JP2013111879A - Ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that in a sublimation type printer, when dirt adheres to the bottom surface part of an ink ribbon cassette, the dirt adheres to a paper printing surface during paper conveyance to cause a deterioration in print quality and the enlargement of the dirt into a printer body.SOLUTION: In the ink ribbon cassette which is attachable/detachable to/from a printer which transfers the ink of an ink ribbon to paper and holds the ink ribbon, a rib part which is stored in the ink ribbon cassette when it is not set in the printer and protrudes from the housing of the ink ribbon cassette to guide the paper when it is set in the printer is provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette that can be attached to and detached from a printing apparatus.

  As one of printing apparatuses, there is a thermal transfer recording type printing apparatus that prints a color image by thermally transferring inks of ink colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan onto a sheet. Further, as one configuration of a printing apparatus, it is common to wrap both ends of an ink ribbon around two bobbins and supply the user with a cassette in a form in which two bobbins and an ink ribbon are housed in a frame. By loading the ink ribbon cassette into the printing apparatus, ink is supplied to the printer body. Since the ink ribbon is covered with the casing as a cassette, the user can easily carry and store it.

  In order to reduce the size of the printing apparatus itself, there is known a configuration in which when the ink ribbon cassette is loaded into the printing apparatus, a part of the ink ribbon cassette housing forms a paper conveyance path in the printing apparatus (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-11-367217

  However, in the configuration in which the paper conveyance path is formed by the bottom surface as in the ink ribbon cassette of Patent Document 1, when dirt such as human hand oil adheres to the surface of the ink ribbon cassette, the dirt adheres to the paper printing surface during paper conveyance. The print quality may deteriorate. Further, by continuing the paper conveyance in a state where the dirt is adhered, the conveyed paper causes the dirt to be enlarged in the paper conveyance path inside the printing apparatus main body, and the print quality is deteriorated also in the subsequent printed matter. There are concerns.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cassette that prevents the print quality from being affected even when printing is performed in a state where dirt is attached to the surface of the ink ribbon cassette.

In order to solve the above problems, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention is:
An ink ribbon cassette for storing an ink ribbon, which is detachable from a printing device for transferring ink of ink ribbon to paper, and is housed in the ink ribbon cassette when not attached to the printing device, and is stored in the printing device. When mounted, the ink ribbon cassette has a rib portion that projects from the housing of the ink ribbon cassette to guide the paper.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an ink ribbon cassette that prevents printing quality from being affected even when printing is performed in a state where dirt is attached to the surface of the ink ribbon cassette.

Cross section of printer Cross section during printing Figure when ejecting chips and printed materials Perspective view of ink ribbon cassette Perspective view of the housing member Perspective view of first lid member Perspective view of the second lid member Perspective view of supply side bobbin Perspective view of moving member Cross section of the ink ribbon cassette before loading it into the printer Cross section of the ink ribbon cassette after loading it into the printer Cross-sectional view of moving member when printing

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the printer body. Reference numeral 1 denotes a printer body. Reference numeral 2 denotes a housing, which covers the internal printing device section. Reference numeral 10 denotes a sheet, and one end of the sheet 12 is wound in a roll shape. A paper cassette 11 covers the paper 10 wound in a roll shape. In this embodiment, there are two types of paper 10, 4 inch size and 5 inch size. The paper 10 is stored in the paper cassette 11 for each size and loaded in the printer main body 1, whereby the paper 10 to be printed is printed. The size can be selected.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a paper feed roller that transports the paper 10 from the paper cassette 11 into the printer. Reference numeral 5 denotes a grip roller, and 4 denotes a pinch roller facing the grip roller. The grip roller 5 is a drive roller connected to a stepping motor (not shown), and can control the feed amount of the paper 10 by a signal from a control means (not shown). The pinch roller 4 is a driven roller and is biased toward the grip roller 5 side. Reference numeral 6 denotes a thermal head, and 6a denotes a heat generating portion. The heat generating part 6a is composed of a plurality of heaters arranged on a line, and the heat generation of each heater can be electrically controlled. A platen roller 7 is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown). Reference numeral 15 is a first bobbin shaft, and 17 is a second bobbin shaft. The first bobbin shaft 15 and the second bobbin shaft 17 are provided with claw portions 16 and 18, respectively, so that the bobbin of the ink ribbon cassette described later is rotated. Reference numeral 13 denotes a detection switch. The detection switch 13 is a 3-bit push switch, and is pressed by a protrusion configured on an ink ribbon cassette, which will be described later, to identify whether an ink cassette is loaded and the type of ink cassette. A paper guide member 14 forms a paper transport path. Reference numeral 9 denotes a cutter unit, which is configured to perform a cutting operation on a roll paper-like sheet 10 with a predetermined length, and discharge the sheet with discharge rollers 8a and 8b.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view during printing. When the paper cassette 11 and the ink ribbon cassette 30 are loaded into the printer main body 1, the printing preparation is completed. Details of the configuration of the ink ribbon cassette 30 will be described later. 31 is a long ink ribbon, 34 is a supply-side bobbin for the ink ribbon 31, and 35 is a take-up-side bobbin. The amount of paper 10 necessary for printing is once conveyed from the paper cassette 11 by the paper feed roller 3 into the printer. Thereafter, the paper 10 is transported by the drive of the grip roller 5 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2, and at the same time, the take-up bobbin 35 is driven to rotate, and the ink ribbon 31 is carried so as to be taken up by the take-up bobbin 35. . Here, the thermal head 6 moves with respect to the platen roller 7 from a maximum separation position to an intermediate position by power (not shown). This is because the maximum separation position and the printing position that is the nip position between the thermal head 6 and the platen roller 7 are set at the time of paper return after printing each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and overcoat and the cueing of the ink ribbon 31 in the printing process. This is to prevent moving each time. In addition to moving to the next color process promptly, the ink ribbon cassette 31 is removed during the printing operation by moving the thermal head 6 to a position that interferes in the direction in which the ink ribbon cassette 31 is removed. It is preventing. Characters, images, and the like can be formed on the paper 10 by controlling the heat generation of the heat generating portion 6 a provided in the thermal head 6 while conveying the paper 10 and the ink ribbon 31. In the case of full-color printing, a full-color image is formed by repeatedly transferring three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan by thermal transfer. When the first color thermal transfer is completed, the grip roller 5 is rotated in the direction opposite to the printing conveyance direction, the tip of the paper 10 is once returned to the printing start position, and the grip roller 5 is rotated in the printing conveyance direction, so that the second and subsequent colors. Start thermal transfer. When the three-color thermal transfer is completed, the protective ink is finally overcoated by the same thermal transfer, and printing is completed.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the process of paper cutting and paper discharge will be described. FIG. 3 is a view when chips and printed matter are discharged.

  9 is a cutter unit. The paper 10 is cut by a drive source (not shown). Reference numeral 8 a denotes a paper discharge roller, which uses the same stepping motor as that of the grip roller 5 as a drive source, and is interlocked with the rotation of the grip roller 5. The paper discharge roller 8b is an opposed driven roller, and is biased toward the paper discharge roller 8a. Reference numeral 20 denotes an extruded member. Reference numeral 21 denotes a sorting member for switching the transport path between the printed material and the chips, and the chip transport path can be opened and closed by turning. Reference numeral 23 denotes a paper stack unit, and reference numeral 22 denotes a chip storage unit. The printed product 10 a is discharged to the paper stack unit 23 by the push member 20 and the sorting member 21, and the chips 10 b are stacked on the chip storage unit 22.

  3A is a cross-sectional view when chips are discharged, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view when printed matter is discharged.

  After the image formation is completed, the margin part on the front end side is first cut in order to create a borderless print. The paper 10 is transported to the margin cutting position (the state shown in FIG. 2), and the margin of the paper 10 is cut by the cutter unit 9 in a state of being nipped by the paper discharge rollers 8a and 8b, and chips 10b are formed. The At that time, the sorting member 21 is in a state in which a passage for the chips 10b toward the chip storage portion 22 is opened. Thereafter, the chips 10b are conveyed by the rotational drive of the paper discharge roller 8a, and are stored in the chip storage unit 22 as shown in FIG. FIG. 3B shows a state in which the chips 10 b that have been dropped by being pushed by the pushing member 20, and the chips 10 b that have been discharged in advance are loaded in the chip storage unit 22. Simultaneously with the conveyance of the chips 10b due to the rotation of the paper discharge roller 8a, the paper of the print portion following the margin is conveyed. When the paper 10 is conveyed to the print cut position, it is cut to form the print 10a. The At that time, the sorting member 21 is in a closed state, and the printed product 10a is pushed out to the paper stack portion 23 by the closing force of the pushing member 20 by the rotational driving of the paper discharge roller 8a. FIG. 2B shows a state in which a plurality of printed products 10 a that have been pushed down by the pushing member 20 and dropped, and a plurality of printed products 10 a that have been discharged in advance are stacked on the paper stack unit 23. .

  Next, the overall configuration of the ink ribbon cassette 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ink ribbon cassette. 4A is a perspective view of the entire ink ribbon cassette 30, and FIG. 4B is an exploded perspective view of the ink ribbon cassette 30.

  40 is a housing member, 50 is a first lid member, and 60 is a second lid member. The casing member 40, the first lid member 50, and the second lid member 60 constitute a casing of the ink ribbon cassette 30 and have a structure that surrounds internal components. The components inside the ink ribbon cassette 30 are a supply-side bobbin 34 and a winding-side bobbin 35 around which the ink ribbon 31 is wound at both ends, a first coil spring 90 that urges each bobbin from one end, and a second coil spring 91. have. Further, the moving member 70 includes a first spring 95 having hook portions 95a and 95b at both ends, and a second spring 96 having hook portions 96a and 96b at both ends. Details of each component will be described later.

  Next, the housing member 40 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the housing member.

  The housing member 40 has a shape that can accommodate a supply-side bobbin 34 and a take-up-side bobbin 35 that are wound around the ink ribbon 31 at both ends, and an exposure for the ink ribbon 31 to contact the thermal head 6 between the bobbins. A portion 48 is provided. The supply side bobbin 34 is rotatably held by the opening 42a and the hole 41, and the winding side bobbin 35 is rotatably held by the opening 42d and the hole 41b. A positioning hole 46 and a long hole 47 are provided on the side surface of the housing member 40, and positioning is performed by the location when the ink ribbon cassette 30 is loaded in the printer main body 1. Also, a protrusion 49 is provided on the side surface of the housing member 40. When the location is loaded in the printer main body 1, the above-described detection switch 13 is pressed to determine whether or not the ink ribbon cassette 30 is loaded and the size of the ink ribbon cassette 30. The configuration is identifiable. The housing member 40 is provided with positioning bosses 45a, 45b, 45c, 45d, claw portions 43a, 43b, 43c, 43d, and side claw portions 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d. 50 and the second lid member 60 can be held. Further, spring supply portions 46 a and 46 b are provided on the supply side bobbin 34 storage side, and the hook portion 93 b of the first spring 93 and the hook portion 96 b of the second spring 96 described above are hooked. Yes.

  Next, the first lid member 50 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first lid member.

  The first lid member 50 is a lid member that covers the housing side of the housing member 40 on the supply side bobbin 34. Positioning holes 52a and 52b are opened at both ends of the first lid member 50. The positioning hole 52a engages with the positioning boss 45b of the housing member 50, and the positioning hole 52a engages with the positioning boss 45a. The first lid member 50 is provided with a claw hole 53 and side claw holes 54a and 54b. The claw hole 53 is a claw part 43a of the housing member 40, and the side claw holes 54a and 54b are side claw parts 44a and 44b. It is the structure hold | maintained by engaging with. The first lid member 50 is provided with openings 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d for projecting rib portions 72 of the moving member 70 described later.

  Next, the second lid member 60 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the second lid member.

  The second lid member 60 is a lid member that covers the housing side of the winding body bobbin 35 of the housing member 40. Positioning holes 62a and 62b are opened at both ends of the second lid member 60. The positioning hole 62a engages with the positioning boss 45c of the housing member 50, and the positioning hole 62b engages with the positioning boss 45d. The second lid member 60 includes claw holes 63a, 63b, 63c and side claw holes 64a, 64b. The claw holes 63a, 63b, 63c are configured to be held by engaging the claw portions 43d, 43c, 43b and the side claw holes 64a, 64b of the housing member 40 with the side claw portions 44c, 44d, respectively.

  Next, the supply-side bobbin 34 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the supply side bobbin.

  The supply-side bobbin 34 forms a shaft portion 36 around which the ink ribbon 31 is wound, and contact portions 39 a and 39 b are formed at both ends of the shaft portion 36. A rotation restricting hole 38 is provided at one end of the shaft portion 36 over the entire circumference of the shaft. Further, a protrusion 37 is provided at the end of the supply-side bobbin 34 and is configured to be rotated by the claw 16 of the first bobbin shaft 15 configured in the printer main body 1 described above. .

  In this embodiment, the take-up bobbin 35 has the same configuration as the supply-side bobbin 34. The supply-side bobbin 34 and the take-up-side bobbin 35 are attached to the openings 42a and 42b of the housing member 50 described above by providing the end coil 33 with the first coil spring 90 and the second coil spring 91 described above, respectively. It is the composition which is energized.

  Next, the moving member 70 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the moving member.

  The moving member 70 is configured to be movable, and cam surfaces 71a and 71b are formed at both ends. Further, rib portions 72a, 72b, 72c, 72d are formed near the center, and are accommodated corresponding to the openings 51a, 51b, 51c, 51d of the first lid member 50 described above, respectively. In the present embodiment, two rib portions 72 a, 72 b, 72 c, 72 d are disposed near both ends of the support portion 76. The position of the rib portion 72 is set corresponding to the size of the paper 10 described above. That is, the rib portions 72b and 72c are arranged at positions inside the paper width of the 4-inch size paper 10, and the rib portions 72a and 72d at the extreme ends are arranged at positions inside the paper width of the 5-inch size paper 10. It has become. In addition, the rib portion 72 of the moving member 70 is formed in a curved portion 77 that is smooth with respect to the paper 10 conveyance direction, and a protrusion 75 that has a return shape in the direction opposite to the paper 10 conveyance direction. It is configured. Further, spring hooking portions 73a and 73b are formed near both ends of the moving member 70, and the hook portion 93b of the first spring 93 and the hook portion 96b of the second spring 96 are hooked. . Further, a rotation restricting portion 74 is formed at one end of the moving member 70 and corresponds to the rotation restricting hole 38 provided in the supply side bobbin 34.

  Next, the operation of the moving member 70 of the ink ribbon cassette 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the ink ribbon cassette before being loaded into the printer body.

  Before the ink ribbon cassette 30 is loaded into the printer main body 1, the supply-side bobbin 34 and the take-up bobbin 35 are moved in the direction indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 10 by the first coil spring 90 and the second coil spring 91. Is being energized. At this time, the moving member 70 is urged in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 10 by the elastic force of the first spring 95 and the second spring 96, and ribs 72a, 72b, 72c formed on the moving member 70, 72 d is configured to be housed inside the surface of the first lid member 50. Further, the rotation restricting portion 74 formed on the moving member 70 is engaged with the rotation restricting hole 38 formed on the supply side bobbin 34 to restrict the rotation of the supply side bobbin 34.

  FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the ink ribbon cassette after being loaded into the printer body.

  When the mounting of the ink ribbon cassette 30 to the printer main body 1 is completed, the first bobbin shaft 15 and the second bobbin shaft 17 configured in the printer main body 1 push in the supply side bobbin 34 and the take-up side bobbin 35, It moves in the direction of arrow C in FIG. At this time, the cam surfaces 71a and 71b of the moving member 70 are pushed in by the contact portion 39 of the supply-side bobbin 34 and move in the direction of arrow D in FIG. Due to the operation of the moving member 70, the rotation restricting portion 74 of the moving member 70 is removed from the rotation restricting hole 38 of the supply side bobbin 34, and the supply side bobbin 34 is in a freely rotatable state. Further, the diameter of the contact portion 39 is set so that the rib portions 72a, 72b, 72c, 72d protrude from the surface of the first lid member 70 in a state where the cam surface 71 of the moving member 70 rides on. The rib portion 72 is exposed from the ink ribbon cassette 30 to the outside.

  With this configuration, when the ink ribbon cassette 30 is not loaded in the printer main body 1, the rib portion 72 is housed in the ink ribbon cassette 30 so that the user cannot touch the rib portion 72. It is possible to prevent the dirt from adhering.

  In addition, the arrow B direction in FIG. 10 is a direction opposite to the arrow C direction in FIG. 11, and the arrow E direction in FIG. 10 is the opposite direction to the arrow D direction in FIG. Further, the direction of arrow D in FIG. 11 and the direction of arrow C in FIG. 11 are substantially orthogonal directions. Since the moving member 70 has the cam surface 71, when the supply-side bobbin 34 moves, the supply-side bobbin 34 comes into contact with the cam surface, and the moving member 70 moves in the moving direction of the supply-side bobbin 34. Is configured to move in the orthogonal direction.

  FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the moving member during printing.

  Since the rib portion 72 of the moving member 70 is exposed outside the surface of the first lid member 50, the paper 10 during printing does not touch the first lid member 50 during conveyance, and the rib portion 72 and the paper guide 14. Paper is passed between. In this embodiment, the moving amount of the moving member 70 is set so that the gap between the rib portion 72 and the paper guide 14 through which the paper 10 passes is about 1.5 times the thickness of the paper 10. With this configuration, when the paper 10 is passed between the rib portion 72 and the paper guide 14 in the paper discharge direction, the paper 10 is passed without being caught by the curved portion 77 formed in the rib portion 72 described above. The Further, even when the printed matter 10a or the chips 10b enter the printer main body 1 due to a printing malfunction, the protrusions 75 formed on the ribs 72 described above can prevent the inside of the printing mechanism from entering. .

  In the present embodiment, the rib portion can be projected on a surface substantially parallel to the bobbin shaft constituting the housing on the supply side bobbin 34 side. The supply-side bobbin 34 side needs to be transported with the ink ribbon and paper stacked, but after printing, the ink ribbon is transported away from the paper so that it does not stick to the paper. This is because the paper does not come into contact with the housing on the side where the paper is provided. However, when the paper is conveyed while contacting the casing on the side where the winding side bobbin is stored, the rib part can also protrude from the casing on the side where the winding side bobbin is stored. It may be provided.

  Although the present invention has been described in detail based on preferred embodiments thereof, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various forms within the scope of the present invention are also included in the present invention. included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer main body 2 Housing | casing 10 Paper 14 Paper guide member 15 1st bobbin axis | shaft 16 Claw part 17 2nd bobbin axis | shaft 18 Claw part 30 Ink ribbon cassette 31 Ink ribbon 34 Supply side bobbin 35 Winding side bobbin 36 Shaft part 37 Protrusion part 38 Rotation Restriction Hole 39 Abutting Portion 40 Housing Member 46 Spring Hanging Portion 50 First Lid Member 51 Opening Portion 60 Second Lid Member 70 Moving Member 71 Cam Surface 72 Rib Portion 73 Spring Hanging Portion 74 Rotation Restricting Portion 75 Projection Portion 76 Supporting part 77 Curved part 95 First spring 96 Second spring

Claims (7)

An ink ribbon cassette that accommodates an ink ribbon that can be attached to and detached from a printing device that transfers ink from an ink ribbon onto paper,
When not installed in the printing apparatus, the apparatus is housed in the ink ribbon cassette, and when installed in the printing apparatus, the apparatus has a rib portion that protrudes from the casing of the ink ribbon cassette and guides paper. Ink ribbon cassette.   The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein the rib portion moves to a position protruding from a housing of the ink ribbon cassette in response to the ink ribbon cassette being mounted on the printing apparatus.   The surface of the rib portion that comes into contact with the paper when guiding the paper in the rib portion is housed inside the surface of the ink ribbon cassette housing when not mounted in the printing apparatus. The ink ribbon cassette according to 2. The ink ribbon cassette is
A bobbin wrapped with an ink ribbon,
A housing that houses the bobbin therein;
A bobbin urging member that urges the bobbin in a first direction parallel to the axial direction of the bobbin in the housing;
A moving member provided with the rib portion, wherein the rib portion is movable to a first position where the rib portion is housed in the housing, and a second position where the rib portion protrudes outside the housing. Members,
A biasing member that biases the moving member toward the first position,
When the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the printing apparatus, the bobbin is brought into contact with a shaft member for rotating the bobbin provided in the printing apparatus so that the bobbin is in the first direction. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving member moves to the second position in response to movement in the opposite second direction and the bobbin moving in the second direction. 5. The ink ribbon cassette according to one item. The rib is provided so as to protrude from a surface of the housing parallel to the first direction,
The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 4, wherein the urging member urges the moving member in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first direction.   6. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 4, wherein the moving member moves in a direction substantially orthogonal to the second direction in response to the bobbin moving in the second direction. The moving member has a cam surface;
7. The bobbin that moves in the second direction abuts on the cam surface, so that the moving member moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the second direction. The ink ribbon cassette according to any one of the above.

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