JPS61228981A - Ribbon-shifting mechanism for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable ribbon cassette to be selected in accordance with the printing purpose and to be effectively used, by a system wherein a carrier is provided with a controlling cam, rotation quantity of the cam is controlled by a motor or the like, and the height of a mounting plate is controlled according to the rotation quantity of the cam. CONSTITUTION:Seat parts are provided at heights corresponding to the number of color tracks of a ribbon enclosed in the ribbon cassette 26, in the exterior of the cassette 26, so that the center position in the vertical direction of the cassette 26 on the mounting plate 15 is fixed, irrespective of the kind 26, 27, 28 of the cassette, such as multicolor, two-color and monochrome. The carrier 10 is provided with the controlling cam 18 for shifting the mounting plate 15, the rotation quantity of the cam 18 is controlled by the motor 24 or the like, and the height of the plate 15 is controlled according to the rotation quantity, thereby selecting the color of the ribbon to be used for printing. Accordingly, the multicolor, two-color, monochromic or other various ribbon cassettes 26, 27, 28 can be used in a similar manner without modifying a printing mechanism or the carrier 10.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] 1. The present invention includes a ribbon cassette that is detachably mounted on a carrier that moves along a platen, and a print head held by the carrier that prints on paper on the platen via the ribbon. The present invention relates to a ribbon switching mechanism for switching the color of the ribbon used for printing in a printer.

l rice five ko For the multicolored ribbons used in this type of printer.

There are two types, one shown in FIG. 13 and the other shown in FIG.

The multicolored ribbon (1) in Fig. 13 has color tracks (1a), (1b), (4 colors, for example) of multiple colors in its width direction.
IC)・(1d)・is divided and formed. The multicolor ribbon (2) in FIG. 14 has multiple colors (for example, four
The color planes (2a), (2b), (2c), and (2d) of the color (color) are divided and formed repeatedly in sequence.

A conventional ribbon switching mechanism for switching the color of the multicolored ribbon (1) shown in FIG. 13 is shown in FIG. 15. In the same figure, the multicolored ribbon (1) stored in a ribbon cassette (not shown) is
It is held by a ribbon change arm (4) that is shifted up and down by a ribbon shift cam (3), etc., and as the ribbon change arm (4) shifts, a desired color track (1a) is moved.
) to (1d) are opposed to the print head (5), and the colors are printed on the paper (7) on the platen (6).

A conventional ribbon switching mechanism for switching the color of the multicolored ribbon (2) shown in FIG. 14, although not shown in FIG.
d) to face the print head.

However, both of these conventional ribbon switching mechanisms have a structure exclusively for multicolor printing, and high contrast printing is required, especially when only monochrome printing is required and multicolor printing is not required. Printing was done by using only one specific color that produced high printing quality, or by using multiple printing methods to increase contrast. Therefore, when only a specific color is used, only that single color is consumed, and the expensive multicolor ribbon cassette must be replaced even if other colors are unused, which is extremely uneconomical. On the other hand, in the case of multiple printing, the printing processing speed becomes significantly slower.

Especially when using the multicolored ribbon (2) shown in Fig. 14.

Since color selection was performed by ribbon feeding, the reduction in printing processing speed was even more significant.

- Shunichi Hiichi The first object of the present invention is to enable the use of multiple types of ribbon cassettes, such as multicolor ribbon cassettes, two-color ribbon cassettes, and single-color ribbon cassettes, without changing the carrier and printer mechanism. Select the ribbon cassette to be used depending on the printing purpose, so that you do not use expensive multi-colored ribbon to print in a single color and only that color is used up and the ribbon cassette is thrown away even if other colors are unused. The goal is to be able to use it without wasting it.

The second purpose is to automatically identify the ribbon cassette that is currently installed in the carrier among multiple types of ribbon cassettes, and to perform ribbon switching for each different ribbon cassette. The purpose is to detect non-installation or incorrect installation, and to prevent problems such as incorrect color printing or missing printing.

In order to achieve the first object of the present invention, a mounting plate on which a ribbon cassette is removably mounted is attached to a carrier so as to be movable up and down. The outer bottom of the ribbon cassette is provided with a seat with a height corresponding to the number of color tracks of the ribbons stored in it, so that even if the type of ribbon cassette is different, for example, multi-color, two-color, or single color, it can be placed on the mounting plate. The center position of the ribbon cassette in the vertical direction is kept constant. Further, a ribbon feed motor is attached to the mounting plate, and the ribbon in the ribbon cassette is fed by this ribbon feed motor. Furthermore, the carrier is equipped with a control cam that shifts the mounting plate, and the amount of rotation of this control cam is controlled by a motor, etc., and the height of the mounting plate is controlled according to the amount of rotation. Choose a color.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the second object, the present invention provides, in addition to the above-mentioned configuration, a detection area corresponding to the number of color tracks of the ribbon on the outer bottom of the ribbon cassette, and a mounting plate with a sensing area corresponding to the number of color tracks of the ribbon. A sensor is provided to detect the detected part.

An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below based on the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, the carrier (lO) is mounted on two front and rear guide rods (11) and (12) so as to be slidable left and right, and moves along the platen (13).

A print head (14) is located on the front side of this carrier (10).
is installed. In addition, left and right brackets (10a) are integrally provided on both left and right ends of the rear end of the carrier (10), and between these brackets (10a), a mounting plate (15) is attached to the left and right screw pins (16). )
It is pivoted so that it can move up and down. This pivot point is at the same height as the axis of the platen (13).

The front side of the mounting plate (15) is given a force to rotate downward by a leaf spring (17) attached to the center of the rear end of the carrier (10), and the front end of the mounting plate (15) is The carrier (10) is always pressed from above against a pair of left and right control cams (18) connected to the carrier (10) so as to move together therewith.

The left and right control cams (18) are mounted on control shafts (18) parallel to the front and rear guide rods (11) and (12).
It is provided at both ends of the slide pipe (20) that slides along the control shaft (19), and can slide left and right with the slide pipe (20) with respect to the control shaft (19).
It cannot rotate around it, but rotates integrally with the control shaft (19). This control shaft (19) is rotated by a color select motor (21), which is a stepping motor that can be rotated in forward and reverse directions, as shown in FIG. 8, which is installed at an appropriate location in the printer body.

Therefore, when the control cam (18) rotates clockwise or counterclockwise with the forward or reverse rotation of the color select motor (21), the mounting plate (1
5) is shifted upward or downward.

In this case, since the control cam (18) is formed in such a shape that its lifting height changes linearly, the shift amount of the mounting plate (15) changes linearly.

Note that the control shaft (19) may be rotated using an electromagnet.

Left and right cassette lock claws (15a) with spring force are provided at both left and right ends of the mounting plate (15), and left and right cassette positioning holes (
22) is perforated. Furthermore, the lower surface of the mounting plate (15) has left and right cassette positioning holes (2
2), a pair of left and right (first and second) photosensors (23) are attached to the lower side, and a ribbon feed motor (24) is attached by a mounting bracket (25). The photosensor (23) has one light emitting element and one light receiving element facing each other in front and behind the cassette positioning hole (22).

On the other hand, as ribbon cassettes that are removably placed on the mounting plate (15), there are a multicolor ribbon cassette (26) shown in Fig. 4 and a two-color ribbon cassette (26) shown in Fig. 5.
27) and 3 of the monochrome ribbon cassette (28) shown in Figure 6.
A ribbon cassette of seeds is provided.

These three types of ribbon cassettes (26), (27), (2
8) is that locking recesses (29a) are formed in the left and right outer walls of the cassette body (29), and that the cassette body (29) is
All three types have a split part (30a) at the lower end of the feed roller (30) that vertically passes through the cassette body (29), and the left and right widths and front and rear lengths of the cassette body (29) are the same for all three types. They are the same, but the following points are different.

The multicolored ribbon cassette (26) has a cassette body (2
9) For example, there are four color tracks (I), (It),
A 4-color ribbon (31) formed by dividing (m) and (IV) in the width direction with the same width W is stored, and a 2-color ribbon cassette (
27) stores a two-color ribbon (32) formed by dividing two color tracks (V) and (Vl) in the width direction with the same width W, and a single-color ribbon cassette (28) stores a single color ribbon (32) with the same width W. A monochromatic ribbon (33) having color tracks (■) formed therein is stored, and the thickness of the top and bottom of these three types of cassette bodies (29) differs depending on the number of color tracks.

The multicolored ribbon cassette (26) has a cassette body (2
9) Four color ribbons (31
), that is, the height of the boundary line between color tracks (II) and (III), and the height of the lower ends of both locking recesses (29a) are the same height H. Also, the cassette body (2
9), two long pins (34) having a length hl, which are detected portions, are directly protruded on both left and right sides of the outer bottom surface (29b).

These left and right long pins (34) can be removably fitted into the left and right cassette positioning holes (22) of the mounting plate (15), and the multicolor ribbon cassette (
26) is placed on the mounting plate (15), the left and right long pins (34) enter between the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the left and right photosensors (23), so that both the left and right photosensors (23) emit light. Cut off. Figures 1 to 3 show this multicolored ribbon cassette (26) on a mounting plate (15).
), and the cassette body (29)
The outer bottom surface (29b) of the mounting plate (29b) comes into contact with the upper surface of the mounting plate (15), and this outer bottom surface (29b) itself becomes a seat. At this time, the split portion (30a) of the feed roller (30)
) is the output shaft (24a) of the ribbon feed motor (24)
The rotation of the ribbon feed motor (24) is transmitted to the feed roller (30), which feeds the four-color ribbon (31).

The two-color ribbon cassette (27) has its cassette body (2
9) are provided with left and right cylindrical seats (35) protruding from the left and right sides of the outer bottom surface (29b), and the left seat (35) is further provided with left and right seats (35).
5) A long bottle (34) of the same length hl as the long pin (34) of the multicolor ribbon cassette (26) is integrally protruded from the center of the lower end, and a long bottle (34) of the same length as the long pin (34) of the multicolor ribbon cassette (26) is provided at the center of the lower end of the right seat (35). is a short bottle (
36) are integrally protruded. This short bottle (36) is.

Cassette positioning hole (
The length ha is set so that the light from the photosensor (23) will not be blocked even when fitted to the photo sensor (22). In this two-color ribbon cassette (27), the height of the center line of the two-color ribbon (32), that is, the boundary line between color tracks (V) and (Vl), is determined based on the lower ends of the left and right seats (35). The height of the lower end of the left and right locking recesses (29a) is the multicolor ribbon cassette (
It has the same dimension as the height H in 27). Further, separate seats (3
7) is installed protrudingly. No. 'll shows this two-color ribbon cassette (27) placed on the mounting plate (15).

The single color ribbon cassette (28) has a cassette body (2
A seat (38) that is longer than the seat (35) of the two-color ribbon cassette (27) is provided on both left and right sides of the outer bottom surface (29b) of 9), and is opposite to the two-color ribbon cassette (27). Long pin (
34) protrudes from the right seat (38), and a short pin (36) protrudes from the left seat (38). In this single-color ribbon cassette (28), the height of the center line of the single-color ribbon (33) and the height of the lower ends of the left and right locking recesses (29a) are varied based on the lower ends of the left and right seats (38). It has the same dimension as the height H in the color ribbon cassette (26). Furthermore, the outer bottom surface (29b) of the cassette body (29)
) is provided with another seat part (39) protruding from both the front and rear sides of the seat part (39) having the same length as the left and right seats (38).

Since the three types of ribbon cassettes (26), (2)), and (28) have this configuration, the long bins (34) on the left and right
Alternatively, attach the short pin (36) to the mounting plate (15).
) into the left and right cassette positioning holes (22), and insert the left and right cassette locking claws (1) into the left and right locking recesses (29a).
5a), both ribbons (31) and (
32) and (33) are fixed to the mounting plate (15) with their center lines located at the same height H.

Identification of which of the three types of ribbon cassettes (26), (27), and (2B) is placed on the mounting plate (15) is performed by the first and second photosensors (23).
Based on the output of the ribbon cassette identification circuit shown in FIG.
40). The identification mode is shown in FIG. In the figure, when the light from the photosensor (23) is blocked, it is "dark", and in the opposite case, it is "bright". The multicolor ribbon cassette (26) has long pins (34) on both the left and right sides, so both photosensors (23) are "dark."The two-color ribbon cassette (27) has long pins (34) on the left side.
, because the right side is the short pin (36).

The first photosensor (23) becomes "dark" and the second photosensor (23) becomes "bright". Single color ribbon cassette (2
8) has a reverse relationship with the two-color ribbon cassette (27).

For any of the three types of ribbon cassettes, if they are not correctly mounted on the mounting plate (15), both photosensors (23) will be "bright".
This error can also be detected.

Part 4 when multicolor ribbon cassette (26) is installed
Selection of the color of the color ribbon (31) and selection of the color of the two-color ribbon (32) when the two-color ribbon cassette (27) is installed is performed by the color select motor in the control circuit (41) shown in FIG. This is done by controlling (21).

The lift height of the control cam (18) rotated by the color select motor (21) is linear, and the relationship between its rotational position and the rotational position of the mounting plate (15) is
0 and the relationship between these positions and the selected color track of the ribbon is shown in FIG. 11. For example, as shown in FIG.
When the upper color track (V) of the color ribbon (32) is selected, the control cam (18) is rotated to position b and the mounting plate (15) is shifted to the opening position, and then the color select motor (21) is weakly excited and held at the 1-port position. Since the lift height of the control cam (18) is linear, the boundary line of the ribbon color track can be positioned at the center of the print head (14) as shown in Figure 12, allowing printing in two colors, upper and lower. They can also be done at the same time.

-m=i As detailed above, the present invention has the following effects.

■ Various ribbon cassettes such as multicolor ribbon cassettes, two-color ribbon cassettes, and single-color ribbon cassettes can be used in the same way without changing the printer mechanism or carrier, so multicolor printing ribbons can also be used for single-color printing. However, you can avoid depleting just one of the colors.

In other words, in that case, you can avoid using expensive multi-colored ribbon cassettes by replacing them with single-colored ribbon cassettes.
Multicolored ribbon cassettes can be used effectively.

■ Even when trying to improve printing quality by using multi-strike ribbon, etc., there is no need to make the ribbon cassette particularly large; just like single-color ribbon, the minimum ribbon width required for printing is sufficient, and the ribbon cost is also reasonable. Become.

- If the control cam is slidably held on a control shaft rotated by a color select motor installed outside the carrier, one color can be selected remotely outside the carrier, and the carrier can be made more compact.

■ If the control cam is shaped so that its lifting height changes linearly, when using multicolor ribbon or two-color ribbon, the border line between the upper and lower two color tracks can be positioned at the center of the print head. It is possible to print in two colors (top and bottom) at the same time. Therefore, when performing multi-color ruled line printing, multi-color graphic printing, etc., the printing processing speed can be significantly reduced by simultaneous two-color printing.

Moreover, according to the invention of claim 4, the above-mentioned ■,
In addition to the effects mentioned above, there are the following effects.

■ Since multiple types of ribbon cassettes can be automatically identified, ribbon shifts can be appropriately controlled, and it also prevents missing prints, missing prints, and incorrect color printing due to ribbon cassette installation errors or misalignment of the print head and ribbon. can.

■ If a pin is provided protruding from the seat on the outer bottom of the ribbon cassette, and this is detected by a photo sensor, it is possible to accurately detect ribbon cassette attachment errors.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 12 show one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 is a partially cutaway side view, Figure 2 is a rear view, Figure 3 is a partially cutaway plan view, and Figures 4 to 6 are of a multicolor ribbon cassette, a two-color ribbon cassette, and a single color ribbon cassette, respectively. Rear view, Figure 7 is a side view showing the two-color ribbon cassette installed, Figure 8 is a block diagram, Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram showing how to identify the ribbon cassette, and Figure 10 is the rotational position of the control cam. Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the position and the rotational position of the mounting plate, Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the position and the selected color track of the ribbon, and Figure 12 is the relationship between the ribbon color track and the center of the print head. FIGS. 13 and 14 are plan views showing the state of color division of a conventional multicolor ribbon, and FIG. 15 is a conventional ribbon switching diagram for switching between the multicolor ribbons shown in FIG. 13. It is a conceptual diagram of a mechanism. (1)・・・・・・Multicolor ribbon (1a) to (1d)・・・・・・Color track (2
)・・・・・・Multicolor ribbon (2a) to (2d)・・・・・・Multi-sided (3)・・
......Shift cam (4)...Ribbon change arm (5)
......Print head (6)...Platen (7)...Paper

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a printer in which a ribbon cassette is detachably mounted on a carrier that moves along a platen, and a print head held on the carrier prints on paper on the platen via the ribbon, the ribbon cassette a mounting plate on which the ribbon is removably placed is attached to the carrier so as to be movable up and down, and a seat portion having a height corresponding to the number of color tracks of the ribbon stored in the ribbon cassette is provided at the outer bottom of the ribbon cassette;
Further, a ribbon feed mechanism for feeding the ribbon in the ribbon cassette is attached to the mounting plate,
A ribbon switching mechanism for a printer, further comprising a control cam on the carrier, the amount of rotation of which is controlled by a motor or the like, and which controls the height of the mounting plate in accordance with the amount of rotation. 2. The printer ribbon switching mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the control cam is slidably held on a control shaft rotated by a color select motor installed outside the carrier. 3. The ribbon switching mechanism for a printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control cam has a shape in which the lifting height thereof exhibits a linear progression. 4. In a printer in which a ribbon cassette is removably mounted on a carrier that moves along a platen, and a print head held by the carrier prints on paper on the platen via the ribbon, the ribbon cassette is removably mounted. A mounting plate is attached to the carrier so as to be movable up and down, and a seat portion with a height corresponding to the number of color tracks of the ribbon stored in the ribbon cassette and a detection target plate with a height corresponding to the number of color tracks of the ribbon stored in the ribbon cassette are attached to the outer bottom of the ribbon cassette. A ribbon feed mechanism for feeding the ribbon in the ribbon cassette and a sensor for detecting the detected portion are attached to the mounting plate, and a sensor whose rotation amount is controlled by a motor or the like is attached to the carrier. A ribbon switching mechanism for a printer, comprising a control cam that controls the height of the mounting plate according to the amount of rotation. 5. The printer ribbon switching mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the detected portion is a pin protruding from the seat, and the sensor for detecting the detected portion is a photo sensor.