JP2024066682A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer capable of moving a slitter part and rotationally driving a rotary blade by one motor.SOLUTION: A printer 1 includes; a motor 55; a slide screw shaft 57 rotated around an axis by rotation of the motor 55; a slide nut 59 which is engaged with the slide screw shaft 57 in a posture in which the rotation around the axis is regulated, moves in an advancing direction along the slide screw shaft 57 by the rotation of the slide screw shaft 57 in one direction to advance to a predetermined position, and after the advance is stopped by abutting on a predetermined member at a predetermined position, the slide nut rotates around the axis integrally with the rotation of the slide screw shaft 57; and a slitter part 25 having a pair of rotary blades 71, which moves along the slide screw shaft 57 integrally with the slide nut 59, and which is rotationally driven by the rotation of the slide nut 59 around the shaft, and cuts a paper sheet passing in a carrying direction orthogonal to an axial direction along the carrying direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a printer.

To obtain printouts of different widths without having to prepare multiple paper types, printers exist that have a slitter function that prints on a larger width of paper, then cuts the paper to the desired smaller width.

For example, the printer described in Patent Document 1 includes a frame (40) and a slitter section (14) having rotary blades (a driving circular blade (27) and a driven circular blade (21)) arranged on the frame (40). The frame (40) is moved to a desired position by a pulse motor (50), and the paper is cut by the rotary blades that rotate with the rotation of the motor 32.

Japanese Patent No. 6320062

The printer described in Patent Document 1 has two motors: one for moving the frame of the slitter section in the width direction, and the other for driving the rotary blade. Because motors are expensive, there is a need to reduce the number of motors used.

The object of the present invention is to provide a printer that allows a single motor to move the slitter section and rotate the rotary blade.

To achieve the above object, the printer of the present invention is equipped with a motor, a sliding screw shaft which is a round bar member having a male thread formed on its outer circumferential surface and rotates around its axis by the rotation of the motor, a female thread formed on its inner circumferential surface and screwed onto the sliding screw shaft in a position in which rotation around the axis is restricted, a sliding nut which moves in a forward direction along the sliding screw shaft as the sliding screw shaft rotates in one direction to a predetermined position, and after the forward movement is stopped by hitting a predetermined member at the predetermined position, rotates around the axis together with the rotation of the sliding screw shaft, and a slitter unit having a set of rotary blades consisting of a driving rotary blade and a driven rotary blade which move along the sliding screw shaft together with the sliding nut and are rotationally driven by the rotation of the sliding nut around the axis, and cut paper passing in a transport direction perpendicular to the axial direction along the transport direction.

As the motor rotates, the sliding nut advances to a predetermined position, and the slitter section moves with it. When the sliding nut reaches the predetermined position, a set of rotating blades is rotated on the spot, allowing the paper passing through to be cut. In this way, a single motor can move the slitter section and rotate the rotating blades.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printer. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a vertical plane passing through the center of the printer in the width direction and along the front-rear direction. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the slitter unit removed from the main body. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV shown in FIG. 4. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI shown in FIG. 4. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII shown in FIG. 4. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along a sliding screw shaft when the slitter unit is in a standby position. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a sliding screw shaft with the slitter portion in a cutting position. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the paper is discharged while being cut by a slitter unit. FIG.

Below, an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Overall composition>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a printer 1, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a vertical plane passing through the center of the printer 1 in a width direction W and along a front-rear direction L. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape overall, and includes a main body 3 and a trash can 5. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the left-right direction (width direction) W, the front-back direction (length direction) L, and the up-down direction (height direction) H are defined.

The main body 3 is formed by covering the outside of a metal frame with a metal exterior cover 7, and a resin upper front case 9 and lower front case 11. Inside the main body 3, as shown in FIG. 2, there are a roll paper storage chamber 13 that stores roll paper 12, a paper sheet storage chamber 15 that stores paper sheets 14, and a ribbon storage chamber 17 that stores an ink ribbon unit 16.

The roll paper storage chamber 13 stores roll paper 12, which is a long strip of paper 12A wound into a roll. The roll paper 12 can be replaced by pulling out the main body 3 from the exterior cover 7, flipping up the front upper part of the main body 3 equipped with the upper front case 9, and removing the trash can 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sheet storage chamber 15 is provided at the bottom of the printer 1 and is located below the roll paper storage chamber 13. The sheet storage chamber 15 stores sheets 14 that have been cut to a predetermined size in advance and stacked in the thickness direction, and supplies paper 14A.

The sheet storage chamber 15 is covered by the lower front case 11, and can be pulled out forward independently of the main body 3 by hooking a finger on the finger hook 11a formed on the upper part of the lower front case 11 and pulling it forward in the front-to-rear direction L. When the sheet storage chamber 15 is pulled out forward, the top is open, and the sheets 14 stored inside can be inserted and removed from the open top.

The upper front case 9 is disposed at the upper front of the main body 3. The upper front case 9 is disposed opposite the cutter unit 19 and slitter unit 21 disposed at the upper front of the main body 3, and covers the cutter unit 19 and slitter unit 21.

The front surface of the upper front case 9 is formed with a discharge port 23 for discharging the paper sheets 12A and 14A transported from inside the main body 3 to the outside. The discharge port 23 is formed with a dimension longer than the width of the paper sheets 12A and 14A. A recess 23A is formed in the discharge port 23, and a portion 29 of the slitter section 25 described below is exposed. The exposed portion 29 is movable left and right within the recess 23A, and when the paper is not slit, the exposed portion 29 is located at the left end of the recess 23A, and when the paper is slit, the exposed portion 29 is located at the right end of the recess 23A.

In addition to the roll paper storage chamber 13, the sheet storage chamber 15, and the ribbon storage chamber 17, the main body 3 also includes a power source, a paper transport section, a ribbon transport section, a cutter unit 19, a slitter unit 21, and a control section.

The trash can 5 is removably attached to the main body 3 so as to cover the front opening of the main body 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the trash can 5 engages with the main body 3 in the closed state to maintain the closed state, and can be removed from the main body 3 by pulling it forward to disengage it. In addition, when the trash can 5 is removed from the main body 3, it can be pushed backward R to engage and attach it to the main body 3, and maintained in the attached state.

The trash can 5 is shaped like a box with an open top and an internal space 5a. The opening 5b at the top of the trash can 5 opens to the cutter unit 19.

When the cutter unit 19 cuts off the margins of the sheets 12A and 14A into elongated strips of paper in the width direction W of the sheets 12A and 14A, the strips of paper fall and are stored in the internal space 5a of the trash can 5 through the opening 5b.

The main body 3 is provided with an ink ribbon section IR that transports the ink ribbon T of the ink ribbon unit 16 housed in the ribbon housing chamber 17. The ink ribbon T is a strip-shaped sheet in which the ink regions of yellow Y, magenta M, and cyan C, as well as an overcoat OP region, are repeatedly arranged alternately in the longitudinal direction. The ink ribbon unit 16 can be replaced by pulling out the main body 3 from the exterior cover 7.

The main body 3 is provided with a transport mechanism 31 that transports paper 12A from the roll paper storage chamber 13 along the transport path CP, and transports paper 14A from the sheet paper storage chamber 15 along the transport path CP. The transport path CP is the path indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 2. In this embodiment, the transport direction from the paper feed position (roll paper storage chamber 13 and sheet paper storage chamber 15) to the discharge outlet 23 is defined as the forward direction, and the opposite direction is defined as the reverse direction. Paper 12A, 14A is transported in the forward and reverse directions along the transport path CP by the transport mechanism 31, and is finally discharged from the discharge outlet 23.

The transport path CP has a roll paper feed path P1, a sheet paper feed path P2, a feed path P3, a reversal path P4, a print path P5, and a discharge path P6. The transport mechanism 31 includes a roll paper feed roller 33, a sheet paper feed roller 35, a sheet paper feed roller 37, a grip roller 39, a platen roller 41, a reversal roller 43, a cutter section roller 45, and a slitter section roller 47 along the transport path CP.

The roll paper feed roller 33 pinches the paper 12A extending from the roll paper 12 and transports the paper 12A to the grip roller 39. The sheet feed roller 35 contacts the topmost sheet 14 and rotates to feed the sheet 14. The sheet feed roller 37 is located near the sheet feed roller 35 and transports the fed paper 14A to the grip roller 39 via the paper feed path P3. The grip roller 39 pinches the paper 12A and 14A and transports them in the forward direction to the print path P5. When printing, the grip roller 39 advances the paper 12A and 14A in the reverse direction. When printing on both sides of the paper 14A (sheet), the paper 14A advances to the reversal path P4. The platen roller 41 is located opposite the thermal head described below and supports the paper 12A and 14A against which the ink ribbon is pressed.

The reversing rollers 43 are driven when printing on both sides of the paper 14A (sheet). When printing on the back side, the paper 14A is transported by the grip rollers 39 to the reversing path RP of the transport path CP, and then the reversing rollers 43 advance it to the paper feed path P3.

The cutter section roller 45 is provided in the cutter unit 19, and when cutting the margins of the paper 12A, 14A or when separating the paper 12A from the roll paper 12, it advances the paper 12A, 14A to a specified position and holds it down to prevent it from shifting during cutting.

The slitter rollers 47 are provided in the slitter unit 21 and advance the sheets 12A and 14A toward the discharge port 23. As described below, when slitting the sheets 12A and 14A, the slitter 25 is moved to the conveying path and cuts the sheets 12A and 14A while discharging the sheets 12A and 14A.

Thermal head 49 is disposed at a position facing platen roller 41. Thermal head 49 is disposed on the opposite side to the transfer surface of ink ribbon T stretched by guide section 51, and presses ink ribbon T, which is stretched by the guide section and unwound in synchronization with paper 12A, 14A, against paper 12A, 14A being transported along transport path CP, and transfers the ink on the transfer surface to paper 12A, 14A by heat, thereby performing printing.

<Slitter unit>
Figure 3 is an oblique view of the slitter unit 21 removed from the main body 3, Figure 4 is a front view of the slitter unit 21, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in Figure 4, Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in Figure 4, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in Figure 4, and Figure 8 is an oblique view of a slip nut.

The slitter unit 21 has a unit frame 53, a slitter roller 47, a motor 55, a sliding screw shaft 57, a sliding nut 59, and a slitter section 25.

The unit frame 53 is a metal frame. The slitter roller 47, the motor 55, the sliding screw shaft 57, the sliding nut 59, and the slitter 25 are attached to the unit frame 53. By removing the unit frame 53 from the main body 3, the slitter unit 21 can be removed from the main body 3.

The slitter section rollers 47 have a drive roller 47A and a driven roller 47B. When the slitter unit 21 is attached to the main body 3, the paper 12A, 14A transported by the cutter section rollers 45 is sandwiched between the drive roller 47A and the driven roller 47B and advanced toward the discharge port 23.

The motor 55 is fixed to the unit frame 53 with its output shaft extending in the left-right direction W. As shown in FIG. 5, a pinion gear 61 is fixed to the output shaft of the motor 55, and rotates together with the rotation of the output shaft of the motor 55.

The sliding screw shaft 57 is a round bar member with a male thread formed on its outer circumferential surface, and is fixed to the unit frame 53 in a position extending in the left-right direction W parallel to the output shaft of the motor 55. The left end 57A of the sliding screw shaft 57 is fixed to the unit frame 53 via a bearing 63, and the right end 57B is fixed to the unit frame 53 via a bearing 64. The bearings 63, 64 have outer rings 63A, 64A fixed to the unit frame 53, and inner rings 63B, 64B fixed to the sliding screw shaft 57. As a result, the sliding screw shaft 57 is held rotatable around an axis extending in the left-right direction.

As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a drive gear 65 is fixed to the left end 57A of the sliding screw shaft 57. The drive gear 65 transmits the rotation of the pinion gear 61 to the sliding screw shaft 57 via the idle gear 67. This causes the sliding screw shaft 57 to rotate in the same direction as the output shaft of the motor 55.

As shown in FIG. 8, the slip nut 59 is cylindrical with a female thread formed on its inner circumferential surface. A gear 59A is provided on the outer periphery of the slip nut 59, and the remaining portion is a smooth surface 59B. A torsion spring (elastic member) 69 is wound around the smooth surface 59B. The tip 59C of the slip nut 59 is tapered.

The sliding nut 59 is screwed onto the sliding screw shaft 57 in a position where rotation around the shaft is restricted by the load caused by the friction of contact between the driving rotary blade and the driven rotary blade (described later) (see FIG. 6). When the sliding screw shaft 57 rotates clockwise (one direction) as shown in FIG. 5, the sliding nut 59 moves in the forward direction (rightward) along the sliding screw shaft 57, and when the sliding screw shaft 57 rotates counterclockwise (opposite direction), the sliding nut 59 moves in the backward direction (leftward) along the sliding screw shaft 57. The sliding nut 59 is housed within the slitter section 25, and the slitter section 25 moves along the sliding screw shaft 57 as the sliding nut 59 moves.

When the sliding nut 59 moves in the forward direction and reaches a predetermined position, its tip 59C hits the end face of the inner ring 64B of the bearing 64 (a predetermined member), thereby stopping its advance. After its advance is stopped, a torque is applied from the sliding screw shaft 57 that exceeds the load caused by the friction of contact between the driving rotary blade 71A and the driven rotary blade 71B, causing the sliding nut 59 to rotate clockwise around its axis together with the rotation of the sliding screw shaft 57.

The slitter section 25 has a set of rotary blades 71 consisting of a driving rotary blade 71A and a driven rotary blade 71B, an idle gear 73, and a case 75.

The driving rotary blade 71A is integrated with the driving gear 77. The gear 59A of the sliding nut 59, the idle gear 73, and the driving gear 77 form a gear train, and the driving rotary blade 71A rotates clockwise when the sliding nut 59 rotates. A portion of the driven rotary blade 71B is in contact with the driving rotary blade 71A while being biased by a spring (not shown), and rotates together with the driving rotary blade 71A when the driving rotary blade 71A rotates.

The case 75 has a storage section 75A, a first paper passage section 75B, and a second paper passage section 75C.

The storage section 75A has a hole 75D through which the sliding screw shaft 57 passes, and stores the sliding nut 59, a set of rotary blades 71, and an idle gear 73. One end 69A of a torsion spring 69 wound around the sliding nut 59 is fixed inside the storage section 75A, and when the sliding nut 59 rotates clockwise (one direction), it stores energy and urges it counterclockwise (the opposite direction).

As shown in FIG. 6, the first paper passage section 75B exposes the contact area between the driving rotary blade 71A and the driven rotary blade 71B of the pair of rotary blades 71, allowing the paper portion (paper 12A', 14A') that has been cut by the pair of rotary blades 71 and has its width adjusted to pass along the transport path CP (paper discharge path P6).

The second paper passage section 75C has an inclined surface that slopes toward the discharge port 23, and is configured so that the unnecessary portions (paper sheets 12A", 14A") of the paper sheets 12A, 14A cut by the pair of rotary blades 71 are pushed down by the clockwise rotation of the driving rotary blade 71A during cutting, and are discharged in a state that hangs down from the paper sheets 12A', 14A'.

The slitter section 25 is fitted so that a protrusion 76 (see Figures 9 and 10) provided on the underside of the case 75 can slide into a groove 53A (see Figure 11) formed in the unit frame 53. This allows the slitter section 25 to move along the sliding screw shaft 57 as the sliding nut 59 moves.

Next, the operation of the slitter unit 21 when slitting the paper sheets 12A and 14A will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view along the sliding screw shaft when the slitter unit is in the standby position, Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view along the sliding screw shaft when the slitter unit is in the cutting position, and Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the state in which the paper is discharged while being cut by the slitter unit.

When the sheets 12A and 14A are not to be slit, the slitter unit 25 is positioned in the standby position (as shown in FIG. 9), and the sheets 12A and 14A are discharged from the discharge opening 23 by the slitter unit rollers 47.

When slitting the paper 12A, 14A, the motor 55 rotates and the sliding screw shaft 57 rotates in response to a command from the control unit. As a result, the sliding nut 59 moves in the forward direction together with the slitter unit 25. When the sliding nut 59 advances to a predetermined position, the tip 59C hits the end face of the inner ring 64B of the bearing 64 and starts to rotate together with the sliding screw shaft 57 (state shown in FIG. 10). This causes the driving rotary blade 71A and the driven rotary blade 71B to rotate. In this state, when the paper 12A, 14A is advanced by the slitter unit roller 47, the paper 12A, 14A is cut by the driving rotary blade 71A and the driven rotary blade 71B as shown in FIG. 11, adjusted to a paper of the desired width, and then discharged from the discharge port 23. From the discharge port 23, the unnecessary portions (paper sheets 12A", 14A") are discharged together with the sheets 12A, 14A (paper sheets 12A', 14A') whose widths have been adjusted. In this embodiment, the widths of the sheets 12A, 14A are 8 inches (approximately 20.32 centimeters), and the sheets 12A', 14A' cut by the slitter section have widths of 7 inches (approximately 17.78 centimeters).

When paper ejection is complete, the motor 55 rotates in the reverse direction in response to a command from the control unit. This causes the sliding screw shaft 57 to rotate in the opposite direction, causing the sliding nut 59 to rotate in the opposite direction. At this time, the rotation of the sliding nut 59 in the opposite direction is assisted by the torque in the opposite direction from the torsion spring 69. When the sliding nut 59 rotates in the opposite direction, it is pulled away from the bearing 64 and moves backward. This causes the slitter unit 25 to return to the standby position.

[Printer Actions]
The operation of the printer 1 will now be described.

The printer 1 is characterized by being equipped with a motor 55, a sliding screw shaft 57 which is a round bar member having a male thread formed on its outer periphery and rotates around its axis as the motor 55 rotates, a female thread formed on its inner periphery and screwed onto the sliding screw shaft 57 in a position where rotation around the axis is restricted, a sliding nut 59 which moves in the forward direction along the sliding screw shaft 57 as the sliding screw shaft 57 rotates in one direction to a predetermined position, and after hitting a predetermined member at the predetermined position and being stopped, rotates around its axis together with the rotation of the sliding screw shaft 57, and a slitter unit 25 which has a set of rotary blades 71 consisting of a driving rotary blade 71A and a driven rotary blade 71B which move along the sliding screw shaft 57 together with the sliding nut 59 and are driven to rotate by the rotation of the sliding nut 59 around its axis, cutting paper passing in the conveying direction perpendicular to the axial direction along the conveying direction.

As the motor rotates, the sliding nut advances to a predetermined position, and the slitter section moves with it. When the sliding nut reaches the predetermined position, a set of rotating blades is rotated on the spot, allowing the paper passing through to be cut. In this way, a single motor can move the slitter section and rotate the rotating blades.

The rotation of the sliding nut 59 around its axis is restricted by the load caused by the friction of contact between the driving rotary blade 71A and the driven rotary blade 71B, and when the progress of the sliding nut 59 is stopped by hitting the specified member at a specified position, a torque exceeding the load is applied to the sliding nut 59 from the sliding screw shaft 57, causing the sliding nut 59 to rotate around its axis. Since the load from the driving rotary blade and the driven rotary blade is used to restrict the rotation of the sliding nut 59, there is no need to provide a separate member.

The sliding screw shaft 57 is supported and rotatably held by the inner ring 64B of a bearing 64 whose outer ring 64A is fixed to the frame (unit frame 53), and the sliding nut 59 may be stopped at a predetermined position by hitting the end face of the inner ring 64B of the bearing 64, which is provided as a predetermined member. In this way, the linear motion of the sliding nut can be switched to rotational motion by using the bearing that supports the sliding screw shaft.

The rotation of the sliding nut 59 around its axis is transmitted to the drive rotary blade 71A via a gear train (gear 59A of the sliding nut 59, idle gear 73, and drive gear 77), and the sliding nut 59 may be provided with an elastic member 69 that biases in the opposite direction to one direction. The elastic member 69 may be a torsion spring that is wound around the outer circumferential surface (smooth surface 59B) of the sliding nut 59 and has one end 69A fixed to the frame (storage section 75A of the case 75).

The gear train that transmits the rotation of the sliding nut to the drive rotary blade can become tightly meshed and stuck. Therefore, by providing an elastic member (torsion spring) that applies torque to rotate in the opposite direction, even if sticking does occur, the sticking can be eliminated and the sliding nut can be moved in the backward direction.

The above describes the embodiments of the present invention in detail, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications are possible within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, a torsion spring is wound around the sliding nut to bias it in the opposite direction, but it goes without saying that other means, such as a one-way clutch, may also be used.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the linear motion of the sliding nut is switched to rotational motion when the sliding nut hits the inner ring of the bearing, but of course any means can be used to stop the linear motion of the sliding nut.

1 Printer 3 Main body 5 Trash can 7 Exterior cover 9 Upper front case 11 Lower front case 13 Roll paper storage chamber 15 Sheet storage chamber 17 Ribbon storage chamber 19 Cutter unit 21 Slitter unit 23 Discharge port 25 Slitter section 31 Transport mechanism 33 Roll paper feed roller 35 Sheet feed roller 37 Sheet feed roller 39 Grip roller 41 Platen roller 43 Reversing roller 45 Cutter section roller 47 Slitter section roller 49 Thermal head 51 Guide section 53 Unit frame 55 Motor 57 Slide screw shaft 59 Slide nut 61 Pinion gear 63, 64 Bearing 65 Drive gear 67 Idle gear 69 Torsion spring 71 Set of rotary blades 71A Drive rotary blade 71B Driven rotary blade 73 Idle gear 75 Case 77 Drive gear CP Transport path T Ink ribbon IR Ink ribbon section H Height direction L Front-back direction W Width direction

Claims (5)

A motor;
A sliding screw shaft is a round bar member having a male thread formed on its outer circumferential surface, and rotates around its axis by the rotation of the motor;
A sliding nut having an internal thread formed on its inner circumferential surface, screwed onto the sliding screw shaft in a position in which rotation around the axis is restricted, and moved in a direction along the sliding screw shaft by the rotation of the sliding screw shaft in one direction to a predetermined position, and after the progression is stopped by hitting a predetermined member at the predetermined position, the sliding nut rotates around the axis integrally with the rotation of the sliding screw shaft;
A slitter unit having a set of rotary blades consisting of a driving rotary blade and a driven rotary blade that moves along the sliding screw shaft integrally with the sliding nut, is rotated by the rotation of the sliding nut around the axis, and cuts the paper passing in a conveying direction perpendicular to the axial direction along the conveying direction;
A printer comprising: The sliding nut is restricted in rotation about the shaft by a load caused by friction between the driving rotary blade and the driven rotary blade,
2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein when the advancement of the sliding nut is stopped by hitting the predetermined member at the predetermined position, a torque exceeding the load is applied to the sliding nut from the sliding screw shaft, causing the sliding nut to rotate around the shaft. The sliding screw shaft is supported by an inner ring of a bearing having an outer ring fixed to a frame body, and is rotatably held therein.
3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the sliding nut is stopped at the predetermined position by hitting an end face of the inner ring of a bearing provided as the predetermined member. The rotation of the sliding nut around the axis is transmitted to the driving rotary blade via a gear train,
4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the sliding nut is provided with an elastic member that biases the sliding nut in a direction opposite to the one direction. 5. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the elastic member is a torsion spring that is wound around an outer circumferential surface of the sliding nut and has one end fixed to a frame.