JP6026094B2 - 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 JP 2000-318260 A JP 2008-68551 A JP 2000-94767 A

  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. Thus, 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.

  In Patent Document 2, a lock arm that supports the bearing of the platen roller is disclosed to position the platen roller by using a biasing force of a pressure spring that presses the thermal head. The first spring, which is disposed between the lock arm and the thermal head and urges the platen roller in the direction toward the thermal head, is disposed between the thermal head and the main body frame, and the thermal head is closely attached to the platen roller. The thing provided with the 2nd spring urged | biased in the direction made to make is disclosed.

  However, in a printer having such a structure, when the platen roller is attached / detached, a strong stress is applied to the thermal head. Therefore, the number of times the platen roller is attached / detached increases, or the thermal head etc. is deformed or damaged depending on the operating conditions. May occur. As a result, the life of the printer device is shortened and the reliability is lowered.

  Further, the position of the lock arm hardly changes even when the platen roller is installed and when the platen roller is removed. Therefore, a method such as detecting the position of the head has been adopted, but in this case, there is a limitation in the arrangement of sensors for detecting the position of the head, and it has been necessary to provide the gear portion or the like. However, since the environment of the installation location is not good, the reliability is lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer apparatus having a structure capable of determining whether or not to perform an operation such as printing depending on the position of an opening / closing arm. is there.

The present invention includes a print head for printing on recording paper, an open / close arm that can contact the print head supported to rotate about an arm rotation axis with respect to the frame, and the frame and the open / close arm. A platen roller that is held; a first biasing spring that is provided between the frame and the print head; and that presses the print head toward the platen roller; the frame and the open / close arm; A second biasing spring that biases the open / close arm in a first direction so as to bias the platen roller toward the print head. when the arm is in contact said closing arm is urged in a second direction opposite the first direction by the pressure of the first biasing spring, the platen When the roller is installed, the open / close arm is in the first position holding the platen roller, and when the platen roller is not installed, the open / close arm is in a position other than the first position. It is located.

Further, the present invention includes a second position where the opening / closing arm rotates in the second direction when the platen roller is not installed, and the platen roller can be taken out. To do.
Further, the present invention is sometimes the platen roller is not installed, the closing arms, before Symbol a first position, rotate the closing arm in the second direction, can be taken out the platen roller located in the third position between the second position and said Rukoto.

  In addition, the present invention is characterized by having a detection unit for detecting the position of the open / close arm.

According to the present invention, when the detection unit detects the second position and the third position , printing on the recording paper by the print head is not performed. And

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the first urging spring is a coil spring, and the second urging spring is a torsion coil spring.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printer apparatus having a structure that can determine whether or not to perform an operation such as printing based on the position of the opening / closing arm.

Structure of a conventional printer (1) Structure of conventional printer (2) Explanatory drawing (1) of the printer apparatus in this embodiment Explanatory drawing (2) of the printer apparatus in this embodiment Explanatory drawing (3) of the printer apparatus in this embodiment Explanatory drawing (4) of the printer apparatus in this Embodiment Explanatory drawing (5) of the printer apparatus in this embodiment Explanatory drawing (6) of the printer apparatus in this Embodiment. Explanatory drawing (7) of the printer apparatus in this embodiment Explanatory drawing (8) of the printer apparatus in this embodiment. The main part enlarged view of FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. Explanatory drawing (1) of operation | movement of the opening-and-closing arm of the printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (2) of operation | movement of the opening / closing arm of the printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (3) of operation | movement of the opening-and-closing arm of the printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (1) of the installation method of the platen roller of the printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (2) of the installation method of the platen roller of the printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (1) of switch of printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing of switch of printer device in embodiment (2) Explanatory drawing (3) of switch of printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (4) of switch of printer apparatus in embodiment Explanatory drawing (5) of switch of printer apparatus in 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, a printer using a thermal head having a structure having a back support plate will be described. The printer apparatus shown in FIG. 1 includes a thermal head 910 having a heat sink, a platen roller 920, an opening / closing arm 930, and a coil spring 950, and is installed on a frame 960. The open / close arm 930 is provided with a back support plate 940, and the platen roller 920 is supported by the open / close arm 930.

  In the printer device having this structure, a force is applied to the thermal head 910 on the side where the platen roller 920 is provided by a coil spring 950 provided between the back support plate 940 and the thermal head 910. When printing or the like is performed on the recording paper, a recording paper (not shown) is sandwiched between the thermal head 910 and the platen roller 920 to perform printing or the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the platen roller 920 can be removed by moving the opening / closing arm 930 so that the recording paper can be easily sandwiched between the thermal head 910 and the platen roller 920. In such a printer apparatus, when the platen roller 920 is attached / detached, the open / close arm 930 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow, so that the coil spring 950 provided between the back support plate 940 and the thermal head 910 contracts. For this reason, a strong restoring force is generated in the coil spring 950, and this force is strongly applied as a stress behind the thermal head 910 via the heat sink, so that the thermal head 910 is deformed or broken. This shortens the life of the printer. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the position of the frame 960 is indicated by a one-dot chain line.

(Printer device)
Next, the printer apparatus according to this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 12, 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 first biasing spring 140, and a second biasing spring 150. And is installed on the frame 160.

  The platen bearing 121 in the platen roller 120 is held by the frame side surface portion 161 of the open / close arm 130 and the frame 160 in a rotatable state. The frame 160 is provided with a motor 170 for rotating the platen roller 120, and the platen roller 120 can be rotated via the gear unit 180 by rotating the motor 170.

  A heat sink 111 serving as a head support plate is provided on the back surface of the thermal head 110, and a frame back surface portion 162 is formed on the frame 160 so as to face the heat sink 111. A first urging spring 140 such as a coil spring is provided between the heat sink 111 and the frame back surface portion 162, and the thermal head 110 is moved via the heat sink 111 by the restoring force of the first urging spring 140. It is pushed to the side where the platen roller 120 is provided.

  The open / close arm 130 is supported by the frame side surface portion 161 so as to be movable around the arm rotation shaft 131. As shown in FIGS. A second urging spring 150 such as a torsion coil spring (torsion spring) is provided between the frame side surface portion 161 and the frame side surface portion 161. Specifically, one end portion 151 of the second urging spring 150 is connected to the frame side surface portion 161, and the other end portion 152 is in contact with a part of the open / close arm rear surface portion 132 of the open / close arm 130. ing. For this reason, due to the restoring force of the second urging spring 150, a force is applied to the open / close arm 130 in a direction in which the open / close arm rear surface portion 132 is separated from the side where the thermal head 110 is provided.

  3 and 4 are perspective views showing the main part of the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the front, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view from the rear. 5 and 6 are perspective views showing a state in which the platen roller 120 is removed, FIG. 5 is a front perspective view, and FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing a state in which the motor 170 and the gear unit 180 are removed, FIG. 7 is a perspective view from the front, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view from the rear. 9 and 10 are perspective views showing a state in which the platen roller 120, the motor 170, and the gear portion 180 are removed, FIG. 9 is a perspective view from the front, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view from the rear. 11 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 9, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG.

(Operation of the open / close arm)
Next, the operation of the opening / closing arm when the platen roller 120 is attached / detached in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. In the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment, the relative positional relationship of the opening / closing arm 130 with respect to the frame 160 is such that the platen roller 120 shown in FIG. 13 is installed (first state), and the platen shown in FIG. When the roller 120 is removed, the most movable state (second state) is set, and the neutral state (third state) after the platen roller 120 shown in FIG. 15 is removed.

  The first state shown in FIG. 13 is a state in which the platen roller 120 is installed, and the first biasing spring 140 provided between the heat sink 111 and the frame back surface part 162 is interposed via the heat sink 111. The thermal head 110 is pushed to the side where the platen roller 120 is provided. In this state, by setting the platen roller 120 at a predetermined position, the thermal head 110 is pushed by the platen roller 120, and the first urging spring 140 is passed through the heat sink 111 provided on the back surface of the thermal head 110. Force is applied in the direction of shrinking. In this state, a recording sheet (not shown) can be installed between the thermal head 110 and the platen roller 120, and printing or the like can be performed on the recording sheet. In this state, the frame back surface portion 162 and the open / close arm back surface portion 132 are substantially in contact with each other.

  Next, the second state shown in FIG. 14 is the most movable state when the platen roller 120 is detached. Specifically, by pressing the open / close arm operation unit 134 downward, the open / close arm 130 moves with respect to the frame 160 and the like about the arm rotation shaft 131, and the platen roller 120 can be removed. The second urging spring 150 is wound around the arm rotation shaft 131. In this state, the opening / closing arm operation unit 140 is pushed against the restoring force of the second urging spring 150. The thermal head 110 and the heat sink 111 are pushed toward the platen roller 120 by the restoring force of the first biasing spring 140. In this state, the projecting portion 138 of the opening / closing arm 130 and the frame bottom surface portion 164 of the frame 160 are in contact with each other, and the movement of the opening / closing arm 130 is stopped at a predetermined position.

  The third state shown in FIG. 15 is a state in which the platen roller 120 is removed and no force is applied to the opening / closing arm operation unit 134. In this state, the heat sink 111 is pushed to the side where the platen roller 120 is installed by the restoring force of the first biasing spring 140. Further, since no force is applied to the opening / closing arm operation unit 134, the opening / closing arm 130 is positioned at the position where the platen roller 120 is installed (see FIG. 13) by the restoring force of the second urging spring 150. Force to return to position). In the present embodiment, protrusions 111 a are provided at both ends of the heat sink 111, and the opening and closing arm side surfaces 133 of the opening and closing arm 130 are openings into which the protrusions 111 a provided at both ends of the heat sink 111 are inserted. 139 is provided. The heat sink 111 is maintained in this state because the protrusion 111a is in contact with the side surface of the opening 139 on the side where the platen roller 120 is installed. This state is a state until the opening / closing arm 130 transitions from the first state to the second state. The restoring force of the first biasing spring 140 and the restoring force of the second biasing spring 150 are the same. It is in a state where the balance is maintained. In the present embodiment, this state is described as a neutral state.

  In the present embodiment, when the platen roller 120 is not installed and no force is applied to the opening / closing arm operation unit 134, the neutral state shown in FIG. Therefore, by detecting the position in this state, it is possible to easily determine whether or not to perform an operation such as printing on a recording sheet (not shown). That is, when the state shown in FIG. 13 is detected, if there is a recording sheet (not shown), an operation for printing on the recording sheet is performed. Further, when it is detected that the state shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 is detected, an operation for printing on a recording sheet or the like is not performed.

(Platen roller installation method)
Next, an installation method of the platen roller 120 in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 16, in the printer device according to the present embodiment, the frame side surface portion 161 of the frame 160 is provided with a frame opening portion 163, and the opening / closing arm side surface portion 133 of the opening / closing arm 130 is provided. An opening / closing arm opening 135 is provided. By inserting the platen bearing 121 of the platen roller 120 into the frame opening 163 and the opening / closing arm opening 135, the platen roller 120 is rotated by the frame side surface 161 of the frame 160 and the opening / closing arm side surface 133 of the opening / closing arm 130. It can be held in a possible state.

  When the platen bearing 121 of the platen roller 120 is inserted, the platen bearing 121 enters the frame opening 163 and the opening / closing arm opening 135 while being in contact with the lock portion 136 that is the edge of the opening / closing arm opening 135. As a result, a force is applied to the first biasing spring 140 in the direction in which the first biasing spring 140 contracts.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 17, the platen bearing 121 is further inserted into the frame opening 163 and the opening / closing arm opening 135, so that the first urging spring 140 is further subjected to the first urging. A force is applied in the direction in which the spring 140 contracts, and the heat sink 111 and the print head 110 move accordingly. As the heat sink 111 moves, the protrusions 111a provided at both ends of the heat sink 111 also move in the opening 139. Accordingly, the opening / closing arm 130 rotates by the restoring force of the second biasing spring 150. It moves around the shaft 131. Thereafter, when the platen bearing 121 completely enters the frame opening 163 and the opening / closing arm opening 135, the platen bearing 121 is restrained by the lock portion 136 of the opening / closing arm 130, and the platen roller 120 is rotatable. Retained. This state is the first state described above.

  Thereby, the platen roller 120 can be installed in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment.

(switch)
Next, control of whether or not to perform operations such as printing on recording paper will be described. The printer device according to the present embodiment is provided with a switch serving as a detection unit for controlling whether or not to perform an operation such as printing on a recording sheet. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 18 to 22, in the printer apparatus according to the present embodiment, a switch 200 having a switch main body 201 and a switch movable unit 202 is provided.

  FIG. 20 shows the second state in FIG. 14. In this state, the switch movable portion 202 is pushed by the convex portion 233 provided inside the open / close arm side surface portion 133 of the open / close arm 130. (On state). Since this state is a state in which the platen roller 120 is being detached, control is performed such that printing on the recording paper is not performed.

  FIG. 21 shows a third state in FIG. 15, and in this state, the switch movable portion 202 is pushed by a convex portion 233 provided inside the open / close arm side surface portion 133 of the open / close arm 130. (On state). In this state, since the platen roller 120 is not installed, control is performed such that printing on the recording paper is not performed.

  FIG. 22 shows the first state in FIG. 13, and in this state, the switch movable portion 202 is not pushed by the convex portion 233 provided inside the opening / closing arm side surface portion 133 in the opening / closing arm 130. (Off state). In this state, since the platen roller 120 is installed at a predetermined position, when recording paper is present, control is performed such as printing on the recording paper.

  The control for printing on the recording paper is performed by a control unit (not shown), and is controlled based on the state of the switch 200, that is, whether the switch 200 is on or off.

  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)
111 Heat sink (head support plate)
111a Protruding portion 120 Platen roller 121 Platen bearing 130 Opening / closing arm 131 Arm rotation shaft 132 Opening / closing arm back surface portion 133 Opening / closing arm side surface portion 134 Opening / closing arm operation portion 135 Opening / closing arm opening portion 136 Locking portion 138 Protruding portion 139 Opening portion 140 First attachment Force spring 150 Second biasing spring 151 One end portion 152 The other end portion 160 Frame 161 Frame side surface portion 162 Frame back surface portion 163 Frame opening portion 164 Frame bottom surface portion 170 Motor 180 Gear portion 200 Switch (detection portion)

Claims (6)

A print head for printing on recording paper;
An open / close arm that can contact the print head supported to rotate about an arm rotation axis with respect to the frame;
A platen roller held by the frame and the open / close arm;
A first biasing spring that is provided between the frame and the print head and presses the print head toward the platen roller;
A second biasing spring that is in contact with the frame and the opening / closing arm, and biases the opening / closing arm in a first direction so as to bias the platen roller toward the print head;
When the print head and the open / close arm are in contact, the open / close arm is urged in a second direction opposite to the first direction by the pressurization of the first urging spring. ,
When the platen roller is installed, the open / close arm is in a first position holding the platen roller;
When the platen roller is not installed, the opening / closing arm is located at a position other than the first position.   2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein when the platen roller is not installed, the opening / closing arm rotates in the second direction and includes a second position where the platen roller can be taken out. apparatus.   When the platen roller is not installed, the open / close arm is located between the first position and a second position where the open / close arm rotates in the second direction and the platen roller can be taken out. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printer apparatus is located at a third position.   The printer apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a detection unit configured to detect a position of the opening / closing arm.   5. The printing on the recording paper by the print head is not performed when the detection unit detects the second position and the third position. The printer device described. The first biasing spring is a coil spring,
The printer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second urging spring is a torsion coil spring.

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