JP2008001086A - Cartridge case - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate manufacturing, to suppress an increase of manufacturing costs, and to save the trouble at the time of disposal. <P>SOLUTION: Leaf spring-shaped pressing members 98 which are brought into contact with tip parts of spindles 62 and 72 of a bobbin for winding 6 and a bobbin for feeding 7 in an ink sheet unit 2 and press the bobbin 6 and the bobbin 7 in the direction of a second driving side side-wall 92 are respectively provided in gaps between a second supporting side side-wall 93 and the spindles 62 and 72 of the bobbin 6 and the bobbin 7, respectively. Each pressing member 98 is integrally formed with the second supporting side side-wall 93. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cartridge case, and more particularly to a cartridge case that houses an ink sheet unit used in a printer.

  In general, a line thermal printer having a long thermal head in which heating elements are arranged and arranged along the width direction of a recording sheet is used as a recording apparatus that quickly records each line or page on the recording sheet. ing. As such an ink sheet cartridge for a line thermal printer, an ink sheet cartridge in which an ink sheet unit is housed in a cartridge case is mounted and used in the line thermal printer.

  The ink sheet unit has a long ink sheet in which colored regions coated with inks such as yellow, magenta, and cyan are continuous. One end of the ink sheet is disposed on a cylindrical supply bobbin, and the ink sheet The other end of each is wound around a cylindrical winding bobbin.

  The supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin are made of a substantially cylindrical member made of resin, and are provided at the center of the cylindrical base, a support shaft provided at one end of the base, and the other end of the base. Drive shaft. In addition, a flange-like flange is provided at the boundary between each drive shaft and each base portion in the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin.

  The cartridge case includes a top wall that faces the top surface of the ink sheet unit, a bottom wall that faces the bottom surface of the ink sheet unit, and one end portions of the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin. It has a drive side wall located facing a certain drive shaft side, and a support side wall located facing the support shaft side which is the other end of the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin. Inner walls are arranged in parallel to the inner surface with a predetermined gap from the inner surface at positions facing the inner surfaces of the drive side wall and the support side wall, and a winding bobbin and a supply bobbin are disposed on each inner wall. A bearing that rotatably supports each drive shaft or each support shaft is formed.

  Such a cartridge case is composed of a first case and a second case made of synthetic resin, and both cases are joined by ultrasonic welding or the like.

  A conventional ink sheet cartridge accommodates the ink sheet unit in a cartridge case so as to be rotatable about the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In such an ink sheet cartridge, of the inside of the cartridge case, when the ink sheet unit is housed inside the cartridge, the tip end portion and the support side wall of each support shaft of the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin A pressing member made of a compression coil spring made of a metal material is provided in the gap.

  Each pressing member abuts on the tip of each support shaft, and presses the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin in the direction of the arrangement position of the driving side wall by the urging force of each pressing member. The outer surface of the flange in the winding bobbin is pressed against an inner wall provided to face the inner surface of the driving side wall. As a result, the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin are prevented from spinning idly inside the cartridge case to prevent the ink ribbon sheet from being bent.

JP-A-5-155122

  However, in the cartridge case in the conventional ink sheet cartridge as described above, each pressing member for preventing the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin from spinning idle is formed of a metal material, and each pressing member is made of synthetic resin. A product manufactured as a separate part from the manufactured cartridge case was attached to the cartridge case. This complicates the manufacturing process of the cartridge case and increases the manufacturing cost. Further, when discarding the cartridge case, each pressing member has to be removed from the cartridge case, which is troublesome and lacks consideration for the environment.

  The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge case that can be easily manufactured, can suppress an increase in manufacturing cost, and can save time and effort at the time of disposal. .

  In order to achieve the above object, a cartridge case according to the present invention is characterized by a cartridge case that detachably houses an ink sheet unit having a pair of bobbins each of which is wound an ink sheet from one end side and the other end side. And a drive side wall positioned opposite to the drive shaft which is one end of both bobbins, and a support side wall positioned facing the support shaft which is the other end of both bobbins. A pressing member that contacts at least the tip of the support shaft of either of the bobbins in the ink sheet unit and presses the abutted bobbin in the direction of the driving side wall; The pressing member is formed integrally with the support side wall.

  According to the cartridge case according to the present invention, the pressing member is integrally formed of the resin material together with the driving side wall and the supporting side wall, so that the pressing member is made of a material different from the cartridge case as in the prior art. Unlike the case where it is comprised by, work processes, such as attaching a pressing member to a cartridge case, can be skipped. Moreover, the trouble of removing the pressing member at the time of disposal can be omitted.

  Another feature of the cartridge case according to the present invention is that the ink sheet unit includes a supply bobbin obtained by winding an ink sheet from one end side and a take-up bobbin obtained by winding the ink sheet from the other end side. A detachable cartridge case, a drive side wall located opposite to a drive shaft side which is one end of the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin, the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin A support side wall located opposite to the support shaft side, which is the other end of the bobbin, and a tip of the support shaft of at least one of the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin in the stored ink sheet unit And a pressing member that presses the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin in the direction of the driving side wall, and the pressing member is integrated with the support side wall. There is the point that has been made.

  According to the cartridge case according to the present invention, the pressing member is integrally formed of the resin material together with the driving side wall and the supporting side wall, so that the pressing member is made of a material different from the cartridge case as in the prior art. Unlike the case where it is comprised by, work processes, such as attaching a pressing member to a cartridge case, can be skipped. Moreover, the trouble of removing the pressing member at the time of disposal can be omitted.

  In addition, another cartridge case according to the present invention is characterized in that an inner wall is provided to face the inner surface of the support side wall with a predetermined gap from the support side wall, and the support shaft is provided at an edge of the inner wall. A bearing that pivotally supports the shaft from one side is formed, and a support portion that sandwiches the support shaft together with the bearing is formed integrally with the pressing member.

  According to the other cartridge case according to the present invention, the pressing member is formed with a support portion that holds the support shaft together with the bearing, and thus, by holding the support shaft between the bearing and the support portion, At least the arrangement position of the supply bobbin or the take-up bobbin can be fixed, and the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin can be prevented from moving inside the cartridge case.

  As described above, according to the cartridge case according to the present invention, it is possible to omit a work process such as attaching the pressing member to the cartridge case, thereby facilitating the manufacturing process of the cartridge case. In addition, it is not necessary to manufacture the pressing member as a separate part of the cartridge case, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. In addition, when discarding the cartridge case, there is no need to remove the pressing member from the cartridge case, and there is an effect that it is possible to save time and effort at the time of disposal.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an ink sheet cartridge having a cartridge case according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink sheet cartridge according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing a main part of a cartridge case in the ink sheet cartridge of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink sheet cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment includes an ink sheet unit 2 and a cartridge case 3 that detachably accommodates the ink sheet unit 2.

  The ink sheet unit 2 includes a long ink sheet 5 in which colored regions formed by sequentially applying yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) inks in succession, and an ink sheet. 5 has a take-up bobbin 6 wound from one end side, and a supply bobbin 7 wound the ink sheet 5 from the other end side.

  The take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 in the ink sheet unit 2 are made of a substantially cylindrical member made of resin, and have a cylindrical base 61, 71 provided at the center and a base at one end of the base 61, 71. The support shafts 62 and 72 have a smaller diameter than the outer diameter, and the drive shafts 63 and 73 have a larger diameter than the base portions 61 and 71 at the other ends of the base portions 61 and 71. In addition, flanges 64 and 74 are provided on the boundaries between the bases 62 and 72 and the drive shafts 63 and 73 in the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7, respectively.

  The unused ink sheet 5 is wound from one end side on the base 61 of the winding bobbin 6, and the ink sheet 5 is wound from the other end side on the base 71 of the supply bobbin 7. . Further, a drive system of a printer (not shown) that transmits a driving force for rotating the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 is engaged with the drive shafts 63 and 73, and the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 are engaged. Rotational driving force is transmitted to.

  The cartridge case 3 has a first case 8 and a second case 9 made of a removable resin.

  The first case 8 includes a bottom wall 81 that faces the bottom surface side of the ink sheet unit 2 in FIG. 1 and one end of a winding bobbin 6 and a supply bobbin 7 that are suspended from one side of the bottom wall 81. The first drive side wall 82 located opposite to the lower half of the drive shafts 63, 73 side, and the other ends of the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 that are suspended from the other side of the bottom wall 81. And a first support side wall 83 located opposite to the lower half of the support shafts 62 and 72 side.

  The bottom wall 81 includes a semi-cylindrical bottom wall winding portion 81 a that faces the bottom surface of the portion of the ink sheet 5 that is wound around the winding bobbin 6, and the supply bobbin 7 in the ink sheet 5. A semi-cylindrical bottom wall supply portion 81b positioned opposite to the bottom surface side of the portion wound around the bottom wall, and a bottom wall coupling portion 81c connecting the bottom wall winding portion 81a and the bottom wall supply portion 81b. I have. A window frame-shaped bottom wall opening 81d is formed at the center of the bottom wall connecting portion 81c to expose the ink sheet 5 that is stretched between the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7.

  The first drive side wall 82 is a semicircular winding portion 82a positioned facing the drive shaft 63 side of the winding bobbin 6 and a half positioned facing the drive shaft 73 side of the supply bobbin 7. The winding portion 82a and the supply portion 82b are cut out in a U-shape so that the drive shafts 63 and 73 are exposed. Further, at the positions facing the inner surfaces of the winding part 82a and the supply part 82b in the first drive side wall 82, the inner wall 82d has a predetermined gap from the inner surfaces of the winding part 82a and the supply part 82b, respectively. A lower bearing 82e that rotatably supports the drive shafts 63 and 73 of the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 is disposed on each inner wall 82d. Are cut out in a U-shape.

  Locking claws 84 and 85 for detachably engaging the first case 8 and the second case 9 are formed on the winding portion 82a and the supply portion 82b of the first drive side wall 82, respectively.

  The first support side wall 83 includes a winding portion 83a that faces the support shaft 62 side of the winding bobbin 6, a supply portion 83b that faces the support shaft 72 side of the supply bobbin 7, And a connecting portion 83c that connects the winding portion 83a and the supply portion 83b. Further, a semicircular inner wall 83d is provided at a position facing the inner surfaces of the winding portion 83a and the supply portion 83b in the first support side wall 83 with a predetermined gap from the inner surfaces of the winding portion 83a and the supply portion 83b. Each of the inner walls 83d is provided with a lower bearing 83e that rotatably supports the support shafts 62 and 72 of the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7, and each inner wall 83d. It is cut out in a concave shape at the edge of the.

  Locking claws 86 and 87 for detachably locking the first case 8 and the second case 9 are formed on the winding portion 83a and the supply portion 83b of the first support side wall 83, respectively.

  The second case 9 includes a top wall 91 that faces the top surface side of the ink sheet unit 2, and is suspended from one side of the top wall 91 so that the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 A second driving side wall 92 located opposite to the half on the driving shaft side and the other half of the top wall 91 on the other half of the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 on the other half side on the support shaft side And a second support side wall 93 located opposite to each other.

  The top wall 91 includes a semi-cylindrical top wall winding portion 91a located opposite to the top surface side of the portion of the ink sheet 5 wound around the winding bobbin 6, and a supply bobbin in the ink sheet 5. 7 is a semi-cylindrical top wall supply portion 91b located opposite to the top surface side of the portion wound around 7, and a top wall connecting portion 91c that connects the top wall winding portion 91a and the top wall supply portion 91b. And. A window frame-like top wall opening 91d is formed at the center of the top wall connecting portion 91c to expose the ink sheet 5 that is stretched between the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7.

  The second drive side wall 92 is a semicircular winding portion 92a positioned facing the drive shaft 63 side of the winding bobbin 6 and a half positioned facing the drive shaft 73 side of the supply bobbin 7. The winding portion 92a and the supply portion 92b are notched in a U-shape so that the drive shafts 63 and 73 are exposed. Furthermore, an inner wall 92d is disposed at a position facing the inner surfaces of the winding portion 92a and the supply portion 92b in the second drive side wall 92 with a predetermined gap from the inner surfaces of the winding portion 92a and the supply portion 92b. An upper bearing 92e that rotatably supports the drive shafts 63 and 73 of the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 is disposed on each inner wall 92d at the edge of each inner wall 92d. Cut out in the shape of a letter.

  The winding portion 92a and the supply portion 92b of the second drive side wall 92, and the winding portion 82a and the supply of the first drive side wall 82 when the first case 8 and the second case 9 are arranged to face each other. The locking claws 94 and 95 are formed at positions facing the locking claws 84 and 85 formed in the portion 82b.

  The second support side wall 93 includes a winding portion 93a that faces the support shaft 62 of the winding bobbin 6, a supply portion 93b that faces the support shaft 72 of the supply bobbin 7, and a winding portion 93a. The winding part 93a and the supply part 93b are comprised by the double wall among the 2nd support side walls 93. The connection part 93c which connects the taking part 93a and the supply part 93b is provided. Further, an inner wall 93d is disposed at a position facing the inner surfaces of the winding portion 93a and the supply portion 93b in the second support side wall 93 with a predetermined gap from the inner surfaces of the winding portion 93a and the supply portion 93b. An upper bearing 93e that rotatably supports the support shafts 62 and 72 of the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 is disposed on each inner wall 93d at the edge of each inner wall 93d. Cut out in the shape of a letter.

  The gap between the winding portion 93a and the inner wall 93d of the second support side wall 93 and the position facing the tip of the support shaft 62a of the winding bobbin 6, and the supply portion 93b and the inner wall of the second support side wall 93 Leaf spring-like pressing members 98 are disposed at positions facing the support shaft 72a of the supply bobbin 7 in the gap with respect to 93d. Each pressing member 98 is extended from the inner surface of the second support side wall 93, bent in the direction of the position where the first case 8 is disposed, and then bent at an acute angle in the direction of the driving side. The support shaft 62 of the take-up bobbin 6 and the support shaft 72 of the supply bobbin 7 in the ink sheet unit 2 housed in the case 3 are in contact with the tip portions of the pressing members 98, respectively.

  At the tip of each pressing member 98, the support shaft 62 of the winding bobbin 6 and the support shaft 72 of the supply bobbin 7 supported by the upper bearing 93e formed on the inner wall 93d are sandwiched together with the upper bearings 93e. A supporting portion 98a is formed so as to protrude from each pressing member 98 in the driving side direction.

  Each pressing member 98 and support portion 98a are integrally formed of a synthetic resin material together with the top wall 91, the second drive side wall 92, and the second support side wall 93.

  Each pressing member 98 is in contact with the distal end portion of each of the support shafts 62 and 72 to press the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 toward the driving side by the urging force of each pressing member 98. Thus, the outer surfaces of the flanges 64 and 74 of the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 are provided to face the inner wall 82d and the second driving side wall 92 provided to face the first driving side wall 82, respectively. The inner wall 92d is press-contacted. As a result, the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 are prevented from rotating idle, and the ink sheet 5 is prevented from being bent inside the cartridge case 3. Each pressing member 98 fixes the arrangement positions of the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 by holding the supporting shafts 62 and 72 together with the upper bearings 93e by the supporting portions 98a of the pressing members 98. The support shafts 62 and 72 are prevented from being detached from the upper bearing 93e.

  Further, when the first case 8 and the second case 9 are arranged to face each other in the winding portion 93a and the supply portion 93b of the second support side wall 93, the winding portion 83a of the first support side wall 83 is disposed. Locking claws 96 and 97 are formed at positions facing the locking claws 86 and 87 formed in the supply portion 83b.

  Both the cases 8 and 9 are provided with locking claws 84, 85, 86 and 87 of the first drive side wall 82 and the first support side wall 83, and the second drive side wall 92 and the second support side wall 93. By engaging the respective locking claws 94, 95, 96, 97, they are engaged and integrated.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  According to the present embodiment, each pressing member 98 disposed in the gap between the inner surface of the second support side wall 93 and the inner wall 93d makes the tip part abut on the tip part of each support shaft 62, 72. The winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 can be pressed toward the drive side to prevent the winding bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 from freely rotating. Such a pressing member 98 is integrally formed of a resin material together with the top wall 91, the second drive side wall 92, and the second support side wall 93.

  Therefore, it is possible to omit a work process such as attaching each pressing member 98 to the cartridge case 3, thereby facilitating the manufacturing process of the cartridge case 3, and to fix each pressing member 98 to the cartridge case 3. Therefore, it is not necessary to manufacture as a separate part, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, when the cartridge case 3 is discarded, there is no need to remove each pressing member 98 from the cartridge case 3, so that it is possible to save time and effort at the time of disposal.

  Each pressing member 98 is formed with a support portion 98a for holding the support shafts 62 and 72 together with the upper bearings 93e. Thus, the support shafts 62 are formed by the upper bearings 93e and the support portions 98a. , 72 is fixed, and the arrangement positions of the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 are fixed, and the take-up bobbin 6 and the supply bobbin 7 are prevented from moving inside the cartridge case 3. be able to.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change is possible as needed.

  For example, the shape of each pressing member that presses each support shaft 62, 72 is not limited to the shape of the present embodiment, and various types of locking claws can be employed.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink sheet cartridge using a cartridge case according to the present invention. The enlarged view which shows the principal part of the cartridge case in the ink sheet cartridge of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

Reference Signs List 1 ink sheet cartridge 2 ink sheet unit 3 cartridge case 5 ink sheet 6 take-up bobbin 62 support shaft 63 drive shaft 7 supply bobbin 72 support shaft 73 drive shaft 8 first case 81 bottom wall 82 first drive side wall 82a take-up Part 82b Supply part 82d Inner wall 83 First support side wall 83a Winding part 83b Supply part 83d Inner wall 9 Second case 91 Top wall 92 Second drive side wall 92a Winding part 92b Supply part 92d Inner wall 93 Second support side wall 93a Winding part 93b Supply part 93d Inner wall 98 Pressing member 98a Support part

Claims (3)

A cartridge case for detachably storing an ink sheet unit having a pair of bobbins each wound from one end side and the other end side of an ink sheet,
A drive side wall located opposite to the drive shaft side which is one end of the bobbins;
A support side wall located opposite the support shaft side which is the other end of the bobbins;
A pressing member that contacts at least the tip of the support shaft of either of the bobbins in the accommodated ink sheet unit and presses the abutted bobbin in the direction of the driving side wall; ,
The cartridge case, wherein the pressing member is formed integrally with the support side wall. A cartridge case for detachably storing an ink sheet unit having a supply bobbin obtained by winding an ink sheet from one end side and a take-up bobbin obtained by winding the ink sheet from the other end side,
A drive side wall located opposite to the drive shaft which is one end of the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin;
A support side wall located opposite the support shaft side which is the other end of the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin;
The at least one of the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin of the stored ink sheet unit is in contact with the tip of the support shaft so that the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin are in the direction of the driving side wall. And a pressing member that presses
The cartridge case, wherein the pressing member is formed integrally with the support side wall. An inner wall located opposite the inner surface of the support side wall with a predetermined gap from the support side wall is provided,
A bearing that rotatably supports the support shaft from one side is formed on an edge of the inner wall,
3. The cartridge case according to claim 1, wherein a support portion that sandwiches the support shaft together with the bearing is formed integrally with the pressing member.

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