JPH0721356U - Ink ribbon feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Object] To prevent uneven printing density caused by contact between rollers and ribbons and color mixture of multicolor ribbons in a fan-folding feeder that conveys ink ribbons by rollers 14 and 15. [Structure] The rollers at both ends of the shaft are elastic rollers 14 for holding an ink ribbon, and the roller in the middle of the shaft is elastic roller 1.
4 is 0 from the radius of the part in contact with the ink ribbon surface
It is composed of a material 4 having a radius of 1.0 mm smaller and not impregnated with ink.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an ink ribbon feeding device for transferring an ink ribbon used in an impact printer, such as a fan-hold type cassette for an endless ink ribbon and a device for filling the ribbon refilling sub-cassette with the ink ribbon. Used for.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Examples of the cassette for fanfolding the ink ribbon include those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The cassette 4 is loaded with the endless ink ribbon 5, and the leaf spring 6 gently presses the ink ribbon 5 to pull it in by the drive roller assembly 1 and the driven roller assembly 2 and store them sequentially in a folded state. .

This ribbon feeding mechanism is shown in FIG. The drive roller assembly 1 has a cross hole 12 below the shaft 11 to engage with the rotary shaft, a rotary photograph 13 above, and a roller 14 of polyurethane foam is fitted around the shaft. The drive roller assembly 1 is axially supported by the bottom of the cassette 4 and the shaft hole of the cassette lid 41. A fork-shaped separator 71 is attached between the rollers. The roller 14 is sometimes made of felt.

The driven roller assembly 2 is fitted around the foam roller 14 similar to the above. The shaft 21 is pivotally supported by the arm portion of the separator 72, and is fitted in the slit 42 received also in the bottom of the cassette 4 and the slit 42 provided in the cassette lid 41 so as to be able to move forward and backward, and is driven by the spring 44 guided by the inner wall 43. The roller assembly 1 is biased in the direction to be pressed. The contact portion of each foam roller 14 is slightly deformed.

The ink ribbon 5 having a thickness of about 0.1 mm is clamped between the driving roller assembly 1 and the driven roller assembly 2, and is transferred in a state of being attached to the roller as the roller rotates, When the ribbon bend hits the wall of the cassette 4 or the rigidity of the ribbon becomes stronger than the adhesive force between the ribbon and the roller and the ink ribbon is peeled off from the roller by the separator and then adheres to the opposite roller, the operation is repeated. Therefore, it is fanfold.

For a wide ribbon of about 25 mm, a roller for each shaft is used which is divided into four in the axial direction. In the case of a four-color ribbon, an elastic roller corresponding to each color is used. Are arranged.

[0007]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 In the case of a black wide ribbon, if the ink ribbon cassette is left unattended, the elastic roller absorbs ink, and the print density at the part where the roller is in contact with the ink ribbon may decrease. Further, in the case of a multicolor ribbon, there is a problem that the contact between the elastic roller corresponding to each color and the ribbon makes it easier for the ink in the ribbon to move, resulting in color mixing.

An object of the present invention is to solve the attenuation of print density and ink bleeding between multiple colors that occur due to contact between the feed roller and the ribbon.

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The feeder of the present invention is applied to an ink ribbon feeder having a drive shaft and a driven shaft in which three or more rollers for transferring and fanfolding an ink ribbon are arranged in parallel in the axial direction so as to face each other. The rollers at both ends of the shaft are elastic rollers that hold the ink ribbon, and the roller in the middle of the shaft is made of a material that is not impregnated with ink, and has a radius of 0 from the portion where the elastic body is in contact with the ink ribbon surface. ˜1.0 mm A roller having a small radius.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the roller at the shaft middle portion is an elastic roller whose outer diameter surface is covered with a material that does not impregnate ink.

[0011]

[Action]

 The rollers on both ends of the shaft hold the ink ribbon and transfer it, and also attach the ink ribbon to help the fanfold. The roller in the middle portion of the shaft serves to guide the ribbon so that the ribbon is not bent and jamming without positively feeding. The ink ribbon has a small adhesion effect, if any. If the radius of the roller at the center of the shaft is made equal to that of the rollers at both ends of the shaft, the roller at the center of the shaft will compress the ink ribbon, which is not preferable.

The gap between the rollers at the shaft intermediate portions facing each other is equal to the thickness of the ink ribbon or 1.0 mm at the maximum. If the gap is too large, the ink ribbon will bend and jamming will occur easily. The roller in the middle of the shaft is preferably molded integrally with the shaft by resin molding, but a skin such as an elastic ring that does not absorb ink such as oil-resistant synthetic rubber may be externally fitted.

In the latter configuration, when the skin is a hard material, the elastic body deforms and rotates in an eccentric state, and when the skin is an elastic material, the skin also deforms and rotates. An elastic roller provided with a skin does not impair the adhesion of the ink ribbon and does not suck up the ink from the ink ribbon. It is preferable to apply the roller with the skin to all the rollers, but in the case of the black ribbon, apply it only to the roller in the middle of the shaft of the printing part and apply the rollers at both ends to the elastic roller without foam and foam. It can be a body roller.

[0014]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described by way of examples with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a feed roller assembly for explaining the first embodiment. Four rollers are provided so as to face a pair of roller shafts 11 and 12, respectively. The rollers at both ends of the shaft are polyurethane foam rollers 14, which are formed by enlarging the inner diameter of the ring-shaped foam roller and fitting it onto a resin shaft. The foam roller 14 has elasticity. The driven roller assembly 2 is pressed against the drive roller assembly 1 by a spring 44 (not shown), and the foam roller 14 has an ink ribbon contact surface of about 0. It is deformed by 2 mm.

The two pairs of guide rollers 15 in the middle portion of the shaft are resin-molded integrally with the shaft, and the radius dimension of the roller is set to be 0.3 mm smaller than the radius of the foam roller 14, and the ink ribbon is The gap 18 between the rollers when not mounted is about 0.2 mm. The width and spacing of each roller corresponds to a color band in the case of a multicolor ink ribbon. When the drive roller assembly 1 is rotated by passing the ink ribbon between the rollers of each shaft, the ink ribbon is guided by the guide roller 15 and is transferred by the foam roller 14.

The ink ribbon is sent out in a state of being attached to the foam roller 14 of one shaft, and when it is sent by a predetermined amount, it is peeled from the foam roller 14 and wound around the roller on the opposite side, sequentially transferred and fanfolded. . FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a feed roller for explaining the second embodiment. The foam rollers 14 on both ends are made of the same polyurethane as the conventional one. In the roller in the middle of the shaft, the foam inner ring 16 is made of the same polyurethane as described above, and the outer skin 17 is a thin ring coated with oil-resistant silicone resin or the like. The outer diameters of the foam roller 14 at both ends of the shaft and the outer skin 17 of the roller at the middle part of the shaft are substantially equal.

When the drive roller assembly 1 is rotated by passing the ink ribbon between the rollers facing each other, the ink ribbon adheres to each roller and fan-folds. Since it has a skin that does not absorb ink, it does not reduce the amount of ink impregnated in the printed area when used on wide black ribbons.

[0018]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, in the ink ribbon feeding device of the present invention, the feed roller corresponding to the printing portion of the ink ribbon is made of a material that does not absorb ink, and uneven printing density or multicolor ribbon color mixing occurs. Since it is difficult, it has an effect of improving the quality of the ink ribbon, and can be suitably used for a ribbon filling device for an endless ribbon cassette or a refill sub-cassette therefor.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a first embodiment of a ribbon feeding device.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of a second embodiment of the ribbon feeding device.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the ink ribbon cassette.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a ribbon feeding device for an ink ribbon cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Drive Roller Assembly 2 Driven Roller Assembly 14 Foam Roller 15 Guide Roller 16 Foam Inner Ring 17 Skin 18 Gap

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ink ribbon feeding device comprising a drive shaft and a driven shaft, each of which has three or more rollers for transferring and fanfolding an ink ribbon and arranged in parallel in the axial direction so as to face each other. An elastic roller to be held, the roller in the middle of the shaft is made of a material that is not impregnated with ink, and has a radius of 0 to 1.0 mm smaller than the radius of the portion where the elastic body is in contact with the ink ribbon surface. An ink ribbon feeding device characterized by the above. 2. In an ink ribbon feeding device having a drive shaft and a driven shaft in which three or more rollers for transferring an ink ribbon and fan-folding are arranged in parallel in the axial direction so as to be opposed to each other, the roller in the middle of the shaft is configured to transfer ink. An ink ribbon feeding device, which is an elastic roller whose outer diameter surface is covered with a material that is not impregnated.