Replaceable Reinker for an Inked Ribbon Cartridge

This invention relates to reinkers for use with printers employing an inked ribbon and more particularly to an arrangement for locking an ink bottle to an inked ribbon cartridge while engaging the wick carried by the ink bottle with the ribbon to be inked.

With the advent of high speed printers, particularly those involving impact printing through an inked ribbon, problems have arisen with respect to the frequency of ribbon replacement due to the increased use. In order to reduce the frequency of ribbon replacement, various techniques have been employed. In many applications such as those involving chain or belt printers use has been made of a cartridge containing an endless loop of ribbon. Obviously increasing the volume of ribbon contained in the cartridge reduces the frequency of ribbon replacement. The useful life of a ribbon may also be increased by the use of a ribbon turnover feature as by a mobius loop in an endless ribbon tape. For details of such arrangements, reference may be made to U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,132, dated Nov. 2, 1976, entitled "Ribbon Storage and Transport Mechanism" and assigned to the common assignee. Even after these solutions have been adopted, the need still exists for reducing the frequency of ribbon replacement. In this connection the life of a ribbon has been extended for printing through the use of a reinking device. One such device is an ink container or bottle that transfers ink to the ribbon in a desirable manner. In the past, ink bottles were attached to the printer mechanism itself as contrasted with the ink cartridge or in some instances the ink bottle was hung on the cartridge. When the printer was to be serviced or the cartridge had to be replaced, the ink bottle had to be removed in a separate step before this could be accomplished. It is desirable particularly where space is cramped and ease of cartridge replacement is desirable to provide an arrangement whereby the cartridge and bottle can be removed as an integral unit and if the bottle is to be replaced, it can be quickly and simply detached and another bottle locked in a position with the cartridge.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved reinker for use with printers employing an inked ribbon.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved reinker for an inked ribbon cartridge.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for locking an ink container to an inked ribbon cartridge and engaging the wick carried by the ink container with the ribbon to be inked.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved arrangement for locking an ink container to a cartridge and coupling the ink container to the ribbon to be inked in substantially a single operation.

FIG. 1 is a top view of a container carrying ink designed in accordance with one embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the container described in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the container described in FIG. 1 after being inserted into an inked ribbon cartridge.

FIG. 4 illustrates the container and cartridge before loading the ink container into the cartridge.

FIG. 5 illustrates the container and cartridge with the container in the process of being loaded into the cartridge.

FIG. 6 illustrates the ink container inserted into the cartridge and locked in position with the wick carried by the container in position to reink the roller contacting the inked ribbon.

Referring now to FIG. 1 there is shown a container or bottle 1 carrying ink 12 in its lower portion and including an upper portion 2 which carries a wick 3. Wick 3 is supported in a cylindrical rigid housing 4 which is cut away at one side to expose the wick 3. A cap 5 is provided which has threads mating with threads 6 carried by the upper portion 2 of the container 1. The cap 5 is intended to protect the exposed wick 3 during shipment and also to keep the wick 3 from drying out in its exposed portion. Attached to the upper portion 2 of the ink container 1 there are provided four fingers 7, 8, 9 and 10 of which one finger 10 is longer than the other fingers 7, 8 and 9. This longer finger 10 also comprises a tab portion 11 the functions of which will be described shortly. Essentially, these fingers 7 through 10 are intended to loosely engage the bottle 1 with the inked ribbon cartridge 14 during insertion and then to lock the bottle 1 to the cartridge 14 after the insertion process is completed. The exposed portion of wick 3 is intended to contact a roller 19 contacting the ribbon 20 to be reinked when the final insertion step takes place.

Referring to FIG. 2, the lower portion of the ink container 1 carries ink 12. The ink 12 is carried by capillary action by wick 3 which has one end located in the pool of ink 12 and the other end partially exposed by the cut away section of the housing 4. To maintain the wick 3 in the right attitude, a plastic sleeve or a tube 13 is provided within the ink container 1. The tube 13 also facilitates capillary flow of ink 12. The wick 3 may be formed of any suitable material such as a porous felt.

Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a front view of the container 1 inserted into the inked ribbon cartridge 14 with the fingers 8 and 10 of the upper portion 2 of the container 1 resting on the bottom walls of the cartridge 14. The upper portion 2 of the container 1 carrying the exposed wick 3 is inserted through the end wall opening 15 of the cartridge 14 such that the fingers 7 through 10 of the upper portion 2 rest on the lower wall of the cartridge 14. This figure also illustrates the finger 10 as comprising the tab 11 which serves as a locking function as will be shortly described. A spring 16 mounted in the side wall of the cartridge 14 forces the cut away housing 4 and the wick 3 to one side which as will be shown shortly contains the roller 19 with the inked ribbon 20 thereon for reinking purposes. While the container 1 has been shown in the form illustrated in FIG. 3, it is obvious it may take other shapes without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the lower portion of the container 1 in one embodiment included a ramped section in order to accommodate the space available within the printer.

Referring to FIG. 4, the ink bottle 1 with the cap 5 removed is shown prior to insertion into the cartridge 14. Cartridge 14 has an opening 15 in its end wall to receive the upper portion 2 of the ink container 1 and has an opening in its lower wall portion with a notched slot 18 at one far end thereof. The function of this slot 18 will be disclosed shortly. The cartridge 14 contains a spring 16 and a transfer or inking roller 19 around which an inked ribbon 20 is movable.

FIG. 5 illustrates the ink bottle 1 being inserted into the cartridge 14. In the position shown, the housing 4 is shown compressing the spring 16 contained in the cartridge 14 and the fingers 7 through 10 are shown riding on the edges of the opening formed in the bottom of the cartridge 14. The edges of the opening are shown at 21 and 22. Once the container or bottle 1 has been inserted as far as it will go as determined by the front wall of the lower portion of the container 1 abutting the end wall of the cartridge 14 and released--the spring action of spring 16 forces the housing 4 in the direction of the roller 19 bringing the felt wick 3 in contact with roller 19. Ink 12 is carried by capillary action to the exposed felt wick 3 and rubs on the roller 19 and wets it. The ribbon 20 travelling over this roller 19 picks up the ink 12 carried by the roller surface and in this manner is reinked to extend the printing life of the ribbon 20. In addition to bringing the felt wick 3 in contact with the roller 19, spring 16 bearing against the housing 4 also causes the tab 11 to be fitted into the notched slot 18 shown in FIG. 4. By a single action spring 16 provides wick contact with the roller 19 to enable reinking of the ribbon 20 and causes the tab 11 to lock the bottle 1 carrying the ink 12 in the notched slot 18 of the cartridge 14. Whenever the container or bottle 1 needs to be removed it is possible by a single operation to remove both the cartridge 14 and the bottle 1 locked thereto. On the other hand if it is desired only to replace the bottle 1 or remove it the single step of pressing the bottle 1 against the spring 16 unlocks the bottle 1 from the cartridge 14 and removes the wick 3 from the roller 19.

It will be appreciated that modifications may be made in the various structure disclosed in order to produce or to carry out the present invention. Of course modifications of some of the specific steps cited describing embodiments of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art. All such modifications which come within the spirit and teachings of this disclosure are intended to be covered by the following claims.