JP2002347320A - Dot impact printer and its controlling method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dot impact printer, and its controlling method, in which a ribbon cartridge can be replaced easily. SOLUTION: A dot impact printer holding a ribbon cartridge 42 inclinably on a ribbon base 40 secured to a carriage 19 comprises a control means for inclining the ribbon cartridge 42 to a removing position when it has reached a replacing position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base and a control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, an on-carriage type dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is held on a ribbon base fixed to a carriage, and a stationery carriage type dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is held on a ribbon base fixed to a frame. Are known.

In this type, a ribbon cartridge is held by a ribbon base so as to be tiltable, and by tilting the ribbon cartridge during a printing operation, the full width of the ink ribbon can be effectively used. .

In a dot impact printer of the on-carriage type, a ribbon replacement position is set at one corner of the front side of the printer body, and when the ribbon cartridge reaches this replacement position, the ribbon can be replaced.

Conventionally, when the ribbon cartridge is moved to the ribbon exchange position, a device for automatically moving the ribbon cartridge to the ribbon exchange position at the end of the printing operation or a button switch is provided. One that moves to a position has been proposed. In any case, when the ribbon cartridge reaches the ribbon replacement position, the tilt angle of the ribbon cartridge is not determined. That is, the ribbon cartridge reaches the ribbon replacement position while maintaining the tilt angle at the end of the printing operation.

[0006]

Generally, when a ribbon cartridge is replaced, a tilt angle of the ribbon cartridge which is easy to replace the ribbon cartridge is set.

However, when the ribbon cartridge arrives at the ribbon replacement position with the tilt angle at the end of the printing operation as in the related art, it may be difficult to replace the ribbon. In this case, replacement of the ribbon cartridge becomes difficult, and the ribbon may be damaged.

This problem also occurs in a dot impact printer of a stationary carriage type.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a dot impact printer which solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and which can easily replace a ribbon cartridge, and a control method therefor.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In a dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a carriage, when the ribbon cartridge reaches a ribbon replacement position, control means is provided for tilting the ribbon cartridge to a removal position. And

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a frame, and when the printing operation is completed, the control means for tilting the ribbon cartridge to a removal position is provided. It is characterized by having.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the tilt angle at the end of printing of the ribbon cartridge is stored, and when the printing operation is restarted without replacing the ribbon cartridge, the ribbon cartridge is replaced. Is returned to the tilt angle at the end of printing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the method for controlling a dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a carriage, when the ribbon cartridge reaches a ribbon replacement position, Is tilted to the removal position.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dot impact printer control method in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a frame.
When the printing operation is completed, the ribbon cartridge is tilted to the removal position.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in accordance with the fourth or fifth aspect, the tilt angle at the end of printing of the ribbon cartridge is stored, and when the printing operation is restarted without replacing the ribbon cartridge, the ribbon cartridge is replaced. Is returned to the tilt angle at the end of printing.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a printer main body of a dot impact printer to which an embodiment of a motor holding mechanism according to the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the printer main body of FIG.

The printer 10 as a recording apparatus shown in these figures records characters by striking a large number of recording wires of a recording head onto a sheet via an ink ribbon (both not shown) to record dots. It is a dot impact printer that prints images. This printer 10
A printer main body 11 as a recording apparatus main body, a push tractor unit 12 mounted on the printer main body 11,
An upper case (not shown) and a lower case 13 that respectively cover the upper and lower portions of the printer main body 11;
And a sheet supply guide 43 that is provided on the front side of the sheet feeding guide 1 and guides the cut sheet K.

The sheets include the cut sheet K cut to a predetermined length and a continuous sheet formed by connecting a plurality of sheets. The cut sheet K includes, for example, cut sheet, copy paper, cut film, and the like, and the continuous sheet includes continuous paper.

The printer main body 11 includes a base frame 14, a main frame 15, a left side frame 16 and a right side frame 17 as a main body frame, a recording head 18 and a carriage 19 as a recording mechanism, and a sheet transport mechanism. Platen 20, sheet guide 2
5, a first transport roller 21, a second transport roller 22, a third transport roller 23, and a fourth transport roller 24.

Base frame 14 and main frame 1
5, a left side frame 16 and a right side frame 17 are fixed upright at substantially both ends. A lower carriage shaft 26 and an upper carriage shaft 27 are suspended between the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17 at a predetermined distance in the vertical direction. Of these, the lower carriage shaft 2
6 is rotatably supported by the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17. A platen 20 is bridged between the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17 so as to be rotatable, and a seat guide 25 is fixedly provided.

The push tractor unit 12 shown in FIG.
Is to be supplied to the above-described sheet transport mechanism section having
It has a pair of left and right tractors 28. These tractors 2
Reference numeral 8 denotes a tractor drive pulley (not shown) rotatably supported on the tractor drive shaft 29 so as to be rotatable and axially slidable, and a tractor rotatably supported on the tractor guide shaft 30 and slidably in the axial direction. A tractor belt 31 is wound around a driven pulley (not shown) and includes a sheet holding lid 32.

The distance between the pair of tractors 28 can be adjusted according to the width of a continuous sheet (continuous paper) to be conveyed. Also, a plurality of pins 33 protruding from the entire outer periphery of the tractor belt 31 can be engaged with holes (not shown) formed on both sides in the width direction of the continuous sheet. The sheet transport mechanism including the platen 20 is such that the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 are located on the front side of the printer body 11 with respect to the platen 20, and the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are located in the printer body. 11 are arranged on the rear side. Further, the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 are arranged vertically, and the third transport roller 23 and the fourth transport roller 24 are arranged vertically to form a pair.

The first transport roller 21 and the third transport roller 23 are disposed below the sheet guide 25 together with the platen 20, and the second transport roller 22 and the fourth transport roller 24 are disposed above the sheet guide 25. Is done. The upper portions of the platen 20, the first transport roller 21, and the third transport roller 23 project above the sheet guide 25. In addition, a sheet holding plate 37 that holds a sheet between the sheet guide 25 and the sheet guide 25 is provided on the front side of the printer body 11 in the sheet guide 25.

Platen 20, first conveying roller 21, second
The transport roller 22, the third transport roller 23, and the fourth transport roller 24 are moved clockwise (C in FIG.
W) or counterclockwise (CCW). The tractor belt 31 of the push tractor unit 12 is similarly driven counterclockwise by the drive train wheel unit 34.

The drive wheel train 34 shown in FIG. 1 is installed on one of the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17, for example, on the right side frame 17. The drive wheel train unit 34 includes a motor pinion 36 that is fixed to the drive shaft of a sheet supply motor 35 that can rotate forward or reverse, and that is integrally rotated. The driving force from the motor pinion 36 is applied to the platen 20, the first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, and the third transport roller 2 via a wrapping transmission mechanism or a gear mechanism.
Third, the power can be transmitted to the fourth transport roller 24 and the push tractor unit 12.

Cut sheet K such as cut sheet or copy paper is
As shown in FIG. 2, after being manually supplied from the front side of the printer main body 11, the platen 20, the clockwise rotation of the first transport roller 21 and the third transport roller 23, and the second transport roller 22, the fourth transport Due to the counterclockwise rotation of the roller 24, the sheet is conveyed from the front to the rear of the printer main body 11 in the direction of arrow A, and the platen 20, the first conveyance roller 21, and the third conveyance roller 23 are rotated counterclockwise. In addition, by the clockwise rotation of the second transport roller 22 and the fourth transport roller 24, the printer body 11 is transported from the rear to the front in the arrow B direction.

On the other hand, a continuous sheet such as continuous paper is supplied from the rear side of the printer body 11 in the direction of arrow B by the push tractor unit 12, and then the platen 20, the first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22, 3 transport rollers 2
The same direction (arrow B direction) by the third and fourth transport rollers 24
Transported to

As a result, the cut sheet K and the continuous sheet are conveyed in the sub-scanning direction of the carriage 19, which is orthogonal to the main scanning direction described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 19 has a lower carriage shaft 26 and an upper carriage shaft 27.
And a recording head 18 is mounted. Lower carriage shaft 26 and upper carriage shaft 2
7 is arranged in parallel with the platen 20, the carriage 19 is provided with the platen 20, the lower carriage shaft 2
The main carriage 6 and the upper carriage shaft 27 are provided so as to be able to travel (scan) in the main scanning direction coincident with the axial direction.

The carriage 19 is connected to a timing belt 39 (FIG. 2) which is reciprocated by the forward or reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor 38. Accordingly, the carriage 19 is guided by the lower carriage shaft 26 and the upper carriage shaft 27 via the timing belt 39 by forward or reverse rotation of the carriage drive motor 38, and scans leftward or rightward in FIG. 1 in the main scanning direction. Is done. Here, the carriage drive motor 38 is configured by, for example, a stepping motor together with the sheet supply motor 35.

As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 19 is provided with a ribbon base 40, and the ribbon base 40 includes a ribbon cartridge 4 containing an ink ribbon.
2 is attached. Further, the carriage 19 is provided with a ribbon mask holder 41 that protects the ink ribbon of the ribbon cartridge 42 from a sheet (cut sheet or continuous sheet) conveyed in contact with the upper peripheral surface of the platen 21. The ink ribbon in the ribbon cartridge 42 is
The recording head 18 is configured to be movable in front of a recording wire of the recording head 18 by being driven by a ribbon driving shaft (not shown) provided on the ribbon base 40.

The recording head 18 has a large number of recording wires (not shown), and the ink ribbon is located in front of the recording wires in the projecting direction as described above. Recording head 1
8, while being scanned in the main scanning direction together with the carriage 19, the recording wire is projected and hit against the ink ribbon,
The ink of the ink ribbon is attached to a sheet (cut sheet K or a continuous sheet) conveyed between the platen 20 (FIG. 2) and the recording head 18, and an image including characters is recorded on the sheet.

The recording operation by the recording head 18 is such that one line is recorded by the recording wire of the recording head 18 while the carriage 19 is scanned leftward or rightward in the main scanning direction, and every time this one line is recorded. If the sheet is a cut sheet K, the sheet transport mechanism (the platen 20, the first transport roller 21, the second transport roller 22,
When the sheet is a continuous sheet, the sheet conveying mechanism and the push tractor unit 12 respectively convey the sheet by a predetermined length (normal line spacing). Is repeated.

The ribbon cartridge 42 is tiltably held on a ribbon base 40 fixed to the carriage 19, as shown in FIGS. This is because the ribbon cartridge 42 is tilted at the time of the printing operation to effectively use the ink of the full width of the ink ribbon.

The ribbon cartridge 42 has a dowel hole for receiving a pair of dowels 40A projecting from the ribbon base 40, and can be tilted about the dowel 40A. The upper end portion 42A of the ribbon cartridge 42 is spring-biased forward via a plunger 71 as shown in FIG. The central portion 42B of the ribbon cartridge 42
As shown in FIG. 5, it is pressed by the pressing member 72. The pressing member 72 is configured to be able to push out the ribbon cartridge 42 via a cylindrical cam (not shown) and a motor for rotating the cylindrical cam. When the pressing member 72 retreats away from the ribbon cartridge 42, as shown in FIG. 4, the plunger 71 presses the upper end portion 42A of the ribbon cartridge 42, and the ribbon cartridge 42 tilts forward. On the other hand, the pressing member 72
As shown in FIG. 5, the center portion 42B of the ribbon cartridge 42 is pushed out, and the ribbon cartridge 42 tilts backward.

In the printer 10, as shown in FIG. 6, a ribbon replacement position 100 is set at one corner (right side) on the front side of the printer body, and when the printing operation is completed, the ribbon replacement position 100 is automatically set. Is reached so that the ribbon can be replaced.

In this embodiment, the ribbon cartridge 42
When the cartridge reaches the ribbon exchange position 100, the ribbon cartridge 42 is inserted into the ribbon cartridge 42 shown in FIG.
Automatically tilt to the removal position of At the removal position of the ribbon cartridge 42, the ribbon is separated from the mask, and the ribbon side is inclined so as to face the user. Control for automatically tilting this is controlled by a control device (not shown). At the removal position shown in FIG. 5, the pair of dowels 40A is disengaged, and the ribbon cartridge 42 is pulled out forward.

When the ribbon cartridge 42 is tilted at the tilt angle shown in FIG. 5, the ribbon cartridge 42 is not caught by the recording head 18 or the like when the ribbon cartridge 42 is pulled out forward.
The ribbon cartridge 42 can be easily removed.

In the above configuration, the ribbon cartridge 42
Was automatically moved to the ribbon exchange position at the end of the printing operation.However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a button switch may be provided, and when the button switch is turned on, the printer is moved to the ribbon exchange position. It is possible. In this case, when the button switch is turned on to move to the ribbon exchange position, the ribbon cartridge 42 is tilted to the ribbon cartridge 42 removal position shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 shows a control flow of this embodiment.

The timer is initialized (S1), and the carriage 19 is moved to the print standby position (S2). It is determined whether or not there is print data (S3). If there is no print data, the timer is incremented by +1 (S4). If a predetermined time t1 has elapsed (S5), the timer is initialized (S3).
6), the ink ribbon shift position (the tilt position of the ribbon cartridge 42) A is stored (S7).

Then, the carriage 19 is moved to the ink ribbon replacement position (S8), and at this ink ribbon replacement position, the ribbon cartridge 42 is tilted to the removal position shown in FIG. 5 (S9). It is determined whether or not there is print data (S10). If there is print data, the carriage returns to the shift position A where the ink ribbon is stored (S11).
9 is moved to the print standby position (S12).

Next, a printing operation is executed (S13).
In S3, even when print data is present, this S13
To execute the printing operation. After executing this printing operation, the carriage 19 is moved to the printing standby position (S14), the timer is incremented by +1 (S15), and when the predetermined time t2 has elapsed (S16), the timer is initialized (S6),
Steps 7 and after are repeated.

In the present embodiment, in S8, the carriage 19
When the is moved to the ribbon exchange position, in S9, the control to incline the ribbon cartridge 42 to the removal position shown in FIG. 5 is always performed. Therefore, the exchange of the ribbon cartridge 42 at the ribbon exchange position can be easily performed. it can.

When the printing operation is restarted without replacing the ribbon cartridge 42, the tilt angle (shift position) of the ribbon cartridge 42 is returned to the tilt angle A at the end of printing stored in S7 (S11). Thus, the operation immediately shifts to the printing operation, and the throughput can be improved.

FIG. 8 shows another embodiment of the ribbon cartridge of the dot impact printer according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front sectional view shown together with a printer main body. In this other embodiment, the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

The ribbon cartridge 42 is detachably mounted between the left side frame 16 and the right side frame 17 so as to face the main frame 15. The ribbon cartridge 70 is tiltably held by a ribbon base (not shown) fixed to the frames 16 and 17, and when the printing operation is completed, a control means for tilting the ribbon cartridge 70 to the removal position. It is comprised including. 44 is an ink ribbon. When the printing operation is restarted without replacing the ribbon cartridge 70, the tilt angle of the ribbon cartridge 70 is returned to the tilt angle at the end of printing, and the printing operation is immediately shifted to.

Therefore, in this other embodiment, substantially the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

[0050]

According to the present invention, when the carriage is moved to the ribbon replacement position, the ribbon cartridge is tilted to the removal position at the replacement position, so that the ribbon cartridge can be easily replaced at the ribbon replacement position. Can be. Further, when the printing operation is restarted without replacing the ribbon cartridge, the tilt angle of the ribbon cartridge is returned to the tilt angle at the end of printing, so that the printing operation is immediately shifted to improve the throughput.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an embodiment of a dot impact printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the printer main body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a holding mechanism of the ribbon cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a holding mechanism of the ribbon cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a side view illustrating a holding mechanism of the ribbon cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a ribbon replacement position.

FIG. 7 is a control flowchart.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 printer (recording device) 16 left side frame 17 right side frame 18 recording head 19 carriage 38 carriage drive motor 40 ribbon base 42 ribbon cartridge 71 plunger 72 pressing member 100 ribbon replacement position

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a carriage, a control means for tilting the ribbon cartridge to a removal position when the ribbon cartridge reaches a ribbon replacement position. A dot impact printer comprising: 2. A dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a frame, comprising a control means for tilting the ribbon cartridge to a removal position when a printing operation is completed. Dot impact printer. 3. The tilt angle at the end of printing of the ribbon cartridge is stored, and when the printing operation is resumed without replacing the ribbon cartridge, the tilt angle of the ribbon cartridge is returned to the tilt angle at the end of printing. 3. The dot impact printer according to claim 1, wherein 4. A method for controlling a dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a carriage, wherein when the ribbon cartridge reaches a ribbon replacement position, the ribbon cartridge is tilted to a removal position. A method for controlling a dot impact printer. 5. A method for controlling a dot impact printer in which a ribbon cartridge is tiltably held on a ribbon base fixed to a frame, wherein when the printing operation is completed, the ribbon cartridge is tilted to a removal position. How to control an impact printer. 6. The tilt angle at the end of printing of the ribbon cartridge is stored, and when the printing operation is restarted without replacing the ribbon cartridge, the tilt angle of the ribbon cartridge is returned to the tilt angle at the end of printing. The method for controlling a dot impact printer according to claim 4.