Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Shyoichi Watanabe

Hiroshi Kikuchi

Yukio Ota

Jiro Tanuma

Minoru Mizutani

Takashi Itaya

Yukio Ohta

Yoshinori Koshida

Kuniharu Hayashi

Toshiaki Saito

Akira Nagumo

Takao Uchida

Tadao Shimizu

Masanori Maekawa

Takeshi Asaba

Kazuki Obara

Toshihiro Nakano

Minoru Mitzutani

A main frame (22) of a printer comprises a horizontal bottom plate (23e) and walls (23a to 23d) to form a box-shaped enclosure defining an inner space (23f). At least one of the walls is offset from the respective edge (104a to 104c) of the bottom plate to form an outer space (106) above the bottom plate (23e). A platen (8) and a carriage (10) are positioned in the inner space (23f) and fixed to the walls (23b, 23c) of the main frame (22). A controller board (3) and a power unit (4) are positioned in the outer space (106). An upper cover (13) has a top plate (13e) and walls (13a to 13d). The controller board (3) and the power unit (4) are positioned between the walls (13a to 13d) of the upper cover ( 13) and the walls (23a to 23d) of the main frame (23). The main frame (22) is formed by integral molding, and provides rigidity required for holding the platen (8) and the carriage (10), while collision or interference between the platen and the carriage (which move mechanically) and the controller board and the power unit is prevented.

Printer including integral one-piece main frame

A sheet guide mechanism, for use with a printer having a printing head on a carriage that is mounted on a carriage shaft for movement in a printing direction which is transverse to a feeding direction of a printing sheet supported by a platen, includes a sheet guide movably mounted on the carriage shaft. The sheet guide moves in the printing direction along with the printing head. The sheet guide can move in unison with the printing head without interfering with the printing operation.

Sheet guide mechanism for a printer

A serial printer easy to assemble and capable of being assembled through an automatic assembling process. A control device is disposed near and along one of the opposite sides of a chassis and electrical components and distributed functional devices are disposed opposite to the control device. The electrical components and the distributed functional devices are connected electrically to the control device by connectors having elastic contact portions which maintain elastic contact with the signal terminals of the control device, the electrical components and the distributed functional devices (210, 220, 230).

Serial printer and a method of assembling the same

An automatic sheet feeding device includes a driving roller and a pressing roller which presses a printed sheet against the driving roller. The printed sheet is guided between the driving roller and the pressing roller by a sheet guide fixed to the automatic sheet feeding device or by a leaf spring for supporting the pressing roller.

Automatic sheet feeding device

A printer includes a stationary paper chute extending along the outer peripheral surface of a platen over a limited angular extent thereof so as to define therebetween a paper feed passage, the paper chute having an opening through which a pinch roller is movable into and out of the paper feed passage for releasably locking a paper on the platen. The printer further has a pinch roller actuating mechanism which includes a pressure spring disposed adjacent to the paper chute for biasing the pinch roller against the platen, the pressure spring being composed of a cantilevered resilient strip having a free end on which the pinch roller is rotatably supported, and a release camshaft rotatably disposed between the paper chute and the pressure spring and angularly movable to resiliently displace the pressure spring in a direction to move the pinch roller away from the platen.

Printer with improved pinch roller actuating mechanism

A printer includes a first paper feed passage extending from the rear of a platen to a printing position through the lower part of the platen, and a second paper feed passage extending from substantially just under the printing position to the printing position. A first pinch roller is disposed on the way to the first paper feed passage for pressing a first paper against the platen. The first paper is fed by rotating the platen. A second pinch roller is disposed on the way to the second paper feed passage for pressing the second paper against the platen. Rotation of the platen causes the second paper to be fed. In addition, a paper insertion device includes a flat part for placing a paper thereon and a slit for converting the advance direction of a paper from horizontal to vertical. With the second paper placed on the flat part and inserted into the printer, the paper is directed upwardly by a curved surface defining the slit and is allowed to enter the second paper feed passage with ease for further advance.

Printer and paper insertion device suitable therefor

A paper feeding control system of an automatic paper feeder has a setting device for enabling a position to head a printing medium to be reset. The setting device consists of a read/write enable nonvolatile memory for holding a reset value of the heading position of the printing medium. Upon taking in and setting the printing medium, an operating panel switch is operated to correct the heading position of the printing medium. In addition, the corrected value is again written in the memory, whereby the heading position of the printing medium can be corrected and altered.

Paper feeding control system of automatic paper feeder

A carriage mechanism of a printer includes a carriage frame, a printed circuit board mounted on the carriage frame and having an exposed wiring portion and a plurality portion of guide holes, and a cable having at one end thereof an exposed wiring portion to be electrically connected to the exposed wiring portion of the printed circuit board. An inked ribbon feed mechanism has guide projections to be inserted into the guide holes and a plurality of elastic hooks for fastening to the carriage frame. A cable fixing mechanism includes a flexible film member to be superimposed over the end of the flexible cable and fixed thereto. One end of the flexible film member is shaped as the end of the flexible cable and the other end of the flexible film member is progressively narrower and projects toward a folded portion of the flexible cable.

Easily assembled carriage mechanism of printer

A printer includes a platen having a longitudinal axis and a printing head mounted in opposition to the platen. The guide shaft is mounted to extend parallel to the axis of the platen. A carriage supports the printing head and includes a carriage frame mounted on the guide shaft for movement axially therealong and for movement rotatably thereabout and a base plate having a first end integral with the carriage frame and a second end directed away therefrom. A guide plate is fixed at a position below the second end of the base plate and extends parallel to the guide shaft. A parallel link mechanism includes a fixing member attached to a lower surface of the second end of the base plate and a slider memebr connected to the fixing member. The slider member has a slot within which fits the guide plate, such that movement of the carriage axially of the guide shaft causes the parallel link mechanism and the second end of the base plate to be guided by the guide plate. An adjusting screw is threaded through a hole in the second end of the base plate and has a tip end in engagement with the slider member. Thus, upon rotation of the adjusting screw the slider member and the second end of the base plate are moved relatively toward or away from each other, thereby moving the carriage and the printing head rotatably about the guide shaft to increase or decrease the platen gap. A flexible member connects the slider member to the fixing member to prevent the slider member from becoming inclined relative to the guide plate.

Platen gap adjusting mechanism of printer

A printer comprises a first paper feed passage extending from the rear of a platen to a printing position through the lower part of the platen, and a second paper feed passage extending from substantially just under the printing position to the printing position. A first pinch roller is disposed on the way to the first paper feed passage for pressing a first paper against the platen. The first paper is fed by rotating the platen. A second pinch roller is disposed on the way to the second paper feed passage for pressing the second paper against the platen. Rotation of the platen here causes the second paper to be fed. In addition, a paper insertion device according to the present invention includes a flat part for placing a paper thereon and a slit for converting the advance direction of a paper from horizontal to vertical. With the second paper placed on the flat part and inserted into the printer, the paper is directed upward after the curved surface of the slit and allowed to enter the second paper feed passage with ease for further advance.

A printing medium detecting mechanism of a printer having a plurality of printing medium traveling paths includes a detecting groove provided in a circumferential portion of a platen other than a printing region thereof, a first printing medium detecting lever disposed on one of the plurality of the traveling paths to freely fit in the detecting lever, and a medium detecting sensor provided on a printer control circuit board. The printing medium detecting mechanism further includes a second printing medium detecting lever provided on any other medium traveling path of the plurality of the medium traveling paths. The first printing medium detecting lever is adapted to be interlocked with the second printing medium detecting lever, thereby enabling to provide a simplified printing medium detecting mechanism.

Printing medium detecting mechanism of printer

A shoe in the form of a cylindrical screw is rotatably threaded through a carriage supporting a print head and has one end held slidably against a guide rail parallel to a main guide shaft on which the carriage is movable parallel to the platen of an impact printer. The shoe is rotated about its own axis to tilt the carriage and hence the print head to adjust the spacing between the print head and the platen. The shoe is rotated by a gap change lever angularly movably supported on the carriage and having teeth for mesh with a gear mounted on the shoe. For initializing the spacing between the print head and the platen, the gear on the shoe is displaced out of mesh with the teeth of the gap change lever and rotated to turn the shoe. To achieve a desired spacing between the print head and the platen, the gear on the shoe is moved into mesh with the teeth of the gap change lever, and the gap change lever is turned to rotate the gear and the shoe for angular movement of the carriage.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Shyoichi Watanabe