Patent Publication Number: US-10326224-B2

Title: Portable printer

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a portable printer. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     There have been known portable printers configured to output (print) information, which is input to a host device (for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)), at visiting places or the like. The portable printer of this type includes a casing in which a printer module is accommodated, and a control board accommodated in the casing and connected to the printer module. 
     Among the above-mentioned portable printers, there is a portable printer to which a female-side connector for USB is provided. The female-side connector is mounted to the control board, and is exposed to an outside of the casing through a connector opening formed in the casing. A male-side connector (USB terminal) is mounted to the female-side connector at the time of, for example, communication between the portable printer and the host device, or charging of the portable printer. 
     Incidentally, the above-mentioned female-side connector may be supported by the control board under a state of being away from the casing (for example, inner peripheral surface of connector opening) in some cases. In this case, at the time of, for example, mounting or removing the male-side connector, an external force generated by twisting the male-side connector (hereinafter simply referred to as “twisting force”) is liable to be transmitted to a mounting portion between the female-side connector and the control board. 
     Meanwhile, the female-side connector may also be fixed to the casing (inner peripheral surface of connector opening) so that the above-mentioned twisting force is prevented from being transmitted to the mounting portion. However, there is a disadvantage in that fixing the female-side connector to the casing causes the external force such as a drop impact, which is generated when the portable printer falls off, to be transmitted to the mounting portion through intermediation of the casing. Therefore, in the related-art portable printer, among the external forces transmitted to the mounting portion, it is difficult to reduce both the external forces of an external force directly acting on the female-side connector (for example, twisting force) and an external force acting through intermediation of the casing (for example, drop impact). Thus, there is a risk in that, for example, the female-side connector is separated from the control board. Accordingly, there still remains room for improvement of durability and reliability of the portable printer. 
     Further, when the female-side connector is fixed to the casing, there is a need to position the female-side connector and the casing at a high accuracy. However, when tolerance (for example, mounting tolerance of female-side connector to control board, dimensional tolerance of casing, control board, or other components, or coupling tolerance of the casing with the control board) is considered, there is a problem in that it is difficult to arrange the female-side connector at a desired position of the casing. In particular, in recent years, in order to achieve downsizing or lower cost, there is a case in which other electronic components such as LEDs and switching elements are collectively mounted on a single control board in addition to the female-side connector. In this case, when the control board is coupled to the casing with reference to the above-mentioned other electronic components, it is difficult to align the female-side connector and the connector opening, and there is a risk in that the female-side connector cannot be arranged at the desired position of the casing. Meanwhile, when the control board is coupled to the casing with reference to the female-side connector, there is a risk in that the other electronic components cannot be arranged at the desired position of the casing. 
     Further, when the female-side connector is away from the casing, and further a guide member configured to guide a mold part of the male-side connector and a cable of the male-side connector is arranged in the casing, it is conceivable that both the twisting force and the drop impact, which act on the mounting portion, can be reduced. However, the above-mentioned mold part and cable are not standardized, and hence it is difficult to form the guide member in conformity to various shapes. Moreover, there is a problem in that designability is lowered through provision of the guide member to the casing. 
     In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, in the portable printer of this type, it has been demanded that the durability and reliability be enhanced at the same time of achieving the simplification and the suppression of the lowering of the designability. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a portable printer, including: a casing accommodating a printer module; a control board accommodated in the casing and electrically connected to the printer module; a female-side connector mounted on the control board and exposed to an outside of the casing through a connector opening formed in the casing, the female-side connector detachably mounting a male-side connector; and an elastic member interposed between an inner peripheral surface of the connector opening and an outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector. 
     In the above-mentioned portable printer according to the one embodiment of the present invention, the elastic member is interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector along an entire circumference of the female-side connector. 
     In the above-mentioned portable printer according to the one embodiment of the present invention, when a part of the elastic member being positioned in the connector opening is viewed in an opening direction of the connector opening, an outer dimension of the elastic member is larger than an inner dimension of the connector opening when the connector opening is viewed in the opening direction, and the elastic member is arranged in the connector opening under a state of being elastically deformed. 
     In the above-mentioned portable printer according to the one embodiment of the present invention, the elastic member includes a buffer portion arranged between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector, and a regulation portion engaged with the female-side connector for regulating a movement of the elastic member to the outside of the casing through the connector opening with respect to the female-side connector. 
     In the above-mentioned portable printer according to the one embodiment of the present invention, a part of the control board, to which the female-side connector is mounted, constitutes a connector mounting portion configured to elastically support the female-side connector. 
     In the above-mentioned portable printer according to the one embodiment of the present invention, the control board includes a pair of slits formed therein, and a part of the control board, which is positioned between the pair of slits, constitutes the connector mounting portion. 
     In the above-mentioned portable printer according to the one embodiment of the present invention, the control board includes an electronic component which cooperates with a functional portion exposed to an outer surface of the casing. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, for illustrating a state in which a paper cover takes a closed position. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the portable printer according to the embodiment, for illustrating a state in which the paper cover takes an opened position. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view for illustrating a control unit and an upper case of the portable printer according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view for illustrating the control unit of the portable printer according to the embodiment, when viewed from above. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view for illustrating a periphery of a female-side connector of the control unit of the portable printer according to the embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged side view of the portable printer according to the embodiment when viewed from the right side. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a portable printer  1 , for illustrating a state in which a paper cover  12  takes a closed position.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the portable printer  1 , for illustrating a state in which the paper cover  12  takes an opened position. In the following description, for the sake of convenience, the arrow FR in the drawings represents a forward direction, the arrow LH represents a leftward direction, and the arrow UP represents an upward direction. As illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , the portable printer  1  of this embodiment is configured so as to be portable by a user. The portable printer  1  is configured to output (print) information, which is input to a host device (not shown), on a recording paper P (heat-sensitive paper) by communicating with the host device. 
     The portable printer  1  has a structure in which a printer module  2  (see  FIG. 2 ), a battery  3 , a control unit  4 , or other components are accommodated in a casing  5 . 
     The casing  5  includes a casing main body  11  and the paper cover  12 . The casing main body  11  and the paper cover  12  are made of a resin material (for example, polycarbonate). The casing main body  11  is formed of an upper case  14  and a lower case  15  that are coupled in a vertical direction. The casing main body  11  has a component accommodating portion  21  positioned in a front portion of the casing main body  11 , and a roll sheet receiving portion  22  positioned in a rear portion of the casing main body  11 . 
     The component accommodating portion  21  is formed into a box shape opening rearward. Functional portions  23  to  25 , which are configured to perform various operations of the portable printer  1 , are arranged on an upper wall  21   a  of the component accommodating portion  21  (casing main body  11 ). The functional portions  23  to  25  include various function switches  23  (for example, power switch and Feed switch), display windows  24  configured to display states of the portable printer  1  (for example, power ON/OFF state and presence/absence of error), and an open button  25 . In the illustrated example, two function switches  23  are arranged side by side in a lateral direction. Further, on the upper wall  21   a  of the component accommodating portion  21 , two display windows  24  are arranged side by side in the lateral direction at portions positioned rearward with respect to the function switches  23 . The open button  25  is arranged at a left side portion of the component accommodating portion  21  (corner portion formed between upper wall  21   a  and left side wall  21   b ) so as to be pressable. 
     A connector opening  31 , which passes through a right side wall  21   c  in the lateral direction, is formed in the right side wall  21   c  of the component accommodating portion  21 . The connector opening  31  is formed into a rectangular shape when viewed from the side in the lateral direction. The connector opening  31  is defined by a mating surface between the upper case  14  and the lower case  15 . Specifically, the connector opening  31  is defined by an inner peripheral surface of a cutout portion  32  formed in the upper case  14  and an upper end surface of the lower case  15 . The connector opening  31  may be formed only in the upper case  14 , or may be formed only in the lower case  15 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the roll sheet receiving portion  22  is formed into a box shape opening upward. The roll sheet receiving portion  22  is continuous with a rear end portion of the component accommodating portion  21 . A roll sheet R is put into the roll sheet receiving portion  22  from above. The roll sheet R of this embodiment is formed by rolling up the recording paper P. 
     The paper cover  12  is rotatably coupled to a rear end portion of the roll sheet receiving portion  22  (casing main body  11 ). The paper cover  12  is configured to open or close the roll sheet receiving portion  22  along with rotary operations. At a closed position of the paper cover  12  illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a gap, which is formed between a front end edge of the paper cover  12  and a rear end edge of the upper wall  21   a  of the component accommodating portion  21 , serves as a discharge port  33  configured to discharge the recording paper P. At the rear end edge of the upper wall  21   a , there is arranged a cutting blade  35  configured to cut the recording paper P discharged through the discharge port  33 . 
     As the printer module  2 , a thermal printer is used, for example. The printer module  2  includes a head unit  41  having a thermal head, and a platen roller  42 . The printer module  2  is configured to perform printing on the recording paper P by heating the recording paper P through use of the thermal head (not shown) under a state in which the recording paper P is nipped between the platen roller  42  and the thermal head. In this manner, a printed surface of the recording paper P is colored. 
     The head unit  41  is accommodated in a rear portion of the component accommodating portion  21 . Specifically, the head unit  41  is assembled to the component accommodating portion  21  so that the thermal head faces an inside of the roll sheet receiving portion  22  from the front. 
     The platen roller  42  is arranged at a front end portion of a lower surface of the paper cover  12 . As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , a platen support portion  43  is formed at the front end portion of the lower surface of the paper cover  12 . The platen roller  42  is supported by the platen support portion  43  in a rotatable manner about an axis extending in the lateral direction. Further, the platen roller  42  is configured so as to be removably mountable to the head unit  41  along with opening and closing operations of the paper cover  12 . That is, the platen roller  42  is coupled to the head unit  41  at the closed position of the paper cover  12 . Meanwhile, through the pressing operation of the above-mentioned open button  25 , an engagement between the head unit  41  and the platen roller  42  is released so that the paper cover  12  takes an opened position. 
     The battery  3  is accommodated in a lower portion of the component accommodating portion  21 . The battery  3  is configured to supply electric power to the printer module  2  or other components through the control unit  4 . Further, the battery  3  is charged by an external power supply (not shown) through a female-side connector  75 , or a charging terminal  45  arranged at a front end portion of the component accommodating portion  21 , which are described later. The charging terminal  45  is partially exposed to an outside from the front end portion of the component accommodating portion  21 , and is connectable to an external terminal (not shown) of a cradle. 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view for illustrating the control unit  4  and the upper case  14 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 3 , the control unit  4  is accommodated above the above-mentioned battery  3  in a front portion of the component accommodating portion  21 . The control unit  4  has various electronic components mounted on a control board  51 , which has wiring patterns (not shown) formed thereon. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the control board  51  is arranged in the component accommodating portion  21  under a state in which the vertical direction matches with a thickness direction of the control board  51 . Specifically, the control board  51  is fixed to board support portions  52  formed in the upper case  14  with screws and the like. In the illustrated example, the control board  51  is fixed to the upper case  14  so that a lower surface of the control board  51  is positioned above a lower surface of the upper case  14 . The control board  51  may be fixed to the lower case  15 . 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view for illustrating the control unit  4  when viewed from above. As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , on an upper surface of the control board  51 , switching elements  61 , LEDs  62 , and a Bluetooth (registered trademark) module  63  are mounted, for example. The switching elements  61  are respectively arranged at positions of the control board  51 , which overlap with the above-mentioned function switches  23  (see  FIG. 1 ) when viewed from the vertical direction. That is, the switching elements  61  are operable in response to pressing operation of each of the function switches  23 . 
     The LEDs  62  are respectively arranged at positions of the control board  51 , which overlap with the above-mentioned display windows  24  (see  FIG. 1 ) when viewed from the vertical direction. Light beams emitted from the LEDs  62  are propagated in light-guiding members  65  (see  FIG. 3 ) which are arranged between the respective LEDs  62  and the upper wall  21   a  of the component accommodating portion  21 . Then, the light beams exit to an outside of the casing  5  through the display windows  24 . The Bluetooth (registered trademark) module  63  is configured to perform wireless communication between the portable printer  1  and the host device. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , on the lower surface of the control board  51 , a printer adapter  71 , a battery adapter  72 , a driver IC  73 , charging electrodes  74 , the female-side connector  75 , and other components are mounted. The printer adapter  71  is mounted to a rear end portion of the control board  51 . A printer wire (not shown) which is drawn out from the printer module  2  (thermal head) is connected to the printer adapter  71 . The battery adapter  72  is mounted to the rear end portion of the control board  51  on the left with respect to the printer adapter  71 . A battery wire (not shown) which is drawn out from the battery  3  (see  FIG. 1 ) is connected to the battery adapter  72 . The charging electrodes  74  are formed at a front end portion of the control board  51 . The charging electrodes  74  are connected to the above-mentioned charging terminal  45  (see  FIG. 1 ) in the component accommodating portion  21 , and to the battery adapter  72  and other components through the wiring patterns (not shown). It is possible to appropriately change a type, a layout, and other factors of the electronic components mounted to the control board  51 . 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view for illustrating a periphery of the female-side connector  75  of the control unit  4 .  FIG. 6  is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 7  is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of  FIG. 1 . As illustrated in  FIG. 5  to  FIG. 7 , the female-side connector  75  is mounted to a right-side end portion of the lower surface of the control board  51 . A USB (micro-B) connector is used as the female-side connector  75 , for example. The female-side connector  75  is mounted to the control board  51  under a state in which an opening  75   a  is oriented rightward. A right-side end portion of the female-side connector  75  protrudes rightward with respect to the control board  51 . The right-side end portion of the female-side connector  75  enters the above-mentioned connector opening  31  from the left. 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged side view of the portable printer  1  when viewed from the right side. As illustrated in  FIG. 6  to  FIG. 8 , the female-side connector  75  is exposed to the outside of the casing  5  through the above-mentioned connector opening  31 . The female-side connector  75  is configured so that the male-side connector (not shown) is removably mountable through the connector opening  31 . In this embodiment, the female-side connector  75  is used for, for example, wired communication between the portable printer  1  and the host device, or charging from the external power supply. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4 , slits  81  are respectively formed at portions which are positioned on both front and rear sides of the control board  51  with respect to the portion to which the female-side connector  75  is mounted. Each of the slits  81  passes through the control board  51  in the vertical direction, and extends in the lateral direction. Each of the slits  81  is opened in a right-side end surface of the control board  51 . 
     Further, the control board  51  of this embodiment is divided into a connector mounting portion  82  to which, among the above-mentioned electronic components, the female-side connector  75  is mounted, and a main body mounting portion  83  to which the electronic components other than the female-side connector  75  (for example, switching elements  61 , LEDs  62 , and charging electrodes  74 ) are mounted. In this case, the connector mounting portion  82  can be bendingly deformable while protruding rightward from the main body mounting portion  83  in a cantilever manner. Therefore, the female-side connector  75  is elastically supported by the control board  51  through intermediation of the connector mounting portion  82 . In the illustrated example, a right-side end surface of the connector mounting portion  82  slightly protrudes rightward with respect to a right-side end surface of the main body mounting portion  83 . The right-side end surface of the connector mounting portion  82  may be flush with the right-side end surface of the main body mounting portion  83 , or may be arranged leftward with respect to the right-side end surface of the main body mounting portion  83 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , a connector cover  100  is mounted to the female-side connector  75 . The connector cover  100  is an elastic member made of an elastically deformable material (for example, polyurethane or rubber). The connector cover  100  is formed into a box shape opening upward and rightward. 
     Specifically, the above-mentioned connector cover  100  includes a buffer portion  101  fitted onto the right-side end portion of the female-side connector  75 . The buffer portion  101  is formed into a rectangular frame shape. That is, the buffer portion  101  circumferentially surrounds a periphery of the right-side end portion of the female-side connector  75 . When viewed from the side in the lateral direction, an inner dimension of the buffer portion  101  is smaller than an outer dimension of the female-side connector  75 . Specifically, it is preferred that the buffer portion  101  secure an interference between the buffer portion  101  and the female-side connector  75 . With this structure, the buffer portion  101  is fitted onto the female-side connector  75  under a state of being elastically deformed. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6  to  FIG. 8 , in the above-mentioned connector opening  31 , the buffer portion  101  is interposed between an outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75  and an inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  (upper end surface of lower case  15  and inner peripheral surface of cutout portion  32 ). In this embodiment, the buffer portion  101  is fitted into the connector opening  31 . With this structure, the female-side connector  75  and the buffer portion  101  are exposed to the outside of the casing  5  through the connector opening  31 . When viewed from the side in the lateral direction, an outer dimension of the buffer portion  101  is larger than an inner dimension of the connector opening  31 . That is, it is preferred that the buffer portion  101  secure an interference between the buffer portion  101  and the connector opening  31 . With this structure, the buffer portion  101  is fitted into the connector opening  31  under the state of being elastically deformed. 
     The above-mentioned buffer portion  101  is arranged between the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75  and the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  along an entire circumference of the female-side connector  75  without any gap. Further, it is preferred that a right-side end surface of the buffer portion  101  be arranged at the same position as a right end edge of the female-side connector  75 , or on the left with respect to the female-side connector  75 . With this structure, when the connectors are mounted, an interference between the buffer portion  101  and the male-side connector can be prevented. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the connector cover  100  includes a connection portion  102  extending leftward from the buffer portion  101 . The connection portion  102  is formed integrally with the buffer portion  101 . The connection portion  102  surrounds a lower surface and both front and rear surfaces of the female-side connector  75 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the connector cover  100  includes a regulation portion  103  continuous with a left-side end portion of the connection portion  102 . The regulation portion  103  is formed integrally with the connection portion  102  and the buffer portion  101 . The regulation portion  103  covers a left-side end surface of the female-side connector  75  from the left. That is, the regulation portion  103  is engaged with (held in abutment against) the left-side end surface of the female-side connector  75  from the left. Specifically, the regulation portion  103  regulates a movement of the connector cover  100  to the right with respect to the female-side connector  75  (movement to outside of casing  5  through connector opening  31 ). However, the regulation portion  103  may be away from the left-side end surface of the female-side connector  75 . Further, in the illustrated example, upper end surfaces of the connection portion  102  and the regulation portion  103  are close to or held in abutment against the control board  51  (connector mounting portion  82 ) from the lower side. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 6 , in the connector cover  100 , a part defined by an upper portion of the buffer portion  101 , and upper end portions of the connection portion  102  and the regulation portion  103  form a mounting opening  104  opening upward. In this embodiment, in order to mount the connector cover  100  to the female-side connector  75 , for example, the female-side connector  75  is caused to enter the connector cover  100  from the lower side through the mounting opening  104 , while fitting the female-side connector  75  into the buffer portion  101  from the left. In this manner, as described above, the connector cover  100  is mounted to the female-side connector  75 . 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the connector cover  100  (buffer portion  101 ) is interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75 . According to this structure, the female-side connector  75  can be prevented from shifting along with, for example, twisting of the male-side connector. Thus, a twisting force generated when mounting or removing the male-side connector can be reduced, thereby being capable of reducing a twisting force transmitted to a mounting portion between the female-side connector  75  and the control board  51 . Further, the connector cover  100  is interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75 , thereby being capable of alleviating a drop impact input to the casing  5  by the connector cover  100 . In this manner, the drop impact can be prevented from being transmitted to the mounting portion. Accordingly, in the portable printer  1  of this embodiment, there can be reduced, among external forces transmitted to the mounting portion, both external forces of an external force directly acting on the female-side connector  75  (for example, twisting force) and an external force acting through intermediation of the casing  5  (for example, drop impact). As a result, for example, separation of the female-side connector  75  from the control board  51  is prevented, thereby being capable of enhancing durability and reliability of the portable printer  1 . 
     Moreover, the connector cover  100  is made of the elastically deformable material so that the shift amount can be absorbed by the elastic deformation of the connector cover  100 , even when the position of the female-side connector  75  with respect to the connector opening  31  is shifted from a desired position due to tolerance. Accordingly, the control board  51  can be arranged in the casing  5  without considering a positional accuracy of the female-side connector  75 . Therefore, the other electronic components mounted to the control board  51  can be arranged in the casing  5  at a higher accuracy as compared to a case in which the control board  51  is mounted to the casing  5  with reference to the female-side connector  75 . In this case, in order to secure the positional accuracy of the female-side connector  75  with respect to the connector opening  31 , there is no need to separate a board to which the female-side connector  75  is mounted and a board to which the other electronic components are mounted. That is, the female-side connector  75  and the other electronic components can be mounted to a single control board  51 , thereby being capable of achieving downsizing and cost reduction of the control board  51 . Therefore, the downsized and low-cost portable printer  1  can be provided. 
     Further, in order to reduce both the twisting force and the drop impact, which act on the mounting portion, there is no need to arrange a guide member for the male-side connector in the casing  5 , thereby being capable of suppressing lowering of the designability and complication of the structure. As described above, in the portable printer  1  of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the lowering of the designability, achieve simplification, and enhance the durability and reliability. 
     In this embodiment, it is possible to reliably suppress both the twisting force and drop impact, which act on the mounting portion, because the connector cover  100  (buffer portion  101 ) is interposed between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75  along the entire circumference of the female-side connector  75 . 
     In this embodiment, the connector cover  100  is arranged in the connector opening  31  under the state of being elastically deformed. Therefore, the connector cover  100  can be arranged between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75  without any gap. With this structure, both the twisting force and the drop impact, which act on the mounting portion, can reliably be reduced. Further, it is possible to prevent dust and liquid from entering the casing  5  through a gap between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75 . At the same time, it is possible to prevent static electricity or noise from transmitting to the control board  51  through the above-mentioned gap. As a result, the reliability of the portable printer  1  can be enhanced more. 
     The connector cover  100  of this embodiment includes the regulation portion  103  for regulating the movement of the connector cover  100  to the outside of the casing  5  through the connector opening  31 . Thus, the connector cover  100  can be prevented from falling off from the female-side connector  75 . 
     In this embodiment, the control board  51  includes the connector mounting portion  82  for elastically supporting the female-side connector  75 . Thus, when the twisting force and the drop impact are input to the female-side connector  75 , the connector mounting portion  82  is bendingly deformed. With this structure, the twisting force and the drop impact, which act in a thickness direction of the mounting portion (vertical direction), can more effectively be reduced. 
     In this embodiment, the part of the control board  51  positioned between a pair of the slits  81  forms the connector mounting portion  82 . Thus, as compared to a case in which the connector mounting portion  82  protrudes with respect to an outer peripheral edge of the main body mounting portion  83 , the control board  51  can be downsized. In this case, in the casing main body  11  (component accommodating portion  21 ), it is possible to prevent a dead space from being formed at a part which is positioned on both front and rear sides of the connector mounting portion  82 . As a result, the portable printer  1  can further be downsized. 
     In this embodiment, cooperative electronic components (switching elements  61 , LEDs  62 , and charging electrodes  74 ), which are cooperative with the functional portions (for example, function switches  23 , display windows  24 , and charging terminal  45 ) exposed to an outer surface of the casing  5 , are mounted to a single control board  51  together with the female-side connector  75 . According to this structure, as described above, it is possible to arrange the other electronic components, which are mounted to a single control board  51  together with the female-side connector  75 , in the casing  5  at a high accuracy without considering the positional tolerance of the female-side connector  75  in this embodiment. Therefore, positional shift between the cooperative electronic components and the functional portions can be suppressed. As a result, excellent operability (for example, pressing operability or visibility) can be provided to the functional portions. 
     The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but various modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. 
     In the above-mentioned embodiment, description is made of the structure in which the thermal printer is used as the printer module  2 . However, the present invention is not limited to the structure, and various printer modules (for example, dot impact type) can be used. In the above-mentioned embodiment, description is made of the structure in which the USB connector is used as the female-side connector  75 . However, the present invention is not limited to the structure, and the female-side connector having various standards (for example, serial connector) can be used. Further, an outer shape of the female-side connector  75  is not limited to a rectangular shape. 
     In the above-mentioned embodiment, description is made of the structure in which the connector cover  100  covers all part of the female-side connector  75  except for the opening  75   a  and the mounting surface with the control board  51 . However, the present invention is not limited to the structure. For example, the connector cover only needs to be interposed at least between the inner peripheral surface of the connector opening  31  and the outer peripheral surface of the female-side connector  75  (part corresponding to buffer portion  101 ). Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, description is made of the structure in which the regulation portion  103  is engaged with the left-side end surface of the female-side connector  75 . However, the present invention is not limited to the structure. The regulation portion may be formed at any positions and into any shapes as long as the regulation portion regulates the movement of the connector cover to the outside of the casing  5  through the connector opening  31 . 
     In the above-mentioned embodiment, description is made of the structure in which the part of the control board  51 , which is positioned between the slits  81 , forms the connector mounting portion  82 . However, the present invention is not limited to the structure, and the connector mounting portion  82  may protrude with respect to the right-side end surface of the main body mounting portion  83 . 
     Besides the above, the components in the above-mentioned embodiment may be replaced by well-known components as appropriate without departing from the gist of the present invention. The above-mentioned modification examples may be combined with each other as appropriate.