JPH0324355B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a stamp attachment mechanism for a printer.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Printers with a stamp printing function generally have the stamp placed above the print head, but printers that use the ink ribbon method also need to place an ink ribbon spool behind the print head. be. Therefore, the configuration becomes complicated from the top to the rear of the print head. Furthermore, when inspecting points around the print head, it is necessary to move the stamp away from the print head, which makes the operation of attaching and detaching the stamp troublesome, as well as positioning it when it is attached.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been developed based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to have a simple structure, to facilitate attaching/detaching and positioning of the stamp, and to enable vertical positioning of the ink ribbon from the ink ribbon spool to the printing head. It is an object of the present invention to provide a stamp attaching mechanism for a printer which can be made reliable and compact.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention includes a frame of a printer, a platen attached to the frame, a printing head disposed opposite to the platen, and a stamp mounting plate on which an ink ribbon spool is attached and a stamp is movably attached. The ink ribbon is attached to the frame and allows the stamp mounting plate to be brought close to the print head to enable stamp printing on printing paper, or to allow the stamp mounting plate to be spaced apart from the print head to enable inspection of the area around the print head. a positioning mechanism for positioning the stamp mounting plate in the forward and backward direction of the stamp with the stamp mounting plate close to the printing head; and a positioning mechanism that irremovably locks the stamp mounting plate at the position determined by the positioning mechanism. The ink ribbon guide is formed integrally with the locking member and allows the ink ribbon led out from the ink ribbon spool to be interposed between the platen and the printing head.

In the present invention having such a structure, since the stamp mounting plate to which the stamp is attached is mounted on the ink ribbon mounting base together with the ink ribbon spool, the structure of the mounting portion is simplified. Furthermore, the stamp can be moved away from the print head simply by moving the stamp mounting plate, making it easier to inspect the area around the print head. Also, when the stamp mounting plate approaches the print head, the positioning mechanism positions the stamp mounting plate in the forward and backward direction of the stamp.
Positioning becomes easy. Furthermore, an ink ribbon guide is formed integrally with the locking member so that the ink ribbon led out from the ink ribbon spool is interposed between the platen and the print head.
The vertical positioning of the ink ribbon from the ink ribbon spool with respect to the printing head is ensured, and the apparatus can be made compact without being enlarged due to the ink ribbon guide.

[Embodiments of the invention]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the external appearance of a printer that prints on rolled receipt paper and journal paper. 1a and 1b are left and right frames, 2 is a paper holder that stores receipt paper and journal paper for supply, and 3 is a print head. , 4 is a platen, and 5 is an ink ribbon mounting base on which ink ribbon spools 6a, 6b are mounted, and the ink ribbon 6 is alternately wound between the spools 6a, 6b. Further, 7 is a paper supply guide, and 8 is a rotatably mounted stamp mounting plate.

The paper holder 2 is provided with a winding shaft 9 for winding up the journal paper after printing. The platen 4 is provided with a printed paper guide 10 that guides the journal paper to the winding shaft 9, and a stamp stand 11 is integrally formed on the side of this guide 10. Also, on the stamp mounting plate 8, there is a stamp 13 that moves forward and backward while being guided by a stamp guide 12.
is attached opposite to the stamp stand 11,
Further, an electromagnetic plunger 15 drives the stamp 13 and cutter (not shown) via a lever 14.
is installed.

The printing head 3 is attached to a carrier 17 which is slidably mounted on a carrier guide shaft 16 as shown in FIG. The left and right frames 1a, 1b are connected to the ink ribbon mounting base 5.
, the carrier guide shaft 16 , the platen 4 , and the paper supply guide 7 are integrally connected. The ink ribbon mount 5 connects the front ends of the frames 1a and 1b. That is, left and right frame 1
At the front end of each of a and 1b, there are 4
The through holes 18 are arranged in the front, back, left and right.
A pair of through holes 19 are formed in each of the left and right legs of the ink ribbon mount 5. Therefore, when using narrow paper, the through hole 19 of the ink ribbon mount 5 should be replaced with the through hole 18 on the outside of each frame 1a, 1b.
When using wide paper, both are screwed from above in alignment with the inner through-holes 18. The carrier guide shaft 16 is attached to frames 1a and 1b.
The connecting pieces 20 formed in the middle part of the connecting pieces 20 are connected to each other. That is, the carrier guide shaft 16 has screw holes at both shaft ends. And this carrier guide shaft 16
is inserted between both connecting pieces 20 and screwed from the side of connecting piece 20, thereby connecting both connecting pieces 20 at a predetermined interval. Platen 4
The bent pieces 21 provided at the rear ends of the frames 1a and 1b are connected by screwing from above.

The ink ribbon mounting base 5 includes a spool base 22a for loading the ink ribbon spools 6a and 6b,
22b and a ribbon feeding mechanism 23 that selectively drives the spool stands 22a and 22b by a fixed amount. The ribbon feeding mechanism 23 is bent into a U-shape, has a connecting portion 24, and is projected to the outside of the ink ribbon mounting base 5.

Below the carrier guide shaft 16 is a carrier 1.
A carrier drive shaft 25 for reciprocating the carrier 7 along the carrier guide shaft 16 is attached. This shaft 25 has an endless spiral groove 26 on its outer periphery, and as shown in FIG.
engage the cam follower 26a provided at 7,
The carrier 17 is moved back and forth by rotating in a fixed direction.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, gears 27, 28, 29, an eccentric gear 30, etc. are arranged on the outer surface of the frame 1b. The gear 27 is connected to the carrier drive shaft 2.
The rotational force of this gear 27 is transmitted to the gear 2 through an eccentric gear 30.
8 and 29 in sequence. Further, an electromagnetic plunger 31 is attached to the outer surface of the frame 1b.
Normally, the armature 32 moved by the plunger 31 is engaged with an engagement pin 33 protruding from the eccentric gear 30 to hold the eccentric gear 30 in a non-engaging position with respect to the gear 27. Then, by energizing the plunger 31, the armature 32 is connected to the engagement pin 2.
By removing eccentric gear 30 from gear 2,
7 can be meshed with each other.
Further, one end of a crank lever 34 is pivotally supported on the gear 28. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, this crank lever 34 has a guide pin 35 and a circular engagement part 36 at the other end, and the guide pin 35 is provided on the side plate of the ink ribbon mount 5. It is slidably fitted into the elongated hole 37, and the circular engaging portion 36 is fitted into the U-shaped connecting portion 24 of the ribbon feeding mechanism 23. Each rotation of the gear 28 causes the connecting portion 24 to reciprocate once, and each rotation of the connecting portion 24 causes the ribbon feeding mechanism 23 to move back and forth once.
is configured to rotate either the spool stand 22a or 22b one pitch at a time to feed the ink ribbon 6. A large diameter hole 37a into which a guide pin 35 can be inserted and removed is formed at one end of the elongated hole 37, as shown in FIG. 3
5a is formed as shown in FIG.

The carrier drive shaft 25 is connected to the left and right frames 1.
a, 1b as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. That is, each frame 1a, 1b is provided with a fitting recess 38 at a position below the connecting piece 20 so as to open toward the front, and a fitting recess 38 is provided at both ends of the carrier drive shaft 25 to fit into each fitting recess 38. A matching bearing 39 is attached. Furthermore, each fitting recess 3
An engagement recess 40 is formed at the edge of the opening 8, and a retaining plate 41 that is engaged with the engagement recess 40 of the left and right frames 1a, 1b is provided. Therefore, after fitting the bearings 39 at both ends of the carrier drive shaft 25 into the fitting recesses 38 of the left and right frames 1a, 1b from the front as shown in FIG. By engaging with the recess 40 to prevent the bearing 39 from coming off, it is installed as shown in FIG. 7. Further, a large diameter gear 42 is attached to the end of the carrier drive shaft 25 opposite to the gear 27, and this large diameter gear 42 is connected to one frame 1.
It is configured to be rotationally driven by a motor 43 attached to the inside of a.

The ink ribbon mounting base 5 has a carrier guide 44 bent at a substantially right angle as shown in FIG. 45 is installed. Therefore, the carrier 17 is guided by the carrier guide shaft 16 and the carrier guide 44, and reciprocates as the carrier drive shaft 25 rotates.

The paper supply guide 7 is for feeding receipt paper and journal paper pulled out from the paper holder 2 between the platen 4 and the print head 3.
As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the lower guide plate 4
6 and an upper guide plate 47 overlaid from above. These guide plates 46 and 47 are both made of synthetic resin, and are curved upwardly to form a concave shape, and there is a gap between the two guide plates 46 and 47 that is large enough to allow paper to pass through. Partition walls 48 are formed on both sides and in the middle of the lower guide plate 46, respectively. The intermediate partition wall 48 separates the receipt paper insertion path from the journal paper insertion path. The lower guide plate 48 is screwed to the left and right frames 1a and 1b. In the figure, reference numeral 49 denotes a wear prevention body made of a metal plate, which has three arm parts 50, which are inserted from behind the lower guide plate 46 and attached to the top surface of each partition wall 48. I'm trying to position it. Further, in the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a guide plate made of a thin metal plate, which is attached by being inserted into the front end of the lower guide plate 46, and guides the paper that has passed between the lower guide 46 and the upper guide 47 to the platen 4 and the print head. 3.

In the figure, 52 is a pair of paper feed rollers, each roller 5
Bearings 54 are attached to both ends of the second roller shaft 53. The roller shaft 53 is disposed on the upper surface side of the upper guide plate 47, and each paper feed roller 52 is introduced into the receipt paper insertion path and the journal paper insertion path through an opening provided in the upper guide plate 47. Further, each bearing 54 has a convex portion 55 as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and the lower guide plate 4
A part of the partition wall 48 of No. 6 protrudes to the upper side through an opening provided in the upper guide plate 46, and the protrusion 55 is fitted into the recess 56 formed in this protrusion from above as shown in FIG. I'm letting you do it. Each bearing 54 is pressed from above by the lower end surface of the platen 4, and the lower guide plate 46 is further pressed from above by the bearing 54. Also, the upper guide plate 47
is also held down by the platen 4 as shown in Fig. 11,
The assembly of the paper guide 7 is also completed by attaching the platen 4 to the frames 1a and 1b. A ratchet gear 57 is attached to each outer end of the roller shaft 53, and each ratchet gear 57 is connected to the electromagnetic plunger 3 by a ratchet pawl 58 pivotally supported on the armature 32.
It is configured to rotate by one pitch for each energization.

As shown in FIG. 1, the gear 29 has a pulley 5.
9 are provided coaxially, and this pulley 59 and a pulley 60 attached to the side wall of the paper holder 2 are interlocked via a belt 61. Note that the above-mentioned pulley 6 is installed inside the paper holder 2.
A gear (not shown) coaxial with the winding shaft 9 is disposed, and a gear 62 attached to the winding shaft 9 is meshed with this gear. Therefore, each time the electromagnetic plunger 31 is energized and the gear 29 rotates under the rotational force of the carrier drive shaft 25, the winding shaft 9 rotates by a certain amount.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show the paper feed roller 5.
2 shows the attached state of the pinch roller 63 that presses against the roller 2 from below. In the figure, reference numeral 64 denotes a pinch roller mounting member having an L-shaped cross section, and this mounting member 64 has V-shaped coupling portions 65 at both ends. Further, the left and right frames 1a, 1b are provided with a square hole 66 into which both ends of the mounting member 64 are inserted, and a V-shaped hole is formed on the lower edge of the square hole 66 at a portion corresponding to each of the V-shaped engaging portions 65. A notched support portion is provided, and a V-shaped engaging portion 66 is provided as shown in FIG.
The mounting member 64 is rotatably supported by the left and right frames 1a and 1b by engagement with the support portion 67. Further, an operating piece 68 for manual operation is formed upwardly at one end of the mounting member 64.
2 on the piece where the V-shaped engaging portion 65 is not formed.
A set of locking pieces 69 are cut and raised. Furthermore, an engagement hole 70 located between each set of locking pieces 69 and two sets of stopper protrusions 71 are provided. A pinch roller support plate 72 made of an elastic plate is inserted and attached between each set of locking pieces 69. Each pinch roller support plate 72 is formed with an engaging piece 73 cut and raised from the lower surface side in the center, and this engaging piece 73 is engaged in the engaging hole 70, and one end is formed by two pieces. It is attached to the attachment member 64 in contact with the stopper protrusion 71. Further, one support piece 74 extends in parallel from the other end of the pinch roller support plate 72, and both support pieces 74 are configured to support the shaft end of the pinch roller 63 from below. The pinch roller mounting member 64 is urged by two tension springs 75 to rotate in a direction that brings the pinch roller 63 into pressure contact with the paper feed roller 52.

FIG. 14 shows the state in which the stamp mounting plate 8 is attached to the ink ribbon mounting base 5.
That is, the stamp mounting plate 8 is attached to the left and right pivot pieces 76.
, and each pivot piece 76 is connected to the left and right frames 1a, 1b.
It is rotatably supported at the front end of. Furthermore, engagement recesses 77 are formed on the left and right sides of the tip of the stamp mounting plate 8. This engagement recess 77 is formed by forming a shallower V-shaped recess on the bottom surface of a U-shaped recess. On the other hand, the left and right frames 1a, 1
b has a positioning protrusion 78 on the upper end of each connecting piece 20 that engages with the engaging recess 77 as shown in FIGS. Stop members 79a and 79b are screwed. And each locking member 79a, 79b
An ink ribbon guide 80 on which the ink ribbon 6 is wrapped is integrally formed as shown in FIGS. 15a and 15b.

One of the locking members 79a is provided with a locking stepped portion 81 that extends upwardly and is hooked from above in the vicinity of the engagement recess 77 to reliably prohibit upward rotation of the stamp mounting plate 8. ing. The other locking member 79b is also provided with a locking step 82 near the engagement recess 77 that is hooked from above.
is an inclined surface and does not have a sufficient holding function for the stamp mounting plate 8. Then, the upper end of one of the engaging members 79a is opened outward to form the locking stepped portion 81.
When the stamp mounting plate 8 is removed from the stamp mounting plate 8, the stamp mounting plate 8 can be opened upward because the holding function for the stamp mounting plate 8 is insufficient with only the other locking member 79b. That is, the stamp mounting plate 8 can be easily opened by simply removing one of the locking members 79a.

Next, the operation will be explained.

When rolled receipt paper and journal paper are stored in the paper holder 2 and the leading edge of each paper is inserted between the paper feed roller 52 and the pinch roller 63 and the motor 43 is driven, the carrier drive shaft 25 rotates. Also, when the electromagnetic plunger 31 is energized and the armature 32 is removed from the engagement pin 33,
Eccentric gear 30 meshes with gear 27 attached to carrier drive shaft 25, thereby transmitting the rotational force of carrier drive shaft 25 to gears 28 and 29.
When the electromagnetic plunger 31 is intermittently energized, the ratchet pawl 58 pivotally supported by the armature 32 feeds the ratchet gear 57 one pitch at a time, thereby allowing the receipt paper and journal paper to pass through the paper supply guide 7 to the platen. 4 and print head 3. At this time, the guide plate 5
1 comes to regulate the traveling direction of the paper. The electromagnetic plunger 31, the armature 32, and the ratchet pawl 58 are separately provided on each outer surface of the working frames 1a and 1b, making it possible to feed receipt paper and journal paper independently.

When the paper is positioned between the platen 4 and the print head 3, printing can be performed by driving the print head 3. However, for journal paper, the leading edge of the paper must first be fixed to the take-up shaft 9. By doing so, the windings are sequentially wound around the winding shaft 9. Regarding receipt paper, each time a receipt is issued, the electromagnetic plunger 15 is energized to operate the cutter and tear it off at an appropriate position, and at the same time the stamp operates to print a stamp on the starting edge of the next receipt. will be carried out.

Further, each time the electromagnetic plunger 31 is energized, the gear 28 rotates once, and the ribbon feeding mechanism 23 operates to wind the ink ribbon 6 one pitch at a time onto one of the ink ribbon spools (for example, 6a). When the ink ribbon 6 is wound up to the end, the tension causes the ribbon feeding mechanism 23 to switch, and the other ink ribbon spool (for example, 6b) becomes the winding side.

According to the stamp attachment mechanism of the printer configured as described above, the ink ribbon spools 6a, 6 are attached together with the stamp attachment plate 8 to which the stamp 13 is attached.
Since b is attached to the ink ribbon mount 5,
The configuration of these mounting portions, that is, from the top to the rear of the print head 3 is simplified. Further, by pushing the locking member 79a outward, the stamp mounting plate 8 can be easily rotated upward, and by rotating this, the stamp 13 can be separated from the printing head 3. The periphery of the print head 3 can be easily inspected. Note that there are a pair of left and right locking members, but one of the locking members 79a
Since the locking member 79b has a main locking function and the other locking member 79b has only an auxiliary locking function, it is only necessary to release one locking member 79a, and the operation is extremely simple. Further, the stamp mounting plate 8 is positioned by a positioning means consisting of an engaging recess 77 and a positioning protrusion 78, and a locking member 79
a, 79b, the positional accuracy of the stamp is maintained at a high level.

Furthermore, the ink ribbon 6 drawn out from the ink ribbon spools 6a and 6b is connected to the platen 4 and the print head 3 via ink ribbon guides 80 and 80.
Since the ink ribbon 6 is interposed between the ink ribbon 6 and the printing head 3, the vertical positioning of the ink ribbon 6 relative to the printing head 3 can be ensured. Moreover, ink ribbon guide 8
0 and 80 are integrally formed with the locking members 79a and 79b, respectively, so that the ink ribbon guide 8
0.80 does not increase the size of the device,
Compactness can be achieved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above based on the embodiments, according to the present invention, the configuration is simple, the stamp can be easily attached/detached and positioned, and the ink ribbon from the ink ribbon spool can be reliably positioned vertically with respect to the print head. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a stamp attachment mechanism for a printer that can be made more compact and more compact.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an external perspective view of the printer, Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts of the printer, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the peripheral part of the ribbon feeding mechanism. , FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the crank lever, FIG. 5 is a side view showing the connection between the crank lever and the ribbon feeding mechanism, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the area around the carrier drive shaft, and FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing the crank lever. Figure 8 is an assembled perspective view of the same part, Figure 8 is a partial sectional view of the area around the carrier, Figure 9 is an exploded perspective view of the area around the paper supply guide, and Figure 10 is an exploded side view showing a part of the same part in cross section. , Figure 11 is an assembled side view of the same part, Figure 12 is an assembled side view of the same part.
The figure is an exploded perspective view of the paper presser roller support mechanism, No. 13.
The figure is a side view of the same part, Figure 14 is a perspective view showing the surrounding area of the stamp mounting plate, Figures 15a and b are perspective views showing left and right locking members, and Figures 16a and b are left and right locking members. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the member and the stamp mounting plate. 1a, 1b...Frame, 3...Print head,
4...Platen, 6a, 6b...Ink ribbon spool, 8...Stamp mounting plate, 13...Stamp, 77...Engagement recess, 78...Engagement protrusion, 80
...Ribbon guide.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A printer frame, a platen attached to the frame, a printing head disposed opposite to the platen, and a stamp mounting plate on which an ink ribbon spool is mounted and a stamp is movable. The stamp mounting plate is attached to the frame and brought close to the print head to enable stamp printing on printing paper, or the stamp mounting plate is moved away from the print head to enable inspection of the area around the print head. a positioning mechanism for positioning the stamp mounting plate in the forward and backward direction of the stamp with the stamp mounting plate close to the printing head; and a positioning mechanism for positioning the stamp at the position determined by the positioning mechanism. The ink ribbon guide includes a locking member that irremovably locks the plate, and an ink ribbon guide that is formed integrally with the locking member and allows the ink ribbon led out from the ink ribbon spool to be interposed between the platen and the printing head. Printer stamp attachment mechanism. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a pair of left and right locking members are provided, one of which has a main locking function, and the other one of which has only an auxiliary locking function. Stamp attachment mechanism.