JPH0213163Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical field This invention relates to a recording device such as a printer that wraps a roll of paper, such as a continuous form, around a platen, rotates the platen, and records on the paper on the platen. The present invention relates to a paper storage structure for storing and holding roll paper in a storage section of such a recording device.

Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 1, in some recording devices that record using roll paper, for example, a roll paper 2 having a cylindrical shape is wound around a main body case 1 of a printing device behind a platen. In accordance with this, there is a structure in which a recessed roll paper storage section 3 is formed and the roll paper is placed and stored in the storage section. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the roll paper storage section 3 of the main body case
There is also a structure in which rollers 6 and 7 are arranged in parallel via two roller shafts 4 and 5, and the roll paper 2 is placed and stored on these rollers.

However, according to such a conventional paper storage structure, since the paper width of the roll paper 2 is restricted between both sides of the main body case 1, for example, if another roll paper with a paper width smaller than the roll paper 2 is to be used. When stored, there is a disadvantage that the paper moves within the storage section and is fed diagonally when feeding the paper. In this case, in order to prevent the paper from being fed diagonally, a guide piece is attached to the platen side in front of the storage section according to the paper width of the paper.
This method has a disadvantage in that the guide piece must be moved and adjusted one by one for each roll of paper having a different paper width.

Purpose Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to make it possible to store and hold roll paper of each size in accordance with the difference in the paper width of the roll paper in a recording device, and to set the direction in which the paper is sent to the platen in the paper storage section in advance. An object of the present invention is to obtain a paper storage structure that regulates the paper flow and guides the paper.

Configuration Next, this invention will be explained based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a thermal printer. This thermal printer can use both plain paper and thermal paper, and can use both cut sheets of appropriate length and continuous roll paper.

First, an overview of the illustrated thermal printer will be explained. In FIG. 3, the reference numeral 10 indicates the printer body. This printer main body is housed in a printer case 11 whose outer shape is indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure.

The printer case 11 includes the printer main body 1
0 is stored in the front, and a paper storage section A is formed behind it. Paper storage section A is printer case 1
A semi-cylindrical recess 12 is formed on the upper surface of 1,
The roll paper 13 is stored therein as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

Roll paper 13 is supplied into printer main body 10 from paper supply section B. The paper supply unit B places two guide plates 17 and 18, which are also spanned between the left and right side plates 14 and 15, behind the platen 16, which is spanned between the left and right side plates 14 and 15.
are arranged one above the other toward the bottom, and are provided with a cut paper supply port that opens upward at the entrance of the upper guide plate 17, and a roll paper supply port that opens backward at the entrance of the lower guide plate 18. Become.

The paper inserted from each of the two supply ports is
The paper is guided by a paper guide mechanism C provided mainly below the platen 16, and is wound around the platen 16 from below.

For example, the paper 19 inserted from the roll paper supply port is wound around the platen 16 as shown. After the paper 19 is corrected by hand and brought into close contact with the platen 16, the paper setting mechanism D holds the paper 19 and holds it in the set state as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure. The paper set mechanism D can move a paper presser roller 22 and a paper feed roller (not shown) (located below the platen 16) toward and away from the platen 16 by operating the knob 21 of the paper set lever 20 back and forth. ing.

In front of the platen 16, a guide shaft 23 is spanned between left and right side plates 14 and 15 in parallel with the platen 16. A carriage E is supported by the guide shaft 23 and a rail portion 25 which is a part of the front plate 24. A thermal head 26 is attached to the carriage E. The thermal head 26 faces the paper set on the platen 16.

The carriage E is driven by a carriage feed mechanism F, is guided by a guide shaft 23, and is moved to the platen 1.
Move horizontally along 6. Carriage feed mechanism F
The rotation of the carriage feed motor 27 passes through the carriage feed wheel train 28 to the left and right pulleys 29, 30.
The carriage feed belt 3 is transmitted to one of the pulleys 30 and is stretched between the pulleys.
Turn 1 to move the carriage E attached to that belt.

On the other hand, the platen 16 is rotated by the platen feeding mechanism G in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The platen feed mechanism G transmits the rotation of the platen feed motor 32 to the platen 16 via the platen feed wheel train 33.

When the paper set in the thermal printer is thermal paper, the thermal head 26 is pressed directly against the paper on the platen 16, and the carriage E
While moving to the right, the thermal paper on the platen 16 is sequentially colored and printed. After printing that line, the carriage E is returned to the left side, the platen 16 is rotated to start a new line, and the carriage E is moved to the right side again to print. By repeating this process, printing is sequentially performed on the thermal paper.

On the other hand, when the paper set in the thermal printer is plain paper, a ribbon cassette H is attached to the left and right side plates 14 and 15 and placed on the printer main body 10.
Set. The ribbon cassette has a thermal ribbon 35 stored in a cassette body 34, and when it is set, the ribbon 35 is guided by a ribbon guide roller 36 of the carriage E, and the ribbon 35 is interposed between the thermal head 26 and the paper. let Then, the thermal head 26 is pressed against the paper on the platen 16 via the thermal ribbon 35, and the carriage E
While moving the ribbon to the right, ink from the thermal ribbon 35 is sequentially transferred onto the plain paper on the platen 16 to print. After printing that line, the carriage E is returned to the left side, and the ribbon feeding mechanism I feeds the thermal ribbon 35 in the direction of the arrow in the figure.
Turn 6 to start a new line, and print while moving carriage E to the right again. By repeating this process, printing is performed sequentially on plain paper.

The ribbon feeding mechanism I transmits the rotation of the ribbon feeding motor 37 to the drive shaft 39 via the ribbon feeding wheel train 38. The drive shaft 39 is connected to a winding drive roller in the ribbon cassette H when the ribbon cassette H is set on the printer main body 10.

In a thermal printer composed of such constituent parts, first, the paper storage section A in the paper storage structure of this invention will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in the semi-cylindrical recess 12 of this paper storage section, a pair of identical overall cylindrical holding members 40 on which the roll paper 13 is placed are placed in two parallel positions. They are attached to opposite ends of the roller shafts 41, 41, respectively. Each holding member has a roller shaft 41 stretched between the side walls of the recess 12. The roller shaft is attached to the side walls of the recess 12 by fasteners 42, such as E-rings, at both ends thereof. Disc-shaped holding plates 43 are attached to both ends of each roller shaft 41, facing each other at a distance corresponding to the paper width of the A4 size roll paper 13, for example. Furthermore, a roller 44 is rotatably attached to the roller shaft 41 inside each holding plate 43 . This roller may be fixed to its roller shaft 41. This roller 44 is stepped as shown, and is formed in two stages, a large diameter part 45 and a small diameter part 46 inside thereof. Furthermore, the roller 44
The end surfaces 45a of the large diameter portions 45 facing each other are formed in steps on the roller shaft 41 at a distance corresponding to the width of the roll paper 13' of B5 size, for example. The lower sides of the holding plate 43 and roller 44 of each holding member 40 are slightly disposed within an escape hole 47 formed in the bottom surface of the recess 12.
They are arranged in parallel on the bottom surface of the recess 12.

Therefore, the paper storage section A of such a paper storage structure stores roll paper of two different paper widths, such as the above-mentioned A4 or B5 size, depending on the convenience of printing. That is, first, when storing the larger A4 roll paper 13, hold the roll paper between the pair of holding members 4.
0 on the large diameter portion 45 of the roller 44.
At this time, the roll paper 13 wound into a cylindrical shape is stored between the holding plates 43, and the end face of the holding plate 43 (the end face adjacent to the large diameter portion 45) holds the roll paper 13
Both ends are regulated and are positioned and held on the holding member 40. Then, the roller shaft 41 of the roll paper 13
Regulate movement in direction. On the other hand, when storing the smaller B5 roll paper 13', the roll paper is placed on the small diameter portion 46 of the roller 44. At this time, this smaller roll paper 13' is transferred to the roller 4.
4, and its end surface 45a
Both ends of the roll paper 13' are regulated by (the end surfaces adjacent to the small diameter portion 46) and are positioned and held on the holding member 40. Then, the movement of the roll paper 13 in the direction of the roller shaft 41 is regulated.

In this way, the paper storage section A holds roll paper corresponding to different paper widths by the holding member 40, so that the paper rolls of different paper widths can be exchanged and stored as appropriate in this one storage section. Can be done. In addition, this paper storage section A regulates both ends of the roll paper in advance prior to paper feeding, sets the paper in a predetermined paper feeding direction in order to send the paper to the platen main body 10, and is used for subsequent paper feeding. The paper can then be guided to the platen 16.

Thereafter, the starting end of the roll paper 13 held in the paper storage section A is sent out and guided to the paper supply section B described above. On the other hand, when using cut paper, the paper is directly fed into the printer body 10 from the paper supply section B.

Therefore, the paper supply section B will be explained next. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, this paper supply section includes the aforementioned lower guide plate 18 that extends from near the paper storage section A toward the lower side of the platen 16. One end of the lower guide plate on the paper storage section A side extends toward the storage section, and the roll paper supply port 48 is formed at the entrance thereof. As a result, the height of the supply port can be kept slightly higher than the position at which the roll paper 13 in the paper storage section A is sent out. As a result, especially when feeding the roll paper 13, the roll paper is not pulled up high to the supply port, and the tensile load applied to the roll paper 13 at this time is reduced. This lower guide plate 18 has an inclined portion 49 that extends downwardly from the platen 16 from one end thereof, and the inclined portion allows the roll paper 13 to
At the same time, cut paper supplied from the upper guide plate 17 is also guided to the platen 16. moreover,
This lower guide plate 18 extends from its sloped portion 49 to the lower side of the platen 16, and the other end is bent at a right angle. The lower guide plate 18 is provided with a paper guide portion 50 that rises in an arc shape from the lower side of the platen 16 along the circumferential shape of the platen.

Further, an elastic plate 51 such as a leaf spring is attached to the other end of the lower guide plate 18 which is bent at a right angle. The elastic plate is arranged along the length of the platen 16 as shown,
The tip is pressed against the platen. and,
The starting edge of the paper fed from the paper supply section B is configured to push the elastic plate 51 slightly open and pass between the elastic plate and the platen 16. As a result, when the paper is fed, the elastic plate 51 prevents the paper from moving far forward of the platen 16, and guides the paper so that it wraps around the platen.

On the lower guide plate 18, the above-mentioned upper guide plate 17 is attached to the inclined portion 49 thereof. The upper guide plate is attached to both sides of the lower guide plate 18 by bending its both ends and via its attachment portions 17a. The upper guide plate 17 has one end, which serves as the paper entrance, bent upward to form a cut paper supply port 52, whereby the cut paper is fed from above as shown by the arrow in the figure. We make it easy to do. As shown in FIG. 8, this upper guide plate 17 has a pair of holes near the cut paper supply port 52, only one of which is shown in the figure.
This is designated as a long hole 53. These holes are mutually
They are spaced at intervals corresponding to the width of the paper being supplied. A guide piece 54 for inserting cut paper is slidably disposed in the elongated hole 53. Another guide piece is fixedly attached to one of the holes. As shown in FIG. 8, the guide piece 54 has a substantially U-shape and is made of, for example, a resin member. A mounting portion 56 in which a groove 55 is cut is provided inside the guide piece 54 . The guide piece 54 has its mounting portion 5
6 is inserted into the circular opening 53a of the elongated hole 53, and then the side edge of the elongated hole 53 is inserted into the groove 55 and press-fitted, so that it will slide firmly. Therefore, when attaching this guide piece 54 to the upper guide plate 17, the guide piece 54 is moved appropriately along the long hole 53, and the distance between the two guide pieces is adjusted according to the paper width of the cut paper to be used. If they are aligned, the guide piece 54 will be fixed at that position at the same time.

In this way, the paper supply section B is stacked in two stages, one above the other, corresponding to different types of paper, so that roll paper or cut paper can be supplied to each paper according to the type. Supplied from part B. The supplied paper is guided by the paper guide mechanism C and wound around the platen 16 from below. That is, as described above, the sheets fed along the two guide plates 17 and 18 are simultaneously guided to the lower side of the platen 16 by these guide plates. Further, the paper is guided by the paper guide section 50 of the lower guide plate 18 so as to follow the circumferential surface of the platen 16 in accordance with the circular shape of the platen 16, and as shown in FIG. and the platen 16, and is guided so as to wrap around and come into close contact with the platen. The paper wound around the platen 16 in this manner is then set on the platen 16 in a printable state by the paper setting mechanism D.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
A paper end detection mechanism 57 for detecting the end of the paper is attached via a mounting bracket 57a.
As shown in FIG. 9, this paper end detection mechanism includes, for example, an actuator 59 that is urged upward so as to protrude from a hole 58 formed in the lower guide plate 18. Therefore, when the paper 19, which is a roll paper, is being fed, the paper end detection mechanism 57 detects that the paper rides on the actuator 59 and pushes the actuator against its elastic force, as shown in the figure. However, when the paper 19 runs out, the actuator 59 rises and turns on an internal switch to detect the end of the paper.

Next, the paper setting mechanism D will be explained. The paper setting mechanism D is provided on the left and right side plates 14 and 15, respectively. Each paper setting mechanism has a similar structure and is configured to operate simultaneously with each other. However, here, the right paper setting mechanism D
will be illustrated and explained in detail. The reference numeral 20 in FIG. 10 is the paper set lever. The lever is rotatably attached to the side plate 15 using the central shaft 60 as a rotational fulcrum. At the upper end of this lever 20, a holding piece 61 having the knob 21 is provided. As shown in FIG. 10, one end of a roller shaft 62 holding the paper pressing roller 22 is attached to this holding piece. This lever 20 has a convex portion 63 at its lower end, and an operating shaft 64 is fixed near the convex portion. This axis of action is
One end of a toggle spring 65 is attached as a spring member. The other end of this toggle spring is attached to a stop shaft 66 fixed to the side plate 15. This toggle spring 65 is
As shown by the solid line in FIG. 10, when the operating shaft 64 is below the central shaft 60, which is the rotational fulcrum of the lever 20, the lever is biased to rotate clockwise. As a result, the paper presser roller 22 normally moves to the platen 16 as shown in FIG.
It is designed to come into pressure contact with the Further, a substantially dogleg-shaped swing cam 67 is attached to the side plate 15 adjacent to the lever 20. This swing cam is attached to the side plate 15 by its attachment shaft 68 so as to be rotatable about the attachment shaft 68 . At one end 67a of the swing cam 67, there is a roller shaft 70 that holds the paper feed roller 69 disposed below the platen 16.
can be installed. A tension spring 71 attached to the side plate 15 is latched onto one end 67a of the swing cam 67, and the platen 16 above the tension spring 71 is latched.
is biased toward the center of By this,
As shown by the solid line in FIG.
9 is the same as the paper pressing roller 22, and the platen 1
It is designed to come into pressure contact with 6. Note that the tension spring 71 has a smaller spring force than the toggle spring 65.

Further, in the paper set lever 20, each holding piece 61 that holds both ends of the roller shaft 62 has a first
As shown in FIG. 2, it has a substantially U-shape, and a connecting member 72 made of resin or the like is disposed within the holding piece so as to be firmly connected to the roller shaft 62. As a result, the paper set levers on both sides are firmly connected via the roller shaft 62. Therefore, when setting the paper, when one lever, for example, the lever 20 on the right side in the figure, is rotated as described later, both levers move toward the roller shaft 6.
2, the paper setting mechanisms D on both sides can be operated simultaneously.

Therefore, when setting the paper on the platen 16 using such a paper setting mechanism D, first, hold the knob 21 of the paper set lever 20 and move the lever counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. The paper presser roller 22 is separated from the platen 16 by rotating the paper presser roller 22 . And lever 20
is rotated until the convex portion 63 hits the inclined position (indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 10) where it hits the stop shaft 66. In this tilted position, the lever 20 is biased by the toggle spring 65 in the counterclockwise direction, which is the direction in which it will now rotate, since the operating shaft 64 is located above the central axis 60 of the lever 20. The rotation of the lever 20 is restricted by the stop shaft 66, and the lever 20 is held at its inclined position. At this time, the operating shaft 64 moves as the lever 20 rotates.
is pressed against the other end 67b of the swing cam 67, so that the swing cam swings clockwise about its mounting shaft 68 against the tension spring 71. As a result, the paper feed roller 69, which was in pressure contact with the platen 16 at the same time as the paper presser roller 22, also slightly separates from the platen 16, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

In this way, as shown in FIG. 11, the paper presser roller 22 and the paper feed roller 69 are held apart from the platen 16, and then the paper is manually fed into the platen as described above. The paper is guided to the lower side of the platen 16 and passed between the platen and the elastic plate 51, and the paper is tightly wound around the platen 16.

Thereafter, the paper set lever 20 is rotated clockwise against the toggle spring 65. When the lever 20 is rotated in this manner, the engagement between the operating shaft 64 and the other end 67b of the swing cam 67 is released, and the swing cam is pulled by the tension spring 71 and rotates counterclockwise. It swings in the direction and returns to the original position shown by the solid line in FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG.
Then, the paper feed roller 69 comes into pressure contact with the platen 16 to hold down the paper, completing the setting of the paper on the platen 16, and maintaining the printable state.

Effects Therefore, according to this invention, according to the paper width of the roll paper, the movement in the axial direction of the roller is restricted by spanning between the corresponding diameter portions of a pair of holding members and at the end face adjacent to the corresponding diameter portions. Since the roll paper is stored and supported in the paper storage section, roll paper of different paper widths can be reliably held, and the paper can be reliably guided to the platen without providing a separate guide piece or the like in the feeding path.

In addition, according to this invention, since the same holding member is simply attached to both ends of the roller shaft, the number of parts is reduced, the structure is simple, manufacturing is easy, and assembly and disassembly is easy. It also has the advantage of being hard to break.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a paper storage structure for roll paper in a conventional printing device. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing another example of the conventional paper storage structure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a thermal printer which is an example of a recording device equipped with the paper storage structure of this invention. FIG. 4 shows the internal structure of the paper storage section in the paper storage structure of this invention, and
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a holding member for the roll paper. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the paper storage section. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a paper supply section and a paper guide mechanism in a thermal printer. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the paper supply section and paper guide mechanism. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a guide piece for cut paper in the paper supply section, and showing a state in which the guide piece is attached to an upper guide plate. FIG. 9 shows a paper end detection mechanism and is a diagram illustrating a state in which this detection mechanism detects the end of paper feeding. FIG. 10 is a mechanical diagram illustrating the paper setting mechanism. FIG. 11 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing when the paper pressing roller and the paper feeding roller are brought into pressure contact with the platen and when they are separated from the platen, respectively, by the paper setting mechanism. FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view showing a connection structure between the roller shaft of the paper press roller and its holding piece. A...Paper storage section, 13...Roll paper, 16...
...Platen, 40... Holding member, 41... Roller shaft, 43... Holding plate, 44... Roller, 45, 4
6... Diameter portion, 45a... End surface.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a recording device that feeds roll paper stored in a paper storage section, wraps it around a platen, rotates the platen, and records on the paper on the platen, there are multiple large and small diameter sections and adjacent diameter sections. The same overall cylindrical holding members having end faces facing each other are attached to opposite ends of the roller shaft, and the roll paper is stretched between the corresponding diameter portions of the holding members and the roller shaft is held through the holding members. A paper storage structure for a recording apparatus, wherein the roll paper is supported by the support member, and the movement of the roll paper in the roller axis direction is restricted by the end surface adjacent to the corresponding diameter portion.