JPS5842465A - Multi-color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a multi-color printer capable of multi-color printing only by one-time movement of a carriage by a method in which plural printing heads are provided at given intervals in the direction of printing and an ink ribbon having plural color lines arranged in parallel is provided skewly to the printing direction. CONSTITUTION:Plural (3 in Fig.) printing heads 6-8 are mounted at almost equal intervals on a carriage 5 moving in the horizontal printing direction, and a multi-color ink ribbon 10 housed in a cartridge 9 is provided skewly in the printing direction between the printing heads 6-8 and a recording medium 1. The multi-color ink ribbon 10 is provided with color lines 10a-10c arranged in parallel with its longitudinal direction, corresponding to the printing heads 6-8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement in a data processing device, an electronic computer, and a multicolor printer used as a terminal device such as a communication terminal device.

Conventional multi-color printers generally use a method of preparing ink ribbons of multiple colors for a single print head and selectively switching the ink ribbon facing the print head in response to a command signal. When printing one color at a time, and printing multiple colors on the same print line, the carriage containing the print head and ink ribbon must be moved repeatedly for the same print line. The ink ribbon must be moved back and forth, resulting in disadvantages such as a decrease in printing speed and a complicated ink ribbon switching mechanism.

The present invention has the purpose of fundamentally eliminating such drawbacks of the conventional method, and has the purpose of arranging a plurality of print heads along the printing direction with a predetermined interval, and parallel print heads corresponding to each head. A multicolor ink ribbon consisting of each color strip is used, and each color strip is arranged between each head and the recording medium so as to face each head, and the multicolor ink ribbon is arranged at an angle with respect to the printing direction. By providing this, it is possible to provide an extremely effective multicolor printer that performs multicolor printing by one carriage movement for the same print line.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to figures showing examples.

Fig. 1 is a plan view, and Fig. 2 is a front view as seen from the direction of the carriage.A recording medium 1 such as wide printing paper is stretched over a platen 2 and is fed in the vertical direction in the figure according to printing operations. Correspondingly, a carriage 5 is provided which moves along the guide rails 3 and 4 in the printing direction in the horizontal direction in the figure, and includes a plurality of print heads 6 to 6 facing the recording medium 1. 8 are mounted along the printing direction at predetermined intervals, and between each print head 6 to 8 and the recording medium 1, there is a space inclined with respect to the printing direction. A multicolor ink ribbon 10 housed in an IJ printer 9 is arranged.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, which shows the relationship between the printing markers of the print heads 6 to 8 and the multicolor ink ribbon 10, the ink ribbon 10 corresponds to each of the print heads 6 to 8 and is parallel to each other. Formed by each color strip 1Oa to 10C, each color strip 10
1~10c, each print head 6~80mm 61~
8 Otori is in a relationship opposite to each individual, for example, Iroji 1
When 0& is black, 10b is blue, and 10C is red, the black printing is done by No. 1 marker 6II driven by a magnet etc., and the blue and red printing is the same by the similar No. 1 markings 7m and 81. This is done simultaneously for all print lines.

Each of the hammers 6a to 8a is composed of a plurality of pin-shaped rods, and according to the control of the print heads 6 to 8 by a separate control circuit, printing is performed by a collection of dots, and according to the printing operation, The ink ribbon 10 is moved in the extending direction of the ink ribbon 10 by a feeding mechanism not shown in the figure, and each part is used equally for printing.

Further, the print heads 6 to 8 and the cartridge 9 move together with the carriage 5 along the printing direction by a shift mechanism not shown in the figure, and when they move to the leftmost position in the figure, When the leftmost end of the maximum printing width of the recording medium 1 and the print head 8 are opposed to each other, and when it moves to the rightmost side in the figure, the rightmost end of the maximum printing width of the recording medium 1 and the print head 6 are opposed to each other. According to the printing operation for one line, the movement between the leftmost side and the rightmost side is sequential, and this movement is performed reciprocatingly and repeatedly according to the printing of each line.

Therefore, by operating the print heads 6 to 8 simultaneously according to the print color, multicolor printing on the same line can be performed simultaneously, improving printing speed and eliminating the need for an ink ribbon switching mechanism9. is greatly simplified.

print head 6 depending on the number of colors to be printed simultaneously.
The number of print heads 6 to 8 may be determined, and the number of color stripes of the multicolor ink ribbon 10 may also be determined. Various modifications are possible, such as the same effect even if .

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, multi-color printing can be performed simultaneously with a simple configuration, so that printing speed, high reliability, and cost reduction can be achieved all at once.
It exhibits remarkable effects as a multicolor printer for various uses.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The figures show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a plan view, Fig. 2 is a front view seen from the carriage side, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the relationship between the printing hammer of the print head and the ink ribbon. . 1-...Written recording medium, 5...Carriage, 6-8...
...Print head, 6&~8a...I printing hammer, 10...Multicolor ink ribbon, 10&~toe...
・Color stripes. Patent applicant: Oki Univac Co., Ltd. Agent: Masaki Yamakawa (1 person acting)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of print heads arranged along the printing direction at predetermined intervals and moving in the printing direction as a unit, and each color strip corresponding to each of the heads parallel to each other. and a multicolor ink ribbon arranged between the head and the recording medium so as to face each other, and provided at an angle with respect to the printing direction.