JP2583477Y2 - Ink ribbon guide of ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink ribbon guide for an ink ribbon cassette containing an endless ink ribbon used for a printer or a typewriter.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink ribbon guide of a conventional ink ribbon cassette is usually fixed to the cassette. However, when packing the cassette, a storage box becomes large due to the fixed ink ribbon guide. Therefore, it has been found in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 57-156290 and 61-239978, for example, that the ink ribbon guide is foldable to make the cassette compact and, at the same time, easy to operate the ink ribbon. Can be

[0003]

Since these ink ribbon guides are rotatable with respect to the cassette, there is an impact when packaging, and in many cases, the ink ribbon slides inside the ink ribbon guide. Therefore, it can be said that the operation of hanging the ink ribbon in use is easy, and it can be said that a remarkable improvement has been made in that the hands are not stained. With the advent of a large-sized machine in which the ribbon cassette and the printing unit are significantly separated, if the above-mentioned cassette is to be used, a guide having a length corresponding to the length between the ribbon cassette and the printing unit must be provided on the cassette. The ink ribbon guide must be rotatable, and the length between the ribbon cassette and the printing section determines the length of the ink ribbon guide. In order to solve this problem, the ink ribbon guide can be separated from the cassette, and the ink ribbon guide can be mounted in the vicinity of the printing unit completely separated from the cassette. Although a cassette has been proposed, this one has the advantage that the length of the guide can be set arbitrarily and that it can be used arbitrarily, regardless of how far the cassette and the printing unit are.
When using the ink ribbon guide, that is, when operating the ink ribbon guide with the ink ribbon inserted, even if the ink ribbon guide is strongly gripped, the gripping force does not reach the ink ribbon. The ink ribbon slides and moves freely inside the
The operation of the ink ribbon guide and the ink ribbon cannot be performed at the same time, and therefore, the operation of the ink ribbon guide and the operation of the ink ribbon must be performed separately, so that the handling of the ink ribbon guide is not complicated. This has necessitated that the ink ribbon has to be handled directly by hand, forcing the hands to be soiled.
From these facts, the present invention enables the ink ribbon and the guide to be easily handled by allowing the ink ribbon that has been drawn out of the cassette long and inserted into the inside of the ink ribbon guide to be gripped together with the guide. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon guide capable of easily attaching and detaching an ink ribbon guide to and from an ink ribbon already incorporated in a cassette so as to be circulated and transported.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to an ink ribbon guide 2 in which an ink ribbon 3 is inserted and slides. The ink ribbon guide of the ink ribbon cassette can hold both the ink ribbon 3 and the ink ribbon guide 2 by pressing the ribbon guide 2.

In this invention, in order to hold the ink ribbon 3 inserted into the inside of the ink ribbon guide 2 together with the ink ribbon guide 2, the ink ribbon guide 2 is made of a plastic that can be bent, and the ink ribbon guide 2 is formed on the ink ribbon guide 2. The ink ribbon 3 is gripped by inserting and using the ribbon 3 and holding the ink ribbon guide 2 made of plastic capable of being bent with a finger as needed.

In this invention, the ink ribbon guide 2
In order to grip the ink ribbon 3 inserted inside the ink ribbon guide 2 together with the ink ribbon guide 2, a gripping piece is provided on the ink ribbon guide 2 and the ink ribbon 3 is gripped by strongly holding it with a finger. This gripping piece may be a part of the configuration of the ink ribbon guide, or may be formed separately from the ink ribbon guide and applied to the ink ribbon guide later.

In this invention, the gripping piece is preferably made of a material having repulsive force, and the ink ribbon is gripped by pressing with a finger, and the gripping piece is restored by releasing the finger. It is preferable to release the grip of the ink ribbon.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another example of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along line A, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6 is a vertical side view taken along line AA of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the present invention. Plan view,
8 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken along line AA of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing another example of the embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a side view of FIG. 9, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state in which a ribbon guide is applied to a line printer, wherein 1 is an ink ribbon cassette, 2 is an ink ribbon guide of the ink ribbon cassette 1, and 3 is an ink ribbon. The ink ribbon guide 2 is composed of a bottom piece 4, a front piece 5, and a side piece 6, into which an ink ribbon 3 is inserted and slides when used, but has a rectangular cross section as shown in the figure. However, there is no problem even if it has a flat cylindrical shape. 7 is a gripping piece, which is
When the ink ribbon guide 2 is molded from plastic, the ink ribbon guide 2 may be integrally molded as a part of the ink ribbon guide 2 or may be formed separately from the ink ribbon guide 2 and later formed. 2 may be applied. In this case, the holding piece 7 may be made of a thin metal piece, a wire, or the like other than plastic. In any case, this gripping piece 7 is used as the front piece 5 of the ink ribbon guide 2.
When the gripping piece is pressed with a finger, it can bend in the direction of the bottom piece 4 and grip the ink ribbon 3 existing in the middle together with the bottom piece 4. When the pressing is released, the old state is restored, and the gripping of the ink ribbon 3 by the gripping pieces 7 may be as follows. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when the ink ribbon cassette having the ink ribbon guide according to the present invention is applied to the line printer 8, the distance between the ink ribbon cassette 1, the head 9, and the printing unit serving as the platen 10 is reduced. Since the ink ribbon guide 2 is long, the ink ribbon guide 2 is detached from the ink ribbon cassette 1 and brought close to the printing unit. For example, the ink ribbon 3 is used by being attached to a frame (not shown). Is pulled out and inserted into the ink ribbon guide 2. When the ink ribbon guide 2 is pulled out and operated by hand, the ink ribbon guide 2 remains in this state. The ink ribbon 3 is perceived as an obstruction for the operator because the inside slides. At this time, if the ink ribbon 3 is gripped by the gripping piece 7 and operated together with the ink ribbon guide 2, the operation can be conveniently performed. In addition, some printers have a narrow gap between the head 9 and the platen 10. In this case, when the ink ribbon 3 is used, the inside of the ink ribbon guide 2 is
It is troublesome to try to insert the ink ribbon 3 into the narrow gap in a free running state. However, in such a case, if the ink ribbon 3 is gripped and operated by the gripping piece 7, the operation can be easily performed. Reference numeral 12 denotes an ink ribbon guide 2.
The pin insertion holes corresponding to the pins 12 are provided in the ink ribbon cassette 1 and the frame of the printer.

Reference numeral 11 denotes an insertion path for the ink ribbon 3 provided on the ink ribbon guide 2, which is used when the ink ribbon 3 is inserted into or removed from the inside of the ink ribbon guide 2. 3 is provided for convenience of handling. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. In FIG. 1, a narrow gap is formed over the entire length of the ink ribbon guide 2 by dividing the front piece 5 of the ink ribbon guide 2 into two in the longitudinal direction.
The insertion path 11 of FIG.
Is a straight line, and the ink ribbon 3 is inserted into or pulled out of the ink ribbon guide 2 from the insertion path 11 as shown by a dashed line. This is one in which the length of the gripping piece 7 is almost equal to the length of the front piece 5 on both sides thereof, so that the insertion path 11 is straight. In contrast, the gripping piece 7 shown in FIG. The insertion path 11 has a bent shape by protruding from the front pieces 5 on both sides, and the ink ribbon 3 is inserted or pulled out as shown by a dashed line. On the other hand, the one shown in FIG. 5 does not have an insertion path formed in the front piece 5 on both sides of the grip piece 7, and this only grips the ink ribbon.

FIGS. 1 to 6 show various examples in which the ink ribbon guide 2 has a gripping piece 7.
FIGS. 7 and 8 show the ink ribbon guide 2 made of soft plastic, and the ink ribbon 3 is gripped by crushing the ink ribbon guide 2 with a finger. And what is shown in FIG.
This is similar to the one shown in FIG. 5 in which the gripping piece 7 is not present, and a part of the front piece 5 of the ink ribbon guide 2 is cut off to form a cutout wall 13. At 13, the ink ribbon 3 is gripped by a finger. It is needless to say that the insertion path may be provided even in those described in FIGS. 7 to 10.

[0011]

With the ink ribbon guide according to the present invention, the ink ribbon inserted in the ink ribbon guide can be freely pinched or released while the ink ribbon is inserted. In addition, the ink ribbon guide can be handled easily and freely, and the handling of the ink ribbon cassette has become extremely easy.

[0012]

[Effect of the invention] The ink ribbon guide that is devised is
Since the ink ribbon inserted into the ink ribbon guide can be freely grasped and released, the exposed part of the ink ribbon other than the ink ribbon guide can be directly There is no need to remove the ink ribbon guide from the ink ribbon cassette, which is extremely convenient for operating the ink ribbon guide, especially for large machines where the distance between the position of the ink ribbon cassette and the printing unit is extremely large. When holding it at a desired position and attaching it there, it can be operated while holding the ink ribbon inserted in the ink ribbon guide with the gripping pieces, so that the operation can be performed without soiling the hands, The operation became extremely simple. In particular, it is very convenient to load an ink ribbon into a printer of a model in which the gap between the head and the platen is narrow, and by forming the ink ribbon guide with a material such as a soft plastic, The ribbon guide has a simple structure that allows the ink ribbon to be inserted inside, so that the ink ribbon can be grasped, and if you do not care about dirt on your fingertips, the material of the ink ribbon guide is The ink ribbon can be gripped by a simple structure having a cut-off wall portion without considering the hardness.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing another example of implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view taken along line AA of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing another example of implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken along line AA of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing another example of implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken along line AA of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing another example of implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the one in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which the ink ribbon guide according to the present invention is applied to a line printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink ribbon cassette 2 Ink ribbon guide 3 Ink ribbon 4 Bottom piece 5 Table piece 6 Side piece 7 Holding piece 8 Line printer 9 Head 10 Platen 11 Insertion path 12 Removable pin 13 Missing wall

Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Toyoda 1140 Kamiokutomi, Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture Inside the Tokyo Plant of Dynic Co., Ltd. 72) Inventor Tatsuhiko Kitamura 182 Shinmitsu, Iruma-shi, Saitama YE Data Co., Ltd. Shinko Plant (56) References Jikai Sho-59-174256 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 35/04 B41J 32/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] An ink ribbon guide (2) that slides with an ink ribbon (3) inserted therein. The ink ribbon guide (2) is made of a resilient material, and is formed by pressing the ink ribbon guide (2). An ink ribbon guide for an ink ribbon cassette, wherein the ribbon (3) and the ink ribbon guide (2) can be gripped together. 2. An ink ribbon (3) in an ink ribbon guide (2) and an ink ribbon (3) in an ink ribbon guide (2) by a gripping piece (7) provided in an ink ribbon guide (2) that slides with an ink ribbon (3) inserted therein. 2. The ink ribbon guide according to claim 1, wherein the ribbon guide can be gripped by the ribbon guide.