JP2018202631A - Printing device and printing device main body as well as cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a printing device and a printing device main body as well as a cassette which allow the printing device main body to surely acquire information corresponding to types of an ink ribbon so as to perform control adequate to the types of the ink ribbon, without putting a limit on the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon.SOLUTION: The printing device main body has a device antenna 62, through which information is transmitted and received by radio communication to and from a radio tag circuit element T3 comparing an IC circuit part T1 for storing information and a tag antenna T2 for transmission/reception of information, at a site which is out of the maximum outer diameter range of a ribbon supply roll and out of the maximum outer diameter range of a ribbon winding roll. A ribbon cassette has an antenna insertion hole 53 penetrating in a shaft line at a site facing in the shaft line direction the device antenna 62, of a cassette base 41.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing apparatus that performs printing by heating an ink ribbon, a printing apparatus main body, and a cassette.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a heat-sensitive ink ribbon (also referred to as an ink sheet) is wound around a supply roll, and the ink ribbon is heated by a thermal head in a conveyance path where the ink ribbon is taken up by a take-up roll. A thermal transfer type printing apparatus that performs printing is disclosed.

JP 2013-215944 A

  In the printing apparatus as disclosed in the above prior art, a ribbon cassette that supplies an ink ribbon and a printing apparatus main body that performs printing on the supplied ink ribbon are configured separately and can be attached to and detached from each other. There is something that has become. As described above, the ribbon cassette that supplies the ink ribbon has a separate structure from the main body of the printing apparatus, so that a plurality of ribbon cassettes having different types of ink ribbons can be appropriately replaced and used.

  When a plurality of types of ink ribbons are used in this way, the printing apparatus needs to determine the type of each ink ribbon and perform control (printing control, tension control, etc.) suitable for each type. Therefore, the printing apparatus main body is provided with a device antenna, and the operator closes the RFID wireless tag in which appropriate information corresponding to the type of ink ribbon is stored in advance to the device antenna, whereby the information is transferred to the printing device via the device antenna. A configuration in which the main body side reads can be considered.

  However, in many cases, the above-described ribbon cassette is composed of a large number of metal members, and wireless communication between an apparatus antenna provided on the printing apparatus main body side and an external RFID wireless tag is interposed by the metal members. There was a risk of trouble. Further, when the apparatus antenna is provided inside the printing apparatus main body, it becomes a factor that restricts the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon around the supply roll and the take-up roll.

  An object of the present invention is to reliably acquire information corresponding to the type of the ink ribbon in the printing apparatus main body without restricting the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon, and perform control suitable for the type of the ink ribbon. It is to provide a printing apparatus, a printing apparatus main body, and a cassette.

  To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing apparatus main body having a thermal head, a cassette base, and a supply roll that rotatably supports a ribbon supply roll provided on one side in the first direction of the cassette base. A winding roll shaft that rotatably supports a ribbon winding roll provided on the other side in the first direction of the cassette base, and the axial direction of the supply roll shaft and the winding roll shaft And a cassette that is attached to and detached from the printing apparatus main body along the ink head, and the ink of the ink ribbon that is fed from the ribbon supply roll and wound around the ribbon take-up roll through the thermal head is transferred to the thermal head. A printing apparatus that performs printing by transferring to a receiver by heating, and the printing apparatus main body includes an IC circuit unit that stores information and information A device antenna that transmits and receives information to and from a RFID circuit element having a tag antenna that performs transmission and reception is out of the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon supply roll and out of the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon take-up roll. The cassette has a first through hole penetrating in the axial direction in a portion of the cassette base that faces the device antenna in the axial direction. Features.

  In the printing apparatus of the present invention, a cassette that supplies an ink ribbon and a printing apparatus main body that performs printing on the supplied ink ribbon are separate from each other. That is, when executing printing, the cassette is mounted on the printing apparatus main body, and the ink ribbon is fed out from the ribbon supply roll supported by the supply roll shaft of the cassette. The drawn out ink ribbon is guided to the thermal head of the printing apparatus main body, and heated by the thermal head, whereby the ink is transferred to the image receiving body and printing is performed. The transferred ink ribbon is taken up by a ribbon take-up roll supported by a take-up roll shaft of the cassette. As described above, the cassette for supplying the ink ribbon has a separate structure from the main body of the printing apparatus, whereby a plurality of cassettes having different types of ink ribbons can be appropriately exchanged and used.

  When a plurality of types of ink ribbons are used in this way, the printing apparatus needs to determine the type of each ink ribbon and perform control (printing control, tension control, etc.) suitable for each type. Therefore, in the present invention, the printing apparatus main body is provided with a device antenna capable of performing wireless communication with the wireless tag circuit element. Thus, for example, after an operator attaches a ribbon cartridge having a desired ink ribbon to the printing apparatus main body, for example, a tag medium (IC circuit unit) in which appropriate information corresponding to the type of ink ribbon of the ribbon cartridge is stored in advance. And the RFID tag circuit element including the tag antenna) can be brought close to the apparatus antenna, and the information from the RFID tag circuit element can be read to the printing apparatus main body side via the apparatus antenna. As a result, the printing apparatus main body can reliably perform control suitable for the ink ribbon of the mounted ribbon cartridge based on the read information.

  At this time, according to the present invention, in the printing apparatus main body, the apparatus antenna is provided outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon supply roll and the ribbon take-up roll. There is no restriction on the diameter.

  When the printing apparatus can be used in various places, it is necessary to consider that the operator can bring the tag medium close to the apparatus antenna regardless of the usage mode. Here, as described above, in the present invention, since the cassette is structured to be attached to and detached from the printing apparatus main body, at least in the printing apparatus main body, no matter where the printing apparatus is installed, In the direction in which the cassette is attached and detached (in other words, the direction along the axial direction of the supply roll shaft and the take-up roll shaft), a wide space should be secured for the attachment and detachment. Therefore, in the present invention, a through hole (first through hole) is provided in a portion of the cassette base of the cassette that faces the device antenna in the axial direction (in other words, the cassette attaching / detaching direction). Accordingly, the operator can reliably bring the tag medium (specifically, the RFID tag circuit element) closer to the device antenna through the through hole in the space secured as described above. Also, at that time, the wireless communication between the tag medium and the device antenna is performed using the cassette base through-hole (not through the wall surface of the cassette base), so that the wireless communication is hindered by the intervention of the metal portion. It is possible to prevent the information from being read reliably.

  As described above, in the present invention, without restricting the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon, information corresponding to the type of the ink ribbon is reliably acquired by the printing apparatus main body, and suitable for the type of the ink ribbon. Control can be performed.

  According to the present invention, without restricting the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon, information corresponding to the type of the ink ribbon can be reliably acquired by the printing apparatus main body, and control suitable for the type of the ink ribbon can be performed. it can.

It is a figure showing the system configuration | structure of the packaging material printing system provided with the printing apparatus which concerns on embodiment. 1 is a perspective view of the overall appearance of a printing apparatus. It is a perspective view of the state which separated the printing apparatus main body and the ribbon cassette. It is an external appearance perspective view of a ribbon cassette. 1 is an external perspective view of a printing apparatus main body. It is a front view of the state which mounted | wore the printing apparatus main body with the ribbon cassette. It is sectional drawing seen by the arrow VII in FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from the arrow VIII in FIG. It is the figure which looked at arrangement | positioning of the ink ribbon assumed with respect to the printing apparatus main body from the front. FIG. 4 is a side view of the printing apparatus main body and the ribbon cassette in a state of being opposed to each other. It is a figure which shows the open state and latching state of a latching claw and a to-be-latched part.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the vertical direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction correspond to the arrow directions shown as appropriate in each drawing such as FIG.

<Configuration of packaging material printing system>
FIG. 1 shows a system configuration of a packaging material printing system provided with the printing apparatus of the present embodiment. In this packaging material printing system 100, a belt-like packaging material 102 (corresponding to an image receiver) fed from a packaging material supply roll 101 is passed through the lower part of the printing apparatus 1 to print desired characters and graphics. Control of the processing is performed by a personal computer PC as a control unit connected to the printing apparatus 1 via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) -compliant communication cable 103.

  In addition to the connection using the communication cable 103 compliant with the USB, information may be transmitted / received via other wired network communication or wireless communication. In addition to the personal computer PC illustrated as the control means, a control unit including an operation unit such as a keyboard and a display unit such as a display may be integrally provided in the printing apparatus 1 (not particularly illustrated).

<Schematic configuration of printing device>
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the entire printing apparatus 1 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the outer peripheral four side surfaces (that is, the upper side surface, the right side surface, the lower side surface, and the left side surface) around the longitudinal axis in the drawing are 1. Covered with two decorative skins 2. The decorative outer plate 2 can be arbitrarily attached to and detached from the printing apparatus 1. In the following drawings, the internal configuration of the printing apparatus 1 is illustrated with the decorative outer plate 2 removed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the entire printing apparatus 1 includes a printing apparatus main body 3 and a ribbon cassette 4 that can be arbitrarily separated in the front-rear direction. In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted, said makeup | decoration outer plate 2 can be mounted | worn with the printing apparatus main body 3 side, and becomes the arrangement | positioning by which the ribbon cassette 4 is inserted in the inside of the makeup | decoration outer plate 2. FIG. The ribbon cassette 4 is inserted / extracted along the axial direction (front / rear direction) of a supply roll shaft 43 and a take-up roll shaft 44, which will be described later, provided on the ribbon cassette 4 side. Can be removed.

<Detailed configuration of ribbon cassette>
4 shows only the ribbon cassette 4 in perspective, and FIG. 5 shows only the appearance of the printing apparatus main body 3 in perspective. 6 shows a state in which the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3 from the front (front), and FIGS. 7 and 8 show the printing apparatus main body 3 and the ribbon cassette 4 in the same mounting state in FIG. The cross section seen by arrow VII and the cross section seen by arrow VIII are shown.

  4 to 8, the ribbon cassette 4 includes a cassette base 41 located on the front side, a handle 42 provided on the front side (front side) of the cassette base 41, and a rear side (rear side) of the cassette base 41. A supply roll shaft 43, a take-up roll shaft 44, four guide rollers 45, and two positioning guide shafts 46.

  The cassette base 41 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and includes a frame portion 51 formed by the outer periphery of four outer sides (that is, an upper side, a right side, a lower side, and a left side), and a base concave portion located on the inner side. 52 (corresponding to a recess). The base recess 52 is formed in a shape recessed toward the printing apparatus side, and specifically, the inner peripheral four side surfaces of the frame portion 51 (that is, the upper inner surface, the right inner surface, the lower inner surface, and the left inner surface). And a bottom surface 52a located on the printing apparatus main body 3 side at the time of mounting.

  A handle 42 (corresponding to a gripping portion) is provided on the front side of the cassette base 41, that is, on the side opposite to the printing apparatus main body 3 when mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3, and the left and right directions ( It is provided so as to pass a central portion (intermediate portion) of the first direction). The handle 42 is held by the user when the ribbon cassette 4 is attached to or detached from the printing apparatus main body 3.

  The supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44 are arranged on the back side of the cassette base 41, that is, on the side close to the printing apparatus main body 3 when mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3. It is provided side by side. The supply roll shaft 43 is disposed on the left side (corresponding to one side in the first direction), and the take-up roll shaft 44 is disposed on the right side (corresponding to the other side in the first direction). It is provided so as to be rotatable around the central axis while extending from the back side to the rear side (printing device main body 3 side at the time of attachment / detachment). A series of strip-shaped ink ribbons 47 is wound around the supply roll shaft 43 in advance with one end thereof fixed, and the other end of the ink ribbon 47 is fixed to the take-up roll shaft 44 and fed out from the supply roll shaft 43. The ink ribbon 47 is wound up into a roll.

  The four guide rollers 45 are respectively disposed at the four corners on the back side of the cassette base 41, and are provided so as to be rotatable around the central axis while extending backward. The ink ribbon 47 fed out from the supply roll shaft 43 is finally wound through a conveyance path (see a thick solid line in FIG. 9 described later) bent in contact with the outer peripheral side surface of each of the four guide rollers 45. Guided to the take-up roll shaft 44.

  Each of the two positioning guide shafts 46 is a rod-like member having a substantially circular cross-sectional shape extending to the rear side, and left and right of the center position in the vertical direction (corresponding to the second direction) on the back side of the cassette base 41. It is arranged at both ends in the direction.

  An antenna through-hole 53 (corresponding to a first through-hole) and a connector into which two cover convex portions 71 and 72 provided in the printing apparatus main body 3 to be described later can be fitted respectively on the bottom surface 52a of the base concave portion 52 in the cassette base 41. A through hole 54 is formed (details will be described later). Similarly, a slider operation portion 56 (corresponding to an operation portion) movable in the left-right direction is provided through an operation portion through hole 55 (corresponding to a second through hole) formed in the bottom surface 52a of the base recess 52 in the cassette base 41. Is provided. In addition, in the cassette base 41, an interlocking bar 57 is disposed so as to be able to move in the left-right direction in conjunction with the slider operation unit 56. Locking claws 58 (corresponding to locking portions) are fixed to the left and right ends of the interlocking bar 57 and project from the back surface of the cassette base 41 toward the rear side (see FIG. 8). On the bottom surface 52a of the base recess 52, a slider operation unit 56 is disposed on the right side of the handle 42 in the illustrated example at the center position in the vertical direction. An antenna through hole 53 and a connector through hole 54 are respectively disposed (see FIG. 6).

<Detailed configuration of the printer body>
4 to 8, the printing apparatus main body 3 includes a main body base 31 that faces the cassette base 41 when the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted, a cover member 32 provided on the front side of the main body base 31, and a left pillar. 33, a right pillar 34, a support pillar 35, a supply roll bearing section 36, a take-up roll bearing section 37, a thermal head 38, a guide bar 39, and a mechanism driving section 40 provided on the back side of the main body base 31. I have.

  The main body base 31 is a metal plate-like member, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in front view like the cassette base 41 of the ribbon cassette 4.

  The cover member 32 is a resin-made structural member that covers most of the lower region of the front surface side of the main body base 31 and extends to the front side (the ribbon cassette 4 side during attachment / detachment). Inside the cover member 32, a control board (not shown) for controlling each part of the printing apparatus 1, a USB connector 61 and a device antenna 62 described later are provided. Details of the shape of the cover member 32 will be described later.

  The left pillar 33 and the right pillar 34 are metal walls extending from the front surface of the main body base 31 to the front side so as to support the left side surface and the right side surface of the cover member 32, respectively. is there. At the front end of each of the two pillars 33 and 34, a projection-shaped locked portion 63 extending upward is formed. In addition, positioning guide holes 64 are opened at positions corresponding to the two positioning guide shafts 46 of the ribbon cassette 4 on the front end surfaces of the two pillars 33 and 34, respectively, and pass through from there to the rear side. The positioning guide shafts 46 can be fitted to each other. Further, as shown in each enlarged view in FIG. 5, the left side edge portion of the front side end portion of the left pillar 33 and the right side edge portion of the front side end portion of the right pillar 34 are respectively An inclined surface 65 chamfered at a predetermined inclination angle is formed.

  The support pillar 35 is a metal support portion that extends from the center position in the left-right direction of the upper edge on the front side of the main body base 31 to the front side. The support pillar 35 functions together with the left pillar 33 and the right pillar 34 to support the ribbon cassette 4 (the back surface of the cassette base 41) at the time of mounting. Each of the cover member 32, the left pillar 33, the right pillar 34, and the support pillar 35 includes a ribbon supply roll 59 and a take-up roll shaft 44 around which the supply roll shaft 43 of the ribbon cassette 4 is wound. Is formed in a shape that avoids the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon take-up roll 60 (that is, disposed outside the maximum outer diameter range) (see FIG. 9 described later).

  The supply roll bearing portion 36 and the take-up roll bearing portion 37 are provided on the front side of the main body base 31 in an arrangement corresponding to the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44 of the ribbon cassette 4, respectively. The supply roll bearing portion 36 transmits the rotational driving force to the supply roll shaft 43 so as to be able to wind the ribbon supply roll 59 while supporting the supply roll shaft 43 in a state where the tip of the supply roll shaft 43 is abutted. The take-up roll bearing portion 37 transmits the rotational driving force to the take-up roll shaft 44 so as to be able to wind the ribbon take-up roll 60 while supporting the end of the take-up roll shaft 44 against the take-up roll shaft 44.

  The thermal head 38 is a member in which a large number of thermoelectric elements are arranged in the front-rear direction, and extends from the center position in the left-right direction of the upper edge on the front side of the main body base 31 to the front side. The guide bar 39 is a bar-like member having a circular cross section that extends toward the front side of the main body base 31 in the vicinity of the thermal head 38. When the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted, the transport path of the ink ribbon 47 is guided by the guide bar 39 and is brought into contact with the thermoelectric element array portion of the thermal head 38.

  A mechanism driving unit 40 provided on the back side of the main body base 31 is a collection unit of a plurality of actuators such as various motors. The supply roll bearing unit 36 and the winding unit 36 are wound on the basis of a control command received from the control board. The drive control of each of the roll bearing portion 37 and the thermal head 38 is performed.

<Printing process of printing device>
FIG. 9 shows a front view of an assumed arrangement of the ink ribbon 47 with respect to the printing apparatus main body 3 when the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3. Note that the thick solid line in the figure indicates the transport path of the ink ribbon 47 (the chain line in the figure will be described later).

  In FIG. 9, the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44 (not shown in FIG. 9) rotate in cooperation with each other by the driving force transmitted from the supply roll bearing portion 36 and the take-up roll bearing portion 37. To drive. As a result, the ink ribbon 47 is repeatedly conveyed in an appropriate direction on the conveyance path by feeding and winding the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44. The packaging material 102 is also conveyed in synchronization with the conveyance of the ink ribbon 47, and the thermal head 38 heats the ink ribbon 47 against the packaging material 102 to heat the ink of various print objects to the packaging material 102. Thermally transferred.

  The portion of the ink ribbon 47 that has been thermally transferred is finally wound around the take-up roll shaft 44 as a ribbon take-up roll 60 (originally spiral, but simplified and shown as a concentric circle). After all the ink ribbons 47 are used, the ribbon cassette 4 in which the untransferred ink ribbon 47 is newly wound around the supply roll shaft 43 is detached and replaced.

<Ribbon cassette mounting operation>
When the user attaches the ribbon cassette 4 to the printing apparatus main body 3 fixedly installed in the packaging material printing system 100, the user first grasps the handle 42 of the ribbon cassette 4 and the facing relationship as shown in FIG. The ribbon cassette 4 is arranged so that That is, the back surface (supply roll shaft 43, take-up roll shaft 44, etc.) of the cassette base 41 is provided on the front surface (surface on which the cover member 32, etc. is provided) of the main body base 31 on the printing apparatus main body 3 side. Are arranged to face each other. Then, the ribbon cassette 4 is moved backward from this state and attached.

  At this time, the leading end portions of the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44 on the ribbon cassette 4 side are coaxially aligned with the supply roll bearing portion 36 and the take-up roll bearing portion 37 on the printing apparatus main body 3 side (alignment is performed). It must be abutted (to match). However, at the time of mounting, those abutting portions are blocked by the cassette base 41 and are difficult to see.

  Further, since tension is not applied to the entire ink ribbon 47 during this mounting operation, the ink ribbon 47 is slightly distorted and displaced from the original transport path (see the thick solid line in FIG. 9) (see FIG. 9). 9). For this reason, as soon as the ribbon cassette 4 is brought close to the printing apparatus main body 3 with a slight displacement, the ink ribbon 47 is entangled and disturbed.

  As described above, when the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3, an accurate positioning operation is required. However, the user manually holds the ribbon cassette 4 which is a heavy object. It was difficult to perform an accurate positioning operation.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, by positioning the respective leading end portions of the two positioning guide shafts 46 on the ribbon cassette 4 side in the respective opening portions of the two positioning guide holes 64 on the printing apparatus main body 3 side, Accurate positioning can be easily performed. Then, the ribbon cassette 4 is moved to the printing apparatus main body 3 side so that the respective positioning guide shafts 46 are inserted into the respective positioning guide holes 64 as they are, so that the ribbon cassette 4 is kept on the printing apparatus main body 3 side while maintaining an accurate positioning state. Can be attached.

  In addition, in order to easily align the tip end portion of each positioning guide shaft 46 with the opening of each positioning guide hole 64 as described above by visual recognition, as shown in the side view of FIG. Is preferably longer than the maximum width of the ink ribbon 47 (see the dotted line in the figure).

  Further, when the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3, the mounting state is locked by locking the locking claw 58 on the ribbon cassette 4 side with the locked portion 63 on the printing apparatus main body 3 side. Can be made. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11 in which the portion A in FIG. 8 is enlarged, an inverted L-shaped locking claw 58 is interlocked with the operation at the slider operating portion 56 via the interlocking bar 57. By moving in the left-right direction, the locked state (right side in the figure) and the open state (left side in the figure) of the locked portion 63 can be switched. In the locked state, the position of the ribbon cassette 4 in the front-rear direction with respect to the printing apparatus main body 3 is fixed by the locking claw 58 being locked to the locked portion 63. Further, in the opened state, the ribbon cassette 4 can be moved forward (separated and separated) with respect to the printing apparatus main body 3 by releasing the locking to the locked portion 63 by the locking claw 58. In the B part in FIG. 8, similarly to the A part, the locking state and the releasing state of the locking claw 58 and the locked part 63 are switched via the interlocking bar 57.

<About RFID communication function>
Here, a plurality of types of ink ribbons 47 can be wound around the supply roll shaft 43 of the ribbon cassette 4. When a plurality of types of ink ribbons 47 are used as described above, the printing apparatus 1 needs to determine the type of each ink ribbon 47 and perform control (printing control, tension control, etc.) suitable for each type. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the printing apparatus main body 3 is provided with a device antenna 62 capable of performing wireless communication with the RFID wireless tag T.

  Thereby, for example, after the ribbon cassette 4 having the desired ink ribbon 47 is attached to the printing apparatus main body 3, the operator stores in advance appropriate information corresponding to the type of the ink ribbon 47 of the ribbon cassette 4. A wireless tag T (including a wireless tag circuit element T3 including an IC circuit unit T1 and a tag antenna T2) is brought close to the device antenna 62, and the information from the wireless tag circuit element T3 is printed via the device antenna 62. It can be read by the main body 3 side. As a result, the printing apparatus body 3 can reliably perform control suitable for the ink ribbon 47 of the mounted ribbon cassette 4 based on the read information.

  As described above, the device antenna 62 is provided inside the cover member 32 of the printing apparatus main body 3. The device antenna 62 is an antenna that can wirelessly communicate with the RFID wireless tag T prepared separately from the printing device 1. In the example of this embodiment, the device antenna 62 includes a loop antenna provided on a flat plate substrate. As shown in FIG. 7, the flat substrate provided with the loop antenna is fixed in a posture in which the plane is orthogonal to the front-rear direction at the foremost side in the cover member 32.

  On the front surface of the cover member 32, an antenna convex portion 71 (protrusion) is formed so as to protrude forward so as to cover the front side, the upper side, the lower side, the right side, and the left side of the fixing portion of the device antenna 62. Equivalent to the portion). The antenna convex portion 71 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and has an antenna through hole 53 (with the same size (long side and short side) corresponding to the bottom surface of the cassette base 41. (Corresponding to the first through hole).

  In these fitted states, that is, when the ribbon cassette 4 is attached to the printing apparatus main body 3, the top surface of the antenna convex portion 71 and the bottom surface 52a of the base concave portion 52 are positioned on substantially the same plane in the front-rear direction. Further, the antenna convex portion 71 and the antenna through hole 53 do not overlap with the handle 42 in a front view (see FIG. 6), and are outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon supply roll 59 and the maximum outer diameter of the ribbon take-up roll 60. It is provided outside the range (see FIG. 9) (in the illustrated example, on the right side of the handle 42 and below the slider operation unit 56). As a result, the device antenna 62 constituted by the loop antenna can expand its directivity area widely from the bottom surface 52a of the cassette base 41 to the front side, and is excellently compared with the RFID wireless tag T raised on the front side of the cassette base 41. Wireless communication can be performed.

  Further, on the front surface of the cover member 32, a connector convex portion 72 having a shape protruding to the front side so as to cover the front side, the upper side, the lower side, the right side, and the left side of the fixing portion of the USB connector 61 is separately provided. Is formed. This connector convex portion 72 is also formed in a substantially rectangular shape in front view, and can be fitted into a connector through hole 54 formed on the bottom surface of the cassette base 41 with the same size (the same for both the long side and the short side). It has become. The antenna convex portion 71 (antenna through hole 53) and the connector convex portion 72 (connector through hole 54) may be disposed on the opposite sides of the handle 42.

<Effect of this embodiment>
As described above, in the printing apparatus according to the present embodiment, in the printing apparatus main body 3, the device antenna 62 capable of wireless communication with the RFID wireless tag T including the wireless tag circuit element T3 includes the ribbon supply roll 59 and the ribbon winding. By being provided at a portion outside the maximum outer diameter range of the roll 60, there is no restriction on the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon 47 to be used.

  Further, when the printing apparatus 1 can be used in various places, the operator can attach the RFID wireless tag T to the apparatus regardless of the usage mode (installation posture and arrangement, surrounding environment, etc.). It is necessary to consider such that the antenna 62 can be brought close to. Here, as described above, in the present embodiment, since the ribbon cassette 4 is configured to be attached to and detached from the printing apparatus main body 3, the printing apparatus 1 is installed in any place or posture of the packaging material printing system 1. Even in this case, at least the direction in which the ribbon cassette 4 is attached / detached in the printing apparatus main body 3 (in other words, the direction along the axial direction of the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44) is used for the attachment / detachment. A wide space should be secured.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, an antenna through hole 53 is provided in a portion of the cassette base 41 of the ribbon cassette 4 that faces the device antenna 62 in the axial direction (in other words, the direction in which the ribbon cassette 4 is attached / detached). Accordingly, the operator can reliably bring the RFID wireless tag T (specifically, the wireless tag circuit element T3) closer to the device antenna 62 through the antenna through hole 53 in the space secured as described above. At that time, the wireless communication between the RFID wireless tag T and the device antenna 62 is performed by using the antenna through hole 53 of the cassette base 41 (not through the wall surface of the cassette base 41 using many metal members). It is possible to prevent the wireless communication from being hindered by the interposition of the part and to read the information reliably.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, without restricting the maximum outer diameter of the ink ribbon 47, information corresponding to the type of the ink ribbon 47 is reliably acquired by the printing apparatus main body 3, and the ink ribbon 47 is concerned. It is possible to perform control suitable for the type.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the antenna through hole 53 has at least a size (both long side and short side) larger than the device antenna 62. Thereby, it is possible to reliably perform good wireless communication with less trouble such as noise between the RFID circuit element T3 provided in the RFID wireless tag and the device antenna 62.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the ribbon cassette 4 has a handle that is gripped when the cassette base 41 is attached to or detached from the printer main body 3 on the opposite side of the cassette base 41 when the ribbon cassette 4 is attached to the printer main body 3. 42, and the antenna through hole 53 is provided at a portion that does not overlap the handle 42 in a plan view from the axial direction. Thereby, the operability when the handle 42 is held and the ribbon cassette 4 is attached to and detached from the printing apparatus main body 3 is not hindered.

  Further, in this embodiment, in particular, the cassette base 41 of the ribbon cassette 4 constitutes an outer shell, is positioned on the frame 51 in which the handle 42 is fixed, and the frame 51 is attached to the printing apparatus main body 3. A base recess 52 having a shape recessed toward the printing apparatus main body 3 at the time, and the antenna through hole 53 is provided on the bottom surface 52 a of the base recess 52. Thereby, the RFID wireless tag T can be brought close to the device antenna 62 through the antenna through hole 53 provided in the base recess 52 located inside the frame portion 51 to which the handle 42 is fixed.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the handle 42 extends from one side in the up-down direction to the other side in the middle portion in the left-right direction of the frame portion 51, and the antenna through hole 53 is printed on the ribbon cassette 4. When mounted on the apparatus main body 3, it is arranged on the right side of the handle 42 in a plan view from the axial direction. Accordingly, the RFID wireless tag T can be reliably brought close to the device antenna 62 through the antenna through hole 53 without the handle 42 being in the way.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44 are provided on the surface (back surface) of the base recess 52 when the base recess 52 is attached to the printing apparatus body 3. . Thereby, the RFID wireless tag T can be brought close to the device antenna 62 through the antenna through hole 53 provided in the base recess 52 of the cassette base 41 provided with the supply roll shaft 43 and the take-up roll shaft 44.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the printing apparatus main body 3 further includes a control board that controls the thermal head 38 and a resin cover member 32 that encloses the apparatus antenna 62, and the cover member 32 is the ribbon cassette 4. The antenna convex portion 71 that penetrates into the antenna through hole 53 when the printer is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3 is provided, and the device antenna 62 is provided in the antenna convex portion 71. In this way, by providing the device antenna 62 on the antenna convex portion 71 penetrating the antenna through hole 53 in the cover member 32 provided in the printing apparatus main body 3, the RFID wireless tag T and the device antenna 62 when reading information are provided. And the reading accuracy can be improved.

  In this embodiment, in particular, when the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3, the top surface (front surface) of the antenna convex portion 71 of the cover member 32 and the bottom surface 52 a of the base concave portion 52 of the cassette base 41 are defined. , Located on substantially the same plane. Thus, the antenna convex portion 71 of the cover member 32 can be sufficiently inserted into the antenna through hole 53 of the base concave portion 52 of the cassette base 41, so that the distance between the RFID wireless tag T and the device antenna 62 can be reliably increased. You can get closer.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the ribbon cassette 4 includes a locking claw 58 that locks the ribbon cassette 4 with respect to the printing apparatus main body 3 in a state where the ribbon cassette 4 is mounted on the printing apparatus main body 3. A slider operating portion 56 for operating the locking operation of the pawl 58, and the slider operating portion 56 is provided in an operating portion through hole 55 provided in the bottom surface 52 a of the base recess 52. As a result, the slider operating portion 56 provided on the bottom surface 52 a of the base recess 52 of the cassette base 41 is operated, and the locking claw 58 of the ribbon cassette 4 is locked to the locked portion 63 of the printing apparatus body 3. The state in which the ribbon cassette 4 is attached to the printing apparatus main body 3 can be reliably maintained.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea of the present invention. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described in order.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the antenna through hole 53 and the antenna convex portion are based on the arrangement in which the handle 42 is extended from one side to the other side in the vertical direction at the intermediate portion in the horizontal direction of the frame portion 51 in the ribbon cassette 4. Although 71 is arrange | positioned in the site | part (the right side of the handle 42 in this example) which does not overlap with the handle 42 by front view, it is not restricted to this. In addition, the antenna through hole 53 and the antenna convex portion 71 may be arbitrarily arranged, and the handle 42 may be provided with an arrangement and shape that do not overlap with each other as a reference (not shown).

  In addition, in the above description, when there are descriptions such as “vertical”, “parallel”, and “plane”, the descriptions are not strict. That is, the terms “vertical”, “parallel”, and “plane” are acceptable in design and manufacturing tolerances and errors, and mean “substantially vertical”, “substantially parallel”, and “substantially plane”. .

  In addition, in the above description, when there are descriptions such as “same”, “equal”, “different”, etc., in terms of external dimensions and sizes, the descriptions are not strict. That is, the terms “identical”, “equal”, and “different” mean that “tolerance and error in manufacturing are allowed in design and that they are“ substantially identical ”,“ substantially equal ”,“ substantially different ”. .

  In addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printing apparatus 3 Printing apparatus main body 4 Ribbon cassette 31 Main body base 32 Cover member 33 Left pillar 34 Right pillar 35 Support pillar 36 Supply roll bearing part 37 Winding roll bearing part 38 Thermal head 39 Guide bar 40 Mechanism drive part 41 Cassette Base 42 Handle (grip)
43 Supply roll shaft 44 Winding roll shaft 45 Guide roller 46 Positioning guide shaft 47 Ink ribbon 51 Frame portion 52 Base recess (recess)
52a Bottom surface 53 Antenna through hole 54 Connector through hole 55 Operation part through hole (second through hole)
56 Slider operation unit (operation unit)
57 Interlocking bar 58 Locking claw (locking part)
59 Ribbon supply roll 60 Ribbon take-up roll 61 USB connector 62 Device antenna 63 Locked portion 64 Positioning guide hole 65 Inclined surface 71 Antenna convex portion (convex portion)
72 Connector convex portion 100 Packaging material printing system 102 Packaging material (image receiver)
T RFID wireless tag T1 IC circuit section T2 tag antenna T3 wireless tag circuit element PC personal computer

Claims (11)

A printing apparatus body equipped with a thermal head;
A cassette base, a supply roll shaft rotatably supporting a ribbon supply roll provided on one side of the cassette base in the first direction, and a ribbon take-up provided on the other side of the cassette base in the first direction A cassette that includes a take-up roll shaft that rotatably supports the roll, and is attached to and detached from the printing apparatus main body along an axial direction of the supply roll shaft and the take-up roll shaft;
An ink ribbon that is fed from the ribbon supply roll and wound on the ribbon take-up roll through the thermal head, and is transferred to the image receiving member by heating the thermal head to perform printing. ,
The printing apparatus body is
An apparatus antenna for transmitting / receiving information by wireless communication to / from a wireless tag circuit element including an IC circuit unit for storing information and a tag antenna for transmitting / receiving information is outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon supply roll, and In the part that is outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon take-up roll,
The cassette is
A printing apparatus having a first through hole penetrating in the axial direction at a portion of the cassette base facing the apparatus antenna in the axial direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1.
The first through hole is
A printing apparatus having at least a size larger than the apparatus antenna. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The cassette is
On the opposite side of the cassette base from the printing apparatus main body at the time of mounting to the printing apparatus main body, a gripping portion is provided that is gripped when attaching to and detaching from the printing apparatus main body.
The first through hole is
A printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus is provided at a portion that does not overlap the grip portion in a plan view from the axial direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 3.
The cassette base of the cassette is
A frame part constituting the outer shell and to which the gripping part is fixed;
A concave portion that is located inside the frame portion and recessed toward the printing apparatus main body when mounted on the printing apparatus main body;
Have
The first through hole is
A printing apparatus provided on the bottom surface of the recess. The printing apparatus according to claim 4.
The gripping part is
In the intermediate portion of the frame portion in the first direction, it extends from one side of the second direction orthogonal to the first direction to the other side,
The first through hole is
When the cassette is mounted on the printing apparatus main body, the printing apparatus is disposed on one side or the other side in the first direction with respect to the grip portion in a plan view from the axial direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,
The supply roll shaft and the winding roll shaft are
A printing apparatus, wherein the recess is provided on a surface of the printing apparatus main body side when the concave section is attached to the printing apparatus main body. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
The printing apparatus body is
A control board that controls the thermal head, and a resin cover member that encloses the device antenna;
The cover member is
When the cassette is mounted on the printing apparatus main body, it has a convex portion that penetrates into the first through hole,
The device antenna is
A printing apparatus provided in the convex portion. The printing apparatus according to claim 7.
At the time of mounting the cassette to the printing apparatus body,
The printing apparatus, wherein a top surface of the convex portion of the cover member and a bottom surface of the concave portion of the cassette base are located on substantially the same plane. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 8,
The cassette is
A locking portion for locking the cassette to the printing apparatus main body in a state where the cassette is mounted on the printing apparatus main body;
An operation unit for operating a locking operation of the locking unit;
Have
The operation unit is
The printing apparatus is provided in a second through hole provided in a bottom surface of the concave portion. A cassette provided with a ribbon supply roll and a ribbon take-up roll is a printing apparatus main body that is attached and detached along the axial direction of the ribbon supply roll and the ribbon take-up roll,
A thermal head that heats the ink ribbon fed from the ribbon supply roll in a state where the cassette is mounted, and transfers the ink to the image receiver;
A wireless tag including an IC circuit unit that stores information and a tag antenna that transmits and receives information, which is provided outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon supply roll and outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon winding roll. A device antenna for transmitting and receiving information to and from circuit elements by wireless communication;
A printing apparatus main body characterized by comprising: Information is transmitted / received by wireless communication to / from a wireless tag circuit element having a thermal head that heats an ink ribbon and transfers ink to a receiver, an IC circuit unit that stores information, and a tag antenna that transmits and receives information. A cassette that can be attached to and detached from a printing apparatus main body having an apparatus antenna,
Cassette base,
A supply roll shaft provided on one side of the cassette base and rotatably supporting a ribbon supply roll around which the ink ribbon supplied to the thermal head is wound;
A winding roll shaft that is provided on the other side of the cassette base and rotatably supports a ribbon winding roll that winds up the ink ribbon on which the ink has been transferred by the thermal head;
Of the cassette base, it is outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon supply roll and outside the maximum outer diameter range of the ribbon take-up roll, and the axial direction of the supply roll shaft and the take-up roll shaft with respect to the apparatus antenna A through-hole provided in a portion facing the through-hole passing through in the axial direction;
A cassette characterized by comprising:

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