JPH04308777A - Electronic information equipment with built-in printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain electronic information equipment with a built-in printer in which a series of printing operation is easily conducted and a screen of a display and a printed content on recording paper can be seen during printing at the same time. CONSTITUTION:Electronic information equipment 1 is provided with a display 5 and an equipment body 3 incorporating a printer 2. It further includes a paper discharge port 53 formed on the surface of the equipment body 3 frontward of the display 5 and paper discharge means 54, 66 for guiding printed recording paper P to the external through the paper discharge port 53.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electronic information equipment, such as a personal computer or a word processor, which is equipped with a display and a main unit with a built-in printer.

0002

[Prior Art] In the past, electronic information devices such as laptop computers and word processors with built-in printers generally
The printer is built into the main body of the device beyond the keyboard, that is, behind the display. In this case, the printer's paper feed slot and paper output slot are also formed on the top of the device behind the display, and when printing, the display must be tilted forward and a series of steps, such as inserting recording paper and printing out, are required. work is done

[0003].

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above, with conventional electronic information equipment, when printing, it is necessary to tilt the display forward and reach behind the display to work, which makes the work difficult. It was becoming a hassle. Furthermore, since the display is tilted forward during printing, there is a problem in that it is not possible to compare the content printed on the recording paper being printed with what is displayed on the display.

[0004] The present invention simplifies a series of printing operations;
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic information device with a built-in printer in which the display screen and the content printed on the recording paper being printed can be viewed at the same time.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electronic information device with a built-in printer, which includes a display and a device body with a built-in printer.
It is characterized by comprising a paper discharge port formed on the surface of the main body of the device in front of the display, and a paper discharge means for guiding printed recording paper to the outside through the paper discharge port.

[0006] In this case, the apparatus further includes a paper feed port formed on the surface of the main body of the device in front of the display, and a paper supply means for feeding recording paper into the main body of the device through the paper feed port. is preferred.

In this case, there is also a transfer means for switching back the recording paper from the paper supply means to the paper ejection means, and a part of the recording paper being transferred to the rear surface of the device body at the time of this switchback. The exposed opening that extends to the outside,
Furthermore, the apparatus may further include a transfer means for switching back the recording paper from the paper supply means to the paper ejection means, and a part of the recording paper at the time of this switchback inside the apparatus main body. Preferably, the device further includes a curved guide that is wound inward.

[0008]

[Operation] The printed recording paper is discharged to the outside from the paper discharge port in front of the display by the paper discharge means. Since the printed recording paper is ejected from the paper ejection port just in front of the display, it is possible to easily compare and examine the printed content of the recording paper and the display on the display during this ejection process.

[0009] Furthermore, by further providing a paper feed port and a paper supply means formed in front of the display, a series of operations such as feeding and ejecting recording paper can be carried out in front of the display, that is, by an operator. This can be done in a convenient position.

[0010]Furthermore, the apparatus further includes an exposure opening for feeding out a portion of the recording paper to the outside of the device main body at the time of switchback when feeding the recording paper, and a curved guide for rolling up a portion of the recording paper inside the device main body. This makes it possible to secure movement space for the switchback recording paper, and there is no need to increase the size of the device itself.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A laptop personal computer according to an embodiment of the electronic information device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 1, a personal computer 1 has a printer 2.
The keyboard 4 is detachably attached to the device body 3, and the display 5 also serves as a lid for the keyboard 4. The keyboard 4 is wirelessly connected to the device main body 3, and can be selectively used while mounted on the device main body 3 or used while removed from the device main body 3. The display 5 has a liquid crystal display body 6, and is attached to the middle part of the device body 3 via a hinge part 7 so as to be openable and closable. During operation, the display 5 is used in an upright position with the display 5 slightly tilted back. In addition, in the following explanation, the left side and right side of FIG. 1 are respectively referred to as front and rear.
The upper and lower sides are called upper and lower sides, respectively, and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface is called the width direction.

The device main body 3 has a thin front half and a thick rear half, and a keyboard 4 is attached to the front half, and a display 5 with a closed lid is placed on top of the keyboard 4.
The whole forms a rectangle. In addition, in the width direction, this front half has a flat part 41 at the middle part of the upper surface and stepped parts 42, 42 at both sides, and has a "concave" shape with a concave middle as a whole. It has a cross-sectional shape. The keyboard 4 is placed on the stepped parts 42, 42, and a gap 43 is formed between the flat part 41 and the lower surface of the keyboard 4 in the placed state. This gap 43 can be used as a paper path using the front end of the keyboard 4 as a paper feed port during printing, but in this embodiment, the keyboard 4 is removed and this portion is used as the paper feed guide 40. That is, two protrusions 44, 44 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the flat portion 41, and the position of the protrusions 44 indicates the width (size) of the recording paper P from the stepped portion 42 on the left side. ing. Of course, a mere display instead of the protruding strip 44 is sufficient, but from this left stepped portion 42 to the left protruding strip 4
4 corresponds to B5 size, the part up to the protrusion 44 on the right side corresponds to A4 size, and furthermore, the entire width of flat part 41 corresponds to B4 size. The operator feeds the recording paper P from this paper feed guide 40 to the mechanism section of the printer 2 of the device main body 3 with the left end of the flat portion 41 as a reference.

The mechanical section of the printer 2 includes the paper feed guide 4
A paper feed port 51 located at the leading end of the paper feed port 51 for supplying the recording paper P into the mechanical section of the printer 2, a first paper path 52 connected to the paper feed port 51, and a first paper path 52 in the main body 3 near the top of the paper feed port 51. It includes a paper discharge port 53 formed on the surface and a second paper path 54 connected to the paper discharge port 53. The first paper passage 52 extends in a planar manner within the device main body 3 and penetrates the rear part of the device main body 3, and an exposure opening 57, which will be described later, is formed in this penetrating portion. On the other hand, the second paper path 54 branches off at a branch 55 in the middle of the first paper path 52 and extends somewhat diagonally upward to the paper discharge port 53 . Further, a printer cover 56 is provided above the second paper path 54, so that the mechanical section of the printer 2 can be opened for maintenance or the like. Recording paper P
is supplied from the paper feed port 51 and introduced into the mechanism section of the printer 2 through the first paper path 52, and the rear end of the introduction is introduced into the branch section 5.
It stops when it reaches 5. In this case, a portion of the recording paper P is fed out from the exposure opening 57 and becomes exposed. Therefore, recording paper P of various sizes can be used without increasing the size of the device main body 3. Next, the recording paper P is switched back and guided to the second paper path 54, and printing is started at the same time. As printing progresses, the recording paper P is discharged from the second paper path 54 to the outside through the paper discharge port 53.

A branching portion 55 of the second paper passage 54 is provided with a transfer means for transferring the recording paper P from the first paper passage 52 to the second paper passage 54, thereby making it possible to switch back the recording paper P. . This delivery means includes a gate 58 that opens and closes both the first and second paper paths 52 and 54 as appropriate in accordance with the movement of feeding and discharging the recording paper P, a solenoid 59 and a coil spring 60 that drive the gate 58 to open and close, and a recording paper It is composed of a first paper detection sensor 61 that detects P and sends an opening/closing signal to the solenoid 59, and a second detection sensor 62 that detects the printing start position of the recording paper P. The gate 58 swings around the pivot 63 as appropriate, and when the recording paper P is supplied, the first paper passage 52 is opened and the second paper passage 54 is closed, so that the recording paper P is discharged. When the first paper path 52 is
"Closed" and the second paper path 54 is "Open". A coil spring 60 and a solenoid 59 are connected to the rear end of the gate 58 on the upper and lower sides, respectively, and the gate 58 biases the first paper passage 52 in the direction of the "closed" state by the coil spring 60. . The solenoid 59 is excited based on the detection signal from the first paper detection sensor 61, and swings the gate 58 in a direction to bring the second paper path 54 into the "closed" state. Both paper detection sensors 61 and 62 are connected to the first and second paper passages 52.
, 54, respectively, on the upstream side of the branch section 55.
4, and the first paper detection sensor 61
detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the supplied recording paper P in the feeding direction, and the second paper detection sensor 62 detects the leading edge of the recording paper P that has been switched back to the print position in the feeding direction. That is, when the recording paper P is introduced into the first paper path 52 and its leading edge is detected by the first paper detection sensor 61, the solenoid 59 is driven to open the gate 58 to open the first paper path 52 and to open the second paper path 52. The paper path 54 is swung to the "closed" position. When the recording paper P is further fed and the second paper detection sensor 62 detects the trailing edge of the recording paper P, the solenoid 59 is activated after a predetermined period of time to cause the gate 58 to pass through the first paper path 52.
"CLOSE" and swing the second paper path 54 to the "OPEN" position. At the same time as this swinging, the paper feeding direction is reversed, and the recording paper P is switched back and introduced into the second paper path 54. Here, the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected by the second paper detection sensor 62, and the recording paper P is detected at the print start position (home position).
stops, and printing starts from this stopped position.

These paper feeds are carried out through both the first and second paper paths 5.
This is performed using various rollers provided at each part of 2 and 54. The first paper path 52 is provided with a first feed roller 64 provided on the paper feed port 51 side and a second feed roller 65 provided on the exposure port 57 side. A third feed roller 66 is provided on the side. Each of these feed rollers 6
4, 65, 66 are drive rollers 64a, 65a, 66a
and pressure rollers 64b, 65b, 66b, which rotate freely.
6b drives the recording paper P to rollers 64a, 65a, 66.
Drive rollers 64a, 65a so as to press against side a.
, 66a, the paper is fed. Therefore, the first paper path 52 and the first feed roller 64 provide paper supply means, and the second paper path 54 and the third feed roller 6
6 constitutes a paper ejection means.

On the other hand, a print head 67 for printing on the recording paper P is provided near the upstream side of the branching portion 55 of the first paper path 52 so as to face this paper path 52. In addition, a platen roller 68 is provided opposite the print head 67. The recording paper P is just sandwiched between the print head 67 and the platen roller 68, and printing is performed by the line feed of the third feed roller 66 and the horizontal printing operation of the print head 67.

A main circuit board 8 is provided at the bottom of the device main body 3 and extends over the entire area of the device main body 3, and a receiving section 9 of a keyboard 4 connected wirelessly is connected to this main circuit board 8. has been done. The receiving section 9 communicates with the keyboard 4 through optical communication with a transmitting section 10 provided at the back end of the keyboard 4.
The input signal is transmitted to the main circuit board 8 of the device main body 3. The receiving section 9 is composed of an optical receiving module incorporating a phototransistor, etc., and two are provided at the center and front end of the device main body 3, and the keyboard 4 for the device main body 3 is
It can be used in both attachment and detachment. The transmitter 10 is composed of an optical transmitter module incorporating a light emitting diode or the like, and transmits an input signal to the device main body 3 by remote command transmission.

The device body 3, ie, this computer, has a system configuration as shown in the block diagram of FIG. That is, a microprocessor (MPU) 11, a ROM 12 in which a control program is stored, a RAM 13 forming a main memory, and a floppy disk controller (
FDC) 14, a video RAM (VRAM) 15 that stores information to be output to the display 5, a display controller (CRTC) 16 that outputs signals read from the video RAM 15 to the display 5, etc. are connected to the bus, that is, the control line 1.
7 to an input/output interface (I/O) 18. The input/output interface 18 includes a receiving section 9
, 9, the signal from the keyboard 4 is sent to the receiving section 9,
Either one of the receiving circuits (RC, RC) corresponding to 9 and O
The signal is input via an R gate (OR) 19. In addition, the input/output interface 18 includes first and second paper detection sensors 6.
Detection signals from 1 and 62 are input. From the input/output interface 18, output circuits (DC) 20, 20, 20
via the print head 67, feed rollers 64, 65, 6
7 and a motor (M) 2 that drives the platen roller 68.
1 and a control signal is output to the solenoid 59. That is, the printing operation of the printer 2 of the personal computer 1 according to this embodiment is controlled by the microprocessor 11 based on a control program stored in the ROM 12.

[0020] Since this embodiment is configured as described above,
The operator can perform a series of printing operations in front of the display 5, and there is no need to tilt the display 5 forward or reach the rear of the device body 3 when printing, and the operator can easily perform this series of operations. Can be done. Also, since the recording paper P after printing is ejected in front of the display 5, the operator can compare the screen on the display 5 with the printout on the recording paper P that is in the middle of printing, and can check the printout and Cancellations and other actions can be taken quickly.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a laptop personal computer according to a second embodiment of the electronic information device of the present invention. In this embodiment, the exposure opening 57 at the far end of the first paper path 52 used in the first embodiment described above is eliminated, and instead, a curved guide 69 that curves and stores the recording paper P inside the device main body 3 is used. is provided. This bending guide 69 curves the recording paper P sent to the rear of the device main body 3 so as to curl it downward, and effectively utilizes the empty space at the rear of the device main body 3.

[0022]

[Effects] As described above, according to the present invention, since the paper ejection port is provided in front of the display, it is possible to compare and examine the print content on the recording paper and the display on the display during printing, and the output The editing work can be streamlined.

In this case, if a paper feed port is also provided in front of the display, a series of printing operations can be performed in front of the display, thereby improving work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view in the front-rear direction of a personal computer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken in the left-right direction of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the computer main body of the personal computer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cutaway cross-sectional view in the front-rear direction of a personal computer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...PC 2...Printer 3...Device body 4...Keyboard 5...Display 40...Paper feed guide 51...Paper feed slot 52...First paper passage 53... Paper ejection port 54...Second paper passage 57...Exposed mouth 59...Solenoid 60...Coil spring 64...First feed roller 65...First feed roller 66...First feed roller 69...Curved guide P...Recording paper

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: A printer-incorporated electronic information device comprising a display and a device main body with a built-in printer, wherein a paper ejection port formed on the surface of the device main body in front of the display and a printed An electronic information device with a built-in printer, comprising a paper ejection means for guiding recording paper to the outside through the paper ejection port. 2. A paper feed port formed on the surface of the device main body in front of the display, and a paper supply means for feeding recording paper into the device main body through the paper feed port,
The electronic information device with a built-in printer according to claim 1, further comprising a printer. 3. A transfer means for switching back and delivering the recording paper from the paper supply means to the paper ejection means; and a part of the recording paper being transferred to the rear surface of the device main body at the time of the switchback. 3. The electronic information device with a built-in printer according to claim 2, further comprising an exposure opening that extends to the outside of the device main body. 4. A delivery means for switching back and delivering the recording paper from the paper supply means to the paper ejection means; 3. The electronic information device with a built-in printer according to claim 2, further comprising a curved guide that is wound into the main body.