JP2013156505A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer to which guide members for guiding a sheet from both sides can be easily attached and detached even when the printer includes the guide members.SOLUTION: A printer 10 includes: a first guide member 81 which guides the first surface side of a sheet 1 on a conveyance path on which the sheet 1 is conveyed; and a second guide member 82 which is disposed at a position facing the first guide member 81, and guides the second surface side of the sheet 1 on the conveyance path on which the sheet 1 is conveyed. The first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 are attachably/detachably provided by being moved in the attachment/detachment direction which is the direction in parallel with the conveyance surface of the sheet 1 and perpendicular to the conveyance direction of the sheet 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer such as a label printer that continuously conveys paper and performs printing.

  Conventionally, a thermal transfer label printer including a plurality of thermal heads, for example, four thermal heads, has been provided. In the printer, when the paper to be conveyed is jammed, it is desirable to easily remove the paper or to easily clean a portion contaminated by the paper jam.

  However, in a printer having a plurality of print heads, such as the above-described thermal transfer label printer, two adjacent sets of print heads, ink ribbons, platen rollers, and the like are arranged around a sheet conveyed between adjacent print heads. ing. Therefore, when the paper conveyed in such a place is jammed, it is difficult to reach the jammed part from the surroundings, and it is difficult to eliminate the paper jam and to clean it.

  Also, in order to smoothly transport the paper, there are cases where the guide member that guides the paper is placed so that the paper is sandwiched from both sides, but even if they are placed, paper jams are completely prevented. I can't do it. When the guide member for guiding the paper is arranged so as to sandwich the paper from both sides, it is necessary to remove at least two guide members when clearing the paper jam or cleaning the paper.

  However, conventionally, the guide member is fixed with a screw or the like, and each time a paper jam occurs, the guide member has to be removed using a tool such as a screwdriver, and the work is complicated.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a portable electronic device to which a paper guide member is detachably attached.

JP 2005-288992 A

However, the paper guide member disclosed in Patent Document 1 is formed so as to cover the outer periphery of the roll-shaped paper from one side, and the above problem cannot be solved.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printer in which a sheet can be easily attached / detached even when a guide member for guiding a sheet from both sides is provided.

The present invention solves the above problems by the following means.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a first guide member that guides the first surface side of the paper in a transport path in which the paper is transported, and a first guide member in the transport path in which the paper is transported And a second guide member that guides the second surface side of the sheet, the first guide member and the second guide member being parallel to the sheet conveyance surface. The printer is characterized in that the printer is detachably provided by being moved in a detachable direction that is perpendicular to the paper transport direction.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the first guide member and the second guide member are engaged with the printer on one end side in the attachment / detachment direction. The other end side is provided with a fastening portion that is fixed to the printer.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the second aspect, the fastening portion includes an operation unit capable of switching between a fixed state and a fixed release state without using a tool. It is.

  According to the present invention, the first guide member and the second guide member are moved in an attaching / detaching direction that is a direction parallel to the sheet conveying surface and perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction. It is detachable. Therefore, the first guide member and the second guide member can be easily attached / detached even in a place where it is difficult to reach the paper jam location from the surroundings and it is difficult to clear the paper jam or to clean it. Easy maintenance.

1 is a schematic view showing an outline of an embodiment of a thermal transfer type color printer according to the present invention. It is an enlarged view which expands and shows the A section enclosed with the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a first guide member 81. FIG. 4 is a side view of a first guide member 81. FIG. It is an enlarged view which shows the state which removed the 1st guide member 81 from the state of FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second guide member 82. FIG. 5 is a side view of a second guide member 82. FIG. It is an enlarged view which shows the state which removed the 2nd guide member 82 from the state of FIG.

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

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an outline of an embodiment of a thermal transfer color printer according to the present invention. In the drawings shown below including FIG. 1, XYZ orthogonal coordinates are shown in a unified direction. Note that XYZ merely indicates a direction and does not indicate an absolute position such as an origin position.
In addition, each figure shown below including FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically shown, and the size and shape of each part are appropriately exaggerated for easy understanding.
In the following description, specific numerical values, shapes, materials, and the like are shown and described, but these can be changed as appropriate.
Further, in the following description, words indicating directions such as up, down, left, and right are used, but these indicate up, down, left, and right in each figure. Therefore, depending on the direction in which the medium transport mechanism or the like is installed, for example, the top and bottom may be arranged in the reverse of the following description.

  The printer 10 is a thermal transfer color printer for printing on a printing medium (paper) such as a label temporarily attached to a mount or a belt-like sheet for tag manufacture, and a plurality of ink ribbons of different colors. Is used to transfer the ink ribbon ink onto the paper. In the following, a case where printing is performed on a sheet using ink ribbons of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B) will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a sheet 1 is rotatably supported on a sheet supply shaft 11 provided in a housing 14 of a printer 10 as a roll sheet 2 wound in a roll shape. The paper 1 pulled out from the paper supply shaft 11 is nipped and conveyed by the drive roller 12 and the pressure roller 13.

  Also, four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20B are mounted on the casing 14 from the upstream side in the transport direction (right side in the figure) to the downstream side in the transport direction (left side in the figure). Yes. For example, the ink ribbon cassette 20Y is loaded with a yellow (Y) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20M is loaded with a magenta (M) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20C is loaded with a cyan (C) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20B is loaded with a black (B) ink ribbon.

  In the housing 14 of the printer 10, four platen rollers 15Y, 15M, 15C, and 15B, and four thermal heads 16Y and 16B are arranged along the paper transport direction corresponding to the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B. 16M, 16C, and 16B are arranged. The thermal heads 16Y to 16B are inserted into the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B, respectively. Further, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B are disposed to face the platen rollers 15Y to 15B, respectively.

  In each of the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B, the ink ribbon 23 is bridged between the ink ribbon supply shaft 21 and the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22. The ink ribbon winding shaft 22 is driven to rotate by a motor provided in the housing.

  An unused ink ribbon 23 supported in a state of being wound around the ink ribbon supply shaft 21 of the yellow ink ribbon cassette 20Y is supplied together with the paper 1 between the platen roller 15Y and the thermal head 16Y and transferred. The subsequent ink ribbon 23 is taken up by the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22.

  The platen roller 15Y is supported by a front side wall member 17 provided on the front side (Z minus side) of the side surface in the width direction of the conveyance path of the paper 1 and a back side wall member 18 provided on the back side (Z plus side). Has been. Both the front side wall member 17 and the back side wall member 18 are fixed to the housing 14 and are formed of a metal plate material. The front side wall member 17 is formed low in height so as not to block the attachment / detachment path of the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y-20B when the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y-20B are attached / detached. On the other hand, the back side wall member 18 is formed to a height similar to that of the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B in order to support the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B and to support a mechanism for driving the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22. Yes. The platen roller 15Y is driven and rotated by a motor provided in the casing, thereby conveying the paper 1 and the ink ribbon 23 at the same speed in the same direction.

  The thermal head 16Y has a plurality of fine heating elements that generate heat when energy is applied in the width direction. Printing is performed using the yellow ink ribbon loaded in the ink ribbon cassette 20Y by applying energy to the heating element to generate heat and heating the ink on the ink ribbon 23 and transferring it to the paper 1. In order to apply energy (electric power) to the heating element, a voltage may be applied from the voltage source to the heating element, or a current may be passed from the current source to the heating element.

  The platen rollers 15M to 15B are configured similarly to the platen roller 15Y, and the thermal heads 16M to 16B are configured similarly to the thermal head 16Y. The paper 1 that has passed through the position of the platen roller 15Y sequentially passes through the positions of the platen rollers 15M to 15B, and the thermal heads 16M to 16B are fed with magenta, cyan, and black ink ribbons loaded in the ink ribbon cassettes 20M to 20B, respectively. The printing used is performed sequentially. The printed paper 1 is discharged from the paper discharge port.

  The printer 10 includes an input unit 30, a control unit 40, a display unit 45, and a power supply unit 71.

  The input unit 30 includes a plurality of operation keys and is used for operating the printer 10 and inputting color print data to the printer 10.

  The control unit 40 controls the operation of a not-shown motor, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B, and the like that drive the platen rollers 15Y to 15B and the ink ribbon winding shaft 22 and the like.

  The display unit 45 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display) panel or a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) for displaying an error message or the like, and performs various displays based on signals supplied from the control unit 40.

  The power supply unit 71 supplies power to a motor (not shown) that drives the platen rollers 15Y to 15B and the ink ribbon winding shaft 22, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B, the control unit 40, the display unit 45, and the like.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an A portion surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. In FIG. 2, the ink ribbon cassette and the ink ribbon are omitted.

Between the platen roller 15Y and the platen roller 15M, the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 are arranged so that the conveyance path of the sheet 1 is sandwiched from above and below (from the Y plus side and the Y minus side). Is provided.
In the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82, the near side is supported by the near side wall member 17 and the far side is supported by the far side wall member 18.

  The head moving lever 19M is provided above the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82. The head moving lever 19M is connected to a head moving mechanism (not shown). By operating the head moving lever 19M, the thermal head 16M moves between the printing position and the retracted position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first guide member 81.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the first guide member 81.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a state where the first guide member 81 is removed from the state of FIG.
The first guide member 81 extends to the front surface side of the paper 1 in order to guide the front surface side of the paper 1, that is, the Y plus side (first surface side) in the transport path through which the paper 1 is transported. Is provided. Specifically, the first guide member 81 is a direction parallel to the transport surface of the paper 1 and perpendicular to the transport direction of the paper 1, that is, the depth of the paper surface in FIGS. It extends in the direction (Z direction).

  The first guide member 81 includes a positioning hole 81a, a positioning long hole 81b, an engaging portion 81c, a ribbon cassette guide portion 81d, a guide surface 81e, a side plate portion 81f, and a fastening portion 91. .

  The positioning hole 81a is provided through the side plate portion 81f in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The positioning hole 81a is fitted with a positioning protrusion 17a provided on the front side wall member 17 so as to protrude to the front side.

  The positioning slot 81b is provided through the side plate portion 81f in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The positioning long hole 81b is fitted with a positioning projection 17b provided to protrude toward the front side of the front side wall member 17.

  The engaging portion 81c is provided at the end on the back side so as to protrude to the back side. The engaging portion 81c is inserted into the engaging hole 18a provided in the back side wall member 18 from the front side and engaged therewith.

  The ribbon cassette guide portion 81d is a portion that becomes a guide when the ink ribbon cassette 20M is attached / detached, protrudes above the first guide member 81 (Y plus side), and extends in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction. ing.

  The guide surface 81e is provided below the first guide member 81 (Y minus side) so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and guides the sheet 1 from the front surface side (Y plus side). .

  The side plate portion 81f is a wall-shaped portion formed in the XY plane direction, abuts on the side plate portion 82f of the second guide member 82, and has a position in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the first guide member 81. regulate. In the side plate portion 81f, in addition to the positioning hole 81a and the positioning long hole 81b described above, a fastening portion hole 81g is opened.

  The fastening portion 91 is provided by being inserted into a fastening portion hole 81g opened in the side plate portion 81f, and the first guide member 81 is fixed to the front side wall member 17 or is in a fixed release state. It is formed so that it can be. In the present embodiment, Nylatch (registered trademark) is used as the fastening portion 91. The fastening part 91 has an operation part 91a and a locking part 91b.

  The operation unit 91a is operated by hand when switching between a fixed state and a fixed release state of the first guide member 81 without using a tool. In the operation unit 91a, a state where the operation unit 91a is pushed into the back side is a fixed position, and a state where the operation unit 91a is pulled out is a position in a fixed release state.

  The locking portion 91b is locked or released from the front side wall member 17 depending on the position of the operation portion 91a. In a state in which the first guide member 81 is attached to the front side wall member 17, the locking portion 91 b is inserted into the locking hole 17 c of the front side wall member 17. And if the operation part 91a is pushed in to the back side, the outer diameter of the latching | locking part 91b will become larger than the hole diameter of the latching hole 17c, and will be in a fixed state. On the other hand, when the operation portion 91a is pulled out to the near side, the outer diameter of the locking portion 91b becomes smaller than the hole diameter of the locking hole 17c, and the fixed portion is released. If the operation unit 91a is operated by hand to be in the unlocked state, the first guide member 81 is in a direction parallel to the transport surface of the paper 1 and in the transport direction (X direction) of the paper 1. It can be easily removed by moving it to the near side in the attaching / detaching direction (direction orthogonal to the conveying direction) which is an orthogonal direction. Moreover, if the operation | movement contrary to removal is performed sequentially, mounting | wearing of the 1st guide member 81 can be easily performed without using a tool.

  Further, it is not necessary to remove the paper 1 or the ink ribbon 23 when the first guide member 81 is attached or detached. Further, the head moving lever 19 </ b> M located above and the head moving mechanism related to the head moving lever 19 </ b> M do not interfere with the attaching / detaching work of the first guide member 81.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the second guide member 82.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the second guide member 82.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a state where the second guide member 82 is further removed from the state of FIG.
The second guide member 82 extends to the back side of the paper 1 in order to guide the back side of the paper 1, that is, the Y minus side (second side) in the transport path through which the paper 1 is transported. Is provided. Specifically, the second guide member 82 is a direction parallel to the transport surface of the paper 1 and perpendicular to the transport direction of the paper 1, that is, in FIG. 1 and FIG. It extends in the depth direction of the paper surface orthogonal to.

  The second guide member 82 includes a positioning hole 82a, a positioning long hole 82b, an engaging portion 82c, a through hole 82d, a guide surface 82e, a side plate portion 82f, and a fastening portion 92.

  The positioning hole 82a is provided through the side plate portion 82f in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The positioning hole 82a is fitted with a positioning protrusion 17a provided on the front side wall member 17 so as to protrude to the front side.

  The positioning long hole 82b is provided through the side plate portion 82f in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The positioning long hole 82b is fitted with a positioning protrusion 17b provided to protrude toward the front side of the front side wall member 17.

  The engaging portion 82c is provided at the end on the back side so as to protrude to the back side. The engaging portion 82c is inserted into the engaging hole 18b provided in the back side wall member 18 from the front side and engaged therewith.

  The through hole 82d is provided through the side plate portion 82f in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. The through hole 82d is a hole through which the retaining portion 91 of the first guide member 81 passes.

  The guide surface 82e is provided above the second guide member 82 (Y plus side) so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and guides the sheet 1 from the back side (Y minus side). .

  The side plate portion 82f is a wall-shaped portion formed in the XY plane direction, abuts against the front side wall member 17, and regulates the position of the second guide member 82 in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. In the side plate portion 82f, in addition to the positioning hole 82a, the positioning long hole 82b, and the through hole 82d described above, a fastening portion hole 82g is opened.

  The fastening portion 92 is provided by being inserted into a fastening portion hole 82g opened in the side plate portion 82f, and the second guide member 82 is fixed to the front side wall member 17 or is in a fixed release state. It is formed so that it can be. In this embodiment, Nylatch (registered trademark) is used as the fastening portion 92. The fastening portion 92 has an operation portion 92a and a locking portion 92b.

  The operation unit 92a is operated by hand when switching between the fixed state and the fixed released state of the second guide member 82 without using a tool. In the operation unit 92a, a state where the operation unit 92a is pushed into the back side is a fixed state, and a state where the operation unit 92a is pulled out is a fixed release state.

  The locking portion 92b is locked with or released from the front side wall member 17 depending on the position of the operation portion 92a. In a state in which the second guide member 82 is attached to the front side wall member 17, the locking portion 92 b is inserted into the locking hole 17 d of the front side wall member 17. Then, when the operation portion 92a is pushed into the back side, the outer diameter of the locking portion 92b becomes larger than the hole diameter of the locking hole 17d and is in a fixed state. On the other hand, when the operation portion 92a is pulled out to the near side, the outer diameter of the locking portion 92b becomes smaller than the hole diameter of the locking hole 17d, and the fixed portion is released. If the operation unit 92a is operated by hand to be in the unlocked state, the second guide member 82 is in a direction parallel to the transport surface of the paper 1 and in the transport direction (X direction) of the paper 1. It can be easily removed by moving it to the near side in the attaching / detaching direction (direction orthogonal to the conveying direction) which is an orthogonal direction. Further, if the reverse operation to the removal is sequentially performed, the second guide member 82 can be easily mounted without using a tool.

  Similarly to the first guide member 81, it is not necessary to remove the paper 1 or the ink ribbon 23 when the second guide member 82 is attached or detached. Further, the head moving lever 19 </ b> M located above and the head moving mechanism related to the head moving lever 19 </ b> M do not interfere with the attaching / detaching work of the second guide member 82.

  The first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 described above are provided on the downstream side of the conveyance path, in addition to between the platen roller 15Y and the platen roller 15M. Specifically, the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 are provided between the platen roller 15M and the platen roller 15C, and between the platen roller 15C and the platen roller 15B. It is provided in the same manner as the platen roller 15M. Since the configuration of the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 provided in these portions is the same as the configuration between the platen roller 15Y and the platen roller 15M described above, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the first guide member 81 that guides the paper 1 from the upper side and the second guide member 82 that guides the paper 1 from the lower side are provided, both of which use a tool. It is configured so that it can be attached and detached freely. Therefore, the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 can be easily attached and detached. Further, the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 can be simply moved by moving the whole in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction if the fastening portion 91 and the fastening portion 92 are moved to the fixed release state. Can be attached and detached. Therefore, the first guide member 81 and the second guide member 82 can be removed without removing the paper 1, the ink ribbon 23, etc., and the paper jam can be easily removed or cleaned. In addition, it is easy to perform maintenance even in places where it is difficult to reach the paper jam location from the surroundings and it is difficult to clear the paper jam or to clean it.
In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the structure is simple without complicating the structure, it is possible to shorten the space between the printing unit including the thermal head and the platen roller as much as possible.

(Deformation)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the printer 10 has been described with the one corresponding to the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B. For example, a printer that uses only one type of ink ribbon cassette or another type of printer that does not use an ink ribbon may be used.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the example which uses Nylatch (trademark) for a fastening part was given and demonstrated. Not limited to this, for example, by combining an odd-shaped hole shape such as an elliptical shape formed in the front side wall member with a male-shaped operation portion corresponding to this, and rotating the operation portion, You may make it switch a fixed release state.

  In addition, although embodiment and a deformation | transformation form can also be used in combination as appropriate, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper 2 Roll paper 10 Printer 11 Paper supply shaft 14 Case 15B, 15C, 15M, 15Y Platen roller 16B, 16C, 16M, 16Y Thermal head 17 Front side wall member 17a, 17b Positioning protrusion 17c, 17d Locking hole 18 Back side wall Member 18a, 18b Engagement hole 20B, 20C, 20M, 20Y Ink ribbon cassette 21 Ink ribbon supply shaft 22 Ink ribbon take-up shaft 23 Ink ribbon 81 First guide member 81a Positioning hole 81b Positioning long hole 81c Engaging portion 81d Ribbon cassette Guide part 81e Guide surface 81f Side plate part 81g Fastening part hole 82 Second guide member 82a Positioning hole 82b Positioning long hole 82c Engaging part 82d Through hole 82e Guide surface 82f Side plate part 82g Fastening part hole 91, 92 Fastening part 91a, 2a operation unit 91b, 92b engaging portion

Claims (3)

A first guide member for guiding a first surface side of the paper in a transport path in which the paper is transported;
A second guide member that is disposed at a position facing the first guide member in a conveyance path through which the sheet is conveyed and guides the second surface side of the sheet;
With
The first guide member and the second guide member are detachable by moving in a direction parallel to the sheet conveyance surface and perpendicular to the sheet conveyance direction. Is provided in the
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 1.
The first guide member and the second guide member each have an engaging portion that engages with the printer on one end side in the attaching / detaching direction.
The other end is provided with a fastening portion that is fixed to the printer.
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 2.
The fastening part includes an operation part capable of switching between a fixed state and a fixed release state without using a tool;
Printer characterized by.

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