JP2003182172A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer with which discarding of cut pieces can be done surely. <P>SOLUTION: A thermal printer 100 is provided with a printer body part 101 and a drawer part 102 which is set in a manner drawable from the printer body part 101 and to which a roll-shaped printing paper RP is set in a replaceable manner. A container 1028 for storing cut pieces generated by cutting the printing paper RP after printing is installed in the drawer part 102. A storage amount of cut pieces in the container 1028 can be confirmed when the printing paper RP is replaced, so that the cut pieces can be surely discarded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer,
In particular, it relates to the treatment of cut pieces produced by cutting a printed sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A printer has been proposed in which a belt-shaped photographic printing paper is wound in a roll shape, the paper is appropriately drawn out, printed, and then cut into a predetermined size. For example, in a sublimation type printer suitable for printing a photograph, such a roll-shaped printing paper is used, and after printing the photograph, the printing paper is printed in a predetermined size such as L size or PC size in silver halide photography. It is sequentially cut and discharged.

In such a printer, in order to prevent overlapping between printed pictures, a margin M of about several mm is provided for printing between the pictures PH as shown in FIG. When the photographic printing paper P is cut, the photographic printing paper P is cut at the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 11 so that no extra margin is left. And the cutting piece (cut slug) CS generated as a result of cutting the photographic paper is
The collected pieces are collected by the container provided in the printer, and when the container is filled with the cut pieces, the cut pieces are appropriately discarded.

[0004]

However, even if the container is full of cut pieces, it may be forgotten to throw it away. In this case, the cut pieces overflow from the container and are scattered in the printer, which may cause the printer to malfunction.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer which can prevent forgetting to discard cut pieces.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a printer main body, a drawer provided so as to be drawn out from the printer main body, and a roll-shaped print sheet being exchangeably mounted, and a printer after printing Provided is a printer comprising: a cutting unit that cuts the print sheet; and a container that stores cut pieces produced by cutting the print sheet, and the container is attached to the drawer portion. It

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a thermal printer 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the thermal printer 100 showing an aspect when an ink ribbon and printing paper used in the thermal printer 100 are replaced. It is a figure. The outline of the thermal printer 100 will be described below with reference to these.

The thermal printer 100 is provided with a printer body 101 and a drawer portion 102 that can be pulled out from the printer body 101, and is assumed to be a printer for photo printing.

A cover 101a which can be opened and closed by operating a handle 101a 'is provided on the upper surface of the printer body 101. When the cover 101a is rotated (arrow D1) and opened as shown in FIG.
The interior of the ink cartridge is exposed, and the ink ribbon cassette 120 can be attached to it in an exchangeable manner (arrow D3). The ink ribbon cassette 120 has a supply spool 120a on which the ink ribbon R is wound, and a take-up spool 1 for winding the used ink ribbon R from the supply spool 120a.
20b and 20b are rotatably provided. In addition, a slit 101b through which the printing paper printed by the thermal printer 100 is discharged is provided near the center of the front surface of the printer body 101.

The drawer portion 102 has a front panel 1021.
And a pair of left and right side plates 1022, the front panel 1
The handle 1021a provided on the printer 021 pulls out from the printer body 101 (arrow D2), and
It can be returned to the printer body 101. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the drawer unit 102 is returned to the printer body unit 101,
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the drawer 102 is pulled out from the printer body 101.

A roll-shaped photographic printing paper RP is replaceably mounted on the drawer portion 102 between the side plates 1022.
The photographic printing paper RP is configured by winding a strip-shaped printing sheet around the winding core 103. The central axis of the winding core 103 is the bearing 102 mounted inside each side plate 1022.
3, the winding core 103 is configured to be rotatable. The bearing 1023 has a notch opened upward, and the center axis of the winding core 103 is supported by dropping the central axis of the winding core 103 into this notch. The winding core 103 is configured to come off.

At the bottom of the drawer 102, a pair of left and right guide rails 102 extending rearward of the drawer 102 are provided.
4 are provided. The guide rail 1024 is a guide 104 fixed on the bottom plate of the printer body 101.
Is supported by the guide rail 102 on the guide 104.
4 is guided, the drawer portion 102 can be inserted into and removed from the printer main body portion 101.

On the back surface of the front panel 1021 of the drawer portion 102, a container 1028 having an open top is accommodated so as to accommodate a cut piece of photographic printing paper RP.

The photographic printing paper RP is provided behind the drawer 102.
A pair of rollers 1025 and 1026 for nipping and conveying
Is provided. The roller 1025 is rotatably supported between the side plates 1022, and the roller 1026 is rotatably supported between a pair of rotating plates 1027 rotatably supported by the side plates 1022 via pins 1027a. ing. The pair of rotating plates 1027 and the roller 1026 are formed in a U-shaped frame shape and rotate as a whole around the pin 1027a. When a new photographic printing paper RP is set, the center axis of the winding core 103 is dropped into the bearing 1023, and then the rotary plate 1027 is rotated, so that the leading end portion of the photographic printing paper RP is fed to the roller 1025 and the roller 1.
It will be sandwiched between 026. FIG. 3 shows the rotating plate 1
It is the figure which showed the structure of 027 periphery in detail.

At one end of the roller 1025, the gear 1
025a is attached. This gear 1025a
Is for rotating the roller 1025 when the drawer 102 is returned to the printer main body 101, the rotational force is biased by the drive mechanism provided in the printer main body 101.

Above the roller 1026, the rotating plate 102 is provided.
7 is provided with a guide member 70, and the guide member 70 has a guide portion 71 for guiding the conveyance of the photographic printing paper RP. The guide member 70 also functions as a reinforcing member for integrally rotating the rotating plate 1027.

In order to arrange the roller 1026 in a state where the roller 1026 and the roller 1025 are in pressure contact with each other, a mechanism for locking the rotating plate 1027 is provided as described below. 3 shows a state in which the rotating plate 1027 is locked, and only the locking mechanism of the rotating plate 1027 on the left side of FIG. 3 is shown, but the locking mechanism of the rotating plate 1027 on the right side is shown. Is also the same.

The side plate 1022 is provided with a pin 61 protruding laterally for locking the rotating plate 1027. The locking bracket 63 having a shape projecting downward of the pin 61 is guided by the two locking studs 62 planted in the rotating plate 1027 so as to be reciprocally movable in the arrow direction, and the pulling force of the tension spring 64 is applied. It is provided so as to always move to the position shown in FIG. The locking bracket 63 has a hole 63a formed therein.
The stud 65a infiltrates a. This stud 6
5a passes through an elongated hole 55b provided in the rotating plate 1027 and is fixed to the moving bracket 65.

An end portion of the operating rod 66 is fixed to the moving bracket 65, and a rod member 67 is fixed therethrough. The end portion of the rod member 67 passes through an elongated hole 55 a provided in the rotating plate 1027 and projects to the side of the rotating plate 1027.

In the above construction, when the operating rod 66 is pulled in the direction of the arrow from the locked state shown in the drawing, the moving bracket 6
5 also rotates in the same direction and resists the pulling force of the pulling spring 64, and its urging force is transmitted to the locking bracket 63 via the stud 65a, and the locked state with respect to the pin 61 is released. As a result, the rotating plate 1027 can be rotated to the front side.

Next, the internal structure of the thermal printer 100 will be described together with the printing operation. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of the internal structure of the thermal printer 100.

The photographic printing paper RP having its leading end sandwiched between the rollers 1025 and 1026 is first conveyed to the upper side of the drawing by urging the rotational force on the roller 1025. The rotational force applied to the roller 1025 is the motor 10
5 is generated and transmitted via the belt 106 and the pulley 107. A gear that meshes with the gear 1025a attached to the roller 1025 is attached to the pulley 107, and when the pulley 107 rotates, the roller 1025 also rotates.

By rotating the roller 1025, the photographic paper RP
Then, the leading end of the sheet is guided by the guide plate 108a and moves toward the guide guide 109 that changes the conveying direction of the photographic printing paper RP to a substantially right angle. The guide guide 109 has an inner curved surface whose surface is smoothed, and a guide roller 110 is provided so as to face the inner curved surface. The leading end of the photographic printing paper RP passes through a gap between the inner curved surface of the guide guide 109 and the guide roller 110, is guided by the inner curved surface of the guide guide 109, and bends at a substantially right angle.

When the leading edge of the photographic printing paper RP passes through the guide roller 110, it is nipped between the pinch roller 111 and the conveying roller 112, and is further conveyed by the rotation of the conveying roller 112. The transport roller 112 is the pulley 11
2a and the rotational force of the motor 105 is applied to the transport roller 11 via the belt 106 and the pulley 112a.
By transmitting to 2, it rotates.

The photographic paper R is rotated by the rotation of the conveying roller 112.
P is inserted between the thermal head 113 and the platen roller 114. An ink ribbon R is inserted between the thermal head 113 and the platen roller 114,
An image is printed on the printing paper RP by sublimating the ink of the ink ribbon R by the thermal head 113. In the case of color printing, the ink ribbon R is repeatedly provided with an ink layer of each color of yellow, cyan, and magenta and an overcoat layer serving as a protective layer in a predetermined unit, and the forward and reverse rotations of the transport roller 112 are performed. By repeatedly reciprocating the photographic printing paper RP, printing and overcoating for each color are performed. The used ink ribbon R is
Winding roller 120 rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown)
It will be sequentially wound by a.

The printed photographic printing paper RP is used as a guide plate 108c.
Is guided to the cutting machine 115, and is cut into pieces of a predetermined size to form a single photograph. The cutting machine 115 cuts leaving a blank space provided between the photographs. Thereafter, the photograph is guided by the guide plate 108d and discharged from the slit 101b to the outside of the thermal printer 100 by its own weight. On the other hand, the cut piece CS generated by cutting the margin portion of the photographic printing paper RP falls by its own weight, and the container 10 placed at the drop position (below the cutting machine 115).
It will be accommodated in 28.

The container 1028 is made of metal, is detachably attached to the front panel 1021 by a magnet 1021b fixed to the back surface of the front panel 1021, and is positioned by a guide member 1021c attached to the front panel 1021. ing.

The above procedure is repeated to sequentially print the photographs. Here, as printing progresses, the photographic paper RP runs out, and it becomes necessary to replace it with a new photographic paper RP. Hereinafter, the procedure for exchanging the printing paper RP will be described.
FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 are views showing a mode at the time of exchanging the photographic printing paper RP.

FIG. 5 shows a mode in which the photographic printing paper RP is completely consumed and only the core 103 is present, and the container 1028 is substantially filled with the cut pieces. In this state, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the pull-out portion 102 is pulled out by pinching the handle 1021a. In the state of FIG. 6, first,
The core 103 is removed. Since the bearing 1023 is open on the upper side, the winding core 103 can be removed from the bearing 1023 simply by picking it up as shown in FIG. 7.

Next, a new printing paper RP is attached. Figure 8
Shows the mounting procedure. First, the container 1028 is removed from the front panel 1021 (). Next, the rotating plate 1027 is rotated around the pin 1027a and tilted to the front panel 1021 (). Next, new photographic paper RP
Is inserted into the drawer portion 102 from above, and the central axis of the winding core 103 is dropped into the bearing 1023 (). Thereafter, the rotating plate 1027 is rotated to return it to its original position, and the roller 102
The front end of the empty container 1028 in which the tip of the new photographic printing paper RP is sandwiched between 5 and 1026 and the cut pieces are discarded is attached to the front panel 1021.
Attach to. Finally, the drawer unit 102 is inserted into the printer body unit 101, and the work is completed.

As described above, in the thermal printer 100 of this embodiment, when the photographic printing paper RP is replaced, the drawer 102 is pulled out from the printer body 101. By mounting the container 1028 on the front panel 1021 of the drawer 102, when the drawer 102 is pulled out from the printer main body 101, the container 1028 also appears.

As a result, the user is required to print at least the printing paper R.
When P is replaced, the degree of accommodation of the cut pieces CS in the container 1028 is necessarily checked, and forgetting to discard the cut pieces can be prevented.

If the capacity of the container 1028 is too large, it is not always necessary to discard the cut pieces CS when exchanging the photographic printing paper RP, and the user may be less conscious of discarding this, or the container may be unknowingly discarded. It is possible that the cutting piece CS is filled with 1028. Therefore, the container 1
It is desirable that the cut pieces CS in the 028 be discarded at least after each exchange of the photographic printing paper RP, so that the capacity of the container 1028 can be accommodated for the cut pieces CS resulting from the printing of just one photographic printing paper RP. It is desirable to make the capacity possible.

Next, as described above, in this embodiment, the container 1028 is provided in the drawer portion 102 so that the user can be presented with the degree of accommodation of the cut pieces CS when the photographic printing paper RP is replaced. However, there is still the risk that the user may forget to discard the cut piece in the container 1028.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the container 1028 is used.
When attached to the front panel 1021 of the drawer 102, a replacement regulation mechanism is provided to prevent replacement of the photographic printing paper RP.

This exchange restricting mechanism comprises a pair of rotating plates 102.
7 and a roller 1026 supported between them,
It is realized by a frame body composed of. As mentioned above,
The rotating plate 1027 is arranged along the side surface of the photographic printing paper RP, and has one end rotatably supported by the pin 1027a and the other end rotatably supporting the roller 1026. Then, the rotating plate 1027 and the roller 1026
Thus, a U-shaped frame is configured, and the roller 1026 is configured to move along the peripheral surface of the photographic printing paper RP.

By rotating the rotating plate 1027, the roller 10
Reference numeral 26 denotes a position (for example, the position shown in FIG. 4) that is in pressure contact with the roller 1025 to guide the conveyance of the printing paper RP, and tilts to the front panel 1021 as shown in FIG. It can be located at a position (non-interference position) where a space for mounting is created.

On the other hand, when the rotating plate 1027 is rotated without removing the container 1028, the roller 1026 cannot rotate to the non-interference position shown in FIG. The photographic printing paper RP is positioned at a position (interference position) that prevents the photographic paper RP from being mounted.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a mode in which the photographic paper RP is not attached without removing the container 1028. In FIG. 9, the rotating plate 1027 has a roller 1026 and a container 1
It is restricted by 028 and cannot rotate sufficiently, and the roller 1026
Is in a position (interference position) where it comes into contact with the container 1028.
If a new printing paper RP is not mounted in this state, the printing paper RP cannot pass between the rollers 1025 and 1026 and interferes with this so that the printing paper RP cannot be mounted.

By providing such a replacement regulation mechanism, in the present embodiment, the storage container 1028 must be removed from the front panel 1021 when the printing paper RP is replaced. Therefore, the cutting piece C in the user
It is possible to raise awareness of throwing away S or call attention.

Next, when the container 1028 is removed and a new photographic printing paper RP is attached, it may happen that the container 1028 is forgotten to be attached to the front panel 1021.
In order to prevent such a situation, in the present embodiment, a return regulation mechanism is provided that prevents the drawer unit 102 from returning to the printer body unit 101 if the container 1028 is forgotten to be attached. 10A and 10B are partially cutaway front views of the front panel 1021 showing the operation of the return regulating mechanism, and FIG. 10C is a detailed view of the return regulating mechanism.

Referring to FIG. 10C, the return regulating mechanism includes a lever 1029 having a plate-shaped lever portion, and a shaft 1030 fixed to the back surface of the front panel 1021 and rotatably supporting the lever 1029. And a coil spring 1031 inserted in the shaft 1030. Coil spring 103
One end of one contacts the lower surface of the lever 1029, and the other end contacts the locking piece 1032 fixed to the back surface of the front panel 1021.

Referring to FIG. 10 (a), this return regulating mechanism is located at substantially the center of both sides of the rear surface of the front panel 1021 and is urged by the coil spring 1031 when the container 1028 is removed. , Lever 1029 is in a substantially horizontal position (interference position). In this case, the lever 10
The end portion 1029a of the reference numeral 29 protrudes from both sides of the front panel 1021. If the drawer portion 102 is returned to the printer body 101 in this state, the lever 1029 interferes with the side wall portion of the housing of the printer body 101. It will be. Therefore, the drawer 102 cannot be returned to the printer body 101. Therefore, the container 10
It is possible to prevent forgetting to attach 28.

On the other hand, referring to FIG. 10B, the container 1
When the 028 is lowered from above along the front panel 1021 and attached to the front panel 1021, the container 1025
The end 1029b of the lever 1029 sequentially contacts the bottom and side surfaces of the lever 1029, and rotates the lever 1029 around the shaft 1030 against the elastic force of the coil spring 1031. In this position (non-interference position), the end portion 1029 of the lever 1029 is
The a does not protrude to the side of the front panel 1021 and fits inside the side surface of the front panel 1021. As described above, by mounting the container 1028, the drawer 102 can be returned to the printer body 101 without the lever 1029 and the printer body 101 interfering with each other.

<Other Embodiments> The above-mentioned exchange restricting mechanism and return restricting mechanism are not limited to this, and various structures can be adopted. Further, in the above-described embodiments, all of them are realized by a mechanical structure, but it is also possible to adopt a structure in which various sensors are provided to issue an alarm.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to prevent forgetting to discard the cut pieces.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a thermal printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
It is an external appearance perspective view of 00.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the thermal printer 100 showing an aspect when an ink ribbon and a printing paper used in the thermal printer 100 are replaced.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing in detail a configuration around a rotating plate 1027.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an outline of an internal structure of the thermal printer 100.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an aspect when a photographic printing paper RP is replaced.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an aspect when a photographic printing paper RP is replaced.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an aspect when a photographic printing paper RP is replaced.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state when the photographic printing paper RP is replaced.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a mode in which the photographic printing paper RP is not attached without removing the container 1028.

10 (a) and 10 (b) are partially cutaway front views of the front panel 1021 showing the operation of the return regulating mechanism,
(A) shows the container 1028 when it is not attached to the front panel 1021, and (b) shows it when attached. (C) is a detailed view of the return regulation mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a mode in which the printing paper P is cut after printing.

[Explanation of symbols] 100 thermal printer 101 Printer body 102 Drawer 104 Guide 109 Guide 110 guide roller 111 pinch roller 112 Conveyor roller 113 thermal head 114 Platen roller 115 cutting machine 120 ink ribbon cassette 120a take-up spool 120b supply spool 1021 front panel 1024 guide rails 1025 Laura 1026 Laura 1027 Rotating plate 1028 container 1029 lever 1030 axis 1031 coil spring 1032 Locking piece R ink ribbon RP photographic paper

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A printer main body, a drawer provided so as to be pulled out from the printer main body, in which a roll-shaped print sheet is replaceably mounted, and a cutting unit for cutting the print sheet after printing. A container for accommodating a cut piece produced by cutting the print sheet, and the container is attached to the drawer portion. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the container is attachable to and detachable from the drawer unit, and the withdrawn drawer unit is returned to the printer body unit when the container is removed from the drawer unit. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a return restriction unit that prevents the printer. 3. The replacement restricting means for preventing the replacement of the printing sheet when the container is detachably attached to the drawer and the container is attached to the drawer. The printer according to claim 1. 4. The return regulating means is provided in the drawer portion, and an interference position that interferes with the printer body portion when returning the drawer portion to the printer body portion and a non-interference that does not interfere with the printer body portion. A lever that pivots between a position and a position, the lever being in the non-interference position by being pushed by the container when the container is attached to the drawer, The printer according to claim 2, wherein the printer is released at the interference position when being removed from the drawer portion. 5. The replacement regulation means is provided in the drawer portion, and between an interference position that interferes with the print sheet when the print sheet is replaced and a non-interference position that does not interfere with the print sheet. A rotating frame, wherein when the container is attached to the drawer, the frame restricts a rotation range by the container and does not rotate to the non-interference position. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the printer is a printer. 6. A pair of carrying rollers for guiding the carrying of the print sheet, the pair of carrying rollers being provided in the drawer section, wherein one carrying roller is provided in the frame body, and the frame body is the The printer according to claim 5, wherein the printer is rotated between an interference position, the non-interference position, and a position where the one conveyance roller is arranged at a position for guiding conveyance of the print sheet. 7. The printer main body section includes the cutting unit, a printing unit that prints the print sheet using an ink ribbon, and a transport unit that transports the print sheet. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is arranged at a position where the cut pieces produced by cutting the print sheet by the cutting means are dropped.