Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US8020771?dq=7,003,515
Timestamp: 2016-08-24 02:05:12
Document Index: 172843612

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Patent US8020771 - Media processing device - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inPatentsSwinging open the upstream-side cover part (31) and downstream-side cover part (32) of the check scanning apparatus (1) on a common support pivot (33) opens a U-shaped check transportation path (5). The check transportation path (5) can be opened with a simple single-action operation to remove checks...http://www.google.com/patents/US8020771?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US8020771 - Media processing deviceAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS8020771 B2Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/960,066Publication dateSep 20, 2011Priority dateDec 28, 2006Fee statusPaidAlso published asEP1939790A1, EP1939790B1, US8381986, US8960553, US9342761, US20080156875, US20110315768, US20130134223, US20150122888Publication number11960066, 960066, US 8020771 B2, US 8020771B2, US-B2-8020771, US8020771 B2, US8020771B2InventorsYoshiki Kinoshita, Hideki Furihata, Toru Takami, Akira NakazawaOriginal AssigneeSeiko Epson CorporationExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (22), Referenced by (7), Classifications (17), Legal Events (2) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMedia processing device
US 8020771 B2Abstract
the operating cover comprises an opposing end-face part that opposes the support-pivot-side end-face part, and the opposing end-face part is defined by a concave circular arc surface that is centered on the support pivot and has a radius greater than the radius of the convex circular arc surface. Description
As shown in FIG. 1, the check 4 has an MICR line 4A printed along the long bottom edge on the front 4 a of the check 4. Also recorded on the front 4 a against a patterned background are the check amount, payer and payee, various numbers, and the payer signature. An endorsement is recorded on the back 4 b of the check 4. The checks 4 are loaded in the check supply unit 7 with the tops and bottoms of the checks aligned and the fronts 4 a of the checks facing the outside of the U-shaped check transportation path 5.
When a check 4 is delivered from the check supply unit 7 through the check infeed path 6 and then conveyed along the check transportation path 5, the MICR line 4A printed on the front 4 a is read and the front 4 a and back 4 b of the check 4 are scanned. If this information is scanned correctly, PROCESSED or other text is printed on the front or back, and the check 4 is then diverted and discharged into the first check discharge unit 11. If the check 4 cannot be read or a scanning error occurs, nothing is printed and the check 4 is diverted and discharged into the second check discharge unit 12.
The operable cover 3 includes an upstream-side cover part 31 on the side case portion 23 side and a downstream-side cover part 32 on the side case portion 24 side. The upstream-side portion 6 a of the check transportation path 5 is formed between the middle case portion 22 and the upstream-side cover part 31, and the downstream-side portion 5 b of the check transportation path 5 is formed between the middle case portion 22 and the downstream-side cover part 32.
The proximal end portion 31 a of the upstream-side cover part 31 and the proximal end portion 32 a of the downstream-side cover part 32 are the pivot axis ends of the operable cover 3, and are attached to a vertical support pivot 33 that is positioned on the case 2 so that the upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32 can open and close to the right and left. The support pivot 33 is positioned at a location substantially at the midpoint of the U-shaped check transportation path 5 in the transportation direction. As shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, when the upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32 open to the right and left, the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a and the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b are also opened.
The transportation rollers 51 to 54 are located at the upstream end, the middle, and the downstream part of the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a. The transportation rollers 55 and 56 are located at the upstream part and the middle of the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b, and the transportation roller 57 is located where the checks are discharged into the second check discharge unit 12. Discharge roller 69 is located where the checks are discharged into the first check discharge unit 11.
A magnet 81 for magnetizing the magnetic ink characters is positioned between the transportation rollers 51 and 52 in the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a. A front contact image sensor 82 is positioned as the front image scanner, and a back contact image sensor 83 is positioned as a back image scanner, between the transportation rollers 52 and 53. A magnetic head 84 for magnetic ink character reading and a pressure roller 85 for pressing the checks 4 against the magnetic head 84 are positioned between transportation rollers 53 and 54.
A print mechanism 86 is positioned on the downstream side of the transportation roller 56 in the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b. The print mechanism 86 can move between a printing position applying pressure to the check 4 and a standby position retracted from this printing position via a drive motor (not shown in the figure). The print mechanism 86 can also be formed as a stamp mechanism that is pushed by a plunger to print (stamp) the check 4.
FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the control system of the check scanning apparatus 1. The control system of the check scanning apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100 that includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. The control unit 100 is connected to a host computer system 103 through a communication cable 102. The computer system 103 has a display unit 103 a and input/output devices such as a keyboard, mouse, or other operating unit 103 b. Check scanning operation start commands and other commands are input from the computer system 103 to the control unit 100.
When the operator inputs a start scanning command from the operating unit 103 b of the host computer system 103, the infeed motor 46 causes the infeed roller 41 to turn and the pressure member 42 to move and press the checks 4 against the infeed roller 41. One or more checks 4 are thus advanced by the infeed roller 41. The separation mechanism (separation pad 43, separation roller 44, and retard roller 45) positioned next to the check infeed path 6 separates and feeds the checks 4 delivered into the check infeed path 6 one by one into the check transportation path 5 (steps ST1 and ST2).
The upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32 are normally locked in the closed position by separate latching mechanisms. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, the latch mechanism of the upstream-side cover part 31 includes a cover-side strike 34 and a catch 35. The cover-side strike 34 is formed at the bottom of the distal end 31 b of the upstream-side cover part 31. The catch 35 is retractably positioned into the end face 23 a of the side case portion 23 at a position opposite the cover-side strike 34. The catch 35 is urged in the protruding direction by a spring force (not shown). A sliding release button 36 for releasing the latch is positioned on the outside of the side case portion 23.
When the sliding release button 36 is slid against the spring force, the catch 35 separates from the cover-side strike 34 and the upstream-side cover part 31 can swing open to the side pivoting on the support pivot 33. When the open upstream-side cover part 31 is then closed, the corner of the cover-side strike 34 protruding from the distal end 31 b pushes the catch 35 in as the cover-side strike 34 moves to the closed position. When the upstream-side cover part 31 reaches the closed position, the catch 35 engages the cover-side strike 34 and the upstream-side cover part 31 is locked closed. An identical latch mechanism (including a cover-side strike 37, a catch 38, and a sliding release button 39) is positioned on the downstream-side cover part 32.
Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, the front contact image sensor 82 and the pressure rollers 61 to 64 that are positioned near the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a are assembled on the upstream-side cover part 31. The pressure rollers 65 and 66 positioned near the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b are assembled on the downstream-side cover part 32.
When the upstream-side cover part 31 opens the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a opens and the scanning surfaces of the front contact image sensor 82 and the back contact image sensor 83 are exposed to the outside of the case 2. The magnetic head 84 that is positioned on the case 2 side is also exposed.
Opening the downstream-side cover part 32 similarly opens the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b, and exposes the print mechanism 86 that is positioned on the case 2 side.
As shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, opening the upstream-side and downstream-side cover parts 31 and 32 opens the check transportation path 5 (upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a and downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b). A jammed check 4 can therefore be easily removed. After removing the jammed check, the upstream-side and downstream-side cover parts 31 and 32 can also be closed with simple single-action operation.
The contours of the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a of the upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32, that is, the contours of the ends at the support pivot 33, are described next with reference to FIG. 7. Note that the support pivot 33 is not shown in FIG. 7 to provide a better view of the shape of the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a. The upstream-side cover part 31 has an inside surface part 311 that defines part of the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a, an upstream-side end-face part 312 (support-pivot-side end-face part) that continues from the support pivot 33 side end of the inside surface part 311, and a outside surface part 313 that continues from the upstream-side end-face part 312.
The downstream-side cover part 32 has an inside surface part 321 that defines part of the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b, a downstream-side end-face part 322 (support-pivot-side end-face part) that continues from the support pivot 33 side end of the inside surface part 321, and an outside surface part 323 that continues from the downstream-side end-face part 322.
At the proximal end portion 31 a of the upstream-side cover part 31, the inside surface part 311 that is part of the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a continues tangentially from the ends of the upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315. These surfaces therefore do not project into the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a when the upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315 rotate to the inside on the support pivot 33.
The inside surface part 321 defining part of the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b at the proximal end portion 32 a of the downstream-side cover part 32 likewise continues tangentially from the ends of the downstream-side convex surface 326. The downstream-side convex surface 326 therefore does not project into the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b when it rotates on the support pivot 33 to the inside.
As will be understood from FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, when the contours of the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a are set as described above and the upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32 are opened, the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a do not protrude farther to the inside than when the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a are in the closed position. More specifically, the upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315 of the proximal end portion 31 a and the convex surface 326 of the proximal end portion 32 a are described by circular arc surfaces centered on the support pivot 33.
In addition, at the proximal end portion 31 a of the upstream-side cover part 31, the inside surface part 311 describing part of the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a continues tangentially to the ends of the upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315. As a result, when the upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315 rotate to the inside centered on the support pivot 33, that is, when the upstream-side cover part 31 opens, these convex surfaces 314 and 315 do not protrude into the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a. Likewise at the proximal end portion 32 a of the downstream-side cover part 32, the inside surface part 321 describing part of the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b extends tangentially to the end of the convex surface 326. As a result, when the downstream-side convex surface 326 rotates to the inside centered on the support pivot 33, that is, when the downstream-side cover part 32 opens, the downstream-side convex surface 326 does not protrude into the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b. As described above, the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a do not protrude into the transportation path portions 5 a and 5 b when the upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32 are open. Therefore, when the operable covers 31 and 32 are opened in order to remove a check 4 that is stuck in the transportation path portions 5 a or 5 b, the check 4 will not be pressed against the outside wall portion 21 on the case 2 side as a result of the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a protruding into the transportation path portions 5 a and 5 b. The proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a will therefore not interfere with removing a jammed check 4.
The proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a of both operable covers 31 and 32 are assembled to mate, and the mutually opposed parts thereof are defined by the concentric upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315 and downstream-side concave surfaces 324 and 325, and by the upstream-side concave surface 316 and the downstream-side convex surface 326. The operable covers 31 and 32 can therefore open and close without interfering with each other even though the gap between the end portions is small.
The contours of the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a (end parts on the support pivot side) of the upstream-side cover part 31 and the downstream-side cover part 32 are described by convex circular arc surfaces and concave circular arc surfaces centered on the support pivot 33. The inside surface part 311 that defines part of the upstream-side transportation path portion 5 a on the upstream-side cover part 31 extends tangentially from the ends of the upstream-side convex surfaces 314 and 315. Likewise, the inside surface part 321 that defines part of the downstream-side transportation path portion 5 b extends tangentially from the end of the convex surface 326.
Therefore, when the operable covers 31 and 32 are opened, the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a will not protrude farther to the inside than when in the closed position. More specifically, the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a at the support pivot 33 side will not protrude into the transportation path portions 5 a and 5 b. Therefore, when the operable covers 31 and 32 are opened in order to remove a check 4 that is stuck in the transportation path portions 5 a or 5 b, the check 4 will not be pressed against the outside wall portion 21 on the case 2 side by the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a of the operable covers 31 and 32.
In addition, the outside surface parts 313 and 323 of the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a of the operable covers 31 and 32 form a flat, flush surface, and thus afford a better appearance than when the part that covers the support pivot 33 protrudes further to the outside.
Furthermore, because the proximal end portions 31 a and 32 a are assembled with concave circular arc surfaces opposing concentrically matching convex circular arc surfaces, the gap therebetween can be small without opposing surfaces interfering with each other when opening and closing. The operable covers 31 and 32 that are provided for opening the check transportation path 5 in this embodiment of the invention will therefore not impair the appearance of the check scanning apparatus 1.
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