Ink-ribbon lifting apparatus

Claim 1

In a printing device including a base plate, platen, a print wheel, a ribbon cartridge having outlet and inlet openings and accommodating a ribbon, and a ribbon lifting apparatus to guide an exposed portion of the ribbon looped out of the cartridge through the outlet and inlet openings in a space between the platen and the print wheel and to selectively position, during a printing operation, different transversely spaced longitudinally extending regions of the ribbon, said ribbon lifting apparatus comprising: drive means; an operating lever connected to said drive means and movable to different positions upon actuation of said drive means; a pair of ribbon guides supporting said exposed portion of the ribbon in a first plane parallel to the surface of said print wheel and defining, in cooperation with said outlet and inlet openings, a path of said exposed portion; and a pair of supporting means, each operatively connected to said operating lever, for supporting said pair of ribbon guides, respectively, in said first plane, each of said pair of supporting means being pivotally connected to said base plate and moved by said operating lever in a second plane substantially parallel to said first plane to different levels corresponding to an original position and at least one lifted position of said ribbon guides, said different levels being established upon movement of said operating lever to said different positions, respectively, the pivotal motion of said supporting means causing said ribbon guides to move toward and away from each other changing the distance therebetween, whereby said pair of ribbon guides are positioned by said operating lever via said supporting means such that said exposed portion of the ribbon is oscillated to bring said different regions thereof into line with the printing position and such that said pair of ribbon guides are laterally moved to maintain said path of the exposed portion of the ribbon substantially constant in length.