JP2011093255A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal printer which prevents waste of recording medium by eliminating the region of a recording medium where printing is disabled while attaining perfecting printing on the recording medium with minimum configuration including a single thermal head and a conveyance roller. <P>SOLUTION: The thermal printer includes a holding part 1 where a wound recording medium Pa is held, a thermal head 2 which performs printing on the recording medium Pa, a conveyance roller 3 which conveys the recording medium Pa while holding the recording medium Pa by means of a pair of rollers, i.e. a feed roller 31 and a pinch roller 32, a pass line Li1 which guides the recording medium Pa held at the holding part 1 to the thermal head 2 via the conveyance roller 3, and a reversal means 4 for reversing the front and rear of the recording medium Pa facing the thermal head 2 through the pass line Li1 by rotating the holding part 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal printer that prints on a recording medium by heat generation of a thermal head, and more particularly to a thermal printer that optimizes double-sided printing with a single thermal head.

  The thermal printer has a conveyance roller unit that conveys the recording medium by rotating the roller while sandwiching a rolled recording medium such as roll paper between a pair of rollers, and the recording medium is transferred to the thermal head through the conveyance roller unit. The dye or pigment is transferred (supplied) to the recording medium such as roll paper through heating of the thermal head, or the recording medium such as thermal paper whose color changes when heat is detected is heated by the thermal head. Thus, the printing apparatus prints on a recording medium.

  For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 and FIG. 7A, the thermal printer includes a holding unit 1001 that holds a recording medium Pa on which roll paper or the like is wound, and the recording medium Pa is fed by a feed roller 1031 and a pinch roller 1032. A thermal roller unit 1003 that conveys the recording medium Pa by rotating the feed roller 1031 while nipping the recording medium Pa, and the recording medium Pa conveyed by the conveyance roller unit 1003 and the ink ribbon Pb fed out by the ink ribbon roller 1022 In general, it is configured to include a thermal head portion 1002 that is held together by the platen roller 1021 and the platen roller 1023.

JP 2006-347050 A

  By the way, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, in order to realize double-sided printing with a minimum configuration including a single thermal head unit and a conveyance roller unit as described above, a holding unit is used. A plurality of pass lines Li1 and Li2 are provided for guiding the recording medium Pa held at 1001 to the single thermal head unit 1002, and the recording medium Pa is applied to the thermal head unit 1002 from two opposite directions. It is conceivable as an effective means to guide the user. However, as shown in FIG. 7B, in one of the plurality of pass lines Li1 and Li2, the transport roller unit 1003 is disposed downstream of the thermal head unit 1002, and the transport roller unit 1002 Since printing cannot be performed unless the recording medium Pa is conveyed, printing cannot be performed on the recording medium Pa (NG) from the thermal head unit 1002 to the conveying roller 1003 part downstream of the thermal head unit 1002, and the recording medium at such part cannot be used and is wasted. End up.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and the object thereof is to realize double-sided printing on a recording medium with a minimum configuration including a single thermal head unit and a conveyance roller unit. On the other hand, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal printer that eliminates an area where printing on a recording medium is impossible and prevents waste of the recording medium.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention takes the following measures.

  That is, the thermal printer of the present invention conveys the recording medium while holding the recording medium between a holding unit that holds the wound recording medium, a thermal head unit that performs printing on the recording medium, and a pair of rollers. A conveying roller unit that rotates, a pass line that guides the recording medium held by the holding unit to the thermal head unit via the conveying roller unit, and rotating one of the thermal head unit or the holding unit. And reversing means for reversing the front and back of the recording medium facing the thermal head portion through the pass line.

  If comprised in this way, the front and back of the recording medium which faces a thermal head part from a holding part via a conveyance roller part by rotating one of a thermal head part or a holding part can be reversed. In addition, since the transport roller unit is always arranged upstream of the thermal head unit, the double-sided printing can be realized with a single thermal head unit, and the area where printing on the recording medium cannot be performed is eliminated, and the recording medium is wasted. Can be prevented. In addition, since there is a single pass line for guiding the recording medium, it is possible to contribute to simplification of design and improvement of flexibility. In addition, in view of the fact that the direction of the recording medium cannot be changed abruptly, a configuration in which a separate pass line is provided and the recording medium is guided in a direction reverse to the thermal head unit has a configuration in which the conveyance path and printer However, if the recording medium is reversed and sent to the same pass line through the reversing means as in the present invention, the printer can be used if the space required for rotation can be suppressed as much as possible. It becomes possible to pursue further downsizing of the whole.

  In order to electromagnetically control the front and back inversion of the recording medium with a simple configuration, the reversing means includes a turntable unit that rotatably supports the holding unit, and the holding unit via the turntable unit. An electric unit that rotates, and a detection unit that detects the attitude of the holding unit, and configured to control the rotation of the holding unit via the electric unit based on the detection result of the detection unit It is preferable that

  In order to perform appropriate control for realizing double-sided printing on a recording medium by cooperating a plurality of mechanisms, control for carrying the recording medium, printing control for the thermal head unit, and rotation control for the holding unit is performed. The controller performs printing on one surface of the recording medium while transporting the recording medium held by the holding unit to the thermal head unit, and the recording medium is transferred to the recording medium after printing is completed. Withdrawing from the thermal head part to the holding part side, after the withdrawal, one of the holding part or the thermal head part is rotated to reverse the front and back of the recording medium with respect to the thermal head part, and the recording medium is moved to the thermal head part In other words, it is configured to perform printing on the other surface of the recording medium while transporting the recording medium.

  In order to set the feeding position of the recording medium Pa to a predetermined position, the holding unit includes an auxiliary feed roller that sandwiches the recording medium and determines the feeding position of the recording medium, and the reversing unit includes the auxiliary feeding position. It is preferable that the holding unit or the thermal head unit be rotated while the recording medium is held by a roller.

  In order to maintain the conveyance accuracy of the recording medium, the reversing unit is configured to rotate the conveyance roller unit and the holding unit together with the recording medium held by the conveyance roller unit. It is effective.

  Since the present invention has the configuration described above, the front and back of the recording medium facing the thermal head unit can be reversed by the reversing unit, and the transport roller unit is always arranged upstream of the thermal head unit using a single pass line. As a result, it is possible to perform double-sided printing on a recording medium with a minimum configuration including a single thermal head unit and a conveyance roller unit, while eliminating the area where printing on the recording medium is impossible. It becomes possible to prevent the waste of the medium.

1 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The perspective view which shows typically the inversion means to rotate the holding | maintenance part holding a recording medium. Schematic explanatory drawing regarding the operation of performing duplex printing. Schematic explanatory drawing regarding the operation of performing duplex printing. The block diagram which shows typically the thermal printer which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows typically the thermal printer which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. The block diagram which shows typically the correspondence plan which implement | achieves double-sided printing with a minimum structure.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal printer according to the present embodiment includes at least one of the rollers while holding the recording medium Pa between a holding unit 1 that holds the recording medium Pa such as a rolled paper roll and a pair of rollers. Recording is performed between the holding roller 1 and the thermal head unit 2 via the conveying roller unit 3, the conveying roller unit 3 that conveys the recording medium Pa by rotating, the thermal head unit 2 that performs printing on the recording medium Pa, and the like. It has a pass line Li1 that guides the medium Pa, and a control unit 5 that performs conveyance control of the recording medium Pa and printing control of the thermal head unit 2, and the recording medium Pa held in the holding unit 1 is transferred by the conveyance roller unit 3. Printing on the recording medium Pa is performed by the thermal head unit 2 while being conveyed to the thermal head unit 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the holding unit 1 includes a shaft support unit 11 that supports the recording medium Pa wound in a roll shape so as to be rotatable about the rotation axis C <b> 1, and a tension that sandwiches the recording medium Pa. And an auxiliary feed roller 12 for determining the feeding position of the recording medium Pa, and a roll-shaped recording medium Pa is rotated forward and backward about the rotation axis C1 by a power unit such as a motor (not shown). The recording medium Pa can be fed and unwound.

  The pass line Li <b> 1 is configured by a guide, a sandwiching roller, and a conveyor belt as in the known conveyance path, and guides the recording medium Pa held by the holding unit 1 to the thermal head unit 2 via the conveyance roller unit 3.

  The conveyance roller unit 3 is arranged downstream of the holding unit 1 along the pass line Li1 and feed roller 31 while sandwiching the roll-shaped recording medium Pa held by the holding unit 1 between the feed roller 31 and the pinch roller 32. Is rotated through a power unit such as a motor (not shown) to convey the recording medium Pa.

  The thermal head unit 2 is disposed along the pass line Li1, and an ink ribbon roller 22 that feeds out an ink ribbon Pb coated with an ink such as a pigment or dye, and a heating resistor disposed downstream of the transport roller unit 3. A thermal head 21 and a platen roller 23 disposed opposite to the thermal head 21 and sandwiching the ink ribbon Pb and the recording medium Pa together with the thermal head 21, and the ink on the ink ribbon Pb is applied to the recording medium Pa by heating the thermal head 21. And print it.

  The control unit 5 is configured by a normal microcomputer unit having a CPU, a memory, and an interface like a known thermal printer, and necessary programs such as a conveyance control routine and a print control routine are written in the memory. The CPU calls and executes necessary programs as appropriate, thereby realizing the intended transport operation and printing operation in cooperation with peripheral hardware resources.

  In the present embodiment, the following configuration is further added to the above configuration.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, recording that faces the thermal head unit 2 through the pass line Li1 by rotating the holding unit 1 around the rotation axis Cn while holding the roll-shaped recording medium Pa. A reversing unit 4 for reversing the front and back of the medium Pa is provided, and the control unit 5 controls the rotation of the holding unit 1 by the reversing unit 4.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the holding unit 1 is provided with pivot support portions on both sides in the width direction of the recording medium Pa so that the recording medium Pa wound in a roll shape can be rotated around the rotation axis C <b> 1. 11 is supported. The reversing means 4 has a plate-like turntable portion 41 supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis Cn with respect to a housing (not shown), and the shaft support portion 11 of the holding portion 1 is attached to the turntable portion 41. The holding part 1 is fixed and can be rotated.

  Further, the reversing unit 4 includes an electric unit 42 that is a motor that rotates the turntable unit 41 based on a drive command from the control unit 5, a detection unit 43 that detects the attitude of the holding unit 1, and an attitude determination of the holding unit 1. And an attitude determining unit 44 for performing the above.

  The detection unit 43 that detects the posture of the holding unit 1 includes two light shielding units (not shown) provided in the turntable unit 41 and two light shielding units that are arranged in a symmetric positional relationship with respect to the rotation axis Cn. The light-blocking sensor moves to a position where the light-blocking sensor blocks each light-blocking sensor as the turntable unit 41 rotates, and the rotation of the holding unit 1 depends on which light-blocking sensor detects the light-blocking sensor. Whether the position is in the first posture or the second posture is detected. In the present embodiment, the detection unit that detects the posture of the holding unit 1 is configured using a plurality of light shielding sensors. However, if the posture of the holding unit 1 can be detected, the rotation angle of an encoder, a resolver, or the like A detection sensor may be used.

  The posture determining unit 44 that determines the posture of the holding unit 1 is provided on the housing side (not shown) and is opposed to the advance / retreat unit 44b that advances / retreats toward the turntable unit 41 based on a command signal from the control unit 5 and the advance / retreat unit 44b. The turntable portion 41 has a plurality of receiving portions 44a that engage with the advance / retreat portion 44b. The receiving portion 44a is formed with a prohibiting surface 44c for prohibiting the rotation of the holding portion 1 and the turntable portion 41 by engaging with the advancing / retracting portion 44b, and a guide surface 44d for calling the advancing / retreating portion 44b to the prohibiting surface 44c. Therefore, even if the rotation stop position of the holding unit 1 by the electric unit 42 is slightly shifted, the advance / retreat unit 44b is guided to the prohibiting surface 44c by the guide surface 44d to accurately determine the holding unit 1 posture. A part of the plurality of receiving portions 44a is disposed at a position corresponding to the first posture, and the other portion of the plurality of receiving portions 44a is disposed at a position corresponding to the second posture.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a guide mechanism is provided between the holding unit 1 and the conveyance roller unit 3 to receive the recording medium Pa sandwiched between the auxiliary feed rollers 12 and to freely guide the conveyance roller unit 3. 7 is provided. The guide mechanism 7 includes a first guide portion 71 that receives the recording medium Pa from the auxiliary feed roller 12 and guides it to the transport roller portion 3 when the posture of the holding portion 1 is the first posture, and the posture of the holding portion 1. Has a second guide portion 72 that receives the recording medium Pa from the auxiliary feed roller 12 when the toner is in the second posture and guides the recording medium Pa to the conveyance roller portion 3. The holding portion side end portions of the first guide portion 71 and the second guide portion 72 are formed so that the interval between the guide surfaces is widened in a trumpet shape and smoothly receives the recording medium Pa with curled wrinkles. Yes. Of course, if the position where the recording medium Pa and the two guide portions 71 and 72 are in contact with each other is clear, it is not necessary to incline both of the opposing guide surfaces and form a trumpet, and one of the opposing guide surfaces. Only the guide surface may be inclined to be a receiving surface.

  Next, an operation for performing double-sided printing on the recording medium Pa in the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, the control unit 5 issues a drive command to the power unit and the thermal head unit 2 that are the motors of the holding unit 1 and the transport roller unit 3 to hold the holding unit 1 in the first posture. The recording medium Pa held on the recording medium Pa is conveyed to the thermal head unit 2 and printing is performed on the surface f which is one surface of the recording medium Pa.

  When the printing on the surface f of the recording medium Pa is completed, as shown in FIG. 3B, the control unit 5 issues a drive command to rewind the power unit that is a motor of the holding unit 1, and the recording medium Pa is thermally transferred. The head unit 2 and the conveyance roller unit 3 are retracted to the holding unit side.

  When the retracting of the recording medium Pa is completed, the control unit 5 retracts the advance / retreat unit 44b shown in FIG. 2 from the receiving unit 44a, rotates the turntable unit 41 by the electric unit 42, and causes the holding unit 1 to move by the detection unit 43. When the turntable 41 is detected to be in the second position, the turntable 41 is stopped from rotating, and the advancement / retraction part 44b is engaged with the receiving part 44a to determine the attitude of the holding part 1, and FIG. As shown, the front and back of the recording medium Pa with respect to the thermal head unit 2 are reversed.

  When the front and back sides of the recording medium Pa are reversed, the control unit 5 gives a drive command to the power unit and the thermal head unit 2 as motors of the holding unit 1 and the conveyance roller unit 3 as shown in FIG. The recording medium Pa held by the holding unit 1 in the posture 2 is printed on the back surface b which is the other side of the recording medium Pa while being conveyed to the thermal head unit 2 to complete double-sided printing.

  As described above, the thermal printer according to the present embodiment includes the holding unit 1 that holds the wound recording medium Pa, the thermal head unit 2 that performs printing on the recording medium Pa, the feed roller 31 that is a pair of rollers, A conveyance roller unit 3 that conveys the recording medium Pa while sandwiching the recording medium Pa by the pinch roller 32, and a path that guides the recording medium Pa held by the holding unit 1 to the thermal head unit 2 via the conveyance roller unit 3. Line Li1 and reversing means 4 for reversing the front and back of the recording medium Pa facing the thermal head unit 2 through the pass line Li1 by rotating the holding unit 1 are provided.

  In this way, by rotating the holding unit 1, the front and back of the recording medium Pa facing the thermal head unit 2 from the holding unit 1 via the transport roller unit 3 can be reversed. In addition, since the transport roller unit 3 is always disposed upstream of the thermal head unit 2, the single thermal head unit 2 realizes double-sided printing and eliminates an area where printing on the recording medium Pa is impossible. It is possible to prevent the medium Pa from being wasted. Further, since the single pass line Li1 for guiding the recording medium Pa is provided, it is possible to contribute to simplification of the design and improvement of the degree of freedom. In addition, in view of the fact that the direction of the recording medium Pa cannot be changed abruptly, a configuration in which a separate pass line is provided to guide the recording medium Pa in a direction reverse to the thermal head unit 2 is transported. The path may eventually lead to an increase in the size of the printer. However, when the recording medium Pa is reversed and sent to the same pass line Li1 through the reversing means 4 as in this embodiment, the space necessary for rotation is increased. If it can be suppressed as much as possible, it is possible to pursue further downsizing of the entire printer.

  In the present embodiment, the reversing means 4 includes a turntable portion 41 that rotatably supports the holding portion 1, an electric portion 42 such as a motor that rotates the holding portion 1 via the turntable portion 41, and And a detection unit 43 configured by a plurality of shielding sensors for detecting the attitude of the holding unit 1, and the rotation of the holding unit 1 is controlled via the electric unit 42 such as a motor based on the detection result of the detection unit 43. Therefore, the reversal of the recording medium Pa can be electromagnetically controlled with a simple configuration.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the controller 5 includes a control unit 5 that performs conveyance control of the recording medium Pa, print control of the thermal head unit 2, and rotation control of the holding unit 1, and the control unit 5 performs recording held in the holding unit 1. Printing is performed on the surface f which is one surface of the recording medium Pa while conveying the medium Pa to the thermal head unit 2, and after the printing is completed, the recording medium Pa is retracted from the thermal head unit 2 to the holding unit side. The holding unit 1 is rotated so that the front and back of the recording medium Pa are reversed with respect to the thermal head unit 2, and the recording medium Pa is conveyed to the thermal head unit 2 and printed on the rear surface b which is the other side of the recording medium Pa. Therefore, it is possible to realize appropriate control for realizing double-sided printing on a recording medium by cooperating a plurality of mechanisms.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the holding unit 1 has an auxiliary feed roller 12 that sandwiches the recording medium Pa and determines the feeding position of the recording medium Pa. The reversing unit 4 uses the auxiliary feed roller 12 to feed the recording medium Pa. Since the holding unit 1 is configured to rotate while being held, the feeding position of the recording medium Pa can be set to a predetermined position.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described based on drawing, it should be thought that a specific structure is not limited to these embodiment. The scope of the present invention is shown not only by the above description of the embodiments but also by the scope of claims for patent, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of claims for patent.

  For example, in the present embodiment, the reversing unit 4 rotates the holding unit 1. However, as shown in FIG. 5, the reversing unit 4 rotates the thermal head unit 2 to rotate the thermal head 21 and the platen roller 23. You may comprise so that the front and back of the recording medium Pa which faces the thermal head part 2 through the pass line Li1 may be reversed by changing a positional relationship. In addition, the transport roller unit 3 may be rotated together with the thermal head unit 2, or the thermal head unit 2 may be rotated while the recording medium Pa is gripped by the auxiliary feed roller 12.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the reversing unit 4 rotates the holding unit 1, but as shown in FIG. 6, the reversing unit 4 is held in a state where the recording medium Pa is sandwiched by the transporting roller unit 3. 3 and the holding part 1 may be configured to rotate together. With this configuration, it is not necessary to remove the recording medium Pa from the transport roller unit 3, so that the positioning of the recording medium Pa can be omitted, and the transport accuracy of the recording medium Pa can be maintained.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the holding unit 1 is rotated around the rotation axis Cn. However, the holding unit 1 may be rotated around the y-axis, the x-axis, and the z-axis that define an orthogonal coordinate system of space.

  Finally, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Holding part 2 ... Thermal head part 31, 32 ... A pair of roller (feed roller and pinch roller)
3 ... Conveying roller part 4 ... Reversing means 41 ... Turntable part 42 ... Electric part (motor etc.)
43... Detection unit (a plurality of light shielding sensors)
5. Control unit Pa ... Recording medium Li1 ... Pass line

Claims (5)

A holding unit for holding the wound recording medium;
A thermal head for printing on the recording medium;
A transport roller unit that transports the recording medium while sandwiching the recording medium with a pair of rollers;
A pass line for guiding the recording medium held by the holding unit to the thermal head unit via the transport roller unit;
A thermal printer comprising: reversing means for reversing the front and back of a recording medium facing the thermal head section through the pass line by rotating one of the thermal head section or the holding section.   The reversing means includes a turntable unit that rotatably supports the holding unit, an electric unit that rotates the holding unit via the turntable unit, and a detection unit that detects an attitude of the holding unit. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the thermal printer is configured to control rotation of the holding unit via the electric unit based on a detection result of the detection unit.   A control unit that controls conveyance of the recording medium, print control of the thermal head unit, and rotation control of the holding unit, and the control unit conveys the recording medium held by the holding unit to the thermal head unit; However, printing is performed on one surface of the recording medium, and after the printing is completed, the recording medium is retracted from the thermal head unit to the holding unit side, and after the retraction, either the holding unit or the thermal head unit is rotated. The printing apparatus is configured to perform printing on the other surface of the recording medium while inverting the front and back of the recording medium with respect to the thermal head section and transporting the recording medium to the thermal head section. Or the thermal printer of 2. The holding unit includes an auxiliary feed roller that sandwiches the recording medium and determines a feeding position of the recording medium,
The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the reversing unit is configured to rotate the holding unit or the thermal head unit while the recording medium is gripped by the auxiliary feed roller. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the reversing unit is configured to rotate both the transport roller unit and the holding unit in a state where the recording medium is sandwiched by the transport roller unit.

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