JPS618375A - Ribbon holder for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To hold a long ribbon in a wound state and contrive a smaller cassette casing, by a construction wherein the first cassette casing containing a payout shaft therein and the second cassette casing containing a take-up shaft therein are individually provided, and are detachably held respectively at parts near both ends of a platen. CONSTITUTION:A cylindrical payout shaft 6 with a ribbon 5 wound thereon is rotatably held in the cassette casing 1, while a cylindrical take-up shaft 17 is rotatably held in the cassette casing 2. When storing, the casings are connected to each other in a compact form in the condition wherein engaging parts 21 of rails 19 are elastically engaged with engaging parts 23 provided on the deep side of the casings 1, 2. When fitting, the casing 2 is depressed downward from above a ribbon-driving shaft 35 to elastically engage engaging holes 33 to engaging pawls 34. In this case, a wide-opened piece 14 of the casing 1 is fitted into an opening 30, and when the casing 1 is slidden rightward, engaging holes 31 are elastically engaged to engaging pawls 32. The rails 19 are slidden relatively to the casings 1, 2, and the engaging parts 21, 22 are elastically engaged. Accordingly, the cassette casings 1, 2 are located at the parts near both ends of the platen 25 on the outside of a carrier 27.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Technical field of invention The present invention relates to a ribbon holding device for a printing machine.

Technical background of the invention and its problems Conventionally, in printing machines that move a carrier along a platen, there are printers that have a ribbon cassette mounted on the carrier, but as the carrier becomes larger and the reel cannot be made larger, It has the disadvantage that long ribbons cannot be wound, and the ribbon has to be replaced more frequently. Also,
In the case where the reel holding the ribbon is placed near both ends of the platen and attached to the cassette case, a long ribbon can be wound around a large reel, but it has the disadvantage that the cassette case becomes large.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention was made in view of the above points, and it is possible to hold a long ribbon in a wound state by a supply shaft and a take-up shaft arranged near both ends of the platen, and moreover, it is possible to hold a long ribbon in a wound state. The purpose is to scale the ribbon holding device of a printing machine, which can be made smaller.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides the following advantages: by arranging a supply shaft and a take-up shaft on which the ribbon is wound near both ends of the platen outside the carrier;
The ribbon winding diameter of the supply shaft and take-up shaft can be increased to reduce the frequency of ribbon replacement, and the supply shaft and take-up shaft are housed in separately formed first and second cassette cases. By doing so, the cassette case can be made smaller, and the two cassette cases can be connected by a rail to facilitate handling during storage.When installing the cassette case, the two cassette cases can be separated along the rail. This allows the ribbon to be set along the platen without loosening it.

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

A first cassette case 1 and a second cassette case 2 are provided. These cassette cases 1.2 have an arm 3 projecting from one side and a cover plate 4 closing the top opening. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the first cassette case 1 includes a boss 7 that rotatably holds a cylindrical supply shaft 6 around which a ribbon 5 is wound, and a plurality of ribbon guides 8.9. is formed. Further, the boss 7 holds a spring 1° that applies tension to the ribbon 5. One end of this spring 10 is connected to the cassette 1-
The spring 1 is held between ribs 11 formed on the case 1.
A bent portion 12 is formed at the other end of the ribbon 5 to hook and hold the ribbon 5 in a bent state.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 3, the bottom of the second cassette case 2 is provided with a rectangular projection 13 and an expanding piece 14 that expands from the tip of the projection 13.

Further, the second cassette case 2 is formed with a ribbon guide 8.9 as shown in FIG. 4, and a cylindrical boss 15 is formed at the center of both the upper and lower surfaces as shown in FIG. A cylindrical winding shaft 17 having a boss 15 and a claw 16 on the inner periphery.
is held rotatably.

Two rails 19 are provided which are slidably fitted into holes 18 formed on the inner surfaces of the first and second cassette cases 1 and 2. Slits 20 and protruding engaging portions 21 are formed at both ends of these rails 19. Engaging portions 21 and elastic engagement portions are formed on both upper and lower surfaces of the first and second cassette cases 1 and 2. Engagement portions 22 and 23 are formed by holes that engage with.

Next, a part of the housing 24 of the printing machine is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. A platen 25 is rotatably provided in the housing 24, and a carrier 27 for holding a thermal head 26 is provided movably along the platen 25. The housing 24 also includes the first and second cassettes [
- A support part 28 that supports the cases 1 and 2, a horizontally long groove 29 into which the protrusion 13 is slidably fitted, and this groove 29
An opening 30 into which the expansion piece 14 is fitted is formed continuously at the inner end of the opening 30 . Furthermore, on the right side of the housing 24, there is an engagement hole 31 formed in the bottom surface of the first cassette case 1.
The cassette case 1 is elastically engaged with the platen 2.
An engaging pawl 32, which is a holding portion, is formed near the right end of 5. At the left end of the casing 24 is a holding portion that elastically engages with an engagement hole 33 formed in the side surface of the second cassette case 2 to hold the cassette case 2 near the left end of the platen 25. A certain lE pawl 34 is provided.

Further, at the left end of the housing 24, a ribbon drive shaft 35 (marked □) is supported upwardly by a spring 36 so as to be movable up and down and rotatable. This ribbon drive shaft 35 is connected to a known power transmission mechanism that converts the leftward return movement of the carrier 27 into rotational movement, and rotates counterclockwise.

In such a configuration, the cassette case 1 is in the storage state shown in FIG. , 2 are compactly connected by the rail 19, making handling easy.

When attaching the cassette cases 1 and 2, first, the second cassette case 2 is pressed downward from above the ribbon drive shaft 35, and the engagement hole 33 and the engagement claw 34 are elastically engaged. At this time, the expansion piece 14 of the first cassette case 1 is fitted into the opening 30. Next, when the first cassette case 1 is slid to the right, the engagement hole 31 and the engagement claw 32 are resiliently engaged.

At this time, the rail 19 slides relative to the cassette cases 1 and 2, and the engaging portions 21 and 23 engage elastically. The first cassette case l slides parallel to the platen 25 due to the guiding action of the rail 19 and the engagement between the groove 29 and the protrusion 13. Therefore, the ribbon 5 is pulled out along the platen 25 without loosening. Furthermore, the expanding piece 14, which is wider than the groove 29, can prevent the cassette case 1 from floating up.

Printing is performed by the thermal head 26 while the carrier 27 is moved to the right. At this time, the ribbon drive shaft 35 is in a stopped state, and the ribbon 5 is stationary. When the carrier 27 moves to the left, the movement is converted into a rotational motion and transmitted to the ribbon drive shaft 35, and the take-up shaft 17 receives a rotational force from the ribbon drive shaft 35 that engages with the claw 16, and moves counterclockwise. The ribbon 5 rotates, and the ribbon 5 is wound around the winding shaft 17 under tension by the spring 10.

In this way, the cassette 1 - the cases 1 and 2, the supply shaft 6 and the take-up shaft 17 are arranged near both ends of the platen 250 outside the carrier 27, so the dimensions can be increased without being limited by the space of the carrier 27. be able to. Therefore, the length of the ribbon 5 can be increased and the frequency of ribbon replacement can be reduced.

Effects of the Invention Since the present invention is configured as described above, by arranging the supply shaft and the take-up shaft outside the carrier near both ends of the platen, it is possible to increase the ribbon winding diameter and reduce the frequency of ribbon replacement. In addition, by storing the supply shaft and the take-up shaft in the first and second cassette cases formed separately, the cassette case can be made smaller.
Furthermore, by connecting the first and second cassette cases with a rail, the appearance during storage becomes compact and handling becomes easier.Furthermore, when the cassette case is installed, the two cassette cases are connected to the platen using the rail as a guide. This has the effect of allowing the ribbon to be pulled out along the platen without loosening the ribbon.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the connection structure between the first and second cassette cases and the rail, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connection state, and FIG. 3
The figure is a side view of the second cassette case as viewed from arrow A in Figure 1, Figure 4 is a plan view showing the inside of the first and second cassette cases, and Figure 5 is a side view of the cassette case mounting surface of the housing. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the structure, and a sectional view showing the state in which the cassette case is attached to the housing.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A first cassette case rotatably housing a supply shaft around which a ribbon is wound from one end, and a second cassette case rotatably housing a winding shaft for winding the ribbon from the other end. cassette cases are formed individually, a holding part for removably holding the first cassette case is provided near one end of the platen, and the second cassette case is removably attached near the other end of the platen. 1. A ribbon holding device for a printing machine, comprising: a holding portion that holds the ribbon; and a ribbon drive shaft that detachably engages with the take-up shaft. 2. A first cassette case that rotatably stores a supply shaft on which the ribbon is wound from one end, and a second cassette case that rotatably stores a winding shaft that winds the ribbon from the other end. a holding part for removably holding the first cassette case near one end of the platen, a holding part for removably holding the second cassette case near the other end of the platen; a ribbon drive shaft that removably engages with the take-up shaft; both ends of a horizontally elongated rail are slidably fitted to the first and second cassette cases; 1. A ribbon holding device for a printing machine, characterized in that engaging portions are formed at both ends of the rail to elastically engage with each other.