JPS59140092A - Ribbon changing-over device for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately set a shift quantity at the time of changing over the color of a ribbon and prevent printing colors from being mixed with each other, by a method wherein a positioning mechanism for positioning a cassette ribbon stepwise by springy engagement is provided at the tip of a ribbon cassette. CONSTITUTION:An upper-lower pair of notches 31 are provided at the tip of the cassette casing 11 in which a loop form ink ribbon divisionally colored into a plurality of color zones along the longitudinal direction thereof is contained, and a detent 32 formed of a springy resin is fitted into the notches 31 in a springy manner. The detent 32 is provided with three V-shaped engaging recesses 33 at a regular pitch. To a detent arm guide 34 fitted to the tip of a carrier 5, a detent arm 35 to be engaged with either one of the engaging recesses 33 of the detent 32 is rotatably fitted through a pin 37 while energizing it in one direction by a spring 36.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a ribbon switching device for a printer.

Technical background of the invention and its problems A portion of the stored endless two-color ribbon facing the platen is shifted in the vertical direction.

Another example of two-color printing is one in which a cassette support is fixedly fixed at any position on a carrier that moves along a platen, and a cassette ribbon is removably attached to the cassette support. However, depending on the accuracy of the positioning mechanism of the cassette support, there will be more or less play in the cassette support, and there will also be play in the cassette ribbon relative to the cassette support.
I'm worried that the printing color switching operation may be inaccurate and 9 colors may be mixed.

There is. Increasing the ribbon width can solve these problems, but depending on the model, the thickness of the cassette case of the cassette ribbon must be increased, which leads to incompatibility, prevents standardization, and reduces productivity. However, it also has the disadvantage of increasing costs.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention was made in view of the above points, and it is possible to accurately perform not only two-color printing but also multi-color printing by accurately switching the ribbon. The purpose of this invention is to develop a printer ribbon switching device that can standardize the width of the ribbon and the thickness of the cassette case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a carrier with a cassette support for holding a cassette ribbon, transmits power to the cassette support by a full power transmission mechanism of a drive section, deflects the cassette support together with the cassette ribbon, and provides a positioning mechanism. Yo shikasera) I
By positioning the tip of the J-bond, the amount of shift when switching ribbon colors is accurate, preventing mixing of printed colors. In addition, the detent can be set on the cassette ribbon by attaching the detent arm to the carrier, and the detent and the detent arm are elastically engaged during the rotational movement of the cassette support base. In addition, the cassette case of the cassette ribbon can be used in common regardless of whether or not the ribbon is switched by selectively attaching the detent to the cassette ribbon. The motor and gear are connected and installed, and the gear that meshes with this gear is installed on the cassette support base.
The rotation of the step motor is transmitted to the cassette support base as rotational force through all these gear valves, and during assembly, the step motor is excited to a specific phase, and the cassette support base is rotated to contact the stopper. In this state, adjust at least one of the mounting position of the gear to the cassette support base or the mounting position of the step motor to the carrier to mesh each gear, and therefore identify the step motor after assembly. The cassette support base can be positioned at the home position by excitation in the phase of the cassette, so that assembly and adjustment work can be easily performed.

Examples of the invention An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

A carrier (5) that holds the entire print head (4) is slidably held by guides (2) and (3) provided parallel to the platen (1). Bearings (8) are provided on both sides of the carrier (5) to support the bottles (7) protruding from both sides of the cassette support stand (6). is provided.

Next, a cassette ribbon αJ is provided in which an endless ribbon α2 is stored in a cassette case (Ill).The cassette case α force is detachably attached to the cassette support base (6) by a pressing spring α member. In this case, a feed roller a9 and a presser roller θG are provided inside the cassette case.
η protrudes upward, and a display portion Q+16, which is divided into three colors, is formed at the tip of the knob axis αη, as shown in FIG. The display section α displays the color of the ribbon α2, and the ribbon (2) is color-coded into three colors: C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) along its longitudinal direction.

Next, a wire rod driven by a motor α is fixed to the carrier (5), and a step motor Q]), which is a driving section, is attached. The transmission mechanism (c) is
A gear (C) directly connected to the step motor Qυ, a gear holder held by a carrier (5) and meshing with this gear (C), and a gear (C) coaxially connected to this gear (E). , it is called a fan-shaped gear (ha). The fan-shaped gear (C) has a pin @ that is held in a long hole formed in the cassette support base (6) so as to be able to move up and down, and is fixed by a screw bracket screwed onto the side surface of the cassette support base (6). ing.

A positioning mechanism is provided which engages the tip of the cassette ribbon. That is, a pair of upper and lower notches OD are formed at the tip of the cassette case α9, and detents 0■ made of elastic resin are formed in these notches 0■.
is attached elastically. In this detent 0 pier, three locking recesses OJ are defined in a V-shape and arranged at equal pitches. The detent arm guide (b) attached to the tip of the carrier (5) has a detent 0
The detent arm c3→, which engages with either of the locking recesses 0], is biased toward one side by a spring 0 and is rotatably attached to the pin 0.

In such a configuration, when the motor α1 is driven, the carrier (5) is moved by the tension of the wire wire.

Select the print color as follows. As shown in Fig. 3, the position where the detent arm (to) engages with the locking recess 0 at the top of the detent 0 wharf is located at the cassette ribbon α9.
The ribbon (2) is at the home position where it has been lowered to the lowest stage together with the cassette support (6), and at about t, C (cyan), which is the most frequently used ribbon, faces the printing surface of the ribbon (2). Rotate the step motor Q) for 10 pulses to rotate the cassette support stand (6
) When the tip of the ribbon (6) is raised, the detent arm 09 engages with the locking recess 0 in the center of the detent 0, as shown in Fig. 2, and the M (magenta) of the ribbon (6) faces the printing surface. . Furthermore, when the step motor Qη is rotated for 10 pulses, the detent arm 0υ reaches the lowest locking recess (to the bottom).
The Y (yellow) of the ribbon (2) faces the printing surface.

Ribbon A has a standard width (13 mm) and a color width of 4.3 mm. In the case of a 9-bin dot head, the character height is usually between 3 and 3.3. The width of one color of IJ Bon α is only 0.5B above and below the characters. However, there is backlash in (G9) to (B), and the movement of the cassette support (6) due to this and the positioning by the detent arm (C) in the vicinity of the cassette support (6) causes the color to change. are never mixed. The width of the ribbon (2) and the thickness of the cassette case can also be made the same as standard ones. -When using colored ribbons, detent 0→
The cassette case α℃ can be used in common by simply removing the cassette case α℃. In addition, the center of rotation of the cassette support base (6) is located on an extension of the plane connecting the axis of the platen (1) and the center of the ribbon (6) in the width direction.
(b) can be opposed to a portion close to the platen (1) no matter which printing color is used, and even if the ribbon (2) is shifted up or down, the opposing distance from the platen (1) does not change.

When assembling, connect the gear (2) and use the step motor.
Attach the cassette Qη and gear holder (c) to the carrier (5), and with the screw (c) loosened, attach the gear (c) to the cassette support stand (6).
Temporarily fix the cassette support stand (6) with the stopper (9).
), and with the gears (C) and (C) not meshing, excite the step motor Q core to a specific phase, and in this state move the gear (C) to the position where it meshes with the gears (C).
Position c) and secure with screws (c). therefore,
By exciting the step motor Qη to a specific phase, the cassette support base (6) can be positioned at the home position. Alternatively, if the gear (c) is meshed with the gear (c) and fixed to the cassette support base (6) first,
The same effect can be obtained by exciting the step motor Q1) to a specific phase, bringing the cassette support base (6) into contact with the stopper (9), and fixing the step motor Qυ at this position while adjusting the position. In any case, adjusting the home position is extremely easy.

Also, during printing, the knob shaft α of the cassette ribbon α1 rotates, but since the knob shaft α has a color-coded display section α, it can be seen that the ribbon (6) is running. It can be confirmed. Ribbon @ also has dark ink, making it difficult to distinguish the true color, but by looking at the display part α, you can easily know the color it has.

Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is constructed as described above, multicolor printing can be performed by rotating the cassette support base together with the cassette ribbon. In this case, the positioning mechanism positions the tip of the cassette ribbon and the ribbon The amount of shift when changing colors can be made accurate, and by providing a detent on the cassette ribbon and a detent arm on the carrier, the detent and detent arm can be elastically moved during rotation of the cassette support base. The cassette ribbon can be positively engaged to speedily perform stepwise positioning, and this cassette ribbon positioning can prevent printing colors from mixing without increasing the width of the ribbon. By selectively attaching the detent to the ribbon, the cassette case of the cassette ribbon can be used in common regardless of whether or not the ribbon is switched.Furthermore, the step motor and gear can be connected as a drive unit to the gear liner. Attach the gear that meshes with this gear to the cassette support base, provide the carrier with a stopper that supports the cassette support base, and transmit the rotational force of the step motor to the cassette support base. The home position of the cassette support base can be adjusted very easily by simply energizing the phase, positioning the cassette support base against the stopper, and adjusting the mounting position of the step motor or gear in this state. It's something.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view, FIGS. 2 and 3 are partially cutaway side views showing the operation of the cassette support base, and FIGS. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cassette ribbon. 1...Platen, 5...Carrier, 6...Cassette support base, 7...Pin (rotation center of cassette support base)
, 9... Stopper, 12... Ribbon, 13... Cassette ribbon, 21... Step motor (drive unit),
22-25...Gear, 29...Transmission mechanism, 30...
・Positioning mechanism, 32...Detent, 35...Detent arm Applicant: Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cassette ribbon is provided in which an endless ribbon color-coded into a plurality of color zones along the longitudinal direction is housed in a cassette case, and the cassette ribbon is placed in a carrier that moves along a platen. A detachably held cassette support is attached rotatably in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the platen, and the carrier is provided with a drive section and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the power of the drive section to the cassette support; A ribbon switching device for a printer, characterized in that the carrier is provided with a positioning mechanism that elastically engages with the tip of the cassette ribbon to position the cassette ribbon with stepwise moderation. 2. The ribbon switching device for a printer according to claim 1, wherein a step motor is used for the drive section. 3. The ribbon switching device for a printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission mechanism is constituted by a plurality of gears. 4. The printer ribbon according to claim 1, wherein the center of rotation of the cassette support is located on an extension of a plane connecting the axis of the platen and the widthwise center of the ribbon. Switching device. 5. A cassette in which a cassette ribbon is provided in which an endless ribbon color-coded into multiple color zones along the longitudinal direction is housed in a cassette case, and the cassette ribbon is removably held in a carrier that moves along a platen. A support stand is mounted rotatably in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the platen, a drive unit and a transmission mechanism for transmitting the power of the drive unit to the cassette support stand are provided on the carrier, and a drive unit is provided at the tip of the cassette ribbon. A ribbon switching device for a printer, characterized in that the carrier is provided with a detent arm that elastically engages with a provided detent to position the cassette ribbon in a stepwise manner. 6. The ribbon switching device for a printer according to claim 5, wherein a detent is detachably attached to the cassette ribbon. 7. A cassette ribbon is provided in which an endless ribbon color-coded into multiple color zones along the longitudinal direction is housed in a cassette case, and the cassette ribbon is detachably held on a carrier that moves along a platen. is rotatably mounted in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the platen, a step motor and a gear connected to each other, and a stopper supporting the cassette support are provided on the carrier, and a gear meshing with the gear is attached to the cassette support. and at least one of the means for attaching the gear to the cassette support base and the means for attaching the step motor to the carrier is a supplementary means whose position is freely adjustable, and the cassette is attached to the carrier at the tip of the IJ bong. A ribbon switching device for a printer, characterized in that a positioning PA mechanism is provided which elastically engages and positions the cassette ribbon with stepwise moderation.