JP2020100475A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of reliably holding a paper printed on a top cover when the paper is discharged. A printer has a printer housing 110. The printer housing rotatably accommodates roll paper. A top cover 120 is provided on the upper part of the printer housing. In the printer housing, a paper transport mechanism for pulling out paper from roll paper and transporting the paper, and a printing mechanism arranged in the printer housing and printing on the paper transported by the paper transport mechanism are arranged. On the upper surface of the top cover, a stacker 125 is provided on the downstream side of the printing mechanism on which the paper discharged from the printer housing is placed. On the downstream side of the stacker in the paper ejection direction, a stopper 223 that abuts on the tip of the paper in the paper ejection direction and a paper stop mechanism 200 formed so that the position of the stopper in the paper ejection direction can be adjusted are provided. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a printer.

Some printers pull out the other end from roll paper wound around one end of a long paper (continuous paper) used for printing, and perform predetermined printing at the end with a printing mechanism. is there. Some such printers house roll paper in a housing. An opening for inserting the roll paper is provided in the upper part of the housing, and this opening is covered by a top cover that can be opened and closed. Then, the end of the printed continuous paper is discharged from a paper discharge port provided on one end side of the top cover.

The end portion discharged from the printer is conveyed along the surface of the top cover and is cut from the continuous paper by a cutting mechanism to form a cut sheet having a predetermined length. The cutting mechanism is provided in the vicinity of the paper discharge port on the downstream side of the printing mechanism in the paper conveyance direction. Then, the single-cut sheets are sequentially stacked on the top cover. The length of the cut sheet varies depending on its use and type.

In such a printer, when sheets are ejected one after another by high-speed printing, the sheets ejected earlier may be pushed by the later ejected sheets and fall off the top cover. There was a chance that In addition, even if the cut sheets are cut into the same length, they will be stacked on the top cover without the positions of the ends in the discharge direction being aligned between the cut sheets, and the operator will handle the cut sheets. It was inconvenient for me.

Japanese Patent No. 4409344

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a printer that can reliably hold printed and ejected paper on a top cover.

The printer according to the embodiment has a printer housing. The printer housing rotatably accommodates roll paper. A top cover is provided on the top of the printer case. In the printer housing, a paper transport mechanism that pulls out the paper from the roll paper and transports the paper, and a printing mechanism that is disposed in the printer housing and prints the paper transported by the paper transport mechanism are disposed. On the upper surface of the top cover, there is provided a stacker on the downstream side of the printing mechanism, on which the sheets discharged from the printer case are placed. On the downstream side of the stacker in the paper discharge direction, there are provided a stopper that comes into contact with the leading end of the paper in the paper discharge direction, and a paper stop mechanism that is adjustable in position in the paper discharge direction.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the printer according to the present embodiment from the front side. FIG. 3 is a top view showing the printer according to the present embodiment. The perspective view which shows the printer in this embodiment from the back surface side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an open state of the top cover of the printer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a closed state of the top cover of the printer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a top cover from which a stopper incorporated in the printer according to the present embodiment is removed. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the stopper of the printer according to the present embodiment from the lower side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a holder of the printer according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of a stopper mechanism of the printer according to the present embodiment, which is cut along a line P-P in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a main part of a stopper mechanism of the printer according to the present embodiment, which is cut along a line QQ in FIG. 1.

Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show the printer 100 according to the present embodiment. It should be noted that the arrow F in these figures indicates the side toward the front of the printer 100 where the operator is normally located. The arrow B indicates the rear surface direction. Further, the arrow WL indicates the left direction in the width direction, the arrow WR indicates the right direction in the width direction, and V indicates the vertically upward direction. An arrow H indicates the paper discharge direction of the paper T. Further, in these drawings, R indicates roll paper, and T indicates paper pulled out from the roll paper. The sheet T is a sheet used for printing in the printer 100, and is a sheet (single-cut sheet) cut into an arbitrary or fixed length after being discharged from the printer 100. The paper T is used, for example, as a receipt, a coupon, a ticket, or the like, but the use is not limited to these. The printer 100 is installed, for example, near a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal such as a store and an electronic cash register. Then, predetermined printing is performed on the edge of the paper T pulled out from the roll paper R, and receipts, coupons, tickets, etc. are issued. Reference numeral 300 in FIG. 1 denotes a control unit that performs cooperative control of each unit of the printer 100.

As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 100 according to the embodiment includes a substantially rectangular box-shaped housing 110 having an open top. The opening is formed in a substantially horizontal plane. The opening has a size capable of receiving the roll paper R having the maximum diameter that can be accommodated. That is, the inner dimension of the opening in the front-rear direction along the arrow F and the arrow B is set to be larger than the diameter of the roll paper R. Further, the inner dimension of the opening in the width direction along the arrow WL and the arrow WR is set to be larger than the dimension of the paper T in the width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the housing 110 has a bottom wall 112 that is curved downward in a substantially arc shape. The bottom wall 112 has a shape in which a substantially rectangular plate-shaped body is curved in an arc shape. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the housing 110 has four sidewalls 110a, 110b, 110c, and 110d extending in the vertical direction. The side wall 110a has a lower height in the vertical direction than the other side walls 110b, 110c, 110d. A part of the bottom wall 112 projects beyond the upper end of the side wall 110a and projects to the rear surface side. In other words, the bottom wall 112 continuously has a portion protruding from the upper end of the sidewall 110a to the outside of the sidewall 110a and a portion extending to the inside of the sidewall 110a.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottom wall 112 has a plurality of support rollers 111 rotatably. Each support roller 111 is attached to the bottom wall 112 such that the outer peripheral surface of the support roller 111 projects slightly above the inner surface of the bottom wall 112 of the housing 110. The outer peripheral surface of the roll paper R loaded into the space above the bottom wall 112 is in contact with and supported by the outer peripheral surface of the support roller 111, and hardly contacts the inner surface of the bottom wall 112. Therefore, when the paper T is pulled out from the roll paper R, the roll paper R rotates and the plurality of support rollers 111 rotate together.

The printer 100 has a top cover 120 that covers the upper surface side of the housing 110. A housing space S for the roll paper R is formed by the housing 110 and the top cover 120. The top cover 120 is connected to one end on the rear surface side of the housing 110 via a hinge 121, and opens and closes the opening of the housing 110. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the top cover 120 is fully opened with respect to the housing 110.

As shown in FIG. 1, the top cover 120 includes two side walls 120a and 120b extending parallel to each other in the front-rear direction, and a ceiling wall that is curved in an upwardly convex arc shape that covers the roll paper R above the drawing. 122 and. The central portion of the ceiling wall 122 is formed high in the front-rear direction (F, B).

A stacker 125 is arranged on the front side of the top wall 122. The paper T pulled out from the roll paper R is discharged from the printer 100 along the outer surface of the top wall 122 and stacked on the stacker 125, as described later.

As shown in FIG. 5, the printer 100 includes a shock absorber 130, a printing/conveying device 140, and a cutter mechanism 150 in a housing 110.

The shock absorber 130 applies an appropriate tension to the paper T pulled out from the roll paper R. The printing/conveying device 140 has a conveying path 141 connected to the bottom wall 112. A motor 142 is arranged below the transport path 141. The motor 142 drives a platen roller 144 described later. A print head 143 is disposed at the front end of the transport path 141. The print head 143 is provided on the housing 110. A platen roller 144 is arranged to face the print head 143. The platen roller 144 is provided on the top cover 120.

The platen roller 144 applies a conveying force to the paper T by rotating the paper T while pressing the paper T toward the print head 143. The sheet of paper T passes between the platen roller 144 and the print head 143, and is conveyed by obtaining a conveying force from the platen roller 144 and the print head 143. When the top cover 120 is closed with respect to the housing 110, the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 are pressed against each other with a predetermined pressure with the paper T interposed therebetween, and the paper T can be nipped and conveyed.

Further, the platen roller 144 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 142 via a gear in a state where the top cover 120 is closed with respect to the housing 110. The motor 142 is provided in the housing 110 and is driven based on a control signal from the control unit 300. The platen roller 144 is rotated by rotating the motor 142, and the sheet T sandwiched between the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 is conveyed. The platen roller 144 and the print head 143 function as a transport unit that pulls out the sheet T from the roll sheet R and transports it.

The print head 143 is, for example, a thermal head, and prints predetermined characters or images on the paper T that is conveyed between the print head 143 and the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 144 based on a print signal transmitted from the control unit 300. The print head 143 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 144 by the spring 143a. The print head 143 functions as a printing unit.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cutter mechanism 150 includes a fixed blade 151 provided on the front side of the housing 110, a movable blade 152 provided on the rear side facing the fixed blade 151, and a double feed of the paper T. It has a mylar 153 to prevent it. The movable blade 152 faces the fixed blade 151 with the conveyance path of the sheet T sandwiched between the movable blade 152 and the housing 110 with the top cover 120 closed. In this state, the movable blade 152 is driven to cut the paper T between the fixed blade 151. The paper T on which characters and the like are printed by the print head 143 is cut into a predetermined length by the cutter mechanism 150, and is discharged onto the stacker 125 of the top cover 120.

A paper cover 160 is attached above the cutter mechanism 150. The paper cover 160 includes a ceiling wall 161, and side walls 162 formed at both ends of the ceiling wall 161 in the width direction. The ceiling wall 161 has a structure for smoothly feeding the paper T discharged from the cutter mechanism 150 to the stacker 125 side. The side wall 162 has a function of aligning the edges by positioning the paper T discharged from the cutter mechanism 150 in the width direction.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, a paper stop mechanism 200 is arranged on the upper surface of the top cover 120. The paper stop mechanism 200 includes a concave groove 210 formed on the top cover 120, a contact position adjusting mechanism 220 slidably formed in the concave groove 210, a concave groove 210 and a contact position adjusting mechanism 220. A holder 230 sandwiched between the two is provided. Note that N in FIG. 9 indicates a fastening screw.

As shown in FIG. 6, the concave groove 210 is formed in the top wall 122 and is formed along the front-rear direction (paper discharge direction H). An elongated opening portion 211 is formed in the groove 210 along the front-rear direction. A pair of first teeth 213 is formed on both sides of the opening 211 in the width direction. The first tooth portion 213 has a large number of teeth formed in the front-rear direction. The tooth pitch is, for example, 0.8 mm. On the top wall 122, for example, graduations 214 in 15 mm increments are formed along the front-rear direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the contact position adjusting mechanism 220 has a plate-shaped slider 221 formed so as to be slidable along the concave groove 210. A second tooth portion 222 is formed on the lower surface (on the side of the top wall 122) of the slider 221. The second tooth portion 222 has a large number of teeth formed in the front-rear direction. The tooth pitch is the same as the tooth pitch of the first tooth portion 213.

A stopper 223 protruding upward is formed at the center of the contact position adjusting mechanism 220 in the front-rear direction. The height of the stopper 223 is preferably formed to be approximately the distance from the stacker 125 to the ceiling wall 161. A surface of the stopper 223 that is perpendicular to the ceiling wall 122 is formed on the front surface side, and a gentle surface on the rear surface side that is continuous with the rear end side of the slider 221 and is integrated. A bottomed tubular fastening portion 224 is integrally formed in the center of the stopper 223. On the front surface side of the stopper 223, a contact surface 225 that contacts the leading edge of the paper T is provided. A resin sheet may be attached to the contact surface 225 as a cushioning material. The cushioning material can prevent the leading end of the paper T from being bent or bent.

As shown in FIG. 8, the holder 230 includes a holder body 231 having a rectangular frame shape. The upper surface of the holder body 231 is a flat surface, and the lower surface is formed in a slope shape along the curved surface of the ceiling wall 122.

At the center of the holder body 231, a bottomed cylindrical bracket 232 is provided. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a female screw to which the fastening screw N is screwed is formed on the inner surface of the bracket 232. A disk-shaped base portion 233 is integrally formed at the lower end of the bracket 232. Further, an elliptical collar 234 is formed below the base 233. The diameter of the base portion 233 is formed to be larger than the dimension of the opening portion 211 in the width direction. Further, the widthwise dimension of the collar portion 234 is formed to be larger than the widthwise dimension of the opening portion 211, and the dimension in the front-back direction is formed to be substantially the same as the diameter of the base portion 233. The holder body 231 is inserted so that the shorter diameter side of the flange portion 234 is aligned with the width direction of the opening portion 211 and is rotated 90 degrees, so that the longer diameter side engages with the opening portion 211 and prevents the holder body 231 from coming off.

When the fastening screw N is fastened, the fastening portion 224 of the stopper 223 approaches the holder 230 side, and the slider 221 is pressed toward the concave groove 210 side. As a result, the first tooth portion 213 and the second tooth portion 222 strongly mesh with each other. As a result, the position of the slider 221 in the concave groove 210 is fixed.

In the printer 100 configured in this way, printing on the roll paper R and ejection of the paper T are performed as follows. First, the position of the paper stop mechanism 200 is adjusted. The fastening screw N fastened to the bracket 232 is loosened. The engagement between the first tooth portion 213 and the second tooth portion 222 is released, and the slider 221 becomes free to slide in the front-rear direction along the concave groove 210. The length of the paper T that is cut and discharged varies depending on the type. Therefore, the slider 221 is positioned at an appropriate position based on the scale 214. When the slider 221 is positioned at an appropriate position, the fastening screw N of the bracket 232 is tightened. As a result, the slider 221 is pressed against the ceiling wall 122 via the holder 230. Therefore, the first tooth portion 213 on the top wall 122 side meshes with the second tooth portion 222 of the slider 221, and movement in the front-rear direction is restricted.

Next, the top cover 120 is opened and the roll paper R is put on the bottom wall 112 in the housing 110. Next, the end portion of the paper T is pulled out along the shock absorber 130 and the transport path 141 and extended to the position of the print head 143. Then, the top cover 120 is closed. When the top cover 120 is closed, the platen roller 144 and the print head 143 face each other, and the elasticity of the spring 143a elastically presses the print head 143 against the platen roller 144.

When the printer 100 is powered on with the top cover 120 completely closed, the motor 142 is activated and the platen roller 144 rotates in the transport direction. The paper T sandwiched between the print head 143 and the platen roller 144 is sent out by the rotation of the platen roller 144, and enters the standby state.

Based on the received signal received from the outside, the control unit 300 outputs a print signal, operates the print head 143 and the platen roller 144, and starts a desired print operation. Further, the paper T is cut by the cutter mechanism 150 and placed on the stacker 125.

As the printing speed increases, the conveyance speed of the paper T increases, and the speed of the cut paper T discharged from the cutter mechanism 150 also increases. At this time, the paper T may not be retained on the stacker 125 and may be vigorously conveyed toward the top of the top wall 122. However, even if the paper T is transported vigorously, the front end side of the paper T contacts the contact surface 225 of the stopper 223, so the paper T returns to the stacker 125. The side walls 162 align the paper T in the width direction. Therefore, even when a large number of sheets T are discharged from the printer 100, the ends of the sheets T in the sheet discharge direction and the width direction are almost aligned, and the operator can easily eject the sheets from the stacker 125. T can be taken out.

When the length of the paper T is changed, the operator can hold the paper T on the stacker 125 appropriately by loosening the fastening screw N and adjusting the position of the stopper 223.

When the paper T becomes long and exceeds the movable range of the stopper 223, the fastening screw N may be loosened to take out the holder 230 from the opening 211, and the stopper 223 may be removed from the top wall 122. When the paper T is long, the front end of the paper T hangs down due to gravity and moves along the top wall 122, so that the paper T does not fall off the top cover 120.

In such a printer 100, when the stacker 125 for accommodating the paper T is arranged on the top cover 120, the leading end of the paper T is brought into contact with the contact surface 225 of the stopper 223 to be returned into the stacker 125. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the paper T from falling off. Further, since the position of the stopper 223 can be adjusted to an appropriate position according to the length of the paper T, it is possible to deal with various kinds of paper T. At this time, the front end position and the width direction position of the paper T in the paper discharge direction T are aligned in the stacker 125, so that the operator can easily handle the paper T.

The adjustment of the slider 221 is determined by the meshing pitch of the first tooth portion 213 and the second tooth portion 222, and the scale 214 is a guide.

In the embodiment described above, the fastening screw N or the engagement between the slider 221 and the top wall 122 is used as the fixing method of the stopper 223, but other fixing methods may be used. Further, the position adjustment of the stopper 223 in the front-rear direction uses the combination of the slider 221 and the concave groove 210, but a position adjustment structure other than this may be used.

Although some embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and the gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and an equivalent range thereof.

100... Printer, 110... Housing, 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d... Side wall, 111... Support roller, 112... Bottom wall, 120... Top cover, 120a, 120b... Side wall, 121... Hinge, 122... Top wall, 125 ... Stacker, 130... Buffer device, 140... Printing/conveying device, 141... Conveying path, 142... Motor, 143... Print head, 143a... Spring, 144... Platen roller, 150... Cutter mechanism, 151... Fixed blade, 152... Movable blade, 153... Mylar, 160... Paper cover, 161, Ceiling wall, 162... Side wall, 200... Paper stop mechanism, 210... Groove, 211... Opening part, 213... First tooth part, 214... Scale, 220... Abutment position adjusting mechanism, 221... Slider, 222... Second tooth portion, 223... Stopper, 224... Fastening portion, 225... Abutment surface, 230... Holder, 231,... Holder body, 232... Bracket, 233... Base portion, 234... Collar part, 300... Control part.

Claims (6)

A printer housing that rotatably accommodates roll paper,
A top cover provided on the top of this printer housing,
A paper transport mechanism that is disposed in the printer housing and pulls out the paper from the roll paper and transports the paper.
A printing mechanism which is arranged in the printer casing and prints on a sheet conveyed by the sheet conveying mechanism;
A stacker which is formed on the upper surface of the top cover and on which the paper discharged from the printer casing is placed on the downstream side of the printing mechanism;
A stopper provided on the downstream side of the stacker in the sheet discharge direction, and abutting against the leading end of the sheet in the sheet discharge direction,
A paper stop mechanism formed so that the position of the stopper in the paper discharge direction can be adjusted,
Equipped with a printer. The paper stop mechanism is a groove formed in the top cover along the paper discharge direction,
The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a slider that is slidably formed along the groove and holds the stopper. The paper stop mechanism includes a first tooth portion formed on a surface of the slider on the concave groove side,
3. The printer according to claim 2, further comprising a second tooth portion formed on a surface of the groove on the slider side, the second tooth portion being formed so as to be meshable with the first tooth portion. The paper stop mechanism, in the concave groove, an opening formed along the paper discharge direction,
A holder that is slidably inserted into the opening along the paper discharge direction and engages around the opening.
The printer according to claim 2, further comprising a fastening screw that fastens the holder and the stopper in a direction perpendicular to an opening surface of the opening. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a paper cover for positioning the stacker in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a cushioning material is provided at a portion of the stopper that comes into contact with the leading end of the sheet.