JPH0124072B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal printing device that can be used in ticket vending machines, ticket processing terminals, etc., and particularly to a device that performs thermal printing in accordance with pre-printed timing marks.

〔background〕

When a pre-printed timing mark is detected by a reflective photosensor and the thermal head 8 is energized by the rising or falling signal to perform thermal printing, accurate detection of the timing mark is essential. By the way, in general, the photocurrent of a reflective photosensor is greatly affected by the relative distance to the timing mark, and the relationship is pointed, as shown in an example in Figure 1, and the photocurrent changes regardless of whether the relative distance is short or long. It can be seen that there is a large attenuation.

On the other hand, in order to drive the card smoothly, the gap in the guide path of the card naturally needs to be made somewhat larger than the thickness of the card, and as a result, the relative distance to the photo sensor fluctuates as the card wobbles in the thickness direction. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide an adjustment mechanism to ensure the accuracy of mounting the photosensor. Furthermore, if it is desired to use both a thin card and a thick card, the relative distance to the sensor will vary depending on the thickness of the card.

[Purpose/Structure]

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problem, and is configured such that the photo sensor generates a sufficient photocurrent by keeping a constant relative distance from the thermal printing surface of the card and following the photo sensor.

〔Example〕

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. Fig. 2 is a plan view showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a front view thereof, Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along AA of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a partial bottom view. An upper guide plate 2 and a lower guide plate 3 are fixed with screws (not shown), and a passage 5 and an entrance 6 for the card 4 are formed. 8 is a thermal head which is fitted and adhesively fixed to a rod-shaped body 11 of a resin movable member shown at 9. Terminal 8 of thermal head 8
b is soldered to the printed circuit board 13, and the printed circuit board 13 is adhesively fixed to the frame-shaped body 11. Also,
A reflective photosensor 7 is adhesively fixed to the printed circuit board 13, and the distance from its tip to the heat generating point 8a of the thermal head 8 is kept equal to the detection distance of the photosensor 7.

The movable member 9 has elastic pieces 10a and 10b, respectively, corresponding to the driving direction 21 of the inserted card 4.
to protrude. These elastic pieces 10a and 10b may be configured to be molded into a frame-shaped body 11 into which the head 8 is inserted. And this elastic piece 1
A locking shaft 12 is provided at the tip of each of 0a and 10b.
a. Form the locking portion 10c. In this case, the locking shaft 12a has a structure in which a locking groove 12a is formed in the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body so as to surround the locking shaft 12a, and the locking shaft 12a has a structure in which a locking groove 12a is formed so as to surround the circumferential surface of the cylindrical body. The locking portion 10 is placed on the bearing 14a and further locked in the locking groove 12a to prevent axial movement.
c is constituted by a part of the elastic piece 10b, and is placed in the locking groove 14b of the upright piece 2b, the details of which are shown in FIG. Here, the locking portion 10c has a flat plate shape, and the locking groove 14b also has a long hole shape, and the locking portion 10c
By supporting the structure with the upright piece 2b,
A thermal head 8 and a photosensor 7 provided on a movable member 9 are supported so as to be vertically movable in a direction perpendicular to the printing surface of the card 4.

The movable member 9 is moved by elastic pieces 10a and 10b,
By being supported between the upright pieces 2a and 2b, the thermal head 8 can be removed from the window 2c of the upper guide part 2.
Facing into the card passage 6, its heat generating point 8a is set in contact with a roller 15 which is a positioning member, and the resting position of the thermal head 8 is defined. roller 15
is made of heat-resistant resin, is rotatably supported by the lower guide plate 2 by a shaft 16, and its outer periphery is exposed to the card passage 6. In the positioning member 6, instead of the roller 15, the lower guide plate 3 may be embossed to provide a convex portion within the card path. 19 and 20 are lead wires to the thermal head 8 and photosensor 7, respectively.

When the card 4 is driven by a drive unit (not shown) in the direction of the arrow 21 in FIG. 4 and inserted between the thermal head 8 and the roller 15 in the thermal printing apparatus configured as described above, the heat generating point 8a of the thermal head and The tip 7a of the photo sensor 7 is pushed up in the direction away from the roller 15 (in the direction of the white arrow 22) by the thermal printing surface 4a of the card 4,
The elastic urging force of the elastic pieces 10a and 10b is applied to the roller 15.
direction, and the heating point 8a is on the thermal printing surface 4a.
At the same time, the detection distance from the tip 7a of the photo sensor 7 to the thermal printing surface 4a is maintained correctly. The card 4 is further driven, but at this time as well, the thermal head 8 and the photosensor 7 are supported so that they can move up and down in the direction perpendicular to the printed surface of the card, so the photosensor 7 follows the driving of the card 4 and detects the The distance remains constant. When the photo sensor 7 detects the timing mark 4b of the card 4 shown in FIG. The heating point 8a generates heat, and thermal printing is performed on the thermal printing surface 4a as shown in FIG. 8, 4c, for example.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the photo sensor 7 is driven together with the thermal head 8, the detection distance of the photo sensor 7 is always kept constant, which has the effect of generating a sufficient charging flow, and thermal printing by reliable timing mark reading. will be held.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a graph showing the relationship between the detection distance and photocurrent of a reflective photosensor, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 3 is a front view thereof, and Fig. 4 is the same as Fig. 2. AA sectional view, FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the movable member 9, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are the upright pieces 2a and 2b, respectively.
8 is an explanatory diagram of the card. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Guide means, 7... Photo sensor, 8... Thermal head, 9... Movable member, 2a, 2b...
Upright piece (supporting member), 15...roller (positioning member).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Guide means forming a card passage capable of accepting a card provided with at least one thermal printing surface; a thermal head and a photo sensor for detecting a predetermined mark on the card extending in the direction of card drive; a movable member supported by two elastic pieces; a support member for the movable member that acts on the movable member to support the thermal head and the photosensor so as to be movable up and down in a direction perpendicular to the printing surface of the card; The elastic pieces are provided at opposing positions and act on the thermal head to bias the thermal head in a direction away from the printing surface and to maintain a constant distance at which the photosensor detects the mark. A thermal printing device comprising: a positioning member for positioning the state.