JP2500249Y2 - Ribbon protector - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ribbon protector, and is particularly suitable for use in an impact dot matrix type ribbon protector.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known, various types of printers are used, and as one of them, an impact dot matrix type printer is known. FIG. 2 is a side view of essential parts showing a general configuration of an impact dot matrix type printer. In FIG. 2, 3 is a platen, 4 is a print head that faces the platen, 5 is a carriage that carries the print head 4 and moves in space in parallel to the platen 3, and 6a and 6b are the carriages that move in space. Is a guide shaft that serves as a guide. Further, 7a to 7d are paper rollers for feeding the paper, and 8a to 8h are paper guides for guiding the paper.

In the printer thus constructed, a ribbon protector is provided in order to prevent the ink ribbon 10 from contacting the paper 9 unnecessarily and the paper 9 from being soiled. A ribbon protector used for such a purpose is configured by attaching a ribbon protector main body 51 to the surface of a ribbon protector bracket 52, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 for explaining a conventional technique. The ribbon protector body is attached by forming a storage recess 53 on the surface of the ribbon protector bracket so that the portion to which the ribbon protector body 51 is attached is flat.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the ribbon protector main body 51 is formed in a rectangular shape such as a square or a rectangle in a plan view, and the affixing mode is such that each side of the rectangle is the ribbon protector. The bracket 52 is attached so as to be parallel to the respective edges of the bracket 52. Therefore, each side of the ribbon protector main body 52 is orthogonal to the spacing direction of the carriage and the traveling direction of the paper 9.

[0005]

However, when the ribbon protector main body 51 is attached on the ribbon protector bracket 52 in this manner, as shown in the cross-sectional view of the main part of FIG. If there is a burr or a float on the end face, it may be caught on the gap 53a between the ribbon protector body 51 and the ribbon protector bracket 52, a step, or the like. When such an inconvenience occurs, the paper 9 is broken or damaged, which is a serious problem.

Particularly, in recent years, the gap between the print head 4 and the platen 3 tends to become narrower in order to increase the printing speed, and accordingly, the gap between the ribbon protector and the platen 3 also becomes narrower. Has become. Therefore, there is a tendency that there is a greater risk that the paper 9 will be broken or soiled due to burrs or floats on the end surface of the paper 9. In order to prevent such a problem from occurring, conventionally, the parts management is made strict so that the gap 53a and the step are not formed. However, if the parts management is made strict, the yield is lowered, and Since the inspection requires much labor and cost, there is a problem that the production efficiency is lowered and the manufacturing cost is increased. In view of the above problems, the present invention checks the presence or absence of a gap or a step between the ribbon protector body and the ribbon protector bracket for the inconvenience that the above-mentioned paper is scratched or soiled due to the end surface of the paper being caught by the ribbon protector. The purpose is to prevent parts management without being particularly strict.

[0007]

A ribbon protector according to the present invention comprises a ribbon protector body formed in a predetermined plane shape and a ribbon protector bracket for holding the ribbon protector body. In a ribbon protector in which a storage recess having the same plane shape is formed on the surface of the ribbon protector bracket, and the ribbon protector body is housed and attached in the storage recess, the planar shape of the ribbon protector body is polygonal. The ribbon protector main body is formed in a manner such that each side connecting each vertex of the polygon has an angle with respect to the spacing direction of the carriage and the traveling direction of the sheet. It is attached on the protector bracket. Another feature of the present invention is that each side of the ribbon protector body has an angle of 45 ° with respect to the two directions of the carriage space direction and the paper running direction. Another feature of the present invention is that the corners of the ribbon protector body are not arranged within the range in which the ribbon protector body and the platen face each other so that the sides of the ribbon protector body are arranged. I am trying. Furthermore, another feature of the present invention is that the ribbon protector main body is formed in a square shape in plan view, and the four corner portions of the square are cut inward so that the cutout portion becomes a square shape. Is a dodecagon.

[0008]

The ribbon protector main body is formed into a polygonal shape in plan view, and each side connecting the apexes of the polygon has a certain inclination angle with respect to the spacing direction of the carriage and the traveling direction of the paper. By attaching the ribbon protector bracket on the ribbon protector bracket in such a manner that the edges of the paper do not meet at the inclination angle of zero with respect to each of these sides, the ribbon protector main body and
The risk of the end surface of the paper being caught in the gap between the ribbon protector body and the ribbon protector bracket is greatly reduced.

[0009]

1 is a plan view of a ribbon protector showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of a main portion of a printer in which such a ribbon protector is arranged. In FIG. 2, 3 is a platen, 4 is a print head that faces the platen, 5 is a carriage that carries the print head 4, and is a carriage that moves in space in parallel to the platen 3, and 6a and 6b are used when the carriage moves in space. A guide shaft that serves as a guide. Further, 7a to 7d are paper rollers for feeding the paper, and 8a to 8h are paper guides for guiding the paper.

The ribbon protector of this embodiment is arranged for the printer thus constructed as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 3, and the ink ribbon 10 contacts the paper 9 unnecessarily and the above-mentioned paper 9 is used. Keep it clean. In the ribbon protector having such an action, in order to prevent the end surface 9a of the sheet 9 from entering between the ribbon protector main body 1 and the ribbon protector bracket 2 as described above, the following is performed in this embodiment. ing.

That is, there are two opportunities for the ribbon protector and the sheet 9 to meet each other, as shown in the traveling direction explanatory view of FIG. 4, the carriage space direction 15 and the sheet traveling direction 16. Therefore, as described above, when the four sides of the ribbon protector body 1 are oriented in the directions orthogonal to the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16, respectively, the ribbon protector body 1 and the ribbon protector bracket 2 are separated from each other. If there is a gap between the sheets, there is a risk that the end surface 9a of the sheet 9 is caught in this gap.

In order to avoid such a danger, in this embodiment, each side of the ribbon protector body 1 is made to have an arbitrary inclination angle with respect to the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16. The ribbon protector bracket 2 is attached onto the bracket. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the ribbon protector main body 1 is formed in a rhombus shape, and each side forming the rhombus is inclined with respect to the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16 so that the ribbon protector main body 1 is formed. Is attached to the ribbon protector bracket 2.

In such an orientation, the ribbon protector body 1
By sticking the tape on the ribbon protector bracket 2, there is no side that is parallel to the paper end surface 9a.
You will be able to escape without getting caught in the gap between the and. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent the paper 9 from being scratched or soiled due to the paper edge 9a being caught.

By the way, the shape of the ribbon protector body 1 is preferably square. This is because, in the case of forming a square, all four sides are 45 ° with respect to the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16, respectively. That is, for example, when the inclination of each side becomes larger than 45 ° with respect to either the carriage space direction 15 or the paper running direction 16,
In other directions, it will be smaller than 45 °. Therefore, 45 °, which is the same inclination angle with respect to both the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16, is most desirable. Therefore, if the ribbon protector main body 1 is formed in a square shape as described above, such a condition can be satisfied.

The roundness of each corner indicated by the arrow R in FIG. 5 should be as small as possible. This is because, if this roundness R is large, looking locally,
This is because the number of portions that are perpendicular to the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16 increases, and the risk of the end surface 9a of the paper 9 being caught increases. Therefore, in this embodiment, the roundness R of each corner is made as small as possible to reduce the risk of the end surface 9a of the sheet 9 being caught.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In the case of this example, the ribbon protector main body 21 is affixed in the storage recess 23 so that the corners of the ribbon protector main body 21 do not exist within the area facing the platen 3. this is,
Since the distance between the ribbon protector and the paper 9 is the smallest in the area facing the platen 3, the paper 9
There is a high risk that the tape will get caught in the ribbon protector. In view of this, in the second embodiment, the two sides 21b and 21c of the four sides of the ribbon protector body 21 are lengthened as shown in FIG. 6 so that there is no corner in the area facing the platen 3. In this way, the risk of the paper 9 getting caught in the ribbon protector is further reduced.

The planar shape of the ribbon protector body 1 may be various shapes other than the shapes shown in the first and second embodiments. Although FIG. 7 is basically formed in a square shape, in this case, the corner portion 35 of the original square is formed.
Is cut inward so that the notch is square. As a result, the ribbon protector body 31 having a dodecagonal planar shape is formed. In this case,
The inclination angle θ of each side forming the dodecagon is 45 with respect to the carriage space direction 15 and the paper running direction 16.
Tilt to °. Therefore, carriage space direction 1
It is possible to prevent the sheet 9 from being caught in any one of the direction 5 and the sheet running direction 16. Also,
By forming the dodecagonal shape as in this embodiment, the ribbon protector main body 31 can be made small, and it is particularly effective when the size of the ribbon protector bracket 32 is limited.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ribbon protector main body is formed into a polygonal plane shape, and each side connecting each vertex of the polygon is a carriage. Since the tape is attached on the ribbon protector bracket in such a manner that it has a certain inclination angle with respect to the spacing direction of the paper and the running direction of the paper, the ribbon protector body and the space between the ribbon protector body and the ribbon protector bracket are It is possible to favorably prevent the end face of the paper from being caught in the gap or the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the end face of the paper from getting caught on the ribbon protector without stricter control of parts such as checking the gap between the ribbon protector body and the ribbon protector bracket and the presence or absence of a step. , It is possible to effectively prevent the above paper from being damaged or soiled. According to the invention of claim 2, since each side of the ribbon protector main body has an angle of 45 ° with respect to the two directions of the carriage space direction and the paper running direction, the end face of the paper is prevented from being caught by the ribbon protector. You can maximize the effect to prevent. According to the third aspect of the invention, since the corner portion of the ribbon protector main body does not face the platen, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the end face of the paper is caught by the ribbon protector. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the ribbon protector main body is formed in a square planar shape, and the square portions of the square ribbon protector main body are cut inward so that the cutout portions are square, so that a dodecagonal shape is formed as a whole. Since it is formed as described above, a substantially large ribbon protector body can be formed small and the surface of the ribbon protector bracket can be effectively used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a ribbon protector showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of essential parts showing a general configuration of a printer in which the ribbon protector of the present invention is arranged.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an arrangement state of ribbon protectors.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a carriage space direction and a sheet traveling direction.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the shape of the ribbon protector body.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a ribbon protector showing a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a ribbon protector showing a third embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a conventional ribbon protector.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional ribbon protector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 21, 31 Ribbon protector body 2, 22, 32 Ribbon protector bracket 3 Platen 4 Print head 5 Carriage 10 Ink ribbon 12, 23, 33 Storage recess 15 Carriage space direction 16 Paper running direction

Claims (4)

(57) [Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A ribbon protector main body formed in a predetermined plane shape, and a ribbon protector bracket for holding the ribbon protector main body, wherein the ribbon protector has a storage recess having the same planar shape as the ribbon protector main body. A ribbon protector formed on the surface of a bracket, wherein the ribbon protector main body is housed and affixed in the accommodating recess, and the planar shape of the ribbon protector main body is formed in a polygonal shape, and each vertex of the polygon The ribbon protector main body is attached on the ribbon protector bracket in such a manner that each side connecting the apex and the vertex has an angle with respect to the spacing direction of the carriage and the traveling direction of the paper. A characteristic ribbon protector. 2. The ribbon protector according to claim 1, wherein each side of the ribbon protector main body has an angle of 45 ° with respect to two directions of a carriage space direction and a paper running direction. . 3. The ribbon protector main body is arranged so that the corners of the ribbon protector main body are not arranged within the range in which the ribbon protector main body and the platen face each other. The ribbon protector according to claim 1. 4. The ribbon protector main body is formed in a square shape in a plan view, and the four corner portions of the square are cut inward so that the cutout portion becomes a square shape to form a dodecagonal shape as a whole. The ribbon protector according to claim 1.