JPH09300639A - Manual printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) An object of the present invention is to provide a manual printer in which a cap member that covers a nozzle surface of a print head is automatically attached and detached. A spring member (19) causes a cap member (16) when a switch member (17) is in a protruding position.
While covering the nozzle surface of the print head 4, the cap member 16 releases the capping of the nozzle surface of the print head 4 when the switch member 17 is in the storage position. At this time, the switch member 17, the cap support member 15, and the cap member 16 are located in the storage space W between the main body 2 and the print head 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manual printer that prints in a stamp format.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as described in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-67032, if the surface is relatively flat,
As a device that can print on empty spaces such as books and notebooks, or surfaces such as paper wrapped in paper or packaging boxes without being restricted by the transfer or fixing of the recording medium, the bottom surface on the recording medium. There is known a bottom-printing type handy printer that contacts with each other to perform printing. In such a printer, the bottom surface is positioned on the recording medium to be printed, or pressed against the side surface, and an inkjet print head is moved along the recording medium surface by a spacing mechanism in response to a print start instruction to create or receive. The printing is performed on the surface of the recording medium based on the print data.

[0003]

However, it is extremely troublesome for the operator to manually attach and detach such a cap member each time when printing is started or when printing is finished.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a manual printer in which a cap member for covering a nozzle surface of a print head is automatically attached and detached.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a manual type printing apparatus which prints on a recording medium by an ink jet type print head by manually operating the recording medium, A body body that is movably supported in a specific direction and has an opening for printing by the print head; a cap member that detachably covers the nozzle surface of the print head; a cap support member to which the cap member is attached; A switch member provided in the main body body so as to be retractable through an opening and movable between a projecting position projecting from the main body body and a storage position housed in the main body body; and the switch member and the cap support member. And the cap member covers the nozzle surface of the print head when the switch member is in the protruding position. When the switch member is in the stowed position, a configuration and a linkage means for releasing the capping the nozzle surface of the print head by the cap member.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the linking means causes the cap member to cover the nozzle surface of the print head when the switch member is in the projecting position, and the cap member when the switch member is in the storage position. Release capping on the nozzle surface of the print head.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the manual printer according to the first aspect, one end of the cap support member is rotatably supported by the switch member, and the linking means includes the cap support member and the switch member. And a spring member that is interposed between the cap member and the cap member that urges the cap member in a direction to cover the print surface of the print head.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the switch member is in the projecting position, the cap member covers the nozzle surface of the print head by the spring force of the spring member, while when the switch member is in the storage position, the spring is applied. Capping of the nozzle surface of the print head by the cap member is released against the spring force of the member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the manual printer according to the second aspect, the switch member is provided so as to be movable along the inner wall surface of the main body, and the switch member is provided between the main body and the print head. Switch member and cap support member,
A storage space for storing the cap member is formed.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the switch member is in the storage position, it is stored in the storage space between the main body and the print head together with the cap support member and the cap member.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external view showing a normal state of a manual printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which an upper movable frame is pushed down by a pushing force F.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a manual printer 1
Has a rectangular tube-shaped main body 2 and a movable frame 3 that is vertically movably fitted to the main body 2. When the user manually pushes down the movable frame 3 from above, it is pressed down. Due to the force F, the print head 4 (see FIG. 3) in the apparatus 1 horizontally moves above the recording medium such as recording paper, and printing is performed through the bottom opening of the main body 2.

An interface section 5 for infrared communication for transmitting / receiving print data to / from an external personal computer (personal computer), a host computer or the like is provided above the movable frame 3, and the movable frame 3 is further provided. A power switch 6 for turning the power on and off, and an operation panel 7 for selecting print data to be printed, setting a print mode, and the like are provided on the side surface.

FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 respectively show a manual type printer 1.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of FIG. FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the manual printer 1.

A support plate 2a is provided in the center of the main body 2.
Is provided, and a return spring 10 is interposed between the support plate 2a and the movable frame 3. The return spring 10 is a compression coil spring and constantly biases the movable frame 3 upward.

A pair of guide rails 11a and 11b extending horizontally in the horizontal direction are provided in parallel at the lower portion of the main body 2, and a print head 4 having nozzles is horizontally provided in the guide rails 11a and 11b. It is movably supported. An ink tank 12 is detachably provided on the upper portion of the print head 4 and is configured to move as the print head 4 moves.

The movable frame 3 and the print head 4 are connected via a link member 13 slightly inclined with respect to the vertical direction. The upper and lower ends of the link member 13 are rotatably connected to the support member 14 of the movable frame 3 and the print head 4.

Then, the link member 13 has the print head 4 when the movable frame 3 is at the uppermost position (see FIG. 3).
Is the print start position (the right end position in FIG. 3). At this time, the posture of the link member 14 is set so as to be inclined slightly to the right as shown in FIG. 3 rather than being perpendicular to the guide rails 11a and 11b. Further, the link member 13 is configured such that the print head 4 reaches the print end position (the left end position in FIG. 3, see the chain line in FIG. 4) when the movable frame 3 is pushed down and reaches the lowest position. .

A cap support member 15 is disposed on the print start position side of the print head 4, and a cap member 16 detachably covers the nozzle surface of the print head 4 on the cap support member 15 (see FIG. 6). ) Is attached. The cap member 16 is not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

A switch member 17 is movably provided along the inner wall surface of the main body 2, and a spring is provided between the upper end of the switch member 17 and the corresponding protruding portion 2b of the main body 2. The member 18 is interposed, and the switch member 17 is constantly urged in the direction of protruding through the bottom opening. That is, the switch member 17 is movable between a projecting position projecting from the main body 2 and a storage position stored in the main body 2, and can be retracted from the main body 2.

An end portion of the cap support member 15 is rotatably supported by the switch member 17, and a cap member 16 covers the nozzle surface of the print head 4 between the switch member 17 and the cap support member 15. A spring member 19 (coupling means) for urging the cap support member 15 in the direction is interposed so that the cap member 16 covers the nozzle surface of the print head 4 when the switch member 17 is in the protruding position, while the switch member 17 is in the protruding position. When the member 17 is in the storage position, capping of the nozzle surface of the print head 4 by the cap member 16 is released.

The switch member 17 is specifically shown in FIG.
As shown in detail in FIG.
It has a U-shaped cross section having b and 17b, and is slidably engaged with a pair of guide portions 2c and 2c provided on the main body 2. Further, a long hole 17c is formed in one side wall portion 17b of the switch member 17, and the long hole 17c is formed.
c is an engagement pin 2 provided on both of the guide portions 2c.
d and 2d are slidably engaged with each other. Further, a spring receiving portion 17d for receiving the spring member 18 is formed on the switch member 17.

Therefore, when the movable frame 3 is pushed down by the user, first, the spring force of the spring member 18 is weaker than the spring force of the return spring 10. Therefore, from the state shown in FIGS. And the state shown in FIG. That is, the spring member 18
Is bent, the switch member 17 is biased upward, and the switch member 17 is housed in the main body 2. At that time, since the print head 4 is still maintaining the print start position, the bias of the switch member 17 causes the cap member 16 to separate from the nozzle surface of the print head 4 and the cap support member 15
Rotates counterclockwise against the spring force of the spring member 19. Then, the switch member 17 is housed together with the cap support member 15 and the cap member 16 in the housing space W located between the inner wall surface of the main body 2 and the print head 4 (see FIG. 8).

Then, the pressing force F acts from the movable frame 3 to the link member 13, and the horizontal component of the pressing force F acting on the link member 13 acts on the print head 4 through the link member 13, Since the print head 4 is pressed in the horizontal direction, the print head 4 moves toward the guide rail 11a,
It is moved horizontally along 11b to the print end position indicated by the chain line in FIG.

A control circuit 21 for controlling the overall operation of the apparatus and a power source 22 are arranged in the main body 2. These are provided at positions where they do not come into contact with the movable frame 3, as shown in FIG. 4, even when the movable frame 3 is at the lowest position.

Next, the structure of the print head 4, the link member 13, and the guide rails 11a and 11b will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the print head 4 and the guide rails 11a and 11b.

The print head 4 has guide rails 11a and 11b penetrating both sides thereof so that the guide rail 11
It is movably supported along a and 11b. The movement of the print head 4 along the guide rails 11a and 11b is performed by the force of the user pushing down the movable frame 3 being transmitted to the print head 4 by the link member 13.

A plurality of magnetic bodies are continuously magnetized on the guide rail 11b, and the guide rail 1 of the print head 4 is
A magnetic encoder 23, which converts the number of magnetic materials into an electric pulse signal interval and detects the amount of movement of the print head 4, is provided at the contact portion with 1b. The print head 4
Is connected to the ink tank 12 through the ink supply path 12a.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the control system of the manual printer 1. CP that controls the entire manual printer 1
A personal computer (not shown) is electrically connected to the U31 via the interface unit 5.
Further, a ROM 32 storing a control program for controlling each functional block according to a predetermined program,
A RAM 33 for storing print data and the like from the personal computer input through the interface unit 5 and the operation panel 7 described above are connected. Further, a pulse from the magnetic encoder 23 for measuring the number of magnetic bodies magnetized on the guide rail 11b is input to the position detection circuit 34,
The position of the print head 4 relative to the recording medium is detected. Further, the moving speed of the print head 4 is detected by the speed detecting circuit 35 based on the period of the pulse from the encoder 23. The detection signals of the position detection circuit 34 and the speed detection circuit 35 are input to the CPU 31.

The CPU 31 also controls the drive of the head driver 36 for driving the print head 4. still,
The data storage unit 37, which stores multiple types of print data,
It is connected to the CPU 31.

The operation of the manual printer 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described.

The manual printer 1 is operated according to a predetermined program stored in the ROM 32. The print data is set by the CPU 31 when the printing mode is selected on the operation panel 7.
The print data is set by inputting an infrared signal from a personal computer through the interface unit 5 or is read from a plurality of print data stored in the data storage unit 37, and the set print data is temporarily set. RA
It is stored in M33.

When the CPU 31 receives the print start signal from the operation panel 7, it confirms that the print data is stored in the RAM 33, and then puts the manual printer 1 into the print standby state.

Next, when the user depresses the movable frame 3 by a predetermined amount capable of absorbing the variation of the link mechanism including the link member 13 and the guide rails 11a and 11b, the pushing force F is applied. 13 is transmitted to the print head 4, and the print head 4 starts moving horizontally along the guide rails 11a and 11b to start the printing operation.

The moving amount of the print head 4 is detected by the magnetic encoder 23, and the detection signal is detected by the CPU 31.
Sent to The CPU 31 controls the output of the print data according to the position of the print head 4 indicated by the detection signal and drives the print head 5 to print on the recording medium. Therefore, even if the moving speed of the print head 4 on the recording medium is not uniform, uniform printing can always be performed on the recording medium.

Next, creation of print data by a personal computer will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 11 (a) is a diagram showing creation of print data on the screen of a personal computer, and FIG. 11 (b) is a diagram showing a print result by the manual printer 1 based on the print data.
The print data is sent to the manual printer 1 after the serial number (serial number) and the print position of the date are set in the personal computer in addition to the character to be printed. The serial number and date are
The print position is set by setting the embedded mark (see FIG. 11 (a)) on the personal computer, and the serial number and the date are printed on the embedded mark portion in the manual printer 1 (FIG. 11 (b)). reference). The data storage unit 37 also stores a plurality of print data. The user operates the operation panel 7 to call desired print data from the data storage unit 37, and prints based on the called print data. It is also possible to do

Next, the operation procedure will be described with reference to FIG.

First, it is judged whether or not it is a new print (step S1), and if it is a new print, print data is created by the personal computer as described above (step S2) and transferred to the printer (step S3). ), It is determined whether or not it is the same as the previous printing (step S4). On the other hand, if it is not a new printing, the determination of step S4 is immediately performed.

Then, if it is not the same as the previous print,
Since it is necessary to change the print data, the call of print data is set (step S5), and the printing is performed (step S6). If it is the same as the previous print, there is no need to change it, and so step S6 is performed. Immediately after transfer, printing is performed.

Next, the flow of processing of the control unit 21 for the printing operation by the manual printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when the power switch 6 is turned on and the printing operation is started, it is determined whether there is communication from the personal computer (step S11). When this communication is made, the print data is transferred from the personal computer, the print data is stored in the RAM 26, and the print mode selected by the user is set (step S12). If there is no communication in step S11, it is determined whether or not there is a key operation of the operation panel 7 by the user (step S1).
3) If there is a key operation, the operation corresponding to the key operation by the user, that is, the read of the print data from the data storage unit 37 and the storage of this print data in the RAM 33 are performed (step S14).

In step S3, the operation panel 7 operated by the user
When the key operation of No. is not performed, it is determined whether or not the movable frame 3 is pushed down by a predetermined amount by the user (step S15). If it is pushed down by a predetermined amount, the print data stored in the RAM 33 is expanded (step S1).
6) The printing is performed by the print head 4 based on the timing indicated by the signal from the magnetic encoder 23 (step S17).

Then, it is judged whether or not the movable frame 3 has been pushed down to the lowermost position to finish all printing (step S18). If all printing is finished, the pushing operation of the movable frame 3 is released. Then, it is determined whether or not the movable frame 3 has returned to the initial position (step S
19) If so, the process returns to step S11. If not, the determination is repeated.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, in the above embodiment, the switch member is formed in a plate shape, but instead of this, the main body 2
It is also possible to have a rectangular tubular shape that is slidably fitted inside. Further, although the manual printer 1 is supposed to perform monochrome printing, it may be capable of multicolor printing,
In this case, the color can be changed for each printing. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the ink jet method is adopted for the manual printer 1, but the invention is not necessarily limited to the ink jet method, and another printing method may be adopted.

[0047]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the switch member is in the projecting position by the linking means, the cap member covers the nozzle surface of the print head while the switch member is in the storage position. In some cases, capping of the nozzle surface of the print head by the cap member is canceled, so that the cap member can be attached and detached automatically and efficiently without manual work by the operator.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the switch member is in the protruding position, the cap member covers the nozzle surface of the print head by the spring force of the spring member. Can surely perform capping.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the switch member is at the storage position, it is stored together with the cap support member and the cap member in the storage space between the main body and the print head. Does not require space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of a manual printer according to the present invention, showing a normal state of the printer.

FIG. 2 is an external view showing a state in which a movable frame above the device is pushed down.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the printer of the present invention, showing the normal state of the printer.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a movable frame above the device is pushed down.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a print head and a guide rail portion of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control system of the device of the present invention.

11A is a diagram showing creation of print data on a screen of a personal computer, and FIG. 11B is a diagram showing a print result by the apparatus of the present invention based on the print data.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of an operation procedure of the device of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing for a printing operation by the apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Manual Printer 2 Main Body 3 Movable Frame 4 Print Head 15 Cap Support Member 16 Cap Member 17 Switch Member 19 Spring Member (Linking Means) 21 CPU W Storage Space

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A manual printer that prints on a recording medium by an inkjet printhead by manually operating the recording medium, the printhead being supported so as to be movable in a specific direction. A main body having an opening for printing with a head; a cap member detachably covering the nozzle surface of the print head; a cap support member to which the cap member is attached; A switch member movable between a projecting position projecting from the main body and a storage position stored in the main body; and a switch member provided between the switch member and the cap supporting member,
The cap member covers the nozzle surface of the print head when the switch member is in the protruding position, and the linking means that releases the capping of the nozzle surface of the print head by the cap member when the switch member is in the retracted position. Characteristic manual printer. 2. The cap support member has one end rotatably supported by a switch member, the linking means is interposed between the cap support member and the switch member, and the cap member serves as a print surface of a print head. The manual printer according to claim 1, further comprising a spring member that biases the cover member in a covering direction. 3. The switch member is movably provided along an inner wall surface of a main body, and a storage space for storing the switch member, the cap support member, and the cap member is provided between the main body and the print head. The manual printer according to claim 2, which is formed.