JP2008062597A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which has few number of parts of the printer and which can be reduced in weight and size. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 1 which has a printer body 2 and a cover 3 openable and closable to this printer body 2 comprises a thermal head 19 for printing a label 83, a head holder 20 for holding the thermal head 19, and an opening/closing lever 5 formed integrally with the head holder 20 to lock the cover 3 to the printer body 2 and to release this lock. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer that conveys a print medium and performs predetermined printing, and more particularly to a printer that includes a cover that can be opened and closed with respect to a printer body.

2. Description of the Related Art There is known a printer provided with a printer main body that rotates roll paper obtained by winding a long belt-like print medium in a roll shape, and an open / close cover that can rotate with respect to the printer main body. In such a printer, a lock mechanism for locking the opening / closing cover with respect to the printer main body and for releasing the lock is provided. With the opening / closing cover opened, the roll paper is replaced, and the opening / closing cover is locked. Printing on a printing medium and conveyance are performed.
A printer main body provided with a storage unit for storing long paper wound in a roll shape and a platen for conveying the long paper, a cover rotatably held by the printer main body, and a cover held by the cover A printer having a print head and a lock mechanism for locking a cover is known. (For example, patent document 1).

JP-A-8-300752

In the printer of Patent Document 1, a lock mechanism that is used only to lock the cover is required, which increases the number of parts, which increases costs and increases the size of the printer. In addition, the portable printer has a problem that it is difficult to carry because the total number of parts increases and the weight of the entire printer increases. Also, if a portable printer is accidentally dropped from the position where it is carried on the waist or shoulders, heavy weight will cause damage when touching the floor, leading to printer damage and durability of the printer. There is a problem that the sex becomes weak.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that has a small number of parts and that is lightweight and compact and has high durability.

A printer according to the present invention is a printer having a printer main body, a cover that can be opened and closed with respect to the printer main body, a thermal head that performs printing on a print medium, a head holding portion that holds the thermal head, and the cover And an opening / closing lever integrally formed with the head holding portion.
The platen shaft is supported by the cover and is rotatable, the printer main body is provided with the head support portion, and the head support portion is provided with an engagement groove for engaging with the platen shaft. To do.
The head support portion is rotatably provided at a position where the engaging groove is separated from the platen shaft and a position where the engaging groove is engaged with the platen shaft, and the engaging groove is engaged with the platen shaft. An urging member for urging the head support portion is provided.
In addition, the head support portion is provided with a support body integrally formed with the opening / closing lever, a pressure plate provided with a thermal head, detachably provided on the support body, and provided between the support body and the pressure plate. And a pressure member that biases the pressure plate in the direction of the thermal head.
The support includes a notch and a holding portion, and the pressure plate includes a claw that is detachably engaged with the notch, and a protrusion placed on the holding portion. It is characterized by having.

Since the cover is locked to the printer body and the thermal head is supported by the head support that is formed integrally with the opening / closing lever that releases this lock, there is no need to provide a separate opening / closing lever in addition to the head support. Since the number of parts can be reduced, the cost can be reduced and the size of the printer can be reduced.
Further, by providing an engagement groove that engages the platen shaft of the platen roller provided on the cover side in the head support portion provided in the printer main body, the cover is attached to the main body by engaging the engagement groove and the platen shaft. And the thermal head can be disposed at an optimum position for printing with respect to the platen roller.
In addition, by providing a biasing member that biases the engaging groove of the head support portion provided so as to be able to engage with the platen shaft, the cover can be kept locked with respect to the printer body. The cover can be unlocked by operating the opening / closing lever in a direction against the biasing member.
Further, the thermal head can be easily replaced by making the pressure plate including the thermal head detachable from the support.

  The best mode for carrying out the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the printer in a cover-locked state with a part cut away, and FIG. 3 is a diagram of the printer in a state in which the cover-lock is released. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view partially cut away, and the slide member 15 and other components are omitted in FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 of the present invention mainly has a printer main body 2 and a cover 3. The printer body 2 has a cover 3 fixed (locked) to the printer body 2, an open / close lever 5 for releasing the lock, a power key 6 for turning on / off the printer 1, and conveyance of the printing medium. An input unit 9 including a transport key 7 for performing printing and a print key 8 for instructing printing on a printing medium, an infrared receiving unit 10 for performing infrared communication with a portable terminal such as a hand scanner or a cellular phone (not shown), and a printer LED 11 indicating the state 1 and battery display 12 indicating the remaining battery level, an engagement hole 14 for engaging a shoulder belt used for carrying the printer 1, and a long belt-like mount 82 A separation plate 25 that separates the mount 82 and the label 83 from the label continuous body 81 composed of a plurality of labels 83 temporarily attached to the substrate 82, and the mount 82 using the separation plate 25 The slide member 15 has a slide member 15 that can be switched between a peeling issuance state in which the label 83 is peeled off and discharged and a continuous issuance state in which the label 83 is not peeled off from the mount 82 without using the peeling plate 25 and the continuous label body 81 is discharged as it is. is doing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 3 is provided at one end of the cover 3 on the printer main body 2 via the rotation shaft 4, and is rotatable about the rotation shaft 4. A separation spring (not shown) is provided on the rotation shaft 4 to apply a force for urging the cover 3 in a direction away from the printer main body 2. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure in the vicinity of the cover. As shown in FIG. 4, the platen shaft 21 of the platen roller 16 is held by a slide bearing on the other end side of the cover 3, and the platen roller 16 can be rotated. I support it. Further, a gear provided at the longitudinal end of the platen roller 16 meshes with a gear of a drive motor (not shown) provided on the printer main body side, and the platen roller 16 rotates around the platen shaft 21 by driving the motor.

  In the printer main body 2, the position of the supply unit 18 which is a space for rotatably holding the roll paper 80 on which the label continuous body 81 is rolled, and the position of the label continuous body 81 drawn from the roll paper 80 are indicated. A sensor 17 for detecting, a thermal head 19 for printing by applying a predetermined amount of heat to a label 83 having a thermosensitive coloring layer on the surface, and a head support that is integrally formed with the open / close lever 5 and supports the thermal head 19. Part 20.

  The supply unit 18 is a cylindrical space that matches the circumference of the cylindrical roll paper 80, and holds the roll paper 80 placed in the space in a rotatable state. Further, a pair of guide members (not shown) that guide both side surfaces in the width direction of the roll paper 80 are provided, and both side surfaces in the width direction of the roll paper 80 are regulated by the pair of guide members. The pair of guide members are movable in the width direction of the label continuum by a rack and pinion mechanism or the like, and can cope with various label sizes.

  The sensor 17 is a reflective sensor including a light receiving element and a light emitting element, and detects the position of the label 83 by detecting a position detection mark (not shown) printed on the mount 82 of the label continuous body 81.

  The thermal head 19 is supported by the head support portion 20, is rotatably provided in the printer body 2 with a shaft 51 provided at one end of the head support portion 20 as a fulcrum, and is labeled between the thermal head 19 and the platen roller 16. The continuous body 81 is sandwiched and printed on the surface of the label 83 while being conveyed.

  A battery storage chamber 22 for storing a battery serving as a power source for the printer 1 is provided on the shaft 51 side located behind the head support portion 20 in the printer main body 2. The battery storage chamber 22 is a space surrounded on all sides by the outer wall 23, and the battery is stored in this space.

  The head support portion 20 is integrally formed with the opening / closing lever 5, and a back plate 58 of a support body 52 of the head support portion 20, which will be described later, abuts a spring 24 as an urging member fixed to the outer wall 23 of the battery storage chamber 22. The head support portion 20 is attached toward the platen shaft 21 (or the thermal head 19), and a force that always locks the cover 3 to the printer main body 2 is acting. Further, the opening / closing lever 5 is configured to be exposed from the opening 27 of the slide member 15, and the opening / closing operation by the opening / closing lever 5 is possible.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the head support portion 20, and FIG. 6 is an assembly perspective view of the head support portion 20, and a detailed configuration of the head support portion 20 will be described based on these drawings.
As shown in FIG. 5, the head support portion 20 includes a support body 52 formed integrally with the opening / closing lever 5, and a pressure plate 54 detachably provided on the support body 52 via a pair of pressure springs 53, 53. have.
The support 52 includes a pair of side plates 56, 56 positioned on both side surfaces in the longitudinal direction, a front plate 57 positioned on the opening / closing lever 5 side, a back plate 58 arranged in parallel to the front plate 57, and a front plate 57. And a back plate 58, and an opening / closing lever 5, which are integrally formed.

  In the pair of side plates 56, 56, a pair of shaft holes 60, 60 through which the shaft 51 is inserted, a pair of engagement grooves 61, 61 engaged with the platen shaft 21, and a claw 71 of the pressure plate 54 described later, A pair of notch portions 62, 62 to be engaged and a pair of holding portions 63, 63 which are planted inward of the support body 52 and on which the protruding portion 72 of the pressure plate 54 is placed to hold the pressure plate 54 are provided. It has been.

  The opening / closing lever 5 integrally formed is provided in the vicinity of the center of the front plate 57 in the longitudinal direction, and two rows of grooves 65 are provided at the tip of the opening / closing lever 5 so that fingers are caught when the cover is opened / closed. . The opening / closing lever 5 is provided with an extending portion 74 whose front end extends downward, and as shown in FIG. 3, when the cover 3 is opened, a gap between the opening / closing lever 5 and the printer main body 1 is provided so that fingers do not enter the inside of the printer main body. It has a closed shape. Further, the opening / closing lever 5 has a peeling sensor 66 provided at a position on the thermal head 19 side and a pair of convex portions 67, 67 provided on both side surfaces of the opening / closing lever 5.

  The peeling sensor 66 is set in a peeling issue state by the printer, and a light emitting unit 68 that emits light to the label 83 peeled off from the mount 82 and a light receiving unit 69 that receives light from the light emitting element reflected on the label 83. And the peeled label 83 is detected. When the light receiving unit 69 changes from a state where light is detected to a state where light is not detected, it is detected that the label 83 is not present under the peeling sensor 66, that is, the label 83 has been removed. A label 83 is issued. Further, the hole provided with the light receiving portion 69 of the opening / closing lever 5 is made smaller in diameter than the hole of the light emitting portion 68 so that outside light from other than the light emitting portion 68 enters and the peeling sensor 66 does not detect it erroneously.

  A pair of convex portions 67 and 67 indicate a direction in which the cover 3 is opened, and engage with a slide piece 70 that closes a gap between the opening / closing lever 5 and the printer main body 2, and the opening / closing lever 5 is rotated about the shaft 51. Slide along the printer main body 2 in the vertical direction together with the operation to be performed.

  The upper surface plate 59 is provided with a pair of positioning grooves 64 and 64 for fixing the positions of the pressure springs 53 and 53.

The pressure plate 54 includes claws 71 and 71 that engage with the notches 62 and 62 of the support 52, a pair of protrusions 72 and 72 that are placed and held on the holding parts 63 and 63 of the support 52, and thermal Screw holes 73 and 73 for engaging the head 19 with screws 55 and 55 are provided.
The claws 71, 71 are located at both ends of the pressure plate 54 and have elasticity in the longitudinal direction of the pressure plate 54. The claws 71, 71 of the pressure plate 54 abut against the inside of the side plates 56, 56 of the support 52. By contact, the claws 71 are elastically deformed inward. Further, when the pressure plate 54 is pushed into the support body 52, the claws 71, 71 reach the notch portion 62 of the support body 52, and the claws 71, 71 are pushed back outward by the elastic force. Engage. Thus, the pressure plate 54 is detachably attached to the support body 52. When the thermal head 19 is removed, the tabs 71 and 71 are pushed inward to engage the notch 62 and the tabs 71 and 71. It is done by removing. Thereafter, the screw 55 is loosened from the pressure plate 54, and the thermal head 19 is removed.

The protrusions 72 and 72 are placed and held in contact with the upper ends of the holding parts 63 and 63 of the support body 52 so that the pressure plate 54 does not jump out of the support body 52 due to the elastic force of the pressure spring 53. .
As described above, the thermal head 19 is fixed to the pressure plate 54 with the screws 55, and the pressure plate 54 and the support body 52 are attached and detached with the pressure springs 53 and 53 being sandwiched between the pressure plate 54 and the support body 52. By being engaged with each other, the head support portion 20 is configured as shown in FIG. The head support portion 20 is supported by the printer body 2 with the shaft 51 as a fulcrum, and can be rotated between a position where the engagement groove 61 is separated from the platen shaft 21 and a position where the engagement groove 61 is engaged with the platen shaft 21. And

The spring 24 abuts against the back plate 58 of the support 52, and the head support portion 20 is biased by the spring 24 in the direction in which the engagement groove 61 engages with the platen shaft 21. Can be kept locked. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the engagement of the engagement groove 61 and the platen shaft 21 is released by rotating the head support portion 20 by the opening / closing lever 5 in a direction against the spring 24, and the position indicated by the two-dot chain line The cover 3 can be opened to replace the roll paper 80, perform printer maintenance, and the like.

The printer 1 includes a control unit 30 and will be described based on a control block diagram of the control unit 30 of the printer 1 shown in FIG. The control unit 30 operates in accordance with a control program stored in the ROM 31 that stores a predetermined control program, a CPU 32 that controls each unit, and a RAM 33 that stores various data necessary for the CPU 32 to operate. The feed control circuit 34 supplies a pulse signal to the drive motor and controls the transport of the continuous label 81 by the platen roller 16, and the control signal corresponding to the print data such as characters and figures to be printed supplied from the CPU 32. A print control circuit 35 that generates and supplies the thermal head 19 to perform a print operation, and controls the light emitting portion of the sensor 17 or the peeling sensor 66 under the control of the CPU 32 to emit light toward the print medium, An electrical signal output from the light receiving unit is received, converted into digital data, and supplied to the CPU 32. A label detecting circuit 36, an interface 37 for connecting the input unit 9 and a display unit 13, a calendar IC38 for clocking the current time and date, and a flash ROM 39, a which stores various setting information of the printer 1.
These units are connected to the CPU 32 via the data bus 40, and under the control of the CPU 32, printing is performed on the label 83 by the thermal head 19 in accordance with the print data received from the infrared receiving unit 10.

As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, by integrally forming the head support portion 20 that supports the thermal head 19 with the opening / closing lever 5, the number of parts can be reduced, and cost reduction and downsizing of the printer are realized. I can do it.
Further, in the embodiment, the plurality of labels 83 temporarily attached to the long belt-like mount 82 are configured as the label continuous body 81, but not limited thereto, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is provided on one surface of the label, and the release agent is provided on the other surface. It may be a non-mounting label without a mount that has a layer and is wound into a roll.
Further, although the point where the sensor 17 is provided as the reflection sensor on the printer main body side has been described, the sensor 17 may be provided on the cover 3 side, or the sensor may be a transmission sensor.
It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it is obvious that each embodiment can be appropriately changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Further, the number, position, shape, and the like of the various components described above are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for carrying out the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a partially cutout printer in a cover lock state. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing a part of the printer in a state where a cover lock is released. The schematic perspective view which shows the structure of a cover vicinity. The disassembled perspective view of a head support part. The assembly perspective view of a head support part. Control block diagram.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Printer main body 3 Cover 4 Rotating shaft 5 Opening / closing lever 6 Power key 7 Transport key 8 Print key 9 Input part 10 Infrared receiving part 11 LED
12 Battery display unit 13 Display unit 14 Engagement hole 15 Slide piece 16 Platen roller 17 Sensor 18 Supply unit 19 Thermal head 20 Head support unit 21 Platen shaft 22 Battery storage chamber 23 Outer wall 24 Spring 25 Release plate 27 Opening unit 30 Control unit 31 ROM
32 CPU
33 RAM
34 transport control circuit 35 print control circuit 36 label detection circuit 37 interface 38 calendar IC
39 Flash ROM
40 Data bus 51 Shaft 52 Support 53 Pressure spring 54 Pressure plate 55 Screw 56 Side plate 57 Front plate 58 Back plate 59 Top plate 60 Shaft hole 61 Engaging groove 62 Notch portion 63 Holding portion 64 Positioning groove 65 Groove 66 Peeling sensor 67 Convex part 68 Light emitting part 69 Light receiving part 70 Slide piece 71 Claw 72 Projection part 73 Screw hole 74 Extension part 80 Roll paper 81 Label continuous body 82 Mount 83 Label

Claims (5)

A printer having a printer body and a cover that can be opened and closed with respect to the printer body,
A thermal head for printing on a print medium;
A head holding portion for holding the thermal head;
An opening / closing lever that is integrally formed with the head holding portion, locks the cover to the printer body, and releases the lock;
A printer comprising:   The platen shaft is supported on the cover and is rotatable, the printer main body is provided with the head support portion, and the head support portion is provided with an engagement groove to be engaged with the platen shaft. Item 1. The printer according to Item 1. The head support portion is rotatably provided at a position where the engaging groove is separated from the platen shaft and a position where the engaging groove is engaged with the platen shaft,
3. The printer according to claim 2, further comprising an urging member that urges the head support portion in a direction in which the engagement groove engages with the platen shaft. The head support portion is a support integrally formed with the opening / closing lever;
A pressure plate provided detachably on the support, and provided with a thermal head;
4. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a pressure member provided between the support and the pressure plate and biasing the pressure plate toward the thermal head. The support has a notch and a holding part,
5. The printer according to claim 4, wherein the pressure plate includes a claw that is detachably engaged with the notch portion, and a protruding portion that is placed on the holding portion.

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