JP2766115B2 - Serial printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a serial printer and, more particularly, to a mounting structure of a ribbon cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional serial printer has a structure in which a print head 5 is surrounded by a ribbon cassette 7 and an arm 8 as shown in FIG. 4, and the ribbon cassette 7 is mounted at the center of the serial printer.

Next, the operation will be described. When removing the ribbon cassette 7, the screw 21 fixing the cover 11 is removed, and then the cover 11 is removed to remove the ribbon cassette 7. Reference numeral 3 denotes a front panel, 4 denotes a platen, and 15 denotes an upper cover.

[0004]

In the conventional ribbon cassette mounting structure, the ribbon cassette 7 and the arm 8 are used.
Because of the structure surrounding the print head 5, the mounting position of the ribbon cassette 7 cannot be freely determined.

In particular, in a serial printer in which paper is sucked in and discharged only from the front side, the ribbon cassette 7 is located at the rear of the apparatus, so that it is difficult to attach and detach the ribbon cassette 7.

[0006] Further, due to the design of the housing, an openable and closable lid must be provided on the upper side of the print head 5 in order to attach and detach the ribbon cassette 7, and when articles such as a personal computer and a monitor are placed on the housing. Because the lid cannot be opened,
The ribbon cassette 7 could not be attached or detached.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a serial printer in which a ribbon cassette can be easily attached and detached.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a serial printer according to the present invention has a mechanism unit and a ribbon cassette, and uses an ink ribbon stretched between arms forming a pair of the ribbon cassette. A serial printer which is arranged along a platen and prints on a sheet on the platen via an ink ribbon by a print head, wherein a mechanism unit is mounted integrally with a front panel and supported so as to be able to enter and exit the front of the printer body. A platen is mounted on the mechanism unit, a print head is mounted on the printer body, and the ribbon cassette is removably mounted on the mechanism unit with a platen arranged between a pair of arms.

[0009]

The ribbon cassette is mounted on the front of the apparatus, and the ribbon cassette is pulled out to the front of the apparatus, thereby facilitating the attachment and detachment.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a serial printer according to the present embodiment sucks a sheet 1 in a direction a from a sheet inlet 2 of a front panel 3 and sends the sheet 1 to a platen 4. Printing is performed on the upper sheet, and the sheet after printing is guided by the paper guide 6 and discharged from the sheet discharge port 9 of the front panel 3 in the direction b.

The mechanism unit 1 will be described in detail.
2 is integrally attached to the front panel 3, is supported by a guide rail 13 so as to be able to enter and exit the front of the printer main body P, and a platen 4 is mounted on the mechanism unit 12.
The print head 5 is mounted on the printer main body P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ribbon cassette 7 has a pair of arms 8, 8, and an ink ribbon 7a is stretched between the arms 8, 8, and a platen is provided between the pair of arms 8, 8. 4 is detachably mounted on the mechanism unit 12 in a state where 4 is arranged. In the embodiment, the ribbon cassette 7 is mounted on the mechanism unit 12 so as to surround the platen 4 by utilizing the space between the front panel 3 and the platen 4.

As shown in FIG. 2A, the paper 1 is sucked in from the direction a, passes between the lower paper guide 16 and the middle paper guide 10, and is turned 180 ° by the platen 4 to be connected to the paper guide 6. It is discharged in the direction b through the space between the lids 11.

The ribbon cassette 7 is efficiently mounted by utilizing the space between the middle paper guide 10 and the lid 11.

FIG. 2B shows the movement when the ribbon cassette 7 is attached and detached. First, the mechanism unit 12 integrated with the front panel 3 is pulled out in the direction of arrow c by the guide rail 13 fixed to the front panel 3.

Next, the lid 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow d about the hinge 14 as the center of rotation, and the ribbon cassette 7 placed on the middle paper guide 10 is taken out.

At this time, since the operator operates from the front panel 3, the ribbon cassette 7 can be easily taken out.

Further, since there is no effect on the attachment / detachment of the ribbon cassette 7 within the range of the arrow A above the upper cover 15, there is an advantage that an object can always be kept.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 1, in which the mechanism unit 12 is pulled out in the direction of arrow c and the lid 11 is opened by rotating in the direction of arrow d as in FIG. 2B.

The platen 4 is held by a right bearing 17 and a left bearing 18. The bearing 17 is fixed to a right frame 19, and the bearing 18 is fixed to a left frame 20. The arm 8 of the ribbon cassette 7 is mounted so as to surround the outer sides of the bearings 17 and 18 on both the left and right sides.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a serial printer in which suction and discharge of paper are performed only on the front side, a ribbon cassette and an arm surround the platen, thereby mounting the ribbon cassette at the front of the apparatus. Can be attached and detached easily.
Also, the ribbon cassette can be attached and detached while a monitor, a personal computer, and the like are placed on the upper part of the apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

2A is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, and FIG. 2B is a view showing a movement when a ribbon cassette is attached and detached.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Paper 3 Front panel 4 Platen 5 Print head 7 Ribbon cassette 8 Arm 12 Mechanism unit 13 Guide rail

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink ribbon having a mechanism unit and a ribbon cassette, the ink ribbon extending between arms forming a pair of the ribbon cassette is arranged along a platen, and a print head interposes the paper on the platen via the ink ribbon. A serial printer that performs printing.The mechanism unit is mounted integrally with the front panel, supported so as to be able to enter and exit in front of the printer body, the platen is mounted on the mechanism unit, and the print head is mounted on the printer body. A serial printer, wherein the ribbon cassette is removably mounted on a mechanism unit with a platen arranged between a pair of arms.