JPH0341356B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a detection means for selectively detecting the color of an ink ribbon cassette containing multicolor ink ribbons, and a device for selectively sliding and switching colors using a reset detection means. It is.

Recently, color printing using multicolor ink ribbons has been frequently performed.

An example of this is the multicolor ink ribbon shown in Figure 1, in which colors a, b, c, and d are arranged horizontally, and because the mechanism shifts horizontally, the structure is complex and the printing It has the disadvantage of slow speed.

Another method is to arrange the three colors a, b, and c in an ink ribbon width of 1/2 inch as shown in Fig. 2, and place them with the fulcrum 24 as a reference as shown in Fig. 4. There is a method of printing by swinging the ribbon frame 25 up and down, but conventional ribbons have a short ribbon life because the ribbon width of one color is narrow, and have the disadvantage that a large swing amount cannot be achieved.

Furthermore, when the width of the ribbon is increased in order to extend the life of the ribbon, the amount of oscillation increases, resulting in the occurrence of ribbon breakage at the tip 29 of the ink ribbon cassette.

The purpose of the present invention is to simplify the ribbon switching mechanism, increase the ribbon width to 1 inch, extend the ribbon life, and eliminate ribbon folding.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the ribbon switching mechanism, and FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view of the switching mechanism seen from the front right side in FIG. 5. By rotating the motor 1, the gear 2 rotates, and since the gear 2 and the gear 3 are integrated, the gear 3 rotates. A cam 5, a gear 4, and a detection plate 11 are integrally fixed to a shaft 6 on the frame 16 side.

Further, a cam 5 is fixed to a shaft 6 on the frame 17 side. A lever pin 8 supported by a lever 7 is in contact with the cam 5, and as the cam 5 rotates, the lever 7 on the frames 16 and 17 side swings.
The slide shaft 10, which is supported by the slide guide 18 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and the lever 7 are fixed by a guide screw 21, so that when the lever 7 moves, the slide shaft 10 slides.

A ribbon cassette is attached to the slide shaft, so when the slide shaft slides, the frame 16,1
The 7 side also slides in the same way, so it moves up and down in parallel.

At this time, when the lever 7 falls to the bottom dead center, an optical reset detector 13 is turned on to enter a standby state.

Figure 7 shows the detection plate (11 in Figure 5), which has four contact parts 31, 32, 33, and 34, and two detection brushes (19 in Figure 5) that touch the contact parts. Then, a signal is input to stop the motor 1, and the ribbon position is determined. 31 detects the waiting position 32, 33, 34 and color, and moves from 34 to 31.
It returns to the waiting position.

Figure 8 shows the colors of the multicolor ink ribbon, a,
This is an ink ribbon in four colors: b, c, and d. This is stored inside the ink ribbon cassette. The contact portion 31 of the detection plate 11 in FIG. 7 faces the multicolor ink ribbon a in FIG. 8. Below 32 and b, 3
The contact positions of the detection plate and the colors of the ribbons match, such as 3 and c and 34 and d.

When the ink ribbon cassette configured as described above rotates the motor 1, the gears 2, 3, 4
By rotating the cam 5 through the lever 7, the cam rotates from position a to position b in FIG. 8 using the fulcrum shaft 9 of the lever 7 as a fulcrum. When the lever 7 moves to a certain position, the lever 7 is moved to the slide shaft 10 by the guide screw 2.
1, the slide shaft moves the ink ribbon cassette 12 via a slide guide. The ink ribbon stored in the ink ribbon cassette also fluctuates in the same way.
The print head 14 prints via the ink ribbon. After that, colors are repeatedly selected and printed, but when the color returns from color d to color a in Figure 8, the lever 7 turns on the reset detector 13.
By doing so, a standby position is set, and if a specific ribbon is placed at position a in FIG. 8, printing can be performed in the same color each time.

In this embodiment, an example of a mechanical contact method using a detection brush as a detection means has been described, but other detection methods such as an optical method may also be used, and the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

The printer ribbon switching mechanism according to the present invention selects and prints a desired color by displacing the ink ribbon cassette in the width direction of the ink ribbon, and the ink ribbon is displaced in the width direction without being deformed. Therefore, ribbon breakage does not occur and the life of the ribbon can be extended, and even if the amount of displacement is large, the ribbon does not deform, so it has the remarkable effect of making it possible to increase the width of the ribbon.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows a conventional multicolor ink ribbon a,
Four colors, b, c, and d, are arranged horizontally. Figure 2 shows a conventional multicolor ink ribbon, with a ribbon width of 1/2.
It is 2 inches long and has three colors arranged vertically: a, b, and c. FIG. 3 shows a conventional ribbon switching mechanism, where 24 is a fulcrum shaft, 25 is a ribbon frame, and 2
6 is an ink ribbon cassette, 27 is a printing head,
28 is a ribbon base plate, 29 is the tip of an ink ribbon cassette, and 30 is a multicolor ink ribbon. FIG. 4 is a side view of FIG. 3. FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the ribbon switching mechanism of the present invention, in which 1 is a motor;
2, 3, 4 are gears, 5 is a cam, 6 is a shaft, 7 is a lever, 8 is a lever pin, 9 is a fulcrum shaft, 10 is a slide shaft, 11 is a detection plate, 12 is an ink ribbon cassette, 13 is a reset detector, 14 is a print head;
15 is a platen, 16 and 17 are frames, 18 is a slide guide, 19 is a detection brush, 20 is a brush holder, 21 is a guide screw, 22 is a ribbon guide,
23 is a multicolor ink ribbon. Figure 6 shows the fifth
It is a partial cross-sectional view of the switching mechanism seen from the right front in the figure. Figure 7 shows the detection plate 31,3
2, 33, and 34 are contact portions. FIG. 8 shows a multicolor ink ribbon, and each color is arranged in a, b, c, and d.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A ribbon switching mechanism for a printer that selects one color of multicolor ink ribbon and prints on recording paper, comprising: an ink ribbon cassette containing the multicolor ink ribbon; and the ink ribbon cassette and the multicolor ink ribbon. a support member supported so as to be movable only in the width direction; a power transmission means that engages with the support member and displaces the support member in the width direction; and a position detection means for detecting the position of the ink ribbon cassette. A ribbon switching mechanism for a printer, characterized in that the printer has a ribbon switching mechanism.