JPH02198883A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the inclusion of an ink ribbon to a platen positively when printing paper is taken off by moving the ink ribbon in a fixed quantity and separating the ink ribbon from printing paper before printing paper printed is taken off. CONSTITUTION:After a printing is completed, the head position of a thermal head 70 is lowered up to a head position 1, a drive reel base for winding is driven, and only an ink ribbon 86 is wound for a constant time in specified length (such as 200 millisecond and 4-5mm). The ink ribbon 86 and printing paper 8 are brought to a positively separate state, the thermal head 70 is returned to the head position again, and taking-off operation is conducted, thus surely preventing the inclusion of the ink ribbon 86.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The invention will be explained in the following order.

A. Field of industrial application 80 Summary of the invention C9 Prior art D. Problems to be solved by the invention 81 Means for solving the problems F5 Effects G. Embodiment Gl. Overall structure of the printer G2. Structure Ga of the paper feed section, structure G4 of the paper feed tray and its locking mechanism. Configuration Gs of the paper feeding mechanism and paper feeding system, configuration Go of the paper discharge unit and paper discharge tray, configuration C7 of the head moving mechanism, configuration Gs of the ribbon cartridge storage section, configuration Go of the drive system, configuration G of the driving force switching mechanism ,. , Effects of the Examples H, Effects of the Invention A, Industrial Field of Application This invention is a thermal transfer method in which printing paper is wound around a platen and color printing is performed on the printing paper by a thermal head (print head) via an ink ribbon. The present invention relates to a printer such as a color printer using a method.

B1 Summary of the Invention This invention provides a printer that prints information from a print head on a printing paper fed between a platen and an ink ribbon via the ink ribbon, and a printer that prints information from a print head on the printing paper fed between a platen and an ink ribbon. It has a head moving mechanism that moves the head away from the platen, and a paper ejecting means that ejects the printing paper from the platen, and moves the ink ribbon by a predetermined amount before ejecting the paper so that the ink ribbon By having an ink ribbon moving mechanism that separates the printing paper from the printing paper, it is possible to prevent the ink ribbon from getting caught in the platen when the printed printing paper is ejected, and to smoothly eject the paper and the next printing without interruption. It has been made possible to do so.

C1 Conventional technology For example, print paper fed from a paper feed roller is wrapped around a platen, and a thermal head (print head) presses the print paper against the platen ζ via an ink ribbon of a ribbon cartridge to print. A thermal transfer printer that performs this is known. The printing paper printed by this printer is sent to a paper ejection roller by rotation of a platen, and is ejected by the paper ejection roller to a paper ejection section provided within the printer body and stacked.

00 Invention or problem to be solved In conventional thermal transfer printers, after printing is completed, the thermal head is released from the platen, and the ink ribbon remains stationary, and only the print paper is ejected. However, the base film of the ink ribbon tends to stick to the printing paper due to static electricity caused by the materials of the platen, ink ribbon, printing paper, etc., and the pressure of the ink ribbon and printing paper against the platen due to the thermal head during printing. If you turn the platen to eject the printed paper from the platen while it is still in the same state, the ink ribbon will get caught up in the platen, which may stain the printed surface of the paper or prevent smooth paper ejection. If there is no ink ribbon, or if the ink ribbon breaks, the next print cannot be made and printing must be interrupted.

Therefore, this invention can prevent the ink ribbon from getting caught in the platen when discharging the printed paper.
To provide a printer that can smoothly and continuously perform paper ejection and subsequent printing.

60 Means for Solving the Problems In a printer that prints information from a print head on a printing paper fed between a platen and an ink ribbon via the ink ribbon, the printing is performed after the printing operation is completed. It has a head moving mechanism that moves the head away from the platen, and a paper ejecting means that ejects the printing paper from the platen, and moves the ink ribbon by a predetermined amount before ejecting the paper so that the ink ribbon It has an ink ribbon moving mechanism that separates the ink ribbon from the printing paper.

The ink ribbon is moved by a predetermined amount by the ink ribbon moving mechanism to the location where the printed paper is discharged. As a result, the ink ribbon is separated from the printing paper, so that the ink ribbon is prevented from getting caught in the platen when the printing paper is ejected, and the ejection of the paper and the next printing can be performed smoothly without interruption.

G. Example Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

G1. Overall configuration of printer Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 17 is a thermal transfer color printer, and the printer main body 2 consists of a rectangular frame-shaped inner chassis 3 and a rectangular box-shaped case-shaped outer chassis 4 that covers this inner chassis 3. It is roughly structured. As shown in FIG. 2, there is a 1. A paper feed tray receiver 5 and a paper discharge tray receiver 6 are arranged in the form of shelves on the lower side and the upper side, respectively, facing the printing section 7 located on the left side thereof.

Between the front plate 3a and rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 below the paper feed tray receiver 5 of the printer main body 2, there is a paper feed mechanism l for transporting printing paper (photographic paper) 8 one by one to the printing section 7.
O is rotatably (swingably) supported via its drive shaft 11, and a printing section is provided between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the chassis 3 between the printing section 7 and the discharge tray receiver 6. A plurality of paper ejection rollers (paper ejection means) 12 for delivering the printed paper 8 from 7 to the paper ejection tray receiver 6 side are rotatably supported via a support shaft 3. Further, a platen 1 is provided between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the chassis 3, which is substantially inside the printing section 7.
4 is rotatably supported via a support shaft 15. The printing section 7 or the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 is located below the platen I4.

Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 17, the paper discharge tray receiver 6 is
It is exposed on the upper right side of the outer chassis 4 of the printer main body 2, and also includes the paper feed tray 5 and the ribbon cartridge storage section! Reference numeral 6 denotes a cover 4a and a cover 4b that are supported on the lower right side and left side of the front surface of the outer shear 4 so as to be openable and closable.
covered with.

Gt, Structure of Paper Feeding Section As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the paper feeding tray receiver 5 is made of synthetic resin and has a rectangular plate shape, and is connected to the front plate 3a and rear plate of the inner chassis 3. 3b, and is fixed with screws or the like to the upper part of an opening 3C opening at the center of the right side of the front plate 3a. A pair of U-shaped hook portions 5a, 5a extending downward and facing each other are integrally molded on both sides of the paper feed tray receiver 5. A paper feed tray 20, which will be described later, is removably housed in the pair of hook portions 5a, 5a.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 5.6, the paper feed tray receiver 5
A rectangular recess 5b recessed downward is formed in the center.

A pair of guide grooves 5c, 5c are formed in the longitudinal direction of this recess 5b (in the direction orthogonal to the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3). Then, an eject member 18 for feeding out a part of the paper feed tray 20 to be exposed to the outside of the printer main body 2 is attached to the back surface of the recess 5b between the pair of guides Wlt.
5c.

It is provided so as to be able to freely slide along the line 5c. This eject member! 8 is made of synthetic resin and is formed into a plate shape with a vertical U-shape and a side C-shape, as shown in FIG. That is,
On both sides of the eject member 18, a pair of upright portions 18a, 1 are inserted into the pair of guide grooves 5c, 5c, respectively.
8a is extrusion molded. In addition, this pair of standing parts 18
The proximal end portions 18b, 18b side of a, 18a are connected to the recessed portion 5b.
It is further molded to protrude outward in an L-shape so that it slides on the top surface of the holder. As a result, the ejecting member 18
The hook part 18c that comes into contact with the tip of the paper feed tray 20 on the tip side that hangs down in a letter shape hangs down on the back surface of the recess 5b, and slides back and forth for a predetermined stroke along the pair of guide grooves 5c, 5c. It's free.

Further, a pair of base end portions 18b of the ejecting member 18,
18bf7) L-shaped notches 18d, 18d and a pair of notches 5d on the rear plate 3b side of the inner chassis 3 of the recess 5b
, 5d, a pair of tension coil springs 19, 19 are interposed. As a result, the eject member 18 is always pulled and biased toward the rear plate 3b.

Gs, Structure of Paper Feed Tray and its Lock Mechanism As shown in FIG. 7, the paper feed tray 20 is made of synthetic resin and is formed into a rectangular box shape that is slightly larger than the printing paper 8 and has a completely open top. , - the flange portion 21a of the side portion 21 and the flange portion 21a of the other side portion 22 are connected to the pair of hook portions 5 of the paper feed tray receiver 5.
It can be freely attached to the paper feed tray receiver 5 by inserting it into the paper feed tray receiver 5. From the center of the bottom 23 of this paper feed tray 2° to the negative side 21, there is a
An opening 24 is formed to expose about half of the back side (the side opposite to the printing surface) of the printing paper 8 set in the printing paper 8.

Further, the front portion 25 side of this paper feed tray 20 is a gripping portion. Inside this front part 25 and inside the tip part 26 facing the front part 25, there is a pair of holes for feeding the lowest printing paper 8 placed on the bottom part 23 one by one to the printing part 7 side. Each base 27a of the delivery lever 27.degree. 27 is supported by a pin. The claw portions 27b, 27b bent and formed on the tip side of the pair of feed levers 27, 27 are located at each corner on the opening 24 side of the paper feed tray 20, and By placing the respective corner portions on the section 24 side, the printing paper 8 can be sent out one by one to the printing section 7 side.

Furthermore, a locking portion 28 is formed on the front end portion 26 side at the center of the back surface of the bottom portion 23 of the paper feed tray 20 .

The locking portion 28 has a long tapered surface 28a inclined by approximately 456 degrees with respect to the tip portion 26, a ■-shaped surface 28b, and a short tapered surface 28c, each projecting into a substantially triangular prism shape. On the rear plate 3b side of the inner chassis 3, there is a paper feed tray 20 that is engaged with and disengaged from the locking portion 28 and is attached to the paper feed tray receiver 5.
A locking mechanism 30 is provided for maintaining the attached state and releasing the attached state.

As shown in FIG. 8, this locking machine W430 includes a substantially dogleg-shaped locking plate 32 that is rotatably supported via a shaft 31 on the notched bent horizontal portion 3d of the rear plate 3b, and this locking plate 32. The lock pin 33 erected at one end 32a of the plate 32 on the paper feed tray receiver 5 side and the hook portion 32b at the other end of the lock plate 32 are placed inside the rear plate 3b.
2 and a tension coil spring 34 that biases the spring 2 to rotate.

As a result, when the front part 25 of the paper feed tray 20 is inserted into the paper feed tray receiver 5 while pushing the front part 25 of the paper feed tray 20, the lock plate 32 resists the tensile force of the tension coil spring 34 as shown in FIGS.
c), the lock pin 33 locks into the paper feed tray 20.
The attachment is locked by being engaged with the 7-shaped surface 28b of the engagement portion 28. In order to release the mounting lock state, by further pressing the front part 25 of the paper feed tray 20, as shown in FIGS. 20(d) and (e), the lock pin 33 is When the locking portion 28 comes off the V-shaped surface 28b, the mounting lock state is released.

G4. Structure of Paper Feeding Mechanism and Paper Feeding System As shown in FIG. 9.10, the paper feeding mechanism IO conveys the lowest printing paper 8 of the paper feeding tray 20 attached to the printer main body 2 to the printing unit 7. a drive shaft 11 rotatably mounted between a front plate 3a and a rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3;
This rotation of the drive shaft II causes the pair of arm members 36.3 to
6, a rubber paper feed roller 38 that is fixed to this rotation shaft 37 and conveys printing paper 8 one by one to the printing section 7, and these drive shafts 11 and rotation shafts. 37 on both sides of the paper feed roller 38, and the rotating shaft 1! It is generally composed of a limiter 39 that controls the torque of the motor.

Each of the limiters 39 is a compression compressor interposed between each arm member 36 rotatably supported by the drive shaft 11 and each drive gear 40 fixed to the drive shaft 11 inside each arm member 36. First limiter 41 made of a coil spring
, each arm member 36 that rotatably supports the rotation shaft 37, and the rotation shaft 11 inside each arm member 36.
a driven gear 4 provided in the
2 and a second limiter 43 interposed between them.

The six second limiters 43 are connected to a limiter rotating shaft 45 that is fixed to a rotating shaft 37 and rotatably supports the driven gear 42 by sandwiching a felt 44, and a limiter rotating shaft 45 that rotates toward each arm member 36 side of the limiter rotating shaft 45. A freely supported spring presser 46 and the driven gear 4 of this limiter rotating shaft 45
The felt presser 48 is rotatably supported with a felt 47 sandwiched between it and the driven gear 42 on the second side, and a compression coil spring 49 is interposed between the spring presser 46 and the felt presser 48. There is.

The first limiter 4I is designed to control the torque around the drive shaft 11 of the pair of arm members 36 and 36, and also to lift the weight of the paper feed roller 38 and the printing paper 8. controlled by the necessary force. Also,
The second limiter 43 controls the torque of the paper feed roller 38 and separates the printing paper 8.
The force required for conveyance is controlled. Note that the pair of arm members 36 and 36 are prevented from being removed by respective washers 50. Further, on the upper surface of the pair of arm members 36, 36, a pair of delivery levers 27 of the paper feed tray 20 are provided.
．． The leaf springs 51 corresponding to the lower edges 27c of 27 are respectively attached. Due to the elastic biasing force of this pair of leaf springs 51.51, the claw portions 27 of the pair of delivery levers 27.27 are
b, 27b are always pressed against the printing paper 8 set on the bottom 23 of the paper feed tray 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, a medium vapor guide plate 5 made of synthetic resin and serving as a paper feed guide member extends from the paper feed roller 38 in the inner chassis 3 to one peripheral surface of the platen 14.
2 is arranged. Further, an upper vapor guide plate 53 made of metal is arranged between the paper feed tray receiver 5 and the platen 14.

The platen inside chassis 3 above! A mounting frame 54 made of synthetic resin is attached above the opening 4. A vapor guide plate 55 made of synthetic resin as a guide member that covers the other peripheral surface of the platen 14 from just above the platen 14 is detachably provided on the mounting frame 54 . The paper guide plate 55 has a plurality of ribs 55a extending vertically in an arc shape toward the platen 14 side. A paper feed guide roller 56, which corresponds to the platen 14, is rotatably supported via a shaft 57 between the pair of ribs 55a, 55a located in the middle.

Further, the upper surface side of the vapor guide 55 is covered with a metal plate-shaped lid 58 that is engaged with and detached from the upper edge of the thin plate 3a of the inner chassis 3 and the two edges of the rear plate 3a. There is.

That is, one end of the lid 58 can be inserted into and locked into the pair of locking holes 3a, 3a of the rear plate 3b, while the other end has a 0-shaped stopper 59 made of synthetic resin. It is fixed.

A pair of claws 59a formed on the tip side of this stopper 59
.

The lid 58 can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 2 by engaging and detaching the cover 59a at a predetermined position on the upper edge of the front plate 3a.

As shown in FIG. 17, a rectangular opening 4c is also formed in the outer chassis 4 corresponding to the lid 58. This opening 4c can be opened and closed with a rectangular lid 4d.

G6. Structure of Paper Discharge Unit and Paper Discharge Tray As shown in FIG. It is attached at a predetermined position on the upper right side between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b. The bottom of this paper ejection tray holder 6 is two levels high.

It has low bottom portions 6a and 6b, with the high bottom portion 6a on the rear plate 3b side serving as the first paper ejection position, and the low bottom portion f on the front plate 3a side! 16b is at the second paper ejection position.

Approximately at the center of the high bottom 6a of the paper discharge tray receiver 6, there is a pair of vertical openings 6d extending from the rear edge of the bottom 6a to the top of a rear part 6c standing vertically.

6d is formed. A pair of paper extrusion parts 60a, 60a protrudingly formed at the tip of a substantially U-shaped paper ejection extrusion claw 60 are provided in and out of the pair of openings 6d, 6d. That is, the base end lower part 60 of the paper ejection pushing claw 60
b is rotatably supported on a pin 9a of a mounting plate 9 attached between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b. Further, a pin 61 is embedded in the base of the paper ejection pushing claw 60 and projects horizontally.

As a result, the pair of paper extrusion parts 60a, 60a of the paper ejection extrusion claw 60 rotates around the pin 9a of the mounting plate 9 and closes the pair of openings 6d.

6d to protrude above the high bottom portion 6a. Furthermore, a horizontal guide piece 6e for guiding the ejected printing paper 8 is protruded from the rear portion 6C.

Further, the pin 6 protruding from the base of the paper ejection pushing claw 60 is linked to an actuation plate 125, which will be described later, via a slide plate 62 and a rotating plate 63, so that the slide plate 62 can move back and forth. Accordingly, the pair of vapor extrusion parts 80a, 60a of the paper ejection extrusion claw 60 are connected to the pair of openings 6.
It appears in d and 6d.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a paper discharge tray 64 is removably housed on the low bottom portion 6b of the paper discharge tray receiver 6. As shown in FIG. Further, above the upper paper guide plate 53, a pair of upper and lower vapor guide plates 65 and 66 are arranged at the upper edges of the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3. Below this lower paper guide plate 66-, a paper feed guide roller 67 which is in contact with the platen 14 is rotatably supported via a support shaft 68. Above these,
The printing paper 8 to be printed and discharged is inserted between the lower paper guide plates 65 and 66, pressed against each of the paper discharge rollers 12, and stacked on the paper discharge tray 64.

A light reflection type set sensor 69A is disposed on one side of the platen 14 to detect the loading state of the fed printing paper 8.

Further, at the base end of the lower paper guide plate 66,
A light reflection type paper feed sensor 69B is arranged to detect the edges of the printing paper 8 and locate the beginning of printing.
A light reflection type paper discharge sensor 69C is arranged below the central portion of the paper guide plate 66 to detect the end of paper discharge of the printed printing paper 8.

Ga, Structure of Head Moving Mechanism As shown in FIG. 1, below the platen 14 of the printing section 7 is a head moving mechanism 71 that brings the planar thermal head (print head) 70 into contact with and away from the platen 14.
It is arranged.

As shown in FIG. 11, this head moving mechanism 71 has a support shaft 7 that is connected to the front plate 3a and rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3.
a head support member 73 that is swingably supported by the thermal head 2 and to which the thermal head 70 is fixed;
a sub-head support member 75 which is pivotally supported together with the head support member 73 on the support shaft 72 on both sides thereof, and has a pair of compression coil springs 76 and 76 interposed between the heat sink 74 of the thermal head 70 and the bottom plate portion 75a; A pair of links 77.77, one end of which is pivotally supported by a pin on both sides of the tip of the sub-head support member 75, and a pin 78.78 protruding from the other end of the pair of links 77.77 have recesses 79a, 7 at the tip.
9a engages with the drive arms 79.79 to swing the head support member 73 and sub-head support member 75 toward the platen 14;
The front plate 3a of the inner chassis 3 is fixed by penetrating the base of the inner chassis 3.
and a drive shaft 80 rotatably supported by the rear plate 3b.
and a ribbon roller 82 rotatably supported on both sides of the sub-head support member 75 via a pair of single-shaped auxiliary arms 81 and 81.

As shown in FIG. 12, the head support member 73 is formed into a U-shaped plate shape, and has insertion holes 73a, 73a formed at the bases on both sides of the upright side, through which the support shafts 72 are inserted. It is. Each of the insertion holes 73a is formed as a long hole extending in the head pressing direction of the platen 14, so that the head support member 73 can freely move toward the platen 14. As a result, the thermal head 70
self-alignment can be easily achieved. Further, the head pressure of the thermal head 70 at this time is applied by the pair of compression coil springs 76 and 76 when the head support member 73 is pressed against the platen 14 by each drive arm 79 using the support shaft 72 as a fulcrum. It has become. The head support member 73 swings toward the platen 14 due to the biasing force of the pair of compression coil springs 76, 76, but this is regulated to a predetermined value by the flanges 75b on both upper edges of the sub-head support member 75. There is.

The ribbon roller pressure of the ribbon roller 82 is applied separately from the head pressure by a tension coil spring 83 interposed between each of the auxiliary arms 81 and the sub-head support member 75.

G6. Structure of Ribbon Cartridge Storage Portion As shown in FIG. 1, the ribbon cartridge storage portion 16 has a space in which a ribbon cartridge 85 can be stored. This ribbon cartridge 85 has Y (yellow) 1M inside its main body.
(magenta).

It rotatably supports a supply ribbon reel 87 and a take-up ribbon reel 88, around which an ink ribbon 86 having a continuous colored area consisting of C (cyan) colored portions is wound. Incidentally, the beginning of the Y color ribbon of the ink ribbon 86 is detected by a light transmission type ribbon sensor 89. This ribbon sensor 89 includes a light emitting section 89a and a light receiving section 89b.

The ribbon cartridge storage section 16 includes a ball holding plate 90 that holds the supply ribbon reel side 87 of the ribbon cartridge 85, which is provided between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, and a ball holding plate 90 that holds the supply ribbon reel side 87 of the ribbon cartridge 85, and a ball holding plate 90 that holds the supply ribbon reel side 87 of the ribbon cartridge 85. It is roughly composed of a lower holding plate 91 that holds the ribbon reel 88 side. The front plate 3a is provided with an insertion opening 92 for the ribbon cartridge 85, and the rear plate 3b is provided with a supply driven reel stand 93 and a take-up drive reel stand (ink ribbon) diagonally upward and downward. (moving mechanism) 94 are respectively attached.

As shown in FIG. 15, the supply driven reel stand 93 and the take-up drive reel stand 94 are mounted on a mounting plate 95 having a rectangular cross section.
Each shaft 96, 9 protrudes inward from the rear plate 3b fixed to
are rotatably supported through mounting plates 9 and 7.
limiter gears 98 and 99 are provided between the rear plate 3b and the rear plate 3b. Further, each of the reel stands 93 and 94 has a rear plate 3.
Reel claws 93a and 94a that engage with the supply ribbon reel 87 and take-up ribbon reel 88 of the ribbon cartridge 85 are provided protruding from the inside of the b side, respectively.

Gs, drive system configuration As shown in Figure 3.16, the drive shaft 11 of the paper feed mechanism 10
and the support shaft 13 of the paper ejection roller 12 and the support shaft 1 of the platen 14.
A paper feed roller drive gear 100, a paper discharge roller drive gear 101, and a platen drive gear 102 are fixed to each end of the inner chassis 3 outside the rear plate 3b of No. 5, respectively.

The paper feeding drive gear 100 meshes with a small diameter intermediate gear 104 via a large diameter intermediate gear 103.

This small diameter intermediate gear +04 is a driving force switching mechanism 1 which will be described later.
40, the first shift gear 107, which is always biased outwardly via the compression coil spring 106, moves inward from the neutral state (toward the rear plate 3b side) against the compression force of the compression coil spring 106. They are designed to engage when you do so. The first shift gear 107 is configured to reciprocate between three positions, outer, neutral, and inner, as described above, by the driving force switching mechanism 140, and is connected to the large diameter gear portion 108a and the platen drive gear 102. An intermediate gear 108 consisting of a small diameter gear part 108b meshes with the large diameter gear part 108a.

The large-diameter gear portion 108a of the intermediate gear 108 is connected to a second drive force switching mechanism 150, which will be described later, and a second driving force switching mechanism 150, which is constantly biased outwardly to the shaft 109 via a compression coil spring 110.
The small diameter gear portion 111a of the shift gear 111 meshes with the small diameter gear portion 111a. Large diameter worm gear portion t of this second shift gear 21
zb is set by the second driving force switching mechanism 150.
When the shift gear 111 moves inward (towards the rear plate 3b) against the compression force of the compression coil spring 110, it meshes with the worm 113 of the stepping motor 112. Further, the small diameter gear portion 111a of the second shift gear 1!1 is meshed with the paper ejection roller drive gear 101 via the pinion 114.

Further, when the first shift gear 107 is moved outward by the compression force of the compression coil spring 10G by the drive force switching mechanism 140, it meshes with the limiter gear 99 of the take-up drive reel stand 94 via the intermediate gear 115. The winding drive reel stand 94 is rotated by the winding operation.

As shown in FIG. 23, the stepping motors 1 and 2 must feed the printing paper 8 loaded onto the platen 14 at low speed during printing, so the servo blocks 170. FG via motor driver 171
Servo can be applied. Further, the stepping motor 112 has an FG detection sensor 172, and a CPU (central processing unit) 174 counts the amount of feed of the printing paper 8 in pulses via a waveform shaping circuit 173. At the same time, the CPU U174
applies a servo to the stepping motor 112, or
Servo block 170 sends a control signal to indicate whether to apply or not.
．． It is designed to be output to motor driver +71.

A rad moving gear 120 is fixed to the end of the drive shaft 80 of the head moving mechanism 71 outside the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3. This head drive gear 12
0 meshes with the small-diameter gear portion 121b of the head idler gear 121, which consists of a large-diameter gear portion 121a and a small-diameter gear portion 121b.

The large-diameter gear portion 121a of the head idler gear 121 meshes with the small-diameter gear portion 124b of the intermediate gear 124, which consists of a large-diameter worm gear 124a that meshes with the worm 123 of the stepping motor 122, and a small-diameter gear portion 124b. It is rotatable by the driving force of the motor 122. Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the stepping motor 122 is also controlled by a control signal from the CPU 174 via a motor driver 175.

The above head drive gear! At a predetermined position on the side surface of the rear plate 3b of 20, there is an actuating plate 1 for rotating the sheet ejecting pusher 1-ejecting pawl 60.
A pin 126 protruding from one end of 25 is inserted and engaged. The actuating plate 125 is formed into a long L-shaped plate, and has long holes 125a, 125b, and 125c formed long in the longitudinal direction on both sides and the upper part of each bottle 127, which are protruded from the rear plate 3b. , 128, 129 are inserted therethrough so as to be reciprocally movable in the longitudinal direction.

Further, a rotating plate 63 of the discharge sheet pushing claw 60 is supported by a pin on the upper bent portion 125d of the operating plate 125. As a result, the actuating plate 125 moves back toward the head drive gear 120, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. is inserted into the pair of openings 6d, 6d of the paper discharge tray receiver 6, and moves forward as shown by the solid line in FIG. It protrudes above the bottom portion 6a.

Further, an eject stopper (prohibition means ) 130 is pivotally supported. This eject stopper 130 is formed into an arm plate shape, and has a long hole 1 formed in the longitudinal direction at the center.
The pin 131 protruding from the actuating plate 125 is inserted into 30a and engaged. As a result, when the actuating plate 125 moves back and forth, the eject stopper 130 swings as shown by the solid line and the two-dot chain line in FIG.
By holding the hook portion 32d of the lock plate 32 in a protruding state when the actuating plate 125 moves back, the paper feed tray is attached to the printer main body 2 and locked by the lock mechanism 30 during paper feeding, printing, etc. 20 is designed to prevent the unexpected release of the mounting lock.

Further, the large diameter gear portion 12 of the helad idler gear 121
The outer surface of 1a has a protrusion f21c and a V-shaped cam surface 1.
21d and a recess 121e are formed respectively. The protrusion 1210 and the cam surface 121d have a brake arm 1 for a driven reel stand for supply and a drive reel stand for take-up.
The base end portions 132a and 133a of 32 and 133 are in contact with each other. Each of these brake arms 132, 133 is formed in a dogleg shape and is rotatably supported via each support shaft 134, 135. Also, each brake arm 132.13
Each tension coil spring 137 is disposed between the base of 3 and the support shaft 136 that rotatably supports the idler gear I21.
, 138 are interposed, and the tip portions 132b, 133
b is the limiter gear 98.9 of each of the above-mentioned roll stands 93, 94.
It meshes with 9.

They are free to leave.

G9. Configuration of driving force switching mechanism The driving force switching mechanism 140 includes a small diameter gear portion 141 that meshes with the head idler gear 121, and a cam surface 14 that is uneven on one side.
A cam gear 143 consisting of a large diameter cam portion 142 having a diameter of 2a.
A rod-shaped support part 145a is rotatably supported by a U-shaped mounting plate 144 fixed to the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, and one end 145b side is in contact with the cam surface 142a of the cam gear 143, The plate spring portion 146 on the other end side is
The cam surface 14 is brought into contact with one side of the shift gear 107.
Due to the unevenness of the plate spring portion 146, the shift gear 10
The shift lever 145 moves the shift lever 7 to three positions: outside, neutral, and inside.

A pair of pin portions 141λ and 141a are protruded from one side of the small diameter gear portion 141 of the cam gear 143. The pair of bin parts 141a, 141a have an L-shaped lock arm rotatably supported by a U-shaped mounting plate 147 fixed to the mounting plate 95 via a spring 148! The base 149a of 49 is made to be able to freely touch the base 149a by 1M. This base 149
When a comes into contact with the pair of pins 141a, 141a,
Resisting the biasing force of the spring 148, the side of the claw portion 149h at the tip that has been engaged with the supply driven reel stand 93 separates from the locking part 98a of the rimbutter gear 9S of the sole stand 93, and the reel stand 93 rotates.

Also, the rear plate 3 of the large diameter cam portion 142 of the cam gear 143
The b-side surface is white, and on its outer periphery, there are five unillustrated black markings numbered 0 to 4 at equal intervals at a predetermined distance.

Also, the large diameter cam part above! On the rear plate 3b facing 42,
A light reflection type position sensor 176 is arranged. Then, when the cam gear 143 rotates and the position sensor 176 detects that the black markings are no longer reflected, the thermal head 70 comes to each position shown in FIGS. 25 to 29 and 30. (Hereinafter, the initial position of the thermal head 70 shown in FIG. 25 will be referred to as head position O, the position of the thermal head 70 when the ink ribbon is brought out as shown in FIG. 26 will be referred to as head position L, and FIG. The position of the thermal head 70 during sheet feeding as shown in FIG.
The position of 0 is head position 3, and the position of the thermal head 70 during printing shown in FIG. 29 is t\rad position 4.
).

The second driving force switching mechanism 150 is a head idler gear 1
A hook-shaped tip 15 that is inserted into and separated from the recess 121e of 21
1a, a hole 151b formed in the center, and a bottle part 151c protruding from the base. , a bottle portion 152b that protrudes upward and downward from the central portion.
One side of the hole of the operating lever 151! 51b, the other bin part 151b is pivoted to the mounting plate 95, an intermediate operating lever 152 has a long hole 152a at its tip, and a rod-shaped support part 153c is attached to the bracket part 95a of the mounting plate 95. One end portion 153 is rotatably supported.
a into the elongated hole 152a of the intermediate operating lever 152,
The temporary spring portion 153b on the other end side is brought into contact with one side of the second shift gear llI, and the operating lever 1
The plate spring part is rotated by the rotation of 51! 53b, the shift gear 1
It is composed of a shift lever +53 that moves the shift lever 11 to two positions: outside and inside.

Glo. Operation of the Embodiment The operation of the printer 1 of the embodiment up to the end of printing will be described in accordance with the flowchart shown in FIG. 24. During the initial standby period before printing when the power is turned on and nothing is done (at this time, the paper feed tray 20 and the ribbon cartridge 85 can be inserted and removed freely, but the print paper 8 and ribbon cartridge 85 are still in the head). The thermal head 70, which is moved vertically by the moving mechanism 71, is at head position 0 (the state in which the thermal head 70 is lowered), as shown in FIG. 25, and the platen I4 is in a free state. Further, the paper feed roller 38 of the paper feed mechanism IO has fallen downward, and the paper ejection push-out claw 6
0 protrudes above the high bottom portion 6a of the paper discharge tray receiver 6. At this time, as shown in Table 1, the first shift gear 107 is in a neutral position. Also, the second shift gear 111 is the worm of the stepping motor 112! It is located in a position away from 13.

Table 1 (position of first shift gear) Then, when a print button (not shown) is pressed, the stepping motor 122 is driven, and the head drive gear 120 and the like are rotated. Due to the rotation of the head drive gear 120 and the like, the thermal head 70 is moved by the head moving mechanism 71 to the position of the head body 1 shown in FIG.
The shift gear 107 is moved to the outer position (on the ribbon drive side in Table 1) by the driving force switching mechanism 140 and meshes with the limiter gear 99 of the take-up drive reel stand 94 via the intermediate gear 115, thereby causing the winding to start. By driving the take-up drive reel stand 94, the ink ribbon 86 is wound and the beginning of the ink ribbon 86 is determined.
3, the platen 14 and the paper discharge roller 12 rotate (the second shift gear 111 remains in this position until the paper is discharged). This ink ribbon 860 heading is,
This is done by winding up the ink ribbon 86 until the Y (yellow) mark is detected by the ribbon sensor 89, and stopping the winding after this mark is detected. At this time, the brake arm 132 of the supply driven reel stand 93, the lock arm 1
49 and the brake arm 13 of the take-up drive reel stand 94
3 is turned off, and the beginning of the ink ribbon 86 is smoothly performed. Further, the actuating plate 125 moves forward from the head drive gear 120, and the hook portion 32 of the locking mechanism 30 is moved forward.
The eject stopper 130 is locked to the paper feed tray 2.
0 installation lock state cannot be unlocked. Further, the forward movement of the actuating plate 125 causes the pair of paper pushing portions 60a of the discharge paper pushing claw 60 to be pushed out.

60a is inserted into the pair of openings 6d, 6d of the rear part 6c from above the high bottom 6a of the paper ejection tray receiver 6 until the paper is ejected.

Table 2 (states of each operation mode of motor 112) Next, when the Y mark of the ink ribbon 86 is detected, the thermal head 71 is moved to head position 2 by the driving of the stepping motor 122, and the driving force switching mechanism 14
0 etc., the first shift gear 107 moves to the inner position (paper feed side in Table 1), and the intermediate gear 103,
Drive gear 1 for paper feed roller of paper feed mechanism 10 via 104
Mesh with 00. This rotation of the paper feed roller drive gear 100 causes the paper feed roller 38 to move upward (head position 2 in Table 2), as shown in FIG. It is pressed against the back side of the lower printing paper 8. The print paper 8 is then fed to the platen 14 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 38 . When the printing paper 8 is sent to the paper feed sensor 69B, the paper feed roller 38 is moved away from the paper feed tray 20 due to reverse rotation and stopped. During this paper feeding, the brake arms 132, 133 and lock arm 149 are in the on state.

The platen below the paper feed sensor 69B! When the printing paper 8 is fed to the position 4, the thermal head 70 moves to the head position 3 shown in FIG. Then, the platen 14 is rotated until the print paper 8 comes to the position of the set sensor 69A, and when the head of the print paper 8 is detected by the set sensor 69A, the platen 14 stops. At this time, the printing paper 8 is wound around the circumferential surface of the platen 14 with both ends thereof overlapping. Note that when loading this printing paper 8, the first shift gear 10
7 is located in the neutral position as shown in Table 1. Further, the printing paper 8 and the ink ribbon 86 are simultaneously fed at low speed.

Next, when the head drive gear 120 is rotated by the stepping motor 122, the thermal head 70 is moved by the head moving mechanism 71 to press the ink ribbon 86 against the platen 14, as shown in FIG. At this time, the first shift gear 107 is located at the outer position (ribbon side in Table 1), as in the case of starting the ink ribbon 86, and rotates the take-up drive reel stand 94. At this time,
Said brake arm! 33 and the lock arm 149 are turned off, but the brake arm 132 remains on, and when printing, an appropriate brake is applied to the supply driven reel stand 93 to prevent it from idling, and an appropriate pack tension is applied to the ink ribbon 86. will be granted. When the print paper 8 and the ink ribbon 86 are being fed at low speed, when the set sensor 69A detects a print start mark (not shown) provided on the back side of the print paper 8, a print start signal is turned on to start printing. Start. Y (yellow),
When printing three colors, M (magenta) and C (cyan),
Turn off the print signal, print paper 8 and ink ribbon 86
Stop low-speed feed.

When the three colors are printed on the printing paper 8, the 30th
As shown in the figure, the thermal head 70 is lowered to head position 3, the platen 14 rotates in the opposite direction to the paper feeding direction as shown in Table 2, and the paper ejection roller controller 3 moves the thermal head 70 onto the paper ejection tray receiver 6. The sheet is conveyed, discharged, guided and regulated by the rear portion 6c and the guide piece 6e, and set on the high bottom portion 3a of the sheet discharge tray receiver 6. At the time of paper ejection, the first shift gear 107 is in a neutral position, and only the platen 14 and the paper ejection roller 13 are rotated by the reverse rotation of the stepping motor 112. Thereafter, as the actuating plate 125 moves back, the pair of paper extruding parts 60a, 60a of the paper ejecting pawl 60 interlocked with the actuating plate 125 return to their original positions, and exit from the pair of openings 6d, 6d. By protruding, the printed paper 8 set on the high bottom part 6a is pushed out onto the paper output tray 64,
The paper ejection operation is completed.

In this way, between the end of printing and the start of the paper discharge operation, the head position was lowered by one position from head position 4 to head position 3, but when the paper discharge operation starts in this state, the thermal head 70 and platen 14 Since the distance between the ink ribbon 86 and the printing paper 8 is not far apart, as shown in FIG.
6 may become stuck to the printing paper 8. If the printing paper 8 is to be fed by the rotation of the platen 14 while the ink ribbon 86 is stuck to the printing paper 8, the ink ribbon 86 will be caught between the platen 14 and the medium vapor guide plate 52. In order to prevent such entanglement, after printing is completed, the head position of the thermal head 70 is lowered to head position 1 as shown in FIG.
is driven to wind up only the ink ribbon 86 to a certain length (for example, 200 milliseconds, 4 to 5 mm) for a certain period of time, and as shown in FIG.
After making sure that the printing paper 8 is released, as shown in FIG. 34, the thermal head 70 is returned to head position 3 again and the paper is ejected, thereby ensuring that the ink ribbon 86 is caught It is possible to prevent this from happening. In this way, it is possible to remove the sticking state between the printing paper 8 and the ink ribbon 86 during paper ejection, and prevent the ink ribbon 86 from getting caught, so that paper ejection and the next printing can be performed smoothly without interruption. This makes it possible to reduce printing troubles and further improve the reliability of the printer 1. In addition, if this printer is equipped with an automatic paper feed/discharge mechanism, automatic continuous printing,
Continuous paper ejection becomes possible.

H5 Effects of the invention As described above, according to the invention, before the printed printing paper is discharged, the ink ribbon is moved by a predetermined amount by the ink ribbon moving mechanism to separate the ink ribbon from the printing paper. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the ink ribbon from getting caught in the platen when the printing paper is discharged, and it is possible to smoothly and continuously perform the paper discharge and the next printing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of the printer main body of a printer showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the main parts, and FIG.
The figure is a rear view of the same, Figure 4 is a schematic side view of the same, Figure 5 is a plan view of the paper feed tray holder, Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in Figure 5, and Figure 7 is a paper feed tray. A perspective view of the tray, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the main part of the lock part of the paper feed tray, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the paper feed mechanism, FIG. 1θ is a sectional view of the paper feed mechanism, and FIG. 11 is a head moving mechanism. , FIG. 12 is a schematic perspective view of the main parts of the head moving mechanism, FIG. 13 is a side view of the head moving mechanism, FIG. 14 is a rear view of the head moving mechanism, and FIG. 15 is a ribbon cartridge drive system. Fig. 16 is an exploded perspective view of the entire drive system, Fig. 17 is a perspective view of the entire printer, Fig. 18 is a sectional view showing the paper feed tray being installed, and Fig. 19 is the paper feed tray. A sectional view showing the installed state, Fig. 20(a)
, (b). (c), (d), and (e) are explanatory diagrams showing the locking and unlocking of the paper feed tray in sequence, Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the paper feeding surface, and Fig. 22 is the state when paper is being fed. FIG. 23 is a block diagram of a schematic configuration showing the driving relationship of each motor, FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the printing operation, FIG. 25 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the initial stage, and FIG.
The figure is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the beginning of the ink ribbon, No. 27.
28 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the time of paper feeding, FIG. 29 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the time of printing, FIG. 30 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the time of paper ejection, and FIG. The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the ink ribbon and printing paper are stuck together when the print head is lowered to head position 3, Figure 32 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the print head is lowered to head position L, and Figure 33 is an explanatory diagram showing the state in which the print head is lowered to head position 1. FIG. 34 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which only the ink ribbon is wound in head position 1 and its sticking state is removed. FIG. be. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Printer, 8... Print paper, 12... Paper ejection roller (paper ejection means), 14... Platen, 70...
Print head, 71... Head moving mechanism, 86... Ink ribbon, 94... Drive reel stand for winding (ink ribbon moving mechanism). Fig. 5 Fig. 6 A folded surface of the 3-meter-sized image of the Ima-no-te-tun zugin of Akai 1 name Dai Togi To L I Fig. 10 A perspective view of the main parts of the head movement mechanism Fig. 11 Spatula transfer 11! Mechanical perspective view of the main parts Fig. 12 Fig. 31 Status diagram Fig. 32 Fig. 33 Fig. 34

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a printer that prints information from a print head on print paper fed between a platen and an ink ribbon via the ink ribbon, after the print operation is completed, the print head is moved from the platen. a head moving mechanism for separating the heads, and a paper ejection means for ejecting the printing paper from the platen, and moving the ink ribbon by a predetermined amount before ejecting the paper to separate the ink ribbon and the printing paper. A printer characterized by having an ink ribbon moving mechanism that moves the ink ribbon apart.