Ribbon feeder and printer

1. A ribbon feeder comprising:

a print head for printing ink of an ink ribbon on a paper sheet,

a ribbon tension detecting means for detecting a tension of the ink ribbon,

a ribbon take-up shaft for winding up the ink ribbon, and

a ribbon take-up motor for rotating the ribbon take-up shaft; wherein

said ribbon tension detecting means directly engages the ink ribbon between the ribbon take-up shaft and the print head and detects the tension of the ink ribbon wound up by the ribbon take-up shaft; and

said ribbon tension detecting means having a smoothing member and a control section for adjusting said smoothing member, said control section being provided at an end of said smoothing member in a manner such that a central axis of said control section and a central axis of said smoothing member are eccentric to each other, allowing an inclination angle of said smoothing member with respect to the traveling direction of the ink ribbon to be adjusted by operating said control section, thereby allowing said smoothing member to prevent wrinkles from occurring in the ink ribbon.

2. The ribbon feeder according to claim 1 , wherein the ribbon tension detecting means has a roller which is located nearer to the ribbon take-up shaft than the smoothing member so as to engage the ink ribbon, and the ribbon tension detecting means rocks around the roller, depending on the tension of the ink ribbon wound up by the ribbon take-up motor.

3. A ribbon tension detecting means for a printer which uses a transfer film ribbon, the ribbon tension detecting means comprising:

a base member fixed to a frame of the printer;

a plate-like lever body which is movable with respect to the base member and engages the transfer film ribbon;

a detector;

a feed shaft for feeding the transfer film ribbon through the printer;

a ribbon feed motor for driving the feed shaft;

a take-up shaft for receiving the transfer film ribbon; and

a ribbon take-up motor for driving the take-up shaft, wherein

said plate-like lever body includes a first roller and a second roller which each guide the transfer film ribbon, wherein the transfer film ribbon travels in a direction from the first roller to the second roller, and the first and second rollers have respective axes of rotation thereof arranged parallel to each other and at right angles to a traveling direction of the transfer film ribbon, and

said plate-like lever body is configured to rock around the axis of rotation of the second roller, depending on a tension of the transfer film ribbon traveling guided by the first and second rollers, and said detector being arranged as to start driving the ribbon feed motor or the ribbon take-up motor when the amount of rocking thereof is not less than or not more than a fixed value, based on the tension of the transfer film ribbon.

4. The ribbon tension detecting means of claim 3 wherein said detector comprises a photo-interrupter.

5. A ribbon tension detecting means for a printer which uses a transfer film ribbon, the ribbon tension detecting means comprising:

a base member fixed to a frame of the printer;

a plate-like lever body which is movable with respect to the base member and engages the transfer film ribbon;

a detector;

a feed shaft for feeding the transfer film ribbon through the printer;

a ribbon feed motor for driving the feed shaft;

a take-up shaft for receiving the transfer film ribbon; and

a ribbon take-up motor for driving the take-up shaft,

wherein said plate-like lever body includes a first roller and a second roller, wherein the transfer film ribbon travels in a direction from the first roller to the second roller, and the first and second rollers have respective axes of rotation thereof arranged parallel to each other and at right angles to a traveling direction of the transfer film ribbon,

wherein said plate-like lever body is configured to rock around the axis of rotation of the second roller, depending on a tension of the transfer film ribbon traveling guided by the first and second rollers, and said detector being arranged as to start driving the ribbon feed motor or the ribbon take-up motor when the amount of rocking thereof is not less than or not more than a fixed value,

wherein said plate-like lever body further comprises a first roller rotation shaft having a first end and a second end, and

wherein the first end and the second end of said first roller rotation shaft are individually supported on the base member so that the first end is rockable around the second end, such that a space between a first end of the first roller and a first end of the second roller is made changeable within a predetermined range while a space between a second end of the first roller and a second end of the second roller is kept constant.

6. A ribbon tension detecting means according to claim 5 ,

wherein said plate-like lever body further comprises an operation shaft, and

wherein the first end of the first roller rotation shaft is connected to the operation shaft which penetrates the base member in a manner such that a central axis of the first roller rotation shaft and a central axis of the operation shaft are eccentric to each other, and wherein the operating shaft is rotatable so that the space between the first end of the first roller and the first end of the second roller is adjusted while a space between the second end of the first roller and the second end of the second roller is kept constant.

7. The ribbon tension detecting means of claim 6 wherein said operation shaft comprises a control knob extending out away from said base member, which control knob, upon rotation, changes spacing between the first ends of said first and second rollers.