JP3273100B2 - Print head pressure adjustment mechanism of the printing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print head pressure adjusting mechanism for a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a print head pressure adjusting mechanism capable of easily adjusting a printing pressure corresponding to the width of a continuous strip having various widths. Regarding the mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a print head pressure adjusting mechanism of a printing apparatus, there is a mechanism as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example.

FIG. 6 is an overall configuration diagram of the printing apparatus 1.
The printing device 1 includes a printing unit 2 and a supply / rewind unit 3 for the ribbon R.
Consists of

The printing section 2 includes a thermal head 4 as a “print head” and a platen roller 5, and a belt-like continuous body on which a label L is temporarily attached to a mount 6 a is provided between the print head 4 and the platen roller 5. 6, the belt-shaped continuous body 6 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6 by rotation of the platen roller 5. Note that the label L and the mount 6a have substantially the same width.

The supply / rewind unit 3 includes a supply shaft 9 for supplying the ribbon R and a take-up shaft 12 for winding the supplied ribbon R. A ribbon roll 7 around which a ribbon R is wound is mounted on the supply shaft 9, and the ribbon R wound around the ribbon roll 7 is passed through guide shafts 10 and 11, a printing unit 2, a guide shaft 13, and a winding shaft 12. Is wound on the ribbon winding reel 8 attached to the reel.

When the belt-shaped continuous body 6 and the ribbon R overlap and are conveyed between the print head 4 and the platen roller 5,
The ink of the ribbon R is thermally transferred to the label L by heat generation of the thermal head 4, and necessary information is printed on the label L. Note that a label L on which necessary information is printed
Is peeled off from the backing paper 6a by a peeling plate 15 provided close to the print head 4. That is, the label L of the belt-shaped continuum 6 conveyed to the print unit 2 while being sandwiched between the print head 4 and the platen roller 5 is the print head 4
When the mount 6a is turned by the peeling plate 15 after printing, the rigidity is peeled off the mount 6a due to the rigidity and one end of the mount 6a is temporarily attached to the peeling plate 15. The labels L can be removed one by one by hand or delivered to a suction unit of a pasting device (not shown). .

Reference numeral 16 denotes a protective side plate,
And supports the guide shafts 10, 11, 13 and the like, and also serves to protect the printing unit 2 and the like from the outside without exposing them.

In such a printing apparatus 1, the label L
When printing is performed on the thermal head 4, if the width of the label L is different, it is necessary to apply a printing pressure corresponding to the width to the thermal head 4. That is, when the label L having the wide width W as shown in FIG. 8A is compared with the label L having the small width w as shown in FIG. When printing is not performed on the label L having a small width w, the printing may be thinner and thin due to insufficient pressure than when printing on the label L having a small width w. It was necessary to adjust the printing pressure of the head 4.

Conventionally, as such a print head pressure adjusting mechanism, for example, there is one as shown in FIG. Print head 4
Has a head cover 70 and a head holder 22 provided with a thermal head main body 22a at the tip, and both the head cover 70 and the head holder 22 are rotatably attached to a shaft 54. A spring 21 as an elastic body is interposed between the head cover 70 and the head holder 22.
The head holder 22 is turned in a direction away from the platen roller 5 when the adjustment screw 23 is tightened, and the head holder 22 is released when the adjustment screw 23 is loosened.
Are adjusted so as to be able to freely contact and separate from each other in the direction approaching the platen roller 5 by the force of the intervening spring 21.
That is, when a label L having a narrow width w is to be targeted, the adjustment screw 23 is tightened and the platen roller 5 and the head holder 2 are fixed.
2 to reduce the printing pressure on the label L. On the other hand, when targeting a wide label W, the adjustment screw 23 is loosened to reduce the distance between the platen roller 5 and the head holder 22 to reduce the label L. The print head pressure is adjusted by directly turning the adjustment screw 23 attached to the print head 4 so that the print head pressure is adjusted. The printing pressure per length is adjusted to be appropriate.

[0010]

However, in such a conventional print head pressure adjusting mechanism, the adjusting screw 2 is required.
Since the pressure of the print head 4 is adjusted by the “rotation amount” of tightening or loosening the print head 3, it is difficult to adjust the “print pressure” corresponding to the width of the belt-shaped continuous body 6. Printing section 2
The ribbon R is transported on the front surface (right side of FIG. 6), and the adjustment screw 23 is not exposed unless the ribbon R is once removed, so that a printing test while adjusting the printing pressure cannot be performed. Further, since the printing unit 2 is protected by the protective side plate 16, it is difficult to reach the adjusting screw 23, and it is more difficult to adjust the pressure of the thermal head 4.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to the above-mentioned points. The print head pressure which can easily adjust the print pressure corresponding to the width of the belt-shaped continuous body 6 at a position distant from the thermal head is described. An adjustment mechanism is provided.

[0012]

According to the present invention, in order to attain the above object, a belt-shaped continuous body is sandwiched between a print head having a head holder attached to a head cover via an elastic body and a platen roller, and is conveyed. A printing device that prints on the belt-shaped continuum with the print head, a head holding member abutting on the head cover, a plate member having a first long groove, and a plate member provided in proximity to the plate member; A swingable swing member having a curved surface having a second long groove obliquely intersecting the first long groove, and the band-shaped continuous member extending through the first and second long grooves along the first long groove. A slidable member slidably provided in the width direction of the body, the slidable member for regulating the width direction of the band-shaped continuous body, and an adjusting cam abutting on the head cover, and a swing member interlocked with the swing of the swing member. Swing to the printing It consists of a interlocking means for transmitting a de,
The sliding of the sliding member transmits the swing of the swing member to the print head via the interlocking means to adjust the head pressure of the print head.

[0013]

When the sliding member slides in the width direction of the strip-shaped continuum along the first long groove of the plate member and the slide member comes into contact with the side edge of the strip-shaped continuum, the sliding member is obliquely inserted into the first long groove. The swinging member swings because the second long groove of the swinging member that intersects the first long groove moves so as to overlap the first long groove. The swing of the swing member is
It is transmitted to the adjusting cam of the interlocking means that comes into contact with the head cover, and operates the adjusting cam. The head cover presses the head holder toward the platen roller against the elastic body or moves the head holder away from the platen roller by the operation of the head holding member and the adjusting cam that come into contact with the head cover. The print head pressure on the body is adjusted. In this way, by sliding the sliding member that regulates the width direction of the band-shaped continuum so as to abut on the side edge of the band-shaped continuum, the print head pressure corresponding to the width of the band-shaped continuity can be adjusted in conjunction. It can be achieved.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The parts described in the related art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

The print head pressure adjusting mechanism 30 of the present invention is provided upstream of the print head 4 in the conveying direction of the belt-shaped continuous body 6, and mainly includes a plate member 31, a swing member 32, and an adjustment pin 3.
3. It is composed of the interlocking means 34 and the head holding member 61.

The plate member 31 has a first elongated groove 40 in the width direction of the belt-shaped continuous body 6 (vertical direction in FIG. 3), and is provided on the frame 41 on the upstream side of the printing unit 2 (left side in FIGS. 2 and 3). Fixed.

The oscillating member 32 has a curved surface 32a on its upper surface, is provided below and close to the plate member 31, and is pivoted on a shaft 42 supported by the frame 41 and the vertical portion 31a of the plate member 31. It is supported and can swing about a shaft 42. The curved surface 32 a is provided with a second long groove 43 along the width direction of the belt-shaped continuous body 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the second long groove 43 is formed to have substantially the same length as the first long groove 40 of the plate member 31, and is provided so as to obliquely intersect the long groove 40. It is.

An adjustment pin 33 as a "sliding member" is provided so as to penetrate the first and second long grooves 40 and 43 and to slide freely on the plate member 31 along the long groove 40. ing. Then, the first long groove 40 and the second long groove 4
3 obliquely intersect with each other, when the adjustment pin 33 is slid in the width direction of the strip-shaped continuous body 6 along the first long groove 40, the second long groove 43 is displaced to the first long groove 40 side. The swing member 32 swings. The nut portion 33a of the adjustment pin 33 also serves as a “guide” for the strip-shaped continuum 6 that contacts the edge of the strip-shaped continuity 6 and regulates the width direction. When the adjustment pin 33 is slid according to the width of the belt-shaped continuous body 6, that is, when the adjustment pin 33 is slid upward in FIG.
The swing member 32 rotates rightward in FIG.
When the adjustment pin 33 is slid downward in the figure, the swinging member 32 rotates leftward in FIG.

The interlocking means 34 mainly comprises a link plate 50, a connecting rod 51, adjusting cams 52 and 57, and a head restraining member 61.

One end of the link plate 50 has one end of the swing member 32.
, And rotates rightward or leftward about the shaft 42 together with the swinging member 32. A pin 53 is attached to the other end of the link plate 50.

The connecting rod 51 includes a link plate 50 and an adjusting cam 5.
2, one end is connected to the pin 53 of the link plate 50, and the other end is connected to the pin 55 of the adjustment cam 52.
The swinging motion of the swinging member 32 by the connecting rod 51 is
It is transmitted to the adjustment cam 52.

The adjusting cam 52 is mounted on a shaft 54, one end of which is connected to the connecting rod 51 via the pin 55, and the other end of which is formed with a cam profile surface 52a.
As shown in FIG. 4, the cam contour surface 52a has a continuous shape such that the radius of the left portion is larger than the radius of the right portion, and the radius increases from the right end to the left end.

The adjusting cam 57 has a cam contour surface 57a similar to the cam contour surface 52a of the adjusting cam 52, and is mounted on a shaft 54 at an arbitrary distance from the adjusting cam 52. Then, the cam contour surfaces 52a, 57a of the adjustment cams 52, 57
Are in contact with the head cover 20.

The head cover 20 has an elongated hole 20a at its base end. The engagement hole 20a is provided so as to be displaceable with respect to the shaft 54. The head cover 20 is attached so as to cover the upper part of the head holder 22, and the head holder 22 is attached to the head cover 20 via a spring 21.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the head holding member 61 is attached so as to abut the head cover 20. This head holding member 61 is
And a shaft 64 bearing on the protection side plate 16, and a lock lever 60 is fixed to the shaft 64 outside the protection side plate 16. When the lock lever 60 is rotated to lock the locking pin 56, the head holding member 61 rotates according to the rotation of the shaft 64, and presses the head cover 20 from above to bring the entire print head 4 to the platen roller 5. By pressing, the ink ribbon R and the belt-shaped continuum 6 sandwiched between the print head 4 and the platen roller 5 are in a printable state.

Then, as shown in FIG.
When the lever 57 rotates clockwise, the bearing side of the head cover 20 is pushed upward, and the head cover 20 is pressed against the lower platen roller 5 at the tip end with the contact point with the head holding member 61 as a fulcrum. Adjusting cam 5
When the wheels 2 and 57 rotate to the left, the bearing side of the head cover 20 is lowered, and the front end of the head cover 20 is pushed upward by the force of the spring 21 with the contact point with the head holding member 61 as a fulcrum.

Next, the operation will be described. When the lock lever 60 is rotated to lock the locking pin 56, the head holding member 6
1 rotates and presses the head cover 20 against the platen roller 5 side to enter a printable state.

The adjusting pin 33 is slid along the first long groove 40 of the plate member 31 so as to match the width of the continuous strip 6. If you want to increase the printing pressure of the print head 4, see FIG.
When the print pressure of the print head 4 is to be reduced, the adjustment pins 33 are slid upward. For convenience of explanation, only the reduction of the printing pressure will be described below.

The adjustment pin 33 is slid upward along the first long groove 40 in FIG. 3 on the plate member 31, and the nut portion 33 a of the adjustment pin 33 serving also as a guide is brought into contact with the side edge of the strip-shaped continuous body 6. When the contact is made, the second long groove 43 of the swing member 32 inserted into the adjustment pin 33
In order to displace the position so as to overlap the long groove 40, the swing member 32 swings rightward in FIG.

When the swing member 32 swings, the link plate 50 of the interlocking means 34 fixed to the swing member 32 is similarly swung rightward. This swing is transmitted to the adjustment cam 52 via the connecting rod 51.

The adjustment cam 52 that has received the rightward displacement of the connecting rod 51 rotates leftward about the shaft 54. At this time, the other adjustment cam 57 pivotally mounted on the shaft 54 also rotates to the left at the same time, so that the base end of the head cover 20 that is in contact with the adjustment cams 52, 57 has the cam contour surface 52a,
It gradually decreases with the rotation of 57a. Head cover 20
When the base end of the head cover 20 is lowered, the front end of the head cover 20 is gradually pushed up with the contact point of the head holding member 61 as a fulcrum, and the head holder 22 attached via a spring 21 is
Is gradually pushed up in a direction away from the platen roller 5.

As described above, the nut portion 33a of the adjustment pin 33, which also serves as a guide, is brought into contact with the side edge of the continuous strip 6 in accordance with the width of the continuous strip 6, so that the continuous strip 6 is formed. The pressure of the print head 4 is reduced to a pressure corresponding to the width and becomes an appropriate pressure. In addition, the movement is transmitted to the swing member 32 and the interlocking means 34 by sliding the adjustment pin 33 on the plate member 31 provided in a space having a sufficient space away from the print head 4 without being obstructed by the conveyance of the ribbon R. Since the printing pressure of the printing head 4 is reduced by the swing of the adjusting cam 52 of the interlocking means 34, the printing head pressure can be easily adjusted while printing without removing the ribbon R.

Although the printing pressure of the print head 4 has been described above as being reduced to an appropriate pressure, it is needless to say that the printing pressure of the print head 4 can be increased to the proper pressure.

[0034]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By sliding the sliding member that regulates the width direction of the band-shaped continuum on the plate member and abutting against the side edge of the band-shaped continuum, the sliding member corresponding to the width of the band-shaped continuity is slid. ,
Since the interlocking means interlocks with the sliding to adjust the print head pressure, there is an effect that the print head pressure corresponding to the width of the belt-shaped continuum can be easily adjusted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a print head pressure adjusting mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the entire printing apparatus provided with a print head pressure adjusting mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a plate member portion of the print head pressure adjusting mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a print head pressure adjusting mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view showing a relationship between a head holding member and a print head.

FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional printing apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a print head portion.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are side views showing the relationship between a print head, a platen roller, and a continuous strip.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 printing device 2 printing unit 4 print head (thermal head) 5 platen roller 6 belt-like continuous body 20 head cover 21 spring (elastic body) 22 head holder 31 plate member 32 swing member 32 a curved surface 33 adjustment pin (sliding member) 34 interlocking Means 40 First long groove 43 Second long groove 52 Adjusting cam 52a Cam contour surface 57 Adjusting cam 57a Cam contour surface 61 Head holding member R Ribbon L Label

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A printing apparatus in which a belt-shaped continuous body is sandwiched between a print head in which a head holder is attached to a head cover via an elastic body and a platen roller, and the print head prints on the continuous band while transporting the belt-shaped continuous body. A head holding member that comes into contact with the head cover; a plate member having a first long groove; and a second long groove that is provided close to the plate member and obliquely intersects the first long groove. A swingable swinging member provided in the first and second long grooves, and slidably provided in the width direction of the strip-shaped continuum along the first long groove; A sliding member that regulates the width direction, comprising an adjusting cam that abuts on the head cover, and interlocking means that transmits the swing of the swing member to the print head in conjunction with the swing of the swing member, Of the sliding member Moving the print head pressure adjustment mechanism of the printing apparatus, characterized in that the swinging of the swinging member for adjusting the head pressure of the interlocking means print head is transmitted to the print head through. 2. The linking means includes: a link plate having one end interlocked with the swing member; a connecting rod having one end connected to the link plate; and an adjusting cam connected to the other end of the connecting rod. The print head pressure adjusting mechanism for a printing apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: 3. A print head pressure adjusting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said adjusting cam contacts one surface of said head cover, and said head suppressing member contacts said other surface.