Patent EP0244228A2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
EP0244228A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Printer for monochromatic and multi-colour printing
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corp
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Filing: 1987-04-29
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2007-04-29
Abstract
Abstract A printer comprising a printing head (4); a cartridge holder (15) for releasably holding a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) containing ink ribbon material (17) different parts (17a, 17b, 17c, 17d) of which are differently coloured; and drive means (19) for adjusting, by way of drive transmission means (13,14), the relative positions of the printing head (4) and of a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) held in the cartridge holder (15) to enable a selected said part (17a, 17b, 17c, 17d) of the ink ribbon material (17) and the printing head (4) to be brought into alignment for printing characterised in that the cartridge holder (15) is also adapted releasably to hold a cartridge containing a monochromatic ink ribbon, the drive means (19) being freely removable from the printer, the arrangement being such that, when the drive means (19) is removed from the printer, only monochromatic printing can be effected and, when the drive means (19) is installed on the printer, either multi-coloured or monochromatic printing can be effected as desired.
Inventors
- 👤 Kozo Kishida
- 👤 Hiromi Shishiuchi
- 👤 Takao Mimura
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 16:01
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J35/00; B41J35/16; B41J35/18; B41J33/00; B41J33/14; B41J33/54; B41J33/56; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/015; B41J2/02; B41J2/03; B41J35/04; B41J35/10; B41J35/12; B41J35/14; B41J35/22
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
187 words
A printer comprising a printing head (4); a cartridge holder (15) for releasably holding a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) containing ink ribbon material (17) different parts (17 a , 17 b , 17 c , 17 d ) of which are differently coloured; and drive means (19) for adjusting, by way of drive transmission means (13,14), the relative positions of the printing head (4) and of a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) held in the cartridge holder (15) to enable a selected said part (17 a , 17 b , 17 c , 17 d ) of the ink ribbon material (17) and the printing head (4) to be brought into alignment for printing characterised in that the cartridge holder (15) is also adapted releasably to hold a cartridge containing a monochromatic ink ribbon, the drive means (19) being freely removable from the printer, the arrangement being such that, when the drive means (19) is removed from the printer, only monochromatic printing can be effected and, when the drive means (19) is installed on the printer, either multi-coloured or monochromatic printing can be effected as desired.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
187 words
A printer comprising a printing head (4); a cartridge holder (15) for releasably holding a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) containing ink ribbon material (17) different parts (17 a , 17 b , 17 c , 17 d ) of which are differently coloured; and drive means (19) for adjusting, by way of drive transmission means (13,14), the relative positions of the printing head (4) and of a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) held in the cartridge holder (15) to enable a selected said part (17 a , 17 b , 17 c , 17 d ) of the ink ribbon material (17) and the printing head (4) to be brought into alignment for printing characterised in that the cartridge holder (15) is also adapted releasably to hold a cartridge containing a monochromatic ink ribbon, the drive means (19) being freely removable from the printer, the arrangement being such that, when the drive means (19) is removed from the printer, only monochromatic printing can be effected and, when the drive means (19) is installed on the printer, either multi-coloured or monochromatic printing can be effected as desired.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
53 words
A printer as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the cartridge holder (15) is arranged to be pivotally rotated by the drive transmission means (13,14) so as to bring a selected said part (17 a , 17 b , 17 c , 17 d ) into alignment with the printing head (4).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
33 words
A printer as claimed in claim 2 characterised in that the cartridge holder (15) is pivotally mounted in a carriage (5) which carries the printing head (4) and the drive transmission means (13,14).
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
70 words
A printer as claimed in claim 3 characterised in that the drive transmission means (13,14) comprises a transmission gear (13) which is rotatably mounted in the carriage (5) and meshes with a gear (20) of the drive means (19) when the latter is also mounted in the carriage (5), rotation of the transmission gear (13) effecting pivotal movement of the cartridge holder (15) by way of an oscillatable lever (14).
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that there are means (49, 51, 53) for indicating whether a monochromatic or a multi-colour ink ribbon has been loaded into the carriage holder (15).
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
41 words
A printer as claimed in claim 5 characterised in that the last-mentioned means (49,51,53) comprise a pair of contacts (49,51) whose open or closed state is arranged to be altered by a projection (53) on a multi-coloured ink ribbon cartridge (18).
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that there are means (9,48,50) for detecting a home position of the cartridge holder (15).
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
43 words
A printer as claimed in claim 7 when dependent on claim 3 characterised in that the last-mentioned means (9,48,50) comprise a pair of contacts (48,50) whose open or closed state is arranged to be altered by a projection (9) on the carriage (5).
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
32 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that the drive means (61) is controlled by a control circuit (70) which is adjustable by means of a variable resistor (67).
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
73 words
A printer as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the cartridge holder (15) is provided with means (126) for providing the multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) with a pivotal mounting, the drive transmission means (121 a , 122, 123, 124) comprising a thrust member (124) which is moved by the drive means (121) and is engageable with the multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) so as to effect pivotal movement of the latter.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
33 words
A printer as claimed in claim 10 characterised in that the drive transmission means (121 a , 122, 123, 124) comprises a cam (123) having a profile which engages the thrust member (124).
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
33 words
A printer as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that the drive means (121) and the drive transmission means (121 a , 122, 123, 124) are mounted in a common unit (116).
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
A printer as claimed in claim 12 characterised in that bayonet fixing means (111 a , 111 b , 127, 127 a , 128) are provided for securing the said common unit (116) to a carriage (111 c ) of the printer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
123 words
A printer comprising: a freely removable and attachable driving means (19) for selecting colour; an ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) for holding a colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) or a monochromatic ink ribbon cartridge, said ink ribbon cartridge (18) being freely removable and attachable; and a power transmitting means (13,14) responsive to the power supplied by said driving means (19) for moving said ink ribbon cartridge holder (15); said printer being constructed so that, without said driving means (19), said monochromatic ink ribbon cartridge is selected to provide a monochromatic print and that, with said driving means (19), one of said monochromatic ink ribbon cartridge and said colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) is selected to provide a monochromatic print or a colour print.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
123 words
A printer comprising: a freely removable and attachable driving means (19) for selecting colour; an ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) for holding a colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) or a monochromatic ink ribbon cartridge, said ink ribbon cartridge (18) being freely removable and attachable; and a power transmitting means (13,14) responsive to the power supplied by said driving means (19) for moving said ink ribbon cartridge holder (15); said printer being constructed so that, without said driving means (19), said monochromatic ink ribbon cartridge is selected to provide a monochromatic print and that, with said driving means (19), one of said monochromatic ink ribbon cartridge and said colour ink ribbon cartridge (18) is selected to provide a monochromatic print or a colour print.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
108 words
A printer adaptable for printing in monochromatic or multi-colour ink, the printer comprising: ink ribbon carriage holder means on which a print head means is supported; ink ribbon cartridge means for slidably supporting a monochromatic or a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge; a driving unit including transmission means adapted to be detachably coupled to the ink ribbon cartridge holder means and slidably moving the colour ribbon cartridge means by transmitting driving means and the output thereof, the transmission means positioning the cartridge holder means for monochromatic printing when the driving means is not present, and when the driving means is present, for one of either monochromatic and color printing.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
108 words
A printer adaptable for printing in monochromatic or multi-colour ink, the printer comprising: ink ribbon carriage holder means on which a print head means is supported; ink ribbon cartridge means for slidably supporting a monochromatic or a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge; a driving unit including transmission means adapted to be detachably coupled to the ink ribbon cartridge holder means and slidably moving the colour ribbon cartridge means by transmitting driving means and the output thereof, the transmission means positioning the cartridge holder means for monochromatic printing when the driving means is not present, and when the driving means is present, for one of either monochromatic and color printing.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
118 words
A printer adaptable for printing in either monchromatic or multi-colour ink, the printer comprising a carriage (16) on which a printing head (4) is supported; an ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) for supporting a monochromatic or a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18); drive means (19) including transmission means (13,14) adapted to be detachably coupled to the ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) so as to move the multi-colour ribbon cartridge (18) by transmitting drive from the drive means (19), the transmission means (13,14) positioning the ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) for monochromatic printing when the drive means (19) is not present, and the transmission means (13,14) permitting either monochromatic or colour printing when the drive means (19) is present.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
118 words
A printer adaptable for printing in either monchromatic or multi-colour ink, the printer comprising a carriage (16) on which a printing head (4) is supported; an ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) for supporting a monochromatic or a multi-colour ink ribbon cartridge (18); drive means (19) including transmission means (13,14) adapted to be detachably coupled to the ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) so as to move the multi-colour ribbon cartridge (18) by transmitting drive from the drive means (19), the transmission means (13,14) positioning the ink ribbon cartridge holder (15) for monochromatic printing when the drive means (19) is not present, and the transmission means (13,14) permitting either monochromatic or colour printing when the drive means (19) is present.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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