JP3045976B2 - Shock printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cutting paper sheet called a single-cut form and a printing paper sheet called a multi-form in which a plurality of sheets are stacked, and has a plurality of print wires. The present invention relates to an impact (impact) printer for printing using an impact type wire dot print head. The printing paper called a multi-form is a printing paper in which a plurality of pressure-sensitive papers are stacked or a printing paper in which a plurality of papers to which carbon for transfer is attached on the back side are stacked.

More specifically, the present invention has high silencing capability when printing single-cut and multi-forms, and high silencing capability and copying when printing multi-forms. The present invention relates to the impact type printer.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Single print paper is used as printing paper for printers.
Cut or multi-form has been used. Such a sheet is referred to as a printing sheet in this specification.
Multi-form prints the content printed on the top sheet,
It has been used to copy on the lower sheet that overlaps this sheet. In order to print on such printing paper, an impact-type wire dot print head has been used.

[0004]

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show prior art printers, and in these printers, during standby, a print head (not shown) is used to print paper (not shown). 1), and the printing paper is fed in the direction of arrow 5 in FIG. Then, during printing, the leading end of the print head is moved to a printing position close to the printing paper, and the print wire is selectively protruded from the leading end while being moved along the printing path 2 along the line direction of the printing paper. Transfer the ink from the ink ribbon to the printing paper. When a multi-form is used as the printing paper, the same print content is copied on the lower printing paper at the top. This is referred to herein as copy capability. To improve the copy ability,
The material of the frame to be hit by the head is formed of a hard metal material. The printer produces high noise due to the impact of the print wires. The structure of the frame shown in FIG. 1 is used in a conventional POS type printer. In this printer, an iron plate having a thickness of about 2 mm is used as a printing paper mounting surface, which also serves as a platen. The measured value of the noise level generated by the impact of the print wire during printing by the printer was 68 dB. The reason why the noise is high is that the iron plate on the upper surface of the frame 1 vibrates like a drum to produce a drum effect.

FIG. 2 shows that in the process of arriving at the present invention, the inventor of the present invention tried to increase the silencing ability and the copying ability.
Fig. 2 shows an experimental machine in a laboratory in which a metal block 3 is bonded to the back side of an iron plate on the surface of a frame with an adhesive. By the metal block 3 absorbing the sound and suppressing the vibration of the iron plate, the noise level generated by the impact of the print wire during printing by the printer could be reduced to 65 dB (measured value).

In the printer shown in FIG. 3, an independent platen 4 is provided to further enhance the sound absorbing effect. However, for the reasons described below, both ends of the platen 4
It is essential to be fixed to the frame 1 by the screws 6. The tip of the print head is moved along the print path 2. Due to the sound absorbing effect of the platen 4, the measured value of the noise level generated by the impact of the print wire during printing by this printer was 62 dB. The impact-type wire dot print head, a device for moving the print head along the print path 2, and a device for feeding the printing paper are well known and are not shown in FIGS. FIG. 4 is a view of the conventional printer of FIG. 3 viewed from the direction of arrow 5 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 shows a sub-frame 7, a guide rod 8, a carrier 9 and a carrier 9 not shown in FIG. A print head 10 is shown. The two sub-frames 7 are provided integrally with the frame 1, and both ends of the guide rod 8 are fixed to the two sub-frames 7, respectively. A carrier 9 is slidably mounted on the guide rod 8, and a print
The head 10 is fixed. The printer prints single cut form printing paper (not shown). The leading end of the print head 10 is moved along the printing path shown in FIG. 3, thereby printing one line on the printing paper. In order to equalize the print quality over the entire line, the distance G between the leading end of the print head 10 and the printing paper while the print head 10 slides on the guide rod 8.
Must be constant. When the platen 4 moves up and down with respect to the frame 1, a constant interval G cannot be obtained, so that both ends of the platen 4 need to be fixed to the frame 1 with screws 6. That is, if a rubber block as in the present invention is used in such a printer, a constant interval G cannot be obtained, and the original function of the printer cannot be achieved. Did not occur.

Printing paper and ink ribbon (not shown)
Is located between the tip of the print head and the top surface of the frame. Since the metal platen 4 was directly attached to the vertical wall of the frame 1 of the printer by the screws 6, the noise generated when the print wire hit the platen 4 through the printing paper was 62 dB. This noise level is lower than that of the POS type printer of FIG. 1 in which noise during printing is high because the noise propagates from the entire frame into the air, but the noise of 62 dB is still abnormal. At a high level.

In order to reduce such noise, the following two typical solutions have been used. In the first solution, a rubber platen was used instead of a metal platen. Rubber platens have the new problem of significantly reducing noise, but significantly reducing copy performance. That is, since the rubber platen bends at the time of collision of the print wire, the impact force of the print wire is not sufficiently transmitted to the lowermost printing paper, and the copying ability is significantly reduced.

In a second solution, a carbon fiber platen was used instead of a metal platen. The platen made of carbon fiber significantly reduced noise, but the carbon fiber was softer than iron, so the copying ability was significantly reduced.

As described above, the technique of using the iron plate of the frame itself as the platen or the technique of attaching the iron platen to the frame has excellent copying ability but high noise, while the technique of using the rubber platen does not produce much noise. Both techniques have good copy performance and excellent copy performance, such as reduced copy performance and reduced copy performance, while using a platen made of carbon fiber reduces noise. Both noise reduction capabilities could not be realized simultaneously.

[0011]

A platen is provided along a print path of a wire dot print head, and an ink ribbon and printing paper are placed between the wire dot print head and the platen. In the impact-type printer of the present invention for printing, the platen is a block-type platen weighing at least 1 kg, and the material of the platen is flat steel, tool steel, stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, brass, and nickel-plated surface. Wherein the plated copper and the surface are selected from the group consisting of anodized aluminum and one end and the other end of the platen are fixed to the printer frame via rubber blocks.

A roller is rotatably mounted at the leading end of the wire dot print head facing the printing paper. During the printing operation, the roller is pressed against the paper surface of the printing paper, and the wire dot print head is pressed. The roller rolls on the paper surface while keeping the distance between the tip of the head and the paper surface of the printing paper constant.

A wire dot print head is fixed to a carrier moved along a printing path, and a roller is rotatably mounted on the carrier adjacent to a tip of the wire dot print head. During the printing operation, the roller is pressed against the paper surface of the printing paper, and the roller rolls on the paper surface while maintaining a constant distance between the tip of the wire dot print head and the paper surface of the printing paper. I do.

Each of the rubber blocks is
A first opening vertically penetrating a central portion along the longitudinal direction of the block; and a second opening formed at a position apart from both sides of the first opening and penetrating the rubber block in a direction orthogonal to a direction in which the first opening extends. Having two second openings, the platen is fixed on the upper side of the rubber block by screws passing through the first opening, and the rubber block is fixed to the vertical wall of the printer frame by screws passing through the second opening. It is characterized by.

[0015] A metal sleeve is fitted into the first opening and the second opening.

[0016] The material of the platen is flat steel.

[0017]

[0018]

FIG. 5 shows a printer according to the present invention which simultaneously achieves both excellent copying capability and excellent silencing or noise reduction capability. Two support frames 24 and 25 are fixed to the upper surface 12 of the printer frame 11. A first arm support device and a second arm support device are pivotally attached to the support frames 24 and 25. First
The arm supporting device includes a supporting arm 26, a supporting arm 27
And connecting members 30 for connecting them, and are pivotally connected to the support frames 24 and 25 by pivot points 35 and 37, respectively. The first guide rod 32 is fixed to the support arms 26 and 27.

The second arm support device includes a support arm 2
8. Support arm 29 and connecting member 31 connecting these
And are pivotally connected to support frames 24 and 25 by pivot points 36 and 38, respectively. Support arm 2
The second guide rod 33 is fixed to 8 and 29.

A carrier 34 is slidably mounted on the first guide bar 32 and the second guide bar 33, and the print head 17 is fixed to the carrier 34. The rear part of the support arm 27 can be moved by the driving device 39 in the direction of the arrow 40A or 40B. At the leading end of the print head 17 facing the platen 13 and the printing paper, a plurality of (for example, 24) print wires are perpendicular to the print path 14 and in the directions of arrows 15A and 15B. Are arranged along. Pivot point 35 (37), pivot point 36 (38), first guide rod 32
And the second guide rod 33 constitutes each vertex of the parallelogram,
Accordingly, when the print head 17 is moved in the direction of the arrow 40 </ b> A or 40 </ b> B by the drive device 39, the leading end of the print head 17 facing the paper surface is moved up and down with respect to the print paper placement surface 12. While the tip of the print head 17 is moved up and down and when it lands on the printing paper, all of the plurality of print wires along the direction of the arrow 15A or 15B are attached to the platen 13 and the printing paper. It is held vertically with respect to. As shown in FIG. 6A, a rotating roller 41 is attached to the side wall at the tip of the print head 17. Instead, the rotating roller 41 is
As shown in (B), it can be rotatably mounted on a roller mounting member 34A extended from the carrier 34. The print head 17 is fixed to the carrier 34 by a fixture such as a screw (not shown). The roller 41 is mounted on the carrier 34 such that the lower end thereof is closer to the paper surface than the leading end or lower end of the print head 17 and the lower end of the carrier 34. And
When the roller 41 has landed on the paper, so that the interval G ₁ between the plane of the tip and the printing paper of the print head 17 occurs, the roller 41 is attached to the carrier 34.

This printer operates as follows. In the standby state, the drive unit 39 gives the direction of the driving force of the arrow 40B, thereby the print head 17 is moved to the standby position away from the plane by a distance G _2, as shown in FIG. Next, the printing paper is fed in the direction of arrow 15A. The printing paper is a cut printing paper called a single cut form or a printing paper called a multi-form in which a plurality of sheets are stacked. The printing paper called “multi-form” is printing paper in which a plurality of pressure-sensitive papers are stacked or printing paper in which a plurality of papers to which carbon for transfer is attached on the back side are stacked. Devices for feeding printing paper in the direction of arrow 15A or 15B are well known and are not shown. When a predetermined line of printing paper is aligned with the printing path 14, the drive 39
Gives a driving force in the direction of arrow 40A, whereby the roller 41 of the print head 17 lands on the paper. During the printing operation, the roller 41 of the print head 17 is pressed against the paper by a spring (not shown) attached to the first arm support device or the second arm support device and their own weight. In this state, a predetermined distance G ₁ (for example, 0.3 m) is provided between the lower surface of the print head 17 and the paper surface.
m) is maintained. When print head 17 is moved along the printing path 14 by a carrier driving device (not shown), the roller 41 rolling on the paper surface, thereby being interval G ₁ is always constant, constant during the printing of one line Print quality can be obtained. During this movement, print head 1
When 7 is energized, the print across the gap G ₁
A wire collides with an ink ribbon (not shown) to transfer ink to the paper surface and perform printing. At this time, the same print content is copied on the lowermost sheet of the uppermost sheet.

When the printing of one line is completed, the driving device 39 provides a driving force in the direction of arrow 40B, thereby moving the print head 17 away from the sheet by a distance G ₂ , as shown in FIG. Then, after the print paper is line-fed by one line, the print head 17 is lowered again to the print position to perform printing. Then, when all the print lines have been printed, the print head 17 is raised again from the paper surface, and the print paper is removed in the direction of arrow 15B.

A block-shaped platen 13 is mounted so as to be flush with the upper surface of the printing paper placing surface 12 of the printer frame 11. This block type platen 13
Is a length L ₁ along the printing path, a width W ₁ along the paper feeding directions 15A and 15B, and a height perpendicular to the printing paper loading surface 12, as shown in FIGS. is has a H _1, and a _{L 1> W 1> H 1} . In the present invention,
In order to enhance the copying capacity, a high hardness material selected from the group consisting of flat steel, tool steel, stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, brass, nickel-plated copper, and anodized aluminum is used. A mass block is used as platen 13. The platen 13 has a large mass to absorb noise. Increasing the mass produces a sound absorbing effect (capacitor effect) that absorbs sound. Further, in order to prevent the accumulated sound from being transmitted to the frame 11, that is, to insulate noise, the platen 13 is directly connected to the frame 1.
1 is mounted on the vertical wall of the frame 11 via two rubber blocks 16 mounted on both ends of the platen 13. As described above, the rubber block 16 has an insulating effect of preventing the sound absorbed by the platen 13 from being transmitted to the frame 11.

FIG. 7 shows a cross section along the line AA in FIG. 5, and FIG. 8 shows the structure as viewed in the direction of arrow B in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7 to FIG.
One end and the other end of the rubber block 16
Are attached. The vertical wall of the printer frame 11 is formed with a recess 20 which is larger than the cross section of the platen 13.
It extends into 0. And the platen 13 is the frame 1
The rubber blocks 16 at both ends are
It is attached to the vertical wall of the frame 11 by screws 18 and nuts 19.

FIG. 9 shows the rubber block 16. Each of the rubber blocks 16 has a first opening penetrating in the vertical direction, that is, the direction C, at a central portion along the longitudinal direction A of the rubber block, and a metal sleeve 23 is fitted in the first opening. Have been combined. Screws 21 through metal sleeve 23 connect platen 13 to rubber block 16. Further, two second openings are formed at positions on both sides of the metal sleeve 23 of the first opening, and the metal sleeve 22 is fitted into each of these second openings. The second opening is formed through the rubber block in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the first opening extends. The rubber block 16 is connected to the vertical wall of the frame 11 by screws 18 passing through the metal sleeve 22 of the second opening.

As a result of an experiment by the inventor of the present invention, the following has been found. As described in the section of the prior art, the measured noise level at the time of printing of the printer of FIG. 1 is 68 dB, and here, the sound absorbing effect and the insulating effect are not generated. The measured noise level of the printer of FIG.
5 dB, where the sound absorbing effect is inadequate and no insulating effect occurs. Then, the measured value of the noise level at the time of printing by the printer in FIG.
Here, the insulating effect is insufficient. Therefore, conventionally, in order to use such a printer in an office, it has been necessary to take measures such as covering the entire printer with a muffling box.

On the other hand, it has been found that the noise level is remarkably reduced in the printer of the present invention as described below. A width W ₁ is 32 mm, the height H ₁ is 12mm and the length L ₁ has a dimension of 300 mm, and weight 1Kg
And the length A is 40 mm,
Experiments were conducted with a rubber block 16 measuring 15 mm in height C and 20 mm in width B, and the noise of the printer of the present invention was reduced to 58 dB. This is because both the sound absorbing effect and the insulating effect occur simultaneously in the printer of the present invention. Sound energy is 1 /
At 2, the noise level drops by 3 dB. Therefore,
Assuming that the sound energy of the printer of FIG. 1 is 100, the sound energy of the printer of FIG. 2 is 50, and the sound energy of the printer of FIG. 3 is 25. FIG.
The noise measurement level of the printer of the present invention is 62 dB, and the noise measurement level of the printer of the present invention is 58, so that the sound energy of the printer of the present invention is lower than that of the conventional printer in FIG. And therefore the sound energy is lower than 12. Also, the noise level is reduced to 1/8 or less as compared with the POS type printer of FIG.

Considering that it was impossible to lower the noise level to 60 dB without lowering the copying ability in the conventional impact type printer, the present invention provides a "noise" The performance ratio between the noise level and the copying ability represented by “level / copying ability” can be significantly improved. That is, the lower the noise level and the greater the copying capability, the lower this performance ratio. Platen 1
By increasing the size of 3 and increasing the mass,
Alternatively, the noise level can be further reduced by further increasing the size of the rubber block 16.

Referring to the copying ability, the printer of the present invention has shown a copying ability higher than that of the conventional printer in which the metal material platen shown in FIG. 3 is directly screwed to the frame. The reason for this is that compared to the platen of a conventional printer,
This is because the platen of the printer of the present invention has a large mass and a high hardness. In the present invention, the copy ability is:
The higher the hardness and mass of the platen, the better. In the present invention, the above-mentioned materials such as flat steel, tool steel, and stainless steel having high hardness can be used as the platen material. The reason is that printed wires made of high speed steel do not penetrate these materials. Experiments with other materials, such as aluminum and copper, showed that these materials were impact-type wire dots, because the printed wire pierced them.
It proved unsuitable as a platen for a print head. Then, when an experiment was performed on flat steel, tool steel, stainless steel, and the like, the copying ability was almost uniform.
Flat steel, tool steel and stainless steel are cheaper than other materials in terms of price, so we considered them. Since tool steel and stainless steel require milling of a large-sized material in order to obtain a platen having the above dimensions, the production cost is high. In the case of flat steel contrary, a width W ₁ is 32 mm, and a height H ₁ is commercially available 12mm cold thinning抜鋼as a material, there the material is smooth hard yet surface finish surface The platen 13 can be used as it is simply by cutting it to a predetermined length. It has been found that when used together with the rubber block 16, the above-described excellent sound deadening ability and copying ability are achieved. Therefore, among the above materials, it was found that flat steel was the most excellent in cost and workability.

Even if one or both of the two rubber blocks 16 at both ends of the platen 13 are deformed, the printer of the present invention can maintain uniform print quality. The reason will be described. For example, assume that only the rubber block 16 on the right side of FIG. 7 slightly contracts, and the platen 13 slightly lowers to the right as viewed in FIG. As mentioned above, in the printer of the present invention, during the printing operation, the rollers 41 of the print head 17 are pressed against the paper and the print head 17 is moved along the print path 14 for line printing. during, the roller 41 rolling on the paper surface, thereby a constant print quality during printing for one line is held constant at all times a gap or spacing G ₁ is obtained. Thus the print head 17 of the present invention may be inclined how platen 13, it is possible to maintain a gap G ₁ constant, it is possible to use the time course prone rubber block 16.

As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, three openings are formed in the rubber block 16, and metal sleeves 22 and 23 are fitted in the respective openings. Referring to FIG. 8, sound energy from the platen 13 is transmitted to a screw 21 screwed to the platen 13. The longer the distance W ₂ between the screw 21 and which on both sides of the screw 18 and the platen 13 and the screw 1
The distance W ₃ between 8 to increase the insulation ability of longer sound. In order to maximize the distances W ₂ and W ₃ , and to secure the platen 13 and the rubber block 16 to the frame 11, the rubber block 16 is moved up and down in the center along the direction of the length A. The platen 13 is fixed to the rubber block 16 by the screw 21 passing through the opening,
Two openings are provided on both sides of the screw 21 along the direction of the width B, and the rubber block 16 is fixed to the frame 11 by screws 18 passing through these openings. And 2
In a limited space between the screws 18, the screws 18
In order to maximize the distance between the screw 21 and the screw 21, the distance W between the screw 21 and one screw 18 (the left screw 18)
₂ is the screw 21 and the other screw 18 (the right screw 18)
Is equal to the distance W2 between the _two .

[0032]

The present invention realizes a printer having both excellent silencing ability and copying ability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a conventional printer.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a sound absorbing and vibration damping block.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a conventional printer.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the conventional printer of FIG. 3 in detail.

FIG. 5 shows a printer according to the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a print head used in the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a cross section taken along line AA of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a structure viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a view showing a rubber block.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Frame 12 ... Printing paper mounting surface 13 ... Platen 14 ... Printing path 16 ... Rubber block 17 ... Print head

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-9-323459 (JP, A) JP-A-60-101058 (JP, A) JP-A-51-112616 (JP, A) JP-A-6-246985 (JP) , A) Japanese Utility Model Showa 56-156541 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 58-130749 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 62-203041 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB Name) B41J 11/02

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A platen is provided along a printing path of a wire dot print head, and an ink ribbon and printing paper are placed between the wire dot print head and the platen to perform printing. Wherein the platen is a block platen weighing at least 1 kg, and the platen is made of flat steel, tool steel, stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, brass, and nickel-plated on the surface. An impact type wherein the platen is selected from the group consisting of copper and anodized aluminum, and one end and the other end of the platen are fixed to the printer frame via rubber blocks. Printer. And a roller rotatably mounted at the leading end of the wire dot print head facing the printing paper, wherein the roller is pressed against the paper surface of the printing paper during a printing operation. 2. The impact type printer according to claim 1, wherein the roller rolls on the paper surface while keeping a constant distance between the tip of the wire dot print head and the paper surface of the printing paper. 3. The wire dot print head is fixed to a carrier moved along the printing path, and a roller rotates on the carrier adjacent to a tip of the wire dot print head. The roller is pressed against the paper surface of the printing paper during a printing operation, and the distance between the leading end of the wire dot print head and the paper surface of the printing paper is kept constant. 2. The impact printer according to claim 1, wherein a roller rolls on the paper. 4. Each of the rubber blocks is formed at a first opening vertically penetrating a central portion along a longitudinal direction of the rubber block, and at a position apart from both sides of the first opening. A second opening extending through the rubber block in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the first opening extends, the platen being fixed to an upper side of the rubber block by a screw passing through the first opening; 4. The impact type printer according to claim 1, wherein the rubber block is fixed to a vertical wall of the printer frame by a screw passing through two openings. 5. The impact type printer according to claim 4, wherein a metal sleeve is fitted in said first opening and said second opening. 6. The impact type printer according to claim 1, wherein the platen is made of flat steel.