JPH05200977A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To execute printing by making a printing tape and a sheet to be printed travel at the same speed. CONSTITUTION:Rocking levers 4 and 4 and a printing arm 3 rock at a speed the same as the traveling speed of a sheet A to be printed, and thereby printing positions of a printing tape B and a front and a rear parts thereof move at the speed the same as that of the sheet A to be printed. Then a type head 1 is pressed against a receiving roller 2 when the rocking comes to its middle position between the forward and the rearward rocking.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a print-receiving sheet which is continuously moved in proximity to a rotatable receiving roller, and a predetermined length along the print-receiving sheet which is intermittently moved along the same direction. The present invention relates to a printer in which a printing tape to be transferred is stretched and a heated printing head is pressed against a receiving roller via the printing sheet and the printing tape to print on the printing sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a printer of this type, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-48711, a receiving roller is supported via a ball bearing so as to be freely rotatable, and is transferred to a printing target sheet. The contact arm causes the receiving roller to rotate in the transfer direction of the sheet to be printed at substantially the same speed, and rotates in a substantially elliptical shape that is long in the direction to stretch the sheet to be printed, and swings back and forth to make contact with and separate from the receiving roller. A type head is provided at the tip of the print head, and the heated type head is rotated and brought into point-like pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the receiving roller at its apex position, so that the print-receiving sheet and print tape with different movement speeds are sandwiched. , The moving speeds of both of them are made to coincide instantaneously, and the ink applied to the printing tape is transferred to the printing target sheet, and immediately after this printing, the printing head moves along with the movement of the printing head. There is one character tape slightly drawn out longer than the longitudinal width of the print head to the transfer direction of the print sheet.

[0003]

However, in such a conventional printer, the printing tape is pulled out while printing is performed by sandwiching the printing target sheet and the printing tape having different moving speeds between the receiving roller and the printing head. Therefore, if the relative relationship between the drawing speed, the temperature, and the print head with respect to the receiving roller is not satisfied, the print-receiving sheet and the print tape are misaligned during printing, and print misalignment easily occurs, resulting in defective printing. When the pressure contact force of the print head is increased to prevent this, the print head bites too much into the receiving roller and the melted ink adheres more than necessary,
There is a problem that it is difficult to distinguish the printing, resulting in defective printing.

The sheet to be printed which has become defective in printing is
As the amount of ink removed in the subsequent process increases and the amount removed increases, not only does the production capacity decrease, but the print-receiving sheet on which more than the required amount of ink adheres may become attached to guide rollers, etc. during transport or become entangled. There is a problem of causing a secondary accident.

Further, since the pressure contact force of the print head with respect to the receiving roller is always constant regardless of the change of the transfer speed of the print sheet, the transfer speed of the print sheet is relatively low, and the print head moves from the print head at a low speed. Excessive heat is applied to the printing tape, and the melted ink adheres in excess of the required amount, making it difficult to distinguish the printing and resulting in defective printing.
If only the required amount of heat from the printing head is not transferred to the printing tape, it will not be printed reliably and printing failure will occur, and if the transfer speed of the print target sheet is accelerated to increase the processing speed, the transfer speed There is a problem in that the amount of change in the value becomes large and the occurrence of defective printing becomes remarkable.

Further, since the receiving roller is rotatably supported and rotates due to the contact friction with the sheet to be printed, even if the transfer speed of the sheet to be printed is suddenly reduced due to contact friction with the sheet to be printed, the receiving roller is Due to inertia, it tries to continue to rotate at approximately the same speed before deceleration, so if printing is performed in this state, printing misalignment easily occurs and printing fails, and in addition, in order to increase the processing speed, When the transfer speed is accelerated, the amount of deceleration is correspondingly increased, and there is a problem in that defective printing appears remarkably.

Furthermore, since the print head is pressed against the receiving roller every time printing is performed, if printing is performed for a long period of time,
The peripheral surface of the receiving roller facing the printing head is reduced, and if printing is performed in this state, printing defects are likely to occur, so the entire receiving roller must be replaced regularly, which shortens the life of the receiving roller and increases costs. There is a problem.

In view of such conventional circumstances, the present invention has as its first object to print while moving the print tape at the same speed as the print sheet, and the pressure contact force of the printing head to the receiving roller is applied to the print sheet. The second purpose is to automatically adjust according to the change of the transfer speed, and the rotation of the receiving roller is decelerated to the same speed according to the transfer deceleration of the print target sheet without directly linking with the transfer drive source of the print target sheet. The third purpose is to change the press contact position of the print head without replacing the entire receiving roller.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the technical means of the present invention is to swing rocking levers of a print arm respectively before and after a print head is stretched in a stretching direction around a print head. The front and rear rocking levers and the print arm are rocked at the same speed as the transfer speed of the sheet to be printed, and the printing tape is printed on the tip of both rocking levers. It is characterized in that it is positioned and stretched between the head and the receiving roller.

The receiving roller is supported so as to be movable toward and away from the print head, and the receiving roller is projected toward the print head as the transfer speed of the print sheet is accelerated, and the transfer speed of the print sheet is increased. Is provided with a pressure adjusting mechanism for separating the receiving roller from the print head as the speed is reduced.

Further, a drive unit that rotates at the same speed in the transfer direction of the sheet to be printed and a receiving roller are linked to each other, and the drive unit and the receiving roller are in mesh with each other when the receiving roller is on the drive side. It is characterized by interposing a one-way clutch that becomes

Further, the receiving roller is formed to be a plurality of times longer than the length dimension of the printing head in the axial direction thereof, divided into a plurality of parts in the same direction, and these divided parts are detachably supported respectively. To do.

[0013]

According to the above technical means of the present invention, the front and rear swing levers and the print arm swing at the same speed as the transfer speed of the sheet to be printed, so that the print position of the print tape and its front and rear portions are moved. The printing head is moved at the same speed as the printing target sheet, and the printing head is pressed against the receiving roller at an intermediate position before and after the swing.

When the transfer of the sheet to be printed is accelerated along with the operation of the pressure adjusting mechanism, the pressure contact force between the receiving roller and the printing head becomes strong according to the acceleration amount, and
When the transfer of the printing target sheet is decelerated, the pressure contact force between the receiving roller and the printing head becomes weaker according to the deceleration amount.

Further, only when the rotation speed of the receiving roller is higher than that of the driving unit, the receiving roller is on the driving side,
By setting the one-way clutch in the engaged state, the rotation speed of the receiving roller becomes the same as the rotation speed of the drive unit.

Further, when the divided portion of the receiving roller arranged opposite to the printing head is worn, the divided portion of the receiving roller is detached and attached, and the arrangement of these divided portions is changed so that an unused divided portion is removed. It is arranged to face the type head.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a print-receiving sheet A such as a transparent film is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the receiving roller 2 so as to project toward the type head 1 and stretched in a substantially V shape. By the operation of the transfer drive unit A2 arranged in the middle of the transfer path A1 for the print-receiving sheet A, the print-receiving sheet A is moved in synchronism with the operating speed of a packaging machine such as a cigarette, which is a packaging material. Two reels B3 in which the print tape B is wound are arranged at the upstream end of the transfer path B1 of the print tape B while being continuously transferred.
3, the automatic connection mechanism 10 is arranged on the downstream side of B3.

The print head 1 is constantly heated to a predetermined temperature, and is rotated in a long elliptical shape in the direction in which the sheet A to be printed is stretched, and is swung back and forth to swing toward and away from the receiving roller 2. When the print arm 3 is rotated to its apex position, the print arm 3 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the receiving roller 2, and before and after the print head A around the print head 1 in the stretching direction. The swing levers 4 and 4 are arranged substantially parallel to the print arm 3, and the swing levers 4 and
The lower part of 4 is pivotally supported so as to be swingable in the front-back direction, and both swing levers 4, 4 and the print arm 3 are intermittently swung at the same speed as the transfer speed of the print sheet A.

In the case of this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, both swing levers 4 and 4 and the connecting rods 5 ... Are connected to the print arm 3 to form a link structure, and the connecting rods are connected. .. is connected to a crankshaft 6 for swinging back and forth which is eccentrically rotated at the same speed as the transfer speed of the print sheet A, and the crankshaft 6 is linked to the transfer drive section A2 of the print sheet A. There is.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, guide rollers 4a and 4a are rotatably supported at the tips of the swing levers 4 and 4, respectively, and the print tape B is laid on the guide rollers 4a and 4a. The printing tape B is placed between the printing head 1 and the receiving roller 2 and stretched, and the printing tape B is always brought into contact with the printing target sheet A stretched in a substantially V shape, or printing is performed. Only at this time, the printing tape B is brought into contact with the printing target sheet A stretched in a substantially V shape.

In the middle of the transfer path B1 for the print tape B, the print position of the print tape B is set to be slightly longer than the front-back width of the print head 1 in the transfer direction of the print target sheet A, that is, in the forward direction each time printing is performed. A drawing-out part B2 for drawing out is provided.

The receiving roller 2 has a support shaft 2a removably inserted in the center thereof to non-rotatably support the support shaft 2a in a direction in which the support shaft 2a is brought into contact with and separated from the print head 1, in the case of the illustrated example, vertical The print sheet A is supported in a reciprocating manner, and the outer peripheral surface of the receiving roller 2 is projected toward the type head 1 as the transport speed of the print sheet A is accelerated, and the transport speed of the print sheet A is reduced. A pressure adjusting mechanism 7 that separates the outer peripheral surface of the receiving roller 2 from the print head 1 is continuously provided in accordance with the above.

In the present embodiment, the pressure adjusting mechanism 7 urges the support shaft 2a of the receiving roller 2 by a resilient member 7a such as a spring in a direction away from the printing head 1 and push rods connected to the eccentric cam 7b. 7c is always brought into contact with the support shaft 2a, and the eccentric cam 7b is linked with a rotation drive unit 7d such as a stepping motor, and the rotation drive unit 7d is rotated forward and backward based on a change in the transfer speed of the print sheet A. By rotating, when the transfer of the print-receiving sheet A is accelerated, the supporting shaft 2a is projected toward the printing head 1 side according to the acceleration amount, and when the transfer of the print-receiving sheet A is decelerated, the deceleration amount. Accordingly, the support shaft 2a is retracted in the direction away from the print head 1.

The support shaft 2a of the receiving roller 2 is, for example, a drive unit 8 which rotates at the same speed in the transfer direction of the print sheet A, and in this embodiment, a transfer drive unit A2 of the print sheet A. It is a drive pulley that communicates via a transmission member 8a such as a belt, and a one-way clutch 9 is interposed between the drive portion 8 and the support shaft 2a.

The one-way clutch 9 has a cam, a roller and the like provided between the inner peripheral side and the outer peripheral side of the one-way clutch 9 to transmit torque only to one rotation of the inner peripheral side or the outer peripheral side, and the other. When the support shaft 2a has a rotation speed higher than that of the drive unit 8 on the drive side, the drive unit 8 and the support shaft 2b are in mesh with each other. When the drive unit 8 is configured such that the rotation speed of the support shaft 2a is slower than the rotation speed of the drive unit 8 on the drive side, the drive unit 8 is idling and the torque from the support shaft 2a is not transmitted to the drive unit 8.

Further, the receiving roller 2 is formed in the axial direction of the support shaft 2a so as to be longer than the lateral length of the print head 1 by a plurality of times, and the outer peripheral surface is divided into a plurality of parts at predetermined intervals in the same direction.
Each of the divided portions 2b is detachably supported on the support shaft 2a, and a temporary fixing member 2c such as a nut for locking the divided portions 2b to the support shaft 2a is provided.

On the other hand, the automatic connecting mechanism 10 includes the reel B.
3, a temporary holding portion 10a for temporarily holding the front end of the print tape B on the standby side and a cutter 10b for cutting the end of the print tape B being transferred are integrally arranged on the downstream side of B3 and wait in advance. Adhesive tape is attached to the tip of the printing tape B on the side in a protruding manner and is temporarily held by the temporary holding unit 10a, and the cutter 10 is detected based on the detection of the end of the printing tape B during transfer.
At the same time as the b is projected and cut to cut, the tip of the print tape B on the standby side is bonded and connected to the end of the cut print tape B.

Next, the operation of such a printer will be described.

First, the print-receiving sheet A is continuously transferred in synchronism with the operating speed of the packaging machine, and the receiving roller 2 in contact with the print-receiving sheet A also comes into contact with the print-receiving sheet A to cause the one-way clutch 9 to idle. Then, when the print position of the print sheet A is continuously rotated at substantially the same speed and the print position of the print sheet A approaches the receiving roller 2, the front and rear swing levers 4, 4 and the print arm 3 are synchronized with this. , Swinging forward from the initial state shown in FIG.

Along with this, the printing position of the printing tape B stretched between the guide rollers 4a, 4a at the tips of the two rocking levers 4, 4 and the portion before and after the printing tape B are printed.
The print head 1 is moved at the same speed as the transfer speed of the print head B and heated at the intermediate position before and after the swing of the swing levers 4 and 4 and the print arm 3 as shown in FIG. The sheet A to be printed is pressed against the receiving roller 2 instantaneously, and the manufacturing date and the like are printed on the sheet A to be printed.

Immediately after this printing, both swing levers 4 and 4 and the print arm 3 swing as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, whereby the print position of the print tape B moves forward and the print target sheet is printed. Although the print tape B is separated from A and then moved rearward to return to the initial state, the print tape B is pulled forward slightly longer than the front-back width dimension of the printing head 1 by the operation of the feeding portion B2, and the print position of the print tape B is increased. Does not come into contact with the print-receiving sheet A again.

After that, the above-mentioned operation is repeated every time the printing position of the print-receiving sheet A approaches the receiving roller 2.

When the transfer speed of the print-receiving sheet A is accelerated in synchronism with the operating speed of the packaging machine, the pressure contact force of the print head 1 to the receiving roller 2 is increased by the operation of the pressure adjusting mechanism 7. Accordingly, the heat from the print head 1 is transmitted to the print position of the print tape B by a necessary amount, and the print is reliably performed.

Further, when the transfer speed of the print-receiving sheet A is reduced, the pressure contact force of the character head 1 to the receiving roller 2 becomes weaker according to the acceleration amount by the operation of the pressure adjusting mechanism 7, and the character head 1 Is not transmitted to the printing position of the printing tape B more than the required amount, and the ink is not attached to the print target sheet A more than the required amount.

Further, when the transfer speed of the sheet A to be printed is suddenly reduced due to an emergency stop or the like, the receiving roller 2
Tries to continue to rotate at substantially the same speed before deceleration due to inertia, but when the rotation speed of the receiving roller 2 becomes faster than the transfer speed of the print sheet A, the one-way clutch 9 is engaged and The roller 2 does not overrun, and even if printing is performed in this state, printing does not shift.

Furthermore, the divided portion 2b of the receiving roller 2 which has been printed over a long period of time and is arranged so as to face the type head 1
When the wear occurs, the temporary fixing member 2c is operated to remove the divided portions 2b of the receiving roller 2 from the support shaft 2a, and the arrangement of these divided portions 2b ... Is changed so that the unused divided portion 2b faces the printing head 1. , And the entire receiving roller 2 is not replaced until all the divided portions 2b ... Are worn.

The structures of the pressure adjusting mechanism 7 and the one-way clutch 9 are not limited to the above-mentioned structures, and other structures may be used as long as the same operation is performed.

Further, the two reels B3 on which the printing tape B is wound are arranged and the automatic connecting mechanism 10 is arranged on the downstream side of these reels B3, B3, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the printing tape B is not limited to this. It is not necessary to dispose the automatic connection mechanism 10 by disposing one reel B3 in which is wound.

[0040]

Since the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, it has the following advantages.

1. By swinging the front and rear swing levers and the print arm at the same speed as the transfer speed of the print target sheet, the print position of the print tape and its front and rear parts are moved at the same speed as the print target sheet, and Since the printing head is pressed against the receiving roller at the front-rear intermediate position, printing can be performed while moving the printing tape at the same speed as the printing target sheet.

Therefore, the pressure contact force of the printing head with respect to the receiving roller is slightly smaller than that of the conventional one in which the printing tape and the printing tape having different moving speeds are sandwiched between the receiving roller and the printing head to pull out the printing tape while printing. Even if it is weak, the printing target sheet and the printing tape do not shift in position during printing, the printing shift disappears, and there is no need to increase the pressure contact force of the printing head to prevent this printing shift. As a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in production capacity and the occurrence of a secondary accident.

2. When the transfer of the sheet to be printed is accelerated due to the operation of the pressure adjusting mechanism, the pressure contact force between the receiving roller and the printing head becomes stronger according to the acceleration amount, and when the transfer of the sheet to be printed is decelerated. , The pressure contact force between the receiving roller and the print head becomes weaker according to the deceleration amount.
The pressure contact force of the printing head to the receiving roller can be automatically adjusted according to the change in the transfer speed of the print target sheet.

Therefore, compared with the conventional one in which the pressure contact force of the print head with respect to the receiving roller is always constant regardless of the change in the transfer speed of the print sheet, the constant print is achieved even if the transfer speed of the print sheet changes. As a result, printing defects do not occur, and as a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in production capacity and the occurrence of secondary accidents.

3. The rotation speed of the receiving roller is faster than the rotation speed of the driving unit.The rotation speed of the receiving roller becomes the same as that of the driving unit by engaging the one-way clutch only when the receiving roller is on the driving side. The rotation of the receiving roller can be decelerated to the same speed according to the deceleration of the transfer of the printing target sheet without directly linking with the transfer drive source of the printing target sheet.

Therefore, as compared with the conventional one in which the receiving roller is rotatably supported and rotates due to the contact friction with the print sheet, even if the transfer speed of the print sheet is suddenly reduced due to an emergency stop, The receiving roller does not overrun,
Printing misalignment is eliminated and printing defects do not occur, and as a result, it is possible to prevent a decrease in production capacity and the occurrence of secondary accidents.

4. When the split part of the receiving roller arranged facing the printing head becomes worn, the split part of the receiving roller is removed and the disposition of these split parts is changed so that the unused split part faces the printing head. It is possible to change the press contact position of the print head without replacing the entire receiving roller.

Therefore, the life of the receiving roller is extended several times as compared with the conventional one in which the entire receiving roller needs to be replaced when printed for a long period of time, which is economical.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional front view of a printer showing an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state before printing.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged transverse plan view taken along line (2)-(2) of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged vertical side view taken along the line (3)-(3) of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged vertical side view taken along the line (4)-(4) in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged front view showing a state during printing.

[Explanation of symbols]

A Printed sheet B Print tape 1 Type head 2 Receiving roller 2b Dividing part 3 Printing arm 4 Swing lever 7 Pressure adjusting mechanism 8 Drive part 9 One-way clutch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printing target sheet which is continuously transferred by approaching a rotatable receiving roller, and a printing tape which is intermittently transferred by a predetermined length along the printing target sheet in the same transfer direction. The print head, which makes point contact with the receiving roller via the print sheet and print tape, is installed at the tip of the print arm that swings in the direction of stretching the print sheet, and receives the heated print head. In a printer that prints on a print target sheet by pressing it against a roller, swing levers are arranged so as to swing in synchronism with the swing of the print arm before and after the print head stretching direction around the print head. The front and rear swing levers and the print arm are swung at the same speed as the transfer speed of the print sheet, and the print tape is positioned between the print head and the receiving roller at the tip of both swing levers. A printer characterized by being stretched. 2. A printing target sheet which is continuously transferred by approaching a rotatable receiving roller, and a printing tape which is intermittently transferred by a predetermined length along the printing target sheet in the same transfer direction. In a printer that prints on the print sheet by pressing the heated print head onto the print roller via the print sheet and print tape, the print roller is supported by the print head so that the print roller can be moved toward and away from the print head. A pressure adjusting mechanism is provided to cause the receiving roller to project toward the printing head side as the transfer speed of the print sheet is accelerated, and to separate the receiving roller from the print head as the transfer speed of the print sheet is reduced. A printer characterized by that. 3. A printing target sheet that is continuously transferred by approaching a rotatable receiving roller, and a printing tape that is intermittently transferred by a predetermined length along the printing target sheet in the same transfer direction. In a printer that prints on a print target sheet by pressing a heated print head through a print target sheet and a print tape to a receiving roller, the drive unit rotating at the same speed in the transfer direction of the print target sheet. And a receiving roller, and a one-way clutch which is in a meshed state when the receiving roller is on the driving side is interposed between the drive unit and the receiving roller. 4. A printing roller and a printing tape, which are continuously transferred, are stretched and transferred close to a rotatable receiving roller, and a heated printing head is received through the printing sheet and the printing tape. In a printer that prints on a print-receiving sheet by pressing it against a roller, the receiving roller is formed to be a plurality of times longer than the length dimension of the printing head in the axial direction, and the receiving roller is divided into a plurality of parts in the same direction. Printers that are detachably supported.