JPH04211979A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shift a printing ribbon provided with areas of different colors in the width direction with a simple construction. CONSTITUTION:Two guide shafts 9, 10 are provided in parallel to a cyrindrical platen 11. These two guide shafts 9, 10 are inserted through a carriage 12 with a printing head 13 mounted thereon. The carriage 12 can move along the axial direction of the shafts. A ribbon guide 61 is provided so as to shake about the guide shaft 10 which is the farther one from said platen 11. The ribbon guide 61 moves together with the carriage 12. The ribbon guide 61 is shaken as a ribbon cassette is shaken by a motor 51 at the time of a ribbon shift.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to printers, and more particularly to a guide structure for a printing ribbon.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In a printer, a printing ribbon is stretched and guided between a platen and a printing head for performing a printing operation. The print ribbon is raised from the lower paper feeding position only when the print head performs a printing operation so that a predetermined portion thereof faces the print head.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] For this reason, in conventional printers, for example, a shaft that is the center of vertical movement of the printing ribbon is provided on the carriage that supports the print head, and a guide that supports the printing ribbon is stretched around the shaft. It supported the parts. Therefore, the number of parts increases due to the necessity of parts such as the shaft. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a large number of parts such as a ribbon swinging member on the carriage, which increases the inertial mass of the carriage, making it difficult to drive it at high speed. This invention is
There is no need to provide a special support member for the guide member for the print ribbon, the structure is simple and the number of parts can be reduced, and as the guide member rotates, the print ribbon can be placed precisely in front of the print head. Can be placed correspondingly,
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can drive a carriage at high speed.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a platen extending along the printing direction, a carriage on which a print head is placed and movable parallel to the platen, and a carriage that supports the platen. A guide shaft extending in the direction of the print line at a position farther than the print head as a starting point, and a print ribbon held in front of the print head and swingable in a direction intersecting the print line about the guide shaft as a swing center; The present invention is characterized by comprising a guide member slidably supported along the guide shaft as the carriage moves, and a drive means for swinging the guide member.

[0005]

[Operation] In the present invention having the above structure, the mounted ribbon cassette swings about the guide shaft by driving the driving means in accordance with the ribbon shift. According to this swing, the position used for printing (the position facing the print head surface) changes.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a printer embodying the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

As shown in FIG. 1, a printer case 1 has an upper case 2 and a lower case 3 assembled together at the center.
A printing mechanism unit 4 is located on one side of the interior, and a tractor unit 5 constituting a tractor means is located on the other side.
are accommodated in each. The unit frame 6 of the printing mechanism unit 4 has a hollow construction bar 8 between a pair of left and right side plates 7, a first guide shaft 9 in the shape of a round bar located above, and a second guide shaft in the shape of a round bar located below. A cylindrical platen 11 is rotatably supported between the side plates 7 above the first and second guide shafts 9 and 10.

The carriage 12 is supported by the first and second guide shafts 9 and 10 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and a print head 13 is placed on the upper part of the carriage 12 so as to face the platen 11 from diagonally below. . The ribbon cassette 14 is arranged between the both side plates 7 of the printing unit frame 6, and a part of the ink ribbon 15 pulled out from inside the ribbon cassette 14 is placed on the platen 11.
It is transported along the position facing the upper print head 13, that is, along the printing position. Then, while the carriage 12 is moved in the left and right direction, the print head 13 moves the platen 1
Printing is performed on the printing paper via the ribbon 15 at the printing position above 1. Each pair of feed rollers 16, 17, 18,
Reference numerals 19 are arranged at the front and rear of the paper feeding direction in a substantially tangential direction of the printing position on the platen 11, and when a motor (not shown) is rotated, the feeding rollers 16 and 17 are moved through a gear mechanism (not shown). , 18, and 19 are rotated together with the platen 11 in the paper feeding direction to transport the printing paper while holding it there. The passage forming member 20 and the guide member 31 are arranged so as to substantially sandwich the tangent line of the platen 11, and the passage forming member 20, the guide member 31, and each of the feed rollers 16 to 19 form a paper guide passage 21 passing through the printing position. has been done. Further, the paper guide path 21 is substantially flat and has an inclined state in which the introduction side to the printing position is located lower than the discharge side.

The tractor unit 5 includes a guide shaft 22 and a transmission shaft 23 extending in parallel in the left-right direction;
23 and a pair of left and right pin tractors 24 supported so as to be movable and adjustable in the paper width direction, and the upper surface of the pin tractors 24 is approximately flush with the paper guide passage 21 on the upstream side in the paper feeding direction. It is arranged in a tilted position. The pin tractor 24 has a structure in which a pin-equipped belt is stretched around a pair of pulleys supported by both shafts 22 and 23, similar to a conventional device of the same type. and,
Feed holes provided on both sides of the continuous printing paper are fitted into the pins of the double pin tractor 24, and the transmission shaft 23 is rotated by the rotation of a motor (not shown), and the pin tractor 24 is rotated, so that the continuous printing paper can be printed continuously. The printing paper is in the paper guide path 21
The introduction will be announced later.

The manual feeding guide plate 25 is supported above the tractor unit 5 between both side plates 7 of the printing unit frame 6, and extends substantially horizontally on the upper surface thereof and intersects with the paper guide path 21 at a predetermined angle. Guide surface 2
6 is formed. A cut sheet of printing paper is manually introduced and guided into the paper guide path 21 along the guide surface 26 of the guide plate 25. A pair of left and right side guide plates 27 are mounted on the guide plate 25 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction, and both edges of the printing paper are guided and regulated by engagement with the side guide plates 27.

Next, the supporting structure of the carriage 12 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. The upper end of the carriage 12 is supported by the first guide shaft 9 through a sleeve 32 so as to be movable in the print line direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, an extending portion extending toward the platen 11 from approximately the middle of the carriage 12 in the longitudinal direction is formed at the upper end of the carriage 12, and the nose of the print head 13 is formed from this extending portion. A protrusion 12 protruding toward the portion 13a
a is formed. A head ribbon guide 60, which will be described later, is inserted and fixed into this protrusion 12a.

Then, the first guide shaft 9 is moved to the eccentric shaft portion 3 by operating an operating lever (not shown) fixed to one end thereof.
0, the axis of the first guide shaft 9 is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the printing line direction, and the carriage 1
2 are closely spaced apart from the platen 11. As a result, the distance between the platen 11 and the carriage 12 is changed, and the distance between the printing surface of the printing paper on the platen 11 and the print head 13 becomes a constant length regardless of the thickness of the paper, and Printing can be performed with a constant impact force on the paper.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the second guide shaft 10 located below is connected to the frame 6 at both ends.
A sleeve 33 is fitted onto the second guide shaft 10 so as to be movable in the axial direction. A flat sliding surface 34 is formed on the outer periphery of the sleeve 33, and a pin-shaped projection 35 is protruded from approximately the center thereof. An engaging arm 36 that engages with the sleeve 33 and has a substantially U-shaped cross section is formed at the lower end of the carriage 12, and has an engaging arm 36 on one side that engages with the protrusion 35 while sliding on the sliding surface 34 of the sleeve 33. A two-pronged sliding portion 37 that fits together is provided. With this engagement configuration, the lower end of the carriage 12 is movably supported by the second guide shaft 10 via the sleeve 33 in the printing line direction, and the sleeve 33 on the second guide shaft 10
3 so as to be slidable and rotatable.

Therefore, even if the first and second guide shafts 9 and 10 are not assembled with high precision so that they are parallel to each other on the frame 6, when the carriage 12 moves in the printing line direction, the second The sliding portion 37 of the carriage 12 is rotated relative to the sleeve 33 on the guide shaft 10 around the protrusion 35, and the carriage 12 can be smoothly moved without twisting the connecting portion or generating large frictional resistance. . or,
By rotating the first guide shaft 9 around the eccentric shaft portion 30, the axis is displaced in a direction perpendicular to the printing line direction, and the carriage 12 is moved close to and away from the platen 11, thereby adjusting the thickness of the printing paper. If the distance between the platen 11 and the carriage 12 is changed so that the distance between the printing surface and the print head 13 is constant regardless of the
is slid along the sliding surface 34 while the sliding portion 37 remains engaged with the protrusion 35 of the sleeve 33 on the second guide shaft 10. Therefore, even when the distance between the platen 11 and the carriage 12 is changed, the sliding part 37 of the carriage 12 is relatively rotated around the protrusion 35 as before the change, so the carriage 12 is supported in the printing line direction. The printing operation is performed without any movement.

Next, the supporting structure of the ribbon cassette 14 will be explained in detail. As shown in FIG. It is arranged apart from the platen 11. As shown in FIG. 6, the cassette holder 41 is supported by the lower second guide shaft 10 so as to be movable up and down, and a drive sprocket 42 that is rotated by a ribbon feed motor (not shown) projects from the upper surface of the cassette holder 41. At the same time, a long hole 43 is formed in the side part.

The ribbon cassette 14 containing the printing ribbon 15 has elastic fitting portions 44 protruding from the bottom of both ends, and the elastic fitting portions 44 are removably fitted to the second guide shaft 10. placed on the cassette holder 41,
It is rotatably supported by the second guide shaft 10 together with the cassette holder 41 . Inside the ribbon cassette 14 are a drive feed roller 45 that is rotated by engaging with a drive sprocket 42 on the cassette holder 41;
A reciprocating feed roller 46 is provided which is rotated while being in pressure contact with the roller 5 . In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9, the printing ribbon 15 is provided with a plurality of different color portions 47a, 47b, 47c, and 47d divided in the vertical direction. Ribbon is used.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a rotating disk 48
is rotatably supported by one side plate 7 of the printing unit frame 6, and has an eccentric pin 49 protruding from its inner surface that engages with the elongated hole 43 of the cassette holder 41.
A driven gear 50 is formed on the outer periphery over a predetermined angular range. A ribbon lift motor 51 constituting a driving means is mounted on one side plate 7, and a driving gear 52 that meshes with a driven gear 50 of the rotating disk 48 is fixed to the motor shaft. When the rotary disk 48 is selectively rotated to a predetermined angular position by the motor 51, the eccentric pin 49 rotates the cassette holder 41 about the second guide shaft 10 while moving within the elongated hole 43. The ribbon cassette 14 placed on the cassette holder 41 can be rotated to four positions in the vertical direction.

The spring piece 53 is integrally formed on the rotating disk 48, and a stopper 54 is provided on the side plate 7 so as to intersect with the rotation locus of the spring piece 53. When the drive gear 52 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 7 by the motor 51, the rotary disk 48 is rotated by a predetermined angle clockwise in FIG. The teeth of the driven gear 50 are disengaged, and the spring piece 53 moves to the stopper 54.
It becomes engaged and bent. When the rotation of the drive gear 52 is stopped by the motor 51 from this state, the spring piece 5
3, the rotary disk 48 is slightly rotated counterclockwise to the position where both gears 50 and 52 start meshing, and the ribbon cassette 14 is positioned and held at the lowermost home position. Thereafter, as the motor 51 rotates by a predetermined amount, the rotating disk 48 rotates by a predetermined amount, and the ribbon cassette 14 together with the cassette holder 41 is rotated by a predetermined amount about the second guide shaft. are arranged opposite to the print head 13.

Next, the guide structure of the print ribbon 15 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the nose portion 13a of the print head 13 has a projection 12a on the upper end of the carriage 12. A body portion in which an engagement hole 60a is formed, and a printing ribbon 1 extending vertically from the front end of this body portion.
Ribbon guide surface 6 formed with approximately the same curvature as the rotation locus of 5
A head ribbon guide 60 consisting of 0b is inserted. When the head ribbon guide 60 is inserted into the nose portion 13a of the print head 13 and the print head 13 is placed on the upper end of the carriage 12, the engagement hole 60a engages with the protrusion 12a, and the head ribbon guide 60 is inserted into the nose portion 13a of the print head 13. A ribbon guide 60 is fixed to the carriage 12. The print ribbon 15 can be rotated by the head ribbon guide 60 without being hooked on the tip of the print head 13, and when the carriage 12 slides in the print line direction, the guide member 61 (described later) allows printing. head 1
The force received by the nose portion 13a of No. 3 is reduced. The head ribbon guide 60 is formed with a through hole 60c through which the tip of the nose portion 13a faces. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, a guide member 61 made of synthetic resin is rotatably supported by an arm portion 62 at the base end about the second guide shaft 10 located below, and a carriage 12 is mounted between the arm portions 62. It is connected to the carriage 12 so as to be integrally movable in the printing line direction by sandwiching the lower end engagement sleeve 33 of the . Connecting portion 63b that connects the pair of standing leg portions 63a and the dual supporting leg portion 63a
The mounting member 63 consists of a connecting part 6 with the compatible leg part 63a.
The head ribbon guide 6 is inserted into the opening 63c between the head ribbon guide 6 and the
An engagement groove 64 is formed at the tip of the guide member 61 so as to be fitted across the two legs. A pair of metal support pins 65 are attached to the carriage 1.
The guide member 61 is provided with a protruding distal end spaced apart from the erected leg parts 63a so as to be located on both sides of the print head 13 in the moving direction of the guide member 61.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the support frame 66 made of synthetic resin has a pair of elastic leg pieces 67 formed on its inner surface with protrusions 68 that engage with the engagement grooves 64 of the mounting portion 63. It is fitted into the mounting portion 63 and removably attached to the tip of the guide member 61. A pair of upper and lower support pieces 69 are provided on the left and right sides of the support frame 66, and a support boss 70 is provided protruding from the opposing inner surfaces of the support pieces 69. An insertion hole 71 having a diameter is formed.

A pair of guide rollers 72 made of synthetic resin for guiding and supporting the printing ribbon 15 in parallel with the platen 11 have large diameter holes 73 at both ends loosely fitted into the support bosses 70 and each of the support frames 66 It is rotatably held between support pieces 69. Then, as described above, the support frame 66 is attached to the guide member 6.
1, each support pin 65 on the guide member 61 passes through the insertion hole 71 of the support frame 66 and is inserted into the small diameter hole 74 of both guide rollers 72, as shown in FIG. The large diameter hole 73 of the guide roller 72 is directly rotatably supported by the support pin 65 in a state separated from the support boss 70 of the support frame 66 .

Therefore, the print ribbon 15 is attached to the print head 1.
The ribbon is always stretched and supported between the platen 11 and the print head 13 in parallel with the platen 11 by a pair of guide rollers 72 arranged on both sides of the ribbon. The transfer will be carried out smoothly. Further, in this embodiment, as described above, the large diameter portion 73 of each guide roller 72 is directly inserted and supported by the support pin 65 while being separated from the support boss 70 of the support frame 66, so that the support piece 66 and The contact portion with the guide roller 72 is the opposing inner surface of the support piece 66 and the guide roller 72.
It is limited to the contact surface with both end surfaces of. Therefore, compared to the case where the guide roller 72 is rotatably supported only by the support boss 70, when the guide roller 72 rotates,
The amount of wear that occurs between the guide roller 72 made of synthetic resin and the support frame 66 is negligible, and play occurs between the guide roller 72 and the support frame 66 due to the wear.
Problems in ribbon feeding caused by wear, such as ribbon feeding not being carried out smoothly, are eliminated.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, each color portion 47a, 47b, A plurality of grooves 76 are formed corresponding to the boundaries between 47c and 47d. The groove 76 divides the circumferential surface 75 of the guide roller 72 into four dividing surfaces 75a, 75b, 75c, and 75d in the axial direction. Further, this groove 76 is formed with a predetermined width, so that when the printing ribbon 15 is guided and transported by the guide roller 72, even if it slides on the circumferential surface 75 in the width direction,
The boundary of the printing ribbon 15 always faces the groove 76 and does not come into contact with the circumferential surface 75 of the guide roller 72. Therefore, when the printing ribbon 15 is guided and transported by the guide roller 72 during the printing operation, each color portion 15a to 15d of the printing ribbon 15 is moved to the corresponding dividing surface 75.
guided only by a to 75d, four dividing surfaces 75a
~75d. Therefore, the colored portions 15a to 15d of the printing ribbon 15 do not come into contact with the divided surfaces 75a to 75d colored in different colors, so that color mixing does not occur.

Next, the connecting means for connecting the guide member 61 and the ribbon cassette 14 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the contact roller 81 rotates at the center of the upper surface of the guide member 61. Possibly supported. A leaf spring 82 is provided on the carriage 12, and its spring force urges the guide member 61 to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, so that the contact roller 81 is pressed against the lower surface of the ribbon cassette 14. Therefore, the guide member 61 and the ribbon cassette 14 are always in a state where they are integrally rotatably connected via the contact roller 81, and when the carriage 12 is moved in the printing line direction, the contact roller 81 is connected to the ribbon cassette 14. The guide member 6 is rolled along the lower surface of the guide member 6.
1 is moved together with the carriage 12.

Further, in this embodiment, as described above, the rotating disk 48 is rotated clockwise in FIGS. 6 and 7 by the ribbon lift motor 51 as a driving means, and the ribbon cassette 14 is moved to the lower second When the guide member 61 is rotated around the guide shaft 10 to the lowest home position, the guide member 61 is rotated around the same second guide shaft 10 integrally with the ribbon cassette 14, and the printing ribbon is always rotated. 15
The black color portion 47a located at the top of the print head 13
They are arranged facing each other in front of the From this state, the rotary disk 48 is selectively rotated to a predetermined angular position by the motor 51, so that the cassette holder 41
At the same time, the ribbon cassette 14 and the guide member 61 are rotated upward to three different positions, and the blue, red, and yellow colored portions 47b, 47c, and 47d on the print ribbon 15 are selectively arranged in front of the print head 13. Then, the printing operation is performed. As described above, since the guide roller 72 that holds the printing ribbon 15 in tension rotates around the guide shaft 10 located on the side farther from the platen 11 than the carriage 12, the radius of one rotation becomes larger. The print ribbon 15 does not wrinkle or loosen.

Next, another embodiment of the connecting means between the guide member 61 and the ribbon cassette 14 will be described with reference to FIG. An opening 92 is formed downward at one end thereof. The engagement roller 93 is rotatably supported by a support protrusion 94 on the guide member 61, and when the ribbon cassette 14 is installed with the carriage 12 and the guide member 61 stationary at one end of movement in the print line direction. The engagement roller 93 enters the engagement groove 91 from the opening 92, and as the carriage 12 and guide member 61 move in the print line direction, the engagement roller 93 rolls along the engagement groove 91. It is designed to be moved.

Therefore, in this embodiment as well, the guide member 61 and the ribbon cassette 14 are connected so as to be integrally rotatable by the engagement between the engaging roller 93 and the engaging groove 91, and in this connected state, both 61, 14 is rotated appropriately,
Predetermined color portions 47a to 47d on print ribbon 15 are selectively arranged at positions corresponding to the front surface of print head 13.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be implemented by changing the configuration of each part as desired without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0029]

Effects of the Invention As detailed above, according to the invention of this application, there is no need to provide a special support member such as a shaft on the carriage for the guide member for the printing ribbon, and the structure is simple and the number of parts is reduced. In addition, as the guide member rotates, the printing ribbon can be accurately positioned in front of the print head. Further, since there is no need to provide a ribbon driving member or the like on the carriage, an excellent effect is achieved in that the carriage can be driven at high speed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of essential parts showing an embodiment of a printer embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a portion of the head ribbon guide.

FIG. 3 is also a sectional view.

FIG. 4 is also a front view.

FIG. 5 is an exploded partial perspective view showing the support structure of the carriage relative to the lower guide shaft.

FIG. 6 is an exploded partial perspective view of the ribbon cassette and its rotation structure.

7 is a partial perspective view taken along line AA in FIG. 6. FIG.

FIG. 8 is a partially exploded perspective view of a guide member for a printing ribbon.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing the assembly configuration of the guide roller.

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the connecting means between the guide member and the ribbon cassette.

[Explanation of symbols] 10 Guide shaft 11 Platen 13 Print head 14 Ribbon cassette 15 Printing ribbon 61 Guide member

Claims (1)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A platen extending along the printing direction;
a carriage on which a print head is placed and movable parallel to the platen; a guide shaft extending in the print line direction at a position farther from the print head from the platen; and a print ribbon held in front of the print head. , a guide member that is swingable in a direction intersecting the printed line about the guide shaft as a swing center and is supported slidably along the guide shaft as the carriage moves; and a guide member that swings the guide member. A printer characterized in that it is equipped with a driving means for driving the printer.