JP2000043385A - Transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a positional deviation in an axial direction, i.e., sheet width direction of a ribbon core at a flange during printing. SOLUTION: A flange 19 is positioned at ribbon cores 17, 18 for supporting an ink ribbon by engaging latches 28 formed at the cores 17, 18 with pawls 21 of a pawl member 20 mounted at the flange 19. The member 20 is urged in the engaging direction of the pawls 21 with the latches 28 via a spring 26 formed at the flange 19. Accordingly, the member 20 is picked up, and deflected at the spring 26 to disengage the latches 28 from the pawls 21 thereby axially sliding the flange 19 in the axial direction of the cores 17, 18.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a transfer printer for transferring ink from an ink ribbon, such as a bar code printer, onto paper and printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A transfer printer is a printer that includes a thermal head and prints by heating a thermal transfer film such as an ink ribbon and depositing a chemical substance on paper.

[0003] Among such transfer printers, some ink ribbons used particularly in large-size transfer printers are supported by a ribbon core disposed inside the printer in parallel with the width direction of paper. FIG. 5 shows an example of a conventional ribbon core 1.

[0004] One end of the ribbon core 1 is a support end rotatably supported inside the printer. On the support end,
A gear 2 to which a driving force of a DC motor (not shown) is transmitted is formed. The other end is an open end that is opened when the ink ribbon is attached.

[0005] A flange 3 for axially positioning the end of the ink ribbon on the supporting end side is attached to the ribbon core 1. The ribbon core 1 is provided with a leaf spring 4 that presses against the inner peripheral surface of the ink ribbon.

[0006] On the outer peripheral surface of the ribbon core 1, latches 5 arranged in the axial direction are formed. The latch 5 is formed by a stopper surface 5a that is orthogonal to the rotation axis of the ribbon core 1 and faces the open end side, and a guide slope 5b that connects a valley and a mountain of the adjacent stopper surface 5a.

The flange 3 has a pawl 6 which engages with the latch 5. The pawl 6 is attached to the latch 5 and has a fixed surface 6a orthogonal to the rotation axis of the ribbon core 1 and in contact with the stopper surface 5a, and a sliding slope 6 in contact with the guide slope 5b.
b. Further, the base of the claw 6 has elasticity in the direction of coming and going with respect to the latch 5.

The ribbon core 1 and the flange 3
The positioning and fixing are performed by the elastic engagement between the finger and the claw 6. In a state where the latch 5 and the claw 6 are engaged with each other, even if the flange 3 is slid from the open end side of the ribbon core 1 to the support end side, the fixing surface 6a is pressed against the stopper surface 5a and does not slide. Conversely, when the flange 3 is slid from the support end side of the ribbon core 1 to the open end side,
The base of the pawl 6 bends and the sliding slope 6b moves on the guide slope 5b.

In order to move the flange 3 from the open end side of the ribbon core 1 to the support end side, the flange 3 is rotated with respect to the ribbon core 1 and the claw 6 is shifted to a position where it does not engage with the latch 5.

[0010]

In the conventional transfer printer, when the flange 3 is slid toward the supporting end of the ribbon core 1, the claw 6 is released from the latch 5 so that the ribbon core 1 is released.
, The flange 3 is formed rotatably. Therefore, the ribbon core 1 and the flange 3 may rotate relative to each other. In this case, the latch 5 is disengaged from the claw 6 and the flange 3 is displaced.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the flange from being displaced in the axial direction of the ribbon core, that is, in the width direction of the sheet during printing.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a transfer printer including a ribbon core provided in parallel with a width direction of a sheet, and a flange attached to the ribbon core positions the ink ribbon in an axial direction of the ribbon core. A transfer printer, comprising: a latch formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ribbon core and arranged in the axial direction of the ribbon core; and a claw that engages with the latch. The claw is rotated in a direction in which the claw contacts and separates from the latch. A claw member freely attached to the flange, a spring portion formed on the flange and biasing the claw member in a direction in which the claw engages with the latch;
An operation unit for receiving an operation of rotating the claw in a direction in which the claw separates from the latch against the bias of the spring unit.

Accordingly, the pawl biased by the spring portion meshes with the latch, whereby the flange is positioned with respect to the ribbon core, and the pawl is departed from the latch by the operation of the operating portion against the urging of the spring portion. By doing so, the flange can slide in the axial direction of the ribbon core.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the transfer printer according to the first aspect, wherein the convex portion or the concave portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ribbon core and parallel to the axial direction and the convex portion or the concave portion. A concave portion or a convex portion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the flange.

Therefore, the ribbon core and the flange are
The rotation is prevented by the engagement between the projection and the recess. Therefore,
When a finger is put on the flange and rotated, the ribbon core also rotates.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the transfer printer according to the second aspect, a plurality of depressions are formed on an outer peripheral surface of the flange.

Therefore, when a finger is hung on the flange and rotated, the finger is less likely to slip and is easily rotated.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A label printer as an embodiment of a transfer printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 is a vertical right side view of the label printer 11. The paper transport path 12 is formed from the back side to the front side, a roll paper holder 13 supporting the roll paper R is provided on the back side, and a paper discharge port 14 is formed on the front side. ing. The roll paper R is
Label paper L is continuously attached to a long mount D.

A thermal head 15 is disposed above the paper transport path 12 and a platen 16 is disposed below the paper transport path 12 on the upstream side of the paper discharge port 14 in the transport direction. A release plate 14 a is provided between the paper discharge port 14 and the platen 16. The label paper L is peeled from the backing paper D by the peeling plate 14a, the backing paper D is wound up by the winding unit 14b, and the label paper L is discharged from the paper discharge port 14.

Above the paper transport path 12, two ribbon cores 17, 18 for supporting the ink ribbon I are provided in parallel with the width direction of the paper. One ribbon core 1
7 is a supply side, and the other ribbon core 18 is a winding side. The ink ribbon I pulled out from the ribbon core 17 on the supply side is wound around the thermal head 15 and wound on the ribbon core 18 on the winding side.

Each of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 is driven to rotate by a DC motor (not shown). The supply-side ribbon core 17 is driven by a DC motor to apply back tension to the ink ribbon I, and the winding-side ribbon core 18 is driven by the DC motor to wind the used ink ribbon I. take.

As shown in FIG. 2, the flange 19 of the present embodiment is used by attaching a claw member 20 thereto. The claw member 20 is a substantially L-shaped member, and has a claw 21 at one end. The other end is a lever unit 2 which is an operation unit which is picked by an operator.
It is 2.

On both sides of the claw 21 of the claw member 20, an arm 23 is provided.
Is provided. These arms 23 together with the ends provided with the claws 21 are U-shaped. A projection 24 projecting outward from the U-shape is formed at the tip of the arm 23.

On the surface of the flange 19 opposite to the surface 19a with which the ink ribbon I abuts, a support portion 25 for rotatably supporting the claw member 20 and a spring portion 2 for urging the lever portion 22 are provided.
6 are formed. And the support part 25 is the protrusion 2
4 has a hole 27 into which it is fitted. The spring portion 26
The lever portion 22 of the claw member 20 is formed integrally with the resin flange 19 and utilizes the elasticity of the resin to form the ribbon core 1.
It is urged away from 7,18.

FIG. 3 shows that the flange 19 is connected to the ribbon core 17,
FIG. 18 is an axial cross-sectional view showing a state where the light-emitting device is attached to a light-emitting device 18. Ribbon cores 17 on the outer peripheral surface of ribbon cores 17 and 18
Latches 28 with which the pawls 21 are engaged are formed at two locations symmetrical with respect to the rotation center of 18 and arranged in the axial direction.

Here, the latch 28 has a stopper surface 28a orthogonal to the rotation axis of the ribbon core 1 and facing the open end.
And a guide slope 28b connecting the valley and the mountain of the adjacent stopper surface 28a. And the nail 21
Is the ribbon core 1 attached to the latch 28.
It has a fixed surface 21a that is perpendicular to the rotation axes of the rotation shafts 7 and 18 and is in contact with the stopper surface 28a, and a sliding slope 21b that is in contact with the guide slope 28b.

A scale 29 is provided between the latches 28 on the outer peripheral surface of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 as a guide for positioning the flange 19.

As shown in FIG. 4, a rib 30 which is a convex portion is formed along the axial direction on the outer peripheral surface opposite to the rotation center at the position where the scale 29 is provided. . A groove 31 which is a concave portion corresponding to the shape of the rib 30 is formed on the inner periphery of the flange 19. When the rib 30 engages with the groove 31, the ribbon core 17,
A flange 19 is prevented from rotating with respect to 18.

On the outer peripheral surface of the flange 19, a plurality of depressions 32 on which fingers can be hooked are formed at equal intervals.

At a position different from the latch 28 of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 in the axial direction, a leaf spring 33 (see FIG. 3) which presses against the inner periphery of the ink ribbon I is attached.

In such a configuration, the pawl 21 is urged by the spring portion 26 and meshes with the latch 28,
The flange 19 is positioned with respect to the ribbon cores 17,18. In a state where the claw 21 and the latch 28 are engaged,
Even if the flange 19 is slid from the open ends of the ribbon cores 17, 18 to the support ends, the stopper surface 28a
And the fixing surface 21a does not slide. vice versa,
When the flange 19 is slid from the support ends of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 to the open ends, the spring portion 26 bends and the sliding slope 21b moves on the guide slope 28b.

When the flange 19 is attached to the ribbon cores 17 and 18, the lever portion 22 is pinched by a finger and the spring portion 26 is attached.
Is bent in a direction to approach the ribbon cores 17 and 18, the flange 19 is positioned near the support end of the ribbon core 17,
The pawl 21 and the latch 28 are engaged with each other, and then the flange 19 is moved from the support end side of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 to the open end side to be located at an arbitrary position.

The ink ribbon I is positioned in the axial direction of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 by having one end of the ink ribbon I in contact with the flange 19. The ink ribbon I is prevented from coming off by the leaf spring 33 being pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the ink ribbon I.

The ink ribbon I attached to the ribbon core 17 on the supply side is drawn out by an appropriate length, wrapped around the thermal head 15, and the leading end of the drawn portion is attached to the ribbon core 8 on the winding side. Here, if the drawer portion is too long and loose, the flange 19
Put a finger on the depression 32 on the outer peripheral surface of the
Rotate to take up the extra length.

According to the present embodiment, the pawl 21 that engages with the latch 28 is formed so as to be able to freely move toward and away from the latch 28. The engagement with the claw 21 can be released, so that it is not necessary to make the flange 19 and the ribbon cores 17 and 18 freely rotatable, and a detent by the rib 30 and the groove 31 can be provided. Therefore, even if the ribbon cores 17 and 18 rotate during printing, the flange 1
9 also rotates with the ribbon cores 17 and 18, so that the claw 2
The engagement between the latch 1 and the latch 28 does not come off, and the displacement of the flange 19 can be prevented.

Further, since the ribs 30 and the grooves 31 are provided with the rotation stoppers, the ribbon cores 17 and 18 can be rotated by rotating the flange 19, so that the ink ribbon I Can be easily removed.

Further, since a depression 32 for hanging a finger is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the flange 19,
Can be easily rotated.

Further, the latch 28 is connected to the ribbon core 1.
Since a pair of claws 21 engaging with the latches 28 are provided at two locations symmetrical with respect to the rotation centers of the ribbon cores 17 and 18 on the outer peripheral surfaces of the ribbon cores 17 and 18.
The operator is positioned symmetrically with respect to the center of rotation of
The pair of lever portions 22 for operating the pair of claws 21 can be easily pinched, and the flange 19 can be easily attached and detached.

In this embodiment, the ribbon core 1
The ribs 30 which are convex portions are provided on 7 and 18, and the grooves 31 which are concave portions are provided on the flange 19.
The ribbon cores 17 and 18 may be provided with concave portions, and the flange 19 may be provided with convex portions.

In this embodiment, a label printer has been described as an example of a transfer printer. However, in the present embodiment, the present invention may be applied to a transfer printer other than a label printer.

[0041]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pawl provided on the pawl member biased by the spring portion of the flange can be freely moved toward and away from the latch by bending the spring portion. The engagement between the pawl and the latch can be released without relatively rotating the ribbon core and the ribbon core, thereby eliminating the need to make the flange and the ribbon core rotatable. On the other hand, a structure for preventing the flange from rotating can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the ribbon core and the flange are prevented from rotating by the engagement between the convex portion and the concave portion, the rotation of the flange with respect to the ribbon core during printing can be prevented. When attaching the ink ribbon, the user can put a finger on the flange and rotate the flange, thereby rotating the ribbon core and easily removing the slack of the ink ribbon.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since a plurality of depressions are formed in the outer peripheral surface of the flange, when a finger is put on the flange and rotated, the finger is less likely to slip and can be easily rotated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical right side view showing an embodiment of a transfer printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a flange and a claw member.

FIG. 3 is an axial sectional view showing a ribbon core to which a flange is attached.

FIG. 4 is a diametrical sectional view showing a ribbon core to which a flange is attached.

FIG. 5 is an axial sectional view showing a ribbon core to which a conventional flange is attached.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Transfer printer 17, 18 Ribbon core 19 Flange 20 Claw member 21 Claw 26 Spring part 28 Latch 30 Convex part 31 Concave part 32 Depression

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shunji Shimozato 570 Ono-cho, Oni-cho, Taga-gun, Shizuoka F-term in Tech Ono Works, Ltd. (reference) 2C068 AA02 AA06 AA15 BD46

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transfer printer including a ribbon core, wherein a flange attached to the ribbon core positions an ink ribbon in an axial direction of the ribbon core, and transfers and prints ink on the ink ribbon to a sheet of paper. A latch formed so as to be arranged in the axial direction of the ribbon core; and a pawl member attached to the flange so as to be rotatable in a direction in which the pawl contacts and separates from the latch. A spring portion formed on the flange for biasing the claw member in a direction in which the claw engages with the latch; and a spring in a direction in which the claw separates from the latch against a biasing force of the spring portion. A transfer unit for receiving an operation of rotating the claw unit. 2. A convex portion or a concave portion formed on an outer peripheral surface of the ribbon core and parallel to the axial direction, and a concave portion or a convex portion formed on an inner peripheral surface of the flange engaged with the convex portion or the concave portion. The transfer printer according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The transfer printer according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of depressions are formed on an outer peripheral surface of the flange.