JP3688176B2 - Printing device with line thermal head - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for energizing a line thermal head to perform printing on an object to be printed, and more particularly to an improvement in a structure for mounting a line thermal head to a head mounting member.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a printing apparatus using a line thermal head, when the line thermal head reaches the pulse life, it is necessary to replace it with a new line thermal head. During the replacement of the line thermal head, the flow of an object to be printed, for example, the product packaging line, is stopped. Therefore, it is desired that the replacement of the line thermal head can be performed quickly and accurately. If the line thermal head is not accurately attached in a predetermined posture, the parallelism between the head and the ribbon tape cannot be maintained, and the ribbon tape snakes when the ribbon tape is fed or rewound.
[0003]
Further, when the line thermal head is pressed against the platen for printing, a clear print cannot be obtained unless the line thermal head is properly pressed against the platen. As described above, a printing apparatus using a line thermal head is required to satisfy various requirements. However, at present, a printing apparatus using a line thermal head that can sufficiently satisfy these requirements is not provided.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention allows easy installation and removal of the line thermal head, keeps the head and ribbon tape parallel before pressurization, suppresses meandering of the ribbon tape by feeding and rewinding, and applies pressure to the platen during pressurization. On the other hand, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus using a line thermal head configured so that clear printing can be obtained by properly pressing the thermal head.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a magnetic plate on the line thermal head, a magnet on the mounting side member, and a stretchable structure that protrudes with a spring so as to keep the head before pressurization parallel to the ribbon tape. A plunger with a gap is provided, a mounting and alignment pin is provided on one of the line thermal head and the mounting side member, and a hole for fitting the same pin is provided on the other side, and either the line thermal head or the mounting side member is provided. A protrusion in the shape of a round bar is provided on one side, and the other is in contact with the protrusion, and a gap is formed between the magnet and the magnetic plate by the protrusion, and the line thermal head is pressed against the platen. said mounting and said mounting member relative to the pin for alignment as a fulcrum the projection to be pressed against the platen by the expansion and contraction of the plunger causes displaced along the bore when Providing a printing apparatus according to configuration the line thermal head to be held by the swingably said magnet.
[0006]
In the printing apparatus using the line thermal head according to the present invention configured as described above, the line thermal head provided with the magnetic material is attracted by the magnet on the mounting side and is held by the mounting side member. Can do. Moreover, a protrusion provided on one of the line thermal head and the mounting side member protrudes, and the line thermal head can swing relative to the mounting side member with the protrusion as a fulcrum. Is provided with a stretchable plunger so that the head is kept parallel to the ribbon tape. In addition, when pressed against the platen, the head is appropriately pressed against the platen by swinging about the protrusion described above by expansion and contraction of the plunger.
[0007]
With the above operation, according to the printing apparatus of the present invention, meandering of the ribbon tape can be suppressed during feeding and rewinding of the ribbon tape, and the thermal head can obtain a clear print with a good pressure contact state with the platen.
[0008]
Further, the printing apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the configuration described above, provided the pin for attachment and alignment to either Re not have a line thermal head and the mounting member, a hole the pin is fitted into the other and it has a structure in which, Ru quickly carried to the mounting of the line thermal head with respect to the mounting side exact position.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described based on illustrated embodiments. First, in FIG. 1 showing the overall configuration, 2 is a line thermal head, and 4 is a platen. A sheet 6 to be printed is transferred between the line thermal head 2 and the platen 4 on the platen 4 side, and the thermal transfer ribbon tape 8 is fed out from the raw fabric shaft 10 and wound on the take-up shaft 12 on the line thermal head 2 side. Sent.
[0010]
The configuration of the line thermal head 2 is shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and will be described. 2 to 4, an iron plate 22 is attached to the line thermal head 2 on the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the thermal transfer ribbon tape 8. Reference numeral 24 denotes an iron plate mounting / combination pin. The iron plate 22 is attached to the thermal head 2 by this pin 24 and, as will be described later, is fitted into a hole provided in the attachment side member to perform alignment. Have. Two mounting and combining pins 24 are provided.
[0011]
Reference numeral 26 denotes an attachment-side member that holds the thermal head 2 and has a function of bringing it into contact with or separating from the platen 4. A magnet 28 is attached to the attachment side member 26. A plunger 30 is attached to the attachment side member 26 so as to protrude toward the thermal head 2 with elasticity. Reference numeral 32 denotes a spring which functions to make the plunger 30 protrude with elasticity.
[0012]
The attachment side member 26 is provided with two holes 34 into which the attachment and combination pins 24 attached to the thermal head 2 are fitted when the thermal head 2 is attached. 36 is a protrusion in the shape of a round bar, which is attached to the attachment side member 26. As will be described later, when the thermal head 2 is supported by the attachment side member 26, the thermal head 2 is opposed to the attachment side member 26. It becomes a fulcrum when tilting relatively.
[0013]
The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the thermal head 2 is held by the magnetic force of the magnet 28 with respect to the attachment side member 26. The positioning of the thermal head 2 with respect to the attachment side member 26 can be easily performed by fitting the attachment / combination pin 24 attaching the iron plate 22 into the hole 34. The thermal head 2 can be easily removed and attached easily because the iron plate 22 is merely pulled and held by the magnetic force of the magnet 28.
[0014]
In the state in which the thermal head 2 is held by the attachment-side member 26, as shown in FIG. 4, a gap is formed between the two by the projection 36, and the gap is formed by the presence of the stretchable plunger 30. A space for allowing the thermal head 2 to swing with respect to the attachment side member 26 is provided with 36 as a fulcrum. Due to the displacement of the thermal head 2 with the projection 36 as a fulcrum, when the thermal head 2 is pressed against the platen 4 with the print target sheet 6 and the thermal transfer ribbon tape 8 interposed therebetween, the thermal head 2 is pressed against the platen 4 well. It becomes a state.
[0015]
Before the thermal head 2 is pressed against the platen 4, the plunger 30 keeps the thermal head 2 parallel to the ribbon tape 8 and suppresses meandering when the ribbon tape 8 is fed or rewound. With the above configuration and operation, the printing apparatus can perform clear printing.
[0016]
The present invention has been specifically described above based on the illustrated embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and the specific structure and configuration are within the scope of the present invention shown in the claims. Needless to say, various changes may be made.
[0017]
For example, although the protrusion 36 is attached to the attachment side member 26 in the above embodiment, it may be attached to the thermal head 2 side. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the iron plate 22 was attached to the thermal head 2, magnetic bodies other than an iron plate may be sufficient. Furthermore, although the circular magnet 28 is used in the said embodiment, it is not restricted to circular.
[0018]
In the above embodiment, the iron plate mounting and combining pin 24 is used for positioning the thermal head 2 with respect to the mounting side member 26. However, an aligning pin may be provided separately from the iron plate mounting pin.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the magnetic plate is provided on the line thermal head, and the magnet on the attachment side member and the elastic plunger protruding by the spring so as to keep the head before pressurization parallel to the ribbon tape. A mounting and alignment pin is provided on one of the line thermal head and the mounting side member, and a hole for fitting the same pin is provided on the other side, and either the line thermal head or the mounting side member is rounded. Protrusion in the shape of a rod is provided, the other is in contact with the protrusion, a gap is formed between the magnet and the magnetic plate by the protrusion, and the line thermal head is pressed against the platen when the line thermal head is pressed against the platen. oscillatable relatively friendly to the mounting member to the protrusion as a fulcrum so as to be pressed against the platen by the expansion and contraction of the plunger with the pin of the mounting and alignment is displaced along said bore Providing a printing apparatus according to configuration the line thermal head so as to be held by the magnet.
[0020]
In the printing apparatus using the line thermal head of the present invention configured as described above, the line thermal head provided with the magnetic material is attracted by the magnet on the mounting side and held by the mounting side member, so that it can be attached and detached with one touch. Can do.
Further, a protrusion provided on one of the line thermal head and the mounting side member protrudes, and the line thermal head can swing relative to the mounting side member with the protrusion as a fulcrum. Is provided with a stretchable plunger, so that the head is kept parallel to the ribbon tape, and when pressed against the platen, the plunger swings around the projection by the expansion and contraction of the plunger, and the head is moved to the platen. Appropriate pressure contact is achieved, and clear prints can be obtained.
[0021]
In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the configuration described above, provided the pin for attachment and alignment to either Re not have a line thermal head and the mounting member is provided with a hole for the pin is fitted into the other since configuration and then are, the attachment of the line thermal head with respect to the mounting side quickly performed in the correct position.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the overall configuration of a printing apparatus using a line thermal head according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of the line thermal head shown in FIG.
FIGS. 3A and 3B are views of the line thermal head of FIG. 2 as viewed from another side, where FIG. 3A is a view taken along an arrow A in FIG. 2, FIG. 2B is a view taken along an arrow B in FIG. ) End view.
4 is a side view similar to FIG. 2, but showing a state in which the thermal head main body is joined to the attachment side member. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 Line Thermal Head 4 Platen 6 Print Target Sheet 8 Thermal Transfer Ribbon Tape 10 Original Shaft 12 Winding Shaft 22 Iron Plate 24 Iron Plate Mounting and Pin 26 Mounting Side Member 28 Magnet 30 Plunger 32 Spring 34 Hole 36 Protrusion

Claims (1)

Line a plate of magnetic material provided on the thermal head, the mounting member provided with a magnet, and a plunger with a protruding been stretch a spring to keep the head of the pressurization parallel to the ribbon tape, the line thermal head and A mounting / positioning pin is provided on one of the mounting side members, and a hole for fitting the same pin is provided on the other side, and a protrusion in the shape of a round bar is provided on either the line thermal head or the mounting side member. The other is brought into contact with the projection and a gap is formed between the magnet and the magnetic plate by the projection, so that the line thermal head has the mounting and positioning pin when pressed against the platen. held by the mounting member relatively swingably said magnet said protrusion as a fulcrum so as to be pressed against the platen by the expansion and contraction of the plunger causes displaced along said bore Printer using a line thermal head is characterized by being configured as.

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