JPH09240083A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer good in a loading property of a recording paper and superior in printing quality and a paper feeding property by a constitution wherein when a paper feeding transfer gear is rotated, a transferring load that a paper feeding gear rotates the paper feeding transfer gear acts in a direction of which action generates a moment of closing an opening/closing member. SOLUTION: In a printer mechanism, a force from a paper feeding motor 23 is transferred to a platen gear 19 via a paper feeding transfer gear 22. When the paper feeding motor 23 rotates in a counter-clockwise direction, i.e., a forward direction, the direction of the force transmitted to the platen gear 19 from the paper feeding transfer gear 22 becomes one represented by arrow F in a condition that a pressure angle of the gear is designated by (a). Since a cover frame 10 is rotatable around a pivot 14, a force of the arrow F2 which is a divisional force of the force F acts in a closing direction of the cover frame 10. As a result, even when the cover frame 10 is not completely closed, the cover frame 10 automatically receives a force in a downward direction by virtue of the paper feeding transfer gear 22 after the paper feeding of the printer starts so that the cover frame 10 is surely closed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a POS system,
The present invention relates to printers used in cash registers, copying machines, facsimiles, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of printer, various systems have been proposed in order to facilitate mounting of recording paper. For example, as described in JP-A-58-005283, there is a mechanism in which the cover can be opened, the recording paper can be inserted, and the recording paper can be set by closing the cover. Printers of various types have been commercialized with the same idea.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a conventional personal facsimile, showing a state in which the cover 100 is opened. The printer is a thermal printer that uses thermal paper as recording paper, and a main body 101 is provided with a storage unit 102 for storing a roll-shaped recording paper 107 and a platen 103 that also functions as a paper feed roller.
A print head 104 is disposed at 00. The cover lock mechanism that locks the cover 100 to the main body 101 includes a locking hook 105 and a knob 106 that moves the locking hook and releases the locking.

The operator first operates the knob 106 to open the cover 100. Next, the recording paper 107 is put into the storage unit 102 with the edge of the paper slightly exposed. Then, when the cover 100 is closed again, the recording paper 107 is a mechanism that is sandwiched between the platen 103 and the print head 104 and mounted. In this case, the print head 104 is biased by a spring or the like toward the platen 103.
Such a printer is characterized in that it is not necessary to pass the edge of the paper through the insertion port and the paper can be mounted very easily. Therefore, this method is widely used in low-priced facsimiles for individuals.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, there is a problem that the relative position of the platen and the print head tends to be misaligned because the platen and the print head are arranged in separate parts. It was In particular, in the case of a thermal printer, there is a problem that the positions of the platen and the print head are required to have high accuracy, and if the positions are incorrect, the printing becomes thin. Further, in the prior art, the pressing force that presses the print head against the platen is affected by the locking means that locks the cover. Since the locking means using a hook or the like generally has a play, this may cause variations in the pressing force to deteriorate the printing quality, or
The paper may not feed properly. Further, in the prior art, the locking means for locking the cover and the releasing means for releasing the locking are always required, which hinders the cost reduction of the printer. Further, if the operator forcibly opens the cover without properly operating the releasing means, the printer may be partially damaged.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned various problems of the related art, and an object of the present invention is that the mounting property of the recording paper is good, and the printing quality and the paper feeding characteristics are good. To provide an excellent printer.

The present invention has always been necessary. An object of the present invention is to provide a printer inexpensively by eliminating the cover lock mechanism, to enable the cover to be opened directly, and to facilitate the opening of the cover by the operator.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is such that an opening / closing member arranged to be openable / closable in a printer frame and a drive source rotate only during paper feeding. , A paper feed drive gear arranged in a printer frame, a paper feed roller rotatably arranged in an opening / closing member, and a recording paper conveying roller, and a member for rotating the paper feed roller arranged in the opening / closing member, and the opening / closing member is a printer. When rotating the paper feed transmission gear and the paper feed transmission gear that mesh with the paper feed drive gear when closed to the frame,
The transmission load that the paper feed gear rotates the paper feed transmission gear is
It is characterized in that it acts in a direction to generate a moment to close the opening / closing member.

Further, the printer has a pressure contact member that presses the paper feed roller, and has a pressure contact member that can be brought into contact with and separated from the paper feed roller. The pressure contact member urges the opening and closing member in a direction to generate a moment. It is characterized by

Further, the opening / closing member is a cover member of a storage unit for storing the recording paper of the printer.

Further, the pressing member is a thermal head having a paper feed roller for pressing the recording paper or a heat generating means.

In the case of the invention according to claim 1 having such a structure, the opening / closing member arranged to be openable / closable in the printer frame and rotated by the drive source only when the paper is fed,
A paper feed drive gear arranged on the printer frame, a paper feed roller rotatably arranged on the opening / closing member, and a paper feed roller for conveying the recording paper, and a member for rotating the paper feed roller arranged on the opening / closing member, the opening / closing member being the printer frame. When the paper feed transmission gear that meshes with the paper feed drive gear when it is closed and the paper feed transmission gear is rotated, the transmission load that causes the paper feed gear to rotate the paper feed transmission gear is the moment that closes the opening / closing member. Therefore, even if the opening / closing member is incompletely closed, the opening / closing member is surely closed with the paper feeding, and the paper feeding roller is positioned at a predetermined position. As a result, if the positional accuracy of the paper feed roller is good, a printer with excellent printing quality and paper feed characteristics can be obtained, and the locking means of the opening / closing member, which was required in the past, is not required, and the printer cost is reduced. Further, the locking means is not damaged by forcibly opening the opening / closing member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the paper feed roller is brought into pressure contact with a pressure contact member capable of contacting and separating from the paper feed roller, and the pressure contact member exerts a moment to close the opening / closing member. Since the force is applied in the direction of occurrence, the effect of claim 1 and its reliability are further improved.

Furthermore, since the opening / closing member is a cover member of the storage portion for storing the recording paper of the printer, the recording paper is fed by the paper feed roller by closing the cover member. Due to the structure in which the recording paper is clamped by the pressure contact member, the mounting of the recording paper becomes extremely easy. Further, the inventions described in claims 1 and 2 are related to the improvement of operability, and it is particularly effective to adapt to the printer characterized in that the paper can be easily mounted as described in claim 3.

Still further, as described in claim 4, the pressure contact member is a thermal head having a paper feed roller for pressing the recording paper to the paper feed roller or a heat generating means. It is possible to provide various printers.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of a printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of an embodiment of the printer according to the present invention.

The printer 1 of this embodiment is, for example, a POS.
It is applied to a receipt printer used in a system or the like.

The printer 1 of the present embodiment is for performing recording such as printing on a roll-shaped recording sheet S by a recording head of a heat-sensitive system. It is composed of a roll paper storage unit for storing and holding the recording paper S.

The internal printer mechanism 8 is fixed to the lower case 4 made of resin, the side surface and the rear part are covered with the upper case 3, and the front part is covered with the panel 2. Further, a printing unit is arranged inside the panel 2, and a paper cutting unit is arranged above the panel 2.
The paper cutting portion is covered with a cutter cover 6, and the cutter cover 6 can be slid in the direction of arrow A and pulled out.

An open button 7 is provided on one side of the upper case 3 for driving the internal cover open lever 9 to rotate the internal cover frame 10 when the recording paper S is taken out. The cover frame 10 is joined to the upper cover 5. Therefore, when the open button 7 is pressed in the direction of arrow B, the upper cover 5 rotates in the direction of arrow C, and the roll paper storage section is exposed.

1 and 2 are perspective views showing the printer mechanism 8 inside the printer 1 of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an external view of the printer mechanism 8 as viewed from the right side thereof. Is shown in a closed state, and the cover frame 10 that can be opened and closed is placed on the body frame 13 made of metal or the like.
And an automatic cutter unit 11 for accommodating the movable blade 32 and its driving means. When printing, that is, recording paper S
When the blade is not cut, the movable blade 32 is housed inside the automatic cutter unit 11, and the blade portion of the movable blade 32 is not exposed. In this state, the movable blade 32 is said to be in the standby position.

Fixed blade 3 that crosses the movable blade 32 in a scissor shape
3 is arranged on the cover frame 10 so as to face the automatic cutter unit 11. A blade shutter 34 is provided above the fixed blade 33. The blade shutter 34 is biased by a shutter spring 35 in a direction to cover the blade portion of the fixed blade 33, but when the cover frame 10 is closed as shown in FIG. The blade shutter 34 is lifted in a slightly opening direction by coming into contact with the provided engaging portion. Therefore, the blade portion of the fixed blade 33 is exposed, and when the movable blade 32 moves, the fixed blade 33 can be crossed in a scissor shape.

A hole 37 for notifying the position of the movable blade 32 and a knob 36 for manually moving the movable blade 32 are provided on the upper surface of the automatic cutter unit 11, and the operator slides the cutter cover 6 mentioned above. Then, a part of the upper surface of the auto cutter unit 11 is exposed and the hole 37
The knob 36 is now visible. A means for manually moving the movable blade 32 is provided in consideration of the case where the movable blade 32 remains in the state of intersecting with the fixed blade 33 and cannot return to the standby position in the event of some abnormality such as power failure.

The cover frame 10 is attached so as to be swingable, that is, openable / closable about a support shaft 14 provided at both upper ends of the main body frame 13. The cover frame 10 has a recording sheet S when the cover frame 10 is closed.
An arcuate curved surface portion 15 is provided for avoiding contact with. When the installation angle of the printer is changed, the curved surface portion 15 also functions as a holding member that receives the recording paper S.

A cover detector 44 for detecting the closed state of the cover frame 10 is provided on the right side surface of the main body frame 13. The cover detector 44 is a transmission type optical detector, and detects whether or not the cover frame 10 is properly closed depending on whether or not a part of the cover frame 10 blocks the optical axis of the detector.

As the detectors, in addition to the cover detector 44, a paper detector 30 and a near-end detector 24, which will be described later, are provided. These various detectors, the auto cutter unit 11, and the lead wire group 12 of the paper feed motor 23 described later are connected to the relay board 16 fixed to the right side surface of the main body frame 13. The relay board 16 and a main circuit board (not shown) that controls the printer are connected by FFC or the like.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the left side surface of the printer mechanism 8, showing a state in which the cover frame 10 is opened, and the blade shutter 34 hides the fixed blade 33. Care is taken to prevent the operator from touching the fixed blade and being injured when the cover frame 10 is opened. Since the movable blade 32 is housed in the auto cutter unit 11, there is no safety problem.

A roll paper holder 17 made of resin is arranged inside the cover frame 10 which is opened. The roll paper holder 17 is provided with a paper detector 30 for detecting the presence or absence of paper immediately before the printing unit. The paper detector 30 is a reflection type optical detector, and a hole 31 for scraping off foreign matter and paper dust adhering to the recording paper S is provided on the upstream side of the paper detector 30 to prevent paper dust and the like. As a result, the detector does not malfunction. In addition, the roll paper holder 17 is provided with slit grooves 27 that engage with the left and right side plates of the main body frame 13 and maintain an appropriate width inside the recording paper storage portion.

The platen 18 made of a cylindrical rubber roller is mounted on the cover frame 1 via a platen bearing 20.
It is rotatably supported at 0. A platen gear 19 is press-fitted into one of the platens 18. Body frame 1
The groove portion 21 is provided in the cover frame 3
When 0 is closed, the platen bearing 20 comes into contact with the groove portion 21,
The platen 18 is positioned. Cover frame 1
When 0 is closed, a downward force is applied to the cover frame 10 by the pressure applied to the platen by the print head, and the position of the platen 18 is fixed. Also, the cover frame 1
When 0 is closed, the platen gear 19 and the paper feed transmission gear 2
2 meshes with each other, and the power from the paper feed motor 23 is transmitted to the platen 18.

A near-end detector 24 for detecting that the remaining amount of the recording paper S has become small is attached to the left side surface of the main body frame 13 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 25. There is. This is because if the installation angle of this printer is changed, the near-end detector 24
This is to make the optimum position. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the bottom surface 28 of the main body frame 10 is installed downward, the actuator 26 of the near-end detector 24 is fixed at a position to enter the hole 32a provided in the frame main body 10. On the other hand, when the body frame 10 is installed with the back surface 29 facing downward, the actuator 26 is fixed at a position to enter the hole 32b.

Support groove portions 50 for supporting a print head 39 and a head pressing plate 41, which will be described later, are provided on the left and right side surfaces of the main body frame 13.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the printer mechanism 8, showing a state in which the recording paper S is held by the roll paper holder 17 and is being fed. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the recording paper S has a large diameter. When the recording paper S is fed and the recording paper S has a smaller diameter, the recording paper S falls into the groove 38. Then, the near-end detector 24 described above detects that the recording paper S has a small diameter.

The recording paper S includes a platen 18 and a print head 3.
When the platen 18 is nipped by 9 and rotates, the paper is fed by the frictional force. The head support shaft 4 is provided on both sides of the print head 39.
0 is provided, and the head support shaft 40 is supported by a part of the support groove portion 50 provided in the main body frame 13. The back surface of the print head 39 is biased toward the platen 18 by a spring 42. The spring 42 is fixed to the head pressing plate 41, and the head pressing plate 42 is supported by a part of a support groove 50 provided in the main body frame 13.

The heating element position 43 of the print head 39 is located so as to be substantially a contact point between the platen 18 and the print head 39. A guide slope portion 45 is provided on the downstream side of the heating element position 43 of the print head 39. On the other hand, the cover frame 10 has an introduction portion 4 for guiding the recording paper S to the cutter portion.
7 is provided so as to face the guide slope portion 45 of the print head 39. The recording paper S passing through the print head 39 passes between the movable blade 32 and the fixed blade 33 and is discharged in the direction of arrow D. The print head 39 is provided with a connector 46, and is connected to a main circuit board (not shown) that controls the printer by FFC or the like.

The basic configuration of the entire printer of this embodiment has been described above. In the present application, a platen 18 having a function as a paper feed roller of the printer is rotatably supported by the cover frame 10, and the main body frame 13
It is characterized in that the platen 18 is positioned at a desired position by contacting the platen bearing 20 with the groove portion 21 provided in the. As a means for this, as described above, the direction of the force urged by the print head 39 is set to the direction in which the cover frame 10 is closed. In addition to that, in addition to that, the power for transmitting the power to the platen 18 is set. The transmission means is also characterized in that the force is applied in the direction of closing the cover frame 10. This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the printer mechanism 8 in which the power from the paper feed motor 23 is the paper feed transmission gear 22.
Is transmitted to the platen gear 19 via. When the paper feed motor 23 is rotated in the counterclockwise positive direction, the direction of the force transmitted from the paper feed transmission gear 22 to the platen gear 19 is the arrow F in the figure, where the pressure angle of the gear is a. . Since the cover frame 10 is rotatable around the support shaft 14, the force indicated by the arrow F2 of the component of the force F acts in the direction of closing the cover frame 10.

As described above, in this printer, when the paper feed motor 23 rotates forward, a force is applied to the cover frame 10 in the closing direction. Therefore, even if the cover frame 10 is incompletely closed and is not firmly closed to the abutting position, when the paper feeding of the printer starts,
The cover frame 10 is automatically transmitted by the transmission gear 22.
It receives a downward force and closes securely. In addition, the support shaft hole serving as a rotation fulcrum of the cover frame 10 is an elongated hole, and even if there are variations in component accuracy, both the left and right platen bearings 20 are provided with left and right groove portions provided in the main body frame 13. The cover frame 10 and the cover frame 10 are in proper contact with each other without any clearance, and the cover frame 10 is finely moved according to the platen bearing 20.

As described above, in this printer, when the recording paper is fed in the forward direction in which the recording paper is conveyed toward the exit of the printer,
Since the force acts to urge the platen 18 to the desired position, the platen 18 can be moved to the desired optimum position even if the operator does not close the cover frame 10 completely due to carelessness. Corrected, and excellent print quality can be obtained. According to the present invention, as shown in the embodiment, the roll paper is stored in the housing portion of the printer and the cover member (the cover frame 10 in the embodiment) is closed, so that the paper feed roller (the platen 18 in the embodiment) is closed. This is a particularly effective technique for a printer that holds a roll paper between the two).

As described above, in this printer, since a downward force acts on the cover frame 10 during normal use, a lock mechanism for locking the cover frame 10 to the printer body is not required unlike the conventional printer. This is also effective in reducing the cost of the printer.

In the present printer, when the cover is opened, it has been described that the open button 7 is pushed downward to open the cover as shown in FIG. It is also possible to provide no mechanism. This not only reduces the cost of the printer, but also has the effect of making the operation foolproof.

That is, the operator can forcibly open the cover without pressing the open button 7. With conventional printers, the operator
When the cover was forcibly opened while the lock mechanism was working, some parts of the lock mechanism were sometimes damaged. The present invention also solves such a conventional problem.

However, in this embodiment, an example of a printer provided with a lock mechanism is described for the other reason of reverse feeding of paper. In the present embodiment, since the blade shutter 34 that covers the fixed blade 33 of the cutter mechanism is required, the blade shutter 34 is used to provide the lock mechanism for the cover frame 10. This lock mechanism is shown in FIG.
And FIG. 7 will be described below.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the cover frame 10 is closed. A locking portion 49 is located below the locking shaft 48, and the cover open lever 9 is at a position substantially parallel to the cover frame 10. It is configured to stop. In this printer, when the paper is fed in the forward direction, the cover frame 1
When force is applied to 0 in the closing direction, but when paper is fed in the opposite direction, force is applied to the cover frame 10 in the opening direction, and the position of the platen 18 is displaced. There is.

Therefore, in the case of a printer that feeds in the reverse direction, a lock mechanism is required. The lock mechanism presented in this embodiment is for solving such a problem, and a part of the cutter mechanism is used as a lock mechanism instead of simply providing a member that only functions as the lock mechanism. ing.

On the other hand, to open the cover frame 10, the cover open lever 9 is rotated in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. As a result, the abutting portion 9a of the cover open lever 9 abuts on the connecting portion 34a of the blade shutter 34, and the blade shutter 3
4 rotates clockwise about the support shaft 34b as a fulcrum, the locking portion 49 disengages from the locking shaft 48, and the lock mechanism between the main body frame 13 and the cover frame 10 is released. Further, when the abutting portion 9a of the cover open lever 9 pushes up the blade shutter 34, the cover frame 10 itself to which the blade shutter 34 is attached is pushed up, and the cover frame 10 opens.

By the way, in a small and light printer, turning the lever may move the printer itself from the installation position or may lift the printer itself, which may make the operation difficult. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the present printer is provided with an open button 7 that engages with the cover open lever 9 and is configured to open the cover by pushing the open button 7 downward. The operation of pushing the button from top to bottom has the advantage that it is easy to operate regardless of the weight of the printer.

[0048]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the opening / closing member arranged to be openable / closable in the printer frame and the drive source rotate only when the paper is fed. A paper feed drive gear arranged,
A paper feed roller that is rotatably arranged on the opening / closing member, and that rotates the paper feeding roller, is arranged on the opening / closing member and rotates the paper feeding roller. When the opening / closing member is closed with respect to the printer frame, the paper feed drive gear When rotating the paper feed transmission gear that meshes with the paper feed transmission gear, the transmission load that rotates the paper feed transmission gear by the paper feed gear acts in the direction of generating a moment to close the open / close member. Even if the closing is incomplete, the opening / closing member is surely closed at the time of paper feeding, and the paper feeding roller is positioned at a predetermined position. As a result, if the position accuracy of the paper feed roller is good, a printer with excellent printing quality and paper feed characteristics can be obtained, and the locking means for the opening / closing member that was required in the past is not required, and the cost of the printer is reduced. ,
Further, the locking means is not damaged by forcibly opening the opening / closing member.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the paper feed roller is brought into pressure contact with the paper feed roller and has a press contact member capable of coming into contact with and separating from the paper feed roller. Since the force is applied in the direction of occurrence, the effect of claim 1 and its reliability are further improved.

Furthermore, since the opening / closing member is a cover member of the storage unit for storing the recording paper of the printer, the recording paper is fed by the paper feed roller by closing the cover member. Due to the structure in which the recording paper is clamped by the pressure contact member, the mounting of the recording paper becomes extremely easy. Further, the inventions described in claims 1 and 2 are related to the improvement of operability, and it is particularly effective to adapt to the printer characterized in that the paper can be easily mounted as described in claim 3.

Further, as described in claim 4, the pressure contact member is a thermal head having a paper feed roller for pressing the recording paper to the paper feed roller or a heat generating means. It is possible to provide various printers.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, showing a state in which a cover frame is opened.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the same embodiment, showing a state in which a cover frame is closed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an internal configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the same embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a side view of an essential part showing a state in which the cover frame of the embodiment is closed.

FIG. 7 is a side view of essential parts showing a state in which the cover frame of the embodiment is being opened.

FIG. 8 is an external perspective view of a facsimile machine using a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer 5 Top Cover 8 Printer Mechanism 9 Cover Open Lever 10 Cover Frame 11 Auto Cutter Unit 13 Body Frame 16 Relay Board 17 Roll Paper Holder 18 Platen 19 Platen Gear 20 Platen Bearing 21 Groove 22 Transmission Gear 23 Paper Feed Motor 39 Printhead 40 Head spindle 41 Head pressing plate 42 Spring 43 Heater position 45 Guide slope

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Nakajima 3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation (72) Inventor Yoshiharu Matsumoto 3-5 Yamato, Suwa City, Nagano Prefecture Seiko Epson Within the corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An opening / closing member arranged to be openable / closable in a printer frame; a paper feed drive gear arranged in the printer frame, which is rotated by a drive source only during paper feeding; A paper feed roller for carrying the recording paper, and a member for rotating the paper feed roller, arranged on the opening / closing member, and the paper feed drive gear when the opening / closing member is closed with respect to the printer frame. When the paper feed transmission gear that meshes with the paper feed transmission gear is rotated, the transmission load that rotates the paper feed transmission gear by the paper feed gear acts on a direction that generates a moment to close the opening / closing member. A printer characterized by. 2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a press contact member that presses the paper feed roller, the press contact member being capable of coming into contact with and separating from the paper feed roller, and the press contact member closing the opening / closing member. A printer characterized in that it urges in the direction of generating a moment. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing member is a cover member of a storage unit for storing the recording paper of the printer. 4. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the pressure contact member is a thermal head having a paper feed roller for pressing the recording paper to the paper feed roller or a heat generating unit.