JPH11263051A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer having a simple structure, with which a noise can be reduced. SOLUTION: An upper unit 5 and a lower unit 6 are locked into each other by engaging the hooks 18 of engaging levers 19 provided at both the ends of a carriage guide shaft 13 pivotally supported to the upper unit 5 and the engaging part 17 of the lower unit 6 under the condition that their engagement is realized by energizing towards their engaging direction with a tension spring S1 to engage the upper unit 5 with the hooks 18. Thus, in the case that a printing is executed under the condition that the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 are locked into each other, even when vibrations develop during the rubbing between a carriage 14, on which an ink cartridge 11 is installed, and the carriage guide shaft 13, the vibrations are absorbed by the elastic member S1 through the hooks 18 provided on the carriage guide shaft 13, resulting in reducing a noise with a simple structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for performing printing by reciprocating a printing unit on a guide shaft.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a conventional ink jet serial printer, an ink cartridge constituted by an ink jet head and an ink tank is removably mounted on a carriage slidably fitted on a carriage guide shaft to constitute a printing section. The carriage reciprocates on the carriage guide shaft, thereby enabling desired printing by the ink cartridge. In particular, the printing sound of such an ink jet serial printer has a feature that the printing sound is more quiet than the printing sound of a dot impact type printer.

However, noise may be generated even in an ink jet serial printer excellent in quietness as described above. The cause of this noise is that when the carriage slides or when the carriage is turned over to change the sliding direction, a slight vibration occurs between the carriage and the carriage guide shaft, and the minute vibration is transmitted through the carriage guide shaft to the printer main body. Is transmitted to the printer main body, causing the micro vibration to resonate in the printer main body.

As a technique for reducing this noise, it is known that the carriage guide shaft may be firmly fixed to the printer main body. For example, a method in which the carriage guide shaft and the printer main body are fixed to each other by a spring washer, welding, or the like is known. I have to.

In an ink jet serial printer which is mounted on a POS (Point of Sales: Point of Sale) terminal or the like and prints a receipt or a journal, the printer main body is divided into an upper unit and a lower unit. In some cases, an upper unit rotatably supported by the upper unit includes a carriage guide shaft and an ink cartridge, and a lower unit includes a platen and a paper storage unit. In such an ink jet serial printer, a paper transport path is formed between the upper unit and the lower unit. For example, when replenishing receipt paper, a long paper roll wound around a paper storage unit is required. The roll paper is stored in a predetermined position between the inkjet head of the ink cartridge and the platen by simply storing the roll paper, pulling out the end of the roll paper, closing the upper unit and locking it to the lower unit. Can be easily done.

[0006]

However, in the ink jet serial printer in which the upper unit is provided to be openable and closable with respect to the lower unit as described above, even if the carriage guide shaft is firmly fixed to the upper unit, the carriage is not connected to the upper unit. Micro-vibration generated between the carriage guide shaft and the shaft is connected to the axis connecting the upper unit and the lower unit, so that new noise is generated. That is, in order to reduce such noise, it is necessary to support the upper unit with respect to the lower unit so as not to transmit the micro vibration.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of reducing noise with a simple structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer which can be easily opened and closed.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A printer in which an upper unit having a printing unit is openably and closably attached to a lower unit having a platen, and a paper guide path is formed between the platen and the printing unit with the upper unit closed with respect to the lower unit. A shaft provided on the upper unit for slidably guiding the printing unit to the printing position, hooks provided on both ends of the shaft, an engaging unit provided on the lower unit for engaging and disengaging the hook; Lock the unit and hook,
An elastic member that urges the hook in a direction to engage the engagement portion, and an engagement release mechanism that rotates the hook in the engagement release direction are provided.

Therefore, the hooks provided at both ends of the shaft provided in the upper unit and the engaging portions of the lower unit are engaged while being urged in the engaging direction by the elastic members for locking the upper unit and the hooks. Then, the upper unit and the lower unit are locked. With this, when printing is performed in a state where the upper unit and the lower unit are locked, even if vibration occurs at the time of sliding between the printing unit and the shaft, the vibration is transmitted through the hooks provided at both ends of the shaft. It is absorbed by the elastic member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the shaft is rotatably supported by the upper unit, and the hook is fixedly provided to the shaft.

Therefore, the hooks are fixedly provided at both ends of the shaft and interlock with the rotation of the shaft, so that the engagement is simultaneously released at both ends of the shaft.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the upper unit having the printing unit is attached to the lower unit having the platen so as to be openable and closable, and the platen and the printing unit are closed with the upper unit closed with respect to the lower unit. In the printer in which the paper guide path is formed between the upper unit and the lower unit, a shaft fixed to the upper unit with both ends protruding to the outside and guiding the printing unit slidably to the printing position is provided. Hook engaged with and disengaged from both ends of the shaft, an elastic member that locks the lower unit and the hook, and urges the hook in a direction to engage the engaging portion, and pivots the hook in the disengaging direction Disengagement mechanism for causing

Therefore, both ends of the shaft protruding from the upper unit and the hook rotatably provided on the lower unit are engaged while being urged in the engaging direction by an elastic member for locking the lower unit and the hook. Then, the upper unit and the lower unit are locked. Thus, when printing is performed in a state where the upper unit and the lower unit are locked, even if vibration occurs during sliding between the printing unit and the shaft, the vibration is firmly engaged with the shaft. Through the elastic member.

[0015]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
A description will be given with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, the PO
Inkjet serial printer (hereinafter referred to as inkjet printer) which is a printer mounted on S terminal
It is an example of application to

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of the POS terminal 1. The POS terminal 1 is provided with a keyboard 2, a display 3, and the like in order from the operator side. POS terminal 1
Inside, and behind the display 3 as viewed from the operator, an ink jet printer 4 used for printing receipts, journals, slips, and the like is built in.

Here, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a side view showing a closed state of the inkjet printer 4, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing an open state of the inkjet printer 4. FIG. The inkjet printer 4 includes an upper unit 5 and a lower unit 6. The upper unit 5 is attached to the lower unit 6 by a support shaft 7 and can be freely opened and closed. The support shaft 7 is provided with a torsion spring S for urging the upper unit 5 against the lower unit 6 in the opening direction. The lower unit 6 includes a platen 8 having a smooth surface, a paper storage unit 9 for storing the roll paper R, and a winding mechanism 1 for winding the printed roll paper R as a journal.
0, a waste ink recovery tank T, etc., and the upper unit 5 includes an inkjet head 11a and an ink tank 11
b, a head cleaning device 12 for cleaning the ink cartridge 11 and the inkjet head 11a. When the upper unit 5 is closed with respect to the lower unit 6,
The ink cartridge 11 provided in the upper unit 5 and the platen 8 provided in the lower unit 6 are provided so as to face each other, and further, the head cleaning device 12 and the lower unit 6 provided in the upper unit 5 are provided.
Are provided so as to be opposed to the waste ink recovery tank T provided in the printer.

The ink cartridge 11 slides on a carriage guide shaft 13 rotatably supported by a pair of opposed side plates 5a of the upper unit 5 and a rail-shaped support portion 5b provided on the upper unit 5. It is removably mounted on a flexible carriage 14. The ink cartridge 11 and the carriage 14 constitute a printing unit. The carriage 14 is driven by a drive unit (not shown) controlled by a microcomputer (not shown). The carriage 14 reciprocates on the carriage guide shaft 13 with rotation of the endless belt, for example. Can be printed. In addition,
The carriage 14 penetrates through the side plate 5a.

Opening and closing mechanisms 15 for opening and closing the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6, respectively, are provided on both left and right sides of the ink jet printer 4 when viewed from the printed paper discharging direction. Next, the lock mechanism 16 of the opening and closing mechanism 15 for locking the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 will be described. The lock mechanism 16 includes a lock pin 17 that is an engagement portion provided on the lower unit 6, and a hook 18 that is rotatably provided on the upper unit 5 and is detachable from the lock pin 17. L-shaped locking lever 19 fixedly fitted to the end of the
It is composed of The locking lever 19 and the side plate 5a of the upper unit 5 are locked by a tension spring S1 for urging the hook 18 in the direction of the support shaft 7. Note that the tension spring S1 is
The carriage 14 for sliding and changing the sliding direction of the carriage 4
Of the carriage guide shaft 13 and the carriage 14 at the time of reversal, the function of absorbing the minute vibration through the locking lever 19 is also achieved. Further, the locking lever 19
When the upper unit 5 is closed, the tension spring S
An inclined portion 20 is formed for releasing the interference of the locking lever 19 urged by 1 with the lock pin 17 by the rotation of the carriage guide shaft 13 for fixing the locking lever 19 while contacting the locking pin 17.

Next, a mechanism for unlocking the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 of the opening / closing mechanism 15 will be described. The lower unit 6 has an upside-down opening lever 21 having a pressing surface 21a as an operating portion at an end thereof.
It is attached so as to be rotatable. A long hole 23 is formed in the opening lever 21, and the rotation range of the opening lever 21 is restricted by inserting a slide pin 24 provided in the lower unit 6 into the long hole 23. The release lever 21 has a projection 25 that contacts the inclined portion 20 of the locking lever 19. The inclined portion 20 of the locking lever 19 and the release lever 2
The one projection 25 constitutes an engagement release mechanism. Further, the release lever 21 and the lower unit 6 are locked by a tension spring S2 that urges the projection 25 of the release lever 21 in a direction away from the inclined portion 20 of the locking lever 19.

Bosses 26 are formed on both left and right sides of the opening and closing operator of the upper unit 5, and are substantially semicircular on both left and right sides of the lower unit 6 for supporting the bosses 26. Are formed. When the upper unit 5 is closed with respect to the lower unit 6, the boss 26 of the upper unit 5 and the support recess 27 of the lower unit 6 define at least the thickness of the roll paper R between the platen 8 and the inkjet head 11 a. The paper guide path A is formed with a minute gap.

The opening and closing operation of the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 in such a configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the paper storage unit 9 of the inkjet printer 4
When replenishing the roll paper R or performing maintenance, first, the pressing surface 21a of the release lever 21 is pressed down. When the pressing surface 21a is pressed down, the release lever 21 is released.
When the projection 25 pushes the inclined portion 20 of the locking lever 19, the engagement between the hook 18 and the lock pin 17 is released, and the lock mechanism 1 between the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 is released.
6 is released. When the lock mechanism 16 is released, the upper unit 5 is opened in a direction away from the lower unit 6. Here, the upper unit 5 is released by releasing the lock mechanism 16 because the upper unit 5 is urged in the opening direction by a torsion spring S provided on the support shaft 7 connecting the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6. is there. Lock mechanism 1
6 is released, the release lever 21 is pulled by the tension spring S2.
The locking lever 19 returns to the home position by the urging force of the tension spring S1. Also,
After the replenishment of the roll paper R, by pushing down the upper unit 5, the interference of the locking lever 19 with the lock pin 17 is eliminated by the rotation of the carriage guide shaft 13 by the action of the inclined portion 20, and finally, The hook 18 is engaged with the lock pin 17, and the upper unit 5 is locked by the lower unit 6.

The opening and closing operation of the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 described above is such that the locking levers 19 on the left and right sides are fixedly fitted to both ends of the carriage guide shaft 13 which is rotatable with respect to the upper unit 5. The upper unit 5 can be released from the lower unit 6 simply by pressing down the pressing surface 21a of one of the release levers 21 and the opening / closing operation is facilitated.

When printing on roll paper in a state where the upper unit 5 is locked to the lower unit 6, even if a minute vibration is generated between the carriage guide shaft 13 and the carriage 14, the minute vibration is generated by the carriage. Since the tension is absorbed by the tension spring S1 which locks the locking lever 19 fixedly fitted to both ends of the guide shaft 13, noise can be reduced.

Further, a mechanism for reducing noise caused by minute vibration generated between the carriage guide shaft 13 and the carriage 14 and a lock mechanism 16 for the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 can be realized by a common mechanism. The structure of the printer 4 can be simplified.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 described in the first embodiment of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. The ink jet printer 30 of the present embodiment is different from the ink jet printer 4 of the first embodiment of the present invention only in the opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6.

Here, FIG.
0 is a side view showing a closed state, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing an open state of the inkjet printer 30. Opening and closing mechanisms 31 for opening and closing the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 are provided on both left and right sides of the inkjet printer 30 when viewed from the direction of discharging the printed paper. Next, the lock mechanism 32 between the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 of the opening / closing mechanism 31 will be described. The lock mechanism 32 is rotatable by a shaft 35 on the shaft end 33 a of the carriage guide shaft 33 fixed to the opposing side plate 5 a of the upper unit 5 with a part thereof exposed to the outside, and the lower unit 6. A locking lever 36 having a hook 34 attached to and detachable from a shaft end 33a.
It is composed of The locking lever 36 and the lower unit 6 connect the hook 34 to the shaft end 3.
It is locked by a tension spring S3 biasing in the direction of 3a. In addition, the tension spring S3 is used to change the sliding direction of the carriage 14 when the carriage 14 slides.
4 causes the minute vibration generated between the carriage guide shaft 33 and the carriage 14 to be locked by the locking lever 36.
It also plays the role of absorbing through. Furthermore, the locking lever 3
6, when the upper unit 5 is closed, the locking lever 36 is brought into contact with the shaft end 33 a while the interference is caused by the shaft 35.
An inclined portion 37 is formed to be released by the rotating action of the shaft. In addition, the locking lever 36 has a rectangular long hole 38 formed therein.

Next, a mechanism for unlocking the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 of the opening / closing mechanism 31 will be described. The lower unit 6 is provided with an inverted lever 39 having a pressing surface 39 a at an end thereof, which is rotatable by a shaft 40. The release lever 39
Is formed with a slide pin 41, which is inserted into the elongated hole 38 of the locking lever 36. As a result, the slide pin 41 slides freely in the long hole 38 of the locking lever 36 with the rotation of the opening lever 39. That is, the locking lever 36 is
8, the rotation surface of the release lever 39 is rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the release lever 39.
When the hook 9a is pushed down, the hook 34
It is opened in the direction away from a. That is, the long hole 38 of the locking lever 36 and the slide pin 41 of the release lever 39 constitute an engagement release mechanism.

A substantially semicircular supporting recess 42 for supporting the shaft end 33a is formed on both left and right sides of the lower unit 6 as viewed from the operator. When the upper unit 5 is closed with respect to the lower unit 6, the shaft end 33a of the upper unit 5 and the support concave portion 42 of the lower unit 6 at least provide a roll paper R between the platen 8 and the inkjet head 11a. The paper guide path A is formed by forming a gap corresponding to the thickness of the sheet.

The opening and closing operation of the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 in such a configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, when refilling the roll paper R into the paper storage unit 9 of the ink jet printer 30 or for maintenance, first, the pressing surface 39a of the release lever 39 is pressed down. When the pressing surface 39a is pressed down, the slide pin 41
Is slidably slid in the long hole 23 of the locking lever 36 with the rotation of the opening lever 39, whereby the locking lever 36 is rotated in a direction away from the shaft end 33a. You. Thereby, the shaft end 33
The engagement between the hook a and the hook 34 is released, and the lock mechanism 32 between the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 is released. When the lock mechanism 32 is released, the upper unit 5 is opened in a direction away from the lower unit 6. Here, the upper unit 5 is opened by releasing the lock mechanism 32 because the upper unit 5 is urged in the opening direction by a torsion spring S provided on the support shaft 7 connecting the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6. is there. After the lock mechanism 32 is released,
The locking lever 36 returns to the home position by the urging force of the tension spring S3, and the opening lever 39 also returns to the home position with the return of the locking lever 36. Further, after the replenishment of the roll paper R, by pushing down the upper unit 5, the interference of the locking lever 36 with the shaft end 33 a is eliminated by the action of the inclined portion 37, and finally the shaft is moved to the shaft end 33 a. The hook 34 is engaged, and the upper unit 5 is locked to the lower unit 6.

Here, the upper unit 5 is replaced with the lower unit 6
When a receipt is printed in a state where the carriage is locked, even if a slight vibration occurs between the carriage guide shaft 33 and the carriage 14, the minute vibration is applied to the shaft ends 33a at both ends of the carriage guide shaft 33. Since the tension is absorbed by the tension spring S3 that locks the locking lever 36 engaged in the above, noise can be reduced.

Further, a mechanism for reducing noise caused by minute vibrations generated between the carriage guide shaft 33 and the carriage 14 and a lock mechanism 32 for the upper unit 5 and the lower unit 6 can be realized by a common mechanism. The structure of the printer 30 can be simplified.

In each embodiment, the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer as a printer mounted on a POS terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a serial impact type dot printer.

[0034]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the hooks provided at both ends of the shaft provided in the upper unit and the engaging portions of the lower unit are formed by the elastic members which lock the upper unit and the hooks. When printing is performed in a state where the upper unit and the lower unit are locked by being engaged while being urged in the engaging direction, even if vibration occurs when the printing unit slides with the shaft, the vibration is generated by the shaft. Since it can be absorbed by the elastic member through the hooks provided at both ends,
Noise can be reduced with a simple structure.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the hook is fixedly provided at both ends of the shaft and is linked with the rotation of the shaft so that the rotation operation of one end is performed at the other end. Therefore, the engagement can be simultaneously released at both ends of the shaft only by the operation of one end, and the opening and closing work can be facilitated.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, both ends of the shaft fixed to the upper unit and the hook rotatably provided on the lower unit are engaged by the elastic member for locking the lower unit and the hook. When printing is performed while the upper unit and lower unit are locked while being engaged while urging in the direction, vibrations generated when the printing unit slides with the shaft are transmitted through the hooks firmly engaged with the shaft. Since it can be absorbed by the elastic member, noise can be reduced with a simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a structure of a POS terminal according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the structure of the ink jet printer.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a closed state of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an open state of the inkjet printer.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a closed state of the inkjet printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side view illustrating an open state of the inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 Upper unit 6 Lower unit 8 Platen 11, 14 Printing unit 13 Shaft 17 Engaging unit 18 Hook 20, 25 Engagement release mechanism A Paper guide path S1 Elastic member 33 Shaft 34 Hook 38, 41 Engagement release mechanism S3 Elastic member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A lower unit having a platen,
A printer in which an upper unit having a printing unit is openably mounted and a paper guide path is formed between the platen and the printing unit in a state where the upper unit is closed with respect to the lower unit. A shaft provided on the unit and slidably guiding the printing unit to a printing position; hooks provided on both ends of the shaft; an engagement unit provided on the lower unit and engaged with and disengaged from the hook; An elastic member that locks the upper unit and the hook and urges the hook in a direction to engage the hook with the engagement portion, and an engagement release mechanism that rotates the hook in the engagement release direction A printer characterized in that: 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the shaft is rotatably supported by the upper unit, and a hook is fixedly provided on the shaft. 3. For a lower unit having a platen,
A printer in which an upper unit having a printing unit is openably mounted and a paper guide path is formed between the platen and the printing unit in a state where the upper unit is closed with respect to the lower unit. A shaft that is fixed to the unit with both ends protruding outside and guides the printing unit slidably to a printing position, and a hook that is rotatably provided on the lower unit and engages and disengages with both ends of the shaft. An elastic member that locks the lower unit and the hook, and urges the hook in a direction of engaging the hook with the engaging portion; an engagement release mechanism that rotates the hook in the engagement releasing direction; A printer comprising: