JPH09131928A - Portable printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To store in a casing a printing member, as an independent body, which is convinient to carry and has a printable printing means. SOLUTION: A printing member 3 having a printable printing means is detachably mounted on a caniage 4. A casing 6 has an opening made along the moving part of a carriage 4, and closes the opening by a cover body so as to allow detachment. The cover body has a support part which detachably supports the printing member 3. The printing member 3 is stored in a space 8 in the casing 6, which is made along the moving part of the carriage 4 of a carriage-moving mechanism 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a recording medium conveying means for conveying a recording medium such as a printing paper, and a carriage having a print head mounted in a recording medium in a direction substantially perpendicular to the recording medium conveying direction of the recording medium conveying means. A printing device including a recording unit that reciprocates according to the size of the printing device is known. Although such a printing apparatus has been miniaturized with respect to a desktop type electrophotographic system and an inkjet system, it is still inconvenient to carry.

On the other hand, as a miniaturized type, a portable type printer capable of independently printing has been proposed. For example, a type in which a print head is integrally incorporated in a columnar casing is known. Has been. In such a printing device, when printing, an operator grips and moves on a recording medium for printing. Therefore, the casing is provided with an encoder that rotates in contact with the recording medium. Is provided with a moving amount detecting means for detecting the moving amount. Further, since such a printing apparatus has a housing in which a print head is incorporated and moves the housing in an arbitrary direction, it may not be moved straight and accurate printing may not be performed. That is, it is difficult to print a wide area.

Therefore, accurate printing is performed by using a holding member for holding the columnar printing device as described above and using a relative moving device for moving the holding member relative to the printing medium held in a fixed position. It is possible.

[0005]

However, in this case, since the relative moving device itself and the printing device are separate bodies, it is inconvenient to carry them separately when carrying them. Was inconvenient because the printing device could be lost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a portable printing device which is convenient to carry and can accommodate a separate printing member having printing means capable of printing in a casing. And

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording medium conveying means for conveying a recording medium such as printing paper, and a carriage in a direction substantially orthogonal to the recording medium conveying direction of the recording medium conveying means. A carriage reciprocating means for reciprocating according to the size of the recording medium is provided, which is premised on a portable printing device housed in a casing. The recording medium is removably mounted on the carriage. A printing member capable of printing is provided, and a space portion formed along the moving portion of the carriage of the carriage reciprocating means in the casing and capable of accommodating the printing member is configured.

According to the first aspect of the invention, the printing member is housed in the space formed along the moving portion of the carriage of the carriage reciprocating means in the casing. Further, the printing member is mounted on the carriage, and the carriage reciprocating means moves the carriage back and forth.
When printing is performed on the recording medium conveyed by the recording medium conveying means, the printing is done neatly and neatly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable printing apparatus according to the first aspect, the casing has an opening formed along a moving portion of the carriage, and the opening can be attached and detached by a lid. The lid is provided with a support portion that detachably supports the printing member.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the printing member is supported by the supporting portion of the lid, and the printing member can be easily attached and detached.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable printing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the carriage reciprocating means comprises:
A belt partially fixed to the carriage, a drive pulley and a driven pulley around which the belt is wound and arranged at a predetermined interval, and a space is formed along the belt. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the carriage is reciprocally moved by the belt, the space portion formed along the belt is effectively used.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the portable printing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the casing is divided into two casing members that are foldably connected to each other, and is in a folded state and a linear state. And a part of the carriage reciprocating means is housed in one casing member and the other part is housed in the other casing member, and the carriage reciprocating means moves the carriage in a straight state of the casing. It becomes possible.

According to the invention of claim 4, the casing is folded when being carried, which is convenient for carrying.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the portable printing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the printing member has a communication section for receiving print data from an external device.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the printing member receives the print data from the external device by the communication unit and scans the print member independently, the print member prints on the print medium based on the print data. To be done.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the portable printing apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

1 to 4 are views showing the outer appearance of the portable printer, and FIGS. 5 to 12 are views showing the internal structure thereof. The portable printing apparatus 1 includes a transport mechanism 2 (recording medium transport means) for transporting a print sheet, which is a recording medium, and a carriage 4 on which a print member 3 is removably mounted in the opening 4a. And a carriage moving mechanism 5 (carriage reciprocating means) for reciprocating in accordance with the size of the printing paper in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the above, and these are housed in an elongated cylindrical casing 6. When the printing member 3 is mounted on the carriage 4, the fact that the printing member 3 is mounted is detected by, for example, a unit detection sensor 66 (see FIG. 16) provided on the carriage 4. The printing paper conveyed by means of the paper is in a state substantially orthogonal to the paper surface.

An elongated opening 6a is formed on the upper surface of the casing 6 along the moving portion of the carriage 4, and the opening 6a is detachably closed by a lid 7. . The lid 7 has a printing member 3
Clip-shaped support portions 7a, 7a for detachably supporting the are formed. Therefore, when the lid 7 closes the opening 6a, the lid 6 is housed in the space 8 formed along the moving portion of the carriage 4 in the casing 6. Further, another lid 10 having a print start switch and the like and an operation key portion 9 for controlling the transport mechanism 2 and the carriage moving mechanism 5 to perform printing is also provided at the end of the casing 6. The battery 20 is detachably provided, and the battery 20 is provided inside thereof. Although not shown, an external portable information processing device (external device) and an optical window portion 75 for performing infrared communication with the printing member 3 described later are formed outside the casing 6.

The carriage moving mechanism 5 is shown in FIGS.
2, the drive pulley 11 rotatably supported on one side of the casing 6, the driven pulley 12 rotatably supported on the other side of the casing 6, and the pulleys 11 and 12 between them. The timing belt 13 wound around the carriage 4 and partially fixed to the fixed portion 4b of the carriage 4, the pulley gear 14 integrally formed with the drive pulley 11, the drive gear 15 meshing with the pulley gear 14, and the drive gear. A pulse motor 16 as a drive motor that drives 15 to rotate forward and backward.
And The diameters of the drive pulley 11 and the driven pulley 12 are set to be larger than the width of the printing member 3, so that a space 8 for accommodating the printing member 3 is formed in an elongated portion surrounded by the timing belt 13. (See FIG. 6).

The carriage 4 is smoothly moved by the carriage moving mechanism 5 because the engaging portions 4c, 4c of the carriage 4 are slidably engaged with the guide groove portions 6d, 6d of the casing 6. (See Figure 12).

Two auxiliary pulleys 17, 17, 18, 18 are respectively rotatably supported by the pulleys 11, 12 in contact with the back surface of the timing belt 13 so that the timings from the pulleys 11, 12 can be adjusted. Belt 13
Is configured to prevent the vehicle from leaving.

Although not specifically shown, the driven pulley 12 is movably supported in the casing 6 in the axial direction, and is interposed between the spring locking portion 12a of the driven pulley 12 and the casing 6. Spring loaded 1
9, the driven pulley 12 is constantly urged in a direction away from the drive pulley 11, and the timing belt 13 is always maintained in a tensioned state.

The transport mechanism 2 is disposed in the left side portion of the casing 6, and print paper supplied through a paper supply port 6b formed in the side surface of the casing 6 is orthogonal to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 4. Direction, and after printing is performed by the printing member 3 mounted on the carriage 4,
The sheet is discharged through a sheet discharge port (not shown) (not shown).

Specifically, FIGS. 5 to 8, 11 and 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a conveying roller 21 rotatably supported by the casing 6 via bearing members 22 and 22 for conveying the print sheet, a gear 23 fixed to a rotation shaft 21a of the conveying roller 21, and the gear 23. 23, a drive gear 26 linked to the drive gear 26 via an idle gear 24, and a pulse motor 25 as a conveyance motor for rotating the drive gear 26.
The end of the rotary shaft 21a of the transport roller 21 is formed by the casing 6
The roller rotation knob 27 is fixed to the protruding end of the roller, and the transport roller 21 can be manually rotated. The carrying roller 21 is displaced to the left of the center position of the casing 6, but is arranged so as to be located substantially at the center of the printing paper being carried.

Auxiliary rollers 28 are supported rotatably corresponding to the transport roller 21 to assist the transport operation. One end of the rotating shafts 29, 29 of the auxiliary rollers 28, 28 is rotatably supported by the bearing member 35, and the other end is rotatably supported by the connecting member 31. Then, one end of a shaft member 32 extending to the opposite side of the rotary shaft 29 is connected to the connecting member 31, and the other end projects through the elongated hole 6c of the casing 6 and a push-down lever 33 is fixed. . By pushing down the pushing down lever 33, the auxiliary rollers 28, 28
Are separated from the conveying rollers 21 so that the printing paper can be easily inserted between them.

A coil spring 34 is interposed between the connecting member 31 and the left portion of the casing 6, and the auxiliary rollers 28, 28 are constantly urged by the coil spring 34 so as to contact the transport roller 21. ing.

A flexible substrate 41 is arranged substantially parallel to the movement path of the carriage 4, and substrates 42, 42 are arranged in parallel between the drive motor 16 and the transport mechanism 2.

Control unit (not shown) in the casing 6
Is configured, for example, as shown in FIG. ROM
Reference numeral 64 stores a control program for printing, and RAM 65 temporarily stores print data and the like. The unit detection sensor 66 is the carriage 4
And detects attachment / detachment of the printing member 3. Further, an infrared communication interface 63 for infrared communication for transferring print data between the external device and the portable printing device 1 and transferring dot data of one dot row between the portable printing device 1 and the printing member 3. Is also provided.

The printing member 3 shown in FIG. 14 has a substantially rectangular prism shape, and as shown in FIG.
1 has a print head 53 containing an ink tank 52.
(Printing unit), a head movement amount detection unit 55 formed of a rotatable roller 54 and an encoder 55 for detecting the rotation amount thereof, for detecting the relative movement amount of the print head 53 with respect to the recording medium, and a battery as a power source. 56, and a drive control unit 57 that controls the drive timing of the print head 53 by receiving a signal from the head movement amount detection means 55, and the operator grips and scans the print paper.
It can be printed by itself.

Further, an optical window portion 58 for performing infrared communication with the casing 6 side is formed on the upper portion of the casing 51. The dot data of one dot row is directly sent to the printing member 3 through the optical window 58, but when the dot data is mounted on the carriage 4 to print, it is sent through the carriage 4. You can also For example, a data transfer connector may be provided on the carriage 4 to send by wire, or a data transfer device may be provided on the carriage 4 to send by wireless.

The drive control section 57 is specifically constructed as shown in FIG. 13, for example. That is, the roller 5
The rotation amount of 4 is detected by the encoder 55 and is input to the CPU 71 as the head movement amount, and the drive timing of the print head 53 is drive-controlled through the drive circuit 62 according to the head movement amount. Further, an infrared communication interface 73 for infrared communication with the casing 6 side is also provided.

Next, the operation of the portable printer 1 will be described.

As described above, printing by the printing member 3 may be carried out manually by gripping only the printing member 3 or by itself, or by mechanically mounting the printing member 3 on the carriage 4. Is performed as shown in FIG.

That is, when starting, first, the printing member 3
In order to determine whether it is a single manual print or a mechanical print in the state where the carriage 4 is mounted,
The unit detection sensor 66 determines whether the printing member 3 is mounted on the carriage 4 (that is, whether the printing member 3 is mounted on the opening 4a of the carriage 4).
It is determined whether or not is confirmed (step S1).

If the printing member 3 is mounted on the carriage 4, it is considered that mechanical printing is carried out in the state where the printing member 3 is mounted on the carriage 4. Therefore, a printing start switch (not shown) in the operation key unit 9 is shown. No.) is pressed (step S2). If the print start switch is not pressed, printing cannot be started yet. Therefore, this judgment is repeated until the print start switch is pressed. At this time, the inkjet nozzle row of the printing member 3 is positioned parallel to the conveyance direction of the printing paper.

On the other hand, if the print start switch has been pressed, it is then determined whether or not the print data has ended (step S3). finish. If it is not completed, the dot pattern data of one dot row is transmitted from the casing 6 side to the printing member 3 from the print buffer (RAM 65) that stores the dot pattern data necessary for printing one line (step S4). ), The pulse motor 16 is driven by one step, and the carriage 4 moves (step S5). The end of print data is determined by determining whether or not dot pattern data remains in the print buffer.

Then, ink is ejected from the printing member 3 and printing is performed for one dot row (step S
6) It is determined whether the printing of one line is completed (step S7).

If the printing of one line is completed, the pulse motor 16 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the carriage 4 to the origin position, and the dot pattern data for the next one line is transferred to the print buffer (step S8). , The pulse motor 25 as a carry motor is driven to rotate the carry roller 21 by a predetermined amount to feed the print paper by a predetermined amount (step S9), and the process returns to step S3, while the printing of one line is not completed, It returns to step S4.

On the other hand, if the printing member 3 is not mounted on the carriage 4, it is considered that printing is performed by the printing member 3 alone. Therefore, it is determined whether or not the encoder 55 has rotated (step S10) and rotation is performed. If it is, the roller 54 is rotating and printing is started. Therefore, it is determined whether the print data is finished (step S11). If it is not rotating, the determination of step S10 is repeated.

If the print data is completed, there is no unprinted portion, so the process ends. If it is not completed, it is necessary to continue printing. The dot pattern data of the dot row is transmitted to the printing member 3 (step S12),
Ink is ejected from the printing member 3 to print one dot row (step S13), and the process returns to step S10 to determine whether the encoder 55 has rotated.

With the above arrangement, the printing member 3 is
Since the space 6 which is a dead space formed along the moving part of the carriage 4 is housed in the casing 6, the dead space is effectively used to house the printing member 3. As a result, the printing member 3 will not be lost when being carried. In particular, since the carriage 4 is conveyed by the timing belt 13, the carriage 4 is housed in the space portion 8 surrounded by the timing belt 13 and inevitably formed, so that the dead space can be effectively used. In addition, since the printing member 3 is detachably supported by the supporting portions 7a, 7a of the lid 7, the printing member 3 can be easily stored in the space portion 8, and the printing member 3 Can be easily attached and detached.

Further, the infrared communication interface 63 receives print data from an external portable information processing device, and based on the print data, the printing member 3 can be used by itself to perform printing manually. If the member 3 is mounted on the carriage 4, printing can be performed mechanically by using the transport mechanism 2 and the carriage moving mechanism 5. Therefore, manual printing and mechanical printing can be selectively used according to the purpose and the like. For example, according to manual printing,
It is possible to perform printing on a thick notebook or notebook, which cannot be performed by mechanical printing.

In the above embodiment, the casing 6
Since the length is longer than the length of the printing paper, which is a little disadvantageous in terms of portability, the casing can be made foldable as shown in FIG. 18, for example.

In this case, the casing 6 is attached to the left and right casing members 6A and 6B at a substantially central position.
The casing members 6A and 6B are divided and are foldably connected to each other by hinge members 71 and 71 so that the casing members 6A and 6B are in a folded state and a straight state. Then, a part of the carriage moving mechanism 5 is provided in one casing member 6A,
The other part is housed in the other casing member 6B, and when the casing 6 is in a straight line state, the carriage moving mechanism 5 is set in a movable state of the carriage 4. Therefore, when being carried, the casing 6 is in a folded state, and in that case, the printing member 3 is supported by, for example, a cap or the like fitted to the end portions of the casing members 6A and 6B in the same manner as described above. Casing member 6A,
Inside any of 6B, it is accommodated along the timing belt 13 which is the moving portion of the carriage 4. The same components as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the above embodiment, a belt or a wire is used as the recording medium conveying means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a rack and pinion mechanism is used. You can also

Further, in the above embodiment, the infrared communication interface for performing infrared communication with the external portable information processing device (external device) is provided in the casing. An external communication interface may be provided. In this case, a part of the control unit (for example, RO
M, RAM, unit detection sensor) are provided in the printing member. In addition, between the external device and the casing, between the casing and the printing member, and between the external device and the printing member,
Of course, a configuration in which at least one place is connected by wire is also possible. In short, the printing member having the printing means is detachably attached to the carriage in the casing, and when the printing member is mounted on the carriage, it is configured as an ordinary page printer or a pen type printer capable of printing by the printing means alone. Any portable printing device can be used.

[0049]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the printing member can be housed in the space formed along the moving portion of the carriage in the casing, the dead space can be effectively used. Thus, the printing member can be stored, and the printing member can be prevented from being lost when being carried. In addition, a printing member is attached to the carriage of the carriage reciprocating means that reciprocates the carriage in accordance with the size of the recording medium in a direction substantially orthogonal to the recording medium conveying direction of the recording medium conveying means that conveys the recording medium such as print paper. By mounting the recording medium detachably, it is possible to neatly print on a print medium such as a print sheet by using the recording medium conveying unit and the carriage reciprocating unit.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the printing member is detachably supported by the support portion formed on the lid, the printing member can be reliably supported and can be easily attached and detached.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the carriage is driven by the belt because the carriage is reciprocated by the belt so that the printing member is housed in the space formed along the belt. It is possible to effectively use the dead space caused by the above.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the casing can be folded, it is convenient for carrying by folding the casing during carrying.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the printing member has the receiving section for receiving the printing data from the external device, if the printing member is independently scanned, the printing can be performed based on the printing data from the external device. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a portable printing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the portable printing device according to the present invention with the lid removed.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of a portable printing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a transverse sectional view of the same.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the left end of the device shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the left end of the device shown in FIG.

9 is an enlarged view of the right end of the device shown in FIG.

10 is an enlarged view of the right end of the device shown in FIG.

11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG.

12 is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a control system of a printing member.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing a usage state of the printing member alone.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of the printing member in section.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a control system of the portable printing device.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a control flow.

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 5, showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable printing device 2 Conveying mechanism (recording medium conveying means) 3 Printing member 4 Carriage 5 Carriage moving mechanism (carriage reciprocating means) 6 Casing 6A Casing member 6B Casing member 6a Opening 7 Lid 7a Support 8 Spatial 11 Drive pulley 12 Driven pulley 13 Timing belt 73 Infrared communication interface (communication part)

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masatoshi Kokubo 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City Brother Industries, Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium conveying means for conveying a recording medium such as a printing sheet, and a carriage reciprocating in a direction substantially orthogonal to the recording medium conveying direction of the recording medium conveying means according to the size of the recording medium. A portable printing device comprising a carriage reciprocating means, which is housed in a casing, comprising: a printing member detachably mounted on the carriage and having a printing means capable of printing on a recording medium; A portable printing device comprising: a space portion formed along a moving portion of the carriage of the carriage reciprocating means and capable of accommodating the printing member. 2. The casing has an opening formed along a moving portion of the carriage, the opening is detachably closed by a lid, and a printing member can be attached to and detached from the lid. The portable printing device according to claim 1, wherein a supporting portion for supporting is formed. 3. The carriage reciprocating means has a belt, a part of which is fixed to the carriage, and a drive pulley and a driven pulley around which the belt is wound and which are arranged at a predetermined interval. 3. The portable printing device according to claim 1, wherein the space portion is formed along the belt. 4. The casing is configured to be divided into two casing members that are foldably coupled to each other and have a folded state and a linear state, and a part of the carriage reciprocating means is one casing. In the member, the other part is stored in the other casing member,
The carriage reciprocating means is in a movable state of the carriage in the linear state of the casing.
The portable printing device according to any one of 3 above. 5. The portable printing device according to claim 1, wherein the printing member has a communication unit that receives print data from an external device.