JPS637967A - Serial printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an ink ribbon shift mechanism selective and to reduce the wt. of a carriage, by mounting the ink ribbon shift mechanism apart from the carriage. CONSTITUTION:At first, when a motor 4 rotates, a cam shaft 23 rotates through a worm gear 5 and a gear 26 and the cam 25-1, 2 fixed to said cam shaft 23 also rotates. When the long diameter part of the cam 25-1, 2 comes to the position contacting with a shift plate 27 at a certain angle of rotation, the shift plate 27 is pushed down in the direction shown by an arrow (b) to slide. When the rectangular part of the cam 25-1, 2 comes to the position contacting with the shift plate 27 at a certain angle of rotation, the shift plate 27 is pushed up in the direction shown by an arrow (d) by a coil spring 29 to slide. By changing the slide quantity of the shift plate 27 by controlling the angle of rotation of the cam 25-1, 2, the shifting of a ribbon cassette 3-1 is performed and the relative positional relation of an ink ribbon 8 with respect to a printing head 7 can be controlled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a serial printer, and particularly to an improvement in a structure equipped with an ink ribbon shift mechanism.

(Prior art) In recent years, serial printers have been increasingly equipped with an ink ribbon shift mechanism, and by shifting the ribbon cassette up and down, the ink ribbon and print head can be moved. The relative positional relationship of can be changed.

Therefore, if the ink ribbon is a single color ink ribbon,
The entire width of the ink ribbon can be effectively protected and the life of the ink ribbon can be extended.

Also, if the ink ribbon is a color ink ribbon,
You can select the color to print.

Conventionally, the ink ribbon shift mechanism installed in this type of serial printer has a ribbon cassette 3 fixed to a ribbon holder 2, as shown in FIG. 6 or 8, for example.
3. This ribbon holder 2 is attached to the carriage 1 so as to be rotatable about a point A. Although FIG. 7 is a view viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIG. 6, it also corresponds to a view viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. 8.

In the configuration of the conventional ink ribbon shift mechanism shown in FIG. is rotated.

This causes the ribbon holder 2 in contact with the cam 12 to
The ribbon cassette 3 is rotated up and down using the point as a fulcrum, and the ribbon cassette 3 is shifted.

Then, the ink ribbon 8 is moved against the print head tip 7-2.
The relative positional relationship changes, and printing is performed by the printing pad 7-1.

In the configuration of another conventional ink ribbon shift mechanism shown in FIG. 8, the rotation of the ribbon shift motor 4 is transmitted to the gear 17 through the gear 9 and the idle gear 10 on the motor shaft. This gear 11 is part of the gear centered at point A that is integrally attached to the ribbon holder 2, so
As this gear 11 rotates, the ribbon holder 2 is also rotated in the vertical direction, and the ribbon cassette 3 is shifted.

Then, also in this case, the relative positional relationship of the ink ribbon 8 with respect to the print head tip 7-2 changes, and the print head 7-2 changes.
-1 prints.

In this way, in any of the conventional structures, since the ribbon shift mechanism that includes the motor 4 is attached to the carriage 1, this ribbon shift mechanism must be attached to the carriage 1 in advance.

Therefore, it has been difficult to make the ribbon shift mechanism optional, and it has been difficult to reduce the burden on the carriage.

(rEi Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, conventionally, the ribbon shift mechanism is provided on the carriage, so it is difficult to make the ribbon shift mechanism optional. Therefore, it has not been possible to obtain versatility, for example, by attaching a ribbon shift mechanism to an existing monochrome printer that has been used up until now and converting it into a color printer.

In addition, there was a limit to reducing the weight of the carriage, so it was not possible to replace the motor for moving the carriage with an inexpensive one with low torque. There were some problems, such as the fact that it could not be improved further.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to make the ink ribbon shift mechanism optional and to reduce the size of the carriage by installing the ink ribbon shift mechanism separately from the carriage.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the serial printer of the present invention is provided on a carriage in a detachable manner, and is adapted to change in vertical movement ♀ received at one end. A shift arm that responsively moves the ribbon cassette engaged with the other end in the vertical direction, and a shift plate that is arranged separately from the carriage and that is engaged with one end of the shift arm, and a shift arm that moves the ribbon cassette that is engaged with the other end of the shift arm in the vertical direction The present invention is characterized by comprising a ribbon shift mechanism including a swinging mechanism that provides movement. .

(Function) In order to configure the carriage and the ribbon shift mechanism to be arranged separately, the carriage is provided with a mechanism that is removably attached to the carriage and that responds to a change in the vertical movement m received at one end and contacts the other end. A shift arm is provided to vertically swing the ribbon cassette in contact with the ribbon cassette.

The ribbon shift mechanism is provided with a shift plate that is engaged with one end of the shift arm and a swinging structure that causes the shift plate to move up and down.

With such a configuration of the carriage and the ribbon shift rsa, even if the two are separated, it is possible to exhibit the functionality of a serial printer, while making it possible to make the ribbon shift mechanism optional.

Moreover, since the ribbon shift mechanism is not provided on the carriage, the weight of the carriage can be reduced.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

1 to 3 are configuration explanatory diagrams of a serial printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a top view showing the main parts of the serial printer, and FIG. 2 is a diagram similar to that of FIG. 3A and 3B, which are cross-sectional views taken along the line B-B, are diagrams showing the operation mode of the main parts of this serial printer. In addition, the first
In FIGS. 6 to 3, parts that are the same as or equivalent to the conventional horizontal structure shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the figure, 7 is a print head for printing on paper (not shown), 13-1. and 13-2 are side frames of the printer, 14-1. and 14-2 are side frames 13-1.
1-1 is a carriage that reciprocates while being guided by the rails 14-1 and 13-2, and this carriage 1-1 is a ribbon cassette that stores the ink ribbon 8. Bearing part 1 for supporting 3-1
-2, and the shaft portions 3-2 on both sides of the ribbon cassette 3-1.
is rotatably supported.

15-1 is a shift arm, which is rotatably attached to the center of the carriage 3-1 with the 0 point as a fulcrum;
-2 is in contact with the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 3-1, and the other end 15-3 is attached with a roller 16. 17 is fixed to the carriage 1-1 with a leaf spring, and the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 3-1 is pushed up in the direction of arrow (A) by the spring force, and the print head 7 side of the ribbon cassette 3-1 is at point A. A force in the direction of arrow (b) is always acting on the shift arm 15-1 as a fulcrum, and the shift arm 15-1 is in contact with one end 15-2 of the shift arm 15-1.

Reference numeral 18 refers to the entire ribbon shift Akebonobashi section (hereinafter simply referred to as shift mechanism), and this shift mechanism 18 is connected to the side frames 13-1. By moving the set lever 20, the fixing claw part 21 opens and closes with the point D as a fulcrum, and is attached to the stand 19 provided on the stand 13-2.

Normally, the fixing claw 21 is kept closed by 22 return springs and fixed to one stud. 23 is a camshaft, and shift mechanism 1
8 side frame 24-7.2. 25-1 and 25-2 are cams, and 26 is a gear, which are fixed to the camshaft 23. 27 is a side frame 24-1. and 24-2, and is in contact with the roller 16 of the shift arm 15-1, and is installed on the shaft 28 via a coil spring 29 so as to be slidable in the direction of the arrow (C). It is always in contact with the cam 25-1.2, and the position of the shift plate 27 is set by this cam 25-1.2.

When the carriage 1-1 moves back and forth for printing, the roller 16 moves together with the carriage 1-1 while rotating along the shift plate 27 whose position is set by the cam 15-1.2. 4 are also set and retained.

4 is a motor, and 5 is a worm gear attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 4, which meshes with the gear 26, and the rotation of the motor 4 is transmitted to the rotation of the camshaft 23.

FIG. 4 shows a case where a conventional fixed ribbon cassette 30 is used instead of the ribbon cassette 3-1 described in the library. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a carriage In addition to the bearing part 1-2, the ribbon cassette 30 has claws 1-3 on the left and right sides for holding the ribbon cassette 30, and the ribbon cassette 30 also has protrusions 30-1 and supports on the left and right sides. There is a plate 30-2, and when the ribbon cassette 30 is attached to the carriage 3-1, the left and right claws 1-3 are attached to the protrusion 30-.
1, the support plate 30-2 contacts the left and right side walls 1-4 of the carriage 1-1, and the ribbon cassette 30 is supported and fixed.

Next, the operation of each embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 3(A) and 3(B).

First, when the motor 4 rotates, the worm gear 5 and the gear 26
, the camshaft 23 rotates, and the cam 25-1.2 fixedly attached to this camshaft also rotates.

As shown in FIG. 3(A), at a certain rotation angle, the cam 25-
1. When the long diameter part of 2 comes into contact with the shift plate 27,
The shift plate 27 is pushed down and slid in the direction of arrow (d). Therefore, the row 516 in contact with the shift plate 27
Shift arm 15-1 is also pushed down in the same direction.
rotates in the direction of the arrow (E) with the 0 point as the fulcrum, and one end 15-2 of the shift arm 15-1 is attached to the ribbon cassette 3-1.
The ribbon cassette 3-1 is shifted by pushing up the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 3-1 and rotating the ribbon cassette 3-1 in the direction of the arrow (towards) using point A as a fulcrum.

Next, as shown in Figure 3 (B), at a certain rotation angle, the cam 2
When the rectangular part of 5-1.2 comes into contact with the shift plate 27, the shift plate 27 moves in the direction of the arrow (G) and the coil spring 2
It is pushed up and slid by the two. In other words, since the shift plate 27 slides in the direction away from the roller 16, there is no stopper factor for the rotation of the shift arm 15-1 in the direction of the arrow (G). The ribbon cassette 3-1 on which the rotational force in the direction b) is acting is the shift arm 15-
One end 15-2 of 1 is pushed down and rotated in the direction of arrow (b).

As described above, by controlling the rotation angle of the cam 25-1.2 and changing the sliding amount of the shift plate 27, the ribbon cassette 3-1 is shifted, and the ink ribbon 8 is moved relative to the print head 7. It becomes possible to control the positional relationship between objects.

Above, we have described the case where the ribbon shift mechanism 18 is installed and the ribbon cassette 3-1 that is shifted by the ribbon shift mechanism 18 is used. However, when using the conventional fixed ribbon cassette 3o, 2- As shown in FIG. 5, regardless of the presence or absence of the ribbon shift mechanism 18, the protrusion 30-1 of the ribbon cassette 30 is hooked onto the claws 1-3 provided on the left and right sides of the carriage 1-1, and the carriage 1
By supporting the support plate 30-2 of the ribbon cassette 30 with the left and right side walls 1-4 of -1, the ribbon cassette 30 can be mounted and used.

Therefore, if the ribbon shift mechanism 18 is strong, the conventional ribbon cassette 30 can be used, and the ribbon cullet is compatible.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, even if the carriage and the ribbon shift mechanism are arranged separately, they are organically connected and operated by the shift arm. , it can function as a serial printer, and the ribbon shift mechanism can be made into an object.

Furthermore, since a separate ribbon shift mechanism is not provided on the carriage, it is possible to easily convert the carriage to pumice.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing the main parts of a serial printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of A, FIG. and FIG. 5 are explanatory diagrams of the configuration of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are explanatory diagrams of the configuration of a conventional serial printer. 1-1... Carriage 3-1... Ribbon cassette 15-1... Shift arm 18... Ribbon shift mechanism Fig. 2 (A) (B) Fig. a Fig. 4 Fig. 6

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A carriage that is movable along a rail arranged parallel to the printing surface, and a ribbon cassette that is mounted on the carriage and that can swing vertically around a bearing provided on the carriage. a shift arm that is detachably provided on the carriage and swings the ribbon cassette that is in contact with the other end in the vertical direction in response to a change in the amount of vertical movement received at one end; , comprising a ribbon shift mechanism that is arranged separately from the carriage and includes a shift plate that is engaged with one end of the shift arm, and a swing mechanism that causes the shift plate to move up and down. serial printer. (2) The serial printer according to claim 1, wherein the shift arm is provided with a roller portion at one end that is engaged with the shift arm. (3) The serial printer according to claim 1, wherein the ribbon shift mechanism is configured such that the shift plate slides along a shaft by rotation of a cam.