JPS58179680A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate the need for exclusive power source for feeding an ink ribbon by providing a drive transmission mechanism to turn an ink ribbon feeding roller in an interlocking manner with the movement of a carriage and a clutch to discontinue the drive transmission of the mechanism. CONSTITUTION:A pulley (drive transmission mechanism) 9 turning with the movement of a carriage 3 in connection with part of wires 5a and 5b by which the carriage 3 is reciprocally moved along a platen 4 is provided. A clutch 22 is connected to the shaft of the pulley 9, and thereby the shaft of the clutch 22 is freely coupled with or separated from the bearing part of the ribbon feeding roller 6 in a ribbon cassette. The clutch 22 used is a solenoid clutch, etc., and put into connecting state only when ribbon feeding is necessary.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a printer in which a print head and an ink ribbon cassette are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates along a platen.

Conventionally, this type of printer is configured to drive the carriage and transport the ink ribbon 9 using separate drive sources. Unfortunately, two sets of drive sources and drive mechanisms are required, which increases the number of parts, complicates the structure, makes assembly difficult, and increases the size of the printer as a whole. In addition, step motors and ■ motors are used for ribbon feed υ, but their drive circuits are expensive, and if a y motor is used without control, the rotation of the ribbon feed υ roller will fluctuate due to load variations. It also becomes difficult to control the feed amount.

For example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-106889, in a structure in which a carriage is reciprocated via a wire by a carriage drive motor, this wire is connected to a boot connected to a ribbon feed roller for feeding the ink ribbon. There is one in which the feed roller is rotated in conjunction with the movement of the carriage to feed the ribbon.

According to this, there is no need for a dedicated motor for ribbon feeding.
The weight of the carriage is reduced, and the load on the carriage drive motor is reduced. However, with this method, the ink ribbon is always fed as much as the carriage scans.For example, if the print head (carriage) is on the left edge and you want to print only at the center of the width of the recording paper. Even so, the ink ribbon is fed more than necessary, resulting in severe wear and tear. In other words, in the case of a fabric ribbon that can be used repeatedly, there is a large degree of freedom in determining the feeding amount of the ink ribbon, but in the case of a one-time ribbon, only the used portion is fed, and the unused portion is fed first. It is required from the viewpoint of longevity that the ink ribbon faces the print head, and if the ribbon is fed unnecessarily as mentioned above, the ink ribbon will be consumed with a large amount of unused parts. It gets stuck and cannot be used effectively.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and allows the ink ribbon to be fed to the minimum necessary extent without providing a drive source exclusively for feeding the ink ribbon, thereby making it possible to use the ink ribbon effectively. The purpose is to obtain a printer that can.

Basically, the present invention feeds the ink ribbon in conjunction with the movement of the carriage due to the presence of a drive transmission mechanism, and while ensuring ribbon feeding 9 that does not require a dedicated drive source, the drive transmission mechanism and ribbon feeding roller A clutch is provided between the ink ribbon and the ink ribbon so that the ink ribbon can be fed only when the ribbon needs to be fed in response to printing.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

First of all, this printer basically consists of a carriage (3) on which a print head (1) is mounted and an ink ribbon cassette (2) removably mounted thereon, and this carriage (3) is moved along a platen (4). A wire that moves back and forth (54Xμ
), and a ribbon feed roller (
a rotating shaft (7) detachably connected to the wire (5Q);
) (A part of the 5 parts is engaged and rotates with the movement of the carriage (3), and the wire (5α) (5 part, the pulley (9) which forms the drive transmission mechanism (8) together with the rotating shaft (7)) The ink ribbon cassette (2) consists of a feed-out roller α■ around which the ink ribbon αO is wound, and a take-up roller (
6) and a pressure roller (to) which is in opposing contact with the feed roller (6), and is guided from the feeding roller α side to the take-up roller (6) side according to the rotation of the ribbon feed roller (6). The ink ribbon αQ is sent through the roller α4, the print head (1) and the platen (4). Although not particularly shown, there are a ribbon feed roller (6) and a take-up roller (
A belt is loosely hung between the belts 6) and 6), and the take-up roller (6) is set to rotate as the ribbon feed roller (6) rotates. Furthermore, a one-way clutch (7) is interposed between the pulley (9) and the rotating shaft (7), and when viewed from above, the pulley (9) receives only the rotational force that rotates clockwise. The signal is configured to be transmitted to the rotating shaft (7).

Although not particularly shown, a compression spring is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft (7), and when the ink ribbon cassette (2) is mounted on the carriage (3), the ribbon feed roller (6) rotates. When not engaged with the shaft (7), the rotary shaft (7) is set to once move downward and then return to the upper position in a locked state.

Further, one end of each of the wires (5tL) (5/L) is fixed to the drive drum Qfe and wound several times in opposite directions, and then the other end of one wire (5α) is connected to the pulley (9). ) and is fixed to an arbitrary fixed part, for example, the left frame of the main body, via a buffer spring αη.

On the other hand, the other end of the wire (54) is connected to the pulley (9) via a guide pulley a→ attached to the outside of the main body cloth frame.
After being engaged, the main body is fixed to the cloth frame. Further, the drive drum αQ is fixed to the rotating shaft of a motor αl, such as a step motor or a servo motor, which is attached to the outside of the left frame of the main body. In addition, the kan (2) is the carriage (3).
) is a guide shaft that serves as a guide for reciprocating motion while supporting the

A clutch (a) is disposed on the rotating shaft (7) between the feeding roller (6) and the pulley (9) to connect and disconnect the rotational force of the rotating shaft (7) to the ribbon feeding roller (6).
is provided. An electromagnetic clutch or the like is used as this clutch (A), and it is connected to the current state based on a control signal before printing is to be performed by the print head (1), and during printing operation by the print head (1). The ribbon feeding roller (6) is made to rotate.

Although not particularly shown, the carriage (3) is equipped with a power supply cable and a control signal cable to follow the movement of the carriage (3). and control signals are also transmitted using these power supply cables and control signal cables.

In such a configuration, if the carriage (3) scans from left to right along the platen (4), the movement of the wire (5cL) (54) at that time causes the shifter (9) to move clockwise. The rotating shaft (7) also rotates due to the action of the one-way clutch (G). The rotation of the rotating shaft (7) also rotates the ribbon feeding roller (6) to feed the ink ribbon, and this ribbon feeding is interrupted and interrupted by the clutch (a). In other words, during the scanning movement of the carriage (3), the print head (1) does not always perform a printing operation, but may simply be space-fed, and this clutch (2) is used to control the actual printing by the print head (1). Before the desired printing, the ribbon is energized and connected, and in parallel with the printing operation such as dot printing by the print head (1), the rotational force of the rotating shaft (7) is transmitted to the ribbon feed roller (6), and the ribbon is fed υ. . In the case of simple space feeding, the clutch (a) is disengaged, and even if the rotating shaft (7) rotates, the ribbon feeding roller (6)
This means that the ribbon is not fed.

Further, in the carriage return operation for use, the rotating shaft (7) does not rotate even if the pulley (9) is rotated by the one-way clutch 0υ, and the ribbon is not fed in this case as well. Therefore, a dedicated motor for the ribbon feeder 90-ra (6) is not installed, and the ribbon is fed in conjunction with the movement of the carriage (3), but the actual ribbon feeder is operated by a clutch corresponding to the printing operation. Since it is controlled by intermittent operation (2), ribbon feeding υ is performed only when necessary. As a result, especially when the ink ribbon 01 is a one-time ribbon, only the used part is sent to the right from the print head (1), and the first unused part following the used part is sent to the print head (1). Since the ink ribbon α1 contributes to the printing operation, there is no waste in the ink ribbon α1.
It can be used effectively and the time for replacing the ink ribbon αQ can be extended.

As for the printer type, it can be applied to a dot impact printer, an impact printer using a type wheel and a hammer as a printing pad, a thermal transfer printer using a thermal head, an electric transfer type printer, etc. In addition, in impact printers, there are ink-impregnated type ink ribbons, transfer type coated with wax, and the like.

Further, in a type impact printer, after printing of a certain type of type is completed, the clutch may be controlled to be on/off so that the ink ribbon is always fed by one type of character. Furthermore, in a device that performs reciprocating printing operation, a pulley (9
) and the one-way clutch (c) may be divided into two parts for each outbound and return journey.

Furthermore, the drive transmission mechanism is not limited to this embodiment; for example, as shown in FIG.
(c) and rotate this pinion gear (7) to the rotating shaft (7).
It may also be attached like a pulley (9) on top. In this case, the wire (5G) contributes only to the movement of the carriage (3).

As described above, the present invention provides a drive transmission mechanism to ensure ink ribbon transport in conjunction with the movement of the carriage, thereby eliminating the need for a dedicated drive source for ribbon transport. Since a clutch is provided to connect and connect the ink ribbon with the printer, it is possible to easily feed the ink ribbon to the minimum necessary level in response to printing, so even one-time ribbon can be used effectively without wasting it. This allows the replacement period to be extended.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the main parts thereof, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a modified example. 1...Print head, 2...Ink ribbon cassette,
3... Carriage, 4... Platen, 6... Ribbon feed roller, 8... Drive transmission mechanism, 22... Clutch Applicant Ricoh Co., Ltd. Procedures Amendment (voluntary) 1981 May 26th Haruki Shimada, Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office gl Indication of the case Patent Application No. 57-62008 2 Name of the invention Printer 3 Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant address Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo 1-3-6 4th Generation
Manager 〒107 None 6 Description and drawings to be amended 7 Contents of the amendment As shown in the attached sheet, the description and drawings of this application will be amended as follows. Note 1゜In the specification, the following sentence is added in the second line of page 8 after ``This will not be carried out.'' [Figure 4 shows an example of the operation of the clutch].
First, t2 is set as the time required for the unused portion of the ink ribbon α1 to be sent to the printing section, and the interval at which drive pulses of the print head (1) are generated is set to 1. When closing, if t2≧tl, clutch (A) is kept connected, and t. < When tx, clutch (A) is engaged during this time t2.
After setting it to the connected state, set it to the disconnected state. As a result, when the drive pulse is being output, the ink ribbon α is constantly
If the unused portion of 0 faces the print head (1) and printing is interrupted, the ink ribbon α1 will not be fed. 2. In the specification, after "perspective view" on page 10, line 12, "Figure 4 is a timing chart showing clutch disengagement" is added. 3.Amend Figure 2 of the drawings as shown in the attached sheet. 4. In the drawings, Figure 4 is attached as a separate sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A print head and an ink ribbon cassette are mounted on a carriage that reciprocates along a platen, and a drive transmission mechanism is provided to rotate a ribbon feed roller that feeds the ink ribbon of the ink ribbon cassette in conjunction with the movement of the carriage. A printer characterized by providing a clutch that connects and connects the drive transmission mechanism and the ribbon feed roller.