JP2020001408A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer that can secure printing quality of the printer.SOLUTION: A printer performs printing on a label of continuous paper P while conveying the continuous paper P delivered from a paper supply part. In the printer, recessed parts 30 are provided below a damper part 15, and a width adjustment guide part 27a for guiding conveyance of the continuous paper P in contact with an outer edge in a width direction of the continuous paper P is provided at a lower part of the damper part 15 so that the lower end part of the width adjustment guide part is positioned in the recessed parts 30. This can prevent the continuous paper P from coming off to the outside when fed backing so that a malfunction where the continuous paper P rides over a lower end part of the width adjustment guide part 27a during a printing process can be avoided. Thereby the damper part 15 functions against the continuous paper P so that printing quality of the printer 1 can be secured.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, bar codes, etc. on a label or the like.

  The label printer is, for example, a printer having a function of printing desired information on a label of the continuous paper when the continuous paper wound in a roll is fed out and transported in a sheet shape.

  In a printing unit of the label printer, a thermal head unit that prints on a label and a platen roller unit that conveys continuous paper are arranged in a state facing each other.

  In the printing unit, a damper unit that applies tension to the continuous paper is provided between the paper supply unit and the thermal head unit. At the lower part of the damper unit, a width adjustment guide unit that guides the conveyance of the continuous paper by contacting the side edge of the continuous paper in the width direction is installed. Below the width adjustment guide, the bottom surface of the printer housing is formed flat, and the lower end of the width adjustment guide terminates at a position where it does not contact the bottom surface.

  Note that, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for preventing occurrence of paper jam due to curling of a sheet in a sheet transport mechanism.

JP-A-63-88651

  Incidentally, the operation of the printer includes a so-called back feed in which the continuous paper is transported in a direction opposite to a printing direction in which the continuous paper is transported for printing in order to adjust the position of the continuous paper.

  In this backfeed, the continuous paper may come in contact with the bottom surface of the printer case and become loose, but in this case, the continuous paper is located below the lower end of the width adjustment guide, so the width is determined by the width adjustment guide. May fall outside the specified range. However, when returning to the printing operation in that state, the continuous paper rides on the width adjustment guide section and is transported in a state where the damper section does not function.As a result, the printing position deviates from the expected position or the print density decreases. Therefore, there is a problem that the printing quality is deteriorated. Particularly, in the case of continuous paper having a short width, the continuous paper often comes off from the width adjustment guide portion. Further, the rolled continuous paper loaded in the paper supply unit may be loosened due to inertia due to rotation.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above technical background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of ensuring print quality of a printer.

  In order to solve the above problem, a printer according to the present invention according to claim 1, wherein a transport unit that transports a print medium, a print unit that prints on the print medium, and a transport direction of the print medium that is higher than the print unit. A guide portion provided on the upstream side and in contact with at least one side edge of the print medium to guide the conveyance of the print medium, and a concave portion continuously formed on a part of the bottom surface in the printer housing, A length of the recess in the width direction of the printing medium is formed longer than a length of the printing medium in the width direction, and a part of the guide portion for guiding the conveyance of the printing medium is formed in the recess. , And separated from the bottom surface of the concave portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the length in the width direction of the print medium of the concave portion continuously formed on a part of the bottom surface in the printer housing is formed longer than the length in the width direction of the print medium. Since a part of the guide portion for guiding the conveyance of the print medium is located in the concave portion and separated from the bottom surface of the concave portion, the print medium does not deviate from the range determined by the guide piece. For this reason, when returning to the printing operation, the printing medium does not ride on the guide pieces, so that the printing quality of the printer can be ensured.

1 is an overall perspective view of the appearance of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the printer of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a side surface of the printer in FIG. 2. 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. 4. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the printing unit of FIG. 4 as viewed from the back side. FIG. 4A is a front perspective view of the printing unit in FIG. 4 when the print head unit is in a closed state, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view of the printing unit in FIG. 4 when the print head unit is in an open state. is there. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the print head unit of FIG. 4 taken out and viewed from below. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a printing unit in FIG. 4. 10A is an enlarged side view of a main part of the damper unit shown in FIG. 5, and FIG. 10B is an enlarged side view of a main part of the damper unit shown in FIG. 11A is an enlarged side view of a main part of a damper portion of a comparative example in a back feed step, and FIG. 11B is a plan view of the damper portion of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged side view of the damper part of FIG.10 (a) in a back feed process. It is a principal part perspective view of the damper part of FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a damper unit and a main part around the damper unit when the printing unit is viewed from the back side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a damper unit and a main part around the damper unit when the printing unit is viewed from the back side. FIG. 16A is an enlarged side view of a main part of a damper unit of the printer, and FIG. 16B is a side view of a main part of the damper unit of FIG. FIG. 2A is an enlarged side view of a main portion of a printer width adjustment guide and a housing bottom, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged front view of a main portion of the printer width adjustment guide and a housing bottom viewed from the front side. .

  Hereinafter, an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for describing the embodiments, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

  The direction in which continuous paper (printing medium) is transported for printing, specifically, the direction in which continuous paper is sent from the paper supply unit to the thermal head unit, is referred to as the printing direction. Means upstream in the printing direction, and downstream in the transport direction means downstream in the printing direction.

  FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the appearance of a printer according to the present embodiment.

  The printer 1 of the present embodiment has, for example, a label printing function of printing information such as characters, symbols, figures, bar codes, and the like on a label temporarily attached to a mount of continuous paper.

  An operation panel unit 3, a power switch 4, and an issuing port (medium discharge port) 5 are provided on a front cover 2 on the front of the printer 1.

  The operation panel unit 3 includes an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) for displaying a message and the like, a plurality of keys (a line key, a feed key, a function key, a direction key and a cancel key, etc.) for operating the operation of the printer 1. A plurality of LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) indicating the state of the printer 1 are arranged.

  An open cover 6 is mounted on one side surface of the printer 1 so as to be openable and closable vertically by two hinges 7.

  Next, the internal structure of the printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the printer of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the side of the printer of FIG. In the following description, the front side (front cover section 2 side) of the printer 1 is referred to as front (downstream side in the transport direction), and the back side (back cover section side) opposite thereto is referred to as rear side (upstream side in transport direction).

  Inside the printer 1, a paper supply unit (medium supply unit) 10 disposed behind, a printing unit 11 disposed in front, and an ink ribbon unit 12 disposed above are provided. .

  The paper supply unit 10 is a component that supplies continuous paper (print medium) P to the printing unit 11, and includes a support shaft 10a and a roll guide unit 10b installed at one end thereof.

  The support shaft 10a is a component that rotatably supports the continuous paper P wound up in a roll shape. The roll guide portion 10b is a component for fixing the continuous paper P in a roll shape, and is installed so as to be movable along the axial direction of the support shaft 10a so that the position can be changed according to the width of the continuous paper P. ing.

  The continuous paper P has, for example, a long backing paper and a plurality of labels temporarily attached at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction. The surface of the backing paper that comes into contact with the adhesive surface of the label is coated with a release agent such as silicone or the like so that the label can be easily released. In addition, a position detection mark indicating the position of the label is formed at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction on the surface of the backing sheet where no label is attached. Labels may be made of thermal paper or plain paper. In the case of a thermal paper, a thermal coloring layer that develops a specific color (black, red, etc.) when a predetermined temperature region is reached is formed on the surface thereof.

  Further, there are two types of continuous paper P, a front-wound label and a back-wound label. The front-wound label is wound in a state in which the label of the continuous paper P is positioned on the outer peripheral surface of the continuous paper P in a roll form. As shown in FIG. 3, the continuous paper Ps (P: broken line) is It is fed out from around the center in the height direction of 10 toward the bottom of the printing unit 11. On the other hand, the back-wound label is wound in a state in which the label of the continuous paper P is located on the inner peripheral surface of the rolled continuous paper P, and as shown in FIG. 3, the continuous paper Pb (P: A solid line) extends from around the inner bottom surface of the printer 1 toward the bottom of the printing unit 11. In addition, the paper passing route of the continuous paper P (Ps, Pb) in the printing unit 11 is the same regardless of the front winding or the back winding. Further, the continuous paper P is transported with the surface on which the label is temporarily attached (the surface to be printed) facing up, whether it is a front-wound label or a back-wound label.

  The above-described printing unit 11 is a component that prints on a label or the like of the continuous paper P. And a damper unit 15 arranged.

  The print head unit 13 is installed inside the printer 1 so as to be openable and closable, as described later. When the print head unit 13 is in the closed state, a paper passing route (medium transport path) is formed between the print head unit 13 and the support 14. The paper passing route is connected to the above-described issuing port 5 (see FIG. 1).

  A head lock lever section 16 for maintaining the print head section 13 in a closed state is installed on the support base 14. When the head lock lever section 16 is operated, the closed state of the print head section 13 is released, the front portion of the print head section 13 is lifted, and the print head section 13 is opened (separated from a platen roller section described later). Has become.

  The damper unit 15 is a component that applies tension to the continuous paper P. In the present embodiment, the damper unit 15 includes the outer damper unit 15a and the inner damper unit 15b, and moves up and down (opens and closes) in conjunction with opening and closing of the print head unit 13. . However, when the print head unit 13 is in the closed state, the outer damper unit 15a and the inner damper unit 15b are installed so as to be swingable so that tension can be applied to the continuous paper P.

  The above-described ink ribbon unit 12 is a component that supplies and winds the ink ribbon RB coated with the printing ink, and includes a ribbon supply unit 12a and a ribbon winding unit 12b disposed in front of the ribbon supply unit 12a. I have. The ribbon supply unit 12a is a component that rotatably supports the ink ribbon RB wound up in a roll shape. The ribbon winding unit 12b is a component that winds and collects the printed ink ribbon RB. When the ink ribbon RB is used, the ink ribbon drawn from the ribbon supply unit 12a is passed under the print head unit 13 and wound by the ribbon winding unit 12b.

  In such a printer 1, the continuous paper P (Ps, Pb) fed out in a sheet form from the paper supply unit 10 passes through a damper unit 15 to a paper passing route between the print head unit 13 and the support table 14. After the paper is inserted, a printing process is performed on a label or the like of the continuous paper P on the way, the paper is discharged from the issuing port 5 to the outside of the printer 1.

  Next, the configuration of the printing unit 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the printing section of FIG. 3 as viewed from the front side, FIG. 5 is a side view of the printing section of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the printing section of FIG. FIG. 7A is a front perspective view of the print unit in FIG. 4 when the print head unit is in a closed state, and FIG. 7B is a perspective view of the print unit in FIG. 4 when the print head unit is in an open state. 8 is a perspective view of the print head portion of FIG. 4 taken out and viewed from below, and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of the print portion of FIG.

  The print head unit 13 constituting the print unit 11 is supported by a head support plate 17 on one side surface. The head support plate 17 is pivotally supported so as to be swingable about a rotation axis S1 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). As a result, the print head unit 13 is supported so that its front portion can freely swing (that is, open and close) about the rear rotation axis S1 in the vertical direction.

  In the head support plate 17, an end portion on the damper portion 15 side (a position opposite to the front portion of the head support plate 17 and the counter electrode with respect to the rotation axis S <b> 1) is integrally provided with a suppression portion 17 a (see FIGS. Is formed. A pin 17b (see FIGS. 6 and 8) protruding from the surface facing the damper portion 15 on the distal end side of the restraining portion 17a is provided.

  The print head unit 13 includes a thermal head unit 18 (see FIGS. 7B and 8). The thermal head unit 18 is a printing unit that prints on a label or the like of the continuous paper P by a heating resistor of a printing line 18L disposed on the printing surface, and the printing head is directed in a state where the printing surface is directed to the paper route. It is installed on the lower surface of the unit 13. In the print line 18L, a plurality of heating resistors (heating elements) that generate heat when energized are arranged side by side along the width direction of the continuous paper P (a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the continuous paper P).

  On the lower surface on the front side of the print head portion 13, concave claw portions 19, 19 (see FIGS. 7B and 8) are provided so as to sandwich the thermal head portion 18. Behind the concave claw 19 on the lower surface of the print head 13, pins 20, 20 projecting outward from both side surfaces of the print head 13 are provided.

  The print head unit 13 is urged in the opening direction by a torsion spring 21 mounted on the rotation shaft S1 (see FIGS. 6 and 8). The closed state is maintained by the locking claw portions 22 of the support base 14 being hooked. When the head lock lever portion 16 is pulled rightward in FIG. 5, the lock claw portion 22 moves rightward in FIG. 5 in conjunction therewith and comes off the pin 20. When the lock claw portion 22 comes off the pin 20, the print head portion 13 is automatically opened by the urging force of the torsion spring 21, as shown in FIG.

  When the print head unit 13 is in the closed state, the concave claw portions 19 of the print head unit 13 (see FIGS. 7B and 8) are connected to the platen shaft 23s of the platen roller unit 23 (FIGS. 4, 7, and 10). 5) and the platen roller portion 23 (see FIGS. 4 and 7 (a) and 7 (b)) in which the printing surface of the thermal head portion 18 is lowered by a pressing device provided in the print head portion 13. ).

  The platen roller unit 23 is a conveying unit that conveys the continuous paper P fed from the paper supply unit 10 to the issuing port 5 (see FIG. 1) along a paper route, and is supported so as to be rotatable in forward and reverse directions. It is pivotally supported by a support frame 14a of the base 14 (see FIGS. 5 and 9).

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

  Further, a paper guide section (see FIG. 9) 24 for guiding the transport of the continuous paper P is provided upstream of the platen roller section 23 on the upper surface of the support base 14. The paper guide portion 24 is installed in a state where the upper surface thereof is inclined such that the height of the upper surface increases from upstream to downstream. Further, on the upper surface of the paper guide portion 24, protrusions extending in the transport direction of the continuous paper P are arranged at predetermined intervals along the width direction of the continuous paper P. Thereby, the contact area between the paper guide unit 24 and the continuous paper P can be reduced, so that the continuous paper P can be satisfactorily conveyed. Further, continuous paper P such as a label without a backing sheet on which the adhesive is exposed can be satisfactorily conveyed. The protrusion on the upper surface of the paper guide portion 24 is not limited to the protrusion extending in the transport direction of the continuous paper P, and may be a point-like protrusion.

  A paper position detection sensor (not shown) is provided between the thermal head section 18 and the damper section 15 in the paper passing route of the printing section 11. This paper position detection sensor is a sensor that detects the position of a label on the continuous paper P by detecting a position detection mark formed on the continuous paper P or a mount portion between adjacent labels. It is composed of a light transmission type sensor.

  During the printing process, the thermal head 18 is pressed against the platen roller 23, and the platen roller 23 is rotated while the continuous paper P is sandwiched between the thermal head 18 and the platen roller 23. Is transported. The printing timing is determined based on the information detected by the paper position detecting sensor, and the heating resistor of the printing line 18L is selectively heated by the printing signal transmitted to the thermal head unit 18. As a result, desired information such as characters, symbols, figures, bar codes, or the like is printed on the label of the continuous paper P during the transportation of the continuous paper P.

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

  The outer damper portion 15a extends obliquely downward from the front side to the rear side when looking at the side surface of the printing section 11, and is centered on the rotation axis S3 on the front side (see FIGS. 5 and 7). The rear portion is supported by the damper support member 25 so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. The coil spring 26 in FIG. 6 is a member that suppresses the outer damper portion 15a from going too far upward (rearward side) and that supports the outer damper portion 15a in a swingable state.

  The outer damper 15a is provided with a guide mechanism (guide means) 27. The guide mechanism section 27 includes a width adjustment guide section (guide piece) 27a and a guide operation section 27b. The width adjustment guide 27a is a component that abuts one side edge in the width direction of the continuous paper P conveyed from the paper supply unit 10 and guides the conveyance of the continuous paper P, and is an axis of the rotating shafts S3 and S4. It is installed below the outer damper part 15a so as to be movable along the direction. On the other hand, the guide operation section 27b is a knob for moving the width adjustment guide section 27a according to the width of the continuous paper P and fixing the position of the width adjustment guide section 27a, and is connected to the width adjustment guide section 27a. , Are installed on the back side of the outer damper portion 15a in a movable state along the axial direction of the rotation shafts S3 and S4.

  The damper supporting member 25 supporting the outer damper portion 15a is provided inside the printer 1 in a state where the rear portion is vertically swingable about a rotation shaft S5 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) on the front portion side. It is supported by. A long groove (guiding portion) 25a (see FIG. 6) extending along the longitudinal direction of the damper support member 25 is formed on the upper portion of the damper support member 25. The pin 17b of the head support plate 17 is fitted into the long groove 25a so as to be movable along the long groove 25a. Thus, the damper support member 25 is engaged with the head support plate 17. Further, the damper support member 25 has a rear portion opened upward around the rotation shaft S5 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) by a torsion spring 28 (see FIG. 6) mounted on the rotation shaft S5 (damper portion). 15 is urged in the upward direction), while the restraining portion 17a of the head support plate 17 is located at the restraining position (the outer damper portion 15a side), the restraining portion 17a suppresses the force, and the closed state is maintained. Have been. With this configuration, the damper unit 15 can move up and down (open and close) in conjunction with opening and closing of the print head unit 13.

  That is, when the print head unit 13 is opened, the suppression unit 17a moves from the suppression position (outer damper unit 15a side) to the suppression release position (rotation shaft S5 side) along the long groove 25a, and as a result, the damper support member 25 is opened. The suppression of the operation is released, and the damper unit 15 is lifted. Thereby, the frontage through which the continuous paper P is inserted is widened, and the visibility of the lower portion of the damper unit 15 can be improved. For this reason, the continuous paper P pulled out from the paper supply unit 10 can easily pass under the damper unit 15 without being hooked on a width adjustment guide unit described later. Therefore, the operation of inserting the continuous paper P into the paper passing route of the printer 1 can be facilitated. On the other hand, when the print head unit 13 is closed, the suppression unit 17a moves from the suppression release position to the suppression position along the long groove 25a, so that the damper unit 15 lowers and returns to the original height in conjunction therewith. Thereby, forgetting to close the damper unit 15 can be prevented. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a problem that printing is performed in a state where tension is not applied to the continuous paper P. Further, a series of operations for inserting the continuous paper P can be simplified. Further, it is not necessary to provide a separate mechanism for manually opening the damper unit 15, and the structure can be simplified since the opening mechanism and the closing mechanism of the damper unit 15 also serve as each other. In addition, the number of parts can be reduced. Therefore, the cost of the printer 1 can be reduced, and the size of the printer 1 can be reduced.

  The opening / closing mechanism of the damper unit 15 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be, for example, as follows. That is, the rear portion of the damper support member 25 may be biased by the torsion spring 28 attached to the rotation shaft S5 in a direction to close around the rotation shaft S5 (a direction in which the entire damper portion 15 is lowered). In this case, when the print head unit 13 is opened, the rear portion of the damper support member 25 is pulled up as the inhibiting portion 17a moves from the inhibiting position to the inhibition releasing position along the long groove 25a. As a result, the rear portion of the damper unit 15 opens in conjunction with the opening operation of the print head unit 13. On the other hand, when the print head unit 13 is closed, the rear portion of the damper support member 25 is lowered by the action of the torsion spring 28 as the suppression unit 17a moves from the suppression release position to the suppression position along the long groove 25a. I have. Thereby, the rear part of the damper part 15 is closed in conjunction with the closing operation of the print head part 13. In this case, the urging force of the torsion spring 21 on the print head unit 13 side is set to be larger than the urging force of the torsion spring 28 on the damper support member 25 side.

  The inner damper portion 15b constituting the damper portion 15 extends obliquely downward from the rear side to the front side, opposite to the outer damper portion 15a, when viewing the side surface of the printing portion 11, and The front part is supported by the rear part of the outer damper part 15a so that the front part can swing vertically about the rotation axis S4 (see FIGS. 5 and 7).

  In the printing process, the paper contact portion of the inner damper portion 15b is located downstream of the paper contact portion of the outer damper portion 15a in the conveyance of the continuous paper P. That is, the paper contact portion of the inner damper portion 15b is disposed between the print head portion 13 and the paper contact portion of the outer damper portion 15a.

  Further, at the stage before paper passing, the height of the paper contact portion of the inner damper portion 15b is arranged at a position lower than the height of the paper contact portion of the outer damper portion 15a. That is, the height of the paper contact portion of the inner damper portion 15b is arranged between the paper contact portion of the outer damper portion 15a and the bottom surface inside the housing of the printer 1.

  By providing such an inner damper portion 15b, even in the case of a back-wound label, the continuous paper Pb is inserted into the paper passing route in a state of being in contact with the inner damper portion 15b. Therefore, even in the case of a back-wound label, a sufficient tension can be applied to the continuous paper Pb by the inner damper portion 15b, so that the continuous paper Pb can be conveyed favorably and print quality can be ensured. it can.

  Further, since the inner damper portion 15b is pivotally supported on the outer damper portion 15a, a damper function capable of applying a sufficient tension even in the case of a back-wound label without adding a size to the printer 1 is added. Can be.

  By the way, in the printer 1 of the present embodiment, a concave portion 30 (see FIG. 5) is formed in a bottom portion 29 in a housing inside the printer 1 below the damper portion 15. Here, the recess 30 and the width adjustment guide 27a will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A is an enlarged side view of a main part of the damper unit of FIG. 5, FIG. 10B is an enlarged side view of a main part of the damper unit of FIG. 10A in a printing process, and FIG. 11 (b) is a plan view of the damper portion of FIG. 11 (a) viewed from above, and FIG. 12 is a damper of FIG. 10 (a) in a back feed process. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a main part of the damper unit of FIG. 10, FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a main part of the damper unit and its periphery when the printing unit is viewed from the back side, and FIG. It is the principal part enlarged perspective view of the damper part and its periphery seen from the back side.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the concave portion 30 has inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b and a bottom surface 30c therebetween, and the lower end of the width adjustment guide portion 27a is lower than the bottom surface 29a in the housing of the printer 1. It is formed so as to be located below. That is, the concave portion 30 is formed such that the inner wall surface (wall surface) 30a disposed downstream of the width adjustment guide portion 27a in the conveyance is higher than the lower end portion of the width adjustment guide portion 27a.

  Here, the operation of the printer 1 includes a so-called back feed in which the continuous paper P is transported in a direction opposite to the direction in which the continuous paper P is transported for printing in order to adjust the position of the continuous paper P. In this backfeed, as shown in FIG. 11A, there is a case where the continuous paper P comes into contact with the bottom surface 29a in the casing of the printer 1 and bends. Since it is located below the lower end of the portion 27a, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 11B, it may be out of the range defined by the width adjustment guide portion 27a. However, when returning to the printing operation in that state, the continuous paper P rides on the width adjustment guide portion 27a and is conveyed in a state where the damper portion 15 does not function. As a result, the printing position is shifted from the expected position, or the printing density is low. Or the print quality is degraded.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, even when the continuous paper P comes into contact with the bottom surface 29a in the housing of the printer 1 and is bent during the back feed, the width adjustment guide portion 27a is Since the lower end portion is located in the concave portion 30 and located below the bottom surface 29a in the housing of the printer 1, the continuous paper P does not come out of the range determined by the width adjustment guide portion 27a. Therefore, when returning to the printing operation, the continuous paper P does not run on the width adjustment guide portion 27a, so that the function of the damper portion 15 is not impaired. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a problem that the printing position is deviated from the expected position or the printing density is reduced, so that the printing quality of the printer 1 can be ensured.

  From the above, the position of the concave portion 30 is located upstream of the position where the continuous paper P lands during the back feed in the plane of the bottom surface 29a in the casing of the printer 1, and the inner wall surface 30a of the concave portion 30 is It may be located between the position where the continuous paper P lands during feeding and the width adjustment guide 27a. In the present embodiment, the position where the inner damper portion 15b contacts the continuous paper P is located downstream of the inner wall surface 30a of the recess 30 in the transport direction of the continuous paper P. For this reason, since the continuous paper P hits the inner damper portion 15b at the time of back feed, the continuous paper P lands on the bottom surface 29a downstream of the concave portion 30 in the conveyance. As a result, the inner wall surface 30a of the concave portion 30 is located between the position where the continuous paper P lands during back feeding and the width adjustment guide portion 27a.

  Also, the inner wall surface 30a on the downstream side of the conveyance of the recess 30 and the inner wall surface 30b on the upstream side of the conveyance are formed to be inclined with respect to the bottom surface 29a in the printer housing. The inner wall surface 30a on the transport downstream side is formed so as to be gradually higher in the printing direction.

  The inclination angle θ1 of the inner wall surface 30a on the downstream side of the concave portion 30 on the conveyance side is larger than the inclination angle θ2 of the inner wall surface 30b of the concave portion 30 on the upstream side of the conveyance side (θ1> θ2). This is because, as shown in FIG. 10B, the flow of the continuous paper P during the printing process gradually enters from the upstream of the transport of the damper unit 15 and rises abruptly on the downstream side of the transport of the damper unit 15. It is in line with that. Thereby, the continuous paper P can be satisfactorily conveyed. The wall surface is a part of a step formed on a bottom surface in the printer housing.

  The lower end of the width adjustment guide 27a is located in the recess 30 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 15 and the like, but does not contact the bottom of the recess 30 and is determined in advance from the bottom of the recess 30. Separated distance. The lower end of the width adjustment guide 27a may be formed, for example, in an arc shape.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the lower end of the width adjustment guide portion 27a gradually bends outward in the width direction of the continuous paper P (direction away from the continuous paper P: leftward in FIG. 15) toward the lower end. ing. Thus, the continuous paper P moving outward in the width direction is returned to the original position inward in the width direction. In FIG. 15, a part of the width adjustment guide portion 27a is hatched to make it easier to see. In FIG. 15, the continuous paper P is set on the right side of the width adjustment guide 27a.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 13 to 15, a part of the bottom surface 29 a in the housing of the printer 1 and the inner surfaces (the inner wall surfaces 30 a and 30 b and the bottom surface 30 c) of the recess 30 along the transport direction of the continuous paper P. A plurality of protruding portions 31 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the width direction of the continuous paper P. Accordingly, the contact area between the bottom surface 29a (including the inner surface of the concave portion 30) in the housing of the printer 1 and the continuous paper P can be reduced, so that the continuous paper P can be satisfactorily conveyed. Further, the continuous paper P such as a label without a mount where the adhesive is exposed can be satisfactorily conveyed. Further, the mechanical strength of the bottom portion 29 in the housing of the printer 1 may be reduced by providing the concave portion 30. However, the provision of the plurality of protrusions 31 may reduce the mechanical strength of the bottom portion 29 in the housing of the printer 1. Mechanical strength can be ensured.

  Next, a modification of the recess 30 is shown in FIG. FIG. 16A is an enlarged side view of a main part of a damper part of the printer, and FIG. 16B is a side view of a main part of the damper part of FIG. 16A in a back feed process.

  In the above description, the case where the inner wall surfaces 30a and 30b of the concave portion 30 are inclined has been described. However, in FIG. It is formed almost vertically. In this case, as shown in FIG. 16B, the continuous paper P can be prevented from easily entering the recess 30 during the back-feeding step, so that the positional deviation of the continuous paper P in the width direction can be prevented. The rest is the same as above.

  Next, FIG. 17 shows an example of the relationship between the width adjustment guide 27a and the protrusion 31. FIG. 17A is an enlarged side view of a main portion of a width adjustment guide portion and a housing bottom portion of the printer, and FIG. 17B is an enlarged main portion of the printer width adjustment guide portion and a housing bottom portion viewed from the front side. It is a front view.

  Here, the bottom side of the width adjustment guide portion 27a is located at an intermediate position between the height of the bottom surface 29a of the housing and the height of the protrusion 31. As a result, the lower portion of the width adjustment guide portion 27a is located below the position of the continuous paper P, so that it is possible to prevent the continuous paper P from being displaced in the width direction during back feeding or the like. The rest is the same as above.

  As described above, the invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the embodiment disclosed in the present specification is an example in all points, and is limited to the disclosed technology. It should not be considered a thing. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not to be interpreted in a limited manner based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be interpreted in accordance with the description of the claims. And any modifications that do not depart from the gist of the claims and the technology equivalent to the described technology.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which continuous paper in which a plurality of labels are temporarily attached to a backing paper is used as a print medium.However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, continuous paper having an adhesive surface on one side is used. As a printing medium, not only labels in the form of labels (labels without mounts), continuous sheets having no adhesive surface (continuous sheets) or papers but also films printable by a thermal head can be used. Unmounted labels, continuous sheets or films can have position detection marks. In the case of transporting a label without a backing sheet on which the adhesive is exposed, the transport path may be provided with a non-adhesive coating and a roller containing silicone.
Further, the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention is a printing unit that prints on the printing medium while the printing medium supplied from the medium supply unit is being conveyed along the printing direction, and the printing unit in the printing direction. A guide means provided with a guide piece that contacts at least one side edge of the print medium and guides the transfer of the print medium also below the upstream of the transfer, and a concave portion is formed on a part of the bottom surface in the printer housing. And forming a part of the guide piece in the recess.
According to this, the lower end of the guide piece is located below the print medium in the inertia in the rotation direction of the back feed or roll-shaped continuous paper, so that the print medium may be out of the range determined by the guide piece. Absent. For this reason, when returning to the printing operation, the printing medium does not ride on the guide pieces, so that the printing quality of the printer can be ensured.
The printer according to the embodiment of the present invention may further include a damper unit that applies tension to the print medium between the printing unit and the medium supply unit, and the guide unit may be provided in the damper unit. Features.
According to this, when the printing operation is returned from the back feed, the printing medium does not ride on the guide pieces, so that the function of the damper unit is not impaired. For this reason, the printing quality of the printer can be ensured.
Further, the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an inner damper portion in the damper portion, and a position where the inner damper portion abuts on the print medium is more in a printing direction of the print medium than a position of the concave portion. It is characterized by being located downstream in the transport direction.
According to this, it is possible to prevent the printing medium from being out of the range determined by the guide pieces, and thus it is possible to ensure the printing quality of the printer.

  In the above description, a case has been described where the present invention is applied to a stand-alone printer in which input operations to the printer are performed without using a personal computer. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention may be applied to an online printer in which an input operation is performed via a personal computer.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 10 Paper supply part 11 Printing part 13 Print head part 14 Support stand 14a Support frame 15 Damper part 15a Outer damper part 15b Inner damper part 17 Head support plate 18 Thermal head part 18L Printing line 23 Platen roller part 23s Platen shaft 24 Paper Guide part 25 Damper support member 27 Guide mechanism part 27a Width adjustment guide part 27b Guide operation part 29 Bottom part 29a Bottom surface 30 Recess 30a, 30b Inner wall surface 30c Bottom surface 31 Protrusion 32a, 32b Block member P, Ps, Pb Continuous paper

In order to solve the above problem, a printer according to the present invention according to claim 1, wherein a transport unit that transports a print medium, a print unit that prints on the print medium, and a transport direction of the print medium that is higher than the print unit. A damper unit that applies tension to the print medium on the upstream side, a guide unit that is provided on the damper unit , and contacts at least one side edge of the print medium to guide conveyance of the print medium; and a shape made recesses in the bottom surface of, you positioned before Symbol within at least a portion the recess of the guide portion for guiding the conveyance of the print medium, characterized in that.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the print medium is provided with the tension by providing the damper section that applies tension to the print medium upstream of the print section in the transport direction of the print medium, Never get on the guide piece. Further, the damper unit includes a guide portion for guiding the conveyance of the print medium in contact with at least one side edge of the print medium, the bottom surface of the printer housing, the recess is formed, the guide portion at least A part is configured to be located in the recess. For this reason, when returning to the printing operation, the printing medium does not ride on the guide pieces . Therefore, the printing quality of the printer can be ensured.

Claims (13)

A transport unit that transports the print medium,
A printing unit for printing on the printing medium,
A guide unit that is provided upstream of the printing unit in the transport direction of the print medium and contacts at least one side edge of the print medium to guide the transport of the print medium,
A recess formed continuously on a part of the bottom surface in the printer housing,
The length of the recess in the width direction of the print medium is formed longer than the length of the print medium in the width direction,
A printer, wherein a part of the guide portion for guiding the conveyance of the print medium is located in the concave portion and is separated from a bottom surface of the concave portion. A transport unit that transports the print medium,
A printing unit for printing on the printing medium,
A guide unit that is provided upstream of the printing unit in the transport direction of the print medium and contacts at least one side edge of the print medium to guide the transport of the print medium,
A recess formed in a part of the bottom surface in the printer housing,
The length of the recess in the width direction of the print medium is formed longer than the length of the print medium in the width direction,
The printer, wherein the guide portion is supported at a position separated from a bottom surface of the concave portion, and a part of the guide portion is located in the concave portion.   The printer according to claim 2, wherein the guide portion is separated from a bottom surface of the concave portion.   4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: a damper unit that applies tension to the print medium, and the guide unit is provided on the damper unit, at a position upstream of the print unit in the transport direction of the print medium. 5. Printer.   The printer according to claim 4, wherein the damper unit is swingable. The damper unit includes an inner damper unit,
The printer according to claim 4, wherein a position at which the inner damper portion contacts the print medium is located downstream of the concave portion in a transport direction of the print medium. The damper unit includes:
Outer damper part,
The printer according to any one of claims 4 to 6, further comprising: an inner damper portion swingably supported by the outer damper portion.   8. The printer according to claim 7, wherein the inner damper portion is supported on the upstream side in the transport direction of the outer damper portion, and is provided to be inclined in a direction approaching a bottom surface in the printer housing toward the downstream side in the transport direction. 9. .   The paper contact portion of the inner damper portion where the inner damper portion abuts on the print medium is disposed downstream of the paper contact portion of the outer damper portion where the outer damper portion abuts on the print medium. 7. The printer according to 7 or 8.   The printer according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit is capable of transporting the print medium toward an upstream side or a downstream side of the print unit.   The printer according to claim 2, wherein the recess is formed continuously on a part of a bottom surface in the printer housing. The print medium, a long mount,
The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of labels temporarily attached at predetermined intervals on the mount. A lower end portion of the guide portion in a height direction separated from a bottom surface of the concave portion is located between a bottom surface in the printer housing and a bottom surface of the concave portion,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the guide is movable in a width direction of the print medium in the recess.

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