JP2002160421A - Tape printer and hinge mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape printer and a hinge mechanism capable of suppressing enlargement of a device body even when an upper cover with a display is provided thereon. SOLUTION: This tape printer 1 comprises a keyboard 17 and the upper cover 18 including a liquid crystal display 20 mounted at the inside thereof and the upper covey 18 is openably attached to the device body 2 at the rear side of the keyboard 17 with the hinge mechanism 19 therebetween such that the cover can be stopped at an arbitrary opening angle. The upper cover 18 has an upper cover body 31 covering the keyboard 17 and a hinge section 32 that houses the hinge mechanism 19 and is extended at a right or left roughly half part of the rear end section of the upper cover body 31.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape printer having an upper lid having a liquid crystal display incorporated therein, and a hinge mechanism for opening and closing the upper lid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as this type of tape printing apparatus,
There is known an apparatus in which a keyboard and an upper lid are provided in a front half of an upper surface of the apparatus main body, and a storage section for a tape cartridge is provided in a rear half of the upper surface. In this case, the upper lid is rotatably attached to the apparatus main body via a hinge at the front and rear intermediate portion of the upper surface of the apparatus main body, and is a display built in the keyboard and the upper lid at an open position raised obliquely rearward. Is opened, and the keyboard is covered and the display is closed at the closed position where it is tilted forward. A hinge receiving portion for receiving the hinge of the upper lid protrudes from two front and rear intermediate portions of the upper surface of the apparatus main body, and the hinge portion of the upper lid is fitted between the left and right hinge receiving portions to rotate. It is pivotally supported.

[0003] Further, in this type of upper lid, a hinge mechanism for stopping the upper lid at an arbitrary opening angle is incorporated so as to adjust the standing angle of the display. Such a hinge mechanism is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-7831.
No. 2 is known. This hinge mechanism has a structure in which a hinge pin is wound around with a leaf spring, and this structure allows the rising angle of the upper lid to be arbitrarily adjusted.

[0004]

In such a conventional tape printing apparatus, the hinge portion of the upper lid and the hinge receiving portion of the apparatus main body are disposed at the front and rear intermediate portions of the upper surface of the apparatus main body. A keyboard must be provided from the middle to the front, and a cartridge storage unit with an open / close lid is to the rear.
For this reason, the length of the device body in the front-back direction is
The length becomes the sum of the hinge part and the opening / closing lid (cartridge storage part), and there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large.
Further, since the conventional hinge mechanism has a structure in which the hinge pin is wound around with a leaf spring, the entire mechanism becomes longer in the axial direction, and there is a problem that the overall size becomes larger.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape printer capable of suppressing an increase in the size of the apparatus main body even if an upper lid with a display is provided, and a compact printer capable of appropriately opening and closing the upper lid of this type. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hinge mechanism that can perform the above operation.

[0006]

The tape printing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a keyboard provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body, and an upper cover which covers the keyboard and incorporates a liquid crystal display inside, and the upper cover is provided behind the keyboard. In a tape printing apparatus attached to the apparatus main body via a hinge mechanism so as to be openable and closable and capable of being stopped at an arbitrary opening angle, the upper lid is
It is characterized in that it has an upper lid main body that covers the keyboard, a hinge mechanism built in, and a hinge portion that extends from the rear end of the upper lid main body to approximately half of either the left or right side.

According to this structure, the hinge portion of the upper lid incorporating the hinge mechanism is extended to the left or right substantially half portion at the rear end of the upper lid body covering the keyboard.
The other half of the left and right sides without the hinge portion is an empty space. For this reason, parts and the like can be appropriately arranged in approximately half of the middle part of the upper surface of the apparatus main body, which is the empty space.

In this case, an opening / closing lid for closing the tape cartridge accommodating section is further provided on the rear upper surface of the apparatus main body, and a front portion of the opening / closing lid and a hinge portion are arranged so as to overlap in the front-back direction. Is preferred.

According to this configuration, the front-rear direction of the apparatus main body can be shortened by the overlap of the front part of the opening / closing lid and the hinge part. Note that when input / editing work is performed with the top cover opened, the tape cartridge is not attached to or detached from the storage section, so there is no problem even if opening and closing the storage section cannot be opened by opening the top cover. Does not occur.

In this case, an operation button for opening the opening / closing lid is further provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body.
It is preferable to be provided immediately behind the hinge part.

According to this configuration, when the upper lid is released, the operation of the operation buttons becomes difficult or inoperable. For this reason, it is necessary to effectively prevent the operation buttons from being pressed by mistake when performing key operations such as input and editing with the top cover opened, particularly when printing is performed based on a print command. Can be.

In these cases, the hinge mechanism has a hinge pin serving as a rotation center of the upper lid that opens and closes, and a rotation restraint mechanism that restrains the upper lid at an arbitrary opening angle. It is preferable that at least one of the left and right ends is incorporated into at least one end of the hinge portion which is located at a substantially middle position between the left and right sides of the upper lid body.

According to this structure, since the braking torque by the rotation stopping mechanism acts on the upper lid body incorporating the liquid crystal display at a substantially middle position on the left and right sides, the braking torque acts on the upper lid body in a well-balanced manner. The upper lid can be opened and closed stably, and distortion of the upper lid body at the time of opening and closing can be prevented as much as possible.

The hinge mechanism of the present invention is a hinge mechanism for supporting a lid having a liquid crystal display incorporated therein so as to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and capable of being restrained at an arbitrary opening angle. A hinge pin to be
A rotation restricting mechanism for restricting the upper lid to an arbitrary opening angle, wherein the rotation restricting mechanism is fixed to one of the apparatus main body and the upper lid and is fixed to the fixing piece pivotally mounted on the hinge pin and the other, and is rotatable about the hinge pin. And a ring-shaped leaf spring that slidably contacts the movable piece and urges the movable piece in the axial direction.

According to this configuration, the fixed piece fixed to the apparatus main body (or the upper lid), the movable piece fixed to the upper lid (or the main body of the apparatus), and the leaf spring for applying a braking torque to the movable piece are connected to the hinge pin. Since these parts can be arranged side by side in the axial direction, this part can be made compact. In addition, since the leaf spring is in sliding contact with the movable piece while being urged, the sliding contact area can be made relatively large, and a stable braking torque can be applied to the movable piece.

In this case, a position regulating washer is provided so as to sandwich the movable piece between the leaf spring and the leaf spring. And a tongue-shaped stopper portion extending outward in the direction, and the movable piece abuts against one circumferential end surface of the stopper portion at a forward rotation end position corresponding to the open end position of the upper lid. It is preferable that one protrusion is formed.

According to this configuration, the movable piece rotates in the forward direction around the hinge pin with the opening of the upper lid, and the first protruding piece of the movable piece is attached to the hinge pin in a non-rotating state. By contacting one end face of the washer stopper,
The position of the open end position of the upper lid is regulated. In this way, by regulating the position of the open end of the upper lid, it is possible to prevent a problem that the base of the upper lid contacts the upper surface of the apparatus main body (case) when the lid is fully opened and damages the upper body.

In this case, the movable piece is composed of a pivot portion rotatably supported by the hinge pin and a mounting piece fixed to the apparatus main body or the upper lid, and the first protruding piece is one of the mounting piece portions. Are preferably formed at the ends.

According to this configuration, the position of the open end of the upper lid can be regulated by using the mounting piece of the movable piece without increasing the number of parts.

In these cases, the movable piece is formed with a second protruding piece which abuts on the other end face in the circumferential direction of the stopper at the reverse rotation end position corresponding to the closed end position of the upper lid. ,preferable.

According to this configuration, the movable piece rotates in the opposite direction around the hinge pin with the closing of the upper lid, and the second protruding piece of the movable piece is attached to the other end surface of the stopper of the position-regulating washer. The contact restricts the position of the closed end of the upper lid.
By regulating the position of the closed end of the upper lid in this way, it is possible to prevent the upper surface of the apparatus body (case) from receiving an excessive impact when the upper lid is closed.

In this case, the movable piece is composed of a shaft support rotatably supported by the hinge pin and a mounting piece fixed to the apparatus main body or the upper cover, and the second protruding piece is formed in a radial direction of the shaft support. Is preferably formed by bending a portion protruding toward the position regulating washer.

According to this configuration, the second protrusion can be easily formed without increasing the number of parts.

In these cases, it is preferable that the second protruding piece is opposed to the other end face of the stopper portion with a slight gap in a completely closed state in which the upper cover falls down on the upper surface of the apparatus main body. .

According to this configuration, a gap is generated between the upper cover in a completely closed state and the upper surface of the apparatus body (case) based on the accuracy of forming (working) the upper cover and the accuracy of assembling the hinge mechanism. Can be prevented from being blocked in a floating state. It is preferable that the gap between the second projection and the stopper is approximately 1.5 ° in angle.

In these cases, a concave portion is formed on one of the sliding surfaces of the movable piece and the position-regulating washer, and a convex portion is formed on the other by a click engagement with the concave portion. It is preferable that the upper lid be click-engaged when rotated to the closed end position.

According to this structure, when the upper lid closed while receiving the braking torque by the leaf spring reaches the closed end position, the concave portion and the convex portion of the movable piece and the position regulating washer are click-engaged. In addition, the closed upper lid does not return in the opening direction due to the braking torque, and the upper lid can be completely closed so as to contact the upper surface of the apparatus body (case).

In this case, it is preferable that the edge of the recess is cut at a right angle, and the projection is formed in a trapezoidal shape.

According to this configuration, when the trapezoidal convex portion is click-engaged with the concave portion falling at a right angle, the convex portion falls into the concave portion from the sloped portion of the trapezoid. For this reason, the component force based on the angle of the slope acts stably as long as the slope hits the edge at the time of the fall. In other words, click engagement is more stable than a semicircular convex portion, etc.,
The displacement between the concave portion and the convex portion can be absorbed.

In these cases, it is preferable that the hinge pin has a flange-shaped head and a trunk extending from the head, and is fixed to the fixed piece at the tip of the trunk.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily assemble the fixed piece, the movable piece, the leaf spring, the position-regulating washer and the like with respect to the hinge pin, and to assemble them compactly.

[0032]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a tape printer and a hinge mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This tape printing apparatus prints desired characters, figures, and the like on a peeled print tape, and cuts a printed portion of the print tape into a predetermined length to create a label.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the tape printer, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the tape printer with an upper cover opened, and FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the tape printer with an open / close lid opened. . As shown in these figures, the tape printing apparatus 1 includes an apparatus main body 2 having an outer shell formed by an apparatus case 3;
The tape cartridge 4 is detachably mounted on the apparatus main body 2, and the printing tape 5 to be printed is accommodated in the tape cartridge 4. An opening / closing lid 6 with a window is disposed on the upper left rear surface of the apparatus main body 2, and the tape cartridge 4 is detachably mounted in a cartridge storage section 7 formed inside the opening / closing lid 6. An operation button 8 for opening the opening / closing lid 6 is provided on the right side of the opening / closing lid 6.

A forming and cutting mechanism (not shown) for trimming a corner of the printing tape 5 is built in the upper right rear surface of the apparatus main body 2, and the printing tape (label) 5 is mounted on this portion of the apparatus case 3. And a slit-shaped tape insertion port 10 connected thereto. Further, a power supply connector 11 and a connection connector 12 for connecting to a personal computer or the like are provided at a rear portion on the right side of the apparatus main body 2.

Although not shown, a tape outlet for feeding out the printed printing tape 5 to the outside of the apparatus is formed at the rear part on the right side of the apparatus main body 2. A cutter for fully cutting the printing tape 5 and a slide cutter for half-cutting the printing tape 5 by projecting a part of the apparatus case 3 and the opening / closing lid 6 in a drip-proof manner are provided between them (not shown). On the other hand, a power switch 13 and a connection switch 14 for connecting to a personal computer or the like are provided at the front left of the apparatus body 2.
Is provided.

A crescent-shaped display unit 15 is formed at the front of the apparatus main body 2 so as to protrude. Various display lamps 16 such as a power lamp are provided on the surface of the display unit 15. Further, a keyboard 17 is provided behind the display unit 15, and a large upper lid 18 that covers the keyboard 17 is provided above the keyboard 17. The upper lid 18 is opened and closed upward around a hinge mechanism (see FIG. 4) 19 built in the right half where the opening / closing lid 6 escapes.
And the liquid crystal display 20 incorporated inside the upper lid 18 is opened obliquely upward. That is,
When the upper lid 18 is opened to the rear oblique posture, the keyboard 17 is positioned in front of the liquid crystal display 20 and the input operation can be performed.

The apparatus main body 2 configured as described above is designed in a form in which a dome portion is mounted on a wedge-shaped base portion mainly on which the keyboard 17 is disposed and a main portion mainly on which the upper cover 18 is disposed. An elongated groove 21 is formed between the display unit 15 and the upper cover 18 in a closed state, and the groove 21 portion cooperates with a concave portion (not shown) on the back side to provide a hand grip. It is a part to which a finger is inserted when opening and closing the upper cover 18.

In the tape printing apparatus 1, first, the operation button 8 is pressed to open the opening / closing lid 6, and the tape cartridge 4 is mounted in the cartridge accommodating section 7. Although not particularly shown, the tape cartridge 4 includes a printing tape 5.
In addition, ink ribbon, platen, etc. are mounted,
When the tape cartridge 4 is mounted in the cartridge storage section 7, the feeding end of the printing tape 5 and the ink ribbon attached thereto are inserted between the printing head and the platen on the apparatus main body 2 side, and the rotation of the driving mechanism is performed. The shaft engages the platen and the reel on the winding side of the ink ribbon. Then, as the opening / closing lid 6 is closed, the print head presses the printing tape 5 and the ink ribbon against the platen, and enters a printing standby state.

Next, the power switch 13 is turned on, and the upper cover 18 is opened immediately before and after the power switch 13 to prepare for input. Here, the user operates the keyboard 17 while referring to the liquid crystal display 20 to input and edit a desired character such as a character, and then instructs printing on the keyboard 17. When a print command is issued, the print tape 5 and the ink ribbon are sent at the same time, and the print head is appropriately driven to perform printing on the print tape 5 by thermal transfer.
The printed ink ribbon is wound up, but the printing tape 5
Is sent out of the apparatus case 3 from a tape outlet (not shown) (see FIGS. 2 and 3). When printing is completed, the built-in cutter and slide cutter are driven, and the printed portion of the printing tape 5 is cut in half and full.

On the other hand, when trimming the printed portion of the printing tape 5 thus formed, that is, the label (5), the tape insertion guide 9 guides the end of the label (5) to insert the tape. Insert into mouth 10. When the label (5) is inserted into the tape insertion slot 10, the built-in forming / cutting mechanism is activated, and the corner of the printing tape (label) 5 is formed and cut into a round shape.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
Is an upper lid body 31 incorporating the liquid crystal display 20
And a hinge part 32 in which the hinge mechanism 19 is incorporated. The hinge part 32 is provided at the rear end of the upper lid main body 31 so as to extend substantially to the right half. The outer shell of the upper lid 18 is composed of a lid case 34 that forms the front side of the upper lid 18 from the upper lid main body 31 to the hinge part 32, and a hinge part case 35 that covers the hinge part 32 from the back side. The lid case 34, which is a dome-shaped main body, has its rear upper surface flush with the upper surface of the opening / closing lid 6 and the periphery of the operation button 8.

That is, the hinge portion 32 is fitted between the left hinge receiving portion 37a adjacent to the cartridge accommodating portion 7 and the right hinge receiving portion 37b extending forward from the tape insertion guide 9 described above. , Are supported. The left hinge receiving portion 37a is covered with the opening / closing lid 6 together with the cartridge storage section 7.
And the hinge portion 32 of the upper lid 18 are disposed so as to overlap in the front-rear direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, the opening / closing lid 6 is disposed so as to bite into the rear part of the upper lid 18.

In this case, since both the upper cover 18 and the opening / closing cover 6 are opened by flipping up the front part, as shown in FIG. 2, when the upper cover 18 is opened, the operation button 8 is pressed. Even if the lock is released, the opening / closing lid 6 is only slightly held by the base of the upper lid body 31 and cannot be completely opened. Further, the operation button 8 is also disposed immediately behind the hinge portion 32, so that when the upper cover 18 is opened, the operation button 8 is difficult to operate or cannot be operated. Tape printing device 1 of the embodiment
In this configuration, the power supply is automatically turned off when the opening / closing lid 6 is opened. However, the arrangement of the upper lid 18, the opening / closing lid 6 and the operation buttons 8 allows the upper lid 18 to be opened to perform input work and printing work. This effectively prevents the opening / closing lid 6 from being accidentally opened when performing.

Next, the hinge mechanism 19 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4, the hinge mechanism 19 includes a pair of left and right hinge pins 23a and 23b and a left hinge pin 23.
and a rotation stopping mechanism 24 incorporated in the a.
The right hinge pin 23b has a left half fixed to the lid case 34 and a right half fixed to the right hinge receiving portion 37a.
(See FIG. 2). The left hinge pin 23a is incorporated in the rotation restraining mechanism 24 to form a hinge assembly. That is, the upper cover 18
Is rotatably supported on the apparatus main body 2 by both hinge pins 23a and 23b, and can be stopped at an arbitrary opening angle by a rotation stopping mechanism 24.

Here, the left hinge pin 23a and the rotation restraining mechanism 24, which are hinge assemblies, will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. One end of the rotation stopping mechanism 24 is connected to the hinge receiving portion 37 on the left side.
a, a fixed piece 41 fixed to the (apparatus main body 2), a movable piece 42 fixed to the lid case (upper lid 18) 34, a leaf spring 43 for urging the movable piece 42 in the axial direction, and a leaf spring 43 And a position regulating washer 45 attached to the movable piece 42, and the hinge pin 23a is inserted through these.

The hinge pin 23a has a circular head 51,
A torso 52 extending from the head 51 and chamfering both sides;
2 and a step portion 53 located at the front end portion. The head 52 is attached to the body 52 of the hinge pin 23a.
From the side, a position regulating washer 45, a movable piece 42, a leaf spring 4
3, the components of the rotation stopping mechanism 24 are mounted in such a manner as to overlap in the order of the washer 44 and the fixing piece 41, and the fixing piece 41 is fixed to the step 53 at the tip against the leaf spring 43. .

The fixing piece 41 is formed integrally by bending a shaft attachment portion 61 fixed to the hinge pin 23a and a mounting piece portion 62 screwed to the hinge receiving portion 37a at a right angle. A square shaft mounting hole 63 is formed at the center position of the shaft mounting portion 61, and a hinge pin 2 is formed in the shaft mounting hole 63.
The step 53 of 3a is fixed in a fitted state. The washer 44 has a square hole 65 at the center position for stopping rotation with respect to the body 52 of the hinge pin 23a.
1 and is in contact with the leaf spring 43 on the other surface. With this washer 44, the spring force of the leaf spring 43 can be stabilized in the circumferential direction.

The leaf spring 43 is connected to the trunk 5 of the hinge pin 23a.
2 has a circular hole 67 rotatably (rotatably) inserted therein, and is formed in an annular shape. The movable piece 42 is urged in the axial direction by bending in the surface direction. That is, the movable piece 42
A leaf spring 43 and a washer 44 are sandwiched between the movable piece 42 and the fixed piece 41, and the movable piece 42 is urged in the axial direction by the leaf spring 43, so that the movable piece 42 and the leaf spring 43 or the leaf spring 43 and the washer 44 Frictional force is generated between the movable pieces 42
Is given a braking torque. Thereby, the upper lid 18 can be stopped at an arbitrary open position (open angle) via the movable piece 42.

The movable piece 42 is connected to the trunk 5 of the hinge pin 23a.
A substantially circular shaft support 69 rotatably supported by the bracket 2 and a mounting piece 70 screwed to the lid case 34 are bent at right angles to be integrally formed. The mounting piece 70 extends in a rectangular shape in one direction from a curved portion between the mounting piece 70 and the shaft support 69, and is screwed to the boss of the lid case 34. A circular shaft hole 71 is formed at the center position of the shaft support 69, and the shaft hole 71 is rotatably supported by the hinge pin 23 a.

Further, at the periphery of the shaft support 69, 180
° At the target positions (two places),
5 are formed with cutout recesses 72, 72 with which the engagement projections 78, 78 are click-engaged. Further, a rectangular protruding piece 73 is extended from the outer periphery of the shaft support 69 so as to protrude in the engaging direction, and the protruding piece 73 is bent toward the position-regulating washer 45 side.

The position restricting washer 45 is connected to the hinge pin 23.
The annular washer body 7 attached to the body 52 of FIG.
5 and a substantially fan-shaped tongue-shaped stopper piece 76 extending radially outward from the washer body 75 are integrally formed. At the center position of the washer body 75, a square hole 77 serving as a detent is provided.
Are formed, and 180 ° target positions on the periphery (two places)
Are formed with engaging projections 78 that engage with the notched recesses 72 of the movable piece 42. Each engagement projection 7
8 is formed by being stamped out in the axial direction by a press, and its protruding shape is trapezoidal in the circumferential direction (see FIG. 7).

The state in which the pair of engaging projections 78, 78 are click-engaged with the pair of notch recesses 72, 72 is as follows.
When the upper cover 18 is closed via the opening, the position of the closed upper cover 18 is regulated by this engagement, and the upper cover 18 is prevented from returning slightly in the opening direction. That is, a braking torque by the leaf spring 43 acts on the upper lid 18 that performs the closing operation, and the closed upper lid 18 rises from the upper surface of the device case 3 by the engagement between the notch concave portion 72 and the engaging convex portion 78. To prevent them from getting lost. Further, since the engaging projection 78 has a trapezoidal shape and engages with its slope (oblique side) abutting on the corner of the notch concave portion 72, a fixed amount is provided over the length of the slope. Even if a force acts and the accuracy of the closing position of the upper cover 18 is low, the closed upper cover 18 can be pressed against the upper surface of the device case 3.

The stopper piece 76 has a substantially fan shape, and both side ends (circumferential ends) 76 a and 76 b extend radially from the center of the washer body 75. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, one end 76a of the stopper piece 76 is provided with the mounting piece 70 of the movable piece 42 when the upper lid 18 is rotated to the open end position (rotation in the forward direction). The base end 70a abuts,
The protruding piece 73 of the movable piece 42 abuts on the other end 76b when the upper lid 18 is turned to the closed end position (turned in the opposite direction).

As described above, the closed upper cover 18
Is pressed against the upper surface of the device case 3 so that no gap is formed between the device case 3. For this reason,
Actually, as shown in FIG.
The other end 76b and the projecting piece 73 of the movable piece 42 are designed to face each other at an angle of 1.5 ° with the upper lid 18 closed. Thereby, the rotation stopping mechanism 2
Even if there are manufacturing errors and mounting errors in the four parts,
A gap is not formed between the closed upper lid 18 and the device case 2.

As shown in FIG. 9, when the upper cover 18 is closed, the movable piece 42 is located substantially horizontally, and the engaging projection 78 of the position regulating washer 45 is inserted into the cutout recess 72 of the movable piece 42. Are click-engaged, and the other end 76b of the stopper piece 76 and the protruding piece 73 of the movable piece 44 face each other in the circumferential direction with a slight gap (see FIG. 8A). From this state, the upper lid 18 is opened, and the work is performed at an angle in which the liquid crystal display 20 is raised obliquely rearward.
The movable piece 42 is positioned obliquely rearward, and the base end 70a of the mounting piece 70 of the movable piece 42 is in contact with one end 76a of the stopper piece 76 (see FIG. 8A). .
Therefore, even if the upper lid 18 is fully opened,
Does not hit the upper surface of the device case 3 or the like, and the device case 3 is not damaged.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the hinge portion 32 of the upper cover 18 and the front portion of the opening / closing cover 6 are arranged so as to overlap in the front-rear direction. 2 can be shortened in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the tape printer 1 can be made compact without sacrificing the sizes of the cartridge storage 7, keyboard 17 and liquid crystal display 20. The leaf spring 43 allows the upper lid 18 to be moved.
Since the braking torque is applied to the hinge mechanism 19, the hinge mechanism 19 can be made compact.

The rotation restraining mechanism of the hinge mechanism may be installed on the right side of the hinge portion, or may be installed on both left and right sides. In addition, a single hinge pin may be provided through the hinge pin. Furthermore, although the hinge part is arranged to the right side, depending on the position of the cartridge storage part, etc.
It may be arranged on the left side.

[0058]

As described above, according to the tape printing apparatus of the present invention, the hinge portion of the upper lid is extended to the rear end of the upper lid main body at approximately the right or left half, so that the apparatus main body is A part or the like can be appropriately arranged in a substantially half portion of the middle portion of the upper surface. Therefore, the size of the apparatus main body can be reduced even if an upper lid with a liquid crystal display is provided.

Further, according to the hinge mechanism of the present invention, the fixed piece and the movable piece fixed to the apparatus main body and the upper lid, and the leaf spring that slidably contacts the movable piece while being urged against the movable piece are arranged side by side in the axial direction of the hinge pin. Therefore, a compact configuration can be achieved. In addition, since a stable braking torque can be applied to the movable piece by the leaf spring, the upper lid can be opened and closed without difficulty, and the opening can be appropriately stopped at an arbitrary opening angle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a tape printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the tape printer according to the embodiment in a state where an upper lid is opened.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment in a state where an opening / closing lid is opened.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper lid incorporating the hinge mechanism as viewed from the back side.

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of a hinge mechanism around a rotation stopping mechanism.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the hinge mechanism around the rotation stopping mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a side view around the rotation stopping mechanism of the hinge mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a rotating state of the hinge mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the tape printing apparatus showing the relationship between the closed state of the upper lid and the hinge mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the tape printing apparatus showing a relationship between an open state of the upper lid and a hinge mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 tape printing apparatus 2 apparatus main body 3 apparatus case 6 opening / closing lid 7 cartridge storage section 8 operation button 17 keyboard 18 upper lid 19 hinge mechanism 20 liquid crystal display 23a hinge pin 24 rotation stopping mechanism 31 upper lid main body 32 hinge section 41 fixed piece 42 movable piece 43 Leaf spring 44 Washer 45 Position control washer 51 Head 52 Trunk 69 Shaft support 70 Mounting piece 70a Base end 72 Notch recess 73 Projection piece 75 Washer body 76 Stopper piece 76a One end 76b The other end 78 Engaging projection

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Hideo Sodeyama 3-5-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Seiko Epson Corporation F-term (reference) 2C055 CC00 CC01 CC05 2C061 AP05 AS06 BB02 CD07 CD10 CD13

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. A keyboard provided on an upper surface of an apparatus main body, and an upper lid covering the keyboard and incorporating a liquid crystal display inside, the upper lid being attached to the apparatus main body via a hinge mechanism behind the keyboard. In the tape printing apparatus attached so as to be openable and closable and capable of being stopped at an arbitrary opening angle, the upper lid includes an upper lid body that covers the keyboard, the hinge mechanism, and a left or right end at a rear end of the upper lid body. And a hinge portion extending substantially in half of the tape printing device. 2. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an opening / closing lid for closing a storage section of the tape cartridge on an upper surface of a rear part of the apparatus main body, wherein a front part of the opening / closing lid and the hinge part are arranged so as to overlap in a front-rear direction. 2. The tape printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An operation button for opening the opening / closing lid on an upper surface of the apparatus main body, wherein the operation button is disposed immediately behind the hinge portion. 3. The tape printer according to 2. 4. The hinge mechanism includes a hinge pin serving as a rotation center of the upper lid that opens and closes, and a rotation restraint mechanism that restrains the upper lid at an arbitrary open angle. 4. The tape printing according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the left and right end portions of the hinge portion is incorporated into at least one end of the hinge portion, which is located at a substantially middle position in the left and right direction of the upper lid body. apparatus. 5. A hinge mechanism for supporting a lid body incorporating a liquid crystal display inside so as to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and capable of being restrained at an arbitrary opening angle, comprising: a hinge pin serving as a rotation center of the upper lid which opens and closes. A rotation restricting mechanism for restricting the upper lid to an arbitrary opening angle, wherein the rotation restricting mechanism is fixed to one of the apparatus main body and the upper lid and fixed to a fixing piece that is pivotally attached to the hinge pin and the other. A hinge mechanism comprising: a movable piece rotatably supported by the hinge pin; and an annular leaf spring slidably contacting the movable piece and biasing the movable piece in the axial direction. 6. A position washer for holding the movable piece between the leaf spring and the leaf spring, wherein the position washer is attached to the hinge pin in a detent state in an annular washer body; A tongue-shaped stopper portion extending radially outward from the washer body, wherein the movable piece has a circumferential direction of the stopper portion at a forward rotation end position corresponding to an open end position of the upper lid. The hinge mechanism according to claim 5, wherein a first protruding piece that contacts one end face is formed. 7. The movable piece includes a pivot portion rotatably supported by the hinge pin, and a mounting piece fixed to the apparatus main body or the upper lid. 7. The hinge mechanism according to claim 6, wherein the hinge mechanism is constituted by one end of the mounting piece. 8. The movable piece is formed with a second protruding piece that abuts on the other circumferential end face of the stopper at a reverse rotation end position corresponding to the closed end position of the upper lid. The hinge mechanism according to claim 6 or 7, wherein 9. The movable piece includes a pivot portion rotatably supported by the hinge pin and a mounting piece fixed to the apparatus main body or the upper lid. 9. The hinge mechanism according to claim 8, wherein a portion of the shaft support projecting in the radial direction is bent toward the position-regulating washer. 10. In a completely closed state in which the upper cover falls down on the upper surface of the apparatus main body, the second protruding piece is opposed to the other end face of the stopper with a slight gap. The hinge mechanism according to claim 8 or 9, wherein 11. A concave portion is formed on one of the sliding surfaces of the movable piece and the position-regulating washer, and a convex portion which is click-engaged with the other is formed on the sliding surface. 7. The click engagement when the upper lid is rotated to the closed end position.
11. The hinge mechanism according to any one of claims 10 to 10. 12. The hinge mechanism according to claim 11, wherein the edge of the recess is cut at a right angle, and the projection is formed in a trapezoidal shape. 13. The hinge pin according to claim 5, wherein the hinge pin includes a flange-shaped head and a trunk extending from the head, and is fixed to the fixing piece at a tip end of the trunk. 13. The hinge mechanism according to any one of claims 12 to 12.