Ribbon cassette mounting arrangements in printers

Abstract: A printer includes a mounting mechanism for mounting a ribbon cassette (11) on a carrier (13) of the printer. The cassette has a pair of resiliently deformable arms (22), formed in such a manner as to extend forwardly along the opposite side walls (11a) from a rear end of the ribbon cassette, and a pin (20) is formed integrally with each of the arms. A pair of holes (19) for receiving the pins (20) are formed on the carrier (13) of the printer, and the ribbon cassette is mounted onto the carrier by resiliently deforming the arms to fit the pins into the holes of the carrier. In such a printer the operation of removing an exhaused printer ribbon cassette and replacing it with a fresh ribbon cassette can be performed easily and quickly.

Description: The present invention relates to ribbon cassette mounting arrangements in printers. In a high grade printer, the operability in mounting and removing a ribbon cassette is considered important, and also a mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette is complicated. However, in an inexpensive printer, thorough reduction in cost is required for every part. FIG. 1 shows a previously-considered mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette. A pair of pins 2 are securely provided on the opposite sides of a ribbon cassette 1 while, on the side of a carrier or carriage 3 of a printer, a pair of recesses 6 for engaging with the pins 2 of such ribbon cassette 1 are formed on a carrier frame 4 and a pair of holders 5 which are supported for pivotal motion on the carrier frame 4 each by means of a pin 8. Each of the holders 5 is normally urged in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by a torsion spring 7. When the ribbon cassette 1 is moved in the direction indicated by an arrow mark P, each of the holders 5 is pivoted a little in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1 against the corresponding torsion spring 7 by pushing of the corresponding pin 2 to allow the pin 2 to be fitted into the recess 6 formed on the carrier frame 4. After the pin 2 is fully fitted into the recess 6 of the carrier frame 4 in this manner, the holder 5 is pivoted back in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1 by the urging force of the torsion spring 7 until the recess 6 of the holder 5 presses against the pin 2 of the ribbon cassette 1 from above. Thus, the ribbon cassette 1 is mounted in position on the carrier 3 with the pins 2 thereof received in the recesses 6. In the mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette described above, the ribbon cassette 1 is simple in structure because only the pins 2 are provided thereon. However, there is a disadvantage that a considerable part cost and assembly cost are required because it is necessary to provide on the carrier side the holders 5 for receiving such pins 2 and the torsion springs 7 and pins 8 for the holders 5. It is desirable to provide a more cost-effective mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette having a reduced number of parts. European Patent Application EP-A-0 244 228 discloses a combination of a ribbon cassette and a printer having a carrier for supporting the cassette in a working disposition in which an exposed portion of a ribbon accommodated in the cassette is disposed between a print head and a platen of the printer, respective portions of the cassette being formed to provide first and second stub shafts at opposite sides of the cassette, and the said carrier having opposite side portions formed with holes for receiving releasably the respective first and second stub shafts to support at least part of the cassette when in its said working disposition whilst permitting movement of the cassette relative to the carrier, the said respective portions of the cassette being resiliently deformable towards one another to disengage the said first and second stub shafts from the respective holes when the cassette is so supported, thereby to permit removal of the cassette from the printer, and there being a spring arranged to act between the cassette and the said carrier so as to urge the cassette into contact with a stop member serving to define a desired operative disposition of the cassette relative to the carrier. However, the use of such a spring increases the number of separate parts that need to be provided and accordingly increase the assembly time and complexity. According to the present invention there is provided in combination a ribbon cassette and a printer having a carrier for supporting the cassette in a working disposition in which an exposed portion of a ribbon accommodated in the cassette is disposed between a print head and a platen of the printer, respective portions of the cassette being formed to provide first and second retaining means at opposite sides of the cassette, and the said carrier having respective portions formed to provide third and fourth retaining means that can engage releasably with the said first and second retaining means respectively to support at least part of the cassette when in its said working disposition whilst permitting movement of the cassette relative to the carrier, the said respective portions of the cassette being resiliently deformable towards one another to disengage the said first and second retaining means from the said third and fourth retaining means when the cassette is so supported, thereby to permit removal of the cassette from the printer, and there being resiliently deformable urging means arranged to act between the cassette and the said carrier so as to urge the cassette into contact with a stop member serving to define a desired operative disposition of the cassette relative to the carrier; characterised in that the said urging means are formed integrally with the said cassette and project therefrom to engage with a portion of the said carrier when the cassette is so supported. Reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawing, in which: Fig. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a previously-considered mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an entire printer to which a mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette embodying the present invention is applied; Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the mounting mechanism of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a plan view of the mounting mechanism of FIG. 3; FIG. 6 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of a mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a color ribbon cassette Referring first to FIG. 2 which shows the general construction of a printer, a carrier or carriage 13 is moved along a stay shaft 15 in a direction parallel to an axis of a platen roll 14 by a spacing motor (not shown). A print head 12 is securely carried on the carrier 13 and faces the platen roll 14. A ribbon cassette 11 is removably mounted on the carrier 13. Subsequently, a mounting mechanism for a ribbon cassette embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5. The ribbon cassette 11 is formed by plastic molding and includes a case 11a and a lid member 11b which are fitted together. An ink ribbon 16 is accommodated in the ribbon cassette 11. In a normal condition of the ink ribbon 16, a portion thereof is exposed outside the ribbon cassette 11 at a forward end portion of a laterally central portion of the ribbon cassette 11 and extends between the print head 12 and the platen roll 14. A knob 17 for manually taking up the ink ribbon 16 is provided on the ribbon cassette 11. A pair of support posts 18 formed by molding of a plastic material are provided uprightly at the opposite side portions of the carrier 13, and the ribbon cassette 11 is supported for pivotal motion on the support posts 18. In particular, a hole 19 is formed in each of the support posts 18 while a pair of pins 20 are provided projectingly on the ribbon cassette 11 and are fitted for rotation in the holes 19 of the support posts 18. The pins 20 are formed at end portions of a pair of arms 22 which extend forwardly from opposite ends of a rear end of the case 11a of the ribbon cassette 11 along the opposite side walls of the case 11a. The pins 20 are formed, by molding of a plastic material, integrally with the case 11a and the arms 22. The arms 22 are resiliently deformable at least inwardly as indicated by arrow marks C in FIGS. 3 and 5, and since the arms 22 extend forwardly from the rear end portions of the ribbon cassette 11 along the opposite side walls of the case 11a of the ribbon cassette, an arm length L sufficient to permit resilient deformation of the arms 22 is provided (refer to FIG. 5). Each of the pins 20 has a top portion which is shaped in a gentle conical shape in order to facilitate insertion thereof into a hole 19, and each of the arms 22 has an L-shaped end portion forming a projecting piece 22a which projects upwardly. Accordingly, if the projecting pieces 22a of the arms 22 provided on the opposite sides of the ribbon cassette 11 are pushed inwardly (in the directions indicated by the arrow marks C) to resiliently deform a little with fingers of a hand, then the pins 20 can be inserted into or removed from the holes 19 to freely mount or remove the ribbon cassette 11 onto or from the carrier 13. A pair of projecting pieces 23 are formed integrally at corner portions of the case 11a of the ribbon cassette 11 whole a pair of stoppers 24 in the form of rods are provided on the carrier 13 for engaging, when the ribbon cassette 11 is mounted onto the carrier 13, with the projecting pieces 23 of the ribbon cassette 11 to stop the ribbon cassette 11 in a fixed posture. When the projecting pieces 23 of the ribbon cassette 11 remain in engagement with the stoppers 24, the ink ribbon 16 is positioned such that it is correctly opposed to the print head 12. A pair of inverted L-shaped urging pieces 25 are formed, at rear portions of the lid member 11b of the ribbon cassette 11, integrally with the lid member 11b by plastic molding. The urging pieces 25 in a free condition assume an inclined posture with respect to the support posts 18 as indicated in phantom in FIG. 4. Then, when the ribbon cassette 11 is mounted on the carrier 13, the urging pieces 25 are engaged with a pair of projections 26 formed on rear faces of the support posts 18 as indicated in solid lines in FIG. 4. Consequently, the ribbon cassette 11 is urged to rotate on its pins 20 in the direction indicated by an arrow mark B in FIG. 4, that is, in a direction which brings the projecting pieces 23 of the ribbon cassette 11 into engagement with the stoppers 24 of the carrier 13. In this manner, the ribbon cassette 11 is urged by the urging pieces 25 so that the projecting pieces 23 thereof are engaged with the stoppers 24 of the carrier 13, thereby maintaining the properly positioned condition of the ribbon cassette 11 opposing the print head 12. It is to be noted that, while the pins 20 are formed on the ribbon cassette 11 and the holes 19 are formed in the carrier 13 in the embodiment described above, alternatively a pair of pins 27 may be provided on the carrier 13 while a pair of holes 28 are formed in the ribbon cassette 11 as shown in FIG. 6. Further, some other retaining means than a pin and a hole may otherwise be employed. Referring now to FIG. 7, there is shown a color ribbon cassette 31 in which a multi-color ink ribbon 36 for color printing is accommodated. In this instance, since the ink ribbon 36 has a relatively large width and the color ribbon cassette is accordingly of relatively large height, a pair of arms 32 can be projected upwardly from a lower end of the ribbon cassette 31. A pin 33 is formed integrally on each of the arms 32 for mounting the color ribbon cassette 31 for pivotal motion on a carrier, and the color ribbon cassette 31 can be removably mounted on the carrier 13 in place of the ribbon cassette 11 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

Claims: In combination a ribbon cassette and a printer having a carrier (13) for supporting the cassette (11) in a working disposition in which an exposed portion (16) of a ribbon accommodated in the cassette is disposed between a print head (12) and a platen (14) of the printer, respective portions (22) of the cassette being formed to provide first and second retaining means (20) at opposite sides of the cassette, and the said carrier (13) having respective portions (18) formed to provide third and fourth retaining means (19) that can engage releasably with the said first and second retaining means (20) respectively to support at least part of the cassette (11) when in its said working disposition whilst permitting movement of the cassette relative to the carrier, the said respective portions (22) of the cassette being resiliently deformable towards one another to disengage the said first and second retaining means (20) from the said third and fourth retaining means (19) when the cassette is so supported, thereby to permit removal of the cassette from the printer, and there being resiliently deformable urging means arranged to act between the cassette and the said carrier so as to urge the cassette into contact with a stop member (24) serving to define a desired operative disposition of the cassette relative to the carrier; characterised in that the said urging means (25) are formed integrally with the said cassette and project therefrom to engage with a portion of the said carrier when the cassette is so supported. A printer ribbon cassette having respective portions (22) formed to provide first and second retaining means (20) at opposite sides of the cassette, which means can be engaged releasably with respective third and fourth retaining means (19) of a carrier (13) for supporting the cassette (11) movably in a printer so that the cassette can be urged by resiliently deformable urging means towards a working disposition in which an exposed portion (16) of a ribbon accommodated in the cassette is disposed between a print head (12) and a platen (14) of the printer, the said respective portions (22) of the cassette being resiliently deformable towards one another to disengage the said first and second retaining means (20) from the said respective third and fourth retaining means (19) of the carrier (13) when the cassette is so supported, thereby to permit removal of the cassette from the printer; characterised in that the said urging means (25) are formed integrally with the said cassette and project therefrom to engage with a portion of the said carrier when the cassette is so supported. A cassette as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said respective portions (22) of the cassette are formed integrally with a main body portion of the cassette by plastic molding and project from that body portion. A cassette as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the first and second retaining means are respective projections (20), and the said third and fourth retaining means are respective holes (19) for receiving the said projections. A cassette as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the third and fourth retaining means are respective projections (27), and the said first and second retaining means are respective holes (28) for receiving the said projections. A cassette as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the said first and second retaining means (20) are formed integrally with the said respective portions (22) by plastic molding. A cassette as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 6, such that when the cassette is supported by engagement of the first and second retaining means (20) with the third and fourth retaining means (19) the cassette is pivotally movable about a predetermined axis relative to the carrier, and the said urging means are arranged to urge the cassette to pivot about that axis. A combination as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cassette is a cassette as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 7.

Inventors: KAWAHARA MORIHISA, KAWAHARA, MORIHISA
Applicants: FUJITSU LTD, FUJITSU LIMITED
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B41J35
IPC codes: B41J35, B41J32