JPH04135879A - Cutter mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to being a flat cutting edge into contact with a roller at an appropriate pressure all the time by providing a mechanism wherein the flat cutting edge is brought into contact with pressure to a roller which is provided rotatably facing the flat cutting edge through a body to be cut and either the flat cutting edge or the roller is moved in the direction along a knife-edge of the flat cutting edge relatively. CONSTITUTION:When a cutter operation axis 26 of a cutter mechanism 21 is pressed with pressure against a force of a coil spring 31, an elastic arm 28 and a roller 29 move downward together with a movable member 27. Since the roller 29 is energized to a flat cutting edge 30 by an elastic force of the elastic arm 28, the roller 29 rolls on a knife-edge of the flat cutting edge 30 by pushing a tape to be printed 45 to the knife-edge of the flat cutting edge 30, so that the tape to be printed 45 is cut. Since the contacting state of the flat cutting edge 30 and the roller 29 becomes a point contact, high precisions of straightness of the knife-edge of the flat cutting edge 30 and flatness of the surface of the roller 29 are not required. Also, the flat cutting edge 30 can be contacted to the roller 29 with pressure excellently all the time without large pressing force regardless of the length of the flat cutting edge 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a cutter mechanism for cutting a printing tape in, for example, a printing device.

[Prior art] Ink tape cassettes with thermal transferable ink tape are removably installed in printing devices such as hand-held printers, and the printing tape is superimposed on the ink tape that is in sliding contact with the thermal print head. In addition, when the thermal print head is driven in accordance with image information in this state, desired image information can be printed on the printing tape.

In such a printing device, the printing tape is generally loaded onto the printing tape supply spool, and desired image information is printed on the printing tape taken out from the printing tape supply spool. The subsequent printing tape is cut to a desired length by a cutter mechanism.

Such a conventional cutter mechanism includes a flat blade with a straight cutting edge and a cutting table provided opposite to the two flat blades. Some print tapes are cut into desired lengths by pressing the tape against a cutting table with a flat blade.

A roller rotatably provided opposite the flat blade [Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in such a conventional cutter mechanism, the flat blade is pressed against the cutting table, so the flat blade is This requires high precision in the straightness of the cutting edge and the flatness of the cutting table, resulting in high costs. In addition, it is necessary to press the flat blade evenly against the cutting table, but the longer the blade length of the flat blade, the more force is required to hold it down, which makes the cutting edge of the flat blade more likely to wear out. There was a problem with this.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is that high accuracy is not required for the straightness of the cutting edge of a flat blade, and the length of the blade of a flat blade is increased. The large presser foot also provides a cutting mechanism that requires no force.

[Means for Solving the Section Side] In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention brings a flat blade into pressure contact with a material to be cut interposed between them, and while in this pressed state, either the flat blade or the roller is pressed. By relatively moving the blade in the direction along the cutting edge of the flat blade, the object to be cut is cut to a desired length.

[Function] According to the present invention, since the roller does not rotate but moves relatively in the direction along the cutting edge of the flat blade, the pressure contact between the mold blade and the roller becomes a point contact. High precision is not required for the straightness of the flat blade edge and the machinability of the roller surface, and regardless of the length of the flat blade blade, a large amount of force is required to press the flat blade and roller together. It is possible to always achieve good pressure contact without causing any damage.

"Example code" Hereinafter, two embodiments of the invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 shows the main parts of a printing device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

In this printing device, a chassis 1 is provided inside a portable box-shaped device main body (not shown), and an ink tape cassette 2 is removably attached to the upper surface of the chassis 1.

A subchassis 3 is provided inside the device main body below the chassis l. A motor 4 is provided at a predetermined location within the device body below the sub-chassis 3. A gear 5 attached to the output shaft of the motor 4 projects above the sub-chassis 3 through an oval hole 6 formed in the sub-chassis '3. A gear 9 attached to a winding shaft 8 is meshed with the second protruding gear 5 via a gear 7 made of two-stage HIl construction. The winding shaft 8 is rotatably provided at a predetermined location on the upper surface of the sub-chassis 3, and projects upward from the chassis 1 through an oval hole (not shown) formed in the chassis 1.

A gear (not shown) provided at the lower part of the platen roller 13 is meshed with the gear 7 via an intermediate gear 11, a gear 12 having a two-stage structure, and an intermediate gear (not shown).The platen roller 13 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 14 provided at a predetermined location within the main body of the device, and protrudes above the chassis 1 through a notch (not shown) formed in the chassis 1.

A thermal print head 16 is provided at a predetermined location facing the platen roller 13. [Thermal print head] 6 has a platen roller 13 installed at a predetermined location within the main body of the apparatus.
It is provided so as to be able to move toward and away from the platen roller 13, and can be switched between a state in which it is in pressure contact with the platen roller 13 and a state in which it is separated from the platen roller 13 by operating a Rad operation lever (not shown).

A cutter mechanism 21 is provided at a predetermined location on the top of the device body. The cutter mechanism 21 includes a support fitting 23 attached to the main body of the apparatus with screws 22. A support base 24 is attached to the support fitting 23 with screws 25. The support stand 24 has a cutter operation shaft (moving means) 2.
6 is inserted so as to be vertically movable. The lower center of a substantially U-shaped movable member 27 made of sheet metal is attached to the lower end of the cutter operating shaft 26 that projects downward from the support base 24 . The movable member 27 is arranged around the support base 24 so as to be vertically movable. An elastic arm portion (pressing means) 28 is integrally formed at the lower part of the movable member 27 . Elastic arm portion 28
A roller 29 made of polyacetal or the like is rotatably attached to the tip of the roller. roller 2
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a flat blade 30 having a straight cutting edge is provided at a predetermined location of the support base 24 facing the blade 9.
is provided.

The cutter operating shaft 26 is urged upward by a coil spring 31. 2, the movable member 27 is urged upward together with the cutter operating shaft 26.

Usually, the lower part of the movable member 27 is positioned at a position where it comes into contact with the lower surface of the support base 24. In this state, as shown in FIG. 1, the roller 29 is positioned 3 degrees above the flat blade, and an opening for insertion of the printing tape is formed between the flat blade 30 and the elastic arm 28.

On the other hand, the ink tape cassette 2 has a structure in which a print tape supply spool 42, an ink tape supply ship spool 43, and an ink tape take-up spool 44 are provided at predetermined locations within a cassette case 41. A print tape (cut object) 45 is wound around the print tape supply spool 42 . The printing tape 45 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
As shown in the figure, a three-ink tape has a structure in which an adhesive (not shown) and a release tape 47 are provided in this order on the back side of a base tape 46 made of polyester synthetic resin, polypropylene synthetic resin, etc. supply spool 4
3 has an ink tape 48 wound around it. Although not shown in the drawing, the ink tape 48 has a structure in which a thermally transferable ink layer is provided on one side of a base tape.

The ink tape cassette 2 is mounted at a predetermined location on the chassis 1 with the ink tape take-up spool 44 engaged with the take-up shaft 8. In this state, the printing tape 45 fed out from the printing tape supply spool 42 is
is discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body through openings for insertion of the printing tape between the platen roller 13 and the thermal printing head 16 and between the flat blade 30 and the elastic arm 28. Further, the ink tape 48 fed out from the ink tape supply spool 43 is transferred to the platen roller 13.
After passing between the ink tape and the thermal print head 16, the ink tape is taken up by a take-up spool 44. Note that the printing tape 45 and ink tape 48 between the platen roller 13 and the thermal print head 16 are as follows:
The surface of the base tape 46 of the printing tape 45 and the ink layer of the ink tape 48 are in contact with each other, and are overlapped with each other.

Next, a case will be described in which, for example, a label is created using the printing apparatus configured as described above.

In this case, first, the desired print information is input and temporarily stored in a memory section (not shown) in the main body of the apparatus, and then when a start button (not shown) is pressed, the motor 4 starts rotating. When the motor 4 rotates, the platen roller 1
3 rotates clockwise in FIG. 1, and the winding shaft 8 rotates counterclockwise in the same figure. Platen roller 1
3 rotates, the printing tape 45 and the ink tape 48
are conveyed in a predetermined direction in a state where they are superimposed on each other. At the same time, data reading from the memory section within the apparatus main body is started, and the thermal print head 16 is driven in accordance with the read data. The thermal print head 16 includes a line type heat generating section (not shown), and printing is performed at the line section.

When the thermal printing l\\ gutter 16 is driven, the l\- tape side of the ink tape 48 that is in contact with the heat generating portion of the -- circle print head 16 receives a heat pulse corresponding to the image information. The area receiving the heat pulse is the ink tape 4.
The ink layer No. 8 is thermally melted.

After being transferred to the surface of the l\-stape 46 of the printing tape 45, it is solidified. The ink tape 48 that has passed between the platen roller 13 and the thermal print head 16 is wound onto an ink tape take-up spool 44 that is rotated by the take-up shaft 8 . The winding shaft 8 is a slip clutch 51
This prevents the ink tape take-up spool 44 from excessively winding the ink tape 48.

On the other hand, the printing tape 45 that has passed between the platen roller 13 and the thermal printing head 16 is separated from the ink tape 48 due to its stiffness. The separated printing tape 45 is discharged to the outside of the main body of the apparatus through the printing tape insertion opening between the flat blade 30 and the elastic arm 28.

When the printing corresponding to the data temporarily stored in the memory section in the main body of the apparatus is completed, the motor 4 is stopped at a predetermined timing, and the platen roller 13 and the take-up shaft 8 are stopped. In this state, the printing tape 45 having a length corresponding to one label is discharged to the outside of the main body of the apparatus.

Therefore, when the cutter operation shaft 26 of the cutter mechanism 21 is pressed against the force of the coil spring 31, the elastic arm portion 28 and the roller 29 move downward together with the movable member 27. roller 2
Since the roller 9 is urged toward the flat blade 30 by the elastic force of the elastic arm 28, as shown in FIG.
The printing tape 45 rolls on the cutting edge of the blade, thereby cutting the printing tape 45. Then, when the release tape 47 of the cut printing tape 45 is peeled off, the adhesive on the back side of the base tape 46 is exposed, and a label with desired image information printed thereon is obtained. When the pressing force on the cutter operating shaft 26 is released, the force of the coil spring 31 causes the movable member 27, the elastic arm 28, and the roller 29 to be moved upward together with the cutter operating shaft 26 and returned to the original initial position.

In this way, in the cutter mechanism 21 of this printing device, the roller 29 rolls along the cutting edge of the flat blade 30, so the pressure contact between the flat blade 30 and the roller 29 is a point contact, and the second Therefore, high accuracy is not required for the straightness of the cutting edge of the flat blade 30 and the flatness of the surface of the roller 29, and regardless of the length of the blade of the flat blade 30, the flat blade 30 and the roller 29
A large press can always make good pressure contact without requiring force, and the cutting edge of the flat blade 3o can be prevented from being easily worn.

In the above embodiment, the case where the printing tape 45 is completely cut is explained, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if the roller 29A has a spline shaft shape as shown in FIG. 5, only the convex portion 61 on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 29A will come into contact with the cutting edge of the flat blade 30, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. By doing so, the printing tape 45 can be cut into perforations. Furthermore, in the above embodiment,
Although the roller 29 is moved, the present invention is not limited to this.

Furthermore, the flat blade 30 may be moved.

In the above embodiment, the cutting edge of the flat blade 30 is linear, but is not limited to this, and may be curved into a convex lens shape or a concave lens shape.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, since the roller is moved relatively in the direction along the cutting edge of the flat blade without rotating, the press contact mode between the flat blade and the roller is improved. Therefore, high accuracy is not required for the straightness of the flat blade edge and the flatness of the roller surface, and regardless of the length of the flat blade blade, it is possible to hold the flat blade and roller together with a large amount of pressure. The attachment can always be brought into good pressure contact without requiring force, and the cutting edge of the flat blade can be prevented from wearing easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of a printing device to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the operating state of the cutter mechanism of this printing device, and Fig. 3 is a part of the cutter mechanism. FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining details of the operating state of the cutter mechanism, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 3 for explaining another embodiment of the invention. 6 and 7 are diagrams shown for explaining details of the operating state of the cutter mechanism in this other embodiment. 2... Ink tape cassette, 13... Platen roller, 16... Thermal print head,
21... Cutter mechanism, 26... Cutter operating shaft (moving means), 27... Movable member, 28... Elastic arm (pressing means), 29.29A... ·roller,
30... Flat blade, 45... Print tape (cutting object), 48... Ink tape. Patent applicant Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A flat blade, a roller rotatably provided opposite to the flat blade, a pressure contact means for pressing the flat blade and the roller with an object to be cut interposed therebetween, and the flat blade and the roller are brought into pressure contact with each other. A cutter mechanism comprising: a moving means for relatively moving either the flat blade or the roller in a direction along the cutting edge of the flat blade in a state where the flat blade is