JP4349726B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer including a support mechanism that supports a pinch roller and a tilt mechanism that opens and closes a print section with respect to a medium conveyance surface in order to open a medium conveyance path.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Generally, in a printer, an inserted medium is conveyed along a predetermined conveyance path, and after a predetermined printing is performed on the medium by a printing unit, the medium is discharged again. In order to replace the ink ribbon cassette in the printing unit or to remove the jammed medium in the conveyance path, there is a support mechanism for supporting the pinch roller and a tilt mechanism for opening and closing the printing unit with respect to the medium conveyance surface. Is provided.
[0003]
FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional printer provided with such a tilt mechanism. Reference numeral 1 denotes a medium transport motor attached to the printer main body A, which rotates drive rollers 2a to 2d arranged below the transport surface in a specified direction. On the upper side of the conveying surface, pinch rollers 3a to 3d are positioned so as to elastically press the drive rollers 2a to 2d. The drive rollers 2a to 2d and the pinch rollers 3a to 3d constitute a conveyance path having a medium insertion / discharge port at the right end of FIG. The pinch rollers 3a and 3b from the insertion / discharge port to the middle of the conveyance path are supported by a support portion B which is attached to the printer main body A so as to be rotatable about the shaft 4. Further, the pinch rollers 3c and 3d from the middle to the end of the conveyance path are supported by a printing unit C that is attached to the printer main body A so as to be rotatable about the shaft 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a print head attached to the front end of the print unit, and reference numeral 7 denotes a platen provided at a position facing the print head across the conveyance surface.
[0004]
The support part B and the printing part C are normally lowered to positions where the respective pinch rollers 3a to 3d are pressed against the drive rollers 2a to 2d, as shown by solid lines in FIG. It is locked by means. Sensors S1 and S2 for detecting that the support part B and the printing part C are lowered to the normal position are provided, and the printer cannot be activated unless both sensors are ON.
[0005]
When the ink ribbon cassette of the print head C is replaced or when the medium is jammed somewhere in the transport path, the locking means is unlocked, and the support part B and the printing part C are shown in a chain line in FIG. It can be lifted (tilt up) as shown by.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the conventional printer, when exchanging the ink ribbon cassette or removing the jam, it is necessary to operate the respective locking means and to perform the tilt-up operation of the support part B and / or the print part C. In order to prevent troubles caused by forgetting to lower (tilt down) the support part and / or the printing part after completion of the ink ribbon cassette replacement or jam removal, sensors S1 and S2 are provided in the support part and the printing part, respectively. Yes. That is, it cannot be activated unless both sensors S1 and S2 are ON. Therefore, there is a problem that the tilting work is troublesome and the operability is not good, and the number of parts is large and the cost is high.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its problem is to improve operability when ink ribbon cassette replacement or jam removal is performed, and to reduce the number of parts and enable cost reduction. is there.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 is provided with a drive roller among the rollers constituting the transport unit in the printer body, the pinch roller in front of the print unit as a support unit, and the pinch roller of the print unit as In a printer provided with each of the printing portions, the support portion at the front portion thereof, and the printing portion at the rear portion thereof attached to the printer main body so as to be rotatable around a support shaft, a lever at a front side surface of the printing portion. And a circular guide groove formed on the lower side of the lever. The guide groove is formed on the lower side of the lever so as to be rotatable about a support shaft provided above a straight line connecting the support shaft of the support portion and the support shaft of the printing portion. A lock pin provided on a side surface of the printer body is slidably engaged with the support portion and the support portion of the print portion and the support portion and the print portion in a state where the support portion and the print portion are in a fixed position. It is characterized in that the pivoted link the two points to be lower than the support shaft of the printing unit.
With the above configuration, the support part and the printing part are normally kept closed. When one end of the lever in the closed state is pulled up and rotated, the printing unit is rotated upward by the guide action of the lock pin and the guide groove. When it is rotated to a certain angle, a link is caused, and the support portion is subsequently rotated upward by the link. When it is rotated to a predetermined angle, the lock pin engages with the end portion of the guide groove and is locked.
After the lever is lifted slightly to release the lock, when the lever is rotated in the opposite direction, the link lowers the support portion first and then the print portion.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a main part side view showing a normal state of the printer of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the lever and the link. The same reference numerals are used for members common to the conventional printer of FIG.
[0010]
Although not shown, the printer main body A is provided with a transport motor and a drive roller driven by the transport motor. The support portion B is rotatably attached to the printer main body A by the support shaft 4 at the front portion thereof, and the print portion C having a print head (not shown) is connected to the printer main body by the support shaft 5 at the rear portion thereof. A is rotatably attached to A. The support portion B and the printing portion C are provided with pinch rollers corresponding to the drive rollers of the printer main body A, although not shown.
[0011]
In the present invention, as one of the new components, the lever 8 is attached to the front side surface of the printing portion so as to be rotatable around the shaft 9 above the straight line connecting the two support shafts 4 and 5. . The gripping portion 8a formed at one end of the lever 8 is forward in the vicinity of the upper end of the front portion of the printing portion when the printing portion C and the supporting portion B are in a state where the printing portion C and the supporting portion B are hung or closed. It protrudes and is easy to hold. Further, an arcuate guide groove 8b is formed on the lower side of the lever 8, and when the printing portion C and the support portion B are closed, the lock pin 10 protruding from the side surface of the printer main body A has the guide groove. Is fitted to one end of the. The other end of the guide groove 8b is provided with a lock pin engaging portion 8c formed by slightly bending it.
When the gripping portion 8a of the lever 8 is gripped and pulled up, the reher 8 tries to rotate counterclockwise about the shaft 9, but the lock pin 10 is fitted in the guide groove 8b, and the lever Since the lock pin 10 moves relatively along the guide groove 8b each time the rotation angle increases, the lever pulling force is converted into a force for rotating the printing portion C counterclockwise around the support shaft 5.
When the lever 8 is rotated to a predetermined angle and the printing portion C is raised to the predetermined angle as shown in FIG. 2, the lock pin 10 is locked to the lock pin engaging portion 8c formed at the end of the guide groove 8b. And the lever 8 is locked.
[0012]
In the present invention, a link 11 that connects the support portion B and the print portion C is attached as another new component. One end portion 11a of the link is positioned below the support shaft 4 of the support portion, and the other end portion 11b is positioned below the front portion of the printing portion C, below the straight line connecting the support shafts 4 and 5, respectively. It is worn.
[0013]
It should be noted that gravity is applied to the support portion B and the print portion C in the same direction as in the prior art, that is, in the direction in which the pinch roller is pressed against the drive roller of the printer main body A, respectively. Alternatively, an urging means for urging in the same direction may be provided.
[0014]
The operation will be described with the above configuration. When the gripping portion 8a of the lever 8 of the printer in the closed state shown in FIG. As a result, the printing portion C also starts to rotate counterclockwise around the support shaft 5 at the same time. At this time, the printing portion side end portion 11b of the link 11 is also lifted at the same time. However, as shown in FIG. 3, since the link 11 is below the straight line L connecting the support shafts 4 and 5, the printing portion C is The support portion B is caused to be raised by the link 11 only after being raised to a certain angle, that is, after the printing portion side end portion 11b of the link 11 is lifted to a certain height. That is, the support portion B is raised after the printing portion C and the lever 8 are first pulled up to a certain angle. Therefore, there is no possibility that the support portion collides with the hand that holds the lever 8.
[0015]
In FIG. 3, 9D and 9U are the positions of the shaft 9 when the lever 8 is in the lower limit position and the upper limit position, respectively, and move along a circle C1 centering on the support shaft 5. Further, 11D, 11M, and 11U are positions of the link 11 when the lever 8 is at the lower limit position, the intermediate position, and the upper limit position, respectively. Is moved along a circle C <b> 2 centered on the support unit side end 11 a, but moves along a circle C <b> 3 centered on the support shaft 4.
[0016]
Then, when the lever 8 is pulled up to a predetermined angle, the printing unit C and the support unit B are rotated to a predetermined position and the conveyance path is opened, the lock pin 10 is engaged with the lock pin locking unit 8c of the lever 8. Since they are locked together, it is possible to remove the medium when the paper is jammed in the transport path and to replace the ink ribbon cassette of the print head of the print unit while ensuring safety.
[0017]
After the jam removal or the ink ribbon cassette replacement is finished, the lock pin 10 is removed from the lock pin engaging portion 8c when the upper end portion of the printing portion C or the gripping portion 8a of the lever 8 is pulled up slightly. Subsequently, when the lever 8 is rotated in the reverse direction about the shaft 9, that is, in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2, the printing portion C is rotated clockwise about the support shaft 5 and starts to close. At this time, since the link 11 moves in the direction opposite to the movement locus when opening, the support part B is closed before the printing part C. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid the support portion from colliding with the hand holding the lever 8 at this time.
[0018]
In addition, since the tilt mechanism configured such that the printing unit and the support unit are interlocked via the link as described above, the printing unit C or the support unit B is present at a normal position only with respect to either one of them. It is only necessary to provide a sensor for detecting whether or not. Further, since the printing unit and the support unit are opened and closed with one lever, the lock mechanism may be provided only for the lever. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, the number of parts can be reduced.
[0019]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, since both the printing unit and the support unit can be opened and closed by only operating one lever, the operability is excellent. In addition, when opening, the printing part opens first, then the support part opens, and when closing, the support part closes first and then the printing part closes, so the support part collides with the hand holding the lever. There is no fear, and it is possible to safely replace the ink ribbon cassette and remove the jammed medium. Furthermore, since the printing unit and the support unit are linked via a link by operating one lever, the number of components such as a sensor and a lock mechanism can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where a support portion and a printing portion are closed.
FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a support part and a printing part are opened.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between each support shaft and a link installation position.
FIG. 4 is a schematic side view illustrating the configuration and operation of a conventional printer.
[Explanation of symbols]
A Printer body B Support section C Printing section 4, 5 Support shaft 8 Lever 8a Grip section 8b Guide groove 8c Lock pin locking section 9 Lever support shaft 10 Lock pin 11 Link

Claims (1)

Of the drive rollers and pinch rollers constituting the transport unit, the drive roller is provided in the printer body, the pinch roller in front of the print unit is provided in the support unit, the pinch roller of the print unit is provided in the print unit, and the medium transport path is provided. In order to enable opening, in the printer in which the support portion is attached to the front portion thereof, and the print portion is attached to the printer main body at the rear portion thereof so as to be rotatable around a support shaft.
A lever is attached to the front side surface of the print unit so as to be rotatable about a support shaft provided above a straight line connecting the support shaft of the support unit and the support shaft of the print unit. A lock pin provided on the side surface of the printer body is slidably engaged with the arc-shaped guide groove formed in
The supporting part and the printing part are supported by a link at two points which are lower than the supporting shaft of the supporting part and the supporting shaft of the printing part in a state where the supporting part and the printing part of the printing part exist at fixed positions. Printer characterized by.

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