JP5797519B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer apparatus.

  Printers that issue receipts and the like are widely used for applications such as cash registers (registers in shops), ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and CDs (Cash dispensers) in banks and the like. In a printer that issues such a receipt, printing or the like is usually performed at a predetermined position of the recording paper by a thermal head or the like while conveying the thermal paper as the recording paper.

  In a printer that prints on recording paper with a thermal head, etc., printing is performed with the recording paper interposed between the thermal head and the platen roller, but the recording paper is easily placed between the thermal head and the platen roller. The platen roller can be detached so that the platen roller can be interposed.

Japanese Patent No. 3734753 Japanese Patent No. 3599595

  By the way, in a printer that prints on recording paper with a normal thermal head or the like, the recording paper is sandwiched between the thermal head and the platen roller when the thermal head is pushed to the side where the platen roller is provided. In this state, printing or the like is performed on the recording paper.

  For this reason, normally, a coil spring or the like is provided as a biasing member behind the thermal head, and one end of the coil spring or the like is in contact with the thermal head and the other end is in contact with the back support plate. ing. Therefore, a force is applied by the restoring force of the coil spring or the like so that the thermal head is pushed to the side where the platen roller is provided via the back support plate.

  For example, in the thermal printer described in Patent Document 1, an opening / closing arm that supports the platen roller is provided, and the platen roller can be removed by moving the opening / closing arm. However, if the open / close arm is moved when removing the platen roller, the print head is pushed to the side where the platen roller is provided, and a strong stress is generated between the print head and the platen roller. Since the shape of the platen roller is deformed, the life is shortened, and breakage or the like is likely to occur.

  Also, in such a thermal printer, there are cases where an optical sensor or the like for detecting the opening / closing of the opening / closing arm is provided. Usually, such a sensor is provided inside a gear box or the like. There are many cases. However, because the gear box etc. has a driving part, dust etc. are likely to be generated, light is blocked by this dust etc., the optical sensor etc. does not function and the open / close arm is opened and closed It may become impossible to detect.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and in a printer device that performs printing or the like on recording paper with a thermal head or the like, reliability can be improved by increasing the life of the thermal head or the platen roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer apparatus that can detect opening / closing of an opening / closing arm stably and accurately.

The present invention includes a print head for printing on recording paper, a spring that presses the print head toward the platen roller, and an open / close arm that fixes the platen roller to a housing frame in a rotatable state. the opening and closing arm is attached to the housing frame such that the movable around the arm rotating shaft, the housing frame has a frame rear support plate is provided, one end of said spring, The frame back support plate is in contact, and the other end is in contact with the print head.

  In the present invention, a paper guide for guiding recording paper is provided in the vicinity of the platen roller, and the paper guide is formed integrally with the opening / closing arm. .

  Further, the present invention has a sensor for detecting an open / closed state of the open / close arm, and the sensor is an optical sensor, and detects the open / closed state by detecting the paper guide. To do.

  The present invention further includes a sensor for detecting an open / close state of the open / close arm, and the sensor is an optical sensor, and detects the open / close state by detecting the open / close arm. To do.

  In the invention, it is preferable that the paper guide has a force applied to the side on which the platen roller is provided by an urging member.

  In the invention, it is preferable that the urging member is a spring.

  According to the present invention, in a printer apparatus that prints on a recording sheet with a thermal head or the like, reliability can be improved by increasing the life of the thermal head or the platen roller. In addition, the opening / closing of the opening / closing arm can be detected stably and accurately.

Explanatory drawing of a conventional printer (1) Explanatory drawing of a conventional printer (2) Explanatory drawing (1) of the printer apparatus in the first embodiment Explanatory drawing (2) of the printer apparatus in 1st Embodiment Explanatory drawing (1) of the printer apparatus in 2nd Embodiment Explanatory drawing (2) of the printer apparatus in 2nd Embodiment Structural diagram of a printer apparatus according to the third embodiment Structural diagram of another printer device according to the third embodiment

  The form for implementing this invention is demonstrated below. In addition, about the same member etc., the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

[First Embodiment]
First, the force applied to the thermal head and the platen roller when the platen roller is removed will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printer device such as a thermal printer includes a thermal head 910 serving as a print head, a platen roller 920, an opening / closing arm 930, a coil spring 940, a paper guide 950 for guiding recording paper (not shown), and a recording paper. A motor 960 and the like for conveyance are included. The open / close arm 930 includes a back support plate 931, an operation unit 932, and the like, and the platen bearing 921 of the platen roller 920 is supported by the open / close arm 930. Note that a heat sink is attached to the thermal head 910.

  A coil spring 940 is installed between the back support plate 931 and the thermal head 910. Due to the restoring force of the coil spring 940, the thermal head 910 is located on the side where the platen roller 920 is provided with respect to the back support plate 931. It has been pushed. Specifically, the thermal head 910 is pressed by a coil spring 940 through a heat sink attached to the thermal head 910. The open / close arm 930 is attached to the housing frame 970 so as to be rotatable about the arm rotation shaft 933, and when the operation unit 932 is pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow, the open / close arm 930 is centered on the arm rotation shaft 933. To the state shown in FIG. As described above, the opening / closing arm 930 that has supported the platen bearing 921 of the platen roller 920 rotates about the arm rotation shaft 933, whereby the platen roller 920 can be removed.

  Since the back support plate 931 is formed on the open / close arm 930, when the open / close arm 930 rotates around the arm rotation shaft 933 when removing the platen roller 920, the back support plate 931 also has the thermal head 910. Move to the provided side. Thereby, the coil spring 940 contracts and the restoring force of the coil spring 940 becomes stronger. When the restoring force of the coil spring 940 is increased in this way, a large force is applied to the thermal head 910, and similarly, a large force is also applied to the platen roller 920 immediately before being removed. When such a large force is applied to the thermal head 910 and the platen roller 920, the shape of the thermal head 910 and the platen roller 920 is deformed, and the life is shortened, or damage is caused.

(Printer device)
Next, the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a thermal head 110 serving as a print head, a platen roller 120, an opening / closing arm 130, a coil spring 140, a sheet guide 150 for guiding a recording sheet (not shown), and a recording sheet. A motor 160 and the like for conveyance are included. The open / close arm 130 includes an operation unit 132 and the like, and the platen bearing 121 of the platen roller 120 is supported by the open / close arm 130. In the present embodiment, a heat sink is attached to the thermal head 110. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the thermal head 110 includes a thermal head having a structure in which a thermal head and a heat sink are attached.

  The housing frame 170 is provided with a frame back support plate 171, and a coil spring 140 is installed between the frame back support plate 171 and the thermal head 110. That is, one end of the coil spring 140 is connected to the frame back support plate 171 and the other end is in contact with the thermal head 110. For this reason, the thermal head 110 is pushed to the side where the platen roller 120 is provided by the restoring force of the coil spring 140. In the present embodiment, the thermal head 110 is pressed by the coil spring 140 via a heat sink attached to the thermal head.

  The open / close arm 130 is attached to the housing frame 170 so as to be rotatable about the arm rotation shaft 133, and when the operation unit 132 of the open / close arm 130 is pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow, the open / close arm 130 rotates the arm. It can be rotated about the shaft 133 to obtain the state shown in FIG. Thus, the platen roller 120 can be removed by the opening / closing arm 130 supporting the platen bearing 121 of the platen roller 120 rotating about the arm rotation shaft 133. In the printer device according to the present embodiment, another spring such as a leaf spring may be used instead of the coil spring 140. The housing frame 170 is provided with a structure (not shown) so that the thermal head 110 stays at a predetermined position when the platen roller 120 is removed.

  Since the frame back support plate 171 is formed on the housing frame 170, when the platen roller 120 is removed, the opening / closing arm 130 does not move even if it rotates about the arm rotation shaft 133. Therefore, since the coil spring 140 hardly expands and contracts, the force applied to the thermal head 110 hardly changes. That is, in this embodiment, when removing the platen roller 120, the position of the thermal head 110 is only slightly moved by the restoring force of the coil spring 140. There is almost no change. For this reason, no great stress is applied to the thermal head 110 or the platen roller 120, and the shape or the like is not deformed, so that the life is prolonged and the occurrence of breakage or the like can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the opening / closing arm 130 and the paper guide 150 are integrally formed. When the opening / closing arm 130 rotates about the arm rotation shaft 133, the paper guide 150 also moves integrally. Is. The opening / closing arm 130 and the paper guide 150 may be integrally formed by pressing or the like, and the opening / closing arm 130 and the paper guide 150 are formed by separate members and joined together. May be. For example, the opening / closing arm 130 may be formed by press working, the paper guide 150 may be formed by molding, and each may be joined. After the opening / closing arm 130 is formed by pressing, the paper guide 150 is molded. It may be insert-molded.

  When the removed platen roller 120 is attached again, a force is applied to the operation unit 132 in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 3 so that the open / close arm 130 is in the position shown in FIG. Thereby, the platen roller 120 can be attached again.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The present embodiment has a structure in which a sensor for detecting opening / closing of the opening / closing arm 130 is provided. The present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The printer device in this embodiment includes a first optical sensor 281 and a second optical sensor 282.

  The first optical sensor 281 and the second optical sensor 282 are reflective optical sensors. The first optical sensor 281 is provided inside the paper guide 150. By irradiating light from the opening (not shown) provided in the paper guide 150 to the side on which the recording paper 200 is installed, The presence or absence of the recording paper 200 is detected.

  The second optical sensor 282 is provided outside the paper guide 150 and irradiates light in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper surface of FIGS. 5 and 6, that is, the side where the open / close arm 130 is provided. Thus, the opening / closing of the opening / closing arm 130 is detected. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, in a state where the opening / closing arm 130 is closed, the light emitted from the second optical sensor 282 is reflected by the opening / closing arm 130, and this reflected light is reflected by the first light. Two optical sensors 282 are detected. Thereby, it is possible to detect a state in which the open / close arm 130 is closed. In addition, when the opening / closing arm 130 is open as shown in FIG. 6, the light emitted from the second optical sensor 282 travels straight without being reflected by the opening / closing arm 130. The sensor 282 does not detect reflected light. Thereby, it is possible to detect a state in which the open / close arm 130 is open.

  Further, in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment, the opening / closing arm 130 and the paper guide 150 are integrally formed. Therefore, in the second optical sensor 282, the right side of the paper surface of FIGS. The presence or absence of the paper guide 150 may be detected by irradiating light on the side where the paper guide 150 is provided, and the opening / closing of the open / close arm 130 may be detected. Specifically, when the open / close arm 130 is closed, the light emitted from the second optical sensor 282 is reflected by the paper guide 150, and this reflected light is detected by the second optical sensor 282. Is done. Therefore, since the paper guide 150 is detected, it can be detected that the open / close arm 130 is closed. In addition, in a state where the open / close arm 130 is open, the light emitted from the second optical sensor 282 travels straight without being reflected by the paper guide 150, so that the reflected light is reflected at the second optical sensor 282. Not detected. Therefore, since the paper guide 150 is not detected, it can be detected that the open / close arm 130 is in an open state.

  The contents other than the above are the same as in the first embodiment.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, the printer device according to the present embodiment is provided with a spring 390 under the paper guide 150 so that the paper guide 150 is applied with a force on the side where the platen roller 120 is provided. Is. In this way, the recording paper 200 can be sandwiched between the paper guide 150 and the platen roller 120 by adopting a structure in which the paper guide 150 is applied with a force on the side where the platen roller 120 is provided. In addition, the conveyance force of the recording paper 200 can be improved. In this embodiment, the spring 390 is used, but other members may be used as long as the paper guide 150 is a biasing member that applies a force to the side where the platen roller 120 is provided.

  Further, in the present embodiment, FIG. 8 shows that a pinch roller 391 in contact with the platen roller 120 is provided in the vicinity of the paper guide 150 and the pinch roller 391 is spring 392 so that a force is applied to the side where the platen roller 120 is provided. A printer apparatus having a structure provided with Accordingly, friction between the recording paper 200 and the paper guide 150 can be prevented, and the recording paper 200 can be smoothly conveyed while improving the conveying force of the recording paper 200.

  The contents other than those described above are the same as those in the first embodiment or the second embodiment.

  As mentioned above, although the form which concerns on implementation of this invention was demonstrated, the said content does not limit the content of invention.

110 Thermal head (print head)
120 Platen Roller 121 Platen Bearing 130 Opening / Closing Arm 132 Operation Unit 133 Arm Rotating Shaft 140 Coil Spring 150 Paper Guide 160 Motor 170 Housing Frame 171 Frame Back Support Plate

Claims (6)

A print head for printing on recording paper;
A spring that pressurizes the print head toward the platen roller;
An open / close arm that fixes the platen roller to a housing frame in a rotatable state;
Have
The opening and closing arm is attached to the housing frame such that the movable around the arm rotating shaft,
The housing frame is provided with a frame back support plate,
One end of the spring is in contact with the frame back support plate, and the other end is in contact with the print head. In the vicinity of the platen roller, a paper guide for guiding the recording paper is provided,
The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper guide is formed integrally with the opening / closing arm. A sensor for detecting an open / closed state of the open / close arm;
The printer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the sensor is an optical sensor and detects an open / closed state by detecting the paper guide. A sensor for detecting an open / closed state of the open / close arm;
The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is an optical sensor, and detects an open / closed state by detecting the open / close arm.   The printer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the paper guide is a force applied to a side on which the platen roller is provided by an urging member.   The printer apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the biasing member is a spring.

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