Typewriting machines – Including interposed inking device for record-medium – Ribbon-feeding mechanism
Patent
1997-11-03
1999-11-02
Burr, Edgar
Typewriting machines
Including interposed inking device for record-medium
Ribbon-feeding mechanism
400229, 400235, B41J 3314
Patent
active
059757779
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION
This invention relates to a printing apparatus and to a method of printing, and more particularly to a printing apparatus in which marking medium is carried on a ribbon which is fed along a ribbon feed path past a printing station from a storage spool onto a take-up spool.
The ribbon may for example be thermal transfer ribbon used in a thermal printing apparatus as described in detail in our previous published International Patent Application Number WO94/26526, or a simple inked ribbon or any other ribbon used in a printing process.
Presently there are a number of methods utilised in a thermal printing apparatus such as described in our previous International Patent Application Number WO94/26526, for achieving winding of the ribbon during and between printing operations.
A first known method of achieving ribbon winding is by directly driving the take-up spool to feed the ribbon along the ribbon feed path between the storage and take-up spools. Such an arrangement is mechanically relatively simple and reliable, which means that the solution is low cost. However, where it is desired to be able to advance the ribbon from the storage onto the take-up spool in accurate incremental amounts, this method has clear disadvantages in that the system to drive the take-up spool appropriately in order to advance to the ribbon a desired amount, is complex. Furthermore, when initially moving the ribbon it will be appreciated that it is necessary to move a substantially high mass, particularly that of the storage spool when almost full, as well as to overcome drag imposed along the feed path. This can result in the ribbon being stretched or even broken, particularly adjacent to the print head and/or a motor driving the ribbon to stall, and/or for undesirably long acceleration and deceleration times to be required for the drive motor, which is limiting the speed at which printing can be achieved.
Also it is difficult to achieve accurate incremental ribbon movements both when the rewind spool is empty, and as the rewind spool fills with ribbon from the storage spool.
Hence, complex and expensive controls are necessary to achieve proper operation of the simpler mechanical solution to the problem of ribbon winding.
A second known method of achieving ribbon winding is to drive the ribbon through the ribbon path between the supply and take-up spools by means of a drive roller assembly. Such a drive roller assembly still needs to move the mass of the ribbon storage spool, which of course will change as, the storage spool pays out ribbon, but the take-up spool may simply be arranged to receive ribbon slack as the drive roller assembly advances the ribbon.
Such a method is advantageous particularly where accurate incremental movements of ribbon are required as movement of the drive roller can achieve incremental ribbon movement which is not dependent at all upon the ribbon diameter on the take-up or storage spools. However, again a high standard of engineering is required to achieve accurate control of the drive roller and the take-up spool, with a resultant high cost.
According to a first aspect of the invention we provide a printing apparatus for printing on a substrate comprising a base mounting a storage spool for printing ribbon, a ribbon take-up spool, and there being a ribbon path from the storage to the take-up spool through a printing station, a print head relative to which the substrate and the ribbon move during a printing operation, wherein the apparatus comprises a shuttle moveable relative to the base, the shuttle having ribbon guide means about which the ribbon is entrained, the arrangement being such that relative movement between the print head and the ribbon is achieved by movement of the shuttle relative to the base.
Thus during a printing operation, at least take-up spool and preferably the storage spool too, may he maintained generally stationary and the relative movement between the ribbon and print head can be achieved solely by means of movement of the shuttle. Thus the need for sli
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Carter Steven
Nelson Michael Robert
Burr Edgar
Colilla Daniel J.
Markem Technologies Limited
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