Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
  • B41J17/00—Mechanisms for manipulating page-width impression-transfer material, e.g. carbon paper
  • B41J17/32—Detachable carriers or holders for impression-transfer material mechanism
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
  • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
  • B65H75/00—Storing webs, tapes, or filamentary material, e.g. on reels
  • B65H75/02—Cores, formers, supports, or holders for coiled, wound, or folded material, e.g. reels, spindles, bobbins, cop tubes, cans, mandrels or chucks
  • B65H75/04—Kinds or types
  • B65H75/08—Kinds or types of circular or polygonal cross-section

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a cassette for consumable tape.
• the present invention also relates to a roller for winding a ribbon from one of its ends in such a cassette.
• the present invention also relates to a ribbon consuming apparatus, such as a printer, in particular a counter printer.
• the present invention also relates to a method for rotationally coupling such a roller with a support and drive mandrel of this roller.
• the ribbon in question may be an ink ribbon which the machine consumes as it prints documents by a thermal printing process.
• Counter printers are called printers that publish tickets, reservation documents and other tickets for passengers on airplanes or other means of transport.
• the ink ribbon is relatively wide and the lines are printed along the width of the ribbon, and the printing is carried out by successive traces in the direction of the width of the ribbon perpendicular to the direction of travel of the ribbon and of the document to be printed.
• the tape consuming devices generally comprise two rotary mandrels for supporting a roll for unwinding the new tape and respectively a roller for collecting the used tape. It is necessary to perform a rotational coupling between the collecting roller and the corresponding mandrel, which is motor, so that the roller collection is driven in the direction that the ribbon is pulled towards the roller.
• the new ribbon and the two rollers are positioned on a feeder, made for example of cardboard, which gives the rollers and the ribbon the precise position allowing the assembly to be directly slid into the ribbon consuming device, by simple translation of the assembly parallel to the axes of the rollers.
• the object of the invention is to remedy these drawbacks and in particular to allow better engagement of the new ribbon, and to provide improved initial conditions for the use of the ribbon in the receiving device.
• the interchangeable cassette comprising a carcass supporting in rotation two rollers on each of which a ribbon is wound from one of its ends, each roller having an axial bore to be pluggable on a mandrel of a receiving device , at least a first of the rollers comprising means for coupling in rotation with the corresponding mandrel, is characterized in that the means for coupling in rotation comprise a soft material defining at least part of the bore of the first roller.
• the soft material coupling means is capable of ensuring the coupling with very varied means provided on the mandrels. They may in particular be projections or one or more claws which deform the soft material or penetrate the soft material sufficiently so that the rotational coupling is reliable.
• the soft material may for example consist of cardboard or a flexible plastic material which may be an elastomer.
• the coupling means are thus very economical to produce and several types of rollers can be accepted by the same mandrel. It is advantageous for the cassette to include disengageable means for preventing each roller from turning in the direction of expansion of the strip.
• these means Before mounting the cassette, these means maintain the two rollers in a position where the ribbon is stretched in the region where it must be positioned relative to a station of use, that is to say for example between a print head and a printing table. Thanks to the means of - A - coupling according to the invention, requiring no predetermined position of the rollers relative to the mandrels, the positioning of the cassette can be done optimally, after which the disengageable means are disengaged to allow the rollers to rotate under the chucks action.
• the roller for a cassette according to the first aspect provided with a bore and comprising a tube made of relatively rigid material and means for rotationally coupling with a drive mandrel belonging to a device capable to receive the cassette, is characterized in that the rotary coupling means comprise a soft material fixed to the tube and defining at least part of the bore of the roller.
• the ribbon consuming apparatus comprising two mandrels, at least one of which is motor, for receiving two rolls for unwinding and respectively collecting the ribbon consumed by the apparatus, the motor mandrel comprising means for coupling in rotation with the corresponding roller, is characterized in that the coupling means are designed to allow coupling whatever the angular position in which the corresponding roller is engaged on the motor mandrel.
• the invention also relates to the combination of an apparatus according to the third aspect and a cassette according to the first aspect.
• the method for mounting two rollers, each supporting one of the ends of a ribbon, in an apparatus consuming this ribbon, by engaging two mandrels of the apparatus each in a central bore of one of the rollers while coupling in rotation at least one of the rolls of ribbon with one corresponding to the mandrels is characterized in that by the fitting is made to penetrate a projection provided on the mandrel in a soft material defining at least a portion of the bore of the roller.
• a coupling member rotatably mounted on the mandrel is pivoted and comprising at least two successive projections, one of which is pushed by the leading edge of the roller, as a result of which the the other projection, initially erased, in turn interferes with the roller by penetrating into the soft material constituting at least part of the bore of the roller.
• FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a cassette according to the invention ready to be placed in a printer according to the invention, shown with cutaway.
• - Figure 2 is a perspective view of the cassette of Figure 1;
• FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of one of the mandrels
• FIG. 4 is an elevational view of one of the mandrels of the printer, with partial section of the cassette installed thereon;
• FIGS. 5 and 6 are detailed views illustrating the method according to the invention, during the coupling operation between the ribbon roll and the mandrel, and respectively at the end of this operation, -
• FIG. 7 is a schematic and partial front view of the cassette, showing the disengageable locking means of the rollers, *
• - Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of a second embodiment of the cassette; and - Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 1 and illustrating the establishment of a new ribbon using a disposable charger.
• the printer 1 comprises in a housing 2, two mandrels 3 rotatably supported in the housing 2 along parallel axes of rotation.
• Each mandrel 3 is intended to be fitted into two tubular rollers 4 supported in rotation along parallel axes in the carcass 6 of a cassette 7 which can be mounted interchangeably in the housing 2 of
• the printer 1 In the carcass 6, an ink ribbon 8 is wound from a first end onto one of the rollers 4 and from the other end onto the other roller. From each roll 4, the ribbon 8 follows a path 9 to the end of a respective spout 11 defined by the carcass 6. Between the two spouts 11, a region 12 of the ribbon
• the printer 1 further comprises a printhead 13 which, when the cassette is put in place, engages in a space 14 between the exposed region 12 of the ribbon 8 and a closure wall 16 presented by the carcass 6 next to region 12.
• the exposed region 12 of the ribbon 8 is placed between the path for the paper 19 and the print head 13, as illustrated by the dashed line 12a, one of the spouts taking position lia.
• the cassette is visible in more detail and on the side opposite to that represented in FIG. 1.
• the cassette comprises two flanges 21 fixed to each other by side half-walls 22 which release two windows 23. These allow, without exceeding the maximum space available in the printer, to wind more ribbon on each roll 4. The autonomy of use of the cassette is thereby increased.
• a rotary cylinder 24 At the end of each spout is mounted a rotary cylinder 24 which allows to guide the tape 8 without deterioration.
• the front face of the cassette 7 comprises a gripping member 26 to facilitate the extraction of the cassette when its ribbon 8 is used.
• each roller 4 comprises at its front end a thinning limited by a shoulder 27 which abuts against the inner face of the adjacent flange 23.
• each roller 4 has a locking toothed wheel 28 whose function will be explained below and which abuts against the inner face of the other flange 23.
• the rollers 4 are trapped between the two flanges 23 to 1 'against any axial displacement relative to the carcass 6, with the exception of an operating clearance.
• each roller 4 has a cylindrical axial bore 29 defined over most of its length by a substantially rigid plastic tube 31.
• the tube 31 also defines the entire outer surface of the roller 4 and, in one piece, the locking disc 28.
• the tube 31 has an internal clearance 32 in which is fixedly fitted a ring made of soft material 33.
• the radially inner face 34 of the ring 33 is cylindrical and forms the rear end of the bore 29.
• the soft material of the ring 33 can be constituted by a soft plastic material, or flexible, or by an elastomer.
• Each mandrel 3 has a cylindrical outer surface 36 over a certain length from a conical free end 37, and a rear shoulder 38 which limits the sinking of the rollers 4.
• Recesses 39 separated by axial stiffening ribs 41 and 42 extend between the shoulder 38 and the cylindrical outer wall 36.
• the ribs 41 and 42 have edges radially external which extend the cylindrical surface 36 to ensure the centering of the rear region of the roller 4.
• the two ribs 41 diametrically opposite and located at angular distance between the two ribs 42, also have a support function for means 43 for angular coupling with the roller 4.
• Each rib 41 has, at a small distance from the shoulder 38, a notch 50 in its radially outer edge 44.
• the notch 50 is formed between a recess 46 on the side of the rear shoulder 38 , and two successive recesses 47 and 48 on the other side.
• the recesses 47 and 48 are separated by a surface 49 forming a fixing plate for a fixed part of a spring leaf 51.
• the free end 52 of the blade 51 points towards the recess 46.
• a caster 53 is pivotally mounted on one of the lateral faces of each rib 41, along an axis 54 having a tangential orientation with respect to the axis 56 of the mandrel, very close to the shoulder 38.
• the caster 53 has pointed teeth 57 regularly distributed over its periphery so that some of them (57b and 57c in Figure 5) protrude into
• the disengageable locking means comprise, in addition to the toothed discs 28 (one per roller), two pawls 58 each cooperating with the teeth of one of the discs 28 to prevent rotation of the corresponding roller 4 in the direction the expansion of the exposed region 12 of the ribbon 8.
• the two pawls 58 are opposite one another and produced in a single leaf spring with an actuating region 59 which joins them. From either side of region 59, the blade has a bend 61 and a counter-bend 62 in a region where it passes between two bosses 63 and 64 of the carcass.
• Each elbow 61 and counter-elbow 62 defines a shoulder 66.
• each roller 4 can only rotate in one direction, contrary to that allowed for the other roller 4 (see arrows F), and corresponding to an increase in the tension of the exposed region 12 of the tape 8.
• the actuation region 59 is placed opposite an orifice 67 of the rear flange of the carcass.
• an actuating member 68 of the printer engages in the orifice 67 and moves the actuating region 59 (FIG. 7) to the position shown in phantom.
• Each pair of bosses 63, 64 then forms a pivot and the pawls 58 take the withdrawal position also shown in phantom, in which they are released from the teeth of the discs 28.
• the rollers 4 are then free to rotate in the same direction as this is necessary so that one collects the used ribbon while the other unwinds the ribbon which is not yet used.
• one of the mandrels 3, receiving the collecting roller is connected to a drive motor while the other, receiving the unwinding roller, is connected to a braking system ensuring a certain tension in the region. exposed 12 of ribbon 8 during printing.
• the driving torque and the braking torque are transmitted by the rotational coupling means 33, 53 which have been described above.
• the cassette is produced more economically by two end flanges 71 connected to each other by spacer rods 72 forming a cage.
• the two guide cylinders 24 are trapped between the flanges 71 by means of rings 73 forming a bearing.
• the rollers 74 are entirely made of soft material 75, they are simple cardboard tubes.
• the carton 75 defines the bore 29 of the rollers 74.
• these each comprise two circular slots 76 in each of which is fitted a plastic ring 77 having a certain axial length , to limit the coefficient of friction and the pressure undergone by each roller 74 at each of its ends during its rotation.
• this cassette it is the end of the cardboard roller which causes the rotation of the roller 53 of Figures 3 to 6, thus causing the penetration of teeth such as 57b and 57c, not in a ring 33 specially provided for this purpose as in Figure 6, but in the carton constituting the entire roll 74.
• FIG. 9 relates to an even more economical variant: there is no longer a cassette but simply two cardboard rollers 84 prepositioned on a disposable charger 86 also made of cardboard and which comprises different walls parallel to the axis of the rollers 84. These walls position the two rollers 84 along an inter-axis corresponding to that of the mandrels 3, and position the regions 9 and 12 of the ribbon 8 in accordance with the path provided for them in the printer 1.
• a plastic strapping 87 ensures the cohesion of the assembly.
• the loader is engaged in the printer 1 with the mandrels 3 being engaged in the cardboard rollers 84.
• the rotation is caused by the castors 53 as it has been said in connection with FIG. 8, the teeth of the caster penetrating the cardboard of the rollers 84.
• the strapping 87 is then removed by means of one or more tabs 88 which make it possible to tear the strapping 87 according to one or more weakening lines 89 provided for during manufacture. You can then remove the cardboard magazine 86 and discard it (or keep the cardboard for recycling). It is understood that thanks to the invention the same printer can receive very different refills from each other, provided that the rollers have a soft part suitably located.
• the rotational coupling could be achieved by grooves or other projections capable of deforming the soft material, but without piercing it with claws.
• the invention is applicable to all devices consuming tape. In the field of printers, it is not limited to counter printers.

Landscapes

• Impression-Transfer Materials And Handling Thereof (AREA)
• Replacement Of Web Rolls (AREA)
• Mechanical Pencils And Projecting And Retracting Systems Therefor, And Multi-System Writing Instruments (AREA)
• Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
• Rolls And Other Rotary Bodies (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=9467880

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (11)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (13)

Family Cites Families (15)

• 1994
  • 1994-10-14 FR FR9412310A patent/FR2725707A1/fr active Granted
• 1995
  • 1995-10-12 US US08/737,155 patent/US5915860A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1995-10-12 DE DE29521274U patent/DE29521274U1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-10-12 AU AU37017/95A patent/AU712314B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1995-10-12 DE DE69510213T patent/DE69510213T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1995-10-12 ES ES95934697T patent/ES2103214T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-10-12 AT AT95934697T patent/ATE181035T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1995-10-12 BR BR9509341A patent/BR9509341A/pt not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1995-10-12 KR KR1019970702427A patent/KR100418840B1/ko not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1995-10-12 EP EP95934697A patent/EP0785901B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1995-10-12 WO PCT/FR1995/001340 patent/WO1996011872A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1995-10-12 DE DE0785901T patent/DE785901T1/de active Pending
• 1999
  • 1999-09-01 GR GR990402208T patent/GR3031124T3/el unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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