Patent Application
20240286858
Embodiments described herein relate generally to a technology for regulating movement of a recording medium of a printer.
In the related art, a rolled sheet in which a long sheet is wound around the outer circumference of a core formed in a substantially cylindrical shape is used as a recording medium of a printer. The printer using the rolled sheet includes two guide support units provided to be movable in a width direction of the rolled sheet. The core of the rolled sheet is supported by the two guide support units so that movement in the width direction is regulated. The two guide support units are configured to move in the width direction in conjunction with each other. Accordingly, the rolled sheet is set in the printer so that a substantially middle portion of the rolled sheet in the width direction is located at a position in a predetermined width of the printer.
If the rolled sheet is set in the printer, a user first moves the two guide support units to be separated from each other, and mounts the rolled sheet between the two guide support units. Thereafter, the user moves the two guide support units to be close to each other in accordance with the width of the rolled sheet.
An aspect of an exemplary embodiment provides a technology capable of setting a rolled sheet in a printer more easily.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations.
Configurations of a printer and a guide device according to a first embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
The regulation device 21 supports the two guide support units 30 so that the guide support units 30 can move only in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to extension directions of the guide support units 30 and regulates movement of the two guide support units 30 inward in the orthogonal direction in accordance with a set width set by a user, as will be described in detail below.
A configuration of a regulation device according to the first embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
The first rack gear 210 is formed in a substantial plate shape on the whole and includes a first gear portion 211, a second gear portion 212, and a connection portion 219. The first gear portion 211 is formed on one surface of the first rack gear 210 and includes a plurality of teeth juxtaposed in an extension direction of the first rack gear 210. The second gear portion 212 is formed on the other surface of the first rack gear 210 and includes a plurality of teeth juxtaposed in an extension direction of the first rack gear 210.
The connection portion 219 is formed at one end of the first rack gear 210 and connected to an end on a side on which a support portion 301 of one guide support unit 30 is not provided. The one guide support unit 30 is connected to the connection portion 219 so that the extension direction of the one guide support unit 30 is orthogonal to the extension direction of the first rack gear 210 and the support portion 301 faces the other end side of the first rack gear 210.
The second rack gear 220 is formed in a substantial plate shape on the whole and includes a first gear portion 221 and a connection portion 229. The first gear portion 221 is formed on one surface of the second rack gear 220 and includes a plurality of teeth juxtaposed in an extension direction of the second rack gear 220.
The connection portion 229 is formed at one end of the second rack gear 220 and connected to an end on a side on which a support portion 301 of the other guide support unit 30 is not provided. The other guide support unit 30 is connected to the connection portion 229 so that the extension direction of the other guide support unit 30 is orthogonal to the extension direction of the second rack gear 220 and the support portion 301 faces the other end side of the second rack gear 220.
The pinion gear 230 is a circular gear rotating about a rotation shaft Aa and engages with the first gear portion 211 of the first rack gear 210 and the first gear portion 221 of the second rack gear 220.
The first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 are disposed so that the extension directions of the first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 are orthogonal to an axial direction of the rotation shaft Aa. The first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 are disposed so that the first gear portion 211 and the first gear portion 221 face each other in a direction orthogonal to the extension directions of the first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 and the axial direction of the rotation shaft Aa.
In the following description, the extension directions of the first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 are referred to as a horizontal direction, the axial direction of the rotation shaft Aa is referred to as a vertical direction, and a direction orthogonal to the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is referred to as an anteroposterior direction. In the present embodiment, two guide support units 30 are connected to the first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 so that the extension directions of the guide support units 30 are oriented in the anteroposterior direction (a direction oriented vertically in
The first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 are disposed so that the connection portions 219 and 229 are located outward in the horizontal direction, respectively. In the first rack gear 210, an urging member B is connected to an end on the side opposite to the end at which the connection portion 219 is provided. The urging member B is a member that urges the first rack gear 210 inward in the horizontal direction and is configured as a tension coil spring in the present embodiment.
The regulation gear 240 is a variant circular gear that rotates about a rotation shaft Ab of which an axial direction is oriented in the same direction as the rotation shaft Aa, that is, the vertical direction, and is formed in a substantial fan shape that has an arc forming a part of the circumference of a circle centered on the rotation shaft Ab. A plurality of teeth engaging with the second gear portion 212 of the first rack gear 210 are formed in the arc of the regulation gear 240. The regulation gear 240 engages with the second gear portion 212 over at least the entire movement range of the first rack gear 210. Accordingly, the length of the arc of the regulation gear 240 can be shortened in accordance with a maximum movement amount of the first rack gear 210. In the regulation gear 240, a locked surface 241 which is a surface intersecting in a rotation direction of the regulation gear 240 is formed. In the present embodiment, the locked surface 241 is formed on one side of two edges extending toward the vicinity of the rotation shaft Ab from the end in the circumferential direction of the arc.
The rotation regulation portion 260 is a long member in which a locking portion 261 is formed at one end and a manipulation portion 262 is formed at the other end. The rotation regulation portion 260 is provided so that the locking portion 261 can move in a direction orthogonal to the rotation direction of the regulation gear 240 and the axial direction of the rotation shaft Ab and, preferably, in a radial direction of the pitch circle of the regulation gear 240. The locking portion 261 moves so that the locking portion 261 enters a range in which the locking portion 261 comes into contact with the locked surface 241 if the regulation gear 240 is rotated to the side on which the locked surface 241 is formed (a counterclockwise direction in
The manipulation portion 262 is provided to be exposed to the outside of the printer 1 and to be able to be held by the user. In the printer 1, an indicator I indicating a plurality of widths of the rolled sheet R is provided and the plurality of widths are juxtaposed in the movement direction of the rotation regulation portion 260. The indicator I is provided in the printer 1 so that the manipulation portion 262 indicates the plurality of widths. The user moves the rotation regulation portion 260 through the manipulation portion 262 in accordance with the width of the rolled sheet R set in the printer 1. In the rotation regulation portion 260, a latch mechanism (not illustrated) that regulates movement of the rotation regulation portion 260 is provided. The user releases regulation by the latch mechanism through the manipulation portion 262 if the rotation regulation portion 260 is moved. Display positions of the plurality of widths included in the indicator I are set to match a distance between the two guide support units 30.
In each of the first rack gear 210 and the regulation gear 240, markers Ma and Mb are engraved, respectively. A worker who manufactures the regulation device 21 assembles the regulation gear 240 to the first rack gear 210 so that the marker MA of the first rack gear 210 matches the marker Mb of the regulation gear 240. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce variation in regulation positions of the two guide support units 30 for each regulation device 21.
An operation of the regulation device according to the first embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
If the first rack gear 210 is moved inward in the horizontal direction, the regulation gear 240 engaging with the second gear portion 212 of the first rack gear 210 is rotated counterclockwise in
If the counterclockwise rotation of the rotation regulation portion 260 is regulated, inward rotation of the first rack gear 210 of which the second gear portion 212 engages with the rotation regulation portion 260 in the horizontal direction is further regulated. If movement of the first rack gear 210 is regulated, rotation of the pinion gear 230 engaging with the first gear portion 211 of the first rack gear 210 is further regulated. If the rotation of the pinion gear 230 is regulated, inward movement of the second rack gear 220 in which the pinion gear 230 and the first gear portion 221 engage with each other in the horizontal direction is further regulated.
In this way, if the rotation regulation portion 260 regulates the rotation of the regulation gear 240, inward movement of the first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 interlocking each other in the horizontal direction is regulated. If the locking portion 261 of the rotation regulation portion 260 becomes closer to the rotation shaft Ab of the regulation gear 240, a rotatable range of the rotation regulation portion 260 in the counterclockwise direction increases. Accordingly, as the locking portion 261 is closer to the rotation shaft Ab, the connection portion 219 of the first rack gear 210 is closer to the connection portion 229 of the second rack gear 220.
According to the regulation device 21 according to the present embodiment, the first rack gear 210 and the second rack gear 220 interlocking the two guide support units 30 can be regulated so as not to move inward in the horizontal direction beyond a preset position. Accordingly, the user can set the rolled sheet R in the printer 1 more easily.
A pitch circle diameter of the regulation gear 240 can be made smaller than the width of the rolled sheet R. For example, a case in which a maximum width of the rolled sheet R used in the printer 1 is set to 118 mm and movement of the two guide support units 30 within a regulation range from a minimum regulation width of 25 mm to a maximum regulation width of 105 mm is regulated by the regulation device 21 will be assumed. In this case, a movement distance of the rotation regulation portion 260 is 40 mm by an expression of 105/2−25/2, and thus the pitch circle diameter of the regulation gear 240 can be set to about 100 mm.
In
A configuration and an operation of a regulation device according to a second embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
The protrusion portion 272 protrudes in a direction inclined by a predetermined angle to a counterclockwise side with respect to the radial direction from the vicinity of an edge on the counterclockwise side in
In this way, by extending the locked surface 271 to the diameter outside of the pitch circle of the regulation gear 270, it is possible to decrease the pitch circle diameter of the regulation gear 270 while guaranteeing a distance in the radial direction of the locked surface 271 in accordance with the movement range of the rotation regulation portion 260. By decreasing the pitch circle diameter of the regulation gear 270, it is possible to achieve miniaturization of the regulation device 22 and further miniaturization of the entire printer 1.
The locked surface 271 has a plane formed in an edge and a plane formed in the protrusion portion 272, and the two planes are connected to form an angle less than 180°. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce a load on the locking portion 261 in a movement direction of the rotation regulation portion 260 and further, the latch mechanism can regulate the movement of the rotation regulation portion 260 more reliably.
As illustrated in
A configuration and an operation of a regulation device according to a third embodiment will be described.
As illustrated in
The protrusion portion 282 is formed to protrude from the vicinity of an edge on the counterclockwise side in
The locking portion 261 is formed so that distances from all contact surfaces coming into contact with the locked surface 281 to a predetermined single point are uniform. In the present embodiment, the locking portion 261 extends along a central axis oriented in the axial direction of the rotation shaft Ab and is formed in a cylindrical shape in which a cross-sectional shape when viewed from a central axial direction is a perfect circle. The locked surface 281 is formed in a curved surface shape along a curved line in which an Archimedes' screw is offset according to a radius of the locking portion 261. Here, the Archimedes' screw is a screw in which a radius of the pitch circle of the regulation gear 280 and displacement of a rotation angle are consistent and is a curved line expressed by a polar equation of r=aθ (where, a>θ and θ≥0).
In this way, by forming the locked surface 281 in a curved surface shape along the Archimedes' screw, a relationship between a movement amount of the rotation regulation portion 260 and regulation positions of the two guide support units 30 can be met in accordance with a sensation of the user.
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 novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.
