JP2002302304A - Label printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the separation of a label from a mount even when the sizes of the printing paper are various. SOLUTION: This label printer is provided with a feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20 for moving a position of a feeding shaft of a loading part in accordance with the abrasion of a label paper with mount 11 for approximately unifying a feeding angle of the maximum label paper with mount 11 and a feeding angle of the minimum label paper with mount 11, and this feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20 is provided with a guide part 22 mounted on a frame 21 of a printer body, a recessed part 23 formed on an outer peripheral part of a disc plate 12b of a basic part of the feeding shaft 12a and inserted into a slot 22a of the guide part 22, and a tension spring 24 as an elevating means for suspending the disc plate 12b of the feeding shaft 12a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a label printer, and more particularly, to a label printer suitable for handling label paper with a backing sheet as printing paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a label printer which handles a label sheet with a backing sheet as a printing sheet, after the label sheet is printed, the backing sheet is automatically peeled off from the printed label sheet. This eliminates the need for peeling, and is convenient. As shown in FIG. 9, a conventional label printer includes a loading section 1, a printing section including a thermal head 2 and a platen roller 3, and a guide rotatably disposed on a transport path between the printing section and the loading section 1. And a roller 4.

[0003] Then, a label sheet 5 with a backing paper is loaded into the loading section 1, the leading end of the label sheet 5 is pulled out, passes through a guide roller 4 and passes between the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3 of the printing section. When printing is started after being set in the transport path, the label paper 5 with the backing sheet is sequentially fed out. At this time, with the feeding of the label paper 5, the printing position of the label paper 5 is pressed against the thermal head 2 by the platen roller 3,
Printing is performed by the thermal head 2.

[0004]

However, the conventional label printer described above does not consider the following points. That is, the outer diameter of the label paper 5 with the backing sheet loaded in the loading unit 1 gradually decreases with the progress of printing. Is consumed, the diameter gradually decreases, and finally, the diameter becomes considerably smaller than the maximum diameter.

For this reason, there is no problem in the case where the label paper 5 is not consumed so much and the diameter is large, but if the diameter becomes small due to consumption, the diameter becomes large as shown by a chain line in FIG. Unlike the case at the time, the angle at which the label paper 5 is fed out becomes an acute angle θ1 which is considerably different, so that the label 5b of the label paper 5 is peeled off from the backing sheet 5a at a stage before the printing is still performed, and as a label printer. Had poor reliability.

As described above, when the outer diameter of the label paper 5 with the backing paper is reduced by consumption, and the angle at which the label paper 5 is fed out becomes an acute angle which is considerably different, the space of the conveyance path is secured accordingly. And the device itself becomes large. In particular, label printers are required to be downsized.
If the transport path cannot be saved in space, it has been difficult to achieve further miniaturization.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art,
An object of the present invention is to provide a label printer that can prevent a label from peeling off from a backing paper even if the diameter of printing paper is different, and can increase reliability.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems To solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following means. In the present invention, a loading section for loading a label sheet with a backing sheet made of label paper temporarily attached to a backing sheet, a printing section for printing desired data at a printing position of the label sheet with a backing sheet, and a printing section and a loading section. In the label printer having the formed transport path, the supply axis is gradually moved upward according to the degree of consumption of the label paper with the mount in the loading section, and the feeding angle of the label paper with the mount fed out from the loading section is substantially the same. The present invention is characterized in that a payout angle adjusting mechanism is provided. Further, in the present invention, the payout angle adjusting mechanism includes:
It has guide means attached to the printer body and guides the supply shaft of the loading section so as to be able to move up and down, and elevating means which gradually raises the supply axis along the guide section according to the degree of consumption of the label paper with the backing paper. Features. further,
The lifting / lowering means of the feeding angle adjusting mechanism is characterized by comprising one of a tension spring and a push-up spring.

[0009]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 1 to 7 show an embodiment of the label printer of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the label printer 10 of this embodiment is roughly divided into a loading section 12 for loading a label sheet 11 with a backing sheet as a printing sheet, and a printing section including a thermal head 13 and a platen roller 14. Provided in the device. As shown in FIG. 2, the label paper 11 with the backing paper is provided on the surface of the band-shaped backing paper 11a along the longitudinal direction thereof.
1b are temporarily attached, and they are further wound around the core 11c to form a roll.

The loading section 12 includes a printer main body (not shown).
Has a supply shaft 12a fixed to a frame attached to the base paper, and the supply shaft 12a penetrates the core 11c of the label paper 11 with the mount, thereby the label paper 1 with the mount.
Load 1

The thermal head 13 of the printing section prints desired data by heating the label paper 11b of the label paper 11 with the mount, and the platen roller 14 prints the label paper 11 with the mount. The part to be rotated is rotated while being pressed against the thermal head 13. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a guide roller disposed on a transport path between the loading unit 12 and the printing unit, and only one guide roller is shown in FIG.

[0012] Such a label printer includes a loading unit 12.
Since the outer diameter of the label paper 11 with the mount is gradually reduced with the consumption of the label paper 11 with the mount which is loaded into the guide roller 15, the guide roller 15 has the mount at the maximum diameter and the minimum diameter. The feeding angle of the label paper 11 is different.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
By gradually moving the position of the supply shaft 12a of
A guide angle adjusting mechanism 20 that raises the supply shaft 12a with respect to the guide roller 15 so that the feed angle θ at the maximum diameter of the label paper 11 with the mount and the feed angle at the minimum diameter are substantially matched. It is.

The payout angle adjusting mechanism 20 will be described.
As shown in the figure, the frame 21 fixed to the printer body
And a recess 23 formed in the outer periphery of the disk plate 12b at the base of the supply shaft 12a and inserted into the elongated hole 22a of the guide portion 22, and a disk plate of the supply shaft 12a. And a tension spring 24 as lifting means for suspending 12b.

The upper end of the tension spring 24 has the guide portion 2.
In addition to being locked to the second top plate 22b, its lower end is locked to a pin 25 attached to the back surface of the disk plate 12b of the supply shaft 12a. That is, the supply shaft 1 of the loading unit 12
2a rises and falls within a long hole 22a formed in the guide portion 22 between a rising position shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 and a falling position shown by a chain line in FIG.

The feed-out angle adjusting mechanism 20 is provided in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 when the label paper 11 with the mount is started to be printed when the label paper 11 with the mount is loaded on the supply shaft 12a of the loading section 12. As shown in the drawing, the label paper 11 with the backing sheet supplied from the loading unit 12 descends against the spring force of the tension spring 24 so as to be substantially linear with the thermal head 13 and the platen roller 14 and the guide roller 15 of the printing unit. As a result, the payout angle of the label paper 11 with the backing paper becomes θ. Then, as the outer diameter of the label paper 11 with the backing paper gradually decreases as the printing is repeated, the feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20 causes the supply shaft 12a to move the chain line shown in FIG. By gradually rising as shown by the solid line shown in FIG. 7, the feeding angle of the label paper 11 with the backing paper is set to be substantially the same as the feeding angle θ. Therefore, the feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20
In the label paper 11 with the backing sheet fed from the supply shaft 12a, the feeding angle θ at the maximum diameter and the feeding angle at the minimum diameter are substantially the same.

Therefore, the spring constant of the tension spring 24 is
Label paper 11 with backing paper handled by label printer 10
The supply shaft 12a is gradually increased as the outer diameter gradually decreases. Therefore, the feed-out angle of the present embodiment is the feed-out angle of the label paper 11 with respect to the guide roller 15 located closest to the label paper 11 with the backing paper.

The operation of the label printer 10 of the present embodiment is described below because it is configured as described above. Now, the supply shaft 12a of the loading section 12 of the printer main body.
Inserts the core 11c of the label paper 11 with the backing paper, and loads a new label paper 11 with the backing paper having the maximum outer diameter, and the leading end of the label paper 11 with the backing paper is pulled out to guide the guide paper. Pass 15 and
Thermal head 13 and platen roller 14 in printing section
It is assumed that the paper is set on the transport path as shown in FIG.

In this setting state, the label paper with mount 11 has the largest outer diameter and is the heaviest, so that the tension spring 24 of the feed-out angle adjusting mechanism 20 is lowered by that weight, so that the guide portion 22 is formed. Long hole 22
It is the most lowered position in a. The payout angle at that time is θ as shown in FIGS.

In this manner, the printing is repeated many times after the start of the printing, and as the outer diameter of the label paper 11 with the backing paper gradually decreases, the supply shaft of the loading section 12 is supplied by the spring force of the tension spring 24. 12a gradually rises as shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 and the solid line in FIG. 7, so that the feeding angle supplied from the label paper 11 with the backing paper in the loading unit 12 is:
It can be made substantially the same as the payout angle θ when the outer diameter is large. In other words, even if the label paper 11 with the backing sheet is used up to the end and becomes the smallest diameter, the same state as the case of the largest diameter is obtained.

In this embodiment, as described above, even if the label paper 11 with the backing paper is gradually consumed from the maximum diameter by the feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20 and becomes small in diameter,
Since the feeding angle of the label paper 11 with the backing sheet fed from the loading unit 12 can be made substantially the same, unlike the related art, it is possible to reliably prevent the label sheet 11b from peeling off from the backing sheet 11a even if the diameter becomes small. Stable feeding can be realized regardless of the degree of consumption of the label paper 11 with the backing paper. Thereby, the reliability of the label printer 10 can be improved.

Further, if the feeding angle of the label paper 11 with the backing paper in the loading section 12 can be made substantially the same, it is not necessary to widen the transport path of the label paper 11, and the space can be saved by that much. When used as a portable label printer, further miniaturization can be achieved.

The unwinding angle adjusting mechanism 20 is adapted to connect the disk plate 12b of the supply shaft 12a of the loading section 12 to the slot 22a.
And a tension spring 24 that suspends the disk plate 12b and gradually raises the supply shaft 12a with a spring force in accordance with the degree of wear of the label paper 11 with a mount. Therefore, the supply shaft 12a can be ascended with a simple configuration. Moreover, since the lifting / lowering means is constituted by the tension spring 24, the structure can be further simplified, and the apparatus can be easily and easily installed in a limited narrow space.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the present invention. The label printer 10 according to this embodiment includes a disk plate 12 of a supply shaft 12a as a feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20.
b, a rotating body 26 is rotatably mounted, and a guide portion 22 attached to the frame 21 can smoothly move up and down the supply shaft 12a via the rotating body 26. For this reason, the rotating body 26 has, on its inner periphery, an inner engaging portion 26a that rotatably engages with the concave portion 23 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the disk plate 12b, and has a long hole 22a on the guide portion 22 on its outer periphery. The outer engaging portion 26b rotatably engages with the peripheral edge to be formed. In FIG. 8, FIGS.
The same reference numerals as those in FIG. 7 indicate the same or corresponding components.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the supply shaft 12a of the loading section 12 gradually rises along the long hole 22a of the guide section 22 with the consumption of the label paper 11 with the backing sheet. Since the rotatable rotating body 26 is mounted between the portion 22 and the disk plate 12b of the supply shaft 12a, the supply shaft 12a can be smoothly moved upward, and the supply shaft 12a can be smoothly moved.

In the illustrated embodiment, an example is shown in which the feeding angle adjusting mechanism 20 is configured to raise the supply shaft 12a of the loading section 12 by the spring force of the tension spring 24. The disc paper 12b of the supply shaft 12a is supported by being constituted by a spring, a bamboo spring, a leaf spring, and the like, and the label paper 1 with a backing sheet is provided.
The same effect as described above can be obtained by gradually pushing up the supply shaft 12a in accordance with the degree of wear of 1 and is not limited to the illustrated example. Further, the example using the thermal head 13 as the printing unit has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is needless to say that the present invention can be applied to a printer using a ribbon that can be printed by carbon transfer.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the label paper with the backing paper is gradually consumed from the maximum diameter and becomes a small diameter, the backing paper delivered from the loading unit by the delivery angle adjusting mechanism. The feeding angle of the label paper with the label can be made almost the same, so that even if the diameter becomes small, the label paper is prevented from peeling off from the mount, so that the stable feeding can be performed regardless of the consumption of the label paper with the mount. Since the present invention can be realized, the reliability of the label printer can be improved, and the space of the transport path can be saved correspondingly, so that it is possible to further reduce the size, particularly when used as a label printer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a label printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory perspective view showing a label sheet with a mount of the label printer.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a payout angle adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a longitudinal section showing the payout angle adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a vertical movement of a supply shaft in a loading unit.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which a new label sheet with a mount is loaded and printing is started.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which the label paper with the backing paper of FIG. 6 has been consumed and the remaining label paper has been reduced.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a cross section of a main part of a feeding angle adjusting mechanism showing a label printer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional label printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 label printer 11 label paper with backing paper 11a backing paper 11b label paper 11c core 12 loading section 12a supply shaft 12b disk plate 13 thermal head 14 platen roller 15 guide roller 20 feeding angle adjusting mechanism 21 frame 22 guide portion 22a long hole 22b top plate 23 recess 24 tension spring as lifting means 25 pin 26 rotator 26a inner engaging part 26b outer engaging part θ Feeding angle of label paper with mount

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A loading section for loading a label sheet with a backing sheet, which is a label sheet temporarily attached to a backing sheet, a printing section for printing desired data at a printing position of the label sheet with a backing sheet, and between the printing section and the loading section. The loading section gradually moves the supply shaft in accordance with the degree of wear of the label paper with a mount, and makes the feeding angle of the label paper with the mount fed out from the loading section substantially equal to one. A label printer comprising a feed-out angle adjusting mechanism for adjusting the feeding angle. 2. The feeding angle adjusting mechanism is attached to a printer main body, and guides a supply shaft of a loading unit so as to be able to move up and down. 2. The label printer according to claim 1, further comprising: elevating means for gradually moving up and down. 3. The label printer according to claim 2, wherein the lifting / lowering means of the feeding angle adjusting mechanism comprises one of a tension spring and a push-up spring.