JP2001232892A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer being very easily carried and stored. SOLUTION: A printer main body 11, a lid body 50 being openably and closably provided on this printer main body, a sprocket 12 for forwarding a sheet 16S from a sheet roll 16 provided on the printer main body 11, a platen roller 13 for printing letters on the sheet 16S and a printing head 51 for printing letters on the sheet 16S are provided and a operating part 50A for inputting letters and the like on the lid body 50 is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for printing, for example, characters used for guidance signs and directions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sprocket for feeding a sheet from a sheet roll, a print head for printing on the sheet, a platen roller for pressing the sheet sent from the sheet roll against the print head, and a cutting of the printed sheet 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a printer including a printer main body provided with a cutter and a keyboard for inputting characters and the like.

In such a printer, a printer main body and a keyboard for inputting characters and the like are provided separately.

[0004]

Therefore, the conventional printer has problems such as inconvenience in carrying and storing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer which is very easy to carry and store.

[0006]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer body, a lid provided on the printer body so as to be openable and closable, and a sheet roll installed on the printer body. And a platen roller that presses the sheet against the printhead, provided with an operation unit for inputting characters and the like to the lid. It is characterized by having.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that an ink ribbon is provided on the lid.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a printing means is provided on the lid.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the platen roller is disposed downstream of the sprocket.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The printer 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 includes a printer main body 11 and a lid 50 attached to the printer main body 11 so as to be openable and closable.

In the printer body 11, a sprocket 12 for feeding a sheet, a platen roller 13, a drive mechanism 20 for rotating the sprocket 12 and the platen roller 13, and a gear for rotating a ribbon core 65 of the ribbon cassette 60 are provided. A mechanism 30 and a cutter 18 for cutting the sheet are provided. The peripheral speed of the platen roller 13 is set to be slightly higher than the peripheral speed of the sprocket 12, and the upper part of the platen roller 13 is
The platen roller 13 is disposed so as to be located at a position lower than the upper part of the second unit 2 by a predetermined distance.

The sprocket 12 is provided with a sprocket gear 14 as shown in FIG. 5. A platen gear 15 is provided at one end of the platen roller 13 as shown in FIG. 6, and a torque limiter 19 and a platen gear 1
5 are provided. With this torque limiter 19,
When a load greater than a predetermined value is applied to the platen roller 13,
The platen gear 15 idles with respect to the platen roller 13.

A mounting table 70 on which the sheet roll 16 is mounted is attached to a rear portion of the printer main body 11. The mounting table 70 rotates about an axis 71 to rotate the printer main body 11.
It can be stored inside. The mounting position of the mounting table 70 is set so that the sheet 16S of the sheet roll 16 mounted (set) on the mounting table 70 is substantially horizontal and is sent out to the sprocket 12. Feed holes (not shown) are provided at both ends of the sheet 16S, and the protrusions 12a of the sprocket 12 are engaged with the feed holes.

In the printer body 11, a guide member G for preventing the printed sheet 16S from turning backward and a guide member (guide member) 17 for guiding the printed sheet 16S to the front are provided. Have been.

The drive mechanism 20 includes a drive gear 21 driven by a stepping motor (not shown),
1 and a gear 2 provided on the gear 22
3, a gear 24 that meshes with the gear 23, and a gear 24A provided on the gear 24. The gear 24A meshes with the sprocket gear 14, and the gear 24
Is engaged.

The gear mechanism 30 includes a gear 31 meshed with the platen gear 15, a gear 32 meshed with the gear 31, a gear 33 meshed with the gear 32, and a gear provided on the gear 33. 34. The gear 34 meshes with a core gear 65 described later.

A thermal head 51 is provided on the back side of the lid 50, and an ink ribbon cassette 60 is detachably mounted on the back side. An operation unit 50A is provided on the upper surface of the lid 50. The operation unit 50A has various operation keys K for inputting characters and the like, and a display for displaying characters input by the operation keys K 52 are provided. The rear part of the lid 50 is a shaft 1
1J is rotatably provided, and the lid 50 can be opened by rotating the lid 50 as shown in FIG.

On both side plates 11A of the printer main body 11, a slot 11H is provided at a position above the shaft 11J, and a pin 54 disposed on the lid 50 is provided in the slot 11H. It is movably inserted along 11H.
One end of a spring 55 is attached to the pin 54, and the other end of the spring 55 is attached to a locking portion 11 </ b> K provided on the printer main body 11. The lid 50 is constantly urged in the opening direction by the spring 55, and this urging prevents the lid 50 from being vigorously closed by its own weight when it is closed.

When the cover 50 is opened, the ribbon core gear 65 of the ink ribbon cassette 60 is disengaged from the gear 34. When the cover 50 is closed, the ribbon core gear 65 of the ink ribbon cassette 60 meshes with the gear 34. It is supposed to.

Next, the operation of the printer of the above embodiment will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 7, the lid 50 is opened, and the ink ribbon cassette 60 is mounted on the lid 50.
The lid 50 is closed. When the cover 50 is closed, the gear 34 is slightly rotated counterclockwise by the core gear 65. By this counterclockwise rotation, the backlash of the platen gear 15 is eliminated.

Next, a desired character or the like is input by operating the operation key K. The input characters and the like are displayed on the display 52. When printing is started by operating the operation key K, a stepping motor (not shown) is driven, and the platen roller 13 and the sprocket 12 are rotated via the drive mechanism 20. The sheet 16S is fed from the sheet roll 16 by the rotation of the platen roller 13 and the sprocket 12.

On the other hand, the ribbon core gear 65 of the ink ribbon cassette 60 is rotated by the gear mechanism 30, and the ink ribbon (not shown) is sent to the platen roller 13 together with the sheet 16S. Then, the thermal head 51
With this, printing is performed on the sheet 16S.

The printed sheet 16S is fed forward by the platen roller 13, and the leading end 16Sa of the sheet 16S is guided forward by the curved surface 17A of the guide member 17 and the horizontal surface 17B following the curved surface 17A, and is sent forward. To go. When printing is completed, the sheet is cut from a predetermined position by the cutter 18.

When replacing the ink ribbon cassette 60 or the sheet roll 16, the lid 50 is opened as shown in FIG. An ink ribbon cassette 60 is provided on the back side of the lid 50.
Is installed, the ink ribbon cassette 60
Is easy to replace. Further, since the ink ribbon cassette 60 is mounted on the back surface side of the lid 50, the sheet roll 16 can be replaced without removing the ink ribbon cassette 60, and the thermal head 51 is provided on the lid 50. Therefore, it is easy to set the sheet 16S.

Further, since the ink ribbon cassette 60 and the thermal head 51 are provided on the lid 50, the opening of the printer main body 11 can be made large when the lid 50 is opened. 16
Replacement becomes easier.

Further, the ink ribbon cassette 60 may be
0, the ink ribbon cassette 60 and the sheet roll 16 can be exchanged from the same direction by opening the lid 50.

According to this embodiment, since the cover 50 is provided with the various operation keys K and the display 52, a separate keyboard is not required, so that the printer 10 can be carried and stored. It will be very easy.

The provision of the various operation keys K and the indicator 52 on the cover 50 allows the printer 10 to be reduced in size. By the way, if the operation keys K and the display 52 are provided on the printer main body 11, a flat portion for providing them must be secured.
Becomes large. Further, since the platen roller 13 is disposed on the downstream side of the sprocket 12, the distance between the platen roller 13 and the cutter 18 can be shortened. Therefore, the position where characters and the like are printed from the leading end 16Sa of the sheet 16S. Margin Y can be shortened.

[0031]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the keyboard is not provided separately from the printer main body, it is very easy to carry and store the printer.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the ink ribbon is provided on the lid, the ink ribbon can be easily replaced, and the sheet roll can be replaced without removing the ink ribbon.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the print head is provided on the lid, it is easy to set the sheets on the sheet roll.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the platen roller is disposed downstream of the sprocket, the margin from the leading edge of the sheet to the position where characters or the like are printed can be shortened.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement relationship of main parts of the printer.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement relationship between an ink ribbon cassette and other main parts.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an arrangement relationship of each gear of the printer.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a sprocket. Pull out the remaining ink ribbon and ink ribbon.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a platen roller.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the printer showing a state when a lid is opened.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 printer 11 printer body 12 sprocket 13 platen roller 16 sheet roll 16S sheet 50 lid 51 thermal head (print head)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued from the front page (72) Inventor Riki Shioya F-term (reference) 2C061 AQ04 AS06 BB02 BB12 CD07 CD12 CD13

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printer main body, a lid provided on the printer main body so as to be openable and closable, and a sprocket for feeding a sheet from a sheet roll provided on the printer main body.
What is claimed is: 1. A printer comprising: a print head that prints on a sheet; and a platen roller that presses the print head on the sheet, wherein an operation unit that inputs characters and the like is provided on the lid. . 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein an ink ribbon is provided on the cover. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a printing means is provided on the lid. 4. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the platen roller is disposed downstream of the sprocket.