JP3094707B2 - Printing cassette and printing device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing cassette containing a printing tape such as a label tape and a printing apparatus which can be used by mounting the printing cassette, and more particularly to a printing tape such as a label tape. More particularly, the present invention relates to a printing cassette and a printing apparatus which can selectively perform printing on a sheet to be printed such as plain paper and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As printing devices, those adopting various printing methods such as a thermal transfer method and an ink jet method have been put into practical use. For example, an ordinary printer connected to a word processor or the like to print on ordinary paper, a label tape, So-called label printers. An ink ribbon cassette is usually used for a printer, and a so-called label cassette containing a label tape and an ink ribbon is used for a label printer.

[0003]

However, a conventional ordinary printer cannot print on a print-receiving tape such as a label tape, and conversely, a label printer prints on a print-receiving sheet such as plain paper. Was impossible. That is,
Conventionally, it has not been possible to selectively perform printing on a print-receiving tape and printing on a print-receiving sheet using a single printing cassette. For this reason, a user who wants to perform both printing on plain paper and printing on label tape must purchase both a normal printer and an ink ribbon cassette and a label printer and a label cassette, which is economical for the user. The burden was heavy.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to selectively perform printing on a print-receiving tape such as a label tape and printing on a print-receiving sheet such as plain paper, thereby reducing the economic burden on the user. A printing cassette and a printing device.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 includes, in a cassette body, a print-receiving tape supply spool, a print-receiving tape wound around the print-receiving tape supply spool, An ink ribbon supply spool, an ink ribbon take-up spool, and a printing cassette containing an ink ribbon wound around the ink ribbon supply spool and the ink ribbon take-up spool; At least two positions on the side of the print head receiving recess into which the print head is inserted, and a part of the ink ribbon passes through each of the print head receiving recesses, and a part of the print-receiving tape. The part is inside one of the print head housing recesses of each of the print head housing recesses together with the ink ribbon. It has a configuration that accommodates each to so that.

Each of the print head accommodating recesses is formed, for example, at a position of a pair of parallel side portions of the cassette body. The cassette body further includes a switch insertion hole into which a part of a mounting state determination switch for determining a mounting state of the cassette body is inserted. Further, at a position near each of the print head accommodating recesses, a drive roller insertion hole into which a drive roller for driving and driving at least one of the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon is further formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cassette loading section in which a printing cassette accommodating a print-receiving tape and an ink ribbon in a cassette body is mounted, and the cassette body mounted in the cassette loading section. And a print head for performing printing using the ink ribbon in the printing apparatus, when the printing cassette is mounted on the cassette mounting unit in the first mounting state, the print-receiving tape in the cassette body and While simultaneously moving the ink ribbon, first print control means for performing printing using the ink ribbon on the tape to be printed by the print head, at the time of mounting in the second mounting state of the printing cassette, While moving the ink ribbon in the cassette body, the print head is moved forward by the attached external print target member. And a, a second print control means for printing using the ink ribbon.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the printing cassette is mounted on the cassette loading portion in a first mounted state or in a second mounted state. Mounting state detecting means for detecting whether the device is mounted,
Control means for controlling the first and second print control means according to the detection result of the mounting state detecting means is further provided.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, at least at two positions on the side of the cassette body, there are provided print head receiving recesses into which the print heads are inserted, respectively. Are partly accommodated so that the print-receiving tape passes along with the ink ribbon in one of the print head accommodating recesses. By using this, printing on an external print-receiving member such as plain paper and printing on a print-receiving tape in the cassette body can be performed. That is, by using a single printing cassette,
On the print head housing concave side through which only a part of the ink ribbon passes, printing using the ink ribbon is performed on an external print target member such as plain paper, and conversely, each part of the print target tape and the ink ribbon passes. On the print head housing concave side,
Printing is performed on a print-receiving tape such as a label tape using an ink ribbon.

If each print head accommodating recess is formed, for example, at a position of a pair of side portions parallel to each other of the cassette body, the mounting state to the printing apparatus can be changed by inverting the printing cassette. Can be If a switch insertion hole is formed in the cassette body to insert a part of the mounting state determination switch for determining the mounting state of the cassette body, the mounting state of the printing cassette with respect to the printing apparatus can be detected. Become. Furthermore, if a drive roller insertion hole for inserting a drive roller for driving and driving at least one of the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon is formed in the vicinity of each print head accommodating recess, the external device by the printing apparatus can be formed. The driving of the ink ribbon during printing on the member to be printed can be performed in the vicinity of the print head by the driving roller, and the running movement of the tape and the ink ribbon during printing on the tape to be printed by the printing device is driven. The operation can be performed in the vicinity of the print head in synchronization with the rollers.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the printing cassette is mounted in the cassette loading section in the first mounting state, the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon in the cassette main body are simultaneously moved, First print control means for performing printing on the tape to be printed using an ink ribbon by a print head, and mounting while moving the ink ribbon in the cassette body when the printing cassette is mounted in the second mounting state. And a second print control means for performing printing on the external print target member by using a print head using an ink ribbon. By using the ink ribbon, printing on a print-receiving tape in the cassette body and printing on an external print-receiving member such as plain paper separately attached can be performed. That is, in a first mounting state of the printing cassette by one printing device, the first print control means simultaneously drives the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon in the cassette main body and drives the label tape by the print head. In addition, in the second mounting state of the printing cassette, only the ink ribbon in the cassette main body is driven to travel by the second printing control means, and the printing can be performed separately. Printing using an ink ribbon can be performed by a print head on an external member to be printed such as plain paper or the like.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 6,
A mounting state detecting means for detecting whether the printing cassette is mounted in the first mounting state or the second mounting state with respect to the cassette mounting portion, and according to a detection result of the mounting state detecting means. And a control means for controlling the first and second print control means, so that the mounted state detecting means determines whether the mounted printing cassette is in the first mounted state or the second mounted state. Is detected, the control means controls the first and second print control means to control the print mode on the print-receiving tape in the cassette main body and the external print-receiving member such as plain paper which is separately mounted. Print mode is automatically selected.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a printing cassette and a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIGS. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1 showing a printing apparatus 10 according to the present invention, FIG.
11 is a device main body, 13 is a key input unit, 14 is a display unit, 2
0 is a cassette loading section, 22 is a mounting state detection switch, 2
8a and 28b are drive shafts, 29 is a drive roller, 30 is a printing unit, 31 is a platen roller, and 32 is a print head (thermal head).

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 10 of the present invention includes a key input section 13 and a display section 14 on a main body 11 of the apparatus, and a cassette loading section 20 is formed. Above the loading section 20, a lid (not shown) is provided so as to be openable and closable by hinge connection or the like. The key input unit 13 is provided with a character input key equivalent to a word processor for creating character string data such as a label print name, headline, index, and the like, a kana / kanji conversion key, a line feed key, and the like. The display unit 14 displays character string data and message data based on key input.

In the cassette loading section 20 having a rectangular concave portion in a plan view, a mounting state detection switch 22 which projects onto a positioning table 21 at a corner of a bottom face on which the key input section 13 and the display section 14 are adjacent to each other; A pair of drive shafts 28a and 28b projecting left and right, a drive roller 29 projecting from the bottom surface on the display unit 14 side, and a printing unit 30 near the drive roller 29 are arranged. The tape discharge port 18 having a cut-out side wall of the cassette loading section 20 is provided on the side of the drive roller 29.
The tape discharge port 18 also functions as a card insertion / discharge port. Also, the tape ejection port 1 of the apparatus main body 11
A cutter lever 19 and a cutter mechanism (not shown) are provided near 8.

The printing unit 30 includes a platen roller 31 protruding from the bottom surface of the cassette loading unit 20 on the display unit 14 side, and a printing unit movably incorporated so as to contact the platen roller 31 from the side opposite to the display unit 14. And a thermal head 32 as a head. That is, the thermal head 32 has many heating elements. In the printing apparatus 10 provided with such components, the apparatus main body 11
The drive mechanism includes drive shafts 28a and 28b, a drive roller 29, a platen roller 31, and a thermal head 32, and an actuator (not shown) such as an electric motor as a drive source for each of the drive mechanisms, and control means for these components. Have been.

The printing apparatus 10 uses the printing cassette 50 according to the present invention shown in FIGS.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the printing cassette 50 of the present invention includes an ink ribbon supply spool 63 in which an ink ribbon 61 is wound in a cassette case 51 formed of a thin rectangular parallelepiped in plan view, and an ink ribbon 61. And a print-receiving tape 62.
And a guide tape 66a, 66b, 67, 67, 67, 67, 6
7, 68 are assembled. Here, the ink ribbon 61
Has a well-known configuration in which a base material is impregnated with a hot-melt ink or a hot-sublimation ink. In this embodiment, the print-receiving tape 62 is a label tape formed by laminating a release paper on a base material made of a resin film via an adhesive layer.

More specifically, the cassette case 51 has a pair of print head housing recesses 52a and 52b formed at point-symmetric positions on the long sides of the cassette case 51 which face in parallel with each other. A tape outlet 53b is formed. The tape outlet 53b is formed in the vicinity of one of the print head housing recesses 52b. And
On the left and right of the pair of print head housing recesses 52a, 52b,
The passage holes 54a, 55a, 54b, 55b are respectively formed.

The cassette case 51 has a pair of drive shaft insertion holes 56 symmetrically formed therethrough which penetrate the upper and lower surfaces thereof.
b, 58 and the print head housing recess 52
Drive roller insertion holes 57a and 57b are formed at point symmetrical positions between a and 52b and the short sides. That is, the drive roller insertion holes 57a and 57b are
4b. On the lower surface of the cassette case 51, a switch insertion hole 59 is formed at a corner between a long side having the print head housing recess 52a and a short side having the tape discharge port 53b.

In the cassette case 51 described above, the ink ribbon supply spool 63 is aligned between the left and right drive shaft insertion holes 56b and 58, and the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 is aligned with the one drive shaft insertion hole 56b. The print-receiving tape supply spools 65 are respectively arranged near the short side from the drive shaft insertion hole 58 of FIG. An insertion hole 56a is also formed in the portion where the print-receiving tape supply spool 65 is disposed. Further, guide rollers 66a, 66b adjacent to the drive roller insertion holes 57a, 57b are arranged respectively, and the other guide rollers 67, 67, 67, 67, 67,
68 are arranged.

The ink ribbon 61 fed from the ink ribbon supply spool 63 is supplied to the guide roller 6.
The guide holes 66a, 67b, 67b are guided by the guide rollers 66a, 67, 67, 67 from the passage hole 54a to the print head housing recess 52a.
From the print head accommodating recess 52b,
The running path is guided by a guide roller 66b from the guide roller 4b and wound on the ink ribbon winding spool 64. Further, the label tape 62 fed from the print-receiving tape supply spool 65 is guided by the guide roller 68 to be led out of the passage hole 55b into the print head accommodating recess 52b.
The traveling path is guided by the guide roller 66b from 4b and is discharged from the tape discharge port 53b. Thus, the printing cassette 50 of the present invention is configured.

Next, control of the printing apparatus 10 of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 shows a controller 9 as its control means.
0 shows a block configuration of the controller 90.
CPU (Central Processing Unit) 91, data memory 92,
Thermal head control drive circuit 93, cassette drive circuit 9
5 and so on. The CPU 91 performs display control of the display unit 14 and control of the thermal head control drive circuit 93 based on an input signal from the key input unit 13, and
The cassette drive circuit 95 is controlled based on the output signal of the mounting state detection switch 22.

That is, the thermal head control drive circuit 93
Is based on the output of the CPU 91,
Are driven. Then, the cassette driving circuit 95
Controls the drive of the drive shafts 28a and 28b, the drive roller 29, and the platen roller 31 based on the output of the CPU 91 according to the difference in the state of attachment of the print cassette 50 to the cassette loading section 20. Specifically, in the label tape print mode in which the mounting state detection switch 22 outputs a high level signal, the driving roller 29 and the platen roller 31
In the card printing mode in which one of the drive shafts 28b (closer to the drive roller 29) is driven, and the mounting state detection switch 22 outputs a low level signal, the drive roller 2
9, the platen roller 31, and the other (the farther from the drive roller 29) drive shaft 28a.

Next, an example of use of the printing apparatus 10 and the printing cassette 50 will be described. First, the mounting state of the printing cassette 50 with respect to the printing device 10 is changed depending on whether printing is performed on a label tape or a card.

That is, in the case of printing on the label tape 62, as shown in FIG. 3, the print head 50 is mounted on the cassette loading section 20 with the print head accommodating recess 52b side aligned with the thermal head 32. In this mounting state, the ink ribbon 61 and the label tape 62 are located outside the thermal head 32 and
7b between the drive roller 29 and the guide roller 66b. Note that the leading end of the label tape 62 is directed toward the tape outlet 53b. Then, the drive shaft 28 b engages with the ink ribbon take-up spool 64, and the other drive shaft 28 a merely projects into the drive shaft insertion hole 58. Further, the mounting state detection switch 2
2 is pushed by the lower surface of the cassette case 51 to be turned on.

In the case of printing on a card, as shown in FIG. 4, a print cassette 50 is mounted on the cassette loading section 20 with the print head accommodating recess 52a side aligned with the thermal head 32. In this mounting state, only the ink ribbon 61 is located outside the thermal head 32 and is sandwiched between the drive roller 29 in the drive roller insertion hole 27b and the guide roller 66b. An appropriate card C, which is one of the sheets to be printed, is inserted between the ink ribbon 61 and the platen roller 31 from the tape discharge port 18 side. 3, the drive shaft 28a is engaged in the ink ribbon take-up spool 64,
The drive shaft 28b projects into the drive shaft insertion hole 58. Further, the mounting state detection switch 22 projects into the switch insertion hole 59 on the lower surface of the cassette case 51, that is, is turned off.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the control process performed by the printing apparatus 10. First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the print start switch of the key input unit 13 has been turned on. If so, the output state of the mounting state detection switch 22 is determined in step S12. In step S12, if the mounting state detection switch 22 outputs a high level signal due to its ON state, it is determined that the mode is the label tape printing mode, and the processing from step S13 to step S15 is performed. When a low-level signal is output while the mounting state detection switch 22 is in the off state, the mode is determined to be the card printing mode, and the processing from step S16 to step S18 is performed.

That is, in the case of the label tape print mode shown in FIG.
9 and the drive shaft 28 along with the driving of the platen roller 31.
b is instructed. In synchronization with this, the movement of the thermal head 32 toward the platen roller 31 and the driving of the heat generating element are commanded. Therefore, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, the drive roller 29 and the platen roller 3
1 rotates counterclockwise, and the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 engaged with the drive shaft 28b rotates clockwise. As a result, the ink ribbon 61 is wound on the ink ribbon take-up spool 64, and the ink ribbon 61 sandwiched between the thermal head 32 and the platen roller 31 prints on the label tape 62 from the ink ribbon 61 in a close contact state. The completed label tape 62 is discharged from the tape discharge ports 53b and 18.

The printing while the ink ribbon 61 and the label tape 62 are driven to travel is performed in step S14.
And continues until it is determined that the predetermined printing is completed.
If it is determined that the printing is completed, the driving of the driving roller 29, the platen roller 31, and the driving shaft 28b is stopped in step S15, and the printing is completed. Then, the printed label tape 62 discharged from the tape discharge port 18 of the printing device 11 is cut into a desired length by rotating the cutter lever 19.

In the case of the card print mode shown in FIG. 4, in step S16, the driving of the driving shaft 28a is instructed together with the driving of the driving roller 29 and the platen roller 31. Therefore, as indicated by the arrow in FIG.
The drive roller 29 and the platen roller 31 rotate counterclockwise, and the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 engaged with the drive shaft 28a rotates clockwise. As a result, the ink ribbon 6 is attached to the ink ribbon take-up spool 64.
1 is wound up, printing is performed on the card C from the ink ribbon 61 that is sandwiched between the thermal head 32 and the platen roller 31, and the printed card C is discharged from the tape discharge port 18. .

In this case, printing is performed while the ink ribbon 61 is driven to travel. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the rotation amount of the drive roller 29 or the drive shaft 28a is a predetermined amount. , In step S18,
To notify that the consumption amount of the ink ribbon 61 has reached a predetermined amount, the notifying unit 100 is driven to emit a buzzer sound or a sound. This notification indicates that only the ink ribbon 61 is consumed for card printing in the card printing mode,
This is performed in order to prevent a situation in which printing cannot be performed on the label tape 62 with the ink ribbon 61 in the label tape printing mode. Thereafter, if it is determined in step S19 that printing while moving the ink ribbon 61 has been completed, the process proceeds to step S20.
Then, the driving of the driving roller 29, the platen roller 31, and the driving shaft 28a is stopped, and the printing is completed. As described above, by changing the mounting state of the printing cassette 50 to the cassette loading unit 20 of the printing apparatus 10 by 180 degrees, printing on the label tape 62 and printing on the card C can be performed by one printing apparatus 10. Can be done selectively. Therefore, the economic burden on the user can be reduced.

Next, the second embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS.
An example will be described. In the second embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. First, FIG. 7 shows a word processor 100 with a built-in printing device as an example.
On the apparatus main body 101, a printing apparatus opening 102 is formed in addition to the key input section 13 and the display section 14. That is, in the opening 102, two guide rods 103, 103 parallel to the lateral direction are provided, and a platen roller 104 parallel to the guide rods 103 is provided.

A carriage 110 is slidably mounted on the guide rods 103, 103, and the carriage 110 forms a cassette loading section. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the mounting state detection switch 22 and the drive shaft 28
a, 28b, a drive roller 29, and a thermal head 32 are provided. Although not shown, a paper feed mechanism is provided in the opening 102, and the plain paper S is placed between the platen roller 104 and the thermal head 32 by the paper feed mechanism as shown in FIG. It can be supplied. Further, in the second embodiment, the same printing cassette 50 as in the first embodiment is used.

FIG. 8 shows a block configuration of a controller 90 of the printing apparatus.
A carriage drive circuit 94 and a paper feed drive circuit 96 are provided in addition to the U91, the data memory 92, the thermal head control drive circuit 93, and the cassette drive circuit 95. The carriage drive circuit 94 controls the drive mechanism of the carriage 110 based on the output of the CPU 91, and moves the carriage 110 along the guide rods 103 according to the printing state. The paper feed drive circuit 96 rotates the platen roller 104 one character string at a time according to the printing operation.

Next, an example of using the printing cassette 50 in a printing device having the word processor 100 will be described. In this case, the mounting state of the printing cassette 50 with respect to the carriage 110 is changed depending on whether printing is performed on a label tape or on plain paper. That is, in the case of printing on the label tape 62, as shown in FIG. 9, the print cassette 50 is mounted on the carriage 110 with the print head housing recess 52 b side aligned with the thermal head 32. In this case, the mounting state detection switch 22 is connected to the cassette case 5.
1 to be turned on. In the case of printing on plain paper, as shown in FIG.
The print cassette 50 is mounted on the carriage 110 with the print head accommodating recess 52a side aligned with 2. in this case,
Between the ink ribbon 61 and the platen roller 104,
Plain paper S is inserted by a paper feeding mechanism (not shown). Further, the mounting state detection switch 22 is turned off and protrudes into the switch insertion hole 59 on the lower surface of the cassette case 51.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a control process performed by the printing apparatus. In step S21, it is determined whether or not the print start switch of the key input unit 13 has been turned on, and if the print start switch has been turned on. For example, in step S22, the output state of the mounting state detection switch 22 is determined. In this step S22, if the mounting state detection switch 22 is in the ON state, it is determined that the mode is the label tape printing mode, and the steps S23 to S25 are performed.
The processing up to is performed. Also, the mounting state detection switch 2
If 2 is in the off state, it is determined that the printing mode is the plain paper printing mode,
The processing from step S26 to step S28 is performed.

In the case of the label tape print mode shown in FIG. 9, in step S23, the drive of the drive roller 29 and the drive shaft 28b is instructed, and the movement of the carriage 110 is instructed. In synchronization with this, the movement of the thermal head 32 toward the platen roller 110 and the driving of the heating element are commanded. As indicated by the arrow in FIG. 9, the counterclockwise rotation of the drive roller 29 and the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 engaged with the drive shaft 28b.
With the clockwise rotation of, the ink ribbon 61 is wound around the ink ribbon take-up spool 64, and is inserted between the thermal head 32 and the platen roller 104 so that the ink ribbon 61 is in close contact with the label tape 6.
2 is performed, and the printed label tape 62 is discharged from the tape discharge port 53b. Ink ribbon 61
And the traveling drive of the label tape 62 is performed in step S24.
When it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed or the predetermined distance has been reached, the driving of the drive roller 29 and the drive shaft 28b is stopped in step S25, and printing is completed.

In the case of the plain paper print mode shown in FIG. 10, in step S26, the drive of the drive roller 29 and the drive shaft 28a is instructed and the carriage 11
A movement of 0 is commanded. As indicated by the arrow in FIG.
By the counterclockwise rotation of the drive roller 29 and the clockwise rotation of the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 engaged with the drive shaft 28a, the ink ribbon 61 is taken up on the ink ribbon take-up spool 64, and the thermal head is rotated. 3
Printing is performed on the plain paper S from the ink ribbon 61 that is sandwiched between the sheet 2 and the platen roller 104 and is in a close contact state. The traveling drive of the ink ribbon 61 is performed in step S27.
If it is determined that the predetermined time has elapsed or the predetermined distance has been reached, the driving of the drive roller 29 and the drive shaft 28a is stopped in step S28, and printing is completed.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the carriage 11 of the printing device incorporating the word processor 100 is used.
By changing the mounting state of the printing cassette 50 with respect to 0 by 180 degrees, printing on the label tape 62 and printing on the plain paper S can be selectively performed by one printing apparatus.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 12 to 14 will be described. In the third embodiment, the same parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In the third embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, a single drive shaft 28 b located on the drive roller 29 side is provided on the carriage 110 together with the drive roller 29 and the thermal head 32. A positioning pin 118 is provided instead of another drive shaft. And this third
In the printing cassette 150 according to the embodiment, as shown in FIG.
0 is built in and added.

That is, the transmission mechanism 70 is connected to the cassette case 1.
51, a pair of drive shaft insertion holes 56b,
The pulley 71, into which the drive shaft 28b is inserted and engaged,
72 are arranged, and in the drive shaft insertion hole 56b,
Pulley 71 and ink ribbon take-up spool 6 above it
And a power transmission belt 7 between these pulleys 71 and 72, for example.
3 is wound. The carriage 1
10 does not have a mounting state detection switch, and does not have a switch insertion hole on the lower surface of the cassette case 151. Therefore, during the printing operation, the driving roller 29
And the single drive shaft 28b always performs rotational drive.

The above-described printing cassette 150 also changes its mounting state on the carriage 110 depending on whether printing is on a label tape or printing on plain paper. That is, in the case of printing on the label tape 62, as shown in FIG. 12, the print cassette 150 is mounted on the carriage 110 with the print head housing recess 52 b side aligned with the thermal head 32. In this case, the drive shaft 28b is engaged with the inside of the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 and the pulley 71, and the positioning pin 1 is provided in the pulley 72 in the other drive shaft insertion hole 58.
18 only protrudes.

Therefore, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 12, the rotation of the driving roller 29 in the counterclockwise direction and the rotation of the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 engaged with the driving shaft 28b in the clockwise direction cause the ink ribbon winding. The ink ribbon 61 is wound around the take-up spool 64 and the thermal head 32
In addition, printing is performed on the label tape 62 from the ink ribbon 61 that is sandwiched between the platen rollers 104 and is in a close contact state, and the printed label tape 62
3b. In addition, regarding the transmission mechanism 70,
The rotation of the pulley 71 is transmitted to the pulley 72 via the power transmission belt 73, and the pulley 72 is also rotating. However, a positioning pin 118 is simply inserted into the pulley 72 with a space left. .

In the case of printing on plain paper, FIG.
As shown in (2), the print cassette 150 is mounted on the carriage 110 with the print head housing recess 52a side aligned with the thermal head 32. In this case, the drive shaft 28b engages with the pulley 72 in the drive shaft insertion hole 58, and the inside of the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 and the pulley 7
The positioning pin 118 protrudes into 1.

Accordingly, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 13, the drive roller 29 rotates counterclockwise, and the pulley 72 in the lower portion of the drive shaft insertion hole 58 rotates clockwise. The rotation of the pulley 72 is transmitted to the pulley 72 via a power transmission belt 73, that is, the pulley 72 and the sleeve 76
As a result, the integrated ink ribbon take-up spool 64 rotates clockwise. In this manner, the clockwise rotation of the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 and the counterclockwise rotation of the drive roller 29 cause the ink ribbon 61 to be taken up by the ink ribbon take-up spool 64 and the thermal head 32 and Printing is performed on the plain paper S from the ink ribbon 61 which is sandwiched between the platen rollers 104 and in a close contact state.

As described above, also in the third embodiment, the printing on the label tape 62 and the printing on the plain paper S can be performed by changing the mounting state of the printing cassette 150 to the carriage 110 of the printing apparatus with a built-in word processor by 180 degrees. Printing can be selectively performed by one printing device. Moreover, according to the third embodiment, in particular, the printing apparatus is provided with the driving roller 29 and one driving shaft 28b, and the printing cassette 150 is inserted from the driving shaft insertion hole 58 into the ink ribbon take-up spool 64. The drive in the label tape print mode and the plain paper print mode can be performed in common by adding the transmission mechanism 70 of the rotational driving force.

Next, a fourth embodiment shown in FIGS. 15 and 16 will be described. In the fourth embodiment,
The same parts as those in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. The fourth embodiment is applied to an ink jet printing apparatus. That is, as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, a pair of positioning pins 118, 118 are provided on the carriage 110 together with the drive roller 29 and the inkjet head 80 as a print head, instead of the drive shaft.

In the printing cassette 250 according to the fourth embodiment, a pair of positioning holes 258 and 258 are formed in the cassette case 251 in place of the drive shaft insertion holes, and the label receiving tape 62 is wound around the printing case. Only the tape supply reel 65 and the guide rollers 66a and 68 are stored. That is, the ink ribbon and its supply spool and take-up spool are not stored. It should be noted that the label tape 62 is not a resin film but a label tape.
Uses plain paper. As is known, the ink jet head 80 prints by ejecting liquid ink in an ink tank from a nozzle.

The above-described printing cassette 250 also changes its mounting state on the carriage 110 depending on whether printing is on a label tape or plain paper. That is, in the case of printing on the label tape 62, as shown in FIG. 15, the print cassette 250 is mounted on the carriage 110 with the print head housing concave portion 52 b side aligned with the ink jet head 80. In this case, the positioning pins 118 protrude into the positioning holes 258. Therefore, as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 15, the counterclockwise rotation of the drive roller 29 causes the ink jet head 80 to perform printing on the label tape 62, and the printed label tape 62 is discharged from the tape discharge port 53b. Is discharged.

In the case of printing on plain paper, FIG.
As shown in (2), the print cassette 250 is mounted on the carriage 110 with the print head housing recess 52a side aligned with the ink jet head 80. Also in this case, the positioning pins 118 protrude into the positioning holes 258 258, respectively. Therefore, printing on the plain paper S by the inkjet head 80 is performed. In the case of the plain paper print mode, the rotation drive of the drive roller 29 as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 16 is not required.

As described above, also in the fourth embodiment, by changing the mounting state of the printing cassette 250 to the carriage 110 of the printing device incorporating a word processor by 180 degrees, printing on the label tape 62 and printing on the plain paper S are performed. Printing can be selectively performed by one printing device. In particular,
According to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to cope with an ink jet type printing apparatus, that is, the ink jet head 80.
On the label tape 62 and the plain paper S can be selectively performed. In the fourth embodiment, only the drive roller 29 is provided in the ink jet printing apparatus, and the print cassette 250 is provided with the print target tape supply spool 65. The print mode can be selected and no drive shaft is required.

In the above embodiment, the card C and the plain paper S are illustrated as the sheets to be printed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Good. Further, the arrangement of the ink ribbon supply spool, the print-receiving tape supply spool and the guide roller in the printing cassette, the design of the printing device, and the like are also arbitrary, and other specific detailed structures can be appropriately changed. Of course.

[0053]

As described above, according to the printing cassette and the printing apparatus of the present invention, printing on a print-receiving tape such as a label tape or printing on an external print-receiving member such as plain paper can be selected. This can reduce the economic burden on the user.

That is, according to the printing cassette of the present invention, at least at two positions on the side of the cassette body, the printing head receiving recesses into which the printing heads are inserted are provided. Since the configuration is such that a part of the ink ribbon passes through the accommodating recess and the tape to be printed is accommodated in one of the print head accommodating recesses so as to pass along with the ink ribbon, the state of mounting the cassette body to the printing apparatus By using the ink ribbon, it is possible to selectively perform printing on an external print-receiving member such as plain paper and printing on a print-receiving tape in the cassette main body using the ink ribbon. In other words, by using a single printing cassette, it is possible to perform printing using an ink ribbon on an external print-receiving member such as plain paper on the side of the print head housing recess through which only a part of the ink ribbon passes. Conversely, printing can be performed on a print-receiving tape such as a label tape using the ink ribbon on the side of the print head housing recess through which each of the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon passes. As described above, since printing can be performed on both the print-receiving tape and the external print-receiving member using a single printing cassette, the compatibility and the versatility are excellent.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, when each print head accommodating recess is formed as a print cassette formed at a pair of mutually parallel sides of the cassette main body, the print cassette is provided. By reversing, the state of attachment to the printing device can be changed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing cassette in which a switch insertion hole into which a part of a mounting state determination switch for determining a mounting state of the cassette body is inserted is formed in the cassette body. With this arrangement, it is possible to detect the state of attachment of the printing cassette to the printing apparatus.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drive roller insertion hole into which a drive roller for driving at least one of the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon is inserted in the vicinity of each print head accommodating recess. If the printing cassette is formed by forming a printing roller, the driving of the ink ribbon during printing on the external printing target member by the printing device can be performed in the vicinity of the printing head by the driving roller. The running movement of the tape to be printed and the ink ribbon at the time of printing on the printing tape can be synchronously performed near the printing head by the driving roller.

According to the printing apparatus of the fifth aspect, when the printing cassette is mounted on the cassette loading portion in the first mounting state, the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon in the cassette main body are simultaneously moved. First print control means for performing printing on the tape to be printed using an ink ribbon by a print head, and mounting while moving the ink ribbon in the cassette body when the printing cassette is mounted in the second mounting state. And a second print control means for performing printing using an ink ribbon on a member to be externally printed by a print head using an ink ribbon. Printing on the tape to be printed in the cassette body and printing on the externally printed member such as plain paper attached separately using the ink ribbon inside It can be carried out in 択的. That is, in the first mounting state of the printing cassette, the printing tape and the ink ribbon in the cassette body are simultaneously driven and driven by the first printing control means by one printing device, and the label tape is printed by the print head. In addition, in the second mounting state of the printing cassette, only the ink ribbon in the cassette main body is driven to travel by the second printing control means in the second mounting state of the printing cassette. Thus, printing using an ink ribbon can be performed by a print head on an external print target member such as plain paper that is separately mounted. Therefore, the economic burden on the user can be reduced.

According to the printing apparatus of the sixth aspect,
In addition to the configuration according to the fifth aspect, the apparatus further comprises mounting state detection means for detecting whether the printing cassette is mounted in the cassette mounting section in the first mounting state or the second mounting state, A control unit for controlling the first and second print control units in accordance with the detection result of the mounting state detection unit is further provided.
Whether the mounted printing cassette is in the first mounted state or not.
It is automatically detected whether it is in the mounted state, and by the control means,
Controlling the first and second printing control means to automatically perform printing control on a printing target tape in the cassette body and printing control on an external printing target member such as plain paper which is separately mounted; Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a printing apparatus according to the present invention, with a case lid omitted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a printing cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing a relevant part of the printing cassette of the present invention mounted on the printing apparatus of the present invention, in which the cassette case in a label tape printing mode is cut away.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the cassette case in the card printing mode.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a control system of the printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control process.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a word processor with a built-in printing device used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system of the printing apparatus.

9 shows a main part of the case where the print cassette of the present invention is mounted on the carriage of the word processor of FIG. 7;
It is the schematic plan view which fractured the cassette case in the label tape print mode.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of the cassette case in the plain paper print mode.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control process of a printing device built in the word processor of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view of another embodiment of the printing cassette according to the present invention, in which the cassette case in the label tape printing mode when the cartridge is mounted on a carriage similar to the word processor of FIG. 7 is cut away.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view of the cassette case in the plain paper print mode.

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the internal structure of the printing cassette, which is cut along the line AA of FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view showing another embodiment of the printing cassette according to the present invention, in which a cassette case in a label tape printing mode is cut away when the cassette is mounted on an ink jet printing apparatus.

FIG. 16 is a schematic plan view of the cassette case in the plain paper print mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 Printing device according to the present invention 11 Device body 13 Key input unit 14 Display unit 18 Tape ejection port (card insertion / ejection port) 19 Cutter lever 20 Cassette loading unit 22 Mounting state detection switch 28a, 28b Drive shaft 29 Drive roller 30 Printing unit 31 platen roller 32 print head (thermal head) 50, 150, 250 print cassette 51, 151, 251 cassette case 52a, 52b print head accommodating recess 53b tape discharge port 54a, 54b, 55a, 55b passage hole 56b , 58 Drive shaft insertion holes 57a, 57b Driving roller insertion holes 59 Switch insertion holes 61 Ink ribbon 62 Printed tape (label tape) 63 Ink ribbon supply spool 64 Ink ribbon take-up spool 65 Label tape supply spool 66a, 66b , 67, 68 Guide roller 80 Print head (inkjet head) 90 Control means 100 Word processor 103 Guide rod 104 Platen roller 110 Carriage (cassette loading section) 118 Positioning pin 258 Positioning hole C Card S Plain paper

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-30980 (JP, A) JP-A-61-248774 (JP, A) JP-A-63-156762 (JP, U) JP-A-3,156,762 (JP, U) 6966 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Sho 62-104971 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application Hei 6-64901 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 32/00 B41J 3 / 36

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A print-receiving tape supply spool, a print-receiving tape wound on the print-receiving tape supply spool, an ink ribbon supply spool, an ink ribbon take-up spool, an ink ribbon supply spool, and an ink ribbon in a cassette body. In a printing cassette containing ink ribbons wound so as to be wound around a take-up spool, a print head housing in which a print head is inserted at at least two positions on the side of the cassette body. Along with forming the respective recesses, a part of the ink ribbon passes through each of the print head housing recesses, and a portion of the print-receiving tape passes through one of the print head housing recesses. A printing cassette, wherein the printing cassette is housed so as to pass along with the ink ribbon. 2. The print cassette according to claim 1, wherein each of the print head accommodating recesses is formed at a position of a pair of parallel side portions of the cassette body. 3. The printing according to claim 1, wherein a switch insertion hole into which a part of a mounting state determination switch for determining a mounting state of the cassette main body is inserted is formed in the cassette main body. Cassette. 4. A driving roller insertion hole in which a driving roller for driving and driving at least one of the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon is formed at a position near each of the print head housing recesses. The printing cassette according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein 5. A cassette loading section in which a printing cassette accommodating a print-receiving tape and an ink ribbon in a cassette body is mounted, and printing is performed using the ink ribbon in the cassette body mounted in the cassette loading section. A print head for performing the following: a first position of the printing cassette with respect to the cassette loading portion.
A first print control for performing printing using the ink ribbon on the print-receiving tape by the print head while simultaneously moving the print-receiving tape and the ink ribbon in the cassette main body in the mounting state of Means, at the time of mounting the printing cassette in the second mounting state, while moving the ink ribbon in the cassette main body,
A second printing control means for performing printing using the ink ribbon by the print head on the mounted external print target member. 6. A mounting state detecting means for detecting whether the printing cassette is mounted on the cassette mounting section in a first mounting state or a second mounting state, and the mounting state detecting means. 6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising control means for controlling said first and second print control means in accordance with a detection result of the first and second printing operations.