JP5644817B2 - Media transport mechanism and media processing apparatus provided with the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a media transport mechanism for transporting a disk-shaped medium such as a CD or a DVD, and a media processing apparatus including the same.

  In recent years, disk dubbing devices that write data to a large number of media such as blank CDs and DVDs, and media processing devices such as CD / DVD publishers that can produce and issue media by performing data writing and label printing are used. It is being As this type of media processing apparatus, there are known a drive that writes data to the media, a printer that prints on the label surface of the media, and a media transport mechanism that grips and transports the media to these drives and printers. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-202379 A

  By the way, blank media before processing such as writing is accommodated in a stacked state inside the media stacker, but the media and stacker accommodated in the stacker are provided with a slight clearance in the radial direction of the media. It has become. Therefore, since the media stacked in the stacker are randomly accommodated in the stacker, the center position of the media is accommodated slightly shifted from the media pickup center by the media transport mechanism. In this case, when the inner peripheral surface of the center hole of the media is gripped by the grip of the grip portion of the media transport mechanism, the grip force is biased in the circumferential direction, and the media cannot be gripped in a balanced manner. , Gripping failure may occur.

In addition, in the stacker, the upper and lower media may be in close contact with each other and a sticking force may be generated. If the gripping force is biased, it is difficult to reliably lift only the uppermost one medium.
In addition, if the positional deviation between the media is large, when the gripping portion is inserted into the center hole of the uppermost media and gripped, the gripping portion is the edge of the center hole of the media on the lower side (second and subsequent sheets). The gripping part may not be able to contact all the media and a good gripping operation may not be performed, resulting in gripping failure.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a media transport mechanism capable of reliably holding and lifting a medium having a center hole on the inner peripheral surface of the center hole in a well-balanced manner, and a media processing apparatus including the same. .

  In the media transport mechanism according to the present invention that can solve the above-described problems, at least three gripping claws provided in the gripping portion are inserted into the center hole of the media to be gripped, and the gripping claws are respectively expanded in the radial direction. A media transport mechanism for gripping the media by pressing against the inner peripheral surface of the center hole, wherein the gripping claws can be moved radially outward of the media independently of each other. To do.

According to the media transport mechanism having this configuration, since the gripping claws are moved radially outward independently of each other, even if the center position of the media to be gripped is displaced, The inner peripheral surface of the center hole can be pressed.
As a result, the gripping force can be applied in a balanced manner in the circumferential direction, and in particular, the uppermost media of the media stored in the stacked state can be securely gripped against the sticking force with the lower media. Can be lifted.

Further, another gripping claw is connected to one gripping claw by a biasing member, and the other gripping claw is biased by the biasing member with respect to the movement of the one gripping claw in the radially outward direction. Is preferably moved outward in the radial direction.
According to this configuration, since the other gripping claw is urged outward in the radial direction by the urging force of the urging member with respect to the one gripping claw, the gripping claw in the radial direction due to the displacement of the media by the urging member Each gripping claw can be pressed securely against the inner peripheral surface of the center hole of the media while absorbing the variation in the amount of outward movement.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said holding nail | claw is the length dimension below the thickness dimension of the said medium. According to this configuration, since the length dimension of the gripping claw is equal to or less than the thickness dimension of the media, the gripping claw is placed at the edge of the center hole of the lower media even if the misalignment between the stacked media is large. Only the uppermost medium can be reliably gripped without contact.

In addition, it is preferable that the grip portion is provided with a conical media guide that gradually narrows from the base end portion having a diameter slightly smaller than the center hole of the media toward the tip end.
According to this configuration, since the grip portion is provided with the cone-shaped media guide that gradually narrows from the base end portion having a diameter slightly smaller than the center hole of the media toward the tip end, the center position of the media to be gripped Even if they are misaligned, by inserting the media guide into the center hole of the media, the center of the media can be easily aligned, and the gripping force of each gripping claw can be further equalized, making it more reliable It is possible to grip the media. In addition, since the media can be gripped after correcting the positional deviation of the media, the radial movement range of each gripping claw can be reduced.

A media processing apparatus according to the present invention includes any one of the media transport mechanisms described above.
According to the media processing device having this configuration, since the media transport mechanism that can securely hold the media is provided, a processing device with high processing reliability can be obtained.

It is an external appearance perspective view of a publisher (media processing apparatus). It is a perspective view of the front side of the state which removed the case of the publisher. It is a perspective view of the back side of the state which removed the case of the publisher. It is a perspective view of the recording device part installed in the publisher. It is a perspective view which shows a media conveyance mechanism. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a part of the media transport mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the connection mechanism part of a conveyance arm and a timing belt. It is the expansion perspective view seen from the lower part side which shows the connection mechanism part of a conveyance arm and a timing belt. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of a conveyance arm. It is the top view seen from the lower surface side of the conveyance arm which grasped media. It is sectional drawing in the holding part of a conveyance arm. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a media guide provided in a grip portion of a transfer arm. It is a top view of the media guide provided in the holding part of the conveyance arm. It is a top view of the arm base explaining a gripping mechanism. It is a perspective view of the holding claw part of a gripping mechanism. It is an enlarged plan view of a grip claw part. It is each a top view explaining the movement of a turning board and a holding claw. It is each a top view explaining the movement of a turning board and a holding claw. It is each a top view explaining the movement of a turning board and a holding claw. It is sectional drawing of the holding nail explaining a holding nail. It is a top view of the arm base which shows a kick-off mechanism. It is a front view of the conveyance arm which looked at the holding part in section. It is a perspective view of a kick-off mechanism. It is sectional drawing of the rocking | fluctuation mechanism part provided in the kick-off mechanism. It is a top view of the rocking mechanism part provided in the kick-off mechanism. It is each a schematic plan view explaining the movement of a kick-off mechanism. It is each a schematic plan view explaining the movement of a kick-off mechanism. FIG. 6 is a graph showing a relationship between a descending stroke of a belt clip of a transfer arm and a load applied to a medium.

Embodiments of a media transport mechanism and a media processing apparatus including the media transport mechanism according to the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a media processing apparatus including a publisher will be described as an example.
1 is an external perspective view of the publisher (media processing apparatus), FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the publisher with the case removed, and FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the publisher with the case removed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a label printer portion installed in a publisher.

  The publisher 1 is a media processing apparatus that writes data on a disk-shaped medium such as a CD or DVD and prints on the label surface of the medium, and includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 2. Opening and closing doors 3 and 4 that can be opened and closed to the left and right are attached to the front surface of the case 2. An operation surface 5 on which display lamps, operation buttons, and the like are arranged is provided at the upper left end of the case 2, and a media discharge port 6 is provided at the lower end of the case 2.

The open / close door 3 on the right side of the front view is a door that opens and closes when an unused blank medium MA is set or when a created medium MB is taken out.
The open / close door 4 on the left side when viewed from the front is for opening and closing when the ink cartridge 12 of the label printer 11 is replaced. When the open / close door 4 is opened, the open / close door 4 has a plurality of cartridge holders 13 arranged in the vertical direction. The cartridge mounting portion 14 (see FIG. 2) is exposed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a blank media stacker 21 as a media storage unit capable of stacking a plurality of unused blank media MA that has not been subjected to data writing processing is provided in the case 2 of the media processing device 1. Then, the created media stacker 22 as a media storage unit in which the created media MB is stored is arranged vertically in a coaxial state. The blank media stacker 21 and the created media stacker 22 are detachable from the predetermined positions shown in FIG.

  The blank media stacker 21 is provided with a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 24 and 25, thereby allowing the blank media MA to be received from above and stored in a coaxially stacked state. The operation of storing or replenishing the blank media MA in the blank media stacker 21 can be easily performed by opening the door 3 and taking out the stacker.

  The created media stacker 22 on the lower side has the same structure, and includes a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 27 and 28. By this, the created media MB is received from the upper side and stacked in a coaxial manner. A stackable stacker is configured.

  Further, the created media MB (that is, the medium on which data writing and label surface printing have been completed) can be taken out from the open / close door 3.

A media transport mechanism 31 is disposed behind the blank media stacker 21 and the created media stacker 22. The media transport mechanism 31 has a vertical guide shaft 35 that is vertically stretched between a horizontal support plate portion 34 attached to the base 72 and the top plate 33 of the chassis 32 (see FIG. 5). . The vertical guide shaft 35 is connected to the transfer arm 3.
6 is supported in a state in which it can be raised and lowered. The transport arm 36 can be moved up and down along the vertical guide shaft 35 by a drive motor 37 and can be swung left and right about the vertical guide shaft 35. The media transported to the media discharge port 6 by the media transport mechanism 31 can be taken out from the media discharge port 6.

  Two media drives 41 that are stacked one above the other are disposed on the sides of the upper and lower stackers 21 and 22 and the media transport mechanism 31, and a carriage 62 (described later) of the label printer 11 is disposed below these media drives 41. 4) is movably arranged. The media drive 41 has media trays 41a that can move between a data writing position on the media and a media delivery position for receiving and delivering media.

  Further, the label printer 11 has a media tray 51 that can move between a label printing position on the label surface of the media and a media delivery position for receiving and delivering the media.

  2 and 3, the media tray 41a of the upper media drive 41 is pulled out to the front and is in the media delivery position, and the media tray 51 of the lower label printer 11 is in the back label printable position. It is shown. The label printer 11 is an ink jet printer, and ink cartridges 12 of various colors (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta in this embodiment) are used as the ink supply mechanism 71, and these ink cartridges are used. 12 is mounted on each cartridge holder 13 of the cartridge mounting section 14 from the front.

  Here, between the pair of left and right frame plates 24 and 25 of the blank media stacker 21 and between the pair of left and right frame plates 27 and 28 of the created media stacker 22, the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 can be raised and lowered. A gap is formed. Further, there is a gap between the upper and lower blank media stackers 21 and the created media stacker 22 so that the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 can be rotated horizontally and positioned directly above the created media stacker 22. Is open. Further, when the media tray 41a is pushed into the media drive 41, the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 is lowered to access the media tray 51 at the media delivery position. Therefore, the media can be transported to each part by a combined operation of raising and lowering the transport arm 36 and turning left and right.

  Below the media delivery position of the media tray 51, a disposal stacker 52 for storing the disposal media MD is arranged. For example, about 30 disposal media MD are stored in the disposal stacker 52. It is possible. The waste media MD can be supplied to the waste stacker 52 by the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 with the media tray 51 retracted from the media delivery position above the waste stacker 52 to the data writing position.

  With such a configuration, a medium that is a CD or a DVD is transported between the blank media stacker 21, the created media stacker 22, the disposal stacker 52, the media tray 41 a of the media drive 41, and the media tray 51 of the label printer 11. It is transported by the transport arm 36 of the mechanism 31.

  The label printer 11 includes a carriage 62 having an ink jet head 61 provided with ink ejection nozzles (not shown). The carriage 62 reciprocates in the horizontal direction along the carriage guide shaft by the driving force of the carriage motor. (Not shown).

  The label printer 11 includes an ink supply mechanism 71 having a cartridge mounting portion 14 to which the ink cartridge 12 is mounted. The ink supply mechanism 71 has a vertical structure and is erected on the base 72 of the publisher 1 and arranged in the vertical direction. One end of a flexible ink supply tube 73 is connected to the ink supply mechanism 71, and the other end of the ink supply tube 73 is connected to the carriage 62.

The ink of the ink cartridge 12 mounted on the ink supply mechanism 71 is supplied to the carriage 62 via the ink supply tube 73, and passes through a damper unit and a back pressure adjustment unit (not shown) provided on the carriage 62. The ink is supplied to the inkjet head 61 and discharged from an ink nozzle (not shown).
The ink supply mechanism 71 is provided with a pressurizing mechanism 74 so as to dispose a main portion on the upper portion thereof. The pressurizing mechanism 74 sends out compressed air to pressurize the inside of the ink cartridge 12, thereby The ink stored in the ink pack in the cartridge 12 is sent out.

A head maintenance mechanism 81 is provided on the lower side of the carriage 62 at the home position (position shown in FIG. 4).
The head maintenance mechanism 81 includes a head cap 82 that covers the ink nozzles of the inkjet head 61 exposed on the lower surface of the carriage 62 disposed at the home position, and is discharged to the head cap 82 by a head cleaning operation and an ink filling operation of the inkjet head 61. And a waste ink suction pump 83 for sucking the discharged ink.

The ink sucked by the waste ink suction pump 83 of the head maintenance mechanism 81 is sent to the waste ink absorption tank 85 through the tube 84.
The waste ink absorption tank 85 has an absorbent material disposed in a case 86, and the upper surface thereof is covered with a cover 88 having a plurality of air holes 87.
Below the head maintenance mechanism 81, a waste ink receiving portion 89, which is a part of the waste ink absorption tank 85, is provided to receive the ink dropped from the head maintenance mechanism 81 and absorb it by the absorbent material. Yes.

(Media transport mechanism)
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the media transport mechanism, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a part of the media transport mechanism, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a connecting mechanism portion between the transport arm and the timing belt.
As shown in FIG. 5, the media transport mechanism 31 includes a chassis 32 that is vertically attached, and a vertical guide is provided between a horizontal support plate portion 34 attached to the base 72 and the top plate 33 of the chassis 32. A shaft 35 is attached. The transfer arm 36 is supported on the vertical guide shaft 35 in a state where it can be raised and lowered and turned.

As shown in FIG. 6, the lifting mechanism of the transport arm 36 includes a lifting drive motor 37 as a driving source, and the rotation of the driving motor 37 is a pinion 97 attached to the output shaft of the driving motor 37. And, it is transmitted to the driving pulley 101 via the transmission gear 98. The driving pulley 101 is supported at a position near the upper end of the chassis 32 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal rotation axis. A driven pulley 103 is supported at a position near the lower end of the chassis 32 and is also rotatable about a horizontal rotation shaft. A timing belt 104 is bridged between the driving pulley 101 and the driven pulley 103. ing. As shown in FIG. 7, the base 110 of the transport arm 36 is connected to one of the left and right belt portions of the timing belt 104 by a belt clip 112.
Therefore, when the drive motor 37 is driven, the timing belt 104 moves in the vertical direction, and the transport arm 36 attached thereto moves up and down along the vertical guide shaft 35.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the turning mechanism of the transfer arm 36 includes a turning drive motor 105 as a drive source, and a pinion (not shown) is attached to the output shaft of the drive motor 105. The rotation of the pinion is transmitted to the fan-shaped final gear 109 through a reduction gear train having a transmission gear 107. The fan-shaped final gear 109 can turn left and right about the vertical guide shaft 35. The final stage gear 109 is mounted with a chassis 32 in which components of the lifting mechanism of the transfer arm 36 are assembled. When the drive motor 105 is driven, the fan-shaped final stage gear 109 pivots left and right, so that the chassis 32 mounted here pivots left and right around the vertical guide shaft 35 as a unit. As a result, the transfer arm 36 held by the elevating mechanism mounted on the chassis 32 turns left and right around the vertical guide shaft 35.

Next, a support structure for the transfer arm 36 will be described.
FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of the configuration shown in FIG. 7 viewed from below.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a sliding shaft 111 is provided along the vertical direction on the base portion 110 of the transport arm 36, and the sliding shaft 111 of the belt clip 112 that holds the timing belt 104. The shaft hole 112a is slidably inserted. Accordingly, the belt clip 112 can slide in the vertical direction along the sliding shaft 111.

A locking piece 112b is formed on the belt clip 112, and one end of a first tension spring 113, which is a coil spring, is connected to the locking piece 112b. The other end of the first tension spring 113 is connected to a fixed piece 115 formed on the base 110 of the transport arm 36 and disposed above the locking piece 112b, whereby the belt clip 112 is The tension spring 113 is biased upward.
The belt clip 112 is formed with a fixing portion 112c that fixes the timing belt 104 with the timing belt 104 interposed therebetween.

  A pressing lever 116 is disposed below the belt clip 112. The pressing lever 116 is inserted from the side into an insertion hole 118 formed in the support plate portion 117 provided on the lower surface of the base 110 of the transport arm 36 on the side of the belt clip 112. The support portion can be used as a fulcrum to swing. One end of a second tension spring 119 made of a coil spring having a stronger biasing force than the first tension spring 113 is connected to the end of the pressing lever 116, and the second tension spring 119 The other end is connected to a fixed piece 120 formed on the base 110 of the transport arm 36 and disposed above the tip of the pressing lever 116. Thereby, the front end of the pressing lever 116 is urged upward by the second tension spring 119. Further, on the upper side in the vicinity of the distal end portion of the pressing lever 116, a swing restricting piece 121 formed on the base 110 is provided, and the pressing lever 116 biased upward by the second tension spring 119 is provided. Oscillation is restricted at a predetermined position. The belt clip 112 is disposed at a position where a gap S is provided with respect to the pressing lever 116 which is in contact with the swing restricting piece 121 and whose swing is restricted.

In the above support structure, when the timing belt 104 is driven by the raising / lowering drive motor 37 (see FIG. 5), the transport arm 36 moves up and down together with the belt clip 112 fixed to the timing belt 104. Here, when a media guide 133 (to be described later) or a gripping mechanism (gripping mechanism) 130 comes into contact with the medium and a load on the lower side of the transport arm 36 becomes large, only the belt clip 112 with respect to the transport arm 36 has the first tension spring. It moves downward against the urging force of 113. When the belt clip 112 is further moved downward by the timing belt 104, the belt clip 112 comes into contact with the pressing lever 116, and after that, the conveying arm 36 is slightly bent, and then the pressing lever 116 is biased by the second tension spring 119. Against this, the support plate portion 117 swings around the support location as a fulcrum.

(Internal mechanism of transfer arm)
Next, the internal mechanism of the transfer arm 36 will be described.
9 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the transport arm, FIG. 10 is a plan view seen from the lower surface side of the transport arm that grips the media, FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the grip portion of the transport arm, and FIG. FIG. 13 is a plan view of the media guide provided in the gripping portion of the transfer arm, FIG. 14 is a plan view of the arm base for explaining the gripping mechanism, and FIG. 15 is a plan view of the gripping mechanism. FIG. 16 is an enlarged plan view of the gripping mechanism, FIGS. 17 to 19 are plan views for explaining the movement of the swivel plate and the gripping claws, and FIG. 20 is a sectional view of the gripping claws for explaining the gripping claws. FIG. 21 is a plan view of the arm base showing the kick-off mechanism, FIG. 22 is a front view of the transfer arm in a sectional view of the gripping part, FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the kick-off mechanism, and FIG. Sectional view of the rocking mechanism portion has, FIG 25 is a plan view, FIGS. 26 and 27 views, respectively schematic plan explaining movement of kick down mechanism of the rocking mechanism portion provided on the kick down mechanism.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the transfer arm 36 includes a long and narrow arm base 125a having a rectangular shape in plan view, and an arm case 125b having the same contour shape placed on the arm base 125a. Further, the arm base 125a incorporates a gripping mechanism 130 for gripping the medium M, a kick-off mechanism 131, and a media detection mechanism 200. The gripping mechanism 130, the kick-off mechanism 131, and the media detection mechanism 200 are arm cases. It is covered with 125b.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the lower surface portion in the vicinity of the tip of the arm base 125 a is a grip portion 132 that grips the medium M, and the grip portion 132 is provided with a media guide 133.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the center of the media guide 133 coincides with the pickup center of the medium M, and the center of the fixed plate portion 134 fixed to the lower surface side of the arm base 125 a. The guide portion 135 protrudes downward. The guide portion 135 has a cylindrical base end portion 135a formed to have a diameter slightly smaller than the center hole Ma of the medium M, and a guide formed in a conical shape gradually narrowing downward from the base end portion 135a. And a surface portion 135b. The media guide 133 is inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M by approaching the medium M, and when the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M contacts the guide surface portion 135b, The center position is aligned with the center position of the media guide 133 by the guide surface part 135b, the center hole Ma of the medium M is guided to the base end part 135a, and the base end part 135a is inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M.

  The media guide 133 is formed with three windows 133a. In the space within the windows 133a, the gripping mechanisms 130, which will be described later, have three gripping claws 141 to 143 and a kick-off mechanism 131 kick. The action piece 183 of the lever 182 can be projected and retracted.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the gripping mechanism 130 includes three cylindrical gripping claws 141 to 143 arranged at an equal angle (120 °) interval on the same circle. 141 to 143 protrude vertically downward from a circular hole 125c formed at the tip of the arm base 125a, and are disposed inside the window 133a of the media guide 133, respectively. These three gripping claws 141 to 143 are inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M guided to the base end part 135a by the media guide 133, push outward in the radial direction, and project from the window part 133a of the media guide 133. By doing so, the medium M is held in contact with the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M.

  The gripping claws 141 to 143 are attached to lower ends of support pins 151 to 153 having a larger diameter than these. Each of the support pins 151 to 153 passes through the circular hole 125c of the arm base 125a, extends upward, and is fixed to three swivel plates 161 to 163 arranged on the upper surface of the arm base 125a. The pivot base shafts 171 to 173 are vertically fixed at equal angular intervals on the same circle in a state of surrounding the circular hole 125c in the arm base 125a, and each of the pivot plates 161 to 163 is supported by the pivot center shaft 171. It is supported in a pivotable state about ˜173.

  As shown in FIGS. 14 to 16, each of the swiveling plates 161 to 163 extends forward (in a counterclockwise direction when viewed from above) along the arm base 125 a along the substantially circumferential direction of the circular hole 125 c. Arm portions 161a to 163a, rear arm portions 161b to 163b extending rearward (clockwise in the top view clockwise direction) side substantially along the circumferential direction of the circular hole 125c, and a support protruding from the turning center to the inner side of the circular hole 125c Arms 161c to 163c are provided. Support pins 151 to 153 are vertically fixed to the back surfaces of the tips of the support arms 161c to 163c, respectively.

A long hole 161d is formed in the rear arm portion 161b of the swivel plate 161 along the substantially radial direction of the circular hole 125c, and the long hole 161d is downward at the rear end of the front arm portion 163a of the swivel plate 163. The projecting slide pin 163f is slidably inserted.
Further, a slide surface 163e is formed at the tip of the rear arm 163b of the swivel plate 163 along the substantially radial direction of the circular hole 125c. The slide surface 163e has a front end of the front arm 162a of the swivel plate 162. It is set so that the parts do not touch. Further, a slide surface 162e is formed at the tip of the rear arm 162b of the swivel plate 162 along the substantially radial direction of the circular hole 125c, and the front end of the front arm 161a of the swivel plate 161 is formed on the slide surface 162e. The part can be slidably contacted. Here, the long hole 161d of the swivel plate 161 and the slide surfaces 162e and 163e of the swivel plates 162 and 163 are formed in a concave curved shape set so that the respective swivel plates 161 to 163 swirl in the same direction. .

  Between the rear arm portion 161b of the turning plate 161 and the rear arm portion 162b of the turning plate 162, between the rear arm portion 162b of the turning plate 162 and the rear arm portion 163b of the turning plate 163, and the rear arm portion 163b of the turning plate 163. A tension coil spring (biasing member) 174 is bridged between the rear arm 161b of the revolving plate 161 and the rear arm 161b. Then, by the pulling force of the tension coil spring 174, the swiveling plates 161 to 163 are held without rattling, and the direction indicated by the arrow R1 in FIG. 16 (gripping claws 141 to 143) with respect to the swiveling plates 161 to 163. (In the direction of spreading)).

In the state of FIG. 16, the circumscribed circle of the gripping claws 141 to 143 attached to the tips of the support arms 161 c to 163 c of the swivel plates 161 to 163 has a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the center hole Ma of the medium M. . In this state, when one swivel plate 161 is swung in the direction indicated by the arrow R2, the other two swivel plates 162, 163 are also swung in the same direction. As a result, the support arms 161c to 163c of the swivel plates 161 to 163 move toward the center of the circular hole 125c, and the gripping claws 141 to 143 attached to these tip portions can be inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M. It is narrowed to the state.
In this state, when the gripping claws 141 to 143 are inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M and then the swiveling plates 161 to 163 are swung in the reverse direction R1, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are pushed outward in the radial direction. As a result, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M, and the medium M is gripped.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the turning plate 161 is formed with an operating arm 161g extending from the side opposite to the support arm 161c. The tip of one arm 175a of the link 175 is connected to the tip of the operation arm 161g in a rotatable state. The link 175 is rotatably supported by the arm base 125a with the middle part thereof as the center, and the tip of the arm part 175b on the opposite side is connected to the operating rod 176a of the electromagnetic solenoid 176. When the electromagnetic solenoid 176 is in an off state, the operating rod 176a is projected by the spring force of a built-in spring.

  When the electromagnetic solenoid 176 is switched on in this state, the operating rod 176a is retracted against the built-in spring force, the link 175 is turned, and the turning plate 161 is turned in the R2 direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 17, the slide surface 162e of the rear arm portion 162b of the swivel plate 162 is in sliding contact with the tip of the front arm portion 161a of the swivel plate 161, and the slot 161d of the rear arm portion 161b of the swivel plate 161 is in contact. The inner surface is in sliding contact with the slide pin 163f of the front arm 163a of the swivel plate 163. As a result, the slide surface 162e of the swivel plate 162 slides on the tip of the front arm portion 161a of the swivel plate 161 and slides radially outward of the circular hole 125c, thereby turning the swivel plate 162 in the R2 direction. The inner surface of the long hole 161d of the rear arm 161b of the swivel plate 161 is in sliding contact with the slide pin 163f of the front arm 163a of the swivel plate 163, and the front arm 163a of the swivel plate 163 slides toward the center of the circular hole 125c. As a result, the turning plate 163 also turns in the R2 direction.

  Thus, when the turning plate 161 turns in the R2 direction, the turning force of the turning plate 161 in the R2 direction is transmitted to the other turning plates 162 and 163. As shown in FIG. The gripping claws 141 to 143 that turn in the R2 direction and are provided on the support arms 161c to 163c of the turning plates 161 to 163 are arranged in a circumscribed circle that is sufficiently smaller than the center hole Ma of the medium M. It is narrowed to a state where it can be inserted into Ma.

  In this state, when the electromagnetic solenoid 176 is switched off, the operating rod 176a is protruded by the spring force of the built-in spring, and the link 175 rotates. Then, the turning motion of the link 175 is transmitted to the turning plate 161, and the turning plate 161 turns in the R1 direction. In conjunction with this, the other two swiveling plates 162 and 163 are pulled toward the center of the circular hole 125c by the rear arm portions 162b and 163b by the pulling force of the tension coil spring 174. The plates 162 and 163 also turn in the R1 direction in the same manner as the turning plate 161. As a result, as shown in FIG. 19, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are spread and the gripping claws 141 to 143 are pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M, so that the medium M is gripped. .

  At this time, the swiveling plates 162 and 163 are independently swung in the R1 direction by the pulling force of the pulling coil spring 174 with respect to the swiveling plate 161, so that each of the gripping claws 141 to 143 is also independently radially outward. And is pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M.

As shown in FIG. 20, the three gripping claws 141 to 143 include cylindrical pins 141 a to 143 a that protrude from the lower ends of the support pins 151 to 153, and rubber that concentrically surrounds the pins 141 a to 143 a. Elastic cylinders 141b to 143b made of These three gripping claws 141 to 143 have a length of a downward projecting length l equal to or smaller than a thickness t1 of the medium M to be gripped. The protrusion length l is preferably not less than the thickness t1 of the inner periphery Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M and not more than the thickness t1 of the medium M including the height of the annular protrusion Mc. Thus, when gripping the stacked media M in the thickness direction, the gripping claws 1
41-143 hold | grips only the 1st sheet | seat M of the uppermost part, without contacting the internal peripheral surface Mb of the 2nd sheet | seat M.

  As shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the kick-off mechanism 131 provided on the arm base 125 a of the transport arm 36 includes a kick lever 182 whose intermediate portion is rotatably supported by the arm base 125 a at a connection point 181. ing. The kick lever 182 has a leading end lever portion 182a on the front end side and a rear end lever portion 182b on the rear end side with the connecting point 181 as a boundary. The distal end lever portion 182a has an action piece 183 that is bent downward at the tip end and further bent in an L shape on the side, and this action piece 183 is disposed in the media guide 133 of the grip portion 132. Has been.

The action piece 183 of the kick lever 182 is horizontally disposed on the lower side of the medium M in a state where the gripping claws 141 to 143 of the gripping part 132 grip the medium M. Specifically, it is arranged at the position of the second medium M of the stacked medium M in the thickness direction.
When the kick lever 182 swings in the direction R3 in FIG. 21 at the connecting point 181, the action piece 183 protrudes laterally from the window portion 133 a of the media guide 133 and is the uppermost portion gripped by the gripping claws 141 to 143. The medium M contacts the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the second medium M on the lower side of the medium M. Further, when the kick lever 182 swings in the reverse R4 direction from this state, the action piece 183 is drawn into the media guide 133.

A swing mechanism 190 is provided at the rear end lever portion 182b of the kick lever 182. The swing mechanism 190 includes a composite clutch gear 191, a vertical composite transmission gear 192, a horizontal composite transmission gear 193, and a rack 194.
As shown in FIG. 5, the rack 194 is supported vertically by the chassis 32 constituting the media transport mechanism 31 in parallel with the vertical guide shaft 35. The rack 194 is engaged with a pinion 193b of a horizontal composite transmission gear 193 supported by the arm base 125a so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis 193a. The rack 194 is moved up and down to raise and lower the transport arm 36. The horizontal composite transmission gear 193 having the pinion 193b meshed with each other rotates.

The horizontal compound transmission gear 193 is provided with a screw gear 193c. The screw gear 193c is a screw gear 192b of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 supported on the arm base 125a so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis 192a. Is engaged. Thus, when the horizontal composite transmission gear 193 is rotated, the rotation of the horizontal composite transmission gear 193 having the horizontal shaft 193a is changed to the vertical composite transmission gear 192 having the vertical shaft 192a by the meshed screw gears 192b and 193c. Then, the vertical composite transmission gear 192 rotates.
The vertical compound transmission gear 192 is provided with a spur gear 192c. The spur gear 192c is a spur gear 191b of the compound clutch gear 191 supported on the arm base 125a so as to be rotatable about a vertical shaft 191a. Is engaged. Thus, when the vertical compound transmission gear 192 is rotated, the rotation of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 is transmitted to the compound clutch gear 191 by the spur gears 191b and 192c meshed with each other, and the compound clutch gear 191 is rotated.

As shown in FIGS. 24 and 25, the composite clutch gear 191 includes an intermittent gear 191c that is rotatable relative to the spur gear 191b. A clutch mechanism 195 is provided between the spur gear 191b and the intermittent gear 191c. The spur gear 191b has a cylindrical shaft 191d through which a shaft 191a is inserted, and this cylindrical shaft 191d is inserted through a cylindrical shaft 191e formed on the intermittent gear 191c.
As shown in FIG. 25, the intermittent gear 191c has a tooth row 196 composed of a plurality of teeth 196a on a part of its peripheral surface, and this tooth row 196 is connected to the spur gear 192c of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 and the teeth. Is possible.

  The clutch mechanism 195 provided in the composite clutch gear 191 has a torsion coil spring 197 wound around the cylindrical shaft 191e of the intermittent gear 191c. When the spur gear 191b is rotated by the spur gear 192c of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 in the direction R5 counterclockwise in FIG. 25, the intermittent gear 191c is spurted by the frictional force generated by the torsion coil spring 197. Along with 191b. As a result, the intermittent gear 191c meshes with the spur gear 192c of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 in the tooth row 196, and is rotated in the R5 direction together with the spur gear 191b. On the contrary, when the spur gear 191b is rotated by the spur gear 192c of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 in the clockwise direction R6 in FIG. 25, the frictional force generated by the torsion coil spring 197 causes the intermittent gear. 191c is rotated with the spur gear 191b. As a result, the intermittent gear 191c meshes with the spur gear 192c of the vertical compound transmission gear 192 in the tooth row 196, and rotates in the R6 direction together with the spur gear 191b.

  The intermittent gear 191c is formed with a cam hole 198. A cam pin 182c protruding downward near the rear end of the rear end lever portion 182b of the kick lever 182 is slidable in the cam hole 198. Has been placed. The cam hole 198 has a path that changes from the center side to the outer periphery side in a clockwise direction when viewed from above. Thus, in the state shown in FIG. 26, when the intermittent gear 191c rotates in the counterclockwise R5 direction as viewed from above, the cam pin 182c in the cam hole 198 is displaced to the outer peripheral side, and as shown in FIG. The kick lever 182 swings in the R3 direction around the connection point 181 and the action piece 183 protrudes outward of the media guide 133. In this state, when the intermittent gear 191c rotates in the clockwise direction R6 as viewed from above, the cam pin 182c in the cam hole 198 is displaced to the inner peripheral side, whereby the kick lever 182 is moved as shown in FIG. It swings in the R4 direction around the connection point 181 and the action piece 183 is pulled inward of the media guide 133.

  With such a configuration, the kick-off mechanism 131 causes the composite clutch gear 191 to start rotating in the R5 direction when the transport arm 36 starts to rise, and the transport arm 36 is further lifted to bring the composite clutch gear 191 from the state shown in FIG. 27, the kick lever 182 swings in the direction R3 (see FIG. 22), and the action piece 183 of the kick lever 182 kicks off the second medium M. It is like that. When the transport arm 36 descends, the composite clutch gear 191 rotates in the R6 direction, thereby causing the kick lever 182 to swing in the R4 (see FIG. 21) direction, and the action piece 183 as shown in FIG. It is pulled into the media guide 133. Even if the transport arm 36 is further lowered in this state, the intermittent gear 191c of the composite clutch gear 191 is rotated by a predetermined amount (about 45 °) in the R6 direction by the spur gear 192c of the vertical composite transmission gear 192. Since the tooth row 196 is disengaged from the gear 192c, the spur gear 191b rotates idly.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the media detection mechanism 200 includes a detection lever 201 whose rear end is swingably supported, the front end is bent downward, and protrudes to the lower surface side of the arm base 125 a, and the detection lever 201 side. And a detector 202 provided on the side. In the media detection mechanism 200, the transport arm 36 is lowered and the upper surface of the media M comes into contact with the tip of the detection lever 201, so that the detection lever 201 swings upward, and the detection lever 201 is detected by the detector 202. When the detection area is out of the detection area, the detector 202 is turned on, and the proximity state to the medium M can be detected from the detection signal from the detector 202.

Next, the pickup operation of the stacked media M by the media transport mechanism 31 having the above structure will be described.
For example, a case where the uppermost medium M of the media M stored in a stacked state is grasped and lifted from the blank medium stacker 21 will be described.
First, the electromagnetic solenoid 176 of the gripping mechanism 130 is turned on in a state where the transport arm 36 is disposed at a predetermined height position directly above the blank media stacker 21. In this state, the operation rod 176a of the electromagnetic solenoid 176 is retracted against the built-in spring, and this movement is transmitted to the swivel plate 161 via the link 175, and the swivel plate 161 is swung in the direction of the arrow R2 in FIG. Arrangement. As a result, the remaining swiveling plates 162 and 163 are also swung in the same direction, and the gripping claws 141 to 143 attached to the tips of the support arms 161c to 163c of the three swiveling plates 161 to 163 approach each other. It will be in the state which was moved to the position where it was, and was narrowed in the state which can be inserted in center hole Ma of media M.

  Thereafter, the drive motor 37 for raising and lowering the transfer arm 36 is driven, and the lowering operation of the transfer arm 36 is started. When the transport arm 36 descends and approaches the uppermost medium M, the media guide 133 of the grip part 132 is inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M. Here, even if the center of the medium M in the blank media stacker 21 is deviated from the center of the grip part 132, the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M contacts the guide surface part 135b having a conical shape. Thus, the center position of the medium M is aligned with the center position of the media guide 133 by the guide surface portion 135b, the center hole Ma of the medium M is guided to the base end portion 135a, and the base end portion 135a is guided to the center hole Ma of the medium M. Is inserted. That is, the center of the medium M to be gripped is positioned at the center of the grip portion 132 which is the pickup center.

  At this time, when the tip of the detection lever 201 of the media detection mechanism 200 mounted on the transport arm 36 hits the surface of the medium M, the detection lever 201 swings relatively upward as the transport arm 36 descends. Then, the detection lever 201 is removed from the detection area of the detector 202, the detector 202 is turned on, and the proximity state to the medium M is detected. Thereafter, the transport arm 36 is lowered and stopped by a predetermined amount, and the gripping claws 141 to 143 of the gripping mechanism 130 incorporated in the transport arm 36 are inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M.

By the way, although the media M are accommodated in a stacked state in the blank media stacker 21, the stacked media M are in close contact with the upper and lower media M, and thus a sticking force is generated. There is a case.
Therefore, when the second medium M is attached to the uppermost medium M, the uppermost medium can be obtained simply by bringing the gripping claws 141 to 143 into contact with the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M. It is difficult to position M while shifting M laterally.
For this reason, in the media transport mechanism 31, a predetermined pressing force is applied to the uppermost medium M from above, thereby applying a pressing force directed to the side of the medium M by the guide surface portion 135 b of the media guide 133. Thus, the medium M is reliably moved to the side and positioned.

Here, the relationship between the position of the belt clip 112 of the transport arm 36 and the load on the medium M will be described.
FIG. 28 is a graph showing the relationship between the lowering stroke of the belt clip of the transport arm and the load applied to the medium.
First, when the drive motor 37 continues to be driven from the state in which the grip portion 132 of the transport arm 36 is in contact with the uppermost medium M (state A in FIG. 28), the belt clip 112 fixed to the timing belt 104 is weak. 28, the belt clip 112 is lowered by the size of the gap S against the biasing force of the first tension spring 113, and then the belt clip 112 comes into contact with the pressing lever 116 (state B in FIG. 28). ). As a result, the first elastic pressing force formed by the biasing force of the first tension spring 113 having a weak spring force from when the gripping portion 132 comes into contact with the uppermost medium M until the belt clip 112 contacts the pressing lever 116. Pressure is applied (regions A to B in FIG. 28).

When the drive of the drive motor 37 is further continued, the belt clip 112 further descends. At this time, since the belt clip 112 is in contact with the pressing lever 116, the pulling force of the belt clip 112 is transmitted to the conveying arm 36, so that the conveying arm 36 is bent, and the bending force is the pressing force, and the uppermost medium is Is given to M (regions B to C in FIG. 28).
When the driving of the drive motor 37 is further continued and the belt clip 112 is lowered, the bending force of the transport arm 36 becomes larger than the second tension spring 119 having a strong spring force (state C in FIG. 28). The lever 116 oscillates with the support location on the support plate portion 117 as a fulcrum against the urging force of the second tension spring 119. As a result, a second elastic pressing force obtained by adding the urging force of the second tension spring 119 to the urging force of the first tension spring 113 and the bending force of the transport arm 36 is applied to the uppermost medium M. (Regions C to E in FIG. 28).

In the media transport mechanism 31 having the load characteristics as described above, the pressing force obtained by applying the biasing force of the second tension spring 119 to the biasing force of the first tension spring 113 and the bending force of the transport arm 36 is the medium. The drive motor 37 is stopped at an appropriate position (for example, a position D in FIG. 28) in an area given to M (areas C to E in FIG. 28).
In this way, an appropriate load (about 10 N) can be applied to the uppermost medium M to the stacked medium M in the blank medium stacker 21, whereby the second medium M Regardless of the attachment, the medium M can be reliably moved and positioned sideways by the guide surface portion 135b of the media guide 133.
Moreover, even if the center position of the medium M is shifted by applying a load, the media guide 133 can be reliably inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M and positioned.

  If the rigidity of the transfer arm 36 is increased and the spring constant of the transfer arm 36 is increased, the stroke of the belt clip 112 (regions B to C in FIG. 28) when generating the bending force of the transfer arm 36 is shortened. The necessary load can be obtained.

  When the media M is lifted from the media drive 41 that holds one media M or the media trays 41 a and 51 of the label printer 11, the belt clip 112 is pressed after the grip 132 of the transport arm 36 contacts the media M. The medium M is applied by the gripping mechanism 130 in a state in which the first elastic pressing force including the urging force of the first tension spring 113 that is weak until the lever 116 abuts on the lever 116 is applied (region A to B in FIG. 28). In this way, the load applied to the media trays 41a and 51 when the medium M is taken out can be minimized, and the influence of the overload due to the load on the media trays 41a and 51 can be suppressed. be able to.

In this manner, the gripping claws 141 to 143 inserted into the center hole Ma of the medium M are placed in the center hole Ma with the predetermined second elastic pressing force applied to the uppermost medium M in the blank media stacker 21. And is pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma.
Specifically, first, when the electromagnetic solenoid 176 is switched off and the operating rod 176a protrudes by the spring force of the spring, the swivel plate 161 connected to the operating rod 176a via the link 175 is moved in the R1 direction. Turn. In conjunction with this, the other two swiveling plates 162 and 163 are swung in the R1 direction similarly to the swiveling plate 161 by the pulling force of the tension coil spring 174. As a result, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are spread out, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M, and the medium M is gripped.

At this time, the swiveling plates 162 and 163 are independently swung in the R1 direction by the pulling force of the pulling coil spring 174 with respect to the swiveling plate 161, so that each of the gripping claws 141 to 143 is also independently radially outward. To the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M.
Accordingly, even if the center position of the uppermost medium M is deviated from the center of the pickup, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are spread independently to the outer peripheral side, so that the inner periphery of the central hole Ma of the medium M is All the gripping claws 141 to 143 come into contact with the surface Mb, and gripping defects and the like are reliably prevented.

  In addition, since each of the gripping claws 141 to 143 has a downward projecting length dimension that is equal to or less than the thickness dimension of the medium M to be gripped, the center position of the second medium M is relative to the uppermost medium M. Even if they are misaligned, it is possible to prevent a problem that the gripping claws 141 to 143 come into contact with the edge of the center hole Ma of the second medium M to cause gripping failure.

  When the medium M is gripped in this manner, the transport arm 36 is raised and the gripped medium M is lifted while the gripping claws 141 to 143 are pushed and expanded in the radial direction. At this time, since the gripped uppermost medium M is securely gripped by all the gripping claws 141 to 143, it is smoothly lifted without gripping failure.

When the transport arm 36 is lifted to lift the medium M, the kick lever 182 of the kick-off mechanism 131 swings in the direction of the arrow R3 in FIG. 21 around the connection point 181 and the action piece 183 is moved out of the media guide 133. It protrudes toward.
As a result, even if the second medium M is likely to be lifted by sticking to the medium M to be lifted, the action piece 183 of the kick lever 192 remains on the inner peripheral surface of the center hole Ma of the second medium M. By abutting on Mb, it is possible to reliably kick off the second medium M and lift only the uppermost medium M.

As described above, according to the media transport mechanism 31 of the above-described embodiment, the gripping claws 141 to 143 are configured to move independently in the radial direction, so that the center position of the media M to be gripped is Even if they are misaligned, the gripping claws 141 to 143 can be pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M in a well-balanced manner.
As a result, the gripping force can be applied in a balanced manner in the circumferential direction, and in particular, the uppermost medium M of the media M accommodated in the stacked state is reliably resisted against the sticking force with the lower medium M. Can be gripped and lifted.

Further, the other gripping claws 142 and 143 are biased outward in the radial direction by one biasing force which is the pulling force of the tension coil spring 174 with respect to one gripping pawl 141. Each of the gripping claws 141 to 143 can be pressed against the inner peripheral surface Mb of the center hole Ma of the medium M and securely gripped while absorbing the variation in the amount of movement of the gripping claws 141 to 143 outward in the radial direction. .
Further, since the length dimension of the gripping claws 141 to 143 is equal to or smaller than the thickness dimension of the medium M, even if the positional deviation between the stacked media M is large, the edge of the center hole Ma of the media M on the lower side is formed. Only the uppermost medium M can be reliably gripped without bringing the gripping claws 141 to 143 into contact with each other.

In addition, a media guide 133 having a guide part 135 having a conical guide surface part 135b gradually narrowing from the cylindrical base end part 135a having a diameter slightly smaller than the center hole Ma of the medium M toward the front end is provided. Therefore, even if the center position of the medium M to be gripped is shifted, by inserting the media guide 133 into the center hole Ma of the medium M, the center of the medium M can be easily aligned. The holding force of 141 to 143 can be further equalized, and the medium M can be held more reliably.
According to the publisher 1, the media transport mechanism 31 that can securely hold the media M is provided, so that the processing apparatus with high processing reliability can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Publisher (media processing apparatus), 31 ... Media conveyance mechanism, 132 ... Gripping part,
133: media guide, 141-143: gripping claws, 174: tension coil spring (biasing member), M: media, Ma ... center hole, Mb ... inner peripheral surface.

Claims (3)

Media for gripping the media by inserting a plurality of gripping claws provided in the gripping portion into the center hole of the media to be gripped, spreading each of the gripping nails in the radial direction and pressing it against the inner peripheral surface of the center hole A transport mechanism,
The gripping part is
A biasing member that biases the plurality of gripping claws outward in the radial direction of the medium;
A turning plate that moves the plurality of gripping claws inward in the radial direction of the medium against the urging force of the urging member by turning;
The pivot plate, each corresponding to the plurality of gripping claws, operatively to and have a plurality of pivot plate coupled to each other,
The media conveying mechanism , wherein the biasing member is bridged between the plurality of swiveling plates . The media transport mechanism according to claim 1,
A link and an actuator for displacing the link;
The media transport mechanism , wherein the link is connected to one of a plurality of revolving plates . A media processing apparatus comprising the media transport mechanism according to claim 1.

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