JPH0692186B2 - Ribbon cartridge for color printer - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the structure of a ribbon cartridge of a color printer using a multicolor ink ribbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a ribbon cartridge containing an ink ribbon, when pulling out the ink ribbon from a ribbon cartridge body containing the ink ribbon to a printing section,
It is necessary to apply tension to the ink ribbon so that the ink ribbon near the printing portion does not sag. As a method, near the outlet of the ribbon cartridge body,
It is common to apply a frictional load to the ink ribbon to apply tension to the ink ribbon between the ink ribbon winding member provided near the entrance of the ribbon cartridge body. (See Figure 2)

[0003]

However, the brake member provided for applying a frictional load to the ink ribbon is
In the ribbon cartridge for a color printer in which a plurality of color bands are provided in parallel to the running direction of the ink ribbon, different color bands are applied because the ink ribbon comes into contact with the surface of the ink ribbon and applies a certain pressure to brake the ink ribbon. There is a big problem that the adjacent portion of (1) also comes into contact with the brake member and slides, the ink moves to another color band through the brake member, and color mixing occurs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a ribbon cartridge provided with a brake member having a simple structure that does not cause color mixing between different color bands of the color ribbon cartridge.

[0005]

A ribbon cartridge for a color printer according to the present invention is a ribbon cartridge which accommodates a multicolor ink ribbon provided with a plurality of color bands in the running direction of the ink ribbon, in the vicinity of the entrance of the ribbon cartridge. A ribbon feed member that winds up the multicolor ink ribbon and a ribbon brake spring that is provided near the outlet of the ribbon cartridge and presses the surface of the multicolor ink ribbon to apply tension to the multicolor ink ribbon. Is characterized in that a slit is provided at a position corresponding to the boundary portion of the color band in the pressing portion of the multicolor ink ribbon.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a main body of a serial printer embodying the present invention. Carriage 1
Is side frame (L) 2, side frame (R) 3
It moves in parallel to the left and right along a guide shaft 5 arranged in parallel with the platen 4. A print head 6 is mounted on the carriage 1, and a ribbon mask 7 is mounted on the carriage 1 between the print head 6 and the platen 4 to prevent paper stains. The color ink ribbon 8 inserted between the print head 6 and the ribbon mask 7 is housed in the ribbon cartridge 9. The carriage 1 is driven by a CR motor 11 which is a pulse motor via a timing belt 10 inserted on the bottom surface. Further, the platen 4 is driven by a paper feed motor 12 fixed to the side frame (R) 3.

FIG. 2 shows a ribbon winding mechanism. Timing belt 1 locked to carriage 1
0 is mounted on a belt driven pulley 13, and the belt driven pulley 13 is engaged with a planetary gear 15 via a planetary lever 14. The planet lever 14 selectively swings to
Engaging with the planetary transmission gear A16 at a specific position of
Is engaged with the planetary transmission gear B17 at a specific position of. The planet transmission gear B17 is always engaged with the planet transmission gear C18, and the planet transmission gear C18 is always engaged with the ribbon drive gear 19 together with the planet transmission gear A16.

The color ink ribbon 8 is housed in a ribbon cartridge 9 in an endless manner, and a ribbon drive gear 19 inserted into a ribbon feed roller 20 is driven to drive the ribbon feed roller 20 and the ribbon retainer. The color ink ribbon 8 held by the roller 21 (ribbon feed member) is wound up. At this time, a ribbon brake spring 22 is attached to the outlet of the ribbon cartridge 9 in order to prevent the color ink ribbon 8 from sagging.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the ribbon brake spring 2. The ribbon brake spring 22 is provided with slits 22-a, 22-b, 22-c at three locations. The slits 22-a, 22-b, 22-c are located at positions corresponding to the boundaries of the color bands of the color ink ribbon, namely, black 8-a, magenta 8-b, cyan 8-c, and yellow 8-d. Therefore, the pressure of the ribbon brake spring 22 causes the ink to permeate at the boundary between the color bands of the color ink ribbon 8 and suppress the occurrence of color mixing.

FIG. 4 shows a ribbon shift mechanism. The ribbon cartridge 9 is mounted so as to be supported by the cartridge holder (L) 23l and the cartridge holder (R) 23r at both ends thereof. The shift cam 24 is driven by the ribbon shift motor 25, but the shift arm 26 is in sliding contact with the cam groove portion 14-a of the shift cam 24, and the shift arm 24 swings about the shift arm shaft 27 as the shift cam 24 rotates. Move. Shift arm 2
6 is fixed integrally with a shift adjusting arm 28 for adjusting the initial height of the ribbon cartridge 9, and the shift adjusting arm 28 is engaged with a slide shaft 29 at its tip portion 28-a. . The slide shaft 29 is
It is fixed to the cartridge holder 23 at its upper end 29-a and is held so as to be vertically slidable along a guide hole of a slide shaft guide 30 provided on the side frame (L) 2. . In addition, the spring holder 30 of the cartridge holder 23 and the slide shaft guide 30-
A coil spring 31 is attached between a and a to urge the cartridge holder 23 vertically downward.

[0012]

The ribbon brake spring of the ribbon cartridge according to the present invention is provided with a slit at a position corresponding to the boundary portion of the color band of the ribbon in the pressing portion of the multicolor ink ribbon. Since the boundary of the color bands is not touched and the same part is not rubbed or pressed, color mixing does not occur between the color bands.

Further, color mixing can be prevented only by using a ribbon brake spring provided with a slit, which contributes to simplification of the structure of the ribbon cartridge.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a serial printer that employs a ribbon cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a main part of a ribbon cartridge and a ribbon winding mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a ribbon brake spring portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a ribbon shift mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 8 Color Ink Ribbon 9 Ribbon Cartridge 20 Ribbon Feeding Roller 21 Ribbon Pressing Roller 22 Ribbon Brake Spring 22-a, b, c Slit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ribbon cartridge that accommodates a multicolor ink ribbon in which color bands of a plurality of colors are provided in the running direction of the ink ribbon, and a ribbon feed member that is provided near the entrance of the ribbon cartridge and that winds up the multicolor ink ribbon. And provided near the outlet of the ribbon cartridge,
A ribbon brake spring for pressing the surface of the multicolor ink ribbon to apply tension to the multicolor ink ribbon, the ribbon brake spring corresponding to a boundary portion of the color band at a pressing portion of the multicolor ink ribbon. A ribbon cartridge for a color printer, which is characterized in that a slit is provided at a portion to be cut.