JP2003118189A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To not only reduce the number of parts and simplify the structure, but also improve the operating accuracy of a paper feed roller mechanism and a cutter mechanism by not only enabling driving the paper feed roller mechanism and the rotary type cutter mechanism by a single motor, but transmitting a motor power to each mechanism by minimum gears. SOLUTION: The printer 10 is constituted of an provided with a first paper feed driving shaft 30 for transferring roll paper P1, a rotary type moving blade 40 which moves along a fixed blade 36 and cuts the roll paper P1 between the fixed blade 36 and the moving blade, a cam shaft 41 set in parallel to the first paper feed driving shaft 30 for moving the moving blade 40 along the fixed blade 36 corresponding to the rotation of the shaft, a motor 33a which is set in parallel to the first paper feed driving shaft 30 and the cam shaft 41 and rotates corresponding to driving of a paper feed motor 33, and a gear train 32 for transmitting the power of the motor shaft 33a to the first paper feed driving shaft 30 and the cam shaft 41.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer having a cutter mechanism for cutting continuous paper, and more particularly to a printer having a rotary movable blade that moves along a fixed blade.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers having a cutter mechanism for accommodating roll paper inside and automatically cutting the leading end of the roll paper ejected after printing have been widely used. Generally, this type of cutter mechanism adopts a slide cutting method in which a movable blade is slidably contacted with a fixed blade like scissors, but in this method, a movable blade having substantially the same width as the fixed blade is fixed. Since the cutter mechanism is moved in the advancing / retreating direction, the cutter mechanism is not allowed to increase in size, and the crossing angle of the movable blade with respect to the fixed blade may be insufficient, so that good cutting performance may not be obtained. On the other hand, a rotary cutter mechanism has been proposed that moves a rotary movable blade along a fixed blade. According to this method, since the movable blade is moved along the fixed blade, the cutter mechanism cannot be downsized, and an appropriate constant crossing angle is secured between the fixed blade and the movable blade. , Good cutting performance can be obtained.

[0003]

In recent years, in this type of printer, it has been proposed to reduce the number of parts and simplify the structure by driving the paper feed roller mechanism and the cutter mechanism with a single motor. ing. However, in the above conventional rotary cutter mechanism, since the movable blade is moved using the rack and pinion mechanism,
The directions of the cutter drive shaft and the paper feed roller shaft are different, and as a result, when driving the paper feed roller mechanism and the cutter mechanism with a single motor, many gears including a direction changing mechanism such as a bevel gear are required, In addition to increasing the number of parts and complicating the structure, backlash secured in each gear causes a problem that the operation accuracy of the paper feed roller mechanism and the cutter mechanism is reduced.

The object of the present invention is not to allow the paper feed roller mechanism and the rotary cutter mechanism to be driven by a single motor, but to transmit the motor power to each mechanism with a minimum number of gears, and as a result, It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer in which the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified, and the operation accuracy of the paper feed roller mechanism and the cutter mechanism can be improved.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a printer of the present invention is provided with a storage unit for storing continuous paper, a paper path for guiding the continuous paper, and a widthwise direction of the paper path. A paper feed roller shaft that conveys the continuous paper according to its rotation, a print head that prints on the continuous paper, a fixed blade that is arranged along the width direction of the paper path, and a fixed blade that extends along the fixed blade. And a rotary movable blade that cuts a predetermined position of the continuous paper between the fixed blade and the fixed blade, and is arranged parallel to the paper feed roller axis. A cam shaft that moves along a fixed blade, a motor shaft that is arranged in parallel with the paper feed roller shaft and the cam shaft, and that rotates in response to motor driving, and the power of the motor shaft that drives the paper feed roller shaft. And a gear train that is transmitted to the cam shaft. Composed of Te.

The gear train includes a paper feed gear that rotates the paper feed roller shaft, a cutter gear that rotates the cam shaft, and a sun gear provided on the motor shaft.
A planetary gear that meshes with the sun gear and is movable along the outer circumference thereof, and selectively meshes with the paper feed gear or the cutter gear according to the rotation direction of the sun gear. It is preferable. In this case, the gear train for transmitting the motor power to the paper feed roller mechanism and the cutter mechanism can be composed of the minimum number of gears, and the transmission path can be switched according to the driving direction of the motor. It is possible to eliminate the clutch mechanism used, reduce the number of parts, and simplify the structure.

Further, it is preferable that a lid for opening and closing the printer body is further provided, and the planet gear is provided on the printer body side, and the cutter gear is provided on the lid body side. In this case, since it is not necessary to mesh the gears with each other when the lid is closed, the gear mounting error can be tolerated, and when the lid is opened during the operation of the cutter mechanism, the The power transmission between the cutter gear and the cutter gear is cut off, and the cutter mechanism can be automatically stopped.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the printer. As shown in these drawings, the printer 10 includes a roll paper storage unit 11 that stores roll paper (continuous paper) P1.
And a cut sheet insertion slot 12 for inserting the cut sheet P2,
Roll paper P1 pulled out from the roll paper storage unit 11,
The roll paper path and the cut paper path are configured such that the cut paper P2 inserted from the cut paper insertion port 12 is conveyed through the common printing position 13. A print head 14 and a movable platen 15 are opposed to each other at a printing position 13 in a close state, and a branch body 16 for branching a discharge path of the roll paper P1 and the cut sheet P2 is provided on the downstream side thereof. To be

The roll paper P1 pulled out from the roll paper storage unit 11 passes through the first paper feed roller pair (paper feed mechanism) 17 to reach the printing position 13 and further feeds the second paper behind the branch body 16. It is discharged from the roll paper discharge port 20 through the roller pair 18 and the cutter mechanism 19. On the other hand, the cut sheet P2 inserted from the cut sheet insertion port 12 reaches the printing position 13 through the pair of cut sheet feeding rollers 21 and is further branched.
The sheet is discharged from the cut sheet discharge port 22 through the front side of the sheet 6.

An opening 2 is provided above the roll paper compartment 11.
3 is formed, and the roll paper P is fed through the opening 23.
1 is exchanged. The opening 23 is opened and closed by a lid 24 that is vertically rotatable around the rear end side as a fulcrum. The lid 24 is opened and closed when the lid 24 reaches the closed position.
The pair of left and right lock levers 25 provided on the 4 side so as to be rotatable back and forth are automatically locked by engaging the lock pins 27 on the printer frame 26 side, and the lock lever 25 does not lock the lid 24. , Is released according to the operation of the lid opening operation button 28 provided on the printer body side.

The print head 14 is provided on a carriage 29 that reciprocates in the left-right direction, and the dot matrix of one or a plurality of rows is provided on the front surface of the roll paper P1 or the cut sheet P2 whose back surface is pressed by the movable platen 15. Print. The movable platen 15 is provided at the front end of the lid body 24 so as to be rotatable back and forth, and rotates in a direction away from the print head 14 as the lid body 24 opens.
It rotates in the direction of approaching the print head 14 with the opening operation of. As a result, the interference between the movable platen 15 and the branch body 16 can be avoided, and the lid body 24 can be smoothly opened and closed.

The first paper feed roller pair 17 is provided on the printer frame 26 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction.
The first paper feed drive shaft 30 includes a paper feed drive shaft (paper feed roller shaft) 30 and a first paper feed driven shaft 31 rotatably provided in the lower end portion of the movable platen 15 in the left-right direction.
The power of the paper feed motor 33 is transmitted to the paper via a gear train 32 described later. The second paper feed roller pair 18 is provided on the upper end of the movable platen 15 so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction, and the second paper-feed drive shaft 34 is rotatable at the lower end of the branch body 16 in the left-right direction. The second paper feed driven shaft 35 is provided, and the second paper feed drive shaft 34 also includes the gear train 3
The power of the paper feed motor 33 is transmitted via 2.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the cutter mechanism, and FIG.
[Fig. 4] is a side view showing a cutter mechanism. As shown in these drawings, the cutter mechanism 19 includes a fixed blade 36 provided in the branch body 16 in the left-right direction, a guide shaft 37 provided in the tip direction of the lid body 24 in the left-right direction, A movable blade support member (moving body) 38 that is movable left and right along the guide shaft 37, a rotary shaft 39 that projects downward from a front end portion of the movable blade support member 38, and a lower end portion of the rotary shaft 39 that are integrated with each other. And a cam shaft 41 that reciprocates the movable blade support member 38 in the left-right direction. The cam shaft 41 is rotatably provided on the front end side of the lid body 24 in the left-right direction, and has a cam groove 41a on its outer peripheral portion.
Is formed. The cam groove 41a is an endless shape including two spiral groove portions having different winding directions and a connecting groove portion connecting both ends thereof, and a driven member 42 rotatably provided on the movable blade support member 38 is provided. Engaged. As a result, the movable blade support member 3 is rotated according to the one-way rotation of the cam shaft 41.
8 and the movable blade 40 are reciprocated along the fixed blade 36.

As shown in FIG. 4, a paper guide 43 oriented in the left-right direction is provided between the rotary shaft 39 and the roll paper path. The paper guide 43 guides the discharge of the roll paper P1. On the back surface thereof, a fixed rack 43a facing the left-right direction is integrally formed. Fixed rack 43a
Engages with a movable blade rotation gear 44 integrally provided on the rotary shaft 39, and moves the movable blade 40 in an appropriate direction (the tip of the movable blade 40 in the moving direction is fixed to the fixed blade 36 as the movable blade support member 38 moves). Direction). As a result, the movable blade 40 can be rotated in an appropriate direction without providing an intermediate gear between the fixed rack 43a and the movable blade rotation gear 44. Further, in a side view, the rotary shaft 39 is arranged in the roll paper path such that the lower side (movable blade 40 side) approaches the roll paper path, while the upper side (movable blade rotation gear 44 side) moves away from the roll paper path. In contrast, they are arranged in an inclined shape. This makes it possible to secure a space for disposing the fixed rack 43a (paper guide 43) between the roll paper path and the movable blade rotation gear 44 while reducing the diameter of the movable blade 40.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the moving range of the movable blade. As shown in this figure, the movable blade 40 is usually
It is located at the home position that is set at one end of the movable blade movement range. This position is detected by the home position sensor 45, and the rotation of the cam shaft 41 is stopped according to the detection signal. When the cam shaft 41 is rotated in the predetermined direction with the movable blade 40 being at the home position, the movable blade 40 moves along the fixed blade 36 while rotating in the predetermined direction, and rolls between the fixed blade 36 and the fixed blade 36. The paper P1 is cut. The movable blade 40 reaches the other end of the movable blade movement range at a stage where it does not reach the other end of the roll paper P1 and is reversed here to return to the home position. As a result, the roll paper P1 is cut with a predetermined amount left uncut.

FIG. 6 is an internal perspective view of the printer showing the gear train. As shown in this figure, a gear train 32 is formed on the left side surfaces of the printer frame 26 and the lid 24. The gear train 32 transfers the power of the paper feed motor 33 to the first paper feed drive shaft 30, which is arranged in parallel with the motor shaft 33a.
It is configured to be transmitted to the second paper feed drive shaft 34 and the cam shaft 41. That is, the gear train 32 enables the first paper feed roller pair 17, the second paper feed roller pair 18, and the cutter mechanism 19 to be driven by one paper feed motor 33, and the power of the paper feed motor 33 is minimized. The gear train 32 is configured to be transmitted to each mechanism, and the gear train 32 will be described in detail below.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the gear train showing the paper feed drive state, and FIG. 8 is a side view of the gear train showing the cutter drive state. As shown in these figures, the gear train 32 is
A first paper feed gear 46 provided at the left end of the first paper feed drive shaft 30, a second paper feed gear 47 provided at the left end of the second paper feed drive shaft 34, and a left side surface of the printer frame 26. And a pair of intermediate gears 48 and 49 for transmitting the power of the first paper feed gear 46 to the second paper feed gear 47, the cam shaft gear 50 provided at the left end of the cam shaft 41, and the lid 2
4, a cutter gear 51 provided on the left side surface of the motor shaft 4, which is always meshed with the cam shaft gear 50, a sun gear 52 provided on the motor shaft 33a, and a sun gear 52 which is constantly meshed with the sun gear 52, and
The paper feed gear 46 or the cutter gear 51 and a planetary gear 53 that selectively meshes are provided. Planet gears 5
3 is provided on a planetary arm 54 that is rotatable around the motor shaft 33a, and is allowed to move along the outer periphery of the sun gear 52. As shown in FIG. 7, the paper feed motor 33
When is driven in the clockwise direction, the planetary gear 53 moves in the clockwise direction along the outer periphery of the sun gear 52 and meshes with the first paper feed gear 46. At this time, the first protrusion 54a protruding from the planetary arm 54 abuts on the first stopper piece 26a formed on the printer frame 26,
The planetary gear 53 is held in the proper meshing position. And
In this state, the power of the paper feed motor 33 is transmitted to the first paper feed drive shaft 30 and the second paper feed drive shaft 34, and the paper feed of the roll paper P1 is executed in the roll paper path.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, when the paper feed motor 33 is driven in the counterclockwise direction, the planetary gear 53 becomes the sun gear 52.
It moves in the counterclockwise direction along the outer circumference of and meshes with the cutter gear 51. At this time, the second protrusion 54b provided on the planetary arm 54 contacts the second stopper piece 26b formed on the printer frame 26, whereby the planetary gear 53 is held at an appropriate meshing position. Then, in this state, the power of the paper feed motor 33 is transmitted to the cam shaft 41, and the cutting of the roll paper P1 by the cutter mechanism 19 is executed.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the gear train showing the lid open state. As shown in this figure, when the lid 24 is opened, the planetary gear 53 and the cutter gear 51 are separated. Accordingly, when the lid body 24 is opened during the operation of the cutter mechanism 19, the power transmission between the planetary gear 53 and the cutter gear 51 is cut off, and the cutter mechanism 19 can be automatically stopped. Further, the planetary gear 53 is normally meshed with the first paper feed gear 46 side, and when the lid 24 is closed,
It does not require that the cutter gear 51 meshes with the planet gear 53. Therefore, it is possible to allow the gear mounting error and avoid the inconvenience that the closing operation of the lid 24 is hindered by the poor meshing of the gears.

FIG. 10 (A) is a timing chart showing a motor drive signal in a normal state, and FIG. 10 (B) is a timing chart showing a motor drive signal in switching the drive direction. As shown in these figures, when driving the paper feed motor (step motor) 33 at normal times, the output (frequency) is gradually increased to reach the target rotation speed,
Further, when stopping the paper feed motor 33, the drive is stopped while gradually decreasing the output, but when the drive direction is switched, the fixed value drive is first performed. In the constant value drive, the motor is driven with a constant output, and the initial torque can be increased as compared with the case where the output is gradually increased. That is, at the time of switching the drive direction that involves switching the meshing of the planetary gears 53, the meshing of the planetary gears 53 can be reliably switched by increasing the initial torque of the paper feed motor 33 by constant value driving.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the input / output of the control unit. As shown in this figure, the printer 10
A control unit 55 including a CPU, ROM, RAM and the like is provided. In addition to the print head 14, the paper feed motor 33, and the home position sensor 45 described above, the controller 55 is connected with a lid opening / closing sensor 56 that detects the opening / closing of the lid 24. Hereinafter, the control procedure of the initialization control and the normal control executed by the control unit 55 will be described with reference to a flowchart.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the initialization control. The initialization control is executed when the lid 24 is closed or when the power of the printer 10 is turned on. When this control is started, first, the position of the movable blade 40 is determined based on ON / OFF of the home position sensor 45 (S1201). If it is determined that the home position sensor 45 is ON, the paper feed motor 33 is immediately driven in the clockwise direction (CW) by several steps (S1202) to slacken the roll paper P1. On the other hand, when it is determined that the home position sensor 45 is OFF, the home position sensor 45 is turned ON after the paper feed motor 33 is driven by a constant value in the counterclockwise direction (CCW) for several steps (S1203). Until then, the motor is driven in the counterclockwise direction up to 2500 steps (S1204). During this motor drive, it is determined whether the number of steps has reached 2500 (S1205), and if the result of this determination is YES, error processing is executed (S1206). On the other hand, when it is determined that the home position sensor 45 is ON (S1207) without the number of steps reaching 2500, the paper feed motor 33 is driven by a constant value in the clockwise direction by several steps (S1208), and then the paper feed motor is driven. The roll paper P1 is slackened by driving 33 in the clockwise direction by several steps (S1202). After finishing the slack removal,
After the paper feed motor 33 is driven by a constant value in the counterclockwise direction for several steps (S1209), the motor is driven in the counterclockwise direction up to 2500 steps until the home position sensor 45 is turned on (S121).
0), The roll paper P1 is cut. During this motor drive,
It is determined whether the number of steps has reached 2500 (S12
11) If the result of this determination is yes, error processing is executed (S1206). On the other hand, if it is determined that the home position sensor 45 is ON (S1212) without the number of steps reaching 2500 (S1212), the paper feed motor 33 is driven by a constant value in the clockwise direction by several steps (S121).
3) Then, the initialization is completed with the planetary gear 53 meshed with the first paper feed gear 46.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of normal control. As shown in this figure, in normal control, first, it is determined whether or not there is a print command (S1301). When the print command is determined, the paper feed motor 33 is driven clockwise to carry the roll paper P1 according to the print content (S130).
2). When the end of printing is determined (S1303), the paper feed motor 33 is driven by a constant value in the counterclockwise direction by several steps (S1304), and then the counterclockwise rotation is limited to 2500 steps until the home position sensor 45 is turned on. The motor is driven in the direction (S1305), and the roll paper P1 is cut. During this motor drive, it is determined whether the number of steps has reached 2500 (S1306),
If the result of this determination is yes, error processing is executed (S
1307). On the other hand, it is determined whether the home position sensor 45 is ON without the number of steps reaching 2500 (S1
In the case of 308), the paper feed motor 33 is driven in the clockwise direction by a constant value drive for several steps (S1309), and the process is ended in a state where the planetary gear 53 is meshed with the first paper feed gear 46.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the printer 10 includes the roll paper storage unit 11 for storing the roll paper P1.
And a first paper feed drive shaft 30 that is arranged along the width direction of the roll paper path and that conveys the roll paper P1 according to the rotation thereof.
The print head 14 for printing on the roll paper P1, the fixed blade 36 arranged along the width direction of the roll paper path, and the fixed blade 36 that moves along the fixed blade 36 and moves between the fixed blade 36 and the roll paper P1. A rotary movable blade 40 for cutting the sheet, and a cam shaft 41 which is arranged in parallel with the first paper feed drive shaft 30 and moves the movable blade 40 along the fixed blade 36 according to the rotation thereof.
A motor shaft 33a, which is arranged in parallel to the first paper feed drive shaft 30 and the cam shaft 41, and rotates according to the drive of the paper feed motor 33, and the power of the motor shaft 33a is supplied to the first paper feed drive shaft 30 and the cam. And a gear train 32 that is transmitted to the shaft 41. That is, the first paper feed roller pair 17 and the rotary cutter mechanism 19 cannot be driven by the single paper feed motor 33, and the motor power is transmitted to each mechanism by the minimum number of gears. The number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified, and the operation accuracy of the first paper feed roller pair 17 and the cutter mechanism 19 can be improved.

The gear train 32 includes the first paper feed drive shaft 3
The first paper feed gear 46 that rotates 0, the cutter gear 51 that rotates the cam shaft 41, the sun gear 52 provided on the motor shaft 33a, and the sun gear 52 that mesh with the sun gear 52 and are movable along the outer periphery thereof. A planetary gear 53, and the oil gear 53 selectively meshes with the first paper feed gear 46 or the cutter gear 51 according to the rotation direction of the sun gear 52. Therefore, the first paper feed roller pair 17 and the cutter Since the gear train 32 for transmitting the motor power to the mechanism 19 can be constituted by the minimum number of gears and the transmission path can be switched according to the driving direction of the paper feed motor 33, a clutch mechanism using a solenoid or the like is unnecessary. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified.

Further, a lid 24 for opening and closing the printer body is provided, and the planetary gear 53 is provided on the printer body side, while the cutter gear 51 is provided on the lid body 24 side, so the lid body 24 is closed. At this time, it is not necessary to mesh the gears with each other, and when the lid body 24 is opened during the operation of the cutter mechanism 19, the power transmission between the planetary gear 53 and the cutter gear 51 is cut off, and the cutter mechanism 19 is cut off. Can be stopped automatically.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the matters shown in the above embodiment, and the claims and the detailed description of the invention, and It includes a range in which those skilled in the art can make changes and applications based on well-known techniques.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is not permissible to drive the paper feed roller mechanism and the rotary cutter mechanism with one motor, and the motor power is transmitted to each mechanism with the minimum number of gears. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced and the structure can be simplified, and the operation accuracy of the paper feed roller mechanism and the cutter mechanism can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a cutter mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a cutter mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a moving range of a movable blade.

FIG. 6 is an internal perspective view of the printer showing a gear train.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a gear train showing a paper feed drive state.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a gear train showing a cutter driving state.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the gear train showing the lid open state.

FIG. 10A is a timing chart showing a motor drive signal during normal operation, and FIG. 10B is a timing chart showing a motor drive signal during drive direction switching.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing input / output of a control unit.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of initialization control.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of normal control.

[Explanation of symbols]

P1 roll paper 10 Printer 11 Roll paper compartment 14 print head 16 branched bodies 17 1st paper feed roller pair 18 2nd paper feed roller pair 19 Cutter mechanism 24 Lid 32 gear train 33 Paper feed motor 33a motor shaft 36 fixed blade 38 Movable blade support member 39 rotation axis 40 movable blades 41 cam shaft 43a Fixed rack 43 Paper guide 44 Movable blade rotation gear 45 Home Position Sensor 46 1st paper feed gear 51 cutter gear 52 sun gear 53 planetary gears 55 Control unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A storage unit that stores continuous paper, a paper path that guides the continuous paper, a paper feed roller shaft that is arranged along the width direction of the paper path, and that conveys the continuous paper according to the rotation thereof. A print head for printing on the continuous paper, a fixed blade arranged along the width direction of the paper path, a fixed blade that moves along the fixed blade, and the fixed blade. A rotary movable blade that cuts a position, a cam shaft that is arranged in parallel with the paper feed roller shaft, and that moves the movable blade along the fixed blade according to the rotation, and the paper feed roller shaft. And a motor shaft that is arranged parallel to the cam shaft and that rotates in response to motor drive, and a gear train that transmits the power of the motor shaft to the paper feed roller shaft and the cam shaft. And a printer. 2. The gear train includes a paper feed gear that rotates the paper feed roller shaft, a cutter gear that rotates the cam shaft, a sun gear provided on the motor shaft, and a mesh with the sun gear, And a planetary gear that is movable along the outer periphery thereof and that selectively meshes with the paper feed gear or the cutter gear according to the rotation direction of the sun gear. The printer according to Item 1. 3. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a lid for opening and closing the printer body, wherein the planetary gear is provided on the printer body side and the cutter gear is provided on the lid body side. The printer according to 2.