JPH0664894U - Multi-pass ink ribbon and ink ribbon detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] OA by reducing the number of ink ribbon sensors
Reduces equipment manufacturing costs. [Structure] A mark portion M is provided by vapor deposition of aluminum in the vicinity of the winding end portion of each winding roll 48, 49 of a multi-pass ink ribbon 47. The mark portion M is formed on the lower surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 and is formed in the center in the width direction or over the entire width direction. An optical ink ribbon sensor is provided at a position corresponding to the mark portion M in the main body of a facsimile machine or the like. Since the mark portion M appears at the same position regardless of the winding direction of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47, only one ink ribbon sensor is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention provides a multi-pass ink ribbon used for printing a recording sheet, which is provided in an OA device such as a facsimile machine or a printer, and whether or not the multi-pass ink ribbon is wound up to the winding end. The present invention relates to an ink ribbon detection device for detection.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in a facsimile apparatus, it is known that printing on recording paper is performed using a multi-pass ink ribbon having a width substantially the same as that of the recording paper. In this apparatus, the recording paper is supplied one by one onto the upper surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon, and is conveyed onto the thermal head along with the winding operation of the multi-pass ink ribbon. The surface of the recording paper on the ink ribbon side is printed by the action of the thermal head.

Both ends of the multi-pass ink ribbon are wound around take-up rolls. When the ink ribbon is wound from the first take-up roll to the second take-up roll by the printing operation, the mounting direction of the ink ribbon is changed to the opposite direction, so that the first take-up roll is taken from the second take-up roll. The printing operation can be performed by winding on a roll.

When the mark portion near the end on the other winding roll side is exposed by winding the multi-pass ink ribbon on one winding roll, this mark portion is detected by the optical ink ribbon sensor. This interrupts the printing operation of the facsimile machine. The mark portion is provided on one side portion in the width direction of the ink ribbon, and this portion is provided on the same side at both ends for the reason of manufacturing the ink ribbon.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, according to the conventional configuration described above, when the winding direction of the multi-pass ink ribbon is reversed, the positions where the end mark portions appear are reversed, so it is possible to install an optical ink ribbon sensor at each position. However, there is a problem that the number of parts is increased and the cost is increased.

The present invention can reduce the number of ink ribbon sensors to reduce the manufacturing cost of OA equipment, and whether the multi-pass ink ribbon has been wound up to the winding end. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink ribbon detection device for detecting the ink.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The multi-pass ink ribbon according to the present invention is characterized in that a mark portion, which indicates the end portion of the ribbon, is provided in the center of the ribbon in the width direction or over the entire width in the vicinity of each winding roll. There is. The ink ribbon detection device according to the present invention is characterized in that a single ink ribbon sensor is provided at a position facing the surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon and corresponding to the mark portion.

[0008]

【Example】

 The present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. FIG. 1 shows a cassette-feeding type facsimile apparatus to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In this figure, the bottom of the main body 11 is provided with a first-stage paper feed cassette 12, and the main body 11 is placed on the upper surface of a cassette holder 14 in which the second-stage paper feed cassette 13 is mounted. Has been done. The main body 11 is a standard specification facsimile machine, and the cassette holder 14 is added according to the user's application. The extension work is simple because it is only necessary to place the main body 11 on the cassette holder 14 while aligning it at a predetermined position.

An operation panel 15 for operating the facsimile apparatus is provided on the upper surface of the main body 11. Further, on the upper surface of the main body 11, a document placing section 16 for placing a transmission document and a recording sheet discharging section 17 for discharging the recording sheet at the time of reception are provided. At the time of transmission, the transmitted original is sent from the original placing section 16 to the reading section in the main body 11 and is ejected onto the tray 18 of the original ejection section provided on the side surface of the main body 11. At the time of reception, the recording paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 12 or 13 is printed on the received contents by passing through an image forming unit provided in the main body 11, and is discharged onto the recording paper discharge unit 17.

FIG. 2 is a front view in which a principal part of the facsimile apparatus of this embodiment is shown in cross section. In this figure, covers 21 and 31 are provided on the left side surfaces of the main body 11 and the cassette holder 14 so as to be openable and closable. When the recording paper jams in the main body 11 or the cassette holder 14, the covers 21 and 31 are opened for the work of eliminating the jam.

The cover 21 is rotatably supported by the main body 11 by a pin 22. On the inner surface of the cover 21, a plurality of ribs 23 extending in the vertical direction, a bending member 24 fixed to the upper portions of these ribs 23, and a pinch roller 25 are provided. When the cover 21 is closed, the pinch roller 25 is elastically pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 26 provided in the main body 11 by a leaf spring member (not shown). The paper feed roller 26 is connected to a motor (not shown), and the rotation of the paper feed roller 26 also rotates the pinch roller 25. That is, the recording paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 12 is fed while being sandwiched between these rollers 25 and 26, guided by the bending member 24 and the pair of guide plates 27 and 28, and conveyed in the arrow direction. To be done.

The cover 31 is rotatably supported by the cassette holder 14 by pins 32. Like the cover 21, the rib 33, the bending member 34, and the pinch roller 35 are also provided on the inner surface of the cover 31. The pinch roller 35 is elastically pressed against the paper feed roller 36 of the main body 11 by a leaf spring member (not shown) when the cover 31 is closed. The paper feed roller 36 is connected to a motor (not shown), and the rotation of the paper feed roller 36 also rotates the pinch roller 35. The recording paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 13 is sandwiched between the rollers 35 and 36 and fed, and guided by the bending member 34, the rib 23 of the main body 11 and the pair of guide plates 27 and 28. Transported in the direction of the arrow.

The recording paper thus taken out from the first-stage paper feed cassette 12 or the second-stage paper feed cassette 13 passes between the guide plates 27 and 28, and is conveyed to the pair of conveyance rollers 41 and 42. It is nipped and conveyed, and is supplied to the image forming unit.

An ink ribbon cassette 43 is attached to the image forming section, and a multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is attached to the ink ribbon cassette 43. The multi-pass ink ribbon 47 has substantially the same width as the recording paper, and during the receiving operation of this facsimile apparatus, the recording paper is moved from the left side to the right side of the drawing (that is, the first winding). From the take-up roll 49 towards the second take-up roll 48).

As shown in FIG. 3, the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is formed by applying an ink layer 47b on a base sheet 47a, and the thickness T1 of the ink layer consumed by one printing operation is The thickness T2 of the ink layer 47b in the initial state is a fraction (eg, a half). That is, the printing operation using the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is performed when the first take-up roll 49 is wound toward the second take-up roll 48 and when the second take-up roll 48 is taken up from the first take-up roll 48. In some cases, the ink may be wound toward 49, and printing can be performed a plurality of times at one portion of the ink ribbon 47.

The ink ribbon cassette 43 is detachable, and when the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 reaches one end, it is detached from the main body 11 and its mounting direction is changed, or the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 attached at that time. Is removed and replaced with a new one.

Winding rolls 48, 49 of a multi-pass ink ribbon 47 are rotatably attached to the notches 45, 46 formed in the frame 44 of the ink ribbon cassette 43. The projecting ends of the winding rolls 48, 49 from the frame 44 are rotatably supported by a support member formed on the inner wall of the main body 11. The gear 51 fixed to the end of one of the winding rolls 48 meshes with a gear 52 that rotates in conjunction with a motor (not shown). As a result, the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is wound from the first winding roll 49 side toward the second winding roll 48 side in the image forming process (receiving operation) on the recording paper.

A support shaft 53, a thermal head 54, and a peel bar 55 are provided in the image forming section. The thermal head 54 is pivotally supported by the support shaft 53 via an arm 56, and the lower surface of the thermal head 54 is supported by a pressing lever 57. The pressing lever 57 is rotated by a motor (not shown), which causes the thermal head 57 to swing around the support shaft 53.

With the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 installed in the main body 11 as shown, the lower surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is supported by the support shaft 53, the thermal head 54, and the peeling bar 55. Further, in this state, the support shaft 53, the thermal head 54, and the peeling bar 55 are located above the winding rolls 48 and 49. On the other hand, the support shaft 53 and the thermal head 54 are at substantially the same height position, and the peeling bar 55 is higher than the support shaft 53 and the thermal head 54. The platen roller 62 provided on the upper cover 61 of the main body 11 is in contact with the upper surface of the thermal head 54. Therefore, the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is pressed against the upper surface of the thermal head 54 by the platen roller 62 between the support shaft 53 and the peeling bar 55. The portion of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 closer to the take-up roll 48 than the peeling bar 55 is inclined downward at an angle of about 45 degrees.

A recording paper sensor 63 and a first ink ribbon sensor 64 are provided on the upper cover 61 of the main body 11. The recording paper sensor 63 is a contact type detector, and detects the recording paper that is conveyed by the pair of conveying rollers 41 and 42 and is guided along the guide plate 65. The first ink ribbon sensor 64 is an optical detector having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and detects the reflected light from the stainless support shaft 53 to determine the width of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47. Detect. The detection of the ribbon width by the first ink ribbon sensor 64 will be described later.

The support frame 66 fixed to the main body 11 is provided with a single second ink ribbon sensor 67. The ink ribbon sensor 67 is arranged slightly closer to the thermal head 54 side than the support shaft 53. The ink ribbon sensor 67 is an optical detector similar to the first ink ribbon sensor 64, and is a surface layer (mark portion) of aluminum vapor-deposited on the lower surface of the winding rolls 48 and 49 near the winding ends. ). That is, the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is provided at a position facing the lower surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 and corresponding to the mark portion, and emits reflected light when the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 approaches the winding end portion. When the ink ribbon cassette 43 is removed, the reflected light is not detected.

FIG. 4 shows the arrangement of the first and second ink ribbon sensors 64 and 67. As shown in this figure, there are two first ink ribbon sensors 64, one sensor 64a is relatively located inside, and the other sensor 64b is located relatively outside. When an ink ribbon having a small width (for example, A4) is provided, the inner sensor 64a does not detect the reflected light from the support shaft 53, but the outer sensor 64b detects the reflected light, as shown in FIG. When a large ink ribbon (for example, B4) is provided, each sensor 64a, 64b does not detect reflected light. Further, when the ink ribbon 47 is not present, each of the sensors 64a and 64b detects the reflected light from the support shaft 53. The light rays emitted from the light emitting elements of the first ink ribbon sensors 64a and 64b are not substantially reflected by the recording paper.

On the other hand, the second ink ribbon sensor 67 fixed to the support frame 66 is located in the center of the ink ribbon 47, and the mark portion formed on the lower surface of the base sheet 47 a of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47. To detect.

FIG. 5 is a view of the base sheet 47a of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 as seen from below. As shown in this figure, the mark portion M is located near the take-up rolls 48 and 49, and the multi-pass ink ribbon is It is formed at the center of 47 in the width direction. Therefore, even when the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is wound in either direction of the winding rolls 48, 49, the mark portion M appears at the center, and as described above, the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is It is provided at a location corresponding to the mark portion M, that is, a location corresponding to the central portion of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47.

A pair of discharge rollers 68 and 69 are provided at a portion of the upper cover 61 of the main body 11 which is close to the recording paper discharge section 17. These discharge rollers 68 and 69 are arranged to come into contact with each other and rotate at the same peripheral speed. When the recording paper is sandwiched and rotated, the recording paper is discharged to the recording paper discharge unit 17. .

In the receiving operation of this facsimile apparatus, the recording paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 12 or 13 is conveyed by the pinch roller 25, the paper feed roller 26, the conveyance rollers 41, 42, etc., and the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 Is supplied to the upper side of. Then, this recording paper is brought into close contact with the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 by the platen roller 62 and the thermal head 54, and the received contents are transferred from the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 by the action of the thermal head 54. After that, the leading end of the recording paper is conveyed to the discharge rollers 68, 69 side, but the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is bent downward at the peeling bar 55 and is wound up by the winding roll 48. Therefore, the recording paper is peeled off from the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 by the peeling bar 55 and is discharged to the recording paper discharge portion 17.

Next, the detection operation of the set state of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 by the first and second ink ribbon sensors 64 and 67 will be described.

When the facsimile apparatus stands by in a normal state, the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is located between the ink ribbon sensors 64 and 67, and the mark portion M is not exposed. Therefore, the sensor 64a on either or both of the first ink ribbon sensors 64a and 64b detects the presence of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47, and the second ink ribbon sensor 67 detects the end of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47. Detects that you are not near the edges.

When the recording operation is started and the recording paper is supplied onto the multi-pass ink ribbon 47, the light beam from the light emitting element of the first ink ribbon sensor 64 irradiates the recording paper and is not reflected. In addition, the light beam from the light emitting element of the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is applied to the ink ribbon 47 and is not reflected. During the printing operation on the recording paper, when the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 approaches the end portion and the mark portion M is exposed, the second ink ribbon sensor 67 detects the reflected light from the mark portion M. As a result, it is detected that the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 approaches the end portion.

The detection signals of the first and second ink ribbon sensors 64 and 67 are transmitted to the control section of this fax machine. When the mark portion M of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is detected during the printing operation, it is determined that the end portion of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 has approached based on the detection signal of the second ink ribbon sensor 67. At the same time, the print operation is stopped and the received contents are held in the memory. The received content is output from the memory and printed on the recording paper when the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is replaced in the reverse direction or when a new multi-pass ink ribbon 47 is set.

When the upper cover 61 is closed while the multi-pass ink ribbon cassette 43 is removed from the main body 11, the support shaft 53 is exposed, so that the support shaft 53 is detected by the first ink ribbon sensors 64a and 64b. Detected. On the other hand, the light beam from the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is applied to the upper cover 61 and is reflected by the reflecting member 71 provided on the upper cover 61. That is, the multi-pass ink ribbon cassette 43 is removed from the main body 11 by the first ink ribbon sensors 64a and 64b detecting the reflected light and the second ink ribbon sensor 67 detecting the reflected light. Is detected.

As described above, in this embodiment, the mark portion M is provided at the center of the lower surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47, and the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is provided at the portion corresponding to the mark portion M. ing. Therefore, regardless of the winding direction of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47, the mark portion M appears when the mark portion M is the same. Therefore, only one second ink ribbon sensor 67 is required, the number of parts is reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the facsimile apparatus is reduced. Can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the mark portion M is provided at the center of the multi-pass ink ribbon 47 in the width direction, but instead, it may be provided over the entire width direction. With such a configuration, the installation location of the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is not limited to the center of the ink ribbon 47, and may be located below the ink ribbon 47.

In the above embodiment, the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is arranged closer to the thermal head 54 than the first ink ribbon sensor 64. Instead of this, the second ink ribbon sensor 67 is wound up from the support shaft 53. It may be arranged so as to detect the ink ribbon 47 on the roll 49 side.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the facsimile machine, but can be applied to other OA equipment.

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of ink ribbon sensors and reduce the manufacturing cost of the entire apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of a facsimile apparatus equipped with a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a notched main part of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a multi-pass ink ribbon.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an arrangement of first and second ink ribbon sensors.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the multi-pass ink ribbon as viewed from below.

[Explanation of symbols]

 47 multi-pass ink ribbon 48, 49 take-up roll 64 first ink ribbon sensor 67 second ink ribbon sensor M mark part

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A multi-pass ink ribbon for printing on a recording paper while being wound from one winding roll toward the other winding roll, in the vicinity of each winding roll in the width direction of the ink ribbon. A multi-pass ink ribbon, characterized in that a mark portion indicating the winding end portion of the ink ribbon is provided over the center or the entire width direction. 2. An ink ribbon detection device for detecting the mark portion provided on the multi-pass ink ribbon according to claim 1, wherein a single ink ribbon sensor is opposed to a surface of the multi-pass ink ribbon. Further, the ink ribbon detection device is provided at a position corresponding to the mark portion.