JP4951929B2 - SLITTER DEVICE AND PRINTER - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a slitter device and a printer that cut a print sheet to be printed and discharged in the discharge direction.

As a slitter device capable of cutting the print paper in the paper width direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction and cutting in the paper discharge direction, for example, the print paper fed out from the paper feed device by the start signal of the receiving system is the first. A slitter device including a cutter that cuts in a direction and a device that cuts or punches in a second direction has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In addition, it includes two slitter rollers provided so that the sides of the upper and lower shafts are in contact with each other, and a discharge roller provided adjacent to the slitter roller, and slides one of the slitter rollers along the shaft. Thus, there has been proposed a slitter device that can be set to a state in which cutting is not performed (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-8114 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-67096

  However, Patent Document 1 describes that cutting or punching can be performed in the second direction in accordance with the start signal of the receiving system, but no mechanism is disclosed. Further, in Patent Document 2, although one of the slitter rollers can be cut off by sliding along the axis, the printing paper is always in contact with two rotating slitter rollers. There was a problem that the surface was rubbed and damaged. In addition, because of such a mechanism, it is impossible to provide a sharp blade portion on the slitter roller. For this reason, since the printing paper is wound around the contact portion of the two slitter rollers and the printing paper is cut only by the shearing action, the cutting position is shifted when the printing paper is wound on the contact portion, and the cutting portion is finished. There was a problem that would become defective.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and is capable of selectively cutting a printing sheet in a paper discharge direction with an accurate and good cutting surface without damaging the printing surface. A slitter device and a printer are provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The present invention is a slitter device for cutting a printing paper to be printed and discharged in a paper discharge direction,
The first slitter provided on one side of the printing paper with a blade part formed on the outer peripheral part, and the substantially disk shape formed with the blade part on the outer peripheral part on the other side of the printing paper. A second slitter that rotates in the paper discharge direction and has a gap between the print paper and a paper feed side feed roller that rotates in the paper discharge direction at a position facing the first slitter. And a slitter rotating shaft that passes through the center of the first slitter and extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction, the first slitter being provided in a relatively non-rotatable manner, and a slitter rotating shaft provided in a relatively non-rotatable manner. It is possible to move the slitter driving roller and the first slitter to the cutting position where they contact the second slitter, and it is possible to move the first slitter to the retreat position having a gap with the printing paper. and a certain switching mechanism, a second Liter is provided on the paper discharge side feed roller and coaxial switching mechanism includes a housing portion which rotatably supports the slitter rotary shaft in place, housing portion is provided at one end, the sheet discharge direction And a beam member that swings about a switching rotation axis extending to the first slitter in a cutting position by swinging about the switching rotation axis of the housing portion as the beam member swings. The slitter driving roller is provided on the slitter rotating shaft and closer to the switching rotating shaft than the first slitter, and the slitter driving roller is cut by the first slitter. Before reaching the position, it is in contact with the paper discharge side feed roller, and is provided so as to be rotatable in conjunction with friction with the paper discharge side feed roller .

According to the slitter device of the present invention, when the first slitter is in the cutting position, the slitter driving roller comes into contact with the discharge-side feed roller, receives the rotation of the discharge-side feed roller, and the first slitter relatively rotates. The power of the rotation is transmitted to the slitter rotating shaft which is provided in an impossible manner. The first slitter provided coaxially with the slitter rotating shaft rotates to cut the printing paper. Therefore, the slitter driving roller according to the present invention can be rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the paper discharge side feed roller, and there is no need to provide a separate driving system, which is efficient. Further, a first slitter and a second slitter, which are provided on both sides of the printing paper and have blades formed on the outer periphery, rotate in the paper discharge direction so as to contact each other and to feed the printing paper. For this reason, it is possible to form an accurate and good cut surface at the position where the first slitter and the second slitter blade portion are formed, and to cut the printing paper in the paper discharge direction. Also, when cutting the printing paper in the paper discharge direction, the switching mechanism can set the first slitter position as the cutting position, and when not cutting, it can be set as the retracted position. The presence or absence can be selected. Further, when the printing paper is not cut in the paper discharge direction, the first slitter is provided with a gap with the printing paper at the retracted position, and the second slitter is provided with a gap with the printing paper. Therefore, there is no risk of damaging the printing paper.

In the above-described slitter, the switching mechanism, before SL and urging means for urging the housing part facing to either direction or in the opposite direction to the printing paper, or opposite facing said printing paper together with the housing portion opposite to the biasing force of the biasing means in the direction of the other can be pressed, it is not more preferable and a retractable pressing means to a position that does not press the receiving portion.

According to the slitter device of the present invention, the first slitter is urged by the biasing means in the direction facing the printing paper and retracted to a position where the holding part is not pressed. It is located at a cutting position in contact with the second slitter and can cut the printing paper. Further, by pressing the urging force against the urging force by the pressing means, the first slitter can move to the retracted position, and the printing paper can be kept from being cut. If the biasing direction of the biasing means is opposite to the direction facing the printing paper, the printing paper can be cut by pressing the storage portion with the pressing means, and the printing paper can be retracted to a position where it does not press. In this case, the printing paper can be cut.

Further, in the slitter apparatus, the pressing means of the switching mechanism includes a switching drive source for rotationally driving is rotated by said switching driving source, and an anti-biasing force of said biasing means, said housing portion is the the other end of the beam member provided on one end has more preferable and a depressible cams.

According to the slitter device according to the present invention, the cam is rotated by the switching drive source, so that the accommodating portion is switched between the state pressed against the cam against the biasing force of the biasing means and the state not pressed. Thus, the position of the first slitter can be switched between a cutting position for cutting the printing paper in the paper discharge direction and a retracting position for not cutting.

The printer of the present invention also rotates in the paper discharge direction in contact with the slitter device, the printing means for printing on the printing paper, the feed roller rotating in the paper discharge direction, and the feed roller. A paper discharge unit that includes a pinch roller, conveys and discharges the printing paper printed by the printing unit and fed between the feed roller and the pinch roller, and a drive unit that rotates the feed roller. It is characterized by providing.

According to the printer of the present invention, the slitter device is provided, and the print paper can be selectively cut in the paper discharge direction, so that not only the width of the supplied print paper but also various widths can be printed. Print in size and be ejected. In addition, since a plurality of sheets can be printed and cut in the sheet width direction of the printing sheet, it is possible to reduce a range that is not printed in the sheet width direction.

In the printer described above, the second slitter of the slitter device has an outer diameter set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the feed roller and is coaxially fixed to the rotation shaft of the feed roller. The slitter driving roller provided on the slitter rotating shaft is opposed to the feed roller when the first slitter provided on the slitter rotating shaft is located at the cutting position. .

According to the printer of the present invention, when the printing paper is discharged by the paper discharge means, the second slitter always rotates in the paper discharge direction together with the feed roller with a gap from the printing paper. . Further, when the first slitter is positioned at the cutting position by the switching mechanism, the slitter driving roller contacts the feed roller and rotates in conjunction with the feed roller by friction. That is, the first slitter fixed coaxially with the slitter driving roller also rotates and can cut the printing paper. For this reason, there is no need to separately provide a drive system for rotating the first slitter and the second slitter, and the first slitter and the second slitter are rotated in conjunction with a drive unit that drives the paper discharge means. Can be made.

  Further, in the above printer, the detection unit for detecting the position of the first slitter, a size setting unit for setting a desired print size, and the print size input to the size setting unit according to the print size of the print paper The presence or absence of cutting in the paper discharge direction is determined, the position of the first slitter is confirmed based on the detection result input from the detection unit, the switching drive source of the switching mechanism is driven, and the drive And a control unit for driving the unit.

  According to the printer of the present invention, the control unit determines whether or not to cut in the paper discharge direction according to the print size set by the size setting means. Next, when cutting in the paper discharge direction according to the detection result of the position of the first slitter detected by the detection unit, the control unit drives the switching drive source of the switching mechanism to bring the first slitter to the cutting position. Move. Further, when not cutting in the paper discharge direction, the control unit drives the switching drive source of the switching mechanism to move the first slitter to the retracted position. As described above, the print size is set by the size setting unit and is controlled by the control unit, so that it is possible to automatically and selectively cut in the paper discharge direction.

  Further, in the above-described printer, the printing unit is a thermal transfer type including a thermal transfer ink sheet, and a thermal head capable of selectively pressing the ink sheet against a printing surface of the printing paper and heating the ink sheet. It is characterized by being.

  The printer according to the present invention is a thermal transfer printer, and can reduce the margins of the printing paper as described above, so that the ink sheet transferred to the printing paper can also be used efficiently.

According to the slitter device and the printer of the present invention, it is possible to selectively cut the printing paper in the paper discharge direction. Further, when the printing paper is not cut in the paper discharge direction, the first slitter and the second slitter can be in positions that do not contact the printing paper, and there is no possibility of damaging the printing surface. Further, when cutting the printing paper in the paper discharge direction, the first slitter and the second slitter can cut the predetermined cutting position accurately and with a good cut surface.

1 to 12 show an embodiment according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of the printer. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the paper discharge section of the printer cut in the paper width direction, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view cut in the paper discharge direction. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the slitter device cut in the paper width direction. FIGS. 5 to 8 are explanatory views of the process of cutting and discharging the printing paper. Further, FIGS. 9 to 12 show pattern diagrams of printing paper cut and discharged by the printer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 is a thermal transfer type, and a paper feeding unit 2 that continuously supplies a printing paper P having a predetermined width and a printing surface P1 of the printing paper P fed by the paper feeding unit 2. A printing unit 3 that performs printing, a paper discharge unit 4 that cuts the print paper P printed by the printing unit 3, transports the paper in a paper discharge direction A, and discharges the paper; a paper feeding unit 2, a printing unit 3, and a paper discharge unit 4 and a control unit 5 for controlling each drive system.

  The paper feeding unit 2 is located on the roll paper R in which the printing paper P is formed in a roll shape and is rotatably supported, and the paper discharge direction A side of the roll paper R, and feeds the printing paper P from the roll paper R. And paper feeding means 6 for feeding paper. The paper feeding means 6 is provided on the back surface P2 side opposite to the printing surface P1 of the printing paper P to be fed, and feed paper side feed roller 7 that can rotate in the paper discharge direction A, and the printing surface of the printing paper P. The sheet feeding side pinch roller 8 is in contact with the sheet feeding side feed roller 7 on the P1 side and can rotate in the sheet discharging direction A in conjunction with the sheet feeding side feed roller 7. The feed-side feed roller 7 can be rotated by a stepping motor or the like (not shown). The printing paper P is sandwiched between the paper feed side feed roller 7 and the paper feed side pinch roller 8 that rotate in the paper discharge direction A, is supplied from the roll paper R, and is conveyed in the paper discharge direction A.

  The printing unit 3 includes an ink ribbon roll T that is a supply source of the ink sheet S, an ink ribbon core U that winds and collects the ink sheet S, and a platen roller 9 that is provided on the back surface P2 side of the printing paper P. And a thermal head 10 provided on the printing surface P1 side of the printing paper P so as to face the platen roller 9. On the ink sheet S, yellow ink, magenta ink, cyan ink, and a laminate material are sequentially and repeatedly applied. The ink ribbon core U is connected to a DC motor or the like (not shown), and rotates to supply the ink sheet S from the ink ribbon roll T, and passes between the platen roller 9 and the thermal head 10 to pass through the ink sheet S. Wind up and collect. The platen roller 9 is in contact with the back surface P2 of the printing paper P and is rotatable in conjunction with the conveyance of the printing paper P in the paper discharge direction A. The thermal head 10 is connected to the control unit 5, and selectively presses and heats the ink sheet S according to the print data input to the control unit 5, and the printing paper P and ink are heated by the platen roller 9. By pressure bonding the sheet S, the ink of the ink sheet S can be transferred to the printing surface P1 and printed. The supply speed of the printing paper P by the paper feeding unit 2 and the winding speed of the ink sheet S by the ink ribbon core U are synchronized by the control unit 5. Further, when transferring four types of ink as described above, the four types of ink can be transferred to a predetermined printing range by causing the printing paper P to reciprocate four times below the thermal head 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the paper discharge unit 4 is conveyed by the paper discharge unit 11 that conveys the print paper P printed by the printing unit 3 in the paper discharge direction A and discharges it. Cutting means 12 for cutting the printed paper P in the paper width direction B substantially perpendicular to the paper discharge direction A, and a slitter device 30 for cutting the print paper P in the paper discharge direction A. The paper discharge means 11 is provided on the back surface P2 side of the print paper P, and is provided on the print surface P1 side of the print paper P and the paper discharge side feed roller 14 that is fixed to the rotary shaft 13 and rotates in the paper discharge direction A. A paper discharge side pinch roller 15 that rotates in the paper discharge direction A in contact with and in contact with the paper discharge side feed roller 14. The rotary shaft 13 is connected to the drive unit 16 and can be rotated by the drive unit 16. More specifically, the drive unit 16 is a stepping motor or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the paper discharge side pinch roller 15 can move back and forth between a paper discharge position C that contacts the paper discharge side feed roller 14 and a retreat position D that does not contact. When the printing paper P is discharged according to the control of the control unit 5, it is positioned at the paper discharge position C and contacts the paper discharge side feed roller 14. For this reason, it rotates in conjunction with the discharge-side feed roller 14 due to friction, and the printing paper P fed between the discharge-side feed roller 14 is sandwiched and conveyed in the discharge direction A to be discharged. it can. Further, when the sheet is not discharged, it is located at the retreat position D. As shown in FIG. 1, the cutting unit 12 includes an upper cutter 12 a and a lower cutter 12 b on the printing surface P1 side and the back surface P2 side of the printing paper P, and scans in the paper width direction B according to the control of the control unit 5. As a result, the printing paper P can be cut in the paper width direction B.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the slitter device 30 is positioned so as to face the first slitter 31 provided on the printing surface P1 side of the printing paper P and the first slitter 31 on the back surface P2 side. And a switching mechanism 33 for switching whether or not the printing paper P is cut in the paper discharge direction A. The 1st slitter 31 and the 2nd slitter 32 are formed in the substantially disk shape by which the blade part was formed in the outer peripheral parts 31a and 32a, respectively. Further, the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32 are provided so that the outer peripheral portions 31 a and 32 a are located at an intermediate position in the paper width direction B of the printing paper P. The second slitter 32 has an outer diameter set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the paper discharge side feed roller 14 and is coaxially fixed to the rotating shaft 13 of the paper discharge side feed roller 14. For this reason, the second slitter 32 has a gap with the printing paper P conveyed on the discharge-side feed roller 14 and can rotate in the discharge direction A together with the discharge-side feed roller 14. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the switching mechanism 33 includes an accommodating portion 34 in which the first slitter 31 is accommodated, and an urging means 35 that urges the accommodating portion 34 in a direction facing the printing paper P. And pressing means 36 for pressing the accommodating portion 34 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the biasing means 35 biases. The accommodating portion 34 is formed in a substantially U shape at the ceiling portion 34a and the side wall portion 34b, and has a beam member 37 having one end 37a fixed to the ceiling portion 34a and extending in the paper width direction B, and a beam member. A rotation shaft 38 is provided at a middle portion of the shaft 37 so that the beam member 37 is rotatably mounted in the paper width direction B. Further, the side wall portion 34b is provided with a bearing 34c, and the rotary shaft 31b of the first slitter 31 is rotatably mounted. The first slitter 31 can be rotated together with the rotary shaft 31b and is slidably fixed in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 31b. And while being urged | biased by the spring 31c from one side of an axial direction, it is latched by the limitation member 31d provided in the other. Further, a slitter drive roller 31f is fixed at a position facing the paper discharge side feed roller 14 on the side closer to the rotary shaft 38 than the first slitter 31 of the rotary shaft 31b. The slitter driving roller 31 f has an outer diameter set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the first slitter 31. The slitter driving roller 31f is formed of a material having a low hardness and a high friction coefficient, such as rubber.

The urging means 35 includes a torsion spring 39 wound around the rotation shaft 38 of the housing portion 34 and a locking member 40 that locks one end 39 a of the torsion spring 39. The locking member 40 is fixed to a frame or the like of the printer 1 (not shown). Further, the other end 39 b of the torsion spring 39 abuts on the ceiling 34 a of the storage portion 34 and urges the storage portion 34 in a direction facing the printing paper P. For this reason, the first slitter 31 pivotally attached to the accommodating portion 34 is in contact with the side surface 32b of the second slitter 32 on the side surface 31e of the outer peripheral portion 31a and is disposed at the cutting position E, and the slitter driving roller 31f is in contact with the paper discharge side feed roller 14, and can rotate in conjunction with the paper discharge side feed roller 14 by friction. In this state, the first slitter 31 is not in contact with the restricting member 31d, is biased by the spring 31c, and presses the side surface 32b of the second slitter 32.

  The pressing means 36 includes a rotating shaft 41 provided on the upper side of the other end 37b of the beam member 37, a cam 42 that is substantially disk-shaped and eccentrically mounted on the rotating shaft 41, and gears 43 and 44. And a switching drive source 45 that rotates the rotating shaft 41. More specifically, the switching drive source 45 is a DC motor or the like. Further, the cam 42 can move from the position G to the position H by rotating around the rotation shaft 41. Thereby, in the position G, it can be set as the state which the upper part 37c of the beam member 37 does not contact | abut. At the position H, the upper portion 37c of the beam member 37 is pressed downward, the accommodating portion 34 is rotated around the rotation shaft 38 so as to face the biasing means 35, and the first slitter 31 is moved to the printing paper P. It can be located in the retreat position F which does not contact with.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pressing unit 36 is provided with a detection unit 46 that detects the position of the first slitter 31. That is, the detection unit 46 includes a semicircular plate 47 that is coaxially fixed to the rotation shaft 41 of the cam 42, and a sensor 48 that is provided on the rotational trajectory of the semicircular plate 47. The semicircular plate 47 is fixed to the rotary shaft 41 so that the straight portion 47a is substantially parallel to the direction in which the cam 42 is eccentric. More specifically, the sensor 48 is a photo interrupter, and the light emitting portion 48a is provided on the one surface 47b side of the semicircular plate 47, and the light receiving portion 48b is provided on the other surface 47c side. That is, by detecting the position of one end 47d or the other end 47e of the linear portion 47a of the semicircular plate 47 rotating with the cam 42 by the sensor 48, it is detected whether the position of the cam 42 is the position G or the position H. The first slitter 31 corresponding to the cutting position E or the retracted position F can be detected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a size setting unit 49 that sets the printed printing paper P to a desired print size. The size setting means 49 may be one that detects print data transmitted to the printer 1 and sets it automatically, or one that sets it manually. When the size of the printing paper P to be printed is input to the control unit 5 by the size setting unit 49, the control unit 5 controls the cutting unit 12 and the slitter device 30 so that the printing paper P has a predetermined printing size. Can be cut.

Next, operations of the printer 1 and the slitter device 30 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, print data is input to the control unit 5, and the print size is set by the size setting means 49. Then, according to the input print data, the control unit 5 feeds the printing paper P by the paper feeding unit 2 as described above, and performs printing on the printing surface P1 of the printing paper P by the printing unit 3. Next, when printing is completed, the print paper P is conveyed in the paper discharge direction A by the paper discharge unit 4 and discharged, and the print paper P is cut according to the print size set by the size setting means 49.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the cam 42 is located at the position H, the beam member 37 of the housing portion 34 is pressed downward, and the biasing means 35 is biased about the rotation shaft 38. The first slitter 31 is located at the retracted position F. Then, the drive unit 16 is driven under the control of the control unit 5 to rotate the paper discharge side feed roller 14, and the paper discharge side pinch roller 15 is moved from the retracted position D to the paper discharge position C to discharge the paper discharge side feed roller. 14 and rotate. In this state, if the printing paper P printed between the paper discharge side feed roller 14 and the paper discharge side pinch roller 15 is fed, it is conveyed and discharged at a predetermined paper discharge speed. At this time, the first slitter 31 is located at the retracted position F, and the second slitter 32 has a gap with the printing paper P and does not come into contact with the printing paper P. There is no possibility that the printing surface P1 of the printing paper P is damaged by being not cut by A and being rubbed by contact. Then, by cutting the printing paper P in the paper width direction B at a predetermined interval by the cutting means 12 under the control of the control unit 5, the printing paper P can be discharged with a printing size of a predetermined length. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, if the printing paper P has an A4 paper width, it is cut by the cutting means 12 for each length of the A4 paper, and sequentially discharged in the A4 paper size, leaving a margin P3. Can do. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, if the cutting unit 12 cuts each width of A5 paper, it can be discharged in A5 paper size.

Next, a case where the printing paper P is cut in the paper discharge direction A will be described. In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the cam 42 is rotated by driving the switching drive source 45 of the switching mechanism 33 according to the control of the control unit 5. Then, the position of one end 47d of the linear portion 47a of the semicircular plate 47 that rotates together with the cam 42 is detected by the sensor 48, and the drive of the switching drive source 45 is stopped by the control unit 5 according to the detection result. Thus, as the cam 42 moves from the position H to the position G, the first slitter 31 moves from the retracted position F to the cutting position E, and the slitter driving roller 31f abuts on the paper discharge side feed roller 14. , And rotate in conjunction (when the printing paper P is ejected by the paper ejection side feed roller 14 and the paper ejection side pinch roller 15, the printing paper P abuts and rotates in conjunction with the printing paper P). In this case, since the direction of the slitter driving roller 31f than the first slitter 31 is located close to the rotation axis 38 as the rotational axis, slitter driving roller 31f before the first slitter 31 reaches the cutting position E Can abut against the feed roller 14 and rotate. For this reason, the first slitter 31 contacts the printing paper P while rotating in the paper discharge direction A, and can move to the cutting position E while cutting the printing paper P. Then, both the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32 rotate in the paper discharge direction A, so that the printing paper P conveyed in the paper discharge direction A can be cut. Further, since the slitter driving roller 31f is formed of a material having a low hardness and a high friction coefficient, the rotation of the paper discharge side feed roller 14 can be transmitted reliably and efficiently.

At this time, the first slitter 31 is always urged toward the printing paper P by the urging means 35 and is also urged by the spring 31c in the paper width direction B to contact the second slitter 32. Therefore, there is no possibility that the first slitter 31 is displaced by the cutting resistance and the cutting position is shifted. Further, the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32 rotate in the paper discharge direction A and are in contact with each other at the outer peripheral portions 31a and 32a formed with the blade portions, so that the cutting resistance is minimized and good. A cutting surface can be obtained. In addition, by making the outer diameter of the first slitter 31 larger than the outer diameter of the discharge-side feed roller 14, the speed of the outer peripheral portion 31a of the first slitter 31 is relative to the discharge speed. The cutting speed can be increased quickly, the cutting can be performed effectively, and a better cut surface can be obtained. In addition, both the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32 of the slitter device 30 can be rotated by the driving unit 16 that rotates the discharge-side feed roller 14, and there is no need to provide a separate driving system, which is efficient. It is.

5 to 8 show a process of discharging the printing paper P having an A4 paper width and cutting it in the paper discharge direction A. FIG. Here, the range indicated by diagonal lines indicates the printing range P4. First, as shown in FIG. 5, the first slitter 31 is positioned at the cutting position E, and the printing paper P is fed between the paper discharge side feed roller 14 and the paper discharge side pinch roller 15. As the paper is discharged, the printing paper P is cut in the paper discharge direction A by the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32. When the leading edge P5 of the printing paper P reaches the cutting means 12, the leading margin P6 is cut by the cutting means 12. Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the printing paper P is further cut in the paper discharge direction A by the slitter device 30 while being conveyed in the paper discharge direction A. Then, when the cutting tip P7 by the slitter device 30 reaches outside the printing range P4, the switching drive source 45 of the switching mechanism 33 is driven again under the control of the control unit 5. Then, by moving the position of the cam 42 from the position G to the position H, the position of the first slitter 31 is moved from the cutting position E to the retracted position F, and the cutting operation is stopped. Next, as shown in FIG. 7, when the paper is further conveyed in the paper discharge direction A and reaches the end P8, the printing paper P is cut again by the cutting means 12 to discharge the print range P4 as a desired print size. be able to. Finally, as shown in FIG. 8, the printing paper P is further conveyed by the end margin P9 including the cutting front end P7 and is cut again by the cutting means 12, thereby moving to the step of cutting and discharging the next printing range. be able to.

As described above, according to the slitter device 30, the switching mechanism 33 can selectively and accurately form a good cut surface in accordance with the control unit 5 and the size setting means 49 to cut in the paper discharge direction A. it can. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, even if the width of the printing paper P is A4 paper width, two sheets are printed in the paper width direction B and cut by the slitter device 30 to be discharged as A6 paper. can do. Also, as shown in FIG. 12, it can be discharged as A7 paper by the same method. In other words, in the above-described embodiment, the paper can be discharged as a maximum of four types (A4, A5, A6, A7) of regular sizes according to the print size. In this way, since it is possible to cope with output of different paper sizes without changing paper, a wide range of services can be provided even in an unattended printing system.

  Even if it is not the standard size as described above, a plurality of sheets can be printed in the paper width direction B and cut in the paper discharge direction A. Therefore, even if the printing paper P and the printing size are different from each other, the margin in the paper width direction B can be reduced compared with the method of printing one sheet at a time along the paper discharge direction A, which is economical. In addition, it is possible to reduce the trouble of cutting the margin after discharging. Further, when the printer 1 is of the thermal transfer type as in the present embodiment, the consumption of the ink sheet S can be suppressed, which is very economical. 9 to 12, a plurality of sheets are simultaneously printed in the paper discharge direction A of the printing paper P, and are sequentially cut by the cutting means 12, so that the margins in the paper discharge direction A (the leading margins P6 and P6) are further increased. Since the end margin P9) can also be reduced, it becomes more economical.

  Although the printer 1 is a thermal transfer type, it is not limited to this and may be a laser type or an ink jet type. The printing paper P supplied from the paper supply unit 2 is the roll paper R, but is not limited thereto, and may be a standard paper (A3, A4, B4, etc.) cut to a predetermined length.

In addition, although the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32 of the slitter device 30 are provided as a set at an intermediate position in the paper width direction B of the printing paper P, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, two sets may be provided at predetermined positions in the paper width direction B so that the print paper P can be divided into three in the paper width direction B. Further, the first slitter 31 and the second slitter 32 may be adjusted in position on the rotating shaft 31b and the rotating shaft 13, respectively. In this way, the cutting position in the paper width direction B can be adjusted. Further, although the biasing means 35 biases in the direction facing the printing paper P, the biasing means 35 may bias in the opposite direction. In this case, the direction of pressing by the pressing means 36 may be reversed, and the first slitter 31 may be pressed when it is cut. In the present embodiment, the cam mechanism is used as the pressing means 36 to switch between the cutting position E and the retracted position F of the first slitter 31. Means may be used. Further, the first slitter 31 can switch between the cutting position E and the retracted position F by rotating the accommodating portion 34 around the rotation shaft 38, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is good also as a structure which parallelly moves up and down facing. In addition, the detection unit 46 that detects the position of the first slitter 31 is the semicircular plate 47 fixed to the rotating shaft 41 of the cam 42 and the sensor 48 that is a photo interrupter, but is not limited thereto. A sensor that directly detects the position of the first slitter 31 or the position of the housing portion 34 may be provided.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

1 is a configuration diagram of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the paper discharge part of embodiment of this invention in the paper width direction. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the paper discharge part of embodiment of this invention in the paper discharge direction. It is the expanded sectional view which cut | disconnected the slitter apparatus of embodiment of this invention in the paper width direction. It is explanatory drawing of the process of cut | disconnecting and discharging the printing paper of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the process of cut | disconnecting and discharging the printing paper of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the process of cut | disconnecting and discharging the printing paper of embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the process of cut | disconnecting and discharging the printing paper of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which showed the example of the printing paper cut | disconnected and discharged by the printer of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which showed the example of the printing paper cut | disconnected and discharged by the printer of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which showed the example of the printing paper cut | disconnected and discharged by the printer of embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic which showed the example of the printing paper cut | disconnected and discharged by the printer of embodiment of this invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 3 Printing means 5 Control part 10 Thermal head 11 Paper discharge means 14 Paper discharge side feed roller (feed roller)
15 Output side pinch roller (Pinch roller)
16 driving unit 30 slitter device 31 first slitter 31a outer peripheral part 32 second slitter 32a outer peripheral part 33 switching mechanism 35 pressing means 42 cam 45 switching drive source 46 detecting part 49 size setting means P printing paper P1 printing surface P2 rear surface A Paper discharge direction B Paper width direction S Ink sheet E Cutting position F Retraction position

Claims (7)

A slitter device that cuts printing paper that is printed and discharged in the paper discharge direction.
A first slitter provided on one side of the printing paper in a substantially disc shape with a blade portion formed on the outer periphery;
A substantially disk shape having a blade portion formed on the outer periphery, provided on the other surface side of the printing paper and facing the first slitter, with a gap between the printing paper and the printing paper. A second slitter rotating in the paper discharge direction;
A paper discharge-side feed roller that rotates in the paper discharge direction;
A slitter rotating shaft that passes through the center of the first slitter and extends in a direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction, and the first slitter is provided in a relatively non-rotatable manner;
A slitter driving roller provided on the slitter rotating shaft so as not to be relatively rotatable;
The first slitter can be moved to a cutting position in contact with the second slitter, and the first slitter can be moved to a retracted position having a gap with the printing paper. With a mechanism,
The second slitter is provided coaxially with the discharge-side feed roller,
The switching mechanism swings about a switching rotation shaft that supports the slitter rotation shaft so as to be rotatable on the spot, and the storage portion is provided at one end and extends in the paper discharge direction. The first slitter is moved between the cutting position and the retracted position by swinging about the switching rotation axis of the housing portion with swinging of the beam member. Move it with
The slitter driving roller is provided on the slitter rotating shaft and closer to the switching rotating shaft than the first slitter, and before the first slitter reaches the cutting position, the discharge side A slitter device, wherein the slitter device is provided so as to be in contact with a feed roller and to rotate in association with friction with the discharge roller on the paper discharge side . The slitter device according to claim 1,
The switching mechanism,
An urging means for urging the housing portion in either one of a direction facing the printing paper or an opposite direction;
With which to press the receiving portion biasing force opposed to the biasing means in a direction or in the opposite direction of the other opposite to the printing paper, and a pressing means retractable to a position not to press the receiving portion A slitter device comprising: The slitter device according to claim 2,
The pressing means of the switching mechanism includes a switching drive source that rotationally drives,
A cam rotated by the switching drive source and capable of pressing the other end side of the beam member in which the accommodating portion is provided at the one end portion against the urging force of the urging means; A slitter device comprising: A slitter device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Printing means for printing on the printing paper;
A feed roller that rotates in the paper discharge direction, and a pinch roller that rotates in the paper discharge direction in contact with the feed roller and is fed between the feed roller and the pinch roller printed by the printing unit Paper discharge means for conveying and discharging the printed paper,
A printer comprising: a drive unit that rotates the feed roller. The printer according to claim 4.
The second slitter of the slitter device has an outer diameter set slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the feed roller, and is coaxially fixed to the rotation shaft of the feed roller,
The slitter driving roller provided on the slitter rotating shaft is opposed to the feed roller when the first slitter provided on the slitter rotating shaft is located at the cutting position. Printer. The printer according to claim 4 or 5,
A detection unit for detecting the position of the first slitter;
A size setting means for setting a desired print size;
In accordance with the print size input to the size setting means, the presence or absence of cutting in the paper discharge direction of the print paper is determined, and the position of the first slitter is confirmed based on the detection result input from the detection unit And a control unit that drives the switching drive source of the switching mechanism and drives the drive unit. The printer according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The printing means includes a thermally transferable ink sheet;
A printer of a thermal transfer type comprising a thermal head capable of selectively pressing the ink sheet against a printing surface of the printing paper and heating the ink sheet.

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