JPH0440944Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a ribbon winding device for winding an ink ribbon into a ribbon cassette during the ribbon cassette assembly process used in a serial printer.

(Prior Art) When packing ribbon into a ribbon cassette, the ribbon manufacturer may supply only the ribbon in the form of a sub-cassette. This subcassette is
It is a compact item that is made by folding new ribbon into a regular zigzag shape and storing it. The procedure for loading ribbon in this case is to first open the lid of the ribbon cassette, transfer the ink ribbon from the sub-cassette into the ribbon storage chamber of the ribbon cassette, and then
Assemble the built-in parts such as the feed roller, presser roller, and spring, and then close the lid again. In this condition, the ribbon has considerable play within the ribbon receiving chamber of the ribbon cassette, which can cause the ribbon to tip over or flip over. Therefore, the shaft of the feed roller protruding from the ribbon cassette is turned by hand to pull out the ribbon from the drawer opening, while winding it in from the winding opening, which is repeated over almost the entire length of the ribbon. As a result, the ink ribbon is fully spread out and accommodated in the ribbon storage chamber in an irregularly folded state.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) According to the above-mentioned conventional technology, the ribbon must be manually pulled out and rolled in over almost the entire length of the ribbon, which is extremely complicated. Further, when the ribbon is pulled out, ink accumulates at the corners of the ribbon path, and this ink adheres to the ribbon again, causing ink unevenness and deteriorating print quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to efficiently store an ink ribbon in a ribbon accommodating chamber of a ribbon cassette without play and without causing ink unevenness.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is characterized by a positioning means for positioning, on a base, a sub-cassette in which an endless ink ribbon is housed in a regular winding pattern;
positioning means for positioning a ribbon cassette having a built-in feed roller and presser roller;
A drive shaft for driving the feed roller in the ribbon cassette positioned by the ribbon cassette positioning means and a ribbon winding motor for driving the drive shaft are provided.

(Function) When the sub cassette and ribbon cassette are positioned on the base by their respective positioning means and the motor is driven, the drive shaft rotates in conjunction with this, the feed roller rotates in conjunction, and the ink ribbon in the sub cassette is rotated. is wound into the ribbon cassette. When the ink ribbon in the sub-cassette is completely drawn out, the ribbon storage chamber of the ribbon cassette is filled with the ink ribbon in an irregularly folded state. In this winding operation, the ribbon in the passage on the drawer side of the ribbon cassette hardly moves, so that problems such as ink contained in the ink ribbon do not accumulate at the corners of the passage.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the base 1 is fixed to the leg pieces 2, 2 in an inclined state. At the upper position of the base 1, positioning means 3a, 3 for sub-cassettes are provided.
b, 3c, 3d, and 3e are provided protrudingly. Further, at the lower part of the base 1, positioning means 4a and 4b for ribbon cassettes are provided protrudingly. A support plate 5 is provided on the side of the base 1, and a motor 6 for winding the ribbon is attached thereto. The shaft of the motor 6 protrudes from the upper surface of the support plate 5, and a pinion 6a is attached to the protruding end.
is fixed, and transmission wheels 7 and 8 are sequentially meshed with this pinion. A drive shaft 8a is formed concentrically with the transmission wheel 8.

As shown in FIG. 2, positioning means 3a to 3e
The sub-cassette 9 is positioned by. The sub-cassette 9 has an elongated box shape, and an endless ink ribbon 10 is regularly folded in a winding pattern and housed therein in a compact manner. A long and narrow through hole 9a is provided on both sides of the sub cassette 9, and a portion of the ink ribbon 10 is inserted into this through hole 9a.
It is pulled out from the outside. The sub-cassette 9 is covered with a removable lid 11.

The ribbon cassette 12, as shown in FIG.
Positioning is performed by positioning means 4a and 4b. As shown in the second and third figures, this ribbon cassette 12 is provided with a feed roller 13 and a presser roller 14 in contact with the feed roller 13 at the winding portion at the left end, and a ribbon presser spring 15 at the drawer portion at the right end.
is provided. The feed roller 13 and the press roller 14 have corrugated tooth profiles that mesh with each other, and the ink ribbon 10 is passed between them. The central part is a ribbon storage chamber 12a, and the ink ribbon 1 is placed at both ends.
0 passages 12b and 12c protrude. The ribbon cassette 12 is covered with a removable lid 16.

When the ribbon cassette 12 is positioned on the base 1 by the positioning means 4a and 4b as described above, the ribbon winding device is driven into the center hole (not shown) of the feed roller 13 which is open on the back side of the ribbon cassette. The shaft 8a is fitted, the drive shaft 8a and the feed roller 13 are connected, and the rotation of the drive shaft 8a can be transmitted to the feed roller 13.

Next, the ribbon winding operation will be explained.

First, the empty ribbon cassette 12 with the sub-cassette 9 and lid 16 removed is placed in the positioning means 3a.
3e and positioning means 4a and 4b, respectively, are set on the base 1. In this set state, the drive shaft 8a is connected to the feed roller 13. Therefore, a part of the ink ribbon 10 exposed to the outside of the sub-cassette 9 is pulled out and placed in the passage 12b of the ribbon cassette 12, between the feed roller 13 and the presser roller 14, and in the ribbon storage chamber 12.
a, pass through passage 12c. The ink ribbon 10 is pressed against the inner wall surface of the ribbon cassette by a ribbon presser spring 15 at the drawer portion. Thereafter, the empty ribbon cassette 12 is covered with a lid 16, and the motor 6 is driven. Then, the motor pinion 6a rotates, the drive shaft 8a is driven via the transmission wheels 7 and 8, and the feed roller 13 and presser roller 14 are further driven. As a result, the ink ribbon 10 is fed into the ribbon storage chamber by the feed roller 13 and the press roller 14, and is stored in an irregularly meandering manner.

Since the base 1 is tilted (tilted forward downward) as shown in the first figure, the ink ribbon 10 stored in a meandering manner is stored in the ribbon storage chamber 12.
The ribbon moves along the lower wall of A, in this example the lower wall, so that the ribbon does not fall.

The ink ribbon in the sub-cassette 9 is housed in a regular serpentine fold, so its volume is small, but the ink ribbon stored in the ribbon cassette 12 is housed in an irregular zigzag-fold as described above. The ribbon storage chamber 1 of the ribbon cassette 12 has a larger volume than the ribbon storage chamber 1 of the ribbon cassette 12.
The ribbon 10 fills up inside 2a.

When all the ink ribbons 10 in the sub-cassette 9 are stored in the ribbon cassette 12, the motor 6
Stops driving. So, cover 1 of sub cassette 9
1 and the ink ribbon running across the inside of the sub-cassette 9, winding of the ink ribbon 10 into the ribbon cassette 12 is completed.

FIG. 3 shows the state inside the ribbon cassette 12 when winding is completed. The ink ribbon 10 is completely diffused in the ribbon storage chamber 12a, and during this winding operation, the ribbon in the passage 12c on the drawer side hardly moves, so that the ink contained in the ink ribbon 10 is spread throughout the passage. No inconvenience such as accumulation at the corner of 12c occurs.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the ribbon winding device of the present invention, the work of winding an ink ribbon into a ribbon cassette can be carried out extremely quickly. Moreover, since no ink pools occur during winding of the ink ribbon, the print quality is good, and especially in the case of multi-colored ink ribbons, each color is maintained clearly. In addition, since the base is tilted, the ink ribbon stored in the ribbon storage chamber moves along the inner wall of the ribbon cassette, which prevents winding failures caused by the ribbon falling over or turning over during the winding operation. It never occurs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ribbon winding device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the ribbon winding state, and Fig. 3 is a plane view showing the inside of the ribbon cassette when winding is completed. It is a diagram. 1... Base, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e...
...Sub cassette positioning means, 4a, 4b...
Ribbon cassette positioning means, 6...motor,
8a... Drive shaft, 9... Sub cassette, 10...
Ink ribbon, 12... Ribbon cassette, 13...
...Feed roller, 14...Press roller.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] 1. A positioning means for positioning a sub-cassette in which endless ink ribbons are stored in a regularly folded manner on a base, and a positioning means for positioning a ribbon cassette in which a feed roller and a presser roller are built-in. a drive shaft for driving the feed roller in the ribbon cassette positioned by the ribbon cassette positioning means; and a ribbon winding motor for driving the drive shaft. Winding device. 2. The ribbon winding device according to claim 1 of the utility model registration, characterized in that the base is inclined.