Printing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a printing apparatus that enables favorable data communication with a ribbon roll.SOLUTION: According to one embodiment, a printing apparatus includes a shaft, an antenna, and a printing unit. The shaft is inserted into a cylindrical core of a ribbon roll, where an ink ribbon is wound around the cylindrical core with a wireless tag, to support the ribbon roll in a rotatable manner. The antenna is provided on the shaft for data communication with the wireless tag of the ribbon roll. The printing unit performs printing on a medium to be printed with the ink ribbon drawn out of the ribbon roll.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a printing apparatus using an ink ribbon.

Background Art

[0002] For example, a label printer conveys a long label paper with an ink ribbon superimposed thereon, and transfers the ink of the ink ribbon onto the label paper by a thermal head to print various information such as barcodes on each label of the label paper.

[0003] The label printer changes the printing speed according to the type of ink ribbon used. Conventionally, there is a technique of providing a wireless tag on a ribbon roll around which an ink ribbon is wound and performing data communication between the printer main body and the wireless tag. Using this technique, the printing speed of the printer main body can be automatically set to a speed suitable for the ink ribbon of the ribbon roll newly installed in the printer main body.

[0004] In order to perform data communication with the wireless tag of the ribbon roll, the printer main body includes an antenna. In order to perform good data communication with the wireless tag, it is necessary to arrange the antenna on the printer main body side close to the wireless tag of the ribbon roll.

[0005] Due to the use of the ink ribbon, the diameter of the ribbon roll becomes smaller. Looking at it from another perspective, when automatically setting the printing speed (at the start of use of the ribbon roll), the diameter of the ribbon roll is the largest. Therefore, for example, when a wireless tag is provided on the core material of the ribbon roll, the distance between the wireless tag and the antenna becomes large, making good data communication difficult.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0006]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0007] The problem that this invention aims to solve is to provide a printing apparatus that can communicate data well with a ribbon roll. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The printing apparatus of this embodiment includes a shaft, an antenna, and a printing unit. The shaft is inserted into the cylindrical body of a ribbon roll, which has an ink ribbon wound around a cylindrical body equipped with a wireless tag, and rotatably supports the ribbon roll. The antenna is provided on the shaft and communicates data with the wireless tag on the ribbon roll. The printing unit prints on the printing medium via the ink ribbon drawn from the ribbon roll. The shaft has an antenna on its outer circumferential surface and a groove-shaped recess provided on its outer circumferential surface along its longitudinal direction. The printing apparatus of this embodiment further includes wiring housed in the recess of the shaft and electrically connected to the antenna, a sleeve disposed inside a cylinder that detachably fixes the cylinder and is rotatable relative to the shaft by a bearing fitted to the inside of its end, and a protective sleeve interposed between the wiring and the bearing and fitted and fixed to the end of the shaft. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a label printer according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the main part of the feed shaft of the label printer shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the delivery shaft shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main part of the delivery shaft shown in Figure 2. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the paper tube of the ribbon roll to be attached to the delivery shaft in Figure 2. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a block diagram of the control system for the label printer shown in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the scale of the parts in the drawings used in the following description may have been changed as appropriate. Also, the drawings may be simplified or omitted in order to make the explanation easier to understand.

[0011] The label printer 100 according to the embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 6. The label printer 100 is an example of a printing device as described in the claims of this application.

[0012] As shown in Figure 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, as shown in Figure 1, which opens the inside of the housing 2, and a closed position, which covers the inside of the housing 2. Between the cover 4 and the housing 2 is a damper 1 to slow the opening and closing operation of the cover 4. With the cover 4 closed, the label printer 100 has a roughly rectangular block-like external shape.

[0013] The front of the enclosure 2 has an operation unit 202, a display unit 204, and a power switch 206. The operation unit 202 is used to input information about the label paper, the number of sheets to print, etc. The display unit 204 displays operation information, operation menus, etc.

[0014] The label printer 100 includes a supply shaft 6 for attaching a label paper roll, a delivery shaft 10 for detachably attaching a ribbon roll in which an ink ribbon before use is wound around a paper tube 30 (Figure 5), a winding shaft 12 for detachably attaching a ribbon roll for winding up the ink ribbon after use, and a printing unit 20. The printing unit 20 is an example of the printing unit described in the claims of this application.

[0015] A label paper roll is a roll made by winding a long strip of label paper into a roll. The label paper consists of multiple labels arranged and attached to one side of a long backing sheet. The labels have an adhesive layer on the side facing the backing sheet, making them detachable from the backing sheet and allowing them to be attached to other items after being peeled off. The label paper roll is made by winding the label paper around a core material with the side of the backing sheet with the labels facing inward. The label paper is an example of a printable medium as described in the claims of this patent application. The printable medium is not limited to label paper; for example, it may be a strip of thermal paper.

[0016] The ribbon roll is formed by winding a long ink ribbon into a roll. The ink ribbon holds ink that is transferred to the label paper by heat. The ribbon roll before use is formed by winding the ink ribbon before ink transfer around a paper tube 30, and its diameter decreases during use. The ribbon roll after use is formed by winding up the ink ribbon after ink transfer, and its diameter gradually increases. That is, the ink ribbon pulled out from the ribbon roll before use and wound up on the downstream side of the printing unit 20 is the ribbon roll after use. The ribbon roll before use is an example of the ribbon roll described in the claims of the present application. The paper tube 30 is an example of the cylindrical body described in the claims of the present application.

[0017] One end of the supply shaft 6, the feed shaft 10, and the take-up shaft 12 is fixed to the side wall 201 of the housing 2. That is, the side wall 201 holds the three shafts 6, 10, and 12 in a cantilever state. The take-up shaft 12 has substantially the same structure as the feed shaft 10 except that it does not include an antenna 40 (Figs. 2 and 3) described later. Therefore, in the following description, the detailed description of the take-up shaft 12 will be omitted.

[0018] The supply shaft 6 includes two hold plates 701 and 702 that respectively abut against both end faces in the axial direction of the label paper roll near both ends in the longitudinal direction. The hold plate 701 on the inner side close to the side wall 201 is movable along the longitudinal direction of the supply shaft 6. The hold plate 701 determines the mounting position of the label paper roll in the axial direction so that the center in the axial direction of the label paper roll aligns with the center of the label printer 100. The hold plate 702 on the front side, which is attached near the end of the supply shaft 6 on the side away from the side wall 201 of the housing 2, is fixed to the supply shaft 6 by a fixture 703.

[0019] When attaching the label paper roll to the supply shaft 6, attach the label paper roll to the supply shaft 6 with the front hold plate 702 removed from the supply shaft 6. Then, attach the front hold plate 702 to the front end of the supply shaft 6. The label paper of the label paper roll is pulled out from the label paper roll by the conveyance roller 68 (FIG. 6), passes through the printing unit 20, and exits the label printer 100.

[0020] The delivery shaft 10 and the take-up shaft 12 of the ribbon roll 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 their respective shafts 10, 12. The stopper plate 13 abuts against one axial end of the ribbon roll before use attached to the delivery shaft 10, and aligns the axial center of this ribbon roll with the center of the label printer 100. The stopper plate 14 abuts against one axial end of the ribbon roll after use attached to the take-up shaft 12, and aligns the axial center of this ribbon roll with the center of the label printer 100. <00,00095><00,00096>At a position facing the front end of the delivery shaft 10 and the take-up shaft 12 away from the side wall 201, there is a ribbon shaft fixing plate 15. The ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is rotatably connected to a support plate 203 erected upward from the bottom wall 205 of the housing 2 via a hinge 16. The ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 has a receiving hole 151 for receiving the tip 411 of the fixed shaft 41 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as the tip 411 of the delivery shaft 10) of the delivery shaft 10, and a receiving hole 152 for receiving the 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.

[0022] When attaching a ribbon roll to the delivery shaft 10, the ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is opened to a position not shown, and the ribbon roll is attached to the delivery shaft 10. Then, the ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 is rotated to the position shown, the tip 411 of the delivery shaft 10 is inserted through the receiving hole 151, and the tip 121 of the winding shaft 12 is inserted through the receiving hole 152. In this state, the ribbon shaft fixing plate 15 fixes the tip 411 of the delivery shaft 10 and the tip 121 of the winding shaft 12.

[0023] The ink ribbon, pulled from the ribbon roll attached to the delivery shaft 10, passes through the printing unit 20 and is wound up by the winding shaft 12. The printing unit 20 transports the ink ribbon on top of the label paper and passes through the printing unit 20 at the same speed as the label paper.

[0024] The printing unit 20 has a thermal head positioned on the opposite side of the label paper from the ink ribbon. The printing unit 20 has a platen roller positioned opposite the thermal head, with the ink ribbon and label paper in between. The printing unit 20 uses the thermal head to press the ink ribbon against the label paper, thermally transferring the ink from the ink ribbon to the label paper. The printing unit 20 prints a two-dimensional barcode or the like on the label of the label paper.

[0025] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the delivery shaft 10 has a fixed shaft 41 fixed in a cantilevered manner 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 the shaft described in the claims of this application. The intermediate sleeve 42 is an example of the sleeve described in the claims of this application.

[0026] The fixed shaft 41 is, for example, a solid metal shaft, and is fixed to the side wall 201 of the housing 2 in a cantilevered manner using bolts. The tip 411 of the fixed shaft 41 protrudes from the front end of the intermediate sleeve 42.

[0027] The intermediate sleeve 42 is substantially cylindrical and has a bearing 43 inside near the end on the side wall 201. 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 approximately the same as the outer diameter of the bearing 43.

[0028] The intermediate sleeve 42 is rotatable relative to the fixed shaft 41 by bearing 43. The intermediate sleeve 42 is provided with the 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.

[0029] The outer circumferential surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 has two boss portions 421 for positioning the leaf spring 44 and screw holes 422 for fastening and fixing the leaf spring 44 to the outer circumferential 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 boss portion 421 is 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 circumferential surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 by inserting the boss portion 421 of the intermediate sleeve 42 into the slit 441 and screwing the screw 442 into the screw hole 422.

[0030] The leaf spring 44 is made of metal and, with the ribbon roll paper tube 30 attached to the outside of the intermediate sleeve 42, presses the inner surface of the paper tube 30 outward, fixing the paper tube 30 to the intermediate sleeve 42. The leaf spring 44 protrudes from the outer surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 to the extent that the intermediate sleeve 42 can be inserted into the paper tube 30. The leaf spring 44 has a circumferential width narrower than the width of the antenna 40 along the circumferential direction of the fixed shaft 41.

[0031] A metal sheet-like antenna 40 is located on the outer circumferential surface of the fixed shaft 41. Wiring 401 is electrically connected to the antenna 40 and extends along the longitudinal direction of the fixed shaft 41. The antenna 40 and wiring 401 may be, for example, a continuous metal foil, or a flexible substrate with a metal foil patterned on its surface.

[0032] A magnetic sheet 45 is placed between the outer surface of the fixed shaft 41 and the antenna 40. The magnetic sheet 45 is installed to prevent the magnetic field formed by the antenna 40 from passing through the fixed shaft 41. For this reason, the magnetic sheet 45 is slightly larger than the antenna 40 so that it is located between the antenna 40 and the fixed shaft 41.

[0033] Because the antenna 40 is separated from the outer surface of the fixed shaft 41 by the thickness of the magnetic sheet 45, the end of the wiring 401 on the antenna 40 side is slightly inclined toward the antenna 40, away from the outer surface of the fixed shaft 41. Since a bearing 43 is provided between the intermediate sleeve 42 and the fixed shaft 41, the inner diameter of the intermediate sleeve 42 is sufficiently larger than the outer diameter of the fixed shaft 41. For this reason, when the fixed shaft 41 is inserted into the intermediate sleeve 42, or when the intermediate sleeve 42 rotates relative to the fixed shaft 41, the inner surface of the intermediate sleeve 42 does not come into sliding contact with the antenna 40 and the wiring 401.

[0034] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the fixed shaft 41 has groove-shaped recesses 412 on its outer surface along its longitudinal direction. The width of the recesses 412 along the circumferential direction of the fixed shaft 41 is slightly narrower than the width of the wiring 401. The depth of the recesses 412 is slightly thinner than the thickness of the wiring 401. The antenna 40 is attached by first bonding the magnetic sheet 45 to the outer surface of the fixed shaft 41, and then overlapping and attaching the wiring 401 to the magnetic sheet 45. The wiring 401 is bonded to the bottom surface of the recesses 412.

[0035] Near the end of the fixed shaft 41 on the side wall 201 side, there is a protective sleeve 50. The inner diameter of the protective sleeve 50 is approximately the same as the outer diameter of the fixed shaft 41, and its 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 equal to the thickness of the protective sleeve 50. The protective sleeve 50 is interposed between the wiring 401 and the bearing 43 and is fitted and fixed to the end of the fixed shaft 41.

[0036] When a fixed shaft 41 with a protective sleeve 50 fixed to it is inserted into an intermediate sleeve 42 with a bearing 43 fitted to one end, and the intermediate sleeve 42 is attached to the fixed shaft 41, the inner surface of the bearing 43 comes into contact with the outer surface of the protective sleeve 50. Since 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 them, the intermediate sleeve 42 with the bearing 43 can rotate relative to the fixed shaft 41 with the protective sleeve 50. The protective sleeve 50 prevents the intermediate sleeve 42 from sliding against the wiring 401 housed in a recess 412 of the fixed shaft 41 when the intermediate sleeve 42 rotates relative to the fixed shaft 41.

[0037] As shown in Figure 5, the paper tube 30 of the ribbon roll mounted on the delivery shaft 10 has an IC tag 32 that communicates wirelessly. The IC tag 32 is a rectangular sheet and is attached by adhesive to the outer surface 301 of the paper tube 30 at approximately the axial center of the paper tube 30. The ink ribbon is wrapped around the outer surface of the paper tube 30, overlapping the IC tag 32. The IC tag 32 may be provided on the paper tube 30, on the inner surface of the paper tube 30, or in the intermediate part between the outer surface and the inner surface of the paper tube 30. The IC tag is an example of a wireless tag as described in the claims of this application.

[0038] As shown in Figure 6, the label printer 100 has a control unit 60 that sets the printing speed according to 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.

[0039] Memory 62 stores the control program and data related to the printing speed appropriate for the type of ink ribbon. The reader / writer 63 communicates wirelessly with the IC tag 32 via antenna 40 to write data to and read data from the IC tag 32. Motor 64 rotates the transport roller 68 that pulls the label paper from the label paper roll. Motor 65 rotates the transport roller 69 that transports the ink ribbon. The communication unit 67 sends and receives various data with external devices 70 such as a host computer.

[0040] After the ribbon roll on the delivery shaft 10 is replaced, the control unit 60 closes the cover 4 of the housing 2 and turns on the power switch 206, then controls the reader / writer 63 to read data from the IC tag 32 via the antenna 40. The IC tag 32 stores data about the ink ribbon wound around the paper tube 30. The data about the ink ribbon includes, for example, the product name, type (for plain paper, for thick paper), width, length, manufacturing date, serial number (manufacturing number), and remaining amount of ink ribbon.

[0041] Next, the control unit 60 reads the printing speed corresponding to the type of ink ribbon read from the IC tag 32 from the memory 62, and controls the motors 64 and 65 to achieve this printing speed. The control unit 60 controls the motors 64 and 65 to print at this speed until the ink ribbon is used up.

[0042] Furthermore, the control unit 60 updates the remaining ink ribbon amount stored in the memory 62 at the time each printing task is completed. The control unit 60 can also display the remaining ink ribbon amount via the display unit 204.

[0043] As described above, according to this embodiment, since the antenna 40 is provided on the delivery shaft 10 to which the ribbon roll, in which the ink ribbon is wound around the paper tube 30, is attached, the antenna 40 can be positioned close to the IC tag 32 attached to the paper tube 30, enabling good data communication with the IC tag 32.

[0044] Furthermore, by providing a magnetic sheet 45 larger than the antenna 40 between the antenna 40 and the outer surface of the fixed shaft 41, it is possible to prevent the magnetic field from the antenna 40 from weakening as it passes through the metal fixed shaft 41, thereby enabling good data communication with the IC tag 32.

[0045] Furthermore, because the width of the leaf spring 44 used to fix the ribbon roll's paper core 30 to the outer circumference of the intermediate sleeve 42 is made narrower than the width of the antenna 40, good data communication is possible between the antenna 40 and the IC tag 32 even when the leaf spring 44 is placed between the antenna 40 and the IC tag 32.

[0046] Alternatively, when attaching the ribbon roll to the intermediate sleeve 42, alignment marks may be placed on the ends of the intermediate sleeve 42 and the paper tube 30 so that their relative rotational positions are such that the IC tag 32 and the leaf spring 44 do not overlap. Furthermore, when attaching the intermediate sleeve 42 with the ribbon roll attached to the fixing shaft 41, alignment marks may be placed on the intermediate sleeve 42 and the fixing shaft 41 so that their relative rotational positions are such that the antenna 40 and the IC tag 32 do not overlap.

[0047] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The embodiments described above can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. The embodiments described above and their variations are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, as well as in the claims of the invention and its equivalents. The original claims of this application are included below. [C1] A shaft is inserted into the cylindrical body of a ribbon roll, which has an ink ribbon wound around a cylindrical body equipped with a wireless tag, and supports the ribbon roll so that it can rotate. An antenna for data communication with the wireless tag is provided on the shaft, A printing unit that prints onto a printing medium via the ink ribbon drawn from the ribbon roll, A printing apparatus having a [C2] The shaft has the antenna on its outer surface. The printing device described in C1. [C3] The aforementioned shaft is made of metal. The shaft further comprises a magnetic sheet larger than the antenna between its outer surface and the antenna. The printing device described in C2. [C4] The device further comprises a sleeve disposed within the cylindrical body, which detachably secures the cylindrical body and is rotatably mounted relative to the shaft in a non-contact manner with respect to the antenna. The printing device described in C1. [C5] The sleeve has a metal leaf spring on its outer surface that presses against the inner surface of the cylindrical body. The width of the leaf spring along the circumferential direction of the sleeve is narrower than the width of the antenna along the circumferential direction. The printing device described in C4. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0048] 2...Housing, 201...Side wall, 6...Supply shaft, 10...Delivery shaft, 12...Winding shaft, 20...Printing unit, 30...Paper tube, 40...Antenna, 41...Fixed shaft, 411...Tip, 42...Intermediate sleeve, 43...Bearing, 44...Leaf spring, 100...Label printer.

Claims

1. A shaft is inserted into the cylindrical body of a ribbon roll, which has an ink ribbon wound around a cylindrical body equipped with a wireless tag, and supports the ribbon roll so that it can rotate. An antenna for data communication with the wireless tag is provided on the shaft, A printing unit that prints onto a printing medium via the ink ribbon drawn from the ribbon roll, It has, The shaft has the antenna on its outer circumferential surface and has groove-shaped recesses provided on its outer circumferential surface along its longitudinal direction. A wiring is housed and positioned within the recess of the shaft and electrically connected to the antenna, A sleeve is provided inside the cylindrical body, which is detachably fixed to the cylindrical body and is not in contact with the antenna, and is rotatable relative to the shaft by a bearing fitted to the inside of its end, A printing apparatus further comprising a protective sleeve interposed between the wiring and the bearing, and fitted and fixed to the end of the shaft.

2. The aforementioned shaft is made of metal. The shaft further comprises a magnetic sheet larger than the antenna between its outer surface and the antenna. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The sleeve has a metal leaf spring on its outer surface that presses against the inner surface of the cylindrical body. The width of the leaf spring along the circumferential direction of the sleeve is narrower than the width of the antenna along the circumferential direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.

Images