JP2014188710A - Printing unit of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing unit of a printer, in which the number of components of a mechanism around a printing portion and man-hours for assembling can be reduced, which has impact resistance when used in the outdoor as well and is protected from dust.SOLUTION: A printing unit of a printer, configured focusing on unitization of a printing portion, has a print head (a thermal head 17) capable of performing printing on a printing paper and a platen roller capable of transferring the printing paper, which is provided with: a unit main body 20 that can be fixedly attached to a printer housing; a cover lock 21, rotatably attached to the unit main body 20, to which the print head 17 is attached opposing to the platen roller; and a driving motor 18 that is attached to the unit main body 20 and can rotate and drive the platen roller.

Description

The present invention relates to a printer printing unit, and more particularly to a printer printing unit that can reduce the number of parts and the number of assembly steps.

    Conventionally, various types of printers such as desktop printers and portable printers have been loaded with a continuous strip of label or other printing paper, and printing is performed on this printing paper at the printing section. The number of parts and assembly man-hours are required to be reduced.

In particular, in a portable printer, when there are a large number of parts, there is a problem that the rate of failure and breakage due to an impact from an external force caused by dropping or collision increases.
In addition, when the frequency of outdoor use is high, dust or the like tends to adhere to the internal parts, and grease is applied to the gear for driving the platen roller in the printing section. There is a problem that.

Japanese Utility Model Publication 1-171656

    SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing unit for a printer that can reduce the number of parts of the mechanism around the printing unit and the number of assembly steps.

    Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing unit for a printer that has impact resistance even when used outdoors.

    Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing unit for a printer that is dust-proof.

    That is, the present invention focuses on unitizing the print unit, and a print head capable of printing on a print sheet by holding a print housing loaded between the printer housing and the printer housing between a platen roller. A unit main body that can be fixedly attached to the printer housing, is rotatably attached to the unit main body, and the print head is attached to face the platen roller. A printer printing unit comprising a cover lock and a drive motor attached to the unit main body and capable of rotating the platen roller.

    A head biasing spring capable of biasing the print head toward the platen roller can be provided between the unit main body and the cover lock.

    The cover lock may be detachable from a lock pin of the platen roller.

    The unit main body may form a guide surface of the printing paper that is transported toward the printing head.

    The guide surface may have a pair of left and right width direction guide surfaces that guide the left and right edge portions of the printing paper, and a paper surface guide surface that guides the surface of the printing paper.

    The unit main body may further include a paper sensor for detecting the printing paper.

    The unit main body may be adjacent to the unit body to form a battery storage chamber in the printer housing.

    The drive motor has a drive gear train connected to its output shaft, and the drive gear train can be engaged with and disengaged from the platen roller gear of the platen roller.

    A gear cover may be provided which has a shape along the outer shape of the drive gear train and covers each gear in the drive gear train.

In the printing unit of the printer according to the present invention, the unit lockable to the printer housing is provided with a cover lock for attaching the print head so as to face the platen roller, and a drive motor capable of rotating the platen roller. The main parts related to the printing function are unitized, and the number of parts and assembly man-hours can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view of a portable printer 1 incorporating a printing unit 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the portable printer 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printing unit 5. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the printing unit 5. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the cover lock 21 and the release push button 13 portion. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the main parts of the drive motor 18 and the drive gear train 22. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of main parts of the drive motor 18 and the gear cover 23. FIG.

    According to the present invention, since the printing unit is unitized, a printing unit for a printer that has a simplified structure and can reduce the number of parts and assembly man-hours has been realized.

Next, a printing unit of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the printer, for example, the portable printer 1, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the portable printer 1.
The portable printer 1 is configured as a thermal printer, and includes a printer unit 2 (first housing 2A, second housing 2B), an opening / closing cover 3, and a printing unit 5 (see FIG. 2), a platen roller 6, a rechargeable battery 7, a label continuous body 8 (printing paper) supply unit 9, an input unit 10 capable of inputting data or commands necessary for the portable printer 1, and an input unit 10, a display unit 11 that can display information input by the terminal 10 and other necessary information, a power switch 12, an opening push button 13, a printing unit 4, a charging battery 7, an input unit 10, a display unit 11, and a power source. A control board 14 that exchanges data and commands with the switch 12 and appropriately controls them is provided.

The printer housing 2 is a combination of the first housing 2A and the second housing 2B and has a size that can be carried by an operator. In FIG. The entire portable printer 1 can be suspended from the operator's shoulder. Of course, it can also be set as the structure which can be mounted | worn to a worker's waist | hip | lumbar.
Further, in the printer housing 2, an opening / closing cover 3 is provided so as to be openable / closable around a cover shaft 16 located at a lower corner in FIG. 2, and the continuous label 4 is stored in the supply unit 9 and the portable printer 1. Can be loaded.

    The label continuous body 4 has a configuration in which a plurality of label pieces are temporarily attached on a belt-like mount. The label piece is a so-called thermal label, and the surface is coated with a thermosensitive coloring layer so that printing is possible.

The printing unit 4 is rotatably attached to the thermal head 17 (printing head) attached to the printer housing 2 (printing unit 5) side and the end on the opposite side of the cover shaft 16 located at one end of the opening / closing cover 3. The platen roller 6 has a drive motor 18 that rotationally drives the platen roller 6.
The thermal head 17 receives the print data from the control board 14 and prints it on the label continuum 8.
The platen roller 6 is mounted so as to be rotatable about its platen roller shaft 19, and as shown in FIG. 1, the thermal head is opposed to the platen roller 6 with the opening / closing cover 3 closed with respect to the printer housing 2. The label continuum 8 is sandwiched between and transported between the two.

    3 is a perspective view of the printing unit 5, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the printing unit 5. The printing unit 5 has a thermal head 17 of the printing unit 4 and a cover lock 21 on the unit main body 20. The drive motor 18, the drive gear train 22 from the drive motor 18, and the gear cover 23 are provided (FIG. 2 shows the final stage connecting gear 44 in the drive gear train 22. , Described later).

The unit main body 20 can be fixed to the printer housing 2 and attached thereto. The cover lock 21 is positioned in the cover lock attachment space 24 formed in the center of the unit main body 20, and the head shaft 25 attached to the unit main body 20 is attached. A cover lock 21 is rotatably attached around.
Note that the thermal head 17 is attached to the cover lock 21 with an adhesive or the like so as to face the platen roller 6.

The unit main body 20 can form a battery storage chamber 26 adjacent to the unit main body 20 and below the cover lock 21 (lower part in FIGS. 3 and 4).
That is, the rechargeable battery 7 can open and close the battery cover 27 (FIG. 2) and remove it from the printer housing 2 (first housing 2A). 18), of course, power is supplied to the entire portable printer 1.

    The cover lock 21 is located at the center of the upper edge portion thereof, and is provided with an abutting inclined plate 28 integrally formed, and a pair of left and right platen roller locks having a substantially semicircular cross section in its left and right bent portions. A portion 29 is formed.

    Between the cover lock 21 and the unit main body 20, a pair of left and right head biasing springs 30 capable of biasing the thermal head 17 in the direction of the platen roller 6 are provided.

The unit main body 20 is further provided with a paper sensor 31 for detecting the label continuous body 8.
The paper sensor 31 is a reflective sensor that detects a position detection mark (not shown) pre-printed on the label continuum 8 or a transmissive sensor that detects a gap between label pieces. Any type can be used depending on the type.

Furthermore, the unit main body 20 forms a guide surface 32 of the label continuum 8 that is transferred from the supply unit 9 toward the thermal head 17.
The guide surface 32 includes a pair of left and right width direction guide surfaces 32A for guiding left and right edge portions of the label continuous body 8, and a label surface guide surface 32B (paper surface guide surface) for guiding the front surface or the back surface of the label continuous body 8. And having.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the cover lock 21 and the push button 13 for opening.
The release push button 13 includes a button main body 33, a waterproof adhesion surface 34 formed on the entire periphery of the peripheral edge of the button main body 33, a button shaft 35 formed integrally with the button main body 33, and an elastic body. A button urging spring 36 and a pushing protrusion 37 formed on the back surface side of the button main body 33 are provided.

    As shown in FIG. 1, the button body 33 is a portion exposed to the surface side of the printer housing 2, and an operator who uses the portable printer 1 can move the inside of the printer housing 2 (rightward in FIG. 5). It is a part pushed in toward the left).

The waterproof contact surface 34 is formed so as to be recessed inward of the printer housing 2 relative to the button body 33 and can enter the inside of the printer housing 2, and the inner wall surface 2 </ b> A of the printer housing 2. This is a planar area that can be closely attached to the surface.
In particular, as shown by phantom lines in FIG. 1, the waterproof contact surface 34 extends longer like a ridge along the length direction of the thermal head 17 (the width direction of the label continuous body 4). All of the heat generating elements 17A (FIG. 5) can be covered.

    The pair of left and right button shafts 35 are pivotally attached to an internal bracket (not shown) of the printer housing 2, and the entire push button 13 for opening can be rotated with respect to the printer housing 2 by pushing the button body 33. It is said.

The pair of left and right button urging springs 36 meander in the same plane as the waterproof contact surface 34 (see the phantom line in FIG. 1), and form this at the end of the release push button 13. The contact shaft portions 38 are erected at the respective end portions located at the positions beyond the button shaft 35 from 33.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the respective abutting shaft portions 38 abut against the inner wall surface 2 </ b> A of the printer housing 2, and the pair of left and right button urging springs 36 bend to exert their urging force and open. The waterproof contact surface 34 of the push button 13 can be in close contact with the inner wall surface 2 </ b> A of the printer housing 2.
In other words, the button shaft 35 of the release push button 13 is located between the button biasing spring 36 and the waterproof contact surface 34, and the waterproof contact surface 34 is the inner wall surface of the printer housing 2. The button biasing spring 36 can bias the release push button 13 so as to be in close contact with 2A.
By forming the button urging spring 36 in a meandering manner, it becomes possible to obtain a required length for obtaining a predetermined urging force in a narrow space, and by integrally forming the button main body 33, This is particularly advantageous for this type of portable printer 1 that needs to be manufactured in a small and lightweight manner.

    A pair of left and right lock pins 39 of the platen roller 6 can be engaged with and disengaged from the platen roller lock engagement portion 29 of the cover lock 21. With the lock pin 39 engaged with the platen roller lock engaging portion 29 as the opening / closing cover 3 is closed, the platen roller 6 can contact the thermal head 17 with a predetermined pressing force (printing pressure). The label continuous body 4 to be sandwiched can be printed.

The pushing protrusion 37 located on the back side of the button main body 33 faces the contact inclined plate 29 of the cover lock 21 and is used for opening around the button shaft 35 against the urging force of the button urging spring 36. As the push button 13 rotates in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5, the pushing projection 37 presses the contact inclined plate 29, and the cover locks around the head shaft 28 against the urging force of the head urging spring 30. 21 is rotated together with the thermal head 17 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.
Accordingly, the lock pin 39 of the platen roller 6 is disengaged from the platen roller lock engaging portion 29 of the cover lock 21, the open / close cover 3 is opened, the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 6 are separated from each other, and the label is interposed therebetween. The continuum 4 can be loaded.
Thus, the cover lock 21 can be separated from the platen roller 6 through the contact inclined plate 29 by the rotation of the release push button 13.

    Further, a tapered surface 40 is formed at the upper end of the platen roller lock engaging portion 29, and after the lock pin 39 of the platen roller 6 contacts the tapered surface 40 during the closing operation of the opening / closing cover 3, the platen roller It is easy to engage with the roller lock engaging portion 29.

    Thus, the cover lock 21 can be engaged with and disengaged from the platen roller 6 (the lock pin 39) as the opening / closing cover 3 is closed and opened. As a result, the platen roller 6 and the thermal head 17 are pressed against each other. It will be in a state of separating.

    In particular, as shown in FIG. 5, the lower end portion of the waterproof contact surface 22 of the release push button 20 is a paper cutting end portion 41, and the paper cutting end portion 41 is the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 14. The label continuum 4 (mounting sheet, label piece) can be cut at a predetermined portion so as to face the label continuum 4 transferred to the issuing port 42 from the space.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, the platen roller 6 is provided with a platen roller gear 43 for rotationally driving the platen roller 6 at one end portion (right end portion in FIG. 2) of the platen roller shaft 19.
The platen roller gear 43 can be driven to rotate by engagement with a connecting gear 44 located at the last stage of the drive gear train 22 provided in the printing unit 5 on the printer housing 2 side facing the platen roller 6.
That is, by closing the open / close cover 3 to the printer housing 2, the platen roller gear 43 and the connecting gear 44 are engaged, and the platen roller 6 can be rotationally driven via the drive gear train 22 from the drive motor 18. .
The label continuum 4 is sandwiched between the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 6, the platen roller 6 is rotationally driven by the drive motor 18, and the thermal head 17 according to the print data supplied from the control board 14 to the thermal head 17. The heating element 17A (FIG. 4) generates heat, and thermal printing is performed on the label continuum 4 (label piece).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of relevant parts of the drive motor 18 and the drive gear train 22, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of relevant parts of the drive motor 18 and the gear cover 23.
In particular, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the drive motor 18 is attached to the inside of the motor mounting bracket 45 of the unit body 20 in the printing unit 5, and the gear cover 23 is attached to the outside of the motor mounting bracket 45. ing.
In particular, as shown in FIG. 6, the drive motor 18 connects the drive gear train 22 to its output shaft 46, and rotates the platen roller 6 via the connection gear 44 and the platen roller gear 43 (FIG. 2) of the platen roller 6. It can be driven.

    The drive gear train 22 has a first gear 47, a second gear 48, a third gear 49 and a connecting gear 44 from the output shaft 46, and can transmit the rotational driving force of the drive motor 18 to the platen roller 6. It is.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 7, the gear cover 23 covers the respective gears (the first gear 47, the second gear 48, the third gear 49, and the connecting gear 44) of the drive gear train 22, but the gear cover Reference numeral 23 is not a mere rectangular cover, but has a substantially combined cylindrical shape along the outer shape of the drive gear train 22 as shown.
That is, the gear cover 23 is integrally formed with a first gear cover 50, a second gear cover 51, a third gear cover 52, and a fourth gear cover 53.
The first gear cover 50 has an output shaft 46, a first gear 47, and a large-diameter gear 48A of the second gear 48 in their respective outer shapes (external shapes in the axial direction and the radial direction, the same applies hereinafter). Cover along.
The second gear cover 51 covers the small-diameter gear 48B of the second gear 48 and the large-diameter gear 49A of the third gear 49 along the respective outer shapes.
The third gear cover 52 covers the small-diameter gear 49B of the third gear 49 along its outer shape.
The fourth gear cover 53 covers the connecting gear 44 along its outer shape.

    Therefore, the gear cover 23 covers all of the drive gear train 22 extending from the drive motor 18 to the connecting gear 44 so as to follow the outer shape thereof. Therefore, even when the portable printer 1 is used outdoors, it is particularly caused by dust or the like. The internal drive gear train 22 can be protected from dirt, and even if the portable printer 1 receives an external force due to a drop or collision, a situation in which the drive gear train 22 is mechanically detached can be avoided.

    Further, in the portable printer 1, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 in particular, the input unit 10, the display unit 11, the power switch 12, and the printing unit in the printer housing 2 in which the printing unit 4 is disposed in the inner part thereof. 4 Further, a cushioning material 54 made of an elastomer or other shock absorbing material such as a rubber material is arranged adjacent to the surface of the region where the opening / closing cover 3 or the like is arranged to ensure resistance to impact caused by dropping or the like.

In the portable printer 1 having such a configuration, the printing unit 4 that performs the main printing function is unitized as the printing unit 5, so that the number of parts and assembly man-hours are reduced, and the portable printer that is resistant to dropping and impact as well as cost reduction. 1 can be used.
Of course, it is possible to employ the printing unit according to the present invention in a desktop printer or other printers.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable printer 2 Printer housing 2A 1st housing of printer housing 2 2B 2nd housing of printer housing 2 3 Opening / closing cover 4 Printing part 5 Printing unit (Example, FIGS. 2-4)
6 Platen roller of printing unit 4 7 Charging battery 8 Label continuum (printing paper)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Supply part 10 Input part 11 Display part 12 Power switch 13 Opening push button 14 Control board 15 Belt hook part 16 Cover shaft 17 of the opening / closing cover 3 Thermal head 17A of the printing part 4 Heating element 18 of the thermal head 17 Drive motor 19 Platen Platen roller shaft 20 of roller 6 Unit body (FIGS. 3 and 4)
21 Cover lock 22 Drive gear train (FIGS. 4 and 6)
23 Gear cover (Fig. 7)
24 Cover lock mounting space in unit body 20 (FIG. 4)
25 Head axis 26 of thermal head 17 Battery storage chamber 27 Battery cover 28 Contacting inclined plate 29 Platen roller lock engagement portion 30 Head biasing spring 31 Paper sensor 32 Guide surface 32A Guide surface 32 width direction guide surface 32B Guide surface 32 Label surface guide surface (paper surface guide surface)
33 Button body 34 of the release push button 13 Waterproof contact surface 35 of the release push button 13 Button shaft 36 of the release push button 13 Button biasing spring 37 of the release push button 13 Protrusion for pushing of the release push button 13 Part 38 Contact shaft part 39 of the button urging spring 36 Lock pin 40 of the platen roller 6 Tapered surface 41 End 42 for paper cutting Issue port 43 Platen roller gear 44 of the platen roller 6 Connecting gear (FIGS. 2, 4, and FIG. 6)
45 Motor mounting bracket 46 Output shaft of drive motor 18 (FIG. 6)
47 1st gear 48 2nd gear 48A Large diameter gear 48B of 2nd gear 48 Small diameter gear 49 of 2nd gear 48 3rd gear 49A Large diameter gear 49B of 3rd gear 49 3rd gear 49 The first gear cover 51 of the gear cover 23 The second gear cover 52 of the gear cover 23 The third gear cover 53 of the gear cover 23 The fourth gear cover 54 of the gear cover 23 A cushion material made of an elastomer or the like

Claims (9)

A printer housing;
A printing unit of a printer having a print head that is capable of printing on the print paper by sandwiching the print paper loaded in the printer housing between the platen roller,
A unit body that can be fixedly attached to the printer housing;
A cover lock that is rotatably attached to the unit main body, and is attached to the print head so as to face the platen roller.
A printer printing unit comprising: a drive motor that is attached to the unit main body and capable of rotating the platen roller. 2. The printer printing unit according to claim 1, wherein a head biasing spring capable of biasing the print head toward the platen roller is provided between the unit main body and the cover lock. 3. The printer printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the cover lock is detachable from a lock pin of the platen roller. 4. The printer printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the unit main body forms a guide surface of the printing paper transported toward the printing head. 5. The guide surface is
A pair of left and right width direction guide surfaces for guiding left and right end edges of the printing paper;
The printer printing unit according to claim 4, further comprising a sheet surface guide surface for guiding a surface of the printing sheet. The printer unit according to claim 1, wherein the unit main body further includes a paper sensor for detecting the print paper. The printer unit according to claim 1, wherein a battery storage chamber can be formed in the printer housing adjacent to the unit main body. The drive motor has a drive gear train connected to its output shaft,
8. The printer printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the drive gear train is detachable from the platen roller gear of the platen roller. 9. The printer printing unit according to claim 8, further comprising a gear cover that has a shape along an outer shape of the drive gear train and covers each gear in the drive gear train.

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