JPH11334154A - Tape/tube printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a tape/tube printer in which print quality is enhanced while lessening load on a drive system by stabilizing contact between a tube and a thermal head thereby lessening contact pressure between the thermal head and a platen roller. SOLUTION: Tube press rollers 17 are fixed to the forward end of a pair of arms 15 pivoted to a chassis 1 and disposed in the vicinity of the outer circumferential surface at the front end of a platen roller 5. At the time of loading a tube TB, the arm 15 is lifted and passed to the lower surface of the tube press roller 17 thence passed between the tube press roller 17 and the platen roller 5 and set in place. The tube TB is collapsed flat by means of the tube press roller 17 and the platen roller 5 to reach the position of a thermal head 18 where the tube TB touches the thermal head 18 uniformly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape / tube printer, and more particularly to a tape for forming a terminal nameplate attached to a terminal block of electric equipment and a terminal number indicating tube covering an end of an electric wire. / Tube printer.

[0002]

Conventionally, a terminal name plate which is printed on a plastic tape or a soft vinyl tube and affixed to a terminal block of electric equipment, or a terminal number indicating tube used for an electric wire connected to the terminal block is prepared. A thermal transfer type tape / tube printer is known. This kind of tape /
The tube printer presses the tape or tube and the ink ribbon by the platen roller and the thermal head that are driven to rotate by a motor, and prints the characters on the tape and the like by the thermal head while sending the tape or tube and the ink ribbon by the platen roller. Configuration.

[0003] The cylindrical tube is crushed and printed by a platen roller and a thermal head into a flat plate. In order to make the surface of the tube uniformly contact the thermal head, the thermal head and the platen roller are sandwiched. It is necessary to increase the pressure, and as a result, there is a problem that the driving load of the platen roller driving system at the time of printing is increased, the power consumption is large, and it is not preferable for the durability of the thermal head and the driving system.

Accordingly, a first object of the present invention is to stabilize the contact between the tube and the thermal head, reduce the contact pressure between the thermal head and the platen roller, improve the print quality, and reduce the load on the drive system. Is to do.

Further, in order to prevent the tape or tube from being displaced in the width direction and print at an accurate position, the tape / tube printer is required to position the tape or tube upstream or upstream and downstream of the thermal head. A tape guide to perform is provided.

In the tape guide for positioning by contacting both sides of the tape or tube, the distance between the tape guides on the left and right sides can be freely adjusted to accommodate tapes and tubes of various widths. As a tape guide spacing adjusting mechanism, for example, a rack is attached to each of two tape guides facing each other across a tape or a tube, and the two racks are parallel and their tooth surfaces are opposed to each other. 2. Description of the Related Art A known synchronization mechanism is known in which one pinion disposed between two racks meshes with each other, and a tape guide opposed to each other is symmetrically moved to adjust the interval.

However, in the conventional tape guide, when an external force is applied to the tape guide, the interval between the tape guides is easily changed. Therefore, a force in the left-right direction is applied to the tape or the tube on the supply side (upstream side) at the time of printing. When added, there is a problem that the gap between the tape guides is widened and the tape or tube is likely to be displaced.

Further, when printing on a tube, the tube is crushed by the thermal head and the platen roller. Therefore, the width of the tube is increased downstream of the thermal head, and the width of the tube is increased upstream and downstream of the thermal head. different. In addition, the width of the crushed tube that is gradually restored to its original shape and passes through the downstream tape guide may change.

Therefore, in a tape guide in which the upstream and downstream tape guides are integrally formed so that the intervals between the upstream and downstream tape guides are equally adjusted, either one of the upstream and the downstream or both of them are provided. ,
Problems arise in the positioning and running of the tube.

Therefore, a second object of the present invention is to improve printing stability by improving the stability of positioning of a tube or tape in the width direction.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention proposes to achieve the above-mentioned object, and presses a tape or a soft resin tube and an ink ribbon by a platen roller and a thermal head to rotate the platen roller. In a tape / tube printer that prints while driving a tape or a tube and an ink ribbon synchronously, a platen roller and a tape guide before and after the platen roller are arranged on substantially the same plane, and an upstream tape guide and an upstream tape guide of the platen roller A tube press roller is provided on the opposite side of the thermal head across the linear path connecting the platen roller and the platen roller. And return to a straight path along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller. And a tape / tube formed so that the tube is crushed into a flat plate and fed between the platen roller and the thermal head by selecting the curved path when printing the tube. A printer is provided.

Two tape guides symmetrical to the left and right and adjustable in distance are mounted upstream of the platen roller.
A cam plate having two spiral cam grooves which are rotationally symmetrical is disposed between two tape guides, and the two tape guides are individually engaged with the two spiral cam grooves to rotate the cam plate. The present invention provides a tape / tube printer formed such that two tape guides on the left and right sides can be moved symmetrically to adjust the interval between the tape guides.

Further, two tape guide levers are disposed symmetrically downstream of the platen roller, and a spring is interposed between the two tape guide levers so that the tips of the two tape guide levers approach each other. The present invention provides a tape / tube printer which is urged in such a direction that the tip portions of two tape guide levers resiliently contact both sides of a tape or a tube.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a tape / tube running system of a tape / tube printer, in which a platen roller shaft 2 is provided at the front and rear center of a chassis 1 and in front thereof (right in FIG. 1).
And idler roller shafts 3 and 4 are installed in parallel behind the idler roller shafts.

A platen roller 5 is mounted on the platen roller shaft 2.
, And idler rollers 6 and 7 are mounted on the front and rear idler roller shafts 3 and 4, respectively. The platen roller shaft 2 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1 via a motor and a reduction gear device (not shown).

A lever shaft 8 is provided on the front upper portion of the front idler roller shaft 3 and the rear upper portion of the rear idler roller shaft 4.
And a pair of left and right bell crank levers 9 is attached to each lever shaft 8, and a pinch roller 10 attached to an upper end of the bell crank lever 9 is attached to an idler roller 6.
7 is pressed.

The lower ends of the front and rear bell crank levers 9 are
Each is connected to the upper end of the link 11, and the lower end of the link 11 is pivotally attached to the lower portion of the chassis 1. And
Camshaft 12 installed below central platen roller shaft 2
Symmetrical expander cam 13 is attached to the front end, and the front portion of the slider 14F disposed in front of the expander cam 13 is connected to the intermediate portion of the front link 11 so that the expander cam 1
The rear part of the slider 14R disposed after the rear link 3
1 to form a link mechanism, and the rotation of the expander cam 13 causes the front and rear sliders 14F, 14R to rotate.
Is symmetrically moved back and forth, and the bell crank lever 9 is rotationally driven.

Each of the front and rear bell crank levers 9 is provided with a spring (not shown) for urging the pinch roller 10 in a direction to raise the pinch roller 10, and expands the expander cam 13 by manual operation as shown in FIG. When rotated about 90 degrees from the rotation position, the distance between the front and rear sliders 14F and 14R decreases, the upper portions of the front and rear links 11 approach, the bell crank lever 9 rotates, and the pinch roller 10 turns the idler roller 6, Move away from 7.

In this state, the expander cam 13
When the front and rear sliders 14F and 14R are spaced apart from each other by about 90 degrees as shown in the figure, the upper end of the bell crank lever 9 pivots downward via the front and rear links 11, and the pinch roller is rotated. 10 is pressed against the idler rollers 6 and 7. The sliders 14F and 14R are of a telescopic cylinder type with a built-in compression spring, and limit the contact pressure between the pinch roller 10 and the idler rollers 6 and 7 by the compression spring.

A shaft 16 of an arm 15 is provided above the shaft 8 of the rear bell crank lever 9, and a tube press roller 17 is mounted between the distal ends of a pair of left and right arms 15 extending forward. Close to the front outer peripheral surface.

The thermal head 18 is mounted in an upper cover 19 pivotally attached to the rear portion of the chassis 1. As shown in FIG. 2, when the upper cover 19 is closed, the thermal head 18 comes into pressure contact with the platen roller 5. An ink ribbon cassette (not shown) is mounted in the upper cover 19 around the thermal head 18, and
Is closed, the ink ribbon is sandwiched between the thermal head 18 and the platen roller 5.

When printing on the tape, the upper cover 19 is opened, and the expander cam 13 is rotated as described above, so that the two front and rear pinch rollers 10 are floated from the idler rollers 6 and 7. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the tape TP is passed from the upstream tape guide 20 to between the front idler roller 6 and the pinch roller 10 and between the pair of left and right arms 15, and the upper surfaces of the tube press roller 17 and the platen roller 5. Through the downstream tape guide 21 from between the rear idler roller 7 and the pinch roller 10.
, The expander cam 13 is operated, and the front and rear two pinch rollers 10 are attached to the idler rollers 6.
When the upper cover 19 is closed while being pressed against the printing plate 7, the printer is ready for printing.

On the other hand, when loading the tube, the upper cover 19 is opened and the pinch roller 10 is moved to the idler rollers 6,7.
The operation up to floating operation is the same as when the tape is loaded, but the arm 15 is pulled up by hand, the tube TB is passed through the lower surface of the tube press roller 17, and the tube TB is passed between the tube press roller 17 and the platen roller 5. set. Thereafter, the lifting of the arm 15 is released, and the tube press roller 17 is lowered as shown in FIG.
The tube TB is pushed by the tube press roller 17 and is set on a feed path that detours along the outer peripheral surface of the tube press roller 17.

When the tube TB is fed in contact with the outer peripheral surfaces of the tube press roller 17 and the platen roller 5, the tube TB is crushed into a flat plate, and passes through the position of the thermal head 18 while being kept flat to be printed. .

As a means for positioning the tube press roller 17, a stopper for preventing the arm 15 from being lifted is provided on the upper cover 19, or a distal end is urged downward by interposing a spring on the arm 15. Means can be applied,
There is no particular limitation.

As described above, since the path of the tape TP is almost straight from the entrance to the exit, printing can be performed on a plastic plate or the like. When printing on the tube TB, the tube TB is supplied to the position of the thermal head 18 in a flat state by setting the tube TB in a bypass route passing between the tube press roller 17 and the platen roller 5. , Tube against thermal head 18
The TB comes into uniform contact, and the contact pressure between the thermal head and the platen roller can be reduced as compared with a tape / tube printer that sends a tube in a straight line.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 22 denotes a sub-frame attached to the front portion of the chassis 1. A cam shaft 23 is provided on the sub-frame 22 at the left and right center of the front-rear path of the tape or the tube. 24 is attached. A gear 25 formed on the outer periphery of the cam plate 24 is coupled to a small gear 27 near the right edge of the sub-frame 22 (upper in the figure) via an intermediate gear 26, and is adjusted integrally with the small gear 27. By rotating the dial 28, the cam plate 24 rotates.

The cam plate 24 is formed with two spiral cam grooves 29 having the same shape and being symmetrical with each other by 180 degrees. A tape guide lever 30 is pivotally mounted on the rear portion of the sub-frame 22 symmetrically with respect to the tape path above the center, and pins 31 provided on the lower surface near the tip of the tape guide lever 30 are inserted into the spiral cam grooves 29, respectively. Have been. The leading end of the tape guide lever 30 rises upward, and is formed with a cylindrical tape guide pin 32 extending upward from an inner facing surface.

When the adjustment dial 28 is rotated, the cam plate 2
With the rotation of 4, the tip of the tape guide lever 30 opens and closes symmetrically, and the interval between the left and right tape guide pins 32 changes, so that the interval can be adjusted to the interval according to the width of the tape or tube. Since the pin 31 of the tape guide lever 30 is engaged with the spiral cam groove 29, the tape guide lever 30 does not rotate even if an external force is applied to the left and right tape guide pins 32. Unless the operation is performed, the interval between the tape guide pins 32 does not change.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a downstream tape guide according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a tape guide lever 33 is pivotally mounted on the rear portion of the chassis 1 symmetrically about the tape path. . The tip of the tape guide lever 33, which is rotatable on a horizontal plane, faces rearward, and the interval between the rotation fulcrums is sufficiently wider than the width of the tape or tube.
The tip ends of the two tape guide levers 33 are urged in the closing direction by torsion coil springs (not shown).

At the time of printing, the tape or the tube passes through the tape guide lever 33 while pushing the gap at the tip end thereof, and the gap at the tip end of the tape guide lever 33 is automatically adjusted to the width of the tape or tube. Therefore, even if the tube crushed by the thermal head and the platen roller goes downstream, the tube gradually restores its original shape and its width changes, but even if the width of the tube changes, the distance between the distal ends of the tape guide levers 33 changes. Adjusted to keep the center of the tube or tape in a fixed position at all times.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention, and it is natural that the present invention extends to those modifications. is there.

[0033]

As described above, the tape path in the tape / tube printer according to the first aspect is straight, and the tube is set in a curved path passing between the tube press roller and the platen roller. Since it is crushed into a flat plate and sent to the position of the thermal head,
The contact between the tube and the thermal head is stabilized to improve the print quality, the contact pressure between the thermal head and the platen roller can be reduced, and the load on the drive system is reduced, resulting in reduced power consumption and improved durability. It is effective.

In the tape / tube printer according to the second aspect of the present invention, the gap between the tape guides for guiding the tape and the tube to the predetermined path is adjusted by using the groove cam, so that the gap between the tape guides is changed by an external force. Therefore, the position of the tube or tape in the width direction is reliably maintained.

In the tape / tube printer according to the third aspect, the tape guide lever provided downstream of the thermal head is resiliently contacted with both sides of the tape or tube by a spring. It is automatically adjusted to follow the width of the tape or tube, and the center of the tube can be maintained at the specified position even if the width of the tube fluctuates after passing the thermal head, which is effective in preventing printing accuracy from lowering. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a tape / tube running system of a tape / tube printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a tape path during tape printing.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a tube path during tube printing.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an upstream tape guide according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the upstream tape guide according to the embodiment of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the upstream tape guide, showing the embodiment of the invention described in claim 2;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a downstream tape guide according to the embodiment of the third invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chassis 5 Platen roller 6, 7 Idler roller 10 Pinch roller 15 Arm 17 Tube press roller 18 Thermal head 19 Upper cover 22 Subframe 24 Cam plate 28 Adjustment dial 29 Spiral cam groove 30 Tape guide lever 31 Pin 32 Tape guide pin 33 Tape Guide lever

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tape / tube printer which presses a tape or a soft resin tube and an ink ribbon by a platen roller and a thermal head and drives the platen roller to rotate and drive the tape or the tube and the ink ribbon to print synchronously. Wherein the platen roller and the tape guides before and after the platen roller are arranged on substantially the same plane, and a tube press roller is provided on the upstream side of the platen roller and on the opposite side of the thermal head across a linear path connecting the upstream tape guide and the platen roller. A straight path that connects the platen roller and the tape guides before and after the platen roller, and a curved path that detours from the upstream tape guide along the outer peripheral surface of the tube press roller and returns to a linear path along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller. It is formed to be selectable, and the curved path is A tape / tube printer characterized in that the tube is crushed into a flat shape and is fed between the platen roller and the thermal head by selection. 2. A tape / tube printer which presses a tape or a flexible resin tube and an ink ribbon by a platen roller and a thermal head and drives the platen roller to rotate and drive the tape or tube and the ink ribbon while printing. At the upstream of the platen roller, two tape guides which are bilaterally symmetric and adjustable in distance are mounted, and a cam plate having two spiral cam grooves which are rotationally symmetrical by 180 degrees is disposed in the middle of the two tape guides. The two tape guides are individually engaged with the spiral cam groove, and the left and right tape guides are symmetrically moved by rotating the cam plate so that the interval between the tape guides can be adjusted. Tape / tube printer. 3. A tape / tube printer that presses a tape or a soft resin tube and an ink ribbon by a platen roller and a thermal head, and drives the platen roller to rotate and drive the tape or tube and the ink ribbon to perform printing. , Two tape guide levers are disposed symmetrically downstream of the platen roller, and a spring is interposed between the two tape guide levers so that the tips of the two tape guide levers approach each other. A tape / tube printer characterized in that the tape / tube printer is formed so as to be urged so that the tips of two tape guide levers elastically contact both sides of the tape or tube.