JP2010099965A - Ink ribbon cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the following problems: in a conventional ink ribbon cartridge, when using the cartridge for a printer of 9-pin constitution, there are possibilities that a large amount of ink is supplied, and also, the life of the cartridge is reduced, then, it is difficult to commonly use the cartridge for a printer of 9-pin constitution and a printer of 24-pin constitution, and the housing becomes large in size and the cost is increased in the case the cartridge includes a plurality of impregnation bodies. <P>SOLUTION: In the ink ribbon cartridge 1, the impregnation body 2 is circular in a plane view, a plurality of transfer rollers 3 are disposed around the impregnation body 2, further, a switching part 4 for switching between a contact state and a retreat state with respect to the impregnation body 2 is disposed in the transfer roller. Consequently, the number of transfer rollers 3 contacting with the one impregnation body 2 is increased with time, then, the constant amount of ink can be supplied without supplying the large amount of ink, and the life of the cartridge 1 is not extremely reduced, and also, the cartridge 1 can be commonly used for the printer of 9-pin constitution and the printer of 24-pin constitution. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  In the present invention, an appropriate amount of ink can be quantitatively supplied to the ribbon, so that it is possible to extend the life, and the ink can be shared by printers having a 9-pin configuration and a 24-pin configuration. The present invention relates to a ribbon cartridge.

  An ink ribbon cartridge used for a so-called dot impact printer includes an endless ribbon having a long belt shape that is impregnated with at least an ink, and an ink supply unit that supplies ink to the ribbon. This ink supply unit employs various configurations, but a transfer roller that is in contact with an impregnated body substantially impregnated with ink is brought into contact with the ribbon.

For example, the following Patent Documents 1 to 4 are known as such ink ribbon cartridges.
JP-A-57-128584 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-16506 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-104263 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 2-104265

  In Patent Document 1, a transfer roller is interposed between an impregnated body and a ribbon, and the pressure contact force of the transfer roller with respect to the impregnated body is changed to change the ink supply amount to the ribbon.

  In Patent Document 2, two transfer rollers between an impregnated body and a ribbon are provided, and ink is sufficiently supplied to the ribbon by these transfer rollers.

  Patent Document 3 discloses that an ink is obtained by passing at least one of the impregnated bodies provided with a plurality of ribbons and passing the ribbon between a pair of transfer rollers, and changing the contact state of the plurality of impregnated bodies with respect to the transfer rollers. The service life is extended.

  In Patent Document 4, one impregnated body among a plurality of impregnated bodies is fixedly brought into contact with one of a pair of transfer rollers, and the other impregnated bodies are independent of any one of the transfer rollers. As a configuration in which contact and separation are possible, the supply of ink is extended.

  By the way, as described above, the ink ribbon cartridge is used by impregnating the ribbon with ink and circulating it through a printing portion in the printer. In the ink ribbon cartridge, even if the ink is supplied to the ribbon in a small amount or in a large amount, good printing cannot be obtained as described below.

  When the ink is supplied in a small amount, the printing is faint or the whole is printed thinly. On the other hand, when a large amount of ink is supplied, the ink smears on the paper and becomes unclear or the paper becomes dirty.

  In addition, the consumption of ink in the impregnated body is the consumption life of the ink ribbon cartridge (impregnated body) if a small amount is suddenly supplied after a temporary large amount is supplied at the start of use of a new ink ribbon cartridge. Is not desirable because it shortens.

  On the other hand, if a small amount of ink is supplied from the start of use of the new ink ribbon cartridge to the end of its service life, the service life can be lengthened. As well as being damaged, the print location of the printer can be damaged, which is undesirable.

  In view of the above, it is desirable to supply an appropriate amount of ink that is neither a small amount nor a large amount with respect to the ribbon, and the consumption of the ink in the impregnated material is quantitatively supplied when the consumption life is approaching. It can be said that it is desirable to supply a small amount rapidly.

  In general, in a region where a complicated character such as a Chinese character is used as a character to be printed, a 24-pin configuration is adopted for a printing portion of the printer. This is because, for example, complicated characters (with a large number of strokes) of kanji are printed. Accordingly, in other regions where characters having a relatively simple configuration such as the alphabet are used, a 9-pin configuration is adopted for the printing portion of the printer.

  Of course, even a printer in a region where a 9-pin configuration is used may have 24 pins in a printer that uses precision printing and simplified printing separately. Actually, the difference in the configuration of such a printer affects the ribbon fabric in the ink ribbon cartridge.

  That is, the ink ribbon cartridge used in a printer having a 24-pin configuration employs a high-density fabric that has durability against pin stamping and can be impregnated with a large amount of ink because the ribbon fabric is worn out and ink consumption is severe. Ink ribbon cartridges used in 9-pin printers use normal fabrics instead of high-density fabrics because the ribbon fabric wear and ink consumption are not as severe as in the case of the 24 pins.

  The printer manufacturer needs to meet the needs of each region with regard to the configuration of the printer itself such as 24 pins or 9 pins, but the ink ribbon cartridge used for it is desirable from the viewpoint of reducing unnecessary members if it can be shared. It is said that.

  When an ink ribbon cartridge used in a 24-pin printer is used in a 9-pin printer, a large amount of ink is impregnated even though the printer does not require much ink to print, for example, one letter (alphabet). When the ribbon is used, a large amount of ink is supplied to the printer, and there is a possibility that the ink may be blurred.

  On the other hand, if an ink ribbon cartridge used in a 9-pin printer is used in a 24-pin printer, for example, it is impregnated with a small amount of ink even though the printer configuration requires a large amount of ink for printing one character (Kanji). By using the formed ribbon, there is a possibility that a small amount of ink is supplied to the printer and the printing is faint.

  From the above, the ink ribbon cartridge is desired to be capable of appropriate printing in both 9-pin and 24-pin printers and to be shared, and any printer of any configuration. Even when it is adopted, it is desired that an appropriate amount of ink is supplied to the ribbon, and that the ink consumption in the impregnated body is quantitatively supplied and a small amount is rapidly supplied when the consumption life approaches. Yes.

  However, Patent Documents 1 to 4 cannot achieve the above-described desirable situation. In Patent Document 1, although the pressure contact force between the transfer roller and the impregnated body via the ribbon can be adjusted, the ink supply location is fixed at one location, so that the ink ribbon used in the printer having the 9-pin configuration There is a possibility of supplying a large amount to the ribbon of the cartridge, and there is a possibility of shortening the service life.

  Although Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration that supplies ink at two locations, it is not a configuration that switches between one location and two locations, so a large amount is required for a ribbon of an ink ribbon cartridge used in a 9-pin configuration printer. There is a possibility that it will be a supply and the life may be shortened.

  Although Patent Documents 3 and 4 have a longer life than Patent Documents 1 and 2 in that they have a plurality of impregnated bodies, the number of ink supply portions is one in the same manner as Patent Document 1; There is a possibility that a large amount of ink is supplied to the ribbon of the ink ribbon cartridge used in the printer, and it is necessary to store a plurality of impregnated bodies, which increases the size and cost of the casing.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that, in Patent Documents 1 to 4, when it is used for a ribbon of an ink ribbon cartridge used in a 9-pin printer, a large amount of ink may be supplied and the life may be shortened. It is difficult to share with a printer with a pin configuration and a 24-pin configuration, and Patent Documents 3 and 4 are points that increase the size and cost of the housing by having a plurality of impregnation bodies.

  In the ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention, the impregnated body has a circular shape in plan view, a plurality of transfer rollers are provided around the impregnated body, and a switching unit that switches between contact and retraction to the impregnated body is provided on the transfer roller. It is.

  In the ink ribbon cartridge according to the present invention, for example, the number of transfer rollers in contact with one impregnated body is changed by the switching unit, so that the amount of ink supplied to the ribbon is optimized and the life is further increased. The printer can be shared in a pin configuration and a 24-pin configuration printer.

  That is, as the ribbon fabric, a high-density fabric used for the 24-pin configuration is adopted in advance, and in the 9-pin configuration printer, for example, one transfer roller is in contact with the impregnated body at the time of initial use. In the printer having the configuration, the switching unit is operated so that, for example, at least two transfer rollers are brought into contact with the impregnated body during initial use.

  By doing so, an appropriate amount of ink is supplied to any printer of 9-pin configuration and 24-pin configuration. When the use proceeds and the ink supply from the initial transfer roller becomes insufficient, at least one transfer roller is further brought into contact with the impregnated body in both the 9-pin configuration and the 24-pin configuration. The switch is operated.

  As a result, the ink supply state, which has been apt to be deficient until then, is again adjusted to an appropriate amount by supplying ink from another location. At this time, since the supply is from the same impregnated body, a large amount of supply is not performed at a time unlike when a new impregnated body is used.

  The characteristics of ink supply from the impregnated body are the same in the configuration of the present application, but at the start of use, which is sufficiently impregnated with ink, a large amount of ink is supplied to the transfer roller at a time. Here, for example, in a configuration in which a plurality of impregnation bodies are switched as in Patent Documents 3 and 4, a large amount of supply at the start of use is inevitably generated when a new impregnation body is switched, and the printing result is partially thin (has faint ) Part and dark (bleeded) part.

  In contrast to the configurations of Patent Documents 3 and 4, in the case of the ink ribbon cartridge according to the present invention, a plurality of impregnated bodies are not provided. In this case, the amount of ink supplied from the impregnated body is no longer stable at the stage of the middle period of use, and no large amount of supply is generated from the “impregnated body”.

  From this, the ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention makes the transfer roller increase in contact with the impregnated body having a stable ink supply amount so far, so that the ink supply amount to each transfer roller Is in a stable state, so that an appropriate amount corresponding to the shortage is stably supplied from the transfer roller to the ribbon.

  In addition, since the ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention does not generate a large amount of supply, it is possible to extend the service life, and further, it is possible to increase the service life. The above increase in size is suppressed at least), and the cost increase corresponding to the increase in size of the housing can also be suppressed.

  The present invention can be implemented by the embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention. 2 and 3 and FIGS. 4 and 5 show the transfer roller switching state, respectively. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the ink supply amount and the printing amount.

  The ink ribbon cartridge 1 according to the present invention is formed by contacting a casing C with an endless long ribbon-like ribbon R impregnated with ink, an impregnated body 2 impregnated with ink, and the impregnated body 2. The details will be described below on the premise of a configuration having a transfer roller 3 for transferring ink to a ribbon.

  In FIG. 1, the casing C is the side where the head of the printer is located when the lower side of the paper shown in FIG. 1 is attached to a printer (not shown). The ribbon R is drawn from the left side of the paper and the ribbon R is drawn from the right side of the page. Is sent back into the housing C. The inside of the housing C is partitioned into respective chambers of a gear chamber S1, a storage chamber S2, a supply chamber S3, and a delivery chamber S4 (drawer side) in order from the sending back side of the ribbon R.

  The gear chamber S1 is provided with a pair of gears G and G, and the ribbon R is a path that passes between the gears G and G. That is, by rotating the gears G and G, the ribbon R is fed by the teeth engaged with the gears G and G.

  The storage chamber S2 stores the fed-back ribbon R as it is without being restricted. The supply chamber S3 will be described in detail later. The delivery chamber S4 is provided with twisted projections M1, M2, and M3 that invert the ribbon R drawn from the storage chamber S2 through the supply chamber S4 stepwise.

  Twist convex part M1 makes the other end side incline 45 degrees from the width direction one end side of ribbon R when ribbon R contact | abuts. Twist convex part M2 makes the other end side incline 45 degrees from the width direction one end side of ribbon R when ribbon R contact | abuts. At this time, the ribbon R is inclined 90 ° from the initial state of entering the delivery chamber S4.

  Twist convex part M3 makes the other end side incline 45 degrees from the width direction one end side of ribbon R when ribbon R contact | abuts. When the ribbon R has passed through the twisting projection M3, the ribbon R is inclined 135 ° from the initial state of entering the delivery chamber S4, and is finally further pulled out of the housing C from the delivery chamber S4. It is inclined 45 ° and the width direction of the ribbon R is reversed 180 ° (that is, the front and back are reversed).

  The supply chamber S <b> 3 has a circular shape in plan view, and includes an impregnated body 2 impregnated with ink, which has a cylindrical shape with a small height as a whole. The impregnated body 2 is pivotally supported by a shaft 2a provided in the housing C so as to be rotatable. Around the impregnated body 2, a plurality of, for example, two transfer rollers 3a and 3b (generally referred to as transfer rollers 3) are provided in this example.

  The transfer roller 3 has a shaft 3A that is pivotable by a long hole CA formed on the front and back surfaces of the entire housing C and rails CB formed on the inner and outer surfaces of the front and back surfaces of the housing C. It is supported and can be brought into contact with and separated from the impregnated body 2.

  The shaft 3A is formed with an engagement hole 3B at one end portion of both end portions of the shaft. Moreover, the engagement hole CC is provided also in the single side | surface of the housing | casing C in the same side as the engagement hole 3B was provided. A bifurcated engagement pin P is inserted into the engagement hole 3B of the shaft 3A and the engagement hole CC of the housing C as necessary. That is, the switching part 4 in this invention is comprised by the engagement pin P, the engagement hole 3B, and the engagement hole CC.

  The switching unit 4 switches contact and separation of the transfer roller 3 with respect to the impregnated body 2. That is, when the transfer roller 3 is separated from the impregnated body 2, the transfer roller 3 is moved radially outward of the impregnated body 2 along the long hole CA and the rail CB, and the engagement hole 3B and the engagement hole 3 are moved. The engagement pin P is inserted with respect to CC.

  On the other hand, when the transfer roller 3 is brought into contact with the impregnated body 2, if the engagement pin P is removed from the engagement hole 3B and the engagement hole CC, the transfer roller 3 is brought into contact with the long hole CA and the rail CB by the tension of the ribbon R. Along the radial direction of the impregnated body 2.

  In this example, the transfer roller 3a is always brought into contact with the impregnated body 2. On the other hand, the transfer roller 3 b is configured to be switched between contact and retraction with respect to the impregnated body 2 by the switching unit 4.

  The ribbon R is tensioned by a guide pin Ca standing at a predetermined position on the inner surface of the casing C so as to pass outside the impregnated body 2 of the transfer roller 3. Therefore, particularly in the case of the configuration of this example, the transfer roller 3 moves to the impregnating body 2 side by the tension of the ribbon R just by removing the engaging pin P of the switching unit 4. The member for making contact and separation with respect to 2 can be reduced.

  The ink ribbon cartridge 1 having the above configuration is suitable for use as follows. At the beginning of use, the transfer roller 3 a is in contact with the impregnated body 2, and the transfer roller 3 b is separated from the impregnated body 2 by the switching unit 4. Therefore, no ink is supplied to the ribbon R from the transfer roller 3b.

  When the use is started, the transfer roller 3a is rotated by pulling out the ribbon R, and the impregnated body 2 is rotated along with the rotation of the transfer roller 3a. By rotating the impregnated body 2, it is possible to quantitatively supply ink from the entire area of the impregnated body 2 to the transfer roller 3.

  When the remaining ink in the impregnated body 2 decreases and the supply of ink by the transfer roller 3a tends to be insufficient, the transfer roller 3b is brought into contact with the impregnated body 2 by the switching unit 4. At this time, since the residual ink of the impregnated body 2 has already been reduced as described above, there is no possibility of a large amount of supply, and there are two transfer locations for the ribbon R by the transfer roller 3a and the transfer roller 3b. Therefore, a small amount supply is eliminated.

  In addition, since the impregnated body 2 rotates and the ink is uniformly supplied as a whole, even if the number of transfer points is increased by the transfer roller 3b, there is no possibility of temporary large-scale supply. That is, since the impregnated body 2 is naturally supplied with ink from the vicinity of the portion that contacts the transfer roller 3, the portion farther from the contact point with the transfer roller 3 is supplied later in time than the closer portion. become. In other words, it will remain.

  If the impregnated body 2 is configured not to rotate, there is a possibility that ink does not remain around the area where the transfer roller 3a is always in contact, but remains at the expected contact area of the transfer roller 3b. Then, when the transfer roller 3b comes into contact with the impregnated body 2 from the middle of use, there is a possibility that a large amount of ink still impregnated is temporarily supplied to the transfer roller 3b.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink ribbon cartridge 1 in which the impregnated body 2 has a circular shape in plan view has some fluctuation even when the transfer roller 3b is brought into contact with the ink supply portion to the ribbon R and the number of ink supply portions increases to two. However, it does not become a large amount of supply (which adversely affects the printing result) and can be supplied quantitatively until the end of use.

  At the end of use, the ink that has been uniformly supplied from the impregnated body 2 as a whole does not truly remain, so that printing is faint or thinned and the user can clearly grasp the life. From this, a secondary effect that the wear of the ribbon R can be suppressed by continuing to use the ink ribbon cartridge 1 by the user unnecessarily is also obtained.

  The example described above shows an example in which the switching unit 4 is manually switched. For example, the switching unit 4 is operated by some control and mechanism, for example, from the beginning of use until a predetermined time elapses, and after a predetermined time elapses, In this case, the number of transfer rollers 3 brought into contact with the impregnated body 2 may be increased. In this way, the ink can be consumed appropriately easily and without any consideration by the user.

  Note that the ink ribbon cartridge 1 of the present invention has shown a use example related to the supply of ink in this example. However, as a use example related to the print result, for example, the transfer roller 3a at the time of draft printing to save ink. It is also possible to perform switching for bringing the transfer roller 3b into contact with the impregnated body 2 (for example, at the time of high-quality printing). Even in this case, since the impregnated body 2 is configured to rotate, a large amount is not supplied during high-quality printing.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the ink ribbon cartridge of this invention. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which some of the transfer rollers are separated from the impregnated body in a state where the upper surface of the casing around the supply chamber of the ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention is opened. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which a part of the plurality of transfer rollers are separated from the impregnated body in a state where the upper surface of the casing around the supply chamber of the ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention is transmitted. It is a perspective view which shows the state which made all the transfer rollers contact the impregnation body in the state which open | released the upper surface of the housing | casing around the supply chamber of the ink ribbon cartridge of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which made all the transfer rollers contact the impregnation body in the state which permeate | transmitted the upper surface of the housing | casing of the supply chamber periphery of the ink ribbon cartridge of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the ink supply condition of the ink ribbon cartridge of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink ribbon cartridge 2 Impregnation body 2a Shaft 3 (3a, 3b) Transfer roller 3A Shaft 3B Engagement hole 4 Switching part C Case CA Long hole CB Rail CC Engagement hole P Engagement pin R Ribbon

Claims (2)

  An endless ribbon having a long strip shape for impregnating the ink, an impregnated body impregnated with the ink for supplying ink to the ribbon, a transfer roller for contacting the impregnated body and transferring the ink to the ribbon, In the ink ribbon cartridge having the above structure, the impregnated body has a circular shape in plan view, a plurality of transfer rollers are provided around the impregnated body, and a switching unit for switching between contact and retraction to the impregnated body is provided in the transfer roller. An ink ribbon cartridge.   2. The ink ribbon cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the switching unit performs switching so as to increase the number of transfer rollers brought into contact with the impregnated body from the beginning of use until a predetermined time elapses and after a predetermined time elapses.

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