JP2554183Y2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a printer that can use fanfold paper.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved) In a printer using fanfold paper, for example, a tractor device may be arranged on each of a paper feed side and a paper discharge side to a printing mechanism. In such a printer, the phase difference between the sprocket pins of each tractor device is set corresponding to the paper path length between the tractor devices so that the sprocket pins of each tractor device and the paper feed hole of the paper are properly fitted. I have.

In such a printer, the pitch of the paper feed hole changes due to the expansion of the paper due to the change in temperature or humidity and the formation of the paper itself.When setting the paper in each tractor device, the sprocket pin and the paper feed hole of the paper May not be aligned, the paper may be loosened, the paper may be damaged due to the tension of the paper between the tractor devices, and the printing may be hindered.

In order to prevent the above, it is required that the length of the paper path between the tractor devices can be adjusted so that the sprocket pin and the paper feed hole of the paper match.

In response to such a demand, there is a method in which the position of the tractor device is movable in the paper transport direction to adjust the paper path length,
It is known to provide a mechanism for changing the paper path length in the middle of the paper path. However, any of these methods requires a complicated mechanism for adjusting the paper path length, which is not desirable in terms of cost and assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of accurately adjusting the positions of a sprocket pin of each tractor device and a paper feed hole without requiring a complicated mechanism or complicated work.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the printer according to the present invention includes a tractor device including a pair of pin tractors for transporting fanfold paper provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the platen. The two tractor devices are provided so as to be synchronously driven via a drive train that transmits the power of a drive motor, and one of the gears in the drive train is connected via a clutch mechanism. The drive shaft is provided so as to be able to be connected and disconnected, and at least one of the two tractor devices is rotated in conjunction with the drive shaft of the tractor device and the gear shaft is disconnected from the drive wheel train in a detached state. There is a manual operation knob that can be manually turned.

(Function) By turning the manual operation knob with the drive motor and the tractor device disconnected by the clutch mechanism, the position of the sprocket pin of the tractor and the paper feed hole of the paper can be easily adjusted accurately. The paper can be stretched between the two tractors with an appropriate tension.

(Embodiment) As shown in FIG.
A pull-type tractor device 2 including a pair of tractor units 2U on the left and right sides is provided. The push-type tractor device 1 is provided on the paper feed side of the printer body 20. A platen 9a is rotatably provided on the printer main body 20, and a print head 16 is provided so as to face the platen 9a so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG.

The printer main body 20 is provided with a paper feed drive motor 3, and its power is transmitted through pulleys 4 and 6 and a belt 5 to gears 7 to
The tractors 1 and 2 are driven by being transmitted to a drive train composed of 1, 13 and 14. That is, the belt 5 is wound between the pulley 4 fixed to the shaft 4a of the drive motor 3 and the pulley 6 rotatably provided on the printer body 20. The gear 7 provided integrally with the pulley 6 is connected to a sprocket belt drive shaft 15 via a gear 13.
Are connected to a gear 14 provided integrally with the gear. The sprocket belt drive shaft 15 is rotatably attached to the printer body 20. The drive shaft 15 is provided with a sprocket belt (not shown) of the tractor device 1 via a pulley (not shown), and can be driven by rotation of the drive shaft 15. The sprocket belt is provided with a sprocket pin 1a.
The gear 7 meshes with a gear 8 integral with a platen 9a, and the gear 9 integral with the gear 8 is connected via a gear 10 to a gear 11 which is not rotatable with respect to a sprocket belt drive shaft 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sprocket belt drive shaft 12 is rotatably supported by side plates 18, 17 of the tractor unit 2U. A shaft 47 is provided between the side plates 18 and 17, and a sprocket belt 2b is provided between the shaft 47 and the sprocket belt drive shaft 12 via a pulley (not shown). It can be driven. gear
Numeral 11 is movable in the direction of the sprocket belt drive shaft 12 so that it can mesh with and disengage from the gear 10. The sprocket belt 2b is provided with a sprocket pin 2a.

The above-mentioned wheel train is set so that the sprocket belt drive shafts 15, 12 rotate at the same speed, whereby the sprocket pins 1a, 2a move at the same speed. When the paper (fanfold paper) 30 is set in the printer main body 20, the paper 30 is wound around the platen 9a, and the paper feed holes (not shown) at the right and left ends of the paper 30 are inserted into the pull type tractor device 2, the push type tractor. The sprocket pins 2a, 1a of the device 1 are set.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the sprocket belt drive shaft
A gear 44 is fixed to the right end of the twelve. Gear 44 is gear 45
Through a gear 46 which is rotatably provided on the side plate 17. The gear 46 is provided with a manual operation knob 46a.

A lever mechanism (clutch mechanism) 42 is provided on the shaft 47 so as to be swingable. As shown in FIG. 7, an engagement portion 42a having an arc shape and having a tapered portion 42C in cross section is formed at the tip of the lever mechanism 42. As shown in FIG. 5, a tension coil is provided with a spring 43 extending between the projection 42d of the lever mechanism 42 and the sheet metal 2c of the tractor unit 2U, and the spring force causes the lever mechanism 42 to rotate clockwise. It is positioned by the pin 18a on the side plate 18 under the force.

As shown in FIG. 2, a compression coil spring (biasing spring) 41 is mounted between the gear 11 and the step of the sprocket belt drive shaft 12. The gear 11 is pushed leftward by this spring force, abuts on the upper part 42e of the clutch lever 42, and meshes with the gear 10.

 Next, the operation will be described.

When the tractor unit 2U is mounted on the printer main body 20, the phase difference between the sprocket pins 1a and 2a of both tractor devices 1 and 2 is determined by the meshing state with the gears 10 and 11.

When the paper 30 is set in the printer main body 20, one of the sprocket pins 1a and 2a of the tractor devices 1 and 2 and the paper feed hole ( (Not shown), the paper 30 is loosened between the two tractor devices 1 and 2 during setting,
Or it can be too tight.

Then, the following operation is performed so that the paper 30 is set between the two tractor devices 1 and 2 with an appropriate tension. That is, when the paper 30 is set in both tractor devices 1 and 2,
The paper 30 is set between the tractors 1 and 2 with the paper 30 slackened. After that, as shown in FIG.
When the lever 42b is pushed downward, the lever mechanism 42 rotates around the shaft 47, and its engaging portion 42a engages from the side of the gear 11, thereby pushing the gear 11 rightward as shown in FIG. Thus, the engagement with the gear 10 is separated. At this time, since the sprocket belt drive shaft 12 is not connected to the tractor drive train such as the gears 9 and 10, the gears 45 and 44 are turned by turning the manually operated knob 46a.
, The drive shaft 12 can be easily rotated. Therefore, the phase of the sprocket pins 2a is shifted by the movement of the sprocket belt 2b, and the paper 30 is
The sprocket pins in both tractor devices can be aligned with the paper feed holes in both tractor devices with a moderate tension between the two.

Thereafter, when the user releases his / her hand from the operating portion 42b of the lever mechanism 42, the lever mechanism 42 returns to the original fifth illustrated position by the spring force of the tension coil spring 43. Since the gear 11 is not pushed by the engaging portion 42a of the lever mechanism 42, the gear 11 returns to the original position by the spring force of the compression coil spring 41 and meshes with the gear 10.

Thereby, the paper can be set between the tractor devices 1 and 2 with an appropriate tension.

The above description is for the case where paper is newly set in the printer. However, the present invention is also applicable to the case where the paper already loaded in the printer is adjusted when the paper feed hole pitch changes due to a change in temperature and humidity. . Further, the tractor device is not limited to one having a belt having sprocket pins as in the present embodiment, but may be one having a sprocket wheel. Further, the manually operated knob may be directly attached to the sprocket belt drive shaft.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, the paper is set in the printer by turning the manually operated knob with one of the gears in the drive train driving both tractor devices disengaged via the clutch mechanism. The phase of the sprocket pin can be easily adjusted with a light force in this state, and the complicated mechanism and complicated work can be performed by aligning the sprocket pin with the paper feed hole and applying the appropriate paper tension between both tractor devices. It can be done easily without the need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is a side view, FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view in a state where power transmission is connected, and FIG. 3 is a main part showing a state in which power transmission is cut off. FIG. 4 is an enlarged side view of a main part, FIGS. 5 and 6 are enlarged side views of a state where power transmission is connected and cut off, and FIG. 7 is a view showing a lever mechanism. Fig. 7 [A]
7 is a plan view, FIG. 7B is a side view, and FIG.
It is BB sectional drawing of the figure [B]. 1, 2 ... tractor device, 3 ... drive motor, 7-11,
13, 14: Drive train, 9a: Platen, 11: Gear, 12
... Drive shaft of tractor device 1, 30 fanfold paper, 42 clutch mechanism, 46a manual operation knob.

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A tractor device comprising a pair of pin tractors for transporting fanfold paper is provided on each of an upstream side and a downstream side of a platen, and both tractor devices transmit power of a drive motor. And one of the gears in the drive wheel train is provided so as to be able to be connected to and disconnected from the drive wheel train via a clutch mechanism. At least one of the two tractor devices is provided with a manual operation knob that rotates in conjunction with the drive shaft of the tractor device and that can manually rotate the drive shaft in a state where the gear is disconnected from the drive train. A printer characterized by comprising: