JP2009006666A - Ribbon spool, ribbon cassette, and printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ribbon spool that engages with the engaging member of a printing apparatus without causing play. <P>SOLUTION: A spool body 10 includes a ribbon holding part that holds an ink ribbon and an engaging part 12 that is arranged in one end and equipped with a plurality of inclined grooves. The printing apparatus includes the engaging member 23 that has an engaging projection 22 to be engaged with the engaging part 12 of the spool body. Each of the grooves of an engaging part 12A has an inclined angle different from that of the side face of the engaging projection 22 to be engaged with the engaging part 12A, wherein at least one of the grooves of the engaging part 12A is configured to engage with the engaging projection 22 by coming in point contact with it at two points a and b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a ribbon spool, a ribbon cassette, and a printing apparatus, and more particularly, a ribbon spool that can be attached to and detached from a printing apparatus, a ribbon cassette including the ribbon spool, and a printing apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using an ink ribbon. About.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, printing apparatuses that create cards such as credit cards, cash cards, license cards, and ID cards are known. In such a printing apparatus or an image recording apparatus capable of printing on plain paper or thermal paper, generally, for example, a card whose one side is supported by a platen roller by pressing a thermal head through an ink ribbon accommodated in the cartridge. Or print images on recording paper. The ink ribbon is generally held by a ribbon spool, and the ribbon spool is engaged with the printing apparatus main body, and printing is performed by conveying the ink ribbon.

  There are various forms of the engagement portion between the ribbon spool and the printing apparatus. For example, there is a type in which a notch is formed at one end of a ribbon spool and a notch is engaged with a protrusion provided in a printing apparatus. In addition, there is a type in which an engagement portion is provided inside a cylindrical ribbon spool and inserted into a printing apparatus having a spool shaft. (For example, see Patent Document 1)

  Further, as the printing of the ink ribbon proceeds, the roll diameters of the ribbon on the supply side and the winding side differ. The amount of ink ribbon transported differs depending on whether the roll diameter is small or large. For this reason, there is also known a printing apparatus in which an encoder for detecting the amount of ink ribbon transport is provided, and a ribbon spool rotation amount detection mechanism (encoder) is incorporated in a ribbon spool drive transmission system (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 07-100555 JP 05-330209 A

  However, in the above-described printing apparatus, since the convex portion having the same shape is engaged with one of the concave portions of the engagement portion of the ribbon spool and the printing device (because the concave portion and the convex portion are in a linear state), A gap is generated in the engaging portion. In such an engaging portion, rattling occurs in the engaging portion (drive transmission system) during a printing operation (the moment when the head is raised at the end of printing). Since the printer incorporates an encoder in the drive transmission system of the ribbon spool, the actual rotation amount of the ribbon spool and the rotation amount detected by the encoder are deviated due to backlash generated in the drive transmission system. There is. If the actual rotation amount of the ribbon spool is different from the rotation amount detected by the encoder, the ribbon cueing cannot be performed accurately. In particular, if a deviation occurs at the timing of passing through the sensor, the deviation remains even in subsequent ribbon cueing, and in the worst case, a different color may be printed.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a ribbon spool that engages with an engagement member of a printing apparatus without rattling, a ribbon cassette that includes the ribbon spool, and printing that engages with the ribbon spool without rattling. It is an object to provide an apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a first aspect of the present invention includes an engagement member having an engagement convex portion that engages with an engagement portion of a ribbon spool, and an image is formed on a recording medium using an ink ribbon. A ribbon spool that is detachable from the printing apparatus for forming the ribbon, and includes a ribbon holding portion that holds the ink ribbon, and an engagement portion that is arranged at one end and has a plurality of inclined grooves, and the engagement portion The groove has an inclination angle different from the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion engaged with the engaging portion, and at least one groove of the engaging portion has two points. It is characterized by being configured to be brought into point contact with the side surface of the portion.

  In the first aspect, the ribbon spool includes a ribbon holding portion that holds the ink ribbon, and an engaging portion that is disposed at one side end portion and has a plurality of inclined grooves. It has an inclination angle different from the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion engaged with the engaging portion, and at least one of the grooves of the engaging portion makes point contact with the side surface of the engaging convex portion at two points. Are configured to engage with each other. According to this aspect, since at least one of the grooves of the engaging portion is engaged with the side surface of the engaging convex portion at two points, the engaging portion of the ribbon spool and the engaging member of the printing apparatus are engaged. There is no backlash in the engagement with the engaging projection. Therefore, on the printer side, the actual rotation amount of the ribbon spool can be accurately detected by the encoder.

  1st aspect WHEREIN: It is preferable that the shape of the convex part which forms the groove | channel of an engaging part and the shape of an engaging convex part are atypical. When the inclination angle of the groove of the engaging portion is α and the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion is β, when α takes an angle of 0 ° <α <90 ° (where α <β) The two points described above are the inclined surface of the convex part that forms the groove of the engaging part and the apex of the engaging convex part, and when α takes an angle of 90 ° ≦ α <180 ° (where β <90 °), the two points mentioned above are preferably the apex of the convex part forming the groove of the engaging part and the side face of the engaging convex part. Furthermore, the ribbon holding part may have a flange that restricts the position of the ink ribbon in the axial direction, and the engaging part may be disposed adjacent to the flange.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a supply spool for supplying an ink ribbon, a take-up spool for taking up the ink ribbon, and the supply spool and the take-up spool are rotatable. A ribbon cassette comprising a case accommodated in the ribbon spool, wherein the ribbon spool of the first aspect is provided in at least one of the supply spool and the take-up spool. Also in this aspect, the same effect as in the first aspect can be obtained.

  Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problem, a third aspect of the present invention includes a ribbon holding portion that holds an ink ribbon, and an engagement portion that is disposed at one end and has a plurality of inclined grooves. In a printing apparatus that includes an engagement member that engages with the engagement portion of the ribbon spool and forms an image on a recording medium using the ink ribbon, the engagement member includes at least one of grooves in the engagement portion. The engaging convex portion has an engagement angle that is different from the inclination angle of the groove of the engaging portion. The point contact is made at two points to the at least one groove. According to this aspect, since the engaging convex portion of the printing apparatus is engaged with at least one groove of the engaging portion of the ribbon spool by point contact at two points, the engagement convex portion of the printing apparatus and the ribbon spool are engaged. The actual amount of rotation of the ribbon spool can be accurately detected without causing rattling in the engagement with the joint.

  3rd aspect WHEREIN: It is preferable that the shape of an engaging convex part and the shape of the convex part which forms the groove | channel of an engaging part are unusual. When the inclination angle of the groove of the engaging portion is α and the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion is β, when α takes an angle of 0 ° <α <90 ° (where α <β) The two points described above are the inclined surface of the convex part that forms the groove of the engaging part and the apex of the engaging convex part, and when α takes an angle of 90 ° ≦ α <180 ° (where β <90 °), the two points mentioned above are preferably the apex of the convex part forming the groove of the engaging part and the side face of the engaging convex part. Further, the engaging member may include an urging means for urging the ribbon spool, and the urging means may urge the engaging convex portion toward the engaging portion. An encoder for detecting the amount of rotation of the ribbon spool may be coupled to the engaging member.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, since at least one of the grooves of the engaging portion is engaged with the side surface of the engaging convex portion at two points, the ribbon spool is engaged. And the engagement convex portion of the engagement member of the printing apparatus does not rattle. According to the third aspect, the engagement convex portion of the printing apparatus is Since at least one groove of the engaging portion is brought into point contact with two points, the engagement protrusion between the printing device and the engagement portion of the ribbon spool does not rattle, and the ribbon spool is actually rotated. The effect that the amount can be accurately detected can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the present invention has a function of printing and recording characters and images on a card-like recording medium (hereinafter simply referred to as a card), and a function of performing a magnetic recording process on a magnetic stripe portion of the card. An embodiment applied to a printer apparatus having the above will be described.

(Constitution)
<System configuration>
The printer device of this embodiment is connected to a host device (for example, a host computer such as a personal computer) via an interface (not shown), and transmits print record data, magnetic record data, and the like from the host device to the printer device. It is possible to instruct a recording operation or the like. As will be described later, the printer device includes an operation panel unit (operation display unit) 105 (see FIG. 1), and in addition to a recording operation instruction from the host device, a recording operation instruction from the operation panel unit 105 is also possible. It is. The host device generally includes an image input device such as a scanner for reading an image recorded on a document, an input device such as a keyboard and a mouse for inputting commands and data to the host device, and data generated by the host device. A monitor such as a liquid crystal display for displaying is connected.

<Appearance configuration>
As shown in FIG. 1, a printer apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is disposed on one side of a casing 102, and can store a plurality of blank cards before recording processing in a stacked manner (about 100 sheets). The card supply unit 110 is detachably attached to the card 102, and is disposed below the card supply unit 110 on one side of the casing 102, so that the card after the recording process can be accommodated in an inclined shape (about 30 sheets). A card storage unit 120 that is detachably attached to the casing 102, and a display unit that displays an operation state including an error state of the printer device 100 at a position adjacent to the card supply unit 110 on one side of the casing 102. An operation panel 105 is provided for performing various settings for printing processing and magnetic recording processing. The operation panel 105 is provided so as to rotate in synchronization with the rotation of the dial 106.

  A part of the card storage unit 120 is provided with a card discharge port 121 formed as an opening through which a recording-processed card that has been stored excessively can be discharged to the outside of the apparatus. In addition, an opening / closing cover 107 is provided on one surface of the printer apparatus 100 for accessing the inside of the apparatus when a ribbon cassette 152 containing an ink ribbon R used for printing recording is attached / detached. A part of the casing 102 is formed.

  A magnetic encoder unit 180 is disposed on the other side of the casing 102 so as to protrude from the casing 102 so as to face the card supply unit 110 or the card storage unit 120.

<Internal configuration>
Next, each internal component of the printer apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 shows a state in which the blank card C before the recording process supplied from the card supply unit 110 is conveyed toward the printing unit 150, and the cleaning roller 131 that is also a conveyance roller of the card C being conveyed. It shows a state where the surface to be printed is in contact with the surface and cleaned. At this time, the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141 form a substantially horizontal card transport path by a transport roller moving mechanism 160 (hereinafter, abbreviated as a moving mechanism 160), which will be described later. Is received at the first position where the surface of the card C is cleaned.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the card C recorded by the printing unit 150 or the magnetic encoder unit 180 is discharged toward the card storage unit 120. At this time, the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141 form an inclined card transport path by the moving mechanism 160 and are positioned at a second position where the card C can be transported toward the card storage unit 120.

  Furthermore, FIG. 4 shows a state when the cleaning roller 131 is brought into contact with the roller-shaped cleaner 132 to be cleaned. At this time, the cleaning roller 131 and the conveyance roller 141 are positioned at a third position where the cleaning roller 131 can be cleaned by the moving mechanism 160.

  The printer device 100 passes only one card C when the supply roller 111 rotated by a motor (not shown) feeds the lowest (lowermost) card stored in the card supply unit 110 into the device. In order to allow this, a supply roller 112 and a separation gate 113 made of a plate-like member are provided. The supplied card C passes between the supply roller 112 and the separation gate 113 and is led to a card supply port 114 provided on one side of the casing 102 so as to be connected to the card supply unit 110.

  On the other hand, the card storage unit 120 is provided with a storage tray 124 whose bottom surface is formed in an inclined shape, and is arranged with an opening below the card supply port 114 on one side of the casing 102. The recorded cards C discharged from the card discharge port 123 are sequentially discharged onto the storage tray 124 by the discharge roller 115 (see FIG. 3).

  The discharge roller 115 is fixed on the printer device 100 side, and is rotated by a motor (not shown) that rotates the supply roller 111 described above. The supply roller 111 rotates to supply a blank card C. In the case where the driving direction is normal rotation driving, the card C discharged by reverse rotation driving of a motor (not shown) is rotationally driven so as to be discharged onto the storage tray 124. That is, the supply roller 111 and the discharge roller 115 are rotated by forward / reverse driving of a motor (not shown). However, since the supply roller 111 is provided with a one-way clutch (not shown), it can rotate only in the card supply direction. Yes (rotation drive is not transmitted in the direction opposite to the card supply direction due to the action of the one-way clutch). On the other hand, the discharge roller 115 is driven to rotate in both directions by forward / reverse drive of a motor (not shown). In this embodiment, the supply operation of the blank card C before the recording process and the discharging operation of the card C after the recording process are not performed at the same time, and the discharge roller 115 reverses the rotation for discharging the card C and vice versa. There is no problem even if it rotates in the direction.

  The card C supplied from the card supply port 114 is successively taken over to the conveying rollers 141 and 143 that rotate with the driving force transmitted from the conveyance driving motor 170 described later, and enters the substantially horizontal card conveying path P1. Conveyed along. The conveying roller 143 is configured by a roller pair having a driving roller and a driven roller (hereinafter, unless specifically described otherwise, description of the driven roller of the roller pair will be omitted, and only the driving roller will be described). ).

  On the opposite side of the transport roller 141, a cleaning roller 131 is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the card transport path P1 so as to face the transport roller 141. When the cleaning roller 131 advances onto the card transport path P1 so as to contact the card C to be transported and is positioned at the first position (the state shown in FIG. 2), the cleaning roller 131 is connected to the transport roller 141 having driving force. By sandwiching and rotating the card C between them, foreign matters such as dust and dust can be removed and cleaned from the stamp screen printed and recorded by the printing unit 150.

  As described above, the cleaning roller 131 is also positioned at the third position so as to come into surface contact with the roller-shaped cleaner 132 disposed at a predetermined position separated from the card transport path P1 (see FIG. 4). The roller cleaner 132 is rotatably attached to a support member that is detachably attached to a predetermined portion of the ribbon cassette 152.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning roller 131 is made of a rotatable roller-like member such as a rubber material having a sticky surface, and the roller cleaner 132 is an adhesive having a sponge layer on a resin-made rotatable roller-like member. Since this adhesive tape has a higher adhesiveness than the adhesiveness of the surface of the cleaning roller 131, dust, dust, etc. removed from the card C and adhered to the surface of the cleaning roller 131, etc. The foreign matter is transferred to an adhesive tape that forms the surface of the roller-shaped cleaner 132 by surface contact between the two, and delivered.

<Ribbon cassette>
Here, the ribbon cassette 152 that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body of the printer apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the ribbon cassette 152 includes a supply spool 154 for supplying the ink ribbon R, a take-up spool 155 for taking up the ink ribbon R, and the supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155 via the notch 30A. A cassette case 30 that is rotatably accommodated (supported by a notch 30A) so that a thermal head 151 (to be described later) can come into contact with the supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155. (See FIG. 2), the ink ribbon R is exposed from the cassette case 30. The ribbon cassette 152 has the roller-shaped cleaner 132 as described above, but the description is omitted here, and the description is omitted here.

  FIG. 9 shows an engagement state between the engagement portion 12 of the take-up spool 155 and the engagement member 23 (engagement convex portion 22) on the apparatus main body side. Each of the supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155 shown in FIG. 8 is one in which the ink ribbon R is wound (held) on the spool body 10, and the unused spool of ink ribbon R is wound on the supply spool 154. The used ink ribbon R (after thermal transfer by the thermal head 151) is wound around the take-up spool 155.

  The spool body 10 includes a cylindrical ribbon holding portion 18 having flanges 13 and 14 on both sides for holding the ink ribbon R, an engagement portion 12 provided at one end adjacent to the flange 13, and a flange. 14 and a shaft portion 19 which is provided on the opposite side of the engaging portion 12 and is reduced in diameter from the cylindrical portion of the ribbon holding portion 18.

  Since the flanges 13 and 14 position-control the winding of the ink ribbon R to the ribbon holding portion 18 in the axial direction of the spool body 10, the unused link ribbon R from the ribbon holding portion 18 even if the spool body 10 rotates. Is supplied without being misaligned (in the case of the supply spool 154), and the already-used link ribbon R is properly wound on the ribbon holding portion 18 (in the case of the take-up spool 155). The shaft portion 19 is rotatably supported by a circular notch (not shown) formed in the cassette case 30.

  The engaging portion 12 has six trapezoidal convex portions protruding in the end direction (left side in FIG. 9). In other words, as shown in FIG. 8, the engaging portion 12 has an inclined surface 12 </ b> A that is linearly formed on the side surface of the convex portion and has a predetermined inclination angle, and a bottom portion that connects between the inclined surfaces of the adjacent convex portions. A groove formed of 12B is formed (see also FIG. 10A).

<Cassette mounting part>
The ribbon cassette 152 is manually mounted on a cassette mounting portion in the apparatus main body by an operator. The cassette mounting unit is configured as a part of a printing unit 150 (to be described later), and includes a cassette holding member (not shown) that holds the ribbon cassette 152 at a plurality of locations in contact with the cassette case 30 and the engaging unit 12. An engaging portion for engaging with the main body and a touch sensor (not shown) for detecting the attachment of the ribbon cassette 152 are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the engagement portion on the apparatus main body side with respect to the engagement portion 12 of the take-up spool 155 is composed of a plurality of members. In other words, the support shaft 25 is fixed to the apparatus frame (casing 102), and the support shaft 25 rotatably supports the engagement member 23 having a disk shape and having a gear at the outer edge. On the side of the engaging member 23 that engages with the engaging portion 12, two engaging convex portions 22, which are different in shape from the convex portion (groove portion) of the engaging portion 12, face each other (engaging member). 23 so as to make a phase difference of 180 ° with respect to the rotation direction of the rotation 23). A spring 24 is wound around the support shaft 25, and the engagement member 23 (engagement convex portion 22) is slidably urged toward the engagement portion 12 by the spring 24 (FIG. 10A). See also)).

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the ribbon cassette 152 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion, the front end of the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 of the spool main body 10 and the engaging convex portion provided on the engaging member 23 on the apparatus main body side. The tip of 22 may abut (collision) and may not be inserted smoothly. Since the engaging member 23 is provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the support shaft 25, when the tip of the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 and the tip of the engaging convex portion 22 collide, the engaging convex portion 22 temporarily retracts to the apparatus frame side (opposite side of the spool body 10). Thereafter, when the engaging member 23 or the spool main body 10 rotates, the engaging convex portion 22 enters the groove between the convex portions of the engaging portion 12 and is urged toward the spool main body 10 by the spring 24. And the convex part (groove between) of the engaging part 12 makes point contact at two points (see FIG. 10A).

  As shown in FIG. 9, a gear 21C is engaged with the gear of the engaging member 23, and a rotating plate 21A having a slit (not shown) coaxially formed is fixed to the gear 21C. In addition, a transmission integrated sensor 21B composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is disposed at a position sandwiching the rotating plate 21A. Accordingly, the rotary plate 21A and the sensor 21B constitute an encoder 21 that detects the amount of rotation of the take-up spool 155 that winds up the ink ribbon R. A gear 26 meshes with the gear of the engaging member 23, and a motor shaft of a stepping motor M (see also FIG. 2) is fitted on the same axis of the gear 26.

  On the other hand, the engaging portion on the apparatus main body side with respect to the engaging portion 12 of the supply spool 154 is in principle the same as the engaging portion on the apparatus main body side with respect to the engaging portion 12 of the take-up spool 155 described above. Instead of the motor M, there is a difference in that a gear meshing with the gear of the engaging member 23 and a torque limiter (not shown) arranged on the same axis of the gear and applying a back tension to the ink ribbon R are provided.

<Engagement form>
Here, with reference to FIG. 10, an engagement form between the engagement convex portion 22 of the supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155 and the engagement portion 12 of the spool body 10, which is one of the features of the present invention, will be described. To do.

  FIG. 10A shows an engagement form between the engagement convex portion 22 and the engagement portion 12. The point to be noted in FIG. 10A is that (1) the shape of the engaging convex portion 22 and the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 are different (in relation to the inclination angle of the side surface 22A of the engaging convex portion 22). The groove formed by the convex part of the joint part 12 has a different inclination angle), and (2) the engaging convex part 22 and the convex part of the engaging part 12 (the groove formed by the point) are two points. It is a point of contact. In a conventional printing apparatus such as a printer apparatus, since the convex portions having the same shape are engaged on the apparatus main body side and the spool main body, rattling occurs due to line contact at the engagement portion. In this embodiment, the shapes of the two are made different to make point contact at two points so as not to cause backlash. Moreover, the engaging convex part 22 is urged | biased by the engaging part 12 side with the spring 24, can ensure the stronger engagement state between both, and has reduced possibility that rattling will arise.

However, as shown in FIGS. 10B and 10C, such an engagement form can be applied to other forms. That is, when the inclination angle from the horizontal surface of the convex portion of the engagement portion 12 is α, and the inclination angle of the engagement convex portion 22 from the horizontal surface is β,
i) When 0 ° <α <90 ° Contact points (contact points) a and b between the engaging portion 12 and the engaging convex portion 22 are inclined surfaces 12A of the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 and the engaging convex portion. 22 vertices (corners). In that case, α <β.
ii) When 90 ° ≦ α <180 ° The contact points a and b between the engaging portion 12 and the engaging convex portion 22 are the apex (corner) of the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 and the side surface of the engaging convex portion. 22A. At that time, β <90 °.

<Printing section>
As shown in FIG. 2, a printing unit 150 that prints and records desired characters or images on the surface of the card C cleaned by the cleaning roller 114 is provided on the downstream side of the carrying roller 143 in the card carrying direction. .

  In this embodiment, the printing unit 150 employs a thermal transfer printer configuration, and has a thermal head 151 provided so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to a platen roller 144 provided at a printing position on the card transport path P1. Yes. Between the platen roller 144 and the thermal head 151, an ink ribbon R in which a plurality of colors such as an ink layer Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), Bk (black), etc. are repeated in the surface order is interposed. is doing.

  When information such as characters or images is thermally transferred and recorded on the card C that moves along the card transport path P1, the ink ribbon R is supplied from the supply spool 154, and the substantially entire surface is brought into contact with the tip of the thermal head 151. Then, it is conveyed and taken up on the take-up spool 155. The supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155 are rotationally driven by the motor M as described above. At this time, desired characters and images are printed on the card C by selectively operating the heating element of the thermal head 151 while pressing the thermal head 151 with the ink ribbon R interposed on the surface of the card C. . In the transport path of the ink ribbon R, a light emitting element 158 and a light receiving element 159 that detect the ink layer Bk (black) in order to cue a predetermined ink layer (ink layer Y in this embodiment) and a plurality of guide shafts. A transmission type sensor is provided.

  Further, on the upstream side of the thermal head 151 in the card conveyance direction (on the conveyance roller 143 side), from the light emitting element 148 and the light receiving element 149 for detecting the leading and trailing ends of the card C conveyed along the card conveyance path P1. A transmission type sensor (hereinafter referred to as a first card detection sensor) is provided.

  Below the printing unit 150, a conveyance drive motor 170 including a series of conveyance rollers 141, 143 and a stepping motor capable of rotating the platen roller 144 in the forward and reverse directions is disposed. The rotational driving force by the transport drive motor 170 is transmitted to the pulley 173 by a pulley 171 provided on the rotation shaft of the transport drive motor 170 by a belt 172, and the belt 174 having one end wound around the pulley 173 has a platen roller 144. Drive is transmitted to the platen roller 144 via a pulley 175 provided on the rotating shaft. Note that the pulley 173 is a two-stage pulley, and a belt 172 and a belt 174 are stretched over each step portion.

  A plurality of gears (not shown) are arranged on the rotating shaft of the platen roller 144, the rotating shafts of the transport rollers 141 and 143, and between the rollers, and are transmitted to the platen roller 144. The rotational driving force is transmitted to each of the conveying rollers 141 and 143 through the plurality of gears.

  Further, a nip roller having a function of transporting the card C on the downstream side in the card transport direction (winding spool 155 side) of the platen roller 144 and sandwiching the card C when printing is performed on the card C by the printing unit 150. 145 is provided along the card transport path P1, and a feed roller 146 for transporting the card C is also provided along the card transport path P1 further downstream of the nip roller 145 in the card transport direction. . Near the center of the nip roller 145 and the feed roller 146 is a transmissive sensor (hereinafter referred to as second card detection) comprising a light emitting element 156 and a light receiving element 157 for detecting the leading end of the card C transported along the card transport path P1. Called a sensor).

  The rotation shafts of the nip roller 145 and the feed roller 146 are also provided with gears (not shown), and a plurality of illustrations are omitted between the platen roller 144 and the nip roller 145 and between the nip roller 145 and the feed roller 145. The plurality of gears (not shown) are meshed with each other, so that the rotational driving force from the transport driving motor 170 is transmitted to the driving force transmission mechanism including the pulley, the belt, and the plurality of gears (not shown). Then, it is branched from the gear provided on the rotation shaft of the platen roller 144 and transmitted to the nip roller 145 and the feed roller 146. The nip roller 145 and the feed roller 146 are configured to hold the card C in a stopped state when the magnetic encoder unit 180 performs a magnetic recording process on the magnetic stripe portion provided on the back surface of the card C stamp screen. Has been.

  A magnetic encoder unit 180 is provided adjacent to the feed roller 146 on the downstream side of the printing unit 150 in the card conveying direction. The magnetic encoder unit 180 reciprocates so as to scan along the card transport path P1 in order to perform magnetic recording processing on the magnetic stripe portion of the card C held and held by the nip roller 145 and the feed roller 146. A magnetic head 181 (self-running) is provided.

  A part of the magnetic encoder unit 180 is provided with a card outlet 182 formed as an opening through which the card C transported along the card transport path P1 can be discharged out of the apparatus. In other words, the card carry-out port 182 faces the card supply port 114 and is provided on the other side of the casing 102 and on an extension line of the card transport path P1. Therefore, it is also possible to carry in a cleaning card for cleaning a plurality of rollers arranged in the card transport path P1 via the card carry-out port 182 and carry it out after cleaning.

  Inside the magnetic encoder unit 180, a carry-out roller 147 capable of carrying the card C toward the card carry-out port 182 and carrying out the card C from the card carry-out port 182 is disposed. The magnetic encoder unit 180 does not include a drive source for rotationally driving the carry-out roller 147, but a plurality of gears (not shown) are provided between the carry-out roller 147 and the feed roller 146 so as to be connected to the feed roller 146. The transmitted rotational driving force is transmitted to the carry-out roller 147.

  Accordingly, the printer device 100 has a configuration in which the card supply port 114, the printing unit 150, and the magnetic encoder unit 180 are provided along a substantially horizontal card transport path P1 that is continuous from the card supply unit 110.

  Further, as is apparent from the drawing, the magnetic encoder unit 180 has a unit shape in which a part thereof is inserted into the machine body, and the transport drive motor 170 is located below the printing unit 150 and magnetically. It is disposed between the encoder unit 180 and a moving mechanism 160 that moves the cleaning roller 131 and the conveyance roller 141 described below to any one of the first to third positions described above.

  Next, the moving mechanism 160 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 shows a state where the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141 are in the first position, FIG. 6 shows a state where the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141 are in the second position, and FIG. The state where the conveyance roller 141 is in the third position is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the moving mechanism 160 is equipped with a stepping motor 161 capable of forward and reverse rotation, a motor gear 162 provided on the rotation shaft of the stepping motor 161, and a gear portion that meshes with the motor gear 162. A bracket 163 is provided. In addition, roller shafts 164 and 166 that rotatably support the transport rollers 141 and 143 are held by a geared bracket 163. Furthermore, the cleaning roller 131 is detachably provided on the geared bracket 163. The bracket with gear 163 is attached so as to be rotatable about the roller shaft 166 of the transport roller 143, and the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller are rotated by rotating the bracket with gear 163 by forward and reverse rotation of the stepping motor 161. 141 is configured to move to any one of the first position, the second position, and the third position.

  5 to 7, the third position is provided outside the moving region between the first position and the second position (see the meshing position of the motor gear 162 and the bracket with gear 163). Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the third position is positioned between the card transport path P1 and the ribbon cassette 152 mounted on the machine body (printer apparatus 100). In the present embodiment, the first position is set as the home position of the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141.

  Next, the control and electrical system of the printer apparatus 100 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the printer apparatus 100 converts a control unit 195 that controls the operation of the entire apparatus, and a commercial AC power source into a DC power source that can drive / operate each mechanism unit and the control unit. And a power supply unit 190.

  The control unit 195 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as a microcomputer) that performs overall control processing of the printer apparatus 1. The microcomputer comprises a CPU that operates with a high-speed clock as a central processing unit, a ROM that stores basic control operations (programs and program data) of the printer device 100, a RAM that functions as a work area for the CPU, and an internal bus that connects these. Has been.

  An external bus is connected to the microcomputer. The external bus temporarily stores an interface (not shown) for communication with a host device, print recording data to be printed on the card C, magnetic recording data to be magnetically recorded on the magnetic stripe portion of the card C, and the like. A buffer memory is connected.

  The external bus includes a sensor control unit that controls signals from various sensors, an actuator control unit that controls a motor driver that sends drive pulses and drive power to each motor, and a thermal that controls the thermal energy of the thermal head 151. A head control unit, an operation display control unit for controlling the operation panel unit 105, and a magnetic encoder unit are connected. The sensor control unit is a transmission type sensor including a first card detection sensor, a second card detection sensor, a light emitting element 158, a light receiving element 159, and other sensors not shown. The actuator control unit is a stepping motor 161, a transport driving motor 170. The thermal head control unit is connected to the thermal head 151, and the operation display control unit is connected to the operation panel unit 105.

  The power supply unit 190 supplies operating / driving power to the control unit 195, the thermal head 151, the operation panel unit 105, and the magnetic encoder unit 180.

(Operation)
Next, the operation of the printer apparatus 1 of the present embodiment will be described with a microcomputer CPU (hereinafter simply referred to as a CPU) of the control unit 195 as a main component.

  When the control unit 195 is powered on, the CPU reads a program and program data stored in the ROM (develops in the RAM), and performs an initial process for operating each mechanism unit. That is, in the initial processing, after confirming the connection with each control unit such as the sensor control unit and the magnetic encoder unit 180 that are connected to the microcomputer via the external bus and configure the control unit 195, each component unit performs the above-described home operation. It is determined based on a signal from the sensor control unit or the like whether the component is located. If each component is not located at the home position, the component is moved to the home position. Based on the signal from the sensor control unit, etc., if each component does not move to the home position even if the return operation to the home position is repeated a predetermined number of times, it notifies the host device and displays it via the operation display control unit. This is displayed on the section 104. Further, in the initial processing, based on a signal from the sensor control unit or the like, it is also determined whether the card is stored in the card supply unit 110 or the ribbon cassette 152 is mounted in the cassette mounting unit. When it is determined that the card is not attached, the information is similarly notified to the host device, and a message to that effect is displayed on the display unit 104. Further, until the card is received in the card supply unit 110, or the ribbon cassette 152 is Wait until it is loaded in the cassette loading section. In the initial process, the stepping motor 161 is driven to move the cleaning roller 131 at the first position (home position) to the third position, and then the driving and conveying motor 170 is driven for a predetermined time, so that the third position is reached. Thus, the cleaning roller 131 that comes into surface contact (contact) with the roller cleaner 131 is cleaned.

  On the other hand, the printer driver installed in the host device determines various parameter values for controlling the recording operation in the printer device 100 based on the recording command designated by the operator (user), and the card C is determined from the recording command. Print recording data and magnetic recording data for recording to the printer are generated and transmitted to the printer apparatus 100. The buffer memory of the control unit 195 stores various parameter values serving as recording control commands, image data or character data obtained by decomposing the print recording data for each color component of Y, M, C, and Bk, and magnetic recording. Data is stored. In this embodiment, color components (original data are R, G, B) are separated on the host device side, converted from R, G, B to Y, M, C by the printer device 1 and used as image data. Then, the Bk data extracted on the host device side is also used as Bk data in the printer device 100 and used as character data.

  The CPU fetches the recording control commands (various parameter values) stored in the buffer memory, and controls each mechanism unit in accordance with these parameter values and the program and program data developed in the RAM as follows.

  First, the stepping motor 161 constituting the moving mechanism 160 is driven via the actuator control unit, and the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141 are moved from the third position shown in FIG. 7 to the first position shown in FIG. Move to prepare to accept card C. At this time, the moving mechanism 160 positions the transport rollers 141 and 143 so as to form a substantially horizontal card transport path (state shown in FIGS. 2 and 5).

  Next, the CPU operates the conveyance drive motor 170 via the actuator control unit to drive each roller disposed on the card conveyance path P1 via the drive transmission mechanism, and supplies the supply roller via the actuator control unit. A motor (not shown) that drives and rotates 111 is driven.

  Thereby, the lowest card C in the card supply unit 110 is carried into the casing 102 between the supply roller 112 and the separation gate 113 and through the card supply port 114. The card C is cleaned by the cleaning roller 131 and is transported toward the card exit 182 along the card transport path P1 (see FIG. 2).

  The card C is further transported on the card transport path P1 toward the card discharge port 182 by the driving force of the transport drive motor 170 to the position where both ends are sandwiched between the feed roller 146 and the nip roller 145. When the number of pulses of the transport drive motor 170 reaches a predetermined value after the card leading edge is detected by the second card detection sensor, the CPU stops driving the transport drive motor 170. As a result, both ends of the card C are stopped and held between the feeding roller 146 and the nip roller 145, and the magnetic recording data can be written to the magnetic stripe portion by the magnetic head 181 of the magnetic encoder unit 180. .

  In order to write information to the magnetic stripe portion on the card C, the CPU drives a DC motor with an encoder (not shown) to move the magnetic head 181 from the home position to the operating position, and moves the magnetic head 181 to the magnetic stripe of the card C. Press the part. Next, the CPU outputs the magnetic recording data stored in the buffer memory via the external bus to the magnetic encoder unit 180, and drives a DC motor with an encoder (not shown) to connect the magnetic head 181 to the magnetic stripe portion of the card C. The necessary range in the entire region from one end to the other is moved to record the magnetic recording data in the magnetic stripe portion.

  When the writing of the magnetic recording data to the magnetic stripe portion of the card C is completed, the CPU stops and reverses the DC motor with an encoder (not shown), and moves the magnetic head 181 to the downstream side in the direction opposite to the writing direction. The magnetic recording data written in the magnetic stripe portion of C is read, and verification (checking whether the data has been correctly written) is performed to check whether the magnetic recording data stored in the buffer memory matches the read magnetic recording data. The magnetic head 81 returns to the home position upon completion of verification.

  When the verification result is a write failure, the CPU notifies the host device, displays that fact on the display unit 104, and drives the conveyance drive motor 170 by a predetermined number of pulses (forward rotation), thereby Then, it is carried out of the apparatus via the card carry-out port 182. Next, when a new card C is supplied from the card supply unit 110, the magnetic encoder unit 180 is caused to write and verify magnetic recording data in the magnetic stripe unit of the (new) card C in the same manner as described above.

  On the other hand, when there is no problem in the verification result from the microcomputer of the magnetic encoder unit 180 (there is no writing failure of magnetic recording data to the magnetic stripe portion of the card C), the CPU drives the transport driving motor 170 in the reverse direction, The card C, whose both ends are held and held by the nip roller 145 and the feed roller 146, is reversely conveyed along the card conveyance path P1 to the card supply port 114 side. During the reverse conveyance, when the rear end of the card C is detected by the first card detection sensor, the reverse drive of the conveyance drive motor 70 is continued for a predetermined number of pulses, and the drive of the conveyance drive motor 170 is stopped. As a result, the card C is in a state where the second half in the transport direction is sandwiched between the transport rollers 143 and the first half in the transport direction is sandwiched between the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141.

  During this time, the CPU drives a motor (not shown) to take up the ink ribbon R of the ribbon cassette 152 toward the take-up spool 155, and the transmissive sensor including the light emitting element 158 and the light receiving element 159 becomes the ink layer Bk (black). Triggered at the time when the end of the light is detected (when the light receiving element 159 detects that the light emission of the light emitting element 158 from the ink layer Bk has changed from the non-transmissive state to the transmissive state) Further driving is performed to cue the ink ribbon R so that the tip of the ink layer Y (yellow) is positioned at the position of the thermal head 151 and the platen roller 144.

  In this embodiment, since the width (between the front end and the rear end) of the ink layer Bk of the ink ribbon R is constant (known), the CPU counts the number of pulses input to the motor M, and the light emitting element 158, the light receiving element The transmission type sensor 159 detects the leading and trailing ends of the ink layer Bk, and grasps the rotation amount of the encoder 21 on the supply spool 154 side (and the rotation amount of the encoder on the take-up spool 155 side if necessary). As a result, the transport amount of the ink ribbon R can be accurately calculated.

  Next, the CPU drives the conveyance drive motor 170 to rotate forward, conveys the card C toward the card exit 182 on the card conveyance path P1, and confirms the leading end position of the card C by the first card detection sensor. The printing unit 150 then prints the desired characters and images based on the print record data on the surface of the card C. That is, while the ink ribbon R (ink layer Y portion) is interposed on the surface of the card C and the thermal head 151 is pressed, thermal is performed according to Y-color image data (image data obtained by converting the Y component from RGB data). The heating element of the head 151 is selectively activated. As a result, the Y (yellow) thermal transfer ink component applied to the ink ribbon R is directly transferred to the surface of the card C.

  At this time, the back side of the card C is supported by the platen roller 144. Initially, the card C is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance roller 143, and the card C is conveyed toward the card carry-out port 182 on the card conveyance path P1. 145, the rear end side is nipped and conveyed by the conveying roller 143, and finally the nipping roller 145 is nipped and conveyed (while the rear end side is supported by the platen roller 144 on the back side). Accordingly, the transport roller 143 and the nip roller 145 function as a capstan roller that sandwiches the card C and transports it at a constant speed during printing recording by the printing unit 150. The CPU confirms the rear end position of the card C by the first card detection sensor, and further continues the forward drive of the transport drive motor 170 for a predetermined number of pulses to stop the drive of the transport drive motor 170.

  Next, the CPU reversely drives the conveyance drive motor 170 to reversely convey the card C to the card supply port 114 side along the card conveyance path P1, and the card C is held between the conveyance rollers 143 in the latter half of the conveyance direction. When the first half in the transport direction is sandwiched between the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141, the transport drive motor 170 is stopped. During this time, the CPU drives the motor M to slightly wind the ink ribbon R of the ribbon cassette 152 toward the take-up spool 155, and the tip of the ink layer M (magenta) is positioned between the thermal head 151 and the platen roller 144. Position to. Next, the CPU drives the conveyance drive motor 170 to rotate forward, conveys the card C toward the card exit 182 on the card conveyance path P1, and is applied to the ink ribbon R by the printing unit 150. The thermal transfer ink component of M (magenta) is directly transferred onto the surface of the card C. At this time, by driving the motor M, the ink ribbon R is transported at the same speed as the card C while the substantially entire surface is in contact with the tip of the thermal head 151. Similarly, the CPU directly transfers the C (cyan) and Bk (black) thermal transfer ink components applied to the ink ribbon R onto the surface of the card C by the printing unit 150. . Thereby, a color image by Y, M, C, and Bk is formed on the surface of the card C.

  Next, the CPU conveys the card C toward the card discharge port 123. That is, the conveyance drive motor 170 is driven in the reverse direction, and the card C is reversely conveyed to the card supply port 114 side along the card conveyance path P1. When the printing unit 150 performs multicolor surface sequential printing and recording on the printing screen of the card C, when the card C is reversely conveyed to the card supply port 114 side, the conveying roller 141 forms a substantially horizontal card conveying path. When the card C that has been subjected to the predetermined recording process is discharged toward the card discharge port 123, the card transport path P1 is detected by the first card detection sensor. The CPU controls the driving of the stepping motor 161 using the time point when the rear end of the card C, which is transported in the reverse direction, is detected, or when the rear end of the card C is detected and several pulses have passed as a trigger, the moving mechanism 160 ( By driving the stepping motor 161), the transport roller 141 is moved to a second position positioned so as to form an inclined card transport path, and the above-described provision is made. Roller 111 of the motor not shown for rotating allowed reversely drives the rotating drive the discharge roller 115.

  As a result, the card C is stored in the card storage unit 120 via the card discharge port 123 or is discharged to the outside from the card discharge port 121 (when the card storage unit 120 is full of cards).

  The CPU drives the stepping motor 161 again (rotation drive in the reverse direction) at a predetermined timing when the discharging operation of the card C to the card storage unit 120 is completed, and causes the cleaning roller 131 and the conveyance roller 141 to convey the inclined card. The second position positioned so as to form a path is returned to the third position in contact with the roller cleaner 132, and the conveyance drive motor 170 is driven in reverse for the holding time, and cleaning is performed by the roller cleaner 132. After cleaning the roller 131, the reverse drive of the transport drive motor 170 is stopped, and the stepping motor 161 is driven to position the cleaning roller 131 and the transport roller 141 from the third position to the first position which is the home position. As a result, when the recording process to the card C is completed and there is a next job, the above operation is repeated.

(Effects etc.)
Next, effects and the like of the printer apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described together with effects and the like of the ribbon cassette 152 (spool main body 10) attached to and detached from the printer apparatus 100.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the shapes of the engaging convex portion 22 and the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 are different, and the engaging convex portion 22 and the convex portion of the engaging portion 12 are two points. They are in contact (see FIG. 11). According to the printer device 100 of the present embodiment, the engagement convex portion 22 and the engagement portion 12 are in point contact at two points, and therefore the engagement between the engagement portion 12 of the spool body 10 and the engagement member 23 on the apparatus body side. The actual rotation amount of the spool body 10 can be accurately detected by the encoder 21 without rattling in the engagement with the mating convex portion 22. For this reason, the ink ribbon R can be accurately cued and there is no misalignment of the cue, so that, for example, a printing error that prints different colors does not occur.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the engagement convex part 22 is urged | biased by the spring 24 to the engagement part 12 side, and it can ensure a stronger engagement state between the engagement convex part 22 and the engagement part 12. FIG. it can. For this reason, in this embodiment, there is little possibility of rattling.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the flanges 13 and 14 are provided on both sides of the ribbon holding portion 18 of the spool body 10 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the flange 14 may regulate the position of the ink ribbon R in the axial direction of the spool body 10 on the cassette case 30 side. Furthermore, although the example in which the shaft portion 19 of the spool body 19 is formed so as to protrude from the flange 14 is shown, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a shaft portion may be provided in the cassette case 30 so that the ribbon spool body 10 is rotatably supported.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the spool body 10 shown in FIG. 9 is used for both the supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155 is shown, but either one of the supply spool 154 and the take-up spool 155 is shown in FIG. Even when the spool body 10 shown in FIG. 1 is used, there are some effects in improving operability and downsizing the apparatus. Furthermore, in this embodiment, although the aspect which engages the groove | channel of the engagement part 12 of a ribbon spool and the engagement convex part 22A of the engagement member 23 was shown, the groove | channel is provided in the engagement member 23 and the groove | channel is provided in that groove | channel. The same effect can be obtained even if the configuration in which the convex portion 12 of the ribbon spool is engaged is adopted.

  As described above, the present invention provides a ribbon spool that can be easily attached to and detached from a printing apparatus in which a torque limiter and an encoder are integrally provided, a ribbon cassette including the ribbon spool, and an image on a recording medium using an ink ribbon. Since the present invention provides a printing apparatus to be formed, it contributes to the manufacture and sale of ribbon spools, ribbon cassettes or printing apparatuses, and thus has industrial applicability.

1 is an external perspective view of a printer apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applicable. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer apparatus according to the embodiment, showing a state where the cleaning roller and the conveyance roller are positioned at a first position. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer device of the embodiment, showing a state where the cleaning roller and the transport roller are positioned at the second position. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the printer device of the embodiment, showing a state where the cleaning roller and the conveyance roller are positioned at a third position. It is an enlarged view of a conveyance roller moving mechanism, and shows a state where the cleaning roller and the conveyance roller are positioned at the first position. It is an enlarged view of a conveyance roller moving mechanism, and shows a state where the cleaning roller and the conveyance roller are positioned at the second position. It is an enlarged view of a conveyance roller moving mechanism, and shows a state where a cleaning roller and a conveyance roller are positioned at a third position. It is an external appearance perspective view of the ribbon cassette which can be attached or detached to the printer apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of an engaging portion of a printer device that engages with a spool body on a take-up spool side. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an engagement form between an engagement portion of a printer device and an engagement portion of a supply spool, and (A) is an engagement between an engagement portion of the printer device of the embodiment and an engagement portion of a supply spool. The engagement state is shown, (B) shows the engagement state of the engagement portion of the printer device of another embodiment and the engagement portion of the supply spool, and (C) is the engagement of the printer device of another embodiment. The engagement state of the portion and the engagement portion of the supply spool is shown. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which the front-end | tip of the engagement convex part provided in the engagement member of the printer apparatus of embodiment and the front-end | tip of the convex part of the engagement part of a spool main body contact | abutted.

Explanation of symbols

10 Spool body (ribbon spool)
12 Engaging portion 13 Flange 18 Ribbon holding portion 21A Rotating plate (part of encoder)
21B sensor (part of encoder)
22 engaging convex part 23 engaging member 24 spring (biasing means)
30 Cassette case (case)
100 Printer device (printing device)
152 Ribbon cassette 154 Supply spool 155 Take-up spool C Card (recording medium)
R ink ribbon

Claims (10)

In a ribbon spool that is detachable from a printing apparatus that includes an engaging member having an engaging convex portion that engages with an engaging portion of a ribbon spool and forms an image on a recording medium using an ink ribbon.
A ribbon holding section for holding the ink ribbon;
An engaging portion disposed at one end and having a plurality of inclined grooves;
The groove of the engaging portion has an inclination angle different from the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion engaged with the engaging portion, and at least one of the grooves of the engaging portion is 2 A ribbon spool configured to be brought into point contact with and engage with the engagement convex portion at a point.   2. The ribbon spool according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the convex portion forming the groove of the engaging portion is different from the shape of the engaging convex portion.   When the inclination angle of the groove of the engaging portion is α and the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion is β, when α takes an angle of 0 ° <α <90 ° (where α <β) The two points are the inclined surface of the convex part forming the groove of the engaging part and the apex of the engaging convex part, and when α takes an angle of 90 ° ≦ α <180 ° (where β < 2. The ribbon spool according to claim 1, wherein the two points are a vertex of a convex portion forming a groove of the engaging portion and a side surface of the engaging convex portion.   2. The ribbon spool according to claim 1, wherein the ribbon holding portion has a flange for regulating the position of the ink ribbon in the axial direction, and the engagement portion is disposed adjacent to the flange.   A ribbon cassette comprising: a supply spool that supplies an ink ribbon; a take-up spool that winds up the ink ribbon; and a case that rotatably accommodates the supply spool and the take-up spool. Item 5. A ribbon cassette comprising the ribbon spool according to any one of items 4 to at least one of the supply spool and the take-up spool.   An engagement member that engages with the engagement portion of the ribbon spool including a ribbon holding portion that holds the ink ribbon, and an engagement portion that is disposed at one end portion and has a plurality of inclined grooves, In the printing apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium using an ink ribbon, the engagement member has an engagement convex portion that engages with at least one of the grooves of the engagement portion. The joint convex portion has a side surface engaged with the engaging portion having an inclination angle different from the inclination angle of the groove of the engaging portion, and makes point contact with the at least one groove at two points. Printing device.   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the shape of the engaging convex portion and the shape of the convex portion forming the groove of the engaging portion are irregular.   When the inclination angle of the groove of the engaging portion is α and the inclination angle of the side surface of the engaging convex portion is β, when α takes an angle of 0 ° <α <90 ° (where α <β) The two points are the inclined surface of the convex part forming the groove of the engaging part and the apex of the engaging convex part, and when α takes an angle of 90 ° ≦ α <180 ° (where β < The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the two points are a vertex of a convex portion forming a groove of the engaging portion and a side surface of the engaging convex portion.   The engagement member has an urging means for urging the ribbon spool, and the urging means urges the engagement convex portion toward the engagement portion. The printing apparatus as described.   The printing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an encoder for detecting a rotation amount of the ribbon spool is connected to the engagement member.

Images