JPH0678025B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a printer such as a thermal transfer printer, a wire dot printer, a facsimile, and a typewriter that performs recording using an ink ribbon cassette.

[Prior art]

Printers that use the ink ribbon cassette for recording
An ink ribbon cassette is mounted on a carriage that moves along the paper, and the ink is transferred while feeding the ink ribbon between the print head and the paper.

The ink ribbon cassette is configured such that a supply reel and a take-up reel are provided in a cassette case, and the ink ribbon is fed through a print head insertion portion during a printing operation. The cassette case is closed by a cassette lid.

By the way, the cassette case and the cassette lid are generally formed of a non-conductive material such as plastic, and during printing operation, the cassette, the ink ribbon, etc. are charged due to the following reasons.

i) Friction between print head and ink ribbon ii) Friction between cassette case and each reel iii) Friction between cassette case and ink ribbon iv) Transfer process of ink to paper v) Ink ribbon is peeled off from supply reel The following problems occur due to these processes.

i) The user touches the cassette and receives an electric shock.

ii) The signal from the CPU may be disturbed due to the charging of the cassette, resulting in malfunction.

iii) Electronic elements such as CPU may be damaged due to electrification of the cassette.

Therefore, as a countermeasure, there is a method of providing a static elimination brush,
This method has a problem in the appearance treatment, and the apparatus becomes large in size and the cost increases.

Also, there is a method of adding a ground wire, a capacitor, a shield plate, or the like to the control circuit, but this method also has a complicated circuit configuration and becomes large in size, resulting in an increase in cost.

〔Purpose〕

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printer which has a simple and inexpensive structure and which can prevent electrostatic charge inside the ink ribbon cassette and position the ink ribbon cassette with respect to the carriage.

〔Overview〕

The present invention is a printer for performing recording by placing a cassette on an ink ribbon cassette placement portion of a carriage, wherein the carriage comprises a plurality of conductive guide protrusion members for positioning the ink ribbon cassette in the placement portion. The ink ribbon cassette includes a conductive sheet member arranged inside the cassette case in contact with an ink ribbon to be housed therein, and a plurality of openings for fitting the guide protrusion member to position the cassette case, When the ink ribbon cassette is mounted on the mounting portion, the plurality of guide protrusion members position the ink ribbon cassette on the mounting portion and contact the conductive sheet member to allow the inside of the cassette case. The above-mentioned object is achieved by adopting a configuration for performing static elimination.

〔Example〕

 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a thermal transfer recording apparatus, FIG. 2 shows a cassette case in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along the line III-III in FIG. Show.

In FIG. 1, an ink ribbon cassette 1 has a casing composed of a cassette case 2 and a cassette lid 3, a supply reel 4 and a take-up reel 5 are axially supported in the cassette case, and an ink ribbon 6 on the supply reel is held. It is configured to be wound on the take-up reel 5. A recess 7 for inserting a print head (a thermal head in the illustrated example) is formed on the front side of the cassette case 2, and the ink ribbon 6 is guided through the recess.

The carriage 10 is guided and supported on a guide shaft 11 and is reciprocally driven in the direction of arrow A by a stepping motor or the like, and the ribbon drive shaft 12 rotates in synchronization with the movement of the carriage.

A print head 13 is mounted on the front side of the carriage 10.

The ink ribbon cassette 1 is mounted on the upper surface of the carriage 10, and the cassette 1 is mounted on the upper surface of the carriage 10.
Two guide pins 14, 14 for locating the are installed. In addition, the cassette 1 is provided at the rear of the upper surface of the carriage 10.
A leaf spring 15 is provided for detachably mounting.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the cassette lid 3 and the ribbon 6 are removed when the cassette 1 is mounted, that is, a state of the cassette case 2 when mounted. FIG. 3 shows a cross section taken along line III-III in FIG. 2 when the cassette 1 is mounted.

1 to 3, a conductive sheet 16 is laid between the bottom surface of the cassette case 2, that is, the inner surface of the cassette case 2 and the ink ribbon 6. Fitting openings 17 and 17 (FIG. 3) are formed at positions corresponding to the guide pins 14 and 14 on the bottom surface of the cassette case 2. In the illustrated example, the conductive sheet 16 is laid in a range that covers the openings 17 and 17, and therefore the conductive sheet also has openings or notches for fitting the guide pins 14 and 14. There is.

As the conductive sheet 16, a metal foil or a plastic sheet mixed with metal particles or carbon can be used. The conductive sheet not only prevents static electricity but also improves the slip when the ink ribbon 6 comes into contact with the ink ribbon. It functions to maintain the smoothness of traveling and guidance.

The ink ribbon cassette 1 is mounted by inserting it into the recess 7 of the print head 13, engaging the ribbon drive shaft 12 with the take-up reel 5, and opening 17 and 17 (opening or cutting of the conductive sheet 16) of the cassette case 2. Guide pin (including notches)
It is set by fitting it to 14, 14 and pressing it against the spring force of the leaf spring 15. The cassette 1 can be easily removed by lifting it against the spring force of the leaf spring 15.

However, the guide pins 14, 14 are made of a conductive material such as metal or metal powder or carbon mixed plastic.

Further, the guide pins 14, 14 carry the cassette 1
When mounted on the cassette 10, the conductive sheet 16 in the cassette case 2 is in contact with it, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

According to the above configuration, the guide pins 14 and 14 are made of a conductive material, and the guide pins are thrust into the cassette case 2 when the cassette is mounted. Therefore, during the printing operation, friction between the print head 13 and the ink ribbon 6 is prevented. Even if the inside of the cassette 1 becomes charged with a high voltage due to the above-mentioned causes such as the friction between the cassette case 2 and the reels 4 and 5, the internal static electricity can be easily transferred to the outside through the guide pins 14 and 14. Can be discharged.

In this way, charging inside the cassette 1 could be effectively prevented.

Further, since the conductive sheet 16 is laid in the cassette case and the guide pins 14, 14 are brought into contact with the conductive sheet 16, the antistatic effect in the cassette 1 can be further improved.

The carriage 10 may be an insulator, but if it is made of a conductive material such as metal or conductive plastic, the above-mentioned discharge effect can be further improved.

Further, although two guide pins 14 and 14 are provided in the illustrated structure, the number and arrangement of these guide pins can be set appropriately.

〔effect〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in the printer for recording by mounting the cassette on the ink ribbon cassette mounting portion of the carriage, the carriage is
A plurality of conductive guide protrusion members for positioning the ink ribbon cassette are provided in the mounting portion, and the ink ribbon cassette is in contact with an ink ribbon to be housed, a conductive sheet member arranged inside the cassette case, and the guide. A plurality of openings for fitting the projection case to position the cassette case, and when mounting the ink ribbon cassette on the mounting section, the plurality of guide projection members,
Since the ink ribbon cassette is positioned in the mounting portion and is contacted with the conductive sheet member to eliminate the charge inside the cassette case, the structure is simple and inexpensive, and the charging and the carriage inside the ink ribbon cassette are prevented. A printer is provided that can achieve positioning of the ink ribbon cassette with respect to the.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink ribbon cassette of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention together with a carriage, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the cassette case of FIG. 1 when mounted, and FIG. 3 is an ink ribbon cartridge of FIG. Lines in Fig. 2 when the set is installed
It is a sectional view taken along the line III-III. 1 ... Ink ribbon cassette, 2 ... Cassette case,
6 ... Ink ribbon, 10 ... Carriage, 14 ... Guide pin, 16 ... Conductive sheet.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A printer for performing recording by placing a cassette on an ink ribbon cassette placing portion of a carriage, wherein the carriage comprises a plurality of conductive guide protrusion members for positioning the ink ribbon cassette. The ink ribbon cassette includes a conductive sheet member arranged inside the cassette case in contact with an ink ribbon to be housed therein, and a plurality of openings fitted to the guide protrusion member to position the cassette case. When the ink ribbon cassette is mounted on the mounting portion, the plurality of guide protrusion members position the ink ribbon cassette on the mounting portion and contact the conductive sheet member, thereby the inside of the cassette case. A printer characterized by performing static elimination.