JPH0533351Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a serial printer having a print head that is reciprocated along a guide member.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in serial printers, a flexible cable is connected between a print head that is reciprocated along a guide member and a drive circuit in order to supply a drive signal to the print head. and,
Since the printing head reciprocates with one end of the flexible cable connected, the bent portion of the flexible cable changes from moment to moment in accordance with the position of the printing head. The flexible cable is disposed in a narrow gap between the ribbon cassette and the bottom plate of the printer case.

In this way, the flexible cable bends within a narrow gap, but if the rigidity of the cable is too weak, it may sag due to the sliding load, the print head may get caught in the lower part of the carriage, or
Because flexible cables are subject to severe wear, there are problems such as wiring patterns sometimes being exposed, and furthermore, wires breaking and causing poor continuity. These pose a major problem especially when trying to realize an ultra-high-speed printer. For this reason, some flexible cables are provided with a reinforcing plate (protective cover) over the entire surface (for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 15954/1983).

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, when a reinforcing plate is provided on the entire surface of a flexible cable, the rigidity of this cable increases, which impedes smooth bending motion of the flexible cable. If the stiffness of the reinforcing plate is made too weak so as not to impede the bending motion, the cable may become entangled in the lower part of the print head carriage.

Therefore, the purpose of this invention is to provide a reinforcing plate with adjusted flexibility in order to give appropriate rigidity to a flexible cable, so that it can withstand the back and forth movement of an ultra-high-speed printer, and to further develop the manufacturing method of such a reinforcing plate. An object of the present invention is to provide a serial printer equipped with a flexible cable that can easily perform the following steps.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The feature of the present invention is that a pair of flexible reinforcing plates are provided on both sides of the flexible cable. The flexible cable is connected via a connecting portion formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and is folded back at the connecting portion so as to be in contact with both sides of the flexible cable. A hook hole is formed at one end, and a hook that locks into the hook hole is formed at the other end, and the pair of reinforcing plates has a width narrowed at the center to adjust flexibility. It's there.

[Function] Both reinforcing plates are in contact with both sides of the flexible cable, and act to increase the elasticity of the flexible cable, thereby preventing the flexible cable from sagging or being entangled. In addition, one reinforcing plate that comes into contact with the outer surface of the flexible cable when the flexible cable is bent is interposed between the flexible cable and the members located above and below it, and eliminates direct sliding contact between the two. prevent wear.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a print head 2 facing a platen 1 is fixed on a carriage 3, and is conveyed reciprocally through the carriage 3 along guide shafts 4, which are guide members. One end of a flexible cable 5 is connected to the print head 2, and the other end of the flexible cable is attached to a cable cover 6. The cable cover 6 is fixed to the bottom plate 7 of the printer case, and the end 5a of the flexible cable 5 protruding from the cable cover 6 is connected to a drive circuit (not shown), and the flexible cable 5 connects the print head 2 and the print head 2. It establishes continuity with the drive circuit.

A pair of reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are provided on both sides of the flexible cable 5. The reinforcing plates are made of a flexible material, and as shown in FIG.
A pair of reinforcing plates 8, 9 are connected via a connecting portion 10 formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and are folded back at this connecting portion to abut against both sides of the flexible cable 5. One end of one reinforcing plate 8 is formed with a hook hole 81, and one end of the other reinforcing plate 9 is formed with a hook 91 that engages with the hook hole when folded back at the connecting portion 10. The other end of the reinforcing plates 8, 9 is formed with recesses 82, 92 and protrusions 83, 93 for positioning the reinforcing plate in the longitudinal direction. One end of the reinforcing plate 8 is formed with a tongue piece 84 that is inserted between the carriage 3 and the print head 2. Furthermore, the reinforcing plates 8, 9 are formed with a narrow width at the center except for both ends to adjust the flexibility, thereby adjusting the flexibility of the flexible cable 5 to solve the problems of the prior art described above. The tongue piece 84 is
As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 3 is clamped by the upper surface of the carriage 3 and a pressing plate 31.

As shown in the first figure, the cable cover 6 is provided with an elastic arm 61 that presses the other end of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9, and the recess 8 of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 faces the elastic arm.
2 and 92 are provided. At the base of the elastic arm 61 are protrusions 83 of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9,
93 is provided.

With this structure, after connecting the flexible cable 5 to the print head 2, fold the flexible cable 5 near the connection part with the print head 2 and guide it in the right angle direction to connect the fixed part to the carriage 3. The reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are folded back at the connecting part 10 to sandwich the flexible cable 5, and each reinforcing plate is brought into contact with both sides of the flexible cable, and the hooks 91 are locked in the hook holes 81 there, and this cable is Keep the folded state.
The other ends of the flexible cable 5 and the reinforcing plates 8 and 9 pass through the lower surface of the elastic arm 61 and are bent to the back surface so that the ends 5a thereof protrude. Then, when the recesses 82 and 92 are engaged with the engagement piece 62, the protrusions 83 and 93 are inserted into the notch 63. In this state, the printing head 2, flexible cable 5, reinforcing plates 8, 9, and cable cover 6 are integrated and cannot be easily removed, making the whole assembly easy to handle. Therefore, the guide shaft 4,
The printing head 2 is placed and fixed on the carriage 3 already attached to the printing head 4 so that the tongue piece 84 of the reinforcing plate is inserted between the printing head 2 and the carriage 3. Next, the holding plate 31 is placed on the fixed part of the flexible cable 5 and one end of the reinforcing plates 8 and 9, and is fixed to the carriage 3. Finally, the assembly is completed by fixing the cable cover 6 to the bottom plate 7 of the printer case.

During printing, since the ribbon cassette 11 is set, when the printing head 2 moves back and forth,
The flexible cable 5 and the reinforcing plates 8, 9 are bent in the narrow gap between the ribbon cassette 11 and the bottom plate 7. The reinforcing plates 8 and 9 are in contact with both sides of the flexible cable 5 to increase the elasticity of the flexible cable and assist in stable bending motion, preventing the flexible cable 5 from sagging or getting caught in the lower part of the carriage 3. does not occur. The reinforcing plate 9, which is in contact with the outer surface of the flexible cable, is interposed between the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 11 disposed at the top as shown in the second figure, or the top surface of the bottom plate 7 of the printer case. Direct sliding contact between the member and the flexible cable 5 is prevented, so that the flexible cable 5 is prevented from being worn out.

[Effects] The serial printer of the present invention having such a configuration has the following effects by narrowing the center part of the reinforcing plate.
The flexibility of the flexible cable is adjusted, giving the cable just the right amount of elasticity and preventing the cable from sagging or getting caught in the bottom of the carriage.Also, it does not give the cable more rigidity than necessary, so it can run smoothly. A bending motion can be obtained,
Ultra-high-speed printing can be performed smoothly.

Furthermore, since the pair of reinforcing plates are connected via a connecting part formed in a direction perpendicular to their longitudinal direction, there is no need to increase the size of the cutting die of the die cutting machine for manufacturing the reinforcing plates, and manufacturing and handling is easy. In addition, after the reinforcing plate is folded back, by locking the hook in the hook hole, the reinforcing plate maintains the folded state and is stably held without easily coming off from the flexible cable. Improves work efficiency during assembly and print head replacement.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the main parts, FIG. 2 is an enlarged rear view,
FIG. 3 is a reduced, partially cutaway plan view of the reinforcing plate. 2... Print head, 4... Guide member, 5...
Flexible cable, 8, 9... Reinforcement plate, 81
...Hook hole, 91...Hook, 10...Connection part.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A printing head that is reciprocated along a guide member, a flexible cable whose one end is connected to the printing head, and a flexible cable provided on both sides of the flexible cable. It consists of a pair of reinforcing plates, and the pair of reinforcing plates is one piece that is connected via a connecting part formed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the reinforcing plate, and is folded back at the connecting part. The reinforcing plates are in contact with both sides of the flexible cable, and each of the pair of reinforcing plates has a hook hole formed at one end thereof and a hook that engages with the hook hole at the other end. The reinforcing plate of the serial printer is characterized in that its flexibility is adjusted by narrowing the width of the central part.