JPH01202481A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a printing part to be set on a cut paper accurately at a predetermined distance from an edge part of the paper, by providing a driving means for feeding only the paper, a detecting means for the edge part of the paper, and a rotating means for taking up a ribbon tape. CONSTITUTION:A paper 8 inserted is first fed in by a roller shaft 54 and a pressing roller 56, then a leading end part of the paper 8 comes into contact with a sensor lever 68, the position of the leading end part is detected, and the leading end part is clamped between a head 76 and e platen roller 42. Elements of the head 76 are operated to generate heat, whereby an ink on a ribbon tape 83 is melted, and the melted ink is transferred onto the paper 8. After the transfer, the paper 8 is fed out by a roller shaft 60 and a pressing roller 62 to the exterior. On the other hand, the ribbon tape 83 is fed from the side of a bobbin 98 sequentially through the positions of a bar 110, the head 76 and a bar 108 to a bobbin 96. An edge part of the paper is securely held by a driving means so that it can be detected by the detecting means, so that a stable printing accuracy can be secured without being affected by the size or material of the paper.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to information equipment such as personal computers, word processors, and fax machines. Specifically, the present invention relates to a printing device for printing characters, figures, tables, graphs, etc. handled by the above-mentioned information equipment using a thermal line head and an ink ribbon tape on a predetermined paper.

Conventional technology A conventional output device with a built-in thermal line head directly applies heat to thermal paper and utilizes the chemical discoloration of the paper itself.
The mainstream is a heat-sensitive type that prints letters, etc.

This type of printer uses continuous paper (roll paper) as paper.
After printing to the specified size, the paper was cut and taken out. Therefore, in the position facing the head,
With the configuration in which paper is always placed, the timing of head light heating based on data input can be executed by detecting only the presence or absence of paper, and there is no need for a configuration that detects the edges of the paper and applies light heat.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention With the above-mentioned configuration, although it is possible to print on continuous paper (roll paper), when cut paper (standard paper such as A4 paper or 84 paper) is used, the paper It is not possible to print at a fixed distance from the edge of the paper, or to change the distance freely. For this reason, word processors and other printers that print using many sheets of cut paper must match the distance between the edge of the paper and the beginning of the printing section for all cut sheets, and it is extremely difficult to print with irregularities. This will be inconvenient. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can correctly form a printing section on cut paper at a position a predetermined distance from the edge of the paper.

Means for Solving the Problem To solve this problem, the present invention has a platen roller that cooperates with a line head to simultaneously feed paper and ribbon tape, and a platen roller that can feed only paper by contacting it. a driving means;
1. located between the platen roller and the driving means; It is equipped with a detection means capable of sensing the edge of the paper sent out by the drive means, and a rotation means for winding up the ribbon tape run by the platen roller during printing on the paper, and with the position sensed by the detection means as a reference. The paper is sent out by a driving means by a predetermined amount, and the printing start position is maintained with high dimensional accuracy through cooperation between the platen roller and the line head.

Effect With the above configuration, the present invention accurately determines the leading edge of the paper in the feeding direction and the printing start position when printing the paper. For this purpose, the edge of the paper is detected by the detection means while the paper is being sent out toward the head and platen roller by the first drive means. This sensing position is used as a reference position for paper feeding by the drive means, and all subsequent feed amounts by the drive means are based on this position. In other words, since the distance from the reference position to the print position by the head is set to a predetermined value in the printer, the value to be added to this value can be arbitrarily changed at the design stage or by freely changing the printer control software. You can determine the distance between the edge of the paper and the printing area. Therefore, the edge of the paper is held securely by the drive means, and after establishing a form that allows it to be sent out, it is actuated so that it can be detected by the detection means, so it is not affected by the size or material of the paper, and as a result, it is stable. It has the function of ensuring printing accuracy.

Embodiment A printer which is an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

The printer has a general shape as shown in Fig. 9, and its main components include a roller holder 2, as shown in Figs. 7.9 and 10.11. It consists of a head holder 4 and a mechanical body 6. The mechanism main body 6 includes a first mechanism part 1o and a second mechanism part 12 for driving the paper 8 and the ink ribbon cartridge 9 (hereinafter referred to as the cartridge), and a fulcrum 11.
a.

111), the roller holder 2 and head holder 4 can be rotated around the center. In Fig. 4.5.9, the first mechanism section 10 is constructed as follows. A stepping motor 14 suitably mounted on the mechanical body 6 has a gear 16 fixed thereto, and this gear 16 meshes with a gear 18. The gear 18 is rotatably attached to the fixed shaft 20 and is integrated with the gear 22, and the gear 22 is connected to the gear 24.
, 26 are engaged at the same time. As shown in FIG. 6, the gear 24 is urged by a compression spring 28 so as to press one side against the friction plate 27, and rotates a rotating body 32 with a gear 30, which is a rotating means, with a constant torque.

The rotating body 32 is supported by an arm 34 and can rotate as a whole, and the cartridge 9, which will be described later, can be rotated when necessary.
It has a configuration that allows it to be driven. Arm 34 is 'l'l1120
It is constantly biased by a spring (not shown) in the direction of arrow 36 with .

The gear 26 is rotatably supported by a shaft 40 on the lever 38 and integrally forms a gear 41, which can mesh with a gear 44 synchronized with a platen roller 42, which will be described later.

The lever 38 is biased in the direction of arrow 46 so that it can rotate slightly about the shaft 20. In this way, the motor 14
When the gear 16 is energized and rotated counterclockwise (FIG. 5), the gear 3o is rotated counterclockwise and the gear 44 is rotated clockwise through the transmission system.

In FIG. 7, the second mechanism section 12 is constructed as follows. On the roller holder 2, the platen roller 42
A gear 48 is arranged which can rotate in synchronization with the gears 50 and 52, and this gear 48 is always in mesh with the gears 50 and 52. The gear 50 is fixed to a roller shaft 54, and the roller shaft 54, which is a driving means for the paper 8 shown in FIG. It is driven by the side. Suppression roller 6
6 is an arm 58 supported coaxially with the platen roller 42
It has a structure in which it is rotatably held.

Similarly, the gear 62 is fixed to the roller shaft 6o, and the gear 62 is connected to the roller @60 shown in FIG.
2 and is driven on the output side of the paper 8. The pressure roller 62 is supported by the arm 64 like the arm 68, and a compression spring 66 is applied between the arms 58 and 64.
The paper 8 is pressed toward the roller shaft 60 by the paper 8, so that the paper 8 can be sent out. A sensor lever 6 is attached to the roller shaft 54.
As shown in FIG. 4, 8 is arranged approximately in the center so that it can be rotated with a light load, and one end slides on the guide 7o and connects to the shaft 6.
4 and the pressure roller 56 contact the leading edge of the paper 8 that is being driven toward the platen roller 42, and the pressure roller
(Figure). According to the rotation, the other end is a photointerrupter 7 fixed to the roller holder 2.
2, and activates the photointerrupter 72.
Insertion of paper 8 is detected. By driving the stepping motor 14 by a predetermined amount based on this detection, it is easy to accurately define the printing position on the paper 8, as will be described later. The head holder 4 moves the thermal line head 76 (hereinafter referred to as the line head) to the platen roller 4 around the fulcrum 11&, 11t) of the mechanical body 6.
It is biased by a suitable spring so as to be able to rotate in the direction 2.

The line head 76 is moved as shown in FIG.

The head holder 4 is fixed to the head holder 4, and the head holder 4 includes a tip 80 and a protrusion 82 that can come into contact with the eccentric ring 78. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1.2, the eccentric wheel 7
8 is rotated by a third mechanism section 86 as a control means, which will be described later.

The line head 76 presses the platen roller 42 with spring biasing force to achieve a printing state. After that, the eccentric wheel 78 rotates half a rotation, and the tip 80 is pushed down, and the head 7
6 creates a gap between it and the platen roller 42, resulting in a non-printing state (FIG. 2). therefore,
Paper 8. Ribbon tape 83. The pressure between the head 76 and the platen roller 42 is released, and only the paper 8 is pressed against the pressure roller 66 and the platen roller 42 .
Roller shaft 64 and pressure roller 62. It has a configuration in which it can be freely fed by the cooperation of the roller shafts 60. The third mechanism section 86 that brings the previous henpowder 6 into contact with and away from the platen roller 42 is constructed as follows. In FIG. 7, a DO motor 84 attached to the mechanical body 6 has a worm 86 connected to
It's stuck at 8.

The worm 86 is always meshed with the gear 9o, and
0 is formed integrally with the timing cam 91, and is fixed to one end of the eccentric wheel 78 so as to rotate it. The timing cam 91 is connected to the head 76 by an eccentric wheel 78.
The switch 92 is arranged to be actuated when the head 76 is pushed down and when the head 76 is moved to the uppermost position, and the position to which the head 76 has been moved can be detected through the switch 92. Thus, the DO motor 84, through appropriate circuitry, is responsible for moving the gear 90 once as needed to move the head 76 between printing and non-printing positions. As shown in FIG. 1, when the head 76 is in the printing position, the ribbon tape 83 is supplied so that the paper 8 is run in close contact with the ribbon tape 83, and the transferred ribbon tape 83 is wound up and stored. need to be done. For this purpose, this apparatus uses a cartridge 9 as shown in FIG. This cartridge 9 has an upper case 94. The lower case 102'i is constructed so that it can be properly positioned on the mechanical body 6 in a closed state and used as an apparatus, and the inside thereof is shown in FIG. 13. The ribbon tape 83 is wound around bobbins 96 and 98 that are spaced apart.

The mounting of each bobbin 96,98 is provided with a silver foil (not shown) near the end which is highly reflective of light. This silver foil is prepared in order to know the end of the running of the ribbon tape 83 when it is sensed by the reflective hot interconnect 1oo shown in FIG. Bobbin 96.98H
Each is rotatably fitted to the lower case 102,
Gears 104 and 106 are fixed to one end thereof. On the running path of the ribbon tape 83, there is a bar 108 which is a tape tension control member for controlling the tape tension.
11o (FIG. 3) is a compression spring 112&.

112b, 114a, 114b, ribbon tape 83
The lower case 102 is pressed against the lower case 102. Therefore, the ribbon tape 83 is connected to the ribbons 98 to 96.
As shown in FIG. 8, the gear 3o, which is a one-rotation means, meshes with the gear 104 and rotates it, causing the ribbon tape 83 to be wound around the bobbin 96. When the multi-use ribbon tape 83 that can be used repeatedly is built into the cartridge 9, the cartridge 9 can be rotated 180 degrees on a plane with respect to the mechanism body 6, and the gear 104 can be replaced with the gear 104.
The cartridge 9 is configured so that the ribbon tape 83 meshes with the gear 30 and the ribbon tape 83 can travel in the opposite direction.) The ribbon tape 83 is run as shown in FIG. This is possible only when head 7
6 is separated from the platen roller 42 as shown in FIG.
It is configured so that it comes into contact with the outer periphery of 2 and pushes it down. Therefore, gear 3o is moved in the direction of arrow 116 (FIG. 8) and is disengaged from gear 104. Therefore, the ribbon tape 83 is stopped from being fed by the platen roller 42 and also from being wound around the bobbin 96.

In this way, the device according to the invention is constructed.

The operation will be briefly explained below.

When the paper 8 is inserted as shown in FIG.
A roller shaft 5 driven by a stepping motor 14
4. It is fed in by a pressing roller 56. Thereafter, the leading edge of the paper 8 comes into contact with the sensor lever 68 and its position is detected, and furthermore, the head 76 and the platen roller 4
Caught between 2. Characters based on appropriate data in this state.

Due to the heat generated by the head 76 and elements for printing figures, etc.,
Dissolve the ink on the ribbon tape 83 and apply it to the paper 8
to be transcribed. After the transfer, the paper 8 is discharged to the outside so as to be sent to the roller shaft io and the pressure roller 62. On the other hand, the ribbon tape 83 is sequentially attached to the bobbin 98.
(iIll to bar 110° head completed 6. Bar 108.
It will be run with bobbin 96.

In the middle of printing the paper 8, only the paper 8 is run,
When using the skip function in a non-printing state to stop the ribbon tape 82, first stop the stepping motor 14,
Stop feeding the platen roller 42. In this state, DO
The motor 84 is driven and the eccentric wheel 78 moves the head 76 from the state shown in FIG. 1 to the second state. At the same time, it operates to disengage the gear 104 for winding the ribbon tape 83 and the gear 3o. At this point, the DO motor 84 stops its operation due to the detection of the switch 92.

Therefore, the contact between the paper 8 and the head 76 is broken, and the running of the ribbon tape 83 is stopped.

When the stepping motor 14 is excited again in the state shown in FIG. 2, the platen roller 420 rotates and the roller shaft 54. Pressing roller 66, and roller shaft 60. Due to the cooperation of the pressure roller 62, only the paper 8 is sent out by a predetermined amount. After that, the motor 14 stops, and the DO motor 1
4 to release the suppression by the eccentric wheel 78 and return the head 76 and gear 30 to the state shown in FIG.

At this point, the DO motor 14 stops, and the printing operation is repeated again as described above. Note that it is natural that the skip function may be necessary or unnecessary depending on the difficulty of printing on the paper 8.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention is effective in application to equipment that requires an accurate position from the edge of the paper to the start of printing, especially word processor printers. That is, the paper is first fed out while being held securely by a driving means disposed near the platen roller, and in this state can be detected by the detection means. Therefore, the posture of the paper is maintained correctly, and at the same time, after detection, the distance to the platen roller, which is the printing position, is configured accurately. Therefore 1. By simply rotating the drive means correctly, you can automatically change the position on the paper at which printing should start (change the number of motor input pulses), or set the correct start position even when printing multiple sheets of paper. It is possible to suppress variations in this distance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a printing device in an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a configuration diagram of another embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the same essential parts, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the printing device, FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. The figure shows the friction configuration built into the printer. Figure 7 shows the arrow C in Figure 4.
8 is a partial sectional view of the cartridge cooperating with the printer mechanism, FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of the printer, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the roller holder, and FIG. 11 is a head holder. A perspective view of the cartridge 8, Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the cartridge 8...
... Paper, 30 ... Gear, 42 ...
・Platen roller, 64...Roller shaft, 56・
...Press roller, 68...Sensor lever, 72...Photo interrupter, 76...
・Line head, 82... Ribbon tape, 10
4...Gears. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person6-
Mechanism body 8-Paper Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 77N, 107 2dU
dFigure 12Figure 13

Claims (1)

[Claims] a line head for printing on paper; a platen roller that presses the paper and printing ribbon tape facing the head and can feed the paper and printing ribbon tape synchronously; and a platen roller for feeding the paper to the platen roller. a drive means arranged near the insertion side of the paper and capable of feeding only the paper; and a drive means arranged between the platen roller and the drive means so as to be able to sense the edge of the paper sent out by the drive means. A printing device comprising a detection means and a rotation means for winding up the ribbon tape.