JP2008230013A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To propose a printer in which a gap between an operation board fitted on a printer body unit and an operation panel arranged on a printer case can be precisely set. <P>SOLUTION: When an upper case 3 of the printer 1 is assembled on the printer body unit 10, a condition that the lower end face 71a of a rib 71 of the operation panel 7 of the upper case 3 side is forcibly pressed to the upper end face 91a of a front side frame plate part 91 of the board holder 9 on the printer body unit 10 side, is formed, and the gap between the operation panel 7 and the operation board 8 held by the board holder 9 can be precisely regulated. The problems that this gap is too wide to surely perform switch button operation, and the on/off state of a displaying lamp such as LED can not be confirmed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer in which an operation panel in which a button switch operation unit, an LED display unit, and the like are arranged is arranged in a printer case, and the printer case part in which the operation panel is formed does not have a complicated structure. The present invention relates to a printer that can accurately position a panel and an operation board attached to the back surface of the panel and that can be easily assembled.

  A printer is known in which an operation panel is arranged in a part of a printer case in order to perform various settings and various status displays. An operation board on which button switches and LEDs are arranged is mounted on the back side of the operation panel, and a flexible switch operation unit is formed on the operation panel corresponding to these button switches, corresponding to the LEDs. A transparent display window is formed at the operation panel. Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3 disclose a printer having such an operation panel.

  Conventionally, an operation board mounting portion is integrally formed on a printer case in which an operation panel is disposed, and after the operation board is attached to the printer case, the printer case is assembled to the printer main unit. Alternatively, after the operation unit having the operation board assembled to the operation panel is attached to the printer case, the printer case is assembled to the printer main unit.

  In this case, it is necessary to integrally form the operation panel and operation board mounting part in the printer case, or to form the operation unit mounting part integrally, and the printer case has a complicated structure. There is a problem that the mold becomes complicated and expensive. Further, it is necessary to connect the wiring drawn from the operation board attached to the printer case to the main board on the printer body unit side when the printer case is assembled to the printer body unit. Therefore, the workability of the assembly work is poor, and it is necessary to lengthen the wiring drawn from the operation board.

Therefore, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, it is conceivable to attach the operation board to the printer body unit side. In this way, the shape of the printer case can be simplified, and the mold cost can be reduced. Further, since it is not necessary to wire the operation board when assembling the printer case, the assembling work is facilitated and the wiring drawn from the operation board can be shortened.
JP-A-11-268376 JP 2003-266862 A JP 07-68899 A

  However, when the operation board is mounted on the printer body unit side, the operation panel and the operation board cannot be accurately positioned due to the assembly error of the printer case, parts error, etc., and the distance between them is wide. It may be too narrow or too narrow.

  For example, if these intervals are too wide, there arises a problem that even if the switch operation part of the operation panel is pressed, the button switch on the operation board on the back side cannot be reliably pressed. In addition, problems such as difficulty in visually checking the blinking state of the LED from the display window of the operation panel occur.

  In view of these points, an object of the present invention is to propose a printer in which an operation panel arranged in a printer case can be accurately positioned at an appropriate interval with respect to an operation board attached to a printer body unit. It is in.

In order to solve the above problems, the printer of the present invention provides:
An operation board on which at least a button switch is arranged, and
An operation panel having an operation cover for the button switch;
A substrate holder holding the operation substrate;
A printer body unit to which the substrate holder is attached;
A printer case in which the operation panel is disposed;
A holder-side contact portion formed on the substrate holder;
A panel-side contact portion that is formed on the operation panel and is pressed against the holder-side contact portion when the printer case is assembled to the printer body unit;
The distance between the operation panel held by the operation panel and the substrate holder is defined by the contact between the panel side contact portion and the holder side contact portion.

  In the printer of the present invention, when the printer case is assembled to the printer main body unit, the panel side abutting portion of the operation panel arranged on the printer case side is brought into contact with the holder side of the substrate holder attached to the printer main body unit. It will be in the state pressed against the part. Since the substrate holder is forcibly pressed by the panel side abutting portion of the operation panel, the same state as when the operation substrate is previously attached to the operation panel is formed. Therefore, the interval between the operation panel on the printer case side and the operation board on the printer body unit side can be accurately defined.

  Here, the substrate holder is configured to include a fixed portion fixed to the printer main unit and a substrate holding portion protruding in a cantilevered state from the fixed portion. The holder side abutting portion can be formed at a site, and the operation panel can be held by the substrate holding portion. By easily displacing the substrate holding portion that protrudes in a cantilever state, it is possible to prevent the panel-side contact portion and the holder-side contact portion from being pressed by an excessive pressing force.

  In addition, a substrate holding surface that holds the operation substrate and a holding claw that holds the operation panel so as not to float from the substrate holding surface are disposed on the substrate holding portion, and the substrate holding surface is If the operation board is pushed into the board holding surface from a direction perpendicular to the operation board, the operation board can be easily simplified by forming a state in which the operation board is sandwiched between the board holding surface and the holding claw. It can be attached to the substrate holder by operation.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the substrate holding portion is provided with a positioning portion that engages with the operation substrate held on the substrate holding surface to define the position of the operation substrate in the substrate surface direction.

Next, the space between the operation panel and the operation board may be accurately defined using the spring force of the grounding conductive leaf spring connected to the operation board. The printer according to the present invention in this case is
An operation board on which at least a button switch is arranged, and
An operation panel having an operation cover for the button switch;
A printer main body unit holding the operation board in a state of being movable in a direction approaching and leaving the operation panel;
A printer case in which the operation panel is disposed;
A substrate side contact portion formed on the operation substrate;
A panel-side contact portion formed on the operation panel;
Arranged between the operation board and the printer main unit, and when the printer case is assembled to the printer main unit, it is elastically deformed so that the substrate side contact portion is biased to the panel side contact portion. A conductive leaf spring for
The distance between the operation panel and the operation board is defined by the contact between the panel side contact part and the board side contact part.

  According to this configuration, the state in which the operation board is pressed against the operation panel on the printer case side is formed by the spring force of the conductive leaf spring. Therefore, the interval between the operation panel and the operation board can be accurately defined without being affected by the assembly error of the printer case.

  Here, the substrate-side contact portion may be a substrate surface portion of the operation board, and the panel-side contact portion may be a plurality of ribs protruding from the operation panel toward the operation substrate.

  Further, a substrate holder may be attached to the printer main unit, and the operation substrate may be held by the substrate holder in a state in which the operation substrate can be moved toward and away from the operation panel.

  In this case, it is desirable that the substrate holder is provided with a positioning portion that engages with the operation substrate held by the substrate holder and defines the position of the operation substrate in the substrate surface direction.

  In the printer of the present invention, the operation panel is disposed on the printer case side, the operation board is disposed on the printer body unit side, and when the printer case is assembled to the printer body unit, the operation panel on the printer case side is A state is formed in which the substrate holder on the main unit side is forcibly pressed, and the interval between the operation panel and the operation substrate held by the substrate holder is accurately defined. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the adverse effect that the switch button operation cannot be performed reliably because these intervals are too wide, and that the blinking state of the display lamp such as the LED cannot be confirmed from the outside. In addition, it is possible to avoid the adverse effect that the operation panel side part hits the button switch and display lamp on the operation board side because these intervals are too narrow.

  Similarly, even when the operation board is pressed against the operation panel using the spring force of the conductive leaf spring for grounding, these intervals are defined with high accuracy, and this is due to the wideness of these intervals. It is possible to reliably avoid harmful effects.

  Embodiments of a printer to which the present invention is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing a printer according to the present embodiment. The printer 1 according to the present embodiment is an impact printer that performs printing on a recording sheet such as a cut sheet or continuous sheet by using a dot impact head. The printer case 2 of the printer 1 is composed of an upper case 3 and a lower case 4. On the front surface of the printer case 2, horizontal paper for guiding the recording paper horizontally from the front side of the printer 1 toward the inside of the printer. A guide 5 is attached. A transparent arc-shaped opening / closing cover 6 is attached to the upper side of the horizontal paper guide 5. The printer case 2, the horizontal paper guide 5, and the open / close cover 6 are plastic molded products.

  A horizontally long rectangular operation panel 7 is disposed on the right side of the arc-shaped upper end portion that is inclined forward on the front surface of the upper case 3. Although the operation panel 7 is integrally formed with the upper case 3, it may be formed as a separate member and attached to the upper case 3.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the printer 1 with the upper case 3 removed. In this figure, the horizontal paper guide 5 and the opening / closing cover 6 are omitted. The printer body unit 10 covered by the printer case 2 includes, for example, a sheet metal device frame 11, a carriage guide 14 that is horizontally stretched between the left and right side plate portions 12 and 13 of the device frame 11, and the carriage. A head carriage 15 that reciprocates left and right along the guide 14 is provided, and a dot impact head 16 is mounted on the head carriage 15 in a downward state. For example, the recording paper fed from the front by the horizontal paper guide 5 is printed while being fed backward by the transport roller 17 along the horizontal path passing through the printing position of the dot impact head 16. After printing, the paper is fed forward again and discharged forward along the horizontal paper guide 5 again. Further, the continuous paper is fed from the rear side of the printer 1 to the printing position of the dot impact head 16, sequentially forwarded, and discharged forward along the horizontal paper guide 5.

  FIG. 3 is a partial enlarged cross-sectional view showing a portion where the operation panel 7 is formed. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the operation board 8 is opposed to the back surface of the operation panel 7 of the upper case 3 at a predetermined interval. The operation substrate 8 is attached to a substrate holder 9 which is a plastic molded product. The substrate holder 9 is attached to the device frame 11 of the printer body unit 10.

  The operation board 8 includes button switches for performing various settings, for example, four button switches 21 to 24, and a plurality of LEDs for displaying various states, for example, six LEDs 25 to 30. Yes. The operation panel 7 is formed with flexible switch operation portions 31 to 34 projecting outward at portions facing the button switches 21 to 24 and transparent display windows 35 to 40 facing portions facing the LEDs 25 to 30. Has been. In addition, one end of a flexible flat cable 18 for wiring is connected to the operation board 8. The other end of the flexible flat cable 18 is connected to the main board 19 mounted on the apparatus frame 11 side.

  Here, as can be seen from FIG. 3, in the state where the upper case 3 is assembled to the printer main body unit 10, a rib 71 (panel side abutting portion) for defining a space formed on the operation panel 7 on the upper case 3 side. Is pressed against the front frame plate portion 91 (holder side abutting portion) for defining the distance formed on the substrate holder 9 attached to the printer main unit 10 side. When the rib 71 and the front frame plate portion 91 are in contact with each other, the interval between the operation panel 7 and the operation board 8 is accurately defined.

  With reference to FIGS. 3 to 6, the structure of the operation panel 7, the operation substrate 8 and the substrate holder 9 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 4A is a perspective view when the upper case 3 is viewed from the back surface side, and FIG. 4B is an enlarged partial perspective view showing a portion where the operation panel 7 is formed on the back surface of the upper case 3. It is. Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the operation panel 7 is a horizontally long rectangular flat plate integrally formed with the upper case 3, and has a flat back surface 70 for four switch operation sections. Circular recesses 31a to 34a and six circular recesses 35a to 40a for LED display windows are formed. Further, a plurality of, in this example, five triangular ribs 71 having a constant thickness stand vertically at regular intervals along the front long edge. A trapezoidal rib 72 having a constant thickness is formed in the vicinity of one corner on the rear side.

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the substrate holder 9 and the operation board 8 mounted on the printer body unit 10 side, and FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which these are removed. Referring to FIGS. 3, 5 and 6, the operation board 8 is a horizontally-long rectangular board having a constant thickness. As described above, the operation board 8 has four button switches. 21-24 and 6 LED25-30 are mounted. In addition, a connector 81 is mounted on the operation board 8, and a flexible flat cable 18 for wiring is drawn out from here to the rear. A pair of left and right insertion holes 82 is formed in a side portion of the connector 81, and a conductive plate spring 83 (see FIG. 5) for grounding the substrate is inserted and fixed therein. Further, a substrate guide groove 84 formed by cutting backward is formed on the front long side edge of the operation substrate 8, whereby the front-rear direction of the operation substrate 8 can be recognized.

  On the other hand, the substrate holder 9 includes a fixing portion 9A fixed to the apparatus frame 11 side, and a substrate holding portion 9B protruding in a cantilevered state from the front surface of the fixing portion 9A. The substrate holding portion 9B includes a bottom plate portion 90, and a front frame plate portion 91, a left frame plate portion 92, and a right frame plate portion 93 that stand from the front edge and the left and right side edges of the bottom plate portion 90. . The operation board 8 is mounted from above on a portion surrounded by the front frame plate portion 92, the left frame plate portion 93 and the right frame plate portion 94. Substrate holding projections 95 to 102 are formed at a plurality of locations on the bottom plate portion 90 of the substrate holder 9, and the operation substrate 8 is parallel to the operation panel 7 by the substrate holding surfaces 95 a to 102 a formed at the upper ends thereof. Is held to be.

  Inclined surfaces 99b to 102b that are continuously inclined upward are formed at the rear ends of the substrate holding surfaces 99a to 102a of the substrate holding protrusions 99 to 102. The position of the operation board 8 in the short side direction is defined by these inclined surfaces 99b to 102b and the front frame plate portion 91. Further, the position of the operation board 8 in the long side direction is defined by the left frame plate portion 92 and the right frame plate portion 93.

  Further, the front frame plate portion 91 is formed with holding claws 104 to 106 at three locations, and the holding claws 107 a and 108 a are also formed at the upper end portions of the left and right standing plates 107 and 108 erected from the bottom plate portion 90. Yes. The operation substrate 8 placed on the substrate holding surfaces 95a to 102a from above is held by these front and rear holding claws 104 to 106, 107a and 108a so as not to float from the substrate holding surfaces 95a to 102a. When attaching the operation substrate 8 to the substrate holder 9, the operation substrate 8 may be pushed into the substrate holding surfaces 95a to 102a from above the substrate holding surfaces 95a to 102a. By this pushing operation, the rear holding claws 107a and 108a are temporarily pushed backward, and the front and rear edges of the operation board 8 are mounted below the holding claws 104 to 106, 107a and 108a. Thereby, the state where the operation substrate 8 is held on the substrate holding surfaces 95a to 102a is formed.

  Here, the interval between the operation panel 7 formed on the upper case 3 and the operation board 8 on the printer body unit 10 side is determined by the rib 71 of the operation panel 7 being pressed against the front frame plate portion 91 of the board holder 9. It is prescribed. That is, with reference to FIG. 3, when the upper case 3 is assembled to the printer body unit 10, the lower end surface 71 a of the rib 71 is pressed against the upper end surface 91 a of the front frame plate portion 91 of the substrate holder 9 from above. The protrusion amount of the rib 71 and the protrusion amount of the front frame plate portion 91 are set so that is always formed.

  As a result, when the upper case 3 is assembled to the printer main unit 10, the rib 71 is pressed against the front frame plate portion 91 with a predetermined pressing force, and the interval between the operation panel 7 and the substrate holder 9 is determined by the ribs. 71 and the front frame plate portion 91. Therefore, the interval between the operation board 8 and the operation panel 7 held by the board holder 9 is defined. In other words, the interval between the operation panel 7 and the operation board 8 is set with the same accuracy as when the substrate holder 9 holding the operation board 8 is attached in advance to the back surface portion of the upper case 3 on which the operation panel 7 is formed. Can be defined.

  Further, the front side frame plate portion 91 is formed at the front end portion of the substrate holding portion 9 </ b> B projecting forward in a cantilever state in the substrate holder 9. Therefore, when the pressing force between the front frame plate portion 91 and the rib 71 becomes excessive, the front end side portion of the cantilevered substrate holding portion 9B is easily displaced downwardly, Is suppressed to a predetermined value or less. Therefore, it can be avoided that an excessive force is applied to the operation panel 7 or the substrate holder 9.

  As described above, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, when the upper case 3 is assembled to the printer main unit 10, the rib 71 of the operation panel 7 on the upper case 3 side is connected to the printer main unit 10 side. A state of being pressed against the front frame plate portion 91 of the substrate holder 9 is formed. When the rib 71 and the front frame plate portion 91 are in contact with each other with a predetermined pressing force, the interval between the operation panel 7 and the substrate holder 9, and hence the interval between the operation panel 7 and the operation substrate 8, is accurately defined. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the adverse effects caused by the narrowness of these intervals.

  Further, since the operation board 8 is mounted on the printer body unit 10 side, it is not necessary to form a mounting portion for mounting the operation board 8 on the upper case 3 side. Therefore, the structure of the operation panel forming portion of the upper case 3 can be simplified, which is advantageous for cost reduction of the molding die.

  When the upper case 3 on which the operation panel 7 is formed is assembled to the printer main unit 10, the flexible flat cable 18 drawn from the operation substrate 8 is connected to the main substrate 19 on the printer main unit 10 side. Wiring work is unnecessary. Therefore, the workability of the assembling work of the upper case 3 can be improved, and the length of the flexible flat cable 18 can be shortened.

(Another configuration to define the interval)
Here, the distance between the operation panel 7 and the operation board 8 can be defined using the spring force of the grounding conductive leaf spring 83 disposed between the operation board 8 and the apparatus frame 11.

  FIGS. 7 to 9 are views showing the embodiment in this case, FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing the upper case from the back side, and FIG. 7B is an operation panel on the back side of the upper case. It is an expansion partial perspective view which shows the site | part currently formed. FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view showing the operation board and the substrate holder before the upper case is assembled. FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view showing the operation panel, the operation substrate and the substrate holder after the upper case is assembled.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, substrate pressing ribs 73 are formed on the back surface of the operation panel 7 </ b> A together with the ribs 71 for pressing the surface of the operation substrate 8. For example, two substrate pressing ribs 73 are formed on each of both sides and the center of the back surface 70 of the operation panel 7A in the long side direction. The other configuration is the same as that of the operation panel 7 described above.

  The substrate holder 9A mounted on the printer main body unit 10 has the same structure as the above-described substrate holder 9. However, holding claws 99b to 102b for holding the operation substrate 8A so as not to float from the substrate holding surfaces 95a to 102a. The only difference is that the holding claws 104 to 106 are not provided. The operation board 8A has the same structure as the operation board 8 described above.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the conductive leaf spring 83 for grounding is bent downward at a right angle from the upper end portion 83a extending along the surface of the operation board 8 and the rear end of the upper end portion 83a. A shape having an extending inclined portion 83b, a vertical portion 83c extending vertically downward from the lower end of the inclined portion 83b, and a lower end portion 83d extending bent backward from the lower end of the vertical portion 83c. is doing. The upper end portion 83a of the conductive leaf spring 83 having this shape is fixed to the surface of the operation board 8, and is electrically connected to a grounding terminal (not shown) formed there. A lower end portion 83d of the conductive leaf spring 83 is supported in a slidable state on the upper surface of the horizontal plate portion 11a in the apparatus frame 11, and is electrically connected thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the operation board 8A before the upper case 3 is assembled to the printer body unit 10 is slightly lifted from the board holding surfaces 95a to 102a of the board holder 9A by the conductive leaf spring 83.

  When the upper case 3 is assembled to the printer body unit 10, as shown in FIG. 9, the lower end surface 73a of the rib 73 of the operation panel 7A of the upper case 3 hits the surface portion 80 of the operation board 8A, and pushes the operation board 8A downward. Come on. As a result, the conductive leaf spring 83 is bent as a whole, and the state in which the operation board 8A is reliably pressed against the rib 73A of the operation panel 7A is formed by the elastic return force.

  Therefore, the interval between the operation panel 7A and the operation substrate 8A is defined by the contact between the rib 73 and the substrate surface portion 80. Even in this case, as in the case of the contact between the rib 71 of the operation panel 7 and the front frame plate portion 91 of the substrate holder 9, the interval between the operation panel 7A and the operation substrate 8A can be defined with high accuracy. .

1 is an external perspective view of a printer to which the present invention is applied. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the state before attaching an upper case. It is a partial expanded sectional view of the site | part in which the operation panel is formed. It is the perspective view which shows the back surface of an upper case, and the partial expansion perspective view which shows an operation panel. It is a perspective view of an operation board and a board holder on the printer main unit side. It is a disassembled perspective view of an operation substrate and a substrate holder. It is the perspective view which shows the back surface of the upper case which concerns on another embodiment, and the partial expansion perspective view of the operation panel. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the state of the operation board | substrate before attaching an upper case. It is a partial expanded sectional view which shows the state after attaching an upper case.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer, 2 Printer case, 3 Upper case, 4 Lower case, 5 Horizontal paper guide, 6 Open / close cover, 7, 7A Operation panel, 8, 8A Operation board, 9, 9A Board holder, 10 Printer body unit, 11 Device frame , 11a Horizontal plate portion, 12, 13 Side plate portion, 14 Carriage guide, 15 Head carriage, 16 Dot impact head, 17 Transport roller, 18 Flexible flat cable, 19 Main board, 21-24 Button switch, 25-30 LED, 31 -34 Switch operation part, 35-40 Display window, 70 Back surface, 71 Rib, 71a Lower end surface, 80 Front surface, 81 Connector, 82 Insertion hole, 83 Conductive leaf spring, 84 Substrate guide groove, 90 Bottom plate part, 91 Front side Frame plate part, 92 Left side frame Portion, 93 the right frame plate portions, 95A～102a substrate holding surface

Claims (8)

An operation board on which at least a button switch is arranged, and
An operation panel having an operation cover for the button switch;
A substrate holder holding the operation substrate;
A printer body unit to which the substrate holder is attached;
A printer case in which the operation panel is disposed;
A holder-side contact portion formed on the substrate holder;
A panel-side contact portion that is formed on the operation panel and is pressed against the holder-side contact portion when the printer case is assembled to the printer body unit;
The printer is characterized in that a distance between the operation panel and the operation substrate held by the substrate holder is defined by the contact between the panel side contact portion and the holder side contact portion. The printer according to claim 1.
The substrate holder includes a fixing portion fixed to the printer main body unit and a substrate holding portion protruding in a cantilevered state from the fixing portion, and the holder side contact with a portion on the tip side of the substrate holding portion. A printer having a contact portion formed thereon, wherein the operation panel is held by the substrate holding portion. The printer according to claim 2.
The substrate holding unit includes a substrate holding surface that holds the operation substrate, and a holding claw that holds the operation panel so as not to be lifted from the substrate holding surface.
When the operation substrate is pushed into the substrate holding surface from a direction orthogonal to the substrate holding surface, a state is formed in which the operation substrate is sandwiched between the substrate holding surface and the holding claw. A printer characterized by that. The printer according to claim 3.
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding portion includes a positioning portion that engages with the operation substrate held on the substrate holding surface and defines a position of the operation substrate in the substrate surface direction. An operation board on which button switches are arranged, and
An operation panel having an operation cover for the button switch;
A printer main body unit holding the operation board in a state of being movable in a direction approaching and leaving the operation panel;
A printer case in which the operation panel is disposed;
A substrate side contact portion formed on the operation substrate;
A panel-side contact portion formed on the operation panel;
The grounding disposed between the operation board and the printer main unit, and elastically deforms when the printer case is assembled to the printer main unit, and biases the board-side contact portion to the panel-side contact portion. A conductive leaf spring for
The distance between the operation panel and the operation board is defined by the contact between the panel side contact part and the substrate side contact part. The printer according to claim 5.
The substrate-side contact portion is a substrate surface portion of the operation substrate,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the panel-side contact portion is a plurality of ribs protruding from the operation panel toward the operation board. The printer according to claim 6.
A substrate holder attached to the printer body unit;
The printer, wherein the operation board is held by the substrate holder in a state in which the operation board is movable toward and away from the operation panel. The printer according to claim 7.
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holder includes a positioning portion that engages with the operation substrate held by the substrate holder and defines a position of the operation substrate in the substrate surface direction.

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