JP2001058751A - Sheet discharge mechanism of printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet discharge device of printing device embodied in a simple configuration capable of curving in W-form a sheet of paper having little stiffness and curving in U-form a sheet having comparatively high stiffness. SOLUTION: A sheet discharge mechanism of a printing device is equipped with inclining guide members 16 located in positions corresponding to the side edges substantially of a sheet of paper carried on a belt conveyor 10 across its width to guide the sheet in such a way that its side edges are lifted, a bulging member 17 protruding up and retracting down from the sheet carrying surface in a position corresponding to the center substantially across the sheet, and a spring energizing the bulging member in the direction of protrusion, wherein the enegizing force of the spring is adjusted so as to protrude and retract the bulging member in accordance with the stiffness of the sheet to be carried.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper discharge mechanism for discharging paper from a printing apparatus, and more particularly, to a paper discharge mechanism for discharging paper by bending the paper in a W-shape to increase apparent rigidity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a sheet printed by a printing apparatus is discharged, the sheet is fed along an inclined surface so that both side edges of the sheet are lifted upward, and the sheet is U-shaped (perpendicular to the sheet discharging direction). To increase the apparent rigidity in the paper discharge direction, the so-called waist strength.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-46428 discloses a technique for landing a sheet on a sheet discharge tray without causing the leading edge of the sheet to sag.

[0003] Also, Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-22710 discloses that
In order to further increase the apparent rigidity of the paper, in addition to the inclined surface that lifts both side edges of the paper upward, the central portion of the discharged paper is further fed along the raised member that projects upward from below. Discloses a technique for bending the sheet into a W shape when viewed in a cross section orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction. Further, JP-A-6-2399000 or JP-A-6-2396000
Japanese Patent Publication No. 239001 also discloses a technique of taking in information about a paper type such as a paper size and bending the information into a W-shape accordingly.

[0004]

As described above, the technique of bending paper into a U-shape is effective when using paper having an appropriate thickness. In the case of almost no paper, it is insufficient for the purpose of increasing rigidity. On the other hand, regarding the technique of bending a sheet into a W-shape, on the contrary, when a sheet having a relatively strong waist is used, the sheet does not bend in a W-shape, and the sheet is inclined while remaining relatively flat. There was a problem of being sent out.

[0005] As described in JP-A-6-2399000 and JP-A-6-239001, when an input device for inputting the type of paper is used, components around the drive control unit are used. And the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has been devised to effectively solve the problems. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to cope with the difference between various types of paper having different stiffness with a simple configuration. In the case of a paper having almost no stiffness, the paper is curved in a W shape to sufficiently increase rigidity. On the contrary, it is an object of the present invention to provide a paper ejection mechanism of a printing apparatus that can bend a sheet into a U-shape instead of a W-shape when a relatively strong stiff sheet is used.

[0007]

A first embodiment of a paper discharge mechanism of a printing apparatus according to the present invention has the following characteristic configuration in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, in a paper discharge mechanism of a printing apparatus including a paper transport unit that transports printed paper from a printing unit to a paper receiving unit,
At a position corresponding to substantially both side edges of the width of the sheet conveyed on the sheet conveying means, an inclined guide member for guiding the sheet to be lifted up along both side edges thereof, and A protruding member that protrudes upward and downward from below the conveying surface of the sheet conveying means at a position corresponding to substantially the center of the width of the conveyed sheet; and urging means that urges the protruding member in the protruding direction. The urging force of the urging means is set so as to make the raised member protrude and retract according to the stiffness of the paper conveyed on the paper conveying means.

It is preferable that the paper conveying means is a belt conveyor provided with a suction means for sucking air so that the printed paper is adsorbed on the conveying surface.

Preferably, the urging means is capable of variably adjusting the urging force. Further, it is preferable that the height of the protruding member protruding from the conveying surface of the sheet conveying means is variably adjustable. Further, it is preferred that the raised member can be fixed in a immersed state.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper ejection mechanism for a printing apparatus including a paper transport unit for transporting printed paper from a printing unit to a paper receiving unit. An inclined guide member that guides the paper to be lifted up along both side edges thereof at positions corresponding to substantially both side edges of the width of the paper conveyed on the paper conveyance unit; Is provided at least two in the width direction of the sheet to be conveyed, and the plurality of raised members are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line in the conveying direction, so that they can protrude and retract from below the conveying surface of the sheet conveying means. A protruding protruding member, and urging means for urging the protruding member in the protruding direction, wherein the urging force of the urging means is determined by the strength of the waist of the paper conveyed on the paper conveying means. Set to protrude or protrude the raised member according to It is.

Also in this case, it is preferable that the paper conveying means is a belt conveyor provided with a suction means for sucking air so that the printed paper is adsorbed on the conveying surface.

It is preferable that the urging means can also adjust the urging force variably. Further, it is preferable that the height of the protruding member from the conveying surface of the sheet conveying means can be variably adjusted. Also in this case, it is preferable that the protruding member can fix any protruding member in the immersion state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper ejection mechanism for a printing apparatus, comprising: a paper transport unit configured to transport printed paper from a printing unit to a paper receiving unit. At least two or more are provided in the width direction of the paper conveyed on the paper conveyance means, and the plurality of raised members are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line in the conveyance direction, from below the conveyance surface of the paper conveyance means. A protruding member that protrudes upwardly and retractably; and urging means for urging the protruding member in a protruding direction, wherein the urging force of the urging means is a force of the paper conveyed on the paper conveying means. The protruding member is set to protrude and retract according to the strength of the waist.

Also in the third embodiment, it is preferable that the sheet conveying means is a belt conveyor provided with a suction means for sucking air so that the printed sheet is adsorbed on the conveying surface.

Similarly, it is preferable that the urging means can variably adjust the urging force. Further, it is preferable that the height of the protruding member from the conveying surface of the sheet conveying means can be variably adjusted. Further similarly, the raised member preferably can secure any raised member in a immersed state.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper discharge mechanism of a printing apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view thereof. The printed paper is a plate cylinder (not shown)
And is discharged to a sheet receiving tray (not shown). At the time of this paper ejection, the printed paper is placed on a belt conveyor 10 which is a transport means and transported. The printed paper to be discharged is conveyed on the belt conveyor 10 from the back to the front in the perspective view of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, a suction box 12 is provided inside the belt conveyor 10, and an air suction fan 13 is provided therein. The belt conveyor 10 has a number of suction openings 14 as shown in FIG.
(Partially shown in the figure) is formed on the belt 11, and when the air suction fan 13 is operated, the surrounding air flows from the suction opening 14 into the suction box 12 below the belt 11. The printed paper on the belt 11 is drawn into the belt 1 by the suction force generated by the drawing.
1 and is conveyed. An opening 15 is formed in the upper end surface of the suction box 12 as shown by a virtual line below the belt 11 in FIG. As described above, the transport surface on which the discharged printed paper is transported is substantially the surface of the belt 11 and the upper end surface of the suction box 12.

On both sides of the belt conveyor 10, there are attached slope guide members 16 for guiding the side edges of the paper conveyed on the belt conveyor 10 so as to lift them. That is, the paper conveyed on the belt conveyor 10 is guided along the slope of the slope guide member 16 at both side edges. It bends upward and curves in a so-called U-shape. The two slope guide members 16 are rotatably supported at fulcrums 39, and the distance between them can be increased or decreased according to the size (width) of the sheet.

In this configuration example, as shown in FIG. 1, in a belt conveyor 10, two belts 11 are arranged at a certain interval, and approximately in the center between them, an upward direction from a suction box 12 is provided. A protruding raised member 17 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the raised member 17 is provided with a fulcrum pin 18.
, And one end is locked by a spring 19 and urged to rotate counterclockwise. That is, the other end of the lever member is Slit 2 formed on the upper end surface
The raised member 17 protrudes upward from 0 in a substantially triangular shape. Further, the tip of the lever member hidden in the suction box 12 is in contact with the peripheral edge of the slit 20, and a locking portion 21 for restricting further rotation is not provided.
It has become.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part showing details of a lever member constituting the raised member 17 and its peripheral structure. The strength of the spring 19 for urging the lever member to rotate counterclockwise around the fulcrum pin 18 can be variably adjusted. One end of the spring 19 is locked by a lever member, and the other end is locked by a movable bracket 22 shown. The movable bracket 22 has an intermediate plate portion 24 formed with an internal thread screwed into the screw 23 at an intermediate portion thereof. The screw 23 is inserted with play into an opening provided at one end of the suction box 12. The head is locked on the periphery of the opening. Further, an end (bent end) 25 opposite to one end of the movable bracket 22 to which one end of the spring 19 is locked is inserted into another opening provided at one end of the suction box 12 and bent. I have. That is, when the screw 23 is tightened or loosened, the screw 23 can be freely rotated while being hooked on the suction box 12 with its head, and at this time, the rotation of the movable bracket 22 is restricted by the suction box 12. Therefore, the movable bracket 22 does not rotate with the screw 23, and as a result, the movable bracket 22 can move in the left-right direction in the figure. When the movable bracket 22 moves rightward in the drawing, the spring 19 extends, and the urging force for urging the protruding member 17 upward increases, and conversely, when the movable bracket 22 moves leftward, the urging force decreases. The opening 26 shown in FIG. 1 is an insertion opening for a driver for turning the screw 23.

The printed paper conveyed on the belt conveyer 10 in a sucked state is lifted at both ends in the width direction along the slope guide member 16, and is further lifted upward at the center by the raised member 17. Therefore,
When the shape of the sheet is viewed in a cross section orthogonal to the conveying direction of the conveyor, the sheet is curved in a so-called W-shape, the apparent rigidity of the sheet is increased, and the front end portion can be prevented from sagging.

Although the hardness varies depending on the type of printing paper,
In the case of thick hard paper, if the lifting force of the raised member 17 is weak, the force of pushing down the raised member 17 by the hardness (lumbar strength) of the paper being attracted to the belt conveyor 10 and being conveyed is better. On the other hand, the sheet is discharged with an appropriate apparent rigidity due to an appropriate deformation curved in a U-shape without unnecessary deformation. Further, in the case of a thin flexible sheet, the sheet is formed into a W-shaped curve by the lifting force of the raised member 17 as described above, and the sheet is discharged with an increased apparent rigidity. Can be prevented from sagging. As described above, by appropriately adjusting the elastic force of the spring 19, the raised member 17 protrudes and retracts from the sheet conveying surface in accordance with the hardness (rigidity) of the sheet itself. It is not necessary to control the protrusion of the raised member 17 by inputting, and it is possible to discharge the paper in an appropriate shape according to various papers with a very simple structure and an adjusting operation.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example in which the protruding height of the protruding member 17 can be variably adjusted, and is an enlarged view of a main part as in FIG. In this configuration example, a portion of the lever member that comes into contact with the locking portion 21 is formed of a member different from the suction box 12, and an L-shaped fitting 27 attached to the suction box 12 is used. The metal fitting 27 is attached and fixed to the suction box 12 by a screw 29 inserted into a vertically long hole 28 formed in the suction box 12. Therefore, the height position of the metal fitting 27 can be changed by the position of the screw 29 in the elongated hole 28, and the protrusion height of the lever member at which the locking portion 21 comes into contact and stops, that is, the protrusion height of the raised member 17 Can be variably adjusted. The protruding height can also be appropriately determined according to the type of paper, and it is convenient to increase the W-shaped curvature of thin soft paper in order to increase apparent rigidity.

Further, in the above-described configuration example, the raised member 17 is provided only at one position substantially at the center of the width of the conveyed paper. For example, the belt 11 of the belt conveyor 10 is thin and 3
When books or more are provided, the raised members 17 may be provided at a plurality of locations so as to be symmetrical about the center of the sheet width. This is particularly effective when the paper size increases. In the case where a plurality of raised members are provided as described above, it is needless to say that the height depends on the paper size.
It is also effective to fix an arbitrary raised member in a submerged state according to the thickness or hardness of the sheet. For example, if the paper is of a fairly large size, but is rather thick, and does not require multiple bending deformations due to numerous raised members,
It is preferable to reduce the number of projecting raised members.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing an example of a structure for fixing the protruding member 17 in a retracted state. Raised member 17
An engaging portion 21 is formed at one end of the lever member that constitutes the above. The mating member with which the locking portion 21 contacts is
It comprises a selection lever 30 which swings up and down and stops at two positions. These two positions include a first position (shown by a solid line in the figure) that allows the protruding member 17 to protrude upward, and a second position (shown by an imaginary line in the figure) that fixes the protruding member 17 in a submerged state. It is.

The selection lever 30 has a swing center 31 substantially at the center.
One end of a tension spring 32 that extends around the center of swing 31 is attached and fixed to one end of the selection lever 30. The other end of the tension spring 32 is connected to a fixing point 33 of a fixed component such as a suction box.
It is attached and fixed. The position of the fixing point 33 is located in the middle of the above-described two positions where the selection lever 30 abuts on the locking portion 21. Above and below the two positions taken by the selection lever 30, stoppers 34 and 35 for restricting further rotation of the selection lever 30 are provided. When the selection lever 30 rotates from the first position, which is in contact with the upper stopper 34, to the second position, which is in contact with the lower stopper 35, the tension spring 32 passes over the swing center 31 of the selection lever 30. The tension spring 32 is provided at the pivot 3 of the selection lever 30.
1 is the longest when passing over it and somewhat shorter after passing. Therefore, the selection lever 30 is pressed against the stoppers 34 and 35 by the elastic force of the tension spring 32 at the first and second positions, and is stabilized at the position. That is, the locking portion 2 of the raised member 17
1 is received at each position, and the raised member 1 is received at the first position.
7 are allowed to protrude upward, and the raised members 1
7 is fixed in an immersive state.

Further, as another modification, a protruding member that can protrude and retract is disposed at that position without providing an inclined guide member, and the plurality of protruding members as a whole are symmetrical with respect to the center of the sheet width. It can also be provided at a location. In this case as well, it is effective to fix an arbitrary raised member in a submerged state according to the sheet size and the thickness or hardness of the sheet. For example, when a raised member is provided at three places at both ends and the center of the sheet width and a thick and sufficiently hard paper is ejected, the raised members are fixed at all three places in a submerged state and only the original rigidity of the sheet is obtained. It is preferable to discharge the paper. In the case of discharging a thin sheet having no stiffness in this configuration, the protruding members are projected at all three places, and the sheet can be discharged in a W-shaped curve. Also, in the case of paper having an intermediate thickness and hardness, it is possible to increase the urging force of the springs that protrude the protruding members at both ends, and to weaken the spring of the central protruding member. Only the member is pushed down by the hardness of the sheet, and can be discharged in a U-shaped curve. Or,
By setting the protruding height of the protruding member to be higher at both ends and lower at the center, the sheet can be curved in a U-shape and discharged. Furthermore, if it is known from the beginning that the paper is preferably curved and discharged in a U-shape, only the central raised member may be fixed in the immersion state from the beginning. In addition, even when three or more raised members are provided, it is possible to arbitrarily select an appropriate shape that bends the sheet when the sheet is discharged.

Reference numerals 40 and 41 shown in FIG. 2 are a light projecting portion and a light receiving portion of an optical sensor for detecting a paper jam (paper jam) of the printed paper to be discharged, and are shown in FIG. Reference numeral 42 denotes a through hole for the detection light.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a paper discharge mechanism of a printing apparatus according to the present invention when viewed from the front side.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the sheet discharging mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part showing details of a lever member constituting the raised member of FIG. 2 and a peripheral structure thereof.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a configuration example for variably adjusting a protruding height of a raised member of FIG. 2;

5 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a configuration example for fixing the raised member of FIG. 2 in a retracted state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Belt conveyor 11 Belt 12 Suction box 13 Air suction fan 14 Suction opening 15 Box opening 16 Slope guide member 17 Raised member 18 Support pin 19 Spring 20 Slit 21 Locking portion 22 Movable bracket 23 Screw 24 Intermediate plate 25 Bending End 26 Driver insertion hole 27 L-shaped fitting 28 Long hole 29 Screw 30 Selection lever 31 Swing center 32 Tension spring 33 Fixed point 34 Stopper 35 Stopper 39 Support point 40 Optical sensor 41 Optical sensor 42 Through hole

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. A sheet discharging mechanism of a printing apparatus having a sheet conveying means (10) for conveying a printed sheet from a printing section to a sheet receiving section, wherein the sheet conveyed on the sheet conveying means (10). At a position corresponding to substantially both side edges of the width of the sheet, an inclined guide member (1) that guides the sheet to be lifted up along both side edges thereof.
6) and a raised member (17) projecting upward and downward from the transport surface of the paper transport means at a position corresponding to substantially the center of the width of the paper transported on the paper transport means (10). )
And an urging means (19) for urging the protruding member (17) in the protruding direction. The urging force of the urging means (19) is conveyed on the paper conveying means (10). A paper ejection mechanism for a printing apparatus, wherein the raised member (17) is set so as to protrude and retract according to the stiffness of the paper. 2. The sheet conveying means (10) is a belt conveyor provided with suction means (12, 13, 14, 15) for sucking air so that the printed sheet is adsorbed on a conveying surface. 2. A paper discharging mechanism of the printing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The paper ejection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said urging means (19) is capable of variably adjusting an urging force. 4. The paper ejection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the height of the raised member from the conveyance surface of the paper conveyance means is variably adjustable. 5. The paper ejection mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said raised member (17) can be fixed in a retracted state. 6. A paper discharge mechanism of a printing apparatus having a paper transport means (10) for transporting printed paper from a printing unit to a paper receiving unit, wherein the paper transported on the paper transport means (10) is provided. At a position corresponding to substantially both side edges of the width of the sheet, an inclined guide member (1) that guides the sheet to be lifted up along both side edges thereof.
6), and at least two or more raised members (17) are provided symmetrically about the center line in the transport direction, provided at least two or more in the width direction of the paper transported on the paper transport means (10); A protruding member (17) that protrudes upward and downward from below the conveying surface of the sheet conveying means, and an urging means (19) for urging the protruding member (17) in a protruding direction. The urging force of the urging means (19) is set so as to make the raised member (17) protrude and retract according to the stiffness of the paper conveyed on the paper conveying means (10). Paper ejection mechanism of the printing device. 7. The paper conveying means (10) is a belt conveyor provided with suction means (12, 13, 14, 15) for sucking air to adsorb the printed paper to a conveying surface. 7. The paper discharging mechanism of the printing apparatus according to 6. 8. The paper ejection mechanism according to claim 6, wherein said urging means (19) is capable of variably adjusting an urging force. 9. The paper ejection mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the height of the raised member from the conveyance surface of the paper conveyance means is variably adjustable. 10. The paper ejection mechanism of a printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said raised member (17) can fix any raised member (17) in a retracted state. 11. A paper discharge mechanism of a printing apparatus having a paper transport means (10) for transporting printed paper from a printing unit to a paper receiving unit, wherein the paper transported on the paper transport means (10) is provided. At least two in the width direction, and the plurality of raised members (17) are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line in the transport direction, and protrude from the transport surface of the paper transport means upward and downward from below. A protruding member (17); and an urging means (19) for urging the protruding member (17) in a protruding direction. The urging force of the urging means (19) is controlled by the paper transport means (10). A) a paper ejection mechanism of a printing apparatus, wherein the raised member (17) is set to protrude and retract according to the stiffness of the paper conveyed thereon. 12. The paper conveying means (10) is a belt conveyor provided with suction means (12, 13, 14, 15) for sucking air to adsorb the printed paper to a conveying surface. 12. The paper ejection mechanism of the printing apparatus according to 11. 13. The paper ejection mechanism according to claim 11, wherein said urging means (19) is capable of variably adjusting an urging force. 14. The paper ejection mechanism of a printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein a height of said raised member (17) protruding from a transport surface of said paper transport means (10) is variably adjustable. 15. The paper ejection mechanism of a printing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said raised member (17) is capable of fixing an arbitrary raised member (17) in a retracted state.