Cutter unit

Abstract

To replace a cutter blade easily.SOLUTION: A cutter unit for cutting a print medium in a printer, includes: a cutter blade; a holding member for holding the cutter blade; a frame supporting the holding member movably in a front-back direction; and a drive mechanism for moving the holding member forward to cause the cutter blade to cut the print medium. The frame has a housing part for housing a replacement cutter blade at the rear side of the cutter blade. The replacement cutter blade moves forward from the housing part to push the cutter blade forward and thereby cause the holding member to hold the replacement cutter blade in place of the cutter blade.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a cutter unit for cutting a printing medium in a printer.

Background Art

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 discloses a printer device including a movable blade unit that cuts recording paper printed by a print head.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in the conventional technology, when the cutter blade provided in the cutter unit is worn or the like, it is necessary to disassemble the cutter unit in order to replace the cutter blade, and the cutter blade cannot be easily replaced.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In order to solve the above-described problems, a cutter unit according to an embodiment is a cutter unit for cutting a printing medium in a printer, and includes a cutter blade, a holding member that holds the cutter blade, a frame that supports the holding member so as to be movable in the front-rear direction, and a drive mechanism that causes the cutter blade to cut the printing medium by moving the holding member forward. The frame has a housing portion that houses a replacement cutter blade on the rear side of the cutter blade, and the replacement cutter blade moves forward from the housing portion and pushes out the cutter blade forward, so that the holding member holds the replacement cutter blade instead of the cutter blade.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the cutter unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the cutter blade can be easily replaced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0008] 〔Embodiment〕 Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the X-axis direction is the front-rear direction, the Y-axis direction is the left-right direction, the Z-axis direction is the up-down direction, the positive direction of the X-axis is the front direction, the positive direction of the Y-axis is the right direction, and the positive direction of the Z-axis is the up direction.

[0009] (Configuration of Cutter Unit 100) FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a cutter unit 100 according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment. The cutter unit 100 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a printer and is a device that separates a portion where printing has been completed by a print head from a conveyed print medium. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cutter unit 100 includes a frame 110, a cutter blade 120, a pair of holding members 130, a drive mechanism 140, a reinforcing metal fitting 150, a replacement cutter blade 160, and a fixing member 170. In the present embodiment, a platen roller 190 for conveying paper and a gear 144 for rotating the platen roller 190 are provided in the cutter unit 100, but they may be separate bodies.

[0010] The frame 110 is a resin member that holds various components. The frame 110 has a rectangular shape with a longitudinal direction generally in the left - right direction in a plan view from above. The frame 110 supports the holding member 130 so as to be movable in the front - rear direction by a support portion 111 provided on the front side, and holds the replacement cutter blade 160 by a housing portion 112 provided on the rear side.

[0011] The cutter blade 120 is a metal and flat member that cuts the printing medium. The cutter blade 120 generally has a rectangular shape with the longitudinal direction being the left - right direction. The cutter blade 120 is held by a pair of holding members 130. The cutter blade 120 moves forward together with the pair of holding members 130 by the drive of the drive mechanism 140, and cuts the printing medium disposed between the V - shaped blade tip 121 provided at the front edge and a fixed blade (not shown) provided in front of the blade tip 121. The cutter blade 120 has fitting holes 122 at each of its left and right ends. The fitting holes 122 have an oval shape with the longitudinal direction being the front - rear direction, and the protrusions 133 (see FIG. 3) of the holding members 130 having the same shape are fitted therein. Thereby, the cutter blade 120 is positioned accurately by the pair of holding members 130, and the movement in the front - rear direction and the left - right direction with respect to the pair of holding members 130 is restricted. Also, since the fitting holes 122 and the protrusions 133 have an oval shape, the rotation of the cutter blade 120 with respect to the holding members 130 is also restricted.

[0012] The pair of holding members 130 have a bilaterally symmetric shape with respect to each other and are resin members that hold the left and right ends of the cutter blade 120.

[0013] The drive mechanism 140 moves the cutter blade 120 forward by moving the pair of holding members 130 forward, causing the cutter blade 120 to cut the printing medium. The drive mechanism 140 has a rotating gear 141, an intermediate gear 142, a pair of left - right pinion gears 143, and a rotating shaft 143A that fixes the pair of left - right pinion gears 143 at both ends. The rotating gear 141, the intermediate gear 142, and the pinion gears 143 are provided below the holding members 130. The pinion gears 143 mesh with the rack gears 131A (see FIG. 3) of the holding members 130. The drive mechanism 140 can move the holding members 130 forward by the rotation of the rotating gear 141 driven by a motor (not shown) and the rotation of the pinion gears 143 via the intermediate gear 142.

[0014] The reinforcing fitting 150 is a metal and flat member that reinforces the frame 110 by covering the upper surface of the frame 110. The reinforcing fitting 150 has support walls 151 and 152 provided so as to hang down from the left and right edges in the front side portion. The reinforcing fitting 150 can support, by the left support wall 151, the end portion of the rotation axis 141A of the rotation gear 141, the end portion of the rotation axis 142A of the intermediate gear 142, and one end portion of the rotation axis 143A of the pinion gear 143 that the drive mechanism 140 has, and can support, by the right support wall 152, the other end portion of the rotation axis 143A.

[0015] The replacement cutter blade 160 is disposed behind the cutter blade 120 by being accommodated in the accommodation portion 112 of the frame 110. Since the replacement cutter blade 160 has the same shape as the cutter blade 120, it can be used as the main cutter blade for cutting the printing medium by being held by the pair of holding members 130 instead of the cutter blade 120. For this reason, similar to the cutter blade 120, the replacement cutter blade 160 has a blade tip 121 at the front edge portion, and has fitting holes 122 at each of the left and right end portions.

[0016] The fixing member 170 (see FIG. 9) is a resin member that is detachable from the accommodation portion 112 and fixes the replacement cutter blade 160 accommodated in the accommodation portion 112. The fixing member 170 has a rectangular bar shape extending linearly in the left-right direction, and includes a main body portion 170A and cut pieces 170B provided at both end portions of the main body portion 170A, respectively. The cut pieces 170B each have a fixing portion 171 extending upward. The fixing member 170 is fixed to the lower wall portion 112A of the accommodation portion 112 by each of the pair of left and right fixing portions 171 being inserted into each of a pair of first insertion holes 113 (see FIG. 7) provided in the lower wall portion 112A of the accommodation portion 112 (see FIG. 7). The fixing member 170 fixes the replacement cutter blade 160 to the accommodation portion 112 by each of the pair of fixing portions 171 being inserted into each of the pair of fitting holes 122 of the replacement cutter blade 160 accommodated in the accommodation portion 112 in a state of being fixed to the lower wall portion 112A of the accommodation portion 112.

[0017] (Retention Structure of Cutter Blade 120 by Retaining Member 130) FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the retaining member 130 according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view showing the state in which the cutter blade 120 is retained by the retaining member 130 according to the embodiment. Note that in FIG. 3, the left retaining member 130 is shown. The right retaining member 130 has a shape symmetric about the left-right direction with respect to the left retaining member 130.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3, the retaining member 130 has a rod-shaped rail portion 131 linearly extending in the front-rear direction, and a horizontal flat plate-shaped retaining portion 132 provided on the cutter blade 120 side in the left-right direction with respect to the rail portion 131. A rack gear 131A is formed on the lower surface of the rail portion 131. On the upper surface of the retaining portion 132, a protrusion 133 having the same shape as the fitting hole 122 provided in the cutter blade 120 in a plan view in the XY plane, that is, an oval shape having the front-rear direction as the longitudinal direction, is provided.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 4, in each of the pair of left and right retaining members 130, the end portion of the cutter blade 120 is placed on the retaining portion 132, and the protrusion 133 is fitted into the fitting hole 122 of the cutter blade 120, thereby retaining the end portion of the cutter blade 120.

[0020] Also, as shown in FIG. 4, in each of the pair of left and right retaining members 130, the rack gear 131A meshes with the pinion gear 143 of the drive mechanism 140, so that it can move in the front-rear direction as the pinion gear 143 rotates.

[0021] Note that as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a first inclined surface 134 and a second inclined surface 135 are provided on the retaining portion 132 of each of the pair of left and right retaining members 130. The first inclined surface 134 is a rearwardly downward inclined surface provided on the rear protrusion of the protrusion 133 and is disposed on the rear side of the cutter blade 120. The second inclined surface 135 is a rearwardly downward inclined surface provided on the rear portion of the protrusion 133. The first inclined surface 134 and the second inclined surface 135 are provided to release the fitting of the protrusion 133 with respect to the fitting hole 122 of the cutter blade 120 when the cutter blade 120 is replaced.

[0022] (Configuration of the drive mechanism 140) FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the configuration and operation of the drive mechanism 140 according to the embodiment. FIG. 5A shows a state where the holding member 130 has advanced forward. FIG. 5B shows a state where the holding member 130 has retracted backward, that is, the initial state.

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the holding member 130 is supported by the support portion 111 of the frame 110 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, the drive mechanism 140 has a rotation gear 141, an intermediate gear 142, and a pinion gear 143 below the holding member 130. The intermediate gear 142 meshes with the rotation gear 141 and the pinion gear 143. The pinion gear 143 meshes with the rack gear 131A of the holding member 130.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 5A, the drive mechanism 140 rotates the rotation gear 141 counterclockwise in the drawing by driving the motor, thereby rotating the pinion gear 143 counterclockwise via the intermediate gear 142, and advancing the holding member 130 and the cutter blade 120 forward.

[0025] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5B, the drive mechanism 140 rotates the rotation gear 141 clockwise in the drawing by driving the motor, thereby rotating the pinion gear 143 clockwise via the intermediate gear 142, and retracting the holding member 130 and the cutter blade 120 backward to return to the initial state. Further, since the drive mechanism 140 is biased by a spring (not shown) so that the intermediate gear 142 rotates counterclockwise, the cutter blade 120 can return to the initial state even without driving the rotation gear 141 by the motor. Note that the spring may be provided on the rotation gear 141 or the pinion gear 143, or may be provided so as to bias the holding member 130 backward.

[0026] Since the pair of left and right pinion gears 143 of the drive mechanism 140 are fixed to the rotary shaft 143A, the rotation of the left pinion gear 143 causes the right pinion gear 143 to rotate in conjunction, and the pair of left and right holding members 130 can be moved back and forth in conjunction.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 5B, when the holding member 130 and the cutter blade 120 are in the retracted state, the first inclined surface portion 134 of the holding member 130 faces the front end portion of the replacement cutter blade 160. Thus, when the replacement cutter blade 160 is pushed forward by the holding member 130, the front end portion of the replacement cutter blade 160 pushes down the first inclined surface portion 134, and the rear portion of the holding portion 132 of the holding member 130 is pushed down.

[0028] (Replacement operation of the cutter blade 120) FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the replacement operation of the cutter blade 120 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the replacement cutter blade 160 is accommodated in the accommodation portion 112. The replacement cutter blade 160 is disposed at the same height position as the cutter blade 120 on the rear side of the cutter blade 120.

[0029] In the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment, an operator can push the replacement cutter blade 160 forward from the accommodation portion 112, abut the front edge portion of the replacement cutter blade 160 against the rear edge portion of the cutter blade 120, and push the cutter blade 120 forward, so that the replacement cutter blade 160 can be held by the pair of left and right holding members 130 instead of the cutter blade 120 as will be described later.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 6, the operator can insert the fixing member 170 into the accommodation portion 112 through the second insertion hole 114 formed in the rear wall portion 112B of the accommodation portion 112, and push the replacement cutter blade 160 forward from the accommodation portion 112 by the pressing portion 172 of the fixing member 170.

[0031] Here, the protrusion 133 of the holding member 130 is fitted into the fitting hole 122 of the cutter blade 120. Therefore, when the replacement cutter blade 160 pushes out the cutter blade 120, the inner edge of the fitting hole 122 may catch on the protrusion 133, making it difficult to push out the cutter blade 120.

[0032] In the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment, before the replacement cutter blade 160 pushes out the cutter blade 120, the front end of the replacement cutter blade 160 abuts against the first inclined surface 134. Even when pushed by the replacement cutter blade 160, the holding member 130 does not move forward due to the biasing of the spring of the drive mechanism 140 described above, and the rear part of the holding portion 132 is pushed down by the front end of the replacement cutter blade 160. Therefore, the protrusion 133 moves downward, releasing the fitting of the protrusion 133 to the fitting hole 122, and the cutter blade 120 can be easily pushed out.

[0033] At this time, the holding member 130 receives the pressing force from the replacement cutter blade 160, and the rail portion 131 tends to tilt upward, but is restricted by the upper inner wall of the frame 110 and becomes substantially horizontal. By the elastic deformation of the joint portion between the rail portion 131 and the holding portion 132, the holding portion 132 can be tilted downward while the rail portion 131 maintains a substantially horizontal state.

[0034] Also, at this time, in the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment, the protrusion 133 of the holding member 130 has a second inclined surface 135, and the height dimension of the rear end of the protrusion 133 is smaller than the height dimension of the front end of the protrusion 133. Therefore, the inner edge of the fitting hole 122 of the cutter blade 120 can slide on the second inclined surface 135 without catching on the rear end of the protrusion 133, and the cutter blade 120 can be easily pushed out.

[0035] When the replacement cutter blade 160 moves forward to a predetermined holding position, the protrusions 133 of each of the pair of holding members 130 fit into the respective fitting holes 122 of the pair of replacement cutter blades 160. As a result, the replacement cutter blade 160 is held by the pair of holding members 130, and the printing medium can be cut by the replacement cutter blade 160. Therefore, the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment can easily replace the cutter blade 120.

[0036] (Fixing Structure of Replacement Cutter Blade 160) FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment as viewed from below. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment taken along the YZ plane.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a pair of left and right first insertion holes 113 penetrating the lower wall portion 112A in the vertical direction are formed in the lower wall portion 112A of the housing portion 112.

[0038] And as shown in FIG. 8, the fixing member 170 is fixed to the lower wall portion 112A by each of a pair of fixing portions 171 provided at both ends being inserted into each of the pair of first insertion holes 113 and the lower surface of the engaging claw 171A of each of the pair of fixing portions 171 engaging with the upper surface of the lower wall portion 112A.

[0039] Further, in a state where the fixing member 170 is fixed to the lower wall portion 112A, as shown in FIG. 8, the replacement cutter blade 160 is fixed to the housing portion 112 by each of the pair of fixing portions 171 being inserted into each of the pair of fitting holes 122 of the replacement cutter blade 160 accommodated in the housing portion 112.

[0040] In this way, the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment can easily fix the replacement cutter blade 160 to the housing portion 112 only by attaching the fixing member 170 to the lower wall portion 112A. That is, the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment can easily release the fixing of the replacement cutter blade 160 to the housing portion 112 only by removing the fixing member 170 from the lower wall portion 112A.

[0041] Note that, as shown in FIG. 7, a second insertion hole 114 that penetrates the rear wall portion 112B of the housing portion 112 in the front-rear direction is formed in the rear wall portion 112B of the housing portion 112. Thereby, the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment can insert the fixing member 170 into the housing portion 112 from the second insertion hole 114, and the replacement cutter blade 160 can be pushed forward from the housing portion 112 by the fixing member 170.

[0042] (Method for cutting the fixing member 170) FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a method for cutting the fixing member 170 according to the embodiment. FIG. 9(a) shows the fixing member 170 before cutting, and FIG. 9(b) shows the fixing member 170 after cutting.

[0043] As shown in FIG. 9(a), the fixing member 170 is composed of a main body portion 170A and cut pieces 170B provided at both ends thereof. Notches 173 are provided vertically at each of a cutting position P1 that is a boundary between the main body portion 170A and the left cut piece and a cutting position P2 that is a boundary between the main body portion 170A and the right cut piece 170B. Thereby, the fixing member 170 can easily cut the left cut piece at the cutting position P1 and can easily cut the right cut piece at the cutting position P2. The notch 173 may be provided only at either one of the cutting positions P1 and P2.

[0044] For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9(b), the fixing member 170 has had the left cut piece 170B cut at the cutting position P1. Thereby, the fixing member 170 forms a pressing portion 172 capable of pressing the replacement cutter blade 160 at the left end of the main body portion after cutting, and the fixing portion 171 is removed, enabling insertion into the second insertion hole 114.

[0045] In the example shown in FIG. 9, the fixing member 170 has a lever portion 171B on the outside of each of the pair of fixing portions 171. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the pair of first insertion holes 113 are larger than the lever portion 171B in a plan view in the XY plane. Thereby, when the fixing member 170 is removed from the accommodating portion 112, an operator can pull the end portion of the lever portion 171B downward to tilt the fixing portion 171 outward, thereby releasing the engagement of the engaging claw 171A with the lower wall portion 112A.

[0046] Also, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the vertical dimension of the pressing portion 172 is smaller than the thickness of the main body portion 170A by the amount of the notch 173. However, by setting the vertical dimension of the pressing portion 172 to be larger than the thickness of the replacement cutter blade 160, the replacement cutter blade 160 can be reliably pressed.

[0047] (Lock mechanism 180) FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the lock mechanism 180 provided in the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion A shown in FIG. 5B and viewed obliquely downward and rearward.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 10, a first inclined surface portion 134 is provided on the upper surface of the rear portion of the holding portion 132 so as to face the front end portion of the replacement cutter blade 160. Further, a concave portion 181 of the lock mechanism 180 is formed on the lower surface of the rear portion of the holding portion 132.

[0049] On the other hand, a notch portion is formed in the support portion 111 of the frame 110 below the rear portion of the holding portion 132 to avoid interference with the rear portion of the holding portion 132 when the rear portion of the holding portion 132 is pushed down. Inside the notch portion, a convex portion 182 of the lock mechanism 180 is formed at a position facing the concave portion 181.

[0050] As a result, when the cutting blade 120 is pushed forward by the replacement cutting blade 160 in the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment, the front end of the replacement cutting blade 160 abuts against the first inclined surface portion 134, thereby pushing down the rear portion of the holding portion 132. At this time, in the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment, the convex portion 182 of the frame 110 fits into the concave portion 181 of the holding member 130, thereby fixing the holding member 130 to the frame 110. Thereby, when the cutting blade 120 is pushed forward, the holding member 130 can be reliably locked so that the holding member 130 does not move forward together with the cutting blade 120. Therefore, according to the cutter unit 100 according to the embodiment, only the cutting blade 120 can be reliably pushed forward by the replacement cutting blade 160.

[0051] Note that the configuration of the locking mechanism 180 is not limited to the above-described one, and any other configuration may be adopted as long as it can lock the forward movement of the holding member 130 at least when the cutting blade 120 is pushed forward by the replacement cutting blade 160. For example, the locking mechanism 180 may be configured such that a convex portion is provided on the holding member 130 side and a concave portion is provided on the frame 110 side. Further, for example, the locking mechanism 180 may be configured to fit some member, such as the cut end portion of the fixing member 170, to the holding member 130 or the drive mechanism 140.

[0052] As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications or changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0053] 100 cutter unit, 110 frame, 111 support portion, 112 housing portion, 112A lower wall portion, 112B rear wall portion, 113 first insertion hole, 114 second insertion hole, 120 cutting blade, 121 blade tip, 122 fitting hole, 130 holding member, 131 Rail part, 131A Rack gear, 132 Holding part, 133 Protrusion part, 134 First inclined surface part, 135 Second inclined surface part, 140 Driving mechanism, 141 Rotation gear, 141A Rotation shaft, 142 Intermediate gear, 142A Rotation shaft, 143 Pinion gear, 143A Rotation shaft, 150 Reinforcing metal fitting, 151, 152 Support wall, 160 Replaceable cutter blade, 170 Fixing member, 170A Main body part, 170B Cutting piece part, 171 Fixing part, 171A Engaging claw, 172 Pressing part, 173 Notch, 180 Locking mechanism, 181 Concave part, 182 Convex part, P1, P2 Cutting positions

Claims

1. A cutter unit for cutting a printing medium in a printer, a cutter blade, a holding member for holding the cutter blade, a frame for supporting the holding member so as to be movable in the front - rear direction, and a drive mechanism for moving the holding member forward to cause the cutter blade to cut the printing medium are provided, the frame has a housing portion for housing a replacement cutter blade behind the cutter blade, when the replacement cutter blade moves forward from the housing portion and pushes the cutter blade forward, the holding member holds the replacement cutter blade instead of the cutter blade A cutter unit characterized by the above.

2. It is detachable from the housing portion, and is provided with a fixing member capable of fixing the replacement cutter blade to the housing portion in a state of being mounted on the housing portion The cutter unit according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. An insertion hole penetrating the rear wall portion is provided in the rear wall portion of the housing portion The cutter unit according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

4. The fixing member has a rod - shaped main body portion extending in the lateral width direction of the replacement cutter blade, a cut piece portion provided at an end of the main body portion, and a fixing portion extending from the cut piece portion and inserted through the replacement cutter blade and the housing portion to fix the replacement cutter blade to the housing portion and fix the fixing member to the housing portion, a notch is provided at the boundary between the main body portion and the cut piece portion The cutter unit according to claim 2, characterized by the above.

5. The holding member has a protrusion, The cutter blade and the replaceable cutter blade have fitting holes that fit with the protrusions of the holding member while being held by the holding member. When the front end portion of the replaceable cutter blade abuts against a first inclined surface provided on the rear side of the protrusion and the rear portion of the holding member is pushed down, the fitting of the protrusion of the holding member is released. The cutter unit according to claim 1, characterized in that.

6. The holding member is biased to move rearward. The cutter unit according to claim 5, characterized in that.

7. When the rear portion of the holding member is pushed down, a locking mechanism is provided to lock the forward movement of the holding member. The cutter unit according to claim 5, characterized in that.

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