EP0213934A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Print head positioning apparatus
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corp
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Filing: 1986-08-28
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2006-08-28
Abstract
Abstract A printer for printing on a printing sheet, comprising: a printing head (10,101) having printing elements (10 a ); a platen (8) disposed opposite to the printing head (10,101) so that a printing sheet (111) may be located between the printing head (10,101) and the platen (8); a head movement mechanism for moving the printing head toward and away from the platen (8) and thus into and out of a printing position, the head movement mechanism having urging means (12,31,103,170,171,175) including a resilient member (31,103,170) for urging the printing head (10,101) against the platen (8) with a plurality of different degrees of force when the head is in the printing position; head release means (20-22) for selectively relieving the urging force on the printing head (10,101); and force changing means (30,51,52,60,104, 105,106,173) for changing the force exerted by the resilient member between at least two levels of force.
Inventors
- 👤 Minowa C/O Seiko Epson Corp. Masahiro
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-05 12:41
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J25/00; B41J25/304; B41J25/312
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
172 words
A printer for printing on a printing sheet, comprising: a printing head (10,101) having printing elements (10 a ); a platen (28,107) disposed opposite to the printing head (10,101) so that a printing sheet (111) may be located between the printing head (10,101) and the platen (28,107); and a head up-down mechanism for moving the printing head toward and away from the platen (28,107) and thus into and out of a printing position, the head up-down mechanism having head urging means (12,30,31,103-105, 170,171,173), head release means (20-22,41,103-106,173,175,51,52,60), and force changing means (30,51,52,60,104-106,173), the head urging means (12,30,31,103-105,170,171,173) including a resilient member (31,103,170) for urging the printing head (10,101) against the platen (28,107) with a plurality of different degrees of force when the head is in the printing position, the head release means (20-22, 41, 103-106,173,175,51,52,60) in operation, selectively relieving the urging force on the printing head (10,101), and the force changing means (30,51,52,60, 104-106), 173), in operation, changing the force exerted by the resilient member between at least two levels of force.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
172 words
A printer for printing on a printing sheet, comprising: a printing head (10,101) having printing elements (10 a ); a platen (28,107) disposed opposite to the printing head (10,101) so that a printing sheet (111) may be located between the printing head (10,101) and the platen (28,107); and a head up-down mechanism for moving the printing head toward and away from the platen (28,107) and thus into and out of a printing position, the head up-down mechanism having head urging means (12,30,31,103-105, 170,171,173), head release means (20-22,41,103-106,173,175,51,52,60), and force changing means (30,51,52,60,104-106,173), the head urging means (12,30,31,103-105,170,171,173) including a resilient member (31,103,170) for urging the printing head (10,101) against the platen (28,107) with a plurality of different degrees of force when the head is in the printing position, the head release means (20-22, 41, 103-106,173,175,51,52,60) in operation, selectively relieving the urging force on the printing head (10,101), and the force changing means (30,51,52,60, 104-106), 173), in operation, changing the force exerted by the resilient member between at least two levels of force.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
59 words
A printer as claimed in claim 1 further comprising movement means (60,62,107,108) for moving the printing head (10,101) relative to a printing sheet (111) or for moving the printing sheet (111) relative to the printing head (10,101) at at least two speeds, the head urging force being related to the head movement speed or to the sheet movement speed.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
A printer as claimed in claim 2 further comprising a carriage (61) for supporting the printing head (10,101) and the head urging means (12,30,31,103,170,171,173), the carriage (61) being moved relative to the printing sheet (111) by the movement means (60,62).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A printer as claimed in claim 3 wherein the force changing means (30,51,52,60,173) includes the movement means (60,62), for moving the carriage (61).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
46 words
A printer as claimed in claim 4 wherein the force changing means (30,51,52,60,173) has a force changing lever (30,173) mounted on the carriage (61), the force changing lever (30,173) being respectively engageable with side frames (51,52) of the printer by means of the movement means (60,62).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
49 words
A printer as claimed in claim 5 wherein the head release means (173,175) includes a force changing lever (173) for moving the head (10) into and out of the printing position, the force changing lever (173) being the same force changing lever as that of the force changing means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
44 words
A printer as claimed in claim 2 wherein the head urging force produced by the head urging means (12,30,31,103,104,105,170,171,173) is greater at a lower head movement speed or sheet movement speed, and is lower at a greater head movement speed or sheet movement speed.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
46 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising energy application control means (70,82,83) for controlling the energy applied to the printing elements (10 a ) and being adapted to apply at least two different levels of energy to the printing elements (10 a ).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
26 words
A printer as claimed in claim 8 wherein the level of energy applied to the printing elements (10 a ) is based on the urging force.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
30 words
A printer as claimed in claim 8 wherein the level of energy applied to the printing elements is based on the speed of movement of the printing head or sheet.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
35 words
A printer as claimed in claim 10 wherein the energy applied to the printing elements (10 a ) is based on the urging force and the speed of movement of the printing head or sheet.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim further comprising detecting means (110,120,121,122) for detecting the smoothness of the printing sheet.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
A printer as claimed in claim 12 wherein the level of energy applied to the printing elements (10 a ) is based on the smoothness of the printing sheet.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
30 words
A printer as claimed in claim 12 wherein the speed of the movement of the printing head or the printing sheet is based on the smoothness of the printing sheet.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the head release means (20-22,41) includes a releasing member (22) which is selectively engageable with the urging means, and power means (20,21) coupled to the releasing member (22).
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
53 words
A printer as claimed in claim 15 wherein the power means (20,21) includes a motor (20) with a worm gear (21) mounted thereon, the releasing member (22) including a gear portion (22 a ) in engagement with the worm gear (21) and a hooked portion for selectively engaging with the head urging means.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
38 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the force changing means includes motor means (105,106), the rotation of the motor causing a variation in force applied from the resilient member (103) to the print head (101).
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
70 words
A printer as claimed in claim 17 wherein the motor means (105,106) has a positioning member (104) for determining the support position of a first end of the resilient member is supported, the positioning member (104) being coupled to the first end of the resilient member (103), the other end of the resilient member (103) being engaged with the head to apply the head urging force to the print head.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
56 words
A printer as claimed in claim 17 wherein rotation of the motor means (105,106) in a first direction increases the force applied to the resilient member (103) and rotation of the motor means (105,106) in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, results in a reduction in the force applied to the resilient member (103).
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
37 words
A printer as claimed in claim 19 wherein the rotation of the motor means (105,106) a predetermined distance in the second direction results in the release of the head urging force applied to the printing head (101).
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
27 words
A printer as claimed in claim 12 wherein the level of the urging force on the printing head is based on the smoothness of the printing sheet.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
16 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the resilient member is a coil spring.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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