JPH04189165A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a thermal printer excellent in operability and easy use by a method wherein rotatable platens perpendicularly arranged contains clutches by which the rotating force of a driving axle is selectively transmitted to the platens and driven by a single driving motor. CONSTITUTION:A line thermal head 1 is pressed on a receipt round platen 2 and a journal round platen 3 by a presser with a sheet of receipt heat-sensitive paper 7 and a sheet of journal heat-sensitive paper respectively placed between the thermal head 1 and those platens. A clutch spring 9 engages with the ratchet 10 by the rotation of a driving axle 6 and loosened when a moving body 11 engages with a ratchet 10, so that the rotation and power of the driving axle 6 is not transmitted to the receipt round platen 2. When the moving body 11 comes off the ratchet 10, the ratchet 10 is fastened on the driving axle 6 by tightening force of the clutch spring 9 and begins to rotate in synchronous with the rotation of the driving axle 6. Therefore, the receipt round platen 2 as a driving object, which is connected to an end 9a of the clutch spring 9 that is tightened by the rotation of the driving axle 6, also begins to rotate in synchronous with the driving axle 6.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is applicable to cash registers or POS (Point of 5ales sales) that record characters and images almost simultaneously on multiple sheets of recording paper such as receipts and journal papers. Time management (hereinafter referred to as PO8) relates to a thermal printer such as a terminal device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, cash registers or PO8 printers using this type of technology are generally issued using a two-sheet serial impact printer for receipts and journals.

Also, when using a thermal printer, the fifth
As shown in the figure, the line thermal head 1 presses the double roll paper 19 against the platen 18, feeds the paper and prints, and after feeding the printed paper, a receipt 19a, a journal 1
It is common to separate into 9b. .

or E F T (Electronic Fund
s Transfer automatic payment processing (hereinafter referred to as EFT). ) As is typical in the market, the same character or image pattern is recorded multiple times on a sheet of thermal recording paper using the prior art thermal printer, and then the required number of sheets are cut with a cutter and used for various purposes such as receipts and journals.

Alternatively, an impact printer was used to print on double roll paper using plain paper and pressure-sensitive recording paper, and then the paper was separated.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] As mentioned above, current cash registers or PO5 printers are printed with impact printers for both receipts and journals, and in recent years, printing has become particularly important as noise has been reduced and the amount of information has expanded. There is a significant demand for faster speeds. For this reason, it is noticeable that thermal printers are making inroads into the cash register or PO8 market.However, with the conventional technology mentioned above, printing is performed on two sheets of thermal paper, which requires nearly twice as much printing energy from the thermal head. There are problems such as decreased durability, increased thermal head cost, complicated control, and slow printing speed.

In addition, the problem of lifting, twisting, and wrinkling of the recording paper due to the difference in the total length of the inner and outer paper, which is peculiar to double roll paper printing, and which adversely affects the print quality, as well as the problem peculiar to double roll paper, can be prevented. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the pressing force of the thermal head, which complicates the mechanism. At the same time, there are mechanical issues such as the required torque of the drive motor increases.
Normally, double-roll thermal paper has the problem of poor operability because the inner and outer sheets are glued together.Also, when recording the same character image pattern multiple times on patterned paper and then cutting the required number of sheets with a cutter, A separate storage mechanism was required to store the journal, and at the same time, there were problems with ease of use, such as the complicated processing of printed paper after printing.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems and drawbacks, and is designed to meet the demands of the cash register or PO8 market for lower noise and faster printing speeds to meet the increasing amount of information. Compatible with high-speed heads, the cases of cash registers currently on the market can be reused, and parts of impact printers can be reused as much as possible. High speed, low noise, high print quality, and ease of use and ease of use for end users. The purpose is to provide a good thermal printer.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The thermal printer of the present invention includes a line thermal head,
The line thermal head presses through a plurality of sheets of recording paper that are arranged approximately in parallel, and prints and feeds the paper corresponding to each of the plurality of recording sheets. A rotatable platen arranged approximately at right angles, and a single clutch mechanism having one or more clutch mechanisms corresponding to each of the platens and selectively transmitting the rotational force of a drive shaft provided in the platen to the platen. It is characterized by having a printed paper feeding mechanism driven by a drive motor.

Further, the thermal printer of the present invention is arranged substantially perpendicularly to the printing paper feeding direction divided into two or more parts that print corresponding to each of the plurality of recording papers of the printing paper feeding mechanism section. A platen is rotatably installed as a printing mechanism, and a paper feeding mechanism is separately provided corresponding to each of the plurality of sheets of recording paper divided into two or more pieces installed near the printing mechanism. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printed paper feeding mechanism of a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the clutch mechanism part used for. This will be explained below based on this figure.

1 is a line thermal head in which a plurality of heating elements are mounted in a row; 2 and 3 are a round platen for receipts and a round platen for journals, which are each pivotally supported on a main frame (not shown); 4 is a round platen for receipts and journals. Clutch mechanisms for independent or simultaneous feeding, 5 a head holder, and 6 a drive shaft.

The line thermal head 1 is fixed to a head holder 5. The head holder 5 is rotatably fixed to a main frame (not shown).

The line thermal head 1 has a thermal recording paper 7 for receipts.
, are pressed with a constant load by a pressing mechanism (not shown) to a round receipt platen 2 and a round journal platen 3, which are each pivotally supported by a main frame (not shown), via a journal thermal recording paper 8. Rotation and power in one direction are transmitted from a paper feed drive motor (not shown) to a drive shaft 6 passing through the center of the round receipt platen 2 and journal round platen 3 via a gear train group (also not shown). are doing. Further, with respect to the rotation of the drive shaft 6 of the clutch spring 9, one end 9a of the tightened side is engaged with the round platen 2 for the sheet, and the other end 9b of the loose side is engaged with the selection ratchet 1.
0, a movable body 11 in a stationary state that engages or disengages from the ratchet 10, and a receipt electromagnet 1 that selectively engages and disengages the movable body 11 from the ratchet 10.
It is composed of 2. In the case of the above configuration, the movable body 13
is engaged with the ratchet 10, the ratchet 1
0 is also stationary. Therefore, the clutch spring 9 engaged with the ratchet 10 is loosened by the rotation of the drive shaft 6, and the rotation and power of the drive shaft 6 are not transmitted to the round receipt platen 2 to be driven. When the movable body 11 is attracted to the receipt electromagnet 12 and detached from the ratchet 10, the ratchet 1
0 is a driven object that is tightened on the drive shaft 6 by the tightening force of the clutch spring 9, starts rotating synchronously with the drive shaft 6, and is engaged with one end 9a of the clutch spring 9 that is tightened against the rotation of the drive shaft 6. The round receipt platen 2 also starts rotating in synchronization with the drive shaft 6. In this way, by using the receipt electromagnet 12 and switching the spring clutch, the receipt round platen 2 repeatedly rotates and stops in the paper feeding direction.

The journal round platen 3 is also provided with a mechanism similar to the receipt round platen 2, and is repeatedly rotated and stopped in the paper feeding direction by switching the spring clutch using the journal electromagnet 13.

As described above, by sending electric signals to the receipt electromagnet 12 and the journal electromagnet 13, power is transmitted to the receipt round platen 2 and the journal round platen 3 independently or simultaneously to rotate them.

As mentioned above, the thermal recording paper 7 for receipts and the thermal recording paper 8 for journals are pressed (not shown) against the round platen 2 for receipts and the round platen 3 for journals, which are pivotally supported by the line thermal head 1 and the main frame (not shown), respectively. Since it is pressed and clamped by a mechanism with a constant load,
As the receipt round platen 2 and the journal round platen 3 rotate and stop in the paper feeding direction, the receipt thermal recording paper 7 and the journal thermal recording paper 8 are fed,
will be stopped. At this time, a print signal matched with the paper feed timing signal is transferred to each of the plurality of heating elements mounted in a row on the line thermal head 1, and any heating element generates heat to print characters on the thermal recording paper. Image information is printed and recorded. The receipt thermal recording paper 7 and the journal thermal recording paper 8 are stored in a receipt thermal recording roll paper storage section and a journal thermal recording roll paper storage section provided in a main frame (not shown), respectively, and the above-mentioned characters, The image information is sequentially drawn out by printing and paper feeding operations. Also,
The thermosensitive recording paper 7 for receipts on which text and image information have been printed is cut by an automatic cutter installed above the line thermal head 1 and discharged. Also, characters,
The journal thermal recording paper 8 on which image information has been printed is wound up by a journal thermal recording paper winding device and stored.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a thermal printer according to another embodiment of the present invention, and the following description will be made based on this figure.

In the embodiment described above, paper feeding and printing were carried out using the same round receipt platen 2 and the same round journal platen 3, but in this embodiment, the receipt round platen 2a and the journal round platen 3a are connected to a main platen (not shown). The round receipt platen 2a is rotatably supported on a frame;
Line thermal head 1 on journal round platen 3a
Thermal recording paper for receipts 7, Thermal recording paper for journals 8
A receipt paper feed roller 14 and a journal paper feed roller 15 corresponding to the receipt thermal recording paper 7 and the journal thermal recording paper 8 are provided in front in each paper feeding direction. 7. Apply a constant load to the journal paper press roller 16 and journal paper press roller 17 via the thermal recording paper 8 for rotatability.

The receipt paper feed roller 14 and the journal paper feed roller 15 are provided with a latch mechanism 4 similar to the aforementioned receipt round platen 2 and journal round platen 3, and a receipt electromagnet 12 and a journal electromagnet 13 are used.
By switching the spring clutch, power is transmitted to the receipt paper feed roller 14 and the journal paper feed roller 15 independently or simultaneously in the paper feed direction, and they repeat rotation and stop.

In the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 and 4 above, a spring clutch using an electromagnet is given as an embodiment of the clutch mechanism, but other embodiments of the clutch mechanism include 1) an electromagnetic clutch, 2) a metal Mechanical clutch using balls, cylinders, etc., 3
) It is also possible to use a mechanical clutch using Geneva, planetary gears, etc.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a single line thermal head and a single drive motor are used, and the printing paper feeding mechanism is divided into two units, or the printing mechanism and the paper feeding mechanism are separated into two units. By using a clutch mechanism, the thermal recording paper for receipts and the thermal recording paper for journals are printed, fed, and stopped independently or simultaneously, making it possible to use the cases of cash registers and PO8 terminals currently on the market. This has the advantage of providing an inexpensive two-sheet thermal printer that can be used to reuse impact printer parts.

In addition, we offer low noise, which is a very strong demand in the cash register and PO8 market, high speed, low noise, and high print quality that can support the increase in printing speed as the amount of information increases, and ease of operation for end users. We can provide an easy-to-use thermal printer.

Compared to current cash registers, thermal printers used in the PO8 market that print on double-layered thermal paper, and 1-sheet line thermal printers that use two units, the printing energy of the line thermal head can be set lower and the thermal It has advantages such as lower head cost, easier control, and faster printing speed.

In addition, compared to using two one-sheet line thermal printers, it has advantages such as easier control because it can be controlled with one motor, smaller external shape, and lower cost due to fewer parts. It also has the advantage that the options of the impact printer, such as the auto cutter and winding mechanism, can be reused, making it easy to create variations and series in response to market demands.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printed paper feeding mechanism of a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the clutch mechanism used in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a clutch mechanism used in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a printing mechanism section and a paper feeding mechanism section of a thermal printer according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional two-sheet printing line thermal printer. 1...Line thermal head 2...Round platen for receipts 3...Round platen for journals 6...Drive shaft 7...Thermal recording paper for receipts 8. ...Thermal recording paper for journal 9...Clutch spring 10...Ratchet for selection 12...Electromagnet for receipt 14...Receipt paper feed roller 16...
Receipt paper presser roller and above Applicant Seiko Epson Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Kizobe Suzuki and 1 other person Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a printer for a terminal device that records characters and images almost simultaneously on multiple sheets of recording paper, a line thermal head and a line thermal head press each other through a plurality of recording sheets arranged approximately in parallel, A rotatable platen arranged approximately perpendicular to the printing paper feeding direction, which is divided into two or more parts that print and feed paper corresponding to each sheet of recording paper; It is characterized by having one or more clutch mechanisms for selectively transmitting the rotational force of a drive shaft provided in the platen to the platen, and having a print paper feeding mechanism driven by a single drive motor. thermal printer. (2) The printing paper feeding mechanism section in the line thermal printer is divided into two or more parts that print correspondingly to each of the plurality of sheets of recording paper, and is arranged approximately at right angles to the printing paper feeding direction. A platen rotatably installed as a printing mechanism section, and a separate paper feeding mechanism section corresponding to each of the plurality of sheets of recording paper divided into two or more pieces installed near the printing mechanism section. The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that: