CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-194856, filed on Aug. 31, 2010, the entire content of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printer.
BACKGROUND
Printers include a thermal head and a platen roller as the parts thereof, between which a printing medium such as a label may be interposed. Such a printer may have a configuration for separating the thermal head from the platen roller by means of an electric-powered actuator for maintenance purposes, e.g., for an operator to remove a printing medium jammed between the thermal head and the platen roller.
In such a printer, a number of parts may be required to perform such separation function. Accordingly, respective parts in the inside of the printer need to be arranged efficiently in terms of size or performance.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side view showing an exemplary internal configuration of a printer according to one embodiment.
FIG. 2 is another side view showing an exemplary internal configuration of the printer, as seen from the opposite side of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing an exemplary internal configuration of the printer, which represents a state where a head block is in a normal position.
FIG. 4 is a front view showing an exemplary internal configuration of the printer, which represents a state where the head block is in a lift-up position.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a portion of an exemplary head block provided in the printer.
FIG. 6 is a front view showing a portion of the head block provided in the printer.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6, which represents a state where a thermal head is in a proximal position.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII in FIG. 6, which represents a state where the thermal head is in a first separation position.
FIG. 9 is a side view showing a portion of the head block, which represents a state where the thermal head is in the proximal position.
FIG. 10 is a side view showing a portion of the head block, which represents a state where the thermal head is in a second separation position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
According to one embodiment, a printer including a thermal head configured to print on a printing medium having a strip shape and a platen roller configured to interpose the printing medium between the thermal head and the platen roller is disclosed. The printer further includes an urging mechanism configured to urge the thermal head against the platen roller. A first separation mechanism of the printer is configured to move the thermal head from a proximal position where the thermal head is placed adjacent to the platen roller to a first separation position where the thermal head is placed farther away from the platen roller than the proximal position, and a second separation mechanism thereof is also configured to move the thermal head from the proximal position to a second separation position where the thermal head is placed farther away from the platen roller than the proximal position and placed closer to the platen roller than the first separation position. The printer further includes an electric-powered actuator, which has a movable member configured to reciprocate along a lengthwise direction of the printing medium. The second separation mechanism further includes a first movement conversion mechanism configured to convert a linear movement of the movable member in one direction into a rotational movement of a first shaft in one rotational direction, the first shaft extending along a widthwise direction of the printing medium; and a second movement conversion mechanism configured to convert the rotational movement of the first shaft in one rotational direction into a movement of the thermal head from the proximal position to the second separation position.
Embodiments will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
A printer 1 according to one embodiment may print a label (i.e., print on a printing medium) which is provided on (e.g., attached to) an inner surface 2a of a web material 2 (e.g., a strip-shaped paper). In some embodiments, the printer 1 may print on a printing medium other than a label, for example, a continuous-form paper without a backing sheet. In addition, the printer 1 may write and read data to and from an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) chip attached on a label.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a main body 1a of the printer 1 includes a housing 1b with a bottom wall 1c, side walls 1d and a top wall 1e. The housing 1b includes a longitudinal wall 1f perpendicular to the bottom wall 1c but parallel to the side walls 1d. The housing 1b includes first and second compartments S1 and S2 which are separated from each other by the longitudinal wall 1f. These first and second compartments S1 and S2 are shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, in the first compartment S1, a roll holding shaft 3, a conveying roller 4, a platen roller 5, a supply shaft 7 for an ink ribbon 6, a take-up shaft 8 for the ink ribbon 6, a head block 9, a pinch roller block 10 and the like are mounted approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal wall 1f.
A roll (e.g., paper roll) 11, around which the web material 2 is wound, is supported by the roll holding shaft 3 rotatably with respect to an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal wall 1f. In one embodiment, the roll holding shaft 3 may be rotatably supported by the longitudinal wall 1f. Alternatively, the roll holding shaft 3 may be fixed on the longitudinal wall 1f, and instead the paper roll 11 with the web material 2 wound thereon may rotate around the fixed roll holding shaft 3. In any case, in this embodiment, the roll holding shaft 3 and the paper roll 11 are not driven by, for example, a motor. The paper roll 11 with the web material 2 wound thereon is rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the conveying roller 4 and the platen roller 5, which are installed downstream from the paper roll 11 in a paper feeding direction TD (the leftward direction in FIG. 1). As such, the web material 2 is discharged from the paper roll 11.
The conveying roller 4 and the platen roller 5 are driven to be rotated by means of a first rotation drive mechanism 12 equipped with a motor 12a, a gear, a belt or the like (see FIG. 2). The conveying roller 4 is installed upstream from the print unit 13 and the platen roller 5 in the paper feeding direction TD of the web material 2. The pinch roller block 10 includes a pinch roller 10a which is placed parallel to the conveying roller 4 and adjacent to an upper part of the conveying roller 4. The pinch roller 10a is urged against the conveying roller 4 with proper pressure. The web material 2, interposed between the conveying roller 4 and the pinch roller 10a, is conveyed in the paper feeding direction TD in response to a rotation of the conveying roller 4. In this embodiment, the conveying roller 4, the platen roller 5, the pinch roller 10a, the first rotation drive mechanism 12, a motor controller or the like may constitute a conveying mechanism.
A ribbon roll 14, around which a web material (e.g., ink ribbon 6) is wound, is provided on the supply shaft 7 for the ink ribbon 6. The take-up shaft 8 is driven to be rotated by means of a second rotation drive mechanism 15 equipped with a motor 15a, a gear, a belt or the like (see FIG. 2). By the rotation of the take-up shaft 8, the ink ribbon 6 is discharged from the ribbon roll 14 and in turn wound back around the take-up shaft 8. Both the ink ribbon 6 and the web material 2 are interposed between a thermal head 9a contained in the head block 9 and the platen roller 5. The thermal head 9a generates heat to melt or sublimate ink on the ink ribbon 6 so that a predetermined pattern such as a character, numeric character, bar code, or graphic, is transferred onto a label which is provided on (e.g., attached to) a surface (e.g., the inner surface 2a) of the web material 2. Specifically, in this embodiment, a print mechanism includes the platen roller 5, the thermal head 9a, the ink ribbon 6, the supply shaft 7, the take-up shaft 8, the second drive mechanism 15, the motor controller or the like. The print unit 13 includes the thermal head 9a and the platen roller 5.
As shown in FIG. 2, the second compartment S2 is provided with a circuit board 16 having electronic components such as a central processing unit (CPU) mounted thereon, and a power supply unit 17, in addition to the first rotation drive mechanism 12 and the second rotation drive mechanism 15. The first and the second rotation drive mechanisms 12 and 15 are provided downstream in the paper feeding direction TD, while the circuit board 16 and the power supply unit 17 are provided upstream in the paper feeding direction TD.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the second compartment S2, a partition wall 1g is disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal wall 1f and the bottom wall 1c, so that upstream and downstream regions in the paper feeding direction TD are separated from each other. The partition wall 1g includes a plurality of through-holes 1h formed thereon, which entails reduction in weight and good ventilation of the second compartment S2.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, one end 9b of the head block 9 in a widthwise direction WD is rotatably supported by the partition wall 1g and a front wall 1i of the second compartment S2 so that the other end portion 9c of the head block 9 in the widthwise direction WD can be lifted upward (i.e., toward the top wall 1e). As shown in FIG. 2, a support shaft 9d is installed between the partition wall 1g and the front wall 1i in parallel with the longitudinal wall 1f and the bottom wall 1c. The head block 9 is rotatably supported around the center axis Ax1 of the support shaft 9d (i.e., an axis parallel to the longitudinal wall 1f and the bottom wall 1c). In one embodiment, the support shaft 9d may be rotatably supported by the partition wall 1g and the front wall 1i. Alternatively, the support shaft 9d may be fixed on the partition wall 1g and the front wall 1i and instead the head block 9 may be rotatably supported around the support shaft 9d. In this embodiment, the partition wall 1g and the front wall 1i serve as a block holding member. In a normal state as shown in FIG. 3, the thermal head 9a of the head block 9 is positioned parallel to the platen roller 5. In a lift-up state as shown in FIG. 4, the other end portion 9c of the head block 9 is lifted upward so that the head block 9 becomes inclined and thus a relatively large gap is formed between the platen roller 5 and the thermal head 9a. Under the lift-up state as shown in FIG. 4, an operator or user can easily perform various maintenance operations such as loading or replacing of the web material 2 or the ink ribbon 6, cleaning of the head block 9, upon detecting a printing failure or the like.
As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the head block 9 includes a base member 18 configured to support respective parts thereon. In the normal state as shown in FIG. 3, the base member 18 is fixedly mounted on the main body 1a (i.e., the housing 1b) of the printer 1. On the other hand, in the lift-up state as shown in FIG. 4, the other end portion 9c of the head block 9 is lifted up to be separated from the main body 1a (i.e., the housing 1b). Mounted on the base member 18 are an urging mechanism 19 configured to urge the thermal head 9a against the platen roller 5, a first separation mechanism 20 and a second separation mechanism 21 respectively configured to separate the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5.
The urging mechanism 19 includes a shaft 19a, cams 19b, an interposing member 19c, coil springs 19d, and a handle 19e.
The shaft 19a extending along the widthwise direction WD is mounted between side walls 18a which are formed on both ends of the base member 18. The shaft 19a is rotatably supported around the center axis Ax2 by the side walls 18a. The handle 19e is connected at one end (that is located far from the longitudinal wall 1f) of the shaft 19a. In one embodiment, the shaft 19a serves as a second shaft.
The cams 19b rotate with the rotation of the shaft 19a. The cams 19b include a projecting portion 19f and a base portion 19g configured to release the urging of the thermal head by the projecting portion 19f (see FIGS. 7 and 8), respectively. The cams 19b abut against the interposing member 19c from a side opposite to the thermal head 9a, respectively.
Each of the coil springs 19d functioning as a compressing spring, is disposed immediately above the thermal head 9a and also between the interposing member 19c and a supporting member 9e on which the thermal head 9a is fixed. Each of the coil springs 19d is arranged to apply elastic force along a contact/separation direction PD to thereby make the thermal head 9a and the platen roller 5 come in contact with or separated from each other.
In this arrangement, when the operator rotates the handle 19e by for example, his/her finger, it changes the configuration of the printer from a first abutting state where the base portion 19g of each of the cams 19b abuts against the interposing member 19c, as shown in FIG. 8, into a second abutting state where the projecting portion 19f of each of the cams 19b abuts against the interposing member 19c, as shown in FIG. 7, so that the interposing member 19c is urged toward the platen roller 5. As a result, the coil springs 19d are compressed along the contact/separation direction PD between the supporting member 9e and the interposing member 19c. Then, restoring force of each of the (compressed) coil springs 19d is applied to the thermal head 9a, so that the thermal head 9a is urged against the platen roller 5. A C-shaped cover 18b with one side opened toward the platen roller 5 is mounted between the side walls 18a of both ends of the base member 18 in the widthwise direction WD. In FIG. 7, Pn indicates a proximal position where the thermal head 9a is positioned proximate to the platen roller 5. In FIG. 8, Pf1 indicates a first separation position where the thermal head 9a is separated from the platen roller 5.
The first separation mechanism 20 includes a coil spring 20a, which is disposed between the cover 18b and the interposing member 19c. The coil spring 20a functions as an extension spring. Specifically, when the operator rotates the handle 19e by his/her finger, the configuration of the printer changes from the second abutting state where the projecting portion 19f of each of the cams 19b abuts against the interposing member 19c, as shown in FIG. 7, into the first abutting state where the base portion 19g of each of the cams 19b abuts against the interposing member 19c, as shown in FIG. 8, so that an elastic restoring force of the (extended) coil spring 19d is generated. Thus, the interposing member 19c moves in a direction of separating the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5. As a result of such a movement of the interposing member 19c, the compression of the coil spring 19d is released and also the interposing member 19c may be locked to a locking member, so that the supporting member 9e and the thermal head 9a are displaced from the proximal position Pn to the first separation position Pf1. As described above, in this embodiment, the operator is able to manually operate the urging mechanism 19 and the first separation mechanism 20. Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the amount of a displacement of the thermal head 9a by the first separation mechanism 20 is represented by δ1.
An electric-powered actuator 22 is provided which includes a main body 22a (including an electromagnetic solenoid) mounted on a holder 18c of the base member 18, and a movable member 22b configured to reciprocate based on magnetic force that is generated when electric current is applied to the electromagnetic solenoid.
The second separation mechanism 21 includes a first movement conversion mechanism 23, second movement conversion mechanisms 24, and a shaft 21a.
The first movement conversion mechanism 23 is configured to convert a linear movement of the movable member 22b in one direction (in this embodiment, a movement toward a downstream side in the paper feeding direction TD) into a rotational movement of the shaft 21a around an axis in one rotational direction. The shaft 21a extending along the widthwise direction WD is mounted between the side walls 18a of the base member 18. Further, the shaft 21a is rotatably supported around the center axis Ax3 thereof by the side walls 18a. In one embodiment, the first movement conversion mechanism 23 may be implemented with a link mechanism, which includes a link arm 23a connected to both the movable member 22b and the shaft 21a and configured to be rotatable around an axis parallel to the center axis Ax3. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in one embodiment, as the movable member 22b is moved from a pull-out position Pp downstream in the paper feeding direction TD to a pull-in position Pd upstream in the paper feeding direction TD, the first movement conversion mechanism 23 rotates the shaft 21a in the clockwise direction CW as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
Each of the second movement conversion mechanisms 24 includes an engaging portion 24a and an engaged portion 24b. As shown in FIG. 5, the engaging portions 24a are fixed to both ends of the shaft 21a in the widthwise direction WD and protrude from the shaft 21a toward a radial outer side of the center axis Ax3. The engaged portions 24b are disposed at positions respectively corresponding to the engaging portions 24a and at an opposite side to the platen roller 5 with respect to the engaging portions 24a. In FIG. 9, the engaging portion 24a and the engaged portion 24b may be disposed such that they keep in contact with each other, or such that they are slightly separated from each other. The engaged portions 24b are fixed on a pair of side plates 9f disposed at both ends of the thermal head 9a in the widthwise direction WD. The pair of side plates 9f is a part of the supporting member 9e and extends along the contact/separation direction PD along which the thermal head 9a is in contact with and also separated from the platen roller 5.
As shown in FIG. 6, the pair of side plates 9f is disposed inside and in parallel to the pair of side walls 18a of the base member 18 to be respectively spaced apart from but close to the pair of side walls 18a in the widthwise direction WD. In one embodiment, a pair of guide mechanisms 25 is provided between the pair of side plates 9f and the pair of side walls 18a, which are placed adjacent to each other, so that the pair of guide mechanisms 25 can guide a relative displacement between the pair of side plates 9f and the pair of side walls 18a along the contact/separation direction PD. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide mechanisms 25 may be configured to include a peripheral portion of an elongated hole 25a, which is formed on the side plate 9f and extends along the contact/separation direction PD, and a slider 25b, which is formed on the side wall 18a and is inserted into the elongated hole 25a. In this configuration, as the slider 25b is guided to move relative to the elongated hole 25a along the longitudinal direction of the elongated hole 25a within the peripheral portion of the elongated hole 25a, the thermal head 9a fixed to the supporting member 9e moves relatively to the platen roller 5 along the contact/separation direction PD.
In this configuration, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the movable member 22b of the electric-powered actuator 22 moves from the pull-out position Pp to the pull-in position Pd and in turn the shaft 21a rotates in the clockwise direction CW by means of the first movement conversion mechanism 23, the engaging portion 24a pushes up the engaged portion 24b upward as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. Then, the side plates 9f and the thermal head 9a fixed to the side plates 9f are moved upward, i.e., in a direction of separating the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5. As a result, the supporting member 9e and the thermal head 9a move from the proximal position Pn as shown in FIG. 9 to the second separation position Pf2 as shown in FIG. 10. That is, in one embodiment, the second separation mechanism 21 may be electrically operated under control of a control unit. The amount of a displacement of the thermal head 9a by the second separation mechanism 21 is represented by 52, as shown in FIG. 10. In some embodiments, for instance, the second separation mechanism 21 may operate when the operator wants to convey only the web material 2. In case the operator wants to convey only the web material 2 without involving any printing operation, if both the web material 2 and the ink ribbon 6 are interposed between the thermal head 9a and the platen roller 5, it may cause unnecessary consumption of the ink ribbon 6 not fundamentally required. In such a case, in one embodiment, the second separation mechanism 21 separates the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5 so that only the web material 2 is conveyed, thus avoiding the unnecessary consumption of the ink ribbon 6.
As described above, the second separation mechanism 21 of the printer 1 includes the first movement conversion mechanism 23 and the second movement conversion mechanism 24. A configuration of the related art in which an electric-powered actuator directly separates a thermal head from a platen roller without an operation for changing a movement direction may have a restriction in arranging the electric-powered actuator inside the printer, which may make it difficult to arrange the electric-powered actuator in the printer. On the other hand, in the printer 1 according to the above embodiment, the second separation mechanism 21 includes the first movement conversion mechanism 23 and the second movement conversion mechanism 24, which makes it possible to provide sufficient freedom of arrangement of the electric-powered actuator 22.
Further, in the above embodiment, the second movement conversion mechanism 24 includes the plurality of engaging portions 24a, which are spaced apart from each other on the shaft 21a along the widthwise direction WD of the web material 2. The rotation of the shaft 21a causes the plurality of engaging portions 24a to engage the supporting member 9e of the thermal head 9a, to thereby separate the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5. This makes it easier to decrease a deviation in the separation amount of the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5 along the widthwise direction WD.
In some embodiments, a roller may be provided on at least one of the engaging portion 24a and the engaged portion 24b, which rotates when in contact with the other one. Such a configuration may lead to improved endurance compared to the configuration in which the engaging portion 24a and the engaged portion 24b are in a sliding relationship to each other.
Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the first rotation drive mechanism 12 is arranged below the electric-powered actuator 22 and the second rotation drive mechanism 15 is arranged above the electric-powered actuator 22 such that the electric-powered actuator 22 can be longitudinally provided in a horizontal direction. With this arrangement, it is possible to efficiently array the electric-powered actuator 22 in the inside of the printer 1, thus allowing the size of the printer 1 to be smaller.
Further, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the electric-powered actuator 22 is disposed at the opposite side to the thermal head 9a with respect to the rotation center axis Ax1 of the head block 9, i.e., above the center axis Ax1. For example, in case the electric-powered actuator 22 is disposed below the center axis Ax1, rotation of the head block 9 renders the electric-powered actuator 22 to be located near the longitudinal wall 1f side, which interferes with the lift-up of the head block 9. In the above embodiment, as described above, since electric-powered actuator 22 is disposed at the opposite side of the thermal head 9a with respect to the rotational center axis Ax1 of the head block 9, i.e., above the center axis Ax1, when the head block 9 is lifted up, the electric-powered actuator 22 moves in a direction of being separated from the longitudinal wall 1f inside the second compartment S2, without affecting the lift-up operation of the head block 9.
Further, in the above embodiment, the shaft 21a of the second separation mechanism 21 is disposed closer to the thermal head 9a than the shaft 19a of the urging mechanism 19. In case the two shafts 19a and 21a have to be disposed within the limited space inside the housing 1b of the printer 1, and if the shaft 21a of the second separation mechanism 21 is disposed farther than the shaft 19a of the urging mechanism 19, a moment arm of rotational torque with respect to the center axis Ax3, which is required for the second movement conversion mechanism 24 to separate the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5, may be extended. This requires the electric-powered actuator 22 to have a more powerful driving force. In the above embodiment, since the shaft 21a of the second separation mechanism 21 is disposed closer to the thermal head 9a compared to the shaft 19a of the urging mechanism 19, the moment arm of rotational torque with respect to the center axis Ax3, which is required for the second movement conversion mechanism 24 to separate the thermal head 9a from the platen roller 5, may be further shortened. As a result, it is possible to reduce the driving force of the electric-powered actuator 22.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, since the electric-powered actuator 22 is disposed above and spaced apart from the shaft 21a, the length of the link arm 23a may be increased. Accordingly, this may increase the length of the moment arm of the first movement conversion mechanism 23 (as indicated by L1 in FIG. 10) compared to the length of the moment arm of the second movement conversion mechanism 24 (as indicated by L2 in FIG. 10), which, in turn, may also reduce the driving force of the electric-powered actuator 22.
Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the shaft 19a of the urging mechanism 19 is disposed upstream from the shaft 21a of the second separation mechanism 21 in the paper feeding direction TD. Respective parts of the urging mechanism 19, the first separation mechanism 20 and the second separation mechanism 21 (for example, in the above embodiment, the coil spring 19d, the coil spring 20a and the shaft 21a) are disposed along a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction TD with respect to the thermal head 9a, i.e., along the contact/separation direction PD. In this arrangement, the shaft 19a (and the cam 19b) of the urging mechanism 19 may be disposed upstream from the shaft 21a of the second separation mechanism 21 in the paper feeding direction TD, so that the above described parts can be efficiently arranged in the printer 1. Further, since the parts (e.g., the coil springs 19d and 20a, the engaged portion 24b or the like), for applying external force to the supporting member 9e of the thermal head 9a to make contact with or be separated from the platen roller 5, may be arranged at positions along the contact/separation direction PD with respect to the thermal head 9a (in the above embodiment, above the thermal head 9a), an unnecessary increase in the length of a moment arm is restrained. On the other hand, since the shaft 19a and the cam 19b of the urging mechanism 19 apply force to the coil spring 19d through the interposing member 19c, shaft 19a and the cam 19b do not have to be arranged at positions along the contact/separation direction PD with respect to the thermal head 9a, but rather the shaft 19a of the urging mechanism 19 may be arranged upstream from the thermal head 9a in the paper feeding direction TD.
While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. For example, the present disclosure is applicable to a printer having none of the ink ribbon (e.g., a printer configured to perform printing on a thermal paper or the like). Furthermore, the thermal head may be urged against the platen roller by means of the coil spring used as an extension spring, or an urging member such as a plate spring other than the coil spring. In addition, a specification (a scheme, structure, shape, size, arrangement, location, number, length, width, thickness, cross-section area, weight, material or the like) of each part (a print unit, thermal head, urging mechanism, first separation mechanism, second separation mechanisms, electric-powered actuator, first operation converting mechanism, second operation converting mechanism, shaft, supporting member, rotational direction, first rotary drive mechanism, second rotary drive mechanism, head block, block supporting member, second shaft, cam, projecting portion or the like) may be modified in a variety of other forms.
According to the above embodiments, it is possible to obtain a printer in which various parts can be more efficiently arranged therein.
Patent Application
20120050446
