JP2000272213A - Ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink ribbon cassette which can prevent ink impregnated in an ink-impregnated body from bleeding or from leaking outside a case. SOLUTION: A plurality of projections 40 having spherical end faces are formed in an inner face of a cover 26 into contact with a surface of an ink- impregnated body 32. Two steps are formed to a side face of the projection 40 and, grooves 46 are formed to the periphery of the projections 40 of the cover 26. Since the end face of the projection 40 has no edge part, the ink impregnated to the ink-impregnated body 32 is hard to squeeze by the projections 40 even when the projections 40 and the ink-impregnated body 32 are pressed in contact with each other or rub each other. Even if the ink is squeezed out, the step parts of the projections 40 and the grooves 46 of the cover 26 prevent the ink from leaking outside a case 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention belongs to the technical field of an ink ribbon cassette provided with an ink impregnating body for supplying ink to an ink ribbon and used by being attached to a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ink ribbon cassette 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing an ink ribbon cassette 10 of the present invention for convenience. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ink ribbon cassette 10 of the present invention as viewed from above, and FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1 with a cover removed. Case 20 of conventional ink ribbon cassette 100
Has a ribbon storage portion 21 formed to receive a print head portion (not shown) of the printer and storing an endless ink ribbon R. The opening of the case 20 is covered with a cover 26. I have.

[0003] A driven roller 23 and a driving roller 24 are disposed near the entrance of the ribbon accommodating section 21 via a holding member 22, and the driven roller 23 is pressed toward the driving roller 24 by a pressing member 25 such as a spring. Thus, they are engaged with each other and rotate (see FIG. 2).

[0004] The ink ribbon cassette 100 is provided with an ink impregnated body storage section 30 for accommodating an ink impregnated body 32 in which a urethane sponge or a non-woven fabric is impregnated with ink.
2 ′ protrudes and contacts the side surface of the drive roller 24.

[0005] When the ink ribbon cassette 100 is attached to the print head portion of the printer and the drive roller 24 and the driven roller 23 rotate by the rotation of the drive shaft of the printer, the ink ribbon R in the case 20 is drawn out from the ribbon outlet to the outside. After forming the printing surface parallel to the printing substrate, the printing material returns to the ribbon storage unit 21 from the ribbon entrance.

When the ink ribbon R travels as described above,
Since the drive roller 24 rotates while contacting the ink supply member 32 ′ protruding from the ink impregnated body storage unit 30, the ink ribbon R of the ink ribbon cassette 100 includes
The ink transferred to the surface of the drive roller 24 is automatically supplied.

FIG. 11 shows a conventional ink ribbon cassette 1.
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the ink-impregnated-body storing section 30 of FIG. In the ink ribbon cassette 100, the housing-shaped ink-impregnated body storage unit 30 is formed separately from the case 20, and the fitting protrusion 36 formed on the bottom surface of the ink-impregnated body storage unit 30 is positioned on the bottom surface of the case 20. By fitting into the hole 27,
It is attached to the case 20. As the ink-impregnated body storage section, in addition to the one formed separately from the case 20 as shown in FIG. 11, a wall partitioning the inside of the case 20 is formed integrally with the case 20, and the ink partitioned into the storage section is formed in the storage section partitioned by the wall. There is also one in which the impregnated body 32 is stored.

Since the upper surface of the ink impregnated body storage section 30 is not sealed with a lid or the like, if the cover 26 covering the opening of the ink ribbon cassette 100 is removed, the used ink impregnated bodies 32 and 32 'are replaced with new ones. can do.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, when the ink-impregnated body storage unit 30 is formed separately from the case 20, the ink-impregnated body storage unit 30 can be replaced with a new one. It is convenient without getting dirty.

The ink impregnated body 32 used in the ink ribbon cassette 100 is formed by impregnating a soft urethane sponge or non-woven fabric with ink, and is impregnated when pressed from outside or rubbed on the surface. The ink is squeezed and exudes. Further, the opening of the ink impregnated body storage unit 30 is provided with a cover 2 that covers the entire case 20.
6, but it is difficult to completely seal the space between the ink impregnated body housing section 30 and the cover 32. Therefore, when vibration occurs during transportation or use of the ink ribbon cassette 100, the ink impregnated body 32 and the inner surface of the cover 26 rub against each other, and the ink exudes, and the exuded ink leaks out of the case 20 due to a capillary phenomenon. There is.

Therefore, in order to prevent the ink from leaking, a cover 26 such as an ink ribbon cassette 102 described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-25287 shown in a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.
In some cases, a plurality of prism-shaped projections 90 are formed on the inner surface to reduce the contact area between the ink impregnated body 32 and the inner surface of the cover 26.

However, the ink ribbon cassette 102
13, the protrusion 90 formed on the inner surface of the cover 26 has a flat end surface as shown in the partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.
If they come into strong contact with or rub against each other, the ink in the ink impregnated body 32 will be scraped off at the corners of each projection 90.
Then, there is a problem in that the scraped-out ink accumulates at the corners of the protrusions 90, travels along the protrusions 90 and the inner surface of the cover 26 by capillary action, and eventually leaks out of the case 20.

Particularly, the ink impregnated body storage section 30 is
0, the ink impregnated body storage unit 3
In order to facilitate the mounting of the ink impregnated body storage unit 30,
The fitting tolerance between the fitting projection 36 of the case 20 and the positioning hole 27 of the case 20 is set relatively large, so that the projection 90 collides with or rubs against the ink impregnated body 32 due to vibration during transportation or use. The ink is scraped out from the ink impregnated body 32, and there is a problem that the ink easily leaks to the outside of the case 20 due to the capillary phenomenon as described above.

Next, FIG.
FIG. 1 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an ink tank structure described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 9-303, FIG. This ink tank structure has a configuration in which an elongated spacer 902 is formed on the inner surface of a cover (not shown) in the above-described configuration of the ink ribbon cassette, and aims to solve the problem of ink leakage. In this ink ribbon cassette, the spacer 902 formed on the inner surface of the cover has a head 902a having a circular cross section, and a step 902b is formed on the side surface of the spacer 902. With such a configuration, the ink that has oozed out of the ink impregnated body first accumulates at the contact portion between the ink impregnated body 32 and the spacer 902 and gradually travels along the spacer 902 due to surface tension. Since the portion 902b is formed, it is said that the ink is collected in this portion and hardly flows to the wall surface side.

[0014]

However, the ink ribbon cassette provided with the ink tank structure shown in FIG. 14 has a sole purpose to prevent the leaked ink from leaking out of the cassette, and the ink bleeding itself is not performed. No attempt is made to prevent this. Further, in this ink ribbon cassette, since the spacer has an elongated shape, it is clear that the ink accumulated between the spacer 902 and the ink impregnated body 32 easily moves in the direction of the arrow along the contact portion between the two.

[0015]

According to the present invention, first, there is provided an ink impregnated body for supplying ink to an ink ribbon housed in a case, and a housing-shaped housing for accommodating the ink impregnated body and having an opening. In an ink ribbon cassette including an ink impregnated body storage section and a cover that covers the case, an inner surface of the cover is in contact with a surface of the ink impregnated body,
Secondly, an ink impregnated body for supplying ink to an ink ribbon housed in a case, and an ink impregnated body for accommodating the ink impregnated body, wherein the ink ribbon cassette has a plurality of projections having spherical end surfaces. In an ink ribbon cassette comprising a housing-shaped ink-impregnated body storage portion having an opening and a cover for covering the case, an end surface of the ink-ribbon cassette has a spherical surface on the case bottom surface so as to contact the surface of the ink-impregnated body. The above problem has been solved by an ink ribbon cassette characterized in that a plurality of protrusions are formed.

[0016]

According to the above construction, since the protrusion formed on the inner surface of the cover or the bottom surface of the case comes into contact with the surface or the back surface of the ink impregnated body, the contact area between the ink impregnated body and the inner surface of the cover or the bottom surface of the case is reduced. In addition, since the end surface of the projection is spherical, even if the projection is pressed against or rubs against the ink impregnated body, the ink in the ink impregnated body is not easily squeezed out.

[0017]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon cassette 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above, FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1 with a cover removed, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. In the ink ribbon cassette 10 of the present invention, the configuration other than the projections formed on the inner surface of the cover has already been described in the section of the prior art, and thus the description thereof is omitted here.

In the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention,
A cylindrical protrusion is formed on the inner surface of the cover, and after the ink impregnated body is stored in the ink impregnated body storage portion of the case, when the cover is put on, the tip of the protrusion comes into contact with the surface of the ink impregnated body. (See FIG. 3). FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the projection 40 has a spherical shape without corners, and two step portions 42 and 44 are formed on the side surface of the projection 40. An annular groove 46 is formed on the inner surface of the cover 26 along the periphery of the projection 40.

Since the end face of the projection 40 has no corner, even if the end face of the projection 40 is pressed against or rubs against the ink impregnated body 32, the ink impregnated in the ink impregnated body 32 is squeezed out. Hateful. And, if the ink impregnated body 3
Even if the ink is squeezed out of the step 2, the squeezed ink is not squeezed by the surface tension and the steps 42, 44 on the side of the protrusion 40
Therefore, it is difficult to move in the direction of the cover 26. Further, even if the ink accumulated in the steps 42 and 44 moves toward the cover 26 due to vibration or the like, the annular groove 46 formed around the projection 40 of the cover 26 prevents the ink from flowing out of the cassette. Is done.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a projection 50 formed on an ink ribbon cassette according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The protrusion 50 of this embodiment has a spherical end surface similarly to that of the first embodiment.
On the side surface, three protrusions 52, 52, 52 around the axis,
Grooves 56 are formed on the inner surface of the cover 26 around the projections 50, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged sectional view of a protrusion 60 formed on the ink ribbon cassette according to the third embodiment of the present invention. The end face of the projection 60 of this embodiment is also the first face.
It has a spherical shape like the embodiment and the second embodiment. In addition, around the protrusion 60 on the inner surface of the cover 26,
A groove 66 having a convex edge 68 is formed.

The protrusions 50 and 60 formed on the ink ribbon cassettes of the second and third embodiments are also
Since there is no corner portion on the end face as in the first embodiment,
Even if the end surfaces of the protrusions 50 and 60 are pressed against or rubbed against the ink impregnated body 32, it is difficult to squeeze out the ink impregnated in the ink impregnated body 32. Then, even if the ink is squeezed out of the ink impregnated body 32 by the protrusions 50 and 60, the three protrusions 5 formed on the side surfaces of the protrusion 50 in the second embodiment.
2, 52, 52 and the groove 56 formed on the cover 26, and in the third embodiment, the groove 66 having an edge 68 formed on the cover 26 prevents ink from flowing out.

In the above embodiment, the columnar projections are shown. However, as long as no corners appear on the end surface in contact with the ink impregnated body 32, the projections may be prismatic. However, also in this case, the end of the projection is formed in a spherical shape.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a projection 70 formed on an ink ribbon cassette according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The projection 70 has a hemispherical head 74 and a prismatic column. The column 76 has a plate-like projection 72. The protrusions 70 formed on the ink ribbon cassette of this embodiment are also hard to squeeze out the ink even when pressed against or rubbed with an ink impregnated body (not shown), similarly to the above. Further, since there is a step between the head 74 and the column 76, the squeezed ink is difficult to flow out, and as shown in the top view of FIG. Since the surface area of the portion 72 can be larger than that of the second embodiment, the outflow of the squeezed ink is more effectively prevented.

In the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention described above, the location where the projection is formed is not limited to the inner surface of the cover 26. FIG. 9 is a partially exploded perspective view of the ink ribbon cassette 12 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention, in which a plurality of protrusions 80 are formed on the bottom surface of the case 20. The ink-impregnated body storage section 30 of the ink ribbon cassette 12 of this embodiment is opened downward so as to face the projection 80 on the bottom surface of the case 20, and after storing the ink-impregnated body 32 therein, The case 30 is attached to the case 20 by engaging a recess 38 a formed on a side portion of the portion 30 with a convex portion 38 b of the case 20. In this case, the spherical tip of the projection 80 comes into contact with the back surface of the ink impregnated body 32.

It should be noted that the shape of the projection 80 may be that of any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. In addition, the case 20 and the ink impregnated body storage unit 3
As the zero dent 38a and the convex portion 38b, any configuration may be used as long as the ink-impregnated-body storing section 30 can be securely attached to the case 20. The perspective view of FIG. 10 is an example of the configuration of such a recess 38a 'and a projection 38b'.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, when the ink-impregnated body storage section 30 is opened downward so as to face the bottom surface of the case 20, the cover 26 is attached to the ink-impregnated body storage section 30. There is no need to cover the top. Therefore, the ink ribbon cassette 12 of such an embodiment is
Since the ink-impregnated body storage section 30 can be attached and detached without removing the ink-impregnated body 32, the ink-impregnated body 32 can be exchanged while the ink ribbon cassette 12 is mounted on the printer, which is convenient.

[0028]

According to the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention, since the protrusion formed on the inner surface of the cover or the bottom surface of the case comes into contact with the surface or the back surface of the ink impregnated body, the contact area between the ink impregnated body and the inner surface of the cover or the bottom surface of the case is reduced. Since the number of protrusions is reduced and the ends of the projections are spherical, even if they are pressed against or rubbed against the ink impregnated body, the effect of preventing the ink in the ink impregnated body from being squeezed out is exerted. As a result, leakage of ink to the outside of the case can be reduced.

Further, when a step or a projection is provided on the side surface of the projection, even if the ink is squeezed out, the outflow of the ink at the step or the projection is prevented.
Also, if a groove is formed around the protrusion on the inner surface of the cover or the bottom of the case, even if the squeezed ink reaches the cover or the case through the protrusion, the ink is prevented from flowing out in the groove. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon cassette according to a first embodiment of the present invention as viewed from above.

FIG. 2 is a top view in a state where a cover is removed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a protrusion in an ink ribbon cassette according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a protrusion in an ink ribbon cassette according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a projection used in an ink ribbon cassette according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a top view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of an ink ribbon cassette according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partially exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the fitting method in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional ink ribbon cassette.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of another conventional ink ribbon cassette.

13 is a partially enlarged sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a spacer used in another conventional ink ribbon cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 12: ink ribbon cassette 20: case 21: ribbon storage section
26: cover 23: driven roller 24: drive roller 30: ink-impregnated body storage section 32: ink-impregnated body 40, 50, 60, 70, 80: projection 42, 44, 78: step section 52, 72: projection 46, 56, 66: groove R: ink ribbon

Claims (6)

[Claims] An ink-impregnated body for supplying ink to an ink ribbon housed in a case, a housing-shaped ink-impregnated body housing section having an opening for housing the ink-impregnated body, and a cover for covering the case. An ink ribbon cassette, comprising: a plurality of projections having spherical end faces formed on the inner surface of the cover so as to contact the surface of the ink impregnated body. 2. An ink-impregnated body for supplying ink to an ink ribbon housed in a case, a housing-shaped ink-impregnated body housing section for housing said ink-impregnated body and having an opening, and a cover for covering said case. An ink ribbon cassette comprising: a plurality of protrusions having spherical end faces formed on the bottom surface of the case so as to contact the back surface of the ink impregnated body. 3. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein a groove is formed around the protrusion on the inner surface of the cover. 4. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 2, wherein a groove is formed around the projection on the bottom surface of the case. 5. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein a step or a protrusion is formed on a side surface of the protrusion. 6. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein the ink-impregnated-body housing portion is detachable from the case.