JPH0439073A - Printer - 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 "Field of Industrial Application" The present invention relates to printers such as facsimiles, typewriters, and printers for computer terminals.

``Prior Art'' Conventionally, in a printer, as shown in FIG. 3(a), the recording paper 4 is placed on a platen that is the same as or larger than the recording paper 4, or it is wrapped around the platen and moved in one direction. Printing was performed using the print head 2 by moving the paper only. In other printing methods such as electrophotographic printing, line-type type belt printing, and line-type thermal and inkjet printing methods, the paper is fed only in a fixed direction, and in either case, the recording paper A printer main body 1 larger than the paper width of No. 4 is used.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3(b), by manually moving the printer body 1 on which the printing head 2 is attached, the printer body 1 smaller than the recording paper 4 can be moved.
was realized.

``Problem to be Solved by the Invention'' However, as all kinds of equipment that require printers have become smaller, printers have continued to be required to be smaller so that they can be easily carried. It was difficult to make the size smaller than that, or even if it could be made smaller, it was not possible to feed the paper, making it difficult to create a printer that could produce satisfactory printing results.

On the other hand, if you want to print on large recording paper such as Al size or AO size, you will need a printer that is even larger than the recording paper, and the installation space for the printer will also be large, making it difficult to downsize. Ta.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can print on recording paper of any size without being limited by paper size.

``Means for Solving the Problems'' The present invention comprises a printer body, a print head fixedly installed at a specific position on the printer body, a paper feed mechanism for holding or moving recording paper, and a printer body from the right side of the printer body. It consists of a recording paper running holding section with a cylindrical cutout on the left side.
The paper feeding mechanism is characterized in that it independently includes a moving means for moving the recording paper in the vertical direction and a moving means for moving the recording paper in the horizontal direction.

"Function" The printer of the present invention has a paper feeding mechanism that moves paper independently in two-dimensional directions, and moves the recording paper in either the horizontal or vertical direction in a time-sharing manner. , which achieves six objectives.

"Example" Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1(a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are perspective external views for explaining the operation of the printer according to the present invention, in which 1 is the printer main body according to the present invention, and 2 is an inside of the printer main body. A printing head unit is fixed, 3 is a paper guiding guide for guiding the recording paper, 4 is the recording paper, and 5 is a slit-shaped paper insertion opening provided in the printer body. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a printer mechanism inside the printer body for carrying out the method of the present invention, in which 6 is a paper feed roller that feeds the inserted recording paper 4 in the row direction, and 7 is the inserted recording paper. 4 is a paper feed roller that sends it in the digit direction; 8 is a head platen roller; 9 is an ink ribbon for thermal transfer when printing with a thermal head; 10 is a thermal head for printing; 11 is a photo sensor for detecting the presence or absence of recording paper 4. It's a sensor.

When printing, as shown in Figure 1(a), lightly insert the recording paper 4 so that one end of the recording paper 4 is parallel to the slit-shaped paper insertion slot 5 provided in the printer body l. do. Insertion of recording paper 4 is detected by a photo sensor 11 for paper detection installed in the printer body. In addition to the photo sensor, a mechanical sensor such as a microswitch may be used as the paper detection sensor. When the insertion of paper is detected, the recording paper 4 is sandwiched and fixed by a pair of paper feed rollers 6 in the row direction. When paper is inserted, the pair of paper feed rollers in the row direction are in a heated state with a slight gap between them to allow paper to be inserted, or the insertion of paper is detected. It is optional whether the rollers separate or remain in contact with each other. After the recording paper 4 is fixed by the paper feed roller 6 in the row direction, the paper guide 3 is moved toward the main body by the paper feed roller 6 in the row direction, as shown in FIG. sent along. At this time, the pair of paper feed rollers 7 in the digit direction are separated by a slight gap so that the paper can be fed smoothly. Similarly, the platen roller 8, print head 10, and ink ribbon 9 are separated from each other. Thereafter, the recording paper 4 is gradually fed along the paper guide 3 inside the main body so as to be wound around the cylindrical paper guide. When the end of the recording paper 4 is detected by the photo sensor 11 for paper detection, paper feeding is stopped in the state shown in FIG. 1(c). Through the series of operations up to now, the setting of the recording paper 4 in the printer body is completed.

Next, the pair of paper feed rollers 7 in the digit direction sandwich the recording paper 4. Thereafter, the paper feed roller 6 in the row direction leaves a slight gap so that the recording paper 4 can move smoothly in the column direction without resistance. And Figure 1 (
As shown in d), place the recording paper 4 at the beginning position to start printing.
is sent by a paper feed roller 7 in the digit direction. The leading position at which printing starts is detected by a photo sensor 11 for paper detection, and the printing is stopped at an arbitrary position. Alternatively, it is also optional to use a plurality of sensors to detect the edge of the paper and to stop after detecting it.

Next, the recording paper 4 is sandwiched between the platen roller 8, print head 10, and ink ribbon 9 to prepare for printing. After the head contacts the paper, the paper feed roller 7 and platen roller 8 in the digit direction are driven to feed the paper in the digit direction while printing. Printing is performed by applying voltage to a thermal print head 10 equipped with a plurality of heat generating pairs in the longitudinal direction, thereby melting the ink on the ink ribbon 9 with heat and transferring the ink to the paper. Characters and figures are printed as a dot matrix by moving the recording paper and ink ribbon parallel to the print head. After the transfer is completed, the ink ribbon is wound up according to the paper feed amount. However, there are two methods of printing on the recording paper 4, including direct method using thermal paper, thermal transfer method using ink ribbon, and other methods. Inkjet method with multiple ink nozzles, daisy-wheel method with type font, wire tod method with wire to transfer ink ribbon, or color inkjet method with multiple inkjet heads of different colors. , a thermal transfer method using ink ribbons of different colors, a wire tod method, etc. are optional.

When printing for one line is completed in this manner, the platen roller 8, print head 10, and ink ribbon 9 are separated with a slight gap to allow smooth paper feeding. Then, the paper is moved to a position where the paper can be fed in the row direction by the paper feed roller 6 in the row direction. Alternatively, if the printer stops at a position where paper can be fed at the end of printing, only the platen roller 8, print head 10, and ink ribbon 9 are separated. Then, the recording paper 4 is sandwiched between the paper feed rollers 6 in the row direction to prepare for the next paper feed.

Thereafter, the paper feed roller 7 in the digit direction is also separated with a slight gap so that the paper can be fed smoothly, similarly to the platen roller. Then, as shown in FIG. 1(e), the recording paper 4 is fed by the paper feed roller in the line direction by the amount necessary for printing the next line.

Then, when the recording paper 4 is fed to the printing position of the next line, the recording paper 4 is sandwiched between the pair of paper feed rollers 7 in the digit direction. Thereafter, the paper feed roller 6 in the row direction leaves a slight gap so that the recording paper 4 can move smoothly in the column direction without resistance.

By repeating the above operations in the same manner, the required number of lines are printed.

Note that the number of paper feed rollers in the row direction, the number of paper feed rollers in the column direction, and the material such as rubber or sandstone are arbitrary.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the printer of the present invention, it is possible to print on paper of any size without being limited by the size of the printer body, and the printer can be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) are perspective views for explaining the operation of the printer according to the present invention.・Recording paper・Paper insertion slot・Paper feed roller in the row direction・Paper feed roller in the column direction・Platen roller・Ink ribbon・Print head・Photo sensor for paper detection and above Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation Representative Patent Attorney Suzuki Kisanbe (1 other person) Figure 1 (d) Figure 1 (a) Figure 1 (b) Figure 3 (0) Figure 3 (b)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A printer main body, a print head fixedly installed at a specific position on the printer main body, a paper feeding mechanism for holding or moving recording paper, and a recording paper running section cut out in a cylindrical shape from the right side to the left side of the printer main body. and a holding section, wherein the paper feeding mechanism has independent moving means for moving the recording paper in the vertical direction and moving means for moving the recording paper in the horizontal direction.