JP6029849B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer including a print head such as a thermal head.

  For example, as a printer that prints on a printing target medium (hereinafter also referred to as “paper”) such as a label temporarily attached to a mount or a strip-like sheet of a tag, the ink of the ink ribbon is applied to the paper using a thermal head. Thermal transfer printers that perform printing by transferring are used. In the thermal transfer type printer, printing is performed by transferring the ink on the ink ribbon onto the paper by the heat generated by the heating element of the thermal head while transporting the paper and the ink ribbon at the same speed in the same direction.

  A print head such as a thermal head is a member that greatly affects the printing result. Therefore, it is desirable to perform maintenance such as cleaning periodically on the print head. Also, the print head needs to be replaced when it is near the end of its life. Therefore, the print head is frequently subjected to work such as maintenance. For this reason, it is desirable that the print head be easily removable.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a printer including a detachable thermal head.

JP-A-11-42825

  However, the printer disclosed in Patent Document 1 requires an operation of fitting the positioning pins while bending the leaf spring. Such an operation has a problem that workability is poor because it is necessary to apply a force in another direction while applying a force in a direction in which the leaf spring is bent.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of easily attaching and detaching a print head.

  The present invention solves the above problems by the following means.

  The invention of claim 1 has a print head unit, a print head unit that can be attached to and detached from a printer, a first shaft, and the first shaft so as to be rotatable about the first shaft. And a second shaft that applies pressure to the platen roller in a pressing direction with respect to the platen roller, wherein the printing head unit intersects the pressing direction. The first engaging portion that engages with the first shaft by moving in the first direction in which the first shaft is inserted, and the second direction that intersects the first direction. And a second engaging portion that engages by snap-fitting with respect to the second shaft.

  A second aspect of the present invention is the printer according to the first aspect, wherein the second direction coincides with the pressing direction.

  According to the present invention, the print head unit is engaged with the first shaft by moving the first engagement portion in the first direction, and in the second direction intersecting with the first direction. The second engagement portion snap-fits to the second shaft. Accordingly, the printer can easily perform maintenance such as replacement of the print head unit while securely mounting the print head unit.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. It is an enlarged view which expands and shows the A section in FIG. 1 in detail. FIG. 3 is a top view of the print head unit 50 as viewed from the direction of arrow B shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a state where the head pressing shaft 19 and the print head unit 50 are in a cassette attaching / detaching position. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a state where the head pressure shaft 19 and the print head unit 50 are in a cassette attaching / detaching position and the ink ribbon cassette 20Y is removed. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a state where the engagement between the pressure shaft engaging portion 53b and the head pressure shaft 19 is released. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state where the print head unit 50 is detached from the printer 10.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention.
In the drawings shown below including FIG. 1, XYZ orthogonal coordinates are shown in a unified direction. Note that XYZ merely indicates a direction and does not indicate an absolute position such as an origin position.
In addition, each figure shown below including FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically shown, and the size and shape of each part are appropriately exaggerated for easy understanding.
In the following description, specific numerical values, shapes, materials, and the like are shown and described, but these can be changed as appropriate.

  The printer 10 is a thermal transfer type color printer for printing on a printing medium (paper) such as a label temporarily attached to a mount or a strip-like sheet of a tag, and using a plurality of ink ribbons of different colors. Then, printing is performed by transferring the ink of the ink ribbon onto the paper. In the following, a case where printing is performed on a sheet using ink ribbons of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B) will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a sheet 1 is rotatably supported on a sheet supply shaft 11 provided in a housing 14 of a printer 10 as a roll sheet 2 wound in a roll shape. The paper 1 pulled out from the paper supply shaft 11 is nipped and conveyed by the drive roller 12 and the pressure roller 13.

  Also, four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20B are mounted on the casing 14 from the upstream side in the transport direction (right side in the figure) to the downstream side in the transport direction (left side in the figure). Yes. For example, the ink ribbon cassette 20Y is loaded with a yellow (Y) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20M is loaded with a magenta (M) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20C is loaded with a cyan (C) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20B is loaded with a black (B) ink ribbon.

  In the housing 14 of the printer 10, four platen rollers 15Y, 15M, 15C, and 15B, and four thermal heads 16Y and 16B are arranged along the paper transport direction corresponding to the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B. 16M, 16C, 16B and four peeling plates 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17B are arranged. The thermal heads 16Y to 16B are inserted into the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B, respectively. Further, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B are disposed to face the platen rollers 15Y to 15B, respectively. The peeling plates 17Y to 17B are disposed on the downstream side of the thermal heads 16Y to 16B, respectively. The four platen rollers 15Y to 15B, the four thermal heads 16Y to 16B, and the four release plates 17Y to 17B are combined to form four printing units. In each printing part, it prints using the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y-20B set to each.

  In each of the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B, the ink ribbon 23 is bridged between the ink ribbon supply shaft 21 and the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22. The ink ribbon winding shaft 22 is driven to rotate by a motor (not shown) provided in the housing.

  The unused ink ribbon 23 supported while being wound around the ink ribbon supply shaft 21 of the yellow ink ribbon cassette 20Y is supplied together with the paper 1 between the platen roller 15Y and the thermal head 16Y. After the transfer, the ink ribbon 23 is peeled off from the paper 1 by the peeling plate 17Y, and then taken up by the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22.

  The platen roller 15Y is driven and rotated by a motor provided in the casing, thereby conveying the paper 1 and the ink ribbon 23 at the same speed in the same direction. The thermal head 16Y has a plurality of fine heating elements that generate heat when energy is applied in the width direction. Printing is performed using the yellow ink ribbon loaded in the ink ribbon cassette 20Y by applying energy to the heating element to generate heat and heating the ink on the ink ribbon 23 and transferring it to the paper 1. In order to apply energy (electric power) to the heating element, a voltage may be applied from the voltage source to the heating element, or a current may be passed from the current source to the heating element.

  The platen rollers 15M to 15B are configured similarly to the platen roller 15Y, and the thermal heads 16M to 16B are configured similarly to the thermal head 16Y. Further, the release plates 17M to 17B are configured similarly to the release plate 17Y. The paper 1 that has passed through the position of the platen roller 15Y sequentially passes through the positions of the platen rollers 15M to 15B, and the thermal heads 16M to 16B are fed with magenta, cyan, and black ink ribbons loaded in the ink ribbon cassettes 20M to 20B, respectively. The printing used is performed sequentially. The printed paper 1 is discharged from the paper discharge port.

  The printer 10 includes an input unit 30, a control unit 40, a display unit 45, and a power supply unit 70.

  The input unit 30 includes a plurality of operation keys and is used for operating the printer 10 and inputting color print data to the printer 10.

  The control unit 40 controls the operation of a not-shown motor, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B, and the like that drive the platen rollers 15Y to 15B and the ink ribbon winding shaft 22 and the like.

  The display unit 45 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display) panel or a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) for displaying an error message or the like, and performs various displays based on signals supplied from the control unit 40.

  The power supply unit 70 supplies power to a motor (not shown) that drives the platen rollers 15Y to 15B and the ink ribbon winding shaft 22, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B, the control unit 40, the display unit 45, and the like.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an A portion in FIG. 1 in more detail.
FIG. 3 is a top view of the print head unit 50 as viewed from the direction of the arrow B shown in FIG.
The thermal heads 16Y to 16B of the present embodiment are each provided as a part of the print head unit 50.
Hereinafter, the print head unit 50 corresponding to the thermal head 16Y will be described as an example, but the same applies to the other thermal heads 16M to 16B.
The print head unit 50 includes a main body 51, a support shaft engaging member 52, a pressure shaft engaging member 53, a thermal head 16Y, and a release plate 17Y.

  The main body 51 is a member serving as a base of the print head unit 50, and a support shaft engaging member 52, a pressure shaft engaging member 53, a thermal head 16Y, and a peeling plate 17Y are attached to the main body 51.

The support shaft engaging member 52 is formed by pressing a metal plate material, and includes a support shaft engaging portion 52a and an attaching portion 52b.
The support shaft engagement portion 52a is a first engagement portion that engages with the head support shaft 18 described later. The support shaft engaging portion 52a is formed in a substantially U shape with the right side (X minus side) in FIG. 2 opened, and is moved from the open end side to the direction in which the head support shaft 18 is inserted. Thus, the head support shaft 18 is engaged. Further, the engagement can be released by moving the support shaft engaging portion 52a in the direction opposite to the direction during the engagement. A direction (first direction) that moves when the support shaft engaging portion 52a is engaged or disengaged from the head support shaft 18 is a direction substantially orthogonal to a pressurizing direction (second direction) described later. It has become.
The attachment portion 52b is formed by being bent at a right angle to the portion where the support shaft engaging portion 52a is formed. A hole (not shown) is formed in the attachment portion 52b, and the support shaft engaging member 52 is attached to the main body 51 through the screw 54 in this hole.

The pressure shaft engaging member 53 has a base portion 53a and a pressure shaft engaging portion 53b, and at least the pressure shaft engaging portion 53b needs to be flexible. . In the present embodiment, the pressure shaft engaging member 53 is formed of a flexible resin.
A hole (not shown) is formed in the base portion 53a, and the pressure shaft engaging member 53 is attached to the upper surface side (Y plus side) in FIG.
The pressing shaft engaging portion 53b is a second engaging portion that engages with a head pressing shaft 19 described later. The pressing shaft engaging portion 53b has a symmetrical shape that sandwiches the head pressing shaft 19 from both sides, and is provided to protrude upward (Y plus side) in FIG. The pressurizing shaft engaging portion 53b inserts and removes the head pressurizing shaft 19 from a direction (second direction) orthogonal to the direction (first direction) in which the support shaft engaging portion 52a is opened. The open part is provided at the center of the symmetrical shape. The direction (second direction) in which the head pressure shaft 19 is inserted into and removed from the pressure shaft engaging portion 53 b is substantially the same as the head pressure shaft 19. Since the pressurizing shaft engaging portion 53b has flexibility, it can perform a so-called snap fit with respect to the head pressurizing shaft 19, and can be brought into an engaged state without using a tool. It can be in a released state.

  The thermal head 16Y is fixed to the lower surface side (Y minus side) in FIG. 2, which is the side opposite to the side where the pressing shaft engaging member 53 of the main body 51 is provided.

  The peeling plate 17Y is fixed to a protruding portion 51a provided to protrude to the downstream side (X plus side) of the main body 51 in the transport direction.

The print head unit 50 configured as described above is supported by the head support shaft 18 and the head pressure shaft 19.
The head support shaft 18 is a first shaft that extends in the direction (Z-axis direction) orthogonal to the transport direction without moving with respect to the housing 14 of the printer 10. The head support shaft 18 is provided with an engagement groove 18a whose outer diameter is slightly smaller. The support shaft engaging portion 52a engages with the engaging groove 18a.

  The head pressurizing shaft 19 is a second shaft provided so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction (Z-axis direction) and parallel to the head support shaft 18. The head pressing shaft 19 is provided with an engaging groove 19a having an outer diameter slightly reduced. The pressure shaft engaging portion 53b engages with the engaging groove 19a.

  The head pressing shaft 19 receives a pressing force that presses the thermal head 16 </ b> Y toward the platen roller 15 </ b> Y by a pressing member (not shown) provided in the pressing mechanism 60. Therefore, the head pressurizing shaft 19 can apply pressure to the thermal head 16Y to press the thermal head 16Y toward the platen roller 15Y. The head pressurizing shaft 19 is provided so as to be rotatable within a predetermined angle range with the head support shaft 18 as a center. Specifically, the head pressing shaft 19 is movable between a printing position shown in FIG. 2 and a cassette attaching / detaching position shown in FIG. 4 below. The movement of the head pressing shaft 19 between the printing position and the cassette attachment / detachment position is manually performed by operating an operation lever (not shown), but may be electrically driven.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a state in which the head pressurizing shaft 19 and the print head unit 50 are in the cassette attaching / detaching position.
When the head pressure shaft 19 is moved to the cassette attaching / detaching position, the print head unit 50 is also moved to the cassette attaching / detaching position together with this. At this cassette attaching / detaching position, since the thermal head 16Y is separated from the platen roller 15Y and the ink ribbon 23, the ink ribbon cassette 20Y can be attached / detached.

Next, a method for replacing the print head unit 50 will be described.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a state where the head pressure shaft 19 and the print head unit 50 are in the cassette attaching / detaching position and the ink ribbon cassette 20Y is removed.
When replacing the print head unit 50, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the head pressurizing shaft 19 and the print head unit 50 are set to the cassette attachment / detachment position. In this state, a force is applied to the print head unit 50 in the direction of arrow C while elastically deforming and expanding the pressure shaft engaging portion 53b without moving the head pressure shaft 19, and the pressure shaft engaging portion 53b. And the head pressurizing shaft 19 are disengaged (FIG. 6).

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a state where the engagement between the pressure shaft engaging portion 53b and the head pressure shaft 19 is released.
After the state shown in FIG. 6 is reached, the engagement between the support shaft engaging portion 52a and the head support shaft 18 is released by moving the print head unit 50 in the direction of arrow D in FIG. 7).
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the print head unit 50 is detached from the printer 10. When the print head unit 50 is attached to the printer 10, an operation opposite to the above-described removal operation may be performed.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the print head unit 50 is engaged with the head support shaft 18 only by sliding the support shaft engaging portion 52a in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction. The pressure shaft engaging portion 53b is snap-fitted to the head pressure shaft 19. As a result, the printer 10 can easily perform maintenance such as replacement of the print head unit 50 while the print head unit 50 is securely attached. In particular, in the present embodiment, there are four printing units, and four sets of print head units 50 are also provided. Therefore, the simple maintenance of the print head unit 50 as described above is very effective because the effect of improving the work efficiency is quadrupled.

(Deformation)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the scope of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the print head unit 50 is configured by a plurality of members has been described. For example, the main body 51 and the support shaft engaging member 52 or the pressure shaft engaging member 53 may be combined into one component, and the pressure shaft engaging member 53 is further configured with a plurality of components. For example, the number of components may be increased or decreased as appropriate.

  In the present embodiment, the printer 10 has been described with an example of being a thermal transfer color printer. For example, a monochrome printer or a printer using a method other than the thermal transfer method such as a heat sensitive method may be used.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the first direction when the support shaft engaging portion 52a is engaged with the head support shaft 18 and the first direction when the pressure shaft engaging portion 53b is engaged with the head pressure shaft 19 are used. An example in which the direction is substantially orthogonal to the direction 2 has been described. Not limited to this, the first direction and the second direction may be set to intersect with each other to the extent that the print head unit can be fixed.

  In addition, although embodiment and a deformation | transformation form can also be used in combination as appropriate, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper 2 Roll paper 10 Printer 11 Paper supply shaft 12 Drive roller 13 Pressure roller 14 Case 15Y, 15M, 15C, 15B Platen roller 16Y, 16M, 16C, 16B Thermal head 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17B Release plate 18 Head Support shaft 18a Engaging groove 19 Head pressure shaft 19a Engaging grooves 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20B Ink ribbon cassette 21 Ink ribbon supply shaft 22 Ink ribbon take-up shaft 23 Ink ribbon 30 Input unit 40 Control unit 45 Display unit 50 Printing head Unit 51 Main body 51a Protruding portion 52 Support shaft engaging member 52a Support shaft engaging portion 52b Mounting portion 53 Pressure shaft engaging member 53a Base portion 53b Pressure shaft engaging portion 54, 55 Screw 60 Pressure mechanism 70 Power supply portion

Claims (4)

A print head unit having a print head and detachable from the printer;
A first axis;
A pressurizing mechanism having a pressurizing member for pressurizing the print head;
The provided parallel to said to be rotatable movement first axis of the first shaft as the center, in the pressing direction for pressing the print head against the platen roller, convey pressure applied by the pressing member A second shaft,
The print head unit is
A first engaging portion that engages with the first shaft by moving in a first direction in which the first shaft is inserted from a direction intersecting the pressurizing direction;
A second engagement portion that intersects with the first direction and snap-fits to the second axis from a second direction that coincides with the pressing direction. Printer.   The printer according to claim 1, wherein the second engaging portion has flexibility and has a symmetrical shape that sandwiches the second shaft from both sides.   The said 2nd engaging part has a part open | released in the center of the said symmetrical shape so that insertion / extraction of the said 2nd axis | shaft may be performed from the said 2nd direction. Printer. The print head unit has a peeling plate for peeling the ink ribbon,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the release plate is disposed on the downstream side of the print head.

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