JPH0636851U - Guide mechanism for print media - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] Either a roll paper or a fanfold paper can be loaded in the printing device as a print medium, and both the roll paper and the fanfold paper are guided using one guide means. To provide a guide mechanism for a print medium. In a printing device (10) having a loading shaft (18) which is horizontally mounted in a cantilever manner on a vertical support (17) and cantilever-supports a roll-shaped print medium (3), at least one of which guides the print medium (3) A support base having a substantially L-shaped guide body 21 having two guide surfaces 29 and an upper end portion on which the guide body 21 is placed, and having a long hole 22 formed in the upper end portion in a direction intersecting with the transfer direction of the print medium. 19 and the biasing member 25 in the vertical portion, and the tip of the vertical portion is supported by the support base 1
9 is a support member 20 that is inserted into the long hole 22 of the support member 9 and engages with the guide body 21. The guide body 21 is movably provided along the long hole 22 of the support base 19, and the guide body 21 is attached at one end thereof. It is characterized in that it is rotatably provided around the center.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention particularly relates to a guide mechanism for a print medium in a printing apparatus, and particularly to a guide mechanism for the print medium that can guide both roll paper and fanfold paper as the print medium. .

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, as a print medium in this type of printing apparatus, a label continuum in which a large number of label pieces are temporarily attached on a strip-shaped mount or a tag continuum without an adhesive layer has been used.

As a supply form of the print-receiving medium, there is roll paper wound in a roll shape on a winding core, fanfold paper in a folded state, or the like.

9 and 10 both show the label continuous body. FIG. 9 shows the roll paper 2 wound around the winding core 1, and FIG. 10 shows the fanfold paper 3.

Of course, there is a supply form of the roll paper 2 and the fanfold paper 3 for the tag continuum.

When both the roll paper 2 and the fanfold paper 3 are used as the print-receiving medium of the printing apparatus, the supply forms thereof are different. Therefore, conventionally, different devices have been adopted according to the supply forms. Or, if an attempt is made to realize a printing device capable of guiding both the roll paper 2 and the fanfold paper 3, it is necessary to attach a dedicated guide means for guiding each to the printing device, resulting in high cost. In addition, there is a risk of increasing the size of the printing device, which is difficult to realize.

[0007]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and either roll paper or fanfold paper can be loaded as a print medium in a printing apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide a guide mechanism for a print medium that guides using one guide means.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 That is, the present invention relates to a printing medium in a printing apparatus provided with a vertical support and a loading shaft that is cantilevered horizontally attached to the vertical support and can support the roll-shaped printing medium in a cantilevered manner. The guide mechanism includes a substantially L-shaped guide body having at least one guide surface for guiding the print medium and an upper end portion on which the guide body is placed, and the upper end portion of the print medium A support base having a long hole formed in a direction intersecting with the transfer direction and a biasing member are held in the vertical portion, and the tip end of the vertical portion is inserted into the long hole of the support base to engage with the guide body. A guide for a print medium, comprising a support member, the guide body being movably provided along a long hole of the support base, and the guide body being rotatably provided with one end thereof as a center. It is a mechanism.

[0009]

[Action]

 A guide mechanism for a print medium according to the present invention engages a support member, around which a biasing member is wound, with a guide body having a substantially L-shape through a long hole formed in the support base, and the guide body is moved to the support base side. Always energized.

In a state in which one surface of the substantially L-shaped guide body is erected, by moving the guide body in a direction away from the loading shaft along the long hole of the support base, a roll-shaped print medium is attached to the loading shaft. Can be loaded.

After loading, the inner guide surface of the guide body is brought into contact with the roll-shaped print medium to guide the roll-shaped print medium, and the roll-shaped print medium is guided between the vertical support and the roll-shaped print medium. It is possible to prevent the print medium from unraveling and guide it reliably.

Further, when guiding the fanfold paper, the guide body is rotated at the upper end of the support base around one end of one side of the guide body so that the one guide surface of the guide body is in a horizontal state. Then, the other guide surface of the guide body is set upright, and the inner surface of the guide is brought into contact with the side surface of the fanfold paper.

One guide surface of the guide body is projected so as to cover the fanfold paper and guides the upper surface of the fanfold paper so that the fanfold paper does not float up and the vertical support body together with the other guide surface. And the fanfold paper will be guided without blurring.

As described above, by rotating one substantially L-shaped guide body in accordance with the print medium, one of the guide surfaces and the other of the guide surfaces are used to form roll-shaped and fan-folded paper. Since both of the print target media can be guided, it is not necessary to provide a planning means according to the print target media.

[0015]

【Example】

 Next, a printer 10 equipped with a guide mechanism for a printing medium according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As the printing apparatus, an apparatus using a thermal paper whose roll paper 2 and fanfold paper 3 themselves are colored by heat will be described as an example.

1 to 3, a printing device 10 is mainly formed between a printing mechanism 13 having a thermal print head 11 and a platen 12, a rear vertical device frame 14 and a front vertical device frame 15. The guide mechanism 16 and the loading shaft 18 are provided.

The loading shaft 18 is horizontally attached in a cantilevered manner to a vertical support 17 attached to the rear vertical device frame 14, and is capable of supporting the roll paper 2. The open end 18a of the loading shaft 18 is forward. Toward the vertical device frame 15.

By setting the inner diameter of the roll core 2 of the roll paper 2 to be larger than the outer diameter of the horizontal loading shaft 18, wrinkles can be generated in the inner diameter portion of the roll paper 2 wound around the roll core 1. Can be prevented. In particular, when the print-receiving medium is a continuous tag without an adhesive layer, this prevention is effective because it is thicker than the continuous label.

The guide mechanism 16 includes a support base 19, a support member 20, and a guide body 21. The support base 19 is a plate having a substantially Z-shaped cross section, and is arranged below the loading shaft 18. An elongated hole 22 having a constant groove width D and substantially parallel to the loading shaft 18 is formed at the upper end of the support base 19.

The support member 20 is for supporting the guide body 21 through the long hole 22 of the support base 19, and is below the support base 19 as shown in FIG. , A collar 24 and a compression spring 25. The spring support member 23 is a substantially L-shaped member having a short side and a long side, and a fitting hole 26 is formed above the long side. The support member 20 is configured such that the long sides of the pair of spring support members 23 and 23 are attached back to back, and the compression spring 25 and the color 24 are sequentially arranged on the L-shaped vertical portion.

The guide body 21 has a substantially L shape, and an opening portion 50 having a width corresponding to the groove width D of the long hole 22 is provided at the end portion 40 of the short side. Further, a shaft hole 27 penetrating the opening 50 is formed in the end portion 40. Then, the vertical portion of the spring support member 23 of the support member 20 is inserted into the opening 50 of the guide body 21 through the elongated hole 22 of the support base 19, and the shaft as the rotating shaft 28 is fitted into the shaft hole 27. By inserting the guide body 21 into the fitting hole 26, the guide body 21 is pressed against the upper surface of the support base 19 by the urging force of the compression spring 25. At this time, the support member 20 itself is pressed against the back surface 19a of the support base 19 while urging the guide body 21.

A wall surface 29 inside the L-shaped long side of the guide body 21 is a guide surface that guides both the roll paper 2 and the fanfold paper 3, and a wall surface 30 inside the short side is the fanfold paper 3. Is a guide surface for guiding.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, by moving the guide body 21 to the vertical device frame 15 side along the long hole 22 in a state where the long sides of the L-shape are erected (imaginary line position A). The roll paper 2 can be loaded on the loading shaft 18, and the guide body 21 is moved to the vertical device frame 14 side after loading, so that the guide surface 29 comes into contact with the side surface of the roll paper 2 and the vertical support body 17 is formed. The roll paper 2 can be guided between them. When roll papers having different paper widths are loaded on the loading shaft 18, the guide body 21 can be moved along the slot 22 to accommodate roll papers having different paper widths.

By tilting the guide body 21 toward the vertical device frame 15 side (imaginary line position B), the loading of the roll paper 2 becomes easier.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, when the fanfold paper 3 is used as the print medium, the fanfold paper 3 is placed on the outer flat portion 35 between the front and rear vertical device frames 15 and 14. The label continuum is delivered from the fanfold paper 3 to the guide mechanism 16 side. Then, by rotating the guide body 21 around the shaft 28 of the guide body 21 toward the vertical device frame 14 side, the guide surface 29 of the substantially L-shaped long side is projected so as to cover above the fanfold paper 3. The fanfold paper 3 comes into contact with the upper surface of the fanfold paper 3 and is guided between the support base 19 and the fanfold paper 3 without being lifted up. 3, the fanfold paper 3 can be easily supported between the vertical support 17 and the side surface 3a. As described above, the guide surfaces 29 and 30 can be selectively used depending on the supply form of the print medium.

Reference numerals 31 and 32 are a pair of guide pins, and particularly, as shown in FIG. 5, in a transfer path 34 for the print medium between the print mechanism 13 and the guide mechanism 16, a roll as a print medium is used. This is to play an auxiliary role for smoothly guiding the paper 2 and the fanfold paper 3 to the printing mechanism 13 side. Specifically, the guide pins 31 and 32 are movable along the long holes 33 formed between the front and rear vertical device frames 15 and 14, and the roll paper 2 and the fanfold that pass through the transfer path 34. The contact with the side surface of the paper 3 suppresses blurring, and the synergistic effect with the guide surfaces 29 and 30 of the guide mechanism 16 facilitates the transfer of the print medium to the print mechanism 13. Note that both sides of the guide body 21 may have the same length.

[0028]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, in the guide mechanism of the present invention, the guide body having the two guide surfaces is provided so as to be biased toward the support base by the biasing member provided on the support member, and the guide body is formed on the support base. Since it is movably and rotatably provided along the elongated hole, the roll paper can be guided when one guide surface of the guide body is erected, and the fanfold paper can be guided when the other guide surface is erected. I can guide you.

Moreover, when guiding the fanfold paper, one guide surface covers the upper side of the fanfold paper and contacts the upper surface of the fanfold paper to guide the fanfold paper, so that the fanfold paper floats up. Can be prevented.

In this way, one guide body can guide both the roll paper and the fanfold paper, and the number of parts of the apparatus can be reduced to reduce the cost.

[0031]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a printing apparatus equipped with a guide mechanism for a printing medium according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a guide mechanism for a print medium.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a guide state of roll paper as a print medium, as viewed from the upstream side of a guide mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a guide state of fanfold paper as a print medium, as viewed from the upstream side of the guide mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a guide mechanism for a print medium.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an operation when loading a roll paper as a print medium.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an operation when loading fanfold paper as a print medium.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of a guide mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a conventional roll paper.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a conventional fanfold paper.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Roll paper (printing medium) 3 Fanfold paper (printing medium) 3a Side surface 16 Guide mechanism 17 Vertical support 18 Loading shaft 19 Support base 20 Support member 21 Guide body 22 Long hole 25 Compression spring (biasing member) 29 Guide surface (L-shaped long side) 30 Guide surface (L-shaped short side)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A guide for a printing medium in a printing apparatus, comprising: a vertical support; and a loading shaft which is cantilevered horizontally attached to the vertical support and can support a roll of the printing medium in a cantilevered manner. In the mechanism, a substantially L-shaped guide body having at least one guide surface that guides the print medium and an upper end portion on which the guide body is placed are provided, and a transfer direction of the print medium is provided at the upper end portion. A support base having a long hole formed in the intersecting direction, and a support member for holding the biasing member in the vertical portion and inserting the tip of the vertical portion into the long hole of the support base to engage with the guide body. And a guide mechanism for the print medium, wherein the guide body is movably provided along the long hole of the support base and the guide body is rotatably provided around one end thereof.