Cutting mechanism of printing apparatus

Abstract

A cutting mechanism of a printing apparatus includes: a half cutter having a cutting blade and a blade receiving member and cutting at least a portion of a medium to be printed by the cutting blade while receiving a force from the cutting blade by the blade receiving member; a full cutter for cutting the entire printing medium in the thickness direction; a tape guide that guides the medium to be printed, which is conveyed by the conveying unit, to the outside of the apparatus main body in the conveying direction; and a support member provided so as to suppress deformation of the blade receiving member, the blade receiving member being fixed adjacent to the support member, and the full cutter, the tape guide, and the cutting blade being disposed in this order from the inside of the device body in the conveying direction.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the patent application for which the application date is December 13, 2022, the application number is 202211601548.2, and the invention name is "Cutting mechanism of printing device". Reference of Related Application

[0002] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2021-207685 filed on December 22, 2021, and the entire contents of the base application are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to a cutting mechanism of a printing device. BACKGROUND

[0004] In a printing device that performs printing on a tape-shaped tape such as a label printer, a cutting mechanism that cuts the printed tape is often provided. In a printing device that takes a laminated tape having a release paper layer (peeling paper layer) on the back side of the printed layer as a printing object, as a cutting mechanism, there are cases where a full cutter that cuts both the printed layer and the release paper layer, and a half cutter that cuts only one of the printed layer and the release paper layer are provided.

[0005] The full cutter often uses a scissors structure that cuts the tape by crossing a pair of opposing blade portions. The half cutter often adopts a press-cut structure that presses a blade portion having a stopper against a blade receiving member while securing a prescribed gap between the blade receiving member and the blade portion by the stopper, and cuts the tape.

[0006] It is known that the cutter having the press-cut structure like the half cutter has a problem that a bending moment is easily applied due to a strong load applied at the time of cutting. As a countermeasure, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2014-136301, a technology is proposed that fixes a cutter unit of the half cutter to a cutter fixing portion only in the vicinity of a cutting position of the printed tape.

[0007] In Japanese Patent No. 4069037, a configuration is made in which a blade receiving member that constitutes the half cutter is fixed to a fixed blade that constitutes the full cutter, and the load received by the blade receiving member at the time of cutting is received by the fixed blade and a fixed blade support portion. SUMMARY

[0008] One embodiment of the cutting mechanism of the printing device of the present application is a cutting mechanism including: a half cutter having a cutting blade and a blade receiving member, which receives a force from the cutting blade while cutting at least a portion of a printed medium with the cutting blade; a full cutter that cuts the printed medium as a whole in a thickness direction; a tape guide that guides the printed medium conveyed by a conveyance unit to an outside of a device main body in a conveyance direction; and a support member disposed so as to suppress deformation of the blade receiving member, the blade receiving member being adjacent to the support member and being fixed, the full cutter, the tape guide, and the cutting blade being arranged in this order from an inside of the device main body in the conveyance direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a front view showing the internal structure of the printing device of the present embodiment.

[0010] Figure 2 is a side view showing the internal structure of the printing device of the present embodiment.

[0011] Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the printing device of the present embodiment.

[0012] Figure 4 is a front view showing the vicinity of the cutting mechanism of the printing device of the present embodiment.

[0013] Figure 5 is a view showing the operation of the half cutter.

[0014] Figure 6 is a front view showing the vicinity of the cutting mechanism of the printing device of the comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out the present application will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 3 The internal structure of the printing device 10 of the present embodiment is shown. In the internal structure shown in FIG. 1, a tape guide 21, a half cutter 22, a full cutter 23, and a support member 24 are arranged in this order from the inside of the device main body in the conveyance direction. Figures 1 to 3 An exterior member is attached to the outside of the internal structure shown in FIG. 1, thereby completing the printing device 10. The printing device 10 is a label printer that performs printing on a tape 20 as a printed medium in a tape form to produce a label.

[0016] The tape 20 is housed in a tape cassette 25. The tape cassette 25 is attached to a cassette attachment portion 11 in the printing device 10, and the tape 20 pulled out from the tape cassette 25 is printed.

[0017] The printing in the printing device 10 is performed by a thermal transfer method that causes ink of an ink ribbon (not shown) to adhere to the tape 20 by heating. A thermal head 12 as a print head that heats the ink ribbon at the time of printing is provided in the cassette attachment portion 11.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, a thermal printer 10 is provided with a tape cartridge 25. The tape cartridge 25 is a cartridge for housing a tape 20 and an ink ribbon 30. The tape 20 is a structure in which a release paper layer 21, an adhesive layer 22, and a print layer 23 are stacked. The ink ribbon 30 is a structure in which a release paper layer 31 and an ink layer 32 are stacked. The tape 20 and the ink ribbon 30 are overlapped with each other in the tape cartridge 25. Figure 5 As shown in FIG. 1, the tape 20 is a structure in which the release paper layer 21, the adhesive layer 22, and the print layer 23 are stacked. The tape 20 housed in the tape cartridge 25 is overlapped with the print layer 23 side and is conveyed. At the time of printing, ink contained in the ink ribbon 30 is fused by heating of the thermal head 12 and adheres to the print layer 23.

[0019] In addition, the printing method in the printing device 10 is not limited to the thermal transfer method. For example, it can be a thermal printing device in which color developing of a color developing agent contained in the print layer 23 is performed by heating of the thermal head 12.

[0020] In the printing device 10, a platen roller 13 is provided at a position opposite to the thermal head 12. The platen roller 13 is movable to a position separated from the thermal head 12 and a position in contact with the thermal head 12.

[0021] The tape 20 pulled out from the tape cartridge 25 and the ink ribbon 30 pass between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13. By moving the platen roller 13 to the position in contact with the thermal head 12, the tape 20 and the ink ribbon 30 are clamped between the thermal head 12 and the platen roller 13. At the time of printing, the thermal head 12 is heated in this clamped state. In addition, when the platen roller 13 is rotated in this clamped state, the tape 20 is conveyed in the longitudinal direction. The tape 20 after printing is conveyed by rotation of the platen roller 13 and is discharged to the outside of the printing device 10.

[0022] The printing device 10 has a base chassis 14. The base chassis 14 constitutes a main body of the printing device 10 and is formed of a material excellent in strength such as metal. Each component constituting the printing device 10 is directly or indirectly mounted to the base chassis 14. The base chassis 14 has a bottom plate 14a and a plurality of side walls protruding from the bottom plate 14a. The bottom plate 14a is substantially rectangular in shape, and a direction in which one pair of edges of the bottom plate 14a is connected is taken as an X-axis direction, and a direction in which the other pair of edges of the bottom plate 14a is connected is taken as a Y-axis direction. The X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction are in a perpendicular relationship with each other. In addition, a direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is taken as a Z-axis direction.

[0023] Of the four edges of the bottom plate 14a, a side extending in the Y-axis direction is provided with a support wall 15 (support member). The support wall 15 is a wall portion protruding from the bottom plate 14a in the Z-axis direction and has a prescribed thickness in the X-axis direction. In addition, although the support wall 15 has a concave-convex or a difference in level at the middle portion and is not completely flat, it is a flat portion extending substantially in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction and has a pair of side surfaces facing the X-axis direction.

[0024] The tape 20 is conveyed in the substantially X-axis direction by rotation of the platen roller 13. That is, the X-axis direction is the conveying direction of the tape 20. In addition, the Y-axis direction is the thickness direction of the tape 20, and the Z-axis direction is the width direction of the tape 20. The support wall 15 is a vertical wall provided in a direction intersecting (substantially perpendicular to) the conveying direction of the tape 20. The inner side (left side in Figure 1 ) of the printing device 10 is set as the inner side in the conveying direction, and the outer side (right side in Figure 1 ) of the printing device 10 is set as the outer side in the conveying direction, with the support wall 15 as a boundary. The printed tape 20 is discharged to the outside of the printing device 10 across the position at which the support wall 15 is provided. The support wall 15 is shaped so as not to obstruct the conveying path of the tape 20, and an edge portion 15a (see Figure 4 ) is formed at the end of the support wall 15 facing the Y-axis direction at a position facing the conveying path of the tape 20.

[0025] The edge portion 15a is provided in a pair near both ends in the Z-axis direction in the support wall 15 (see Figure 2 and Figure 3 ). The pair of edge portions 15a are spaced apart wider than the maximum width of the tape 20 that is envisaged to be used in the printing device 10, and the edge portions 15a are arranged in the Z-axis direction at two positions across the passing region of the tape 20.

[0026] In the vicinity of the support wall 15, a tape guide 17 is provided that guides the tape 20 to define the conveying path. The tape guide 17 is arranged on the inner side in the conveying direction with respect to the support wall 15. As shown in Figure 4 , the tape guide 17 has a guide portion 17a and a support portion 17b arranged separately on both sides of the conveying path of the tape 20 in the Y-axis direction.

[0027] The guide portion 17a is arranged at a prescribed interval apart in the Y-axis direction with respect to the edge portion 15a of the support wall 15, at a position slightly on the inner side in the conveying direction from the support wall 15. The support portion 17b is arranged on the inner side in the conveying direction in parallel with respect to the support wall 15. There is an interval of the thickness of a blade receiving member 36 of a half-cutter 35 described later between the support portion 17b and the support wall 15.

[0028] The printed tape 20 advances toward the outer side in the conveying direction between the guide portion 17a and the support portion 17b. An inclined portion 17c is provided at the front end of the guide portion 17a, which reduces the interval between the support wall 15 in the Y-axis direction as it advances from the inner side to the outer side in the conveying direction. The tape 20 is guided by the inclined portion 17c so as to advance in the appropriate direction.

[0029] The printing apparatus 10 has a cutting mechanism 30 located midway along the conveying path of the tape 20. The printed tape 20 is cut by the cutting mechanism 30 to complete the label. Regarding the cutting of the tape 20 by the cutting mechanism 30, a full cut by the full cutter 31 and a half cut by the half cutter 35 can be selected. The cutting mechanism 30 will be described below.

[0030] In the cutting mechanism 30, the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35 are configured in different positions in the conveying direction. The full cutter 31 is located on the upstream side of the conveying direction (the side close to the thermal head 12 and the pressure roller 13), and the half cutter 35 is located on the downstream side of the conveying direction (the side away from the thermal head 12 and the pressure roller 13).

[0031] Each component of the cutting mechanism 30 is supported by the support wall 15, which constitutes a support member for the cutting mechanism 30. In the printing apparatus 10, among the full cutter 31 and half cutter 35 arranged along the conveying direction, the half cutter 35 is positioned adjacent to the support wall 15, and the full cutter 31 is positioned inside the conveying direction (away from the support wall 15) than the half cutter 35.

[0032] like Figure 4 As shown, the full cutter 31 is positioned inside the conveying direction relative to the belt guide 17. The full cutter 31 has a fixed blade 32 and a movable blade 33. The fixed blade 32 is located adjacent to the support portion 17b in the X-axis direction, and the movable blade 33 is located adjacent to the guide portion 17a in the X-axis direction. The fixed blade 32 is fixed to the support portion 17b. The movable blade 33 is supported relative to the support wall 15 in a manner that allows it to rotate around an axis (not shown) in the X-axis direction. The movable blade 33 is forced by a spring (not shown) in a direction separating it from the fixed blade 32. This separated state is the basic state of the full cutter 31; when making a full cut on the belt 20, the movable blade 33 moves against the force of the spring.

[0033] The full cutter 31 cuts the strip 20 integrally in the thickness direction (from the release paper layer 21 to the printed layer 23 integrally in the thickness direction) using a scissor structure. The movable blade 33 approaches the fixed blade 32, and the tips of the fixed blade 32 and the movable blade 33 intersect in the Y-axis direction, cutting the strip 20 between their tips.

[0034] like Figure 4 As shown, the semi-cutter 35 is positioned outside the conveying direction relative to the guide member 17. The semi-cutter 35 has a blade-bearing member 36 and a cutting blade 37.

[0035] The blade receiving member 36 is a plate-shaped member disposed between the support portion 17b of the belt guide 17 and the support wall 15 in the X-axis direction, and the side surface of the blade receiving member 36 is fixed to the inner side surface of the support wall 15 in a close contact state. In other words, the blade receiving member 36 is fixed adjacent to the support wall 15 in the conveyance direction of the belt 20.

[0036] The support portion 17b of the belt guide 17 is in contact with and fixed to the inner side surface (the side surface on the side opposite to the side fixed to the support wall 15) of the blade receiving member 36 in the conveyance direction. In addition, the fixed blade 32 of the full cutter 31 is in contact with and fixed to the inner side surface (the side surface on the side opposite to the side fixed to the blade receiving member 36) of the support portion 17b in the conveyance direction. That is, from the inner side to the outer side in the conveyance direction, the fixed blade 32 of the full cutter 31, the support portion 17b of the belt guide 17, the blade receiving member 36 of the half cutter 35, and the support wall 15 are arranged in this order, and these members are in a fixed relationship with each other.

[0037] The method of fixing these members is not limited, and as an example, the blade receiving member 36 is fixed to the support wall 15 by screwing. The fixing can be performed by any method such as bonding or welding. In addition, in addition to the blade receiving member 36, a common fastening structure in which the support portion 17b of the belt guide 17 and the fixed blade 32 of the full cutter 31 are fixed by screws can be employed with respect to the support wall 15.

[0038] The blade receiving member 36 has a supported portion 36a along the side surface of the support wall 15, and the supported portion 36a is fixed with respect to the support wall 15. At the front end in the Y-axis direction of the supported portion 36a, a receiving portion 36b curved in a curved shape toward the outer side in the conveyance direction with respect to the supported portion 36a is provided. The receiving portion 36b is in contact with the edge portion 15a of the support wall 15 in the Y-axis direction and extends long in the Z-axis direction (see FIG. 6). Figure 2 Since the receiving portion 36b is supported by the pair of edge portions 15a provided near both ends in the Z-axis direction in the support wall 15, the position of the receiving portion 36b can be determined with high accuracy.

[0039] For example, in a structure in which the pair of edge portions 15a is not as in the present embodiment, but the entire end surface of the support wall 15 extending in the Z-axis direction supports the receiving portion 36b, in a case where a portion of the end surface of the support wall 15 has a shape defect (unevenness, etc.), the receiving portion 36b can be inclined, and thus it is necessary to manage the precision of the entire end surface of the support wall 15. In contrast, in the structure of the present embodiment, only the pair of edge portions 15a needs to be managed with high precision, and the region between the pair of edge portions 15a is formed in a retreat shape (concave shape) that does not come into contact with the receiving portion 36b, and thus it is possible to easily manage the precision of the support wall 15, and it is possible to support the receiving portion 36b with high precision.

[0040] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cutting blade 37 is composed of a blade portion 37a and a stopper 37b. The blade portion 37a and the stopper 37b are joined in overlap in the X-axis direction. The blade portion 37a has a sharp, pointed shape for cutting, and the stopper 37b does not have such a sharp, pointed shape as the blade portion 37a. As shown in Fig. 2, the stopper 37b has a larger protrusion amount in the Y-axis direction near both ends in the Z-axis direction than the blade portion 37a, and there is a difference S1 in the protrusion amount between the pointed end of the blade portion 37a and the front end of the stopper 37b. The difference S1 is set to a value smaller than the thickness T1 of the release paper layer 21 in the tape 20 (S1 < T1). Figure 4 Figure 5 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cutting blade 37 is composed of a blade portion 37a and a stopper 37b. The blade portion 37a and the stopper 37b are joined in overlap in the X-axis direction. The blade portion 37a has a sharp, pointed shape for cutting, and the stopper 37b does not have such a sharp, pointed shape as the blade portion 37a. As shown in Fig. 2, the stopper 37b has a larger protrusion amount in the Y-axis direction near both ends in the Z-axis direction than the blade portion 37a, and there is a difference S1 in the protrusion amount between the pointed end of the blade portion 37a and the front end of the stopper 37b. The difference S1 is set to a value smaller than the thickness T1 of the release paper layer 21 in the tape 20 (S1 < T1). Figure 5 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cutting blade 37 is composed of a blade portion 37a and a stopper 37b. The blade portion 37a and the stopper 37b are joined in overlap in the X-axis direction. The blade portion 37a has a sharp, pointed shape for cutting, and the stopper 37b does not have such a sharp, pointed shape as the blade portion 37a. As shown in Fig. 2, the stopper 37b has a larger protrusion amount in the Y-axis direction near both ends in the Z-axis direction than the blade portion 37a, and there is a difference S1 in the protrusion amount between the pointed end of the blade portion 37a and the front end of the stopper 37b. The difference S1 is set to a value smaller than the thickness T1 of the release paper layer 21 in the tape 20 (S1 < T1).

[0041] Figure 4 As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the cutting blade 37 is composed of a blade portion 37a and a stopper 37b. The blade portion 37a and the stopper 37b are joined in overlap in the X-axis direction. The blade portion 37a has a sharp, pointed shape for cutting, and the stopper 37b does not have such a sharp, pointed shape as the blade portion 37a. As shown in Fig. 2, the stopper 37b has a larger protrusion amount in the Y-axis direction near both ends in the Z-axis direction than the blade portion 37a, and there is a difference S1 in the protrusion amount between the pointed end of the blade portion 37a and the front end of the stopper 37b. The difference S1 is set to a value smaller than the thickness T1 of the release paper layer 21 in the tape 20 (S1 < T1). Figure 5 (a) is a state in which the cutting blade 37 is separated from the receiving portion 36b, Figure 5 (b) is a half-cut state in which the cutting blade 37 is closest to the receiving portion 36b.

[0042] In the half-cut state, the front end of the stopper 37b comes into abutment with the receiving portion 36b from the side opposite the edge portion 15a of the support wall 15, and further approach is limited. The blade portion 37a cuts into the tape 20 up to the middle of the tape 20, and stops in a state in which the receiving portion 36b is separated by the difference S1 in the protrusion amount from the stopper 37b. The difference S1 on the side of the cutting blade 37 and the thickness T1 of the release paper layer 21 are set to values that cause the blade portion 37a to cut into the middle of the release paper layer 21. Thus, in the half-cut state, the blade portion 37a cuts the adhesive layer 22 and the print layer 23, and the blade portion 37a becomes a state in which it cuts into the middle of the release paper layer 21. In the portion in which the blade portion 37a does not cut, the release paper layer 21 is not cut and is continuous in the X-axis direction.

[0043] ​​As described above, the half cutter 35 is a press cutting structure that abuts the cutting blade 37 with the stopper 37b against the blade receiving member 36, receives the force from the cutting blade 37 by the blade receiving member 36, and cuts a portion of the thickness of the tape 20 (the adhesive layer 22 and the print layer 23).

[0044] The cutting blade 37 is attached to the movable member 40. As shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3 The movable member 40 is a plate-shaped member that can rotate about the rotation axis 40a in the X-axis direction, and the rotation axis 40a is supported by the support wall 15. The area around the rotation axis 40a of the movable member 40 is disposed at a position on the side of the outer side in the conveyance direction in the support wall 15. As described above, since the blade receiving member 36 of the half cutter 35 is supported on the side of the inner side in the conveyance direction in the support wall 15, the blade receiving member 36 is supported on one side of the support wall 15, and the movable member 40 is supported on the other side of the support wall 15 (on the side opposite to the blade receiving member 36 with the support wall 15 interposed).

[0045] Thus, by separately disposing the fixed portion, that is, the blade receiving member 36 in the half cutter 35 and the movable member 40 in which the movable portion, that is, the cutting blade 37 in the half cutter 35 is attached, on both sides of the support wall 15, the constituent elements of the half cutter 35 can be accommodated in the area close to the support wall 15 with good space efficiency.

[0046] As shown in Figure 2 The movable member 40 is substantially L-shaped when viewed from the side in the X-axis direction, and the vicinity of the bend of the L is supported by the rotation axis 40a. The cutting blade 37 is attached to the first arm portion 40b of the L-shaped movable member 40. The cutting blade 37 is fixed to the first arm portion 40b by the fixing screw 42. As shown in Figure 4 The cutting blade 37 is attached to the face in the first arm portion 40b that faces the inner side in the conveyance direction. Therefore, the first arm portion 40b is located on the outer side in the conveyance direction than the support wall 15, and the cutting blade 37 is disposed at the same position as the support wall 15 in the X-axis direction (in the arrangement relationship in the Y-axis direction), and the distance between the leading end of the cutting blade 37 and the receiving portion 36b of the blade receiving member 36 can be changed by the rotation (swing) of the movable member 40.

[0047] In addition, the movement of the cutting blade 37 is performed by the swing of the movable member 40 about the rotation axis 40a, but in the state where the cutting blade 37 abuts against the receiving portion 36b, the leading end of the cutting blade 37 is substantially parallel to the receiving portion 36b (becomes a direction extending in the Z-axis direction). Therefore, the press cutting force applied to the blade receiving member 36 from the cutting blade 37 at the time of half cutting is mainly in the component in the Y-axis direction.

[0048] A tension spring 41 is connected between the first arm 40b of the movable member 40 and the spring suspension portion 14b of the chassis 14. The tension spring 41 applies a force to the movable member 40 in the direction that causes the cutting blade 37 to separate from the blade bearing member 36. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The diagram shows the state in which the cutting blade 37 is separated from the blade bearing member 36 by the force of the tension spring 41. This separated state is the basic state of the half-cutter 35, in which the movable member 40 is actuated against the force of the tension spring 41 when half-cutting the belt 20.

[0049] The second arm 40c of the L-shaped movable member 40 has a crank shape that bends in the X-axis direction midway. Furthermore, near the front end of the second arm 40c, located inside the support wall 15 in the conveying direction, it has a cam follower 40d protruding from the second arm 40c (see reference). Figure 1 and Figure 2 ).

[0050] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a motor 43 is mounted on the outside of the support wall 15. The rotation of the output shaft of the motor 43 is transmitted while being reduced in speed by the reduction gear system 44. A cam member 45 is provided, which rotates integrally with the final gear of the reduction gear system 44. A cutter control cam 45a is formed on the cam member 45. The output shaft of the motor 43 extends in the Y-axis direction. The axes of rotation of each gear constituting the reduction gear system 44 and the respective rotation axes of the cam member 45 extend in the Z-axis direction. The direction of rotational transmission is changed by a bevel gear provided on the outer surface of the output shaft of the motor 43, and driving force is transmitted from the motor 43 to the reduction gear system 44.

[0051] like Figure 2 As shown, the movable blade 33 of the full cutter 31 has a cam follower 33a located near the cutter control cam 45a. The cam follower 40d of the movable member 40 is also located near the cutter control cam 45a. The cam follower 33a and the cam follower 40d are separately arranged on both sides of the cutter control cam 45a in the rotational direction of the cam member 45.

[0052] Motor 43 is a DC motor. By switching the rotation direction of the output shaft of motor 43, the rotation direction of cam member 45 is changed. This will cause cam member 45 to rotate in the first direction ( Figure 2 The motor 43, which rotates counterclockwise, is set to drive clockwise, which will cause the cam component 45 to rotate in the second direction (counterclockwise). Figure 2 The driving direction of the motor 43, which rotates clockwise, is set to reverse.

[0053] When the cam member 45 is rotated in the first direction by forward rotation of the motor 43, the cutter control cam 45a pushes the cam follower 33a. Then, the movable blade 33 acts against the force of the spring applied to the movable blade 33 in the direction (clockwise direction) of approaching the fixed blade 32, and performs full cutting of the tape 20. Figure 2

[0054] When the cam member 45 is rotated in the second direction by reverse rotation of the motor 43, the cutter control cam 45a pushes the cam follower 40d. Then, the cutting blade 37 acts against the force of the tension spring 41 applied to the movable member 40 in the direction (clockwise direction) of approaching the blade receiving member 36, and performs half cutting of the tape 20. Figure 2

[0055] A pair of cam position detection switches 46 that detect the rotational position of the cam member 45 are provided around the cam member 45. The pair of cam position detection switches 46 respectively have a projection that contacts the peripheral surface cam 45b of the cam member 45, and the projection changes to a projected state and a depressed state according to a change in the shape of the peripheral surface cam 45b caused by rotation of the cam member 45.

[0056] According to the positional relationship of the projections of the pair of cam position detection switches 46, it is possible to detect an initial state in which neither of the cutters act, a full cutting state in which the full cutter 31 performs cutting action, and a half cutting state in which the half cutter 35 performs cutting action. Figure 2 The initial state is shown in which the projection of one of the cam position detection switches 46 is projected, and the projection of the other of the cam position detection switches 46 is depressed. In the full cutting state, the projections of both of the pair of cam position detection switches 46 are in the projected state. In the half cutting state, the projections of both of the pair of cam position detection switches 46 are in the depressed state.

[0057] In the full cutting, the control section of the printing device 10 causes the motor 43 to rotate forward until the above-described full cutting state is detected, and when the full cutting state is detected, the motor 43 is stopped, and then the motor 43 is reversed to return to the initial state. In the half cutting, the control section of the printing device 10 causes the motor 43 to reverse, until the above-described half cutting state is detected, and when the half cutting state is detected, the motor 43 is stopped, and then the motor 43 is rotated forward to return to the initial state. The torque generated at the time point when the motor 43 is stopped in the half cutting state is transmitted to the cutting blade 37 through the reduction gear train 44, the cam member 45, and the movable member 40, and the load is applied from the stopper 37b to the blade receiving member 36.

[0058] ​​In the cutting mechanism 30 that operates as described above, the full cutter 31 cuts (full cutting) the tape 20 in a scissors structure in which the fixed blade 32 and the movable blade 33 cross each other, and therefore, a strong force toward the Y-axis direction is not applied from the movable blade 33 to the fixed blade 32 at the time of cutting. In contrast, with respect to the half cutter 35, since the tape 20 is cut (half cutting) in a press-cut structure in which the cutting blade 37 with the stopper 37b abuts against the receiving portion 36b of the blade receiving member 36, a force toward the Y-axis direction is input from the cutting blade 37 to the blade receiving member 36 at the time of cutting. The force applied to the blade receiving member 36 at the time of half cutting differs depending on the model of the printing device 10 or the like, and as an example, a load of about 40 kg is applied.

[0059] To explain the effect of the printing device 10 of the present embodiment, a comparative example having a different structure from the present embodiment is shown in Figure 6 The cutting mechanism 130 in the comparative example has a full cutter 131 and a half cutter 135.

[0060] The full cutter 131 has a fixed blade 132 and a movable blade 133, and cuts the tape 120 as a whole in the thickness direction by a scissors structure in which the fixed blade 132 and the movable blade 133 cross each other. The half cutter 135 has a blade receiving member 136 and a cutting blade 137, the cutting blade 137 has a blade portion 137a and a stopper 137b, and is supported by a movable member 140. Then, a part of the thickness of the tape 120 is cut in a press-cut structure in which the stopper 137b of the cutting blade 137 abuts against the receiving portion 136b of the blade receiving member 136.

[0061] The tape guide 117 has a guide portion 117a and a support portion 117b that are located on both sides of the tape 120 in the Y-axis direction.

[0062] In the cutting mechanism 130, the full cutter 131 is arranged adjacent to the support wall 115 that is a part of the chassis on the outer side in the conveyance direction. The tape guide 117 is arranged adjacent to the full cutter 131 on the outer side in the conveyance direction, and the half cutter 135 is further arranged on the outer side in the conveyance direction with respect to the tape guide 117. In more detail, the fixed blade 132 of the full cutter 131, the support portion 117b of the tape guide 117, and the supported portion 136a of the blade receiving member 136 of the half cutter 135 are arranged in this order toward the outer side in the conveyance direction with the support wall 115 as a reference. The supported portion 136a is fixed with respect to the support portion 117b. Therefore, the distance in the X-axis direction from the support wall 115 to the blade receiving member 136 becomes large.

[0063] Furthermore, the bearing portion 136b of the blade bearing member 136 bends outward in the conveying direction. Therefore, the position where the cutting blade 137 abuts against the bearing portion 136b is further away from the support wall 115.

[0064] Figure 6 (a) shows the case where, in a cutting mechanism 130 with such a structure, a load is applied from the cutting blade 137 to the bearing portion 136b of the blade bearing member 136 in the Y-axis direction during a half-cut. Here, the bearing portion 136b, which serves as the input point of the load, and the support wall 115, which ultimately bears the load, are offset significantly in the X-axis direction. Therefore, when the load applied to the blade bearing member 136 is large, a large bending moment inclined relative to the Y-axis direction is generated.

[0065] The support wall 115 has high strength to resist loads (compressive loads) applied linearly in the Y-axis direction. On the other hand, since the thickness of the support wall 115 in the X-axis direction is limited, and the support wall 115 is a cantilever structure at the location supporting the fixed blade 132 and the blade-bearing member 136, the support wall 115 is prone to deformation in the X-axis direction. Here, when a large load is applied from the cutting blade 137 to the blade-bearing member 136 and the aforementioned bending moment is generated, such as… Figure 6 As shown in (b), the support wall 115 may bend and deform in the X-axis direction.

[0066] When the support wall 115 bends, the fixed blade 132 and the blade bearing member 136 supported by the support wall 115 also tilt along with the support wall 115. This causes the bearing portion 136b to deviate from its designed position relative to the cutting blade 137, resulting in excessive or insufficient cutting depth during partial cutting. Figure 6 In example (b), due to the inclination of the blade bearing member 136, the gap between the bearing part 136b and the blade part 137a increases, and the cutting depth of the blade part 137a becomes insufficient.

[0067] and, Figure 6 The deformation of the support wall 115 shown in (b) is not elastic deformation but plastic deformation. If the deformation of the support wall 115 is maintained after the half-cutting action, the positional displacement of the blade bearing member 136 will continue in the next cutting action.

[0068] Furthermore, while maintaining the deformation of the support wall 115, the position of the fixed blade 132 of the full cutter 131 also remains offset, which may prevent the proper full cutting action from being performed. For example, in Figure 6 In the state shown in (b), the fixed blade 132 is located on the movement trajectory of the movable blade 133, and the movable blade 133 no longer intersects with the fixed blade 132, thus avoiding conflict. The support wall 115 faces towards... Figure 6In the case where the movable blade 133 is bent on the side opposite to the direction indicated by (b), the distance between the fixed blade 132 and the movable blade 133 becomes too large, and the tape 120 can not be cut.

[0069] In contrast to the comparative example, in the printing device 10 of the present embodiment, the support wall 15 and the blade receiving member 36 are adjacent to each other in the conveyance direction (X-axis direction) without other members interposed therebetween, and the distance between the blade receiving member 36 and the support wall 15 in the X-axis direction is short. Therefore, when the blade receiving member 36 receives a load in the Y-axis direction from the cutting blade 37, a moment that inclines with respect to the input direction of the load is less likely to act. Figure 6 Further, the blade receiving member 36 has a receiving portion 36b that is curved toward the outside (the support wall 15 side) in the conveyance direction, and the receiving portion 36b is located at a position that is in contact with the edge portion 15a of the support wall 15. Therefore, the cutting blade 37, the receiving portion 36b, and the support wall 15 are in a positional relationship in which they are aligned in the Y-axis direction, and when the half-cutting is performed, the load from the cutting blade 37 is linearly input to the support wall 15 via the receiving portion 36b. The support wall 15 has high strength with respect to the load (compression load) that is linearly input in the Y-axis direction, and therefore, it is highly advantageous in terms of strength that the load is received by the edge portion 15a. In addition, by directly receiving the force from the receiving portion 36b with the edge portion 15a, a shearing load is less likely to be generated between the supported portion 36a of the blade receiving member 36 and the support wall 15.

[0070] According to the above reasons, even when the cutting mechanism 30 exerts a strong force on the blade receiving member 36 from the cutting blade 37 when the half-cutting is performed, the blade receiving member 36 and the support wall 15 are less likely to be deformed, and a structure in which the reliability and durability of the operation of the half-cutter 35 are excellent is achieved.

[0071] By studying the arrangement of the components that constitute the full-cutter 31 or the half-cutter 35, an effect of improving the load resistance is obtained, and for each component, no particularly large size or weight increase for improving the rigidity is required. For example, the support wall 15 is set to have the same thickness as the other wall portions that constitute the chassis 14, and no countermeasure of simply increasing the wall thickness of the support wall 15 is implemented, but the required strength as the support portion of the cutting mechanism 30 is sufficiently satisfied. Therefore, the printing device 10 including the cutting mechanism 30 can be configured to be small and light, and thus the manufacturing cost can be suppressed.

[0072]

[0073] ​In order to reliably perform the half-cutting in the half-cutter 35, it is necessary to precisely manage the interval of the receiving portion 36b of the blade receiving member 36 and the blade portion 37a of the cutting blade 37. Here, since it is a structure that inhibits the inclination of the blade receiving member 36, the interval of the receiving portion 36b and the blade portion 37a does not change, and the position management of the blade portion 37a in the cutting blade 37 becomes easy. Specifically, it is sufficient to appropriately manage the difference S1 of the protrusion amounts of the blade portion 37a and the stopper 37b Figure 5 ) and the dimensional tolerance of the protrusion amount of the stopper 37b can be eased (the case where the blade receiving member 36 inclines can not be considered), and thus the manufacturing cost of the cutting mechanism 30 can be reduced.

[0074] Regarding the full-cutter 31, since it is a structure that the half-cutter 35 and the tape guide 17 are arranged between the full-cutter 31 and the support wall 15, the distance of the full-cutter 31 from the support wall 15 in the X-axis direction is larger than that of the half-cutter 35. However, since it is a structure that the movable blade 33 is not pressed against the fixed blade 32 at the time of full-cutting, the full-cutter 31 does not easily apply a large force to the support portions of the movable blade 33 and the fixed blade 32 compared to the half-cutter 35. Therefore, even if the full-cutter 31 is arranged as in the cutting mechanism 30 of the present embodiment, a large moment that deforms the support wall 15 is not applied at the time of full-cutting.

[0075] Thus, the cutting mechanism 30 in the printing device 10 of the present embodiment, in view of the difference in the conditions of the structures and the actions of the full-cutter 31 and the half-cutter 35, has clarified and achieved that how to arrange the full-cutter 31 and the half-cutter 35 with respect to the support wall 15 is advantageous in terms of load resistance.

[0076] Furthermore, for the blade receiving member 36 that constitutes the half-cutter 35, the receiving portion 36b that is located on the extension line of the support wall 15 in the Y-axis direction is provided, and the receiving portion 36b and the support wall 15 are located in the direction of the force received from the cutting blade 37, and thus a bending moment that inclines the support wall 15 is less likely to occur.

[0077] In addition, in the Z-axis direction (the width direction of the tape 20), the edge portion 15a of the support wall 15 and the receiving portion 36b are in abutment at two portions that cross the passing region of the tape 20, and thus the positional accuracy of the receiving portion 36b is easily managed, and the position of the receiving portion 36b can be determined with high accuracy.

[0078] In addition, the blade receiving member 36 (supported portion 36a) of the half cutter 35 and the movable member 40 that supports the cutting blade 37 are arranged separately on both sides of the support wall 15. According to this structure, the space efficiency for arranging the components of the half cutter 35 is improved, and the cross-sectional rigidity is improved by the laminated relationship of the blade receiving member 36, the support wall 15, and the movable member 40. Thus, the strength in the vicinity of the half cutter 35 becomes more excellent.

[0079] The above embodiments are specific examples shown for easy understanding of the invention, and the invention is not limited to these embodiments. Various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0080] As a modification, instead of arranging the tape guide 17 between the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35, the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35 can be arranged adjacent to each other in the X-axis direction. However, when the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35 are adjacent to each other, interference can occur when the movable blade 33 of the full cutter 31 or the cutting blade 37 of the half cutter 35 operates, and thus it is preferable to secure a prescribed gap between the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35, taking into account the absorption of precision errors.

[0081] The tape guide 17 of the present embodiment has a function as a spacer for securing a gap between the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35, in addition to the function of guiding the tape 20 by the guide portion 17a or supporting the fixed blade 32 by the support portion 17b. Since the tape guide 17 is arranged between the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35 as described above, the advantages are great, and thus this structure is employed in the printing device 10 of the present embodiment.

[0082] As another modification, with respect to the half cutter 35, a structure in which the full cutter 31 is arranged outside the support wall 15 in the conveyance direction can also be employed on the basis of the structure of the present embodiment. That is, the positional relationship of the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35 in the X-axis direction is reversed, and the structure in which the half cutter 35 and the full cutter 31 are arranged on both sides of the support wall 15. However, the cutting device is designed mostly with the position of the full cutter as a reference, and if the full cutter 31 is arranged at a position outside the support wall 15 in the conveyance direction, the distance from the thermal head 12 to the full cutter 31 becomes long, and the utilization efficiency of the tape 20 can decrease (the area that is not used for printing increases).

[0083] From such a viewpoint, in the printing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a structure is adopted in which the full cutter 31 and the half cutter 35 are arranged in this order from the upstream side in the conveyance direction. With this configuration, the utilization efficiency of the tape 20 is improved. In addition, by not arranging the full cutter 31 on the outer side in the conveyance direction with respect to the support wall 15, it is possible to prevent the printing apparatus 10 from becoming large, particularly, the conveyance path in the X-axis direction from being elongated and enlarged.

[0084] In the printing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the cutter having the cutting edge 37 and the edge receiving member 36 is the half cutter 35, but the cutter having the press-cutting structure of the cutting edge 37 and the edge receiving member 36 is not limited to the half cutter. For example, the cutter (i.e., having the cutting edge and the edge receiving member) to which the press-cutting structure of the present application is applied can also be a full cutter that cuts the tape as a whole in the thickness direction. Since the problem of easily applying a bending moment due to a strong load applied at the time of cutting originates from the press-cutting structure, the technical idea of the present application is useful for all cutters having the press-cutting structure.

Claims

1. A cutting mechanism for a printing apparatus, characterized in that, have: A semi-cutter having a cutting blade and a blade-bearing member, wherein the blade-bearing member bears a force from the cutting blade while the cutting blade cuts at least a portion of the printed medium. A full cutter cuts the printed medium entirely in the thickness direction; With guides, the printed medium conveyed by the conveying unit is guided to the outside of the device body in the conveying direction; as well as The support member is configured to suppress deformation of the blade-bearing member. The blade bearing member is adjacent to and fixed to the support member. The full cutter, the guide belt, and the cutting blade are arranged sequentially from the inside of the main body of the device in the conveying direction.

2. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support member is a support wall provided in a direction intersecting the conveying direction, and is positioned in the same direction as the cutting blade.

3. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guide is a separator used to ensure the gap between the full cutter and the half cutter.

4. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, The guide member has an inclined portion, which is configured to slope from the inside to the outside of the device body and reduce the gap between it and the support member.

5. A cutting mechanism for a printing apparatus, characterized in that, have: The chassis, on which the various components constituting the printing apparatus are mounted, constitutes the main body of the printing apparatus; and A cutter having a cutting blade and a blade-bearing member, wherein the blade-bearing member bears a force from the cutting blade while the cutting blade cuts off at least a portion of the printed medium. The chassis includes a base plate and a support member, the support member being configured to protrude from the base plate and suppress deformation of the blade-bearing member. The blade bearing member is adjacent to the support member and is fixed to the support member.

6. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The cutting blade and the blade-bearing member constitute a semi-cutter that cuts off a portion of the thickness of the printed medium. When cutting off a portion of the thickness of the printed medium, a stop provided on the cutting blade abuts against the blade-bearing member. It also includes a full cutter that cuts the printed medium entirely in the thickness direction. The support member is a support wall provided in a direction intersecting the transport direction of the printed medium.

7. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, It also has a gear train mounted on the outside of the support member in the direction of conveying the printed medium, for driving the cutter.

8. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The chassis is made of metal.

9. The cutting mechanism of the printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, 5, and 6, characterized in that, The blade bearing member has a supported portion and a bearing portion, the supported portion being along the side of the bearing member, and the bearing portion being curved relative to the supported portion and disposed along the edge portion of the bearing member facing the transport path of the printing medium. The cutting blade abuts against the bearing portion from the side opposite to the edge of the supporting member.

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