JP2847889B2 - Dot impact printer printing hammer - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a printing hammer used for a dot impact type printer, and more particularly to a printing hammer using a piezoelectric element as a driving source.

(Prior Art) An electromagnetic actuator is widely used as a driving source of a print hammer used in a conventional dot impact printer. The electromagnetic actuator generates a magnetic field by passing a current through a coil, and drives a movable member by using a magnetic force generated by the magnetic field. For this reason, copper loss and iron loss are generated, which not only requires large input energy, but also has problems such as generation of heat and magnetic interference, and has reached the limit of speeding up.

In recent years, in order to solve such a problem, a printing hammer using a piezoelectric element as a driving source which can be driven with high electric / mechanical energy conversion efficiency and low power consumption, and generates little heat and has no magnetic interference has been considered. . For example, Japanese Patent Application No. 62-052326 of the same inventor as the present application has a printing hammer as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, a printing wire 2 is fixed to one end of an arm 1 and a first coupling member 3 is connected to the other end. The piezoelectric element 4 has one end fixed to the fixing member 5 and the other end connected to the second coupling member 6. One end of the first hinge 7 is connected to the first coupling member 3, and the other end is connected to the second coupling member 6. One end of the second and third hinges 8 and 9 is connected to the first coupling member 3, and the other end is connected to the fixing member 5. The second and third hinges 8, 9 are provided on both left and right (width direction) sides of the first hinge 7,
The height (thickness) direction deviates from the position of the first hinge 7, and has a structure having a predetermined size interval.

When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 4 of the print hammer having such a configuration, the piezoelectric element 4 extends in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
The first hinge 7 is displaced in the direction of arrow A. On the other hand, one end of each of the second and third hinges 8 and 9 is connected to the fixing member 5 and the other end thereof is connected to the first coupling member 3 of the arm 1. Due to having dimensional spacing,
The first, second and third hinges 7, 8, 9 are bent in the direction of arrow B, and the arm 1 also rotates in the direction of arrow B. As a result, the printing wire 2 connected to the tip of the arm 1 is transmitted while the displacement of the piezoelectric element 4 is enlarged, and moves in the direction of arrow C to perform the printing operation.

Since such a conventional printing hammer uses the piezoelectric element 4 as a drive source, it has the advantage of low power consumption, low heat generation, and no magnetic interference.
Since the displacement enlarging mechanism for enlarging the displacement of the piezoelectric element 4 and transmitting the displacement to the print wire 2 is also performed by lever one-stage amplification, there is an advantage that the structure is simple and high-speed operation is possible.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, as described above, the bending moment is applied to the hinge by the piezoelectric element to cause bending deformation, thereby expanding the displacement of the piezoelectric element. ing. Since the piezoelectric element used for the printing hammer is ceramic, it is weak against bending moment. As a result, the conventional printing hammer using such a piezoelectric element has a drawback that the service life is short and the reliability is low.

(Means for Solving the Problems) A dot impact type printer printing hammer of the present invention comprises:
An arm having a printing member at one end, the other end connected to the first coupling member, a piezoelectric element having one end connected to the fixed member, the other end connected to the second coupling member, and one end connected to the first coupling member; The other end connected to the coupling member of the first hinge connected to the second coupling member, the first hinge has an interval equal to a predetermined dimension in the thickness direction with respect to the first hinge, the first hinge Dot impact type printer print hammer, which is disposed on both sides in the width direction of the hinge, and has one end connected to the first coupling member and the other end connected to a fixed member. In the above, the second connecting member and the fixing members arranged on both sides thereof are connected by thin plate-shaped first and second reinforcing hinges whose vertical direction coincides with the direction of displacement of the piezoelectric element.

(Operation) In the present invention, since the bending moment as a reaction is absorbed by the first and second reinforcing hinges, the bending moment is hardly applied to the piezoelectric element. As a result, the life of the piezoelectric element is extended and a highly reliable printing hammer is obtained. In addition, the first and second reinforcing hinges are thin plate-shaped, and the direction of displacement of the piezoelectric element is the same as the direction perpendicular to the surfaces of the first and second reinforcing hinges. Has little effect.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

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

In FIG. 1, an arm 1 has a printing wire 2 fixed to one end and a first connecting member 3 connected to the other end. The piezoelectric element 4 has one end fixed to the fixing member 5 and the other end connected to the second coupling member 6. One end of the first hinge 7 is connected to the first coupling member 3, and the other end is connected to the second coupling member 6. Further, the second and third hinges 8, 9 are provided on both sides of the first hinge 7 on the left and right sides (in the width direction), and the height (thickness) direction of the first hinge 7 is One end is connected to the first coupling member 3, and the other end is connected to the fixing member 5. Further, between the second coupling member 6 and the fixing member 5, thin plate-shaped first and second reinforcing hinges 11 and 12 are connected.
The directions perpendicular to the surfaces of the first and second reinforcing hinges 11 and 12 coincide with the displacement direction of the piezoelectric element 4 (the direction of arrow A).

When a voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 4 of the printing hammer of the present invention having such a configuration, the piezoelectric element 4 expands in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 and displaces the first hinge 7 in the direction of arrow A. On the other hand, the second and third hinges 8, 9 have one end connected to the fixing member 5 and the other end connected to the first coupling member 3 of the arm 1,
Moreover, since there is a predetermined distance between the first hinge 7 and the first hinge 7, the first, second and third hinges 7, 8, and 9 bend and deform in the direction of arrow B, and the arm 1 also Cause a rotational movement in the direction. As a result, the printing wire 2 connected to the tip of the arm 1 is transmitted while the displacement of the piezoelectric element 4 is enlarged, and moves in the direction of arrow C to perform the printing operation.

At this time, the piezoelectric element 4 includes the first and second reinforcing hinges 1.
The movement in the direction perpendicular to the displacement direction (the direction of the arrow A) is restricted by the first and second hinges, and the bending moment accompanying the bending deformation of the hinge is absorbed by the first and second reinforcing hinges 11 and 12, so that the piezoelectric element 4 hardly receives a bending moment. As a result, the life of the piezoelectric element 4 is extended and a highly reliable printing hammer is obtained. Also, the first and second reinforcing hinges 11, 12
Is a thin plate, the displacement direction of the piezoelectric element 4 (direction of arrow A) and the direction perpendicular to the surfaces of the first and second reinforcing hinges 11 and 12 are the same, so the rigidity in that direction is low, Has little effect on operation.

In this embodiment, one reinforcing hinge is provided on each side of the second connecting member 6, but two reinforcing hinges may be provided.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, the printing hammer of the present invention has an effect of extending the life and increasing the reliability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional printing hammer. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Arm, 2 ... Printing wire, 3 ... First coupling member, 4 ... Piezoelectric element, 5 ... Fixing member, 6 ... Second coupling member, 7 ... First hinge, 8 ... second hinge, 9
... third hinge, 11 ... first reinforcing member, 12 ... second reinforcing member.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An arm having a printing member at one end and the other end connected to a first coupling member, a piezoelectric element having one end connected to a fixed member and the other end connected to a second coupling member, One end is connected to the first coupling member and the other end is connected to the first hinge connected to the second coupling member, and the first hinge is spaced apart from the first hinge by a distance equal to a predetermined dimension in the thickness direction. And second and third hinges arranged on both sides in the width direction of the first hinge, one end of which is connected to the first coupling member and the other end of which is connected to a fixing member. In the dot impact printer printing hammer, between the second coupling member and the fixing members disposed on both sides of the second coupling member, a thin plate-shaped first and second plates whose direction perpendicular to the plane coincides with the displacement direction of the piezoelectric element. Dot impact printer mark connected by reinforcing hinge Hammer.