Patent Publication Number: US-9427984-B2

Title: Printer with cutter protection mechanism

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a divisional patent application of, and claims the benefit of and priority to, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/713,265 filed on Dec. 13, 2012, which claims the benefit of priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-282405 filed on Dec. 22, 2011, with the Japanese Patent Office, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a printer. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Typically, a portable type printer, which performs printing on continuous paper (e.g., roll paper), has a paper cutter mounted thereon. The paper cutter is used to cut the continuous paper discharged from the portable type printer. The portable type printer includes a case body for installing the continuous paper therein. The portable type printer also includes an opening/closing cover that opens and closes for loading or replacing the continuous paper. The paper cutter is mounted on either the case body or the opening/closing cover in the vicinity of a sheet discharge port of the portable type printer. 
     The paper cutter, which is located in the vicinity of the paper discharge port, is exposed when the opening/closing cover is in an open state. This may result in a user being cut by the paper cutter at the time of, for example, loading the continuous paper. 
     For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-164695 discloses a receipt printer having a shaft that cooperatively moves with an upper cover, in which a cutting blade is prevented from advancing forward by a tip part of the shaft that protrudes in front of the cutting blade when the upper cover is opened. 
     However, with the receipt printer disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 7-164695, contact or the like may be caused upon the upper lever in a state where the upper cover is open during an operation of, for example, paper replacement. The contact may cause a lock lever to detach from a pin and result in exposure of the cutting blade. By continuing operation in the state where the cutting blade is exposed, the user could be injured by inadvertently touching the cutting blade. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention may provide a printer that substantially eliminates one or more of the problems caused by the limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     Features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention according to the teachings provided in the description. Objects as well as other features and advantages of the present invention will be realized and attained by a printer particularly pointed out in the specification in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, an embodiment of the present invention provides a printer including a main body case in which a sheet roll is installed, a sheet discharge port from which a printed sheet of paper is discharged, an opening/closing cover that opens and closes with respect to the main body case, a cutter that is attached to the opening/closing cover and configured to cut the printed sheet of paper from the sheet roll, and a cutter protection mechanism configured to move in correspondence with an opening movement or a closing movement of the opening/closing cover, wherein the cutter protection mechanism is configured to expose the cutter at the sheet discharge port when the opening/closing cover is in an open state and conceal the cutter when the opening/closing cover is in a closed state. 
     Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a portable type thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal structure of the portable type thermal printer of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic side view illustrating an open state of an opening/closing cover of a thermal printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic side view illustrating a closed state of an opening/closing cover of a thermal printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIGS. 5A and 5B  are schematic diagrams illustrating a cleaning member and a polishing member of a thermal printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic side view illustrating an open state of an opening/closing cover of a thermal printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic side view illustrating a closed state of an opening/closing cover of a thermal printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic side view illustrating an open state of an opening/closing cover of a thermal printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic side view illustrating a closed state of an opening/closing cover of a thermal printer according to the third embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIGS. 10A-10C  are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration including a pinion gear, a cutter, and an urging part of a holding member according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following, embodiments of a printer (e.g., thermal printer) of the present invention are described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate a thermal printer  60  according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the drawings, arrows X 1 -X 2  indicate the width direction, arrows Y 1 -Y 2  indicate the depth direction, and arrows Z 1 -Z 2  indicate the height direction of the thermal printer  60  according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     The thermal printer  60  includes a main body case  100  having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A sheet roll installing part  90  for installing a sheet roll SR therein, a conveying mechanism for conveying the sheet roll SR, and a battery installing part  80  for installing a battery B therein are provided inside the main body case  100 . The thermal printer  60  is formed in a portable size. 
     The thermal printer  60 , which is a so-called clam shell type printer, also includes an opening/closing cover  201 . By opening the opening/closing cover  201 , the sheet roller SR can easily be, for example, replaced or removed from the thermal printer  60 . 
     The battery installing part  80  is positioned on the Y 1  side of the main body case  100 . The sheet roll installing part  90  is positioned on the Y 2  side of the main body  100 . The battery installing part  80  includes a cover  81 . The battery B can be replaced by opening and closing the cover  81 . 
     The main body case  100  also has, for example, a sheet conveying motor  68 , a platen roller  69 , a gear mechanism  70 , and a control circuit board  71  installed therein. The gear mechanism  70  serves to transmit the rotation of the sheet conveying motor  68  to the platen roller  69 . 
     The opening/closing cover  201  is positioned at an upper part of the sheet roller installing part  90 . The inside of the sheet roller installing part  90  is exposed by rotating the opening/closing cover  201 , in the Z 1  direction, around an axle member  202 , so that the sheet roller SR can be easily loaded or replaced. 
     The opening/closing cover  201  includes a thermal head  75  located in a position that contacts the platen roller  69  when the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state. A spring  76  urges (i.e. exerts pressure on) the platen roller  69  when the platen roller  69  is in a state contacting the thermal head  75 . Further, an operation button  77  and an open/close lever  205  are arranged at an upper part (Z 1  direction) of the opening/closing cover  201 . 
     The thermal printer  60  is ready to be used when a sheet S of the sheet roll SR is in a state nipped between the thermal head  75  and the platen roller  69  by installing the battery B in the battery installing part  80 , closing the cover  81 , installing the sheet roll SR in the sheet installing part  90 , pulling out a sheet S of the sheet roll SR, and closing the opening/closing cover  201 . 
     Printing is performed on the sheet S by driving the motor  68  in accordance with commands sent from an external device by way of, for example, wireless, cable, or infrared communication. Accordingly, the motor  68  causes the platen roller  69  to convey the sheet S from the sheet roll R to a predetermined position between the thermal head  75  and the platen roller  69 , so that printing can be performed on the sheet S. After letters or the like are printed on a surface of the sheet S, the sheet S is delivered to a sheet discharge port  200  in a direction indicated by an arrow  78  in  FIG. 2 . 
     The sheet S discharged from the sheet discharge port  200  is cut off in a direction that substantially perpendicularly intersects the direction in which the sheet S is conveyed (sheet conveying direction). The sheet S is cut off by a cutter  10  (see, for example,  FIG. 3 ) provided in the vicinity of the sheet discharge port  200 . 
     [First Embodiment] 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  illustrate an example of a configuration of the thermal printer  60  according to the first embodiment of the present invention.  FIGS. 3 and 4  are for describing movements in the thermal printer  60  during the opening/closing of the opening/closing cover  201 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of the thermal printer  60  in a state where the opening/closing cover  201  is open.  FIG. 4  is a schematic side view of the thermal printer  60  in a state where the opening/closing cover  201  is closed. 
     The opening/closing cover  201  includes the cutter  10  for cutting the sheet S. The cutter  10  is movable in a direction indicated by an arrow  51  in  FIG. 3 . A rack gear  20  is attached to an end part of the cutter  10 . Further, the opening/closing cover  201  includes a pinion gear  21  which rotates by engaging the rack gear  20  attached to the end part of the cutter  10 . 
     The pinion gear  21  includes a rod part  21   a  and a gear part  21   b . The rod part  21   a  having a pole-like shape projects from a peripheral surface of the pinion gear  21 . The gear part  21   b  is configured to mesh with the rack gear  20 . Accordingly, the below-described urging member urges (i.e. exerts pressure on) the pinion gear  21 , so that the pinion gear  21  can rotate in a direction indicated by an arrow  70  of  FIG. 3 . In a state where no pressure is exerted on the pinion gear  21 , the pinion gear  21  is configured to move the cutter  10  toward the inside of the opening/closing cover  201  via the rack gear  20 . 
     For example, a spring  23  may be used as the urging member for urging (i.e. exerting pressure on) the pinion gear  21 . The spring  23  may be positioned in a manner illustrated in  FIG. 10A  to urge the pinion gear  21  in a direction indicated by an arrow  91 . Alternatively, the spring  23  may be positioned in manner illustrated in  FIG. 10B  to urge the cutter  10  in a direction indicated by an arrow  92  of  FIG. 10B . 
     Further, a rib  30  is arranged in an inner side surface of the main body case  100 . The rib  30  is positioned to push the rod part  21   a  upward and rotate the pinion gear  21  when closing the opening/closing cover  201 . As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the rib  30  contacts the rod part  21   a  when the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state. In this closed state, the rib  30  rotates the pinion gear  21  in a direction indicated by an arrow  71  of  FIG. 4 , so that the cutter  10  is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow  72  by way of the rack gear  20 . Thereby, the cutter  10  is exposed at the sheet discharge port  200 . 
     Hence, the cutter  10  can be moved to be installed in the opening/closing cover  201  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in an open state (as illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) by providing a cutter protection mechanism including the rack gear  20 , the pinion gear  21 , the urging part (e.g., spring  23 ) of the pinion gear  21 , and the rib  30 . That is, with the cutter protection mechanism, the cutter  10  can be installed inside the opening/closing cover  201  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in an open state by exerting pressure on the pinion gear  21 , so that the pinion gear  21  is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow  70  of  FIG. 3  and the gear part  21   b  and the rack gear  20  are engaged. 
     In a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state, the rib  30  arranged in the main body case  100  pushes the rod part  21   b  of the pinion gear  21  upward and rotates the pinion gear  21  in a direction indicated by an arrow  71  in  FIG. 4 . The cutter  10 , which includes the rack gear  20  that meshes with the pinion gear  21 , moves in a direction indicated by an arrow  72  in  FIG. 4  in a case where the pinion gear  21  is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow  71  in  FIG. 4 . Thereby, the cutter  10  is moved from a state installed in the opening/closing cover  201  to a state exposed at the sheet discharge port  200 . By exposing the cutter  10  at the sheet discharge part  200  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state, a sheet S, after having letters or the like printed thereon, can be cut off by pressing the sheet S against the cutter  10 . 
     With the thermal printer  60  according to the first embodiment of the present invention, an operator can be prevented from being cut or injured by contact with the cutter  10  during an operation of loading or replacing a sheet roll SR owing to the cutter  10  installed in the opening/closing cover  201  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in an open state. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , a cleaning member  31  or a polishing member  32  may be arranged at a position enabling the cutter  10  to move toward and contact the cleaning member  31  or the polishing member  32  when the opening/closing cover  201  is opened or closed.  FIG. 5A  illustrates an example of a configuration of the thermal printer  60  including the cleaning member  31 .  FIG. 5B  illustrates an example of a configuration of the thermal printer  60  including the polishing member  32 . 
     The cleaning member  31  may be, for example, a sponge made by foaming a synthetic resin such as polyurethane. Paper particles and foreign material adhered to the cutter  10  can be removed when the cutter  10  moves in correspondence with the opening or closing of the opening/closing cover  201 . 
     Accordingly, cutting failure due to foreign matter caught between the sheet S and the cutter  10  can be prevented by providing the cleaning member  31 . 
     Further, the polishing member  32  may be, for example, an abrasive grinding wheel that polishes the blade of the cutter  10  whenever the cutter  10  moves. Accordingly, the cutter  10  can maintain a state similar to a brand new state. Thus, the life span of the cutter  10  can be prevented from being shortened due to wear of the blade of the cutter  10 . 
     Further, by providing both the cleaning member  31  and the polishing member  32  in the thermal printer  60 , the above-described effects attained by cleaning member  31  and the polishing member  32  can attained at the same time. 
     [Second Embodiment] 
       FIGS. 6 and 7  illustrate an example of a configuration of the thermal printer  60  according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  FIGS. 6 and 7  are for describing movements in the thermal printer  60  during the opening/closing of the opening/closing cover  201 . In the second embodiment, like components are denoted by like reference numerals as those of the first embodiment and are not further explained. 
     The main body case  100  includes a retaining member  33  which retains the cutter  10 . The retaining member  33  is rotatably supported by a shaft  69   a  of the platen roller  69  of the main body case  100 . A spring or the like urges the retaining member  33  in a direction indicated by an arrow  73  of  FIG. 6 . In a state where the opening/closing cover  201  is in an open state as illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the retaining member  33  is urged to rotate in a direction indicated by the arrow  73 , so that the cutter  10  is rotated and installed in the main body case  100 . For example, the spring  23  illustrated in  FIG. 100  may be used as an urging member for urging the retaining member  33 . The spring  23  may be arranged to urge the retaining member  33  in a direction indicated by an arrow  93  of  FIG. 100 . 
     The opening/closing cover  201  includes a projecting part  203  formed in a position at which the projecting part  230  contacts the retaining member  33  and rotates the retaining member  33 . In a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state as illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the projecting part  203  of the opening/closing cover  201  depresses the retaining member  33  and rotates the retaining member  33  in a direction indicated by an arrow  74 . Thereby, the cutter  10 , being retained by the retaining member  33 , is exposed at the sheet discharge port  200 . 
     Hence, the cutter  10  can be moved to be installed in the opening/closing cover  201  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in an open state by providing a cutter protection mechanism including the projecting part  203  of the opening/closing cover  201 , the retaining member  33  (which retains the cutter  10  and is rotatably supported by, for example, the shaft of the platen roller  69 ), and the urging member  23  (which urges the retaining member  33 ). Therefore, even in a case of loading or replacing the sheet roll SR, the operator can be prevented from being cut by the cutter  10 . 
     [Third Embodiment] 
       FIGS. 8 and 9  illustrate an example of a configuration of the thermal printer  60  according to the third embodiment of the present invention.  FIGS. 8 and 9  are for describing movements in the thermal printer  60  during the opening/closing of the opening/closing cover  201 . In the third embodiment, like components are denoted by like reference numerals as those of the first embodiment and are not further explained. 
     The cutter  10  is fixed to the opening/closing cover  201 , so that the cutter  10  is in a position exposed at the sheet discharge port  200 . That is, the cutter  10  is attached to the opening/closing cover  201  in a manner that the cutter  10  is unable to move. The opening/closing cover  201  includes a shutter  22  that can move in positions exposing and covering the cutter  10 . 
     The rack gear  20  is arranged at an end part of the shutter  22 . The rack gear  20  meshes with the pinion gear  21  that is rotatably supported by a shaft or the like. The pinion gear  21  is urged in a direction indicated by an arrow  76  of  FIG. 8  by an urging member. The pinion gear  21  includes a rod part  21   a  projecting from a peripheral surface of the pinion gear  21  and a gear part  21   b . By urging the pinion gear  21  in a direction indicated by an arrow  76  of  FIG. 9 , the shutter  22  is moved to a position covering the cutter  10  in a state where the opening/closing cover  201  is open. 
     Similar to the first embodiment, a spring  23  or the like may be used as the urging part that urges the pinion gear  21 . Accordingly, the spring  23  may urge the pinion gear  21  in a direction indicated by the arrow  76  of  FIG. 8 , so that the pinion gear  21  causes the shutter  22  to move toward a position covering the cutter  10 . 
     Further, the rib  30  is arranged in an inner side surface of the main body case  100 . The rib  30  is positioned to push the rod part  21   a  upward and rotate the pinion gear  21  when closing the opening/closing cover  201 . As illustrated in  FIG. 9 , the rib  30  contacts the rod part  21   a  when the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state. In this closed state, the rib  30  rotates the pinion gear  21  in a direction indicated by an arrow  77  of  FIG. 9 , so that the shutter  22  is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow  79  by way of the rack gear  20 . Thereby, the cutter  10  is exposed at the sheet discharge port  200 . 
     Hence, the shutter  22  can be moved to cover the cutter  10  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in an open state (as illustrated in  FIG. 8 ) and moved to expose the cutter  10  at the sheet discharge port  200  in a case where the opening/closing cover  201  is in a closed state (as illustrated in  FIG. 9 ) by providing a cutter protection mechanism including the shutter  22 , the rack gear  20 , the pinion gear  21 , the urging part (e.g., spring  23 ) of the pinion gear  21 , and the rib  30 . 
     Therefore, even in a case of loading or replacing the sheet roll SR, the operator can be prevented from being cut by the cutter  10  owing to the cutter  10  covered by the shutter  22  in a state where the opening/closing cover  201  is open. 
     All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.