Printing apparatus

Abstract

To provide a printing apparatus capable of displaying whether or not a printed printing sheet has been removed from a discharge port of the printing sheet, with a simpler structure.SOLUTION: A printing apparatus 1 comprises a housing 10. The housing 10 is provided with a storage section 20 in which a printing medium is accommodated, a conveyance section that conveys the printing medium, a printing section that performs printing on the printing medium on a conveyance path of the printing medium, a cutting section that cuts the printing medium printed by the printing section, a discharge section that discharges the printing medium cut by the cutting section, a light source that irradiates light onto the printing medium held in the discharge section, a first display section 40 that is provided at a position different from the discharge section and displays whether or not the printing medium is held in the discharge section by emitting at least part of the light from the light source, and a light guide section that guides the light from the light source to the first display section. The discharge section is provided on one surface of the housing, and the first display section 40 is provided on a surface different from the surface on which the discharge section is provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, among printing devices that discharge print paper, which is a print medium, from an outlet, there are known devices, such as receipt printers, in which the print paper discharged from the outlet is picked up by the user. For such printing devices, there is known technology to prevent print paper from remaining at the outlet due to the user forgetting to pick up the print paper, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a printing device, a printing method, and an information recording medium suitable for a host device to know whether a user has removed a printed slip. The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a printing device equipped with a sensor capable of detecting print paper discharged from an outlet, and a host device capable of communicating with the printing device, and is configured to be able to communicate to the host device whether print paper has been removed from the outlet. A smaller presenter and printing system are disclosed in Patent Document 2. In the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, a presenter, which is a device for collecting printing paper discharged from a discharge port, is provided in a printing device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-150767 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-012565 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when configuring a system for detecting printing paper as in Patent Document 1, or when installing a device with a drive unit as in Patent Document 2, the device configuration of a conventional printing device will need to be significantly changed, which may result in the device becoming larger and increasing costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the invention that solves the above problem is a printing device that includes a housing that includes a storage section in which printing media is stored, a transport section that transports the printing media, a printing section that prints on the printing media on the transport path of the printing media, a cutting section that cuts the printing media printed by the printing section, an ejection section that ejects the printing media cut to the cutting section, a light source that irradiates light onto the printing media held in the ejection section, a first display section that is located at a position different from the ejection section and that indicates whether the printing media is being held in the ejection section by emitting at least a portion of the light from the light source, and a light guide section that guides the light from the light source to the first display section, wherein the ejection section is located on one side of the housing and the first display section is located on a side different from the side on which the ejection section is located. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. [Figure 3] Cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along line III-III. [Figure 4] IV-IV cross section of Figure 1. [Figure 5] VV cross section of Figure 4. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, unless otherwise specified, directions such as front, back, left, right, and up and down are the same as directions relative to the printing device 1. Also, the symbol FR shown in each figure indicates the front of the printing device 1 when it is installed on an installation surface for use, the symbol UP indicates the top of the printing device 1, and the symbol LH indicates the left of the printing device 1. In each figure, the up and down direction corresponds to the vertical direction, and the front, back, and left and right directions correspond to the horizontal direction.

[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a printing device 1 according to this embodiment. The printing device 1 of this embodiment has a printing function. As shown in Fig. 1, the printing device 1 has a housing 10. The housing 10 houses the components that make up the printing device 1. The housing 10 of this embodiment is formed in a substantially cubic shape and includes a device main body 12, a discharge port 11, and a lid 15.

[0009] FIG. 2 is a front view of the printing device 1. FIG. The device body 12 has an opening 13 on the front surface, and is formed in a generally cubic shape as is the housing 10 . As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the discharge port 11 discharges printing paper 100, which is a printing medium sent from inside the device main body 12, to the outside. The discharge port 11 is formed at the top of the front surface of the housing 10. The discharge port 11 is formed in the shape of a slit extending in the left-right direction. The discharge port 11 corresponds to the "discharge section."

[0010] Lid 15 is attached to the front side of device body 12 so as to be able to open and close freely, and opens or closes opening 13. When lid 15 closes opening 13, it forms the front side of housing 10. Hinge portions 17 are provided on both left and right sides of the bottom end of lid 15, and by being attached to device body 12 via these hinge portions 17, lid 15 is able to rotate freely around hinge portions 17 as a rotation axis. The discharge port 11 in this embodiment is a gap between the upper edge of the lid 15 and the device body 12 when the opening 13 is closed. The cover 15 is opened when, for example, maintenance of the printing device 1 is to be performed.

[0011] Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the printing device 1 taken along plane III in Fig. 1, viewed from the right. Plane III is a plane that is perpendicular to the left-right direction and passes through approximately the center of the housing 10 in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 3, in the printer 1, the device body 12 is provided with a storage section 20, a print head 22, a movable blade 24a, and a display board .

[0012] The storage section 20 forms a storage space S capable of storing printing paper 100 inside the device body 12. The front side of the storage section 20 is formed to be open so that the storage space S can communicate with the outside of the storage section 20. The printing paper 100 is stored in the storage space S as rolled paper in a rolled state. In this embodiment, the printing paper 100 is, for example, thermal paper. When the lid 15 is opened, the printing paper 100 can be stored in the storage section 20 through the opening 13.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 2, the storage section 20 of this embodiment is configured to be able to store two types of printing paper 100A with different paper widths, and printing paper 100B. The storage section 20 is configured to be able to store the entire printing paper 100A. When printing paper 100B, which has a smaller paper width than printing paper 100A, is stored in the storage section 20, the printing paper 100B is stored in the storage section 20 in a state of abutting against the side surface located on the left side of the storage section 20. In this case, the storage section 20 may contain a plate-shaped partition member that abuts against the printing paper 100B from the right side.

[0014] The storage section 20 may be provided with a pair of partition members that are movable in the left-right direction, and may be configured to be able to hold the printing paper 100 by sandwiching the printing paper 100 between the partition members. In this case, the printing paper 100A and the printing paper 100B stored in the storage section 20 are arranged so that their approximate centers in the left-right direction overlap with the approximate center of the storage section 20 in the left-right direction. The storage section 20 may be configured to be able to store two or more types of printing paper 100 with different paper widths.

[0015] The print head 22 is, for example, a thermal head. The print head 22 has multiple heating elements that generate heat when electricity is applied. An image is formed on the thermal paper by applying heat from the print head 22 to the thermal paper. The print head 22 is located at the top and front of the storage unit 20. The print head 22 corresponds to the "printing unit."

[0016] The movable blade 24a cuts the printing paper 100 that has been printed by the print head 22. The movable blade 24a is connected to a drive device such as a motor via a gear or the like, and when the motor is driven, the movable blade 24a moves downward. The movable blade 24a is positioned forward of the print head 22.

[0017] The display board 26 is a board on which a plurality of light-emitting elements 28, such as LEDs (Light-emitting diodes), are mounted on a mounting surface. The display board 26 is disposed forward of the movable blade 24a with the mounting surface facing forward.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, a transmissive section 18 that transmits light from the light-emitting elements 28 is provided above the discharge port 11 on the front surface of the housing 10. The transmissive section 18 is formed of a transparent member or the like at a position that overlaps the plurality of light-emitting elements 28. In the printing device 1, the light emitted from the light-emitting elements 28 passes through the transmissive section 18, making it possible to notify the user of various information such as the status of the printing device 1. In the printing device 1, the display substrate 26 and the transmissive section 18 function as a second display section 19. The second display section 19 can indicate to the user whether the printing device 1 is operating or not, for example, by turning on and off the light-emitting elements 28.

[0019] The control board 30, which controls each part of the printing device 1, is housed in the upper part of the device body 12. The control board 30 includes a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. as an arithmetic execution unit, and the ROM stores firmware executable by the CPU, data related to the firmware, etc. in a non-volatile manner. The RAM also temporarily stores data related to the firmware executed by the CPU. The control board 30 may also include other peripheral circuits, etc. The control board 30 may also include a storage unit capable of non-volatilely storing various programs and data, such as control programs and data related to these control programs.

[0020] The control board 30 may be provided in another device with which the printing device 1 can communicate. Also, for example, the control board 30 and the display board 26 may be provided integrally.

[0021] The cover 15 is provided with a cylindrical transport roller 32. The transport roller 32 is disposed with its longitudinal direction extending along the left-right direction and is provided so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction. When the cover 15 closes the opening 13, the transport roller 32 is provided at the upper end of the cover 15 and in a position facing the print head 22. The transport roller 32 is driven to rotate by a drive device such as a motor provided in the printing device 1. The transport roller 32 corresponds to the "transport section."

[0022] When the lid 15 closes the opening 13, a portion of the printing paper 100 is pulled out from the roll and sandwiched between the transport roller 32 and the print head 22. In the printing device 1, the sandwiched printing paper 100 is transported in the transport direction F by the transport roller 32 and printed by the print head 22.

[0023] A fixed blade 24b is provided on the cover 15. The fixed blade 24b is provided at the upper end of the cover 15 when the opening 13 is closed, in front of the transport roller 32 and facing the movable blade 24a. When the movable blade 24a moves downward, the printed printing paper 100 is sandwiched between the fixed blade 24b and the movable blade 24a and cut. After this, the transport roller 32 sends out the printing paper 100, and the cut printing paper 100 is discharged from the discharge port 11 to the outside of the housing 10. The movable blade 24a and the fixed blade 24b correspond to a "cutting portion."

[0024] The printing paper 100 that has been cut and is discharged from the discharge port 11 is held at its rear end by the discharge port 11. The printing paper 100 is removed from the discharge port 11 by being pulled out by the user who has performed an operation to print on the printing paper 100.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in addition to the light emitting elements 28, light guiding light emitting elements 38 such as LEDs are provided on the mounting surface of the display substrate 26. The light-guiding light-emitting element 38 corresponds to the "light source." The light-emitting portion from which light of the light-guiding light-emitting element 38 is emitted is disposed inside a guide hole 36 provided in the device body 12. The guide hole 36 has a hole shape that is recessed upward from the surface facing the upper surface of the lid 15 when the lid 15 closes the opening 13 in the device body 12. The guide hole 36 is disposed in a position in the left-right direction that overlaps both the printing paper 100A and the printing paper 100B discharged from the discharge opening 11 in a plan view.

[0026] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the printing device 1 taken along plane IV in FIG 1, as viewed from above. Plane IV is a plane that is perpendicular to the up-down direction and passes through the discharge port 11. 2 to 4, the cover 15 is provided with a first light guide 42. The first light guide 42 is a long member made of, for example, a transparent resin. The first light guide 42 of this embodiment is formed in the shape of a solid rod with a rectangular cross section. The first light guide 42 is a member known as a light guide, which guides light incident on one end to the other end by internally reflecting the light.

[0027] The first light guide 42 is disposed inside the lid 15 when the lid 15 is closing the opening 13, at a position close to the upper surface of the lid 15. The first light guide 42 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction extends along the left-right direction. The first light guide 42 corresponds to the "first light guide section."

[0028] 4, when the lid body 15 is in a state of closing the opening 13, an opening 41 that connects the inside and outside of the lid body 15 is provided on the upper surface of the lid body 15. The opening 41 is provided at a position that overlaps with the guide hole 36 in a plan view. When the lid 15 is in a state where it closes the opening 13, an opening 43 that connects the inside and outside of the lid 15 is provided on the rear surface of the lid 15. In this embodiment, the opening 43 is provided on the upper right side of the rear surface of the lid 15.

[0029] As shown in Figure 4, the first light guide 42 is positioned so that one end in the longitudinal direction overlaps the opening 41 in a planar view, and as shown in Figure 2, the other end in the longitudinal direction overlaps the opening 43 in a front view.

[0030] 4, the device body 12 is provided with a second light guide 44. The second light guide 44 is made of a transparent resin or the like, similar to the first light guide 42, and is a long, solid, rod-like member with a rectangular cross section. Similar to the first light guide 42, the second light guide 44 guides light incident on one end to the other end by internally reflecting the light. The first light guide 42 and the second light guide 44 may be formed in various shapes, such as a cylindrical shape, as long as they have a predetermined length.

[0031] Fig. 5 is a VV cross-sectional view of Fig. 4. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken from the right side, taken along a plane perpendicular to the left-right direction and passing through the second light guide 44. In Fig. 5, the right side wall of the device body 12 that supports the second light guide 44 and the side surface located on the left of the storage section 20 are omitted. 4 and 5, the second light guide 44 is disposed inside the device body 12, to the right of the storage section 20 and on the upper side of the device body 12. The second light guide 44 is disposed so that its longitudinal direction extends along the front-rear direction. When viewed from the left and right, the second light guide 44 is disposed at a position overlapping the printing paper 100. This allows the height dimension of the printing device 1 in the up-down direction to be reduced. The second light guide 44 corresponds to the "second light guide section."

[0032] 2 and 4, an opening 45 that connects the inside and outside of the device body 12 is provided on the front surface of the device body 12. The opening 45 in this embodiment is provided on the upper right side of the device body 12, at a position that overlaps with the opening 43 in a front view. An opening 47 that connects the inside and outside of the device body 12 is provided on the rear surface of the device body 12. In this embodiment, the opening 47 is provided on the upper right side of the rear surface of the device body 12.

[0033] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the second light guide 44 is positioned so that one end in the longitudinal direction overlaps the opening 45 when viewed from the front, and the other end in the longitudinal direction overlaps the opening 47 when viewed from the rear.

[0034] 2 and 4, light emitted from the light-guiding light-emitting element 38 is emitted downward from the lower end of the guide hole 36 to the outside of the device body 12. When the cover 15 closes the opening 13 and no printing paper 100 is held at the discharge port 11, the light emitted from the guide hole 36 passes through the opening 41 and enters the inside of the first light guide 42 from one end of the first light guide 42 in the longitudinal direction. The first light guide 42 internally reflects the light that has entered the first light guide 42, thereby guiding the light from one end to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the first light guide 42. In other words, the first light guide 42 has an optical path that guides the light within its solid interior.

[0035] The light guided to the other end of the first light guide 42 exits from the other end, passes through the openings 43 and 45, and enters one end of the second light guide 44. The second light guide 44 internally reflects the light that has entered the second light guide 44, thereby guiding the light from one end to the other end along the longitudinal direction of the second light guide 44. In other words, the second light guide 44 has a light path that guides the light within its solid interior.

[0036] The light guided to the other end of the second light guide 44 is emitted from the other end and then emitted to the outside of the housing 10 through the opening 47. This allows the light emitted from the light-guiding light-emitting element 38 to be visible from the rear side of the printing device 1. In this manner, in the printing device 1, the other end of the second light guide 44 and the opening 47 function as the first display unit 40. The first light guide 42 and the second light guide 44 correspond to a "light guide portion."

[0037] In contrast, when the printing paper 100 is held at the discharge port 11, the light emitted from the guide hole 36 is blocked by the printing paper 100. Therefore, the light emitted from the guide hole 36 is prevented from entering the first light guide 42 from one end in the longitudinal direction of the first light guide 42, and is prevented from emitting from the first display unit 40.

[0038] Next, the operation of the printing device 1 of this embodiment will be described. Depending on the user who has performed an operation to print on the printing paper 100 in the printing device 1, the printing paper 100 held at the discharge port 11 may not be removed from the discharge port 11. In such a printing device 1, there are cases where an operator who performs maintenance or the like on the printing device 1 is located behind the printing device 1. In this case, the operator cannot directly see the discharge outlet 11, and there is a risk that the operator will not be able to visually determine whether the printing paper 100 held in the discharge outlet 11 has been removed from the discharge outlet 11.

[0039] In the printing device 1 of this embodiment, when the printing paper 100 is not held at the discharge outlet 11, the light emitted from the light-guiding light-emitting element 38 is guided to the first light guide 42 and the second light guide 44, and is emitted from the first display unit 40 provided on the rear surface of the printing device 1. On the other hand, in the printing device 1, when the printing paper 100 is held at the discharge outlet 11, the light emitted from the light-guiding light-emitting element 38 is obstructed by the printing paper 100 held at the discharge outlet 11, and is prevented from emitting from the first display unit 40. In this way, in the printing device 1, the worker can visually check whether the light from the light-guiding light-emitting element 38 is emitted from the first display unit 40 provided on the rear surface, thereby determining whether the printing paper 100 held in the discharge outlet 11 has been removed from the discharge outlet 11. Therefore, in the printing device 1, it is possible to notify, with a simple structure, a worker who is in a position where the discharge outlet 11 cannot be seen, whether the printing paper 100 has been removed from the discharge outlet 11.

[0040] The above-described embodiment is an example of one aspect of the present invention, and any modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0041] In the above-described embodiment, the printing device 1 is provided with the light-guiding light-emitting element 38. However, this is not limiting, and in the printing device 1, one of the light-emitting elements 28 may be used as the light source of the first display unit 40 instead of the light-guiding light-emitting element 38. In this case, one of the light-emitting elements 28 is disposed inside the guide hole 36.

[0042] In the above-described embodiment, the printing device 1 is provided with the light-emitting element 28, which is an LED, and the light-guiding light-emitting element 38. However, this is not limiting, and the printing device 1 may use various light sources such as a laser diode or an organic EL.

[0043] Unless otherwise specified, the horizontal, vertical, and other directions and various shapes in the above-described embodiments include a so-called equivalent range that provides the same action and effect as those directions, values, and shapes.

[0044] Summary of this disclosure A summary of this disclosure is provided below.

[0045] (Appendix 1) a light source that irradiates light onto the print medium held in the discharge section; a first display section that is provided at a position different from the discharge section and that indicates whether the print medium is being held in the discharge section by emitting at least a portion of the light from the light source; and a light guide section that guides the light from the light source to the first display section; wherein the discharge section is provided on one surface of the housing, and the first display section is provided on a surface different from the surface on which the discharge section is provided. This allows the printing device to notify an operator who is in a position where the discharge unit cannot be seen whether or not a print medium is being held in the discharge unit using a simple structure.

[0046] (Appendix 2) 2. The printing device of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the light guide section is positioned on the opposite side of the light source, across the print medium held in the discharge section. According to this, the printing device can change the display on the first display unit depending on whether or not the print medium is held in the discharge unit.

[0047] (Appendix 3) A printing device as described in Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the housing is provided with a second display unit on a different surface from the first display unit, and displays predetermined information by emitting at least a portion of the light from the light source. This allows the printing device to use a common light source to notify the operator using two display units, and allows the printing device to notify the operator with a simple configuration whether or not the printing medium is being held in the discharge unit.

[0048] (Appendix 4) A printing device described in any one of Appendix 1 to Appendix 3, wherein the housing comprises a device main body in which the storage section is provided and a lid body that is attached to the device main body in an openable and closable manner, and the light source is provided in the device main body. This allows the printing device to be configured without placing a light source unit, wiring, etc. on the lid, allowing the lid to be formed with a simple structure and reducing the load on the light source, wiring, etc. that accompanies opening and closing the lid.

[0049] (Appendix 5) The printing device described in Appendix 4, wherein the light guide section comprises a first light guide section provided in the cover body and a second light guide section provided in the device body, and at least a portion of the second light guide section is provided in a position facing at least a portion of the first light guide section when the cover body is closed. This allows for greater freedom in the placement of the light guide section in the printing device, making it possible to reduce the size of the device.

[0050] (Appendix 6) 6. The printing device according to claim 5, wherein the second light guide section is provided at a position overlapping the printing medium when the housing is viewed from a predetermined direction. This makes it possible to suppress an increase in the height of the printing device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1...printing device, 10...housing, 11...ejection port, 12...device main body, 13...opening, 15...lid body, 17...hinge portion, 18...transmissive portion, 19...second display portion, 20...storage portion, 22...print head, 24a...movable blade, 24b...fixed blade, 26...display board, 28...light-emitting element, 30...control board, 32...transport roller, 36...guiding hole, 38...light-guiding light-emitting element, 40...first display portion, 41, 43, 45, 47...opening, 42...first light guide, 44...second light guide, 62...transmissive portion, 100, 100A, 100B...printing paper, F...transport direction, S...storage space.

Claims

1. Equipped with a housing, The housing includes: a storage section in which the print medium is stored; a conveying unit that conveys the print medium; a printing unit that prints on the print medium on a transport path of the print medium; a cutting unit that cuts the print medium printed by the printing unit; a discharge section that discharges the print medium cut by the cutting section; a light source that irradiates light onto the print medium held in the discharge section; a first indicator provided at a position different from the ejection unit, the first indicator emitting at least a portion of light from the light source to indicate whether the print medium is being held in the ejection unit; a light guide portion that guides light from the light source to the first display portion; is established, the discharge portion is provided on one surface of the housing, The first display unit is provided on a surface different from a surface on which the discharge unit is provided. Printing device.

2. At least a portion of the light guide section is disposed on the opposite side of the light source across the print medium held in the discharge section. The printing device of claim 1 .

3. The housing is provided with a second display unit that is provided on a surface different from the first display unit and that displays predetermined information by emitting at least a portion of the light from the light source.

3. The printing device according to claim 1.

4. The housing includes: an apparatus main body in which the storage section is provided; a cover attached to the device body in an openable and closable manner; Equipped with The light source is provided in the device body.

3. The printing device according to claim 1.

5. The light guiding section is a first light guide portion provided on the lid; a second light guiding unit provided in the device body; Equipped with At least a portion of the second light guiding portion is provided at a position facing at least a portion of the first light guiding portion when the cover is closed. The printing device according to claim 4 .

6. The second light guide unit is provided at a position overlapping the print medium when the housing is viewed from a predetermined direction. The printing device according to claim 5 .

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