JP2001146058A - Portable printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable printer in which a transmission means can be used over a wide range without mounting/demounting the portable printer. SOLUTION: The data transmitting/receiving section 20 of a portable printer 10 comprises a receiver 60 supported rotatably in the vertical direction and the angle of the receiver 60 can be varied by operating a rotary knob 24. Receiving direction of the receiver 60 can be set at an interval of 45 deg..

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable printer, and more particularly, to a portable printer for transmitting and receiving data wirelessly.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a portable printer of a type worn on the body is provided with a communication means for receiving a data signal from another device, and the communication means transmits a data signal from a transmission device such as a handy terminal. The signal is received and printing is performed based on this data.

As a communication system between a portable printer and a handy terminal, infrared communication for transferring data using infrared as a transfer medium has been increasing in recent years, as represented by the IrDA standard. In this communication method, there is no need to connect the portable printer and the handy terminal with a signal cable, so that operability is very good and work can be performed efficiently.

[0004]

However, in the conventional portable printer, the light receiving angle of the communication means is as narrow as about 30 degrees. Therefore, when the portable printer is mounted on the body, the handy terminal can be in a very narrow light receiving angle range. There was a disadvantage that it could only be used in In addition, when a fixed transmission device such as a personal computer is used, the portable printer attached to the body must be temporarily removed, and the communication means of the portable printer must transmit and receive data to the transmission device. Therefore, the conventional portable printer has to use the handy terminal in an unreasonable posture or to attach / detach the portable printer every time a data signal is transmitted / received, so that the operability is not always good.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide a portable printer that can use a transmitter such as a handy terminal in a wide range without attaching or detaching the portable printer. And

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable printer having communication means for transmitting and receiving information wirelessly, wherein the communication means is rotatably supported by a main body of the portable printer. It is characterized by having been done.

According to the present invention, the communication means is rotatably supported by the main body of the portable printer, so that the communication means can be directed to a transmitting device such as a handy terminal or a personal computer so that the data signal can be reliably received. Can be. That is, according to the present invention, the angle at which transmission and reception can be performed is expanded by making the communication means rotatable, so that the arrangement restriction of the transmission device can be reduced.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a portable printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, a schematic structure of a portable printer 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a side view of a portable printer 10 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in these figures, the portable printer 1
Reference numeral 0 denotes a lower part of the main body case 12 provided with an accommodating portion 14 bulging in an arc shape. The storage unit 14 includes the opening / closing knob 1
6 is pushed upward to open the door 18, and the wound label paper (not shown) is stored therein. The wound label paper is rotatably supported and sent out to a printing unit (not shown).

A data transmitting / receiving unit 20 is provided on the upper part of the main body case 12, and a receiving device 60 is provided inside the cover 22.
(See FIG. 3). This receiving device 60
When a print data signal is transmitted from a transmission device (not shown) (for example, a handy terminal) by infrared rays, this signal is received and the data is transmitted to a print unit (not shown). The receiving device 60 can be rotated by operating the rotating knob 24 disposed on the side surface of the main body case 12 to change its receiving direction. In addition, body case 1
2, a connector 26 is provided on the side surface, and the transmitting device is directly connected to the connector 26 via a signal cable or the like.
By connecting, a signal of print data can be transmitted and received.

An operation unit 30 is provided on the upper surface of the main body case 12, and a feed button 32, a print button 34, and a status lamp 36 are juxtaposed on the operation unit 30. The status lamp 36 is connected to the data
Is turned on when data is received, whereby the operator can confirm that the print data has been received. The print button 34 is configured as a push button type. By pressing the print button 34, the label paper stored in the storage unit 14 is supplied to a printing unit (not shown), Is printed. Further, the feed button 32 is also configured as a push button type, and when the feed button 32 is pressed, the label paper in the storage section 14 is sent out without being printed.

A label paper outlet 40 is provided on the front of the main body case 12, and a printing unit (not shown) is provided inside the label paper outlet 40. This printing section
Thermal head and platen roller (neither shown)
The label and the barcode are printed by supplying the label paper between the thermal head and the platen roller. The printed label paper is discharged from the label paper outlet 40.

A mount release device 42 is provided above the label paper take-out port 40.
Is configured to slide vertically by reducing the distance between the pair of holding knobs 44, 44. Further, a label take-out port 46 is formed in the backing sheet peeling device 42. When the backing sheet peeling device 42 is slid downward to match the position of the label take-out port 46 and the label paper take-out port 40, the label paper take-out port is formed. The label paper sent out from the label paper 40 is peeled from the backing paper and the label take-out port 4
The mount that protrudes from 0 and is peeled is discharged from a gap between the lower part of the mount peeler 42 and the main body case 12.

On the back surface of the main body case 12, a holding portion 50 for mounting the portable printer 10 on the body is provided. The holding plate 52 that constitutes the holding unit 50 is a main body case 1
The holding portion 52A below the supporting portion is urged toward the main body case 12 by a leaf spring (not shown). Therefore, by pressing the pressing portion 52B on the upper side of the support portion toward the main body case 12 against the urging force, the holding portion 52B is pressed.
A gap between A and the body case 12 can be opened, and if a belt or the like of an operator is inserted into the gap, the belt or the like can be sandwiched between the biased holding portion 52A and the body case 12. it can.

Reference numeral 54 in FIG. 1 denotes a cover of the battery case. By sliding the cover 54 to the rear of the main body case 12, an internal battery case (not shown) can be exposed. Portable printer 1 in battery case
A battery serving as a power supply for the power supply 0 is stored. Reference numeral 56 is
The power switch is a power switch. By sliding the power switch 56, the power of the portable printer 10 is turned on,
OFF switching can be performed.

Next, the portable printer 1 configured as described above
How to use 0 will be described.

First, the door 18 is opened by sliding the opening / closing knob 16 upward, the wound label paper is set therein, and the door 18 is closed. As a result, the wound label paper is stored in the storage section 14 of the portable printer 10.

Next, while pressing the pressing portion 52B of the holding portion 50 toward the main body case 12 to widen the gap between the holding portion 52A and the main body case 12, the holding plate 52 is inserted inside the belt of the operator, and the pressing portion 52B is pressed. Release. Thus, the belt can be held between the holding portion 52A biased by the leaf spring (not shown) and the main body case 12, and the portable printer 10 can be mounted on the worker.

Next, after the power is turned on by the power switch 56 on the upper surface of the main body case 12, the receiving direction of the receiving device 60 inside the cover 22 is shown by turning the turning knob 24 on the side surface of the main body case 12. Not in the direction of the transmitting device. This makes it possible to reliably receive the print data signal from the transmitting device. Then, the reception of the print data is confirmed by turning on the status lamp 36, and the operation proceeds to the label printing operation.

The label printing operation is performed by the print button 34.
Is performed by pressing the print button 3
Pressing 4 once prints one label. Label printing is performed based on the received print data,
Unless new print data is received, printing is performed based on the same data. When the printed label is to be automatically peeled from the backing paper, the label peeled off from the backing paper is discharged from the label outlet 46 by sliding the backing paper peeling device 42 downward. Thus, the label printing operation is completed, and the label paper exit 40
Alternatively, the label discharged from the label outlet 46 is taken and attached to a product or the like.

The portable printer 10 can be installed and used on a desk or the like. In this case, the main body case 12 is installed with its front face up, and the same operation as described above is performed to print on the label.

Next, the data transmitting / receiving unit 20, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in detail.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the structure of the data transmitting / receiving section 20, and FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of the data transmitting / receiving section 20. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the data transmission / reception unit 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, a receiving device 60 (corresponding to communication means) having a light receiving element and a light emitting element is provided inside the cover 22 of the data transmitting / receiving section 20. The receiving device 60 is connected via a flat cable 62 to a substrate 64 constituting a control unit, and the substrate 64 is connected via a flat cable 66 to a printing unit (not shown). Thereby, when the receiving device 60 receives the signal of the print data, the data is subjected to IrDA conversion by the control unit, and then transmitted to the print unit.

The receiving device 60 is fitted and attached to a bracket 68 formed in a frame shape.
As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 68 has convex portions 68A and 68B formed on the outside of the opposing side surfaces, and the convex portion 68A is rotatably supported by the main body case 12. The convex portion 68B is fitted into the cylindrical portion 24A of the rotary knob 24, and is rotatably supported by the main body case 12 via the rotary knob 24. The outer diameter of the cylindrical portion 24A is 8
4 formed in the main body case 12
It is inserted into the square hole 12A. Accordingly, when the turning knob 24 is turned, the receiving device 60 is turned via the bracket 68 and the octagonal cylindrical portion 24A is turned.
45 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of
Positioned at intervals of degrees. Thereby, the receiving device 60
Indicates that the receiving direction (the direction in which the receiving device 60 is facing) is 45
Can be adjusted at degree intervals. For example, the receiving device 60
5A is a position where the receiving direction is 0 degrees with respect to the vertical direction, 45 degrees as shown in FIG. 5B, and 90 degrees as shown in FIG. 5C. Can be adjusted in three stages.

The receiving device 60 has a light receiving angle of ± 15 degrees in all directions, up, down, left, and right with respect to the receiving direction (that is, a light receiving angle of 30 degrees conical with respect to the receiving direction).
have. Therefore, the receiving device 60 can receive the print data signal if the transmitting device (not shown) such as the handy terminal is in a direction within 15 degrees with respect to the receiving direction.

Reference numeral 70 in FIG. 3 denotes a panel for protecting the feed button 32, the print button 34, and the status lamp 36 of the operation unit 30, and the edge of the panel is pressed by the holding member 72 of the frame. I have. Reference numeral 74 denotes a support plate that supports the power switch 56 of FIG.

Next, the portable printer 1 configured as described above
The operation of the data transmitting / receiving unit 0 will be described.

When data is received by the receiving device 60, the receiving device 60 is turned by rotating the turning knob 24, thereby connecting the receiving device 60 to a transmitting device such as a handy terminal (not shown).
In the direction of. The receiving direction of the receiving device 60 is adjusted according to the direction of the transmitting device, and as shown in FIG. 5, the receiving direction is adjusted in three stages from a vertical direction to a 0 degree direction, a 45 degree direction, and a 90 degree direction. For example, when the handy terminal is used diagonally above the portable printer 10, the receiving device 60 is
Adjust to the 45 ° position in (B). This makes it possible to reliably receive the print data signal from the handy terminal. Similarly, when a transmitting device such as a handy terminal or a personal computer is used on the side or above the portable printer 10, the receiving device 60 is moved to the 0-degree position in FIG. By adjusting the position, the data signal can be reliably received.

As described above, the portable printer 10 according to the present embodiment can rotate the receiving device 60, so that the receiving device 60 can be directed toward the transmitting device to reliably receive the data signal. it can. That is, according to the present embodiment, since the receiving device 60 can be rotated, the light receiving angle of the receiving device 60, which is
Since it can be extended to 0 degrees, the portable printer 10
The transmission device can be used in a wide range even when the device is worn on the body.

The portable printer 10 includes a receiving device 60
Since it is a simple structure in which only the portable printer 10 is rotated, the cost is low, and the operability is better than when the entire portable printer 10 is rotated.

Further, the portable printer 10 includes a receiving device 60.
Are positioned at 45 degree intervals, so that the angle adjustment in the receiving direction can be easily performed.

Further, the portable printer 10 includes the receiving device 6
Since the maximum light receiving angle of 0 is extended, the data signal can be reliably received regardless of the attitude of the portable printer 10. Therefore, the data signal can be reliably received even when the portable printer 10 is tilted or arranged horizontally. For example, the portable printer 10 can be mounted on the body vertically, or the portable printer 10 can be placed horizontally on a desktop. It is possible to use it for installation.

In the above-described embodiment, the receiving device 60 is positioned in three stages at 45 ° intervals. However, the present invention is not limited to this. 60 may be fixed at an arbitrary angle. Further, the rotation range of the receiving device 60 is not limited to 90 degrees, but may be 360 degrees.

In the above-described embodiment, the receiving device 60 is rotated only in the vertical direction in which the angle of the portable printer 10 mounted on the body is difficult to change. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You may make it rotatable also in the left-right direction.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the data signal is received by the light receiving element of the receiving device 60 has been described. Conversely, the data signal may be transmitted by the light emitting element of the receiving device 60. In this case, since the receiving device 60 has a radiation angle of approximately 30 degrees with respect to the direction in which the receiving device 60 is facing, the receiving device 60 has a maximum radiation angle of 150 degrees.

Furthermore, the above-described embodiment is an example in which infrared communication is performed by the portable printer 10 having an infrared interface. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and data is transmitted using directional light or radio waves as a medium. The present invention can be applied as long as communication means for transmitting and receiving signals is provided.

[0039]

As described above, according to the portable printer of the present invention, the communication means is rotatably supported by the main body of the portable printer, so that the range in which data signals can be transmitted and received is widened, and a handy terminal or the like is provided. Can be used in a wide range.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic structure of a portable printer according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the portable printer shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing the structure of the data transmitting / receiving unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan sectional view of the data transmitting / receiving unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the data transmitting / receiving unit shown in FIG. 1;

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10: Portable printer, 12: Main body case, 14: Storage unit, 20: Data transmitting / receiving unit, 22: Cover, 24: Rotating knob, 30: Operating unit, 50: Holding unit, 60: Receiving device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A portable printer comprising communication means for wirelessly transmitting and receiving information, wherein the communication means is rotatably supported by a main body of the portable printer. 2. The portable printer according to claim 1, wherein said communication means is positioned at a predetermined angle.