JP2001310848A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of preventing the reverse of the paper sheets after cutting it. SOLUTION: Paper sheets holding parts 28 and 32 for holding the rolled paper guided in a paper sheets guide passage 25 without hindering the movement of the rolled paper in the paper discharge direction are provided in the paper sheets guide passage 25 in the downstream of a cutter mechanism 24 in the rolled paper guide direction. The rolled paper sheets cut by the cutter mechanism 24 is held by the paper sheets holding parts 28 and 32 without hindering the movement of the rolled paper in the downstream of the cutter mechanism 24 in the rolled paper guide direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer that cuts and uses long roll paper as appropriate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a printer that uses a long roll of paper as a printing medium and cuts the roll paper at an arbitrary position as needed.

[0003] As an example of such a printer, for example, a receipt, which is provided integrally with a merchandise sales registration processing device such as a POS terminal and prints predetermined items to clarify the transaction contents in the merchandise sales registration processing, is provided. There is a receipt printer to issue.

[0004] Receipts are issued in accordance with the contents of a transaction, so that the length of a receipt generally differs every time it is issued. For this reason, in a receipt printer, the roll paper on which a predetermined item is printed is cut by a cutter mechanism as necessary and used, so that only the required length of paper is used without waste.

Here, cutting of roll paper in a conventional receipt printer will be described with reference to FIG. In the receipt printer, when the roll paper 103 on which predetermined items are printed by the printer unit 102 while being conveyed along the paper guide path 101 is ejected as a receipt from the receipt issuing port 104, the roll paper 103 is separated by the cutter mechanism 105. Cut in place.

The cutter mechanism 105 includes, for example, the fixed blade 1
06 and the movable blade 107 that is rotated so that the blades thereof slide with respect to the fixed blade 106, and the paper guide path 1
There is a rotary cutter or the like which is formed so as to be opposed to each other with the intermediary 01 interposed therebetween. In the cutter mechanism 105 such as a rotary cutter,
The conveyed roll paper 103 is cut at a cutting position 108.

[0007]

When the roll paper 103 is applied to a receipt printer, the paper has a curl that tends to shrink in the direction in which it was wound even after cutting.

For this reason, if the progress of the roll paper 103 discharged as a receipt is restricted by an obstacle or the like,
The discharged roll paper 103 tries to return to the inside of the receipt printer due to the strength of its own stiffness. In this state, the rear end of the roll paper 103 cut by the cutter mechanism 105 is pushed back into the receipt printer, and is located behind the cutting position 108 as shown in FIG.

If the next receipt is issued without removing the sheet in this state, the rear end portion of the roll paper 103 located behind the cutting position 108 is cut together, and a strip-shaped piece of paper is generated. If the paper pieces accumulate around the cutter mechanism 105, a cutter lock or the like is generated, and a cutter failure occurs in which the cutter mechanism 105 cannot operate normally.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of preventing a sheet from being returned after cutting.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer comprising: a paper guide path for guiding a roll of long paper wound in a roll shape to a predetermined path; A print unit that is provided at a predetermined position in the path and performs a printing operation on the roll paper; and a print unit that is provided downstream of the print unit in the paper guide path and in the roll paper guide direction in the paper guide path. A cutter mechanism for cutting,
The roll mechanism is provided downstream of the cutter mechanism in the paper guide path in the paper guide path and holds the roll paper without hindering the movement of the roll paper guided in the paper guide path in the paper discharge direction. And a paper holding unit.

Therefore, while being guided along the paper guide path, the roll paper cut by the cutter mechanism by performing the printing operation by the printer unit is discharged in the paper discharge direction downstream from the cutter mechanism in the roll paper guide direction. Is held by the sheet holding unit without being hindered from moving. This makes it possible to regulate the operation of the rear end of the cut roll paper to return to the inside of the printer due to the curl.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the paper holding unit holds the roll paper over the entire width direction of the paper guide path.

Accordingly, the cut roll paper is held by the paper holding section over the entire area in the width direction of the paper guide path. This makes it possible to more reliably restrict the operation of the rear end of the cut roll paper from returning to the inside of the printer due to the curl.

The third aspect of the present invention provides the first or second aspect.
In the printer described above, the paper holding unit is formed by first and second paper pressing members disposed to face each other via the paper guide path.

Therefore, the cut roll paper is the first roll paper.
The sheet is held between the sheet pressing member and the second sheet pressing member. This makes it possible to realize a restriction on the operation of the rear end of the cut roll paper to return to the inside of the printer due to the curl.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the third aspect, at least one of the first and second paper pressing members has a part located on the paper guide path side more than the fixed position. It is inclined with respect to the paper guide path so as to be located on the downstream side in the roll paper guide direction.

Therefore, at least one of the first sheet pressing member and the first sheet pressing member is disposed so as to be inclined with respect to the sheet guide path such that a portion located on the sheet guide path side is located downstream of the fixed position in the roll sheet guide direction. The cut roll paper is held between the second paper pressing member and the second paper pressing member. by this,
The function of holding the cut roll paper without interrupting the movement of the roll paper downstream of the cutter mechanism in the roll paper guide direction can be realized.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 3 or 4.
In the printer described above, at least one of the first and second sheet pressing members has a brush shape.

Therefore, the cut roll paper is held at a plurality of contact points. This makes it possible to more reliably hold the cut roll paper by holding it at a plurality of contact points.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This embodiment is an example of application to a receipt printer used by connecting to a POS terminal as a printer.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a POS terminal 1 according to one embodiment. On the lower side of the POS terminal 1, a drawer 2 for storing money is provided so as to be able to be pulled out.

The POS terminal 1 has an operation area 3 on its upper surface for receiving an operation by an operator. A keyboard 4 having a plurality of operation keys is provided in an area on the right side of the operation area 3 as viewed from the operator. Although not specifically shown, the keyboard 4 has a numeric key for manually inputting a product code, a deposit amount, and the like, and a deposit / delete key for executing a cash transaction closing process in the product sales registration process.
Various operation keys such as a total key are provided.

On the right side of the operation area 3 as viewed from the operator, an IC built in the POS terminal 1 and carried by the customer
A card reader (not shown) for reading information stored in a portable storage medium (not shown) such as a card is provided with a card reading slit 5.

In the vicinity of the card reading slit 5 in the operation area 3, there is provided a control key 6 for setting an operation mode such as registration, setting, and settlement by a key (not shown).

In an area on the left side of the operation area 3 as viewed from the operator, a receipt printer (see FIG. 2) built in the POS terminal 1 and executing a function of printing out predetermined information.
7 are provided. Although the details will be described later, the receipt printer 7 is provided with a receipt issuing port 9 through which a receipt printed by the built-in printer unit 8 is issued.

At the front side of the receipt issuing port 9 when viewed from the operator of the POS terminal 1, there is provided a bill holder T on which cash relating to a transaction is temporarily placed.

On the upper right side of the POS terminal 1, a display 10 for displaying predetermined information to an operator is provided. On the display surface side of the display 10, a resistive touch panel 11 is laminated. As a usage mode of the display 10 and the touch panel 11, information based on the input product information and image information indicating the position of an input key (not shown) used for inputting the product information are displayed on the display 10. By displaying the image information on the display surface and synchronizing the positional relationship between the image information and the coordinates of the touch panel 11, the touch panel 11 and the display 10 function as an operation unit.

On the back side of the POS terminal 1 as viewed from the operator side, a customer side display 12 for displaying predetermined information toward the customer side is provided upright.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the receipt printer 7.
FIG. 3 is a vertical side view thereof. The receipt printer 7
Printer top cover 13 and printer top cover 13
Are rotatably supported in a casing 15 formed by a printer cover 14. The receipt issuing port 9 is formed between the printer cover 14 and the printer top cover 13 of the casing 15. Below the casing 15, a bottom cover 16 on which various control circuit boards (not shown) and the like are arranged is provided.

The receipt printer 7 has an upper case 17 and a lower case 18. The upper case 17 can be opened and closed with respect to the lower case 18 about a support shaft 19.

The lower case 18 is provided with a platen 20 having a roller structure and an arc-shaped paper storage portion 21. The paper storage portion 21 is provided with a heat-sensitive paper 22 as a long roll paper for printing. It is stored and held in the form of a roll that is wound up in a roll shape from one end in the length direction as the outer peripheral side. Thermal paper 22
Is the paper storage unit 21 with the upper case 17 released.
And pulled out over the platen 20. The setting direction of the thermal paper 22 is such that the outer peripheral surface (thermosensitive surface) side is the upper surface.

The upper case 17 is provided with a thermal head 23 for printing predetermined items on the thermal paper 22 in contact with the platen 20. Thereby, the upper case 17
Is closed, the paper transport path 25 as a paper guide path from the paper storage unit 21 to the receipt issuing port 9 via the thermal head 23 and a cutter mechanism 24 described later.
Is formed, and the thermal head 23 can be brought into contact with the platen 20 with a predetermined pressing force via the paper transport path 25. Here, platen 2
0, the printer section 8 is formed by the thermal head 23.

The paper transport path 25 is connected to the lower housing 18 and the lower guide plate 26 and the upper guide plate 27 which are formed substantially horizontally and integrally with the paper storage section 21 in the paper discharging direction.
And the like. In the vicinity of the receipt issuing port 9 of the paper transport path 25, a discharge receipt guide plate 28 as a first paper pressing member facing the paper transport path 25 from below.
Is provided. This discharge receipt guide plate 28
It is mounted parallel to the paper transport path 25.

In the upper case 17, the support shaft 29 side of the upper guide plate 27 is formed as an arc-shaped cover portion 30 which is continuous with the arc shape of the paper storage portion 21.
Thus, when the upper case 17 is closed, the paper storage section 21 and the arc-shaped cover section 30 are configured to form a cylindrical space as viewed in cross section. Also,
The upper guide plate 27 is provided with a guide roller 31 that is located at a bent portion of the paper transport path 25 and reduces the load when the paper passes.

A cutter mechanism 24 is provided on the paper transport path 25 on the side of the receipt issuing port 9 from the thermal head 23. The cutter mechanism 24 is formed by combining a fixed blade 24a and a movable blade 24b, both of which have a long flat plate shape. The fixed blade 24a is provided on the upper case 17 side. The movable blade 24b is provided on the lower case 18. Fixed blade 2
The movable blade 4a and the movable blade 24b are opposed to each other via the paper transport path 25, and have a separated structure in which both blades are separated when not movable. The movable blade 24b in such a cutter mechanism 24 is driven using the cutter motor M as a drive source. In the cutter mechanism 24, the movable blade 24 b is rotated with respect to the fixed blade 24 a so that the blades of the cutter mechanism 24 are engaged with each other like scissors, and the thermal paper 22 conveyed through the paper conveyance path 25 is cut.

A nylon brush 32 as a second sheet pressing member is provided on the sheet conveying path 25 from the cutter mechanism 24 to the receipt issuing port 9 side. The nylon brush 32 is provided over the entire area of the paper transport path 25 in the width direction. One end of the nylon brush 32 is the printer cover 1
4 is fixed by a double-sided tape (not shown), and the other end, which is a free end, is a discharge receipt guide plate 28.
Is in contact with

The nylon brush 32 is formed in a flat plate shape in which a plurality of fibers formed of a nylon material are gathered at one end, and the gathered side is fixed to the printer cover 14.

Here, a paper holding unit is realized by the discharge receipt guide plate 28 and the nylon brush 32. In the present embodiment, the discharge receipt guide plate 28 is used as the first paper pressing member, and the nylon brush 32 is used as the second paper pressing member. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the nylon brush 32 is used as the first paper pressing member. The discharge receipt guide plate 28 may be used as a second paper pressing member.

In the present embodiment, one end of the nylon brush 32 is simply fixed with a double-sided tape, thereby facilitating attachment. In addition, the fixing method of the nylon brush 32 is not limited to the double-sided tape, and may be fixed by, for example, an adhesive or a screw.

In the present embodiment, the free end side of the nylon brush 32 is in contact with the discharge receipt guide plate 28, but the present invention is not limited to this. The nylon brush 32 may be attached so that the distance between the free end of the nylon brush 32 and the discharge receipt guide plate 28 falls within the range of 0 to 0.1 mm. The free end side of the nylon brush 32 is located downstream of the fixed end side in the roll paper guiding direction, and is inclined with respect to the paper transport path 25. The inclination angle C is determined by the discharge receipt guide plate 2
The angle of the nylon brush 32 with respect to 8 is 125 to 135
It is installed to be within the range of degrees.

In the present embodiment, the ejection receipt guide plate 2 of the printer top cover 13 near the receipt issuing port 9 is used.
8 is formed so as to fall within a range of 125 to 135 degrees. Therefore, when the nylon brush 32 is attached, the nylon brush 32 is set within a predetermined angle range without monitoring the attachment angle particularly strictly. Can be attached.

Although not particularly shown, the POS terminal 1 has a built-in control unit for driving and controlling each unit. At the time of receipt issuance, each unit of the receipt printer 7 is drive-controlled by the control unit. Since this is a known technique, a description of the receipt issuing operation in the receipt printer 7 is omitted in the present embodiment.

Here, the operation of the receipt printer 7 when cutting the receipt will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 are longitudinal side views showing the vicinity of the receipt issuing port 9.

When a receipt issuance instruction is received by a predetermined key operation or the like, the printer unit 8 is driven and controlled by the control unit, and a predetermined item is printed. When the thermal paper 22 on which predetermined items are printed is conveyed to a predetermined cutting position, the movable blade 24b is rotated with respect to the fixed blade 24a, and the thermal paper 22 is cut at the predetermined cutting position. At this time, the thermal paper 22 discharged as a receipt is transferred to a discharge receipt guide plate 28.
And the free end side of the nylon brush 32.

Since the nylon brush 32 is inclined with respect to the paper transport path 25 at an inclination angle C of 125 to 135 degrees with respect to the discharge receipt guide plate 28, there is no problem in the receipt discharge. In addition, nylon brush 3
Reference numeral 2 is provided over the entire area of the paper transport path 25 in the width direction, but comes in contact with the thermal paper 22 discharged at a plurality of points because it is a brush having a plurality of fibers.
When the contact force with respect to the thermal paper 22 at this time is compared with, for example, a case where a thin film having a non-brush shape is provided, the thermal force is applied to the thermal paper 22 over the entire area of the paper transport path 25 in the width direction with respect to the film. However, the force of pressing the thermal paper 22 is spread by pressing the thermal paper 22 at a plurality of points with the brush-like nylon brush 32, so that the thermal paper 22 is pressed more than necessary. It will not be done. Thereby, the nylon brush 32
Is provided in contact with the discharge receipt guide plate 28, there is no problem in discharging the thermal paper 22.

On the other hand, since the thermal paper 22 contacts the thermal paper 22 at a plurality of points, the nylon brush 3
Even if a state occurs in which a part of the nylon brushes 2 cannot contact the thermal paper 22, the other parts of the nylon brush 32 can contact the thermal paper 22 without hindrance and securely hold the thermal paper 22.

The heat-sensitive paper 22 held in the form of a roll has a curl tendency to shrink in the winding direction. For this reason, when the thermal paper 22 is ejected as a receipt, if the thermal paper 22 is advanced by being in contact with the bill holder T provided in the POS terminal 1 and the like,
The thermal paper 22 attempts to return to the inside of the receipt printer 7 due to the strength of its own stiffness.

In this embodiment, the heat-sensitive paper 2 is placed between the discharge receipt guide plate 28 and the free end of the nylon brush 32.
2 is guided, so that the cut thermal paper 22 is held between the discharge receipt guide plate 28 and the free end side of the nylon brush 32. At this time, the discharge receipt guide plate 28
And the free end side of the nylon brush 32 is 0 to 0.
Since the thermal paper 22 is set to be within the range of 1 mm, the thermal paper 22 that is likely to curl due to the curl habit is reliably held, and the backward movement of the thermal paper 22 after cutting can be prevented.

As a result, the receipt left unremoved after being issued is cut again without securing a special mounting space and without greatly increasing the number of parts, thereby producing a strip of paper. Can be prevented.
In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of cutter jam due to the cutting of the receipt left unremoved after being issued again.

In this embodiment, the nylon brush 32 made of a nylon material is used as the second sheet pressing member, but the material forming the second sheet pressing member is not limited to this.

In the present embodiment, the angle at which the nylon brush 32 is attached to the discharge receipt guide plate 28 is set in the range of 125 to 135 degrees. However, the present invention is not limited to this. What is necessary is just to attach it so that it may be located downstream from the fixed end in the receipt discharging direction. Thereby, the return of the receipt can be prevented without hindering the receipt discharge.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the printer is applied to the receipt printer 7 is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, label paper wound in a roll shape may be appropriately cut as roll paper. The present invention may be applied to a label printer to be used.

[0054]

According to the printer of the first aspect of the present invention, while being guided in the paper guide path, the printing operation is performed by the printer unit, and the roll paper cut by the cutter mechanism is guided by the roll mechanism to the roll paper guide. The rear end of the roll paper after cutting is held by the paper holding unit without hindering the movement in the paper discharge direction on the downstream side in the direction.
Since it is possible to regulate the operation of returning to the inside of the printer due to the curl habit, it is possible to prevent the paper from returning after being discharged.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the cut roll paper is held by the paper holding section over the entire area in the width direction of the paper guide path, so that the cut roll paper is cut. This makes it possible to more reliably restrict the operation of the rear end of the roll paper that tries to return to the inside of the printer due to the curl, so that the return of the discharged paper can be more reliably prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first or second aspect, the cut roll paper is
By holding the roll paper between the first and second paper pressing members, it is possible to control the operation of the rear end of the cut roll paper to return to the inside of the printer due to curl.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the third aspect, at least one of the printers is arranged such that a portion located on the paper guide path side is located downstream of the fixed position in the roll paper guide direction. By holding the cut roll paper between the first and second paper pressing members inclined with respect to the paper guide path, the movement of the roll paper on the downstream side in the roll paper guide direction from the cutter mechanism is prevented. It is possible to realize a configuration for holding the cut roll paper without hindrance.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the third or fourth aspect, the cut roll paper is
By holding the roll paper at a plurality of contact points, the cut roll paper can be held more reliably, so that it is possible to realize a configuration in which the return of the discharged paper can be more reliably prevented. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a POS terminal according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a receipt printer.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view thereof.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional side view showing a part thereof.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional side view after cutting the thermal paper.

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional side view showing a part of a conventional receipt printer.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional side view after the thermal paper is cut.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Printer 8 Printing Unit 22 Roll Paper 24 Cutter Mechanism 25 Paper Guide Path 28 First Paper Press Member 28, 32 Paper Holder 32 Second Paper Press Member

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C058 AB16 AC06 AE04 AE10 AF06 AF37 AF38 AF51 LA03 LA24 LB07 LB17 LB36 LC11 2C060 BA03 BB12 BC03 BC14 BC71 BC84 2C061 AP10 AS06 BB08 CK03 3F104 AA02 FA08

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A paper guide path for guiding a roll paper in which a long sheet of paper is wound in a roll shape to a predetermined path, and a roll paper provided at a predetermined position in the paper guide path. A printing mechanism that performs a printing operation on the paper, a cutter mechanism that is provided downstream of the printing unit in the paper guide path in the roll paper guide direction, and cuts the roll paper, and the cutter in the paper guide path. A paper holding unit provided downstream of the mechanism in the roll paper guide direction and holding the roll paper without hindering the movement of the roll paper guided in the paper guide path in the paper discharge direction. . 2. The paper holding unit holds the roll paper over the entire width direction of the paper guide path.
The printer described. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the sheet holding unit is formed by first and second sheet pressing members disposed to face each other via the sheet guide path. 4. The paper guide such that at least one of the first and second paper pressing members is located on the paper guide path side at a position downstream of the fixed position in the roll paper guide direction. 4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the printer is inclined with respect to the path. 5. The first and second paper pressing members,
5. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the printer is a brush.