JP2000203100A - Tape-printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape-printing apparatus which can properly drive an eject mechanism and a tape-cutting mechanism by a single motor in a simple structure. SOLUTION: The apparatus has an opening lid 8 for opening/closing a cartridge load part 7, an eject mechanism 9 for floating a tape cartridge 6 from the cartridge load part 7, tape-cutting mechanisms 11 and 12 for cutting a tape let off from the tape cartridge 6, a single motor 31 for driving the eject mechanism 9 and tape-cutting mechanisms 11 and 12, a power-transmitting mechanism 22 for transmitting a rotary power of the motor 31 to the eject mechanism 9 and tape-cutting mechanisms 11 and 12, and a clutch mechanism 23 for selectively switching the rotary power of the motor 31 to the eject mechanism 9 and tape-cutting mechanisms 11 and 12. The clutch mechanism 23 switches the eject mechanism 9 and tape-cutting mechanisms 11 and 12 in association with the opening/closing of the opening lid 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape printing apparatus provided with an eject mechanism for floating a mounted tape cartridge and a tape cutting mechanism for cutting a tape fed from the tape cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional tape printer having an eject mechanism, for example, the one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-277678 is known. The eject mechanism of this tape printing device stores the force that the user pushes the tape cartridge into the cartridge mounting part in a spring, and opens and closes the open / close lid that is flipped up to the half open state by the push button of the release button until the user completely opens. When the tape cartridge is released, the spring is released to float the tape cartridge. The tape cutting mechanism uses a motor as a power source and causes a scissor-type cutter to perform a cutting operation by a crank mechanism via a gear train.

[0003]

In such a conventional tape printing apparatus, it is necessary to push the tape cartridge firmly against the spring, and the mounting of the tape cartridge becomes complicated. preferable. However, when the ejection is automated, a motor and a reduction gear are required, which complicates the structure and control.
Further, a space for the motor is required, which hinders miniaturization of the device.

An object of the present invention is to provide a tape printing apparatus having a simple structure and capable of appropriately operating an ejection mechanism and a tape cutting mechanism with a single motor.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a tape printing apparatus comprising: a cartridge mounting portion in which a tape cartridge is detachably mounted; an opening / closing lid for opening and closing the cartridge mounting portion; and a tape cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting portion. Mechanism that floats the cartridge from the cartridge mounting section, a tape cutting mechanism that cuts the tape fed from the tape cartridge mounted in the cartridge mounting section, a single motor that operates the eject mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism, and a motor. A power transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotational power of the motor to the eject mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism; and a clutch mechanism interposed in the power transmission mechanism and selectively switching the rotational power of the motor between the eject mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism. The mechanism is linked to the opening and closing of the opening and closing lid, and the opening and closing of the opening and closing lid In switching the rotation power of the motor to the eject mechanism, and switches the rotation power of the motor to the tape cutting mechanism in the closed state.

According to this configuration, when the motor is started with the opening / closing lid opened, the rotational power of the motor is transmitted to the eject mechanism via the power transmission mechanism, and the eject mechanism is operated to move the tape cartridge into the cartridge. Float from the mounting part. On the other hand, when the motor is started with the opening / closing lid closed, the rotational power of the motor is transmitted to the tape cutting mechanism via the power transmission mechanism, and the tape cutting mechanism operates to cut the tape fed from the tape cartridge. I do. In this case, since the switching of the power to the ejection mechanism or the tape cutting mechanism is performed by the clutch mechanism that is linked to the opening and closing of the opening and closing lid of the cartridge mounting unit, the switching can be performed easily and without the user being conscious. Can be.

In this case, the clutch mechanism is such that the input side meshes with the power transmission gear on the motor side, and the output side selectively meshes with the ejection side input gear on the ejection mechanism side and the cutter side input gear on the tape cutting mechanism side. A gear, a gear shaft that rotatably and slidably supports the switching gear in the axial direction, and an eject transmission position and a cutter-side input gear that engage the switching gear with the eject-side input gear in conjunction with opening and closing of the opening / closing lid. It is preferable to have a switching arm that slides in the axial direction on the gear shaft between a cutting transmission position that meshes with the cutting arm.

In this case, the opening / closing lid has an interlocking piece engaged with the interlocking portion of the switching arm. The switching arm is configured to be movable forward and backward and urged toward the opening / closing lid by a spring. It is preferable that a cam mechanism for moving the switching gear together with the spring between the eject transmission position and the cutting transmission position is provided between the interlocking portion and the interlocking piece.

According to this configuration, the clutch mechanism and the interlocking structure can be simplified, and only the rotation of the motor in one direction can be used for the operation of the eject mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism. For this reason, complication of motor control can be suppressed, and failures can be reduced. The rotation of the motor in the other direction can be used, for example, when the cutter of the tape cutting mechanism is operated in the opposite direction to the cutting to release the biting of the tape.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a tape printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This tape printer has a function of performing desired printing on a printing tape by key input and cutting a printed portion of the printing tape, and the cut printing tape is used as a label to be attached to a document file or the like. Used.
That is, the tape printer creates a label on which characters are printed from a plain printing tape. In this case, the plain printing tape and the ink ribbon which are consumables are housed in a tape cartridge, and are supplied to the apparatus main body via the tape cartridge.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tape printer 1
The outer casing of the apparatus main body 2 is formed by an upper and lower two-part apparatus case 3, a key input unit 4 is provided at a front part, a liquid crystal display 5 is provided at a right rear part, and a tape cartridge 6 is provided at a left rear part.
The cartridge mounting section 7 for mounting the cartridge is provided. An opening / closing lid 8 with a window is provided in the cartridge mounting section 7, and the opening / closing lid 8 is attached to the apparatus main body 2 so as to be freely opened and closed. Also, the cartridge mounting section 7
The eject mechanism 9 described below is incorporated in the inside of the device, and the eject mechanism 9 raises (floats) the received tape cartridge 6 to a position where it can be easily taken out.

On the left side of the apparatus case 3, there is formed a tape discharge port 10 for communicating the cartridge mounting section 7 with the outside of the apparatus. A tape cutter 11 for cutting the print tape sent out faces the tape discharge port 10. (See FIG. 4). The tape cutter 11 is connected to an auto-cut mechanism 12 described later, and performs a cutting operation from the auto-cut mechanism 12. That is, the tape cutter 11 and the automatic cutting mechanism 12 constitute a tape cutting mechanism described in claims. Although details will be described later, this auto cut mechanism 1
2 and the ejection mechanism 9 are operated by the same drive source.

On the other hand, a print head 14 covered by a head cover 13, a platen shaft 15 facing the print head 14, and a winding shaft 1 for winding an ink ribbon are provided in the cartridge mounting portion 7.
6 and a guide projection 17 for guiding the mounting of the tape cartridge 6 are provided upright. In addition, the platen 18
It is provided on the tape cartridge 6 (see FIGS. 1 and 4). Then, below the cartridge mounting portion 7,
A tape feed mechanism (not shown) for rotating the platen 18 and the take-up shaft 16 is built in.

When a label is produced by the tape printing apparatus 1, first, an opening button 19 located at a corner of the opening / closing lid 8 is pressed to flip up the opening / closing lid 8, and then the opening / closing lid 8 is manually completely opened. . Next, the tape cartridge 6 is mounted on the cartridge mounting section 7 from above. When the cartridge 6 is mounted, the opening / closing lid 8 is closed, and the tape printer 1 is set in a printing standby state. Next, the user operates the key input unit 4 while looking at the liquid crystal display 5 to perform a desired input. When a desired input is confirmed on the liquid crystal display 5, the user further operates the key input unit 4 to instruct a printing operation.

When a printing operation is instructed, the printing tape and the ink ribbon of the tape cartridge 6 start running at the same time, and the print head 14 performs desired printing on the printing tape. As the printing operation proceeds, the ink ribbon is wound up in the cartridge 6, and the printed print tape is sent out of the apparatus from the tape discharge port 10. When the printing is completed, the running of the printing tape and the ink ribbon is stopped after the feeding for the margin is performed. Subsequently, the automatic cutting mechanism 12 operates, and the tape cutter 11 operates to cut the printing tape.

On the other hand, when the cartridge 6 is to be taken out, the opening / closing cover 8 is pushed up by pushing the opening button 19, and then the opening / closing cover 8 is completely opened manually. In this state, the eject mechanism 9 is driven by key operation. When the eject mechanism 9 is driven, the tape cartridge 6 floats to a position where it can be easily picked up.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7, the eject mechanism 9 and the auto cut mechanism 12 which are operated by a single power source will be described in detail. These figures show the area around the cartridge mounting portion 7 from which the apparatus case 3 has been removed, and a motor 31 which is a single power source fixed to the base frame 21 and a gear train connected to the main shaft of the motor 31. The driving unit 22 is constituted by
The eject mechanism 9 and the automatic cut mechanism 12 are selectively operated via a clutch mechanism 23. In this case, a mounting section case 24 constituting the cartridge mounting section 7 is disposed on a base frame 21 on which the print head 14 is erected, with a tape feed mechanism (not shown) interposed therebetween. An eject plate 25 to be described later is disposed on the bottom plate 24a (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 7, the clutch mechanism 23 is linked to the opening and closing of the opening and closing cover 8, and when the opening and closing cover 8 is in the "open" state, the rotational power of the motor 31 is used. The signal is transmitted to the eject mechanism 9 and the motor 31 is in the "closed" state.
Is transmitted to the automatic cut mechanism 12. The output end of the eject mechanism 9 is an eject plate 25. When the eject mechanism 9 operates, the eject plate 25 rises, and the tape cartridge 6 mounted on the cartridge mounting section 7 floats. The output end of the auto-cut mechanism 12 includes a fixed blade 11a and a movable blade 11a.
When the automatic cutting mechanism 12 is operated, the tape cutter 11 performs a cutting operation to cut the print tape facing the tape cutter 11.

The drive section 22 includes a worm (not shown) fixed to the main shaft of the motor 31, a worm wheel 32 meshing with the worm, and a wide gear 33 coaxially fixed to the worm wheel 32. . The rotational power of the motor 31 is input to the clutch mechanism 23 from the wide gear 33 via the worm and the worm wheel 32.

The clutch mechanism 23 includes a first transmission gear (switching gear) 4 that meshes with the wide gear (power transmission gear) 33.
1, a second transmission gear (switching gear) 42 fixed to the first transmission gear 41, and a clutch that rotatably and slidably supports the first transmission gear 41 and the second transmission gear 42 in the axial direction. Shaft (gear shaft) 43, first transmission gear 41 and second
Clutch arm (switching arm) having claw piece 44a for sliding transmission gear 42 axially on clutch shaft 43
44.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the clutch arm 44 is biased by a coil spring 45,
It is supported by the base frame 21 via two elongated holes 44b, 44b so as to be able to advance and retreat, and its tail end extends to the base of the opening / closing lid 8. An engagement piece 44c that is bent and extends upward is formed at the tail end (interlocking portion) of the clutch arm 44. An inclined portion 44d that engages with the opening / closing lid 8 is provided at the upper end of the engaging piece 44c.

At the base of the opening / closing lid 8 with respect to the clutch arm 44, a cam piece (an interlocking piece) 46 which engages with the inclined portion 44d of the clutch arm 44 is suspended. Cam piece 4
6, an arc-shaped cam portion 46a is formed at the lower end portion.
By opening and closing the opening / closing lid 8, the cam portion 46a causes the cam portion 46a to move the inclined portion 44d of the clutch arm 44 forward and backward.

That is, when the cover 8 is closed, the cam piece 4 is closed.
6, the clutch arm 44 is retracted in accordance with the coil spring 45, the first transmission gear 41 and the second transmission gear 42 are slid, and the first transmission gear 41 is disengaged from the cutter-side input gear (described later) 71. Let me
The second transmission gear 42 is connected to an ejection side input gear (described later).
51 (see FIG. 8A). Conversely, when the cover 8 is opened, the clutch arm 44 is advanced against the coil spring 45 by the cam action of the cam piece 46, and the first transmission gear 41 and the second transmission gear 42 are slid in the opposite direction. , The first transmission gear 41 is connected to the cutter-side input gear 71.
And the second transmission gear 42 is disengaged from the ejection-side input gear 51 (see FIG. 8B).

The ejection mechanism 9 includes an ejection-side input gear 51 that meshes with the second transmission gear 42 of the clutch mechanism 23.
A crank pin 52 protruding from the end face of the eject side input gear 51; an eject plate 25 with which the crank pin 52 is engaged; and link means 53 for moving the eject plate 25 in parallel.

As shown in FIG. 6, the link means 53 is constituted by connecting a pair of front and rear X links 55, 55 with a connecting arm 56, and is supported by the base frame 21 with the connecting arm 56. The pair of X links 55 are supported by the base frame 21 and are engaged with the eject plate 25. That is, each of the X-links 55 is rotatably attached to one of the two left and right ends to the base frame 21 and the eject plate 25, and the other two ends to the base frame 21 and the eject plate, respectively. 25 and slidably mounted in the left and right direction (see FIGS. 5 and 6). As a result, the eject plate 25 moves vertically (moves up and down) with respect to the base frame 21.

As shown in FIG. 5, the eject plate 2
Reference numeral 5 denotes a plate-like member having an opening and a notch formed to escape the head cover 13 and the take-up shaft 16 and the like. Is formed. Each rising piece 6
A pin 62 to which the X-link 55 is attached and a long hole 63 are formed in 1. A long hole 64 for a crank is formed in the center of the rising piece 61 on the front side.
The eject side input gear 51 is inserted into the slot 64 for the crank.
Is engaged with the crank pin 52 protruding from the arm.

That is, the crank pin 52 and the crank slot 64 constitute a crank mechanism. When the eject side input gear 51 rotates, the eject plate 25 is moved through the crank pin 52 and the crank slot 64. Is moved up and down, and the eject plate 25 moves up and down while maintaining the horizontal posture by the parallel movement action of the X link 55. Reference numeral 65 in the drawing denotes three projecting pieces formed on the eject plate. At the time of ejection, the thin tape cartridge 6 is placed on the projecting piece 65, and the thick tape cartridge 6 is Groove is protruding piece 6
5 and the lower surface rests on a flat portion (tape cartridges (printing tapes) 6 having different thicknesses are prepared).

On the other hand, the automatic cut mechanism 12 includes a cutter-side input gear 71 that meshes with the first transmission gear 41 of the clutch mechanism 23, and an intermediate gear 7 that meshes with the cutter-side input gear 71.
2, an input bevel gear 73 coaxially fixed to the intermediate gear 72, an output bevel gear 74 meshing with the input bevel gear 73, and a crank pin 75 (see FIG. 2) protruding from an end face of the output bevel gear 74. ing.
The crank pin 75 is a movable blade 11b of the tape cutter 11.
Is engaged with the holder 76 fixed to the holder 76. That is, the crank pin 75 is engaged with an elongated hole (not shown) of the holder 76, and forms a crank mechanism with the elongated hole. Therefore, when the cutter-side input gear 71 rotates, its rotational power is transmitted to the intermediate gear 72, the input bevel gear 73, and the output bevel gear 74. When the output bevel gear 74 rotates, the movable blade 11b Cutting operation (rotation) around.

As described above, when the motor 31 is rotated (key operation) with the cover 8 closed, the motor 31
Power of the tape cutter 1 via the auto cut mechanism 12
1 to cause the tape cutter 11 to perform a cutting operation. When the motor 31 is rotated (key operation) with the opening / closing lid 8 being “open”, the power of the motor 31 raises the eject plate 25 via the eject mechanism 9 and moves the tape cartridge 6 to the cartridge mounting section 7. Surface. The cutting operation of the tape cutter 11 is performed by the fixed blade 11.
The movable blade 11b reciprocates from the standby position with respect to a. The floating operation of the eject plate 25 is performed when the eject plate 25 is moved by the bottom plate 24a of the mounting case 24.
It reciprocates up and down from a lower standby position. For this reason, at these stop positions (standby positions), detection is performed by the micro switches 81 and 82 to stop the motor 31 (see FIGS. 4 and 7).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the eject mechanism 9 and the auto cut mechanism 12 are operated by the single motor 31 via the clutch mechanism 23, so that the structure is simplified. While being able to
An increase in the size of the device can be suppressed. In addition, since the clutch mechanism 23 is configured by engaging and disengaging a gear and is linked to the opening / closing lid 8, appropriate switching can be performed without the user's consciousness, and the control staff is complicated. Can be suppressed. In particular, since the above-mentioned switching is not performed by the forward / reverse rotation of the motor 31, the function of responding to the abnormal operation of the tape cutter 11 and the eject plate 25 by the reverse rotation of the motor 31 is not impaired.

[0031]

As described above, according to the tape printer of the present invention, the eject mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism can be appropriately operated by a single motor with a simple structure. Further, since the switching of the power to the ejection mechanism or the tape cutting mechanism is performed in conjunction with the opening and closing of the opening and closing lid of the cartridge mounting portion, the switching can be performed easily and without the user being conscious. For this reason, it is possible to configure a device that has few failures and is easy to use.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a tape printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view around a cartridge mounting portion (eject mechanism) of the tape printer.

FIG. 3 is a side view around a cartridge mounting portion (eject mechanism) of the tape printing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view around a cartridge mounting portion (ejection mechanism) of the tape printing apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an eject plate and a mounting part case.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a base frame and link means.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view around an auto cut mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the movement of the clutch mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 tape printing apparatus 2 apparatus main body 6 tape cartridge 7 cartridge mounting section 8 opening / closing lid 9 eject mechanism 11 tape cutter 12 auto-cut mechanism 14 print head 21 base frame 22 drive section 23 clutch mechanism 25 eject plate 31 motor 33 wide gear 41 first Transmission gear 42 Second transmission gear 43 Clutch shaft 44 Clutch arm 44c Engagement piece 45 Coil spring 46 Cam piece 51 Eject-side input gear 53 Link means 71 Cutter-side input gear

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Teruhiko Unno 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano F-term in Seiko Epson Corporation (reference) 2C055 CC00 CC01 CC05 2C058 AB02 AC06 AD06 AE04 AE15 AF06 AF51 LA03 LB08 LB17 LB36 LB38 LC11 2C064 AA03 AA05 BB01

Claims (3)

[Claims] A cartridge mounting portion to which a tape cartridge is detachably mounted; an opening / closing lid for opening and closing the cartridge mounting portion; and an eject mechanism for floating the tape cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting portion from the cartridge mounting portion. A tape cutting mechanism that cuts a tape fed from a tape cartridge mounted on the cartridge mounting portion; a single motor that operates the eject mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism, respectively; A power transmission mechanism for transmitting to the ejection mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism, and a clutch mechanism interposed between the power transmission mechanism and selectively switching the rotational power of the motor between the ejection mechanism and the tape cutting mechanism, The clutch mechanism opens the opening / closing lid. In conjunction with the switching of the rotational power of the motor in the open state of the lid to the eject mechanism, the tape printing apparatus characterized by switching the rotational power of the motor to the tape cutting mechanism in the closed state. 2. The clutch mechanism according to claim 1, wherein an input side is meshed with a power transmission gear on the motor side, and an output side is selectively connected to an ejection side input gear on the ejection mechanism side and a cutter side input gear on the tape cutting mechanism side. A switching gear that meshes with the switching gear; a gear shaft that rotatably and slidably supports the switching gear in the axial direction; and an eject that engages the switching gear with the ejection-side input gear in conjunction with opening and closing of the open / close lid. The tape according to claim 1, further comprising a switching arm that slides on the gear shaft in an axial direction between a transmission position and a cutting transmission position that meshes with the cutter-side input gear. Printing device. 3. The opening / closing lid has an interlocking piece that engages with an interlocking portion of the switching arm. The switching arm is configured to be able to advance and retreat, and is urged toward the opening / closing lid by a spring. A cam mechanism for moving the switching gear together with the spring between the eject transmission position and the cutting transmission position is provided between the interlocking portion of the switching arm and the interlocking piece. Item 3. A tape printer according to Item 2.