JPH04303676A - Method for regenerating ink ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To regenerate a used ink ribbon roughened with irreguralities in a short time white ink is applied to the ribbon as uniform as possible. CONSTITUTION:A first ink application rotating body 2 and a second ink application rotating body 3 are disposed in such a state as gears engaged with each other. An ink ribbon 1. is passed through these ink application rotating bodies, whereby ink is applied on the both surfaces of the ink ribbon 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a method for regenerating an ink ribbon of a dot printer or the like whose print density has decreased by applying ink to the ink ribbon by bringing the circumferential wall of an ink coating rotor into contact with the ink ribbon.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art It is a waste to throw away ink ribbons whose printing density has decreased due to use. If it can be recycled, it will greatly contribute to resource conservation.

[0003] For these reasons, studies regarding the recycling of ink ribbons have recently been progressing. The typical ones are
The ink ribbon is brought into contact with an ink application rotating body made of a continuous porous material such as a sponge that retains ink by capillary force.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] It is desirable that the ink be applied as uniformly as possible to the ink ribbon, but since the surface of the ink ribbon becomes rough and uneven due to use, it is difficult to apply the ink evenly. cannot be applied. That is, it is relatively easy to apply ink to areas that are convex with respect to the ink application rotary body, but it is relatively difficult to apply ink to areas that are concave.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention is a method for regenerating an ink ribbon by applying ink to the ink ribbon by bringing the circumferential wall of an ink application rotating body into contact with the ink ribbon. A first ink applying rotary body having a peripheral wall thereof and a second ink applying rotary body having periodic irregularities having the same pitch as the first ink applying rotary body on a peripheral wall thereof.
The ink ribbon is arranged so that the concave portion of the peripheral wall of the second ink applying rotary body is located on the back side of the portion of the ink ribbon that comes into contact with the convex portion of the peripheral wall of the ink applying rotary body, and the first ink applying rotary body and the second ink applying rotary body are
The gist of this invention is a method for recycling an ink ribbon, in which ink is applied while the ink ribbon is sandwiched between an ink application rotating body.

[0006]

[Embodiment] An example will be explained based on the attached FIGS. 1 and 2.

The ink ribbon 1 is generally drawn as a wavy line convex upward in the drawing. The reason why we designed the drawing to be convex upwards as a whole was because ink ribbon cassettes are now widespread, and we thought that it would be common for devices to pull out ink ribbon from a cassette and regenerate it. It depends. Of course, for example, it may be linear as a whole in the left-right direction in the drawing. Moreover, the reason why the wavy line is used is to schematically indicate the presence of unevenness formed by use.

The ink ribbon 1 is sandwiched between two ink application rotating bodies. First ink application rotating body (hereinafter referred to as
2 and a second ink coating rotating body 3 (hereinafter simply referred to as the "second coating body").

The first coating body 2 has periodic irregularities at a constant pitch on the peripheral wall 2a, and has a gear-like shape. The number of teeth in the figure is 8, but this is appropriate. The size is also appropriate. Similarly, the pitch is also appropriate, but in many cases, the unevenness of the ink ribbon 1 has a period of about 2 to 4 mm, so it is better to make it correspond to this. Furthermore, the reason why the dots are added is because the material is made of a continuous porous material such as polyurethane or polyvinyl formal, which can retain ink by capillary force. Reference numeral 2b indicates a slit, which allows the ink held inside to be quickly passed through the peripheral wall 2.
This is for transitioning to a. The first applicator 2 is not made of a continuous porous body, but may have a structure consisting of an applicator, such as a glue applicator or a ballpoint pen, and an ink-containing part, for example. Therefore, the structure may be such that the ink in the ink-containing part is transferred and applied to the ink ribbon via the application part.

Further, the second coating body 3 is shown as having the same shape, the same material, and the same structure as the first coating body 2. If the peripheral wall 3a has periodic irregularities with the same pitch as the first coating body 2, it does not have to be the same as the first coating body 2, but one type of coating body may be used as the first coating body. This is because we considered that it is convenient for both the manufacturer and the user to be able to use it as a two-coating body.

Like two gears in mesh, the first
The coating body 2 and the second coating body 3 are connected to the peripheral wall 2a of the first coating body 2.
The concave portion of the peripheral wall 3a of the second applicator 3 is placed on the back side of the portion of the ink ribbon 1 that comes into contact with the convex portion of the ink ribbon 1. 1st
When ink is applied by the coating body 2 or the second coating body 3 alone, the coating is applied or not, or the coating density is applied at intervals depending on the pitch, so the application phases of the first coating body 2 and the second coating body 3 are shifted. By doing so, the interval between the presence or absence of coating or the density of coating is reduced. Here, as will be discussed shortly, this spacing can also be substantially eliminated. In addition, when recycling, a pulling force is applied to the ink ribbon 1, or the first application body 2 and/or the second
By transmitting motor rotation to the coating body 3, the first coating body 2 and the second coating body 3 are rotated.

In FIG. 2, which is shown in an enlarged scale, the top of the convex portion of the peripheral wall 2a of the first coating body 2 and the bottom of the concave portion of the peripheral wall 3a of the second coating body 3 are brought into contact with each other via the ink ribbon 1. are drawn so that they add to each other. From the state shown in FIG. 2, the bottom of the concave portion of the peripheral wall 2a of the first applicator 2 and the top of the convex portion of the peripheral wall 3a of the second applicator 3 apply contact force to each other via the ink ribbon 1 ( Even in an intermediate state (a state following the state shown in FIG. 2 in which the relationship between the first application body and the second application body is reversed), the peripheral wall 2a of the first application body 2 and the peripheral wall 3a of the second application body 3 are always maintained.
and apply contact force to each other via the ink ribbon 1, and all portions of the circumferential wall 2a of the first applicator 2 and the circumferential wall 3a of the second applicator 3 become ink application areas. In this case, the ink ribbon 1 can be continuously coated with ink. In that case, it becomes possible to substantially eliminate the above-mentioned intervals between the presence or absence of coating or the density of coating.

However, in order to apply ink while sandwiching the ink ribbon between the first applicator and the second applicator, various other conditions can be formed. for example,
It is also possible to pass the tensioned ink ribbon between a first application body and a second application body which are arranged so as to form a gap slightly larger than the thickness of the ink ribbon. Alternatively, for example, the first coating body and the second coating body may be biased in a direction in which they come into contact with each other using an elastic body, and tension due to a pulling force may be applied between the first coating body and the second coating body. When the ink ribbon is passed through, the first application body and the second application body apply ink while changing the distance between them depending on the change in tension.

FIG. 3 also shows another example. This is suitable when the first coating body 2 and/or the second coating body 3 is made of a continuous porous body that can utilize elastic deformation in the peripheral wall portion. A small space 4 is formed with the bottom of the concave portion of the peripheral wall 3a of the second applicator 3. In this small space 4, there is a first
The ink accumulates by elastically deforming the applicator 2 and/or the second applicator 3 and squeezing the ink. This means that a portion to which a large amount of ink can be applied can be formed.

[0015] In addition to the above, various other methods can be used. For example, if the first ink application rotary body and the second ink application rotary body can apply ink while sandwiching the ink ribbon,
As the first coated body and the second coated body, it is also possible to use gear-shaped bodies laminated with different phases.

[0016]

Effects of the Invention The ink ribbon regeneration method of the present invention is a method of regenerating an ink ribbon by applying ink to the ink ribbon by bringing the peripheral wall of an ink coating rotary body into contact with the ink ribbon. A first ink applying rotary body having irregularities on its peripheral wall and a second ink applying rotary body having periodic irregularities on its peripheral wall having the same pitch as the first ink applying rotary body are arranged such that the first ink applying rotary body has irregularities on its peripheral wall. The ink ribbon is placed so that the recess in the peripheral wall of the second ink coating rotor is located on the back side of the portion of the ink ribbon that comes into contact with the ink ribbon, and the ink ribbon is sandwiched between the first ink coating rotor and the second ink coating rotor. The first step is to apply ink while
The ink can be applied in such a way that the part of the ink ribbon that is concave with respect to the ink application rotary body becomes convex with respect to the second ink application rotary body, and therefore becomes rough and uneven with use. Non-uniformity in ink application to the ribbon can be reduced as much as possible. Further, since the ink is applied by both the first ink application rotary body and the second ink application rotary body, the application time can be shortened.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an embodiment of the present invention, showing the arrangement relationship between an ink coating rotary body and an ink ribbon.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing another example of the arrangement relationship between the ink application rotary body and the ink ribbon.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Ink ribbon 2 First ink application rotating body 2a Peripheral wall 2b slit 3 Second ink coating rotor 3a Peripheral wall 3b slit 4 Small space

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A method for regenerating an ink ribbon by applying ink to the ink ribbon by bringing the circumferential wall of an ink coating rotary body into contact with the ink ribbon, the first ink coating rotation having periodic irregularities at a constant pitch on the circumferential wall. and a second ink applying rotary body having periodic irregularities on its peripheral wall with the same pitch as the first ink applying rotary body. The ink ribbon is arranged such that the recessed portion of the peripheral wall of the second ink coating rotor is located at the ink ribbon, and the ink is applied while the ink ribbon is sandwiched between the first ink coating rotor and the second ink coating rotor. How to play ribbons.