JP2001105677A - Printer with cutter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cut a recording paper straight. SOLUTION: A front rear margin cutter 6 and a paper retainer mechanism 5 are set to a transfer path for a recording paper 2. The cutter 6 is constituted of a fixed edge 25 and a disc edge 26, which cuts a front margin and a rear margin of the recording paper 2. The paper retainer mechanism 5 is constituted of a guide plate 47, a paper retainer plate 48 and a motor 50a for driving. The guide plate 47 and paper retainer plate 48 are set rotatably by a mount shaft 51 and interlocked by an interlock mechanism. When a margin of the recording paper 2 is to be cut, the paper retainer plate 48 is rotated upward to fixedly hold the recording paper 2 between the plate and the fixed edge 25. After the paper is cut, the guide plate 47 and paper retainer plate 48 are rotated downward to a cutting process position, where a cutting waste is dropped. When the recording paper is to be printed, the paper retainer plate 48 is brought to a release position below the guide plate 47. The recording paper 2 is retained and prevented from being cut slantwise when the margin is cut.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer provided with a cutter for cutting a recording sheet such as a long sheet or a cut sheet in a width direction.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a color thermal printer, one thermal paper is reciprocated between a forward direction from a paper supply side to a discharge side and a reverse direction from a discharge side to a paper supply side. There is a type in which three-color images are thermally recorded by a head in a frame-sequential manner.

In the above-described color thermal printer, recording paper is nipped by a pair of conveying rollers including a capstan roller and a pinch roller, and the recording paper is reciprocated in a forward direction and a reverse direction by rotation of the capstan roller. Then, when the conveying roller pair conveys the recording paper in any direction, the thermal head thermally records an image of a specific color on the recording paper. In order to stably perform the thermal recording, an image is recorded in a range of a size smaller than the recording paper. Therefore,
There is a blank space all around the image recording area. On the other hand, in print photographs and the like, marginless prints without margins are generally used. In view of this, prints without margins are desired even in thermal printing.

In order to cut the margin, a margin cutter for cutting the recording paper in the width direction and a slitter for margins on both sides for cutting the recording paper in the conveying direction may be provided. By the way, a cutter that cuts a recording sheet in the width direction generally includes a fixed blade that extends in the width direction and a movable blade that is slightly displaced from the fixed blade in a recording paper conveyance direction. The recording paper is cut between the fixed blade and the fixed blade by moving the blade.

[0005]

However, in the width direction cutter for cutting the recording paper in the width direction, the area of the movable blade side rises with respect to the cut position of the recording paper as the movable blade moves, and the recording paper is cut. There is a problem that it cannot be cut straight along the width direction. Therefore, in consideration of cutting the front and rear margins of the recording sheet straight, two cutters each having the fixed blade and the movable blade arranged in the opposite directions to the transport direction of the recording sheet are required. For this reason, there has been a defect that the apparatus itself becomes large and the cost increases.

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a printer with a cutter capable of cutting recording paper straight in a width direction, and a second object is to reduce the size of the apparatus itself. Provide a low cost printer with a cutter.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer with a cutter, which is disposed upstream or downstream of a cutter in a recording paper conveying direction, and has a cutter cutting position. A fixing position for fixing the recording paper to
Paper holding means is provided which is displaced between a release position for releasing the fixing. According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer with a cutter, comprising: a fixed blade disposed in a width direction of the recording paper; and a movable blade that moves while sliding on the fixed blade to cut the recording paper. Is set to a fixed position before the cutter performs the cutting operation, and is set to a release position after the cutter completes the cutting operation. In the fixed position, the recording paper is pressed against the fixed blade and fixed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printer with a cutter for forming an image on an upstream side or a downstream side of a recording paper conveying direction with respect to a cutter and a paper pressing means in order to cut a margin around a recording area of the recording paper. A slitter is provided for cutting the margins on both sides of the subsequent recording paper in the transport direction. And with a cutter,
A front margin cutting operation for cutting the front margin in the recording paper conveyance direction and a rear margin cutting operation for cutting the rear margin in the recording paper conveyance direction are performed.

In the printer with a cutter according to the fourth aspect,
A plurality of guide pieces are arranged in a comb shape in the width direction of the recording paper, and guide the recording paper in the transport direction. The plurality of guide pieces are retracted into the gap between the guide pieces and enter the recording paper transport path from the clearance and the clearance. The paper pressing means comprises a plurality of paper pressing pieces provided so as to be able to move in and out of the fixed position, and driving means for moving the paper pressing pieces in and out.

In the printer with a cutter according to the fifth aspect,
An elastic member is attached to a portion of the paper presser that presses the recording paper. In the printer with a cutter according to the sixth aspect, the guide piece is configured to be displaceable between a guide position of the recording paper and a debris processing position for retreating from the guide position and releasing cutting chips by the cutter. The piece is driven by a guide piece driving means.

In a printer with a cutter according to claim 7,
Interlocking means for interlocking the guide piece and the paper pressing piece is provided, and the driving means for the guide piece and the driving means for the paper pressing piece are also used by a single driving means, and the paper pressing piece is used by this single driving means. , The release position, the fixed position, and the retracted position, which is displaced by a larger displacement amount than the release position to the release position side from the fixed position, and the guide piece is maintained at the guide position by the interlocking means at the release position and the fixed position. Let me
When displacing from the fixed position to the retreat position, the guide piece is set to the debris processing position, and when displacing from the retreat position to the release position, the guide piece is returned to the guide position.

In the printer with a cutter according to the present invention,
Using a recording paper having a plurality of thermosensitive coloring layers layered on a support,
The image forming means is a recording section for performing thermal recording with a thermal head in order from the upper thermosensitive coloring layer of the recording paper, and a fixing light is applied to the thermally recorded thermosensitive coloring layer before thermal recording of the lower thermosensitive coloring layer. And a fixing unit that performs the fixing.

[0013]

FIG. 1 schematically shows a color thermal printer embodying the present invention. In this color thermal printer, a sheet of color thermal recording paper (hereinafter referred to as
It is called “recording paper”. 2) is used. The recording paper 2 is supplied from a paper supply unit 3. The paper feed unit 3 feeds a plurality of recording papers 2 stored in a cassette by a paper feed roller.

An image forming mechanism 4 is provided downstream of the sheet feeding section 3.
Paper holding mechanism 5, front and rear margin cutter 6, movable guide plate 7,
And both side margin cutters 8 are arranged in order. These are totally controlled by the control unit 9. As is well known, the image forming mechanism 4 sandwiches the recording paper 2 between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 11, and thermally records an image on the recording paper 2 with the thermal head 10. The thermal head 10 is provided with a heating element array 10a in which many heating elements are arranged in a line. This thermal head 10
Is a printing position where the recording paper 2 on the platen roller 11 is pressed with the support shaft 12 as a fulcrum.
It swings between a retracted position away from the first position.

As is well known, the recording paper 2 has a cyan thermosensitive coloring layer, a magenta thermosensitive coloring layer, and a yellow thermosensitive coloring layer sequentially formed on a support. The yellow thermosensitive coloring layer, which is the uppermost layer, has the highest thermal sensitivity and develops yellow with small heat energy. The cyan thermosensitive coloring layer, which is the lowermost layer, has the lowest thermal sensitivity and develops cyan with large thermal energy. Further, the yellow thermosensitive coloring layer loses its coloring ability when irradiated with near-ultraviolet rays of 420 nm. The magenta thermosensitive coloring layer develops magenta color with a thermal energy intermediate between the yellow thermosensitive coloring layer and the cyan thermosensitive coloring layer,
The coloring ability disappears when irradiated with 5 nm ultraviolet rays. The recording paper 2 may have a four-layer structure by providing, for example, a black thermosensitive coloring layer.

A transport roller pair 13 for transporting the recording paper 2 is disposed downstream of the thermal head 10. The transport roller pair 13 includes a capstan roller 14 and a pinch roller 15 rotatable above the capstan roller 14. Capstan roller 14
Is arranged below the recording paper 2 and is driven by a recording paper feed motor 16 composed of a pulse motor. The pinch roller 15 is moved by a roller shift mechanism (not shown) between a position separated from the capstan roller 14 and a pressed position.

A position sensor 17 is arranged near the transport roller pair 13. The control unit 9 includes the position sensor 1
When the leading end of the recording paper 2 is detected via the recording paper 7, the pinch roller 15 is moved to sandwich the recording paper 2 with the capstan roller 14, and the recording paper 2 is fed to the paper feed side by rotating the capstan roller 14. From the paper discharge side to the paper discharge side (direction of arrow A) and the reverse direction from the paper discharge side to the paper supply side (direction of arrow B).

An encoder 18 is provided on the rotation shaft of the pinch roller 15. The encoder 18 measures the number of rotations of the pinch roller 15 and measures the transport amount of the recording paper 2.

An optical fixing device 19 is disposed downstream of the forward feed of the pair of conveying rollers 13. This optical fixing device 19
Is composed of an ultraviolet lamp 20 for yellow which emits near-ultraviolet light having an emission peak of 420 nm, an ultraviolet lamp 21 for magenta which emits ultraviolet light having an emission peak of 365 nm, and a reflector 22 covering the back of these lamps.

The front and rear margin cutters 6 are used for the cutter motor 2.
4, the disk blade 26 is moved in the width direction of the recording paper 2 to cut the recording paper 2 between the stationary blade 25 and the downstream margin of the image recording area in the forward direction around the image recording area. (Less than,
The front margin is separated from the upstream margin in the forward feed (hereinafter referred to as a “rear margin”).

When cutting the front margin, the control unit 9 specifies the cutting position based on the measurement of the number of rotations of the pinch roller 15 and stops the conveyance of the recording paper 2 before cutting the recording paper feed motor 16. And the drive of the cutter motor 24 are controlled.

A position sensor 27 is provided near the front and rear margin cutters 6. When the position sensor 27 detects the trailing edge of the recording paper 2, the position where the trailing edge margin of the recording paper 2 is cut matches the cutting position of the front and rear edge margin cutter 6. The control unit 9 controls the driving of the recording paper feed motor 16 and the cutter motor 24 based on a signal obtained from the position sensor 27 so as to stop the conveyance of the recording paper 2 and to cut after the stop.

The paper pressing mechanism 5 is disposed on the opposite side of the fixed blade 25 with respect to the conveyance path 2a of the recording paper 2, and before the front and rear margin cutters 6 cut the front and rear ends of the recording paper 2, respectively. Then, the recording paper 2 is pressed in cooperation with the fixed blade 25 and released after cutting.

The movable guide plate 7 is arranged downstream of the front and rear margin cutters 6 in the forward direction with respect to the front and rear margin cutters 6, and the front and rear margin margin cutters 6 cut off the front margins by driving an actuator 28 such as a solenoid. Is movable between a retracted position where the recording paper 2 is conveyed and a guide position where the recording paper 2 is conveyed.

A pair of discharge rollers 2 is provided on both side margin cutters 8.
9 are incorporated. The discharge roller pair 29 is driven by the recording paper feed motor 16 and nips the recording paper 2 to convey it in the forward direction. Both side margin cutters 8 are provided with a discharge roller pair 29.
The recording paper 2 conveyed is cut in the conveying direction, and the left and right margins in the width direction around the image recording area are simultaneously cut off.

A discharge port 30 is provided on the downstream side in the forward feed with respect to the margin cutters 8 on both sides. Outlet 30
, A discharge tray 31 is detachably attached. The discharge tray 31 is provided with a tray section 32 and a dust receiving section 34. The tray section 32 includes the discharge port 30.
And receives the recording paper 2 discharged to the outside. The dust receiving portion 34 is disposed below the paper holding mechanism 5, the front and rear margin cutters 6, the movable guide plate 7, and the margin cutters 8 on both sides, and adjusts the margins between the front end, the rear end, and both sides of the recording paper 2. The cut waste pieces 33 are received. The dust receiving portion 34 is provided in the tray portion 32.
The door 35 is provided so as to protrude below the opening, and pushes a door 35 that can be opened and closed below the discharge port 30 to enter the inside of the printer through the opening 36. When the discharge tray 31 is removed from the printer, the door 35 is closed by the bias of a spring (not shown), so that the opening 36 is shielded.

As shown in FIG. 2, the front and rear end margin cutter 6 includes a disk blade 26, a fixed blade 25, a tool rest 42, a tool rest guide 43, a cutter motor 24, and the like. The fixed blade 25 has a flat surface 25a facing the conveyance path 2a of the recording paper 2 and a cutting edge 25b directed to the downstream side of the forward feeding of the recording paper 2 with respect to the surface 25a. , And the blade edge 25 b extend in the width direction of the recording paper 2. The disk blade 26 is rotatably attached to the tool rest 42, and comes into contact with the blade edge 25 b of the fixed blade 25 from the downstream side in the forward direction of the recording paper 2. The tool rest guide 43 supports the tool rest 42 movably in the width direction of the recording paper 2. A part of the belt 44 is fixed to the tool rest 42.

The belt 44 is hung on a pair of pulleys 45 and 46. The pair of pulleys 45 and 46
Are arranged on both sides in the width direction. The drive of the cutter motor 24 is transmitted to one pulley 46. Belt 4
4 is rotated forward and reverse by a cutter motor 24 via a pulley 46.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the paper press mechanism 6 includes a guide plate 47, a paper press plate 48, an interlocking mechanism 49, and a driving mechanism 50. The guide plate 47 has a form in which a plurality of guide pieces 47a for guiding the recording paper 2 in the transport direction are arranged in a comb shape in the width direction of the recording paper 2, and a guide position for guiding the recording paper 2 in the transport direction. The recording paper 2 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 51 extending in the width direction of the recording paper 2 so as to rotate between a waste processing position and a waste processing position where the waste 33 whose rear end margin has been cut is allowed to fall. A first stopper 5 for positioning the guide plate 47 at the guide position by contacting a part 47b of the guide plate 47 on the rotation locus of the guide plate 47.
2 and a second stopper 53 positioned at the waste chip processing position. The guide plate 47 is urged toward the guide position by a spring 54.

The paper pressing plate 48 has a configuration in which a plurality of pressing pieces 48a for pressing the recording paper 2 are arranged in a comb shape in the width direction of the recording paper 2, and each pressing piece 48a is provided with a gap with each guide piece 47a. The shaft 51 is rotatably attached to the shaft 51 so that the shaft can be moved in and out. The drive mechanism 50 includes a motor 50
a, a crank mechanism 50b, a rotary encoder 50c, an origin sensor 50d, and the like. Motor 50
a is driven by one-way rotation. Rotary encoder 5
0c detects the rotation angle of the output shaft of the motor 50a and controls the driving of the motor 50a. The crank mechanism 50b converts one-way rotational driving of the motor 50a into reciprocating motion. The paper press plate 48 swings within a predetermined range by reciprocating motion obtained from the crank mechanism 50b.

The origin sensor 50d detects the release position of the paper pressing plate 48 and controls the driving of the motor 50a. The release position of the paper pressing plate 48 is a position where the recording paper 2 is conveyed by retreating into the gap between the guide pieces 47a. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the paper presser plate 48 is rotated from the release position shown in FIG. 6A counterclockwise about the shaft 51 in the fixed position (FIG. 6B) and clockwise. It rotates between the retracted position ((D) in the figure). At the fixed position, as shown in FIG. 6B, the leading end of each paper pressing piece 48a enters the conveyance path of the recording paper 2 and the leading end and the fixed blade 25a.
The recording paper 2 is pressed between the recording paper 2 and the surface 25a. At the retreat position shown in FIG. 6D, the falling off of the debris 33 that occurs when the rear end margin is cut is allowed. During the paper press operation, the motor 5
0a drives the paper pressing plate 48 to the release position, the fixed position,
Swing in the order of the evacuation position. Then, each paper pressing piece 48a
, An elastic member 55 such as a sponge is attached to each end for holding the recording paper 2.

The interlocking mechanism 49 shown in FIG. 4 includes two torsion springs and a lever 56 biased to a neutral position by these springs.
Consists of One end 56a of the lever 56 is
The other end 56b is rotatably attached to the guide plate 47.
Is engaged with a part 47c of the When the paper presser plate 48 rotates from the release position (FIG. 6A) toward the fixed position (FIG. 6B), the interlocking mechanism 49 releases the link with the guide plate 47 and releases the guide plate 47. The guide position is maintained by the first stopper 52. When the paper holding plate 48 rotates from the fixed position to the retracted position, the lever 56 rotates the guide plate 47 together, and moves the guide plate 47 toward the waste disposal position. Further, when the paper pressing plate 48 rotates from the retracted position to the release position, the guide plate 47 also
By the urging of No. 4, it returns to the guide position of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the both-side margin cutter 8 comprises a discharge roller pair 29 and a pair of slitters 60 and 61 for cutting the margins on both sides of the recording paper 2 in the transport direction.
The discharge roller pair 29 nips the recording paper 2 and
An upper roller 63 and a lower roller 64 are discharged toward the printer. The upper roller 63 includes an upper roller shaft 63a arranged in parallel with the width direction of the recording paper 2 and two roller main bodies 63b fixed to the upper roller shaft 63a at a predetermined interval.

The lower roller 64 includes a lower roller shaft 64a arranged in parallel with the width direction of the recording paper 2 and two roller bodies fixed to the lower roller shaft 64a so as to contact the pair of roller bodies 63b. 64b. One end of each of the upper and lower roller shafts 63a and 64a has a gear 65 meshing with each other.
66 are respectively fixed. These gears 65, 6
Reference numeral 6 indicates that the drive of the recording paper feed motor 16 is transmitted to one of the gears 66 to rotate the upper and lower roller shafts 63a and 64a, respectively.

The left slitter 60 comprises an upper rotary blade 67 and a lower rotary blade 68. Also, the right slitter 61
Also comprises a pair of upper rotary blades 69 and lower rotary blades 70. These upper rotary blades 67 and 69 are provided with an upper roller shaft 63.
a, and is attached so as to be non-rotatable and movable in the axial direction. The lower rotary blades 68 and 70 are connected to the lower roller shaft 64.
a is fixed non-rotatably. Lower rotary blade 68, 70
Are located inside the upper rotary blades 67 and 69, respectively, and the interval between the blades is an interval corresponding to a predetermined width of the image recording area or a width slightly smaller than that. . The upper rotary blades 67, 69 are provided with a shift mechanism 71,
It is moved in the axial direction by 72 and is selectively set to one of a cutting position and a retreat position. Then, at the time of printing, the recording paper 2 is set at the retracted position and is not cut when the recording paper 2 is conveyed. After the cutter operation at the end of printing, the cutting position is set.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. In the initial state of the printer, as shown in FIG. 1, the thermal head 10 is set at a retracted position away from the platen roller 11, and the pinch roller 15 of the transport roller pair 13 is set at a position away from the capstan roller 14. Have been. Also, the disk blade 26 of the front and rear margin cutters 6
Has moved to a standby position where the passage of the recording paper 2 is not hindered. Further, as shown in FIG.
The guide plate 47 is set at the guide position, the paper holding plate 48 is set at the release position, and the movable guide plate 7 is set at the guide position, so that the recording paper 2 is allowed to pass. . The upper rotary blades 67 and 69 of the both-side margin cutter 8 are set at the retracted position.

When a print start is instructed, the recording paper 2 is sent out from the paper supply unit 3 and supplied to the thermal head 10. The fed recording paper 2 passes between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 11 with the recording surface up, and the pinch roller 15 and the capstan roller 1
It is sent between 4. When the position sensor 17 detects that the leading end of the recording paper 2 has passed between the pinch roller 15 and the capstan roller 14, the pinch roller 15 descends, and the pinch roller 15 and the capstan roller 14 And the recording paper 2 is sandwiched.

After the transport roller pair 13 is sandwiched,
The thermal head 10 moves to the print position. Thereafter, the recording paper feed motor 16 is driven to rotate the capstan roller 14 to convey the recording paper 2 in the forward direction.

During this transfer, the control unit 9 controls the encoder 18
Monitor the recording paper feed amount obtained from. When the tip of the image recording area reaches the position of the heating element array 10a of the thermal head 10, the thermal head 10 is driven to thermally record a yellow image line by line in the image recording area of the recording paper 2. During this thermal recording, the yellow ultraviolet lamp 20 of the optical fixing device 19 is turned on to optically fix the thermally recorded yellow thermosensitive coloring layer.

When the thermal recording of the yellow image is completed, the thermal head 10 is moved to the retreat position, and then the recording paper 2 is transported in the reverse direction B. This conveyance is performed on the recording paper 2
Is carried out until the position sensor 17 detects the rear end in the reverse conveyance. After stopping the conveyance in the reverse direction B, the thermal head 10 is moved to the print position, and the recording paper 2 is conveyed again in the forward direction A. During this conveyance, the thermal recording of the magenta image by the thermal head 10 and the magenta Light fixing of the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer by the ultraviolet lamp 21 is performed.

When the thermal recording of the magenta image is completed, the recording paper 2 is similarly returned and conveyed again in the forward direction A to perform thermal recording of the cyan image. The magenta ultraviolet lamp 21 is also turned on during the cyan thermal recording, and the unrecorded area having a yellow tint is bleached.

When the thermal recording of the cyan image is completed, a full-color image is formed in the image recording area by three color planes sequentially. Then, after the recording of the cyan image, the recording paper 2 is once returned in the reverse direction B by the driving of the conveying roller pair 13 and is conveyed again in the forward direction A. And
As the recording paper 2 is conveyed in the reverse direction B, the leading end of the recording paper 2 in the forward direction A passes through the margin cutter 8 on both sides. At this time, the upper rotary blades 67, 69 of the both-side margin cutter 8 are moved to the cutting position. While the recording paper 2 is being conveyed, the control unit 9 monitors the recording paper feed amount obtained from the encoder 18 and
The conveyance of the recording paper 2 is stopped when the cut position of the front end margin reaches the cut position of the front and rear end margin cutter 6.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6B, the control unit 9 drives the paper press motor 50a to rotate the paper press plate 48 to the fixed position. At this time, since the guide plate 47 shown in FIG. 4 is in contact with the first stopper 52 to prevent further rotation, the other end 56b of the lever 56 and the part 47c of the guide plate 47 are linked. Released and paper holding plate 4
Only 8 rotates. When the paper presser plate 48 rotates to the fixed position, the driving of the paper presser motor 50a is temporarily stopped. As a result, the area on the recording area side of the recording paper 2 is sandwiched between the elastic member 55 of each paper pressing piece 48a and the surface 25a of the fixed blade 25. At this time, since the portion pressed by the elastic member 55 is the surface opposite to the recording surface of the recording paper 2, there is no adverse effect on the image.

Thereafter, the control unit 9 controls the actuator 28
To move the movable guide plate 7 to the retracted position as shown in FIG. 6C, and then drive the cutter motor 24 of the front and rear end margin cutter 6. The disk blade 26 moves in the width direction of the recording paper 2 by driving the cutter motor 24, and cuts the recording paper 2 with the fixed blade 25. At this time, the area on the front margin side of the recording paper 2 with respect to the cutting position is the paper pressing mechanism 5.
Further, since the area on the recording area side is nipped by the transport roller pair 13, it can be cut straight.

After the cutting is completed, the cutter motor 24 is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, and the disk blade 26 is returned to the standby position. Since the movable guide plate 7 is moved to the retracted position, the cut waste pieces 33 fall from the transport path 2 a and are stored in the dust receiving portion 34.

After the front margin cutting operation is completed, the control section 9 drives the paper pressing motor 50a and the actuator 28. The paper presser plate 48 is rotated from the fixed position through the release position to the retreat position (see FIG. 6D) by the driving of the paper presser motor 50a, and then is released again (see FIG. 6D).
Return to (A)).

During the rotation, the interlocking mechanism 49 moves the paper holding plate 4
When the rotary member 8 rotates from the fixed position to the retreat position, the guide plate 47 is moved toward the waste disposal position in cooperation with the guide plate 47. This results in the state shown in FIG. At this time, a part 47b of the guide plate 47 abuts on the second stopper 53 shown in FIG. 4, and is stopped at that position. After that, only the paper holding plate 48 rotates to the retracted position slightly beyond the position. By this rotation, the other end 56b of the lever 56 gets over a part 47c of the guide plate 47.
As a result, the link between the paper pressing plate 48 and the guide plate 47 is released, and the guide plate 47 becomes free. The free guide plate 47 is rotated toward the guide position by the bias of the spring 54, and is positioned at the guide position by contacting the first stopper 52. Thereafter, the paper pressing plate 48 rotates from the retracted position to the release position. Further, the movable guide plate 7 is set at the guide position by driving the actuator 28. Thus, the state returns to the state shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the control unit 9 controls the recording paper feed motor 1
6 is driven to convey the recording paper 2 in the forward direction A. During this conveyance, the recording paper 2 is nipped from the leading end by a pair of discharge rollers 29 and conveyed by the pair of discharge rollers 29. The discharge roller pair 29 rotates at the same peripheral speed as the transport roller pair 13.
Then, the left and right margins in the width direction of the recording paper 2 are cut in the transport direction by the upper and lower rotary blades 67 to 70 at both side margin cutters 8. Thereafter, when the rear end of the recording paper 2 is detected by the position sensor 27, the recording paper 2 is positioned at the cutting position of the front and rear margin cutters 6.
The cutting position of the trailing margin is located. At this point, the driving of the recording paper feed motor 16 is temporarily stopped. At this time,
The state is as shown in FIG.

After the drive of the recording paper feed motor 16 is stopped, the control unit 9 controls the paper holding motor 5 as shown in FIG.
0a is driven to rotate the paper pressing plate 48 to the fixed position in the same manner as described above. As a result, the area on the rear end margin side of the recording paper 2 is sandwiched between the elastic member 55 of the paper pressing piece 48a and the surface 25a of the fixed blade 25. Then, the trailing margin of the recording paper 2 is cut by driving the cutter motor 24 in the same manner as described above. At this time, since the area on the rear end margin side of the recording paper 2 with respect to the cutting position is nipped by the paper pressing mechanism 5 and the area on the recording area side is nipped by the discharge roller pair 29, it is possible to cut straight. it can.

After the cutting of the trailing margin is completed, the paper pressing motor 50a is driven to move the paper pressing plate 48 from the fixed position to the retracted position. As a result, the guide plate 47 also rotates to the debris processing position, so that the rear end margin falls from the transport path 2a to the dust receiving portion 34 as shown in FIG. 7C. Thereafter, as the paper presser motor 50a continues to be driven, the paper presser plate 48 returns to the release position, and the guide plate 47 also returns to the guide position, and the state shown in FIG.

After the processing operation of the scraps 33 in the rear end margin is performed, the recording paper feed motor 16 is driven again, and the recording paper 2
Is transported again by the discharge roller pair 29. Thereby, the cutting of the left and right margins is continued again by the upper and lower rotary blades 67 to 70. Then, the recording paper 2 whose margin has been cut
Is discharged from the discharge port 30 to the outside by the discharge roller pair 29. After the recording paper 2 is discharged, the shift mechanism 7
The upper rotary blades 67, 69 are returned to the retracted position by the first and second blades 72. Then, the drive of the recording paper transport motor 16 is stopped, and preparation for the next printing operation is completed. The debris pieces 33 in the margins on both sides fall from the transport path 2 a and fall into the dust receiving portion 34.
It is stored in. When a plurality of print instructions have been issued, the driving of the recording paper transport motor 16 is continued to feed the next recording paper 2 from the paper supply unit 3.

In the printer of the above embodiment, the recording paper 2
Is, for example, a postcard-sized recording paper 2 with margins cut off.
Is the same size as, for example, the L size of a silver halide print photo, the recording paper 2 with the margins cut off can be put in an album or the like in the same manner as the print photo to enjoy the recorded image.

In the above embodiment, the paper holding mechanism 5 is disposed upstream of the disk blade 26 in the forward direction of the recording paper 2 in the forward direction, that is, on the fixed blade 25 side. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Alternatively, the recording paper 2 may be disposed downstream of the disk blade 26 in the forward direction of the recording paper 2. In this case, the surface 25 of the fixed blade 25
It is necessary to provide a guide plate or the like having a surface acting in the same way as a. In the above embodiment, the guide plate 47 and the paper pressing plate 48 are driven by the single driving unit 50.
You may make it drive by separate drive means.

In the above embodiment, the recording paper 2 cut into one sheet is used as a sheet. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a sheet drawn in a band form from a roll form may be used. In the above-described embodiment, the front and rear margin cutters 6 and the both-side margin cutters 8 are arranged in this order. However, the present invention is not limited to this arrangement. Alternatively, the left and right margins may be cut off.

In the above-described embodiment, the front and rear end margin cutter 6 is of a type in which the disk blade 26 is reciprocated in the width direction of the recording paper 2 to cut the recording paper 2, but the present invention is not limited to this.
A guillotine-type cutter for moving and cutting a movable blade extending in the width direction may be employed.

In the above embodiment, the thermal printer of the thermal recording type has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a thermal transfer type using an ink ribbon or an ink sheet. Further, the present invention can be applied to a monochrome thermal printer other than the color thermal printer. Further, the present invention may be applied to other printers such as an ink dot system.

[0057]

As described above, in the printer with a cutter according to the present invention, since the paper holding means for fixing the recording at the cutting position of the cutter is provided, the recording paper can be cut straight in the width direction by the cutter. . In the printer with the cutter according to the second aspect, since the paper holding means for holding the recording paper between the fixed blade forming the cutter and the fixed blade is provided, the cost and the size can be reduced by the shared use. In the printer with the cutter according to the third aspect, since the paper pressing means for pressing the recording paper before and after the cutter for cutting the front and rear margins is provided, as described in the related art, the recording paper is provided without providing two cutters. It can be cut straight in the width direction, so that cost reduction and compactness can be achieved.

In the printer with the cutter according to the fifth aspect,
Since the elastic member is provided at the paper pressing portion of the paper pressing piece, it is possible to reliably press the recording paper by pressing the elastic member, and it is possible to prevent the recording paper from being damaged by the pressing. Further, since the recording paper is pressed by utilizing the elasticity of the elastic member, the paper pressing piece does not need to be positioned at a fixed position with high precision, and therefore, the cost of the paper pressing means can be reduced.

In the printer with a cutter according to the sixth aspect,
Since the guide plate is moved to the waste disposal position, it is possible to reliably prevent the recording paper from being disturbed by the margin waste cut by the cutter. In the printer with the cutter according to the seventh aspect, since the guide piece and the paper pressing piece are moved in conjunction with each other via the interlocking means by driving the single driving means, the cost is reduced by the amount of the driving means. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a printer with a cutter according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a paper pressing mechanism and front and rear end margin cutters.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a paper pressing mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part showing a paper pressing mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of a margin cutter on both sides for cutting a recording sheet in a conveying direction.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation order of the paper pressing mechanism and the movable guide plate when cutting the front margin; FIG. 6A is a state in which the recording paper is passed; and FIG. 6B is a state in which the recording paper is pressed. ,
(C) shows a state in which the waste pieces are dropped, and (D) shows a state in the process of returning the paper holding mechanism and the movable guide plate.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation order of the paper pressing mechanism when cutting the trailing edge margin, where FIG. 7A is a state in which the recording paper is passed, FIG. 7B is a state in which the recording paper is pressed, and FIG. Indicates a state in which the scrap pieces are dropped.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Recording paper 5 Paper holding mechanism 6 Front and rear end margin cutter 7 Movable guide plate 8 Margin cutter on both sides 10 Thermal head 13 Conveying roller pair 19 Optical fixing device 25 Fixed blade 26 Disk blade 47 Guide plate 48 Paper holding plate

Claims (8)

[Claims] A transporting means for transporting the recording paper in a direction orthogonal to a width direction of the recording paper; an image forming means for forming an image on the recording paper; A printer with a cutter that cuts in the width direction, a fixing position that is disposed upstream or downstream in the conveying direction of the recording paper with respect to the cutter, and that fixes the recording paper at the cutting position of the cutter; A printer with a cutter provided with a paper presser displaced between a release position for releasing the fixing. 2. The cutter according to claim 1, wherein the cutter includes a fixed blade disposed in a width direction of the recording paper, and a movable blade that moves while sliding on the fixed blade to cut the recording paper. The cutter is in the fixed position before performing the cutting operation, the cutter is in the release position after completing the cutting operation,
The printer with a cutter according to claim 1, wherein the recording paper is pressed against a fixed blade at the fixed position to be fixed. 3. A slitter for cutting the margins on both sides of an image-formed recording sheet in the conveying direction on an upstream side or a downstream side of the cutter and the sheet pressing means in the conveying direction of the recording sheet,
3. The cutter according to claim 1, wherein the cutter performs a front margin cutting operation for cutting a front margin in a conveying direction of the recording paper and a rear margin cutting operation for cutting a rear margin in a conveying direction of the recording paper. Printer with cutter as described. 4. A plurality of guide pieces which are arranged in a comb shape in the width direction of the recording paper and guide the recording paper in a conveying direction, and a retracted position retracted into a gap between the guide pieces. A plurality of paper pressing pieces provided so as to be able to move in and out of the fixed position which has entered the recording paper conveyance path from a gap, and a driving means for moving the paper pressing pieces in and out. Item 4. A printer with a cutter according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. The printer with a cutter according to claim 4, wherein an elastic member is attached to a portion of the paper presser that presses the recording paper. 6. The guide piece is configured to be displaceable between a guide position of the recording paper and a scrap piece processing position for retreating from the guide position to release cutting chips by the cutter. The printer with a cutter according to claim 4, wherein the printer is driven by a driving unit. 7. An interlocking means for interlocking the guide piece and the paper pressing piece is provided, and the driving means for the guide piece and the driving means for the paper pressing piece are shared by a single driving means,
With this single driving means, the paper pressing piece is moved to the release position,
The guide member is displaced in the order of the fixed position, the retracted position displaced by a larger displacement amount than the release position to the release position side from the fixed position, and the guide piece is maintained at the guide position by the interlocking means at the release position and the fixed position. 7. The cutter according to claim 6, wherein the guide piece is set to the scrap processing position when displacing from the fixed position to the retreat position, and the guide piece is returned to the guide position when displacing from the retreat position to the release position. Printer. 8. A recording unit which uses a recording paper having a plurality of thermosensitive coloring layers provided on a support, wherein the image forming means performs thermal recording with a thermal head in order from the thermosensitive coloring layer on the recording paper. The printer with a cutter according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a fixing unit that irradiates a fixing light to the heat-sensitive coloring layer on which the heat has been recorded before the heat-sensitive coloring layer below the heat-sensitive coloring layer. .