JP2898649B2 - Line thermal printer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a line thermal printer that prints on a wide label or the like using a thermal head and an ink ribbon having a wide print width.

[Prior art] Conventionally, as shown in JP-A-61-266271, by using a thermal head and an ink ribbon having a wide print width,
For example, as a line thermal printer that prints a bar code on a wide label or the like, a main body portion provided with a platen, an ink ribbon, and a feed portion for feeding printing paper at a lower portion, a thermal head and an ink ribbon supply shaft holding portion Department and
A head unit having an ink ribbon take-up shaft holding portion, the ink ribbon being wound along a long path so as to surround the print head of the head unit, the ink ribbon supply shaft holding portion, and the ink ribbon take-up shaft. There is known a method of fixing to a holding portion.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the line thermal printer, when the ink ribbon is attached, the wide ink ribbon passes through a long path from the ink ribbon supply shaft holding portion of the head unit to the ink ribbon winding shaft holding portion. Therefore, there is a drawback that the operability at the time of mounting is extremely poor and the ink ribbon is easily damaged.

In view of the above drawbacks, an object of the present invention is to provide a line thermal printer in which the operability at the time of mounting an ink ribbon is extremely good and the ink ribbon is not easily damaged.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a line thermal printer according to the present invention is a line thermal printer that performs thermal transfer printing on paper using an ink ribbon by a line thermal head. A main body having a platen constituting a mechanism, an ink ribbon supply shaft holding portion for holding a supply shaft for supplying an ink ribbon to the printing mechanism, and a paper discharge port for discharging printed paper; An ink ribbon take-up unit having an ink ribbon take-up shaft holding portion for holding a take-up shaft for taking up the ink ribbon of the present invention, the ink ribbon take-up unit being rotatably supported on the paper discharge port side of the main body portion; A head unit which has a thermal head and is rotatably supported at a position facing the ink ribbon winding unit of the main body; And the following.

2. The line thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the printing mechanism is provided near the paper outlet, and the ink ribbon take-up shaft holding unit is provided at an upper part of the printing mechanism. It is assumed that.

3. The line thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the ink ribbon take-up shaft holding portion is provided closer to the ink ribbon take-up unit than the printing mechanism.

[Operation] The line thermal printer of the present invention has a structure in which the head unit and the ribbon holder unit are rotatable about a rotation shaft provided on the main body and can open the ink ribbon passage. It has the advantages that the operability is extremely good, the ink ribbon is hardly damaged, and the thermal head attached to the head unit can be easily replaced.

Embodiment of the Invention Hereinafter, an embodiment of the line thermal printer of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the configuration of the line thermal printer of the present invention is roughly divided into three parts: a main body 1, a head unit 2, and a ribbon holder unit 3.

The head unit 2 is attached to the upper side of the main body 1 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 4. A ribbon holder unit 3 is attached to the lower side so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 5.

A paper guide plate 7 serving as a passage for the printing paper 6 is provided below the main body 1. At a substantially central portion of the paper guide plate 7, a pair of transmissive photosensors 8 for confirming the presence or absence of the printing paper 6 is provided.

A pair of paper feed rollers 10 for feeding the print paper 6 into the inside of the paper guide plate 7 near the print paper insertion opening 9 are provided. On the other hand, a platen 12 is provided near the printing paper exit 11 for pressing the printing paper 6 through a printing paper 6 and pressing the printing paper 6 to the outside while printing. The rotation axis of the platen 12 is the same as the rotation axis 5 of the ribbon holder unit 3.

An ink ribbon supply shaft to be described later is provided on an upper portion of the main body 1.
Twenty-five holding parts 13 are provided.

A thermal head 14 is attached to the head unit 2 in the vicinity of the other end of the rotating shaft 4. Further, guide shafts 15 and 16 of a wide ink ribbon 24 are attached to the front and rear of the thermal head 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the head unit 2 is provided with a lever 17 for biting and fixing the pin 18 provided on the main body 1 when the head unit 2 is closed. The lever 17 has a fulcrum 63
The intermediate portion between the shaft 18 and the shaft 19 is constantly pulled in the direction of engagement with the pin 18 by the force of the spring 64, and the release of the lever 17 is
This is done by pulling 19 and releasing the pin 18 from biting.

The thermal head 14 attached to the head unit 2 has a structure that can be replaced even if it becomes defective, and will be described in detail below.

As shown in FIG. 4, the mounting surface 30 of the thermal head 14 is
A tenon for positioning the thermal head 14
Locating pins 31, 32 with 33, 34, and tenons 37, 38 and frusto-conical fixing part 3 for fixing the thermal head 14
Fixing pins 35, 36 with 9, 40 are provided.

On the other hand, in the frame 43 of the head unit 2, positioning holes for inserting tenons 33, 34 of the positioning pins 31, 32 are provided.
44, 45, and fixing holes 46, 47 for inserting the tenons 37, 38 of the fixing pins 35, 36 and the frusto-conical fixing portions 39, 40 are provided. In the vicinity of the fixing holes 46 and 47, a V-shaped notch 48 provided on a head holding plate 50 described later,
49 is located.

The head holding plate 50 has V-shaped notches 4 on the left and right.
8, 49 and a long hole 51 at the bottom, upper end 52 and lower end 53
The vicinity is bent to the opposite side to the frame 43 surface.

The head holding plate 50 is attached to the frame 43 by T-shaped guide pins 54 and 55 inside the long hole 51, and can be moved up and down within the range of the long hole 51. Further, the head holding plate 50 is constantly pulled in the direction of the lower end 53 by the attraction of a spring 58 attached to a hole 56 provided near the lower end 53 and a fixing pin 57 provided in the frame 43. Therefore, tenon 37, 38 of head fixing pins 35, 36 and frustoconical fixing part 39,
Since 40 is caught by the notches 48 and 49, the thermal head
14 is fixed.

Next, a method of attaching and detaching the thermal head 14 to and from the head unit 2 will be described.

First, when attaching the thermal head 14 to the head unit 2, the tenon 33, 34 of the positioning pins 31, 32 attached to the back surface of the thermal head 14 and the head fixing pin
The mortises 37 and 38 of 35 and 36 and the frusto-conical fixing parts 39 and 40 are provided with positioning holes 44 provided in the frame 43 of the head unit 2.
Insert into 45.

When inserting the frusto-conical fixing portions 39, 40 into the fixing holes 46, 47, the head holding plate 50 first moves toward the upper end portion 52, and then the frusto-conical fixing portions 39, 40 are fixed to the fixing holes 46, 47. 47 and the notches 48, 49, the spring 58 moves toward the opposite lower end 53 by the attraction of the spring 58, and the truncated conical fixing portions 39, 40
Is locked, thereby fixing the thermal head 14. That is, the head holding plate 50 serves as a stopper for fixing the frusto-conical fixing portions 39 and 40.

Next, a connector for power supply and a print signal (not shown) is inserted into the connectors 59 and 60 to complete the mounting.

On the other hand, when removing the thermal head 14, the head holding plate 50 is moved in the direction of the upper end 52 to release the locks of the frustoconical fixing portions 39, 40 and to connect the connectors 59, 56.
It is only necessary to remove the power supply and the connector (not shown) for the print signal.

Therefore, attachment and detachment of the thermal head 14 is very easy.

The ribbon holder unit 3 includes a holder 20 for an ink ribbon take-up shaft 26, which will be described later, and a pin 21 provided on the main body 1 when the ribbon holder unit 3 is set.
A lever 22 is provided for biting and fixing. In the lever 22, an intermediate portion between the fulcrum 62 and the shaft 23 is constantly pulled in the direction of engagement with the pin 21 by the force of the spring 61, and release of the lever 22 pulls the shaft 23 to engage the pin 21. Perform by removing. The holding portion 20 has a cut in the lower left direction so that the ink ribbon winding shaft 26 does not come off when the ribbon holder unit 3 is closed.

Next, a method for setting the ink ribbon 24 of the line thermal printer of the present invention will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the setting of the ink ribbon 24 is performed with the head unit 2 and the ribbon holder unit 3 opened from the main body 1.

First, the ink ribbon supply shaft 25 and the ink ribbon take-up shaft 26 are inserted into the holding unit 13 and the holding unit 20 with the ink ribbon 24 facing downward.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the head unit 2 is closed and fixed to the main body 1 and then the ribbon holder unit 3 is closed.
Is lifted and fixed to the main body 1 to complete the setting of the ink ribbon 24.

On the other hand, the printing paper 6 inserted from the printing paper insertion slot 9
Is taken in by the rotation of the paper feed roller 10 and sent to the thermal head 14 side along the paper guide plate 7. The printing paper 6 includes a thermal head 14 together with an ink ribbon 24.
Printing is performed in a state where the printing paper is pressed against the platen 12 and the printing paper
Retrieved from 11.

The thermal head 14 is normally held by the spring force of a spring 71. However, the motor 65 is rotated by a command from an external device (not shown), and a cam (not shown) attached to the shaft of the motor 65 is provided. 3), the platen 12 and the spring 71
Is pressed by the spring force of When the command is released, the pressure contact is also released.

The ink ribbon take-up shaft 26 for winding the ink ribbon 24, the shaft of the paper feed roller 10 for feeding the printing paper 6, and the shaft of the platen 12 are transmitted by a rotation shaft of a pulse motor 66 and a belt 67. These operations are performed by the drive of 66.

The driving force transmitted to the ink ribbon winding shaft 26 is transmitted by the belt 67 via a gear 68 having a friction mechanism. The transmission of the driving force is performed when the ribbon holder unit 3 is fixed to the main body 1 and the gear 68 meshes with the gear 69 attached to the ink ribbon winding shaft 26.

On the other hand, a gear 70 having a similar friction mechanism is also provided on the ink ribbon supply shaft 25 side, and while the print signal is being input, the pulse motor 66 is driven to drive the ink ribbon 24.
A constant tension is applied to the body.

As described above, the method for setting the ink ribbon 24 in the line thermal printer according to the present invention is as follows. The ink ribbon supply shaft 25 is placed in the holding portion 13 and the ink ribbon winding shaft 26 is placed in the holding portion 20. It is only necessary to close the holder unit 3. In this case, the ink ribbon 24 is moved from the ink ribbon supply shaft 25 side to the guide shaft 15 and the thermal head.
14, since the ink ribbon 24 moves to the ink ribbon take-up shaft 26 side via the guide shaft 16, a passage for the ink ribbon 24 is formed in the lower part of the head unit 2. Therefore,
When the head unit 2 and the ribbon holder unit 3 are opened, all the paths of the ink ribbon 24 are opened.

In this case, there is no need to wind the ink ribbon 24 in a long path, so that the operability at the time of mounting the ink ribbon 24 is extremely improved, and the ink ribbon 24 is not easily damaged. Further, the thermal head 14 can be easily replaced.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, according to the line thermal printer of the present invention, the ink ribbon take-up unit and the head unit are rotatably attached to the main body so as to be opposed to each other. The road can be largely opened, the mounting property at the time of mounting the ink ribbon is extremely good, and problems such as damage to the ink ribbon do not occur. Further, since the head unit and the ink ribbon take-up unit open and close, there is no need to disturb or remove the ink ribbon during maintenance and inspection of the thermal head.

Further, when the printing mechanism is provided near the paper discharge port and the ink ribbon take-up shaft holding section is provided above the printing mechanism, the entire apparatus can be made compact. In addition, because the printing mechanism is close to the paper exit, especially when printing labels, the printed labels can be discharged immediately, requiring special control or wasting labels. Instead, the label to be printed next can be positioned in the printing mechanism.

If the ink ribbon take-up shaft holding portion is provided on the ink ribbon take-up unit side of the printing mechanism, the apparatus can be made compact.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a line thermal printer according to one embodiment of the present invention with a head unit and a ribbon holder unit opened, and FIG. 2 is a side view of a cross section of a central portion of the main body of the line thermal printer. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the central portion of FIG. 1 with the head unit and ribbon holder unit closed, and FIG. 4 is an external view of the head unit with the thermal head removed from the frame. is there. 1: Main unit 2: Head unit 3: Ribbon holder unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-92886 (JP, A) JP-A-60-245574 (JP, A) JP-A-61-139470 (JP, A) JP-A-61-139470 266271 (JP, A) JP-A-62-158067 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 17/02, 17/24

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A line thermal printer for performing thermal transfer printing on paper using an ink ribbon by a line thermal head, a platen constituting a printing mechanism together with the line thermal head, and a supply for supplying the ink ribbon to the printing mechanism. A main body having an ink ribbon supply shaft holding portion for holding a shaft, a paper discharge port for discharging printed paper, and an ink ribbon winding shaft for holding a winding shaft for winding a used ink ribbon An ink ribbon take-up unit that has a holding portion and is rotatably supported on the paper discharge port side of the main body; and a position that has the line thermal head and faces the ink ribbon take-up unit of the main body. And a head unit rotatably supported on the line thermal printer. 2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said printing mechanism is provided near said paper discharge port, and said ink ribbon take-up shaft holding section is provided above said printing mechanism. Line thermal printer. 3. The line thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the ink ribbon take-up shaft holding portion is provided on the ink ribbon take-up unit side of the printing mechanism.