JP2002178580A - Tool support mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change the pressure applied to a tool such as a cutter while reducing a manufacturing cost without using a solenoid. SOLUTION: The tool support mechanism has a motor driven by a predetermined signal, a rotatory power transmission mechanism for transmitting the rotatory power due to the driving of the motor, a shaking plate arranged to a predetermined support shaft in a freely shakable manner and shaken around the support shaft accompanied by the transmission of rotatory power due to the rotary power transmission mechanism, a tool holder arranged to the support shaft in a freely shakable manner to hold the tool, and the elastic member arranged between the shaking plate and the tool holder and changing the energizing force applied to the tool holder corresponding to the shaking of the shaking plate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool support mechanism, and more particularly to a tool support mechanism for supporting a tool such as a cutter or a pen provided in a printing apparatus for printing on a sheet by numerical control. And a suitable tool support mechanism.

[0002] In this specification, "tool"
An instrument, such as the above-mentioned cutter or pen, that performs predetermined processing such as cutting or drawing on the sheet by contacting the sheet is meant.

[0003] In this specification, "sheet" means
It includes not only paper such as plain paper, but also various media such as OHP sheets or PVC sheets.

[0004]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the entire operation has been controlled by a microcomputer, and the longitudinal direction of a sheet (herein, the longitudinal direction of a sheet is appropriately referred to as a "sub-scanning direction") by a conveying means. The printing that moves along the width direction of the sheet (hereinafter, the width direction of the sheet is appropriately referred to as “main scanning direction” in this specification) on the sheet conveyed along the sheet. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a printing apparatus which includes a head and a cutter, performs predetermined printing on a sheet by a print head, and cuts a predetermined area of the printed sheet by a cutter.

In such a conventional printing apparatus, a sheet is arranged on a base member located below a cutter in the height direction of the printing apparatus.

[0006] The cutter is disposed at a predetermined height of the printing apparatus so as to face the sheet disposed on the base member at a predetermined interval. Further, for example, the cutter is urged in a downward direction in the height direction, that is, in a direction of pressing the cutter against the sheet, by a predetermined urging force (elastic force) of an elastic member such as a spring. It is arranged.

In this specification, the urging force for urging the cutter in the direction of pressing the sheet against the sheet is appropriately referred to as "tool pressure".

[0008] In such a printing apparatus, when cutting a predetermined area of a sheet on which predetermined printing has been performed by a cutter, first, the cutter provided at a predetermined height position of the printing apparatus is moved to the predetermined height. In the direction approaching the sheet, that is, in the downward direction.

[0009] The cutter lowered by a predetermined height in this manner contacts the sheet disposed on the base member, and presses the sheet with a pressure corresponding to the applied tool pressure. In this state, when the cutter is moved in the main scanning direction or the sheet is moved in the sub scanning direction, the sheet is cut by the cutter in accordance with the movement, and the main scanning of the cutter is performed. By combining the movement in the direction and the movement of the sheet in the sub-scanning direction, a predetermined area of the sheet can be cut.

In this specification, a pressure corresponding to a tool pressure when a sheet is pressed by a tool such as a cutter is appropriately referred to as a "sheet pressing force".

In the printing apparatus as described above, the distance between the cutter disposed at a predetermined height of the printing apparatus and the sheet disposed on the base member is always kept constant in the main scanning direction. In this case, when the cutter is lowered by a predetermined height, the cutter can press the sheet with a constant sheet pressing force corresponding to the applied tool pressure.

Therefore, if the sheet pressing force when the cutter is lowered by a predetermined height is set to an appropriate value, a good cutting result can be obtained when the sheet is cut. Things.

However, in such a printing apparatus, the flatness of the base member on which the sheet is placed cannot be sufficiently ensured, or various errors such as errors in attaching a cutter to the printing apparatus accumulate. For example, the interval between the cutter disposed at a predetermined height position of the printing apparatus and the sheet disposed on the base member may not be constant in the main scanning direction.

In such a case, despite the fact that the distance between the cutter and the sheet disposed on the base member changes in the main scanning direction, on the other hand, the cutter is moved in the downward direction (when the cutter is moved with respect to the sheet). Since the tool pressure, which is the urging force of the elastic member urged in the pressing direction), is constant, even if the cutter descends by a predetermined height when cutting the sheet, the cutter will maintain an appropriate constant sheet pressing force. There is a problem that the sheet cannot be pressed.

[0015] As a result, uncut portions of the sheet are generated when cutting the predetermined area, and the cutting result is deteriorated.

[0016] In addition to the above-described printing apparatus, for example, a cutter holder that is provided so as to be vertically movable with respect to a carriage while holding a cutter,
An elastic member for urging the cutter holder upward,
There has been proposed a printing apparatus including a tool support mechanism having a solenoid for moving a cutter holder to an arbitrary position (height) in a vertical direction.

In such a tool supporting mechanism of the printing apparatus, by controlling the energization of the solenoid to control the driving of the solenoid, the cutter holder is pressed against the urging force of the elastic member based on the driving of the solenoid. It is possible to change the amount of movement to move downward or to move upward using the biasing force of the elastic member.

That is, by the change in the amount of movement, the urging force of the elastic member applied to the cutter holder, that is, the tool pressure applied to the cutter can be changed.

However, even if such a tool support mechanism is used, it is not possible to sufficiently secure the flatness of the base member on which the sheet is arranged, or to use various kinds of errors such as errors when attaching a cutter to a printing apparatus. When errors accumulate, uncut portions of the sheet occur when cutting the predetermined area, and the cutting result is deteriorated.

Further, in the above-described tool support mechanism, a solenoid is used to change the tool pressure applied to the cutter. However, since the solenoid is more expensive than a motor or the like, the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus increases. A new problem of doing so.

In the tool support mechanism disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 7-42637 "Driver for Cutting Plotter", side plates 17A erected on both sides of the base 16 are provided.
A rotation shaft 18 having a square cross section facing the base 16 is rotatably supported between the base plate 16 and the side plate 17B. That is,
The rotating shaft 18 is provided to extend in the X direction (main scanning direction) of the cutting plotter.

A worm gear 23 disposed on the outer periphery of the sleeve 22 which can rotate integrally with the rotating shaft 18
However, the rotation in accordance with the rotation of the rotating shaft 18 realizes the movement of the cutter in the Z direction (the direction coincident with the above-described vertical direction) including the adjustment of the cutter pressure.

In such a tool support mechanism, as the size of the entire apparatus such as a cutting plotter increases, the rotating shaft 1 connecting the side plates 17A and 17B to each other.
8 in the main scanning direction is extended, and
The weight of itself will increase considerably. For this reason, it is necessary to increase the motor torque for rotating the rotating shaft 18, and the motor 20 itself has to be enlarged.

As a result, a new problem arises in that the size of the entire tool supporting mechanism increases with the size of the entire apparatus.

[0025]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned various problems of the prior art, and has as its object to reduce the manufacturing cost without using a solenoid. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tool support mechanism capable of changing a tool pressure applied to a tool such as a cutter while reducing the pressure.

Another object of the present invention is to eliminate the use of a rotary shaft extending in the main scanning direction of the apparatus, and to increase the size of the entire tool support mechanism with the increase in the size of the apparatus. It seeks to provide an unnecessary tool support mechanism.

[0027]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a motor driven by a predetermined signal, and a motor for transmitting a rotational force by driving the motor. A force transmission mechanism, a swing plate that is swingably disposed on a predetermined support shaft, and that swings around the support shaft as the rotational force is transmitted by the rotation force transmission mechanism. A tool holder for holding a tool, and a tool holder for holding the tool, and being disposed between the rocking plate and the tool holder, wherein the tool holder is mounted in accordance with the rocking of the rocking plate. And an elastic member that changes the applied urging force.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a motor driven by a predetermined signal, a worm rotated by the driving of the motor, and a swing shaft mounted on a predetermined support shaft. A worm tooth meshing with the worm, and a oscillating plate that is oscillated about the support shaft with the rotation of the worm, and is arranged to be swingable on the support shaft and holds a tool. A tool holder, which is arranged to be wound around the support shaft, one end of which is locked by the rocking plate, and the other end of which is locked by the cutter holder. Applying a biasing force to the cutter holder in accordance with the magnitude of the inner angle formed by the one end and the other end about the support shaft, and responding to the swing of the swing plate. Screw that changes the size of the internal angle It is obtained so as to have a coil spring.

Therefore, according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the biasing force applied to the tool holder can be changed by using a motor instead of the solenoid. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the tool pressure applied to a tool such as a cutter can be changed.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, a rotary shaft extending in the main scanning direction of the apparatus is not used, so that the entire apparatus has a large size. As a result, the size of the entire tool support mechanism does not increase.

[0031]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a tool support mechanism according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural explanatory view of a thermal transfer printing apparatus provided with a tool supporting mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic structural explanatory view (perspective) of the tool supporting mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration explanatory view (front view) of the tool support mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 (left side view). 5 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3 (right side view), and FIG. 6 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 3 (plan view). 7 shows a view (bottom view) as viewed from the direction of arrow D in FIG. 3, and FIG.
FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration explanatory view (rear view) of the tool support mechanism according to the present invention.

For convenience of explanation, the state shown in FIG. 3 is a front view of the tool supporting mechanism. However, the mode of the tool supporting mechanism in the thermal transfer printing apparatus shown in FIG.
This corresponds to the mode shown in FIG.

First, a schematic configuration of a thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 having a tool support mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The overall operation of the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 is controlled by a microcomputer (not shown), and is a fixed system that extends in the main scanning direction and arranges a sheet (not shown) on the upper surface. Base member 1
2, a side wall 14L, 14R disposed at right and left ends of the base member 12 at right angles to the base member 12, a central wall 16 connecting the two left and right side members 14L, 14R, A carriage 2 fixedly arranged on a wire 18 movably arranged in the main scanning direction parallel to the wall surface;
0 and a print head 24 disposed on the carriage 20 so as to face the sheet disposed on the base member 12.
And a sensor 26 disposed on the carriage 20 so as to be adjacent to the print head 24 and face the base member 12.
And the carriage 2 so as to face the base member 12.
0 on the right side.

Here, the cutter 28 is supported by the tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention, and the base member 1 is supported.
The tool support mechanism 100 is disposed on the right side of the carriage 20 so as to face the tool support mechanism 2. The tool support mechanism 100 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS.

The tool support mechanism 100 includes a carriage 20
A substrate 22 fixedly disposed on the right side surface of the substrate.

At the lower end of the front portion 22a of the substrate 22,
A support shaft 34 is protruded, and a mounting member 50 provided with a first mounting protruding portion 50a, a second mounting protruding portion 50b, and a third mounting protruding portion 50c is provided at a central portion of the front portion 22a. It is arranged.

The cutter holder 30 is arranged on the support shaft 34 so as to be swingable, and the first mounting projection 50a of the mounting member 50 is
A motor 52 is provided. Further, the second mounting projection 50b and the third mounting projection 50 of the mounting member 50 are provided.
The worm 46 is disposed so as to be freely rotatable therebetween.

The cutter holder 30 is a plate-like body whose front shape is substantially L-shaped as shown in FIG. 3, and a tip 30a for gripping the cutter 28 and a tip 30a are bifurcated and extend. And a pair of rear ends 30b which are ends of the arm 30c.

At the rear end 30b, the cutter holder 30 is swingably supported by a support shaft 34, and has a substantially rectangular hole formed by the support shaft 34 and the bifurcated arm 30c. 30d will be formed (see FIG. 7).

The cutter 28 includes a cutter holder 30
The screw 32 is disposed in a hole formed in the tip portion 30a of the
It is detachably fixed using.

On the other hand, the lower end of the substrate 22
b is formed to protrude. The projecting portion 22b and the lower surface 30 of the cutter holder 30 are provided on the upper surface of the projecting portion 22b.
The coil spring 36 is disposed so as to be located between the coil spring 36 and the g.

The coil spring 36 has a biasing force in the expanding (extending) direction. When the coil spring 36 contacts the lower surface 30g of the cutter holder 30, the coil spring 36 biases the cutter holder 30 in the upward direction.

Therefore, for example, when the cutter holder 30 is largely moved in the vertical direction due to vibration or the like, the coil spring 36 is moved by the cutter holder 3.
By urging 0 upward, the downward movement of the cutter holder 30 is suppressed, and unintended cutting of the sheet by the cutter 28 due to vibration or the like can be prevented.

Further, the pivot plate 34, which pivotally supports the cutter holder 30, is provided with an oscillating plate 4 having a rear surface 40 d opposed to the front surface 22 a of the substrate 22.
0 is pivotally supported, and a torsion coil spring 42 is loosely fitted.

Here, the swinging plate 40 has one end side 40a located near the arm 30c of the cutter holder 30.
And a fan-shaped plate having a central angle of about 90 degrees formed by the other end 40b of the cutter holder 30 that is located away from the arm 30c of the cutter holder 30. Worm teeth 40c meshing with the worm 46 are formed in the outer peripheral portion.

On the back surface 40d of the rocking plate 40, a pin 44 is protrudingly provided at a position near the worm tooth 40c on the side of the end side 40b.

When the swinging plate 40 swings about the support shaft 34, the swinging plate 40 engages with the hole 3 of the cutter holder 30.
The swing plate 40 and the cutter holder 30 are dimensioned so that they can swing through Od.

Next, the torsion coil spring 42 will be described. The torsion coil spring 42 is wound around the support shaft 34 in the form of a coil on the back surface 40d side of the rocking plate 40 and is rotatable. It is arranged.

One end 42 a of the torsion coil spring 42 is locked by a pin 44 provided on the swing plate 40, and the other end 42 b is on the upper surface of the cutter holder 30. 30f.

The torsion coil spring 42 has a torsion angle, that is, an inner angle α formed by one end 42a and the other end 42b about the support shaft 34 (FIGS. 3, 9, 10 and 10). (See FIG. 11). Specifically, when one end 42a and the other end 42b approach each other so as to narrow the inner angle α, the urging force in the direction of expanding the both increases.

The end 4 of the torsion coil spring 42
The cutter holder 30 whose 2b is locked to the upper surface 30f is urged downward by the urging force (elastic force) of the torsion coil spring 42 according to the internal angle α.

Accordingly, the urging force of the torsion coil spring 42 according to the internal angle α is applied to the cutter 28 as the tool pressure.

[0055] Incidentally, in this embodiment, so as not to cause a biasing force internal angle alpha is at the alpha ₀ is torsion coil spring 42 urges the cutter holder 30 downward direction as shown in FIG. 3 Is set. That is, the internal angle α
Is α _0, the cutter holder 30 is not biased downward by the torsion coil spring 42, and the sword portion 28 a of the cutter 28 has a predetermined distance from the sheet disposed on the base member 12. , A so-called cutter-up state.

A gear 54 is provided on the rotating shaft 52a of the stepping motor 52 provided on the first mounting projection 50a of the mounting member 50. On the other hand, a gear 56 is disposed at the upper end of the worm 46 via a second attachment protrusion 50b, and the gear 54 and the gear 56 are disposed so as to mesh with each other.

Note that the stepping motor 52 rotates stepwise by a predetermined angle in a predetermined circumferential direction in accordance with the number of pulses of the control pulse signal output under the control of the microcomputer.

The rotation of the rotation shaft 52a caused by the rotation of the stepping motor 52 is transmitted to the worm 46 via the gear 54 and the gear 56, and causes the worm 46 to rotate. The rotation of the worm 46 is 46
Is transmitted to the swinging plate 40 in which the worm teeth 40c are engaged.

In this embodiment, when the stepping motor 52 rotates clockwise (in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 3) in response to a predetermined control pulse signal,
The worm 46 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of the arrow b shown in FIG. 3), and the swinging plate 40 provided with the worm teeth 40c meshing with the worm 46 rotates around the support shaft 34 in the direction of the arrow c to move. I do.

As a result, the size of the inner angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 becomes smaller than before, and the urging force of the torsion coil spring 42 urging the cutter holder 30 downward increases.

On the other hand, when the stepping motor 52 rotates in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of the arrow d shown in FIG. 3) in response to the control pulse signal, the worm 46 moves in the clockwise direction (the direction of the arrow e shown in FIG. 3). ), The oscillating plate 40 provided with the worm teeth 40 c meshing with the worm 46 rotates around the support shaft 34 in the direction of arrow f and moves.

As a result, the size of the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 becomes larger than before, and the urging force of the torsion coil spring 42 urging the cutter holder 30 in the downward direction decreases.

Here, as for the structure other than the tool support mechanism 100 in the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10, a known technique can be used, so that the detailed description is omitted, and the present invention will be described below. Only matters related to implementation will be described.

When the wire 18 is wound and moved in the main scanning direction by driving of a driving device (not shown) such as a motor, the carriage 20 moves along the center wall 16 along with the movement of the wire 18. Move in the scanning direction.

As the carriage 20 moves, the print head 24 and the sensor 26
The cutter 28 also moves in the main scanning direction.

Further, the print head 24 arranged on the carriage 20 can be moved in the vertical direction in the height direction of the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10, so that an ink ribbon (not shown) is brought into close contact with the print head during printing. In this state, the sheet is lowered until it comes into contact with a sheet (not shown) arranged on the base member 12, and predetermined printing is performed on the sheet by thermal transfer while the sheet is pressed against the base member 12.

The sensor 26 can be constituted by, for example, an infrared sensor, and detects the size of the sheet disposed on the base member 12 facing the sensor 26.

In the above configuration, a case where a sheet is cut using the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 having the tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention will be described.

In order to cut the sheet by the cutter 28, the carriage 20 is moved in the main scanning direction by driving a driving device (not shown) such as a motor in advance, and the sheet is moved at predetermined points in the main scanning direction. The distance is detected, and the detection result is stored in the memory of the microcomputer.

When the sheet is actually cut by the cutter 28, the microcomputer calculates the distance between the sheets for each point stored in the memory as the cutter 28 moves to each point. The output of the control pulse signal is controlled accordingly.

That is, with the movement of the cutter 28 to each point, the magnitude of the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 is controlled in accordance with the distance between sheets at that point stored in the memory, and for each point. This is to change the tool pressure.

[0072] Here, when the sheet spacing at a point which is stored in the memory matches the predetermined reference value, by setting the internal angle alpha alpha ₁ of the torsion coil spring 42, the proper sheet pressing force It is assumed that the tool pressure necessary for obtaining the tool can be applied to the cutter 28 (see FIG. 9).

The operation in this case will be described. A predetermined control pulse signal corresponding to the above-mentioned predetermined reference value is transmitted by the microcomputer to the stepping motor 52.
And the stepping motor 52 rotates clockwise (rotation in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 3) or left (rotation d shown in FIG. 3) at a rotation angle corresponding to the transmitted control pulse signal.
Direction), and the gear 54 disposed on the rotating shaft 52a of the stepping motor 52 also rotates clockwise (rotation in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 3) or left (rotation in the direction of arrow d shown in FIG. 3). .

Then, the gear 56 meshing with the gear 54 rotates left (rotation in the direction of arrow b shown in FIG. 3) or right (rotation in the direction of arrow e shown in FIG. 3), and the gear 56 is fixed. The worm 46 also rotates counterclockwise (rotation in the direction of arrow b shown in FIG. 3) or clockwise (rotation in the direction of arrow e shown in FIG. 3), and the swinging plate 40 rotates around the support shaft 34 in the direction of arrow c in FIG. Or, it rotates and moves in the direction of arrow f.

As a result, the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 becomes an internal angle α ₁ smaller than the internal angle α ₀ at the time of cutter up, and the torsion coil spring 42
Is generated. As a result, the cutter holder 30
Moves downward against the urging force of the coil spring 36,
The state shown in FIG. 9 is obtained.

Then, the cutter 2 in the state shown in FIG.
8, i.e., the interior angle α cutter to force serving tool pressure biasing of the torsion coil spring 42 is applied in the ₁ comes into contact with the sheet, the cutter 28 is the sheet at proper sheet pressing force caused by the tool pressure has been granted Will be pressed,
Good cutting results can be obtained.

On the other hand, if the distance between sheets at a certain point stored in the memory is shorter than a predetermined reference value,
With larger alpha ₂ than the interior angle alpha alpha ₁ of the torsion coil spring 42 in response to the sheet distance, the tool pressure required to obtain a proper sheet pressing force cutter 28
(See FIG. 10).

That is, in the same manner as described above, the magnitude of the inner angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 is controlled by controlling the driving of the stepping motor 52 by the control pulse signal.
And a large interior angle α ₂ compared to _1. Then, a smaller tool pressure can be applied to the cutter 28 as compared with the tool pressure (see FIG. 9) at a location where the sheet-to-sheet distance matches the predetermined reference value.

[0079] tool pressure cutter 28 have been granted (ie, urging force of the torsion coil spring 42 of the interior angle α ₂₎
To press the sheet with a sheet pressing force according to
By setting the internal angle alpha ₂ of the torsion coil spring 42 to the appropriate value, the tool pressure required to obtain a proper sheet pressing force.

If the distance between sheets at a certain point stored in the memory is longer than a predetermined reference value,
With smaller alpha ₃ than the internal angle alpha alpha ₁ of the torsion coil spring 42 in response to the sheet distance, the tool pressure required to obtain a proper sheet pressing force cutter 28
(See FIG. 11).

That is, in the same manner as described above, the magnitude of the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 is controlled by controlling the driving of the stepping motor 52 by the control pulse signal.
And a small interior angle α ₃ as compared to the _1. Then, a greater tool pressure can be applied to the cutter 28 than the tool pressure (see FIG. 9) at a location where the sheet-to-sheet distance matches the predetermined reference value.

[0082] tool pressure cutter 28 have been granted (ie, urging force of the torsion coil spring 42 of the interior angle α ₃₎
To press the sheet with a sheet pressing force according to
By setting the internal angle alpha ₃ of the torsion coil spring 42 to the appropriate value, the tool pressure required to obtain a proper sheet pressing force.

[0083] As described above, every predetermined point in the main scanning direction, when the sheet distance matches the predetermined reference value, the internal angle size of alpha in the torsion coil spring 42 and alpha ₁ However, when the sheet-to-seat distance is shorter than a predetermined reference value, the size of the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 is increased (inner angle α ₂ > inner angle α ₁ ), and
A tool pressure smaller than the tool pressure at a predetermined reference value is applied to the cutter 28 (see FIG. 10). Conversely, if the sheet-to-sheet distance is longer than the predetermined reference value, the torsion coil spring The size of the inner angle α of 42 is reduced (inner angle α ₃ <inner angle α ₁ ) so that a tool pressure larger than the tool pressure at a predetermined reference value is applied to the cutter 28 (see FIG. 11). .

As described above, even when the distance between the sheets, that is, the distance between the cutter 28 and the sheet disposed on the base member 18 changes in the main scanning direction,
Since the tool pressure can be changed for each predetermined point, the cutter 28 can press the sheet with an appropriate constant sheet pressing force in the main scanning direction.

As described above, in the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 having the tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention, the flatness of the base member 12 on which the sheet is placed cannot be sufficiently ensured, or mechanical mounting is required. Even if the gap between the cutter 28 and the sheet disposed on the base member 12 (inter-sheet distance) is not kept constant in the main scanning direction due to accumulation of errors, rotation by the driving of the stepping motor 52 is performed. The tool pressure is changed by changing the magnitude of the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 via a torque transmitting mechanism including a worm 46 for transmitting a force and a worm tooth 40c meshing with the worm 46. Therefore, the cutter 28 always applies the sheet to the base member 1 with an appropriate sheet pressing force.
2 can be brought into pressure contact, and a good cutting result can be obtained.

Further, since the tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention in the above-described thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 does not use a rotating shaft extended in the main scanning direction of the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10, the entirety of the thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 is used. The tool support mechanism 100 does not increase in size as the size increases.

Further, since the tool supporting mechanism 100 according to the present invention in the above-described thermal transfer printing apparatus 10 does not use a solenoid, the manufacturing cost can be greatly reduced.

The tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention
Since the solenoid is not used for the tool support mechanism 100 in the above, no space is required for disposing the solenoid, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, and space saving can be realized.

The above-described embodiment may be modified as described in the following (1) to (9).

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the stepping motor 5 is connected via the gear 54 and the gear 56.
The second rotation is transmitted to the worm 46, but is not limited to this.
A roller is used instead of the gear and the gear 56, and a roller provided on the rotation shaft 52a of the stepping motor 52 and a roller provided on the worm 46,
The rotation of the stepping motor 52 may be transmitted to the worm 46.

(2) In the above embodiment, the worm 46 and the worm teeth 40c meshing with the worm 46 are used as the rotational force transmitting mechanism for transmitting the rotational force driven by the stepping motor 52 to the rocking plate 40. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and the torque generated by driving the stepping motor 52 is oscillated by using a transmission mechanism including a rack and a pinion or a chain of a plurality of gears. The magnitude of the internal angle α of the torsion coil spring 42 may be changed by transmitting it to the moving plate 40.

(3) In the above embodiment, before the predetermined cutting by the cutter 28, the distance between sheets in the main scanning direction is detected in advance. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Of course, at the time of cutting, the distance between sheets may be detected in real time, and the above-described cutting processing may be performed based on the detection.

(4) In the above embodiment, the cutter 28 is supported as a tool by the tool support mechanism 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a pen or the like may be supported as a tool. May be.

(5) In the embodiment described above, the tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention uses the thermal transfer printing apparatus 1
However, it is needless to say that the tool support mechanism 100 according to the present invention is provided in a pen plotter, a cutting plotter, or an ink jet printer. It may be.

(6) In the above embodiment, the stepping motor 52 is provided.
It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and various motors such as a DC motor, an AC motor, and a brushless motor may be provided.

(7) In the above embodiment, the torsion plate 40 and the cutter holder 30 are linked by interposing the torsion coil spring 42 between the oscillating plate 40 and the cutter holder 30. However, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this, and various types of springs such as scissor-shaped springs or coil springs having a predetermined biasing force (elastic force), elastic resins, etc. Rocking plate 40
The swing plate 40 and the cutter holder 30 may be linked to each other so as to be interposed between the rocker plate 40 and the cutter holder 30.

(8) In the above embodiment, the control pulse signal based on the detected inter-sheet distance is transmitted to the stepping motor 52.
Of course, the present invention is not limited to this. Instead of detecting the distance, a pressure sensor and an encoder are provided, and the cutter 28 is applied to the sheet at predetermined points in the main scanning direction in advance. By detecting the sheet pressing force at the time of contact with the pressure sensor and detecting the driving state of the motor with the encoder, a control pulse signal based on the detection result is transmitted to the stepping motor 52. Is also good.

Based on the above detection results, the cutter 28 presses the sheet with an appropriate sheet pressing force in accordance with the movement of the cutter 28 as a tool in the main scanning direction. Obtainable.

(9) The above embodiments and the modifications shown in (1) to (8) above may be appropriately combined.

[0100]

According to the present invention, as described above, the tool pressure applied to a tool such as a cutter can be changed while reducing the manufacturing cost without using a solenoid. It has an excellent effect.

Further, the present invention does not use a rotating shaft extending in the main scanning direction of the apparatus, and thus does not increase the size of the tool support mechanism as a whole of the apparatus. Has the effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration explanatory view showing a thermal transfer type printing apparatus provided with a tool support mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration explanatory view (perspective view) showing a tool support mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural explanatory view (front view) showing a tool support mechanism according to the present invention (cutter down state).

FIG. 4 is a view as viewed from an arrow A in FIG. 3 (left side view).

FIG. 5 is a view as viewed in the direction of the arrow B in FIG. 3 (right side view).

6 is a view (plan view) as viewed from an arrow C in FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a view (bottom view) as viewed from an arrow D in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a schematic structural explanatory view (rear view) showing a tool supporting mechanism according to the present invention.

Is a [9] The present invention schematic configuration diagram interior angle magnitude of alpha of the coil torsion spring in the tool support mechanism showing the cutter down state when the interior angle alpha ₁ by (front view).

It is a schematic diagram illustrating a cutter down state when [10] magnitude interior angles interior angle of the coil torsion spring in the tool supporting mechanism alpha according to the present invention alpha ₂ (front view).

11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cutter down state when the inner angle magnitude of alpha of the coil torsion spring in the tool support mechanism according to the present invention the inner angle alpha ₃ (front view).

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Thermal transfer type printing apparatus 12 Base member 14L, 14R Side member 16 Center wall 18 Wire 20 Carriage 22 Substrate 22a Front part 22b Projection part 24 Print head 26 Sensor 28 Cutter 28a Blade part 30 Cutter holder 30a Tip part 30b Rear end Part 30c arm part 30d hole 30f upper surface 30g lower surface 32 screw 34 support shaft 36 coil spring 40 rocking plate 40a, 40b end side 40c worm tooth 40d back part 42 torsion coil spring 42a, 42b end 44 pin 46 worm 50 Mounting member 52 Stepping motor 52a Rotating shaft 54, 56 Gear

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A motor driven by a predetermined signal, a torque transmitting mechanism for transmitting a torque by the driving of the motor, and a swing shaft disposed on a predetermined support shaft for rotation by the torque transmitting mechanism. A rocking plate that is rocked about the support shaft with the transmission of force, a tool holder that is provided to be swingable on the support shaft, and that holds a tool; and the rocking plate and the tool.・ It is arranged between the holder and
A tool supporting mechanism having an elastic member that changes an urging force applied to the tool holder in accordance with the swing of the swing plate. 2. The worm, comprising: a motor driven by a predetermined signal; a worm rotated by driving the motor; and a worm tooth slidably disposed on a predetermined support shaft and meshing with the worm. A swing plate that swings around the support shaft with the rotation of the tool, a tool holder that is swingably mounted on the support shaft, and that holds a tool, and that is wound around the support shaft. And one end is locked to the rocker plate, and the other end is locked to the cutter holder, and the one end is fixed to the support shaft as a center. A torsion coil spring that applies an urging force to the cutter holder in accordance with the size of the internal angle formed by the other end and changes the size of the internal angle in accordance with the swing of the swing plate. Tool support mechanism having