JPH0511259Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a mechanism of a paper ejecting section in a recording device that uses cut paper as a medium.

(Prior Art) In recent years, devices called copying machines and page printers have become popular as recording devices that use cut paper as a medium. In particular, so-called PPC copying machines that use plain paper are rapidly becoming popular. Furthermore, compact page printers using an electrophotographic recording method have been developed in recent years.

In addition, the number of page printers that use cut paper, such as thermal printers and inkjet printers, will continue to increase.

In this type of recording device that uses cut paper, when the recorded paper is ejected from the device, it is ejected with the printed side facing up (Fig. 2).
Two methods are mainstream: and face-down (see Figure 3), which discharges paper with the printed side facing down. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, and neither method can be said to be the mainstream, especially in recording devices capable of printing about 5 to 30 pages per minute.

In other words, the face-up ejecting device shown in FIG. 2 has the advantage that the contents of the printed surface can be checked immediately while the paper is being ejected, and the stacker section 6 that stores the ejected paper has the advantage that the first page is placed at the bottom. The disadvantage is that later printed sheets are stacked on top of each other and the page order is reversed.

Further, in the face-down type shown in FIG. 3, contrary to the face-up type, there is no problem with the page order of printed sheets, but there is a drawback that it is inconvenient to check the printed contents. Furthermore, depending on the type of recording medium, it may be difficult to eject it face down. That is, to eject face-down, the recording medium 1 must be bent by 90 degrees or more after being recorded in the recording mechanism section 4 and before being ejected from the apparatus by the paper ejection mechanism 5b. However, it is difficult to eject face-down media such as bag-shaped media such as envelopes and transparent films for OHP (overhead projectors) because it is difficult to bend the feeding route.

However, as mentioned above, face-up discharge has some inconveniences, so a device capable of face-up/down switching as shown in FIG. 4 has also been proposed.

This device allows the operator to use the device face-up or face-down depending on the type of media being used and the amount to be printed. Reference numeral 10 denotes a paper route switching blade which can be rotated by a certain amount around the fulcrum shaft 9 by an operation lever or drive system (not shown). 5a and 5b show the state of the switching blade 10. When the switching blade 10 is in the state shown in FIG. 10 and is discharged face-up to the outside of the device.

Further, in the state shown in FIG. The sheet is guided by the paper sheet and reaches the paper ejection mechanism 5b shown in FIG. 4, where it is ejected face down to the outside of the apparatus.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the apparatus having the above configuration, the paper stacker 6 is mounted even when used face-down, and a large space is required. There were problems in that it was difficult to tell which state the switching blade was in without looking at the display on the operating lever or operating section.

This idea, as described above, is equipped with an unused stacker and requires a large installation space.

To provide an easy-to-use device by eliminating the problem that it is difficult to tell whether the device is set for face-down or face-up.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a switching blade that switches the paper ejection path in a paper ejection mechanism of a recording device that ejects the paper with the print side up or down. a lever having one end fixed to a switching blade; an openable/closable paper stacker having a rotational fulcrum at the other end of the lever; and a pressing portion for pressing the other end of the lever formed near the rotational fulcrum; a biasing member that biases the lever toward a rotational fulcrum of the paper stacker, and when the paper stacker is opened,
The pressing part of the paper stacker presses the lever from near the paper storage position to move the switching blade to a predetermined switching position, and when the paper stacker is closed, the pressing part moves from the lever near the paper storage position. When the switching blade is removed, the biasing member rotates the lever by a predetermined amount to move the switching blade to another switching position.

(Function) According to the above configuration, when the paper stacker is opened or closed, the switching blade is switched via the lever.
At this time, when the paper stacker is opened, the pressing portion of the paper stacker presses the lever from near the paper storage position to move the switching blade to a predetermined switching position.
Further, when the paper stacker is closed, the pressing portion of the paper stacker is disengaged from the lever near the paper storage position, and the lever is rotated by a predetermined amount by the biasing member to move the switching blade to another switching position.

Therefore, the above problems can be eliminated.

(Example) FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording apparatus according to the present invention. The cut paper (recording medium) placed in the paper cassette 2 is fed one by one by the paper feed mechanism 3 to the recording mechanism section 4, where it is printed and printed using various known techniques.
A recording is made. 5a is a paper ejection mechanism; 15 is a switching blade; 16 is a fulcrum shaft thereof; 17 is a lever integrally locked with the fulcrum shaft; and a tension spring 18 constantly applies force in one direction. 19 is a part of the paper stacker 20 and is a fulcrum around which the paper stacker 20 can rotate.

First, when an operator uses this apparatus face-up, the paper stacker 20 is set in the position shown in FIG. A detailed view of the paper discharge section at this time is shown in FIG. 6a. The paper stacker 20 is mounted on the printer main body so as to be rotatable about a rotation fulcrum 19 that is integral with the paper stacker 20. The paper stacker 20 is arranged at an angle such that it can receive and stack the recording papers 1, and a portion 20a of the paper stacker 20 presses the tip end 17a of the lever 17. As a result, the lever 17 rotates the rotation fulcrum shaft 16 by a certain angle, and also rotates the switching blade 15, which is integrally attached to the rotation fulcrum shaft 16, by a certain angle. As a result, switching blade 1
5 moves to the upper side of the roller of the paper ejection mechanism 5a, and the paper is ejected through the lower side of the switching blade 15.

FIG. 6b is a diagram showing the state in which the device is used face down. When the paper stacker 20 is lifted up around the rotational fulcrum 19 to the state shown in FIG. 6b, the corner portion 2 of the paper stacker 20
A rotational force is applied by the spring 18 until the lever 0a moves away from the tip 17a of the lever 17 and the center portion 17b of the lever 17 comes into contact with the rotation fulcrum 19. When the lever 17 rotates by a certain angle around the rotational fulcrum 16, the switching blade 15 also rotates because it is integral with the rotational fulcrum 16, and the tip of the switching blade 15 moves toward the lower roller of the paper ejection mechanism 5a.
The recorded paper changes direction along the upper right slope of the switching blade 15, is sent along the paper guide 12 toward the ejection mechanism 5b shown in FIG. 1, and is ejected from the device face down. .

At this time, the paper stacker 20 (indicated by a two-dot chain line)
It can be said that it is preferable in terms of appearance and operation that the tip (on the opposite side of the fulcrum 19) is at approximately the same position as the height of the entire recording apparatus.

In order to maintain this state, the paper stacker is held by a detent mechanism shown in FIG. That is, a notch (or hole) is provided near the tip of the paper stacker 20, and the protrusion 22 of the outer cover 21 of the recording device is given an appropriate shape and elasticity, and the paper stacker 20 is held by the protrusion 22. Do it like this.

In addition to this embodiment, the paper detent mechanism can also be realized by separately mounting a permanent magnet and a magnetic body attracted to the permanent magnet on the paper stacker side and the outer cover side of the recording device.

It also works as a detent mechanism by holding the protrusion toward the paper stacker and hooking it onto a part of the outer cover. If the detent mechanism is set to be effective when the paper stacker 20 is in a substantially vertical state in this way, the paper stacker 20 will not be in a half-open state, and as a result, the switching blade 1
It is possible to prevent the paper from stopping at a halfway position and causing a paper jam.

Further, when the paper stacker 20 is in the state shown in FIG. 6a, the paper stacker 20 is supported by the end 23 of the opening provided in the outer cover of the recording apparatus,
The state shown in FIG. 6a is maintained due to the weight of the paper stacker 20 and the paper stacked on the stacker. Although FIG. 1 shows a diagram in which the tension spring 18 is used to apply rotational force in one direction to the rotational fulcrum shaft 16, any method can be used as long as it is a means for applying rotational force in a fixed direction to the rotational fulcrum shaft 16. It is possible to use it even if For example, a torsion spring may be installed around the rotating fulcrum shaft 16, or a compression spring may be applied to the lever 17 from a direction opposite to that of the spring 18. It is also possible to apply force using a leaf spring or the like. Moreover, without using the force of the spring, it is also possible to apply rotational force by gravity by bringing the center of gravity of the lever 17, the rotational fulcrum shaft 16, and the entire switching blade to the right side of the rotational fulcrum shaft 16.

(Effects of the invention) As explained in detail above, according to the invention, the position of the switching blade is automatically switched by changing the position of the paper stacker, so it can be seen at a glance whether the device is face-up or face-down discharge. This prevents the user from forgetting to prepare the paper stacker even though the switching blade is set to the face-up ejection state.When using the face-down ejection state, the paper stacker is installed almost vertically near the side of the device. (The state shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) has the advantage that the installation area of the recording device can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a recording device according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of a face-up recording device, Figure 3 is a configuration diagram of a face-down recording device, and Figure 4 is a configuration diagram of a face-down recording device.
The figure is a block diagram of a device capable of face-up/down switching, Figure 5a is a block diagram of the switch lever section of Figure 4 in state A, and Figure 5b is a diagram of the switch lever part of Figure 4 in state B. 6a is a configuration diagram of the switching lever section in FIG. 1 in state A, FIG. 6b is a configuration diagram of the switching lever section in FIG. 1 in state B, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the switching lever section in FIG. It is a block diagram of a detent mechanism. 5a, 5b...Paper discharge mechanism, 15...Switching lever, 17...Lever, 20...Paper stacker.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A paper ejection mechanism of a recording device that ejects paper with the printed side up or down, comprising: a switching blade for switching the paper ejection path; a lever having one end fixed to the switching blade; an openable/closable paper stacker having a rotational fulcrum on the other end side and forming a pressing part for pressing the other end of the lever near the rotational fulcrum; and the lever is attached to the rotational fulcrum side of the paper stacker. and a biasing member that biases the paper stacker, and when the paper stacker is opened, a pressing portion of the paper stacker presses the lever from near the paper storage position to move the switching blade to a predetermined switching position, and the paper stacker is moved to a predetermined switching position. When the stacker is closed, the pressing portion is disengaged from the lever near the paper storage position, and the lever is rotated by a predetermined amount by the urging member to move the switching blade to another switching position. Paper ejection mechanism of a recording device.