JPS61295066A - Ink-ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the receiving density of an ink ribbon by the own wt. action of said ribbon and to attain the miniaturization and wt. reduction of a recording apparatus by reducing the space in a mount direction, b mounting the ink-ribbon to the recording apparatus in a receiving chamber so as to bring the superposing direction of said ribbon to an up-and-down direction. CONSTITUTION:An ink-ribbon 10 is led out from the lower outlet 6g of a ribbon receiving chamber 6a in a state receiving the predetermined tension by a tension spring 13 and contacted with the guide part 6e integrally formed to a guide arm 6b to be twisted by 90 deg. and guided while contacted with the guide arm 6b to be faced to the leading end front surface of a recording head 4. Then, said ribbon 10 is guided while contacted with a guide arm 6c and contacted with a guide part 6d to be further twisted by 90 deg. and guided into a ribbon receiving chamber 6a from an upper inlet 6h. When a ribbon gear 8 is driven at the time of recording so as to be rotated to the direction shown by an arrow F corresponding to the movement of a carrier through a ribbon driving gear 11, the ink ribbon 10 is drawn in from the inlet 6h and drawn out from the outlet 6g to be fed to the direction shown by an arrow 0.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette that is used by being attached to a recording device, and includes a storage chamber in which ink ribbons are stacked and stored, and a storage chamber for storing ink ribbons in a stacked manner. The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette having a guide member that guides the recording head forward.

[Summary of the Disclosure] The present specification and drawings describe an ink ribbon cassette of the type described above, which is configured to be installed in a recording device with the direction in which the ink ribbons overlap in the up-down direction in the storage chamber. This invention discloses a technique that allows a recording device using this to be made smaller and lighter.

[Prior Art] In the conventional configuration of the type of ink ribbon cassette described in the industrial application field, a carrier guide is installed parallel to the platen 1 of the substrate 5-L of the recording device, as schematically shown in FIG. A carrier (not shown) on the shaft 2-L is located behind the recording head 4 and has a thickness slightly larger than the width of the ink ribbon.
A flat ink ribbon cassette 6 is mounted almost horizontally. A guide member (not shown) is attached to the ink ribbon cassette 6, and the ink ribbon 10 is guided and stretched in front of the recording head 4 by this guide member.

In addition, in the case of endless ink ribbons, in order to extend their lifespan, they are often twisted 180' to join both ends, and the parts used for recording on both the front and back sides are shifted up and down. The illustrated members are attached to the guide member.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional configuration described above, the ink ribbon cassette 6 is mounted almost horizontally, so if it is placed behind the recording head 4, the depth of the recording apparatus becomes large, and the depth of the recording head 4 increases. If placed horizontally, the width of the recording device will increase. Furthermore, the thickness of the cassette 6 is only slightly larger than the ribbon width (approximately 13+wm) and is very small compared to the height of the recording head 4, resulting in wasted space and a problem of extremely poor space usage efficiency. was there. Furthermore, since the above-mentioned member for twisting the ribbon is attached to the guide member, there is a drawback that the guide member also becomes large.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention, the ink ribbons are attached to the recording apparatus in such a direction that the overlapping direction of the ink ribbons is -1-downward in the ink ribbon storage chamber. It was configured to be installed.

[Function] As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette 6 has a ribbon storage chamber 6a in which the ink ribbons 10 are folded and stored in an overlapping manner, and a guide arm 6b that guides the ink ribbons 10 in front of the recording head 4.
, 6c, and is mounted behind the recording head 4 on the carrier 3 with the ribbon storage chamber 6a standing almost vertically. In the mounted state, as shown in FIG. 3, the direction in which the ink ribbons 10 overlap within the ribbon storage chamber 6a is 1]-downward.

The ink ribbon IO is led out from the ribbon storage chamber 6a through the lower outlet 6g while being given a predetermined tension by the tension spring 13. Then, it is twisted 90'' in contact with the guide portion 6e formed integrally with the guide arm 6b, and is twisted 90''.
The direction is changed and the guide arm 6b is guided in contact with the guide arm 6b.
The recording head 4 is stretched between the tips of the recording heads b and 6c via a protrusion 6f, and is exposed to the front surface of the tip of the recording head 4. The ribbon is guided in contact with the guide arm 6C, is further twisted by 90'' in contact with the guide portion 6d formed integrally with the guide arm 6C, and is then turned 90' into the ribbon storage chamber 6a through the upper entrance 6h. be led to.

A ribbon gear 8 and a pressure roller 9 are installed near the entrance 6h.
is provided, and during recording, the ribbon gear 8 moves in accordance with the movement of the carrier via the ribbon drive gear 11 shown in FIG.
By being rotationally driven in the direction, the ink ribbon 10 is drawn in from the inlet 6h, pulled out from the outlet 6g, and
The ribbon is fed in the direction of arrow 0 in the figure.

The ink ribbon lO drawn into the ribbon storage chamber 6a is stored while being folded as shown in FIG. 3, and gradually falls due to its own weight. In this case, the weight of the ink ribbon 10 acts to compress the ribbon itself downward, so there is little resistance to the feeding force, and the feeding force can be small, and the carrier motor that is the drive source for ribbon feeding can be downsized. In addition, compared to a cassette of the same size that is set horizontally, the ribbon's own weight increases the folding density and storage density, making it possible to make the cassette smaller and lighter. In addition, with the miniaturization of the cassette 6, the cassette 6
is mounted almost vertically on the carrier 3 behind the recording head 4, and by not taking up much space, the recording apparatus can be made smaller and lighter.

[Example] Hereinafter, details of an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 (a) and (b).

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure around a carrier that conveys a print head of a printing apparatus using an ink ribbon cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the same figure, the reference numeral 5 indicates a substrate that supports the entire mechanism of the recording section, and one end shown in the figure is bent toward l; in the figure, a guide hole 5b is formed, and a rack tooth is provided at the upper end. 5a is formed.

A platen l is placed on this substrate 5 as shown in FIG.
is rotatably supported between side plates (not shown), and a carrier guide shaft 2 is installed between the side plates in parallel with the platen l, and the carrier guide shaft 2 is provided with a reference numeral 3 in FIG.
A carrier shown by is provided so as to be slidable in the directions of arrows A and B (main scanning direction).

A freely rotatable roller is provided on the rear side (not shown) of the carrier 3, and this roller is engaged with the guide hole 5b of the substrate 5 with a predetermined backlash, so that the carrier 3 rotates 11-th. ing.

A recording head 4 configured as, for example, a wire dot head is mounted on the carrier 3-1-, and an ink ribbon cassette (hereinafter abbreviated as cassette) indicated by reference numeral 6 is detachably attached thereto.

The cassette 6 includes a thin rectangular box-shaped ribbon storage chamber 6a whose thickness is slightly larger than the width of the ink ribbon IO, guide arms 6b and 6c integrally formed on both sides of the ribbon storage chamber 6a, and an opening of the ribbon storage chamber 6a. It consists of a lid 7 fixed to the back side of the ribbon storage chamber, and triangular guide portions 6d and 6e (see FIG. 3 for 6e) are continuous to the base ends of the arms 6b and 6c. The guide arms 6a are integrally formed in a floating state from the side surface, and protrusions 6f for preventing the ribbon from coming off are provided on the top and bottom of the outer surfaces of the tips of the guide arms 6b and 6c.

The cassette 6 is mounted on the carrier 3'' with the ribbon storage chamber 6a standing vertically.

Further, the inside of the ribbon storage chamber 6a of the cassette 6 is arranged as shown in FIG. 3, and endless ink ribbons 10 are stored in a folded and overlapping manner.

FIG. 3 shows the cassette 6 in the direction in which it is attached to the carrier 3-1: In this case, as shown in the figure, the direction in which the ink ribbons 10 overlap within the ribbon storage chamber 6a is downward.

On one side of the ribbon storage chamber 6a, an outlet 6g for the ink ribbon 10 is formed at the lower end in the orientation when the cassette is installed.
Furthermore, a tension spring 13 is provided near the outlet 6g within the ribbon storage chamber 6a.

The ink ribbon 10 is then led out from the ribbon storage chamber 6a through the outlet 6g while being given a predetermined tension by the tension spring 13. and 9 in contact with the guide portion 6e.
It is twisted 0', changed its direction by 90 degrees, is guided in contact with the guide arm 6b, and is stretched across the protrusion 6f between the tips of the guide arms 6b and 6c so as to face the front of the tip of the recording head 4.

Then, it is guided in contact with the guide arm 6C, further twisted by 90'' in contact with the guide portion 6d, and then changed direction 906 and guided into the ribbon storage chamber 6a through the inlet 6h.The inlet 6h is opposite to the outlet 6g. The side is formed at the top in the orientation when the cassette is installed.

A rotatable ribbon gear 8 and a rotatable pressure roller 9 that presses the ink ribbon 10 against the ink ribbon 10 by the force of a spring (not shown) are provided near the inlet 6h, and knurls are formed on the outer periphery to prevent slippage. When the ribbon gear 8 is rotated in the direction of the arrow F during recording, the ink ribbon 10 is drawn in from the inlet and pulled out from the outlet 6g, and the ribbon is fed in the direction of the arrow 0 in FIG.

Note that the ink ribbon 10 is twisted 180' into a Möbius strip shape and joined at both ends, but this twisted portion is provided by the guide portions 6d and 6e, and the ribbon storage chamber 6a
Not twisted inside.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned ribbon gear 8 is connected to the lid 7 as shown in FIG.
A large gear 8a and a small gear 8b are attached to the parts protruding outward from the
Two-stage gears are formed, and are rotationally driven by a ribbon drive gear 11 meshing with these gears.

The ribbon drive gear 11 has an external tooth 11b, an internal tooth lie, and an outer gear lid around a shaft 11a, and the outer gear lid meshes with the rack teeth 5a of the base plate 5. Also, depending on the moving direction of the carrier 3, the internal teeth 11c mesh with the large gear 8a of the ribbon gear 8, or the external teeth 11b mesh with the small gear 8b.
It is configured to mesh with the The ribbon drive gear 11 is supported on the lid 7-4- by a gear presser 12.

The gear presser 12 is formed into a rectangular plate shape with a U-shaped cross section.
The ribbon drive gear 11 is sandwiched between the ribbon drive gear 11 and the lid 7, and the locking holes 12b and 12c formed at both bent ends are engaged with the elastic claws 7a protruding from the lid 7 and the claws 7b (not shown). By using the elasticity of the claws 7a and 7b, it can be detachably attached to the lid 7''.

In this case, the ribbon drive gear 11 is connected to the shaft by an elongated hole (not shown) formed in the center of the gear presser 12 and an elongated hole (not shown) formed in a corresponding position of the lid 7 with a dimension and direction corresponding to the elongated hole 12a. Both ends of the carrier 11a are temporarily mounted, so that it can be freely rotated and moved within the length of the long hole 12a parallel to the moving directions A and H of the carrier between the lid 7 and the gear holder 12. Supported.

Next, the ribbon feeding operation with the following configuration is shown in Fig. 4(a).
, (b) and FIG. 3.

When the carrier 3 moves in the direction of arrow A or B shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) by driving a driving means (not shown) during recording, the carrier 3 can be moved within the range of the elongated hole 12a. Since the outer gear lid of the ribbon drive gear 11 meshes with the rack teeth 5a, the ribbon drive gear 11 is initially left behind and moves in the opposite direction relative to the carrier 3. and shaft 11a
The carrier 3 starts moving together with the carrier 3 only when it comes into contact with the end of the elongated hole 12a in the direction opposite to the moving direction of the carrier 3, and rotates due to the meshing of the outer gear lid and the rack teeth 5a.

If the moving direction of the carrier 3 is the incoming direction, as shown in Fig. 4 (
As shown in a), the ribbon drive gear 11 rotates in the direction of arrow C with respect to the carrier 3 with the position of the shaft 11a, that is, the center of rotation, at the right end of the elongated hole 12a in the figure. At the above-mentioned axial position, the internal teeth 11c of the ribbon drive gear 11 mesh with the large gear 8a of the ribbon gear 8 to rotate it in the direction of arrow F.

Further, when the moving direction of the carrier 3 is B, as shown in FIG. 4(b), the ribbon drive gear 11 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow with the shaft 11a positioned at the left end of the elongated hole 12b in the figure. Then, the external teeth 11b mesh with the small gear 8b of the ribbon gear 8 to rotate it in the direction of arrow F.

As the ribbon gear 8 rotates in the F direction, the ink ribbon 10 is pulled in from the entrance 6h of the ribbon storage chamber 6a of the cassette 6 as shown in FIG. 3, and pulled out from the exit 6g, as shown in FIG. sent to.

The ink ribbon 10 drawn into the ribbon storage chamber 6a is stored while being folded as shown in FIG. 3, and gradually falls due to its own weight. In this case, ink ribbon 1
Since the zero weight acts to compress the ribbon itself downward, there is little resistance to the feeding force, and the feeding force can be small.

Also, compared to a cassette of the same size that is set horizontally, the ribbon's own weight allows it to be folded more densely, making it possible to store a larger amount of ribbon.

As described above, according to the cassette 6 of this embodiment, the ink ribbons 10 stored in the ribbon storage chamber 6a are mounted almost vertically on the carrier 3'' so that the overlapping direction is in the vertical direction. The following effects can be obtained.

a. It is possible to reduce the depth of the recording apparatus without taking up a large space behind the recording head, thereby making it possible to reduce the size of the recording apparatus into a single unit.

b. The driving force for the ink ribbon IO can be small, and the carrier motor as the driving source can be downsized.

C. Since the storage density of the ink ribbon is increased, the size of the force set 6 can be reduced.

d, a guide portion 6d for twisting the ink ribbon lO;

6e has a thin plate shape and is provided integrally with the guide arms 6b and 6c, and does not take up space, so that the width of the cassette 6 and the width of the recording device can be reduced.

e. Since the entire rear surface of the recording head 4 is blocked by the cassette 6, the operational noise of the recording head 4 is blocked, and the noise level of the recording apparatus can be reduced.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the explanation in 1- below, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention is installed in the recording device with the direction in which the ribbons overlap in the storage chamber facing up and down, so that the weight of the ribbon can be reduced. As a result, the storage density of the ribbons can be improved, and the cassette can be made smaller and lighter. Furthermore, because of this and because the mounting orientation does not take up much space, the recording apparatus can be made smaller and lighter.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are detailed explanations of the present invention.
The figure is an exploded perspective view showing the structure around the carrier of a recording device into which the cassette of the present invention is installed, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic structure of the main part of the recording device, and FIG. FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) are explanatory diagrams of the ribbon feeding operation, respectively, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of the main part of a recording apparatus using a conventional cassette. 3...Carrier 4...Recording head 6...
Cassette 6a... Ribbon storage chamber 6b, 6c
...Guide arms 6d, 6e...Guide portion 6g...Outlet 6h...Inlet 8...Ribbon gear 10...Ink ribbon 11...Ribbon drive gear P-C (C1) (b ) Action Me 薇明ω Fig. 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) An ink ribbon cassette that is attached to a recording device and has a storage chamber in which ink ribbons are stacked and stored, and a guide member that guides the ribbon in front of a recording head of the recording device, An ink ribbon cassette characterized in that the ink ribbon cassette is configured to be installed in a recording device with the direction in which the ribbons overlap in the storage chamber facing up and down. 2) The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein a member for twisting the ribbon guided by the guide member is provided integrally with the guide member. 3) The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an outlet and an inlet of the ribbon in the storage chamber are arranged so as to be vertically shifted when the ribbon is installed.