Printer device

Abstract

To provide a drop-in type printer, which is configured so that a storage part can store printing paper even when a residue of the printing paper is small.SOLUTION: A printer comprises a storage part, a lid, a conveying part, a printing part, a pressing part, a sensing part, and a recessed part. The storage part stores roll paper having printing paper wound in a roll shape. The lid opens and closes the storage part. The conveying part pulls out the printing paper from the roll paper stored in the storage part and conveys the printing paper. The printing part performs printing on the printing paper. The pressing part has an end part close to the printing part turnably mounted on the lid, presses the roll paper stored in the storage part in a direction in which the paper separates from the lid and presses it against an inner wall of the storage part. The sensing part senses portions displaced by the turning of the pressing part pressing the roll paper whose residual amount has reached a predetermined amount. The recessed part is provided at a position where the roll paper whose residual amount has reached the predetermined amount is pressed by the pressing part, of the inner wall of the storage part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD An embodiment of the present invention relates to a printer device. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditionally, printers that use roll paper have been used in stores and other places. Roll paper is printing paper wound into a roll. The printer prints on the printing paper while pulling it from the roll. To reduce the hassle of changing printing paper, a so-called drop-in system has been proposed, which allows loading by simply inserting the roll paper into the printer's storage compartment.

[0003] In drop-in printers like this, the roll paper core is not fixed, so when the printing paper is peeled off the roll, the roll paper is pulled in the paper ejection direction, causing it to move irregularly inside the printer, making it difficult to detect when the printing paper is nearly out.

[0004] For this reason, there is a known example in which the roll paper is prevented from moving by pressing the roll paper from the downstream side (paper discharge side) toward the upstream side (roll paper side) with a pressure roller (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0005] However, in the printer disclosed in Patent Document 1, the direction in which the roll paper is pressed and the direction in which the printing paper is pulled out are reversed, so when the printer is placed upright, the roll paper may slide off in the direction of gravity when the amount of roll paper remaining becomes low. Also, if the roll paper slides off, it may not be possible to detect that the roll paper is nearly out of paper, so there is room for further improvement. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a drop-in type printer device that can store printing paper in a storage section even when there is only a small amount of printing paper remaining. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The printer device of the embodiment includes a storage unit, a lid, a transport unit, a printing unit, a pressing unit, and a detection unit. 、 recess and convex parts The storage section stores roll paper, which is printing paper wound into a roll. A lid opens and closes the storage section. A transport section draws out the printing paper from the roll paper stored in the storage section and transports it. A printing section prints on the printing paper. A pressing section is rotatably attached to the lid at its end closest to the printing section, and as it rotates, it presses the roll paper stored in the storage section in a direction away from the lid, pressing it against the inner wall of the storage section. A detection section detects the portion of the pressing section that presses the roll paper when it has reached a predetermined amount remaining, and that is displaced by the rotation. A recess is provided on the inner wall of the storage section at a position where the pressing section presses the roll paper when it has reached the predetermined amount. The protrusion is provided on the edge of the recess closer to the printing unit, protruding beyond the inner wall surrounding the recess, separating the inside and outside of the recess. The pressing unit presses the roll paper when it has reached the predetermined amount so that the roll paper is supported at a contact point with a first wall surface that forms a corner of the recess, a contact point with a second wall surface that forms the corner, and a contact point with the pressing unit. The detection unit detects that the roll paper is nearing the end of its run when the pressing unit is pressing the roll paper when it has reached the predetermined amount. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a thermal printer according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a first YZ cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the thermal printer according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a second YZ cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the thermal printer according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view showing an example of the shape of a flapper according to the embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of a flapper according to the embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the positional relationship between the photosensor and the flapper according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a first diagram illustrating a method for detecting the remaining amount of roll paper using a photosensor according to an embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a second diagram illustrating a method for detecting the remaining amount of roll paper by the photosensor according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] (Overall configuration of a thermal printer) The overall configuration of a thermal printer according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a thermal printer 1 according to this embodiment. The thermal printer 1 is an example of a printer device.

[0011] For convenience, the drawings described below show mutually orthogonal X, Y, and Z axes, and the left-right direction (X direction), front-rear direction (Y direction), and up-down direction (Z direction) of the thermal printer 1 of this embodiment will be described using the X, Y, and Z axes. Note that in the following description, when simply referred to as the X direction, Y direction, or Z direction, it refers to the respective axial direction and includes two opposite directions. The positive X direction refers to a direction from right to left, the positive Y direction refers to a direction from rear to front, and the positive Z direction refers to a direction from bottom to top.

[0012] The thermal printer 1 comprises a lower housing 11, an upper cover 12, and an outlet 13. The lower housing 11 is a box-shaped container with an opening on one side. The lower housing 11 is provided with a connection terminal (not shown) used to connect to an external device such as a host computer that manages the thermal printer 1, a power terminal (not shown) that supplies power to the printer body, and the like. The upper cover 12 opens and closes the storage section 18. The upper cover 12 is an example of a lid. One end of the upper cover 12 is rotatably supported by the lower housing 11, and opens and closes the opening of the lower housing 11 as it rotates.

[0013] The discharge port 13 is a gap-like opening through which paper is discharged, and this opening is formed between the other end of the upper cover 12 and the lower housing 11. The lower housing 11 and the upper cover 12 constitute the housing 10.

[0014] (Internal structure of a thermal printer) Next, the internal structure of the thermal printer 1 will be described using Figures 2 and 3. Figures 2 and 3 are YZ cross-sectional views showing the internal structure of a label printer according to an embodiment. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the thermal printer 1 stores roll paper 22, which is thermal paper 21, an example of printing paper, wound around a roll core 23, in a storage section 18 inside the housing, and performs printing while pulling out the thermal paper 21 from the roll paper 22.

[0015] 2 shows the roll paper 22 in a state where there is a sufficient amount of roll paper 22 remaining. FIG. 3 shows the roll paper 22 in a state where there is only a small amount of roll paper 22 remaining (a predetermined amount has been reached). The printing paper is not limited to thermal paper 21, and may be, for example, label paper. The label paper may be a strip of paper with labels of a predetermined size attached to it, or it may be strip-shaped labels without a backing.

[0016] The thermal printer 1 includes a housing 10 therein, which includes a flapper 15, a platen roller 16, a thermal head 17, and a storage section 18.

[0017] The thermal printer 1 pulls out thermal paper 21 from a roll of paper 22 by rotating a platen roller 16 , and prints on the pulled-out thermal paper 21 with a thermal head 17 .

[0018] Flapper 15 is an example of a pressing part. Flapper 15 is provided on the back side of upper cover 12. The end of flapper 15 closest to thermal head 17 is rotatably attached to upper cover 12, and as flapper 15 rotates, it presses roll paper 22 stored in storage section 18 in a direction away from upper cover 12 and presses it against inner wall 19 of storage section 18.

[0019] Here, the shape of the flapper 15 will be described. Fig. 4 is a side view showing an example of the shape of the flapper 15. Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of the shape of the flapper 15.

[0020] A flapper base 25 at the base of the flapper 15 is provided with a flapper rotation shaft 42. The flapper rotation shaft 42 is rotatably supported on the rear surface of the upper cover 12. In addition, a paper pressing portion 26 is formed at the tip of the flapper 15.

[0021] The paper pressing portion 26 is a member that extends to the negative side in the Y-axis direction from a flapper base portion 25 at the base of the flapper 15. By contacting the paper roll 22, the paper pressing portion 26 presses the outer surface of the paper roll 22 against the storage portion 18, which will be described later.

[0022] The flapper 15 is attached to the rear surface of the upper cover 12 so as to be rotatable around a flapper rotation shaft 42 while being biased in the direction of the roll paper 22 stored in the storage section 18 .

[0023] The flapper base 25 also has a protrusion 27, which is a thin piece that protrudes radially from the flapper rotation axis 42. The protrusion 27 is a member that is provided at the end of the flapper that is rotatably attached to the upper cover 12 and protrudes radially of the rotation. The protrusion 27 is a member that allows the photosensor 30 to detect when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount.

[0024] 4, the protruding portion 27 protrudes in the Y-axis direction positive side relative to the flapper base portion 25. The protruding portion 27 is provided at a position facing the paper pressing portion 26. The details of how the photosensor 30 detects the protruding portion 27 will be described later.

[0025] The shape of paper sheet pressing section 26 is not limited to the example shown in Fig. 5. For example, paper sheet pressing section 26 may have a shape that includes a plurality of paper sheet pressing sections.

[0026] 2 and 3, the flapper rotation shaft 42 is installed along the X axis at a position on the positive side in the Y axis direction relative to the upper cover rotation shaft 14, which rotates the upper cover 12 so that it can be opened and closed. Note that a torsion spring (not shown), for example, is attached to the flapper rotation shaft 42, and the flapper 15 is biased in the direction of the roll paper 22 stored in the storage section 18 by the torsion spring.

[0027] The platen roller 16 is installed on the back side of the top cover 12. The platen roller 16 is an example of a transport unit. The platen roller 16 rotates when a driving force from a stepping motor (not shown) is transmitted to it, and pulls out thermal paper 21 from a roll paper 22 stored in a storage unit 18, transporting it from the storage unit 18, which is upstream, toward the thermal head 17, which is downstream.

[0028] The thermal head 17 is installed on the inner surface of the lower housing 11. The thermal head 17 is an example of a printing unit. When the upper cover 12 is closed, the thermal head 17 is in close contact with the platen roller 16. The thermal head 17 prints on the thermal paper 21 being transported by the platen roller 16. The thermal paper 21 is transported toward the discharge port 13 while being sandwiched between the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 16.

[0029] The thermal head 17 has a structure in which multiple heating elements are aligned, and prints on the thermal paper 21 held between the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 16 by heating the heating elements corresponding to the printing pattern.

[0030] The storage section 18 stores roll paper 22, which is thermal paper 21 print paper wound in a roll shape. The storage section 18 has an inner wall 19 and a recess 20. The roll paper 22 is stored in the storage section 18 in contact with the inner wall 19.

[0031] The inner wall 19 has a wall surface that extends substantially vertically on the positive side in the Z axis direction, and has a slope on the positive side in the Y axis direction that rises toward the discharge port 13. The inner wall 19 also has a recess 20 formed therein.

[0032] The recess 20 is provided at a position on the inner wall 19 of the storage section 18 where the roll paper 22, which has reached a predetermined amount, is pressed against by the flapper 15. The recess 20 is located near the corner formed by the bottom surface of the housing 10 when placed vertically and horizontally. The roll paper 22, which is pressed by the flapper 15, is pressed against the recess 20 when it reaches a predetermined amount.

[0033] The recess 20 further includes a protrusion 201. The protrusion 201 is provided on the edge of the recess 20 closer to the thermal head 17, protruding beyond the inner wall 19 around the recess 20, and separates the inside and outside of the recess 20.

[0034] 3, the roll paper 22 stored in the storage section 18 is supported at three points: the point of contact with the flapper 15, the point of contact with the recess 20, and the point of contact with the slope of the recess 20. Of these, the thermal paper 21 is pulled out from the roll paper 22 at the point of contact with the vertical of the recess 20. Hereinafter, the point of contact between the roll paper 22 and the vertical of the recess 20 is referred to as the pull-out point 24.

[0035] The flapper 15 is rotatably attached to the upper cover 12 by a flapper rotation shaft 42. The roll paper 22 is pressed against the recess 20 or the inner wall 19 by the flapper 15 rotating clockwise in Figures 2 and 3 .

[0036] When the force F applied by the flapper 15 to the contact point 151 with the roll paper 22 is reached, the force applied to the withdrawal point 24 of the recess 20 with the roll paper 22 is divided into a component force Fa toward the positive side of the Y axis and a component force Fb toward the negative side of the Z axis. In other words, the roll paper 22 is pressed against the inner wall 19 with a pressing force in the direction in which the thermal paper 21 is pulled out (the positive side of the Y axis). The flapper 15 also has a surface 191 that faces the inner wall 19 and is approximately parallel to it when it is pressing against the roll paper 22 that has reached a predetermined amount.

[0037] As a result, the roll paper 22 is pressed in the direction in which the thermal paper 21 is pulled out at the pull-out point 24, regardless of whether printing is being performed on the thermal paper 21 or not. In this way, the flapper 15 prevents the roll paper 22 from moving inside the recess 20.

[0038] Furthermore, when the roll paper 22 comes into contact with the convex portion 201 (not shown), the roll paper 22 comes into contact with the convex portion 201. When the convex portion 201 and the roll paper 22 come into contact with each other, movement of the roll paper 22 inside the recess 20 is suppressed.

[0039] The thermal paper 21 drawn out from the drawing point 24 is transported in the direction of arrow B as the platen roller 16 rotates. The surface 211 of the thermal paper 21 is the printing surface. Printing is performed on the surface 211 of the thermal paper 21 by the thermal head 17. The printed thermal paper 21 is discharged from the discharge port 13.

[0040] A cutter (not shown) is provided at the discharge port 13. After printing is completed, the user of the thermal printer 1 cuts the discharged thermal paper 21 with the cutter.

[0041] 3 shows the position of the roll paper 221 inside the storage unit 18 when the roll paper 221 is label paper rolled up without a backing sheet. In the case of label paper, the front side of the label paper is the printing surface and the back side is an adhesive layer. When the label paper is held between the platen roller 16 and the thermal head 17, the back side of the label paper is adhesive, so the roll paper 221 is held in a position that climbs the slope.

[0042] The photosensor 30 is an example of a detection unit. The photosensor 30 is installed on the inner surface of the upper cover 12. The photosensor 30 detects when the remaining amount of the roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount, that is, when the thermal paper 21 is nearing the end.

[0043] Photosensor 30 detects the portion of flapper 15 that is displaced by rotation and presses down on roll paper 22 when a predetermined amount remains. Photosensor 30 is positioned to detect protrusion 27 when flapper 15 is pressing down on roll paper 22 that has reached a predetermined amount. In other words, when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 reaches the predetermined amount, photosensor 30 is positioned so that it overlaps with protrusion 27 when viewed from the positive side in the Z axis direction.

[0044] The photosensor 30 is, for example, a transmission type optical photosensor in which an emitting portion that emits light and a light receiving portion that receives light are integrated. The photosensor 30 is, for example, configured in a substantially U-shape, and when viewed from the positive side in the Z-axis direction, the opening of the U-shape is arranged facing the negative side in the Y-axis direction (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

[0045] The light emitting section of the photosensor 30 is composed of a light emitting means such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), and the light receiving section is composed of a detection means such as a photodiode or a phototransistor. The light receiving section outputs different signals depending on whether or not it receives the light emitted by the light emitting section.

[0046] Next, we will explain the positional relationship between the flapper 15 and the photosensor 30. Figure 6 is an enlarged view of area C shown in Figure 3. The positional relationship between the flapper 15 and the photosensor 30 shown in Figure 6 shows a state where the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount.

[0047] 6, the protrusion 27 of the flapper 15 has reached a position that is detected by the photosensor 30. The protrusion 27 is positioned within an angle range that is detected by the photosensor 30 when the flapper 15 is pressing down on a predetermined amount of the roll paper 22.

[0048] At this time, the photosensor 30 detects the protrusion 27 and thereby detects that the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount. The thermal printer 1 then lights or flashes an indicator (not shown) to notify the user that the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached the predetermined amount. Alternatively, the thermal printer 1 notifies a connected host computer (not shown) that the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached the predetermined amount.

[0049] Next, we will explain how the photosensor 30 detects the remaining amount of roll paper 22. Figures 7 and 8 are diagrams for explaining how the photosensor 30 detects the remaining amount of roll paper 22.

[0050] Figure 7 shows the positions of the flapper 15 and photosensor 30 when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has not reached a predetermined amount (i.e., there is a sufficient amount of roll paper 22 remaining). Figure 8 shows the positions of the flapper 15 and photosensor 30 when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount (i.e., there is not much roll paper 22 remaining).

[0051] In this embodiment, one end of the substantially U-shaped photosensor 30 is an emitting portion 31, and the other end is a light receiving portion 32. The emitting portion 31 emits light toward the light receiving portion 32. In practice, the positions of the emitting portion 31 and the light receiving portion 32 may be reversed.

[0052] 7, when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has not reached a predetermined amount, there is nothing blocking the space (opening 33) between light emitting portion 31 and light receiving portion 32 of photosensor 30, so light receiving portion 32 receives light 34 emitted by light emitting portion 31. In this case, light receiving portion 32 outputs a signal indicating the result of receiving the light emitted by light emitting portion 31.

[0053] 8, when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount, a protrusion 27 is present in the space (opening 33) between the light-emitting portion 31 and the light-receiving portion 32 of the photosensor 30. Therefore, the light-receiving portion 32 does not receive the light emitted by the light-emitting portion 31. In this case, the light-receiving portion 32 outputs a result indicating that the light emitted by the light-emitting portion 31 is not received.

[0054] As described above, the photosensor 30 can detect when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount by detecting the protrusion 27. Therefore, the thermal printer 1 can detect when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined value.

[0055] At this time, the thermal printer 1 lights or flashes an indicator (not shown) to notify that a predetermined amount of roll paper 22 is remaining. Alternatively, the thermal printer 1 notifies a connected host computer (not shown) that a predetermined amount of roll paper 22 is remaining. The user can prepare a replacement roll paper 22 in advance when they confirm that the indicator is lit or flashing, or when the indicator is displayed on the host computer (for example, an LCD display connected to the host computer).

[0056] Furthermore, because the protrusion 27 is positioned within a certain angular range surrounding the flapper rotation shaft 42, the photosensor 30 can continue to detect the remaining amount of paper roll 22 pressed by the flapper 15 not only when the remaining amount reaches a predetermined value, but also when the remaining amount decreases further. This prevents the near-end notification from being overlooked.

[0057] In addition, in this embodiment, the protrusions 201 are provided on the edges of the recessed portion 20, which makes it difficult for the rolled paper 22 to escape from the recessed portion 20 when the thermal paper 21 is pulled out from the rolled paper 22. This allows for accurate detection of the rolled paper 22 near-end.

[0058] Furthermore, as in this embodiment, if the flapper 15 and the inner wall 19 are configured to face each other in approximately parallel relation when the paper roll 22 is near its end, it is possible to accurately detect the near-end even if the paper roll 22 escapes from the recess 20. This type of configuration is also suitable for cases where the paper roll 22 is label paper wound without a liner, for example, and it is anticipated that the paper roll 22 will move toward the thermal head 17 during paper transport.

[0059] As described above, in the thermal printer 1 according to this embodiment, as the flapper 15 rotates, it presses the roll paper 22 in a direction away from the upper cover 12, pressing it against the inner wall 19 of the storage section 18, and a recess 20 is provided at a position where the roll paper 22, once it has reached a predetermined amount, is pressed by the flapper 15.

[0060] Therefore, even when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 is low, the thermal printer 1 can apply a pressing force in the direction in which the thermal paper 21 is pulled out by pressing the roll paper 22 against the recess 20. This allows the roll paper 22 to be stored in the storage section 18 even when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 is low.

[0061] Furthermore, even when the remaining amount of roll paper 22 in the thermal printer 1 is low, storing the roll paper 22 in the storage compartment 18 allows the photosensor 30 to detect the protrusion 27 on the flapper 15. Furthermore, by detecting the protrusion 27, the photosensor 30 can detect that the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined amount. Therefore, the thermal printer 1 can detect that the remaining amount of roll paper 22 has reached a predetermined value.

[0062] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. This novel embodiment can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the inventions and their equivalents as set forth in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1. Thermal printer (printer device) 10. Cabinet 11 Lower housing 12 Top cover (lid) 13 Outlet 14 Upper cover rotation shaft 15 Flapper (pressure part) 16 Platen roller (transport section) 17 Thermal head (printing unit) 18 Storage section 19 Inner wall 20 recess 21 Thermal paper (printing paper) 22 roll paper 23 Roll core 24 withdrawal point 25 Flapper base 26 Paper holder 27 Protrusion 30 Photo sensor (detection part) 42 Flapper rotation shaft 191 sides 201 Convex [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0064] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2018-8823

Claims

1. a storage section for storing roll paper in which printing paper is wound in a roll shape; a lid for opening and closing the storage section; a conveying unit that draws out and conveys the printing paper from the roll paper stored in the storage unit; a printing unit that prints on printing paper; a pressing section that is rotatably attached to the lid at an end closer to the printing section, and that, as the pressing section rotates, presses the roll paper stored in the storage section in a direction away from the lid and against an inner wall of the storage section; a detection unit that detects a portion of the pressing unit that presses the roll paper when the remaining amount of the roll paper reaches a predetermined amount and that is displaced by rotation; a recess provided on an inner wall of the storage section at a position where the roll paper that has reached the predetermined amount is pressed by the pressing section; a protrusion provided on an edge of the recess closer to the printing portion so as to protrude beyond the inner wall surrounding the recess, separating the inside and outside of the recess; Equipped with the pressing section presses the roll paper when the predetermined amount has reached the predetermined amount so that the roll paper is supported at a contact point with one first wall surface that forms a corner of the recess, a contact point with the other second wall surface that forms the corner, and a contact point with the pressing section; the detection unit detects that the roll paper is about to run out when the pressing unit is pressing the roll paper that has reached the predetermined amount. Printer device.

2. the pressing portion includes a protrusion provided at the end portion rotatably attached to the lid and protruding in a radial direction of the rotation, the detection unit is a transmission type photosensor and is positioned to detect the protrusion when the pressing unit is pressing the roll paper that has reached the predetermined amount.

2. The printer device according to claim 1.

3. The protrusion is provided within an angle range that can be detected by the detection unit when the pressing unit is pressing the roll paper to an amount equal to or less than the predetermined amount.

3. The printer device according to claim 2.

4. the pressing portion has a surface that faces the inner wall and is substantially parallel to the inner wall when the pressing portion is pressing the roll paper that has reached the predetermined amount.

4. The printer device according to claim 1.

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