Printing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a printing apparatus that can enhance the work efficiency of ribbon roll replacement.SOLUTION: A printing apparatus includes a shaft, an antenna, wiring, a protective sleeve, a bearing, and a printing unit. On the shaft, an ink ribbon roll with a wireless tag can be mounted in a rotatable manner. The antenna is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft and performs data communication with the wireless tag. The antenna's wiring is on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft. The protective sleeve is provided between the shaft and the roll and outside the wiring, coaxially with the shaft. The roll bearing can rotate around the protective sleeve without contacting with the wiring, outside the protective sleeve. The printing unit performs printing on a medium to be printed with the ink ribbon drawn out of the roll.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a printing device that uses an ink ribbon. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, a label printer transports a long sheet of label paper with an ink ribbon superimposed on it, transfers the ink from the ink ribbon to the label paper using a thermal head, and prints various types of information such as barcodes on each label on the label paper.

[0003] Label printers change their print speed depending on the type of ink ribbon they use. Conventionally, there is a technology that attaches a wireless tag to the ribbon roll around which the ink ribbon is wound, and allows data communication between the printer and the wireless tag. Using this technology, the printer's print speed can be automatically set to match the ink ribbon of a newly installed ribbon roll.

[0004] The printer body is equipped with an antenna to communicate with the wireless tag on the ribbon roll. To ensure good data communication with the wireless tag, the antenna on the printer body must be positioned close to the wireless tag on the ribbon roll.

[0005] The ribbon roll is replaced with a new ribbon roll after the ink ribbon is used up. For this reason, in the conventional label printer described above, there is a risk that the ribbon roll will interfere with the antenna of the printer body when the ribbon roll is replaced. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-322403 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a printing device that can improve the workability when replacing a ribbon roll. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The printing device of the embodiment has a shaft, an antenna, wiring, a protective sleeve, a bearing, and a printing unit. The shaft rotatably mounts a roll of ink ribbon equipped with a wireless tag. The antenna is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft and communicates data with the wireless tag. The antenna wiring is on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft. The protective sleeve is located between the shaft and the roll and outside the wiring, coaxial with the shaft. The roll bearing is outside the protective sleeve and rotatable relative to the protective sleeve without contacting the wiring. The printing unit prints on a print medium using the ink ribbon pulled out from the roll. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a label printer according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a main part of the feed shaft of the label printer of FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the delivery shaft of FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the delivery shaft of FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a paper core of a ribbon roll to be attached to the delivery shaft of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the control system of the label printer of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a delivery shaft according to the second embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a delivery shaft according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, several embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, the same components are given the same reference numerals, and redundant description may be omitted. Note that the scale of each part in the drawings used in the following description may be changed as appropriate. Also, in order to make the description easier to understand, the drawings may show simplified or omitted configurations. [First embodiment] A label printer 100 according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The label printer 100 is an example of a printing device as defined in the claims of the present application.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the label printer 100 has a housing 2 and a cover 4. The cover 4 is rotatably connected to the housing 2 via two hinges 3. The cover 4 is rotatable between an open position shown in FIG. 1, which exposes the interior of the housing 2, and a closed position, which covers the interior of the housing 2. Between the cover 4 and the housing 2 is a damper 1 for slowing the opening and closing movement of the cover 4. With the cover 4 closed, the label printer 100 has an outer shape that is roughly like a rectangular block.

[0012] The front of the housing 2 is equipped with an operation unit 202, a display unit 204, and a power switch 206. Information about label paper, the number of copies to be printed, etc. is input through the operation unit 202. The display unit 204 displays operation information, operation menus, etc.

[0013] The label printer 100 has a supply shaft 6 to which a label paper roll is attached, a feed shaft 10 to which a ribbon roll, which is an unused ink ribbon wound around a paper tube 30 (FIG. 5), is detachably attached, a take-up shaft 12 to which a ribbon roll for winding up the used ink ribbon is detachably attached, and a printing unit 20. The printing unit 20 is an example of a printing section as defined in the claims of this application.

[0014] A label paper roll is a long, strip-shaped label paper wound into a roll. Label paper is made by affixing multiple labels in a row to one side of a long backing sheet. The labels have an adhesive layer on the backing sheet side, making them detachable and affixable to other items after being peeled off the backing sheet. A label paper roll is made by wrapping label paper around a core material with the label-affixed side of the backing sheet facing inward. Label paper is an example of a print medium as defined in the claims of this application. The print medium is not limited to label paper and may be, for example, a strip-shaped thermal paper.

[0015] The ribbon roll is a long ink ribbon wound into a roll. The ink ribbon holds ink that is transferred to label paper by heat. An unused ribbon roll is an ink ribbon wound around a paper tube 30 before the ink is transferred, and its diameter decreases with use. A used ribbon roll is an ink ribbon wound up after the ink has been transferred, and its diameter gradually increases. In other words, the ink ribbon pulled out from the unused ribbon roll is wound downstream of the printing unit 20 to form a used ribbon roll. An unused ribbon roll is an example of a roll as defined in the claims of this application.

[0016] The side wall 201 of the housing 2 fixes one end of the supply shaft 6, the delivery shaft 10, and the take-up shaft 12. In other words, the side wall 201 holds the three shafts 6, 10, and 12 in a cantilevered manner. The take-up shaft 12 has substantially the same structure as the delivery shaft 10, except that it does not have an antenna 40 (FIGS. 2 and 3), which will be described later. Therefore, in the following explanation, a detailed explanation of the take-up shaft 12 will be omitted.

[0017] The supply shaft 6 is provided with two hold plates 701, 702 near both ends in the longitudinal direction, which respectively abut against both end surfaces in the axial direction of the label paper roll. The hold plate 701 on the far side, closer to the side wall 201, is movable along the longitudinal direction of the supply shaft 6. The hold plate 701 determines the axial mounting position of the label paper roll so that the axial center of the label paper roll is aligned with the center of the label printer 100. The hold plate 702 on the near side, which is attached near the end of the supply shaft 6 away from the side wall 201 of the housing 2, is fixed to the supply shaft 6 with a fixture 703.

[0018] When attaching a label paper roll to the supply shaft 6, the front hold plate 702 is removed from the supply shaft 6, and the label paper roll is then attached to the supply shaft 6. The front hold plate 702 is then attached to the front end of the supply shaft 6. The label paper from the label paper roll is pulled out of the label paper roll by the transport rollers 68 (Figure 6), passes through the printing unit 20, and exits the label printer 100.

[0019] The ribbon roll feed shaft 10 and take-up shaft 12 are each provided with stopper plates 13, 14 near the side wall 201 of the housing 2. The stopper plates 13, 14 are movable along the longitudinal direction of the respective shafts 10, 12. One axial end of an unused ribbon roll attached to the feed shaft 10 abuts against the stopper plate 13, aligning the axial center of this ribbon roll with the center of the label printer 100. One axial end of a used ribbon roll attached to the take-up shaft 12 abuts against the stopper plate 14, aligning the axial center of this ribbon roll with the center of the label printer 100.

[0020] A ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is located opposite the front ends of the feed shaft 10 and the take-up shaft 12, which are away from the side wall 201. The ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is rotatably connected via a hinge 16 to a support plate 203 that stands upright above the bottom wall 205 of the housing 2. The ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 has a receiving hole 151 that receives a tip 411 of a fixed shaft 41 (described below) of the feed shaft 10 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the tip 411 of the feed shaft 10), and a receiving hole 152 that receives a tip 121 of the take-up shaft 12. The ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 has an insertion hole 153 through which the head lever 21 of the printing unit 20 is inserted.

[0021] When attaching a ribbon roll to the let-off shaft 10, the ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is opened to a position not shown, and the ribbon roll is attached to the let-off shaft 10. Thereafter, the ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is rotated to the position shown, and the tip 411 of the let-off shaft 10 is inserted into the receiving hole 151, and the tip 121 of the take-up shaft 12 is inserted into the receiving hole 152. In this state, the ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 fixes the tip 411 of the let-off shaft 10 and the tip 121 of the take-up shaft 12.

[0022] The ink ribbon is unwound from a ribbon roll attached to a feed shaft 10, passes through a printing unit 20, and is taken up by a take-up shaft 12. The printing unit 20 transports the ink ribbon over the label paper, and the ink ribbon passes through the printing unit 20 at the same speed as the label paper.

[0023] The printing unit 20 has a thermal head located on the opposite side of the ink ribbon from the label paper. The printing unit 20 has a platen roller located opposite the thermal head, sandwiching the ink ribbon and label paper between them. The printing unit 20 presses the ink ribbon against the label paper using the thermal head, thermally transferring the ink from the ink ribbon to the label paper. The printing unit 20 prints two-dimensional barcodes and other information on the labels on the label paper.

[0024] 2 and 3, the delivery shaft 10 includes a fixed shaft 41 fixed in a cantilever state to the side wall 201 of the housing 2, an intermediate sleeve 42 arranged coaxially on the outside of the fixed shaft 41, and a bearing 43 arranged coaxially on the outside of the fixed shaft 41. The fixed shaft 41 is an example of a shaft described in the claims of the present application.

[0025] The fixed shaft 41 is, for example, a solid metal shaft, and is fixed in a cantilever state to the side wall 201 of the housing 2 using a bolt. A tip 411 of the fixed shaft 41 protrudes from the front end of the intermediate sleeve .

[0026] The intermediate sleeve 42 is generally cylindrical and has a bearing 43 disposed inside near the end on the side wall 201 side. The bearing 43 is fitted inside the end of the intermediate sleeve 42 and fixed to the intermediate sleeve 42. The bearing 43 is cylindrical and can be made of resin or metal. The inner diameter of the intermediate sleeve 42 is generally the same as the outer diameter of the bearing 43.

[0027] The intermediate sleeve 42 is rotatable relative to the fixed shaft 41 by means of a bearing 43. The intermediate sleeve 42 is provided with the above-mentioned stopper plate 13 on the outside near the end on the side wall 201 side. The stopper plate 13 is movable in the longitudinal direction of the intermediate sleeve 42 and can be fixed at a desired position in the longitudinal direction.

[0028] The outer peripheral surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 has two bosses 421 for positioning the leaf spring 44 and screw holes 422 for fastening and fixing the leaf spring 44 to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate sleeve 42. The leaf spring 44 has a slit 441 at one end on the side wall 201 side through which the bosses 421 are inserted, and a screw hole at the other end through which a screw 442 is passed. The leaf spring 44 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 by inserting the bosses 421 of the intermediate sleeve 42 into the slits 441 and threading the screws 442 into the screw holes 422.

[0029] The leaf spring 44 is made of metal, and with the cardboard tube 30 of the ribbon roll attached to the outside of the intermediate sleeve 42, it presses the inner surface of the cardboard tube 30 outward, fixing the cardboard tube 30 to the intermediate sleeve 42. The leaf spring 44 protrudes from the outer circumferential surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 to an extent that allows the intermediate sleeve 42 to be inserted into the cardboard tube 30. The leaf spring 44 has a circumferential width that is narrower than the width of the antenna 40 along the circumferential direction of the fixed shaft 41.

[0030] A metal sheet-like antenna 40 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of fixed shaft 41. Wiring 401 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of fixed shaft 41 and is electrically connected to antenna 40 and extends in the longitudinal direction of fixed shaft 41. Antenna 40 and wiring 401 are, for example, continuous metal foil, and may be formed by patterning metal foil on the surface of a flexible substrate.

[0031] A magnetic sheet 45 is provided between the outer circumferential surface of the fixed shaft 41 and the antenna 40. The magnetic sheet 45 is provided so that the magnetic field generated by the antenna 40 does not pass through the fixed shaft 41. For this reason, the magnetic sheet 45 has a size slightly larger than the antenna 40 so that it is located between the antenna 40 and the fixed shaft 41.

[0032] Because antenna 40 is spaced from the outer circumferential surface of fixed shaft 41 by the thickness of magnetic sheet 45, the end of wiring 401 on the antenna 40 side is slightly inclined in a direction away from the outer circumferential surface of fixed shaft 41 toward antenna 40. Because bearing 43 is provided between intermediate sleeve 42 and fixed shaft 41, the inner diameter of intermediate sleeve 42 is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of fixed shaft 41. For this reason, when fixed shaft 41 is inserted into intermediate sleeve 42 or when intermediate sleeve 42 rotates relative to fixed shaft 41, the inner surface of intermediate sleeve 42 does not come into sliding contact with antenna 40 and wiring 401.

[0033] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, fixed shaft 41 has a groove-shaped recess 412 provided on its outer circumferential surface along its longitudinal direction. The width of recess 412 along the circumferential direction of fixed shaft 41 is slightly narrower than the width of wiring 401. The depth of recess 412 is slightly thinner than the thickness of wiring 401. Antenna 40 is attached by bonding magnetic sheet 45 to the outer circumferential surface of fixed shaft 41, and then overlapping magnetic sheet 45. Wiring 401 is attached by bonding to the bottom surface of recess 412. Wiring 401 is not shown in Figure 4.

[0034] A protective sleeve 50 is located near the end of the fixed shaft 41 on the side wall 201 side. The inner diameter of the protective sleeve 50 is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the fixed shaft 41, and the outer diameter is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the bearing 43. In other words, there is a gap between the intermediate sleeve 42 and the fixed shaft 41 that is the thickness of the protective sleeve 50. The protective sleeve 50 is interposed between the wiring 401 and the bearing 43, and is fitted onto the end of the fixed shaft 41 to secure it in place.

[0035] When the fixed shaft 41, to which the protective sleeve 50 is fixed, is inserted into the intermediate sleeve 42, to which the bearing 43 is fitted at one end, and the intermediate sleeve 42 is attached to the fixed shaft 41, the inner peripheral surface of the bearing 43 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the protective sleeve 50. Because the inner diameter of the bearing 43 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the protective sleeve 50 and there is a small gap between the two, the intermediate sleeve 42 equipped with the bearing 43 can rotate relative to the fixed shaft 41 equipped with the protective sleeve 50. The protective sleeve 50 prevents the intermediate sleeve 42 from sliding against the wiring 401 housed and arranged in the recess 412 of the fixed shaft 41 when the intermediate sleeve 42 rotates relative to the fixed shaft 41.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 5, the cardboard tube 30 of the ribbon roll attached to the delivery shaft 10 has an IC tag 32 that communicates wirelessly. The IC tag 32 is in the form of a rectangular sheet, and is attached by adhesive to the outer surface 301 of the cardboard tube 30 approximately at the center in the axial direction of the cardboard tube 30. The ink ribbon is wrapped around the outer surface of the cardboard tube 30, overlapping the outside of the IC tag 32. The IC tag 32 may be provided on the cardboard tube 30, or may be provided on the inner surface of the cardboard tube 30 or in a middle portion between the outer and inner surfaces of the cardboard tube 30. The IC tag is an example of a wireless tag as defined in the claims of this application.

[0037] 6, the label printer 100 has a control unit 60 that sets the printing speed depending on the type of ink ribbon. The control unit 60 is connected to a power switch 206, an operation unit 202, a display unit 204, a memory 62, a reader / writer 63, motors 64 and 65, and a communication unit 67.

[0038] The memory 62 stores a control program and also stores data related to the printing speed appropriate for the type of ink ribbon. The reader / writer 63 wirelessly communicates with the IC tag 32 via the antenna 40, writing data to the IC tag 32 and reading data from the IC tag 32. The motor 64 rotates a feed roller 68 that pulls out label paper from the label paper roll. The motor 65 rotates a feed roller 69 that feeds the ink ribbon. The communication unit 67 transmits and receives various data to and from an external device 70 such as a host computer.

[0039] After replacing the ribbon roll on the delivery shaft 10, when the cover 4 of the housing 2 is closed and the power switch 206 is turned on, the control unit 60 controls the reader / writer 63 to read data from the IC tag 32 via the antenna 40. The IC tag 32 stores data related to the ink ribbon wound around the paper tube 30. The data related to the ink ribbon includes, for example, the product name, type (for plain paper, for heavy paper), width, length, manufacturing date, serial number (production number), remaining amount of ink ribbon, etc.

[0040] Thereafter, the control unit 60 reads from the memory 62 the print speed that matches the type of ink ribbon read from the IC tag 32, and controls the motors 64, 65 to achieve this print speed. The control unit 60 controls the motors 64, 65 to print at this print speed until the ink ribbon is used up.

[0041] Furthermore, when each print task is completed, the control unit 60 rewrites the remaining amount of ink ribbon recorded in the memory 62. The control unit 60 can display the remaining amount of ink ribbon via the display unit 204.

[0042] As described above, according to this embodiment, the antenna 40 for wireless data communication with the IC tag 32 attached to the paper core 30 of the ribbon roll is provided on the fixed shaft 41 of the feed-out shaft 10, which improves the workability when replacing the ribbon roll compared to when the antenna 40 is provided on the outside of the ribbon roll. The ribbon roll can be attached to the feed-out shaft 10 by attaching the intermediate sleeve 42 to the fixed shaft 41 after the intermediate sleeve 42 has been attached.

[0043] The fixed shaft 41 has a recess 412 for attaching the wiring 401, and there is a sufficient gap between the outer peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 41 to which the antenna 40 is attached and the inner surface of the intermediate sleeve 42, so that when replacing the ribbon roll, the intermediate sleeve 42 is unlikely to come into contact with the wiring 401 of the antenna 40. In addition, the recess 412 for attaching the wiring 401 of the antenna 40 makes it easy to position the wiring 401 on the fixed shaft 41. [Second embodiment] 7, instead of providing recesses 412 for accommodating and arranging the wiring 401 on the outer peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 41, groove-like recesses 52 for passing the wiring 401 may be provided on the inner surface of the protective sleeve 50. When providing recesses 412 on the outer peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 41, grooves are cut into the outer peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 41 by cutting, so providing recesses 52 on the inner surface of the protective sleeve 50 is easier to implement and allows for lower manufacturing costs. [Third embodiment] 8, the fixed shaft 41 may be hollow so that the wiring 401 of the antenna 40 passes through it. In this case, it is necessary to form a hole connecting the outer peripheral surface and the inner surface of the fixed shaft 41, through which the wiring 401 connected to the antenna 40 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the fixed shaft 41 passes. By making the fixed shaft 41 hollow, there is no need to provide a recess for accommodating the wiring 401, and there is also no need to provide a protective sleeve 50 for protecting the wiring 401.

[0044] Although several 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 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 scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 2...housing, 201...side wall, 6...supply shaft, 10...delivery shaft, 12...winding shaft, 20...printing unit, 30...paper tube, 40...antenna, 401...wiring, 41...fixed shaft, 411...tip, 412...recess, 42...intermediate sleeve, 43...bearing, 44...plate spring, 50...protective sleeve, 52...recess, 100...label printer.

Claims

1. a shaft on which a roll of ink ribbon equipped with a wireless tag is rotatably mounted; an antenna provided on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft for data communication with the wireless tag; Wiring for the antenna provided on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft; a protective sleeve provided between the shaft and the roll and coaxially with the shaft on the outside of the wiring; a bearing for the roll provided outside the protective sleeve in a state of not contacting the wiring and rotatable relative to the protective sleeve; a printing unit that prints on a print medium using the ink ribbon pulled out from the roll; A printing device having:

2. a groove-shaped recess in which the wiring is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft; The printing device of claim 1 .

3. The inner surface of the protective sleeve has a groove-shaped recess through which the wiring passes. The printing device of claim 1 .

4. an intermediate sleeve having an outer periphery to which the roll of the ink ribbon is detachably fixed, the intermediate sleeve fixing the bearing, and rotatably provided on the shaft in a non-contact state with the antenna and the wiring; The printing device of claim 1 .

5. a hollow shaft on which a roll of ink ribbon equipped with a wireless tag is rotatably mounted; an antenna provided on an outer circumferential surface of the shaft for data communication with the wireless tag; Wiring for the antenna passing through the shaft; a printing unit that prints on a print medium using the ink ribbon pulled out from the roll; A printing device having:

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