JP2007302455A - Paper package and paper cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily clean a pickup roller of a printer by utilizing a package material constituting a paper package set into a storage part of the printer to feed a printed medium. <P>SOLUTION: When a cassette material 108 is set into the storage part 5 of the printer 1 and further a case cover 4 of the printer 1 is put in a closed state, a conveying direction upstream edge part of a tongue piece 8d of the cassette material 108 collides with a rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 of the printer 1. At this time, if the pickup roller 20 of the printer 1 is rotated, the conveying direction upstream edge part of the tongue piece 8d of the cassette material 108 sequentially scrapes the periphery of the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 of the printer 1 to remove foreign matter stuck to the periphery of the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 of the printer 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper package and a paper cassette for cleaning a pickup roller of a printing apparatus.

Conventionally, it is possible to simultaneously remove foreign matter from both the thermal head and the platen in a printing apparatus that heats the thermal head and presses the printing medium between the platen and prints on the printing medium. A cleaning cassette and a cleaning sheet have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-306007 A

  However, in a printing apparatus provided with a pickup roller that picks up one of the printing mediums in a stacked state and conveys it to the thermal head and the platen, the pickup roller that is in close contact with the printing medium is used. Foreign matter may also adhere to the rubber part. Therefore, in order to maintain the performance of the pickup roller that picks up and conveys the print medium, it is desirable to remove foreign matter from the pickup roller.

  In particular, when the printing medium is a thermal paper, after picking up and transporting a large number of thermal papers, the paper dust of the thermal paper adheres, causing chemical deterioration on the rubber part of the pickup roller. It is estimated that this will occur, and there is a risk of inducing the risk of degrading the performance of the pickup roller that picks up and conveys the thermal paper. Therefore, it is desirable to clean the pickup roller in order not to continue the state in which the paper dust of the thermal paper adheres to the rubber part of the pickup roller for a long time.

  However, once the foreign matter on the pickup roller is removed with the cleaning sheet, the foreign matter removal performance of the cleaning sheet on the one surface side from which the foreign matter on the pickup roller has been removed is extremely reduced. Even if the toner is conveyed between the thermal head and the platen, it is impossible to expect the original simultaneous foreign matter removal performance for the thermal head and the platen for the cleaning sheet.

  In addition, when an abrasive is applied to one surface side of the cleaning sheet for removing foreign matter from the thermal head, when the cleaning sheet is picked up and conveyed by the pickup roller, the abrasive on the cleaning sheet is removed from the pickup roller. If it is in close contact with the rubber part, there is a risk of degrading the performance of the pickup roller that picks up and conveys the medium to be printed.

  On the other hand, unlike the thermal head and platen, the pick-up roller does not significantly reduce the performance if there is a small amount of foreign matter. Therefore, until the performance deterioration appears compared with the thermal head and platen. Since more time is required, it is not economically appropriate to newly provide a cleaning sheet dedicated to the pickup roller.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, by using a package material that constitutes a paper package set in a storage unit of a printing apparatus in order to supply a printing medium, or The problem is that the pickup roller of the printing apparatus can be easily cleaned by using the cassette material constituting the paper cassette set in the storage unit of the printing apparatus to supply the printing medium. To do.

  The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve this problem, has a package material folded in a substantially U-shape, and the package material accommodates one or more sheets of a printing medium. When set in the storage unit of the printing apparatus, a pressing force of a sheet press provided on a case cover that covers the storage unit of the printing apparatus acts on the print medium via the package material, thereby the print medium Is a paper package that can be conveyed in close contact with the pickup roller of the printing apparatus, and includes a tongue piece formed on the package material, and the package material is set in a storage portion of the printing apparatus. The tip of the tongue piece is in contact with the pickup roller of the printing apparatus.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper package according to the first aspect, the package material set in the storage portion of the printing apparatus moves toward a pickup roller of the printing apparatus. This is prevented by abutting a part of the storage portion of the printing apparatus with one end of the package material.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the paper package according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the print medium is a thermal paper.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cassette material that forms a housing portion, and the cassette material is set in the housing portion of the printing apparatus in a state in which one or a plurality of print mediums are housed in the housing portion. Then, the pressing force of the sheet presser provided on the case cover covering the storage portion of the printing apparatus acts on the printing medium via the cassette material, so that the printing medium becomes the pickup roller of the printing apparatus. A paper cassette that can be conveyed in close contact with a tongue piece formed on the cassette material, and when the cassette material is set in a storage portion of the printing apparatus, the tip of the tongue piece is It is characterized by contacting with a pickup roller of the printing apparatus.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the paper cassette according to claim 4, wherein the cassette material set in the storage portion of the printing apparatus moves toward a pickup roller of the printing apparatus. This is prevented by abutting a part of the storage portion of the printing apparatus with one end of the cassette material.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the paper cassette according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the print medium is a thermal paper.

That is, in the paper package of the invention according to claim 1, when the package material is set in the storage portion of the printing apparatus, the tip of the tongue of the package material hits the pickup roller of the printing apparatus. If the roller is rotated, the tip of the tongue of the package material sequentially scrapes the periphery of the pickup roller of the printing apparatus, and the foreign matter attached to the periphery of the pickup roller of the printing apparatus can be removed. Therefore, the pickup roller of the printing apparatus can be easily cleaned by using the package material constituting the paper package set in the storage unit of the printing apparatus for supplying the printing medium.
If the paper package of the invention according to claim 1 is used, there is no necessity to newly provide a cleaning sheet dedicated to the pickup roller of the printing apparatus.

In the paper cassette according to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the cassette material is set in the storage portion of the printing apparatus, the tip of the tongue of the cassette material hits the pickup roller of the printing apparatus, and here, the pickup of the printing apparatus When the roller is rotated, the tip of the cassette material tongue sequentially scrapes the periphery of the pickup roller of the printing apparatus, and the foreign matter adhering to the periphery of the pickup roller of the printing apparatus can be removed. Therefore, the pickup roller of the printing apparatus can be easily cleaned by using the cassette material constituting the paper cassette set in the storage section of the printing apparatus for supplying the printing medium.
If the paper cassette of the invention according to claim 4 is used, there is no necessity to newly provide a cleaning sheet exclusively for the pickup roller of the printing apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings based on an embodiment.

First, a schematic configuration of a printing apparatus in which a paper package according to the present embodiment is stored will be described with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the main body case 2 of the printing apparatus 1 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and is approximately 16 cm in length in the longitudinal direction and approximately 10 cm in length in the short direction. It has a size of A6 size, a thickness of about 2 cm, and a rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open upper surface. On the upper surface of the main body case 2, a substantially rectangular fixed cover 3 having a size occupying ¼ of the upper surface of the main body case is disposed near one end in the longitudinal direction of the main body case 2. A storage portion 5 is formed in which a thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3), which is a printing medium in the printing apparatus 1, is stored.
A case cover 4 is provided at the end opposite to the fixed cover 3 so as to be rotatable about one end. When the case cover 4 is rotated to be in a closed state, the upper portion of the storage unit 5 is covered by the case cover 4.
In addition, a printing mechanism section 12 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, including the pickup roller 20 is provided inside the main body case 2 covered with the fixed cover 3, and the thermal paper 7 conveyed from the storage section 5 is provided. (See FIG. 3) Print data is printed.

  The pickup roller 20 is composed of a cylindrical rubber portion 20a with which the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) is in close contact, a rotating shaft 20b for rotating the rubber portion 20a around its central axis, and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case cover 4 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape with a size of 3/4 of the upper surface of the main body case 2 excluding the fixed cover 3. It is rotatably attached to the main body case 2 via an opening / closing shaft 4b formed at one end.
Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the case cover 4 is formed by inserting an opening / closing shaft 4 b into a slide groove 2 a formed at one end portion (left hand direction in the figure) of both outer side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the main body case 2. It is attached. Therefore, when the case cover 4 is opened (for example, when the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3) in which the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) is stacked in the storage portion 5 is stored), the case cover 4 is fixed to the fixed cover. 3 is slid in the direction away from 3 by the length of the slide groove 2a, and then the opening and closing shaft 4b is used as an axis of rotation.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case cover 4 is a cover in which a colorless transparent resin is fitted based on the width dimension in the conveyance direction of the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) stored in the storage unit 5. A window portion 4a is formed.

A sheet presser 9 is disposed on the inner surface of the case cover 4 facing the storage portion 5 in the vicinity of the printing mechanism portion 12 (see FIG. 5).
The sheet presser 9 has one end fixed to the case cover 4 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) and the downstream side provided as a free end, and the free end of the presser plate 9a. On the side, it is formed by a spring 9b disposed between the case cover 4 and the pressing plate 9a.
When the case cover 4 is closed, the sheet retainer 9 has an end portion on the free end side of the retainer plate 9a located inside the storage unit 5 so that the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) in the storage unit 5 is appropriately placed. Since the sheet is pressed downward by the pressing force, the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) can be smoothly conveyed. The sheet presser 9 will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings.

  The case cover 4 has a lock piece 4c formed at the end on the fixed cover 3 side, and the lock piece 4c is formed at the end of the main body case 2 on the fixed cover 3 side (not shown). The case cover 4 in a closed state is prevented from easily opening.

  On the other hand, the main body case 2 is formed with a storage portion 5 in which a thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) which is a printing medium in the printing apparatus 1 is stored. The storage unit 5 of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is formed as a rectangular parallelepiped space whose bottom surface is a substantially A7 size rectangle, and the upper part of the storage unit 5 is open, so that the A7 size thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3 (see FIG. 3) can be inserted from above and housed therein. Further, since the storage unit 5 is also open to the side of the fixed cover 3 and communicates with the pickup roller 20, the printing mechanism unit 12 (see FIG. 5) of the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) that has passed through the storage unit 5 is provided. ) Is possible.

Further, a notch 11 having a sloped portion that is inclined toward the bottom surface of the storage unit 5 is formed on the side edge of the storage unit 5, and the user is able to remove the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3). Is provided so that it is easy to insert a finger or the like and take out the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3).
Furthermore, guide members 10 that press the side surfaces of the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3) are provided at both side edges of the storage unit 5. Two side protrusions 10a are formed on the side surface of the guide member 10 in a direction perpendicular to the side surface of the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3). In addition, the thermal paper 7 to be conveyed (see FIG. 3) is guided to prevent skew during feeding.
Further, locking portions 101 for the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3) are formed on both sides of the bottom surface of the storage portion 5, and together with the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) to be conveyed, the paper package 6 (see FIG. 3). ) Is prevented from moving toward the pickup roller 20.

As described above, the printing mechanism 12 (see FIG. 5) for printing on the thermal paper 7 (see FIG. 3) is formed inside the main body case 2 below the fixed cover 3.
As shown in FIG. 5, the printing mechanism unit 12 includes a pickup roller 20 that feeds the thermal paper 7, a separation unit 21, a guide plate 27, a paper guide 23 that guides the thermal paper 7 toward the thermal head 25, and The platen roller 22 conveys the thermal paper 7 to the thermal head 25, and the thermal head 25 that is pressed in the direction of the platen roller 22 and performs thermal printing on the thermal paper 7 on the platen roller 22.
Here, the printing by the printing mechanism unit 12 and the function of each component will be described in detail later, and the description thereof is omitted here.

Next, the thermal paper 7 and the paper package 6 which are printing media in the printing apparatus 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3 or FIG. FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the paper package 6. FIG. 4 is a development view showing the package material 8 constituting the paper package 6.
The thermal paper 7 according to the present embodiment is an A7 size self-coloring thermal sheet (so-called thermal paper), and one surface of the thermal paper 7 is heated by the heating elements arranged in the thermal head 25. It becomes the printing surface to be printed.

The paper package 6 according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of A7 size thermal paper 7 stacked with the printing surface facing down, and a thermal paper 7 that is folded into a substantially U-shape when viewed from the side and is in the stacked state. The package material 8 sandwiches the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface.
Here, the thickness dimension of the package material 8 is formed a little thicker than the thickness dimension of the thermal paper 7, and is difficult to bend. When the paper package 6 is stored in the storage unit 5, an information display 8 d of “size A7” indicating the size of the thermal paper 7 is printed on the upper surface of the package material 8.
The information display 8 d is printed so as to correspond to the position of the cover window 4 a formed on the case cover 4 when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage 5. That is, when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage unit 5 and the case cover 4 is closed, the information display 8d is printed at a position where it can be visually recognized through the cover window 4a. Therefore, when printing is performed using the paper package 6, the user can use the cover window 4a to provide information on the thermal paper 7 used as a print medium (for example, the size of the thermal paper 7). Or material).

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the package material 8 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape having a substantially constant width, and is stacked on the uppermost surface of the laminated thermal paper 7 to protect the thermal paper 7 from external pressure. A pressing portion 8a having a substantially A7 size, and a downstream edge portion in the conveying direction of the pressing portion 8a (a lower edge portion in FIG. 3) are extended by a height dimension at which the thermal paper 7 can be stacked. The extension 8b extends from the downstream edge of the extension 8b in the conveyance direction (the lower edge in FIG. 3) so as to be shorter than the length of the pressing portion 8a in the conveyance direction by a predetermined dimension. The printed surface protecting portion 8c is formed, and a tongue piece 8e extending from the upstream side in the transport direction of the printing surface protecting portion 8c so as to be longer by a predetermined dimension.
That is, the extended portion 8b of the package material 8 is bent substantially perpendicularly to the pressing portion 8a, and the printing surface protection portion 8c is bent substantially perpendicularly to the extended portion 8b. When the laminated thermal paper 7 is sandwiched and attached to the storage unit 5 in a substantially U shape in side view, the upstream edge of the tongue piece 8e in the transport direction, the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20, and Is closely in contact with the entire width of the rubber portion 20a in the conveying direction (see FIGS. 5B and 5C).

Here, the width dimension of the package material 8 is formed to be larger than the width dimension of the thermal paper 7 by a predetermined dimension (for example, about 0.3 mm).
The printed surface protection portion 8c of the package material 8 has a predetermined width dimension notched in the side surface portion facing the guide member 10 of the printing surface protection portion 8c when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage portion 5. An escape portion 13 is formed. Thus, when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage portion 5 and the case cover 4 is closed, each protrusion 10a of the guide member 10 comes into contact with the side surface of the pressing portion 8a, and the pressing portion The other side surface portion of 8a is pressed against each projection portion 10a of the guide member 10, but does not contact the side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 8c, and the other side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 8c is a guide. Even if it contacts each protrusion part 10a of the member 10, it is comprised so that it may not be pressed by each protrusion part 10a.
Further, a notch 8f is formed between the side surface of the printing surface protection portion 8c and the side surface portion of the tongue piece 8e, and also between the escape portion 13 of the printing surface protection portion 8c and the side surface portion of the tongue piece 8e. A notch 8f is formed. Thus, when the paper package 6 is stored in the storage unit 5 and the case cover 4 is closed, when the paper package 6 tries to move in the transport direction together with the thermal paper 7, the both notches 8f of the paper package 6 are stored. The sheet package 6 is configured to be unable to move in the transport direction because it abuts on both the locking portions 101 of the portion 5.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, on the surface side of the side edge portion on the opposite side to the escape portion 13 of the printing surface protection portion 8 c of the package material 8, the printing medium sandwiched in the paper package 6. The four types of various square marks 14a to 14d for displaying the type of the thermal paper 7 are printed along the transport direction.
In this regard, four reflective photosensors 15 are provided on the bottom surface of the storage unit 5 at positions facing the various types of marks 14 a to 14 d (see FIG. 5). In addition, it is configured to detect whether the various types of marks 14 a to 14 d are black or white, and to determine the type of a printing medium such as the thermal paper 7 sandwiched in the paper package 6.
For example, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the various marks 14a to 14c of the package material 8 are black squares and the type mark 14d is a white square, only the thermal paper is used in the paper package 6. It shows that the constructed thermal paper 7 is sandwiched.

Next, the printing mechanism of the printing apparatus 1 and the conveyance of the thermal paper 7 when the paper package 6 is housed will be described with reference to FIG.
First, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, when performing printing using the paper package 6 with the printing apparatus 1, the case cover 4 is moved along the slide groove 2a, and then the case cover 4 is moved. The paper package 6 is stored in the storage unit 5. Then, by closing the case cover 4, the urging force of the spring 9 b disposed on the inner side surface of the case cover 4 is applied to the thermal paper laminated via the paper presser 9 and the pressing portion 8 a of the package material 8. Act on 7.
As a result, the thermal paper 7 located in the lowermost layer of the paper package 6 is pressed in the direction of the pickup roller 20 and is in close contact with the rubber portion 20 a of the pickup roller 20. Then, the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 rotates via the rotation shaft 20b, whereby the lowermost thermal paper 7 is pulled out from the paper package 6 and conveyed into the printing mechanism section 12.
Here, a plurality of sheets of thermal paper 7 may be fed due to the influence of the frictional force between the thermal sheets 7. Therefore, in order to prevent a plurality of sheets from being conveyed while being double-fed, a downwardly inclined surface is formed on the surface of the separating unit 21 on the side facing the pickup roller 20. As a result, when the heat-sensitive paper 7 that has been multi-fed touches the inclined surface, the front-end surface in the conveyance direction of the heat-sensitive paper 7 is bent by the frictional force of the inclined surface, and the heat-sensitive paper 7 that has been multi-fed to a single sheet. To be separated. Therefore, in the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the thermal paper 7 is not double-fed and only one thermal paper 7 is conveyed into the printing mechanism section 12.

  Next, when the separated thermal paper 7 is guided by the inclined surface and touches the guide plate 27, the front end surface in the conveyance direction of the conveyed thermal paper 7 is bent in the opposite direction to the case of the separation unit 21. Then, it is conveyed in the horizontal direction according to the surface direction of the guide plate 27 and guided to the paper guide 23. The paper guide 23 has a subarc-shaped cross-sectional shape, and the transport direction of the transported thermal paper 7 is corrected in a direction along the concave surface portion of the paper guide 23. The outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 22 is in close contact with the inner arc surface of the paper guide 23, and the thermal paper 7 is pressed by the paper guide 23 so as to be in close contact with the platen roller 22, and friction generated between the platen roller 22 and the platen roller 22. It is conveyed on the outer peripheral surface by force.

  On the upper part of the platen roller 22, a thermal head 25 is pressed against the platen roller 22 so as to be in line contact with the platen roller. Accordingly, the conveyed thermal paper 7 is sandwiched between the thermal head 25 and the platen roller 22, and line printing of the thermal paper 7 is performed by heating the thermal head 25. Thereafter, the thermal paper 7 on which the print data is printed by the thermal head 25 is conveyed by the platen roller 22 and is discharged from the printing apparatus 1 via the upper inclined surface of the separation unit 21. In this manner, the thermal paper 7 sandwiched between the paper packages 6 performs desired printing one by one.

Then, by repeating the printing on the thermal paper 7, the number of the thermal papers 7 sandwiched between the package members 8 is reduced, and even when the number of the thermal papers 7 is reduced, FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the pressing portion 8a of the package material 8 is pressed by the sheet presser 9, and the lowermost thermal sheet 7 is indirectly pressed against the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20. Accordingly, even with the last sheet of thermal paper 7, the thermal paper 7 is conveyed and printed by the thermal head 25 as the pickup roller 20 is driven.
As described above, in the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the paper package 6 in which the thermal paper 7 cut to approximately A7 size is stacked can be stored in the storage unit 5 and stored in the storage unit 5. From the paper package 6, the thermal paper 7 can be printed one by one. In addition, it is possible to reliably print up to the last sheet of the thermal paper 7 stored in the storage unit 5.

  Further, in the printing apparatus 1, the package material 8 of the paper package 6 that is stored in the storage unit 5 as described above and sandwiches the uppermost surface and the lowermost surface of one or a plurality of thermal sheets 7 is used. Thus, the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 can be easily cleaned.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the print surface protection portion 8c of the package material 8 of the paper package 6 is extended so as to be longer by a predetermined dimension upstream in the transport direction. A protruding tongue piece 8e is formed. Here, the size relationship between the tongue piece 8e and the pickup roller 20 will be described with reference to FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, the width 100W in the conveyance direction of the tongue piece 8d is a cylindrical rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20. It is longer than the width dimension W in the transport direction.

When the paper package 6 is stored in the storage unit 5, the upstream edge portion of the tongue 8 d of the package material 8 in the transport direction abuts against the rubber portion 20 a of the pickup roller 20 as shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, for convenience of explanation, the pressing portion 8 a in the paper package 6 is shown in an open state, and the thermal paper 7 is not shown. Thereafter, when the case cover 4 is closed (see FIGS. 5B and 5C), the tongue piece 8d extending from the printing surface protecting portion 8c of the package material 8 as shown in FIG. The end edge on the upstream side in the conveying direction is in close contact with the rubber portion 20 a of the pickup roller 20. At this time, when the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 is rotated through the rotation shaft 20b, the edge of the upstream side in the transport direction of the tongue piece 8d of the package material 8 sequentially scrapes the periphery of the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20. take. Therefore, the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 can be cleaned by sequentially scraping the periphery of the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 on the upstream side in the conveying direction of the tongue 8d of the package material 8. .
In this respect, as already described, the width direction dimension (the same as the reference numeral 100W in FIG. 8) of the upstream edge portion of the tongue 8d of the package material 8 in the transport direction is the cylindrical rubber portion of the pickup roller 20. Since it is longer than the width dimension W in the conveyance direction 20a, the entire area around the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 can be cleaned.
That is, a predetermined piece of the tongue piece 8d extending from the upstream side in the transport direction of the printing surface protection portion 8c of the package material 8 so that the entire area around the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 can be cleaned as described above. The dimensions are determined, and the position of the tongue piece 8d of the package material 8 and the width dimension in the transport direction are determined.
Even if a force acts on the upstream edge of the tongue 8d of the package material 8 in the conveying direction due to friction with the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20, the rotation of the pickup roller 20 as shown in FIG. Depending on the direction, the tongue piece 8d of the package material 8 does not move by being pressed against the thermal paper 7 located at the lowermost layer of the paper package 6 or the pressing portion 8a of the package material 8, so that the rubber portion of the pickup roller 20 It is possible to maintain a state close to 20a.

As described in detail above, in the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment, when the package material 8 is set in the storage unit 5 of the printing apparatus 1 and the case cover 4 of the printing apparatus 1 is further closed (see FIG. 1), the edge on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the tongue 8d of the package material 8 abuts against the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 (see FIG. 6).
At this time, if the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 is rotated, the edge on the upstream side in the transport direction of the tongue piece 8d of the package material 8 is sequentially scraped around the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1. The foreign matter adhering to the periphery of the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 can be removed.
Accordingly, the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 can be easily cleaned by using the package material 8 of the paper package 6 set in the storage unit 5 of the printing apparatus 1 to supply the thermal paper 7. be able to.
Therefore, the use of the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment eliminates the necessity of using the cleaning sheet dedicated to the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 and is economical.

Further, when the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment is used, the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 is cleaned each time the thermal paper 7 is conveyed by the rotation of the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1, so that it can be periodically performed. Maintenance is not required.
Further, the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment cleans the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 with the tongue piece 8e which is the same material as the package material 8, and is not attached with a material different from the package material 8. It is easy to recycle as a resource.
Furthermore, since the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment is replaced with a new one when the thermal paper 7 is used up, the performance of the tongue piece 8e for cleaning the pickup roller 20 of the printing apparatus 1 can be maintained. is there.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.
For example, in the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment, the thermal paper 7 is sandwiched between the package materials 8, but any material can be used as long as it can be conveyed and printed by the thermal head 22 of the printing apparatus 1. It may be a printing medium.

Further, instead of the paper package 6 according to the present embodiment, a paper cassette 106 as shown in the perspective view of FIG. 9 may be used.
The paper cassette 106 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 9 is an external perspective view of the paper cassette 106. 10 and 11 are development views showing the cassette material 108 constituting the paper cassette 106. FIG.

That is, the paper cassette 106 according to the present embodiment is configured by a plurality of A7 size thermal papers 7 stacked with the printing surface facing down, and a cassette material 108 that accommodates the thermal paper 7 in the stacked state. ing. Here, the thickness dimension of the cassette material 108 is formed to be slightly thicker than the thickness dimension of the thermal paper 7, and is difficult to bend. In addition, when the paper cassette 108 is stored in the storage unit 5, an information display 108 d of “size A7” indicating the size of the thermal paper 7 is printed on the upper surface of the cassette material 108.
The information display 108d has the same function as the information display 8d in the paper package 8 described above.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the cassette material 108 includes a substantially A7 size pressing portion 108a that protects the laminated thermal paper 7 from an external pressure, and an edge portion on the downstream side in the transport direction of the pressing portion 108a ( In FIG. 9, an extended portion 108b extended from the lower edge) by the height of the heat-sensitive paper 7 that can be stacked, and a downstream edge in the transport direction of the extended portion 108b (in FIG. 3). The printing surface protection part 108c extended from the lower edge) to be shorter than the length in the conveyance direction of the pressing part 108a by a predetermined dimension, and from the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the printing surface protection part 108c. Tongue piece 108e extended so as to be longer in dimension, a pair of side surface protection parts 108g extended from both side surface parts of extension part 108b, and extended from both side surface parts of each side surface protection part 108g And a pair of glue margins 109.
That is, the extended portion 108b of the cassette material 108 is bent inward at a substantially right angle with respect to the pressing portion 108a, and the printing surface protection portion 108c is bent inward at a substantially right angle with respect to the extended portion 108b. The pressing portion 108a, the extension portion 108b, and the printing surface protection portion 108c) are formed in a substantially U shape in side view, and the pair of side surface protection portions 108g are bent substantially perpendicularly to the extension portion 108b. A storage portion 110 that can store the stacked thermal paper 7 is formed by bending each glue margin 109 to the inside of a substantially right angle with respect to each side protection portion 108g and pasting it on the pressing portion 108a or the printing surface protection portion 108c. When the paper cassette 106 formed and accommodated with the stacked thermal paper 7 in the storage unit 110 is attached to the storage unit 5, the upstream side in the transport direction of the tongue 108e And the edge, the rubber portion 20a of the pickup roller 20, closely over the entire transport width of the rubber part 20a. That is, the conveyance direction width dimension of the tongue piece 108e is the same as the conveyance direction width dimension 100W of the tongue piece 8e in the paper package 8 described above.

Here, each width dimension of the cassette material 108 (pressing part 108a / extending part 108b / printing surface protecting part 108c) is larger than the width dimension of the thermal paper 7 by a predetermined dimension (for example, about 0.3 mm). Is formed.
The printing surface protection portion 108c of the cassette material 108 is cut out by a predetermined width dimension at a side surface portion facing the guide member 10 of the printing surface protection portion 108c when the paper cassette 108 is stored in the storage portion 5. An escape portion 113 is formed. Thus, when the paper cassette 108 is stored in the storage unit 5 and the case cover 4 is closed, each protrusion 10a of the guide member 10 comes into contact with the side surface of the pressing unit 108a, and the pressing unit The other side surface portion 108a is pressed against each projection 10a of the guide member 10, but does not contact the side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 108c, and the other side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 108c is a guide. Even if it contacts each protrusion part 10a of the member 10, it is comprised so that it may not be pressed by each protrusion part 10a.
Further, a notch 108f is formed between the side surface portion of the printing surface protection portion 108c and the side surface portion of the tongue piece 108e, and also between the escape portion 113 of the printing surface protection portion 108c and the side surface portion of the tongue piece 108e. A notch 108f is formed. As a result, when the paper cassette 108 is stored in the storage unit 5 and the case cover 4 is closed, when the paper cassette 108 moves in the transport direction together with the thermal paper 7, the both notches 108f of the paper cassette 108 are stored. The sheet cassette 108 is configured to be unable to move in the transport direction because it is in contact with both the locking portions 101 of the section 5.

  As shown in FIG. 11, on the surface side of the side edge portion opposite to the escape portion 113 of the printing surface protecting portion 108c of the cassette material 108, the same type marks 14a to 14 as in the paper package 8 described above. 14d is formed.

  Therefore, even when such a paper cassette 106 is used, the same effects as those of the paper package 6 described above can be obtained.

  The present invention can be applied to a technique for cleaning a rubber roller used for paper conveyance of a printing apparatus.

1 is an external perspective view of a printing apparatus. It is a perspective view shown in the state where the case cover of the printer was opened. It is a perspective view of the paper package based on this invention used for a printing apparatus. It is an expanded view which shows the package material which comprises the paper package which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing regarding mounting | wearing of the paper package which concerns on this invention with respect to a printing apparatus. It is a perspective view shown in the state where the case cover of the printer was opened. It is explanatory drawing regarding the cleaning of the paper package which concerns on this invention with respect to a printing apparatus. It is explanatory drawing regarding the dimension of the tongue piece and pick-up roller of the paper package which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view of the paper cassette concerning the present invention used for a printer. It is an expanded view which shows the cassette material which comprises the paper cassette which concerns on this invention. It is an expanded view which shows the cassette material which comprises the paper cassette which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 4 Case cover 4a Cover window part 5 Storage part 6 Paper package 7 Thermal paper 8 Package material 8e Tongue piece 8f Notch 9 Paper presser 20 Pickup roller 25 Thermal head 101 Locking part 106 Paper cassette 108 Cassette material 108e Tongue piece 108f Notch 110 Housing

Claims (6)

A package member bent in a substantially U-shape, and when the package member is set in a storage unit of the printing apparatus in a state where one or a plurality of print target media are stored, the storage unit of the printing apparatus is A sheet in which the printing medium is brought into close contact with the pickup roller of the printing apparatus and can be conveyed by the pressing force of the sheet press provided on the covering case cover acting on the printing medium via the package material A package,
A tongue formed on the packaging material;
The paper package according to claim 1, wherein when the package material is set in a storage portion of the printing apparatus, a tip of the tongue piece comes into contact with a pickup roller of the printing apparatus. The paper package according to claim 1,
When a part of the storage unit of the printing device and one end of the package material abut each other as the package material set in the storage unit of the printing device moves toward the pickup roller of the printing device. A paper package characterized by being blocked. A paper package according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein
A paper package, wherein the printing medium is a thermal paper. When the cassette material is set in the storage portion of the printing apparatus in a state where one or a plurality of print mediums are stored in the storage portion, the storage portion of the printing apparatus is A sheet in which the printing medium is brought into close contact with the pickup roller of the printing apparatus and can be conveyed by the pressing force of the sheet press provided on the covering case cover acting on the printing medium via the cassette material. A cassette,
A tongue formed on the cassette material;
The paper cassette according to claim 1, wherein when the cassette material is set in a storage portion of the printing apparatus, a tip of the tongue piece comes into contact with a pickup roller of the printing apparatus. A paper cassette according to claim 4, wherein
When the cassette material set in the storage unit of the printing apparatus moves toward the pickup roller of the printing apparatus, a part of the storage unit of the printing apparatus and one end of the cassette material collide with each other. A paper cassette characterized by being blocked. A paper cassette according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein
A paper cassette, wherein the printing medium is a thermal paper.

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