Patent attributes
The device (18) for detecting end of paper comprises a support (43) mounted on a wall (26) of a printer (10) of receipts, obtained from a tape (12) of paper wound on a roll (14), contained in a housing (15) of the printer (10). The printer (10) is preferentially employed at a Point Of Sale (POS) and may be arranged on a horizontal work plane (21) set on its base (22), or inclined by about 90°, on a front wall (24). As a result, the roll (14) is set into the housing (15) alternatively in two positions, corresponding to the inclination assumed by the printer. A detecting lever (54) in hinge-mounted on the support (43) and is provided with two arms (55, 56) spread apart, forming an angle of approximately 120°. Fixed to each of the ends of the arms (55, 56) is a projecting element (58, 60), each of which suitable for engaging a hole in a central sprocket (17) of the roll (14), when the latter has reached its minimum dimension, in which a given length of tape remains of the sprocket (17), indicating that the latter is closed to running out. The two projecting elements (58, 60) are positioned in such a way that only one of these enters the hole in the sprocket (17), when the printer (10) is set in one of the two positions; the support (43) is moved linearly on the wall (26) by way of a toothed cam (47), in order to adapt the position of each of the projecting elements to the dimensions of the sprocket (17) of the paper roll.
