JP3234680B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for printing data output from a computer or the like on paper.
In particular, the present invention relates to a printer in which an upper frame can be opened and closed with respect to a lower frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a printer in which a part of a frame can be opened and closed for exchanging sheets and removing a sheet jam.

For example, a platen and a paper conveying device are arranged on a lower frame, a print head is arranged on an upper frame, and the upper frame is rotated with respect to the lower frame on one side away from the print head. Connected as possible. The upper frame has an upper cover that covers the upper frame, and the lower frame has a cover that covers the lower frame.

In a normal state, that is, in a printing state, an upper frame is positioned on a lower frame by a lock mechanism so that the print head faces the platen, and paper is passed between the print head and the platen by a transport device. While the paper is being conveyed, printing is performed on paper by the print head.

When the lock mechanism is released and the upper frame is rotated around a rotation axis on one side to replace the paper or remove the paper jam, the print head makes a large arc motion from the platen. Leave. In this state,
The transport device between the platen and the pivot axis of the upper frame can be reached, the paper can be removed, and new paper can be set in the transport device.

[0006]

In the printer having the above-mentioned structure, a hand must be put on a transfer device in a narrow space between the upper frame and the platen in an open state when replacing paper or removing paper jam. Therefore, there was a problem in the handling of the paper. Increasing the space around the transporting device solves the problem, but has the disadvantage of increasing the size of the printer.

When the upper frame is opened, the rotating shaft must be placed outside the upper and lower covers so that the upper cover does not interfere with the lower cover. However, if the shaft is supported by the cover itself, the accuracy of the position of the print head cannot be maintained, so that the upper and lower frames are extended outside the cover to support the shaft. For this reason, the size of the printer is increased and the external design is deteriorated.

In general, in a printer, a motor for moving a print head in a print line direction and a motor for driving a conveying device are usually placed outside the side walls of the upper and lower frames. In addition, a circuit board for controlling the print head, each motor, and the like is placed below or behind the upper and lower frames, and the upper and lower frames and the circuit board are covered together by a cover. For this reason,
Not only did the printer become larger, but the paper path became longer, making paper handling difficult.

Further, when replacing the ink ribbon cassette, the upper cover must be removed from the upper frame, so that the mechanical parts of the printer and the circuit board are exposed, and there is a difficulty in handling from the viewpoint of safety. Was.

[0010] The present invention solves the above drawbacks and problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a printer which is small in size and yet excels in exchanging a ribbon cassette or the like and handling paper.

[0011]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention includes a frame above having a print head, a conveying device for conveying paper through between the printing head and opposed to the platen and the platen and the print head, in the sheet conveying direction Line up
And a lower frame disposed Te, the upper frame, in one side of the platen far side from the conveying device to the lower frame, rotatably supported about an axis substantially perpendicular to the sheet conveying direction Thereby, the upper frame, a closed position that covers the upper part of the platen and the transport device ,
A printer that can be moved to an open position and which opens into the one side of the platen away from above the conveying device, before
It is fixed to the upper frame over the upper frame,
Pivotable about the axis together with the upper frame
The upper cover and the side near the rotation axis of the upper cover.
The surface of the print head on the side remote from the transport device
And an open surface provided to open the upper cover.
At a position opposite to the platen across the rotation axis,
An axis parallel to the rotation axis of the upper cover on the lower frame.
A front cover rotatably provided around the line ,
The front cover covers the open side of the upper cover
Prevents the upper cover and upper frame from moving toward the open position
Closed position, and open the upper cover to open the upper cover.
Opening that allows the bar and upper frame to move in the opening position direction
And a position .

[0012]

In the printer according to the present invention, when the upper frame is at the closed position, the print head faces the platen, and the paper is transported between the print head and the platen by the transport device, and the print head places the paper on the paper. Perform printing. When the upper frame moves to the open position, it pivots about an axis located on one side of the platen remote from the transport device. That is, the upper frame sandwiches the platen
To rotate around the axis located on the opposite side of the conveyor.
As a result, the upper frame moves away from above the transfer device to one side of the platen. Thereby, the conveying device out of the arrangement between the frame and the platen over the open position located, above
More than the space formed between the frame and the platen
A large space is formed between the upper frame and the transport device
As a result, it is easy to remove the paper from the transport device and to easily load the paper into the device.

Further, the front cover can be opened by being rotated about an axis provided on the lower frame. This allows the upper cover to be closer to the rotation axis.
The print head surface away from the transport device
The print head is exposed, so that the ribbon cassette
Exchange becomes possible. And the front cover is open
The front cover is already the top cover
It is retracted to the side away from the al conveying device, moreover, the upper Ca
The bar is on the side close to the axis of rotation and separated from the conveyor.
An open surface is provided to release the print head surface on the
So that even if the upper cover is turned up
In addition, the print head is sandwiched between the rotation axis of the cover
The opposite part does not collide with the lower cover.
Therefore, the upper cover is large without interfering with the lower cover.
The paper can be released from the
It is easier to remove and attach.
Become. Moreover, the front cover is supported by the lower frame
When opening or closing the upper cover,
The front cover that is already open
There is no need to rotate the bar. That is, Freon
The upper cover while leaving the upper cover in the lower frame.
Only one can be easily and reliably opened and closed.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The printer of this embodiment includes an upper frame 1 and a lower frame 30. As shown in FIG. 1, the upper frame 1 is provided with a print head 2 having a print operation surface facing downward, and the lower frame 30 is provided with a platen 37 facing the print head 2 and a pair of pin tractors 3 as a transport device.
4, 34 are provided.

The print head 2 is of a normal impact type in which a plurality of wires are driven toward a platen 37 by corresponding electromagnets. The print head 2 includes a carriage 4 together with the ink ribbon cassette 3.
And is slidably supported in a printing line direction by a guide shaft 5 and a guide rail portion 5a of a center plate 1c described later. The carriage 4 is driven in the printing line direction via the belt 8 by the motor 7 in FIG.

The pin tractors 34, 34 are provided with a large number of pins 34 on the outer periphery of a rotating member, that is, a belt, similarly to a conventional one.
The feed holes on both sides of the continuous paper are engaged with the pins 34a, and the pins 34a are moved by the rotation of the drive shaft 33 to convey the continuous paper. The pin tractor has an openable and closable paper restraining member, i.e., a lid 34b, on the upper surface to maintain the engagement between the pin and the continuous paper. Pin tractor 34,
Numeral 34 is supported by the drive shaft 33 and the support shaft 35 so as to be slidable in the printing line direction, and can be fixed at a position corresponding to the width of the continuous paper.

In this printer, a path P for continuous paper is formed between the belt of the pin tractor 34 and the lid 34b, and between the print head 2 and the platen 37, and the print head 2 performs a one-line printing operation on the continuous paper. Each time, the continuous paper is transported by the pin tractor 34 in a direction orthogonal to the row direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the upper frame 1 has a rigid frame structure composed of left and right side plates 1a and 1b and a center plate 1c connecting the two plates. Both side plates 1a, 1b
Supports both ends of the guide shaft 5, and the center plate 1c supports two circuit boards 14. The circuit board 14 includes the print head 2, the motor 7, and the motor 11 for driving the pin tractor.
And a circuit for controlling the The circuit board 14 has a center plate 1c.
Are located on the opposite side of the carriage 4, and are substantially parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 4 and are long and located in the vertical direction. Two motors 7 and 11 are provided at both ends of the circuit board 14, and one motor 7 is provided on the center plate 1c near the inner side of the side plate 1a.
, And the other motor 11 is mounted inside the side plate 1b. This makes the balance between the left and right weights when carrying the printer substantially uniform.

The lower frame 30 includes left and right side plates 30a, 3
0b and a plate 30c connecting both plates at one end,
It is integrally formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from the plane.
The platen 37 is close to the inside of the plate 30c,
a, 30b. The drive shaft 33 and the support shaft 35 of the pin tractor 34 are provided at both ends with both side plates 30a,
It is supported by 30b. As shown in FIG. 1, the pin tractor 34 is positioned so that one end thereof extends under the platen 37. As a result, the lid 34b is positioned close to the upper surface of the platen 37 at one end, and lifts the sheet on the platen 37. Minimized.

The upper frame 1 and the lower frame 30 are rotatably connected around a step screw 60 as an axis. More specifically, the lower frame 30 is provided near the left and right side plates 3 near one side of the platen 37 away from the pin tractor 34.
It has an arm 30d (FIG. 1) rising from 0a, 30b. The step screw 60 penetrates the arm 30d and both side plates 1a and 1b of the upper frame 1 overlapping with the arm 30d, and moves the upper frame 1 around an axis perpendicular to the paper transport direction (that is, parallel to the print line direction). , Can be opened and closed with respect to the lower frame 30.

In the closed position, the upper frame 1 covers above the platen 37 and the pin tractor 34 as shown in FIG. That is, at this position, the print head 2 faces the platen 37, and the circuit board 14 and the two motors 7, 11 are located above the pin tractor 34.

When the upper frame 1 is in the open position,
As described above, the platen 37 is opened so as to stand on the one side of the platen 37 away from above the pin tractor 34. At this position, the stopper 1e bent from the both side plates 1a and 1b of the upper frame abuts on the plate 30c of the lower frame to limit the rotation angle of the upper frame 1.

The locking means for locking the upper frame 1 to the closed position is composed of a pair of lock arms 15 and 16 and a bent portion 45. A pair of lock arms 15 and 16 are respectively provided outside both side plates 1a and 1b of the upper frame 1 and are fixed to both ends of a shaft 17 penetrating the upper frame 1 in the left-right direction so that both can be rotated simultaneously. Has become. An operating portion 15c for manual operation is extended only on one arm 15.

The bent portions 45 are provided on both side plates 30a and 30b of the lower frame 30 corresponding to the arms 15 and 16, respectively. Further, guide pins 47 are provided below the bent portions. Each of the arms 15 and 16 has a lock portion 15a that abuts against the bent portion 45 from below.
7 having a U-shaped portion 15b. The arms 15 and 16 are constantly urged by the spring 21 to rotate in a direction in which the arms 15 and 16 are engaged with the bent portions 45.

When the upper frame 1 is closed, the U-shaped portion 1 is closed before the lock portion 15a engages with the bent portion 45 as shown in FIG.
An arcuate portion on the lower surface of the tip of 5b contacts the guide pin 47. The arm 15 moves the arm 15 by the cam action of the arc portion.
1 to bring the lock portion 15a to a position where it engages with the bent portion 45. Thereby, the lock portion 15a
And the wear of the bent portion 45 is minimized. Lock part 15a
The guide pin 47 is separated from the inner surface of the U-shaped portion 15b when the bent portion 45 is engaged with the guide pin 47.

The first elastic means for pushing up the upper frame 1 by a first angle smaller than the open position comprises a pre-open lever 38 (FIGS. 3 and 4) and a spring 40. The pre-open lever 38 is connected to one side plate 3 of the lower frame.
0a and the pin tractor 34, it is rotatably supported on a support shaft 35. The side plate 1a of the upper frame 1 is provided with a projection 20 that hangs down toward the lever 38. The lever 38 is urged by a spring 40 such that its free end pushes up the protrusion 20.

The second elastic means for holding the upper frame 1 in the open position includes the pins 18 and 19 and the open lock lever 4.
1 and 42 and springs 43 and 44. The pair of pins 18 and 19 are respectively connected to both side plates 1 a and 1 of the upper frame 1.
In FIG. 2B, the shaft 60 is provided at a portion slightly protruding in the sheet conveying direction from the shaft 60, and extends substantially parallel to the central axis direction of the shaft 60. The pair of open lock levers 41 and 42 are
Side plates 30a, 3 of the lower frame corresponding to the pins 18, 19
0b is rotatably supported by a shaft 46 parallel to the pins 18 and 19, and is urged by springs 43 and 44 in a direction to push up the pins 18 and 19. Pins 18 and 19 are shown in FIG.
As shown in 5, the upper frame 1 moves back and forth with respect to the shaft 60 with the rotation of the upper frame 1. During this movement, the upper frame 1 slides on the levers 41 and 42 and abuts thereon to receive the urging force.

The pin tractor 34 is driven by the motor 11 through the gear train shown in FIG. On a side plate 1b of the upper frame 1, a motor 11 and gears 12, 13 driven by the motor are supported. Gears 31 and 32 meshing with each other are supported on a side plate 30 b of the lower frame 30, and a gear 32 at a subsequent stage is fixed to a drive shaft 33 of a pin tractor 34. When the upper frame 1 is in the closed position, the gear 13 of the upper frame meshes with the gear 31 of the lower frame 30, and the rotation of the motor 11 is transmitted to the pin tractor 34. When the upper frame 1 moves to the open position,
The engagement of 3, 31 is released.

The upper cover 50 is fixed to the upper frame 1 so as to cover the upper frame 1 itself, the carriage 4, the circuit board 14, the motors 7, 11 and the gear trains 12, 13, 31, 32, and is fixed to the upper frame 1. Can be rotated about the shaft 60. The upper cover 50 has an open surface 50 for exposing the print head 2 and the ribbon cassette 3 on one side.
have a.

The front cover 52 is provided on the open surface 50a of the upper cover so as to be openable and closable. That is, the front cover 52 covers the print head 2 and the ribbon cassette 3 from the side opposite to the platen 37 across the shaft 60 so as to be openable and closable. The front cover 52 is made of an elastic resin material, and is locked at that position by engaging the claw 52a with the notch 50b of the upper cover 50 when in the closed position. By pushing the upper surface of the front cover 52 against the elasticity, the claw 52a is disengaged from the notch 50b, and the front cover 52 can be opened.

The front cover 52 has a pair of arms 53 extending toward the below-described lower cover 51 on both left and right sides of the paper path P. The lower end of the arm 53 is rotatably supported by the shaft 54 of the lower cover 51, and can open and close the front cover 52 around the shaft 54 as described above.

The lower cover 51 is formed in a box shape with an open top so as to accommodate the lower frame 30. The side plates 30a and 30b of the lower frame 30 are fixed to the bottom wall of the lower cover 51 via the rubber cushion 55. The lower cover 51 has an opening 56 opened downward adjacent to the front and rear walls,
A plurality of walls 57 cross the opening at intervals.
A pair of shafts 54 (FIG. 2) are formed between the walls 57. The axis 54 is outside the axis 60 and is parallel to the axis 60.

At one end of the lower cover 51, a control box 58 is provided upright as shown in FIG. The control box 58 is located on the side of the upper cover 50 and the front cover 52, and has a key switch 59 on an upper surface, a connector 61 for connecting to a host computer, and a connector 62 for connecting to a power supply on a side surface.

The operation of the printer according to the present embodiment will be described below.

When the upper frame 1 is in the closed position, that is, in a printable state as shown in FIG. 1, the lock arms 15 and 16 are engaged with the bent portions 45 (FIG. 2) to hold the upper frame 1 in the closed position. ing. In this state, the print head 2 is opposed to the platen 37 at a small interval, and the continuous paper is conveyed between the print head 2 and the platen 37 by the pin tractor 34 to perform printing on the continuous paper. Can be.

When the ribbon cassette 3 is to be replaced, the front cover 52 is opened by rotating the front cover 52 around a shaft 54 so as to fall forward as shown in FIG. Then, the print head 2 and the ribbon cassette 3 are exposed, and the ribbon cassette 3 can be replaced through the open surface of the upper cover 50.

When replacing the paper and removing the paper jam, open the front cover 52 as described above.
The operation unit 15c of the lock arm 15 is exposed. When the operating portion 15 c is operated against the spring 21 and rotated clockwise in FIG. 2, the lock arms 15 and 16 are disengaged from the bent portion 45 and the guide pin 47. FIG. 4
The pre-open lever 38 pushes up the protrusion 20 of the upper frame 1 by the action of the spring 40 as shown in FIG. The upper frame 1 and the upper cover 50 are opened by an angle X smaller than the fully opened open position. At this time, the open lock levers 41 and 42 press the pins 18 and 19 to urge the upper frame 1 toward the closed position. The urging force of the springs 43 and 44 of the open lock lever is 38 is sufficiently smaller than the urging force of the spring 40.

Thereafter, the operator manually operates the upper cover 50.
Is further lifted about the shaft 60 and moved to the fully open position. As the upper frame 1 rotates about the shaft 60, the pins 18, 19 move about the shaft 60, and when the pins 18 and 19 exceed the position directly below the shaft 60, the open lock levers 41, 42 as shown in FIG. 5 urges the pins 18 and 19 about the shaft 60 in the clockwise direction in FIG. The upper frame 1 stops at the open position when the stopper 1e contacts the lower frame 30.

When the upper frame 1 and the upper cover 50 rotate integrally about the shaft 60, the front cover 52 is already separated from the upper cover 50. Therefore, the upper cover 50 does not interfere with the lower cover 51.

When the upper frame 1 is in the open position, the space above the pin tractor 34 is opened as shown in FIG. 5, so that the cover 34b of the pin tractor 34 is opened to remove paper or remove new paper. Can be installed. In this state, the upper frame 1 stands on one side of the platen 37 away from the pin tractor 34. That is, since the pin tractor 34 is located outside the arrangement of the platen 37 and the upper frame 1, the pin tractor 34 and the sheet can be easily operated by hand.

When returning the upper frame 1 and the upper cover 50 to the closed position again, the upper cover 50 is manually
Defeat mainly. As a result, when the pins 18 and 19 move out of the lower frame 30 just below the shaft 60, the upper frame 1 naturally falls to the position of the angle X (FIG. 4).
Further, the upper frame 1 is manually pushed down against the bias of the pre-open lever 38. Then, lock arm 1
The upper and lower frames 5 and 16 are engaged with the bent portion 45 by the action of the spring 21, and the upper frame 1 is fixed to the lower frame 30 in the closed position.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, the printer can be configured to be small, and as a result, the paper transport path is shortened, the handling of the paper is improved, the replacement of the ribbon cassette and the like , and the paper replacement are performed. when the or paper jam removal and the like, a front cover and the upper cover can be opened in response to each task, and a ribbon cassette, easily close the hand with respect to the transport device and the sheet of paper, facilitates the work This has the effect of being

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially broken side view showing an operation state of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a part of the printer.

FIG. 4 is an operation state diagram of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an operation state diagram of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a partial operation state diagram of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the printer.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an internal mechanism of the printer taken out therefrom.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 upper frame 2 print head 4 carriage 7 motor 11 motor 14 circuit board 15 lock arm 16 lock arm 30 lower frame 34 pin tractor 37 platen 50 upper cover 51 lower cover 52 front cover

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] An upper frame having a print head, and a lower frame in which a platen facing the print head and a transport device for transporting a paper sheet between the platen and the print head are arranged side by side in the paper transport direction. And supporting the upper frame on the lower frame on one side of the platen remote from the transport device so as to be rotatable around an axis substantially perpendicular to the paper transport direction .
And by, the upper frame, and a closed position for covering the upper side of the platen and conveying device, movable with the purine <br/> the open position and to open into the one side of the platen away from above the conveying device And fixed to the upper frame so as to cover the upper frame.
Pivotable about the axis with the upper frame.
The upper cover, and the upper cover close to the rotation axis of the upper cover.
Open the surface of the head away from the transfer device.
And the platen is opposed to the open surface provided on the upper cover and the rotation axis of the upper cover.
At the opposite position, the lower frame pivots on the lower frame
A front cover rotatably provided about an axis parallel to the axis , and the front cover covers an open surface of the upper cover.
Prevents the upper cover and upper frame from moving toward the open position
Closed position, and open the upper cover to open the upper cover.
Opening that allows the bar and upper frame to move in the opening position direction
A printer characterized in that it can take a position . 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the transporting device includes a rotating member having a pin on an outer periphery, and a paper holding member for maintaining engagement between the pin and feed holes provided on both sides of the sheet. A printer in which the paper holding member is openable and closable with respect to the rotating member, and the paper holding member is openable when the upper frame is opened. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a circuit board having a circuit for controlling the print head is supported on the upper frame substantially in parallel with a moving direction of the print head, and the upper frame is closed. When in position, the circuit board is above the transport device and the top cover covers the circuit board. 4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein a motor for moving the print head in a print line direction and a motor for driving the transport device are provided on the upper frame.
Printers installed at both ends of the circuit board. 5. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a lock lever means having at one end a lock portion for releasably locking the upper frame with respect to the lower frame, and a manual operation portion at the other end. A printer that covers a manual operation portion of the lock lever when the front cover is in a closed position. 6. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a ribbon cassette is detachable near the print head through an open surface of the upper cover. 7. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the lower frame has a lower cover that covers the lower frame, and the front cover is rotatably attached to the lower cover. 8. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the front cover and the upper cover have claws and notches that engage with each other to hold the front cover in a closed position.