JP2012143987A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of improving workability when a roll paper is replaced or replenished, because when the printer is operated, an operator can accurately operate the printer, even when the operator is in a poor posture.SOLUTION: The printer includes an operation portion 6 capable of issuing such an instruction that a pair of supply side guide plates 11a provided to be movable along the shaft center of a paper supply shaft 8 are moved in a direction where the pair of supply side guide plates 11a get close to each other and a control section 7 calculating the movement amounts of the supply side guide plates 11a moved according to the operation of the operation portion 6. An intermediate guide part 3 includes a pair of intermediate side guide plates 21a coming into contact with the side surface of a label continuous body P and the intermediate side guide plates 21a are moved up to a position where the intermediate side guide plates 21a guide the width direction of the label continuous body P, according to the movement amount determined on the basis of the movement amounts of the supply side guide plates 11a calculated by the control section 7, after the movement of the supply side guide plates 11a is completed.

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 in the paper-feeding section in the printer and is provided in the paper-feeding section that supports the side of the roll-shaped paper. Slide the guide plate to match 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 paper size set in the printing device can be accurately recognized by the host host, 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 exchanging roll paper or replenishing roll 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 solves the above problems by the following means.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper supply unit for loading a roll-shaped continuous label body onto a paper supply shaft, a printing unit for printing on the continuous label body drawn from the paper supply unit, the paper supply unit, and the printing A pair of supply-side guide plates that are provided so as to be movable along the axis of the paper supply shaft in a printer provided with an intermediate guide portion that is provided between the intermediate portion and guides the width direction of the continuous label body. An operation unit capable of instructing to move the pair of supply side guide plates in a direction approaching each other, and a control unit for calculating a movement amount of the supply side guide plate moved in accordance with an operation of the operation unit; The intermediate guide part has a pair of intermediate side guide plates that contact the side surface of the label continuum, and the intermediate side guide plate is moved by the control unit after completion of the movement of the supply side guide plate. Calculated supply side guide Moving according to the movement amount that is determined based on the amount of movement of the plate to a position for guiding the width direction of the continuous label strip, a printer according to claim.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, it is detected that the pair of supply-side guide plates have reached a position for guiding the roll-shaped label continuous body according to an operation of the operation unit. A detection sensor is provided, and the control unit receives a detection signal from the detection sensor, and calculates a movement amount of the supply-side guide plate from a rotation amount of a motor that drives the supply-side guide plate until the detection signal is received. This is a printer characterized by the 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 paper or replenishing a roll label continuous body. Moreover, the roll-shaped label continuous body can be reliably loaded at a 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.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
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 rotatably holds a roll-shaped label continuous body R obtained by winding a label continuous body (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. And a pair of supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b that are in contact with both side surfaces of the roll-shaped label continuous body R.
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 a pressure-sensitive adhesive surface coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive (not shown).

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 portion 3 is provided with a guide plate 30 and an intermediate 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. A pitch detection sensor 31 is disposed in the pitch detection unit 4. The pitch detection sensor 31 receives a light emitting unit (not shown) that emits predetermined light and the light emitted from the light emitting unit as reflected light from the belt-like mount D, and the intensity of the received light (light reception per unit time). And a light receiving portion (not shown) that outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount), a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion are arranged on the back side of the belt-like mount D, and the back surface of the belt-like mount D is formed by printing or the like. The reference mark not to be detected is detected based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit.
The pitch detection sensor 31 supplies reference data such as a reference position for starting printing of the label L to the control unit 7 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.
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 selectively heats a heating element (not shown) to develop a color on the print surface of the label L, Visual information such as characters, symbols, and barcodes can be printed on the label continuum P.

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 cantilever state in a horizontal direction on an intermediate frame 1a provided in a 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 metal supply side guide plates 11a and 11b.
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 arranged below the drive pulley 14b. A motor shaft 12a of the supply-side stepping motor 12 is arranged 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 this structure, when the supply-side stepping motor 12 is driven, the motor pulley (not shown) and the drive pulley 14b are rotationally driven, and the timing belt 15 is rotated clockwise (in FIG. 2, supply). The side guide plates 11a and 11b can be driven to rotate either in the direction in which the side guide plates 11a and 11b are separated from each other or in the counterclockwise direction (the direction in which the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b approach in FIG. 2).

The first object detection sensor 17a receives a light emitting unit (not shown) that emits predetermined light and reflected light reflected by the winding core 40 from the light emitting unit, and the intensity (unit) of the received light. A light receiving unit (not shown) that outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the amount of light received per time), and is detected based on the amount of light received from the winding core 40.
Further, the first object detection sensor 17 a supplies 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 in a cantilevered state in the horizontal direction from the intermediate frame 1a, and is arranged so as to be able to guide the transferred label continuum P toward the printing unit 5 along the surface of the guide plate 30. ing.

  The intermediate guide mechanism 20 is 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) is formed in the guide plate 30 in the width direction of the label continuum P, and the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b are transported 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) the 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 metal intermediate guide plates 21 a and 21 b, 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 portion 26 and a support portion 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.

Further, the support portion 28 has a support surface on which L-shaped support members 28 a are provided on both sides and are fixed to the timing belt 25.
By providing the intermediate guide plates 21 a and 21 b on the timing belt 25, the intermediate 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 support portion 28, and a support member (not shown), like the intermediate guide plate 21a.

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 intermediate 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. The side guide plates 21a and 21b can be driven to rotate either in the direction away from each other) or in the left-handed direction (the direction in which the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b approach in FIG. 3).

  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 is supplied to the control unit 7 as base point (origin) data.

In the printer 1, an operation unit 6 is provided below the housing of the printer 1.
The operation unit 6 includes 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.
The release button 6b is pressed, and the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b are slid (moved) in the direction of separating 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 Both the one-object detection sensors 17a and 17b can detect the winding core 40 to stop the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b, and support both side surfaces of the roll-shaped label continuous body R.
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.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
After the roll label continuous body R is loaded on the paper 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 S3, it can be determined whether or not the first object detection sensors 17a and 17b 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.

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 S <b> 5, the movement amount of the supply side guide plates 11 a and 11 b is calculated by the control unit 7.
Specifically, the movement amount of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b from the base point of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b to the position where the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b are stopped is controlled from the rotation amount of the supply side stepping motor 12. The calculation is performed by the unit 7, and the process proceeds to step S6.

In step S6, the movement amount equal to the movement amount of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b obtained in step S5 is moved in the direction in which the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b approach each other.
When it is determined that the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b have moved by the same movement amount as the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b, the process proceeds to step S7, and the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b are stopped.

Thus, the width of the roll-shaped label continuous body R can be calculated by detecting the winding core 40 by the first object detection sensors 17a and 17b of the supply-side guide plates 11a and 11b provided on the supply side. Since the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b can be adjusted to the width of the label continuum P based on the data, no sensor is provided on the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b, and the structure can be simplified.
Further, the supply-side guide plate and the intermediate-side guide plate can be set to the width of the sheet simply by pressing the sheet setting button 6a.
Further, the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b and the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b that match the width of the paper can be accurately adjusted to the width of the paper without manual operation.

  In this embodiment, when the paper set button 6a is pressed, the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b start moving, and after the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b stop moving, the movement amount is calculated, and then The intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b have been described with an example of starting movement. For example, the driving start of the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b and the driving start of the intermediate side guide plates 21a and 21b may be performed simultaneously. In this case, after the drive speed of the intermediate guide plates 21a and 21b is slightly slowed, the supply side guide plates 11a and 11b are stopped and the movement amount is calculated, the intermediate guide plate 21a is reflected at a position reflecting this. 21b may be stopped.

  In this embodiment, the number, position, shape, and the like of each constituent member are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like suitable for carrying out the present invention. 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 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 (2)

A paper supply unit that loads a roll-shaped continuous label body onto a paper supply shaft, a printing unit that prints on a continuous label body drawn from the paper supply unit, and a space between the paper supply unit and the printing unit. In the printer provided with an intermediate guide portion that guides the width direction of the label continuous body,
A pair of supply side guide plates movably provided along the axis of the paper supply shaft;
An operation unit capable of instructing to move the pair of supply side guide plates in a direction approaching each other;
A control unit that calculates the amount of movement of the supply side guide plate that has moved according to the operation of the operation unit;
With
The intermediate guide portion has a pair of intermediate side guide plates that contact the side surface of the label continuum,
The intermediate side guide plate guides the width direction of the label continuum according to the movement amount determined based on the movement amount of the supply side guide plate calculated by the control unit after the movement of the supply side guide plate is completed. Moving to a position to
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 1.
A detection sensor that detects that the pair of supply side guide plates has reached a position for guiding the roll-shaped label continuous body according to an operation of the operation unit,
The control unit receives a detection signal from the detection sensor, calculates a movement amount of the supply side guide plate from a rotation amount of a motor that has driven the supply side guide plate until the detection signal is received;
Printer characterized by.

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