JPS6235866A - Pringer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printer which can be made compact through a reduction in the machine height and is free from interference with a ribbon, by providing both housings with respective bearing parts so that one of the housing can be turned relative to the other and both of the housing can be turned with an axis of a platen as a center. CONSTITUTION:With a rear housing 12 bent downward relative to a front housing 10, the ribbon 22 is guided by a ribbon guide 52, and is located between the platen 20 and a type wheel 34, resulting in a condition where printing can be performed. Next, a printing paper 18 is inserted from the paper guide 64 side, and a paper-feeding key on a keyboard 16 is operated, whereby the platen 20 is rotated by a paper-feeding motor, the paper 18 is guided by a paper pan 67 and a paper meter 44, and is fed between the platen 20 and the ribbon 22, thereby completing preparation for printing.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a printing device such as a typewriter.

In particular, the present invention relates to a printing device in which a housing is divided into two parts and these housings are rotatably attached.

[Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Printing devices such as typewriters are required to be able to directly view printed characters immediately after key-in. A type wheel having a configuration in which a plurality of type characters are arranged around a flat outer periphery is also considered to have this function.

For example, as shown in a partial cross-sectional view of a conventional printing device in FIG.
2 had to be mounted at an angle nearly perpendicular to the bottom surface of the housing 74. For this reason, the mechanical height of the printing device must be higher than the diameter of the type wheel 72, and as a result, the height of the printing device increases, making it inconvenient to store and carry. The problem was that the weight of the machine increased.

As a solution to this problem, it has been considered to tilt the type 76 side of the type wheel 72 toward the bottom of the housing 74', as shown in FIG. 7, thereby lowering the height of the machine. Utsukai No. 60-8072)
However, in this case, the printed characters would be hidden behind the type wheel 72 or the peg (not shown), making it impossible to see them directly. In this configuration, printing can be confirmed by rotating the platen 78 to temporarily shift the printed character position t, and then returning it to the original position when printing the next time, or by checking the printed characters using an LCD, etc. One possible method is to do so. but,
The former method causes a time lag, which slows down the typing speed and may cause the printing position to shift for each character.The latter method has the drawbacks of increased costs and the inability to see the printed characters directly.

Furthermore, in the printing SL5!1, the keys are generally arranged at higher positions from the front side to the back side in order to make the keys easier to see and easier for the typist to operate the keys. For this reason, the height of the rear side of the housing had to be made relatively high. Therefore, from this point of view as well, the housing becomes taller, making it impossible to achieve compactness, and moreover, it is not possible to overcome the disadvantages that the weight increases accordingly.

In order to overcome these drawbacks, the applicant has divided the housing of the printing device into two housings: a front housing with a keyboard and a rear housing with a printing element and its drive means. , a printing device was provided in which one housing was rotatably attached to the other housing. With this configuration, the printing element can be placed in a position where the printed characters can be seen directly when in use, and the printing element can be positioned horizontally when not in use.
It has become possible to have both the ability to see printed characters directly and the advantage of being able to reduce the height of the machine.

However, when the housing is divided into two parts and these housings are rotatably mounted in this way, the rotation center axis and other components of the housings are required, and the housing is divided into two parts. This may lead to an increase in costs.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and includes a printing device in which a housing is divided into two parts and one housing is rotatably attached to the other housing. The center axis of rotation is also used as the rotation axis of the platen, and it has the ability to see printed characters directly, has the advantage of being more compact by lowering the height of the machine, and supports the rotation of the housing. Printing that eliminates interference with the ribbon, requiring no additional space or parts! The purpose is to provide A-placement.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a housing of a printing device including a first housing provided with a keyboard, a printing element and a drive means for the printing element. Consisting of two housings: a second housing, each housing has a bearing, one housing is rotatable relative to the other housing, and both housings are rotatable about the axis of the platen. It is something that can be freely done.

[Function] With the above configuration, the rotation of the first housing and the second housing is made on the platen axis, so no new space is required for the center of rotation, and the housings can be rotated against each other. It is economical and requires almost no new parts to operate.

Furthermore, since the ribbon and printing element are positioned facing the platen axis during printing, by setting the center of rotation on the platen axis, interference with the ribbon by the printing element etc. can be eliminated during rotation. .

[First example] Next, the present invention will be explained based on the drawings.

1 and 2 are longitudinal sectional views of an embodiment of the printing device according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows the flat state when not in use.
FIG. 2 shows the folded state during use. Also,
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of FIG. 2. The housing of the printing device is composed of two bodies: a shell-shaped front housing 10 and a box-shaped rear housing 12. A keyboard 16 having a plurality of keys 14 such as character keys and symbol keys is attached to the front of the upper surface of the front housing 10.

Further, inside the front housing IO, there is a cylindrical platen 20 that guides the printing paper 18, and a ribbon cassette 24 that houses a ribbon 22 that faces the platen 20.
A ribbon drive device 26 for winding the ribbon 22 is provided. This ribbon cassette 24 and ribbon drive device 2
6 is held by a ribbon carriage 28, which is moved along two guide shafts 30, 30, which are suspended parallel to the platen 20 between the sides of the front housing 10, using known transport means (Fig. (not shown).

On the other hand, inside the rear housing 12, a type wheel 34 having type letters 32 at the tips of a plurality of radially arranged spokes is provided substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the rear housing 12, and the type wheels 34 are provided with type letters 32 at the tips of a plurality of radially arranged spokes. It faces the platen 20. Further, a character selection motor 36 is provided on the platen 20 side of the type wheel 34 via an intermediate gear 38 for selectively moving the type 32 to a printing position in accordance with the operation of the keys 14 of the keyboard 16. Further, a printing hammer 40 is provided so as to face the platen 20 via the selected type 32 of the type wheel 34. The printing hammer 40 is driven by a hammer driving device (not shown) comprising a solenoid or the like. This hammer driving device operates in response to the operation of the key 14, and swings the printing hammer 40 in the printing direction.

The type wheel 341, character selection motor 36 and print hammer 40 are mounted on a bed carriage 42. Further, a paper meter 44 for guiding the printing paper 18 and a ribbon guide 46 for guiding and supporting the ribbon 22 of the ribbon cassette 24 are integrally attached to the helad carriage 42.

The sonopaper meter 44 is always formed in an arc shape along the outer periphery of the platen 20. The head carriage 42 includes a guide shaft 48 and a guide plate 50, which are horizontally suspended between the side surfaces of the rear housing 12 in parallel with the platen 20.
, by means of known transport means 1, such as a stepper motor and a belt (not shown).

Further, both guide shafts 30.48 are installed parallel to each other, and both carriages 28.42 guided by the respective guide shafts 30.48 are rotated and moved by the same distance in the same direction by the transport means. It is set as follows. That is, the ribbon cassette 24 and the type wheel 34 are set to always move in the same positional relationship during printing (see FIG. 2).

The front housing IO and the rear housing 12 are rotatably mounted around the position of the platen shaft 52 of the platen 20, with their housing-shaped open surfaces facing each other. Here, FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment near the rotation support portion.

A front bracket 54 is fixed to the front housing 10, and a boss portion 56 is formed at the tip of the front bracket 54. A bearing 58 is provided between this boss portion 56 and the platen shaft 52 of the platen 20, and the bearing 58
The front housing lO is rotatable with respect to the platen shaft 52 via the platen shaft 52. That is, the platen 20 casts a shadow on the front housing lO! It is designed to be able to perform its functions without being affected.

On the other hand, a rear bladder 2 is fixed to the rear housing 12, and the tip of its rear platen 60 is fitted to the outer periphery of the boss portion 56 via a bearing 62. Through this bearing 62, the rear housing 12
It is said to be rotatable with respect to O.

Although the rear platen 60 is attached to the outer periphery of the boss portion 56 of the front bracket 54, the rear bracket 60 may be attached directly to the platen shaft 52 via a bearing.

Since the center of rotation of the front housing IO and the rear housing 12 is the platen shaft 52, the ribbon 22 in the front housing IO and the paper meter 44 and ribbon guide 46 in the rear housing 12 rotate around the platen shaft 52. The ribbon 22 is moved relative to the center, and is set so that the ribbon 22 is positioned δ between the paper meter 44 and the ribbon guide 46 when in use.

The end position of one side of the rotation of the front housing lO and the rear housing 12 is such that their upper and lower surfaces are on the same plane (Fig. 1), and the end position of the rotation of the other side is such that their upper and lower surfaces are on the same plane. The range of rotation of these housings, which are bent into a dogleg shape with their lower surfaces close to each other (Figures 2 and 3), is from the horizontal position in Figure 1 to the position where the rear housing 12 is moved from the keyboard. 16 and rotates in the opposite direction to the state shown in FIG. These rotational stops are.

The front housing 10 and the rear housing 12 are brought into contact with each other at appropriate locations.

When not in use, the type wheel 34 and print hammer 40 mounted within the rear housing 12 are at a distance δ from the ribbon cassette 24 mounted within the front housing. When in use, the type wheel 34 and the print hammer 40 rotate about the platen shaft 52 of the platen 20 while maintaining the same positional relationship, so that the selected type 32 of the type wheel 34 and the print hammer 40 are aligned with the ribbon cassette. It is set so as to face the platen 20 via the 24 ribbons 22.

A paper guide 64 for guiding and supporting the printing paper 18 is rotatably attached to the upper surface of the rear housing 12 near the bending position. When not in use, the paper guide 64 covers the upper side of the bend between the front housing 10 and the rear housing 12 to protect the type wheel 34, ribbon cassette 24, platen 20, etc. from adhesion of dust and the like.

Further, a shutter 66 that slides along the bottom surface of the front housing 10 is attached. A compression spring 67 is provided between the shutter 66 and the inside of the bottom surface of the front housing 10, and the shutter 66 is always urged toward the rear housing 12 by the compression spring 67.

This shutter 66 is attached to the rear housing 12 when not in use.
It contacts the open end of the housing and covers the lower side of the bending position between the front housing 10 and the rear housing 12. When the housings are folded from the unused state to the used state, the shutter 66 is pushed and slid against the compression spring 66 toward the front end of the front housing 10 on the bottom surface of the rear housing 12. Even in this bent state, the shutter 6
5 covers the lower side of the bending position between the front housing 10 and the rear housing 12.

Next, a printing operation in the printing apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

First, when the rear housing 12 is bent downward with respect to the front housing IO, the ribbon 22 is guided by the ribbon guide 52 and positioned between the platen 20 and the type wheel 34, as shown in FIG. 0 to be ready for printing
Next, when the printing paper 18 is inserted from the paper guide 64 side and the paper feed key (not shown) on the keyboard 16 is operated, the platen 20 is rotated by the paper feeding motor (not shown), and the printing paper 18 is bread 67
The paper is then guided by a paper meter 44 and sent between the platen 20 and the ribbon 22. Print preparation is now complete.

When a key 14 such as a character key is pressed, the input signal corresponding to that key is transmitted to a control means such as a central processing unit (CPU).
(not shown), the character selection motor 36 is rotated by a signal from the control means, rotates the type wheel 34 via the intermediate gear 38, and moves the type 32 corresponding to the key 14 to the printing position. At the same time, the hammer drive is activated to move the print hammer 40 toward the platen 20 and strike the rear surface of the selected type character 3°2. Then, the struck type 32 comes into contact with the printing paper 18 on the platen 20 via the ribbon 22, and printing is performed. This completes the printing operation for one character.

When the primary key 14 is pressed, the ribbon carriage 28 and the ribbon carriage 42 are moved laterally by the transport means, and the same printing operation as described above is performed.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 5, the rear housing 12 may be rotated from the horizontal state shown in FIG. 1 to the same side as the keyboard 16 around the platen shaft 52. That is, in use, The lower surface of the rear housing 12 is in a floating state. Thus, in the configuration in which the rear housing 12 is floated during use, the type wheel 34 housed within the rear housing 12 is located above the platen 20. Ink is applied to the type characters 32 of the type wheel 34 from an ink roller 68. Also, the front housing l
A telescopic member 6 is provided at the lower opening of O and the rear housing 12.
9 is attached, and its telescopic member 69 covers the lower opening between both housings.

In addition, in the above embodiments, the types of printing include:
Although an ink ribbon type is shown, a thermal type can also be applied.

Further, in the above embodiment, a type wheel was used as the printing element, but it goes without saying that a type belt (chain-type type) used in a line printer or the like may also be used.

Although not described in detail, it goes without saying that the present invention can be practiced with various modifications based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

[Effect of the invention] In the present invention configured as described above.

The front housing, which includes the keyboard, and the rear housing, which includes the printing element and its drive device, are designed to rotate around the axis of the platen, so that the printing device can be used as a rotational support axis for both housings. The original platen shaft of the platen can be used as is. Therefore, compared to the case where the rotational center axes of both housings are provided other than the platen axis, the number of parts is reduced and it is very economical.

Furthermore, if the platen shaft is not used, a separate space is required to provide a horizontally transverse shaft, but since the present invention uses the existing platen shaft, no new space is required. , it is possible to achieve compactness.

The ribbon in the front housing is placed opposite the platen, and the type wheel, paper meter, and ribbon guide in the rear housing rotate along the outer circumference of the platen, so the central axis of rotation of both housings is aligned with the platen. By setting it on the axis, the positional relationship of the paper meter and ribbon guide with respect to the ribbon is stabilized, and interference with the ribbon during one rotation can be eliminated.

Furthermore, by dividing the housing into two parts and attaching the housings to each other so as to be rotatable.

It has the ability to see the printed characters directly, and also has the advantage of being compact and light in weight due to the low height of the housing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are longitudinal cross-sectional views of an embodiment of the printing device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the state when not in use, and FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the state when in use. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing an embodiment near the rotation support portion of two housings, and FIG. 5 is another embodiment of the printing device according to the present invention. FIGS. 6 and 7 are partial sectional views showing a conventional printing device. 10... Front housing, 12... Rear housing, 14... Key, 16... Keyboard, 20...
・Platen, 34...Type wheel, 36...
...Selection motor, 52...Platen axis,
58...Bearing, 62...Bearing. Patent applicant Brother Industries, Ltd., 4-Agent
Patent attorney Keiichi Yashima. ′,,y,,− Foil 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim] A printing device comprising a first housing provided with a keyboard having a plurality of keys, and a second housing provided with a printing element and a driving means for driving the printing element, comprising: A printing device characterized in that one housing and the second housing are each provided with a bearing portion, and both housings are attached so as to be rotatable relative to each other on the axis of a platen.