Classifying – separating – and assorting solids – Sorting special items – and certain methods and apparatus for... – Condition responsive means controls separating means
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-14
2004-01-06
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Classifying, separating, and assorting solids
Sorting special items, and certain methods and apparatus for...
Condition responsive means controls separating means
C209S583000, C271S314000, C271S185000, C271S021000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06674035
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper discharge device for conveying paper from an input side to a discharge port and, more specifically, to a paper discharge device for use in a conveyance device of a printer for conveying paper, such as a receipt or a ticket, after a printing operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A paper discharge device for conveying paper to a discharge port to discharge the paper is provided in a thermal printer of a cash register, a ticket issuing machine for printing and then issuing a ticket, or the like.
In a cash register, a ticket issuing machine, or the like, when a leading end of paper protrudes from the discharge port when the paper is discharged, there is a fear that a situation may occur where the paper is pulled or sandwiched to be held outside the machine before the paper is completely discharged.
If the paper is pulled or held before the paper is completely discharged, unnecessary tension or stress is applied from the paper discharge device to the paper in a printing device or a paper cutting device at the previous stage to cause inconvenience such as degradation of the printing quality and irregular cut portions. Further, since stress is applied to the paper, jamming may be caused in the printing device or the paper cutting device.
In order to prevent such inconvenience, conventionally, a paper discharge device is devised which is adapted to stock paper until a printing process and a cutting process are completed and to discharge the paper after the printing process and the cutting process are completed, such as a paper conveyance device
160
disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2721112 shown in FIG.
7
.
In the paper conveyance device
160
, a stock space
164
for stocking paper is provided between an input port
165
which is provided on an input side of the paper where the paper is input and conveyance rollers
161
and
162
for conveying the paper. After the leading end of the paper
60
fed from the input port
165
is sandwiched between the conveyance rollers
161
and
162
, the conveyance rollers
161
and
162
are stopped while the paper
60
is continued to be conveyed from devices at the previous stage (a printing device
171
and a cutting device
172
). This allows the paper
60
to be temporarily bent in the stock space
164
. After the printing process and the cutting process are completed, the conveyance rollers
161
and
162
are driven to discharge the paper from a discharge port
166
.
However, in the paper conveyance device according to the above patent, as mentioned in the patent itself, it is not so easy to successfully bend the paper
60
in the device. For example, the paper
60
is not successfully bent unless the angle formed between the conveyance rollers
161
and
162
and a conveyance path of the paper
60
is appropriate. Further, in order to bend the paper
60
, it is necessary to, after the conveyance rollers
161
and
162
sandwich the paper
60
, rotate the conveyance rollers
161
and
162
in the reverse direction by a very small amount to apply stress to the paper
60
. The paper
60
can not be bent successfully without the reverse rotation.
In a paper discharge device structured to stock paper by bending the paper, if the paper can not be bent successfully, various kinds of inconvenience are caused such as a longitudinal wrinkle or fold due to unnatural stress acting on the paper and jamming due to unnatural stress traveling to the paper in the printing device or the cutting device.
Further, a paper discharge device structured to stock paper by bending the paper also has a problem in that it has low adaptability to the kind of the paper and can not accommodate, for example, thick paper, sturdy paper, and plastic paper.
As another paper discharge device adapted to stock paper in the device until the printing process and the cutting process of paper are completed, a paper discharge device adapted to stack paper in a paper conveyance path from a cutting device to a discharge port which is lengthened by detouring or the like is devised. Such a device has, however, a problem in that, since the length of paper which can be stocked is the same as the length of the conveyance path, it is constant, and, in case paper the length of which is longer is fed, the leading end of the paper protrudes before the process by the devices at the previous stage is completed.
Further, Japanese Patent No. 2893663 discloses a conveyance direction changeover device for a sheet-like article for reversing the direction of feeding the sheet-like article on the way in a conveyance path. In this conveyance direction changeover device, a pair of conveyance rollers are provided ahead of an input path. A second conveyance path is provided on the opposite side of the input path with the pair of the conveyance rollers sandwiched therebetween, while a first conveyance path is provided on the side of the input path so as to be a branch from the input path. A sheet-like article fed from the input path is once fed to the second conveyance path by the pair of the conveyance rollers. When the trailing end of the sheet-like article reaches the position of the pair of the conveyance rollers and while the trailing end of the sheet-like article is still sandwiched between the pair of the conveyance rollers, the direction of feeding the sheet-like article is reversed to make the sheet-like article go to the side of the first conveyance path branching from the input path. In this way, the direction of conveyance of the sheet-like article is reversed.
However, the above conveyance direction changeover device is not a device for discharging paper or the like to the exterior but a device for changing over the direction of conveyance of the sheet-like article in the process of performing various kinds of processing in the device, and thus, does not fall within the scope of the present invention.
Further, for the purpose of changing the direction of a sheet-like article from the side of the input path to the side of the first conveyance path, the above conveyance direction changeover device adopts the following structure. While the input path is provided such that the sheet-like article goes to a direction diagonal with respect to the pair of the conveyance rollers (to a direction tilted from a perpendicular to a line connecting central points of the pair of the conveyance rollers), the first conveyance path is provided such that the sheet-like article goes straight from the pair of the conveyance rollers (to a perpendicular direction to the line connecting the central points of the pair of the conveyance rollers).
However, though the above structure can accommodate sturdy and straight paper without a problem, in case paper having peculiarities or paper which is not sturdy is used, there is a fear that the paper sandwiched between the pair of the conveyance rollers may not extend straight and may be deflected due to the peculiarities or unsturdiness, and the paper does not go successfully to the side of the first conveyance path.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a paper discharge device which can temporarily stock paper without wrinkling or folding the paper until processing such as printing or cutting at the previous stage is completed and discharge the paper from a discharge port after the processing is completed, without a limitation on the kind and length of paper used.
In order to attain the above object, according to the present invention, a paper discharge device has a driving roller, a driven roller in contact with and following the driving roller, and rotational drive means for rotating the driving roller, the paper being sandwiched between the driving roller and the driven roller and conveyed from an input side to a discharge port. The paper discharge device has a first conveyance path for guiding the paper from the input side to between the driving roller and the driven roller, a second conveyance path having an initiating end joined to
Adams & Wilks
Miller Jonathan R
Seiko Instruments Inc.
Walsh Donald P.
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