JP2001213553A - 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 and equipped with a sensor lever for sensing that a roll of recording paper remains less, in which the level adjustment of the lever can be performed easily from ahead of the printer. SOLUTION: A front opening 5 for loading a paper roll is formed in the front face 3 of a paper roll printer 1 and is closed by a roll paper cover 6. When the cover 6 is opened, it is possible to see a horizontal step surface 831 or 835 as graduation for level adjustment formed in the side wall portion 83 of a paper roll loading part 8 through a front opening 5 which is exposed. The head top 104b of a mounting screw 104 of a near end sensing unit 100 is positioned mating with one of the step surfaces, and thereby it is possible to decide the level of the lever 101. Accordingly the level adjusting operation of the lever 101 can be performed simply from ahead of the printer ocularly.

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 performing printing on a 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 printer. The present invention relates to an improvement of a near-end detecting means for detecting that a remaining amount has become equal to or less than a predetermined amount.

[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). Further, as a roll paper printer equipped with a roll paper loading mechanism of this type, a so-called so-called printer in which an operation section and a discharge section for discharging roll paper after printing are arranged on the front surface thereof, together with a front opening of the roll paper loading section. A front operation type is known.

On the other hand, a near-end detecting mechanism for detecting that the remaining amount of the recording paper roll loaded in the roll paper loading section has become small is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-5125.
No. 5, JP-A-61-3872, JP-A-9-254
A type disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 474 is known. The near-end detection mechanisms disclosed in these publications have a detection lever provided at a lower end thereof with a detection projection that can be inserted into a winding core of a recording paper roll body. It is pressed against the circular end surface portion below the core.

When the remaining amount of the recording paper roll decreases, the outer diameter thereof gradually decreases, so that the position of the center winding core gradually lowers. When the core is lowered to the position of the detection projection pressed against the end face of the recording paper roll, the detection projection enters the core. As a result, the detection lever moves as a whole. By detecting the movement of the detection lever mechanically or magnetically, it is possible to know that the remaining amount of the recording paper roll has become equal to or less than a predetermined amount. Can be.

Here, there are various types of recording paper rolls having different diameters. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the height of the detection projection, that is, the height of the detection lever according to the size of the recording paper roll body to be loaded, so that it is possible to accurately detect that the recording paper roll body is reduced. There is.

Therefore, conventionally, a mechanism for adjusting the height of the detection lever is provided, and the height of the detection lever is adjusted in accordance with the dimensions of the recording paper roll to be loaded. When the number has decreased, the winding core is lowered to the detection protrusion of the detection lever.

[0007]

Here, it is desirable that a roll paper printer of a front operation type also be provided with such a height adjusting mechanism of the detection lever in the roll paper loading section. In this case, the height adjustment operation of the detection lever is performed from the front opening of the roll paper loading unit with the roll paper cover opened.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a roll paper loading mechanism for loading a roll of recording paper from a front opening, and a roll paper loading apparatus of a front operation type equipped with the roll paper loading mechanism. An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily adjust the height of a detection lever of a near-end detection means for detecting that the remaining amount of a recording paper roll loaded in a unit has become small.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a roll paper loading section in which a recording paper roll having a winding core is loaded, and a roll paper loading section loaded in the roll paper loading section. A near-end detecting means for detecting that the remaining amount of the recording paper roll body has become a predetermined amount or less, a front opening of the roll paper loading section, and a roll paper cover closing the front opening so that it can be opened and closed. Wherein the near-end detecting means includes a detecting lever which is inserted into the core when the recording paper roll body decreases and the core position is lowered. A height adjusting unit that adjusts a mounting height with respect to the paper loading unit; and an index unit that indicates a relative height relationship between the detection lever and the roll paper loading unit.
It has a mark formed on the roll paper loading section and a mark formed on the detection lever, and these marks are formed at positions visible from the front opening side.

According to the present invention, it is possible to visually check the marks provided on the roll paper loading section and the detection lever for height adjustment from the front opening. Therefore, by using these marks as a guide, the detection lever can be easily attached to the target height.

Here, the height adjusting means may be provided with a lever mounting screw and a vertically long screw hole.

In this case, the mark formed on the roll paper loading section may be a plurality of horizontal step surfaces formed at positions visible from the front opening in the roll paper loading section. The mark formed on the detection lever may use the upper end of the head outer peripheral surface of the lever mounting screw screwed into the detection lever.

Next, the roll paper printer according to the present invention is provided with the roll paper loading mechanism having the above-mentioned structure, and is attached to the roll paper loading section by visual observation from the front side thereof. The height position of the detection lever of the near-end detection means can be easily adjusted.

[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. The paper discharge table 7 also functions as an operation lever for opening and closing the roll paper cover 6.

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 to the link 21 that rotates back and forth together with the platen member 16 via the slide pin 62, and the roll paper cover opening / closing means is constituted by a four-node parallel link mechanism.

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.

Further, the table main body 71 of the discharge table 7 of the present embodiment is a portion that functions as an operation lever for opening and closing the roll paper cover.
An upper end of a protection plate 76 is attached to a position near the upper end surface 6b of the roll paper cover 6 on the back surface 71a so as to be rotatable back and forth about a support shaft 75 extending in the printer width direction. The protective plate 76 is constantly pressed against the front surface 6c of the roll paper cover 6 located on the rear side of the printer by a torsion spring 77.

Next, the roll paper loading section 8 of this embodiment and the near-end detection mechanism mounted therein will be described with reference to FIG. The roll paper loading section 8 has a shape capable of dropping the recording paper roll body 9 from above, and includes left and right side wall portions 83, a front wall portion 84, a bottom wall portion 85, and a rear wall portion 86.
It has. The recording paper roll body 9 loaded here is
At its center, a cylindrical winding core 91 is provided, around which a long roll paper 92 is wound.

A near-end detection unit 100 for detecting that the remaining amount of the recording paper roll body 9 has become less than a predetermined amount is attached to one side wall portion 83 of the roll paper loading section 8. The near-end detection unit 100 includes a detection lever 101. The detection lever 101 extends vertically so as to pass through the center of the circular end face of the loaded recording paper roll body 9, and has a lower end provided with: A detection protrusion 102 is formed to penetrate a vertically long opening 83a opened in the side wall portion 83 and protrude inward. The upper end of the detection lever 101 is rotatably supported by a horizontal support shaft 103, and is constantly pushed toward the recording paper roll body 9 by a spring member (not shown).

In the state in which the recording paper roll 9 is loaded, as shown in FIG.
02 is in a state pressed against the circular end face 9a of the recording paper roll body 9. When the remaining portion of the recording paper roll body 9 decreases, the outer diameter dimension decreases, and accordingly, the position of the winding core 92 decreases. When the winding core 92 is lowered to a position facing the detection protrusion 102 as shown in FIG. 5D, the detection protrusion 102 is pushed into the winding core 92 and the detection lever 1
01 moves to the recording paper roll body 9 side as a whole.

The near-end detecting unit 100 has a detecting portion (not shown) for detecting the movement of the detecting lever 101, and outputs a near-end detecting signal when detecting the moving of the detecting lever 101. . The generation of this detection signal indicates that the remaining amount of the recording paper roll 9 has decreased.

The near-end detection unit 100 is attached to the side wall portion 83 by an attachment screw 104. On the side of the near-end detection unit 100, a circular screw hole into which the mounting screw 104 is screwed is formed. On the side of the roll paper loading unit side wall portion 83, a vertically long slot 83b is formed as a screw hole. Is formed. The mounting screw 104 is screwed into the screw hole of the near-end detection unit 100 arranged outside the side wall portion 83 from the inside of the side wall portion 83 through the elongated hole 83b.

Therefore, when the mounting screw 104 is loosened, the near-end detection unit 100 can be moved up and down along the long hole 83b. That is, the mounting height can be adjusted. As a result, the loaded recording paper roll 9
By adjusting the height of the detection lever 101 even when a different outer diameter is loaded, the position of the detection protrusion 102 of the detection lever 101 is reduced when the remaining amount of the recording paper roll body 9 decreases. By setting the winding core 91 of the recording paper roll body 9 to be located, the near end can be detected accurately.

Here, in this example, the front end face of the side wall portion 83 has a step-like contour as a mark for adjustment when the height of the near-end detection unit 100 is adjusted.
The horizontal step surfaces 831 to 835 of the steps are formed. These horizontal step surfaces 831 to 835 are connected to the roll paper loading unit 8.
Through the front opening 5 of the camera.

Near-end detection unit 10 in this embodiment
The height adjustment of 0 can be performed as follows. The roll paper cover 6 arranged on the front of the printer is opened to expose the front opening 5 of the roll paper loading unit 8. In this state, the mounting screw 104 is loosened and the near-end detection unit 1
00 is moved up and down by a predetermined amount. In FIG. 5, the near end detection unit 100 is mounted at the highest position.

In this state, when lowering the near-end detecting unit 100, the screw 104 is loosened, and the upper end 104b of the outer peripheral surface of the screw head 104a is used as a mark, and the upper end 104b is set to the height on the roll paper loading unit side. What is necessary is just to lower to the position which coincides with any of the horizontal step surfaces 832 to 835 which are marks for adjusting the height.

If the position of each horizontal step surface is made to correspond to the outer diameter of the recording paper roll that may be loaded in the roll paper loading section 8, the outer diameter of the recording paper roll 9 to be loaded is set. The upper end 104b of the mounting screw 104 on the horizontal step surface corresponding to
The height of the near-end detection unit 100 may be adjusted so that the two values coincide, and the mounting screw 104 may be screwed in such a state, and the near-end detection unit 100 may be fixed at that position.

As described above, when adjusting the height of the near-end detection unit 100 of this embodiment, the horizontal stepped surface 831 through the horizontal stepped surface 831 through the front opening 5 of the roll paper loading unit 8 are graduated for height adjustment. Since the adjustment can be made while looking at 835, the near-end detection unit 100 can be easily attached to a target position.

The other components of the near-end detection unit 100 are the same as those generally used, and thus the description thereof is omitted in this specification. Further, in this example, the horizontal step surface serving as a scale for height adjustment is five steps, but may be four steps or less, or may be as fine as six steps or more. Instead of the horizontal step surface, a scale line may be drawn on the front end surface of the side wall portion, or a scale of other forms may be formed. Further, in this example, a plurality of scales are formed on the side wall portion. Conversely, a plurality of scales are formed on the side of the near-end detection unit, and a single positioning mark is formed on the side wall portion of the roll paper loading unit. A scale may be formed.

(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 sheet discharge table 7 forward of the printer, the platen member 16 protrudes forward in 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 is opened to a certain extent, the engaging projections 72e formed on the discharge table 7 hit the engaged projections 23b formed on the front link 23. FIG. 3 shows this state. When the roll paper cover 6 is further opened after this state is formed, the discharge table 7 protrudes forward while being pushed upward by the engaged projections 23b. As a result, the paper discharge table 7 is gradually rotated about the support shaft 22 so that the front end thereof faces upward.

Here, the table body 7 of the discharge table 7
1 and the movement locus of the upper end surface 6b of the roll paper cover 6 are different from each other, and as the opening angle of the roll paper cover 6 increases, the back surface 71a of the table body 71 and the upper end surface of the roll paper cover 6 The gap G of 6b widens. Further, as described above, since the paper discharge table 7 also rotates around the support shaft 22, the gap G is further increased.

However, in this example, the discharge table 7
A protective plate 76 is attached to the rear surface 71a of the roll paper cover 6, and the protective plate 76 is constantly pressed against the front surface 6c of the roll paper cover 6 by a spring force. Therefore, even if the interval G is widened, this portion is always covered and protected by the protective plate 76.

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, even in this fully opened state, the gap G between the discharge table back surface 71a and the upper end surface 6c of the roll paper cover 6 is covered by the protective plate 76. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the danger that a finger or the like will fit in the gap G and cause an injury when the recording paper roll body 9 is loaded.

Further, when the table body 71 of the discharge table 7 is operated to close the roll paper cover 6, no finger or the like is inserted into the gap G. Therefore, by closing the roll paper cover 6, the gap G is narrowed, and the danger of a finger or the like being pinched there can be avoided.

Further, in this example, the platen member 16
The guide roller 11, the platen roller 14b, the transport roller 15b, and the cutter fixing blade 13b are attached, and these are separated from the corresponding members attached to the main body case 2 side. Can be performed extremely easily.

Further, in this embodiment, when the roll paper cover 6 is opened, the cutter fixing blade cover plate portion 72b of the discharge table 7 is moved upward, and the roll paper loading section 9 is moved.
The cutter fixed blade 13b is covered by the cutter fixed blade cover plate portion 72b so as not to touch the cutter fixed blade 13b even when a finger or the like is inserted from the front side. Therefore,
It is possible to safely perform a roll paper exchange operation and the like.

Further, in the operation of closing the roll paper cover 6 after the recording paper roll body 9 is loaded, since the paper discharge table 7 at the front end is directed obliquely upward, 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.

[0052]

As described above, in the roll paper printer and the roll paper loading mechanism mounted thereon according to the present invention, when the roll paper cover disposed on the front face thereof is opened, the recording paper roll body is formed. The scale for adjusting the height of the detection lever for detecting the near end that detects the remaining amount can be visually checked. Therefore, from the front,
The work of adjusting the height of the detection lever can be performed with good operability.

[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.

5A and 5B are diagrams showing a near-end detection unit attached to a roll paper loading unit in the roll paper printer of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 5A is a partial front view, FIG. 5B is a side view, and FIG. (B) a side view when viewed from the opposite side,
(D) is an explanatory diagram for explaining the movement of the detection lever.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 roll paper printer 2 main body case 3 front of printer 4 operation unit 5 front opening of roll paper loading unit 6 roll paper cover 6 b upper end surface of roll paper cover 6 c surface of roll paper cover 7 discharge table 71 table body (operation lever) 8 Roll paper loading section 83 Side wall section of roll paper loading section 83a Slotted hole formed in side wall section 83b Front end face of side wall section 831 to 835 Horizontal step surface (scale) formed in front end face of side wall section 84 Back of roll paper loading section Wall part 85 Front wall part of roll paper loading part 86 Bottom wall part of roll paper loading part 100 Near end detection unit 101 Detection lever 102 Detection protrusion 103 Support shaft 104 Mounting screw 104a Head of mounting screw 104b Upper end of head of mounting screw

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A roll paper loading section in which a roll of recording paper having a winding core is loaded, and detecting that the remaining amount of the roll of recording paper loaded in the roll paper loading section has fallen below a certain amount. Near-end detecting means, a front opening of the roll paper loading portion, and a roll paper cover closing the front opening so that the front opening can be opened and closed, and the near-end detecting means reduces the number of recording paper rolls. When the roll core position is lowered, the roll paper loading mechanism having a detection lever inserted into the roll core, height adjusting means for adjusting the mounting height of the detection lever with respect to the roll paper loading section; A detection lever and an index portion indicating a relative height relationship between the roll paper loading portion, wherein the index portion is a mark formed on the roll paper loading portion;
And a mark formed on the detection lever, wherein the mark is formed at a position visible from the side of the front opening. 2. The roll paper loading mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the height adjusting means includes a lever mounting screw and a vertically elongated screw hole. 3. The detection lever according to claim 2, wherein the mark formed in the roll paper loading section is a plurality of horizontal step surfaces formed at positions visible from the front opening in the roll paper loading section. Wherein the mark formed at the top is the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of the head of the lever mounting screw screwed into the detection lever. 4. A roll paper printer comprising the roll paper loading mechanism according to claim 1. Description: