JPH08459U - Portable printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] The present invention is to provide a portable printer which is attached to a handy terminal for use, is easy to attach and detach, has excellent durability, is small and lightweight, and is convenient to carry. A printing means for printing information transmitted from a handy terminal side by a communication means on a sheet, a communication terminal, and a power supply receiving means, and the communication terminal is constituted by a non-contact terminal. [Effect] The device can be easily attached to and detached from the handy terminal, its durability is improved, the device can be made smaller and lighter, and the cost can be reduced.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a portable printing device which is mounted on a handy terminal and is used by integrating them.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 In recent years, handy terminals have been used in the field of inventory management in manufacturing, inventory management, meter reading of electricity, water and gas, ordering in distribution, inventory management, display management, and external relations support in the financial industry. Is being used. In other words, the handy terminal is an extremely effective device for inputting, processing, and outputting information, and being able to input data at the location closest to the site, and for the purpose of diversifying the increasing input data. Is. Depending on its intended use, it may be necessary to issue receipts, invoices, copies of orders, inventory bills, etc. on the spot using single-cut or roll paper. In order to cope with such a situation, various mounting methods have been provided so far as a portable printing device (hereinafter referred to as a printer) that can be mounted on a handy terminal and used as needed. One example is a contact-type connector installed in the handy terminal as a dedicated terminal for power supply to the printer and transmission of print information, and a contact-type connector for receiving this power supply and signal in the printer as well. Is installed, and both connectors are electrically connected directly or via a cable, and a mechanism for mechanically connecting the printer case and the handy terminal case is integrated. As another method, a dedicated power supply (battery) is installed in the printer and the print information to the printer control circuit driven by the battery is transmitted using a non-contact terminal such as an optical coupling terminal. A type in which electrical connection between the handy terminal and the printer is achieved by complete non-contact coupling has also been proposed and put into practical use.

[0003]

However, the printers using these methods have problems. That is, whether the transmission of print information from the handy terminal to the printer is made by directly connecting the connectors to each other or via a cable, the contact type connector can be attached to and detached from the handy terminal of the printer. There is a limit to sex. Also, coupled with the complexity of the mechanical connection mechanism, the operability of attachment / detachment is not necessarily satisfactory. In addition, in the second method in which a battery is also provided in the printer to realize a completely non-contact type printer, the problem of durability of attachment / detachment can be solved, but the weight and volume of the battery mounted in the printer are reduced. Since the number increases excessively, it becomes an inconvenient device as a handy terminal with a printer for portable use. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, and to provide a portable printer that is easy to attach to and detach from a handy terminal, has excellent durability, is small and lightweight, and is convenient to carry.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The purpose of the present invention to achieve the above object is to provide a portable printer, which is driven by a battery and mounted on a handy terminal having a communication terminal, for use in transmitting information transmitted from the handy terminal through communication means. It is characterized in that it is provided with a printing means for printing a sheet on paper, a communication terminal, and a power receiving means from the handy terminal, and the communication terminal is constituted by a non-contact terminal such as an optical coupling terminal or an electromagnetic coupling terminal.

[0005]

[Action]

 Since the printer according to the present invention cannot be used alone, the printer does not have a dedicated battery for weight saving. When used, the printer is mounted on the handy terminal.In this mounting state, the power supply for driving the printer is supplied from the battery installed on the handy terminal side to the printer side by the contact terminal. To do. On the other hand, the information for printing is transmitted to the printer side through the non-contact communication terminal. Although it is a printer used in this way, if the purpose of the handy terminal is to collect information with a key or a bar code reader, the printer is not necessary, so it can be removed from the handy terminal. Since only one battery is installed on the handy terminal side when the printer is installed or not installed, the entire device can be made compact and lightweight, has good portability, and is light on the user. Complete.

[0006]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer according to the present invention mounted on a handy terminal. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a handy terminal body, and this handy terminal has a liquid crystal display 3 and an input key 4, and further has an electric circuit composed of a CPU, a ROM, a RAM and the like, and the whole device is provided. A battery 2 which is a power supply for driving is provided. Reference numeral 5 is a connector for connecting a bar code reader used when reading a bar code. A printer 6 according to the present invention includes a roll paper holder 8 for storing a roll paper 7 to be printed. Further, inside the handy terminal 1 and the printer 6, a light emitting element and a light receiving element for performing optical communication are respectively provided as described later. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the printer 6 according to the present invention is detached from the handy terminal 1. The case of the printer 6 is provided with a recess 9 for slidingly fitting the tip of the handy terminal 1, and has a case structure that engages with the top of the tip of the handy terminal. Further, 10 is a bolt for finally positioning and fixing the handy terminal 1 and the printer 6. Although this bolt 10 will be described later, it is fastened to a nut installed on the bottom of the case of the handy terminal 1 to work to fix the handy terminal and the printer together. An optical communication unit 11 including a plurality of light emitting elements and light receiving elements is provided in the case adjacent to the bolt. Reference numeral 12 is a leaf spring for receiving the power supply for driving the printer from the handy terminal side. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the state of FIG. 1 in which the printer according to the present invention is mounted on the handy terminal, showing mainly the connecting portion between the printer and the handy terminal. In the figure, reference numeral 8 denotes a roll paper holder integrally formed with the printer case 6, in which the roll paper 7 to be printed is stored. Further, a bolt 13 provided in a case 6 of the printer is fastened to a nut 13 embedded in the bottom portion of the case 1 of the handy terminal so that both are integrally fixed. First, the power supply system in this state will be described. The output of the battery provided in the handy terminal is output to the outside from the metal terminal 18 mounted on this board via the power supply control board 17. Therefore, when the printer is attached to the handy terminal, the metal spring 18 contacts with the leaf spring 12 which is the power supply means provided in the printer, and the output of the battery is passed through the relay board 19 to the final output. Is supplied to the printer mechanism 20. The printer mechanism 20 has a motor for feeding paper, a thermal head as a final printing means, and the like, which are directly driven by the battery in the handy terminal. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, there are two more sets of the metal terminals 18 and the leaf springs 12, one of which is for stabilizing the output of the battery in the power control board 17 and supplying the power output to the printer side. The other set is for supplying a common reference potential (GND) to a battery power source and a stabilizing power source. Both the stabilizing power supply and the reference voltage are supplied to the printer mechanism 20 via the metal terminal 18, the leaf spring 12, and the relay board 19, and further to the printer control board 15 via the cable 21 and the connector 22. Here, the cable 21 and the connector 22 are assumed to be composed of a plurality of signal lines. The power supply / reception means using such a combination of the metal terminal and the leaf spring has a simple structure and is capable of supplying a large current, and has an advantage that it is excellent in durability of attachment / detachment. On the other hand, the flow of signals for printing will be described. First, a light emitting element 11a such as an infrared light emitting diode mounted on the control board 14 in the handy terminal converts the signal into an optical signal for serial output. This light is received by a light receiving element 11c such as a photodiode in the printer, converted into an electric signal again, and serially transmitted to the printer control board 15 on which the light receiving element 11c is mounted. It is converted into a final print control signal such as a thermal head control signal and transmitted to the motor and the thermal head in the printer mechanism 20 via the connector 22, the cable 21 and the relay board 19. On the other hand, signals such as error messages transmitted from the printer side to the handy terminal side are output as light signals from the light emitting element 11d on the printer control board, and converted into electrical signals by the light receiving element 11b that receives the light signals. And transmitted serially. The light emitting / receiving elements 11a and 11c and 11b and 11d are arranged at positions just vertically facing each other when the printer is mounted on the handy terminal. Further, 11d is an optical filter that transmits only light of a specific wavelength, and is installed on the case 1 of the handy terminal and the case 6 of the printer, and has a role of cutting off the light rays which are harmful to optical communication. Is playing. Although illustration is omitted here, elements such as a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a power supply control IC, and a display driver IC are mounted on the control board 14, the power supply control board 17, and the display control board 16, and these elements are mounted. The boards are connected to each other to form an overall circuit. Similarly, elements such as a CPU and a motor driver IC are mounted on the printer control board 15 to form a circuit. As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, an infrared light emitting diode, a phototransistor or other optical semiconductor is used as a communication terminal, but in the present invention, a non-magnetic terminal such as an electromagnetic induction terminal or a wireless antenna terminal is used. This includes the case where it is composed of contact terminals. Further, the wavelength of the optical semiconductor is not limited to a specific wavelength such as infrared light. Also, the type of printer has been described by taking a thermal printer as an example, but an impact type printer such as a wire dot matrix system or a printing drum system is also included. Further, the mechanical fixing means between the handy terminal and the printer has been described in the embodiment by the method of tightening the bolt to the nut, but the present invention is not limited to this method, for example, the repulsion of a spring. It is not limited to a specific means, including a method in which the locking piece is fitted and fixed in the groove by force.

[0007]

[Effect of device]

 As is clear from the above description, in the printer according to the present invention, the control signal for printing is communicated with the handy terminal in a non-contact manner, and the power source is supplied from the handy terminal in a contact manner. Since it is adopted, it has excellent characteristics in terms of durability against attachment / detachment with a handy terminal. Moreover, it does not require any troublesome operations such as connecting a connector when attaching or detaching. Easy attachment / detachment and excellent durability means that the printer can be easily attached / detached according to the intended use of the handy terminal. In addition, since it is not necessary to install a dedicated battery in the printer, it can be made lighter and smaller, which reduces the burden on the operator who carries and uses it. At the same time, when viewed as a printer alone, the cost can also be reduced due to the unnecessary battery.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the printer of the present invention mounted on a handy terminal.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printer alone according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the printer of the present invention mounted on a handy terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Handy Terminal 2 Battery 3 Liquid Crystal Display 4 Input Key 5 Bar Code Reader Connector 6 Printer 7 Roll Paper 8 Paper Holder 9 Recess 10 Volt 11 Optical Communication Section 12 Leaf Spring 13 Nut

Front page continued (72) Inventor Takanori Sasaki Heiwa Watchworks Co., Ltd. 435 Shimodonooka, Iida, Nagano Prefecture (72) Inventor Toshiro Itoh 435 Shimodonooka Shimodonooka, Iida, Nagano Heiwa Watchmaking Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a portable printing device which is driven by a battery and is used by being attached to a handy terminal having a communication terminal, a printing means for printing information transmitted from the handy terminal via a communication means on a sheet, a communication terminal, and A printing apparatus comprising: a power supply receiving means from the handy terminal, wherein the communication terminal is composed of a non-contact terminal such as an optical coupling terminal and an electromagnetic coupling terminal.