JP2003103815A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal printer in which the work for replacing a thermal sheet or an ink ribbon can be facilitated while decreasing the number of components. SOLUTION: The thermal printer comprises a thermal sheet 4, a carry roller 8 and a press roller 13 capable of carrying the thermal sheet 4 while clipping in the carrying direction shown by an arrow C, an ink ribbon 15 coated with ink transferable to the thermal sheet 4, a first thermal head 5 capable of first printing by developing color of the thermal sheet 4 being carried by the carry roller 8, and a second thermal head capable of second printing by pressing the ink ribbon 15 against the thermal sheet 4 being carried by the carry roller 8 thereby transferring ink of the ink ribbon 15, wherein the first and second thermal heads 5 and 9 are pressed against the carry roller 8 coming into pressure contact with the press roller 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal printer, and more particularly to a thermal printer that performs thermal transfer printing by color-developing a thermal paper and transferring the ink of an ink ribbon to the thermal paper that has been colored.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally proposed thermal printers store roll-shaped thermal paper in a paper storage unit, and a first thermal head is provided downstream of the paper storage unit in the transport direction of the thermal paper and a first thermal head. A first thermal head and a first first platen roller that are in pressure contact with each other via a thermal paper are provided. Further, a second thermal head and a second platen roller capable of coming into contact with and separating from the second thermal head are arranged on the downstream side of the first thermal head in the thermal paper transport direction. The thermal head makes it possible to transfer the ink from the ink ribbon to the thermal paper.

Further, a transport roller and a pressure roller which are in pressure contact with each other are disposed downstream of the second platen roller in the direction of transport of the thermal paper. The first thermal head is driven to rotate while the second thermal head is raised by sandwiching heat-sensitive paper between the transport roller and the pressure contact roller under pressure, and the first thermal head causes the first platen roller to move. It is possible to convey the thermal paper that is pressed against the paper in the paper discharge direction.

In such a conventionally proposed thermal printer, by selectively heating the heating element of the first thermal head, for example, black characters or the like are colored on the thermal paper to enable thermal printing. There is. Further, the second thermal head is lowered on the thermal paper after the thermal printing by the first thermal head, and the ink ribbon having the ink of a color such as cyan is pressed to thermally transfer the ink. It is possible to print two colors of black and cyan on paper.

[0005]

However, in the conventionally proposed thermal printer, since the first and second platen rollers, the conveying roller and the pressure contact roller are arranged in the conveying path of the thermal paper, The number of parts was large and assembly was complicated. Further, when the thermal paper is replaced, it is routed between the first thermal head and the first platen roller, between the second thermal head and the second platen roller, and between the transport roller and the pressure contact roller. Since the thermal paper had to be laid around for each, it was troublesome to replace the thermal paper. Further, even when the ink ribbon was replaced, the ink ribbon had to be routed between the second thermal head and the second platen roller that were in the up state. The replacement work was also troublesome.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal printer which can reduce the number of parts and facilitate the replacement work of the thermal paper and the ink ribbon. .

[0007]

As a first means for solving the above-mentioned problems, a thermal printer of the present invention comprises a thermal paper and a carrier capable of carrying the thermal paper in a predetermined carrying direction by sandwiching the thermal paper under pressure. A first thermal head that includes a roller, a pressure contact roller, and an ink ribbon in which ink that can be transferred to the thermal paper is applied; and the first thermal head is capable of performing the first printing by coloring the thermal paper conveyed by the conveying roller. A second thermal head capable of performing second printing by pressing the ink ribbon onto the heat-sensitive paper conveyed by the conveying roller to transfer the ink is provided, and the conveying roller with which the pressing roller is in pressure contact The first thermal head and the second thermal head are in pressure contact with each other.

As a second means for solving the above-mentioned problems, a paper cutting device is arranged on the downstream side of the pressure contact roller in the conveying direction of the thermal paper, and at least the first and second printing are performed. The thermal paper that has been completed is cut by the paper cutting device.

Further, as a third means for solving the above-mentioned problems, a paper storage portion capable of storing the thermal paper is formed, and a paper cover which can be opened and closed above the paper storage portion is arranged. The sheet cutting device makes it possible to cut the thermal paper with a movable blade and a fixed blade, and the sheet cover pivotally supports the conveying roller, and either the fixed blade of the sheet cutting device or the movable blade. One of them is attached.

As a fourth means for solving the above problems, a ribbon holder capable of accommodating the ink ribbon is provided, and the ribbon holder is rotated with the ink ribbon accommodated in the ribbon holder. By doing so, the ink ribbon can be moved toward or away from the carrying roller, and the ribbon holder is rotated to separate the ink ribbon stored in the ribbon holder from the carrying roller. The above-mentioned ink ribbon can be removed.

As a fifth means for solving the above problems, the second thermal head is rotatably attached to the ribbon holder, and the ink ribbon accommodated in the ribbon holder is transferred to the transport roller. The second thermal head is also separated from the transport roller by rotating the ribbon holder in the direction of separating from the transfer roller.

As a sixth means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the paper cover and the ribbon holder are rotatably supported independently of each other.

[0013]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The thermal printer of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a thermal printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing operation of the thermal printer of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating replacement of thermal paper according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the exchange of the ink ribbon according to the present invention.

First, an embodiment of the thermal printer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In the upper right portion of the housing 1 in the drawing, a substantially L-shaped paper cover indicated by a chain double-dashed line is shown. 2 are provided. The paper cover 2 is the first support shaft 1
It can rotate in the direction of arrow A with a as a fulcrum. Further, a substantially hexagonal ribbon holder 3 as shown by a chain double-dashed line is arranged on the upper left side in the figure of the housing 1. The ribbon holder 3 is rotatable in the arrow B direction with the second support shaft 1b as a fulcrum.

Below the paper cover 2, a paper storage portion 1c is formed inside the housing 1 so that the thermal paper 4 wound in a roll around the core rod 4a can be stored. The thermal paper 4 can be colored black, for example, and can be transported in the transport direction indicated by arrow C. Further, a first thermal head 5 is arranged in the conveyance path of the thermal paper 4. On the first thermal head 5, a plurality of heating elements (not shown) are formed in line in the width direction of the thermal paper 4.

The first thermal head 5 is fixed to a head mounting base 6, and the head mounting base 6 is axially supported by the rotation center of a rotatable guide roller 7. The first thermal head 5 is elastically urged toward the transport roller 8 to be described later so that it can constantly be pressed against the transport roller 8. On the side of the first thermal head 5 that faces the heating elements, a conveying roller 8 made of a platen roller is arranged. The conveying roller 8 is geared to a stepping motor or the like which is a drive source, and is rotatably supported by the sheet cover 2.

When the thermal paper 4 is guided by the guide roller 7 and conveyed between the first thermal head 5 and the conveying roller 8, the conveying roller 8 rotates in the clockwise direction, and the arrow C The first thermal head 5 is transported downstream in the transport direction. In addition, in the downstream side of the first thermal head 5 in the carrying direction of the arrow C, the second
The thermal head 9 of FIG. The second thermal head 9 has a plurality of heating elements (not shown) arranged in the width direction of the thermal paper 4 on the side facing the transport roller 8.

The second thermal head 9 is fixed to a rotating arm 11 which is rotatable about a support shaft 10 which is supported by the ribbon holder 3 as a fulcrum. Then, the second thermal head 9 separates from the rotation of the ribbon holder 3,
It is rotatable independently, and is brought into a down state where it is pressed against the conveyance roller 8 in the state shown in FIG. 1 or an up state where it is separated from the conveyance roller 8 as shown in FIG.

The second thermal head 9 is lowered onto the thermal paper 4 on which the first printing has been performed by the first thermal head 5, and the ink ribbon 15 described below is pressed against the thermal paper 4 to eject the ink on the ink ribbon 15. The second transfer, which is thermal transfer printing, is possible by performing thermal transfer. A pair of rotatable pinch rollers 1 are provided on the left and right sides of the second thermal head 9 in the figure.
2 is pivotally supported by the rotating arm 11. Also, thermal paper 4
On the downstream side of the second thermal head 9 in the transport direction, a rotatable pressure roller 13 is disposed so as to be in pressure contact with the transport roller 8. Then, the thermal paper 4 conveyed between the conveying roller 8 and the pressure contact roller 13 is conveyed by the conveying roller 8
By rotating in the clockwise direction, the sheet can be conveyed in the sheet discharge direction indicated by arrow D.

A paper cutting device 14 is disposed downstream of the pressure roller 13 in the paper discharge direction indicated by the arrow D of the thermal paper 4. The sheet cutting device 14 has a box-shaped case 14a for accommodating a movable blade (not shown) inside, and a flat plate-shaped fixed blade 14b on the right side of the case 14a in the figure. By forcibly sliding the movable blade toward the fixed blade 14b and projecting the movable blade, the thermal paper 4 can be cut between the movable blade and the fixed blade 14b.

When the thermal paper 4 is cut by the paper cutting device 14 as described above, at least when the first and second printings are completed, the rear end portion 4c of the page 4b after printing is fixed as shown in FIG. By aligning with the blade 14b and projecting the movable blade from the inside of the case 14a, the page 4b after printing is cut and cut from the thermal paper 4. Then, the page 4b after printing, which is separated from the thermal paper 4, can be discharged to the outside of the housing 1. Further, the leading end portion 4d of the next page before printing, which is formed by cutting the page 4b after the printing is completed, reverses the conveying roller 8 in the counterclockwise direction, so that the pressing roller 13 presses the conveying roller 8 against it. Back feed is possible to the vicinity. Further, the cutting of the thermal paper 4 by the paper cutting device 14 is performed not only for cutting the page 4b after the printing is completed but also when the thermal paper 4 is replaced with a new one, the thermal paper 4 is placed downstream of the paper cutting device 14. The thermal paper 4 is cueed by conveying a predetermined amount and cutting it.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an ink ribbon 15 having one surface coated with ink of a desired color is supplied between the second thermal head 9 in the up state and the conveying roller 8. There is. The ink ribbon 15 is supplied between the second thermal head 9 and the conveying roller 8 and does not apply ink so that one surface coated with ink of a desired color faces the conveying roller 8. The other surface is routed so as to contact the pair of pinch rollers 12. The ink ribbon 15 can be slidably contacted with the side of the thermal head 9 on which the heating element is formed.

Further, the thermal paper 4 and the ink ribbon 1 are provided between the second thermal head 9 in the up state and the carrying roller 8.
5 and 5 are conveyed, the second thermal head 9 is moved down and brought into pressure contact with the conveyance roller 8, whereby the ink ribbon 15 is brought into pressure contact with the thermal paper 4, and the desired color ink is transferred to the thermal paper 4. A second print with thermal transfer is possible. The ink ribbon 15 has a winding core 16 wound at one end and a supply core 17 wound at the other end, and a winding bobbin (not shown) and a supply bobbin (not shown) in the ribbon holder 3. And is stored in the ribbon holder 3.

Further, an unused ink ribbon 15 is wound around the supply core 17, and the ink ribbon 1
When the winding core 16 rotates in the direction of arrow E, arrow 5 indicates arrow F.
Can be wound around the winding core 16 by being pulled in the winding direction. The take-up core 16 is engaged with a take-up bobbin (not shown) to bring down the second thermal head 9 to perform thermal transfer printing of the ink of the ink ribbon 15 on the thermal paper 4 during the second printing. Rotates the take-up bobbin in a slip manner while winding the ink ribbon 15 onto the take-up core 16
It is designed to be rolled up.

The printing operation on the thermal paper 4 by the thermal printer of the present invention as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 2. The thermal paper 4 fed between the conveying roller 8 and the pressure contact roller 13 is When the transport roller 8 rotates in the clockwise direction, the transport roller 8 is transported in the paper discharge direction indicated by the arrow D. At the same time, by selectively energizing a plurality of heating elements of the first thermal head 5 that is in pressure contact with the thermal paper 4, the thermal paper 4 is caused to develop color, for example, black characters or the like are printed. 1 is printed. Further, since the first thermal head 5 is constantly in pressure contact with the conveying roller 8 via the thermal paper 4 even during the standby for the first printing, a mechanism for moving the first thermal head 5 up / down is provided. It is not necessary and the structure of the thermal printer of the present invention can be simplified.

Then, the thermal paper 4 for the first printing
In order to perform the second printing in which the ink of the ink ribbon 15 is thermally transferred, the second thermal head 9 is moved down,
The ink ribbon 15 is brought into pressure contact with the thermal paper 4, and the ink of a color different from the color of the first printing, for example, cyan or the like is thermally transferred to perform the second printing. In the second printing in which ink of a color such as cyan is thermally transferred, for example, one-point printing of a store name, a product logo, or the like can be performed to make the second printing stand out.

While the second thermal head 9 is waiting for the second printing, the second thermal head 9 is separated from the conveying roller 8 and the winding of the ink ribbon 15 around the winding core 16 is stopped. Therefore, wasteful consumption of the ink ribbon 15 can be reduced. When the second thermal head 9 is down to perform the second printing, the take-up bobbin (not shown) causes the take-up roller 16 to slip and rotate while the second printing is completed. Ink ribbon 15
Is wound around the winding roller 16. Therefore, the ink ribbon 15 in which the ink is transferred to the thermal paper 4 in the second printing can be smoothly and smoothly separated from the thermal paper 4.

When the second printing is completed, the second thermal head 9 is moved up to convey the printed thermal paper 4 in the paper discharge direction indicated by the arrow D, and the ink ribbon to the take-up core 16 is also printed. Stop winding of 15. Then, the thermal paper 4 on which the first and second printing has been completed is pressed by the pressing roller 10
Page 4 after the printing is completed
The rear end portion 4c of b is aligned with the fixed blade 14b of the paper cutting device 14 and cut. Then, the page 4b after printing is separated from the thermal paper 4 and discharged to the outside.

In the vicinity of the pressure contact roller 13 that presses against the conveyance roller 8 by rotating the conveyance roller 8 in the reverse direction (counterclockwise direction), the leading end portion 4d of the next page before printing, which is formed by cutting by the paper cutting device 14. Back feed to. As a result, the thermal paper 4 can reduce the margin portion from the leading edge 4d of the next page to the first print line.
Such printing on the thermal paper 4 by the thermal printer of the present invention can perform the first printing or the second printing individually, and the first printing and the second printing can be performed simultaneously. You can do it.

When the thermal paper 4 in use is lost and the thermal paper 4 is to be replaced with a new one, the paper cover 2 is changed from the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 to the first spindle as shown in FIG. 1
Rotate in the direction of arrow A using a as a fulcrum to move the paper storage unit 1
Open the upper part of c. Then, the fixed blade 14 b of the sheet cutting device 14 integrally attached to the sheet cover 2 and the transport roller 8 pivotally supported by the sheet cover 2 move as the sheet cover 8 rotates.

At this time, the conveying roller 8 is separated from the pressure contact roller 13 and the first thermal head 5 which are always in pressure contact with each other. Then, the transport roller 8 is released from the gear connection with the stepping motor (not shown) that is the drive source. When the upper part of the paper storage unit 1c is opened, the thermal paper 4 is used and only the core rod 4a remains in the paper storage unit 1c. The mandrel 4a is taken out, and the new thermal paper 4 is stored in the paper storage portion 1c.
It is drawn around from the thermal head 5 to the pressure contact roller 13 side. Since the transport roller 8 at this time is largely separated from the pressure contact roller 13 and the first thermal head 5,
It is easy to work around the new thermal paper 4. And
The paper cover 2 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow A to close the paper storage unit 1c.

Then, the transport roller 8 rotates clockwise, and the newly replaced thermal paper 4 is transported by a predetermined amount in the paper discharge direction indicated by the arrow D. Then, the front end portion of the newly replaced thermal paper 4 is discharged by a predetermined amount downstream from the paper cutting device 14 and cut by the paper cutting device 14. The leading end portion newly formed by this cutting is reversely rotated in the counterclockwise direction of the conveying roller 8 and back-fed to the vicinity of the pressure contact roller 13 to be in a standby state for the first printing and the second printing.

Further, all the ink ribbons 15 wound around the supply core 17 located in the ribbon holder 2 are
To replace the ink ribbon with a new ink ribbon wound on the winding core 16 in the printing of
As shown in FIG. 4, attach the ribbon holder 3 to the second support shaft 1b.
Is used as a fulcrum to rotate in the direction of arrow B. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper portion of the ribbon holder 3 is largely opened, and the ink ribbon 15 used for the second printing is largely separated from the transport roller 8, so that the ink ribbon 15 can be easily removed. Become. Further, the rotation of the ribbon holder 3 also moves the second thermal head 9 in a direction largely separated from the transport roller 8. Therefore, the work of drawing the ink ribbon 15 around the second thermal head 9 is easy.

Then, the winding core 1 is provided for the second printing.
Ink ribbon 15 wound around 6 side and supply core 1
7 is taken out from the ribbon holder 3. After that, when the new supply core 17 and the winding core 16 on which the ink ribbon 15 before use is wound are placed and stored on the ribbon holder 3, the winding core 16 is placed on the winding bobbin and is supplied to the supply core 17.
Engages the supply bobbin. In addition, the ink ribbon 15 housed in the ribbon holder 3 and drawn around to the second thermal head 9 has one surface coated with ink facing outward and the other surface not coated with ink. The second thermal head 9 is slidably contacted.

Then, the ribbon holder 3 accommodating the ink ribbon 15 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow B to move the casing 1
Close the upper left part of. That is, by rotating the ribbon holder 3 with the ink ribbon 15 housed in the ribbon holder 3, the ink ribbon 15 can be moved toward or away from the transport roller 8. When the ribbon holder 3 is closed after replacing the ink ribbon 15 as described above, the second thermal head 9 is in an up state in which it is separated from the transport roller 8, and is in a standby state for the second printing. This second
The winding core 16 in the standby state for the printing is stopped from rotating and the winding of the ink ribbon 15 is stopped.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the fixed blade 14b of the sheet cutting device 14 is described as being attached to the sheet cover 2, but a movable blade (not shown) is used as the sheet cover 2.
Alternatively, the fixed blade 14b may be attached to the case 14a. That is, the paper cover 2 may support the transport roller 8 and have either the fixed blade 14b of the paper cutting device 14 or the movable blade attached thereto. The ink ribbon 15 wound around the winding core 16 and the supply core 17 has been described as being stored in the ribbon holder 2. However, the ink ribbon 15 is stored in a ribbon cassette (not shown). Alternatively, the ribbon cassette may be placed on the ribbon holder 2 and attached.

[0037]

As described above, in the thermal printer of the present invention, since the first and second thermal heads are brought into pressure contact with the conveying roller, which is brought into pressure contact with the pressure contact roller, the number of parts can be reduced and the assembly can be performed. You can easily.

Further, since the thermal paper after at least the first and second printing is cut by the paper cutting device,
The cut surface can be cleaned.

Further, since the paper cover pivotally supports the carrying roller and is provided with either the fixed blade or the movable blade of the paper cutting device, the carrying roller is largely separated from the first thermal head and the pressure contact roller. Can be made. In addition, the movable blade can be largely separated from the fixed blade, or the fixed blade can be largely separated from the movable blade. for that reason,
The thermal paper can be easily replaced and the thermal paper can be easily routed during replacement.

Further, by rotating the ribbon holder to separate the ink ribbon housed in the ribbon holder from the conveying roller, the ink ribbon can be detached from the ribbon holder, so that the ink ribbon can be easily replaced.

The second thermal head is also separated from the carrying roller by rotating the ribbon holder in the direction of separating the ink ribbon stored in the ribbon holder from the carrying roller. Can be easily routed to the ink ribbon

Since the paper cover and the ribbon holder are rotatably supported independently of each other,
The thermal paper replacement work and the ink ribbon replacement work can be performed separately, and the operability is good.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a thermal printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a printing operation of the thermal printer of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view for explaining replacement of thermal paper according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view for explaining replacement of an ink ribbon according to the present invention.

[Sharp sign]

1 case 1c Paper storage 2 Paper cover 3 Ribbon holder 4 thermal paper 4a core rod 4b Page after printing 4c rear end 5 First thermal head 6 head mount 7 Guide roller 8 Conveyor rollers 9 Second thermal head 10 spindles 11 rotating arm 12 pinch rollers 13 Pressure roller 14 Paper cutting device 14a case 14b fixed blade 15 Ink ribbon 16 winding core 17 Supply core

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) B65H 5/06 B41J 3/20 109Z F term (reference) 2C058 AB03 AB05 AB12 AC06 AC12 AD01 AE04 AE10 AF23 AF24 AF31 AF51 AF65 DA10 DA22 DA41 LA03 LA10 LC12 LC22 LC24 2C059 BB07 BB12 2C065 AA01 AB01 CZ09 DA03 DA29 DA34 DA37 3F049 DA12 LA07 LB03

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A thermal paper, a carrying roller and a pressing roller capable of nipping the thermal paper by pressure and carrying it in a predetermined carrying direction,
An ink ribbon formed by applying transferable ink to the thermal paper is provided, and the thermal paper transported by the transport roller is colored by a first thermal head capable of performing first printing, and transported by the transport roller. A second printing is possible by pressing the ink ribbon onto the thermal paper and transferring the ink.
The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the first thermal head and the second thermal head are brought into pressure contact with the conveying roller with which the pressure contact roller is brought into pressure contact. 2. A paper cutting device is disposed downstream of the pressure contact roller in the transport direction of the thermal paper, and the thermal paper after at least the first and second printing operations is cut by the paper cutting device. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein 3. A paper storage unit that can store the thermal paper is provided, and a paper cover that can be opened and closed above the paper storage unit is provided. The paper cutting device includes a movable blade and a fixed blade. The thermal paper can be cut, and the paper cover pivotally supports the transport roller and is provided with either the fixed blade or the movable blade of the paper cutting device. Thermal printer. 4. A ribbon holder capable of accommodating the ink ribbon is provided, and by rotating the ribbon holder with the ink ribbon accommodated in the ribbon holder, the ink ribbon approaches the transport roller. ,
Alternatively, the ink ribbon can be separated from the ribbon holder by rotating the ribbon holder to separate the ink ribbon stored in the ribbon holder from the transport roller. The thermal printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The second thermal head is rotatably attached to the ribbon holder, and rotates the ribbon holder in a direction of separating the ink ribbon stored in the ribbon holder from the transport roller. 5. The thermal printer according to claim 4, wherein the second thermal head is also separated from the transport roller. 6. The thermal printer according to claim 4, wherein the paper cover and the ribbon holder are rotatably supported independently of each other.