Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Title of the Invention
CARTRIDGE FOR AN INKED RIBBON WITH A RE-INKING DEVICE
Background of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge for an inked
ribbon wilh a re-inking device, or Ihe Iype ~ornprising a
container having a magazine for accommodating the ribbon and a
pair of feed rollers for the feed movement of the ribbon, and in
which the re-inking device comprises an ink reservoir and an ink
metering means.
A cartridge of that type is known from U.S. Patent No.
4,071,133 wherein the ink metering means comprises a blade which
is in contact with a feed roller in contact with the ribbon and
which provides for the ribbon feed. The ink metering means is
partially housed in an inking reservoir which in lurn is
accommodaled in a rccess in the container; a spring urges Ihe
entire inking reservoir, with its metering means, towards the feed
roller. That re-inking device suffers from the disadvantage that
the inking reservoir can allow the ink to be easily drawn out.
In addition the form of the feed roller which is subdivided into
rings and the essential purpose of which is to engage the ribbon
for the feed thereof is not suitable for providing for regular
distribution of the ink over the ribbon to be re-inked.
Summary of the Invention
The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a
re-inking device for an inked ribbon in a cartridge, of low cost,
which is simple, reliable and which at the same time permits
uniform re-inking of the ribbon.
This object is met by the cartridge for an inked ribbon with
a re-inking device according to the invention, comprising a
casing for the reservoir for the ink and an inking roller engaged
with the metering means for the capillary flow of the ink from
the reservoir to the inking roller, and wherein the inking roller
is toothed overall and is in engagement with a roller of the pair
of rollers.
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In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the
reservoir for the ink is disposed in a box accommodated within
the container and provided with an aperture. The metering
means for the ink has a first portion which is inserted into an
aper~ure in ~he box and held in contac~ wi~h ~he rescrvoir and a
second portion which is held in contact with an inking roller, for
capillary flow of the ink from the reservoir to the inking roller
and subsequently to the inked ribbon, and wherein the inking
roller is engaged with one roller of the said pair of rollers to be
driven in rotation by that roller.
Brief description of the Drawing
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is set forth in
the follnwing description which is given by way Or non-limiting
example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of part of a cartridge with the
re-inking device according to the invention,
Figure 2 is a plan view of part of the re-inking device of
Figure 1, on an enlarged scale,
Figure 3 is a front view in section of part of some details
from Figure 1, on an enlarged scale, and
Figure 4 is a plan view of part of other datails of Figure 1,
on an enlarged scale.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
Referring to Figure 1, the re-inking device which is generally
indicated at 11 is applied by way of example to a cartridge 12
which, not being principal subject-matter of the present
invention, is described only in respect of part thereof in order
better to set forth the use of the re-inking device 11. In
particular the cartridge 12 comprises a container 13 having a
bottom 14 and a series oF internal walls 16, 17 and 18 such as to
define a space 19. The container 13 is closed upwardly by a
cover 21 and is delimited by a rear wall 22, a front wall 23, a
right-hand side wall 24 and a left-hand side wall 26.
The cartridge 12 comprises, projecting from the rear wall 22,
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two arms 27 and 28 which are suitably shaped and which at their
ends have two apertures 29 and 31 respectively for permitting a
portion of an inked ribbon 32 to pass therethrough and be guided
to the outside. The arms 27 and 28 are connected by a
reinforcing rib 33. The inked ribbon 32 is of the closed loop
type and is disposed in randomly distributed turns in a magazine
34 in the container 13.
The inked ribbon 32 issues from the magazine 34 and, guided
by a fixed guide 36, is pinched between an internal wall 37 of
the arm 28 and a resilient blade 38 to prevent a plurality of
loops from escaping and to permit tensioning of the ribbon 32.
The ribbon 32 issues from the container 13 by way of the
aperture 31, returns into the container 13 through the aperture 29
and is guided to the interior of the container 13 by a fixed
guide 39 and a guide bush 41 to be directed in tangential
relationship and in contact with an inking roller 42. The ribbon
32 is then engaged by a pair of feed rollers which are generally
indicated at 43 for the unidirectional feed movement and is
re-introduced into the magazine 34.
The re-inking device 11 comprises a supply reservoir for the
ink as indicated at 51 (see Figure 2), comprising a soft porous
body of low density formed for example by a polyester felt pad
and capable of containing the ink 50 by impregnation, and an
ink metering means 52 comprising a porous but compacl body of
high density and of reasonable rigidity, formed for example by a
felt of wool which is treated with epoxy resin. The ink metering
means 52 has a first portion into close contact with the supply
reservoir 51 and a second portion in contact with the inking
roller 42 for permitting capillary flow of the ink 50 from the
reservoir 51 to the inking roller 42.
The reservoir for the ink or polyester felt pad 51 is protected
from losing ink 50 by a casing formed by a closed cassette or
box 53 which in turn is housed within ~he container 13 (see
Figure 1). The box 53 comprises two recesses 54 and 56 for
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accommodating two positioning pins 57 and 58 which project from
the bottom 14, within the container 13, for removably fixing the
box 53 to the container 13, positioning it adjacent to a portion of
the ribbon 32, the guide bush 41 and the inking roller 42, as is
clearly visible in Figure 1. The box `53 comprises two internal
blades 59 (see Figure 2) and 61 and two pins 62 and 63 arranged
For positioning on the one hand the polyesler -Fell 51 and
holding a part of the metering means 52 closely in contact
against the polyester felt 51 by virtue of the compliance of the
material. The box 53 is formed by a bottom 64 having the
recesses 54 and 56 and a series of walls 66, 67, 68, 69, 71
(Fig.l) and 72, each having on the upper edge a recess 65,
closed upwardly by a cover 73.
The box 53 is closed in known fashion, for example the cover
73 is ultrasonically welded to the recess 65 oF Ihe walls 66, 67,
68, 69, 71 and 72 arler the reservoir 51 and the melering means
52 have been positioned within the box 53. In addition Ihe box
53 comprises a lateral opening 74 (see Figure 2) to permit the
metering means 52 to be passed therethrough and positioned
therein. The opening 74 is of a predetermined shape of
frustoconical section such as to reduce and slightly compress the
part of the metering means 52 which is accommodated in the
opening 74, in such a way as to prevent leakage of the ink 50
conlained in the reservoir 51, except for thal which passes by
capillary flow along the fibres of the metering means 52.
The ink 50 is introduced into the box 53 after the box is
sealingly closed, in per se known manner, for example using a
syringe system for injecting a predetermined amount which is
preset such as to be completely absorbed by the reservoir 51 and
the metering means 52, by way of a small hole 75 provided in
the wall 66. The internal blades 59 and 61 are spaced From the
wall 66 in such a way as to form a space 80 which is kept at
ambient pressure by virtue of the presence of the hole 75 and
:apable oF ensuring a normal discharge flow of ink 50 by way Or
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Ihe metering means 52.
The pins 62 and 63 are spaced from the wall 68 to form a
space 85 adjacent ot the aperture 74. The pins 62 and 63 of the
box 53 and the opening 74 define a reference axis 70 for the
metering means 52, which is substantially parallel to the wall
68.
The positioning pins 57 (see Figure 1) of the container 13
predetermine a position of the box 53 within the container 13
such ~hat Ihe axis 70 oF the metering means S2 is disposed alol~g
a plane intermediate a reference plane tangential to the
periphery and a plane passing through the axis of the inking
roller 42, both parallel to the wall 68. The projecting portion of
the metering means 52 is obliged to flex and bears against the
outside surface of the teeth 76 of the inking roller 42. In
addition the projecting portion of the metering means 52 tends to
return to its original position due to the elastic resiliency of the
materials of which it is composed and therefore applies a
pressure in the region of contact with the outside surface of the
teeth 76, which is sufficient to ensure that the ink passes on to
the teeth 76.
The inking roller 42 is rotatable on a pin 77 which projects
from the bottom 14, and has the tips of the teeth 76 of rounded
section (see Figure 4) so as not to cause wear on the ribbon 32
and the portion of the metering means 52 (see Figure 1) which
are held in contact with the teeth 76. Capillary flow of the ink
50 from the metering means 52 to the outside surFace oF the tee~h
76 and subsequently to the ribbon 32 therefore takes place in a
smooth and reliable fashion.
The pair of feed rollers 43 comprise a toothed drive roller 78
which is always engaged with the inking roller 42 and a toothed
driven roller 79. The drive and driven rollers 78 and 79 are
each formed in one piece comprising three toothed wheels or gears
which are spaced from each other by two sleeve portions 81 (see
Figure 3) and 82.
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The drive roller 78 ;s rotatable between an opening 83 in the
bottom 14 and an opening 84 in the cover 21 and can be
connected in per se known manner for example to a drive shaft
86 which is substantially similàr to the drive shaft 66 shown in
Figure 3 of US patent No. 4,010,839 when the cartridge 12 is
mounted on a typewriter. The drive roller 78 is supported by a
support 87 having two flanges 88 with semicylindrical seats 90
engaged with the two sleeve portions 81 and a pin 89 which is
housed in a cylindrical seat 91 in the bottom 14. The drive
roller 78 has a gripping portion 92 which projects from the cover
21 and which is capable of being manually rotated for manual
feed of the inked roller 32.
The driven roller 79 is rotatable by means of the end portions
93 and 94 which are accommodated in respective slots 96 and 97
in Ihe botlom 14 and Ihe cover 21. The driven roller 79 is
supported by a pressing support 98 having two flanges 99 with
semicylindrical seats 100 engaged with the two sleeves 82 and a
cylindrical pin 101 housed in a radial groove 102 in the bottom
14.
A leaf spring 103 has one end 104 (see Figure 1) received in
a recess 105 in the container 13, with the other end 106 engaged
with the pressing support 98 and an intermediate portion
co-operating with a preloading member 107 of the container 13 for
holding the driven toothed roller 79 constantly in rnesh ancl
engaged with the drive toothed roller 78. The structure of the
feed rollers 78 and 79 and the associated supports 87 and 98 as
described hereinbefore is optimised to produce feed movement of
the inked ribbon 32 without obstruction and jamming in per se
known manner.
The cover 21 of the container 13 (see Figure 3) comprises ribs
108 capable of co-operating with the upper portions of the
support 87, the pressing support 98 and the feed rollers 78 and
79 to prevent undesired movements of the various components when
the cartridge 12 is not mounted on the typewriter.
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The guide bush 41 (see Figure 1) is rotatable on a pin 109 on
the bottom 14 of the container 13 and the inked ribbon 32 is
engaged around the guide bush 41 to be directed towards the
teeth 76 of the inking roller ~42 and subsequently towards the
pair of feed rollers 43, following an inclined path of movement as
shown in Figure 4.
The ink metering means 52 (see Figures 1 and 2) is of
substantially parallelepipedic form and is of a height equal ~o
the height of the inking roller 42, the guide bush 41 and ~he
inked ribbon 32.
When the cartridge 12 is mounted on a typewriter, the drive
shaft 86 rotates with the drive roller 78 and the driven roller 79
and the inked ribbon 32 is moved with a unidirectional feed
movement. The projecting portion of the ink metering means 52 is
always in contact with the teeth 76 of the inking roller 42 and
the ink 50 thus flows from the ink reservoir 51 to the rounded
external sur-race of the teeth 76. Since the inl<ing roller 42 is
always engaged with the drive roller 78, rotary movement thereof
causes rotary movement of the inking roller 42. The teeth 76
engage the inked ribbon 32 and the ink 50 deposited on the teeth
76 passes to the inked ribbon 32. That therefore provides for
uniform and controlled re-inking of the inked ribbon 32.
It will be apparent therefore that the reservoir 51 and a part
of the ink metering means 52 are housed in a closed box 53
having a single opening 74 for the ink metering means 52 to pass
therethrough; the ink 50 cannot therefore escape from any part of
the arrangement, except by way of the metering means 52. As
the box 53 does not lose ink 50, it permits assembly of the ink
reservoir 51 and the ink metering means 52, and loading of the
ink 50 and subsequent storage of the box 53, as a unit which is
separate and separable from the cartridge 12. In addition if the
cartridge 12 is designed for that purpose, it is possible to
replace an exhausted box by a fresh box.
It will be appreciated that the cartridge 12 for an inked
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ribbon 32 with the re-inking device 11 may be the subject of
modifications and improvements both in regard to the shape and
Ihe arrangem~nt of Ihe vari--u~ componenls and parls withou~
departing from the scope of the invention.
