JP2011068067A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which can be exactly operated even when an operator takes inadequate posture upon the operation of the printer and can improve an operation performance when replacing roll-shaped forms or supplying the roll-shaped forms. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 1 includes: a sheet supply part 2 on which a roll-shaped label continuum R is mounted; a printing part 5 which performs the printing onto a label continuum P drawn out of the sheet supply part 2; and an intermediate guide part 3 which is disposed between the sheet supply part 2 and the printing part 5 and guides the width direction of the label continuum P, wherein an operation part 6 which has a pair of supply side guide plates 11a, 11b for bringing side faces of the roll-shaped label continuum R into contact with the sheet supply part 2 and drives the pair of supply side guide plates 11a, 11b is disposed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer that prints on a sheet, and more particularly to a printer that prints on a sheet of paper that has been rolled out.

Printers that pull out a roll of paper and print on the drawn paper are used in various installation locations.
For example, when the printer is installed near the transportation line that transports goods such as factories and distribution warehouses, or when installed in high places, the installation space may be limited for the convenience of the user. is there.

In such a printer installed in a limited installation place, operability and maintenance work efficiency are lowered.
For example, when replacing or replenishing roll-shaped paper, roll-shaped paper is loaded into the paper supply unit in the printer, and is provided in the paper supply unit to support the side surface of the roll-shaped paper. Slide the guide plate to fit the width of the paper.
Next, the paper is pulled out toward the printing unit, and an operation for adjusting a guide plate provided between the paper supply unit and the printing unit to the width of the paper is performed.

  However, there are cases where the location of the printer and the position of the operator operating the printer are not necessarily in a suitable positional relationship. In this case, the operation of the guide plate of the paper supply unit is sufficiently performed when the roll paper is loaded. In some cases, there are problems such as meandering and jamming of the paper, and there is a problem that the print quality is deteriorated and the printed paper cannot be used and must be discarded.

  In Patent Document 1, a paper width detection sensor is provided in a width alignment guide means provided between a thermal head and a paper supply unit, and the paper width is automatically adjusted only by adjusting the width alignment guide means to the width of the paper. It is disclosed that the size of the paper set in the printing apparatus can be accurately recognized by the host host because it can be recognized, so that it is possible to avoid wasting paper by printing on paper that is not the specified paper width. Yes.

JP 2005-131912 A

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can be accurately operated even when the operator is in an insufficient posture when operating the printer.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer that can be accurately operated even when the operator is in an insufficient posture at the time of replacing the roll-shaped paper or replenishing the roll-shaped paper.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer that can accurately adjust the width of the paper without manually operating guide means for adjusting the width of the paper.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer that can prevent paper meandering and jamming as much as possible.

The present invention focuses on a guide plate that adjusts to the width of the paper. The gist of the invention described in claim 1 is that the roll label continuous body is loaded on the paper supply shaft, and the paper supply portion is pulled out from the paper supply portion. In the printer provided with a printing section that prints on the continuous label body, and an intermediate guide section that is provided between the paper supply section and the printing section and guides the width direction of the continuous label body. A pair of supply-side guide plates movably provided along the axis of the shaft, and an operation unit that moves the pair of supply-side guide plates, and the pair of supply units according to instructions from the operation unit In the printer, the side guide plates are moved in a direction approaching each other.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer according to the first aspect, further comprising a control unit that calculates a movement amount of the supply side guide plate.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the intermediate guide portion includes a pair of intermediate guide plates that contact the side surfaces of the label continuous body, and the pair of intermediate guide plates are moved by the operation of the operation portion. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is configured as described above.

  The printer of the present invention can be accurately operated by an operator when operating the printer, and can be accurately set when replacing roll-shaped paper or replenishing a roll-shaped label continuous body. Moreover, the roll-shaped label continuous body can be loaded at a certain predetermined position.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printer of the present invention. (A) It is explanatory drawing explaining the time of loading a roll-shaped label continuous body in the paper supply part seen from the upstream of the paper supply part, (b) It is explanatory drawing explaining a supply side guide plate. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a state in which a label continuous body is pulled out to an intermediate guide portion viewed from the paper supply portion side. It is explanatory drawing explaining the operation | movement flow at the time of setting a roll-shaped paper.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The printer 1 mainly includes a paper supply unit 2, an intermediate guide unit 3, a pitch detection unit 4, a printing unit 5, an operation unit 6, and a control unit 7.

The paper supply unit 2 can rotate a continuous body R of a roll-shaped label obtained by winding a continuous label (paper) P in which a plurality of labels L are temporarily attached to a belt-like mount D at a predetermined interval around a winding core 40. A paper supply shaft 8 to be held and a pair of supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b that are in contact with both side surfaces of the rolled label continuous body R are provided.
The supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b are provided so as to be movable along the axis of the paper supply shaft 8 as will be described later.

The label continuum P can be fed to the printing unit 5 via the guide roller 9.
The label L of the label continuum P is made of paper, and has a thermosensitive coloring surface having a thermosensitive coloring layer that forms a thermosensitive color by the heating action of a heating element (not shown) of a thermal head 33 described later on one side. It has an adhesive surface coated with an adhesive (not shown) in the direction

On the strip-shaped mount D, the adhesive surface of the label L is temporarily attached to a release surface on which a release agent (not shown) such as silicone is applied.
A plurality of labels L are temporarily attached to the belt-like mount D at a predetermined interval, and a reference mark (black rectangular mark) (not shown) is substantially the same interval as the interval between the label L and the label L being temporarily attached. Is formed on the back surface of the belt-like mount D (the opposite surface on which the label L is temporarily attached).
Further, a guide roller 9 that rotates freely is provided between the paper supply unit 2 and the intermediate guide unit 3, and can guide the continuous label body P toward the intermediate guide unit 3.

The intermediate guide part 3 is provided with a guide plate 30 and an intermediate side guide mechanism 20 which will be described later.
The guide plate 30 is provided in an inclined shape so as to guide the label continuum P toward the printing unit 5.
In addition, the pitch detection unit 4 is disposed below the guide plate 30 of the intermediate guide unit 3. The pitch detector 4 receives light reflected from the belt-like mount D and light emitted from the light emitter (not shown) that emits predetermined light and light emitted from the light emitter, and the intensity of the received light (the amount of light received per unit time). (Not shown) formed by printing or the like on the back side of the belt-like mount D. A pitch detection sensor 31 is arranged so as to detect the reference mark based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit.
The pitch detection sensor 31 can supply the control unit 7 as reference data such as a reference position for starting printing of the label L based on the detection result of the reference mark.

The printing unit 5 is provided with a platen roller 32 and a thermal head 33, and the thermal head 33 is provided so as to be able to contact with and separate from the platen roller 32.
The platen roller 32 is connected to a stepping motor (not shown), and by driving the stepping motor, the platen roller 32 is rotatably driven to transfer the label continuous body P (from right to left in FIG. 1). be able to.
The label continuum P is sandwiched between the platen roller 32 and the thermal head 33. The platen roller 32 is driven by a print command from the control unit 7, and the thermal head 33 is selectively heated by a heating element (not shown). By generating heat, the thermosensitive coloring layer is colored on the printing surface of the label L, and visual information such as characters, symbols, and barcodes can be printed.

Next, details of the supply-side guide mechanism 10 of the paper supply unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG.
The supply side guide mechanism 10 is mainly provided with a pair of supply side guide plates 11a and 11b, a supply side stepping motor (first drive means) 12, and a feed mechanism (first feed mechanism) 13.
A paper supply shaft (indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 2) 8 is provided in a horizontally held state on an intermediate frame 1a provided in the vertical direction, and can support the roll-shaped label continuous body R in a rotatable manner. . The paper supply shaft 8 can form a hollow portion.

The feed mechanism 13 is provided with a turning pulley 14a, a drive pulley 14b, and a timing belt 15.
The turning pulley 14a is rotatably arranged on the inner side (hollow part) of the paper supply shaft 8 on the open end side. A drive pulley 14b is arranged on the back side through the intermediate frame 1a.
Further, an opening (not shown) is formed in the intermediate frame 1a, and an annular timing belt 15 is interposed between the turning pulley 14a and the driving pulley 14b through the opening.

The timing belt 15 is provided with supply side guide plates 11a and 11b made of metal.
Since the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b have substantially the same structure, the supply side guide plate 11a will be described.
The supply side guide plate 11 a has a paper contact portion 16, a sensor portion 17, and a support portion 18.

The paper contact portion 16 has a contact surface that contacts and positions the side surface of the roll-shaped label continuous body R. In the sensor unit 17, a reflective first object detection sensor 17 a is embedded at a position where the winding core 40 can be detected.
The support 18 has L-shaped support members 18 a on both sides, and has a support surface that can be fixed to the timing belt 15.
By providing the supply side guide plates 11 a and 11 b on the timing belt 15, the supply side guide plates 11 a and 11 b can be provided to be able to approach and separate by driving the timing belt 15.

A supply-side stepping motor 12 is disposed below the drive pulley 14b. A motor shaft 12a of the supply-side stepping motor 12 is disposed in the vertical direction, and a motor pulley (not shown) is fixed to the motor shaft 12b. ing.
A timing belt 19 is interposed between the motor pulley and the driving pulley 14b.

  With such a structure, by driving the stepping motor 12, the motor pulley (not shown) and the drive pulley 14b are rotationally driven, and the timing belt 15 is rotated clockwise (in FIG. 2, the supply side guide). It can be driven to rotate either in the direction in which the plates 11a and 11b are separated) or in the left-handed direction (the direction in which the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b approach in FIG. 2).

The first object detection sensor 17a receives light reflected from a light emitting unit (not shown) that emits predetermined light and light emitted from the light emitting unit, and the intensity of the received light (light reception per unit time). A light receiving unit (not shown) that outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light, and detects based on the amount of light received from the winding core 40.
Further, the first object detection sensor 17 a can supply a detection signal to the control unit 7 by detecting the winding core 40.

Proximity sensors (not shown) are provided in the vicinity of the intermediate frame 1a, and the supply-side guide plate 11b is detected when the supply-side guide plate 11b approaches, and the supply-side stepping motor 12 is controlled to stop. The position where the supply side guide plate 11b is stopped can be used as the base point data.
The supply-side guide plate 11b is provided with a sheet contact portion, a sensor portion, a support portion, a first object detection sensor 17b, and a support member (not shown), like the supply-side guide plate 11a. Yes.

Next, details of the intermediate guide mechanism 20 of the intermediate guide portion 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
The intermediate guide part 3 mainly includes an intermediate guide mechanism 20 and a guide plate 30.
The guide plate 30 is provided so as to be held in a horizontal direction from the intermediate frame 1a, and is arranged so as to be able to guide the transported label continuous body P toward the printing unit 5 along the surface of the guide plate 30. ing.

  Further, the intermediate guide mechanism 20 can be provided with a pair of intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b, an intermediate stepping motor (second drive means) 22, and a feed mechanism (second feed mechanism) 23.

A long hole (not shown) can be formed in the guide plate 30 in the width direction of the label continuum P, and the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b move in the proximity or separation direction along the long hole. As described above, it is provided on the timing belt 25 described later.
The feed mechanism 23 is provided with a turning pulley 24a, a driving pulley 24b, and a timing belt 25.
Further, a rotating pulley 24a that rotates freely is disposed below (on the back side) of the guide guide plate 30, and a driving pulley 24b is disposed on the back side through the intermediate frame 1a.
Further, an opening (not shown) is formed in the intermediate frame 1a, and an annular timing belt 25 is interposed between the turning pulley 24a and the driving pulley 24b through the opening.

The timing belt 25 is provided with a pair of intermediate guide plates 21 a and 21 b made of metal, and is provided so as to be movable in the proximity direction or the separation direction by driving the timing belt 25.
Since the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b have substantially the same structure, the intermediate side guide plate 21a will be described.
The intermediate guide plate 21 a includes a paper guide part 26, a sensor part (second object detection sensor) 27, and a support part 28.

The sheet guide portion 26 can be positioned in the width direction of the label continuum P by contacting the side end of the label continuum P to be transferred. The second object detection sensor 27 has a light detection sensor embedded at a position where the side edge of the label continuum P can be detected.
The light detection sensor in this example can detect the end of the belt-like mount D by irradiating light in the vertical direction.

The support portion 28 has L-shaped support members 28 a provided on both sides and has a support surface that can be fixed to the timing belt 25.
By providing the supply side guide plates 21 a and 21 b on the timing belt 25, the intermediate side guide plates 21 a and 21 b can be provided so as to be able to approach and separate by driving the timing belt 25.
The intermediate guide plate 21b is provided with a paper guide portion 26, a sensor portion (second object detection sensor) 27, a support portion 28, and a support member (not shown), similarly to the intermediate guide plate 21a. It has been.

An intermediate stepping motor 22 is disposed below the drive pulley 24b. A motor shaft 22a of the intermediate stepping motor 22 is disposed in the vertical direction, and a motor pulley (not shown) is fixed to the motor shaft 22a. .
A timing belt 29 is interposed between the motor pulley and the driving pulley 24b.

  With such a structure, by driving the stepping motor 22, the motor pulley (not shown) and the drive pulley 24b are rotationally driven, and the timing belt 25 is rotated clockwise (in FIG. 3, the intermediate guide). It can be driven to rotate either in the direction in which the plates 21a, 21b are separated) or in the left-handed direction (the direction in which the intermediate side guide plates 21a, 21b approach in FIG. 3).

The second object detection sensor 27 receives a reflected light from the label continuum P as a light emitting unit (not shown) that emits predetermined light and light emitted from the light emitting unit, and the intensity of the received light (per unit time). A light receiving unit (not shown) that outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received, and is detected based on the amount of light received by detecting the side edge of the label continuum P.
The second object detection sensor 27 can supply the detection signal to the control unit 7 by detecting the side edge of the label continuum P.

  A proximity sensor (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the intermediate frame 1a, and the intermediate step guide motor 21 is detected by the proximity of the intermediate guide plate 21b, and the intermediate stepping motor 22 is controlled to stop. The position where the intermediate guide plate 21b is stopped can be supplied to the control unit 7 as the base point (origin point) data.

In the printer 1, an operation unit 6 can be provided below the housing of the printer 1.
The operation unit 6 can be provided with a paper set button 6a and a release button 6b.
By pressing the paper set button 6a, the supply-side stepping motor 12 and the intermediate-side stepping motor 22 are driven to slide the pair of supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate-side guide plates 21a and 21b toward each other. Thus, a signal can be supplied to the control unit 7.

  Further, by pressing the release button 6b, the supply-side stepping motor 12 and the intermediate-side stepping motor 22 are driven, and the pair of supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate-side guide plates 21a and 21b are moved away from each other. A signal can be supplied to the control unit 7 so as to slide. When the supply side guide plate 11b and the intermediate side guide plate 21b are detected by each proximity sensor (not shown), the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b are controlled to be stopped. A signal can be supplied to the unit 7.

The operation of the printer 1 configured as described above will be described.
By pressing the release button 6b, the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate-side guide plates 21a and 21b can be slid (moved) in the separating direction to return to the origin.
Next, the roll-shaped label continuous body R is loaded on the paper supply shaft 8 of the paper supply section 2, and the label continuous body P is pulled out to the printing section 5 through the guide roller 9 and the intermediate guide section 3, and the paper set button 6a. Press.

By pressing the paper set button 6a, the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate-side guide plates 21a and 21b slide in directions close to each other, the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b come into contact with the winding core 40, and When both sensors of the single object detection sensor 17 detect the winding core 40, the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b can be stopped, and both side surfaces of the roll-shaped label continuous body R can be supported.
When the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b slide in the approaching direction, the roll-shaped label continuous body R can be slid in the width direction along the paper supply axis 8, and thus the roll-shaped label continuous The body R can be positioned by sliding so that the center in the width direction matches the center of the thermal head 33.

Moreover, the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b can be stopped by the condition that both sensors of the second object detection sensor 27 provided on the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b detect the side edge of the label continuum P, and the roll Can be set at the center of the width of the continuous label continuous body R and the fed continuous label continuous body P.
Thereby, meandering of the label continuous body can be prevented as much as possible, and the printing position can be prevented from shifting in the width direction as much as possible. In addition, printing defects can be prevented as much as possible.

Next, another example of the operation will be described based on the operation flow of FIG.
In addition, when it is the same as the above-mentioned structure, the same code | symbol is attached and description is abbreviate | omitted.
This operation example will be described using an example in which the second object sensors 27 and 27 are omitted from the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b.

After the roll label continuous body R is loaded on the supply shaft 8, it is determined whether or not the paper set button 6a has been pressed. (Step S1)
If it is determined that the paper set button 6a has been pressed, the process proceeds to step S2. If it is determined that the paper set button 6a has not been pressed, the process of step S1 is repeated.

When the paper set button 6a is pressed in step S1, the process proceeds to step S2, the supply side guide plates 11a, 11b slide in the direction approaching each other, and the process proceeds to step S3.
In step S <b> 3, it can be determined whether or not the first object detection sensors 17 a and 17 b have detected the winding core 40. When both the first object detection sensors 17a and 17b detect the winding core 40, the process proceeds to step S4. When both or one of the first object detection sensors 17a and 17b does not detect the winding core 40, the process proceeds to step S3. Repeat the process.

When both the first object detection sensors 17a and 17b detect the winding core 40 in step S3, the process proceeds to step S4.
In step S4, the sliding of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b is stopped, and the process proceeds to step S5.
In step S5, the movement amount of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b can be calculated by the control unit 7.
The control unit 7 calculates the amount of movement of the supply guide plates 11a and 11b from the base point to the position where the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b are stopped from the rotation amount of the supply side stepping motor 12, and the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the same amount of movement as the stepping motor 12 obtained in step S5 can be moved in the direction in which the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b approach.
When it is determined that the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b have the same movement amount as the stepping motor 22, the process proceeds to step S7, and the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b are stopped.

In this way, the width of the roll label continuous body R can be calculated by the first object detection sensors 17a and 17b of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b provided on the supply side, and the intermediate guide is based on the width data. Since the plates 21a and 21b can be adjusted to the width of the label continuum P, the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b are not provided with sensors, and a simple structure can be achieved.
Further, the supply-side guide plate and the intermediate guide plate can be set to the width of the paper simply by pressing the paper setting button 6a.
Further, the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b that match the paper width can be accurately adjusted to the paper width without manual operation.

  In this example, the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b are moved almost simultaneously by pressing the paper set button. However, the intermediate guide plates are moved at a timing slightly delayed. It may be.

  In this embodiment, the number, position, shape, and the like of each constituent member are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the number, position, shape, and the like suitable for implementing the present invention can be achieved. The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Paper supply part 3 Intermediate | middle guide part 4 Pitch detection part 5 Printing part 6 Operation part 7 Control part 8 Paper supply shaft 10 Supply side guide mechanism 11a Supply side guide plate 11b Supply side guide plate 20 Intermediate guide mechanism 21a Intermediate side guide Plate 21b Intermediate guide plate P Label continuum (paper)
R roll label continuum

Claims (3)

A paper supply unit for loading a roll-shaped continuous label body onto a paper supply shaft, a printing unit for printing on a continuous label body drawn from the paper supply unit, and provided between the paper supply unit and the printing unit, In a printer provided with an intermediate guide portion that guides the width direction of the continuous label body,
A pair of supply side guide plates movably provided along the axis of the paper supply shaft;
An operation unit for moving the pair of supply side guide plates,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the pair of supply side guide plates are moved in a direction approaching each other in accordance with an instruction from the operation unit.   The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that calculates a movement amount of the supply side guide plate. The pair of intermediate side guide plates that abut the side surfaces of the label continuous body on the intermediate guide portion, and the pair of intermediate side guide plates are moved by operation of the operation portion. The printer described.

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