JPH11245466A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: A printer capable of preventing a paper end portion from being pulled in by a simple structure when a roll-shaped paper is stored in a paper storage unit in a direction in which an outer peripheral surface side of a drawer portion is an upper surface. I will provide a. SOLUTION: A paper end separator 25 that cuts into an inner peripheral surface side of a drawn-out portion of a roll-shaped paper 7 is formed in a paper draw-in portion 21a on a guide member 21 side in a lower housing 3 so as to protrude substantially upward. The roll-shaped paper 7 stored in the paper storage unit 6 in such a direction that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawer portion becomes the upper surface
As shown in FIG. 1B, even when the paper end is reached, the paper 7 is loosened by the paper end separator 25 biting into the inner peripheral surface side. Therefore, the movement of the paper 7 becomes smooth, and the paper draw-in unit 21 in the folded state
a, 22a is prevented from being pulled into the inside.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for performing printing using roll-shaped paper such as receipt paper or label paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Roll paper used in this type of printer includes roll paper with a core and roll paper without a core, and any type of paper is used as appropriate. Here, in the case of roll paper without a core, there is no core near the end of the paper, and the roll paper is lightweight and has a strong curl. In such a state, when the sheet is conveyed to the printing unit side via the conveyance path by the sheet conveyance mechanism, the sheet is easily folded and drawn into the sheet retraction unit on the entrance side of the conveyance path, and as a result, a paper jam occurs, In some cases, the feed motor for the paper transport mechanism is overloaded and loses synchronism.

In order to avoid such a problem caused by the end portion of the roll paper without a core, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
According to Japanese Patent Publication No. 022, a pressing force is applied to a guide member in the sheet drawing portion and a roll-shaped sheet drawing portion sandwiched between the guide member in a state where the guide member is freely separated from and brought into contact with the guide member. By providing the obtained pressing member, the curl of the end portion is loosened. Further, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
According to Japanese Patent No. 316126, on the upstream side of the paper draw-in section, the outer peripheral surface of the conveyed paper comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the conveyed paper, thereby preventing the rotational force of the terminal end from being directly applied to the movable guide member (pressing member). The function of the movable guide member is maintained by providing a pair of rotational force addition preventing portions.

[0004]

However, the examples disclosed in these publications are examples in which roll-shaped paper is stored in a paper storage unit in such a direction that the inner peripheral surface side of the drawer portion becomes the upper surface. This is difficult to apply when the roll-shaped paper is stored in the paper storage unit in such a direction that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawer portion becomes the upper surface. Further, the structure is liable to be complicated because of the combination of the roller member and the pressing member that comes into contact with and separated from the roller member.

Further, when considering a receipt printer or the like using a thermal head, the heat-sensitive recording surface of the receipt paper is generally on the outer peripheral surface side of the roll body, and recording is performed on the heat-sensitive recording surface side, and the upper surface becomes the printing surface, and the receipt surface becomes the printing surface. Because it is necessary to issue the paper, it is inevitable to adopt a folded and conveyed transport path structure as shown in the official gazette example, and it can be said that paper jam is likely to occur from this surface.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a printer capable of preventing a paper end portion from being pulled in by a simple structure when a roll-shaped paper is stored in a paper storage portion so that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawer portion faces upward. The purpose is to provide.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a printer which can easily set a roll of paper while achieving the above object.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A lower housing, a paper storage unit formed in the lower housing and storing roll-shaped paper in a direction in which an outer peripheral surface side of a drawer portion is an upper surface, and an outer peripheral surface continuous with the paper storage unit. A pair of guides that form a paper draw-in portion that draws in the paper drawing portion of the upper surface and guides the paper conveyed from the paper storage portion by a paper conveyance mechanism to a predetermined conveyance path in which a printing portion is arranged. In a printer including a member and an upper housing that can be opened and closed with respect to the lower housing, an inner periphery of a roll-shaped paper draw-out portion in a paper drawing portion on the guide member side in the lower housing. The paper end separator that bites into the surface side is formed so as to protrude substantially upward.

Therefore, the number of roll-shaped sheets stored in the sheet storage unit is reduced so that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawer portion becomes the upper surface, and even when the end of the sheet is reached, the roll-shaped sheet is formed so as to protrude into the sheet draw-in unit. Since the paper end separator bites into the inner peripheral surface side to exhibit a loosening action, the movement of the paper becomes smooth, and the paper is prevented from being drawn into the paper draw-in portion while being folded. In addition, since the paper end separator is provided on the lower housing side, a new roll of paper can be set with the upper housing open, and the ease of setting paper can be maintained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the paper draw-in portion on the guide member side of the upper housing forms a minute gap facing the paper end separator. Therefore, a smooth loosening operation can be performed simply by forming a minute gap with respect to the paper end separator, and it is not necessary to provide a movable member such as a pressing member that can be freely contacted and separated.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first or second aspect, the paper end separator is formed integrally with the paper draw-in portion on the guide member side of the lower housing. Therefore, in order to obtain the functions and effects of the first and second aspects of the present invention, the configuration can be made extremely simple and inexpensive.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first, second or third aspect, the lower housing and the upper housing have a cylindrical space for accommodating roll-shaped paper in a portion corresponding to the paper storage section. Has formed. Therefore, the movement of the paper in the cylindrical space can be smoothed from the initial stage of setting the rolled paper to the end of the paper.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1, 2, 3
In the printer described in Item 4, the paper is a receipt paper, and the paper printed by the printing unit is issued as a receipt to the near keyboard side. Therefore, when a thermal head or the like is used for the printing unit, the thermal head is disposed on the upper side facing the thermal printing surface in consideration of the fact that the receipt paper to be used is generally the thermal printing surface on the outer peripheral surface side. Receipts can be issued linearly to the front keyboard side, and advantages such as reduction of paper jams can be obtained by the linearity of the transport path itself.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a POS terminal or an ECR
A description will be given of an example of application to a receipt printer that is built in a rear side position of a keyboard unit and issues a receipt on a keyboard surface.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a schematic cross-sectional structure of the printer, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the printer, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the printer showing a state where a transport path is opened. First,
The printer 1 according to the present embodiment includes a lower housing 2 and an upper housing 3.
And The upper housing 3 is openable and closable about the support shaft 4 with respect to the lower housing 2. The lower housing 2 is provided with a platen 5 having a roller structure and a paper storage unit 6 having an arc shape.
The paper storage unit 6 stores and holds a receipt paper (paper) 7 made of a roll-shaped thermal paper without a core. Here, in the present embodiment, the setting direction of the paper 7 is such that the outer peripheral surface (thermally sensitive printing surface) side of the drawer portion is the upper surface.
On the other hand, on the side of the upper housing 3, a thermal head 9, which is in opposing contact with the platen 5 and forms the printing unit 8, is provided. Thus, when the upper housing 3 is closed, a transport path 10 that is connected from the paper storage unit 6 to the paper discharge side via the printing unit 8 is formed linearly, and the thermal head 9 is transferred via the transport path 10. It is configured to be able to contact the platen 5 with a predetermined pressure. Here, the platen 5 also serves as a paper transport mechanism, and is rotationally driven by a motor 11 as a drive source via a gear train including a motor gear 12, an idle gear 13, and a platen gear 14.

A cutter mechanism 15 is provided at a discharge side exit of the transport path 10. This cutter mechanism 15 is composed of a combination of a fixed blade 16 and a movable blade 17 each having a long and flat plate shape.
The movable blade 17 slides with respect to the fixed blade 16 to cut the sheet 7 conveyed along the conveyance path 10. Here, the fixed blade 16 is provided on the upper housing 3 side, and the movable blade 17 is provided on the lower housing 2 side, so that the two blades 16 and 13 are separated when not in operation.
The movable blade 17 in such a cutter mechanism 15 is driven using a stepping motor (not shown) as a drive source.

Next, the transport path 10 and the like will be described.
The transport path 10 is connected to the paper storage unit 6 in the lower housing 3 and is integrally formed substantially horizontally and integrally in the front paper discharge direction. It is formed by an upper guide plate (guide member) 22 and the like facing the guide plate 21 in the vicinity of the storage section 6. Further, in the upper housing 3, the rear fulcrum side continuous with the guide plate 22 is formed as an arc-shaped cover portion 23 that is continuous with the arc shape of the paper storage unit 6. This allows
When the upper housing 3 is closed, the paper storage section 6 and the arc-shaped cover section 23 form a cylindrical space 24 when viewed in cross section. In addition, these guide plates 2
The portion connected to the paper storage units 6 of the first and second paper storage units 6 is
1a and 22a. Here, in the paper draw-in section 21a on the guide plate 21 side, a paper end separator 25 protruding substantially upward with a small gap from the guide plate 22 side.
Are integrally formed. That is, when viewed in relation to the paper 7 stored and set in the paper storage unit 6 and pulled out, the paper end separator 25 is formed so as to protrude into the inner peripheral side of the drawing portion of the paper 7. Also, the guide plate 22
On the side, there is provided a guide roller 26 which is located at the bent portion of the transport path 10 and reduces the load when the sheet passes.

In such a configuration, the roll-shaped paper 7 is stored and set in the paper storage unit 6 with the upper housing 3 opened as shown in FIG. . At this time, the setting direction is such that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawer portion is the upper surface. The present embodiment has a structure in which the transport path 10 is fully opened by opening the upper housing 3 and the paper end separator 25 is also fully opened. The ease of setting the paper sheet 7 is maintained.

The roll-shaped paper 7 stored and held in the paper storage unit 6 is driven by the platen 5 to be conveyed, and is conveyed to the conveyance path 1.
While being conveyed in the middle, the predetermined print content of the receipt is sequentially printed on the thermal printing surface on the outer peripheral surface side by the thermal head 9. At this time, since the paper 7 is stored in the cylindrical space 24 including the paper storage unit 6 as shown in FIG. 1A, the roll body rotates as the paper 7 is pulled out and conveyed. 24, a smooth movement is exhibited, and the paper conveyance is stabilized. When printing is completed, the trailing end side of the paper 7 is cut by the driving of the movable blade 17 by the cutter mechanism 15, and is issued as a receipt in the direction shown on FIG. 2 (on the keyboard surface of the POS terminal) via the discharge side outlet. That is, since the printing surface is on the upper surface side in the linear transport path 10, the receipt can be directly issued as a receipt to the front side.

After that, it is assumed that the receipt issuance proceeds, and the amount of the roll-shaped paper 7 is reduced, and the paper 7 reaches the end of the paper. In this case, as described above, since there is no core, the weight is low, and the winding habit is strong, and as a result, as shown in FIG. When the sheet is conveyed to the printing unit 8 via the conveyance path 10 in such a state, if the sheet end separator 25 is not provided, as shown in FIG. 4, the sheet is folded and drawn into the sheet draw-in units 21a and 22a. In this regard, in the present embodiment, a paper end separator 25 is formed in the paper draw-in section 21a, and the paper 7 reaching the paper end is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the paper 7 comes into the inner peripheral side of the drawn-out portion of the paper 7, so that the paper end separator 25 acts in the direction of loosening the paper 7 to be conveyed. Therefore, the movement of the paper 7 is smooth even at the end of the paper, and the paper 7 is prevented from being drawn into the paper draw-in sections 21a and 22a while being folded, and a trouble such as a paper jam can be prevented. In particular, not only the paper storage section 6 but also the arc-shaped cover section 2
3, the entrance of the paper draw-in portions 21a, 22a has a continuous arc shape as a whole, so that the movement (counterclockwise rotation) of the paper 7 reaching the end of the paper becomes smooth, The loosening action of the paper 7 by the paper end separator 25 also functions stably.

[0021]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lower housing and the paper formed in the lower housing and in which the roll-shaped paper is stored in such a direction that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawer portion becomes the upper surface. A storage unit and a paper draw-in unit that continuously draws out the paper draw-out portion with the outer peripheral surface facing upward from the paper storage unit are formed. In a printer including a pair of guide members for guiding a predetermined transport path disposed therein and an upper housing that can be opened and closed with respect to the lower housing, a roll is formed on a paper drawing portion of the lower housing on the guide member side. The paper end separator that cuts into the inner peripheral surface side of the drawn-out portion of the paper sheet is formed so as to protrude substantially upward, so that the roll-shaped paper stored in the paper storage unit is oriented such that the outer peripheral surface side of the drawn portion faces the upper surface. Less, at the end of the paper Even when the paper is drawn, the paper end separator formed by protruding substantially upward in the paper draw-in section can bite the inner peripheral surface to loosen the paper, smooth the movement of the paper, and keep the paper folded. It is possible to prevent the draw-in into the draw-in section, and in addition, since the paper end separator is provided on the lower housing side, a new roll-shaped paper can be set with the upper housing opened. The ease of setting the paper can be maintained.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the paper draw-in portion on the guide member side of the upper housing forms a minute gap facing the paper end separator. , A smooth loosening action can be performed simply by forming a minute gap with respect to the paper end separator, and a simple configuration without the need for providing a movable member such as a pressing member that can be freely contacted and separated. Can be.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first or second aspect, the paper end separator is formed integrally with the paper draw-in portion of the lower housing on the guide member side. Therefore, the operation of the invention according to claim 1 or 2
In order to obtain the effect, it can be configured very simply and at low cost.

According to the invention described in claim 4, according to claim 1,
In the printer described in 2 or 3, since the lower housing and the upper housing form a cylindrical space for accommodating roll-shaped paper in a portion corresponding to the paper storage section, an initial stage in which the roll-shaped paper is set. From the time to the end of the paper, the rotation operation of the paper in the cylindrical space can be smoothed, and the loosening action and the like can be stabilized.

[0025] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the first aspect is provided.
In the printer according to 2, 3, or 4, the paper is a receipt paper, and the paper after printing by the printing unit is issued as a receipt to the near keyboard side, so when a thermal head or the like is used for the printing unit, In consideration of the fact that the receipt paper used is generally the thermal printing surface on the outer peripheral surface side, the thermal head is arranged on the upper side facing the thermal printing surface, and the receipt can be issued straight to the near keyboard side as it is. Further, it is possible to obtain an advantage that paper jam can be reduced by the linearity of the transport path itself.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional structure of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic side view at the time of initial setting, and (b).
Is a schematic side view at the time of reaching the end of the paper.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the printer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the printer showing a state where a transport path is opened.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view for explaining a drawback when a paper end separator is not provided.

[Description of Signs] 2 Lower housing 3 Upper housing 6 Paper storage unit 7 Paper, receipt paper 8 Printing unit 10 Transport path 21 Guide member 21a Paper draw-in unit 22 Guide member 22a Paper draw-in unit 24 Cylindrical space 25 Paper end Separator

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Yamada 570 Ohito, Oni-cho, Takata-gun, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside the Tech Ohi Works, Inc.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A lower housing, a paper storage portion formed in the lower housing and configured to store roll-shaped paper in a direction in which an outer peripheral surface side of a drawer portion is an upper surface, and continuous with the paper storage portion. Forming a paper draw-in portion for drawing in a paper draw-out portion in a direction in which the outer peripheral surface is the upper surface, and transferring the paper conveyed from the paper storage portion by a paper conveyance mechanism to a predetermined conveyance path in which a printing portion is arranged. A pair of guiding members for guiding,
In a printer comprising an upper housing that can be opened and closed with respect to the lower housing, a paper-drawing portion on the guide member side of the lower housing is provided on an inner peripheral surface side of a roll-shaped paper drawing portion. A printer characterized in that a paper end separator that bites is formed so as to protrude substantially upward. 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the paper draw-in portion on the guide member side in the upper housing forms a minute gap facing the paper end separator. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the paper end separator is formed integrally with the paper draw-in portion on the guide member side of the lower housing. 4. A paper container according to claim 1, wherein said lower housing and said upper housing form a cylindrical space for storing roll-shaped paper in a portion corresponding to the paper storage unit. Printer. 5. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the paper is a receipt paper, and the paper after printing by the printing unit is issued as a receipt to the near keyboard side.