IP Library Granted Patent US 12686218
Granted Patent B2
US 12686218 · App. 18/580,596 · Granted Jul 21, 2026

Media exchanger and printing device

Inventor: Soichiro Takehana (Nagano, JP)
Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
B41J15/042B41J15/04B65H16/06B65H19/1889B41J15/02B41J15/06B41J15/08B41J15/18B65H16/02B65H16/021B65H16/023B65H18/02B65H18/021B65H18/028
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12686218
App. No.
18/580,596
Filed
Jan 18, 2024
Granted
Jul 21, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2853
USPC
347/104
Abstract

A printer includes a printing portion that performs printing on a media, and a media exchanger that can hold a roll of a plurality of media and can move a specific roll among the rolls to a media supply position where the media can be supplied from the roll to the printing portion. The media exchanger includes a plurality of media holding parts and a rotating part. Each media holding part includes a set of clamping parts that rotatably clamps a single roll, and a guide part that slidably supports one or both of the clamping parts. The rotating part holds the plurality of media holding parts in an arrangement such that, when rotated about the rotation axis, the roll held by each media holding part comes to the media supply position once in the process of the rotation.

Claims (63)

1 . A media exchanger capable of holding a plurality of media rolls and moving a media roll which is specific in the plurality of media rolls to a media supply position where a media is capable of being supplied from the media roll to a printing portion of a printing device, the media exchanger comprising:

a plurality of media holding parts;

a rotating part, configured to hold the plurality of media holding parts in an arrangement such that, when a rotation is performed about a rotation axis, the media roll held by each of the media holding parts comes to the media supply position once in a process of the rotation; and

a driving portion, configured to rotate the rotating part about the rotation axis,

wherein

the driving portion includes:

a handle, configured to receive a power to be turned;

a rotation shaft portion, configured to be fixed such that a rotation axis thereof is coaxial with the rotating part;

a drive transmission mechanism, configured to transmit the power by a rotation of the handle to the rotation shaft portion, so as to rotate the rotation shaft portion;

a pin lock mechanism, configured to automatically perform a lock of the rotation of the rotating part when a new media holding part is moved to the media supply position, and thereafter releases the lock by a manual operation;

a lock pin restricting mechanism, configured to automatically restrict a movement of a lock pin of the pin lock mechanism approaching a driven gear of the drive transmission mechanism after the pin lock mechanism is released; and

a supporting portion, configured to operably support the handle, the rotation shaft portion, the drive transmission mechanism, the pin lock mechanism, and the lock pin restricting mechanism,

wherein

each of the media holding parts includes:

a set of clamping parts, configured to rotatably sandwich @ single media roll; and

a guide part, configured to slidably support one or both of the clamping parts.

2 . The media exchanger as set forth in claim 1 , wherein

the guide part of at least one of the media holding parts includes a plurality of guide rods.

3 . A printing device comprising:

the printing portion, configured to perform a printing on the media; and

the media exchanger according to claim 2 , configured to supply the media to the printing portion.

4 . The media exchanger as set forth in claim 1 , wherein

the guide part of at least one of the media holding parts is configured to slidably support both of the clamping parts of the media holding part.

5 . A printing device comprising:

the printing portion, configured to perform a printing on the media; and

the media exchanger according to claim 3 , configured to supply the media to the printing portion.

6 . A printing device comprising:

the printing portion, configured to perform a printing on the media; and

the media exchanger according to claim 1 , configured to supply the media to the printing portion.

7 . A media exchanger capable of holding a plurality of media rolls and moving a media roll which is specific in the plurality of media rolls to a media supply position where a media is capable of being supplied from the media roll to a printing portion of a printing device, the media exchanger comprising:

a plurality of media holding parts, each configured to hold a single media roll;

a rotating part, configured to hold the plurality of media holding parts in an arrangement such that, when a rotation is performed about a rotation axis, the media roll held by each of the media holding parts comes to the media supply position once in a process of the rotation;

a driving portion, configured to rotate the rotating part about the rotation axis; and

a ratchet mechanism, configured to prevent a reverse rotation of the rotating part,

wherein

the driving portion includes:

a handle, configured to receive a power to be turned;

a rotation shaft portion, configured to be fixed such that a rotation axis thereof is coaxial with the rotating part;

a drive transmission mechanism, configured to transmit the power by a rotation of the handle to the rotation shaft portion, so as to rotate the rotation shaft portion;

a pin lock mechanism, configured to automatically perform a lock of the rotation of the rotating part when a new media holding part is moved to the media supply position, and thereafter releases the lock by a manual operation;

a lock pin restricting mechanism, configured to automatically restrict a movement of a lock pin of the pin lock mechanism approaching a driven gear of the drive transmission mechanism after the pin lock mechanism is released; and

a supporting portion, configured to operably support the handle, the rotation shaft portion, the drive transmission mechanism, the pin lock mechanism, and the lock pin restricting mechanism.

8 . A printing device comprising:

the printing portion, configured to perform a printing on the media; and

the media exchanger according to claim 7 , configured to supply the media to the printing portion.

9 . A printing device comprising:

a printing portion, configured to perform a printing on a media while feeds the media in a predetermined direction; and

a media exchanger, capable of holding a plurality of media rolls, and capable of moving a media roll which is specific in the plurality of media rolls to a media supply position where the media is capable of being supplied from the media roll to the printing portion;

wherein

the printing portion includes a drive-type feeding mechanism that feeds the media,

wherein

the media exchanger comprising:

a plurality of media holding parts, each configured to hold a single media roll;

a rotating part, configured to hold the plurality of media holding parts in an arrangement such that, when a rotation is performed about a rotation axis, the media roll held by each of the media holding parts comes to the media supply position once in a process of the rotation; and

a driving portion, configured to rotate the rotating part about the rotation axis;

wherein

the driving portion includes:

a handle, configured to receive a power to be turned;

a rotation shaft portion, configured to be fixed such that a rotation axis thereof is coaxial with the rotating part;

a drive transmission mechanism, configured to transmit the power by a rotation of the handle to the rotation shaft portion, so as to rotate the rotation shaft portion;

a pin lock mechanism, configured to automatically perform a lock of the rotation of the rotating part when a new media holding part is moved to the media supply position, and thereafter releases the lock by a manual operation;

a lock pin restricting mechanism, configured to automatically restrict a movement of a lock pin of the pin lock mechanism approaching a driven gear of the drive transmission mechanism after the pin lock mechanism is released; and

a supporting portion, configured to operably support the handle, the rotation shaft portion, the drive transmission mechanism, the pin lock mechanism, and the lock pin restricting mechanism.