JPH08573U - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide a labor-saving printer that does not require a cumbersome operation of manually opening a lid to take out a cassette when taking out the cassette from a cassette housing portion. To do. SOLUTION: In order to remove a label cassette 21 from a cassette storage portion 1a of a main body case 1, an operation knob 30
Is operated to release the engagement between the hook portion 26a and the hook portion 10a. As a result, the lid pushing-up member 27 is turned around the turning shaft 28 by the urging force of the coil springs 29 and 33 to push up the cassette lid 26. At the same time, the head support member 31 is pulled by the elastic force of the coil springs 29 and 33 and rotates right about the rotary shaft 32, and the print head 2
0 separates from the platen 18. In this state, if the label cassette 21 is removed from the cassette housing portion 1a, the print head 20 will not be damaged.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Technical field to which the device belongs]

 The present invention relates to a printer that prints on a printing medium such as a label or a tape.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Recently, label printers have been developed that print arbitrary letters, numbers, etc. on labels coated with adhesive. Such a label printer is of a thermal transfer printer type, and performs printing by interposing an ink ribbon (print medium) and a label between the print head and the platen. The width of the print head and the ink ribbon Since the width is almost the same, the print head is fixed during printing and the ink ribbon moves due to the rotation of the platen. In addition, in this type of printer, the ink ribbon and the label are housed in a cassette, and are configured to be detachable from a cassette housing portion provided in the printer body. A lid is attached to cover the cassette stored in the cassette storage section. Therefore, each time the cassette is removed from the printer body, it is necessary to open the lid and separate the print head from the platen. That is, if the cassette is removed from the printer body while the printing head and the platen are in contact with each other, the printing head and the ink ribbon are damaged.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In such a configuration, in order to simplify and miniaturize the mechanism part, a mechanism has been considered in which the user operates the lever when the cassette is attached or detached to manually separate the print head from the platen. However, in such a printer, in order to remove the cassette from the printer body, the lid is manually opened to a predetermined open position, and the cassette is taken out from the cassette storage section with the lid held at the open position. Annoying operation was necessary. This invention was made in order to solve the above problem, and does not require the troublesome operation of manually opening the lid to the predetermined open position and taking out the cassette when taking out the cassette from the cassette storage section. The purpose is to provide a printer that can realize labor saving.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a printer in which a cassette is accommodated in a cassette accommodating portion provided in a printer main body, and printing is performed on a print medium stored in the cassette by using a print head. A lid that is opened and closed to cover the cassette housed in the housing, and the print head is spaced apart from the print position on the print medium and the print medium in association with the opening and closing operation of the cover. Print head moving means for moving the cover to a separate position, an elastic member having elasticity for pushing up the lid so that the lid is opened from the cassette storage portion, and the lid for the elastic member Lid holding means for holding the lid in a state of covering the cassette housing portion against the elastic force of the lid, and a slide operating means for releasing the holding by the lid holding means. Characterized by comprising a.

[0005]

[Embodiment of device]

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. This embodiment shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a label printer device. 1 is a perspective view showing the external configuration of the label printer, FIG. 2 is a side view showing the internal configuration of the label printer, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the essential parts, and FIG. 4 is a side view showing the internal configuration. 5 and 6 are partial cross-sectional views for explaining the operation, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are plan views for explaining the operation.

As shown in FIG. 1, a main body case 1 constituting a printer main body of a label printer device has a display unit 2 for displaying character data to be printed, and a keyboard 3 for inputting hiragana, numbers and the like. Is provided. A label outlet 4 for ejecting a printed label 22 described later is provided on the side surface of the main body case 1, and a cutter lever 5 is arranged above the label outlet 4.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cutter lever 5 is formed in an arc shape, and a lever gear 6 is attached to one end of the cutter lever 5. The cutter lever 5 and the lever gear 6 are rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 7 in the directions of arrows A and B. The rotating shaft 7 is fixed to the chassis 10 of the main body case 1. A cutter gear 8 for moving a cutter holder 12 is meshed with the lever gear 6. The cutter gear 8 is rotatably supported by a rotating shaft 9. The rotating shaft 9 is also fixed to the chassis 10 of the main body case 1. The cutter lever 5 is biased in the direction of arrow A by a spring 11 provided on the chassis 10. Further, the cutter gear 8 is engaged with an engagement pin (not shown) of the cutter holder 12. A cutter is fixed to the cutter holder 12, is supported by guide pins provided on the chassis 10, and is vertically movable in the directions of arrows C and D.

The platen 18 is pivotally supported by a platen shaft 19 provided on the chassis 10. The print head 20 is configured to come into contact with or separate from the platen 18. The label cassette 21 is detachably and independently stored in a cassette storage unit 1a described later with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, and includes a label 22 wound in a roll shape, an ink ribbon supply roller 23, and an ink ribbon winding roller. The take-up roller 24 is built in. The label 22 is guided by the guide roller 21 a and sent out between the platen 18 and the print head 20. The ink ribbon 25 is fed from the ink ribbon supply roller 23, is aligned with the surface of the label 22, is fed between the platen 18 and the print head 20, and is wound by the ink ribbon take-up roller 24.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the main body case 1 is provided with a cassette housing portion 1 a for housing the label cassette 21. Further, the main body case 1 is provided with a cassette lid 26 that covers the cassette housing portion 1a. As is clear from FIGS. 3 and 6, the cassette lid 26 is pushed up in the opening direction by the lid pushing-up member 27 having a V-shape. The lid push-up member 27 is rotated about a rotation shaft 28 provided on the chassis 10. A coil spring 29 is connected to one end 27 a of the lid pushing member 27. The operation knob 30 is operated when the cassette lid 26 is opened, and the hook portion 26a of the cassette lid 26 is removed from the hook portion 10a of the chassis 10.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the coil spring 29 connected to one end 27 a of the lid pushing member 27 is connected to one end 31 a of the head supporting member 31 formed in an “L” shape. There is. The print head 20 is fixed to the other end of the head support member 31, and the print head 20 is separated from the platen 18 by the elastic force of the coil spring 29, and is rotated about the rotation shaft 32. A coil spring 33 is connected to an intermediate portion 31b between the rotary shaft 32 and the one end portion 31a, and a biasing force for separating the print head 20 from the platen 18 is applied.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, when the cassette lid 26 covers the cassette housing portion 1 a, the lid pushing member 27 is pushed by the lower surface of the cassette lid 26. In this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the head support member 31 is rotated against the elastic force of the coil springs 29 and 33, and the print head 20 is in contact with the platen 18. That is, the coil spring 29 is stretched by the lid pushing member 27, and the coil spring 33 is stretched by the head supporting member 31. The elastic force of these coil springs 29, 33 always acts as a biasing force for rotating the lid pushing-up member 27 in the arrow E direction shown in FIG. However, the lid pushing-up member 27 cannot be rotated because it is pushed by the cassette lid 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the cassette lid 26 is securely locked by the engagement of the hook portion 26a and the hook portion 10a, and therefore does not come off from the main body case 1.

Next, in order to remove the label cassette 21 from the cassette housing portion 1a of the main body case 1, it is assumed that the operation knob 30 is operated to release the engagement between the hook portion 26a and the hook portion 10a. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the lid pushing-up member 27 is turned in the direction of arrow A about the turning shaft 28 by the urging force of the coil springs 29, 33 to push up the cassette lid 26. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 8, the head support member 31 is pulled by the elastic force of the coil springs 29 and 33 and rotates right about the rotation shaft 32, and the print head 20 separates from the platen 18. In this state, if the label cassette 21 is removed from the cassette housing portion 1a, the print head 20 is separated from the platen 18, so that the print head 20 is not damaged.

[0013]

[Effect of device]

 According to this invention, the lid can be automatically opened by the elastic force of pushing up the elastic member in response to the one-touch slide operation on the slide operation means.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the periphery of a print head.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part of an operation knob.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a main portion showing a state where a lid pushing member is rotated.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the lid is closed.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which a lid is opened.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a state in which the print head is in contact with the platen.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a state in which the print head is separated from the platen.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Main body case, 5 ... Cutter lever, 6 ... Lever gear, 7, 9 ... Rotating shaft, 8 ... Cutter gear, 10 ... Chassis, 12 ... Cutter holder, 18 ... Platen, 19 ... Platen shaft, 20 ... Print head, 21 ... Label cassette,
22 ... Label, 23 ... Ink ribbon supply roller, 24 ...
Ink ribbon winding roller, 25 ... Ink ribbon, 26
... cassette lid, 27 ... lid pushing member, 28, 32 ... rotating shaft, 29, 33 ... coil spring, 31 ... head supporting member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A printer in which a cassette is accommodated in a cassette accommodating portion provided in a printer main body, and printing is performed on a print-receiving medium accommodated in the cassette by using a print head. A lid body that is opened and closed to cover the cassette, and positions at which the print head is printed on the print medium and separated from the print medium in association with the opening and closing operation of the lid body. A print head moving means for moving the lid, an elastic member having an elastic force that pushes up the lid so that the lid is opened from the cassette housing portion, and the lid resists the elastic force of the elastic member. And a slide operation means for releasing the holding by the lid body holding means. Printer to be.