printer

Abstract

To include a structure having a detachable unit for providing an optional function in a standard model structure.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: a paper holding part for holding roll paper which is belt-like wound paper; a printing part for performing printing on the paper pulled out from the paper holding part; and a box-type housing for housing the paper holding part and the printing part. The housing includes a plate-like cover part comprising at least a part of a surface on which a paper discharge port for discharging the paper after printing is disposed, and a body part which is a part other than the cover part. With a mounting structure in which the cover part is detachably mounted on the body part, the cover part can be mounted even in a direction in which either a first surface which is one surface of the plate-like cover part or a second surface which is the other surface faces the body part. The cover part comprises a support part for detachably supporting an optional unit for applying predetermined processing to the paper on either the first surface or the second surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a printer. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, printers have been used that print on paper pulled from a roll of paper (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such printers, a standard model is one that ejects paper in a strip form without cutting or peeling, and a sales method is sometimes adopted in which functions such as cutting and peeling are offered as options that can be attached to the standard model.

[0003] When multiple models are developed using the method described above, a structure that allows options to be attached and detached is required. The components that realize this structure are generally prepared separately along with the optional units, rather than as components required for the standard model printer to function.

[0004] If there are additional components that need to be prepared in addition to the optional units, the cost of materials and manufacturing will increase, and the need to manage those components will arise, which is undesirable. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a printer that can realize a structure that allows a unit for providing an optional function to be attached and detached by using a structure that is included in the standard model. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The printer of the embodiment is a printer comprising: a paper holding section that holds roll paper wound with a strip of paper; a printing section that prints on the paper pulled out of the paper holding section; and a box-shaped housing that houses the paper holding section and the printing section. The housing includes a plate-shaped cover section that forms at least a part of the surface on which a paper outlet for discharging the paper after printing is provided; and a main body section that is the part other than the cover section. The mounting structure, which is a structure for removably attaching the cover section to the main body section, allows the cover section to be attached in either direction, with one side, the first side, or the other side, the second side, of the plate-shaped cover section facing the main body section. The cover section has a support section on either the first side or the second side that removably supports an optional unit that performs a specified process on the paper. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the appearance of a printer in a standard state according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the internal structure of a printer. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a printer with a cutting unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a portion of a printer including a front cover. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a portion of a printer including a front cover. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 with the lower case removed. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which the front cover has been removed from the state shown in FIG. 6 and the device has been turned over so that the support section faces outward. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the state in which the front cover is attached with the support portion facing outward. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the structure of the cutting unit. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a portion of a printer with a cutting unit, including a front cover. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which the cutting unit is supported by the support portion. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state in which the cutting unit is supported by the support portion. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the separation unit and its positional relationship with the frame. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a printer with a peeling unit with the lower case removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a printer 1 in a standard state according to the embodiment. Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the printer 1.

[0009] Printer 1 is an example of a standard model printer, and includes a housing 2, a display operation unit 103, an open / close button 104, and a paper discharge outlet 105. The side on which paper discharge outlet 105 is provided is the front side of printer 1, and the side opposite to the side on which paper discharge outlet 105 is provided is the back side.

[0010] The housing 2 is a box-shaped container and includes an upper case 21 and a lower case 22. The upper case 21 has a downward opening, and the lower case 22 has an upward opening. The rear edge of the upper case 21 is rotatably attached to the lower case 22 by a hinge 20. This allows the upper case 21 and the lower case 22 to be rotatably connected, and as they rotate, they open and close their respective openings.

[0011] Hinge 20 rotatably connects upper case 21 and lower case 22 on the rear side. Hinge 20 is provided with a biasing member such as a torsion spring on one widthwise side of lower case 22. The biasing member biases upper case 21 in a direction that opens lower case 22, thereby slowing the movement of upper case 21 when closing lower case 22.

[0012] A paper holder 3 and a printing unit 4 are provided inside the housing 2. The paper holder 3 holds a roll of paper 30 around which a strip of paper 31 is wound so that the roll can rotate freely.

[0013] Examples of roll paper 30 include receipt rolls and label rolls. A receipt roll is a roll of strip-shaped receipt paper (an example of paper 31). Receipt paper is strip-shaped paper 31 that is printed and cut into receipts.

[0014] The label roll is a roll of strip-shaped label paper (an example of paper 31). Label paper includes labels with liner, which are labels attached to strip-shaped liner, and strip-shaped labels without liner. The labels have an adhesive layer on the back of the printing surface.

[0015] The printing unit 4 prints on the paper 31 while transporting the paper 31 pulled out from the paper holding unit 3, and is equipped with a print head 41 and a platen roller 42. The print head 41 is fixed to the inner surface of the upper case 21, and comes into close contact with the platen roller 42 when the upper case 21 closes the opening on the top surface of the lower case 22.

[0016] The print head 41 is, for example, a thermal head, and is equipped with a plurality of heating elements arranged in parallel. The print head 41 prints on the paper 31 sandwiched between the print head 41 and a platen roller 42 using the heat of the heating elements. The platen roller 42 is rotated by the driving force of a stepping motor, and transports the paper 31 sandwiched between it and the print head 41.

[0017] Display operation unit 103 is provided on the top surface of upper case 21. Display operation unit 103 receives various operation inputs and displays various information. Open / close button 104 is provided on the front side of the side of upper case 21. When open / close button 104 is pressed, the locked state of the structure that holds upper case 21 in the position where lower case 22 is closed is released, and upper case 21 is lifted in accordance with the biasing force of the biasing member, and housing 2 is opened.

[0018] A part of the front surface (front face) of the lower case 22 is configured by a front cover 23. The front cover 23 is an example of a cover portion. The other portions of the housing 2 excluding the front cover 23 are an example of a main body portion.

[0019] The paper discharge port 105 is an opening for issuing (discharging) printed materials such as receipts (printed paper 31), and is located between the upper end of the front cover 23 and the lower end of the front surface of the upper case 21.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the appearance of a printer 101 with a cutting unit. The printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 of this embodiment is in a standard state. By attaching a cutting unit 6 to the front of the printer 1 in the standard state, it can be made into a printer 101 with a cutting unit. The cutting unit 6 is an example of an optional unit that performs a predetermined process on the paper 31. To attach the cutting unit 6, the front cover 23 of the printer 1 in the standard state is turned over and used.

[0021] 4 to 8 are diagrams showing an example of the structure of a portion of the printer 1, including the front cover 23. FIG. 6 shows the printer 1 in the state shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, with the lower case 22 removed. FIG. 7 shows the printer 1 in the state shown in FIG. 6, with the front cover 23 removed and turned over so that the support section 232 (described below) faces outward. FIG. 8 shows the printer 1 with the front cover 23 attached, with the support section 232 facing outward.

[0022] In the standard state, the front cover 23 of the printer 1 is attached to the frame 7 with the first surface 2301 facing forward. The front portion 221 of the lower case 22 is hollowed out in a U-shape, and the front cover 23 is positioned so as to fit into the hollowed out portion.

[0023] The front cover 23 has mounting tabs 231 on both sides. Holes are formed in the mounting tabs 231, through which the shanks of the screws 238 pass. Furthermore, cylindrical screw receiving portions 71 are provided on the front surface of the frame 7 at positions corresponding to the mounting tabs 231, protruding therefrom (see FIG. 7).

[0024] The mounting tabs 231 and the screw-receiving portions 71 constitute an example of a mounting structure. The mounting structure is a structure for detachably mounting the front cover 23. The mounting structure makes it possible to mount the front cover 23 to the frame 7 regardless of whether the first surface 2301, which is one surface of the plate-shaped front cover 23, or the second surface 2302, which is the other surface, faces forward. In other words, the mounting structure makes it possible to turn the inside and outside of the front cover 23 inside out and detach it.

[0025] The frame 7 supports the various components built into the printer 1 and positions them in predetermined positions, and is provided in a position hidden by the front portion 221 of the lower case 22. The frame 7 rotatably supports, for example, both ends of the platen roller 42, and holds the platen roller 42 in place.

[0026] Furthermore, front cover 23 has protrusions 233 (part of the mounting structure) at two locations on the bottom side (see FIG. 7). Also, groove-shaped recesses 73 (part of the mounting structure) are formed in the frame 7 at positions where the bottom side of front cover 23 comes into contact (see FIG. 8). By inserting protrusions 233 into recesses 73, the bottom side of front cover 23 is fixed to frame 7.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 6, the front cover 23 is fixed to the frame 7 by inserting the protrusion 233 into the recess 73 and threading the shank of the screw 238 through the hole in the mounting tab 231 into the screw-receiving portion 71. From this state, when the screw 238 is removed and the front cover 23 is turned over after being separated from the frame 7, the state shown in Fig. 7 is obtained. In this state, the second surface 2302, which is the back surface of the first surface 2301, faces forward, instead of the first surface 2301. From this state, when the protrusion 233 is inserted into the recess 73 to align the front cover 23 with the frame 7 and the mounting tab 231 is fixed to the screw-receiving portion 71 with the screw 238, the state shown in Fig. 8 is obtained.

[0028] A support portion 232 is provided on the second surface 2302 of the front cover 23. The support portion 232 is a hook-shaped portion that supports the cutting unit 6 in a hooked state. In addition, a screw receiving portion 235 is provided on the second surface 2302 adjacent to the support portion 232. The screw receiving portion 235 is part of a misalignment prevention portion and, together with a screw 239 described below, constitutes the misalignment prevention portion. The screw received by the screw receiving portion 235 is inserted from top to bottom. By this same movement from top to bottom, a hook portion 631 (see FIG. 9 , described below) provided on the cutting unit 6 is hooked and held by the support portion 232.

[0029] Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the structure of the cutting unit 6. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of a portion of the printer 101 with a cutting unit, including the front cover 23. The cutting unit 6 shown in Fig. 9 is viewed from the rear side.

[0030] The cutting unit 6 has a drive unit 60, a fixed blade 61, a movable blade 62, a bracket 63, a cover 69, etc. The drive unit 60 includes a motor, a link, etc., and moves the movable blade 62 up and down. The fixed blade 61 cooperates with the movable blade 62, which moves up and down, to clamp and cut the paper 31.

[0031] The cutting unit 6 may perform a full cut, cutting the entire width of the paper 31, or may perform a partial cut, leaving a portion of the width of the paper 31 uncut. In addition, the way in which the movable blade 62 moves relative to the fixed blade 61 in the cutting unit 6 is not limited to the up and down movement as in this embodiment.

[0032] The bracket 63 is a plate-shaped member that forms the back side of the driving unit 60, and is provided with a hook portion 631 and a protrusion 632. The hook portion 631 is an example of a supported portion.

[0033] The hook portion 631 is an L-shaped portion that protrudes from the back surface of the cutting unit 6 and is hooked onto the support portion 232. The hook portion 631 is formed, for example, by raising a portion of the metal plate that forms the back surface of the cutting unit 6 at a substantially right angle from the back surface and then bending the tip end portion at a substantially right angle.

[0034] The protrusion 632 is a portion that protrudes downward from the lower portion of the metal plate that forms the back surface of the cutting unit 6. The protrusion 632 is inserted into a recess 72 (see FIG. 8) provided in the frame 7. The recess 72 is provided in a position adjacent to the recess 73. By inserting the protrusion 632 into the recess 72, the lower portion of the cutting unit 6 is fixed to the frame 7.

[0035] The cover 69 is an exterior of the cutting unit 6 that covers the above-mentioned components (drive unit 60, fixed blade 61, movable blade 62, bracket 63, etc.), and is formed with a paper discharge outlet 605. The paper discharge outlet 605 is located on an extension of the traveling direction of the paper 31 discharged from the paper discharge outlet 105.

[0036] The fixed blade 61 has a guide portion 615, and the bracket 63 has a guide portion 635. The guide portion 615 and the guide portion 635 are located upstream of the paper discharge outlet 605 and face the upper and lower surfaces of the paper 31, respectively, and guide the paper 31 to the paper discharge outlet 605.

[0037] 11 and 12 are views showing a state in which the cutting unit 6 is supported by the support portion 232. Fig. 12 shows a state in which the cutting unit 6 is viewed obliquely downward from a position slightly higher than that of Fig. 11.

[0038] Hook portion 631 is positioned above support portion 232 and moved downward, whereby it is hooked onto support portion 232 and supported thereon. After hooking, screw 239 is used to prevent hook portion 631 from slipping out of support portion 232. Screw 239 is part of the slippage prevention portion and, together with screw receiving portion 235 described above, constitutes the slippage prevention portion. Screw 239 is screwed into screw receiving portion 235 provided adjacent to support portion 232. The screwing direction is from top to bottom. When screwed in, screw 239 has its shank threaded into screw receiving portion 235 and its head positioned above screw receiving portion 235.

[0039] The positions and dimensions of hook portion 631, support portion 232, and screw receiver 235 are designed so that the head of screw 239 screwed into screw receiver 235 covers the end of hook portion 631 hooked and supported by support portion 232. With such position and dimensions, at least the end of hook portion 631 hooked and supported by support portion 232 is pressed down by the head of screw 239. As a result, when screw 239 is screwed into screw receiver 235, hook portion 631 cannot move upward, and therefore hook portion 631 will not come off support portion 232.

[0040] As described above, after the cutting unit 6 is attached to the frame 7, it is covered again with the lower case 22 to form the printer 101 with a cutting unit. Note that when removing the cutting unit 6 from the printer 1, the above-described procedure is reversed. That is, the lower case 22 is peeled off to expose the frame 7, the cutting unit 6 is removed except for the screw 239, the front cover 23 is removed except for the screw 238, the front cover 23 is turned over and reattached, and the printer 101 with the lower case 22 is then covered again.

[0041] Fig. 13 is a diagram showing the peeling unit 8 and the positional relationship of the peeling unit 8 with respect to the frame 7. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a printer 102 with a peeling unit, with the lower case 22 removed.

[0042] The peeling unit 8 is another example of an optional unit. The peeling unit 8 is used when the paper 31 is a strip of backing paper with a label affixed thereto, and when it is desired to issue a label peeled from the backing paper. In other words, the peeling unit 8 peels the label from the backing paper as the label is transported after printing.

[0043] The peeling unit 8 has a first member 81 and a second member 82. The first member 81 is provided close to the downstream side of the platen roller 42, and the second member 82 is a portion fixed to the frame 7 and rotatably supports the first member 81. The first member 81 rotates in a direction toward and away from the platen roller 42, and as it rotates, it moves between a position close to the platen roller 42 and a position away from the platen roller 42. The axis of rotation is approximately parallel to the platen roller 42.

[0044] The first member 81 sandwiches the liner between itself and the platen roller 42 at a position close to the platen roller 42. The leading edge of the liner is ejected to the outside of the housing 2 through a liner ejection port 83, which is the gap between the first member 81 and the second member 82. Furthermore, the first member 81 has a label receiving portion 811 that supports the peeled label from below. The label receiving portion 811 has a surface that has been treated to make the adhesive surface of the label less likely to stick (by forming an uneven surface or coating with fluororesin, for example).

[0045] When the peeling unit 8 is attached to the frame 7, the front cover 23 is unnecessary and is therefore removed.

[0046] The second member 82 has mounting tabs 821 on both widthwise ends. The mounting tabs 821 are provided at positions corresponding to the screw-receiving portions 71 of the frame 7, and have holes through which the shanks of the screws 238 pass. The second member 82 is fixed to the frame 7 by passing the shanks of the screws 238 through the holes in the mounting tabs 821 and screwing them into the screw-receiving portions 71.

[0047] The second member 82 has a downwardly protruding protrusion on its lower part. This protrusion corresponds to the protrusion 632 of the cutting unit 6, and is inserted into a recess 72 (see FIG. 8) provided in the frame 7. The lower part of the peeling unit 8 is fixed to the frame 7 by inserting the protrusion of the peeling unit 8 into the recess 72.

[0048] Thus, according to the printer 1 of this embodiment, the structure for making the cutting unit 6 detachable can be realized by the front cover 23 and its surroundings, which form part of the housing 2 of the standard model printer 1.

[0049] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by providing a slippage prevention section, it is possible to prevent the simple support state in which the supported section (hook section 631) provided on the optional unit is hooked onto the hook-shaped support section 232 provided on one side of the front cover 23 from being suddenly released due to slippage.

[0050] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the displacement prevention portion is configured by the screw receiving portion 235 and the screw 239, which is a simple structure and therefore easy to install, and requires less installation space.

[0051] 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]

[0052] 1...printer (example of a standard model printer), 101... printer with cutting unit, 102... printer with peeling unit, 103...display operation unit, 104...open / close button, 105...paper ejection port, 2...Housing, 20...Hinge, 21...Upper case (part of the main body), 22...lower case (part of the main body), 221...front part, 23...Front cover (an example of a cover part), 2301...First surface, 2302...Second surface, 231...Mounting tab (part of mounting structure), 232...Support part, 233...Convex part (part of mounting structure), 235...Screw receiving part (part of the slippage prevention part), 238...Screw, 239...Screw (part of the slippage prevention part), 3...paper holder, 30...roll paper, 31...paper, 4...printing unit, 41...print head, 42...platen roller, 6...Cutting unit (an example of an optional unit), 605...Paper ejection port, 60...Drive unit, 61...Fixed blade, 615...Guiding part, 62...movable blade, 63...bracket, 631... hook portion (an example of a supported portion), 632... protruding portion, 635... guide portion, 69...cover, 7...frame, 71...screw receiving part (part of mounting structure), 72 ... recess, 73 ... recess (part of mounting structure), 8... Peeling unit (an example of an optional unit), 81 ... first member, 811 ... label receiving portion, 82 ... second member, 821 ... mounting tab, 83...Paper outlet. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0053] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-107279

Claims

1. A printer comprising: a paper holding unit that holds roll paper around which a strip of paper is wound; a printing unit that prints on the paper pulled out from the paper holding unit; and a box-shaped housing that houses the paper holding unit and the printing unit, the housing includes a plate-shaped cover portion that constitutes at least a part of a surface provided with a paper discharge port through which the paper after printing is discharged, and a main body portion that is the portion other than the cover portion; The mounting structure is a structure for detachably mounting the cover to the main body, and the cover can be mounted regardless of whether a first surface, which is one surface of the plate-shaped cover, or a second surface, which is the other surface, faces the main body, The cover section includes a support section on either the first surface or the second surface that detachably supports an optional unit that performs a predetermined process on the paper. Printer.

2. The support portion has a hook shape, the optional unit has a supported portion having a hook-like shape that is hooked onto the support portion and supported thereon; A displacement prevention portion that prevents displacement due to movement in a direction that releases the hooked state between the supporting portion and the supported portion is further provided adjacent to the supporting portion. The printer of claim 1 .

3. The misalignment prevention portion is configured to include a screw and a screw receiving portion into which the screw is screwed, The head of the screw screwed into the screw receiving portion is in contact with the supported portion that is supported in a hooked state on the supporting portion and is positioned to prevent the supported portion from moving. The printer of claim 2 .

4. The screw is screwed into the screw-receiving portion in a direction substantially opposite to the direction in which the supported portion, which is hooked on the supporting portion, moves when it is released from the supporting portion. The printer according to claim 3 .

5. The optional unit performs a cutting process on the paper. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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