JP4997337B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are printers that issue labels, receipts, and the like on which information related to products such as food is printed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the printer of Patent Document 1, first and second printer mechanisms (printing units) are provided inside a housing which is an apparatus main body, and each printer mechanism is provided with an image printing mechanism and a sheet conveying mechanism. ing.

  In such a label printer, printing based on predetermined print data is performed on the roll paper. When the roll paper is used up, it is necessary to replace the roll paper to replenish new roll paper. At that time, for example, the printing unit containing the roll paper is pulled out from the apparatus main body, and the roll paper is replaced in the pulled-out state.

  However, as described above, in the case of an apparatus that pulls out the printing unit from the apparatus main body and performs roll paper replacement work, the printed printing unit is pulled out by being pressed by a hand, arm, or the like during the work. When moving toward the inside of the apparatus main body, there has been a problem that the position of the printing unit is not stable and it is difficult to replace the roll paper.

The printing apparatus according to the embodiment is a printing apparatus including a printing unit that can be pulled out and housed from an opening formed in the apparatus main body. The printing unit is maintained in a cantilevered state on a side wall and the side wall. A paper holding shaft including a paper holding shaft that rotatably holds the roll paper wound in a roll shape, and is supported at a support point O so as to be rotatable with respect to the printing unit. Provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the second end surface opposite to the first end surface on the side wall side of the roll paper held by the paper holding shaft in accordance with the drawing operation of the printing unit with respect to the apparatus main body. And the abutting body closed with respect to the second end face are urged in the width direction of the paper of the roll paper held by the paper holding shaft so as to abut against the second end face. With the biasing section Wherein the biasing unit is connected to one end to the connection point X in the printing unit, a spring connected to the other end to the connection point Y in the abutment body, the roll paper When the angle XOY of the roll paper is 180 °, the contact body is urged in the first rotation direction to open the second end face of the roll paper, and when the angle XOY of the roll paper is less than 180 ° The contact body is biased in a second rotation direction that is opposite to the first rotation direction .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer in a state where the printer unit is accommodated. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the printer unit is pulled out from the housing. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing details of the roll paper holding mechanism. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the operation of the roll paper holding mechanism.

  Exemplary embodiments of a printing apparatus will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, an example in which the printing apparatus of the embodiment is applied to a printer that issues a label or receipt on which information related to a product such as food is printed is shown. Any device that prints information may be applied.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a printer 100 according to the embodiment. The printer 100 includes a housing 102 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. On the upper surface of the housing 102, an operation panel 103 including various keys such as a numeric keypad and a display 104 as a display unit having a liquid crystal display are provided. An opening is formed on the front side of the housing 102, and two printer units 105 and 106 are housed side by side in the opening.

  Front panels 105a and 106a are attached to the front surfaces of both printer units 105 and 106, respectively. Issuing ports 105b and 106b are opened above the front panels 105a and 106a. Grip portions 105c and 106c are formed below the front panels 105a and 106a. Each of the printer units 105 and 106 is attached to a housing 102 having an opening formed in the front direction of the apparatus main body so that it can be pulled out and stored. An operator can hold the grip portions 105 c and 106 c and pull out the printer units 105 and 106 from the housing 102.

  In FIG. 1, a device arranged adjacent to the front of the printer 100 is a weighing device 108. The weighing device 108 includes a flat main unit 109 and a weighing pan 110 attached to the upper surface of the main unit 109. The main unit 109 has a function of weighing the item placed on the weighing pan 110 and outputting the weighing data. The printer 100 and the weighing device 108 are electrically connected. The weighing data output from the weighing device 108 is input to the printer 100.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer 100 in a state where the printer unit 105 is housed in the housing 102. FIG. 2 shows one of the two printer units 105 and 106 that is located on the right side when viewed from the front side of the printer 100. The other printer unit 106 located on the left side has a structure that is symmetrical to the printer unit 105 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, only the printer unit 105 positioned on the right side will be described, and description of the printer unit 106 positioned on the left side will be omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the label paper 112 used in the printer unit 105 is roll paper wound in a roll shape. The label sheet 112 is obtained by attaching a plurality of labels 113 to a long mount 114 in a row, winding the label 113 around a paper tube 115 and winding it into a roll. As the label 113, a heat-sensitive label that develops color when heated is used.

  The printer unit 105 includes a paper holding shaft 117, a platen 118, and a mount winding shaft 119. The paper holding shaft 117 holds the label paper 112 by inserting the paper tube 115. The platen 118 conveys the label paper 112. The mount winding shaft 119 winds the mount 114 included in the label sheet 112. The paper holding shaft 117, the platen 118, and the mount winding shaft 119 are all protruded from the side wall 120 of the printer unit 105 and maintained in a cantilever state. The sheet holding shaft 117 and the mount winding shaft 119 form a guide path 122 for the label sheet 112 from the sheet holding shaft 117 to the mount winding shaft 119 in the printer unit 105.

  The printer unit 105 has a peeling part 121. The peeling portion 121 is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream side of the platen 118 in the guide path 122, and bends only the mount 114 of the label paper 112 at an acute angle in a direction in which it is separated from the label 113. The peeled portion 121 peels the printed label 113 from the mount 114 and issues it from the issuing port 105b. The mount 114 is bent and guided to the mount take-up shaft 119.

  As described above, the paper holding shaft 117 is maintained in a horizontal state in a cantilevered state on the side wall 120 of the printer unit 105, and holds the label paper 112 while being inserted into the paper tube 115 of the label paper 112. That is, the side wall 120 functions as a reference surface for positioning the label paper 112 by abutting against the first end face 112 a that is one end face of the label paper 112. In addition, the paper holding shaft 117 functions as a paper holding unit that rotatably holds the label paper 112 wound in a roll shape with reference to the end surface by the side wall 120 serving as the reference surface.

  The label paper 112 held on the paper holding shaft 117 is not on the side wall 120 side (the back side in FIG. 2) but on the opposite side, that is, on the open side of the label paper 112 (the front side in FIG. 2). The end surface 112 b is urged by the rotating member 202 and is pushed in the width direction of the label paper 112 (axial direction of the paper holding shaft 117). On the other hand, the first end surface 112a of the label paper 112 abuts on the side wall 120 serving as a reference surface. As described above, the label sheet 112 is sandwiched between the side wall 120 and the rotating member 202, so that the movement of the label sheet 112 in the width direction when the label is pulled out along the guide path 122 is restricted.

  The rotating member 202 is rotatably attached to the tip of the arm main portion 203 that forms a part of the roll paper holding mechanism 201 via a rotating member rotating shaft 207, and the arm main portion 203 rotates to label. The sheet is rotated and displaced by interfering with the second end surface 112 b of the sheet 112. Details of the structure of the roll paper holding mechanism 201 including the rotating member 202 and the arm main portion 203 will be described later with reference to FIGS.

  The platen 118 is disposed below the guide path 122. The platen 118 rotates by receiving a driving force from a platen motor (not shown) via a gear train (not shown), applies a conveying force to the label paper 112 on the guide path 122, and a paper holding shaft. The label sheet 112 held at 117 is pulled out along the guide path 122. As described above, the platen 118, the platen motor, and the gear train function as a transport unit that pulls out the label paper 112 and transports it along the guide path 122.

  The mount winding shaft 119 receives a driving force from a winding motor (not shown) via a gear train (not shown) arranged on the back side of the side wall 120 and rotates to pass through the peeling portion 121. Of the label paper 112, only the mount 114 is wound up. The peeling portion 121 and the mount winding shaft 119 are positioned at positions where the mount winding shaft 119 winds the mount 114 and bends the mount 114 at an acute angle at the peeling portion 121.

  A pair of rails 111 are provided below the inside of the housing 102. The rail 111 extends horizontally from the opening provided on the front side of the housing 102 toward the back side, and supports the printer unit 105 slidably. For this reason, the operator slides the printer unit 105 in the front direction along the rail 111 by gripping and pulling the grip portion 105c of the printer unit 105, and is stored in the housing 102 (FIG. 2). ) To the outside of the housing 102 (see FIG. 3). The operator holds the grip 105c, slides the printer unit 105 toward the back side along the rail 111, and is stored from the pulled out state (see FIG. 3) (see FIG. 3). It can also be positioned in 2).

  A thermal head 125 is disposed above the interior of the housing 102. The thermal head 125 is a line-type thermal print head, and is attached at a position facing the platen 118 when the printer unit 105 is housed in the housing 102. The thermal head 125 constitutes a printing unit 126 together with the platen 118.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the printer unit 105 is pulled out from the housing 102. The skeleton of the printer unit 105 is configured around the side frame 130 having the side wall 120 and the bottom frame 131 forming the bottom. A side frame 130 is fixedly attached to one side of the bottom frame 131. Therefore, the printer unit 105 has a substantially L shape when viewed from the front side. The side wall 120 of the side frame 130 supports the paper holding shaft 117 and the mount winding shaft 119 in a cantilever state in parallel with the bottom frame 131. Both side portions of the bottom frame 131 are slidably supported by the housing 102 via the rails 111.

  In the printer 100 of the present embodiment, the front panels 105a and 106a are inclined so that they are higher than the back side when the printer units 105 and 106 are stored. This inclination causes the printer units 105 and 106 to be forced in the direction in which they are housed in the housing 102 due to gravity, so that the printer 100 tilts and falls toward the print panels 105a and 106a when the printer units 105 and 106 are pulled out unnecessarily. To prevent it.

  Here, the roll paper holding mechanism 201 will be described. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing details of the roll paper holding mechanism 201. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the roll paper holding mechanism 201 includes a first arm 204, a second arm 205, and a spring 206 (biasing portion), and is held by a paper holding shaft 117. The label paper 112 is in contact with the second end surface 112 b of the label paper 112, or can be in contact with the frame portion of the housing 102.

  The second arm 205 is configured such that the above-described rotating member 202 and the arm main portion 203 are rotatably connected via a rotating member rotating shaft 207. The second arm 205 is rotationally displaced about the vertical axis 208 in the vicinity of one end connected to the first arm 204 as a rotational center, and the second arm 205 is connected to the second end of the label paper 112 on the free end side (the other end side). It functions as a contact body that contacts the end surface 112b. The second arm 205 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the paper holding portion including the paper holding shaft 117 and the side wall 120 in accordance with the drawing and storing operation of the printer unit 105 with respect to the housing 102 (device main body). Yes.

  The first arm 204 is fixedly attached to the upper end position on the back side of the side frame 130 when the printer unit 105 is housed in the housing 102, and protrudes from the side wall 120 in the same direction as the paper holding shaft 117 and the mount winding shaft 119. ing. The first arm 204 is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and rotatably supports the arm main portion 203 by opposing both end faces. As a result, the arm main portion 203 has a portion on the free end side that is not supported by the first arm 204 around the vertical shaft 208 as the second end surface 112b of the label paper 112 held by the paper holding shaft 117. On the other hand, it can be rotated so as to be close to and away from each other.

  A rotating member 202 is attached to the free end of the arm main portion 203 via a rotating member rotating shaft 207 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis 208. The rotating member 202 has a contact surface 202 a that contacts the second end surface 112 b of the label paper 112.

  The spring 206 is spanned between the first arm 204 and the arm main portion 203, one end is near the root of the first arm 204 attached to the side wall 120, and the other end is in the arm main portion 203. Each is connected to a location near the vertical axis 208. The spring 206 is configured to move the second arm 205 (the rotation member 202 and the arm main portion 203) opened to the sheet holding unit in the vicinity of the frame portion that forms the opening of the housing 102. 4 in the direction of arrow R2). Further, the spring 206 is a second rotation that is a direction in which the second arm 205 closed with respect to the sheet holding unit is close to the second end surface 112b of the label sheet 112 and is opposite to the first rotation direction. It is tension-biased in the direction (arrow R1 direction in FIG. 4).

  As described above, the roll paper holding mechanism 201 urges the second arm 205 to rotate in the direction of the arrow R1 by the spring 206, so that the rotating member 202 of the second arm 205 is brought into contact with the second end surface 112b. The first end surface 112a of the label paper 112 is brought into contact with the side wall 120, which is a reference surface, to restrict the movement of the label paper 112 in the width direction.

  On the other hand, when the printer unit 105 is pulled out from the housing 102, the roll paper holding mechanism 201 urges the second arm 205 to rotate in the direction of the arrow R2 by the spring 206, thereby causing the second arm 205 to move. It is possible to prevent the printer unit 105 from moving into the housing 102 by abutting the arm main portion 203 on the frame portion of the housing 102. As a result, as described above, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment is inclined so that the front panel 105a side becomes higher. Therefore, when the printer unit 105 is pulled out by replacing the label paper 112, the printer unit 105 is pulled by gravity. Can be prevented from being stored in the housing 102.

  The roll paper holding mechanism 201 will be described in more detail. The first arm 204 is a long member having a U-shaped cross section, and a U-shaped upper piece 204a, a U-shaped lower piece 204b, and a C-shape connecting these. And a character side 204c. In addition, the first arm 204 has a flat plate-shaped mounting contact portion 210 that faces the U-shaped cross-sectional direction at the end opposite to the end to which the second arm 205 is connected. An attachment hole 210 a for fixing and attaching the first arm 204 to the side wall 120 of the printer unit 105 by screwing or the like is formed in the attachment contact portion 210. The attachment contact portion 210 is provided with a spring attachment portion 211 for attaching one end of the spring 206. A stopper (not shown) projects from the end of the U-shaped side 204c on the arm main portion 203 side.

  Further, the arm main portion 203 is a long shape having a U-shaped cross section that can be inscribed in the first arm 204, and is a member formed in a shape in which a portion on the rotating member 202 side is shifted downward, It has a U-shaped upper piece 203a, a U-shaped lower piece 203b, and a U-shaped side 203c that connects them. A spring mounting portion 213 for mounting the other end portion of the spring 206 is provided on a portion of the U-shaped side 203c on the first arm 204 side. Further, a stepped portion (not shown) that contacts the stopper of the first arm 204 is formed on the outer side of the U-shaped side 203c.

  The first arm 204 and the arm main portion 203 are rotatably connected by a vertical shaft 108 by a headed shaft having a groove formed in the shaft portion and an E-ring fitted in the groove. Further, the rotation member 202 can be rotated by inserting a rotation member rotation shaft 207 through the end of the arm main portion 203 opposite to the end connected to the first arm 204. It is attached.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the operation of the roll paper holding mechanism 201. Both ends of the spring 206 are attached to a spring attachment portion 211 provided on the first arm 204 and a spring attachment portion 213 provided on the arm main portion 203. Here, in the first arm 204, a half line OX extending from the vertical axis 208 (point O) toward the spring mounting portion 211 (point X), and in the arm main portion 203, the spring mounting portion 213 from the vertical axis 208 (point O). An angle formed by a half line OY extending toward (point Y) is defined as θ.

  When the first arm 204 and the arm main portion 203 are in a positional relationship of θ <180 ° (the position of the arm main portion 203 at this time is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5), the spring 206 is rotated. The arm main portion 203 is tensioned and biased so as to be rotationally displaced in the second rotational direction (arrow R1 direction) in which the contact surface 202a of the member 202 is brought close to the second end surface 112b of the label paper 112. In this case, the movement of the label sheet 112 in the width direction can be restricted by the rotating member 202 coming into contact with the second end surface 112b.

  When the arm main portion 203 is positioned at θ> 180 ° with respect to the first arm 204, the spring 206 separates the contact surface 202 a of the rotating member 202 from the second end surface 112 b of the label paper 112. Then, the arm main portion 203 is tensioned and biased so as to be rotationally displaced in the first rotational direction (in the direction of arrow R2) that is brought close to the frame portion of the housing 102. In this case, it is possible to prevent the printer unit 105 from moving into the housing 102 by bringing the arm main portion 203 into contact with the frame portion of the housing 102.

  When θ = 180 °, neither the first rotation direction nor the second rotation direction is biased. The position of the arm main portion 203 in this case is indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG.

  When the arm main portion 203 is positioned at a position of θ = predetermined angle α (where α> 180 °) in the process of being rotationally displaced in the first rotation direction (arrow R2 direction) (the arm main at this time) The position of the portion 203 is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 5), and a stepped portion (not shown) formed on the U-shaped side 203c hits a stopper (not shown) provided on the first arm 204, and this θ = Stops at a position where the predetermined angle α is reached. That is, the stopper and the step portion constitute a holding mechanism that holds the arm main portion 203 at a position where θ = the predetermined angle α.

  A horizontal attachment position when the roll paper holding mechanism 201 is attached to the housing 102 will be described. When the rotating member 202 is in contact with the second end surface 112 b of the label paper 112, the second arm 205 does not interfere with the housing 102 when the printer unit 105 is pulled out or stored, and the second paper of the label paper 112 is not interfered with the housing 102. In a state where the end surface 112b is pressed and the arm main portion 203 is held by the holding mechanism including the stopper and the stepped portion, the frame that is positioned across the passage space of the housing 102 and the rotating member 202 forms the opening of the housing 102 The first arm 204 of the roll paper holding mechanism 201 is attached to the side wall 120 of the side frame 130 so as to protrude rightward from the portion.

  The printer 100 according to the present embodiment configured as described above is supplied with power from a commercial power supply, and a microcomputer (not shown) built in the housing 102 controls the drive of each unit to execute print processing. . When this printing process is performed, in the printer 100, the label paper 112 inserted in the paper tube 115 and held on the paper holding shaft 117 is conveyed along the guide path 122 by the rotation of the platen 118, and the thermal head By 125, the label paper 112 is printed based on the print data. This print data includes, for example, weighing data of an item placed on the weighing pan 110 output from the main body device 109 of the weighing device 108. In this way, simultaneously with the printing process, the microcomputer also drives and controls a winding motor (not shown) to rotate the mount winding shaft 119 and wind the mount 114 that forms part of the label sheet 112. Do. The printed label 113 is peeled from the mount 114 by the peeling unit 121 and issued from the issuing port 105b.

  By performing the control drive of each part, the label paper 112 mounted on the paper holding shaft 117 is not only pulled by the platen 118 and rotated around the axis of the paper holding shaft 117 but also the axis of the paper holding shaft 117. The second end surface 112b also moves in the center direction (the width direction of the label paper 112) and abuts against the abutment surface 202a of the rotating member 202 constituting the roll paper holding mechanism 201. The rotating member 202 is urged toward the side wall 120 of the side frame 130 by receiving an urging force from the spring 206 in the second rotating direction (arrow R1 direction in FIG. 4). For this reason, the label paper 112 is urged by the rotating member 202, the first end surface 112 a of the label paper 112 abuts on the side wall 120 serving as a reference surface, and is sandwiched between the side wall 120 and the rotating member 202. Stuck in the width direction. In addition, the rotation member 202 rotates in the direction around the axis of the rotation shaft 207 for the rotation member that is directed in the vertical direction, so that the paper width of the label paper 112 mounted on the paper holding shaft 117 is large or small. First, the movement of the label paper 112 in the width direction can be reliably regulated by making the contact surface 202a of the rotating member 202 fit the surface of the second end face 112b of the label paper 112.

  Further, in the roll paper holding mechanism 201 of the present embodiment, the arm main portion 203 can be held in an open state by the holding mechanism (the stopper of the first arm 204 and the step portion of the arm main portion 203). For this reason, the operator can easily perform the work of mounting the label paper 112 on the paper holding shaft 117 without holding the arm main portion 203 by hand with the printer unit 105 pulled out from the housing 102. it can.

  Further, in the roll paper holding mechanism 201 of the present embodiment, when the printer unit 105 is pulled out, the arm main portion 203 is attached to the first rotation direction from the spring 206 (arrow R2 direction in FIG. 4). Received power to be energized. For this reason, the arm main portion 203 abuts on the housing 102, prevents the printer unit 105 from moving into the housing 102, and stabilizes the printer unit 105. Therefore, the label paper 112 can be easily replaced. .

  As described above, in the printer 100 according to the present embodiment, the movement of the label paper 112 in the width direction and the prevention of the movement of the printer unit 105 into the apparatus main body during the replacement work of the label paper 112 are controlled by the spring 206 and the like. The roll paper holding mechanism 201 configured using only a simple structure such as the first arm 204 can be realized simply by being fixedly attached to the printer unit 105 by screwing or the like. Accordingly, the roll paper can be prevented from skewing with a simple structure, and the label paper 112 can be easily replaced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Printer 102 Housing 103 Operation panel 104 Display 105, 106 Printer unit 105a, 106a Front panel 105b, 106b Issuing port 105c, 106c Grip part 108 Weighing device 109 Main body device 110 Weighing pan 111 Rail 112 Label paper 112a 1st end surface 112b 2nd End surface 113 Label 114 Mount 115 Paper tube 117 Paper holding shaft 118 Platen 119 Mount winding shaft 120 Side wall 121 Peeling portion 122 Guide path 125 Thermal head 126 Printing portion 130 Side frame 131 Bottom frame 201 Roll paper holding mechanism 202 Rotating member 202a Contact surface 203 Arm main part 203a U-shaped upper piece 203b U-shaped lower piece 203c U-shaped side 204 First arm 204a U-shaped upper piece 204b U-shaped lower 204c U sides 205 second arm 206 spring 207 for rotating shaft 208 a vertical axis 210 for mounting the rotating member abutment 210a mounting hole 211 and 213 spring attachment portion

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-256982

Claims (3)

In a printing apparatus having a printing unit that can be pulled out and stored from an opening formed in the apparatus body,
The printing unit is
A paper holding unit including a side wall, and a paper holding shaft that is maintained in a cantilevered state on the side wall and is rotatably held in a state where a roll paper wound in a roll shape is inserted;
The printing unit is supported at a support point O so as to be rotatable with respect to the printing unit, and the side of the roll paper on the side of the roll paper held by the paper holding shaft in accordance with the drawing operation of the printing unit with respect to the apparatus main body. An abutment provided to be openable and closable with respect to the second end surface opposite to the one end surface;
An urging portion that urges the abutting body closed with respect to the second end surface in the width direction of the roll paper held by the paper holding shaft to abut against the second end surface; ,
Equipped with a,
The urging portion is a spring having one end connected to a connection point X in the printing unit and the other end connected to a connection point Y in the abutting body, and the roll paper side corner XOY. When the angle is> 180 °, the contact body is urged in the first rotation direction to open the second end face of the roll paper, and when the angle XOY on the roll paper side is less than 180 °, the contact body. Is urged in a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction,
A printing apparatus characterized by that. The side wall functions as a reference surface for positioning the roll paper by contacting the first end surface.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1. In a printing apparatus having a printing unit that can be pulled out and stored from an opening formed in the apparatus body,
The printing unit is
A paper holding unit including a side wall, and a paper holding shaft that is maintained in a cantilevered state on the side wall and is rotatably held in a state where a roll paper wound in a roll shape is inserted;
The printing unit is supported at a support point O so as to be rotatable with respect to the printing unit, and the side of the roll paper on the side of the roll paper held by the paper holding shaft in accordance with the drawing operation of the printing unit with respect to the apparatus main body. An abutment provided to be openable and closable with respect to the second end surface opposite to the one end surface;
Is connected to an end of the hand to the connection point X in the printing unit, a spring connected to the other end to the connection point Y in the abutment body, the roll paper corner XOY> is 180 ° In this case, the contact body is urged in the first rotation direction to open the second end face of the roll paper, and the contact body is moved to the first time when the roll paper side angle XOY <180 °. A biasing portion that biases in a second rotation direction that is opposite to the moving direction ;
Printing device you comprising: a.

Images