JPS6334037B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a multicolor dot printer that is installed in an impact type dot printer and is used when printing characters, images, graphs, etc. in color by appropriately overprinting yellow, magenta, and cyan dots. Regarding ribbon cassettes.

An object of the present invention is to provide a structure suitable for allowing the ink cartridge to be freely inserted and removed when an ink replenishment method using an ink cartridge is adopted in such a multicolor ribbon cassette.

To explain the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, this cassette consists of a top plate 1 and a bottom plate 2, both of which have a protrusion 3 projecting integrally from the bottom plate 2. They are combined by press-fitting the pin 4 on the back side of the two. A transfer roller 5 is rotatably supported between the top plate 1 and the bottom plate 2 at the center thereof, and this transfer roller 5 has four transfer surfaces 5Y, 5.
It has M, 5C, and 5B at intervals. An upper shaft 6 and a lower shaft 7 of the transfer roller 5 protrude through the upper plate 1 and the lower plate 2, respectively, and a gear 8 is fixed to the lower shaft 7. This gear 8 meshes with a gear (not shown) on the printing device side when this ribbon cassette is set in a printing device (not shown) to drive the transfer roller 5 counterclockwise in FIG. belongs to. A peripheral wall portion 9 is integrally protruded from the front portion of the bottom plate 1, and a head (not shown) of a printing device is inserted into a recess 10 defined by the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall portion 9. . Furthermore, top plate 1 and bottom plate 2
A separator 11 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is inserted between the separator 11 and the inner space defined by the top plate 1 and the bottom plate 2.
divided. The space between the peripheral wall 9 and the separator 11 serves as a passage or storage chamber for the endless ink ribbon 12, and the outside of the separator 11 serves as the ink cartridge 13Y, 13M, 13C, 13.
It has become an installation space for B. The separator 11 has four window holes 11a in its center (corner).
As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer surfaces 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5B are partially exposed through the window hole 11a. And these exposed transfer surfaces 5Y, 5M, 5
An ink ribbon 12 is pressed against C and 5B via a pressure spring 14. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 12 has four color bands 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12B divided parallel to its longitudinal direction, and are in contact with transfer surfaces 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5B, respectively. Further, the ink ribbon 12 is passed between a pass roller 16 rotatably fitted to a shaft portion 15 protruding from the bottom plate 2 and a back tension spring 17 on its exit side, and thereby pulled out from the storage chamber. Appropriate tension is applied to the ink ribbon 12. The transfer roller 5 also serves as a feed roller for the ink ribbon 12, and the ink ribbon 12 is fed into the storage chamber by its counterclockwise rotation.

Ink cartridge 13Y, 13M, 13C,
The inks 13B are impregnated with, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks, and are arranged radially around the transfer roller 5. Ink cartridge 13
Y, 13M, 13C, 13B are ink cores 18Y,
The other configurations are exactly the same except that 18M, 18C, and 18B are located at positions facing the transfer surfaces 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5B shown in the third diagram, respectively.
Therefore, each ink cartridge 13Y, 13M, 1
3C and 13B and their arrangement structure will be explained for the ink cartridge 13Y with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5.
Corresponding parts of M, 13C, and 13B are given the same reference numerals.

The top plate 1 and the bottom plate 2 are provided with guide grooves 19 and 2 having a predetermined length from the peripheral edge toward the center of the transfer roller 5.
0 is open, and guide protrusions 21 and 22 protruding from the upper and lower surfaces of the ink cartridge 13Y are slidably engaged with the guide grooves 19 and 20. A switching lever 23 is integrally formed from the rear end of the guide ridge 21, and this switching lever 23 is connected to the guide ridge 21.
A claw portion 23a that extends obliquely above the guide groove 1 and can be engaged with the end portion 19a of the guide groove 19 is provided at the tip thereof. Further, the rear surface of the ink cartridge 13Y is equipped with a pressing means, and in this example, a pair of pressing arms 24a, 24a are used to press the slit 2.
4b, each arm portion 24a, 2 is formed into a forked shape.
Projections 24c, 24c are provided on the rear surface of 4a. In the free state, the arm parts 24a, 24a are in the position shown by the chain line in FIG. .

As a result, the ink cartridge 13Y is urged toward the transfer roller 5 by the spring force of the pressing spring 24a, and the ink core 18Y comes into elastic contact with the transfer surface 5Y. The ink in the ink cartridge 13Y adheres to the transfer surface 5Y via the core 18Y, and when the transfer roller 5 rotates, the ink is transferred to the color band 1 of the ribbon 12.
Resupplied in 2Y. Other ink cartridges 13
M, 13C, and 13B act similarly.

By the way, when the claw portion 23a of the switching lever 23 is pushed into the end portion 19a of the guide groove 19, the ink cartridge, for example 13Y, is held at a position slightly retreated from the position shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 (see FIG. 6). situation).
At this time, the ink core 18Y separates from the corresponding transfer surface 5Y. Ink cartridge 13 as above
The separation switching of Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B is performed in the following cases. For example, before the ribbon cassette is set in the printing device, the ink cartridges 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13B are held at positions separated from the transfer roller 5. Moreover, even after the ink cartridge 13Y is set, unnecessary ink cartridges 13Y,
13M and 13C can be kept separated from the transfer roller 5. This prevents the color bands 12Y, 12M, and 12C that are not used for printing from containing excessive ink.

In the above embodiment, each window hole 11a of the separator 11 may be continuous.

According to the present invention as described above, in a multicolor ribbon cassette in which a plurality of ink cartridges are arranged radially around a transfer roller, the space for arranging the ink cartridges is created by the top plate and the bottom plate of the cassette. In addition, a separator was placed inside the cassette, and a passage and a storage chamber for the ink ribbon were defined by this separator and a peripheral wall provided in a part of the cassette. The cassette is easier and less expensive to form and is easier to assemble than conventional structures. Further, since the space for arranging the ink cartridge is divided by the upper plate of the cassette, it is very suitable for making the ink cartridge radially insertable/removable or replaceable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the multicolored ribbon cassette according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a front view thereof, FIG. 2 is a partially sectional plan view, and FIG.
4 is a front view of the separator, FIG. 5 is a rear view of the ink cartridge, and FIG. 6 is a sectional view of essential parts when the ink cartridge is separated from the transfer roller. 1...Top plate of cassette, 2...Bottom plate of cassette, 5...Transfer roller, 5Y, 5M, 5C, 5B
... Transfer surface, 9 ... Peripheral wall portion, 11 ... Separator, 11a ... Window hole, 12 ... Ink ribbon, 1
2Y, 12M, 12C, 12B...Color obi, 13
Y, 13M, 13C, 13B... Ink cartridge.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A transfer roller is rotatably supported in a cassette containing a multicolor ink ribbon having a plurality of different color bands, and the number of the transfer rollers is the same as the number of color bands, and Each color band has separate opposing transfer surfaces spaced apart on the same axis, and ink cartridges of the same number as the transfer surfaces are arranged radially around the transfer roller, and the ink cartridges are arranged in a radial manner. A space is defined by the top plate and the bottom plate of the cassette, and the peripheral edge of this space is open to the outside, and the transfer roller is inserted into at least one of the top plate and the bottom plate from the peripheral edge of the space. Guide grooves of a predetermined length are formed radially toward the center corresponding to each ink cartridge, and each ink cartridge has a guide protrusion that slidably fits into the corresponding guide groove. A multicolored ribbon cassette characterized by: 2. A transfer roller is rotatably supported in a cassette containing a multicolor ink ribbon having a plurality of different color bands, and the transfer roller has the same number of color bands as the color bands, and each color band has a corresponding one. The ink cartridges have contacting transfer surfaces coaxially and spaced apart from each other, the number of ink cartridges equal to the number of the transfer surfaces are arranged radially around the transfer roller, and the space in which the ink cartridges are arranged is the cassette. The space is divided by a top plate and a bottom plate, and the peripheral edge of this space is open to the outside, and at least one of the top plate and the bottom plate has a predetermined length extending from the peripheral edge toward the center of the transfer roller. A guide groove is formed radially corresponding to each ink cartridge, and each ink cartridge is formed with a guide protrusion that is slidably fitted into the corresponding guide groove. The separator inserted inside the cassette and the peripheral wall formed on a part of the cassette allow
A multicolor ribbon cassette characterized in that the ink ribbon storage chamber is divided into sections. 3. The separator has a substantially "H"-shaped cross-sectional shape and has a window hole at its corner, and the transfer surface of the transfer roller is located on the opposite side of the storage chamber to the separator. 3. The multicolor ribbon cassette according to claim 2, wherein a part of the ink ribbon is exposed through the window hole toward the storage chamber and comes into contact with the ink ribbon. 4. The multicolor ribbon cassette according to claim 3, wherein the window holes are divided into a number corresponding to the number of transfer surfaces.