JPH0890881A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent break of recording paper at the time of setting of a ribbon magazine in a printing apparatus. CONSTITUTION: In a printing apparatus equipped with a recording paper supply means for supplying recording paper (recording medium), a platen driven by a motor (driving means) and carrying the recording paper supplied from the recording paper supply means, a printing head coming into contact with and detaching from this platen and a ribbon magazine 27 (ink ribbon holding means) which holds an ink ribbon 72 interposed between the recording paper and the printing head, pressed by the recording paper, supplied synchronously with the carriage of the recording paper and transferring ink onto the recording paper and is inserted and removed in the axial direction of the platen, a guide means 80 for guiding the recording medium is provided in the lower part on the side of the direction of insertion of the ribbon magazine 27, while guide surfaces shaped as curved surfaces are formed in the opposite ends of this guide means 80.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which prints by transferring the ink of an ink ribbon onto a recording paper or the like by means of a print head using a thermal head, and more particularly to a so-called ribbon magazine containing an ink ribbon. Related to the printing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a printing apparatus that supplies an ink ribbon using a ribbon magazine of this type, a roller-shaped platen that is driven to rotate by a motor is generally provided, and a thermal head that can be brought into and out of contact with the platen is provided. The print head used is provided, and when the ribbon magazine is attached to the main body, the print head is separated from the platen, and the ink ribbon is positioned between the platen and the print head in the axial direction of the platen. Meanwhile, the ribbon magazine is inserted and mounted on the main body. Further, when the ink ribbon is used up, it is removed from the main body in the reverse order of the above-mentioned mounting, and then replaced with a new ribbon magazine in the mounting procedure. Then, continuous paper is used as the recording paper as required.

[0003]

As described above, when the ribbon magazine is replaced for replacing the ink ribbon when the continuous paper is used as the recording paper, the space between the platen and the print head is changed. Since the recording paper exists, if the recording paper is accidentally caught at the lower end of the ribbon magazine when the ribbon magazine is inserted or removed, the recording paper will be damaged, so care must always be taken during the insertion and removal. However, the mounting work is not easy and the recording paper may be damaged despite being careful.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and is a recording medium supply means for supplying a recording medium, and a recording driven by a driving means and supplied from a pre-recording medium supply means. A platen for conveying the medium,
The thermal head that is brought into contact with and separated from the platen, an ink ribbon that is interposed between the recording medium and the thermal head and that is supplied in synchronism with the conveyance of the recording medium and that transfers ink to the recording medium are housed. In a printing apparatus in which an ink ribbon accommodating means that is inserted and removed in the axial direction of a platen is provided in a printer body, a guide means for guiding a recording medium is provided under a side plate on the insertion direction side of the ink ribbon accommodating means. This is a printing apparatus in which curved guide surfaces are provided at both ends of the guide means in the insertion / removal direction.

[0005]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, even when the recording medium is present between the platen and the print head when the ribbon accommodating means is attached to or detached from the main body, the recording paper is ribboned by the guiding means. Since the recording medium is guided in the direction away from the lower portion of the storing means, the recording medium is not caught by the ribbon storing means and the recording medium is not damaged.
Moreover, the work for attaching and detaching the ribbon storing means becomes easy.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a printer main body (hereinafter referred to as a main body).
A printing device such as a supply means for supplying a recording paper as a recording medium (not shown) disposed inside, a platen described later, a print head using a thermal head, and a ribbon magazine as a ribbon storage means for storing an ink ribbon are configured. It shows the arrangement relationship of the main constituent elements.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body, and one side of the main body 1 is provided with a main frame 2 made of a rectangular plate member. On the other side of the main body 1, a sub-frame 2a facing the main frame 2 is provided as shown in FIG.

Below the main body, four roller-like platens 3 to 6 are provided for performing color printing on both frames 2 and for printing each color of yellow, cyan, magenta and black. Has been done. The platens 3 to 6 are rotatably attached to the frames 2 and 2a by shafts 7 provided at both ends thereof. Further, the main frame 2 is provided with motors 8 and 9 as driving means, the motor 8 drives the platen 3 and the platen 4 via the gear group 10 and the gear group 11, respectively, and the motor 9 is The platen 5 and the platen 6 are driven via the gear group 12 and the gear group 13, respectively. Further, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 is a conveyance guide for conveying a recording sheet (not shown) such as a continuous sheet as a recording medium or a label releasably attached on a long mount sheet, and the platens 3 to 6 are provided. A part of it is exposed above the transport guide to transport the recording paper.

The print heads 15 to 18 using the thermal heads as the four printing means are provided corresponding to the platens 3 to 6 for printing the respective colors of yellow, cyan, magenta and black. It is arranged. Further, the main frame 2 has winding drive shafts 19 to 22 for rotating and driving a winding roller for winding an ink ribbon, which will be described later, and support shafts 23 to 26 for supporting the ink ribbon supply roller.
The winding drive shafts 19 to 22 are provided so as to project toward the a side, and are driven by a motor (not shown).

The winding drive shaft 19 and the support shaft 23, the winding drive shaft 20 and the support shaft 24, the winding drive shaft 21 and the support shaft 25,
1 and the winding drive shaft 22 and the support shaft 26, respectively.
Ribbon magazines 27 to 30 as ink ribbon storage means for storing ink ribbons coated with yellow, cyan, magenta, and black inks as shown by dotted lines on the winding roller are orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. It is arranged so that it can be attached to and detached from the main body 1 by inserting and removing it in the direction of rotation, that is, the axial direction of the platens 3 to 6.

A recording medium supply means 31 for supplying the recording paper (not shown) is disposed on the right side of the main body 1 in FIG. 1, and the recording medium supply means 31 is a motor via a gear group 32. A supply roller 34 that is driven to rotate by 33 and a pinch roller 35 that can be brought into contact with and separated from the supply roller 34, and transfers recording paper from a recording paper storage unit (not shown) to the platen 3 and the print head 15. Are being supplied.

A shaft 36 is attached to the main frame 2, and four head mounting frames 37 to 40 for mounting the print heads 15 to 18 are mounted on the shaft 36 as shown in FIG. It is provided. Since the head mounting frames 37 to 40 have the same configuration, only the head mounting frame 37 among them will be described with reference to FIG. The head mounting frame 37 has holes 4 provided in its ears 41.
1a is fitted to the shaft 36 and is rotatably attached. The head mounting frame 37 is constantly urged upward in FIG. 2 by a coil spring 42 having one end locked to the main frame 2 and the other end locked to an ear 41. The head mounting frame 37 is provided with side plates 37a and 37b spaced apart from each other, and an upper wall 37c provided above the side plates 37a and 37b.
And the ears 41 are provided on the side plate 37a. The side plate 37a of the head mounting frame 37 is always attracted by the magnet M provided on the main frame 2 so that the head mounting frame 37 is positioned in the state shown in FIG.

A rotating shaft 43 is provided on each of the side plates 37a and 37b, and the lever 4 is provided at one end of the rotating shaft 43.
4 is attached, and the cam 45 is attached to the side plate 37a. Further, the side plates 37a and 37b are provided with wall plates 46 facing each other apart from each other, and head operating rods 48 are provided on the wall plates 46 so as to be vertically rotatable via shafts 47. Has been.
As shown in FIG. 3, the head actuating bar 48 has side plates 48a and 48b that are spaced apart from each other and face each other, and the side plates 48a and 48b are integrally connected to each other, and the connecting plate 48 is in contact with the cam 45.
As shown in FIG. 2, hooks 49 are provided at the tips of the side plates 48a and 48b. The head operating rod 48 is constantly urged upward by a coil spring 50 fitted on the shaft 47.

The print head 15 has a head mounting frame 51.
The head mounting frame 51 is integrally mounted with a mounting piece 52 having a U-shaped cross section, and the mounting piece 52 is provided with a shaft 53.

A leaf spring 54 is attached to the connecting plate 48c with its tip facing the hook 49.
When the lever 44 of the rotary shaft 43 is rotated, the cam 45 acts on the connecting plate 48c. When the action point of the cam 45 in the long axis direction acts on the connecting plate 48c, As shown in FIG. 2, the operating bar 48 is located at a horizontal position, the print head is urged downward by the plate spring 54, that is, in the platen 3 direction and positioned at the print position to press the ink ribbon and the recording paper against the platen 3. Also,
When the action point in the short axis direction acts on the coupling plate 48c, the operating bar 48 is pushed upward by the coil spring 50, and the print head 15 is separated from the platen 3.

Further, the wall plate 46 is provided with an operating rod 55 rotatably attached by a shaft 54.
A receiving portion 55a is formed at the tip end portion of the operating rod 55, and an engaging portion 55b is provided at the base end side. The engaging portion 55b engages with the operating rod 56a of the electromagnet 56 attached to the main frame 2 by a mounting means (not shown), and when the electromagnet 56 operates, the shaft 54 serves as a pivotal fulcrum. The print head 15 is rotated counterclockwise, and the print head 15 is moved upward by the receiving portion 55a provided at the tip end thereof to be separated from the platen 3. The reason why the print head 15 is separated from the platen 3 is to save the ink ribbon by stopping the supply of the ink ribbon when the recording paper is conveyed without printing. When the sheet is conveyed without printing, the electromagnet 56 is operated to separate the print head 15 from the platen 3 to separate the ink ribbon from the recording sheet and stop the supply of the recording sheet.

Incidentally, at both ends of the mounting frame 51 of the print head 15, as shown in FIG.
Is integrally attached to the main frame 2 and the sub-frame 2a, and a positioning pin 57 that engages with the positioning recess 58a is attached to each of the main frame 2 and the sub-frame 2a. When the print head 15 is positioned at the print position with respect to the platen 3, the positioning recesses 58a provided at both ends of the mounting frame 51 engage with the positioning pins 57 so that the print head 15 is reliably positioned at the print position. It has become.

Next, the ribbon magazines 27 to 3
The configuration of 0 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. Since the ribbon magazines have the same configuration, only the ribbon magazine 27 will be described and the others will be omitted.

As shown in the figure, the ribbon magazine 27 is
A storage frame 63 is provided in which the side plates 60 and 61 are opposed to each other and are integrally coupled to each other by a predetermined distance by coupling shafts 62a and 62b, and the upper portions of the side plates 60 and 61 are opened above each other. Semi-circular bearings 64a and 64b which are opposed to each other, and which are disposed below the bearings 64a and 64b so as to be opposed to each other with a predetermined distance therebetween, and which are similarly opened in a semi-circular shape. 65a and 65b are provided. Further, a guide groove 66 (only the side plate 61 side is shown in FIG. 5) is formed in the side plates 60 and 61 by horizontally notching the side wall thereof in the right direction in FIG. Further, the lower edge 66a of the guide groove 66 is formed as a horizontal plane to function as a guide surface, and this plane is flush with the opening edges 65c of the bearings 65a (not shown in FIG. 5) and 65b. Is formed. Also, the upper ends 6 of the side plates 60 and 61, respectively.
0a (not shown) and 61a are formed in a horizontal plane for functioning as guide surfaces, and this plane is formed with the opening edges 64 of the bearings 64a (not shown in FIG. 5) and 64b.
It is formed so as to be flush with c. Thus, the upper ends 60a (not shown) of the side plates 60 and 61,
61a as a horizontal guide surface on the same plane as the opening edges 64c of the bearings 64a and 64b, and the lower edge 6 of the guide groove 66.
By forming 6a as a horizontal plane on the same surface as the bearings 65a (not shown in FIG. 5) and the opening edge 65c of the bearing 65a, the supply roller and the take-up roller, which will be described later, are accommodated in the storage frame 63. When mounted on the ribbon magazine 27, the rotating shafts of the rollers can be guided to this plane, that is, the guide surface, so that the mounting can be easily performed.

The bearings 64a and 65b are detachably attached by a bush nut 67 so that they can be replaced when worn. In this way, each bearing 6
The reason why 4a and 65b are replaceable is that when these bearings are worn out by use, the parallelism of the take-up roller and the supply roller, which will be described later, is impaired, and wrinkles and the like occur on the ink ribbon during conveyance, resulting in poor print quality. This is to solve the problem of high cost, which is caused by replacing the entire ribbon magazine in the related art, by replacing only the bearing as described above.

Next, the bearing 6 of the side plates 60 and 61.
A shaft locking body 68 is provided in the vicinity of where 4a and 65b are attached. The shaft locking body 68 is composed of an elastic member, and the bearings 64a to 65 are provided at the upper end thereof.
The side projections 60 and 61 are provided so that the locking projection pieces 68a are located above the openings of b (only 64b and 65b are shown). In addition, a guide surface that is inclined in the opening direction of the bearings 64a and 65b is formed at the tip of the locking projection piece 68a.

A take-up roller 70 is rotatably supported by shafts 70a and 70b provided at both ends of the bearings 64a and 64b. An engaging hole 70c is formed in the shaft 70a so as to be inserted into and removed from the winding drive shaft 19 provided in the main frame 2 in the axial direction and prevented from rotating in the rotational direction. Then, the winding roller 70 is stored in the storage frame 6
3 is attached to the side plate 60.
While being guided to the horizontal plane of the upper ends 60a (not shown) 61a of the bearings 61 and 61, they are inserted toward the openings of the bearings 64a and 64b and mounted in the bearings 64a and 64b. At this time, the shafts 70a and 70b are the locking projections 68a of the shaft locking body 68.
It is locked by and rotates stably in the bearing. When the shafts 70a and 70b are mounted in the bearings 64a and 64b, the bearing locking body 68 elastically deforms so as to open the opening of the bearing.

A supply roller 71 is rotatably supported by shafts 71a and 71b provided at both ends of the bearings 65a and 65b. The shaft 71a is formed with an engagement hole 71c that engages with the support shaft 23 provided on the main frame 2 so as to be insertable and removable in the axial direction. When the winding roller 71 is attached to the storage frame 63, the shafts 71a, 7
1b while guiding the 1b to the horizontal plane of the lower edge 66a of the guide groove 66 formed in the side plates 60 and 61.
Bearings 65a, 65b inserted toward the openings of a, 65b
Install inside. At this time, the shafts 71a and 71b are locked by the locking projections 68a of the shaft locking body 68 and stably rotate in the bearing.

The side plates 60 and 6 of the storage frame 63 are also provided.
1 includes guide rollers 73, 7 for guiding the ink ribbon 72 from the supply roller 71 to the winding roller 70.
4 and 75 are provided. The guide roller 74 is selectively attached to the first mounting portion 76a provided at the lower portion of the side plates 60 and 61 and the second mounting portion 76b provided above the first mounting portion 76a as required. It is designed to be detachably attached to. The first mounting portion 76a is located at an intermediate portion of the guide roller 74 when mounted on the first mounting portion 76a and the ink ribbon 72 is stretched around the guide roller 73. When the print head 15 is positioned at a predetermined print position (not shown in FIG. 5, the print surface of the print head is substantially at the same position as the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of the guide roller 74), the print head 15 The guide roller 74 is provided at a predetermined distance below the guide roller 73 so that the ink ribbon becomes substantially horizontal, that is, the peeling angle becomes smaller. Further, the second mounting portion 76b is located at an intermediate portion between the guide roller 74 and the guide roller 73 when mounted on the second mounting portion 76b in a state where the ink ribbon 72 is stretched. When the print head 15 is positioned at a predetermined printing position by the above, it is provided at a position where the tip of the print head 15 is bent at a predetermined acute angle to increase the peeling angle.

By providing the guide roller 74 so that the ink ribbon 72 is in a horizontal state, that is, the peeling angle is small, the recording paper and the ink ribbon 72 are conveyed at a predetermined distance in synchronization, that is, they are conveyed as a unit, and thus the cold ink ribbon is used. When using, it is possible to print with good quality. Further, the ink ribbon 72 is bent at a predetermined acute angle from the tip of the print head 15 so that the peeling angle becomes large, so that the ink ribbon 72 is peeled from the recording paper immediately after being printed on the recording paper. Therefore, good quality printing can be performed when the hot ink ribbon is used. Both of these states can be achieved only by providing the first mounting portion 76a and the second mounting portion 76b, and selectively mounting the guide roller 74 to these both mounting portions as needed. Since it is not necessary to replace the entire ribbon magazine 63 as in the conventional case, the cost is reduced. The peeling angle may be three or more types if necessary.

Next, the guide means 80 for guiding the recording medium provided in the storage frame 63, that is, the ribbon magazine 27 will be described.

The guide means 80 is provided on the side facing the main frame 2 (on the left side in FIG. 4), that is, on the lower end portion of the side plate 60 on the front end side in the insertion direction of the ribbon magazine 27 into the main body 1. The guide means 80 is a recording paper interposed between the print head 15 and the platen 3 when the ribbon magazine 27 is attached to and detached from the main body 1 along the axial direction of the platen 3 as described above. Moreover, the lower end of the ribbon magazine 27 is prevented from being caught, and the recording paper is made to function without being damaged. As shown in FIG. 6, the structure is integrally provided on one leg portion 60a at the lower end portion of the side plate 60, and curved surfaces 81a and 81 as guide surfaces are provided at both end portions of the ribbon magazine 27 in the inserting / removing direction.
It is constituted by a sled body 81 forming b. The sled body 81 is attached to the leg portion 60a by three reinforcing ribs 81c. Also, the sled body 81
Both end portions, that is, both end portions on which the curved surfaces 81a and 81b are formed are projected from the front and rear of the leg portion 60a. And
When inserting / removing the ribbon magazine 27 into / from the main body, the recording paper interposed between the print head 15 and the platen 3 is pushed down and guided in a direction away from the main body. It does not damage or break the paper. In particular, since both ends of the sled body 81 are projected from the leg portions 60a, when the ribbon magazine 27 is attached or detached, the recording paper is guided downward so as to precede the lower end portion thereof. Since the guide can be effectively performed, the recording paper can be reliably prevented from being damaged, and the ribbon magazine 27 can be easily attached to and detached from the main body 1. The guide means 80 may also be provided on the leg portion 60b on the other side.

Next, how to attach / detach the ribbon magazine 27 to / from the main body 1 will be described.

First, the ribbon magazine 27 in which the supply roller 71 around which the ink ribbon 72 is wound and the take-up roller 70 are mounted is prepared. Then, the head mounting frame 3
The lever 44 of the rotary shaft 43 provided on the printer 7 is operated to separate the print head 15 from the platen 3 via the operating bar 48. In this state, the ribbon magazine 27 is stretched below the ribbon guide rollers 73 and 74, and the ink ribbon 72 is inserted while being positioned between the platen 3 and the print head 15, and the shaft 70a of the winding roller 70 is inserted.
The engaging hole 70c of the supply roller 71 and the engaging hole 71c of the shaft 71a of the supply roller 71.
And engage them with each other. Guidance means 80 at this time
Since the recording paper is guided in the downward direction by the sled body 81, the recording paper is not damaged and the mounting work is facilitated because no care needs to be taken at the time of mounting. Then, by operating the lever 44, the print head 1
5 is moved in the direction of the platen 3 and positioned at the printing position. In this state, the recording paper and the ink ribbon 72 are nipped by the platen 3 and the print head 15, and the platen 3
The recording paper is conveyed by the rotation of the recording paper, and the ink ribbon is moved in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording paper, that is, the ink ribbon is moved integrally with the recording paper, the ink is transferred to the recording paper by the print head 15 and printing is performed, and the ink ribbon is printed. 72 is a winding roller 7
The recording paper is peeled off from the recording paper by being wound up to 0, and the recording paper is further transported in the downstream direction, printed in each color, and discharged to the main body 1.

When the ink ribbon 72 is used up, the ribbon magazine 27 is to be removed from the main body 1 and replaced with a new ribbon magazine 27. How to remove the ribbon magazine 27 May be performed by the reverse operation of the above-mentioned device. At the time of this removal, the sled member 81 of the guide means 80 guides the recording paper in the direction of being pushed downward, so that the recording paper is not damaged. Become.

[0032]

Since the present invention is constructed as described above,
Even when a recording medium exists between the platen and the print head when the ribbon accommodating means is attached to or detached from the main body, the recording medium is guided by the guiding means in a direction away from the lower part of the ribbon accommodating means. Is not caught by the ribbon storing means, the recording medium is not damaged, and the ribbon storing means can be easily attached and detached.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall arrangement configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a mounting structure of the print head according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a mounting structure of the print head according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a ribbon magazine of the above embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a ribbon magazine of the above embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of the guide means of the above embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Platen 8 Motor (Driving Means) 15 Print Head 27 Ribbon Magazine (Ink Ribbon Storage Means) 72 Ink Ribbon 80 Guide Means

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium supply means for supplying a recording medium,
A platen which is driven by a driving unit and conveys the recording medium supplied from the pre-recording medium supplying unit, a thermal head which comes into contact with and separates from the platen, and the recording medium which is interposed between the recording medium and the thermal head. In the printing device, the ink ribbon storing means for storing the ink ribbon that is supplied in synchronism with the conveyance of the ink and transferring the ink to the recording medium and that is inserted into and removed from the axial direction of the platen is provided in the main body of the printing device. A printing apparatus, characterized in that guide means for guiding a recording medium is provided below a side plate of the ribbon accommodating means on the insertion side, and curved guide surfaces are provided at both ends of the guide means in the inserting / removing direction.