JPH11105362A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer in which the position of a position sensor is adjusted automatically depending on the width of a sheet and the sheet can be set easily without being hindered by the position sensor. SOLUTION: The position sensor 15 of a printer is disposed movably in the direction traversing the carrying path while being interlocked with the adjusting motion of a paper width guide 14. The position sensor 15 is retractible independently or in conjunction with other unit to a position causing no hindrance when a sheet is set on the carrying path.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of rewinding a level wound on a roll together with a backing sheet, a continuous tag wound on a roll or a receipt paper wound on a roll (hereinafter, generally referred to as roll paper). The present invention relates to a printing machine that performs printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing machine for printing on roll paper, a rewound continuous tag or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as paper) is correctly guided to a printing position of the printing machine, and is printed at a correct position on the paper with good timing. In order to perform this operation, a paper width guide that can be adjusted according to the width of the paper and a position sensor that detects a predetermined position of the paper are provided in the paper transport path. By the way, the position detection sensor is disposed on the lower surface side of the transport path or is disposed on the side because the position detection sensor is obstructive when setting the paper if it is disposed above the transport path of the paper, but the configuration becomes complicated, Sometimes it cannot be detected accurately.

For example, the tag printing position is sometimes detected by detecting a threading hole located at the center of the tag in the width direction. However, the position of the threading hole is always determined even if the width of the tag changes. It is at the center in the width direction. Conversely, when the paper width changes, the center position also changes. Therefore, it is necessary to move the paper width guide according to the paper width and also move the position sensor. In addition, since these paper width guides and position sensors need to be arranged so as to protrude into the transport path, they are troublesome when setting paper at the beginning of a printing operation. The paper width guide can be adjusted according to the paper width, so if it is adjusted to the maximum width, it will not interfere much, but since the position sensor is preferably located so as to detect the center of the paper, it is particularly There are difficulties in the way.

[0004]

According to the present invention, the position of the position sensor is automatically adjusted in accordance with the sheet width, and the position sensor does not interfere with the setting of the sheet, so that the sheet can be easily set. It is an object to provide a simple printing machine.

[0005]

A printing machine is provided with a position sensor for detecting a predetermined position of a sheet on a conveyance path for conveying the sheet, and performs printing at a predetermined position on the sheet based on the position sensor. I do. The position sensor is arranged so as to be movable in the direction traversing the transport path, and can be retracted to an unobstructed position independently or in conjunction with another when setting a sheet on the transport path. . The retracted form is a structure that rotates horizontally or vertically with respect to the plane of the transport path around one end on the frame side, or a structure that moves linearly and parallel along the plane of the transport path. Then, the portion projecting to the transport path is moved out of the transport path.

When the printing machine has a paper width guide, the position sensor may be moved in the transverse direction of the paper conveyance path in conjunction with the movement of the paper width guide. With this configuration, since the position of the position sensor can be adjusted simultaneously with the adjustment movement of the paper width guide, work can be performed efficiently. In this case, if the ratio of the movement amount of the position sensor to the movement amount of the paper width guide is always constant,
When the position detected by the position sensor such as a tag of the same type is at a fixed ratio, the position of the position sensor is automatically adjusted according to the width of the tag, which is convenient. There may be a structure in which a gap is provided between the upper portion and the lower portion of the position sensor so that a sheet can pass therethrough, and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged at positions facing each other with the gap therebetween. The positions of the light emitting element and the light receiving element are stabilized, and the detection accuracy is improved.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A tag printing machine (FIG. 1) includes a main body 2 and a paper supply reel 3. The paper supply reel 3 is loaded with roll paper 6 of a continuous tag 4 in which tags 5 are continuous. The main body 2 includes a transport bed 8, a thermal transfer type print head 9, a take-up side ink ribbon reel 10, a supply side ink ribbon reel 11, and a paper cutter 12 on a main body frame 7. Further, a guide roller 13 for paper, a paper sensor 23 for detecting the end of the paper, a paper width guide 14, and a position for detecting an accurate printing position with respect to the tag from the paper supply side along the transport path on the upper surface of the transport bed. The apparatus includes a sensor 15 and a platen 16, and further includes a ribbon guide 17 that defines an ink ribbon path, and a ribbon detection sensor 18 near the ribbon guide. The ink ribbon 19 is wound from the ribbon roll loaded on the supply-side ink ribbon reel 11 to the winding-side ink ribbon reel 10 via the ribbon guide 17 and the lower surface of the print head 9.

As shown in FIG. 2, the print head 9, guide roller 13, take-up side ink ribbon reel 10, supply side ink ribbon reel 11, and ribbon guide 17 are all perpendicular to the vertical wall 7 'of the main body frame 7. It protrudes in the direction crossing the transport path and is supported or supported at one end side in a cantilever manner. The paper width guide 14 can be slid in a direction transverse to the transport path at right angles to the transport path (FIG. 3), and has a structure in which the rising portion 20 can be maintained at an arbitrary position where it is slid. The position sensor 15 has a gap 23 between the upper part 21 and the lower part 22, and has a structure in which the roll paper 6 passes through the gap 23. Can be slid in the transverse direction.

The upper part 21 and the lower part 22 are connected at one end to form a longer U-shape with the upper part 21 and the lower part 22 (FIG. 6).
A light emitting element and a photoelectric element 25 as a light receiving element are arranged at positions facing each other with the gap 23 interposed therebetween. The photoelectric element 25 has a gap 23
It detects the threading hole of the tag passing through the printer and transmits the signal to the control device (microcomputer) provided in the printing machine.

The print head 9 is provided on the vertical wall 7 ′ of the frame 7.
Is attached to the tip of an arm (indicated by a dashed line) that rotates about an axis point P (FIG. 1) on the back surface of the transport bed 8 and is arranged vertically by operating a handle 26 provided in front of the transport bed 8. can do. In FIG. 1, the print head 9 (solid line)
Is moved upward so that the paper can be easily loaded. When the handle 26 is rotated upward from this state, the print head 9 is moved to the axial point Q by the link mechanism provided on the back surface of the vertical wall 7 'of the frame 7. And the thermal transfer head is lightly pressed against the platen 16. When the print head 9 is pulled down, since the paper is already loaded, the paper is sandwiched between the platen 16 and the thermal transfer head, and printing is performed. The print head 9 pulled down is held at the lower position by the hook mechanism with the hand 26 side until the handle 26 is operated again.

The guide roller 13 has a structure in which a roller shaft protrudes from both ends of a hard roller having a width substantially equal to the width of the conveyance path. The guide roller 13 is arranged in a direction crossing the conveyance path and rotates vertically around an end of the roller shaft on the frame 7 side. Can move. The paper sensor 23 has its supporting portion mounted on a roller shaft, and moves up and down with the movement of the guide roller 13.

The paper width guide 14 and the position sensor 15 will be described in detail (FIGS. 4 to 7). The paper width guide 14 and the position sensor 15 are assembled as a set of units 27, and the unit 27 generally further includes a substrate 28, a sensor unit 29, an interlock lever 30, the paper width guide 14, and the like. The substrate 28 is a pressed product, and the upper surface thereof has a paper transport path (width d) up to the platen 16.
1), and has a notch 32 that is long in the transverse direction, which is almost up to the middle of the width of the transport path, like the groove rail 31 that traverses the transport path. A rail hole 33 is formed at the bottom of the groove rail 31 along the longitudinal direction of the groove, and the long notch 32 is open on the vertical wall 7 ′ side of the main body frame 7.

The paper guide 14 includes a horizontal portion 34 and a rising portion 2.
0 is a resin product. The horizontal portion 34 does not come off from the rail hole 33 by protruding the pin p1 to the lower surface side, penetrating the protruding portion through the rail hole 33, and attaching a stopper plate 35 (FIG. 5) to the groove hole 31 from the rear surface side. like,
Further, the groove rail 31 can be moved linearly. The rising portion 20 functions as a surface that regulates one side edge of the sheet, and has an upper end formed on the operation knob 36.

The sensor unit 29 (FIG. 6) comprises a base 37, a slide plate 38 and the position sensor 15. The base 37 is a resin molded product and is long in the transverse direction of the transport path, and its length is almost half of the transport path width (d1).
A mounting groove 39 is formed in the longitudinal direction, and a long groove 40 having a length d2 is formed at the bottom thereof. The base 37
A pin p2 is formed on the lower surface of the distal end, and a stay 41 is formed on one side, and a pin p3 is integrally formed on the distal end. The mounting groove 39 is provided between the upper surface and the vertical wall 7 of the main body frame 7.
The 'side is open.

The slide plate 38 is a plate having the width and length of the mounting groove 39 of the base 37, and can be fitted in the mounting groove 37 and moved in the longitudinal direction. The slide plate 38 has a pin p4 at the distal end, and a screw hole 42 for fixing the position sensor 15 at the base end (the vertical wall 7 'side) and the position sensor 1
5 has a through hole 43 for passing the lead wire. The interlocking lever 30 connects between the pin p1 protruding from the horizontal portion 34 of the paper width guide 14 and the pin p3 provided on the stay 41 of the sensor unit 29.
Contact with the pin p4. The connection with the pin p1 is via the adjusting long groove 44.

These are assembled as follows to form the unit 27. The paper width guide 14 is fitted into the groove rail 31 of the substrate 28, the pin p <b> 1 is inserted into the horizontal portion 34, and after passing through the rail hole 33, the stopper plate 35 is attached from the back side. As a result, the paper width guide 14 is
Is mounted so as to be able to move linearly in a direction transverse to the transport path. Next, the base 3 of the sensor unit 29
7 with the slide plate 38 in the mounting hole 39, and the pin p4
Is inserted into the long groove 40 at the bottom of the mounting groove 39, and the base 37 is fixed with a plurality of screws 45 so that the mounting hole 39 is aligned with the long notch 32 of the substrate 28 from the back side of the substrate 28.

Then, since the slide plate 38 is exposed through the notch 32 that is long when viewed from the upper surface of the substrate 28, the position sensor 15 is placed on the slide plate 38 through the long notch 32 with the gap 23 as the conveyance path side. Photoelectric element 25
After passing through the lead hole 46 of the slide plate 38 through the through hole 43 of the slide plate 38, the screw passed through the screw hole 47 is screwed into the screw hole 42 of the slide plate 38, and the position sensor 15 and the slide plate 38
And the base 37 are integrated.

The adjusting long groove 44 of the interlocking lever 30 is used.
Pin p projecting from the horizontal portion 34 of the paper width guide 14
1 and the other end is rotatably attached to a pin p3 provided on the base 37 of the sensor unit 29. Further, a pin p2 provided on the lower surface of the distal end portion of the base 37 and a pin p48 (slide) protruding through the long groove 40 (Provided at the end of the plate 38) with a tension spring 47. Extension spring 4
The pin p4 urged to the pin p2 side at 7 always comes into contact with the intermediate portion of the interlocking lever 34 (the state of FIG. 5). In this configuration, the paper width guide 14 is always urged toward the maximum paper width position by the tension spring 47 via the interlocking lever 30. Reference numeral 48 denotes a socket for connecting the lead wire 46 to the control device.

According to this configuration, when the paper width guide 14 is moved in the direction of the vertical wall 7 'of the main body frame 7, the interlocking lever 30 rotates about the pin p3 and pushes the pin p4. That is, the position sensor 15 can be simultaneously sent in the direction of the vertical wall 7 '. At this time, since the tension spring 47 is extended, when the paper width guide 14 is returned, it is urged by the contraction of the spring and the return operation is light, and with the return movement of the paper width guide 14, the position sensor 15 also returns to the original position. Is returned to.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when the rail hole 33 and the long groove 40 are parallel to each other and the pin p4 is in contact with the interlocking lever 30 in the middle of the pin p1 and the pin p3, The moving amount is about 1/2 of the pin p1. In other words, if the position of the paper width guide 14 is adjusted with the change of the paper width, the amount of movement of the position sensor 15 is always half that of the width change, and the direction of the change is the same. This means that the position sensor 15 is always at the center position of the sheet width even if the sheet width changes, and this is convenient when the threading holes of tags having different width dimensions are to be detected. Of course, the same structure can be used not only when the threading hole is at the center of the tag, but also for the one at a position proportional to the paper width and constant. The unit 27 assembled as described above is incorporated into the main body frame 7 to obtain the structure shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the guide roller 13, paper sensor 23 and print head 9 are lifted upward.
The paper width guide 14 is set to the maximum paper width, the roll paper 6 is pulled out from the paper supply reel 3, and the leading end is passed through the gap 24 of the position sensor 15 to reach the position of the platen 16. Next, the guide roller 13 and the print head 9 are lowered, and the paper width guide 14 is pushed in until the rising portion 20 abuts on one side of the paper to regulate the side of the paper that moves. Then, as the paper guide 14 moves, the position sensor 15
Automatically becomes the center position of the sheet width, and becomes the position for detecting the threading hole in the center part of the sheet. The ink ribbon 19 is wound around the supply reel 11 to the take-up reel 10 via the print head 9, and when the print head 9 is lowered, it contacts the surface of the paper and is pressed between the platen 16 and the print head 9 doors. .

In printing, the ink ribbon and the sheet are sent by rotating the platen 16, and printing is performed at a predetermined position on the sheet based on a signal from the position sensor 15. Cutter 1
2 may not be used. When the printing on a predetermined number of tags 5 is completed or when the paper sensor 23 detects the end of the roll paper, the operation of the printing machine 1 is stopped after the printing on one tag 5 is completed. Although the embodiment has been described above, the paper width guide 14 and the position sensor 1
The position sensor 15 may be independently pushed and moved to the retracted position by releasing the connection with the interlocking lever 30 with the position sensor 5. At this time, as in the embodiment, if the gap 24 between the upper portion 21 and the lower portion 22 of the position sensor 15 is configured such that the transport path side is opened, paper can be returned only by returning the position sensor 15 to the original position. It can be arranged in the gap 24.

[0023]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the position sensor is disposed on the transport path, the predetermined position of the sheet can be accurately detected. In addition, when a sheet is set, it can be set at a position retracted from the transport path, and does not hinder the setting of the sheet. Claim 2
According to the configuration described in (1), since the movement of the position sensor is interlocked with the movement of the paper width guide, it is convenient when it is necessary to adjust the position of the position sensor as the width of the paper changes. According to the configuration of the third aspect, even when the width of the paper, such as the threading hole of the tag, is changed, the center of the width is always detected by the position detection sensor. By simply adjusting the position of the paper width guide in accordance with the change in the position, the position sensor is also adjusted at the same time, and the adjustment operation can be performed smoothly.

According to the configuration of the fourth aspect, a structure for retracting the position sensor from the transport path can be simply configured. According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, the arrangement of the light emitting element and the light receiving element can be made stable, and the paper position can be accurately detected. According to the configuration of the sixth aspect, when the position sensor is returned from the temporary retracted position at the time of sheet setting to the original operating position, the operation is light and easy to use. Further, the position sensor can be stabilized at a fixed position during operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a printing machine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a main part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a position sensor part.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a unit of a position sensor portion.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the back side of the unit.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the sensor unit.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the outline of operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tag printing machine 2 Main body 3 Paper supply reel 4 Continuous tag 5 Tag 6 Roll paper 7 Main frame 8 Conveyance bed 9 Print head 10 Take-up side ink ribbon reel 11 Supply side ink ribbon reel 12 Paper cutter 13 Guide roller 14 Paper width guide 15 Position Sensor 16 Platen 17 Ribbon Guide 18 Ribbon Detection Sensor 19 Ink Ribbon 20 Rise 21 Upper Part 22 Lower Part 23 Paper Sensor 24 Gap 25 Photoelectric Element 26 Handle 27 Unit 28 Board 29 Sensor Unit 30 Interlocking Lever 31 Groove Rail 32 Long Cut Notch 33 Rail hole 34 Horizontal portion 35 Stop plate 36 Operation knob 37 Base 38 Slide plate 39 Mounting groove 40 Long groove 41 Stay 42 Screw hole 43 Through hole 44 Adjusting long groove 45 Screw 46 Lead wire 47 Pulling bar 48 socket

Claims (6)

[Claims] A transport path for transporting the paper, and a position sensor for detecting a predetermined position of the paper on the transport path;
A printing machine that performs printing at a predetermined position on a sheet based on the position sensor, wherein the position sensor is disposed so as to be linearly movable in a direction traversing the conveyance path and obstructs when setting the sheet on the conveyance path. A printing machine characterized in that it can be retracted to a position where it is not necessary. 2. A transport path for transporting a sheet, a position sensor for detecting a predetermined position of the sheet on the transport path, and a position sensor that is movable in a transverse direction of the transport path and has an arbitrary width. A printing machine having a paper width guide for regulating the position in the transverse direction, wherein the position sensor is mounted on a slide plate configured to be slidable in the transverse direction of the transport path together with the paper width guide, and the position sensor is provided on the paper width guide. A printing machine characterized by moving in the transverse direction of a transport path in conjunction with movement. 3. The printing machine according to claim 2, wherein the amount of movement of the position sensor is substantially half the amount of movement of the paper width guide. 4. A position sensor independent of a paper width guide,
The printing method according to claim 2, wherein the printing unit is configured to be able to slide linearly in a transverse direction of the conveyance path, and to be able to retreat to a position that does not interfere when the sheet is set in the paper conveyance path. Machine. 5. The position sensor is characterized in that an upper portion and a lower portion define a gap through which a sheet passes, and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are arranged at positions facing each other with the gap therebetween. The printing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position sensor is always urged by a spring from the retracted position toward the transport path.
Or the printing machine according to claim 3.