JPH043753B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to hard copying of images from devices such as thermal printers and discharge destruction type printers, images from devices such as televisions, video tape recorders, etc., and output images from personal computers. Regarding printers suitable for

[Conventional technology]

On the other hand, Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-175946 and Utility Model Application No. 175946
As described in Publication No. 59-80209, etc., a structure has been proposed in which the printing section and the printing medium mounting section are internally supported via a movable mechanism so that the printing section and the printing medium mounting section can be pulled out together from the housing. has been done.

Although these pull-out mechanisms have the advantage of making effective use of the upper side of the housing, they are improvements made to make it easier for staff to perform maintenance, inspection, and repair of the print section and print media loading section. However, there is no consideration given to making it easy for amateur users to easily perform tasks such as replacing the print medium and setting it on the print section, or to prevent word movement or improve operability, and the product is particularly small/compact. It is impossible to

The technical problem of the present invention is to solve this problem by creating a printing section that allows the top of the printer to be completely opened, allowing printing media such as thermal paper to be attached and removed from the front of the printer, and an operation panel to be operated from the front. With a printer that can be pulled out, even an amateur user can easily attach and detach the print media and set it in the print section.It is also easy to operate, prevents malfunctions, and has a compact thermal printer. The purpose is to realize a printer.

[Means for deciding issues]

The technical means of the present invention taken to solve this technical problem is that a printing section, a printing medium mounting section, the printing section, etc. are installed in a rectangular housing 1 whose width is larger than its height. In a printer that houses a control circuit section and a power supply section to control the printer, the printing section can be pulled out from inside the casing 1 to the front of the casing,
A drawer frame 3 is supported on the casing 1 so that it can be pulled out from inside the casing 1 to the front of the casing.

Further, the front plate 3a of the drawer frame 3 and the operation panel 2 are exposed on the front surface of the housing 1, and the printing medium 4a with printed characters comes out to the front, and the operation panel 2 can also be operated from the front. It's becoming like that.

Then, when the drawer frame 3 is pulled out from the housing 1, it can be opened and closed around the horizontal support shaft 6 at the back of the drawer frame 3.
An arm 7 is attached to the inner part of the drawer frame 3 via a support shaft 6.

When the arm 7 is closed, the upper end of the arm 7 front plate is almost at the same height as the top surface of the housing 1, and when the arm 7 is closed, the drawer frame 3 and the arm 7
The dimensions are such that they can be stored together by being pushed into the housing 1.

A print medium can be loaded and stored in the drawer frame 3. In addition, a platen 5 is built into one of the drawer frame 3 and the arm 7 at a position closer to the front than the print medium storage section.
On the other side of the drawer frame 3 and the arm 7,
A thermal head 8 is built in at a position facing the platen 5 when the arm 7 is closed.

When the arm 7 is closed, the print medium supplied from the print medium storage section is sandwiched between the platen 5 and the thermal head 8, and the print medium is inserted into the drawer frame 3.
From the gap between the front plate of and the front plate of arm 7,
It is configured to be pulled out to the front.

[Effect]

If you pull out the drawer frame 3 from the housing 1,
The arm 7 on the drawer frame 3 opens like an alligator, so the user has to take a few steps to attach and detach the print medium.
It is sufficient to open the drawer frame 3 by rotating the arm 7 about the horizontal support shaft 6 at the back with the drawer frame 3 pulled out from the casing 1.

When the arm 7 is closed, the upper end of the arm 7 front plate is almost at the same height as the top surface of the housing 1, and when the arm 7 is closed, the drawer frame 3 and the arm 7
The dimensions are such that they can be stored together by being pushed into the housing 1.

Therefore, according to the present invention, when the print medium replacement work requires a large space, the drawer frame 3 is pulled out, and after the print medium is replaced, the arm 7 is closed so as to be compact. Since it can be pushed into the housing 1 together with the drawer frame 3, an extremely compact printer can be realized.

Furthermore, the housing 1 has a rectangular shape with a larger width than height, and when the arm 7 is closed as described above, it has a size that allows it to be pushed into the housing 1 together with the drawer frame 3. Therefore, the thermal printer of the present invention can be used with video decks and CDs.
(Compact disk) Just like decks, they can be easily stacked and used, and the installation method can be unified with other AV (audio, visual) equipment.

In addition, when the drawer frame 3 is pushed into the housing 1 and stored, the arm 7 that operates to open and close is also stored inside the housing 1 and cannot be opened, so the arm 7 will not open due to erroneous operation or malfunction. .

The front plate 3a of the drawer frame 3 and the operation panel 2 are exposed to the front and are located in the same position, so operate the operation panel 2 to start the printer while checking the printing status of the print medium that has been ejected to the front. It is easy to handle and has excellent operability. For example, when a paper end mark appears during printing, you may want to stop printing in order to replace the print medium, or when the thermal head 8 malfunctions, resulting in missing print, so you may want to stop printing, etc. This can be done while checking the printing condition of the printing medium.
It is also convenient to operate the operation panel 2 while checking the printing status during maintenance, inspection, repair, etc.

〔Example〕

Next, examples will be used to explain how the printer according to the present invention is actually implemented. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a printer according to the present invention, with FIG. 1 showing the printer in a state where the printing section is pulled out, and FIG. 2 showing the printer in a normal state with the printing section housed in the housing. Reference numeral 1 denotes a casing of the printer, in which a control circuit section for controlling a printing section, a paper feeding mechanism, etc., and a power supply section are housed. An operation panel 2 is provided on the front surface of the housing, and each operation switch, display means, etc. are provided on the operation panel 2.

The housing 1 also houses a printing section and a printing medium mounting section. The printing section and the printing medium mounting section are normally housed in the housing 1 on the side of the operation panel 2, as shown in FIG. Housing 1 as shown
pulled forward from

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 3 denotes a drawer frame having a shape almost similar to a drawer of a desk or the like, and is mounted on a guide rail provided in the housing 1 so as to be movable back and forth.
A roll paper 4 of thermal paper serving as a print medium is housed in a print medium mounting portion in the drawer frame 3. A platen 5 is disposed between the roll paper 4 and the front plate 3a of the drawer frame 3. Further, a cover-like arm 7 is attached to the inner part of the drawer frame 3 via a support shaft 6 so as to be openable and closable. A thermal head 8 is disposed below this arm 7 at a position facing the platen 5. In Figure 1, this arm 7
is open, but when this arm 7 is pushed down and closed, the heating element portion of the thermal head 8 is pressed against the platen 4 by a pressure means (not shown).
However, the thermal paper 4a unwound from the thermal paper roll 4 is led out from between the platen 5 and the thermal head 8 to the front of the casing. Therefore, the heating element of the thermal head 8 comes into pressure contact with the thermal paper 4a on the platen 5. When the drawer frame 3 is pushed into the housing 1 with the arm 7 closed from above the thermal paper 4a, the state shown in FIG. It will be stored. When the heating element is energized based on the print information, the heating element selectively generates heat and heats the thermal paper 4a, thereby performing printing.
Note that the heating element of the thermal head 8 and the thermal paper 4
Needless to say, the feed mechanism of a and the control circuit and power supply section in the housing 1 are electrically connected by cables.

In this printer, to set the print medium, pull out the drawer frame 3 and open the arm 7.
The thermal paper roll 4 is set in the printing medium loading section between the arm 7 and the bottom of the drawer frame 3, and the thermal paper 4a is pulled out from above the platen 5. Then, with the arm 7 rotated downward and closed, the drawer frame 3 is pushed into the housing 1, thereby completing the setting of the printing medium.

The operation of pulling out or pushing in the drawer frame 3 from the housing 1 may be performed manually, but it can also be performed using a motor. In the case of motor drive, the motor is operated by an open/close switch 9 provided on the front plate 3a of the drawer frame 3. The rotation operation of the arm 7 can also be linked with the back and forth movement of the drawer frame 3, and in particular, a lock mechanism can be provided to make it manually operable.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, when the arm 7 is closed, the upper end of the front plate of the arm 7 is approximately at the same height as the upper surface of the housing 1,
When the arm 7 is closed, it has a size that allows it to be pushed into the housing 1 together with the drawer frame 3 and stored.

Therefore, when a large space is required to open the arm 7 and replace the printing medium, pull out the drawer frame 3 to open the arm 7 like an alligator, and after replacing the printing medium. Since the printer can be pushed into the housing 1 with the arm 7 closed to make it compact, the printer can be extremely compact.

After the printing medium is inserted into the drawer frame 3 and set, it is stored by being pushed into the housing 1 together with the drawer frame 3 with the arm 7 closed, so if the arm 7 is opened due to an erroneous operation or malfunction. There is nothing to do, and it is suitable for use by amateur users.

Since the position where the print medium comes out and the operation panel 2 are both on the front side, the operation panel 2 can be operated while checking the printing state of the print medium that comes out from the front, providing excellent operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention whose printing section can be pulled out, and FIG. 1 shows the printer in a state where the printing medium loading section is pulled out, and FIG. 2 shows the printer in its normal state. In the figure, 1 is a housing, 2 is an operation panel, 3 is a drawer frame, 4 is a roll of thermal paper, 4a
5 represents thermal paper, 5 represents a platen, 6 represents a spindle, 7 represents an arm, and 8 represents a thermal head.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 A printing section, a printing medium loading section, a control circuit section for controlling the printing section, etc., and a power supply section are housed in a rectangular housing 1 with a width dimension larger than a height dimension. In this printer, a drawer frame 3 is supported on the casing 1 so that it can be pulled out from inside the casing 1 to the front of the casing, and a front plate of the drawer frame 3 is attached to the front of the casing 1. 3a and the operation panel 2 are exposed, and when the drawer frame 3 is pulled out from the housing 1, the arm 7 is opened and closed about the horizontal support shaft 6 at the back of the drawer frame 3.
is attached to the inner part of the drawer frame 3 via the support shaft 6, and the upper end of the front plate of the arm 7 is approximately at the same height as the top surface of the housing 1 when the arm 7 is closed. , drawer frame 3 and arm 7
The drawer frame 3 has a size that allows it to be stored by pushing it into the casing 1 together, the print medium can be installed and stored in the drawer frame 3, and one of the drawer frame 3 and the arm 7, A platen 5 is built in at a position closer to the front side than the print medium storage section, and a thermal head 8 is built into the other of the drawer frame 3 and the arm 7 at a position facing the platen 5 when the arm 7 is closed. When the arm 7 is closed, the print medium supplied from the print medium storage section is sandwiched between the platen 5 and the thermal head 8, and the drawer frame 3
A printer from which a printing unit can be pulled out, characterized in that the printer is configured to be pulled out to the front from a gap between the front plate 3a of the arm 7 and the front plate of the arm 7.