EP0012878B1 - Ink ribbon drive, e.g. in a high-speed printer - Google Patents

Ink ribbon drive, e.g. in a high-speed printer Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0012878B1
EP0012878B1 EP79104865A EP79104865A EP0012878B1 EP 0012878 B1 EP0012878 B1 EP 0012878B1 EP 79104865 A EP79104865 A EP 79104865A EP 79104865 A EP79104865 A EP 79104865A EP 0012878 B1 EP0012878 B1 EP 0012878B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
reel
drive belt
ribbon
drive
take
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired
Application number
EP79104865A
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German (de)
French (fr)
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EP0012878A3 (en
EP0012878A2 (en
Inventor
John Daniel Bemis
Jr. Willie Goff
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
International Business Machines Corp
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International Business Machines Corp
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Filing date
Publication date
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Publication of EP0012878A2 publication Critical patent/EP0012878A2/en
Publication of EP0012878A3 publication Critical patent/EP0012878A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0012878B1 publication Critical patent/EP0012878B1/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J33/00—Apparatus or arrangements for feeding ink ribbons or like character-size impression-transfer material
    • B41J33/14—Ribbon-feed devices or mechanisms
    • B41J33/24—Ribbon-feed devices or mechanisms with drive applied directly to ribbon

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to devices for driving reels of strip material, and more particularly, to a device for driving the ribbon in impact printers.
  • the tape should make a very open angle to the surface of the paper, that is, it is almost parallel to the paper.
  • the tension to be applied to the ribbon to remove it from the paper after a strike will be greater than that necessary in conventional printing ball machines in which the ribbon makes a less open angle facing the paper.
  • the physical arrangement of the various elements is such that the ribbon is unsupported over a greater length of the printing surface. This increases the requirements regarding the tension of the tape.
  • the tension of the belt depends not only on the difference in the speeds of the capstans and on the physical characteristics of the belt, but also depends on the elasticity of the belt. Consequently, in this device of the prior art, numerous parameters must be determined and correlated to obtain the desired tension on the strip. Furthermore, with such a device, it is not possible to adjust the initial tension of the strip to a desired value. The reason is that such an adjustment implies that one can rotate the take-up reel (for example manually) without turning the supply reel. Because the two coils are constantly coupled in rotation via the belt, such an operation is not possible. Such a drawback would prove particularly unfortunate in the case where the device is used to drive the printing ribbon of a printer.
  • each coil is driven by its own belt, which is inextensible.
  • the tension of the material driven from one reel to the other does not depend on the elasticity characteristics of the belts, which reduces the number of parameters to be correlated.
  • the present invention relates to a device for driving reels of very fragile and easily deformable tape or tape.
  • This device maintains said ribbon or said strip under a constant and uniform tension and can be used in impact printers operating at high speed to drive the ribbon of these printers.
  • the device according to the invention rotates a take-up reel and a feed reel, each reel being designed to carry a certain quantity of ribbon unwinding from the feed reel to the take-up reel, the reels rotating with a constant circumferential speed difference. Maintaining this constant speed difference regardless of the quantity of ribbon wound on the supply reel and on the take-up reel, ensures uniform and constant tension of the ribbon.
  • the device comprises a first relatively inextensible drive belt driving without slipping the periphery of the part of the ribbon wound on the take-up reel, and a second relatively inextensible driving belt not connected to the first belt, causing without sliding the periphery of the part of the ribbon wound on the supply reel.
  • the device further comprises means driving the first belt at a predetermined constant linear speed and means driven without slippage by the first belt and in turn driving the second belt without slipping at a constant linear speed slower than that of the first belt .
  • the portion of tape between the supply spool and the take-up spool is kept at a constant tension.
  • the existence of two separate belts for driving the reels makes it possible, if necessary, to adjust the tension of the ribbon by slightly turning one of the belts after having decoupled it from the other.
  • FIGS. 1 to 4 for the description of the drive device of the present invention.
  • Figures 1 and 4 show a cartridge housing 10 containing a ribbon 11. A part 12 of the ribbon is wound on a supply reel and a part 13 is wound on a take-up reel.
  • the housing 10 is released from the ribbon drive device 14 according to the invention and these two assemblies are shown in the loading and unloading position of the ribbon cartridge which is a vertical position.
  • two pairs of cartridge positioning fingers 15, 15 ', 15 "and 15 111 are respectively received and guided by two pairs of vertical rails 16 and 17, of the drive device , each pair of rails 16 and 17 defining passages 18 and 19 for receiving and guiding the positioning fingers.
  • the positioning fingers 15 and 15 are brought by the passages 18 and 19 into holes 70 formed in flexible tongues 20, which causes the blocking of the cartridge in the operating position.
  • the tabs 20 are manually separated from the cartridge so that the fingers 1 5 and 1 5 "are released from their respective hole 70.
  • the loading and unloading are carried out in the vertical position represented in FIG. 1, after which the device is tilted around the axes 21 (figure 2) to be brought with the ribbon into the horizontal operating position shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4,
  • the mechanisms allowing the rotation of the drive device and of the ribbon from the vertical position to the horizontal position will be described in detail below. below, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3.
  • the ribbon drive device is mounted on the chassis 22 of the carriage carrying the printing element of the printer by means of a support 23 which is bolted to the chassis of the carriage. If it is desired to tilt the ribbon drive device 14 from its horizontal position shown in Figures 2 and 3 to its vertical position shown in Figure 1, the cartridge (not shown in Figures 2 and 3) must be pushed in. until it applies a force directed downwards on the arm 24 of a bent gear 25. This force causes the rotation of the gear 25 around an axis 26 and the displacement of a plunger 27 to the against the force exerted by a spring 28, in order to disengage said plunger 27 from an opening 29 formed in a stop plate 71 secured to the support 27, opening in which it was blocked.
  • a spring 30 which is mounted to return the ribbon drive device 14 upwards in FIG. 4, can thus tilt the unlocked drive device towards its vertical or loading and unloading position shown. in FIG. 1. If it is then desired to return the drive device to the horizontal position of FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be manually tilted around the finger 21 against the force exerted by the spring 30 until the plunger 27 is again blocked in the opening 29 of the stop plate 71.
  • FIG. 4 shows that the ribbon 11 is driven in front of a printing medium, for example, a sheet of paper 31, carried by a plate 32.
  • a conventional printing wheel 33 has tongues 34 which each have a different character to to print.
  • the printing wheel can rotate between the ribbon and a striking hammer 35.
  • the ribbon driving device comprises a stepping motor 37 (see FIG. 1) driving a pinion 38 rotating clockwise on the Figure 4.
  • the pinion 38 drives a wheel 39 which, in turn, drives a pulley 40 which is attached to it.
  • the pulley 40 drives an inextensible belt 41 for driving the take-up reel 13.
  • This belt 41 is guided by pulleys 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47.
  • the belt 41 is also guided by a pulley with movable axis 48 which is connected to a tension spring 50 which will be described later and by a pulley 49 which is fixed to a drive pinion 51.
  • An inextensible belt 52 for driving the supply reel 12 is supported and guided by a series of guide pulleys 53 to 58 which correspond to the pulleys 42 to 47 associated with the drive belt for the take-up reel.
  • a guide pulley 59 with a movable axis performs a function identical to that provided by the pulley 48.
  • the pinion 51 drives a idler gear 60 which, in turn, drives a pinion 61 of the same diameter as that of the pinion 51.
  • a pulley 62 is fixed to the pinion 61 and serves to drive the belt 52 of the feed reel.
  • the pulley 62, associated with the drive belt of the feed reel, has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the pulley 49.
  • the drive belt 52 of the feed reel will be driven at a linear speed slightly lower than that of the drive belt 41 of the take-up reel. Since the belts 41 and 52 respectively drive the take-up reel 13 and the feed reel 14 by their periphery and without sliding, the part of the tape 11 leaving the feed reel 12 will be driven at a slightly lower constant linear speed to that of the part of the ribbon 11 winding on the receiving reel 13. This speed difference ensures the application of a constant tension to the ribbon. With this arrangement, the difference in speed remains constant and consequently, the slight tension applied to the ribbon also remains constant regardless of the length of the ribbon wound on the supply reel 12 and on the take-up reel 13.
  • the belts 41 and 52 are practically inextensible, the sum of the length of the part of the drive belt 41 in contact with the periphery of the ribbon wound on the take-up reel 13 and the length of the part of the drive belt 52 in contact with the periphery of the ribbon wound on the supply reel 12, remains practically constant independently ment of variations in the quantity of ribbon wound on each of these reels.
  • the spring 50 and its associated pulleys 48 and 59 prohibit any slack in the drive belts 41 and 52 which could be caused by changes in the amount of ribbon wound on the reels 13 and 12.
  • pulleys 48 and 59 are mobile, that is to say that they do not have a fixed position and shift according to the modifications of the quantity of ribbon wound on the receiving and supply coils .
  • the length of the spring 50 remains constant, but its position shifts from left to right as indicated by the arrows, to compensate for the changes in the length of the ribbon wound on the receiving 12 and supply 13 coils and maintain constant pressure of each of the belts on the reel with which it is associated.
  • the button 63 (FIG. 1) can be used to manually release the pulley 62 and its pinion 61 from the idler gear 60 so that the drive belt 52 is decoupled. of the belt 41.
  • the position of the belt 52 can then be modified to adjust the tension of the ribbon 11 while the drive belt 41 and the take-up reel 13 remain in a fixed position.
  • the button 63 and at the same time the pulley 62 and the pinion 61 can be returned to the operating position.

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  • Impression-Transfer Materials And Handling Thereof (AREA)

Description

Domaine TechniqueTechnical area

La présente invention concerne les dispositifs d'entraînement de bobines de matériau en bande, et plus particulièrement, un dispositif pour l'entraînement du ruban dans les imprimantes à impact.The present invention relates to devices for driving reels of strip material, and more particularly, to a device for driving the ribbon in impact printers.

Etat de la Technique AntérieureState of the Prior Art

Le développement des imprimantes à impact fonctionnant à grande vitesse et assurant une impression de qualité élevée appropriée pour la correspondance à une vitesse de l'ordre de 60 cycles par seconde, a fait naître de nouveaux besoins en ce qui concerne la structure des rubans et leurs dispositifs d'entraînement dans de telles imprimantes.The development of impact printers operating at high speed and ensuring high quality printing suitable for correspondence at a speed of the order of 60 cycles per second has given rise to new needs with regard to the structure of ribbons and their drive devices in such printers.

En raison du rendement élevé de ce type d'imprimantes et donc de la quantité importante de caractères imprimés, l'homme de l'art a dû concevoir des rubans relativement bon marché mais assurant tout de même une impression de qualité élevée. En raison des difficultés rencontrées pour répondre à ces exigences avec les rubans tissus ou les rubans à film de carbone classiques, l'homme de l'art a été amené à concevoir un ruban formé d'une matrice de matière plastique, par exemple du nylon, contenant de l'encre liquide. Bien que ce type de ruban reste bon marché tout en assurant une impression de qualité élevée, il se révèle très sujet à déformation et très fragile. De plus, ce type de ruban est très sensible aux températures et aux degrés hygrométriques élevés. Par exemple, avec une température ambiante de l'ordre de 25°C et une humidité relative de 80%, une tension de 30 grammes appliquée à un ruban de ce type dont la largeur est de l'ordre de 0,6 cm, peut suffire à provoquer sa déformation et souvent sa rupture.Due to the high yield of this type of printers and therefore the large amount of printed characters, those skilled in the art had to design relatively inexpensive ribbons but still ensuring high quality printing. Due to the difficulties encountered in meeting these requirements with fabric ribbons or conventional carbon film ribbons, those skilled in the art have been led to design a ribbon formed from a matrix of plastic material, for example nylon. , containing liquid ink. Although this type of ribbon remains inexpensive while ensuring high quality printing, it is very subject to deformation and very fragile. In addition, this type of tape is very sensitive to high temperatures and high humidity. For example, with an ambient temperature of the order of 25 ° C and a relative humidity of 80%, a tension of 30 grams applied to a ribbon of this type whose width is of the order of 0.6 cm, can sufficient to cause its deformation and often its rupture.

Ces problèmes sont particulièrement critiques dans les imprimantes à grande vitesse du type à roue d'impression à languettes porte-caractères radiales. Les réalisateurs de ce type d'imprimante à impact ont essayé de réduire le plus possible la longueur du "vol" de la languette porte-caractère sélectionnée, c'est-à-dire la longueur de la distance que doit parcourir la languette pour entraîner le ruban contre la feuille de papier, afin de porter au maximum la vitesse de fonctionnement de ce type d'imprimante. A cet égard, des distances de l'ordre de 2,5 mm entre la face d'impression de la languette porte-caractère sélectionnée de la roue d'impression et la platine ne seraient pas déraisonnables pour des imprimantes à grande vitesse. Etant donné que le ruban, l'écran guide- papier et le papier forment un ensemble devant être entièrement logé dans cet espace limité et y être mobile en translation, on rencontre des problèmes dans le maintien de tolérances très serrées entre ces éléments. En raison de ces tolérances très serrées, le ruban doit faire un angle très ouvert en regard de la surface du papier, c'est-à-dire qu'il est pratiquement parallèle au papier. Ainsi, la tension devant être appliquée au ruban pour le retirer du papier après une frappe sera plus importante que celle nécessaire dans les machines à boule d'impression classiques dans lesquelles le ruban fait un angle moins ouvert en regard du papier. De plus, dans les imprimantes à roue d'impression à languettes porte-caractères radiales, l'agencement physique des divers éléments est tel que le ruban se trouve sans support sur une plus grande longueur de la surface d'impression. Ce qui accroît les exigences concernant la tension du ruban.These problems are particularly critical in high speed printers of the print wheel type with radial character tabs. The developers of this type of impact printer have tried to reduce as much as possible the length of the "flight" of the selected carrier tongue, that is to say the length of the distance which the tongue must travel to drive the ribbon against the sheet of paper, in order to maximize the operating speed of this type of printer. In this regard, distances of the order of 2.5 mm between the print face of the selected character tab of the print wheel and the platen would not be unreasonable for high speed printers. Since the ribbon, the paper guide screen and the paper form an assembly which must be entirely housed in this limited space and be movable therein in translation, problems are encountered in maintaining very tight tolerances between these elements. Because of these very tight tolerances, the tape should make a very open angle to the surface of the paper, that is, it is almost parallel to the paper. Thus, the tension to be applied to the ribbon to remove it from the paper after a strike will be greater than that necessary in conventional printing ball machines in which the ribbon makes a less open angle facing the paper. In addition, in printers with a printing wheel with radial character tabs, the physical arrangement of the various elements is such that the ribbon is unsupported over a greater length of the printing surface. This increases the requirements regarding the tension of the tape.

Ainsi, on a rencontré des problèmes importants pour pouvoir utiliser de tels rubans très fragiles et facilement déformables dans des imprimantes à impact fonctionnant à vitesse élevée. Ces problèmes concernent le maintien d'une tension de ruban constante et uniforme, requise par les tolérances serrées affectant les zones de frappe et les tensions nécessaires au maintien du ruban relativement tendu dans sa partie adjacente à la roue d'impression tout en assurant en même temps son entraînement, sans substantiellement déformer ou rompre ce ruban très fragile et très déformable.Thus, major problems have been encountered in order to be able to use such very fragile and easily deformable ribbons in impact printers operating at high speed. These problems relate to maintaining a constant and uniform ribbon tension, required by the tight tolerances affecting the striking zones and the tensions necessary to maintain the ribbon relatively stretched in its part adjacent to the print wheel while ensuring at the same time time its training, without substantially deforming or breaking this very fragile and very deformable tape.

Il existe dans l'art antérieur, des dispositifs qui résolvent le problème général que l'invention se propose de résoudre, à savoir, entraîner un matériau en bande d'une bobine à une autre, sous tension constante. Par exemple, la publication US-A-3 305 186 décrit un dispositif d'entraînement de bande magnétique dans lequel, afin de maintenir une tension constante sur la bande, la bobine de réception est entraînée à une vitesse légèrement supérieure à la bobine d'alimentation. Ce dispositif fait appel à une unique courroie sans fin, extensible, pour entraîner les deux bobines. Cette courroie est en contact sans glissement avec les deux bobines et est entraînée par deux cabestans tournant à des vitesses légèrement différentes. L'élasticité de la courroie permet d'imprimer des vitesses différentes aux bobines et par suite, d'obtenir ladite tension de la bande.In the prior art, there are devices which solve the general problem which the invention proposes to solve, namely, driving a strip material from one coil to another, under constant tension. For example, publication US-A-3,305,186 describes a magnetic tape drive in which, in order to maintain a constant tension on the tape, the take-up reel is driven at a speed slightly higher than the take-up reel. food. This device uses a single endless, extendable belt to drive the two coils. This belt is in non-slip contact with the two coils and is driven by two capstans rotating at slightly different speeds. The elasticity of the belt makes it possible to print different speeds on the reels and consequently to obtain said tension of the strip.

Cependant, du fait même de l'élasticité de la courroie, la tension de la bande dépend non seulement de la différence des vitesses des cabestans et des caractéristiques physiques de la bande, mais dépend également de l'élasticité de la courroie. Par suite, dans ce dispositif de l'art antérieur de nombreux paramètres doivent être déterminés et corrélés pour obtenir la tension souhaitée sur la bande. Par ailleurs, avec un tel dispositif, il n'est pas possible de régler la tension initiale de la bande à une valeur souhaitée. La raison en est qu'un tel réglage implique que l'on puisse faire tourner la bobine réceptrice (par exemple manuellement) sans faire tourner la bobine débitrice. Du fait que les deux bobines sont constamment couplées en rotation par l'intermédiaire de la courroie, une telle opération n'est pas possible. Un tel inconvénient se révèlerait particulièrement fâcheux dans le cas où le dispositif serait utilisé pour entraîner le ruban d'impression d'une imprimante. En effet à chaque mise ou remise en place du ruban dans une imprimante, il est impératif de pouvoir supprimer tout mou pouvant exister dans le ruban afin d'éviter soit une mauvaise impression des caractères au début de l'opération d'impression, soit un mauvais bobinage pouvant aller jusqu'à la rupture du ruban, en particulier avec un ruban du type de ceux dont il a été question plus haut.However, by the very fact of the elasticity of the belt, the tension of the belt depends not only on the difference in the speeds of the capstans and on the physical characteristics of the belt, but also depends on the elasticity of the belt. Consequently, in this device of the prior art, numerous parameters must be determined and correlated to obtain the desired tension on the strip. Furthermore, with such a device, it is not possible to adjust the initial tension of the strip to a desired value. The reason is that such an adjustment implies that one can rotate the take-up reel (for example manually) without turning the supply reel. Because the two coils are constantly coupled in rotation via the belt, such an operation is not possible. Such a drawback would prove particularly unfortunate in the case where the device is used to drive the printing ribbon of a printer. In fact, each time the ribbon is replaced or replaced in a printer, it is imperative to be able to remove any slack that may exist in the ribbon in order to avoid either improper printing of the characters at the start of the printing operation, or a bad winding which can go as far as breaking the ribbon, in particular with a ribbon of the type mentioned above.

Dans le dispositif de la présente invention, comme il apparaîtra ci-après, chaque bobine est entraînée par sa propre courroie, laquelle est inextensible. Avec une telle structure, la tension du matériau entraîné d'une bobine à l'autre ne dépend pas des caractéristiques d'élasticité des courroies, ce qui réduit le nombre de paramètres à corréler. De plus, il est possible d'entraîner une courroie, tout en maintenant l'autre fixe, ce qui permet de régler la tension initiale du matériau en bande.In the device of the present invention, as will appear below, each coil is driven by its own belt, which is inextensible. With such a structure, the tension of the material driven from one reel to the other does not depend on the elasticity characteristics of the belts, which reduces the number of parameters to be correlated. In addition, it is possible to drive a belt, while keeping the other stationary, which makes it possible to adjust the initial tension of the strip material.

Exposé de l'InventionStatement of the Invention

La présente invention a pour objet un dispositif d'entraînement de bobines de ruban ou bande très fragile et facilement déformable. Ce dispositif maintient ledit ruban ou ladite bande sous une tension constante et uniforme et peut être utilisé dans des imprimantes à impact fonctionnant à vitesse élevée pour entraîner le ruban de ces imprimantes.The present invention relates to a device for driving reels of very fragile and easily deformable tape or tape. This device maintains said ribbon or said strip under a constant and uniform tension and can be used in impact printers operating at high speed to drive the ribbon of these printers.

Le dispositif selon l'invention entraîne en rotation une bobine de réception et une bobine d'alimentation, chaque bobine étant prévue pour porter une certaine quantité de ruban se déroulant de la bobine d'alimentation à la bobine de réception, les bobines tournant avec une différence de vitesse circonférencielle constante. Le maintien de cette différence de vitesse constante indépendamment de la quantité de ruban enroulée sur la bobine d'alimentation et sur la bobine de réception, assure la tension uniforme et constante du ruban. Le dispositif comprend une première courroie d'entraînement relativement inextensible entraînant sans glissement la périphérie de la partie du ruban enroulée sur la bobine de réception, et une deuxième courroie d'entraînement relativement inextensible non raccordée à la première courroie, entraînant sans glissement la périphérie de la partie du ruban enroulée sur la bobine d'alimentation. Le dispositif comporte en outre un moyen entraînant la première courroie à une vitesse linéaire constante prédéterminée et un moyen entraîné sans glissement par la première courroie et entraînant à son tour sans glissement la deuxième courroie à une vitesse linéaire constante plus lente que celle de la première courroie. En conséquence, la portion de ruban entre la bobine d'alimentation et la bobine de réception est maintenue à une tension constante. L'existence de deux courroies distinctes pour entraîner les bobines permet, le cas échéant, de régler la tension du ruban en faisant tourner légèrement l'une des courroies après l'avoir découplée de l'autre.The device according to the invention rotates a take-up reel and a feed reel, each reel being designed to carry a certain quantity of ribbon unwinding from the feed reel to the take-up reel, the reels rotating with a constant circumferential speed difference. Maintaining this constant speed difference regardless of the quantity of ribbon wound on the supply reel and on the take-up reel, ensures uniform and constant tension of the ribbon. The device comprises a first relatively inextensible drive belt driving without slipping the periphery of the part of the ribbon wound on the take-up reel, and a second relatively inextensible driving belt not connected to the first belt, causing without sliding the periphery of the part of the ribbon wound on the supply reel. The device further comprises means driving the first belt at a predetermined constant linear speed and means driven without slippage by the first belt and in turn driving the second belt without slipping at a constant linear speed slower than that of the first belt . As a result, the portion of tape between the supply spool and the take-up spool is kept at a constant tension. The existence of two separate belts for driving the reels makes it possible, if necessary, to adjust the tension of the ribbon by slightly turning one of the belts after having decoupled it from the other.

Brève Description des Figures des DessinsBrief Description of the Figures of the Drawings

  • La figure 1 est une vue partielle en perspective du dispositif d'entraînement de ruban de la présente invention et d'une cartouche de ruban coopérant avec ledit dispositif.Figure 1 is a partial perspective view of the ribbon drive device of the present invention and a ribbon cartridge cooperating with said device.
  • La figure 2 est une vue partielle du dispositif de la figure 1 prise selon les flèches 2-2.Figure 2 is a partial view of the device of Figure 1 taken along arrows 2-2.
  • La figure 3 est une vue de côté partielle du dispositif de la figure 1 prise selon les flèches 3-3.Figure 3 is a partial side view of the device of Figure 1 taken along arrows 3-3.
  • La figure 4 est une vue schématique de dessus du dispositif d'entraînement de ruban de la figure 1 associé à une imprimante à grande vitesse à roue d'impression, du type à élément de frappe intermédiaire, montrant le mouvement relatif des divers éléments du dispositif pendant l'entraînement du ruban.FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of the ribbon drive device of FIG. 1 associated with a high-speed printer with print wheel, of the type with intermediate striking element, showing the relative movement of the various elements of the device during the ribbon drive.
Description d'un Mode le Réalisation de t'inventionDescription of a Mode the Realization of the invention

On se reportera maintenant aux figures 1 à 4 pour la description du dispositif d'entraînement de la présente invention.Reference will now be made to FIGS. 1 to 4 for the description of the drive device of the present invention.

Seule la partie d'une imprimante à grande vitesse nécessaire à la description du dispositif de la présente invention est représentée schématiquement (figure 4). Les figures 1 et 4 représentent un boîtier de cartouche 10 contenant un ruban 11. Une partie 12 du ruban est enroulée sur une bobine d'alimentation et une partie 13 est enroulée sur une bobine de réception. Dans la figure 1, le boîtier 10 est dégagé du dispositif d'entraînement de ruban 14 selon l'invention et ces deux ensembles sont représentés dans la position de chargement et de déchargement de la cartouche de ruban qui est une position verticale. Lors du chargement ou du déchargement de la cartouche de ruban, deux paires de doigts de positionnement de cartouche 15, 15', 15" et 15111 sont respectivement reçues et guidées par deux paires de rails verticaux 16 et 17, du dispositif d'entraînement, chaque paire de rails 16 et 17 définissant des passages 18 et 19 pour la réception et le guidage des doigts de positionnement. Les doigts de positionnement 15 et 15" sont amenés par les passages 18 et 19 dans des trous 70 ménagés dans des languettes flexibles 20, ce qui provoque le blocage de la cartouche en position de fonctionnement. Pour déverrouiller la cartouche, les languettes 20 sont manuellement écartées de la cartouche afin que les doigts 1 5 et 1 5" soient dégagés de leur trou 70 respectif. Le chargement et le déchargement s'effectuent dans la position verticale représentée sur la figure 1, après quoi le dispositif est basculé autour des axes 21 (figure 2) pour être amené avec le ruban dans la position de fonctionnement horizontal représentée aux figures 2, 3 et 4, Les mécanismes permettant la rotation du dispositif d'entraînement et du ruban de la position verticale à la position horizontale, seront décrits en détail ci-dessous en se reportant aux figures 2 et 3. Le dispositif d'entraînement du ruban est monté sur le châssis 22 du chariot porte-élément d'impression de l'imprimante par l'intermédiaire d'un support 23 lequel est boulonné au châssis du chariot. Si l'on désire basculer le dispositif d'entraînement de ruban 14 de sa position horizontale représentée sur les figures 2 et 3 à sa position verticale représentée sur la figure 1, la cartouche (non représentée sur les figures 2 et 3) doit être enfoncée jusqu'à ce qu'elle applique une force orientée vers le bas sur le bras 24 d'un renvoi coudé 25. Cette force provoque la rotation du renvoi 25 autour d'un axe 26 et le déplacement d'un plongeur 27 à l'encontre de la force exercée par un ressort 28, afin de dégager ledit plongeur 27 d'une ouverture 29 ménagée dans une plaque d'arrêt 71 solidaire du support 27, ouverture dans laquelle il était bloqué. Le blocage étant ainsi supprimé, un ressort 30 qui est monté pour rappeler le dispositif d'entraînement de ruban 14 vers le haut sur la figure 4, peut ainsi basculer le dispositif d'entraînement débloqué vers sa position verticale ou de chargement et de déchargement représentée sur la figure 1. Si l'on désire ensuite ramener le dispositif d'entraînement dans la position horizontale des figures 2 et 3, celui-ci peut être basculé manuellement autour du doigt 21 à l'encontre de la force exercée par le ressort 30 jusqu'à ce que le plongeur 27 soit à nouveau bloqué dans l'ouverture 29 de la plaque d'arrêt 71.Only the part of a high speed printer necessary for the description of the device of the present invention is shown schematically (Figure 4). Figures 1 and 4 show a cartridge housing 10 containing a ribbon 11. A part 12 of the ribbon is wound on a supply reel and a part 13 is wound on a take-up reel. In Figure 1, the housing 10 is released from the ribbon drive device 14 according to the invention and these two assemblies are shown in the loading and unloading position of the ribbon cartridge which is a vertical position. When loading or unloading the ribbon cartridge, two pairs of cartridge positioning fingers 15, 15 ', 15 "and 15 111 are respectively received and guided by two pairs of vertical rails 16 and 17, of the drive device , each pair of rails 16 and 17 defining passages 18 and 19 for receiving and guiding the positioning fingers. The positioning fingers 15 and 15 "are brought by the passages 18 and 19 into holes 70 formed in flexible tongues 20, which causes the blocking of the cartridge in the operating position. To unlock the cartridge, the tabs 20 are manually separated from the cartridge so that the fingers 1 5 and 1 5 "are released from their respective hole 70. The loading and unloading are carried out in the vertical position represented in FIG. 1, after which the device is tilted around the axes 21 (figure 2) to be brought with the ribbon into the horizontal operating position shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, The mechanisms allowing the rotation of the drive device and of the ribbon from the vertical position to the horizontal position will be described in detail below. below, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3. The ribbon drive device is mounted on the chassis 22 of the carriage carrying the printing element of the printer by means of a support 23 which is bolted to the chassis of the carriage. If it is desired to tilt the ribbon drive device 14 from its horizontal position shown in Figures 2 and 3 to its vertical position shown in Figure 1, the cartridge (not shown in Figures 2 and 3) must be pushed in. until it applies a force directed downwards on the arm 24 of a bent gear 25. This force causes the rotation of the gear 25 around an axis 26 and the displacement of a plunger 27 to the against the force exerted by a spring 28, in order to disengage said plunger 27 from an opening 29 formed in a stop plate 71 secured to the support 27, opening in which it was blocked. The blocking being thus removed, a spring 30 which is mounted to return the ribbon drive device 14 upwards in FIG. 4, can thus tilt the unlocked drive device towards its vertical or loading and unloading position shown. in FIG. 1. If it is then desired to return the drive device to the horizontal position of FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be manually tilted around the finger 21 against the force exerted by the spring 30 until the plunger 27 is again blocked in the opening 29 of the stop plate 71.

C'est pour faciliter la description de la présente invention que l'on a présenté ci-dessus le mécanisme permettant le chargement et le déchargement d'une cartouche de ruban dans le dispositif d'entraînement de ruban de la présente invention. On comprendra que tout moyen classique de chargement et de déchargement pourrait être utilisé pour amener le système d'entraînement de la présente invention en contact avec les périphéries respectives des parties de bande ou de ruban enroulé sur les bobines d'alimentation et de réception. Ces bobines de réception et d'alimentation peuvent faire partie d'une cartouche ou être simplement séparées. La réalisation préférée du dispositif d'entraînement de ruban de la présente invention sera maintenant décrite en détail en se référant aux figures 1 à 4. La figure 1 montre en détail la structure du dispositif d'entraînement de ruban de la présente invention, tandis que la figure 4 représente schématiquement l'association dudit dispositif d'entraînement et d'une imprimante à roue d'impression fonctionnant à grande vitesse.It is to facilitate the description of the present invention that the mechanism for loading and unloading a ribbon cartridge in the ribbon drive of the present invention has been presented above. It will be understood that any conventional means of loading and unloading could be used to bring the drive system of the present invention into contact with the respective peripheries of the parts of tape or ribbon wound on the supply and reception coils. These receiving and supply coils can be part of a cartridge or be simply separated. The preferred embodiment of the tape drive of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 4. Figure 1 shows in detail the structure of the tape drive of the present invention, while FIG. 4 schematically represents the association of said drive device and a printer with a printing wheel operating at high speed.

La figure 4 montre que le ruban 11 est entraîné devant un milieu d'impression, par exemple, une feuille de papier 31, portée par une platine 32. Une roue d'impression classique 33 présente des languettes 34 qui portent chacune un caractère différent à imprimer. La roue d'impression peut tourner entre le ruban et un marteau de frappe 35. Le dispositif d'entraînement de ruban comporte un moteur pas-à-pas 37 (voir figure 1) entraînant un pignon 38 en rotation dans le sens horaire sur la figure 4. Le pignon 38 entraîne une roue 39 qui, à son tour, entraîne une poulie 40 qui lui est fixée. La poulie 40 entraîne une courroie inextensible 41 d'entraînement de la bobine de réception 13. Cette courroie 41 est guidée par des poulies 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 et 47. De plus, la courroie 41 est également guidée par une poulie à axe mobile 48 qui est raccordée à un ressort de traction 50 qui sera décrit ultérieurement et par une poulie 49 qui est fixée à un pignon d'entraînement 51.FIG. 4 shows that the ribbon 11 is driven in front of a printing medium, for example, a sheet of paper 31, carried by a plate 32. A conventional printing wheel 33 has tongues 34 which each have a different character to to print. The printing wheel can rotate between the ribbon and a striking hammer 35. The ribbon driving device comprises a stepping motor 37 (see FIG. 1) driving a pinion 38 rotating clockwise on the Figure 4. The pinion 38 drives a wheel 39 which, in turn, drives a pulley 40 which is attached to it. The pulley 40 drives an inextensible belt 41 for driving the take-up reel 13. This belt 41 is guided by pulleys 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 and 47. In addition, the belt 41 is also guided by a pulley with movable axis 48 which is connected to a tension spring 50 which will be described later and by a pulley 49 which is fixed to a drive pinion 51.

Une courroie inextensible 52 d'entraînement de la bobine d'alimentation 12 est supportée et guidée par une série de poulies de guidage 53 à 58 qui correspondent aux poulies 42 à 47 associées à la courroie d'entraînement de la bobine de réception. De plus, une poulie de guidage 59 à axe mobile assure une fonction identique à celle assurée par la poulie 48. Le pignon 51 entraîne un pignon fou 60 qui, à son tour, entraîne un pignon 61 de même diamètre que celui du pignon 51. Une poulie 62 est fixée au pignon 61 et sert à entraîner la courroie 52 de la bobine d'alimentation. La poulie 62, associée à la courroie d'entraînement de la bobine d'alimentation, présente un diamètre légèrement inférieur à celui de la poulie 49. Ainsi, la courroie d'entraînement 52 de la bobine d'alimentation sera entraînée à une vitesse linéaire légèrement inférieure à celle de la courroie d'entraînement 41 de la bobine de réception. Etant donné que les courroies 41 et 52 entraînent respectivement la bobine de réception 13 et la bobine d'alimentation 14 par leur périphérie et sans glissement, la partie du ruban 11 quittant la bobine d'alimentation 12 sera entraînée à une vitesse linéaire constante légèrement inférieur à celle de la partie du ruban 11 s'enroulant sur la bobine de réception 13. Cette différence de vitesse assure l'application d'une tension constante au ruban. Avec cet agencement, la différence de vitesse demeure constante et en conséquence, la légère tension appliquée au ruban demeure également constante indépendamment de la longueur du ruban enroulée sur la bobine d'alimentation 12 et sur la bobine de réception 13.An inextensible belt 52 for driving the supply reel 12 is supported and guided by a series of guide pulleys 53 to 58 which correspond to the pulleys 42 to 47 associated with the drive belt for the take-up reel. In addition, a guide pulley 59 with a movable axis performs a function identical to that provided by the pulley 48. The pinion 51 drives a idler gear 60 which, in turn, drives a pinion 61 of the same diameter as that of the pinion 51. A pulley 62 is fixed to the pinion 61 and serves to drive the belt 52 of the feed reel. The pulley 62, associated with the drive belt of the feed reel, has a diameter slightly smaller than that of the pulley 49. Thus, the drive belt 52 of the feed reel will be driven at a linear speed slightly lower than that of the drive belt 41 of the take-up reel. Since the belts 41 and 52 respectively drive the take-up reel 13 and the feed reel 14 by their periphery and without sliding, the part of the tape 11 leaving the feed reel 12 will be driven at a slightly lower constant linear speed to that of the part of the ribbon 11 winding on the receiving reel 13. This speed difference ensures the application of a constant tension to the ribbon. With this arrangement, the difference in speed remains constant and consequently, the slight tension applied to the ribbon also remains constant regardless of the length of the ribbon wound on the supply reel 12 and on the take-up reel 13.

Étant donné que les courroies 41 et 52 sont pratiquement inextensibles, la somme de la longueur de la partie de la courroie d'entraînement 41 en contact avec la périphérie du ruban enroulé sur la bobine de réception 13 et de la longueur de la partie de la courroie d'entraînement 52 en contact avec la périphérie du ruban enroulé sur la bobine d'alimentation 12, demeure pratiquement constante indépendamment des variations de la quantité du ruban enroulée sur chacune de ces bobines. A cet égard, le ressort 50 et ses poulies associées 48 et 59 interdisent tout mou dans les courroies d'entraînement 41 et 52 qui pourrait être provoqué par des modifications de la quantité de ruban enroulée sur les bobines 13 et 12. Tandis que les autres poulies sont fixes, le poulies 48 et 59 sont mobiles, c'est-à-dire qu'elles n'ont pas de position fixe et se décalent selon les modifications de la quantité du ruban enroulée sur les bobines de réception et d'alimentation. De cette manière, la longueur du ressort 50 demeure constante, mais sa position se décale de gauche à droite comme indiqué par les flèches, pour compenser les modifications de la longueur du ruban enroulée sur les bobines de réception 12 et d'alimentation 13 et maintenir une pression constante de chacune des courroies sur la bobine à laquelle elle est associée.Since the belts 41 and 52 are practically inextensible, the sum of the length of the part of the drive belt 41 in contact with the periphery of the ribbon wound on the take-up reel 13 and the length of the part of the drive belt 52 in contact with the periphery of the ribbon wound on the supply reel 12, remains practically constant independently ment of variations in the quantity of ribbon wound on each of these reels. In this regard, the spring 50 and its associated pulleys 48 and 59 prohibit any slack in the drive belts 41 and 52 which could be caused by changes in the amount of ribbon wound on the reels 13 and 12. While the others pulleys are fixed, pulleys 48 and 59 are mobile, that is to say that they do not have a fixed position and shift according to the modifications of the quantity of ribbon wound on the receiving and supply coils . In this way, the length of the spring 50 remains constant, but its position shifts from left to right as indicated by the arrows, to compensate for the changes in the length of the ribbon wound on the receiving 12 and supply 13 coils and maintain constant pressure of each of the belts on the reel with which it is associated.

Dans le cas où il serait nécessaire de régler manuellement la tension du ruban, le bouton 63 (figure 1) peut être utilisé pour dégager manuellement la poulie 62 et son pignon 61 du pignon fou 60 de façon que la courroie d'entraînement 52 soit découplée de la courroie 41. La position de la courroie 52 peut alors être modifiée pour régler la tension du ruban 11 tandis que la courroie d'entraînement 41 et la bobine de réception 13 demeurent en position fixe. Lorsque le réglage est achevé, le bouton 63 et en même temps, la poulie 62 et le pignon 61, peuvent être ramenés en position de fonctionnement.In the event that it is necessary to manually adjust the tension of the ribbon, the button 63 (FIG. 1) can be used to manually release the pulley 62 and its pinion 61 from the idler gear 60 so that the drive belt 52 is decoupled. of the belt 41. The position of the belt 52 can then be modified to adjust the tension of the ribbon 11 while the drive belt 41 and the take-up reel 13 remain in a fixed position. When the adjustment is completed, the button 63 and at the same time the pulley 62 and the pinion 61 can be returned to the operating position.

L'homme de l'art comprendra que, bien que le dispositif d'entraînement de ruban ou bande selon l'invention, ait été décrit en relation avec le ruban d'impression d'une imprimante à impact, il peut s'appliquer à l'entraînement de tout type de ruban devant se dérouler, sous tension constante, d'une bobine d'alimentation vers une bobine de réception.Those skilled in the art will understand that, although the ribbon or tape drive device according to the invention has been described in relation to the printing ribbon of an impact printer, it can be applied to the drive of any type of tape which must take place, under constant tension, from a supply reel to a take-up reel.

Claims (6)

1. An apparatus for rotatably driving a take-up reel and a supply reel, each reel supporting a portion of a web member, running from the supply reel to the take-up reel at a constant differential between its linear speed at the supply reel and its linear speed at the take-up reel, said apparatus being characterized in that it includes:
a first inelastic drive belt in contact with the periphery of the web portion on said take-up reel and non-slip driving said web portion,
a second inelastic drive belt, distinct from the first drive belt, in contact with the periphery of the web portion on the supply reel and non-slip driving said web portion,
first means for driving said first drive belt at a first constant linear speed, and,
second means for driving said second drive belt at a second constant linear speed slower than said first linear speed, the constant differential between said first and second linear speeds maintaining the web portion extending between said supply reel and said take-up reel under a constant strain.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it includes motion transferring means coupling said first drive belt and said second driving means so that motion of said first drive belt entails motion of said second driving means as well as motion of said second drive belt.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sum of the length of the portion of said first drive belt in contact with the periphery of said take-up reel and the length of the portion of said second drive belt in contact with the periphery of said supply reel remains constant irrespective of the changes in the web portions on said reels, and in that said apparatus includes an elastic member connecting said drive belts whereby the extension of said elastic member and consequently the pressure of each drive belt against its associated web portion remains constant irrespective of the changes in the web portions on said reels.
4. An apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that said elastic member is a tension spring.
5. An apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that it includes means for disengaging manually said motion transferring means so as to decouple the motion of said second drive belt from the motion of said first drive belt so that the strain on the web may be adjusted by moving one of the drive belts only.
6. The use of the apparatus of any one of claims 1 to 5 to drive the print ribbon in a printer.
EP79104865A 1979-01-02 1979-12-04 Ink ribbon drive, e.g. in a high-speed printer Expired EP0012878B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US234 1979-01-02
US06/000,234 US4265552A (en) 1979-01-02 1979-01-02 Ribbon drive mechanism for high speed printer

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0012878A2 EP0012878A2 (en) 1980-07-09
EP0012878A3 EP0012878A3 (en) 1981-03-25
EP0012878B1 true EP0012878B1 (en) 1983-09-21

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EP79104865A Expired EP0012878B1 (en) 1979-01-02 1979-12-04 Ink ribbon drive, e.g. in a high-speed printer

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US (1) US4265552A (en)
EP (1) EP0012878B1 (en)
JP (1) JPS5593486A (en)
AU (1) AU526559B2 (en)
BR (1) BR7908621A (en)
CA (1) CA1124198A (en)
DE (1) DE2966210D1 (en)
ES (1) ES487054A1 (en)
IT (1) IT1165425B (en)

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JPS6192878A (en) * 1984-10-12 1986-05-10 Ricoh Co Ltd Ribbon replacement structure of ribbon cassette
JPH0428786Y2 (en) * 1985-05-20 1992-07-13
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JPH0630449Y2 (en) * 1986-09-08 1994-08-17 ブラザー工業株式会社 Printer
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DE3741360A1 (en) * 1987-12-07 1989-06-15 Triumph Adler Ag RECORDING DEVICE FOR A CARRIER OF A RIBBON IN WRITING OR SIMILAR MACHINES
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AU5386479A (en) 1980-07-10
AU526559B2 (en) 1983-01-20
JPS5593486A (en) 1980-07-15
EP0012878A3 (en) 1981-03-25
IT7928119A0 (en) 1979-12-18
CA1124198A (en) 1982-05-25
IT1165425B (en) 1987-04-22
JPH0156917B2 (en) 1989-12-01
US4265552A (en) 1981-05-05
EP0012878A2 (en) 1980-07-09
ES487054A1 (en) 1980-06-16
DE2966210D1 (en) 1983-10-27
BR7908621A (en) 1980-09-02

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