JP2002307778A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To provide a printer which is easy to operate from multiple directions. SOLUTION: An upper surface H of an outer cover 12 of a printer 11 is provided.
An inclined surface Ha is formed at one of the corners, and the inclined surface Ha is used as the operation panel 13. On the upper surface H of the outer cover 12, at a diagonal corner of the operation panel 13,
An exhaust port 14 is provided. A paper discharge port 15 and a paper discharge surface 16 are formed on the upper surface H of the outer cover 12, and a groove 16a is formed in the paper discharge surface 16. When the operation panel 13 is located at the front right, an inclined surface 18 is formed at a corner in a direction similar to that of the operation panel 13 in the paper feed tray 17 arranged on the front portion. The paper size is displayed. A wiring cord outlet 19 is formed below the rear, right and left sides of the outer cover 12, and the wiring cord is housed inside a wiring cord cover formed on the rear.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a printer is used in an office, it is often the case that the printer is installed near a wall. On the premise that such a printer is installed, the direction in which the user operates the printer is often specified. Was assumed. Then, on the premise that the direction in which the user operates is specified, the operation buttons, the exhaust port, the paper discharge port, the paper discharge tray, the discharge port of the wiring cord, and the like are arranged in the printer. That is, when the printer is installed near the wall, the direction opposite to the wall is set to the front of the printer, and the operation keys are set on the front side of the printer. The exhaust port is arranged at a position distant from the user when the user is located at the position in front of the printer. In addition, when the user is located at the position in front of the printer, the paper discharge port and the paper discharge tray are arranged at a position where the discharged paper can be easily taken out. Further, the wiring cord is often discharged from the lower part of the back of the printer on the wall side.

[0003]

However, when a plurality of users use the printer, it is more convenient to install the printer in a place where any user can easily operate the printer, that is, in a place where the printer can be operated from any direction. Good. However, in a printer that is premised on that a user's operation direction is specified, a position where an operation key is easily operated and a position where an ejected sheet is easily taken out are limited. For this reason, even if the printer is installed not on the wall but in a place with four sides open, the position where the printer is easy to operate is limited.
In addition, when the printer is installed not on a wall but in a place where all sides are open, the wiring cord may interfere.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer which can be easily operated from multiple directions.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is to lower one of the corners of the upper surface of the outer cover formed in a rectangular box toward the corner. The gist is that a slope is formed by inclining in the direction, and operation keys are arranged on the slope.

Therefore, according to the first aspect of the present invention,
By arranging the operation keys on the upper surface of the outer cover of the rectangular box, the operation keys can be easily operated from any direction of the printer. In addition, since the operation keys are arranged on the inclined surface formed by inclining the corner of the upper surface of the exterior cover downward toward the corner, the operation can be particularly easily performed from a position near the corner. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, a plurality of the operation keys are provided, and the plurality of the operation keys are provided at a corner on the upper surface of the exterior cover where the plurality of the operation keys are arranged. The gist of the invention is that it is arranged in parallel to a diagonal line connecting corners sandwiching the portion.

Therefore, according to the second aspect of the present invention,
When the user is located in front of a corner near the corner where the operation keys are arranged, it is possible to particularly easily operate the operation keys.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first or second aspect, an exhaust port is disposed at a diagonal corner of the operation key on the upper surface of the exterior cover. I do.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention,
When the user is located in front of a corner near the corner where the operation key is arranged, the exhaust port can be arranged at a position farthest from the user on the upper surface of the printer.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the printer according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a paper feed tray provided with a cover on an upper surface thereof, wherein: The gist is that a corner of the exterior cover in the same direction as the corner where the operation keys are arranged is inclined toward the corner to form an inclined surface, and the paper size is displayed on the inclined surface.

Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 4,
When the user is located in front of the corner near the corner where the operation key is arranged, the display of the paper size of the paper feed tray can be confirmed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a paper discharge port and a printing paper discharged from the paper discharge port are provided on an upper surface of the outer cover. A gist of the present invention is that a paper discharge surface on which the paper is placed is formed, and a groove is formed on the paper discharge surface.

Therefore, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention,
Since the user can insert his hand into the groove formed at the boundary between the paper discharge surface and the portion other than the paper discharge surface of the exterior cover, the printed paper can be easily taken out.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, a wiring cord outlet is provided on a plurality of side surfaces of the exterior cover.

Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 6,
The direction of discharging the wiring cord can be changed according to the installation position of the printer, and the wiring cord can be discharged from an inconspicuous direction.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, when any surface sandwiching a corner where the operation keys are arranged is front,
The gist is that a wiring code cover for storing the wiring code is formed on the back surface of the exterior cover.

Therefore, according to the invention described in claim 7,
By adjusting the length of the wiring cord discharged from the discharge port and storing the wiring cord that is not discharged inside the wiring cord cover, the obstructing wiring cord can be made inconspicuous.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the printer of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printer of the present embodiment when viewed from a different direction from FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the outer cover 12 of the printer 11 has a top surface H formed in a box shape having rounded corners. At one of the corners of the upper surface H of the exterior cover 12, an inclined surface Ha that is inclined downward toward the corner is formed, and the inclined surface Ha is used as the operation panel 13. Then, on the upper surface H of the outer cover 12, the operation panel 1
An exhaust port 14 is arranged at a corner on the diagonal line 3.

On the upper surface H of the outer cover 12, a paper discharge port 15 is provided.
And a paper discharge surface 16. When the operation panel 13 is located on the right front side, the paper discharge surface 16
2, the upper surface H is formed so as to be inclined upward from the lowermost part of the vertically recessed surface Hb toward the front part of the exterior cover 12. Then, a paper discharge port 15 is formed on the surface Hb that is vertically depressed. Therefore, the printing paper printed by the printer 11 is discharged from the paper discharge port 15 and placed on the paper discharge surface 16. Note that a groove 16a is formed on the paper discharge surface 16 from the upper part to the lower part in order to make it easier to take out the printing paper to be placed.

When the operation panel 13 is at the front right, an installation portion for a paper feed tray 17 is formed at the front portion.
A paper feed tray 17 is provided. In the paper feed tray 17, a corner in the same direction as the corner where the operation panel 13 of the exterior cover 12 is arranged is formed with an inclined surface 18 which is inclined downward toward the corner. The paper size is displayed. Also, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
A wiring cord outlet 19 is formed below the rear, right and left sides of the exterior cover 12 when the operation panel 13 is at the front right. As shown in FIG. 2, when the operation panel 13 is located on the right front side, a wiring cord cover 20 is formed on the back surface. Has become. Only the necessary length of the wiring cord is taken out from the outlet 19, and the unnecessary part is stored inside the wiring cord cover 20.

A printing mechanism 34 including a guide rail member, a print head, a pair of left and right pulleys, a timing belt, a carriage motor and the like is provided inside the exterior cover 12.
(See FIG. 5). A paper feed mechanism including a paper feed roller, a paper feed roller, a paper feed motor, and the like is arranged below the printing mechanism unit 34. The paper feed mechanism is
The printing paper before printing stored in the paper feed tray 17 is guided to the printing mechanism unit 34. Then, the printing mechanism unit 34 prints the image on the paper guided by the paper feeding mechanism. And
The paper printed by the printing mechanism 34 is guided by the paper feed mechanism to the upper discharge port 15 and is discharged onto the discharge surface 16 through the discharge port 15.

Next, the operation panel 13 will be described.
FIG. 3 shows the operation panel 13. As described above, the operation panel 13 is disposed on one of the corners of the upper surface H of the exterior cover 12 and on the inclined surface Ha formed to be inclined downward toward the corner. The operation panel 13 includes a job key 21 and a reset key 22 as operation keys. The job key 21 is operated to release the printer and execute printing when the printer is in the printing disabled state. The reset key 22 is operated to cancel a job such as printing and reset processing. The operation panel 13
Is an online display lamp 23 composed of a light emitting diode.
And an error display lamp 24. The online display lamp 23 indicates that the system is online, and the error display lamp 24 indicates that the system is in error.

The job key 21 and the reset key 22
It is arranged in parallel with a diagonal line connecting corners sandwiching the corner where the operation panel 13 is arranged on the upper surface H of the exterior cover 12. In addition, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG.
When viewed from the corner near the corner where is disposed, the job key 21 is disposed so as to be deviated to the right.

The job key 21 is larger than the reset key 22 and has a columnar structure. The periphery of the job key 21 has a structure protruding in a caldera shape with the job key 21 as a center. The job key 21 is located at the center of the caldera portion 13a and is located at the highest position on the operation panel 13. Around the job key 21, from the top of the caldera section 13a to the outer slope, an online display lamp 23 is arranged at 9 o'clock on the clock, and an error display lamp 24 is arranged at 12 o'clock on the clock. That is, the online display lamp 23 and the error display lamp 24
The job key 21 is arranged at the rear half of the printer 11 where the operation panel 13 is arranged, when viewed from the corner. The latter half refers to the upper part of the alternate long and short dash line L1 in FIG. The online display lamp 23 has a flat rectangular shape, and lights or flashes green. Error display lamp 2
Reference numeral 4 has a flat inverted trapezoidal shape, and lights up in red. In addition,
The reset key 22 is formed in a triangle with one corner pointing in the direction of the job key 21.

The status of the printer is indicated by a combination of blinking or lighting of the online display lamp 23 and the error display lamp 24. The error state is further divided into a case where the work by the user is necessary and a case where the work is not necessary. If the error requires no work by the user, the online display lamp 23 blinks in addition to the lighting of the error display lamp 24. In the case of an error that requires user operation, only the error display lamp 24 is turned on. If no error has occurred in the online state, only the online display lamp 23 is turned on.

Next, a method for executing printing when the printer is in a printing impossible state will be described. In the case of an error that requires no work by the user, the error is released by operating the job key 21 and the printing process is executed. For example, when the paper sizes are different, an error that does not require the user to perform the operation occurs. However, if the user determines that printing is to be performed with the currently set paper, the job key 21 is operated. As a result, the error is released and the processing is continued. On the other hand, if the user determines that the paper is to be changed, the user does not operate the job key 21 and
Replace the paper. As a result, the printer detects that the correct size paper has been set, and continues the printing process.

In the case of an error that requires a user's operation, the error cannot be cleared by operating a key on the operation panel 13. In this case, the user performs a necessary operation to clear the error, thereby detecting that the printer has cleared the error and restarting the printing process. For example, in the case of a paper jam, an error that requires the user to perform an operation occurs. When the user removes the paper that has been jammed, the printer detects that the jam has been cleared and the printing process is restarted.

When the job key 21 is operated in the off-line state, the state changes to the on-line state and the processing is executed. The offline state refers to a state in which printout is not performed. When the job key 21 is operated in the normal state, the processing is continued. Cancellation and reset of the running job are performed by operating the reset key 22.

Next, the printer 11 configured as described above
Will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the printer 11 includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, a RAM 33,
A printing mechanism 34 and a communication controller 35 are provided, and an operation unit 36 and a display unit 37 are connected to the CPU 31. The CPU 31 controls each unit constituting the printer 11. The ROM 32 stores a program for controlling the printer 11. The RAM 33 temporarily stores various information related to the printer 11. The operation unit 36 has a job key 21 and a reset key 22 provided on the operation panel 13.
Has an online display lamp 23 and an error display lamp 24. The printer 11 is connected to an external device 40 such as a personal computer for outputting a command to the printer 11 and operating the printer 11.

As described above, according to the printer 11 of the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained. In the above embodiment, the operation panel 13 is disposed on the upper surface H of the outer cover 12. This makes it easy to operate the job key 21 and the reset key 22 on the operation panel 13 from any direction of the printer 11.

In the above-described embodiment, the upper surface H of the outer cover 12 is inclined downward toward the corner to form the inclined surface Ha.
And the inclined surface Ha was used as the operation panel 13. Thus, the job key 21 and the reset key 22 can be read from the corners near the corner where the operation panel 13 is arranged.
Becomes easier to operate.

In the above embodiment, the job key 21
Is arranged at the center of the caldera section 13a on the operation panel 13. This makes it easier to operate the raised job key 21 from any direction of the printer 11.

In the above embodiment, the job key 21 and the reset key 22 are arranged in parallel to a diagonal line connecting the corners of the upper surface H of the outer cover 12 where the operation panel 13 is arranged. This makes it easier for the user to operate the job key 21 and the reset key 22 particularly when the user is located in front of a corner near the corner where the operation panel 13 is arranged.

In the above embodiment, the exhaust port 14 is disposed at a corner diagonally opposite to the operation panel 13 on the upper surface H of the outer cover 12. Accordingly, when the user is located in front of a corner near the corner where the operation panel 13 is arranged, the exhaust port 14 can be arranged at a position farthest from the user on the upper surface H of the exterior cover 12.

In the above-described embodiment, the inclined surface 18 inclined downward toward the corner is formed at the corner of the sheet supply tray 17 in the same direction as the corner of the exterior cover 12 on which the operation panel 13 is disposed. Then, the paper size is displayed on the inclined surface 18. Thus, when the user is located in front of the corner near the corner where the operation panel 13 is arranged, the display of the paper size of the paper feed tray 17 can be confirmed.

In the above embodiment, the groove 1 is formed on the paper discharge surface 16.
6a was formed. This allows the user to insert his or her hand into the groove 16a, so that the printed paper can be easily taken out.

In the above embodiment, the wiring cord outlets 19 are provided on a plurality of surfaces. Thus, the direction in which the wiring cords are taken out can be changed according to the installation position of the printer, and the wiring cords can be taken out in an inconspicuous direction.

In the above embodiment, when the operation panel 13 is located on the right front side, the wiring cord can be stored inside the wiring cord cover 20 formed on the back. Thus, the wiring cord is discharged from the outlet 19 by a required length, and unnecessary parts are stored inside the wiring cord cover 20, so that the obstructing wiring cord can be made inconspicuous.

The above embodiment may be modified as follows. In the above embodiment, the respective parts are arranged with the position of the operation panel 13 as the right front part. However, with the arrangement position of the paper feed tray 17 as the front, the left and right of the operation panel 13, the exhaust port 14, and the inclined part 18 are respectively The arrangement may be interchanged.

[0042]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a printer which can be easily operated from various directions.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a printer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a printer according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an operation panel.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an operation panel.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

Ha Inclined surface formed on top of exterior cover 11 Printer 12 Exterior cover 14 Exhaust port 15 Discharge port 16 Discharge surface 16a Groove 17 Paper feed tray 18 Inclined portion as a portion for displaying paper size of paper feed tray 19 Wiring code Exit 20 Wiring code cover 21 Job key as operation key 22 Reset key as operation key

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Nakayama 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano Seiko Epson F-term (reference) 2C061 AS02 BB10 BB35 CG08 CQ06 CQ22 CQ35 CQ41 3F343 FA02 FB04 FC30 GA01 GB01 GC01 HA07 HB03 HC04 HC05 HC11 KB03 MA03 MA09 MA26 4E360 AB04 AB12 EA13 EA18 GA46 GB48

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An inclined surface is formed by inclining one of the corners of the upper surface of an exterior cover formed in a rectangular box downward toward a corner, and an operation key is arranged on the inclined surface. Characterized printer. 2. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of the operation keys, wherein the plurality of the operation keys are located between corners of the upper surface of the outer cover, the corners interposing the plurality of operation keys. A printer characterized by being arranged parallel to a connecting diagonal line. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust port is disposed at a diagonal corner of the upper surface of the outer cover from the operation keys. 4. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a paper feed tray having a cover on an upper surface thereof, wherein the operation key of the outer cover is provided on the upper surface of the cover of the paper feed tray. Corner in the same direction as the corner where
A printer characterized by forming an inclined surface by inclining toward a corner, and displaying a sheet size on the inclined surface. 5. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a paper discharge port and a print surface on which a print sheet discharged from the paper discharge port is placed are provided on an upper surface of the outer cover. And a groove formed on the paper discharge surface. 6. The printer according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of side surfaces of the outer cover are provided with outlets for wiring cords. 7. A wiring for accommodating the wiring cord in the printer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein one of the surfaces sandwiching the corner where the operation key is arranged is front. A printer, wherein a code cover is formed on a back surface of the outer cover.