JPH04294167A - Time stamp device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To offer a portable, small and light time stamp device. CONSTITUTION:A time stamp device includes a head unit 23 and a head controller 24. The head unit 23 consists of two or more print heads 22 which are arranged on a print output face 21, vertically project from the print output face 21 when energized and print time information. The head controller 24 controls the projection of the print heads 22 according to time of day. The complication of a printing mechanism is completely avoided and the constitution is simplified, so that the time stamp device is downsized and lightened and the portability is remarkably improved.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a time stamp device, and more particularly to a time stamp device configured to be able to display hours and minutes with a stamp.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Devices that print out the year, month, date, or time have been built into, for example, various printers, and are effectively used for document management. In various printers, a print head is responsible for printing out the date or time. In this case, the printed information and the date and time of printing are usually recorded on the same document at the same time.

On the other hand, in conventional devices, the position where the date or time is printed is often specified. For this reason, when information with a different date and time is written on a single sheet of paper, there is an inconvenience in that it is impossible to recognize the time difference when the content is written. In order to improve this inconvenience, a so-called time stamp device using a numbering method as shown in FIG. 5 has recently been developed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG.
indicates the main body of the device. A display section 52 for displaying time and the like is provided on the sloped surface of the main body 51 of the device. Also,
A switch portion 53 for starting the device is provided at the upper end portion of the device body 51. The apparatus main body 51 is equipped with a printing mechanism including a plurality of rubber-like printing belts and a belt driving means for driving the printing belts. This printing mechanism is driven and controlled by a control circuit (not shown) also installed in the main body 51 of the apparatus, and time settings are made. When printing, first, the switch section 53 activates the control circuit inside the apparatus to drive the printing belt and set the printing state. Next, the print settings are confirmed on the display section 52. After that, just apply stamp ink and print at any position like a normal stamp.

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional example described above, since a plurality of printing belts are installed and used, the printing mechanism becomes complicated, which poses an inconvenience in that it impedes miniaturization. was occurring. In addition, since multiple printing belts have to be started and stopped repeatedly and repeatedly, the weight increases.
Therefore, portability was a problem.

[0006]

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the prior art and, in particular, to provide a time stamp device that is portable, small and lightweight.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention includes a head portion comprising a plurality of print heads disposed on a print output surface and projecting perpendicularly to the print output surface when energized to print time information. , and a head control section that controls the protrusion of the printing head according to time by energizing the head section. This aims to achieve the above-mentioned purpose.

[0008]

[Operation] First, apply ink to the printing surface using a stamp pad or the like and stamp it on a suitable paper. In this case, the head section consisting of a plurality of printing heads contacts the paper with its protruding printing heads. Here, each printing head is energized and controlled by the head control unit to protrude so as to print according to the time. In this case, since the print surface of the print head protrudes perpendicularly to the print output surface, the overall size can be reduced.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 is
A head section 23 consisting of a plurality of printing unit heads 22 arranged on the print output surface 21 and protruding perpendicularly to the print output surface 21 to print time information when energized; and energizing the head section 23. The printing unit head 22
a head control section 24 that controls the protrusion of the head according to the time, and a liquid crystal display section 3 that displays time information printed by the head section 23.
4, and a battery 41 as a power source for driving these. Reference numeral 20 indicates a case body, and reference numeral 20A indicates a case cover. The liquid crystal display section 34 is attached to the case cover 20
It is installed at the center of the upper end in FIG. 1 of A.

As shown in FIG. 3, the printing unit head 22 includes a spring member 26 made of a shape memory alloy that generates heat and expands and contracts when energized by a driver 35 of a head control section 24, which will be described later. A printing member 25 made of a rubber member is biased and driven by a member 26. This printing unit head 22 is slidably supported by a head support 23A support member 27. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in this printing unit head 22, seven sets are arranged in a segment shape on the printing output surface 21 to form one character unit 28, and one of the character units 28 is used as a unit. It represents one number.

The head portion 23 is composed of four character units 28 as shown in FIG. ing. Here, FIG. 2 shows the head section 23 as viewed from the print output surface 21. In addition, the head unit 23 detects the pressure on the print output surface 21 when printing.
A printing switch 48 is provided to energize the printing unit head 22. This print switch 48 also serves as a "colon (:)" to separate hours and minutes.

The head control section 24, as shown in FIG.
It is configured to include a clock circuit 32 that measures time and outputs a signal according to the time, and a drive control circuit 33 that drives and controls the head section 23 and liquid crystal display section 34 based on the output of the clock circuit 32. The clock circuit 32 is configured mainly of an easily available clock IC, and includes a time base 42 that oscillates at a constant frequency, and a time base 42 that oscillates at a constant frequency.
It is composed of counters 43 to 47 that frequency divide the output of , and a switch 49 for time setting. Drive control circuit 33
These include decoders 36 to 39 (74LS47, 4543, etc. as examples of this IC) that convert the frequency-divided output from the clock circuit 32 into an output suitable for 7-segment driving, and the head according to the output from the decoders 36 to 39. A driver 35 for driving the printing unit head 22 constituting the character unit 28 of the section 23 is provided. This driver 35 includes a plurality of transistors, and as shown in FIG. 3, one transistor drives one printing unit head 22.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be explained. A signal with a constant frequency is output from the time base 42 of the clock circuit 32. The output of the time base 42 is frequency-divided by counters 43 to 47 and output as multi-digit time information binary data corresponding to the first and second digits of the hour and the first and second digits of the minute. . Decoders 36 to 39 convert these time information binary data into outputs suitable for 7-segment driving, and output them to liquid crystal display section 34 and driver 35 as 7-segment driving signals. The liquid crystal display section 34 displays the current time using a 7-segment drive signal. When not printing on paper, the printing switch 48 is off, so the spring member 26 of the printing unit head 22 is not energized, so the printing unit head 22 is not energized.
is in a state in which it does not protrude from the print output surface 21.

In order to print on a suitable paper, when stamp ink is applied to the print output surface 21 and pressed against the paper (see FIG. 4), the print switch 48 is turned on and the driver 3 is turned on.
5 energizes the spring member 26 of the printing unit head 22 that constitutes the character unit 28 of the head section 23 in accordance with the output from the decoders 36 to 39. The spring member 26 generates heat, expands and contracts, and drives the rubber member 25. The driven and protruding rubber member 25 is pressed against the paper, presses ink onto the paper, and prints time information.

The time is set by switching the time setting switch 49 of the clock circuit 32 and checking the time displayed on the liquid crystal display section 34.

In the above embodiment, the printing unit head 22 includes a spring member made of a shape memory alloy, but it can also be made of heat-expandable plastic. In addition, although the printing unit heads 22 are arranged in a 7-segment pattern, they may be arranged in a straight line and displayed in the form of a bar code, or arranged in a circle to display something like an analog clock. It may also be used as a head control section. Furthermore, a print switch 48 is provided on the print output surface so that the print switch 48 is turned on when printing.
This print switch 48 does not necessarily need to be on the print output surface, but may be provided at an appropriate location and turned on by hand. Furthermore, the printing member 25 does not necessarily have to be a rubber member.

[0017]

Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is configured and functions as described above, it is possible to print out a real-time clock pattern by using a plurality of printing unit heads, and the configuration is simplified. It becomes possible to reduce the weight,
It is possible to completely eliminate the complication of the printing mechanism that occurs in the conventional example, and to provide an unprecedented and excellent time stamp device that can greatly improve portability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram seen from the print output surface.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a printing unit head.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of 7-segment character units.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a head control unit, etc.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

21 Print output surface 22 Print unit head 23 Head section 24 Head control section 25 Print member 26 made of rubber member Spring member 28 Character unit 48 Print switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A head section comprising a plurality of print heads disposed on a print output surface and protruding perpendicularly to the print output surface to print time information when energized; A time stamp device comprising: a head control section that controls protrusion of the printing head according to time. 2. The printing head is characterized by comprising a spring member made of a shape memory alloy that generates heat and expands and contracts when energized, and a rubber member that is biased by the spring member and driven. The time stamp device according to claim 1. 3. The above-mentioned claim, wherein the printing head is arranged in seven segments on the printing output surface to form one character unit, and the character unit represents hours and minutes. The time stamp device according to item 1. 4. The time stamp device according to claim 1, wherein the head section includes a print switch that energizes the print head by detecting pressure on the print output surface.