JP2005067168A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an easily-operable printer capable of surely and readily confirming whether or not an ink cassette is loaded to a cassette loading section. <P>SOLUTION: This printer 1 comprises the cassette loading section 3 having an opening section 3a of which the one side is opened to accept an ink cassette 7 and a cover body 4 capable of opening or closing the opening section 3a. The ink cassette 7 loaded to the cassette loading section 3 can be loaded to the cassette loading section 3 by being urged by the cover body 4 when the cover body 4 closes the opening section 3a, and a stopper member 6 capable of preventing the ink cassette 7 from being released from the cassette loading section 3 is provided to the cassette loading section 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly, to a printer having a cassette mounting portion in which an ink cassette can be mounted.

The conventional printer 21 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. The conventional printer 21 has a cassette mounting portion 22 having an opening 22 a that is hollow inside and open on one side.
For example, when the conventional printer 21 is described with reference to a thermal transfer printer, an ink cassette 23 containing an ink ribbon (not shown) that can be inserted into the cassette mounting portion 22 by being inserted from the opening 22a is disposed. ing.
Further, the printer 21 is provided with a lid 24 that can open and close the opening 22a, and the lid 24 is rotatable with the support 24a as a fulcrum.
In addition, the ink cassette 23 mounted in the cassette mounting portion 22 can be engaged with an engaging portion 24b formed on the lid 24 on a corner portion 23a on one end side located on the opening 22a side. .

The operation of mounting the ink cassette 23 on the cassette mounting portion 22 in the conventional printer 21 will be described.
First, the lid 24 is rotated downward, and the ink cassette 23 is inserted into the cassette mounting portion 22 from the opened opening 22a.
Thereafter, when the lid body 24 is rotated upward in the drawing, the side surface 24 c of the lid body 24 presses one end surface of the ink cassette 23, and the ink cassette 23 is attached to the cassette attachment portion 22.
At the same time, the engaging portion 24 b of the lid 24 is engaged with the corner portion 23 a of the ink cassette 23, and the ink cassette 23 is prevented from being detached from the cassette mounting portion 22.
Thereafter, a printing unit (not shown) is driven to thermally transfer the ink on the ink ribbon onto the recording paper, so that a desired image can be printed on the recording paper.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-38980

However, in the conventional printer 21 as described above, the engaging portion 24b of the lid 24 is engaged with the corner portion 23a of the ink cassette 23 even when the ink cassette 23 is not completely inserted into the cassette mounting portion 22. be able to.
Therefore, when the lid 24 is closed, it is difficult to check whether the ink cassette 23 is installed or not installed.
Then, if the printing unit is driven with the ink cassette 23 not attached, the internal ink ribbon may not be wound up normally, and printing may be defective.
Alternatively, when the printer 21 is an ink jet printer, an ink liquid supply needle (not shown) cannot be completely inserted into the ink cassette 23, and the ink liquid in the ink cassette cannot be reliably supplied to the print head side. There was a fear.

For this purpose, the conventional printer 21 checks whether or not the ink cassette 23 is securely mounted on the cassette mounting portion 22 after the ink cassette 23 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 22 and the lid 24 is closed. Since printing started after that, the operability was bad.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to provide a printer with good operability that can easily and surely check whether an ink cassette is mounted on a cassette mounting portion.

  As a first means for solving the above problems, a printer according to the present invention includes a cassette mounting portion having an opening that is open on one side to which an ink cassette can be mounted, and a lid that can open and close the opening. The ink cassette mounted on the cassette mounting portion can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion by being pushed by the lid when closing the opening, and can be prevented from being detached from the cassette mounting portion. A member is provided.

  Further, as a second means for solving the above-mentioned problem, the stopper member is disposed so as to be slidable in a direction in which the opening is closed, and the ink cassette inserted from the opening is provided with the stopper member. The moving direction is opposite to the closing direction.

  Further, as a third means for solving the above-mentioned problem, the lid is formed with a convex part capable of pushing the ink cassette inserted from the opening, and is pushed by the convex part to form the ink cassette. Is mounted on the cassette mounting portion, the stopper member slides to prevent the ink cassette from coming off.

  Further, as a fourth means for solving the above-mentioned problem, a restriction part capable of restricting the movement of the stopper member that has been slid is formed on the lid body. 3. The printer according to 3.

  Further, as a fifth means for solving the above-mentioned problem, the stopper member is urged by an elastic member to be slidable, and the lid body moves in a direction to open the opening. In conjunction with the operation, the stopper member moves in a direction opposite to the sliding direction against the urging force of the elastic member so that the ink cassette is prevented from being detached.

  Further, as a sixth means for solving the above problem, the cassette mounting portion is provided with an eject spring capable of elastically urging the mounted ink cassette in the discharge direction. The ink cassette can be ejected from the cassette mounting portion by the eject spring, and the operability is good.

  In the printer according to the present invention, the ink cassette mounted on the cassette mounting portion can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion by being pushed by the lid when closing the opening, and can be prevented from coming off from the cassette mounting portion. Therefore, the ink cassette can be securely mounted on the cassette mounting portion, and the mounted ink cassette can be prevented from coming off.

  In addition, the stopper member is disposed so as to be slidable in the direction of closing the opening, and the ink cassette inserted from the opening moves the stopper member in the direction opposite to the closing direction, so that the operability is good. .

  Also, the lid is formed with a convex portion into which the ink cassette inserted from the opening can be pushed, and when the ink cassette is loaded on the cassette mounting portion by being pushed by the convex portion, the stopper member slides to move the ink. Since the cassette is prevented from being detached, the ink cassette can be securely inserted by being pushed into the cassette mounting portion.

  In addition, since the lid is formed with a restricting portion that can restrict the movement of the stopper member that has been slid, even if vibration is applied to the printer from the outside, the stopper prevents the ink cassette from coming off. Absent.

  In conjunction with the movement of the lid in the direction to open the opening, the stopper member moves in the direction opposite to the sliding direction against the urging force of the elastic member, and the ink cassette is prevented from coming off. Because it was made so that operability is better.

  In addition, the cassette mounting portion is provided with an eject spring that can elastically bias the mounted ink cassette in the discharge direction, and the ink cassette that has been released from being released can be discharged from the cassette mounting portion by the eject spring. Characterized by

   Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of the main part of the printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the main part for explaining the operation of mounting the ink cassette on the printer shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a side view of a main part in which an ink cassette is mounted.

First, in the printer 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a hollow cassette mounting portion 3 is formed inside a housing 2, and this cassette mounting portion 3 is on the one end surface 2 a side of the housing 2. One side is opened to form an opening 3a.
In addition, the housing 2 is formed with a support portion 2b capable of supporting a lid 4 described later, protruding in the right direction in the drawing from the lower side of the one end surface 2a.
Further, a guide portion 2c capable of slidably guiding a stopper member 5 described later is formed on the upper side of the one end surface 2a of the housing 2 so as to extend upward.

Further, a lid 4 capable of opening and closing the opening 3a is rotatably supported by the support 2b. The lid body 4 is formed with a rotating portion 4a that can be supported by the support portion 2b by bending a metal plate.
The lid 4 has a side plate 4b that can be opposed to one end surface 7a of an ink cassette 7 to be described later. The right end of the side plate 4b is bent at a right angle to the upper side of a stopper member 5 to be described later. A restricting portion 4c capable of restricting the movement of is formed.
In addition, a convex portion 4 d that stands upright at a predetermined height is fixed to the side plate 4 b of the lid body 4 with, for example, an adhesive or the like. In such a lid body 4, the rotating portion 4 a is a support portion of the housing 2. 2b is supported by a small screw 5 or the like, and is rotatable in the directions of arrows A and B with the rotating portion 4a as a fulcrum.

Further, the guide portion 2c of the housing 2 is slidably guided in an arrow C direction, which is a direction in which the stopper member 6 closes the opening 3a, and an arrow D direction, in which the opening 3a is opened. It is installed.
The stopper member 6 is formed with a stopper surface 6a that is slidable with respect to the guide portion 2c, and an inclined surface 6b that is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the stopper surface 6a.
And the stopper member 6 is always urged | biased by the direction which closes the opening part 3a of the arrow C direction by the elastic member (not shown).

Further, the ink cassette 7 in which the ink ribbon is accommodated can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3 by inserting the front side surface 7a side from the opening 3a.
The ink cassette 7 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3 is configured such that the rear side surface 7b is overlapped with the one end surface 2a of the housing 2, or the rear side surface 7b is located slightly inside the one end surface 2a.
Further, an eject spring (not shown) that elastically biases the mounted ink cassette 7 in the discharge direction is disposed inside the cassette mounting portion 3.
Therefore, the ink cassette 7 released from the stopper by the stopper member 6 can be ejected from the cassette mounting portion 3 to the rear side surface 7b side by an eject spring.

The operation of mounting the ink cassette 7 to the cassette mounting portion 3 in the printer 1 of the present invention will be described. First, the stopper member 6 before mounting the ink cassette 7 to the cassette mounting portion 3 is shown in FIG. Thus, it is in the state of sliding and moving in the direction of closing the opening 3a in the direction of arrow C.
Then, the lid 4 is rotated in the direction of arrow A on the lower side in the figure, and the front side surface 7a side of the ink cassette 7 is inserted into the cassette mounting portion 3 from the opened opening 3a.
In the ink cassette 7 at this time, the upper corner portion on the front side surface 7a abuts on the inclined surface 6b of the stopper member 6 and pushes the stopper member 6 upward in the direction of the arrow D against the urging force of the elastic member. It is inserted into the cassette mounting part 3.

When a predetermined amount of the ink cassette 7 is inserted into the cassette mounting portion 3, the convex portion 4 d presses the rear side surface 7 b of the ink cassette 7 when the lid 4 is rotated upward in the direction of arrow B. As a result, the ink cassette 7 is pushed into the cassette mounting portion 3 and mounted.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ink cassette 7 mounted in the cassette mounting portion 3 is in a state where the rear side surface 7b is overlapped with the one end surface 2a of the housing 2, or the rear side surface 7b is located slightly inside the one end surface 2a. It will be in the state.

Therefore, the stopper member 6 that has been raised in the direction of arrow D is lowered in the direction of arrow C by the biasing force of the elastic member.
As a result, the ink cassette 7 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3 is prevented from being detached by the stopper member 6.
The stopper member 6 that prevents the ink cassette 7 from slipping is restricted in movement by the restriction portion 4c of the lid 4 covering the upper end surface.

Therefore, the stopper member 6 whose movement is restricted by the restricting portion 4c does not come off the ink cassette 7 even if vibration or the like is applied to the printer 1 from the outside.
In such a printer 1 of the present invention, when the ink cassette 7 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3, the stopper member 6 slides in the direction of arrow C.
By detecting the sliding movement of the stopper member 6 by visual observation or the like, it is possible to know that the ink cassette 7 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3, and the operability when mounting the ink cassette 7 is good.

In order to take out the ink cassette 7 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 3, when the lid body 4 is rotated in the arrow A direction, the restriction of the stopper member 6 in the arrow D direction by the restriction portion 4d is released.
Then, in conjunction with the operation of further rotating the lid 4 in the direction of arrow A, the stopper member 6 slides upward in the direction of arrow D against the urging force of an elastic member (not shown), and ink The retaining of the cassette 7 is released.
The ink cassette 7 whose release prevention has been released is discharged from the opening 3a by a predetermined amount on the rear side 7b side by an eject spring (not shown).
The ink cassette 7 can be taken out from the cassette mounting portion 3 by grasping the rear side surface 7b side discharged from the opening 3a with an operator's hand.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the restriction 4c and the protrusion 4d are formed on the lid 4. However, only one of the restriction 4c or the protrusion 4d may be formed.
In the present invention, the printer 1 is described as a thermal transfer printer, and the ink cassette 7 in which an ink ribbon is accommodated is described. However, the printer 1 may be an ink jet printer. The ink cassette 7 in the case where the printer 1 is an ink jet printer is filled with ink liquid, and an ink liquid supply needle (not shown) is disposed at the back of the cassette mounting portion 3.

  Moreover, although the convex part 4d was formed in the side plate 4b of the cover body 4 and the back side surface 7b of the ink cassette 7 was pressed by this convex part 4d and the ink cassette 7 of the cassette mounting part 3 was pushed in, it demonstrated. The rear side surface 7b of the ink cassette 7 may be directly pressed by the fourth side plate 4b.

It is a principal part side view of the printer regarding this invention. FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part for explaining an operation of mounting an ink cassette on the printer shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part in which an ink cassette is mounted on the printer shown in FIG. 1. It is a principal part side view of the conventional printer. It is a principal part side view explaining the operation | movement which mounts an ink cassette in the conventional printer.

Explanation of symbols

1: Printer of the present invention 2: Housing 2a: One end surface 2b: Support part 2c: Guide part 3: Cassette mounting part 3a: Opening part 4: Cover body 4a: Rotating part 4b: Side plate 4c: Restricting part 4d: Convex Part 5: Small screw 6: Stopper member 6a: Stopper surface 6b: Inclined surface 7: Ink cassette 7a: Front side 7b: Rear side

Claims (6)

A cassette mounting portion having an opening that is open on one side to which an ink cassette can be mounted, and a lid that can open and close the opening, and the ink cassette mounted on the cassette mounting closes the opening. A printer, wherein a stopper member that can be attached to the cassette mounting portion by being pushed by the lid body at the time and that can be prevented from being detached from the cassette mounting portion is provided. The stopper member is disposed so as to be slidable in a direction to close the opening, and the ink cassette inserted from the opening moves the stopper member in a direction opposite to the closing direction. The printer according to claim 1. The lid is formed with a convex portion that can push the ink cassette inserted from the opening, and when the ink cassette is mounted on the cassette mounting portion by being pressed by the convex portion, the stopper member 3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the ink cassette is prevented from coming off by sliding. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the lid is formed with a regulating portion capable of regulating the movement of the stopper member that has been slid. The stopper member is urged by an elastic member to be slidable, and resists the urging force of the elastic member in conjunction with the movement of the lid in a direction to open the opening. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the stopper member is moved in a direction opposite to the sliding direction to release the ink cassette. 6. The printer according to claim 5, wherein the cassette mounting portion is provided with an eject spring capable of elastically urging the mounted ink cassette in a discharge direction.

Images