JP2003231327A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a recorder in which a constant platen gap can be ensured, a sheet can be carried well, and an appropriate recording quality can be ensured for an image being recorded on the sheet. <P>SOLUTION: A recording head 11 provided with a recording wire 12 is carried on a carriage traveling along a platen 17 movable freely in the direction approaching a recording head or receding therefrom, and the recording head is provided with a roller 32 for ensuring a constant platen gap between the recording head and a sheet S being carried between the recording head and the platen by touching the sheet S. In such a recorder, a roller guide member 33 movable integrally with the recording head and rotatable in the rotational direction of the roller in synchronism with the roller is disposed between the roller and the sheet. <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 recording apparatus equipped with a platen gap adjusting mechanism for adjusting a platen gap between a recording head having a recording wire and a platen (or a sheet on the platen).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recording apparatus, while a recording head is traveling along a platen (flat platen), a large number of recording wires in this recording head are passed through an ink ribbon,
There is a dot impact printer that strikes a sheet conveyed between the platen and the recording head and records an image including characters on the sheet.

In such a recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, the platen 101 is urged by a spring so that the platen 101 can move toward and away from the recording head 102, and a roller 106 is installed on the recording head 102. This roller 106
However, the sheet 103 conveyed between the sheet 103 and the platen 101 is indirectly contacted via the roller guide member 104, and a constant distance (platen gap) between the sheet 103 and the recording wire 105 of the recording head 102 is secured. There is something to do.

When the recording head 102 moves (travels) in the main scanning direction 107, the roller 106 comes into contact with the roller guide member 104 and rolls. In addition, the roller guide member 10
The roller 4 is supported by a frame (not shown) and is interposed between the roller 106 and the sheet 103.
The frictional resistance due to the direct contact of the sheet 06 with the sheet 103 is reduced, and the conveyance performance of the sheet 103 is improved.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned prior art, the roller 106 is the edge 1 of the roller guide member 104.
08, the roller guide member 104 is attached to the recording wire 105 side of the recording head 102 due to the component tolerance.
May occur, and in order to prevent this, a highly accurate roller guide member 104 must be manufactured.

When the roller guide member 104 is designed to allow the recording head 102 to enter the recording wire 105 side, it is necessary to widen the platen gap between the recording wire 105 and the sheet 103. Moreover, the ribbon mask holder that protects the ink ribbon arranged in front of the recording wire 105 from the sheet 103 is attached to the sheet 10
3 cannot be installed between the ink ribbon and the ink ribbon, and the image recording quality may deteriorate.

The object of the present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and it is possible to ensure a constant platen gap, to convey a sheet satisfactorily, and to appropriately adjust the recording quality of an image recorded on the sheet. It is to provide a recording device that can be secured.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a recording head having a recording wire is mounted on a carriage that can run along a platen, and at least one of the platen and the recording head is provided. A roller is provided in the recording head so as to be movable toward and away from each other, and a roller that contacts a sheet conveyed between the platen and the recording head and that secures a constant platen gap between the sheet and the recording head. In the disposed recording apparatus, a roller guide member that is movable together with the recording head and that is movable in the rotational direction of the roller in synchronization with the roller is disposed between the roller and the sheet. It is characterized by that.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the roller guide member is rotatably supported by the recording head or the carriage and has a substantially disk or conical shape. It is characterized by.

A third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the roller guide member is made of a metal or a resin having a friction resistance against a sheet smaller than that of the roller. It is what

In the invention described in claim 1, 2 or 3,
It has the following effects.

At least one of the platen and the recording head is movably provided in a direction in which the platen and the recording head are separated from each other, and the recording head comes into contact with a sheet conveyed between the platen and the sheet and the recording head. Since a roller that secures a constant platen gap for the
Even when a sheet having a different thickness is conveyed between the recording head and the platen, the platen gap can be always kept constant by using the roller.

Further, since the roller guide member is arranged between the roller and the sheet, the sheet can be smoothly conveyed as compared with the case where the roller directly contacts the sheet, so that the sheet can be favorably conveyed.

Further, since the roller guide member is movable together with the recording head and is provided so as to be movable in the rotational direction of the roller in synchronization with the roller, the roller guide member is directed to the recording wire side of the recording head. You can prevent intrusion. As a result, since the ribbon mask holder that protects the ink ribbon arranged in front of the recording wire from the sheet can be installed, the ink ribbon is always maintained in good condition, and the recording quality of the image recorded on the sheet can be appropriately secured. .

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing a dot impact printer to which an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the printer of FIG.

The printer 10 as a recording device records an image containing characters by hitting a plurality of recording wires 12 in the recording head 11 on a sheet S via an ink ribbon 13 (see FIG. 5) to record dots. Is a dot impact printer that records. This printer 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a printer body 14 as a recording apparatus body, and an upper case 19A and a lower case 19B that cover the upper and lower sides of the printer body 14, respectively.

The sheet S includes a cut sheet cut into a predetermined length and a continuous sheet in which a plurality of sheets are connected. The cut sheet includes, for example, single-cut paper, single-cut copy paper, passbook or cut film, and the continuous sheet includes continuous paper or continuous copy paper.

The printer body 14 includes a body frame (not shown) including a pair of side frames 15 (FIG. 2).
And a recording head 11 and a carriage 1 as a recording mechanism section.
6 and the platen 17, and the first as a sheet conveying mechanism section.
The transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23, and the fourth transport roller 24 are included.

Both side frames 15 of the body frame
1, a carriage shaft 25 shown in FIG. 1 is bridged, and a flat seat-shaped front seat guide 18 and a rear seat guide 28 are fixedly provided on the side frame 15. These front seat guides 18 and rear seat guides 28
The flat platen 17 having a planar shape is arranged between the two.

A front conveyance guide 30 is installed above the front sheet guide 18, and a rear conveyance guide 31 is installed above the rear sheet guide 28. Front seat guide 18
And the front conveyance guide 30, and further the rear sheet guide 28 and the rear conveyance guide 31, the recording head 11 and the platen 1.
The sheet S that is conveyed toward the sheet 7 or is moved away from the recording head 11 and the platen 17 is guided.

The above-mentioned sheet conveying mechanism section includes the flat platen 17
On the other hand, the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 are disposed on the front side of the printer body 14, and the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are disposed on the rear side of the printer body 14, respectively. Furthermore, the first transport roller 21
The second transport roller 22 and the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are arranged vertically to form a pair.

Of these, the first conveying roller 21 and the third conveying roller 23 are disposed below the front plate guide 18 and the rear sheet guide 28 together with the flat platen 17, and the second conveying roller 22 and the fourth conveying roller are provided. 24 are disposed above the front seat guide 18 and the rear seat guide 28, respectively. First transport roller 21, second transport roller 2
The second, third transport rollers 23 and the fourth transport rollers 24 are rotationally driven in the clockwise direction (CW) or the counterclockwise direction (CCW) in FIG. 1 by a sheet transport motor and a drive train wheel unit (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, the sheet S is manually fed from the front side of the printer body 14, and then the first transport roller 21 and the third transport roller 23 rotate counterclockwise.
By the clockwise rotation of the second transport roller 22 and the fourth transport roller 24, the printer is transported from the front to the rear of the printer body 14, and the clockwise rotation of the first transport roller 21 and the third transport roller 23 is performed. , And the second transport roller 22 and the fourth transport roller 24 rotate in the counterclockwise direction, so that the printer body 14 is transported from the rear to the front. As a result, the sheet S is conveyed in the sub scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction of the carriage 16.

The platen 17 is a carriage 1 described later.
6 is formed in a planar shape extending in the traveling direction of 6, and is elastically supported by a biasing spring 29. The spring force of the biasing spring 29 supports the impact force of the recording wire during the recording operation of the recording head 11. Also, the platen 17
Means that when the thickness of the sheet S is changed during the conveyance of the sheet S, or the sheet S having a different thickness is attached to the printer body 14.
When the sheet is carried in, it moves in the direction of approaching and separating from the recording head 11 against the urging force of the urging spring 29.

The carriage 16 has a carriage shaft 25.
It has a ribbon mask holder 20 (FIG. 5), which is slidably inserted in the recording head 11 and is equipped with the recording head 11. The carriage 16 is a timing belt 27 that is reciprocated by forward or reverse rotation of a carriage drive motor (not shown).
Be combined with. Therefore, the carriage 16 is guided by the carriage shaft 25 via the timing belt 27 by the forward or reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor, and in the main scanning direction that coincides with the axial direction of the carriage shaft 25 and the longitudinal direction of the platen 17. A pair of side frames 1 shown in FIG.
The vehicle travels (scans) in the range of 5.

The recording head 11 shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a large number of recording wires 12, rollers 32 and roller guide members 33 as shown in FIG. 4, and the ink ribbon 13 is positioned in front of the protruding direction of these recording wires 12. To do. The ink ribbon 13 is protected against the sheet S on the flat platen 17 by the ribbon mask holder 20 shown in FIG. Further, the ink ribbon 13 is folded and stored in a carriage 16 or a ribbon cartridge mounted between the pair of side frames 15. The recording head 11 is
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, while traveling in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 16, the recording wire 12 is projected and struck against the ink ribbon 13.
Of the ink is attached to the sheet S conveyed between the flat platen 17 and the recording head 11 and transferred,
Record an image containing characters on.

In the recording operation by the recording head 11, one line of recording is performed by the recording wire 12 of the recording head 11 while the recording head 11 travels leftward or rightward in the main scanning direction. Every time a record is made,
The first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23, and the fourth transport roller 24 transport the sheet S in the sub-scanning direction for a predetermined length (usually the space between lines), and the above operations are repeated. To be done.

The roller 32 is rotatably supported by the recording head 11 as shown in FIG. This roller 32
5 while the carriage 16 travels in the main scanning direction.
As illustrated in FIG.
Alternatively, it rolls by indirectly contacting the surface of the platen 17. At this time, the roller 32 is moved by the roller guide member 33.
And the platen 17 is pressed through the sheet S, and the platen 17 is moved in the thickness direction of the sheet S in the direction away from the recording head 11 (downward in FIG. 5) against the urging force of the urging spring 29. Let As a result, even when a sheet S having a different thickness is carried between the recording head 11 and the platen 17, or when the thickness of the sheet S changes midway like a passbook, the recording head 11 The platen gap between the sheet and the surface of the sheet S is always kept constant regardless of the sheet thickness.

As shown in FIG. 6, the roller guide member 33 has a substantially conical shape, that is, an umbrella shape in which an inclined ring portion 35 that is inclined around the outer circumference of the disk portion 34 is integrally provided. A pivot pin 36 is fixed to a central position of the disc portion 34 of the roller guide member 33, and as shown in FIG. 4, the pivot pin 36 is loose in a hole 38 formed in a support block 37 of the recording head 11. Be fitted. Thereby, the roller guide member 3
3 is rotatably supported by the recording head 11, and is provided so as to be movable (run) integrally with the recording head 11.

The roller guide member 33 serves as the recording head 11.
When the roller guide member 33 is pivotally supported, the inclined ring portion 35 of the roller guide member 33 can be brought into line contact with the roller 32 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, and further, by the spring force of the biasing spring 29 of the platen 17. , The sheet S on the platen 17 and the roller 32. As a result, the roller guide member 33 moves (runs) in the main scanning direction of the recording head 11.
In synchronism with the roller 32 that rotates with the movement of the roller 32, the roller 32 moves in the rotation direction of the roller 32, that is, rotates about the pivot pin 36.

Since the number of parts interposed between the roller 32 and the roller guide member 33 is small, the positional accuracy of the roller guide member 33 with respect to the roller 32 can be secured, and even if the roller 32 is in contact with the edge 39 of the roller guide member 33. The roller guide member 33 is prevented from entering the recording wire 12 side of the recording head 11. Therefore, as described above, the ribbon mask holder 20 for protecting the ink ribbon 13 positioned in front of the recording wire 12 from the sheet S is attached to the sheet S.
And the ink ribbon 13 can be arranged.

Here, the roller guide member 33 has a friction resistance with respect to the sheet S, for example, the roller 3 made of surface rubber.
It is composed of metal or resin smaller than 2. Therefore, the sheet S can be smoothly conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the spring force of the biasing spring 29 even when the sheet S is sandwiched between the roller 32 and the platen 17 via the roller guide member 33.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects ~
Play.

The platen 17 is movably provided in a direction of approaching and separating from the recording head 11, and the recording head 11 has a sheet S conveyed between the platen 17 and the platen 17.
Since the roller 32 that is in indirect contact with the roller guide member 33 and secures a constant platen gap between the sheet S and the recording head 11 is disposed in the above, the gap between the recording head 11 and the platen 17 is provided. Even when a sheet S having a different thickness is conveyed, the platen gap can be always kept constant by using the roller 32 and the roller guide member 33.

Since the roller guide member 33 having a frictional resistance smaller than that of the roller 32 is arranged between the roller 32 and the sheet S, the sheet in the sub-scanning direction is compared with the case where the roller 32 directly contacts the sheet S. Since the sheet S can be smoothly conveyed, the sheet S can be satisfactorily conveyed.

As described above, since the sheet S can be satisfactorily conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, when the sheet S is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction, the roller 32 of the recording head 11 should be moved to a position removed from the sheet S. Since it is not necessary to move the carriage 16 in the main scanning direction, the throughput time can be shortened.

A roller guide member 33 is pivotally supported on the recording head 11 by a pivot pin 36, is movable integrally with the recording head 11, and is synchronized with the roller 32.
The roller guide member 33 can be prevented from entering the recording wire 12 side of the recording head 11 because the roller guide member 33 is configured to be rotatable in the rotation direction. As a result, the ribbon mask holder 20 that protects the ink ribbon 13 arranged in front of the recording wire 12 from the sheet S can be installed, so that the ink ribbon 13 is always maintained in good condition and the image recorded on the sheet S is recorded. The quality can be properly secured.

The roller guide member 33 is formed in an umbrella shape rotatably supported by the recording head 11 using a pivot pin 36, is movable integrally with the recording head 11, and is rotatable in synchronization with the roller 32. Since it is not configured to have a long shape like the conventional roller guide member 104 (FIG. 7), a compact structure can be realized.

Since the roller guide member 33 is rotatably supported by the recording head 11 using the pivot pin 36, the positional accuracy can be ensured and the roller guide member 33 does not enter the recording wire 12 side of the recording head 11. Therefore, the roller guide member 33 is not required to have high precision, and the cost of the roller guide member 33 can be reduced.

Although the present invention has been described based on the above embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.

For example, the roller guide member 33 may be pivotally supported by the carriage 16 instead of the recording head 11. Although the platen 17 moves in the direction of approaching and separating from the recording head 11, the recording head 11 may move in the direction of approaching and separating from the platen 17, and the recording head 11 and the platen 17 may move. Both of them may be configured to be movable in a direction of approaching and separating from each other.

[0043]

According to the recording apparatus of the present invention, the platen gap can be kept constant, the sheet can be favorably conveyed, and the recording quality of the image recorded on the sheet can be properly secured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing a dot impact printer to which an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the printer of FIG.

3 is a front view showing the recording head of FIG. 1, FIG.
(B) is a right side view and (C) is a bottom view.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of FIG. 4 in an enlarged manner.

6 is a perspective view showing the recording head with the roller guide member of FIG. 3 removed.

FIG. 7 shows a part of a conventional recording apparatus, (A) is a partial side view and (B) is a plan view.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Printer (recording device) 11 recording head 12 recording wire 16 carriage 17 Platen 32 roller 33 Roller guide member 36 pivot pin

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording head equipped with a recording wire is mounted on a carriage that can run along a platen, and at least one of the platen and the recording head is movably provided in a direction in which the platen and the recording head are in contact with and away from each other. In the recording apparatus, wherein the recording head is provided with a roller that comes into contact with a sheet conveyed between the platen and the platen to ensure a constant platen gap between the sheet and the recording head. And a roller guide member which is movable between the recording head and the recording head and is movable in the rotation direction of the roller in synchronization with the roller. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller guide member is rotatably supported by a recording head or a carriage and has a substantially disk or conical shape. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the roller guide member is made of metal or resin having a smaller frictional resistance with respect to the sheet than that of the roller.