Typewriting machines – Sheet or web – Including sheet guide
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-18
2002-08-06
Hirshfeld, Andrew H. (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Sheet or web
Including sheet guide
C400S619000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06428226
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to an improvement in paper discharge apparatuses for use in issuing apparatuses for issuing receipts, tickets, etc., using rolls of paper, for cutting and discharging printed slips, and for collecting discharged slips when they are not removed.
BACKGROUND ART
Automatic transaction machines such as cash dispensers, ATMs, information terminal apparatuses, etc., have been conventionally installed in unmanned shops, and these machines are provided with an issuing apparatus for issuing receipts or tickets on which necessary information is printed so as to report transaction information for a customer. As a method of printing in an issuing apparatus, thermal methods, dot impact methods, or the like are used. A roll of paper is unwound, necessary information is printed thereon, and a printed portion is cut by a paper cutting mechanism, whereby a receipt or a ticket is issued.
In a conventional issuing apparatus, paper is conveyed to a discharge port and is printed one line at a time, and the issuing paper is gradually discharged from the discharge port. Therefore, when a customer stands by while picking up the issuing paper, the paper is prevented from being conveyed, whereby it is warped in a loop-like state, and a paper jam is caused. When the customer picks up and pulls out the issuing slip of paper, the printing or cutting quality thereof is inferior, or a cutter blade in a cutting mechanism may be damaged, depending on the circumstances. In the case in which a customer leaves without receiving the issued slip of paper, there may be some problems such as the next issuance of a slip of paper is obstructed, or another customer may take the slip of paper whereby secret information thereon cannot be kept confidential.
Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present inventors developed a paper discharge apparatus which is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8(96)-268638. According to this paper discharge apparatus, a leading end of a issuing slip of paper is clamped by a pair of paper discharge rollers so as not to be discharged from the discharge port, and the paper is held in a loop-like state in an issuing apparatus until the printing and cutting operations are completed. In the paper discharge apparatus, the slip of paper is discharged from the discharge port after the printing and cutting operations are completed, and furthermore, the paper is retracted into the apparatus if a customer leaves it for a given period, whereby the above problems caused by an inadvertent action of the customer can be solved.
However, in the above paper discharge apparatus according to development by the present inventors, it is constructed such that a bottom portion of a paper conveyor passage which extends between a cutting mechanism and a pair of discharge rollers is opened so as to bend the slip of paper downward. The paper is thereby not at all restricted by the opened bottom portion in the paper conveyor passage. However, in order to reliably issue a slip of paper in a nearly unattended situation in which the apparatus is provided in an automatic transaction machine and to reliably collect a remaining slip of paper, there are the following problems even if the above paper discharge apparatus is employed.
That is, the automatic transaction machine may be installed in various places which may be outdoors or indoors, and it is also may be used under conditions of high temperature and high humidity, depending on the circumstances. In the case in which it is used under such adverse conditions, the paper may be weakened by absorbing moisture and curl in the shapes of the paper conveyor passage, guide rollers, etc. Alternatively, paper may be caused to have wavelike wrinkles at a leading end thereof and be bent so that both ends of a cut slip of paper hang down. In particular, when a thermal paper, on which a coating material is coated thereon, was originally a soft paper, such phenomena are apparent.
When paper weakens and the leading end thereof hangs down, the leading end does not reach a guide plate which is provided in front of a pair of discharge rollers. In this case, the paper is not discharged and drops into a collection tray which is provided in an issuing apparatus. When curls or wrinkles are caused in a paper, even if a leading end of the paper reaches a pair of discharge rollers, the paper cannot be clamped between the pair of discharge rollers, thereby causing a paper jam. When the winding diameter of a roll of paper is very small, the paper strongly curls, whereby the paper cannot be clamped between the pair of discharge rollers.
When a remaining paper is collected, there may be the following problems. For example, in a printing device, an electrical charge is stored on a surface of a paper as a static electrical charge. In particular, this phenomenon is apparent under low humidity conditions. In this case, the collected paper adheres to a plastic guide plate or other portions by static electrical charge, whereby the paper blocks a paper collecting passage and cannot be collected. When the winding diameter of a roll of paper is very small, the paper strongly curls, whereby the paper causes a blockage and obstructs the paper collecting passage.
Furthermore, when a pair of discharge rollers is provided on both surfaces of a paper, as shown in
FIG. 14
, the center of the paper in the cross direction bends, whereby it becomes more rigid along the longitudial direction. In such a case, when a leading end of the paper contacts an inner wall of an issuing apparatus, an excessive load is caused at a pair of discharge rollers, whereby a motor is continuously rotated while operating a torque limiter, so that a control error is caused.
A customer often inserts a card or a coin into a paper discharge port by mistake. In this case, there is a problem in that a paper discharge passage and a discharge port may be obstructed, preventing a receipt, etc., from being issued. Furthermore, it is desirable that the apparatus be improved so that the taking of a receipt, etc., will be forgotten as rarely as possible.
Therefore, the present invention was made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is an object thereof to provide a paper discharge apparatus which can securely prevent paper jams and paper retention from occurring so that paper issuing and collecting operations can be reliably performed, and moreover, which can prevent some problems from occurring even if a user performs various operations incorrectly.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
In a first aspect of the present invention, a paper discharge apparatus comprises: a paper printing device for printing on a paper; a paper conveyor device for conveying the paper to the paper printing device; a paper cutting device disposed downstream of the paper printing device for cutting the paper when a printing operation is completed; a pair of discharge rollers disposed downstream of the paper cutting device for conveying the paper toward a paper discharge port, the pair of discharge rollers clamping a leading end of the paper until the printing operation is completed so as to bend the paper downward to form a loop between the paper cutting device and the pair of discharge rollers, conveying the paper downstream until a trailing end of the paper leaves off the paper cutting device, and conveying the paper upstream to collect the paper which is discharged at the paper discharge port and not removed; and a paper sensing device provided near the paper discharge port. Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by comprising a paper guide device is provided along both surfaces of the paper between the paper cutting device and the pair of discharge rollers, having a movable guide member which is adapted to open the bottom of a paper conveyor passage extending from the paper cutting device to the pair of discharge rollers at least when the paper is bent downward to form a loop.
According to the paper discharge apparatus as constructed above, the movable guide mem
Ikegaya Kazunori
Kanbe Hideo
Suzuki Kanji
Cone Darius N.
Hirshfeld Andrew H.
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
Star Micronics Co. Ltd.
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