CN111791616A - Printing assembly with replaceable ribbon cartridge and thermal transfer printer with same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a printing component with replaceable ribbon cartridges and a thermal transfer printer with the printing component, wherein the printing component comprises a shell, a ribbon cartridge component, a printing head, an automatic lifting driving component and an automatic carrying mechanism, the lower end and the front side of the shell are open, the ribbon cartridge component comprises two ribbon cartridges which are parallel to each other at left and right, the two ribbon cartridges are respectively provided with a ribbon roll, and a ribbon is wound on one ribbon roll, a strip-shaped opening for the ribbon to pass through is arranged at the lower part of one side, close to each other, of the two ribbon rolls, an automatic ribbon collecting component and an automatic ribbon discharging component are arranged on the inner wall of the rear side of the shell, the automatic ribbon collecting component and the automatic ribbon discharging component are respectively in transmission connection with the corresponding ribbon rolls, the printing head stretches across the upper part of a ribbon section between the two strip-shaped openings, the automatic lifting driving component is arranged in the shell and is in transmission connection with the printing head, and the automatic carrying mechanism is arranged in the shell. The advantages are that: the structural design is reasonable, and the ribbon cartridge is easy and quick to replace.

Description

Printing assembly with replaceable ribbon cartridge and thermal transfer printer with same

Technical Field

The invention relates to a thermal transfer printing technology, in particular to a printing assembly with a replaceable ribbon cartridge and a thermal transfer printer with the same.

Background

The existing thermal transfer printer has a double printing function, in the double printing process, the printer needs to be retreated to a starting position after printing on an adhesive tape by using an ink ribbon with one color, then the ink ribbon with the other color is replaced on the thermal transfer printer, then the printer continues to print by using the ink ribbon with the other color from the starting position, and two pigments on the two ink ribbons are respectively printed on the adhesive tape to form printing finished products with multiple colors by twice printing. The existing thermal transfer printer can only manually replace the color tape, so that the color tape needs to be manually replaced every time the sleeve printing is carried out, and the problem of inconvenient sleeve printing is solved.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a replaceable printing component of a ribbon cartridge and a thermal transfer printer with the replaceable printing component, which effectively overcome the defects of the prior art.

The technical scheme for solving the technical problems is as follows:

a printing component with replaceable ribbon cartridges comprises a shell, a ribbon cartridge component, a printing head, an automatic lifting driving component and an automatic carrying mechanism, wherein the lower end and the front side of the shell are open, the ribbon cartridge component comprises two ribbon cartridges which are arranged in the shell in parallel at intervals, the front sides of the two ribbon cartridges are connected into a whole through a connecting piece, ribbon rolls which horizontally extend along the front-back direction are respectively arranged in the two ribbon cartridges, a ribbon is wound on one ribbon roll, a strip-shaped opening for the ribbon to pass through is arranged at the lower part of one side, close to each other, of the two ribbon cartridges, the ribbon is pulled out from one ribbon roll, sequentially passes through the two strip-shaped openings and is wound on the other ribbon roll, and an automatic ribbon receiving component and an automatic ribbon releasing component which respectively correspond to the ribbon rolls of the two ribbon cartridges are arranged on the inner wall of the rear side of the shell, the automatic ribbon collecting assembly and the automatic ribbon releasing assembly extend into the corresponding ribbon boxes respectively and are in transmission connection with the corresponding ribbon coils so as to drive the two ribbon coils to rotate to collect and release the ribbon, the printing head stretches across the upper part of a ribbon section between the two strip-shaped openings, the automatic lifting driving assembly is installed in the shell and is in transmission connection with the printing head so as to drive the printing head to move up and down to press the ribbon section or separate the ribbon section from the ribbon section, the automatic carrying mechanism is arranged in the shell and is used for taking out the ribbon box assembly in the shell from the front side of the shell or carrying the ribbon box assembly arranged in front of the shell into the shell and is connected with the automatic ribbon collecting assembly and the automatic ribbon releasing assembly.

On the basis of the technical scheme, the invention can be further improved as follows.

Further, the automatic carrying mechanism comprises a plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets, first driving wheel sets and clutch driving wheel sets, wherein the plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets are rotatably assembled at the same height position of the lower parts of the inner walls of the left side and the right side of the shell respectively through wheel shafts which coaxially penetrate through the sets of first sliding wheel sets in the left-right direction, the lower parts of the inner walls of the left side and the right side of the shell are respectively provided with a plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets which are distributed at intervals front and back, the plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets on the left side and the right side are respectively used for rolling contact with the bottom walls of two ribbon boxes of the same ribbon box assembly, each first driving wheel set comprises a first connecting shaft, a first rotary driving mechanism and two first driving wheels, the first connecting shaft is horizontally arranged along the left-right direction and rotatably assembled on the top wall in the shell through a support, and are respectively used for contacting with the top walls of two ribbon cassettes of the same ribbon cassette assembly, the first rotary driving mechanism is assembled in the shell, is in transmission connection with the first connecting shaft and is used for driving the first connecting shaft to rotate around the axis, the clutch driving wheel assembly comprises a second connecting shaft, a second rotary driving mechanism and two second driving wheels, the second connecting shaft is horizontally arranged along the left-right direction and is rotatably assembled on the top wall in the shell through a bracket and is positioned at the position of the front side of the first connecting shaft corresponding to the opening of the front side of the shell, the two second driving wheels are respectively and coaxially assembled at two ends of the second connecting shaft, the same parts of the two wheels are radially provided with inner concave surfaces, the second rotary driving mechanism is assembled in the shell and is in transmission connection with the second connecting shaft and is used for driving the second rotary driving the second connecting shaft to rotate around the axis to the inner concave surfaces to be arranged above the corresponding ribbon cassettes, or rotating until the arc outer edge part contacts with the top wall of the ribbon cassette corresponding to the lower part.

Further, above-mentioned first rotary driving mechanism is the motor of assembling on the corresponding support of above-mentioned casing roof, and this motor is located the position that corresponds above-mentioned first connecting axle one end, and extends about its drive shaft, and first belt pulley is all installed to the drive shaft of this motor and first connecting axle one end, and two first belt pulley belts encircle first belt.

Further, above-mentioned second rotary driving mechanism is for assembling the motor on the corresponding support of above-mentioned casing roof, and this motor is located the position that corresponds above-mentioned second even axle one end, and extends about its drive shaft, all installs the second belt pulley in the drive shaft of this motor and second even axle one end, and two second belt pulley rings are around the second belt.

Further, an auxiliary guide portion for contacting the first and second drive wheels is provided on the top of the ribbon cartridge in the front-rear direction, and the upper surface of the auxiliary guide portion is provided with serrations or is provided as a frosted surface.

Further, the first driving wheel and the second driving wheel are both rubber rollers.

The invention has the beneficial effects that: the structural design is reasonable, and the ribbon cartridge is easy and quick to replace.

Still provide a thermal transfer printer, including the frame, print assembly and automatic straight line displacement mechanism, the above-mentioned frame has the horizontal printing mesa, the front side of the above-mentioned printing mesa is the sticky tape entry, the rear side is the sticky tape export, the above-mentioned print assembly sets up in the position that is close to it above the above-mentioned printing mesa, the above-mentioned automatic straight line displacement mechanism assembles in the above-mentioned frame, and with the above-mentioned print assembly transmission connection, be used for driving above-mentioned print assembly along the above-mentioned printing mesa between its left and right ends straight line movement, thus print the sticky tape that the upper surface of the above-mentioned printing mesa passed through, the position that the above-mentioned frame front side is close to the above-mentioned printing mesa hangs and has the shelf board that sets up horizontally from side to side, be equipped with a plurality of independent and be used for installing the installation station of the above-mentioned colour ribbon assembly on a plurality of above, the rear side of the installation station is all uncovered, the front side of the installation station is provided with a limiting part used for blocking the ribbon box assembly from being separated from the front, the left side and the right side of the upper end of each installation station are respectively and rotatably provided with a plurality of groups of second sliding wheel sets distributed along the front and back direction at intervals, the top points of the plurality of groups of second sliding wheel sets and the top points of the plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets are located on the same horizontal plane, the rear side of the ribbon box assembly placed in the installation station extends to the rear side of the installation station, and the second driving wheel located in the printing assembly is arranged above the rear side of the ribbon box assembly placed in the installation station.

Furthermore, the rear side of the shelf board is provided with a photoelectric sensor assembly corresponding to each installation station, the front side of the shell of the corresponding printing assembly is provided with a photoelectric sensor module matched with the photoelectric sensor assembly, the thermal transfer printer is provided with an industrial control system respectively connected with the automatic linear displacement mechanism, the automatic carrying mechanism, the automatic color receiving band assembly, the automatic color discharging band assembly, the photoelectric sensor assembly and the photoelectric sensor module, and the industrial control system is used for controlling the automatic linear displacement mechanism to drive the printing assembly to stop at the rear of any one of the installation stations according to induction signals of the photoelectric sensor assembly and the photoelectric sensor module.

The beneficial effects are that: the automatic and intelligent ribbon cartridge replacement can be realized, the replacement period of the ribbon cartridge is shortened, and the printing efficiency is improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an alternative printing assembly for an ink ribbon cassette of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the lifting mechanism and printhead arrangement of an alternative print assembly for a ribbon cartridge according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the lift mechanism of an alternative print assembly for an ink ribbon cassette of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the automated lift drive assembly of the replaceable ribbon cartridge printing assembly of the present invention with the mounting plate removed;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a ribbon take-up/pay-off assembly of an alternative print cartridge assembly of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention with the shelf plate removed.

In the drawings, the components represented by the respective reference numerals are listed below:

1. housing, 2, ribbon cartridge, 3, print head, 4, automatic lifting drive assembly, 5, ribbon segment, 7, frame, 8, printing assembly, 9, automatic linear displacement mechanism, 41, fixing plate, 42, mounting plate, 43, rotary drive device, 44, shift fork, 45, swing rod, 46, connecting rod, 47, track, 48, guide wheel, 49, elastic member, 61, guide shaft, 62, drive motor, 63, synchronous belt, 64, secondary pulley, 65, docking assembly, 66, guide pin, 71, printing table top, 72, shelf plate, 73, second sliding wheel set, 97, roller screw transmission pair, 98, guide rail, 111, first sliding wheel set, 112, first drive wheel set, 113, clutch drive wheel set, 411, sliding chute, 421, positioning pin, 422, T-shaped member, 461, T-shaped connecting portion, 651, bayonet, 1121, first connecting shaft, 1122, T-shaped connecting portion, 651, printing assembly, and printing assembly, The first rotary driving mechanism 1123, the first driving wheel 1131, the second connecting shaft 1132, the second rotary driving mechanism 1133, the second driving wheel 11331 and the inner concave surface.

Detailed Description

The principles and features of this invention are described below in conjunction with the following drawings, which are set forth by way of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

The first embodiment is as follows: as shown in fig. 1, the replaceable printing component of the ribbon cartridge of the present embodiment includes a housing 1, a ribbon cartridge assembly, a print head 3, an automatic lifting driving component 4 and an automatic carrying mechanism, the lower end and the front side of the housing 1 are open, the ribbon cartridge assembly includes two ribbon cartridges 2 disposed in the housing 1 in parallel and spaced from each other, the front sides of the two ribbon cartridges 2 are connected into a whole through a connecting member, ribbon rolls horizontally extending along the front-back direction are respectively mounted in the two ribbon cartridges 2, an ribbon is wound on one of the ribbon rolls, a strip port for passing the ribbon is disposed at the lower portion of the side of the two ribbon cartridges 2 close to each other, the ribbon is drawn from one of the ribbon rolls and sequentially passes through the two strip ports to be wound on the other ribbon roll, an automatic ribbon collecting component and an automatic ribbon releasing component corresponding to the ribbon rolls of the two ribbon rolls 2 are disposed on the inner wall of the rear side of the housing 1, the automatic ribbon collecting component and the automatic ribbon releasing component respectively extend into the corresponding ribbon cassettes 2 and are in transmission connection with the corresponding ribbon coils so as to drive the two ribbon coils to rotate to collect and release ribbons, the printing head 3 spans over a ribbon section 5 between the two strip-shaped openings, the automatic lifting driving component 4 is installed in the shell 1 and is in transmission connection with the printing head 3 and used for driving the printing head 3 to move up and down to press the ribbon section 5 or separate from each other, and the automatic carrying mechanism is arranged in the shell 1 and used for taking out the ribbon cassette component in the shell 1 from the front side of the shell or carrying the ribbon cassette component arranged in front of the shell 1 into the shell 1 and is connected with the automatic ribbon collecting component and the automatic ribbon releasing component.

In the actual use process, one ribbon cassette 2 of the ribbon cassette assembly is provided with a ribbon roll wound with a ribbon, the other ribbon cassette 2 is provided with a controlled ribbon roll, the ribbon rolls of the two ribbon cassettes 2 are respectively and correspondingly connected with an automatic ribbon collecting assembly and an automatic ribbon releasing assembly in a shell 1, meanwhile, the ribbon is pulled out from one ribbon cassette 2 and is wound on the controlled ribbon roll in the other ribbon cassette 2, in the printing process, an automatic lifting driving assembly 4 drives a printing head 3 to move downwards to press a ribbon section 5 between the two ribbon cassettes 4 to a ribbon below the ribbon section on a printer supporting plate, the ribbon releasing assembly is unwound, the ribbon collecting assembly is wound synchronously, the printing can be finished in the traction conveying process of the ribbon, when the ribbon rolls are used and need to be replaced, the whole printing assembly is moved to a replacement station, can accomplish automatic ribbon cartridge replacement operation through automatic handling mechanism, improve the drawback that needs the manual work to trade the box in traditional printer, it is consuming time to have shortened to trade the box by a wide margin, has promoted the printing efficiency of printer.

As a preferred embodiment, specifically, the invention is the solution a, wherein the automatic conveying mechanism includes a plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets 111, first driving wheel sets 112 and clutch driving wheel sets 113, the plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets 111 are respectively rotatably mounted at the same height on the lower portions of the inner walls of the left and right sides of the casing 1 through wheel shafts coaxially penetrating through the sets of first sliding wheel sets 111 in the left and right direction, a plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets 111 spaced apart from each other in the front and rear direction are mounted on the lower portions of the inner walls of the left and right sides of the casing 1, the plurality of sets of first sliding wheel sets 111 on the left and right sides are respectively in rolling contact with the bottom walls of two ribbon cassettes 2 of the same ribbon cassette assembly, the first driving wheel set 112 includes a first connecting shaft 1121, a first rotary driving mechanism 1122 and two first driving wheels 1121, the first connecting shaft is horizontally arranged in the left and right direction and is rotatably mounted on the top, the two first driving wheels 1123 are coaxially mounted at two ends of the first connecting shaft 1121 respectively, and are used for contacting top walls of two ribbon cartridges 2 of the same ribbon cartridge assembly respectively, the first rotation driving mechanism 1122 is mounted in the housing 1, and is in transmission connection with the first connecting shaft 1121 for driving it to rotate around an axis, the clutch driving wheel assembly 113 includes a second connecting shaft 1131, a second rotation driving mechanism 1132 and two second driving wheels 1133, the second connecting shaft 1131 is horizontally arranged along the left-right direction, and is rotatably mounted on the top wall inside the housing 1 through a bracket, and is located at a position where the front side of the first connecting shaft 1121 corresponds to the front side opening of the housing 1, the two second driving wheels 1133 are coaxially mounted at two ends of the second connecting shaft 1131 respectively, and the same positions of the two wheels are provided with concave surfaces 11331 along the radial directions thereof, and the second rotation driving mechanism 1132 is mounted in the housing 1, and is drivingly connected to the second coupling shaft 1131 for driving the second coupling shaft to rotate around the axis until the concave surface 11331 is disposed above the corresponding ribbon cassette 2, or until the circular arc outer edge portion contacts with the top wall of the corresponding ribbon cassette 2 below.

In this embodiment, when the ribbon cartridge 2 is used up and needs to be replaced, the first driving wheel assembly 112 and the clutch driving wheel assembly 113 operate simultaneously, the first rotary driving mechanism 1122 and the second rotary driving mechanism 1132 drive the corresponding first connecting shaft 1121 and second connecting shaft 1131 to rotate, respectively, so as to drive the corresponding first driving wheel 1123 and second driving wheel 1133 to rotate, during the rotation process, because the top wall and the bottom wall of the ribbon cartridge assembly are released from the sets of first sliding wheel set 111, first driving wheel 1123 and second driving wheel 1133, respectively, that is, the ribbon cartridge assembly is clamped between the sets of first sliding wheel set 111, first driving wheel 1123 and second driving wheel 1133, during the rotation process of the first driving wheel 1123 and the second driving wheel 1133, the ribbon cartridge assembly can be fed out from the front side of the housing 1 along the sets of first sliding wheel set 111 at the lower end by using the friction force between the two and the top wall of the ribbon cartridge assembly, when the box is replaced, at the box-replacing station, the second connecting shaft 1131 is driven to drive the second driving wheel 1133 to rotate reversely through the second rotary driving mechanism 1132, the ribbon cartridge assembly fed to the lower end of the second driving wheel 1133 is fed into the shell 1 along the multiple groups of first sliding wheel sets 111, and the ribbon cartridge assembly is automatically fed with the ribbon cartridge assembly, and the ribbon cartridge replacement box is simple, convenient and stable in operation.

Specifically, the first rotary driving mechanism 1122 is a motor mounted on a corresponding bracket on the top wall of the housing 1, the motor is located at a position corresponding to one end of the first connecting shaft 1121, a driving shaft of the motor extends left and right, first belt pulleys are mounted on the driving shaft of the motor and one end of the first connecting shaft 1121, and two first belt pulley belts encircle the first belt.

In this embodiment, the first rotation driving mechanism 1122 drives the first connection shaft 1121 to rotate through a combination of a motor and a belt, and the operation is relatively smooth.

Of course, the first rotary drive 1122 may be replaced by another transmission having the same function, such as a chain transmission or a reduction gearbox transmission.

In a preferred embodiment, the second rotation driving mechanism 1132 is a motor mounted on a corresponding bracket on the top wall of the housing 1, the motor is located at a position corresponding to one end of the second connecting shaft 1131, and a driving shaft of the motor extends left and right, second pulleys are mounted on the driving shaft of the motor and one end of the second connecting shaft 1131, and two second pulleys are looped around the second belt.

In this embodiment, the second rotational driving mechanism 1132 drives the second coupling shaft 1131 to rotate by a combination of a motor and a belt, and the operation is relatively smooth.

Of course, the second rotary driving mechanism 1132 may be replaced by other transmission mechanisms with the same function, such as a chain transmission mechanism and a reduction box transmission mechanism.

It should be added that the following is a description of the structure and function of the relevant components in the printing assembly:

as shown in fig. 2 and 3, the automatic lifting driving assembly 4 includes a fixing plate 41, a mounting plate 42, a rotation driving device 43 and a swinging link assembly, the fixing plate 41 is vertically fixed on the inner top wall of the housing 1, and is located between the two ribbon cartridges 2 and crosses over the ribbon section 5, the mounting plate 42 is disposed at one end of the fixing plate 41 in parallel, the print head 3 is mounted at the lower end of the mounting plate 42, two sides of one end of the fixing plate 41 near the mounting plate 42 are respectively provided with a guiding structure, two sides of the mounting plate 42 are respectively vertically slidably engaged with the guiding structures at two sides of one end of the fixing plate 41, the rotation driving device 43 is assembled on the fixing plate 41, one end of the swinging link assembly is in transmission connection with the rotation driving device 43, and the other end is movably connected with the mounting plate 42, the rotation driving device 43 is used to drive the swing link assembly to swing up and down, so as to drive the mounting plate 42 and the printing head 3 to move up and down relative to the guiding structure.

In this embodiment, the operation process of the automatic lifting drive assembly 4 is specifically as follows: the rotary driving device 43 drives the swing link assembly to swing up and down around the connection point of the swing link assembly and the swing link assembly, and in the swinging process, the lower end of the swing link assembly can drive the mounting plate 42 to drive the printing head 3 to move up and down along the guide structure, so that the ribbon section 5 is pressed down (printed) or the ribbon section is moved upwards to separate (stop printing), the whole structure is simple, and the operation and the use are convenient.

Of course, the above-mentioned automatic lifting driving assembly 4 may be a member directly driven to lift up and down, such as: cylinders, electric push rods, etc.

More specifically, as shown in fig. 2, 3 and 4, the swing link assembly includes a U-shaped fork 44, a swing rod 45 and a link 46 respectively disposed in a vertical plane, the swing rod 45 is a U-shaped member with an upward opening, one end of the swing rod 45 is rotatably connected to an upper portion of one end of the fixing plate 41 close to the mounting plate 42, the other end of the swing rod is movably connected to the fork 44 through a pin limited inside the fork 44, a closed end of the swing rod 45 is slidably connected to and engaged with an arc-shaped chute 411 disposed on the fixing plate 41, an upper end of the link 46 is rotatably connected to a closed end of the swing rod 45, a lower end of the link is movably connected to the mounting plate 42, the rotation driving device 43 is drivingly connected to the fork 44, the rotation driving device 43 is configured to drive the fork 44 to swing the swing rod 45 around a rotation connection point of the swing rod and the fixing, thereby driving the lower end of the swing rod 45 to slide along the corresponding sliding slot 411, and further driving the connecting rod 46 and the mounting plate 42 to move up and down along the guiding structure.

In this embodiment, the operation process specifically includes: the rotary driving device 43 drives the shifting fork 44 to swing, the shifting fork 44 drives the swing rod 45 to swing up and down around a connection point of the swing rod 45 and the fixing plate 41, the swing rod 45 drives the connecting rod 46 to move up and down in the swing process, and therefore the mounting plate 42 in sliding fit with the guide structure and the printing head 3 are driven to move up and down.

As a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the lower end of the connecting rod 46 is provided with a mounting hole, the mounting plate 42 is provided with a positioning pin 421 perpendicular thereto and penetrating through the mounting hole, and the lower end of the connecting rod 46 is movably connected by the engagement of the positioning pin 421 and the mounting hole.

In this embodiment, the lower end of the connecting rod 46 and the mounting plate 42 are matched by the pin shaft and the hole, and the matching between the structures is compact.

In a preferred embodiment, a T-shaped member 422 corresponding to the lower end of the link 46 is fixed to one end of the mounting plate 42 close to the fixed plate 41, the T-shaped member 23 has a tip end facing downward and the positioning pin 421 is provided, a T-shaped connecting portion 461 is provided at the lower end of the link 46 and provided with the mounting hole, and elastic members are connected between both ends of the straight sections of the T-shaped member 422 and the T-shaped connecting portion 461.

In this embodiment, the design of the T-shaped member 422 and the T-shaped connecting portion 461 is beneficial to the good assembly of the elastic member 49, and the design of the elastic member 49 can play a certain buffering role, so as to effectively prevent the mechanical locking and ensure the good operation of the oscillating link assembly.

The elastic member 49 is a conventional spring, and is easy to assemble and easy to use.

In a preferred embodiment, the rotation driving device 43 is a motor, which is mounted on the upper portion of the end of the fixing plate 41 away from the mounting plate 42, and the driving shaft of the motor passes through the fixing plate 41 and is connected and fixed to the closed end of the fork, and the rotation driving device 43 is installed reasonably, and is stable and convenient to use.

In a preferred embodiment, the guiding structure is two vertically arranged rails 47, two sides of one end of the mounting plate 42 close to the fixing plate 41 are respectively and rotatably provided with a plurality of guiding wheels 48 which are vertically spaced, and the guiding wheels 48 are respectively located at one side where the two rails 47 are close to each other and are respectively in rolling fit with the corresponding side of the rail 47.

In this embodiment, the guide wheels 48 on both sides of the mounting plate 42 are designed, and the guide wheels 48 are matched with the rails 47 in a rolling manner, so that the mounting plate 42 can be ensured to move up and down along the correct direction, the shaking is not easy to occur, and meanwhile, the friction force of the contact between the guide wheels and the rails can be reduced through the rolling fit, and the energy consumption of the relative movement time is further reduced.

Preferably, the print head 3 is a bar-shaped member spanning the ribbon section 5, and the printing amplitude is moderate, effectively cooperating with the ribbon section 5.

As a preferred embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, the ink ribbon unwinding module and the ink ribbon winding module have the same specification, and each of them includes a guide shaft 61, a driving motor 62, a timing belt 63, a primary pulley and a secondary pulley 64, wherein the side walls of the two sides of the ink ribbon cassette 2 are respectively provided with a ribbon roll mounting opening, the two ends of the ribbon roll respectively extend into the ribbon roll mounting openings of the two sides of the ink ribbon cassette 2, the guide shaft 61 passes through the corresponding ribbon roll, one end of the guide shaft 61 is rotatably connected with the inner wall of the housing 1 away from the open side, the secondary pulley 64 is coaxially mounted at the end, one side of the secondary pulley 64 close to the ribbon roll is provided with a recessed area, the inner wall of the recessed area is provided with a docking assembly 65 capable of moving along the axial direction thereof, the docking assembly 65 is detachably and drivingly connected with the end of the corresponding ribbon roll close to the docking assembly, the driving motor 62 is mounted on the inner wall of the side of the ink ribbon cassette, and is located below the secondary pulley 64, the primary pulley is coaxially mounted on the driving shaft of the driving motor 62, the timing belt 63 is wound around the primary pulley and the secondary pulley 64, and the color tape is wound around the guide shaft 61.

In this embodiment, the ribbon roll is emboliaed on the guiding axle 61 that corresponds by ribbon roll fabrication hole in the installation, and be connected with the secondary pulley 64 transmission that corresponds through the butt joint subassembly, realize the rotation of ribbon roll and receive/unreel, make the ribbon roll in ribbon cartridge 2 can accomplish the operation of receiving/unreeling of two ribbon rolls under the drive of butt joint subassembly 65 and the secondary pulley 64 that corresponds, and is concrete, driving motor 62 drives the primary pulley operation, can order about secondary pulley 64 and guiding axle 61 through hold-in range 63 rotatory, thereby it rotates to drive butt joint subassembly 65 and the ribbon roll that corresponds through secondary pulley 64, realize unreeling or the operation of rolling, whole subassembly operation is more stable.

More specifically, the recessed area has a circular groove-shaped structure, the docking assembly 65 is a circular ring-shaped sheet-shaped member, the bottom wall of the recessed area is provided with a plurality of guide pins 66 extending in the axial direction of the guide shaft 61, the docking assembly 65 is provided with hole sites corresponding to the guide pins 66 one to one, the guide pins 66 pass through the corresponding hole sites, an elastic member is connected between the bottom wall of the recessed area and the docking assembly 65, the inner ring of the docking assembly 65 is provided with a plurality of bayonets 651 at intervals along the circumferential direction thereof, and the outer periphery of one end of the ribbon roll near the docking assembly 65 is provided with a plurality of bayonets 651 in snap-fit engagement therewith.

The docking assembly 65 is designed reasonably, so that the ribbon roll and the secondary pulley 64 can be matched in a tight transmission connection manner, and the secondary pulley 64 can rotate while driving the ribbon roll to rotate for winding/unwinding.

As a preferable embodiment, an auxiliary guide portion for contacting with the first driving wheel 1123 and the second driving wheel 1133 is provided on the top of the ribbon cartridge 2 in the front-rear direction, and the upper surface of the auxiliary guide portion is provided with a serration or a frosted surface.

In this embodiment, the auxiliary guide is generally in the form of a strip, and is intended to increase the friction between the first drive wheel 1123 and the second drive wheel 1133 when they contact the top of the ribbon cartridge 2, to prevent relative slippage, and to ensure good transport of the ribbon cartridge assembly from the housing 1.

In a preferred embodiment, the first driving wheel 1123 and the second driving wheel 1133 are both rubber rollers, and the rubber rollers can increase the friction force when the first driving wheel 1123 and the second driving wheel 1133 contact with the top of the ribbon cartridge 2, so that the contact is tighter, and the stable pulling-out and conveying of the ribbon cartridge 2 by the friction force when the first driving wheel 1123 and the second driving wheel 1133 rotate is facilitated.

Of course, the first driving wheel 1123 and the second driving wheel 1133 can be made of other materials, such as hard silicone or other materials that can increase the contact friction with the top of the ribbon cartridge 2.

Example two: as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment includes a frame 7, a printing assembly 8 according to the first embodiment, and an automatic linear displacement mechanism 9, wherein the frame 7 has a horizontal printing table 71, the front side of the printing table is a tape inlet, the rear side of the printing table is a tape outlet, the printing assembly 8 is disposed above and near the printing table 71, the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 is assembled in the frame 7 and is in transmission connection with the printing assembly 8, and is configured to drive the printing assembly 8 to move linearly along the printing table 71 between the left and right ends thereof, so as to print the tape passing through the upper surface of the printing table 71, a rack plate 72 horizontally disposed on the left and right sides of the frame 7 near the printing table 71 is suspended, the rack plate 72 is provided with a plurality of independent mounting stations for mounting the ribbon cartridge assembly, the ribbon in the ribbon box assemblies placed in the plurality of installation stations has different colors, the rear sides of the installation stations are all arranged in an open mode, the front sides of the installation stations are provided with limiting parts used for preventing the ribbon box assemblies from being separated from the front, the left side and the right side of the upper end of each installation station are respectively and rotatably provided with a plurality of groups of second sliding wheel sets 73 distributed at intervals in the front-back direction, the vertexes of the plurality of groups of second sliding wheel sets 73 and the vertexes of the plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets 111 are located on the same horizontal plane, the rear sides of the ribbon box assemblies placed in the installation stations extend to the rear of the installation stations, and second driving wheels 1133 located in the printing assemblies 8 are arranged above the rear sides of the ribbon box assemblies placed in the installation stations.

In the printing process, the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 can adjust the printing component 8 to transversely move to any position of the width of the adhesive tape below, the printing flexibility is enhanced, the printing width is improved, the limitation problem of the fixed printing width of the traditional thermal transfer printer is thoroughly solved, the sequentially printed width is greatly improved, when the ribbon cartridge needs to be replaced, the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 is firstly used for driving the printing component 8 to transversely move to any controlled installation station, the ribbon cartridge in the shell 1 is conveyed to the corresponding installation station through the automatic conveying mechanism, the ribbon cartridge moves to the front side close to the installation station along the second sliding wheel set 73 on the bottom wall of the rack plate 72 (the specific conveying process is shown in the first embodiment), and then the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 is controlled for driving the printing component 8 to move to the installation station to be replaced, and then, the ribbon cassette assembly in the mounting station is conveyed into the shell 1 through the automatic conveying mechanism, and is butted with the automatic ribbon collecting assembly and the automatic ribbon releasing assembly, and then normal printing operation can be continued.

The following are specifically mentioned: when the automatic handling mechanism adopts the specific scheme A (see embodiment I in detail), before the ribbon cassette is replaced from the installation station, or after the ribbon cartridge is replaced, the clutch driving wheel assembly 113 needs to drive the second connecting shaft 1131 to drive the second driving wheel 1133 to rotate until the concave surface 11331 faces downward through the second rotation driving mechanism 1132, that is, the top wall of the ribbon cartridge assembly in the installation station is not contacted, and, in the left-right orientation, the second drive wheel 1133 should traverse without obstruction (specifically, the upper front portion of the housing 1 in the printing assembly protrudes rearward, and the lower front portion thereof forms a gap that facilitates its travel and does not expand the upper portion of the ribbon cartridge assembly in the installation station), this arrangement avoids the second drive wheel 1133 rubbing against the ribbon and components during the replacement process, and simply requires adjustment of the second drive wheel 1133 prior to the installation station output for replacement.

It should be added that: before replacement, the automated lift drive assembly 4 needs to be moved to a high position so that it does not affect the replacement of the ribbon cartridge assembly.

The stopper on the front side of the mounting station may be a stopper rod laterally disposed on the upper front side of the shelf plate 72 on the left and right sides, or may be a stopper rod or the like provided on the front side of each mounting station.

As a preferred embodiment, a photoelectric sensor module corresponding to each of the installation stations is disposed on the rear side of the shelf board 72, a photoelectric sensor module adapted to the photoelectric sensor module is disposed on the front side of the housing 1 of the corresponding printing module 8, and the thermal transfer printer includes an industrial control system connected to the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9, the automatic carrying mechanism, the automatic color collecting tape assembly, the automatic color discharging tape assembly, the photoelectric sensor module, and the photoelectric sensor module, respectively, and configured to control the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 to drive the printing module to stop at the rear of any one of the installation stations according to sensing signals of the photoelectric sensor module and the photoelectric sensor module.

In this embodiment, through the response butt joint of photoelectric sensor module and arbitrary one photoelectric sensor subassembly, position location when realizing 8 lateral shifting replacement ribbon cassettes of printing subassembly to realize automatic counterpoint, do benefit to the accurate replacement of ribbon cassette subassembly.

It should be added that the following is a description of the structure and function of the relevant components in the thermal printer:

in a preferred embodiment, the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 comprises a roller screw transmission pair 97 and a guide rail 98, the screw of the roller screw transmission pair 97 is horizontally and rotatably disposed between both ends of the frame 7, and is positioned above the space between the tape inlet and the tape outlet, the guide rail 98 is horizontally disposed between both ends of the frame 7, and is positioned at one side of the screw, the printing component 8 is fixedly connected with the nut seat of the roller screw transmission pair 97, and is connected with the guide rail 98 in a sliding way, a driving mechanism (which can be a motor or an assembly of the motor and a reduction box) which is connected with one end of a screw rod of the roller screw transmission pair 97 in a transmission way is arranged on the machine frame 1, the drive mechanism drives the lead screw to rotate, thereby driving the nut holder and the printing assembly 8 to move along the guide rail 98 between the two ends of the printing table 71.

In the embodiment, the automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 adopts a traditional lead screw transmission pair, is stable and simple to operate, and can effectively drive the printing component 8 to transversely move and adjust the printing width on the adhesive tape surface of the printing component.

The driving mechanism of the roller screw transmission pair 97 adopts a transmission assembly of a motor and a belt pulley, one end of a screw rod is coaxially connected with an auxiliary wheel, a driving shaft of the motor is coaxially provided with a main wheel, and the main wheel and the auxiliary wheel are surrounded on the belt pulley together.

Of course, the above-mentioned automatic linear displacement mechanism 9 may also adopt other forms of automatic linear displacement mechanisms 9, such as a telescopic device, an air cylinder, a hydraulic cylinder, an electric push rod, etc., as long as it can satisfy the requirement of driving the printing assembly 8 to move stably and well for printing.

The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like that fall within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included therein.

Claims (8)

1. A print assembly with replaceable ribbon cartridges, comprising: the automatic ribbon feeding and discharging device comprises a shell (1), a ribbon box assembly, a printing head (3), an automatic lifting driving assembly (4) and an automatic carrying mechanism, wherein the lower end and the front side of the shell (1) are open, the ribbon box assembly comprises two ribbon boxes (2) which are arranged in the shell (1) in parallel at intervals, the two ribbon boxes (2) are connected into a whole through a connecting piece, ribbon rolls horizontally extending along the front-back direction are respectively arranged in the two ribbon boxes (2), a ribbon is wound on one of the ribbon rolls, strip-shaped openings for the ribbon to pass through are formed in the lower parts of the sides, close to each other, of the two ribbon boxes (2), the ribbon is pulled out from one of the ribbon rolls and sequentially passes through the two strip-shaped openings to be wound on the other ribbon roll, and an automatic ribbon feeding and discharging assembly and an automatic ribbon winding and discharging assembly which respectively correspond to the ribbon rolls of the two ribbon boxes (2) are arranged on the inner wall of the rear side of the shell (1), the automatic ribbon collecting component and the automatic ribbon releasing component respectively extend into the corresponding ribbon cassettes (2) and are in transmission connection with the corresponding ribbon coils, thereby driving the two ribbon rolls to rotate for winding/unwinding the ribbon, the print head (3) spanning over the ribbon section (5) between the two strip-shaped openings, the automatic lifting driving component (4) is arranged in the shell (1) and is in transmission connection with the printing head (3), for driving the print head (3) up and down to press down the ribbon section (5) or to separate from each other, the automatic conveying mechanism is arranged in the shell (1) and is used for taking out the ribbon cassette assembly in the shell (1) from the front side thereof, or the ribbon cassette assembly arranged in front of the shell (1) is conveyed into the shell (1) and is connected with the automatic ribbon collecting assembly and the automatic ribbon releasing assembly.

2. A print assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the ink ribbon cassette is replaceable, wherein: the automatic carrying mechanism comprises a plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets (111), first driving wheel sets (112) and clutch driving wheel sets (113), the plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets (111) are rotatably assembled at the same height position of the lower parts of the inner walls of the left side and the right side of the shell (1) through wheel shafts which coaxially penetrate through the first sliding wheel sets in the left-right direction respectively, the lower parts of the inner walls of the left side and the right side of the shell (1) are respectively provided with a plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets (111) which are distributed at intervals in the front-back direction, the plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets (111) on the left side and the right side are respectively used for being in rolling contact with the bottom walls of two ribbon boxes (2) of the same ribbon box assembly, each first driving wheel set (112) comprises a first connecting shaft (1121), a first rotary driving mechanism (1122) and two first driving wheels (, the two first driving wheels (1123) are respectively and coaxially assembled at two ends of the first connecting shaft (1121) and are respectively used for contacting top walls of two ribbon cassettes (2) of the same ribbon cassette assembly, the first rotary driving mechanism (1122) is assembled in the shell (1) and is in transmission connection with the first connecting shaft (1121) for driving the first connecting shaft to rotate around the axis, the clutch driving wheel assembly (113) comprises a second connecting shaft (1131), a second rotary driving mechanism (1132) and two second driving wheels (1133), the second connecting shaft (1131) is horizontally arranged along the left-right direction and is rotatably assembled on the top wall in the shell (1) through a support and is positioned at a position where the front side of the first connecting shaft (1121) corresponds to a front side opening of the shell (1), the two second driving wheels (1133) are respectively and coaxially assembled at two ends of the second connecting shaft (1131), the same parts of the two wheels are provided with inner concave surfaces (11331) along the radial direction of the wheels, and the second rotary driving mechanism (1132) is assembled in the shell (1) and is in transmission connection with the second connecting shaft (1131) to drive the second driving wheels to rotate around the axis until the inner concave surfaces (11331) are arranged above the corresponding ribbon cassette (2) or rotate until the circular arc outer edge part is contacted with the top wall of the corresponding ribbon cassette (2) below.

3. A print assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the ink ribbon cassette is replaceable, wherein: the first rotary driving mechanism (1122) is a motor which is assembled on a corresponding support of the top wall of the shell (1), the motor is located at a position corresponding to one end of the first connecting shaft (1121), a driving shaft of the motor extends leftwards and rightwards, first belt pulleys are mounted on the driving shaft of the motor and one end of the first connecting shaft (1121), and the two first belt pulley belts encircle the first belt.

4. A print assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the ink ribbon cassette is replaceable, wherein: second rotary driving mechanism (1132) for assemble in motor on casing (1) roof corresponds the support, this motor is located and corresponds the position of second even axle (1131) one end, and extend about its drive shaft, the second belt pulley is all installed to on the drive shaft of this motor and second even axle (1131) one end, and two second belt pulley bands encircle the second belt.

5. A print assembly as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4, in which: the top of the ribbon cartridge (2) is provided with an auxiliary guide part in the front-back direction for contacting with the first driving wheel (1123) and the second driving wheel (1133), and the upper surface of the auxiliary guide part is provided with saw teeth or is arranged as a frosted surface.

6. A print assembly as claimed in claim 5 in which the ink ribbon cassette is replaceable, wherein: the first drive wheel (1123) and the second drive wheel (1133) are both rubber rollers.

7. A thermal transfer printer, characterized by: comprising a frame (7), a printing assembly (8) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and an automatic linear displacement mechanism (9), wherein the frame (7) has a horizontal printing table (71), the front side of the printing table is a tape inlet, the rear side of the printing table is a tape outlet, the printing assembly (8) is disposed above the printing table (71) and near the printing table, the automatic linear displacement mechanism (9) is assembled in the frame (7) and is in transmission connection with the printing assembly (8) for driving the printing assembly (8) to move linearly along the printing table (71) between the left and right ends thereof, so as to print the tape passing through the upper surface of the printing table (71), a rack plate (72) horizontally disposed on the left and right sides is suspended at a position near the printing table (71) on the front side of the frame (7), a plurality of independent installation stations for installing the ribbon box component are arranged on the shelf board (72), and the color ribbons in the color ribbon box assemblies arranged in the plurality of mounting stations have different colors, the rear sides of the mounting stations are all arranged in an open manner, the front side of the device is provided with a limiting piece for blocking the ribbon box assembly from coming off from the front, the left side and the right side of the upper end of each mounting station are respectively and rotatably provided with a plurality of groups of second sliding wheel sets (73) which are distributed at intervals along the front-back direction, the vertexes of the plurality of groups of second sliding wheel sets (73) and the vertexes of the plurality of groups of first sliding wheel sets (111) are positioned on the same horizontal plane, and the rear side of the ribbon cassette assembly placed in the mounting station extends to the rear of the mounting station, and a second drive wheel (1133) located in the print assembly (8) is disposed over the rear side of the ribbon cartridge assembly disposed in the installation station.

8. The thermal transfer printer of claim 7, wherein: frame plate (72) rear side is equipped with every the photoelectric sensor subassembly that the installation station corresponds, it is corresponding casing (1) front side of printing subassembly (8) is equipped with the photoelectric sensor module with photoelectric sensor subassembly looks adaptation, heat-transfer printer have respectively with the industrial control system that automatic straight line displacement mechanism (9), automatic handling mechanism, automatic receipts colour ribbon subassembly, automatic color ribbon subassembly, photoelectric sensor subassembly and photoelectric sensor module are connected is put to automation, and this industrial control system is used for according to the sensing signal control of photoelectric sensor subassembly and photoelectric sensor module automatic straight line displacement mechanism (9) drive printing subassembly stops at arbitrary one the rear of installation station.

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