Printer and sheet support device

Abstract

To provide a structure that can achieve further space saving and downsizing in a printer.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: a holding part which holds a wound belt-like sheet; a print part for printing on the sheet pulled out from the holding part; a housing in which the holding part and the print part are built; a pair of support shafts; an energization member; and a transmission part. The pair of support shafts are supported by the housing, are inserted in an inner periphery of a cylindrically wound ink ribbon, and support the ink ribbon wrapped around the print part. A follower shaft is connected to one end of the support shaft so as to be movable along a longer direction of the support shaft. The energization member energizes the follower shaft in a direction separating from the support shaft. The transmission part is provided on the housing and is rotationally driven, and transmits rotation to the follower shaft which is pressed against itself by energization of the energization member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present invention relate to a printer and a sheet support device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a printer that uses an ink ribbon (for example, Patent Document 1) includes a pair of support shafts that support the ink ribbon. The support shafts are inserted into the cylindrical inner circumference of the wound ink ribbon and at least partially adhere to the inner circumference. As a result, the ink ribbon is fed (supplied) and rewound, or wound and rewound as the support shafts are rotationally driven.

[0003] In a printer, further space saving or miniaturization is desired, and in order to achieve this, it is necessary to reconsider the arrangement, structure, etc. of various built-in components and members.

[0004] In addition, the ink ribbon is sold in a wound state, and there are a plurality of different standards for the inner circumference diameter (inner diameter) depending on the manufacturer, etc. Therefore, it is desirable that the support shaft that needs to adhere to the inner circumference can correspond to a plurality of standards.

[0005] However, depending on the standard, the inner diameter may vary greatly, and in such a case, it is often impossible to cope with a conventional support shaft whose corresponding diameter can be increased or decreased slightly, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0006] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a structure capable of achieving further space saving or miniaturization in a printer. Another problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a sheet support device that can cope with different inner diameters of sheets (such as ink ribbons) sold in a wound state depending on the standard.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The printer of this embodiment includes a holding unit for holding a rolled strip of paper, a printing unit for printing on the paper pulled out from the holding unit, a housing housing the holding unit and the printing unit, a pair of support shafts, a driven shaft, a biasing member, and a transmission unit. Attachments and, The device comprises: A pair of support shafts are supported by the housing and inserted into the inner circumference of a cylindrically wound ink ribbon, supporting the ink ribbon which is wrapped around the printing section. A driven shaft is connected to one end of the support shaft so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft. The biasing member is, Housed inside the aforementioned support shaft, The driven shaft is biased in a direction away from the support shaft. The transmission unit is the housing. to A biasing member is provided and rotationally driven to transmit rotation to the driven shaft, which is pressed against by the biasing force of the biasing member. The attachment is long along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft, and is detachably attached to the support shaft by a structure in which the direction of action during attachment and detachment differs at both ends of the support shaft, covering the outer circumference of the support shaft, and has a bent shape with a cross section that intersects the longitudinal direction being approximately U-shaped, and the attachment is in close contact with the inner circumference of the ink ribbon by the pressure contact member provided at the approximately U-shaped bent portion and the approximately U-shaped ends, [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a printer according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the printer according to the embodiment in an open state. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of the structure of a printer according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] Figure 4 shows a front view of the support shaft attached to the upper case. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the transmission unit. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the support shaft. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a cross-sectional view of the connection structure between the transmission section and the support shaft. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the attachment structure for mounting the attachment to the support shaft. [Figure 9]Figure 9 shows the external appearance of the support shaft with the attachment attached, and the hooking structure of the attachment to the rotating knob in cross-section AA. [Figure 10] Figure 10 shows the external appearance of the support shaft with the attachment attached. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the external appearance of a printer 1 according to an embodiment. The printer 1 comprises a housing 2, a display and operation unit 3, an open / close button 4, and a paper output slot 5. The side on which the paper output slot 5 is located is the front side of the printer 1, and the side opposite to the side on which the paper output slot 5 is located is the rear side.

[0010] The housing 2 is a box-shaped container comprising an upper case 21 and a lower case 22. The upper case 21 has a downward-facing opening, and the lower case 22 has an upward-facing opening. The upper case 21 is rotatably attached to the lower case 22 by a hinge 20 on its rear side. This connects the upper case 21 and the lower case 22 so that they can rotate, opening and closing each other's openings.

[0011] The hinge 20 rotatably connects the upper case 21 and the lower case 22 on the rear side. The hinge 20 is equipped with a biasing member, such as a torsion spring, on one side in the width direction of the lower case 22. The biasing member biases the upper case 21 in the direction that opens the lower case 22, thereby slowing down the movement of the upper case 21 when closing the lower case 22.

[0012] The display operation unit 3 is located on the top surface of the upper case 21. The display operation unit 3 receives input for various operations and displays various information. The open / close button 4 is located on the front side of the side of the upper case 21. When the open / close button 4 is pressed, the lock state of the structure that holds the upper case 21 in the position to close the lower case 22 is released, and the upper case 21 lifts up according to the biasing force of the biasing member, opening the housing 2.

[0013] A part of the front (front surface) of the lower case 22 is constituted by the front cover 23. The front cover 23 is an example of a cover portion. Also, the other portion of the housing 2 excluding the front cover 23 is an example of a main body portion.

[0014] The paper discharge port 5 is an opening for issuing (discharging) printed matter such as receipts (paper 61 after printing), and is provided between the upper end portion of the front cover 23 and the lower front end portion of the upper case 21.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the state in which the printer 1 according to the embodiment is opened. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a side view of an example of the structure of the printer 1 according to the embodiment. Inside the housing 2, a paper holding portion 6, a printing portion 7, and a ribbon support portion 8 are provided. The paper holding portion 6 rotatably holds a roll paper 60 around which a belt-like paper 61 is wound.

[0016] Examples of the roll paper 60 include a receipt roll and a label roll. The receipt roll is one around which a belt-like receipt paper (an example of the paper 61) is wound. The receipt paper is a belt-like paper 61 that becomes a receipt by being printed and cut.

[0017] The label roll is one around which a belt-like label paper (an example of the paper 61) is wound. Examples of the label paper include a label with a backing sheet in which a label is attached to a belt-like backing sheet and a belt-like label without a backing sheet. The label has an adhesive layer provided on the back surface of the printing surface.

[0018] The printing portion 7 prints on the paper 61 while transporting the paper 61 drawn out from the paper holding portion 6, and includes a printing head 71 and a platen roller 72. The printing head 71 is fixed to the inner surface of the upper case 21 and is in close contact with the platen roller 72 in a state where the upper case 21 closes the opening on the upper surface of the lower case 22.

[0019] The printing head 71 is, for example, a thermal head, and includes a plurality of heating elements provided in parallel. The printing head 71 prints on the paper 61 sandwiched between itself and the platen roller 72 by the heat of the heating elements. The platen roller 72 rotates when the driving force of the stepping motor is transmitted, and conveys the paper 61 sandwiched between it and the printing head 71.

[0020] The printer 1 performs printing by thermally transferring the ink on the surface of the ink ribbon 801. The ink ribbon 801 is an example of a belt-like sheet, and is supported by the ribbon support portion 8 in a wound state. The ribbon support portion 8 is an example of a sheet support device, and includes support shafts 81 and 82. The support shaft 81 supports the unused wound ink ribbon 801, and supplies or rewinds the ink ribbon 801 by rotating. The support shaft 82 winds up the used ink ribbon 801, and winds up or rewinds the ink ribbon 801 by rotating.

[0021] The support shafts 81 and 82 are supported at both ends by the inner wall of the upper case 21, and rotate when a driving force is transmitted to one end. [[ID=1O]]

[0022] FIG. 4 is a front view showing the attachment state of the support shaft 81 to the upper case 21. The attachment state of the support shaft 82 is the same as that of the support shaft 81. Hereinafter, the description of the support shaft 81 is the same for the support shaft 82.

[0023] The upper case 21 includes support portions 25 and 26 on a pair of side walls constituting the inner wall. The support portion 25 is a through hole into which one end portion 83 of the support shaft 81 is inserted. The end portion 83 is formed thinner than the central portion of the support shaft 81 that supports the wound ink ribbon 801 (ribbon roll 80). When the end portion 83 is inserted into the support portion 25, the support shaft 81 is rotatably supported by the upper case 21. ]>

[0024] The support portion 26 is a through-hole that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 92 of the transmission portion 91. A gear 95 is connected to the rotating shaft 92, and the driving force of a motor or the like provided in the lower case 22 is transmitted to the gear 95 via other gears 96, etc. This causes the transmission portion 91 to rotate.

[0025] Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the transmission section 91. The transmission section 91 is a dish-shaped member with a recess in the center compared to its edges, and has a plurality of protrusions 911 inside the recess. The tip 921 of the rotating shaft 92 is inserted into the center of the transmission section 91. A pin 922 inserted approximately perpendicular to the tip 921 fits into a groove 912 in the center of the transmission section 91 and functions as a rotation stopper between the rotating shaft 92 and the transmission section 91.

[0026] Multiple protrusions 911 are arranged along the edge of the transmission section 91 with gaps between them. These protrusions 911 have inclined surfaces 913 and 914 with respect to the direction of protrusion, and mesh with the meshing shape 841 of the driven shaft 84 (described later) provided on the support shaft 81. Through this meshing, the driving force of a motor or the like is transmitted to the support shaft 81, causing the support shaft 81 to rotate.

[0027] Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the support shaft 81. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a cross-sectional view of the connection structure between the transmission section 91 and the support shaft 81. The support shaft 81 is equipped with a driven shaft 84, a slider 85, an anti-rotation member 86, a biasing member 87, a pressure contact member 88, and a rotating knob 89 at the end opposite to the end 83 described above.

[0028] The driven shaft 84 is provided at the tip of the support shaft 81. The tip of the driven shaft 84 is provided with a meshing shape 841. The meshing shape 841 is, for example, a concave and convex shape that meshes with the protrusion 911. When the transmission unit 91 rotates with the protrusion 911 and the meshing shape 841 meshed, rotation is transmitted to the driven shaft 84, causing the support shaft 81 to rotate.

[0029] The slider 85 is movable along its longitudinal direction within a guide groove 811 provided inside the support shaft 81. The guide groove 811 is provided over a long distance along the axial direction of the support shaft 81. The slider 85 is integrally provided with the driven shaft 84. As a result, the driven shaft 84 is also movable along the longitudinal direction of the guide groove 811. In other words, the driven shaft 84 is movable within a predetermined section along the axial direction of the support shaft 81.

[0030] The anti-rotation device 86 is inserted into the driven shaft 84 and is approximately perpendicular to the axial direction of the driven shaft 84. The support shaft 81 has a guide groove 812 formed therein, which is a long groove in the axial direction and communicates with the guide groove 811. The end of the anti-rotation device 86 fits into the guide groove 812. The anti-rotation device 86 is movable along the guide groove 812. As a result, the driven shaft 84 can move along the axial direction of the support shaft 81 but does not rotate around the axis of the support shaft 81.

[0031] The biasing member 87 is, for example, a compression spring provided between the ends of the support shaft 81 and the driven shaft 84. The biasing member 87 biases the driven shaft 84 away from the support shaft 81. As a result, when mounted on the upper case 21, the driven shaft 84 is pressed against the transmission unit 91. In this state, the meshing shape 841 of the driven shaft 84 and the protrusion 911 of the transmission unit 91 engage, and the rotation of the transmission unit 91 is transmitted to the driven shaft 84.

[0032] The pressure contact member 88 is, for example, a leaf spring provided on the circumferential surface of the support shaft 81. The pressure contact member 88 is pressed against the inner circumference of the wound ink ribbon 801 (ribbon roll 80) when the support shaft 81 is inserted into the inner circumference of the ribbon roll 80. As a result, the ribbon roll 80 into which the support shaft 81 is inserted rotates integrally with the support shaft 81.

[0033] The rotary knob 89 is a disc-shaped part located between the support shaft 81 and the driven shaft 84, and is integrally provided with the support shaft 81. The rotary knob 89 has a shape with irregularities engraved on its outer surface and accepts manual operation to rotate the support shaft 81. The rotary knob 89 is used, for example, when replacing the ink ribbon 801, to adjust the tension of the ink ribbon 801 that has been pulled out from the ribbon roll 80 mounted on the ribbon support section 8 and wrapped around the print head 71.

[0034] Here, the support shaft 81 shown in Figure 7 is in a state with the attachment 100, which will be described next, attached. Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the attachment structure of the attachment 100 to the support shaft 81. Figure 9 shows the external appearance of the support shaft 81 with the attachment 100 attached, and the hooking structure of the attachment 100 to the rotating knob 89 in cross-section AA. Figure 10 is a diagram showing the external appearance of the support shaft 81 with the attachment 100 attached, viewed from the opposite side of Figure 9.

[0035] The attachment 100 is long along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 81 and has a bent shape such that the cross-section in the thickness direction of the support shaft 81 is approximately U-shaped. It is attached to the support shaft 81 so as to cover the outer circumference of the support shaft 81. The attachment 100 has a mounting portion 101 and a flange portion 102 at one end and a mounting portion 103 at the other end.

[0036] Furthermore, the attachment 100 is equipped with a pressure-welding member 108 at the position corresponding to the approximately U-shaped bend described above. The pressure-welding member 108 is the same as the pressure-welding member 88 and is pressed against (pressure-welded against) the inner circumference of the ribbon roll 80.

[0037] The flange portion 102 is a flange-shaped part that extends radially from one end of the attachment 100 and contacts the circular surface of the rotating knob 89 when the attachment 100 is mounted on the support shaft 81.

[0038] Mounting holes 891 are provided on the circular surface of the rotating knob 89. The mounting portion 101 is provided protruding from the outer circumference of the flange portion 102 and is inserted into and hooked into the mounting holes 891.

[0039] The mounting portion 103 has a shape in which a pair of U-shaped ends protrude toward each other. On the other hand, the support shaft 81 is provided with an engaging portion 813 (see Figures 6 and 8) at a position corresponding to the mounting portion 103. The engaging portion 813 has a hooking surface that is substantially perpendicular to the outer surface of the support shaft 81 and an inclined guide surface that connects from the tip of the hooking surface to the outer surface of the support shaft 81, and the guide surface guides the mounting portion 103 to the tip of the hooking surface. When the mounting portion 103 passes the tip, the mounting portion 103 engages with the engaging portion 813.

[0040] With the mounting parts 101 and 103 described above, the attachment 100 hooks onto the support shaft 81 and is attached to the support shaft 81 in a manner that covers and embraces the outer circumference of the support shaft 81.

[0041] Furthermore, the side of the attachment 100 facing the support shaft 81 is filled with multiple U-shaped ribs 105 that are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft 81.

[0042] In this configuration, the paper 61 pulled out from the paper holding unit 6 is printed on by the printing unit 7 and discharged from the paper output slot 5. The printing unit 7 holds the paper 61 and the ink ribbon 801 stacked between the print head 71 and the platen roller 72, and prints on them with the print head 71 while transporting them by the rotation of the platen roller 72. The print head 71 melts the ink from the ink ribbon 801 and transfers it to the paper 61.

[0043] Support shaft 81 supplies (feeds out) the ink ribbon 801. Support shaft 82 winds up the ink ribbon 801 after it has passed through the print head 71. Support shafts 81 and 82 are rotated in reverse as needed, and the ink ribbon 801 is transported in reverse.

[0044] The support shaft 81 (and similarly the support shaft 82) receives driving force from a motor or the like via the driven shaft 84 and the transmission unit 91, causing the support shaft 81 to rotate.

[0045] The driven shaft 84 is pressed against the transmission unit 91 by the biasing force of the biasing member 87. In this state, the meshing shape 841 and the protrusion 911 are engaged, causing the driven shaft 84 to rotate in accordance with the rotation of the transmission unit 91.

[0046] The motor and other components are housed in the lower case 22 of the printer 1 and are linked by gears 95, 96, etc., to rotate the transmission unit 91. The structure for pressing the transmission unit 91 and the driven shaft 84 together is housed in the support shaft 81. In other words, the slider 85 and guide groove 811, the anti-rotation 86 and guide groove 812, and the biasing member 87 are all provided on the support shaft 81.

[0047] This eliminates the need to provide structures equivalent to these (slider 85, anti-rotation 86, biasing member 87, guide groove 811, guide groove 812) on the printer 1 side, thus saving space inside the printer 1 and allowing for miniaturization. In addition, although the support shaft 81 now has structures that were not present before (slider 85, anti-rotation 86, biasing member 87, guide groove 811, guide groove 812), these are parts that were previously dead space inside the support shaft 81, so there is no increase in space and it does not pose a problem.

[0048] The inner circumference of the cylindrical ribbon roll 80 is in close contact with either the support shaft 81 or the attachment 100 attached to the support shaft 81. The support shaft 81 is in close contact with the inner circumference of the ribbon roll 80 by a pair of pressure contact members 88 provided along its longitudinal direction. The attachment 100 is in close contact with the inner circumference of the ribbon roll 80 by a pair of sides corresponding to the ends of the U-shape and a pressure contact member 108 provided at a position corresponding to the bend of the U-shape.

[0049] The attachment 100 is attached to both ends of the support shaft 81 by hooking structures that have different directions of action during the hooking motion.

[0050] One of the hooking structures between the attachment 100 and the support shaft 81 is a hooking structure consisting of a mounting portion 101 and a mounting hole 891, and the hooking direction is substantially aligned with the axial direction of the support shaft 81. The other of the hooking structures between the attachment 100 and the support shaft 81 is a hooking structure consisting of a mounting portion 103 and an engaging portion 813, and the hooking direction is substantially perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 81.

[0051] In this way, by attaching the attachment 100 to the support shaft 81 with two hook structures that act in different directions, it is possible to easily attach and detach it, and it is less likely that the attachment 100 will fall off due to the rotation of the support shaft 81.

[0052] According to the configuration of this embodiment described above, it is possible to provide a structure that can achieve further space saving or miniaturization in the printer 1.

[0053] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by appropriately using the attachment 100, it is possible to accommodate different inner diameters of the ribbon roll 80 depending on the standard.

[0054] In the printer 1 of this embodiment, the functions that were conventionally handled by the lower case 22 (or upper case 21) are now provided on the support shaft 81. This saves space inside the housing 2 and makes the printer 1 smaller, but on the other hand, the manufacturing cost of the support shaft 81, which has a more complex structure, increases. For this reason, if a support shaft 81 is prepared to match the inner diameter according to the specifications of the ribbon roll 80, the cost will increase. However, in this embodiment, the attachment 100 is used to accommodate the differences in inner diameter according to the specifications, so the cost can be kept down.

[0055] While several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be carried out in a variety of other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments 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. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1…Printer, 2...casing, 20...hinge, 21...upper case, 22...lower case, 23...Front cover, 25, 26...Support section, 3...Display operation section, 4...Open / close button, 5... Paper output slot, 6...Paper holding section (an example of a holding section), 60...Roll paper, 61...Paper, 7...Printing unit, 71...Print head, 72...Platen roller, 80... Ribbon roll, 801... Ink ribbon (example of a sheet), 8... Ribbon support section (an example of a sheet support device), 81, 82... Support shaft, 811... Guide groove, 812... Guide groove, 813... Engaging part, 83...end, 84...Driven shaft, 841...Meshing shape, 85... Slider, 86... Anti-rotation device, 87 ... Biasing member, 88...Pressure welding member, 89... Rotary knob, 891... Mounting hole, 91...transmission part, 911...projection part, 912...groove, 913...slope, 92...rotating axis, 921...tip, 922...pin 95, 96... gear, 100... Attachments, 101...Mounting section, 102...Flange section, 103...Mounting section, 105...Rib. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0057] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-229945

Claims

1. A holding part that holds the rolled-up strip of paper, A printing unit that prints on the paper pulled out from the holding unit, A housing that incorporates the holding part and the printing part, A pair of support shafts, which are supported by the housing and inserted into the inner circumference of the cylindrically wound ink ribbon, and which support the ink ribbon that is wrapped around the printing section, A driven shaft is connected to one end of the support shaft so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft, A biasing member housed inside the support shaft and biasing the driven shaft away from the support shaft, A transmission unit is provided in the housing and is rotationally driven, and transmits rotation to the driven shaft which is pressed against by the biasing force of the biasing member, An attachment that is long along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft, and is detachably attached to the support shaft by a structure in which the direction of action during attachment and detachment differs at both ends of the support shaft, covering the outer circumference of the support shaft, having a bent shape with a cross section that intersects the longitudinal direction being approximately U-shaped, and which is in close contact with the inner circumference of the ink ribbon at the approximately U-shaped bent portion and at both ends of the approximately U-shaped, A printer equipped with the following features.

2. The attachment is The attachment has a protruding first mounting portion that extends from one end of the attachment in the longitudinal direction of the attachment, The other end of the attachment has a pair of protruding second mounting portions that extend outwards from both ends of the substantially U-shaped section, moving toward each other. The support shaft has a disc-shaped portion at one end that is integrally provided with the support shaft, The disc-shaped portion has a mounting hole into which the first mounting portion is inserted. The support shaft has a pair of recessed engaging portions at its other end, into which the pair of second mounting portions engage. The printer according to claim 1.

3. The support shaft is equipped with a pressure contact member that presses against the inner circumference of the ink ribbon, The attachment covers the support shaft from the side without the pressure contact member. The printer according to claim 2.

4. The attachment includes a pressure-contacting member on the outer circumference of the bent portion that presses against the inner circumference of the ink ribbon. The printer according to claim 3.

5. A support shaft is inserted into the inner circumference of a cylindrical, rolled-up strip of sheet to support the sheet, A driven shaft is connected to one end of the support shaft so as to be movable along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft, A biasing member housed inside the support shaft and biasing the driven shaft away from the support shaft, An attachment that is long along the longitudinal direction of the support shaft, and is detachably attached to the support shaft by a structure in which the direction of action during attachment and detachment differs at both ends of the support shaft, covering the outer circumference of the support shaft, having a bent shape with a cross section that intersects the longitudinal direction being approximately U-shaped, and which is in close contact with the inner circumference of the sheet at the approximately U-shaped bent portion and at both ends of the approximately U-shaped, A seat support device equipped with the following features.

6. The support shaft includes a pressure contact member that presses against the inner circumference of the sheet, The attachment covers the support shaft from the side without the pressure contact member. The sheet support device according to claim 5.

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