JP2013176813A - Sheet cutting device and printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet cutting device that reduces trouble caused by paper powder during the cutting of a recording form.SOLUTION: A sheet cutting device 20 includes: a fixed blade 27 arranged at one side of a conveyance path D through which a recording form S is conveyed and discharged; a movable blade 21 arranged at the fixed blade 27 across the conveyance path D, and moving forward and backward in a direction crossing the conveyance path D to slide crossing the fixed blade 27; and a driving mechanism 35 arranged in a retracted direction of the movable blade 21 and moving the movable blade 21 forward and backward. The sheet cutting device is provided with a guide 40 which has one end fixed to the side of the movable blade 21 and the other end extended to a conveyance discharge side of the recording form S on a surface of the movable blade 21 on the discharge side of the recording form S.

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper cutting device and a printing device including the paper cutting device.

  2. Description of the Related Art In a printing device for issuing a single sheet such as a receipt or a ticket, a paper cutting device for cutting a roll-shaped recording paper on which information is printed into a predetermined length is used. As such a paper cutting device, a fixed blade and a movable blade capable of reciprocating movement are prepared, and the movable blade is moved while the tip of the movable blade is in contact with the fixed blade. There is known a structure that cuts a recording sheet in (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-9-141595

  The above paper cutting device generates paper dust when cutting the recording paper. The generated paper dust scatters around or stays on the upper surface of the movable blade. When such paper dust enters the inside of the paper cutting device, it can cause wear of parts of the driving mechanism of the movable blade and the power transmission mechanism. If the wear of the parts progresses, there is a risk of causing a malfunction of the paper cutting device.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  (Application example 1) A fixed blade disposed on one side of a conveyance path through which recording paper is conveyed and discharged, and a position that sandwiches the conveyance path with respect to the fixed blade, and advances and retreats in a direction crossing the conveyance path A movable blade that can move and slid across the fixed blade; and a drive mechanism that is disposed in a retracting direction of the movable blade and moves the movable blade forward and backward, and discharges the recording paper of the movable blade. A paper cutting device comprising: a guide having an end fixed to the movable blade side and the other end extending to the recording paper transport and discharge side on the side surface.

  According to this configuration, the paper cutting device is configured such that when the recording paper is cut by the guide whose one end is fixed to the movable blade side and the other end extends to the discharge side of the recording paper conveyance path, It is possible to reduce the occurrence of paper dust generated on the drive mechanism that is disposed in the retracting direction of the movable blade. Therefore, it is possible to reduce problems such as wear of parts of the drive mechanism due to paper dust. As a result, a highly reliable paper cutting device can be provided.

  (Application Example 2) The sheet cutting device according to the above, wherein at least a part of the other end of the guide extends to the vicinity of the blade portion of the movable blade.

  According to this configuration, the tip of the free end of the guide extends to the vicinity of the blade portion of the movable blade. For this reason, the cut recording paper is pushed out simultaneously with the cutting, and the stay in the vicinity of the movable blade is reduced. As a result, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of a paper piece due to the rear end of the cut recording paper being recut and the occurrence of paper jam due to the staying recording paper. Therefore, a highly reliable paper cutting device can be provided.

  Application Example 3 A printing apparatus comprising: a conveying unit that conveys a recording sheet; a printing unit that prints information on the recording sheet; and the above-described sheet cutting device.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to provide a highly reliable printing apparatus capable of stably discharging recording paper on which information is printed and cut into a predetermined length.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing the overall configuration of the printing apparatus. The top view which shows the mechanism part of a paper cutting device. The figure which shows the shape of a movable blade and a guide. The perspective view which shows operation | movement progress of a movable blade.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to in the following description, the vertical and horizontal scales of members or parts may be shown differently from the actual ones for convenience of description and illustration.

(About the overall configuration of the printing device)
First, the overall configuration of the printing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the overall configuration of the printing apparatus. 1 indicates the paper width direction of the recording paper, the Y direction indicates a direction orthogonal to the X direction, and the Z direction indicates a direction orthogonal to the X direction and the Y direction.

  This printing apparatus is applied to, for example, a POS system, and prints receipts, coupons, tickets, and the like and issues (issues tickets) as single sheets. The printing apparatus accommodates roll-shaped thermal paper as recording paper, prints predetermined information on the thermal paper, cuts it to a predetermined length with a paper cutting device, and issues it. The thermal paper used in this example has a printing surface composed of a coloring layer in which a color former is held by a binder or the like, and is a roll-shaped thermal paper in which this printing surface is sequentially laminated on the outer surface. S. Hereinafter, the roll-shaped thermal paper S is referred to as roll paper R.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 100 includes a printer mechanism unit 150, an exterior case 200, and a control unit 300.
The printer mechanism unit 150 includes a main body frame 60, a frame 12, a roll paper holder 16, a paper cutting device 20, and a printing unit 70 that also serves as a conveyance unit 70A. The main body frame 60 is made of sheet metal or the like, and is formed in a substantially box shape having openings in the Z direction upper side and the Y direction front side. The frame 12 is provided on the upper rear side of the main body frame 60. The frame 12 is attached so as to be openable and closable around a support shaft 68 provided at the upper end on both sides of the rear portion of the main body frame 60. The frame 12 is provided with an arc-shaped cover 15 for avoiding contact with the roll paper R when the frame 12 is closed.

  The roll paper holder 16 is provided behind the inside of the main body frame 60 formed in a box shape so as to be covered with the frame 12 and the cover 15. The roll paper holder 16 is formed of resin or the like, has a substantially arc-shaped depression corresponding to the maximum diameter of the roll paper R at the center, and a side opening (not shown) of the arc-shaped depression at the bottom of the main body frame 60. The main body frame 60 is attached so as to face both side surfaces (not shown). Both side surface portions inside the main body frame 60 function as side surface guide portions of the roll paper R. Therefore, the roll paper R is restricted in movement in the width direction by the side portions on the inner side of the main body frame 60 and is held rotatably in a substantially arc-shaped recess of the roll paper holder 16.

(About the printing section and transport section)
In a printing apparatus 100 called a so-called thermal printer using a thermal head 10 to be described later, the printing unit 70 also serves as the transport unit 70A. Hereinafter, the printing unit 70 will be described. The printing unit 70 is provided on the conveyance path D of the thermal paper S starting from the roll paper holder 16 and ending at a paper discharge port 30 of the paper cutting device 20 described later. The printing unit 70 includes a thermal head 10, a head holding mechanism 77, and a platen 71. It should be noted that the thermal head 10 and the head holding mechanism 77 are disposed in a separable state on the main body frame 60 side, and the platen 71 is disposed on the frame 12 side.

  The thermal head 10 has a heating element array composed of a plurality of heating elements (not shown) formed in the paper width direction (X direction) and a heat radiating plate 73. Above the heat sink 73 in the Z direction, a guide slope 74 is formed over the length of the heat sink 73. When the frame 12 is closed, the guide slope portion 74 slides a platen 71 described later and guides it to a predetermined position.

  The head holding mechanism 77 includes a head pressing plate 72 and a spring 75 attached to the head pressing plate 72, and holds the thermal head 10 and is attached to the main body frame 60. The head pressing plate 72 is formed with bent portions at the top and bottom, and one end of a spring 75 that is a compression coil spring is fixed. The other end of the spring 75 is in contact with the back surface of the heat radiating plate 73 of the thermal head 10. The thermal head 10 is biased toward the platen 71 by the spring 75.

  The platen 71 is formed in a cylindrical roller shape by an elastic member such as rubber and is rotatably supported by the frame 12 via a platen bearing 79. A platen gear (not shown) is press-fitted into one shaft of the platen 71. When the frame 12 is closed, the platen 71 is guided by the guide slope portion 74 of the thermal head 10 and then press-contacts the heating element array portion of the thermal head 10.

  With the above configuration, the thermal head 10 and the platen 71 are in pressure contact with the thermal paper S being sandwiched. On the side surface of the main body frame 60, a paper feed motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the platen 71 and a gear wheel for transmitting the power of the paper feed motor are provided. The platen gear and the gear train are engaged when the frame 12 is closed, and the power from the paper feed motor can be transmitted to the platen 71.

  When the printing apparatus 100 starts the paper feed motor and rotates the platen 71, the printing apparatus 100 can convey the thermal paper S sandwiched between the thermal head 10 and the platen 71. Furthermore, the printing apparatus 100 prints predetermined information on the thermal paper S by selectively energizing the heating elements arranged in a straight line of the thermal head 10 to generate heat while conveying the thermal paper S. Can do.

  The thermal paper S on which the information is printed is cut into a predetermined length by a paper cutting device 20 described later and issued as a single sheet such as a receipt. Note that these operations are comprehensively controlled by the control unit 300 disposed below the printer mechanism unit 150. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer mechanism unit 150 and the control unit 300 described above are housed in an outer case 200.

  The printing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment to which the thermal head 10 is applied uses the printing unit 70 and the conveyance unit 70A as described above, but is not limited to this. As the conveyance unit 70A, a paper feeding roller and a paper pressing roller may be separately provided to sandwich and convey the recording paper.

(About paper cutting device)
Here, the paper cutting device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a mechanism portion of the paper cutting device. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing the shapes of the movable blade and the guide, wherein FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the movable blade, and FIG. 4A and 4B are perspective views showing the progress of the operation of the movable blade, wherein FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a state in which the movable blade is in the process of advancement, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing a state in which the movable blade is completely advanced. The X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 indicate the same directions as the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper cutting device 20 is provided in front of the main body frame 60, that is, at a position facing the support shaft 68 of the frame 12 and in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 30. The paper cutting device 20 includes a movable blade 21, its driving means 35, and a fixed blade 27. The movable blade 21 and its driving means 35 are accommodated in the first cutter cover 24 and arranged on the main body frame 60 side. The fixed blade 27 is accommodated in the second cutter cover 29 and is disposed on the frame 12 side, that is, on the side facing the conveyance path D through which the thermal paper S passes.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the fixed blade 27 is made of, for example, a long plate-like plate member made of metal, and a blade portion 27a is formed on one side. The blade portion 27a is disposed on the downstream side of the transport path D. The fixed blade 27 is pressed against the surface of the frame 12 from above by a presser spring 17 fixed on the frame 12. When the movable blade 21 moves back and forth, the fixed blade 27 is pressed downward by the movable blade 21, so that the pressing force of the presser spring 17 does not need to be increased so much, and the cutting quality and the like are greatly influenced by this pressing force. Since it is not a thing, it is only necessary to prevent the fixed blade 27 from coming off.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the movable blade 21 is made of, for example, a long plate-like plate member made of metal, and is formed in the same shape as a known scissors blade. That is, the movable blade 21 has a blade portion 21a formed on one edge thereof. At one end, a hole 21d serving as a pivot point of the movable blade 21 is formed, and an elongated hole 25 for driving the movable blade 21 is provided in the vicinity of the edge opposite to the blade portion 21a of the movable blade 21. Is formed. The movable blade 21 is slightly bent in the direction of the back surface in the vicinity of the hole 21d, and the back surface of the movable blade 21 is formed in a slightly concave shape. Further, a blade portion 21c thinner than the central blade portion 21a is formed at the front end portion of the movable blade 21 in order to prevent paper breakage at the uncut portion of the thermal paper S.

  The movable blade 21 is accommodated in the first cutter cover 24, and the blade portion 21 a is disposed so as to face the blade portion 27 a of the fixed blade 27. Specifically, the movable blade 21 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow A in the figure, with the support shaft 18 provided on the bottom 24 a of the first cutter cover 24 as the center. In addition, the movable blade 21 is pressed against the bottom 24 a side of the first cutter cover 24 by a coil spring 19 (see FIG. 4) provided around the support shaft 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the drive means 35 is housed in the first cutter cover 24, and a drive motor 31 having a worm gear 32 attached to the rotating shaft, and a worm wheel 33 that meshes with the worm gear 32. And have. The worm wheel 33 is provided with a crank pin 34 (on the back side of the worm wheel 33 in FIG. 2) that engages with the long hole 25 (see FIG. 3) of the movable blade 21. Further, the worm wheel 33 is provided with a sensor 50 for detecting the rotation angle of the worm wheel 33. The rotation of the drive motor 31 can be controlled based on the rotation angle of the worm wheel 33 detected by the sensor 50.

  The drive means 35 configured as described above has a long hole 25 that engages with the crankpin 34 by rotating the drive motor 31 to transmit power from the worm gear 32 to the worm wheel 33 and rotating the crankpin 34. The movable blade 21 can be moved back and forth in the direction of arrow A in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a guide 40 is attached to the upper surface 21 b of the movable blade 21. The guide 40 is formed of a thin plate-like member, the short side direction is bent into a cross-section “<” shape, and the long sides 41 a and 41 b are long enough to cover the length of the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21. Is formed. One long side 41 a of the guide 40 is fixed to the upper surface 21 b of the movable blade 21, and the other long side 41 b of the guide 40 extends to the vicinity of the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21. That is, when viewed from the direction of the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21, it has a wall shape with the tip extending forward. In addition, the height of the guide 40 should just be the height which does not interfere with the bottom face of the 1st cutter cover 24 and the worm wheel 33, when the movable blade 21 moves forward / backward in the arrow A direction in FIG. Or the height which partially cut the part which interferes with the bottom face of the 1st cutter cover 24 and the worm wheel 33 may be sufficient.

(About the operation of the paper cutting device)
Next, the operation of the above-described paper cutting device 20 will be described. The thermal paper S on which predetermined information is printed by the printing unit 70 of the printing apparatus 100 is conveyed to the paper discharge port 30 by the conveyance unit 70A. The thermal paper S passes between the first cutter cover 24 and the second cutter cover 29 of the paper cutting device 20, that is, through the gap between the movable blade 21 and the fixed blade 27. The printing apparatus 100 sends a control signal from the control unit 300 to the paper cutting apparatus 20 in order to cut the thermal paper S on which information is printed into a predetermined length.

  In response to the control signal, the paper cutting device 20 rotates the drive motor 31 to rotate the worm wheel 33, that is, the crank pin 34. As a result, the movable blade 21 having the long hole 25 engaged with the crankpin 34 moves forward in the direction of arrow A in FIG. When the movable blade 21 moves forward in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21 slides while intersecting with the blade portion 27 a of the fixed blade 27.

  The thermal paper S located in the gap between the movable blade 21 and the fixed blade 27 is cut at a predetermined position according to the so-called wrinkle principle. At this time, if one end portion of the thermal paper S is disposed outside the thin blade portion 21c of the tip portion of the surface of the movable blade 21, it is cut in a state of leaving a so-called one-point uncut. Further, when one end of the thermal paper S is disposed so as to be located inside the thin blade portion 21c of the front end portion of the movable blade 21, it is cut in a so-called full cut state.

  When the paper cutting device 20 further rotates the drive motor 31 to rotate the worm wheel 33, that is, the crank pin 34, the movable blade 21 having the long hole 25 engaged with the crank pin 34 is indicated by an arrow A in FIG. Retreat in the direction. When the movable blade 21 retreats in the direction of arrow A, the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21 is housed inside the first cutter cover 24. Such an operation is repeated.

  The guide 40 attached to the upper surface of the movable blade 21 repeats the same movement in conjunction with the movement of the movable blade 21. That is, the other long side 41 b of the guide 40 extends to the vicinity of the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21. When viewed from the direction of the blade portion 21a of the movable blade 21, that is, from the direction of the thermal paper S to be cut, it has a wall shape with the tip extending forward.

Hereinafter, effects of the present embodiment will be described.
(1) The paper cutting device 20 generates paper dust when cutting the thermal paper S. The generated paper dust scatters around or stays on the upper surface of the movable blade 21. However, when viewed from the direction of the thermal paper S to be cut, the guide 40 attached to the upper surface of the movable blade 21 has a wall shape with the tip (41b) extending forward. For this reason, the paper dust generated when the thermal paper S is cut is blocked by the guide 40 serving as a wall, and it is difficult for the paper dust to penetrate into the back where the driving means 35 is disposed. As a result, paper dust reaching the components of the driving means 35 of the movable blade 21, the worm gear 32, and the worm wheel 33 is reduced. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the component wear of the driving means 35 caused by paper dust and to reduce the malfunction of the paper cutting device 20 caused by paper dust.

  (2) The other long side 41 b of the guide 40 attached to the upper surface of the movable blade 21 extends to the vicinity of the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21. For this reason, when the thermal paper S is cut, the curl of the thermal paper S formed in a roll shape and having a curl can be extended. As a result, the crossing angle between the moving direction of the movable blade 21 and the thermal paper S can be corrected to a right angle, and the cutting performance of the paper cutting device 20 can be prevented from being lowered.

  (3) The other long side 41 b of the guide 40 attached to the upper surface of the movable blade 21 extends to the vicinity of the blade portion 21 a of the movable blade 21. Therefore, when cutting the thermal paper S, the upper part of the cut portion of the thermal paper S can be pushed out to the fixed blade 27 side. That is, the cut end face of the thermal paper S can be shifted from the paper transport path. As a result, it is possible to reduce the stay of the cut thermal paper S in the vicinity of the movable blade 21. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of a paper piece due to re-cutting of the trailing edge of the cut thermal paper S and the occurrence of paper jam due to the accumulated thermal paper S, and the highly reliable paper cutting device 20 and printing. An apparatus 100 can be provided.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was described, various deformation | transformation can be added with respect to the said Example in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Thermal head, 20 ... Paper cutting device, 21 ... Movable blade, 24 ... 1st cutter cover, 27 ... Fixed blade, 29 ... 2nd cutter cover, 31 ... Drive motor, 32 ... Worm gear, 33 ... Worm wheel, 34 ... Crank pin, 35 ... Drive means, 40 ... Guide, 50 ... Sensor, 60 ... Main body frame, 70 ... Printing unit, 70A ... Conveying unit, 71 ... Platen, 77 ... Head holding mechanism, 100 ... Printing device, 150 ... Printer mechanism part, 200 ... exterior case, 300 ... control part.

Claims (3)

A fixed blade disposed on one side of a conveyance path through which recording paper is conveyed and discharged;
A movable blade that is disposed at a position sandwiching the conveyance path with respect to the fixed blade, and is movable back and forth in a direction crossing the conveyance path and is capable of cross-sliding with the fixed blade;
A drive mechanism disposed in the retracting direction of the movable blade and moving the movable blade back and forth,
A paper cutting device comprising: a guide having one end fixed to the movable blade side and the other end extending to the recording paper transporting and discharging side of the movable blade on the recording paper discharge side surface. .   The paper cutting device according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the other end of the guide extends to the vicinity of a blade portion of the movable blade. Conveying means for conveying recording paper;
Printing means for printing information on the recording paper;
A printing apparatus comprising: the paper cutting device according to claim 1.

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