JPH10235941A - Portable printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate an operation of setting a plurality of units of rolled paper in a structure wherein the rolled paper in a plurality of units are held and printing is made on each rolled paper. SOLUTION: A rolled paper holding part 16 which hold removably at least two or more units of rolled paper 11 being arranged in the axial direction thereof is provided at the back of a cover 5 which can be opened and closed for a printer main body 4, while a paper passing route 23 guiding each rolled paper 11 in parallel with another is formed between the printer main body 4 and the inside of the cover 5 and a delivery opening 13 is provided at the end of the paper passing route 23. Besides, a printing part 26 comprising a platen roller 24 and a print head 25 disposed in the printer main body 4 and inside the cover 5 on the opposite sides of the paper passing route 23 is provided and the rolled paper holding part 16 and the paper passing route 23 are made open by opening the cover 5. Only by opening the cover 5 and setting the rolled paper 11 in the rolled paper holding part 16 and by passing the fore end part of the rolled paper 11 through the delivery opening 13 and closing the cover 5, accordingly, an operation of setting the paper is completed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a portable printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a purpose of use of a printer, in consideration of issuance of a print such as a delivery label attached to a package delivered by a courier service or a bar code label attached to a product, a printer having versatility is put into practical use. desired. Therefore, the applicant of the present application has developed and put into practical use a portable printer for printing and issuing labels for home delivery and bar code labels.

As an example of a portable printer developed and put to practical use by the present applicant, a roll paper housed and held in an outer case is guided to a predetermined paper passing path, and desired items are printed on the roll paper by a thermal printer head. Some are issued. And this portable printer is
A separation path between the backing paper and the label is provided downstream of the thermal printer in the paper passing path, and the label can be printed and issued by setting the label paper.

[0004]

Considering the actual usage of the portable printer, for example, the same or related barcodes are printed on labels of different colors, or related information is printed on labels of different sizes. It would be convenient if the label and the receipt could be issued simultaneously. In this case, for example, if a parallel configuration of two printing mechanisms, such as those practically used as a receipt / journal printer, is adopted, printing on two sheets can be performed. However, if a parallel configuration of two printing mechanisms is simply employed, it is expected that the work of setting sheets will be difficult.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a portable printer capable of storing and holding a plurality of roll papers and performing printing on each roll paper.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable printer in which a plurality of roll papers can be easily set.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a portable printer, wherein a cover which can be opened and closed with respect to the printer main body, and at least two or more roll papers are arranged in the axial direction behind the cover so as to be detachable. A paper path formed between the roll paper storage unit for storing and holding, the printer body and the inner surface of the cover, and guiding each roll paper in parallel with each other; an issuing port formed at the end of the paper path; A printing unit including a platen and a print head is disposed on the printer body and the inner surface of the cover with the paper path interposed therebetween.

Accordingly, it is possible to issue a print on two or more roll papers. In addition, when setting roll paper, opening the cover opens the roll paper storage section,
The setting of the roll paper in the roll paper storage section is facilitated. After the roll paper is set in the roll paper storage unit, the print section is separated into the platen and print head by opening the cover, and the paper passage path is also open. The paper setting operation is completed only by passing the cover through the cover.

At this time, if the issuing port is formed in the gap between the leading end of the cover and the printer body, the paper setting operation is easier, and if the issuing port is formed in the cover (claim). Item 2), it is necessary to pass the leading end of the roll paper stored and held in the roll paper storage unit through the issuing port, but the opening of the cover also opens the back side of the issuing port, which facilitates the work. .

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view. The portable printer 1 according to the present embodiment has a shape in which a shoulder belt 3 for a shoulder is attached to both upper ends of a flat casing-shaped outer case 2 as an outline of the external configuration. The outer case 2 is composed of a main body case 2a forming the outer appearance of the printer main body 4 and a cover case 2b forming an outer appearance of a cover 5 which can be opened and closed with respect to the printer main body 4, and the back surface is adapted to be along the waist of a human. It has a curved shape.

The portable printer 1 includes a printer body 4
Has an operation surface 6 on its upper surface. The operation surface 6 is provided with a power switch 7, a print switch 8, a paper feed switch 9, and a liquid crystal display surface 10.

The cover 5 is located in front of the main body case 2a, and is rotatably mounted in a vertical direction with the upper end as a horizontal fulcrum. The cover 5 has a transparent window 12 for checking the presence or absence of the roll paper 11 stored and held therein, and an issuing port 1.
3 are formed. Further, a gap is formed between the front end of the cover 5 and the printer main body 4, and the gap serves as the mount outlet 14.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the storage state of the roll paper 11 and the battery 15. The roll paper 11
It is housed and held at a position facing the transparent window 12 behind the cover 5. Two roll papers 11 are stored and held, and the roll papers 11 are arranged along their axial direction. Two batteries 15 are stored and held at the bottom of the outer case 2. Battery 15
Are the longitudinal directions thereof.

FIG. 3 is an overall longitudinal side view, and FIG.
It is a perspective view which shows the open state of. The printer body 4 has a roll paper storage unit 16 at an open position of the cover 5. The roll paper storage unit 16 is a hopper having a plurality of ribs 17, and has a movable holder 18 at both ends for supporting an end of the roll paper 11. These movable holders 18
Are urged by the spring 19 in directions approaching each other. Two of the plurality of ribs 17 have a groove 20, into which a disk-shaped partition plate 21 is inserted and supported. The partition plate 21 includes a fixed holder 22 for supporting the end of the roll paper 11. Therefore, the roll paper storage unit 16 is divided into two storage spaces by the partition plate 21, and one roll paper 11 is stored and held in each storage space. More specifically, the roll paper storage unit 16 has a width of 4 inches as a whole, and when the partition plate 21 is inserted into the two grooves 20, the roll paper storage unit 16 becomes 2 inches wide, 2 inches wide and 3 inches wide, respectively. It is divided into width and 1 inch width.

Next, a paper passage 23 is formed between the printer main body 4 and the inner surface of the cover 5 from the roll paper storage 16 to the issuing port 13 and the backing paper discharge port 14. A printing section 26 including a platen roller 24 as a platen and a line thermal head 25 as a print head is provided in the middle of the paper passage path 23. The platen 24 is rotatably mounted on the printer body 4 side, and the line thermal head 25 is
It is attached to the inner surface. Further, the separation roller 27 is provided downstream of the platen roller 24 in the paper passage path 23.
Are rotatably driven. This separation roller 27
Has a structure in which it abuts on the main body case 2a in the paper passing path 23, and when the label paper is used as the roll paper 11, the carrier 11a is independently conveyed.

Further, although not shown, inside the printer main body 4, electrical components such as a control board for driving and controlling each unit such as the printing unit 26 using the battery 15 as a power source are also stored and held.

In such a configuration, when the platen roller 24 is rotationally driven by a control board (not shown),
The roll paper 11 is fed by rotation of the platen roller 24, and in the process, predetermined items are printed on the roll paper 11 by the line thermal head 25. At this time, when the roll paper 11 is a label paper, the portion of the mount 11a bent from the label 11b is conveyed alone to the separation roller 27, and the label 11b is issued from the issue port 13 and
a is discharged from the mount discharge port 14.

Here, in the case of the present embodiment, since two roll papers 11 are housed and held inside, printing on two roll papers 11 can be issued. In this case, depending on the control by the control board, it is possible to independently print different items on the two roll papers 11 or to print the same contents. It is also possible to print at different times. As an actual use mode, for example, the roll paper 11 provided with the labels 11b of different colors is stored and held, and the same or related barcode or the like is printed on each label 11b. The roll paper 11 provided is stored and held, and each label 11b is stored.
The related information is printed on the label 11 or the roll paper 11 of the label paper and the plain paper is stored and held.
It is possible to issue b and the receipt at the same time.

Next, the operation of setting the roll paper 11 in the portable printer 1 will be described. To perform the paper setting operation, first, the cover 5 is opened and the roll paper 11 is set in the roll paper storage unit 16. Here, as a variation of the roll paper 11 that can be stored in the roll paper storage unit 16, one having a 4-inch width, one or two having a 2-inch width, one having a 3-inch width and one having a 1-inch width are available. One each, one three inches wide, and one
There are a total of six patterns with one inch width. To set only one 4-inch wide roll paper 11, the movable holder 18 is retracted, and the roll paper 11 is placed between the movable holders 18.
Position. As a result, the movable holder 18 urged by the spring 19 fits into the core 28 of the roll paper 11 and the roll paper 11 is set in the roll paper storage unit 16. In the case of the other five patterns, the partition plate 21 is inserted into the groove 20 formed in some of the ribs 17, and the paper setting is performed in the same procedure as in the case of one roll paper 11 having a width of 4 inches. In this case, the roll paper 11 is held by the movable holder 18 and the fixed holder 22.

After the roll paper 11 is set in the roll paper storage section 16, the leading end of the roll paper 11 is inserted into the issuing port 13 so as to be pulled out from the back side to the front side of the cover 5. At this time, if the roll paper 11 is label paper,
Only the portion 1a is inserted between the separation roller 27 and the main body case 2a. This operation is achieved by rotating the separation roller 27 with the leading end of the backing sheet 11a positioned between the separation roller 27 and the main body case 2a. To rotate the separation roller 27, the paper feed switch 9 provided on the operation surface 6 is pressed.

After the roll paper 11 is set in the roll paper storage section 16 and the leading end of the set roll paper 11 is inserted into the issuing port 13, the cover 5 is closed. As a result, the line thermal head 25 abuts on the platen roller 24 via the roll paper 11, the roll paper 11 is correctly set in the paper passage path 23, and the paper setting operation for the portable printer 1 is completed.

As described above, when the cover 5 is opened, the roll paper storage unit 16 and the paper passage path 23 are opened, so that the roll paper 11 is set in the roll paper storage unit 16 and the leading end of the roll paper 11 set. Part of the cover 5
Portable printer 1 with simple operation of just closing
Is completed. Therefore, the work is facilitated. In addition, the issuing port 13 has a cover 5
Since the cover 5 is opened, the back side of the issuing port 13 is also opened by opening the cover 5, and workability when the leading end of the roll paper 11 is inserted into the issuing port 13 is improved. Further, since the platen roller 24 performs the paper transport function by itself, there is no need to provide an independent transport roller.
This simplifies the paper passage path opening structure.

In the embodiment, the issuance opening 13 may be formed in a gap between the front end of the cover 5 and the printer body 4, that is, in a portion used as the mount outlet 14 in the present embodiment. good. In this case, the paper setting operation is further facilitated.

[0025]

According to the portable printer of the first aspect,
At least two or more roll papers are arranged in their axial direction behind the cover that can be opened and closed with respect to the printer body, are detachably stored and held, and a paper passing path that guides each roll paper in parallel to the issuing port is provided. The platen and print head are formed between the printer body and the inner surface of the cover, and the platen and print head are provided on the printer body and the inner surface of the cover, respectively. Therefore, a simple operation of opening the cover, setting the roll paper in the roll paper storage section, passing the leading end of each roll paper through the issuing port, and closing the cover, can reduce the number of roll papers. However, the paper setting operation can be facilitated.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the portable printer according to the first aspect, since the issuing port is formed in the cover, the back surface of the issuing port is opened when the cover is opened. The operation of inserting the distal end of the head can be facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a storage state of roll paper and a battery.

FIG. 3 is an overall vertical side view.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a roll paper storage unit in a cover open state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Printer body 5 Cover 11 Roll paper 13 Issuance opening 16 Roll paper storage unit 23 Paper passage path 24 Platen 25 Print head 26 Print unit

Claims (2)

[Claims] A cover that is openable and closable with respect to a printer main body; a roll paper storage unit that detachably stores and holds at least two or more roll papers behind the cover in an axial direction thereof; A paper path formed between the paper path and the inner surface of the cover, for guiding each of the roll papers in parallel with each other, an issuing port formed at the end of the paper path, and the printer sandwiching the paper path. A portable printer, comprising: a printing unit including a platen and a print head disposed on a main body and an inner surface of the cover, respectively. 2. The portable printer according to claim 1, wherein the issuing port is formed in the cover.