JP2009208434A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which widens an installation flexibility without being influenced by a surrounding environment. <P>SOLUTION: The printer has a paper storing part 10 which stores paper 2 inside a printer body 1, and carries out printing on the paper surface by delivering out the paper 2. The paper storing part 10 of the printer body 1 is opened at least in two directions, enabling the paper 2 to be freely inserted from any of the openings 1a and 1b into the paper storing part 10. The openings 1a and 1b are configured to be opened and closed by opening and closing covers 11 and 12, respectively. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer having a function of performing printing on the surface of a sheet stored in a printer body while feeding the sheet.

As this type of printer, for example, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1. The printer of Patent Document 1 includes an upper cover in a printer body, and a paper storage unit is formed in the printer body. In this printer, the paper storage unit is exposed by opening the upper cover, and the paper can be set. The paper stored in the printer main body is configured to be printed by a paper feeding / printing mechanism in the printer main body. Further, the printer of Patent Document 1 can select two installation postures, that is, a horizontal position as shown in FIG. 6 and a vertical position as shown in FIG.
Utility Model Registration No. 3128350

  The printer as described above is used in various usage environments. For example, the inside of a checkout location in a store is often provided with a minimum necessary space where a store clerk can stand up and perform checkout work, and a printer for printing receipts or the like is installed in the narrow space. In such a narrow space, it is difficult to secure a space where the top cover can be opened and closed when inserting paper, even if the printer can be placed both vertically and horizontally. It was often constrained by the environment.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can expand the degree of freedom of installation without being affected by the surrounding environment.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a printer that has a paper storage portion for storing paper inside a printer body, and that feeds out the paper and prints on the paper surface.
The paper storage section of the printer main body is opened in at least two directions so that the paper can be inserted into the paper storage section from each opening, and an opening / closing cover is provided in each opening.

  In this way, by opening the paper storage section of the printer body in at least two directions, paper can be inserted from either opening, making it possible to replace the paper according to the environment around the printer. The degree can be expanded and a good working environment can be formed.

  Here, it is possible to place horizontally on a horizontal surface and vertically install on a vertical surface, and if each opening is formed on a surface other than the horizontally placed surface and the vertically installed surface. In any posture, each opening can be selected and used in accordance with the surrounding environment when replacing the paper, which is preferable in increasing the degree of freedom of installation.

  Furthermore, if the bottom of the printer body is set to the horizontal placement surface, the back is set to the vertical installation surface, and each opening is formed on the front and top surfaces, paper can be inserted from the front or top It is possible to arbitrarily select a basic exchange method.

  In addition to setting the bottom surface of the printer body as a horizontal placement surface, setting the back side as a vertical installation surface, and forming each opening on the front and top surfaces, In the installed state, the paper discharge port can be selected in any direction forward or upward.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the paper storage unit of the printer main body is opened in at least two directions, so that the paper can be inserted from either opening. Therefore, the paper can be replaced according to the environment around the printer. As a result, the degree of freedom of installation is widened and a favorable working environment can be formed.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[First Embodiment]
1A and 1B are diagrams schematically showing the main configuration of a printer according to a first embodiment, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view of a printer placed sideways, and FIG. 1B is a side sectional view of the printer. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing various installation states in the printer according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer of the first embodiment has a printer main body 1, and stores the paper 2 wound in a roll shape in a paper storage portion 10 provided in the printer main body 1. Similarly, the paper feeding / printing mechanism 20 in the printer main body 1 feeds the paper 2 and prints on the surface. In addition, the printer includes a cutter device 30, a control device 40, and the like as constituent elements.

  In the printer according to the present embodiment, a first opening 1 a is opened on the upper surface of the printer main body 1, and a second opening 1 b is opened on the front. Each of the openings 1a and 1b is for inserting the paper 2 into the paper storage unit 10, and thus has a size and shape that allows the paper 2 to be inserted and set in the paper storage unit 10 without hindrance. .

  Further, in the printer main body 1, a paper discharge port 13 communicating with the inside of the printer main body 1 is formed in the width direction at the top corner portion of the housing shown in FIG. 1. The paper discharge port 13 is for discharging the paper 2 fed out by the paper feeding / printing mechanism 20 to the outside.

Furthermore, the printer main body 1 has two installation surfaces. The bottom surface of the housing shown in FIG. 1 is a first installation surface (arrangement surface) 14 and the back surface is a second installation surface 15. .
The printer of this embodiment can be installed in various postures as shown in FIG. 2 according to the use environment. For example, FIG. 2A shows a state in which the first installation surface 14 is placed on a horizontal plane to be in a horizontal posture. At this time, the sheet 2 is discharged upward from the sheet discharge outlet 13. FIG. 2B shows a state in which the second installation surface 15 is arranged on a horizontal plane to be in a horizontal posture. At this time, the sheet 2 is discharged forward from the sheet discharge outlet 13. FIG. 2C shows a state in which the second installation surface 15 is installed on a vertical surface such as a wall and is in a vertical posture. At this time, the sheet 2 is discharged upward from the sheet discharge outlet 13. FIG. 2D shows a state in which the first installation surface 14 is installed on a vertical surface such as a wall and is in a vertical posture. At this time, the sheet 2 is discharged forward from the sheet discharge outlet 13.
In this specification, the “horizontal plane” and “vertical plane” on which the printer is installed are the upper surfaces of tables, desks, pedestals, etc., and the side surfaces of walls, partitions, etc., and include the generally accepted inclination. Used.

3A and 3B are diagrams schematically illustrating a state in which the opening / closing cover is opened in the printer according to the first embodiment, where FIG. 3A is a perspective view and FIG. 3B is a side sectional view.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the printer according to the first embodiment includes two opening / closing covers used for replacing the paper 2 in the printer main body 1. Specifically, a first cover 11 is provided so as to open and close a first opening 1 a formed on the upper surface of the printer main body 1, and a second opening 1 b formed on the front of the printer main body 1. The second cover 12 is provided so as to open and close.
The first opening / closing cover 11 is configured to rotate about a support shaft 11 a attached adjacent to the paper discharge port 13 to open and close the first opening 1 a. On the other hand, the second opening / closing cover 12 is configured to rotate around a support shaft 12a attached to the lower side of the printer body 1 to open and close the second opening 1b.

The paper feeding / printing mechanism 20 of the printer includes a print head 21 for printing on the paper 2 and a platen roller 22 for feeding out the paper 2. A thermal head that performs printing by a thermal method is applied to the print head 21 of the present embodiment. Further, the platen roller 22 is disposed so as to be pressed against the print head 21, and the rotation drive is controlled by a drive source (not shown).
The sheet feeding / printing mechanism 20 is not limited to the above-described thermal method, and various systems such as impact dots, ink jets, and lasers can be applied.

  The cutter device 30 includes a long fixed blade 31 and a movable blade 32 that can cross the fixed blade 31 downstream of the sheet feeding / printing mechanism 20. The cutter device 30 is configured to cut the paper 2 by sliding the movable blade 32 to cross the fixed blade 31 after the paper 2 is fed out by an appropriate amount by the paper feeding / printing mechanism 20.

  The printer control device 40 includes a circuit board that controls a series of operations of the printer described above, and is electrically connected to each component in the printer main body 1. The control device 40 is also connected to a controller (not shown) on the outer surface of the printer main body 1, and the user can change the operation settings of the printer and the like by operating the controller.

As described above, in the printer of the first embodiment, various components are arranged in the printer main body 1. When the paper 2 is set to the printer, the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 are selected and opened, and one of the first and second openings 1a and 1b is opened. Open. Then, the paper 2 is inserted through the opened opening 1 a or 1 b and set in the paper storage unit 10. At this time, the leading end portion of the paper is guided to the paper feeding / printing mechanism 20 and sent out from the paper discharge port 13 to the outside. The paper feed / printing mechanism 20 clamps the paper 2 when the power is turned on and the print head 21 and the platen roller 23 cooperate. As a result, the printer is ready for printing.
With the printing operation, the platen roller 23 rotates to discharge the paper 2. Then, the cutter device 30 operates in accordance with the end of the printing operation, and cuts the paper 2.
The various configurations of the above-described printer are not particularly limited in terms of structure, function, installation position, and the like, and may be arbitrarily designed as long as a necessary print function is satisfied.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing the operation of inserting the paper into the paper storage unit in the printer according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the printer according to the present embodiment can open the first opening / closing cover 11 on the upper surface even when an obstacle 100 is placed in front of the printer main body 1. The sheet 2 can be inserted into the sheet storage unit 10 without any change.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the printer according to the present embodiment is provided in the front side even if there is no gap necessary for opening and closing the first opening / closing cover 11 above the printer body 1. Since the two open / close covers 12 can be opened, the paper 2 can be inserted into the paper storage unit 10 without any trouble.

  By providing the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 in the printer main body 1 in this way, the first and second opening portions 1a and 1b can be opened by opening one of the two opening / closing covers 11 and 12. The paper 2 can be inserted from any of the above. As a result, it becomes easy to adapt to the usage environments of various users, and the degree of freedom of printer installation can be expanded.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the printer according to the present embodiment has first and second openings formed on the upper surface and the front surface of the printer body 1 by simultaneously opening the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12. It is also possible to widen the opening area by opening both the parts 1a and 1b. Thereby, it becomes easy to perform maintenance work in the printer main body 1, and workability can be improved.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, Of course, a various modification and application example are possible. For example, in the present embodiment, the first and second openings 1a and 1b are formed on the upper surface and the front surface of the printer main body 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the opening portions are formed on the bottom surface, the back surface, the side surface, and the like. At the same time, an opening / closing cover may be provided in the opening.
In addition, as another configuration example of the first embodiment, the following modifications can be applied.

[Modification 1]
FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing a modification of the printer according to the first embodiment.
The first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 are not configured to rotate around the support shafts 11a and 12a as in the printer of the first embodiment, but as a structure that opens and closes in a sliding manner as shown in FIG. Also good. Even with such slide-type opening / closing covers 11 and 12, it is difficult to insert the paper 2 if there are obstacles in the vicinity, so providing two or more makes it easier to match the user's usage environment.
In addition to this, it goes without saying that various methods such as a method of simply removing the open / close covers 11 and 12 from the printer main body 1 can be applied. In short, the two or more opening / closing covers in the present invention may be any opening / closing structure as long as the first and second openings 1a, 1b can be opened and the paper 2 can be inserted.

[Modification 2]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing another modification of the printer according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 6, the printer of Modification 2 includes a third opening 1 c on the side surface of the printer main body 1 in addition to the first and second openings 1 a and 1 b, and the third opening 1c is provided with a third opening / closing cover 16.
The third opening / closing cover 13 also has an opening / closing structure similar to that of the first and second opening / closing covers 11, 12. The third opening 1 c is opened by opening the cover 13, and this third opening The sheet 2 can be inserted into the sheet storage unit 10 from the section 1c.

[Modification 3]
FIG. 7 is a perspective view schematically showing another modification of the printer according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 7, in the printer of the fourth modification, the sheet feeding / printing mechanism 20 and the cutter device 30 are installed on the inner surface of the front end of the second opening / closing cover 12. Thus, even if the paper feeding / printing mechanism 20 and the cutter device 30 are provided on the opening and closing covers 11 and 12 side, the same operational effects as the first embodiment can be obtained, and a printer with excellent versatility can be obtained. . Further, since the paper feed / printing mechanism 20 is provided in the second opening / closing cover 12, the paper feed / printing mechanism 20 is positioned closer to the user when the paper 2 is replaced, and the paper 2 is moved to the print head 21 and the platen roller 22. It becomes easy to manually hold them in between.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 8 is a diagram schematically illustrating the main configuration of the printer according to the second embodiment. FIG. 8A illustrates a closed state of the open / close cover, and FIG. 8B illustrates an open state of the open / close cover.
Also in the present embodiment, the first opening 1a is formed on the upper surface of the printer main body 1, the second opening 1b is formed on the front surface, and the first opening / closing cover 11 is provided in the first opening 1a. A second opening / closing cover 12 is provided in each of the openings 1b.

  Each of the open / close covers 11 and 12 is rotatably supported at one end, and has a configuration in which the tip side abuts with each part of the printer main body 1. In this embodiment, a paper discharge port 13 is formed at the corner of the printer main body 1 where the open / close covers 11 and 12 abut each other.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the printer of this embodiment has a print head 21 and a fixed blade 31 installed at the tip of the first opening / closing cover 11. A platen roller 22 and a movable blade 32 are installed at the tip of the second opening / closing cover 12.

  The first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 are fixed to the side frame of the printer body 1 in the closed state, and necessary rigidity is ensured. Further, in the closed state, the front end edges of the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 are abutted and engaged with each other, thereby positioning each other. In a state where the leading edge portions of the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 are abutted (that is, in a state where the opening / closing covers 11 and 12 are closed), the print head 21 is formed at the position where the paper discharge port 13 is formed. And the platen roller 22 are opposed to each other, and the fixed blade 31 and the movable blade 32 are disposed at opposing positions.

  In the printer of this embodiment, when one of the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 is opened, one of the first and second openings 1a and 1b is opened, and the opened opening 1a is opened. Alternatively, the paper 2 can be inserted into the paper storage unit 10 from 1b. That is, the paper 2 can be inserted from either the first or second opening 1a or 1b. As a result, it becomes easy to adapt to the usage environments of various users, and the degree of freedom of printer installation can be expanded.

  In addition, in this embodiment, when any one of the first and second opening / closing covers 11 and 12 is opened, the print head 21 and the platen roller 22, and the fixed blade 31 and the movable blade 32 are separated from each other at the same time. Therefore, the leading end of the sheet 2 inserted and arranged in the sheet storage unit 10 is pulled out, and the sheet 2 pulled out is inserted into the print head 21 and the fixed blade 31 (or the platen roller 22 and the movable blade 32) remaining in the sheet discharge port 13. A tip portion can be placed. Thereafter, the print head 21 and the platen roller 22, the fixed blade 31 and the movable blade 32 are arranged to face each other only by closing the opened opening / closing cover 11 or 12, and the leading end of the sheet 2 is sandwiched between the intermediate portions. The state is complete. Therefore, according to the printer of this embodiment, the setting work of the paper 2 becomes easy and workability can be further improved.

[Modification 1]
FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically illustrating a modified example of the printer according to the second embodiment, in which (a) is a closed state of the opening / closing cover, and (b) is an opened state of the opening / closing cover.
As shown in FIG. 9, in the printer of the second embodiment, the platen roller 22 and the movable blade 32 of the cutter device 30 are provided in the first opening / closing cover 11, and the print head 21 and the cutter device are provided in the second opening / closing cover 12. Thirty fixed blades 31 are provided. Even if the printer is configured in this manner, the same effects as those of the second embodiment described above can be obtained.

It is a figure which shows typically the main structures of the printer which concerns on 1st Embodiment, (a) is a perspective view of the printer set horizontally, (b) is side sectional drawing similarly. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing various installation states in the printer according to the first embodiment. 4A and 4B are diagrams schematically illustrating a state in which the opening / closing cover is opened in the printer according to the first embodiment, where FIG. 5A is a perspective view, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a state in which a sheet is inserted into a sheet storage unit in the printer according to the first embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows typically the modification of the printer which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing another modification of the printer according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a perspective view schematically showing another modification of the printer according to the first embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the main structures of the printer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (a) has shown the obstruction | occlusion state of the opening / closing cover, (b) has shown the open state of the opening / closing cover. It is a figure which shows typically the modification of the printer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (a) has shown the obstruction | occlusion state of the opening / closing cover, (b) has shown the open state of the opening / closing cover.

Explanation of symbols

1: printer main body, 1a: first opening, 1b: second opening, 1c: third opening, 2: paper,
10: paper storage unit, 11: first opening / closing cover, 12: second opening / closing cover, 13: paper discharge port, 14: first installation surface, 15: second installation surface, 16: third opening / closing Cover 20: Paper feeding / printing mechanism, 21: Print head, 22: Platen roller,
30: Cutter device, 31: Fixed blade, 32: Movable blade,
40: control device,
100: Obstacle

Claims (3)

A printer that has a paper storage unit for storing paper inside the printer body, and that feeds out the paper and prints on the paper surface;
A printer characterized in that a paper storage section of the printer body is opened in at least two directions so that paper can be inserted into the paper storage section from each of the openings, and an opening / closing cover is provided in each of the openings. . The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer can be placed horizontally on a horizontal plane and vertically placed on a vertical plane.
Each of the openings is formed on a surface other than a horizontally arranged surface and a vertically installed surface. The printer body has a bottom surface set as a horizontally arranged surface, a back surface set as a vertically installed surface, and the openings formed on the front and top surfaces. Item 2. Printer.

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