Citizen Holdings Company, Ltd.

Hiroshi Sakurai

Masahiko Ueda

Seiji Morita

A printer for printing a continuous sheet with position detection marks has a mark detection function and a feed amount detection function that are normally enabled. Further, the printer is provided with a mechanism that operates in a sheet feed mode (mark detection mode) that utilizes the mark detection function and a sheet feed mode (feed amount detection mode) that utilizes the set feed amount detection function. If the mark detection function suffers an error, the sheet feed mode is switched from the mark detection mode to the feed amount detection mode, and a printing operation is continued.

Printer

Ribbon tension detecting means (), which are formed of a plate-like lever body () each, are located individually on the upstream side and the downstream side of a platen () with respect to its travel. The plate-like lever body () has first and second rollers () on the upstream and downstream sides with respect to travel of a ribbon, and swings around an axis of rotation of the second roller (), depending on a tension of the ribbon traveling guided by the rollers (). If the amount of its swing is not less than or not more than a fixed value, a ribbon feed motor () or a ribbon take-up motor () is driven. Further, the ribbon tension detecting means () are provided with a smoothing member which touches the ink ribbon () to remove wrinkles from the ink ribbon ().

Ribbon feeder and printer

A ribbon supply shaft drive motor () and a ribbon take-up shaft drive motor () are drivingly controlled separately. If the state of a ribbon is not changed after a control cycle is repeated for a set time, the rotational speed of the drive motors () is increased step by step.

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Tokorozawa, Japan

Hiroshi Sakurai