JP2001213551A - Paper roll loading mechanism and paper roll printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper roll printer to be manipulated from the front face, in which the operations can be performed easily and simply without widening the opening provided for loading the paper roll. SOLUTION: A front opening 5 for loading a roll paper is formed in the front face 3 of a paper roll printer 1 and is closed by a roll paper cover 6. A paper roll loading part 8 provided therein is two divided into a front portion 81 and a rear portion 82, wherein the front portion 81 is rotatable forward round the tail of the bottom wall part and is leaning to the rear surface of the roll paper cover 6 by its own weight. When the cover 6 is opened forward, the front portion 81 of the loading part 8 opens also foward. This widens the substantial opening of the loading part 8, and it is possible to perform the loading operation of a roll 9 of recording paper easily and simply. It is not required to widen the front opening 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a roll paper printer for printing on roll paper fed from a roll of recording paper loaded in a roll paper loading section by an ink jet printer or the like, and more particularly to a roll paper loading section. The present invention relates to a roll paper loading mechanism that can easily perform a loading or replacing operation of a recording paper roll body with respect to a recording paper roll.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a roll paper loading mechanism of a roll paper printer, a front opening (a front surface) of a roll paper printer is formed with a front opening of a roll paper loading section. There has been known a type in which a recording paper roll is replenished or replaced from the front (front side).

The roll paper loading section is generally shaped so that the recording paper roll body can be dropped from the upper side, and is composed of front and rear wall portions and a bottom wall portion bridged between left and right side walls of the printer body case. Have been. Therefore,
When loading a roll of recording paper into the roll paper loading section,
It is necessary to drop the recording paper roll into the roll paper loading section by moving over the front wall of the roll paper loading section from the front opening exposed by opening the roll paper cover.

In a roll paper printer having a roll paper loading mechanism of this type, an operation section, a display section, and a roll paper discharge section after printing are generally arranged on the front side thereof. Is configured to be able to be operated.

[0005]

In such a front-operation type roll paper printer, as described above, the operation section, the display section, and the like are arranged on the front side, so that the front opening of the roll paper loading section is opened. It may not be possible to take it widely. In particular, in a roll paper printer that requires miniaturization, the front opening of the roll paper loading unit tends to be narrow.

If the front opening of the roll paper loading unit is narrow, such work must be performed through the narrow front opening in the loading and replacement of the recording paper roll.
There is a problem that operability is extremely poor.

In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to propose a roll paper loading mechanism capable of loading a recording paper roll body into a roll paper loading section with good operability without widening the front opening of the roll paper loading section. Is to do.

Another object of the present invention is to propose a roll paper printer provided with a roll paper loading section having such a new configuration.

[0009]

In order to solve the above problems, a roll paper loading mechanism according to the present invention has a roll paper loading section, a front opening of the roll paper loading section, and a front opening that can be opened and closed. A roll paper cover that is closed in a state, and the roll paper loading unit includes a front wall portion facing the roll paper cover, and at least the front wall portion is forwardly centered on its lower end portion. The roll paper cover is rotatably supported, and the roll paper cover is rotatably supported from a closed position that stands upright about its lower end to an open position that has fallen forward, and is interlocked with the roll paper cover. Then, the front wall portion of the roll paper holder rotates forward.

In the roll paper loading mechanism of the present invention, when the roll paper cover is tilted forward to open the front opening of the roll paper loading section, the front wall portion of the roll paper loading section also falls forward in conjunction with this. . Therefore, the substantial front opening area of the roll paper loading section blocked by the front wall can be increased, and the recording paper roll body can be easily mounted on the roll paper loading section with good operability.

Here, in order to simply construct a mechanism for interlocking the roll paper cover and the front wall portion with the roll paper cover, the front wall portion may be supported so as to be rotatable forward by its own weight. . If the front wall portion is always held on the roll paper cover, when the roll paper cover is folded down, the front wall portion also falls down.

Generally, the roll paper loading section has left and right side wall portions, the front wall portion, and the rear wall portion.
Therefore, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the rear lower end portion of the front wall portion is rotatably supported.

[0013] On the other hand, the present invention relates to a roll paper printer characterized in that the roll paper loading mechanism having the above configuration is mounted. According to the roll paper printer of the present invention, the recording paper roll can be easily loaded without widening the front opening of the roll paper loading section. Therefore, a small roll paper printer can be realized.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example of an ink jet type roll paper printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of the roll paper printer of this embodiment, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are side structural views showing a main part of a roll paper loading mechanism in the roll paper printer. The roll paper printer 1 of this embodiment is of a front-operation type, in which an operation unit, a discharge opening for roll paper cut after printing, and a front opening for loading or replacing roll paper are arranged on the front.

(Overall Configuration) First, referring to FIG. 1, this front-operation type roll paper printer 1 has a main body case 2 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and each part is built in. The operation unit 4 is arranged on the right side. The lower half of the left side of the front surface 3 is a roll paper cover 6 that covers the front opening 5 for loading roll paper in an openable and closable manner. A portion 5A is formed, from which the discharge table 7 projects substantially horizontally forward.

Referring to FIG. 2, the internal structure will be described. The roll paper cover 6 is rotatable to the front of the printer about its lower end 6a, and the position shown in the drawing is the front opening 5 for loading the roll of recording paper. The closed position is a closed position, and a position that is tilted forward as described later is an open position (see FIG. 4). Behind the roll paper cover 6, a roll paper loading unit 8 is provided.
Is formed, and the roll paper 10 fed from the recording paper roll body 9 mounted thereon is guided by the guide roller 1.
1, passes horizontally through the print position 12 formed immediately above the roll paper loading unit 8, passes through the position where the roll paper cutter 13 is disposed, and then passes through the discharge table 7.
Is discharged over

The printing position 12 corresponds to a platen roller pair 14
a, 14b and a platen member 16 disposed between the transport roller pairs 15a, 15b. The nozzle face 17a of the ink jet head 17 is arranged facing downward with a certain gap facing the flat surface of the platen member 16.

Next, a roll paper loading mechanism mounted on the roll paper printer 1 of this embodiment will be described. First, a pair of parallel support shafts 21 and 22 extending horizontally in the printer width direction are bridged over the platen member 16 at the same height position. Upper ends of a pair of links 23 and 24 extending vertically are connected to both ends of the support shafts 21 and 22 so as to be rotatable in the front-rear direction (only one link is shown in the figure). .

The lower ends of the pair of links 23 and 24 are respectively connected to a pair of front and rear parallel support shafts 25 and 26 horizontally mounted in the printer width direction at the same height position on the bottom side of the main body case 2. On the other hand, they are connected rotatably in the front-rear direction.

Therefore, the platen member 16 and the spindle 2
A four-node parallel link mechanism is configured by 1, 22, 25, 26 and a pair of links 23, 24. When the platen member 16 is pulled toward the user, the platen member 16 moves forward and backward while maintaining a horizontal state. It can be moved downward. The fixed blade 13b of the cutter 13 is attached to the platen member 16 at a position on the front end side of the printer. The support shafts 21 and 22 are rotatably mounted with one roller 15b of the pair of transport rollers and one roller 14b of the pair of platen rollers, respectively. Further, a guide roller 11 is rotatably attached to a rear end portion of the platen member 16 of the printer. These members move together with the platen member 16.

Here, as shown in FIG. 2B, the discharge table 7 includes a table body 71 and the table body 7.
1 and a hook 73 for locking the roll paper cover. The table support member 72 includes a horizontally extending table main body support portion 72a, a fixed blade cover plate portion 72b that is bent downward from here toward the printer rear side and extends from the front of the cutter fixed blade 13b to immediately below the fixed blade cover plate portion 72b. A connecting plate portion 72c extending continuously in a slightly upward direction toward the rear of the printer, and a hook 73 is attached to a rear end of the connecting plate portion 72c. At the middle position of the connecting plate portion 72c, a bracket 72d extends upward from both ends in the width direction of the printer, and the bracket 72d is positioned at both ends of the support shaft 22 supported by the platen member 16. , And supported in a vertically rotatable state.

The paper discharge table 7 of this configuration has a coil spring 7 with one end attached to the roll paper cover 6 at a position forward of the support shaft 22 which is the center of rotation of the paper discharge table.
4 is always pulled downward. The hook 73 formed at the front end of the sheet discharge table 7 is hooked from below by the spring force of the coil spring 74 with respect to the surface of the hook engaging plate 2a formed on the main body case 2 on the rear side of the printer. I have. Paper discharge table 7 against spring force
When the table body 71 is pushed upward as shown by the imaginary line in the figure, the hook 73 can be removed from the hook engaging plate 2a.

Next, the roll paper cover 6 has a connecting bracket 61 extending rearward from the rear surface of the printer, and a slide pin 62 is provided at the rear end of the bracket 61 in the printer width direction. Mounted horizontally.
The slide pin 62 is slidably fitted in a vertically elongated pin guide groove 23 a extending in the vertical direction at a middle position in the vertical direction of the front link 23.

As described above, in this embodiment, the platen member 16
Is connected to the paper discharge table 7 so as to be rotatable up and down around a support shaft 22. Also, the roll paper cover 6
Is also connected via a slide pin 62 to a link 21 that rotates back and forth with the platen member 16.

Further, in the sheet discharge table 7 of this embodiment, the bracket 72d has an engaging projection 72e formed thereon, and the front link 23 has an engaged projection 23b formed thereon. When the link 23 is tilted forward by a predetermined amount, the engaging projection 72e of the sheet discharge table 7 hits the engaged projection 23b of the link 23. Thereafter, when the link 23 is further pushed down, the engaged projection 23b Engaging projection 72e
The positions of these projections are defined so that the projections are pushed upward relatively. When the engagement protrusion 72e is pushed up, the front portion of the paper discharge table 7 on which the protrusion 72e is formed rotates around the support shaft 22 upward.

Next, the structure of the roll paper loading section 8 of this embodiment will be described. The roll paper loading section 8 has a shape that allows the recording paper roll body 9 to be dropped from the upper side.
And a rear portion 82.

The front portion 81 includes a trapezoidal left and right side wall portion 83, a front wall portion 84, and a bottom wall portion 85.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a vertical portion 84a whose upper end portion is in contact with the surface of the roll paper cover 6;
From the lower end of “a”, an inclined portion 84 b inclined backward toward the bottom wall portion 85 is continuous.

Similarly, the rear portion 82 includes left and right trapezoidal side wall portions 86, a rear wall portion 87, and a bottom wall portion 88. The rear wall portion 87 has a vertical portion 87a at its upper end portion. From the lower end of the vertical portion 87a, an inclined portion 87b inclined forward toward the bottom wall portion 88 is continuous.

Here, the rear portion 82 is set to have a size larger than that of the front portion 81 so that more than half of the circular cross section of the recording paper roll 9 can be accommodated. A support shaft 89 is attached to the front end of the bottom wall portion 88 of the rear portion 82 in the width direction. The rear end of the bottom wall portion 85 of the front portion 81 is supported by the support shaft 89 so as to be rotatable forward, but the other portions are free from the main body case and the like. Therefore, the front portion 81 always leans against the surface of the roll paper cover 6 due to its own weight.

(Opening / closing operation of the roll paper cover) First, when the roll paper cover 6 is in its closed position, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), the hook 73 of the discharge table 7 is moved by the spring force of the coil spring 74 so that
Is hooked on the hook engaging plate 2a formed in the first position.
In other words, the roll paper cover 6 is in a locked state, and in this example, the coil spring 74, the hook 73, and the hook engaging plate 2a constitute a lock mechanism of the roll paper cover 6.

In order to release the locked state and open the roll paper cover 6, as shown in FIG. 2B, the table body 71 of the paper discharge table 7 may be pushed upward with a finger or the like. When the front end portion of the discharge table 7 is pushed up against the spring force of the coil spring 74, the discharge table 7
Is rotated about the support shaft 22, the hook 73 is lowered, disengaged from the engagement plate 2a, and the lock is released.
As described above, in this example, the mechanism for unlocking is simplified, which is advantageous for the roll paper exchange mechanism and, consequently, the size and compactness of the roll paper printer.

After the lock is released, if the user pulls the front end portion of the discharge table 7 toward the front of the printer, the platen member 16 protrudes forward with the horizontal posture by the action of the four-link parallel link mechanism. Since the roll paper cover 6 is connected to the front link 23 which falls forward of the printer by this operation, the roll paper cover 6 falls forward around the lower end 6a in conjunction with the link 23. Thus, the roll paper cover 6 can be opened by pulling the paper discharge table 7 toward the front of the printer.

When the roll paper cover 6 falls forward, the front portion 81 of the roll paper loading unit 8 leaning on the back surface falls forward about the support shaft 89 and rotates together with the roll paper cover 6. .

Here, when the roll paper cover 6 is opened to a certain extent, the engagement protrusion 72e formed on the paper discharge table 7 is opened.
Are engaged projections 23 formed on the front link 23.
hit b. FIG. 3 shows this state. After this state is formed, when the roll paper cover 6 is further opened,
The discharge table 7 protrudes forward while being pushed upward by the engaged projection 23b. As a result, the discharge table 7
Is gradually rotated around the support shaft 22 so that the front end thereof faces upward.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the roll paper cover 6 is completely opened. In this state, the front opening 5 is fully opened and the table main body 71 of the sheet discharge table 7 is opened.
Is inclined upward. In addition, the front portion 81 of the roll paper loading unit 8 is in a state of falling forward. In this state, the recording paper roll 9 is loaded or replaced.

In this embodiment, the guide roller 11, the platen roller 14b, the transport roller 15b,
Since the cutter fixing blades 13b are attached and separated from the corresponding members attached to the main body case 2, the work of drawing the roll paper between these members can be performed extremely easily.

Further, since the front portion 81 of the roll paper loading unit 8 is also opened, when the recording paper roll body 9 is loaded into the roll paper loading unit 8, the front wall portion 84 of the roll paper loading unit 8 is moved in the conventional manner. There is no need to drop over the recording paper roll 9 into the roll paper loading unit 8 from above, and the recording paper roll 9 can be loaded almost horizontally from the front of the printer. As described above, in this example, when the recording paper roll body is loaded, the substantial opening of the roll paper loading section 8 can be widened, so that the loading operation can be easily performed with good operability. In other words, even if the front opening 5 is not widened, the substantial opening of the roll paper loading unit 8 with the roll paper cover 6 opened can be widened, thereby impairing the operability of the loading operation of the recording paper roll. Without this, the front opening 5 can be reduced, which is extremely advantageous for making the printer smaller and more compact.

Further, in this embodiment, when the roll paper cover 6 is opened, the cutter fixed blade cover plate portion 72b of the paper discharge table 7 is moved upward, and the finger is moved from the front with respect to the roll paper loading section 9. The cutter fixed blade 13b is covered with the cutter fixed blade cover plate portion 72b so that the fixed cutter blade 13b does not touch the fixed cutter blade 13b. Therefore, the roll paper exchange operation and the like can be performed safely.

Furthermore, in the operation of closing the roll paper cover 6 after the recording paper roll body 9 is loaded, the discharge table 7 at the front end thereof is directed obliquely upward, so that there is sufficient space below the leading end. There is a large gap. Therefore, the operation of lifting the sheet discharge table 7 by inserting a finger or the like into the gap, that is, the operation of closing the roll paper cover 6 can be performed with good operability. When the roll paper cover 6 is completely closed, the hook 73 is hooked on the hook engaging plate 2a on the main body case side, and the roll paper cover 6 is locked at the closed position.

[0041]

As described above, in the roll paper printer of the present invention and the roll paper loading mechanism mounted thereon, the front wall portion of the roll paper loading section is opened in conjunction with the roll paper cover. ing. Therefore, the substantial opening of the roll paper loading section when loading the recording paper roll body can be widened. In addition, there is no need to perform a loading operation in which the recording paper roll body is dropped from the upper side over the front wall portion of the roll paper loading section.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the loading operation of the recording paper roll can be easily performed with good operability. Further, since the front opening can be reduced without impairing the operability of the loading operation of the recording paper roll, it is extremely advantageous for downsizing and downsizing of the printer.

Further, in the present invention, the front wall portion of the roll paper loading section is tilted forward by its own weight, so that the mechanism for opening the front wall portion in conjunction with the roll paper cover is extremely simple and compact. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the front of a roll paper printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a main part of an internal structure of the roll paper printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a roll paper cover in the roll paper printer of FIG. 1 is partially opened;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a roll paper cover in the roll paper printer of FIG. 1 is completely opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 roll paper printer 2 main body case 3 printer front 4 operation unit 5 front opening of roll paper loading unit 6 roll paper cover 7 paper discharge table 8 roll paper loading unit 81 front part of roll paper loading unit 82 rear of roll paper loading unit Part 83 Side wall part 84 Front wall part 85 Bottom wall part 89 Support shaft

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A roll paper loading section, a front opening of the roll paper loading section, and a roll paper cover closing the front opening so as to be openable and closable, wherein the roll paper loading section includes A front wall portion facing the paper cover is provided, at least the front wall portion is supported so as to be rotatable forward around its lower end, and the roll paper cover is centered on its lower end. A roll rotatably supported from an upright closed position to an open position in which it falls down forward, wherein the front wall portion of the roll paper holder rotates forward in conjunction with the roll paper cover; Paper loading mechanism. 2. The roll paper loading mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the front wall portion is supported so as to be rotatable forward by its own weight. 3. The roll paper loading section according to claim 2, wherein the roll paper loading section includes left and right side wall portions, the front wall portion, and a rear wall portion, and the front wall portion is centered on a rear lower end portion. A roll paper loading mechanism supported in a rotatable state. 4. A roll paper printer equipped with the roll paper loading mechanism according to claim 1.