JP2544504B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [Table of Contents] Outline Industrial field of application Conventional technology Problems to be solved by the invention Means for solving the problem Action Example Effect of the invention [Overview] Corresponding to the thickness of the print medium For a printer that can easily set a predetermined print gap by using a simple mechanism, it is possible to smoothly move the medium and the print head during printing in response to media of different thickness, A printer for printing with a print head, which includes a platen and a print head that faces the platen with a gap therebetween, and has a different thickness set in the gap, for the purpose of providing a printer capable of increasing the speed. And a first moving means for moving the platen forward and backward with respect to the print head, and a shield type optical sensor attached to at least one position below the platen. And a at least one gap detection member having a tip portion that moves forward and backward by the second moving means in the same direction as the platen and goes up and down from the surface of the platen, and a shield plate that shields the optical sensor when retracted, The second moving means advances the gap detecting member to push the lower surface of the print medium whose tip portion is located on the platen to press the print head, and the first moving means advances the platen to move at least one shield plate. When the light shields the optical sensor, the gap between the print medium and the platen becomes a predetermined value.

[Industrial applications]

The present invention relates to a printer that prints on media having different thicknesses such as passbooks, and more particularly to a printer that can easily set a predetermined print gap corresponding to the thickness of a print medium.

In recent years, automatic teller machines (ATMs) used by financial institutions and automatic teller machines and teller-operated window bookkeeping machines incorporate passbook printers that record transaction details in passbooks. There is.

In the printer, the distance between the tip of the print head and the medium surface, that is, the print gap needs to be set optimally in terms of print quality. It may be set in advance according to the thickness of the print paper to be used. Since the thickness differs depending on the number of pages already printed in the passbook inserted in the device, and the thickness of the left and right pages differs due to the step of the binding section, it is necessary to have the automatic gap adjustment function to obtain an appropriate printing gap. There is a need for an automatic gap adjustment mechanism that is simple and easy to control.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 6 is a side view showing an example of a passbook printer. A read / write (hereinafter referred to as R / W) that reads recorded data from a magnetic head of a magnetic stripe of a conveyance path 3 and a passbook 1a continuing from an insertion slot 2 into which a passbook 1a is inserted. A unit 4, a printer unit 5, feed rollers R _{1 to} R ₃ for transferring the passbook 1a, a sensor S1, and a reading sensor S2 are provided.

The feed rollers R _{1 to} R ₃ are connected to a pulse motor (not shown).

With such a configuration, when the teller inserts the passbook 1a in the direction of the arrow A from the insertion opening 2, the feed rollers R1 to R3 are driven by the detection of the sensor S1 and the passbook 1a is sent to the R / W unit 4. After the record data such as the account number and the balance is read from the magnetic stripe MS, the printable line is set in the printer unit 5 by further detecting the page mark and the already-printed line of the reading sensor S2.

Next, when the teller inputs transaction data from a keyboard (not shown), the transaction data is sent to a host computer (not shown) together with the record data such as the account number and the balance for processing. Transaction data including deposit balance etc. is printed in 1a.

When printing is completed, the passbook 1a is sent in the direction of arrow B, and R /
Stop at W section 4, the balance data of the transaction result is written in the magnetic stripe, and when the writing is completed, the passbook 1a is inserted into the insertion slot 2
Emitted from.

In this way, the passbook 1a is entered by the passbook printer.

In this case, the passbook 1a has a different thickness depending on the number of pages already printed, and since there is a step at the binding portion, as shown below in order to secure the printing gap even if the thickness of the page changes. Various methods are used.

 First, the conventional example (1) is shown in the front view of FIG.

As shown in the figure, in the printer unit 5, 6a is a platen, 7a is a print head, 8 is a head mask, 9a and 9b are cams, and 10a.
Indicates a pressure sensor. Platen 6a is spring 61a, 61b
Is urged downward by.

The head mask 8 has a print window 80, is fixed to the print head 7a, and faces the platen 6a via an ink ribbon (not shown) on the front surface of the print head 7a.

The shaft 90 on which the cams 9a and 9b are mounted in the same phase is connected to the pulse motor M1, and the pulse motor M1 and pressure sensor
10a is connected to the control unit 11.

With such a configuration, the passbook 1a is the printer unit 5
When it is conveyed to the platen 6a that has been previously retracted downward and stopped above, the pulse motor M1 is controlled by the control unit 11.
Is driven to rotate the cams 9a, 9b, and pushes the platen 6a upward through the cam followers 60a, 60b provided on the platen 6a, so that the passbook 1a is transferred to the pressure sensor 10a provided on the front surface of the head mask 8. Press down. When the pressure sensor 10a reaches a predetermined pressure, a detection signal is sent to the control unit 11 and the pulse motor
The M1 rotates in the reverse direction by a predetermined number of steps, the cams 9a, 9b rotate in the reverse direction, the platen 6a retracts downward, the passbook 1a retracts accordingly, and the predetermined distance between the print head 7a and The gap is set. That is, since the distance from the tip of the print head 7a to the front surface of the head mask 8 is constant, it is retracted by an amount obtained by subtracting the distance from the proper gap,
Corresponds to pages of different thickness in the passbook 1a and changes in thickness due to steps.

A conventional example (2) is shown in the side view of FIG. As shown in the figure, in the printer unit 5a, 6b is a platen, 62 is a holding member to which the platen 6b is fixed at the upper end, 63 and 64 are levers, 6
5 is a spring and 66 is a stopper.

The platen 6b is biased upward by the levers 63, 64 and the spring 65, and is locked by the stopper 66. In this state, the platen 6b faces the front surface of the head mask 8a with a slight gap (for example, 0.2 mm). The distance between the tip of the print head 7a and the front surface of the head mask 8a is set to an appropriate print gap.

With such a configuration, the passbook 1a becomes the printer unit 5a.
When it is conveyed to, the moving force of the passbook 1a enters between the head mask 8a and the platen 6b, and the platen 6b is vertically retracted downward against the elasticity of the spring 65, and the passbook 1a and the head mask 8a. It is set between the platens 6b. In this way, the platen 6b is retracted to accommodate the change in the thickness of the passbook 1a.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

According to the above-mentioned conventional method, in the method of the conventional example (1), the pressure sensor is provided on the front surface of the head mask and slightly protrudes from the front surface of the head mask. If you move it, the end of the passbook will be hooked, which will cause printing defects.

In the method of the conventional example (2), when the passbook is jammed due to the friction between the passbook and the head mask, or when the pulse motor is used to drive the spacing of the print head, the movement amount is disturbed by the friction load, that is, the so-called removal. Cause a tone. This is more likely to occur as the printed page of the passbook becomes thicker because the spring elasticity increases and the friction between the passbook and the head mask increases.

There is a problem.

The present invention provides a printer capable of smoothly moving a medium during printing and moving a print head in correspondence with media having different thicknesses with a simple mechanism and increasing a print processing speed. Has an aim.

[Means for solving the problem]

 FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a print medium, 6 is a platen, 7 is a print head, 13 is a second moving means, 9 is a first moving means for moving the platen 6 forward and backward with respect to the print head 7, and 12 is a lower side of the platen 6. A shield type optical sensor attached to at least one position of the second transfer means 13 has a tip portion 15 and a shield plate 16, and a second moving means 13
At least one gap detection member that moves forward and backward in the same direction as the platen 6, 15 is provided in the gap detection member 14, and the tip end portion that moves up and down from the surface of the platen 6 when the gap detection member 14 moves forward and backward, 16 is the gap detection member. A shield plate that is provided at 14 and shields and unshields the optical sensor 12 by advancing and retracting the gap detection member 14.

Therefore, the gap detecting member 14 is moved forward by the second moving means 13 and the tip portion 15 pushes the lower surface of the print medium 1 located on the platen 6 and pushes it against the print head 7, and the first moving means 9
When the platen 6 is moved forward by at least one shield plate 16 to shield the optical sensor 12, the gap between the print medium 1 and the platen 6 becomes a predetermined value.

[Action]

First, the gap detecting member 14 is moved forward by the second moving means 13 to bring the tip portion 15 into contact with the print head 7, and the platen 6 is moved forward by the first moving means 9 to move the gap between the platen 6 and the print head 7. Is adjusted to a predetermined value, the shield plate 16 is adjusted so as to shield the optical sensor 12, and the platen 6 and the gap detection member 14 are normally retracted.

When the print medium 1 is set on the platen 6, the second
The gap detecting member 14 is moved forward by the moving means 13 of
When the lower surface 15 of the print medium 1 on the platen 6 pushes against the print head 7, the platen 6 is moved forward by the first moving means 9, and at least one shielding plate 16 shields the optical sensor 12, printing is performed. The gap between the medium 1 and the platen 6 becomes a predetermined value. Then, by retracting the gap detection member 14, the print medium 1 moves down onto the platen 6, and the gap between the print medium 1 and the print head 7 reaches a predetermined value. Since the gap of a predetermined value can be set regardless of the thickness of the print medium 1,
It is possible to smoothly move the print medium 1 and the print head 7 during printing with a simple mechanism, and it is possible to increase the print processing speed.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The same reference numerals denote the same objects throughout the drawings.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the printer section of the passbook printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the same names as those in FIG. 1 correspond to each other, and the cams 9c and 9d and the pulse motor M1 in FIG. 2 correspond to the first moving means 9 in FIG. Illustrated plunger magnet 13a and spring 130
Corresponds to the second moving means 13 in FIG.

As shown in the front view and the enlarged side view of FIGS. 2A and 2B, in the printer unit 5b, 6c is a platen, 9c, 9d.
Is a cam, 91 is a phase detecting plate, 12a is an optical sensor, 14a is a gap detecting member, 15a is a tip part, 16a is a shielding plate, and 17 is a notch.

As shown in FIG. 2 (c), a movement range in which the gap detection member 14a moves forward and backward in a portion adjacent to a printing area (indicated by hatching in the figure) by the print head 7a in a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of the platen 6c. A cutout portion 17 is provided over the floor.

Referring again to FIGS. 2A and 2B, the notch 17
A shield type optical sensor 12a is attached to the lower side of the platen 6c in the vicinity of. The light sensor 12a has a thin slit (for example, about 0.5 mm) to detect the shielding.

Further, cam followers 60c and 60d are provided at both ends of the platen 6c, and the cams 9c and 9d are in contact with the cam followers 60c and 60d. The platen 6c is held by levers 63a and 64a and is urged upward by springs 65a and 65b.
Is rotated to move up and down through the cam followers 60c and 60d. The shafts 90a of the cams 9c and 9d are connected to the pulse motor M1. Therefore, the platen 6c moves up and down by the rotation of the cams 9c and 9d driven by the pulse motor M1, and the position of the upper surface is determined in a predetermined phase.

The gap detection member 14a includes a tip portion 15a and a shield plate 16a, is rotatably supported by a support shaft 18, and has a lower end which is a plunger magnet (hereinafter referred to as PM) 13a and a spring 130.
The PM 13a is rotated by excitation and de-excitation of the PM 13a to move the tip portion 15a forward and backward from the notch portion 17 to the upper surface of the platen 6c. Here, the shield plate 16a is a screw hole (not shown) provided in the gap detecting member 14a, and the long hole 1 provided in the shield plate 16a.
The distance to the tip portion 15a can be finely adjusted by the 60 and the screw 19. The pulse motors M1, PM13a and the optical sensor 12a are connected to the control unit 11a.

Here, a method of detecting the home position and the upper end of the cams 9c and 9d will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b).

A phase detection plate 91 connected to the cam shaft 90a with the cams 9c and 9d set in phase is provided. In addition, shield type optical sensors S3 and S4 shielded by the phase detection plate 91 correspond thereto.
The optical sensors S3 and S4 are connected to the control unit 11a.

First, the cams 9c and 9d are set to their home positions in the initial stage, but it is unclear what phase the cams 9c and 9d are in before the initial stage. Cam followers 60c and 60d are cam 9
The initial state can be known by checking the combination of the states of the optical sensors S3 and S4 in order to avoid overcoming or falling over the steps of c and 9d.

For example, when the sensor S3 is shielded and the sensor S4 is in the transmission state, the pulse motor M1 is moved to the arrow C in FIG. 3 (a).
In the other states, the motor M1 is rotated in the direction of arrow D. At this time, the switching between the sensor S3 being shielded and the sensor S4 being transparent and the sensors S3 and S4 being both shielded causes a deviation due to variations in component accuracy, assembly errors, etc. However, if the stepped portions of the cams 9c and 9d and the cam followers 60c and 60d come into contact with each other, the movement cannot proceed further in the direction of the arrow D. Therefore, by setting the above-mentioned switching point in this dead zone. , The cam followers 60c and 60d are completely prevented from being damaged by the steps of the cams 9c and 9d.

When the initial operation is completed, the home position and the upper end can be set by switching the sensor S3.

Since it has such a configuration and function, the operation will be described below.

By setting a print gap g suitable for printing in advance during manufacturing or maintenance of the printer, the print gap g is automatically set when the passbook 1a or the like is set on the platen 6c during use of the printer.

(B) When the gap is adjusted during manufacturing or maintenance, the predetermined gap g is set according to the following procedure. (See FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b)) The platen 6c and the gap detection member 14a are retracted downward and are located at the home position.

As shown in FIG. 4 (a), first, the gap detection member 14a is rotated about the fulcrum 18 by exciting the PM 13a to bring the tip portion 15a into contact with the head mask 8a, and then the head mask 8a.
A gap gauge having a thickness corresponding to a desired printing gap g is applied to a position avoiding the tip portion 15a of a, and the platen 6c is raised by the cams 9c and 9d by the rotation of the pulse motor M1.
It stops at the position where it contacts the gap gauge, and at this position the shield plate
The position is adjusted so that 16a shields the optical sensor 12a.

When the position of the shielding plate 16a is adjusted, the platen 6c and the gap detecting member 14a are retracted to the home position by the reverse rotation of the pulse motor M1 and the deenergization of the PM 13a.
At this time, at the home position, the shielding plate 16a is stopped so as to shield the optical sensor 12a.

Then, the thickness gauge is removed, and the gap setting is completed as shown in FIG. 4 (b).

(B) When printing on a passbook or the like, the print gap g is set in the following procedure. (See FIGS. 4 (c) and (d), and FIG. 5) When the passbook 1a is set at the printing position, the PM 13a is excited to rotate the gap detection member 14a to raise the tip 15a. , The lower side of the passbook 1a and the head mask 8a.

Then, the shielding of the optical sensor 12a by the shielding plate 16a is opened.

The open signal causes the pulse motor M1 to rotate and the platen 6c to rise, and as shown in FIG. 4 (c), the shield plate 16a.
Stops the rotation of the pulse motor M1 again at the position where the optical sensor 12a is shielded and stops the platen 6c. Then passbook 1a
A gap g equal to the set value is generated between the lower surface of the platen and the platen 6c.

Therefore, when the gap detecting member 14a is retracted by releasing the excitation of the PM 13a, the passbook 1a is moved to the platen 6c as shown in FIG. 4 (d).
A print gap g is set between the head mask 8a and the passbook 1a.

The above operation is similarly performed for the thickness change at the step of the passbook 1a.

Although not shown, a platen is used as another embodiment.
The cutouts 17 are provided at positions corresponding to, for example, both ends of the passbook 1a of the 6c, and the print gap g is simultaneously provided at each position.
May be set. This method is used for passbook 1a
Is used by opening in the vertical direction so that the left and right have different thicknesses, the printing gap g is set by stopping the platen 6c at a position where the optical sensor 12a is shielded first. That is, a predetermined print gap g is secured on the thicker page of the passbook 1a.

In this way, it is possible to automatically adjust the print gap for pages of the passbook 1a having different thicknesses.

Therefore, as in the case of the method of the conventional example (1), the passbook is skewed due to the protrusion of the pressure sensor of the head mask at the time of line feed of the print, or the end of the passbook is caught during the space operation of the print head to cause printing failure. In addition, unlike the method of the conventional example (2), there is no disturbance in the feed of the pulse motor due to the friction between the head mask and the passbook, and printing can be performed smoothly, which is suitable for high-speed printing processing. Can respond.

In addition to the passbook, the passbook printer may print on a form such as a slip, and even in such a case, a predetermined print gap g can be set corresponding to the thickness of the form.

In the above example, the platen 6c is moved forward and backward by the rotation of the cams 9c and 9d, and the gap detection member 14a is moved forward and backward by exciting and de-energizing the PM 13a.However, other methods may be used. Is.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily and automatically set the gap between the print head and the platen corresponding to the printing of print media having different thicknesses with a simple mechanism and control,
It is possible to prevent the skew of the print medium from being caught in the head mask of the print head when transferring the line feed of the print medium described in the conventional example (1), and the catch of the print head to the end portion of the print medium when the space of the print head is moved. In addition, it is possible to prevent the disturbance of the feed due to the friction between the print medium and the head mask of the print head described in the conventional example (2), and the printing can be performed smoothly. The effect is that you can do it.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a block diagram showing the principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the embodiment, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the embodiment, and FIG. Is a time chart of the embodiment, FIG. 6 is a side view showing a passbook printer to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 7 is a front view showing a conventional example (1), and FIG. 8 is a side view showing a conventional example (2). It is a figure. In the figure, 1 is a print medium, 1a is a passbook, 6,6a to 6c are platens, 7,7a is a print head, 9 is a first moving means, 9a to 9d are cams, 12,12a, S3 and S4 are optical. A sensor, 13 is a second moving means, 13a is PM, 14,14a is a gap detecting member, 15 and 15a are tips, and 16 and 16a are shielding plates.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A print head (7) comprising a platen (6) and a print head (7) facing the platen (6) with a gap, and the print head is attached to a print medium (1) having a different thickness set in the gap. A printer for performing printing by (7), the first moving means (9) for moving the platen (6) forward and backward with respect to the print head (7), and at least one place below the platen (6). And a shield type optical sensor (12) attached to the platen (6), and a tip (15) which moves forward and backward by the second moving means (13) in the same direction as the platen (6) and moves up and down from the surface of the platen (6). ) And at least one gap detecting member (14) having a shielding plate (16) for shielding the optical sensor (12) when retracted, and the gap detecting member (14) by the second moving means (13). 14)
Moves forward and the tip portion (15) pushes the lower surface of the print medium (1) located on the platen (6) and pushes it against the print head (7), and by the first moving means (9). When the platen (6) is moved forward and at least one of the shield plates (16) shields the optical sensor (12), the gap between the print medium (1) and the platen (6) reaches a predetermined value. A printer configured as described above. 2. The platen (6) is located at a position adjacent to a printing position of the print head (7), and is located at least at least within a moving range in which the gap detecting member (14) moves forward and backward.
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer has three notches.