CN211617097U - Printer with a movable platen - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model provides a when the paper of being printed of discharging on the top cap, can keep the printer on the top cap with the paper reliably. The printer has a housing. The case rotatably accommodates the roll paper. The upper part of the box body is provided with a top cover. The box is internally provided with: a conveying unit that pulls and conveys a sheet from a roll paper; and a printing section that performs printing on the paper conveyed by the conveying section. The upper surface of the top cover is provided with a stacker which places the paper discharged from the cassette on the downstream side of the printing section. The downstream side of the stacker in the sheet discharge direction is provided with: a stopper abutting on a front end of the sheet in a sheet discharge direction; and a paper blocking mechanism formed to be able to adjust a position of the stopper in the paper discharge direction. Through the utility model discloses, can keep the ejected paper reliably on the top cap of printer after the printing.

Description

Printer with a movable platen

Technical Field

The utility model discloses an embodiment relates to a printer.

Background

Some printers draw one end of a long and thin paper (continuous paper) to be used for printing from a roll paper wound around the other end, and perform predetermined printing on the end by a printing mechanism. Among such printers, there is a printer that accommodates roll paper in a case. The upper part of the box body is provided with an opening part for inputting the roll paper, and the opening part is covered by a top cover which can be opened and closed freely. Then, the end of the printed continuous paper is discharged from a paper discharge port provided at one end of the top cover.

The end portion discharged from the printer is conveyed along the surface of the top cover, and is cut off from the continuous paper by the cutting mechanism to become a single sheet of a predetermined length. The cutting mechanism is provided near the paper discharge port on a downstream side of the printing mechanism in a paper conveyance direction. The individual tickets are stacked one on top of the other. The length of the individual tickets varies and varies depending on their use and kind.

In such a printer, when the individual tickets are discharged one by high-speed printing, for example, the individual ticket discharged first may fall from the top cover by being pushed by the individual ticket discharged later. Further, even if the bills are cut to have the same length, for example, the bills are stacked on the top cover in a state where the positions of the ends in the discharging direction are not aligned between the bills, which causes inconvenience in handling the bills by the operator.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The to-be-solved technical problem of the utility model is to provide a printer that can keep the discharged paper reliably on the top cap after the printing.

The printer according to the embodiment has a housing. The case rotatably accommodates the roll paper. The upper part of the box body is provided with a top cover. The box is internally provided with: a conveying unit that pulls and conveys a sheet from a roll paper; and a printing unit which is disposed in the casing and performs printing on the paper conveyed by the conveying unit. A stacker is provided on an upper surface of the top cover, and places the paper discharged from the cassette on a downstream side of the printing section. The downstream side of the stacker in the sheet discharge direction is provided with: a stopper abutting on a front end of the sheet in a sheet discharge direction; and a paper blocking mechanism formed to be able to adjust a position of the stopper in the paper discharge direction.

Through the utility model discloses, can keep the ejected paper reliably on the top cap of printer after the printing.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a printer according to the present embodiment from the front side;

fig. 2 is a plan view showing the printer in the present embodiment;

fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the printer of the present embodiment from the back side;

fig. 4 is a perspective view showing an open state of a top cover of the printer in the present embodiment;

fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a closed state of a top cover of the printer in the present embodiment;

fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a top cover in which a stopper incorporated in the printer according to the present embodiment is removed;

fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a stopper of the printer in the present embodiment from below;

fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a holder of the printer in the present embodiment;

fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a main part of the stopper mechanism of the printer of the present embodiment cut along the line P-P in fig. 1;

fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a main part of the stopper mechanism of the printer according to the present embodiment, taken along line Q-Q in fig. 1.

Detailed Description

The present embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 to 5 show a printer 100 according to the present embodiment. Further, an arrow F in these drawings indicates a front direction of the printer 100, i.e., a side where an operator is usually present. In addition, arrow B indicates the back direction. Further, an arrow WL indicates a left direction in the width direction, an arrow WR indicates a right direction in the width direction, and Y indicates a vertically upward direction. Further, arrow H indicates the sheet discharge direction of the sheet T. In these drawings, R denotes a roll paper, and T denotes a sheet pulled out from the roll paper. The paper T is used for printing in the printer 100, and is also cut into a sheet (slip) of an arbitrary or constant length after being discharged from the printer 100. The paper T is used for, for example, tickets, coupons, tickets, and the like, but its use is not limited thereto. The printer 100 is installed in the vicinity Of a pos (point Of sales) terminal, an electronic cash register, and the like in a shop or the like, for example. Then, a predetermined printing is performed on the end of the sheet T pulled out from the roll paper R to issue a ticket, a coupon, a ticket, and the like. Reference numeral 300 in fig. 1 denotes a control unit that performs joint control of the respective components of the printer 100.

As shown in fig. 1, the printer 100 according to the embodiment includes a substantially rectangular box-shaped casing 110 having an open upper portion. The opening is formed substantially in a horizontal plane. The opening has a size capable of accommodating the web R of the largest diameter that can be accommodated. That is, the inner dimension of the opening in the front-rear direction of the arrows F and B is set to be larger than the diameter of the roll paper R. The inner dimension of the opening in the width direction in the arrow WL and WR directions is set larger than the dimension of the sheet T in the width direction.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the case 110 has a bottom wall 112 curved in a substantially arc shape protruding downward. The bottom wall 112 has a shape obtained by bending a substantially rectangular plate-like body into an arc shape. In addition, as shown in fig. 1 to 3, the case 110 has four side walls 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d extending in the up-down direction. The sidewall 110a is lower in height in the up-down direction than the other sidewalls 110b, 110c, and 110 d. A portion of the bottom wall 112 protrudes beyond the upper end of the side wall 110a toward the rear side. In other words, the bottom wall 112 has a portion protruding from the upper end of the side wall 110a to the outside of the side wall 110a and a portion extending to the inside of the side wall 110a, and these two portions are continuous.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the bottom wall 112 has a plurality of rotatable support rollers 111. The support rollers 111 are attached to the bottom wall 112 in a state where outer peripheral surfaces thereof slightly protrude upward from an inner surface of the bottom wall 112 of the case 110. The outer peripheral surface of the roll paper R thrown into the space above the bottom wall 112 is supported in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the support roller 111, and hardly comes into contact with the inner surface of the bottom wall 112. Therefore, when the paper T is pulled out from the roll paper R, the roll paper R rotates, and the plurality of backup rollers 111 rotate accordingly. That is, the casing 110 rotatably accommodates the roll paper R.

The printer 100 includes a top cover 120 that covers the upper surface side of the housing 110 (i.e., the top cover 120 is provided on the upper portion of the housing 110). The case 110 and the top cover 120 form a housing space S for the roll paper R. The top cover 120 is connected to the vicinity of one end of the back surface side of the case 110 via a hinge 121 to open and close the opening of the case 110. Fig. 4 shows a state in which the top cover 120 is completely opened with respect to the case 110.

As shown in fig. 1, the top cover 120 has two side walls 120a and 120b extending in parallel in the front-rear direction, and a top wall 122 curved in an arc shape protruding upward to cover the upper side of the roll paper R in the drawing. The top wall 122 is formed such that a central portion thereof is higher in the front-rear direction (F, B).

The stacker 125 is formed on the upper surface of the top cover 120, and specifically, the stacker 125 is disposed on the front side of the top wall 122. The sheet T pulled out from the roll paper R is discharged from the printer 100 along the outer surface of the top wall 122 and stacked on the stacker 125 as described later.

As shown in fig. 5, the printer 100 has a buffer device 130, a print feed device 140, and a cutter mechanism 150 in a casing 110.

The buffer device 130 applies an appropriate tension to the sheet T drawn from the roll paper R. The printing conveyance device 140 has a conveyance path 141 connected to the bottom wall 112. A motor 142 is disposed below the conveyance path 141. The motor 142 drives a platen roller 144 described later. The print head 143 is disposed on the front-side end of the conveyance path 141. The print head 143 is disposed in the case 110. The platen roller 144 is disposed opposite to the print head 143. The platen roller 144 is provided on the top cover 120.

The platen roller 144 rotates while pressing the paper T against the print head 143, and thereby applies a conveying force to the paper T. The paper T passes between the platen roller 144 and the print head 143, and obtains a conveyance force from the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 and is conveyed. When the top cover 120 is closed with respect to the casing 110, the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 sandwich the sheet T and press each other with a prescribed pressure, so that the sheet T can be nipped and conveyed.

In addition, the platen roller 144 is connected to a rotation shaft of the motor 142 via a gear in a state where the top cover 120 is closed with respect to the case 110. The motor 142 is provided in the case 110 and is driven based on a control signal from the control unit 300. By rotating the motor 142, the platen roller 144 rotates, and the paper T sandwiched between the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 is conveyed. The platen roller 144 and the print head 143 function as a conveying section that pulls and conveys the sheet T from the roll paper R. That is, the conveying unit is disposed in the case 110.

The print head 143 is, for example, a thermal head, and prints predetermined characters or images on the paper T conveyed between the print head and the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 144 (i.e., performs printing on the paper T conveyed by the conveying unit) based on a print signal sent from the control unit 300. The print head 143 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 144 by a spring 143 a. The print head 143 functions as a printing section.

As shown in fig. 5, the cutter mechanism 150 includes: a fixed blade 151 provided on the front surface side of the casing 110; a movable blade 152 provided on the rear surface side so as to face the fixed blade 151; and a mylar 153 for preventing double conveyance of the sheet T. The movable blade 152 faces the fixed blade 151 in a state where the top cover 120 is closed with respect to the casing 110, and the conveyance path of the sheet T is sandwiched therebetween. In this state, the movable blade 152 is driven, and the sheet T is cut between the movable blade 152 and the fixed blade 151. The paper T printed with characters or the like by the print head 143 is cut to a predetermined length by the cutter mechanism 150, and is discharged onto the stacker 125 of the top cover 120. The stacker 125 places the sheet T discharged from the cassette 110 on the downstream side of the print head 143 in the conveying direction of the sheet T.

Mounted above the cutter mechanism 150 (on the stacker 125) is a paper cover 160. The paper cover 160 includes a top wall 161 and side walls 162 formed at both ends of the top wall 161 in the width direction. The ceiling wall 161 is a structure for smoothly feeding the sheet T discharged from the cutter mechanism 150 to the stacker 125 side. The side wall 162 has a function of aligning the end portions by performing positioning in the width direction of the sheet T discharged from the cutter mechanism 150 (in a direction orthogonal to the sheet discharge direction).

As shown in fig. 6 to 10, a paper blocking mechanism 200 is disposed on the upper surface of the top cover 120. The paper stop mechanism 200 includes: a groove 210 formed on the top cover 120; an abutting position adjusting mechanism 220 slidably formed in the groove 210; and a holder 230 sandwiched between the groove 210 and the abutment position adjustment mechanism 220. In addition, N in fig. 9 denotes a fastening screw.

As shown in fig. 6, the groove 210 is formed on the ceiling wall 122 and is formed in the front-rear direction (paper discharge direction H). The recess 210 has an opening 211 formed in an elongated shape in the front-rear direction. A pair of first tooth portions 213 are formed on both sides in the width direction of the opening 211 (that is, the first tooth portions 213 are formed on the surface of the recess 210 on the side facing the slider 221 described later). The first tooth portion 213 has a plurality of teeth formed in the front-rear direction. The pitch of the teeth is for example 0.8 mm. On the top wall 122, graduations 214 are formed in the front-rear direction, for example, every 15 mm.

As shown in fig. 7, the contact position adjustment mechanism 220 includes a plate-shaped slider 221 formed slidably along the concave groove 210. A second tooth 222 is formed on the lower surface (top wall 122 side) of the slider 221 (i.e., the second tooth 222 is formed on the surface of the slider 221 on the side facing the groove 210). The second tooth portion 222 has a plurality of teeth formed in the front-rear direction. The pitch of the teeth is the same as the pitch of the teeth of the first tooth portion 213.

A stopper 223 protruding upward is formed at the center portion in the front-rear direction of the abutment position adjustment mechanism 220. The stopper 223 is provided on the downstream side in the sheet discharge direction of the stacker 125. The height of the stopper 223 is preferably formed in a manner of approximately the distance from the stacker 125 to the top wall 161. The stopper 223 is formed with a surface perpendicular to the top wall 122 on the front side, and the back side is a gentle surface and is formed continuously and integrally with the rear end side of the slider 221. A bottomed cylindrical fastening portion 224 is integrally formed at a central portion of the stopper 223. An abutment surface 225 that abuts the front end of the sheet T in the sheet discharge direction is provided on the front side of the stopper 223 (that is, the abutment surface 225 is a portion of the stopper 223 that abuts the front end of the sheet T). A resin sheet as a cushion material may be stuck to the contact surface 225. The front end of the sheet T can be prevented from being bent or curved by the cushioning material.

As shown in fig. 8, the holder 230 includes a holder main body 231 having a square frame shape. The holder body 231 has a flat upper surface and a sloped lower surface along the curved surface of the ceiling wall 122.

A bottomed cylindrical holder 232 is provided at the center of the holder main body 231. As shown in fig. 9 and 10, an internal thread into which the fastening screw N is screwed is formed on the inner surface of the bracket 232. A disk-shaped base 233 is integrally formed at the lower end of the holder 232. An elliptical flange 234 is also formed from below the base 233. The diameter of the base 233 is formed larger than the width of the opening 211. Further, the dimension in the width direction of the flange portion 234 is formed larger than the dimension in the width direction of the opening portion 211, and the dimension in the front-rear direction is formed to be substantially the same as the dimension in the width direction of the opening portion 211. In the holder body 231, the short diameter side of the flange portion 234 is inserted into the opening 211 so as to be slidable in the width direction of the opening 211, and is rotated by ninety degrees, whereby the long diameter side engages with the periphery of the opening 211, and is prevented from coming off.

When the fastening screw N is fastened, the fastening portion 224 of the stopper 223 approaches the holder 230 side, and the slider 221 is pressed toward the groove 210 side (i.e., the fastening screw N fastens the holder 230 and the stopper 223 in a direction perpendicular to the opening surface of the opening 211). Thereby, the first tooth portion 213 and the second tooth portion 222 are firmly engaged. Thereby, the position of the slider 221 within the groove 210 is fixed. That is, the slider 221 holds the stopper 223.

In the printer 100 configured as described above, printing on the roll paper R and discharging of the paper T are performed as follows. First, the position of the paper stop mechanism 200 is adjusted. The fastening screw N fastened to the bracket 232 is loosened. The engagement of the first tooth portion 213 and the second tooth portion 222 is released, so that the slider 221 is freely slid in the front-rear direction along the groove 210. The length of the paper T discharged after cutting varies depending on the type thereof. Therefore, the slider 221 is positioned at an appropriate position based on the scale 214. If the slider 221 has been positioned in the proper position, the fastening screw N of the bracket 232 is tightened. Thereby, the slider 221 is pressed against the top wall 122 via the holder 230. Therefore, the first tooth portion 213 on the top wall 122 side and the second tooth portion 222 of the slider 221 mesh with each other, and the movement in the front-rear direction is restricted.

Subsequently, the top cover 120 is opened, and the roll paper R is thrown onto the bottom wall 112 in the case 110. The end of the sheet T is then pulled out along the buffer 130 and the conveyance path 141 and extended to the position of the print head 143. And, the top cover 120 is closed. When the top cover 120 is closed, the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 are opposed, and the print head 143 is elastically pressed against the platen roller 144 by the elasticity of the spring 143 a.

In this way, when the power of the printer 100 is turned on in a state where the top cover 120 is completely closed, the motor 142 is started, and the platen roller 144 rotates in the conveying direction. The paper T sandwiched between the print head 143 and the platen roller 144 is fed by the rotation of the platen roller 144 and is put on standby.

Based on a reception signal received from the outside, the control unit 300 outputs a print signal to operate the print head 143 and the platen roller 144, and starts a desired printing operation. The sheet T is cut by the cutter mechanism 150 and placed on the stacker 125.

When the printing speed is increased, the conveying speed of the paper T is increased, and the speed of the cut paper T discharged from the cutter mechanism 150 is also increased. At this time, the sheet T sometimes does not stay on the stacker 125 but is rapidly conveyed toward the topmost of the top wall 122. However, even if the sheet T is conveyed promptly, for example, the sheet T is returned to the stacker 125 because the leading end side thereof abuts against the abutment surface 225 of the stopper 223. Further, the width direction of the sheet T is aligned by the side walls 162. Therefore, even in the case where the sheets T are discharged from the printer 100 in a plurality of sheets, the end in the sheet discharge direction and the end in the width direction of the sheets T are substantially aligned, and the operator can easily take out the sheets T from the stacker 125.

When the length of the sheet T is changed, the operator can properly hold the sheet T on the stacker 125 by loosening the fastening screw N and adjusting the position of the stopper 223.

Further, when the sheet T becomes long and exceeds the movable range of the stopper 223, it is possible to unscrew the fastening screw to take out the holder 230 from the opening portion 211 and remove the stopper 223 from the top wall 122. When the sheet T is long, the leading end of the sheet T hangs down due to gravity and moves along the top wall 122, so that the sheet T does not fall off the top cover 120.

In the printer 100 having the sheet stopping mechanism 200 formed so that the position of the stopper 223 in the sheet discharging direction can be adjusted, when the stacker 125 accommodating the sheets T is disposed on the top cover 120, the leading end of the sheet T can be returned into the stacker 125 by abutting the abutting surface 225 of the stopper 223, and therefore, the sheet T can be prevented from falling off. In addition, since the position of the stopper 223 can be adjusted to an appropriate position according to the length of the sheet T, it is made possible to correspond to various types of sheets T. At this time, the front end position in the sheet discharging direction of the sheet T and the position in the width direction are also aligned within the stacker 125, so the operator can easily handle the sheet T.

The adjustment of the slider 221 is determined by the pitch of the meshing between the first tooth portion 213 and the second tooth portion 222, and the scale 214 is used as a reference.

In the above embodiment, the fastening screw N or the engagement between the slider 221 and the top wall 122 is used as the fixing method of the stopper 223, but other fixing methods may be used. Further, although the position adjustment of the stopper 223 in the front-rear direction uses a combination of the slider 221 and the groove 210, other position adjustment structures may be used.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various manners, and various omissions, substitutions, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. These embodiments and modifications are included in the scope and gist of the present invention, and are included in the present invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Claims (6)

1. A printer is characterized by comprising:

a case which rotatably accommodates roll paper;

a top cover arranged on the upper part of the box body;

a transport unit that is disposed in the case, and transports the web by pulling the web;

a printing unit which is disposed in the casing and performs printing on the paper conveyed by the conveying unit;

a stacker formed on an upper surface of the top cover and configured to place the paper discharged from the cassette on a downstream side of the printing unit;

a stopper provided on a downstream side of the stacker in a sheet discharge direction and abutting against a leading end of the sheet in the sheet discharge direction; and

and a paper blocking mechanism which is formed in a manner that the position of the stop member in the paper discharging direction can be adjusted.

2. Printer according to claim 1,

the paper blocking mechanism is provided with:

a groove formed on the top cover in the sheet discharge direction; and

and a slider formed to be slidable along the groove and holding the stopper.

3. Printer according to claim 2,

the paper blocking mechanism is provided with:

a first tooth portion formed on a surface of the groove on a side facing the slider; and

and a second tooth portion formed on a surface of the slider on a side opposite to the groove and formed to be engageable with the first tooth portion.

4. Printer according to claim 2,

the paper blocking mechanism is provided with:

an opening portion formed in the recessed groove in the sheet discharge direction;

a holder which is slidably inserted into the opening and engages with the periphery of the opening; and

and a fastening screw that fastens the holder and the stopper in a direction perpendicular to an opening surface of the opening portion.

5. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising:

a paper cover that performs positioning of the paper on the stacker in a direction that intersects perpendicularly with the paper discharge direction.

6. Printer according to claim 1,

and a buffer material is arranged on the part of the stop piece, which is abutted against the front end of the paper.

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