JP2000229751A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a miniaturized printer capable of reducing time and labor for mounting a roll paper. SOLUTION: This printer 1 consists of a roll paper storage part 10 storing a roll paper R, a cutter means 20 cutting a recording paper S pulled out of the roll paper R into two pieces of recording papers in the direction of length, a printing means 40 printing on the two pieces of recording papers, respectively, and a winding means 50 for winding the recording paper S2. The printing means 40 prints on the two pieces of recording papers by size of characters corresponding to respective widths based on cutting position information by a printing control means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer that prints as a receipt and prints as a journal using, for example, roll paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, for example, in a store or the like, a receipt on which items such as sales items and sales amounts are printed is issued for delivery to a customer. It is practiced to keep a journal on which items including contents are printed. Conventionally, a printer is known which uses two rolls of paper for receipt and for journal, respectively, and prints them as receipts and prints them as journals.

In such a conventional printer, the receipt roll paper and the journal roll paper can be stored separately, and each recording paper pulled out from the receipt roll paper and the journal roll paper, respectively. , Respectively.

[0004]

However, since the above-mentioned receipt needs to print characters in a size that is easy for the customer to see, the width of the receipt roll paper must be wide to some extent. . On the other hand, since the above-mentioned journal is for storage in a store or the like, the width of the roll paper for the journal may be smaller than the width of the roll paper for the receipt.

However, since it takes time to manage different kinds of roll paper having different widths, conventionally, a roll paper for a journal has the same width as a roll paper for a receipt, although the width may be small. Was used.

On the other hand, there are several types of standards for the width of the roll paper. Conventionally, the width of a portion for storing the roll paper (hereinafter referred to as a “storage portion”) is adjusted to a specific standard width among the standards. Therefore, if roll paper having a width smaller than the specific standard width is used, a useless space is generated in the roll paper storage portion.

Therefore, in the conventional printer, there is a problem that the size of the roll paper accommodating portion is larger than the originally required size, and the size of the printer is accordingly increased.

Further, in the conventional printer, the roll paper for the receipt and the roll paper for the journal must be separately loaded into the printer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the problems of the related art, and provides a printer which is reduced in size and a printer which can reduce the trouble of loading roll paper. It is intended to provide.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus for printing on a recording paper drawn from a roll paper, and the recording paper is provided along the paper feeding direction. Cutter means having a cutter unit for cutting by cutting, the cutter unit is configured to be movable in the width direction of the roll paper,
And a printing control unit for controlling the printing unit so as to print on each printing area of the recording paper cut by the cutter unit based on the position information of the cutter unit of the cutter unit.

In the case of the first aspect of the present invention, a portion for accommodating one roll paper having a predetermined width in the printer (hereinafter referred to as an "accommodating portion").
That. ), The cutter means is moved in the width direction of the roll paper, and is stopped at a position where the cutter section cuts the recording paper pulled out from the roll paper.

On the basis of the position information of the cutter section of the cutter means, the printing means is controlled so as to print in each printing area divided from the cutting position in the width direction of the recording paper.

On the other hand, the cutter means cuts the recording paper drawn from the roll paper from the cutting position in the paper feeding direction.

That is, in the first aspect of the present invention,
For example, when the cutter unit of the cutter unit is one, two sheets of recording paper cut at the cutting position are created by the cutter unit for one roll paper, and each recording sheet is printed by the printing unit. It is printed in the paper print area.

When one of the two recording sheets is used as a receipt for customer delivery and the other is used as a journal for store preservation, one sheet of paper is used so that the width of the receipt is widened and the width of the journal is narrowed. The width of each recording sheet divided from the roll sheet can be changed to satisfy its use. As a result, a useless portion of the roll paper can be omitted, and the roll paper can be reduced to a necessary minimum width and used in the printer of the present invention.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the width of the roll paper accommodating portion in accordance with the minimum required width of the roll paper, thereby reducing the size of the printer. Becomes possible.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a receipt can be issued and a journal can be stored, for example, by using only one roll of paper. Therefore, it is not necessary to prepare roll papers for each of them, and as a result, labor for loading the roll papers can be reduced.

Further, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer which can respond to a request such as changing the width of a receipt or a journal according to various uses irrespective of the standard width of roll paper. Obtainable.

Further, as in the second aspect of the present invention, it is effective that the first aspect of the present invention further comprises a winding means for winding the recording paper cut by the cutter means.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the recording paper cut by the cutter means can be rolled by winding the recording paper, for example, as a journal by the winding means. Can be done.

In particular, if the width of the journal is reduced, there is an advantage that the journal is not bulky when stored.

Further, it is effective that the cutter means is provided between the portion for accommodating the roll paper and the printing means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the recording paper pulled out from the roll paper is stretched between the printing means and the cutter section of the cutter means is brought into contact with the recording paper in such a state. Accordingly, the recording paper can be automatically cut as the recording paper is fed, and the recording paper can be surely cut with a sharp cut.

In particular, in the case of the second aspect of the invention, there is an advantage that the cut-side end face of the wound journal becomes uniform.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the printer. FIG. 3 is a left side view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the cutter means of the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, the printer 1 of this embodiment stores two types of recording paper S, which accommodates the roll paper R, and the recording paper S pulled out from the roll paper R. Cutter means 20 for cutting into paper S1, S2
And printing means 40 for printing on the recording paper S1, S2, and winding means 50 for winding the recording paper S2.

Here, the roll paper R is a roll of recording paper S having a predetermined width W wound around a cylindrical winding core R1. In the printer 1, the roll paper R
The recording paper S pulled out of the printer is fed along the paper feed direction A.

As shown in FIG. 1, as shown in FIG.
(Only a part is shown) is disposed on the rear side of the printer 1 (the right side in FIG. 1). Then, the roll paper storage unit 10
Is configured to hold the roll paper R that rotates about the winding core R1 as the recording paper S is fed in the paper feed direction A.

Paper feed direction A near the roll paper storage unit 10
A paper guide member 12 is provided on the downstream side. Upstream side of the paper guide member 12 in the paper feeding direction A (right side in FIG. 1)
Is formed with a paper guide portion 12a having a convex curved shape. On the other hand, a paper guide portion 12b having a concave curved surface shape is formed on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the paper guide member 12 in the paper feed direction A.

The cutter means 20 is disposed on the downstream side in the paper feeding direction A near the paper guide portion 12a of the paper guide member 12 and above the paper guide member 12 (upper side in FIG. 1).

Here, as shown in FIG.
Has a body frame 2 (only a part is shown) made of, for example, metal, and a part of the body frame 2
Are arranged in parallel on both sides (left and right sides in FIG. 3).

The cutter means 20 includes, for example, a carriage 22 having a metal cutter blade (cutter portion) 21, a carriage shaft 23 for movably supporting the carriage 22, and a carriage 22 along the carriage shaft 23 as shown in FIG. Cutter driving unit 2 for reciprocating in the direction of arrow C or D shown
And 5.

The carriage shaft 23 is provided between the main body frames 2 in a direction orthogonal to the main body frame 2 and is arranged in a direction orthogonal to the paper feed direction A.

The carriage 22 is made of, for example, resin or the like, and has two arms 22a formed on both sides thereof so as to extend therefrom. A support shaft 22b is provided between the arms 22a.

The cutter blade 21 is formed in a disk shape, and a sharp edge is formed at a peripheral portion thereof.

As shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 3, the carriage 22 is slidably supported while penetrating the carriage shaft 22, and the support shaft 22b of the carriage 22 is
It is arranged parallel to the carriage shaft 23. The cutter blade 21 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 22 a of the carriage 22, and the blade portion of the cutter blade 21 is disposed at a position close to the paper guide portion 12 a of the paper guide member 12.

On the other hand, the cutter driving section 25 of the cutter means 20
Comprises a drive pulley 27, a driven pulley 26, an endless drive belt 28, and a drive motor 29 using, for example, a stepping motor.

The drive pulley 27 is rotatably provided above a position close to one end of the carriage shaft 23 (the right side in FIG. 3). The driven pulley 26 is rotatably provided above a position close to the other end (the left side in FIG. 3) of the carriage shaft 23. The driving pulley 27 has an internal gear portion 27 having the same diameter as the driven pulley 26.
a and an external gear portion 27b having a larger diameter are formed in a two-stage gear shape.

The drive belt 28 is hung on the internal gear 27 a of the drive pulley 27 and the driven pulley 26. In addition, a part of the drive belt 28 includes the carriage 2 described above.
2 is fixed.

The drive motor 29 is provided in the vicinity of the drive pulley 27, and the drive shaft of the drive motor 29 has a drive gear 29.
a is fixed. The drive motor 29 is arranged such that the drive gear 29 a meshes with the external gear 27 b of the drive pulley 27.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing means 40 includes a paper feed direction A near the paper guide portion 12b of the paper guide member 12.
It is arranged on the downstream side of. The printing means 40 includes, for example, a thermal head 41 for printing by a thermal method.
And a rotatable platen roller 42. The platen roller 42 is disposed above the paper guide portion 12 b of the paper guide member 12 and at a position close to the cutter member 20. On the other hand, the thermal head 41
It is arranged facing the platen roller 42 in a state where it is pressed.

The paper feed direction A near the printing means 40
A paper discharge port 14 is provided downstream of the paper discharge port 14.
, A cutter member (not shown) is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the winding means 50 is disposed above the roll paper storage unit 10 (upper right side in FIG. 2). The winding means 50 includes a winding shaft 51 and a flange 52, and the flange 52 is provided at one end portion (a front side portion in FIG. 2) of the winding shaft 51.

The take-up means 50 feeds the recording paper S2 in the paper feed direction A2 while winding one end of the recording paper S along the flange 52 by winding the recording paper S by the take-up shaft 51. Is configured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printing control means 60
The drive motor 29 of the cutter means 20 and the printing means 4
0 thermal head 41.

The print control means 60 includes a CPU, a RAM,
The ROM stores cutting position information corresponding to several widths of the recording paper S1 and S2 to be cut with respect to the width W of the roll paper R.

The printing control means 60 sends a command to the drive motor 29 based on the predetermined cutting position information to move the cutter means 20 to a position where the recording paper S is cut (hereinafter referred to as a "cutting position"). It is configured as follows.

The print control means 60 determines the printable width (printing area) of each of the recording papers S1 and S2 based on the cutting position information, and also determines the size of the characters so as to fit within the printable width. Has a function.

The print control means 60 is configured to send a command to the thermal head 41 to perform printing in the printable width of each of the recording sheets S1 and S2.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are explanatory views showing a state in which the recording paper cut by the cutter means of the present embodiment is printed by the printing means.

Hereinafter, the flow of processing by the print control means 60 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, and the operation of the printer 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. I do.

As shown in FIG. 1, before printing, the recording paper S is sandwiched between the thermal head 41 and the platen roller 42, and the paper guide portion 12a of the paper guide member 12 is formed by the weight of the roll paper R. And a platen roller 42.

At the time of printing, the user operates a control panel (not shown) to input information on a desired cutting position. The print control unit 60 sends a command to the drive motor 29 to rotate by a predetermined number of pulses based on the input cutting position information. Here, the predetermined number of pulses corresponds to the amount of movement of the cutter blade 21 of the carriage 22 to the cutting position.

According to a command from the print control means 60, the drive gear 29a of the drive motor 29 rotates by a predetermined amount.
As a result, the carriage 22 moves along the carriage shaft 23 and stops at the cutting position.

When the platen roller 42 is rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 1, the recording paper S is sent in the paper feeding direction A, whereby the stretched recording paper S is brought into contact with the cutter blade 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording paper S
It is automatically cut into recording paper S1 and recording paper S2.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG.
Is 100 mm, and the width W1 of the recording sheet S1 is 5 mm.
When the width W2 of the recording paper S2 is 8 mm and the width W2 of the recording paper S2 is 42 mm, the cutting position C of the cutter blade 21 is located 58 mm from the edge of the recording paper S on the recording paper S1 side (hereinafter, shown in FIG. 6). This will be explained with an example).

On the other hand, the print control means 60 determines the width W of each recording sheet S1 based on the cutting position information (information on the cutting position C).
1. Printable width PW slightly smaller than width W2 of recording paper S2
1. PW2 is determined. Also, the printing control means 6
0 is, for example, the printable width PW1 in which information to be printed on one line can be printed,
The size of each character is determined so as to fit in PW2.

Then, in accordance with a command from the print control means 60 based on these information, the thermal head 41
While performing predetermined printing, the platen roller 42 is rotated in the clockwise direction shown in FIG.

In the case of this embodiment, printing is performed in large characters within the printable width PW1 of the recording paper S1, while the recording paper S1 is printed.
For example, the same content as the recording paper S1 is printed with small characters in the printable width PW2.

The recording paper S1 of the printed S1 and S2 is discharged from the paper discharge port 14 in the discharge direction A1. The recording paper S1 is cut into a predetermined width in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 14, and is issued, for example, as a receipt for customer delivery.

On the other hand, for the recording paper S2, the winding means 5
By rotating the 0 take-up shaft 51, it is wound in a roll shape while being fed in the paper feed direction A2. This recording paper S2
Is stored, for example, as a journal for store reservation.

In the printer 1 of the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a recording paper S2 having a width W2 of 100 mm is used, and the width W1 of the recording paper S1 and the width W2 of the recording paper S2 are both 50 mm. , The recording papers S1 and S2 are
For example, characters having the same size and the same contents are printed on the printable widths PW1 and PW2 having the same length.

After the recording papers S1 and S2 are both discharged from the paper discharge port 14 in the discharge direction A1, the paper discharge port 1
4 to cut one recording paper S1
To the customer in the cafeteria, for example, and the other recording paper S2
Can be delivered, for example, to the kitchen of the dining room.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
By using only one roll paper R, for example, a receipt can be issued and a journal can be stored.
0 can be made smaller in accordance with the outer shape of the roll paper R, and accordingly, the size of the printer 1 can be reduced. Also, as in the prior art,
There is no need to prepare a roll paper for receipt and a roll paper for journal, respectively. As a result, it is possible to reduce the trouble of loading the roll paper R into the roll paper storage unit 10.

According to the present embodiment, the width W1 of the recording paper S1 and the width W2 of the recording paper S2 can be changed by moving the carriage 22 of the cutter means 20 in the width direction of the roll paper R. it can. Therefore, regardless of the width W of the roll paper R, it is possible to respond to a request for changing the width of a receipt or a journal, for example, according to various uses. It is also possible to move the cutter blade 21 of the cutter means 20 to a position deviated from the recording paper S and print the recording paper S as one sheet on the recording paper S without cutting the recording paper S.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the recording paper S
2 can be wound into a roll by the winding means 50, so that the journal can be easily stored. In particular, if the width W2 of the recording paper S2 is reduced, there is an advantage that the journal is not bulky when stored.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the cutter means 20 is disposed between the platen roller 42 and the roll paper storage unit 10, the recording paper S is automatically sent with the feeding of the recording paper S. The recording paper S can be cut, and the recording paper S can be surely cut with a sharp cut. In particular, in the recording paper S2 wound by the winding means 50, the end face on the cutter blade 21 side becomes uniform, and the other end face also has the flange 52 of the winding means 50.
This has the advantage of being uniform.

FIG. 4 is a left side view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the cutter means in the printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, portions corresponding to those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the printer 1A of the present embodiment, the configuration of the cutter means 20A is different from that of the above embodiment. That is, in the case of the present embodiment, the cutter means 20A includes a carriage 22A having the same cutter blade 21 as the above-described embodiment and a carriage shaft 2A.
3 and a locking member 31 for positioning the carriage 22A.

The carriage 22A is different from the above-described carriage 22 in that an engaging portion 22d for engaging with the locking member 31 is formed in an upper portion (an upper portion in FIG. 4). The engaging portion 22d is formed in a substantially U shape, and a substantially V-shaped engaging claw portion 22e is formed at one end thereof.

The locking member 31 is formed of a long member, and has a saw blade-shaped engaging groove 3 at one edge in the longitudinal direction.
1a is formed. The locking member 31 is provided between the main body frames 2 in parallel with the carriage shaft 23, and the engaging groove 31a is disposed so as to be opposed to the engaging claw 22e of the engaging portion 22d so as to be engageable. .

The carriage 22A is moved in the longitudinal direction of the carriage shaft 23 (arrow C shown in FIG. 4) by engaging the engagement claw 22e with the engagement groove 31a of the locking member 31.
Or in the direction D), it is positioned at every pitch of the engagement groove portion 31a.

The print control means 60A of the present embodiment
Is connected to a detector 33 using, for example, a potentiometer for detecting the position of the cutter means 20A, and the thermal head 41 of the printing means 40 described above.

The print control means 60A determines the printable width of each of the recording papers S1 and S2 based on the cutting position information of the cutter means 20 obtained by the detector 33, as well as the above-described embodiment. The size of the character is determined so as to be within the possible width, and a command is sent to the thermal head 41 so that printing is performed within the printable width of each of the recording sheets S1 and S2.

In this embodiment having such a configuration, for example, the user of the printer 1A manually moves the cutter means 20A along the carriage shaft 23 and stops at the desired cutting position.

In this case, the engagement claw 2 of the carriage 22A
2e engages with the engagement groove 31a while being pressed against the engagement groove 31a of the locking member 31 by the elasticity of the engagement portion 22d. Thus, the carriage 22A is positioned and fixed at a predetermined position in the direction of the arrow C or D, that is, in the width direction of the roll paper R.

Then, the cutting position of the carriage 22A is detected by the detector 33 and sent to the printing control means 60A as cutting position information. Based on this, printing similar to the above is performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
While having a simple configuration, the cutter means 20A can be reliably positioned and fixed, and the cutter means 2 can be fixed.
The cutting position of 0A can be detected. In particular, as compared with the above-described embodiment, there is an advantage that the print control means 60A has a simpler configuration, and it is economically advantageous because the number of components can be reduced.

The other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, portions corresponding to those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the printer 1B of the present embodiment, the carriage 22 of the cutter 20B is used.
B is different from the above embodiment. That is, the carriage 22B has an elongated carriage lever 22f fixed to the carriage 22B, and is configured to be rotatable in the arrow E or F direction shown in FIG. The points are different. Carriage lever 2
2 f is arranged such that one end portion (upper portion in FIG. 5) protrudes from the main body frame 2.

In this embodiment having such a configuration, for example, when the user of the printer 1B rotates the carriage lever 22f in the direction of arrow F, the carriage 2
2B is disposed at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 5, and the cutter blade 21 is separated from the recording paper S. In addition, the above-mentioned user,
When the carriage lever 22f is rotated in the direction of the arrow E, the carriage 22B is arranged at a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5, and is arranged at a position where the cutter blade 21 can cut the recording paper S.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
After disposing the cutter blade 21 at a position away from the recording paper S,
For example, the recording paper S is loaded into the printer 1B,
When the cutter means 20B is moved along the carriage shaft 23, the cutter blade 21 is released from the recording paper S,
Loading of the recording paper S and movement of the cutter means 20B can be easily performed. Therefore, the printer 1B with higher operability can be obtained.

The other configuration and operation and effect are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made.

For example, in the above embodiment, the cutter means (20, 20A, 20B) has one cutter blade 21, but two or more cutter blades 21 can be arranged side by side. It is.

Further, the shape of the blade portion of the cutter blade 21 may be a saw blade shape. According to this, a perforated cut can be made in the recording paper S, so that, for example, the recording paper S1 and the recording paper S2 can be partially cut as needed.

Further, the cutter means (20, 20A, 20
B) may be disposed downstream of the printing means 40 in the paper feeding direction A. However, as in the above embodiment,
The cutter means (20, 20A, 20B)
It is advantageous that the recording paper S can be reliably cut if it is disposed between the recording paper S and the roll paper storage unit 10.

Further, the printing means 40 is not limited to the heat-sensitive type, but may be a dot impact type or an ink jet type.

[0093]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a printer which can be reduced in size, and which can reduce the trouble of loading roll paper.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a left side view showing a schematic configuration of a main part of the cutter means of the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a left side view illustrating a schematic configuration of a main part of a cutter unit in a printer according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which recording paper cut by the cutter means is printed by a printing means.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the recording paper cut by the cutter means is printed by the printing means.

[Description of Signs] 20, 20A, 20B Cutter means 21 Cutter blade (cutter portion) 40 Printing means 50 Winding means 60, 60A Print control means PW1, PW2 Printable width (print area) R Roll paper S, S2, S3 Recording paper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printing device for printing on a recording sheet drawn from a roll sheet, and a cutter section for cutting the recording sheet along a sheet feeding direction, wherein the cutter section extends in a width direction of the roll sheet. Cutter means configured to be movable, and print control means for controlling the printing means to perform printing on each print area of the recording paper cut by the cutter means based on position information of the cutter part of the cutter means. And a printer comprising: 2. A printer according to claim 1, further comprising winding means for winding the recording paper cut by said cutter means. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein said cutter means is disposed between a portion accommodating said roll paper and said printing means.