JP2000326530A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which efficiently and automatically cleans a thermal head in a simple constitution. SOLUTION: In a thermal printer consisting of a frame 13 for supporting a thermal head and a cover frame with a platen roller, a cleaner holding part 63 holding a cleaner 65 for cleaning a heating unit 43 of the thermal head is rotatably supported by the thermal head, and moved together with a platen bearing 20 supported by the cover frame.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a POS system,
The present invention relates to a thermal printer used for a cash register, a copying machine, a facsimile, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a thermal printer which performs printing on recording paper based on thermal control of a thermal head.

The thermal head is formed to have a length substantially corresponding to the width of the recording paper, and performs printing by pressing the recording paper against a platen.

The above-mentioned thermal head has a heat-generating portion at a portion in contact with a platen at the tip thereof, and the heat-generating portion has heat generating elements corresponding to the maximum number of print pixels in the paper width direction. On the other hand, the platen is driven and rotated by a stepping motor or the like, and conveys the recording paper. The heating element of the thermal head has a large number of heating elements selectively heated according to image data under the control of a head driver or the like.
This prints on the recording paper.

In general, the thermal head is contaminated by dirt and dust entering the thermal printer from the outside, but paper dust generated by sliding of the recording paper adheres to the heat generating portion of the thermal head. , Accumulate over time. If left unattended, the printing function of the thermal head deteriorates due to the accumulated dirt such as paper dust, and in the worst case, printing cannot be performed. Therefore, it is necessary to always clean the thermal head.

Conventionally, the thermal head is exposed to the outside by opening the cover of the thermal printer periodically or at any time, and the heating element is made of, for example, a cotton swab or a separately provided cleaning tool. The thermal head is cleaned by removing dirt along the longitudinal direction of the heating element indicated by arrow B.

[0007]

However, the above-described conventional cleaning of the thermal head must be performed frequently, either regularly or as needed. Each time, it is troublesome and troublesome to prepare a cleaning tool, open the cover of the thermal printer, and perform the cleaning operation. In addition, cleaning tools and the like separately provided often tend to be lost, and it is troublesome to pay attention to their storage. Further, since the heat generating element of the heat generating element has a fine structure, there is a problem that when exposed to the outside, the risk of breakage due to slight carelessness increases.

An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal printer which efficiently and automatically cleans a thermal head with a simple configuration.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a thermal printer according to the present invention uses either a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements or a platen arranged opposite to the thermal head. In a thermal printer having a main body frame that supports and a lid body that supports the other and is rotatably supported by the main body frame,
The thermal head of the thermal head is cleaned, and a head cleaning mechanism that operates according to opening and closing of the lid is provided.

According to the above-described structure of the present invention, the cleaning mechanism operates in response to the lid that opens and closes, so that the head is cleaned each time the roll paper is replaced, so that the cleaning operation is unnecessary and clear printing is always performed. We can provide quality printers. Further, since the cleaning mechanism is provided in the printer, it is not necessary to prepare and store cleaning tools and the like, and the handling can be greatly improved.

Further, the present invention provides a head cleaning mechanism, comprising: a cleaner made of an elastic material that slides on the heating element of the thermal head; and a cleaner holder that holds the cleaner and is movably supported by the thermal head. And a cleaner moving mechanism for moving the cleaner holder.

According to the above-described structure, since the mechanism can be achieved with a simple mechanism, the reliability of the mechanism can be improved and the cost can be reduced, so that an inexpensive printer with improved reliability can be provided.

Further, in the present invention, it is desirable that the head cleaning mechanism is disposed on the thermal head side with respect to the recording paper transport path.

With the above arrangement, the roll paper is stored in the roll paper storage unit, and the leading end of the recording paper is pulled out.
By simply closing the lid, a mechanism for easily setting the recording paper on the transport path is possible, and the exchangeability of the roll paper can be improved.

Still further, it is preferable that the cleaner moving mechanism is driven in contact with a shaft member of the platen or a bearing member of the shaft member.

According to the above configuration, when a transport path is formed between the transport path and the outer diameter of the platen, a variable element can be minimized.
The size of the printer can be reduced.

Further, it is preferable that the cleaner holder is rotatably supported by the thermal head.

According to the above configuration, the movement can be performed smoothly even if there is a time difference between the left and right movements, as compared with the parallel movement, which is more effective.

Further, it is preferable that the thermal head is mounted on the main body frame, and the platen is mounted on the lid.

According to the above configuration, the thermal head having wiring and the like to the thermal head is disposed on the main body side, so that the reliability can be improved and the head cleaning mechanism is disposed on the main body frame side. It does not make the body heavy and does not reduce the operability of the lid.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a thermal printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the embodiment of the thermal printer according to the present invention. The thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment is applied to, for example, a receipt printer used in a POS system or the like.

The thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment performs recording such as printing on a recording paper S in a roll form by a thermal head 39, for example.
A paper cutting section is provided, and a roll paper storage section for storing and holding the recording paper S is provided at the rear. The recording paper S is a thermal paper.

The internal printer mechanism 8 is fixed to the lower case 4 made of resin, the side and rear portions are covered by the upper case 3, and the front is covered by the panel 2.
Further, a printing unit is arranged inside the panel 2, and a paper cutting unit is arranged above the panel 2. The paper cut portion is covered with a cutter cover 6.
Can be pulled out by sliding in the direction of arrow A.

An open button 7 is provided on one side of the upper case 3 for driving the internal cover open lever 9 to rotate the internal cover frame 10 when the recording paper S is taken out. The cover frame 10 is connected to the upper cover 5. Therefore, when the open button 7 is pressed in the direction of arrow B, the upper cover 5 rotates in the direction of arrow C, and the roll paper storage is exposed.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing a printer mechanism 8 inside the printer 1 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 shows a closed state, in which a cover frame 1 which can be freely opened and closed on a main body frame 13 made of metal or the like.
0, an automatic cutter unit 11 that houses the movable blade 32 and its driving means. When printing, that is, when the recording paper S is not cut, the movable blade 32 is housed inside the automatic cutter unit 11, and the blade portion of the movable blade 32 is not exposed. This state is called that the movable blade 32 is at the standby position.

Fixed blade 3 crossing movable blade 32 in a scissors manner
3 is arranged on the cover frame 10 so as to face the automatic cutter unit 11. A blade shutter 34 is provided above the fixed blade 33. The blade shutter 34 is urged by a shutter spring 35 in a direction to cover the blade portion of the fixed blade 33, but when the cover frame 10 is closed as shown in FIG. The blade shutter 34 is lifted in a slightly opening direction in contact with the provided engaging portion. Therefore, the blade portion of the fixed blade 33 is exposed, and when the movable blade 32 moves, the fixed blade 33 can be crossed in a scissors shape.

A hole 37 for notifying the position of the movable blade 32 and a knob 36 for manually moving the movable blade 32 are provided on the upper surface of the automatic cutter unit 11, and the operator slides the cutter cover 6 to slide the blade. Then, a part of the upper surface of the auto cutter unit 11 is exposed,
And the knob 36 can be seen. A means for manually moving the movable blade 32 is provided in consideration of a case where the movable blade 32 remains crossed with the fixed blade 33 and cannot return to the standby position in the event of any abnormality such as a power failure.

The cover frame 10 is swingably mounted on a support shaft 14 provided at the upper end portion on both sides of the main body frame 13, that is, is freely openable and closable. When the cover frame 10 is closed, the recording paper S
An arcuate curved surface portion 15 is provided for avoiding contact with the curved surface. When changing the installation angle of the printer, the curved surface portion 15 also functions as a holding member for receiving the recording paper S.

A cover detector 44 is provided on the right side of the main body frame 13 to detect a state in which the cover frame 10 is closed. The cover detector 44 is a transmission type optical detector, and detects whether the cover frame 10 is correctly closed by determining whether a part of the cover frame 10 blocks the optical axis of the detector.

As a detector, a near-end detector 24 described later is provided in addition to the cover detector 44.

The various detectors, the automatic cutter unit 11, and a lead wire group 12 of a paper feed motor 23, which will be described later, are connected to a relay board 16 fixed to the right side of the main body frame 13. The relay board 16 and a main circuit board (not shown) for controlling the printer are connected by an FFC or the like.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the left side of the printer mechanism 8, showing a state in which the cover frame 10 is opened. The blade shutter 34 covers and covers the fixed blade 33. Care is taken so that the operator does not injure the fixed blade while the cover frame 10 is open. The movable blade 32 is housed in the automatic cutter unit 11, and there is no problem in safety.

A roll paper holder 17 made of resin is arranged inside the cover frame 10 opened. Further, a hole 31 for scraping off foreign matter and paper dust attached to the recording paper S is provided to prevent paper dust and the like from adhering to the thermal head. In addition, the roll paper holder 17 is provided with a slit groove 27 for engaging with the left and right side plates of the main body frame 13 to maintain an appropriate width inside the recording paper storage unit.

The platen roller 18 formed of a cylindrical rubber roller is rotatably supported by the cover frame 10 via a platen bearing 20. A platen gear 19 is press-fitted into one of the platen rollers 18. The body frame 13 is provided with a groove 21. When the cover frame 10 is closed, the platen bearing 20
1 and the platen roller 18 is positioned.

When the cover frame 10 is closed, a downward force acts on the cover frame 10 due to the pressure applied to the platen roller 18 by the thermal head, and the position of the platen roller 18 is fixed. When the cover frame 10 is closed, the platen gear 19 and the paper feed transmission gear 22 mesh with each other, and the power from the paper feed motor 23 is transmitted to the platen roller 18.

A near-end detector 24 for detecting that the remaining amount of the recording paper S is running low is attached to the left side surface of the main body frame 13 so as to be rotatable about a support shaft 25. I have. This is because when the installation angle of the printer is changed, the near-end detector 24 is adjusted accordingly.
Is set to the optimal position. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, when the main frame 10 is installed with the bottom surface 28 facing down, the actuator 26 of the near-end detector 24 is fixed at a position where it can enter the hole 32a provided in the frame main body 10. On the other hand, when the main frame 10 is installed with the back surface 29 facing down, the actuator 26 is fixed at a position to enter the hole 32b.

On the left and right side surfaces of the main body frame 13, support grooves 50 for supporting the thermal head 39 and the head pressing plate 41 are provided.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the printer mechanism 8, showing a state in which the recording paper S is held by the roll paper holder 17 and the paper is fed. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the recording paper S has a large diameter. When the recording paper S is fed and becomes smaller in diameter, the recording paper S falls into the groove 38. Then, the near-end detector 24 detects that the diameter of the recording paper S has become small.

The recording paper S is sandwiched between the platen roller 18 and the thermal head 39 and is fed by the frictional force when the platen roller 18 rotates. Head support shafts 40 are provided on both side surfaces of the thermal head 39, and the head support shafts 40 are supported by a part of a support groove 50 provided in the main body frame 13. The back surface of the thermal head 39 is urged toward the platen roller 18 by a spring 42. The spring 42 is fixed to the head pressing plate 41, and the head pressing plate 42 is supported by a part of a support groove 50 provided in the main body frame 13.

The heating element 43 of the thermal head 39 is located so as to be substantially in contact with the platen roller 18 and the thermal head 39. An inclined surface portion 45 is provided at a portion of the thermal head 39 on the downstream side of the heating element 43. on the other hand,
The cover frame 10 is provided with an introduction portion 47 for guiding the recording paper S to the cutter portion so as to face the slope portion 45 of the thermal head 39. The recording paper S that has passed through the thermal head 39 passes between the movable blade 32 and the fixed blade 33, and the arrow D
Discharged in the direction. The thermal head 39 has a connector 4
6 and is connected to a main circuit board (not shown) for controlling the printer by an FFC or the like.

The outline of the basic configuration of the entire printer according to the present embodiment has been described above. Next, the thermal printer, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

4 and 5, the thermal head 39
Is further provided with a head cleaner mechanism. A cleaner holder 60 that holds a cleaner 65 that slides on the surface of the heating element 43 to clean the dirt is rotatably supported by a support shaft 61 with respect to the thermal head 39. Then, the cleaner holder 60 is urged in the arrow H direction by the torsion coil spring 62, and the platen bearing 2
It is in contact with 0.

The cleaner 65 is made of an elastic material such as rubber or sponge, and has a length substantially corresponding to the length of the heating element 43 of the thermal head 39 and is fixed to the cleaner holder 60.

The cleaner holder 60 is made of resin and includes a cleaner holding portion 63 to which the cleaner 65 is fixed, and a pair of side wall portions 64 provided on both sides thereof.

The side wall portion 64 has a contact portion 64 a that comes into contact with the platen bearing 20, a hole that engages with a support shaft 61 erected on the side surface of the thermal head 39, and a torsion coil on the shaft of the support shaft 61. A locking portion for locking the arm of the spring 62 is provided, and is rotatably supported by the thermal head 39 as if the thermal head 39 and the platen roller 18 were sandwiched. Next, the operation of the head cleaner mechanism configured as described above will be described. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the recording unit in a state where the cover frame 10 is open.

After the cover frame 10 in FIG. 5 is closed, the cover frame 1
When opening 0, the platen bearing 20 supported by the cover frame 10 also moves upward. Cleaner holder 60
Is urged in the direction of arrow H by the torsion coil spring 62, so that the cleaner holder 60 moves so that the cleaner holding portion 63 side is centered on the support shaft 61 with the movement of the platen bearing 20 that has been in contact with the cleaner holder 60. It is turned.

The distal end 65a of the cleaner 65 fixed to the cleaner holding portion 63 moves to the upper part of the heating element 43 while slidingly contacting the surface 52b of the head substrate 52 on which the heating element 43 is arranged, and the heating element 43 and its Cleans dirt such as paper dust attached to the vicinity.

Next, a method for setting the roll paper will be described with reference to FIG. 6. With the cover frame 10 opened as shown in FIG. 6, the core of the used recording paper S is removed, and a new roll paper is rolled. Set in the storage section. With the leading end of the rewound recording paper S pulled out above the thermal head 39, the cover frame 10 is closed.

In this case, the recording paper S is stored in the cleaner holding section 63.
Is located above and abuts. When the cover frame 10 is further closed, the platen bearing 20 comes into contact with the contact portion 64a of the cleaner holder 60 and is pushed down, and the cleaner holder 60 is rotated against the torsion coil spring 62.

Thus, the tip portion 65a of the cleaner 65
Move from the upper side of the heating element 43 to the lower side while sliding on the surface 52b of the head substrate 52, and
The dirt such as paper dust and the like adhering to 3 and its vicinity is again cleaned.

Further, when the cover frame 10 is closed, the platen roller 18 comes into contact with the inclined surface 45 and rotates the thermal head 39 in the direction of arrow F. Platen roller 18
Is rotatably supported via the bearing 20, so that it moves in the direction of arrow E while rotating in the direction of arrow G along the inclined surface 45, and the groove 21 provided in the main body frame.
And the platen bearing 20 come into contact with the groove 21 and are positioned and mounted, and the thermal head 39 and the platen roller 18 are mounted.
Means a printable state. At this time, since the gap t is formed between the platen roller 18 and the cleaner holding portion 63, the cleaner mechanism does not become a load for conveying the recording paper S.

By providing the head cleaner mechanism for performing the cleaning operation by the cover frame that opens and closes as in the present embodiment, the vicinity of the head heating element is cleaned each time, so that the cleaning work becomes unnecessary, and the sharpness becomes clear. A printer of print quality was obtained.

Further, at the time of printing, the cleaner is positioned at the lower portion of the transport path, so that the roll paper is placed in the roll paper storage section, and the cover frame is simply closed with the leading end of the recording paper pulled out. , The roll paper can be easily exchanged.

In this embodiment, the mechanism for cleaning the head by rotating the head cleaning mechanism has been described.
It may move with respect to the head.

Although the head cleaning mechanism has been described as being operated by the cover frame, the head cleaning mechanism may be driven by, for example, a plunger which is operated by a signal of a detector for detecting opening and closing of the cover frame. In such a case, the number of times of flattening of the lid may be counted, and the operation may be performed when the predetermined number of times is reached.

[0057]

As described above, the thermal printer according to the present invention comprises a main body frame for supporting one of a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements or a platen arranged opposite to the thermal head, and the other. And a cover that is rotatably supported by the main body frame, wherein the heating element of the thermal head is cleaned, and the head operates according to opening and closing of the cover. By providing a cleaning mechanism, the cleaning mechanism operates in accordance with the lid that opens and closes, so the head is cleaned every time the roll paper is replaced, eliminating the need for cleaning work and always ensuring clear print quality. We can provide a printer. Further, since the cleaning mechanism is provided in the printer, it is not necessary to prepare and store cleaning tools and the like, and the handling can be greatly improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention, showing a state in which a cover frame is opened.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration of the embodiment, showing a state in which a cover frame is closed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing an internal configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an essential part side view showing a state where the cover frame of the embodiment is closed.

FIG. 6 is a main part side view showing a state where the cover frame of the embodiment is opened.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal printer 8 Printer mechanism 10 Cover frame 13 Main frame 18 Platen roller 20 Platen bearing 39 Thermal head 43 Heating element 52 Head substrate 52b Surface of head substrate 60 Cleaner holder 62 Torsion coil spring 63 Cleaner holding portion 64 Side wall Part 65 Cleaner

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A main body frame for supporting one of a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements or a platen arranged to face the thermal head, and the other being supported and rotatable by the main body frame. A thermal printer having a supported lid, for cleaning the heating element of the thermal head, and comprising a head cleaning mechanism that operates according to opening and closing of the lid. . 2. The cleaner according to claim 1, wherein the head cleaning mechanism includes a cleaner made of an elastic material that is in sliding contact with the heating element of the thermal head; a cleaner holder that holds the cleaner and is movably supported by the thermal head; The thermal printer according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaner moving mechanism for moving the holder. 3. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the head cleaning mechanism is disposed on a side of the thermal head with respect to a recording paper conveyance path. 4. The thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the cleaner moving mechanism is driven in contact with a shaft member of the platen or a bearing member of the shaft member. 5. The thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the cleaner holder is rotatably supported by the thermal head. 6. The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the thermal head is mounted on the main body frame, and the platen is mounted on the lid.