Image formation device

• US 20050286951A1
• Filed: 06/24/2005
• Published: 12/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Ikeda, Akihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,309,178 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 400/232
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 17/12 Special adaptations for ensuring maximum life
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 17/24 Webs supplied from reels or spools attached to the machine
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 17/36 Alarms, indicators, or feed-disabling devices responsible to material breakage or exhaustion
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 23/025 using a single or common power source for two or more functions

Abstract

An image formation device (facsimile machine, printer, copier, etc.) is provided, which is capable of reducing the amount of ink ribbon rolled up for the removal of slack of the ribbon. When a ribbon roll-up process is started, the operation mode of the image formation device is first set to a ribbon roll-up mode in which a ribbon roll-up spool is driven without driving a platen. The slack of the ribbon is removed by driving the ribbon roll-up spool to roll up the ribbon without driving the platen, which can reduce the amount of ribbon rolled up for the removal of the slack (the amount of ribbon wasted).

Claims

1. An image formation device, comprising:

a ribbon supply unit for storing a rolled ribbon having ink on its surface;

a ribbon roll-up unit configured to roll up the ribbon supplied from the ribbon supply unit;

a recording unit placed between the ribbon supply unit and the ribbon roll-up unit for forming an image on a recording medium by making contact with a back of the ribbon and transferring the ink from the surface of the ribbon to the recording medium; and

a feeding unit configured to face the recording unit via the ribbon for feeding the recording medium sandwiched between the surface of the ribbon and the feeding unit,

wherein the image formation device is configured so that the ribbon roll-up unit can be driven without allowing the feeding unit to operate.

2. The image formation device according to claim 1,

wherein the image formation device includes a ribbon roll-up mode in which the ribbon roll-up unit rolls up the ribbon while the feeding unit does not feed the recording medium, and

wherein the image formation device further comprises a roll-up control unit configured to drive the ribbon roll-up unit without allowing the feeding unit to operate in the ribbon roll-up mode.

3. The image formation device according to claim 2,

wherein the roll-up control unit includes:

a driving force generation unit configured to generate driving force for driving the ribbon roll-up unit;

a driving force transmission unit configured to transmit the driving force from the driving force generation unit to the ribbon roll-up unit without transmitting the driving force to the feeding unit; and

a control unit configured to drive the ribbon roll-up unit without allowing the feeding unit to operate in the ribbon roll-up mode by allowing the driving force transmission unit to transmit the driving force from the driving force generation unit to the ribbon roll-up unit in the ribbon roll-up mode.

4. The image formation device according to claim 2,

wherein the feeding unit feeds the recording medium while the ribbon roll-up unit is driven so that a first roll-up speed of the ribbon will be greater than a feeding speed of the recording medium when the image formation on the recording medium is executed by the recording unit, and

wherein the roll-up control unit drives the ribbon roll-up unit in the ribbon roll-up mode so that the ribbon will be rolled up at a second roll-up speed greater than the first roll-up speed.

5. The image formation device according to claim 2, further comprising:

a main body on which at least the ribbon roll-up unit and the ribbon supply unit are attached detachably; and

a cover configured to be openable and closable with respect to the main body and configured to cover the ribbon roll-up unit and the ribbon supply unit when closed,

wherein the image formation device is set to the ribbon roll-up mode when the cover is closed to cover the ribbon roll-up unit and the ribbon supply unit after the cover was opened to expose the ribbon roll-up unit and the ribbon supply unit.

6. The image formation device according to claim 2,

wherein the image formation device further includes a recording mode in which both the feeding unit and the ribbon roll-up unit operate,

wherein the image formation device further comprises a ribbon detection unit which detects whether the ribbon exists between the ribbon supply unit and the feeding unit,

wherein the image formation device is set to the recording mode for a prescribed period before being set to the ribbon roll-up mode, and

wherein the image formation device is not set to the ribbon roll-up mode when no ribbon is detected by the ribbon detection unit during the prescribed period in the recording mode.

7. The image formation device according to claim 1, further comprising a drive restriction unit which causes the driving of the ribbon roll-up unit to be prevented when a load on the ribbon roll-up unit exceeds a prescribed load threshold less than a load breaking the ribbon.

8. An image formation device, comprising:

a ribbon supply unit for storing a rolled ribbon having ink on its surface;

a ribbon roll-up unit configured to roll up the ribbon supplied from the ribbon supply unit;

a recording unit placed between the ribbon supply unit and the ribbon roll-up unit for forming an image on a recording medium by making contact with a back of the ribbon and transferring the ink from the surface of the ribbon to the recording medium;

a feeding unit configured to face the recording unit via the ribbon for feeding the recording medium sandwiched between the surface of the ribbon and the feeding unit; and

a roll-up control unit configured to drive both the ribbon roll-up unit and the feeding unit in a recording mode for forming the image on the recording medium and configured to drive the ribbon roll-up unit without driving the feeding unit in a ribbon roll-up mode.