JPH1045285A - Roll paper feeding magazine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent idling and backlash of a thermosensible recording paper roll with a simple structure at low cost. SOLUTION: Three plate springs 10a, 10b, 10c are attached on the side surface 3a of a magazine main body 3 so as to surround a bearing 7a. These plate springs 10a, 10b, 10c are concentrically arranged on the rotational center of a thermosensible recording paper roll 12, and it presses the thermosensible recording paper roll 12 to a flange 14 by being brought in contact with a flange part 13a of the other flange 13. Therefore, the thermosensible recording paper role 12 is held without backlash in the magazine main body 3, and a color thermosensible recording paper sheet 11 can be stably drawn from a paper feeding magazine 2 without meandering.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper feed magazine which accommodates a roll of recording paper such as heat-sensitive recording paper or photographic paper, and is set in a printer in a detachable manner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Printers include a type using sheet paper and a type using roll paper. The latter type is suitable for printing a large number of prints and is mainly used for business purposes. In a printer using this roll paper, a recording paper roll paper feed magazine (hereinafter simply referred to as a paper feed magazine) in which a roll of recording paper is rotatably stored is used.

[0003] A conventional paper feed magazine is composed of a magazine main body having an elongated paper feed port formed therein, and a lid attached to the magazine main body via a hinge so as to be freely opened and closed. The recording paper roll is wound around a cylindrical core made of paper or plastic. When the recording paper roll is loaded in the paper feed magazine, a pair of flanges is attached to the core. Each flange is formed with a shaft portion so as to penetrate the flange portion. After the support portion inside the flange portion is fitted into the core, the outside shaft portion is put into a bearing in the magazine body. After loading the recording paper roll, the lid is closed.

At the time of printing, recording paper is pulled out of a paper feed magazine through a paper feed port and sent to a printing unit. Then, the sheet is cut into one size before or after printing in the printing unit.

[0005]

In the conventional paper feed magazine, if there is play between the bearing portion of the magazine body and the flange, the recording paper pulled out of the paper feed magazine is displaced from a regular position in the width direction. Would. When this misalignment occurs, an image cannot be printed correctly at a predetermined position on the recording paper.

Further, after the pulling-out operation of the recording paper is stopped, the recording paper roll may rotate excessively due to inertia, or the recording paper roll may rotate due to vibration during printing or the like. Therefore, conventionally, a back tension is applied to a recording paper roll by incorporating a clutch device such as a friction clutch to prevent the recording paper roll from rotating carelessly. However, the use of this clutch device complicates the structure of the paper feed magazine and increases the cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper feed magazine which can prevent idling and rattling of a recording paper roll at a low cost with a simple mechanism.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, in a roll paper feed magazine according to the present invention, the roll paper feed magazine contacts one of a pair of flanges which sandwich a recording paper roll. And a biasing means for pressing the recording paper roll toward the other flange.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the urging means comprises a plurality of leaf springs, and the plurality of leaf springs are fixed in the magazine body. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a group of contact points at which the flange and each leaf spring contact each other are located on a concentric circle centered on the rotation center of the recording paper roll.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an urging means for contacting one of the opposed inner surfaces of the main body of the paper feed magazine and pressing the recording paper roll toward the other inner surface. It is. In a fifth aspect, the urging means is a plurality of leaf springs, and this leaf spring is fixed to one of the pair of flanges. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a group of contact points at which the inner surface of the main body and each leaf spring contact each other are located on a concentric circle centered on the rotation center of the recording paper roll.

[0011]

1 and 2, a box-shaped paper feed magazine 2 includes a magazine main body 3 having an open upper part,
A cover 4 is attached to the magazine body 3 via a hinge 5 so as to be rotatable. The paper feed magazine 2 is made of a light-shielding plastic in order to accommodate the roll 12 of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 having heat sensitivity and ultraviolet fixability. On both sides 3a, 3b of the magazine body 3, U-shaped bearings 7a,
7b are provided integrally. Magazine body 3
Side plate 3a, three leaf springs 10a, 10b, 10c
Are mounted at equal intervals on a concentric circle centered on the bearing 7a. At the lower front part of the magazine body 3, there is provided a drawer opening 8 for drawing out the color thermal recording paper 11 and supplying it to the color thermal printer.

A long color thermal recording paper 11 is wound around a paper or plastic core 9 to form a thermal recording paper roll 12. When the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 is loaded into the paper feed magazine 2, plastic flanges 13 and 14 are fitted from the left and right sides of the core 9. The flange 13 includes a disk-shaped flange portion 13a, and shaft portions 13b and support portions 13c provided on both sides thereof. Since the other flange 14 has the same configuration as the flange 13, only the reference numeral is given and the description is omitted. The thermal recording paper roll 12 is formed by these flange portions 13a and 14a.
The color thermal recording paper 1
1. Prevent the meandering.

In the paper feed magazine 2, leaf springs 10 a to 10 a
By 0c, three points on the concentric circle of the flange portion 14a are pressed uniformly. Thereby, the flanges 14 and 13
Is pressed in the direction of the bearing 7b with both sides of the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 held therebetween. Therefore, the flange 13,
14 prevents the position of the thermal recording paper roll 12 from being changed, and the frictional force between the leaf springs 10a to 10c and the flange portion 14a causes the thermal recording paper roll 12 to move.
Is given an appropriate back tension. The size of the back tension can be easily changed by changing the spring force of the leaf springs 10a to 10c.

As is well known, the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is provided with a cyan thermosensitive coloring layer, a magenta thermosensitive coloring layer, and a yellow thermosensitive coloring layer having different thermal sensitivities.
The yellow thermosensitive coloring layer loses its coloring ability by near-ultraviolet rays of 420 nm, and the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer loses its coloring ability by 365 nm of ultraviolet rays.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an outline of a color thermal printer to which a paper feed magazine for a thermal recording paper roll as described above can be mounted. The paper feed magazine 2 is set in the magazine loading section 26 of the color thermal printer 25.
A loop forming section 46 is formed downstream of the magazine loading section 26, and when the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is pulled back by the transport roller pair 36, the returned portion is stored in a loop shape. In this embodiment, for example, a dancer roller 48 urged upward by a spring 47 is provided in the loop forming portion 46 so as to absorb the slack of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 as shown by a dotted line in FIG. Push up.

A paper feed roller pair 35 is provided downstream of the loop forming section 46, and a cutter 37 for cutting the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is further provided on the downstream side. The cutter 37 has an upper blade movable and a lower blade fixed. After the recording of the full-color image, the upper blade of the cutter 37 is operated, and the recorded portion of the color thermal recording paper 11 is separated one by one by the upper blade and the lower blade.

On the downstream side of the cutter 37, a pair of transport rollers 3 is provided.
A color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is conveyed by nipping the thermosensitive recording paper 11 drawn out from the drawer opening 8. In the above-described paper feed roller pair 35 and the transport roller pair 36, the upper side of the pair of rollers is capstan rollers 35a, 36a having fixed axial positions, and the lower side is pinch rollers 35b, 36b that can move up and down. And
When the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is conveyed, it enters a nip state. A sensor 38 for detecting the leading end of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is provided beside the pair of transport rollers 36.

A platen roller 39 made of hard rubber is rotatably provided downstream of the transport roller pair 36. A thermal head 41 is swingably provided to face the platen roller 39. The thermal head 41 is provided on the color thermal recording paper 11 on the platen roller 39.
Is pressed and heated to record a full-color image in three color planes sequentially. As is well known, the thermal head 41 has a large number of heating elements formed in a line in the axial direction of the platen roller 39.

Downstream of the thermal head 41, the optical fixing device 4
2 are arranged. This optical fixing device 42 has a wavelength of 420 nm.
And a magenta fixing ultraviolet lamp 42b that emits ultraviolet light in a wavelength range of 365 nm. The yellow fixing ultraviolet lamp 42a irradiates ultraviolet rays in a wavelength range of 420 nm to thereby form a color thermosensitive recording paper 11.
And the magenta fixing ultraviolet lamp 42b irradiates ultraviolet rays in a wavelength region of 365 nm, thereby causing the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer to lose its coloring ability.

Downstream of the optical fixing device 42, a pair of discharge rollers 4
3, which nips the print sheet cut into a sheet and discharges the print sheet from the discharge port 44. Reference numeral 45 denotes a guide plate that forms a transport path for the color thermosensitive recording paper 11.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. When the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 is loaded in the paper feed magazine 12, the support portion 13 of the pair of flanges 13 and 14 is used.
c and 14c are fitted into the winding core 9, and the flange portions 13a and
14 a is applied to the side of the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12. next,
The shaft portions 13b, 14b of the flanges 13, 14 are fitted into the bearings 7a, 7b in the magazine body 3 from above. After passing the leading end of the color thermal recording paper 11 through the drawer opening 8, the cover 4 is put on the magazine body 3 and locked by a lock mechanism (not shown) so as not to open.

The leaf springs 10a, 10b, and 10c come into contact with and press against the side surfaces of the flange portion 13a, and
2 is pressed against the side surface 3b. As a result, the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 is held at a predetermined position in the paper feed magazine 2 without rattling.

The leaf springs 10a, 10b, 10c are
a so that it is located on the concentric circle of the rotation center of the thermal recording paper roll 12 so as to be located around
3a is pressed evenly and stabilizes the color thermal recording paper 11 stably.
Is pulled out. Further, the leaf springs 10a, 10b, 10c
, A constant back tension is applied to the rotation of the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12.

The paper feed magazine 2 in which the thermal recording paper roll 12 is stored is set in a magazine loading section 26 of a color thermal printer 25. At this time, an appropriate amount of the color thermal recording paper 11 is withdrawn from the paper supply magazine 2 in advance, and the paper is fed to the position of the paper supply roller pair 35 of the color thermal printer 25.

When a main switch (not shown) of the color thermal printer 25 is turned on to capture image data to be printed, and an operation unit (not shown) is operated to instruct printing, a color thermal The leading end portion of the recording paper 11 is nipped by a pair of paper feed rollers 35 and is conveyed downstream. When the leading end of the color thermal recording paper 11 reaches the sensor 38 via the cutter 37, a leading end detection signal is sent from the sensor 38 to a controller (not shown). When the controller receives the leading edge detection signal, the transport roller pair 3
6 enters the nip state, and conveys the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 to the thermal head 41. Further, the counting operation is started from the time when the leading edge is detected, and the transport amount of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is measured.

While the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is being pulled out, the thermal head 41 is separated from the platen roller 39,
The paper is conveyed toward the optical fixing device 42 through these spaces.
When pulling out such a color thermosensitive recording paper 11,
As described above, the thermal recording paper roll 12 is
Since the recording paper 11 is pressed against the side surface 3b of the magazine main body 3 by a, 10b, and 10c, the drawn color thermosensitive recording paper 11 can be drawn straight out without being shaken or meandering. The output amount of the color thermal recording paper 11 is measured by a counter, and when it is determined from the measurement that the cut position of the color thermal recording paper 11 has reached the upstream end of the optical fixing device 42, the pair of transport rollers The operation of 36 is stopped, and the conveyance of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is stopped.

At this time, the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 is
Since a constant back tension is given by the frictional force between the flanges 13a and 0a, 10b, 10c,
The thermal recording paper roll 12 stops rotating as soon as the transport roller pair 36 stops, so that the color thermal recording paper 11 is not unnecessarily fed out.

Next, the controller (not shown) reversely rotates the pair of transport rollers 36 to cause the first color thermosensitive recording paper 11 to rotate.
Initiate the second withdrawal. The retracted color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is stored in the loop forming section 46 by moving the dancer roller 48 upward according to the amount of the pulled back. When the dancer roller 48 operates, the leaf spring 10
With the back tension by a, 10b, and 10c, the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is not pulled by the rise of the dancer roller 48, and the thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 does not rotate.

When the rear end of the recording area of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 approaches the thermal head 41, the thermal head 4
1 swings and presses the color thermosensitive recording paper 11. When the thermal head 41 faces the rear end of the recording area of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11, a print control unit (not shown) drives the thermal head 41 according to yellow image data of image data to be printed, and Is recorded line by line. After the yellow image is recorded on the recording area of the color thermal recording paper 11 and the sensor 38 detects the leading end of the color thermal recording paper 11, the reverse conveyance of the color thermal recording paper 11 is stopped. At the same time, the thermal head 41 retracts to a position where the thermal recording paper 11 is not pressed.

When the thermal head 41 is retracted, the transport roller pair 36 is rotated forward again, and while the dancer roller 48 is lowered, the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 stored in a loop is fed out by a predetermined amount. At the time of the second sending, the yellow fixing ultraviolet lamp 42a of the optical fixing device 42 is turned on, and the recording area of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is 420n.
m is irradiated with a predetermined amount of ultraviolet light, and the color forming ability of the yellow thermosensitive coloring layer of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is lost.

Next, when the second pull-back is started and the rear end of the recording area reaches the thermal head 41 again, the thermal head 41 descends and presses the color thermosensitive recording paper 13 again. , The thermal head 41 is driven to record a magenta image on the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 line by line. In the recording of the magenta image, the thermal head 41 generates a larger amount of thermal energy than the recording of the yellow image.

After recording the magenta image, the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is fed by a predetermined amount as described above. At this time, the magenta fixing ultraviolet lamp 42b is turned on, and the recording area of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is irradiated with a predetermined amount of ultraviolet rays of 365 nm to fix the magenta image.

During the third pullback, the thermal head 4
Numeral 1 generates the largest thermal energy according to the cyan image data, and records the cyan image line by line in the recording area of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11. After recording the cyan image,
The thermal head 41 retracts from the color thermosensitive recording paper 11. When the recording of the cyan image is completed, a full-color image is formed on the color thermosensitive recording paper 11.

The tip of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is the sensor 3
When the detection is made at step 8, the third retraction is completed, and the color thermosensitive recording paper 13 is sent out. When the cut position of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 reaches the position of the cutter 37, the conveyance of the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 is temporarily stopped. The cutter 37 is operated to cut the color thermosensitive recording paper 11 at the scheduled cutting position and cut it into sheet prints.

The leading end of the cut sheet-shaped print reaches the discharge roller pair 43. The paper discharge roller pair 43 nips and rotates the sheet-shaped print after cutting, and discharges the sheet-shaped print from the paper discharge port 44 to a tray or the like. Then, one full color print is completed.

In the embodiment described above, the spring plate 10
Although a to c are attached to the magazine main body 3, they may be provided on a flange portion, for example, as in a paper feed magazine shown in FIG.

In the paper feed magazine 51, the spring plates 52a, 5
2b and 52c are provided on the flange 53a. As a result, the leaf springs 52a to 52
c presses the side surface 3a of the magazine main body 3 and the flange 5
The thermosensitive recording paper roll 12 sandwiched between 3, 54
Pressed to the side.

With such a configuration, the thermal recording paper roll 12 is held in the paper feed magazine 51 without rattling, and when the color thermal recording paper 11 is pulled out, the thermal recording paper roll 12 is straightened without blurring or meandering. The recording paper 11 can be pulled out. Also, since the thermal recording paper roll 12 is appropriately back-tensioned by the urging of the leaf springs 52a to 52c, when the color thermal recording paper is stopped from the drawn-out state, the thermal recording paper roll 12 is inertially moved. There is no extra rotation. Further, there is no need to provide an expensive clutch device or a precise bearing mechanism as in the related art, and it is possible to manufacture a heat-sensitive recording paper roll paper feed magazine with a simple mechanism at a low cost.

In each of the above-described embodiments, a leaf spring is used as an example of the urging means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition, the leaf spring contacts the flange portion or the inside of the main body at three places.
Any number may be used as long as the number of contact points is more than one. The more contact points, the more stable the rotation of the thermal recording paper roll. Further, the present invention can also be applied to a paper feed magazine for storing rolls of photosensitive material such as photographic paper.

[0040]

As described above, the paper feed magazine of the present invention comes into contact with one of the pair of flanges for holding the recording paper roll and presses the recording paper roll toward the other flange. The urging means for
With a simple mechanism, it is possible to provide a paper feed magazine that prevents idle rotation and rattling of the recording paper roll at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a paper feed magazine for heat-sensitive recording paper rolls of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a color thermal printer using the paper feed magazine of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of a paper feed magazine for heat-sensitive recording paper rolls of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body 2 Feeding magazine 3 Magazine main body 4 Lid 5 Hinge part 7a, 7b Bearing 8 Outlet 9 Roll holder 10a-10c Leaf spring 11 Color thermosensitive recording paper 12 Thermal recording paper roll 13, 14 Flange 13b, 14b Shaft part 13c, 14c support part 25 color thermal printer

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A roll paper feed magazine comprising a magazine body rotatably housing a recording paper roll sandwiched between a pair of flanges, and a lid attached to the magazine body so as to be openable and closable. A roll paper feed magazine provided with biasing means for contacting one flange and pressing the recording paper roll toward the other flange. 2. The roll paper feed magazine according to claim 1, wherein said biasing means is at least one or more leaf springs, and is fixed in a magazine main body. 3. A roll paper supply according to claim 2, wherein a contact point group at which said flange and each leaf spring contact each other is located on a concentric circle centered on the rotation center of the recording paper roll. Paper magazine. 4. A roll paper feed magazine comprising a magazine body for rotatably storing a recording paper roll sandwiched between a pair of flanges, and a lid openably and closably mounted in the magazine body. A roll paper feed magazine, comprising: urging means for contacting one of the opposed inner surfaces of the main body and pressing the recording paper roll toward the other inner surface. 5. The roll paper feed magazine according to claim 4, wherein said urging means is at least one or more leaf springs, and is fixed to one of a pair of flanges. . 6. The roll paper according to claim 5, wherein a group of contact points at which the inner surface of the main body and each leaf spring contact each other are concentric with the center of rotation of the recording paper roll as a center. Paper feed magazine.