US3859915A

US3859915A - Ink roll cartridge

Info

Publication number: US3859915A
Application number: US368995A
Authority: US
Inventors: Alexander Hunter
Original assignee: Decision Data Computer Corp
Current assignee: IIS Inc
Priority date: 1971-07-06
Filing date: 1973-06-11
Publication date: 1975-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1992-01-14

Abstract

A cartridge for an ink roll is disclosed comprising a pair of cylindrical casing or shell elements each of which has a cylindrical side wall and end walls. The ink roll is encased within the two cylindrical elements which are nested together and mounted for limited relative rotation with respect to one another. Each cylindrical element has an opening in the side wall. The openings are out of registry with one another thereby sealing the cartridge and preventing contact with the ink roll when the cylindrical elements are in a first position. Upon relative rotation of the elements to a second position the openings are in registry so that a portion of the ink roll is exposed for contact by a printing member. A releasable fitting, for example of the bayonet type is provided on the end wall of one of the casing elements. Upon rotation of the other casing element to lock the bayonet fitting the two casing elements are caused to rotate relative to one another to expose the ink roll. Relative rotation of the casing elements in the opposite direction effects release of the bayonet fitting and movement of the casing elements to close the cartirdge. Also disclosed are mounting means for moving the cartridge toward and away from the printing members.

Description

United States Patent [191 Hunter [451 Jan. 14, 1975 [73] Assignee: Decision Data Computer Corporation, Horsham, Pa.

221 Filed: June 11, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 368,995

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 159,811, July 6, 1971, Pat. No.

[52] US. Cl. 101/103, 101/352 [51] Int. Cl B411 31/30, B41j 27/20 [58] Field of Search 101/328-331, 101/36, 37, 206, 350, 348-352, 103

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 448,219 3/1891 Foley 101/330 1,689,177 10/1928 Storck 101/351 1,901,284 3/1933 Carlson... 101/348 1,922,533 8/1933 Elli0tt.... 101/352 2,166,271 7/1939 Storck..., 101/351 2,312,053 2/1943 Robbins et al. 101/350 2,539,383 1/1951 Davidson 101/352 2,691,936 10/1954 Farkas et a1. 101/35 2,868,122 1/1959 Faeber 101/348 3,286,622 11/1966 Mestre 101/352 3,433,155 3/1969 Norton 101/349 Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey Assistant ExaminerWilliam Pieprz Attorney, Agent, or FirmSynnestvedt & Lechner [57] ABSTRACT A cartridge for an ink roll is disclosed comprising a pair of cylindrical casing or shell elements each of which has a cylindrical side wall and end walls. The ink roll is encased within the two cylindrical elements which are nested together and mounted for limited relative rotation with respect to one another. Each cylindrical element has an opening in the side wall. The openings are out of registry with one another thereby sealing the cartridge and preventing contact with the ink roll when the cylindrical elements are in a first position. Upon relative rotation of the elements to a second position the openings are in registry so that a portion of the ink roll is exposed for contact by a printing member. A releasable fitting, for example of the bayonet type is provided on the end wall of one of the casing elements. Upon rotation of the other casing element to lock the bayonet fitting the two casing elements are caused to rotate relative to one another to expose the ink roll. Relative rotation of the casing elements in the opposite direction effects release of the bayonet fitting and movement of the casing elements to close the cartirdge. Also disclosed are mounting means for moving the cartridge toward and away from the printing members.

5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures INK ROLL CARTRIDGE This is a division of application Ser. No. 159, 811, filed July 6, 1971 and now US. Pat. No. 3,785,288.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to printing devices and more particularly to a cartridge for an ink dispensing roll which is adapted for applying ink to type-carrying printing elements used for example in high speed printers and the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventional ink rolls of the kind used for ink printing cylinders or elements of data processing printers or the like are practically impossible to install without physical contant with the ink roll itself with the result that the person doing the job ends up with ink-stained fingers. This is irritating to the worker, and often results in messy work product, stained clothing or the like due to contact with the ink roll or ink-stained fingers.

Although cartridges for typewriter ribbons, for example of the kind shown in US. Pat. No. 2,986,260, have been provided to make it possible for the typist to easily mount the typewriter ribbon on a typewritter without touching the ribbon, to the best of my knowledge, a suitable cartridge has not been devised for printer ink rolls. This despite the fact that the porous ink rolls store a large quantity of ink and are far more likely to cause a mess when the ink roll is being replaced.

With the foregoing in view, an important object of this invention is the provision of a cartridge structure for ink rolls used for inking the type characters on a printing member.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an ink roll cartridge promoting cleanliness and permitting changing of ink rolls when the supply of ink in the roll in use is exhausted.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a cartridge comprising a pal] of movable casing elements which are adapted to be moved relatively to one another to a position in which the ink roll is exposed when the cartridge is fastened in place in the printer and to a position in which the ink roll is covered as the cartridge is removed from the printer.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of novel mounting means for mounting a disposable ink cartridge on a printer.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.

In summary, the above and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a structure which comprises a pair of relatively rotatable interfitting casing elements each of which has an opening in its side wall and within which an ink roll is rotatably mounted. The casing elements are adapted to be relatively moved from a first position in which the openings in the side wall are out of registry thereby covering the entire ink roll. to a second position in which the openings are in registry thereby exposing the surface of the ink roll so that it can be pressed into contact with a type carrying printing element.

Preferably the cartridge is mounted on a support member which is pivotally movable toward and away from the printing element. Releasable locking means are provided for the cartridge which require relative movement of the cartridge elements to the position in which the openings are in registry in order to effect locking of the cartridge on its mount. Movement of the cartridge to release it from the support member involves moving the openings out of registry so that the ink roll is covered.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, partly in section, taken as indicated by the line 11 of FIG. 3 with the ink roll cartridge in the position in which the ink roll is exposed and in contact with a print head;

FIG. 2 is a plan view similar to FIG. 1 with the cartridge pivoted away from the print head and the casing parts in the position in which the ink roll is covered but with the parts of the bayonet coupling not yet interconnected.

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view with the ink roll cartridge shown in section as taken on the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross section taken as indicated by the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a detail elevational view of the elements in position in which the ink roll is exposed;

FIG. 6 is a detail elevational view of the cartridge in the position in which the ink roll is covered;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of various parts of the apparatus;

FIG. 8 is a detail plan view of the pivotal cartridge support element;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the block on which the cartridge support is pivotally mounted, and

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of the stop member which limits the pivotal movement of the parts.

Attention is first directed to FIG. 1 through 6 which illustrate various aspects of a cartridge incorporating the principles of the present invention. As is best shown in these figures, the cartridge comprises a pair of easing or

shell elements

20 and 21. As shown in the drawings these shell elements are typically of cylindrical shape, each element being provided with a cylindrical side wall and end walls. Casing element 21 is slightly smaller in diameter than the casing element 20 so that it fits within that element with sufficient clearance so that the elements are readily rotatable with respect to one another. Each of the

elements

20 and 21 has an opening or window identified by the

numbers

20a and 21a re spectively located in its side wall. An ink roll 22 described more fully hereinafter is housed within the cartridge comprising the

casing elements

20 and 21.

Means are provided, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 for limiting the amount of relative rotation of the two casing elements. In the illustrative embodiment, this' means simply comprises a pair of slots 23 located oppositely one another in the sidewall of the casing element 20 and pins 24 which 20a in the slots. For convenience in manufacture, the Pins 24 may be molded integrally in the casing element 21. the slots thus define the limits of rotation of the two casing elements. In the position of the parts shown in FIG. 6, the pin 24 shown in full lines is at the left hand end of its slot 23 and

openings

20a and 21a are out of registry. In the position shown in FIG. 5, the pin 24 shown in full lines is at the right hand end of its slot 23 and the openings 201and 21 are in registry.

Preferably, the slots 23 are inclined slightly so that when the casing elements are rotated to the position in which the openings are in registry, element 20 is raised slightly relatively to element 21. As can be seen in the try so that the ink roll is exposed, the boss moves upward sufficiently to permit rotational movement of the ink roll. 7

Preferably the ends of slots 23 are provided with

small notches

26 and 27, the notch 26 extending downwardly from the slot and notch 27 extending upwardly therefrom. As can be seen in FIGS. and 6 the notches hold the parts against inadvertent rotational movement when the pin rests in one or the other of them. In order to move the housing parts from the position of FIG. 6 from the position to FIG. 5 the parts must be compressed slightly to move pins 24 out of the notches they are resting in. To return the housing parts to the position where the openings are out of registry, housing elements is lifted slightly and then rotated.

As can be understood upon reference to FIGS. 1 through 3, the cartridge is adapted to cooperate with a printing head or cylinder 28. The head 28 is typically comprised of a plurality-of type carrying printing elements 29. Elements 29 are located on a shaft 30 which is journaledon a support 31 bolted to a base 32.'A pulley 33 is secured to the shaft and rotates the printing elements by virture of a belt drive. A portion of the belt is shown at 34in FIG. 1 through 3. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the above printing mechanism is of conventional design, this portion of the mechanism being described by way of background for illustrative purposes only.

The supporting apparatus for the ink cartridge will next be described. The cartridge is mounted on a cartridge support member 35 best shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 7 and 8. Cartridge support member 35 is provided with an axial bore 36 (FIG. 4). A shaft 37 is journaled for rotation within the bore by means of bearings 38. A spacer39 is mounted on the shaft between the bearings 38, the spacer being held in place by a retainer ring 40 which fits within a groove in the bore 36. A pair of machine screws 41 are threadedly secured to the support member 35 on either side of the lower bearing 38. Washers 42 beneath the heads of the machine screws 41 overlap the bearing thereby locking it in place.

A fitting 44 on which the ink roll is mounted is secured to the upper end of shaft 37. Fitting 44 is slotted as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 7 so as to be separated into four yieldable pieces 44a. The ends of pieces 44a flare outwardly and then are cut away. A seat 44b on which the ink roll rests when it is properly positioned on fitting 44 is located beneath the yieldable pieces 44a. 44a.

As seen in FIG. 3, the cartridge element 21 is provided with a shaft receiving opening surrounded by a neck or sleeve 45. In FIG. 3, the ink roll cartridge is shown mountedon the fitting 44 with the ink roll hub resting on seat 44b and the flared portion 44a extending beyond the hub so the ink roll is held in place.

. Sleeve 45 carries a releasable coupling element locking the cartridge on the cartridge support. As perhaps best shown in FIGS. 3 and 7 a bayonet type coupling is provided including slot 46 which extends vertically and then horizontally as the parts are oriented in the drawings. A pin 47 which fits within the slot extends radially from the cartridge support. Immediately beneath the pin 47 is mounted a spring washer 48.

In order to secure the cartridge on the cartridge support member 35, the cartridge is pressed downwardly with the parts positioned so that the pin is aligned with the vertical part of slot 46. The cartridge is moved downwardly until the pin reaches the end of the vertical .portion of the slot and the cartridge is then rotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 by turning the casing element 20. This moves the pin into the horizontal portion of the slot and at the same time moves casing element 20 relative to element 21 thereby exposing the ink roll. In the preferred embodiment when the cartridge is in position so that the pin is able to enter the horizontal portion of the slot 46, spring washer 48 presses upwardly on the sleeve 45 thereby holding the pin in a notch at the end of the horizontal portion of the slot thereby locking the parts in place. When the parts of the bayonet fitting are coupled in the manner just described, the pins 24 in casing elements 21 rest in the notches 27 in slots 23 so that the casing parts are also locked in position.

According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cartridge support member 35 is pivotally mounted so that it can move the ink roll toward and away from the type carrying printing elements 29. To that end the support member 35 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 50 (see especially FIG. 7) which is secured to a pivot block 51. Block 51 is also provided with a boss 52 and a threaded bore 53 extending upwardly centrally of the boss. A retaining ring or washer 54 holds the cartridge support member on shaft 50. A bolt 55 which fits through a hole in base 32 secures the pivot block in place.

Preferably, means are provided for limiting movement of the cartridgesupport member between a position in which it is yieldably held against the printing head and a position in which it is away from the printing head, the latter position being termed the loading position. For this purpose, a stop member 56 shown in detail in FIG. 10 is mounted on the boss 52 for limited movement with respect to the pivot block 51.

Stop member.56 is provided with a pair of

upright arms

57 and 58. Arm 57 carries a set screws 57a which bears against the block 51 when the parts are in the printing position as shown in FIG. 1. Arm 58 fits within a slot 59 in the cartridge support member 35 as can be best seen perhaps in FIG. 2. A spring 60 is mounted within a transversely extending bore 61 located in member 35 as shown in broken lines in FIG. 2. The end of the spring bears against the arm 58 and functions to yieldingly urge the cartridge support member in the clockwise direction relatively to the stop member as the parts are viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Detent means serves to hold the cartridge support member and the stop member 35a the loading position and also in the position in which the ink roll is firmly held against the printing cylinder. Preferably, the detent means comprises a spring loaded ball which is mounted in the pivot block 51 and is shown in broken lines at 62 in FIG. 3. Detent ball 62 is adapted to fit in one of a plurality of detent holes 63 located in the upper surface of the stop member 56. When the cartridge is moved to the loading position, the cartridge support member and the stop member are rotated in the counterclockwise direction relatively to the pivot block 51 and when the detent ball 62 drops into a detent hole 63 parts are yieldably held in that position. Pressure to move the support member 35 in the clockwise direction is transmitted to the stop member 56 because the arm 35a bears directly against the arm .58. Relative rotation of the stop member thus takes place until the detent pin 62 slips into the next detent hole 63. The set screw 57a limits the movement of the stop member relatively to the pivot block 51. By adjusting the set screw, the stop member is freed to move a further amount in the clockwise direction so that the detent ball can move into the next detent hole 63, thereby more firmly pressing the print roller against the printing elements of the printing head if that is desired.

Print roll 22 is typically an ink filled porous member, a suitable roll for the purpose being available from S. C. Johnson & Sons Company and sold under the trademark PORLON. Other rolls made, for example, of porous nylon, polyvinylchloride and the like may also be employed.

When it becomes necessary to replace a cartridge, the ink roll is pivoted away from the position in which it is in contact with the print head by swinging the cartridge in the counterclockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 1 to that shown in FIG, 2. Detent ball 62 locks it in this position when it drops into the appropriate detent hole in stop member 56. The cartridge element 20 is now rotated in the counterclockwise direction relative to the element 21 and this motion covers the spent ink roll and simultaneously moves the pin of the bayonet coupling out of the horizontal portion of the slot. The cartridge can now be simply pulled off the support and discarded.

A new cartridge is installed with the parts shown in FIG. 2 by pressing the new cartridge down onto the upstanding portion of shaft 37 with the pin 47 in registry with vertical portion of slot 46. The entire cartridge is rotated by rotating cartridge element 20 in the clockwise direction. This motion locks the cartridge on the support member and moves the

openings

20a and 21a into registry so that the ink roll is exposed for contact with the printing head. Pivotal movement of the cartridge support member about the shaft 50 by pressing on the cartridge, moves the ink roll into contact with the printing head.

It can be seen from the foregoing that a simple, clean and efficient handling of ink rolls for printing elements is provided for by the use of my invention. Physical contact with the ink roll is eliminated as is the mess caused by handling the ink rolls. Further, an ink roll is not likely to be left exposed on a desk or machine top where it can stain equipment or papers because the removal of the cartridge from the printer requires that the operator close the cartridge.

I claim:

1. Printing apparatus for use with a rotary print head, comprising, an ink roll cartridge including a pair of casing elements, an ink roll inside the casing elements, means mounting said casing elements for rotational movement with respect to one another between a position in which the roll is encased by said casing element and a position in which it is exposed for contact with such print head, a pivotal mounting member supporting said ink roll cartridge, securement means carried by said cartridge and said pivotal mounting member and cooperable to secure said ink roll cartridge upon said pivotal mounting member, and stop means movable with said pivotal mounting member for limiting the movement of said member between a cartridge-loading position and a position in which the roll is disposed for contact with such a print head, and means for interconnecting said casing elements and said securement means such that force exerted in a direction to engage said securement means effects such movement of said casing elements as to expose said ink roll, and force exerted in a direction to disengage said securement means effects such movement of said casing elements as to encase said ink roll.

2. Printing apparatus for use with a wheel-like rotary print head, and including, a pair of interfitting elements defining a cartridge housing an ink roll, one of said elements having a mounting hub and said pair of elements being rotatable with respect to one another between a position in which the roll is encased and a position in which it is exposed for contact with such a print head, and means mounting said cartridge for movements between a first, cartridge-loading, position in which said roll is spaced from such print head, and a second, printing, position in which said roll is positioned for contact with such print head, said last means comprising: a support member having detent means thereon; means mounting said support member for swinging movements between said first and second positions; and a shaft journalled in said support member and having a free end portion extending through said hub, within said cartridge, into releasable engagement with said ink roll, and mounting the latter for rotation within the cartridge, said hub and the detent means of said support member being configured for engagement, by relative rotation in one direction, to hold said cartridge upon said support member and to cause such relative rotation between said elements as to expose said ink roll, relative rotation between said hub and the detent means of said support member, in the opposite direction, serving to cause such relative rotation between said elements as to encase said ink roll, and to disengage said hub from said detent means to accommodate removal of said cartridge from said support member.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, and further characterized in that said engagable hub and detent means comprise a bayonet and slot connection.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, and further including stop means carried by said support member and by said support member mounting means, and so cooperable as resiliently to hold said support member in either said first or said second position.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, and further including means reacting between said support member and said support member mounting means and effective, when said support member occupies said second position, to urge said member in a direction such that said roll is urged toward such print headv UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE or coene crrom PATENT NO. 3,859 ,915

DATED I January 14, 1975 lN\/ ENTOR(S) Alexander Hunter It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the abstract, Line 22,

"cartirdge" should be -cartridge--.

Column 1, Line 39 "pall" should be pair.

Column 2, Line 54 "20a" should be ride-.

Column 2, Line 57 "the" should be -The-.

Column 2, Line 63 "201" should be 20a.

Column 3, Line 20 elements" should be -element.

Column 3, Line 55 delete "44a", second occurrence.

Column 4, Line ,56

"35a" should be in.

Signed and Sealed this A ttest:

RUTH C. MASON Arresting Officer C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner 0f Parents and Trademurkx

Claims

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2, and further including means reacting between said support member and said support member mounting means and effective, when said support member occupies said second position, to urge said member in a direction such that said roll is urged toward such print head.