JPH03216399A - Recording device pen exchange device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To rapidly and certainly replace a pen in matching relation to the movement of a pen carriage independently of the operation of a paper feed mechanism by rotating a pen stocker corresponding to the movement of the lever movable almost in parallel to the pen carriage outside a drawing range and holding the position of the lever corresponding to each pen replacing position and moving the lever by releasing the positioning and holding mechanism of the lever to reset the position thereof. CONSTITUTION:In order to take a pen 16, a pen carriage 5 is moved in the direction shown by an arrow in an erected state and the groove 8 of a pawl 7 is moved to a positioning groove 11a having a hook 10. When the carriage 5 is allowed to fall, the hook 10 enters the groove 8 of the pawl 7 to be released from the positioning groove 11a. When the carriage 5 is moved to the positioning groove 11b in such a state that the hook 10 is caught in the groove 8, a karrusel 2 is rotated through a gear 13 and the pen 1b comes to the position where a pen 1a was present. When the carriage 5 is erected, the hook 10 is detached from the pawl 7 to be caught in a positioning groove 11b. The carriage 5 is sent for the pen 1b to grasp the same and returns to the original position to reopen drawing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a pen changing device for a recording device such as a plotter, and is particularly suitable for quickly and reliably changing a pen in accordance with the movement of a pen carriage. This invention relates to a pen changing device for a plotter.

[Prior Art] FIG. 4 shows a conventional pen exchange device equipped with a dedicated motor for rotating a circular pen stocker (carousel) that holds a plurality of pens. In this conventional example, when the carousel 2 is placed outside the area of the drawing paper and the pen 1 is replaced, the pen carriage 5 is moved to the carousel 2, the carousel 2 is rotated, and the necessary pens 1 are attached and removed. Then, I replaced Pen 1. In this system, a dedicated motor 21 was used to rotate the carousel 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 172699/1983).

For changing pens, there is also a method in which the paper feed motor is also used to rotate the carousel. A conventional pen exchange device of this type is shown in FIG. During drawing, when a shaft 26 connected to a paper feed motor (not shown) rotates, the drawing paper 6 sandwiched between the Vinci roller 15 and the roller 16 moves back and forth in the direction of the arrow. At this time, since the gear 30 is pulled by the spring 35 and does not mesh with the gear 29, the worm gear 24 does not rotate and the carrousel 2 also does not rotate. When replacing the pen, the pen carriage 5 moves to the left and the pin 31 moves to the lever 32.
, the lever 32 rotates around the fulcrum 33, pushing the gear 30 to the right and meshing with the gear 29.

If you rotate the paper feed motor in this state, gear 29.3
Since the worm gear 24 rotates through the pen 0 and rotates the carousel 2, any pen 1 can be selected.
3-114698).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 above, in order to replace the pen 1, it is necessary to provide a dedicated motor 21 and a motor driver 22 for driving and controlling the motor, which increases the number of motors 21. This has the disadvantage that the control system becomes complicated and the equipment becomes larger, leading to a significant increase in cost. In addition, the motor 21
If the resolution was not high, there was a problem that the positioning accuracy would be insufficient. Furthermore, when the pen 1 is not replaced, it is necessary to keep the motor 21 energized to prevent the carousel 2 from rotating, which increases power consumption and causes problems such as the paper expanding and contracting due to the accompanying temperature rise. was.

On the other hand, although the conventional example shown in FIG. 5 has the advantage of not requiring a dedicated motor, it requires four or more gears such as 24, 25, 29, 30, etc. and a gear switching lever 32, and the mechanical part In addition, since the drive mode of the pen carriage 5 and the drive mode of the drawing paper 6 must be controlled together, the control system becomes complicated. In addition, since the paper 6 also moves when the carousel 2 is rotated, if you use paper 6 with a short depth or offset the setting position of the paper 6, it is necessary to eject the paper 6 when replacing the pen 1. It had a serious drawback:

An object of the present invention is to provide a pen changing device for a recording device that can quickly and reliably change pens in accordance with the movement of a pen carriage without using a dedicated motor for the carousel and independently of the operation of a paper feed mechanism. It is to be.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a rotatable pen stocker that is placed outside the drawing range and holds a plurality of recording pens, and a necessary recording pen is taken out from the pen stocker and mounted thereon. In a pen exchange device for a recording device having a pen carriage that performs drawing while moving on recording paper, a lever movable substantially parallel to the pen carriage outside a drawing range;
a linear/rotational motion conversion mechanism that rotates the pen stocker in accordance with the movement of the lever; a positioning and holding mechanism that maintains the position of the lever corresponding to each pen exchange position of the pen stocker; The present invention proposes a pen changing device for a recording device that includes means for releasing a lever positioning and holding mechanism, moving the lever, and resetting the position.

Specifically, the linear/rotational motion conversion mechanism includes a gear connected to a pen stocker, and a rack formed on the lever and meshed with the gear.

The linear/rotational motion conversion mechanism may employ a combination of a pulley connected to the pen stocker and a belt that rotates the pulley in response to movement of the lever.

Further, the positioning and holding mechanism is integrated with a member that is arranged along a movement range of the lever and has a locking part with a pitch corresponding to a pen arrangement pitch on the pen stocker, and the lever that is rotatable around a movement axis. and a hook at one end that can be attached to and detached from the locking portion of the member.

In either case, the release and reset means for the positioning and holding mechanism may be a claw that releases and resets the positioning and holding mechanism in response to the down-up movement of the pen carriage.

If the hook of the positioning and holding mechanism is formed with a surface that slopes toward the pen stocker, the release and reset means of the positioning and holding mechanism pushes down the slope of the hook in response to movement of the pen carriage toward the pen stocker. The claw is used to release and reset the held position, and it becomes possible to release and reset the position regardless of the force of the down-up movement of the pen carriage.

[Operation] In the present invention, a lever movable approximately parallel to the pen carriage is placed outside the drawing range, and a linear/rotational motion conversion mechanism is formed to convert the linear motion of this lever into rotational motion of the pen stocker. A mechanism for holding the lever position corresponding to each pen exchange position is provided, and a hook formed integrally with the pen carriage releases the lever positioning and holding mechanism, and the lever is moved to reset the position. Therefore, there is no need to add a motor dedicated to the pen exchange device, its control circuit, etc., and the configuration is simple, so reliability can be increased and costs can be reduced.

In addition, the drive source for the lever of the present invention is the pen carriage motor, which is independent from the paper feed motor, so there is no need to move the drawing paper when replacing the pen, so there are no restrictions other than pen replacement. This reduces the chance of erroneous operation.

Furthermore, since the position of the switching lever corresponds to the pen on a 1:1 basis, there is no need to provide a sensor to detect the initial pen position, and costs can be reduced in this respect as well.

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an embodiment of a plotter pen changing device according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1a to 1n are pens, and 2 is their pen 1a.
It is a carousel that removably stores ~1n at equal pitches on the circumference. 3 is a pen cap that prevents the tips of the pens 1a to 1n from drying out and dirt from adhering to the tips; 4 is a shaft that guides the movement of the pen carriage 5 in the direction of arrow Y; and 6 is a drawing paper. Reference numeral 7 designates a claw having a groove 8 formed on the front surface for holding a hook 10 to be described later, and reference numeral 9 designates a switching lever that rotates the carousel 2 so that a desired pen faces the reaching area of the pen carriage 5 for pen exchange. be. 10 is formed integrally with the switching lever 9, and the partition plate 1
A positioning groove 1 is formed at the end of the partition plate 17 at a pitch equivalent to the arrangement pitch of the pens on the carousel 2.
The switching lever 9 gets stuck in one of 1a to lln.
It is a hook that regulates the movement of. 12 is a shaft that rotatably supports the switching lever 9 around itself and guides its sliding in the axial direction; 13 is a shaft that engages with a rack 14 formed on the back surface of the switching lever 9 to control the linear movement of the switching lever 9; 6, which is a gear that converts the rotational motion of
15 is a pinch roller that moves the drawing paper 6 in the direction of arrow X together with the roller 16; and 18 is a leaf spring that holds the pens 1a to 1n in the storage position in the carousel 2.

The pen carriage 5 slides in the direction of arrow Y by a motor (not shown) using the shaft 4 as a guide while holding an arbitrary pen 1n. On the other hand, the drawing paper 6 is sandwiched between a roller 16 connected to a paper feed motor (not shown) and a pinch roller 15, and moves in the X direction. The pen 1n is raised and lowered by moving the pen carriage 5 up and down by an actuator built into the pen carriage 5 or an external actuator. In this way, the pen 1n can draw any drawing on the paper 6. Further, the claw 7 is installed at a position where it is caught on the hook 10 when the pen 1 is down and does not touch the hook 10 when the pen 1 is up. On the other hand, the tip of the hook 10 is
The groove 8 is tapered or rounded so that it fits smoothly into the groove 8 of the claw 7, and the shape of the groove 8 is determined so that the hook 1o comes off from the positioning groove 11 when the claw 7 hooks the hook 10. There is.

FIG. 2 is a plan view and a side view showing the pen exchange operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. Here, a case will be described in which the user goes to pick up the pen 1b.

Assume that at the start of the exchange, the carrousel 2 and the switching lever 9 are in positions where the pen 1a can be exchanged, as shown in (a). In this state, the hook 10 of the switching lever 9 is in the positioning groove 11a, and the pen 1a is in a position facing the pen carriage 5.

(a) To take the pen 1b, it is sufficient to move the pen 1b to the current position of the pen 1a. For this purpose, it is necessary to move the switching lever 9 to move the hook 10 from the groove 11a to llb.

First, the pen carriage 5 is in the up position with the arrow (left)
direction, and move the groove 8 of the claw 7 to the positioning groove 11a where the hook 10 is located. In this state, the claw 7 and the hook 10 are not yet in contact with each other.

(b) If the pen carriage 5 is lowered here,
The hook 10 enters the groove 8 of the claw 7, and the hook 10 is released from the positioning groove 11a. At this time, the switching lever 9 rotates in the arrow (counterclockwise) direction about the shaft 12, but the gear 13 and the rack 14 remain engaged.

(c) Next, with the pen carriage 5 down,
That is, with the hook 10 hooked, the positioning groove 1l
Move to b. Along with that, Carrousel 2 is also gear 1
3, and the pen 1b comes to the position where the pen 1a was. If you raise the pen carriage 5 at this position,
The hook 1o comes off the claw 7 and fits into the positioning groove 1lb.

(d) Now that the pen 1b has come to the replaceable position, the pen carriage 5 goes to pick up the pen 1b.

(e) After the pen carriage 5 grabs the pen 1b,
Return to the original position and resume drawing.

When returning the pen 1b to the carousel 2, move the pen carriage 5 directly to the carousel 2, and then return the pen 1b to the carousel 2.
Just leave b behind.

The above behavior is the same for any numbered pen,
Any pen can be replaced by simply changing the length and direction of movement of the hook 10.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the combination of the gear 13 and the rack 14 changes the linear motion of the pen carriage 5 into the rotational motion of the carousel 2, but the same function can be achieved using wires, belts, pulleys, etc. .

FIG. 3 is a plan view and a side view showing another embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is based on the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and the pawl 7 of the pen carriage 5.
A and the hook IOA of the switching lever 9 are different in shape.

In addition, the carousel 2 has a reeling line (belt) 41 and a pulley 3.
It is rotated by 9.

In addition to a portion that fits into the positioning groove 11, the hook IOA is formed with an inclined portion 36 and a stopper 37. The claw 7A of the pen carriage 5 is not provided with a groove 8. Claw 7
By moving the tip of A along the inclined part 36 of the hook IOA, the hook 7A is removed from the positioning groove 11, and the claw 7A is removed.
hooks the stopper 37, moves the switching lever 9, and rotates the carrousel 2.

This embodiment is particularly effective when the up-down force of the pen is weak, and is advantageous when the switching lever 9 cannot be attached to or detached from the positioning groove 11 using the method like the embodiment shown in FIG. That is, the switching lever 9 is not removed from the positioning groove 11 by the up-down force of the pen carriage, but by moving the pen carriage 5 to the left, so even if the up-down force of the pen is small, pen replacement can be done smoothly. It will be done.

The overall operation is similar to that of the FIG. 1 embodiment shown in FIG. When the pen carriage 5 is up, the hook IOA is not touched, but when the pen carriage 5 is down, the hook IOA is touched. When replacing the pen, lower the pen carriage 5 when the claw 7 is located in front of the inclined part 36 of the hook IOA, and move the pen carriage 5 in this state, the hook 10A will come out of the positioning groove 11, and then Rotate Carousel 2 as you move. The rest of the pen-picking operation is the same as in the embodiment shown in FIG. Conversely, when moving the switching lever 9 to the right, the spring 38 always applies a rightward force to the pawl 7 of the pen carriage 5, so the switching lever follows the rightward movement of the pen carriage 5. 9 also moves.

Note that although the above embodiment was related to a plotter,
Of course, the present invention can also be applied to other recording apparatuses that employ a pen exchange system.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a reliable and quick pen exchange function with a simple configuration without adding an extra motor or control circuit, and to provide a low-cost and highly reliable pen for a recording device. A replacement device is obtained.

In addition, since there is no unnecessary movement of drawing paper when changing pens, there are no restrictions other than changing pens.
Misoperations are reduced.

Furthermore, since the position of the switching lever corresponds to the pen on a 1:1 basis, there is no need to provide a sensor to detect the initial pen position, and costs can be reduced in this respect as well.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an embodiment of a plotter pen changing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view and side view showing the pen changing operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a conventional pen changing device equipped with a motor exclusively for rotating the carousel, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the pen exchange device. 1, 1a to 1n... pen, 2... carousel (pen stocker), 3... pen cap, 4... shaft, 5... pen carriage,
6...Paper, 7...Claw, 8...Groove, 9...Switching lever 10...Hook, 11...Positioning groove, 12...
Shaft, 13... Gear, 14... Rack, 15.
... Pinch roller, 16... Roller, 17... Partition plate, 18... Leaf spring, 2o... Platen, 21...
- Motor, 22... Motor driver, 24... Worm gear, 25... Gear, 26... Shaft, 29
...Gear, 3o...Gear, 31...Pin, 32.
・・Lever 33・Fully point, 35・Spring, 36・
... Inclined part, 37 ... Stopper, 38 ... Spring, 3
9... Pulley, 4o... Drive shaft, 41... Yarn reeling (belt).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotatable pen stocker that holds a plurality of recording pens and is placed outside the drawing area, and a pen carriage that takes out and mounts the necessary recording pens from the pen stocker and draws while moving on the recording paper. A pen exchange device for a recording device, comprising: a lever movable substantially parallel to the pen carriage outside the drawing range; a linear/rotational motion conversion mechanism that rotates the pen stocker in accordance with movement of the lever; and the pen stocker. a positioning and holding mechanism that holds the lever in a position corresponding to each pen exchange position; and a positioning and holding mechanism formed integrally with the pen carriage that releases the positioning and holding mechanism of the lever and moves the lever to reset the position. A pen exchange device for a recording device, comprising: means. 2. The pen exchange device for a recording device according to claim 1, wherein the linear/rotational motion converting mechanism includes a gear connected to the pen stocker, and a rack formed on the lever and meshing with the gear. A pen exchange device for a recording device. 3. The pen exchange device for a recording device according to claim 1, wherein the linear/rotational motion conversion mechanism includes a pulley connected to the pen stocker and a belt that rotates the pulley in accordance with movement of the lever. A pen exchange device for a recording device, characterized in that: 4. The pen exchange device for a recording device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the positioning and holding mechanism has a locking portion arranged along a movement range of the lever and having a pitch corresponding to a pen arrangement pitch on the pen stocker. and a hook that is formed integrally with the lever and that is rotatable about a movement axis and that has one end that can be attached to and detached from a locking portion of the member. 5. The pen exchange device for a recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the positioning and holding mechanism release/resetting means releases the positioning and holding mechanism in response to a down-up operation of the pen carriage. A pen changing device for a recording device, characterized in that it consists of a claw that resets the pen. 6. The pen exchange device for a recording device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hook of the positioning and holding mechanism has a surface inclined toward the pen stocker, and the positioning and holding mechanism is released. A pen changing device for a recording device, wherein the resetting means comprises a claw that pushes down the slope of the hook to release the held position and reset the hook in accordance with the movement of the pen carriage toward the pen stocker. .