JP2004136650A - Printer with cutter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a trouble of an operation caused by cutting chips. <P>SOLUTION: A loading rid 13 which opens when a paper supply magazine 20 is taken out is provided in a printer. A knob 15 of a container 14 for housing cutting chips is exposed to a portion adjacent to the loading rid 13. The container 14 can be taken out from the printer 10 when a user pulls the knob 15. An engagement plate and a plate to be engaged which are being engaged with each other are provided at the loading rid 13 and the knob 15, respectively. When the loading rid 13 is opened at the time of exchanging a recording paper, the container 14 is pulled along with the opening, and then a part of a housing section 19 housing the cutting chips is exposed to the outside. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a printer with a cutter that cuts a part of recording paper, and more particularly to a printer that includes a storage unit that stores cut chips.

2. Description of the Related Art A color thermal printer is known that heats a color thermal recording paper with a thermal head and records a full color image in three color planes sequentially. In the color thermal printer, the color thermal recording paper is reciprocated while being nipped by the conveyance roller. Although the thermal head is disposed at a position close to the transport roller, an image cannot be recorded in a portion corresponding to the distance between the transport roller and the thermal head. In addition, the thermal head nips the color thermal recording paper with the platen roller, but when the platen roller is heated at the portion of the thermal head that protrudes from the color thermal recording paper, the platen roller is thermally deformed, The service life may be deteriorated. Therefore, a margin is left at the end of the color thermal recording paper, and an image is recorded on the inside. For these reasons, margins are formed on the front and rear ends and both end portions of the image recording area along the transport direction on the printed color thermal recording paper.

Recently, an increasing number of users desire prints without margins, so a printer with a cutter that includes front and rear margin cutters and both side margin cutters to cut margins around the entire circumference of an image recording area is well known (Patent Document 1). ). This printer with a cutter is provided with a container for storing cut chips at a position below the cutter. This prevents chips from being scattered in the printer. The container is detachably provided in the printer, and when the chips accumulate, the container is removed from the printer body and the chips are discarded.

Also known is a printer that uses a roll recording paper and records an image on a recording paper drawn in a strip shape (Patent Document 2). The printer described in Patent Document 2 is also provided with a cutter for separating into sheets after image recording. This cutter cuts the front end margin between the leading edge of the recording paper that has been cut into the sheet shape and the leading edge of the image recording area recorded this time, in addition to the cutting into the sheet shape. For this reason, a container is required.

JP 2001-63166 A JP 2000-335029 A

By the way, in a printer with a cutter as described above, it is troublesome to take out containers one by one and check whether they are full. Further, if the operation is neglected, the container is filled with chips, and when the containers are full, the chips overflow and are scattered in the printer, which may hinder the cutter cutting operation and the recording paper transport operation of the printer. Further, if a sensor for detecting fullness is provided inside the container or the printer, the cost increases.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer with a cutter devised so as to be able to easily check whether a container is full or not at low cost.

In order to achieve the above object, in the printer with a cutter according to the present invention, the container is provided so that it can be taken out to the outside, and linked with the opening operation of the loading lid that is opened when the recording paper or the magazine for storing the recording paper is loaded. It is provided with interlocking means for moving the container to a position where a part of the storage portion is exposed to the outside.

There are two types of container removal methods: a type in which the container is removed as it is, and a type in which the container is removed by opening the extraction lid provided outside the printer. In the former type, a part of the outer surface of the container constitutes the outer cover of the printer. In this case, the interlocking means includes the engaged portion provided in the container and the engaging portion provided in the loading lid and engaged with the engaged portion to move the container in conjunction with the opening operation of the loading lid. Configure. In the type provided with the takeout lid, the engaged portion may be provided on the takeout lid. It is convenient if the structure is such that the container moves in the take-out direction in conjunction with the opening operation of the take-out lid.

As described above, in the printer with a cutter according to the present invention, when the recording paper or the magazine for storing the recording paper is loaded, the interlocking means is interlocked with the opening operation of the loading lid, and the container is exposed to a part of the storage portion to the outside. Therefore, it is possible to visually recognize the capacity of the chips accumulated in the storage unit at the time of replacement of the recording paper. For this reason, it is possible to prevent inconveniences that occur in the operation of the printer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the cutter-equipped printer 10 is provided with a slot 11, an operation unit 12, a loading lid 13, and the like on the front surface, and a handle 15 provided on the container 14 is adjacent to the loading lid 13. Is provided. The handle 15 is a handle for taking out. A magnetic recording medium is set in the slot 11. The operation unit 12 includes a selection button for selecting one of a print button and a margin. The printer 10 reads image data written on a magnetic recording medium, records the read image data on a recording sheet by a recording unit, and discharges the recording sheet on which the image has been recorded from a discharge port 16 provided on a side surface in a sheet form. .

Inside the printer, as shown in FIG. 2, a loading chamber 17, a print unit 18, and a storage unit 19 are arranged. A paper feed magazine 20 is loaded in the loading chamber 17. The paper feed magazine 20 stores a roll recording paper obtained by winding the recording paper in a roll shape, and has a built-in feeding mechanism. The feeding mechanism rotates the roll recording paper using the drive transmitted from the inside of the printer 10 and sends the leading edge of the recording paper along the transport direction of the printing unit 18.

The printing unit 18 incorporates conveying means, a thermal head, a cutter, and the like. The transport unit transports the recording paper sent out from the paper feed magazine 20 along the transport direction. The thermal head records an image on the image recording area of the recording paper. The cutter cuts the front and rear end margins of the recording paper after image recording. The cut recording paper is transported again in the transport direction by the transport means and discharged from the discharge port 16. The storage unit 19 is disposed under the cutter and stores falling chips, blank scraps, and the like. A handle 15 is provided on the front surface of the storage portion 19, and the front surface of the handle 15 constitutes a part of the outer cover of the printer 10.

As shown in FIG. 3, the loading lid 13 is attached to the front surface of the printer 10 by a hinge 22. The hinge 22 supports the loading lid 13 so as to be openable and closable between an open position and a closed position about an axis parallel to the conveyance direction of the print unit 18. When the loading lid 13 is in the open position, the loading chamber 17 inside the printer 10 is exposed, from which the paper feed magazine 20 can be taken out in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The container 14 is formed with a rail receiving portion 24 that engages with a rail 23 provided inside the printer 10. The rail 23 is provided along a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction, and the container 14 is disposed between a storage position where the storage portion 19 is stored inside the printer 10 and a position where a part of the storage portion 19 is exposed to the outside. Guide the movement. Thereby, the container 14 can be taken out in the same take-out direction as the paper feed magazine 20.

As shown in FIG. 4, the loading lid 13 is integrally provided with an engagement plate 25 that protrudes toward the container 14. The container 14 is integrally provided with an engaged plate 26 that protrudes toward the loading lid 13. The rear surface of the engaged plate 26 contacts the front surface of the engaging plate 25 when the container 14 is in the storage position. The engagement plate 25 pushes the engaged portion 26 and moves the container 14 in the take-out direction when the loading lid 13 is opened from the closed position toward the open position.

The printer 10 will be described as a color thermal printer using, for example, color thermal recording paper. The color thermosensitive recording paper has a structure in which a cyan thermosensitive coloring layer, a magenta thermosensitive coloring layer, a yellow thermosensitive coloring layer, and a transparent protective layer are sequentially laminated on a transparent or white support. When a color printing operation is performed, the color thermal printer 10 rotates a roll recording paper by rotating a paper feed roller provided in the paper feed magazine 20 by a feed motor provided in the printer, and feeds the leading end of the roll recording paper. It is sent to the print unit 18 through a delivery port provided in the magazine 20.

  The recording paper sent out to the printing unit 18 is sent to the thermal head by the conveying means. Thereafter, the color thermosensitive recording paper is reciprocally conveyed in the conveying direction and in the opposite direction by the conveying means, and yellow, magenta, and cyan images are formed in a surface sequential manner by the thermal head during conveyance in the conveying direction. In addition, after the yellow image and the magenta image are printed, a light fixing process is performed by a light fixing device to decompose the uncolored components. During the reciprocating conveyance of the recording paper, the paper feed roller provided in the paper feed magazine 20 is also rotated forward and backward.

After recording is finished, transport the recording paper toward the cutter. The transport unit stops the transport when the leading end of the image recording area matches the cutting position of the cutter. Then, after the conveyance is stopped, the cutter is operated to cut off the leading margin. Thereafter, the recording sheet is conveyed by the conveying means until the rear end of the image recording area matches the cutting position of the cutter, and then the cutter is operated. As a result, the recording paper on which the image has been recorded is separated from the belt-like recording paper into one sheet. The separated sheet is discharged from the discharge port 16 to the outside of the printer 10 by the conveying means. Chips and front margin blanks cut off by the cutter fall into the storage unit 19.

When printing continuously, the next image is recorded on the recording paper in the same manner as described above after returning the tip to the thermal head. When the printing operation is completed, the leading end of the belt-like recording paper is pulled back into the paper feed magazine 20 by the transport means, and the feed outlet of the paper feed magazine 20 is blocked. As a result, the color thermal recording paper can be moisture-proof.

When the remaining amount of roll recording paper is reduced, a display indicating that fact is lit outside the printer 10 by a sensor for detecting the diameter. The roll recording paper is exchanged by visually recognizing the display. To replace the roll recording paper, the loading lid 13 is opened. As a result, the loading lid 13 rotates about the hinge 22 as shown in FIG. 5, and the upper end of the front surface of the engaging plate 25 pushes the rear surface of the engaged plate 26 during the rotation as shown in FIG. 14 is pulled out by a length L1 in the take-out direction, and the upper end of the front surface of the engagement plate 25 is detached from the rear surface of the engagement plate 26 before reaching the opening position P1 of the loading lid 13 as shown in FIG. It is held at the open position P1. As a result, the container 14 moves from the storage position P2 by the length L2 in the take-out direction, and a part of the storage unit 19 is exposed to the outside. Thereby, the capacity | capacitance of the chips collected in the accommodating part 19 can be visually recognized. Here, if there is still room in the storage unit 19, the container 14 is pushed into the storage position P2 again and set. If the capacity is full, the container 14 may be completely removed, the chips discarded, and set again.

The roll recording paper is replaced by taking out the paper feed magazine 20 and opening the cover of the paper feed magazine. The paper feed magazine 20 in the replacement period is set by pushing it again in the direction opposite to the removal direction. After setting, after confirming that the container 14 is set, the loading lid 13 is closed. It should be noted that it is desirable to display on the outside of the printer 10 a text or pictogram indicating that the container 14 is taken out at the time of replacement of the recording paper and the chips accumulated in the storage unit 19 are always discarded. According to this, the size of the storage unit 19 may be formed with a capacity that can be accumulated in the recording paper replacement cycle.

In the above embodiment, there is provided interlocking means for moving the container 14 in conjunction with the opening operation of the loading lid 13 by engaging the engaging plate 25 with the engaged plate 26, but the present invention is not limited to this. The container 14 may be biased in the take-out direction with a spring, and the container 14 may be maintained at the storage position by a part of the loading lid 13 against the bias. In this case, a lock mechanism for locking the loading lid 13 in the closed position is provided. According to this, when the lock of the lock mechanism is released and the loading lid 13 is opened, the container 14 is pushed out in the take-out direction by the bias of the spring, and a part of the storage portion 19 is exposed to the outside.

In another embodiment, a separate interlocking lever is provided between the loading lid and the container, and the interlocking lever is interlocked with the opening operation of the loading lid so that a part of the storage portion is exposed to the outside. You may make it the structure which moves a container. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the interlocking lever 30 is provided so as to be rotatable around an axis 30 a parallel to the take-out direction of the container 14. The interlocking lever 30 is provided with an engaging portion 31 that engages with the loading lid 13 at one end across the shaft 30a, and a stopper plate 32 that holds the container 14 in the storage position at the other end. Yes.

The interlocking lever 30 rotates between a lock position where the stopper plate 32 engages with the container 14 and locks the container 14 in the storage position and a release position where the lock is released, and is directed to the lock position by the biasing means 33. Is energized. The locking position of the interlocking lever 30 is a position where a part 34 abuts against the stopper member 35 and the urging means 33 is prevented from rotating in the urging direction. In addition, the code | symbol 36 shown in FIG. 7 is an urging means which urges | biases the container 14 toward the taking-out direction (exposing position). Reference numeral 37 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is an engaged state provided on the loading lid 13, and engages with the engaging portion 31 in the middle of opening the loading lid 13 so that the interlocking lever 30 of the urging means 33 is engaged. Rotate toward the release position against bias.

When the loading lid 13 is closed, the engagement between the engaged portion 37 and the engaging portion 31 is released, and the interlocking lever 30 is urged to rotate toward the lock position by the urging means 33. The stopper member 35 abuts against a portion 34 against the biasing, and the interlocking lever 30 is stopped at the lock position. When the interlocking lever 30 is in the locked position, the stopper plate 32 enters the movement path of the container 14 and engages the recess 14a, thereby holding the container 14 in the storage position against the urging force of the urging means 36. Yes.

When the loading lid 13 is opened toward the opening position, the engaged portion 37 contacts the engaging portion 31 during the opening operation, and the engaged portion 37 follows the engaging portion 31 by the subsequent opening operation. To move. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the interlocking lever 30 rotates toward the release position against the urging force of the urging means 33. When the interlocking lever 30 rotates toward the release position, the stopper plate 32 is retracted from the movement locus of the container 14 during the rotation, and the engagement between the stopper plate 32 and the container 14 is released. As a result, the container 14 is pushed out from the opening 10a of the printer 10 toward the exposure position by the biasing means 36. Thereby, it is possible to process the chips every time the paper is replaced.

When the container 14 is not completely removed from the printer 10, the bottom surface of the container 14 is positioned on the movement path of the stopper plate 32. Therefore, when the loading lid 13 is closed while the container 14 remains in the exposed position, the stopper The plate 32 contacts the bottom surface of the container 14 and the interlocking lever 30 does not rotate to the locked position. However, after that, when the container 14 is pushed into the storage position, the stopper plate 32 enters the recess 14a, and the interlocking lever 30 rotates to the lock position to lock the container 14.

When the loading lid 13 is closed while the container 14 is being taken out from the opening 10a of the printer 10, nothing is positioned on the movement path of the stopper plate 32, so the interlocking lever 30 rotates to the locked position. After that, when the container 14 is inserted into the opening 10a, the stopper plate 32 faces the movement trajectory of the container 14, and therefore the container 14 cannot be pushed in. However, by providing the inclined surface 32a on the front surface of the stopper plate 32 into which the rear end 14b of the container 14 is pushed, the interlock lever 30 is automatically rotated toward the release position using the contact of the rear end 14b of the container 14. Can be made. If comprised in this way, even if it inserts the container 14 in the opening 10a after closing the loading lid | cover 13, it can be accommodated in a storage position as it is.

  In the above embodiment, the color thermal printer is used. However, the present invention may be applied to a silver salt photographic printer or a paper magazine for photographic paper used therefor. Further, the present invention may be implemented in a normal plain paper printer that does not require light shielding or moisture prevention. In this case, the printer has a container for storing chips generated when, for example, cutting all margins using sheet paper, and interlocking means for pushing the container outward in conjunction with taking out the paper feed cassette. May be provided.

1 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a printer of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the inside of a printer schematically. It is a perspective view showing a printer in a state where a paper feed magazine and a container are taken out. It is a perspective view which shows the loading lid | cover and container which are mutually linked. It is explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement by which a container is extruded in response to opening operation | movement of a loading lid | cover. It is explanatory drawing which shows another embodiment provided with the interlocking lever which is a member different from a loading lid and a container, and is the figure which looked at the state which put the loading lid in the closed position and the container in the accommodation position from the front side of the printer It is. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the state demonstrated in FIG. 6 from the side surface. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the state which opened the loading cover demonstrated in FIG. 6 from the front side of the printer. It is explanatory drawing which looked at the state demonstrated in FIG. 8 from the side surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printer 13 Loading lid 14 Container 14a Concave part 15 Handle 19 Storage part 25 Engagement plate 26 Engagement plate 30 Interlocking lever 31 Locking part 32 Stopper plate 37 Engagement part

Claims (2)

In a printer with a cutter, comprising: a cutter that cuts a part of recording paper; and a container provided with a storage unit that stores chips generated by cutting with the cutter.
A magazine for storing the recording paper or the recording paper, wherein the container is movably provided between an exposure position where a part of the storage portion is exposed to the outside and a storage position where the storage portion is stored in the main body of the printer; A printer with a cutter, comprising interlocking means for moving the container to an exposure position in conjunction with an opening operation of a loading lid when loading. The interlocking unit is configured to bias the container toward the exposure position, hold the container in the storage position when the loading lid is in the closed position, and move the loading lid toward the open position. 2. The cutter-equipped printer according to claim 1, further comprising holding release means for releasing the holding in the middle or after moving to an open position.

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