JP2024044354A - Electronics - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To make it easy for a user to understand that tape cutting is assigned to a power switch. [Solution] An electronic device 1, the power of which is turned on or off based on a first operation of a power switch 32, includes a housing 10 having an outlet 18, a cutting means 70 provided inside the housing 10 for cutting a strip-shaped tape 55 that is unwound from the inside of the housing 10 through the outlet 18 and has a tape surface, and a control means 81 for causing the cutting means 70 to cut the tape 55 based on a second operation of the power switch 32, the second operation having a different operating procedure from the first operation. The power switch 32 is provided so that the operating direction of the power switch 32 by the second operation is a direction along the normal direction of the tape surface of the portion of the tape 55 that is located at the outlet 18. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to electronic devices.

Patent Document 1 discloses a label printer that uses a thermal head to print on a strip of print media, and then cuts the print media after printing with a cutter. This cutter can be operated either manually or electrically. When operated manually, when the user presses down on a mechanical push button, the linear motion of the push button is converted by a transmission mechanism into the rotational motion of a rotating blade. As a result, the rotating blade approaches the fixed blade from back to front, and the tape is sandwiched and cut between the movable blade and the fixed blade.

The label printer of Patent Document 1 has a plurality of electrical operation keys in addition to push buttons. By pressing an operation key, the user can give the input, command, or information assigned to the operation key to the label printer, and the label printer responds to the input, command, or information assigned to the pressed operation key. Perform corresponding processing or operation.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-1036

In order to reduce the manufacturing costs of label printers, it is possible to reduce the number of operation keys. Reducing the number of operation keys results in a decrease in the number of types of commands that can be given to the label printer. To solve this problem, it is conceivable to assign multiple types of commands to a single operation key, and then assign multiple operations for that operation key to multiple commands, respectively. However, users may not understand the correspondence between the multiple types of operations and the multiple types of commands.

The objective of this invention is to make it easy for the user to understand that cutting the tape is assigned to the power switch.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device in which a predetermined power source is turned on or off based on a first operation of a power switch, the electronic device comprising: an outlet from which a strip of tape is unwound from inside a housing with the tape surface facing a predetermined direction; and a control means for controlling the driving of a cutting means provided inside the housing so that the cutting means cuts the tape based on a second operation of the power switch, the second operation having an operating procedure different from that of the first operation, the power switch being provided such that the operating direction in the second operation is a direction along the normal direction of the tape surface at the portion located at the outlet.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic device in which a predetermined power source is turned on or off based on a first operation of a power switch, which is provided in an oblong shape that is longer in the horizontal direction than in the vertical direction, of the housing based on an ejection port through which a strip of tape is fed out from inside the housing, and a second operation to the power switch that is different in operating procedure from the first operation. control means for driving and controlling the cutting means so that the cutting means provided therein cuts the tape, and the power switch is configured such that the operation direction in the second operation is in the vertical direction. Provided is an electronic device characterized in that the electronic device is installed in a direction along the same direction.

According to each aspect of the present invention, it is possible for the user to easily understand that the power switch is assigned to cut the tape.

FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of an electronic device. FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the electronic device. FIG. 3 shows each block of the electronic device. FIG. 4 shows the change in the signal when the user presses the power switch once. FIG. 5 shows the change in signal when the user presses the power switch for a long time. FIG. 6 shows the change in signal when the user presses the power switch twice. FIG. 7 shows the flow of processing performed by the control unit of the electronic device. FIG. 8 shows the change in the signal when the user presses the power switch twice. FIG. 9 shows the change in the signal when the user presses the power switch twice. FIG. 10 shows the change in signal when the user presses the power switch twice and then once. FIG. 11 shows changes in the signal when the control unit of the electronic device does not determine that the button has been pressed twice. FIG. 12 shows signal changes when the control unit of the electronic device does not determine that the button has been pressed twice. FIG. 13 shows signal changes when the control unit of the electronic device does not determine that the button has been pressed twice. FIG. 14 shows a change in the signal when the control unit of the electronic device does not determine that the button has been pressed twice. FIG. 15 shows the appearance of an electronic device according to a modified example. FIG. 16 shows each block of a modified electronic device.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below. The drawings are provided for illustrative purposes only, and therefore the scope of the present invention is not limited to the examples in the drawings.

[1. Electronics]
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of electronic device 1. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of electronic device 1. Fig. 3 is a block diagram of electronic device 1.

The electronic device 1 is a portable printing device, more specifically a thermal printer, and even more specifically a label printer. The electronic device 1 includes a housing 10, a main board 30, a relay board 31, a power switch 32, a light source 33, a transport motor 40, a cassette 50, a thermal head 60, a transport roller 65, a rotary encoder 66, an electric cutter 70, a main control circuit 80, a processing unit 91, and a switch circuit 92.

(1) Housing The housing 10 has a rounded rectangular box shape. The width of the housing 10 is smaller than the depth and height of the housing 10. The height of the housing 10 is approximately equal to the depth of the housing 10. The depth direction, width direction, and height direction of the housing 10 are orthogonal to each other, the depth direction is also the front-back direction, the width direction is also the left-right direction, and the height direction is also the up-down direction. The vertical direction is not necessarily the vertical direction.

The housing 10 is made of resin. The housing 10 has a hollow 17 inside as a first internal space. The housing 10 has an outlet 18 in the vertical center of the front surface 12. The outlet 18 is a horizontally long slot. That is, the dimension of the outlet 18 in the horizontal direction is longer than the dimension of the outlet 18 in the vertical direction. A printed strip of tape 55 is discharged from the outlet 18 to the outside of the housing 10. Inside the outlet 18, the width direction of the tape 55 is usually parallel to the horizontal direction of the outlet 18. The horizontal direction of the outlet 18 is parallel to the width direction of the housing 10, and the vertical direction of the outlet 18 is parallel to the height direction of the housing 10.

The housing 10 accommodates the cassette 50 therein. A part of the casing 10 is provided to be openable and closable or detachable from other parts of the casing 10. When a portion of the housing 10 is opened or removed from another portion of the housing 10, the cassette 50 is exposed. Therefore, the cassette 50 can be attached/detached and replaced.

The housing 10 has an operator 22 at the rear of the top surface 11 thereof. The operator 22 can be pressed. The direction in which the operator 22 is operated, that is, the direction in which the operator 22 is pushed, is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the outlet 18 and parallel to the normal to the surface of the tape 55 in the outlet 18. parallel. Furthermore, the operating direction of the operator 22 is parallel to the direction in which a movable blade 72 of an electric cutter 70 (described later) moves. Note that the surface of the tape 55 is also referred to as a tape surface.

The housing 10 has a transparent window 23 at the rear of its top surface 11. The window 23 is located in front of the control 22.

The housing 10 houses at least one battery 99 (see FIG. 3) inside. The battery 99 is a primary battery or a secondary battery.

(2) Power Switch, Light Source, and Relay Board The power switch 32 is disposed below the operator 22 inside the housing 10. The power switch 32 is mounted, for example, on a circuit board fixed to the housing 10 inside the housing 10. The power switch 32 is a push switch. More specifically, the power switch 32 is a tactile switch, a momentary switch, a dome switch, a membrane switch, or a pressure-sensitive switch. The power switch 32 is pushed by the user together with the operator 22. When the power switch 32 is pushed, the power switch 32 is turned on. When the push on the power switch 32 is released, the power switch 32 is turned off.

The direction in which the power switch 32 is operated, that is, the direction in which the power switch 32 is pressed, is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the outlet 18 and parallel to the normal to the surface of the tape 55 inside the outlet 18 . Furthermore, the direction in which the power switch 32 is operated is parallel to the direction in which a movable blade 72 of an electric cutter 70 (described later) moves. Therefore, the user can recall the direction in which the electric cutter 70 will cut the tape 55 based on the direction in which the power switch 32 is operated. Furthermore, the user can imagine cutting the tape 55 by the electric cutter 70 based on the operating direction of the power switch 32, and can easily understand intuitively that the tape cutting command is assigned to the power switch 32.

When the user operates the power switch 32 by pressing it once, pressing it twice, or pressing it for a long time, the power switch 32 outputs a signal according to the content of the operation to the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81. . Thereby, the user can give commands to the processing section 91 and the control section 81 according to the operation contents through the operation. Specifically, when the user presses the button once, a power-on command is given to the processing section 91 and the control section 81. When the user presses the button twice, a tape cutting command is given to the processing section 91 and the control section 81. When the user performs a long press operation, a command to turn off the power is given to the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81. A single press means that after the power switch 32 is pressed, the press is released within a predetermined period (for example, one second). Pressing twice means that after the power switch 32 is pressed twice, the second pressing is canceled before a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the first pressing was released. A long press means that after the power switch 32 is pressed, the press is released after a predetermined period (for example, one second) has elapsed. The single press and long press are the first operations for turning on and off the main power of the electronic device 1, and the double press is the second operation for causing the electronic device 1 to start the tape cutting operation.

The light emitted by the light source 33 can be changed. The light source 33 has two or more LEDs with different light emission colors. These LEDs are individually turned on and off, so that the light source 33 emits light in a variety of colors. For example, if the light source 33 has a red LED and a green LED, the light emitted by the light source 33 when both the red LED and the green LED emit light is orange, the light emitted by the light source 33 when only the red LED emits light is red, and the light emitted by the light source 33 when only the green LED emits light is green.

The power switch 32 and the light source 33 are surface-mounted on the relay board 31. The relay board 31 is attached to the housing 10 on the inside of the housing 10. The relay board 31 is connected to the main board 30 via flexible wiring such as an FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit), lead wires, and a wire harness.

(3) Conveyance Motor The conveyance motor 40 is attached to the casing 10 within the casing 10. The transport motor 40 outputs torque to a transport roller 65 and a take-up reel 58, which will be described later, via a transmission mechanism.

(4) Cassette The cassette 50 is detachable from the housing 10. The cassette 50 has a cassette case 51, a master winding reel 52, a master winding reel 53, a take-up reel 58, a tape roll 54, and a ribbon roll 56.

The reels 52, 53, and 58 are rotatably mounted in the cassette case 51 with their central axes parallel to each other. The master reel 52 is attached to the center of the tape roll 54, which is housed in the cassette case 51. The tape roll 54 is wound with tape 55 as a printing medium. The tape 55 is guided from the tape roll 54 to the outside of the upper surface of the cassette case 51. The tape 55 is a laminate in which a base material, an adhesive material, and a tape body are laminated in this order, and the adhesive material can be peeled off from the base material. The master reel 53 is attached to the center of the ribbon roll 56, which is housed in the cassette case 51. The ribbon roll 56 is wound with an ink ribbon 57 for thermal transfer. The ink ribbon 57 is guided from the ribbon roll 56 to the outside of the cassette case 51, where it is superimposed on the tape 55, and then guided from there to the take-up reel 58 inside the cassette case 51.

When the cassette 50 is accommodated in the housing 10, the reels 52, 53, and 58 are arranged in order from back to front, the tape 55 is guided from the tape roll 54 to the outlet 18, and the reel take-up reel 58 is connected to the transport motor 40 via a transmission mechanism. When the transport motor 40 drives and rotates the take-up reel 58, the ink ribbon 57 is pulled out from the original reel 53 towards the take-up reel 58 and wound onto the take-up reel 58.

(5) Thermal Head, Conveyance Roller, and Rotary Encoder The thermal head 60 and the conveyance roller 65 are installed inside the housing 10 at a location remote from the discharge port 18 to the rear. A conveyance roller 65 is placed above the thermal head 60 and is pressed against the thermal head 60 by a spring or the like. When the cassette 50 is housed in the housing 10, the overlapping portions of the tape 55 and the ink ribbon 57 are sandwiched between the transport roller 65 and the thermal head 60.

A conveyance roller 65 is connected to the conveyance motor 40 via a transmission mechanism. When the conveyance motor 40 rotationally drives the conveyance roller 65, conveyance force is applied from the conveyance roller 65 to the tape 55 and the ink ribbon 57, and the tape 55 is conveyed toward the discharge port 18, and the ink ribbon 57 is wound up. It is conveyed toward the reel 58. Note that the conveyance roller 65 is also referred to as a platen roller.

The thermal head 60 has a plurality of heating elements arranged in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the conveyance roller 65. As these heating elements individually generate heat, ink heated by the heating elements is transferred from the ink ribbon 57 to the tape 55. As a result, images such as letters, numbers, symbols, and pictograms are printed on the tape 55, particularly on the surface of the tape body.

The rotary encoder 66 is attached to the conveyance roller 65. The rotary encoder 66 detects the transport speed and distance of the tape 55 by outputting a pulse signal every time the transport roller 65 rotates by a predetermined rotation angle.

(6) Electric Cutter The electric cutter 70 is a cutting means for cutting the tape 55. The electric cutter 70 is installed inside the housing 10 near the discharge port 18. The electric cutter 70 has a fixed blade 71, a movable blade 72, and a drive mechanism 73. The fixed blade 71 is fixed to the housing 10 between the cassette 50 and the discharge port 18. The movable blade 72 is attached to the housing 10 between the cassette 50 and the discharge port 18 via a guide. The movable blade 72 is disposed above the fixed blade 71 with the tape 55 placed between the fixed blade 71 and the movable blade 72, and is guided up and down by the guide. The drive mechanism 73 moves the movable blade 72 up and down so as to move the movable blade 72 toward and away from the fixed blade 71. The drive mechanism 73 has a cutting motor 74 and a transmission mechanism for converting the rotational motion of the cutting motor 74 into the up and down motion of the movable blade 72. When the drive mechanism 73 moves the movable blade 72 toward the fixed blade 71 using the power of the cutting motor 74, the tape 55 is cut by the movable blade 72 and the fixed blade 71. When the drive mechanism 73 moves the movable blade 72 back from the fixed blade 71 using the power of the cutting motor 74, the movable blade 72 moves upward away from the fixed blade 71.

(7) Main board, switch circuit, processing section, and main control circuit The main board 30 is housed in the casing 10.

The switch circuit 92, the processing section 91, and the main control circuit 80 are mounted on the main board 30. Note that the processing section 91 may be mounted on the relay board 31. The entire switch circuit 92 or a portion thereof may be mounted on the relay board 31.

The switch circuit 92 includes at least one transistor, such as a field effect transistor, a bipolar transistor, and the like. The switch circuit 92 is provided in a power supply path from the battery 99 to the main control circuit 80. The switch circuit 92 allows or cuts off power supply from the battery 99 to the main control circuit 80 . When the switch circuit 92 is turned on, it allows power to be supplied from the battery 99 to the main control circuit 80 . Switch circuit 92 cuts off power supply from battery 99 to main control circuit 80 by being turned off.

The main control circuit 80 includes a control section 81, a storage section 82, a driver 83, a head drive circuit 84, a motor driver 85, a signal processing circuit 86, a motor driver 87, an interface circuit 88, and a radio 89.

The driver 83 is controlled by the control unit 81 and drives the light source 33. The control unit 81 outputs signals regarding lighting, extinguishing, and blinking of the light source 33 and designation of the emitted light color to the driver 83, and the driver 83 operates the light source 33 according to the signals input from the control unit 81. Note that the processing section 91 may output signals regarding lighting, extinguishing, blinking, and designation of emitted light color of the light source 33 to the driver 83, and the driver 83 may operate the light source 33 according to the signal input from the processing section 91.

The head drive circuit 84 is controlled by the control unit 81 to drive the thermal head 60. The head drive circuit 84 applies electricity to the heating elements of the thermal head 60 based on a signal input from the control unit 81.

The motor driver 85 is controlled by the control unit 81 to drive the transport motor 40. In other words, the control unit 81 outputs signals regarding the operation, stop, rotation speed, and rotation direction of the transport motor 40 to the motor driver 85, and the motor driver 85 operates the transport motor 40 according to the signals input from the control unit 81.

The motor driver 87 is controlled by the control unit 81 and drives the cutting motor 74 .

The signal processing circuit 86 processes the pulse signal output by the rotary encoder 66 and outputs the processed signal to the control unit 81.

The radio device 89 is a device having, for example, an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, and the like. The radio device 89 is controlled by the control unit 81 and transmits and receives radio waves of a predetermined standard, such as the wireless LAN standard and the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard. The radio device 89 modulates radio waves according to the signal input from the control section 81. The radio device 89 demodulates radio waves received from other devices into a signal and outputs the signal to the control unit 81. Note that the other devices are, for example, information processing devices such as smartphones, tablet personal computers, notebook personal computers, stationary personal computers, and game devices.

The interface circuit 88 has, for example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) controller. The interface circuit 88 is controlled by the control unit 81 to send and receive data to and from other devices.

Communication with other devices through the radio 89 or the interface circuit 88 is used to transfer print data from the other devices to the electronic device 1, to transfer data from the electronic device 1 to other devices, and to configure the electronic device 1 by the other devices.

The control unit 81 is a control means that controls the entire electronic device 1 . The control unit 81 includes, for example, a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The storage unit 82 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The RAM of the storage unit 82 provides the control unit 81 with a storage area or a work area. For example, print data received from another device through the radio device 89 or the interface circuit 88 is stored in the RAM of the storage unit 82 . The ROM of the storage unit 82 stores a program to be executed by the control unit 81. The control unit 81 manages and controls the driver 83, head drive circuit 84, motor driver 85, signal processing circuit 86, motor driver 87, radio device 89, and interface circuit 88 by executing programs.

A signal input terminal of the control unit 81 is connected to a power switch 32, and the power switch 32 is connected to a battery 99. Therefore, a signal accompanying the on/off operation of the power switch 32 is input to the control section 81. When the power switch 32 is pressed and turned on, a high level signal is input to the control section 81. When the power switch 32 is released and turned off, a low level signal is input to the control unit 81. The control unit 81 recognizes the command given by the user through the power switch 32 by executing the program stored in the storage unit 82 .

The processing unit 91 is connected to a battery 99 and is constantly operating. Therefore, even if the main control circuit 80 is not operating, the processing unit 91 consumes standby power. The power consumption of the processing unit 91 is much smaller than the power consumption of the control unit 81.

The signal input terminal of the processing unit 91 is connected to the power switch 32, which is connected to the battery 99. Therefore, a signal accompanying the on/off operation of the power switch 32 is input to the processing unit 91. When the power switch 32 is pressed and turned on, a high-level signal is input to the control unit 81. When the power switch 32 is released and turned off, a low-level signal is input to the processing unit 91.

The processing unit 91 has a microcomputer, a ROM, and the like. The processing unit 91 stores in the ROM a program that is executable by the microcomputer. The processing unit 91 executes the program by the microcomputer, thereby recognizing commands given by the user through the power switch 32.

The processing section 91 is connected to the control section 81 via a signal line. The processing section 91 monitors the state of the control section 81 through the signal line. The state of the control unit 81 means that (A) the control unit 81 executes the startup process described below, (B) the control unit 81 executes the shutdown process described below, and (C) the control unit 81 executes the tape cutting process. (D) The power of the battery 99 is not supplied to the control unit 81 and is stopped (that is, the control unit 81 is in a power OFF state); (E) The control unit 81 executes the above ( It refers to a normal state that does not fall under any of A) to (D).

2. How to Use and Operation of Electronic Devices
The following describes how to use the electronic device 1. The following describes the operation of the electronic device 1 when a user uses the electronic device 1. The following describes the flow of processing executed by the control unit 81 and the processing unit 91 of the electronic device 1 according to a program with reference to Figs. 4 to 14.

Here, Figures 4 to 6 and Figures 8 to 14 are timing charts showing the changes in the signal input from the power switch 32 to the control unit 81 and processing unit 91. If the user presses the power switch 32, the signal is at a high level, and if the user releases the power switch 32, the signal is at a low level. Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of the process executed by the control unit 81 when the switch circuit 92 is turned on.

(1) Start-up When the switch circuit 92 is turned off, that is, when the power supply from the battery 99 to the main control circuit 80 is cut off, the user presses the power switch 32 once to give a power-on command to the processing unit 91. The processing unit 91 recognizes the power-on command as follows.

When the user presses the power switch 32, the signal input from the power switch 32 to the processing unit 91 rises from low to high, as shown in FIG. Then, the processing unit 91 uses the startup as a trigger to start a program for recognizing the power-on command. The program causes the processing unit 91 to continuously execute the falling edge determination process. The falling determination process is a process in which the processing unit 91 determines whether the signal from the power switch 32 has fallen from high to low.

When the signal from the power switch 32 falls from high to low, the processing unit 91 recognizes the power-on command and turns on the switch circuit 92. Then, the switch circuit 92 allows the battery 99 to supply power to the main control circuit 80, and the control unit 81 executes the startup process according to the program in the memory unit 82. When the processing unit 91 outputs a signal to specify and turn on the light emission color to the driver 83, the driver 83 turns on the light source 33 in the specified light emission color, for example, orange. After that, when the control unit 81 enters a normal state in which the driver 83, the head drive circuit 84, the motor drivers 85 and 87, the signal processing circuit 86, the interface circuit 88, and the radio 89 can be managed and controlled by the startup process, the control unit 81 outputs a signal to that effect to the processing unit 91. Then, the processing unit 91 outputs a signal to specify and turn on the light emission color to the driver 83. The light emission color specified at this time is different from the light emission color previously specified by the processing unit 91. Therefore, the driver 83 changes the light emission color of the light source 33, for example, from orange to green. The light emission color of the light source 33 may be changed by the control unit 81 outputting a signal to the driver 83 to specify the light emission color and turn the light on.

Even if the user presses the power switch 32 once, twice, or for a long time while the control unit 81 executes the startup process, the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81 invalidate the operation. judge. That is, the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81 ignore the signal from the power switch 32 during the startup process.

After the control unit 81 goes into the normal state and the processing unit 91 or the control unit 81 changes the light emission color of the light source 33, the control unit 81 ends the startup process and the program for recognizing the power-on command ends. After that, the switch circuit 92 remains on.

The processing unit 91 may terminate the program for recognizing the power-on command when a predetermined time (e.g., one second) has elapsed since the signal input from the power switch 32 rose without falling from high to low. In this case, even if the user presses and holds the power switch 32, power will not be supplied to the main control circuit 80.

(2) Printing Next, the printing operation of the electronic device 1 after the electronic device 1 is started will be described.

A user uses an input device of the information processing apparatus connected to the electronic device 1 to give the information processing apparatus a command to start printing. When the information processing device recognizes and acquires the print start command, the information processing device generates print data. Then, the information processing device transfers the print data to the electronic device 1. In the electronic device 1 , the control unit 81 causes the interface circuit 88 or the radio device 89 to execute a print data reception process, thereby acquiring print data from the information processing device via the interface circuit 88 or the radio device 89 . Then, the control unit 81 drives the motor driver 85, so that the conveyance motor 40 rotationally drives the conveyance roller 65 and the take-up reel 58. Then, the tape 55 is conveyed from the tape roll 54 to the discharge port 18, and the ink ribbon 57 is conveyed from the ribbon roll 56 to the take-up reel 58. While the tape 55 and the ink ribbon 57 are being conveyed, the control unit 81 drives the head drive circuit 84 according to print data, so that the thermal head 60 thermally transfers the image from the ink ribbon 57 to the tape 55 . Therefore, an image is printed on the tape 55. After that, the transport motor 40 stops, and the transport of the tape 55 and the ink ribbon 57 is stopped. Thereafter, the control section 81 drives the motor driver 87. Then, the cutting motor 74 of the electric cutter 70 moves the movable blade 72 toward the fixed blade 71, and the tape 55 is cut by the fixed blade 71 and the movable blade 72. Thereafter, the cutting motor 74 of the electric cutter 70 separates the movable blade 72 from the fixed blade 71. With the above, the printing operation of the electronic device 1 is completed.

(3) Tape Cutting and Shutdown Next, the tape cutting operation and shutdown operation of the electronic device 1 after the electronic device 1 is started will be described.

When the switch circuit 92 is turned on, that is, when power is supplied from the battery 99 to the main control circuit 80, the controller 81 controls the driver 83, so that the driver 83 lights up the light source 33 in green, for example. I'm letting you do it. At this time, the user presses the power switch 32 twice to give a command to the control section 81 to cut the tape. Alternatively, the user may press and hold the power switch 32 to issue a command to the control unit 81 to turn off the power. The control unit 81 recognizes tape cutting and power off commands as follows.

When the user presses the power switch 32, the signal input from the power switch 32 to the control unit 81 rises from low to high, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Then, the control unit 81 uses the rise as a trigger to start a program for recognizing tape cutting and power off commands. The flow of processing that the program causes the control unit 81 to execute is shown in FIG. In the following, a program for recognizing tape cutting and power off commands will be referred to as a discrimination program.

First, the control unit 81 starts measuring time (step S1). This timing is called the first timing.
Thereafter, the control unit 81 determines whether the time from the start of the first time measurement (hereinafter referred to as the first time measurement time) has reached a first predetermined time (for example, 1 second), and (step S2), it is determined whether the signal from the power switch 32 has fallen from high to low (step S3). Until the first time measurement reaches the first predetermined time (step S2: YES) or until the signal from the power switch 32 falls from high to low (step S3: YES), the control unit 81 performs steps S2 and The determination process in step S3 is repeatedly executed (step S2: NO, step S3: NO).

(3-1) In the case of a long press When the control unit 81 repeatedly executes the determination process of steps S2 and S3, if the user continues to press the power switch 32, and the signal from the power switch 32 is kept high for a first predetermined time as shown in Fig. 5, the control unit 81 determines that the first time count has reached the first predetermined time (step S2: YES). Then, the control unit 81 recognizes a power-off command and executes a shutdown process (step S4). Even if the user performs an operation such as pressing the power switch 32 once, twice, or pressing for a long time while the control unit 81 is executing the shutdown process, the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81 determine that the operation is invalid. In other words, the control unit 81 ignores the signal from the power switch 32 during the shutdown process.

In the shutdown process, when the control unit 81 outputs a signal specifying the emitting color and lighting to the driver 83, the driver 83 lights up the light source 33 with the specified emitting color. The emitted light color specified at this time is different from the emitted light color before the control unit 81 starts the process shown in FIG. 7, and is, for example, orange. Therefore, the color of the light emitted from the light source 33 changes. Furthermore, when the control unit 81 stops the head drive circuit 84, motor drivers 85, 87, signal processing circuit 86, interface circuit 88, and radio device 89 through the shutdown process, it also forcibly terminates other processes to be executed. Then, the switch circuit 92 is turned off. Switch circuit 92 cuts off power supply from battery 99 to main control circuit 80 by being turned off. Of course, since power is not supplied to the driver 83, the light source 33 is turned off.

(3-2) In the case of two presses While the control unit 81 is repeatedly executing the determination processes in step S2 and step S3, the user presses the When the power switch 32 is released from the press, the signal from the power switch 32 falls from high to low as shown in FIG. Therefore, the control unit 81 determines that the signal from the power switch 32 has fallen from high to low (step S3: YES). Using this fall as a trigger, the control unit 81 resets the first time measurement time and then starts time measurement again (step S5). Hereinafter, the restarted time measurement will be referred to as the second time measurement, and the time from the start of the second time measurement will be referred to as the second time measurement time.

Thereafter, the control unit 81 determines whether the signal from the power switch 32 has fallen from high to low (step S6), and determines whether the second time measurement has reached the second predetermined time (for example, 1 second). It is determined whether or not (step S7).

When the user presses the power switch 32 a second time, as shown in FIG. 6, the signal input from the power switch 32 to the control unit 81 rises from low to high, and this rise triggers the control unit 81 to start a separate discrimination program for recognizing the tape cut and power off commands. Therefore, the control unit 81 executes a series of processes based on the discrimination program started earlier and a series of processes based on a separately started discrimination program in parallel. The series of processes based on the discrimination program started earlier by the control unit 81 is called the first task, and the series of processes based on the discrimination program started later by the control unit 81 is called the second task. The second press in the first task corresponds to the first press in the second task. The second task will be explained in detail later.

While the control unit 81 is repeatedly executing the determination process of step S6 and step S7 of the first task, the user presses the power switch 32 for the second time before the second time measurement reaches the second predetermined time. When the power switch 32 is released, the signal from the power switch 32 falls from high to low, as shown in FIG. Therefore, the control unit 81 determines that the signal from the power switch 32 has fallen from high to low (step S6: YES). Then, the control unit 81 recognizes the tape cutting command and executes the cutting process (step S8). Even if the user presses the power switch 32 once, twice, or presses it for a long time while the control unit 81 executes the disconnection process, the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81 will disconnect from the power switch 32. This signal is ignored and the operation is judged to be invalid. As shown in FIG. 8, even if the user presses and releases the power switch 32 for the third time before the second time measurement reaches the second predetermined time, the processing unit 91 and the control unit 81 The third press and release of the power switch 32 is determined to be invalid.

In the disconnection process, the control unit 81 forcibly ends the second task. Further, in the cutting process, when the control unit 81 outputs a blinking signal to the driver 83, the driver 83 causes the light source 33 to blink in green, for example. Further, when the control unit 81 drives the motor driver 85, the conveyance motor 40 rotationally drives the conveyance roller 65 and the take-up reel 58. Then, the tape 55 is conveyed from the tape roll 54 to the discharge port 18, and the ink ribbon 57 is conveyed from the ribbon roll 56 to the take-up reel 58. During the conveyance of the tape 55 and the ink ribbon 57, when the conveyance distance of the tape 55 detected by the rotary encoder 66 reaches a predetermined value, the control section 81 controls the motor driver 85 to start the conveyance motor 40. make it stop. Thereafter, the control section 81 drives the motor driver 87. Then, the cutting motor 74 of the electric cutter 70 moves the movable blade 72 toward the fixed blade 71, and the tape 55 is cut by the fixed blade 71 and the movable blade 72. Thereafter, the cutting motor 74 of the electric cutter 70 separates the movable blade 72 from the fixed blade 71. After driving the motor driver 87, when the control section 81 outputs a signal specifying the emitting color and lighting to the driver 83, the driver 83 lights up the light source 33 with the specified emitting color, for example, green. With the above, the disconnection process by the control unit 81 is completed, and the first task is completed.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, regardless of whether the user presses the power switch 32 for the second time sooner or later, the user also releases the second press of the power switch 32. Regardless of whether it is early or late, as long as the user releases the second press of the power switch 32 before the measured time reaches the second predetermined time, the control unit 81 executes the disconnection process.

(3-3) When the second time measurement time reaches the second predetermined time without being released after the first press, the control unit 81 repeatedly executes the determination process of step S6 and step S7 of the first task. 11 and 12, if the second time measurement reaches the second predetermined time without the user releasing the second press of the power switch 32, the control unit 81 , it is determined that the second time measurement has reached the second predetermined time (step S7: YES). Then, the control unit 81 ends the first task. Therefore, in the first task, the control unit 81 does not recognize the tape cutting and power off commands.

(3-3-1) Second Task Incidentally, even after the first task is finished, the control unit 81 continues to execute the second task without recognizing the commands to cut the tape and turn off the power in the first task. Specifically, the control unit 81 repeatedly executes the judgment process of steps S2 and S3 of the second task. As shown in FIG. 11, if the user releases the second pressing of the power switch 32 before the first time measurement time started in step S1 of the second task reaches the first predetermined time (step S3: YES), the second task moves from step S3 to step S5. If the user does not operate the power switch 32 thereafter, the control unit 81 does not judge that the signal has fallen (step S6: NO), but judges that the second time measurement time in the second task has passed the second predetermined time (step S7: YES), and the control unit 81 ends the second task. Therefore, the control unit 81 does not recognize the commands to cut the tape and turn off the power in the second task either. After the second task moves from step S3 to step S5, if the user presses the power switch 32 for a time shorter than the second predetermined time (see the signal waveform indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 11), the control unit 81 determines that the signal has fallen (step S6: YES). In the second task, the control unit 81 recognizes a command to cut the tape.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, if the first time measurement that started in step S1 of the second task reaches the first predetermined time without the user releasing the second press of the power switch 32 (this press corresponds to the first press in the second task), the control unit 81 determines this (step S2: YES) and the second task transitions from step S2 to step S4. Therefore, the control unit 81 recognizes the power off command, executes a shutdown process, and ends the second task.

(3-4) When there is no second press or when the second press is late If the user releases the first press of the power switch 32 before the first time count reaches the first predetermined time while the control unit 81 is repeatedly executing the judgment process of steps S2 and S3 of the first task, the control unit 81 restarts the time count as described above (step S5). After that, the control unit 81 repeatedly executes the judgment process of steps S6 and S7 of the first task. As shown in Figs. 13 and 14, if the second time count reaches the second predetermined time without the user pressing the power switch 32 a second time, the control unit 81 determines that the second time count has reached the second predetermined time (step S7: YES). Then, the control unit 81 ends the first task. In this case, the user has not pressed the power switch 32 a second time, so the control unit 81 is not executing the second task.

After that, as shown in FIG. 14, when the user presses the power switch 32, the control unit 81 starts the first task again.

(3-5) Modifications In the above description, when the user presses the power switch 32 for the first time and the signal of the power switch 32 rises from low to high, the control unit 81 starts a discrimination program for recognizing the commands to cut the tape and turn off the power. In response to this, the processing unit 91 may start a discrimination program for recognizing the commands to cut the tape and turn off the power. In this case, the processing unit 91 executes the processes of steps S1, S2, S3, S5, S6, and S7. In step S4, the processing unit 91 recognizes the power-off command, and then issues a shutdown command to the control unit 81. Then, the control unit 81 executes the shutdown process as described above. Also, in step S8, the processing unit 91 recognizes the tape-cut command, and then issues a tape-cut command to the control unit 81. Then, the control unit 81 executes the cutting process as described above.

[3. Modified examples of electronic equipment]
(1) Modification example 1
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a modified electronic device 101. FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a modified electronic device 101. In addition to the same components as those of the electronic device 1, the electronic device 101 further includes a second power switch 35 and a second operator 25.

15, the second operator 25 that can be pressed is provided at the rear of the top surface 11 of the housing 10. The second power switch 35 is disposed below the operator 25 inside the housing 10. The operation direction of the second power switch 35 and the operator 25, i.e., the direction in which the second power switch 35 and the operator 25 are pressed, is parallel to the vertical direction of the discharge port 18 and parallel to the normal to the surface of the tape 55 inside the discharge port 18. Furthermore, the operation direction of the second power switch 35 and the operator 25 is parallel to the direction in which the movable blade 72 of the electric cutter 70 moves. Therefore, the user can imagine the cutting direction of the tape 55 by the electric cutter 70 from the operation direction of the power switch 32. In addition, the user can intuitively understand that the command for cutting the tape is assigned to the power switch 32.

As shown in FIG. 16, the signal input terminal of the control unit 81 is connected to the second power switch 35, which is connected to the battery 99. Therefore, a signal accompanying the on/off operation of the second power switch 35 is input to the control unit 81. When the second power switch 35 is pressed and turned on, a high-level signal is input to the control unit 81. When the second power switch 35 is released and turned off, a low-level signal is input to the control unit 81. The control unit 81 recognizes commands given by the user through the second power switch 35 by executing a program stored in the memory unit 82.

Here, as described above, the power switch 32 is for the main power supply, that is, for turning power on and off to the main control circuit 80. In contrast, the second power switch 35 is for the secondary power supply. In other words, the second power switch 35 is a switch for turning power on and off to any of the components of the main control circuit 80. More specifically, the second power switch 35 is a switch for turning power on and off to the radio 89. Therefore, the second power switch 35 can also be said to be a switch for turning the communication function on and off.

As described above, just as the power switch 32 is also used to start printing, the second power switch 35 is also used to start printing.

When the control unit 81 cuts off the power from the battery 99 to the radio 89, that is, when power is not being supplied to the radio 89, the user presses the second power switch 35 once to give a communication power on command to the control unit 81. When the control unit 81 recognizes the communication power on command, the control unit 81 allows the supply of power from the battery 99 to the radio 89. The process and program by which the control unit 81 recognizes the communication power on command based on the signal from the second power switch 35 is the same as the process and program by which the processing unit 91 recognizes the power on command based on the signal from the power switch 32.

When the control unit 81 allows the battery 99 to supply power to the radio 89, that is, when power is being supplied to the radio 89, the user presses the second power switch 35 twice to give the control unit 81 a command to cut the tape. When the control unit 81 recognizes the command to cut the tape, the control unit 81 controls the motors 40, 79 via the motor drivers 85, 87, so that a certain amount of tape 55 is fed and cut.

When the control unit 81 allows power to be supplied from the battery 99 to the radio 89, the user presses and holds the second power switch 35, thereby issuing a command to turn off the power for communication to the control unit 81. The control unit 81 cuts off the power from the battery 99 to the radio 89.

The process and program by which the control unit 81 recognizes the commands to cut the tape and turn off the power for communication based on the signal from the second power switch 35 is the same as the process and program by which the control unit 81 or the processing unit 91 recognizes the commands to cut the tape and turn off the power based on the signal from the power switch 32.

(2) Modification 2
The operator 22 and the window 23 may be disposed at the front of the top surface of the housing 10, i.e., closer to the exhaust port 18, and the power switch 32 and the light source 33 may be disposed below the operator 22 and the window 23, respectively. The same applies to the second power switch 35 and the operator 25 in the first modification.

(3) Modification 3
The power switch 32 may be a slide switch instead of a push switch. In that case, the power switch 32 is provided on the front surface 12, left side surface, right side surface, or rear surface of the housing 10, and the sliding direction of the power switch 32 is the vertical direction. That is, the sliding direction of the power switch 32 is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the discharge port 18 and parallel to the normal to the surface of the tape 55 within the discharge port 18 . Therefore, the user can recall the direction in which the electric cutter 70 will cut the tape 55 based on the sliding direction of the power switch 32. Note that when the user slides the power switch 32 downward, the power switch 32 is turned on, and when the user releases the power switch 32 and returns to its original position so that the power switch 32 slides upward, the power switch 32 is turned off. Ru.

(4) Modification 4
In the above embodiment, the commands for turning on the main power supply, turning off the main power supply, and cutting the tape are assigned to the power switch 32, with the operation of pressing the power switch 32 once being assigned to the power on command, the operation of pressing and holding the power switch 32 being assigned to the power off command, and the operation of pressing the power switch 32 twice being assigned to the tape cutting command. However, the types of commands and types of operations assigned to the power switch 32 are not limited to those described above.

[4. summary]
(1) The operating direction of the power switch 32 is parallel to the vertical direction of the ejection port 18 formed in a horizontally long shape, and is also parallel to the normal line of the surface of the tape 55 inside the ejection port 18. . That is, the operating direction of the power switch 32 is set so as to be parallel to the operating direction when pushing the strip-shaped tape toward the tape surface. Therefore, the user can recall the direction in which the electric cutter 70 will cut the tape 55 based on the direction in which the power switch 32 is operated. The user can recall the cutting of the tape 55 by the electric cutter 70 based on the operating direction of the power switch 32, and can easily understand intuitively that the tape cutting command is assigned to the power switch 32. The same can be said of the power switch 35 in Modification 1.

(2) The power switch 32 is a switch for the main power supply, and the user can easily notice that the power switch 32 is used for the main power supply. However, it is difficult for the user to notice that the power switch 32 is used for cutting tape. Even if this is the case, the operating direction of the power switch 32 is reminiscent of the cutting direction of the tape 55 by the electric cutter 70, so the operating direction of the power switch 32 is based on the intended use of the power switch 32 for tape cutting. This serves as an opportunity to make the user aware of the use of the product. The same can be said of the power switch 35 in Modification 1.

(3) The objects operated by the user may be only the operator 22 and the power switch 32, and other push buttons, etc. may not be provided on the electronic device 1. In the case of the electronic device 101 of the first modified example, the objects operated by the user may be only the operator 22, 25 and the power switch 32, 35. In such a case, the number of parts of the electronic device 1, 101 is small, and the manufacturing cost of the electronic device 1, 101 can be reduced. In addition, the appearance of the electronic device 1, 101 is simple, and the design of the electronic device 1, 101 is high.

1 Electronic device 10 Housing 18 Discharge port 32 Power switch 55 Tape 70 Electric cutter (cutting means)
81 Control unit (control means)
89 Radio equipment

Claims (6)

An electronic device in which a predetermined power source is turned on or off based on a first operation of a power switch,
an outlet through which the strip of tape is fed from inside the housing with the tape surface facing a predetermined direction;
a control means for controlling the driving of the cutting means provided inside the housing so that the cutting means cuts the tape based on a second operation of the power switch, the second operation having an operating procedure different from that of the first operation;
Equipped with
the power switch is provided such that the operation direction in the second operation is a direction along a normal direction of the tape surface at a portion located at the discharge outlet.
1. An electronic device comprising: An electronic device in which a predetermined power source is turned on or off based on a first operation of a power switch,
an ejection port which is provided in an oblong shape where the horizontal direction is longer than the vertical direction, and from which a strip-shaped tape is fed out from inside the casing;
The cutting means provided inside the housing cuts the tape based on a second operation of the power switch that is different in operating procedure from the first operation. , control means for driving and controlling the cutting means;
Equipped with
The power switch is provided such that the operation direction in the second operation is along the vertical direction.
An electronic device characterized by: The second operation is set as an operation of pressing the power switch multiple times within a predetermined time.
The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: power of a device related to a predetermined function is turned on or off based on the first operation of the power switch;
The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the predetermined function is a communication function;
The electronic device according to claim 4, characterized in that: the main power is turned on or off based on the first operation of the power switch;
The electronic device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that:

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