JPH08127158A - Carriage driving mechanism of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce the fluctuations of-the moving speed of a carriage generated by vibration or resonance by performing the transmission of the driving force between both gears due to a projection through the elastic member fitted in a circular arc-shaped groove and capable of coming into contact with the projection. CONSTITUTION: A carriage driving motor 13 is driven and a carriage 6 is moved at constant speed by the driving force transmitted to a pinion gear 15 from the output gear 14 fitted to the output shaft of the carriage driving motor 13 through a driving force transmission means and a drive gear 40. As a carriage driving mechanism, a damping mechanism utilizing elasticity 'contracted when load is large and returned to the original shape when load is small' having the damper rubber 45 fitted in the groove 42 formed to the drive gear 40 is arranged. By this constitution, only the driving force of the carriage driving motor 13 can be transmitted to the pinion gear 15 while the vibration due to the driving of the carriage driving motor 13 is absorbed by the damper rubber 45. The carriage 6 is moved by the meshing of the pinion gear 15 with a rack 5.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carriage driving mechanism for a printer, which drives a carriage using a rack and a pinion to feed a digit during printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing a structure of a printer having a carriage driving mechanism for driving a carriage using a conventional rack and pinion, and a printer 1 has a frame 1 at a substantially central portion in a front-rear direction. A long plate-shaped platen 2 is arranged so as to extend to the left and right so that its printing surface is substantially vertical, and a carriage shaft 3 is provided below the front side of the platen 2 of the frame 1. It is arranged parallel to the platen 2.

A flange-shaped guide portion 4 is formed on the front edge of the frame 1, and the guide portion 4 is formed.
A rack 5 extending parallel to the carriage shaft 3 is formed at the inner edge of the rack.

A carriage 6 is supported on the carriage shaft 3, a motor (not shown) for driving the carriage 6 is mounted on the carriage 6, and an output shaft of the motor is meshed with the rack 5. A pinion (not shown) is engaged. Therefore, the carriage 6 is reciprocated along the carriage shaft 3 and the guide portion 4 by driving the motor.

A print head 7 is attached to the tip of the carriage 6 on the platen 2 side so as to face the platen 2, and an ink ribbon is housed on the upper surface of the carriage 6, A ribbon cassette (not shown) that draws out the intermediate portion of the ink ribbon between the print head 7 and the platen 2 is mounted. Further, a winding bobbin 8 for winding the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette is provided on the upper surface of the carriage 6.
And a delivery bobbin 9 for delivering the ink ribbon.

Further, behind the platen 2, there is formed a sheet insertion port 10 which serves as an introduction portion for feeding a sheet (not shown) to the front of the platen 2. Inside the sheet insertion port 10 is illustrated. There is provided a paper feed roller 11 which is rotationally driven by a stepping motor via a transmission mechanism and conveys the paper at a predetermined speed. This paper feed roller 11
A pressure contact roller 12 that is in pressure contact with the paper feed roller 11 is rotatably disposed below the sheet feed roller 11, and a sheet inserted through the sheet insertion port 10 between the sheet feed roller 11 and the pressure contact roller 12. The sheet is sandwiched and conveyed to a predetermined position for printing.

FIG. 10 shows a drive mechanism for the carriage 6 and a drive mechanism for the print head 7 in such a printer. A carriage drive motor 13 is provided in the carriage 6 for driving the carriage. The output gear 14 of the motor 13 is meshed with the rack 5 via a pinion gear 15. The carriage 6 is reciprocated along the carriage shaft 3 by the forward and reverse rotations of the carriage driving motor 13.

On the platen 2 side of the carriage 6, a head mount 16 of the print head 7 is rotatably pivoted via a fulcrum 17a.
The print head 7 is attached to the tip of the platen 2
It is said that it can be moved in and out of. One end 18a of a head pressing member 18, which is formed in a bell crank shape and is rotatable around a fulcrum 17b, is in contact with the head mounting base 16 of the print head 7, and the other ends thereof are in contact with each other. 18b is slidably fitted in an endless cam groove 20 of a cam member 19 rotatably supported by the carriage 6. The head mount 16 is biased by a spring member (not shown) in the direction in which the print head 7 is pressed against the platen 2 (clockwise in FIG. 6).

A plurality of external teeth 21 are continuously formed on the outer periphery of the cam member 19, and the tooth-like projections 21 of the print head 7 mounted on the carriage 6 via a transmission gear 22. Output shaft 23 of up / down motor 23
The gear 24 fitted in a is meshed. Therefore, the cam member 19 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 23, and the head pressing member 18 having the end portion 18a fitted in the cam groove 20 is rotated with the rotation of the cam member 19, and the head pressing member 18 is rotated. When the head 18 is rotated, the head mount 16 is pressed by the one end portion 18a of the head pressing member 18 to be brought into contact with or separated from the platen 2, and the print head 7 presses the ink ribbon and the paper to the platen 2 and releases the operation. Is done.

The carriage 6 is provided with a motor 25 for driving an ink ribbon winding bobbin 8 for winding an ink ribbon (not shown), and the motor 25 is fitted on an output shaft 25a of the motor 25. A winding gear 28, which is provided coaxially with the ink ribbon winding bobbin 8, is meshed with the output gear 26 via a transmission gear 27. Further, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the up / down movement of the print head 7 is provided, and the sensor 25 drives the ink ribbon winding motor 25 in response to the up / down movement of the print head 7. It is controlled.

Next, the operation of printing with the printer will be described.

First, a sheet is inserted through the sheet insertion port 10, and the sheet is fed by the sheet feed roller 11 and the pressure contact roller 12.
By sandwiching it between the paper and the paper feed roller 11 and rotating the paper feed roller 11, the paper is conveyed at a predetermined speed in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 6, and when the print start position of the paper faces the platen, the paper feed is performed. The roller drive is stopped to stop the paper conveyance. In this state, the print head up / down motor 23 is driven to press the print head 7 against the ink ribbon and the paper with a predetermined press contact force, and then the carriage 6 is moved.
Printing is performed on the paper by driving the print head 7 based on a desired print signal while rotating the take-up bobbin 8 to wind up the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette. At this time, since the platen 2 is swingable by a projection (not shown) for adjusting the attitude of the platen mounting base (not shown), when the print head 8 is pressed onto the platen 2, printing is performed. Appropriate surface contact can be made with the head 8 for proper printing.

[0013]

However, in the printer in which the carriage 6 is moved by using the rack 5 and the output gear 14, the carriage driving motor 13 is used.
The pinion gear 15 that is interposed between the rack 5 and the rack 5 is usually formed of a rigid component, and it is difficult to absorb the vibration generated by the drive of the carriage driving motor 13 described above. Therefore, the carriage drive motor 13 generated by the drive of the carriage drive motor 13
The vibration of itself and the resonance of the frame 1 are transmitted to the rack 5, causing a slight change in the engagement between the rack 5 and the pinion gear 15, and as a result, the engagement between the rack 5 and the pinion gear 15. The precision deviation is not 0,
The movement speed of the carriage 6 was likely to change.

Since the fluctuation of the moving speed of the carriage 6 appears as a periodic disturbance (jitter) in the moving direction of the carriage 6 in the result of printing, the carriage 6 using the rack 5 and the output gear 14 as described above. Most of the printers that move the printer are used for printing characters that make it difficult to see the jitter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and the fluctuation of the moving speed of the carriage caused by vibration or resonance is reduced, or the cycle of the moving speed fluctuation is increased to increase the cycle of the carriage moving direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide a carriage drive mechanism for a printer that can perform printing with less disturbance.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, a carriage driving mechanism of a printer according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises a rack mounted on a frame of the printer,
A carriage drive mechanism comprising: a carriage drive motor; a drive gear that is rotated by the drive of the carriage drive motor; and a pinion gear that is coaxial with the drive gear and that meshes with the rack. One of the drive gears is provided with an arcuate groove concentric with this gear, and the other is provided with a projection that fits into this arcuate groove movably in the longitudinal direction of the groove. The driving force is transmitted between them via an elastic member fitted in the arcuate groove and capable of contacting the protrusion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carriage driving mechanism for a printer, wherein the rack is fixed to a frame of the printer by a rack fixing member, a carriage driving motor, and the carriage driving motor rotates to drive the rack. A carriage drive mechanism comprising a drive gear for transmitting force, the rack fixing member supporting the rack movably in the longitudinal direction thereof, and the rack fixing member in the longitudinal direction of the rack between the rack and the rack fixing member. The elastic member for elastically restraining the movement of is interposed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carriage driving mechanism for a printer, wherein the rack is fixed to a frame of the printer by a rack fixing member, a carriage driving motor, and the carriage driving motor rotates to drive the rack. A carriage drive mechanism comprising a drive gear that transmits force and a pinion gear that is formed coaxially with the drive gear and that meshes with the rack, wherein one of the pinion gear and the drive gear is concentric with this gear. A circular arc groove is provided, and on the other side, a projection that fits movably in the longitudinal direction of the groove is provided on this arc groove, and the transmission of the driving force between the two gears by the projection is transmitted in the arc groove. Through the elastic member that is fitted to the rack and can contact the protrusion, and the rack fixing member moves the rack in the longitudinal direction. Supported on, and characterized in that interposed the elastic member to move to its longitudinal direction of the rack between these racks and rack engaging member elastically constrained.

[0019]

According to the carriage driving mechanism of the printer of the first aspect of the present invention, for example, when the groove of the driving gear and the elastic member are arranged and the shaft is arranged in the pinion gear, it is transmitted to the driving gear. The drive force of the carriage motor is transferred to the pinion gear by the elastic member pressing the shaft of the pinion gear while absorbing the vibration generated by the drive of the motor by the elasticity of the elastic member arranged in the groove of the drive gear. Communicate,
The pinion gear, to which the driving force is transmitted and whose vibration is suppressed, meshes with the rack provided on the frame of the printer, whereby the carriage can be moved smoothly.

According to the carriage driving mechanism of the printer of the second aspect of the present invention, an elastic member such as a damper rubber is interposed between the rack member and the rack fixing member,
The vibration of the rack generated during printing is absorbed by the elasticity of the elastic member interposed between the rack member and the rack fixing member that make up the rack, and the resonance of the rack itself is suppressed, so that the carriage moves smoothly. Can be made.

Further, according to the carriage driving mechanism of the printer of the third aspect of the present invention, for example, when the groove of the driving gear and the elastic member are arranged and the shaft is arranged in the pinion gear, the driving gear is moved to the driving gear. The elastic force of the elastic member arranged in the groove of the drive gear absorbs the transmitted driving force of the carriage motor, and the elastic member presses the shaft of the pinion gear while the elastic member presses the shaft of the pinion gear. A rack member and a rack fixing member that constitute the rack by disposing the pinion gear, which is transmitted to a gear, the driving force is transmitted, and the vibration is suppressed, by fitting an elastic member in a groove formed in the rack member. By the elastic member interposed between and,
The carriage can be moved smoothly by meshing with a rack that absorbs the vibration of the rack generated during printing.

[0022]

The present embodiment is different from the above-mentioned conventional printer in the structure of the carriage drive mechanism. Hereinafter, the carriage drive mechanism of the printer of the present invention will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. . Moreover, the same components as those of the conventional example will be described using the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement positions of a carriage and a rack in the printer of this embodiment. A long plate-shaped platen 2 is provided at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of a frame (not shown) of the printer. It is arranged so that its printed surface extends to the left and right so that it is almost vertical,
A carriage shaft 3 is arranged in parallel with the platen 2 below the front side of the platen 2 of the frame. A flange-shaped guide portion 4 is formed on the front edge of the frame 1, and a rack 5 extending parallel to the carriage shaft 3 is disposed on the inner edge of the guide portion 4. There is.

FIG. 2A is a plan view showing the structure of the rack 5 of this embodiment, and FIG. 2B is an exploded view of the rack 5. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement of the rack 5.
(A) is a plan view showing a main part of the rack 5, and (b) is a front view thereof.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the rack 5 is held so that the rack body 5a is fixed by a rack fixing member 5b. The rack body 5a
Is a plate-shaped member formed to be slightly smaller than the inner dimension of the frame 1 of the printer, and the teeth of the rack 5 are continuously formed on one side edge in the longitudinal direction thereof. And
Claw-shaped locking members 30a for fixing to the rack fixing member 5b are provided at both ends and a central portion in the longitudinal direction of the side edge which is the back of the side edge where the teeth are formed.
Is provided along the longitudinal direction of the rack body 5a,
The locking member 30a in the longitudinal direction of the rack body 5a
A plurality of engaging protrusions 30b are provided at appropriate intervals between the protruding positions. Further, a concave portion 31 having a U-shaped cross section is formed in the central portion in the longitudinal direction of the side edge, which is the back portion of the side edge on which the teeth are formed, and which opens to the upper surface when the rack 5 is arranged. A partition 32 that divides the recess 31 into two is formed in the center of the recess 31 in the longitudinal direction of the rack 5.

On the other hand, the rack fixing member 5b is formed so as to be bridged to the left and right sides of the frame 1, and surrounds the rack body 5a from two sides with its teeth exposed to the outside. Vertical cross-section consisting of side faces L
The rack fixing member 5b is integrally formed with a flange 33 projecting to one tooth side for fixing the rack fixing member 5b to the frame 1 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the rack fixing member 5b. . Also, the rack fixing member 5
When the rack 5 is installed, the locking member 3 is provided on the side surface of b.
0a is fitted with a square window-shaped opening 34a, and the engaging projection 30b is fixed to the rack body 5a and the rack main body 5a at a portion of the rack fixing member 5b which is also opposed to the engaging projection 30b. An elongated hole 34b is formed so as to be movable relative to the member 5b in the longitudinal direction of both members. Further, on the side surface of the rack fixing member 5b, a rectangular window-like shape is formed which faces the concave portion 31 when the rack 5 is arranged and has a dimension in the longitudinal direction of the rack 5 smaller than the dimension of the concave portion 31 in the same direction. An opening 35 is formed, and a lid 36 that closes the recess 31 is arranged on the side surface where the opening 35 is formed.

Then, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a damper rubber 37 as an elastic member is arranged in the recess 31 divided into two by the partition 32 so as to substantially close the recess 31. When the rack 5 is installed, a part of the damper rubber 37 is sandwiched between the partition 32 and the inner peripheral edge portion of the opening 35, so that the damper rubber 37 is retained by the rack body 5a.
And the rack fixing member 5b, and functions as a damping mechanism. That is, at this time, a load is preliminarily applied to a part of the damper rubber 37 by pressing the inner peripheral edge of the opening 35, and the damper rubber 37 is clamped in a bent state.

A carriage 6 is supported on the carriage shaft 3, and the carriage 6 has
As shown in FIG. 4, a motor 13 for driving the carriage 6 is mounted, and the output shaft 13 of the motor 13 is mounted.
An output gear 14 is provided at a. A drive gear 40 is arranged from the output gear 14 via a drive force transmission means composed of a plurality of units, and the pinion gear 1 meshes with the rack 5 coaxially with the drive gear 40.
5 are provided.

FIG. 5 (a) is an enlarged explanatory view showing the relationship between the drive gear 40 and the pinion gear 15 formed coaxially, and FIG. 5 (b) is an exploded explanatory view thereof.

In this embodiment, the drive gear 40 is
It is formed in a disk shape, and a portion of the surface on one side thereof, which remains the outer peripheral edge portion, is formed in a convex shape, and a plurality of outer teeth 40a are continuously formed on the outer peripheral edge. Further, a rotary shaft insertion hole 41 into which a rotary shaft (not shown) that is also used as the pinion gear 15 is inserted is formed at the center of the drive gear 40, and is formed in a convex shape of the drive gear 40. An annular groove 42 having a U-shaped cross section is formed on the front surface side so as to be concentric with the rotary shaft insertion hole 41.

Further, the pinion gear 15 is formed in a disk shape, and a plurality of outer teeth 15a meshing with the rack 5 are continuously formed on the outer peripheral edge thereof. Also,
At the center of the pinion gear 15, there is formed a rotary shaft insertion hole 43 into which the rotary shaft shared with the drive gear 40 is inserted, and at a suitable position on the surface facing the drive gear 40 when the pinion gear 15 is installed in the printer. A fitting protrusion 43 that fits in the groove 42 is provided in a protruding manner. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the groove 42 formed in an annular shape.
A groove 42a forming a damping mechanism is formed by dividing the inside of the groove 42a with an appropriate length by two stoppers 44, 44, and two damper rubbers 45, 45 as elastic members are formed in the groove 42a with a gap. Mated,
The fitting protrusion 43 is fitted between the damper rubbers 45, 45. At this time, the groove 42 and the fitting protrusion 43 are arranged so that the pinion gear 15 and the driving gear 40 are coaxial with each other.
The pinion gear 15 and the drive gear 40 are configured to rotate integrally with each other.

Next, the operation of the carriage driving mechanism of the printer will be described.

First, the carriage driving motor 13 is driven so that the driving force transmitting means and the driving gear 40 are moved from the output gear 14 fitted to the output shaft of the carriage driving motor 13 to the driving force transmitting means.
The carriage 6 is moved at a constant speed by the driving force transmitted to the pinion gear 15 via. Then, when the carriage 6 (motor 13) is in a slow-up state in which the moving speed is gradually increased, the motor 23 for printing head up / down is driven, and the printing head 7 is moved to the platen 2 via the ink ribbon and the paper. And press them with a predetermined pressing force.

Then, in this state, while moving the carriage 6 at a constant speed, the ribbon winding motor 25 is driven to rotate the winding bobbin 8 to wind the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette, and the print head 7 is desired. The desired printing is performed on the printing paper by driving it based on the printing signal.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the driving gear 40 to which the driving force of the carriage 6 is transmitted from the driving force transmitting means.
When rotated in the clockwise direction (indicated by an arrow) in the figure, the fitting protrusion 43 which is formed coaxially and fits into the groove 42 of the drive gear 40 fits into the groove 42 of the drive gear 40 to which the driving force is transmitted. By being pressed by the damper rubber 45 housed together, the driving force is transmitted to the pinion gear 15, and the pinion gear 15 is rotated. At that time, the vibration generated by the driving of the carriage driving motor 13 is also transmitted to the driving gear 40. However, in the carriage driving mechanism of the present embodiment, the damper rubber 45 fitted in the groove 42 formed in the driving gear 40 is used. The damper rubber 4 is provided by disposing a damping mechanism utilizing elasticity of "contracting when the load is large and returning to the original shape when the load is small".
It is possible to transmit only the driving force of the carriage motor 13 to the pinion gear 15 while absorbing the vibration caused by the drive of the carriage driving motor 13. The pinion gear 15 whose vibration is suppressed in this way moves the carriage 6 by meshing with the rack 5 whose resonance is also suppressed.

The longitudinal vibration generated by the sliding movement of the carriage 6 is caused by the elasticity of the damper rubber 45 as an elastic member interposed between the rack body 5a and the rack fixing member 5b constituting the rack 5. It can be suppressed by absorption. That is, when the carriage 6 is driven, the rack 5 moves in a direction opposite to the driving direction of the carriage 6 (the direction of the arrow shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B).
The load that tries to move to the rack fixing member 5
Since b is fixed to the frame of the printer (not shown), only the rack body 5a tries to move. But,
In this embodiment, the damper rubber 45 is interposed between the rack body 5a and the rack fixing member 5b, and the load is absorbed by the elasticity of the damper rubber 45a arranged in the direction in which the rack body 5a is about to move. You can
Therefore, the vibration of the rack 5 itself can be prevented.

Printing is performed as described above, and the carriage driving motor 11 is stopped when the last printing of one line is completed and the ink ribbon is separated from the paper. Even in a slowdown state in which the carriage 6 gradually slows down, the ribbon winding motor 25 of the ribbon winding mechanism is driven to perform the ribbon winding operation, and the head up / down motor of the head up / down mechanism is operated. 23 is driven to start the head-up operation of the print head 7, and the print head 7 is separated from the platen 2.
After that, the carriage 6 is completely stopped, and after the head-up operation of the print head 7 is completed, the ribbon winding operation is ended and the printing of one line is ended. afterwards,
The carriage 6 is returned to the home position by rotating the carriage driving motor 13 in the reverse direction.

As described above, according to the carriage driving mechanism of the printer of this embodiment, the vibration caused by the driving of the carriage driving motor 13 is absorbed by the damper rubber 45 provided as an elastic member in the driving gear 40, and the carriage is moved. Vibration in the longitudinal direction of the rack 5 caused by sliding with the rack 6 is absorbed by the damper rubber 45 as an elastic member formed in the rack 5, so that the pinion gear 15 and the rack 5 are meshed with each other with high precision. It is possible to perform printing with less periodic disturbance in the moving direction of the carriage by reducing the error of (1) to reduce the fluctuation of the moving speed or increasing the cycle of the moving speed fluctuation.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as necessary.

For example, in the present embodiment, the drive gear 40 formed coaxially with the pinion gear 15 is provided with the groove 42 into which the damper rubber 45 as the elastic member is fitted, but the groove 42 and the damper rubber 45 are provided. Can be provided on the pinion gear 15 side, and the fitting protrusion 43 that fits in the groove 42 can be provided on the drive gear 40 side.

The elastic member is not limited to the damper rubber, and any material that exhibits elasticity with respect to a load may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, the fitting protrusion 4 is provided in the groove 42 of the drive gear 40 as a damping mechanism.
Damper rubbers 45, which are elastic members, are arranged on both sides of 3, and damper rubbers 37 are arranged on both sides of the partition 32 in the recess 31 of the rack body 5a. For example, as shown in FIG. It goes without saying that any of the damping mechanisms can be modified such that the damper rubbers 45 and 37 are provided only on the side to which a load is applied by driving the carriage during printing by the printer.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention, the movement of the carriage is reduced by reducing the fluctuation of the moving speed of the carriage caused by vibration or resonance or increasing the cycle of the moving speed fluctuation. Since it is possible to perform printing with little periodic disturbance in the direction, and thus to obtain good print quality results, not only character printing but also precise image printing is possible. There is an effect that it can be spread.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement positions of a carriage and a rack in a printer of this embodiment.

FIG. 2A is a plan view showing the configuration of a rack of this embodiment, and FIG. 2B is an exploded explanatory view thereof.

FIG. 3A is an enlarged plan view of a main part of the rack of this embodiment,
(B) is the front view

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a main part of a carriage driving mechanism of the printer of this embodiment.

5A is an enlarged explanatory view showing a relationship between a drive gear and a pinion gear, and FIG. 5B is an exploded explanatory view thereof.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a fitting protrusion of a pinion gear is fitted in a groove of a drive gear of the present embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a plan view of the rack showing the action of a damper rubber disposed in the rack of this embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a front view thereof.

FIG. 8A is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention,
(B) is the front view

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional printer.

10 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a carriage drive mechanism and a print head drive mechanism of FIG. 7. FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 frame 5 rack 5a rack body 5b rack fixing member 6 carriage 13 carriage driving motor 14 output gear 15 pinion gear 30a locking member 30b engaging protrusion 31 groove 32 partition 33 flange 34a opening 34b long hole 35 opening 36 lid 37 Damper rubber 40 Drive gear 41 Rotating shaft insertion hole 42 Groove 42a Groove 43 Fitting protrusion 44 Stopper 45 Damper rubber

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] February 17, 1995

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 5]

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A rack arranged on a frame of a printer, a carriage driving motor, a driving gear rotated by the driving of the carriage driving motor, and a gear formed coaxially with the driving gear and meshing with the rack. A carriage drive mechanism including a pinion gear, wherein one of the pinion gear and the drive gear is provided with an arcuate groove concentric with the gear, and the other is provided in the arcuate groove in the longitudinal direction of the groove. A protrusion that movably fits is provided, and the driving force between the both gears is transmitted by the protrusion through an elastic member that fits in the arcuate groove and can abut the protrusion. And the carriage drive mechanism of the printer. 2. A rack fixed to a frame of a printer by a rack fixing member, a carriage driving motor,
A carriage drive mechanism comprising a drive gear that is rotated by the drive of the carriage drive motor and transmits a drive force to the rack, the rack fixing member supporting the rack so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction thereof. The carriage driving mechanism of the printer, wherein the elastic member for elastically restraining the movement of the rack in the longitudinal direction is interposed between the rack and the rack fixing member. 3. A rack fixed to a frame of a printer by a rack fixing member, a carriage driving motor,
A carriage drive mechanism comprising: a drive gear that is rotated by the drive of the carriage drive motor to transmit a drive force to the rack; and a pinion gear that is coaxial with the drive gear and meshes with the rack. One of the gear and the drive gear is provided with an arcuate groove concentric with the gear, and the other is provided with a projection fitted in the arcuate groove so as to be movable in the longitudinal direction of the groove. The transmission of the driving force between both gears is performed through an elastic member fitted in the arcuate groove and capable of contacting the protrusion, and the rack fixing member is configured to move the rack in the longitudinal direction thereof. A printer key characterized in that the elastic member for supporting and elastically restraining the movement of the rack in the longitudinal direction is interposed between the rack and the rack fixing member. Ridge drive mechanism.