US 4,008,795 AGranted

Removable cartridge for the inked ribbon for typewriters, calculating machines or other office machines

AssigneeIng. C. Olivetti & C., S.p.A.

InventorsSergio Garberi, Lorenzo Bertino

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Abstract

A ribbon feed mechanism for the inked ribbon of a printing machine comprises two ribbon-carrying spools rotatably supported in a removable cartridge and two sensing levers which extend through a pair of apertures in the cartridge to sense the amount of inked ribbon on the spools. The sensing elements cooperate with corresponding latches for retaining a reversal member against the action of a reversal spring which biases the reversal member from a first position to a second position. The reversal member supports two freely rotatable pinions which are moved by the reversal member, as it moves into the first and second positions, into mesh respectively with corresponding spool gears coupled to the two spools and with two gears driven by a feed element in opposite directions. The spools are therefore alternately driven first in one direction and then the other direction respectively. A reload element, responsive to the movement of the reversal member, is driven by the feed element to reposition an end of the reversal spring to bias the reversal member from the first position to the second position and vice-versa.

Claims8

Dependent claims

A ribbon feed mechanism for an inked ribbon for a printing machine comprising:

two spools carrying said ribbon, a pair of sensing elements for sensing the amount of said ribbon on said spools, a feed element, a reversal member positionable in a first and a second position, means supported by said reversal member and driven by said feed element to drive said ribbon spools in one direction and in the opposite direction according to said first and said second position of said reversal member, respectively, a reversal spring having one end connected to said reversal member and the other end positionable between a first location and a second location, said reversal spring biasing said reversal member from said first position towards said second position in said first location of said other end and from said second position towards said first position in said second location of said other end, two latches, each said latch positionable between an engaging position and a releasing position for restraining and releasing respectively said reversal member in said first and second positions thereof against the action of said reversal spring, means connecting each of said latches with one of said sensing elements for moving said latches from said engaging position to said releasing position in order to disengage said reversal member therefrom when the ribbon on the corresponding spool has reached a quantity such as to require reversal of the ribbon feed, whereby said reversal spring moves said reversal member from said first position to said second position and vice-versa, and a reload element responsive to said movement of said reversal member, said reload element driven by said feed element for repositioning said other end of said reversal spring from said first location to said second location, and vice-versa, to respectively bias said reversal member from said second position to said first position, and vice-versa.

In a ribbon feed mechanism for an inked ribbon for a printing machine comprising a pair of spools carrying said ribbon, a pair of sensing levers for sensing the amount of said ribbon on said pair of spools, a feed element, a reversal member positionable in a first and in a second position under the control of said sensing levers, and means operated by said reversal member in said first and in said second position thereof for connecting said feed element with said pair of spools for driving the ribbon in one direction and in the opposite direction, respectively, the combination comprising:

a pair of spool gears fixed to said spools for the driving thereof;
a train of further gears continuously rotated by said feed element in a single direction, said train of gears comprising a pair of oppositely rotating motive gears parallel to and coaxial with said pair of spool gears, respectively and;
at least one pinion rotatably supported by said reversal member, said reversal member in said first or in said second position carrying said at least one pinion into mesh with either one or the other of said pair of spool gears and one or the other of said pair of motive gears for the driving of said spools in one direction or in the opposite direction respectively.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.