Character selecting and inked ribbon feeding mechanism for a serial printer.

摘要

The serial printer comprises a petal-type print thimble (11) with elastic fingers and several characters arrayed along the circumferences of the set of said elastic fingers, said circumferences having different heights in the vertical direction. A first rotate motor (28) has an axially movable shaft for rotating said print thimble (11). A plane cam enables the shaft of the first motor (28) to shift in the axial direction by its rotation. A second rotate motor (20) feeds an inked ribbon (17) disposed near the circumference of said print thimble (11) and a gear (21) is coupled with the shaft of said second motor (20) and said plane cam. The characters arrayed along the same circumference of said print thimble (11) are selected by the rotation of said first motor (28), and the characters arrayed along the vertical direction of said print thimble (11) are selected by the rotation of said second motor (20). The carrier unit of this serial printer employs a reduced number of drive motors and can be manufactured at a reduced cost. In particular, the print thimble (11) and the inked ribbon (17) can be shifted with only one drive motor.