The present invention relates to a printer.
There are known printers that print on printing sheets such as printing paper or printing film by thermal transfer or laser. Usually, such known printers include a sheet storing block for storing a plurality of printing sheets in layers, a pick-up block for ejecting one of the printing sheets stored in the sheet storing block, a delivery block for delivering the printing sheet ejected from the pick-up block, a printing block for printing an image on the printing sheet delivered by the delivery block, and a discharge block for discharging the printing sheet on which an image was printed on at the printing block. Each block is disposed inside a chassis.
Such known printers may be a so-called horizontal type wherein a printing sheet is delivered from the storing block to the sheet discharge block so that the surface of the printing sheet faces the vertical direction or may be a dual-purpose type wherein the printing sheet is disposed horizontally or the printing sheet is disposed vertically so that the printing sheet is delivered from the sheet storing block to the discharge block as it faces the horizontal direction.
The dual-purpose type printer may be disposed according to the width of the installation location. In this way, the installation location of the printer may be flexibly selected, and the usability of the printer is improved.
Since the dual-purpose type printer may be disposed vertically, the installation area required for disposing the printer may be decreased. In particular, for computed tomography performed in a hospital, the printer may be adjoined to the tomographic apparatus or to a computer disposed in a medical examination room since a large installation area is not required. Hence, medical service may be speeded up and simplified.
For such a printer, a storage tray is disposed in the sheet storage block for storing printing sheets. The storage tray is disposed inside a slot on the chassis.
The storage tray may include a sheet storage case, which is a planular box with an opening for storing sheets, and a cover, which is for covering the opening of the sheet storage case (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-101258). The cover is disposed to prevent the printing sheets from falling out of the sheet storage case. In particular, for a vertically disposed printer, a cover is required since the printing sheets can easily fall out of the sheet storage case.
When the storage tray including the printing sheets is disposed and fixed into the slot, the pick-up block ejects one of the printing sheets from the storage tray and the delivery block delivers the sheet to the printing block.
Printing sheets are ejected from or placed in the storage tray while the storage tray is pulled out of the slot.
As described above, to eject or insert a printing sheet from/into the storage tray of a known printer, the storage tray must be pulled out of the slot of the chassis and then the cover must be removed. The procedure for discharging or inserting a sheet of printing paper from or to the storage tray is troublesome and inefficient.
Moreover, once the storage tray is completely pulled out of the slot, it is difficult to put it back; thus, usability is low.
To store the printing sheets while the storage tray is completely pulled out of the chassis, the storage tray must be strong enough to support the weight of the printing sheets to be stored in the storage tray. For this reason, reinforcements might have to be disposed on the storage tray or the thickness of the components might have to be increased for reinforcement.
An object of the printer according to the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to improve the workability of storing and discharging printing sheets to or from a storage tray.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the printer according to the present invention includes a storage tray comprising a sheet storage case for storing a stack of a plurality of printing sheets with at least one of the sides of the storage case being opened and a cover for covering the sheet storage case, wherein the cover comprises a cover body and an moveable member supported by the cover body for freely opening and closing the opening of the sheet storage case. When the entire storage tray is disposed in the slot of the chassis, a pick-up block ejects one printing sheet at a time, and when a part of the storage tray is pulled out of the slot of the chassis, the moveable member can be opened or closed and the printing sheet can be stored in or discharged from the sheet storage case.
Consequently, the printer according to the present invention enables storage and ejection of the printing sheet in or from the storage tray when a part of the storage tray is pulled out of the chassis.
Since the entire storage tray does not have to be pulled out of the slot, the storage tray can be disposed in the slot quickly and easily.
Moreover, since the printing sheets can be stored in or ejected from the sheet storage case when a part of the storage tray is disposed inside the chassis, both the storage tray and the chassis bears the weight of the printing sheets. Thus, measures such as adding reinforcements to the storage tray and thickening the components of the storage tray for reinforcement do not have to be taken.
In the printer having the above-mentioned structure, a locking groove having a releasing engagement portion and a stopping engagement portion is formed on the sheet storage case, and locking protrusions are formed on the moveable member of the cover. When the moveable member is opened, the locking protrusions are engaged with the releasing engagement portion to lock the moveable member to the cover-open position. When the moveable member is closed, the locking protrusions are engaged with the stopping engagement portion to lock the moveable member to the cover-closed position. In this way, the storage and discharge of the printing sheet in or from the storage tray can be carried out smoothly and the printing sheets can be reliably prevented from falling out.
An embodiment of a printer according to the present invention will be described below by referring to the drawings.
An embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, described below, is a thermal head printer including a thermal head for printing image data, which is, for example, acquired through computed tomography performed in a hospital, on a printing film (printing sheet) by thermal transfer.
A printer 1 is a dual-purpose type printer that can be disposed in a horizontal arrangement in which the surface of a printing sheet faces the vertical direction while the printing sheet is delivered (refer to
As illustrated in
In printer 1, as illustrated in
The chassis 2 is assembled by screwing together a chassis body 3, which is a box with an opening at the right, and a base plate (not depicted in the drawings), which is for covering the opening in the chassis body 3.
On a front surface 3a of the chassis body 3, operational switches 4, 4, . . . for operations required and a display 5 are disposed (refer to
On a side surface 3c of the chassis body 3, an outer cover 6 that can be opened to expose the inside of the chassis 2 is disposed. As depicted in
On the inner surface of the front edge of the outer cover 6, pressing protrusions 8 and 8 that protrude inwards are disposed on the upper and lower edges of the outer cover 6.
In the vicinity of the pressing protrusions 8 and 8 on the inner surface of the outer cover 6, supporting protrusions 9 and 9 are disposed. On each of the supporting protrusions 9 and 9, guide holes 9a, 9a, . . . , which extend in the longitudinal direction of the outer cover 6, are formed. A first shaft 10 passes through the guide holes 9a, 9a, . . . . At both ends of the first shaft 10, locking members 11 and 11 are disposed. In the middle of the first shaft 10 in the axial direction, a handle 6a is disposed.
The locking members 11 and 11 extend in the same direction as the guide holes 9a, 9a, . . . . At one of the ends of the locking members 11 and 11, locking notches 11a and 11a are formed so that the locking notches oppose the outer cover 6. At the same end of the locking members 11 and 11, but at the opposite side of the locking notches 11a and 11a, inclined surfaces 11b and 11b are formed. Second shafts 12 and 12 are attached to the locking members 11 and 11. These second shafts 12 and 12 pass through the guide holes 9a, 9a, . . . so that the second shafts 12 and 12 are slidable. Consequently, the locking members 11 and 11, respectively, are moveable by the first shaft 10 and the second shafts 12 and 12 being guided through the guide holes 9a, 9a, . . . . The locking members 11 and 11 are urged by springs (not illustrated in the drawings) disposed inside the supporting protrusions 9 and 9, respectively, toward the pivoting shaft of the outer cover 6 (in direction A in
The sheet storage block 100 is disposed inside the chassis 2 at the right (refer to
The storage tray 13 is disposed inside the slot 3b and is detachable from the chassis 2. When the storage tray 13 is disposed inside the slot 3b, a space is defined at the left of the storage tray 13. This space functions as a sheet ejecting space for ejecting the printing sheet 3000 to the outside.
The storage tray 13 includes a sheet storage case 14, which has an opening at the left, and a cover 15, which covers the opening at the sheet storage case 14 (refer to
At the rear edge of the storage tray 13, a sheet ejecting slot 13a is formed (refer to
At the front edge of the sheet storage case 14, metal plates 14a are disposed so that they oppose the upper and lower edges of the cover 15 (refer to
At the upper and lower edges of the sheet storage case 14, locking grooves 16 and 16 are directed to the left (refer to
A biasing spring, not depicted in the drawings, is disposed inside the sheet storage case 14. The biasing spring biases the printing sheets 3000 stored in the sheet storage case 14 toward a pick-up roller to be described below.
On the rear edge of the sheet storage case 14, as illustrated in
On the unit attachment portion 17, a first roller unit 20 is attached (refer to
The bracket 21 is composed of a plate material, as illustrated in
The base 24 has two attachment holes 27 and 27 distant from each other in the upper and lower regions. The attachment hole 27 includes a rectangular engagement region 27a and a catching region 27b extending downward from the rear edge of the engagement region 27a.
At the tips of the support 25 and 25, support holes 25a and 25a are formed.
On the spring attachment portion 26, a spring attachment hole 26a is formed.
The roller holder 22 is supported by the support holes 25a and 25a of the bracket 21 and is rotatable around the bracket 21 (refer to
The roller holder 22 has a spring attachment protrusion 22a. A helical extension spring 28 is suspended between the spring attachment protrusion 22a and the spring attachment hole 26a of the spring attachment portion 26 of the bracket 21. Consequently, the separating roller 23 supported by the roller holder 22 is urged away from the base 24 of the bracket 21.
The first roller unit 20 is attached to the unit attachment portion 17 as described below (refer to
First, the engagement pieces 18 and 18, which are located behind the bracket 21 of the attachment holes 27 and 27 of the bracket 21, are engaged with the engagement regions 27a and 27a (refer to
Next, the first roller unit 20 is slid forward (refer to
To remove the first roller unit 20 from the unit attachment portion 17, the lock releasing protrusion 19c of the locking piece 19 is pressed to the right to release the latching by the latching protrusion 19b, which is latched to the edge of the opening of the attaching hole 27, and the first roller unit 20 is slid down and then to the back.
Since the first roller unit 20 is freely detachable from the unit attachment portion 17 of the sheet storage case 14 as described above, the first roller unit 20 may be quickly and easily replaced when required for reasons such as wearing of the separating roller 23.
As described above, the bracket 21 and the unit attachment portion 17 may be fixed with screws for reinforcement while the first roller unit 20 is attached to the unit attachment portion 17.
The cover 15 includes a cover body 29 positioned in the rear and a moveable member 30 that pivots on the cover body 29 (refer to
A second roller unit 31 is attached to the inner side of the rear edge of the cover body 29 (refer to
The second roller unit 31, as illustrated in
The pick-up roller 33 and the feeding roller 34 are rotatably supported by the holder bracket 35 apart from each other at the front and the rear. The pick-up roller 33 and the feeding roller 34 are synchronously rotated by a transmission belt 36 connecting the two rollers. The feeding roller 34 opposes the separating roller 23 of the first roller unit 20 (refer to
The feeding roller 34, as illustrated in
The transmission gear 38 is engaged to a connection gear, not depicted in the drawings, when the storage tray 13 is inserted into the slot 3b of the chassis 2. When the transmission gear 38 is engaged with the connection gear, the power generated by a driving motor, not depicted in the drawings, disposed inside the chassis 2 is transmitted to the feeding roller 34 via the transmission gear 38 and the power transmission shaft 37. In this way, the feeding roller 34 and the pick-up roller 33 are synchronously rotated.
As described above, since the pick-up mechanism 32 composed of the first roller unit 20 and the second roller unit 31 is attached to the storage tray 13 of the printer 1, maintenance work such as replacement or repair required due to wearing of the separating roller 23, the pick-up roller 33, and/or the feeding roller 34 can be carried out by pulling out the storage tray 13 from the slot 3b of the chassis 2. In this way, the time required for maintenance work can be reduced and the work can be carried out easily.
Since the pick-up mechanism 32 is attached to the storage tray 13, a sufficient accuracy of positioning of the separating roller 23, the pick-up roller 33, feeding roller 34, and the storage tray 13 can be maintained. In this way, defects such as failure of paper feeding and/or jamming of a printing sheet can be prevented.
Furthermore, since the first roller unit 20 having the separating roller 23 is disposed on the sheet storage case 14 and the second roller unit 31 having the printer pick-up roller 33 and the feeding roller 34 is disposed on the cover 15, the maintenance work for the first roller unit 20 and the second roller unit 31 can be performed separately. In this way, the necessary maintenance work can be carried out and the workability can be improved.
The moveable member 30 is rotatably supported on the rear edge of the cover body 29 (refer to
On the rear edge of the moveable member 30, locking protrusions 39 and 39 are formed at the upper and lower edges (refer to
When the moveable member 30 is closed, as illustrated in
When the moveable member 30 is pivoted from the closed condition, the locking protrusions 39 and 39 slide along the bottom surfaces of the locking grooves 16 and 16 while in contact. When the moveable member 30 is pivoted to a predetermined angle, the locking protrusions 39 and 39 are engaged to the releasing engagement portion 16a and 16a and the moveable member 30 is locked at an opened condition (refer to
On the other hand, when the moveable member 30 is raised further from the sheet storage case 14 when at an opened condition, the engagement between the locking protrusions 39 and 39 and the releasing engagement portions 16a and 16a is released. By further pivoting the moveable member 30, the locking protrusions 39 and 39 are engaged with the stopping engagement portions 16b and 16b again, and the moveable member 30 is locked at a closed condition.
As described above, the cover 15 of the storage tray 13 is composed of the cover body 29 and the moveable member 30, which is rotatably supported by the cover body 29. By pivoting the moveable member 30, the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . can be fed to or discharged from the sheet storage case 14.
In the printer 1, as illustrated in
Since the entire storage tray 13 does not need to be pulled out from the slot 3b, the storage tray 13 can be loaded into the slot 13b quickly and easily.
When a part of the storage tray 13 is disposed inside the chassis 2, the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . can be fed to or discharged from the sheet storage case 14. Therefore, not only the storage tray 13 but also the chassis 2 bears the weight of the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . . Thus, a reinforcement structure does not need to be formed on the storage tray 13 and the components of the storage tray 13 do not need to be thickened for reinforcement.
In addition, the locking protrusions 39 and 39 are formed on the moveable member 30 of the storage tray 13 and the locking protrusions 39 and 39 are engaged with the locking grooves 16 and 16 of the sheet storage case 14 and locked in either the opened or closed condition. For this reason, feeding and discharge of the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . to or from the storage tray 13 can be performed smoothly and the falling out of printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . from the sheet storage case 14 can be reliably prevented.
When the storage tray 13 is disposed inside the slot 3b of the chassis 2 and the driving motor disposed in the chassis 2 is activated, the pick-up roller 33 is rotated and the printing sheet 3000 is taken out from the storage tray 13. The printing sheet 3000 after being taken out is fed to the delivery block 300 via the separating roller 23 and the feeding roller 34. At this time, the separating roller 23 separates each of the printing sheets 3000.
The delivery block 300 is disposed at the rear end inside the chassis 2 (refer to
The positioning block 400 is disposed at the left edge inside the chassis 2 in front of the delivery block 300 (refer to
The chassis 41 includes a base surface 42, which faces the left and right direction, a first mechanism positioning region 43, which protrudes leftward from the upper edge of the base surface 42, an upper surface 44, which protrudes upward from the left edge of the first mechanism positioning region 43, a second mechanism positioning region 45, which protrudes leftward from the lower edge of the base surface 42, and a lower surface 46, which protrudes downward from the left of the second mechanism positioning region 45.
Between the first mechanism positioning region 43 and the second mechanism positioning region 45, a supporting point shaft 47 is rotatably supported at a position close to the rear edge of the base surface 42. Between the first mechanism positioning region 43 and the second mechanism positioning region 45, the supporting shaft 7 with the outer cover 6 attached is rotatably supported at the rear edge of the regions 43 and 45 at a position left of the supporting point shaft 47.
On the first mechanism positioning region 43, roller insertion holes 43a and 43a are formed apart from each other at the front and the rear (refer to
On the upper surface of the first mechanism positioning region 43, a position changing mechanism 48 is disposed (refer to
An actuating motor 52 is attached to the first placement plate 49 positioned on the right, and a gear group 53 and a cam 54 are rotatably supported by the first placement plate 49.
The cam 54, as illustrated in
The cam protrusion 57 is formed eccentrically on the rotation disk 55 (refer to
In the cam protrusion 57, the intersection of the first cam section 57a and the fourth cam section 57d is a first working point 57e, the intersection of the first cam section 57a and the second cam section 57b is a second working point 57f, and the substantial center of the third cam section 57c is a third working point 57g.
On the second placement plate 50, which is interposed between the first placement plate 49 and the third placement plate 51, longitudinally elongated guide holes 50a and 50a are formed apart from each other at the front and the rear (refer to
On the forward and rear ends of the second placement plate 50, rollers 60 and 60 are rotatably supported. The rollers 60 and 60 rotate around a shaft extending to the left and right. As illustrated in
The force of the springs of the urging means 61 and 61 is weak. As described later, the urging means 61 and 61 are compressed by the reactive force of the printing sheet 3000 when the rollers 60 and 60 press the printing sheet 3000.
In the middle of the front and the rear of the third placement plate 51, a longitudinally elongated guide hole 51a is formed. As illustrated in
On the forward and rear ends of the third placement plate 51, guide pins 62 and 62 protruding to the right are formed. As illustrated in
The upper ends of helical extension springs 63 and 63 are supported at the upper edge of the third placement plate 51 so that they are apart from each other at the front and the rear. The helical extension springs 63 and 63 are positioned on the left of the third placement plate 51 and are supported by the spring support member 58, whose lower portion passes through the guiding hole 51a.
Consequently, the second placement plate 50 and its components are urged upward by the helical extension springs 63 and 63, and the cam sliding shaft 59 is urged from below against the cam 54 and the cam protrusion 57.
The second placement plate 50 and its components are moved in the vertical direction as the position of the cam sliding shaft 59 relative to the cam protrusion 57 changes when the cam 54 is rotated (
On the upper surface of the second mechanism positioning region 45, as illustrated in
A receptive member 65 is attached to the supporting pieces 64 and 64. The receptive member 65 is formed by bending a plate extended from the front to the rear into a predetermined shape. The receptive member 65 is an integral unit including an attachment portion 66, which faces the left and right direction, a connecting portion 67, which protrudes rightward from the upper edge of the attachment portion 66, a first groove forming portion 68, which protrudes in the lower right direction from the right edge of the connecting portion 67, and a second groove forming portion 69, which protrudes to the upper right direction from the first groove forming portion 68. The first groove forming portion 68 and the second groove forming portion 69 form a V-shaped receptive groove 70.
On the attachment portion 66, elongated adjustment holes 66a and 66a are formed apart from each other at the front and the rear. Screw holes 66b and 66b are formed in front of and behind the outer sides of the adjustment holes 66a and 66a.
The receptive member 65 is attached by screwing attachment screws 71 and 71 passed through the adjustment holes 66a and 66a into the to the attachment screw holes 64a and 64a of the supporting pieces 64 and 64.
On the receptive member 65, adjustment plates 72 and 72 are attached. On each of the adjustment plates 72 and 72, a screw insertion hole 72a is formed. The distance from the center to the periphery of the screw insertion hole 72a differs around the circumference (refer to the enlarged view in
As illustrated in
In the printer 1, the position and angle of the receptive member 65 relative to the second mechanism positioning region 45 can be changed. According to this change, the position and angle of the receptive groove 70 relative to the rollers 60 and 60 change.
The position and angle of the receptive member 65 relative to the second mechanism positioning region 45 can be changed by loosening the attachment screws 71 and 71 to make the receptive member 65 moveable relative to the supporting pieces 64 and 64, by loosening the screws 73 and 73 and rotating the adjustment plates 72 and 72 so that the predetermined attachment portion A, B, B, C, C, D, D, or E, comes into contact with the upper surface of the second mechanism positioning region 45, and by retightening the attachment screws 71 and 71 and the screws 73 and 73.
For example, as illustrated in
On the other hand, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
Locking rollers 74 and 74 are disposed close to the front edges of the first mechanism positioning region 43 and the second mechanism positioning region 45 (refer to
An inner cover 75 is attached to the supporting point shaft 47 supported between the first mechanism positioning region 43 and the second mechanism positioning region 45 (refer to
The inner cover 75 is composed of, for example, magnetic metal and is an integral unit including a main surface 76, in which one of the ends is attached to the supporting point shaft 47, protrusions 77 and 77, which protrude upward and downward from the other end of the main surface 76, and spring supports 78 and 78, which protrude from the upper and lower edges of the protrusions 77 and 77 toward the outer cover 6. Each of the spring supports 78 and 78, as illustrated in
On the spring supports 78 and 78, urging mechanisms 79 and 79 are disposed (refer to
Each of the working shafts 80 and 80 passes through the protrusion 77 and the side surface 78c of the spring support 78. On each of the working shafts 80 and 80, fixing rings 80a and 80b are fixed apart from each other in the axial direction. The fixing ring 80a is fixed on the inner side of the side surface 78c, and fixing ring 80b is fixed on the outer side of the protrusion 77. Each of the helical compression springs 81 and 81 is compressed and is interposed between the fixing ring 80a and the protrusion 77. Consequently, each of the working shafts 80 and 80 is urged from the protrusion 77 to the side surface 78c.
The space between the above-mentioned outer cover 6 and the inner cover 75 of the chassis 2 is included in the positioning block 400. The space between the inner cover 75 and the base surface 42 of the chassis 41 is included in the intermediate delivery block 600. In the printer 1, if the printing sheet 3000 is jammed in any of these spaces, the jamming can be remedied by opening the outer cover 6 and, if necessary, the inner cover 75.
When the outer cover 6 and the inner cover 75 are both opened and the outer cover 6 is turned toward the cover-closed position, as illustrated in
As the working shafts 80 and 80 are pressed into the base surface 42 by the pressing protrusions 8 and 8, the inner cover 75 is turned toward the cover-closed position. When the inner cover 75 comes into contact with a restriction portion on the base surface 42, not depicted in the drawings, the turning of the inner cover 75 is restricted. At this time, the inner cover 75 is maintained in the cover-closed position by magnets on the chassis 41, not depicted in the drawings.
When the turning of the inner cover 75 is restricted as described above, the outer cover 6 can be turned further toward the cover-closed position. When the outer cover 6 is further turned, as illustrated in
When the outer cover 6 is turned toward the cover-closed position, the inclined surfaces 11b and 11b of the locking members 11 and 11 come into contact with the rollers 74b and 74b of the locking roller 74 and 74 disposed on the chassis 41 (refer to
On the other hand, the outer cover 6 is opened by holding the handle 6a and pulling it forward. By pulling the handle 6a forward, the locking members 11 and 11 are moved forward against the urging force of the springs. As described above, the outer cover 6 is urged toward the cover-closed position (direction X2 indicated in
As described above, when the outer cover 6 of the printer 1 is turned toward the cover-closed position, the inner cover 75 is turned together with the outer cover 6 toward the cover-closed position and both of the covers are closed.
Consequently, the outer cover 6 and the inner cover 75 can be closed in one closing action. In this way, the closing action is simplified.
Since the inner cover 75 is held at the cover-closed position as it is urged towards the base surface 42 by the urging mechanisms 79 and 79 while the outer cover 6 is locked at the cover-closed position, the closed condition of the inner cover 75 is not released by the effects of vibration from the outside and/or vibration caused when each component is driven. In this way, the delivery of the printing sheet 3000 and/or the operation of each component are not negatively affected.
Moreover, the inner cover 75 is not opened while the outer cover 6 is locked at the cover-closed position. Thus, a troublesome procedure such as closing the inner cover 75 after once opening the outer cover 6 does not have to be carried out.
Furthermore, the magnetic force of the magnets does not have to be increased to close the inner cover 75. In this way, the opening of the inner cover 75 does not become difficult.
In addition, the opening of the outer cover 6 is performed by the urging force of the urging mechanisms 79 and 79 when the locking of the outer cover 6 is released. In this way, the opening of the outer cover 6 can be performed smoothly by simple actions.
When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the delivery block 300 to the positioning block 400, the printing sheet 3000 is positioned to a predetermined position at the positioning block 400.
The operation of positioning the printing sheet 3000 to a predetermined position is described below (refer to
When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered to the positioning block 400, the lower edge of the printing sheet 3000 is inserted into the receptive groove 70 of the receptive member 65. When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered to the positioning block 400, the printing sheet 3000 is detected by a sensor, not depicted in the drawings, and the delivery of the printing sheet 3000 is stopped.
At this time, at the cam 54 of the position changing mechanism 48, the first working point 57e of the cam protrusion 57 is engaged with the cam sliding shaft 59 (refer to
As described above, when the delivery of the printing sheet 3000 is stopped, the driving force of the actuating motor 52 is transmitted to the cam 54 via the gear group 53 and the cam 54 is turned in the direction S, indicated in
When the rollers 60 and 60 are moved downward, the upper edge of the printing sheet 3000 is inserted into the insertion grooves 60a and 60a, and the printing sheet 3000 is pressed downward by the rollers 60 and 60 (refer to
By the rotation of the cam 54, the second working point 57f of the cam protrusion 57 is engaged with the cam sliding shaft 59 (refer to
When the printing sheet 3000 is pressed by the maximum pressing force of the rollers 60 and 60, the printing sheet 3000 is in a bended state (refer to
The cam 54 is further rotated in the direction S, and the cam sliding shaft 59 is engaged with the third working point 57g of the third cam section 57c after passing the second cam section 57b. Then, the second placement plate 50 is raised together with the rollers 60 and 60 (refer to
When the second placement plate 50 is raised, the urging means 61 and 61 that were compressed to the compression limit are extended. Consequently, when the cam sliding shaft 59 is engaged with the third working point 57g, the urging means 61 and 61 are moderately compressed by the reactive force of the printing sheet 3000. The printing sheet 3000 is pressed by the rollers 60 and 60 at a second pressing position, as illustrated in
When the rotation of the cam 54 is stopped as the cam sliding shaft 59 is engaged with the third working point 57g, the delivery of the printing sheet 3000 is resumed and the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the positioning block 400 to the printing block 500. When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the positioning block 400 to the printing block 500, the upper edge of the printing sheet 3000 is in contact with the rollers 60 and 60 and the lower edge is positioned at a predetermined position in contact with the bottom surface of the receptive groove 70. When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered, the rollers 60 and 60 are rotated as the printing sheet 3000 is delivered.
When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered to the printing block 500, the actuating motor 52 is rotated again and the cam 54 is rotated until the first working point 57e of the cam protrusion 57 engages with the cam sliding shaft 59.
As described above, in the printer 1, when the printing sheet 3000 is delivered to the positioning block 400 by the delivery block 300, the printing sheet 3000 is pressed by the rollers 60 and 60 with a strong force at the first pressing position. When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the positioning block 400 to the printing block 500, the printing sheet 3000 is pressed with a weak force by the rollers 60 and 60 at the second pressing position, which is further away from the receptive member 65 compared to the first pressing position.
Consequently, when the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the delivery block 300 to the positioning block 400, the printing sheet 3000 is reliably positioned in a predetermined position. Moreover, since an excess pressing force is not applied to the positioned printing sheet 3000 when the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the positioning block 400 to the printing block 500, jamming and/or bending of the printing sheet 3000 is prevented.
Since a predetermined pressing force is applied when the printing sheet 3000 is delivered, excellent positioning of the printing sheet 3000 can be maintained.
Moreover, since the rollers 60 and 60 are rotated along with the delivery of the printing sheet 3000 from the positioning block 400 to the printing block 500, the printing sheet 3000 is delivered smoothly.
Furthermore, since the printing sheet 3000 is delivered as the upper edge of the printing sheet 3000 is disposed into the insertion grooves 60a and 60a of the rollers 60 and 60, the printing sheet 3000 is not displaced in the thickness direction. Thus, the printing sheet 3000 is reliably delivered to the printing block 500.
As described above, in the printer 1, by changing the position and angle of the receptive member 65 relative to the second mechanism positioning region 45, the position and angle of the receptive groove 70 relative to the rollers 60 and 60 can be changed (refer to
By changing the position and angle of the receptive groove 70, the position of the printing sheet 3000 can be adjusted according to factors such as the magnitude of the urging force of the urging means 61 and 61 and the magnitude of the reactive force of the printing sheet 3000 generated when pressed by the rollers 60 and 60. Consequently, by changing the position and angle of the receptive groove 70, the position of the printing sheet 3000 is reliably determined.
The printing block 500 is disposed in front of the positioning block 400 (refer to
The head mechanism 82 is composed by forming a printing head 84 on a head support 83. The printing head 84 is a thermal head that prints on the printing sheet 3000 by thermal transfer.
A platen roller 85 is supported so that it opposes the printing head 84 of the head mechanism 82. The head mechanism 82 is rotatable in the direction away from the platen roller 85 by a head driving mechanism, not depicted in the drawings. When printing on the printing sheet 3000, the head support 83 is turned and the head mechanism 82 is pressed against the platen roller 85 with the printing sheet 3000 interposed between the head mechanism 82 and the platen roller 85. When printing is not performed, the head support 83 is turned in the opposite direction and the printing head 84 disconnects from the platen roller 85.
In the vicinity of the platen roller 85, a first reversal roller 86 is supported (refer to
The intermediate delivery block 600 is disposed behind the printing block 500 and on the right of the positioning block 400 (refer to
The density measurement block 700 is disposed behind the intermediate delivery block 600 (refer to
In the density measurement block 700, a second reversal roller 87 is supported. The delivery direction of the printing sheet 3000 of which density measurement has been performed by the density measuring unit is reversed by the second reversal roller 87, and the printing sheet 3000 is delivered to the sheet discharge block 800.
The sheet discharge block 800 is disposed in front of the density measurement block 700 (refer to
The sheet discharge block 800 is disposed at the left of the sheet storage block 100 (refer to
The sheet discharge block 800, as illustrated in
The rotary shaft 91 is disposed so that the axial direction is the vertical direction. The supports 92 and 92 are disposed on the rotary shaft 91 so that they are apart from each other in the axial direction. The rotary shaft 91 is disposed immediately left of the rear edge of the storage tray 13 disposed inside the slot 3b.
The sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are composed of an elastic material such as rubber and are flat and elongated in one direction. One of the edges of the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 is attached to the supports 92 and 92, and the other edge protrudes from the supports 92 and 92.
The rotary shaft 91 is rotated by a rotation driving mechanism 94, illustrated in
On the motor shaft of the rotation driving motor 96, a worm 96a is fixed. The worm 96a is engaged with the deceleration gear group 97.
The rotary shaft gear 98 is engaged with the deceleration gear group 97 and has a detecting element, not depicted in the drawings, on the lower surface. The upper edge of the rotary shaft 91 is fixed to the center of the rotary shaft gear 98.
On one edge of the sensor base 99, light detecting elements 99a and 99a are disposed apart from each other at the left and the right. The side of the sensor base 99 having the light detecting elements 99a and 99a is disposed under the rotary shaft gear 98. Consequently, when the rotary shaft gear 98 is rotated, the detecting element of the rotary shaft gear 98 is detected by the light detecting elements 99a and 99a. In this way, the rotational position of the rotary shaft gear 98 is identified. When the rotational position of the rotary shaft gear 98 is identified, the results are sent to the rotation driving motor 96, and the rotation driving motor 96 is controlled to rotate or stop the rotary shaft gear 98.
In the rotation driving mechanism 94, when the rotation driving motor 96 is rotated, the driving force is transmitted to the worm 96a, the deceleration gear group 97, and the rotary shaft gear 98, in this order. The rotary shaft 91 fixed to the rotary shaft gear 98 is rotated in the direction R, indicated in
When the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the density measurement block 700 to the sheet discharge block 800, the delivered printing sheet 3000 is discharged to a predetermined discharge position in the sheet ejecting space 90 of the sheet discharge block 800. At this time, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are in the discharge position in which the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are extended along the discharge path. As illustrated in
When the printing sheet 3000 is discharged into the sheet ejecting space 90, sheet detecting means, not depicted in the drawings, detects that the printing sheet 3000 has been discharged and the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are rotated as the rotary shaft 91 is rotated. One of the ends of the rotated sheet pressing members 93 and 93 come into contact with the storage tray 13. Since the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are composed of an elastic material, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are rotated while they are elastically deformed and in contact with the storage tray 13 (refer to
The sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are rotated further to make a full turn and are then stopped at a pressing position where the discharged printing sheet 3000 can be pressed down (refer to
Subsequently, when the printing sheet 3000 is delivered from the density measurement block 700 to the sheet discharge block 800, the delivered printing sheet 3000 is guided by the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 at the pressing position (discharge position) and is discharged to the sheet ejecting space 90 (refer to
The printing sheet 3000 passes by the other side of the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 compared to the previous printing sheet 3000 being pressed down by the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 and is discharged. Consequently, the discharge path of the printing sheet 3000 is the other side of the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 compared to the pressed down previous printing sheet 3000.
When the printing sheet 3000 is discharged into the sheet ejecting space 90, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are rotated again as the rotary shaft 91 rotates. The stack of printing sheets 3000 and 3000 is pressed down by the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 stopped at the pressing position.
Subsequently, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 press down the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . until the discharge of the printing sheet 3000, 3000 . . . is completed. The sheet pressing members 93 and 93 press down every printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . discharged into the sheet ejecting space 90 (refer to
In the above-mentioned printer 1, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93, composed of an elastic material, for pressing down every discharged printing sheet 3000 by making a full turn as the rotary shaft 91 rotates are disposed. Therefore, when the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . are discharged into the sheet discharge block 800, it is difficult for space to form between the discharged printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . that would cause warping and/or bending. Furthermore, even if the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . are warped or bent, the discharge path of the printing sheet 3000 is on the opposite side of the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 compared to the printing sheet 3000 already being pressed down and every discharged printing sheet 3000 is stacked in order; thus, the user will not mistake the discharge order.
Since discharged printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . are pressed down by the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 without warping and/or bending, failure of discharge or jamming of the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . can be prevented.
Since the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . to be discharged are guided to the sheet ejecting space 90 by the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 at the discharge position, the printing sheets 3000, 3000, . . . can be smoothly and reliably discharged to the discharge position.
The sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are disposed at a position close to the storage tray 13 disposed in the slot 3b. When the storage tray 13 is disposed in the chassis 2 or when the storage tray 13 is pulled out of the slot 3b, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are maintained at a withdrawal position in which the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are moved out of the traveling path of the storage tray 13 (refer to
When the storage tray 13 is pulled out from the slot 3b, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are maintained in a position according to the detection results of a detection mechanism, not depicted in the drawings, for detecting whether or not the storage tray 13 is disposed in the slot 3b. When the storage tray 13 is disposed in the slot 3b, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are maintained at the discharge position, and when the storage tray 13 is inserted or pulled out, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are maintained at the withdrawal position.
Since when the storage tray 13 is inserted into the slot 3b, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are maintained at the withdrawal position in which the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 are moved out of the traveling path of the storage tray 13, the sheet pressing members 93 and 93 do not interfere with the storage tray 13 being inserted or pulled out. Thus, the storage tray 13 can be inserted or pulled out smoothly and without failure.
By composing the above-mentioned sheet pressing members 93 and 93 of a metal material, the electrical charge generated when pressing down the printing sheet 3000 can be neutralized.
The above-mentioned embodiment of the printer according to the present invention was a thermal head printer in which images are printed on a printing sheet by a thermal head through thermal transfer. The present invention is not limited to a thermal head printer. The present invention may be applied to various printers such as inkjet printers, dot impact printers, or laser printers.
The details of the shape and structure of the components for the above-mentioned embodiment are only one of many possible embodiments of the present invention. The above-mentioned embodiment does not pose any limitations to the technical field of the present invention.
The present invention may be applied to printers that print by thermal transfer or laser onto a printing sheet such as printing paper or printing film.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2002-349208 | Nov 2002 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP03/15233 | 11/28/2003 | WO | 00 | 5/24/2005 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2004/050519 | 6/17/2004 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5287164 | Watanabe | Feb 1994 | A |
6217019 | Ishiduka et al. | Apr 2001 | B1 |
6561506 | Sasaki et al. | May 2003 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
63-48660 | Oct 1989 | JP |
04-148732 | May 1992 | JP |
09-309631 | Dec 1997 | JP |
2002-128287 | May 2002 | JP |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20060056901 A1 | Mar 2006 | US |