JP2001353927A - Portable printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a portable printer which is light-weight, compact and has a superior shock resistance. SOLUTION: A plurality of damping pads 34 formed of a soft resin in the shape of a bar are disposed at predetermined intervals to a lower arc part of a front cover 16 constituting an exterior case 12. The portable printer 10 can be prevented from being broken by shocks of dropping, etc., without increasing a weight and a volume of the whole apparatus.

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 which can be carried by an operator and can issue a label at a desired position.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There is a portable printer as a device that can freely issue a label at a place where it is to be attached while wirelessly exchanging data with a personal computer or a handy terminal. This portable printer, for example, is designed so that it can be carried around from the shoulder with a strap like a shoulder bag, but if you hang it from your shoulder in this way, the strap will come off your shoulder due to an unexpected accident, The entire printer may fall to the ground and be damaged.

[0003] In order to prevent the portable printer from being damaged by such a drop, a buffer pad is generally attached to the outer case of the portable printer in order to reduce the impact at the time of collision. The conventional buffer pad is configured by covering the lower surface of the outer case with an elastic body such as a soft resin formed in a sheet shape.

[0004]

By the way, in order to provide a structure that can withstand a stronger impact, the buffer pad must be made thicker.
It is necessary to increase the size of the buffer pad. However, when the buffer pad is made thick and large, there is a disadvantage that the weight of the buffer pad increases the weight of the entire device and the volume of the entire device.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable printer that is lightweight, compact, and excellent in impact resistance.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a portable printer in which a cushioning member for absorbing a shock at the time of collision is mounted on a surface of an outer case, wherein the cushioning member is formed in a rod shape. A portable printer characterized in that a plurality of the elastic members provided are attached to the surface of the outer case at predetermined intervals.

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, the outer case has an opening / closing portion which is opened and closed by swinging with respect to the case body, and the cushioning member is attached to a surface of the opening / closing portion. 2. The portable printer according to claim 1, wherein the portable printer is mounted in parallel with a support shaft of the opening / closing section.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable printer in which a cushioning member for absorbing a shock at the time of a collision is attached to a surface of an outer case, wherein the cushioning member is formed of a granular elastic body. Are provided at predetermined intervals on the surface of the outer case.

According to the present invention, the buffer member is composed of a plurality of elastic bodies formed in a rod shape or a plurality of elastic bodies formed in a granular form. Thus, it is possible to effectively prevent the portable printer from being damaged due to an impact such as a drop without increasing the weight and volume of the entire apparatus.

In the case of the rod-shaped cushioning member, the rib can also function as a reinforcing member for the outer case, thereby making it possible to reduce the thickness of the outer case. Thus, the weight of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

[0011]

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.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a portable printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, an outer case 12 of a portable printer 10 according to the present embodiment is formed in a flat box shape, and includes a case body 14 and a front cover 16.

The case body 14 is formed in a box shape having an upper part formed in an arc shape, and an opening is formed in a front part thereof. The front cover 16 is attached to the case body 1
4 is mounted so as to cover the opening, and the lower half thereof is formed with a bulge in an arc shape.

As shown in FIG. 2, supporting pieces 20 and 20 are formed at lower portions on both sides of the front cover 16 so as to protrude. Each of the supporting pieces 20 and 20 has a fitting hole. 22, 22 are formed to penetrate. On the other hand, the lower part of both sides of the case
4 and 24 are provided coaxially, and each support shaft 24, 24
Are formed so as to protrude outward. The fitting holes 22, 22 of the support pieces 20, 20 formed in the front cover 16 are fitted to the supporting shafts 24, 24, whereby the front cover 16 supports the supporting shaft (swinging shaft).
24, 24 are supported so as to be swingable. When the front cover 16 swings, the opening formed in the case body 14 is opened and closed.

When the front cover 16 is closed, it is automatically locked by a lock mechanism (not shown). When the front cover 16 is opened, the lock by the lock mechanism is opened and closed by an open / close lever (not shown). Release and open.

Side covers 26, 26 are attached to both sides of the outer case 12 configured as described above. The side covers 26, 26 are formed of a soft resin, so that the impact received from the lateral direction is reduced.

Strap loops 28, 28 are provided on both upper sides of the outer case 12, respectively. A strap 30 for an operator to hang from a shoulder is attached to the strap loops 28, 28.

A pair of strip-shaped pads 32, 32 are attached to the rear surface of the outer case 12 at predetermined intervals. This pair of pads 32, 32
Is molded from a soft resin, and is attached from the vicinity of the upper end of the rear surface of the outer case 12 to the bottom surface of the outer case 12.

On the other hand, on the front part of the outer case 12, three cushion pads 34 are provided on the lower arc part of the front cover 16.
34, 34 are arranged at a predetermined interval. The buffer pad 34 is formed of a soft resin into a rod shape having a semicircular cross section, and is arranged in parallel with the support shaft 24 of the front cover 16.

The three buffer pads 34, 34,
The lowermost buffer pad 34 of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the outer case 12 is disposed so as to protrude downward from the bottom surface. The amount of protrusion of the buffer pad 34 depends on the size of the pad 3
2 is formed to be equal to the protrusion amount of the outer case 12.
Can be set upright on a desk or shelf by the buffer pad 34 and the pad 32.

Various mechanisms required for printing, such as a printing device, a label feeding device, a control unit, and a battery, are built in the exterior case 12 configured as described above.

When the front cover 16 is opened, the label loading chamber is exposed, and the roll wound label is loaded into the loading chamber. The label loaded in the loading chamber is fed to a printing device, where desired information is printed, and then a label take-out port 1 arranged at the front center position of the outer case 12 is printed.
Emitted from 8.

The print information is wirelessly received from a personal computer or a handy terminal. The outer case 12 is provided with an interface (not shown), and a cable is connected to a connector provided on the interface to input data.

Next, the operation of the portable printer 10 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

The portable printer 10 is to be carried and used by an operator, and the operator carries the portable printer 10 by hanging the strap 30 attached to the portable printer 10 on his shoulder.

At this time, the strap 30 may come off the shoulder due to an unexpected accident, and the portable printer 10 may fall to the ground. However, the portable printer 10 according to the present embodiment includes the pad 32 and the buffer pad on the outer case 12. When the portable printer 10 is dropped, the pad 32 and the buffer pad 34 come into contact with the ground when the portable printer 10 is dropped. This can prevent the portable printer 10 from being damaged.

Also, even during normal use, the portable printer 10 may come into contact with other objects.
Since 2 can be prevented from directly contacting other objects, scratches can be prevented.

Here, since the buffer pad 34 attached to the portable printer 10 of the present embodiment is formed in a rod shape, the volume and weight are smaller than when the buffer pad formed in a plate shape is attached to the entire surface. In both cases, significant reduction can be achieved. On the other hand, at the time of a fall, the function as a buffer member can be effectively exhibited.

The buffer pad 34 of the present embodiment is
Since the front cover 16 is disposed in parallel with the support shaft 24, the front cover 16 can be caught by a worker's hand when opening and closing, and can perform a slip-preventing function. Will be able to do it.

Further, even when the portable printer 10 is carried by hand, instead of being hung from the shoulder, the portable printer 10 acts as a non-slip, effectively preventing the portable printer 10 from slipping from the hand.

Further, the rod-shaped buffer pad 34 can function as a reinforcing rib for the front cover 16, and the rigidity of the front cover 16 can be increased. In addition, the thickness of the front cover 16 can be reduced, and the weight of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

In this embodiment, the buffer pad 34
Is a bar shape having a semicircular cross section, but is not limited thereto, and may be a bar shape having a triangular cross section or a quadrangular cross section.

In the present embodiment, the buffer pad 34
Although the number is three, more may be attached.

Further, in the present embodiment, the buffer pad 3
4, the mounting position of the buffer pad 34 is not limited to this, and it is preferable that a position requiring protection is appropriately selected and mounted. In this case, it may be attached to the entire surface of the front cover 16 or may be attached to the entire surface of the outer case 12.

Further, in the present embodiment, the buffer pad 34 is disposed in parallel with the support shaft 24 of the front cover 16 in consideration of the easiness of opening and closing of the front cover 16. A plurality of them may be arranged at predetermined intervals along the plane in a direction orthogonal to the support shaft 24.

In a portable printer having a structure in which a front cover is slid and opened and closed, a buffer pad is arranged along a direction orthogonal to the sliding direction of the front cover, so that the buffer pad can be slid when opened and closed. A stop function can be provided, and opening and closing operations can be performed smoothly.

In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the strap 30 is attached to the portable printer 10 and the portable printer 10 is hung from a shoulder and carried. However, the portable printer 10 may be carried on a belt worn by an operator. Also, in this case, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the second embodiment of the portable printer according to the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, in the portable printer 50 of the present embodiment, the shape of the buffer pad 52 attached to the lower arc portion of the front cover 16 is different from that of the portable printer 10 of the first embodiment described above. Are different. That is, the buffer pad 52 of the present embodiment is formed in a hemispherical shape, and a large number of the hemispherical buffer pads 52 are attached to the lower arc portion of the front cover 16 at predetermined intervals.

According to the buffer pad 52 having such a configuration, even when the portable printer 50 falls, the buffer pad 52 comes into contact with the ground, so that the impact that the portable printer 50 receives directly can be reduced. it can. On the other hand, both the volume and the weight can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the buffer pad formed in a plate shape is attached to the entire surface.

In addition, even during normal use, the cushion pad 52 can prevent the outer case 12 from directly contacting another object, so that scratches can be prevented.

Also, when the portable printer 50 is carried by hand, it acts as an anti-slip, so that it is possible to effectively prevent the portable printer 50 from slipping from the hand.

In the present embodiment, the shape of the buffer pad 52 is hemispherical. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The buffer pad 52 may have a cylindrical shape, a prism shape, or a triangular pyramid shape.

In the present embodiment, the buffer pad 52
Is attached to the lower arc portion of the front cover 16, but the installation position of the buffer pad 52 is not limited to this, and it is preferable to appropriately select and attach a portion requiring protection.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the buffer member is formed in a rod shape or a granular shape, it is possible to effectively prevent the portable printer from being damaged due to an impact such as a drop without increasing the weight and volume of the entire apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a portable printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of an outer case.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a second embodiment of the portable printer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: Portable printer, 12: Outer case, 14 ...
Case body, 16: Front cover, 20: Supporting piece, 2
2 ... fitting hole, 24 ... support shaft, 26 ... side cover, 28 ...
Strap through, 30 ... Strap, 32 ... Pad, 3
4: Buffer pad, 50: Portable printer, 52: Buffer pad

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A portable printer in which a cushioning member for absorbing a shock at the time of a collision is attached to a surface of an exterior case, wherein the cushioning member has a rod-shaped elastic body provided at a predetermined interval on the surface of the exterior case. A portable printer comprising a plurality of the printers. 2. The exterior case has an opening and closing portion which is opened and closed by swinging with respect to the case body, and the cushioning member is attached to a surface of the opening and closing portion and is parallel to a support shaft of the opening and closing portion. The portable printer according to claim 1, wherein the portable printer is attached to a portable printer. 3. A portable printer in which a cushioning member for absorbing a shock at the time of a collision is attached to a surface of an exterior case, wherein the cushioning member has a granular elastic body at a predetermined interval on the surface of the exterior case. A portable printer comprising a plurality of attached printers.