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US 4,543,001 AGranted
Serial printer with dot matrix type print head
AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.
InventorsHideyo Tanaka, Mineo Harada
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeHitachi, Ltd.
InventorsHideyo Tanaka, Mineo Harada
Estimating the term…
A dot matrix type serial printer wherein a print medium is printed with indicia such as letters, characters, symbols, or the like by selectively driving a number of print elements while moving a print head having the print elements in a direction of a printing line. To enable the simultaneous printing of a number of print lines in different colors, an ink ribbon is provided having a plurality of tracks in the different colors. The print head includes groups of print elements which are arranged such that the respective groups face and are associated with the respective different tracks of the ink ribbon thereby enabling the simultaneous printing of a number of print lines in the different colors by moving the print head. The ink ribbon is adjustable from a first mode wherein the print elements simultaneously print lines of different colors, to a second mode wherein all of the print elements may be associated with a common track of the ink ribbon thereby enabling a simultaneous printing of print lines in a single color.
A serial printer comprising a dot type print head means including a plurality of individual printing means adapted to be selectively operated to print information on a medium, said individual printing means being arranged on the print head in a plurality of individual groups corresponding to a width of a print line so as to enable a simultaneous printing of a plurality of print lines, carrier means facing the medium and mounted for displacement in a direction of the print line for carrying the print head means, a ribbon means including a plurality of individual tracks respectively associated with the individual groups of printing means so as to enable a printing of the information by the respective printing means, means for mounting the ribbon means on said carrier means, and means for adjusting a position of the ribbon means with respect to the print head means to change the association of the tracks of the ribbon means with respect to the individual groups of printing means by changing an angle between a direction along a length of the ribbon means and a direction of the print line, and wherein each of said individual groups of printing means are inclined at a predetermined acute angle with respect to a moving direction of said carrier means.
A color serial printer comprising a platen means for carrying a medium upon which information is to be printed, ink ribbon means including a plurality of tracks of different color, cassette means for at least partly guiding said ink ribbon and partly accommodating a major portion thereof, carrier means displacably mounted for movement in a direction substantially parallel to said platen means, means for mounting said cassette means on said carrier means, and a print head means including a plurality of rows of groups of printing means arranged in such a manner that the respective rows are disposed so as to be associated with the respective tracks of ink ribbon, wherein said means for mounting the cassette means on said carrier means permits said cassette means to be selectively rotatable from a first position in which the rows of printing means are associated with the respective tracks of the ink ribbon means to a second position wherein all of the plurality of rows of said printing means are associated with a common track of said ribbon means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.