JPS62160266A - Ribbon cassette mounting mechanism of printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to use a ribbon without wastefulness in use by selecting a ribbon cassette used according to a printing purpose, by a method wherein the ribbon cassette is shifted up and down by a ribbon positioning mechanism to be placed on a mounting plate in freely detachable manner and an engaging part engaging with the seat part on the mounting plate so as to provide a distance corresponding to the number of color tracks of a ribbon is provided to the bottom part of the ribbon cassette. CONSTITUTION:A four-volor ribbon cassette 24 is restricted in its before-and- behind/left-and-right movement with respect to a mounting plate 15 by engaging the left and right recessed parts 24d of said cassette 24 with left and right seat parts 19 and further engaging the projection 24e thereof with a hole 19a and positioned on the mounting plate 15 to be fixed thereto by engaging the left and right recessed parts 24f of said cassette 24 with left and right elastic projections 20 to raise the rear part of the cassette by the elasticity of said projections 20 and allowing the projections 20 to cooperate with a cassette lock pawl 19. By this method, the center line of a multicolor ribbon 27 is positioned at a constant height above the mounting plate 15 and a ribbon control cam 16 is rotated to select an arbitrary color track.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention The present invention has a ribbon cassette removably mounted on a mounting plate mounted on a carrier that moves along a platen, and a print head held on the carrier. This invention relates to a ribbon mounting mechanism that allows ribbon cassettes with different numbers of ribbon color tracks such as multicolor, two-color, and single-color ribbons to be similarly mounted on the mounting plate in a printer that prints on paper on a platen via a ribbon.

Traditionally, in printers that perform multicolor printing using a multicolor ribbon with multiple color tracks divided into sections, if a single color ribbon cassette can also be used in addition to the multicolor ribbon cassette, the single color ribbon cassette can be used in multiple ways. It had the same dimensions as the colored ribbon cassette. For this reason, in the case of single-color printing, especially when high-quality printing is required using a multi-strike ribbon, the ribbon width becomes larger than necessary.In other words, even though the ribbon width of one track is sufficient, Since the width is the same as the multicolor ribbon width, running costs during monochrome printing were extremely high.

Even so, there are still some cases in which single-color ribbon cassettes can be used, and in most cases, multi-color ribbon-only machines that can only use multi-color ribbon cassettes have been common.

When printing with high contrast in a single color is required for such a printer, only one specific color among multiple color tracks of a multicolor ribbon is used, or multiple printing is performed to increase the 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.

It was extremely uneconomical. On the other hand, in the case of multiple printing, the printing processing speed became extremely slow, making it unsuitable for practical use.

Purpose An object of the present invention is to enable multiple types of ribbon cassettes, such as multicolor ribbon cassettes, two-color ribbon cassettes, and single-color ribbon cassettes, to be used in the same way without changing the carrier and printing mechanism of the printer. Select the ribbon cassette to be used depending on the printing purpose and waste ribbon so that you do not waste the ribbon cassette even if you print in a single color with colored ribbon and only one color is consumed and the other colors are unused. The purpose is to make it possible to use it without any problems.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a device in which a ribbon cassette is removably placed on a mounting plate that is shifted up and down by a ribbon positioning mechanism. The present invention is characterized in that a seat is provided, and the bottom of the ribbon cassette is provided with an engaging portion that engages with the seat at a distance from the bottom of the ribbon cassette that corresponds to the number of color tracks of the ribbon in the ribbon cassette.

According to such a configuration, for example, even if the thickness of the upper and lower parts of multicolor ribbon cassettes, two-color ribbon cassettes, and single-color ribbon cassettes are different, the center line of each ribbon cassette is aligned with the mounting plate. Set to the same height as above.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

In FIGS. 3 to 5, the carrier (10) is supported by 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 attached to the front part (platen side) of this carrier (10). Also, carrier (10
), left and right brackets (10a) are integrally provided with the carrier (10), and a mounting plate (15) is mounted between these brackets (10a) so that the mounting plate (15) can be moved up and down by left and right protruding pins (15a). Supported for free movement. This support point is at the same height as the axis of the platen (13).

A cam follower (15b) is horizontally protruded from the lower part of the mounting plate (15), and the cam follower (1sb)
) is a groove track portion (
16a). Ribbon control cam (1
6) can slide left and right on the ribbon control shaft (17) which is parallel to the guide rods (11) and (12) before and after 1, but cannot rotate around it. ) rotates in unison with the The ribbon control shaft (17) is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise by a reversible stepping motor (not shown) installed at an appropriate location in the printer body. Along with this, the ribbon control cam (16) is also rotated clockwise or counterclockwise, and the mounting plate (15) is shifted upward or downward by the required amount around the protruding pin (15a).

Left and right cassette lock claws (18) having spring force are provided on both left and right ends of the mounting plate (15) in an upright manner. In addition, small cylindrical seats (19) are provided in an upright manner at two positions on the left and right sides of the front portion of the upper surface of the mounting plate (15). Each seat (19) has a hole (19a) in its center.
). Furthermore, elastic protrusions (20) are protruded from two rear portions of the upper surface of the mounting plate (15), and a ribbon drive piece (21) is protruded upward from a predetermined position on the upper surface. This ribbon drive piece (21
) is fitted into the hole of the ribbon feed gear (22) attached to the lower side of the mounting plate (15) so as to be able to slide downward against the spring (23). It rotates together with the gear (22).

On the other hand, the ribbon cassettes shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 7 are detachably mounted on the mounting plate (15).
Three types of ribbon cassettes are available: a multicolor ribbon cassette (24) shown in the figure, a single color ribbon cassette (25) shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, and a two-color ribbon cassette (26) shown in FIG. When these are set on the mounting plate (15), the type is identified by a sensor (not shown) provided on the mounting plate (15). These three types of ribbon cassettes (24), (25),
(26) is a locking recess (
24a), (25a), and (26a), and feed rollers (24a) passing through the cassette body vertically.
b)・(25b)・(26b) Split part (24c)
), (25c), and (26c) are common.
Moreover, when looking at the cassette body in plan, all three types have the same shape and dimensions, but they differ in the following points.

The multicolor ribbon cassette (24) has four color tracks (1
), (II), (III), and (IV) are each stored in a four-color ribbon (27) divided in the width direction with the same width W, and the single-color ribbon cassette (25) is a single color track with a width W. The two-color ribbon cassette (26) stores two-color ribbons (29) each having color tracks (VI) and (■) divided into two by the width W. are doing.

Ribbon guide surface at the tip of the 4-color ribbon cassette (24)
241) is a mounting plate (15) in the vertical direction.
It has an arc shape centered on the protruding bottle (15a), and its radius is from the protruding bottle (15a) to the print head (1
4), and the distance to the tip of the ribbon guide surface (2) is equal to the distance to the tip of the ribbon guide surface (2).
41) is always located on the same plane as the tip printing surface of the print head (14) as shown in FIG. Therefore, even if the four-color ribbon cassette (24) is shifted up or down, the multi-color ribbon (27) will not come into sliding contact with the print head (14).

In addition, circular left and right recesses (24d) are provided at the bottom of the four-color ribbon cassette (24) as engaging parts that engage with the left and right seats (19) of the mounting plate (15), and each In the recess (24d), there is a hole (1) of the seat (19).
A small protrusion (24e) is protruded to fit with 9a). This protrusion (24e) is a four-color ribbon cassette (24)
It fits within the recess (24d) without protruding from the bottom surface of the recess (24d). Further, the bottom of the four-color ribbon cassette (24) is provided with a recess (24f) that fits with the left and right elastic protrusions (20) of the mounting plate (15). Then, the split part (24c), the recessed part (24d), and the recessed part (
24f) are at the same depth from the bottom of the four-color ribbon cassette (24) according to the number of color tracks of the ribbon (27), and these blind ends are connected to the inner bottom (24a) of the locking recess (24a).
24g), and a predetermined step Hb from the center line of the ribbon (27).

Next, the monochrome ribbon cassette (25) is attached to its bottom (25).
d) Since the engaging part itself becomes an engaging part that engages with the seat part (19), there is no recessed part that fits with the seat part (19) and the elastic protrusion (20), but it protrudes from the bottom surface (25d). Seat part (19
) There is a protrusion (25e) that fits into the hole (19a). In this monochrome ribbon cassette (25), its bottom (
25d) and the inner bottom surface (25g) of the locking recess (25a) is the same as that of the four-color ribbon cassette (24),
The height difference between the bottom surface (25d) and the center line of the monochrome ribbon (28) is the same Hb as in the case of the four-color ribbon cassette (24).

The two-color ribbon cassette (26) has a recess (26d) at its bottom that is shallower than that of the four-color ribbon cassette (24).
26f), and a protrusion (26e) protruding from the bottom surface of the two-color ribbon cassette (26) is provided in the recess (26d). In this two-color ribbon cassette (26), the depths of the split part (25c), the recessed part (26d), and the recessed part (26f) are equal, and the depths of these blind ends and the inner bottom surface (26g) of the locking recessed part (26a) are the same. The level difference and the level difference between the two-color ribbon (29) and the center line are the same as in the case of the four-color ribbon cassette (24), and are Ha and Hb, respectively.

Figures 1 and 2 show the four-color ribbon cassette (24) set on the mounting plate (15).
24d) is fitted into the left and right seats (19), and the protrusion (24a) is fitted into the hole (19a) to restrict movement in the front and back and left and right relative to the mounting plate (15), and the right and left The recess (24f) fits with the left and right elastic protrusions (20), and their elasticity lifts the rear part, and this and the cassette lock claw (18) work together to accurately position the cassette on the mounting plate (15). Fixed. This positions the center line of the multicolored ribbon (27) at a constant height on the mounting plate (15). Then, by rotating the ribbon control cam (16) as described above, an arbitrary color track is selected. Figure 11 is the top color track (1)
is selected, Figure 12 shows the bottom color track (I
V) is selected.

Moreover, FIG. 6 shows a state where the monochrome ribbon cassette (25) is set on the mounting plate (15). In this case, the bottom surface (25d) of the monochrome ribbon cassette (25)
) directly engages the upper surface of the seat (19) and the upper surface of the elastic projection (20), and the center line of the monochrome ribbon (28) is positioned at the same height as for the four-color ribbon (27).

The protrusion (25e) fits into the hole (19a) of the seat (19).

Although the state in which the two-color ribbon cassette (26) is set is not shown, it is clear that it is positioned in the same way as the four-color ribbon cassette (24).

As explained above, the present invention has the following effects.

■ Various ribbon cassettes such as multi-color, two-color, and single-color ribbon cassettes can be used in the same way without changing the printer end or carrier, so even when printing in one color, a multi-color printing ribbon can be used and You can avoid using up only one color. In other words, in that case, by replacing single-color ribbons, the use of expensive multi-color ribbon cassettes can be avoided, and the multi-color 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, and just like single-color ribbon, the minimum ribbon width required for printing is sufficient, making ribbon production inexpensive. Become.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of a state in which a multicolored ribbon cassette is set, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same,
3, 4, and 5 are side views, top views, and rear views showing the ribbon cassette removed, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing the monochrome ribbon cassette set. 7 to 9 are side views of a multicolor ribbon cassette, a single color ribbon cassette, and a two color ribbon cassette, respectively; FIG. 10 is a plan view of the ribbon guide portion of the multicolor ribbon cassette; FIGS. 11 and 12. The figure is a side view showing how colors 1 to racks of the multicolor ribbon are selected. (10)...Carrier (13)...Platen (14)...Print head (15)...
...Mounting plate (16)...
... Ribbon control cam (19) ...
... Seat (19a) ... Hole (24) ... Multicolor ribbon cassette (24
d)...Concavity (engaging part) (24e)...
・Protrusion (25)・・・・・・Single color ribbon cassette (25
d)...Bottom surface (engaging part) (25e)...
・Protrusion (26) ・・Two-color ribbon cassette (26)
d)...Concavity (engaging part) (26a)...
·protrusion

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A mounting plate on which a ribbon cassette is removably placed is mounted on a carrier that moves along a platen so as to be vertically movable, and this mounting plate is driven by a motor or the like for ribbon positioning. In a printer that is shifted up and down by a mechanism and prints on paper on a platen via a ribbon in a ribbon cassette by a print head held by a carrier, a seat is provided on the top surface of the mounting plate, and a seat is provided on the bottom of the ribbon cassette. 2. A ribbon cassette loading mechanism for a printer, characterized in that the mechanism is provided with an engaging portion that engages with the seat portion at a distance from the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette according to the number of color tracks of the ribbon in the ribbon cassette. 2. The ribbon cassette mounting of the printer according to claim 1, wherein the seat protrudes from the upper surface of the mounting plate, and the engaging portion is a recess provided at the bottom of the ribbon cassette or the bottom itself. mechanism. 3. The ribbon cassette mounting mechanism for a printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seat portion and the engaging portion are provided with a hole and a protrusion that fit into each other.