JP3904126B2 - Printer device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printer apparatus, and is suitably applied to, for example, a thermal recording type printer apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, in this type of printer apparatus, a plurality of operation switches are provided on the front surface of the housing, and various settings and command inputs can be performed by pressing these operation switches. .
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in recent years, the number of operation switches has been increasing with the increase in functionality, but on the other hand, there has been a trend toward downsizing along with recent technological improvements. There is a problem that it is difficult to dispose the switch on the front surface of the casing.
[0004]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a printer apparatus that can be miniaturized regardless of an increase in operation switches.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, in the printer device, an operation switch is provided at a predetermined position of the door portion so that the door portion is exposed when the door portion is opened by a predetermined amount, and the door portion is opened and closed by the door opening / closing driving means. The first position in the closed state, the second position in the open state in which the recording medium can be loaded, and the third position in which the door portion is opened by a predetermined amount are provided.
[0006]
As a result, by providing the operation switch at a predetermined position of the door portion so that it is exposed when the door portion is opened by a predetermined amount, the space for providing the operation switch on the surface can be reduced.
[0007]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0008]
(1) Configuration of Printer Device According to the Present Embodiment In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a printer device according to the present embodiment as a whole, and a first having a plurality of operation switches 3A to 3H provided on the front surface of a housing 2. The operation panel 4 is provided, and a door portion 5 is provided so as to be openable and closable while avoiding the first operation panel 4.
[0009]
In this case, the door portion 5 is provided with a liquid crystal panel 6 and a paper discharge outlet 5A on the front surface thereof, and a second operation in which a plurality of operation switches 7A to 7B are provided on the upper end surface 5B as shown in FIG. A panel 8 is provided, and a paper tray 9 and a rotatable platen 10 are provided inside the panel 8 as shown in FIG.
[0010]
In the printer 1, the door 5 is opened and closed as shown in FIG. 1, and the door 5 is closed, and the door 5 is exposed to the extent that the second operation panel 8 is exposed as shown in FIG. A menu position in which the portion 5 is opened by a predetermined amount and an open position in which the door portion 5 is completely opened as shown in FIG. 3 are provided, and the door opening / closing button 3H of the first operation panel 4 is pressed. Thus, the door 5 can be opened and closed between the closed position and the open position, and the door 5 is opened and closed between the closed position and the menu position by pressing the menu button 3A of the first operation panel 4. It is made to be able to.
[0011]
As a result, in the printer apparatus 1, the door opening / closing button 3H of the first operation panel 4 is pressed to open the door portion 5 to the open position, thereby forming a photographic paper 11 made of a roll-shaped recording medium. (FIG. 3) can be loaded, and the door 5 is opened in the menu position by pressing the menu button 3A of the first operation panel 4 to be disposed on the second operation panel 8. Each operation switch 7A to 7H can be operated.
[0012]
In the case of this embodiment, the operation switches 3A to 3H of the first operation panel 4 are assigned inputs of frequently used functions such as printing and feed (paper feed) photographic paper cuts. The operation switches 7A to 7H of the second operation panel 8 are assigned with inputs of functions that are not frequently used such as detailed settings in various modes, and thereby open and close the door unit 5 for general operations. It can be done easily without having to.
[0013]
On the other hand, inside the housing 2, as shown in FIG. 4, a chassis 23 comprising a pair of side chassis 20A20B, a back chassis 21 and a top chassis 22 is provided, a door opening / closing drive mechanism section 24 for driving the door section 5 to open and close, A head portion 26 to which a line-type thermal head 25 is attached, a crimping mechanism portion 27 that crimps the thermal head 25 of the head portion 26 to the platen 10, a crimping mechanism drive portion 28 that drives the crimping mechanism portion 27, and a platen There is provided a mechanical mechanism section 30 in which platen drive mechanism sections 29 for rotationally driving 10 are respectively disposed at predetermined positions.
[0014]
In this case, in the mechanical mechanism unit 30, in the printing mode, the crimping mechanism driving unit 28 drives the crimping mechanism unit 27 under the control of the control unit 73 (FIG. 7) provided inside the casing 11. Then, the head part 26 is pressure-bonded to the platen 10 via the photographic paper 11 (FIG. 3), and in this state, one line is printed based on the print data sequentially given to the head part 26 from a signal processing system (not shown). Then, the platen driving mechanism 29 rotates the platen 10 to execute the printing process so that the printing paper 11 is sent out line by line.
[0015]
When the printing for one sheet is completed in this manner, the mechanical mechanism unit 30 rotates the platen 10 by the platen drive mechanism unit 29 under the control of the control unit 73 (FIG. 7). After a predetermined amount is fed out, a paper cutter (not shown) provided inside the paper discharge port 5A (FIG. 1) of the door unit 5 cuts the photographic paper 11, and then the crimping mechanism driving unit 28 causes the head unit 26 and the crimping mechanism. The unit 27 operates to return to the initial state.
[0016]
In this way, the printer apparatus 1 can print an image based on a printing signal supplied from the outside on the printing paper 11, and a plurality of printing processes are continuously performed by repeating the above-described operation. Has been made to get.
[0017]
(2) Configuration of Door Opening / Closing Drive Mechanism 24 Here, in practice, in the door opening / closing drive mechanism 24, as shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a motor (not shown) fixed to the side chassis 20B is used as a power source. And a gear 41 attached to the output shaft 40 of the motor meshes with the gear portion 50A of the shaft drive gear 50 through the first to eighth gears 42 to 49 sequentially.
[0018]
The shaft drive gear 50 is fixed to a shaft 51 that is rotatably spanned between the side chassis 20A and 20B, and an arm receiver 52 is fixed to the shaft 51 at a predetermined angle via a positioning pin (not shown). Yes.
[0019]
Further, one end of the arm 53 is fixed to the arm receiver 52, and the other end of the arm 52 is rotatable through a pin 55 in the vicinity of the rear end of the inner chassis 54 to which the paper tray 9 is attached. It is connected.
[0020]
Further, one end of a rail 57 is rotatably attached to the lower position of the central portion of the side surface of the inner chassis 54 via a pin 56, and the other end of the rail 57 is rotatably attached to the side chassis 20B. The first to fourth rollers 59 to 62 are slidably held in the forward direction (arrow x direction) and the backward direction opposite thereto.
[0021]
Thus, in the door opening / closing drive mechanism 24, the arm 53 is integrated with the shaft drive gear 50 based on the rotational force applied from the motor to the shaft drive gear 50 via the first to eighth gears 42 to 49. Thus, the door portion 5 can be driven to move forward and backward integrally with the rail 57 on the basis of this rotational force. It can be opened and closed.
[0022]
In addition to this configuration, in the case of this printer apparatus 1, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the shaft drive gear 50 has arc-shaped first to third protrusions centered on the shaft 51 at a predetermined position. Parts 50B to 50D are provided, and the side chassis 20B has photo interrupter type first and second sensors 70 each including a light emitting element and a light receiving element, corresponding to the first to third protrusions 50B to 50D, 71 is fixed.
[0023]
In this case, the first to third protrusions 50B to 50D of the shaft driving gear 50 and the first and second sensors 71 and 72 are respectively shown in FIG. 8A when the door portion 5 is in the open position. When the first sensor 50 is blocked by the first protrusion 50B and the door 5 is in the closed position, the first sensor 71 is blocked by the second protrusion 50C as shown in FIG. 8B. The position is selected and formed so that the second sensor 72 is blocked by the third protrusion 50D.
[0024]
The outputs of the first and second sensors 71 and 72 are respectively supplied to the control unit 73. Thus, the control unit 73 can detect the position of the door unit 5 based on the outputs of the first and second sensors. It is made like that.
[0025]
5-7, a protrusion 74 is formed at the rear end of the outer surface of the rail 57, and only when the door 5 is in the menu position on the side chassis 20B. A photo-interrupter type third sensor 75 is provided so as to be blocked by the protrusion 74.
[0026]
The output of the third sensor 75 is given to the control unit 73. Thus, the control unit 73 controls the motor of the door opening / closing drive mechanism unit 24 based on the output of the third sensor 75, so that the door unit 5 Can be positioned at the menu position.
[0027]
Further, at this time, the lower portion of the rail 57 is provided with a concave portion 57A corresponding to the position of the third roller 61 that supports the lower portion of the rail 57 when the door portion 5 is in the menu position.
[0028]
As a result, in this printer apparatus 1, when the door portion 5 is in the menu position, the third roller 61 is fitted into the recess 57A of the rail 57, and the opening / closing position of the door portion 5 is locked to the menu position position. Thus, even when the operation switches 7A to 7H provided on the second operation panel 8 are operated in this state and an external force is applied obliquely downward to the rail 57, the door portion 57 is not It is designed to prevent opening and closing in advance.
[0029]
(3) Operation and effect of the present embodiment In the above-described configuration, in the printer apparatus 1, when the door opening / closing button 3H of the first operation panel 4 is pressed, the control unit 73 performs the first and second sensors. The open / close state of the door unit 5 at that time is detected based on the outputs of 71 and 72, and the motor of the door open / close drive mechanism unit 24 is driven based on the detection result, thereby opening the door unit 5 to the open position and the closed position. Open and close between chillons.
[0030]
When the menu button on the first operation panel 4 is pressed, the control unit 73 detects the open / closed state of the door unit 5 based on the outputs of the first and second sensors 71 and 72, and detects the detection. Based on the result, the door portion 5 is opened and closed by driving the motor of the door opening and closing drive mechanism portion 24. At this time, the control portion 73 determines that the projection portion 74 of the rail 57 is based on the output of the third sensor 75. By stopping the driving of the motor of the door opening / closing drive mechanism 24 at the timing of blocking the third sensor 75, the door 5 is stopped at the menu position.
[0031]
At this time, in the printer apparatus 1, the second operation panel 8 provided on the upper end surface of the door portion 5 is exposed from the housing as described above. Therefore, in this state, the operator operates the second operation panel 8. Various settings can be input by operating.
[0032]
In this printer device 1, since the operation switches 7 </ b> A to 7 </ b> H are provided on the upper end surface 5 </ b> B of the door portion 5, a space for arranging these operation switches 7 </ b> A to 7 </ b> H on the front surface of the housing 2 can be reduced. .
[0033]
In the printer 1, the operation switches 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> H for performing the minimum operation input necessary for printing operations such as printing and feeding are provided in the first operation panel 4 provided on the front surface of the housing 2. Since the operation switches 7A to 7H that are not often used after various settings are set once are provided on the second operation panel 8, the operation switches 7A to 7H are provided on the upper end surface of the door portion 5. Even in this case, deterioration of operability as a whole can be prevented.
[0034]
Further, in this printer device 1, the projection portion 74 is provided on the rail 57 having a relatively large movement amount when the door portion 5 is opened and closed, and the positioning of the menu position of the door portion 5 is performed using the projection portion 74. The positioning can be performed with high accuracy.
[0035]
According to the above configuration, since the second operation panel 8 is provided on the upper end surface 5B of the door portion 5, the space required for providing the operation switches 7A to 7H on the front surface portion of the housing 2 is reduced. Thus, a printer apparatus that can be reduced in size can be realized.
[0036]
(4) Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the thermal recording type printer apparatus 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an ink jet method or the like. In addition, the present invention can be widely applied to printer apparatuses that perform printing by various methods.
[0037]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the door portion 5 is rotated by the arm 53 around the shaft 51 and the lower portion of the door portion 5 is moved in the front-rear direction by the rail 57. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various other printers in which the door portion is opened and closed in other forms (for example, opened and closed by parallel movement). Can be widely applied to the device.
[0038]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the photo interrupter type is used as the first to third sensors 71, 72, 75 for detecting the position and position of the door portion 5 during the opening / closing operation has been described. The present invention is not limited to this, and various other sensors can be widely applied.
[0039]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the first position in which the door portion 5 is closed, the second position in the open state in which the photographic paper 11 can be loaded, and the operation switches on the second operation panel 8 are provided. When the door opening / closing drive mechanism 24 as a door opening / closing drive means for opening / closing with the third position opened by a predetermined amount capable of operating 7A-7H is configured as shown in FIGS. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other configurations can be widely applied as the configuration of the door opening / closing drive mechanism 24.
[0040]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the locking means for locking the door portion 5 at the menu position is constituted by the concave portion 57A provided at the lower portion of the rail 57 and the third roller 61 will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various other configurations can be widely applied.
[0041]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the position detecting means for detecting the position in the menu position of the portion having a relatively large amount of movement when the door portion 5 is opened and closed is the projection 74 formed on the rail 57 and projected. Although the case where it comprises with the 3rd sensor 75 was described, this invention is not restricted to this, Various other structures can be applied widely.
[0042]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the positioning of the menu position is performed based on the movement of the rail 57 at the time of opening and closing the door portion 5 is described, but the present invention is not limited thereto, If the position of the menu position is determined based on the position (including the rotation position) of the part having a relatively large amount of state change such as the movement amount and the rotation amount when the door portion 5 is opened and closed, Various other than the rail 57 such as the arm 53 can be applied.
[0043]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in a printer apparatus that has an openable / closable door portion and opens the door portion to load a recording medium therein, the door portion is exposed when the door portion is opened by a predetermined amount. An operation switch disposed at a predetermined position of the door portion, a first position in which the door portion is closed, a second position in an open state in which a recording medium can be loaded, and a first position in a state where the predetermined amount is opened. By providing the door opening / closing drive means for opening / closing with the position 3, the space for providing the operation switch on the surface can be reduced, and a printer that can be miniaturized can be realized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a configuration of a printer apparatus according to an embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a printer apparatus according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a printer apparatus according to the present embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a mechanical mechanism unit.
FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a door opening / closing drive mechanism.
FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a door opening / closing drive mechanism.
FIG. 7 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of a door opening / closing drive mechanism.
FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view for explaining the positional relationship between the first to third protrusions of the door drive gear and the first and second sensors.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer apparatus, 2 ... Case, 3A-3H, 5 ... Door part, 7A-7H ... Operation switch, 4, 8 ... Operation panel, 24 ... Door opening / closing drive mechanism part, 50 ... Shaft drive gear, 50B to 50D, 74 ... projection, 57 ... rail, 71, 72, 75 ... sensor, 73 ... control unit.

Claims (3)

In a printer apparatus having an openable / closable door portion, and opening the door portion to load a recording medium therein,
An operation switch disposed at a predetermined position of the door portion so as to be exposed when the door portion is opened by a predetermined amount;
A door that opens and closes the door portion between a first position in a closed state, a second position in an open state in which the recording medium can be loaded, and a third position in a state in which the predetermined amount is opened. A printer apparatus comprising an opening / closing drive means. 2. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising locking means for locking the door portion in the third position. The door opening / closing drive means includes
2. The printer apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising position detecting means for detecting a position in the third position of a portion having a relatively large amount of state change when the door portion is opened and closed.

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