JP5803640B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus.

  In recent years, various printing apparatuses that print and print characters and images on paper-like media have become widespread. This printing apparatus has, for example, a platen that supports a paper medium and a print head that reciprocates along a predetermined movement direction. When the paper medium is conveyed to the platen, the print head prints on the paper medium. Is possible.

  The printing apparatus has a configuration called a flap, and an appropriate gap is secured between the print head and the paper-like medium on the platen by the flap. Specifically, the flap is interposed between the print head and the paper-like medium, and printing is performed while the print head rides on the flap, thereby ensuring an appropriate gap between the print head and the paper-like medium. Is done. A configuration for obtaining such an appropriate gap is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example.

JP 2005-271398 A

  Here, the flap is urged to the platen side so that the flap contacts the paper-like medium even when the print head is removed from the flap. For this reason, the flap comes into contact with the platen when there is no paper-like medium.

  However, when the flap is in contact with the platen, the paper-like medium conveyance path is blocked. For this reason, when a paper-like medium with low rigidity (weak stiffness) is conveyed, the paper-like medium may not be pushed up the flap and may jam. Although a jam can be prevented by providing a mechanism for creating a gap between the flap and the platen, there is a concern about an increase in size and cost of the apparatus.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to ensure a gap between an interposed member such as a flap and a platen with a simple configuration. It is to provide a new and improved printing apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, a printing unit that prints on a medium while moving along a predetermined movement direction, and the printing unit on a side facing the printing surface of the printing unit A platen provided along the moving direction of the sheet, a biasing member that biases the platen toward the printing unit, and a space between the printing unit and the medium by being interposed between the printing unit and the medium. An interposition member that provides a gap to the platen, and the platen has a protruding portion that protrudes toward the printing unit outside the area where the medium is conveyed , and the interposition member is in contact with the printing unit And the protrusion is provided so as to protrude from the contact surface of the interposition member toward the printing portion in a state where the interposition member and the platen are in contact with each other. Urged to the side, front The platen is pushed down by the contact between the printing part and the projection part, the interposition member moves to the platen side, and the amount by which the platen is pushed down by the contact between the printing part and the projection part is A printing apparatus is provided that is larger than the amount of movement of the interposition member due to contact between the portion and the protrusion.

The printing unit may move to the protrusion of the platen before transporting the medium onto the platen.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to secure a gap between the interposed member such as a flap and the platen with a simple configuration.

It is explanatory drawing which showed typically the structure of the printing apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the printing apparatus by a comparative example. It is explanatory drawing which showed the operation example of the printing apparatus by a comparative example. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure of the printing apparatus by a comparative example. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure by the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state at the time of printing of each structure, and the state at the time of medium inhalation. It is explanatory drawing which showed the modification of the shape of a projection part. It is explanatory drawing which showed the horizontal link mechanism. It is explanatory drawing which showed the structure by the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the state at the time of inhalation of a paper-like medium.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.

  In the present specification and drawings, a plurality of components having substantially the same functional configuration may be distinguished by adding different alphabets after the same reference numeral. However, when it is not necessary to particularly distinguish each of a plurality of constituent elements having substantially the same functional configuration, only the same reference numerals are given.

<1. Basic configuration of printing device>
The present invention can be implemented in various forms as will be described in detail in “2. First Embodiment” to “3. Second Embodiment” as an example. In addition, the printing apparatus 1 according to each embodiment includes:
A. A printing unit (20) for printing on a medium while moving along a predetermined moving direction;
B. A platen (30, 50) provided along the moving direction of the printing unit on the side facing the printing surface of the printing unit;
C. A biasing member (spring 32) for biasing the platen toward the printing unit;
D. An interposition member (flap 34) that provides a gap between the printing unit and the platen by interposing between the printing unit and the platen;
With
E. The platen has step portions (protrusions 36 and recesses 56) outside the area where the medium is conveyed.

  Hereinafter, the basic configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to each embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a medium suction tray 10, a conveyance motor 12, a printing unit 20, a guide shaft 26, a gap roller 28, a platen 30 (in the second embodiment). , Platen 50), spring 32, flap 34 and media discharge tray 40.

  The medium suction tray 10 is laminated with a paper-like medium 4 that is an example of a medium. The paper-like media 4 stacked on the medium suction tray 10 are sucked one by one by the transport motor 12 and transported toward the printing unit 20.

  The printing unit 20 is supported by guide shafts 26A and 26B formed in parallel, and prints on the paper-like medium 4 while reciprocating along the forming direction of the guide shafts 26A and 26B. More specifically, the printing unit 20 includes a print head 22 having a function of printing on the paper-like medium 4 and a carriage 24 that connects the print head 22 and the guide shafts 26A and 26B. Further, the print head 22 is provided with a gap roller 28 for ensuring an appropriate gap between the platen 30 and the paper-like medium 4.

  The platen 30 is provided along the moving direction of the printing unit 20 on the side facing the printing surface of the printing unit 20. The platen 30 plays a role of supporting the paper-like medium 4 conveyed from the medium suction tray 10. The platen 30 is urged toward the printing unit 20 by a spring that is an example of an urging member.

  The flap 34 is interposed between the gap roller 28 of the printing unit 20 and the platen 30, thereby providing an appropriate gap between the print head 22 and the platen 30 or the paper-like medium 4. That is, when the gap roller 28 moves on the flap 34, an appropriate printing gap is ensured. In addition, the flap 34 is attached to the platen 30 side by an elastic member such as a spring (not shown) or the own weight of the flap 34 so that the flap roller 34 comes into contact with the paper-like medium 4 even when the gap roller 28 is removed from the flap 34 during printing. Be forced.

  The paper-like medium 4 printed by the printing unit 20 is discharged to the medium discharge tray 40 by the transport motors 12C and 12D.

(background)
As described above, the flap 34 is urged toward the platen 30. However, in the printing apparatus according to the comparative example, such urging may cause a harmful effect. Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration of a printing apparatus according to a comparative example. As shown in FIG. 2, in the printing apparatus according to the comparative example, when there is no paper-like medium 4, the flap 64 comes into contact with the platen 60 by urging toward the platen 60 side. That is, the conveyance path of the paper-like medium 4 is blocked. Even in such a state, if the paper-like medium 4 to be sucked has high rigidity (strong stiffness), as shown in FIG. 2, the paper-like medium 4 pushes up the flap 64 (pushes it away) and moves the platen. 60 is conveyed.

  On the other hand, when the paper-like medium 4 to be sucked has low rigidity (weak stiffness), as shown in FIG. 3, the paper-like medium 4 cannot buck up and buckles. As a result, a jam occurs.

  The occurrence of jam can be prevented by providing a mechanism for creating a gap between the flap 64 and the platen 60. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a clearance is formed between the flap 64 and the platen 60 by providing a pressing mechanism 66 for transmitting power to the platen 60 via a gear 68 to push down the platen 60. Is possible. However, when such a mechanism is provided, there is a concern about an increase in the size of the apparatus and an increase in cost.

  Accordingly, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment has been created with the above circumstances taken into consideration. According to the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to ensure a gap between the interposed member such as the flap 34 and the platen 30 with a simple configuration. Hereinafter, the printing apparatus 1 according to each of the embodiments will be sequentially described in detail.

<2. First Embodiment>
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 5 shows an AA cross section in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the flap 34 has a roller contact surface 34 a that contacts the gap roller 28. Further, the platen 30 according to the first embodiment has a protrusion 36 that protrudes toward the print head 22 on the outer side of the conveyance area of the paper-like medium 4. For this reason, it can be avoided that the conveyance of the paper-like medium 4 is obstructed by the protrusion 36.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the protrusion 36 protrudes closer to the print head 22 than the roller contact surface 34 a of the flap 34 when the flap 34 and the platen 30 are in contact with each other. That is, the thickness t1 of the protrusion 36 is larger than the thickness t2 of the roller contact surface 34a.

  When the gap roller 28 of the print head 22 moves on such a protrusion 36, the platen 30 is pushed down by the contact between the gap roller 28 and the protrusion 36. As a result, a gap can be generated between the flap 34 and the platen 30. Hereinafter, this point will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of each configuration during printing and a state during medium inhalation. As shown in FIG. 6, during printing, the print head 22 sandwiches the platen 30 pushed up by the spring 32 and the paper-like medium 4 and moves on the flap 34 to ensure an appropriate printing gap. Printing operation.

  On the other hand, when sucking the paper-like medium 4, the print head 22 moves out of the flap 34 as shown in FIG. 6, and the gap roller 28 of the print head 22 pushes the projection 36 together with the platen 30. Here, since the flap 34 is urged toward the platen 30, when the platen 30 is pushed down, the flap 34 moves together with the platen 30 to the maximum height h <b> 2 of the movement due to the urging.

  For this reason, the thickness t1 of the protrusion 36 is designed so that the platen 30 is pushed down to h3 below h2. That is, the thickness t1 of the protrusion 36 is designed to be larger than the difference between the height h1 of the lower end of the gap roller 28 and the limit height h2 of movement due to the bias of the flap 34. With this configuration, a gap can be generated between the platen 30 and the flap 34 when the projection 36 is pushed down by the gap roller 28.

(Modification)
5 and 6, the example in which the platen 30 has the trapezoidal protrusion 36 has been described. However, the shape of the protrusion provided on the platen 30 is not limited to this example. For example, the platen 30 may have a right triangular protrusion 37 as shown in FIG. 7A, or may have an arcuate protrusion 38 as shown in FIG. 7B. .

  In the above description, the gap roller 28 pushes down the protrusion 36. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, by providing the protrusion 36 at a position where it comes into contact with another configuration of the printing unit 20 (for example, the ribbon guide or the carriage 24), the other configuration of the printing unit 20 can push down the projection 36. .

  5 and 6 show an example in which the protrusion 36 is provided outside the formation region of the flap 34, the present embodiment is not limited to this example. For example, it is possible to create a gap between the platen 30 and the flap 34 in the same manner as described above by extending the flap 34 up to the protrusion 36 and designing the flap 34 so as to fit the protrusion 36. Become.

  Although not described above, as shown in FIG. 8, since the platen 30 is provided with the horizontal link mechanism 42, the platen 30 is pushed down while maintaining the horizontal state by the contact between the protrusion 36 and the gap roller 28.

<3. Second Embodiment>
The first embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Subsequently, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. According to the second embodiment, by providing the platen 50 with the recessed portion 56 as a stepped portion, a gap can be generated between the platen 50 and the flap 34 as in the first embodiment.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration according to the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, FIG. 9 shows an AA cross section in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the platen 50 according to the second embodiment has a recess 56 outside the conveyance area of the paper-like medium 4. Further, the recess 56 is provided at a position corresponding to the end of the flap 34. For this reason, when the gap roller 28 of the print head 22 moves onto such a recess 56, the end of the flap 34 enters the recess 56 and the flap 34 tilts. A gap can be generated between the platen 50 and the platen 50. Hereinafter, this point will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state when the paper-like medium 4 is inhaled. As shown in FIG. 10, when the paper-like medium 4 is sucked, the print head 22 moves onto the concave portion 56 of the platen 50. As a result, the contact point P1 between the gap roller 28 of the print head 22 and the flap 34 serves as a fulcrum, and the end portion P2 of the recess 56 serves as a power point to push up the flap 34 by the biasing force of the spring 32. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10, the flap 34 is inclined, so that a gap is generated between the flap 34 and the platen 50 in the conveyance area of the paper-like medium 4. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent a jam from occurring when the paper-like medium 4 is inhaled.

<4. Conclusion>
As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, when the gap roller 28 of the print head 22 moves onto the protrusion 36 of the platen 30, the platen 30 is brought into contact with the gap roller 28 and the protrusion 36. Is pushed down. As a result, a gap can be generated between the flap 34 and the platen 30.

  Further, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, when the gap roller 28 of the print head 22 moves onto the concave portion 56 of the platen 50, the flap 34 tilts as the end of the flap 34 enters the concave portion 56. It is possible to create a gap between the flap 34 and the platen 50 in the conveyance area of the paper-like medium 4.

  According to the first and second embodiments of the present invention as described above, it is possible to prevent a jam from occurring when the paper-like medium 4 is inhaled.

  Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example in which a gap is generated between the platen 30 (50) and the flap 34 at the time of inhalation of the paper-like medium 4 has been described. It is applicable to other time points.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 4 Paper-like medium 10 Medium suction tray 12 Conveyance motor 20 Printing part 22 Print head 24 Carriage 26 Guide shaft 28 Gap roller 30 Platen 32 Spring 34 Flap 34a Roller contact surface 36 Protrusion part 40 Medium discharge tray 42 Horizontal link mechanism 50 Platen 56 recess

Claims (2)

A printing unit that prints on a medium while moving along a predetermined moving direction;
A platen provided along the moving direction of the printing unit on the side facing the printing surface of the printing unit;
A biasing member that biases the platen toward the printing unit;
An interposition member that provides a gap between the printing unit and the medium by interposing between the printing unit and the medium;
With
The platen has a protrusion that protrudes toward the printing unit on the outside of a region where the medium is conveyed ,
The interposition member has a contact surface in contact with the printing unit,
The protrusion is provided so as to protrude toward the printing part from the contact surface of the interposition member in a state where the interposition member and the platen are in contact with each other.
The interposition member is biased toward the platen side,
The platen is pushed down by the contact between the printing portion and the protrusion, and the interposition member moves to the platen side.
The printing apparatus, wherein a pressing amount of the platen due to contact between the printing unit and the protrusion is larger than a movement amount of the interposition member due to contact between the printing unit and the protrusion . The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit moves to the protrusion of the platen before conveying the medium onto the platen.

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