JP4639057B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer including a cutter that cuts continuous paper, and more particularly to a printer that performs partial cutting.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional printer, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of the printer.
The printer 30 mainly includes a paper supply unit 2, a printing unit 3, a cutter unit 25, and a control unit 5.
The paper supply unit 2 is provided with a supply shaft 6 on which a plurality of labels L are temporarily attached to a belt-like mount 42 at a predetermined interval, and a roll-shaped continuous label P (continuous paper) is rotatably held. The continuum P is fed out to the printing unit 3.
The printing unit 3 includes a platen roller 7 and a thermal head 8, and the thermal head 8 is provided so as to be able to contact with and separate from the platen roller 7. The platen roller 7 is driven by a stepping motor 35 via a timing belt (not shown) so as to rotate the platen roller 7 in the forward direction (cutter portion 25 direction) or in the reverse direction (supply shaft 2 direction). Are controlled by the control unit 5 described later. The thermal head 8 is provided with a plurality of heating elements (not shown) in the width direction of the label continuum P.

The label continuum P is sandwiched between the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 8 and activates the heat-sensitive coloring layer provided on the label L by selectively generating heat from the heating element in response to a print start signal from the control unit 5 described later. In addition to printing characters and barcodes, the platen roller 7 is rotated so that the label continuum P is transferred in the forward direction, and the label continuum P is transferred in the direction of the cutter unit 25.
The cutter unit 25 includes a fixed blade 11 and a movable blade 12, and the movable blade 12 is provided so as to freely advance and retract toward the fixed blade 11. The label continuum P is transferred between the fixed blade 11 and the movable blade 12 and cut so as to be partially cut in the width direction of the belt-like mount 42. The partial cut is cut so as to form cut portions 43, 43 and a non-cut portion 44, and the non-cut portion 44 is formed at a substantially central portion in the width direction of the belt-like mount 42. (See Figure 4)

The paper sensor 10 is disposed between the paper supply unit 2 and the printing unit 3 and below the transfer path of the label continuum P. The paper sensor 10 emits light (not shown) that emits predetermined light, and receives light reflected from the mount 42 as light emitted from the light emitting unit, and corresponds to the intensity of the received light (the amount of light received per unit time). A reference mark (black rectangular mark) (not shown) formed by printing or the like on the back surface of the mount 42 is detected based on the amount of light received by the light receiving unit. I am doing so.
The paper sensor 10 controls the print reference position or cut reference position of the label L by the control unit 5 described later based on the detection result of the reference mark.

Next, a description will be given based on the block diagram of the control unit of the printer shown in FIG.
The control unit 5 operates in accordance with a ROM (read only memory) 32 that stores a printer control program, various fixed data, control table data, IO constants, a motor control program, and the like, and various control programs stored in the ROM 32. A CPU (central processing unit) 31, a RAM (random access memory) 33 having a work area for storing various data necessary for the operation of the CPU 31, and a print development area in which print data is developed, Under the control of the CPU 31, the platen roller 7 is rotated to control the stepping motor 35 and the stepping motor 35 for driving the platen roller 7 so as to move the label continuous body P forward or backward. Under the control of the platen control circuit 34 and the CPU 31, a control signal corresponding to print data such as characters, symbols, and barcodes to be printed developed in the print development area of the RAM 33 is generated, and the generated control signal is used as a thermal head. 8 and the head control circuit 36 for performing a printing operation, and under the control of the CPU 31, the light emitting unit (not shown) of the paper sensor 10 is controlled to emit light and to be output from the light receiving unit (not shown). Is converted into digital data and supplied to the CPU 31 as print reference detection data and cutting reference position data, and the movable blade 12 is driven in the vertical direction under the control of the CPU 31 so that the label continuum Cutter motor 20 for cutting P at a predetermined position, and a cutter control circuit for controlling the cutter motor 20 8, and supplies the command from the input unit 40 to the CPU 31, an interface (I / F) 39 to the display unit 41 as display data to the input section 40, are a.

The operation of the printer 30 configured as described above will be described.
A roll-shaped continuous label P is loaded in the supply unit 2 of the printer 30, and the platen roller 7 is driven based on a print start signal from the control unit 5 to perform desired printing on the label L. The printed label L is transferred to the cutter unit 25.
The printed label L passes through the fixed blade 11 and the movable blade 12 of the cutter unit 25, and the mount 42 portion between the printed label L and the next label L is positioned on the fixed blade 11 and the movable blade 12. Then, the transport of the label continuum P is temporarily stopped, and the movable blade 12 advances toward the fixed blade 11 to half-cut the mount 42 portion.

When the movable blade 12 reaches a predetermined upper limit position, the movable blade 12 moves back and returns to the origin in a state where a cut portion 43 in which both sides of the mount 42 are cut and a central portion of the mount 42 form a non-cut portion 44. .
At this time, since the cut portions 43 are formed from both sides in the width direction of the mount 42 to the vicinity of the center of the mount 42, when the next label L is printed, the label continuum P is fed back to the print start position (reverse direction). ), The cut portion 43 of the mount 42 is rolled and caught by the fixed blade 11, and the mount 42 is bent, broken from the cut portion 43 and damaged, or the label L itself is also damaged.
Further, when the mount portion is rolled and damaged, the label continuum jams during the printing issuance operation, and the printing issuance operation is interrupted, resulting in a problem that the efficiency of the printing operation is lowered.
Utility Kaihei 7-695

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a printer that does not damage continuous paper when the partially cut continuous paper is back-fed for printing and returned to the printing unit. Objective.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a printer that improves the efficiency of print issuing work without jamming the label continuum.

Since the present invention focuses on cutting the mount, the gist of the invention of claim 1 is that the printing means for transferring the continuous paper in the forward direction or the reverse direction, and the continuous paper by transferring the continuous paper in the forward direction. A cutting unit that prints on a sheet and forms a cut portion and a non-cut portion on the continuous sheet at a predetermined position, and a printer that transports the continuous sheet in a reverse direction after cutting. A fixed blade disposed above the paper, a movable blade disposed below the continuous paper and provided to be movable forward and backward toward the fixed blade, the housing covering the upper surface side of the fixed blade, a spherical body is provided via the hanging by an elastic member in the housing, the spherical body is located in the transport direction downstream side of the continuous paper of the fixed blade, set only in proximity to the cutting edge of the fixed blade, the lower part of the sphere from the cutting edge of the fixed blade vertices Against the transfer of the continuous paper located under side, in the printer, characterized in that to avoid contact.
Also, the gist of the invention according to claim 2, wherein the sphere is in the printer according to claim 1, characterized in that provided on both sides in the width direction of the continuous paper.

When the continuous paper is cut and the continuous paper is back-fed to the printing unit for the next printing, the printer of the present invention can perform a stable printing operation without causing the mount of the cutting unit to be rolled up and caught by the fixed blade. Printing work efficiency is improved.
Also, since the continuous paper is not damaged, there is an effect that the continuous paper is not wasted.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cutter unit, and FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating the operation of the cutter.
In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as the past, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

The printer 1 mainly includes a paper supply unit 2, a printing unit (printing unit) 3, a cutter unit (cutting unit) 4, and a control unit 5.
The paper supply unit 2 is provided with a paper supply shaft 6, and the printing unit 3 is provided with a platen roller 7 and a thermal head 8. Also, the label continuum P was fed from the paper feed shaft 6 is transferred to the print unit 3 via the guide roller 9. A paper sensor 10 is provided between the guide roller 9 and the printing unit 3.
The paper sensor 10 is provided on the lower surface side (mounting surface side) to which the label continuum P is transferred, reads a reference mark (not shown) printed on the surface of the mounting surface 42, and prints based on the read data. The reference position, the cut position, and the like are controlled by the control unit 5.

Next, the structure of the cutter part of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG.
The cutter unit 4 is mainly provided with a fixed blade 11, a movable blade 12, a vertical movement mechanism 14, a coil spring (elastic body) 23 as suppression means, and a sphere (suppression body) 13.
At the upper end of the movable blade 12, a blade portion 12 a having a substantially V-shaped central portion is formed, and at the lower end of the fixed blade 11, a linear blade portion 11 a is formed.
The movable blade 12 is disposed on the back side of the label continuum P, that is, on the side of the base 42 opposite to the printing surface of the label continuum P, and the fixed blade 11 is on the front side of the label continuum P, that is, the label continuum P. It is arranged on the printing surface side.
The movable blade 12 is provided on the attachment frame 12b, and a vertical movement mechanism 14 is provided so that the attachment frame 12b is driven to move forward and backward toward the fixed blade 11, and the label continuous body P is moved to the movable blade 12 and the fixed blade. 11 and a cut portion 43 and a non-cut portion 44 are formed in the width direction of the mount 42 at a predetermined position (the mount 42 portion between the label L and the label L). The non-cut portion 44 is formed at the center in the width direction of the mount 42. (See Figure 4)

The movable blade 12 is provided on an attachment frame 12b erected on a main body frame (not shown) of the printer 1, and a vertical movement mechanism 14 is provided on the attachment frame 12b.
The vertical movement mechanism 14 has a rotating plate 15 rotatably disposed at a predetermined interval substantially parallel to the surface of the mounting frame 12b. The rotary plate 15 is located at the center thereof, and a central shaft 16 planted toward the back surface side of the rotary plate 15, that is, toward the printing unit side, and an eccentric shaft 17 disposed at a position eccentric from the center. The shaft 17 is planted toward the mounting frame 12b side. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the rotating plate 15 is screwed in an uneven shape.

A transmission gear 18 is screwed onto the screwed outer peripheral surface of the rotating plate 15, and the transmission gear 18 is connected to a DC motor 20 via a drive shaft 19. The rotating plate 15 is driven to rotate by driving the DC motor 20.
Further, the eccentric shaft 17 is engaged with a guide hole 24 formed in the mounting frame 12 b as the rotating plate 15 is driven to rotate, and the eccentric shaft 17 moves along the guide hole 24 as the rotating plate 15 rotates. Since the mounting frame 12b is moved up and down, the movable blade 12 provided on the mounting frame 12b moves up and down.
In addition, long holes 21 and 21 formed in the vertical direction (see FIG. 2) are provided on both sides of the mounting frame 12b, and the mounting frame 12b guides the vertical movement along the long holes 21 and 21. It is like that.

Further, the cutter unit 4 is provided with a housing 22 so as to cover the upper surface side of the fixed blade, and a pair of coil springs 23 and 23 are provided in a hanging shape on the housing 22. Spherical bodies 13 and 13 are provided close to the fixed blades at the open ends of the coil springs 23 and 23. The spheres 23 are provided on both sides of the label continuum P, respectively.
Further, the lower vertices of the spheres 23 and 23 are provided so as to be positioned substantially on the same line as the tip of the blade portion 11a of the fixed blade 11 or slightly below the blade portion 11a, and come into contact with the transfer of the label continuum P. It is arranged at a position that does not.
On the other hand, the urging force of the coil springs 23 and 23 is set to be smaller than the moving force by which the movable blade 12 moves upward. The spheres 13 and 13 may be provided so as to be swingable, and the coil springs 23 and 23 provided on the housing 22 may be provided so as to be adjusted in the width direction of the label continuous body P.

With this configuration, when the DC motor 20 is driven, the transmission gear 18 is rotationally driven via the rotary shaft 19 and the rotary plate 15 is rotationally driven. By rotating plate 15 is driven to rotate, the eccentric shaft 17 revolves around the central axis 16, along with this, the eccentric shaft 17 is mounting frame 1 2b through the guide hole 24 is moved in the vertical direction movable The blade 12 moves up and down.
Further, the DC motor 20 controls the rotation direction and the rotation amount of the central shaft 16 under the control of the control unit 5, and thereby the movement amount of the movable blade 12 is controlled.

Next, the operation of the printer configured as described above will be described.
The label continuous body P printed on the label L by the printing unit 3 is transferred in a state where the movable blade 12 waits downward and a gap is provided between the movable blade 12 and the fixed blade 11. (See Fig. 3 (a))
When the portion of the mount 42 of the label continuum P is positioned between the movable blade 12 and the fixed blade 11, the transfer of the label continuum P is stopped.
Next, the DC motor 20 is driven to move the movable blade 12 upward, and the mount 42 portion of the label continuum P is partially cut. (See Fig. 3 (b))
When the movable blade 12 reaches the uppermost point, cut portions 43 are formed on both sides of the mount 42 in the width direction, and a non-cut portion 44 having a predetermined length is formed at the center portion. (See Figure 4)
At this time, the cut portion 43 tends to be rolled up as the movable blade 12 moves upward on the cut mount 42, but is suppressed by the spheres 13 and 13.

Next, the movable blade 12 is further driven from the uppermost point by the DC motor 20 to rotate the rotating plate 15 to lower the movable blade. The movable blade stops under control of the control unit 5 so that the rotating plate 15 stops at a predetermined position.
At this time, the spheres 13, 13 suppress the mount 42 from which the cut portion 43 tends to be rolled up by the urging force of the coil springs 23, 23, and the spheres 13, 13 push down the mount 42 when the movable blade 12 is lowered. Return to the position away from the spheres 13 and 13 (the transfer path of the label continuum P). (See Fig. 3 (c))
When the movable blade 12 stops at a predetermined position, the platen roller 7 rotates reversely to print the next label L, and the continuous label P is back-fed. At this time, since the mount 42 of the cut portions 43, 43 is not caught and caught and is separated downward from the fixed blade 11, damage such as tearing of the label continuous body P can be prevented.
Further, since the mount 42 rolled up at the time of cutting is positioned below the tip of the blade portion 11a of the fixed blade 11 by the spheres 13 and 13, the mount 42 is not caught by the fixed blade 11, and the label continuous body P Even if the back feed operation is performed, the label continuum P can move smoothly.
When the label continuum P is back-fed and returns to the printing start position of the next label L, the platen roller 7 rotates forward to start printing and repeat the above operation until a predetermined number of prints are printed. To work.

Although the suppression body of the present embodiment is spherical, it may be U-shaped or L-shaped in cross section. The suppressor is arranged at least at the end in the width direction of the label continuum P. Also, the sphere can be made swingable.
In the present embodiment, the continuous label has been described as a continuous sheet in which a plurality of labels are temporarily attached at a predetermined interval, but any continuous sheet capable of printing may be used. Further, although the cutting position has been described as the mount portion, the cutting position can also be an arbitrary position.

The number, position, shape, and the like of each constituent member are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like suitable for carrying out the present invention.
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an example of a printer of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of a cutter part same as the above. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing explaining operation | movement of a cutter and a suppression means same as the above. It is a partial top view of the label continuous body explaining a cut part and a non-cut part same as the above. It is a schematic block diagram of the conventional printer. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control unit of a printer. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer
2 Paper supply section 3 Printing section (printing means)
4 Cutter part (cutting means)
5 Control unit 11 Fixed blade
12 Movable blade 13 Sphere (suppressor)
14 Vertical movement mechanism 15 Rotating plate 20 DC motor 21 Long hole 22 Housing 23 Coil spring (elastic body)
25 Cutter (conventional)
30 Printer (conventional)

Claims (2)

Printing means for transferring continuous paper in the forward or reverse direction;
The continuous paper is transferred in the forward direction, printed on the continuous paper, and a cutting means for forming a cut portion and a non-cut portion on the continuous paper at a predetermined position, and the continuous paper is transferred in the reverse direction after cutting. In the printer
The cutting means includes a fixed blade disposed above the continuous paper, and a movable blade disposed below the continuous paper and provided to be movable forward and backward toward the fixed blade,
A housing covering the upper surface side of the fixed blade;
A sphere provided via an elastic body depending on the housing; and
It located the sphere in the transport direction downstream side of the continuous paper of the fixed blade, set only in proximity to the cutting edge of the fixed blade, from the cutting edge of the fixed blade lower apex of the sphere, located beneath side A printer characterized in that it does not come into contact with the continuous paper transport . The spheres printer according to claim 1, characterized in that provided on both sides in the width direction of the continuous paper.

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