JPS62196170A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a ribbon to be easily replaced without adding any new component mechanism, by driving a motor by an operation of an operator to move a carriage to a predetermined position, and separating a printing head away from a printing medium. CONSTITUTION:When a ribbon replacement control by a controlling part 2 is selected by operating a specified key at a keyboard operating part 1, the controlling part 2 first drives a spacing motor 13 to move a carriage 11 and stops the carriage 11 at the position of a ribbon-replacing door 14 provided at a part of a casing of a printer. Then, an up/down motor 27 is driven, motive power is transmitted to a shaft 28 through a gear 24 and a belt 25, and the shaft 28 rotates an eccentric cam 21 until a projected part of the cam makes contact with a head-up lever 19. The lever 19 is moved in a head-up direction with a fulcrum 20 as an axis of turning, whereby a printing head 8 is pulled up to a top-up position 22, resulting in that a ribbon cassette 9 can be replaced by opening the door 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer that uses a ribbon exchange method, and particularly to a printer that performs printing by interposing a ribbon such as an ink ribbon or a carbon ribbon between a print head and a platen.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of printer is configured so that the print head can be manually retracted from the platen surface, and when replacing the ribbon, the print head is retracted from the platen surface and the ribbon is replaced in this state.

In addition, there is a risk that products with this mechanism move on to the next process with the print head retracted after the ribbon is replaced, so the retracted state is detected by a detector and the next process is prohibited or the next process is stopped. The retracted state was mechanically released by the radspacing operation for printing.

There is also a printer that replaces the ribbon without retracting the print head, and when replacing the ribbon, the ribbon is attached to the tip of the print head by hand.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional technology of the machine/groove for retracting the print head described above, it is necessary to prevent the print head from moving on to the next process while retracting, so a detector is required as described above9. There is a problem in that the process becomes complicated and leads to an increase in the price of the equipment.

In addition, with the conventional technology in which the ribbon is replaced while the print head remains in place, there is no need for a detector and the mechanism is simple, but the ribbon must be routed to the tip of the print head. Therefore, there are problems in that the operation is complicated, the ribbon stains the hands during operation, and the operability of ribbon replacement is poor.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned problems, has a simple mechanism,
The purpose of the present invention is to provide a device with excellent operability when replacing ribbons.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention includes a ribbon cassette containing an ink ribbon and the like along with a print head, mounted on a carriage, and a motor for operating the movement of the print head toward and away from a printing medium, a motor for operating the horizontal movement of the carriage, and a motor for controlling each motor. In a printer that performs drive control and has a control unit, the control unit drives the motor to move the carriage to a predetermined position and retract the print head to a position separated from the print medium by operation of an operator. It is characterized by performing ribbon exchange control.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration, when the operator performs an operation to request ribbon replacement through a key operation or the like, the control section receives this and selects ribbon replacement control, and drives the motor for horizontal movement of the carriage. moves the carriage to a predetermined ribbon exchange position, drives the motor to move the print head toward the print medium, moves the print head away from the print medium, and retracts it, automatically replacing the ribbon. You can get the status.

〔Example〕

Examples will be described below according to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a keyboard operation section, 2 is a control section, 3 is a print mechanism section, 4 is a print head section, and 5 is a print head space operation drive section that operates the position of the print head in the horizontal column direction with respect to the print medium. , 6 is a print head up/down movement drive unit that operates the print head to approach and separate from the print medium, and 7 is a print head up/down position detector.

Here, the keyboard operation section 1 is connected to the control section 2, and a specific control of the control section 2 can be selected by key operation of the keyboard operation section 1.

Based on the selected control, the control section 2 issues a printing command to the printing section 4, and the printing headspace operation drive section 5.
Printing is controlled by issuing a space movement command for the print head and issuing a print head up/down movement command to the print bed up/down movement 1 drive unit 6.

On the other hand, the control section 2 has a ribbon exchange control for moving the head to a position where the ribbon can be exchanged, and can switch from printing control to ribbon exchange control with a specific key operation.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the main parts of the printer in the same embodiment, showing the configuration of the print head space operation 1 drive section, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the main parts of the printer in the second embodiment, with the print head up and down. The configuration of the operation drive section is shown.

In FIG. 2, 8 is a print head, 9 is an ink ribbon,
A ribbon cassette in which a ribbon 1o such as a carbon ribbon can be fed out; 11 is a carriage on which the print head 8 and the ribbon cassette 9 are mounted; 12 is a space belt for moving the carriage 11 in a space; 13 is a space spell 1-12. 14 is a ribbon exchange door provided on the device housing. Also, in the figure,
Arrow A indicates the forward space movement direction, and arrow B indicates the reverse space movement direction.

In FIG. 3, 15 is a platen, 16 is a print head 8
a spring that biases the platen 15iftll (up side); 17 is a print head sog-down position detector that determines the initial position of the print head up-down movement in the initial operation; 18 is a disk tiff; 19 is a print・
A head-up lever 20 supports the bed 8 and moves it down; 20 is a fulcrum of the head-up lever 19; 2
Reference numeral 1 designates an eccentric cam that operates the head-up lever -19 using a fulcrum 20 as a rotating shaft.

At the peak of the eccentric cam 21, the head up lever 19 moves in the up direction with the fulcrum 20 as the rotation axis,
The print head 8 is pulled upward and moved to the top-up position 22. Further, at the valley of the eccentric cam 21, the head up lever 19 is free, and the spring 16 connecting the carriage 11 and the print head 8 pulls the print head 8 in the down direction and moves it to the down position R23.

Also, between the peaks and valleys of the eccentric cam 21, the print head origin position 26 is the position detected by the print head up/down position detector 17 of the slit in the disc 18 directly connected to the gear 24 and belt 25.

27 is an up-down motor 9 that drives the eccentric cam 21, and the power of the up-down motor 27 is driven by the belt 2.
5. It is transmitted to the eccentric cam 21 via the gear 24 and shaft 28.

The operation of this embodiment with the above configuration will be explained. First, during normal printing, in response to the operator's operation on the keyboard operation section 1, the control section 2 issues a printing command to the print head section 4, for example, and prints. - Printing is controlled by issuing a space movement command for the print head to the space movement drive unit 5 and a command for up and down movement of the print head to the print head up/down movement drive unit 6.

When replacing the ribbon, the operator selects ribbon replacement control in the control section 2 by operating a specific key on the keyboard operation section 1, and the control section 2 first drives the space motor 13 to move the carriage 11 in the direction of arrow A or arrow B. The carriage 1 is located in a position where the ribbon can be easily replaced, that is, the carriage 1 on which the print head 8 and ribbon cassette 9 are mounted.
1 stops at a position that coincides with the position of the ribbon exchange side door 14 provided on a part of the device 2 body.

Next, the control unit 2 drives the amplifier down motor 27,
Power is transmitted to the shaft 28 by the gear 24 and the belt 25, and the shaft 28 rotates the eccentric cam 21 to a position where its peak touches the head-up lever 19.

As a result, the head up lever 19 moves in the up direction about the fulcrum 20 and pulls the print head 8 up to reach the top up position 22, that is, the ribbon 1
0 and move to the retracted position.

As a result of the above, the ribbon cassette 9 on the carriage 11 is in a state where it can be freely attached to and removed from the ribbon exchange side door 14.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained in detail above, according to the present invention, the positions of the carriage and the print head can be changed with the ribbon by using the up-down motor and space motor that are currently used as a printing mechanism in the control unit that conventionally controls printing. Since the ribbon exchange control for moving the ribbon to the desired state is selectively performed, the ribbon can be exchanged without adding a new structural mechanism and without manually pulling the ribbon around.

This has the effect of making it possible to realize an inexpensive printer with excellent ribbon exchange operability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main parts of the printer in the same embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the main parts of the printer in the same embodiment. 2... Control section 3... Printing mechanism section 4... Print head section 5... Print head space operation second shift section 6.
...Print head up/down operation 1 drive section 7...Print head up/down position detector 8...Print head 9...Ribbon cassette 11...Carriage 14
...Ribbon exchange side door patent applicant Takashi Kanakura, patent attorney representing Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Block diagram of the two embodiments 1 Figure <::koB Plan view of the main parts of the embodiment Main points of the embodiment Part side view woman 3 l

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A ribbon cassette containing an ink ribbon and the like is mounted on a carriage together with the print head, and a motor that operates the movement of the print head toward and away from the print medium; and a motor that operates the horizontal movement of the carriage. , a printer having a control unit that controls the drive of each motor, wherein the control unit drives the motor to move the carriage to a predetermined position and separates the print head from the print medium according to an operator's operation. A printer characterized by performing ribbon exchange control for retracting the ribbon to a certain position.