Thermal printer

Abstract

A thermal printer is characterized by comprising an upper cover assembly, a thermal printhead assembly disposed inside the upper cover assembly, a lower base, and a rubber roller disposed on the lower base. The upper cover assembly is closably disposed on the lower base. The upper cover assembly is characterized by a rotatable paper guide roller disposed inside the upper cover assembly. During paper output, the paper guide roller maintains rolling contact with the paper to separate the paper from the inner wall of the upper cover assembly. The ingenious design of the paper roller reduces direct contact between the paper and the inner wall of the upper cover assembly. Through the rolling friction between the paper guide roller and the paper, resistance during travel is effectively reduced, thereby ensuring print quality.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to a printing device, and more particularly to a thermal printer. Background Technology

[0002] Existing portable thermal printers generally consist of a motor, a top cover assembly, a thermal printhead assembly located inside the top cover assembly, a lower base, and a rubber roller mounted on the lower base. The top cover assembly is closable on the lower base, and the axis of the rubber roller is parallel to the length direction of the thermal printhead assembly. The lower base has a paper tray for accommodating the paper roll. With the top cover assembly closed in the lower base, the rubber roller and the thermal printhead assembly are pressed together, and the printing paper is held and pulled through the gap between the rubber roller and the thermal printhead assembly. The motor drives the rubber roller to rotate through a transmission mechanism, thereby pulling the printing paper to complete the printing operation.

[0003] Occasionally, after the paper is ejected from an existing thermal printer, the paper coating is damaged, resulting in printing spots. The reason for this is that there is sliding friction between the paper and the inner wall of the top cover assembly before the paper is ejected. Excessive frictional resistance causes the coating to wear down, leading to printing spots. Utility Model Content

[0004] The first technical problem to be solved by this utility model is to provide a thermal printer in view of the above-mentioned technical status quo, in which there is no rolling friction between the printing paper and the top cover assembly.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by this utility model to solve the first technical problem mentioned above is as follows: a thermal printer, characterized in that it includes an upper cover assembly, a thermal printhead assembly disposed inside the upper cover assembly, a lower base, and a rubber roller disposed on the lower base. The aforementioned upper cover assembly is disposed on the lower base in an openable and closable manner, and the axial direction of the rubber roller is parallel to the length direction of the thermal printhead assembly. When the upper cover assembly is closed in the aforementioned lower base, the aforementioned rubber roller is pressed and engaged with the thermal printhead assembly, and the printing paper is clamped and pulled through the gap between the rubber roller and the thermal printhead assembly. The characteristic feature is that a paper guide roller is rotatably disposed inside the upper cover assembly, and when the printing paper is output, the aforementioned paper guide roller can maintain rolling contact with the printing paper to separate the printing paper from the inner wall of the upper cover assembly.

[0006] Preferably, the inner wall of the top cover assembly has a concave region for accommodating the paper roll, and the paper guide roller is located at the port position of the concave region.

[0007] The rotational arrangement of the paper guide roller is preferably configured as follows: the two ends of the paper guide roller have axially extending shaft portions, and the inner wall of the upper cover assembly is provided with a pair of shaft seats spaced apart, each shaft seat having a shaft hole for the aforementioned shaft portions to be movably arranged.

[0008] Furthermore, the inner wall of the upper cover assembly is provided with a shaft support portion. This shaft support portion is arranged near the shaft seat and has a shaft groove on its front end face. When the paper guide roller is assembled with the shaft seat, the shaft portion is placed in the aforementioned shaft groove. The shaft support portion provides excellent support for the shaft portion, preventing the paper guide roller from moving around excessively, providing stable rolling friction, and at the same time reducing the precision requirements of the shaft hole of the shaft seat.

[0009] Furthermore, the lower base is equipped with a paper cutting mechanism near the paper outlet.

[0010] Furthermore, the lower base has a paper compartment for accommodating paper rolls, and a pair of paper roll support frames are provided on opposite sides of the paper compartment. When the paper roll is in the assembled state, both sides of the paper roll are connected to the paper roll support frames and can rotate.

[0011] Furthermore, the top of the paper roll support frame extends outward with a cantilever portion that elastically bends under pressure. When the upper cover assembly is closed to the lower base, the aforementioned cantilever portion presses against the inner wall of the upper cover assembly, thereby stabilizing the limiting position of the paper roll support frame. The elastic bending of the cantilever portion generates a counterforce, counteracting the outward pushing force when the paper roll rotates, thus preventing it from detaching due to the outward pushing force generated when the paper roll rotates.

[0012] Compared with existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: the ingenious design of the paper guide roller reduces direct contact between the printing paper and the inner wall of the top cover assembly. The rolling friction between the paper guide roller and the printing paper effectively reduces resistance during travel. If the paper guide roller were omitted, the printing paper would experience more sliding friction during contact with the inner surface of the top cover assembly. This sliding friction generates relatively high resistance, which could potentially wear down the valuable coating on the printing surface of the paper, leaving stains on the printed product. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure after the upper cover assembly and the lower base are closed in the embodiment.

[0014] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure after the upper cover assembly and the lower base are flipped open in the embodiment.

[0015] Figure 3 for Figure 2 Enlarged view of the combination of the central guide roller and the top cover assembly.

[0016] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Enlarged view of section A.

[0017] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Exploded assembly diagram of the central guide roller.

[0018] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the paper roll after installation.

[0019] Figure 7 This is a three-dimensional sectional view of the embodiment in its working state. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0021] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, there is a thermal printer top cover assembly 1, a thermal printhead assembly 3 disposed inside the top cover assembly 1, a lower base 2, and a rubber roller 4 disposed on the lower base 2. The top cover assembly 1 is disposed on the lower base 2 in an openable and closable manner. The axial direction of the rubber roller 4 is parallel to the length direction of the thermal printhead assembly. When the top cover assembly 1 is closed in the lower base 2, the rubber roller 4 and the thermal printhead assembly 3 are pressed together, and the printing paper is clamped and pulled through the gap between the rubber roller 4 and the thermal printhead assembly 3.

[0022] When the upper cover assembly 1 is closed to the lower base 2, a paper outlet 1a is formed between them. A paper cutting mechanism 41 is located on the lower base 2 near the paper outlet 1a. Figure 7 As shown, the lower base 2 has a paper compartment 21 for housing the paper roll 10. A pair of paper roll support frames 5 are provided on opposite sides of the paper compartment 21. When the paper roll 10 is in the assembled state, both sides of the paper roll 10 are connected to the paper roll support frames 5 and can rotate freely.

[0023] Combination Figure 7 As shown, the top of the paper roll support frame 5 extends outward with a cantilever portion 51 that can be elastically bent when pressed. When the upper cover assembly 1 is closed to the lower base 2, the cantilever portion 51 is pressed against the inner wall of the upper cover assembly 1, thereby stabilizing the limiting position of the paper roll support frame 5.

[0024] like Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 7 As shown, a paper guide roller 8 is rotatably provided on the inner side of the upper cover assembly 1. When the printing paper is output, the paper guide roller 8 can maintain rolling contact with the printing paper to separate the printing paper from the inner wall of the upper cover assembly 1.

[0025] The guide roller 8 is positioned as follows: the inner wall of the upper cover assembly 1 has a concave region 11 for accommodating the paper roll 10, and the guide roller 8 is located at the port of the concave region 11.

[0026] The guide roller 8 has axially extending shaft portions 81 at both ends. A pair of bearing seats 12 are spaced apart on the inner wall of the upper cover assembly 1, each bearing seat 12 having a shaft hole 121 for the shaft portion 81 to move within. A shaft support portion 13 is provided on the inner wall of the upper cover assembly 1. This shaft support portion 13 is arranged close to the bearing seat 12 and has a shaft groove 131 on its front end face. When the guide roller 8 is assembled with the bearing seat 12, the shaft portion 81 is placed within the shaft groove 131. The shaft support portion provides excellent support for the shaft portion, preventing large-scale movement of the guide roller, providing stable rolling friction, and reducing the precision requirements of the bearing seat shaft hole.

[0027] The ingenious design of the paper guide roller reduces direct contact between the printing paper and the inner wall of the top cover assembly. The rolling friction between the paper guide roller and the printing paper effectively reduces resistance during travel. Without the paper guide roller, the printing paper would experience more sliding friction in contact with the inner surface of the top cover assembly. This sliding friction generates greater resistance and could potentially wear down the precious coating on the printing surface, leaving stains on the printed product.

Claims

1. A thermal printer, characterized in that... The device includes an upper cover assembly (1), a thermal printhead assembly (3) disposed inside the upper cover assembly (1), a lower base (2), and a rubber roller (4) disposed on the lower base (2). The upper cover assembly (1) is disposed on the lower base (2) in an openable and closable manner. The axial direction of the rubber roller (4) is parallel to the length direction of the thermal printhead assembly (3). When the upper cover assembly (1) is closed in the lower base (2), the rubber roller (4) is pressed and engaged with the thermal printhead assembly (3), and the printing paper is clamped and pulled through the gap between the rubber roller (4) and the thermal printhead assembly (3). The device is characterized in that a paper guide roller (8) is rotatably disposed inside the upper cover assembly (1). When the printing paper is output, the paper guide roller (8) can maintain rolling contact with the printing paper to separate the printing paper from the inner wall of the upper cover assembly (1).

2. The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The inner wall of the upper cover assembly (1) has a concave region (11) for accommodating the paper roll, and the paper guide roller (8) is located at the port of the concave region (11).

3. The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The paper guide roller (8) has axially extending shaft portions (81) at both ends, and the inner wall of the upper cover assembly (1) is provided with a pair of shaft seats (12) spaced apart, each shaft seat (12) having a shaft hole (121) for the aforementioned shaft portion (81) to be movably disposed.

4. The thermal printer according to claim 3, characterized in that... The inner wall of the upper cover assembly (1) is provided with a shaft support part (13). The shaft support part (13) is arranged close to the shaft seat (12) and has a shaft groove (131) on its front end face. When the paper guide roller (8) is assembled in the shaft seat (12), the shaft part (81) is placed in the aforementioned shaft groove (131).

5. The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The lower base (2) is equipped with a paper cutting mechanism (41) near the paper outlet.

6. The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that... The lower base (2) has a paper compartment (21) for accommodating the paper roll (10). A pair of paper roll support frames (5) are provided on opposite sides of the paper compartment (21). When the paper roll (10) is in the assembled state, both sides of the paper roll (10) are connected to the paper roll support frames (5) and can rotate.

7. The thermal printer according to claim 6, characterized in that... The top of the paper roll support frame (5) extends outward with a cantilever portion (51) that bends elastically when pressed. When the upper cover assembly (1) is closed on the lower base (2), the aforementioned cantilever portion (51) is pressed against the inner wall of the upper cover assembly (1) to stabilize the limiting position of the paper roll support frame (5).

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