JPH03190780A - Film ribbon for impact printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent print quality degradation due to character deformation, blurred print or film ribbon breakage by providing ink layers in a film ribbon and making it possible to print using a selected optimum ink layer with a character font. CONSTITUTION:A film ribbon 6 of which ink is transferred to a printing sheet by an impact head 19 consists of ink layers 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d, each varying in thickness and ink type. The most appropriate ink layer is selected from among the ink layers 6a to 6d of the film ribbon 6 for the detection density of a character font using print data sent to an impact printer. At the same time, a ribbon movement mechanism 4 arranged on a carriage is controlled so that the most appropriate ink layer selected from among the ink layers 6a to 6d using a character font detection device 1 is set at a printing position. Under this constitution, print quality is not deteriorated regardless of the use of a character font of high density or low density by making the ink layers 6a to 6d of the film ribbon 6 variable during printing process.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a film ribbon for impact printers.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional film ribbons used in impact printers are generally ribbons with a uniform ink layer thickness that can withstand one to several printings on the same area.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, with such conventional film ribbons for impact printers, the ink layer of the film ribbon is not changed depending on the character font to be printed or the temperature, so if the ink layer is set to be suitable for high-density character fonts, low-density When printing character fonts, the small ink layer causes a problem in that the print density decreases, resulting in poor print quality. In addition, if the ink layer is set to be suitable for low-density character fonts, when printing high-density character fonts, the ink layer is large, so the printed dots are large, the characters are crushed, and the print quality is degraded. was.

Furthermore, if the ink layer is set so that the film ribbon does not tear during low-temperature printing, the ink layer will form a dog when printing at a high temperature, so the printed dots will become dogs and the characters will be crushed.
This has caused a problem of poor print quality. Furthermore, if the ink layer of the film ribbon is set to be suitable for high-temperature printing, the small ink layer causes the film ribbon to tear and cause dots to occur when printing at low temperatures.

Therefore, the present invention was made in view of such problems, and its purpose is to provide a film ribbon for impact printers that has a plurality of ink layers that are optimal depending on the character font to be printed or the temperature of the printer. It is something.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The film ribbon for impact printers of the present invention includes an impact head, a film ribbon for transferring ink onto printing paper by the impact head, and a ribbon movement for moving the film ribbon up and down. An impact printer having a mechanism is characterized in that the film ribbon is stratified into a plurality of ink layers.

Further, the ink layer of the impact film ribbon is selected depending on the character font, and the ink layer is moved to a printing position by a ribbon moving mechanism.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the ink layer of the impact film ribbon is selected by a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the impact printer, and the ink layer is moved to a printing position by a ribbon moving mechanism.

〔Example〕

Therefore, details of the present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a film ribbon 6 for an impact printer showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the film ribbon 6 for an impact printer shown in FIG. The ink layer thickness is 40 μm for 6a, 30 μm for 6b, 6
There are four types: C is 20 μm, and 6d is 10 μm. Although the ink layer thickness was varied in this embodiment, the type of ink may also be varied. Alternatively, it may have an endless structure without an end, so that it can be used for multiple printing operations using multiple stations.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing one embodiment of the film ribbon moving mechanism of the present invention, in which the film ribbon 6 is housed in a ribbon cartridge 7. The ribbon cartridge 7 is supported in a state where it can only rotate by a through hole 17 of a ribbon cartridge holding member 16 that is fixed to a carriage cover 21 assembled to the carriage 20.

The carriage 20 includes a ribbon position adjustment gear 11 having a ribbon position adjustment cam 13 and a ribbon position detection plate 12.
is arranged and is configured to be rotated by a motor 8 via a drive gear 10 and a transmission gear 9.

Further, the ribbon shift shaft 14 is assembled so as to engage with the groove of the ribbon position adjustment cam 13 and the bottom of the ribbon cartridge 7.

The ribbon position detection plate 12 is provided with slit portions 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d as shown in FIG.
The ribbon position is detected by a photosensor 15 provided on the carriage 20 and provided with a light emitting element and a light receiving element.

A spring 18 is fixed to the ribbon cartridge 7 so as to always resist the pushing blade of the ribbon shift shaft 14.

As shown in FIG. 6, the impact head 19 drives a lever 28 by magnetic flux generated by energizing a drive coil 27, and a print wire 22 fixed to the tip of the lever 28 is connected to a print held on a platen 24. Dots are formed on paper 23 via film ribbon 6.

Further, the thermistor 25 is configured to be connected to the temperature detection means 5 via a head substrate 26.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment in which the ink layer of the film 1 for inbakudobu 1 nonta is selected according to the character font and moved to the printing position by the ribbon moving mechanism. 2 generates a signal corresponding to print data. Further, the character font detecting means 1 stratifies the density of the character font, for example, the number of strokes, into four stages based on the signal from the character generator 2, and according to the number of strokes, the ink layer 6a of the ink ribbon 6 shown in FIGS. , 6b, and 6C16d. In order to set the ink layer selected by the character font detection means 1 at the printing position, the ribbon movement mechanism control means 3 controls the ribbon movement mechanism 4.

Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be explained. When print data is sent to the impact printer, the character generator 2 outputs a signal corresponding to the print data, and the character font detection means 1 classifies the density of the character font, for example, the number of strokes, into four levels, and determines the corresponding ink layer thickness. Select. The selected ink layer thickness is controlled by the ribbon moving mechanism control means 3 and the ribbon moving mechanism 4 as shown below.
is set at the printing position.

First, a ribbon position reset signal is sent from the ribbon moving mechanism control means 3. Then, the motor 8 rotates, and the ribbon position adjustment gear 11 is driven via the transmission gear 9 and the drive gear 10. The ribbon position detection plate 12 fixed to the ribbon position adjustment gear 11 also rotates, and the photosensor 15 detects the slit portion provided in the ribbon position detection plate 12, and the motor is activated at the position 12a where the slit portion is the largest. 8
is stopped, and initialization of the ribbon position is completed. At this time, the ribbon cartridge 7 storing the ribbon 6 is moved by the ribbon shift shaft 14 and spring 18 that engage with the groove of the ribbon position adjustment cam 13 fixed to the ribbon position adjustment gear 11 and the ribbon position detection plate 12. It rotates using the through hole 17 of the ribbon cartridge holding member 16 as a fulcrum and is held at the initial position.

Next, the motor 8 is rotated and the photosensor 15 detects the slit portions (12b to 12d) of the ribbon position detection plate 12, thereby setting the selected ink layer thickness (6a to 6d) at the printing position.

The density of the character font, for example, the number of strokes, is stratified into four layers, and the ink layer thickness is set to be selected in the order of 6d, 6C16b, and 6a in order of the number of strokes. When printing letters, the small ink layer thickness 6d of the film ribbon 6 for impact printers is selected, so that the dots when printed are small and high printing quality without blurring the letters is possible.

Since the ink layer thickness of the film ribbon that is optimal for the density of the character font is selected and printed in this way, high-quality printing can be achieved without a decrease in density or blurring of characters.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which the ink layer thickness of the film ribbon is varied depending on the temperature. When a pre-print signal at the beginning of print data is received, the temperature detection means 5 detects the impact head 19.
If the temperature of the thermistor 25 disposed in the ink layer 6a is lower than 5°C, the ribbon moving mechanism 4 operates in response to an instruction from the ribbon moving mechanism control means 3, and sets the ink layer 6a with the thickest ink layer to the printing position. If the temperature of the mister 25 is 5 DEG C. or more and less than 15 DEG C., the ink layer thickness 6b is set at the printing position in the same manner as described above. Similarly, if the temperature is 15°C or more and less than 40°C, an ink layer thickness of 6C is set at the printing position. 4
If the temperature is 0°C or higher, an ink layer thickness of 6d is set at the printing position.

Since the optimum ink layer thickness of the film ribbon is set at the printing position depending on the temperature in this way, high-quality printing can be achieved without tearing the film ribbon at low temperatures or crushing characters at high temperatures.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 is designed to set the optimal film ribbon ink layer thickness at the printing position based on both character font detection and temperature detection. High-quality printing without tearing the film ribbon can be achieved.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the film ribbon for impact blinking has a plurality of ink layers, and the optimal ink layer of the film ribbon is selected according to the detected value of the character font detection means or the detected value of the temperature detection means. Since the film ribbon is printed, a high-quality film ribbon for an impact printer can be obtained that is free from crushed characters, pale print, and film ribbon deterioration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a film ribbon for an impact printer showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the film ribbon for an impact printer shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a film ribbon movement according to the present embodiment. A side view of the mechanism, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the invention, FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of the impact head according to this embodiment. 7 is a plan view of a film ribbon position detection plate according to this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Character font detection means 2... Character generator 3 ・ 4 ・ 5 ・ 6 ・ 7 ・ 2 3 4 5 9 5 ・Ribbon movement mechanism control means ・Ribbon movement mechanism ・Temperature detection means ・Film ribbon for impact printer・Ribbon cartridge ・Ribbon position detection plate ・Ribbon position adjustment cam ・Ribbon shift shaft ・Photo sensor ・Impact head ・Thermistor or higher

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) an impact head and a film ribbon for transferring ink onto printing paper by the impact head;
A film ribbon for an impact printer having a ribbon moving mechanism for moving the film ribbon up and down, characterized in that the film ribbon is stratified into a plurality of ink layers. (2) The film ribbon for an impact printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink layer of the impact film ribbon is selected based on a character font, and the ink layer is moved to a printing position by a ribbon moving mechanism. (3) The ink layer of the impact film ribbon is selected by a temperature detection means for detecting the temperature of the impact printer, and the ink layer is moved to a printing position by a ribbon moving mechanism. Film ribbon for impact printers.