JPS6244468A - Carriage apparatus of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the generation of erroneous printing, by providing a switch operated by operation such that a case holding member revolves to a usual set position from a detaching position along with a wheel case and starting the homing operation of a printing wheel by the operation of the switch. CONSTITUTION:In order to mount a printing wheel 9, a wheel case 8 is inserted in a case holder 3b and a holding member 3 is revolved to a normal set position. Subsequently, an open cover 15 is closed and a cover opening switch is operated by this closing operation to rotationally drive the printing wheel 9, and the sensor 16 supported by the front bracket 2b fixed to a carriage frame 2 detects the mark M provided to the printing wheel 9 through the window hole 8a of a wheel case 8. Accordingly, the printing wheel 19 is stopped by the generated signal and located in such a state that a predetermined type occupies the home position opposed to a hammer. This operation is homing one and, if printing is performed after this operation, no erroneous printing is generated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention includes a carriage frame that moves parallel to a platen, and a case holding member that removably holds a wheel case housing a print wheel. The present invention relates to a carriage device for a printer, which is movable together with a carriage frame in parallel to a platen, and is rotatably supported between a normal cellar 1 position and a mounting/detaching position for mounting/detaching a wheel case.

Printers equipped with the above-mentioned type of carriage device are well known, and the print wheel can be easily attached and detached in this type of printer.

That is, when removing the printing wheel, the case holding member may be rotated from the setting position to the attachment/detachment position, and the printing wheel and the wheel case may be pulled out from the case holding member. Conversely, when installing the print wheel, the wheel case containing the print wheel is inserted into the case holding member, and the holding member is again rotated to the set position where printing is possible.

After installing the print wheel as described above.

The printing operation starts, but at that time the print wheel.

Correct printing cannot be performed unless the initial position is set to a predetermined correct position. For this reason, it is necessary to perform a homing operation after mounting the print wheel and before starting a printing operation. This homing is accomplished by rotating the print wheel so that a predetermined type is brought to a predetermined home position. In this case, conventionally, a cover open switch is actuated by closing the open cover of the printer, thereby performing the rehoming operation. This is based on the premise that the open cover is normally opened and closed when the print wheel is attached or detached, and therefore the open cover is always closed after the print wheel is attached, and the cover open switch is activated by closing the cover. When activated, the homing operation is performed. However, it is possible to attach and detach the print wheel through an opening formed in the cover, for example, without necessarily opening and closing the open cover. Therefore, if the wheel case containing the print wheel is taken out with the open cover closed and the wheel case is reattached with the open cover closed, the homing operation will not be performed because the cover open switch will not be opened or closed. Therefore, if the removed print wheel is rotated by the operator for some reason and then reinstalled, the printing operation will begin while the wheel occupies a rotational position that is deviated from the specified position, which may result in incorrect printing. This may lead to The same thing applies when a different wheel other than the removed print wheel is installed.

The present invention has been made based on the above recognition, and its object is to provide a carriage device for a printer that can always perform homing operation even when the print wheel is attached or detached without opening or closing the open cover. The goal is to provide the following.

1 spoon The present invention is characterized in that a switch is provided that is operated by force so that the case holding member rotates together with the wheel case from the attachment/detachment position to the normal setting position, and the homing operation of the print wheel is started by actuation of the switch. We propose a carriage device that does this.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 4 show an example of a printer having a carriage device 1 according to the present invention. The carriage device 1 has a carriage frame 2 and a case holding member 3, and a cylindrical base portion 3a of the holding member 3 is slidably supported by a guide rod 5 extending parallel to the platen 4. In addition, the lower part 2a of the carriage frame 2 at the front (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) is placed on the base 3a, and the roller 6 provided at the rear (also on the left side) is connected to a guide rail 7 parallel to the platen 4. It is placed on the top and can be transferred freely. The case holding member 3 has a case boulder 3b.

A wheel case 8 is detachably held in this holder 3b. The wheel case 8 is formed, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, and a print wheel 9 is accommodated therein.

The case holding member 3 can rotate around the guide rod 5 between the set position shown in FIG. 1 and the attachment/detachment position shown in FIG. occupies, at that time pudding 1 - wheel 9
A central gear portion of the carriage frame 2 is connected to an output shaft of a selection motor (not shown) supported by the carriage frame 2 .

During the printing operation, the print wheel 9 is rotationally driven by the operation of the selection motor based on the printing signal. As a result, the type 10 corresponding to the print signal is brought to a position facing the platen 4, and the type 10 is impacted by, for example, a hammer (not shown) supported by the case holding member, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Printing is performed on a paper 13 wound on a platen 4 via an ink ribbon 12 pulled out from a ribbon cartridge 11 (not shown) (see FIG. 4). Every time one character is printed, the carriage device 1, that is, its frame 2 and case holding member 3 move integrally in parallel with the platen 4 to perform the next printing operation.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, printer components such as the carriage device 1 are housed in a casing body 14, the upper part of which is opened and closed by an open cover 15 that can be opened and closed.

When replacing the print wheel or performing maintenance and inspection of the wheel, 1. Normally, open the open cover 15 as shown in Figure 4, stop the printer operation, and open the case holding member 3 as shown in Figure 1. The print wheel 9 is separated from the platen 4 by rotating from the set position to the attachment/detachment position shown in FIG.

At this time, the connection between the wheel 9 and the selection motor is released, and if the wheel case 8 is lifted upward as shown by arrow A, the print wheel 9 can be pulled out from the case holder 3b. To reinstall the print wheel, place the wheel case 8 into the case holder 3b.
Insert the holding member 3 into the normal setting position (Fig. 1).
All you have to do is rotate it. Next, the open cover 15 is closed, but at this time, the closing operation of the cover 15 activates a cover open switch (not shown), thereby rotating the print wheel 9 and supporting it on the front bracket 2b fixed to the carriage frame 2. The sensor 16 detects the mark M (Fig. 5) made of aluminum foil, for example, provided on the print wheel 9 through the window hole 8a of the wheel case 8, and the print wheel 9 is stopped by the signal generated thereby. The wheel 9 is then positioned in a predetermined correct initial position, ie with the predetermined type occupying the home position opposite the hammer. This is a homing operation, and if printing is performed after this operation, erroneous printing will not occur.

The configuration itself described above is the same as the conventional one. In this case, as explained above, in the conventional device.

Print 1 - Based on the forebank in which attachment and detachment of the wheel is always performed by opening and closing the open cover, the print wheel is configured to actuate the cover open switch by closing the open cover to perform homing operation of the print wheel. However, even if the open cover 15 is closed,
It is possible to attach and detach the wheel case 8 with the ribbon cartridge 11 attached through an opening formed in the cover 1.5, for example, an opening 15a through which printing paper passes as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the wheel case 8 is taken out with the cover 15 closed and the wheel case 8 is reinstalled, the homing operation is not performed in the conventional installation, and there is a possibility that erroneous printing may occur.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks, in the configuration according to the present invention, a switch 17 made of, for example, a microswitch is supported on the front bracket 2b of the carriage frame 2 via a support plate 2C, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. There is. This switch 17 is turned off when the case holding member 3 is in the attachment/detachment position shown in FIG. 2, but is pushed by the wheel case 8 when the holding member 3 is brought to the set position shown in FIG. and operates in the on state.

Further, this switch 17 is electrically connected in series with the wheel sensor 16, and when the switch 17 is in an off state, the wheel sensor 16 is kept in an inactive state. The action of this switch 17 is as follows.

With the open cover 15 closed, the operation of the printer is stopped, the case holding member 3 is rotated to the attachment/detachment position shown in FIG. 2, and the wheel case 8 is pulled out from the opening 15a.
When the wheel case 8 is again inserted into the case holder 3b of the case holding member 3 through the opening 15a and the holding member 3 is returned to the set position shown in FIG. 1, the switch 17 is pushed by the wheel case 8 and turned on. do. As a result, the resensor 16 is activated, and the print wheel 9 is rotated to perform the homing operation described above, and the print wheel 9 is rotated and positioned at a predetermined initial position. Opening 15a with cover 15 closed in this way.
Even if the wheel case 8 is attached through the wheel, the predetermined homing operation is always performed, and the wheel position shift and therefore erroneous printing will not occur as in the conventional case.

The sensor that performs the homing operation when the open cover is closed and the sensor that performs the homing operation when the switch 17 is activated may be separate sensors, but the configuration can be simplified by sharing the sensor as in the example shown in the figure. It's advantageous.

In the latter case, it is advantageous to connect the open cover switch and switch 17 in series so that the homing operation occurs when both switches are turned on. If you do this, you can open the open cover 15, take out the wheel case, and re-open the case 8.
When installing the case 8, the case 8 is inserted into the case holding member 3, the member 3 is rotated to the set position, and the print wheel is rotated and the homing operation is performed only after the open cover 15 is closed. Operator safety can be ensured in the same manner as before. Furthermore, even if the wheel case 8 is attached with the open cover 15 closed, the case holding member 3 must be returned to the cellar 1- position and the switch 1
7, the open cover switch is in the on state, so the homing operation can be performed without any problem.

In the illustrated example, a microswitch is used as the switch 17, but it goes without saying that other types of switches, such as photosensors, may also be used. Further, instead of operating the switch 17 by the suppressing action of the wheel case 8, the switch 17 may be operated by the suppressing action of the case holding member 3. However, if the switch 17 is activated by the case holding member 3 as in the latter case, the switch 17 will be activated even when the case holding member 3 is rotated to the set position in the absence of the case 8, resulting in meaningless homing. In this sense, it can be said that it is advantageous to adopt the former method.

According to the present invention, even when the print wheel is attached or detached without opening or closing the open cover, the homing operation can be executed, thereby preventing the occurrence of printing errors.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view of the case holding member together with the wheel case, with some elements omitted, and Fig. 2 shows the case holding member together with the wheel case. A screen view similar to Fig. 1 showing the state in which it has been rotated to the attaching and unloading positions, Fig. 3 is an external perspective view of the printer, and Fig. 4 is an O 3 case holding member 4... platen 8... Wheel case 9...Print wheel 1
7...Switch Fig. 1 Fig. 5 Parrot Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A carriage frame that moves parallel to the platen;
It has a case holding member that removably holds a wheel case housing a print wheel, and the case holding member is movable together with the carriage frame in parallel to the platen, and also allows the wheel case to be attached and removed from the normal setting position. In a printer carriage device supported rotatably between an attaching and detaching position, a switch is provided which is activated by the movement of a case holding member rotating together with a wheel case from an attaching and detaching position to a normal set position, and the switch The carriage device is characterized in that the homing operation of the print wheel is started by the operation of the carriage device.