Printer
11247491 · 2022-02-15
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
B41J15/044
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B41J11/0005
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
B41J11/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to a printer for pulling out a paper wound in the form of a wound roll, and more particularly, to a printer which includes a cartridge configured to accommodate the paper, a housing in which the cartridge is mounted, and a printing part configured to pull out the paper. The cartridge or the housing has a decurling part formed thereon, and the decurling part comes into surface-contact with the paper on the upper side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper.
Claims
1. A printer for pulling out a paper wound in the form of a wound roll, comprising: a cartridge configured to accommodate the paper; a housing in which the cartridge is mounted; and a printing part configured to pull out the paper, wherein the housing includes a cover configured to open and close an upper surface of the housing, the cover includes a decurling part formed thereon, the decurling part comes into surface-contact with the paper on an upper side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper when the cover closes the upper surface of the housing, the cartridge includes a first guide part formed thereon, the first guide part comes into surface-contact with the paper on a lower side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper, the housing includes a second guide part formed thereon, the second guide part comes into surface-contact with the paper on the lower side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper, the first guide part and the second guide part are formed to have a step with respect to each other, and the paper is decurled by passing through a space between the decurling part and the step.
2. The printer of claim 1, wherein the decurling part is positioned in a space formed by the step between the first guide part and the second guide part when the cover closes the upper surface of the housing.
3. The printer of claim 1, wherein the decurling part includes a detachable thickness adjusting part such that a pressure of the decurling part against to the paper is adjusted by modifying a thickness of the decurling part.
4. The printer of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first guide part, the second guide part, or the decurling part has a corner in contact with the paper, and the corner has a curvature radius.
5. The printer of claim 1, wherein the first guide part, the second guide part, and the decurling part have corners in surface-contact with the paper, and a curvature radius of a corner of the decurling part is smaller than a curvature radius of corners of the first guide part and the second guide part.
6. The printer of claim 1, wherein the first guide part, the second guide part, and the decurling part have corners in surface-contact with the paper, and corners of the first guide part and the second guide part have a curvature radius, and a corner of the decurling part has a right angle.
7. A printer for pulling out a paper wound in the form of a wound roll, comprising: a cartridge configured to accommodate the paper; a housing in which the cartridge is mounted; and a printing part configured to pull out the paper, wherein the cartridge includes a decurling part formed thereon, the decurling part comes into surface-contact with the paper on an upper side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper, the housing includes a first guide part and a second guide part formed thereon, the first guide part and the second guide part come into surface-contact with the paper on a lower side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper, the first guide part and the second guide part are formed to have a step with respect to each other, and the paper is decurled by passing through a space between the decurling part and the step.
8. The printer of claim 7, wherein the printing part pulls out the paper so that the paper is bent at the second guide part with an included angle of 120 degrees or more.
9. The printer of claim 7, wherein the decurling part is positioned in a space formed by the step between the first guide part and the second guide part when the cartridge is mounted in the housing.
10. The printer of claim 7, wherein the decurling part includes a detachable thickness adjusting part such that a pressure of the decurling part against to the paper is adjusted by modifying a thickness of the decurling part.
11. The printer of claim 7, wherein at least one of the first guide part, the second guide part, or the decurling part has a corner in contact with the paper, and the corner has a curvature radius.
12. The printer of claim 7, wherein the first guide part, the second guide part, and the decurling part have corners in surface-contact with the paper, and a curvature radius of a corner of the decurling part is smaller than a curvature radius of corners of the first guide part and the second guide part.
13. The printer of claim 7, wherein the first guide part, the second guide part, and the decurling part have corners in surface-contact with the paper, and corners of the first guide part and the second guide part have a curvature radius, and a corner of the decurling part has a right angle.
14. A printer for pulling out a paper wound in the form of a wound roll, comprising: a cartridge configured to accommodate the paper; a housing in which the cartridge is mounted; and a printing part configured to pull out the paper, wherein the housing includes a cover configured to open and close an upper surface of the housing, the cover includes a decurling part formed thereon, the decurling part comes into surface-contact with the paper on an upper side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper when the cover closes the upper surface of the housing, the housing includes a first guide part and a second guide part formed thereon, the first guide part and the second guide part come into surface-contact with the paper on a lower side of the paper in the process of pulling out the paper, the first guide part and the second guide part are formed to have a step with respect to each other, and the paper is decurled by passing through a space between the decurling part and the step.
15. The printer of claim 14, wherein the decurling part is positioned in a space formed by the step between the first guide part and the second guide part when the cover closes the upper surface of the housing.
16. The printer of claim 14, wherein the decurling part includes a detachable thickness adjusting part such that a pressure of the decurling part against to the paper is adjusted by modifying a thickness of the decurling part.
17. The printer of claim 14, wherein at least one of the first guide part, the second guide part, or the decurling part has a corner in contact with the paper, and the corner has a curvature radius.
18. The printer of claim 14, wherein the first guide part, the second guide part, and the decurling part have corners in surface-contact with the paper, and a curvature radius of a corner of the decurling part is smaller than a curvature radius of corners of the first guide part and the second guide part.
19. The printer of claim 14, wherein the first guide part, the second guide part, and the decurling part have corners in surface-contact with the paper, and corners of the first guide part and the second guide part have a curvature radius, and a corner of the decurling part has a right angle.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
(14) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily implement them. However, the present invention may be implemented in various forms and is not limited to the embodiments described below. Further, portions irrelevant to the present invention are omitted in the drawings in order to clearly explain the present invention, and the same or similar reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar components.
(15) The objects and effects of the present invention can be naturally understood or become more apparent due to the following description, and the objects and effects of the present invention are not limited only to the following description.
(16) The above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent through the following detailed description. When it is determined that detailed descriptions of related well-known functions unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention during the description of the present invention, the detailed descriptions will be omitted.
(17) Prior to describing the present invention in detail, unless otherwise stated, an “upper side” refers to a side over an upper surface or an outer surface of the paper being transported while the roll-shaped paper accommodated in a cartridge of a printer is being pulled out. A “lower side” refers to a side under a bottom surface or an inner surface of the paper being transported while the roll-shaped paper accommodated in the cartridge of a printer is being pulled out.
(18) A “curl direction” refers to an outward direction on the basis of a paper p being curled like a reference numeral “s1” in
(19) “One direction” refers to a direction in which the paper accommodated in the cartridge is pulled out, for example, in a lower leftward direction in
(20) Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings.
(21)
(22) The printer according to the present invention includes a cartridge 100 configured to accommodate a paper p, a housing 200 in which the cartridge 100 is mounted, and a printing part 400 (see
(23) The paper p may be wound in the form of a roll and accommodated in the cartridge 100. The accommodated paper p may be printed by a thermal head (not shown) of the printing part 400 and pulled out in one direction by a feed roller (not shown) of the printing part 400.
(24) The contact part R may prevent the paper p from being rewound by performing the decurling operation while the paper p accommodated in the cartridge 100 is pulled out. The contact part R may include a first guide part R1, a second guide part R2, and a decurling part R3. The decurling part R3 comes into surface-contact with the paper p on an upper side of the paper in a decurl direction so that the pulled-out paper p is prevented from being rewound. At this time, the first and second guide parts R1 and R2 may come into surface-contact with the paper p to support a pressure applied to the paper p by the decurling part R3.
(25)
(26) Elements for decurling the paper will be described with reference to
(27) While the roll-shaped paper accommodated in the cartridge of the printer is being pulled out, the decurling part comes into surface-contact with the paper and applies force to the paper in a direction opposite to a curl of the roll (i.e., the decurl direction). Here, the contact angle (refer to a reference label “Angle” in
(28) When the contact angle between the paper and the decurling part is excessively great, the force required to decurl the paper is small (see
(29) On the other hand, when the decurling part is formed on the cartridge or the housing as in the present invention, manufacturing costs and a size of the printer may be reduced while reducing the curvature radius. Particularly, when the decurling part is formed on the cartridge, a worn-out decurling part may be easily replaced. Furthermore, even when an internal structure of the printer is not modified, the decurling part may be easily replaced according to a thickness of the paper or a type of the paper through the replacement of the cartridge.
(30) Further, when the size (unit: mm) of the gap of the path through which the paper is transported is adjusted according to the thickness of the paper or the type of the paper as in the present invention, the paper may be more effectively decurled.
(31)
(32) The printer according to the present invention includes the cartridge 100 and the housing 200. The contact part R is formed on the cartridge 100 and/or the housing 200. The contact part R may include the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2, and the decurling part R3.
(33) The cartridge 100 is a structure which accommodates the paper p. Specifically, there is a space formed in the cartridge 100 for accommodating the paper p wound in the form of the roll, and to this end, the cartridge 100 has a cylindrical shape in which sides thereof are open. Further, the cartridge 100 is mounted in the housing 200. For example, the cartridge 100 may be provided with a separate protrusion for coupling with the housing 200, and the protrusion may prevent in advance the cartridge 100 from being separated from the housing 200 by an external force after the cartridge 100 is mounted in the housing 200. The cartridge 100 is mounted in the housing 200 while accommodating the paper p therein and may continuously supply the paper p to a printing part. The decurling part R3 is formed on the cartridge 100.
(34) The cartridge 100 is mounted in the housing 200. To this end, an upper surface of the housing 200 may be opened corresponding to a shape of the cartridge 100 having a cylindrical shape. Further, an insertion groove corresponding to the separate protrusion formed on the cartridge 100 may be further provided in the housing 200 for more firm coupling with the cartridge 100. Accordingly, the housing 200 may constantly fasten up the cartridge 100 in a state in which the cartridge 100 is accommodated. The first and second guide parts R1 and R2 may be formed on the housing 200.
(35) The printing part 400 prints the paper p supplied from the cartridge 100 mounted in the housing 200 (see
(36) The contact part R may prevent the paper p from being rewound by performing the decurling operation while the paper p accommodated in the cartridge 100 is pulled out. To this end, the contact part R includes the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2, and the decurling part R3.
(37)
(38) The paper p accommodated in the cartridge 100 mounted in the housing 200 passes through the cartridge 100 and the housing 200, and in this process, the paper p is decurled by the contact part R.
(39) The contact part R includes the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2, and the decurling part R3. The decurling part R3 comes into surface-contact with the paper p on the upper side of the paper in the decurl direction so that the pulled-out paper p is prevented from being rewound. At this time, the first and second guide parts R1 and R2 may come into surface-contact with the paper p to support the pressure applied to the paper p by the decurling part R3.
(40) According to the first embodiment, the first and second guide parts R1 and R2 are formed on the housing 200, and the decurling part R3 is formed on the cartridge 100. For example, the first guide part R1 and second guide part R2 may be formed to have a step with respect to each other. In
(41) The decurling part R3 formed on the cartridge may be positioned in a space formed by the step. Accordingly, the space required for decurling the paper p may be minimized while omitting a roller as compared with the related art in which the separate roller is provided. Accordingly, the printer may be easily miniaturized.
(42) For example, at least one of corners of the first guide part R1 or the second guide part R2 may be formed such that a corner which comes into contact with the paper p has a certain curvature radius. A corner of the first guide part R1, which comes into surface-contact with the paper p, may have a first curvature radius R11. Or, a corner of the second guide part R2, which comes into surface-contact with the paper p, may have a second curvature radius R21 (see
(43) According to the first embodiment, the decurling part R3 is formed on the cartridge 100. Specifically, when the cartridge 100 is mounted in the housing 200, the decurling part R3 comes into surface-contact with the paper p on the upper side of the paper p, which is being pulled out, in the decurl direction. Accordingly, the decurling part R3 decurls the paper p to suppress a phenomenon in which the paper p is rewound. A corner of the decurling part R3 may apply the pressure to the paper p in the decurl direction to decurl the paper p.
(44) Alternatively, the corner of the decurling part R3, which comes into surface-contact with the upper surface of the paper p, has a third curvature radius R31, and the third curvature radius R31 is formed to be smaller than the first curvature radius R11 and the second curvature radius R21, thereby improving the effect of the decurling.
(45) The corner of the decurling part R3 may have a right angle or the third curvature radius R31 which is smaller than the first curvature radius R11 and the second curvature radius R21, which may be similarly applied to the second and third embodiments of the present invention.
(46) Hereinafter, the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2 and the decurling part R3 will be described in more detail with reference to
(47) The first guide part R1 comes into surface-contact with the paper p pulling out from the cartridge 100 and provides the path configured to allow the paper p to be transported to the decurling part R3 therethrough and prevents the paper p from being lifted while the paper p is pulled out. To this end, the first guide part R1 is formed to be perpendicular to the second guide part R2 in
(48) The decurling part R3 decurls the paper p which has passed through the first guide part R1, and the corner of the decurling part R3, which comes into surface-contact with the paper p, is round processed to have a third curvature radius R31 of a size smaller than the first curvature radius R11 and the second curvature radius R21. The decurling part R3 includes the third surface R32 such that the paper p, which has passed through the first guide part R1, is transported toward the corner having the third curvature radius R31. The third surface R32 is formed to be spaced apart from the first surface R12 of the first guide part R1 by a certain distance.
(49) The third surface R32 and a fourth surface R33 form the corner having the third curvature radius R31. An outer surface of the paper p which has passed through the first guide part R1 comes into surface-contact with the corner having the third curvature radius R31, and the corner having the third curvature radius R31 bends the paper p in the decurl direction so that the paper p is transported toward the second guide part R2 in the state of being decurled.
(50) The second guide part R2 guides the paper p decurled at the decurling part R3 to the printing part 400. To this end, the second guide part R2 may be formed to be perpendicular to the first guide part R1. Accordingly, the first guide part R1 and the second guide part R2 may be formed to have an inverted “L” shape, and a second space part is formed between the decurling part R3 and the second guide part R2. Further, the second guide part R2 includes a second surface R22 connected to the first surface R12 of the first guide part R1. The second surface R22 forms a right angle with the first surface R12 and is formed to be spaced apart from the fourth surface R33 of the decurling part R3 by a certain distance. Here, a distance (hereinafter referred to as a “first distance”) between the first surface R12 and the third surface R32 and a distance (hereinafter referred to as a “second distance”) between the second surface R22 and the fourth surface R33 may be provided to be the same or different from each other according to the designer's setting. That is, when it is desired to prevent an excessive deformation of the paper p which has passed through the first space part, the first distance and the second distance are increased to reduce the pressure of the decurling part R3. As a more preferred embodiment, the first distance and the second distance may be provided to have a size of 0.1 mm to 3 mm. A corner having the second curvature radius R21 is further provided on the second guide part R2. Specifically, the second surface R22 includes a corner so as to more easily and accurately guide the paper p passing through the second guide part R2 toward the printing part 400, and the corner is round processed to have the second curvature radius R21. Accordingly, through the corner having the second curvature radius R21, the paper p directed toward the printing part 400 may be prevented from being lifted or twisted between the housing 200 and the printing part 400, and a line-shaped mark may be prevented in advance from remaining on the paper p in the process of being transported to the printing part 400, thereby remarkably improving the quality of the finally printed paper p. Alternatively, at least one corner of the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2, or the decurling part R3 may be formed to have the certain curvature radius. Specifically, at least one corner of the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2 or the decurling part R3 may be formed to have the first curvature radius R11, the second curvature radius R21, or the third curvature radius R31, which may be changed by the designer according to the thickness and a material of the paper p so that it is possible to perform optimal decurling with respect to various types of paper p having different thicknesses and materials. This may be similarly applied to the first embodiment and second and third embodiments, which will be described later, of the present invention. In addition, it is preferable that widths of the first guide part R1, the second guide part R2, and the decurling part R3 are formed to be greater than a width of the paper being pulled out in the one direction.
(51)
(52) The paper p passing through the corner of the second guide part R2, which has the second curvature radius R21, is bent by the surface-contact with the second guide part R2 so as to have an included angle t. Specifically, the paper p before the surface-contact with the second guide part R2 and the paper p after the surface-contact with the second guide part R2 forms the included angle t, which is for the purpose of allowing the paper p to be easily supplied to the printing part 400, and, at the same time, correcting the paper p which is excessively decurled. For example, the included angle t is formed to be 120 degrees or more, and the printing part 400 pulls the paper p passing through the second guide part R2 out so as to have such an included angle t. As a result, the paper p may be prevented from being excessively decurled and being curled in the opposite direction of the curl in the process of being pulled out from the printing part 400.
(53)
(54) As compared with the first embodiment, the second embodiment of the present invention further includes a cover 300, and a decurling part R3 is formed in a different position. The cover 300 is configured to open and close an upper surface of a housing 200. To this end, the cover 300 is coupled to the housing 200 by hinge connection using a hinge formed separately. Accordingly, the cover 300 may protect a paper p accommodated in the cartridge 100 from foreign substances such as outside air and dust by opening and closing the upper surface of the housing 200.
(55) A decurling part R3 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is formed on the cover 300. The decurling part R3 is provided to perform the same shape and role as the first embodiment of the present invention. However, the decurling part R3 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is formed on the cover 300 of the housing 200 instead of the cartridge. That is, the decurling part R3 is formed on the cover 300 so as to face a first guide part R1 and a second guide part R2. Thus, when the cover 300 closes an upper surface of the housing 200 through the hinge movement, the decurling part R3 formed on the cover 300 hinge moves integrally with the cover 300 and is positioned above the first and second guide parts R1 and R2, and then the decurling part R3 comes into surface-contact with an outer surface or an upper surface of the paper p while the paper p is pulled out from the cartridge 100, thereby decurling the paper p. Through the above-described series of configurations, when the paper p needs to be decurled, the cover 300 is hinge-moved, when it is necessary, to decurl the paper p.
(56)
(57) In the third embodiment of the present invention, a first guide part R1 is in a different position as compared with the second embodiment. The first guide part R1 is formed to have a corner having a first curvature radius R11 as in the first embodiment and protrudes from an outer circumferential surface of a cartridge 100. The first guide part R1 may protrude in an outward direction from an outer circumferential surface of the cartridge 100.
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(59) The thickness adjusting part R4 may adjust the first distance and/or the second distance according to the thickness of the paper P. To this end, the thickness adjusting part R4 is positioned below the decurling part R3 and is provided so as to be detachable. For example, the thickness adjusting part R4 may be attached to and detached from the decurling part R3 by being fastened thereto with various methods such as screw fastening, fastening using a magnetic force, or the like. The thickness adjusting part R4 is detached from the decurling part R3 to prevent a pressure against the paper p from being excess when the paper p is thick. The thickness adjusting part R4 is attached to the lower side of the decurling part R3 to adjust the pressure of the decurling part R3 against to the paper p to increase when the paper p is thin. Specifically, when the thickness adjusting part R4 is mounted, the second distance is reduced to increase the pressure of the decurling part R3 against the paper p, and when the thickness adjusting part R4 is detached, the second distance is increased to reduce the pressure of the decurling part R3 against to the paper p. As described above, the pressure of the decurling part R3 may be adjusted corresponding to the thickness of the paper p by attaching and detaching the thickness adjusting part R4, so as to flexibly respond to various types of papers. By doing so, there is an effect in which the printing and decurling operation may be performed without being limited by the thickness of the paper p. The thickness adjusting part R4 may be similarly applied to all embodiments of the present invention.
(60)
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(62) The embodiments of the present invention described above have been disclosed for the purpose of illustration, and various changes, modifications, and additions may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention by those skilled in the art. These modifications, changes, and additions are to be regarded as belonging to the scope of the claims of the present invention.
(63) Since the above-described embodiments of the present invention may be variously substituted, modified, and changed by one of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope of the technical concept of the present invention, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the attached drawings.