JP2019064278A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To prevent reduction in the printing quality of a printer.SOLUTION: A printer 1 comprises: a medium supply part (10) which supplies a printing medium (P); a print part (11) which prints prescribed information on the printing medium (P); a transport part (23) which transports the printing medium (P) supplied from the medium supply part (10) to the print part (11) in a transport direction being either one of the first direction heading from the medium supply part (10) to the print part (11) and the second direction heading from the print part (11) to the medium supply part (10) on a reference surface (RS); a recessed part (30) which is provided with the reference surface (RS) as a reference; and a movement regulation part (G) which includes a guide piece (27) and regulates the movement of the printing medium (P) in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the printing medium (P) by storing at least a portion of the guide piece (27) in the recessed part (30) and bringing the side edge of the printing medium (P) into contact with the guide piece (27).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly, to a printer having a label printing function for printing desired information such as characters, symbols, figures or barcodes on a printing medium such as a label.

  The “label printer” is, for example, a printer having a label printing function for printing desired information on a label temporarily attached to a roll of continuous paper.

  A general label printer comprises a sheet supply unit for feeding a roll of continuous paper into a sheet, a thermal head for printing information based on data generated by a computer or the like, a platen roller for conveying the continuous sheet, A damper for urging the continuous paper and a width adjustment guide for guiding the continuous paper in contact with side edges in the width direction of the continuous paper are provided.

  Below the width adjustment guide, the bottom surface in the case of the label printer is formed flat. The lower end of the width adjustment guide terminates at a position not in contact with the bottom in the housing.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing the occurrence of a paper jam resulting from the winding of a sheet in a sheet conveyance mechanism.

Japanese Utility Model Application Publication 63-88651

By the way, the operation of the printer includes forward feed and back feed.
Forward feed is an operation when printing information on a label. In the forward feed, the continuous sheet is conveyed in the direction from the sheet supply unit to the thermal head. In the forward feed, the biasing force of the damper and the tension of the continuous paper are in balance.
The back feed is an operation for rewinding the continuous paper to print information on the label next to the label after printing and cutting information on the label on the continuous paper. In the back feed, the continuous sheet is conveyed in the direction from the thermal head to the sheet supply unit.

In this back feed, the sheet feeding unit does not rotate, and the platen roller rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction in the forward feed, and the conveyed continuous sheet is bent. When the conveyed continuous paper is bent, the tension of the continuous paper is lost, so the damper can not bias the continuous paper and the continuous paper is separated from the width adjustment guide (that is, the width adjustment guide is continuous paper) It will be in the state which will not contact | abut to the side edge of P). As a result, the continuous paper may deviate from the range guided by the width adjustment guide (hereinafter referred to as “guide range”).
If the forward feed is performed with the continuous paper being out of the guide range, the print quality may be degraded such as the print position being deviated from the planned position.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a printer capable of preventing deterioration in print quality caused by bending of continuous paper in a back feed process.

The first aspect of the present invention is
A media supply unit for supplying a print medium;
A printing unit that prints predetermined information on the printing medium;
The printing medium is conveyed along a conveyance direction which is either a first direction from the medium supply unit to the printing unit or a second direction from the printing unit to the medium supply unit on a reference surface. The transport unit
A recess provided on the basis of the reference surface;
A print medium in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the print medium by including a guide piece, accommodating at least a part of the guide piece in the recess, and bringing the side edge of the print medium into contact with the guide piece. Movement regulation department that regulates the movement of
Equipped with
The side edge of the guide piece on the printing unit side is provided closer to the inner wall surface on the printing unit side than the inner wall surface on the medium supply unit side of the recess.
It is a printer.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect,
A side edge of the guide piece on the printing portion side is in contact with an inner wall surface of the concave portion on the printing portion side.
It is a printer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the printing quality caused by the bending of the continuous paper in the back feed process.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an appearance of a printer of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the printer of FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the side of the printer of FIG. 2; The enlarged perspective view which looked at the printing part of FIG. 3 from the front side. FIG. 5 is a side view of the printing unit of FIG. 4; The perspective view which looked at the printing part of Drawing 4 from the back side. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the printing part at the time of the closed state of the print head of FIG. 4 from the front. (B) is the perspective view which looked at the printing part at the time of the open state of the print head of FIG. 4 from the front. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the print head of FIG. 4 as viewed from below; FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the printing unit of FIG. 4; The principal part enlarged side view of the damper of FIG. The principal part enlarged side view of the damper of FIG. 10 in a printing process. The principal part perspective view of the damper of FIG. The damper which looked at the printing part of FIG. 4 from the back side, and the principal part perspective view of the periphery of it. (A) And (b) is a principal part enlarged view which respectively shows an example of the positional relationship of the width adjustment guide of FIG. 10, and a recessed part. (A) And (b) is a principal part enlarged view which respectively shows an example of the positional relationship of the width adjustment guide of FIG. 10, and a recessed part. The principal part enlarged view which shows an example of the positional relationship of the width adjustment guide of FIG. 10, and a recessed part. (A) is a principal part enlarged side view of a damper of a printer of a comparative example in a backfeed process. (B) is the top view which looked at the damper of (a) from upper direction. The principal part enlarged side view of the damper of the printer of this embodiment in a back feed process. (A) is a principal part enlarged side view of the damper of modification 1 of this embodiment. (B) is a principal part side view of the damper of (a) in a backfeed process. (A) is a principal part enlarged side view of the width adjustment guide of the printer of modification 2 of this embodiment, and the bottom of a case. (B) is a principal part enlarged front view which looked at the width adjustment guide of a printer of (a), and the bottom of a case from the front side.

  Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. Note that, in the drawings, the same components will be denoted by the same reference symbols in principle, and repeated descriptions of the same content will be omitted.

  Hereinafter, the direction (first direction) from the paper supply unit to the printing unit or the direction (second direction) from the printing unit to the paper supply unit will be referred to as a “conveying direction”. Further, unless otherwise described, the sheet supply unit side is referred to as "upstream side", and the print unit side is referred to as "downstream side".

(1-1) Appearance of the printer (Fig. 1)
The appearance of the printer according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing the appearance of the printer of this embodiment.

  The printer 1 according to the present embodiment is, for example, a label printing that prints desired information (for example, characters, symbols, figures, barcodes, or a combination thereof) on a label temporarily attached to a backing sheet that constitutes continuous paper. It is a label printer having a function.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a front cover 2 is provided on the front of the printer 1. The front cover 2 is provided with an operation panel 3, a power switch 4, and an issue port (medium discharge unit) 5.

  The operation panel 3 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying messages and the like, and a plurality of keys (for example, line keys, feed keys, function keys, direction indication keys, etc.) operated by the user when giving an instruction to the printer 1. A cancel key or the like) and a plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) that emit light according to the state of the printer 1 are provided.

  An open cover 6 is provided on one side of the printer 1. The open cover 6 is attached to one side surface of the printer 1 in a vertically openable / closable manner by two hinges 7.

(1-2) Internal structure of the printer (FIGS. 2 to 3)
The internal structure of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the printer of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the side of the printer of FIG.
In the following description, the front side (front cover 2 side) of the printer 1 is referred to as “front” or “downstream side”, and the back side (back cover (not shown) is opposite to the front side of the printer 1 Side) is called "backward" or "upstream side".

  As shown in FIG. 2, inside the printer 1, a sheet supply unit (medium supply unit) 10 disposed at the rear, a printing unit 11 disposed at the front, and an ink ribbon portion 12 disposed at the top Is provided.

  The paper supply unit 10 is configured to supply the continuous paper (print medium) P to the printing unit 11. The paper supply unit 10 includes a support shaft 10 a and a roll guide 10 b disposed at one end of the support shaft 10 a.

  The support shaft 10 a is configured to support the roll-shaped continuous paper P set in the paper supply unit 10 in a rotatable state.

  The roll guide 10 b is configured to guide the side edge of the roll-shaped continuous sheet P set in the sheet supply unit 10. The roll guide 10 b is movable along the axial direction of the support shaft 10 a so that the position can be changed according to the width of the continuous paper P.

The continuous paper P is constituted of, for example, a long base, and a plurality of labels temporarily attached at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction.
In the base paper, a release agent (for example, silicone) is coated on the surface (hereinafter referred to as "printed surface") on which the adhesive surface of the label is in contact. This allows the user to easily peel the label from the backing.
In addition, in the mount, on the side where the adhesive side of the label is not in contact (that is, the side opposite to the surface to be printed), the surface to be printed is formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. A position detection mark indicating the position of the temporarily attached label is formed.

The label may be thermal paper or plain paper.
When the label is a thermosensitive paper, a thermosensitive coloring layer is formed on the surface of the label, which develops a specific color (for example, black, red, etc.) when reaching a predetermined temperature range.

The continuous paper P may be a front winding label or a back winding label.
When the continuous sheet P is a front winding label, the sheet is wound in a state where the label is positioned on the outer peripheral surface of the roll-shaped continuous sheet P. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the continuous paper Ps (P: broken line) is drawn out from around the center of the paper supply unit 10 toward the bottom of the printing unit 11 in the vertical direction.
On the other hand, when the continuous paper P is a back-rolled label, it is wound in a state where the label is positioned on the inner peripheral surface of the roll-shaped continuous paper P. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the continuous paper Pb (P: solid line) is drawn out from around the bottom of the housing of the printer 1 toward the bottom of the printing unit 11.
In addition, in the case of any of the front winding label and the back winding label, the sheet passing route of the continuous paper P (Ps, Pb) in the printing unit 11 is the same.
Further, in the case of either the front winding label or the back winding label, the continuous paper P is conveyed with the printing target surface on which the label is temporarily attached facing upward.

  The printing unit 11 is configured to print predetermined information on a label. The print unit 11 includes a print head 13, a support 14 disposed below the print head 13, and a damper 15 disposed behind the print head 13 and the support 14 (upstream in the printing direction). Have.

  The print head 13 is provided inside the printer 1 in an open / close state as described later. When the print head 13 is in the closed state, a sheet passage route (medium conveyance path) of the continuous paper P is formed between the print head 13 and the support 14. The sheet passing route is connected to the outlet 5 (see FIG. 1).

  The support table 14 is provided with a head lock lever 16 that maintains the closed state of the print head 13. When the user operates the head lock lever 16, the closed state of the print head 13 is released, the front portion of the print head 13 is lifted, and the print head 13 is opened. Thereby, the print head 13 is separated from the platen roller described later.

  The damper unit 15 is configured to bias the continuous paper P so as to balance the tension of the continuous paper P. The damper unit 15 includes an outer damper 15a and an inner damper 15b. The damper unit 15 is configured to move (open and close) up and down in conjunction with the opening and closing of the print head 13.

  The outer damper 15a and the inner damper 15b are each provided in a swingable state so that the continuous paper P can be biased in a state where the print head 13 is closed.

  The ink ribbon unit 12 is configured to supply and recover the ink ribbon RB coated with the printing ink. The ink ribbon portion 12 includes a ribbon supply portion 12a and a ribbon winding portion 12b disposed on the front side of the ribbon supply portion 12a.

  The ribbon supply unit 12 a is configured to rotatably support the ink ribbon RB wound up in a roll shape.

  The ribbon take-up unit 12 b recovers the used ink ribbon RB taken up from the ribbon supply unit 12 a and passed under the print head 13.

  The continuous paper P drawn out from the sheet supply unit 10 in the form of a sheet is inserted through a damper unit 15 into a sheet passing route between the print head 13 and the support 14. When the continuous paper P is inserted through the paper passage route, desired information is printed on a label or the like on the continuous paper P, and then the paper is discharged from the issue port 5 to the outside of the printer 1.

(1-3) Configuration of printing unit (FIGS. 4 to 9)
The configuration of the printing unit 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the printing unit of FIG. 3 as viewed from the front side. FIG. 5 is a side view of the printing unit of FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the printing unit of FIG. 4 as viewed from the back side. FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of the print portion in the closed state of the print head of FIG. 4, and FIG. 7B is a print portion in the open state of the print head of FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at from the front. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the print head of FIG. 4 as viewed from below. FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the printing unit of FIG.

  A head support plate 17 for supporting the print head 13 is provided on one side surface of the print head 13 constituting the print unit 11. The head support plate 17 is pivotally supported in a pivotable state around a rotation axis S1 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). As a result, the print head 13 is supported in a state in which the front portion thereof can swing (that is, open and close) in the vertical direction about the rear rotation axis S1.

  At the end of the head support plate 17 on the side of the damper portion 15 (the position of the front portion of the head support plate 17 and the counter electrode with the rotation axis S1 as a boundary), a restraining portion 17a (see FIGS. 5, 6 and 8) It is integrally formed. A pin 17b (see FIGS. 6 and 8) protruding from the surface is provided on the surface facing the damper unit 15 on the tip end side of the restraining unit 17a.

  The print head 13 includes a thermal head 18 (see (b) of FIG. 7 and FIG. 8). The thermal head 18 is provided on the lower surface of the print head 13 with the printing surface facing the sheet passing route. A print line 18L is provided on the print surface of the thermal head 18. The print line 18L is provided with a plurality of heating resistors (heating elements) arranged in a line along a direction (hereinafter referred to as "width direction") orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper P. The heat generating resistor generates heat by energization. The thermal head 18 is an example of printing means for printing information on a label or the like of the continuous paper P by the heat generating resistor on the printing line 18L.

  On the lower surface on the front side of the print head 13, a pair of concave claws 19 (see FIGS. 7B and 8) are provided so as to sandwich the thermal head 18 therebetween.

  Behind the concave claw portion 19 on the lower surface of the print head 13, a pair of pins 20 projecting outward from both side surfaces of the print head 13 are provided.

  The print head 13 is provided with a torsion spring 21 at the rotation axis S1 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). The torsion spring 21 is configured to bias the print head 13 in the opening direction.

The support base 14 is provided with a set of lock claws 22. When the lock claws 22 catch on the pins 20 provided on the lower surface of the print head 13, the closed state of the print head 13 is maintained.
The lock claw portion 22 is configured to be disengaged from the pin 20 by moving the head lock lever 16 in the right direction in FIG. 5 in conjunction with the movement in the right direction in FIG. When the lock claw portion 22 is detached from the pin 20, as shown in FIG. 7B, the print head 13 is configured to be opened by the biasing force from the torsion spring 21.

  Further, when the print head 13 is in the closed state, the concave claws 19 (see FIGS. 7B and 8) of the print head 13 are of the platen shaft 23s (see FIGS. 4, 7 and 5) of the platen roller 23. It is fitted on both ends. The concave claw portion 19 is configured such that the printing surface of the thermal head 18 is pressed against the platen roller 23 (see FIGS. 4 and 7) by a pressing device (not shown) provided on the print head 13 There is.

  The platen roller 23 conveys the continuous paper P in the direction (first direction) from the paper supply unit 10 to the printing unit 11 in the forward feed process, and from the printing unit 11 to the paper supply unit 10 in the backfeed process (first 6 illustrates an example of a conveyance unit that conveys the continuous paper P in two directions. The platen roller 23 is pivotally supported by a support frame 14a (see FIGS. 5 and 9) of the support base 14 in a rotatable state in the forward direction and the reverse direction. The platen roller 23 rotates in the forward direction in the forward feed and rotates in the reverse direction in the backfeed.

  A gear G1 (see FIG. 6) is connected to one axial end of the platen shaft 23s of the platen roller 23. The platen shaft 23s on the gear G1 side is engaged with the rotation shaft of a driving body (for example, a stepping motor) via, for example, a timing belt (not shown) or the like. Further, the gear G1 is connected to the gear G4 via the connecting gears G2 and G3 (see FIG. 6).

  A sheet guide 24 for guiding the conveyance of the continuous sheet P is provided on the upper surface of the support 14 on the upstream side in the printing direction (see FIG. 9). The upper surface height of the sheet guide 24 is inclined to be higher from the upstream side to the downstream side.

On the upper surface of the sheet guide 24, protrusions extending in the conveyance direction of the continuous sheet P are arranged at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the continuous sheet P. As a result, the contact area between the paper guide 24 and the continuous paper P is reduced, so that the continuous paper P can be transported favorably.
Further, even in the case of using the continuous paper P to which a label (hereinafter, referred to as a "non-base label") in which the adhesive is exposed is temporarily used, the continuous paper P can be transported favorably.
The shape of the projection on the upper surface of the paper guide 24 is not limited to the shape extending in the conveyance direction of the continuous paper P, and may be a dot shape.

  A sheet position detection sensor (not shown) is provided between the thermal head 18 and the damper unit 15 in the sheet passing route of the printing unit 11. The sheet position detection sensor is configured to specify the position of the label of the continuous sheet P by detecting at least one of the position detection mark formed on the continuous sheet P and the mount portion between the adjacent labels. It is done. The sheet position detection sensor is, for example, a light reflection type or light transmission type sensor.

  During the printing process, the continuous paper P is rotated by pressing the thermal head 18 against the platen roller 23 and holding the continuous paper P between the thermal head 18 and the platen roller 23, and rotating the platen roller 23. Transport Then, the heat generating resistor of the print line 18L is selectively heated according to the print signal transmitted to the thermal head 18 at the timing based on the information detected by the sheet position detection sensor. Thereby, while conveying the continuous paper P, desired information (for example, characters, symbols, figures, barcodes, or a combination thereof) is printed on the label of the continuous paper P.

  Next, the damper unit 15 provided in the printing unit 11 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the damper portion 15 is provided with a damper support member 25 and a coil spring 26.

  The damper support member 25 is configured to support the outer damper 15a. The outer damper 15a extends obliquely downward from the front side to the rear side when the printing unit 11 is viewed from the side, and is centered on the front side rotation axis S3 (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The rear portion is supported by the damper support member 25 in a freely swingable state in the vertical direction.

  The coil spring 26 is configured to suppress the outer damper 15a not to go to the upper side (rear side) excessively and to support the outer damper 15a in a swingable state.

  The outer damper 15 a is provided with a guide mechanism G. The guide mechanism G includes a width adjustment guide (an example of a guide piece) 27 and a guide operation unit 32. The guide mechanism G is an example of a movement restricting portion that restricts the movement of the continuous paper P in the width direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the continuous paper P by bringing the side edge of the continuous paper P into contact with the width adjustment guide 27. is there.

  The width adjustment guide 27 abuts against one side edge of the continuous paper P conveyed from the paper supply unit 10 in the width direction, and is configured to restrict the movement of the continuous paper P in the width direction. The width adjustment guide 27 is provided below the outer damper 15a so as to be movable along the axial directions of the rotation axes S3 and S4.

  The guide operation unit 32 is a knob configured to move the width adjustment guide 27 in accordance with the width of the continuous paper P and to fix the position of the width adjustment guide 27. The guide operation portion 32 is connected to the width adjustment guide 27 and provided on the back side of the outer damper 15a in a movable state along the axial direction of the rotation axes S3 and S4.

  The damper support member 25 is supported in the printer 1 in a state in which the rear portion is pivotable in the vertical direction around the rotation shaft S5 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) on the front portion side. In the upper portion of the damper support member 25, a long groove (guide portion) 25a (see FIG. 6) extending in the longitudinal direction of the damper support member 25 is formed. The pin 17b of the head support plate 17 is fitted in the long groove 25a in a movable state along the long groove 25a. Thus, the damper support member 25 is engaged with the head support plate 17.

  The damper support member 25 is provided with a torsion spring 28. The rear portion of the torsion spring 28 is connected to the rotation axis S5. The torsion spring 28 is configured to urge the damper support member 25 in a direction opening upward (in a direction in which the entire damper portion 15 is lifted) around the rotation axis S5 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The torsion spring 28 biases the damper support member 25 so that the damper support member 25 is restrained by the restraint portion 17a while the restraint portion 17a of the head support plate 17 is positioned at the restraint position (the outer damper 15a side). And the closed state is maintained. Thus, the damper unit 15 can move (open and close) up and down in conjunction with the opening and closing of the print head 13.

That is, when the print head 13 is opened, the suppressing portion 17a moves from the suppressing position (the outer damper 15a side) to the suppressing release position (the rotation axis S5 side) along the long groove 25a. As a result, the restraint on the opening operation of the damper support member 25 is released, and the damper portion 15 is raised. As a result, the space through which the continuous paper P is inserted is widened, and the visibility of the lower portion of the damper portion 15 is improved. Therefore, the continuous paper P pulled out of the paper supply unit 10 can be easily passed under the damper unit 15 without being hooked on the width adjustment guide 27. Therefore, the operation of inserting the continuous paper P into the sheet passing route of the printer 1 can be facilitated.
On the other hand, when the print head 13 is closed, the restraining portion 17a moves from the restraining release position to the restraining position along the long groove portion 25a. As a result, in conjunction with the movement of the restraining portion 17a, the damper portion 15 descends to the original height. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the forgetting of closing of the damper portion 15. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the problem of printing on the continuous paper P in a state where the tension is not biased.
In addition, a series of insertion work of the continuous paper P can be facilitated.
Furthermore, since the mechanism for manually opening the damper portion 15 is not necessary, and the print head 13 and the restraining portion 17a serve as the opening and closing mechanism of the damper portion 15, the structure of the printer 1 is simplified. And, the number of parts of the printer 1 can be reduced. Therefore, the cost of the printer 1 can be reduced, and the printer 1 can be miniaturized.

The opening and closing mechanism of the damper unit 15 is not limited to the above configuration, and may have the following configuration, for example.
That is, the damper support member 25 may be biased in the closing direction (the direction in which the entire damper portion 15 is lowered) with the rear portion thereof centered on the rotation axis S5 by the torsion spring 28 mounted on the rotation axis S5. In this case, when the print head 13 is opened, the inhibition portion 17a moves from the inhibition position to the inhibition release position along the long groove 25a. As a result, the rear portion of the damper support member 25 is pulled upward in conjunction with the movement of the restraining portion 17a. As a result, the rear portion of the damper unit 15 opens in conjunction with the opening operation of the print head 13.
On the other hand, when the print head 13 is closed, as the restraining portion 17a moves from the restraining release position to the restraining position along the long groove 25a, the rear portion of the damper support member 25 is lowered by the action of the torsion spring 28. There is. As a result, the rear portion of the damper portion 15 closes in conjunction with the closing operation of the print head 13.
In this case, the biasing force of the torsion spring 21 on the print head 13 side is set to be larger than the biasing force of the torsion spring 28 on the damper support member 25 side.

  When viewed from the side of the printing unit 11, the inner damper 15b constituting such a damper unit 15 extends obliquely downward from the rear side to the front side, as opposed to the outer damper 15a, and the rear The front portion is supported by the rear portion of the outer damper 15a in a state where the front portion is swingable in the vertical direction around the rotation shaft S4 (see FIGS. 5 and 7) on the side.

  During the printing process, the sheet contact portion of the inner damper 15b is located downstream of the sheet contact portion of the outer damper 15a on the downstream side of the continuous sheet P. That is, the sheet contact portion of the inner damper 15b is disposed between the print head 13 and the sheet contact portion of the outer damper 15a.

  Further, before the sheet passing process, the height of the sheet contacting portion of the inner damper 15b is disposed at a position lower than the height of the sheet contacting portion of the outer damper 15a. That is, the height of the sheet contact portion of the inner damper 15 b is disposed between the sheet contact portion of the outer damper 15 a and the bottom surface in the housing of the printer 1.

  By providing such an inner damper 15b, even in the case of a back-rolled label, the continuous paper Pb is inserted through the sheet passing route in a state of being in contact with the inner damper 15b. Therefore, even in the case of the back-rolled label, the continuous paper Pb can be biased by the inner damper 15b. As a result, the continuous paper Pb can be transported satisfactorily, and a reduction in print quality can be prevented.

  Further, by axially supporting the inner damper 15b on the outer damper 15a, the continuous paper P can be biased even in the case of the back-rolled label without causing the printer 1 to be enlarged.

(1-4) Structure in the case of the printer (FIGS. 10 to 16)
The positional relationship between the recess 30 (FIG. 5) formed in the housing of the printer 1 and the width adjustment guide 27 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 16. FIG. 10 is an enlarged side view of an essential part of the damper of FIG. 11 is an enlarged side view of an essential part of the damper of FIG. 10 in the printing process. 12 is a perspective view of an essential part of the damper of FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an essential portion of the damper and its periphery when the printing unit of FIG. 4 is viewed from the back side. 14 to 16 are enlarged views of an essential part showing an example of the positional relationship between the width adjustment guide and the recess of FIG. 10, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 10, the bottom portion 29 in the housing of the printer is composed of a bottom surface 29 a and a recess 30.
In the vertical direction (Y direction in FIG. 10), the position of the bottom surface 29a coincides with a surface RS (hereinafter referred to as a “reference surface”) as a reference for the transport height when transporting the continuous paper P. The continuous paper P is conveyed so as to pass a position higher than the reference surface in forward feed in the vertical direction.
The recess 30 has an inner wall surface 30a on the downstream side, an inner wall surface 30b on the upstream side, and a bottom surface 30c. The recess 30 is provided with reference to the reference surface RS. Specifically, the recess 30 is provided such that the position of the bottom surface 30c is lower than the reference surface RS. The lower end portion of the width adjustment guide 27 is located below the bottom surface 29 a in the housing of the printer 1. That is, at least a part of the width adjustment guide 27 is accommodated in the recess 30 in the vertical direction (Y direction in FIG. 10).

Further, the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b of the recess 30 are formed to be inclined with respect to the bottom surface 29a in the housing.
The downstream inner wall surface 30a is formed to be gradually higher along the front-rear direction (the X direction in FIG. 10). The upstream inner wall surface 30b is formed to become gradually lower along the front-rear direction (the X direction in FIG. 10).

  The lower end portion of the width adjustment guide 27 is separated from the bottom surface 30 c of the recess 30 by a predetermined distance, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. The shape of the lower end portion of the width adjustment guide 27 may be, for example, an arc shape.

  In other words, the lower end portion of the width adjustment guide 27 is between the bottom surface 29a in the housing and the bottom surface 30c of the recess 30 in a direction (Y direction in FIG. 10) perpendicular to the front and back direction (X direction in FIG. 10). It is located in

Further, as shown in FIG. 12 to FIG. 16, a part of the bottom surface 29a in the housing of the printer 1 and the inner surface (inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b and the bottom surface 30c) of the recess 30 A plurality of projections 31 extending along the X direction) are formed at predetermined intervals along the width direction of the continuous paper P. As a result, the contact area between the continuous paper P and the bottom surface 29a (including the inner surface of the recess 30) in the housing of the printer 1 is reduced, so that the continuous paper P can be transported favorably.
In addition, the continuous paper P can be favorably transported even when there is no mount (that is, the adhesive of the label is exposed).
Furthermore, by providing the plurality of protrusions 31, it is possible to compensate for the decrease in mechanical strength of the bottom portion 29 in the housing of the printer 1 due to the provision of the recess 30.

As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, the side edge 27 b on the downstream side (F side in FIGS. 14 to 16) of the width adjustment guide 27 is a portion of the recess 30 in the front-rear direction (X direction in FIGS. 14 to 16). It is located forward of the center A (that is, on the side of the printing unit 11). That is, the side edge 27b of the width adjustment guide 27 is provided closer to the inner wall surface 30a on the printing unit 11 side than the inner wall surface 30b on the paper supply unit 10 side of the recess 30 in FIGS. Although not only the downstream side edge 27b of the adjustment guide 27 but also the upstream side edge 27a is positioned downstream with respect to the center A of the recess 30, the upstream side edge 27a is a recess It may be located upstream with respect to the center A of 30.

The “center A of the recess 30” means the center between the downstream end 30d of the recess 30 and the upstream end 30e. That is, the distance between the downstream end 30d and the center A is equal to the distance between the upstream end 30e and the center A.
The “end portion of the recess 30” is a point on the reference surface RS that is the starting point of the recess 30.
The inner wall surface 30a on the downstream side of the recess 30 and the side edge 27b on the downstream side of the width adjustment guide 27 are separated by the shortest distance d (d> 0). In the back feed process, only the platen roller 23 rotates without the sheet supply unit 10 rotating, so the deflection of the downstream continuous paper P becomes larger than the deflection of the upstream continuous paper P. Therefore, the bent continuous paper P is likely to enter between the downstream inner wall surface 30 a of the recess 30 and the downstream side edge 27 b of the width adjustment guide 27. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the side edge 27b of the width adjustment guide 27 is provided at a position closer to the inner wall surface 30a on the printing unit 11 side than the inner wall surface 30b on the paper supply unit 10 side of the recess 30. The shortest distance d between the downstream inner wall surface 30a of the recess 30 and the downstream side edge 27b of the width adjustment guide 27 is preferably as short as possible.

  As shown in (a) of FIG. 14, the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b may include an R portion having a predetermined curvature radius near the boundary with the end portions 30d and 30e, respectively. Each of the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b may include a curved portion (R portion) having a predetermined curvature radius near the boundary with the bottom surface 30c of the recess 30, respectively. In this case, “the end of the recess 30” is a point of R-stop on the reference surface RS of the R portion of the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b.

  Further, as shown in (b) of FIG. 14, the inner wall surfaces 30 a and 30 b may have a linear shape (flat surface) inclined with respect to the bottom surface 29 a in the housing. In this case, the “end portion of the recess 30” is an intersection of the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b and the reference surface RS.

  Moreover, as shown to (a) of FIG. 15, the recessed part 30 may be circular arc shape which has a predetermined | prescribed radius. In this case, the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b of the recess 30 and the bottom surface 30c are integrated. In this case, the “end portion of the recess 30” is an intersection point of the arc portion and the reference surface RS.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15B, the angle θ1 formed by the downstream inner wall surface 30a of the recess 30 and the bottom surface 29a in the housing is the angle θ2 formed by the inner wall surface 30b upstream of the recess 30 and the bottom surface 29a. It may be larger (that is, θ1> θ2). In this case, in the printing process, the continuous paper P gently enters from the upstream side (side B in FIG. 10) with respect to the damper portion 15, and on the downstream side (side F in FIG. 10) with respect to the damper portion 15. It is transported along a transport route which rises rapidly. Thus, the continuous paper P can be transported without being in contact with the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b. In this case, the “end portion of the recess 30” is an intersection of the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b and the reference surface RS.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, it is most preferable that the downstream side edge 27 b of the width adjustment guide 27 abuts on the downstream inner wall surface 30 a of the recess 30, that is, d = 0. Thereby, the risk of the continuous paper P being out of the guide range can be eliminated.
Furthermore, it is more preferable to provide an elastic body on the inner wall surface 30 a that abuts on the downstream side edge 27 b of the width adjustment guide 27. Thus, damage to the side edge 27b and the inner wall surface 30a due to direct contact between the downstream side edge 27b of the width adjustment guide 27 and the inner wall surface 30a can be avoided. Further, the downstream side edge 27b of the width adjustment guide 27 and the inner wall surface 30a can be reliably abutted (that is, the shortest distance d can be set to 0).

(1-5) Comparison between the present embodiment and the comparative example (FIG. 17 and FIG. 18)
(A) of FIG. 17 is an enlarged side view of an essential part of a damper of a printer of a comparative example in the back feed process, and (b) of FIG. 17 is a plan view of the damper of (a) of FIG. It is. FIG. 18 is an enlarged side view of an essential part of the damper of the printer of the present embodiment in the back feed process.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 17, in the printer of the comparative example, not only the upstream side edge 27 a of the width adjustment guide 27 but also the downstream side edge 27 b are located upstream with respect to the center A There is.
In the comparative example, when the continuous sheet P is conveyed to the upstream side (side B in FIG. 17A) in the back feed process, the continuous sheet P is bent. In this case, since only the platen roller 23 rotates without the sheet supply unit 10 rotating, the deflection of the downstream portion of the continuous sheet P is larger than the deflection of the upstream portion. When the continuous paper P is bent, the tension of the continuous paper P is lost, so the damper 15 can not bias the continuous paper P, and the continuous paper P is separated from the width adjustment guide 27 (that is, the width adjustment guide 27 will not come in contact with the side edge of the continuous paper P). In particular, since the continuous paper P is largely bent on the downstream side, the continuous paper P is easily separated from the width adjustment guide 27 on the downstream side than on the upstream side (that is, the movement of the continuous paper P in the width direction can not be restricted) Probability is high). As a result, as shown in (b) of FIG. 17, the continuous sheet Pa (two-dot chain line) may move outside the guide range Q in the width direction of the continuous sheet P. In this case, there is a possibility that the print quality may be degraded such as the print position being deviated from the planned position, the print density being thinner than the planned density, or the like.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, the side edge 27 b on the downstream side (F side in FIG. 18) of the width adjustment guide 27 is a recess 30 in the front-rear direction (X direction in FIG. 18). It is provided at a position closer to the downstream inner wall surface 30a than the upstream inner wall surface 30b.
As a result, even if the continuous paper P is bent in the back feed process (in particular, it is largely bent downstream), the width adjustment guide 27 is in contact with the side edge of the continuous paper P in the vertical direction (Y direction in FIG. 18). It can be connected. As a result, in the width direction of the continuous paper P, the movement of the continuous paper P is restricted within the guide range. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the printing quality such as the printing position being deviated from the planned position, the printing density becoming thinner than the planned density, or the like.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 16, when the downstream inner wall surface 30a of the recess 30 contacts the downstream side edge 27b of the width adjustment guide 27, the width adjustment guide on the downstream side where the continuous paper P is largely bent 27 can be reliably brought into contact with the side edge of the continuous paper P. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the deterioration of the printing quality such as the printing position being deviated from the planned position, the printing density becoming thinner than the planned density, or the like.

(1-6) Modifications of the Present Embodiment (FIGS. 19 and 20)
(1-6-1) Modification 1 of the present embodiment (FIG. 19)
A first modification of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. (A) of FIG. 19 is a principal part enlarged side view of the damper of the modification 1 of this embodiment, and (b) of FIG. 19 is a principal part side of the damper of (a) of FIG. FIG.

In the present embodiment, an example in which the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b of the recess 30 are inclined has been described. On the other hand, as shown in (a) of FIG. 19, in the modified example of the present embodiment, the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b of the recess 30 are not inclined, with respect to the bottom surface 29a in the housing of the printer 1 It is formed almost vertically.
In this case, as shown in (b) of FIG. 19, the continuous paper P does not easily enter the lower side (the Y direction of (b) of FIG. 19) with respect to the bottom surface 29a in the backfeed process. Therefore, in the modification of the present embodiment, the continuous paper P is less likely to be out of the guide range as compared to the present embodiment.

(1-6-2) Modification 2 of the present embodiment (FIG. 20)
A second modification of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. (A) of FIG. 20 is an enlarged side view of an essential part of the width adjustment guide and the bottom of the housing of the printer of the second modification of the present embodiment, and (b) of FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view of the main part of the width adjustment guide of the printer and the bottom of the housing viewed from the front side.

In the second modification of this embodiment, as shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 20, the bottom side of the width adjustment guide 27 is located between the bottom surface 29a of the housing and the upper end of the protrusion 31. There is.
Thereby, since the lower end of the width adjustment guide 27 is located below the continuous paper P, it is possible to prevent the continuous paper P from being out of the guide range in the back feed process.

In the above embodiment, an example is described in which the continuous paper P in which a plurality of labels is temporarily attached to the backing is the print medium, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to this. For example, according to the present invention, a continuous label (stickerless label) having an adhesive surface on one side, a continuous sheet having no adhesive surface, or a medium other than paper that can be printed by a thermal head (a film as an example) It is applicable also when a printing medium is etc.).
A position detection mark may be provided on a medium other than the above-mentioned pasteboard-less label, continuous sheet, or paper.
In addition, in the case of transporting a baseboard-less label or the like in which an adhesive is exposed, the transport path may be non-adhesively coated, and a platen roller containing silicone may be provided.

(1-6-3) Other Modifications In the above description, the present invention is applied to a printer of a type (so-called stand-alone type) in which the operation panel 3 provided in the printer 1 receives a user's instruction. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to this.
The present invention is also applicable to, for example, a printer of a type (so-called online type) in which a computer connected to the printer 1 receives a user's instruction and the printer 1 receives a control signal based on the instruction from the computer. .

  As mentioned above, although the embodiment of the present invention was described in detail, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. Further, it goes without saying that various modifications and changes may be made to the embodiment described above without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The technical matters described in the above-described embodiment and modification can be applied in combination as appropriate.

1: Printer 2: Front cover 3: Operation panel 4: Power switch 5: Issue port 6: Open cover 7: Hinge 10: Paper supply unit 10a: Support shaft 10b: Roll guide 11: Printing unit 12: Ink ribbon unit 12a: Ribbon supply portion 12b: Ribbon take-up portion 13: Print head 14: Support 14a: Support frame 15: Damper portion 15a: Outer damper 15b: Inner damper 16: Head lock lever 17: Head support plate 17a: Restraint portion 17b: Pin 18: thermal head 19: concave claw 20: pin 21: torsion spring 22: lock claw 23: platen roller 23s: platen shaft 24: paper guide 25: damper support member 25a: long groove 26: coil spring 27: width adjustment guide 27a, 27b: side edge 28: torsion spring 9: bottom 29a: bottom 30: recess 30a, 30b: inner wall 30c: bottom 30d, 30e: end 31: protrusion 32: guide operating portion G: guide mechanism G1: gear G2: connecting gear G4: gear P, Pb , Ps: Continuous paper RB: Ink ribbon RS: Reference surface

Claims (4)

A media supply unit for supplying a print medium;
A printing unit that prints predetermined information on the printing medium;
The printing medium is conveyed along a conveyance direction which is either a first direction from the medium supply unit to the printing unit or a second direction from the printing unit to the medium supply unit on a reference surface. The transport unit
A recess provided on the basis of the reference surface;
A print medium in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the print medium by including a guide piece, accommodating at least a part of the guide piece in the recess, and bringing the side edge of the print medium into contact with the guide piece. Movement regulation department that regulates the movement of
Equipped with
The side edge of the guide piece on the printing unit side is provided closer to the inner wall surface on the printing unit side than the inner wall surface on the medium supply unit side of the recess.
Printer. A side edge of the guide piece on the printing portion side is in contact with an inner wall surface of the concave portion on the printing portion side.
The printer according to claim 1.   The damper unit for applying tension to the printing medium is provided between the printing unit and the medium supply unit, and the movement regulating unit is provided in the damper unit. The printer described in item 1. The damper portion is provided with an inner damper portion,
4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the position at which the inner damper portion abuts on the print medium is located downstream in the transport direction of the print medium in the print direction than the position of the recess.

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