JP2001253140A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make an apparatus compact and thin. SOLUTION: An arc-shaped part of a U-shape path as a transfer path for a recording paper is formed of an outside U-shape guide and an inside U-shape guide at a rear end part of a body. The U-shape guides are formed of a metal and transfer the recording paper at arc-shaped surfaces. Organic coating materials are applied to the recording paper transfer faces and therefore a sliding friction coefficient is small. A radius of curvature of the arc-shaped part can accordingly be made small. A capacitor 81 for absorbing a supply voltage change is arranged to the arc-shaped part. Even when the capacitor 81 cannot be made compact, thickness and length of the apparatus can be reduced thereby enabling the apparatus to be made compact and thin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a printer device such as a sublimation type thermal transfer printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a device for hard copying an image from a personal computer, a camera-integrated video tape recorder, an electronic still camera, or the like, a thermal transfer printer device capable of displaying a high-definition image by full color has been developed. It is becoming popular. An example of such a conventional printer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-138905 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1).

In order to realize a portable printer, miniaturization is important. A thermal transfer type color printer requires a plurality of reciprocating operations for transferring a sheet for transferring a plurality of colors, and requires a sheet transport path for reciprocating the sheet. If the paper is transported on a straight line, the size of the apparatus will increase. In view of the above, downsizing is achieved by bending a part of the paper transport path into an arc shape.

[0004] In the proposal of Document 1, an arc-shaped conveyance path portion is formed around a platen roller. In Document 1, a recording paper tray and a paper ejection guide are provided vertically, and the recording paper pulled out from the recording paper tray goes around a platen roller and passes through a substantially U-shaped conveyance path. The paper is guided to a paper ejection guide.

[0005] Above the platen roller, an ink cassette accommodating ink paper is provided with a paper transport path interposed therebetween, and above the ink cassette, a head arm to which a thermal head is attached is provided. . By rotating the head arm, the thermal head is moved downward from above the ink paper exposed at the opening of the ink cassette, and the thermal head is pressed against the platen roller across the ink paper and the paper.

A heating resistor is provided on one surface of the thermal head.
These heating resistors generate heat appropriately according to print data,
Heat the ink paper. As a result, the sublimable dye applied to the ink paper sublimates and is transferred and recorded on the recording paper.

As described above, in the proposal of Document 1, by forming a substantially U-shaped conveyance path as the conveyance path of the recording paper,
The longitudinal length can be relatively short.

By the way, in consideration of portability as a printer, it is an important requirement that it can be driven only by a battery. However, since a large current flows when the thermal head is driven (when a current is applied to the heating element), the power supply voltage instantaneously drops significantly. Therefore, it is necessary to employ a large-capacity capacitor for absorbing fluctuations in the power supply voltage. However, since such a capacitor is extremely large, it hinders miniaturization and thinning of the device.

[0009]

As described above, the conventional printer described above has a problem that the size of the printer cannot be sufficiently reduced due to the necessity of disposing a large-capacity capacitor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and has a thin U-shaped recording paper conveying path, and a capacitor for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuations arranged inside the U-shape. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer device that can be reduced in size and thickness.

[0011]

According to the present invention, there is provided a printer apparatus in which, when an image is formed on a sheet, at least one side of a conveying path along which the sheet is conveyed, the conveying path in the sheet feeding direction is substantially formed. A guide member formed in a substantially circular arc shape so as to form a circular arc shape; and a power supply voltage fluctuation absorber disposed on a side of the guide member bent in a substantially circular arc shape and at least a part thereof is located inside the circular arc shape. And a capacitor for In the present invention, the paper transport path is formed in a substantially arc shape, and a capacitor for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuation is provided inside the arc shape. As a result, even when a large capacitor is used, the thickness of the device is reduced.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 7 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining the arrangement of components inside a U-shaped path, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a U-shaped path. 5 to 7 are cross-sectional views for explaining the operation at the time of printing, and show a state in which FIG. 2 is cut in the front-rear direction and viewed from the side.

In the present embodiment, the recording paper transport path is formed by bending it in an arc shape, and a capacitor for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuations, which is difficult to miniaturize, is arranged inside the arc shape, thereby enabling the apparatus to operate. It realizes miniaturization and thinning.

In FIG. 3, a housing 1 has a recording paper cassette 2 mounted in an opening provided on a front surface, and a battery 3 mounted on a rear surface. The ink ribbon cassette 4 is mounted in the housing 1 through an opening provided on a side surface of the housing 1. The housing 1 is provided with a slot (not shown) for mounting a memory card 5 and a connector 6 for connection to a personal computer or the like.

Next, the configuration inside the housing 1 will be described in detail. In FIG. 2, for convenience of explanation, parts other than the capacitor, which is a feature of the present embodiment, are not illustrated in consideration of legibility of the drawing in order to explain first.

In FIG. 2, the side frame members 13, 1
5. Rear frame members 14, 16 and outer and inner U
The main body 10 constituted by the character guides 11 and 12 is provided in the housing 1 shown in FIG. 3, and a U-shaped path, which is a recording paper conveyance path, is formed in the main body 10. That is, as will be described later, a paper feeding port and a paper discharging port are arranged in front of the main body 10, a recording paper supply / discharge conveyance path is formed below the main body 10, and the recording paper is bent behind the main body 10. To form an arc-shaped conveyance path for conveying the upper part of the main body 10,
Construct a U-shaped path.

As shown in FIG. 4, the frame members 13 to 16 and the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are metal plate members. One side surface of the main body 10 is constituted by the side frame member 13 having the opening 9 for insertion into the main body 10 and the rear frame member 14. The other side surface of the main body 10 is constituted by the side frame member 15 and the rear frame member 16. The back surface of the main body 10 is constituted by outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12.

The outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 have arcuate curved surfaces formed by bending a metal plate, and are arranged at a predetermined interval from each other in the arcuate portions. U
The gap between the arcuate portions of the character guides 11 and 12 forms an arcuate portion of a U-shaped path, which is a U-shaped paper feed path. The frame members 13 and 14, 15 and 16 are integrally assembled. The U-shaped guides 1 and 12 are arranged such that the arc-shaped portions of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are located near the back of the main body 10.
Both ends of the first and second members 12 are attached to at least one of the frame members 13 and 14 and at least one of the first and second frame members 13 and 14.

By attaching the arcuate ends of the outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 having excellent rigidity to the frame members 13 to 16 integrally, the main body 10 can be formed with sufficient strength. it can.

The outer U-shaped guide 11 has a curved U-shaped guide.
It has an arc-shaped portion of the character path and a flat portion 20 extending forward from the curved surface portion. On the bottom surface of the main body 10, the flat portion 20 has a shape slightly inclined in accordance with the bottom shape of the ink ribbon cassette 4, and the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 and the flat portion 20 , A substantially linear portion of the U-shaped path on the rear bottom surface of the main body 10 is formed.

On the front side of the main body 10, as shown in FIG.
A PA roller 41 for pulling out the recording paper 40 stored in the recording paper cassette 2 is provided. As shown in FIG. 2 or 5, the PA roller 4 is attached to the side frame member 15.
A gear 30 is provided which engages with one rotation shaft via a link mechanism (not shown). The gear 30 is driven by the forward rotation of the motor 29 to rotate the PA roller 41. The rotation of the gear 30 is also transmitted to a rotating shaft that rotates the bobbin 42 of the ink ribbon cassette 4. It is not necessary to drive the PA roller 41 and the bobbin 42 at the same time, and by rotating the motor 29 in reverse, the bobbin 42 of the ink ribbon cassette 4 is rotated to wind up the ink ribbon 43 (see FIG. 6). .

The main body 1 to which the leading end of the recording paper cassette 2 contacts
At the front end of the recording paper cassette 2, a paper feeding guide 51 is provided substantially horizontally from near the upper end of the recording paper cassette 2. Above the paper supply guide 51, a paper supply and discharge guide 53 attached to the lower paper discharge guide 52 is provided. Further, an upper discharge guide 54 is provided above the lower discharge guide 52 and the supply / discharge guide 53. The lower discharge guide 52, the supply / discharge guide 53, and the upper discharge guide 54 are provided to be slightly upwardly inclined forward.

The paper supply / discharge guide 53 is a film-shaped elastic member, and its tip is provided to extend below the paper supply guide 51 from an opening 55 provided in the paper supply guide 51. Recording paper 40
5 to 7 are drawn out by the rotation of the PA roller 41, and are conveyed while being guided by the upper surface of the paper feed guide 51 and the lower surface of the paper supply / discharge guide 53. The leading end of the recording paper 40 pushes up the lower surface of the paper supply / discharge guide 53,
The leading end of the paper supply / discharge guide 53 moves above the upper surface of the paper supply guide 51, and the recording paper 40 can be transported between the paper supply guide 51 and the paper supply / discharge guide 53 toward the rear side of the main body 10.

A pinch roller 33 and a grip roller 34 are provided on the conveyance path of the recording paper 40 by the paper feed guide 51 and the paper supply / discharge guide 53. The grip roller 34 is rotatably supported by a shaft 36 attached to the side frame members 13 and 15. A swing shaft (not shown) of the lever 31 is attached to the side frame members 13 and 15, and the pinch roller 33 is rotatably supported by a shaft 32 at the tip of the lever 31.

The leading end of the recording paper 40 is conveyed between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 by the rotation of the PA roller 41. When the recording paper 40 is conveyed to a position between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34, the pinch roller 33 moves by the swing of the lever 31, and moves the recording paper 40 on the surface of the grip roller 34. It comes into pressure contact.

The grip roller 34 is rotated by a stepping motor 56. The grip roller 34 rotates by the number of rotation steps of the stepping motor 56 in a state where the recording paper 40 is pressed and held between the grip roller 34 and the pinch roller 33 to convey the recording paper 40 in the front-rear direction of the main body 10. The upper surface of the platen roller 35 is located on the conveyance path of the recording paper 40 behind the grip roller 34 and the pinch roller 33. The flat portion 20 of the outer U-shaped guide 11 is disposed below and below the platen roller 35, and the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 is disposed above and behind the platen roller 35. That is, the platen roller 35
Behind, a transport path is formed by the flat portion 20 and the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 as described above.

On the upper surface of the main body 10 facing the flat portion 20,
An upper guide plate 17 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, not shown in FIG. 5) attached to the upper end of the outer U-shaped guide 11 is provided. The recording paper 40 passing through the arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path is
Guided by the upper guide plate 17, the upper part of the main body 10 is transported in the front-rear direction.

When the recording paper 40 has been conveyed to the printing start position, the front end of the recording paper is located near the front ends of the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 as shown in FIG. In this state, the leading end of the paper supply / discharge guide 53 extends downward from the opening 55 of the paper supply guide 51. When printing,
The recording paper 40 includes a pinch roller 33 and a grip roller 34.
Is transported forward. In this case, the recording paper 40
The front end (the front side of the main body 10) passes between the leading end of the paper feed guide 51 and the leading end of the upper discharge guide 54, and
3. While sliding on the upper surface, the sheet is guided between the sheet supply / discharge guide 53 and the upper and lower sheet discharge guides 54 and 52, and is conveyed to the front of the main body 10.

The radius of curvature of the outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 constituting the arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path is set relatively small. Outer and inner U-shaped guides 11, 12
In order to reduce the size and weight of the device, a metal material is suitable because it is required to be thin and strong. On the other hand, when the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped portion is reduced, it is necessary to consider the balance between the rigidity (flexibility) of the recording paper and the sliding friction of the surfaces of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12. In other words, if the sliding friction is large and the curvature is small, the paper may get stuck in balance with the rigidity of the paper, so the smaller the sliding friction, the smaller the radius of curvature can be made, and further miniaturization is realized. can do.

For this reason, organic coating materials 18 and 19 are applied to the surface where the outer U-shaped guide 11 and the inner U-shaped guide 12 face each other. In addition,
The coating may be inorganic. Further, as described above, the rigidity (strength) of the device itself is ensured by connecting the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 made of metal integrally with the frame members 13 to 16.

In this embodiment, the ink ribbon cassette 4, the head 71, the capacitor 81 for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuation, and the like are accommodated in a range surrounded by a U-shaped path which is a conveyance path of the recording paper 40. Has become. A flat support member 61 is fixed to the rear frame members 14 and 16 on the front surface of the inner U-shaped guide 12. Support member 61
, A pair of bearings 62 are fixed, and the cam shaft 22 is rotatably provided on the bearings 62. Further, the motor 24 is also attached to the support member 61. That is,
As shown in FIG. 1, the motor 24 is provided in a U-shaped path. The rotation of the motor 24 is transmitted to a gear 25 attached to the camshaft 22.

The inner U-shaped guide 12 of the support member 61
A bearing 63 is fixed to the front end of the arm 65. An arm shaft 66 of an arm 65 is swingably attached to the bearing 63. The shape of the arm 65 when viewed from the side is substantially L.
And is urged rearward by the urging member 28 attached to the support member 61 so that the upper rear end of the cam 23
Abut on the cam surface. When the cam 23 rotates with the rotation of the motor 24, the upper rear end of the arm 65 moves in the front-rear direction along the cam surface, and the arm 65 swings about the arm shaft 66. The arm shaft 66 is located at one end of the L-shape, and the upper rear end is located at the L-shaped bent portion. A thermal head 71 is fixed to the front end (the other end of the L-shape) of the arm 65, and a heating resistor 72 is provided on the lower surface of the thermal head 71 in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the recording paper 40 is conveyed (side of the main body 10). Direction).

The arm 65 is relatively narrow when viewed from above, and the wide head 71 is attached to the front end as described above. The width of the head 71 is defined by the width of the recording paper. When viewed from above, the head 71 and the arm 65 are formed in a T shape. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the motor 24 and the power supply voltage fluctuation absorbing space are provided in this T-shaped space, that is, the space on both sides of the arm 65 between the arm shaft 66 and the head 71. The capacitor 81 is arranged.

That is, the power supply voltage fluctuation absorbing capacitor 8
Numeral 1 is arranged in front of the arc-shaped portion of the inner U-shaped guide 12 so that at least a part thereof is located within a range surrounded by the arc shape. Also, the capacitor 81
As shown in FIG. 1, is formed in a cylindrical shape, and the cylindrical curved surface is disposed close to and opposed to the arc-shaped surface of the inner U-shaped guide 12. Thus, a capacitor of a sufficient size can be disposed by effectively utilizing the space on both sides of the arm 65. If there is space, the capacitor 81
May not be a cylindrical shape, the orientation may be freely determined, and the entire capacitor may be arranged in a U-shaped path.

The position of the arm 65 changes in three stages according to the rotation of the cam 23. That is, when the upper rear end of the arm 65 is located closest to the rear of the main body 10, the thermal head 7
Reference numeral 1 denotes the uppermost position, and the upper surface of the head 71 is close to the upper surface of the main body 10 (hereinafter, such positions of the arm 65 and the head 71 are referred to as standby positions). Conversely, when the upper rear end of the arm 65 is located closest to the front side of the main body 10, the thermal head 71 is located lowermost, and the lower surface of the head 71 contacts the surface of the platen roller 35 (hereinafter, this position is printed). Position).

The ink ribbon cassette 4 is arranged above the recording paper supply / discharge transport path formed on the bottom side of the main body 10 and below the arm 65. The ink ribbon cassette 4 has a supply section 73 and a take-up section 74 for the ink ribbon 43. During printing, the ink ribbon 43 wound around the bobbin 75 of the supply section 73 in accordance with the conveyance of the recording paper 40. Is wound on the bobbin 42 of the winding section 74. The ink ribbon cassette 4 includes a supply unit 73
An opening 76 (see FIG. 3) exposing the ink ribbon 43 is provided between the winding unit 74 and the winding unit 74.

The ink ribbon cassette 4 is inserted and mounted in the main body 10 when the thermal head 71 is at the standby position. Thermal head 71
When the recording paper 40 is conveyed by the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 before printing, the recording paper 40 is located at a position intermediate between the standby position and the printing position (hereinafter, referred to as a partial position). The thermal head 71 is located at a printing position when the recording paper 40 is located at a predetermined start position and starts recording. At the printing position, the thermal head 71 is in a state where the heating resistor 72 presses the platen roller 35 with the ink ribbon 43 and the recording paper 40 interposed therebetween.

The bent portion of the arm 65 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the supply portion 73 of the ink ribbon cassette 4, and the arm shaft 66 is connected to the inner U-shaped guide 1 on the bottom side of the main body 10.
Even in the case where the arm 65 is positioned near the rear end of the ink ribbon cassette 4 near the front end, the arm 65 can be moved to the printing position by tilting the arm 65 forward without hitting the supply unit 73. Further, as described above, since the power supply voltage fluctuation absorbing capacitor 81 is disposed in the space on one side of the arm 65, the rotation of the arm 65 is not prevented.

In the ink ribbon cassette 4, the rear supply portion 73 is located near the front end of the inner U-shaped guide 12, and the front take-up portion 74 is located near the front surface of the main body 10, and is disposed in the front-rear direction of the main body 10. The portion occupied in the vertical direction is small. Therefore, it is easy to store the ink ribbon cassette 4 in a portion surrounded by the thin U-shaped path. Further, the shape of the arm 65 for moving the thermal head 71, the mounting position of the arm shaft 66, and the like also make it possible to store the thermal head 71 in a thin U-shaped path.

That is, the thermal head 71 and the arm 65
Is absorbable within the height of the U-pass, and the thickness of the device is defined solely by the thickness of the U-pass. As described above, since the thickness of the U-shaped path is relatively small, the thickness of the entire apparatus can be reduced. Also, the horizontal size of the thermal head 71 and the arm 65 can be absorbed within the length in the front-rear direction of the U-shaped path, and the overall length of the apparatus can be reduced.

A cam 26 separate from the cam 23 for displacing the arm 65 is attached to the cam shaft 22. The cam surface of the cam 26 comes into contact with the link 27, and the movement of the cam surface swings the lever 31 via the link 27 and a connecting rod (not shown). That is, the rotation of the motor 24 causes the head 71 and the pinch roller 33 to rotate.
Is displaced.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 shows a state immediately after the start of paper feeding, FIG. 6 shows a state at the start of printing, and FIG. 7 shows a state during printing.

With the head 71 at the standby position,
The ink ribbon cassette 4 is mounted in the main body 10. Note that, even at the standby position, the upper end of the head 71 is located at a position lower than the upper end of the U-shaped path, and the head 71 and the arm 65 are arranged in a substantially U-shaped path. Recording paper 40 is stored in the recording paper cassette 2, and the recording paper cassette 2 is set on the front surface of the main body 10.

Before the start of printing, the head 71 is located at the standby position, and the pinch roller 33 is also located above. Here, it is assumed that printing is instructed in accordance with the print data read from the memory card 5 or the like. Then, the motor 29 rotates, and the rotational force is transmitted to the PA roller 41 via the gear 30. When the PA roller 41 rotates, the leading end of the recording paper 40 is pulled out to the upper surface of the paper feed guide 51 by the frictional force. The recording paper 40 is conveyed by the rotation of the PA roller 41, and as shown in FIG.

The rotation of the PA roller 41 causes the recording paper 40
When the leading end reaches between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34, the movement of the recording paper 40 is detected by a sensor (not shown), transmission of rotational force to the PA roller 41 is stopped, and the rotation of the motor 24 is stopped. Lever 31
The pinch roller 33 becomes a grip roller 34 in accordance with the rotation of
, The recording paper 40 is pressed and held, the cam 23 rotates, the arm 65 tilts forward, and the head 71 moves to the partial position.

Next, the stepping motor 56 starts rotating, and the grip roller 34 starts rotating at a constant speed. As a result, the recording paper 40 sandwiched between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 is conveyed to the rear of the main body 10 and guided by the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 and the flat portion 20 while the leading end slides on the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4. It proceeds to the rear of the main body 10.

In the vicinity of the rear end of the main body 10, the recording paper 40 is guided to an arc-shaped conveyance path between the outer U-shaped guide 11 and the inner U-shaped guide 12, and changes its direction upward. Side changes to the front side.

The facing surfaces of the outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 forming the transport path of the recording paper 40 are coated with coating materials 18 and 19 to reduce the coefficient of sliding friction. Therefore, as described above, the outer and inner U
Despite the small radius of curvature of the character guides 11 and 12,
The recording paper 40 is smoothly conveyed in the arcuate U-shaped path and changes its direction.

When the sensor (not shown) detects that the recording paper 40 has reached the recording start position, the conveyance of the recording paper by the stepping motor 56 is stopped. Next, the cam 23 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 24 and the arm 65 is rotated.
Is tilted forward, and the head 71 moves to the printing position. FIG. 6 shows this state. The ink ribbon 43 and the recording paper 40 are pressed against the surface of the platen roller 35 by the heating resistor 72 of the thermal head 71.

Next, the heating resistor 72 of the thermal head 71 is energized based on the print data. As a result, the sublimable dye applied to the ink ribbon 43 is sublimated and transferred to the recording paper 40. When a predetermined number of lines in the recording paper width direction are printed by the heating resistor 72,
The rotation of the stepping motor 56 rotates the grip roller 34, and the recording paper 40 sandwiched between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 is transported to the front side of the main body 10. The rotation of the motor 29 is controlled by a take-up bobbin 42 of the ink ribbon cassette 4 via a transmission mechanism (not shown).
The ink ribbon 43 is also conveyed in accordance with the conveyance of the recording paper 40, is turned upward from the front end of the thermal head 71, and is wound on the winding unit 74. Thereafter, the printing by the thermal head 71 and the conveyance of the recording paper 40 and the ink ribbon 43 are repeated in the same manner.

At the start of printing, the leading end of the paper supply / discharge guide 53 is located below the upper surface of the paper supply guide 51. When the recording paper 40 is conveyed to the front of the main body 10 by the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34, the recording paper 40 advances while sliding obliquely upward with its front end guided by the paper supply / discharge guide 53. Thus, the recording paper 40 is guided by the lower and upper discharge guides 52 and 54, and is conveyed from the front surface of the main body 10 onto the recording paper cassette 2 (see FIG. 7). At the end of the recording of the first color, the end of the recording paper 40 is
3 and the grip roller 34.

As the ink ribbon 43, for example, a ribbon in which inks such as yellow, cyan and magenta are cyclically applied in a predetermined order is used. In this case,
When the recording of the first color (for example, cyan) is completed, the arm 65 is retracted by the rotation of the motor 24, the head 71 is moved to the partial position, and then the grip roller 34 is rotated by the rotation of the stepping motor 56, and the recording paper 40 is rotated.
Is transported to the rear of the main body 10 in the U-shaped path, and is transported to the same position as the recording start position of the first color. In addition, recording paper 4
The ink ribbon 43 is moved by rotation of the motor 29 to a position where the transfer of the second color (for example, yellow) to 0 is possible.

The printing of the second color is performed in the same manner as the printing of the first color. Thereafter, similarly, transfer recording of the third color (for example, magenta) and the laminate coat layer is performed. When the recording of the laminate coat layer is completed, the recording paper 40 is discharged to the front side of the main body 10 by a paper feed mechanism (not shown) for rotating and discharging the grip roller 34.

The power supply voltage fluctuation absorbing capacitor 81 is
The arm 65 and the thermal head 71 can be printed without being hindered by the condenser 81 in the U-shaped path.

As described above, in the present embodiment, U
The arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path is formed of outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 made of a metal material having excellent rigidity, and the recording paper conveying surfaces of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are coated with organic coating materials 18 and 19. As a result, the friction coefficient is reduced, so that the recording paper 40 can be smoothly conveyed even when the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped portion is reduced. Then, in the U-shaped path, a capacitor 81 for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuation is disposed by utilizing a gap between the arm 65 and the head 71. Since the large capacitor 81 is arranged in the U-shaped path, the size of the capacitor 81 does not increase the size of the device, and the device can be reduced in size and thickness.

[Supplementary Notes] (1) A guide constituted by a U-shaped path having an arc-shaped curved surface for transporting the recording paper in a U-shape, and a power supply voltage fluctuation absorption arranged at a portion surrounded by the guide And a capacitor for performing the following.

[0057]

As described above, according to the present invention, the recording paper conveyance path is formed in a thin U-shape, and a capacitor for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuation is arranged inside the U-shape. This has the effect that the device can be reduced in size and thickness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration other than a capacitor.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a U-shaped path.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation during printing.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation during printing.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an operation during printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Housing, 10 ... Main body, 11 ... Outer U-shaped guide, 12 ...
Inside U-shaped guide, 17 ... Upper guide plate, 24 ... Motor,
65: arm, 71: thermal head, 81: capacitor for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuation.

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C061 AQ04 BB02 BB35 CC00 DD02 DD05 2C065 AA01 AB10 AC01 CZ05 CZ12 CZ14 3F101 FA02 LA07 LB03

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conveying path in the sheet feeding direction is formed in a substantially arc shape on at least one side of a conveying path through which the sheet is conveyed when an image is formed on the sheet. A guide member, and a capacitor for absorbing power supply voltage fluctuation, which is arranged on the side of the guide member bent into a substantially arc shape and at least a part thereof is located inside the arc shape. Printer device. 2. The capacitor according to claim 1, wherein the capacitor has a substantially cylindrical shape.
The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the arc portions of the guide member are arranged so that the arc portions are close to each other and opposed to each other within the arc shape of the guide member.