JP5962217B2 - printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer such as an ink jet printer provided with a panel capable of display and operation input.

  Known printers that can be used independently without being connected to a personal computer are known. In this type of printer, a panel capable of inputting a print execution instruction and displaying various types of information is attached to the printer body. A printer to which such a panel is attached is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

  In the recording apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, an information input unit (panel) is attached to the front surface of the apparatus so as to be rotatable up and down, and is fed into the apparatus from a paper feeding unit disposed on the back side of the apparatus. After the medium is recorded by the recording unit inside the apparatus, the medium is discharged forward from a discharge unit located below the information input unit on the front of the apparatus. In the printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2, an LCD panel that is raised from the front of the casing to the inside of the casing is disposed on the top surface of the casing. A long recording medium fed out from the printer is printed by a thermal head arranged inside the housing, and then discharged forward from a paper discharge port opened on the front surface of the housing.

  As described above, in a printer equipped with a conventional display / input operation panel, the panel and the recording medium discharge port after printing are located in front of the apparatus, and both the orientation and the discharge direction of the panel face the front of the printer. ing. This facilitates panel operation from the front and handling of the recording medium after printing. In addition, the recording medium conveyance direction inside the printer extends in the front-rear direction of the printer, and a serial type print head such as an ink jet head or a thermal head moves back and forth in the width direction of the printer perpendicular to this to print on the recording medium. Is called.

JP 2012-71499 A JP 2008-77441 A

  However, the conventional printer with a panel has the following problems. Since the conveyance path of the recording medium extends in the front-rear direction of the printer, it is necessary to set the recording medium in the recording medium supply device arranged on the back side of the printer and to feed the recording medium into the conveyance path from the insertion port formed on the back side of the printer. . For this reason, since the supply device is difficult to see from the front of the printer and is far from the printer, the setting operation of the recording medium to the supply device may not be performed easily. Confirmation may not be easy. In some cases, the operator needs to move to the back side of the printer or change the orientation of the printer, which is troublesome.

  On the other hand, when the recording medium insertion port is provided on the front surface of the printer, it is necessary to invert the recording medium transported from the front to the rear and transport the recording medium toward the discharge port located on the front surface. For this reason, the conveyance path and the conveyance mechanism are complicated, and the paper is likely to be jammed, and the reliability is likely to be lowered. In many cases, it is difficult to secure a space for disposing a recording medium supply device on the front surface of the printer.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of these points, the present invention proposes a printer that can easily insert and eject a recording medium without impairing the operability and visibility of a display / input operation panel. There is to do.

In order to solve the above problems, the printer of the present invention provides:
A printer main body having a print head that moves in a first direction and performs printing on a label paper having labels attached to the surface of the mount at predetermined intervals ;
A panel that is attached to one side of the first direction of the printer main body and that is operated and input with a display screen directed to one side of the first direction ;
An insertion port disposed on one side of a second direction orthogonal to the first direction of the printer main body, and for inserting the label paper into the printer main body;
A discharge port disposed on the other side of the printer main body in the second direction to discharge the label paper from the printer main body;
A paper conveyance path extending from the insertion port disposed on the one side in the second direction to the discharge port disposed on the other side in the second direction;
It is characterized by having.

  In the printer of the present invention, a panel is attached to one side in the first direction, which is the moving direction of the print head in the printer main body, in a state facing the first direction, and both sides of the printer main body in the direction orthogonal to the first direction. Are respectively formed with an insertion port and a discharge port for the recording medium. In the state where the operator faces the panel from the front, giving priority to the operability and visibility of the panel, the recording medium insertion port and the ejection port are on both sides of the panel, that is, the printer main body that is the left and right sides for the operator The insertion port and the discharge port are located on the sides on both sides. The insertion port is not positioned on the side surface of the printer main body which is the opposite side for the operator. Therefore, the insertion or setting of the recording medium can be performed more easily when viewed from the operator than when the insertion port is located on the rear surface of the printer main body, and visual confirmation of the set state is also possible. It becomes easy. Further, it is possible to easily insert or set the recording medium without the operator moving with respect to the printer or changing the orientation of the printer.

  In the printer according to the aspect of the invention, the print head is an inkjet head that ejects ink, and the inkjet head stops on one side in the first direction of the printer main body during printing standby.

In the printer of the present invention, on the other side of the pre-Symbol second direction, the cartridge mounting opening for mounting the ink cartridge that stores ink to be supplied to said ink jet head is characterized in that it is arranged.

  When the operator is positioned so as to face the panel, the cartridge mounting opening is positioned at a part of the printer that is on the side of the operator. Therefore, the operator can easily mount and replace the ink cartridge through the cartridge mounting port located at the side of the printer on the side of the operator while facing the panel.

In the printer of the present invention, the printer has a tractor pin that engages with a sprocket hole formed on one side and the other side of the first direction of the label paper inserted into the printer body, and moves the tractor pin A tractor unit that conveys the label sheet toward the insertion port is provided on one side in the second direction. When the operator is positioned so as to face the panel, the tractor unit is positioned at a part of the printer that is on the side of the operator. Therefore, the operator can easily perform the operation of setting the recording medium on the tractor unit while keeping the state facing the panel.

In the printer of the present invention, a roll paper mounting unit that winds up the label paper discharged from the discharge port is provided on the other side in the second direction. In this way, when the operator is positioned so as to face the panel, the roll paper mounting unit is positioned at the site of the printer that is on the side of the operator. Accordingly, the operator can easily perform the operation of taking out the recording medium from the roll paper mounting unit while keeping the state facing the panel.

It is a figure which shows the four surfaces of the inkjet printer to which this invention is applied. It is a perspective view of an inkjet printer. It is a perspective view of an inkjet printer. It is a perspective view in the state where a part of the exterior case of the ink jet printer was removed. It is a perspective view in the state where a part of the exterior case of the ink jet printer was removed. It is a schematic diagram which shows the part of the paper conveyance path of an inkjet printer.

  Embodiments of a printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  1A to 1D are a plan view, a front view, a left side view, and a right side view showing an ink jet printer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view when the ink jet printer is viewed from the left oblique front, and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view when the ink jet printer is viewed from the right oblique front. For example, the inkjet printer 1 performs printing on the label paper 2 illustrated in FIG. 3. The label paper 2 shown in the figure is affixed to the mount 2b in which sprocket holes 2a are formed at regular intervals along the length direction at the edge portions on both sides in the paper width direction and to be peeled at regular intervals on this surface. The rectangular label 2c is provided. The mount 2b is formed with perforations 2d extending in the paper width direction at portions between the labels 2c, and can be folded at the positions of the perforations 2d.

  The ink jet printer 1 includes a printer main body 3 and an LCD panel 4 for display / input operation. The printer body 3 has a configuration in which a printer mechanism (not shown) is covered by a rectangular parallelepiped outer case 5 that is long in the first direction, in this example, the longitudinal direction Y of the printer. A first side surface and a second side surface located on both sides in the first direction in the printer main body 3 by the exterior case 5, in this example, the front surface 6 and the rear back surface 7 that are opposed to each other in the front-rear direction Y of the printer, A third side surface and a fourth side surface located on both sides in the second direction orthogonal to one direction, in this example, a left side surface 8 and a right side surface 9 that are opposed to each other in the printer width direction X are defined.

  The LCD panel 4 is positioned on one side in the first direction, in this example, on the upper part of the front surface 6 of the printer main body 3, and the display screen 4a faces one side in the first direction, that is, the front. Is attached. In this example, left and right arm portions 4b and 4c project from the both sides of the upper end of the back surface of the LCD panel 4 to the back surface side, and the end portions of these arm portions 4b and 4c extend in the printer width direction X. It is supported by the printer main body 3 so as to be rotatable around the center line. For example, the LCD panel 4 can be rotated between a vertical position where the display screen 4a faces the front of the printer and a horizontal position where the display screen 4a faces the top of the printer.

  From one side of the printer main body 3 in the second direction, in this example, the lower end of the right side surface 9 of the printer main body 3, the paper tray 11 extends horizontally toward the rear of the printer. The label paper 2 is mounted on the paper tray 11 in a stacked state in which the label paper 2 is folded at a certain length. A paper insertion opening 12 is formed in an upper part of the right side surface 9, and a tractor unit 13 is attached to the printer main body 3 so as to protrude from the paper insertion opening 12 to the right side of the printer. The label paper 2 mounted on the paper tray 11 is sent from the right side of the printer to the paper insertion opening 12 by the tractor unit 13.

  On the other side in the second direction of the printer main body 3, in this example, the left side surface 8 opposite to the right side surface 9, a paper discharge port 14 is formed at a position substantially the same height as the paper insertion port 12. Has been. A discharge tray 15 is attached to the printer main body 3 so as to extend horizontally from the paper discharge port 14 to the left side of the printer. The printed label paper 2 is discharged from the paper discharge port 14 and discharged horizontally by the discharge tray 15 toward the left side of the printer.

  In the left side surface 8 of the printer main body 3, an ink cartridge (not shown) is provided in an ink cartridge mounting portion (not shown) formed inside the printer main body 3 at the front side of the discharge tray 15. A cartridge mounting port 16 to be mounted is formed, and the cartridge mounting port 16 is sealed by an opening / closing lid 17. In the lower part of the opening / closing lid 17, there is formed a memory card insertion slot 18 for storing a storage medium, for example, printing information.

  4 is a perspective view when the upper portion of the outer case 5 in the inkjet printer 1 is removed as viewed from the left front, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view when the inkjet printer 1 in the same state is viewed from the right front. is there. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a portion of the paper conveyance path of the inkjet printer 1. As shown by a thick line in FIG. 6, a paper transport path 21 extending in the printer width direction X is formed inside the printer main body 3. The paper transport path 21 extends from a paper insertion opening 12 formed on the right side surface 9 to a paper discharge opening 14 formed on the left side surface 8.

  The lower surface of the paper transport path 21 has an upstream paper guide 22 extending from the paper insertion opening 12 to the middle of the printer width direction X toward the left of the printer, and a platen 23 extending continuously from the upstream paper guide 22. This is defined by a discharge tray 15 that is continuous therewith. The platen 23 is composed of divided platens arranged at a predetermined interval along a direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction, that is, the front-rear direction Y of the printer.

  Above the platen 23, a carriage guide shaft 24 that extends horizontally in the longitudinal direction Y of the printer is disposed. The carriage guide shaft 24 is supported by the mechanism frame 3 a of the printer body 3. A head carriage 25 is attached to the carriage guide shaft 24 in a slidable state, and an ink jet head 26 is mounted on the head carriage 25 with the nozzle surface facing downward so as to face the platen 23 that defines the printing position. (See FIG. 6). The head carriage 25 can be reciprocated in the front-rear direction Y of the printer along the carriage guide shaft 24 by a known carriage drive mechanism 25a including a motor 25b and a belt / pulley mechanism 25c.

  Here, the head carriage 25 is at the home position at the front end of the printer shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and waits at the home position during printing standby. A head maintenance mechanism 27 is mounted below the inkjet head 26 mounted on the head carriage 25 located at the home position. The head maintenance mechanism 27 is equipped with a nozzle cap (not shown) for capping the nozzle surface of the inkjet head 26, a suction mechanism (not shown) for sucking ink from each nozzle, and the like. Head maintenance operation is performed to prevent nozzle clogging and to perform maintenance operation to eliminate nozzle clogging. An ink cartridge mounting portion 28 is formed below the head maintenance mechanism 27.

  A pair of paper feed rollers 31 for feeding the label paper 2 toward the printing position is arranged between the printing position of the inkjet head 26 and the tractor unit 13 inside the printer main body 3. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 6, the pair of paper feed rollers 31 transmits the driving force from the paper feed motor 32 via a driving force transmission mechanism 33 including a gear train. A pair of paper discharge rollers 34 for discharging the printed label paper 2 is disposed at a position on the left side of the printer with respect to the printing position defined by the platen 23 (a part on the downstream side in the paper transport direction). Yes. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 6, the driving force from the paper discharge motor 35 is transmitted to the paper discharge roller pair 34 via a driving force transmission mechanism 36 formed of a gear train.

  Next, the tractor unit 13 is formed with tractor pins 42 that circulate along an oval circulation path on both side edges in the width direction of the label paper 2 (that is, one side and the other side in the first direction). By sequentially engaging and moving the sprocket holes 2a (see FIG. 3), the label paper 2 is sent out toward the printing position. A driving force from the tractor driving motor 43 is transmitted to the tractor unit 13 via a driving force transmission mechanism 44 including a gear train.

  In the inkjet printer 1 configured as described above, when print data is selected and a print command is input via the LCD panel 4 with the label paper 2 set on the tractor unit 13, the tractor unit 13 is driven and the label The sheet 2 is fed along the sheet conveyance path 21 toward the printing position. Further, the paper feed roller pair 31 and the paper discharge roller pair 34 are driven, and the label paper 2 is nipped by the roller pairs 31 and 34. When the printing start position on the label paper 2 is positioned at the printing position, the head carriage 25 is moved by the carriage drive mechanism 25a to eject ink from the inkjet head 26, the tractor unit 13, and the paper feed. On the label paper 2 passing through the printing position, the roller pair 31 and the paper discharge roller pair 34 are driven to alternately and repeatedly carry out the paper transport operation for feeding the label paper 2 toward the left side of the printer (downstream in the transport direction). Print on the label.

  As described above, in the ink jet printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the LCD panel 4 is attached to the front surface 6 of the printer body 3 in a forward direction. Further, a paper insertion opening 12 into which the label paper 2 is fed from the tractor unit 13 is formed on the right side surface 9 of the printer main body 3, and a paper discharge port from which the label paper 2 is discharged is formed on the left side surface 8 of the printer main body 3. An outlet 14 is formed.

  Therefore, in order to perform the operation while viewing the LCD panel 4, an operator positioned in front of the front surface 6 of the inkjet printer 1 can access either the right side paper inlet 12 or the left side paper outlet 14 of the inkjet printer 1. On the other hand, it can be easily accessed, and the paper insertion port 12 and the paper discharge port 14 can be visually observed without performing an operation such as tilting the body greatly. Therefore, while maintaining the visibility and operability of the LCD panel 4, the label paper 2 setting operation on the paper insertion port 12 side, the printing operation of the label paper 2 after printing on the paper discharge port 14 side, and the like can be performed efficiently. It can be done easily.

  The ink jet head 26 is mounted so as to reciprocate in the front-rear direction X of the printer, which is the first direction. In this example, the end on the front side of the printer, which is one side in the first direction, is the home position. A maintenance mechanism 27 is arranged. (Note that the other side in the first direction, in this example, the rear end of the printer can also be used as the home position.) There is a space on this home position and on both sides of the head maintenance mechanism 27 (both sides in the printer width direction). . Since the tractor unit 13 is disposed on the right side surface 9 of the printer main body 3, in this example, an ink cartridge mounting portion 28 is disposed in the space on the left side of the printer main body 3, and the left side surface facing this. The ink cartridge can be mounted and replaced from the left side of the printer through the cartridge mounting port 16 formed at the front side of the printer in FIG. Therefore, the printer main body 3 can be configured compactly, and the ink cartridge can be easily mounted and replaced via the cartridge mounting port 16 located on the side on the front side of the printer.

  In the ink jet printer 1 described above, the LCD panel 4 is disposed on the front surface of the printer, and a paper insertion port and a paper discharge port are disposed on the left and right side surfaces of the printer. For example, an LDC panel may be disposed on one of the left and right side surfaces of the printer so as to face sideways, and a sheet insertion port and a sheet discharge port may be disposed on the front and rear sides of the printer. In this case, the operator stands on the side of the printer to which the LCD panel is attached, so that the operator can view both the paper insertion opening and the paper discharge opening before and after the printer without impairing the operability and visibility of the LCD panel. Since it can be easily accessed, it is possible to efficiently and easily perform label paper setting work and discharging work.

  The label printer 1 of the above-described label printing system S can be used as a so-called stand-alone, but is configured to receive a print command and print data from a host computer or the like on the upper side and perform a printing operation. Of course, the present invention is applicable to the above.

  Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to a printer having a print head of a type different from an ink jet head such as a thermal head instead of the ink jet head as a print head.

  Furthermore, as the recording medium to be printed, continuous paper other than the label paper on which the sprocket holes are formed as described above, for example, roll paper can be used. In this case, in the ink jet printer 1 described above, a roll paper mounting opening may be formed on the left side surface 8 where the paper discharge opening 14 is formed. In this case, the roll paper can be easily mounted and replaced from the front side of the printer through the roll paper mounting port located on the side.

  In addition, a roll paper mounting unit for winding the recording medium discharged from the discharge port can be provided. In this case, it is desirable to provide the roll paper mounting unit on the other side in the second direction where the discharge port of the printer is located (the left side surface 8 in the above example).

1. ・ Inkjet printer, 2. ・ Label paper, 2a ・ ・ Sprocket hole, 2b ・ ・ Mount, 2c ・ ・ Label, 2d ・ ・ Perforation, 3 ・ ・ Printer body, 3a ・ ・ Mechanical frame, 4 ・ ・LCD panel, 4a ... display screen, 4b, 4c ... arm, 5 ... exterior case, 6 ... front, 7 ... back, 8 ... left side, 9 ... right side, 11 ... paper tray , 12 .. Paper insertion opening, 13 .. Tractor unit, 14 .. Paper discharge opening, 15 .. Ejection tray, 16 .. Cartridge installation opening, 17 .. Opening / closing lid, 18. Conveyance path, 22 .... upstream side paper guide, 23 .... platen, 24 .... carriage guide shaft, 25 .... head carriage, 25a..carriage drive mechanism, 25b..motor, 25c..belt pulley mechanism 26 .. Inkjet head, 27 .. Head maintenance mechanism, 28 .. Ink cartridge mounting part, 31 .. Paper feed roller pair, 32 .. Paper feed motor, 33 .. Driving force transmission mechanism, 34. 35, ... discharge motor, 36 ..., driving force transmission mechanism, 42 ..., tractor pin, 43 ..., tractor driving motor, 44 ..., driving force transmission mechanism

Claims (5)

A printer main body having a print head that moves in a first direction and performs printing on a label paper having labels attached to the surface of the mount at predetermined intervals ;
A panel that is attached to one side of the first direction of the printer main body and that is operated and input with a display screen directed to one side of the first direction ;
An insertion port disposed on one side of a second direction orthogonal to the first direction of the printer main body, and for inserting the label paper into the printer main body;
A discharge port disposed on the other side of the printer main body in the second direction and discharging the label paper from the printer main body;
A paper conveyance path extending from the insertion port disposed on the one side in the second direction to the discharge port disposed on the other side in the second direction;
A printer comprising: The print head is an inkjet head that ejects ink;
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet head stops on one side in the first direction of the printer main body during printing standby.   The printer according to claim 2, wherein a cartridge mounting opening for mounting an ink cartridge for storing ink supplied to the inkjet head is disposed on the other side in the second direction. A tractor pin that engages with a sprocket hole formed on one side and the other side of the label sheet in the first direction;
The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a tractor unit that moves the tractor pin and conveys the label sheet toward the insertion port on one side in the second direction. 5. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a roll paper mounting unit that winds up the label paper discharged from the discharge port on the other side in the second direction.

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