WO1998049011A1

WO1998049011A1 - Carriage for printers

Info

Publication number: WO1998049011A1
Application number: PCT/JP1998/001854
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazumi Hasegawa
Original assignee: Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 1997-04-25
Filing date: 1998-04-22
Publication date: 1998-11-05

Abstract

On the left side edge of a printing head mounting face (21) of a carriage (19) is provided an FCP supporting section (22) for supporting from underneath a flexible connecting means (FCP) which extends from the printing head on the printing head mounting face and increasing the turning radius, while on the right side edge of the printing head mounting face is provided an engaging section (30) having an engaging hole (31) for receiving a pin for driving the carriage.

Description

Harm

Printer carriage

Technical field

The present invention relates to a carriage of a printer that is driven to reciprocate by engaging a carriage drive pin fixed to a drive belt.

Background technique W

In the printer, the print head is mounted on the carriage and reciprocates with respect to the platen. The carriage is reciprocated by engaging a carriage drive pin attached to the drive belt with a part of the carriage and rotating the drive belt. . The print element of the print head mounted on the carriage is driven by a print element drive signal sent from the control circuit unit fixed to the base frame of the printer. Is done.

In order to send a print element drive signal from the control circuit unit to the print head, a flexible connection means such as FPC (flexible ■ printed ■ circuit) is usually used. Hereinafter, the FPC for transmitting the printing element drive signal will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 5 shows the carriage 105 and the print head 106 mounted on the carriage 105 reciprocating in the horizontal direction with respect to the base frame 101 of the printer. This is a schematic representation of the behavior. The carriage 105 and the print head 106 move in a plane parallel to the plane of the base frame 101. While keeping the distance between the bottom surface of the carrier 105 and the surface of the base frame 101 at a constant value (S1), the leftmost position shown by the solid line in FIG. Reciprocates between the positions.

A control circuit unit 111 is fixed to the right side of the base frame 101. The control circuit unit 111 and the print head 106 are electrically connected via the FPC 110. That is, the print element drive signal from the control circuit unit 111 is transmitted to the print head 106 via the FPC 110.

The FPC 110, one end of which is connected to the print head 106 mounted on the carriage 105, moves to the left in a direction parallel to the plane of the base frame 101, i.e., the control Extends away from circuit unit 1 1 1. The FPC 110 extending left from the print head 106 turns around and turns around a radius R 1, and then to the right, that is, toward the control circuit unit 111. Continue on base frame 1 1 toward. The other end is connected to the control circuit unit 111.

The radius R 1 at which the FPC 110 bends depends on the height S 1 of the carriage 105 from the base frame 101 surface. That is, R 1 = S 1Z 2. Therefore, if the facing distance between the carriage 105 and the base frame 101 is reduced by reducing the thickness of the printer (that is, by reducing the value of S 1), FPC 1 1 0 bending half The diameter R 1 also becomes smaller. When the carriage 105 moves back and forth in this state, the FPC 110 applies a large load to the travel of the carriage 105. Further, by reducing the bending radius R1 of the FPC 110, disconnection is likely to occur.

As described above, the connection structure of FPC 110 as shown in FIG. 5 prevents the thickness of the printer from being reduced.

In addition, in order to reciprocate the carriage, conventionally, a carriage drive pin attached to the drive belt is provided with a pin engagement portion provided at the center of the carriage. This is done by engaging the drive belt from below and rotating the drive belt.

When the pin engaging portion is formed at the center of the carriage, the position of the center of gravity of the carriage and the position of the carriage driving pin engaged with the pin engaging portion substantially match. Therefore, when the carriage is driven in a straight line via the carriage drive pin, a large force to rotate the carriage and the print head around the center of gravity does not work, so the shuttle The runout of the carriage and print head during movement can be reduced.

However, the print head mounted on the carriage is located above the carriage drive pin. That is, the axis of the carriage drive pin, which extends perpendicular to the plane of the base frame of the printer, extends upward and passes through a part of the print head mounted on the carriage. Therefore, the print head mounted on the carriage must pass over the upper end of the carriage drive pin. It cannot be lowered further (in a direction closer to the base frame) to reduce the overall thickness of the printer.

Disclosure of the invention

An object of the present invention is to provide a carriage that can reduce the thickness of the entire printer.

In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the carriage of the printer according to the present invention includes a print head mounting surface for mounting the print head, and one side edge of the print head mounting surface. In addition, the upper surface includes an FPC support portion higher than the print head mounting surface 21. By supporting the flexible connection means extending from the print head on the print head mounting surface from below with the FPC support portion 22c, a part of the flexible connection means is supported. However, the posture is such that it is separated from the surface including the print head mounting surface as it goes away from the print head.

Another aspect of the carriage of the printer according to the present invention is a print head mounting surface for mounting the print head, and a carrier formed on one side of the print head mounting surface. And an engaging portion having an engaging hole for receiving a pin for driving the fox.

Brief explanation of drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a printer equipped with a carriage according to the present invention, showing the printer with the top cover and ink ribbon cassette removed from the printer. It is.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining a carriage driving mechanism for reciprocating the carriage used in the printer of FIG.

Figure 3 shows an example of the carriage used in the printer of Figure 1 and a flexible connection to send print element drive signals to the printhead mounted on the carriage. It is the schematic for demonstrating the radius of a means (FPC).

Fig. 4 shows another example of the carriage shown in Fig. 3 and the deflection of the flexible connection means (FPC) for sending the print element drive signal to the print head mounted on the carriage. It is a partial schematic diagram for explaining about.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the bending of a flexible connection means (FPC) for sending a printing element drive signal to a printing head mounted on a conventional type carriage.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The outline of a printer having a carriage according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

Fig. 1 is a view of the inside of the printer viewed obliquely from above with the top cover, ink ribbon force set, and other upper members removed.

The main body frame 2 includes a base frame 11 forming a bottom surface, and a left side frame 9 and a right side frame 10 projecting upward from right and left ends of the base frame 11 respectively. A drive motor M 1 is fixed to the front center of the base frame 11. The motor shaft 12 of the drive motor M1 extends rightward toward the right side frame 10, and a worm 13 is formed at the end thereof. A gear train 14 is provided on the right side of the base frame 11. The plurality of gears (the first gear 47, the second gear 34, the third gear 43, and the fourth gear 45) constituting the gear train 14 are arranged in substantially one row from the front to the rear. By the rotation of the worm 13, the rotation is sequentially transmitted from the front to the rear gear.

A first carriage shaft 15 is provided between the left side frame 9 and the right side frame 10 above the center of the base frame 11 slightly to the rear. A second carriage shaft 16 is provided between the left side frame 9 and the right side frame 10 above the center of the base frame 11 slightly forward. The first and second carriage axes 15 and 16 are parallel to each other, and are also parallel to the surface of the base frame 11.

Further, a platen plate 7 is installed between the left side frame 9 and the right side frame 10 behind the first carriage shaft 15. The surface of the platen plate 7 is substantially perpendicular to the surface of the base frame 11. The platen portion 17 on the platen plate 7 extends in parallel with the first carriage axis 15.

A tubular shaft fitting portion 27 is provided at the rear portion of the carriage 19, and the first carriage shaft 15 penetrates the shaft fitting portion 27. Meanwhile, from the front wall of carriage 19, The second shaft support pieces 29a and 29b protrude at a certain interval on the left and right. These first and second shaft support pieces 29 a and 29 b are placed on the second carriage shaft 16. Thus, the carriage 19 is supported by the two parallel first carriage axes 15 and the second carriage axis 16 and Reciprocates in the axial direction. The movement of the carriage 19 is controlled by a carriage drive mechanism 20 mounted on the base frame 11. The carriage drive mechanism 20 will be described later.

The carriage 19 has a print head 18 mounted thereon. The print head 18 mounted on the carriage 19 has its head 18 a facing the platen 17. The printing section 6 is composed of the printing head 18, the carriage 19 and the platen section 17.

One end of the FPC 81 is connected to the print head 18 mounted on the carriage 19. The other end of the FPC 81 is a fixed control circuit unit on the base frame 11

(Not shown). Therefore, the print element of the print head 18 is driven by the print element drive signal output from the control circuit unit.

Next, a carriage and a carriage drive mechanism for reciprocating the carriage will be described with reference to FIG.

The upper surface of the center of the main body of the carriage 19 is a print head mounting surface 21. The left and right walls 22a and 22b respectively extend from the left and right edges of the print head mounting surface 21. It protrudes obliquely upward so that the distance between each other increases as the distance increases. The left side wall 22 a and the right side wall 22 b are formed integrally with the print head mounting surface 21. Further, a print head mounting portion 23 is provided upright from the rear edge of the print head mounting surface 21 in a direction perpendicular to the print head mounting surface 21.

A window 24 is cut out at the center of the print head mounting portion 23. The window 24 opens above the print head mounting portion 23. Fitting grooves 25 are formed in the print head mounting portion 23 at portions corresponding to the left and right edges of the cutout window. The right and left fitting grooves 25 extend in a direction perpendicular to the print head mounting surface 21 and face the same.

The head 18a (FIG. 1) of the print head 18 can be fitted into the fitting groove 25 from above. When the print head 18 is fitted into the fitting groove 25, the head portion 18 a projects rearward from the window 24 and faces the platen portion 17. In this state, the head 18 a is rotated by turning the latch lever 26, which is rotatably mounted to the rear of the print head mounting portion 23, counterclockwise to fall down. Locked by locking lever 26.

The above-described tubular shaft fitting portion 27 provided on the lower rear portion of the carriage 19 is formed integrally with the carriage 19. Also, from the front wall 28 of the carriage 19, in addition to the first and second shaft support pieces 29a and 29b described above, a central portion lower than the formation position is formed. From the third shaft support piece 2 9 c is protruding. The third shaft support piece 29c is located below the second carriage shaft 16, and its upper surface is in contact with the second carriage shaft 16. Therefore, when the carriage 19 is driven to reciprocate, the first, second and third shaft support pieces 29a, 29b and 29c are also connected to the second carriage. Slide on the second carriage shaft 16 while sandwiching it vertically.

The right side of the carriage 19, that is, the right side wall 2 2b projecting obliquely upward from the right edge of the print head mounting surface 21 is located on the right side of the pin engagement hole 3. 1 constitutes the engaging portion 30 in which the formed portion is formed. When the carriage drive pin 39 is received in the engagement hole 31, the pin drive hole 39 formed in the engagement portion 30 is moved in the longitudinal direction. It has a long hole so that it can be moved a certain distance.

The carriage drive pin 39 engaged with the pin engagement hole 31 of the carriage 19 is an endless loop wound between the carriage drive pulley 35 and the passive pulley 37. Carriage driving belt 38 is fixed at one location. The carriage driving pulley 35 rotates integrally with the second gear 34 constituting the gear train 14.

When the motor M 1 is driven, the rotation of the motor rotating shaft 12 rotates the first gear 47 constituting the gear train 14 via the worm 13 and the worm wheel 46. The rotation of the first gear 47 is controlled by the second gear 34 and the carriage drive integrated therewith. The moving pulley 35 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. This rotation of the carriage drive pulley 35 rotates the carriage drive belt 38 in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

When the carriage drive pin 39 attached to the carriage drive belt 38 makes a half turn around the carriage drive pulley 35, the carriage 19 becomes the base frame 1. 1 is in the rightmost position above. At that time, carriage 19 is closest to right side frame 10. In addition, the carriage drive pin 39 moves from the front to the rear in the long engagement hole 31.

On the other hand, when the carriage drive pin 39 makes a half turn around the rotation of the passive pulley 37, the carriage 19 comes to the leftmost position on the base frame 11. At that time, Carriage 19 is closest to Left Side Frame 9. Further, the carriage drive pin 39 moves from the rear to the front in the elongated hole 31.

As described above, the engagement hole 31 for receiving the carriage drive pin 39 is not located below the print head mounting surface 21 of the carriage 19, but on the right side of the print head mounting surface 21. The print head mounted on the carriage is lowered further down (in a direction closer to the base frame) because it is formed in the engagement portion 30, so that the overall thickness of the printer is reduced. Carriage drive pins do not prevent it from becoming thinner.

In addition, a tubular member provided at the rear of the carriage 19 The length and mounting position of the shaft fitting portion 27 to the carriage 19 are determined so that the right end of the shaft fitting portion 27 almost reaches the rear of the engagement hole 31. Therefore, when the carriage 19 is driven by engaging the carriage drive pin 39 with the engagement portion 30 on the right side (not below) the print head mounting surface 21. Ridge 19 can be prevented from swinging. That is, the rotational moment generated around the center of gravity of the carriage 19 is received by the tubular shaft fitting portion 27.

As mentioned above, the left side wall 22a and the right side wall 22b project obliquely upward from the left and right edges of the print head mounting surface 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the print head mounting surface 21 is formed from the front end to the center. From there, to the rear end, a semi-cylindrical FPC supporting portion 22c is formed instead of the left side wall 22a. The FPC supporting portion 22c is formed integrally with the printing head mounting surface 21 and the left side wall 22a.

Next, the FPC support portion 22c will be described with reference to FIGS.

The FPC 81 connected at one end to the print head 18 mounted on the carriage 19 extends leftward therefrom, that is, in a direction away from the control circuit unit 80. However, a semi-cylindrical FPC support 2 2c is located immediately to the left of the print head mounting surface 21 and its upper surface is higher than the position of the print head mounting surface 21. The FPC 81 near the print head 18 has the lower surface of the FPC support 2 2 c, and as shown in FIG. 3, the inclined posture gradually increases as the distance from the print head 18 increases. Thus, the FPC 81 extending out of the print head 18 and inclined to the left extends around half a turn with a radius R 2, and then turns to the right, that is, the control circuit unit. Proceed on base frame 1 1 to g 80. The other end is connected to the control circuit unit 80.

The radius R 2 when the FPC 81 turns about half a turn is the FPC 81 coming out of the print head 18 without the FPC support 22 c (as in FIG. 5). This value is larger than the radius when bending after extending in a posture parallel to the surface of 1. That is, R 2> S 2Z 2. Here, S 2 is the distance between the bottom surface of the carriage 19 and the surface of the base frame 11.

Therefore, the carriage 19 and the base frame are provided within a range that does not increase the running resistance applied to the carriage 19 when the FPC 110 rotates and does not cause a risk of disconnection. Since the facing distance from the system 11 can be considerably reduced (that is, the value of S2 can be reduced), the thickness of the printer can be reduced.

The FPC bearing portion 22c described above is a semi-cylindrical structure integrally formed with the print head mounting surface 21 to the left of the print head mounting surface 21. As shown in FIG. 4, it may be formed of an elastic member such as a panel panel. FPC bearings 2 2 d made of elastic material The FPC support is fixed to the left edge of the card mounting surface 21 and has a free end and a semi-cylindrical upwardly curved FPC support. The support of the FPC 110 by the FPC support 22d and the support of the FPC 110 by the FPC support 22c have almost the same effect. However, since the FPC support 2 2 d in Fig. 4 is made of a cantilevered elastic member, it can be prevented from applying a large stress to the FPC 110 by bending in accordance with the load of the FPC 110. To prevent disconnection.

Claims

Scope of request The print head mounting surface for mounting the print head, and the upper surface formed on one side edge of the print head mounting surface is higher than the print head mounting surface. And a flexible connection means extending from the print head on the print head mounting surface by supporting the flexible connection means from below with the FPC support part. The printer carriage has a portion of the printer that is positioned so that it moves away from the printhead and away from the surface containing the printhead mounting surface. The printer carriage according to claim 1, wherein the FPC bearing is substantially semi-cylindrical. 2. The printer carriage according to claim 1, wherein the FPC support is formed integrally with the print head mounting surface. On one side edge of the print head mounting surface, the FPC support part is formed on one part, and on the other part, a side wall is formed to support one side of the mounted print head. Have been. 4. The carriage of the printer according to claim 2 or 3. The FPC support section has a base end fixed to one side edge of the print head mounting surface, and a front end formed from a resilient member having a free end and an upwardly curved semi-cylindrical FPC support. The carriage of the printer according to claim 1, comprising: One side edge of the print head mounting surface on which the FPC support section is formed is the left or right side edge of the print head mounting surface that is farthest from the control circuit unit provided on the base frame of the printer. The radial connection means, one end of which is connected to the print head, extends once in a direction away from the control circuit unit and then rotates about halfway along the way. 2. The carriage of claim 1, wherein said carriage further changes direction and extends over the base frame to the control circuit unit. Of the left and right side edges of the print head mounting surface, the side edge on which the FPC support portion is not formed has an engagement hole for receiving a pin for driving a carriage. 7. The carriage of the printer according to claim 6, wherein the printer is connected. A side wall is formed between the side edge of the print head mounting surface and the engaging portion for supporting one side of the print head mounted on the print head mounting surface. The carriage of the printer according to item 7. An engagement section having a print head mounting surface for mounting the print head and an engagement hole formed on one side of the print head mounting surface for receiving a pin for driving a carriage. And the printer's carriage. 0. Side walls for supporting the left and right sides of the print head installed on the print head mounting surface are formed on the left and right side edges of the print head mounting surface. 10. The printer carriage according to claim 9, wherein the carriage is formed on one side of a print head mounting surface with a gap therebetween.

10. The printer carriage according to claim 10, wherein the left and right side edges are integrally formed with a print head mounting surface.

2. The printer carriage according to claim 10, wherein said left and right side edges and said engaging portion are formed integrally with a print head mounting surface.

3. At the rear part of the print head mounting surface, a tubular shaft fitting part that allows the carriage shaft to pass inside, so that one end of the fitting part comes to the rear of the engaging hole of the above-mentioned engaging part. 13. The printer carriage according to claim 12, wherein said carriage receives a rotational moment about the center of gravity of said carriage.

4. The printer carriage according to claim 13, wherein the tubular shaft fitting portion is formed integrally with a print head mounting surface.