The present application is based on and claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Priority Application No. 2016-103097 filed on May 24, 2016, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a printer.
A printer is widely used at a cash register in a shop, an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) or a cash dispenser of a bank or the like.
Such a printer, for example, includes a printer mechanical unit on which a thermal head or the like is mounted, and a platen unit including a platen roller, and the printer mechanical unit and the platen unit are connected with each other.
In such a printer, the printer mechanical unit includes a frame made of metal or the like to which a gearbox, a motor or the like for rotating the platen roller of the platen unit is attached.
It is required for the printer in which the gearbox, the motor or the like is attached to the frame, as described above, to be manufactured with low cost, and to have high strength such as not being deformed or the like even when fallen.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-246104
According to an embodiment, there is provided a printer including: a print head; a platen roller; a frame, to which the print head or the platen roller is attached, that includes a frame body, a sidewall that is perpendicularly bent from the frame body with respect to a longitudinal direction of the platen roller, and a back surface member that is bent from the frame body in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the platen roller, the back surface member including an end portion and a support portion provided to support the sidewall from an inner side and an outer side of the sidewall, respectively, the sidewall being supported by the back surface member while being interposed between the end portion the support portion of the back surface member.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
The invention will be described herein with reference to illustrative embodiments. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many alternative embodiments can be accomplished using the teachings of the present invention and that the invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated for explanatory purposes.
It is to be noted that, in the explanation of the drawings, the same components are given the same reference numerals, and explanations are not repeated.
However, the frame 913 with which the gearbox 914 is integrally formed is manufactured by casting or the like. Thus, a manufacturing process is complicated, and cost becomes high. Further, as the frame 913 and the gearbox 914 are integrally formed, it is necessary to prepare different types of frames 913 for manufacturing different types of printers in which widths of used print papers are different.
Meanwhile, there is a method for manufacturing a frame with low cost by punching a metal plate, bending it in accordance with a width of a used print paper, and attaching a commonly prepared gearbox and a motor to the frame.
As illustrated in
As the motor 952 is heavy, if strong force is applied to the sidewall 951a to which the motor 952 and the gearbox 953 are attached, the sidewall 951a may be deformed with respect to the frame body 951b. Further, as the sidewall 951a is formed by bending the frame 951, if it is fallen, there is a risk that the sidewall 951a is deformed. If the sidewall 951a is deformed, there is a risk that the rotation of the motor 952 is not normally transmitted to a platen roller 921.
Furthermore, even for a printer, different from the printer illustrated in
Thus, a printer is required that can be manufactured with low cost, a frame or a printer housing including a frame of which is hardly deformed, and whose strength is high.
Next, a printer of a first embodiment is described. As illustrated in
The printer mechanical unit 110 includes a frame 130, a thermal head 140, which is a print head, and a print paper guide. The thermal head 140 and the print paper guide are attached to the frame 130. Further, a transfer motor 160 and a transfer module 170 such as a gearbox are attached to one sidewall 131 of the frame 130. In this embodiment, the transfer motor 160 is attached at an inner side of the sidewall 131, and the transfer module 170 is attached at an outer side of the sidewall 131.
The platen unit 120 includes a platen roller 121 and a gear 122 attached at an end portion of the platen roller 121. The transfer module 170 includes a plurality of gears, and transmits a rotation of the transfer motor 160 to the platen roller 121 by changing a rotation frequency, if necessary. The transfer motor 160 includes a gear 161 attached to a rotational shaft of the transfer motor 160. The gear 161 of the transfer motor 160 engages with one of the gears of the transfer module 170. Under the state as illustrated in
Here, the transfer motor 160 includes inside it iron core, a coil and the like, and is heavy. Further, the transfer module 170 includes inside it the gears and is covered by a housing. The housing is sturdy formed so as an impact is not affected on engagements of the gears included its inside even when external force is applied, and for example, made of a metal material.
Next, the frame 130 is described with reference to
The sidewall 131 is formed by bending the material of the frame 130 at a bent portion 133a near one end portion in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface member 133. The back surface member 134 is formed by bending the material of the frame 130 at a bent portion 133b that extends along a longitudinal direction of the upper surface member 133 in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface member 133. The sidewall 132 is formed by bending the material of the frame 130 at a bent portion 133c near another end portion in the direction perpendicular to the upper surface member 133. In other words, the sidewall 131 and the sidewall 132 are bent in a direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the platen roller 121, and the back surface member 134 is bent in a direction that is in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the platen roller 121.
The back surface member 134 includes a support portion 135 (see
As illustrated in
In the frame 130 of the embodiment, the sidewall 131 is formed by being bent at the bent portion 133a, and the sidewall 131 and the upper surface member 133 are connected at the bent portion 133a. Similarly, in the frame 130 of the embodiment, the back surface member 134 is formed by being bent at the bent portion 133b, and the back surface member 134 and the upper surface member 133 are connected at the bent portion 133b. Further, the sidewall 131 is supported by the back surface member 134 while being interposed between the end portion 134a and the support portion 135. The sidewall 131 and the support portion 135 are connected at this portion. In other words, the sidewall 131 and the back surface member 134 are connected via the upper surface member 133 while being directly connected by the end portion 134a and the support portion 135 of the back surface member 134. Thus, strength of a portion of the sidewall 131 that is connected to the upper surface member 133 and the back surface member 134 is high. Thus, even when the frame 130 is fallen under a state that the transfer motor 160 and the transfer module 170 are attached to the sidewall 131, the frame 130 is hardly deformed.
Similarly, as illustrated in
Thus, strength is high as the sidewall 132 is connected to both of the upper surface member 133 and the back surface member 134.
Here, when a printer cutter unit is provided, a motor or the like that drives a movable cutter of the cutter unit may be attached to the sidewall 132.
The printer of the embodiment can be manufactured with low cost because the frame 130 is formed by punching and bending a metal plate. Further, as the sidewall 131 to which the transfer motor 160 and the transfer module 170 are attached is connected to both of the upper surface member 133 and the back surface member 134, strength of the frame 130 is high and it is not deformed even when fallen.
Next, a printer of a second embodiment is described with reference to
The printer mechanical unit 210 includes a frame 230 to which a thermal head 140 and a print paper guide 150 are attached. Further, the transfer motor 160 and a transfer module 270 such as the gearbox are attached to one sidewall 231 of the frame 230. In this embodiment, the transfer motor 160 is attached at an inner side of the sidewall 231 of the frame 230 and the transfer module 270 is attached at an outer side of the sidewall 231 of the frame 230.
The transfer module 270 includes a plurality of gears, and transmits a rotation of the transfer motor 160 to a platen roller 221 of the platen unit 220. The gears in the transfer module 270 are covered by a housing made of a metal material, for example. The housing is sturdy formed so as an impact is not affected on engagements of the gears included its inside even when external force is applied, and for example, made of a metal material.
Next, the frame 230 of the embodiment is described with reference to
In this embodiment, the sidewall 231 is formed by bending the material of the frame 230 at a bent portion 233a near one end portion in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface member 233. The back surface member 234 is formed by bending the material of the frame 230 at a bent portion 233b that extends along a longitudinal direction of the upper surface member 233 in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface member 233. The sidewall 232 is formed by bending the material of the frame 230 at a bent portion 233c near another end portion in the direction perpendicular to the upper surface member 233. In other words, the sidewall 231 and the sidewall 232 are bent in a direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the platen roller 221, and the back surface member 234 is bent in a direction that is in parallel to the longitudinal direction of the platen roller 221.
As illustrated in
By attaching the transfer module 270 to the sidewall 231, strength of a portion including the frame 230 can be increased. This means, as described above, as strength of the housing of the transfer module 270 in which the gears are included is high, by attaching the transfer module 270 at the outer side of the sidewall 231, strength of the printer housing including the frame 230 can be increased.
In this embodiment, the transfer module 270 is further attached to the frame 230 by inserting the protrusion 236 of the back surface member 234 of the frame 230 in the engaging hole 271 of the transfer module 270. This process is described with reference to
In this embodiment, the protrusion 236 of the back surface member 234 is formed to have a shape that fits in the engaging hole 271 of the transfer module 270 such that front, back, left and right surfaces of the protrusion 236 is covered a portion of the transfer module 270, and functions as a stopper when external force is applied to the transfer module 270. With this configuration, deformation of the frame 230 can be prevented even when force is applied from front, back, left, right and twist directions, and rigidity of the printer housing can be improved. In other words, as the protrusion 236 of the frame 230 is inserted in the engaging hole 271 of the transfer module 270, the sidewall 231 can be prevented from being deformed inward or outward, and rigidity of the printer housing can be improved.
In the first embodiment, as described above, the sidewall 131 is supported by the back surface member 134 under a state that the one end portion 134a of the back surface member 134 contacts the inner surface of the sidewall 131 while the support portion 135 contacts the outer surface of the sidewall 131. Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the sidewall 231 is supported by the back surface member 234 via the transfer module 270 attached to the sidewall 231 by inserting the protrusion 236 of the back surface member 234 of the frame 230 in the engaging hole 271 of the transfer module 270. In other words, in this embodiment, the sidewall 231 and the back surface member 234 are connected via the upper surface member 233 while being connected via the transfer module 270, different from the upper surface member 233.
Specifically, an angle between the sidewall 231 and the back surface member 234 is a right angle, and the protrusion 236 is provided at the back surface member 234. Thus, even when a force is applied to the sidewall 231, the sidewall 231 supported by the back surface member 234 can be prevented from being bent. Further, as the protrusion 236 is inserted in the engaging hole 271, the position of the sidewall 231 with respect to the back surface member 234 does not move.
Further, as illustrated in
Further, as illustrated in
According to the printer of the embodiment, as the frame 230 is formed by the metal plate, the printer can be manufactured with low cost. Further, as the transfer module 270 whose strength of the housing is high is attached to the sidewall 231 of the frame 230, the strength of the printer housing including the frame 230 can be increased by the transfer module 270, and the frame 230 is not deformed even when fallen.
Other parts, not described above, are the same as those of the first embodiment.
Next, a printer of a third embodiment is described. The printer of the embodiment has a structure in which a cutter unit is further mounted on the printer of the second embodiment, and a cutter drive unit that drives the cutter unit is attached to the sidewall of the frame. With this, strength of the printer housing including the frame can be furthermore increased. Specifically, the cutter drive unit is attached to the sidewall 232 illustrated in
The cutter unit 320 includes the platen roller 221, and a fixed cutter and a movable cutter, not illustrated in the drawings, that cut a print paper.
A cutter drive unit 370 that drives the movable cutter of the cutter unit 320 is attached to the frame 230 of the printer mechanical unit 210. The cutter drive unit 370 includes a motor for driving the movable cutter, and a transfer module such as a gearbox. In this embodiment, as illustrated in
In this embodiment, the cutter drive unit 370 can be attached to the frame 230 by inserting the protrusion 238 of the frame 230 in the engaging hole 371 of the cutter drive unit 370. With this, similar to the reason for the case when the transfer module 270 is attached to the frame 230, strength of the sidewall 232 of the frame 230 can be increased.
Other parts, not described above, are the same as those of the second embodiment. Furthermore, although it is described that the frame 230 and the cutter drive unit 370 are connected by the protrusion 238 and the corresponding engaging hole 371, the frame 230 and the cutter drive unit 370 may be connected by hooks, similarly as that described with reference to
According to the embodiment, a printer including a frame to which a gearbox, a motor or the like is attached can be manufactured with low cost, and can have high strength for the frame or the like.
Although a preferred embodiment of the printer has been specifically illustrated and described, it is to be understood that minor modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
The present invention is not limited to the specifically disclosed embodiments, and numerous variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2016-103097 | May 2016 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20170341426 A1 | Nov 2017 | US |