JPH04325275A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the loading property and operability of the recording paper of a thermal printer. CONSTITUTION:A printing unit having the thermal head 1 arranged in opposed relation to a platen 2 and the unit case 4 supporting the thermal head is provided and a revolving support mechanism supporting the printing unit 5 in a state of freely rising, falling and revolving with respect to the center shaft of the platen 2 is mounted on one end part in the direction extending along the center shaft of the platen 2 of the printing unit 5. By the action of the revolving support mechanism, the printing unit can be opened and closed from a paper feed path. Therefore, the work at the time of the loading or jamming with paper becomes extremely simple.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal printer device, and particularly to a receipt printer using a continuous recording medium such as roll paper.
The present invention relates to a thermal printer device suitable for journal printers and the like.

0002

[Prior art] Conventional receipt. Almost all journal printers are dot impact transfer type printers, and thermal transfer type printers are limited to some special types. In addition, these printers commonly have a printing system and a paper transport system built into the main body of the device, so
The paper transport path is formed inside the main body of the apparatus, and is a semi-closed transport path having a paper insertion port and a paper discharge port. Therefore, when setting paper, paper is loaded only from the paper insertion slot. On the other hand, these traditional receipts. A journal printer uses a 2P paper that can be transferred to another paper as a recording paper, and uses a single printing system to simultaneously print the same content on a receipt and a journal.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in such conventional examples, when loading paper, it is necessary to load paper only from the paper insertion slot, and the loading operation must be performed with a certain degree of accuracy to avoid bending the paper. However, there were some difficulties in operability. In addition, in the conventional method, when a paper jam occurs, a removal sheet is inserted from the paper insertion slot of the device and the paper pieces inside are pushed out. The disadvantage is that it is difficult to remove. In addition, traditional receipts. Journal printers use 2P paper that can be transferred to recording paper, and use a single printing system to simultaneously print the same content on receipts and journals. Therefore, when outputting to a printer using a register, for example, When multiple people jointly invest and purchase one item, and each person requests a receipt for each person to keep for records, etc., the combination of multiple receipts for one journal for storage will not be printed. However, there is a problem that conventional printer devices cannot deal with this problem.

0004

[Object of the Invention] The purpose of the present invention is to improve the inconveniences of the conventional example, and in particular to simplify the loading and maintenance of recording paper, etc., and to enable unique and different printing on receipts and journals. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a thermal printer device with the following features.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the present invention, a printing unit is provided which has a thermal head disposed opposite to a platen and a unit case supporting this thermal head, and the center axis of the aforementioned platen of this printing unit is provided. A rotation support mechanism is provided at one end in the direction along the platen to support the printing unit so as to be rotatable up and down with respect to the central axis of the platen. These allow the printing unit to be rotated up and down, and the paper conveyance path is opened and closed, thereby improving operability when loading paper or when a paper jam occurs.

[0006]

[Operation] In FIG. 1, the printing unit 5 shown in FIG. 10 as a fulcrum and can be rotated up and down. This opens and closes the paper conveyance path. Also,
By adopting a configuration in which a pair of the above-described printing units are arranged, it is possible to have an independent printing section.

[0007]

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In FIG. 1, numeral 1 indicates a thermal head, numeral 2 indicates a platen, and numeral 18 indicates an apparatus main body. A cylindrical platen 2 made of an elastic member is rotatably supported in the upper part of the apparatus main body 18 in the horizontal and longitudinal directions. In FIG. 2, a gear 3 for rotating the platen is attached to the left end of the platen 2, which meshes with a transmission gear 13 and a motor gear 14 attached to a drive motor 15 to transmit the driving force of the motor 15. It has become something that will be done. On the other hand, above the platen 2, there is a pressing roller 6 along with a thermal head 1 as a printing section.
7 are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the thermal head 1 at intervals of two rows in the front and back. Both of these are housed and mounted in a unit case 4.

Furthermore, in FIG. 1, this unit case 4
Print head adjustment mechanisms 16 and 17 are provided above both ends of the printer. On the other hand, a hinge member 10 serving as a rotation support mechanism is installed between the lower right end of the unit case 4 and the apparatus main body 18, and the unit case 4 is attached to the platen together with the print head 1 and pressing rollers 6 and 7. 2
A printing unit 5 is formed which can freely rotate up and down with respect to the printing unit 5. Further, a joint portion 11 is attached to the lower left end of the printing unit 5, and this joint portion 11
A fixing pin 12 that engages with this joint portion 11 is mounted above the left end of the device main body 18 corresponding to the joint portion 11 .

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. In FIG. 3(1), when loading paper into the printer, the printing unit 5 is rotated up and down by the hinge portion 10, so that it is rotated up and down in the direction of arrow A and separated from the platen 2. Therefore, the semi-closed paper conveyance path is opened. Then, in FIG. 3(2), the paper 21 is placed on the platen 2. Then, in FIG. 3 (3), the printing unit 5 is closed in the direction of arrow B, and the printing unit 5 and It is fixedly held in a predetermined position with respect to the main body of the device. As a result, the paper 21 is pressed and held between the platen 2 and the pressing rollers 6 and 7. Then, as printing is performed on the paper 21 by the thermal head 1, and as the motor 15 rotates under command control by a control section (not shown), driving force is transferred from the motor gears 14 that mesh with each other to the transmission gears 13 and the gears 3. is transmitted, the platen 2 receives the rotational force, and the paper 21 is conveyed.

0010

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment. In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the above-described printing unit 5 is provided with a receipt unit 24 on the left side and a journal unit 2 on the right side.
5 and are arranged in pairs independently and in parallel. Roll paper 19 and 20 for paper supply are disposed on the upstream sides of the paper transport paths of these printing units, respectively. on the other hand,
A cutter mechanism 22 for cutting the paper is provided on the downstream side of the paper transport path of the receipt unit 24, and a winding mechanism 23 for winding the paper is provided on the downstream side of the paper transport path of the other journal unit 25. . Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained.

Roll papers 19 and 20 disposed upstream of each of the receipt unit and journal unit are sequentially conveyed as receipt paper 26 and journal paper 27. After predetermined printing is performed by the printing section of each unit, the receipt paper 26 is cut into an arbitrary length by the cutter unit 22. On the other hand, the journal paper 27 is sequentially wound up by the winding mechanism 23. Therefore, even if different numbers of receipts and journal sheets are required, or if different contents are to be printed, the printing system is independent, making it possible to do this.

0012

[Third Embodiment] FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment. In the third embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the hinge members 28 and 29 provided on the head members of the receipt unit 24 and the journal unit 25 are arranged adjacent to each other on the left and right sides. For this reason, the opening direction of the head member and the loading/unloading direction of the roll paper are in the same direction, so that operability when replacing the roll paper or removing paper jams is significantly improved. Further, the other configurations are the same as those of the second embodiment described above.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided a printing unit having a thermal head disposed opposite to a platen and a unit case supporting the thermal head,
A rotary support mechanism is installed at one end of the printing unit in the direction along the central axis of the platen, so that the printing unit can be rotated up and down with respect to the central axis of the platen. Since it is separated from the paper transport path, it can be operated directly into the paper transport path when loading paper or in the event of a paper jam. Therefore, there is an effect that these operations become extremely simple. In addition, since the printing section consisting of the aforementioned head member is provided independently, it is possible to print a combination of multiple receipts on the journal 1, and to print different contents on the receipt and the journal section at the same time, which is unprecedented. An excellent thermal printer device can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Thermal head 2 Platen 4 Unit case 5 Printing unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A printing unit including a thermal head disposed opposite to a platen and a unit case supporting the thermal head; . A thermal printer device comprising: a rotary support mechanism that supports the printing unit so as to be rotatable up and down with respect to the central axis of the platen. [Claim 2] Two platens whose central axes of rotation are arranged on the same line, a thermal head arranged opposite to each of the platens, and separate unit cases that individually support the heads. and a rotary support mechanism is provided at one end of the printing unit in the direction along the central axis of the platen to support the printing unit so as to be rotatable up and down with respect to the central axis of the platen, and corresponds to the unit case. A thermal printer device characterized by being equipped with two printing units including a thermal head. 3. Claim 2, characterized in that the rotation support mechanisms for the unit cases are arranged adjacent to each other.
The thermal printer device described.