JP2018144268A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of conducting printing similar to a stamp, and capable of accurately aligning with a printing start position of the printing.SOLUTION: The printer includes: a printing part 2 for printing on a printing object by moving from a printing start position to a printing finish position on the printed object; an operation part 3 for movably operating the printing part 2; and a guide part 4 for guiding the printing part 2 according to operation of the operation part 3. In the printer, the printing part 2 is guided from a state of being placed in a standby position where a printing object position corresponding to the printing start position is visible, to the printing start position according to operation of the operation part 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a printing apparatus that can print an arbitrary character string or figure on a print object by moving the print object such as paper or a box to be slid by a user. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP-A-5-330150 JP 2008-55680 A

  By the way, in such a printing apparatus, it is conceivable to perform printing similar to a stamp. However, since the head unit for performing printing is disposed on the bottom surface of the printing apparatus facing the printing medium, the stamping is performed. There is a problem that it is difficult to accurately align the print start position with the position to be printed.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that can perform printing similar to a stamp and can accurately match the print start position.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is grasped by the following configuration.
The printing apparatus of the present invention includes a printing unit that performs printing on the print object by moving the print object from a print start position to a print end position, an operation unit that operates the print unit to be movable, A guide unit that guides the printing unit according to an operation of the operation unit, and the printing unit is disposed at a standby position where the position of the printing object corresponding to the printing start position is visible. According to the operation of the operation unit, the printing start position is guided from the state where the operation is started.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printing apparatus capable of performing printing while easily adjusting the printing start position.

1 is a front view of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the outline of operation | movement of the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) is a schematic front view of the printing apparatus which shows an initial state and a stamp printing operation start state, (b) is It is a schematic front view of the printing apparatus which shows a printing start state, (c) is a schematic front view of the printing apparatus which shows a printing completion state. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a control procedure of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “embodiments”) will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the same number is assigned to the same element throughout the description of the embodiment.

[Configuration of printing device]
1 is a front view of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of the printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

The printing apparatus 1 is a handy printer that can perform printing similar to a stamp. As illustrated in FIG. 1, a printing unit 2 that performs printing, an operation unit 3 that operates the printing unit 2, and an operation A guide unit 4 that guides the printing unit 2 and a housing 5 that accommodates the printing unit 2 and the guide unit 4 according to the operation of the unit 3 are provided.
The guide portion 4 includes a first guide member 6 (first guide portion), a printing guide groove 51c formed in the housing 5, a guide groove 51e (second guide portion) formed in the housing 5, and a first guide member 4 (first guide portion). 1 guide member 6 (1st guide part), the moving member 7 (moving part), and the elastic member 8 are provided.

  The directions in the following description are based on the front view of the printing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1. For example, the operation direction of the operation unit 3 is the downward direction (first direction), and the moving member 7 according to the operation of the operation unit 3 is used. Is referred to as the left-right direction (second direction).

  The printing unit 2 includes a printing unit case 9 that accommodates a substrate, an ink cartridge with a head unit, a user interface, a built-in power source, and the like, and a pair of protrusions 10 that protrude from both sides of the printing unit case 9. And an optical sensor 11 built in the protrusion 10.

  The built-in power supply is a power source for the printing unit 2, for example, a dry battery or a secondary battery. Although not shown, the power button is provided at a position accessible to the user, such as the side surface of the printing unit case 9. The printing apparatus 1 can be activated by the user operating the power button.

For example, a CPU 31, a RAM 42, a ROM 41, and the like are attached to a substrate (not shown) housed in the printing unit case 9 (see FIG. 5).
The functions of the CPU 31, RAM 42, and ROM 41 will be described later.

The ink cartridge incorporates ink and is integrally provided with a head portion 43 (see FIG. 5) that ejects ink onto a print medium for printing.
The ink cartridge is provided in the printing unit case 9 so that the head unit 43 is located on a surface (a lower surface in FIG. 1 (hereinafter also referred to as a bottom surface)) facing the print medium.

The head unit 43 includes a large number of nozzles arranged in a line in a direction substantially orthogonal to the printing movement direction moving from the printing start position to the printing end position, and ink is ejected from these nozzles.
However, when color printing is performed, nozzle rows for a plurality of colors (for example, cyan, magenta, and yellow) are arranged in the printing movement direction.
A plurality of nozzle rows may be provided for the same color.

The user interface is an interface with the user, and includes a notification unit 44 and a communication interface 45 (see FIG. 5).
The notification unit 44 includes a sound output unit such as a buzzer and a light source such as a light emitting diode, and performs a print end notification, a power ON / OFF notification, and the like with sound and light.

  For example, the light emitting diode is provided on the side surface of the printing unit case 9 so that light at the time of light emission can be seen from the first window unit 52b or the second window unit 52c described later. Other than 9, for example, the housing 5 may be provided.

The communication interface 45 is a wireless unit that can communicate with an external terminal (for example, a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or a personal computer) like Wi-Fi.
Therefore, the printing data created by the external terminal can be read by the printing apparatus 1 via the communication interface 45.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pair of protrusions 10 are movably fitted into a pair of printing guide grooves 51 c formed on the front wall portion 51 a and the rear wall portion 51 b of the housing body 51 of the housing 5. Has been.
The pair of printing guide grooves 51c provided in the housing 5 guides the printing unit 2, and printing is performed from a start position (printing start position) at which the printing unit 2 starts printing by the pair of printing guide grooves 51c. Guide to the end position (print end position) to end.

The optical sensor 11 is a position detection unit 46 (see FIG. 4) that detects where the printing unit 2 is positioned between the print start position and the print end position, and generally includes a laser and an LED. It may be an optical sensor capable of detecting the moving direction and the moving distance used in a PC mouse or the like.
Note that the position detection unit 46 may be a wheel-type rotation sensor that rotates in contact with the object to be printed instead of the optical sensor 11 so that the position after movement is detected from the amount of movement in which rotation is detected. good.

The optical sensor 11 of the present embodiment is provided on one projection 10 so as to face the lower surface in the printing guide groove 51c, and based on the reflected light of the light irradiated on the lower surface in the printing guide groove 51c, the printing unit 2 movement directions and movement distances are detected.
The position detection unit 46 is not limited to an optical sensor, and may be a potentiometer or a rotary encoder.

  For example, the position detection unit 46 forms a rack meshing with the gear on the lower surface of the printing guide groove 51c, and a gear mounted on the printing unit case 9 so that one of the protrusions 10 meshes with the rack and can be rotated from the rotation state of the gear. The moving direction and the moving distance can be detected, and it is only necessary to be able to detect where the printing unit 2 is located between the print start position and the print end position. It is not limited.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 3 is inserted into an operation guide hole 52 a formed in the case lid 52 of the case 5, and has a quadrangular prism-shaped operation unit main body 3 a that can move in the vertical direction. And a pressing part 3b provided on the upper surface part of the part main body 3a.
Then, when the user presses the pressing unit 3b downward, the printing unit 2 performs stamp printing.
A specific printing operation will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 5 includes a housing main body 51 that houses the printing unit 2, the first guide member 6, the moving member 7, and the elastic member 8, and a housing that covers the upper portion of the housing main body 51. A lid portion 52 and a plurality of screws 53 for fixing the housing lid portion 52 to the housing body portion 51 are provided.

The above-described operation guide hole 52a into which the operation unit 3 is inserted so as to be movable in the vertical direction is formed at the center of the case cover 52, and a print object (paper) is formed at the left end of the case cover 52. Etc.) is formed so as to be visible.
In addition, a second window portion 52c is formed at the right end portion of the housing lid portion 52 so that the print end position of the print medium can be visually recognized.

  On the other hand, an opening 51d for exposing the head portion 43 of the printing unit 2 is formed on the bottom surface portion of the housing body 51, and protrusions are formed on the front wall 51a and the rear wall 51b of the housing body 51. A pair of printing guide grooves 51 c that guide the printing unit 2 through 10 and a pair of second guide grooves 51 e (second guide portions) that guide both ends of the moving member 7 are formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the second guide groove 51e is inclined in the lower left direction from the left and right center positions of the upper end portions of the front wall portion 51a and the rear wall portion 51b, and is near the left end of the front wall portion 51a and the rear wall portion 51b. The first inclined guide part 51f that reaches the first inclined guide part 51g and the second inclined guide part 51g that is inclined rightward and downward from the left end part of the first inclined guide part 51f and reaches the vicinity of the right end of the front wall part 51a and the rear wall part 51b are continuous. It is formed in a state.

The first guide member 6 is detachably attached to the lower end portion of the operation unit 3, and moves downward according to the operation of the operation unit 3.
Between the upper surface part and lower surface part of the 1st guide member 6, the 1st guide groove 6a which the movement member 7 penetrates in the front-back direction and supports the movement member 7 so that a movement in the left-right direction is supported is formed. .

An opening 6b corresponding to the first window 52b is formed at the left end of the first guide member 6, and an opening 6c corresponding to the second window 52c is formed at the right end of the first guide member 6. Is formed.
As shown in FIG. 2, an opening 6 d is formed in the lower surface portion of the first guide member 6 to expose the intermediate portion of the moving member 7 downward.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the moving member 7 includes a moving member main body portion 7a guided by the first guide groove 6a of the first guide member 6 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and both ends of the moving member main body portion 7a. And a retaining guide part 7b attached to the part.

  The retaining guide portion 7b has a columnar shape having a diameter larger than the vertical width of the first guide groove 6a, thereby functioning as a retaining member from the first guide groove 6a of the moving member 7 and the housing 5 By being movably fitted in the second guide groove 51e, it functions as a guide member that guides the movement of the moving member 7 along the second guide groove 51e.

  That is, when the retaining guide portion 7b is guided by the second guide groove 51e, the operation force in the downward direction (first direction) of the operation portion 3 is laterally (second direction) by the second guide groove 51e. It is converted as a driving force for moving the moving member 7, and the moving member 7 is configured to move in the left-right direction (second direction).

The elastic member 8 is interposed between the moving member 7 and the printing unit 2, and absorbs the change in the vertical distance between the moving member 7 and the printing unit 2 due to the operation of the operation unit 3, while moving the moving member 7. This is a member that has a function of transmitting the moving force in the left-right direction to the printing unit 2.
Therefore, the elastic member 8 is fixed to the moving member 7 and is engaged with a fitting hole (see FIG. 3) formed in the upper part of the printing unit case 9 of the printing unit 2.

In this embodiment, a compression coil spring is used for the elastic member 8, but an elastic member having another structure may be used as long as the same function can be achieved.
And it is preferable that the elastic member 8 has bending rigidity of the grade which can move together, without buckling with the movement of the moving member 7 and the printing part 2.

  Further, the elastic member 8 is stored when absorbing the change in the vertical distance between the moving member 7 and the printing unit 2, and the printing unit 2, the operation unit 3, and the printing unit after the printing is finished by this stored force. It also has a function of returning the first guide member 6 and the moving member 7 to the initial positions.

[Mechanical operation of printing device]
Next, the mechanical operation of the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is a schematic front view of the printing apparatus 1 showing an initial state and a stamp printing operation start state. (B) is a schematic front view of the printing apparatus 1 which shows a printing start state, (c) is a schematic front view of the printing apparatus 1 which shows a printing completion state.
In FIG. 4, the operation of the printing apparatus 1 is schematically illustrated so that the operation can be easily understood.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, in the initial state before the operation unit 3 is operated, the operation unit 3 and the first guide member 6 are positioned at the upper limit position which is the initial position by the biasing force of the elastic member 8. Accordingly, the moving member 7 is positioned at the upper end of the first inclined guide portion 51f constituting the second guide groove 51e.

  This position is between the print start position and the print end position in the left-right direction (substantially intermediate position), and the printing unit 2 that interlocks with the moving member 7 in the left-right direction via the elastic member 8 is also the print start position in the left-right direction. And the print end position (almost intermediate position).

  According to such a standby position of the printing unit 2, since the printing start position is avoided, printing of the print medium is started from the first window 52 b of the housing lid 52 without being interrupted by the printing unit 2. It is possible to accurately align the printing apparatus 1 with respect to the print start position of the print medium while viewing the position.

  Further, according to such a standby position of the printing unit 2, the printing end position is also avoided, so that the printing end position of the printing medium is visually observed from the second window 52 c of the housing lid 52, and the printing medium It is also possible to align the printing apparatus 1 with the printing end position as a reference.

  Then, after positioning the printing apparatus 1 with respect to the print medium, the operation unit 3 is operated in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. When the first guide member 6 is lowered, and the first guide member 6 is lowered, the moving member 7 supported by the first guide member 6 so as to be movable in the left-right direction (second direction) is the second guide groove 51e. It moves to left direction along the 1st inclination guide part 51f which comprises.

  At this time, as described above, since the moving member 7 and the printing unit case 9 of the printing unit 2 are connected via the elastic member 8, the printing unit 2 is also moved to the left as the moving member 7 moves in the left direction. It moves toward the direction (one end side in the second direction), that is, toward the print start position side.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the moving member 7 moves to the left end position of the first inclined guide portion 51f constituting the second guide groove 51e, the printing unit 2 reaches the printing start position.
When the operation unit 3 is further pressed, the moving member 7 moves rightward along the second inclined guide portion 51g constituting the second guide groove 51e.

Then, as before, as the moving member 7 moves in the right direction, the printing unit 2 also moves in the right direction (the other end side in the second direction), that is, from the printing start position toward the printing end position, During the movement in the right direction, the printing unit 2 executes stamp printing on the print medium.
In addition, it is possible to perform printing from the printing start position by causing the printing unit 2 to start printing on the basis that the moving distance in the left direction is a predetermined distance.
Further, it is possible to perform printing from the print start position by issuing a print start instruction to the printing unit 2 by detecting the moment when the movement in the left direction changes to the movement in the right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, when the moving member 7 moves to the right end position of the second inclined guide portion 51g constituting the second guide groove 51e, the printing unit 2 reaches the printing end position, and the printing medium Printing of the stamp for is completed.

  Subsequently, when the hand is released from the operation unit 3 after the printing is finished, the printing unit 2 and the operation unit 3 are moved in the opposite direction to the above by the accumulated force accumulated in the elastic member 8 by the pressing operation of the operation unit 3. The first guide member 6 and the moving member 7 are returned to the initial positions.

Even in this initial position return operation, the printing unit 2 is moved in the reverse direction from the print end position toward the print start position on the print medium, so that the second printing is performed at the time of this movement. It may be.
In this way, clear printing can be performed by performing multiple printing, and the printing quality of the stamp can be improved.

[Functional configuration of printing device]
Next, the functional configuration of the printing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As illustrated in FIG. 5, the printing apparatus 1 includes functional units such as a control unit 30, a memory 40, a head unit 43, a notification unit 44, a communication interface 45, and a position detection unit 46.
In addition, since it already demonstrated about the head part 43, the alerting | reporting part 44, the communication interface 45, and the position detection part 46, description is abbreviate | omitted.

The control unit 30 is a functional unit that controls the overall operation of the printing apparatus 1 (printing unit 2), and includes a CPU 31, a print control unit 32, and the like.
For example, the CPU 31 performs processing such as determining print contents and instructing the print control unit 32 based on various data stored in the ROM 41 and the RAM 42.
The print control unit 32 transfers the contents of the print data (print buffer) stored in the RAM 42 to the head unit 43 according to the moving direction and moving distance of the printing unit 2 detected by the position detection unit 46. The head unit 43 is caused to execute printing.
The detailed operation of the control unit 30 will be described later.

The memory 40 includes a RAM 42 and a ROM 41.
The RAM 42 temporarily stores data used for calculation in the CPU 31 and print data output to the head unit 43.
The ROM 41 is data such as graphic characters (including characters, symbols and pictograms), size information of the graphic characters, print data tables, various programs, etc. for realizing the functions of the printing apparatus 1 (printing unit 2). Is stored.

[Control operation of printing device]
Next, the control operation of the printing apparatus 1 realized by the process executed by the control unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
However, the stamp print data to be printed by the printing apparatus 1 is created by a terminal device having a print data creation application such as a personal computer or a smartphone, and is read into the printing unit 2 through the communication interface 45, and the print data is stored in the RAM 42. It is assumed that it is stored as a print buffer corresponding to the movement distance.

For this reason, the contents of the print buffer corresponding to the movement distance are sequentially transferred to the head unit 43 according to the movement distance detected by the optical sensor 11 (position detection unit 46), thereby printing the stamp on the print medium. It is ready to run.
In addition, the control unit 30 is activated in response to an operation of the power button by the user, and executes the control process shown in FIG.
Note that the distance from the standby position of the printing unit 2 (head unit 43) to the printing start position is a first distance L1, and the distance from the printing start position to the printing end position is a second distance L2.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the printing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 30 first starts measuring the moving distance from the standby position of the printing unit 2 to the printing start position in accordance with the pressing operation of the operation unit 3 (step S101).
Specifically, a process of acquiring the first measurement distance K1 in the left direction from the position detection unit 46 is executed.

Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the first measurement distance K1 has reached the first distance L1, that is, whether or not the printing unit 2 has reached the print start position (step S102).
This determination step is repeated until the determination result is YES.

If it is determined in step S102 that the print start position has been reached, the control unit 30 determines the start of movement of the print unit 2 from the print start position to the print end position (step S103).
This determination step is repeated until the determination result is YES.
For example, this determination can be made on the basis of whether or not the movement in the right direction has started, and corresponds to the determination for determining the printing start moment.

If it is determined in step S103 that the printing unit 2 has started moving from the printing start position to the printing end position, the control unit 30 starts measuring the movement distance from the printing start position to the printing end position of the printing apparatus 1. At the same time (step S104), stamp printing is started (step S105).
Specifically, a process of acquiring the second measurement distance K2 in the right direction from the position detection unit 46 is executed, and a print start instruction is issued to the print control unit 32.

Next, the control unit 30 determines whether or not the second measurement distance K2 has reached the second distance L2, that is, whether or not the printing unit 2 has reached the print end position (step S106).
This determination step is repeated until the determination result is YES.

If it is determined in step S106 that printing has ended, the control unit 30 notifies the user of this by sound output by the notification unit 44, lighting of the light source, or the like (step S107), and the printing process ends.
By notifying the user that the printing process has been completed in this way by the notification unit 44, the user can know that the printing has been completed. Can be avoided during printing.

  As described above, the printing apparatus 1 of the present invention has been described based on the specific embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above specific embodiments, and various modifications and improvements are added. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the scope of the claims.

  For example, the housing 5 of the above-described embodiment includes the first window portion 52b that makes the print start position visible, and the second window portion 52c that makes the print end position visible, but the print start position is Only the first window portion 52b that can be seen may be provided, and instead of providing the first window portion 52b and the second window portion 52c, the transparency at which the print start position and the print end position can be seen. The housing 5 itself may be formed of a material having

  In addition, the printing unit 2 according to the above embodiment prints a stamp while moving from the printing start position toward the printing end position in accordance with the operation of the operation unit 3, but as described above, the operation unit 3 It is also possible to perform printing even during the movement of returning from the print end position toward the print start position.

The invention described in the scope of claims attached to the application of this application will be added below. The item numbers of the claims described in the appendix are as in the scope of the claims initially attached to the application of this application.
<Claim 1>
A printing unit that performs printing on the print object by moving the print object from a print start position to a print end position;
An operation unit for movably operating the printing unit;
A guide unit for guiding the printing unit in response to an operation of the operation unit;
With
The printing unit is guided to the printing start position according to an operation of the operation unit from a standby position where the position of the printing object corresponding to the printing start position is visible. A printing apparatus characterized by the above.
<Claim 2>
A housing for accommodating the printing unit and the guide unit;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide unit includes a print guide groove provided in the housing for guiding from the print start position to the print end position.
<Claim 3>
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position detection unit that detects a position between the print start position and the print end position at which the print unit is located.
<Claim 4>
4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that the printing unit has reached the print end position. 5.
<Claim 5>
The guide portion is
A first guide unit that is provided in the operation unit and moves in the first direction together with the operation unit when the operation unit is operated in the first direction;
A moving part supported by the first guide part so as to be movable in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
A second guide portion for converting an operation force of the operation portion in the first direction into a driving force for moving the moving portion in the second direction, and guiding the moving portion in the second direction;
It is interposed between the moving unit and the printing unit, and absorbs a change in the distance in the first direction between the moving unit and the printing unit due to the operation of the operation unit, while the first of the moving unit. An elastic member that transmits a moving force in two directions to the printing unit;
When the operation of the operation unit is started, the second guide unit guides the moving unit from the standby position to the one end side in the second direction, which is the print start position, and one end in the second direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the moving unit reaches the side, the moving unit is guided to the other end side in the second direction, which is the printing end position.
<Claim 6>
The said housing | casing has a 1st window part for accommodating a part of said operation part, the said 1st guide part, and the said printing part, and visually observing the said printing start position. 5. The printing apparatus according to 5.
<Claim 7>
The standby position is a position between the print start position and the print end position;
The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the housing has a second window portion for visually checking the printing end position.
<Claim 8>
The housing houses a part of the operation unit, the first guide unit, and the printing unit,
The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the casing is formed of a material having transparency that allows the printing start position and the printing end position to be visually observed.
<Claim 9>
9. The printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit performs printing even while the operation unit is not operated and the printer returns from the printing end position toward the printing start position. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 2 Printing part 3 Operation part 4 Guide part 5 Case 6 1st guide member (1st guide part)
7 moving member 8 elastic member 11 optical sensor 30 control unit 44 notifying unit 46 position detecting unit 51 housing body 51c printing guide groove 51e second guide groove (second guide unit)
52 Case Cover 52b First Window 52c Second Window

Claims (9)

A printing unit that performs printing on the print object by moving the print object from a print start position to a print end position;
An operation unit for movably operating the printing unit;
A guide unit for guiding the printing unit in response to an operation of the operation unit;
With
The printing unit is guided to the printing start position according to an operation of the operation unit from a standby position where the position of the printing object corresponding to the printing start position is visible. A printing apparatus characterized by the above. A housing for accommodating the printing unit and the guide unit;
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the guide unit includes a print guide groove provided in the housing for guiding from the print start position to the print end position.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a position detection unit that detects a position between the print start position and the print end position at which the print unit is located.   4. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit that notifies that the printing unit has reached the print end position. 5. The guide portion is
A first guide unit that is provided in the operation unit and moves in the first direction together with the operation unit when the operation unit is operated in the first direction;
A moving part supported by the first guide part so as to be movable in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction;
A second guide portion for converting an operation force of the operation portion in the first direction into a driving force for moving the moving portion in the second direction, and guiding the moving portion in the second direction;
It is interposed between the moving unit and the printing unit, and absorbs a change in the distance in the first direction between the moving unit and the printing unit due to the operation of the operation unit, while the first of the moving unit. An elastic member that transmits a moving force in two directions to the printing unit;
When the operation of the operation unit is started, the second guide unit guides the moving unit from the standby position to the one end side in the second direction, which is the print start position, and one end in the second direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the moving unit reaches the side, the moving unit is guided to the other end side in the second direction, which is the printing end position.   The said housing | casing has a 1st window part for accommodating a part of said operation part, the said 1st guide part, and the said printing part, and visually observing the said printing start position. 5. The printing apparatus according to 5. The standby position is a position between the print start position and the print end position;
The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the housing has a second window portion for visually checking the printing end position. The housing houses a part of the operation unit, the first guide unit, and the printing unit,
The printing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the casing is formed of a material having transparency that allows the printing start position and the printing end position to be visually observed.   9. The printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the printing unit performs printing even while the operation unit is not operated and the printer returns from the printing end position toward the printing start position. 10. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.

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