JPH0624953U - Color ribbon cassette interchangeable thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] An object of the present invention is to provide a color ribbon cassette exchangeable thermal printer provided with a display device having a simple structure for displaying the color of the color ribbon in the cassette. [Structure] The ribbon cassette 2 is provided with a marking code 8 corresponding to the color of the ribbon, and a reading sensor 9 for the marking code 8 and a 7-segment LED are provided above the cassette 2.
A holder substrate 11 provided with a color-based display 10 is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a color ribbon cassette exchangeable thermal printer that allows the user to immediately know the color of the ribbon of a standby ribbon cassette.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, in this type of color printer, the color of the ribbon cassette installed in each holder was specified. If the color is determined in advance on the holder in this way, the ribbon needs to be replaced frequently when a specific color is used intensively depending on the printing application. Therefore, instead of deciding the color scheme for the holder, it is possible to mark the ribbon cassette body by color and store various color cassettes regardless of the holder. However, in this case, if it is attempted to display the color information of these stored cassettes, the ribbon end display, and the presence / absence of the cassette in the holder in one place on the operation panel side, there will be an enormous amount of space between the operation panel and the cassette detector. It is necessary to exchange various signals, resulting in a very large panel. On the other hand, if the above information is not displayed, it will be impossible for the operator to know what kind of cassette is currently stored, the remaining amount of ribbon, etc. Can not.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of unmanned operation by a very simple method.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and is a color ribbon cassette exchangeable thermal printer in which a plurality of ribbon cassette holders are arranged in a standby portion in parallel with the print head operating direction. Marking codes corresponding to the colors are provided, and a color-coded display section including the marking code reading sensor and a 7-segment LED is provided on each holder section.

[Action]

 When the ribbon cassette is present in the holder, the operator can immediately know the color of the ribbon in the ribbon cassette.

[0006]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 is a plan view of the embodiment of the present invention with a part thereof removed, where X is a storage portion of a standby color cassette that is provided in parallel with the operating direction of the carriage 1. In the case of this embodiment, the structure is such that five cassettes 2 to 6 can be stored, and the state shown in the figure shows a state in which the fourth cassette 5 is sent out from the two holder pins 7 to the carriage 1 side. There is. As shown in FIG. 3, each of the cassettes 2 to 6 is provided with an N-dot marking code 8 for each color, and a sensor 9 for detecting the marking code 8 is provided above each cassette and the detection code thereof. A holder substrate 11 having a 7-segment LED 10 for displaying a color by numbers according to a signal is arranged on the upper portion. A cover panel 12 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided on the holder substrate 11. FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of the detection circuit for each color. 9 is a sensor (or switch) 13 is a color code signal, 14 is a 7-segment driver, 15 is a 7-segment drive signal, 10 is a 7-segment LED, and 16 is a ribbon. It is an end signal. FIG. 5 shows an example of a 4-bit color code. When the color code is marked using the non-reflective or reflective chips a and b, the color code is provided on the holder substrate 11 in correspondence with the color code. The segment LED 10 is caused to display a color with a numeral so that the operator can determine the color of the ribbon in the holder. Also, by sending the ribbon end signal 16 to the substrate on the upper part of the holder, the ribbon end state can be notified by the 7-segment LED.

[0007]

[Effect of device]

 According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a thermal printer with a color display of a color cassette that has a simple structure and is easy to install.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view in which a part of an embodiment of the present invention is removed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a cover panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a related position of the cassette and the holder substrate in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a color-specific detection circuit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a 4-bit color code.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Carriage 2 to 6 Cassette 7 Holder pin 8 Marking code 9 Sensor 10 7 segment LED 11 Holder substrate 12 Cover panel 13 Color code signal 14 7 segment driver 15 7 segment drive signal 16 Ribbon end signal

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A color ribbon cassette exchangeable thermal printer having a plurality of ribbon cassette holders arranged in a standby portion in parallel with a scanning direction of a print head, wherein each ribbon cassette is provided with a marking code corresponding to a color of the ribbon. Further, a color ribbon cassette exchangeable thermal printer characterized in that a color-coded display section comprising a sensor for reading the marking code and a 7-segment LED is provided on each holder section.