Transport device

Abstract

To provide a transport device which enables looseness of a mount to be eliminated easily.SOLUTION: A transport device includes: a platen roller which transports a label sheet comprising a belt-like mount and a label applied to the mount; a peeling roller which rotates with the platen roller in a first position where the peeling roller is pressed to the platen roller and transports the mount sandwiched between itself and the platen roller; a peeling base which contacts with the mount between the platen roller and the peeling roller and bends back a transport direction of the mount at an acute angle to peel the label from the mount; a switch part which switches the position of the peeling roller between the first position and a second position at the downstream side in a transport direction of the mount which moves away from the platen roller; and a mount guide which the peeling roller moving between the first position and the second position contacts in a rolling manner.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a conveying device.

Background Art

[0002] Some printers that print on label paper in which labels of a specified size are attached to a strip-shaped backing paper at predetermined intervals issue (peel and issue) while peeling the labels from the backing paper (for example, Patent Document 1). The peeling of the label is performed by changing the traveling direction of the backing paper at an acute angle by a peeling table provided near the paper discharge port. When the peeled and discharged label is removed from the paper discharge port, the above-described printer issues the next label.

[0003] The determination as to whether the label has been removed is made by detecting whether there is a label between the peeling table and the paper discharge port based on the output of a sensor provided near the paper discharge port. However, if the backing paper that changes the traveling direction at the peeling table is loose without being in close contact with the peeling table, the sensor may detect the backing paper. In this case, the sensor output indicates that there is a label regardless of the presence or absence of the label, which is inconvenient.

[0004] Printers may be downsized by sharing components, etc. In this case, the structure for conveying the backing paper for peel and issue may be a peeling roller that presses the backing paper on the downstream side of the peeling table against the platen roller. In such a structure, the backing paper sandwiched between the peeling roller and the platen roller is conveyed as the platen roller rotates.

[0005] In the above-described structure, when positioning the peeling roller at a position where the backing paper is pressed against the platen roller after sandwiching the label paper between the platen roller and the printing head, it is not easy to keep the backing paper in a taut state without slack. Also, it is difficult to pull out the backing paper sandwiched between the peeling roller and the platen roller without rotating the platen roller in order to remove the slack of the backing paper.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a conveying device capable of easily removing the slack of the mount.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The conveying device according to the embodiment includes a platen roller that conveys label paper composed of a strip-shaped mount and a label attached to the mount, a peeling roller that rotates together with the platen roller at a first position pressed against the platen roller and conveys the mount sandwiched between the platen roller and the peeling roller, a peeling table that contacts the mount between the platen roller and the peeling roller and peels the label from the mount by folding back the conveyance direction of the mount at an acute angle, a switching unit that switches the position of the peeling roller between the first position and a second position on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the mount away from the platen roller, and a mount guide that the peeling roller moving between the first position and the second position rolls in contact with.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

[0009] An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a printer 1 according to the embodiment. The printer 1 includes a housing 2, a display operation unit 3, an open / close button 4, and a paper discharge port 5. The side where the paper discharge port 5 is provided is the front side of the printer 1, and the side opposite to the surface where the paper discharge port 5 is provided is the back side.

[0010] The housing 2 is a box-shaped container and includes an upper case 21 and a lower case 22. A part of the front (front face) of the lower case 22 is constituted by a front cover 23. The upper case 21 has a downward opening, and the lower case 22 has an upward opening. The upper case 21 is rotatably attached to the lower case 22 by a hinge 20 at the side on the back side. Thereby, the upper case 21 and the lower case 22 are rotatably connected, and as they rotate, their openings open and close with each other.

[0011] The hinge 20 rotatably connects the upper case 21 and the lower case 22 on the back side. The hinge 20 includes a biasing member such as a torsion spring on one side in the width direction of the lower case 22. The biasing member biases the upper case 21 in the direction in which the lower case 22 is opened, thereby making the movement of the upper case 21 when closing the lower case 22 gentle.

[0012] The display operation unit 3 is provided on the upper surface of the upper case 21. The display operation unit 3 receives inputs for various operations and displays various information. The open / close button 4 is provided on the front side of the side surface of the upper case 21. When the open / close button 4 is pressed, the locked state of the structure that holds the upper case 21 in the position where the lower case 22 is closed is released, and the upper case 21 is lifted according to the biasing of the biasing member, and the housing 2 is opened.

[0013] The paper discharge port 5 is an opening for issuing (discharging) the label paper 61 after printing, and is provided between the upper end of the front cover 23 and the lower front end of the upper case 21.

[0014] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the state in which the printer 1 according to the embodiment is opened. FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing a side view of an example of the structure of the printer 1 according to the embodiment. Inside the housing 2, a paper holding unit 6, a printing unit 7, a ribbon support unit 8, and a peeling mechanism 9 are provided. The peeling mechanism 9 is an example of a conveying device and is provided inside the front cover 23. Note that the printer 1 including the peeling mechanism 9 is also an example of a conveying device.

[0015] The paper holding unit 6 rotatably holds a roll paper 60 around which a strip-shaped label paper 61 is wound. The label paper 61 is composed of a strip-shaped base paper 610 and a label 611 attached to the base paper 610. Note that the label 611 has an adhesive layer provided on the back surface of the surface (printing surface) to which printing is applied.

[0016] The printing unit 7 applies printing to the label paper 61 while conveying the label paper 61 drawn out from the paper holding unit 6, and includes a printing head 71 and a platen roller 72. The printing head 71 is fixed to the inner surface of the upper case 21 and is in close contact with the platen roller 72 in a state where the upper case 21 closes the opening on the upper surface of the lower case 22.

[0017] The printing head 71 is, for example, a thermal head and includes a plurality of heating elements provided in parallel. The printing head 71 performs printing on the label paper 61 sandwiched between itself and the platen roller 72 by the heat of the heating elements. The platen roller 72 rotates when the driving force of a stepping motor is transmitted, and conveys the label paper 61 sandwiched between itself and the printing head 71.

[0018] Printer 1 performs printing by thermally transferring the ink on the surface of the ink ribbon. The ribbon support unit 8 supports the ink ribbon in a wound state.

[0019] The ribbon support unit 8 includes support shafts 81 and 82. The support shaft 81 supports the unused wound ink ribbon and supplies or rewinds the ink ribbon by rotating. The support shaft 82 winds up the used ink ribbon and winds up or rewinds the ink ribbon by rotating.

[0020] The support shaft 81 and the support shaft 82 are supported at both ends by the inner wall of the upper case 21 and rotate when a driving force is transmitted to one end.

[0021] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the peeling mechanism 9. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the peeling mechanism 9. The peeling mechanism 9 includes a peeling table 91, a peeling roller 92, a movable lever 93, an operation wheel 94, a backing guide 95 (see FIG. 9), and a sensor 90 (see FIG. 3).

[0022] Note that an uneven shape 51 for making it difficult to attach the label 611 discharged from the paper discharge port 5 is provided at the upper edge portion of the front cover 23. Further, a notch 52 for allowing the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the sensor 90 to pass through is provided at the center of the upper edge portion of the front cover 23.

[0023] The sensor 90 is provided for detecting the label 611 issued from the paper discharge port 5 and detects an object existing between the peeling table 91 and the paper discharge port 5. More specifically, the sensor 90 has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and the light receiving portion receives the light emitted from the light emitting portion and reflected by the object, thereby detecting the object.

[0024] The peeling mechanism 9 is a mechanism for peeling the label 611 from the backing paper 610 of the label paper 61. The peeling table 91 is a rod-shaped member having a side with an acute vertical cross-section, and the side with the acute angle is arranged facing the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction. The peeling table 91 contacts the backing paper 610 between the platen roller 72 and the peeling roller 92, and by folding the conveyance direction of the backing paper 610 at an acute angle, the label 611 is peeled from the backing paper 610.

[0025] In the first position where the peeling roller 92 is pressed against the platen roller 72, the peeling roller 92 rotates together with the platen roller 72 and conveys the backing paper 610 sandwiched therebetween.

[0026] More specifically, the peeling roller 92 sandwiches the backing paper 610 that has passed the printing unit 7 and is folded around the peeling table 91 between itself and the platen roller 72. Since the peeling roller 92 is biased toward the platen roller 72 by a spring 921, the back surface of the backing paper 610 is pressed against the platen roller 72. When the platen roller 72 rotates in this state, the backing paper 610 is conveyed.

[0027] Figures 6 to 8 are diagrams for explaining the detection of the label 611.

[0028] Figure 6 shows a state where the label 611 issued from the paper discharge port 5 is detected by the sensor 90. The sensor 90 detects the label 611 by receiving the light emitted from the light emitting part and reflected by the back surface of the label 611, and outputs a signal indicating that fact.

[0029] Figure 7 shows a state where the label 611 has been removed and the sensor 90 detects nothing. The light emitted from the light emitting part of the sensor 90 is not reflected and does not enter the light receiving part.

[0030] Figure 8 shows the state where the backing sheet 610 is loose. In this state, the light emitted by the light emitting part of the sensor 90 is reflected by the backing sheet 610 and enters the light receiving part, so that a false detection signal is output. That is, regardless of the presence or absence of the actual label 611 at the paper discharge port 5, the sensor 90 outputs a signal indicating that the label 611 has been issued.

[0031] To prevent inconveniences such as those shown in Figure 8, it is necessary to remove the slack of the backing sheet 610. For this purpose, the peeling mechanism 9 of the printer according to this embodiment includes, in addition to the above-described peeling table 91 and peeling roller 92, a movable lever 93, an operation wheel 94, and a backing sheet guide 95.

[0032] Figures 9 and 10 are diagrams showing the operations of the movable lever 93, the operation wheel 94, and the backing sheet guide 95. Figure 9 shows the state where the peeling roller 92 is positioned at a position where it presses the platen roller 72 and the peeling and issuing of the label 611 is possible. The position of the peeling roller 92 shown in Figure 9 is hereinafter referred to as the peelable position. Figure 10 shows the state where the peeling roller 92 is positioned away from the platen roller 72.

[0033] The movable lever 93 is an example of a switching part that switches the position of the peeling roller 92 between a first position and a second position. The second position is a position on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the backing sheet 610 away from the platen roller 72.

[0034] In addition, the switching part of this embodiment moves the peeling roller 92 by a rotational movement around the center of the circumference including the first position and the second position. The movable lever 93 is a rod-shaped member that rotates about the shaft 931, with one end being the gripping part 932 and the other end being the operating part 933.

[0035] The shaft 931 is rotatably provided with respect to a fixed member in the lower case 22 and is substantially parallel to the shaft 922 of the peeling roller 92. The gripping part 932 surrounds the shaft 922 of the peeling roller 92 so as to grip it. In other words, the shaft 922 passes through the gripping part 932. Thereby, the longitudinal direction of the movable lever 93 is substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the peeling roller 92.

[0036] The operation unit 933 is where the operator of the printer 1 applies force. The operation unit 933 receives a manual force for rotating the separation roller 92 when the separation roller 92 is in the second position.

[0037] When the operator moves the operation unit 933 upward (or downward), the separation roller 92 connected to the gripping unit 932 moves downward (or upward). The separation roller 92 of the present embodiment is located below the platen roller 72 and is biased upward toward the platen roller 72 by a spring 921 (FIGS. 3 and 5).

[0038] When separating the separation roller 92 from the platen roller 72, the operator operates the operation unit 933 of the movable lever 93 against the biasing force of the spring 921.

[0039] The mount guide 95 is where the separation roller 92 moving between the first position and the second position makes rolling contact. The mount 610 is pressed by the separation roller 92 that is moved downward, and the mount 610 is guided.

[0040] Reference numeral 25 indicates a recess 25 provided at a position of a fixed member in the lower case 22 facing the inner surface of the front cover 23. The mount guide 95 is movable in a direction of entering and exiting with respect to the recess 25. Thereby, the mount guide 95 of the present embodiment is movable in the radial direction of the circumference.

[0041] A spring 951 is built in between the recess 25 and the mount guide 95. The spring 951 is an example of a biasing member that biases the mount guide 95 in a direction of pressing the separation roller 92.

[0042] When the spring 951 receives a load in the direction in which the mount guide 95 is pushed into the recess 25, it is compressed, allowing the mount guide 95 to move and positioning the mount guide 95 at a predetermined position when there is no load. The predetermined position is a position where there is substantially no step between the edge of the surface of the mount guide 95 on the front cover 23 side and the edge of the recess 25.

[0043] Since the peeling roller 92 moves by rotating about the shaft 931 as a fulcrum, the peeling roller 92 presses the mount guide 95 at a position where the distance from the shaft 931 to the outer peripheral surface of the peeling roller 92 exceeds the distance to the mount guide 95. At this time, the mount guide 95 is pushed into the recess 25 against the biasing force of the spring 951. That is, at this time, the operator operates the operation portion 933 against the biasing force of the spring 921 and further against the biasing force of the spring 951.

[0044] The operation range of the operation portion 933 when separating the peeling roller 92 from the platen roller 72 is from the position where the pushing depth of the mount guide 95 into the recess 25 is the deepest to the position where the peeling roller 92 further moves and the depth becomes slightly shallower. This prevents the peeling roller 92 from unexpectedly returning to the peelable position (shown in FIG. 9) without operating the operation portion 933.

[0045] The operation wheel 94, together with the roller 941 and the driven roller 942 (see FIG. 5), constitutes an example of a transmission portion. The transmission portion is in contact with the peeling roller 92 located at the second position and transmits a manual force for rotating the peeling roller 92 to the peeling roller 92.

[0046] The operation wheel 94 is provided with its rotation axis positioned inside the front cover 23 and its outer peripheral portion exposed outside the front cover 23. The operation wheel 94 rotates when an operator applies a force by hanging a finger or the like on the portion exposed from the front cover 23.

[0047] The operation wheel 94 and the roller 941 are connected. The roller 941 is provided inside the front cover 23. The rotation axis of the roller 941 is the same as the rotation axis of the operation wheel 94, and when the operation wheel 94 rotates by the operator's force, the roller 941 rotates together.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 5, the driven roller 942 is provided on the shaft 922 of the peeling roller 92. The driven roller 942 contacts the roller 941 when the operation unit 933 is lifted, the peeling roller 92 drops, and the peeling roller 92 is separated from the platen roller 72. When the driven roller 942 and the roller 941 are in contact, when the operation wheel 94 is operated and the roller 941 rotates, the driven roller 942 also rotates. With such a configuration, the peeling roller 92 can be rotated by operating the operation wheel 94.

[0049] In such a configuration, when the backing paper 610 is slack as shown in FIG. 8, the operator pushes up the operation unit 933 of the movable lever 93. As a result, the peeling roller 92 rolls and moves away from the platen roller 72. Also, as a result, the backing paper 610 is separated from the platen roller 72 and is sandwiched between the backing paper guide 95 and the peeling roller 92.

[0050] Subsequently, the operator applies a downward force to the exposed portion of the operation wheel 94 and rotates it. As a result, the peeling roller 92 rotates via the roller 941 and the driven roller 942, and a downward force is applied to the backing paper 610. At this time, since the label paper 61 between the printing head 71 and the platen roller 72 remains sandwiched between the two, only the backing paper 610 is conveyed. As a result, the slack of the backing paper 610 is removed, and the backing paper 610 can be put in an appropriately stretched state.

[0051] It should be noted that the above-described embodiment can be appropriately modified and implemented by changing a part of the configuration or function of each of the above-described devices.

[0052] For example, in the above embodiment, the movable lever 93 is configured to receive an operation for separating the peeling roller 92 from the platen roller 72. However, in practice, the peeling roller 92 may be made movable by a different structure. As a different structure, for example, the peeling roller 92 is configured to be movable in parallel in a direction away from the platen roller 72, and an operation end for receiving a force for parallel movement is exposed from the front cover 23.

[0053] 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, changes, and combinations can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalent scope thereof.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0054] 1... Printer (an example of a conveying device), 2... Housing, 20... Hinge, 21... Upper case, 22... Lower case, 23... Front cover, 25... Depression, 3... Display operation unit, 4... Open / close button, 5... Paper discharge port, 51... Concave-convex shape, 6... Paper holding unit, 60... Roll paper, 61... Label paper, 610... Mounting board, 611... Label, 7... Printing unit, 71... Print head, 72... Platen roller, 8... Ribbon support unit, 81... Support shaft, 82... Support shaft, 9... Peeling mechanism (an example of a conveying device), 90... Sensor, 91... Peeling table, 92... Peeling roller, 922... Shaft, 93... Movable lever (an example of a switching unit), 931... Shaft, 932... Gripping part, 933... Operation part, 94... Operating wheel (an example of a transmission unit), 941... Roller, 942... Driven roller, 95... Mounting board guide.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0055]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. A platen roller for conveying label paper composed of a strip-shaped backing paper and a label attached to the backing paper, A peeling roller that rotates together with the platen roller at a first position pressed against the platen roller and conveys the backing paper sandwiched between the platen roller and the peeling roller, A peeling table that contacts the backing paper between the platen roller and the peeling roller and folds back the conveyance direction of the backing paper at an acute angle to peel the label from the backing paper, A switching unit that switches the position of the peeling roller between the first position and a second position on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the backing paper away from the platen roller, A backing paper guide that the peeling roller moving between the first position and the second position rolls and contacts, A conveying device comprising the above.

2. A transmission unit that contacts the peeling roller located at the second position and transmits manual force received to rotate the peeling roller to the peeling roller The conveying device according to claim 1, further comprising the above.

3. The switching unit moves the peeling roller by a rotational movement about an axis that is the center of a circumference including the first position and the second position The conveying device according to claim 1.

4. The backing paper guide is movable in the radial direction of the circumference The conveying device according to claim 3.

5. The conveying device according to claim 4, further comprising a biasing member that biases the backing paper guide in a direction to press the peeling roller. The conveying device according to claim 4.

Images