JP2014208492A - Multiple string type thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal printer whose size can be downsized.SOLUTION: A multiple string type thermal printer 1 is configured by arranging plural print units 100 having a thermal head 161 for performing printing to a printed matter using an ink ribbon 3 in parallel. The plural print units 100 respective have a take-up holder 121 for taking up the ink ribbons 3, and the multiple string type thermal printer 1 is disposed so as to face to the ink ribbons 3 which are taken up by the plural take-up holders 121 of the plural print units 100. By contacting to outer peripheral faces of the plural ink ribbons 3 taken up by the plural take-up holders 121, the plural take-up holders 121 are rotated by a single take-up holder rotation body 31. A take-up holder moving part 122 moves the take-up holders 121 so that the outer peripheral faces of the ink ribbons 3 taken up by the take-up holders 121 of the print units 100 can press the take-up holder rotation body 31.

Description

  The present invention relates to a multiple thermal printer.

  In recent years, it has been widely demanded to display various information such as a product serial number, date of manufacture, and expiration date on an exterior member enclosing the product. In such a case, for example, when an exterior part enclosing a product is formed of a packaging film, in general, various information is printed on the packaging film by a thermal printer.

  A thermal printer is usually configured to include a thermal head, an ink ribbon, and a platen roller. The thermal head includes a plurality of heat generating elements at its end, and a desired heat generating element generates heat when energized. The ink ribbon is wound around the original fabric holder, and is fed out from the original fabric holder in synchronism with the packaging film continuously delivered from a packaging machine or the like, and is wound up by the take-up holder after printing. Has been. The platen roller is disposed so that its outer peripheral surface is in contact with a packaging film that is continuously drawn out from a packaging machine or the like, and constitutes a print receiving portion for the thermal head and the ink ribbon.

  In the thermal printer, an ink ribbon that has contacted a desired heat generating element that has generated heat is brought into contact with the packaging film on the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller, whereby the ink applied to the ink ribbon is adhered to the packaging film and printing is performed ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-123863

  By the way, in recent years, as a thermal printer, a multiple type printer capable of simultaneously printing multiple rows (the number corresponding to the number of print units) on a packaging film has been widely used.

  However, in the conventional multiple-type thermal printer, a drive motor for driving the thermal head, a rotation motor for rotating the original fabric holder and the take-up holder, etc. include the thermal head, the original fabric holder and the take-up holder. Along with the holder, it is disposed in a print unit that supports the thermal head, the original fabric holder, and the take-up holder. For this reason, the print unit has been increased in size. As a result, the multiple thermal printer to which the print unit is mounted is also increased in size, and there is a problem in that printing at a suitable interval in the width direction of the substrate cannot be performed. Accordingly, there has been a demand for a thermal printer in which the print unit is downsized in the width direction of the substrate.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a multiple thermal printer that can be miniaturized.

  The present invention relates to a multiple thermal printer in which a plurality of print units each having a thermal head for printing on a printing material using an ink ribbon are arranged in parallel, and the proximity and separation of the plurality of thermal heads of the plurality of printing units. While freely configured and in contact with the substrate, the printing surface of the substrate is in contact with the ink ribbon positioned between the thermal head and the printing surface in a state of being close to the thermal head. The present invention relates to a multiple thermal printer comprising a rotating print receiving rotating body.

  Further, the print unit includes an elastic support portion that supports the thermal head so as to be movable in a direction away from the print receiving rotating body by elastically deforming in a state where the printing receiving rotating body is close to the thermal head. It is preferable.

  The print unit includes a winding holder that winds up the ink ribbon, and is arranged to face the ink ribbon wound around the plurality of winding holders of the plurality of printing units, and the winding holder It is preferable to further include a take-up holder rotating body that rotates the take-up holder by coming into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon that has been wound around the ink ribbon.

  It is preferable that the ink ribbon further includes a winding holder moving unit that moves the winding holder so that an outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon wound around the winding holder of the print unit can press the winding holder rotating body.

  It is preferable that the print receiving rotating body is rotationally driven in accordance with the moving speed of the printing material while at least contacting the printing material.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the multiple thermal printer which can be reduced in size can be provided.

It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the multiple thermal printer concerning this embodiment from the front side. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the multiple thermal printer concerning this embodiment from the back side. It is a figure explaining the mounting process of the printing unit to the flame | frame in the multiple thermal printer which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the multiple thermal printer according to the present embodiment in a state in which a print unit is mounted on a frame, corresponding to the AA cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a configuration of a print unit in detail. It is a side view of a printing unit at the time of printing. FIG. 6 is a side view of the print unit in a state where a winding side ribbon holder in the winding mechanism rotates reversely and an ink ribbon is returned to the ribbon path guiding mechanism side. FIG. 6 is a side view of the print unit in a state where the ink ribbon feeding is started in the contact period. It is a figure explaining the feeding drive of the ink ribbon by a winding mechanism, Comprising: It is a side view of the printing unit at the time of printing in the state in which the amount of winding of the ink ribbon to a winding roll is small. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating ink ribbon feed driving by a winding mechanism, and is a side view of a print unit in a state where the amount of ink ribbon wound around a winding roll is large.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a multiple thermal printer 1 according to this embodiment as viewed from the front side. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the multiple thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the back side.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the multiple thermal printer 1 includes a plurality (three sets in the present embodiment) of print units 100 and a unit support portion 20 for mounting the plurality of print units 100 in parallel. Configured. In the print unit 100, the width direction of the unit support portion 20 (left and right direction when the multiple thermal printer 1 is viewed from the front side. Hereinafter, the left and right direction when the multiple thermal printer 1 is viewed from the front side is referred to as “width direction”. ) Are mounted in parallel.

  The print unit 100 includes an original fabric side ribbon holder 111 as an original fabric holder that rotatably holds the wound ink ribbon 3, and a take-up side ribbon holder 121 as a take-up holder that winds up the ink ribbon 3. The apparatus includes a first moving roller 144 and a second moving roller 145 as rollers, and a head unit 160 that performs printing on the ink ribbon 3 by thermal transfer.

  The unit support unit 20 includes a frame 10, a printed material guide mechanism 50 that guides the belt-shaped printed material 2 along a predetermined printed route PR, a pressure contact mechanism 40 that presses the printed material 2 against the head unit 160, and a print unit. 100, a ribbon drive mechanism 30 that feeds out the ink ribbon 3 held by 100, and an overall control unit (not shown) that controls the substrate guide mechanism 50, the pressure contact mechanism 40, and the plurality of print units 100. Yes.

  In the multiple thermal printer 1, the ribbon driving mechanism 30 is held by each of the plurality of print units 100 at a speed synchronized with the printing object 2 with respect to the printing object 2 moving on the printing path PR by the printing object guide mechanism 50. The ink ribbon 3 is sent out, and each head unit 160 and the pressure contact mechanism 40 are configured to print on the printing surface of the printing material (the surface facing the head unit 160). Thereby, it is possible to simultaneously perform printing in a large number of rows (the number corresponding to the installation of the print unit 100) on the substrate 2 to be printed.

Hereinafter, each part in the multiple thermal printer 1 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5 in addition to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a process of mounting the print unit 100 on the frame 10. 4 corresponds to the AA cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 and is a cross-sectional view of the multiple thermal printer 1 showing a state in which the print unit 100 is mounted on the frame 10. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the configuration of the print unit 100 in detail.
In the following description, the front side (that is, the left side shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5) of the unit support portion 20 is the “front side”, and the back side of the unit support portion 20 (FIGS. 3, 4, and 5). The right side) shown in FIG.

First, the unit support part 20 will be described.
The frame 10 includes a rectangular base plate 11, side plates 12L and 12R erected on both ends of the rectangular base plate 11 in the width direction, and lower support bars 21 installed between the side plates 12L and 12R. The upper support bar 23, the lower guide rail 22 fixed to the lower support bar 21, and the upper guide rail 24 fixed to the upper support bar 23 are configured.

The lower support bar 21 has a rectangular column shape in cross section, and is extended between the side plates 12L and 12R with the major axis as the width direction and the upper surface as horizontal.
The upper support bar 23 has a prismatic shape with a substantially square cross section, and is extended between the side plates 12L and 12R with the major axis being the width direction and the upper surface being horizontal.

The lower guide rail 22 has a prismatic shape having a predetermined length, and is fixed to the upper surface of the lower support bar 21. The lower guide rail 22 is arranged so that the long axis is orthogonal to the long axis of the lower support bar 21. That is, the lower guide rail 22 is fixed to the lower support bar 21 so that the long axis is disposed in the front-rear direction of the unit support portion 20.
In addition, the lower guide rail 22 is formed with an insertion groove 22 </ b> A having a square groove shape along the major axis of the lower guide rail 22. The insertion groove 22A has a width in which a unit base 101 of the print unit 100 described later can be fitted, and is open upward. A lock pin 25 is provided at a predetermined position of the lower guide rail 22 to fix the print unit 100.

  The upper guide rail 24 has a prismatic shape having a predetermined length, and is fixed to the upper surface of the upper support bar 23. The upper guide rail 24 is disposed in parallel with the lower guide rail 22 in a state of facing the lower guide rail 22. The upper guide rail 24 is formed with an insertion groove 24 </ b> A having a cross-sectional shape of a square groove so as to face the insertion groove 22 </ b> A along the long axis of the upper guide rail 24. The insertion groove 24A has a width in which the unit base 101 of the print unit 100 can be fitted, and is open downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the unit support portion 20 is configured so that guide rods (a lower guide rod 102 and an upper guide rod 103) provided on two upper and lower sides of a unit base 101 to be described later are connected to the lower guide rail 22. The print unit 100 is supported by being fitted into the fitting insertion groove 22 </ b> A and the fitting insertion groove 24 </ b> A of the upper guide rail 24. Then, the unit support portion 20 moves the print unit 100 rearward along the insertion grooves 22A and 24A, and engages the lock pin 25 provided on the lower guide rail 22 with the lower guide rod 102. 100 is fixed so that it cannot be removed.

  According to the unit support part 20 configured as described above, the lower guide rail 22 and the upper guide rail 24 can be fixed at arbitrary positions on the lower support bar 21 and the upper support bar 23, and the print unit 100 can be mounted. it can. Thereby, for example, the print unit 100 can be arranged at an arbitrary position in the width direction of the unit support portion 20, and a large number of print units 100 can be arranged in parallel on the unit support portion 20 without a gap. Accordingly, the position of the print unit 100 can be set so that printing is performed at an arbitrary position in the width direction of the substrate 2, and the number of print columns can be arbitrarily set. That is, the print position can be set with a high degree of freedom.

  The substrate guide mechanism 50 includes a lower guide roller 51 provided at the lower part of the frame 10 and an upper guide roller 52 provided at the upper part on the back side of the frame 10. The lower guide roller 51 and the upper guide roller 52 are rotatably supported by the left and right side plates 12L and 12R of the frame 10 via bearings. Further, the lower guide roller 51 and the upper guide roller 52 are supported by the side plates 12L and 12R so that the central axis is horizontal.

  The belt-shaped printed material 2 is wound around the printed material guide mechanism 50 so as to be wound from the lower side to the rear side of the lower guide roller 51 and from the front side to the upper side of the upper guide roller 52. It is. In this way, the printed material guide mechanism 50 configures a printed route PR along which the printed material 2 moves from the front side to the rear side of the unit support portion 20.

  Although not shown, the printing material 2 is mounted on the feeding device while being wound in a roll on the upstream side of the lower guide roller 51, and is wound on the winding device on the downstream side of the upper guide roller 52. It is configured. That is, the substrate 2 is configured to move at a predetermined speed along the printing path PR (from the lower side to the upper side shown in FIG. 4) by the winding drive of the winding device.

The pressure contact mechanism 40 includes a platen roller 41 as a print receiving rotating body, an eccentric support shaft 41E as an eccentric shaft, and a platen movement motor 42.
The platen roller 41 is a roller having a predetermined outer diameter in which an elastic layer made of a material having a predetermined elasticity such as silicone rubber is provided on the peripheral surface of a metal core having a predetermined diameter. The length of the platen roller 41 extends over the entire width direction of the unit support portion 20. The arrangement position of the platen roller 41 is set on the rear side across the printing path PR of the substrate 2 with respect to the head unit 160 provided in the printing unit 100 mounted on the unit support unit 20.

  The platen roller 41 is configured to be rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown) in accordance with the moving speed of the substrate 2 while at least contacting the substrate 2.

  The eccentric support shafts 41 </ b> E are provided at both ends of the platen roller 41 at positions decentered by a predetermined amount from the central axis of the platen roller 41. The eccentric support shaft 41E is rotatably supported by the left and right side plates 12L and 12R of the frame 10 via bearings. The eccentric support shaft 41E is attached horizontally with the central axis direction as the width direction.

  The platen movement motor 42 is provided on the inner surface of one side plate 12L (left side in FIG. 1) of the frame 10. The platen movement motor 42 is connected to the eccentric support shaft 41E via the timing belt 43. Specifically, the timing belt 43 is wound around the timing pulley 41P fixed to the eccentric support shaft 41E of the platen roller 41 and the timing pulley 42P fixed to the rotation shaft of the platen movement motor 42. Yes. Thereby, the eccentric support shaft 41E is rotationally driven by the platen movement motor 42. The platen movement motor 42 is controlled by the above-described overall control device (not shown).

  The platen roller 41 moves in the front-rear direction by the rotation of the eccentric support shaft 41E. For example, in a state where the platen roller 41 is positioned on the rear side due to the rotation of the eccentric support shaft 41 </ b> E, the outer peripheral surface (the foremost side) of the platen roller 41 is on the rear side of the printing path PR of the printing material 2. . On the other hand, in a state where the platen roller 41 is located in front, the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 41 is on the front side of the printing path PR of the substrate 2. That is, in a state where the platen roller 41 is located in the front, the platen roller 41 pushes the printed material 2 of the printing path PR forward by a predetermined amount to bend the printing path PR forward.

  Here, as described above, the platen roller 41 is located on the rear side with respect to the print unit PR of the substrate 2 with respect to the head unit 160 included in the print unit 100. Therefore, in a state in which the platen roller 41 is located on the front side, the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 41 presses the printing object 2 in the printing path PR against the printing unit 161A (described later, see FIG. 5) of the head unit 160. .

  On the other hand, in the state where the platen roller 41 is located at the rear, the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 41 is behind the printing path PR of the printing material 2, so that the pressure on the head unit 160 (printing portion 161 </ b> A) is released. .

  In this way, the platen roller 41 moves in the front-rear direction by the rotation of the eccentric support shaft 41E, and presses the substrate 2 (the printing unit 161A) in the printing path PR (hereinafter referred to as “pressing”). “State”) and a state in which the substrate 2 is not pressed against the head unit 160 (hereinafter referred to as “non-pressed state”) are alternately repeated. Then, printing is performed by pressing the printing material 2 against the head unit 160 (printing unit 161A) in a state where the ink ribbon 3 is interposed between the printing material 2 and the head unit 160.

  Further, the pressure contact mechanism 40 configures a pressed state and a non-pressed state by moving the platen roller 41 having a length over the entire width direction of the unit support portion 20 in the front-rear direction by the eccentric support shaft 41E. Accordingly, for example, it is possible to simultaneously print with a single platen roller 41 on a plurality of print units 100 mounted in parallel in the width direction of the unit support portion 20.

  Further, since the platen roller 41 is configured to approach and separate from the head unit 160 (printing unit 161A), in each print unit 100, the mechanism for moving the head unit 160 (printing unit 161A) to the platen roller 41 side. There is no need to provide.

  As a result, a drive source such as a motor for moving the head unit 160 to each print unit 100 becomes unnecessary, and for example, the configuration of the print unit 100 can be simplified, the size in the width direction can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, since the size of the print unit 100 in the width direction can be reduced, for example, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in setting the interval in the print width direction.

The ribbon drive mechanism 30 includes a ribbon drive roller 31 as a winding holder rotating body and a ribbon drive motor 32.
The ribbon drive roller 31 is a roller formed on a peripheral surface of a metal core having a predetermined diameter and having an elastic layer having a predetermined thickness made of a material having a predetermined elasticity such as silicone rubber and having a predetermined outer diameter. Although not shown in detail, the ribbon drive roller 31 is rotatably supported by the left and right side plates 12L and 12R of the frame 10 via bearings at the support shafts at both ends. The ribbon drive roller 31 is horizontally arranged with the central axis direction as the width direction. The length of the ribbon drive roller 31 extends over the entire width direction of the unit support portion 20. The position of the ribbon drive roller 31 in the front-rear direction is set in front of the printing path of the printing material 2.

  The ribbon drive motor 32 is provided on the outer surface of one side plate 12 </ b> L (the left side shown in FIG. 1) in the frame 10. The ribbon drive motor 32 is accommodated in the drive control box 13 mounted on the outer surface of the side plate 12L. The ribbon drive motor 32 is controlled by an overall control device (not shown) that controls the multiple thermal printer 1 in an integrated manner. Although not shown, the overall control device is disposed inside the drive control box 13.

  The ribbon drive roller 31 and the ribbon drive motor 32 are connected via a timing belt 33. Specifically, the ribbon driving is performed by winding the timing belt 33 between the timing pulley 31P fixed to the support shaft of the ribbon driving roller 31 and the timing pulley 32P fixed to the rotating shaft of the ribbon driving motor 32. The roller 31 and the ribbon drive motor 32 are connected. The ribbon drive roller 31 can be rotationally driven in both the forward and reverse directions by transmitting the rotational drive force from the ribbon drive motor 32 by the timing belt 33.

  Although described in detail later, the ribbon drive roller 31 is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding-side ribbon holder 121. The ribbon drive roller 31 rotates in a state where it is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding side ribbon holder 121, thereby rotating the winding side ribbon holder 121 and winding the ribbon side ribbon. The holder 121 acts to wind the ink ribbon 3.

  The multiple thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the ink ribbon 3 is fed and driven at a predetermined speed by winding the ink ribbon 3 of the winding side ribbon holder 121.

  As described above, the ribbon driving mechanism 30 is configured to wind the ink ribbon 3 (ink ink) of the winding side ribbon holder 121 of each of the plurality of print units 100 by the ribbon driving roller 31 having a length over the entire width direction of the unit support portion 20. Ribbon 3 feeding drive). As a result, it becomes possible to drive each ink ribbon 3 by a single ribbon drive roller 31 to a plurality of print units 100 mounted on the unit support section 20.

  As a result, each print unit 100 does not need to include a drive mechanism such as a motor for feeding and driving each ink ribbon 3, and the configuration of the print unit 100 can be simplified, downsized, and reduced in cost. In addition, since the size in the width direction of the print unit 100 can be reduced, the degree of freedom in setting the interval in the width direction of printing can be improved.

Next, the print unit 100 will be described.
The print unit 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape whose overall outer shape is thin in the width direction, and is configured to be detachable from the unit support portion 20 of the frame 10 as described above.

  The print unit 100 includes a unit base 101 formed in a rectangular plate shape, a feeding mechanism 110 that holds and feeds the ink ribbon 3, a winding mechanism 120 that winds up the ink ribbon 3 and transports the ink ribbon 3, and a feeding mechanism. A ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 that forms a moving path of the ink ribbon 3 from 110 to the winding mechanism 120, a tension adjusting mechanism 140 that prevents the ink ribbon 3 from slackening, and the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 from the feeding mechanism 110 are restricted. A brake mechanism 150, a head unit 160, and a control box 170 are provided.

  On one surface of the unit base 101, a feeding mechanism 110, a winding mechanism 120, a ribbon path guiding mechanism 130, a tension adjusting mechanism 140, a brake mechanism 150, and a head unit 160 are disposed. . That is, the unit base 101 constitutes the base of the print unit 100.

A lower guide rod 102 is provided on the lower side of the unit base 101. An upper guide rod 103 is provided on the upper side of the unit base 101.
The lower guide rod 102 is formed in a round bar shape having a predetermined length, and is formed so as to be fitted in the fitting insertion groove 22 </ b> A of the lower guide rail 22. The upper guide rod 103 is formed in a round bar shape having a predetermined length, and is formed so as to be fitted in the fitting insertion groove 24 </ b> A of the upper guide rail 24.
A fixed recess 102 </ b> A that can be engaged with a lock pin 25 included in the lower guide rail 22 is formed below a predetermined position of the lower guide rod 102.

  A roller escape portion 101A is formed in the upper part on the rear side of the unit base 101. The roller escape portion 101A is cut out in an arc shape with a predetermined radius. 4 and 5, the roller escape portion 101A corresponds to the ribbon drive roller 31 when the print unit 100 is mounted on the unit support portion 20 (the ribbon drive roller 31 enters the roller escape portion 101A). ) Is formed.

  On the upper side of the roller escape portion 101A, a winding side ribbon holder stopper 101B is provided as a winding stopper portion. The take-up ribbon holder stopper 101B protrudes from the one surface of the unit base 101 to a predetermined height. The take-up ribbon holder stopper 101 </ b> B is formed so as to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 taken up by a take-up roll 125 mounted on the take-up ribbon holder 121.

  A mounting detection switch 104 is provided at an upper corner on the rear side of the unit base 101. The attachment detection switch 104 is configured by a limit switch that is turned ON / OFF by a lever operation. The mounting detection switch 104 is arranged so that the lever of the mounting detection switch 104 contacts the upper support bar 23 of the unit support 20 when the print unit 100 is mounted on the unit support 20. . The mounting detection switch 104 detects that the print unit 100 is normally mounted on the unit support unit 20. The detection information is input as control information to an overall control device (not shown).

The feeding mechanism 110 is disposed at the upper part on the front side of the unit base 101, and includes an original fabric side ribbon holder 111.
The original fabric side ribbon holder 111 is attached to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to one surface of the unit base 101. An ink ribbon roll 112 around which the ink ribbon 3 is wound is attached to the original fabric side ribbon holder 111.

  The winding mechanism 120 swings the winding side ribbon holder 121, a support arm 122 as a biasing arm (winding holder moving unit) that supports the winding side ribbon holder 121 so as to swing, and swings the support arm 122. And a winding mechanism spring 123 for biasing.

  The support arm 122 has a plate shape with a predetermined thickness and is formed with a predetermined width and a predetermined length. A base end portion, which is one end portion of the support arm 122, is pivotally attached to a substantially vertical center on the rear side of the unit base 101 by a pivot pin 124. By pivotally attaching the base end portion of the support arm 122, the support arm 122 swings in a plane parallel to one surface of the unit base 101 with the other end portion being a free end. It becomes possible. A winding side ribbon holder 121 is attached to the tip of the support arm 122.

  The take-up ribbon holder 121 is attached to the distal end portion of the support arm 122 so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis perpendicular to one surface of the unit base 101. A winding roll 125 for winding the ink ribbon 3 is attached to the winding side ribbon holder 121.

  The winding mechanism spring 123 is stretched between the vicinity of the base end portion of the support arm 122 and the rear side of the unit base 101. The winding mechanism spring 123 swings the distal end portion clockwise around the base end portion of the support arm 122 by the elastic restoring force.

The support arm 122 is swung by being urged by the take-up mechanism spring 123 so that the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 taken up by the take-up roll 125 mounted on the take-up side ribbon holder 121 is It is regulated by coming into contact with the winding-side ribbon holder stopper 101B projecting from (see FIG. 3).
Here, FIG. 3 shows a state where the ink ribbon 3 indicated by a two-dot chain line in the drawing is wound around the winding roll 125 mounted on the winding side ribbon holder 121, and the wound ink ribbon 3 is wound. The outer peripheral surface of this is in contact with the winding side ribbon holder stopper 101B, and the swinging is restricted.

  As described above, the print unit 100 is wound up by bringing the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding side ribbon holder 121 into contact with the winding side ribbon holder stopper 101B protruding from the unit base 101. The ink ribbon 3 wound around the roll 125 is configured to be prevented from loosening.

  On the other hand, when a force equal to or greater than the urging force of the winding mechanism spring 123 acts on the opposite side of the urging force, the support arm 122 rotates counterclockwise around the base end (the counterclockwise direction shown in FIGS. 3 to 5). This direction is hereinafter referred to as “counterclockwise”). When the tip of the support arm 122 swings counterclockwise, the contact between the winding-side ribbon holder stopper 101B and the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding roll 125 is released, and the winding-side ribbon holder The restriction on the slack of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding roll 125 by the stopper 101B is released.

  The ribbon path guide mechanism 130 includes a plurality of guide rollers (131 to 137) around which the ink ribbon 3 is wound, and defines a movement path of the ink ribbon 3 from the feeding mechanism 110 to the winding mechanism 120. A tension adjusting mechanism 140 is interposed in the movement path of the ink ribbon 3.

  Each of the guide rollers (131 to 137) has a cylindrical shape with a predetermined diameter and a predetermined length, and is rotatably mounted via a bearing (not shown) in a posture standing upright from one surface of the unit base 101. Yes.

  Each guide roller (131 to 137) is disposed so as to guide the ink ribbon 3 fed from the feeding mechanism 110 to the winding mechanism 120 along a path substantially along the lower side and the rear side of the unit base 101. Yes. That is, the first roller 131 and the second roller 132 are arranged substantially vertically below the feeding mechanism 110. A third roller 133 is disposed slightly behind the second roller 132. The fourth roller 134 is disposed slightly rearward on the lower side of the third roller 133. The fifth roller 135 and the sixth roller 136 are arranged along the lower side of the unit base 101. The sixth roller 136 is disposed at the lower end on the rear side of the unit base 101. The seventh roller 137 is disposed on the obliquely lower rear side of the winding side ribbon holder 121 in the winding mechanism 120.

  The tension adjustment mechanism 140 includes a tension adjustment arm 141 as a rotating arm (roller moving unit) and a tension adjustment spring 142 that swings and urges the tension adjustment arm 141.

  The tension adjusting arm 141 has a plate shape with a predetermined thickness, and is formed with a predetermined width and a predetermined length. The tension adjusting arm 141 is pivotally supported on the unit base 101 by a swing shaft 143 serving as a first rotation shaft at a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction. The tension adjusting arm 141 is provided with the longitudinal direction as the front-rear direction. The tension adjustment arm 141 is configured to be swingable about a swing shaft 143 in a plane parallel to one surface of the unit base 101. The swing shaft 143 is disposed slightly above and behind the fourth roller in the ribbon path guide mechanism 130.

  A first moving roller 144 and a second moving roller 145 are rotatably attached to both ends of the tension adjusting arm 141. The first moving roller 144 positioned on the front side is set to be positioned below the second roller 132 in the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130. The second moving roller 145 located on the rear side is set to be located slightly forward on the upper side of the fifth roller 135.

  In addition, a cam portion 141 </ b> C as an engagement portion chamfered in an arc shape with a predetermined radius is formed at the upper corner portion of the front end portion of the tension adjustment arm 141. The cam portion 141C is for operating the brake mechanism 150, as will be described in detail later.

  The tension adjustment spring 142 is stretched between a rear side of the swing shaft 143 of the tension adjustment arm 141 and a portion of the unit base 101 above the tension adjustment arm 141. The tension adjustment spring 142 swings the tension adjustment arm 141 counterclockwise around the swing shaft 143 of the tension adjustment arm 141 by its elastic return force.

In the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 and the tension adjusting mechanism 140 configured as described above, the ink ribbon 3 from the feeding mechanism 110 to the take-up mechanism 120 is wound in a meandering manner as described below. .
An ink ribbon roll 112 is mounted on the original side ribbon holder 111 of the feeding mechanism 110 so that the ink ribbon roll 112 rotates clockwise and the ink ribbon 3 is fed rearward and downward.

  The ink ribbon 3 fed out from the ink ribbon roll 112 provided in the feeding mechanism 110 is wound as follows. Specifically, the path of the ink ribbon 3 is defined on the rear side of the first roller 131 and the second roller 132, the lower side of the first moving roller 144 in the tension adjusting mechanism 140 is wound from the front side, and the third The upper side of the roller 133 is wound from the front side, the lower side of the fourth roller 134 is wound from the front side, and obliquely upward to the rear side, and the upper side of the second moving roller 145 in the tension adjusting mechanism 140 is wound from the front side. The lower side of the fifth roller 135 is wound from the front side, the sixth roller 136 is wound from the lower side to the rear side, and the thermal head 161 in the head unit 160 (described later) disposed at the lower rear side of the unit base 101. The winding roll 125 is attached to the winding-side ribbon holder 121 by winding the upper side of the seventh roller 137 from the rear side. It is wound around so throughout.

  The ink ribbon 3 is wound around the take-up roll 125 when the take-up roll 125 provided in the take-up mechanism 120 rotates clockwise.

  In the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 by the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 and the tension adjusting mechanism 140 as described above, the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 by the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 is detoured by the tension adjusting mechanism 140 (in the increasing direction). ) Is bent. In other words, the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 between the second roller 132 and the third roller 133 of the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 is largely bent downward (first) by the first moving roller 144 of the tension adjusting mechanism 140. Bending portion V1).

  Further, the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 between the fourth roller 134 and the fifth roller 135 of the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 is largely bent upward (second bent) by the second moving roller 145 of the tension adjusting mechanism 140. Part V2).

In such a winding path configuration of the ink ribbon 3, the length of the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 varies depending on the positions of the first moving roller 144 and the second moving roller 145 of the tension adjusting mechanism 140.
The positions of the first moving roller 144 and the second moving roller 145 change as the tension adjusting arm 141 in the tension adjusting mechanism 140 swings about the swing shaft 143. That is, when the tension adjusting arm 141 is swung clockwise, the amount of bending of the first bent portion V1 and the second bent portion V2 is reduced, and the length of the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 is shortened.
On the contrary, when the tension adjusting arm 141 swings counterclockwise, the amount of bending of the first bent portion V1 and the second bent portion V2 increases, and the winding path length of the ink ribbon 3 increases.

Here, the tension adjusting arm 141 in the tension adjusting mechanism 140 is urged counterclockwise by the tension adjusting spring 142 as described above.
Thereby, for example, when the ink ribbon 3 hung on the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 is loosened (the length of the hung path of the ink ribbon 3 becomes longer), the tension adjustment arm 141 is moved to the left by the urging force of the tension adjustment spring 142. It swings in the turning direction, acts to absorb the slack and apply a predetermined tension to the ink ribbon 3.

  That is, for example, if the ink ribbon 3 becomes slack due to the reverse rotation of the winding mechanism 120, the tension adjustment mechanism 140 pulls the ink ribbon 3 back from the downstream side in the feeding direction (winding mechanism 120 side). Absorbs slack.

  On the other hand, when the ink ribbon 3 wound around the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 is pulled toward the take-up mechanism 120 and the tension of the ink ribbon 3 increases, the ink ribbon 3 causes the tension adjustment arm 141 to move the tension adjustment spring 142. It is swung clockwise against the urging force. As a result, the path length of the ink ribbon 3 is shortened, and excessive tension is prevented from acting on the ink ribbon 3. That is, the tension adjusting mechanism 140 always keeps the ink ribbon 3 in a state where a predetermined tension is applied, and acts so that the ink ribbon 3 extending from the feeding mechanism 110 to the winding mechanism 120 does not become slack.

  Further, when the tension adjusting arm 141 is swung clockwise by a predetermined angle or more (the length of the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 is the shortest), the cam portion 141C at the front end of the tension adjusting arm 141 is a brake mechanism 150 (described later). The cam follower 155 as an engaging portion provided at the lower end of the brake arm 151 is pressed to swing the brake arm 151. That is, the tension adjustment arm 141 also serves as a part of the brake mechanism 150. This will be described in detail later.

The brake mechanism 150 includes a brake arm 151 and a brake spring 152 that biases the brake arm 151.
The brake arm 151 has a plate shape with a predetermined thickness, and is formed with a predetermined width and a predetermined length. The brake arm 151 is pivotally supported on the unit base 101 by a swing shaft 153 serving as a second rotation shaft at substantially the center in the longitudinal direction. The brake arm 151 is provided with the longitudinal direction as the vertical direction. The brake arm 151 is configured to be swingable around a swing shaft 153 in a plane parallel to one surface of the unit base 101.

  The upper end portion of the brake arm 151 is located obliquely below the rear side of the original fabric side ribbon holder 111 in the feeding mechanism 110. The upper end portion of the brake arm 151 is formed obliquely so as to face the original fabric side ribbon holder 111 in the feeding mechanism 110. Here, a brake pad 154 is mounted as a plate-shaped raw fabric stopper portion formed of a material having a large friction coefficient and high wear resistance.

  The lower end of the brake arm 151 is positioned above the front end of the tension adjusting arm 141 in the tension adjusting mechanism 140. A cam follower 155 having a predetermined shape is provided at the lower end of the brake arm 151.

  The brake spring 152 is disposed between the upper part of the brake arm 151 above the pivotal support part of the swing shaft 153 and the support block 105 fixed to the part of the unit base 101 on the rear side. As a result, the brake spring 152 biases the brake arm 151 counterclockwise by its elastic return force.

  The swing of the brake arm 151 due to the urging of the brake spring 152 is restricted by the brake pad 154 provided at the upper end pressing the peripheral surface of the base disc 111A of the raw fabric side ribbon holder 111 in the feeding mechanism 110. Is done. As a result, the brake pad 154 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the base disc 111A of the original ribbon holder 111 by the urging force of the brake spring 152, and the rotation of the original ribbon holder 111 is restricted (the original ribbon holder). 111).

  The brake mechanism 150 configured as described above restricts the rotation of the original ribbon holder 111 by the urging force of the brake spring 152 in the state where no external force acts on the brake arm 151 as described above. When the brake arm 151 is swung clockwise against the urging force of the brake spring 152, the contact between the brake pad 154 and the peripheral surface of the base disc 111A is released, and the original fabric side ribbon is released. The rotation restriction of the holder 111 is released (brake release).

  Here, the brake release operation with respect to the brake mechanism 150 acting as a brake when no external force is applied to the brake arm 151 is performed by the tension adjustment arm 141 in the tension adjustment mechanism 140.

  That is, as described above, the tension adjusting arm 141 of the tension adjusting mechanism 140 causes the ink ribbon 3 that is wound around the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 to be pulled toward the take-up mechanism 120 and the tension of the ink ribbon 3 increases. The ink ribbon 3 is swung clockwise. When the swing angle of the tension adjusting arm 141 reaches a predetermined angle or more (the length of the winding path becomes the shortest), the cam portion 141C formed at the front end of the tension adjusting arm 141 causes the cam follower of the brake arm 151 in the brake mechanism 150 to move. 155, the brake arm 151 is swung clockwise.

  With the configuration of the tension adjusting mechanism 140 and the brake mechanism 150 as described above, the ink ribbon 3 is moved toward the take-up mechanism 120 in a state where the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 from the feeding mechanism 110 is restricted by the brake operation of the brake mechanism 150. When pulled, the tension adjusting arm 141 is swung clockwise by the ink ribbon 3, and the brake releasing operation is performed by the swinging tension adjusting arm 141. That is, when the ink ribbon 3 is pulled toward the take-up mechanism 120 and is wound around, the brake release operation is performed.

  The head unit 160 includes a thermal head 161, a holder 162 that supports the thermal head 161, and a head spring 163 that serves as an elastic support unit that connects the thermal head 161 and the holder 162. The head unit 160 is disposed at the lower part on the rear side of the unit base 101.

  Although not shown in detail in the thermal head 161, a large number of heating elements are arranged in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface shown in FIG. 5) in the printing portion 161A at the tip corner portion. Each heating element generates heat by selective energization under the control of a control device (not shown), whereby the ink on the ink ribbon 3 that has contacted the printing unit 161A is dissolved or sublimated, and the substrate to be pressed against the ink ribbon 3 is printed. 2 is printed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the printing portion 161A is formed at a substantially right angle when viewed from the side surface side. The thermal head 161 is provided such that the printing unit 161A protrudes rearward with respect to the movement path (printing path PR) of the substrate 2.
The holder 162 supports the thermal head 161 via the head spring 163 and is fixed to the unit base 101.

  The head spring 163 is disposed so that the central axis is substantially horizontal. Thereby, for example, when the thermal head 161 is pressed from the rear side toward the front side, the head spring 163 is elastically deformed, so that the head spring 163 allows the thermal head 161 to move forward. At the same time, the head spring 163 biases the thermal head 161 toward the rear side by the elastic return force of the head spring 163.

  The control box 170 houses therein a control board and the like constituting a unit control device (not shown) that controls the head unit 160 to perform printing. The unit controller is controlled by the overall controller described above.

  Next, the operation of the multiple thermal printer 1 and the print unit 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 in addition to FIGS. 3 to 5 described above.

  FIG. 6 is a side view of the print unit 100 during printing. FIG. 7 is a side view of the print unit 100 in a state in which the take-up ribbon holder 121 in the take-up mechanism 120 rotates reversely and the ink ribbon 3 is returned to the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 side. FIG. 8 is a side view of the print unit 100 in a state where the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 is started in the contact period.

The print unit 100 configured as described above is detachably attached to the unit support portion 20 as described above. Specifically, when the print unit 100 is mounted on the unit support portion 20 (see FIG. 3), the lower guide rod 102 and the upper guide rod 103 provided on the upper and lower sides of the unit base 101 are respectively connected to the lower guide rail 22. And the upper guide rail 24 is inserted and pushed in the extending direction.
The print unit 100 is fixed to the unit support 20 so as not to drop off by a lock pin 25 provided in the lower guide rail (see FIG. 4).

  When the print unit 100 is normally mounted on the unit support unit 20, the mounting detection switch 104 provided in the print unit 100 is operated by the upper support bar 23 of the frame 10, and detection information is transmitted to the overall control device. Based on the detection information from the mounting detection switch 104, mounting of each print unit 100 is recognized by the overall control device, and the recognized print unit 100 can be activated.

  When the print unit 100 is mounted on the unit support portion 20 of the frame 10 in this way, the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding roll 125 mounted on the winding side ribbon holder 121 is ribbon driven. The outer peripheral surface of the roller 31 is pressed.

  The tension adjusting arm 141 does not swing the brake arm 151, and the brake mechanism 150 acts on the tension adjusting arm 141. That is, the tension adjusting arm 141 is in a substantially horizontal posture, and the cam portion 141C at the front end thereof is separated from the cam follower 155 at the lower end of the brake arm 151 in the brake mechanism 150. The brake mechanism 150 restricts the rotation of the original ribbon holder 111 in the feeding mechanism 110 (the brake is applied to the original ribbon holder 111) (hereinafter, the state of the print unit 100 is referred to as “standby state”). .

  The print unit 100 feeds and drives the ink ribbon 3 at a speed synchronized with the moving speed of the substrate 2 by the ribbon driving mechanism 30 during the pressing state due to the movement of the platen roller 41.

  When feeding the ink ribbon 3, the ribbon drive roller 31 is rotated counterclockwise. Thereby, the winding roll 125 mounted on the winding side ribbon holder 121 whose peripheral surface is pressed against the ribbon drive roller 31 is rotated clockwise. As a result, the ink ribbon 3 is taken up on the take-up roll 125.

  At this time, the ink ribbon 3 wound around the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 is pulled toward the winding mechanism 120 side. As a result, the tension adjustment arm 141 swings clockwise, and the length of the path around which the ink ribbon 3 is wound is shortened. When the swing angle of the tension adjusting arm 141 becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined angle (the length of the winding path of the ink ribbon 3 becomes the shortest), the tension adjusting arm 141 operates the brake mechanism 150 as described above. Then, the brake action on the feeding mechanism 110 is released.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the braking action on the feeding mechanism 110 by the brake mechanism 150 is released, the raw fabric side ribbon holder 111 of the feeding mechanism 110 can be rotated. As a result, the ink ribbon 3 can be fed out from the ink ribbon roll 112 mounted on the original fabric side ribbon holder 111.

  The ink ribbon 3 fed out from the ink ribbon roll 112 is guided by the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 and the tension adjusting mechanism 140, and taken up by the take-up roll 125 mounted on the take-up side ribbon holder 121 in the take-up mechanism 120. . As a result, the ink ribbon 3 is fed between the printing unit 161A of the thermal head 161 in the head unit 160 and the printed material 2 on the printing path PR at a speed synchronized with the moving speed of the printed material 2.

  The pressing state is configured by the movement of the platen roller 41. Here, while the platen roller 41 is in contact with the substrate 2, the platen roller 41 rotates according to the moving speed of the substrate 2. Furthermore, printing is performed on the substrate 2 by the action of the thermal head 161. In the winding side ribbon holder 121 and the original side ribbon holder 111, the rotation in the direction in which the ink ribbon 3 is fed and driven is referred to as “forward rotation”, and the reverse rotation is referred to as “reverse rotation”.

  When the platen roller 41 moves rearward and printing is completed, the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 by the ribbon drive mechanism 30 (ribbon drive roller 31) is stopped. Even in this state, the movement of the substrate 2 is continued, but as shown in FIG. 7, the ink ribbon 3 and the substrate 2 are not in contact with each other, and the substrate 2 is rubbed against the ink ribbon 3. Never happen. Thereafter, the ribbon drive roller 31 is driven to rotate clockwise by the ribbon drive motor 32, and the winding side ribbon holder 121 is driven to rotate in a reverse direction by a predetermined amount.

  When the take-up side ribbon holder 121 is rotated in the reverse direction, the ink ribbon 3 once taken up by the take-up roll 125 is fed out to the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 side. As a result, the length of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 and the tension adjusting mechanism 140 in the path becomes longer. For this reason, the tension acting on the ink ribbon 3 decreases, and the tension adjusting mechanism 140 acts. That is, the tension adjusting arm 141 in the tension adjusting mechanism 140 swings counterclockwise, absorbs the slack of the ink ribbon 3, and applies a predetermined tension to the ink ribbon 3.

  As a result, the portion of the ink ribbon 3 that has passed through the head unit 160 and moved to the ribbon drive mechanism 30 (ribbon drive roller 31) side returns to the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 side. That is, the ink ribbon 3 once moved to the winding mechanism 120 side is pulled back to the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 side by a predetermined length. Further, the swinging operation of the brake arm 151 by the tension adjusting arm 141 is released, and the brake mechanism 150 acts. That is, the brake mechanism 150 restricts the rotation of the raw fabric side ribbon holder 111 in the feeding mechanism 110.

  As described above, after the printing is completed, the ink ribbon 3 once moved to the feeding mechanism 110 side is returned to the ribbon path guide mechanism 130 by a predetermined length, so that the ink ribbon 3 can be effectively used without waste. That is, by returning the ink ribbon 3 that has been fed to the winding mechanism 120 to an amount greater than that required for printing by feeding the ink ribbon 3 that is performed longer than the pressed state, the ink ribbon 3 is returned to a position corresponding to the head unit 160. Waste of the ribbon 3 can be suppressed.

  Further, according to this configuration, the ink ribbon 3 is rewound by the swing of the tension adjustment arm 141 in the tension adjustment mechanism 140. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a drive mechanism (such as a motor) that reversely drives the feeding mechanism 110 in order to rewind the ink ribbon 3, and the control thereof is also unnecessary. As a result, the configuration of the print unit 100 can be simplified, downsized, and cost can be reduced. Furthermore, since the size in the width direction of the print unit 100 can be reduced, the degree of freedom in setting the interval in the width direction of printing can be improved.

  After the take-up side ribbon holder 121 of the take-up mechanism 120 is reversely driven by a predetermined amount, the reverse side drive of the take-up side ribbon holder 121 is stopped and returns to the standby state. When the eccentric support shaft 41E rotates from this standby state, the platen roller 41 moves in the front-rear direction, and the pressing state starts intermittently. When the pressing state is started intermittently, the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 is started again in synchronization with this.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 is started in synchronization with the start of the pressing state, the braking action on the feeding mechanism 110 is released.
Then, printing is performed on the substrate 2 and thereafter the printing is repeated with a non-pressing period interposed therebetween.

According to the multiple thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, the following effects are achieved.
For example, the multiple thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment performs printing by moving the platen roller 41 having a length over the entire width direction of the unit support portion 20 in the front-rear direction by the eccentric support shaft 41E. As a result, it is possible to simultaneously print on the plurality of print units 100 mounted in parallel in the width direction of the unit support portion 20 by the single platen roller 41.

Further, since the platen roller 41 is configured to approach and separate from the head unit 160 (printing unit 161A), a mechanism for moving the head unit 160 (printing unit 161A) to the platen roller 41 side becomes unnecessary. As a result, a drive source such as a motor for moving the head unit 160 to each print unit 100 becomes unnecessary, and for example, the configuration of the print unit 100 can be simplified, the size in the width direction can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.
In addition, since the size in the width direction of the print unit 100 can be reduced, for example, the degree of freedom in setting the interval in the width direction of printing can be improved.

  Further, the platen roller 41 includes an eccentric support shaft 41E capable of eccentric rotation, and approaches and separates from the thermal head 161 by the rotation of the eccentric support shaft 41E. Thereby, the platen roller 41 can be moved close to and away from the thermal head 161 with a simple configuration.

  For example, the multiple thermal printer 1 according to this embodiment includes a head spring 163 that connects the thermal head 161 and the holder 162. The head spring 163 is disposed so that the central axis is substantially horizontal. Further, when the thermal head 161 is pressed from the rear side toward the front side, the head spring 163 allows the thermal head 161 to move forward due to elastic deformation of the head spring 163, and the head spring 163. The thermal head 161 is urged toward the rear side by the elastic restoring force.

  Thereby, the platen roller 41 can be uniformly brought into contact with the plurality of thermal heads 161. For example, even when a slight deviation occurs in the position of the thermal head 161, the positional deviation of the thermal head 161 is buffered by the head spring 163, so that appropriate pressing by the platen roller 41 is applied to each of the thermal heads 161. It becomes possible to give.

  Further, the feeding of the ink ribbon 3 is performed by winding the ink ribbon 3 on a winding roll 125 mounted on the winding side ribbon holder 121 in the winding mechanism 120. The rotation driving of the winding side ribbon holder 121 of each print unit 100 is performed by a ribbon driving roller 31 that is in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding roll 125.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the ink ribbon 3 is fed and moved at the peripheral speed of the ribbon driving roller 31 regardless of the amount (winding diameter) of the ink ribbon 3 wound around the winding roll 125. be able to. That is, even when the ink ribbon 3 is hardly wound on the winding roll 125 (FIG. 9), or even when the ink ribbon 3 is wound on the winding roll 125 in a large amount (FIG. 10). By controlling the peripheral speed of the ribbon drive roller 31, it is possible to control the feed speed and feed amount of the ink ribbon 3 in each print unit 100 to be the same.

  In other words, the take-up ribbon holder 121 is directly rotated by a motor or the like, and the feed speed and feed amount of the ink ribbon 3 to be taken up are controlled to be constant by controlling the rotation speed. The rotational speed of the take-up side ribbon holder 121 must be changed in accordance with the take-up amount (winding diameter) of the ink ribbon 3. For this reason, a complicated control configuration is required, leading to an increase in cost. On the other hand, according to this configuration, the ink ribbon 3 is wound around the winding roll 125 regardless of the amount of winding of the ink ribbon 3 (without requiring control of the rotational speed of the winding-side ribbon holder 121). The ink ribbon 3 can be fed and driven at the peripheral speed of the ribbon drive roller 31.

  In the present embodiment, the platen roller 41 is rotationally driven in accordance with the moving speed of the substrate 2 while at least contacting the substrate 2. Therefore, the effects described below are exhibited.

  In a thermal printer, it is necessary to press a thermal head against a print receiving rotating body (platen roller) so as to sandwich an ink ribbon and an object to be printed during printing. At that time, the ink ribbon is moved at the same speed as the substrate. The width of the ink ribbon is the minimum necessary width corresponding to the printing width, and must be set to be always smaller than the width of the thermal head. For this reason, the thermal head directly presses the printed material without passing through the ink ribbon at a portion protruding from the end portion in the width direction of the ink ribbon, resulting in a frictional resistance applied to the movement of the printed material.

  In the case of a single-unit thermal printer, there is no particular problem with respect to the movement of the printed material against the frictional resistance of the thermal head by the moving device of the printed material. On the other hand, in the case of a multiple thermal printer, the thermal resistance of the thermal head applied to the printing material by the thermal head is multiplied by the number of stations when the thermal head is pressed by the number of stations. For this reason, not only a large burden is imposed on the moving device of the printing material, but also it becomes difficult to stably move the printing material due to expansion and contraction of the printing material.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the platen roller 41 as a print receiving rotating body is rotationally driven in accordance with the moving speed of the substrate 2 while at least contacting the substrate 2. Thereby, according to this embodiment, it is possible to remarkably reduce the load on the expansion / contraction of the printing material 2 and the moving device (such as the winding device) of the printing material. Stable movement can be secured.

As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, The technical scope of this invention is not limited to these.
For example, in the present embodiment, the tension adjustment arm 141 having the first moving roller 144 and the second moving roller 145 at both ends is swung, so that the ink ribbon 3 wound around the ribbon path guiding mechanism 130 is swung. Although the length of the path is configured to change, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, there may be at least one moving roller. Further, the number of moving rollers is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more. The moving mode of the moving roller is not limited to the swinging rotating arm, and may be changed as appropriate. For example, the structure which moves using a cylinder etc. may be sufficient.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the platen roller 41 is moved in the front-rear direction by the eccentric support shaft 41E so that the outer peripheral surface intermittently presses the printed material 2 against the thermal head 161. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the platen roller 41 may be configured to move the central axis to press the substrate 2 against the head unit 160. Further, the configuration in which the printing material is pressed against the thermal head is not limited to the roller, and may be an endless track belt or the like.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the take-up ribbon holder 121 is rotated by the rotation of the ribbon drive roller 31 that presses the take-up ribbon holder 121 so that the ink ribbon 3 is taken up by the take-up ribbon holder 121. Although configured, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the winding holder rotating body as the ribbon drive roller 31 is not limited to a roller, and may be an endless track belt or the like.

  In the present embodiment, the take-up ribbon holder 121 is configured to be pressed against the ribbon drive roller 31 by the swinging of the support arm 122. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The moving structure of the winding side ribbon holder 121 may be changed as appropriate. For example, the winding side ribbon holder 121 may be configured to be moved by a cylinder or the like.

  Further, although the present embodiment has been described as printing characters on a substrate, the present invention is not limited to this. The multiple thermal printer 1 may print a pattern other than characters.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Multiple thermal printer 2 Printed material 3 Ink ribbon 20 Unit support part 30 Ribbon drive mechanism 31 Ribbon drive roller (winding holder rotating body)
40 Pressure contact mechanism 41 Platen roller (print receiving rotating body)
41E Eccentric support shaft (Eccentric shaft)
50 Printed object guide mechanism 100 Print unit 101B Winding side ribbon holder stopper (winding stopper part)
110 Feeding mechanism 111 Material side ribbon holder (raw material holder)
120 Winding mechanism 121 Winding side ribbon holder (winding holder)
122 Support arm (biasing arm, take-up holder moving part)
130 Ribbon Path Guide Mechanism 140 Tension Adjustment Mechanism 141 Tension Adjustment Arm (Rotation Arm)
141C Cam part (engagement part)
143 Oscillation axis (first rotation axis)
144 First moving roller (moving roller)
145 Second moving roller (moving roller)
150 Brake mechanism 151 Brake arm 153 Oscillation axis (second rotation axis)
154 Brake pads (raw fabric stopper)
160 Head unit 161 Thermal head 163 Head spring (elastic support part)
PR Print path V1 1st bend V2 2nd bend

Claims (2)

A multiple thermal printer in which a plurality of print units each having a thermal head for printing on a printing material using an ink ribbon are arranged in parallel,
Each of the plurality of print units has a winding holder for winding the ink ribbon,
The multiple thermal printer is
A plurality of the print units are arranged so as to face the ink ribbons wound around the plurality of winding holders, and abut against the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of ink ribbons wound around the plurality of winding holders. A single winding holder rotating body that rotates the plurality of winding holders,
A winding holder moving unit that moves the winding holder so that an outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon wound around the winding holder of the print unit can press the winding holder rotating body; Multiple thermal printer. The winding holder rotating body has a first rotation direction that rotates the winding holder so that the ink ribbon is wound around the winding holder, or a rotation direction that is opposite to the first rotation direction. The ink ribbon can be driven to rotate in a second rotation direction for rotating the take-up holder so that the ink ribbon is drawn out from the take-up holder;
The multiple thermal printer is
When the take-up holder rotating body is driven to rotate in the first rotation direction, the take-up holder is rotated so that the ink ribbon is taken up by the take-up holder at a speed synchronized with the moving speed of the substrate. The multiple thermal printer according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the winding holder rotating body.

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