JP2008178993A - Printing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing unit which attains an improvement of the reliability by suppressing an occurrence frequency of skipping of printing and paper jamming by controlling generation of skewing of a roll sheet at the time of setting of the roll sheet. <P>SOLUTION: Even when the roll sheet 2 sent by a worker to between an insertion guide member 22 and a feed roller 24 skews, the feed roller 24 is rotated. When the roll sheet 2 is sent by some degrees to a printing part 20, a left side part of the roll sheet 2 hits a width guide member 23b. When the worker further rotates the feed roller 24 in this state, a feeding rate of the right side of the roll sheet 2 becomes larger than a feeding rate of the left side because of a resistance generated at a part where the width guide member 23b and the left side part of the roll sheet 2 hit each other at the left side of the roll sheet 2. The roll sheet 2 consequently rotates counterclockwise, so that the skew is corrected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing unit that prints characters and images on roll paper.

Conventionally, there has been a printing unit that prints characters and images on roll paper. In this type of printing unit, an operator sets roll paper according to the following procedure.
(1) Set the roll paper in the storage section,
(2) Pull out the end of the roll paper set in the storage section,
(3) The setting of the roll paper that feeds the leading end to the printing position is a manual operation of the operator.

In addition, it has been proposed to provide a manual roller so that roll paper can be set easily (see Patent Document 1). In this Patent Document 1, the leading end of the roll paper pulled out from the storage unit is inserted between a manual roller and a guide member arranged to face the manual roller, and the manual roller is pressed toward the guide member. The roll paper is held between the manual roller and the guide member. In this state, when the operator rotates the manual roller, the roll paper is sent to the printing position.
JP 2001-337932 A

  However, in the apparatus shown in Patent Document 1, little consideration is given to prevention of skew of the roll paper when the roll paper is set. For this reason, the roll paper is skewed at the time of setting, and accordingly, the roll paper may be wrinkled. As a result, there has been a problem that printing skip and paper jamming are likely to occur.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing unit that suppresses the occurrence of skew of the roll paper when the roll paper is set, thereby suppressing the occurrence of printing skips and paper jams and improving the reliability. There is.

  In order to solve the above problems, the printing unit of the present invention has the following configuration.

A storage section for storing roll paper;
A transport unit that pulls out the roll paper stored in the storage unit and transports it to a print position by the print head;
An insertion guide member that is disposed in front of a paper insertion port through which the roll paper conveyed to the printing position passes, and guides the roll paper to the paper insertion port;
A feed roller rotatably disposed at a position facing the insertion guide member across the roll paper that the transport unit transports to the printing position;
The insertion guide member is provided with a width guide member that stands on both sides of the insertion guide member and regulates the skew of the roll paper.

  According to this configuration, after pulling out the leading end of the roll paper stored in the storage unit and inserting the roll paper between the insertion guide member and the feed roller, the feed roller is pressed toward the insertion guide member, The roll paper is held between the feed roller and the insertion guide member. When the manual roller is rotated in this state, the roll paper is conveyed to the printing position through the insertion port. At this time, even if the roll paper fed to the printing position is skewed, one side of the roll paper hits one width guide member standing on both sides of the insertion guide member, and the roll paper feed direction is Corrected. This suppresses the occurrence of skew of the roll paper when the roll paper is set. As a result, the occurrence of printing skips and paper jams can be suppressed, and reliability can be improved.

  Further, by forming a groove into which the rotation shaft of the feed roller is inserted in the width guide member, it is possible to suppress an increase in cost and to arrange the feed roller rotatably.

  Further, by fitting rubber to the feed roller, it is possible to ensure the frictional force generated between the roll paper when the feed roller is rotated.

  In addition, since the feed roller is positioned above the insertion guide member, the feed roller can be pressed against the roll paper using gravity.

  Furthermore, if the width guide member is provided so as to be slidable in the width direction of the roll paper with respect to the insertion guide member, it can cope with a plurality of types of roll papers having different lengths in the width direction.

  Since the distance between the width guide members only needs to be adjustable according to the length in the width direction of the roll paper, at least one width guide member is provided slidably in the width direction of the roll paper with respect to the insertion guide member. Just do it.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the reliability by suppressing the frequency of occurrence of printing skips and paper jams.

  Hereinafter, a printing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the printing unit of this embodiment. The printing unit 1 according to this embodiment includes a storage unit 10, a printing unit 20, and a cutting unit 30. The storage unit 10 is a box that stores the roll paper 2. The storage unit 10 has an open surface on which the roll paper 2 to be stored is inserted. In addition, a receiving portion 11 that receives the stored roll paper is formed at the lower end of the open surface so that the stored roll paper 2 does not pop out. The printing unit 20 is attached on the storage unit 10. In the printing unit 20, an insertion guide member 22 is attached in front of the insertion port 21 of the roll paper 2. The insertion guide member 22 is provided with width guide members 23 a and 23 b erected on both sides thereof. The distance between the width guide member 23 a and the width guide member 23 b is several mm (1 to 2 mm) longer than the width of the roll paper 2. Grooves are cut in the width guide members 23a and 23b. This groove extends in the vertical direction. The feed roller 24 has a rotation shaft inserted into the grooves of the width guide members 23a and 23b. The feed roller 24 is rotatably attached. A plurality of ring-shaped rubbers 25 are fitted to the feed roller 24. The insertion guide member 22 and the rubber 25 are in contact with each other. In other words, the grooves of the width guide members 23a and 23b are formed so that the insertion guide member 22 and the rubber 25 are in contact with each other. Further, the printing unit 20 includes a paper detection sensor 26 that detects the presence or absence of the roll paper 2 in the vicinity of the insertion slot 21. Further, inside the printing unit 20, a conveyance roller 27, a platen roller 28, and a print head 29 are provided. The transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28 sandwich and transport the roll paper 2. The print head 29 is pressed by the platen roller 28 when characters or figures are printed on the roll paper 2. At this time, the roll paper 2 is positioned between the platen roller 28 and the print head 29. The print head 29 prints characters and figures on the roll paper 2 being conveyed between the platen roller 28. Further, the roll paper 2 sent out from the printing unit 20 is discharged from the discharge port 31 via the cut unit 30. The cutting unit 30 is provided with a cutter (not shown) for cutting the roll paper 2. The portion of the roll paper 2 cut by the cutter can be taken out from the discharge port 31.

  Next, the printing operation in the printing unit 1 of this embodiment will be described. The print unit 1 receives print data relating to characters, figures and the like to be printed on the roll paper 2 from an external device. The printing unit 1 rotationally drives the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28 in the direction in which the roll paper 2 is pulled out from the storage unit 10. Thereby, the roll paper 2 stored in the storage unit 10 is drawn out and sent to the discharge port 31.

  Note that the feed roller 24 is only inserted in the grooves formed in the width guide members 23a and 23b and is rotatable, and therefore does not hinder the conveyance of the roll paper 2.

  Further, the printing unit 1 presses the print head 29 against the platen roller 28. The roll paper 2 is located between the platen roller 28 and the print head 29. The print unit 1 controls the print head 29 based on the input print data and prints characters and figures on the roll paper 2. The printing unit 1 separates the print head 29 from the platen roller 28 when printing of characters and figures based on the inputted print data is completed. Further, when the trailing end of the current print portion of the roll paper 2 reaches the discharge port 31 side of the cut portion 30 from the cut position of the roll paper 2, the print unit 1 rotationally drives the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28. To stop. Thereby, conveyance of the roll paper 2 is stopped. The printing unit 1 cuts the roll paper 2 at the cutting unit 30. As a result, the portion of the roll paper 2 on which characters and figures are printed this time can be taken out from the discharge port 31.

  Next, an operation when setting the roll paper 2 in the printing unit 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6, the feed roller 24 is not shown for easy understanding of the movement of the roll paper 2.

  First, the roll paper 2 to be set is stored in the storage unit 10. At this time, the operator holds the tip of the roll paper 2 and stores the wound portion in the storage unit 10. The operator pulls out the roll paper 2 stored in the storage unit 10 by pulling the tip of the roll paper 2. The operator inserts the leading end of the roll paper 2 between the insertion guide member 22 and the feed roller 24 and feeds it into the insertion port of the printing unit 20 (see FIG. 3).

  As described above, the distance between the width guide members 23 a and 23 b erected on both sides of the insertion guide member 22 is several mm longer than the width of the roll paper 2. Further, since the feed roller 24 is inserted into a groove extending in the vertical direction formed in the width guide members 23a and 23b, the feed roller 24 is also movable in the vertical direction. For this reason, when the operator feeds the leading end of the roll paper 2 between the insertion guide member 22 and the feed roller 24, the feed roller 24 moves upward according to the thickness of the roll paper 2. Therefore, the operator can feed the leading end of the roll paper 2 between the insertion guide member 22 and the feed roller 24 with relative ease.

  When the operator feeds the roll paper 2 between the insertion guide member 22 and the feed roller 24 to some extent, the operator presses the feed roller 24 toward the insertion guide member 22 with his / her finger while pressing the roll paper 2 on the printing unit 20. Rotate in the direction of conveyance to the insertion port 21. If the roll paper 2 fed by the operator between the insertion guide member 22 and the feed roller 24 is not skewed, the rotating feed roller 24 moves the leading end of the roll paper 2 from the insertion port 21 to the printing unit 20. It can be sent properly inside. Even if the roll paper 2 fed by the operator between the insertion guide member 22 and the feed roller 24 is skewed, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the roll paper 2 is skewed to the right side. Even when the roll paper 2 is fed to the printing unit 20 to some extent by the rotating feed roller 24, the left side of the roll paper 2 hits the width guide member 23b as shown in FIG. When the operator further rotates the feed roller 24 in this state, the resistance of the roll paper 2 is reduced on the left side of the roll paper 2 due to the resistance generated at the portion where the width guide member 23b and the left side of the roll paper 2 are in contact with each other. The feed amount on the right side is larger than the feed amount on the left side. For this reason, the roll paper 2 rotates counterclockwise, and the skew is corrected (see FIG. 6). When the skew is corrected, the resistance due to the contact between the left side of the roll paper 2 and the width guide member 23b disappears, and the roll paper 2 is sent to the insertion port 21 with almost no skew.

  When the paper detection sensor 26 detects the leading edge of the roll paper 2, the print unit 1 rotates the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28. When the leading edge of the roll paper 2 that the operator rotates the feed roller 24 and feeds into the printing unit 10 is sandwiched between the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28, the roll paper is rolled by the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28b. 2 is conveyed. When the leading edge of the roll paper 2 reaches the set position, the printing unit 1 stops the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28b. Thereby, the setting of the roll paper 2 is completed.

  Also, the operator does not need to rotate the feed roller 24 when the roll paper 2 is nipped between the transport roller 27 and the platen roller 28 and begins to be transported. That is, the operator may convey the feed roller 24 until the roll paper 2 is sandwiched between the conveyance roller 27 and the platen roller 28.

  As described above, when the roll paper 2 is set, even if the roll paper 2 inserted into the insertion port 21 of the printing unit 20 is skewed, the state is corrected and the roll paper 2 is set. be able to. Therefore, the occurrence of skew of the roll paper 2 when the roll paper 2 is set can be suppressed. As a result, the occurrence of printing skips and paper jams can be suppressed, and reliability can be improved.

  In the above description of the embodiment, the case where the roll paper 2 inserted into the insertion port 21 of the printing unit 20 is skewed to the right has been described as an example. However, the width guide member 23a is provided. Therefore, it is needless to say that even when skewed to the left, the state can be corrected and the roll paper 2 can be set.

  In the above embodiment, a plurality of ring-shaped rubbers 25 are fitted to the feed roller 24 in order to secure the frictional force generated between the feed roller 24 and the roll paper 2. The feed roller 24 itself may be formed of resin or the like as long as the frictional force generated between the roll paper 2 and the roll paper 2 can be secured. In this case, it is not necessary to fit a plurality of ring-shaped rubbers 25 to the feed roller 24.

  Moreover, in the printing unit 1 of the said embodiment, although the structure which arranged the accommodating part 10, the printing part 20, and the cut part 30 in the up-down direction was demonstrated to the example, it can also be arranged in a horizontal direction.

  In the above embodiment, the worker rotates the feed roller 24. However, a known drive transmission mechanism may be used to rotate the motor using a motor. Moreover, it is good also as a structure rotated with a knob etc.

  Furthermore, the width guide members 23 a and 23 b may be provided so as to be slidable in the width direction of the roll paper 2 with respect to the insertion guide member 22. In this way, it is possible to cope with a plurality of types of roll paper 2 having different lengths in the width direction. In this case, the distance between the width guide members 23a and 23b only needs to be adjustable according to the length of the roll paper 2 in the width direction, so that at least one of the width guide members 23a (or 23b) is connected to the insertion guide member 22. The roll paper 2 may be slidable in the width direction. However, in this case, it is necessary to change the feed roller 24 according to the width of the roll paper 2.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a printing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is side surface sectional drawing of the printing unit of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of the setting of the roll paper in the printing unit of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of the setting of the roll paper in the printing unit of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of the setting of the roll paper in the printing unit of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of the setting of the roll paper in the printing unit of this embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1-printing unit 2-roll paper 10-storage unit 20-printing unit 21-insertion port 22-insertion guide member 23a, 23b-width guide member 24-feed roller 25-rubber 26-paper detection sensor 27-conveying roller 28- Platen roller 29-Print head

Claims (5)

A storage section for storing roll paper;
A transport unit that pulls out the roll paper stored in the storage unit and transports it to a print position by the print head;
An insertion guide member that is disposed in front of a paper insertion port through which the roll paper conveyed to the printing position passes, and guides the roll paper to the paper insertion port;
A feed roller rotatably disposed at a position facing the insertion guide member across the roll paper that the transport unit transports to the printing position;
The insertion guide member is provided with a width guide member that is erected on both sides of the insertion guide member and regulates skew of the roll paper.
Printing unit. The width guide member has a groove into which the rotation shaft of the feed roller is inserted.
The printing unit according to claim 1. The feed roller is fitted with rubber,
The printing unit according to claim 1 or 2. The feed roller is located above the insertion guide member;
The printing unit according to claim 1. The width guide member is provided to be slidable in the width direction of the roll paper with respect to the insertion guide member.
The printing unit according to claim 1.

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