JP2568123Y2 - Ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

The present invention comprises an ink supply roll having an ink ribbon wound around an outer peripheral surface thereof, and an ink supply mechanism for supplying ink to an outer peripheral surface of the ink supply roll. The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette in which ink supplied to a roll is supplied to the ink ribbon as the ink supply roll rotates.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink ribbon cassette is constructed so that the ink ribbon can be used repeatedly by supplying ink to the ink ribbon. When ink is supplied to the ribbon portion, that is, the edge portion of the ribbon that is out of the printing region and consumes no ink, similarly to the printing region, the amount of ink in that portion increases and the ribbon edge portion and the recording paper Light contact with the recording paper, or ink that cannot be received at the edge of the ribbon may flow out of the cassette case and soil the printer. An ink replenishing roll is provided to supply ink to the print area by contacting the print area at a width substantially equal to the width of the print area, and to provide an ink at an edge portion of the ribbon that is out of the print area. Ink has been proposed a technique of constituting so as not supplemented (see, for example, real fair 2-23412 JP).

[0003]

According to the above prior art, since the ink supply roll does not contact the edge of the ribbon, the distribution of tension applied to the ink ribbon is reduced at the edge of the ribbon. As shown in FIG. 7, the ribbon edge portion F of the ink ribbon R wound around the ink supply roll 01 is moved along the thickness direction edge of the ink supply roll 01 toward the axis X of the ink supply roll 01. There is a drawback that the ink ribbon R is liable to fall down, the running position in the width direction of the ink ribbon R is shifted from a predetermined position, and printing failure and ink ribbon clogging are likely to occur. That is, the ink ribbon R has its width direction edge 03
The width direction travel position of the ink ribbon R wound around the ink replenishment roll 01 is fixed to the ink replenishment roll by the contact between the ink replenishment roll 01 and the cassette case inner surface 02. When the ink ribbon R falls down along the axial center X side of the ink supply roll 01 along the edge in the thickness direction of the ink supply roll 01, the ink ribbon R covers not only the portion wound around the ink supply roll 01 but also the front and rear portions thereof. hand,
The so-called waist is weak, and in this state, the ink ribbon R
When the widthwise edge 03 of the ink ribbon R abuts against the inner surface 02 of the cassette case, the collapse of the ink ribbon R is further promoted.
Is shifted in the width direction of the ink ribbon. In addition, since the ink supply roll is brought into contact with the print area of the ink ribbon at approximately the same width as the print area width to supply ink to the print area, the ink supply roll is set in advance based on the relative positions of the ink supply roll and the ink ribbon. If the relative position between the print area of the ink ribbon and the print head is slightly deviated when the printer is mounted on the printer, the print head may act on the area where ink is not supplied. There are drawbacks that are likely to occur. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and by devising a winding structure of the ink ribbon around the ink supply roll, the ink supply amount to the ribbon edge portion outside the printing area is suppressed while the ink supply amount is reduced. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink ribbon cassette which is prevented from falling down, is unlikely to cause printing defects and clogging of an ink ribbon, and can print well without requiring high mounting accuracy when mounted on a printer.

[0004]

The features of the present invention for achieving the above object are described in the following ink ribbon cassette. An ink replenishing unit configured to wrap an outer peripheral surface of the ink replenishment roll around an intermediate portion of the ink ribbon in a width direction over the entire width or substantially the entire width of a print area set on the ink ribbon; B. a ribbon edge wrapping portion for wrapping the ribbon edge portion outside the wrapping range at a predetermined interval. The total length of contact of the ribbon edge winding portion with the ink ribbon in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon is shorter than the total length of contact of the ink supply portion with the ink ribbon in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon. Is set in the configuration of the above A and B, and the following operation and effect can be obtained from this configuration.

[0005]

[Function] a. According to the configuration A, the ink ribbon is wound around the outer periphery of the ink supply roll over the entire width thereof, so that the edge portion of the ribbon is prevented from falling down to the ink supply roll axis side, b. With the configuration B, even if the ribbon edge portion is wound around the ribbon edge winding portion, the ink supply amount per unit area with respect to the ribbon edge portion due to this is the ink supply amount per unit area with respect to the print area. Relatively less.

[0006]

The ink ribbon cassette according to the first aspect of the present invention can prevent the ink ribbon cassette from falling down while suppressing the amount of ink supplied to the edge portion of the ribbon outside the printing area by the functions of a and b. In addition, the running position of the ink ribbon in the width direction is less likely to deviate from the predetermined position, so that printing failure and ink ribbon clogging are less likely to occur. 3. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 2, wherein the ink replenishing unit winds the intermediate portion in the width direction of the ink ribbon over a range exceeding the entire width of a print area set on the ink ribbon. Even if the relative position between the print area and the print head set in the printer head is slightly deviated, printing failure is less likely to occur, and good printing can be performed without requiring high mounting accuracy when mounting to the printer.

[0007]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 4 shows an ink ribbon cassette in which an endless ink ribbon R made of cloth is mounted in a cassette case 1 made of resin. A ribbon storage room 2 for storing the
An ink supply device 3 for supplying ink to the ink ribbon R drawn out of the ribbon storage chamber 2, a printing section P formed between a pair of right and left ribbon guide arms 4, and an ink ribbon R used for printing; And a guide member 6a, 6b, 6c for guiding the running direction of the ink ribbon R by sliding the ink ribbon R into the ribbon housing chamber 2 at the same time as the ink is pushed into the ribbon housing chamber 2. I have.

A portion A of the inner bottom surface of the cassette case 1 between the ribbon storage chamber 2 and the ink replenishing device 3, which is indicated by a satin pattern in the drawing, and a portion A between the ink replenishing device 3 and the ribbon guide arm 4. A portion B between the portions, a portion C before and after the printing portion P is sandwiched, and a portion D between the ribbon guide arm 4 and the ribbon storage chamber 2 are each slightly higher than the other inner bottom surface portions. The widthwise running position of the ink ribbon R is maintained at a predetermined position by contact between the high inner bottom surface portions A, B, C, and D and the widthwise edge of the ink ribbon R.

The ribbon driving unit 5 is provided with a driving roll 5a driven and rotated by receiving power from the printer side and a driven roll 5b rotated by following the running of the ink ribbon R. 5a and driven roll 5
b and the drive roll 5a
The ink ribbon R is pulled out of the ribbon storage chamber 2 by the drive rotation of the ink cartridge R, and the ink ribbon R passing through the printing section P is pushed into the ribbon storage chamber 2 so that the ink ribbon R extends over the ribbon storage chamber 2 and the printing section P. It is configured to be traveling around. The ink ribbon R is configured to be given a tension by a sliding contact resistance with the guide members 6a, 6b, 6c as the ink ribbon R travels. The inner bottom surface 1a and the ceiling surface 1b in the ribbon storage chamber 2 are integrally formed with a ridge 1d projecting in the width direction of the ink ribbon at a distance from the peripheral wall 1c. Contact between the ink ribbon R and the peripheral wall 1c is restricted by contact with the ink ribbon R.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the ink supply device 3 has a diameter around which the ink ribbon R is wound around the outer periphery.
About 10 mm ink supply roll 7 and ink supply roll 7
And an ink supply mechanism 8 that rotates in conjunction with the ink supply roller 7 and applies and supplies ink to the outer periphery of the ink supply roller 7. The ink supplied to the ink supply roller 7 The ink ribbon R is configured to be replenished by the driven rotation of the replenishing roll 7.

The ink supply mechanism 8 fits a flat cylindrical ink impregnated body 8b which stores liquid ink by absorbing it into a non-woven fabric, fiber, sponge, or the like, on a hollow shaft member 8a having a flange 8c. The hollow shaft member 8a is fitted to a shaft 1e integrally formed with the cassette case 1, and is rotatably supported by the shaft. The wall member prevents the ink ribbon R from being in contact with the ink impregnated body 8b. 1f is provided so as to cover the outer peripheral portion of the ink impregnated body 8b. The ink supply roll 7 has its upper and lower shaft members 7a fitted in slots 1g formed in the cassette case 1 so as to be movable in the near and far directions with respect to the ink impregnated body 8b and to be rotatably supported. And the outer peripheral surface thereof is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink impregnated body 8b over the entire width in the thickness direction.

On the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply roll 7, four long ridges 9 having a length longer than the width of the ink ribbon are formed at equal intervals. The total width E of the print area set to R (10 in this embodiment)
The width is set to about 3.5mm to correspond to the point size. ) (In this embodiment, about 5.0 mm, which is about 0.75 mm longer than the full width E (about 3.5 mm) of the print area by about 0.75 mm). The ridges 10 are formed at equal intervals. Then, as shown in a development view of FIG. 3, a portion 9a corresponding to a range H exceeding the entire width E of the printing area of each of the long ridges 9 and each short ridge 1
0 wraps the intermediate portion in the width direction of the ink ribbon R over a range H exceeding the entire width E of the print area set on the ink ribbon R, and the ink ribbon R and the ridges 9a,
An ink replenishing unit 11 for replenishing the printing area and an area within a certain range above and below the printing area by contact with the top of the ink cartridge 10 is provided. Of the upper and lower ribbon edge portions F which deviate from the winding range H of the ink replenishing portion 11 of the ink supply portion 11.

The ink is supplied while the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply roll 7 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink impregnated body 8b over the entire width thereof, and the ink ribbon R is supplied over the entire width thereof. Of the ribbon edge wrapping portion 12 such that the ink supply amount per unit area for the ribbon edge portion F is smaller than the ink supply amount per unit area for the print area, despite being wound around the ribbon. The total contact length of the ink supply section 11 in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon with respect to the edge portion F is set to be shorter than the total contact length of the ink supply section 11 in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon.

When the ribbon driving unit 5 drives the ink ribbon R, the tension is applied to the ink ribbon R wound around the ink supply roll 7 due to the sliding contact resistance with the guide members 6a and 6b. Then, the ink ribbon R moves the ink supply roll 7 along the groove 1g to the ink impregnated body 8b.
The ink ribbon R travels while being pushed, and the supply of ink from the ink impregnated body 8b to the ink supply unit 11 is promoted. Total width E of print area
Is applied over a range H exceeding. At this time, since the ribbon edge portion F is wound around at least one of the protrusions 9 constituting the ribbon edge winding portion 12, the ribbon edge portion F is prevented from falling down. .

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the ink replenishing roll 7, in which an intermediate portion in the width direction of the ink ribbon R extends over a range H exceeding the entire width E of a printing area set on the ink ribbon R. The ink replenishing section 11 wound around the ink replenishing roll 7 is composed of twenty short ridges 10 provided at equal intervals on the outer peripheral surface of the ink replenishing roll 7, and a ribbon around which the ribbon edge portion F is wound at a predetermined interval. The edge wrapping portion 12 is formed of four ridges different from the short ridge 10, and is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply roll 7 at regular intervals so as to be displaced from the short ridge 10. . According to this embodiment, since the surplus ink attached to the ink supply unit 11 does not easily flow to the ribbon edge winding unit 12, the amount of ink supplied to the ribbon edge F can be further suppressed. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the ink replenishing roll 7, in which the ink replenishing portion 11 is constituted by a smooth outer peripheral surface of the ink replenishing roll 7, and the ribbon edge winding portion 12 is formed. Eight projecting ridges are provided at regular intervals. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

[Other Embodiments] a. The ink supply mechanism may be configured such that, for example, the width of the ink impregnated body is reduced, and the ink is exclusively supplied to the ink supply unit of the ink supply roll. I. An oil-repellent treatment may be performed on the contact surface of the ribbon edge wrapping portion with the ribbon edge so as to make it difficult for the replenishment ink to adhere, thereby suppressing the amount of ink supplied to the ribbon edge. C. The configuration of the ink supply mechanism is not limited to a configuration in which ink is applied to the outer periphery of the ink supply roll with an ink impregnated body to supply the ink. It may be configured so that the ink oozes from the ink impregnated body mounted on the peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the ink supply roll. D. As shown in the first and second embodiments, when the ink replenishing portion and the ribbon edge wrapping portion are formed by protrusions, the contact length of the ribbon edge wrapping portion with the ink ribbon in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon. Is set to be shorter than the total length of contact of the ink supply unit with the ink ribbon in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon, the number and arrangement are not particularly limited. In this embodiment, the long and short protrusions may be alternately arranged. E. In the second embodiment, one end of the ridge forming the ribbon edge wrapping portion 12 may be provided so as to enter the ink ribbon wrapping range of the ink supply portion 11. F. In the third embodiment, the outer peripheral surface of the ink replenishing roll constituting the ink replenishing unit may be formed on a matte surface or a knurled uneven surface to which the ink easily adheres. G. As shown in the embodiment, the ink replenishing unit is not limited to the one that winds the ink ribbon over a range exceeding the entire width of the print area set on the ink ribbon. It is also possible to wind only the full width portion or substantially the full width portion. K. In the ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention, the roll for running the ink ribbon may also be used as the ink supply roll. In this case, an ink ribbon is sandwiched between a pair of rolls, and the ink ribbon is caused to travel by driving rotation of one of the driving rolls, and one of the pair of rolls (the driving side or the driven side). The ink replenishing roll may also be used, and the roll that is not also used for the ink replenishing roll may be assembled and implemented by a roll having the same configuration as the ink replenishing roll of the present invention.

In the claims of the utility model registration, reference numerals are written for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the attached drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink supply roll.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a main part showing the ink supply device.

FIG. 3 is a development view for explanation showing a contact state between an ink ribbon and an ink supply roll.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the inside of the ink ribbon cassette.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the ink supply roll.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the ink supply roll.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Ink supply roll 8 Ink supply mechanism 11 Ink supply part 12 Ribbon edge wrapping part E Full width F Ribbon edge part H Range R Ink ribbon

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An ink supply roll (7) having an ink ribbon (R) wound around an outer peripheral surface thereof, and an ink supply mechanism (8) for supplying ink to an outer peripheral surface of the ink supply roll (7). In the ink ribbon cassette provided, the ink supplied to the ink supply roll (7) is supplied to the ink ribbon (R) with the rotation of the ink supply roll (7). The outer peripheral surface of the ink replenishing unit (11) wraps the intermediate portion in the width direction of the ink ribbon (R) over the entire width (E) or substantially the entire width (E) of the printing area set on the ink ribbon (R). ) And a ribbon edge wrapping portion (12) for winding the ribbon edge portion (F) out of the wrapping range (H) of the ink supply portion (11) by the ink supply portion (11) at a predetermined interval. Establishment The total length of contact of the ribbon edge winding portion (12) with the ink ribbon (R) in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon is determined by the relationship between the ink supply portion (11) and the ink ribbon (R). An ink ribbon cassette, wherein the length is set to be shorter than the total contact length in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon. 2. The ink replenishing section (11) sets the widthwise intermediate portion of the ink ribbon (R) to a range (H) exceeding the entire width (E) of a printing area set on the ink ribbon (R). 2. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon cassette is wound around.