JP2008149475A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

【Task】
It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer that can easily clean a thermal head without separately storing a thermal head cleaning tool or a cleaning tape.
[Solution]
The supply unit 2 that rotatably supports the roll paper 60, the sensor 3 that detects the position of the label continuous body 61 drawn from the roll paper 60, the thermal head 7 that prints on the label 63, and the thermal head 7 are arranged opposite to each other. The platen roller 8 and the cleaning unit 13 disposed on the upstream side of the thermal head 7 are provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer that prints predetermined information on a print medium, and more particularly to a printer that facilitates cleaning of a thermal head.

When a thermal printer having a thermal head is used for a long period of time, dust may adhere to the heating resistor of the thermal head, or an adhesive protruding from the side surface of the label as a printing medium may adhere to the heating resistor. If this happens, the heat from the heating resistor will not be transmitted to the label, which will affect the print quality such as missing prints, so it is necessary to clean the thermal head at regular intervals.
Patent Document 1 discloses a thermal printer cleaner as a cleaning tool for cleaning a thermal head and a platen roller of a thermal printer. Patent Document 2 discloses a label continuum that is cleaned by transferring a cleaning tape on which a layer having a high coefficient of friction is formed in contact with a thermal head.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-171657 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-052381

However, in both Patent Documents 1 and 2, the cleaning tool and the cleaning tape must be stored separately, and there is a risk of losing them.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a printer capable of easily cleaning a thermal head without separately storing a thermal head cleaning tool or a cleaning tape. Let it be an issue.

The printer according to the present invention is a printer having a thermal head for printing on a print medium, and a storage sheet having a polishing surface for cleaning the thermal head, and a storage in which the cleaning sheet is retractably stored toward the thermal head. It has the cleaning unit provided with a body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
In addition, the storage body includes a central shaft around which the cleaning sheet is rotatably wound and a discharge port for discharging the cleaning sheet.
The cleaning sheet has a knob, and the knob is provided so as to protrude from the discharge port.
The cleaning unit further includes a head support portion that supports the thermal head, and the cleaning unit is fixed to the head support portion with the discharge port facing the thermal head side.
Further, the cleaning unit has an attachment / detachment mechanism that is attachable / detachable to / from the head support portion.
Further, the printer includes a head support portion that supports a thermal head that prints on a print medium, and a platen roller that is disposed to face the thermal head, the head support portion including a support block body that is fixed to a printer housing. An intermediate body that is supported so as to be swingable with respect to the support block body and includes an engagement hook that engages with a bearing of the platen roller, and is stretched over the support block body and the intermediate body, and draws the intermediate body toward the support block body A tension spring that biases in the direction, a support that is swingably held with respect to the intermediate body, supports a thermal head, a separation spring that separates the intermediate body from the support body, and the intermediate body as a support block body And a cleaning unit including an engagement shaft that is swingably supported.

Since the printer is equipped with a cleaning unit that includes a storage body that contains a cleaning sheet that has a polishing surface for cleaning the thermal head, there is no need to store cleaning tools separately, so that the cleaning sheet is not lost and the cleaning sheet is pulled out. This makes it easy to clean the thermal head.
Further, since the cleaning unit includes an attachment / detachment mechanism that can be attached to and detached from the head support portion, the cleaning unit can be easily replaced with a new cleaning unit even if the polishing surface of the cleaning sheet is worn.
In addition, since the intermediate body is swingably supported on the support block body by the engaging shaft of the cleaning unit, it is not necessary to provide a separate mounting space for the cleaning unit, so that the size of the printer is not increased.

  The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a side view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a thermal head support structure. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 mainly includes a supply unit 2 that rotatably supports a roll paper 60 as a printing medium, a sensor 3 that detects the position of a continuous label body 61 drawn from the roll paper 60, and a label 63. The printer 4 has a printing unit 4 for printing and conveying. Note that the print medium printed by the printer 1 is a roll paper 60 in which a continuous label body 61 in which a plurality of labels 63 are temporarily attached to a long strip-like release paper 62 is wound in a roll shape. On the surface of the label 63, a thermosensitive coloring layer that develops color with heat at a predetermined temperature is formed. Further, an ink ribbon unit (not shown) may be provided without providing a heat-sensitive coloring layer on the label surface, and the ink of the ink ribbon that is stretched over the ink ribbon unit may be transferred for printing.

  The supply unit 2 includes a supply shaft 5 that rotatably holds the roll paper 60, and a side guide 6 that can slide in the longitudinal direction of the supply shaft 5. The side guide 6 regulates the side surface of the roll paper 60. .

  The sensor 3 is a light transmissive sensor, and the light emitting unit 3a that emits light toward the label continuum 61 and the light emitted from the light emitting unit 3a are disposed opposite to the light emitting unit 3a with the label continuum 61 interposed therebetween. Has a light receiving portion 3b for receiving light. The position of the label 63 is detected by a change in the amount of light received by the light receiving unit 3b. The sensor 3 is provided with a black rectangular identification mark on the back surface of the release paper 62 of the label continuum 61, and the sensor 3 has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion arranged in parallel, and the position of the label 63 is detected by the reflectance of light. It may be a light reflection type sensor.

  The printing unit 4 is disposed opposite to the thermal head 7 that prints by applying heat to the thermosensitive coloring layer of the label 63, and conveys the label continuum 61 by being connected to a motor (not shown) and driven to rotate. A platen roller 8 is provided. The thermal head 7 is supported by the head support 10 so as to be swingable between a head closed position where the thermal head 7 abuts on the platen roller 8 and a head open position where the thermal head 7 is separated from the platen roller 8. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the head support unit 10 includes a support block body 41 fixedly supported by the printer housing, an intermediate body 42 that is swingably supported by the support block body 41, and a shaft 44 attached to the intermediate body 42. And a support 43 that directly supports the thermal head 7 in a detachable manner.

  The support block body 41 has an open lever 11 and a close lever 12 on the end surface opposite to the end surface fixedly supported by the printer housing, and is configured to be swingable about shafts 11a and 12a. By swinging the open lever 11 or the close lever 12 in either a clockwise direction or a counterclockwise direction, an engagement hook 46 of an intermediate body 42 described later can be interlocked to be swingable, and the platen roller 8 is illustrated. The thermal head 7 can be fixed at the head closed position where it abuts against the platen roller 8 by engaging with a bearing that does not. Further, on the upstream side of the support block body 41 in the transport direction, a pair of support holes 15 through which the engagement shafts 23 and 23 of the cleaning unit 13 that supports the intermediate body 41 so as to be swingable with respect to the support block body 41 are inserted, 15.

  The intermediate body 42 is provided with a pair of holes 38 located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and the engagement shaft 23 of the cleaning unit 13 is inserted into the support hole 15 of the support block body 41 and the hole 38 of the intermediate body, thereby supporting the intermediate body 42. The block body 41 is supported to be swingable. In addition, a tension spring 45 is stretched between the support block body 41 and the intermediate body 42 to urge the intermediate body 42 in a direction (head open position) to be pulled toward the support block body 41. The intermediate body 42 has a pair of engagement hooks 46 that swing in conjunction with the operation of the open lever 11 and the close lever 12 of the support block body 41, and engage the engagement hooks 46 with the bearings of the platen roller 8. By doing so, the thermal head 7 can be fixed at the head closed position or the engagement state of the engagement hook 46 can be released to release the fixed state.

  The support body 43 directly supports the thermal head 7 with screws (not shown), and is supported on the intermediate body 42 by a shaft 44 so as to be swingable. A plurality of springs 47 are provided between the support body 43 and the intermediate body 42, and the spring 47 biases the support body 43 that supports the thermal head 7 toward the platen roller 8 (the support body 43 and the intermediate body 42 are moved to each other). The pressure is applied to the print. Further, they are locked to each other by a locking piece (not shown) provided on either the support body 43 or the intermediate body 42 so that they are not separated by a predetermined amount or more by the urging force of the spring 47.

Next, the configuration of the cleaning unit 13 will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the cleaning unit. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the cleaning unit storage body 21. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning unit 13 includes a cylindrical storage body 21 and a storage body. It is comprised from the cleaning sheet 22 accommodated in 21 inside.
The cleaning sheet 22 has a polished surface 39 (see FIG. 5) that is fine irregularities formed on one surface thereof, and has a gripping piece 33 that can be gripped at one end. The inside of the storage body 21 is a hollow portion 31, and as shown in FIG. 4, a central shaft 32 that is rotatable in the forward and reverse directions is provided at the center of the hollow portion 31, and one end portion in the longitudinal direction is provided on the central shaft 32. The cleaning sheet 22 that is fixed and wound in a roll shape with the polishing surface 39 as an inner periphery is held. A force in the winding direction is always applied to the central shaft 32 by a spring (not shown) that biases the cleaning sheet 22 in a direction in which the cleaning sheet 22 is wound around the central shaft 32. A discharge port 34 is formed in the storage portion 21 so that the cleaning sheet 22 stored in the hollow portion 31 can be pulled out of the storage body 21. The discharge port 34 faces the thermal head 7 side. Fixed to the head support 10. Further, a knob 33 of the cleaning sheet 22 is provided so as to protrude to the outside of the discharge port 34.
Further, a pair of engagement shafts 23 for engaging the cleaning unit 13 with the support hole 15 of the head support portion 10 and the hole 38 of the intermediate body 42 are provided at both longitudinal ends of the storage body 21.

  A printing operation in the printer having the above configuration will be described. First, in FIG. 1, the label continuous body 61 is inserted between the platen roller 8 and the thermal head 7 in a state where the open lever 11 is rotated counterclockwise to retract the thermal head 7 to the head open position. The label continuous body 61 is sandwiched between the platen roller 8 and the thermal head 7 by rotating in the clockwise direction and positioning the thermal head 7 at the head closing position (position where the platen roller 8 contacts). By driving a motor (not shown) in such a set state, the label continuum 61 is transported from the upstream side in the transport direction with the supply unit 2 toward the downstream side in the transport direction with the printing unit 4 (discharge port 14). Printing is performed by the head 7 and discharged from the discharge port 14 to perform a print issuing operation. A cutting unit for cutting the continuous label body 61 or a peeling unit for peeling the label 63 from the release paper 62 may be provided on the downstream side of the printing unit 4.

If the printing operation is continued for a long time, dust or adhesive sticking out from the end of the label adheres to the thermal head 7 and it is necessary to periodically clean the thermal head 7 in order to reduce the printing quality. A method of using the cleaning unit 13 for cleaning the thermal head 7 will be described.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the cleaning operation of the thermal head by the cleaning unit. In FIG. 5, the configuration of the head support and the like is omitted in the drawing. If the print quality deteriorates due to dust or the like adhering to the thermal head 7 and the thermal head 7 needs to be cleaned, the temporary printing operation is interrupted, the open lever 11 is swung, and the thermal head 7 is positioned at the head open position. Then, the label continuous body 61 in the printing unit 4 is rewound onto the roll paper 60. Next, the picking piece 33 of the cleaning sheet 22 of the cleaning unit 13 shown in FIG. 5 is picked, the cleaning sheet 22 is pulled out between the thermal head 7 and the platen roller 8, and the head closing lever 12 is rotated clockwise, The cleaning sheet 22 is sandwiched between the thermal head 7 and the platen roller 8. By further pulling out the cleaning sheet 22 in the direction of the discharge port 14 from this state, the thermal head 7 is rubbed against the polishing surface 39 of the cleaning sheet 22 to adsorb and remove dust and adhesive adhering to the surface of the thermal head 7. Further, when the cleaning sheet 22 is moved back and forth in the directions of the arrows (upstream and downstream in the conveying direction) shown in FIG. At the end of cleaning, when the knob 33 is released and the thermal head 7 is positioned at the head open position, the central shaft 32 is rotated by the biasing force of the spring, and the cleaning sheet 22 is automatically wound around the central shaft 32.

  As described above, in the best mode for carrying out the invention, by mounting the cleaning unit 13 on the printer 1, it is not necessary to separately store a cleaning tool or the like, and there is no risk of loss. Further, by providing the cleaning unit 13 on the upstream side of the thermal head 7, cleaning can be performed simply by pulling the cleaning sheet 22 to the thermal head side. Further, since the cleaning unit 13 functions as a shaft that supports the intermediate body 42 so as to be swingable with respect to the support block body 41, it is not necessary to provide a separate mounting space for the cleaning unit 13. It does not become.

Moreover, since the cleaning sheet 22 of the cleaning unit 13 is a replacement part that requires replacement by use, an attachment / detachment mechanism for facilitating the replacement may be provided. For example, FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of an attaching / detaching mechanism for explaining the structure of the cleaning unit. As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning unit 50 for the head support 10 is provided on one of the pair of engagement shafts 23. An attachment / detachment mechanism 26 that facilitates attachment / detachment is provided.
The attachment / detachment mechanism 26 includes a first cylinder 28 having a hole 27 through which the engagement shaft 23 is inserted, and a second cylinder 29 having an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the first cylinder 28. And a spring 30 that is provided on the engagement shaft 23 and urges the second cylindrical body 29 in the direction of pushing it outward. Since the cleaning unit 50 has a configuration in which the attaching / detaching mechanism 26 is further provided in the cleaning unit 13 described above, the other configurations are the same, and thus description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a method of attaching / detaching the cleaning unit. As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the attaching / detaching mechanism 26 is engaged with the engagement shaft 23 inserted through the hole 27 of the first cylindrical body 28. The spring 30 is arranged on the engaging shaft 23 inside the first cylinder 28, and the second cylinder 29 is covered with the first cylinder 28. In addition, an engagement piece for engaging the first cylindrical body 28 and the second cylindrical body 29 so that the second cylindrical body 29 pushed by the biasing force of the spring 30 does not come off from the first cylindrical body 28 (see FIG. Not shown). When the second cylinder 29 in FIG. 7A is pressed against the urging force of the spring 30, the spring 30 contracts, and the length in the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 50 is a predetermined distance a as shown in FIG. 7B. Only shortened. The cleaning unit 50 in this state releases the pressure of the second cylinder 29 between the pair of support holes 15 and the hole 38 of the head support portion 10, thereby restoring the second cylinder 29 and the engagement shaft by restoring the spring 30. 23 is engaged with the head support 10. In this way, the cleaning unit 50 can be easily attached to the head support portion 10 (the support hole 15 of the support block body 41 and the hole 38 of the intermediate body 42). The cleaning unit 13 is attached to the head support 10 so that the discharge port 34 faces the thermal head 7 side.

  As described above, the cleaning unit 50 can be attached to and detached from the head support portion 10 by the attaching / detaching mechanism, so that it can be easily replaced with a new cleaning unit even if the polishing surface 39 of the cleaning sheet 22 deteriorates.

  An attachment / detachment mechanism may be provided on the printer side. For example, FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view for explaining the printer of the second embodiment. The configuration other than the cleaning unit and the attachment / detachment mechanism is the same as the configuration of the printer described above, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The head support unit 4 in the printer 70 includes a support block body 41, an intermediate body 42, a support body 43, and an attachment / detachment mechanism 71 provided on the intermediate body 42, and the attachment / detachment mechanism 71 is a support hole of the support block body 41. 15 and the hole 38 of the intermediate body 42. The attachment / detachment mechanism 71 has a pair of holding pieces 73 (73a, 73b) that hold both ends of the cleaning unit 72, and one holding piece 73a is urged toward the other holding piece 73b by a spring (not shown). . The holding pieces 73a and 73b are provided with convex portions 75 that engage with concave portions 74 of a cleaning unit 72 described later.

  The cleaning unit 72 is configured so that the cleaning sheet 22 wound around the central shaft 32 provided in the hollow portion 31 of the storage body 21 can be discharged from the discharge port 34 as described above. Moreover, the recessed part 74 engaged with the convex part 75 of holding piece 73a, 73b is provided in the both ends of the storage body 21. As shown in FIG.

  One holding piece 73a is pushed and spread against the force of a spring (not shown) in a direction away from the other holding piece 73b (the distance between the holding pieces 73a and 73b is widened), and the convex portions 75 of the holding pieces 73a and 73b are cleaned. The cleaning unit 72 is attached to the attachment / detachment mechanism 71 by engaging the concave portions 74 at both ends of the unit 72 and is held by the restoring force of the spring. Similarly, when removing, the holding work 73a is pushed and spread against the force of a spring (not shown) to perform the removing operation.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, since the attachment / detachment mechanism 71 is provided on the head support portion 4 side of the printer, the attachment / detachment mechanism is not required on the cleaning unit 72 side, which is a replacement part, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that the embodiments can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a suitable number, position, shape, and the like in practicing the present invention.

1 is a side view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The schematic perspective view which shows the support structure of a thermal head. The perspective view of a cleaning unit. Sectional drawing of the storage body of a cleaning unit. Explanatory drawing explaining the cleaning operation | movement of the thermal head by a cleaning unit. The schematic perspective view which shows the structure of the attachment / detachment mechanism of a cleaning unit. Explanatory drawing explaining the attachment or detachment method of the cleaning unit. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of a printer according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Supply part 3 Sensor 3a Light emission part 3b Light reception part 4 Printing part 5 Supply shaft 6 Side guide 7 Thermal head 8 Platen roller 10 Head support part 11 Open lever 12 Close lever 13 Cleaning unit 14 Discharge port 15 Support hole 21 Storage body 22 Cleaning sheet 23 Engagement shaft 26 Detachment mechanism
27 hole 28 first cylinder 29 second cylinder 30 spring 31 hollow part 32 central shaft 33 knob 34 discharge port 38 hole 39 polishing surface 41 support block body 42 intermediate body 43 support body 44 shaft 45 tension spring 46 engagement Joint hook 47 Pressure spring 50 Cleaning unit 60 Roll paper 61 Label continuum 62 Release paper 63 Label 70 Printer 71 Attachment / detachment mechanism 72 Cleaning unit 73 Holding piece 74 Concave part 75 Convex part

Claims (6)

A printer having a thermal head for printing on a print medium,
A cleaning sheet comprising a polishing surface for cleaning the thermal head;
A printer having a cleaning unit including a storage body that stores a cleaning sheet so as to be drawn out toward a thermal head. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the storage body includes a central shaft around which the cleaning sheet is rotatably wound and a discharge port that discharges the cleaning sheet. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning sheet has a knob, and the knob is provided so as to protrude from the discharge port. A head support portion for supporting the thermal head;
4. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the cleaning unit is fixed to a head support portion with the discharge port facing the thermal head. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning unit has an attachment / detachment mechanism that is attachable to and detachable from the head support portion. A head support for supporting a thermal head for printing on a print medium;
A printer comprising a platen roller disposed opposite to a thermal head,
The head support section includes a support block body fixed to a printer housing,
An intermediate body provided with an engagement hook that is swingably supported with respect to the support block body and engages with a bearing of the platen roller;
A tension spring that is stretched over the support block body and the intermediate body and biases the intermediate body in a direction to draw the intermediate body toward the support block body;
A support that is swingably held relative to the intermediate body and supports the thermal head;
A separation spring for separating the intermediate body and the support body;
And a cleaning unit including an engagement shaft that supports the intermediate body so as to be swingable with respect to the support block body.

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