JPS6280068A - Impact-type printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce vibration and prevent noises from being generated, by making a platen compact so as to have a smaller noise-radiating surface area, and disposing the platen opposite to a printing mechanism system so that it can be moved in a printing direction. CONSTITUTION:A platen 6 is moved by driving a platen-driving wire 11 fixed to the platen 6 by a driving mechanism. A printing head 1 is fixed to a carriage 2, which is so supported that it can be moved along a carriage guide 3 fixed to a chassis frame 9. A spacing belt 4 is fixed to the carriage 2, and is driven by a spacing motor 5, whereby the carriage 2 can be moved in a printing direction. The carriage 2 and the platen 6 are constantly moved in the state of facing each other, under the control of a controlling circuit.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer, and particularly to a lightweight, low-noise impact printer.

[Prior art and its problems]

Typical output devices for information processing equipment such as computers and word processors include CRTs, plinks, plotters, and file devices. Among these, printers are positioned as the most common output device because they can easily output output information as visual information such as characters and figures, and can also be saved as hard copies.

There are two main types of printers: impact-type printers that transfer ink to a printing material such as paper by applying a blow to the printing material through an ink ribbon, and printers that use inkjet, thermal paper, or electrophotographic technology. There is also a non-impact type that uses things like. Among them, impact printers are the most widely used because they can record on plain paper and are superior in terms of reliability and cost.

Impact printers also include a type printer, which prints by selecting type, and a wire dot printer, which combines dozens of thin wires and drives arbitrary ones of those wires to form characters as a collection of extremely fine dots. There is also a formula. Both have the same basic printing method, in which a printing hammer or armature is driven to cause a wire or type drive body to collide with the printing object on the platen through the ink ribbon, and the impact causes the ink ribbon to be damaged. The ink contained in the printing medium is transferred to the printing medium. Therefore, the printing method of the impact printer is characterized by the collision of the printing hammer or wire, which is a moving part, with the platen, and by adopting this method, the printing mechanism system can be made extremely simple. However, in impact type printers, the kinetic energy of the moving parts is applied to the platen as an impact force as described above, so the platen vibrates greatly due to the energy transmission, resulting in the generation of large noise. The noise generated from the platen is one of the major factors that determines the noise level of an impact printer, and reducing this noise will result in a lower noise printer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a mechanical system of a conventional wire dot impact printer. A print head 1 having a built-in wire is placed on a carriage 2 which is held movably in the printing direction by a carriage guide 3. A spacing belt 4 is connected to a carriage 2 equipped with a print head 1, and the carriage 2 is driven by a spacing motor 5 via the spacing belt 4. The platen 6 is rotatably held by a frame 9, and the platen 6 feeds the printing medium 8 by rotating a line feed pulley 7 attached to the platen 6 by a line feed motor (not shown).

The printing target 8 is wrapped around the platen 6, and the print head 1
It has a structure in which printing is performed via an ink ribbon (not shown) using a wire incorporated therein, and the printing object 8 is fed by friction between it and the platen 6.

Considering the printing noise generated by the impact of the wire on the platen 6, the mechanism of its generation can be considered as follows. First, the wire inside the print head 1 is connected to the platen 6.
Upon impact, the kinetic energy of the wire is transferred to the platen 6. The wire impact is impulse-like,
The platen 6 receives an extremely broadband excitation force. This excitation force causes the platen 6 to vibrate, and the vibrational displacement causes noise to be widely propagated into the air. The radiated noise generated by the vibration of the platen 6 can be avoided because the external surface area of the platen 6 is large and the platen 6 has an almost integral structure.
The entire structure vibrates greatly, and as a result, noise is radiated over a wide area. Therefore, conventional printers have the drawback that noise is radiated over a wide range outside due to the vibration of the platen caused by the wire impact.

[Structure of the invention]

The present invention has a structure in which a carriage equipped with a printing mechanism system is movable in the printing direction, and the object to be printed is placed in close contact with a platen, and a blow is applied to the object by a wire or a hammer that constitutes the printing mechanism system to print on the object to be printed. The impact printer is characterized in that the platen is made small so as to reduce the noise radiation area, is provided opposite to the printing mechanism system, and is movable in the printing direction.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printing mechanism system showing a wire dot impact printer which is an embodiment of the impact printer of the present invention. The platen 6 is supported movably along a platen guide shaft 10, and the platen guide shaft 10 is fixed to the chassis frame 9. The platen 6 is moved by driving a platen driving wire 11 fixed to the platen 6 by a driving mechanism (not shown). Print head 1 is a carriage
The carriage 2 is supported movably along a carriage guide 3, and the carriage guide 3 is fixed to a chassis frame 9. A spacing belt 4 is fixed to the carriage 2, and the spacing belt 4 is driven by a spacing motor 5.
can be moved in the printing direction. Further, the carriage 2 and the platen 6 are controlled by a control circuit (not shown) so that they always move facing each other.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of the printing section of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The printing object 8 is a guide roller 13a.

13b, 13c, contact the platen 6, and are fed by line feed rollers L2a, 1'2b.

In order to reduce the noise radiated from the platen 6 due to the impact force generated by the impact of the wire, it is necessary to reduce the vibration level of the platen and at the same time to reduce the noise radiation area.

This is because the noise radiation power from the platen decreases as the surface area decreases. Therefore, in the impact printer of the present invention, the platen has a structure that allows it to move freely in synchronization with the movement of the carriage, so the platen only needs to be present near the area where printing is performed by the print head. It is possible to reduce the size and therefore reduce the radiation area of the noise generated due to the vibration of the platen, thereby realizing reduction in noise generation. Furthermore, unlike the conventional example, the platen does not need to exist across the entire printing width, making the printer extremely lightweight. The optimal shape, material, size, etc. of the platen to be used can be selected depending on each case. Although the above embodiments have been shown as examples of wire dot type impact printers, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to other impact type printers, and these examples do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way. Needless to say.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, by structuring the platen so that it can always move freely in opposition to the print head as the carriage equipped with the print head moves, the noise emitted from the platen during printing with an impact printer can be reduced. It is possible to obtain an impact type printer with reduced noise.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printing mechanism showing an embodiment of the impact printer of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the printing section of the impact printer shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a conventional impact printer. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a printer. 1......Print head 2...
...... Carriage 3... Carriage guide 4... Spacing belt 5...・Spacing motor 6・・・・・・・・・Platen 7・・・・・・・・・Line feed pulley・
・・・・・・・・・Printed object 9・・・・・・・・・Chassis frame 10...
......Platen guide 11...
...Platen drive wire 12...
...Line feed roller 13...
...Guide roller representative Patent attorney Yoshiyuki Iwasa 1 ・6ρology, l-' 2 Kya)'Izu6 TS05TEN10 TS05TEZ-force'I is shaft 1j, ArateX
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Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A carriage equipped with a printing mechanism system is structured to be movable in the printing direction, and the object to be printed is brought into close contact with the platen, and a blow is applied to the object by a wire or hammer that constitutes the printing mechanism system to print on the object to be printed. In an impact type printer, the platen is made small so as to reduce a noise radiation area, and is provided opposite to the printing mechanism system so as to be movable in the printing direction. printer.