JP3475043B2 - Automatic paper feeder - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic paper feeding device mounted on a printer having a front hand inlet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an automatic paper feeder which is provided with a hopper for accumulating paper and, in the automatic paper feed mode, feeds the paper in the hopper to a front printer by a paper feed roller and an intermediate roller. It also has a hopper that stores paper and a stacker that stores printed paper.In the automatic paper feed mode, the paper in the hopper is fed to the printer in front by the paper feed roller and the intermediate roller and then returned from the printer. There is an automatic paper feeding device that stores printed sheets of paper in a rear stacker through an intermediate roller and a paper discharging roller.

[0003]

The above-mentioned intermediate roller is intended to deliver to the printer even when the paper in the hopper is short. Further, in the automatic paper feeding device also provided with a stacker, the intermediate roller aims to deliver to the printer even when the paper in the hopper is short, and to deliver the paper returned from the printer to the stacker. Therefore, the intermediate roller is arranged at a position where a part of the outer periphery of the intermediate roller protrudes in the sheet conveyance path.

In this case, the automatic paper feeding device delivers the paper in the hopper to the printer side at a constant speed upon paper feeding, and after the delivery, it is kept in a stopped state, and the paper feeding control thereafter is carried out to the printer side. I leave it to you. The paper feed is the same even for the type equipped with a stacker.After the paper in the hopper is delivered to the printer, it is kept in a stopped state, and the printer prints during the paper feeding process and backfeeds the printer. When the printed paper is delivered, the intermediate roller is driven to store the paper in the stacker at a constant speed.

Regarding paper feeding, control on the printer side is different from control on the automatic sheet feeding device side. That is, the automatic paper feeding device may convey the paper at a constant speed when the paper is delivered to the printer or when the paper is delivered from the printer, while the amount of print data on the printer is
Since the paper feed is controlled by the data such as the line feed mark and the page break mark included in the print data, the paper feed length and the paper feed timing are not constant.

Therefore, a case will be considered in which the printed sheet that is fed from the front inlet of the printer and printed is discharged toward the stacker of the automatic sheet feeder on the side opposite to the inlet by the control of the printer. In order to synchronize the paper feeding operation of the printer with the paper feeding operation of the automatic paper feeding device, a command for paper feeding must be exchanged between the printer and the automatic paper feeding device every time the paper is fed by one pitch. However, such control is not normally performed because it takes time. Therefore, when the paper is being conveyed under the control of the printer, the paper feeding roller, the intermediate roller, the paper discharging roller, etc. of the automatic paper feeding device are maintained in the stopped state.

Therefore, when the paper is fed from the manual feed slot in front of the printer (on the side opposite to the automatic paper feed device) without using the automatic paper feed device, it depends on the length of the manual feed paper. Paper fed from the spigot may reach the middle of the automatic paper feeder. In such a case, the paper cannot be fed any further, so when feeding a paper having a long overall length from the insertion slot, the automatic paper feeder is removed from the printer. However, the attachment and detachment work of the automatic paper feeder is very troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and even when a long-length paper is also fed from the manual insertion port of the printer, the paper can be fed without being blocked by the intermediate roller. An object is to provide an automatic paper feeder.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A hopper disposed behind the printer for storing sheets in a stacked state; a sheet feeding roller for feeding the sheets in the hopper;
In an automatic paper feeding device having an intermediate roller for delivering the paper sent out by the paper feeding roller to the printer in front of the printer, the paper feeding roller and the intermediate roller are stopped, and a manual insertion slot in front of the printer is provided. A retracting mechanism is provided for retracting the intermediate roller from the sheet conveying path when the sheet is fed from the sheet.

Therefore, when a sheet is fed from the manual insertion port, the intermediate roller at the rear of the printer is retracted from the sheet conveyance path by the operation of the retracting mechanism, so that the intermediate roller is retained even when a long sheet is used. It is possible to feed paper without blocking the route.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a hopper is provided behind the printer for storing sheets in a stacked state, a stacker provided under the hopper for storing printed sheets, and a sheet in the hopper. A paper feed roller that sends out the paper, and an intermediate roller that delivers the paper sent out by the paper feed roller to the printer in the front and conveys the paper returned from the printer toward the stacker in the rear,
In an automatic paper feeding device having a paper discharging roller arranged at an end of the hopper and discharging the paper delivered from the intermediate roller to the stacker, the paper feeding roller, the intermediate roller, and the paper discharging roller. A retracting mechanism is provided for retracting the intermediate roller and the paper discharge roller from the paper conveyance path when paper is fed from the manual insertion slot in front of the printer.

Therefore, when the paper is fed from the manual opening, a long paper is used by retracting the intermediate roller and the paper discharge roller at the rear of the printer from the paper transport path by the operation of the retracting mechanism. Even in such a case, it is possible to feed the sheet without being blocked by the intermediate roller, and further, it is possible to feed the printed sheet to the downstream side thereof without being disturbed by the sheet discharging roller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the hopper includes a sheet pressing plate that presses the sheet against the sheet feeding roller, and separates the sheet pressing plate from the sheet feeding roller. The paper set lever and the evacuation mechanism are connected so that the evacuation mechanism is operated by the operation of the paper set lever.

Therefore, when the paper setting lever is operated to separate the paper pressing plate in the hopper from the paper feeding roller,
The intermediate roller or the intermediate roller and the discharge roller are retracted from the sheet conveyance path.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a hopper disposed behind the printer for storing sheets in a stacked state, a stacker disposed below the hopper for storing printed sheets, and a sheet inside the hopper. And a paper feed roller that sends out the paper, and the paper fed by the paper feed roller is always driven in one direction to deliver the paper to the front printer and convey the paper returned from the printer toward the rear stacker. An intermediate roller, a paper discharge pinch roller provided so as to come in contact with and separated from the intermediate roller with a paper discharge passage extending from the intermediate roller toward the popper, and the intermediate roller arranged at an end of the hopper. In an automatic paper feeding device having a paper discharging roller for discharging the paper delivered from the paper stacker to the stacker, the paper feeding roller, the intermediate roller, and the paper discharging roller. Release when feeding a sheet from the front of the manual insertion opening of the printer is stopped, provided pinch roller moving means for separating the pinch roller the sheet discharge from the intermediate roller.

Therefore, in the case of feeding a sheet from the manual insertion port, when a long sheet is used by separating the sheet discharge pinch roller from the intermediate roller at the rear of the printer by the operation of the pinch roller contacting / separating means. However, it is possible to feed the paper without the course being interrupted by the intermediate roller and the paper discharge pinch roller.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, the intermediate roller is driven in the sheet conveying direction even when the paper discharge pinch roller is separated from the intermediate roller.

Therefore, even if the separation distance of the paper discharge pinch roller from the intermediate roller is small, it becomes possible to easily pass the paper conveyed from the printer side between the intermediate roller and the paper discharge pinch roller. .

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
~ It demonstrates based on FIG. First, the overall configuration will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 1 is a printer.
A paper transport path 3 is formed in the main body case 2 of the printer 1, and a print head mounted on a carrier (not shown) that is reciprocally driven in a direction orthogonal to the paper transport path 3 in the paper transport path 3. A (dot printer head) 4 and a flat platen 5 are provided to face each other, and a printing unit 6 is provided, and two pairs of conveying rollers 7 are provided in front of and behind the printing unit 6. It is arranged. These transport rollers 7 are connected to a motor (not shown) that can rotate in the normal and reverse directions via a clutch (not shown). Further, a manual insertion port 8 connected to the paper transport path 3 is formed in front of the main body case 2 (on the left side in FIG. 1), and a manual insertion tray 9 is provided at the manual insertion port 8.

Further, a tractor 10 and a guide plate 11 for guiding the tractor sheet conveyed from the tractor 10 to the sheet conveying path 3 are provided in the lower rear portion of the main body case 2. When the tractor 10 is used, the guide plate 11 is rotated about the shaft 12 in a direction inclining downward toward the tractor 10, and cut sheets are used to eject printed sheets to a stacker described later. It is configured to rotate in a direction inclining upward toward the stacker when printing.

Next, an automatic paper feeder 13 is mounted behind the main body case 2 of the printer 1. In the housing 14 of the automatic paper feeder 13, a hopper 15 that stores a large number of sheets S, a stacker 16 that is arranged below the hopper 15 to store the printed sheets S, and a sheet in the hopper 15 are stored. Rotatable paper feed roller 17 that feeds S one by one
And a rotatable discharge roller 18 for discharging the printed paper S to the stacker 16. Further, in the housing 14, a paper feed path 19 for guiding the paper S sent by the paper feed roller 17 to the rear end of the paper transport path 3 on the printer 1 side, and printing returned from the rear end of the paper transport path 3 A paper discharge path 20 for guiding the completed paper S to the stacker 16 is provided, and an intermediate roller 21 is arranged between the paper supply path 19 and the paper discharge path 20. A paper feed pinch roller 22 is pressed against the upper outer periphery of the intermediate roller 21, and a paper discharge pinch roller 23 is pressed against the lower outer periphery thereof. The intermediate roller 21 serves to transfer the sheet S to the transport roller 7 of the printer 1 even when the sheet S is shorter than the distance between the transport roller 7 and the paper feed roller 17 behind the printer 1, and also to the printer 1. Printed paper S returned from side 1
It is provided to deliver the sheet to the paper discharge roller 18. Further, on the outer periphery of the upper portion of the paper discharge roller 18, the paper discharge roller 18
A pressing plate 18a for pressing the paper S is provided on the paper. A pressure roller may be used instead of the pressure plate 18a. In this case, the pressure contact plate 18a or the pressure contact roller is supported by the housing 14.

Next, the structure of the hopper 15 will be described with reference to FIG. The hopper 15 has a large number of sheets S.
A sheet pressing plate 24 that supports the sheets in a stacked state is urged toward the sheet feeding roller 17 by a spring (not shown) and is supported so as to be undulated. The side surface of the paper pressing plate 24 is connected to the paper setting lever 25 on the side of the housing 14. The paper set lever 25 is rotatably supported around a support shaft 26, and has a holding claw 27 that is elastically deformed at a lower rotation free end thereof. In the state shown in FIG. 2, since the paper pressing plate 24 is not pressed by the paper setting lever 25, it is displaced toward the paper feed roller 17 by the urging force of the spring. Press contact with 17. From this state, when the paper set lever 25 is rotated counterclockwise around the support shaft 26, the paper pressing plate 24 is separated from the paper feed roller 17 as shown by a virtual line. Since the separated state is maintained by the holding claw 27 of the paper setting lever 25 engaging with the fixed shaft 28, even if the hand is released from the paper setting lever 25, the paper pressing plate 24 is separated from the paper feeding roller 17. The sheet S can be replenished or exchanged during this period.

As shown in FIG. 4, side plates 29 and 30 facing each other are provided in the housing 14 of the automatic paper feeder 13, and the shaft 2 of the intermediate roller 21 is attached to these side plates 29 and 30.
1a is supported. Further, the shaft 2 is provided on the side plates 29 and 30.
A long hole (not shown) is formed to allow the 1a to be displaced in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction thereof. The end of the shaft 21a is connected to a gear 32 via a one-way clutch 31, and the gear 32 is meshed with an idler gear 33 driven by a motor (not shown) in the automatic paper feeder 13. Further, this motor also transmits the rotational force to the paper discharge roller 18. The motor referred to here is also used as a motor for driving the other conveying system in the automatic paper feeder 13, and the intermediate roller 21 needs to rotate only in the counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 32 and the intermediate roller 21 are connected by a one-way clutch 31. Similarly, since the paper discharge roller 18 needs to be rotated only in the clockwise direction, it is connected to the motor via a one-way clutch (not shown).

Next, the paper feed roller 17 of the automatic paper feeder 13
When the sheet is fed from the manual insertion slot 8 in front of the printer 1 by stopping the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge roller 18, the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge roller 18 pass through the paper conveyance path (the paper discharge path 20). ) Will be described. In this case, in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the retracted position of the intermediate roller 21 is, in this example, the position where the intermediate roller 21 retracts backward from the pinch roller 23 that faces the discharge passage 20, and is the retracted position of the discharge roller 18. Is a position below the paper discharge path 20.

FIG. 3 shows a specific structure of the retracting mechanism 34. The retracting mechanism 34 includes a roller arm 36 that rotatably supports the shaft 21a of the intermediate roller 21 and rotates integrally with the fulcrum shaft 35, and an axial end portion of the paper discharge roller 18 biased upward by a spring 37. A cam 38 that presses, a first gear train 39 that transmits the turning force of the paper set lever 25 to the roller arm 36, and a second gear train 40 that transmits the turning power of the paper set lever 25 to the cam 38. Become. The shaft 21a supported at the lower end of the roller arm 36 is provided with a spring 21 in a direction (clockwise direction in FIGS. 1 and 3) in which the intermediate roller 21 returns to a position where the intermediate roller 21 contacts the pinch rollers 22 and 23.
b (see FIG. 4). Note that, in FIG. 3, the operation of the paper setting lever 25 is preferentially described, so that the paper feeding roller 17 and the hopper 15 are omitted.

The first gear train 39 includes an arc-shaped rack 41 formed integrally with the sheet setting lever 25 with the support shaft 26 as the center of radius, and a plurality of gears 42, 43, which are sequentially driven by the rack 41. The gear 44 on the final output side is fixedly fitted to the fulcrum shaft 35. The second gear train 40 includes a gear 45 that rotates integrally with the paper set lever 25 coaxially with the support shaft 26, and the gear 45.
A plurality of gears 46, 47, 48, which are sequentially driven by 5,
The gear 50 on the final output side is connected to the cam 38 so as to rotate coaxially therewith.

In FIG. 3, the rotation range of the paper setting lever 25 is set to the range from the position A to the position C. The position A is a position where the paper pressing plate 24 is displaced toward the paper feed roller 17 side by the urging force of the spring as shown by the solid line in FIG. The position of C is the paper setting lever 25
Is a position where the sheet pressing plate 24 is separated from the sheet feeding roller 17 as shown by a phantom line in FIG. Then, the rack 41 of the paper setting lever 25 is set in the range between the position B and the position C.
Are configured to mesh with the gear 42.

As shown in FIG. 4, the fulcrum shaft 35 is arranged coaxially with the idler gear 33 driven by the motor, but it freely rotates with respect to the idler gear 33. Further, the roller arm 36 has an upper end fixedly fitted to two points near both ends of the fulcrum shaft 35, and a lower end rotatably supports near both ends of the shaft 21a of the intermediate roller 21.

Further, in the printer 1, first and second paper sensors 51 and 52 are arranged on both sides of the printing unit 6. The first sheet sensor 51 detects the leading edge of the sheet S fed by the automatic sheet feeder 13 when the intermediate roller 2
It is a sensor that informs the timing of stopping 1. The second sensor 52 is a sensor that detects the leading edge of the paper in order to set the timing of starting printing when the paper is fed from the manual insertion port 8.

In such a structure, first, the hopper 1
The case of printing using the paper S in 5 will be described.
In this case, the paper set lever 25 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 2 (position A in FIG. 3). In this state, the shaft 21
a is returned to the position where the intermediate roller 21 is brought into contact with the pinch rollers 22 and 23 by the urging force of the spring. Then, when the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge roller 18 are driven and the paper feed roller 17 is rotated by the paper feed command, the paper S in the hopper 15 is sent out by the paper feed roller 17, and the intermediate roller 21 is fed to the printer 1 side. To the carrying roller 7. When the leading edge of the sheet S fed from the hopper 15 is detected by the first sheet sensor 51, the intermediate roller 21 is stopped in response to the detection signal of the first sheet sensor 51,
Subsequent sheet conveyance is controlled by the printer 1 side.

On the printer 1 side, the conveying roller 7 conveys the sheet S from the rear side to the front side of the inlet 8 side, and in the process, the print head 4 prints data on the sheet S. When the manual insertion port 8 is selected as the discharge destination, the transport roller 7 is driven in the same direction as before, and the paper S is transported toward the manual insertion port 8. When the stacker 16 is selected as the discharge destination, the transport roller 7 is reversed after the printing is completed. As a result, the printed sheet S is discharged from the rear end of the sheet transport path 3, but the sheet S stretches due to the strength of its waist, so that it does not face the upper sheet feed path 19 and the lower sheet discharge path 19. 20 is passed to an intermediate roller 21 rotating counterclockwise,
Then, the sheet is discharged to the stacker 16 by the sheet discharge roller 18 which rotates in the clockwise direction. In this case, the guide plate 11 is pivoted upward about the shaft 12 and placed along the paper discharge passage 20.

Next, the case of feeding paper from the manual insertion port 8 will be described. At this time, the paper feed roller 17 and the intermediate roller 2
1. The motor connected to the paper discharge roller 18 is not driven. Instead, the paper set lever 25 is rotated from the position A to the position C in FIG. In this state, as described above, the paper pressing plate 24 of the hopper 15 is set to the paper feeding roller 1
It is separated from 7 (see FIG. 2). At this time, when the paper set lever 25 rotates from the position A to the position B, the rack 41 meshes with the gear 42.
When is further rotated to the position C, the driving force of the rack 41 is transmitted to the fulcrum shaft 35 via the gears 42, 43 and 44. As a result, the fulcrum shaft 35 rotates counterclockwise together with the roller arm 36 against the biasing force of the spring. As a result, the intermediate roller 21 is retracted to the retracted position away from the pinch rollers 22 and 23 as shown by the solid line.

On the other hand, the rotational force of the sheet setting lever 25 from the position A to the position C is set to the gears 45, 46, 47, 4
It is transmitted to the cam 38 via 8, 49, 50, and the cam 38
Pushes the discharge roller 18 against the urging force of the spring 37 to the lower retracted position as shown by the solid line.

As described above, when the paper is fed from the manual insertion port 8, the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge roller 18 are stopped, but these rollers 21 and 18 are used to convey the paper S (the paper discharge path). 20), the path is not blocked by the intermediate roller 21 even if a long sheet S is used, and the sheet can be discharged to the stacker 16 without being blocked by the discharge roller 18. Therefore,
Even if the total length of the paper S fed from the paper feed port 8 of the printer 1 is long, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of removing the automatic paper feeder 13 from the printer 1.

When the paper S in the hopper 15 is fed again, the paper set lever 25 is rotated clockwise to return to the position A. As a result, the rack 41 separates from the gear 42 so that the fulcrum shaft 35 and the roller arm 36 are in a free state and are returned by the urging force of the spring, and as shown in FIG. The pinch rollers 22 and 23 are pressed against each other by the urging force. On the other hand, the rotational force of the paper set lever 25 from the position C to the position A is set by the gears 45, 46, 4
It is transmitted to the cam 38 via 7, 48, 49 and 50, and the maximum diameter portion of the cam 38 is displaced upward, so that the paper discharge roller 18 projects into the paper discharge passage 20 by the urging force of the spring 37.

As described above, the roller arm 36 has the fulcrum shaft 3 on the same axis as the idler gear 33 driven by the motor.
5, the gear 32 meshing with the idler gear 33 is supported on the shaft 21a of the intermediate roller 21 supported on the free end side of the rotation of the roller arm 36.
2 rotates like an planetary gear with a constant meshing relationship with the idler gear 33.

In the present embodiment, all the gear trains 39 and 40 constituting the retracting mechanism 34 are driven only by the rotating operation of the sheet setting lever 25 so that the retracting operation can be performed once. However, it is not limited to this. You may make it drive the 1st and 2nd gear trains 39 and 40 by another operation lever. In addition, the evacuation mechanism 3
Although the description has been given in the state where the roller arm 36 and the cam 38 of No. 4 are rotated by using the turning force of the paper set lever 25, the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge roller 18 are operated by a command such as a solenoid. It may be used for displacement. With this configuration, the turning force of the paper set lever 25 is applied to the roller arm 36 and the cam 3.
It is not necessary to use a complicated transmission mechanism or the like for transmitting to 8, and it is possible to simplify the mechanical structure.

Further, in the present embodiment, the stacker is arranged under the hopper, but the stacker is arranged on the upper side and the hopper is arranged on the lower side so that the paper fed from the manual insertion slot 8 is arranged under the automatic paper feeder. It may be sent to the side hopper.

Further, the present invention can also be applied to an automatic sheet feeding device that does not have the stacker 16. In this case, the paper fed from the manual insertion port 8 is fed toward the hopper of the automatic paper feeder, but the paper fed from the manual insertion port 8 is printed and then the paper is fed again. When the sheet is conveyed to the sheet 8, and when the sheet is long, the intermediate roller 21 may interrupt the sheet feeding toward the automatic sheet feeder, so that only the intermediate roller 21 is retracted from the sheet conveying path. You may In such a case, if a plurality of intermediate rollers 21 are arranged, if the paper can be sent backward by a length sufficient to print in a predetermined print area of the paper fed from the manual insertion port 8. Therefore, it is not necessary to retract all of the plurality of intermediate rollers 21 from the sheet conveyance path, and at least a desired number of intermediate rollers 21 may be retracted from the side closer to the printer 1.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. The paper discharge passage 20 of the automatic paper feeder 13 is formed by arranging two guide plates 53 and 54 facing each other. The lower guide plate 54 is rotatably supported around a base 55 on the paper discharge roller 18 side, and the paper discharge pinch roller 23 is rotatably supported at the free end of the guide plate 54. And the guide plate 5
One side of the base 55 of No. 4 is extended to the outside of the paper discharge passage 20,
An operating rod 56 serving as a pinch roller contacting / separating means is fixedly provided at the extended end portion. The operating rod 56 in this example is manually operated to guide the guide plate 5.
4, the sheet discharge pinch roller 23 can be selectively fixed to a position where the pinch roller 23 for discharging is brought into contact with the intermediate roller 21 and a position where the pinch roller 23 is separated from the intermediate roller 21.

In such a structure, the paper S is fed from the hopper 15 of the automatic paper feeder 13, and is printed by the printing unit 6 in the process of conveying the fed paper S to the manual insertion slot 8 side. The operation of discharging the printed paper S to the stacker 16 is the same as the operation described in the previous embodiment.

When the paper is fed from the manual insertion port 8, the operating rod 56 is operated to displace the guide plate 54 downward as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 6, and the paper ejecting pinch roller 23 is moved to the middle. It is separated from the roller 21. As a result, even when the long sheet S is fed from the manual insertion port 8, it is possible to feed the sheet S without the path being interrupted by the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge pinch roller 23. After printing, the paper discharge roller 18 may be driven to discharge the paper S to the stacker 16, or the conveyance roller 7 may be reversed and the paper S may be conveyed toward the manual insertion slot 8 again.

In this way, by separating the paper discharge pinch roller 23 from the intermediate roller 21, even when the long paper S is fed from the manual insertion slot 8, the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge pinch roller 23 are separated from each other. It is possible to feed the paper without obstructing the path, but in this case, the intermediate roller 21 is conveyed in the conveying direction of the paper S at the timing before the leading edge of the paper S comes into contact with the intermediate roller 21 (in this example, FIGS. 5 and 6). Drive in the counterclockwise direction). By doing so, the paper discharge pinch roller 2 from the intermediate roller 21
Even if the separation distance of 3 is small, the paper S conveyed from the printer 1 side can be easily passed between the intermediate roller 21 and the paper discharge pinch roller 23. As a result, the separation distance of the paper discharge pinch roller 23 from the intermediate roller 21 can be consciously reduced, and a space can be provided below the paper discharge passage 20. This is advantageous when the tractor 10 is arranged below the paper discharge passage 20 as in the present embodiment.

In this case, since the paper S conveyed from the printer 1 side to the automatic paper feeder 13 side is back-fed by the conveyance roller 7 driven based on the data concerning the paper feeding included in the print data, the conveyance is performed. The state is not constant. However, since the paper discharge pinch roller 23 is separated from the intermediate roller 21, even if the intermediate roller 21 is continuously rotated without synchronizing with the control on the printer 1 side, the paper S is forcibly pulled from the printer 1 side. There is no such thing.

As described above, when the printer 1 feeds from the inlet 8 to print, the leading edge of the sheet S is detected by, for example, the first sheet sensor 51, and the motor operates based on the detection signal. An actuator such as an electromagnet or an electromagnet may be used as the pinch roller contacting / separating means, and the paper discharge pinch roller 23 may be separated from the intermediate roller 21 by the power of the actuator.

[0046]

According to the first aspect of the invention, in the automatic paper feeding device in which the paper fed from the paper feeding roller from the hopper is transferred to the front printer by the intermediate roller, the paper feeding roller and the intermediate roller are provided. When paper is fed from the front side of the printer by stopping and, a retracting mechanism that retracts from the intermediate roller paper conveyance path is provided. By the operation of the retracting mechanism, the intermediate roller at the rear of the printer is retracted from the sheet conveying path, and thus even when a long sheet is used, the intermediate roller can feed the sheet without obstructing the path. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of detaching the automatic paper feeding device from the printer every time a long paper is fed through the inlet.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the paper sent from the hopper by the paper feed roller is transferred to the front printer by the intermediate roller, and the printed paper returned from the printer is transferred to the rear by the intermediate roller. In an automatic paper feeding device that delivers to a paper ejection roller provided at the end of the stacker, the paper feed roller, the intermediate roller, and the paper ejection roller are stopped, and paper is fed from the front inlet of the printer. At this time, since an evacuation mechanism that retracts the intermediate roller and the paper ejection roller from the paper transport path is provided, when the paper is fed from the insertion slot, the evacuation mechanism operates to eject the intermediate roller and the ejection roller behind the printer. By retracting the paper roller from the paper transport path, this allows even long paper to be fed without being interrupted by the intermediate roller, and printing is complete. It can be fed to the downstream side than without being obstructed with the paper discharge roller. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of detaching the automatic paper feeding device from the printer every time a long paper is fed through the inlet.

According to the invention of claim 3, in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the hopper is provided with a paper pressing plate for pressing the paper against the paper feeding roller, and the paper pressing plate is separated from the paper feeding roller. Since the paper set lever and the retract mechanism are connected so that the retract mechanism is operated by the operation of the paper set lever, the operation of operating the paper set lever to separate the paper retainer plate in the hopper from the feed roller is used. Thus, the intermediate roller or the intermediate roller and the discharge roller can be retracted from the sheet conveyance path.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the paper sent from the hopper by the paper feed roller is transferred to the front printer by the intermediate roller, and the printed paper returned from the printer is pinched by the intermediate roller and the paper discharge pinch. When feeding paper from the front inlet of the printer by stopping the paper feed roller, the intermediate roller, and the paper ejection roller in the automatic paper feeding device that delivers the paper to the paper ejection roller of the rear stacker by the rollers Since the pinch roller contacting / separating means for separating the paper discharge pinch roller from the intermediate roller is provided, when the paper is fed from the insertion hole, the intermediate roller at the rear of the printer is operated by the operation of the pinch roller contacting / separating means. By separating the paper discharge pinch roller from the paper, even if long paper is used, the paper can be fed without being blocked by the intermediate roller and paper discharge pinch roller. It is possible. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the troublesomeness of detaching the automatic paper feeding device from the printer every time a long paper is fed through the inlet.

According to the invention of claim 5, in the invention of claim 4, the intermediate roller is driven in the sheet conveying direction even when the paper discharge pinch roller is separated from the intermediate roller. Even if the separation distance of the paper discharge pinch roller from the intermediate roller is small, the paper conveyed from the printer side can be easily passed between the intermediate roller and the paper discharge pinch roller. This makes it possible to reduce the distance in which the paper discharge pinch roller is brought into contact with and separated from the intermediate roller, thereby reducing the space for arranging components.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing an overall schematic structure of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a state of feeding a sheet in a hopper.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a state in which sheets discharged from the printer side are discharged to a stacker.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a power transmission structure to an intermediate roller and a support structure for the intermediate roller.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an overall schematic structure in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a structure around an intermediate roller and a paper discharge pinch roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 printer 8 way 13 Automatic paper feeder 15 hoppers 16 stacker 17 Paper feed roller 18 Paper ejection roller 20 Transport path, paper discharge path 21 Intermediate roller 23 Paper ejection pinch rollers 24 Paper holding plate 25 Paper set lever 34 Retraction mechanism 56 Pinch roller contact / separation means

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Isao Adachi 570, Ohito, Ohito-cho, Tagata-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside Tech Ohito Co., Ltd. (72) Toshiaki Aoi, 570, Ohito, Ohito-cho, Takata-gun, Shizuoka Tech Ohito, Inc. In-house (56) References JP 63-22438 (JP, A) Actual development 63-182149 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 13/00-13 / 32 B41J 11/48

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hopper disposed behind a printer for storing sheets in a stacked state, a sheet feeding roller for feeding the sheets in the hopper, and a sheet forwarded by the sheet feeding roller to the printer in front. In an automatic paper feeding device provided with an intermediate roller, when the paper is fed from a manual insertion slot in front of the printer by stopping the paper feeding roller and the intermediate roller, the intermediate roller is used to convey the paper. An automatic paper feeder having a retracting mechanism for retracting from the sheet. 2. A hopper arranged behind the printer for storing sheets in a stacked state, a stacker arranged under the hopper for storing printed sheets, and a sheet feeding roller for feeding the sheets in the hopper. An intermediate roller for delivering the sheet sent out by the sheet feeding roller to the printer in the front and conveying the sheet returned from the printer toward the stacker in the rear; and an intermediate roller arranged at an end of the hopper. In an automatic paper feeding device including a paper discharging roller that discharges the paper delivered from an intermediate roller to the stacker, the paper feeding roller, the intermediate roller, and the paper discharging roller are stopped and the front of the printer is stopped. When the paper is fed from the manual insertion port, an automatic retraction mechanism is provided for retracting the intermediate roller and the paper ejection roller from the paper conveyance path. Paper feeder. 3. The hopper is provided with a paper pressing plate for pressing the paper against the paper feeding roller, and the paper setting lever is operated so as to operate the retracting mechanism by the operation of the paper setting lever that separates the paper pressing plate from the paper feeding roller. 3. The automatic paper feeder according to claim 1, wherein the retractor and the retracting mechanism are connected to each other. 4. A hopper disposed behind the printer for storing sheets in a stacked state, a stacker disposed below the hopper for storing printed sheets, and a sheet feeding roller for feeding the sheets in the hopper. An intermediate roller that is always driven in one direction to deliver the sheet sent out by the sheet feeding roller to the printer in the front and convey the sheet returned from the printer toward the stacker in the rear, A paper discharge pinch roller which is provided so as to come in contact with and separate from the intermediate roller with a paper discharge path extending from the intermediate roller to the popper in between, and a sheet which is arranged at an end portion of the hopper and passed from the intermediate roller. In an automatic paper feeding device having a paper discharging roller for discharging paper to the stacker, the paper feeding roller, the intermediate roller, and the paper discharging roller are stopped to stop the paper feeding. An automatic paper feeder, comprising pinch roller contacting / separating means for separating the paper discharge pinch roller from the intermediate roller when the paper is fed from the front hand side of the linter. 5. The automatic sheet feeder according to claim 4, wherein the intermediate roller is driven in the sheet conveying direction even when the paper discharge pinch roller is separated from the intermediate roller.