JP4401520B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a printer in which a paper guide path with one end communicating with a paper suction port and the other end communicating with a paper discharge port via a conveyance unit such as a tractor and a printer unit is formed in a housing. In such a printer, for example, a belt-like continuous paper is used as a recording material, and the continuous paper sucked from the paper suction port is transported through a paper guide path by a paper transport member such as a tractor and discharged from the paper discharge port. In the middle, the printer unit prints predetermined items.
[0003]
An example of such a printer is a dot impact printer using a dot impact head as a printer unit. During printing in a dot impact printer, noise is generated due to the tip of the needle colliding with the platen, or noise due to vibration of each part of the apparatus by driving a paper conveying member such as a tractor. This noise leaks out of the housing through openings such as the paper inlet and paper outlet even when the printer unit and the paper transport member are inside the housing.
[0004]
As a countermeasure, for example, a contact piece that contacts continuous paper is provided in the vicinity of the paper suction port in the housing, and noise is reduced by closing the opening that communicates the outside and inside of the housing with this contact piece. There is a printer like this. The same is true for the paper outlet.
[0005]
In addition, for example, there is a printer in which a noise absorbing member having a sound absorbing property or a vibration damping sheet that attenuates vibration is attached to the inside of the housing to reduce noise by suppressing vibration generated in the printer unit. is there.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the sheet thickness of the continuous sheet conveyed in the sheet guide path is expected to vary to some extent depending on the type of continuous sheet. However, when transporting thick continuous paper, there is a concern that the continuous paper may be caught by a contact piece provided in the vicinity of the paper suction port in the housing, causing a transport jam. In order to prevent this conveyance jam, it is necessary to arrange the contact piece at a position away from the paper guide path by a predetermined distance in consideration of the fluctuation of the paper thickness. However, when the contact piece is disposed at a position away from the paper guide path by a predetermined distance, a gap is formed between the contact piece and the continuous sheet when a continuous sheet having a small thickness is conveyed, and noise leaks from the gap. .
[0007]
In addition, when a sound absorbing member or a damping sheet is attached to the inside of the housing, the sound absorbing member or the damping sheet must be attached to the entire inside of the housing in order to reduce noise. Or the usage-amount of a damping sheet will increase and the cost of an apparatus will become high.
[0008]
Furthermore, the increase in the printing speed increases the generated noise itself, and there is a concern that the measures described above are insufficient.
[0009]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to obtain a printer with good sound insulation that can reduce transmission of noise generated in the apparatus to the outside.
[0010]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to obtain a printer with good sound insulation that can reduce the transmission of noise generated in the apparatus to the outside without being influenced by the thickness of the recording material.
[0011]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to obtain a printer with good sound insulation that can reduce noise transmission to the outside with an inexpensive configuration.
[0012]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
[0014]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer having a housing formed with a paper suction port and a paper discharge port, formed in the housing, one end communicating with the paper suction port, and the other end with the paper discharge port. The recording material is provided in a space formed by a guide path that communicates with the outlet and guides the recording material along a predetermined path, and a part of the housing and the recording material guided in the guide path. A printer unit that prints a predetermined matter, and a tractor that is provided on the paper suction port side from the printer unit on the guide path, and that transports the recording material in a predetermined direction by regulating a transport position of the recording material by paper pressing Provided on the guide path on the paper suction port side from the printer unit, and at least a part is close to the housing, and at least another part is displaceable to a position where it abuts the paper presser of the tractor. A sound insulation member, The said sound insulating member and the paper pressing of the tractor and adapted to close the sheet inlet side of said space.
[0015]
Therefore, for example, when a recording material such as continuous paper is guided in the guide path, a position where at least another part of the sound insulating member, at least a part of which is close to the housing, abuts the paper presser of the tractor. The sheet suction port side of the space formed by a part of the housing and the recording material is substantially isolated from the outside by the sound insulating member that abuts the paper presser of the tractor provided on the guide path. As a result, it is possible to reduce leakage of noise generated in the printer unit from the paper inlet that is the opening, regardless of the thickness of the recording material. Further, since at least a part of the sound insulating member is in contact with the paper presser of the tractor, occurrence of vibration of the paper presser of the tractor when the recording material is conveyed is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the generation of noise caused by the vibration of the paper presser of the tractor.
[0016]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect , a vibration damping member having vibration damping properties is provided at a contact position between the sound insulating member and the paper presser.
[0017]
Accordingly, the vibration of the tractor paper presser generated when the recording material is conveyed by the vibration damping member is hardly transmitted to other members such as the sound insulation member. As a result, it is possible to suppress the generation of noise due to the vibration of each member of the printer.
[0018]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the second aspect , the tractor is movable to an arbitrary position in a direction orthogonal to the guide path, and the damping member is provided on the paper presser of the tractor. ing.
[0019]
Therefore, even when the tractor is moved to an arbitrary position in a direction orthogonal to the guide path, the sound insulating member and the paper presser are always brought into contact with each other via the vibration damping member. This makes it possible to minimize the usage amount of the damping member.
[0022]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to any one of the first to third aspects, the printer unit includes a dot impact printer head.
[0023]
Therefore, the action according to any one of claims 1 to 3 reduces the leakage of noise generated in the printer section from the opening even when a dot impact printer head that generates a loud sound during printing is used. It becomes possible.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A reference embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This reference embodiment shows an application example to a dot impact printer as a printer. In the dot impact printer of this reference embodiment, a strip-shaped continuous paper having a plurality of holes intermittently formed on both sides in the width direction is used as a recording material.
[0025]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a dot impact printer according to a reference embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical side view showing an outline thereof. The casing 2 of the dot impact printer 1 is provided with an operation panel 3 having various operation keys on the left side of the front surface, and a power switch 4 is provided on the right side of the front surface.
[0026]
A ribbon change cover 6 is provided on the upper surface of the casing 2 so as to be rotatable in a direction (upward) away from the casing 2 with a support shaft 5 provided on the upper side of the dot impact printer 1 as a rotation center. The ribbon change cover 6 is provided with a pinch roller 7 that is rotatable about a support shaft 7a. The pinch roller 7 is in contact with a feed roller 9 that is rotatable about a support shaft 8 as a center of rotation. In this preferred embodiment, the downstream side of the nip portion between the pinch roller 7 and the feed roller 9, there is a sheet discharge port 10.
[0027]
A top cover 12 is provided at the center of the front surface of the casing 2 so as to be rotatable in a direction (upward) away from the casing 2 with a support shaft 11 provided on the upper side inside the casing 2 as a rotation center. A sheet suction port 13 is formed by the casing 2 and the top cover 12 on the lower front side of the dot impact printer 1 with the top cover 12 closed.
[0028]
In this preferred embodiment, a casing 2, a top cover 12, the housing 14 is formed by a ribbon change cover 6. In the housing 14, one end communicates with the sheet suction port 13 and the other end communicates with the sheet discharge port 10, and a sheet as a guide path for guiding the continuous sheet S as a recording material to a predetermined path. A guide path 15 is formed. Thus, in a state where the continuous paper S is guided in the paper guide path 15, a space 16 is formed by a part of the upper side of the housing 14 and the paper guide path 15. In a dot impact printer 1 of this preferred embodiment, the continuous paper S is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.
[0029]
In the paper guide path 15, a tractor 17 that conveys the continuous paper S guided in the paper guide path 15 from the paper suction port 13 toward the paper discharge port 10, and a rotary shaft 18 a that is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown) are rotated. A feed roller 18 that is rotatable as a center, a pinch roller 19 that is in contact with the feed roller 18 via the paper guide path 15, a printer unit 20 that prints (prints) predetermined items on the continuous paper S on the paper guide path 15, and the like. Is provided. The feed rollers 9 and 18 are driven to rotate by a motor so as to convey continuous paper sandwiched between the feed rollers 9 and 19. In this preferred embodiment, the tractor 17 is provided at both ends in the width direction of the paper guide path 15.
[0030]
Although a detailed description is omitted because it is a known technique, the tractor 17 is provided with a driving roller 22 having a rotation axis driven by a motor (not shown) as a rotation center and a guide shaft 23 parallel to the driving roller 22. A belt (not shown) having a guide member (not shown) movably provided on the surface, and a protrusion (not shown) wound around the drive roller 22 and the guide member and protruding toward the outer peripheral side. Are arranged such that the relative movement direction of the belt with respect to the paper guide path 15 is parallel to the paper guide path 15. Further, the tractor 17 includes a paper presser 25 in which a hole (not shown) is formed at a portion facing the protrusion on the upper side of the belt moving surface. The paper presser 25 is provided so as to be rotatable in a direction (upward) away from the belt, with one end side in the width direction of the belt as a rotation center. When the continuous paper S is conveyed, the paper presser 25 is urged toward the belt by a spring (not shown) to prevent the continuous paper S from being pulled out of the protrusion of the belt. Only when necessary, it is rotated in a direction away from the belt to release the belt.
[0031]
The printer unit 20 includes an impact dot printer head 28 mounted on a platen 26 disposed in the paper guide path 15 and a carriage 27 that is reciprocated along the platen 26 in a direction orthogonal to the paper guide path 15. It is formed by an ink ribbon cartridge 29 or the like.
[0032]
Although the detailed description is omitted because it is a known technique, the impact dot printer head 28 has a plurality of wires (not shown) therein. The end of the wire opposite to the platen 26 is fixed to the other end of an armature (not shown) whose one end is opposed to a coil (not shown). In the printer unit 20, by continuously energizing the plurality of coils, the leading ends of the wires are selectively projected toward the continuous paper S via the ink ribbon (not shown) of the ink ribbon cartridge 29. Predetermined items are printed on the paper S.
[0033]
Further, in the housing 14, a support shaft 30 extending in a direction orthogonal to the paper guide path 15 is provided above the paper guide path 15 on the back surface side of the top cover 12. The other end portion of the sound insulating member 31 that is a free end portion 31a whose one end portion side is not fixed is provided on the support shaft 30 in a steplessly rotatable manner. When the top cover 12 is closed, the free end 31a of the sound insulation member 31 is urged in a direction (downward) away from the top cover 12 by its own weight, and is disposed at a position where it interferes with the paper guide path 15 from above. Is done. Thereby, in a state where the continuous paper S is guided in the paper guide path 15, the free end portion 31 a of the sound insulating member 31 interferes (contacts) with the continuous paper S.
[0034]
On the back side of the dot impact printer 1, in the vicinity of the pinch roller 7, the other end portion of the sound insulating member 32, which is a free end portion 32 a that is not fixed at one end portion, is stepless in the vertical direction via the hinge 33. It is provided in a freely rotatable manner. The sound insulation member 32 is urged by its own weight when the free end 32a is at a position deviating from the boundary line with an extended straight line passing through the center of the hinge as a boundary line, and is on the ribbon change cover 6 side or the casing 2 side. It is in a position rotated in either direction. Usually, the sound insulation member 32 is urged by its own weight and hangs down to the casing 2 side from the boundary line, and the free end portion 32 a is located below the support shaft 5. The pressure applied to the continuous paper S by the free end 32a of the sound insulating member 32 depends on the mass of the sound insulating member 32 itself, but can be pushed back by the strength of the continuous paper S being conveyed. It is.
[0035]
In a state in which the continuous paper S is not discharged from the paper discharge port 10, the sound insulation member 32 is in a position where the rotation is restricted by contacting the ribbon change cover 6 at the lower part of the hinge 33.
[0036]
On the other hand, in the state where the continuous paper S is discharged from the paper discharge port 10, the position of the free end portion 32a of the sound insulating member 32 differs depending on the type of continuous paper S, the paper thickness, etc., but the free end portion 32a is discharged. The paper abuts on the continuous paper S while being pushed back to the continuous paper S. For example, when transporting continuous paper having a thicker or stronger stiffness than the continuous paper S shown in FIG. 2, the position of the free end portion 32a of the sound insulation member 32 is higher than that shown in FIG. On the other hand, when transporting a sheet having a thickness thinner or weaker than the continuous sheet S shown in FIG. 2, the sheet discharged from the sheet discharge port 10 hangs downward, so that the free end portion of the sound insulating member 32 32a moves further downward due to its own weight, and becomes lower than shown in FIG.
[0037]
The material for forming the sound insulating members 31 and 32 may be urethane, rubber, or the like as long as it can maintain a predetermined shape in addition to synthetic polymer compounds such as polycarbonate, polystyrene, and acrylic, and metal.
[0038]
Although not particularly illustrated, the dot impact printer 1 has a built-in control unit that controls each unit in the housing 14, and this control unit drives and controls each unit such as the printer unit 20 and the motor described above.
[0039]
In such a configuration, when the continuous paper S is set in the paper guide path 15, it is urged by its own weight and rotates in a direction (downward) away from the top cover 12 with the support shaft 30 as the rotation center. The free end 31a of the sound insulation member 31 interferes (contacts) with the continuous paper S from above. Further, the free end portion 32a of the sound insulation member 32, which is urged by its own weight and rotated in the direction (downward) away from the ribbon change cover 6 about the hinge 33 as a rotation center, always abuts (contacts) the continuous paper S from above. )
[0040]
Since the sound insulating member 31 is rotatable steplessly around the support shaft 30, the free end portion 31 a always contacts the continuous paper S regardless of the thickness of the continuous paper S being conveyed. . Further, since the sound insulating member 32 is rotatable steplessly around the hinge 33 as a rotation center, the free end portion is not affected by the stiffness of the continuous paper S discharged from the paper discharge port 10. 32a always contacts the continuous paper S.
[0041]
As a result, in a state where the continuous paper S is guided in the paper guide path 15, the opening portions on the paper suction port 13 side of the space 16 and the opening portions on the paper discharge port 10 side of the space 16 are sound-insulating members 31, 32. Respectively.
[0042]
Here, when the magnitude of noise generated in the housing 14 is compared for each location, as is clear from FIG. 2, a dot printer that generates noise by causing the tip of the needle to collide with the platen 26 during printing is clear. Since the head 28 is included, the noise generated most in the print space A is large. Next, since the print space A is in the same space 16 as the dot printer head 28, the conveyance space B on the paper inlet 13 side from the print space A The noise is loud. The control space C provided with the control unit on the opposite side of the printer unit 20 across the paper guide path 15 generates the least amount of noise.
[0043]
Here, the print space portion A refers to a space surrounded by the carriage 27 and a part of the casing 14 including the paper guide path 15 and the ribbon change cover 6, and the impact dot printer head 28 is contained in this space. include. The conveyance space portion B refers to a space surrounded by the carriage 27 and a part of the housing 14 including the paper guide path 15 and the casing 2. The control space station C, a refers to the lower space than the paper guide path 15, the control unit for controlling the driving of each portion of the dot impact printer 1 of this preferred embodiment (not shown) is provided in this space ing.
[0044]
In a dot impact printer 1 of this preferred embodiment, in the state in which in the paper guide path 15 continuous paper S is guided, the space 16 by the printer unit 20 is provided, the continuous paper S, ribbons change the cover 6, the top cover 12 By surrounding the sound insulating member 31, the sound insulating member 32 and the casing 2, the space 16 can be substantially isolated from the outside.
[0045]
As a result, noise caused by colliding the tip of a needle (not shown) with the platen 26 or noise caused by vibration of each part of the device by driving the tractor 17 is confined in the closed space 16 and the inside of the device is Can be prevented from leaking outside the dot impact printer 1.
[0046]
In the present reference embodiment has been biased toward the continuous paper S by its own weight to the sound insulating member 31 is not limited to this, for example, a biasing member such as a spring is provided, this spring sound insulating member 31 , 32 may be brought into contact with the continuous paper S.
[0047]
Further, in this preferred embodiment, since the printer unit 20 is provided above the paper guide path 15 is formed by a continuous sheet S guided medium portion and the paper guide path 15 of the upper housing 14 Although the sound insulating members 31 and 32 for closing the opening portion of the space 16 are provided, the present invention is not limited to this, and when the printer unit 20 is provided on the lower side of the paper guide path 15, the lower side of the casing 14 is provided. A sound insulation member may be provided to close an opening portion of a space formed by a part of the paper and the continuous paper S guided in the paper guide path 15.
[0048]
Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the dot impact printer of the first embodiment, the arrangement position of the sound insulation member is different from the reference embodiment. In addition, the same part as the said reference form is shown with the same code | symbol, and description is also abbreviate | omitted. The same applies to the following embodiments.
[0049]
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view showing the dot impact printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the dot impact printer 34 according to the first embodiment, the free end portion 35a of the sound insulating member 35 rotatably provided on the support shaft 30 provided at one end of the top cover 12 has an elastic control such as rubber. It arrange | positions so that the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 may contact | abut via the elastic member 36 as a vibration member. The elastic member 36 has a predetermined width and a direction perpendicular to the paper guide path 15 at a position where the free end portion 35a of the sound insulating member 35 and the paper presser 25 abut so as to cover the movement range of the tractor 17. It is attached to the sound insulation member 35 for a long time.
[0050]
In this embodiment, the elastic member 36 is made of rubber, but the material forming the elastic member 36 is not limited to this, and has a predetermined elastic force such as urethane or sponge. Any material that does not easily transmit the vibration of the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 that vibrates when the tractor 17 is driven to other members such as the top cover 12 may be used.
[0051]
With this configuration, the continuous paper S guided in the paper guide path 15, the ribbon change cover 6, the top cover 12, the sound insulation member 35, the elastic member 36, and the sound insulation member are disposed around the printer unit 20. A space substantially isolated from the outside is formed by the casing 31 and the casing 2. Further, since the other end of the sound insulating member 35 is in contact with the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 via the elastic member 36, the vibration of the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 generated when the continuous paper S is conveyed is affected by the top cover 12 or the like. It can be made difficult to transmit to other members. As a result, it is possible to reduce the noise caused by the vibration of the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 or the noise caused by the vibration of the paper presser 25 being transmitted to other members such as the top cover 12.
[0052]
In addition, without providing the elastic member 36, the paper presser 25 is directly pressed by the free end portion 35 a of the sound insulating member 35 to suppress the vibration of the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 that is generated when the continuous paper S is conveyed. The generation of noise due to vibration can also be reduced.
[0053]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the tractor and the sound insulation member of the dot impact printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
[0054]
In the dot impact printer of the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the free end portion 35a of the sound insulation member 35 abuts against the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 via an elastic member 37 as a vibration damping member. However, the point that the elastic member 37 is attached to the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 is different from the first embodiment. Since the elastic member 37 is attached to the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17, the amount of use is less than that of the elastic member 36 of the dot impact printer 34 of the first embodiment.
[0055]
With such a configuration, even when the tractor 17 is moved to an arbitrary position in the width direction of the continuous paper S, the sound insulating member 35 and the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 are always in contact via the elastic member 37. The vibration of the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 can be made difficult to be transmitted to other members such as the sound insulation member 35 with the minimum required amount of the elastic member 37 used. Thereby, noise due to vibration of the paper presser 25 of the tractor 17 or generation of noise due to the vibration of the paper presser 25 being transmitted to other members such as the top cover 12 can be reduced by an inexpensive configuration. A printer with good characteristics can be obtained.
[0056]
【The invention's effect】
[0057]
According to the printer of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the noise generated in the printer unit from leaking from the paper suction port that is the opening portion, regardless of the thickness of the recording material. In addition, it is possible to reduce the generation of noise due to vibration by suppressing the occurrence of vibration of the paper press of the tractor when transporting the recording material, thus reducing the transmission of noise generated inside the device to the outside Thus, a printer with good sound insulation can be obtained.
[0058]
According to the second aspect of the invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, it is possible to suppress the generation of noise due to vibration of each member of the printer. A printer with good sound insulation that can reduce transmission can be obtained.
[0059]
According to the invention described in claim 3, in the printer described in claim 2, it is possible to suppress generation of noise due to vibration of each member of the printer while minimizing the usage amount of the damping member. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a printer with good sound insulation that can reduce noise transmission to the outside with an inexpensive configuration.
[0061]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the noise generated in the printer section from leaking from the opening portion by the operation according to any one of the first to third aspects. Even when a dot impact printer head that generates sound is used, it is possible to obtain a printer with good sound insulation that can reduce transmission of noise generated in the apparatus to the outside.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a vertical perspective view showing a dot impact printer according to a reference embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating the outline.
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal side view showing an outline of the dot impact printer according to the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a relationship between a tractor and a sound insulating member of a dot impact printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 14 Case 15 Paper guide path 17 Tractor 20 Printer part 25 Paper presser 31, 35 Sound insulation member 32 Sound insulation member 36, 37 Damping member S Recording material

Claims (4)

A housing in which a paper inlet and a paper outlet are formed;
A guide path formed in the housing, having one end communicated with the sheet suction port and the other end communicated with the sheet discharge port, and guiding the recording material to a predetermined path;
A printer unit that is provided in a space formed by a part of the casing and the recording material guided in the guide path and prints a predetermined matter on the recording material;
A tractor provided on the paper suction port side from the printer unit on the guide path, for restricting a conveyance position of the recording material by paper pressing and conveying the recording material in a predetermined direction;
A sound insulation member provided on the paper intake port side from the printer unit on the guide path and displaceable to a position where at least a part is close to the housing and at least another part is in contact with the paper presser of the tractor When,
Have
A printer in which the paper suction port side of the space is closed by the paper presser and the sound insulation member of the tractor. Wherein the contact positions of the sound insulating member and the paper presser, printer of claim 1, wherein the damping member is provided with a vibration damping. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the tractor is movable to an arbitrary position in a direction orthogonal to the guide path, and the damping member is provided on the paper presser of the tractor. It said printer unit, claims 1 to 3 printer of any one described with the dot impact printer head.

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