JP3012208B2 - Portable printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a portable printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, portable printers have become widespread.
For example, when a courier receives an item requested for delivery, the courier is used to input and print out data relating to the received item.

In such a portable printer, roll paper is used as a sheet on which printing is performed, and the width of the roll paper used in the axial direction is determined in advance to one type.
This is because a portable printer is required to be reduced in size and weight, so that a sliding paper guide mechanism as used in a stationary printer cannot be provided.

[0004]

Therefore, when the format of the print contents is changed, it is not possible to change the roll paper to a roll width of the width size that is exactly suited to the format. For this reason, a large margin is formed on the roll paper after printing, which results in waste of the roll paper, or the number of printing steps increases and the consumption of the roll paper increases.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a portable printer according to the present invention, wherein a storage recess formed in a main body case for storing roll paper and a cover covering the storage recess are provided. A print head for printing on the paper, a transport means for transporting the roll paper, and the storage recess in the storage recess.
A plurality of fitting grooves formed in the axial direction of the roll paper so that a part of the inner peripheral surface of the recess becomes a rib and formed deeper than the inner peripheral surface ; The engaged portion,
A guide plate for fitted freely disengageable to said fitting挿溝, a two engaging claws for engaging with the engaging portion formed on the inner part of挿溝fitting the formed in the guide plate One is the guy
Has elasticity formed by making cuts in the plate
And an engaging claw provided on the flexible portion.The one engaging claw is engaged with the one engaging portion, and the guide plate is rotated with the engaged portion as a fulcrum, and the other is engaged. The flexible portion is bent by the contact of the engaging claw, and the other engaging claw is engaged with the other engaging portion. Accordingly, when the roll paper is stored in the storage recess, the stored roll paper is inserted by inserting the guide plate into the insertion groove formed at a position corresponding to the width of the roll paper along the axial direction. The roll paper can be held without moving in the axial direction. If the width of the roll paper to be stored in the storage recess is changed to a different width, the guide plate is inserted into another insertion groove formed at a position corresponding to the width of the roll paper.
Various types of roll paper having different widths can be held without moving in the axial direction of the roll paper. Since the guide plate fitted into the fitting groove engages the engaging claw with the engaging portion, the guide plate does not easily come off the fitting groove, and the roll paper can be reliably held. The portable printer according to the second aspect of the present invention
Inserting the guide plate into the insertion groove by applying force to the
It is easy to remove from.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This portable printer has a main body case 1
And an upper cover 3 which is a cover rotatably connected to the main body case 1 around a fulcrum shaft 2 as main components. The main body case 1 is formed with a storage recess 5 that is open upward to store the roll paper 4 wound in a roll shape, and the upper cover 3 is in an open position that opens above the storage recess 5 shown in FIG. And a closed position for closing the upper part of the storage recess 5 shown in FIG. 2. The roll paper 4 is formed by continuously attaching a label 4b to one surface of a long mount 4a.

A platen roller 6 serving as a conveying means for feeding the roll paper 4 by being rotated by a motor (not shown) is extended from the main body case 1 along the longitudinal direction of the platen roller 6. And a control unit (not shown) for controlling a motor, a print head to be described later, a detachable battery 8, and the like. A head support 9 is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the upper cover 3, and a print head 11 is attached to the head support 9 so as to be rotatable around a support shaft 10. Further, a leaf spring 12 that constantly urges the print head 11 in the direction of pressing the platen roller 6 when the upper cover 3 is rotated to the closed position is attached to the head support 9.

A plurality of insertion grooves 13 are formed in the inner peripheral surface of the storage recess 5 in the axial direction of the roll paper 4 stored in the storage recess 5. A rib 14 is formed between them. A guide plate 15 is removably fitted in the fitting groove 13. One end of the roll paper 4 stored in the storage recess 5 is connected to one side wall 5 a of the storage recess 5.
The other end of the roll paper 4 is in contact with a side surface of a guide plate 15 fitted in a fitting groove 13 formed at a position corresponding to the width of the roll paper 4 along the axial direction. Have been. The insertion groove 13 is provided at a position opposite to the side wall 5a in the storage recess 5, that is, the side wall 5a serving as a reference surface when the roll paper 4 is stored in the storage recess 5 with reference to the end surface.
Is formed only on the opposite side of the.

Engagement portions 16a and 16b are formed at the back of the insertion groove 13 before and after the insertion groove 13, respectively. The guide plate 15 resiliently engages with these engagement portions 16a and 16b. Are formed, and the guide plate 15 fitted in the fitting groove 13 is engaged with the engaging claws 17a, 17b.
b is resiliently engaged with the engaging portions 16a and 16b, respectively. A flexible portion 19 having elasticity is formed in the guide plate 15 by making a cut 18, and the engaging claw 17 b is formed at a distal end portion of the flexible portion 19. A guide plate 15 is provided on the distal end side of the flexible portion 19.
A disengagement pin 20 protruding toward the side surface is formed.

In this configuration, the roll paper 4 stored in the storage recess 5 has one end in the axial direction abutting on one side wall 5 a of the storage recess 5, and the other end in the axial direction is roll paper 4. Abuts against the side surface of the guide plate 15 inserted in the insertion groove 13 formed at a position corresponding to the width of the roll paper 4 and is held in the storage recess 5 so as not to move in the axial direction of the roll paper 4. I have. The roll paper 4 stored in the storage recess 5 is
The print is sent out by the rotation of the platen roller 6, and printing is performed by the print head 11 at a timing synchronized with the feed, and the printed label 4 b is placed on the upper cover 3.
The label is issued from the label issuing port 21 formed in the printer.

The storage recess 5 for storing the roll paper 4 has a part of an inner peripheral surface serving as a rib 14. By forming such a rib 14, when the roll paper 4 rolls in the storage recess 5 at the time of issuing the label 4b, the contact area between the roll paper 4 and the inner peripheral surface of the storage recess 5 is reduced. The resistance due to the contact is reduced, and the roll paper 4 is smoothly fed.

When the format of the print content is changed and the roll paper 4 is changed to a different width in accordance with the format, the guide plate 15 is removed from the insertion groove 13 and the width of the roll paper 4 after the change is changed. The guide plate 15 is inserted into another insertion groove 13 formed at a position corresponding to the above. Therefore, in this portable printer, various types of roll paper 4 having different widths can be used, and even when the roll paper 4 to be used is changed to one having a different width, each roll paper 4 is used as the roll paper 4. It can be held without moving in the axial direction. Then, by a simple structure in which the guide plate 15 is inserted into any one of the insertion grooves 13, various types of roll paper 4 having different widths can be rolled.
Can be held in a state where it does not move in the axial direction. In addition, since the engaging claws 17a, 17b are resiliently engaged with the engaging portions 16a, 16b, vibrations when a person holding the portable printer runs and erroneous use of the portable printer may occur. The guide plate 15 does not easily come off the insertion groove 13 due to an impact when dropped, and the roll paper 4 can be reliably held.

An operation procedure for attaching and detaching the guide plate 15 to and from the fitting groove 13 will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 4A, one of the engaging claws 17a is engaged with the engaging portion 16a, and the guide plate 15 is rotated in the direction of arrow A with the engaging portion as a fulcrum. By this rotation operation, the engaging claw 17b abutting on the inner side surface of the fitting insertion groove 13 moves downward while bending the flexible portion 19, and eventually engages as shown in FIG. 17b is engaged with the engaging portion 16b, and the insertion of the guide plate 15 into the insertion groove 13 is completed. Insert guide groove 15 into guide groove 1
4, a force in the direction of arrow B is applied to the engagement release pin 20 from the state shown in FIG. Release the engagement. Thereafter, the guide plate 15 can be removed from the fitting groove 13 by rotating the guide plate 15 in the direction of arrow C with the engagement point between the engagement claw 17a and the engagement portion 16a as a fulcrum.

[0014]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when roll paper is stored in the storage recess, the guide plate is inserted into the insertion groove formed at a position corresponding to the width of the roll paper. Accordingly, the stored roll paper can be held in a state in which the roll paper does not move in the axial direction of the roll paper. Therefore, when the roll paper stored in the storage recess is changed to one having a different width size, the width of the roll paper is changed By holding the guide plate in the other fitting groove formed at the position corresponding to the size, various types of roll paper with different widths can be held without moving in the axial direction of the roll paper with a simple structure. can do. Further, since the guide plate fitted in the fitting groove engages the engaging claw with the engaging portion, the guide plate is not easily disengaged from the fitting groove, and the roll paper can be reliably held. According to the portable printer of the invention described in claim 2,
Inserting the guide plate into the insertion groove by applying force to the
Has the effect that it is easy to remove it from.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a state in which an upper cover is opened and a roll paper and a guide plate are removed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a state in which an upper cover is closed.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a formation position of a fitting groove.

FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a procedure for attaching and detaching a guide plate to and from a fitting groove.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body case 3 Cover 4 Roll paper 5 Storage recess 6 Conveying means 11 Print head 13 Fitting groove 15 Guide plate 16a, 16b Engaging part 17a, 17b Engaging claw

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 16/00-16/10 B41J 15 / 04,3 / 36

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A storage recess formed in a main body case for storing roll paper, a print head attached to a cover covering the storage recess and printing on the roll paper, and a transport unit for transporting the roll paper. The storage recess is provided in the storage recess.
A plurality of fitting grooves arranged in the axial direction of the roll paper so that a part of the inner peripheral surface of the portion becomes a rib and formed deeper than the inner peripheral surface ; The engaging portion, a guide plate removably fitted in the fitting groove, and the engaging portion formed on the guide plate and engaging with the engaging portion formed in the inner part of the fitting groove. One engaging claw , one of which is the guide
Having elasticity formed by cutting into the board
And an engaging claw provided on the flexible portion . One of the engaging claws is engaged with one of the engaging portions, and the guide plate is rotated with the engaged portion as a fulcrum. A portable printer characterized in that a flexible portion is bent by abutment of a dowel to engage the other engaging claw with the other engaging portion. 2. A member projecting laterally from a distal end of a flexible portion.
2. The combination releasing pin according to claim 1, wherein a mating release pin is formed.
Portable printer.