JPH0680280A - Paper feeding mode discriminating device of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To select three paper feeding modes including the automatic feeding of single sheet papers by a paper automatic feeding mechanism, the manual feeding of single sheet papers by a manual handling, and the continuous feeding, while to carry out the automatic feeding of single sheet papers and the manual feeding of single sheet papers selectively. CONSTITUTION:Depending on the detecting conditions of a pressing force detecting switch 46 to detect the strength of the pressing force of a paper feeding roller 50, and a conveyance detecting switch 47 to detect the existence of papers conveyed by the paper feeding roller 50, and when there is no single sheet paper in a paper automatic feeding mechanism and the papers are being conveyed, in the condition of the strong pressing force, it is discriminated to be the manual handling feeding mode, and the papers can be fed manually from the lower side of the rear side opening of a paper passage. And when there is a single sheet paper in the paper amtomatic feeding mechanism, and the papers are not being conveyed, it is discriminated to be the automatic feeding mode, and the single sheet papers can be fed automatically by the paper automatic feeding mechanism.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention discriminates between two types of paper feeding modes, a manual feeding mode in which a single-cut sheet can be manually fed and an automatic feeding mode in which an automatic paper feeding mechanism is automatically fed, and the above two types. In addition to the above modes, the present invention relates to a paper supply mode discrimination device of a printer capable of discriminating three kinds of paper supply modes of continuous supply mode in which continuous paper can be continuously supplied by a tractor mechanism. To do so.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional paper feeding device for a printer, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-18195 (hereinafter referred to as "first
"Conventional example"). This is one that automatically supplies paper to the platen of a printing device such as a printer, and supplies the paper between the platen that is rotatably provided facing the print head and between this print head and the platen. Therefore, the automatic paper feeder is provided between the paper insertion port and the paper ejection port. The automatic paper feeding device includes a paper feeding stacker for stacking paper, a paper feeding roller for feeding the paper stacked on the paper feeding stacker under pressure, and a feeding passage for guiding the fed paper to the platen. And a discharge guide plate that forms a discharge passage that guides the printed paper from the platen to the discharge stacker, and a discharge unit that discharges the paper transported along the discharge guide plate to the discharge stacker. It is provided.

Further, as a paper feeding device for other printers, there is a paper feeding device as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-3812 (hereinafter referred to as "second conventional example"). This one has a roller device for feeding cut sheets and a tractor for feeding continuous paper, and the roller device is arranged in proximity to a printing area formed between a platen and a print head, A guide body is provided between the tractor and the roller device, the guide body being positioned at two or more different positions during continuous sheet feeding and single sheet sheet feeding. The guide body is composed of two plates arranged in parallel with a narrow gap, and the continuous paper that is pushed and fed is guided between the two plates of the guide body.
The cut sheet is guided along the upper surface of the upper plate of the guide body.

[0004]

However, in the paper feeding device of the printer according to the first conventional example described above,
Since the automatic feeding device is unitized and the automatic feeding device is mounted so as to be positioned at the sheet insertion port and the ejection port of the platen, if the automatic paper feeding device is set, the paper feeding by manual feeding will be performed. There was a problem that it would be impossible. Further, in the paper supply device of the printer according to the second conventional example, the printer is positioned between the tractor and the roller device at two or more different positions during continuous paper feeding and single-cut sheet feeding. Since the guide body is provided and the lower back plate, which is the guide body, is rotated around the pivot by the operating rod to switch the paper path, continuous paper is fed when the single-cut paper is set in the roller device. However, on the contrary, when continuous paper is fed by the tractor, there is a problem that it is impossible to automatically supply single-cut sheets.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is provided with an insertion port for automatic supply of cut sheets and an insertion port for manual insertion, and the automatic sheet feeding mechanism is provided with cut sheets. In addition to the above-mentioned configuration, a continuous paper supply insertion port is provided in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, with the automatic paper feeding mechanism automatically supplying the single-cut sheets , By making it possible to select three types of paper supply modes including continuous paper supply,
The purpose is to solve the above problems.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a paper feed mode discriminating apparatus for a printer according to the present invention is provided with a paper passage having an opening at the front and the rear, and a rear opening of the paper passage is oblique. An automatic paper feed mechanism having a pickup roller for picking up single-cut paper at the tip is provided on the top, and a paper feed roller for pressing and feeding the paper fed into the paper passage is rotatably provided to the automatic paper feed mechanism. A paper detection switch for detecting the presence or absence of the set cut paper, a pressing force detection switch for detecting the strength of the pressing force of the paper feed roller, and a conveyance detection switch for detecting the presence or absence of the paper being conveyed by the paper feed roller. Are provided respectively, and based on the detection states of the paper detection switch, the pressing force detection switch, and the conveyance detection switch, the state where the pressing force is strong is determined. When there is no cut sheet in the automatic paper feeding mechanism and the paper is being conveyed, it is determined to be the manual feeding mode and it is possible to manually feed the paper from the lower part of the rear opening of the paper passage. When there is a cut sheet and the sheet is not conveyed, it is characterized as being in the automatic supply mode and capable of automatically supplying the cut sheet by the automatic paper feeding mechanism.

In addition to the above structure, a tractor mechanism for supplying continuous paper is provided laterally below the rear opening of the paper passage.
In the state where the pressing force is weak, when the paper is not conveyed, the continuous supply mode is discriminated and the continuous supply of the continuous paper is enabled by the tractor mechanism so that three kinds of paper supply modes can be selected.

[0008]

The paper detection switch detects that the cut paper is not set in the automatic paper supply mechanism, the pressing force detection switch detects that the pressing force of the paper feed roller is strong, and the conveyance detection switch. When it is detected that the paper is being conveyed by the paper feed roller, the manual feed mode is determined at this time, and the single-cut paper can be manually fed from below the rear opening of the paper passage. On the other hand, the paper detection switch detects that single-cut paper is set in the automatic paper feed mechanism, and the pressing force detection switch detects that the pressing force of the paper feed roller is strong, When the detection switch detects that the paper is not being conveyed by the paper feed roller, it is determined at this time that it is in the automatic feeding mode, and the automatic paper feeding mechanism provided diagonally above the rear opening of the paper passage automatically cuts single-cut sheets. Is supplied in a regular manner.

In addition to the above operation, when the pressing force detection switch detects that the pressing force of the paper feed roller is weak, and the conveyance detection switch detects that the paper feed roller is not conveying the paper. At this time, the continuous feed mode is determined, and the continuous paper is continuously fed by the tractor mechanism provided at the lower side of the rear opening of the paper passage.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 7 show an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a perspective view showing main components, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the entire structure of the printer, FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the printer,
4 is an explanatory view showing a state where the pressing force of the paper feed roller is strong, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state where the pressing force of the paper feed roller is weak, and FIG. 6 is an OFF state (the pressing force is strong) of the pressing force detection switch. Similarly, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the ON state (the pressing force is weak) of the pressing force detection switch.

First, the structure will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, 1 is a box-shaped printer housing,
The printer housing 1 is provided with an opening portion that opens from the front portion of the upper surface to the upper portion of the front surface, and the opening / closing cover 3 attached to the printer housing 1 via the hinge 2 allows the opening portion to be opened and closed. Between the lower front edge of the open / close cover 3 in the closed state and the upper edge of the front surface of the printer housing 1, there is provided a horizontally long sheet discharge section A that opens to the front surface of the printer housing 1. In addition, a cut sheet paper SP is provided on the rear portion of the upper surface of the printer housing 1 by the automatic paper feed mechanism 4
Is provided with a horizontally long upper sheet insertion opening B for automatic feeding by the above, and the lower portion of the back surface of the printer housing 1 is for manually feeding the cut sheet SP and for feeding the continuous sheet CP by the tractor mechanism 5. A laterally long lower sheet insertion opening C for opening the rear side is provided.

A printer housing 1 having such a configuration
The frame 6 is housed inside the printer, and the internal mechanism D of the printer is housed above the frame 6. The internal mechanism D includes a cassette holder 7, a carriage 8 and a print head 9.
And a ribbon cassette 10 and the like. The cassette holder 7 is held by the frame 6 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. That is, the cassette holder 7 is formed with guide holes 11 formed of elongated holes extending in the front-rear direction on both sides of the upper surface of the cassette holder 7. The guide holes 11 penetrate the respective guide holes 11 and are screwed and fixed to the frame side. Guided by the screw 12, the cassette holder 7 can be translated in the front-rear direction with respect to the frame 6. Reference numeral 13 is a washer for preventing the guide screw 12 from coming off from the guide hole 11.

Below the cassette holder 7, a carriage shaft 14 whose both ends are held by a frame 6 is disposed so as to extend in the lateral direction, and the carriage shaft 14 penetrates the rear part of the carriage 8 slidably. is doing. The front portion of the carriage 8 is provided with a concave portion 15 that opens to the front side, and an eccentric bush 16 is inserted into the concave portion 15. The eccentric bush 16 is rotatably fitted to a guide shaft 17 arranged in parallel with the carriage shaft 14, and both ends of the guide shaft 17 are fixedly supported by the frame 6. A print head 9 is fixed to the lower center of the carriage 8 with the nose portion facing downward, and a flat platen platen 18 held by the frame 6 is disposed below the nose portion with an appropriate interval. is doing. Therefore, by rotating the eccentric bush 16 to move the print head 9 in the vertical direction, the gap between the nose portion and the platen 18 can be finely adjusted. Reference numeral 19 is a screw for fixing the eccentric bush 16.

A lower discharge roller 20 having both ends rotatably supported by the frame 6 and an upper discharge roller 21 abutting above the lower discharge roller 20 are provided at a lower front portion of the guide shaft 17 and face the paper discharge portion A. And the open / close levers 22 are rotatably fitted to both sides of the lower discharge roller 20,
Both ends of the upper discharge roller 21 are rotatably supported between the open / close levers 22. At the top of each open / close lever 22,
Engagement concave portion 2 that can be engaged with the convex portion 23 provided on the frame 6 side
4, the upper discharge roller 21 is swiveled and fixed above the lower discharge roller 20 by raising each open / close lever 22 and engaging the engaging concave portion 24 with the convex portion 23.
In addition, the opening / closing lever 22 is tilted so that the engaging concave portion 24 and the convex portion 23
By releasing the engagement with, the upper discharge roller 21 moves to the front of the lower discharge roller 20, whereby the ribbon cassette 10 can be attached and detached. Reference numeral 25 denotes a driven pulley fixed to one end of the lower discharge roller 20, and the endless belt 20 is stretched between the driven pulley 25 and a drive pulley 28 supported by a unit frame 27 of the ribbon feed switching unit. .

A pickup roller 29 is provided in an upper sheet insertion port B provided at a rear portion of the upper surface of the frame 6 substantially in parallel with the carriage shaft 14. Both ends of the pickup roller 29 are rotatably held by the frame 6, and a paper feed gear train 30 composed of a combination of a plurality of gears.
The paper feed motor 31 fixed to the frame 6 is connected to the frame 6 via the so as to be able to transmit power. The paper feed gear train 30 includes a driven gear 33 fixed to the end of the roller shaft 32 of the pickup roller 29, a slide gear 34 capable of meshing with the driven gear 33, and a drive gear constantly meshed with the slide gear 34. It has 35 etc. Drive gear 35
Is driven to rotate in conjunction with the paper feed motor 31, and
The slide gear 34 is normally biased by the coil spring 36 and is not in mesh with the driven gear 33, and the operating lever 37
It is configured to mesh with the driven gear 33 when sliding in the axial direction by the pressing force of.

One end of a connecting bar 38 is fitted to the base end of the operating lever 37, and the operating lever 37 is integrally rotated by the rotation of the connecting bar 38, and the slide gear 34 is pressed by the tip thereof. Then, the slide gear 34 meshes with the driven gear 33 by sliding against the biasing force of the coil spring 36. The base end of the input lever 39 is fitted to the other end of the connecting bar 38, and the connecting bar 38 is rotationally driven integrally with the input lever 39 by an external force applied to the pressure receiving portion 40 provided at the tip thereof. . Corresponding to the input lever 39, the carriage 8 is provided with a pressing portion 41 projecting downward, and when the carriage 8 moves to the leftmost end, the pressing portion 4 is provided.
1 presses the pressure receiving portion 40 to input bar 39 and connecting bar 3
8 and the operating lever 37 rotate integrally, whereby the slide gear 34 can be meshed with the driven gear 33.

Further, a leaf spring 42 is arranged on the back surface of the pickup roller 29, and a paper set plate 43 is arranged on the back surface of the frame 6, and the sheet set plate 43 is mounted on the paper set plate 43. The sheet paper SP is biased toward the pickup roller 29 by the leaf spring 42. The pickup roller 29, the leaf spring 42, and the paper set plate 43 constitute the automatic paper feed mechanism 4 that can automatically feed the cut paper SP. The automatic paper feed mechanism 4 is provided with a paper detection switch 44 for detecting the presence / absence of the set cut paper SP. The sheet detection switch 44 is turned on, for example, when the cut sheet SP is set on the sheet setting plate 43, and sends the detection signal to the control device 45. The control device 45 includes, for example, an input / output port, an arithmetic processing unit (CPU), a RAM,
It is composed of a microcomputer having a storage device such as a ROM, and the detection signal of the paper detection switch 44 and the detection signals of the pressing force detection switch 46 and the conveyance detection switch 47 described later are input to its input / output port.

A tractor mechanism 5 for continuously supplying the continuous paper CP into the printer is provided outside the lower paper insertion slot C provided at the lower rear portion of the frame 6. Both ends of the tractor mechanism 5 are supported by the printer housing 1 in a state where the tractor mechanism 5 is horizontal and the inner end thereof faces the lower sheet insertion slot C.
Paper feed motor 3 connected to the drive shaft so that power can be transmitted.
It is driven to travel by driving 1. This lower paper insertion slot C
Also serves as a sheet insertion port for manually feeding the single-cut sheet SP, and can be inserted from above the tractor mechanism 5.

A guide plate 48 is provided above the rear portion of the frame 1 so as to guide the paper which is curved in an arc shape and has a wide opening on the pickup roller 29 side. The guide plate 48 and the frame 6 are provided. And a paper path E having openings at the front and the rear, which are horizontally provided in the printer. The front side opening of the sheet passage E is communicated with the sheet discharge section A, the upper sheet insertion port B is exposed obliquely above the rear side opening of the sheet passage E, and the lower side is formed on the side of the rear side opening. The sheet insertion port C is exposed. In the paper path E, a paper feed roller 50 that presses and feeds the supplied paper is arranged substantially parallel to the carriage shaft 14. The paper feed roller 50 is rotatably supported by the frame 6, and is rotationally driven by the paper feed motor 31 to convey the paper to the platen 18 side.

Below the paper feed roller 50, the leaf spring 5 is provided.
The auxiliary roller 52 urged upward by 1 is installed oppositely, and by changing the spring force of the leaf spring 51, the pressing force of the paper feed roller 50 pressed against the auxiliary roller 52 can be changed strongly. The leaf spring 51 has a bearing portion 53 for supporting the shaft portion protruding from both ends of the auxiliary roller 52 from below on one side, and a bearing piece 54 formed by bending a part of the frame 1 downward on the other side. The bearing hole 55 provided is pierced laterally. Between the other side of the leaf spring 51 and the frame 6, a switching rod 56 for varying the spring force of the leaf spring 51 is interposed.

The switching rod 56 has a semicircular cross-section, and as shown in FIG. 4, the chord surface is made vertical and the leaf spring 51 is largely elastically deformed in the direction of separating from the frame 6, as shown in FIG. The bearing 53 at the other end is the auxiliary roller 5.
The paper feed roller 50 is increased by increasing the force for pressing 2 upward.
The pressing force of can be set strongly. On the contrary,
As shown in FIG. 5, by making the chord surface of the switching rod 56 downward so as to be horizontal to reduce elastic deformation of the leaf spring 51, the bearing portion 53 at the other end exerts a force to press the auxiliary roller 52 upward. By making it smaller, the pressing force of the paper feed roller 50 can be set weaker. The switching rod 56 has a pressing force detection switch 46 attached to the printer housing 1 side.
As shown in FIG. 6, the pressing force detection switch 46 is turned off when the chord surface is vertical, and when the chord surface is directed downward as shown in FIG. 7, the pressing force is detected. The switch 46 is set to be turned on. 57
Is a switching lever integrally fixed to one end of the switching rod 56 in the direction of rotation, and by manually rotating the switching lever 57, the switching rod 56 is easily rotated and the sheet feeding roller 50 is rotated. The pressing force of the auxiliary roller can be switched between strong and weak.

The pressing force of the paper feed roller 50 is set strong for the single-cut paper SP and weak for the continuous paper CP. As a result, the sheet feed roller 50 and the auxiliary roller 52 are caused by the large frictional force generated between the rollers 50 and 52 to cut the single-sheet sheet SP that is taken out from the sheet set plate 43 by the rotation of the pickup roller 29 or manually inserted. The continuous paper CP fed by a strong pressing force or supplied by driving the tractor mechanism 5 is tensioned to the paper at a speed slightly higher than the feeding speed by the tractor mechanism by a weak pressing force due to a small frictional force between the rollers 50 and 52. The sheet SP, CP is fed while passing through the gap between the print head 9 and the platen 18.
Reference numeral 58 is a paper feed knob fixed to the other end of the paper feed roller 50 for manually feeding the cut paper SP or the continuous paper CP.

Reference numeral 60 shown in FIG. 2 is a control board on which electronic parts such as an IC and a capacitor are mounted, and a switch board 61 on which a power switch and other switches are mounted above the control board 60. And an operation panel 62 equipped with a switch for setting the number of prints and the like, a light emitting diode for emitting and displaying the presence or absence of a failure, and the like.
63 is a cable that flexibly connects the print head 9 mounted on the carriage 8 and the control board 60 fixed to the frame 6 side, and a position detection plate 64 for detecting the position is fixed to the rear portion of the carriage 8. is doing.

The ribbon cassette 10 is composed of an endless ink ribbon 65 and a casing 66 that accommodates the ink ribbon 65 so that the ink ribbon 65 can travel in one direction. Arms 67 projecting in the same direction are formed at both ends of the casing 66. is doing. An elongated hole having a size corresponding to the width and thickness of the ink ribbon 65 is formed at the tip of each arm portion 67, and the ink ribbon 65 comes out of the elongated hole of one arm portion 67 and the other arm portion. 67 slot to casing 6
It is possible to enter the inside of 6 and continuously supply it to the printing section. 68 is a knob for manually feeding the ink ribbon 65.

Ribbon cassette 10 having such a structure
Can be detachably attached to the cassette holder 7 by attaching to the holding arm 69 provided on the cassette holder 7. The holding arm 69 is formed so as to be widened in the vertical direction at both left and right sides of the front portion of the cassette holder 7, and the left and right arm portions 67 are provided.
By inserting both holding arms 69 and the ribbon take-up shaft 70 into the ribbon take-up drum, the ribbon cassette 10 is mounted on the cassette holder 7 in a power-wound manner. As a result, the cassette holder 7 is reciprocally driven in the front-rear direction by the driving force of the prime mover 71 such as a pulse motor. The convex portion 23 is fixed to the inside of the holding arm 69 with a set screw 72. 73
Is a support piece for supporting the middle portion of the casing 66 in the longitudinal direction to prevent bending.

Next, the operation will be described. The detection signal of the sheet detection switch 44, the detection signal of the pressing force detection switch 46, and the detection signal of the conveyance detection switch 47 are the control device 4
5, the sheet supply mode is determined based on those control signals, and the cut sheet SP or the continuous sheet CP is supplied according to the determined supply mode.

That is, the paper detection switch 44 detects that the cut paper SP is not set in the automatic paper supply mechanism 4, and the pressing force detection switch 46 detects that the pressing force of the paper feed roller 50 is strong. And the paper feed roller 50
When it is detected that the single-cut sheet SP is being conveyed,
At this time, the manual feed mode is determined. In this case, since both the automatic paper feed mechanism 4 and the tractor mechanism 5 are kept in the non-operating state, it is possible to manually feed the single-cut paper SP from the lower paper insertion port C. That is, when the single-cut sheet SP is manually inserted and the leading end of the sheet is caught by the sheet feed roller 50, the single sheet SP is conveyed while being pressed by the strong pressing force of the sheet feed roller 50, and is supplied to the printing position. It

Next, the paper detection switch 44 detects that the single-cut paper SP has been set in the automatic paper supply mechanism 4, and the pressing force detection switch 46 indicates that the pressing force of the paper feed roller 50 is strong. When it is detected and the conveyance detection switch 47 detects that the cut sheet SP is not conveyed by the sheet feed roller 50,
At this time, the automatic supply mode is determined. In this case, the pickup roller 2 is operated through the operation of the carriage 8.
A control signal for rotationally driving 9 is output from the control device 45. That is, the carriage 8 moves to the leftmost end according to the control signal output from the control device 45, and the pressing portion 41 provided on the carriage 8 presses the pressure receiving portion 40 to rotate the input lever 39. As a result, the actuating lever 37 rotates integrally via the connecting bar 38, and the tip of the actuating lever 37 slides the slide key 34 against the biasing force of the coil spring 36 to constantly slide with the drive gear 35. Is engaged with the driven gear 33. As a result, the driving force of the paper feed motor 31 is transmitted from the drive gear 35 to the roller shaft 32 via the slide key 34 and the driven gear 33, whereby the pickup roller 29 is rotationally driven and set on the paper set plate 43. One sheet of the cut sheet SP is taken out and introduced into the sheet passage E. In this manner, the cut sheet SP is automatically supplied by the automatic sheet supply mechanism 4 provided at the upper sheet insertion port B.

Next, the pressing force detection switch 46 detects that the pressing force of the paper feed roller 50 is in a weak state, and the conveyance detection switch 47 detects that the cut paper SP is not conveyed by the paper feed roller 50. If detected, the continuous supply mode is determined at this time. In this case, the control device 45 outputs a control signal for driving the tractor mechanism 5 to travel. That is, the control device 45
The tractor mechanism 5 is actuated by the control signal output from the tractor mechanism 5, and the continuous paper CP engaged and held by the tractor mechanism 5 is introduced into the paper path E. In this way, the continuous paper CP is continuously supplied to the paper path E by the tractor mechanism 5 provided on the side of the lower paper insertion opening C.

The cut sheet paper SP or continuous paper CP fed into the paper path E as described above is bitten by the paper feed roller 50, and the paper feed roller 50 and the auxiliary roller 52.
It is conveyed by the frictional force between and and supplied to the printing position. Each of the sheets SP and CP is printed by the print head 9 on the platen 18, further conveyed by the sheet feed roller 50, caught between the upper discharge roller 21 and the lower discharge roller 20, and sent forward, The sheet is discharged to the outside from the sheet discharge port A on the front surface of the printer housing 1.

[0031]

As described above, since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

According to the paper supply mode discriminating apparatus of the printer of the first aspect, the insertion port provided with the automatic paper feed mechanism for single-cut sheets and the manual insertion port are separately provided, and the paper detection switch is provided. Since a pressure detection switch and a conveyance detection switch are provided, and the paper supply mode is determined based on the detection states of these detection switches, the automatic paper supply mechanism is used with the cut paper set in the automatic paper supply mechanism. It is possible to selectively perform automatic feeding of cut sheets and manual feeding of cut sheets manually.
A device therefor can be realized with a simple structure.

According to the paper feed mode discriminating apparatus of the printer of the second aspect, in addition to the above-mentioned constitution, the insertion port in which the tractor mechanism for continuous paper is arranged is provided. With single-cut sheets set in the feeding mechanism and continuous paper in the tractor mechanism, manually feed the single-cut sheets by manual feed, automatically feed the single-cut sheets with the automatic paper feed mechanism, and continuously feed continuous sheets with the tractor mechanism. It is possible to selectively perform the three types of paper supply, and the device therefor can be realized by a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the overall structure of the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the outline of the internal mechanism of the printer.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the pressing force of the paper feed roller according to the present invention is increased.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the pressing force of the paper feed roller is weakened.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a strong pressing force is detected by the pressing force detection switch according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a weak pressing force is detected by the pressing force detection switch.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer Housing 4 Automatic Paper Supply Mechanism 5 Tractor Mechanism 6 Frame 9 Print Head 18 Platen 29 Pickup Roller 30 Paper Feed Gear Row 31 Paper Feed Motor 43 Paper Set Plate 44 Paper Detection Switch 45 Control Device 46 Pressing Force Detection Switch 47 Transport Detection Switch 48 Guide plate 50 Paper feed roller 51 Leaf spring 52 Auxiliary roller 56 Switching rod A Paper ejection port B Upper paper insertion port C Lower paper insertion port D Internal mechanism E Paper passage

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A paper passage having an opening at the front and rear is provided horizontally, and an automatic paper feeding mechanism having a pickup roller for picking up a single-cut sheet at the tip is provided obliquely above the rear opening of the paper passage, and the paper passage is concerned. A paper feed roller that presses and conveys the paper fed inside is rotatably provided, and a paper detection switch that detects the presence or absence of single-cut paper set in the automatic paper feed mechanism and the strength of the pressure of the paper feed roller A pressing force detection switch for detecting and a conveyance detection switch for detecting the presence / absence of the sheet being conveyed by the sheet feed roller are provided, respectively, based on the detection states of the sheet detection switch, the pressing force detection switch, and the conveyance detection switch, When the pressing force is strong and there is no cut sheet in the automatic paper feeding mechanism and the paper is being conveyed, it is determined to be the manual feeding mode. It is possible to manually feed paper from the bottom of the rear opening of the paper path, and when there is a single-cut sheet in the automatic paper supply mechanism and the paper is not being conveyed, the automatic paper supply mode is determined and the automatic paper supply mechanism is used. A paper supply mode determination device for a printer, which is capable of automatically supplying a form paper. 2. A paper passage having an opening at the front and rear is provided horizontally, and an automatic paper feed mechanism having a pickup roller for picking up a single-cut sheet at the tip is provided at an obliquely upper portion of the rear opening of the paper passage, and the paper passage A tractor mechanism for supplying continuous paper is provided laterally below the rear opening, and a paper feed roller for pressing and transporting the supplied paper in the paper passage is rotatably provided and set in the automatic paper supply mechanism. A sheet detection switch for detecting the presence or absence of cut sheets, a pressing force detection switch for detecting the strength of the pressing force of the sheet feed roller, and a conveyance detection switch for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet being conveyed by the sheet feed roller, respectively. Based on the detection states of the paper detection switch, the pressing force detection switch, and the conveyance detection switch, the automatic paper feeding mechanism is provided when the pressing force is strong. When there is no single-cut sheet in the sheet and the sheet is being conveyed, it is possible to determine the manual feed mode and manually feed the sheet from below the rear opening of the paper path. When the paper is not being conveyed, it is judged to be the automatic supply mode, and the automatic paper supply mechanism enables the automatic supply of cut sheets, and when the pressing force is weak, it is judged to be the continuous supply mode when the paper is not being conveyed. A paper feed mode determination device for a printer, which is capable of continuously feeding continuous paper with a tractor mechanism.