Reversible ink ribbon feed mechanism

In an ink ribbon feed mechanism for a printing machine of the type comprising a base plate;

• a pair of spool hubs mounted on said base plate for holding a ribbon spool carrying an ink ribbon, each of said spool hubs having a ratchet wheel coaxially secured thereto to feed the ribbon from one to the other of said spools;
• a feed device having actuating lever means and a pair of feed pawls pivotally supported on said actuating lever means, each of said pawls associated with a respective one of said ratchet wheels;
• a pair of springs for biasing said feed pawls causing said feed pawls to engage said ratchet wheels respectively;
• drive means for reciprocating said actuating lever means in a cycle movement;
• a reversal device movably mounted on said base plate for movement between a first and a second position, said reversal device causing one of said feed pawls to disengage from said ratchet wheel corresponding thereto for feeding said ribbon from one to the other of said spools in a first direction upon a reciprocal movement of said actuating lever means when said reversal device is located in the first position, and said reversal device causing the other of said feed pawls to disengage from said ratchet wheel corresponding thereto for feeding said ribbon in a second direction opposite to said first direction when said reversal device is located in the second position;
• a pair of sensing elements for sensing the amount of said ribbon on said spools;
• connecting means for alternately connecting said sensing elements with said reversal device to move said reversal device from one of the first and second positions to the other upon the sensing movement of said sensing elements, wherein said reversal device comprises:
• a first member movably supported by said base plate between the first and second positions and having a recess forming a pair of shoulders, a pair of notches continuously formed so as not to include a flat surface therebetween and a pair of portions engageable with said connecting means;
• a first detent member resiliently engaging with either of said notches of said first member for positioning said first member in the first position or the second position;
• a second member movably mounted on said base plate between the first and second positions and having a pair of notches formed so as to include a flat surface therebetween and a projection engageable with said feed pawls to keep either of said feed pawls disengaged from said ratchet wheel corresponding thereto, said projection further having a base portion of which a pair of side edges are engageable with said pair of shoulders of said recess;
• a second detent member resiliently engaging with either of said notches of said second member for positioning said second member in the first position or the second position so as to provide for a predetermined distance between each of said edges and each of said shoulders corresponding thereto for allowing relative movement between said first and second members, whereby while said first member is moved by said connecting means from said first position thereof to said second position, said second member is moved with said first member after said first member has been moved by the predetermined distance to cause one of said shoulders to engage with the corresponding side edge of said base portion, so that when said first member if further moved reaches the position where said first detent member disengages from one of the notches of said first member and begins to engage with the other notch of said first member, said second member reaches the position where said second detent member disengages from one of said notches of said second member and engages with said flat surface therebetween, then said first and second members are moved to said second position under a forcefully cooperating operation between the first detent member and the other of said notches of said first member and the operation of said connecting means, thereafter the first and second members are positioned in said second position by said first and second detent members respectively, and the feeding of said ribbon is reversed.