Printer device and cushioning member

Abstract

To provide a printer device comprising a buffer member capable of coping with increase in weight of an upper cover.SOLUTION: A printer device comprises a lower housing, an upper cover, and a buffer member. The lower housing is provided with an opening part on one side. The upper cover is rotatably connected to the lower housing and covers the opening part. The buffer member has: a cylinder fixed to the lower housing, and having a cylindrical inner diameter that differs in a longitudinal direction; a piston capable of reciprocating along the longitudinal direction within the cylinder; and a piston rod that moves the piston along an inner wall of the cylinder, and is fixed to the upper cover.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD An embodiment of the present invention relates to a printer device and a buffer member. [Background technology]

[0002] Printers that use roll paper have become widespread. A printer includes a lower housing that houses the roll paper and an upper cover that opens and closes the lower housing. The printer also includes a shock absorber (such as a torsion spring) to prevent the upper cover from closing suddenly. The shock absorber is attached to a hinge that rotatably connects the lower housing and the upper cover (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] However, as user demand increases, the size of the housing increases as the supplies (such as ink ribbons) housed in the upper cover increase, and the load supporting the upper cover increases. As a result, conventional cushioning materials are no longer effective enough. For this reason, there is room for further improvement in cushioning materials. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printer device equipped with a cushioning member that can accommodate the increased weight of the upper cover. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The printer device of the embodiment includes a lower housing, an upper cover, and a buffer member. The lower housing has an opening on one side. The upper cover is rotatably connected to the lower housing and covers the opening. The buffer member is fixed to the lower housing and has a cylindrical shape with a varying inner diameter in the longitudinal direction. and a plurality of steps are provided on the cylindrical inner wall. The pump includes a cylinder, a piston that is reciprocable along the longitudinal direction within the cylinder, and a piston rod that moves the piston along the inner wall of the cylinder and is fixed to the upper cover. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0006] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a printer according to an embodiment, as viewed from the front side. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view that schematically shows an example of the internal configuration and structure of the printer according to the embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating an example of the internal configuration and structure of the cushioning member according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the internal structure of a cylinder according to an embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view that schematically illustrates an example of the internal configuration and structure of a part of a piston according to an embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the first packing according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of the second packing according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a printer according to the embodiment as seen from the front side. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the internal configuration and structure of the printer according to the embodiment.

[0008] For ease of explanation, a three-dimensional coordinate system is also shown. The width direction (left-right direction) of the printer 1 is the X-axis direction, the depth direction (front-back direction) is the Y-axis direction, and the height direction (up-down direction) is the Z-axis direction. The positive direction of the Y-axis is the direction from the front to the back, and the state viewed in the positive Y-axis direction is the front view.

[0009] The positive direction of the Z axis is the direction from top to bottom, and the state viewed from the positive direction of the Z axis is a planar view. The positive direction of the X axis is the direction from left to right in a front view. The left and right sides of the printer 1 and each part when viewed from the front (positive direction of the Y axis) are sometimes referred to as both sides.

[0010] Printer 1 is an example of a printer device. Printer 1 includes a housing 2, a display / operation unit 3, an open / close button 4, and an issuing port 5. Housing 2 includes an upper cover 21 and a lower housing 22. Upper cover 21 covers the opening of lower housing 22. Specifically, the rear edge of upper cover 21 is rotatably attached to lower housing 22 by hinge 20, and as it rotates, it opens and closes the opening on the top surface of lower housing 22.

[0011] Hinge 20 is a connecting member that rotatably connects upper cover 21 and lower housing 22. Hinge 20 includes a biasing member 33 (for example, a torsion spring) fixed to a side surface at one end of lower housing 22 by a first fixing member 34 (for example, a screw). Biasing member 33 is a member that slows the movement of upper cover 21 when closing lower housing 22, and more specifically, is a member that biases upper cover 21 in a direction that opens lower housing 22, for example.

[0012] Upper cover 21 is rotatably connected to lower housing 22 and covers the opening. Upper cover 21 houses a printing unit (not shown). The printing unit prints on paper as it is transported, and is equipped with a print head, an ink ribbon, and a platen roller (none of which are shown). The print head is fixed to the inside surface of upper cover 21, and comes into close contact with the platen roller when upper cover 21 closes the opening on the top surface of lower housing 22.

[0013] The print head is, for example, a thermal head equipped with a plurality of heating elements arranged in parallel. The print head uses the heat of the heating elements to print on the paper sandwiched between the print head and the platen roller, with the paper and ink ribbon interposed between the print head and the platen roller. The platen roller is rotated by the driving force of a stepping motor, and transports the paper sandwiched between it and the print head.

[0014] The display operation unit 3 is provided on the top surface of the upper cover 21. The display operation unit 3 receives inputs for various operations and displays various information. The open / close button 4 is provided on the front side of the side portion of the upper cover 21 and receives an operation to release the locked state of the locking structure that holds the upper cover 21 to the lower housing 22.

[0015] An opening is provided on one side of the lower housing 22. Specifically, the lower housing 22 is a housing having an upward opening, and the opening is closed by the upper cover 21. A part of the front surface of the lower housing 22 is formed by the front cover 23.

[0016] The issuing port 5 is an opening for issuing (discharging) receipts and other paper, and is located between the upper end of the front cover 23 and the lower front end of the upper cover 21. The front cover 23 is provided with a paper discharge guide 51 at its upper end. The paper discharge guide 51 guides paper discharged from the issuing port 5.

[0017] The lower housing 22 houses a paper holder (not shown). The paper holder stores and rotatably holds roll paper, which is, for example, a strip of paper wound into a roll. Examples of roll paper include receipt rolls and label rolls. A receipt roll is a roll of strip-shaped receipt paper (an example of paper).

[0018] Receipt paper is a strip of paper that is printed on and cut into receipts. A label roll is a roll of strip-shaped label paper (an example of paper). Label paper includes labels attached to a strip of backing paper, and strip-shaped labels. Labels have an adhesive layer on the back of the printed surface.

[0019] Incidentally, the weight of the upper cover 21 is heavy because it is equipped with a print head, an ink ribbon, and a platen roller. When the weight of the upper cover 21 is heavy, the biasing member 33 of the hinge 20 alone may not be able to support the upper cover 21 and keep it in the open state. In this case, for example, even though the user wants to keep the upper cover 21 open, the upper cover 21 may fall freely and end up in the closed state.

[0020] Therefore, the printer 1 according to this embodiment is provided with a buffer member 36 inside the housing 2 that supports the upper cover 21 by complementing the function of the biasing member 33. Similar to the biasing member 33 described above, the buffer member 36 is intended to slow down the movement of the upper cover 21 when closing the lower housing 22.

[0021] Next, the configuration of the buffer member 36 will be described with reference to Figures 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the internal configuration and structure of the buffer member 36 according to the embodiment. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the internal structure of a cylinder according to the embodiment. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the internal configuration and structure of a part of a piston according to the embodiment. Figure 6 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a first packing according to the embodiment. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing an example of the appearance of a second packing according to the embodiment.

[0022] The buffer member 36 is an example of an air damper. The buffer member 36 is provided on at least one end side (the left side in FIG. 2) of the housing 2, and is fixed to the upper cover 21 and the lower housing 22. Specifically, the buffer member 36 is fixed to the upper cover 21 by a second fixing member 37 (for example, a screw) via a first fastening member 361.

[0023] The buffer member 36 is fixed to the lower housing 22 by a third fixing member 38 (for example, a screw) via a second fastening member 362. The buffer member 36 is not limited to being provided on one end side of the housing 2, and may be provided on both end sides of the housing 2, for example.

[0024] The buffer member 36 is fixed to the lower housing 22 and includes a cylinder 365 having a cylindrical inner diameter that varies in the longitudinal direction, a piston 367 that can move back and forth along the longitudinal direction of the cylinder 365, and a piston rod 366 that moves the piston 367 along the inner wall of the cylinder 365 and is fixed to the upper cover 21. In the buffer member 36, a packing attached to the piston 367 oscillates with the inner wall (inner peripheral surface).

[0025] One end of the cylinder 365 is closed by a second fastening member 362. The other end of the cylinder 365 is closed by a first cap 363, and a piston rod 366 provided at the center of the piston 367 when viewed from the direction of movement of the piston 367 passes through the first cap 363 and extends to the outside of the cylinder 365.

[0026] Cylinder 365 has a cylindrical inner wall with multiple steps. As shown in Fig. 4, the inner peripheral surface of cylinder 365 is divided into a first inner wall 3650, a first step 3651, a second inner wall 3652, a second step 3653, and a third inner wall 3654, in that order from one opening to the other opening.

[0027] First, the inner diameter of second inner wall 3652 is set to a standard dimension suitable for the reciprocation of piston 367. Next, first inner wall 3650 is a portion that initially receives piston 367 when it is inserted into cylinder 365. The diameter of first inner wall 3650 is set to be larger than the diameter of second inner wall 3652.

[0028] The first step 3651 is a slope connecting the first inner wall 3650 and the second inner wall 3652, and serves to guide the piston 367 inserted into the cylinder 365. With this structure, when the piston 367 is inserted into the cylinder 365, it passes through the first step 3651, which gradually narrows, from the first inner wall 3650, which is wider than the second inner wall 3652, to the second inner wall 3652, which has standard dimensions, making insertion easier.

[0029] Next, the inner diameter of the second step 3653 is smaller than the inner diameter of the second inner wall 3652. The inner diameter of the third inner wall 3654 is larger than the inner diameter of the second step 3653 and is approximately equal to the inner diameter of the second inner wall 3652 in this embodiment.

[0030] The second step 3653 is provided to increase the internal pressure inside the cylinder 365 just before the upper cover 21 closes, thereby preventing the upper cover 21 from suddenly closing. In addition, the provision of the second step 3653 has the effect of making it easier for the cylinder 365 to be removed from the mold when it is molded.

[0031] In this embodiment, the inner diameter of third inner wall 3654 is larger than the inner diameter of second step 3653. If the inner diameter of third inner wall 3654 were equal to that of second step 3653, the high pressure in cylinder 365 would continue until immediately before upper cover 21 was completely closed. In this case, the user would have to apply a strong pressure to completely close upper cover 21.

[0032] To avoid this inconvenience and to prevent a large operating force from being applied when opening or closing, the inner diameter of the third inner wall 3654 is made larger than the inner diameter of the second step 3653. As a result, the pressure in the cylinder 365, which increases at the second step 3653 while the upper cover 21 is closing, changes to a low pressure just before the upper cover 21 is completely closed.

[0033] The piston rod 366 moves the piston 367 in cooperation with the upper cover 21. One end of the piston rod 366 is fixed to a first fastening member 361. The other end of the piston rod 366 is fixed to the piston 367 by a third fixing member 368.

[0034] The piston 367, in cooperation with the piston rod 366, moves along the inner wall of the cylinder 365 by the air flow moving through the gap between the cylinder 365 and the piston 367. The piston 367 is fixed to the piston rod 366 by a third fixing member 368.

[0035] Piston 367 has a packing on the outer circumferential surface of piston 367 that is in contact with the interior of cylinder 365. The packing is, for example, an example of first packing 369 and second packing 371. First packing 369 and second packing 371 are, for example, elastic members such as rubber. Piston 367 as described above divides the interior of cylinder 365 into two spaces: first chamber 3655 and second chamber 3656 (see FIG. 3).

[0036] The first packing 369 is cylindrical. A first side surface (outer peripheral surface) 3691 of the first packing 369 is provided with, for example, a first groove 3692 (see FIG. 6). The first groove 3962 is a groove for generating air flow from one of the first chamber 3655 and the second chamber 3656 to the other when the piston 367 moves inside the cylinder 365.

[0037] Furthermore, the first packing 369 is fixed to the piston 367 by being provided between the second cap 370 and the second packing 371 .

[0038] The second packing 371 is cylindrical and has a truncated cone shape. Here, the bottom surface (lower base) of the truncated cone is designated as 3711, and the top surface (upper base, top surface) is designated as 3712. The diameter of the top surface 3712 is smaller than the diameter of the bottom surface 3711. The top surface 3712 is located at an end on one side (first cap 363 side) of the second packing 371, and the bottom surface 3711 is located at an end on the other side (second fastening member 362 side).

[0039] Also, second grooves 3713 are provided on the surface that contacts bottom surface 3711. The shape of second grooves 3713 is, for example, concentric (circular about the rotation axis of the truncated cone) along the edge of bottom surface 3711 (see FIG. 7).

[0040] Upper surface 3712 is the portion that receives pressure from the gas in cylinder 365 when upper cover 21 is opened. The smaller the area of ​​upper surface 3712, the smaller the load when piston 367 moves relative to cylinder 365, making upper cover 21 easier to open.

[0041] Also, by increasing the diameter of bottom surface 3711, it becomes easier for it to receive the pressure inside cylinder 365 when closing top cover 21. Furthermore, by providing second groove 3713 in a part of bottom surface 3711, bottom surface 3711 becomes even more easily subjected to the pressure inside cylinder 365 when closing top cover 21. Second packing 371 configured in this way becomes more susceptible to pressure from the gas inside cylinder 365 between piston 367 and cylinder 365, and the moving speed of piston 367 slows down, so it gradually closes while absorbing impacts.

[0042] As described above, the printer 1 according to this embodiment is provided with a buffer member 36 that is fixed to the lower housing 22 and has a cylinder 365 whose cylindrical inner diameter varies in the longitudinal direction, a piston 367 that can move back and forth along the longitudinal direction within the cylinder, and a piston rod 366 that moves the piston 367 along the inner wall of the cylinder 365 and is fixed to the upper cover 21.

[0043] Therefore, in the printer 1 according to this embodiment, even if the supplies accommodated in the upper cover 21 become larger and the load supporting the upper cover 21 increases, the provision of the buffer member 36 allows the upper cover 21 to be supported. Furthermore, because the buffer member 36 is, for example, an air damper, the operating force required for opening and closing the upper cover 21 can be maintained constant.

[0044] Furthermore, cylinder 365 has a cylindrical inner wall with multiple steps, and piston 367 has a gasket (second gasket 371) on the outer peripheral surface of piston 367 that is inscribed in cylinder 365, and the gasket (second gasket 371) has a truncated cone shape, with concentric grooves formed on the surface that corresponds to bottom surface 3711 of the truncated cone.

[0045] Therefore, by providing the buffer member 36 with, for example, a step, the internal pressure in the cylinder 365 can be increased just before the upper cover 21 is closed, thereby preventing the upper cover 21 from closing suddenly.

[0046] Furthermore, the packing (second packing 371) that is in contact with the cylinder 365 has a truncated cone shape, and by providing a groove in part of the bottom surface 3711 of the truncated cone, for example, when closing the top cover 21 of the printer 1, the packing is more likely to receive pressure from the inside of the cylinder 365. The bottom surface 3711 of the second packing 371 is more likely to receive pressure from the gas inside the cylinder 365 between the piston 367 and the cylinder 365, and the movement speed of the piston 367 slows down, so the packing can be gradually closed while absorbing impacts.

[0047] Additionally, the area of ​​the top surface 3712 of the second packing 371 is smaller than the area of ​​the bottom surface 3711. For example, when opening the top cover 21 of the printer 1, the load applied when the piston 367 moves relative to the cylinder 365 is smaller than when closing the top cover 21 of the printer 1, making it easier to open the top cover 21.

[0048] The above-described embodiment can be modified as needed by changing a portion of the configuration or function of the above-described device. Therefore, several modifications of the above-described embodiment will be described below as other embodiments. The following mainly focuses on differences from the above-described embodiment, and detailed descriptions of commonalities with the content already described will be omitted. The modifications described below may be implemented individually or in appropriate combination.

[0049] (Variation) In the above-described embodiment, the second step 3653 is provided inside the cylinder 365 so that the inner diameter varies in the longitudinal direction, but this is not limiting. For example, the cylinder 365 may have a tapered (gradient) shape inside so that the inner diameter varies in the longitudinal direction.

[0050] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, modifications, and combinations can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1. Printer (printer device) 2. Case 3 Display operation section 4 Open / close button 5 Issuance port 20 Hinge 21 Upper cover 22 Lower housing 23 Front cover 33 biasing member 34 First fixing member 36 Cushioning material 37 Second fixing member 38 Third fixing member 361 First fastening member 362 Second fastening member 363 First Cap 365 cylinders 366 Piston rod 367 Piston 368 Third fixing member 369 First packing 370 2nd Cap 371 Second packing 3650 First Inner Wall 3651 First step 3652 Second Inner Wall 3653 Second step 3654 Third Inner Wall 3692 First groove 3713 Second groove [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0052] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-232713

Claims

1. a lower housing having an opening on one side; an upper cover rotatably connected to the lower housing and covering the opening; a cushioning member including: a cylinder fixed to the lower housing, the cylinder having a cylindrical inner diameter that varies in the longitudinal direction and a cylindrical inner wall having a plurality of steps; a piston that can reciprocate along the longitudinal direction within the cylinder; and a piston rod that moves the piston along the inner wall of the cylinder and is fixed to the upper cover; A printer device comprising:

2. The piston has a packing on an outer circumferential surface of the piston that is in contact with the cylinder.

2. The printer device according to claim 1.

3. The packing has a truncated cone shape, and a concentric groove is provided on the surface corresponding to the bottom surface of the truncated cone.

3. The printer device according to claim 2.

4. The buffer member is an air damper.

2. The printer device according to claim 1.

5. a cylinder having a cylindrical inner diameter that varies in the longitudinal direction and having a plurality of steps on the cylindrical inner wall; a piston that is reciprocally movable along the longitudinal direction of the cylinder and has a packing that is frustum-shaped on an outer peripheral surface that is inscribed in the cylinder; a piston rod that moves the piston along the inner wall of the cylinder; A buffer member comprising:

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