KR200214641Y1 - Paper feeder mechanism of thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a thermal printer feeder structure capable of supplying paper by opening the head clamp part when the paper guide part and the head clamp part are hinged to the printer body to replace the paper. The present invention is largely composed of the thermal printer body and the paper roll mounting portion. The thermal printer body consists of a paper guide part and a head clamp part.

The paper guide part is composed of a paper feeder into which the paper enters, a feed roller for transporting the loaded paper, and a paper discharge part from which the paper is discharged outwards.

The head clamp part includes a head clamp frame, a hinge part which hinges the paper guide part and the head clamp frame, a locking part which is locked to the paper guide part when the head clamp part is closed, and a lower part of the head clamp frame to convey the paper guide part. By contacting the rollers, it consists of a printhead PCB that prints the paper conveyed by the conveying rollers.

The present invention is characterized in that the paper is replaced by supplying the paper by opening the head clamp portion from the paper guide portion and placing the paper on the exposed paper guide portion at the time of replacement supply of the paper.

Description

Paper feeder mechanism of thermal printer

The present invention relates to a feeder structure of a thermal printer.

The printer includes a thermal printer using thermal paper in addition to a dot printer or a laser beam printer. The thermal printer is a printer in which the thermal paper passes through the thermal print head (TPH), which is a factor in the thermal paper by chemical reaction of heat emitted from the TPH.

Thermal printers have a disadvantage in that printing quality is lower than dot printers or laser beam printers, and most of all, non-generic thermal papers are used, but the structure is simple and can be reduced in size. It is used for result printers, withdrawal machines for financial institutions, and ticket machines.

Thermal printer should be supplied with thermal paper. Thermal paper is sold in roll form. The user has to mount the thermal paper roll in the feeder inside the thermal printer and push the start of the thermal paper roll into the thermal printer. 1 schematically illustrates a conventional thermal paper supply method. In the conventional thermal printer, the thermal paper start portion 17 of the thermal paper roll 15 should be picked up by hand and inserted into the paper feed port 13 of the printer body 11. Usually, since the thermal printer main body 11 is mounted in a narrow space, it is very inconvenient to push the thermal paper start section 17 by inserting a finger into the internal paper feed port 13 of the printer main body 11. In particular, when there is a sharp mechanism around the printer main body 11, the back of a hand or a finger may be scratched.

Accordingly, the present applicant has developed a structure for feeding paper by opening the printer body by opening the paper feeder and placing a thermal paper while searching for a method for easily and safely feeding the thermal printer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal printer feeder structure capable of opening the head clamp portion and supplying paper when the paper guide portion and the head clamp portion are hinged to the printer body to replace the paper.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional thermal printer feeding structure.

Figure 2a, 2b is a structural diagram of a thermal printer according to the present invention.

3A, 3B and 3C are explanatory views of the locking structure of the head clamp portion and the paper guide portion.

4A and 4B are explanatory diagrams of a head balance structure for horizontal maintenance of the head clamp portion.

5A and 5B are explanatory views of the head clamp part opening detecting part.

6A and 6B are explanatory views of the fixing lever mechanism of the paper roll mounting portion.

<Description of Drawing Main Parts>

Printer body 11, paper feed port 13, thermal paper roll 15, thermal paper start unit 17, thermal printer main body 100, paper guide portion 102, head clamp portion 104, paper feeding portion 106 , Feed roller 108, discharge unit 110, step motor 112, gears 114a and 114b, power supply line 116, first side plate 118, second side plate 120, head clamp locking bracket ( 122), head clamp frame 124, hinge portion 126, locking portion 128, printhead PCB 130, TPH 131, head clamp portion open spring 132, rocker shaft 134, rocker 136, locking hook 137, rocking spring 138, rocker stop shaft 140, shaft groove 141, rocker stop 142, locking shaft 144, head balance bracket 146, head balance Spring 148, Head Balance Shaft 150, Microswitch 152, Lever Actuator 154, Actuator Shaft 155, Actuator Spring 156, Paper Roll Mounting Unit 200, Paper Roll Mounting Frame 202 , Paper roll insertion shaft 204, paper roll fixing lever 206, rotary shaft 208, fixed lever hinge (2) 10), spring hanger 212, spring hanger (213), fixed lever spring (214)

Overview of the devise

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is largely composed of a thermal printer body and a paper roll mounting portion. The thermal printer body consists of a paper guide part and a head clamp part.

The paper guide part is composed of a paper feeder into which the paper enters, a feed roller for transporting the loaded paper, and a paper discharge part from which the paper is discharged outwards.

The head clamp part includes a head clamp frame, a hinge part which hinges the paper guide part and the head clamp frame, a locking part which is locked to the paper guide part when the head clamp part is closed, and a lower part of the head clamp frame to convey the paper guide part. By contacting the rollers, it consists of a printhead PCB that prints the paper conveyed by the conveying rollers.

The present invention is characterized in that the paper is replaced by supplying the paper by opening the head clamp portion from the paper guide portion and placing the paper on the exposed paper guide portion at the time of replacement supply of the paper.

The hinge portion of the head clamp portion is hinged to the first side plate of the paper guide portion by a hinge shaft, and the head clamp portion open spring is connected to the side surface of the head clamp frame and the first side plate of the paper guide portion to open the head clamp portion. It is characterized by maintaining.

The locking portion of the head clamp portion includes a rocker rotatably installed on the head clamp frame, and the locker is coupled to and locked to a locking shaft installed on a locking bracket attached to the second side plate of the paper guide portion.

The first side plate of the paper guide unit is hinged to the head balance bracket together with the head clamp frame. In the head balance bracket, the print head PCB is rotatably coupled by the head balance shaft, and the inner space between the head clamp frame and the head balance bracket. The head balance spring is installed, and when the head clamp frame is locked by the locker, the head balance spring is pressed and the bottom surface of the printhead PCB is in contact with the feed roller of the paper guide part at regular intervals.

The locking bracket of the paper guide unit is provided with a head clamp part opening detecting part comprising a micro switch and an actuator for operating the micro switch. The central processing unit recognizes that the head clamp part is opened by the actuator operating the micro switch when the head clamp part is opened. It is characterized by being made.

The paper roll mounting unit according to the present invention comprises a paper roll mounting frame, a paper roll insertion shaft fixed to the paper roll mounting frame, into which the paper roll is inserted, and a paper roll fixing lever for pushing the paper roll toward the frame.

The paper roll fixing lever is hinged to the paper roll mounting frame by the fixing lever hinge, and the fixing lever spring is caught between the spring hook of the fixing lever hinge and the spring hook of the fixing lever, so that the fixing lever spring pulls the fixing lever. Is configured to be formed inside the rotation axis,

When the fixed lever is pulled out, the action lever of the fixed lever spring moves outward from the rotating shaft, and the fixed lever is pulled back by pulling the fixed lever.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a thermal printer feeder structure according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Example

1. Configuration and Function of the Thermal Printer Body 100

Figure 2a and Figure 2b is a perspective view showing the appearance of the thermal printer according to the present invention, and shows the thermal printer body 100 and the paper roll mounting portion 200. The thermal printer main body 100 is largely comprised of a paper guide portion 102 and a head clamp portion 104. The paper roll mounting unit 200 is largely composed of a paper roll mounting frame 202, an insertion shaft 204 into which the paper roll is fitted, and a paper roll fixing lever 206 for pushing the paper roll toward the frame 202. do.

2A shows a state in which the head clamp portion 104 is closed by the paper guide portion 102, and FIG. 2B shows an open state. With reference to the two drawings will be described the structure of the paper feeding portion of the thermal printer according to the present invention.

2A and 2B, the head clamp portion 104 is hinged to the paper guide portion 102 to be opened and closed, and the paper roll paper roll fixing lever 206 rotates the lever rotation shaft 208. It can be seen that there is a difference in the point of opening and closing. In FIG. 2B, the structure of the head clamp portion 104 and the paper roll mounting portion 200 is an element constituting the features of the present invention, which will be described with reference to this portion. The construction and operation of the other parts, namely, the paper guide 102, the print header, and the paper conveying roller do not differ greatly from the structure of the conventional thermal printer, and thus will be apparent to those skilled in the art without detailed description.

The paper guide unit 102 is a base plate through which the paper rolled out from the paper (thermal paper) passes, the paper feeding unit 106 into which the paper enters, the conveying roller 108 for feeding the fed paper, and the discharge unit 110 through which the paper is discharged out. ) Since the paper entering the paper feed unit 106 is transported toward the discharge unit 110 by the rotation of the feed roller 108 and discharged to the outside, the feed roller 108 is in charge of all the actions of paper feeding, conveying, and discharging. The conveying roller 108 is made of a material having a large friction force with the paper because the friction with the paper is large and the paper must be conveyed. Usually, it manufactures by coating a silicon | silicone rubber with a moderate thickness on a metal roller. The feed roller 108 is rotated by a drive mechanism, which drives gears 114a and 114b for changing the rotational direction and adjusting torque, with the stepper motor 112 as the main focus for the accuracy of the rotation angle and ease of control. It is composed of A part of gear is shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. In addition, the power supply line 116 of the step motor 112 is shown in the figure.

Since the feed roller 108 must be rotated to feed the paper 106 by this drive mechanism, the beginning of the paper released from the paper roll should be at least placed on the feed roller 108. In FIG. 2B, when the open head clamp part 104 is closed, the head clamp part 104 covers the paper covered on the feed roller 108 so that the feed roller 108 and the paper come into contact with each other to rotate the feed roller 108. The paper may pass over the paper guide portion 102. This action is an outline of the paper feeding part structure of the present invention.

The paper guide part 102 is provided between the first side plate 118 and the second side plate 120. The first side plate 118 is provided with a rotating mechanism (a mechanism composed of the step motor 112 and the gears 114a and 114b) for rotating the feed roller 108, and the head clamp locking bracket on the second side plate 120. 122 is installed.

The head clamp part 104 has a head clamp frame 124 as a main shaft, and a hinge part 126 for hinge-binding the first side plate 118 of the paper guide part 102 and the head clamp frame 124 and the head clamp. The closing part 128, which is locked to the second side plate 120 of the paper guide part 102 when the part 104 is closed, is attached to the lower portion of the head clamp frame 124, and the transfer roller of the paper guide part 102 It consists of a printhead PCB 130 which prints the paper conveyed by the conveying roller 108 by being in contact with 108.

The hinge portion 126 of the head clamp portion 104 is hinged to the first side plate 118 of the paper guide portion 102 by a hinge shaft 128. The hinge shaft 128 is inserted between the hinge hole (not shown) integrally formed in the head clamp frame 124 and the hinge hole (not shown) formed in the first side plate 118 of the paper guide part 102. E-rings or C-rings are inserted at both ends so that they do not fall out. In this way, the head clamp portion 104 can be opened and closed from the paper guide portion 102 in one direction.

On the other hand, the hinge portion 126 includes a head clamp portion open spring 132, the head clamp portion open spring 132 is to maintain the open state of the head clamp portion 104. That is, the head clamp part opening spring 132 is connected to the side surface of the head clamp frame 124 and the first side plate 118 of the paper guide part 102, so that the head clamp part 104 is hinged shaft 128. Pulling down on the center.

The locking portion 128 is for keeping the head clamp portion 104 closed on the paper guide portion 102. The locking part 128 includes a rocker 136 rotating about the rocker shaft 134 on the opposite side of the hinge part 126 of the head clamp frame 124 and a rocker which returns to its original position when the rocker 136 is pressed and released. Spring 138 is included.

On the other hand, the rocker stop shaft 140 is fixed under the handle of the rocker 136 in order to prevent the movement of the rocker 136 in the downward direction, in order to block the movement of the rocker 136 in the upward direction The rocker stop 142 is formed in the head clamp frame 124. The rocker stop shaft 140 also serves to hang the locker spring 138.

The operation of the locking unit 128 will be described. The locking action of the locking part 128 is performed together with the locking bracket 122 attached to the second side plate 120 of the paper guide part 102. The operation of the locking unit 128 will be described with reference to FIG. 3A, 3B, and 3C are diagrams sequentially showing the locking action between the rocker 136 and the locking bracket 122. First, when the head clamp frame 124 is opened (FIG. 3A), when the head clamp frame 124 is lowered, the locking hook 137 of the rocker 136 is installed into the locking bracket 122 inwards. 144, while sliding as shown in Figure 3b. This coupling may be due to the elasticity of the rocker shaft 134 attached to the rocker and the rocker spring 138 spanning the rocker stop shaft 140. In the engaged state as shown in Fig. 3B, the locking hook 137 of the rocker 136 is hung on the locking shaft 144, and this state is held by the rocking spring 138. It is closed to the guide portion 102 and can function as a normal printer.

If the head clamp portion 104 is to be opened, the handle of the rocker 136 may be pressed in the direction of the arrow P. Then, as shown in FIG. 3C, the rocker 136 rotates slightly around the rocker shaft 134 in the clockwise direction, and the locking hook 137 is separated from the locking shaft 144, and the head clamp part opening spring 132 described above. The head clamp portion 104 is lifted up by this. Therefore, it is possible to feed by placing the start of the paper released from the paper roll on the conveying roller 108 of the exposed paper guide part 102 again by closing the head clamp part 104 again.

The shape and principle of the rocker 136 and rocker hook 137 shown in the drawings can be arbitrarily changed by those skilled in the art. That is, the drawings are shown an embodiment of the concept that the head clamp portion 104 and the paper guide portion 102 can be hinged and opened and closed so as to design and implement arbitrarily within the limit to realize the technical idea of the present invention This can be easily accomplished by those skilled in the art having ordinary skill in the art.

2B, the printhead PCB 130 is attached to the head clamp frame 124. The printhead PCB 130 serves to print the paper by controlling the TPH 131 according to a print signal from a central processing unit (CPU), and is generally used for all thermal printers. However, the mounting structure has a special structure according to the present invention. This will be described.

According to the present invention, while the head clamp portion 104 is open, the paper guide 102 and the head clamp portion 104 are hinged at a predetermined angle, but when the two are combined, the printing elements must be horizontally precisely printed. Quality is guaranteed That is, the upper surface of the paper guide portion 102 and the feed roller 108 and the paper should be horizontal and the TPH 131 in contact with the paper should be horizontal.

In order to satisfy these requirements, the coupling structure of the head clamp frame 124 and the printhead PCB 130 is designed as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

4A, the head balance bracket 146 is hinged together with the head clamp frame 124 hinged to the first side plate 118 of the paper guide part 102. The print balance PCB 130 is rotatably coupled to the head balance bracket 146 by the head balance shaft 150. Therefore, the printhead PCB 130 may be slid left and right with respect to the head balance bracket 146.

Meanwhile, a head balance spring 148 is installed in the inner space between the head clamp frame 124 and the head balance bracket 146. The head balance spring 148 is a compression coil type spring, and when the head clamp frame 124 is locked by the locker 136, the head balance spring 148 is pressed and the bottom surface of the printhead PCB 130 has a paper guide portion ( It is possible to contact the feed roller 108 of 102 (see Fig. 4b). At this time, the printhead PCB 130 may be in contact with the feed roller 108 at regular intervals because the printhead PCB 130 can be moved left and right by the head balance shaft 150.

As described above, the present invention has a basic concept of opening the head clamp part and supplying paper, and thus, a mechanism for detecting the stop when the head clamp part is opened and stopping the printer operation is required. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a mechanism for detecting the opening of the head clamp portion (head clamp portion opening detecting portion), showing the inside of the locking bracket 122 attached to the second side plate 120 of the paper guide portion 102. As shown in FIG. That is, the opposite surface of the surface of the locking bracket 122 shown in FIG. 2B is shown.

In the foregoing, it has been described that the locking shaft 144 is installed inside the locking bracket 122 to form the locking part together with the rocker hook 137 of the head clamp part 104. The head clamp opening detecting unit acts together with the locking unit, and pulls the micro switch 152, the lever actuator 154 for operating the lever of the micro switch 152, and the lever actuator 154 to always press the switch lever. Which consists of an actuator spring 156.

The micro switch 152 was used having an operating lever. Lever actuator 154 is a total of a lifter shape, the upper end is fixed to be rotated by the actuator shaft 155 to cover the shaft groove 141 formed on the top of the locking bracket (122). The shaft groove 141 is a groove into which the rocker stop shaft 140 enters from top to bottom. The actuator spring 156 is provided to pull the lower end of the lever actuator 154.

If the head clamp portion 104 is normally closed, the lever actuator 154 is pressed by the locking shaft 140 in the shape as shown in FIG. 5A to be separated from the lever of the microswitch 152. Therefore, at this time, the micro switch 152 is turned off and the CPU detects this and can recognize that the head clamp part 104 is normally closed.

On the other hand, when the head clamp portion 104 is opened, the locking shaft 140 is separated from the shaft groove 141 so that the lower end of the lever actuator 154 is pulled by the actuator spring 156 to release the lever of the micro switch 152. Will be pressed. At this time, the micro switch 152 is turned on and the CPU detects this and recognizes that the head clamp part 104 is open, thereby stopping the printer function. Of course, it is apparent to those skilled in the art whether the microswitch 152 is off or on when the head clamp part 104 is closed. Since the CPU can determine whether or not to stop the printer function as a relative signal, it can be designed to be used arbitrarily whether it is a normally open (NO) or a normally closed (NC) switch.

2. Configuration and action of the paper roll mounting portion 200

On the other hand, the present invention has been devised a new structure for mounting the paper roll with the paper feeder structure of the thermal printer body described above. 2A and 2B, the paper roll mounting portion 200 is largely provided with a paper roll mounting frame 202, a fixed shaft 204 to which the paper roll is fitted, and a paper roll for pushing the paper roll toward the frame 202 to fix it. It has been described that the fixed lever 206 is configured. That is, the paper roll mounting unit 200 has a possibility that the paper roll may come out when the paper roll is inserted in the paper roll insertion shaft 204, and thus, the paper roll fixing lever 206 is pushed to fix the paper roll. to be.

The paper roll mounting unit 200 is characterized by the mechanism of the paper roll fixing lever 206. Referring to Figure 6 as follows. The paper roll fixing lever 206 is hinged to the paper roll mounting frame 202 by the fixing lever hinge 210. That is, the fixed lever hinge 210 is attached to the paper roll mounting frame 202, and the fixed lever 206 is hinged to the rotating shaft 208 to be rotatable to the fixed lever hinge 210. The spring lever 212 is bent to the fixed lever hinge 210 so that the fixed lever spring 214 is caught between the spring hangers 213 formed on the fixed lever 206.

In the structure as shown in Fig. 6A, the fixed lever 206 is kept closed. This is because the action line for pulling the fixed lever 206 with the fixed lever spring 214 is formed inward of the rotation shaft 208. However, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the fixed lever 206 is pulled out, the action lever of the fixed lever spring 214 moves outward from the rotation shaft 208 and pulls the fixed lever 206 so that the fixed lever 206 is eventually Flips backwards By this mechanism, the paper roll can be easily fixed.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Since the embodiment is only one specific embodiment that embodies the technical idea of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the configuration and operation of the above-described embodiment, and the technical scope of the present invention is defined by the claims defined by the claims and their equivalents. Should be identified by

According to the present invention, since the paper guide part and the head clamp part are hinged to the printer body, the paper can be fed in such a way that the paper can be fed by opening the paper feed part by opening the head clamp part to the upper side when replacing the paper. There is an effect that can avoid damage to the user's hands due to the feeding.

In addition, the printing quality can be maintained satisfactorily by the head clamp balance mechanism for reducing the gap mismatch between the TPH and the feed roller according to the structure of the head clamp part, and the paper roll mounting structure allows easy replacement of the paper roll. It becomes possible.

Claims (7)

A paper guide part 102 including a paper feeding part 106 into which paper is inserted, a conveying roller 108 for conveying the loaded paper, and a discharge part 110 through which paper is discharged outward; The head clamp frame 124, the hinge portion 126 for hinge-bonding the paper guide portion 102 and the head clamp frame 124, and the locking portion locked to the paper guide portion 102 when the head clamp portion 104 is closed. 128, the printhead PCB 130 which is mounted to the lower portion of the head clamp frame 124 and contacts the feed roller 108 of the paper guide portion 102, thereby printing the paper conveyed by the feed roller 108. Consisting of a head clamp portion 104, And the paper is replaced by supplying the paper by opening the head clamp portion (104) from the paper guide portion (102) and placing the paper on the exposed paper guide portion (102). In claim 1, The hinge portion 126 of the head clamp portion 104 is hinged to the first side plate 118 of the paper guide portion 102 by a hinge shaft 128, The head clamp part opening spring 132 is connected to the side of the head clamp frame 124 and the first side plate 118 of the paper guide part 102 to maintain the open head clamp part 104 in an open state. Feeding unit structure of the thermal printer. In claim 1, the locking portion 128 of the head clamp portion 104 includes a rocker 136 rotatably installed in the head clamp frame 124, The rocker (136) is a paper feeding part structure of the thermal printer, characterized in that coupled to the locking shaft (144) installed on the locking bracket 122 attached to the second side plate (120) of the paper guide portion (102). In claim 3, The head balance bracket 146 is hinged to the first side plate 118 of the paper guide part 102 together with the head clamp frame 124. The head balance bracket 146 is rotatably coupled to the printhead PCB 130 by the head balance shaft 150, The head balance spring 148 is installed in the inner space between the head clamp frame 124 and the head balance bracket 146, When the head clamp frame 124 is locked by the locker 136, the head balance spring 148 is pressed and the lower surface of the print head PCB 130 is fixed to the feed roller 108 of the paper guide 102 at regular intervals. The paper feeder structure of the thermal printer, characterized in that the contact. In claim 1, the locking bracket 122 of the paper guide portion 102 is provided with a head clamp portion opening detecting portion composed of a micro switch 152, and an actuator 154 for operating the micro switch 152, And the central processing unit recognizes that the head clamp part 104 is opened by the actuator 154 operating the micro switch 152 when the head clamp part 104 is opened. In any one of Claims 1-5, A paper roll mounting frame 202, A paper roll insertion shaft 204 fixed to the paper roll mounting frame 202 to which the paper roll is inserted, Paper feed unit structure of the thermal printer further comprises a paper roll mounting portion 200 consisting of a paper roll fixing lever 206 for pushing the paper roll toward the frame 202. In claim 6, the paper roll fixing lever 206 is hinged to the paper roll mounting frame 202 by a fixing lever hinge 210, the spring hook 212 and the fixing lever 206 of the fixing lever hinge 210 The fixed lever spring 214 is caught between the spring hanger 213 of the fixed lever spring 214 is configured such that the action line for pulling the fixed lever 206 is formed inside the rotary shaft 208, When the fixing lever 206 is pulled out, the action line of the fixing lever spring 214 moves outward from the rotation shaft 208 and pulls the fixing lever 206 so that the fixing lever 206 is flipped backward. Feeder structure.