JP2016032906A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal printer preventing a user from forgetting to close a sensor block opened at the time of changing paper and preventing erroneous movement.SOLUTION: A thermal printer includes: medium supplying means supplying printing media having a label applied on a mount; ink ribbon supplying means supplying ink ribbon; medium conveying means including a platen roller conveying the printing medium; a printer engine set facing the platen roller via the printing medium and the ink ribbon and openable with one-hand support and conveying ink of the ink ribbon to perform printing; a label sensor set between both surface sides of the printing medium and having a light-receiving element and a light-emitting element detecting the border of the label; and a sensor block making one of the label sensor adsorb to the printer engine when releasing the printer engine to separate the light-receiving element and the light-emitting element from each other, and releasing adsorption when closing the printer engine, and supported on the sensing position of the label sensor.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a thermal printer equipped with a thermal head.

  A conventional thermal printer used for barcode printing uses a transmissive sensor for detecting a paper position. The transmission type sensor detects the position of the label paper, and is arranged vertically so as to sandwich the label paper.

  However, when exchanging the label paper, it is necessary to assemble a transmissive sensor and to make the sensor block openable with respect to the label paper conveyance path. There was a problem that a malfunction occurred due to forgetting to close the sensor block.

JP 2003-335016 A

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a thermal printer that can prevent forgetting to close a sensor block that is opened at the time of paper replacement and prevent malfunction.

  A thermal printer according to an embodiment includes a medium supply unit that supplies a print medium having a label attached to a mount, an ink ribbon supply unit that supplies an ink ribbon, and a medium conveyance unit that includes a platen roller that conveys the print medium. A printer engine which is disposed opposite to the platen roller via the print medium and the ink ribbon, and which can be opened and closed by a cantilever support for transferring the ink of the ink ribbon to the print medium and performing printing; and the print medium When the printer engine is opened and the light receiving element and the light emitting element are separated from each other, the label sensor is disposed between both sides of the label and has a light receiving element and a light emitting element for detecting a boundary between the labels. When one of the sensors is attracted to the printer engine and the printer engine is closed, the adsorption is canceled. , And a sensor block is supported to the sensor position of the label sensor.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of a thermal printer. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a thermal printer with a cover opened. FIG. It is a longitudinal block diagram which shows typically the internal structure of a thermal printer. It is a principal part perspective view of a thermal printer. It is a figure which shows the state by which the sensor block was closed. It is a figure which shows the state by which the sensor block was open | released.

  Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 3 schematically show an embodiment of a thermal printer. FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the appearance of a thermal printer. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the printer with the cover opened. FIG. 3 is a vertical configuration diagram schematically showing the internal structure of the thermal printer.

  FIG. 1 shows the appearance of the thermal printer 10. The print medium used in the thermal printer 10 is a label temporarily attached to a roll-type mount. A discharge port 12 through which a printed label is discharged is formed on the front surface of the main body housing 11 of the thermal printer 10. On the left side of the main body housing 11, a control box 15 having an input unit 13 composed of various operation keys, a display 14, and the like on the front is provided. Inside the control box 15, there is provided a control unit that drives and controls each unit included in the thermal printer 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a cover 16 that closes the internal opening of the main body housing 11 is provided above the main body housing 11. The cover 16 is provided so as to be rotatable upward about a hinge 17 provided on the control box 15 side of the upper surface of the main body housing 11.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, inside the main body housing 11 of the printer 10, a label roll paper 19 is rotatably held on a label supply shaft 18 as a printing medium supply unit wound in a roll shape. Yes. The label roll paper 19 is configured by temporarily attaching a peelable label A to a mount 191.

  An ink ribbon 23 is mounted on the ribbon supply shaft 21 and the ribbon take-up shaft 22. The ink ribbon 23 in FIG. 2 is not shown. The ribbon supply shaft 21 is driven by a supply motor 25 via a belt 24. The ribbon take-up shaft 22 is driven by a take-up motor 27 via a belt 26.

  The take-up motor 27 can take up the ink ribbon 23 conveyed in the forward direction by driving the ribbon take-up shaft 22. The supply motor 25 can rewind the ink ribbon 23 in the reverse direction by driving the ribbon supply shaft 21. The “forward direction” refers to the direction in which the label roll paper 19 is conveyed by the platen roller 35, that is, the direction from the upstream side in the conveyance direction (right side in FIG. 3) toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction (left side in FIG. 3). Shall.

  Further, a pinch roller block 50, a head block 60, and a paper conveyance path 70 are accommodated in the main body housing 11 of the printer 10. The pinch roller block 50 and the head block 60 constitute a printer engine 100. The pinch roller block 50 is cantilevered by the rotating shaft 501 (see FIG. 5B), and the head block 60 is cantilevered by the rotating shaft 501. The free end of the cantilever head block 60 is fixed to the main body housing 11 by a holding side plate 8 that is provided in the main body housing 11 and can be opened and closed by a hinge 81 in the operating position. The pinch roller block 50 and the head block 60 in FIG. 2 are in a released state.

  A label sensor 30 is installed in the vicinity of the guide pole 31 of the head block 60. The label sensor 30 detects the boundary of the label A attached to the mount 191 and supplies it to a control unit (not shown) that controls the conveyance of the label roll paper 19 described later. As the label sensor 30, for example, a transmission type line sensor in which a light emitting element such as an LED and a light receiving element such as a phototransistor are combined is used. The label sensor 30 is cantilevered by a rotating shaft. The label sensor 30 is rotated about a rotation axis different from that of the pinch roller block 50 and the head block 60. The label sensor 30 will be described later.

  Further, a peeling sensor 29 is installed in the vicinity of the discharge port 12. The separation sensor 29 monitors whether the label A and the mount 191 are separated (peeled) after printing, and is in a state of waiting for peeling with the label A attached to the mount 191. The detection result of the peeling sensor 29 is supplied to a control unit (not shown). As the peeling sensor 29, a reflective or transmissive line sensor in which a light emitting element such as an LED and a light receiving element such as a phototransistor are combined can be used. The peeling sensor 29 detects that there is a label when there is a label A and there is no light transmission or there is little. Further, when the label A is peeled off from the mount 191 and the amount of transmitted light increases, it is detected that the label A has been peeled off.

  In order to define the transport path of the ink ribbon 23, guide poles 31 and 32 are provided. In order to detect a used portion of the ink ribbon 23, a ribbon monitoring sensor 33 is installed in the transport path of the ink ribbon 23. As the ribbon monitoring sensor 33, for example, a reflective or transmissive line sensor in which a light emitting element such as an LED and a light receiving element such as a phototransistor are combined can be used. The ribbon monitoring sensor 33 can detect the entire width direction of the ink ribbon 23. The ribbon monitoring sensor 33 can detect the ribbon end of the ink ribbon 23 by sensing the light reflectance or light transmittance of the ink ribbon 23. The ribbon monitoring sensor 33 is disposed on the upstream side of the thermal head 34.

  Here, the label supply shaft 18 corresponds to a label supply means for supplying the label A. The ribbon supply shaft 21, ribbon take-up shaft 22, belts 24 and 26, supply motor 25 and take-up motor 27 correspond to ink ribbon supply means for supplying the ink ribbon 23. Further, a pinch roller 9, a platen roller 35, a belt 36 and a stepping motor 37 as a line feed motor are provided as conveying means for conveying the label roll paper 19.

  The thermal head 34 has a set of fine heating elements that generate heat when an electric current is passed, and is disposed to face the platen roller 35 with the label roll paper 19 and the ink ribbon 23 interposed therebetween. Printing is performed by applying a voltage to these heating elements to cause the heating elements to generate heat by passing a current and transferring the ink on the ink ribbon 23 to the label A.

  The head pressing mechanism 38 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 381. The thermal head 34 is also rotatably supported on the support shaft 381. A spring 382 is attached between the head pressing mechanism 38 and the thermal head 34 separated from the support shaft 381. The head pressing mechanism 38 is configured to raise the thermal head 34 against the spring force of the spring 382 by the movable portion of the solenoid 39. The solenoid 39 lands the thermal head 34 on the ink ribbon 23 when the movable portion extends, and lifts the thermal head 34 away from the ink ribbon 23 when pulled.

  Here, the head pressing mechanism 38 uses a solenoid 39 and a spring 382 to raise and lower the thermal head 34. The head pressing mechanism 38 may have a head pressing function that separates the thermal head from the platen roller using an electric actuator as shown in, for example, JP-A-2012-51204.

  The guide poles 31 and 32 and the ribbon monitoring sensor 33 may be driven up and down in conjunction with the vertical drive of the thermal head 34 by the head pressing mechanism 38 or other mechanisms, or may be positioned relative to the main body housing 11. May be fixed.

  When printing on the label A, the thermal head 34 is pressed against the platen roller 35 while the label roll paper 19 and the ink ribbon 23 are interposed between the thermal head 34 and the platen roller 35. Then, the stepping motor 37 is driven to rotate the platen roller 35 via the belt 36. The label roll paper 19 and the ink ribbon 23 are intermittently transported from the upstream side in the transport direction to the downstream side in the transport direction.

  The conveyance of the label roll paper 19 and the ink ribbon 23 is controlled based on the detection result of the label sensor 30. At this time, the take-up motor 27 drives the ribbon take-up shaft 22 to take up the ink ribbon 23. At the same time, the supply motor 25 drives the ribbon supply shaft 21 to apply a back tension to the ink ribbon 23.

  In this way, a print signal is supplied to the thermal head 34 while intermittently transporting the label roll paper 19 and the ink ribbon 23, the heating element of the thermal head 34 generates heat, and printing is performed on the label A. The printed label A is discharged from the discharge port 12 to the outside. The discharged label A is separated by cutting the label A and the mount 191 with a cutter (not shown).

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure of the sensor block 40 and the label sensor 30. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a state where the sensor block 40 is closed and the sensor block 40 is in the sensor position. FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating the state of the sensor block 40 in the open position.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the label sensor 30 is attached to a cantilever sensor block 40 that is pivotally supported about a support shaft 41. The label sensor 30 is a transmissive type, and includes a light emitting element 30a and a light receiving element 30b. The light emitting element 30a and the light receiving element 30b are attached in a positional relationship in which they face each other in the proximity of each other. The light emitting element 30 a is attached to the sensor block 40, and the light receiving element 30 b is attached to face the paper conveyance path 70. Note that the attachment relationship between the light emitting element 30a and the light receiving element 30b may be reversed.

  The support shaft 41 of the sensor block 40 is located on one side in the width direction of the paper A so that the light emitting element 30a and the light receiving element 30b are close to and away from each other, and is released after the pinch roller block 50 and the head block 60 are released. An adsorptive metal plate 42 is attached to the sensor block 40 on the opposite end side to which the light emitting element 30a is attached. When the sensor block 40 itself is adsorptive, the metal plate 42 is not necessary. A magnet 43 is attached to the pinch roller block 50. The metal plate 42 and the magnet 43 are attracted when the sensor block 40 is released, and are not attracted when the sensor block 40 is closed.

  That is, the metal plate 42 of the sensor block 40 is attracted to the magnet 43 with the pinch roller block 50 released as shown in FIG. 5A, and is not attracted when closed as shown in FIG. 5B. Become. The sensor block 40 is in a state of being attracted to the magnet 43 of the pinch roller block 50. When the pinch roller block 50 is closed, the metal plate 42 of the sensor block 40 has a positional relationship in which the magnetic force of the magnet 43 is weakened. The sensor block 40 is separated from the magnet 43 and is rotated and closed about the support shaft 41 by its own weight.

  The closed sensor block 40 can hold the closed state by attracting the magnet 43 to a metal plate that is attracted to the magnet provided in the paper conveyance path 70. The sensor block 40 is designed to fit in a desired position by a positioning guide (not shown) during the closing process.

  As described above, when the pinch roller block 50 is closed from the release position to the printing position after the metal plate 42 and the magnet 43 are attracted, the sensor block 40 is surely positioned at the sensor position. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a printing mistake due to forgetting to attach the label sensor 30.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the magnet 43 is attached to the pinch roller block 50, but may be attached to the head block 60. Also in this case, the label sensor 30 can be reliably positioned at the sensor position based on the operation of closing the head block 60 from the release position to the print position.

  Alternatively, a magnet may be attached to the sensor block 40 so that the magnet is attracted to some members in the main body such as a chassis. In this case, the rotation shaft 41 of the sensor block 40 is shifted from the rotation shaft 501 of the pinch roller block 50 (the rotation shaft 601 of the head block 60). Based on the movement of closing the pinch roller block 50 (or the head block 60) to the printing position, the sensor block 40 is released from being attracted and rotated around the support shaft 41 by its own weight. Also in this case, according to the operation of closing the pinch roller block 50 or the head block 60 to the printing position, the label sensor 30 can be reliably positioned at the sensor position, which contributes to the reduction of printing errors.

  Although several embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, combinations, and changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Thermal printer 40 Sensor block 50 Pinch roller block 60 Head block 70 Paper conveyance path 100 Printer engine 18 Label supply shaft 19 Label roll paper 191 Mount paper 21 Ribbon supply shaft 22 Ribbon take-up shaft 23 Ink ribbon 24, 26, 36 Belt 25 Supply Motor 27 Winding motor 34 Thermal head 35 Platen roller 37 Stepping motor 38 Head pressing mechanism 382 Spring 39 Solenoid 9 Pinch roller A Label

Claims (5)

Medium supply means for supplying a print medium having a label affixed to the mount;
An ink ribbon supply means for supplying an ink ribbon;
Medium conveying means including a platen roller for conveying the print medium;
A printer engine which is disposed to face the platen roller via the print medium and the ink ribbon, and which can be opened and closed by cantilever support for transferring the ink on the ink ribbon to the print medium and performing printing;
A label sensor having a light receiving element and a light emitting element that are disposed between both sides of the print medium and detect a boundary of the label;
When the printer engine is opened and the light receiving element and the light emitting element are separated from each other, one of the label sensors is adsorbed to the printer engine, and when the printer engine is closed, the adsorption is released, and the label sensor A sensor block supported at the sensor position of
Thermal printer equipped with.   The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the sensor block is disposed at a sensor position by its own weight when the adsorption with the printer engine is released.   The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein a magnet is used for adsorption between the sensor block and the printer engine. The printer engine has a pinch roller block that conveys the printing medium to a printing position and a head block that prints on the printing medium,
4. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the sensor block can be adsorbed to the head block. 5. The printer engine has a pinch roller block that conveys the printing medium to a printing position and a head block that prints on the printing medium,
4. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the sensor block can be attracted to the pinch roller block. 5.

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