JPS62202777A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an ink ribbon from remaining sagging when a ribbon cartridge is fitted, enhance printing quality and obviate troubles such as generation of noise due to vibration of the cartridge, by providing a sensor for detecting the ribbon cartridge and a controlling part for generating an ink ribbon driving command on receiving a detection output from the sensor. CONSTITUTION:A sensor 6 for detecting a ribbon cartridge 3 fitted to a main body 1 of a printer, and a controlling part 7 for outputting an ink ribbon driving command to a ribbon-driving part 2 on receiving a detection output from the sensor before the first printing operation conducted by using the ribbon cartridge 3, are provided. For example, the state of the cartridge 3 is detected by the sensor 6, and data from the sensor 6 is read into the controlling part 7 to discriminate whether the cartridge 3 is fitted. When it is discriminated that the cartridge 3 is fitted, a predetermined waiting time is secured before the first printing operation conducted by using the cartridge 3 fitted, and an ink ribbon 4 is fed by a predetermined length during the waiting time, whereby forward and backward tensions are applied to the ribbon 4, and the ribbon 4 is prevented from remaining sagging.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer using a ribbon cartridge.

[Conventional technology]

Both impact printers and thermal printers use ribbon cartridges containing ink ribbons. In these printers, when the ink ribbon is used up, it is replaced with a new ribbon cartridge, or depending on the use, it is replaced with a ribbon cartridge having an ink ribbon of a different color.

The ribbon cartridge 3 used in these printers has two reels 5a and 5b inside the cartridge body 3a, as shown in the third figure, and the ink ribbon 4 is fed out from one reel 5a and wound onto the other reel 5b after printing. Reel 5a
, 5b are respectively fitted to the shafts of the ribbon drive section, and the ink ribbon 4 is fed as the shafts of the ribbon drive section rotate. When feeding the ink ribbon 4, the front tension F acts on the reel 5b on the winding side, while the pack tension F', which resists the front tension F, acts on the reel 5a on the feeding side in opposite directions, so that during printing. In this case, the ink ribbon 4 does not become sagging. However, when the ribbon cartridge 3 is loaded into the printer, the front tension F and the pack tension F' do not work.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

If printing is started with the ink ribbon 4 slack, the ribbon may become wrinkled, or if the ribbon 4 is severely slack, there is no resistance to the front tension F at first, and then pack tension is suddenly applied. Therefore, the reaction becomes vibration, which may cause the entire cartridge to vibrate.

However, in general, when handling a printer, after a ribbon cartridge is loaded, the ink ribbon is not fed in advance before printing starts, and the printing operation is started as soon as a printing command is input. As a result, printing starts with no front tension or pack tension acting on the ink ribbon, and as mentioned above, the print quality deteriorates due to the inherent problems of the ink ribbon. Moreover, there was a problem in that not only did it have an adverse effect on the print head, but it also generated noise.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that eliminates slack in the ink ribbon when a ribbon cartridge is loaded, improves print quality, suppresses noise generation due to vibration of the cartridge, and avoids adverse effects on the print head.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides a printer equipped with a ribbon cartridge and a ribbon drive unit that feeds the ink ribbon in the cartridge, and includes a sensor that detects the ribbon cartridge loaded in the printer body, and a sensor that performs the first printing operation using the ribbon cartridge. The printer is characterized in that the printer further comprises a control section that receives the detection output of the sensor and issues a command for driving the ink ribbon of the ribbon cartridge to the ribbon drive section.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention detects the cartridge status, reads the data, determines whether the cartridge is loaded, and when it is determined that the cartridge is loaded.

A certain waiting time is ensured before the first printing operation with the loaded cartridge, and by feeding the ink ribbon a certain length within that time, front and pack tensions are applied to the ink ribbon, eliminating slack in the ink ribbon. It is something. A specific example is shown in FIG. That is,
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer main body 1 has a shaft that fits into each of the reels 5a and 5b of the ribbon cartridge 3, and this shaft is rotated to feed the ink ribbon 4 of the ribbon cartridge 3. A ribbon drive unit 2 is installed to provide the ribbon. If a command is issued to the ribbon drive section 2 before the start of printing operation to feed the ink ribbon 4, it becomes possible to apply a front tension F and a pack tension F' to the ink ribbon 4.

Therefore, one aspect of the present invention is to provide a sensor 6 that detects the ribbon cartridge 3 loaded in the printer main body, and a sensor 6 that detects the ink in the ribbon cartridge 3 upon receiving the detection output of the sensor 6 before the first printing operation by the ribbon cartridge 3. The apparatus includes a control section 7 that issues a ribbon drive command to the ribbon drive section 2. In this embodiment, the ink ribbon 4 in the ribbon cartridge 3 is fed by the pulse motor of the ribbon drive unit 2, and the feeding length is 5 m, and the waiting time is 1 second. As shown in FIG. 4, the state of the ribbon cartridge 3 is read from the time it is removed and continues to be read until it is loaded again. Then, the control section 7 waits for one second from the time when the sensor 6 detects that the cartridge is loaded, and then starts outputting an electric signal to the pulse motor. At this time, each step is counted, and based on this value, it is confirmed that the ink ribbon has been fed by a preset distance of 5+nm, and the process ends when it has been fed by 5 m.

In this way, before starting a printing operation using a newly loaded ribbon cartridge, front and pack tensions are applied to the ink ribbon in order to feed the ink ribbon in advance, and the first printing after loading is performed. From the moment you do this, the ink ribbon becomes tense and does not sag.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the present invention applies tension to the ink ribbon by feeding it a certain length during the period after the ribbon cartridge is loaded and before starting the first printing, so that the ink ribbon is This has the effect of eliminating sagging, preventing deterioration in print quality due to wrinkles of the ink ribbon, and suppressing vibration of the ribbon cartridge to eliminate influence on the print head and noise.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the principle of the invention, Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram of a ribbon cartridge, and Fig. 4 explains the operation in the embodiment of the invention. This is a flowchart. 1...Printer main body 2...Ribbon drive section 3
...Ribbon cartridge 4...Ink ribbon 6.
...Sensor 7...Control unit Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In a printer equipped with a ribbon cartridge and a ribbon drive unit that feeds the ink ribbon in the cartridge, a sensor detects the ribbon cartridge loaded in the printer body and performs the first printing operation using the ribbon cartridge. A printer characterized in that the printer further comprises a control section that receives a detection output from the sensor and issues a command for driving an ink ribbon of the ribbon cartridge to a ribbon drive section.