JP2021178413A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printer which has a simple structure and a small space required for installation, can be miniaturized in size of a whole device, and has a cover opening/closing detection mechanism which can enhance detection accuracy with a stable operation.SOLUTION: A printer includes: a body; an opening/closing cover 4 which has a rotary shaft 4a and can open/close the body by rotating with the rotary shaft 4a as a rotary fulcrum; an opening/closing detection sensor 25 which detects an opening/closing state of the opening/closing cover 4; and a detected member 4c which rotates integrally with the rotary shaft 4a. The detected member 4c is extended to an opposite side of the opening/closing cover 4 with respect to the rotary shaft 4a viewed in a rotary shaft 4a direction. The opening/closing detection sensor 25 detects the opening/closing state of the opening/closing cover 4 by detecting a proximity state of the detected member 4c.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a printing device including an open / close cover that can be opened / closed and an open / close detection sensor that detects an open / close state of the open / close cover.

Printing devices such as thermal printers and inkjet printers are known to have a rotatable opening / closing cover on the upper surface of the device body for maintenance of the printer head portion, jam processing, and the like.

In such a printing device, in order to clean the printer head and rollers and to dispose of jams, in order to prevent misprinting and to make the printing device inoperable for safety reasons when the user opens the open / close cover. , A sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the open / close cover may be provided inside the printing apparatus.

Further, in the printing device, a device designed to be extremely compact so that the user can carry it, such as a photo printer and a mobile printer, has also been put into practical use. Further, it is required to design a simple and compact structure for detecting the open / closed state of the open / close cover.

Patent Document 1 includes a cover that can be opened and closed with the base end as a swing fulcrum, and an open / close detection sensor that detects the open / closed state of the cover. Disclosed is an open / close detection mechanism for a cover including a swingable sensor lever to be taken and an urging member for applying an urging force to the sensor lever. The opening and closing of the cover is detected by the displacement of the interlocking sensor lever.

In Patent Document 2, a protrusion protruding inward and a roller rotatably supported by a shaft are provided near the upper end of a cover that can be opened and closed with respect to the housing, and a switch is mounted near the front surface on the circuit board. A configuration in which a swivel lever is connected to an operating member is disclosed. The roller of the cover comes into contact with the swivel lever, the swivel lever is swiveled according to the opening and closing of the cover, and the operating member turns the switch ON / OFF to detect the open / closed state of the open / close cover.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-158101 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-907

In the configuration of Patent Document 1, since the opening / closing of the cover is indirectly detected by the sensor lever, the structure becomes complicated and the detection accuracy becomes unstable due to the variation in the urging force of the urging member. In addition, the space required for installing the open / close detection mechanism becomes large, which is contrary to the demand for miniaturization and cost reduction of the printing apparatus.

In the configuration of Patent Document 2, the operating space of the swivel lever is required on the front surface and the upper surface of the circuit board, and the size of the device is increased. Further, since the detection unit is provided at a position away from the opening / closing fulcrum of the opening / closing cover, the detection accuracy becomes unstable due to the influence of the bending of the cover or the like.

In order to solve the above problems, the printing apparatus of the present invention is used.
With the main body
An open / close cover that has a rotation shaft and can open and close the main body by rotating the rotation shaft as a rotation fulcrum.
An open / close detection sensor that detects the open / closed state of the open / close cover,
A member to be detected that rotates integrally with the rotation shaft is provided.
The detected member is extended on the side opposite to the opening / closing cover with respect to the rotation axis when viewed in the direction of the rotation axis.
The open / close detection sensor is characterized in that it detects the open / closed state of the open / close cover by detecting the proximity state of the detected member.

According to the present invention, it is possible to make the size of the opening / closing cover compact and to secure the position accuracy of the detected portion.

The perspective view which shows the appearance structure of the thermal printer which is one Embodiment of this invention. Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of a thermal printer. External perspective view with the open / close cover open. (A) A cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the open / close cover and the thermal head in the closed state. (B) A cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the open / close cover and the thermal head in the open state. The perspective view which shows the detailed structure of the appearance of an opening / closing cover. (A) A side view illustrating a method of incorporating the opening / closing cover into the printer main body. (B) Partial enlarged view showing the shape of the notch hole provided in the side plate. (C) The figure which shows the cross-sectional shape of the rotation fulcrum shaft of an opening / closing cover. A perspective view showing a state in which the opening / closing cover is incorporated in the printer body. (A) A cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the open / close cover and the sensor in the closed state. (B) A cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the open / close cover and the sensor in the open state. (C) A partially enlarged view of a main part in FIG. 8 (a). The configuration perspective view in another embodiment in which the opening / closing cover and the detected member are separate bodies. FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a method of incorporating the opening / closing cover into the printer main body in FIG. 9. (A) A side view showing the shape of a fitting hole of the open / close cover with a detected member. (B) A perspective view showing a fitting shape of the detected member with the opening / closing cover.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, embodiments when the present invention is applied to a thermal printer as a printing apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the thermal printer 1 prints print data received from an externally connected device such as a PC terminal or a smartphone via wired communication or wireless communication on a thermal paper S to be printed. The thermal printer 1 of the present embodiment is designed to have a relatively simple structure and a compact size so that the user can carry it around.

The housing (exterior surface) of the thermal printer 1 is composed of an upper cover 2, a lower cover 3, and an opening / closing cover 4. An operation panel 5 is provided on the upper surface of the upper cover, and the operation panel 5 includes a power button 6 for switching power ON / OFF, a communication button 7 for switching a print data communication method, and various types of thermal printer 1. A plurality of LED display units 8 for displaying the operating state are arranged.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX showing the internal structure of the thermal printer 1. In FIG. 2, a transport guide 9 is provided between the upper cover 2 and the opening / closing cover 4. A platen roller 10 and a thermal head 11 are provided inside the housing of the thermal printer 1. The platen roller 10 is rotatably supported by a pair of left and right side plates 18 (see FIG. 7), which is a chassis, via bearings (not shown), and is rotatably supported by a drive motor 20, a motor gear 21, an idler gear 22, and a platen drive connected to the drive motor 20. The thermal paper S is conveyed by being rotationally driven by the gear 23 (FIG. 7).

The thermal head 11 is fixed to a plate-shaped heat radiating member 11a such as aluminum, and is rotatably supported by a side plate 18 with a support shaft 11b provided on the left and right of the heat radiating member 11a as a fulcrum. Further, a coil spring 12 is provided on the bottom plate 19 of the chassis, whereby the heat radiating member 11a supporting the thermal head 11 is urged upward, and the thermal head 11 is pressed against the platen roller 10 with a predetermined pressure. ing.

At the time of printing, the user manually inserts the thermal paper S into the insertion slot A formed between the transport guide 9 and the opening / closing cover 4. The inserted thermal paper S is guided to the pressure contact portion B between the platen roller 10 and the thermal head 11 along the transport guide 9. At this time, it is detected that the thermal paper S is inserted by the reflective photo sensor 13 arranged on the transport path of the transport guide 9. After the detection of the thermal paper S, the platen roller 10 rotates, and the tip end portion of the thermal paper S that has reached the pressure contact portion B with the thermal head 11 is sandwiched between the platen roller 10 and the thermal head 11. After that, a printing command is received from a PC or the like, and printing is started. During printing, the thermal paper S is conveyed at a predetermined speed by the platen roller 10 while being pressed against the thermal head 11, and is discharged from the discharge port C formed between the lower cover 3 and the opening / closing cover 4 after printing is completed.

In the thermal printer 1, a battery unit 15 that houses a cylindrical rechargeable battery 14 inside is detachably attached to a storage case 16 provided behind the thermal printer 1. The thermal printer 1 can be driven by using the rechargeable battery 14 as a power source.

As described above, during normal printing, by inserting the thermal paper S into the insertion slot A with the opening / closing cover 4 closed, the thermal paper S is conveyed by the platen roller 10 while being guided by the conveying guide 9. , The thermal head 11 performs the desired printing.

On the other hand, when a jam (paper jam) occurs, or when the platen roller 10 or the thermal head 11 becomes dirty with paper dust or the like and needs to be cleaned, a perspective view of the open / closed cover of FIG. 3 is opened. As shown in the above, by opening the open / close cover 4, the thermal head 11 in contact with the platen roller 10 is separated, the pressure contact state is released, and the jammed paper can be easily removed. It also makes it easier to clean the head and head.

A separation mechanism of the thermal head 11 interlocking with the opening and closing of the opening / closing cover 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 4A and 4B show a cross-sectional view of a YY cross section in FIG. 3, FIG. 4A shows a closed state of the open / close cover 4, and FIG. 4B shows an open state of the open / close cover 4.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a pair of rotation fulcrum shafts 4a, which are rotation shafts of the opening / closing cover 4, are provided on the left and right side surface portions of the opening / closing cover 4. The rotation fulcrum shaft 4a is rotatably supported by a pair of left and right side plates that are chassis members, and the opening / closing cover 4 can open / close the housing of the thermal printer 1. At the base of the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a, a cam-shaped contour protrusion 4b is integrally formed with the opening / closing cover 4. A pressing member 17 is fixed around a pair of left and right support shafts 11b of the heat radiating member 11a that supports the thermal head 11. The pressing member 17 includes a slope 17a that comes into contact with the contour protrusion of the opening / closing cover 4.

As shown in FIG. 4B, when the opening / closing cover 4 is opened and the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a is rotated around the fulcrum, the contour protrusion 4b comes into contact with the slope 17a of the pressing member 17 and the pressing member 17 is counterclockwise. Rotate clockwise. As a result, the heat radiating member 11a supporting the thermal head 11 rotates counterclockwise with the support shaft 11b as a fulcrum, the tip portion thereof descends downward against the urging force of the coil spring 12, and the thermal head 11 is a platen roller. Separate from 10.

At the position where the opening / closing cover 4 shown in FIG. 4B is most open, a part of the upper surface of the opening / closing cover 4 abuts on the slope 2a formed on the upper cover 2. At this position, the slope 17a of the pressing member 17 acts in the direction in which the slope 17a of the pressing member 17 presses the contour protrusion 4b of the opening / closing cover 4 against the slope 2a of the upper cover 2 by the urging force of the coil spring 12. And the cam shape of the contour protrusion 4b of the opening / closing cover 4 are set. As a result, the open / close cover 4 is maintained in the open state at the maximum open position. In the thermal printer of this embodiment, the opening / closing angle of the opening / closing cover 4 is set to about 60 °.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the external structure of the opening / closing cover 4. In FIG. 5, the opening / closing cover 4 is made of a resin material, and a pair of rotation fulcrum shafts 4a and a cam-shaped contour protrusion 4b are integrally formed on the left and right side surface portions as described above. There is. Further, in FIG. 1, an arm portion 4c is integrally formed on the outside of the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a on the operation panel 5 side of the thermal printer 1. The arm portion 4c has a function as a detected member of an open / close detection sensor that detects an open / close state of the open / close cover 4, which will be described later, and extends outward in the axial direction from the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a.

A method of incorporating the opening / closing cover 4 into the printer main body will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6A is an exploded side view of the thermal printer 1 with the upper cover 2 removed. As shown in FIG. 6A, the pair of left and right side plates 18 which are chassis members of the thermal printer 1 are provided with notch holes 18a.

FIG. 6B shows a partially enlarged view of the notch hole 18a provided in the side plate 18, and FIG. 6C shows a rotation fulcrum shaft 4a of the opening / closing cover 4 of the portion fitted in the notch hole 18a. A cross-sectional view is shown. As shown in FIG. 6B, the notch hole 18a has a shape in which a notch groove is provided in an upper part of a round hole that pivotally supports the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a of the opening / closing cover 4. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6C, the cross section of the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a of the opening / closing cover 4 has a two-way shape corresponding to the groove width of the notch hole 18a.

When attaching the open / close cover 4 to the side plate 18, it can be easily attached by inserting the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a into the notch hole 18a from above with the open / close cover 4 standing vertically and rotating it. Is. Since the opening / closing angle of the opening / closing cover 4 is about 60 ° as described above, the shaft support portion of the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a does not come off even when the opening / closing cover 4 is opened with the upper cover 2 attached. Further, the upper cover 2 may be provided with a shape or a member that covers the upper portion of the notch hole 18a.

Further, FIG. 7 shows a perspective view with the upper cover 2 removed. In FIG. 7, the side plate 18 is provided with a drive motor 20 for driving the platen roller 10. The platen roller 10 is driven by a motor gear 21 connected to the drive motor 20, a plurality of idler gears 22, and a gear mechanism of the platen drive gear 23 connected to the platen roller 10. The arm portion 4c of the opening / closing cover 4 is arranged in a space between the side plate 18 and each gear constituting the gear mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the thermal printer 1 at the position of the central portion of the operation panel 5. 8 (a) shows the closed state of the open / close cover 4, FIG. 8 (b) shows the open state of the open / close cover 4, and FIG. 8 (c) shows the open / close detection of the open / close cover 4 in the closed state of the open / close cover 4. An enlarged view of the main part of the part is shown.

As shown in FIG. 8A, an FPC (flexible printed circuit board) 24 is provided under the operation panel 5 arranged in the recess provided on the top surface of the upper cover 2. Membrane switches 6a and 7a are mounted on the surface of the FPC 24 at positions corresponding to the power button 6 and the communication button 7, and LED elements 8a are mounted at positions corresponding to the plurality of LED display units 8, respectively.

A reflective photo sensor 25 as an open / close detection sensor for the open / close cover 4 is mounted on the back surface of the FPC 24. A light emitting element and a light receiving element (not shown) are provided on the detection surface 25a of the reflective photosensor 25 arranged downward, and the light emitted from the light emitting element is reflected by an object at the front position, and the reflected light is reflected. The presence or absence of an object (proximity state) can be detected by detecting with a light receiving element.

The FPC 24 is adhesively fixed to the recess of the upper cover 2 corresponding to the position of the operation panel 5 with double-sided tape or the like, and the window hole 2b is provided in the upper cover 2 at the position of the reflective photo sensor 25. Further, the FPC 24 is connected to the control board 26 which is the control unit of the thermal printer 1.

As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8C, when the opening / closing cover 4 is closed, the detected surface 4d (detected portion) provided on the arm portion 4c of the opening / closing cover 4 is a reflective photosensor. It is arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the detection surface 25a of the 25 at a predetermined distance. In this state, the convex portion 4e provided on the arm portion 4c of the open / close cover 4 functions as an abutting portion that abuts on the stopper surface 2c (contacted portion) formed on the inner surface of the concave portion of the upper cover 2. Therefore, a predetermined distance is always maintained between the detection surface 25a and the detected surface 4d.

With this configuration, the surface to be detected 4d of the arm unit 4c is detected by the reflective photo sensor 25, so that the control unit of the thermal printer 1 detects that the open / close cover 4 is in the closed state. In this way, in the closed state of the open / close cover 4, the detected surface 4d of the arm portion 4c is detected by the reflective photo sensor 25 provided on the back surface of the FPC 24 in the direction of the rotation fulcrum axis 4a of the open / close cover 4. As seen, it is extended so as to be located on the side opposite to the opening / closing cover 4 with respect to the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a. In the closed state of the open / close cover 4, the control unit makes the platen roller 10 drive and the printing by the thermal head 11 operable.

As shown in FIG. 8B, when the open / close cover 4 is opened, the arm portion 4c rotates downward with the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a of the open / close cover 4 as a fulcrum as the open / close cover 4 rotates. The detected surface 4d of the arm portion 4c is separated from the detection surface 25a of the reflective photo sensor 25. Therefore, since the reflective photo sensor 25 does not detect the surface to be detected 4d, the control unit of the thermal printer 1 detects that the open / close cover 4 is in the open state. In the open state of the open / close cover 4, the user is trying to remove the jammed paper or clean the rollers and the head, so that the control unit makes the drive of the platen roller 10 and the printing by the thermal head 11 inoperable. do.

As described above, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the arm portion 4c having the detected surface 4d is integrally formed on the outside of the rotation fulcrum shaft 4a of the opening / closing cover 4, and the housing formed by the opening / closing cover 4 is formed. By disposing the reflective photosensor 25 on the back surface of the FPC of the operation panel 5 provided on the exterior surface of the housing which is the same surface as the exterior surface, the space required for installation can be reduced easily and at low cost. It is possible to realize an open / close detection mechanism for the open / close cover. Further, the arm portion 4c is provided with a convex portion 4e for maintaining the detection distance from the detection surface 25a of the reflective photo sensor 25, and is brought into contact with the stopper surface 2c in the closed state of the open / close cover 4 to maintain a predetermined distance. By configuring the above, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection due to variation in the detection distance and improve the detection accuracy. Further, it is possible to prevent the arm portion 4c from coming into contact with the reflective photo sensor 25 and being damaged by the vibration or the impact of dropping when the printer is carried.

The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and can be applied to an inkjet printer and other printing devices. Further, the opening / closing cover is not limited to the one provided on the upper surface of the main body of the apparatus, and may be provided in other places such as the front surface and the back surface. Further, the sensor for detecting the open / closed state is not limited to the reflective photo sensor, and a sensor such as a photo interrupter (transmissive photo sensor) or a magnetic sensor (Hall element) may be used. Further, although the sensor is mounted on the back surface of the board (FPC) of the operation unit, the sensor may be mounted on the same surface as the mounting component of the operation unit, and the FPC may be folded back and used. In addition, it may be mounted on a board different from the board (FPC) of the operation unit.

In any aspect, the present invention is characterized in that a sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the open / close cover is provided by detecting the arm portion that rotates with the rotation of the open / close cover. Further, by arranging the sensor for detecting the open / closed state at the position on the back of the substrate of the operation unit, the open / close cover, the operation unit, and the open / close state detection sensor can be arranged in a small space. In particular, if the sensor is mounted on the back surface of the circuit board of the operation unit, it is not necessary to separately provide the circuit board, and the arrangement space can be reduced.

<Second embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the thermal printer 1 according to the present embodiment with the upper cover 2 removed. In the first embodiment described above, the arm portion, which is the detected member of the opening / closing cover, is integrally molded with the opening / closing cover, whereas in the present embodiment, the arm member 41 is separate from the opening / closing cover 40. It is detachably fixed to the opening / closing cover 40. The components common to the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and only the differences will be described.

11A shows a side view showing the shape of the fitting hole of the opening / closing cover 40 with the arm member 41 which is the detected member, and FIG. 11B shows the arm member 41 which is the detected member. The perspective view which shows the fitting shape with the opening / closing cover 40 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 11A, a half-moon shaped blind hole 40a is formed at the position of one of the rotation fulcrums of the opening / closing cover 40 as a fitting hole with the arm member 41. Further, around the half-moon-shaped blind hole 40a, a contour protrusion 40b having the same shape as that of the first embodiment is provided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11B, the arm member 41, which is the detected member, has the same arm outer shape as that of the first embodiment, and has the detected surface 41d and the upper cover 2 of the reflective photo sensor 25. A convex portion 41e, which is a contact portion with the stopper surface 2c, is provided. In addition, a shaft portion 41a that coincides with the rotation fulcrum shaft of the opening / closing cover 40 is formed. The shaft portion 41a is provided with a D-cut surface 41b corresponding to the half-moon-shaped blind hole 40a.

Here, FIG. 10 shows a perspective view illustrating a method of incorporating the opening / closing cover 40 in FIG. 9 into the main body of the thermal printer 1. As shown in FIG. 10, the other rotation fulcrum shaft 40c of the opening / closing cover 40 has a cylindrical shape, and a contour protrusion 40b is similarly provided at the base thereof. When incorporating the open / close cover 40 into the printer main body, first, the rotation fulcrum shaft 40c is slid from the inside and inserted into the round hole 18Ra provided in the side plate 18R on the right side (the other side).

After that, the shaft portion 41a of the arm member 41 is inserted into the half-moon-shaped blind hole 40a of the opening / closing cover 40 by penetrating the round hole 18La provided in the left side plate 18L shown in FIG. 9, and the end portion 41c of the D-cut surface 41b. Is inserted until it abuts on the contour surface 40d of the blind hole 40a. In this way, the opening / closing cover 40 is incorporated into the main body of the thermal printer 1, and the shaft portion 41a of the arm member 41 is rotatably supported by the round hole 18La of the side plate 18L in a state where the arm member 41 is fitted to the opening / closing cover 40. The arm member 41 rotates integrally with the open / close cover 40, but can be inserted and removed in the axial direction.

In the configuration of the present embodiment, as compared with the first embodiment, it is possible to secure the strength of the rotation fulcrum shaft of the opening / closing cover 40 and the shaft support portion in the side plate. Further, by separating the opening / closing cover and the arm member, there is an advantage that a material suitable for each can be used. This is because the reflective photosensor has a characteristic that it is easily affected by the surface color and surface condition of the arm member which is the surface to be detected. Specifically, the opening / closing cover 40 may be a dark color, and the arm member 41 may be a color having a high reflectance. In the present embodiment, the opening / closing cover 40 is black and the arm member 41 is white.

In this way, if the detected member (arm member 41) is provided separately from the opening / closing cover 40 and is fitted and supported on the rotation fulcrum shaft 40c so as to be relatively non-rotatable and can be inserted and removed in the axial direction, the detected member can be opened and closed. Easy to install in the body of the cover.

1 Thermal printer 2 Top cover 2a Slope (contact surface)
2b Window hole 2c Stopper surface 4, 40 Open / close cover 4a, 40c Rotating fulcrum shaft 4b, 40b Contour protrusion 4c Arm part 4d, 41d Detected surface 4e, 41e Convex part (contact part)
5 Operation panel 24 FPC (Flexible printed circuit board)
25 Reflective photo sensor 25a Detection surface 41 Arm member (detected member)
41a Rotating fulcrum shaft 41b D cut surface

Claims (6)

With the main body
An open / close cover that has a rotation shaft and can open and close the main body by rotating the rotation shaft as a rotation fulcrum.
An open / close detection sensor that detects the open / closed state of the open / close cover,
A member to be detected that rotates integrally with the rotation shaft is provided.
The detected member is extended on the side opposite to the opening / closing cover with respect to the rotation axis when viewed in the direction of the rotation axis.
The open / close detection sensor is a printing device provided with an open / close detection mechanism, which detects the open / closed state of the open / close cover by detecting the proximity state of the detected member. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detected member is provided outside the open / close cover in the direction of the rotation axis. The detected member is provided separately from the open / close cover, and the rotation fulcrum shaft of the detected member is fitted and supported so as to be relatively non-rotatable on the rotation fulcrum axis of the open / close cover and can be inserted and removed in the axial direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the printing apparatus is used. It has an operation unit provided on the exterior surface of the main body forming the same surface as the exterior surface of the main body formed by the opening / closing cover in the closed state.
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the open / close detection sensor is mounted on a substrate of the operation unit arranged inside the operation unit in the main body. The printing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the open / close detection sensor is a reflective photo sensor. When the open / close cover is in the closed state, the contact between the detected portion detected by the open / close detection sensor in the detected member and the rotating shaft comes into contact with the contacted portion provided on the main body. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the printing apparatus has a unit.

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