JP2004306561A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a restaurant printer having a structure for eliminating transfer failures due to a slack of a thermal rolled sheet, thereby avoiding bending of rolled sheet right and left end faces to be caused by the slack in a restaurant printer which uses a printer module in which a thermal head and a platen roller are separated from each other. <P>SOLUTION: A guide for moving a paper supply port of the printer module rearward, and a guide for smoothly moving the slack of the thermal rolled sheet are set at the side of a front door for replacement of the thermal rolled sheet. A lateral wall is made a continuous even face at the side of a restaurant printer body. The structure for regulating a shift in a lateral direction of the slack part is thus formed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides, for example, a cooking instruction slip output printer that prints out the contents of an order from a customer as a cooking instruction slip to a cook in a restaurant restaurant (restaurant, izakaya, fast food, etc.), BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an accounting slip output printer that prints out settlement details as an accounting slip, and more particularly to a storage structure for recording paper stored in the printer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, wireless order data management devices have been used in restaurants, pubs, hotels, and the like. To briefly explain an example of a wireless order data management device, when a customer service representative receives an order for a dish from a customer, he inputs the ordered menus together with a table number and the like to a portable order input device.
[0003]
The input order data is wirelessly transmitted from the order input device. The wirelessly transmitted order data is received by a wireless control device installed at each corner or the like in the store, and is output to a data management device that performs various types of data processing and centralized management. In the data management device, information such as the order data, the time at which the order data was received, and a number for identifying a customer service representative is stored in a storage device.
[0004]
Then, a voucher for cooking instructions is printed out from a restaurant printer installed in the kitchen, and a cooking instruction is sent to a cook. On the other hand, a checkout slip is printed out from another restaurant printer installed in the vicinity of the guest room, and is handed to the customer by a customer service representative.
[0005]
The cooking staff starts cooking according to the cooking instruction slip, and when the cooking is completed, notifies the customer service staff of that fact. In this way, the customer service representative carries the cooking to the customer who received the order and serves it. (For example, see Non-Patent Document 1.)
These restaurant printers include those using wireless or wired as communication means as described above, and the restaurant printer for cooking instruction slips that prints out a slip for cooking instruction also prints out the slip for accounting. The restaurant printer for accounting slips also has basically the same structure, and differs only in the electrical control circuit for controlling the print contents so that the print contents are output according to the application.
[0006]
Hereinafter, a wireless restaurant printer will be described as an example.
[0007]
FIG. 3 is a structural diagram schematically showing the internal structure of a conventional restaurant printer. As shown in this figure, these restaurant printers 40 are equipped with a wireless unit 419 as a communication means, and a printing unit is provided with a printer module 430 having a thermal head.
[0008]
The printer module 430 presses the platen roller 407 against the thermal head 406 by opening the replacement door 411 when the roll-shaped thermosensitive roll paper 402 is stored in the roll paper storage unit 431 as described below. It has a platen roller attachment / detachment structure where the state is released. The thermal printer module 430 is also equipped with an auto cutter 404 that cuts a printed portion to an optimum length without extra margin.
[0009]
In terms of arrangement, there is a thermal printer module 430 having a thermal head 406 for printing above the thermal roll paper stored in the roll paper storage unit 431, and the thermal printer module 430 has Is mounted. In the automatic cutter 404, a shearing type movable blade 408 for cutting perpendicularly to the traveling direction of the thermal roll paper 402 descends almost vertically from above the thermal roll paper 402, and is located below the thermal roll paper 402. It is configured to cut by engaging with the fixed blade 409 located.
[0010]
An outlet for printed and cut paper and a replacement door 411 for the heat-sensitive roll paper are structured to be located at the front of the restaurant printer. Are connected so as to be openable and closable via a hinge portion 412. A platen roller 407 that presses the thermal head 406 during printing and a fixed blade 409 of an auto cutter 404 that cuts a printed portion to an optimum length without extra margin are attached inside the replacement door 411. Have been.
[0011]
Therefore, when replacing the thermal roll paper or the like, when the replacement door 411 is opened, the thermal head paper 406 and the platen roller 407 move from the state where the thermal roll paper 402 is printed while being sandwiched between the thermal head 406 and the platen roller 407. As a result, the thermal paper transport path of the automatic cutter 404 for cutting the printed thermal paper into an optimum length is completely opened.
[0012]
This is because the printer module 430 having the thermal head 406 is separated from the thermal head 406 attached to the restaurant printer main body and the platen roller 407 attached to the replacement door 411 side. This is because the movable blade 408 of the auto cutter 404 attached to the main body and the fixed blade 409 attached to the replacement door 411 have a structure that can be separated.
[0013]
Therefore, when replacing the thermal roll paper 402, the replacement door 411 is opened and the thermal roll paper 402 is stored in the roll paper storage unit 431 provided below the printer module 430 having the thermal head 406 of the restaurant printer main body. When the replacement door 411 is closed, the replacement door 411 is closed by pulling out the leading portion of the thermal roll paper 402 from the discharge port 405 to a sufficient extent (the portion where the thermal roll paper begins to be used). .
[0014]
When the replacement door 411 is closed, the platen roller 407 attached to the replacement door 411 presses the thermal head 406 attached to the restaurant printer main body, and the printer is ready for printing. Similarly, the movable blade 408 of the auto cutter 404 attached to the restaurant printer main body and the fixed blade 409 attached to the replacement door 411 are also provided with the movable blade and the fixed blade which are the basic structures of the normal shearing type auto cutter. The positional relationship is established, and the thermal roll paper 402 can be cut into an appropriate length.
[0015]
Therefore, when printing, the thermal roll paper 402 is transported by the rotation of the platen roller 407. When the heat-sensitive roll paper 402 is conveyed in the direction of the outlet 405, the heat-sensitive roll paper 402 wound in a roll shape rotates so that the outer periphery of the heat-sensitive roll paper 402 slides in the roll paper storage unit 431 (for example, And Patent Document 1.).
[0016]
[Non-patent document 1]
Kunihiro Aida and Akira Asakawa, "The Order System Changes the Restaurant Industry," Izumi Bundo, February 20, 1999, P17
[0017]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-293927 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When replacing the thermal roll paper as in the past, the thermal printer head and platen roller, and the movable blade and the fixed blade are separated from each other by opening the replacement door. In a structure in which the thermal roll paper placed in the recess of the roll rotates by sliding on the outer circumference of the roll, when viewed from the printer module side during printing, the thermal roll paper feeds, that is, the pull-out force, when viewed from the printer module side. The load caused by the friction between the printer unit and the concave portion of the thermal roll paper installation unit (roll paper storage unit) on the restaurant printer main body side is large, and a motor for driving the platen roller to rotate also requires a stronger torque.
[0019]
In many cases, as a countermeasure, a rotating roller is used to reduce the frictional load between the outer peripheral part of the thermal roll paper and the concave part of the thermal roll paper installation part (roll paper storage part) on the restaurant printer body side. It may be provided. However, according to this method, the number of components such as rollers that rotate smoothly increases, and when the heat-sensitive roll paper rotates on the rollers, the roll itself becomes slack. When this slack occurs, the heat-sensitive roll paper wound in a roll shape comes into contact with the hollow portion of the heat-sensitive roll paper installation section (roll paper storage section) of the restaurant printer main body side by its own weight on the lower surface. The sag tends to sag above the thermal roll paper.
[0020]
The restaurant printer according to the present invention is installed in a relatively small place such as a kitchen or a waiting room for customers, and there is a need for a store where the installation space should be minimized. For this reason, a structure is adopted in which the installation space is small and can be installed in a vertically long attitude with the side A in FIG. 3 as a bottom surface, and operability is taken into consideration in FIG. Is provided with a door for heat-sensitive roll paper replacement on the D side.
[0021]
For example, in a POS cash register system used in a convenience store or a supermarket, a similar thermal printer is used by being incorporated in the POS cash register system. It is installed so that the side B in FIG. 3 faces downward, and the door for replacing the thermal roll paper, that is, the side D faces upward.
[0022]
As described above, the restaurant printer according to the present invention and the thermal printer incorporated and used in the POS cash register system as described above tend to seem to differ only in the installation posture at first glance, but the installation posture is different. Due to the difference, the storage state of the heat-sensitive roll paper to be stored therein is different, and there is a problem caused by the difference as described below.
[0023]
With a structure in which the door is opened upward when replacing the thermal roll paper, as seen in the thermal printer used in the POS cash register system, even if the stored thermal roll paper becomes slack, it is sufficient. There is sufficient space, and the positional relationship between the thermal roll paper and the printer module for printing can be set in parallel in the horizontal direction, so that the angle at which the thermal roll paper is transported can be smaller than in the vertical direction.
[0024]
This is because a small amount of lateral force acts when the thermal roll paper contacting the lower surface is pulled, so that the load for feeding paper by the platen roller of the printer module is reduced. In addition, since the portion of the heat-sensitive roll paper receiving the angle angularly spreads upward from the vertical direction, the slack can also be fan-shaped upward without restriction. Further, since the paper feed guide of the printer module is not provided at the upper apex of the thermal roll paper having the largest slack, the slack portion is not drawn.
[0025]
In a structure such as a restaurant printer according to the present invention, as described above, there is a printer module having a print head above the thermal roll paper, and an auto cutter is attached near the paper discharge port of the printer module. In this automatic cutter, a shearing type movable blade for cutting perpendicular to the conveying direction of the thermal roll paper descends almost vertically from above the thermal roll paper, and is fixed at a lower portion of the thermal roll paper. It is structured to cut by engaging with a blade.
[0026]
The outlet for the printed and cut paper and the door for replacing the thermal roll paper are located on the front side of the restaurant printer (D side in FIG. 3). Since the printer module is arranged vertically so as to be openable and closable via a hinge at the lowermost portion of the D-side of the printer body, when the printer module feeds the thermal roll paper, the replacement door (D-side) is set in the vertical direction. Side, a force is applied to draw the thermal roll paper toward the replacement door (D side).
[0027]
This reduces the sag space of the thermal roll paper and limits the amount of sag that can be tolerated. If the amount of sag exceeds the limit, the sagging thermal roll paper becomes ineffective, and is caught between the upper front of the thermal roll paper (replacement door side) and the portion of the thermal roll paper being pulled from the printer module. When the paper roll enters the paper feed port of the printer module and pulls from one side of the thermal roll paper to rotate and feed paper, the thermal roll paper is pulled from both sides and cannot be rotated.
[0028]
The printer module also attempts to pull the non-rotatable thermal roll paper from the paper feed port further.However, since the roll of the thermal roll paper itself cannot enter the paper feed port, the load on the pull-in force applies to the platen roller. It becomes larger than the torque of the driving motor and locks completely.
[0029]
As a workaround for this mechanism, there is no problem if it is possible to provide enough space to allow the thermal roll paper to sag, but the sag is used as a measure to reduce the thermal roll paper feeding load. Not only in the case where the rotating roller is used, there is also a possibility that when the user replaces the thermal roll paper, the thermal roll paper having the slack has been set in the roll paper storage section as it is.
[0030]
This slack depends on the holding structure of the thermal roll paper. However, unlike the structure in which a shaft or the like is passed through the center of the thermal roll paper and rotated, the sag is placed in the hollow portion of the roll paper storage unit and the outer peripheral portion of the roll of the thermal roll paper is placed. Because the structure is made to slide and rotate, the sag of the thermal roll paper does not disappear during use. In addition, the effect of the partial side wall of the thermal roll paper installation part (roll paper storage part) that regulates the direction of both right and left end faces of the thermal roll paper is lost. (Such as a slip), the end face of the thermal roll paper is crushed.
[0031]
This is because the heat-sensitive roll paper in the sagging state is forced to bend in one to several sheets in order to restrict the lateral displacement, and the heat-sensitive paper cannot be withdrawn and is bent. As described above, when the thermal roll paper is to be replaced during use in a store, particularly during a busy period, it is impossible to reliably set the thermal roll paper without looseness, and printing is performed due to the looseness. The end of the slip to be submitted to the customer may be bent and the quality is insufficient. In addition, in a structure where the thermal roll paper is stored in the recess in the roll paper storage section so that the left and right end faces of the thermal roll paper are regulated, and the outer peripheral surface of the roll is contacted and rotated, slack is created when the thermal roll paper is set. If it does, it will be a situation that it will not be lost until the next exchange.
[0032]
Accordingly, the present invention provides a structure in which a guide is provided in the vicinity of a heat-sensitive roll paper feed port to a printer module to change the angle at which the heat-sensitive roll paper is pulled out and to keep away from a portion where the slack ends. A guide is also provided on the replacement door so that the slack does not affect other parts, and by providing a continuous horizontal wall that also controls the end face break of the thermal roll paper due to the slack in the roll rotation direction and the vertical direction, stable paper feeding, It is an object of the present invention to provide a restaurant printer in which the exchangeability of the thermal roll paper and the miniaturization of the apparatus are improved.
[0033]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, as a heat-sensitive roll paper transport guide of the present invention, a leading end guide and a roll inside a replacement door for forcibly changing a pull-out angle of the heat-sensitive roll paper at the time of paper feeding are provided. A root guide with good slidability for restricting slack in the rotation direction is provided, and the two guides are integrated. In addition, by providing a continuous horizontal wall that regulates the slack of the thermal roll paper in the direction perpendicular to the roll rotation direction on the restaurant printer main body side, even if an unused thermal roll paper with the largest outer diameter size is mounted. The structure is such that the left and right sides of the thermal roll paper are regulated until they are pulled into the paper feed port of the printer module, thereby suppressing the occurrence of lateral displacement due to slack.
[0034]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0035]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a restaurant printer according to the present invention. The restaurant printer is a data output device used in a restaurant, a pub, a hotel, a fast food, or the like, and is a data output device in a device constituting a part of the order data management device. An example of its use will be briefly described.
A wireless order data management device will be taken as an example, and a usage example thereof will be described. The restaurant printer of the present invention is not limited to a wireless printer, but can be applied to a wired printer.
[0036]
When a customer service representative receives an order for a dish from a customer, he or she inputs the ordered menu together with a table number and the like into an order input device carried by the customer. The input order data is wirelessly transmitted from the order input device. The wirelessly transmitted order data is received by a control device installed at each corner or the like in the store, and is output to a restaurant printer, which is a data management device that performs various data processing and unified management. In the data management device, information such as the order data, the time at which the order data was received, and a number for identifying a customer service representative is stored in a storage device.
[0037]
Then, a voucher for cooking instructions is printed out from a restaurant printer installed in the kitchen, and a cooking instruction is sent to a cook. Also, the accounting slip is printed out from another different restaurant printer, which is handed to the customer by the customer service representative. The cooking staff starts cooking according to the cooking instruction slip, and when the cooking is completed, notifies the customer service staff of that fact. In this way, the customer service representative carries the cooking to the customer who received the order and serves it. In addition to the wireless method described above, there is also an electromagnetic induction type order input device that transmits and receives order data using an electromagnetic induction coil.
[0038]
The restaurant printer used as described above is sent from the storage device which stores information such as the order data, the time at which the order data was received, and the number for identifying the customer service representative in the data management device. The information is received wirelessly, and a slip is output for a cooking instruction according to an instruction from the storage device. Further, a checkout slip to be provided to the customer is output to a restaurant printer installed near the guest room.
[0039]
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, information from the storage device is received by the antenna 119, processed by the control board 120, and an instruction is sent to the printer module 103 for printing and to the auto cutter 104 for cutting, respectively. Therefore, although the slip output is different for each use, the same thermal printing is basically performed, and the thermal roll paper 102 before use, which is wound into a roll, can be stored in the restaurant printer main body 101, and a printer module for printing is provided on the upper part thereof. An automatic cutter 104 is provided on the slip outlet 105 side of the printer module 103 for disposing the thermal roll paper on which the slip contents are printed and cutting the thermal roll paper into a slip form.
[0040]
The slip cut by the automatic cutter 104 is discharged (output) from a slip discharge port 105 of the restaurant printer device 101. The printer module 103 has a structure in which a printing head 106 and a platen roller 107 that functions to pinch and press the thermal roll paper during printing are separable. Similarly, the auto cutter 104 is also movable. The blade 108 and the fixed blade 109 have a separable structure. In this automatic cutter 104, a shearing type movable blade 108 for cutting perpendicularly to the traveling direction near the slip discharge port of the thermal roll paper 102 descends almost vertically from above the printed thermal roll paper 110, It has a structure in which it is cut by engaging with a fixed blade 109 located below the printed thermal roll paper 110.
[0041]
An outlet 105 for printed and cut paper (a slip outlet 105 of the present restaurant printer device) and a replacement door 111 which is openably and closably provided for exchanging thermal roll paper are provided on the front of the restaurant printer. The replacement door 111 is openably and closably connected to the restaurant printer main body 101 via a hinge 112 at the lowermost part on the front surface. Inside the replacement door 111, a platen roller 107 that presses the thermal roll paper against the thermal head 106 during printing and a fixed blade of the auto cutter 104 that cuts the printed portion to an optimum length without extra margin. 109 is attached.
[0042]
Therefore, when the heat-sensitive roll paper 102 and the like are replaced, the heat-sensitive roll paper is sandwiched between the print head 106 and the platen roller 107 when the replacement door 111 is opened by rotating about the hinge 112 located at the lower part of the restaurant printer main body 101 as a fulcrum. The thermal paper transport path of the automatic cutter 104 for printing and cutting the printed thermal paper to an optimum length is completely opened.
[0043]
This is because the printer module 103 having the print head 106 as described above is separated into the print head 106 attached to the restaurant printer main body 101 and the platen roller 107 attached to the replacement door 111. This is because the movable blade 108 of the auto cutter 104 attached to the restaurant printer main body 101 and the fixed blade 109 attached to the front door 111 side have a structure that can be separated.
[0044]
The position of the heat-sensitive roll paper 102 is determined by a U-shaped portion 113 formed at the lower portion of the restaurant printer main body. On the surface of the U-shaped portion 113, there is a heat-sensitive roll paper that is pulled and rotated by a printer module during printing. In order to reduce the frictional resistance, a Teflon sheet 114 having good slidability is attached. This causes the thermal roll paper to be pulled by the rotation of the platen roller of the printer module during printing as described above.
[0045]
The heat-sensitive roll paper having the roll end face rotated in the direction of the arrow while the U-shaped portion 113 at the lower part of the restaurant printer main body and the outer peripheral lower surface 115 of the heat-sensitive roll paper 102 slide. At this time, since the thermal roll paper is pulled in the forward direction (toward the slip discharge port 105), a force is applied to the thermal roll paper 102 in the direction of the replacement door. A stopper 116 is provided at a lower portion of the restaurant printer main body in order to regulate this.
[0046]
The movement of the thermal roll paper 102 is restricted by the stopper, and rotates at the position of the thermal roll paper 102 when printing is not performed. Further, the slack of the thermal roll paper 102 is moved between the drawer 117 of the roll and the replacement door. Although the original paper feed port 118 of the printer module itself is located near the portion where the slack has been brought, the pull-out angle of the thermal roll paper is set to the rear of the restaurant printer main body by the guide 121 provided on the replacement door. By being forcibly changed, this is the same as moving the paper feed port backward.
[0047]
That is, since there is no paper feed port in the portion where the slack of the thermal roll paper 102 is finally brought, the slack portion does not enter the paper feed port together with the original thermal roll paper draw-out portion. Therefore, there is no abnormal load on the stepping motor driving the platen roller 107 which functions to draw in the thermal roll paper 102. That is, there is no lock (step-out) of the stepping motor.
[0048]
Further, the guide 121 provided on the replacement door is integrated with a guide 123 provided to prevent the heat-sensitive roll paper 102 from entering the recess 122 such as a platen roller mounting portion when the slack of the thermal roll paper 102 is brought to the upper front. The guide 121 is connected to the guide 121 by a smooth continuous curve so that a load is not applied to the slack portion and the slack portion is moved upward.
[0049]
As a result, the slack portion of the thermal roll paper 102 slides on the surface of the guide by the straining of the paper itself and is moved upward following the guide. These guides are integrated with a resin having good slidability, so that the number of parts can be reduced. This also reduces the number of assembly steps. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal wall of the restaurant printer main body side has a U-shaped part 113 at the lower part of the restaurant printer main body, and a part 117 from which the leading end of the thermal roll paper is drawn out to the printer module. By making the same surface up to the paper feed port 201 by the guide 121 and the same surface up to the inside 202 of the replacement door when closed, the slack of the thermal roll paper 102 is completely restricted from shifting in the horizontal direction.
[0050]
By doing so, even when the outer diameter size of the thermal roll paper 102 is the largest, that is, when it is not used (when it is new), the right and left sides are regulated on the same surface without any level difference. It is possible to prevent the lateral displacement occurring while the printer module 103 pulls the thermal roll paper and rotates. Further, since the side wall can be formed by the side wall of the heat-sensitive roll paper storage portion 124 in the housing instead of being attached as a separate member, the number of parts is not increased.
[0051]
Although a thermal printer that performs printing on thermal paper has been described as an example of a printer module, for example, a roll-shaped recording paper may be stored using an inkjet printhead that performs printing by ejecting ink from nozzles. The present invention is applicable to a simple restaurant printer.
[0052]
In addition, although a restaurant printer has been described as an example, the printer according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described printer used in a restaurant, but also to printers for all purposes configured in accordance with the gist of the present invention. Applicable.
[0053]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, not only is it possible to prevent the bending of the left and right end faces of the motor lock / printing slip due to the poor transfer of the thermal roll paper due to the roll slack that can occur when the thermal roll paper is set, but also to the platen roller drive. There is enough room for the necessary motor torque. This leads to stabilization of the printing position and has the effect of reducing the power consumption of the motor. In addition, there is an effect that the reliability of the paper mounting method that only requires dropping of the original thermal roll paper without increasing the number of components is improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a lateral side of a restaurant printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic structural view illustrating the structure of a lateral wall of the restaurant printer of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a conventional restaurant printer.
[Explanation of symbols]
101 Restaurant printer 102 Thermal roll paper 103 Printer module 104 Auto cutter 105 Slip outlet 106 Print head 107 Platen roller 108 Movable blade 109 Fixed blade 110 Printed thermal roll paper 111 Replacement door 112 Hinge 113 U-shaped part 114 Teflon sheet 115 Lower surface of outer periphery of thermal roll paper 116 Stopper 117 Roll paper draw-out portion 118 Paper feed port 119 of printer module itself Antenna 120 Control board 121 Tip guide 122 Depressed portion 123 such as platen roller mounting portion 123 Root guide 124 Storage of thermal roll paper Unit 201 Paper feed port 202 composed of guide 121 Inside of replacement door

Claims (3)

In a printer in which the paper discharge port is arranged on the front side and the door for replacing the thermal roll paper to be used is also disposed on the same front side as the paper discharge port, the pull-out angle of the thermal roll paper at the time of paper feeding is forcibly set. A printer characterized by a guide for changing the position. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the guide further has a function of restricting a slack of the thermal roll paper generated when the thermal roll paper is replaced or operated. 3. Further, in the roll paper storage section for storing the thermal roll paper, a side wall for restricting the thermal roll paper from moving in a direction perpendicular to the roll rotation direction of the thermal roll paper extends over the entire end surface of the thermal roll paper. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is configured to prevent the end face of the thermal roll paper from breaking.

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