JPH01249486A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a ribbon cartridge from slipping off unexpectedly during printing, by connecting an operating button to an inhibiting means for inhibiting the operation of the button during printing by a printing head is conducted by a drive source for driving a head-moving mechanism. CONSTITUTION:When a ribbon cartridge 140 is contained in a ribbon cartridge- containing part 16, a fastening pawl 186 of a lock mechanism 185 is fastened into a fastening hole 145 bored in the cartridge 140, resulting in locking. Before printing, a notched part 192a of an ejection stopper 192 fixed to a head-driving shaft 74 is located at the tip 190c of an ejection arm 190. Therefore, with an ejection button 191 pressed, the tip 190c enters the notched part 192a to release the fastening hole 145 from the locking by the fastening pawl 186, thereby enabling the cartridge 140 to be taken out. During printing, on the other hand, the notched part 192a is located at the tip 190c of the ejection arm 190, so that the locked condition is not canceled even when the button 191 is pressed.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The invention will be explained in the following order.

A. Industrial field of application B1 Overview of the invention C1 Prior art 1 Problems to be solved by the invention 81 Means for solving the problems F1 Effect G Paper feed tray configuration G5. Configuration of paper ejection unit and paper ejection tray G4. Configuration of printing section Gs, configuration of each roller and platen drive system G6. Configuration Gy of the head drive system, configuration G of the paper feed lever and paper ejection claw drive system, configuration Gs of the driving force switching mechanism, configuration G of the ribbon cartridge storage section 16. Configuration of ribbon cartridge locking mechanism, etc. G11. Effects of the Examples H9 Effects of the Invention A, Industrial Field of Application This invention is a dye sublimation thermal transfer method in which printing paper (photographic paper) is brought into contact with a platen and color printing is performed by a print head via an ink ribbon of a ribbon cartridge. The invention relates to printers such as color printers.

B0 Summary of the Invention The present invention is a printer that prints on print paper using a printing unit inside the printer body, in which a platen and a print head are arranged to face each other so as to sandwich a ribbon cartridge housing formed inside the printer body. A head moving mechanism is provided on the print head side of the printer main body to bring the print head into contact with and separate from the platen, while a head movement mechanism is provided on the print head side of the printer body, and a head movement mechanism is provided on the ribbon cartridge storage side that engages and disengages from the locking hole of the ribbon cartridge stored in the ribbon cartridge storage portion. A locking mechanism is provided, and an operation button for operating the locking mechanism is controlled by a drive source attached to the printer body that drives the head moving mechanism to prohibit the operation of the print head when printing. By linking, the locking mechanism that locks the ribbon cartridge can be unlocked by operating the operation button only before printing starts, and the operation button cannot be operated during other times such as printing, and the ribbon can be locked. This prevents the cartridge from accidentally coming off.

C1 Prior Art For example, a printer is known in which printing paper is completely wrapped around a platen and a print head prints on the printing paper via an ink ribbon of a ribbon cartridge. The ribbon cartridge is housed in a ribbon cartridge housing provided in the printer main body, and is locked by a locking mechanism that is released by operating an eject button (operation button).

D1 Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in conventional printers, if the eject button is carelessly touched or operated even during printing,
There was a problem where the ribbon cartridge was unlocked, causing problems with printing.

Therefore, the present invention provides a printer in which the operation button cannot be operated at least during printing, that is, the ribbon cartridge cannot be unlocked.

61 Means for Solving Problems The printer is equipped with a head moving mechanism in which a platen and a print head are arranged facing each other so as to sandwich a ribbon cartridge storage section formed in the printer body, and the print head is brought into contact with and separated from the platen. A locking mechanism is provided on the printing head side of the main body, and a locking mechanism is provided on the ribbon cartridge storage side that engages and disengages from the locking hole of the ribbon cartridge stored in the ribbon cartridge storage, and an operation button for operating the locking mechanism is provided. The drive source attached to the printer main body, which drives the head moving mechanism, is linked to prohibition means for controlling the print head to prohibit its operation during printing.

Before F1 action printing, the locking state of the locking mechanism locked in the locking hole of the ribbon cartridge is released by operating the operation button. At other times, for example, during printing, the locking state of the ribbon cartridge is not released because the operation button cannot be operated by the inhibiting means controlled by the drive source of the head moving mechanism.

G. Example Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

G1. Overall configuration of the printer 1 in Fig. 13 is a dye sublimation thermal transfer type color blink, and the printer main body 2 has a rectangular frame-shaped inner chassis 3.
and an outer chassis 4 in the shape of a rectangular box case that covers the inner chassis 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, on the right side of the front surface (front) of the printer main body 2, there is a rack-shaped paper tray receiver (paper feed section) 5 and a paper output tray receiver (paper output section) 6. are arranged on the lower side and the upper side, respectively, facing the printing section 7 located on the left side thereof.

Between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 above the paper feed tray receiver 5 of the printer main body 2, there is a pair of paper feeders serving as paper feed means for conveying print paper 8 one sheet at a time to the printing section 7. It rotatably supports the paper rollers to, to through the support shaft 1'l, and also supports the printing section 7 and the paper discharge tray receiver 6.
There is a printing section 7 between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the chassis 3.
Three paper ejection rollers (paper ejection means) 12, 12.
12 is rotatably supported via a support shaft 13. Further, a platen 14 is rotatably supported via a support shaft 15 between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 of the printing section 7. The printing section 7 on the lower side of the platen 14 serves as a ribbon cartridge storage section 16.

Note that the paper feed tray holder 5 and the paper output tray holder 6 are exposed in two stages, upper and lower, on the front right side of the outer chassis 4 of the printer main body 2, and the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 is exposed on the front right side of the outer chassis 4 of the printer main body 2. It is covered with a cover 9 that is detachably attached to the front left side of the chassis 4.

Gt, Structure of Paper Feed Section and Paper Feed Tray As shown in FIG. 2.6, the paper feed tray receiver 5 is made of resin and is formed into a rectangular box shape with openings on the front and top sides. It is attached at a predetermined position on the lower right side between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of No. 3. A rectangular opening 5a is formed in the center of the paper feed tray receiver 5 at a position substantially below between the pair of paper feed rollers 10, 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the paper feed tray holder 5 removably accommodates a paper feed tray 17 having an open upper surface. This paper feed tray 17 is made of resin, and at a position corresponding to the opening 5a of the paper feed tray receiver 5, there are
An opening 17λ having the same shape as the opening 5a is formed.

In addition, the inner chassis 3 of the bottom portion 17b of this paper feed tray 17
A plurality of sheets of printed paper 8 are stacked in a long hole 17c formed parallel to the right side plate 3c near the right side plate 3c.

The right end 18a of the bottom plate 18 with a square cross section made of metal to be placed.
are fitted and supported. Also, the left end 18b of the bottom plate 18
The sides are curved so that, for example, 1 to 100 sheets of print paper 8 can be pressed against the paper feed roller 10 with a constant paper feeding pressure.

Note that the paper feed tray 17 housed in the paper feed tray receiver 5
is locked and positioned by a stopper mechanism 19 provided on the bottom plate 3d of the inner chassis 3. The locked state of the stopper mechanism 19 is released by pressing a release button 20 provided on the front surface of the outer chassis 4, and the paper feed tray 17 can be taken out from the paper feed tray receiver 5.

Further, below the opening 5a of the paper feed tray receiver 5, the left end 18b of the bottom plate 18 of the paper feed tray 17 is connected to each of the paper feed rollers. The paper feed lever (moving means) 21 is moved until it contacts the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3 of the inner chassis 3.
It is rotatably supported via a support shaft 22 rotatably supported between b. A substantially self-shaped operating plate 23 is fixed to the side of the support shaft 22 from the paper feed lever 21 to the rear plate 3b.

A pin 24 is protruded from the rear plate 3b side of the actuating plate 23. This pin 24 is engaged with a release means 121 which will be described later, and by reciprocating this release means, the paper feed lever 21 can be freely rotated in the direction of pushing up the bottom plate 18 of the paper feed tray 17. . Further, a torsion spring 25, which is engaged with the paper feed lever 21 and the operating plate 23, is wound around the support shaft 22. The paper feed lever 21 is constantly urged upward by the urging force of the torsion spring 25.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2, a pair of paper feed rollers 10.
A pair of light reflection type paper sensors 26, 26 as detection means for detecting the presence or absence of printed paper 8 are provided substantially directly below both sides of the support shaft 11 of 10 via a mounting plate 27.

In addition, the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 is hung from below the platen 14 in the inner chassis 3 onto the paper feed tray holder 5.
A substantially C-shaped lower paper guide plate 28 which also serves as a paper feed guide for the print paper 8 is arranged.
A medium vapor guide plate 29 is arranged to extend from the lower side of the paper feed roller 4 to above each paper feed roller 10. Further, a substantially Y-shaped upper paper guide plate 30 is arranged from above the platen 14 in the inner chassis 3 to above each paper discharge roller 12 and below the paper discharge tray receiver 6.

These lower paper guide plate 28 and upper paper guide 30
A light-emitting section 32 and a light-receiving section 33 of a light transmission type paper jamming sensor 31 for detecting jamming of the print paper 8 during paper feeding and printing are arranged near each of the tray holders 5 and 6, respectively.

Gz, Structure of Paper Discharge Unit and Paper Discharge Tray As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.6, the paper discharge tray receiver 6 is made of resin and is formed into a rectangular box shape with openings on the front and top sides. It is attached to a predetermined position on the upper right side of the inner chassis 3 between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b. The bottom of the paper discharge tray receiver 6 has two high and low bottoms 35 and 36, and the high bottom 35 on the rear plate 3b side is the first paper discharge position, and the front plate 3λ The lower bottom 36 on the side
is in the paper output position.

Approximately at the center of the high bottom portion 35 of the paper discharge tray receiver 6, there is a pair of vertical openings 35a extending from the rear edge of the bottom portion 35 to the top of a rear portion 37 standing vertically.

35a is formed. This pair of openings 35a.

35a, a pair of paper extrusions 138a, 38a, which are formed protrudingly at the tip of a substantially U-shaped paper ejecting push-out pawl (discharged paper pushing means) 38, are provided so as to be freely retractable. That is, a pair of round holes 38b, 38b provided at the lower part of the U-shaped base end of the paper ejecting push-out pawl 38 are rotatably supported by a pin 40 of a mounting plate 39 attached to the outer surface of the rear plate 3b. In addition, a long hole 38c formed at the upper part of the base end is slidably inserted into a pin 42 protruding outward from the pin 40 of a slide plate 41 that slides vertically with respect to the mounting plate 39. . In addition, these mounting plates 39 and slides 14
A tension coil spring 43 is interposed between the
This is to urge the slide plate 41 upward. As a result, the pair of paper extrusion parts 38a, 38 of the paper ejection extrusion claw 38
a rotates around the bin 40 of the mounting plate 39 to remove the high bottom part 35 from the pair of openings 35a, 35a.
It is designed to protrude above. Further, a guide piece portion 372L protrudes from the rear plate 37 to guide the ejected printed paper 8. In addition, the slide plate 41
A roller 44 is attached to the slide plate 4, and this roller 44 cooperates and engages with a release means 121, which will be described later, to release the slide plate 4.
1 slides downward against the biasing force of the tension coil spring 43, the pair of paper extrusion parts 38a, 38λ of the paper discharge extrusion claw 38 comes to be recessed into the pair of openings 35a, 35a. ing.

Further, a rectangular opening 36a is formed approximately in the center of the low bottom portion 36 of the paper ejection tray receiver 6 so that the printed paper 8 can be pulled out when the paper feeding state of the printed paper 8 is poor. . On the low bottom portion 36 of the paper feed tray holder 6, an L-shaped plate-shaped paper discharge tray 45 is removably housed, as shown in FIG. 2-4. This paper discharge tray 45 is made of resin, and as shown in FIG.
A notch 46 is formed on the front right side to facilitate taking out a plurality of printed sheets 8 stacked on the paper discharge tray 45. 'Furthermore, one end side of the upper lid paper guide plate 47 is placed over the upper side of the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 by hanging it from above the upper paper guide plate 30 above the upper side of the paper output tray receiver 6. Attachment is via a pair of screws 48.48. This upper cover bar guide plate 47 supports three auxiliary paper ejection rollers 49, 49° 49 corresponding to each of the paper ejection rollers t2, and a support shaft 50 and both ends of the support shaft 50 rotatably. It is rotatably supported via a pair of arms 51 and 51. The pair of arms 51.51 are supported by pins on a pair of brackets 52.52 standing up on the upper lid paper guide plate 47, and are locked to the pair of brackets 52.52 and the pair of arms 51.51. Each auxiliary paper ejection roller 49 is brought into pressure contact with each paper ejection roller 12 via the print paper 8 that is printed and ejected by a torsion spring 53, and rotates indirectly. Also, the platen 1 of these upper paper guide plate 47 and upper paper guide 30 is
A light-emitting section 55 and a light-receiving section 56 of a light-transmissive paper edge sensor 54, which detects the edge of the print paper 8 and determines the start of printing, are disposed near the paper edge 4, respectively.

G4. Structure of Printing Section As shown in FIG. 2, a platen 14 is installed approximately in the center of the printing section 7.
The arrangement is as follows. This platen 14 is made of rubber, and a pair of pinch rollers 57 and 58 are disposed to sandwich the platen 14 diagonally from above and below. The pair of pinch rollers 57 and 58 are made of metal, and are attached to a U-shaped retaining plate 60 which is fixed to the front plate 3a and rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 with screws 59 and 59. Both sides 60a facing
.

A pair of arms 61 and 62 each have one end pivotally supported by a pin on 60a, and are rotatably supported at the other end.

A tension coil spring 63, 63 is interposed between each pair of arms 61, 62, and the tension force of each tension coil spring 63 causes the pair of pinch rollers 57, 58 to press against the platen 14 so as to sandwich the platen 14 therebetween. Then the platen! It is designed so that it rotates in accordance with the rotation of 4. In this way, the platen 14 is made of rubber and the pair of pinch rollers 57 and 58 are made of metal, so that the print paper 8 can be easily wrapped around the platen 14.

Further, on the lower side of the platen 14 of the printing section 7.

A head moving mechanism 66 is provided to bring the print head (thermal head) 65 into contact with and away from the platen 14. This head moving mechanism 66 is swingably supported by a shaft 67 that is attached to the front plate 3a and rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, and includes a support arm 68 to which the print head 65 is fixed, and a support arm 68 that is connected to the support arm 68. A sub-support arm 70 is supported by pins on both sides and has a compression coil spring 69 interposed between it and the support arm 68.
, a pair of links 71.71 whose ends are pivotally supported by pins on both sides of this sub-support arm 70, and this pair of links 71.
．． A pair of drive arms 73.73 whose tip recesses 73a, 73a engage with pins 72.72 protruding from the other end of 71 to swing the support arm 68 and sub-support arm 70 toward the platen 14; , this pair of drive arms 73.7
The front plate 3 of the inner chassis 3 is fixed by penetrating the base of the inner chassis 3.
The head drive shaft 74 is rotatably supported by the rear plate 3a and the rear plate 3b, and the ribbon roller 76 is rotatably supported by a pair of auxiliary arms 75 and 75 on both sides of the support arm 68. ing.

Gs, configuration of each roller and platen drive system As shown in FIG.
At each end of the support shaft 13 of No. 2 and the support shaft 15 of the platen 14 outside the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, a drive gear 80 for a paper feed roller, a drive gear 81 for a paper discharge roller, and a drive gear for a platen are provided. 82 are fixed respectively.

A ratchet lever 83 for preventing reverse rotation is pulled and biased by a coil spring 84 to mesh with the paper feed roller drive gear 80. Thereby, the paper feed roller 10 is rotatable only in one direction, the paper feeding direction. Further, the paper feed roller drive gear 80 is connected to the first drive gear 80 via an intermediate gear 85. It meshes with the second idler gear 86,87. This second idler gear 87 can freely come into contact with and separate from the shift gear 90 via a support shaft 88 and a compression coil spring 89.

This shift gear 90 has a large diameter gear part 90a and a small diameter gear part 9.
0b. The large-diameter gear portion 90a of this shift gear 90 is connected to a stepping motor (second drive source) 9 attached to the rear plate 3b via a mounting plate 91.
A worm gear 94 that meshes with the second worm 93 meshes with a fixed drive gear 95.

The paper discharge roller drive gear 81 is meshed with a pinion 96 that is always meshed with the drive gear 95. As a result, the paper discharge roller 12 always rotates when the worm 93 of the stepping motor 92 is rotating. Further, the platen drive gear 82 can be engaged with and disengaged from the small diameter gear portion 90b of the shift gear 90 via a drive force switching device I4130, which will be described later. The switching of the shift gear 90 by the driving force switching mechanism 130 causes the platen 14 to rotate or the paper feed roller IO to rotate.

G. Structure of Head Drive System As shown in FIG. 1.7, head cam gears 100 are installed at the end of the head drive shaft 74 outside the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 in order from the rear plate 3b side. It is rotatably penetrated through it, and a disc-shaped hebuto cam 101 is fixed thereto.

The Hebuto cam gear 100 has a cam surface 102 protruding in a substantially heart shape on one side of the rear plate 3b, and
A rib 103 is formed protrudingly on the other side, and a central portion 100a of the rib 103 is a gear portion cut out halfway. .

A gear portion 100a of this head cam gear 100 is a small diameter gear portion +07 of a worm gear 106 that meshes with a worm 105 of a DC motor (first drive source) 104 attached to the rear plate 3b via a mounting plate (not shown). It meshes with the

In addition, the hebutocam 101 has three slits 1o1.
a, 101b, and 101c radially, while the head cam gear! A U-shaped cam surface 108 for the brake arm and a W-movement pin 109 that is engaged with the rib 103 of the cam gear 100 and rotates the head cam 1ON are formed protrudingly on one surface of the 00 side. A tapered trapezoidal cam surface 110 is formed protruding from the side surface. The light transmission type sensor 21 that passes through each of the three slits 10ta=101b detects the state of each mode: before printing, during printing, and paper ejection.

Further, both ends of a V-shaped torsion spring +12 are respectively engaged with the hebuto cam gear 100 and the hebuto cam lO1.

G7, Structure of Paper Feed Lever and Paper Discharge Push-out Claw Drive System As shown in FIG. paper feed cam lever 120
One end 1201 of the cam follower is in contact with the other end 1201 of the cam follower. The other end of this paper feed cam lever 120 has a long hole 120b.
It is formed. This elongated hole 120b has a paper feed lever 2.
A protruding pin 122 is inserted into and engaged with one end of an actuating plate (releasing means') 121 that rotates the discharging member 1 and the paper ejecting push-out claw 38, respectively. The actuating plate 121 is formed into a long plate shape with steps, and long holes 121a and 121b are formed long in the longitudinal direction at both ends and in the center.
, 121c are inserted into and engaged with respective pins 123, 124, and 125 protruding outward from the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3. Further, a substantially triangular engagement hole 121d and a vertical engagement hole 121e are formed on the paper ejection pushing claw 38 side and the paper feed lever 24 side of the operating plate 121, respectively. These engagement holes 121d and 121e are inserted into and engaged with the roller 44 of the slide plate 41 and the pin 24 of the operating plate 23 of the paper feed lever 21. In addition, the engagement hole 121 of the actuating plate 121
A tension coil spring 126 is installed between the end on the d side and the rear plate 3b.
There is an intervention. Then, as the paper feed cam lever 120 rotates, the actuating plate 121 moves back and forth along the rear plate 3b, which causes the paper ejection pushing claw 38 and the paper feed lever 21 to move back and forth.
is designed to rotate. The state in which the print paper 8 has reached the platen 14 is detected by a light transmission type sensor 127 attached above the elongated hole 121c of the operating plate 121 on the outside of the rear plate 3b.

Gs, configuration of driving force switching mechanism: the paper feed roller drive gear 80 of the shift gear 90;
Alternatively, the transmission of the driving force to the platen drive gear 82 can be controlled by a driving force switching mechanism +30. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, this driving force switching mechanism 130 is attached to a mounting @ 131 attached to the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3 via a bin 132 to the shift gear 90 and head cam 101 side, and its central portion 133a It has a shift lever 133 that is swingably supported. The tip portion 133b of the shift lever 133 is bent into an oval shape and abuts against the side surface of the small diameter gear portion 90b of the shift gear 90. Further, the cam surface 110 of the head cam 101 is attached to the opening-shaped base 133C of the shift lever 133.
The pin 134 is slidably penetrated and supported as a cam follower that comes into contact with and separates from the pin 134. This bin 134 is interposed between the mouth-shaped base 133c of the shift lever 133, and the base 133 of the shift lever 133 is located on the head cam 101 side.
The base 133C of the shift lever is pressed against the head cam 101 side by a coil spring 135 that biases the shift lever so as to pull the shift lever. When the bottle 134 is riding on the cam surface +10 of the herad cam 101,
The shift gear 90 is brought into contact with the second idler gear 87 at the tip 133b of the shift lever 133 against the compression force of the compression coil spring 89, so that the second idler gear 87 and the shift gear 90 rotate together. As a result, the driving force of the stepping motor 92 is applied to the paper feed roller 1.
0. In addition, the above-mentioned bottle 13
4 does not ride on the cam surface 110 of the head cam 10I, the compression force of the compression coil spring 89 and the coil spring 1
Due to the pulling force of 35, the tip 1 of the shift lever 133
The portion 133b moves in the direction in which the small diameter gear portion 90b of the shift gear 90 and the platen drive gear 82 mesh with each other, and is switched to mesh with the large diameter portion 90a of the shift gear 90 and the drive gear 95. The driving force of the motor 92 is applied to the platen! It is possible to switch to 4 sides.

Go, Structure of Ribbon Cartridge Storage Portion As shown in FIG. 2, the ribbon cartridge storage portion 16 has a space in which a ribbon cartridge 140 can be stored. This ribbon cartridge 140 includes a supply ribbon reel 143 in which an ink ribbon 142 having a continuous colored region consisting of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) colored portions is wound around a cartridge main body 141 and a winding ribbon reel 143. The ribbon reel 144 is rotatably supported.

In addition, a locking hole 1 is provided on the bottom side of the cartridge body 141.
45 is formed. Note that the Y of the ink ribbon 142
The color cue is detected by a light transmission type sensor 136. This light transmission type sensor 136 is composed of a light emitting section 137 and a light receiving section 138.

The ribbon cartridge storage section 16 is arranged between the front plate 3a and the rear plate 3b of the inner chassis 3, and the cartridge main body 141
The ball holding plate 146 has an opening-shaped cross section and holds the take-up ribbon reel 144 side of the cartridge body 141, and a lower holding plate 147 has a square cross-section and holds the supply ribbon reel 143 side of the cartridge main body 141. . And the above front plate 3
An insertion opening 148 for the ribbon cartridge 140 is formed on the side a, and a take-up reel stand 149 and a supply reel stand 150 are mounted on the rear plate 3b side so as to face each other diagonally in the vertical direction. .

As shown in FIG. 8, the take-up reel stand 149 has a shaft 152 that is fixed to a mounting plate 151 having a rectangular cross section and projects inward from the rear plate 3b, and rotates integrally with this shaft 152. Spring holder 153° Felt holder 154. Limiter rotation axis 155. A reel claw 156, a felt presser 154 and a limiter rotation shaft 15 are attached to the limiter rotation shaft 155.
Felts 157 and 158 are contacted between the large diameter portion sides of 5, respectively.

A limiter gear 159 that is interposed and rotates, compression coil springs 160 and 161 that are interposed between the spring presser 153 and the felt presser 154 and between the limiter rotating shaft 155 and the reel pawl 156, and a winding ribbon that is fixed to the felt presser 154. It is composed of an annular disk-shaped sensor reflecting plate 162 that detects the rotation of the reel 144. The limiter gear 159 meshes with a small diameter gear portion 166 of a worm gear 165 that meshes with a worm 164 of a motor 163 attached to the mounting plate +51. As a result, the take-up reel stand 149 can rotate without spinning idly in a brake-applied state.

The reel claw +56 is formed in a predetermined shape so as to mesh with the take-up ribbon reel (ribbon bobbin) 144 of the ribbon cartridge 140.

The supply reel stand 150 has a mounting plate 16 having a cross-sectional shape.
7 and a shaft 168 that protrudes inward from the rear plate 3b, and a spring retainer 16 that rotates together with this shaft 168.
9. Felt presser 170° Limiter rotation axis 171. A reel claw 172, a limiter gear 175 that rotates with felts 173 and 174 brought into contact with and interposed between the felt presser 170 and the large diameter side of the limiter rotation shaft +71, respectively, and the spring presser 169 and the felt presser. 170 and between the limiter rotating shaft 171 and the reel claw 172, respectively.
177 and felt 178 on the felt presser 170.
The spring housing 179 is in contact with the mounting plate 167 through the spring housing 179 and is engaged with the mounting plate 167. The limiter gear 175 can engage and disengage from a gear portion 183 at the tip of a brake arm 182, which is rotatably supported by the rear plate 3b via an Ill 1180 and a torsion spring 181. The base end 184 of the brake arm 182 as a cam follower is connected to the cam surface 1 of the head cam 101.
It can come into contact with and separate from 08.

As a result, after the printing paper 8 is fed to the platen 14 and when feeding the ink ribbon after printing, the gear portion 183 at the tip of the brake arm 182 separates from the limiter gear 175, and the supply reel stand 150 moves away from the limiter gear 175. It is designed to rotate with the brake lightly applied.
The reel claw 172 is a ribbon reel (ribbon bobbin) for supplying the ribbon cartridge 140! It is formed into a predetermined shape to mesh with 43.

Structure of GIO, ribbon cartridge locking mechanism, etc. The locking hole 145 of the ribbon cartridge 140 stored in the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 is connected to the locking mechanism 18.
The ribbon cartridge 140 is locked in the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 by the locking claws 186 of No. 5.

As shown in Figures 1.2 and 6.7, this locking pawl 186 is attached to a shaft 1 on an opening-shaped mounting plate (not shown) attached to the center of the lower part of the ribbon cartridge insertion opening 148 of the front plate 3a.
87 and a torsion spring 188, the distal end portion 186a is removable from the locking hole 145, and a long hole 186b is formed at the base. In this elongated hole 186b is an eject arm rotatably supported on the mounting plate via a shaft 189! The pin portion 190a of 90 is inserted and secured. The L-shaped portion 190b of this eject arm 190 is an eject button (operation button).
191, it can freely move in and out of the inner chassis 3 through a circular hole 3e formed in the front plate 3a. An eject stopper (inhibiting means) 192 fixed to the head drive shaft 74 is provided at a position corresponding to the circular hole 3e. This eject stopper 192 has a mouth-shaped notch 1.
92a is formed. This notch 192a is inserted into the tip 190 of the L-shaped portion 190b of the eject arm 190 before printing.
When the eject button 191 is pressed, the tip 190c of the eject arm 190 enters the notch 192a of the eject stopper 192, and the locking claw 186
The ribbon cartridge 140 can be taken out by releasing the locking state of the locking hole 145 of the ribbon cartridge 140.Other than this, the locking state is not released unnecessarily even if the eject button 191 is pressed. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the print papers 8 are stacked in the paper feed tray 17 with the print surface 8a facing down. Further, codes (information) sb, sb are printed at predetermined positions on the upper and lower edges of the print surface 8a of the print paper 8. Incidentally, FIG. 11 shows OHP paper 198 used in an overhead projector (OHP). Codes 198b and +98b are also printed on the upper and lower edges of this OHP paper 198 at positions symmetrical to the left and right sides of the printed paper 8. Also. FIG. 12 shows a protective sheet 199 that protects the print surface 8a of the lowest stacked print paper 8. As shown in FIG. On both the upper and lower edges of this protective sheet 199, there is a code (information) indicating that paper feeding is prohibited! 99b is printed.

G11. Effects of the Embodiment According to the printer l of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, before printing, the paper feed lever 21 is tilted approximately horizontally as shown in FIG. 22, and the paper is not ejected. Push-out claw 3
8 protrudes above the high bottom portion 35 of the paper discharge tray receiver 6. Further, the ribbon cartridge 140 is stored in the ribbon cartridge storage section 16 and locked by a locking mechanism 185.

From this state, when a print button (not shown) is pressed, the DC motor 104 is driven and the bed cam gear 100 is rotated. As the head cam gear 100 rotates, the cam 102 integrated with the head cam gear 100 begins to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 22. As the paper feed cam lever 120 swings in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 22 following the cam 102, the actuating plate 121 moves horizontally in the direction of the arrow in FIG. This movement of the actuating plate 121 causes the actuating plate 23 of the paper feed lever 21 to rotate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The printing paper 8 is pushed up toward the 1O side and brought into pressure contact with the paper feed roller 10. At this time, print paper 8
is reliably pressed against the paper feed roller 10 with a predetermined pressing force due to the flexural deformation of the torsion spring 25. At this time, the print surface 8a of the print paper 8 must face downward, but this is done by the pair of paper sensors 2G, 26+, :..., on both sides of the pair of paper feed rollers 10, 10. If the state is shown in the 1θ diagram, the downward direction is detected. Also,
If there are no black codes 8b, 8b on both ends of the print paper 8, it is detected that the print paper 8 is right side out. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 10, if the arrangement is opposite to the above code 8b,
It is identified as paper 198, and as shown in FIG.
In the case of the protective sheet 199 whose both sides are printed with black codes 199b, 199b, or the printed paper 8
If there is no paper, it is detected that there is no paper.

In addition, as the actuating plate 121 moves, the slide plate 41
moves downward against the mounting plate 39 against the tensile force of the tension coil spring 43, so that the pair of paper pushing portions 38+L and 38a of the paper ejection pushing claw 38 move around the pin 40 of the mounting plate 39. As shown by the solid line in FIG.
.

Immerse yourself inside 35a. The paper ejecting push-out claw 38 remains almost stationary in this state during printing.

Then, by driving the stepping motor 92, the paper feed roller drive gear 80 rotates via the shift gear 90 and the second idler gear 87, and the paper feed roller 10 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Print paper 8
is fed into the printing section 7 and reaches the platen 14.

When the front end of the print paper 8 reaches between the platen 14 and the pinch roller 58, the cam 102 of the head cam gear 100 further rotates in the direction of the arrow, as shown in FIG. At this time, since the ratchet lever 83 is engaged with the paper feed roller gear 80, the paper feed roller 10 does not rotate reversely. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 15.23, the printed paper 8 is bent into a mountain shape, and the friction between the printed paper 8 (the deflection of the printed paper 8) and the paper feed roller 10 causes the printed paper 8 to bend into this mountain shape. However, due to the shape of the outer peripheral surface of the cam 102, the 24th
As shown in the figure, the paper feed cam lever 120 rotates slightly in the opposite direction (returns to its original position). As a result, the actuating plate 121 also moves a little in the opposite direction, causing the paper feed lever 21 to drop a little, and the bottom plate 18 of the paper feed tray 17 to move away from the paper feed roller 10 a little. In this way, lowering the paper feed lever 21 a little to separate the paper feed roller lO and the bottom plate 18 a little before printing is because if the print paper 8 remains pressed against the paper feed roller 10 by the bottom plate 18, the print paper 8 Load fluctuation occurs when the trailing edge leaves the paper feed roller lo, and the reaction tends to cause vertical stripes on the printing surface 8a of the print paper 8, which has a negative effect on printing.To prevent these vertical stripes, set the paper feed lever before printing. Lower 21 a little. This completes the series of paper feeding operations.

Next, the print head 65 is moved by the head moving mechanism 66 and presses against the platen 14 via the ink ribbon 142. The ink ribbon 142 is taken up on the take-up ribbon reel 144, and the driving force switching mechanism 130 switches the ink ribbon 142 onto the paper feed roller
By stopping the rotation of O and rotating the platen 14 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 16, the print paper 8 enters between the print head 65 and the platen 14 using the ink ribbon 142 as a guide. Further, the print paper 8 is sent to the ribbon roller 76° and the pinch roller 57, and when the front end of the print paper 8 reaches the vapor edge sensor 54, Y (yellow) printing starts.

Then, as the print paper 8 is being printed by the feeding of the platen 14, it advances upward from the paper discharge roller 12 toward the high bottom 35 side of the paper discharge tray receiver 6. At this time, the rear end of the printed paper 8 is inserted between the middle paper guide plate 29 and the upper paper guide plate 30 due to the rigidity of the printed paper 8, and the paper feed roller is placed in the loading state as shown in FIG. It moves back and forth between the upper part of the paper output tray 10 and the upper part of the paper discharge tray 6. At this time, the supply reel stand 150 is braked by the brake arm 182, and the supply ribbon reel 143 of the ribbon cartridge 140 is prevented from spinning excessively.

When Y printing is completed, the ink ribbon 142 is sent to M (magenta) as shown in FIG. The method of determining this feed amount was first filed by the present applicant (patent application filed in 1983).
-65969). At this time, the brake of the supply reel stand 150 by the brake arm 182 is
It is in FF state. Then, as shown in FIG. 19, the print paper 8 is returned onto the paper feed roller 10, and as shown in FIG. 20, M printing is started.

After repeating these operations and completing C (cyan) printing, the paper is conveyed onto the paper ejection tray receiver 6 by the paper ejection roller 12, as shown by the solid line in FIG.

The paper is ejected, guided and regulated by the rear part 37 and the guide piece 37a, and set on the high bottom part 35 of the paper ejection tray receiver 6. Thereafter, as the actuating plate 121 moves in the opposite direction to the above-mentioned direction, the pair of paper extruding parts 38a, 38a of the paper ejecting pawl 38 interlocked with the actuating plate 121 return to their original positions, and By protruding from the openings 35a, 35a, the print paper 8 set on the bottom 35 is pushed onto the paper ejection tray 45, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, and the paper ejection operation is completed. Complete.

In this way, when printing, the ribbon cartridge storage section 1
When the ribbon cartridge 140 is stored in the ribbon cartridge 140, the locking mechanism 18 is inserted into the locking hole 145 of the ribbon cartridge 140.
The locking claw 186 of No. 5 is locked. Before this printing, the notch 192a of the eject stopper 192 fixed to the head drive shaft 74 is connected to the eject arm 19.
0's 5 character part 190. When the eject button 191 is pressed, the tip 190c of the eject arm 190 enters the notch 192a of the eject stopper 192, and the locking hole of the ribbon cartridge 140 is closed by the locking pawl 186. The ribbon cartridge 140 can be taken out by releasing the locked state of the ribbon cartridge 145. However, for other printing etc., eject stopper 1
Since the notch 192a of 92 is not located at the tip 190c of the L-shaped portion 19'Ob of the eject arm 190, the locked state will not be released unexpectedly even if the eject button 191 is pressed, and printing will be similarly hindered. It never happens.

1 (Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the operation button for operating the locking mechanism that engages and disengages from the retaining hole of the ribbon cartridge is operated by the drive source attached to the printer body that drives the head moving mechanism. Since the print head is linked to a prohibition means that controls the operation of the print head to be prohibited during printing, the operation button can be operated to unlock the ribbon cartridge by the locking mechanism only before printing starts. By disabling the operation button during printing or the like, it is possible to prevent the ribbon cartridge from accidentally coming off.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the drive system of a printer showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the main parts of the printer main body.
3 is a plan view of the same, FIG. 4 is a side view of the same, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the same, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main parts of the printer body, FIG. 7 is a plan view of the head drive system, and FIG. 8 is a plan view of the head drive system. The figure is a sectional view of the ribbon cartridge drive system, Figure 9 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the paper feed tray, and Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the ribbon cartridge drive system.
The figure is a plan view of ordinary printing paper, Fig. 2 is a plan view of OHP paper, Fig. 12 is a plan view of the protective sheet, Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the entire printer, and Fig. 14 shows the state before printing. 15 is a sectional view showing the state in which print paper is fed and reaches the platen, FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing the Y (yellow) printing state, and FIG. 17 is a sectional view of the print paper during Y printing. Cross-sectional view showing the loading state, No. 18
The figure is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which the ink ribbon is fed to M (magenta) after Y printing is completed, Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the return operation of the print paper after Y printing is completed, and Fig. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which M printing is started. Figure 21 is a sectional view showing the state of paper ejection after C (cyan) printing is completed, Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the paper feed lever and paper ejection push-out claw before printing, and Fig. 23 is a sectional view showing the state of paper ejection after completion of C (cyan) printing. FIG. 24 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the paper feed lever and the paper ejection push-out claw during printing, and FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the paper feed lever and the paper ejection push-out claw during printing. l...Printer, 2...Printer body, 14...
Platen, 16... Ribbon cartridge storage section, 65
... Print head, 66 ... Head movement mechanism, 104
...DC motor (drive source), 140... Ribbon cartridge, 145... Locking hole, 185... Lock mechanism, 19... Eject button (operation button), 192...
Eject stopper (prohibited means). Figure 8 Figure 13

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) The platen and the print head are arranged facing each other so as to sandwich the ribbon cartridge storage section formed inside the printer body, and a head movement mechanism that brings the print head into contact with and separates from the platen is installed on the print head side of the printer body. On the other hand, a locking mechanism is provided on the ribbon cartridge housing side to engage and disengage from the locking hole of the ribbon cartridge stored in the ribbon cartridge housing, and an operation button for operating the locking mechanism is connected to the head moving mechanism. A printer characterized in that the printer is linked to prohibition means for controlling the print head to prohibit its operation during printing by a drive source attached to the printer main body.