JP4457445B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer device, and more particularly to a printer device such as an ink jet printer that prints information on a recording sheet.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An ink jet printer as a printer apparatus includes a recording paper transport mechanism that feeds recording paper, an ink carrier that is reciprocated by an ink cartridge that ejects ink, and a motor that drives each of the mechanism and the ink carrier. Have.
[0003]
In this apparatus, the recording paper is conveyed in a predetermined feeding direction, and the ink carrier is reciprocated in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording paper, and ink is ejected to perform printing on the recording paper. In such an apparatus, a dedicated motor is provided for conveying the recording paper and for driving the ink carrier. Therefore, an apparatus in which these motors are used in common so that the recording paper can be transported and the ink carrier can be driven by one motor is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Nos. 61-107557 and 59-106983. This is described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-122572.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the apparatus disclosed in the above publication, two drive mechanisms can be driven by one motor, and the cost is reduced. However, in the device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-107557, a planetary gear mechanism is used, and the transmission direction of power is switched by restricting or releasing the rotation of a part of the mechanism. The structure for switching is complicated. Further, in the devices shown in the other two publications, a link mechanism and a cam mechanism are used for switching the power, and the structure is still complicated and a satisfactory cost reduction effect is not obtained.
[0005]
An object of the present invention is to achieve a sufficient cost reduction in an apparatus in which paper feeding and printing means are driven by a single motor.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A printer apparatus according to claim 1 is an apparatus for printing information on a recording paper, and reciprocates in a direction perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction and a paper feeding means for conveying the recording paper in a predetermined direction. Printing means for printing on the paper, one motor for selectively driving the paper feeding means and the printing means, and a switching transmission means for switching and transmitting the driving force of the motor to either the paper feeding means or the printing means. ing.
[0007]
The switching transmission means is connected to the first transmission member for transmitting power to the paper feeding means, the second transmission member for transmitting power to the printing means, a drive member fixed to the motor, and the drive member. An intermediate transmission member that is selectively connected to the first transmission member and the second transmission member, and a switching mechanism that switches the connection between the intermediate transmission member and the first and second transmission members.
[0008]
In this printer apparatus, the recording paper is conveyed by the paper feeding means, and the printing means reciprocates in a direction orthogonal to the recording paper conveyance direction to perform printing on the recording paper. At this time, the driving force from one motor is switched by the switching transmission means, and the paper feeding means and the printing means are selectively driven. Driving force transmission switching is performed as follows.
[0009]
That is, the drive member fixed to the motor is always connected to the intermediate transmission member, and this intermediate transmission member is connected to the first transmission member or to the second transmission member by the switching mechanism. When the intermediate transmission member is connected to the first transmission member, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the paper feeding means via the drive member, the intermediate transmission member, and the first transmission member. On the other hand, when the intermediate transmission member is connected to the second transmission member, the driving force of the motor is transmitted to the printing means via the drive member, the intermediate transmission member, and the second transmission member. Here, since the transmission of power can be switched simply by switching the connection state of the intermediate transmission member, the configuration for transmission switching is simplified.
[0010]
In the printer device according to claim 1, each of the first transmission member, the second transmission member, the driving member, and the intermediate transmission member is an external gear. The switching mechanism swings about the rotation center of the drive member, and swings with the intermediate transmission member rotatably mounted thereon, swings the swinging member, and moves the intermediate transmission member A swing driving means for selectively meshing with the first transmission member and the second transmission member, and the swing member that is swung immediately before the intermediate transmission member meshes with the first or second transmission member. A shock-absorbing member that reduces the rocking speed of the rocking member.
[0011]
In this printer apparatus, power transmission can be switched simply by swinging the intermediate transmission member and meshing with the first transmission member or the second transmission member. In addition, since the intermediate transmission member swings around the rotation center of the drive member and meshes with either the first transmission member or the second transmission member, it is easy to keep the intermediate transmission member and the drive member meshed at all times. The meshing state can be switched.
[0012]
In this printer apparatus, when the intermediate transmission member is rocked, the rocking speed is reduced by the buffer member immediately before the meshing. Therefore, the transmission members can be smoothly engaged with each other.
[0013]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printer apparatus according to the first aspect , wherein a part of the swing member is a magnet, and the swing drive means includes an electromagnetic solenoid that swings the swing member by switching a current flow direction. Have. In this printer device, the direction of the current flowing through the electromagnetic solenoid is switched to swing the swing member, and the intermediate transmission member meshes with the first transmission member or the second transmission member.
[0014]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus of the first aspect , at least a part of the swing member is made of iron, and the swing drive means includes an intermediate transmission member that is one of the first and second transmission members. An urging member that urges the oscillating member so as to mesh with each other, and an electromagnetic solenoid that oscillates the oscillating member when the energized state is turned on and off to engage the intermediate transmission member with one of the first and second transmission members. And have.
[0015]
In this printer apparatus, the intermediate transmission member is engaged with the first or second transmission member by the urging member without energizing the electromagnetic solenoid. Therefore, it is sufficient to switch the meshing state of the intermediate transmission member by energizing the electromagnetic solenoid and swinging the swinging member only when the paper is fed or when the printing means is driven. For this reason, the power consumption in an electromagnetic solenoid can be reduced.
[0016]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer device according to the first to third aspects, the printing means is an ink carrier that ejects ink onto a recording sheet.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
<First Embodiment>
[Inkjet printer]
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet printer 1 includes a main body case 2 having an opening 1a on the front surface and a paper feed port 1b for supplying recording paper at the rear, and a recording paper P provided in the main body case 2. A paper feeding mechanism 3 for conveying and a printing mechanism 4 for printing on the recording paper P are provided.
[0018]
The paper feed mechanism 3 is a mechanism for transporting the recording paper P from the paper feed port 1b to the lower portion of the front opening 1a, and has a plurality of paper feed rollers 10 as shown in FIGS. . The printing mechanism 4 also includes a guide shaft 15 that extends in the left-right direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording paper P, an ink carrier 16, and a movement for reciprocating the ink carrier 16 along the guide shaft 15. It has a mechanism 18.
[0019]
The ink carrier 16 can be mounted with an ink cartridge 20 on the front side, a hook 16a is integrally formed on the upper rear surface, and a bearing housing 16b is provided on the lower rear surface. The moving mechanism 18 includes a driving pulley 21, a driven pulley 22 provided on the side facing the driving pulley 21, and a belt 23 that is stretched between these pulleys 21 and 22. A fixing portion (not shown) is formed on the rear surface of the ink carrier 16, and this fixing portion is fixed to the belt 23. A pair of bearings is inserted into the bearing housing 16b, and the ink carrier 16 is movably mounted on the guide shaft 15 via the bearings. A rail 24 is provided above the guide shaft 15 on the rear side of the apparatus in parallel with the guide shaft 15, and a hook 16 a of the ink carrier 16 is engaged with the rail 24.
[0020]
(Drive mechanism)
The paper feed mechanism 3 and the printing mechanism 4 are driven by a drive motor 30 and a switching transmission mechanism 31 shown in FIG. The switching transmission mechanism 31 includes a first transmission mechanism 32 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 30 to the paper feed roller 10, and a second transmission mechanism 33 for transmitting the rotation of the motor 30 to the drive pulley 21 of the moving mechanism 18. have. The switching transmission mechanism 31 includes a driving gear 35 fixed to the motor 30, an intermediate gear 36 that always meshes with the driving gear 35, and a switching mechanism 37 for switching a power transmission path.
[0021]
The first transmission mechanism 32 has four external gears 40, 41, 42, 43 and a pair of bevel gears 44, 45 that mesh with each other. The first external gear 40 is arranged so that the rotation axis extends in the front-rear direction, and the other second, third and fourth external gears 41, 42, 43 are arranged so that the rotation axis extends in the left-right direction. Has been. The first external gear 40 and the first bevel gear 44 are fixed to each other, and the second bevel gear 45 and the second external gear 41 are fixed to each other. Further, the second external gear 41 and the third external gear 42 mesh with each other, and the third external gear 42 and the fourth external gear 43 mesh with each other. A fourth external gear 43 is fixed to the end of the paper feed roller 10. The second transmission mechanism 33 has a fifth external gear 46 fixed to the drive pulley 21. The rotation axis of the fifth external gear 46 is parallel to the rotation axis of the first external gear 40.
[0022]
The switching mechanism 37 includes a swing member 50, an electromagnetic solenoid 51 for swinging the swing member 50, and a pair of buffer members 52a and 52b. The swing member 50 is swingable about the center of rotation of the drive gear 35, and is formed to extend upward (or at any position such as rearward). An intermediate gear 36 is rotatably supported on the swing member 50. The rotation shaft of the intermediate gear 36 is parallel to the rotation shafts of the drive gear 35, the first external gear 40 and the fifth external gear 46. The contact point 50a (the portion indicated by the hatched area in FIG. 2) provided on the upper part of the swing member 50 is formed of a magnet having an N pole or an S pole.
[0023]
The electromagnetic solenoid 51 has two magnetic poles 51a and 51b facing each other with a gap therebetween, and the polarity of each of the two magnetic poles 51a and 51b is changed to N or S by switching the direction of the current flowing through the coil. You can switch to one of the poles. The swing member 50 and the electromagnetic solenoid 51 are arranged such that the contact 50a of the swing member 50 is positioned between the magnetic poles 51a and 51b of the electromagnetic solenoid 51.
[0024]
The pair of shock-absorbing members 52a and 52b is formed of a plate spring-like resin or metal member having elasticity, and is arranged so that the upper end portion of the swinging member 50 can come into contact therewith. More specifically, when the swing member 50 swings to the magnetic pole 51a side of the electromagnetic solenoid 51, the swing member 50 contacts the buffer member 52a immediately before contacting the magnetic pole 51a, and the buffer member 52a is elastically deformed. Later, it contacts the magnetic pole 51a. The same applies to the reverse case. Here, the swing speed of the swing member 50 is decelerated immediately before contacting the magnetic poles 51 a and 51 b, that is, immediately before the intermediate gear 36 is engaged with the first external gear 40 or the fifth external gear 46.
[0025]
[Printing operation]
The driving of the paper feed roller 10 and the ink carrier 16 during printing by the ink jet printer 1 will be described below. First, the recording paper P is conveyed from the paper supply port 1b. In this case, the current flowing through the electromagnetic solenoid 51 is switched to draw the swing member 50 toward the magnetic pole 51a. As a result, the swing member 50 swings in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, and the intermediate gear 36 supported by the swing member 50 meshes with the first external gear 40. As described above, the swing speed is reduced by the buffer member 52a immediately before the swing member 50 contacts the magnetic pole 51a, so that the intermediate gear 36 meshes smoothly with the first external gear 40.
[0026]
In such a meshing state, the rotation of the motor 30 is as follows: drive gear 35 → intermediate gear 36 → first external gear 40 / first bevel gear 44 → second bevel gear 45 / second external gear 41 → third external gear. 42 → the fourth external gear 43 is transmitted to the paper feed roller 10 through a path. When the recording paper P is thus sent to a predetermined position, the ink carrier 16 is scanned next. In this case, the current flowing through the electromagnetic solenoid 51 is switched to draw the swing member 50 toward the magnetic pole 51b. As a result, the swing member 50 swings in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2, and the intermediate gear 36 supported by the swing member 50 meshes with the fifth external gear 46.
[0027]
In such a meshing state, the rotation of the motor 30 is transmitted to the driving pulley 21 through the path of the driving gear 35 → the intermediate gear 36 → the fifth external gear 46. As a result, the ink carrier 16 moves along the guide shaft 15, and ink is ejected onto the recording paper P from the ink ejection port at the bottom of the ink cartridge 20 to perform printing.
[0028]
By repeating the above processing, printing is performed on the entire recording paper. In such an ink jet printer 1, paper feeding and ink carrier movement are performed by a single motor 30, so the weight of the entire apparatus is reduced and the cost can be reduced. Further, since switching of transmission can be performed only by swinging the swinging member 50 and changing the meshing of the gears, the configuration for that is simplified. In addition, since switching is performed by the electromagnetic solenoid 51, switching can be performed at high speed.
[0029]
<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 3 shows a drive mechanism portion of the ink jet printer 1 adopting the second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, only the switching mechanism 37 is different from the first embodiment described above, and the other configurations are the same. The switching mechanism 37 is arranged on the side facing the spring member 55, the spring member 55 for biasing the swing member 50 to one side, and the spring member 55 for swinging the swing member 50. It has an electromagnetic solenoid 60 and a pair of buffer members 61a and 61b.
[0030]
The configuration of the swing member 50 itself is the same as described above. In other words, the drive gear 35 can swing around the rotation center, and the intermediate gear 36 is rotatably supported. Further, the contact 50a portion (the portion indicated by the hatched area in FIG. 3) provided on the upper portion of the swing member 50 is made of iron. The buffer members 61a and 61b are compression spring members each having one end fixed. The swing member 50 and each of the spring members 61a and 61b have the upper end of the swing member 50, the swing member 50 swings, and the intermediate gear 36 is the first external gear 40 or the fifth external gear 46. Immediately before meshing with each other, the spring members 61a and 61b are in contact with each other so that the rocking speed is reduced.
[0031]
In this embodiment, first, the electromagnetic solenoid 60 is energized and attracted to the magnetic poles of the contact 50a electromagnetic solenoid 60. Here, the swing member 50 swings in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 3 against the biasing force of the spring member 55, and the intermediate gear 36 supported by the swing member 50 meshes with the first external gear 40. In this case, the power transmission path is the same as described above, and paper feeding is thereby performed.
[0032]
Next, when the ink carrier 16 is scanned, the current flowing through the electromagnetic solenoid 60 is turned off. As a result, the swing member 50 swings in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 3, and the intermediate gear 36 supported by the swing member 50 meshes with the fifth external gear 46. The power transmission path in this case is the same as described above. By repeating such processing, printing is performed on the entire recording paper.
[0033]
In this embodiment, since it is sufficient to energize the electromagnetic solenoid 60 only in the case of paper feeding, power consumption in the electromagnetic solenoid 60 can be reduced.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
In the ink jet printer of the present invention, paper feeding and printing can be performed by a single motor with a simple configuration, and weight reduction and cost reduction can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer.
FIG. 2 is a drive mechanism employing the first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 shows a drive mechanism that employs a second embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink carrier 3 Paper feed mechanism 4 Printing mechanism 10 Paper feed roller 30 Drive motor 31 Switching transmission mechanism 32 1st transmission mechanism 33 2nd transmission mechanism 35 Drive gear 36 Intermediate gear 37 Switching mechanism 40-43, 46 External gear 44, 45 Bevel gear 50 Oscillating member 51, 60 Electromagnetic solenoid 52a, 52b, 61a, 61b Buffer member 55 Spring member

Claims (4)

A printer that prints information on recording paper,
Paper feeding means for conveying the recording paper in a predetermined direction;
Printing means for printing on the recording paper by reciprocating in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording paper;
One motor for selectively driving the paper feeding means and the printing means;
Switching transmission means for switching and transmitting the driving force of the motor to one of the paper feeding means and the printing means,
The switching transmission means is
A first transmission member for transmitting power to the paper feeding means;
A second transmission member for transmitting power to the printing means;
A drive member fixed to the motor;
An intermediate transmission member coupled to the drive member and selectively coupled to the first transmission member and the second transmission member;
A switching mechanism for switching the connection between the intermediate transmission member and the first and second transmission members;
Equipped with a,
Each of the first transmission member, the second transmission member, the drive member, and the intermediate transmission member is an external gear,
The switching mechanism is
A swing member that swings about the rotation center of the drive member and on which the intermediate transmission member is rotatably mounted;
Oscillating drive means for oscillating the oscillating member and selectively engaging the intermediate transmission member with the first and second transmission members;
A buffer member that makes contact with the rocking member that is rocked immediately before the intermediate transmission member meshes with the first or second transmission member, and decelerates the rocking speed of the rocking member;
A printer device comprising: The printer device according to claim 1 , wherein a part of the swing member is a magnet, and the swing drive unit includes an electromagnetic solenoid that swings the swing member by switching a current flow direction. At least a part of the swing member is made of iron, and the swing drive means biases the swing member so that the intermediate transmission member meshes with one of the first and second transmission members. and energizing member, an energizing state, and an electromagnetic solenoid to engage with the other of said intermediate transfer member the first and second transmission member by oscillating the oscillating member by the off, wherein Item 2. The printer device according to Item 1 . The printer apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the printing unit is an ink carrier that ejects ink onto recording paper.

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