JP2003034456A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact printer capable of correcting curl of roll paper, and allowing easy setting of the roll paper. SOLUTION: There is provided the printer 1 for arranging a paper passage 15 for introducing an inside surface 2a to a printing surface 11a of a thermal head 11 from a roll paper body 2r, and bending and delivering the printed roll paper 2 in the opposite direction of the curl by applying the paper to a guide surface 23a of an outlet guide 23. This printer 1 can simultaneously move a platen roller 12 upward when opening a roll paper cover 13, and the roll paper 2 can be easily set. When printed, the paper can be ejected in the direction of the roll paper body 2r in a state of upwardly turning a surface printed with a curl-removed sheet-like printout.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a compact printing apparatus capable of correcting or removing the curl of roll paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers such as printers and facsimiles that print on roll paper are known. Such a printing device, compared to a device that prints on cut sheets,
There is little space to store printing paper, and it can be compacted as a whole. However, since the roll paper is printed, the curl of the roll paper becomes a problem. For example, the printed roll paper output from the printing device has curl and therefore curls. Therefore, even if the printed sheets are cut into a predetermined size such as A4 when the printed sheets are output from the printing apparatus, it becomes difficult to hold them in a stocker or the like. Further, since the output paper is curled, the work of filing a plurality of sheets together becomes troublesome. Therefore, at present, although the size of a printer or a facsimile is increased, it is preferable to print on a sheet-shaped printing paper or a cut sheet.

[0003]

With the widespread use of mobile terminals such as PDAs and mobile phones, there has been a strong demand for a compact printing apparatus that can be used with these mobile terminals on the go. As described above, the printing device using roll paper as the printing paper is suitable for compactly packing the printing device, but it is important to correct, remove or correct the curl of the roll paper. Become. That is, in a compact printing apparatus suitable for a mobile terminal such as a PDA, it is expected that a roll paper having a diameter of about 10 mm will be used, and the printed matter output to the outside is curled to have a diameter of 1 mm.
The printed matter is rolled up with a small diameter of about 0 mm or less. Therefore, the printed matter using the roll paper of small diameter is more difficult to handle than the one printed on the conventional roll paper. Therefore, it is extremely important to correct the curl of the roll paper in the printing device for the mobile terminal.

As a mechanism therefor, there is a mechanism for pressing the roll paper against the paper guide having an acute angle by the force of the spring and pulling the roll paper in this state to correct the curl. However, with this mechanism, it is necessary to install a paper guide with an acute angle in the paper path to change the paper path, and to secure a space for accommodating the spring that presses the roll paper against the paper guide. It is not suitable for realizing a printing device. Also, since the roll paper pressed against the paper guide is pulled, it is necessary to set the motor output to a large value in anticipation of the load at this time. Therefore, since the motor becomes large, this point is not suitable for a compact printer. Further, since the ability to correct the curl is not so high, there is a fundamental problem that it is not effective for roll paper having a small diameter.

On the other hand, by pressing the roll paper against the surface inclined in the direction opposite to the direction in which the roll paper is curved due to the curl, the curl is removed by utilizing the strength of the roll paper itself and the paper feeding force. The applicant of the present application has proposed a method of doing this. FIG. 7 shows an example thereof. This printing device 100
A thermal head 101, a platen roller 102 that feeds the roll paper 2 with the thermal head 101 sandwiched therebetween, and a guide surface 103a that is inclined near the exit side of the platen roller 102 so as to extend the curl of the roll paper 2 are provided. It has a paper guide 103 and a motor 104 for driving the platen roller 102. In the printing apparatus 100, the roll paper 2 output from the paper guide 103 is provided by disposing the guide surface 103a near the thermal head 101.
Shows a state in which the winding habit is eliminated in an almost flat state. Therefore, in the printing apparatus 100, the roll paper 2 is pressed against the guide surface 103a arranged in the vicinity of the thermal head 101 by the strength of the user's waist and the paper feeding force of the platen roller 102, so that the roll paper 2 is curled in the opposite direction. By bending it to the inside, that is,
It is believed that the inner surface of the curl can be stretched, which is a factor that can very efficiently eliminate the curl.

This curl removing mechanism can remove the curl even with a roll paper having a small diameter, and since it is not necessary to press the roll paper with a spring, the spring for that purpose and the space for storing it can be omitted. Also, since the motor power can be reduced, the motor can be made compact. Therefore, by adopting this curl removal, it is possible to provide a printer suitable for the mobile terminal 109 such as the above-described mobile phone, and it is possible to provide a printer integrated with the mobile terminal 109.

When a printer integrated with the portable terminal 109 is realized, there are several options for arranging the thermal head 101, the feed roller 102 serving as a platen roller, and the paper guide 103. With the arrangement shown in FIG. 7, if the platen roller 102 and the paper guide 103 can be removed upward, it is very easy to set the roll paper 2, and in this respect, a printer with good usability can be provided.

However, looking at the output direction of the roll paper 2, in the printing apparatus 100, the print surface 2a is discharged to the side opposite to the supply direction of the roll paper 2 with the printing surface 2a being the back side or the lower side. Therefore, the liquid crystal panel 108 and the keyboard of the mobile terminal 109 are hidden by the ejected roll paper 2, which is not preferable. Furthermore, since the printing surface 2a faces downward, the printed state cannot be seen, which is also not preferable.

In order to efficiently remove the curl of the roll paper 2, it is necessary to set the guide surface 103a so as to be substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the thermal head 101 guides the roll paper 2 to the paper guide 103. The larger the angle α, the higher the ability to remove the curl. Therefore, when the roll paper 2 having a small diameter is used, it is desirable that the angle α be as large as possible, and it is desirable that the angle α be close to 90 degrees or more. Therefore, the thermal head 1
The angle of the paper guide 103 with respect to 01 is limited, and when the paper guide 103 is oriented and the roll paper 2 is to be ejected rearward, the thermal head 101 is horizontally arranged above the platen roller 102. It becomes like this. Therefore, even if the roll paper 2 is set or the platen roller 102 is removed when the paper is jammed, the arrangement cannot be removed.

As described above, the method of applying the roll paper to the paper guide with the feed roller and sharply bending it in the opposite direction to the curving direction to remove the curl of the roll paper is very compact and efficient. However, when the roll paper is set, the feed roller can be removed to make the printer easy to set and maintain.When the printer is mounted on the top or bottom of the mobile terminal, the surface of the mobile terminal is covered with the roll paper. Also, the printed surface cannot be seen. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a printer that is easy to maintain, has a printed surface that is easy to see, and does not cover the keyboard and the display with roll paper when mounted on a mobile terminal.

Therefore, in the present invention, the curl of the roll paper can be efficiently corrected, the maintenance is easy, the printing surface appears on the front surface, and the surface of the portable terminal is rolled when mounted on the portable terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide a compact printing device which is not covered with paper and is most suitable for carrying with a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone.

[0012]

Therefore, the present invention is a printing apparatus which solves the above problems by printing on the inner surface of a roll paper and presses the roll paper against a paper guide to remove the curl. Thus, it is possible to provide a compact printing apparatus that is easy to maintain, has a printing surface exposed on the front surface, and does not cover the surface of the mobile terminal with roll paper when mounted on the mobile terminal. That is, the printing apparatus of the present invention includes a print head, a paper path that guides the inner surface of the roll paper to the print head, and an inclined first portion that guides the inner surface of the roll paper and bends the roll paper discharge direction to the outer surface direction. 1
And a feed roller that contacts the outer surface of the roll paper and feeds the roll paper toward the first guide surface.

When the inner surface of the roll paper fed by the feed roller is guided and the discharge direction of the roll paper is bent toward the outer surface, the roll paper is bent in the direction opposite to the curved direction due to the curl. , The roll paper discharge direction is bent to the roll paper supply direction. The inner surface of the ejected roll paper appears on the surface. Therefore, by printing on the inner surface of the roll paper, the curl can be efficiently removed by pressing the roll paper against the first guide surface that is inclined in the direction opposite to the direction curving due to the curl while exposing the printing surface on the surface. Is possible.

Further, the printed roll paper is fed in the feeding direction,
That is, since the roll paper is discharged in the direction in which it is stored, it does not cover the keyboard or display of the mobile terminal when it is mounted on the mobile terminal. Further, in this printing apparatus, since the discharge direction is essentially the roll paper supply direction, it is not necessary to limit the positional relationship between the feed roller and the print head in order to make the discharge direction the roll paper supply direction. The feed roller can be arranged at a position where it can be easily removed from the print head. That is, the print head, the feed roller, and the roll paper can be arranged side by side, the feed roller can be easily removed, and the roll paper can be easily set. Further, it is possible to dispose the feed roller on the paper discharge side of the print head, which makes it possible to secure a large bending angle of the roll paper on the first guide surface and to set the roll paper more easily.

Therefore, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to provide a compact printing apparatus in which the curl of the roll paper can be efficiently corrected, maintenance is easy, and the printing surface is discharged with the printing surface facing the front side. Further, the roll paper discharged from the printing device does not cover the display of the mobile terminal equipped with the printing device.

In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the feed roller contacts the outer surface of the roll paper to feed the roll paper. Therefore, unless the first guide surface is arranged near the contact point between the feed roller and the roll paper, the stiffness of the roll paper cannot be used. On the other hand, when it is near the contact point between the feed roller and the roll paper, the feed roller and the first paper guide interfere with each other, so that the angle of the first guide surface cannot be increased and the curl is efficiently removed. Difficult to do. Therefore,
By providing a second guide surface that guides the outer surface of the roll paper to guide the roll paper from the feed roller to the vicinity of the first guide surface, the first guide surface disposed at a position slightly away from the feed roller is provided. It is possible to guide the roll paper linearly also to the guide surface, and it is possible to press the roll paper against the first guide surface by utilizing the rigidity of the roll paper. Further, by ensuring the distance from the feed roller to the first guide surface, the angle of the guide surface can be set to the optimum angle for removing the curl.

The print head may be of various types such as an inkjet head, but if the print head is a thermal head, a platen roller for feeding the thermal head and the roll paper can be used as the feed roller. Easy to place near the paper guide. Therefore, the curl can be efficiently removed with a small number of parts, and since there are no consumables, the printing apparatus can be made more compact. However, it is necessary to use roll paper whose inner surface is heat-sensitive.

Further, in the printing apparatus of the present invention, it is desirable to provide a cutter in order to cut the printed and output roll paper into a desired size. As a result, the output sheet has no curl and is cut to a desired size, so that it can be handled in the same manner as single-cut sheets. In the printing apparatus of the present invention, it is desirable to provide a cutter having a movable blade that moves between the first paper guide and the feed roller in the direction of cutting the roll paper. By providing the movable blade at this position, it is possible to reduce the paper feed amount of the roll paper required for cutting the roll paper, and suppress waste of the roll paper. Further, by cutting at the upstream side of the first guide surface, it is possible to prevent the first guide surface from being curled in the direction opposite to the curl.

If a second paper guide is provided,
By disposing the movable blade between the first paper guide and the second paper guide, the movable blade is moved so as to be substantially orthogonal to the roll paper linearly guided by the second paper guide. The roll paper can be cut more reliably.

When the roll paper is cut by the movable blade and the fixed blade, the movable blade is arranged on the outer surface of the roll paper, that is, above the feed roller or on the paper discharge side, and the fixed blade is arranged when the movable blade moves. It is desirable to dispose the movable blade on the side opposite to the first paper guide, that is, on the lower side or the paper feeding side. With this configuration, even when the movable blade moves and stops at a position above the fixed blade due to a paper jam, etc., the movable blade is swung upward without being disturbed by the fixed blade, the print head, the feed roller, or the like. Can clear paper jams.

Therefore, in the printing apparatus of the present invention, it is easy to make the first paper guide, the movable blade, the second paper guide and the feed roller detachable from the main body of the printing apparatus. And, these first paper guide, movable blade, second paper guide and feed roller,
When it is removed from the main body, the entire paper path appears, which makes it extremely easy to set the roll paper and also makes it easy to clear the paper jam.

Further, if the movable blade is arranged so as to move along the surface of the main body, the space in the thickness direction of the main body is small, so that a thin and compact printing apparatus can be realized. Further, when the roll paper is discharged along the surface of the main body in the direction of the roll paper by the first paper guide, the storage portion of the roll paper can be used as a paper discharge tray. Further, when a roll paper cover that opens and closes with respect to the main body when mounting the roll paper is provided, and the first paper guide, the movable blade, the second paper guide and the feed roller move with respect to the main body together with the roll paper cover, It is possible to provide a printing apparatus in which the entire paper path is exposed only by opening the roll paper cover when setting roll paper or clearing a paper jam, and the maintainability can be further improved.

The strength of the curl of the roll paper depends on the winding diameter of the roll paper. For this reason, since the strength and weakness of the curl differ between the beginning and the end of the roll paper, a means for adjusting the distance between the first guide surface and the second paper guide and / or the angle of the first guide surface is provided. Is desirable. Further, by providing a means for indicating the adjustment amount of the adjusting means in relation to the remaining diameter of the roll paper, the user can easily control the adjusting means. Further, the adjusting means may automatically adjust the interval and angle in association with the remaining amount.

[0024]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the printer according to the present invention is mounted on a mobile phone. Printer 1 of this example
Is a printer that uses the roll paper 2 as a printing paper, and is a compact printer that can be attached to the upper portion of the mobile phone 3. This printer 1 has a display 3 of a mobile phone 3.
To receive the content displayed in a from the mobile phone 3 through an appropriate interface, and discharge the printed roll paper 2 from the upper paper discharge port 9 to above the mobile phone 3 so that the printing surface 2a can be seen. You can

FIG. 2 shows an outline of the printer 1 using a sectional view from the side. The printer 1 of the present example is a thermal printer that prints while feeding the heat-sensitive roll paper 2 with the line thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 sandwiched between them.
By using the roll paper 2 of about mm, the printing mechanism and the roll paper 2 can be housed inside the thin housing 5. The printer 1 can be used in any orientation, but hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 2, each part will be described with the discharge port 9 facing upward. .

First, one side (hereinafter, front) F of the housing 5 is a paper storage unit 7 in which the roll paper 2 is set or mounted, and a portion covering the upper portion of the paper storage unit 7 is a hinge. A roll paper cover 13 is supported by the housing 5 via 14 and opens and closes with respect to the main body 10 of the printer 1.

The rear side B of the housing 5 is a section 8 for printing on the roll paper 2. In this section 8, the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11 are arranged from the roll paper 2 side.
Motors 16 that drive the platen roller 12 are arranged substantially horizontally in the front-rear direction. A paper feed guide 18 having a U-shaped guide surface 18a is arranged below the platen roller 12, and the paper 2 pulled out from the roll paper body 2r is reversed along the outer periphery of the platen roller 12, A paper path 15 is formed so that the inner surface 2a of the roll paper 2 faces the printing surface 11a of the thermal head 11. The thermal head 11 is in contact with the platen roller 12 so that the printing surface 11a faces in a substantially vertical direction, and is fed while being sandwiched between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12, and the printed roll paper 2 is in a substantially vertical direction. The paper is fed to the paper, and is output to the outside from a paper discharge port 9 provided on the upper part of the housing 5.

A discharge guide (second guide surface) 22a is provided between the platen roller 12 and the discharge port 9 to guide the roll paper 2 in the vertical direction from the platen roller 12 side. Paper guide 22), a cutter 30 having a movable blade 31 and a fixed blade 32, and an inner surface 2 of the roll paper 2
A guide surface (first guide surface) that is inclined so as to guide a and bend its discharge direction toward the outer surface 2b of the roll paper.
An exit guide (first paper guide) 23 including 23a is arranged in order from the bottom. The outlet guide 23 is arranged so as to appear on the surface 5a of the housing 5, and the guide surface 23a side serves as the sheet discharge port 9. When the roll paper 2 is pressed against the guide surface 23a, the curl of the roll paper 2 is removed, and the roll paper 2 is discharged onto the surface 5a of the housing 5.

Movable blade 31 and fixed blade 3 of the cutter 30
2 is arranged immediately below the outlet guide 23 along the surface of the housing 5. Movable blade 31 of cutter 30
Is located above the platen roller 12, and the movable blade 12 is an upper blade with respect to the fixed blade 32 located above the thermal head 11 on the opposite side, and moves horizontally in a direction orthogonal to the roll paper 2. Therefore, the ejected roll paper 2 is cut immediately below the exit guide 23, and is ejected as a flat sheet printout with the curl extended.

The paper discharge guide 22 is located above the platen roller 12 and is in contact with the outer surface 2b of the roll paper 2 to guide the roll paper 2 almost straight from the platen roller 12 to the vicinity of the movable blade 31. .

Further, the printer 1 of this example is equipped with an indicator (instructing means) 37 that moves in conjunction with the diameter of the roll paper body 2r and indicates the position of the exit guide 23. The indicator 37 of this example includes two arms 38 and 39 that pivot about the shaft 12a of the platen roller 12,
The arm 38 contacts the outer circumference of the roll paper body 2r to detect the diameter of the roll paper body 2r. The other arm 39 has a tip 39.
a appears on the surface 5a of the housing 5, and the arm 38
A value interlocked with the diameter of the roll paper body 2r is indicated by the tip 39a of the arm 39 by rotating in conjunction with. Therefore, the degree of curl that changes depending on the roll diameter of the roll paper body 2r can be easily seen on the surface of the housing 5, and the user can adjust the position of the outlet guide 23 to a position suitable for removing the curl.

FIG. 3 shows how the roll paper body 2r is set. In the printer 1 of this example, the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11 are arranged side by side in the horizontal direction from the roll paper 2 side. Further, the thermal head 11 is arranged such that the printing surface 11a thereof stands substantially at a right angle so that it does not interfere with the platen roller 12 when the platen roller 12 is released upward. Therefore, the platen roller 12 can be removed upward from the printer body 10 without the thermal head 11 getting in the way.

Therefore, the platen roller 12, the paper discharge guide 22, the movable blade 31, and the exit guide 23 are attached to the roll paper cover 13 by an appropriate method, and the roll paper cover 13 is set to set the roll paper main body 2r. When the sheet is turned, the platen roller 12 and the paper ejection guide 2
2, the movable blade 31 and the exit guide 23 move together with the roll paper cover 13, and the paper storage unit 7 and the paper path 15 appear.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the roll paper main body 2r is put into the paper storage unit 7, and the tip portion 2c is pulled from the upper portion of the roll paper main body 2r so that the inner surface 2a faces the lower paper path 15. Once taken out, the roll paper 2 can be set in the printer 1 of this example extremely easily.

That is, when the roll paper cover 13 is closed after the roll paper main body 2r is put into the storage section 7, the platen roller 12 returns to above the paper feed guide 18, as shown in FIG. The outer surface 2b of the paper 2 is pushed by the platen roller 12, and is sandwiched between the paper feed guide 18 and the platen roller 12. As a result, the roll paper 2 is
It is set on the U-shaped paper path 15 along the guide surface 18 a of the paper feed guide 18. Therefore, the roll paper 2 is reversed in the paper path 15 so that the inner surface 2a is guided toward the printing surface 11a of the thermal head 11 and is printed on the inner surface 2a of the roll paper 2.

When the roll paper 2 pulled out from the roll paper main body 2r is set in this way, the tip portion 2c of the roll paper 2 pulled out first passes over the fixed blade 32, and the normal paper discharge direction, That is, it is in a state of extending in the direction opposite to the direction of the roll paper body 2r. Therefore, the roll paper cover 13
When the cutter 30 is driven after closing, the movable blade 31 moves and the tip portion 2c is cut. Therefore, in the printer 1 of this example, the roll paper cover 13 is opened, the roll paper main body 2r is inserted, and the leading end 2c thereof is placed in the paper path 1.
The roll paper 2 can be set in a printable state and the printer 1 can be put on standby by extending the roll paper 2 to more than 5, closing the roll paper cover 13 and moving the cutter 30 once. Therefore, the work of setting the roll paper is extremely easy.

In the state where the roll paper 2 is set, it is inside the U-shaped paper path 15 of the roll paper 2, and the leading end of the roll paper 2 is located upstream of the cutter 30.
It is almost straight. That is, the leading end of the roll paper 2 is not in a state of being pressed against the exit guide 23, and is not in a state of being extremely curved or bent. Therefore, it will not be bent or will have a tendency to bend in the direction opposite to the curl,
Does not impair the quality of the paper.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the roll paper 2 is printed. When print data is supplied to the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 is driven by the motor 16 through an appropriate driving mechanism such as a train wheel, the inner surface 2a of the thermal head 11 is printed on the printing surface 11a of the thermal head 11 in the above process. The roll paper 2, which is sandwiched between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 so that the paper is oriented, is sent upward while being printed on the inner surface 2a. As a result, the printed roll paper 2 is guided to the guide surface 23a of the outlet guide 23 through the cutter 30 in a substantially straight state while being guided by the guide surface 22a of the discharge guide 22 on the outer surface 2b. Then, the inner surface 2a hits the guide surface 23a, and the guide surface 2
Roll paper 2 along guide surface 23a according to the angle of 3a
Is bent in the opposite direction to the outer surface 2b, that is, the curl or curl, and the roll paper cover 13 is fed from the paper exit 9 to the roll paper cover 13.
The paper is ejected in the direction of.

When the platen roller 12 hits the outer surface 2b with the outer surface 2b of the roll paper 2 inside the curve and is guided in a substantially U-shape, the roll paper 2 is bent in the direction opposite to the curl. Therefore, if the curl of the roll paper is not strong, the curl of the roll paper may be relaxed to some extent by the paper path 15. In particular, reducing the diameter of the platen roller 12 and the curvature of the paper path 15 increases the possibility that the curl habit can be alleviated. However, with the U-shaped paper path 15 alone, the effect of alleviating the curl habit cannot be obtained so much, and in the case of the small printer 1, the roll paper 2 set therein has a small diameter and the curl habit is further increased. Become stronger. Therefore, when the paper is fed from the platen roller 12, the curl is hardly alleviated, and the roll paper 2 is in a curled state in which the outer surface 2b is convex.

However, in the printer 1 of this embodiment, the paper discharge guide 22 is arranged at the exit of the platen roller 12, and between the platen roller 12 and the cutter 30,
The outer surface 2b of the roll paper 2 is guided almost straight by the guide surface 22a of the paper discharge guide 22. Therefore,
It is possible to prevent the platen roller 12 from being convex toward the outer surface 2b and being distorted. On the other hand, the tip of the roll paper 2 is also prevented from being caught by the fixed blade 32 after being cut by the cutter 30 and being distorted toward the inner surface 2a side of the roll paper 2 using this as a guide. Therefore, the platen roller 12
The roll paper 2 output from is guided almost straight to the guide surface 23a of the outlet guide 23 arranged directly above the cutter 30.

Further, since the platen roller 12 sandwiches the thermal head 11 and the roll paper 2 and feeds the paper, the roll paper 2 is forcibly fed and the roll paper 2 does not idle around the platen roller 12. As a result, the roll paper 2 hits the guide surface 23a of the exit guide 23 in a substantially straight state, and the hit portion is pressed against the guide surface 23a by the rigidity of the roll paper itself and the paper feeding force of the platen roller 12. . And the roll paper 2 is
The outer surface 2b of the roll paper 2 is aligned with the inclination of the guide surface 23a.
, That is, the direction opposite to the curling direction. As a result, the curl of the roll paper 2 is sequentially corrected, and the roll paper 2 is ejected from the paper ejection port 9 as a flat sheet that is not curled. At this time, the printed roll paper 2 is bent in the direction of the outer surface 2b by the exit guide 23, so that the printed inner surface 2a is discharged with the front side facing, and the printed surface 2a becomes visible to the user. .

In the printer 1 of this example, the inner surface 2a of the curled roll paper 2 is pressed against the guide surface 23a and is forcibly bent to the side opposite to the curl, so that the inner surface 2a
Is stretched or the outer surface 2b is contracted, so that it is considered that the curl is removed very efficiently by removing the imbalance of the internal stress of the roll paper 2 which causes the curl. The effect of this mechanism has been confirmed by experiments by the inventor. For example, even roll paper having a small diameter of 10 mm or less can be discharged in a substantially flat cut sheet state. Therefore,
It is possible to obtain printed cut sheet-like output from a portable roll paper printer that employs roll paper of a small diameter.

In order to remove the curl more efficiently,
Several factors have been confirmed, and the major elements in the mechanism of the printer 1 are the distance between the tip 22b of the paper discharge guide 22 and the guide surface 23a of the output guide 23, and the roll paper discharged from the output guide 23. Is the angle. First, the distance G between the tip 22b of the paper ejection guide 22 and the guide surface 23a
Is too large, the roll paper 2 is distorted or bent between the gaps G, so that the angle at which the roll paper 2 is bent in the direction opposite to the curl by the guide surface 23a becomes small, and the curl is removed efficiently. Is reduced. Further, when the roll paper 2 bends in the gap G, the stiffness of the paper cannot be utilized and the roll paper 2
Cannot be pressed against the guide surface 23a with a strong force, and the efficiency of removing the curl also decreases in this respect. On the other hand, the distance G
On the other hand, if the value is too small, the roll paper 2 is pressed against the guide surface 23a with a strong force, so that the curl may curl in the direction opposite to the curl.

Further, the angle of the roll paper discharged from the exit guide 23, that is, the angle of the guide surface 23a with respect to the direction in which the roll paper 2 hits the guide surface 23a, is stronger in the opposite direction when the roll paper 2 is made larger. Since it can be bent, the stress can be easily removed and the curl can be taken efficiently. However, if bent as above,
Curls may be applied in the opposite direction. In many cases, the angle α formed by the direction in which the roll paper 2 contacts the guide surface 23a and the guide surface 23a is preferably 60 degrees or more.
It is more preferably -80 degrees or more. Particularly, when the diameter of the roll paper 2 is about 10 mm, it is desirable that the angle is close to 90 degrees. Further, if the distance G does not become so small, it is necessary to increase the angle α.
By increasing the distance to about 0 degree, a sufficient effect can be obtained without reducing the distance G so much.

In the printer 1 of this example, the roll paper 2
Since it is designed to print on the inner surface 2a of the
The platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11 can be arranged so that the angle is 90 degrees or more. That is, the angle α can be increased by inclining the thermal head 11 so that the printing surface 11a of the thermal head 11 faces upward and disposing the platen roller 12 above the printing surface 11a. Even if such an arrangement is adopted, the platen roller 12 can be removed upward without interfering with the thermal head 11, so that the roll paper 2 can be set extremely easily as described above. However, since the roll paper 2 is inclined with respect to the direction in which the movable blade 31 moves, the ease of cutting is slightly reduced. The movable blade 31 may be arranged so as to be orthogonal to the roll paper 2, but since it is arranged so as to be inclined with respect to the surface of the housing 5 or the cover 13, space efficiency may be reduced. In this respect, the printer 1 of this example
Since the roll paper main body 2r, the platen roller 12 and the head 11 are arranged substantially linearly in the horizontal direction, and the printing surface 11a of the head 11 stands substantially vertically so as to be orthogonal to these arrangements, the movable blade 31 is It is arranged along the cover 13 and can be driven in the direction orthogonal to the paper feeding direction of the roll paper 2, and the arrangement is very space efficient.

The angle α and the distance G are determined by the roll paper 2
It is desirable to adjust according to the strength of the curl, but it does not need to be adjusted sensitively depending on the strength of the curl. However, when considering a compact printer 1, the roll paper main body 2r to be housed has a small diameter and originally has a small amount of rolls, so there is a high possibility that the roll paper main body 2r will be used up to the limit diameter that can be taken up. Therefore, the variation ratio of the roll diameter at the start and the end of use of the roll paper body 2r becomes very large.

Therefore, in the printer 1 of this example, as shown in FIG. 6, the outlet guide 23 is attached to the housing 5 so as to slide in the front-rear direction (directions F and B in the drawing), and the inclined guide surface 23a is provided. Of the discharge guide 2 by moving the guide surface 23a so that the position of
The distance G from 2b can be adjusted. further,
An indicator 37 that moves in the direction of the arrow following the change in the diameter of the roll paper body 2r is provided. Therefore, the user, based on the instruction of the tip 39a of the arm 39 of the indicator 37,
By sliding the outlet guide 23 to the front F or the rear B, it is possible to adjust the gap G to an amount suitable for removing the curl.

Further, the printer 1 is easy to maintain when a paper jam occurs. That is, in the cutter 30, the movable blade 31 is arranged above the platen roller 12, and further, the outlet guide 23 of the fixed blade 32 is arranged so as to be an upper blade relative to the fixed blade 32 arranged above the thermal head 11. It is located on the side of. Therefore, when the movable blade 31 moves and the paper jam occurs when the movable blade 31 and the fixed blade 32 overlap each other, the movable blade 31 is opened upward without interfering with the fixed blade 32 as shown in FIG. The paper jam can be cleared. In addition, the movable blade 31
Is disposed on the platen roller 12 side, and the paper ejection guide 22
Since the exit guide 23 and the exit guide 23 move together with the platen roller 12, when the paper is jammed, the movable blade 3
1 in any state, the movable blade 31 does not interfere with other members, and the movable blade 31 and the platen roller 12 do not interfere with each other.
Can be moved without interference with and. Therefore, in the printer 1, even when a paper jam occurs, the roll paper cover 13 can be surely opened, and the entire paper path 15 is thereby exposed, so that the paper jam can be eliminated very easily.

Further, the fixed blade 32 arranged on the thermal head 11 supports the front end of the roll paper 2 even after the cutting. Therefore, as described above, the leading end of the roll paper 2 is guided in a substantially vertical direction and the exit guide 23
The guide surface 23a can be more accurately applied. By cutting the roll paper 2 upstream of the exit guide 23, the amount of paper feed required for cutting the roll paper 2 can be reduced, and it is possible to prevent waste of the roll paper and limitation of the printing area. Further, by arranging the cutter 30 in front of (outstream of) the exit guide 23 and cutting the roll paper 2, the roll paper 2 is not pressed against the guide surface 23a until the paper is fed, and a tendency in the opposite direction is generated. There is also an advantage that it does not stick to the roll paper 2.

As described above, the printer 1 according to the present embodiment prints on the inner surface 2a of the roll paper 2 and presses the inner surface 2a against the guide surface 23a to bend the roll paper 2 toward the roll paper body 2r. The curl of No. 2 is almost completely removed. Therefore, in the direction of the roll paper cover 13, the sheet-shaped printout from which the curl is removed and which is cut into a predetermined size can be discharged so that the printing surface 2a faces the front side. For this reason, when the printer 1 of the present example is used by being mounted on a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone 3, the printing surface faces the front side so as not to hide the display 3a and the keyboard of the mobile terminal, and does not curl. Printouts can be output.

By configuring the paper path 15 so as to print the inner surface 2a of the roll paper 2, the roll paper body 2r, the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 11 are arranged substantially horizontally in the front-rear direction, and the thermal head 11 and Arrange the electric parts such as the motor 16 on the side connected to the mobile terminal, and arrange the roll paper main body 2 on the side away from the mobile terminal so that the roll paper body 2 can be easily replaced and a large storage space can be secured easily. It can be adopted, and in that arrangement, as described above, the curl is removed, the surface is printed, and further,
The paper can be discharged to the side opposite to the mobile terminal. This arrangement is not only the printer out using roll paper becomes a sheet shape, the printing surface is not only discharged upwards,
As described above, the roll paper 2 can be set extremely easily, and the processing when a paper jam or the like occurs becomes extremely easy.

Therefore, the printer 1 of the present embodiment can realize a very compact printer using the roll paper 2, and the output is comparable to that when using the cut sheet. Therefore, it is possible to provide a compact printer 1 that is most suitable for carrying around with a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone or a PDA and using it on the go.

It should be noted that, unlike the printer described above, the paper discharge guide 22 can be omitted. In this case, it is necessary to dispose the guide surface 23a of the exit guide 23 in the vicinity where the roll paper 2 is separated from the platen roller 12, and considering the interference with the platen roller 12, the range of the angle α that can be bent by the guide surface 23a is limited. It Therefore, as in the printer 1 of this example, it is desirable to provide the paper ejection guide 22 to provide an appropriate space between the platen roller 12 and the exit guide 23 so that the angle α of the guide surface 23a can be secured. . Further, by guiding the roll paper linearly by the paper discharge guide 22, the other party can use the stiffness of the roll paper 2 with a slight gap, so that the cutter 30 can be easily arranged.

The cutter 30 may be omitted, and a member for manually cutting may be arranged above the platen roller 12. However, considering that the size of the roll paper 2 is small, it is desirable to provide a mechanism for automatically cutting the roll paper 2 for convenience of handling.

Further, instead of the indicator 37, it is possible to provide a link mechanism or the like which can adjust the position of the outlet guide 23 in association with the diameter (residual diameter) of the roll paper body 2r. It is also possible to allow the gap G to be automatically adjusted by the diameter. Further, as described above, it is also possible to control the removal rate of the curl of the roll paper by changing the angle α of the guide surface 23a instead of or in addition to the gap G.

Further, in the above description, the printer in which the roll paper 2 is sandwiched between the platen roller 12 and the line thermal head 11 to feed the paper is described as an example, but an ink jet head is arranged instead of the thermal head for printing. The present invention is applicable to a wide variety of printers. Further, not only the printer but also other printing devices such as a facsimile and a plotter can be applied.

[0056]

As described above, in the printing apparatus of the present invention, conventionally, when printing on the roll paper, the outer surface thereof is used, whereas the paper path for printing on the inner surface of the roll paper is used. By providing the above, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus such as a printer that can easily set and maintain the roll paper and output an uncurled sheet-shaped printout. Therefore, it is possible to provide a portable and compact printing apparatus that uses roll paper and is easy to use.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a state in which a printer of the present invention is attached to a mobile terminal.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where a roll paper cover is opened in the printer of this example.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a roll paper cover is closed after setting the roll paper.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which roll paper having a large diameter is being printed.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which roll paper having a small diameter is printed.

FIG. 7 is an example of a printing apparatus including a curl removing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 printer 2 roll paper 2a inner surface 2b exterior 2r roll paper body 10 body 11 thermal head 12 Platen roller (feed roller) 13 Roll paper cover 15 Paper path 18 Paper feed guide 22 Paper ejection guide (second paper guide) 22a Second guide surface 23 Exit guide (first paper guide) 23a First guide surface 30 cutter 31 movable blade 32 fixed blade 37 Indicator 38, 39 arms 39a tip

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A print head, a paper path that guides the inner surface of the roll paper to the print head, and a first inclination that guides the inner surface of the roll paper and bends the discharge direction of the roll paper to the outer surface direction. A first paper guide having a guide surface; and contacting the outer surface of the roll paper with the roll paper
And a feed roller that feeds the paper toward the guide surface of the sheet. 2. The second paper guide according to claim 1, further comprising a second guide surface that guides the outer surface of the roll paper to guide the roll paper from the feed roller to the vicinity of the first guide surface. A printing device further having. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the print head is a thermal head, and the feed roller is a platen roller that feeds the thermal head and the roll paper. 4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cutter provided with a movable blade that moves in a direction of cutting the roll paper between the first paper guide and the feed roller. 5. The second paper guide according to claim 4, further comprising a second guide surface that guides the outer surface of the roll paper and guides the roll paper from the feed roller to the vicinity of the first guide surface. A printing apparatus having the movable blade between the first paper guide and the second paper guide. 6. The movable blade according to claim 5, wherein the movable blade cuts the roll paper from the outer surface of the roll paper, and the cutter hits the inner surface of the roll paper, and when the movable blade moves, A printing device comprising a fixed blade located on the opposite side of the movable blade from the first paper guide. 7. The printing device according to claim 6, wherein the first paper guide, the movable blade, the second paper guide, and the feed roller are attachable to and detachable from the main body of the printing device. 8. The printing device according to claim 6, wherein the movable blade moves along the surface of the main body. 9. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first paper guide discharges the roll paper in the direction in which the roll paper is supplied along the surface of the main body. 10. The roll paper cover according to claim 6, which has a roll paper cover that opens and closes with respect to the main body when the roll paper is mounted, and the first paper guide, the movable blade, the second paper guide, and the feed roller are A printing device that moves with respect to the main body together with the roll paper cover. 11. The printing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first paper guide ejects the roll paper toward the roll paper cover. 12. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising means for adjusting a distance between the first paper guide and the second paper guide and / or an angle of a first guide surface. 13. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising means for indicating an adjustment amount of the adjusting means in relation to a remaining diameter of the roll paper. 14. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the adjusting unit adjusts in association with a remaining diameter of the roll paper.