JPS60172544A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a low-noise flat head type printer which is small and easy to handle with an easy exchange of the cover by housing an ink ribbon, a platen and a pinch roller on the cover side and a print head, driver and control circuit on the bode case side while the cover is mounted detachably on the body case. CONSTITUTION:A recording paper 65 is mounted on the body case 41 while a positioning mark being registered with an upper cover 58 left open. As a printing is performed, the printed paper 65 is discharged behind a printer passing through a clearance between hinge sections. The printing condition is visible at an opening of an upper base 53 through a transparent window 63. The body case 41 and the cover 58 are free to open or detach. Thus, everything can be done simply by exchanging the cover 58 even when adding other functions including coloring and attaching an inserter. With the cover 58 closed, printing can be done and printing sounds hardly leak outside thereby preventing the generation of noises.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a printer, and more specifically, a printer including a main body case and a cover attached to the main body case so as to be openable and closable.
This relates to a lasothobed type printer.

[Prior art]

It has a cover that can be opened and closed with respect to the main body case, has a print head and its drive source on one side, houses a platen and ink ribbon on the other side, and stores recording paper on the -F side of the main body case. A flatbed type printer is known that performs recording by placing an object on the printer.

This type of printer has the advantage of being compact and easy to handle.

On the other hand, microcomputers and the like are becoming popular in homes, but unlike in businesses, there are very few people who handle such lifting and blinking, so they must be easy to handle. .

In addition, there is not enough space at home, and even if a printer is installed, other items are often placed on top of the printer cover.

Therefore, the printer must be usable even when an article is placed on the cover.

In some cases, it is necessary to have a cover that can be opened and closed so that it can be used even when it is removed, and it is also necessary to be able to replace it with another cover that is equipped with an ink ribbon for color printing.

Also, in the home, great efforts must be made in terms of the phenomenon of noise, especially during printing.

〔the purpose〕

The present invention was made in response to the above-mentioned demands, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer that is small in size, easy to operate, has a cover that can be easily replaced, and has low noise.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 and subsequent figures illustrate one embodiment of the present invention, and the first figure shows the structure of the main body case side.

In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1 indicates a print head, and in this embodiment, four leaf springs 1a are attracted by permanent magnets, which will be described later, and a printing hammer 1b is brought into contact with the tip of each leaf spring.
and is mounted on the carriage 3.

The carriage 3 has two guide bars 2 arranged in parallel,
Both ends of each guide bar 2 are fixed to side bases 4, 4 housed in a main body case 41.

Further, air holes 3 and 1 are formed in the side surface of the carriage 3 in the circumferential direction, so that when air flows in, the heat generated by driving the print head 1 can be radiated.

A part of the carriage 3 is fixed to an endless timing belt 7, and both ends of the timing belt 7 are applied with a constant tension to a driving pulley 8 and a driven pulley 9 disposed outside the side base 4.4. It is hung with.

The driven pulley 9 is rotatably supported by a pulley mounting plate 34 via a tension plate 33.

Also, one end of the guide bars 2 and 2 is connected to the power unit base 5.
The other end of the shaft is held down by a retaining plate 6, and the retaining plate 6 is fixed to the pulley plate 34 with screws.

A pinion gear 8a is integrally provided on the drive boob 98, and the pinion gear 88 meshes with the external teeth of the yatle gear 10 rotatably supported on the power unit base 5. The shuttle gear 10 is formed as a ring gear, and internal teeth are formed on the inside.

On the other hand, a motor 11 is fixed to the power unit base 5, and a drive gear (not shown) of the motor 11 meshes with an idle gear 12 rotatably supported on the power unit base 5.

A switching arm 13 having a plurality of arms is rotatably supported coaxially with the I rare idler gear 12. This switching arm 1
3 is a spring 66 stretched between the side base 4
The rotational behavior in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 is given by this.

The switching arm 13 has a forward gear 14 and a back gear 1.
5 is rotatably supported on a shaft, and both of them are always in mesh with the idler gear 12, but when the switching lever 13 is rotated, the outer teeth of the forward gear 14 and the shuttle gear 10 can be selectively engaged.
Alternatively, the back gear 15 and the internal teeth of the shuttle gear 10 can mesh with each other.

A lock lever 16 formed in a substantially L-shape coaxially with the shuttle gear 10 is rotatably supported, and one arm i6a of the lock lever 16 is attached to the side base A of the switching arm 13 by a coil spring 17. End of the year 1
A rotational force is applied so that it is pressed against 3a.

Also, the other arm 1613 r:l of the lock lever 16,
It faces a position where it can come into contact with the bushing rod 18 which is brought into contact with the carriage 3.

On the other hand, a start solenoid 19 is fixed to the power unit PELUS 5. Opposing the core of the start solenoid 19, a solenoid lever 20 is rotatably supported on the power unit base 5, and an arm 20a at one end of the solenoid lever 20 engages with the notch 13C of the switching arm 13. are doing.

On the other hand, a shaft 25 is rotatably supported on the J:F6 portion on the front side of the left and right side bases 4, 4, and a cylindrical base 23 is fixed to this shaft 25. A rubber ring 24 is fitted to 23, and together with the base 23, it constitutes the paper feed roller (1) F roller).

Also, several bin hoists 26 for feeding the fan-hold paper are provided near both ends of the shaft 25 so as to be movable only in the axial direction.

Further, a shaft 29 is rotatably supported at the end of the side bases 4, 4 on the opposite side to where the shaft 25 is attached, and a plurality of bases 2γ are similarly fixed to this shaft 29. A rubber ring 28 is attached to each base 27, and the base 2γ
Together with this, they constitute a discharge roller.

In addition, pulleys 30.3 are provided on one end side of the shafts 25 and 29, respectively.
1 is fixed, and a belt 32 is stretched between the two.

On the other hand, a PF gear 35 is fixed to the other end of the +l(i 25).

This 1)F gear 35 is meshed with an intermediate gear 22 that meshes with a drive gear (not shown) fixed to the output shaft of a pulse motor 21 fixed to the power unit base 5.

Note that the side bases 4, 4, power unit base 5, and pulley mounting plate 34 can be fixed to a main base 36 disposed above the print head 1 with screws.

Guide posts 37 are provided protruding from the power unit base 5 and the pulley mounting plate 34, respectively, and these guide posts 31 are inserted into the through holes 3 formed in the main base 3G.
6a, and is further fitted into the through hole 50a of the head cover 50 disposed above the main base 36, and protrudes to the 11rii of the head cover 50.

Further, the print head 1 moves along a rectangular opening 36b formed in the main base 36, and the hammer 11] moves along a rectangular opening 501) of the head cover 50. It does not protrude upward.

On the other hand, 1) The F roller and the pinwheel discharge roller each have a square hole of 36 cm 36 formed in the main base 36.
e. It passes through the square hole 50C-soc of the head cover 50 and projects slightly above the head cover 50.

In addition, stopper pins 64 are protruded from both ends of the opening 361 on the main base 36, and projecting edges 38 are provided on both left and right sides of the side edge opposite to where the square hole 36d is formed.
A protrusion 38a is protruded from the inner side of each protruding side 38.

On the other hand, the main body case 41 houses a power source and a control circuit section.

That is, the circuit board 40 is mounted with electronic components constituting various control circuits, and a connector 39 for connecting to the power supply side is attached to one end of the circuit board.

Further, a slit plate 42 for positioning the print head is stretched between the side bases 4, 4. This slit plate 42 has a large number of slits arranged at predetermined intervals, and in combination with a photosensor (not shown) provided on the carriage 3 side, the slit plate 42 detects the slits and controls the position of the print head.

The supply of current to the carriage 3 side is performed by a flexible printed circuit board 43, and the other end of this flexible printed circuit board 43 is connected to a connector 44 provided on the circuit board 40 side.

On the other hand, a power supply box 41a is formed on the main body case 41 side, and a power supply base 47 to which a power supply board 45, a transformer 46, etc. are attached is fixed with screws, and is connected to an external power supply. Ru.

Also, the reference numeral 48 is a paper end detector, and the reference numeral 49 is a switch board, which is connected to the motor 1.
1. It is connected to the circuit board 40 together with the house motor 21 and the like through various connectors.

By the way, the cover side has a structure as shown in FIG.

That is, what is shown by reference numeral 53 in FIG. 3 is one upper base having a large opening in the center, and a set of bent portions 531+ formed facing this opening.

A pinch roller 52 is rotatably attached to 53C via a leaf spring 51. Each pinch roller 52 has a square hole 53a formed on the upper base 53 side.

Alternatively, it slightly protrudes from the lower surface of the upper base 53 through a large opening @.

Further, 411 bent portions 53d are integrally abutted against the open I portion of the upper base 53, and a platen pressure bonding plate 54 is fixed to each bent portion 53d.

One end of a lock lever 56 is rotatably supported by a pin 55 at both left and right ends of the front side edge of the upper base 53, and its free end is moved to the outside of the upper base 53 by a spring (not shown). A force is applied in the direction of protrusion.

Further, the lock lever 56 has a knob 5 on the outer edge side of the free end.
7 is integrally provided, and this knob 57 is fitted into a notch 58a formed on the side edge of the upper cover 58, so that the flange 57a of the knob 57 touches the inside of the upper cover 58 and rotates outward. movement is regulated.

Also, a bent portion 5 is located at a position corresponding to this lock lever 56.
3e is formed, and a ribbon feed shaft 59 is rotatably supported on this.

On the other hand, the upper end of the ribbon feed shaft 59 is connected to the worm wheel 5.
9a is provided, and a gear 59b is formed at the lower end, and this gear 59b meshes with the idler gear 12.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 60 denotes a ribbon cassette, and an ink ribbon and a platen (not shown) are housed in the ribbon cassette, and an arm 61a integral with the platen protrudes.

Further, a ribbon feeding gear 62 is protruded from the -A^1 side of the ribbon cassette 60, and the worm wheel 5
It is meshed with 9a.

This ribbon cassette 60 is formed at both left and right ends of the large opening of the upper base 53, and is mounted in a state where the platen arm 61at presses the platen pressure bonding plate 54 in response to the cutout portions 53f.

Although this ribbon cassette 60 is prevented from being pulled out downward by a means not shown, this can be easily released and the ribbon cassette 60 can be attached to the iTJ in a removable manner.

Force ζ A bent portion 53g is provided at both ends of the upper base 53 on the opposite side to the side where the lock lever 56 is installed, and a notch 53h provided in this is provided with a bent portion 53g. The protrusion 38a on the side is rotatably and removably fitted. Moreover, what is indicated by the reference numeral 63 is a transparent window.

Next, the operation of this embodiment configured a2 as described above will be explained.

When the upper cover 58 side is overlapped with the main body case 41 side and closed, the guide post 37 is attached to the upper base 5.
The guide post 3 is fitted through the not-illustrated through hole of 3.
The groove provided on the circumferential surface of the lock lever 56'' engages with the lock lever 56'' to connect the cover side and the main body case side.

In this state, by pressing the knob 57 from the left and right, the lock lever 56 and the guide post 3γ are disengaged,
The top cover side can be opened.

FIG. 4 shows the cover in an open state.

In this state, the main base 36 and the top surface of the head cover 50 on the main body case 41 side are visible, so the recording paper is attached in line with the supported positioning marks (not shown).

In the case of the fan hold paper 65, it is attached to the pin wheel 26 protruding from the upper surface of the helad cover 50.

In this case, since the pinwheel 26 is provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction with respect to the shaft 25, in the case of the fan-hold paper 65, the position of the pinwheel 26 is adjusted according to the width of the left and right holes.

By closing the upper cover side with the recording paper attached in this way, the lock lever 56 and guide post 37
When the two are engaged again, the upper cover side is locked.

At this time, the gear 59b is in mesh with the idler gear 12.

Further, the platen arm 61a of the ribbon cassette 60 is pressed against a stopper bin 64 on the main base 36 for positioning.

By the way, FIG. 5 is a timing chart diagram explaining the operation of the printer according to the present invention. It is transmitted to the back gear 15.

In the initial state, the internal teeth of the back gear 15 and shuttle gear 10 are in mesh with each other, but some of the internal teeth of the shuttle gear 10 are provided with missing teeth, and when the back gear 15 is located in this missing tooth area, The back gear 15 is idling.

It should be noted that it takes some time for the drive motor 11 to reach a constant rotation, so use this time effectively to remove the backlash of the gears in the paper feed mechanism and the play in the holes in the fan hold paper. Do it once.

That is, at the same time as the motor drive signal rises 9, the rotational force of the pulse motor 21 driven by the pulse motor drive signal is transmitted to the intermediate gear 22 via a drive gear (not shown).
, is transmitted to the PF gear 35 and the PF gear and pinwheel 2
Rotate 6.

At the same time, the rotation is also transmitted to the shaft 29 via the belt 32, and the discharge roller is also rotated in the same direction.

At this time, the rotational direction of the pulse motor is opposite to the normal paper feeding direction, that is, the direction of feeding the paper by 1/6o inch in the direction indicated by symbol C in FIG.

Then, feed the paper by 1/6o inch in the forward direction (D direction).

Through this series of operations, the backlash of mechanisms such as the hole in the fan hold paper, the backlash of the pinwheel 26, and the backlash of the gears is filled in one direction, so that minute paper feeding can be performed accurately.

Next, after the motor 11 reaches a certain rotation speed, the start solenoid is excited by the drive signal of the start solenoid 19, and the solenoid lever 20 is fully rotated to move the switching lever 13 engaged with the arm 20a as shown in FIG. Rotate in the direction of the arrow.

At this time, the arm 13a is the arm 16a of the lock lever 16.
Even if the start solenoid 19 is no longer energized, the switching lever 13 maintains its position.

In this way, the front gear 14 and the shuttle gear 10 are
The carriage 3 is moved in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1 by rotating the shuttle gear 10 and driving the timing belt 7 via the drive pulley 8 while the external teeth of the timing belt 7 are in mesh with each other.

At the same time, a timing pulse signal (TP flaw signal) is obtained by a photo sensor (not shown) mounted below the carriage 3 and the switch plate 42.

Printing is performed by energizing the coil of the print head 1 so that a dot is formed at a print position obtained in response to this Tl) signal.

Before the shuttle gear 10 reaches one rotation, the carriage 3 moves to the right anchor 1, and the arm 16b of the lock lever 16 is pressed by the bushing rod 18, and the lock lever 16 is pressed.
and disengage the switching lever 13.

The switching lever 13 is rotated by the tensile force of the spring 66 in the direction indicated by arrow 1 in FIG.
The front gear 14 is disengaged, and at the same time, the back gear 15 meshes with the internal teeth of the shuttle gear 10 and rotates in the opposite direction to the shuttle gear 10.

Therefore, the carriage 3 also moves in the opposite direction, that is, in the direction of arrow F, and prints in the same manner as described above.

Also, at this time, a range in which printing cannot be performed is provided before and after the carriage 3 switches the moving direction, and paper feeding can be performed within this time.

That is, after detecting the last pulse of the TP flaw signal generated as the carriage 3 moves in the direction B, the pulse motor, the drive signal, and the pulse motor 21 are rotated, and the pulse motor 21 is rotated by 1/6 inch in the direction (■). A1 (Perform forwarding 9.

In this embodiment, since a two-pass printing method is used in which one line is printed in one reciprocation of the carriage 3, for example, when the character "I (go)" is printed using a dot matrix, when moving in the direction B, as shown in FIG. 4 dots in two rows on the left and right as shown in
Form one by one.

Since the interval between the dots at this time is 1/3o inch in the vertical direction, the paper is fed 1/6o inch when the carriage moves in the direction of movement, and then when sliding in the F direction, the dots are moved as shown in Figure 8. By printing the pattern, the characters shown in FIG. 9 are formed.

After printing as described above, when the three carriages reach the left end home position, the notch of the internal teeth of the shuttle gear 10 returns to the meshing part with the back gear 15, and the back gear 15 rotates idly. , the carriage 3 stops sliding. After that, the rotation of the drive motor 11 is stopped, but
At the same time, the pulse motor 21 is energized to feed the printing paper by 1/6 inch in the direction D in FIG. 6, after which all printing operations are completed.

Of course, when printing continuously, the drive motor 11
It is also possible to continue rotating and start the carriage drive by the start solenoid drive signal immediately after the paper feed 9 ends. In that case, a series of operations for moving the printing paper back and forth to remove backlash 9 is unnecessary.

As printing continues as described above, the printed paper passes through the gap between the hinges and is ejected to the rear of the printer. The printed state can be seen through the entire transparent window 63 through the open portion of the base 53.

Next, to explain the ink ribbon feeding operation, when the upper cover unit is closed, the ribbon feeding roller 62 of the ribbon cassette 60 is moved several times to the hot base 53.
The rotation of the idler carriage 12 is constantly transmitted through the ribbon feed gear 59, and an ink ribbon (not shown) is fed at a constant speed.

Still, the circle detector 48 attached to the main base 36
The lever part 48a also passes through the square hole 50g of the head cover 50, projects to the top surface and comes into contact with the print paper to detect the presence or absence of the print paper and also detect the end of the print paper.

When the upper lid unit is closed, the head cover 5
The PF roller rubber 24 and the ejection roller rubber 28, which are slightly protruding from 0, are suppressed by the pinch roller 52, which is provided at opposing positions and slightly protrudes from the upper cover 53, but there is no printing paper between them. When inserted, it generates frictional force to feed the paper.

Also, the pin wheel 2 protruding from the head cover 50
The bottle number 6 is hot as shown in Figure 10 - Base 53
By protruding from the square hole of the upper base 53, that is, by pressing and covering the printing paper against the base part of the bin wheel 26 by the edge of the square hole of the upper base 53,
Pin F is engaged.

Next, FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the print head 1 and the ribbon cassette 60. The ribbon cassette 60 houses a platen 61 and further holds a rubber platen 67. An ink ribbon 68 is bent and sealed in the platen 60a.
and is looped around the rubber platen 67. A ribbon guide 69 is attached to the ribbon cassette 60 below the ink ribbon 68.
The ink ribbon 68 is exposed to the outside from the window.

〔effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, excellent effects as described below can be obtained.

(1) The main body case and cover can be opened and closed, and are detachable. Most of the drive mechanism, power supply, control circuit, printing mechanism, paper feed mechanism, etc. are housed inside the main body case, and the cover has a pinch roller. Since the ink ribbon, platen, etc. are housed, even when adding other functions such as colorization or an inserter, it is easy to do so by simply replacing the cover, and a multifunctional, multipurpose printer can be obtained.

(2) The recording paper can be attached even when the cover is closed, and the cover can be used with other devices such as a keyboard, a magnetic disk device, or recording paper placed on top of the cover, thereby saving space.

(3) When the cover is closed, there is only a small gap between the cover and the main body case, which creates an almost airtight condition and prevents the printing noise from escaping.

(4) The printer is extremely easy to operate, can be used at home, and is small and inexpensive.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures explain one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the main body case, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the head cover, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cover, and Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the cover. Figure 5 is a timing chart, Figure 6 is a perspective view with the cover closed, Figures 7 to 9 are explanatory diagrams of the printing method, Figure 10 is the bin wheel and recording paper. FIG. 11 is a longitudinal side view showing the recording state. 1... Print head 3... Carriage 11... Motor 21... Pulse motor 37... Main base 40... Circuit board 41... Main body case 50...
・Head cover 53... Upper base Patent applicant Canon Electronics Co., Ltd. Figure 6 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10 Figure 3 111] b 1

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a printer that has a main body case and a cover that is attached to the main body case so that it can be opened and closed, the print head is installed below the recording paper facing upward, and the ink ribbon and platen are arranged above the recording paper. A printer that prints by applying pressure to the print head from the back side of the printer. (2) The ink cartridge, platen, and pinch roller are housed on the cover side, and the print head, drive device, and control circuit are all housed on the main body case side, and the cover can be detached from the main body case. printer. (3) The top surface of the cover is flat so that printing can be performed with the cover closed.
The printer described in paragraph 2 or paragraph 2.