JPH06316141A - Printing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance the degree of freedom at the time when an apparatus is loaded with a printing mechanism by arranging a print head and a ribbon cartridge so as to set the relative position of them to an arbitrary angle. CONSTITUTION:A printing mechanism is constituted of a strip like ribbon 1 impregnated with ink, a ribbon cartridge 3 receiving the ribbon 1 and always sending the ribbon 1 into a print head 2, the print head 2 acting on the ribbon 1 to print paper 4, rollers 5, 6 arranged before and behind the print head 2 with respect to the running direction of the ribbon 1 and fixed so as to come into contact with the ribbon 1 at a proper angle and making the ribbon 1 easy to twist and a platen 7. When the relative position of the ribbon cartridge 3 and the print head 2 is set to an arbitrary angle, the ribbon 1 straightly issued from the ribbon cartridge 3 is twisted between the roller 5 and the print head 2 and sent to the print head 2 in such a state that the original angle is held. Next, the ribbon 1 is again twisted between the print head 2 and the roller 6 and passes the roller 6 to straightly return to the ribbon cartridge 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing mechanism, and more particularly, to a method of arranging a print head and a ribbon cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this main printing mechanism has been used for printing on paper sheets.

FIG. 2 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) showing an example of a conventional printing mechanism.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B, the ribbon 11
Is a strip-shaped material impregnated with ink for printing. The print head 12 acts on the ribbon 11 and the paper sheets 14
Print on. The ribbon cartridge 13 accommodates the ribbon 11 and constantly keeps the ribbon 11 soaked with ink in the head 1.
Send to 2.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in the conventional printing mechanism, the relative positions of the head 12, the ribbon 11 and the ribbon cartridge 13 are arranged on the same plane.

[0006]

As described above, in the conventional printing mechanism, since the relative position of the print head and the ribbon cartridge is limited to the same plane, when the printing mechanism is mounted in the apparatus. 2 has a low degree of freedom, and for example, when the conventional printing mechanism shown in FIG. 2 is installed, the external shape of the apparatus is larger than the original external shape of the apparatus as shown in FIG. In some cases, it cannot be stored at a desired position in the device.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional circumstances, and therefore an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art and to make the relative position of the print head and the ribbon cartridge of the printing mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel printing mechanism that can be freely set and can improve the degree of freedom when the printing mechanism is mounted on the apparatus.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the printing mechanism according to the present invention performs printing by forming guides or ribbon twisting means for easily twisting the printing ribbon. By arranging the relative position of the head and the ribbon cartridge at an arbitrary angle, the degree of freedom when mounting the printing mechanism in the apparatus is increased.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view, (b) is a plan view, and (c) is a side view.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a), 1 (b) and 1 (c), one embodiment of the present invention is a strip-shaped ribbon 1 impregnated with ink for printing, and the ribbon 1 is housed and impregnated with ink. The ribbon cartridge 3 that constantly feeds the ribbon to the print head 2, and the ribbon 1 and the print head 2 and the platen 7 by the sheet conveying means (not shown) that acts on the ribbon 1.
A print head 2 for printing on a paper sheet 4 conveyed in a predetermined gap composed of and a print head 2 arranged before and after the print head 2 with respect to the traveling direction of the ribbon 1 so as to come into contact with the ribbon 1 at an appropriate angle. It is composed of a ribbon twisting means 5 and a ribbon twisting means 6 that are fixed and facilitate the twisting of the ribbon 1, and a platen 7.

In the present embodiment, as the ribbon twisting means 5 and 6, rollers rotatably supported by a casing (not shown) of the printing mechanism are used.

For example, when the relative positions of the ribbon cartridge 3 and the print head 2 are arranged at an arbitrary angle, the ribbon 1 straightly ejected from the ribbon cartridge 3 is moved by the ribbon twisting means 5 by the ribbon twisting means 5 and the print head 2. And is sent to the print head 2 while maintaining the original printable angle. Next, the ribbon 1 is twisted again between the print head 2 and the ribbon twisting means 6 by the ribbon twisting means 6, and after passing through the roller 6, returns straight to the ribbon cartridge 3.

In the present embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A to 1C, the angle θ of the longitudinal direction a of the ribbon cartridge 3 with respect to the printing direction b of the print head 2 is fixed at about 90 °. However, this angle θ can be designed to be changed to an arbitrary angle as needed, or can be freely changed in several steps. In that case, the ribbon twisting means 5 and 6 are also optimal according to the changed angle. Can be modified to work.

In the present invention, the ribbon twisting means for twisting the ribbon 1 is described as a roller, but a similar effect can be obtained by using a guide plate instead of the roller. Also, 2
Types of printing methods (impact method, thermal transfer / thermal method)
Can be applied to.

[0016]

As described above, according to the printing mechanism of the present invention, the relative position of the ribbon cartridge and the print head can be arranged at an arbitrary angle, so that the degree of freedom in mounting the printing mechanism in the apparatus is high. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the size of the entire apparatus equipped with this printing mechanism can be made significantly smaller than the case where a conventional printing mechanism is installed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a front view,
(B) is a plan view and (c) is a side view.

FIG. 2 is a front view (a) and a side view (b) showing a conventional printing mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing mounting of a printing mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing mounting of a conventional printing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11 ... Ribbon 2, 12 ... Print head 3, 13 ... Ribbon cartridge 4, 4 ', 14, 14' ... Paper sheets 5, 6 ... Ribbon twisting means 7, 17 ... Platen

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Shinichi Tanabe 5-7-15 Shiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo NEC Robot Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A printing mechanism having a ribbon cartridge for accommodating a printing ribbon, a print head for effecting printing on the printing ribbon, and a platen, provided with ribbon twisting means for twisting the printing ribbon, A printing mechanism characterized in that the relative position of the ribbon cartridge can be arranged at an arbitrary angle. 2. The printing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a roller is used as the ribbon twisting means, and one roller is provided on each side of the print head.