Feeding device for a recording support or medium in a printing member

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention concerns a feeding device for a recording support or medium in a printing member. By recording support we mean a sheet of paper, a printout, a bank book, an identity document or suchlike, while by printing member we mean any type of printer, whether impact or non-impact, such as ink-jet, thermal, laser or otherwise. A typical application of the device according to the present invention is on a bank printer. To be more exact, the feeding device according to the present invention comprises braking disks adjacent to the drawing rollers in order to prevent the recording support inserted into the printer from moving with respect to the position reached, so that it is not dis-aligned with respect to the writing line of the printing member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] It is known that printing members suitable to print alphanumerical characters or graphic symbols on recording supports of different thicknesses, such as for example sheets of paper, bank or post office books, printouts, cards or otherwise, are provided with devices that feed said recording supports.

[0003] Known feeding devices comprise drawing means, consisting of rubberized rollers arranged above the recording support and able to draw the latter; the drawing means are counter-opposed to contrasting means, also consisting of rollers, but arranged below the recording support in order to supply the latter with support as it advances.

[0004] To be more exact, the drawing means cooperate with elastic means that allow the distance from the contrasting means to be self-adjusted, according to the thickness of the recording support to be printed.

[0005] Some feeding devices for a recording support in a printing member are described in the patents US-A-3,635,467, US-A-4,217,057, GB-A-848,918 and GB-A-818,078 and in the patent application JP-A-60/162673.

[0006] One of the main disadvantages of the known feeding devices is that the recording supports inserted into the printer can knock against members arranged downstream of the writing line, such as for example expulsion rollers, moving laterally and/or in the opposite direction to the direction of feed, thus losing their precise alignment with respect to the writing line. This disadvantage normally entails that the characters are over-written, or the printing is not centered or is dis-aligned with respect to pre-printed fields or sectors on the recording support.

[0007] One purpose of the present invention is to achieve a feeding device which prevents the recording support, once it has reached a determinate position from the drawing rollers, from moving, even by a little, in any direction, following accidental events like a knock against the members arranged downstream of the writing line, such as for example the expulsion rollers.

[0008] In accordance with this purpose and to overcome the shortcomings of the state of the art, and also to obtain other purposes and advantages, Applicant has devised, tested and embodied the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] The present invention is set forth and characterized in the main claim, while the dependent claims describe other characteristics of the present invention or variants to the main inventive idea.

[0010] In accordance with this purpose, the feeding device for a recording support according to the present invention is applied to a printing member which comprises at least a plurality of drawing rollers that draw the recording support in order to position it with respect to a determinate writing line.

[0011] According to a characteristic feature of the present invention, the drawing rollers are associated with braking means that stop the recording support in the position reached due to the action of the drawing rollers.

[0012] In this case, for each one of the drawing rollers, the braking means comprise a braking disk mounted coaxial and with ample play on the same shaft on which the corresponding drawing roller is mounted.

[0013] In this way, whatever the pressure exerted by the drawing rollers on the recording support, the braking disk rests with its weight on the recording support and prevents any autonomous movement thereof.

[0014] Moreover, because it is induced through inertia to follow the rotation of the corresponding drawing roller, the braking disk does not exert its braking action during the feed step, in which it too rotates in the same direction as the drawing roller connected thereto.

[0015] The feeding device according to the present invention thus guarantees the stable positioning of the recording support inside a printing member, and hence its constant alignment, even in the event that said recording support should be induced to move due to any accidental factor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] These and other characteristics of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferential form of embodiment, given as a non-restrictive example, with reference to the attached drawings wherein:

• fig. 1 is a three-dimensional view of a bank printer to which a feeding device according to the present invention is applied;
• fig. 2 is a sectioned side view of fig. 1;
• fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of fig. 1;
• fig. 4 is a detail of fig. 3;
• fig. 5 is an enlarged section view of a part of the detail in fig. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL FORM OF EMBODIMENT

[0017] With reference to figs. 1 and 2, a feeding device 10 according to the present invention is shown mounted on a bank printer 11, of the type able to print independently on sheets of paper, bank or post office books, printouts, cards, preprinted or other recording supports with a thickness varying from a few tenths of a millimeter to several millimeters.

[0018] To be more exact, the printer 11 comprises an inlet slit 17, possibly adjustable in width according to the size of the recording support, which allows the manual or automatic insertion of the recording support into the printer 11, until it is taken into collaboration with the feeding device 10 arranged farther downstream.

[0019] The feeding device 10 (figs. 3, 4 and 5) comprises a plurality of drawing rollers 20, associated two by two by means of a shaft 22, so as to form three pairs.

[0020] Each drawing roller 20 is made of plastic material and comprises, on its circular surface, a ring 23 made of rubber or other material with a high friction coefficient, to give an optimum adherence with the recording support. According to a characteristic of the present invention, each drawing roller 20 is also associated laterally with a braking disk 21.

[0021] To be more exact, each braking disk 21 is made of metal material, or other material with a high specific weight (in the range of 7-10 Kg/dm³), has a diameter slightly greater than that of every drawing roller 20, and is mounted with ample play on the shaft 22. The braking disks 21 are arranged in pairs, coaxial and inside every pair of drawing rollers 20. In this way, every braking disk 21 constantly rests on the recording support due to the effect of its own weight, thus preventing the latter from moving autonomously, but only when it is drawn by the drawing rollers 20.

[0022] Each drawing roller 20 is provided with a coaxial hub 24, made in a piece therewith, on one outer flank. An articulation element 25 is associated with each hub 24 and provided with two connection blocks 26 connected to a shaped end 27 of a corresponding connection axle 29.

[0023] A transmission shaft 28 is connected, on one side, to the articulation element 25 of one drawing roller 20 and, on the other side, to a drive member of a known type and not shown in the drawings.

[0024] In a median zone of each shaft 22 a housing seating 30 is provided, wherein a helical spring 32 is positioned (fig. 2) which, acting against a fixed shoulder 31 provided in the second sector 13, tends to keep the drawing rollers 20 in contact with corresponding contrasting counter-rollers 19.

[0025] The contrasting counter-rollers 19 are arranged below the drawing rollers 20 and are able to keep the recording support in contact with the latter.

[0026] The contrasting counter-rollers 19 can be of any known type suitable for the purpose, and hence will not be described in detail.

[0027] The distance between the contrasting counter-rollers 19 and the drawing rollers 20 is variable and self-adjusted by the spring 32, according to the thickness of the recording support. In this way a constant contact between the drawing rollers 20 and the recording support is guaranteed.

[0028] The printer 11 also comprises a printing head 33, of a known type, which is able to move transversely with respect to the fixed structure of the printer 11 along a determinate writing line, so as to print on the inserted recording support a plurality of alphanumerical characters and/or graphic symbols.

[0029] Opposite the printing head 33 a contrasting element 35 is arranged in known manner, which defines the writing line for printing and is able to keep the recording support in the correct position against the head 33, during the printing steps.

[0030] The printer 11 also comprises a plurality of pairs of expulsion rollers 36, mounted in a manner substantially equivalent to the drawing rollers 20, that is, they are connected with each other in articulated manner by connection axles 39 and are cushioned with respect to corresponding discharge counter-rollers 37 by means of helical springs 38.

[0031] The feeding device 10 as described heretofore functions as follows.

[0032] The recording support is inserted inside the printer 11 through the inlet slit 17, so that it is gripped between the drawing rollers 20 and the braking disks 21 on one side, and the counter-rollers 19 on the other side. The drawing rollers 20, rotating commanded by the drive member connected thereto and held by the springs 32 in contact with the upper surface of the recording support, make the latter advance until a determinate position with respect to the writing line.

[0033] The disks 21, during the drawing action of the recording support performed by the rollers 20, do not carry out any braking action, although they are in constant contact with the recording support.

[0034] This is due to the effect of the positive drawing action of the rollers 20 which, in contact with the flank of the disks 21, make the latter rotate too, reducing the possible braking action. Vice versa, when the drawing rollers 20 stop, after completing their drawing action and positioning the recording support millimetrically with respect to the writing line, the disks 21 perform their braking action. Due to their weight and to the play with which they are mounted on the shaft 22, they prevent the recording support from making any autonomous movement due for example to an accidental recoil because of a knock against the contrasting element 35, the expulsion rollers 36 or other.

[0035] It is clear, however, that modifications and/or additions of parts can be made to the feeding device 10 as described heretofore, without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0036] For example, according to a variant, the braking disks 21 can also be associated with the expulsion rollers 36, in order to increase the retaining effect exerted on the recording support during the printing steps.

[0037] It is also clear that, although the present invention has been described with reference to specific examples, a person of skill in the art shall certainly be able to achieve many other equivalent forms of feeding device for a recording support, within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. Feeding device for a recording support in a printing member (11), said feeding device comprising at least a plurality of drawing rollers (20) able to draw said recording support, so as to position said recording support with respect to a determinate printing line, and braking means (21) associated with said drawing rollers (20) in order to stop said recording support in the position reached due to the action of said drawing rollers (20), characterized in that said braking means comprise, for each of said drawing rollers (20), a braking disk (21) mounted axially and with ample play on a common shaft (22), on which the corresponding drawing roller (20) is also mounted.

2. Device as in claim 1, characterized in that said drawing rollers (20) are mounted in pairs on said shaft (22) and in that a corresponding pair of braking disks (21) is associated with every pair of drawing rollers (20).

3. Device as in claim 2, characterized in that each pair of braking disks (21) is mounted between a corresponding pair of drawing rollers (20).

4. Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that each braking disk (21) is made of a material with high specific weight.

5. Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that each of said drawing rollers (20) consists of a plastic material, having a circular surface covered by an annular layer (23) of material with a high friction coefficient.

6. Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that each of said braking disks (21) has a greater diameter than that of said drawing rollers (20).

7. Device as in claim 1, wherein a plurality of contrasting counter-rollers (19) are disposed below and in correspondence with said drawing rollers (20), characterized in that said drawing rollers (20) are kept against said contrasting counter-rollers (19) by elastic means (32), so as to allow the self-adjustment of the distance of said elastic means (32) from said contrasting counter-rollers (19) according to the thickness of said recording support.

8. Device as in claim 7, characterized in that said elastic means (32) are able to act against said shaft (22) at a substantially intermediate point of the corresponding pair of drawing rollers (20).

9. Device as in any claim hereinbefore, characterized in that each of said drawing rollers (20) comprises laterally an articulation element (25) provided with two connection blocks (26) connected to a shaped end (27) of a corresponding connection axle (29), said connection axle (29) being able to connect said drawing rollers (20) to each other.

Ansprüche

1. Zufuhrvorrichtung für einen Aufzeichnungsträger in einer Druckvorrichtung (11), wobei die Zufuhrvorrichtung wenigstens eine Vielzahl von Einzugswalzen (20) zum Einziehen des besagten Aufzeichnungsträgers aufweist, um den Aufzeichnungsträger bezüglich einer vorgegebenen Druckzeile zu positionieren, und die Zufuhrvorrichtung den Einzugswalzen (20) zugeordnete Bremsmittel (21) umfasst, um den besagten Aufzeichnungsträger in der Position zu stoppen, die durch die Wirkung der besagten Einzugswalzen (20) erreicht wird,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
die Bremsmittel für jede der besagten Einzugswalzen (20) eine Bremsscheibe (21) umfassen, die axial und mit ausreichend Spiel auf einer gemeinsamen Welle (22) befestigt ist, auf der die zugehörige Einzugswalze (20) ebenfalls befestigt ist.

2. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
die besagten Einzugswalzen (20) in Paaren auf der besagten Welle (22) befestigt sind, und dass ein korrespondierendes Paar von Bremsscheiben (21) jedem Paar von Einzugswalzen (20) zugeordnet ist.

3. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 2,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
jedes Paar von Bremsscheiben (21) zwischen einem zugehörigen Paar von Einzugswalzen (20) aufgenommen ist.

4. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
jede Bremsscheibe (21) aus einem Material mit einem hohen spezifischen Gewicht gefertigt ist.

5. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
jede der besagten Einzugswalzen (20) aus einem Kunststoffmaterial besteht, das eine kreisförmige Oberfläche aufweist, die mit einer ringförmigen Lage (23) eines Materials mit einem hohen Reibungskoeffizienten bedeckt ist.

6. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
jede der besagten Bremsscheiben (21) einen größeren Durchmesser als der Durchmesser der besagten Einzugswalzen (20) aufweist.

7. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 1,
worin eine Vielzahl von gegenüberliegenden Gegenwalzen (19) unterhalb und korrespondierend mit den besagten Einzugswalzen (20) angeordnet ist,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
die Einzugswalzen (20) durch elastische Mittel (32) gegen die besagten gegenüberliegenden Gegenwalzen (19) gehalten werden, um eine Selbst-Justage des Abstandes der besagten elastischen Mittel (32) von den besagten gegenüberliegenden Gegenwalzen (19) entsprechend der Dicke des besagten Aufzeichnungsträgers zu ermöglichen.

8. Vorrichtung nach Anspruch 7,
dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass
die besagten elastischen Mittel (32) in der Weise ausgestaltet sind, dass sie an einem im Wesentlichen intermediären Punkt des besagten Paares von Einzugswalzen (20) auf die besagte Welle (22) wirken.

9. Vorrichtung nach einem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche,
dadurch gekennzeichnet,dass
jede der besagten Einzugswalzen (20) lateral ein Gelenkelement (25) umfasst, das mit zwei Verbindungsblöcken (26) versehen ist, die mit einem entsprechend geformten Ende (27) einer zugehörigen Verbindungsachse (29) verbunden sind, wobei die Verbindungsachse (29) dazu ausgestaltet ist, die besagten Einzugswalzen (20) miteinander zu verbinden.

Revendications

1. Dispositif d'alimentation pour un support d'enregistrement dans un élément d'impression (11), ledit dispositif d'alimentation comprenant au moins une pluralité de rouleaux d'entraînement (20) capables d'entraîner ledit support d'enregistrement, de manière à positionner ledit support d'enregistrement par rapport à une ligne d'impression déterminée, et un moyen de freinage (21) associé auxdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20) afin d'arrêter ledit support d'enregistrement dans la position atteinte due à l'action desdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20), caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen de freinage comprend, pour chacun desdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20), un disque de freinage (21), monté axialement avec un jeu ample sur un arbre courant (22), sur lequel le rouleau d'entraînement correspondant (20) est également monté.

2. Dispositif selon la revendication 1, caractérisé en ce que lesdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20) sont montés par paires sur ledit arbre (22), et en ce qu'une paire correspondante de disques de freinage (21) est associée à chaque paire de rouleaux d'entraînement (20).

3. Dispositif selon la revendication 2, caractérisé en ce que chaque paire de disques de freinage (21) est montée entre une paire correspondante de rouleaux d'entraînement (20).

4. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que chaque disque de freinage (21) est composé d'un matériau ayant un poids spécifique élevé.

5. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que chacun desdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20) comprend un matériau plastique, ayant une surface circulaire recouverte d'une couche annulaire (23) d'un matériau ayant un coefficient de frottement élevé.

6. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que chacun desdits disques de freinage (21) a un diamètre supérieur à celui desdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20).

7. Dispositif selon la revendication 1, dans lequel une pluralité de contre-rouleaux contrastés (19) sont disposés en dessous de et en correspondance avec lesdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20), caractérisé en ce que lesdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20) sont maintenus contre lesdits contre-rouleaux contrastés (19) grâce à un moyen élastique (32), de manière à permettre l'auto-ajustement de la distance dudit moyen élastique (32) à partir desdits contre-rouleaux contrastés (19) en fonction de l'épaisseur dudit support d'enregistrement.

8. Dispositif selon la revendication 7, caractérisé en ce que ledit moyen élastique (32) est capable d'agir contre ledit arbre (22) au niveau d'un point sensiblement intermédiaire de la paire correspondante de rouleaux d'entraînement (20).

9. Dispositif selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, caractérisé en ce que chacun desdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20) comprend latéralement un élément d'articulation (25) doté de deux blocs de raccordement (26) raccordés à une extrémité profilée (27) d'un axe de raccordement correspondant (29), ledit axe de raccordement (29) étant capable de raccorder lesdits rouleaux d'entraînement (20) les uns aux autres.

Drawing