JPH0346925Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to the structure of a frame for fixing the guide shaft of a carriage in which a printing head is mounted in a serial printer.

[Conventional technology]

As an example of a conventional serial printer, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-90975,
Its plan view is shown in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a platen (not shown) that supports printing paper, 2 and 3 are two guide shafts arranged parallel to the platen 1;
Both ends of the platen 1 are fixed to a pair of left and right frames 4 and 5, and both ends of the central axis of the platen 1 are rotatably supported by the frames 4 and 5.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a print head, and 7 a carriage on which the print head 6 is mounted. ing.

In this configuration, the carriage 7 receives power from a drive system (not shown) and moves along the platen under the guidance of the guide shafts 2 and 3. Along with this movement, the printing head 6 mounted on the carriage 7 prints on the printing paper supported by the platen 1.

Incidentally, in recent years, serial printers of this type have been made smaller, lighter, and thinner, but in order to make them lighter,
It has become a very effective means to replace the guide shaft for supporting and guiding the carriage from a solid shaft without a cavity to a hollow shaft having a cavity.

In addition, when downsizing and thinning the printer, it is important to efficiently dissipate the heat generated from the print head mounted on the carriage.One way to do this is to use the guide shaft as a heat sink, An effective method is to transfer the heat from the shaft to the guide shaft via the carriage and dissipate the heat.

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional serial printer, since the frame supporting both ends of the guide shaft is simply plate-shaped, it has the following problems.

In other words, if a hollow shaft is used as a guide shaft to reduce the weight of a printer, the heat from the print head or the printer operation when the guide shaft is used as a heat sink to reduce the size and thickness of the printer. The guide shaft expands and contracts as the environmental conditions change, but at this time, if both ends of the guide shaft are fixedly supported by a simple plate-shaped frame as described above, the guide shaft will bend and the distance between the print head and the platen will change. That is, the platen gap changes, resulting in problems such as uneven print density or deterioration of print alignment, resulting in a decrease in print quality.

Additionally, it is conceivable to increase the elasticity of the frame in order to eliminate the deflection caused by expansion and contraction of the guide shaft.
In this case, vibrations caused by printing, etc. increase, which not only deteriorates the quality of the print, but also causes the problem that the frame cannot withstand shocks or drops during transportation of the product.

The present invention was developed to solve these problems, and can prevent the deterioration of printing quality caused by the expansion and contraction of the guide shaft when a hollow shaft is used as the guide shaft, as well as reduce the impact and impact during product transportation. The purpose is to realize a printer frame structure that can withstand being dropped.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention includes a pair of frames that support a carriage on which a print head is mounted, and that guide shafts for guiding the carriage are fixed at both ends, of which the guide shaft of at least one frame is fixed. A cutout hole is provided around the part.

[Function] According to the above-mentioned means, by providing a cutout hole around the part of the frame to which the guide shaft is fixed, the elasticity of the part to which the guide shaft is fixed can be increased, thereby making it possible to increase the elasticity of the part to which the guide shaft is fixed. Even if it expands and contracts due to heat, it can be absorbed.

Therefore, the guide shaft does not bend and the platen gap does not change, so that deterioration in printing quality can be prevented and the structure can sufficiently withstand shocks and drops during product transportation.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the frame structure of the printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. The guide shafts are arranged parallel to each other.

Reference numerals 11 and 12 denote a pair of left and right frames, which are formed integrally with the base plate 13 of the printer in this embodiment, but may be provided separately. The frames 11 and 12 have the platen 8
Both ends of the central axis of the frame 11 are rotatably supported, and both ends of the guide shaft 10 are also connected to the frame 11.
2, and one frame 11
A U-shaped notch hole 14 is provided around the part to which the guide shaft 10 is fixed, that is, around the guide shaft fixing part 11a shown in FIG.

15 is a rail provided at the rear of the base plate 13, and this rail 15 is connected to the guide shaft 10.
It is formed almost parallel to the

Reference numeral 16 denotes a carriage, and the front portion of the carriage 16 is engaged with and supported by the guide shaft 2, and the carriage 16 can rotate around the guide shaft 2.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a printing head mounted on the carriage 16, and as shown in FIG. The printing head 17 prints on the printing paper 9 as it moves.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an adjusting screw for adjusting the platen gap, which is screwed into the rear part of the carriage 16 so as to penetrate through its plate thickness.The lower end of the adjusting screw 18 is in contact with the rail 15, and by rotating the adjusting screw 18, the carriage can be adjusted. By moving the rear part of the cartridge 16 up and down, the carriage 16 is moved along with the printing head 17 onto the guide shaft 1.
The platen gap is adjusted by rotating it around 0.

This configuration has a U-shaped notch hole 1 around the guide shaft fixing portion 11a of one frame 11 as described above.
4, this guide shaft fixed portion 11a
Only the elasticity can be increased.

Therefore, when a hollow shaft is used as the guide shaft 10 in order to reduce the weight of the printer, the printing head 17 is used when the guide shaft 10 is used as a heat sink in order to reduce the size and thickness of the printer.
Even if the guide shaft 10 expands or contracts due to heat from the printer or changes in environmental conditions during printer operation, the amount of expansion and contraction can be absorbed by the guide shaft fixing portion 11a, thereby preventing the guide shaft 10 from being bent. The guide shaft fixing part 11 can be eliminated.
Since only part a has elasticity, the frame 11 can sufficiently withstand shocks and drops during transportation of the product.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing another embodiment of the printer frame structure according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the shape of the notch hole 14 is arcuate, and a plurality of arcuate notch holes 14 are guided and fixed. It is provided in the frame 11 so as to surround the portion 11a, and even in this case, the same effect as in the above-mentioned embodiment can be achieved.

In the present invention, the shape of the cutout hole 14 is not limited to the U-shape shown in FIG. 1 and the arc shape shown in FIG. 4, but can increase the elasticity of the guide shaft fixing portion 11a. As long as it exists, any shape will do.

Further, in the embodiment described above, one frame 11
Although the cutout hole 14 was provided only in the frame 1, the other frame 1
It goes without saying that it is also effective to provide a notch hole 14 in the same manner as in FIG.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, in the present invention, the portion of at least one frame to which the guide shaft is fixed, of a pair of frames that support the carriage on which the print head is mounted and that guides the movement of the carriage is fixed at both ends. A cutout hole is provided around the guide shaft, and the cutout hole increases the elasticity of the part where the guide shaft is fixed, so when a hollow shaft is used as the guide shaft to reduce weight, Even if the guide shaft expands or contracts due to heat from the print head or changes in environmental conditions, this can be absorbed by the elasticity of the part to which the guide shaft is fixed and prevent the guide shaft from becoming bent. can.

Therefore, it is possible to keep the platen gap constant, which prevents deterioration of printing quality and always provides good printing, and also allows printers to be made smaller, lighter, and thinner. You can contribute to shaping it.

In addition, since the frame has a structure in which the elasticity is increased only in the part where the guide shaft is fixed, the frame itself can sufficiently withstand shocks and drops during product transportation, and there are notches in the frame. Since it is only provided, there is also the effect that the structure of the printer can be realized at low cost without complicating the structure.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the frame structure of a printer according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of a conventional example, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a plan view of the frame structure of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view showing another embodiment of the frame structure of the printer according to the Japanese Patent Application. 8: platen, 10: guide shaft, 11, 12: frame, 11a: guide shaft fixed part, 16: carriage, 17: printing head.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A guide shaft that supports a carriage carrying a printing head and guides the carriage so that it can move along a platen has both ends fixed to a pair of frames, and at least one of the frames A frame structure for a printer, characterized in that a cutout hole is provided around a portion to which the guide shaft is fixed.