JPS61290082A - Printer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obviate curling of a wire secondarily generated or adverse impression of appearance and contrive a static eliminating effect, by using a grounded metallic rod for eliminating electrostatic charges accumulated in an ink ribbon cassette. CONSTITUTION:The metallic rod 18 is fitted to the interior of an ink ribbon cassette 11 by a nut 18a through a terminal 18b, to which a wire connected to the ground is connected. The rod 18 is in the form of a cylinder with a height L and a diameter phi, and is disposed at such a position that an ink ribbon 11a makes contact therewith with an appropriate tension. The rod 18 is provided between a ribbon guide 15b and a printing head 12 at a position close to the guide 15b, and eliminates electrostatic charges generated due to friction between the ink ribbon 11a and the ribbon guides 15a, 15b or due to friction between a paper and a feeding passage, a platen or the like.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] In a printer device, static electricity accumulated in an ink ribbon cassette is removed by a static electricity removing brush that is brought into contact with an ink ribbon cassette, whereas this printer device is always in contact with the ink ribbon. By connecting the metal rod provided in the above manner to the ground, the static electricity of the ink ribbon cassette can be removed in a simple manner and in a manner that looks good in appearance.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a printer device that can eliminate static electricity that accumulates when an ink ribbon runs in a simple manner and with a good appearance.

Various serial thermal transfer printer devices have been developed and put into practical use as one of the input/output devices of an information processing system and as an output device connected to a word processor or the like.

In particular, serial thermal transfer printer devices can be configured compactly and can handle a wide variety of characters, and their use as terminal devices for office automation equipment is expanding. There is a demand for higher reliability.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a printing section of a conventional thermal transfer printer, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating an outline of a carrier. In addition, FIG. 3(A) is a plan view of the printing section, and FIG.
B) shows a plan view of the ink ribbon cassette.

The thermal transfer printer shown in FIG. 3(A) has side frames 1 on both sides, and a platen 2 is rotatably supported on the side frames 1.

Further, paper 3, which is a printing medium, is wound around the platen 2 as shown by the two-dot chain line. Sent in the direction of the middle arrow.

On the other hand, in front of the platen 2, that is, in the lower part of the figure, there is a carrier 6.
is slidably engaged with a guide shaft 7 provided parallel to the platen 2. Further, the carrier 6 is engaged with a belt 8 provided parallel to the platen 2.

The belt 8 is stretched around pulleys 9 and 9' and is connected to a motor 10 via the pulley 9. Therefore, the belt 8 moves the carrier 6 along arrow B--C in the figure by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor 10.
It is possible to move it back and forth in the direction.

An ink ribbon cassette 11 is mounted on the carrier 6, and the ink ribbon 11 is mounted on the ink ribbon cassette 11.
A is built in with a part thereof exposed on the platen 2 side.

Further, a print head 12 composed of a heating element that forms prints in the form of dots is installed in the carrier 6 surrounded by an ink ribbon cassette 11, and is moved in the direction of the arrow by an approach and escape mechanism (not shown) during printing. The ink ribbon 11a is pushed out and pressed against the paper 3. At the end of printing, it escapes (evacuates) in the direction of arrow E to prepare for the insertion of the next sheet 3.

As shown in FIG. 3(B), the ink ribbon cassette 11 rotatably houses a supply section 13 wound with an ink ribbon 11'a in the right direction in a storage section 14. In addition, the storage section 14
There is a ribbon guide 1 that takes in and out the ink ribbon 11a.
5a and 15b are provided, and the ribbon guide 15a
, 15b, the ink ribbon 11a is stretched between them.

Further, on the left side of the storage section 14, a winding section 16 for winding up the ink ribbon 11a is rotatably provided.

The winding section 16 can be connected to an external drive source, and winds up the ink ribbon 11a from the supply section 13 via the ribbon guides 15a and 15b with a constant winding torque.

When the ink ribbon cassette 11 having such a configuration is mounted on the carrier 6, since the winding section 16 is connected to a drive source, the winding section 16 rotates in conjunction with the printing operation of the print head 12, and the arrow C of the print head 12 rotates. The ink ribbon 11a fed out by the movement in the direction is wound up.

Further, the print head 12 moves in the direction of the arrow EI]C, and generates heat to move the paper 3 on the platen 2 onto the ink ribbon 1.
Printing is performed while moving through 1a. When printing for one line is completed, the paper 3 is moved by a predetermined amount in the direction of arrow A for line feed, and printing is continued.

When printing by the above-described operation, the ink ribbon 11a is moved to the ribbon guide 15a of the ink ribbon cassette 11.

It is sent out and renormalized from 15b. Therefore, friction occurs between the ink ribbon 11a and the ribbon guides 15a, 15b, and static electricity (about 7 KV) is accumulated in the plastic ink ribbon cassette 11.

Static electricity is also accumulated on the paper 3 due to friction with the conveyance path, platen 2, etc., and this static electricity on the paper 3 is accumulated in the ink ribbon cassette 11 via the ink ribbon 11a.

In particular, when the carrier 6 is made of plastic, there is no way for the static electricity accumulated in the ink ribbon cassette 11 to escape. For example, if someone touches the ink ribbon cassette 11 to replace it, the static electricity may be discharged through the human body. do.

During the above-mentioned discharge, the discharge voltage may destroy electronic components constituting electronic equipment built into the device or cause software to run out of control.

Therefore, as a countermeasure against this problem, conventionally, as shown in FIG.
A static eliminating brush 17 is attached to the ink ribbon cassette 11, and this static eliminating brush 17 is always kept in contact with the ink ribbon cassette 11. When static electricity is generated, it is discharged through the wire 17a in contact with the static electricity.

However, the static elimination brush 17 needs to be replaced periodically due to its lifespan, and the wire 17a curls when heat is applied. Furthermore, there are other problems such as the appearance of the static eliminating brush 17 not being welcomed by users.

[Means for solving problems]

FIG. 1 shows a basic configuration diagram of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows the paper (printing medium) 3 explained in Figures 3 and 4.
．． Ink ribbon cassette 11. Ink ribbon Ila,
Print head 12. Supply section 13. Storage section 14. Ribbon guides 15a, 15b, winding section 16, and print head 12
and a metal rod 18 which is located adjacent to the ribbon guide 15b, connected to ground, and always in contact with the ink ribbon 11a.

[Effect]

A metal rod connected to ground is placed adjacent to the print head and ribbon guide. This metal rod is always in contact with the ink ribbon, and by using this metal rod to eliminate static electricity that accumulates on the ink ribbon due to friction with paper, etc., it can be used as a secondary charge. This eliminates problems such as replacement of the static eliminating brush due to its lifespan, replacement due to curling of the wire, and problems with appearance.
□ [Example] The gist of the present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to an example shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating the invention in detail. Note that the same reference numerals indicate the same objects throughout the figures.

The metal rod 18 shown in FIG. 2(B) is an embodiment of the present invention. This metal rod 18 is attached to the inside of the ink ribbon cassette 11 with a terminal 18b sandwiched therebetween (naso) 18a,
A wire leading to ground is connected to the terminal 18b. Further, the metal rod 18 is tall and has a cylindrical shape with a diameter φ, and is placed at a position where the ink ribbon Ila comes into contact with the ink ribbon Ila with appropriate tension.

The metal rod 18 is installed at a position as shown in FIG. 2(A). That is, it is installed at a position adjacent to the ribbon guide 15b between the ribbon guide 15b and the printing lid 12, and prevents static electricity generated due to friction between the ink ribbon Ila and the ribbon guides 15a and 15b, and prevents paper 3 from traveling along the conveyance path. Eliminates static electricity generated by friction with platen 2, etc.

In addition to the method of installing the metal rod 18 described above, for example, the heat sink (made of aluminum for heat diffusion, omitted in the figure) of the print head 12 can be grounded, and a plate attached to this heat sink can be used. It goes without saying that methods such as bringing the ribbon into contact with the ink ribbon Ila via a spring or the like or replacing the parts of the ribbon guides 15a and 15b that come into contact with the ink ribbon 11a with metal are also possible.

Incidentally, the static electricity generated by friction and multiplied by M is about 7 kV, but if the static electricity is removed by the above method, the amount of charge can be lowered to about 1 to 3 kV. Generally, a charging amount of about 1 to 3 kV does not have any adverse effect on others. Further, the metal rod 18 is cheaper than the static elimination brush 17 in terms of cost.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention as described above, when a static electricity removal brush is used to eliminate static electricity accumulated in an ink ribbon cassette, problems such as curling of the wire that occurs secondary to it and a bad impression on the appearance are avoided. In addition to eliminating the problem, there is an effect that the static elimination effect can also be achieved at a lower cost.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the principle of the present invention; Figure 2 is a detailed diagram explaining the present invention; Figure 3 is a diagram explaining the printing section of a conventional thermal transfer printer; Figure 4 is a diagram of the carrier. A sectional view explaining the outline is shown, respectively. In the figure, 2 is a platen, 3 is paper, 4.10 is a motor, 6 is a carrier, 8 is a belt, 9.9' is a pulley, 11 is an ink ribbon cassette, 11a is an ink ribbon, 12 is a print head, 13 is a supply 14 is a storage section, 15a and 15b are ribbon kites, 16 is a winding section, 17 is a static elimination brush, 17a is a wire, 18 is a metal rod, 18a is a nut,
18b is a terminal, 19 is a housing, and 20 is a cover plate. Figure 1 of the five-child structure of the present invention Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] A carrier (6) on which a print head (12) is mounted and moves in the printing digit direction with respect to a print medium (3), and a space between the print head (12) and the print medium (3). In a printer device that supplies an ink ribbon (11a) to a printer, a metal rod (18) is provided in a part of the path of the ink ribbon (11a) so that the ink ribbon (11a) is always in contact with the ink ribbon (11a) and is connected to ground. A printer device characterized in that static electricity charged or accumulated on the ink ribbon (11a) is removed through the metal rod (18).