by a single paper detecting means, first, when the paper detecting means detects the paper when the power is turned on, When the rotation of the paper feed motor is transmitted to the manual feed side, a predetermined amount of paper is fed, and when the paper detection means detects the trailing edge of the paper, the paper discharge operation is performed as it is, and the paper detection means When the trailing edge of the sheet is not detected, the rotation of the sheet feeding motor is transmitted to the automatic sheet feeding mechanism side, and a predetermined amount of sheet feeding is executed. Paper ejection It is characterized in that to perform the work.

[0008]

That is, in the case of the present invention, assuming that the paper from the manual feed side and the paper from the automatic paper feed mechanism side are detected by the single paper detecting means, When the paper detection means detects that paper remains in the printer when the power is turned on, it is determined whether the paper is for the manual feed side or the automatic paper feed mechanism side, and This is the one that enables the paper discharge operation. Therefore, first, a predetermined amount of paper is fed with the rotation of the paper feed motor transmitted to the manual feed side. Then, when the sheet detecting means detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the sheet discharging operation is performed as it is. On the other hand, when the paper detection means does not detect the trailing edge of the paper, a predetermined amount of paper is fed while the rotation of the paper feed motor is transmitted to the automatic paper feed mechanism side. Then, when the sheet detecting means detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the sheet discharging operation is performed as it is.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the printing apparatus according to this embodiment. First, there is a case 1, and various mechanical parts are built in the case 1. The configurations of these mechanical units will be described in detail later. A paper feed holder 3 for ASF is installed on the front side (the left side in the drawing) of the upper surface of the case 1. This paper holder 3
Is attached via a hinge portion 5 so as to be rotatable in the direction indicated by arrow a in the figure. The state shown in FIG. 1 is a non-use state, and when it is used, it is raised to the front side in FIG. 1 to obtain the state shown in FIG.

On the upper surface side of the case 1 and the rear side (right side in the drawing), a paper holder 7 for manual feeding is attached. This paper holder 7 is also attached via a hinge portion 9 so as to be rotatable in the direction shown by arrow b in the figure. The state shown in FIG. 1 is the state when not in use, and when used,
This is raised to the front side in FIG. 1 to obtain the state shown in FIG. Further, the paper holder 7 is provided with grooves 11a and 11b into which paper is inserted on the left and right sides, respectively.
The paper is inserted along 1b.

A paper discharge tray 13 is attached to the lower part of the front side of the case 1. The paper, which is supplied by ASF or manually and has been subjected to predetermined printing, is discharged into the paper discharge tray 13. Various operation switches 15 are installed on the upper surface of the case 1 on the right side in FIG. An on / off switch 17 is installed on the front side of the case 1 and at the left end in the figure. still,
The external configuration including the case 1 is merely an example and does not affect the gist of the present invention.

Next, the structure of various mechanical parts in the case 1 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. 2, a carriage 19 is installed along a guide shaft 21 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the drawing. A print head 23 and an ink ribbon cassette 25 are mounted on the carriage 19. An ink ribbon 27 is housed in the ink ribbon cassette 25, and a predetermined print is performed on a sheet (shown by a virtual line in FIG. 2) 29 by hitting the print head 23 with the ink ribbon 27 sandwiched therebetween. .

A platen 31 is rotatably installed on the side facing the print head 23. Also, platen 3
1, a pair of pinch rollers 33a, 33 is provided on the front side in FIG.
b is installed. The paper 29 is the platen 31 described above.
2 and the pinch rollers 33a and 33b from the upper side in FIG. 2, and is conveyed through the lower side of the platen 31 in FIG. At that time, predetermined printing is performed by the print head 23. Further, in the case of the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment, unlike the conventional printing apparatus, the leading edge of the paper 29 is supplied to the print head 23 from above, so that when printing characters, reverse characters are printed. Come to do. In other words, the pin arrangement in the print head 23 is not the 1 to 24 pin arrangement but the 24 to 1 pin arrangement. Regarding the pinch rollers 33a and 33b,
The arrangement will be mainly described later in detail.

Next, the structure for feeding the paper by the ASF and the manual feed will be described. As shown in FIG.
First, a PF motor 35, which is a drive source for paper feeding, is installed, and a gear 37 is coaxially fixed to the PF motor 35. A gear 39 meshes with the gear 37, and a gear 41 is coaxially fixed to the gear 39. A platen drive gear 43 meshes with the gear 41, and the platen 31 is connected via the platen drive gear 43.
To rotate. A gear 45 meshes with the platen drive gear 43, and a paper feed roller drive gear 47 meshes with the gear 45. A paper feed roller 49 is coaxially fixed to the paper feed roller drive gear 47. Therefore, by driving the PF motor 35 in the normal direction, the platen 31 and the sheet feeding roller 49 can be driven in the normal direction via the various gears. It should be noted that another sheet feeding roller 51 is arranged on the side facing the sheet feeding roller 49.

Further, the paper feed rollers 49 and 51 are for carrying the paper 29 manually fed from the above-mentioned manual paper feed holder 7. That is, when the paper 29 is manually fed from the manual paper feed holder 7, it passes between the paper guides 53a and 53b,
The leading end of the sheet of paper 29 is inserted to the position of the contact point between the paper feed rollers 49 and 51. From there, the paper feed roller 4
It will be conveyed by the action of 9, 51.

The rotation of the PF motor 35 is also transmitted to the ASF side. That is, another gear 55 is coaxially fixed to the gear 43.
A gear 57 meshes with the. A gear 59 is in mesh with the gear 57, and a gear 61 is in mesh with the gear 59. A clutch lever 63 is attached to the gear 59. The tip of the clutch lever 63 is formed in an arc shape, and a locking portion 65 is formed. This locking portion 65 is also formed in an arc shape. Further, the gear 61 is rotatably supported by a shaft embedded in the clutch lever 63 and serves as a planetary gear for the gear 59.

On the other hand, an electromagnetic solenoid 67 is installed, and a trigger 69 is attracted to this electromagnetic solenoid 67.
They are placed close to each other so that they can be separated. Since the trigger 69 is attracted by the coil spring 71 when the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is in the non-excited state, the trigger 69 is in the state shown by the solid line in FIG. As a result, the engagement portion 69a at the tip of the trigger 69 is brought into a state in which it can be engaged with the engagement portion 65 of the clutch lever 63. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is excited, it is separated against the spring force of the coil spring 71, and the state shown by the phantom line in FIG. Thereby trigger 6
The engaging portion 69a at the tip of 9 is in a state where it cannot engage with the engaging portion 65 of the clutch lever 63.

The normal rotation on the PF motor 35 side is the gear 5
When the engagement portion 69a of the trigger 69 and the engagement portion 65 of the clutch lever 63 are disengaged while being transmitted to the clutch levers 9 and 61, the clutch lever 63 moves from the state indicated by the solid line in FIG. Change to the state indicated by the line. As a result, the gear 61 meshes with the gear 73. A pickup roller drive gear 75 meshes with the gear 73, and the pickup roller drive gear 75 rotates normally. When the pickup roller driving gear 75 rotates in the normal direction, the ASF side pickup roller 77 starts to rotate in the normal direction, whereby the sheets 29 accommodated in the ASF sheet feeding holder 3 are separated and conveyed.

On the other hand, when the normal rotation on the PF motor 35 side is transmitted to the gears 59 and 61, the trigger 6
When the engagement portion 69a of 9 and the engagement portion 65 of the clutch lever 63 are engaged, the clutch lever 63 remains in the state of the solid line, so that rotation is not transmitted to the gear 73 side. Therefore, the sheet feeding operation on the ASF side is not performed. Further, when the clutch lever 63 is in the state indicated by the phantom line and the sheet feeding operation is being performed by the ASF side,
When the PF motor 35 is rotated in the reverse direction, the clutch lever 63 shifts from the state shown by the phantom line to the state shown by the solid line, so that the sheet feeding operation by the ASF side is stopped. Further, at that time, if the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is in the non-excited state, the engagement portion 69a of the trigger 69 engages with the engagement portion 65 of the clutch lever 63, whereby the state shown by the solid line in FIG. become. That is, since the tip of the clutch lever 63 is formed in an arc shape, the engaging portion 69 of the trigger 69 is formed.
It smoothly slides against a and pushes it away against the spring force of the coil spring 71. Then, the locking portion 69a is engaged with the locking portion 65.

Next, the structure of the separation pad mechanism centering on the pickup roller 77 will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, a friction member 79 is installed on the opposite side of the pickup roller 77, and the friction member 79 is pressed by the coil spring 81 toward the pickup roller 77. Also, on the side of the paper feed holder 3, there is a support plate 83, and this support plate 83 is a coil spring 8.
5, it is urged upward in FIG. A plurality of sheets of paper 29 are accommodated in a stacked state on the support plate 83. Then, the uppermost sheet 29 is taken out by the rotation of the pickup roller 77 and conveyed through between the pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79. At this time, if two or more sheets 29 are about to be fed, they are blocked by the action of the friction member 79, and only the uppermost sheet 29 is conveyed. Due to such an action, double feeding is prevented.

The rotation of the PF motor 35 is also transmitted to the sheet discharging means. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a gear 87 is coaxially fixed to the gear 57.
A gear 89 meshes with the gear 87, and the gear 8
A pulley 91 is coaxially fixed to the shaft 9. Further, another pulley 93 is arranged at a position separated from the pulley 91, and the conveyor belt 95 is provided on both pulleys 91, 93.
Is wound. Further, a paper discharge roller 103 is coaxially fixed to the pulley 91, and another paper discharge roller 105 is installed on the side facing the paper discharge roller 103. Therefore, when the PF motor 35 rotates normally, the gear 91 rotates normally, which causes the conveyor belt 95 to rotate normally in a loop. As a result, the printed paper 29 is discharged to the paper discharge tray 13 side.
Incidentally, reference numerals 97, 99 and 101 in the drawing are sheet guides for guiding the sheet 29.

The paper discharge roller 105 is used for the paper guide 10.
It is pressed against the paper discharge roller 103 side by a spring (not shown) attached to No. 1. Further, the distance from the mounting position of the paper discharging rollers 103 and 105 to the paper feeding rollers 49 and 51, or the distance from the mounting position of the paper discharging rollers 103 and 105 to the pinch rollers 33a and 33b is approximately 80.
It is set to about mm. This is a short paper 2 such as a postcard
This is because 9 is supported. Further, the outer diameter of the paper discharge roller 103 is larger than the feed amount of the platen 31 and the paper feed roller 49.
The feed amount is set to 1.05 to 1.1 times. Thereby, the slack of the paper 29 is prevented.

A guide film 108 is attached to the paper discharge mechanism described above. This guide film 1
The paper 29 is pressed against the conveyor belt 95 by 08 and discharged. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a static elimination tape 104 is attached to the guide member 102, and the static electricity of the paper 29 is neutralized by the static elimination tape 104. The paper 29 from which the static electricity has been removed is discharged toward the point A in FIG. 5, and from there, the paper adjuster 106.
The traveling direction is changed to the side, and the vehicle advances while sliding on the paper discharge tray 13. The paper adjuster 106 can be arbitrarily set according to the total length of the paper used, as shown by the phantom line in FIG.
When the front end of the paper collides with the paper adjuster 106, the rear end of the paper is set so as to surely drop from the point where the paper 29 leaves the guide film 108 to the point B in FIG.
This allows face-down paper stocks that do not overlap.

Next, the structure of the paper detecting means will be described. In the case of this embodiment, the paper 29 supplied from the manual feed side
And the paper 29 supplied from the ASF side is detected by a single paper detecting means. That is, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, first, the first paper absence detection lever 107 is attached so as to be rotatable around the fulcrum 109. The first paper-out detection lever 107 is substantially L
It is in the shape of a letter and is composed of a detecting piece 107a and a connecting piece 107b. The detection piece 107a is arranged so as to be able to appear and disappear on the paper feeding side by manual feeding. In addition to the first paper out detection lever 107, the second paper out detection lever 11
1 is rotatably installed around a fulcrum 113. The second paper-out detection lever 111 has a substantially U-shape, and has a working piece 111a, an intermediate piece 111b, and a connecting piece 11.
1c and. Second paper out detection lever 11
The intermediate piece 111b of No. 1 is arranged so as to be retractable in the ASF side sheet feeding path.

Connecting piece 10 of the first paper out detection lever 107
A pin 115 is provided in a protruding manner on 7b, while an elongated hole 117 is formed in the connecting piece 111c of the second paper-free detection lever 111. The first paper-out detection lever 107 and the second paper-out detection lever 111 are connected by the pin 115 being movably engaged with the elongated hole 117. Further, the photo sensor 117 is installed, and the action piece 111a of the second paper-out detection lever 111 functions as a shield plate that shields the photo sensor 117 from light. Then, the first paper-out detection lever 1
07 and the normal state of the second paper out detection lever 111 are as follows.
By the clockwise rotation of the second paper-out detection lever 111 due to its own weight, the paper detection portion of each lever is in a state of protruding into the paper path. Of course, a structure such as a spring may be used to obtain this state regardless of its own weight.

For example, when the paper 29 is fed from the manual feed side, the first paper-out detection lever 1 is fed by the paper 29.
07 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the second paper out detection lever 111 also rotates in the same direction. As a result, the state shown by the virtual line in FIG. 4 is obtained. As a result, the action piece 111a of the second paper out detection lever 111 is deviated from the optical path of the photo sensor 117, and the photo sensor 117 detects that the paper 29 is present.

On the other hand, when the sheet 29 is fed from the ASF side, the sheet 29 causes the second sheet out detection lever 111 to push up the intermediate piece 111b and rotate counterclockwise in FIG. As a result, the action piece 111a of the second paper out detection lever 111 is deviated from the optical path of the photo sensor 117, and the photo sensor 1
17 is turned on, and it is detected that the sheet 29 is present. When the paper 29 is not supplied from any of the manual feed ASFs, both the first paper-out detection lever 107 and the second paper-out detection lever 111 are in a state shown by the solid line in FIG. Then, the second paper-out detection lever 11
The action piece 111a of No. 1 is located in the optical path of the photo sensor 117, whereby the photo sensor 117 is turned off, whereby it is detected that there is no sheet 29.

The positional relationship among the pickup roller 77, the friction member 79, and the pinch rollers 33a and 33b will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, assuming that the width dimension of the friction member 79 is (L ₁ ) and the distance between the pair of pinch rollers 33a and 33b is (L), the distance between (L ₁ ) and (L) is There is a relationship as shown in the formula (I). L ≧ L ₁ ---- (I) The reason for configuring in this way is as follows. That is, in the paper 29 passing through the position of the friction member 79, the tip portion of the paper 29, which is pressed by the friction member 79, may be curled. It has been feared that the curled portion interferes with the pinch roller and is not conveyed smoothly when passing between the platen 31 and the pinch roller. Therefore,
With respect to the position of the friction member 79, the pinch rollers 33a, 3
By removing the position of 3b, the curl-shaped curved portion at the leading end of the paper 29 is pinched by the pinch rollers 33a, 33.
The portion b is not interfered with, thereby eliminating the above-mentioned concern.

Next, referring to FIG. 8, the structure of the control device of the printing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. First, there is a microprocessor unit (MPU) 119.
The PU 119 controls the entire printing apparatus, and
It operates according to a program previously stored in M121. Also, there is a RAM 123, and this RAM 123 is
Various internal information can be stored and the interface (I
The print information input from the host computer 127 via the F) 125 is temporarily stored.
In addition, an EEPROM 129 is installed, and this EEP
The ROM 129 is for storing variation information that needs to be saved even when the power is turned off and initial setting information for designating various printing conditions. Also, EE
A series of information stored in the PROM 129 is collectively transferred to the work area of the RAM 5 when the power is turned on, and is initialized under the specified conditions.

Further, the input port 131 and the output port 13
3 is installed and through the input port 131,
Signals from various panel switches 135 installed on the operation panel of the printing apparatus and various sensors (for example, the photo sensor 117 described above) installed in each part of the printing mechanism are input to the MPU 119. Further, various control signals are output to the drive circuit 139 via the output port 133. That is, the carriage motor 14
1, PF motor 35, print head 23, various panel LE
A control signal for the D143, the electromagnetic solenoid 67, etc. is output.

Based on the above configuration, the operation will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 9 to 12 while focusing on the paper feeding operation and the paper discharging operation. First, FIG. 9 is a flow chart when the user presses a paper feed / paper discharge switch (which also functions as a paper feed instruction and a paper ejection instruction) on the operation panel. The photo sensor 117 is in an off state. Is confirmed (sequence S1). The fact that the photo sensor 117 is turned off means that the paper 29 does not remain in the printing apparatus, and it is determined that the paper feeding operation will be performed from now on. Then, when the photo sensor 117 is not turned off, that is, when the paper 29 remains in the printer, the paper discharge operation is started (sequence S).
2). The paper discharge operation will be described in detail later. On the other hand, when the photo sensor 117 is off, the value X of the step counter (X: the number of steps of the PF motor 35) is cleared (sequence S3).

Next, the normal rotation drive of the PF motor 35 is started (sequence S4). By driving the PF motor 35 in the normal direction, manual feeding or sheet feeding by ASF becomes possible. Next, on / off confirmation of the photo sensor 117 is performed until the value X of the step counter reaches 142 steps (sequences S5 and S6). In the present embodiment, one step of the PF motor 35 is set to a paper feed amount of 1/180 inch, and the above 142 steps are sufficient for the paper 29 supplied by manual feeding to reach the position for driving the photo sensor 117. The number of steps, the paper feed roller 4
It is a number assuming about 20 mm from the contact point of 9, 51 as a starting point. The fact that the photo sensor 117 is not turned on by feeding the paper to that point means that the paper 29 is not supplied from the manual feed side. In that case, the ASF-side sheet feeding operation is performed. That is, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned on (sequence S10) to perform the normal rotation drive, and the clutch lever 63 is brought into a state as shown by a virtual line in FIG.
It is transmitted to the F side.

On the other hand, by the time the value X of the step counter reaches 142 steps, the photo sensor 11
When 7 is turned on, it means that the paper was fed from the manual feed side. Then, the step counter value X is 281
Forward rotation is performed until the number of steps is reached (sequence S
7). The 281 step is a sheet feeding amount until the leading edge of the sheet 29 reaches the front of the print head 23 and becomes a printable state, and is from the position of the sheet feeding rollers 49 and 50 to 39.
It is the position where 7 mm was sent. Next, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S8), and the printing operation is started (sequence S9).

On the other hand, when the sheet feeding is switched from the ASF side, the rotations from the PF motor 35 side are transmitted to the ASF side by the operations of sequence S10 and sequence S11, and the sheet feeding from the ASF side is performed. It will be. In sequence S10, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned on and then driven forward by 25 steps (sequence S11).
If you send only 25 steps, the clutch lever 63 will be ASF.
After that, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned off (sequence S12). Once the clutch lever 63 is switched to the ASF side, the switched state is maintained even if the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned off.

Next, in step S13, the value X of the step counter is cleared, and it is confirmed whether or not the photo sensor 117 is turned on while the value X of the step counter reaches 265 steps (sequence S14,
S15). The above 265 step means that the end of the sheet 29 will reach a position where the photo sensor 117 is turned on sufficiently if it is fed. If the photo sensor 117 is not turned on during that time, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S16), a paper out error is output (sequence S17), and the process ends (sequence S18). In this case, the sheet 29 does not exist in the sheet holder 13 on the ASF side, and the display unit such as an indicator light prompts the user to replenish the sheet 29.

When the photo sensor 117 is turned on while the value X of the step counter reaches 265 steps, the normal rotation drive is performed until the value X of the step counter reaches 335 steps (sequence S19), and PF is set. The motor 35 is stopped (sequence S20). 33 here
The five steps means that the leading edge of the sheet 29 reaches the pinch rollers 33a and 33b when the sheet is fed there (the leading edge of the sheet 29 passes through the pinch rollers 33a and 33b). Next, the PF motor 35 is reversely driven by 105 steps (sequence S21) and stopped (sequence S22). By the reverse rotation drive of the PF motor 35, the clutch lever 63 is returned to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the transmission to the gear 73 is stopped, and the rotation drive of the pickup roller 77 is stopped and does not move. On the other hand, since the paper 29 is fed backward by the pinch rollers 33a and 33b, the leading end of the paper 29 is returned to the contact position between the pinch rollers 33a and 33b and the platen 31, and the paper 29 is bent upward and its restoring force is restored. In the state where the leading edge portion tries to bite into the contact portion, the leading edge of the sheet 29 is aligned (skew removal).

Next, the PF motor 35 is driven in the forward direction for 199 steps (sequence S23), and the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S24). As a result, the cueing of the paper 29 is completed, and then printing is started (sequence S25). The above is the description of the paper feeding operation.

Next, returning to FIG. 10, the paper discharge operation will be described. In FIG. 9, the paper discharge operation in sequence S2 will be described in detail. First, the value X of the step counter of the PF motor 35 is cleared to start the paper discharge operation (sequence S26). Next, the normal rotation drive of the PF motor 35 is started (sequence S27). Then, it is confirmed whether or not the photo sensor 117 is turned off while the value X of the step counter reaches 2520 steps (sequence S28, sequence S29). 25 here
The 20 steps are based on the longest cut sheet (14 inch length) assumed in the printing mechanism of this embodiment.
This is because, when the paper 29 remains on the manual feed side, if the paper is fed by that amount, the rear end of the paper 29 is sufficiently displaced from the detection position by the photo sensor 117. If the photo sensor 117 does not shift to the OFF state during that time,
Since the sheet 29 remains on the ASF side, not on the manual feed side, the sequence moves to sequence S30, and the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned on.

On the other hand, the value of the step counter is 2
When the photo sensor 117 is turned off before reaching the 520 step, the photo sensor 117 is turned off and then the forward rotation is driven for 1100 steps (sequence S31) and the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S3).
2) Then, the process ends (sequence S33). 1 above
100 steps means that the rear end of the paper 29 is the photo sensor 1
It means the number of steps that provides sufficient paper feed to completely discharge onto the paper discharge tray 13 after passing 17 sets.

On the other hand, when it is judged that the sheet 29 does not remain on the manual feed side and the sheet 29 remains on the ASF side, after turning on the electromagnetic solenoid 67 (sequence S30), The 25-step forward drive is performed (sequence S35). Then, the electromagnetic solenoid 67 is turned off (sequence S36). Here, the electromagnetic solenoid 67
Even if is turned off, the switching state of the clutch lever 63 to the ASF side is maintained as it is. In the case of branching to sequence S30 in sequence S28, although the sheet 29 is present in the sheet detection section of any sheet path on the manual feed side ASF side, try driving the platen to feed the sheet of the maximum length assumed. Even when the paper 29 cannot be removed from the detection unit, the presumed situation is that the paper 29 is stopped from the position just after the paper 29 is fed from the ASF and the leading end of the paper 29 acts on the paper detection lever, and the pinch roller 33a, This means that it has not reached 33b. Therefore, in the next step, the PF motor 35 is driven forward by 250 steps (sequence S37) to advance the sheet 29 by 35 mm. As a result, the paper 29 fed out from the ASF is fed to the pinch roller 3
The contact portions between the platens 31 and 3a and 33b are reached. This feed amount is a position at which the feed amount is about ten and several millimeters past the pinch rollers 33a and 33b from the position of the sheet detection lever on the ASF side. Then, next, reverse driving is performed in 25 steps (sequence S38). by this,
The clutch lever 63 is returned to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the drive transmission to the gear 73 is cut off, and the clutch lever 63 is locked to the trigger 69 by the reverse rotation drive of the PF motor 35 as described above. Further, at this time, the leading edge of the paper 29 is fed back by several millimeters, but the previously fed 250
There is no particular problem because a margin is provided so that the leading edge of the paper 29 does not come off during the forward transfer of steps.

Next, the number X of values of the step counter is cleared (sequence S39). Then, while the value X of the step counter reaches 2520 steps, the photo sensor 1
Whether or not 17 is turned off is confirmed (sequence S40, sequence S41). The 2520 steps are the number of steps for providing sufficient paper feed so that the trailing edge of the paper 29 passes the detection position of the photo sensor 117. If the photo sensor 117 is not turned off during that time, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S42), an error is displayed (sequence S43), and the process ends (sequence S44). On the other hand, if the photo sensor 117 is turned off while the value X of the step counter reaches 2520 steps, the normal rotation driving of 1100 steps is performed (sequence S45). The 1100 steps are the number of steps sufficient to completely eject the paper 29. 1100
When the normal rotation driving in the step is completed, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S46), and then the process is completed (sequence S47).

The above is the description of the operation of the paper feed / discharge switch on the operation panel. Next, the operation when the paper 29 is already in the apparatus when the power is turned on will be described.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, when the power switch 17 is operated to turn on the power (sequence S4
8), the ON state of the photo sensor 117 is confirmed (sequence S49). When the photo sensor 117 is off, that is, when the paper 29 does not remain, the normal start-up operation is performed (sequence S50).
On the other hand, when the photo sensor 117 is turned on, it means that the paper 29 remains, and the paper 29 is discharged.

First, the reverse rotation driving of the PF motor 35 is started (sequence S51), and then the reverse rotation of 25 steps is performed (sequence S52). In other words, as the initial operation,
First, assuming that the ASF is in the connected state, the clutch lever 63 is released. After the reverse of these 25 steps, the state of the photo sensor 117 is confirmed again (sequence S53), and it is confirmed whether the photo sensor 117 is turned off. That is, it is determined whether or not the leading edge of the paper 29 is out of the detection position of the photo sensor 117 while the paper is fed in the reverse direction by 25 steps. When the photo sensor 117 was turned off during the reverse of 25 steps, it was found that the paper 29 was in the manual feed.
Is continuously fed in the reverse direction to completely eject the paper 29 (sequence S54), stop the PF motor 35 (sequence S32), and end (sequence S3).
1). On the other hand, if the photo sensor 117 is not turned off even after the reverse rotation of 25 steps in the sequence S52, the paper 2 is fed in the reverse direction.
This means that 9 cannot be discharged, the PF motor 35 is stopped (sequence S55), and the process proceeds to sequence S26 in FIG. 10 already described. In other words, instead of feeding the paper in the reverse direction, the paper 29 is discharged by feeding the paper in the regular direction.

The above is the description of the operation centered on the supply / discharge operation of the paper 29. Next, on the ASF side, the paper 29 separated and supplied by the pick-up roller 77 and the friction member 79 is separated into the pinch rollers 33a, 3 and 3.
The operation when approaching the position 3b will be described. A
Among the plurality of sheets of paper 29 that are stacked and stored in the SF-side paper holder 3, only the uppermost paper 29 is separated and supplied. The pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79 realize this. That is, the paper 29 taken out by the pickup roller 77 passes between the pickup roller 77 and the friction member 79,
At this time, when two or more sheets of paper 29 try to pass, they are blocked by the action of the friction member 79. Thereby, double feeding of the paper 29 is prevented.

On the other hand, by the action of the friction member 79,
The leading end portion of the paper 29 may be partially curled (the portion pressed by the friction member 79). The paper 29 is fed as it is to the pinch rollers 33a,
It is introduced between 33b and the platen 31. At that time, if the curled portion of the leading end of the paper 29 comes into contact with the pinch roller portion, it interferes with the pinch roller, and there is a concern that it may not be smoothly introduced between the pinch roller and the platen. . In the case of this embodiment, the pinch rollers 33 a and 33 b are arranged at positions deviated from the position of the friction member 79. That is, the pinch roller 33
The distance (L) between the inner ends of a and 33b is set to be larger than the width (L ') of the friction member 79. That is, the leading end of the paper 29 curled by the friction member 79 is configured not to contact the positions of the pinch rollers 33a and 33b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the curled portion of the leading end of the sheet 29 from interfering with the pinch rollers 33a and 33b and being prevented from being smoothly introduced between the pinch rollers 33a and 33b and the platen 31. .

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. That is, the paper 29 from the manual feed side
In a printing apparatus in which a single sheet detecting means detects the sheet 29 from the automatic sheet feeding mechanism and the automatic sheet feeding mechanism side, it is possible to properly discharge the sheet when the power is turned on. Need a separate paper detection means on the side,
There is no need for complicated operations such as designation on the panel. First, the rotation of the paper feed motor is transmitted to the manual feed side, a predetermined amount of paper is fed, and when the paper detection means detects the trailing edge of the paper, the paper ejection operation is performed as it is. If the paper detecting means does not detect the trailing edge of the paper 29, the paper detecting means carries out a predetermined amount of paper feeding so that the rotation of the paper feeding motor is transmitted to the automatic paper feeding mechanism side, and the paper detecting means detects the paper 29. This is because when the trailing edge is detected, the sheet discharge operation is performed as it is.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, the configuration of the manual feed and ASF side paper feed mechanism and the configuration of the paper detection unit are not limited to those shown in the drawings. In short, in the case of detecting the paper from the manual feed side and the ASF side by the single paper detecting means,
What is necessary is that, when a remaining sheet is detected when the power is turned on, it is possible to determine which side the sheet remains and discharge drive.

[0048]

As described in detail above, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, first, the rotation of the paper feed motor is transmitted to the manual feed side, a predetermined amount of paper is fed, and the paper detecting means detects the paper. When the trailing edge of the sheet is detected, the sheet discharge operation is performed as it is. When the sheet detecting means does not detect the trailing edge of the sheet, the rotation of the sheet feeding motor is transmitted to the automatic sheet feeding mechanism side by a predetermined amount. When the paper detection means detects the trailing edge of the paper, the paper ejection operation is performed as it is.Therefore, the paper from the manual feed side and the paper from the automatic paper feed mechanism side are separated. In a printing device that detects by one sheet detection means, it is possible to properly discharge sheets when the power is turned on, and at that time, separate sheet detection means are required for the manual feed side and the automatic paper feed mechanism side, or a panel is used. Complicated operations such as designation above Nor require.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of a paper feed / discharge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a configuration of a detection unit for detecting the presence / absence of a sheet in a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the printing apparatus showing the embodiment of the present invention and mainly showing the configuration of the detection means for detecting the presence / absence of paper.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of the present invention and is a side view showing a configuration of a separation pad mechanism of ASF.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention and is a diagram showing a relationship between a width of a friction member of a separation pad mechanism and a distance between inner ends of pinch rollers.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control device of the printing apparatus, which is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart for explaining a paper feeding operation in a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart for explaining a paper discharge operation in a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention and is a flowchart for explaining an initial operation at power-on.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of shifting from the initial operation to the paper discharge operation in the figure showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a conventional example, which is a diagram showing a configuration of a sheet detection unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Paper Holder (ASF Side) 7 Paper Holder (Manual Feed Side) 29 Paper 35 PF Motor (Paper Feed Motor) 49 Paper Feed Roller 51 Paper Feed Roller 77 Pickup Roller 79 Friction Member 107 1st Paper Nothing Detection Lever 111 2nd Paper None Detection lever 117 Photo sensor

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The rotation of a paper feed motor is selectively transmitted to a manual feed side or an automatic paper feed mechanism side, and the paper fed from the manual paper feed side and the paper fed from the automatic paper feed mechanism side are separately fed. In a printing device configured to detect by one sheet detecting means, when the sheet detecting means detects a sheet at the time of turning on the power, first, the rotation of the sheet feeding motor is transmitted to the manual feed side and a predetermined amount of paper is fed. When the paper feed is executed and the paper detection means detects the trailing edge of the paper, the paper discharge operation is performed as it is. When the paper detection means does not detect the trailing edge of the paper, the rotation of the paper feed motor is automatically performed. Execute a predetermined amount of paper feed as a state of transmitting to the paper feed mechanism side,
A printing apparatus characterized in that when the sheet detecting means detects the trailing edge of the sheet, the sheet discharging operation is performed as it is.