Typewriting machines – Sheet or web – For feeding web record-medium
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-30
2001-12-11
Yan, Ren (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Sheet or web
For feeding web record-medium
C242S571600
Reexamination Certificate
active
06328490
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a winding shaft for winding therearound a recording medium such as journal paper or the like, and a printer using such a winding shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, for the purpose of sales and inventory management in a store or the like, there has been a requirement to keep journal paper on which selling prices, names of articles and the like are printed. Therefore, a printer that is structured such that it winds the printed journal paper around a winding shaft has been proposed. An example printer of this type is shown in FIG.
26
.
Referring to
FIG. 26
, this printer
101
is a dot impact printer, which is incorporated into a cash register or the like. The printer
101
includes printer main body
103
, a clamshell mobile part
104
, and a winding mechanism
105
. A ribbon cassette
102
can be removably mounted on the printer main body
103
. The clamshell mobile part
104
is movably supported at a position on the printer main body
103
located near the rear portion of the upper portion of the printer main body
103
. The winding mechanism
105
is disposed in the rear of the printer main body
103
. Recording paper
106
, such as journal paper printed by a print head (not shown) or the like, is fed out upwardly of the clamshell mobile part
104
by a paper feed mechanism
107
, is then passed through a plane portion
108
a
of a writing base
108
for print correction, and is finally wound around a winding shaft
109
of the winding mechanism
105
.
The winding shaft
109
is rotatably supported in a cantilevered manner while a disk-shaped winding flange
111
is fixed to a portion of the winding shaft
109
on the support plate
110
side thereof. Also, a driving gear
112
is fixed to the leading end portion of the winding shaft
109
on the support plate
110
side thereof. The winding shaft
109
can be driven or rotated via meshing engagement between a gear train
114
and the gear
112
fixed to the winding shaft
109
. The gear train
114
can be driven or rotated by a winding belt
113
linked to and movable with the paper feed mechanism of the printer main body
103
.
In the printer
101
of this type, it is necessary to remove the recording paper
106
from the winding shaft
109
after it is wound therearound. However, because the recording paper
106
is wound tightly, it is not easy to remove the recording paper
106
. That is, the recording paper
106
sticks to the winding shaft
109
, resulting in the center of the recording paper
106
becoming shaped like bamboo shoots.
In order to solve the above problem, conventionally there has been proposed a paper-winding device structured such that the outside diameter of a winding shaft can be changed. (For an example, see Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 55-66156 of Showa). However, in this conventional device, it is necessary to apply an external force to the winding shaft in the axial direction thereof in order to change the outside diameter of the winding shaft. Since this external force is different from a force required to remove the recording paper, the operation of this conventional device is troublesome.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention aims at eliminating the technical problems found in the above-mentioned conventional winding shaft and paper-winding device. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a winding shaft that allows the recording paper wound therearound to be removed through a simple operation, and to provide a printer using such a winding shaft.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a winding shaft that not only allows a winding mechanism including an existing winding shaft to maintain its winding property, but also permits the recording paper wound thereon to be removed by a simple operation.
In order to attain the above objects, there is provided a winding shaft having a shaft main body, a winding portion and a support-removing member. The winding portion, which sandwiches the shaft main body, winds the recording medium therearound. The support-removing member is disposed on the shaft main body and is movable between a first position and a second position. The first position is located in the outer periphery of the winding portion such that the support-removing member projects beyond the outer periphery of the winding portion so as to allow the support-removing member to be in contact with the recording medium. The second position is located nearer to the axis of the main body than the first position. The support-removing member is movable from the first position to the second position by a frictional force produced when the recording medium in contact the support-removing member is moved.
If the recording medium wound around the winding portion is moved in a given direction, then the support-removing member is moved from the first position to the second position due to an external force used to pull out the recording medium, thereby reducing the winding diameter of the recording medium. As a result, the innermost peripheral recording medium wound around the winding portion is caused to float from the outer periphery of the winding portion. That is, the innermost peripheral recording medium is loosened with respect to the outer periphery of the winding portion. This is done so that the recording medium can be easily removed while remaining in a roll from the winding shaft, without the possibility of the recording medium portions being shifted from each other.
The support-removing members may be moved from the first position to the second position in a direction selected from a group consisting of a direction in which the recording medium wound around the winding portion is rewound, the axial direction of the winding portion, or a combination of the rewinding direction and the axial direction.
If the wound recording medium is rotated in the peripheral direction in which the recording medium is rewound, or if the wound recording medium is moved in the axial direction of the winding portion, or if the wound recording medium is rotated in the peripheral direction of the winding portion or is moved in the axial direction thereof, then the innermost peripheral recording medium wound around the winding shaft is caused to float from the outer periphery of the winding portion. That is, the innermost peripheral recording medium is loosened with respect to the outer periphery of the winding portion, so that the recording medium can be easily removed from the winding shaft.
The winding shaft of the present invention may further include a sleeve-shaped operation member disposed on the periphery of the winding portion in such a manner that not only is it movable relative to the winding portion, but also the recording medium can be wound therearound. When the operation member moves, the operation member applies an external force to the support-removing member in a direction to move the support-removing member from the first position to the second position.
When removing the recording medium, the operation member is moved together with the recording medium, and external forces are applied to the support-removing members from not only the recording medium but also the operation member. This makes it possible to move the support-removing members more smoothly and thus turn the recording medium into its loosened state.
Further, the support-removing members are located at the first position when no force is applied thereto. That is, when winding the recording medium around the winding shaft, the support-removing members can not be moved from the first position to the second position by the recording medium. On the other hand, when removing the recording medium, the support-removing members can be smoothly moved, and the recording medium can become loose.
The invention may further include a winding flange and a recording medium. The winding flange is disposed at one end of the winding shaft and is contactable with a side end portion of the
Arai Kenichiro
Asai Naoki
Narita Hiroshi
Yamada Masahiko
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Seiko Epson Corporation
Yan Ren
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