JP2570201Y2 - Portable printer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a portable printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a portable printer, a printer having a printing unit covered with a cover, a printing block, and a printing head has been proposed. The printing unit, together with the cover, as a medium to be printed, for example, is located on the passage of the passbook, and the storage position folded down with respect to the printer body,
It is provided so that it can be raised and lowered between a printing position raised from the printer main body.

[0003] The printing unit is provided with a printing block, and can run in the printing direction. The print block is provided with a print head, and performs printing on a print-receiving medium.

[0004] The printing unit is provided so as to be able to move up and down in order to make the printer smaller and thinner and more convenient to carry.

[0005] In such a printer, when printing, the printing unit is erected together with the cover, and then the printing block is run in a predetermined range to print on a passbook or the like.

[0006]

As described above, since the printing unit is raised together with the cover and the printing block is run to perform printing, the cover can be closed during printing and the machine is damaged.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable printer which can prevent the machine from being damaged.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an upright locking means for a cover of a printing unit and an upright locking means which operates when a printing block constituting a part of the printing unit is operated. Release prevention means and cover release means are provided.

[0009]

The printing unit cannot be defeated until the printing block has completed printing.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Outline of Printer In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, an outline of a portable printer to which the present invention is applied will be described prior to description of the present invention.

In FIG. 7, a printer 1 includes a printer main body 2, a printing unit 3 provided on the main body 2 so as to be able to move up and down, a main switch 4, and a passage having an insertion port 5 as an inlet and an outlet 6 as an outlet. It has O.

A passbook (not shown) inserted into the insertion slot 5 from the direction of arrow a is printed by a print head provided in the printing unit 3 when transported through the passage O, and then discharged from the discharge slot 6. Is done.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, the printing unit 3 is supported on the printer main body 2 so as to be able to move up and down around a fulcrum shaft 32 provided on both sides of a unit case 31.

Hereinafter, the printing unit 3 is connected to the printer main body 2.
Is referred to as a storage position, and the printing unit 3
Is called a print position.

The unit case 31 of the printing unit 3 is provided with a switch operation projection 33 which comes into contact with the main switch 4 to turn off the unit 3 when the unit 3 is located at the storage position. The main switch is a type of switch that is always turned off when pressed down.

The printing unit 3 is provided with a printing block 34. The printing block 34 is slidably supported by the support shaft 32 supported by the unit case 31, and is reciprocated by a suitable means such as a timing belt 36 or a screw shaft during printing operation. It has become so.

When the printing operation is completed, the printing block is controlled to return to the home position located at the left end of the printer in FIG.

The print block 34 is provided with a print head 37 (see FIG. 8) which is vertically displaced during a printing operation. As the print head 37, a thermal head for thermal transfer is used.

The print block 34 is provided with an ink ribbon drive shaft 38 to which a reel of an ink ribbon cartridge 41 for thermal transfer is attached.

The ink ribbon cartridge 41 is attached to and detached from the printing unit 3 located at the printing position, and is detached before the unit 3 is located at the storage position.

The ink ribbon cartridge 41 is attached to the printing block 34 by a cartridge holder (not shown).
It is held detachably. Ink ribbon cartridge 4
When No. 1 is mounted, the print head 37 is located at the back of the ink ribbon.

The printer body 2 has a guide table 2
3 are provided. The guide table 23 constitutes a guide surface when a passbook or the like is inserted, and constitutes a lower portion of the insertion slot, and extends to the passage O.

On both side edges of the guide table 23, side guides 24 and 25 for guiding both sides of a passbook or the like are provided. The interval between the side guides is set slightly larger than the width of the passbook or the like, and the height of each side guide is formed as low as the cover of the passbook or the like.

The printer main body 2 is provided with a block storage section 21 in which the printing block 34 protruding from the printing unit 3 is fitted and stored when the printing unit 3 is located at the storage position.

The front side plate 22 of the printer body 2 is provided with an undulating entrance door 7 having a surface continuous with the guide table 23 when the front side plate 22 is turned down. The entrance door 7 is openable and closable about a fulcrum shaft 7a.

The unit case 31 has a recess 3 into which the closed entrance door 7 fits when the unit case 31 is placed in the storage position.
1a is formed.

A feed roller pair 26 is disposed at substantially the center in the width direction of the passage O located below the printing unit 3 placed at the printing position.

When carrying the printer, the printing unit 3 is folded down and positioned at the storage position as shown by an arrow 8 in FIGS. When the printing unit 3 is in the retracted state, the thickness of the printer is reduced, and the printer is convenient to carry.

In the retracted position, the switch operating projection 33
Pushes down the main switch 4, thereby turning off the power and preventing forgetting to turn off the main switch 4. At this time, the entrance door 7 is closed to prevent dust and foreign matter from entering the passage O.

When printing on a printing object T such as a passbook, the printing unit 3 is raised and positioned at a printing position as shown in FIGS.

Print block 3 of raised print unit 3
4, the ink ribbon cartridge 41 is mounted, and the entrance door 7 is turned down to be in a state of waiting for a printing operation.

The leading edge Ta is the feed roller pair 2
The printing object T with the printed page opened is inserted into the passbook passage O from the insertion slot 5 until the position where the print page is held between the printing paper pages 6a. Printed object T
Is inserted to a predetermined position, and when a passbook sensor (not shown) detects this, the feed roller pair 26 is driven to rotate to start feeding the passbook.

When the printing start line of the passbook comes to the printing position,
The printing block 34 is moving on the path O and starts printing by driving the printing head 37 while traveling in the printing direction b.

The ink ribbon of the ink ribbon cartridge 41 is wound up in conjunction with the movement of the print block 34. After the printing operation, the printing block 34 returns to the leftmost home position as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, when the ink ribbon cartridge 41 is removed and the printing unit 3 is rotated to the storage position, the switch operation projection 33 pushes the main switch 4 to turn it off. Finally, when the entrance door 7 is closed, the printer 1
Is a thin box that is easy to carry.

2. 1. Configuration of Printer According to the Present Invention In FIG. 1, reference numeral 9 denotes a cover of the printing unit 3. The cover 9 is rotatable about the fulcrum shaft 32 together with the printing unit 3 and can take a storage position and a printing position.

The fulcrum shaft 32 on the left end side of the cover 9, that is, on the cover 9 on the home position side of the printing unit 3.
A semicircular recess 1 is located at an arbitrary radius centered on
0 is formed.

The cover 9 has two inclined surfaces with the position of the concave portion 10 being substantially the top. Among these inclined surfaces, the inclined surface on the side in contact with the printer body at the storage position is indicated by reference numeral 28.

In the cover 9, a protruding piece 9a for pushing down the release lever 17 is provided.

The recess 10 is formed in accordance with the curvature of the arm roller 11. Arm roller 11 is lock arm 1
2 at the free end side. This lock arm 12
Is rotatable about the first fulcrum 13 about the center thereof.

The concave portion 10 and the arm roller 11 constitute an upright locking means for the cover 9 of the printing unit.

The position of the first fulcrum 13 is such that when the cover 9 is placed in the upright position, the arm roller 11 is engaged with the concave portion 10 (see FIG. 2), and the lock arm 12 is held while the cover 9 is in the upright position. This is a position where the engagement can be released when rotating (see FIG. 3).

At a position of the lock arm 12 closer to the arm roller 11 than the first fulcrum, a pin 15 for hooking one end of the elastic spring 14 is implanted. When the first fulcrum 13 of the lock arm 12 is centered, the rotating roller-shaped connecting pin 1 is located at a position opposite to the arm roller 11.
6 are provided.

The connecting pin 16 is engaged with a long hole 18 on the free end side of the release lever 17. The release lever 17 is rotatable about its center at a second fulcrum 19. A curved surface portion 29 which is slightly larger than the elongated hole is formed at the position of the elongated hole 18 of the release lever 17.

The free end of the release lever 17 is bent at a position opposite to the elongated hole 18 with the second fulcrum 19 therebetween, and a button 20 for manual pressing is provided at this bent portion. .

A bent portion 27 for hanging a spring is formed at a position distributed from the second fulcrum 19 with respect to the position where the button 20 is provided. The other end of the spring 14 is hooked on the bent portion 27. The spring 14 constantly urges the pin 15 and the spring hook 27 to approach each other.

The first fulcrum 13, the second fulcrum 19, and the engagement position between the connecting pin 16 and the elongated hole 18,
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the position of the curved surface portion 29 can be displaced while maintaining the engagement relationship between the connecting pin 16 and the elongated hole 18.

With this displacement, the arm roller 11 rotates about the first fulcrum 13 with respect to the lock arm 12, and the button 20 rotates about the second fulcrum 19 with respect to the release lever 17.

When the curved portion 29 is displaced, the connecting pin 16
The curved surface portion 29 changes its position from one side of the spring tension line connecting the pin 15 and the spring hook 27 to the other side.

As a result, in the state shown in FIG. 2, the connecting pin 16 and the curved surface portion 29 are sunk below the spring tension line. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the connecting pin 16 and the curved surface portion 29 are spring tensioned. Floating above the line.

The lock arm 12, the spring 14, the release lever 17, the cover 9 and the accompanying parts are called locking release means.

An unlock prevention lever 30 is provided near the curved surface portion 29. The lock release prevention lever 30 is pivotally attached to a shaft (not shown) attached to the printer main body 2. This pivot axis is indicated by reference numeral 38.

One end of the lock release prevention lever 30 extends toward the fulcrum shaft 32, and a circular arc-shaped recess 39 is formed at the tip.

The recess 39 faces the movement area of the bearing 40 supporting the printing block 34 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. The shape and position are set so that they do not interfere with each other.

The other end of the lock release prevention lever 30 is bent after being extended toward the pivot shaft 38 side.
2. In FIG. 5, the lock release preventing lever 30 is urged to rotate clockwise around the pivot shaft 38 by elastic means (not shown). 42 is blocked by the stopper where it is located above the curved surface portion 29. The lock release prevention lever 30 is referred to as a standing lock release prevention means.

When the print block 34 changes its position from the print position near the center of the printer to the home position on the left end of the printer main body 2, the bearing 40 is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5 and hatched in FIG. Move to the end of the guide bar 32 'as shown.

During the movement of the bearing 40, the recess 39 is pushed by the bearing 40, and the bent piece 42 is completely disengaged from the curved surface portion 29 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. become.

Contrary to the above, when the bearing 40 moves from the home position to the printing position, the bent piece 42 comes to be positioned on the curved surface portion 29 as shown by a solid line in FIGS.

3. The operation according to the present invention of the printer The operation when the cover 9 shifts from the closed state to the open state, and the operation when the cover 9 shifts from the open state to the closed state. "Open-to-close movement"
And will be described separately.

(1) Operation from Close to Open This operation is performed when the cover 9 is opened to use the printer. In the initial state of this operation, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover 9 is in a horizontal state by being folded down.

In the closed state, the operation is as follows. The spring 14 hooked between the pin 15 and the spring hook 27 is located above the connecting pin 16. For this reason, the lock arm 12 receives the urging force in the clockwise direction about the first fulcrum 13.

The rotation of the lock arm 12 due to the urging force is prevented by the arm roller 11 contacting the inclined surface 28. Further, since the print block 34 is at the home position, the lock release prevention lever 30 is
As a result, the bent portion 42 is retracted to a position outside the curved surface portion 29.

When the cover 9 is raised from the closed state, the arm roller 11 slides along the inclined surface 28. When the cover 9 is raised in a substantially vertical direction, the arm roller 11 is fitted into the concave portion 10, and the cover is held in the raised state as shown in FIG.

In this state, since the printing block 34 is still at the home position, the bent portion 42 is
Not above. Therefore, it is possible to release the engagement of the arm roller 11 by pushing the button 20 and to lower the cover.

In FIG. 2, since it is assumed that the print block 34 has moved to the print position, the bent portion 42 is shown as being located above the curved surface portion 29. But,
Under this operation in which only the cover 9 is opened, the print block is located at the home position, so that the bearing 40 keeps the state in which the unlock prevention lever 30 is rotated, and the bent portion 42 has the curved surface portion. Not on 29.

Then, when the printing operation starts and the printing block moves, the bearing 40 separates from the recess 39 of the unlock prevention lever 30, and the unlock prevention lever 30 is rotated by a spring (not shown), and Moves onto the curved surface portion 29 to prevent the release lever 17 from being pushed by the button 20.

Accordingly, the cover 9 is locked in the upright state and cannot be closed during printing.

(2) Operation from Open to Close This operation is performed when the cover 9 is closed after use of the printer is completed. In the initial state of this operation,
As shown in FIG. 2, the cover 9 is raised and is opened vertically to the printer body surface.

In the opened state, the operation is as follows. The spring 14 hooked between the pin 15 and the spring hook 27 is located above the connecting pin 16. For this reason, the lock arm 12 receives the urging force in the clockwise direction about the first fulcrum 13.

The rotation of the lock arm 12 due to the biasing force is prevented by the arm roller 11 being fitted into the recess 10 and coming into contact therewith.

Even when printing is completed, if the printing block 34 is still at a position before returning to the home position,
The unlocking prevention lever 30 is not pushed by the bearing 40, and therefore, the bent portion 42 is located on the curved surface portion 29 as shown in FIG.

Therefore, even if the button 20 is pressed, the arm roller 11 cannot be released from the concave portion 10. Of course, during printing, the cover 9 cannot be closed because the printing block 34 is not at the home position.

As in the prior art, if the operator accidentally closes the cover, the operator is injured and the print quality is affected. Therefore, according to this example, it is possible to prevent the operator from being injured and to improve the printing quality.

When the printing block 34 returns to the home position, the bearing 40 is moved to the recess 39 of the unlock prevention lever 30.
, The bent portion 42 retreats to a position off the curved surface portion 29.

Accordingly, the button 20 can be pushed in. When the button 20 is pushed in, the connecting pin 16 rises and the arm roller 11 descends. Then, when pushed further, as shown in FIG. 3, the action point of the spring 14 is reversed, and the button 20, the arm roller 11 and the like are urged downward. The push limit of the button 20 is a position where the release lever 17 contacts the stopper 44.

In FIG. 3, the upright cover 9 is
When tilted down as shown by the dashed line, the protruding piece 9a hits the curved surface portion 29 and hits the release lever 17, and pushes down the shaft 16a.

As a result, the point of action of the spring 14 is again inverted, and the spring attempts to rotate the lock arm 12 clockwise, so that the arm roller 11 is moved to the inclined surface 28 as shown in FIG. Abut Further, the cover 9 is lowered to a predetermined horizontal position as shown in FIG.

4. Modifications The depression 39 of the lock release prevention lever 30 is
It is not limited to the bearing 40. It can be constituted by a member integrated with the printing block 34. The present invention can be widely applied not only to passbooks but also to printers that print on sheets.

[0079]

According to the present invention, since the operator does not accidentally close the cover or hits the cover and closes the cover, the machine is not damaged due to these causes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a portable printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an opening / closing portion illustrating a process of opening / closing a cover.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an opening and closing portion illustrating a process of opening and closing the cover.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an opening / closing portion illustrating a process of opening / closing a cover.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the opening and closing portion of the cover.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an opening / closing portion of a cover.

FIG. 7 is an overall perspective view of the portable printer.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the entire printer illustrating a process of opening and closing the cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 9 Cover (as unlocking means) 10 Recess (as upright locking means) 11 Arm roller (as upright locking means) 12 Lock arm (as unlocking means) 14 (as unlocking means) Spring 17 Release lever (as unlocking means) 30 Release prevention lever (as unlocking prevention means) 40 Bearing (as unlocking means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-235616 (JP, A) JP-A-63-183868 (JP, A) JP-A-63-197676 (JP, A) JP-A-4- 327973 (JP, A) Fully open Showa 61-78656 (JP, U) Fully open Showa 31-31948 (JP, U) Fully open Hei 5-76751 (JP, U) Fully open Hei 5-75821 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 29/00 B41J 29/12

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A printer provided with a printing unit capable of taking a storage position which is tilted with respect to a printer main body and a printing position in which the printing unit stands up; A portable printer, comprising: means for preventing the upright lock from being released when the print block is operated; and means for releasing the lock from the cover.