JP2992493B2 - Ink ribbon cassette spacer body and 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 cassette spacer and an ink ribbon cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an ink ribbon cassette, an ink ribbon cassette in which most of an endless loop-shaped ink ribbon is folded and accommodated is conventionally known. The ink ribbon cassette is loaded into a dot impact printer, and when the printer starts a printing operation, the ink ribbon is pulled out by a ribbon feed roller on the printer side. The drawn-out ink ribbon enters a gap between the platen and the hammerbank, and the hammerbank reciprocates along the length of the platen, and performs printing by striking the printing paper via the ink ribbon. Then, the ink ribbon that has passed through the gap between the platen and the hammerbank is again fed into the ink ribbon cassette by the ribbon feed roller.

[0003]

In an ink ribbon cassette of this type, if the ink ribbon is continuously struck, the fibers forming the ribbon base fabric swell and become thicker, so that the ink ribbon accommodating portion of the ink ribbon cassette is made thicker before use. It is made large considering the volume of the folded part of the ribbon. However, if the volume of the ink ribbon accommodating portion is increased, a space is generated, and a phenomenon occurs in which the ink ribbon falls. This ink collapse often occurs due to vibration during transportation or the like. If the ink ribbon is used in a collapsed state, the ink ribbon is twisted out of the ink ribbon cassette and pulled out, resulting in printing defects such as missing characters or missing characters.

[0004] In addition, the ink ribbon cassette is replaced after the printing life of the ink ribbon expires, and it is desirable that the replacement operation is simple. Conventionally, in this replacement work, the ink ribbon that has come out of the ink ribbon cassette has been directly picked up by hand and inserted into the gap between the ribbon feed rollers facing the printer. This method has disadvantages such as troublesome work and dirty hands.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink ribbon cassette spacer body and an ink ribbon cassette which prevent the ink ribbon from falling down when the ink ribbon cassette is transported and which facilitates the mounting of the ink ribbon when the ink ribbon cassette is replaced.

[0006]

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a box-shaped spacer main body having slits formed on a front wall and a rear wall, a rear wall protruding outward from the rear wall, and a front end. And a roller insertion portion provided with a ribbon lead-out port communicating with a slit in the rear wall, and an opening below the spacer body, the slit and the roller insertion portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spacer body for an ink ribbon cassette according to the first aspect, wherein a locking portion is formed on an opposing side wall of the spacer main body so as to engage with the inner wall of the ink ribbon cassette. is there.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a box-shaped spacer body having slits formed on a front wall and a rear wall, a rear wall protruding outward from the rear wall, and a front end having a slit formed on the rear wall. It has a roller insertion part with a ribbon outlet that communicates,
Insert the spacer body, the slit, and the spacer body opened below the roller insertion part into the space between the ink ribbon folding part of the ink ribbon cassette and the ribbon entrance, contact the spacer body with the ink ribbon folding part, and This is an ink ribbon cassette in which a part of the ink ribbon other than the folded portion is passed through the roller insertion portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink ribbon cassette according to the third aspect, wherein a part of the inner wall of the cassette and a part of the side wall of the spacer body are engaged by uneven fitting.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the spacer body is formed by folding a sheet of self-holding paper, and the roller insertion portions of the spacer body are located on both sides of the ink ribbon. 5. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 4, wherein the pair is a pair of protrusions.

The invention according to claim 6 is the ink ribbon cassette according to claim 5, wherein the roller insertion portion is clipped by a clip.

The invention according to claim 7 is the ink ribbon cassette according to claim 6, wherein the roller insertion portion is bent along the outer wall of the cassette.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a spacer body and an ink ribbon cassette of an ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spacer body. This spacer body shows an example in which the whole is integrally formed of self-holding paper. Reference numeral 1 denotes a spacer body, which comprises a spacer body 2 and a roller insertion portion 3. The spacer body 2 is for preventing the ribbon from collapsing, and is inserted into a space between the ink ribbon folded portion 26 of the ink ribbon cassette 17 and the ribbon entrance 24 as described later. The roller insertion portion 3 is provided for facilitating the ribbon mounting, and is inserted into a gap between the ribbon feed rollers 29 of the printer, which are opposed to each other, as described later.

The spacer body 2 is formed in a box shape by a front wall 4, a rear wall 5, side walls 6, 7 and a top wall 8. 9 is a finger hole provided in the ceiling wall. Slit 1 on front wall 4 and rear wall 5
The rear wall 9 is provided with a roller insertion portion 3 protruding outward from the rear wall 9. At the leading end of the roller insertion portion 3, a ribbon outlet 12 communicating with the slit 11 of the rear wall 5 is provided, and the spacer body 2, the slits 10 and 11, and the lower portion of the roller insertion portion 3 are opened. Further, locking portions 13 for engaging the concave and convex with the inner wall of the ink ribbon cassette are provided on the side walls 6 and 7 of the spacer body 2.
14 are formed.

FIG. 2 is a development view of the spacer body. An inner piece 15 having a slit 10 cut on the left side of the ceiling wall 8 having the finger hole 9 is connected to an inner piece 16 having a slit 11 cut on the right side. And the side walls 6, 7 above and below the top wall 8
And the front wall 4a is connected to one side of the upper side wall 6,
The rear wall 5a and the protruding piece 3a are sequentially connected to the other side. Further, the lower side wall 7 is similarly connected with the front wall portion 4b on one side and the rear wall portion 5b and the projecting piece 3b on the other side.

In order to form the spacer body 1, each part is bent, and the front pieces 4 a and 4 b are glued to the inner piece 15 to form the front wall 4. The rear wall portions 5a and 5b are glued to the inner piece 16 to form the rear wall 5. Further, the protruding pieces 3a, 3b are bent in a valley fold with respect to the rear wall portions 5a, 5b, respectively, and are projected outward from the rear wall 5. The projecting pieces 3a and 3b form the roller insertion portion 3 of the spacer body 1. The locking portions 13 and 14 are formed by cutting out a part of the side walls 6 and 7 in a U-shape and raising the U-shape.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ink ribbon cassette. Reference numeral 17 denotes an ink ribbon cassette. The ink ribbon cassette 17 has a bottom piece 18 and three side pieces 19,2.
At 0 and 21, the upper and right sides are formed in a box shape open. On the side piece 19 side, a known Mobius block part 22 for inverting the ribbon is provided, and a ribbon outlet 23 is provided at a corner portion of the side piece 19 and the side piece 20. The right side of the box-shaped opening is the ribbon inlet 24, and concave locked portions 27, 28 are provided on the inner walls of the side pieces 19, 20. Then, most of the endless Mobius loop-shaped ink ribbon 25 is folded and stored in a meandering shape when viewed from above in the ink ribbon cassette 17,
A part of the ink ribbon 25 is taken out of the ribbon inlet 24 and the ribbon outlet 23.

The spacer body 1 is attached by inserting the spacer body 1 into the space between the ink ribbon folded portion 26 and the ribbon inlet 24 of the ink ribbon cassette 17 and bringing the spacer body 2 into contact with the ink ribbon folded portion 26, 25 is passed through the slits 10 and 11 of the spacer body 1 and the ribbon outlet 12 of the roller insertion portion 3. Since the folded portion 26 of the ink ribbon comes into contact with the spacer main body 2 in this manner, the ribbon can be prevented from falling down.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an essential part for explaining a state in which a part of the inner wall of the cassette and a part of the side wall of the spacer body are locked by uneven fitting. In order to lock the spacer body 1 to the ink ribbon cassette 17, the concave locked part 28 of the side piece 21 and the locking part 14 of the spacer body 1 are fitted in an uneven manner. Although not shown in the figure, the concave locked portion 27 of the side piece 20 and the locking portion 13 of the spacer body 1 are also fitted with the concave and convex in the same manner.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a roller insertion portion projecting from the spacer body of the ink ribbon cassette is inserted between ribbon feed rollers of the printer. The loading of the ink ribbon cassette 17 is performed by setting the ribbon inlet 24 of the ink ribbon cassette 17 toward the pair of ribbon feed rollers 29 of the printer, and
The roller insertion portion 3 is inserted into the gap facing the ribbon feed roller 29 from the top to the bottom. Then, a part of the ink ribbon 25 is wound around the ribbon guide roller 31. Reference numeral 30 denotes a hammer bank. One roller of the ribbon feed roller 29 is urged toward the other opposing roller by a spring (not shown).

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the spacer body is removed from the ink ribbon cassette and the ink ribbon is mounted between the ribbon feed rollers. In order to attach the ink ribbon 25 to the ribbon feed roller 29, a finger is inserted into the finger hole 9 of the spacer body 1 shown in FIG. 5, and the spacer body 1 is lifted up and removed. in this case,
Since the lower part of the spacer body 2, the slits 10, 11 and the roller insertion part 3 is open, the ink ribbon 25 remains in the gap between the ribbon feed rollers 25, and the ribbon mounting is completed. By removing the spacer body 2 having the lower portions of the spacer body 2, the slits 10 and 11, and the roller insertion portion 3 opened below, the mounting of the ink ribbon when replacing the ink ribbon cassette becomes easy.

Further, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention comprises:
By locking a part of the inner wall of the cassette and a part of the side wall of the spacer body by uneven fitting, it is possible to prevent the ink ribbon from falling down when transporting the ink ribbon cassette and to install the ink ribbon when replacing the ink ribbon cassette. Can be easier.

The spacer body 1 is formed by folding a sheet of self-holding paper, and the roller insertion portion 3 of the spacer body 1 has a pair of projections located on both sides of the ink ribbon 25 with the roller insertion portion 3 interposed therebetween. 3a and 3b,
Since the protruding pieces 3a and 3b are only supported in a cantilever manner on the rear wall 5, if there is a possibility that the leading end gap is opened and it becomes difficult to mount the ribbon, as shown in FIG. Can be clipped in advance with a plate-shaped clip 32 turned back at the intermediate portion.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the spacer body 1 is installed in the ink ribbon cassette 17 with the roller insertion portion 3 protruding from the ribbon inlet 24, the space shown in FIG.
When the roller insertion portion 3 is bent along the outer wall of the side piece 20 as shown in FIG. 7, there is an advantage that the ink ribbon cassette 17 does not become bulky and the packaging containers 33 and 34 shown in FIGS.

In the above description, the spacer body is made of paper, but may be made of synthetic resin. Although the Mobius block is used to invert the ribbon, it is not necessary to provide the Mobius block if it is not necessary to invert the ribbon. In addition, although the clip has a plate-like shape folded back in the middle portion, a normal office clip can be used.

[0027]

The spacer body of the present invention has a box-shaped spacer body having slits on the front wall and the rear wall, protrudes outward from the rear wall on the rear wall, and communicates with the slit on the rear wall at the tip. Equipped with a roller insertion part with a ribbon outlet, and opened below the spacer body, slit, and roller insertion part to prevent the ink ribbon from falling down when transporting the ink ribbon cassette, and to prevent the ink ribbon from being replaced when replacing the ink ribbon cassette. Mounting can be facilitated.

Further, the spacer body of the present invention is provided with a locking portion on the opposing side wall of the spacer main body for engaging and recessing with the inner wall of the ink ribbon cassette, thereby preventing the ink ribbon from falling down during transport of the ink ribbon cassette. Prevent surely.

Further, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention comprises:
A box-shaped spacer main body provided with slits on the front wall and the rear wall, and a roller insertion portion provided with a ribbon outlet opening protruding outward from the rear wall on the rear wall and communicating with the slit on the rear wall at the front end, Insert the spacer body, the slit, and the spacer body opened below the roller insertion part into the space between the ink ribbon folding part of the ink ribbon cassette and the ribbon entrance, contact the spacer body with the ink ribbon folding part, and By passing a part of the ink ribbon other than the folded portion through the roller insertion portion, it is possible to prevent the ink ribbon from falling down when transporting the ink ribbon cassette, and to easily mount the ink ribbon when replacing the ink ribbon cassette.

Further, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention comprises:
Since a part of the inner wall of the cassette and a part of the side wall of the spacer body are locked by the concave-convex fitting, the falling of the ink ribbon during the transport of the ink ribbon cassette is reliably prevented.

Further, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention comprises:
The spacer body is formed by folding a sheet of self-holding paper, and the roller insertion portion of the spacer body is a pair of protrusions located on both sides of the ink ribbon, so that when replacing the ink ribbon cassette. The ink ribbon can be easily mounted and manufactured at low cost.

Further, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention comprises:
By clipping the roller insertion portion with the clip, the mounting of the ink ribbon when replacing the ink ribbon cassette can be further facilitated.

Also, the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention
By folding the roller insertion portion along the outer wall of the cassette, the ink ribbon cassette can be packed without being bulky.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a spacer body of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a development view of the spacer body of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention.

4 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part illustrating a state where a part of the inner wall of the ink ribbon cassette of FIG. 3 and a part of a side wall of a spacer body are locked by concave and convex fitting.

5 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a roller insertion portion protruding from a spacer body of the ink ribbon cassette of FIG. 3 is inserted between ribbon feed rollers of a printer.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a spacer body is removed from the ink ribbon cassette of FIG. 3 and an ink ribbon is mounted between ribbon feed rollers.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the roller insertion portion is clipped by a clipping tool.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a packaging container of the ink ribbon cassette.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a packaging container of the ink ribbon cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spacer body 2 Spacer main body 3 Roller insertion part 3a Protrusion piece 3b Protrusion piece 4 Front wall 4a Front wall part 4b Front wall part 5 Back wall 5a Rear wall part 5b Rear wall part 6 Side wall 7 Side wall 8 Top wall 10 Slit 11 Slit 12 Ribbon outlet 13 Locking part 14 Locking part 17 Ink ribbon cassette 18 Bottom piece 19 Side piece 20 Side piece 21 Side piece 23 Ribbon outlet 24 Ribbon inlet 25 Ink ribbon 26 Ink ribbon folded part 27 Locked part 28 Locked part 32 Clip

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-8-324079 (JP, A) JP-A-9-99608 (JP, A) JP-A-8-324082 (JP, A) 166865 (JP, U) Fully open sho 59-153146 (JP, U) Fully open sho 63-199477 (JP, U) Fully open sho 61-47659 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 32/02

Claims (7)

(57) [Claims] 1. A roller having a box-shaped spacer body provided with slits on a front wall and a rear wall, and a ribbon outlet provided on a rear wall and projecting outward from the rear wall, and a leading end provided with a ribbon outlet opening communicating with the slit on the rear wall. A spacer body for an ink ribbon cassette, comprising an insertion portion, and opening below the spacer main body, the slit, and the roller insertion portion. 2. The spacer body of an ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein a locking portion for engaging and recessing the inner wall of the ink ribbon cassette is formed on the opposing side wall of the spacer body. 3. A roller having a box-shaped spacer body provided with slits on a front wall and a rear wall, and a ribbon outlet port protruding outward from the rear wall on the rear wall and having a leading end provided with a ribbon outlet opening communicating with the slit on the rear wall. Inserting the spacer body, which has an insertion portion, the spacer body, the slit, and the opening below the roller insertion portion, into the space between the ink ribbon folding portion of the ink ribbon cassette and the ribbon entrance, and places the spacer body in the ink ribbon folding portion. An ink ribbon cassette, which is brought into contact with and passes a part of the ink ribbon other than the folded portion through the slit and the roller insertion portion. 4. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 3, wherein a part of the inner wall of the cassette and a part of the side wall of the spacer body are engaged by uneven fitting. 5. The spacer body is formed by folding a sheet of self-holding paper, and the roller insertion portion of the spacer body is a pair of protrusions located on both sides of the ink ribbon with the ink ribbon interposed therebetween. 5. The ink ribbon cassette according to item 4. 6. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 5, wherein the roller insertion portion is clipped by a clip. 7. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 6, wherein the roller insertion portion is bent along the outer wall of the cassette.