JP6343936B2 - Non-contact IC tag housing structure and printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a housing structure for a non-contact IC tag in a device that performs wireless communication using a non-contact IC tag, and a printer including the housing structure.

  A non-contact IC tag used for NFC (Near Field Communication) includes an IC chip that holds unique identification information and a communication antenna, and is used by being attached to a product or device to be managed. For example, a non-contact IC tag is attached to a portable printer, and pairing (communication connection setting) is performed with a card reader / writer on the host side, a communication terminal, etc., and various print information is transmitted by wireless communication. It is supplied to the printer to print receipts, labels, and the like.

  The non-contact IC tag is generally attached to the surface or inside of the device with an adhesive, and data is read from and written to the non-contact IC tag from the outside of the device. As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the non-contact IC tag is attached to the surface of a device or the like using an adhesive.

JP 2007-26047 A JP 2000-251046 A

  A non-contact IC tag has an extremely short communication distance of generally less than 100 mm, and in some cases, several mm or less. When reading or the like from the outside of the device, it is necessary to attach a non-contact IC tag with an adhesive near the surface of the device.

  Here, with the use of a device such as a printer, the adhesiveness of the adhesive of the non-contact IC tag also deteriorates. When the adhesiveness is deteriorated, the non-contact IC tag may be peeled off from the attachment surface of the device due to an impact applied to the device, a rapid temperature change, or the like. Portable printers are susceptible to impacts caused by drops and large temperature changes due to environmental changes.

  The non-contact IC tag peeled off inside the device may move inside the device due to vibration applied to the device, and may be greatly separated from the tag reading surface by the external device provided on the device surface. If the distance from the tag reading surface exceeds the communicable distance, communication with the non-contact IC tag cannot be performed from the outside. In order to prevent the non-contact IC tag from being peeled off, it is conceivable to use an adhesive having strong adhesive force and high durability. However, when such an adhesive is used, a large thermal stress is generated with a temperature change, and the non-contact IC tag may be damaged by the thermal stress. Further, it becomes difficult to peel off when exchanging the non-contact IC tag.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a housing structure for a non-contact IC tag that does not impair the communication function with an external device even when the non-contact IC tag is peeled off from the attachment position, and a printer that employs the housing structure. It is to provide.

  The non-contact IC tag housing structure of the present invention is provided with a housing portion capable of housing the non-contact IC tag so that the non-contact IC tag does not come out in a device that performs short-range wireless communication using the non-contact IC tag. The contactless IC tag is arranged at a position.

  The non-contact IC tag is accommodated in a predetermined position in the accommodating portion provided in the device. Even if the non-contact IC tag moves from a predetermined position in the housing portion, it does not come out of the housing portion. For example, a storage unit having a closed storage space may be disposed. Alternatively, the size and shape of the non-contact IC tag may not be passed through the opening of the housing portion. Thereby, a non-contact IC tag does not come out of a storage part. Therefore, the moving range of the non-contact IC tag is limited to the movable range within the housing portion. By appropriately setting the movable range of the non-contact IC tag in the storage unit, it is possible to always ensure communication with the non-contact IC tag with the external device.

  Moreover, when the storage part provided with the closed storage space is used, the penetration | invasion of the water, dust, etc. into a storage part can be prevented or suppressed. Therefore, performance deterioration and breakage of the non-contact IC tag due to water, dust, etc. can be prevented, and its reliability can be improved.

  Here, when it is assumed that the non-contact IC tag is movably disposed in the housing portion, compared with the communicable distance by the non-contact IC tag, from the tag reading surface provided on the outer surface of the device It is desirable to set the size and shape of the tag accommodating space in the accommodating portion so that the distance to the non-contact IC tag is shortened.

  The non-contact IC tag can be fixed at a predetermined position in the housing portion. For example, it can be fixed using an adhesive. In this case, even when the non-contact IC tag is peeled off due to deterioration of the adhesive or the like, the movement of the non-contact IC tag is restricted within the storage portion, so that communication with an external device can be ensured. Accordingly, it is not necessary to fix the non-contact IC tag in place using an adhesive having a strong adhesive force so that the non-contact IC tag does not peel off and move out of the communicable range. Since the non-contact IC tag is not damaged by a large thermal stress caused by a temperature change as in the case of using an adhesive having a strong adhesive force, the reliability of the non-contact IC tag can be improved.

  In the present invention, in order to improve the workability of attaching and exchanging contactless IC tags, a tag attaching member to which the contactless IC tags are attached, and a case attached to the device, the tag attaching member being mounted. It is preferable that the housing portion includes the member mounting portion and the tag mounting member mounted on the member mounting portion. In this case, the non-contact IC tag can be fixed to the tag attachment member or the storage portion with an adhesive.

  A non-contact IC tag is generally attached to the inside of a device case with an adhesive or the like. When the mounting position cannot be seen directly, it is troublesome to confirm the mounting position of the case and to perform the mounting work. Moreover, when a non-contact IC tag is attached to the inside of the case using an adhesive or the like, the peeling operation may not be easily performed. In the present invention, a non-contact IC tag is attached to a tag attaching member which is a separate member from the case with an adhesive or the like, and this is attached to a member attaching portion of the case. Therefore, compared with the case where the non-contact IC tag is directly attached to and exchanged with the case, the attachment and exchange are facilitated.

  Here, it is also possible to form an accommodating portion in the tag attaching member and attach the tag attaching member containing the non-contact IC tag to the member attaching portion provided in the case of the device. In this case, the non-contact IC tag can be fixed to the tag attaching member or the accommodating portion with an adhesive.

  The case may be provided with a slot into which the tag attaching member can be inserted into the member mounting portion from the outside of the case. In this way, the non-contact IC tag can be attached to the device as in the case where the memory card or the like is attached to the electronic device.

  Further, the case of the device includes at least a first case and a second case assembled to the first case. When the two cases are assembled to the first case, the housing is accommodated by the first and second cases. The part may be configured.

  Also in this case, it has a tag attachment member to which the non-contact IC tag is attached, and the case can be formed with a slot into which the tag attachment member can be inserted into the housing portion from the outside of the case. .

  In the present invention, at least a part of the portion of the case that defines the tag reading surface provided on the outer surface of the case of the device is provided with an indicator that can be visually recognized as the tag reading surface. It is desirable.

  The indicator may be a transparent portion provided on the case or an outline of the tag reading surface.

  Next, the non-contact IC tag housing structure of the present invention can be used for a printer such as a portable printer.

  In this case, in the printer case, the roll paper storage unit is disposed on one side with the recording paper conveyance path interposed therebetween, the print head and the circuit board are disposed on the other side, and the storage unit is disposed on the printer case. The roll paper storage unit can be disposed in the case portion.

  In this way, the non-contact IC tag is disposed at a position away from the circuit board in the printer case, and adverse effects on the non-contact IC tag due to electromagnetic noise generated from the circuit board can be suppressed.

  Further, in the case of a small printer such as a portable printer, it is often difficult to secure a place where a non-contact IC tag storage unit is provided. The case portion forming the roll paper storage portion is provided with a side portion having a predetermined width corresponding to the end surface of the roll paper to be stored. Since this portion can be used as an installation location for the housing portion of the non-contact IC tag, it is not necessary to separately secure an installation location for the housing portion, which is advantageous for downsizing and compacting the printer.

The top perspective view and bottom perspective view of the portable printer to which the present invention is applied Explanatory drawing which shows the internal structure of the portable printer of FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a roll paper storage unit and a cover lock part of the portable printer of FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a lower case and tag attachment member of the portable printer of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the accommodation procedure of the non-contact IC tag of the portable printer of FIG. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view and a vertical cross-sectional view showing a housing structure of the portable printer of FIG. The perspective view which shows another example of the accommodation structure of a non-contact IC tag The perspective view which shows another example of the accommodation structure of a non-contact IC tag 1 is a perspective view of the portable printer of FIG. 1 set in a charging cradle. The perspective view of the state which removed the portable printer of FIG. 1 from the cradle

  1A and 1B are perspective views of a portable printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows a top side and FIG. 1B shows a bottom side. In the following description, as shown in FIG. 1, the width direction of the portable printer is X, the front-rear direction is Y, the up-down direction is Z, and the left and right sides of the portable printer are portable as shown by arrows A in FIG. Left and right when viewed from the front of the mold printer.

  The portable printer 1 includes a printer case 2, and each printer component described later is disposed inside the printer case 2. The printer case 2 includes a lower case 3 that opens upward, and an upper case 4 that covers a front portion of the lower case 3 from above. An opening / closing cover 5 is placed on the rear portion of the lower case 3 from above. The open / close cover 5 can be opened upward with its rear end as the center.

  A recording paper discharge port 6 extending in the width direction X is opened upward between the opening / closing cover 5 and the upper case 4. An operation button 7 is arranged on the right end portion on the rear end side of the upper case 4, and when the operation button 7 is operated, the lock by a lock mechanism (not shown) is released and the opening / closing cover 5 is opened from the closed position shown in FIG. Can do. In the front portion of the upper case 4, operation buttons such as a power button 8a and a plurality of LED display portions 8b are arranged. A belt clip 9 is attached to the bottom surface 3a of the lower case 3 by screws or the like for passing through a belt or the like worn by the operator.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of the portable printer 1. The rear portion inside the portable printer 1 is a roll paper storage unit 11 in which a recording paper roll 12 indicated by an imaginary line is stored. When the opening / closing cover 5 is opened, the roll paper storage unit 11 opens upward, and the recording paper roll 12 can be replaced. A front portion inside the printer 1 is a substrate storage portion 13 in which a main substrate 14 on which circuit elements for driving the printer are mounted, an interface substrate 15 for wireless communication, and the like are stored.

  A battery mounting recess 3b having a predetermined depth that opens downward is formed in a portion of the bottom case 3 of the substrate housing portion 13 in the lower case 3, and a rectangular parallelepiped battery 16 is mounted on the lower case 3 from below. . Although omitted in FIG. 2, the belt clip 9 (see FIG. 1) is attached to the bottom surface 3a so as to overlap the battery 16 mounted in the recess 3b from below.

  A recording paper conveyance path 17 from the roll paper storage unit 11 to the recording paper discharge port 6 is formed between the front substrate storage unit 13 and the rear roll paper storage unit 11. A line-type print head 18, for example, a thermal head, is disposed in the middle of the recording paper conveyance path 17 so as to face backward. A platen roller 19 spanning in the width direction X is opposed to the head surface of the print head 18 from the rear side. The platen roller 19 is rotationally driven by a paper feed motor (not shown) driven by electric power from the battery 16, and conveys the recording paper along the recording paper conveyance path 17. Printing is performed on the conveyed recording paper by the print head 18.

  A platen roller 19 is attached to the front end portion of the opening / closing cover 5 (tip portion on the opening / closing side). When the opening / closing cover 5 is opened, the recording paper transport path 17 from the roll paper storage unit 11 to the recording paper discharge port 6 is opened (see FIG. 3A). Cover lock pins (not shown) are attached to both ends in the width direction X of the front end portion of the opening / closing cover 5. When the open / close cover 5 is closed, the cover lock pins engage with the left and right hooks of the cover lock member described below, and the open / close cover 5 is locked.

  FIG. 3A is a partial perspective view showing a portion of the roll paper storage unit 11 with the opening / closing cover 5 removed, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a cover lock member that also serves as a paper edge guide. . A cover lock member 20 for locking the open / close cover 5 in the closed position is disposed in the vicinity of the print head 18. The cover lock member 20 includes a connecting plate portion 21 that extends in the width direction X, and left and right side plate portions 22 and 23 that are bent at right angles from both ends of the connecting plate portion 21. The side plate portions 22 and 23 are located at both ends of the head surface 18 a of the print head 18 in the recording paper conveyance path 17. Each of the side plate portions 22 and 23 is formed with shaft holes 22a and 23a. These support shafts are attached to left and right frame side plate portions of a printer frame (not shown) made of sheet metal in the printer case 2. (Not shown) is rotatably passed. The cover lock member 20 is rotatable about these support shafts, and is urged in one direction by an urging member (not shown). Hooks 25 and 26 are formed on the side plate portions 22 and 23, respectively.

  A lock mechanism for the open / close cover 5 is configured by a cover lock pin (not shown), the hooks 25 and 26, and an urging member (not shown). The cover lock member 20 is urged by the urging member in the direction in which the hooks 25 and 26 are in the locked position. When the open / close cover 5 is closed, the hooks 25 and 26 are pushed in the unlocking direction by left and right lock pins attached to the printer frame (not shown), and the open / close cover 5 is moved to a position where the hooks 25 and 26 get over the lock pins. When is closed, the hooks 25 and 26 are returned to the lock position by the urging force, and the lock state of the open / close cover 5 is formed. When the operation button 7 is operated, the cover lock member 20 is rotated in conjunction with the operation button 7, and the hooks 25 and 26 are rotated in the unlocking direction to be removed from the lock pins (not shown), and the opening / closing cover 5 is unlocked. Open.

  Here, left and right paper edge guides 27 and 28 are integrally formed with the left and right side plate portions 22 and 23 of the cover lock member 20 together with hooks 25 and 26. As shown in FIG. 3A, the paper end guides 27 and 28 are positioned at both ends in the width direction of the conveyance path portion that guides the recording paper to the printing position between the print head 18 and the platen roller 19. With these paper edge guides 27 and 28, the recording paper is fed to the printing position while being positioned in the width direction X.

  When such paper edge guides 27 and 28 are manufactured as separate members and attached to the recording paper conveyance path 17, it is necessary to secure an installation space therefor. Further, screws for attaching the paper edge guides 27 and 28 as separate members are also required. In the portable printer 1 that is strongly required to be small and light, it is often difficult to secure a place for installing the member. In this example, paper edge guides 27 and 28 are formed on a part of the cover lock member 20 which is a part of the lock mechanism of the open / close cover 5. Therefore, it is possible to send the recording paper to the printing position in a state where the recording paper is positioned in the width direction X without requiring an installation space.

(Containment structure for non-contact IC tags)
The portable printer 1 is configured to perform communication connection settings for communication of print data and the like with an external device by short-range wireless communication using a non-contact IC tag. For this purpose, the portable printer 1 has a housing structure for housing the non-contact IC tag in the printer case 2. Hereinafter, the housing structure of this example will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6.

  4A is a perspective view showing the lower case 3 of the printer case 2, and FIG. 4B is a perspective view showing a tag attaching member to which a non-contact IC tag is attached. FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are explanatory views showing the attachment procedure of the tag attachment member. FIG. 6A is a partial cross-sectional view showing a housing portion in which a non-contact IC tag is housed, and FIG. 6B is a partial vertical cross-sectional view thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the bottom plate 31 of the lower case 3 of the printer case 2 has partition plates 32 and 33 that define the left and right sides of the roll paper storage unit 11 (for the partition plate 32). FIG. 5 (a)) is integrally formed. On the right side plate 34 of the lower case 3, a side plate portion 35 having an upper end edge 35 a with a contour projecting upward in a semicircular shape is formed at a portion located outside the width direction X of the partition plate 33. Yes. As shown in FIG. 6B, the upper edge 35a is a stepped surface with the outer side protruding upward. The outer surface of the side plate portion 35 is a tag reading surface 36.

  A member mounting portion 37 to which the tag mounting member 40 shown in FIG. 4B can be mounted is formed in the inner portion of the side plate portion 35 in the width direction X. At both ends of the member mounting portion 37 in the front-rear direction Y, columnar ribs 38 and 39 projecting upward in the vertical direction Z from the bottom plate 31 of the lower case 3 to substantially the same height position as the partition plate 33 are formed. These columnar ribs 38 and 39 function as a guide when the tag mounting member 40 is mounted on the member mounting portion 37. Further, screw holes 38a and 39a for fixing the tag attaching member 40 are formed on the upper end surface, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the tag attachment member 40 includes a disk-shaped tag attachment portion 41. A circular surface on one side of the tag mounting portion 41 is a tag mounting surface 42, on which a circular non-contact IC tag 50 is attached almost concentrically with an adhesive. As the adhesive, a double-sided adhesive tape that can be easily handled can be used. An arc-shaped rib 43 protruding from the circular surface 42 is formed on the upper portion of the outer peripheral end surface of the circular surface 42. The inner peripheral end surface 43a of the arc-shaped rib 43 is a curved arc surface corresponding to the inner step surface of the semicircular upper end edge 35a of the side plate portion 35 of the lower case 3, as shown in FIG. 6 (b). .

  As shown in FIG. 5B, a pair of reinforcing and guiding ribs 45, 46 extending in parallel with the vertical direction Z protrude from the circular surface 44 on the opposite side of the tag mounting member 40. Further, on the outer peripheral edge portion of the tag mounting portion 41, screwing portions 47 and 48 projecting outward in the radial direction are formed at both end portions in the direction orthogonal to the ribs 45 and 46, respectively. Screw insertion holes 47 a and 48 a are formed in these screw fastening portions 47 and 48. The screw insertion holes 47a and 48a have a positional relationship corresponding to the screw holes 38a and 39a of the columnar ribs 38 and 39 on the lower case side.

  The tag attaching member 40 is attached to the member attaching portion 37 of the lower case 3 as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 4B, the non-contact IC tag 50 is attached to the tag attachment surface 42 of the tag attachment member 40 with an adhesive. As shown in FIG. 5A, the tag attachment member 40 after the non-contact IC tag 50 is attached is positioned from the upper side with respect to the member mounting portion 37 of the lower case 3, and the upper side of the member mounting portion 37. Plug in. As shown in FIG. 6A, the circular surface 44 and the rib 45 of the tag mounting member 40 are respectively applied to two side surfaces of the columnar rib 38 of the member mounting portion 37, and the tag mounting member 40 along these side surfaces. Is inserted downward.

  When the tag mounting member 40 is completely inserted into the member mounting portion 37, as shown in FIGS. 5 (b) and 5 (c), the screw fixing portions 47 and 48 of the tag mounting member 40 are respectively columnar shapes of the member mounting portion 37. It will be in the state mounted on the upper end surface of the ribs 38 and 39. FIG. 6B, the arc-shaped rib 43 is engaged with the upper edge 35a of the side plate portion 35 from the upper side. Thereafter, two fastening screws (not shown) are screwed into the screw holes 38a and 39a of the member mounting portion 37 through the screw insertion holes 47a and 48a of the screw fixing portions 47 and 48, respectively. As a result, the tag attaching member 40 is attached to the member attaching portion 37 and is fixed thereto.

  When the tag attaching member 40 is attached and fixed to the member attaching portion 37, as shown in FIG. 6, the disc-like tag attaching portion 41 of the tag attaching member 40 and the side plate portion 35 of the lower case 3 that faces the disc attaching tag 41. Thus, a substantially closed tag accommodating portion 51 is formed. The non-contact IC tag 50 is disposed in the tag accommodating space that is the internal space. The width of the tag accommodating space of the tag accommodating portion 51 is as narrow as several millimeters of mail. Even if the non-contact IC tag 50 is peeled off from the tag mounting surface 42, the non-contact IC tag 50 is held in the closed tag accommodating space, and its moving range is very small. Therefore, the non-contact IC tag 50 is not separated from the tag reading surface 36 provided on the outer surface of the lower case 3 beyond the communicable distance of the non-contact IC tag 50. Thereby, communication between the non-contact IC tag 50 and the external device can always be ensured.

  The non-contact IC tag 50 is disposed in a tag housing space that is substantially closed. Therefore, it is possible to avoid or suppress the adverse effect that foreign matters such as water and paper dust enter the tag accommodating portion 51 and the non-contact tag 50 is damaged.

  A tag mounting member 40 with a non-contact IC tag 50 attached is mounted and fixed to a member mounting portion 37 provided in the lower case 3. When replacing the non-contact IC tag 50, the upper case 4 is removed from the lower case 3. Next, the tag attachment member 40 is removed from the member mounting portion 37. Thereafter, another tag attaching member to which a new non-contact IC tag is attached is attached to the member attaching portion 37 and fixed. As described above, since the tag attaching member 40 may be replaced, the replacement work or the like can be easily performed.

  In this example, the upper edge 35a of the side plate portion 35 whose outer surface is the tag reading surface 36 has a semicircular contour shape. As can be seen from FIG. 1, the upper edge 35 a of the semicircular contour is visible on the right side surface of the printer case 2 as a joint between the lower case 3 and the opening / closing cover 5. Therefore, the upper edge 35a of the semicircular contour functions as an index representing the tag reading surface 36, and the operator intuitively knows that the portion is the tag reading surface 36, in other words, non-contact inside this portion. It can be recognized that the IC tag 50 is arranged.

  Of course, as an indicator that can be visually recognized as being a tag reading surface (a part in which the non-contact IC tag 50 is incorporated), it is needless to say that other indicators may be used. For example, the side plate portion 35 on which the tag reading surface 36 is formed may be formed from a transparent material. Alternatively, the side plate portion 35 may be color-coded from other colors of the printer case 2. The side plate portion 35 may be a curved plate portion that protrudes outward in a convex arc shape.

(Another example of housing structure for non-contact IC tags)
In the above example, when the tag attachment member 40 is attached to the member attachment portion 37 on the printer case 2 side, the tag accommodation portion 51 is formed between the tag attachment member 40 and the portion on the printer case 2 side. Without using the tag attachment member 40, the tag housing portion can be formed in the printer case 2.

  FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are explanatory views showing examples of the housing structure in this case. In these drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the portions corresponding to the housing structure. In the housing structure of this example, the lower case 3 of the printer case 2 has the same configuration as the housing structure described above, and includes a side plate portion 35, a tag reading surface 36, and columnar ribs 38 and 39. An inner surface in the width direction X of the side plate portion 35 is a tag attachment surface 61. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the non-contact IC tag 50 is attached to the tag mounting surface 61 with an adhesive.

  The upper case 4 of the printer case 2 includes a top plate 62, a front plate 63 curved downward from the front end, and left and right side plates 64, 65 curved downward from left and right side edges of the top plate 62. ing. The side plates 64 and 65 include side plate portions 66 and 67 that extend rearward in the front-rear direction Y from the rear edge of the top plate 62. The side plate portions 66 and 67 extend to the rear ends of the lower case 3 along the left and right opening edges. The right side plate portion 67 is formed with a side plate portion 67 a that faces the side plate portion 35 of the lower case 3 at a narrow interval from the inside in the width direction X. The upper end portion 67b of the side plate portion 67a has an arc shape that can cover the arc-shaped upper end edge portion 35a of the side plate portion 35 from above. The lower end portion 67c of the side plate portion 67a has a shape overlapping the upper end surface of the partition plate 33 from above.

  After the non-contact IC tag 50 is attached to the tag mounting surface 61 of the lower case 3, as shown in FIG. 7C, the upper case 4 is put on the lower case 3 and fixed with screws (not shown). To do. As a result, a substantially closed tag housing portion is formed between the side plate portion 35 of the lower case 3 and the side plate portion 67a of the upper case 4, and the non-contact IC tag 50 is disposed at a fixed position inside this. It becomes a state.

  Even in this case, even if the non-contact IC tag 50 is peeled off from the tag mounting surface 61, it is held in the tag accommodating portion and does not move to another part in the printer case 2. Therefore, the non-contact IC tag 50 is always held at a position within a communicable distance from the tag reading surface 36, and communication with an external device is ensured. Further, since the non-contact IC tag 50 is disposed in a substantially closed space, it is possible to avoid or suppress adverse effects such as water, foreign matter, etc. entering and causing damage to the non-contact IC tag 50.

(Still another example of non-contact IC tag housing structure)
In the housing structure shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, after the tag attachment member 40 with the non-contact IC tag 50 attached is attached and fixed to the member attachment portion 37 of the lower case 3, the upper case 4 is attached to the lower case 3. It is covered and fixed.

  In order to make the non-contact IC tag 50 attach / detach and exchange operations easier, for example, a tag slot is formed in the printer case 2 as in the case of a memory card or the like, and non-contact is made via this. The IC tag 50 may be taken in and out.

  FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C are explanatory views showing an example of the housing structure having this configuration. Since the basic structure of the housing structure is the same as that of the housing structure shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8A, the non-contact IC tag 50 is attached to the tag attachment surface 42 of the tag attachment member 40. A member mounting portion 37 is formed between the side plate portion 35 on the rear end side and the inner partition plate 33 in the side plate 34 of the lower case 3 of the printer case 2. The outer surface of the side plate portion 35 is a tag reading surface 36. When the tag mounting member 40 is mounted on the member mounting portion 37, a closed tag storage portion is formed, and a state in which the non-contact IC tag 50 is disposed therein is formed.

  Here, at the right end portion of the opening / closing cover 5, a tag slot 71 is formed at a portion corresponding to a position directly above the member mounting portion 37. The tag slot 71 is a slot having a width and a length into which the tag mounting member 40 can be inserted. For example, a rubber slot cover 72 is attached to the tag slot 71 and sealed.

  In the member mounting portion 37 of the lower case 3, a rail guide 73 extending in the vertical direction Z is attached to the rear end of the front-rear direction Y. The rail guide 73 is formed with a groove that can receive one rib 46 formed on the tag mounting member 40 from above and guide it linearly in the vertical direction Z.

  The slot cover 72 of the opening / closing cover 5 is removed from the tag slot 71, and the tag mounting member 40 is inserted into the opened tag slot 71 from above. When the tag attaching member 40 is inserted, the rib 46 fits into the rail guide 73 and is attached to the member attaching portion 37 in the printer case 2 while being guided by the rail guide 73. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7C, the tag attaching member 40 is attached to the member attaching portion 37 and fixed thereto. Thereafter, the slot cover 72 is attached to the tag slot 71 and sealed.

(Other embodiments)
In the example shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a tag accommodating portion 51 is formed between the lower case 3 and the tag attachment member 40. Instead of this, it is possible to prepare a tag mounting member having a closed housing portion as the tag mounting member 40 and to have a housing structure in which the tag mounting member is mounted in the vicinity of the tag reading surface in the printer case 2. is there.

  In each of the above examples, the non-contact IC tag housing structure of the present invention is applied to a portable printer. The housing structure of the present invention can be similarly applied to portable devices other than the portable printer.

(Example of a cradle for a portable printer)
Next, an example of a cradle suitable for the portable printer 1 to which the belt clip 9 is attached will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10. The cradle 80 is a stand-type printer expansion device, for example, a charger for the portable printer 1.

  On the bottom surface of the lower case 3 of the printer case 2 of the portable printer 1, a charging connection terminal group 10 is exposed at the front edge portion. As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery 16 is attached to the bottom surface of the portable printer 1, and the belt clip 9 is attached so as to overlap the attached battery 16. ing. In the case of a general cradle, it is possible to charge the portable printer 1 by attaching it to the cradle with the belt clip 9 removed. However, it is troublesome to remove the belt clip 9 every time it is charged.

  The cradle 80 of this example includes a mounting portion 81 on which the portable printer 1 can be mounted with the belt clip 9 attached. As shown in FIG. 10A, the cradle 80 is formed with a rectangular inclined upper end surface 82 that is inclined downward toward the front. The inclined upper end surface 82 is formed with a rectangular inclined recess 83 having a certain depth that opens upward and rearward. On the rectangular inclined bottom surface of the inclined recess 83, a rectangular inclined recess 84 that is slightly smaller and opens upward and rearward is formed.

  By these inclined concave portions 83 and 84, the upper end portion of the cradle 80 is provided with a left inclined guide side surface 86a, a left inclined guide bottom surface 87a, a right inclined guide side surface 86b, and a right inclined surface for guiding the portable printer 1 obliquely downward from the rear. A guide bottom surface 87b is formed. A distal end side inclined guide bottom surface 88 extending in the width direction is formed on the distal end sides of the left inclined guide bottom surface 87a and the right inclined guide bottom surface 87b, and a connecting terminal is provided at the center portion of the distal end side inclined guide bottom surface 88 in the width direction. Group 89 is exposed upward.

  The interval between the left inclined guide side surface 86a and the right inclined guide side surface 86b is set to a dimension in which the portable printer 1 can be inserted between them. The width of the inclined recess 84 is slightly wider than the width of the belt clip 9, and the depth thereof is slightly larger than the protruding amount of the belt clip 9 protruding from the bottom surface of the portable printer 1. Therefore, the portable printer 1 can be mounted on the cradle 80 with the belt clip 9 attached.

  That is, the portable printer 1 with the belt clip 9 attached is inserted from the front end side into the mounting portion 81 of the cradle 80 from the rear side. The portable printer 1 is slid forward along the left inclined guide side surface 86a and the left inclined guide bottom surface 87a, and the right inclined guide side surface 86b and the right inclined guide bottom surface 87b. The portable printer 1 is slid until the front end of the portable printer 1 contacts the front end surface 90 of the inclined recess 83. As a result, the portable printer 1 is in a mounted state in which the connection terminal group 10 is connected to the connection terminal group 89 of the cradle 80. It is possible to easily perform work such as charging without removing the belt clip 9. When the portable printer 1 is removed from the cradle 80, it may be slid obliquely upward toward the rear.

X width direction, Y longitudinal direction, Z vertical direction, A arrow, 1 portable printer, 2 printer case, 3 lower case, 3a bottom surface, 3b recess, 4 upper case, 5 open / close cover, 6 recording paper discharge port, 7 operation Button, 8a Power button, 8b LED display section, 9 Belt clip, 10 Connection terminal group, 11 Roll paper storage section, 12 Recording paper roll, 13 Substrate storage section, 14 Main board, 15 Interface board, 16 Battery, 17 Recording paper transport Path, 18 print head, 18a head surface, 19 platen roller, 20 cover lock member, 21 connecting plate portion, 22, 23 side plate portion, 22a, 23a shaft hole, 24 printer frame, 25, 26 hook, 27, 28 paper edge Guide, 31 Bottom plate, 32, 33 Partition plate, 34 Side plate, 35 Side plate part, 3 5a Upper edge portion, 36 Tag reading surface, 37 Member mounting portion, 38, 39 Columnar rib, 38a, 39a Screw hole, 40 Tag mounting member, 41 Tag mounting portion, 42 Tag mounting surface, 43 Arc-shaped rib, 43a Inner circumference End face, 44 Circular surface, 45, 46 Rib, 47, 48 Screw fixing part, 47a, 48a Screw insertion hole, 50 Non-contact IC tag, 51 Tag receiving part, 61 Tag mounting surface, 62 Top plate, 63 Front plate, 64 , 65 side plate, 66, 67 side plate portion, 67a side plate portion, 67b upper end portion, 67c lower end portion, 71 tag slot, 72 slot cover, 73 guide rail, 80 cradle, 81 mounting portion, 82 inclined upper end surface, 83 inclined recess, 84 Inclined recess, 86a Left inclined guide side, 87a Left inclined guide bottom, 86b Right inclined guide side, 87b Right inclined Id bottom, 88 front end side inclined guide bottom 89 connecting terminal groups, 90 front end face

Claims (1)

A tag mounting member to which a non-contact IC tag is mounted;
A member mounting portion capable of mounting the tag mounting member;
A housing portion for housing the non-contact IC tag, the housing portion formed by the wall portion of the tag mounting member and the wall portion of the member mounting portion;
Have
A maximum distance between a fixed position in the accommodating portion and a tag reading surface provided on an outer surface of the member mounting portion is shorter than a maximum distance at which a communication terminal can communicate with the non-contact IC tag;
A contact IC tag is accommodated in a printer case by a non-contact IC tag accommodation structure characterized by:
Inside the printer case, a roll paper storage section that can store roll paper on one side across the recording paper conveyance path, and faces the side edge of the roll paper stored in the roll paper storage section A roll paper storage unit having a surface is arranged, and on the other side, a print head and a circuit board are arranged,
The storage unit is disposed in the printer case along the facing surface forming the roll paper storage unit in the printer case .
Printers.