JPH03182375A - Line thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the positioning accuracy and assembling easiness of a motor frame to a side frame by forming a positioning part at one vertical side of one side frame and a screw hole at the other vertical side of the side frame. CONSTITUTION:A narrow part of a hook part 22 of a motor frame 10 has the width corresponding to the notching width W of a positioning part 16 of a side frame 1. Moreover, a wide part of the hook part 22 has the width corresponding to the thickness T of the side frame 1. When the hook part 22 is engaged with the positioning part 16 of the side frame 1, the motor frame 10 is positioned to the side frame 1 correctly in the widthwise and lengthwise directions. A clearance hole 23 and a hole 24 are formed in the motor frame 10. A pin 18 erecting in the side frame 1 is fitted in the hole 24, while a screw hole 17 of the side frame 1 is overlapped with the unloaded hole 23. The motor frame 10 is secured to the screw hole 17 of the side frame by one screw. Accordingly, the positioning accuracy and assembling easiness are greatly improved as compared with the conventional case.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to recording paper width dimensions 60+u, 80a+m,
This invention is essential for small-sized line thermal printers compatible with 112n, etc., and particularly relates to the mounting structure of a drive unit for driving a platen roller.

[Conventional technology]

Traditionally, small line thermal printers have been used as measurement analysis equipment,
It has been used as an output terminal for PO3 communication data terminal equipment, CRT hard copies, medical equipment, etc. This type of line thermal printer consists of a pair of side frames that are placed opposite each other at a predetermined distance in the width direction of thin paper, a platen roller and a thermal head that are placed parallel to each other between both side frames, and a platen roller. The configuration included a drive unit for rotating the.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, the conventional drive unit is fixed to the outer surface of one side frame using a plurality of screws. Therefore, there have been problems in that accurate positioning with respect to the side frame is difficult and assembly is poor.

[Means for solving problems]

In view of the problems of the conventional technology described above, the present invention aims to improve the ease of assembling the drive unit into the side frame and improve the positioning accuracy.

In order to achieve the above object, in the small line thermal printer according to the present invention, a positioning part is formed on one vertical side of one side frame, and a screw hole is formed on the other vertical side. There is. The drive unit includes a motor, a wheel train for transmitting the power of the motor to the platen roller, and a motor frame on which the motor and the wheel train are mounted.

The motor frame has a hook portion, and by engaging the hook portion with the positioning portion of the side frame, the motor frame is positioned relative to the side frame, and the motor frame is screwed into the screw hole of the side frame. By doing so, the drive unit can be mounted on the side frame with high precision and in a disassembly manner.

[For production]

According to the present invention, the hook portion formed on the motor frame is engaged with the positioning portion formed on one vertical side of the side frame to accurately position the motor frame with respect to the side frame. I can do things.

In addition, ease of assembly is improved by fixing the motor frame to the screw hole in the side frame with a single screw.

〔Example〕

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the overall configuration of a small line thermal printer according to the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a line thermal printer consists of a pair of side frames 1 and 2, which are arranged opposite each other at a predetermined distance in accordance with the width dimension standards of recording paper (60-wheel, 80mm, 11Zml, etc.), and a pair of side frames 1 and 2. It has a paper feed guide frame 3 fixed between frames 1 and 2. A platen roller 4 is removably secured between the pair of side frames 1 and 2 along the width direction of the recording paper. The platen roller 4 is rotationally driven to feed the recording paper fed along the paper feed guide frame 3. A thermal head 5 is arranged to face the platen roller 4. The thermal head 5 has a pair of side frames 1
and 2, and is detachably and swingably attached to a frame shaft 6 fixed between the frame shaft 6 and 2. A drive unit 7 for driving the platen roller is attached to the outer surface of the side frame 1. The drive unit 7 includes a step motor 8, a wheel train 9 for transmitting the power of the step motor 8 to the platen roller 4, and a motor frame 10 on which the step motor 8 and the wheel train 9 are mounted. The transmission gear at the final stage of the gear train 9 is the platen roller 4.
The drive gear 11 is separably engaged with a drive gear 11 fixed to one end of the rotating shaft of the drive gear. Further, the upper end of the motor frame IO is positioned and fixed to the outer side of the side frame 1, and is fixed to the side frame 1 by one screw 12. In this embodiment, the outer shapes of the side frames 1 and 2 and the motor frame 10 are constant regardless of the size of the width dimension standard of the recording paper, so that these parts can be used for general purposes. Since the side frame 1 and the motor frame L0 always have a constant external shape, they can be accurately positioned and fixed to each other regardless of the width dimension standard of the recording paper.

Note that a head cover 13 is arranged to cover the thermal head 5. The head cover 13 is attached to the frame shaft 6
is rotatably locked to the

Also, a helad lever 1 is attached to the other end of the rotating shaft of the platen roller 4.
4 is attached so as to be slidable and rotatable, and controls the raising and lowering of the thermal head 5 with respect to the platen roller 4.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the line thermal printer. As shown in the figure, the thermal head 5 is rotatably locked to a frame shaft 6, and is attached to a platen roller 4.
is biased against.

By operating the head lever 14, the thermal head 5
can be selectively set to a contact position or a non-contact position with respect to the platen roller 4. Further, the head cover 13 is also rotatably secured to the frame shaft 6 and is interlocked with the thermal head 5. - As shown by the dotted chain line, the head cover 13 is rotated in the opening direction and opened. At the same time, the thermal head 5 also rotates in the same direction and is retracted from the platen roller 4. This structure facilitates maintenance, inspection, and replacement of the platen roller 4 and thermal head 5.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the line thermal printer taken along line A--A shown in FIG. The internal structure of the line thermal printer will be explained based on FIG. A paper feed guide frame 3 made of an extruded product is attached between the side frame 2 and another side frame 1 (not shown). The upper surface of the paper feed guide frame 3 defines a curl path of the recording paper, and the right side of the paper feed guide frame 3 defines a straight bus of the recording paper. side frame 2
A U-shaped bearing notch is formed approximately in the center of the platen roller 4, into which one end of the rotating shaft of the platen roller 4 is inserted and removably supported. A thermal head 5 is arranged to face the platen roller 4. The thermal head 5 is urged against the platen roller 4 by a spring 15. The thermal head 5 is swingably locked to the frame beam 6 and is attached to the platen roller 4.
is selectively set to either a contact position or a non-contact position. When in the non-contact position, recording paper is fed between the platen roller 4 and the thermal head 5, and when in the contact position, the platen roller 4 is rotated to feed the paper and the thermal head 5 is energized to perform line printing. do.

The head cover 13 is also rotatably supported by the frame shaft 6. In normal use, head cover 1
8 is in the closed state, and head cover 1 is closed during maintenance, inspection, and replacement.
3 will be opened.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the side frame 1, which is one of the parts forming the main part of the present invention. (^) is a front view, (B
) is a plan view, and (C) is a right side view. As shown in the figure, a positioning portion 16 is formed on one side of the side frame 1 in the vertical direction. The positioning portion te is a notch having a width dimension W.

Further, a screw hole 17 is formed on the other side in the vertical direction.

A pin 18 is installed near the screw hole 17. A bent portion is formed on the upper side of the side frame l, and a screw hole 19 is formed for screwing the head cover 13 (not shown) in the closed state. In addition, a pair of guide pins 20 and 21 are installed on the flat surface of the side frame 1, and are adapted to engage with guide grooves formed in a paper feed guide frame 3 (not shown). Note that the plate thickness of the side frame 1 has a dimension T.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a motor frame, which is one component forming the main part of the present invention. (A) is a front view of the motor frame;
(B) is a top view, and (C) is a left side view. As shown in the figure, the motor frame 10 has a hook portion 22 formed in a T-shape.

The hook portion 22 has a wide portion and a narrow portion, and the width of the narrow portion corresponds to the notch width W of the positioning portion 16 formed in the side frame 1. Further, there is a clearance between the end face of the wide part and the side face of the motor frame IO, and the dimension thereof corresponds to the plate thickness dimension T of the side frame 1.

By engaging this T-shaped hook part 22 with the positioning part 16 formed on the side frame 1, the motor frame 0 can be accurately positioned with respect to the side frame 1 in the front, back, right and left directions. Also, there is a hole 2 in the motor frame 10.
3 and a hole 24 are formed. The hole 24 engages with the bottle 18 set on the side frame 1, and the blank hole 23 is overlapped with the screw hole 17 formed on the side frame 1. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the motor frame IO is fixed to the screw hole 17 of the side frame using one screw 12. As described above, according to the present invention, accurate positioning can be achieved by simply locking the hook portion 22 of the motor frame IO to the positioning portion 16 of the side frame 1, and the motor frame IO can be moved to the side frame 1 using one screw 12. Positioning accuracy and ease of assembly are significantly improved compared to conventional methods.

Note that members 25 and 26 for horizontally mounting the printer are provided on one side of the motor frame in the horizontal direction, and a member 27 for vertically mounting the printer is provided on one side of the motor frame in the vertical direction.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the other side frame 2. FIG. This side frame 2 is disposed opposite to the side frame 1 shown in FIG. 4 at a distance in the width direction of the recording paper. A U-shaped horizontal mounting member 28 is provided on one side of the side frame 2 in the horizontal direction. Further, a vertical mounting member for the printer is provided on one side in the vertical direction. This vertical mounting member 29 is comprised of a screw hole. A screw hole 30 is formed in the upper end of the side frame 2.
A head cover 13 (not shown) is secured with screws.

A pair of guide pins 3I and 32 are installed on the flat surface of the side frame 2 and are adapted to engage with guide grooves formed in the paper feed guide frame 3.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the installation structure and mounting orientation of the small line thermal printer according to the present invention. (^) shows the vertical mounting position of the line thermal printer, and (B) also shows the horizontal mounting position. Note that these figures are viewed from the motor frame 10 side. In the case of vertical mounting, it is fixed to the base 33 using a vertical mounting member 27. In this case, a holder 35 for storing the recording paper 34 is used.
is attached to the line thermal printer using unused horizontal mounting members 25 and 2B.

In the case of horizontal mounting, the line thermal printer is fixed to the base 33 using the horizontal mounting members 25 and 26 of the motor frame IO. In this case, the vertical mounting member 27, which is not used, is used to fix the holder 35 of the recording paper 34. In the case of vertical installation, the recording paper 34 is fed to the line thermal printer through a straight bus,
In the case of horizontal installation, the recording paper 84 is fed to the line thermal printer through a curl path. As described above, the line thermal printer according to the present invention has a convenient structure in which mounting members are provided on the motor frame and the side frame so that the printer can be mounted in both vertical and horizontal directions. In addition, the mounting members not used for installing and mounting the line thermal printer can be used for other purposes, making it even more convenient. Also, instead of a holder for storing recording paper, for example, a recording paper cutter can be attached to the line thermal printer.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, a positioning portion is formed on one vertical side of one side frame, and a screw hole is formed on the other vertical side. In addition, the motor frame of the drive unit is provided with a hook part, which is engaged with the positioning part of the side frame for positioning, and the motor frame is connected to the screw hole of the side frame with a single screw. Since the motor frame can be fixed, the positioning accuracy and ease of assembly of the motor frame with respect to the side frame are significantly improved compared to the conventional method.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view of the line thermal printer, Fig. 2 is a side view of the line thermal printer, Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the line thermal printer taken along line A-A shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the line thermal printer. The figure is an explanatory diagram of one side frame,
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the motor frame, FIG. 6 is a front view of the other side frame, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the installation structure of the line thermal printer. 1... Side frame 3... Paper feed guide frame 4... Platen roller 7... Drive unit 9... Wheel train 11... Drive gear 16... Positioning part 22... Hook part 25...Horizontal mounting member 27...Vertical mounting member 29...Vertical mounting member 35...Holder 2...Side frame 5...Thermal head 8...Step motor 10...・Motor frame 12...Screw 17...Screw hole 23...Bottle hole 2B...Horizontal mounting member 28...Horizontal mounting member 34...Recording paper applicant Seiko Electronics Co., Ltd. agent

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A pair of side frames arranged opposite to each other at a predetermined interval in the width direction of the recording paper, and a platen roller and a thermal head arranged in parallel between both side frames;
In a line thermal printer that includes a drive unit for rotating a platen roller, a positioning part is formed on one vertical side of one side frame, and a screw hole is formed on the other vertical side. The drive unit consists of a motor, a wheel train for transmitting the power of the motor to the platen roller, and a motor frame on which the motor and the wheel train are placed, and the motor frame has a hook portion that is used to position the side frame. The motor frame is positioned relative to the side frame by engaging with the side frame, and the drive unit is mounted separably from the side frame by screwing the motor frame into the screw hole of the side frame. A line thermal printer featuring 2. A member for vertically mounting the printer is provided on one vertical side of the motor frame and one vertical side of the other side frame that is spaced from the motor frame in the width direction, and a member for horizontally mounting the printer is provided on one horizontal side of these frames. 2. The line thermal printer according to claim 1, further comprising a member for each. 3. The platen roller has a drive gear fixed to one end in the width direction, and the wheel train of the drive unit has a transmission gear separably engaged with the drive gear at its final stage. The line thermal printer according to claim 1.