JPH03213382A - Multicolor ribbon cassette home position detection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily detect a home position while achieving miniaturization and cost reduction by a method wherein the connection state of a drive member and a drive motor is released by the notch part of the drive member when a multicolor ribbon cassette is positioned at the home position and, at the same time, the position of the drive member is prescribed through an engaging part. CONSTITUTION:A drive motor 31 is driven so as to shift a multicolor ribbon cassette 10 by definite quantity to forwardly rotate a pinion gear 32 and a drive member 36 is revolved in a clockwise direction to operate shift means 28, 29 to shift the ribbon cassette 10. When the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is positioned at the home position HP, the connection state of the drive member 36 and the drive motor 31 is released by the notch part 47 of the drive member 36. At this time, a spring arm 71 is brought into contact with an engaging part 48 by an adjusting cam 72 to prescribe the position of the drive member 36 and the home position HP of the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is easily detected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a home position detection device for a multicolor ribbon cassette in a color printer.

[Conventional Technology] Conventional color printers are generally configured to perform multicolor printing by shifting the multicolor ribbon relative to the print head to change the ribbon position.

The first and second printers are representative examples of such color printers.
This is a color printer.

A first color printer is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In the figure, 1 is the carrier, and carrier shaft 2
The platen 5 is provided so as to be freely movable and driven in the extending direction of the platen 5 (direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in the second drawing) via the carrier rail 3 and the like. A print head 4 or a platen 5 is mounted on the carrier 1 so as to face it.

The first color printer also includes a multicolor ribbon cassette 10 that accommodates multicolor ribbons and is installed to be shiftable with respect to the print head 4, a shift means for shifting this cassette 10, and a shifter for shifting this cassette 10. a home position detection device for detecting the home position HP of the multicolor ribbon cassette 10; and a home position detection device for detecting the home position HP of the multicolor ribbon cassette 10;
l, P2. P3), and this cassette 10 is positioned at each ribbon switching position (PL, P2...
A locking means or the like is provided for locking the cassette 10 when it is positioned at P3).

Specifically, the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is rotatably supported by the carrier 1 via a shaft 6.

Further, the shift means includes a kite cam 21 rotatably supported by the carrier 1 via a connecting shaft 24, and a follower 22 that engages with this cam 21 and rotates the multicolor ribbon cassette 10. .

Further, the drive means includes a drive motor 31 and this motor 3.
1 and rotates by the power from the motor 31 to operate the shift means (21, 221. Here, the drive motor 31 usually
It is formed by a stepping motor that can rotate forward and backward. Further, the driving member is formed of a control gear 34 having gears formed on its outer periphery. This gear 34 is
It is provided so as to mesh with a pinion gear 32 attached to the connecting shaft 24 and attached to the drive motor 31 via an idler gear 33 .

By the way, as shown in FIG. 3, the home position detection device detects the home position HP of the multicolor ribbon cassette 10.
A light transmitting hole 41 is formed through the control gear 34 in correspondence with the light transmitting hole 41, and a photosensor 4 capable of detecting the light transmitting hole 41.
2, and a control circuit (not shown) that stops driving the drive motor 31 when the photosensor 42 detects the transparent hole 41 and turns on.

Therefore, when the drive motor 31 is driven to rotate the control gear 34, the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is shifted via the shifting means (21, 223) and the transparent hole 41 is rotated synchronously with the gear 34. Then, when the photosensor 42 detects the transparent hole 41 and turns on,
The control circuit stops driving the drive motor 31. Thereby, the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is positioned at the home position HP.

Furthermore, the positioning means is formed of a control means that rotates the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 by a predetermined angle from the home position HP by driving and controlling the drive motor 31 to position it at each ribbon switching position.

Furthermore, the locking means includes a cam roller 6I, an engagement pin 63, and the like. Here, the cam roller 61 is attached to the connecting shaft 24, and the multicolored ribbon cassette 10 is attached to the outer periphery of the cam roller 61 at each ribbon switching position (PI, P2, .
P3) A plurality of locking grooves 62 are formed for locking the roller 61. Furthermore, the locking pin 63 is urged against the cam roller 61 by a spring 64, and the locking groove 62 of the roller 61 is pressed against the locking groove 62 of the roller 61.
2 to move the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 to each ribbon switching position <PL, P2. P3).

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second color printer has a carrier 1. Carrier shaft 2A Yaria rail 3o Rad to print 4. Platen 5° multicolor ribbon cassette 10. The driving means 1 includes a positioning means, a shift means, a home position detection device, a locking means, etc., which are different in configuration from those of the color printer of the first color printer.

Here, the shifting means includes the spiral cam 25 and the follower 26.
It is formed by including. The helical cam 25 is rotatably provided on the carrier 1 via a connecting shaft 27. A spiral kite 25a is formed on the outer periphery of the spiral cam 25, and the follower 26 is slidably engaged with this kite 25a.

Further, the drive means includes a drive motor 31. pinion gear 32
．． It is formed to include a drive 4.

By the way, the home position detection device includes a notch 45 formed in the control gear 34 and a return spring 46 that always urges the gear 34 in a fixed direction. The notch 45 is formed in the control gear 34 so as to engage with the pinion gear 32 when the drive motor 31 is driven and the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is located at the home position HP.

That is, when the drive motor 31 is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 via the shift hand H (25, 26), the pinion gear 32 shifts to the control gear 34 when the cassette 10 is located at the home position HP.
The meshing state of the gears 32 and 34 is released by engaging with the notch 45 of the gear.

Then, the power from the drive motor 31 is no longer transmitted to the helical cam 25 via the control gear 34, and the cam 2
5 is stopped. As a result, the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is positioned at the home position HP. Note that since the gear 34 is urged to mesh with the gear 32 by the return spring 46, after the home position is detected, the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 can be shifted to each ribbon switching position by driving the gear 34 in the reverse direction. can.

Furthermore, the locking means includes a guide 25 of the helical cam 25.
is formed including each horizontal portion of a and a follower 26,
Here, when the drive motor 31 is driven to position the multicolor ribbon force center 10 at an arbitrary ribbon switching position, the follower 26 or the spiral cam 25 is located at the horizontal part of the kite 25a, and the horizontal part and the follower 2b are connected. The position of the cassette 10 is regulated by this.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, the home position detection devices for the multicolor ribbon cassettes in the first and second color printers described above both have problems.

That is, the home position detecting device for the multicolor ribbon cassette in the first color printer uses the light transmitting hole 41. Since it is formed from the photosensor 42, a control circuit, etc., the number of parts and the number of assembly steps inevitably increase. Therefore, it is not possible to meet the current demands for miniaturization and cost reduction of printers.

In addition, in the home position detection device for the multicolor ribbon cassette in the second color printer, since the braking force of the return spring 46 is always acting on the driving member (control gear 34), the control gear for detecting the home position is 34 requires large torque to rotate. Therefore, the drive motor 31 tends to become large, which also goes against the demands for downsizing and cost reduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a home position detection device for a multicolor ribbon cassette that can easily detect the home position while reducing the size and cost.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a multicolor ribbon cassette that accommodates multicolor ribbons and is installed to be shiftable with respect to a print head, a shift means for shifting this cassette, and this shift means. and a drive means for driving the shift means, and the drive means includes a drive motor and a drive member connected to the motor and rotated by power from the motor to operate the shift means. The multicolor ribbon cassette is shifted and positioned at each set ribbon switching position by driving and controlling the drive motor, and multicolor printing is performed by cooperation between the multicolor ribbon of the cassette and the print head. In a home position detection device for a multicolor ribbon cassette in a color printer, when the drive motor is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette by a certain amount, when the cassette is located at the home position, the drive motor and the The driving member is provided with a notch for releasing the coupling state with the driving member and a locking part for regulating the position, and when the coupling state of the driving member and the drive motor is released, the locking part An interlocking position regulating means is provided which engages to regulate the position of the driving member and releases the position regulation when both are in a connected state, and further, when the driving member and the drive motor are released from the connected state, the driving member A biasing means for biasing the drive motor so that the drive motor is connected to the drive motor is provided.

[Operation 1] In the present invention, when the drive motor is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette by a certain amount and the drive member is rotated, the shifting means is activated to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette. When the multicolor ribbon cassette is located at the home position, the connection between the drive member and the drive motor is released by the notch in the drive member. At the same time, the position of the drive member is regulated by the interlocking position regulating means via the locking portion. Thereby, the home position of the multicolor ribbon cassette can be detected with high accuracy.

In this way, since the home position is detected by the mechanical configuration including the notch portion and the locking portion of the drive member and the interlocking restriction means, the number of parts and the number of assembly steps can be suppressed and simplified.

Further, the position of the drive member is regulated by the interlocking position regulating means when the drive member is connected to the drive motor or is disengaged and stopped, and when the drive member is coupled to the drive motor and rotated, the position regulation is released. Therefore, large torque is not required to rotate this drive member. Therefore, the drive motor can be downsized.

Therefore, the home position can be easily detected while achieving miniaturization and cost reduction.

Incidentally, when the home position of the multicolor ribbon cassette is detected and the driving of the drive motor is stopped, the connection state between the drive motor and the drive member is restored by the urging means. Therefore, the multicolor ribbon cassette can be shifted from the home position to each ribbon switching position by driving the drive motor.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

A home position detection device according to the present invention is applied to a color printer shown in FIG.

Here, this color printer includes a multicolor ribbon cassette 10 that accommodates multicolor ribbons and is installed to be shiftable with respect to the print head 4, a shift means 20 for shifting this cassette 10, and this shift means 20. The drive means 30 includes a drive motor 31 and a drive member connected to the motor 31 and rotated by the power from the motor 31 to operate the shift means 20. It is formed by including.

Components that are the same as those shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted or simplified.

Here, the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is rotatably supported via a shaft 6 on a carrier 1 provided so as to be freely movable and driveable in the longitudinal direction of a platen 5 via a carrier shaft 2 and a carrier rail 3.

The shifting means 20 is a means for shifting the multicolor ribbon cassette 10, and is a guide cam integrally formed with a control gear 36 as a driving member in order to share parts and achieve downsizing. The cam cassette 28 is formed to include a follower 29 that is fitted into and engaged with the cam cassette 28 to rotate the multicolor ribbon cassette 10.

Further, the drive means 30 is a means for driving the shift means 20, and is connected to a drive motor 31, and is rotated by the power of the motor 31 to operate the shift means (28, 29). The drive member is formed to include a drive member. Here, the drive motor 31 is formed by a stepping motor capable of forward and reverse rotation. Further, the driving member is a control gear 36 having gears formed on the outer periphery.
It is more formed. This gear 36 is rotatably supported by the carrier 1 via a shaft 37 and meshes with a pinion gear 32 mounted on the drive motor 31.

By the way, this home position detection device has a drive member (
36), a notch 47 and a locking portion 48. It is configured to include interlocking position regulating means 70 and urging means.

Here, the notch 47 is a means for cutting off power transmission from the drive motor 31 to the shift means 20 when the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is located at the home position HP, or a certain amount (
In this embodiment, when driving to shift by the maximum shift it), when the cassette IO is located at the home position HP, the drive motor 10 and the drive member (
36).

Furthermore, the locking portion 48 is formed so as to be able to regulate the position of the drive member (36) when the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is located at the home position HP.

Further, the interlocking position regulating means 70 controls the drive member (36) when the drive motor 31 is disconnected from the drive member (36).
The drive member (36) is engaged with the locking portion 48 of the drive member (36) to restrict the position of the drive member (36), and the position restriction is released when the two are connected.

Specifically, the interlocking position regulating means 70 includes spring arms 71 . It is configured to include an adjustment cam 72, a gear 73, and the like.

Here, the spring arm 71 is rotatably provided on the carrier 1 via a shaft 74, and its tip is formed to engage with a locking portion 48 provided on the drive member (36). There is. Further, the spring arm 71 is rotated by the adjustment cam 72, and when the connection state between the drive member (36) and the drive motor 31 is released and the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is located at the home position HP, the locking portion 48 to restrict the position of the driving member (36), and when both (31, 36) are in a connected state, the driving member (36) is separated from the locking portion 48 to release the position restriction.

Here, the adjustment cam 72 is configured to be rotated by the drive motor 31 via a gear 73 that meshes with the pinion gear 32.

Further, the biasing means includes the drive member (36) and the drive motor 3.
1 is a means for urging the drive member (36) to be connected to the drive motor 31 when the connection state of the drive member (36) is released.
In this embodiment, the biasing means is formed by a leaf spring 49 attached to the carrier 1. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 49a is a stopper for preventing the leaf spring 49 from being excessively deformed.

Next, we will explain the use of 1.7 When the drive motor 31 is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette 1o by a certain amount and the pinion gear 32 is rotated in the forward direction, the drive member (36) rotates clockwise. The shift means (28, two) are operated to shift the ribbon cassette 1o. At this time, the spring arm 71 is rotated clockwise by the adjustment cam 72, and the drive member (36
), the drive member (36) can be smoothly rotated with a small torque.

Then, the multicolor ribbon cassette 1o is at home position H.
When positioned at P, the connection between the drive member (36) and the drive motor 31 is released by the notch 47 of the drive member (36), as shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the adjustment cam 72 causes the spring arm 71 to come into contact with the locking portion 48 to regulate the position of the drive member (36), so the home position H of the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is
In addition, the home position HP of the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 can be easily detected.
is detected and the driving of the drive motor 31 is stopped, the biasing means (49) causes the drive motor 31 and the drive member (3
6) has been restored. Therefore, by driving the drive motor 31 and reversing the pinion gear 32, the drive member (36) is rotated counterclockwise from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. Ribbon switching position (Pl, P2, P
It is possible to smoothly shift to 3).

According to this embodiment, when the drive motor 31 is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 by a certain amount, when the cassette 10 is located at the home position HP, the drive motor 31 and the drive member The drive member (36) is provided with a notch 47 for releasing the connection state with the drive member (36) and a locking part 48 for regulating the position. When released, the position of the multicolored ribbon cassette 10 is regulated and both (31
, 36> are in the connected state, an interlocking position regulating means 70 is provided which releases the position regulation when the drive member (36) is connected.
) and the drive motor 31 is released, the structure includes a biasing means (49) that biases the drive member (36) to be coupled to the drive motor 31, thereby reducing the number of parts and assembly man-hours. It is possible to suppress the increase in the amount of data and simplify it.

Further, when the drive member (36) is disconnected from the drive motor 31 and stopped, the interlocking position regulating means 7
0, and when it is connected to the drive motor 31 and rotated, the position restriction is released.
The drive motor 31, which requires large torque to rotate the drive member (31), can be downsized. Therefore, the home position can be easily detected while reducing the size and cost.

Further, the interlocking position regulating means 70 is connected to the spring arm 71.
．． Since it has a simple mechanical structure including the adjustment cam 72 and gear 73, etc., the color printer can be miniaturized and
Cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, since the stopper 49a prevents the four leaf springs from being excessively deformed, after the home position is detected, the drive member (36) is connected to the drive motor 31 by the elastic force of the leaf spring 49, and the multicolor ribbon cassette 10 is connected to the drive member (36) by the elastic force of the leaf spring 49. can be smoothly shifted to each ribbon switching position (Pi, P2°P3).

Note that in the above embodiment, the biasing means is a plate/<ne4
9, the drive member (36) and the drive motor 3
Any configuration may be used as long as the drive member (36) can be urged to be connected to the drive motor 31 when the connection with the drive motor 31 is released.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, when the drive motor is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette by a certain amount, the connection state between the drive motor and the drive member is changed when the cassette is located at the home position. The driving member is provided with a notch for releasing the drive member and a locking portion for regulating the position, and when the connection between the drive member and the drive motor is released, the locking portion engages with the locking portion to stop the drive member. An interlocking position regulating means is provided which regulates the position and releases the position regulation when both are in a connected state, and further connects the drive member to the drive motor when the coupled state between the drive member and the drive motor is released. Since the configuration includes a biasing means for biasing, the home position can be easily detected while achieving miniaturization and cost reduction.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the present invention. Figures 2 and 3 are representative of conventional color printers.
FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a plan view. 4 and 5 are views showing the main parts of another typical example of a conventional color printer, with FIG. 4 being a front view and FIG.
The figure is a plan view. 4... Print head, 10... Multicolor ribbon cassette, 20... Shifting means, 30... Driving means. 31... Drive motor, 36... Control gear (drive member), 40...
Home position detection device, 47... Notch portion, 48... Locking portion, 49... Plate spring (biasing means), 70... Interlocking position regulating means, HP... Home position.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) It has a multicolor ribbon cassette that accommodates multicolor ribbon and is installed so as to be shiftable with respect to the print head, a shift means for shifting this cassette, and a drive means for driving this shift means. The drive means includes a drive motor and a drive member connected to the motor and rotated by power from the motor to operate the shift means, and controls the drive motor. The home position of the multicolor ribbon cassette in a color printer that shifts the multicolor ribbon cassette and positions it at each set ribbon switching position, and performs multicolor printing by the cooperation of the multicolor ribbon of the cassette and the print head. In the detection device, when the drive motor is driven to shift the multicolor ribbon cassette by a certain amount, a notch that releases the connection between the drive motor and the drive member when the cassette is located at a home position. The driving member is provided with a locking portion for regulating the position of the drive member, and when the connection state between the drive member and the drive motor is released, the locking portion engages with the locking portion to regulate the position of the drive member. An interlocking position regulating means is provided for releasing the position regulation when the two are in a coupled state, and further, the drive member is attached to be coupled to the drive motor when the coupling state between the drive member and the drive motor is released. A home position detection device for a multicolor ribbon cassette, characterized in that it is provided with a biasing means for biasing the multicolor ribbon cassette.