JP2770987B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device connected to a computer or the like and used for recording various analysis results, and particularly to a recording device provided with a ribbon printing mechanism.

[Problems to be solved by conventional technology and invention]

A conventional recording apparatus of this type includes, for example, a platen, a paper feeding means for feeding a recording sheet wound around the platen, a carriage reciprocated along the platen by a belt, and provided on the carriage. A printing mechanism for printing on the recording paper on the platen via an ink ribbon of a ribbon cassette which is removably mounted.
Since a drive source is provided for switching between stop and press contact / removal of the print head to / from the platen, it is not easy to maintain the connection between the mechanism in the carriage, whose position constantly changes, and the external drive source with high accuracy. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to synchronize the feeding / stopping of the ink ribbon with the press-contact / separation of the print head from / to the platen.
Further, since the feeding of the ink ribbon and the feeding of the print head (feeding of the carriage) are performed by different driving sources, there is a problem that it is difficult to synchronize the two feedings. Furthermore, since the ink ribbon generally does not have an automatic reversing mechanism, the ribbon cassette must be replaced each time the ribbon ends, or the ribbon cassette must be turned over and reloaded each time the ribbon ends (if the person does not confirm, the apparatus must be replaced). Operates without printing), and there is a problem that a troublesome operation is required.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has
It is easy to synchronize the stop and the press-contact and detachment of the print head to and from the platen, and it is easy to synchronize the feeding of the ink ribbon and the feed of the print head. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of considerably reducing troublesome operations such as repair.

[Means and actions for solving the problem]

One of the recording apparatuses according to the present invention is provided with a platen, a paper feeding means for feeding a recording paper wound around the platen, a carriage reciprocated along the platen by a belt, and provided on the carriage, A printing mechanism that prints on a recording paper on the platen via an ink ribbon of a ribbon cassette that is removably loaded, wherein the printing mechanism includes a drive source mounted in the carriage; A cam that is rotated by the drive source and whose rotational position is detected by a cam position detection sensor, a print head that is driven by the cam to be pressed against and separated from the platen, and a drive for driving a reel of a ribbon cassette. An oscillating plate pivotally mounted between a pair of take-up shaft gears; A gear that is driven to rotate in a direction corresponding to the direction of movement of the ridge, and that is pivotally attached to the rocking plate, meshes with the gear, and is provided with a slight rotational resistance, depending on the rotation direction of the gear. A planetary gear that can mesh with one of the pair of take-up shaft gears as a result of the planetary motion, and the swinging plate that is driven by the cam when the print head is at the platen pressure contact position so as to be swingable; A clutch lever for holding the rocking plate at the neutral position when the print head is at the platen release position, and controlling the drive source while receiving a signal from the cam position detection sensor to move the cam to the platen pressure contact position or And a control circuit for selectively positioning the ink ribbon at the platen detaching position. The driving source in the carriage feeds and stops the ink ribbon and presses and presses the print head to the platen. Together so as to perform de, in which to perform the feeding of the feed and the carriage of the ink ribbon by the same driving source.

Another one of the recording apparatuses according to the present invention is the recording apparatus described above, further comprising a ribbon start end detection sensor and a ribbon end detection sensor for detecting a start end and an end of an ink ribbon of a ribbon cassette, respectively, and the control circuit However, when a signal from the ribbon start end detection sensor or the ribbon end detection sensor is received, the cam can be positioned at the platen pressure contact position when the carriage reciprocates or moves back, respectively, so that the ink ribbon is When the printing is completed, printing is automatically performed when the carriage is moved back, and the ink ribbon is fed in the reverse direction.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on one illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the entire embodiment. 1 is a main body frame, 2 is a cover, and the cover 2 is provided with an opening 3 having a function of allowing recording paper to enter and exit and cutting the recording paper in the center part, and an operation part 4 on the right front side. Is provided. Reference numeral 5 denotes a recording paper roll rotatably provided at a rear portion of the main body frame 1, which is rotated in a forward or reverse direction by a motor 7 controlled by a control circuit 6; At the time of feeding and reverse rotation, the recording paper 8 is rewound. Reference numeral 9 denotes a platen provided at the center of the main body frame 1. Sprockets 10, 10 with which the perforations of the recording paper 8 are engaged are rotatably provided near both ends of the platen. The sprockets 10 and 10 are rotated forward and backward by a motor (not shown) controlled by the control circuit 6. The forward rotation of the recording paper 8 is performed at the time of normal rotation, and the recording paper 8 is rotated at the time of reverse rotation. To rewind. Also, sprocket
The handle 10 can be manually rotated via a handle 11. Numeral 12 is attached to the main body frame 1 so as to be vertically swingable so as to be located between the recording paper roll 5 and the platen 9, and is urged by a spring (not shown) so as to contact the recording paper 8 from below. The recording paper forward / reverse instructing bar 13 is a sensor for detecting the swinging position of the recording paper forward / reverse instructing bar 12, and the recording paper 8 becomes taut when the sprocket 10 is in the forward rotating state. Therefore, the forward / reverse instruction bar 12 is pushed down to take a lower position, and this is detected by the sensor 13,
When the recording paper roll 5 is normally rotated through the control circuit 6 and the motor 7 and the sprocket 10 is in the reverse rotation state, the recording paper 8 is rotated.
Is loosened, the forward / reverse instructing bar 12 takes an upper position by a spring (not shown), and this is detected by the sensor 13, and the recording paper roll 5 can be reversed via the control circuit 6 and the motor 7. ing. These members constitute a recording paper feed / rewind mechanism.

Reference numerals 14 and 15 denote two spindles mounted on the main body frame in parallel with the platen 9, and 16 denotes a carriage slidably supported by the two spindles 14, 15 in the axial direction. Is connected to a belt 17 driven by a step motor (not shown) controlled by the control circuit 6, so that the belt 17 can be moved on the support shafts 14 and 15 while the position thereof is controlled. On the left half of the carriage 16, a ribbon cassette 18 is removably mounted, and under the control of the control circuit 6, the recording head 8 is placed on the platen 9 by the thermal head 19 via the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette 18. Printing type recording means for performing printing is provided. Also, carriage
The right half of 16 has a pen holder 21 in which, for example, four pens 20 are loaded, and a slide cover for preventing the pens 20 from falling out.
22 and a hammer for writing on the recording paper 8 on the platen 9 by selecting and pressing one of the four pens 20 according to a signal from the control circuit 6 to make the pen tip protrude.
23 is provided. The hammer 23 is urged by a spring (not shown) in a direction of pressing the pen 20, and is normally configured not to press the pen 20 by a plunger (not shown). Selection of the pen 20 turns on the plunger 24 controlled by the control circuit 6.
Then, the hammer stop lever 25 (pivotably attached to the main frame 1) is raised to stop the hammer 23, and the whole position of the carriage 16 is detected while detecting a relative position with respect to the carriage 16 by a sensor (not shown). It is done by moving. Pressing the selected pen 20 causes the plunger 24
Is turned off to lower the hammer stop lever 25, and the plunger (not shown) is turned on to allow the spring (not shown) to bias the hammer 23. Reference numeral 26 denotes an optical sensor, and 27 denotes a light-shielding plate fixed to the carriage 16 and inserted into and removed from the optical sensor 26 as the carriage 16 moves. These light-shielding plates detect that the carriage 16 is at the left end position. The thermal head 19 or the pen 20 is brought to a predetermined recording position by determining the number of steps of the step motor (not shown) and moving the carriage 16 with the reference position as a reference position. These constitute a pen-type recording mechanism.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the printing type recording mechanism, and FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B) are plan views showing operating states of main parts of FIG. 28 is a motor mounted in the carriage 16, 29
Is a cam having a shallow bottomed cylindrical shape which is eccentrically mounted in the carriage 16 and is rotatable through an intermediate gear 30, and a substantially semicircular reflecting plate 31 is fixed to a rotating shaft thereof. ,
An optical sensor 32 is provided at a predetermined position around the cam 29, and detects the rotation position of the cam 29 by covering or separating itself from the reflection plate 31 (FIG. 3 ( A) and (B)). The thermal head 19 is pivotally attached to the carriage 16 and is constantly urged by a spring 33 in a direction in which the thermal head 19 comes into pressure contact with the platen 9. 34 is a thermal head
A pin 34a provided slidably in the direction orthogonal to the platen 9 between the cam 19 and the cam 29 engages with the projection of the head 19 and is pivotally attached to the other end. Roller 34b
Is a connecting plate which is in contact with the cam portion, that is, the inner peripheral portion of the cam 29. When the cam 29 takes the position shown in FIG. 3 (A), it moves to the left to move the head 19 against the spring 33. When the cam 29 takes the position shown in FIG. 3B, the cam 19 moves to the right to allow the head 19 to be pressed against the platen 9 by the spring 33.

Reference numerals 35 and 36 denote a pair of take-up shaft gears pivotally mounted on the carriage 16 at predetermined intervals. The reels 18a and 18b (see FIG. 1) of the ribbon cassette 18 are fitted to these shaft portions. The reels 18a and 18b are driven. Three
7 is a ribbon drive gear pivotally mounted on the carriage 16 and meshed with the rack of the belt 17, 38 is installed swingably between a pair of winding shaft gears 35 and 36, and a pin 38a is planted on the lower surface. The swinging plate 39 is pivoted coaxially with the swinging plate 38 and meshed with the ribbon drive gear 37 to move in a direction corresponding to the moving direction of the carriage 16, that is, for example, a left-handed turning direction when the carriage 16 moves forward. A gear 40, which is rotationally driven, is pivotally attached to the tip end of the rocking plate 38, meshes with the gear 39, and is provided with a slight rotational resistance, so that a planetary motion corresponding to the rotation direction of the gear 39 is performed. As a result, a planetary gear that can mesh with either one of the pair of winding shaft gears 35 and 36, for example, when the gear 39 rotates counterclockwise, performs a planetary motion in the counterclockwise direction and can mesh with the winding shaft gear 35. is there. The roller 41a has a base pivotally attached to the carriage 16 and is provided with a left-turning property by a spring 42, and a roller 41a pivotally attached to the right side is substantially 180 ° symmetric with the roller 34b on the cam portion of the cam 29, that is, the inner periphery. A clutch lever having a concave portion 41b formed at its left end and capable of abutting against the pin 38a of the rocking plate 38 when the cam 29 assumes the position shown in FIG. 3 (A). The concave portion 41b is pushed and engaged with the pin 38a to hold the swinging plate 38 at the neutral position, and is opposed to the spring 42 when the cam 29 assumes the position shown in FIG. The swing plate 38 is turned to the right so that the concave portion 41b separates from the pin 38a, thereby making the swing plate 38 swingable.

Reference numerals 43 and 44 denote a ribbon start end detection sensor and a ribbon end detection sensor which are provided at predetermined positions of the carriage 16 and detect the start end and the end of the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette 18, respectively. When a signal is generated from the detection sensor 44, the control circuit 6 receives the signal and controls the motor 28 so that the cam 29 moves the head 19 to the platen 9 when the carriage 16 moves forward or backward, respectively.
It can be positioned at a position where it comes into pressure contact with the surface.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the recording paper is fed by the recording paper feed / rewind mechanism via the control circuit 6 by a signal from a computer or the like (not shown), and the content to be recorded is a numerical value or the like. In the case of, the printing type recording means is selected. If the beginning of the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette 18 is first detected by the sensor 43, the control circuit 6 controls the motor 38 based on an input from a computer (not shown) so that printing is performed only when the carriage 16 moves forward. The rotation position of the cam 29 is controlled via the. That is, when printing is not required, the cam 29 is positioned at the rotation position in FIG. 3 (A). Then, as is clear from the above description, the head 19 is detached from the platen 9 and printing is not performed, and the clutch lever 41 is moved to the rocking plate 38.
Is held at the neutral position, the take-up shaft gear 35 is not rotated, and the ink ribbon is not fed and remains stopped. On the other hand, when printing is necessary, the cam 29 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
Position. Then, as is apparent from the above description, the head 19 is pressed against the platen 9 to perform printing, and the clutch lever 41 makes the swinging plate 38 swingable. At this time, since the gear 39 is in the counterclockwise rotation state, the planetary gear 40 performs a planetary movement in the counterclockwise direction to rotate the take-up shaft gear.
The planetary gear 40 itself turns clockwise, so that the winding shaft gear 35 is turned counterclockwise. Therefore, the ink ribbon is fed in a direction that matches the forward movement of the carriage 16.

Thus, the printing operation is repeated only during the forward movement of the carriage 16. In this embodiment, as described above, the feeding and stopping of the ink ribbon and the pressing and detaching of the head 19 to and from the platen 9 are performed by the motor 28 in the carriage 16. Since they are performed, it is easy to synchronize them.
Also, the feed of the ink ribbon and the feed of the head 19 (carriage
16) is performed by the same drive source via the belt 17, so that it is easy to synchronize them.

Next, assuming that the end of the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette 18 is detected by the sensor 44, the control circuit 16 controls the motor 38 based on an input from a computer or the like (not shown) so that printing is performed only when the carriage 16 is moved backward. The rotation position of the cam 29 is controlled via the. And the carriage
Feed and stop of ink ribbon and head
Pressing and detaching of the platen 9 from the platen 9 is performed. In this case, since the gear 39 is in the right-handed state, the planetary gear 40 is planetarily moved in the right-handed direction and meshes with the winding shaft gear 36. Since the planetary gear 40 itself turns left, the winding shaft gear 36 is turned clockwise. Therefore, the ink ribbon is fed in the rewinding direction and in the direction that matches the return movement of the carriage 16.

Thus, the printing operation is repeated only when the carriage 16 is moved back.However, in this embodiment, the printing is automatically performed when the ink ribbon is completed as described above, and the printing is performed when the carriage 16 is moved back. Is transported in the reverse direction, so that a troublesome operation such as replacing the ribbon cassette at the end of the ribbon or turning over and reloading the ribbon cassette can be considerably omitted.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, the recording apparatus according to the present invention can easily synchronize the feed / stop of the ink ribbon and the press-contact / separation of the print head from / to the platen, and can synchronize the feed of the ink ribbon with the feed of the print head. In addition, there is a practically important advantage that a troublesome operation such as replacing or reversing the ribbon cassette at the end of the ribbon and reloading the ribbon can be considerably omitted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire internal structure of an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the printing type recording mechanism of the above embodiment, and FIG. It is a top view which shows the operation | movement state of. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... body frame, 2 ... cover, 3 ... opening part, 4 ... operation part, 5 ... recording paper roll, 6 ... control circuit, 7 ... motor, 8 ... recording paper, 9 ... Platen, 10 ... Sprocket, 11 ... Handle, 12 ... Bar for forward / backward rotation of recording paper, 13 ... Sensor, 14,15 ... Spindle, 16 ... Carriage, 17 ... Belt, 18 ... Ribbon Cassette, 18a, 18b…
... reel, 19 ... thermal head, 20 ... pen, 21 ...
Pen holder, 22… Slide cover, 23… Hammer, 24… Plunger, 25… Hammer stop lever,
26, 32: Optical sensor, 27: Light shield plate, 28: Motor, 29
…… Cam, 30 …… Intermediate gear, 31 …… Reflector, 33,42 ……
Spring, 34 ... Connecting plate, 34a ... Pin, 34b ... Roller, 3
5,36… Rewind shaft gear, 37… Ribbon drive gear, 38 ……
Rocking plate, 38a pin, 40 planetary gear, 41 clutch lever, 41a roller, 41b recess, 43 ribbon detection sensor, 44 ribbon termination sensor.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 25/30

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A platen, a paper feeding means for feeding a recording paper wound on the platen, a carriage reciprocated along the platen by a belt, and provided on the carriage and removably mounted. A printing mechanism for printing on the recording paper on the platen via the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette, wherein the printing mechanism is driven by the drive source mounted in the carriage and the drive source. A cam which is moved and its rotational position is detected by a cam position detection sensor, a print head which is driven by the cam to be pressed against and separated from the platen, and a pair of winding shafts for driving a reel of a ribbon cassette. An oscillating plate installed between the gears so as to be oscillatable, and coaxially pivoted with the oscillating plate and moved in the moving direction of the carriage by the belt. A gear that is driven to rotate in a corresponding direction, and a result of a planetary motion that is pivotally attached to the rocking plate, meshes with the gear, and is provided with a slight rotational resistance, according to the rotation direction of the gear. A planetary gear meshable with one of the pair of winding shaft gears; and a cam driven by the cam to make the rocking plate swingable when the print head is at a platen pressure contact position, and the print head is a platen gear. A clutch lever for holding the swing plate at the neutral position when in the disengagement position, and controlling the drive source while receiving a signal from the cam position detection sensor to move the cam to the platen pressure contact position or the platen disengagement position; And a control circuit selectively positioned. 2. A ribbon start sensor and a ribbon end sensor for detecting a start end and an end of an ink ribbon of a ribbon cassette, respectively, wherein the control circuit is configured to detect the ribbon start end sensor or the ribbon end detect sensor. 2. A recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cam is positioned at said platen pressing position when said carriage reciprocates or moves back when said signal is received.