JP5697709B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printing apparatus.

  In general, a printing apparatus that performs printing by an ink jet method using an ink jet head is used for ink leakage from the ink jet head, head drying suppression, nozzle check (check whether ink is normally discharged), and the like. It has a dish-shaped maintenance member. Immediately after using the ink jet head, when the power supplied to the printing apparatus is shut off (when the power is turned off), the ink jet head moves onto the dish-shaped maintenance member.

  In the conventional printing apparatus, the maintenance member is fixed above the inkjet head. Therefore, in order to move the ink jet head onto the maintenance member, the ink jet head is not only moved vertically upward, but also moved in the horizontal direction to avoid colliding with the back surface of the maintenance member. There must be. As a result, a space required for the horizontal movement of the ink jet head must be secured inside the printing apparatus, and the printing apparatus has become large.

JP 2011-255681 A

  An object of the embodiment is to provide a printing apparatus that can be miniaturized.

Printing apparatus according to the embodiment includes a housing having an outlet, the printing medium supporting unit, a paper guide, the ink jet head, maintenance member, and the conveying path formation member. The print medium support unit rotatably supports a roll-shaped print medium provided in the housing. The paper guide is provided inside the housing, and a belt-like print medium drawn out from the roll-like print medium can be arranged on the surface. The inkjet head has a first position where printing can be performed by an inkjet method on the strip-shaped print medium disposed on the surface of the paper guide, and a second position above the first position. , Are provided so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the casing. The maintenance member is provided to be movable in a horizontal direction with respect to the bottom surface of the housing at a height at which the ink jet head disposed at the second position can be placed. The conveyance path forming member is connected to the maintenance member by an elastic body, and can form a conveyance path for the belt-shaped print medium. The conveyance path forming member is configured to be held by the elastic body at a position where the conveyance path forming member is in contact with the lower surface of the maintenance member and at a position separated from the lower surface of the maintenance member.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a figure which expands and shows the part enclosed with the dotted line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a head block and a drawer | drawing-out part. It is a typical perspective view which shows a maintenance member and a conveyance path formation member. It is a typical perspective view which shows a maintenance member and a conveyance path formation member. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the maintenance member and the conveyance path forming member along the one-dot chain line XX ′ in FIG. 5. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the printing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment in the state in which the drawer part was pulled out from the housing | casing. It is a figure which expands and shows the part enclosed with the dotted line of FIG. FIG. 4 is an electrical block diagram mainly showing a maintenance member and a moving mechanism of the inkjet head in the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining movement of an inkjet head in the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the movement of a maintenance member in the printing apparatus which concerns on this embodiment.

  The printing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below. The printing apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 can install a roll-shaped print medium formed by winding a belt-shaped print medium in a roll shape inside the casing 11, and the belt-like shape drawn out from the roll-shaped print medium. Printing is performed on the print medium. Hereinafter, the roll-shaped print medium is referred to as roll paper 12, and the belt-shaped print medium is referred to as belt-shaped paper 12 '.

  The casing 11 is provided with a drawer portion 13 that is a box-like drawer that is provided in the interior thereof so that it can be pulled out from one side surface of the casing 11 in a predetermined direction (for example, in the direction of arrow a in the figure). Have. The drawer portion 13 is provided in the housing 11 so that it can be pulled out by a rail portion 11 b that is a moving means of the drawer portion 13 provided on the inner surface of the housing 11.

  The casing 11 having such a drawer portion 13 has a strip-like shape drawn out from the roll paper 12 and a hopper 14 that is a printing medium support portion that supports the roll paper 12 rotatably in the direction of arrow b in the figure. It has the 1st printing part 15 which prints on the surface of paper 12 ', and the 2nd printing part 16 which prints on the back surface of strip | belt-shaped paper 12'.

  The hopper 14 has a substantially U-shaped vertical cross section, and is provided at a position spaced upward from the bottom surface 11 c of the housing 11.

  The first printing unit 15 is provided in the vicinity of the discharge port 11 a provided on the side surface of the housing 11. The first printing unit 15 is a printing unit that performs printing by, for example, an inkjet method on the surface of the strip-shaped paper 12 ′.

  The first printing unit 15 includes a paper guide 15a and an inkjet head 15b.

  The paper guide 15a is fixed to the drawer portion 13 so as to be exposed from a cutout portion 13a provided at the upper front end portion of the drawer portion 13, and a belt-like paper 12 'is placed on the upper surface.

  The ink jet head 15b is disposed at a position facing the surface of the paper guide 15a as described above when the drawer portion 13 is housed in the casing 11, and at a position above the drawer portion 13 at the housing. The body 11 is provided. The inkjet head 15b performs printing on the strip-shaped paper 12 ′ placed on the paper guide 15a by an inkjet method.

  The ink jet head 15b is moved to a first position (indicated by a solid line in the figure) that can be printed on the strip-shaped paper 12 'disposed on the surface of the paper guide 15a by the moving mechanism 43 inside the housing 11. Between the first position and a second position (a position indicated by a dotted line in the drawing) above the first position in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface 11c of the housing 11. Is provided.

  The moving mechanism 43 may be any mechanism as long as it can move the inkjet head 15b in the vertical direction. For example, a gear (not shown) that rotates as the motor 44 rotates. And a support mechanism (not shown) that supports the inkjet head 15b and moves the inkjet head 15b in the vertical direction by rotation of a gear.

  The second printing unit 16 is provided between the hopper 14 and the first printing unit 15. The second printing unit 16 is a printing unit that performs printing on the back surface of the strip-shaped paper 12 'by, for example, a thermal method, and includes a platen roller 16a and a thermal head 16b as a printing head.

  The platen roller 16 a is fixed to the housing 11 at a position substantially above the drawer portion 13. The thermal head 16b is pressed against the platen roller 16a via the belt-shaped paper 12 'when printing is performed at least by the thermal method.

  The thermal head 16b is disposed at a position facing the platen roller 16a when the drawer portion 13 is housed in the housing 11, and is disposed on the drawer portion 13 so as not to protrude upward from the drawer portion 13. Is provided. The thermal head 16b performs printing on the belt-shaped paper 12 'by a thermal method.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a portion surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 1, and is a view showing a structure of the above-described second printing unit 16 and its peripheral portion. As shown in FIG. 2, the platen roller 16 a is fixed to the casing 11 by being provided on the platen frame 17 fixed to the casing 11 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow c in the figure.

  The thermal head 16 b is fixed on one end of the head support 19 of the head block 18 provided in the drawer portion 13. The other end of the head support 19 is fixed to the head block 18 by a head support rotating shaft 20. The head support 19 is fixed to the head block 18 so as to be rotatable about a head support rotating shaft 20.

  An L-shaped head frame 21 is fixed at a position below the head support 19 in the head block 18. On one end of the head frame 21, for example, a compression spring 22 is provided as an elastic body. The compression spring 22 supports the head support 19 from below and gives an elastic force upward to the head support 19. The thermal head 16b presses the platen roller 16a by this elastic force.

  Further, the head block 18 includes a damper roller 23 and a guide roller 24 that convey a belt-like paper 12 ′ drawn from the roll paper 12. The damper roller 23 is provided so as to be movable along a long hole 18a provided in the head block 18 and to be rotatable in the direction of arrow d in the drawing. The guide roller 24 is provided on the head block 18 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow e in the figure.

  Furthermore, the head block 18 has a notch 18 b for engaging with the platen frame 17 in part. The platen frame 17 has an engagement shaft 17a for engagement in part. As shown in the figure, the engaging shaft 17a of the platen frame 17 is engaged with the notch 18b of the head block 18, whereby the head block 18 and the platen frame 17 are engaged with each other, and the thermal head 16b is The platen roller 16a is pressed.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the head block 18 and the drawer portion 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the head block 18 includes a head block rotating shaft 18c in part. In addition, a first long hole 13b with which the head block rotating shaft 18c engages and a second long hole 13c with which the head support rotating shaft 20 engages are provided on one side of the drawer portion 13. The head block 18 has a drawer portion so that the head block rotation shaft 18c can move along the first long hole 13b and the head support rotation shaft 20 can move along the second long hole 13c. 13 is provided.

  When the drawer portion 13 is stored in the housing 11, the head support rotating shaft 20 of the head block 18 slides along the guide portion 25 along the guide portion 25 as the drawer portion 13 moves. Go up. At this time, the head block rotating shaft 18c moves to the upper end of the first long hole 13b, and the head support rotating shaft 20 moves to the upper end of the second long hole 13c. As a result, a part of the head block 18 including the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 moves to a position exposed upward from the drawer 13, and the thermal head 16 b presses the platen roller 16 a.

  Please refer to FIG. Inside the housing 11, a maintenance member 26 and a conveyance path forming member 27 are provided above the second printing unit 16 including the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24.

  4 and 5 are schematic perspective views showing the maintenance member 26 and the conveyance path forming member 27. FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the maintenance member 26 and the conveyance path forming member 27 along the alternate long and short dash line XX ′ in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the maintenance member 26 has a dish shape having a recess 26 a on a part of the upper surface. An absorber 26b capable of absorbing ink is disposed in the recess 26a.

  By disposing the ink jet head 15b on the maintenance member 26, it is possible to prevent ink from leaking from the ink jet head 15b to the belt-like paper 12 'and the like, and the ink jet head 15b to be dried, and the ink jet head 15b. A nozzle check (check whether ink is normally discharged from the nozzles) can be performed before use.

  A transport path forming member 27 for forming a transport path is provided on the lower surface of the maintenance member 26. The transport path forming member 27 can form a transport path for the strip-shaped paper 12 'between the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 (FIG. 1), and also between the paper guide 15a (FIG. 1). A conveyance path for the strip-shaped paper 12 'can be formed. This will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the conveyance path forming member 27 is connected to the maintenance member 26 by an elastic body 28.

  Refer to FIG. 1 again. The maintenance member 26 and the conveyance path forming member 27 described above are normally above the second printing unit 16 including the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 at the second position (indicated by a dotted line in the drawing). The inkjet head 15b moved to (position) is disposed at a height at which it can be placed. At this time, the transport path forming member 27 is supported from below by a support 29 of the transport path forming member 27 provided inside the housing 11, and as a result, the transport path forming member 27 is supported by the lower surface of the maintenance member 26. It is in the state which contact | abutted substantially.

  The maintenance member 26 including such a transport path forming member 27 is provided with a moving mechanism that can move in the horizontal direction with respect to the bottom surface 11 c of the housing 11. The moving mechanism includes a gear 31 that is rotated by a motor 30 and a rack 32 that is engaged with the teeth of the gear 31. When the gear 31 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 30, the rack 32 is moved in the horizontal direction. The maintenance member 26 including the transport path forming member 27 is provided in the casing 11 so that it can move in the horizontal direction with respect to the bottom surface 11c of the casing 11 as the rack 32 moves.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the maintenance member 26 including the conveyance path forming member 27 is disposed at a position above the second printing unit 16 including the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 (position indicated by a solid line in the drawing). 4, the conveyance path forming member 27 is substantially in contact with the lower surface of the maintenance member 26 as shown in FIG. 4, and the conveyance path of the strip-shaped paper 12 ′ is between the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24. Form.

  Further, the maintenance member 26 including the transport path forming member 27 moves horizontally, and the position (indicated by the dotted line in the drawing) where the inkjet head 15b disposed at the second position (indicated by the dotted line in the drawing) can be placed. 5), the conveyance path forming member 27 is separated from the lower surface of the maintenance member 26 as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, and the conveyance path for the strip-shaped paper 12 ′ is provided between the paper guide 15a. Form.

  Between the first printing unit 15 and the discharge port 11a of the housing 11, a discharge roller pair 33 constituting a part of a transport unit that transports the strip-shaped paper 12 'to the discharge port 11a is provided. . The discharge roller pair 33 includes a discharge roller 33a that rotates in a predetermined direction by the rotation of a motor, and a pinch roller 33b that rotates following the rotation of the discharge roller 33a. The pinch roller 33 b is fixed to the housing 11, and the discharge roller 33 a is fixed to the drawer portion 13 at a position substantially facing the pinch roller 33 b when the drawer portion 13 is housed in the housing 11. ing.

  The discharge roller pair 33, the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24, and the platen roller 16a of the second printing unit 16 constitute a transport unit. The platen roller 16a and the discharge roller 33a of the discharge roller pair 33 are each rotated in a predetermined direction by the rotation of the motor, and the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 are rotated by the rotation of the platen roller 16a and the discharge roller 33a. Is.

  Between the discharge roller pair 33 and the discharge port 11 a of the housing 11, a cutting part 34 for cutting the strip-shaped paper 12 ′ is provided. The cutting part 34 has a cutter upper blade part 34a and a cutter lower blade part 34b. The cutter upper blade portion 34a is fixed to the housing 11, and the cutter lower blade portion 34b is located at a position substantially opposite to the cutter upper blade portion 34a when the drawer portion 13 is stored in the housing 11. It is fixed to the drawer 13.

  Further, a first sensor 35 for detecting the maintenance member 26 and a second sensor 36 for detecting the ink jet head 15b are provided at predetermined positions inside the housing 11.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the printing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment in a state in which the drawer portion 13 is pulled out from the housing 11. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 7, and is a view showing a relationship between the head block 18 and the drawer portion 13. As shown in FIG. 7, when the hook arm 37 provided in the drawer portion 13 is removed from the lock portion 38 provided in the housing 11 and the drawer portion 13 is pulled out from the housing 11, the drawer portion 13 and the drawer portion are brought together. Each part provided in 13 is pulled out from the inside of the housing 11.

  As the drawer portion 13 moves from the inside of the housing 11 to the outside, as shown in FIG. 8, the head support rotating shaft 20 of the head block 18 moves the guide portion 25 (FIG. 3) provided in the housing 11 to the guide portion. The head support rotating shaft 20 is disengaged from the guide portion 25. As a result, the entire head block 18 moves downward, the head block rotating shaft 18c moves to the lower end of the first elongated hole 13b of the drawer portion 13, and the head support rotating shaft 20 moves to the second elongated hole of the drawer portion 13. Move to the lower end of 13d. As a result, the entire head block 18 including the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 moves from the drawer 13 to a position where it is not exposed upward. In other words, the head block 18 moves to a position that does not hinder the drawer operation of the drawer portion 13 from the housing 11 and the storage operation of the drawer portion 13 in the housing 11.

  As shown in FIG. 7, after pulling out the drawer portion 13, the roll paper 12 is placed in the hopper 14, and the drawer portion 13 is stored inside the housing 11. As a result, the roll paper 12 is placed inside the housing 11 as shown in FIG. When the drawer portion 13 is housed in the housing 11, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the head support rotating shaft 20 slides up the guide portion 25 provided on the housing 11, and the head block rotating shaft 18c moves to the upper end of the 1st long hole 13b, and the head support rotating shaft 20 moves to the upper end of the 2nd long hole 13c. As a result, a part of the head block 18 including the damper roller 23 and the guide roller 24 moves to a position exposed upward from the drawer 13, and the thermal head 16 b presses the platen roller 16 a.

  FIG. 9 is an electric block diagram mainly showing the moving mechanism of the maintenance member 26 and the inkjet head 15b of the printing apparatus 10 described above. As shown in FIG. 9, the platen roller 16a and the discharge roller 33a that constitute a part of the transport unit are connected to the CPU 41 via motors 39 and 40 that rotate them. The inkjet head 15b is connected to the CPU 41 via a motor 44 that drives the moving mechanism 43, and the maintenance member 26 includes a motor 30 that rotates a gear 31 for moving the rack 32 provided therein. Via the CPU 41. Further, the CPU 41 is connected to a first sensor 35 for detecting the maintenance member 26 and a second sensor 36 for detecting the inkjet head 15b. The CPU 41 is connected to an operation unit 42 that gives a desired command to the CPU 41.

  Hereinafter, a method of placing the inkjet head 15b on the maintenance member 26 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the inkjet head 15b in the printing apparatus 10 described above, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the movement of the maintenance member 26 in the printing apparatus 10 described above.

  Immediately after the use of the inkjet head 15b, when the power supplied to the printing apparatus 10 is turned off (when the power is turned off), or from the operation unit 42, printing is performed only on the second sheet 16 'on the strip-shaped paper 12'. When a command to perform is given, first, the CPU 41 drives a motor 44 for driving the moving mechanism 43 for moving the ink jet head 15b, and as shown in FIG. 10, the ink jet head 15b is moved to the paper guide 15a. The maintenance member 26 can be placed from a first position (a position indicated by a dotted line in the drawing) where printing can be performed by an inkjet method on the strip-shaped paper 12 'disposed on the surface of the paper. It is vertically moved upward toward position 2 (position indicated by a solid line in the figure).

  When the ink-jet head 15b moves and the second sensor 36 detects the ink-jet head 15b moved to the second position, the CPU 41 stops the rotation of the motor 44, thereby moving the ink-jet head 15b moving mechanism 43. Is stopped, and the movement of the inkjet head 15b is stopped.

  Subsequently, the CPU 41 rotates the motor 30 for moving the maintenance member 26, and horizontally moves the maintenance member 26 including the transport path forming member 27 as shown in FIG.

  When the maintenance member 26 moves horizontally and the first sensor 35 detects the maintenance member 26 moved to a predetermined position, that is, the position where the inkjet head 15b moved to the second position can be placed, The CPU 41 stops the rotation of the motor 30 for moving the maintenance member 26 and stops the movement of the maintenance member 26. As a result, the inkjet head 15 b is placed on the maintenance member 26.

  As described above, when the maintenance member 26 moves horizontally and the transport path forming member 27 is detached from the support 29 that supports the transport path forming member 27 from below, the transport path forming member 27 falls due to its own weight, and the transport path forming member 27. Forms a transport path with the paper guide 15a.

  Thereafter, for example, when an instruction is issued from the operation unit 43 to print only the second printing unit 16 on the strip-shaped paper 12 ', the CPU 41 controls the platen roller 16a and the discharge roller 33a. In the second printing unit 16, printing is performed on the back surface of the strip-shaped paper 12 'by the thermal method. Thereafter, the CPU 41 discharges the strip-shaped paper 12 ′ printed only on one side by the rotation of the platen roller 16a and the discharge roller 33a from the discharge port 11a of the housing 11, and cuts the strip-shaped paper 12 ′ into the cutting unit 34. Disconnect by.

  According to the printing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment described above, when the inkjet head 15b is placed on the maintenance member 26, it is not necessary to move the inkjet head 15b in the horizontal direction, and the inkjet head 15b is moved in the vertical direction. The ink jet head 15b can be placed on the maintenance member 26 only by moving it to the maintenance member 26. Accordingly, the space for moving the inkjet head 15b can be reduced as compared with the conventional printing apparatus, and the apparatus can be downsized.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, this embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing apparatus 11 ... Housing | casing 11a ... Discharge port 11b ... Rail part 11c ... Bottom 12 ... Roll paper 12 '... Band-shaped paper 13 ... Drawer part 13a ... notch 14 ... hopper 15 ... first printing part 15a ... paper guide 15b ... inkjet head 16 ... second printing part 16a ... platen roller 16b ... Thermal head 17 ... Platen frame 17a ... Engagement shaft 18 ... Head block 18a ... Long hole 18b ... Notch 18c ... Head block rotating shaft 19 ... Head support 20 ... Head support rotating shaft 21 ... Head frame 22 ... Compression spring 23 ... Damper roller 24 ... Guide roller 25 ... Guide part 26 ... Maintenance part 26a ... recess 26b ... absorber 27 ... transport path forming member 28 ... elastic body 29 ... support 30 ... motor 31 ... gear 32 ... rack 33 ... Discharge roller pair 33a ... discharge roller 33b ... pinch roller 34 ... cutting part 34a ... cutter upper blade part 34b ... cutter lower blade part 35 ... first sensor 36 ... first 2 sensor 37... Hook arm 38... Lock part 39, 40... Motor 41.
42 ... operation unit 43 ... moving mechanism 44 ... motor

Claims (8)

A housing having a discharge port;
A print medium support provided inside the housing and capable of rotatably supporting a roll-shaped print medium;
A paper guide provided inside the casing and capable of disposing a belt-like print medium drawn from the roll-like print medium on the surface;
Between a first position where printing can be performed by an inkjet method on the strip-shaped print medium disposed on the surface of the paper guide, and a second position above the first position, An inkjet head provided to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the bottom surface of the housing;
A maintenance member provided so as to be movable in a horizontal direction with respect to a bottom surface of the casing at a height at which the inkjet head disposed at the second position can be placed;
A transport path forming member connected to the maintenance member by an elastic body and capable of forming a transport path for the strip-shaped print medium;
Equipped with,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport path forming member is configured to be held by the elastic body at a position contacting the lower surface of the maintenance member and a position spaced apart from the lower surface of the maintenance member . The transport path forming member is disposed at a position where the ink jet head is disposed at the second position, and the maintenance member is disposed at a position where the ink jet head disposed at the second position can be placed. when the printing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that to form the conveyance path between the paper guide. A platen roller that is rotatably provided at an intermediate position between the print medium support portion and the inkjet head in the housing.
A thermal head that is provided at a position for pressing the platen roller, and performs printing on the belt-shaped print medium by a thermal method;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising: In the housing, further comprising a damper roller and a guide roller provided at an intermediate position between the print medium support portion and the platen roller,
The transport path forming member includes the damper roller and the guide roller when the ink jet head is disposed at the first position and the maintenance member is disposed above the damper roller and the guide roller. The printing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the conveyance path is formed between the two. The maintenance member has a rack that is engaged by gear teeth that are rotated by a motor.
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the maintenance member moves horizontally together with the rack that moves as the gear rotates.   2. The first sensor according to claim 1, further comprising a first sensor that detects that the maintenance member is disposed at a position where the inkjet head disposed at the second position can be placed. Printing device   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a second sensor that detects that the inkjet head is disposed at the second position.   2. The printing according to claim 1, further comprising: a cutting unit that cuts the belt-shaped print medium between the inkjet head disposed at the first position and the discharge port of the housing. apparatus.

Images