JPH0716208Y2 - Time recorder printing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for a time recorder that includes a print head and a platen that moves corresponding to the print head.

[Prior Art] As a printing apparatus of this type, a conventional printing apparatus such as, for example, Shoukai 61-9926
The structure shown in No. 6 is known.

This printing device is composed of a print head and a platen that faces the print surface of the print head with a card insertion path through which a time card is inserted. The print head is fixed to the housing of the time recorder by a support frame, while the platen is rotatably provided. This platen is rotated by the operation of the solenoid to move to the operating position corresponding to the print head during the printing operation, and is in the non-operating position away from the print head during standby,
A sufficient card insertion passage is secured to facilitate the passage of time cards.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] By the way, the printing sharpness is greatly affected by the distance between the print head and the platen during the printing operation, that is, the printing distance, and when the predetermined printing distance cannot be obtained accurately, There is a variation in the sharpness of, which in turn causes a missing character.

In the above-mentioned conventional time recorder printing apparatus, since the print interval is set separately for the print head and the platen, they are separately assembled in the housing. It is necessary to improve the manufacturing precision of these parts, the mounting precision, or the mounting precision to the housing. Therefore, in order to satisfy this requirement, it is necessary to obtain high accuracy for all the related parts, which causes a problem of increase in manufacturing cost, and there is a limit to further increase the accuracy. However, there was a problem that the printing clarity of the term was not easily obtained.

Further, in the above-mentioned conventional device, the platen rotates to the operating position and contacts the time card here. Due to the rotating action, a vertical force is exerted on the time card to easily cause a positional displacement. There was also a problem that this adversely affects the print definition.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to improve the printing interval between the print head and the platen with higher accuracy without excessively increasing the manufacturing accuracy or the mounting accuracy of the related parts. It is an object of the present invention to provide a time recorder printing apparatus which can be set, which can prevent the sharpness of printing, and thus prevent character loss, and which has a simple structure and can be manufactured at low cost.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above conventional problems, the present invention provides:
A print head, a print head support frame that supports the print head, a platen that faces a print surface of the print head with a card insertion path through which a time card is inserted, and the platen that is attached to the print head during a printing operation. Assuming a time recorder having a platen operating means for moving between a corresponding operating position and a non-operating position separated from the print head, a print surface is provided on a side of the print head support frame facing the platen, on the print surface. And a platen supporting means for slidably supporting the platen so that the platen can approach and separate substantially parallel to the reference abutting surface, and the platen can be operated by the platen operation. Means for elastically connecting the platen to the reference abutting surface via the time card during a printing operation. A first contacting and holding means, wherein the platen actuating means connects the actuating lot substantially parallel to the platen, and the actuating rod and the platen so as to be relatively operable along the sliding direction of the platen; And the elastic means are disposed between the rod and the platen, and a printer for a time recorder is proposed.

Further, as a specific configuration of the present invention, the platen actuating means includes a turning link member, and the link member is provided with a second elongated hole means for engaging with the rod to turn the link member. Accordingly, the present invention proposes a printing apparatus for a time recorder that allows the movement of the rod along the sliding direction of the platen.

[Operation] In the time recorder printing apparatus according to the present invention having the above-described configuration, the platen is slidably and substantially parallel to the reference abutting surface formed on the print head support frame during the printing operation via the elastic means. Since the contact and hold are performed, a predetermined print interval between the print head and the platen can be easily and accurately obtained, and thus clear printing is performed, and when the platen contacts the time card, the card is moved up and down. No force is applied in the direction, and therefore the printing position of the card does not shift.

[Embodiment] Hereinafter, a printing apparatus for a time recorder according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a card insertion passage of a time card 2, and a pair of front and rear guide plates (not numbered) so that the card 2 can be vertically inserted into and out of the time recorder 3 from the upper surface of the recorder 3. It is formed by. A print head 4 is provided on the front side (left side in the drawing) across the insertion path 1 and a platen 5 is opposed to the rear side (right side in the drawing) in the middle of the insertion path 1.

The print head 4 is formed by a print wheel 6, and as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of print wheels 6 are arranged in parallel along the print row direction. Each printing wheel 6 moves and rotates in the printing line direction (left and right direction in FIG. 4) by a printing wheel operating means (not shown), and a hammer 6a in which the characters on the selected printing wheel are arranged inside at a predetermined printing position. It is assembled to the print head support frame 8 so that it can be ejected and printed on the card 2. The support frame 8 is composed of a bottom member 8a, side members 8b, 8b that pivotally support the printing wheel 6 by a support shaft 7, and a front member 8c. As a whole, the upper side and the insertion path 1 side are open. ing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the support frame 8 is a mounting piece that forms a part of the housing 12 of the time recorder 3 arranged below the support frame 8.
It is fixed at 11. In the print head support frame 8, as shown in FIG. 2, the bottom member 8a and the side members 8b, 8b are printed such that their end surfaces on the insertion passage 1 side are the same surface as the print surface on which the print head 4 operates. The head 4 is provided so as to have a space (printing space) e with respect to the surface of the head 4 during standby. That is, the reference abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 forming one plane perpendicular to the insertion passage 1 side of the members 8a, 8b, 8b are formed. The reference abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 are finished with high accuracy on the support shaft 7 which is a reference for the mounting accuracy of the print head 4.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the platen 5 is composed of a front member 5a having a platen surface 13 facing the printing surface of the print head 4, side members 5b and 5b, and a bottom member 5c. . The front member 5a has a shape and a size capable of being substantially abutted against the abutting surfaces 9, 10 and 10 via the time card 2, and the upper portion thereof is located closer to the time card 2 than the side members 5b and 5b. It is chamfered so as to facilitate the insertion, and is formed thick so as to prevent the reverse rotation of the rotation link member 18 described later.

On the lower side of the bottom member 5c, the platen 5 is provided with the abutting surfaces 9,1.
A housing 12 which constitutes a platen supporting means for placing and supporting so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction substantially parallel to 0 and 10.
Is provided with a sliding plate 14. This sliding plate 14
The front end of is bent downward so as to secure the insertion passage 1.

The side members 5b, 5b are formed with elongated holes 15, 15 forming a first elongated hole means along the sliding direction of the platen 5 at substantially the center thereof, and the ends thereof are slidable in the elongated holes 15, 15. An actuating rod 16 engaged with is provided between the side members 5b, 5b so as to be substantially parallel to the platen surface 13.

Between the actuating rod 16 and the front member 5a, there are interposed leaf springs 21, 21 which form elastic means, as the shape is clearly shown in FIG. Each leaf spring 21 is fitted in the central portion of the rod 16 at one end (base end) in each half region along the axial direction of the rod 16 and the other end (free end) presses the inner wall portion of the front member 5a. Are arranged in a closed state. That is, double leaf springs
One end of each of 21, 21 is in contact with the center of the rod 16, the movements in the axial direction are mutually restricted, and the rods 21 and the platen 5 are divided into two parts to facilitate relative operation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, above the side members 5b, 5b, a rotary support shaft 17 substantially parallel to the reference abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 is provided.
Is fixed to the housing 12, and the shaft 17 is rotatably supported by a rotary link member 18 forming a part of the platen operating means at the operating pieces 18a, 18a at both ends bent and formed in a U-shape. Has been done. On the other hand, elongated holes 19 forming second elongated hole means are formed at the tip ends of the operating pieces 18a, 18a along the extending direction thereof. This elongated hole 19 allows actuating pieces 18a, 18a
Is slidably engaged with the rod 16 between the side members 5b, 5b. Further, a connecting piece 20 having a mounting hole 20a is formed by bending at one end of the upper piece 18b of the rotary link member 18. As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting piece 20 is provided at a substantially central portion of the platen 5 in the lateral direction or the printing direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, a self-holding type latching solenoid 22 is provided below the platen 5, and constitutes a platen operating means together with the rotary link member 18. This solenoid 22 has a connecting rod 23 in the mounting hole 20a of the connecting piece 20.
Are connected via. Further, the other end of a tension coil spring 24 having one end attached to the rear upper part of the housing and having a return spring action is engaged with the attachment hole 20a of the connecting piece 20. As shown in FIG. 4, a guide hole 25 for guiding the connecting rod 23 is provided at the rear end of the sliding plate 14 so as to project. Its guide hole
Since 25 has a notch that allows the rod 23 to be engaged and disengaged, the rod 23 can be easily attached to the sliding plate 14.

In addition, as shown in FIG.
A pair of card feed rollers 26 are arranged below the platen 5 and are driven to rotate by a roller driving mechanism in the time recorder 3 (not shown).

According to the time recorder printing apparatus having the above configuration,
As shown in FIG. 2, the platen 5 is separated from the print head 4 during printing standby or non-operation, and the time card 2 is moved along the insertion path 1 as shown in FIG.
Is smoothly fed to a predetermined position.

During the printing operation, the latching solenoid 22 shown in FIG. 1 is excited, the connecting rod 23 is pulled as shown by the arrow in FIG. 3, and the rotary link member 18 is rotated clockwise around the rotary shaft 17. Move. This rotation causes the operating rod 16 to move into the long hole 15
When the platen 5 is horizontally moved forward while sliding inside the slide plates 19 and 19, the platen 5 is pushed by the urging force of the leaf springs 21 and 21 and slides along the slide plate 14 as shown by an arrow in FIG. As a result, the platen surface 13 of the platen 5 comes into contact with the abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 via the time card 2. In this way, the platen surface 13 presses the card 2 against the abutting surfaces 9, 10 and 10, and the solenoid 22
Is latched, the platen 5 is positioned so as to hold the card 2 in contact therewith, and the printing interval e is secured.

At this time, even if the print head 4 and the platen 5 do not have high parallelism in terms of accuracy, the platen 5 is elastically pressed against the abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 by the interposition of the leaf springs 21, 21. Therefore, the platen surface 13 is replaced by the abutting surface 9,1.
The card 2 is uniformly and surely pressed over the entire surface of 0 and 10. Therefore, if the abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 are finished with high accuracy, the printing interval e can always be set accurately.

When the platen 5 slides with the rotation of the rotation link member 18, the upper side of the platen 5 is regulated by the rotation shaft 17, so that the sliding is always smooth along the slide plate 14. Done
Further, since the platen 5 slides in the horizontal direction, the pressing force acts on the time card 2 only in the front-back direction of the card 2 and does not apply a vertical force, so the abutting surface
When the card 2 is attached to the 9,10,10, the vertical displacement of the card 2 does not occur.

Further, to change the printing operation state to the standby state, the self-holding of the solenoid 22 is released. As a result, the tension coil spring 24 causes the rotation link member 18 to rotate counterclockwise,
Return to the original position shown in FIG. At this time, the rotation of the member 18 is restricted by the inner wall portion of the front member 5a of the platen 5, and does not excessively rotate beyond the position shown in the drawing.

In this way, by pressing the time card 2 against the abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 by sliding the platen 5, the time card 2 is easily held at a predetermined position during the printing operation of the print head 4, That is, it is possible to easily secure the space e with respect to the print head 4, and it is possible to prevent variations in the print definition and character loss without significantly increasing the manufacturing accuracy and mounting accuracy of the components of the print head 4 and the platen 5.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the print head 4 is composed of the print wheel 6, but it can be applied to other print forming such as a type belt and a wire dot. Further, in the embodiment, the configuration in which the platen 5 is slid through the leaf springs 21, 21 as the elastic means is disclosed, but the invention is not limited to the leaf spring configuration shown in the embodiment, and an elastic body such as rubber or A configuration in which a spring or the like having another shape is interposed may be used. Furthermore, although the reference abutting surfaces 9, 10, 10 are formed on the side members 8b, 8b and the bottom member 8a of the print head support frame 8 in the embodiment, for example, the left and right side members 8, 8b are shown. It is also possible to use only the reference abutting surface.

[Advantage of the Invention] As described above, according to the time recorder printing apparatus of the present invention, the platen slides substantially parallel to the reference abutting surface formed on the support member of the print head via the time card. Since they are freely brought into contact with and held by elastic means, special attention must be paid to the production, assembly accuracy, mounting accuracy, etc. of their constituent parts in order to obtain a predetermined distance between the print head and the platen accurately. In addition, it is possible to easily and accurately obtain the above-mentioned intervals to prevent variations in print definition, and thus character loss, and exert unnecessary force in the vertical direction on the card when the platen contacts the time card. Since it does not occur, a predetermined print position can be reliably ensured, and various effects such as further improvement of the print definition can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view of a time recorder equipped with a printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a partially cutaway housing, and FIG. 2 is a view showing the printing device portion in a standby state or in an inoperative state. FIG. 3 is an enlarged side view of the fracture, FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view showing a printing state of the printer of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a partially fractured plan view of FIG. 1 ... Card insertion path, 2 ... Time card 4 ... Print head, 5 ... Platen 8 ... Print head support frame 9, 10 ... Reference abutting surface, 14 ... Sliding plate 15, 19 ... Long hole, 18 ... Rotation link Member 16 ... Actuating rod, 21 ... Leaf spring

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A print head, a print head support frame that supports the print head, a platen that faces a print surface of the print head with a card insertion passage through which a time card is inserted, and a printing operation of the platen. What has a platen operating means for moving between an operating position corresponding to the print head and an inactive position separated from the print head, wherein a print surface is provided on the side of the print head support frame facing the platen. And a platen supporting means for slidably supporting the platen so that the platen can approach and separate substantially parallel to the reference abutting surface, and the platen is provided with the platen. It is operatively connected to the operating means via elastic means,
An operating rod, in which the platen is brought into contact with and held by the reference abutting surface via the time card, and the platen operating means is substantially parallel to the platen; and the operating rod and the platen. A first slotted hole means for connecting relative to each other along the sliding direction of the platen so as to be relatively operable, and the elastic means is arranged between the rod and the platen. Printing device. 2. The platen actuating means includes a rotary link member, and the link member is provided with a second elongated hole means for engaging with the rod, and the platen is responsive to the rotary movement of the link member. 2. The time recorder printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rod is allowed to move along the sliding direction of the time recorder.