JPH04270678A - Ribbon cartridge provided with paper guide integrally therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a ribbon cartridge having an integral paper guide having a low cost, reliability and easy repair for use in a typewriter or a printer. CONSTITUTION: The cartridge 10 comprises an upper wall 12 and a lower wall 14 connected by a sidewall having a front sidewall 18, and an exit 32 and an inlet 34 of a ribbon 36 at both edges of the sidewall 18 separate from the sidewall 18 and moving along therewith. The wall 12 has an upward protrusion 22 and guides a sheet after printing upward.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates generally to typewriters and printers, and more particularly to a dual-function printer ribbon cassette or cartridge having a paper guide.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been practiced in the typewriter art for many years to provide paper guides in typewriters to feed the paper or media to be printed in close proximity to the platen. Such a guide includes a pinch roller and a paper presser bar. An example of such a paper guide is U.S. Patent No. 1,758,1.
No. 09 and No. 2,152,858.

Recently, card holders or card presses have been incorporated as components of print wheel cartridges. Such structures are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,552;
No. 4,264,221, No. 4,310,255, No. 4,315,694, No. 4,330,218,
No. 4,370,071 and No. 4,408,909
Disclosed in the issue. These patents disclose vertical print wheel cartridges used in percussion printing devices such as printers and typewriters. Such print wheel cartridges include upwardly arcuate projections that match the curvature of the platen. The cartridge is carried by a carriage that reciprocates or moves laterally across the platen. Another type of card press that is not integral with the typewriter is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,291,993, in which the card press is freely supported on a movable carrier and is constructed as part of a cartridge. It's not even a part of it.

The present invention discloses a dual-function print ribbon cartridge that is supported horizontally on a carrier for lateral movement away from and along the platen of a printing device. The front sidewall of the cartridge faces the platen and includes exit and entry windows through which the print ribbon contained within the cartridge moves. The top wall includes an integral upwardly arcuate portion rising above it to provide a relatively narrow passageway for guiding the paper. Additionally, the cartridge includes a vertical through-bore that accommodates a moving printhead.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a dual-function print ribbon cartridge for a typewriter or printer that has all the advantages of similarly used conventional cartridges and provides additional paper guiding functionality. It is to be. The present invention includes a print ribbon cartridge having an upper sidewall with an upwardly facing portion for guiding paper media between the cartridge and the platen. Having the paper guide formed as an integral part of the cartridge eliminates the need to incorporate the paper guide as a separate element in the typewriter or printer, reducing the cost of manufacturing and assembly of the typewriter. The additional cost of manufacturing the dual-function cartridge of the invention is small compared to the cost of manufacturing a separate paper guiding element for incorporation into a typewriter. Additionally, if the conventional paper guide attached to the typewriter were to break, it would likely be necessary to transport the entire typewriter to a repair facility. On the contrary, the only disadvantage of the paper guide of the present invention is that the cartridge simply needs to be replaced with a new cartridge.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive, reliable, and easily repairable paper guide that is integral with a print ribbon cartridge used in a typewriter or printer.

Other objects and many advantages of the present invention will be readily and clearly understood from the following detailed description of the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the drawings.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the dual-function print ribbon cartridge 10 has a
2 and a bottom wall or lower wall 14 spaced apart from the top wall. Top wall 12 and bottom wall 14 are connected along their respective edges by side walls 16 to form a housing for containing print ribbon 36. Sidewall 16 includes a forward sidewall 18 . As is well known, cartridge 10 may be formed from any suitable material such as polystyrene or ABS. Cartridge 10 includes an inwardly facing gap or opening 20 along the front sidewall 18 in which a typewriter printhead is located.

As is well known in the art, ribbon cartridges work with a fixed amount of print ribbon 36 and a typewriter or printer to which the cartridge 10 is attached to loop the ribbon 36 from an outlet to an inlet in the cartridge 10. and a device for mechanical movement. See, eg, US Pat. No. 4,616,945. In the present invention, cartridge 10 has an outlet 32 and an inlet 34 in opposing walls 18c, 18d defining an opening 20 in the front sidewall through which the exposed portion of print ribbon 36 passes.

[0010] Thus, the front side wall 18 has two parts 18a,
18b, the top wall 12 includes upwardly arcuate portions 22a, 22b for guiding paper or other media to be printed. These guide portions 22a, 22b may have various cross-sectional shapes such as arcuate, straight, square, or a combination thereof. The particular shape selected will be determined by variables such as the stiffness of the print media and the spacing between the cartridge 10 and the platen. The rear side wall 16a includes a recessed spring-like locking member 52.

In addition to the previously described elements, FIG. 2 also shows a pair of slots 54, 56 formed in the lower portion of the front side wall 18 for receiving a pair of locking fingers.

In FIG. 3, cartridge 10 is supported horizontally within a typewriter or printer on a movable carrier 62 for lateral movement along platen 38. In FIG. Cartridge 10 is not only supported on carrier 62 but also removably attached thereto to maintain it in a fixed position with respect to platen 38. For this reason, the carrier 62 has the locking member 5 of the cartridge on the rear surface.
2, and a pair of locking fingers 58, 60 on the front surface that engage slots 54, 56 in the cartridge. These locking members are relatively flexible so that the cartridge can be easily inserted and removed from the carrier when the cartridge is to be replaced. Cartridge 10 is tightly locked to prevent paper 44 from lifting the leading edge of cartridge 10. The stress exerted by the paper 44 will lift the leading edge of the cartridge 10 and deform the paper outlet, which will misdirect the paper.

As shown in FIG. 4, the typewriter includes a series of inner pinch rollers 40 and opposing outer pinch rollers 42 to transfer paper 44 to cartridge ribbon 36.
and a rigid elongated member platen 38 supported on a stationary bracket 66 along the typewriter guide 46 into an opening or gap between the typewriter and the rigid elongated member platen 38 supported on a stationary bracket 66. Paper 44 exiting the area between platen 38 and cartridge 10 is guided by arcuate projection 22 on top wall 12 of the cartridge. A schematically illustrated heated printhead 48 is supported on a typewriter carrier 62 with its working surface 50 closely facing the print ribbon 36. Although the ribbon cartridge 10 is illustrated and described for thermal printing, it is readily applicable to other forms of printing, such as dot matrix or percussion daisy wheel.

It will be obvious from the above description that many modifications and variations of the invention are possible. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of a dual-function ribbon cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the ribbon cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ribbon cartridge when installed within a typewriter for use with the typewriter.

FIG. 4 is a side view cut along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols] 10 Cartridge 12 Upper wall 14 Lower wall 18 Front side wall 22 Protruding part 32 Exit 34 Entrance 36 Ribbon 38 Platen 48 head 62 Carrier

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A platen, a carrier movable along the platen and supporting a cartridge, and a print supported on the carrier for cooperating with a printing ribbon in the cartridge to print symbols on paper. a printing ribbon cartridge for use with a typewriter or printer having a head, comprising an upper wall and a lower wall connected at a periphery by sidewalls to define a cartridge housing for containing a length of printing ribbon; One of the side walls is a front side wall, the front side wall comprising:
A printing ribbon cartridge having an outlet and an inlet for allowing the ribbon to exit the cartridge, pass through the front sidewall, and enter the cartridge, the front sidewall having an upwardly projecting portion for guiding paper. 2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the protruding guide portion is integrally formed with the cartridge. 3. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the front side wall has an opening in the middle between both edges thereof. 4. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the protruding guide portion has an arcuate cross section. 5. The cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a locking device for detachably attaching the cartridge to the carrier. 6. The locking device comprises a slot in the front side wall and a flexible finger formed in a side wall opposite the front side wall for engaging a mating member on the carrier. The cartridge according to claim 5. 7. A platen, a carrier movable along the platen and supporting a cartridge, and a carrier supported on the carrier for cooperating with a printing ribbon carried by the cartridge to print symbols on paper. A print ribbon cartridge for use with a typewriter or printer having a print head containing a top wall and a bottom wall connected at a periphery by side walls to form a cartridge housing for containing a length of print ribbon. , the front side wall has an opening between its edges, and the side walls of the opening have an outlet and an inlet for the ribbon to exit the cartridge, pass through the opening, and enter the cartridge; A printing ribbon cartridge in which the front sidewall has an upwardly projecting portion for guiding paper. 8. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the protruding guide portion is integrally formed with the cartridge. 9. The cartridge of claim 7, wherein the protruding guide portion has an arcuate cross section. 10. Claim 7, further comprising a locking device for detachably attaching the cartridge to the carrier.
Cartridges listed in. 11. The locking device comprises a slot in the forward sidewall and a flexible finger formed in a sidewall opposite the forward sidewall for engaging a mating member on the carrier. The cartridge according to claim 10.