JPH11129571A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer contributive to space saving in which a large diameter roll paper can be used. SOLUTION: The printer 1 comprises a body frame for containing a roll paper R, a cover 3 supported at the roll paper inserting section of the body frame to be opened/closed in the direction substantially orthogonal to the feeding direction of the roll paper R, and a thermal head 5 performing specified printing on the roll paper R contained in the body frame. The thermal head 5 is fixed to the rear side face of the cover 3. When the cover 3 is closed, the roll paper R is held between the thermal head 5 and a platen roller 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for printing on continuous paper by a thermal printing means, for example.
In particular, it relates to a printer capable of storing recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of printer, for example, a printer as shown in FIG. 7 is known.

[0003] As shown in FIG.
Is a main body frame 102 capable of accommodating roll paper 101 on a roll of recording paper (hereinafter referred to as "roll paper"), and a lid 103 rotatably supported on the main body frame 102 about a support shaft 102a. have. Here, a thermal head 104 is provided on the back side of the front end of the lid 103.
And a platen roller 105 is provided at the front end of the main body frame 102. Then, the printer 100 closes the lid 103 and places the roll paper 10 between the thermal head 104 and the platen roller 105.
A predetermined printing is performed on the roll paper 101 by sandwiching 1.

[0004]

However, in the case of the conventional printer, the cover 10 is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the roll paper 101.
3 is opened so that the lid 103 and the main body frame 1 can be opened.
02, the roll paper 101 cannot be inserted depending on the opening angle of the lid 103. There is a problem that 101 is limited.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
If the opening angle of the roll paper 101 is increased, the roll paper 101 can be inserted through the opening between the lid 103 and the main body frame 102 even if the roll paper 101 has a large diameter. There arises a problem that a large space for installing the printer 100 is required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and provides a printer which can use a large-diameter roll paper and can contribute to space saving. The purpose is to do so.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a paper feed unit which is separated from a first paper feed unit and a second paper feed unit. A main body frame including a storage unit that stores the recording medium and a first paper feed unit; and a lid that is openably and closably supported by the main body frame and that includes a second paper feed unit, and closes the lid. And the first and second paper feeders cooperate to convey the recording medium, wherein the lid is rotatably supported by the main body frame in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium. It is characterized by having.

In the case of the first aspect of the present invention having such a configuration, a large-diameter roll or a thick bundle is opened by opening the lid supported in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper feeding direction of the recording medium. The folded paper can be inserted easily, and the length of the cover is sufficient if it is almost equal to the width of the recording medium, so that a large space is not required when the cover is opened. is there.

Furthermore, after the recording medium is set, the printer can be fed by simply closing the cover, and printing can be performed by arranging the printing means on the main body frame side. Can be provided.

One of the first and second paper feed units of the paper feed means is a rotating platen roller, and the other is a thermal head.

With the above construction, the size of the printer can be reduced. Further, if the thermal head is supported by the lid as described above, the maintenance of the head is easy, the size is small and the operability is high. A printer having the above configuration can be provided at low cost.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of the printer of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part of the printer, and shows a state in which a cover is opened, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part, showing a state in which a lid is closed.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of the printer, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing a main part of the printer.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with an accommodating portion 2 for accommodating roll paper R in a main body frame (not shown) having the same configuration as that of the above-described conventional example. . The storage section 2 is formed in a shape capable of rotatably supporting a roll paper R inserted by opening a lid, which will be described later, so that the roll paper R can be pulled out in the direction of arrow A.

A cover 3 made of a rectangular plate-like member slightly longer than the width of the roll paper R is provided on one side of the drawn roll paper R at the front portion of the main body frame. The rear end portion of the lid 3 is rotatably supported on the main body frame about the support shaft 4, and can be opened and closed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrow A direction which is the paper feeding direction of the roll paper R. It is configured as follows.

As shown in FIG. 1, on the back side of the lid 3,
A thermal head (print head) 5 as a printing means for performing predetermined printing on the roll paper R is attached. The thermal head 5 is connected to a circuit board (not shown), and is configured to be driven based on a signal from the circuit board.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, below the lid 3, a platen roller (platen section) 6 for holding the roll paper R together with the above-described thermal head 5 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
Is a paper feed direction of the roll paper R (direction of arrow A) at a position facing the thermal head 5 with the lid 3 closed.
Are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction. The platen roller 6 has its platen shaft 6a rotated by a motor (not shown).

As shown in FIG. 1, one ends of the tension coil springs 7a, 7b are hooked on claws 3a, 3b formed on both sides of the lid 3, and these tension coil springs 7a, 7b
Are claw portions 8a, 8b formed on the main body frame.
Has been hooked on.

Here, the claw portions 3a and 3b of the lid 3 are provided on the distal end side with respect to the engaging portion 3c with the support shaft 4, and the engaging portion 3c is provided on the back surface of the lid 3. And the lid 3
Is configured to be pulled toward the claw portions 8a, 8b of the main body frame by the elastic force of the extension coil springs 7a, 7b. With such a configuration, FIG.
In the position where the lid 3 stands substantially vertically as shown in FIG. 3, a force acting on the lid 3 so as to fall backward acts on the lid 3, but in the case of the present embodiment, the lid 3 is It is locked in this state and keeps a stationary posture. On the other hand, when the lid 3 is turned down as shown in FIG. 3, the lid 3 is pressed against the platen roller 6 by the elastic force of the tension coil springs 7a and 7b.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the lid 3 is provided with positioning portions 3d and 3e for positioning the thermal head 5 and the platen roller 6. In the case of the present embodiment, these positioning portions 3d and 3e are formed integrally with the lid 3 by bending a part of the lid 3 toward the thermal head 5 at positions on both sides of the thermal head 5. . Engaging grooves 3f and 3g are formed in the positioning portions 3d and 3e, respectively.
The thermal head 5 is positioned with respect to the platen roller 6 by engaging 3 g with the platen shaft 6 a.

When the roll paper R is loaded in the present embodiment having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid 3 and the platen roller 6 are connected with the lid 3 standing upright. The roll paper R is inserted into the storage section 2 in the main body frame through the gap. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the leading end portion of the roll paper R is pulled out, placed on the platen roller 6, and the cover 3 is closed by falling down in the direction of arrow A. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the roll paper R is sandwiched between the thermal head 5 and the platen roller 6, and a state in which printing on the roll paper R can be performed. Thereafter, the thermal head 5 is driven, and the platen roller 6 is driven.
Is rotated in the direction of the arrow to perform predetermined printing on the roll paper R and discharge it.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
The provision of the lid 3 which can be opened and closed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper feed direction of the roll paper R enables even a large-diameter roll paper R to be easily inserted into the main body frame, thereby A highly versatile printer capable of printing on various types of roll paper R is obtained.

Furthermore, in the case of the present embodiment, since the length of the lid 3 is substantially equal to the width of the roll paper R, a large space is not required when the lid 3 is opened, and the space can be saved. Can contribute.

Further, in this embodiment, since the thermal head 5 is provided on the lid 3 side, the printer 1 can print by simply closing the lid 3 after inserting the roll paper R. And a highly operable printer can be provided.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made. For example,
In the case of the above-described embodiment, the lid is supported on the left side toward the downstream in the paper feeding direction of the roll paper, but the lid is supported on the right side toward the downstream in the paper feeding direction of the roll paper. It can also be configured as follows. Also, the angle at which the lid is raised can be appropriately changed according to the diameter of the roll paper.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a platen roller 60 may be arranged on the lid side, and a thermal head 50 may be arranged on the fixed part side. In this case, the thermal head 5
Signal wiring processing to 0 is simplified.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a printer that performs printing using a thermal-sensitive print head. Is applicable to a printer that performs printing using an ink jet type or dot impact type print head as a printing unit. In that case, it is preferable to provide a platen portion on the lid side.

Further, the recording medium is not limited to roll paper as in the embodiment, but may be folded recording paper. If the paper feeding means is a sprocket means provided with pins, continuous recording paper can be used. It does not matter.

However, if the present invention is applied to a thermal printer as in the above-described embodiment, there is an advantage that a printer having a simple configuration can be provided at low cost.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the first paper feeder and the second paper feeder are separable, and a continuous recording medium is accommodated therein. It has a main body frame provided with an accommodating part and a first paper feed part, and a lid supported on the main body frame so as to be openable and closable and provided with a second paper feed part. In the printer in which the paper feeding unit cooperates to convey the recording medium, the lid is supported by the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium. By opening the body, a large-diameter roll or a folded bundle of thick bundles can be easily inserted, and the length of the cover is sufficient if it is substantially equal to the width of the recording medium. Does not require a large amount of space when the body is opened. Further, after the recording medium is set, the printer can be fed by simply closing the cover, and printing can be performed by arranging the printing means on the main body frame side, thereby providing a printer with high operability. be able to.

According to the second and third aspects of the present invention, if the printer is downsized and the thermal head is supported by the lid,
It is possible to provide an inexpensive printer having a small and simple configuration with easy head maintenance and high operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part of the printer according to the embodiment, showing a state where a cover is opened.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a main part of the printer according to the embodiment, showing a state in which a cover is closed.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a main part of the printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a main part of the printer of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a main part of another embodiment of the printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of a conventional printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Housing part 3 Lid 5 Thermal head (printing means, print head) 6 Platen roller (platen part) R Roll paper

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A main body frame including a paper feeding unit separable into a first paper feeding unit and a second paper feeding unit, a storage unit for storing a continuous recording medium, and the first paper feeding unit. And a lid provided with the second paper feeder so as to be openable and closable on the main body frame, and the first lid is closed when the lid is closed.
And the printer in which the second paper feeder cooperates to convey the recording medium, wherein the lid is supported on the main body frame so as to be rotatable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording medium. A printer characterized by being done. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the first and second paper feed units of the paper feed unit is a rotating platen roller, and the other is a thermal head. The printer described. 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein said thermal head is supported by said lid.