JPH11314813A - Printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately detect the presence or absence of a storage madium wound in a roll shape. SOLUTION: By providing a holder which holds a recording medium 8 rotatably on a winding shaft where a storage medium 8 is wound in a roll shape as a center and a positioning holding means positioning and holding this holder, a contact sensor 15 is always and stably brought into contact with the storage medium 8 wound in a loaded roll shape, the presence or absence of this storage medium 8 can be stably detected by the contact sensor 15 and thereby a printer device capable of accurately detecting the presence or absence of the storage medium 8 wound in a roll shape can be realized.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer device, and more particularly, to a printer device suitable for a printer device using a recording medium wound in a roll.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a printer of this type, a printing medium of a heat-sensitive printing film wound in a roll shape is used, and an image is printed by applying heat to the printing medium. There is.

In this printer, a space for loading a recording medium wound in a roll shape is compared with a printer using a recording medium made of recording paper or the like cut into a predetermined size (A4 size or the like). (Hereinafter, referred to as a loading space) can be made much smaller, and there is an advantage that a large amount of recording medium can be loaded into this loading space. Further, the loading space can be made much smaller. Therefore, there is also an advantage that the entire apparatus can be downsized.

[0004]

In the printer having the above-described structure, the presence or absence of a recording medium wound in a roll is detected by using a non-contact optical sensor.

However, when the recording medium wound in a roll is a film, the light beam emitted from the optical sensor passes through the recording medium, and it is difficult to detect the presence of the recording medium. There was.

For this reason, it is conceivable to use a contact sensor to detect the presence or absence of a recording medium wound in a roll loaded in a printer, but in this printer, the recording medium is wound in a loaded roll. Since the recording medium is not configured to position the recording medium, it is difficult for the recording medium wound in a roll shape to stably contact the contact sensor with the recording medium by rolling in the loading space or the like. There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately detect the presence or absence of a recording medium.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to propose a printer device capable of accurately detecting the presence or absence of a recording medium wound in a roll.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a holder for rotatably holding a recording medium around a roll wound around a roll, and a positioning device for positioning and holding the holder. A holding means is provided.

As a result, the contact sensor can always be stably brought into contact with the loaded recording medium wound in a roll shape, and the presence or absence of the recording medium can be stably detected by the contact sensor.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(1) Overall Configuration of Printer Device According to the Present Embodiment In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a printer device according to the present invention as a whole, and an operation panel 3 is disposed on the entire surface of a housing 2. A door unit 4 is provided to be able to open and close, avoiding the operation panel 3.

In this case, the door portion 4 is provided with a liquid crystal display panel 5 and a paper discharge port 4A on the front surface thereof, and a paper tray 6 and a rotatable platen 7 provided inside the door portion 4 as shown in FIG. A recording medium 8 made of a heat-sensitive printing film wound in a roll shape is arranged in a predetermined state in a paper tray 6, and the leading end of the recording medium 8 is inserted into a paper discharge port 4A via a platen 7. After insertion, the door unit 4 can be closed so that it can be loaded into the housing 2.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a door opening / closing drive mechanism 10 for opening / closing the door 4 is provided inside the housing 2.
A head portion 12 having a line-type thermal head 11 attached to a lower surface thereof; and a crimping mechanism 1 for crimping the thermal head 11 of the head portion 12 to the platen 7 during a printing operation.
3 and a crimping mechanism driving unit 1 for driving the crimping mechanism unit 13
4, a mechanical mechanism 16 including a platen driving unit (not shown) for driving the platen 7 to rotate and a contact sensor 15 for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll.

In this case, in the mechanical mechanism section 16, under the control of a control section (not shown), the head section 12 is held in a floating state with respect to the platen 7 by the pressing mechanism driving section 14 at the initial stage, while the printing operation is performed. Sometimes the crimping mechanism drive 1
4 drives the crimping mechanism 13 so that the head 12
Is positioned on the platen 7 via the recording medium 8 and pressed.

In this state, the platen 7 is rotated by the platen driving unit every time printing is performed for one line based on print data supplied to the head unit 12 from a signal processing system (not shown) in this state. Then, the recording medium 8 is sent out one line at a time, and when one sheet is printed, the recording medium 8 is cut by a paper cutter (not shown).

In this way, in the printer 1, an image based on the supplied print data can be sequentially printed on the recording medium 8 line by line.
After the recording medium 8 is cut by the paper cutter, the pressure bonding mechanism drive unit 14 returns the head unit 12 to the original initial state, so that the subsequent printing processing can be performed in the same manner as described above.

(2) Detailed Configuration of Each Part of Printer Device Here, the recording medium 8 actually wound in a roll shape is shown in FIG.
As shown in (2), it is loaded into the housing 2 while being held by the holder 20.

That is, the holder 20 is a first disk-shaped
And second cassettes 21 and 22 are provided facing each other,
The first and second cassettes 21 and 22 are spaced apart from each other at an interval of about 120 degrees and are opposed to the outermost periphery of the first and second cassettes 21 and 22.
Third pawls 23 to 26 are provided, and the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 are connected via spokes 27 attached to the third pawl 26.

The holder 20 holds the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape between the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 so as to be rotatable about its winding axis. The recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is held down in three directions by the first and second claw portions 23 to 25 and the spokes 27, whereby the recording medium 8 wound in the roll shape is held. Can be prevented from unwinding.

Also, the first and second cassettes 21 and 22
A positioning protrusion 35 is provided at the center of one surface of the paper tray 6, and grooves 6A and 6A are formed on the respective side walls in the width direction of the paper tray 6 so as to correspond to the positioning protrusion 35, respectively.
B is provided.

As a result, in the printer 1, as shown in FIG. 4, the holder 20 holding the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is moved to the positioning projections 35 of the first and second cassettes 21 and 22. Into the corresponding grooves 6A and 6B of the paper tray 6 so as to fit the first and second cassettes 21 in front of the opening of the paper tray 6.
And 22 are positioned and held in the paper tray 6 so that the first claws 23 and 24 are positioned and the spokes 27 are positioned behind the opening, and are loaded into the housing 2 in this state. Thus, the recording medium 8 wound into a roll can be positioned via the holder 20 and loaded into the housing 2.

Further, the spoke 2
7 (FIG. 2), a film-shaped member 30 having a predetermined elastic coefficient is attached along its longitudinal direction,
A sponge-like dust removing pad 31 is attached to the film-shaped member 30 over the width direction of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape, and the dust removing pad 31 is attached to the recording medium 8 by the film-shaped member 30. It is urged to be pressed.

As a result, when the leading end portion of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll and loaded in the housing 2 is pulled out, the recording medium 8 slides with respect to the dust removal pad 31, Thus, the dust adhering to the recording medium 8 can be removed by the dust removing pad 31.

On the other hand, the door opening / closing drive mechanism 10 has a motor (not shown) fixed to the side chassis 40 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, and a gear attached to the output shaft of the motor. 41 is a first to eighth gear 42
The gear train 50A of the shaft drive unit 50 meshes with the gear train 50 through a gear train consisting of.

The shaft drive unit 50 is fixed to a shaft 51 rotatably bridged between the side chassis 40, and the shaft 51 is provided with an arm receiver 52.
Are fixed via pins (not shown).

Further, the arm 5
One end of the arm 3 is fixed, and the other end of the arm 53 is rotatably connected via a pin 55 near the rear end of an inner chassis 54 to which the paper tray 6 is attached.

Further, one end of a rail 57 is rotatably mounted via a pin 56 at a lower position on the side center of the inner chassis 54, and the rail 5
7 has the first end attached to the side chassis 40.
To the fourth roller 59 to 62 so as to be slidable in a forward direction indicated by an arrow a and a rearward direction opposite thereto.

Thus, in the door opening / closing drive mechanism 10, the arm 53 is rotated around the shaft 51 integrally with the shaft drive 50 based on the rotational force applied from the motor to the shaft drive 50 via the gear train. Thus, based on this rotational force, the portion of the inner chassis 54 where the pin 55 has been erected is rotated about the shaft 51 and the inner chassis 5 is rotated.
The door portion 4 can be opened and closed by moving the portion where the four pins 56 are planted in the front-rear direction integrally with the rail 57.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, a plate-like fixing portion 53A is vertically provided near the front central portion of the arm 53, and when the door portion 4 is closed, the fixing portion of the arm 53 is formed. The holder 20 is positioned so as to abut against the positioning protrusions 35 of the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 of the holder 20 that positions and holds the 53A in the paper tray 6.
Is fixed in the state where it is held in this position.
The recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape loaded inside the paper tray 6 can be prevented from floating or dropping out of the paper tray 6 together with the holder 20 holding the recording medium.

The contact sensor 15 has a sensor section 15A.
And a sensor arm 15B rotatably held around one end of the sensor section 15A. The sensor arm 15A is urged downward by a spring (not shown) in a direction indicated by an arrow b.

In this case, when the leading end of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is pulled out from the holder 20 positioned and held in the paper tray 6 via the platen 7, the contact sensor 15 is pulled out. The recording medium 8 sandwiched between the other end of the sensor arm 15A and the first claw 23 of the first cassette 21 and the recording medium 8
Is completely pulled out via the platen 7, the sensor arm 15A is made to correspond to the other end and the first claw 2
3 is rotated downward through the slit 23A formed on the recording medium 8, and the position is selected and arranged so as to come into contact with a core (not shown) around which the recording medium 8 is wound (hereinafter simply referred to as a core). Have been.

Thus, the contact sensor 15 can detect the position of the sensor arm 15B based on the rotation angle of the sensor arm 15B.
B is in contact with the recording medium 8 above the first claw 23 of the first cassette 21,
When the recording medium 8 is completely pulled out and the sensor arm 15A rotates downward and comes into contact with the core, it is detected that the recording medium 8 is gone. It has been made possible.

(3) Operation and Effects of the Present Embodiment In the above configuration, when the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is loaded, the door unit 4 is opened and
The positioning projections 52 of the holder 20 holding the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape are fitted into the corresponding grooves 6A and 6B of the paper tray 6, and the holder 20 is positioned and held in the paper tray 6. Then, in this state, the leading end of the recording medium 8 held in the holder 20 and wound into a roll is pulled out from between the dust removing pad 31 and the first claw portions 23 and 24, and is passed through the platen 7. Insert it into the paper exit 4A.

In the printer device 1, the arm 53 is driven to rotate integrally with the shaft drive unit 50 based on the rotational force applied from the motor to the shaft drive unit 50 by the door opening / closing drive mechanism unit 10, whereby the inner chassis is driven. While rotating 54, it is moved backward together with the rail 57 so that the fixing portion 53 </ b> A of the arm 53 abuts on the positioning protrusion 35 of the holder 20 positioned and held in the paper tray 6 and is fixed. The door unit 4 is closed so that the recording medium 8 is sandwiched between the sensor arm 15A and the first claw 23, and the recording medium 8 thus wound in a roll shape is placed on the housing 2 via the holder 20. Load inside.

Accordingly, in the printer 1, the holder 20 holding the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is moved to the first position.
And the respective positioning projections 3 of the second cassettes 21 and 22
5 is positioned and held in the paper tray 6 so as to fit into the corresponding grooves 6A and 6B of the paper tray 6, and in this state, the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is placed inside the housing 2. , The recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is always connected to the sensor arm 15B of the contact sensor 15 by the first end.
Can be positioned so as to pass between the first claw portion 23 of the cassette 21 and the sensor arm 15B of the contact sensor 15 constantly and stably on the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape thus loaded. By contact, the presence or absence of the recording medium 8 can be stably detected.

That is, the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape
When the holder 20 is not positioned and held in the paper tray 6, the holder 20 is rotated in the paper tray 6 and the first claw 23 is shifted to a position where the first claw 23 does not face the sensor arm 15A of the contact sensor 15. Since the drawn-out tip of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape bends, the sensor arm 15A rotates downward while abutting on the tip of the bent recording medium 8, and as a result, Although the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is held by the holder 20, it may be erroneously detected that the recording medium 8 has been lost.

In this case, the holder 20 holding the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape rotates in the paper tray 6, and the other end of the sensor arm 15A comes into contact with the dust removing pad 46 or the spoke 27. As a result, it is erroneously detected that the recording medium 8 still exists even though all the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape held by the holder 20 is pulled out and lost. Can be considered.

However, since the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape held by the holder 20 and the loaded holder 20 is positioned as described above, it is difficult to detect the presence or absence of the recording medium 8 as described above. It can almost certainly be prevented.

In this printer 1, the fixing portion 53A of the arm 53 is brought into contact with the positioning projection 35 of the loaded holder 20, and the holder 20 is moved to the paper tray 6.
Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape held by the holder 20 together with the holder 20 from floating or dropping out of the paper tray 6, and thus the contact sensor 15 Sensor arm 15A
The first claw portion 23 of the first cassette 21 is reliably prevented from being displaced, and the presence or absence of the rolled recording medium 8 thus loaded is more reliably and stably detected. be able to.

Further, in the printer device 1, since the contact sensor 15 is used to detect the presence or absence of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll, the printing apparatus 1 has the same structure as the recording medium 8 wound in a roll. Even in a case where the light beam emitted from the optical sensor is transmitted, the presence or absence of the recording medium 8 can be easily and accurately detected.

According to the above arrangement, the recording medium 8 wound in a roll by the holder 20 is held rotatably about its winding axis, and the positioning projection 35 of the holder 20 is moved to the paper tray 6. The holder 20 holding the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape so as to be fitted into the corresponding groove 6A is positioned and held on the paper tray 6, so that the holder 20 is loaded inside the housing 2. The leading end of the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is contacted with the sensor arm 15B of the contact sensor 15 and the first claw 2.
3 and the recording medium 8
Can be accurately and stably detected, and a printer device that can accurately detect the presence or absence of a recording medium wound in a roll shape can be realized.

(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the printer 1 for printing by applying heat to the recording medium 8 wound in a roll. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and if a printer apparatus uses a recording medium wound in a roll shape, predetermined ink, toner, etc. may be applied to the recording medium wound in a roll shape. The present invention can be widely applied to various other printer devices, such as a printer device that prints or prints by using.

In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the recording medium 8 made of a heat-sensitive photographic film wound in a roll is used in the printer 1 to which the present invention is applied. The present invention is not limited to this,
As long as the recording medium is wound in a roll, a recording medium made of other various materials such as a recording medium made of a heat-sensitive or non-heat-sensitive photographic paper may be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the holder 20 is provided with the positioning projections 35 on the first and second cassettes 21 and 22, and the groove 6A corresponding to the paper tray 6.
And 6B, the positioning and holding in the paper tray 6 has been described.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the holder 20 may be provided by various other mechanisms such as providing grooves on the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 of the holder 20 and providing a protrusion corresponding to the paper tray 6. May be positioned and held on the paper tray 6.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the position of the contact sensor 15 is selected and arranged so as to sandwich the recording medium 8 between the other end of the sensor arm 15B and the first claw 23. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the contact sensor 15 contacts the inner surface of the recording medium 8 pulled out of the recording cassette 9 at the other end of the sensor arm 15B, and the recording medium 8 is completely pulled out. If the presence or absence of the recording medium 8 can be detected by contacting the recording medium 8 such as selecting and arranging the position so that the sensor arm 15B jumps upward when the sensor arm 15B is moved, Contact-type detection means having various configurations may be arranged at other various positions.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape held by the holder 20 is pressed down by the first and second claws 23 to 25 and the spokes 27 from three directions. Although a case has been described in which the recording medium 8 wound in a roll is prevented from being unwound, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 are disposed between them. The recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape is held in the core portion around which the recording medium 8 is wound, and the recording medium 8 wound in the roll shape is connected by at least first to third claw portions 23 to 26. The recording medium 8 wound in a roll shape may be prevented from being unwound.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first and second cassettes 21 and 22 and the spokes 27 are used as holders for holding the recording medium rotatably around a roll wound around a roll. Although the case where the holder 20 is applied has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other various types may be used as long as the recording medium can be rotatably held around a roll wound in a roll shape. A holder having a configuration may be applied.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the paper tray 6 is applied as the positioning and holding means for positioning and holding the holder holding the recording medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this. If the holder holding the recording medium wound in a roll shape can be positioned and held, positioning holding means having various other configurations can be applied.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, a holder for rotatably holding a recording medium around a roll wound around a roll and a positioning and holding means for positioning and holding the holder are provided. With this configuration, the contact sensor is always stably brought into contact with the loaded recording medium wound in a roll shape, and the presence or absence of the recording medium can be stably detected by the contact sensor. It is possible to realize a printer device that can accurately detect the presence or absence of a recording medium wound in a shape.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of a configuration of a printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view for explaining a recording medium wound in a roll shape loaded in a printer device.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a mechanical mechanism inside a housing.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view for explaining a holder positioned and held in a paper tray;

FIG. 5 is a schematic side view for explaining a door opening / closing drive mechanism when the door is open.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view for explaining a door opening / closing drive mechanism when the door is closed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic side view for explaining the inside of a housing loaded with a recording medium wound in a roll shape;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Printer device, 6 ... Paper tray, 6A, 6
B: groove portion, 8: recording medium, 15: contact sensor, 1
5A: sensor arm, 16: mechanical mechanism, 20:
Holder, 21 First cassette, 22 Second cassette, 23, 24 First claw portion, 23A Slit, 25 Second claw portion, 26 Third claw Part, 27 ...
... Spokes, 35 ... Positioning protrusions, 53 ... Arms, 53A ... Fixed part.

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Morihiro Deura 3-9-17 Nishigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside Sony Engineering Corporation

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A printer device using a recording medium wound in a roll shape, a holder for rotatably holding the recording medium about a winding shaft wound in the roll shape, and a predetermined state of the holder. And a positioning holding means for positioning and holding the printer. 2. A positioning projection is provided on the holder, and a positioning groove is provided on the positioning and holding means in correspondence with the projection of the holder. The printer device according to claim 1. 3. The printer device according to claim 1, further comprising fixing means for fixing said holder held and positioned to said positioning and holding means. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the recording medium by contacting the recording medium held by the holder held and positioned. Printer device. 5. The recording medium, wherein the recording medium wound in the roll shape is at least three times in the holder.
The printer device according to claim 1, further comprising a claw portion that presses the recording medium from the direction and prevents the recording medium from being unwound. 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holder is provided with a dust removing pad so as to press the recording medium wound in the roll shape in a width direction of the recording medium. Printer device. 7. The detecting means is provided with a sensor arm which is brought into contact with the recording medium drawn out of the holder, and the positioning and holding means is adapted to hold the recording medium drawn out of the holder held and positioned in the holder. When the recording medium is completely pulled out from the holder, the sensor arm is inserted through a slit formed in the corresponding claw portion. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein the holder is positioned and held so as to rotate to a position.