JP3385926B2 - Tape feeder and tape printer having the same - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, a printing table.
Tape printer that can use both the first tape cartridge that has the tape and the laminating tape, and the second tape cartridge that has only the printing tape .
The present invention also relates to a tape feeding device that is mounted on a tape printing device and feeds these tapes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The applicant of the present application has previously proposed a tape printer which can use the first tape cartridge (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 9-155931). The tape feeding device in this tape printing device is provided with two sets of rollers: a feeding roller that feeds the printing tape on both sides in the feeding direction with the printing position sandwiched therebetween, and a laminating roller that feeds the laminating tape while adhering the laminating tape to the printing tape. . After printing is performed on the printing tape fed from the tape cartridge, the laminating tape fed from the tape cartridge is attached to it, and these printing and pasting operations feed the printing tape and laminating tape, respectively. While done. In this case, the feed roller is composed of a feed drive roller and a feed driven roller that sandwich and rotate the printing tape, and a laminating roller is a lami drive roller and a lami driven roller that pinch the printing tape and the laminating tape at the same time to rotate and feed. It is composed of a roller. The feed drive roller and the lami drive roller are mounted on the main body of the apparatus, and the feed driven roller and the lami driven roller are mounted on the tape cartridge.

[0003]

[Problems that the Invention is to Solve In the conventional tape printing device, by removing the laminating tape from the first tape cartridge, the second tape cartridge is available for convenience. However, in this case, a tape cartridge without a laminating tape is provided in the laminating tape accommodating portion, which causes a feeling of strangeness, increases the cost of the tape cartridge, and is contrary to resource saving. . Therefore, if the laminated tape accommodating portion is removed to form the second tape cartridge, such a problem can be solved. However, removing the laminating tape accommodating section also removes the lami driven roller at the same time, and in order to properly feed the printing tape, a driven roller instead of the lami driven roller is required on the apparatus main body side.

In this case, a new driven roller (sub driven roller) is simply brought into contact with the lami driven roller of the main body of the apparatus.
When the second tape cartridge is mounted, it becomes necessary to sandwich the feeding end of the printing tape between the lami driven roller and the sub driven roller, which makes it difficult to use. Further, when the first tape cartridge is mounted, the sub driven roller interferes with the lami driven roller mounted on the tape cartridge, which causes a problem that the tape cartridge can not be mounted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape feeding device capable of putting a tape in an appropriate feeding standby state in synchronism with the mounting of a tape cartridge in the device body, and a tape printing device provided with the tape feeding device. I am trying.

[0006]

A tape feeding device of the present invention has a driving roller and a driven roller for nipping a tape mounted in a tape cartridge and feeding the tape while feeding it , and instead of the driven roller, the tape.
1st TE equipped with a cartridge side driven roller that can be fed
Cartridge and second tape cartridge not mounted
Device, which can be attached to each of the cartridges, and a series of attachment / detachment operations of the tape cartridge with respect to the set position where the device body can access the tape cartridge,
The driven roller, the tape feeding device provided with a roller introduction means for moving between a retracted position disengaged from the rolling contact introduction position and the driving roller to the driving roller, the roller means for introducing devices to support the driven roller A roller support member that is rotatably supported by the frame and is movably supported together with the driven roller in a free state so as to fall down from the retracted position to the introduction position. in conjunction with the detachable operation, a support member moving mechanism for moving the retracted position the driven roller from the introduction position via the roller support member, in conjunction with a series of detachable operation of the tape cartridge, like that fell dramatically in the introduction position
Possess a pressing mechanism for releasing the pressing and pushing the driven roller to the driving roller in the introduction position to face the roller support member of the state, the roller support member has a first tape which is attached to the main body
When the cartridge prevents the fall,
In addition, by the second tape cartridge installed in the device body
The feature is that the collapse is allowed .

According to this structure, in a series of mounting operations of the tape cartridge, the supporting member moving mechanism moves the roller supporting member for supporting the driven roller to move the driven roller from the retracted position to the introduction position, and The pressing mechanism presses the driven roller at the introduction position against the drive roller via the roller support member. On the other hand, in a series of detaching operations of the tape cartridge, the pressing mechanism releases the driven roller from the driving roller at the introduction position via the roller supporting member, and the supporting member moving mechanism moves the roller supporting member to move the driven member. The roller is moved from the introduction position to the retracted position. Therefore, when the tape cartridge is mounted on the main body of the apparatus in a state where the end portion of the tape is rolled out, the driven roller sandwiches the tape and rolls and presses the drive roller. In this state, the apparatus main body can access the tape cartridge (tape), and the tape can be fed and put in a standby state. vice versa,
When the tape cartridge is detached from the apparatus main body, the driven roller is separated from the drive roller, and the tape cartridge can be easily removed. Also a tape cart
A mechanism for moving a support member in a series of separating operations of the ridge.
Faces the lower side of the roller support member and supports it,
The moving roller is moved from the introduction position to the retracted position. vice versa,
During a series of tape cartridge loading operations, the support member
The support of the moving mechanism comes off, and the roller support member
Both move so as to fall from the retracted position to the introduction position.
In this way, the driven roller moves from the retracted position to the introduction position.
Since I try to move by my own collapse,
For example, when the second tape cartridge is mounted
When the driven roller (roller support member) is
The tape cart comes into contact with the tape cartridge of
There is no hindrance when installing the ridge.

In this case, the driven roller has a roller shaft supported by the roller support member and a roller body mounted on the roller shaft and rollingly contacting the driving roller, and the roller body is located at an intermediate position in the axial direction of the roller shaft. It is preferable that the main roller main body is arranged and a plurality of sub roller main bodies are arranged symmetrically with gaps on both sides of the main roller main body.

According to this structure, when tapes of various widths can be used, a tape having a narrow width is fed by the main roller body and the driving roller, and a tape having a wide width is fed to the main roller body and a plurality of sub roller bodies. And drive roller. In this case, since there is a gap between the main roller main body and the plurality of sub-roller main bodies, the roller shaft is hard to bend, and the tape can be pressed relatively uniformly regardless of the width.
It is possible to stabilize tape feeding even when using tapes of various widths.

In these cases, the roller support member movably supports the driven roller in the contact and separation directions, and further includes a biasing member that receives the roller support member and biases the driven roller toward the drive roller. It is preferable that

According to this structure, when the pressing mechanism presses the driven roller at this introduction position against the drive roller via the roller support member, the driven roller receives the reaction force of the drive roller and moves, and by this movement. The biasing member bends to bias the driven roller toward the drive roller. That is, the driven roller comes into rolling contact with the drive roller in a state of being biased by the biasing member, and exerts a stable gripping force on the tape. Therefore, the tape feeding can be stabilized.

[0012]

[0013]

Further, in this case, the series of detaching operations of the tape cartridge includes the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing lid for opening / closing the cartridge mounting portion of the apparatus main body, and the support member moving mechanism moves in the direction of opening the opening / closing lid. The spring is a biasing spring, one end of which is fixed to the opening / closing lid, the other end of which faces the lower side of the roller support member, and the driven roller can be moved to the retracted position in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening / closing lid. preferable.

According to this structure, the driven roller can be moved between the introduction position and the retracted position by utilizing the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing lid. That is, the driven roller can be moved without requiring any special operation. Further, since this movement uses a spring that biases the opening / closing lid in the opening direction, the number of parts can be reduced.

[0016]

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

A tape printing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including any one of the above tape feeding apparatuses and a printing apparatus for printing on a tape fed by the tape feeding apparatus.

According to this structure, the tape cartridge can be easily attached and detached. Further, for example, both the first tape cartridge and the second tape cartridge described above can be used.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A tape cartridge and a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This tape printing apparatus prints a desired character or the like keyed in on a printing tape in color by an inkjet method, and cuts a printing portion of the printing tape to create a label. Further, in this tape printing apparatus, by mounting a laminating tape in addition to the printing tape, the laminating tape is attached to the printing portion of the printing tape, and in this state, the printing tape is cut to produce a laminated label. It is also possible. Then, the printing tape and the laminating tape are provided in a state of being housed in a tape cartridge.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of the tape printer, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the main body of the tape printer.
As shown in both figures, the tape printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 2, a keyboard 3 attached to a front portion of the apparatus main body 2,
The tape cartridge 4 contains the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2, and the ink cartridge 5 filled with four color inks. The tape cartridge 4 and the ink cartridge 5 are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 2. Has been done.

Various keys 3a are arranged on the upper surface of the keyboard 3 and constitute the input means of the tape printer 1. In this case, the keyboard 3 is attached to the apparatus main body 2 so as to be able to be tilted up and down. When the tape printer 1 is used, the keyboard 3 is pulled down, and when it is carried, the keyboard 3 is used. Make the state that caused 3.

An outer shell of the apparatus main body 2 is formed by an apparatus case 6, and an opening / closing lid 7 for attaching and detaching the tape cartridge 4 and the ink cartridge 5 is widely provided on an upper portion of the apparatus case 6. A small window 9 is formed on the right front part of the opening / closing lid 7 so as to correspond to the liquid crystal display section 8 built in the apparatus body 2. Further, a slit-shaped tape discharge port 10 for discharging the laminated printing tape T1 to the outside is formed on the side surface of the device case 6.

Inside the device case 6, a printing tape T1 is provided.
And a tape feeding device 11 for feeding the laminating tape T2 and adhering the laminating tape T2 to the printing tape T1, a printing device 12 for performing color printing on the printing tape T1 by an inkjet method, and a laminated printing tape T.
A cutting device 13 for cutting 1 and a circuit board 14 that controls each of these devices and performs information processing are mounted. Further, inside the device case 6, an eject mechanism 15 for setting the tape cartridge 4 at a position accessible by these devices is provided (see FIG. 2).

Then, each of these devices is controlled by a control circuit incorporated in the circuit board 14 so as to operate in association with each other. More specifically, when the tape feeding device 11 is driven, the printing tape T1 is fed out from the tape cartridge 4, and printing based on key input is performed by the printing device 12 facing the upper side of the intermediate portion of the tape cartridge 4. Is done. While the printing is being performed, the printing tape T1 is further sent to the other side, and the laminating tape T2 fed from the tape cartridge 4 is continuously attached to the printing tape T1. Printing tape T1 in which a laminating tape T2 is attached to the printed portion
Is further sent out from the tape discharge port 10 by the printing tape feeding device 11, but when the trailing end of the printed portion in consideration of the margin reaches the cutter position, the printing tape feeding device 11 stops and the cutting device. 13 operates to cut the printing tape T1 (and the laminating tape T2). In this way, a laminated label on which desired characters and the like are printed is created.

The printer 12 has a carriage guide shaft 31 supported on both sides (front and rear in FIG. 1) by frames (not shown), a carriage 32 slidably mounted on the carriage guide shaft 31, and forward and reverse running. By doing so, a timing belt (not shown) that reciprocates the carriage 32 in the left-right direction and a carriage motor (not shown) that runs the timing belt in the forward and reverse directions are provided. In addition, the carriage 32
The print head 33 is integrally attached to the lower part of the printer, and the cartridge holder 34 for mounting the ink cartridge 5 is integrally installed to the upper part thereof. In this case, the print head 33 is mounted downward, and the ink cartridge 5 is mounted in the cartridge holder 34 downward. When the ink cartridges 5 are mounted, the ink tanks 5a for the respective colors of the ink cartridges 5 communicate with the print head 33, and ink can be supplied to the print head 33. The ink tank 5a is filled with inks of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black (black), respectively.

The tape feeding device 11 has a printing tape side feeding mechanism 11a and a laminating tape side feeding mechanism 11b with the printing device 12 sandwiched in the feeding direction. The printing tape side feed mechanism 11a includes a feed roller 41 including a feed driven roller 42 and a feed drive roller 43 arranged vertically.
And a feed motor (not shown) for rotationally driving the feed drive roller 43. The feed drive roller 43 is the apparatus main body 2
And the feed driven roller 42 is provided in the tape cartridge 4. When the tape cartridge 4 is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the feed driven roller 42 presses the print tape T1 so as to sandwich it between the feed driven roller 43 and the feed drive roller 43. Then, by rotating the feed motor in this state, the printing tape T1 sandwiched between the feed driven roller 42 and the feed drive roller 43 is fed to the other side. The feeding of the print tape T1 and the reciprocating movement of the print head 33 correspond to the relationship between the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction in the printing technique. Therefore, the feed motor and the carriage motor are driven in association with each other.

The laminating tape side feed mechanism 11b comprises a laminating roller 44 and a laminating drive roller 4 which are formed by arranging a laminating driven roller 45 and a laminating drive roller 46 in the vertical direction.
And a laminating motor (not shown) for rotating 6 to rotate. The laminating motor and the feed motor are the same, and the power is branched via a reduction gear train (not shown) to transmit the power to the feed roller 41 and the laminating roller 44, respectively. The lami drive roller 46 is provided in the apparatus main body 2, and the lami driven roller 45 is provided in the tape cartridge 4. When the tape cartridge 4 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the lami driven roller 45 presses the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 such that they are sandwiched between the laminating drive roller 46 and the laminating drive roller 46. Then, by rotating the laminating motor in this state, the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 sandwiched between the lami driven roller 45 and the lami drive roller 46 are fed to the other side while being adhered.

The printing tape T1 can be fed horizontally between the feed roller 41 and the laminating roller 44.
The feed roller 41 and the laminating roller 44 are arranged in the same horizontal plane. Further, both rollers 41 and 44 are configured such that the peripheral speed of the laminating roller 44 is slightly higher than the peripheral speed of the feeding roller 41, and the printing tape T is provided between the feeding roller 41 and the laminating roller 44.
I am trying to give tension to 1.

The cutting mechanism 13 includes a cutter 51 and a cutter motor (not shown) for cutting the cutter 51. When the feed motor (laminating motor) step-feeds the printing tape T1 by a predetermined distance after printing is completed, both motors stop, and at the same time, the cutter motor is driven to cut the printing tape T1. Be seen. The cutting operation of the cutter 51 may be performed by key operation.

Here, the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 accessed by each of these devices, the tape cartridge 4 in which they are accommodated, and an eject mechanism for properly mounting the tape cartridge 4 in the device main body 2 15, etc. will be described in detail.

The printing tape (tape body) T1 is composed of a base tape, an adhesive layer coated on the back surface of the base tape, and a release paper tape attached to the adhesive layer. It is made of a material capable of sufficiently absorbing ink, such as paper having a coat layer or a film having a coat layer. The adhesive layer is for attaching a printing tape as a label to an object to be attached such as a file, and the release paper tape is for preventing dust and the like from adhering to the adhesive layer. . On the other hand, the laminating tape (tape body) T2 is composed of a base tape and an adhesive layer coated on the back surface of the base tape.
It is composed of a transparent film having a thickness of about 16 to 38 μm.

The printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 attached to the printing tape T1 are formed to have substantially the same width,
It is attached so that the side edges are aligned and stacked. In practice, the laminating tape T2 is formed slightly (about 0.3 mm) narrower than the printing tape T1, so that a slight lateral deviation of the laminating tape T2 at the time of sticking can be absorbed. That is, the laminating tape T2 is narrowed by 0.15 mm on both sides in the width direction with respect to the printing tape T1, and the laminating tape T2 does not protrude from the printing tape T1 with respect to the amount of deviation assumed due to manufacturing errors or the like. I am trying.

Further, the total length of the printing tape T1 is formed to be somewhat shorter than the total length of the laminating tape T2 mounted on the tape cartridge 4.
The printing tape T1 is used up before it is used up. This prevents printing on the printing tape T1 even though the laminating tape T2 cannot be attached. Immediately before the printing tape T1 is used up, it is preferable to notify the user that the remaining amount of the printing tape T1 is low. For example, a through-hole (a black-painted portion may be formed) is formed at the rear end of the printing tape T1, and the through-hole is detected by an optical sensor or the like to issue an alarm.

On the other hand, as the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2, various types (about 10 types) having a tape width of about 4.5 mm to 96 mm are prepared, and these various types of tapes T1 and T2 are respectively tape cartridges. Four
It is provided in the state of being housed in. More specifically, the tape cartridge 4 is of a type that can mount the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2, and the printing tape T
There is a type in which only one can be mounted (see FIGS. 3 and 7). In addition, the tape cartridges 4 which are roughly classified into these two types have different widths of “large”, “medium”, and
Three types of "small" are available, with different widths.
There are 0 types of tape with several types of narrow width in this "small", several types of medium width in this "medium", and several types of wide width in this "large".
, Respectively. It should be noted that the printing tape T1 is available in different materials, and the background color is other than white, and at least several tens of kinds of tapes T1 and T2 can be used including those to be adopted in the future. ing.

Next, the tape cartridge 4, which is roughly classified into two types depending on whether or not it has a laminated tape, will be described by taking the above-mentioned "large" having the largest size as an example.
The tape cartridge 4a in FIGS. 3 and 4 is of a type in which the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 are mounted, and the main accommodating portion 61 that accommodates the printing tape T1.
And a sub-accommodating portion 62 accommodating the laminating tape T2, which is connected in the middle.
The print head 33 of the printing device 12 faces the printer 3. The cartridge case 64 forming each of these parts is formed of a main body case 65, a main case lid 66 on the main accommodating portion 61 side, and a sub case lid 67 on the sub accommodating portion 62 side. The main case lid 66 and the sub case lid 67 may be opened by the user so that the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 can be replaced by the user. In such a case, in order to prevent the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 from being erroneously mounted, it is preferable that the diameter of the tape shaft 68 and the diameter of the laminating tape shaft 69, which will be described later, be different.

A printing tape T1 wound in a roll shape is stored in the main storage portion 61, and a laminating tape T2 wound in a roll shape is stored in the sub storage portion 62.
The printing tape T1 is attached to the tape shaft 68, and the tape shaft 6
It is rotatably attached to the cartridge case 64 via 8. Similarly, the laminating tape T2 is attached to the laminating tape shaft 69, and is rotatably attached to the cartridge case 64 via the laminating tape shaft 69.

As shown in FIG. 5, the printing tape T1 is composed of a tape body T1a and a tape core T1b, and the tape body T1a is wound around the tape core T1b in a roll shape. The length of the tape core T1b in the axial direction is formed to be slightly longer than the length of the tape body T1a in the axial direction, that is, the tape width.
The tape body T1a is prevented from coming into contact with the above. Further, the key groove T1c is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the tape core T1b.
When the printing tape T1 is mounted on the tape shaft 68, the key groove T1c is formed on the tape shaft 6 which will be described later.
8 key portion 74 is engaged.

As shown in FIG. 6, the tape shaft 68 includes a shaft body 70 on which the printing tape T1 is rotatably mounted, a flange 71 for restricting the axial movement of the printing tape T1 mounted on the shaft body 70, and It is formed integrally with the retaining hook 72. The flange 71 includes a disc portion 73, a key portion 74 provided inside the disc portion 73 in the axial direction, and a disc portion 73.
And a rotation restricting portion 75 provided on the outer side in the axial direction. The key portion 74 is extended from the disk portion 73 and the shaft body 70, engages with the key groove T1c of the printing tape T1 mounted on the shaft body 70, and acts as a detent for the printing tape T1. The rotation restricting portion 75 has a plurality of protrusions 75a on the outer peripheral surface and is formed in a star shape as a whole. With the tape cartridge 4a removed from the apparatus main body 2, an engagement piece portion 96 of a feed pressing lever 91, which will be described later, engages with the rotation restricting portion 75, and the tape cartridge 4a
The printing tape T1 is prevented from rotating during transportation or storage of a. On the contrary, when the tape cartridge 4a is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the rotation restricting portion 75
The engaging piece portion 96 is disengaged from the printing tape T1, and the printing tape T1 can be drawn out.

The shaft main body 70 is formed in a pipe shape, and is rotatably supported by both outer ends of the shaft main body 70 on both inner sides of the cartridge case 64. The retaining hook 72 is formed by forming a "U" -shaped notch, which is long in the axial direction, in a part of the shaft body 70 so as to have springiness. At the tip of the retaining hook 72, the regulation protrusion 7 protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft body 70 is provided.
2a is formed, and the restricting projection 72a is formed in a blunt shape with a downward slope. When the printing tape T1 is inserted from the outer end portion of the shaft body 70 toward the flange 71, the tape core T1b of the printing tape T1 rides on the regulation protrusion 72a and is inserted by pushing it in. When the printing tape T1 is inserted to the position where it abuts the flange 71, the restriction protrusion 72a is disengaged from the end of the tape core T1b, and the restriction protrusion 72a returns to its original state.

That is, when the printing tape T1 is completely inserted into the shaft body 70, the key groove T1c of the tape core T1b engages with the key portion 74 of the flange 71, and the printing tape T1 is restricted from rotating with respect to the tape shaft 68. Also tape core T
1b is positioned between the flange 71 and the restriction protrusion 72a,
The printing tape T1 is attached to the tape shaft 68 in a state in which it is not pulled out. In this case, the length of the tape core T1b in the axial direction is slightly shorter than the distance between the flange 71 and the restriction protrusion 72a, and the printing tape T1 has a predetermined clearance with respect to the tape shaft 68. It is mounted so that it can be moved slightly in the axial direction. As a result, the printing tape T1 that is unwound from the rolled state is
The tape guide 106 is slightly moved in the left-right direction (axial direction) according to the width and position regulation of the tape guide 106 described later.

The printing tape T1 which is fed in this way
However, since it is configured to slightly move in the axial direction following the tape guide 106, for example, even if the printing tape T1 is misaligned in manufacturing, the position in the appropriate width direction toward the feed roller 41 is obtained. It can be extended while maintaining. Therefore, the printing tape T1 fed out
The printing tape T1 can be smoothly and accurately fed without applying an excessive force to the printing tape T1.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, the laminated tape T2 comprises a tape body T2a and a tape core T2b, and the tape body T2a is wound around the tape core T2b in a roll shape. The axial length of the tape core T2b is formed slightly longer than the axial length of the tape body T2a, that is, the tape width, so that the tape body T2a does not come into contact with the flange 77 of the laminating tape shaft 69, which will be described later. ing. Further, a pair of key grooves T2c are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the tape core T2b at opposite positions, and when the laminating tape T2 is mounted on the laminating tape shaft 69, the key grooves T2c will be described later.
It engages with the key portion 81 of 9.

As shown in FIG. 8, the lami-tape shaft 69 is
A shaft body 7 on which a laminating tape T2 is rotatably mounted
6 and the flange 77 and the retaining hook 78 that restrict the axial movement of the laminated tape T2 mounted on the shaft body 76 are integrally formed. A braking spring 79 is wound around the outer end of the shaft body 76 on the flange 77 side. The flange 77 includes a disc portion 80 and a key portion 81 provided on the inner side in the axial direction of the disc portion 80. The key portion 81 extends from the disk portion 80 and the shaft body 76, engages with the key groove T2c of the laminate tape T2 mounted on the shaft body 76, and acts as a rotation stopper for the laminate tape T2.

The shaft body 76 is formed in a pipe shape, and is rotatably supported by both outer ends of the shaft body 76 on both inner sides of the cartridge case 64. The retaining hook 78, just like the retaining hook 72 of the tape shaft 68, is formed by forming a notch in a part of the shaft body 76, and has a restricting projection 78a at the tip thereof. That is, the laminating tape T
2 is completely inserted into the shaft body 76, the tape core T2b
The key groove T2c of is engaged with the key portion 81 of the flange 77,
The laminating tape T2 is rotationally regulated with respect to the laminating tape shaft 69, the tape core T2b is positioned between the flange 77 and the regulating projection 78a, and the laminating tape T2 is attached to the laminating tape shaft 69 in a retaining state. Also in this case, the length of the tape core T2b in the axial direction is slightly shorter than the distance between the flange 77 and the restricting protrusion 78a, and the laminating tape T2 has a predetermined length with respect to the laminating tape shaft 69. It is mounted so that it can be moved slightly in the axial direction with a clearance.

In this case as well, as in the case of the printing tape T1, the laminated tape T2 that is fed out is constructed so as to make a minute movement in the axial direction, so that even if the laminated tape T2 is misaligned during manufacture. It is possible to feed the laminate roller 44 in a state where an appropriate position in the width direction is maintained. Therefore, an unreasonable force is not applied to the laminated tape T2 fed out,
Problems such as wrinkles can be prevented. Further, since the laminating tape T2 can be sent out with high precision, the laminating tape T2 can be accurately attached to the printing tape T1.

On the other hand, the braking spring 7 wound around the shaft body 76.
Reference numeral 9 is formed in a coil shape, and is wound around the shaft main body 76 so as to be lightly tightened with one end fixed to the cartridge case 64. When the laminating tape T2 is fed, the rotation of the laminating tape shaft 69 is braked by the friction between the shaft body 76 and the braking spring 79. This allows the laminate tape T2 to be attached to the printing tape T1 in a stretched state at the time of feeding, and the slack of the laminate tape T2 can be prevented at the time of non-feeding. In particular, in this braking structure, a force that pushes the shaft main body 76 in one direction is not applied, so it is possible to prevent the shaft from tilting or shifting. Also, the laminating tape T
Adhesion to the inner surface of the cartridge case 64 due to the slack of 2 can be effectively prevented. In addition, it is preferable that the winding direction of the braking spring 79 is a direction in which the laminating tape shaft 69 is rotated when the laminated tape T2 is unwound and is wound and tightened.

The printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 thus constructed are the above-mentioned feed driven rollers 42.
And a feed roller 41 including a feed drive roller 43,
It is sent out by a laminating driven roller 45 and a laminating roller 44 composed of a laminating drive roller 46, and is also stuck to each other by the laminating roller 44. In this embodiment, the freely driven feed driven roller 42 and the lami driven roller 45 are mounted on the tape cartridge 4a. In the following description about the tape cartridge 4, the sub-accommodating portion side is referred to as “front” and the main accommodating portion side is referred to as “rear” unless the direction can be defined by “tip end” and “tail end”. Let's take the left and right as we proceed.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the feed driven roller 42 and the lami driven roller 45 are arranged so as to face each other with the connecting portion 63 of the tape cartridge 4a interposed therebetween. Feed driven roller 42 and lami driven roller 45
Are both rotatably supported by the support shafts 42a and 45a on both inner side portions of the cartridge case 64 and vertically movable. A pair of left and right feed pressing levers 91 that press the feed driven roller 42 toward the feed drive roller 43 are incorporated in the main accommodation portion 61 side, and a lami driven roller is provided in the sub accommodation portion 62 side. A pair of left and right laminating press levers 92 that press the 45 toward the laminating drive roller 46 are incorporated.

Each of the feed pressing levers 91 abuts the support shaft 42a of the feed driven roller 42 from the upper side at the tip portion 93, and swings on the cartridge case 64 by the shaft portion 94 formed near the tip of the intermediate portion. It is supported freely. At the tail end portion of the feed pressing lever 91, a push-up piece portion 95 extending downward and abutting a feed biasing arm 134 of the eject mechanism 15 described later, and a tape shaft 68 extending upward are provided.
An engaging piece portion 96 that engages with the rotation restricting portion 75 is formed, and the feed pressing lever 91 itself is moved rearward so that the tip portion 93 is disengaged from the support shaft 42a of the feed driven roller 42. The grip piece 97 is formed. Further, a spring portion 98 extending obliquely downward is formed in the middle portion of the feed pressing lever 91, and the tip of the spring portion 98 abuts on the bottom surface of the cartridge case 64.
The spring portion 98 biases the feed pressing lever 91 itself around the shaft portion 94 with the tip end side downward and the tail end side upward.

In this case, the spring portion 98 urges the entire feed pressing lever 91 upward, but the shaft portion 94
The bearing portion, which is formed in the cartridge case 64 and has a substantially semi-circular shape, abuts from the lower side, and the shaft portion 94 is pressed from the upper side and swingably engages with the bearing portion.
Note that the relationship and function between the substantially semicircular bearing portion and the grip piece portion 97 will be described later in detail.

In the tape cartridge 4a in the non-mounted state, in the feed pressing lever 91, the engaging piece portion 96 moves upward by the action of the spring portion 98, and the rotation restricting portion 7 of the tape shaft 68.
5, the rotation of the printing tape T1 is restricted, and the leading end portion 93 moves downward to move the feed driven roller 42 to the lower moving end position. Further, the feed driven roller 42 that has moved to the lower end position sandwiches the printing tape T1 with the cartridge case 64. That is, in this non-mounted state, the printing tape T1 is regulated in rotation by the engagement piece portion 96 and regulated in feed by the feed driven roller 42, so that slack does not occur in the main accommodating portion 61.

On the other hand, when the tape cartridge 4a is mounted on the apparatus main body 2, the feed driven roller 42 contacts the feed drive roller 43 of the apparatus body 2 and the feed driven roller 42 is slightly pushed up. As a result, the feed driven roller 42
The pinching of the printing tape T1 due to is released. Also,
The tip end portion 93 of the feed pressing lever 91 moves upward and the tail end portion moves downward, the engaging piece portion 96 disengages from the rotation restricting portion 75, and the printing tape T1 can be fed out. At the same time, the push-up piece 95 contacts the feed biasing arm 134 of the eject mechanism 15, and the feed biasing arm 134 constantly rolls the feed driven roller 42 to the feed drive roller 43 via the feed pressing lever 91. To press.

In this way, by incorporating the feed driven roller 42 into the tape cartridge 4a side, the printing tape T1
It is possible to automatically pinch the paper with the feed roller 41 by using the mounting of the tape cartridge 4a to the apparatus main body 2. That is, the feed driven roller 42 is attached to the apparatus main body 2
It is possible to omit a moving mechanism and the like when incorporated in the above, and to simplify the structure. Further, since the axial length of the feed driven roller 42 can be made to correspond to the tape width of the printing tape T1, the pressing force of the feed driven roller 42 can be applied uniformly in the width direction of the printing tape T1. The printing tape T1 can be fed stably. Furthermore, since the feed pressing lever 91 is provided to the full length of the main accommodating portion 61 and is swingable like a seesaw, the spring force from the feed biasing arm 134 is used to utilize the lever principle to feed the driven roller. 42. Therefore, a large spring force can be applied while the spring constant of the spring (compression spring) on the side of the feed biasing arm 134 is lowered, and the feed driven roller 42 can be pressed with a stable force.

In this embodiment, the feed driven roller 42 presses the feed drive roller 43 on the side of the feed biasing arm 134 of the eject mechanism 15, but this is indicated by a virtual line in FIG. As shown, the coil spring 99 provided in the cartridge case 64 may be used. By doing so, the pressing force most suitable for the feeding can be applied to the feeding driven roller 42 corresponding to the mounted printing tape T1. Further, the space for the spring on the device body 2 side can be omitted, and
The structure can be simplified.

Similarly, each of the lami pressing levers 92 abuts the support shaft 45a of the lami driven roller 45 from the upper side at the tip end portion 101, and the shaft portion 102 formed at a position near the tip end of the intermediate portion, the cartridge case 64. It is swingably supported by. The lami urging arm 1 of the eject mechanism 15, which will be described below, is provided at the tail end of the lami pressing lever 92 and extends downward.
A push-up piece 103 that abuts 35 is formed, and a spring portion 104 that extends obliquely downward is formed. When the tape cartridge 4a is attached to the apparatus main body 2, the lami driven roller 45 contacts the lami drive roller 46 of the apparatus main body 2, and the lami driven roller 45 is pushed up, and at the same time,
The push-up piece 103 abuts on the laminating bias arm 135, and the laminating bias arm 135 causes the laminating press lever 92 to move.
The lami driven roller 45 is pressed so as to always be in rolling contact with the lami drive roller 46 via.

In this case as well, by incorporating the lami driven roller 45 into the tape cartridge 4a side, the printing tape T1
Further, the laminating tape T2 can be automatically sandwiched between the laminating rollers 44 by using the mounting of the tape cartridge 4a. Also, the lami driven roller 4
The axial length of 5 can be made to correspond to the tape width of the laminating tape T2, and the laminating tape T2 can be fed stably. Further, since the lami pressing lever 92 is provided to the full length of the sub-accommodation portion 62 and is swingable like a seesaw, the spring force from the lami urging arm 135 is used to utilize the lever principle to utilize the lami driven roller. 45 can be added. In this case also, the lami driven roller 45
Of the cartridge case 64 indicated by phantom lines in FIG.
Alternatively, the coil spring 105 may be used.

The thus configured tape cartridge 4a is mounted at a predetermined set position of the apparatus main body 2 by the eject mechanism 15. Then, at the set position, the feed driven roller 42 sandwiches the printing tape T1 and rolls the feed drive roller 43, and the lami driven roller 45 sandwiches the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 and rolls the lami drive roller 46. The print head 33 faces the connecting portion 63 from above. Therefore, the upper side of the connecting portion 63 is open, and the printing tape T1 runs in this portion in a horizontal and stretched state.

The printing tape T1 wound in a roll shape is fed out by the feed driven roller 42 and the feed driving roller 43. At that time, the printing tape T1 is fed to the pair of left and right tape guides 106 arranged in front of the feed driven roller 42 in the feeding direction. You will be guided in the width direction. That is, the printing tape T1 is sent to the printing position while the position in the width direction is regulated by the pair of tape guides 106. Also, this tape guide 106
The printing tape T1 slightly moves in the tape width direction with respect to the tape shaft 68 according to the position regulation by.

Similarly, the laminated tape T2 wound in a roll is sent to the sticking position while the position in the width direction is regulated by a pair of left and right lami tape guides 107 arranged in front of the lami driven roller 42 in the sending direction. Go away. The pair of tape guides 106 and the pair of lami tape guides 107 are arranged at the same position in the left-right direction, and the printing tape is attached at a pasting position where the lami driven roller 45 and the lami drive roller 46 are in rolling contact with each other. The laminating tape T2 is accurately overlapped and attached to T1.

On the other hand, a pair of left and right ink recovery windows 108 are formed on both side edges of the connecting portion 63 (see FIG. 4). Each ink recovery window 108 is formed in a rectangular shape, and is arranged at a position facing the end of the running printing tape T1 in the width direction. Although not shown, waste ink absorbers that absorb the ejected ink are provided in the apparatus main body 2 below the ink recovery windows 108, respectively. In this tape printer 1, a background color can be printed in addition to characters such as characters. When the background color is printed, printing is performed from a position outside the end of the printing tape T1 (out of ink). Discharge) is started.
Therefore, the ink protruding from the end of the printing tape T1 is ejected toward the ink recovery window 108, passes through the ink recovery window 108, and is absorbed by the waste ink absorbing material.

At the center of the lower surface of the main body case 65 on the main accommodating portion 61 side, the eject mechanism 15 of the tape cartridge 4a is provided.
A guide groove 110 that guides the loading of the ink is formed (see FIG. 4). The guide groove 110 extends in the longitudinal direction of the tape cartridge 4a and engages with a guide protrusion 143 of the eject mechanism 15 described later. In this case, the tape cartridge 4a is loaded into the eject mechanism 15 so as to be inserted from the sub-accommodating portion 62 side. Therefore, the guide groove 110 has a widened portion 112 at the front end portion of the groove body 111, which the lock / unlock mechanism 16 described later faces.
And the expanding portion 11 into which the guide protrusion 143 is relatively guided.
It is configured by connecting 3 and 3.

Two pressing claw portions 11 formed by cutting out the main body case 65 are formed at two positions in the front and rear of the groove main body 111.
4 are formed. The two pressing claws 114 face one side of the groove main body 111, and press the side surface of the guide protrusion 143 engaged with the guide groove 110 to move the tape cartridge 4 a in the left-right direction with respect to the eject mechanism 15. Positioning can be performed. Positioning of the tape cartridge 4a in the front-rear direction with respect to the eject mechanism 15 is performed by a lock / unlock mechanism 16 described later. Further, reference numeral 115 in FIG. 3 is an identification plate formed in the front middle stage of the main accommodation portion 61,
When the identification plate 115 is exposed to a sensor (not shown) mounted on the carriage 32, the types of the tape cartridge 4, the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2, and the print start position for each printing tape T1 are detected. It is like this.

Next, with reference to FIG. 9, a tape cartridge 4b of a type in which only the printing tape T1 is mounted will be described. As shown in the figure, the tape cartridge 4b
Does not have the sub-accommodating portion 62, but is composed of the main accommodating portion 61 and the connecting portion 63. Therefore, the tape cartridge 4
b, the printing tape T1 in the cartridge case 64,
The tape shaft 68, the feed driven roller 42, the feed pressing lever 91, and the like are incorporated.

Further, in this tape cartridge 4b,
The main case lid 66 is configured to be openable and closable with respect to the main body case 65 so that the printing tape T1 can be replaced by the user. The feed driven roller 42 is attached to the main case lid 66, and the replaced printing tape T
By extending the tape end of No. 1 to the outside and closing the main case lid 66, the printing tape T1 can be properly set in the initial state. In this case, since the tip portion 93 of the feed pressing lever 91 is engaged with the support shaft 42a of the feed driven roller 42 from above, the main case cover 6
When 6 is released, the feed driven roller 42 is held by the feed pressing lever 91.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the feed pressing lever 91 can be moved from the outside of the main body case 65 to be separated from the feed driven roller 42. That is, the grip piece 9 provided at the tail end of the feed pressing lever 91.
7, the operation opening 121 is formed in the main body case 65. The operation opening 121 grips the grip piece 97 and pulls it backward, so that the tip 93 is supported by the support shaft 42a of the feed driven roller 42. Leave from. At the same time, the shaft portion 94 of the feed pressing lever 91 comes out of the bearing portion of the main body case 65 and moves rearward along the horizontal groove portion continuous with this. Then, the feed pressing lever 91 that has moved backward is
By utilizing the spring force of the spring portion 98, the concave portion 97a formed at the upper end of the gripping piece portion 97 is hooked on the edge portion of the operation opening 121 to stabilize the grip portion 97.

In this tape cartridge 4b,
Since there is no lami driven roller 45, instead of this, the feeding of the printing tape T1 on the other side of the printing apparatus 12 is performed by using a sub driven roller (described later) 191 provided in the apparatus main body 2. That is, the sub-roller introduction mechanism 17 that rolls the sub-driven roller 191 into contact with the lami drive roller 46 when the tape cartridge 4b without the sub-accommodation portion 62 is mounted in the apparatus main body 2 is incorporated (see FIG. 15). , Details will be described later).

Next, the eject mechanism 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. Eject mechanism 1
5 is configured to be movable between a loading position where the tape cartridge 4 is removably loaded and a set position where the tape cartridge 4 can be accessed by each component device. The ejecting mechanism 15 in the loading position is tilted by raising the tail end side, and is moved to the set position by rotating the ejecting mechanism 15 in a seesaw-like horizontal position about the tip end side (FIG. 13). And FIG.
reference).

In this case, the movement of the eject mechanism 15 from the loading position to the setting position and the movement from the setting position to the loading position are opened and closed by springs and damper means (neither shown) incorporated in the apparatus main body 2. It is performed in conjunction with opening and closing of the lid 7. Further, the eject mechanism 15 is fixedly locked at a set position by a locking means (not shown), and the lock is released by the opening of the opening / closing lid 7 as a trigger.

The eject mechanism 15 includes the main eject plate 1
The main eject plate 132 has a size for mounting the largest tape cartridge 4, and the sub eject plate 133 has a main accommodating portion for the loaded tape cartridge 4. It is provided so as to overlap with the main eject plate 132 at a portion where 61 is located (see FIG. 14).
At the rear end of the sub eject plate 133, a pair of left and right feed urging arms 134 that abut on the feed pressing lever 91 of the tape cartridge 4 mounted at the set position and urge it to push up. . Similarly, on the front end of the main eject plate 132, a pair of left and right laminating bias arms 135 that abut the laminating pressure lever 92 of the tape cartridge 4 mounted at the set position and bias the same so as to push it up. (See FIG. 14).
Further, a lock / unlock mechanism 16 for immovably setting the tape cartridge 4 loaded in the eject mechanism 15 on the eject plate 131 is mounted on the lower surface of the middle portion of the main eject plate 132.

The sub eject plate 133 is composed of a rectangular resin plate or the like, and is detachably attached to the upper surface of the main eject plate 132 by a pair of left and right mounting hooks 136 formed on the lower surface. Each mounting hook 136 extends downward by the thickness of the main eject plate 132, further extends forward, and has a tip portion formed in an upward protruding shape. On the other hand, the main eject plate 132 is formed with a pair of first openings 137 into which both mounting hooks 136 are loosely inserted, and a pair of second openings 138 located in front of the pair of first openings 137. Attach the pair of mounting hooks 136 to the pair of first openings 137.
After the sub eject plate 133 is superposed on the main eject plate 132 so as to match with the main eject plate 133, the front ends of the pair of mounting hooks 136 are engaged with the second opening 138 by advancing the sub eject plate 133. The sub eject plate 133 is attached to the eject plate 132.

The attached sub eject plate 133 is
A pair of left and right circular protrusions 139 formed on the lower surface of the central portion
Is engaged with a pair of left and right elongated holes 140 formed in the central portion of the main eject plate 132, and a pair of left and right cutouts 141 formed at its tail end portion is formed at the tail end portion of the main eject plate 132. By engaging the pair of left and right convex portions 142,
The main eject plate 132 is positioned.

A guide protrusion 143 with which the guide groove 110 of the tape cartridge 4 is engaged is formed in the center of the upper surface of the sub eject plate 133. Guide protrusion 14
A pair of left and right through holes 144 are formed in the sub eject plate 133 with the guide projection 143 interposed therebetween near the front end of the third hole 3. The portion 175 projects and engages with the tape cartridge 4 loaded therein.

The pair of feed biasing arms 134 are symmetrical with respect to the guide protrusion 143 and are arranged below the main eject plate 132, and each two compression springs 145 are provided. Thus, the feed pressing lever 91 is urged in the upward direction. Each feed biasing arm 134 abuts on the feed pressing lever 91 of the tape cartridge 4 with the intermediate rotating shaft 146 interposed therebetween.
7 and a spring receiving portion 148 that engages with the compression spring 145. The contact portion 147 has four contact portions 147a corresponding to various tape cartridges (“large”, “medium”, “small” and “spare”) 4 having different widths,
The contact portions 147a are connected by a stopper portion 147b. Further, the rotating shaft 146 is used for the sub eject plate 1
It is supported by a pair of bearing pieces 149 formed on the lower side of 33 with both ends. Furthermore, the compression spring 145 is mounted between the upper surface of the spring receiving portion 148 and the lower surface of the main eject plate 132.

Then, each feed biasing arm 134 is biased by the compression spring 145 to form a lower arm opening 150 formed in the main eject plate 132 and an upper arm opening 151 formed in the sub eject plate 133 so as to match the lower arm opening 150. It contacts the feed pressing lever 91 of the tape cartridge 4 via.
When the tape cartridge 4 is in the loading position with respect to the eject mechanism (ejection plate 131) 15, the feed driven roller 42 is not in contact with the feed drive roller 43, and the tail end of the feed pressing lever 91 (pushing piece portion). 95) is in a state of upward movement. On the other hand, the feed urging arm 134 is urged by the compression spring 145, and is rotated to the rotation end position where the stopper portion 147b abuts the lower surface of the main eject plate 132. From this state, when the tape cartridge 4 moves to the set position as the eject plate 131 moves,
The feed driven roller 42 contacts the feed drive roller 43, and the tail end of the feed pressing lever 91 contacts the feed biasing arm 134. As a result, the feed biasing arm 134 slightly rotates against the compression spring 145, and the feed driven roller 42 moves the feed driven roller 42 via the feed pressing lever 91.
Press toward 3.

On the other hand, a total of six pressing protrusions 153 are provided in the front-rear intermediate portion of the main eject plate 132 so as to engage the loaded tape cartridge 4 and prevent the tape cartridge 4 from dropping upward. ing. Each presser projection 1
53 rises upward by the amount of the thickness of the main body case 65 of the tape cartridge 4 added to the thickness of the sub eject plate 133, and further extends rearward. When the tape cartridge 4 is loaded in the eject mechanism 15, a part of the main body case 65 of the tape cartridge 4 is inserted between the pressing protrusion 153 and the sub eject plate 133. Further, a pair of leaf springs 154 are attached to the front portion of the upper surface of the sub eject plate 133 corresponding to the pressing protrusions 153 at symmetrical positions with the guide protrusion 143 interposed therebetween.
The leaf spring 154 is provided with the pressing protrusion 153 at the feeding end of the printing tape T1 (laminate tape T2) that is slightly pulled out from the tape cartridge 4 when the tape cartridge 4 is mounted so as to be inserted into the eject plate 131. This is to prevent being caught on.

The front-rear intermediate portion of the main eject plate 132 is located in front of the pressing protrusion 153 and is located in the main body 2 of the apparatus.
After curving downward so as to bypass the feeding drive roller 43, the feeding drive roller 43 extends forward. A pair of left and right side plates 156 stands up from the front extending portion, and a support plate 157 for attaching the above-mentioned lami urging arm 135 extends forward from the side plates 156. A circular thick portion 158 is formed in the upper middle portion of each side plate 156,
Further, a circular hole 159 is formed at the center of the thick portion 158. Side plates 18a of the device frame 18 are arranged on both sides of the eject mechanism 15 (see FIG. 16), and the circular hole 159 is formed on the shaft fixed to the side plate 18a of the device frame 18.
Is rotatably engaged (axially supported). That is, the eject plate 131 is axially supported by the side plate 18a of the apparatus frame 18 at the circular hole 159, and rotates around the circular hole 159 between the loading position and the setting position.

The support plate 157 is a horizontal plate portion 157a.
And the vertical plate portion 157b are formed in a substantially L-shaped cross section,
The pair of lami urging arms 135 described above is attached to the vertical plate 157b.
Is attached. The vertical plate portion 157b is bent in a U-shape in a plan view at two places on the left and right, and each lami-biasing arm 135 is rotatably and pivotally supported by the pair of bending pieces 160. Has been done. Also in this case, similarly to the pair of feed biasing arms 134, the pair of lami biasing arms 135 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center line on the guide protrusion 143, and each of them is
The two compression springs 161 urge the laminating pressure lever 92 in a direction to push it up.

Each lami urging arm 135 has an abutting portion 163 that abuts the laminating pressure lever 92 of the tape cartridge 4 and a spring receiving portion 164 that engages a compression spring 161 with the intermediate rotating shaft 162 interposed therebetween. It is composed of. Abutment 1
63 has four contact portions 163a corresponding to various tape cartridges (“large”, “medium”, “small” and “spare”) 4 having different widths, and the contact portions 16
The portions 3a are connected by a stopper portion 163b. Further, the rotating shaft 162 is supported by the pair of bending pieces 160, and the compression spring 161 is mounted between the upper portion of the spring receiving portion 164 and the upper portion of the vertical plate portion 157b.

Each laminating bias arm 135 is biased by the compression spring 161, and the horizontal plate portion 157a and the vertical plate portion 15 are pressed.
It contacts the lami pressing lever 92 of the tape cartridge 4 through the arm opening 165 formed at the connecting portion with 7b. When the tape cartridge 4 is at the loading position with respect to the eject mechanism (ejection plate 131) 15, the lami driven roller 45 is not in contact with the lami drive roller 46, and the tail end of the lami pressing lever 92 (the pushing-up piece portion). 103) is in a state of upward movement. On the other hand, the lami urging arm 135
Is urged by the compression spring 161 and is rotated to the rotation end position where the stopper portion 163b contacts the lower surface of the horizontal plate portion 157a. From this state, when the tape cartridge 4 moves to the set position along with the movement of the eject plate 131, the lami driven roller 45 comes into contact with the laminating drive roller 46, and the tail end of the laminating pressing lever 92 causes the laminating biasing arm 135.
Abut. As a result, the laminating biasing arm 135 slightly rotates against the compression spring 164 and presses the laminating driven roller 45 toward the laminating driving roller 46 via the laminating pressing lever 92.

Next, the lock / unlock mechanism 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12.
The lock / unlock mechanism 16 includes a lock claw member 171 that moves in the vertical direction, locks the tape cartridge 4 loaded on the eject plate 131 from below, and positions the tape cartridge 4 immovably with respect to the eject mechanism 15. That is, when the tape cartridge 4 is fully inserted into the eject plate 131, the lock claw member 171 is inserted.
Of the tape cartridge 4 enters the widened portion 112 of the guide groove 110 of the tape cartridge 4 and locks the tape cartridge 4 at the deepest position of the eject plate 131.

The lock / unlock mechanism 16 includes the lock claw member 171, the shaft member 172 that supports the lock claw member 171 so as to be rotatable and slidable in the vertical direction, and the locking claw member 171 in the locking direction. Coil spring 173 for biasing
It has and. The lock claw member 171 has a horizontal piece 174.
The member main body 174 which is formed in an inverted “L” shape in a side view by the a and the hanging piece 174b, a pair of left and right claw portions 175 formed on the upper surface of the horizontal piece 174a, and projectingly provided on the front surface of each claw portion 175. The contact portion 176 is provided. Also, the hanging piece 17
A latching pin 177 for latching the coil spring 173 is projectingly provided on one side surface of the lower end of 4a.

The pair of claw portions 175 are used for the sub eject plate 13
No. 3 guide protrusion 143 is disposed with a gap therebetween, and similarly, the guide protrusion 143 is projected and retracted from the through hole 144 formed in the sub eject plate 133 so as to sandwich the guide protrusion 143,
Lock / unlock the tape cartridge 4. Each claw portion 175 is formed in a wedge shape having an upward slope 175a on the rear side, and correspondingly, the tape cartridge 4
A downward slope 178 is formed on the front side of the widened portion 122 (a portion corresponding to the edge of the widened portion 113). When the tape cartridge 4 is inserted along the sub eject plate 133, the downward slope 17 of the tape cartridge 4 is inserted.
8 hits the upward slope 175a of each claw 175, and pushes this downward to move forward. Then, the downward slope 178 passes over the claw portion 175 and the tape cartridge 4
When it reaches the innermost position, the positions of both the claw portions 175 and the widened portion 112 coincide with each other, and the both claw portions 175 move upward to lock the front end surface of the widened portion 112.

On the other hand, the main eject plate 132 is formed with a built-in opening 179 for incorporating the lock / unlock mechanism 16, and the sub eject plate 133 is penetrated through the built-in opening 179. A claw member mounting portion 180 extending downward from the lower edge portion of the hole 144 is vertically provided. The claw member mounting portion 180 has both side wall portions 180a and a front wall portion 180b, and the shaft member 172 engages with the bearing grooves 181 respectively formed in the both side wall portions 180a to lock the lock claw member 171. It is rotatably supported and vertically movable. Further, in this state, the contact portion 176 formed on the front surface of each claw portion 175 abuts on the front wall portion 180b to hold the lock claw member 171 in the vertical posture. That is,
The lock claw member 171 has the bearing groove 18 of the side wall portions 180a.
1 and the front wall portion 180b to move up and down, and from this state, the shaft member 172 is rotated only rearward (clockwise in the drawing).

A spring mounting piece 182 is formed in a part of the main eject plate 132 so as to face the built-in opening 179 and is bent downward. The spring mounting piece 182 and the locking pin 177 of the locking claw member 171 are formed. A coil spring 173 is suspended between the two. The coil spring 173 is arranged obliquely downward and forward, and biases the lock claw member 171 upward and also pivotally rotates counterclockwise in the drawing. Therefore, when the tape cartridge 4 is inserted all the way in, the lock claw member 171 moves upward to lock the tape cartridge 4 on the eject plate 131. Conversely, when the tape cartridge 4 is strongly pulled from this state, the coil spring 1
The lock claw member 171 rotates clockwise in the figure against 73, the lock of the tape cartridge 4 is released, and the tape cartridge 4 can be pulled out from the eject plate 131.

In this way, the lock / unlock mechanism 16
As a result, the tape cartridge 4 is fixedly set on the eject plate 131, so that the tape cartridge 4 can always be stably set at a predetermined position for various devices that access the tape cartridge 4. Further, by disposing the coil spring 173 obliquely downward and forward, the locking operation and the unlocking operation can be made disciplined, and the locking and unlocking structure can be made extremely simple.

Here, referring to FIG. 13 and FIG.
Eject mechanism 15 including lock / unlock mechanism 16
The operation of will be described. When the opening / closing lid 7 is opened, the eject mechanism 15 is moved to the loading position in conjunction with this, and the eject plate 131 is in a rearwardly upward posture (loading position). Here, the user holds the tape cartridge 4 on the eject plate 131, uses the guide protrusion 143 as a guide, and further pushes the tape cartridge 4 toward the back (front). When the tape cartridge 4 is pushed all the way in, the locking claw member 171 moves upward to lock the tape cartridge 4 in the eject mechanism 15 (see FIG. 1).
3).

Next, when the opening / closing lid 7 is closed, the tape cartridge 4 and the eject plate 131 rotate around the circular hole 159 in the front portion of the eject plate 131 immediately before the closing. With the rotation to the set position, the feed driven roller 42 comes into contact with the feed drive roller 43, and the lami driven roller 45 comes into contact with the lami drive roller 46. When the eject mechanism 15 reaches the set position by further rotation, the eject mechanism 15 is locked, the feed driven roller 42 is slightly pushed up by the feed drive roller 43, and the lami driven roller 45 is also slightly moved by the lami drive roller 46. Pushed up to.

When the feed driven roller 42 is pushed up,
The feed pressing lever 91 rotates to come into contact with the feed biasing arm 134, and receives a biasing force from the feed biasing arm 134. As a result, the feed driven roller 42 rolls against the feed drive roller 43 while being pressed by a predetermined biasing force. Similarly, when the lami driven roller 45 is pushed up, the lami pressing lever 9
2 rotates and comes into contact with the lami urging arm 135, and the lami driven roller 45 rolls against the lami drive roller 46 while being pressed by a predetermined urging force (see FIG. 14). Then, the rolling contact of each of the rollers 42 and 45 is made beforehand by the tape cartridge 4
Since the printing tape T1 and the laminating tape T2 that have been pulled out from the above are sandwiched, the tape cartridge 4 is set to the set position via the eject mechanism 15, and the tape can be fed. Actually, at the same time when the tape cartridge 4 is set to the set position, the opening / closing lid 7 is completely closed, and the tape printer 1 is in the print standby state.

Next, the tape cartridge 4 is attached to the apparatus main body 2
The case of taking out from (including replacement) will be described. When the opening / closing lid 7 is opened (for example, the release button is pressed), the eject mechanism 15 is unlocked, and the eject mechanism 15 slowly rotates from the set position to the loading position. here,
By strongly pulling the tape cartridge 4, the lock claw member 171 rotates, the lock of the lock / unlock mechanism 16 is released, and the tape cartridge 4 is pulled out from the eject mechanism 15.

Next, the sub-roller introducing mechanism 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. As described above, the sub-roller introducing mechanism 17 causes the sub-driven roller 191 that replaces the lami-driven roller 45 to come into rolling contact with the lami drive roller 46. That is, the sub roller introduction mechanism 1
7 is a tape cartridge 4b without a laminating tape
When the sub drive roller 191 is mounted, the sub driven roller 191 is moved from the retracted position to the introduction position where the sub driven roller 191 is in rolling contact with the lami drive roller 46.

The sub roller introducing mechanism 17 includes a sub driven roller 191, a roller supporting member 192 that supports the sub driven roller 191 at its tip and is rotatably attached to both side plates 18a of the apparatus frame 18, and a roller supporting member. Upon receiving 192, a pair of left and right torsion coil springs 193 that bias the sub driven roller 191 toward the lami drive roller 46 side.
And a pair of left and right pressing cam mechanisms 194 that interlock with the rotation of the eject plate 131 from the loading position to the setting position and press the sub driven roller 191 against the lami drive roller 46 via the roller supporting member 192. .

The roller support member 192 is composed of a pair of left and right support arm portions 195 and a connecting plate portion 196 connecting the pair of support arm portions 195. Long holes 197 extending in the vertical direction are respectively formed at the tip ends of both support arm portions 195, and these both long holes 197 support the sub driven roller 191 so as to be vertically movable and supported by both ends. The base ends of both support arms 195 are the device frame 18
Of the side frame 18a of the device frame 18 by means of the shaft pin 199 with the spacer 198 interposed therebetween.
It is rotatably attached to. Then, the roller support member 192 rotates between the introduction position of the sub driven roller 191 in which the support arm portion 195 is in a substantially horizontal posture and the retracted position of the sub driven roller 191 in which the support arm portion 195 is in a substantially upright posture. To do.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 17, the opening / closing lid 7 has a pair of left and right lid opening springs 2 for urging the lid 7 in the opening direction.
00 is attached. Each lid opening spring 200 is composed of a torsion coil spring or the like, and one end of the lid opening spring 200 is provided with an opening / closing lid 7.
Is fixed to the inside of the device, and the other end is provided so as to extend in the apparatus main body 2 in a free state and to be positioned below the support arm portion 195. When the opening / closing lid 7 is opened, the other end of the lid opening spring 200 pivots obliquely upward to lift the roller support member 192 and pivot the sub driven roller 191 to the retracted position. On the contrary, when the opening / closing lid 7 is closed, the other end of the lid opening spring 200 pivots obliquely downward to contact the eject plate 131, and when the opening / closing lid 7 is completely closed, the lid opening spring is closed. 200 bends to urge the opening / closing lid 7 in the opening direction. At the same time, the roller support member 192, which is slightly inclined forward in the retracted position, falls down by its own weight so as to follow the rotating lid opening spring 200 and moves to the introduction position. When the tape cartridge 4a with the laminated tape is installed,
At the same time when the roller support member 192 falls down, the sub driven roller 191 abuts on the sub containing portion 62 of the tape cartridge 4a, and maintains this abutted state.

The sub driven roller 191 is the sub roller shaft 2
01, and one center roller 202 and two side rollers 203 rotatably attached to the sub roller shaft 201. The center roller 202 and the side roller 203 are provided with the center roller 202 at an intermediate position between the left and right sides of the sub roller shaft 201, and both side rollers 203 are provided at symmetrical positions with a predetermined gap therebetween. The sub-roller shaft 201 has both outer end portions 20 that engage with the elongated holes 197 of the support arm portions 195.
4 is formed to have a small diameter and a semicircular cross section, and is vertically movable with respect to the elongated hole 197 and is supported so as not to rotate.

The pair of torsion coil springs 193 are attached to the connecting plate portions 196 of the roller supporting member 192, respectively. The connecting plate portion 196 is formed with a pair of left and right mounting piece portions 205 which are cut in a “U” shape and bent downward in an “L” shape, and each of the mounting piece portions 205 is twisted. The coil spring 193 is attached. The fixed end 193a of each torsion coil spring 193 contacts the lower surface of the connecting plate portion 196 from below, and the urging end 193b contacts the portion between the center roller 202 and the side roller 203 of the sub roller shaft 201 from above. ing. That is, the sub driven roller 201 is biased downward by the pair of torsion coil springs 193.

Each pressing cam mechanism 194 rotates to press the roller supporting member 192 from the upper side, a pressing block 211.
A cam block 212 that moves the pressing block 211 forward and backward in accordance with the rotation of the pressing block 211;
Rocking link 213 for rotating 1 and rocking link 213
Member 214 for connecting the base end of the plate to the eject plate 131
It consists of and. When the eject plate 131 rotates from the loading position to the setting position, the swing link 213 swings via the connecting member 214, and the pressing block 211 is rotated. When the pressing block 211 is rotated, the pressing block 211 moves forward in the left-right direction due to the cam action between the pressing block 211 and the cam block 212, and the connecting plate portion 196 of the roller supporting member 192 is moved.
The upper surface of the connecting plate portion 196 is pressed and the outer peripheral surface of the connecting plate portion 196 is pressed.

The connecting member 214 has a main body 215 having a long hole-shaped connecting hole 216 with which the swing link 213 is engaged,
It is composed of a pair of leg portions 217 extending downward from the main body 215 and a hook portion 218 extending downward from the main body 215 between both leg portions 217. The two leg portions 217 and the hook portion 218 are disposed inward and outward in the eject plate (the side plate 15 of the eject plate).
6) The eject plate 131 is disposed so as to be displaced by about the thickness of 131, and the eject plate 131 is attached to both the leg portions 217 and the hook portion 21.
8 and the front end of the hook portion 218 is locked to the notch opening 219 of the eject plate 131, so that the hook part 218 is detachably attached to the eject plate 131.

The swing link 213 is rotatably attached to the sub-frame 19 extending from the device frame 18 at the intermediate portion. The base end portion of the swing link 213 engages with the connecting hole 216 of the connecting member 214 via the first pin 220, and the tip end portion engages with the pressing block (block body 222) 211 via the second pin 221. is doing. When the eject plate 131 is rotated from the loading position to the set position, the swing link 213 swings clockwise in the drawing via the connecting member 214, and the pressing block (block body 222) 211 is rotated clockwise in the drawing. Conversely, when the eject plate 131 rotates from the set position to the loading position, the connecting member 214
The swing link 213 swings counterclockwise in the figure through
The pressing block (block body 222) 211 is rotated counterclockwise in the drawing.

The pressing block 211 is the block body 22.
2 and a shaft member 223 that rotatably supports the block main body 222 so as to move back and forth in the left-right direction.
The shaft member 223 includes a large diameter portion 223a and a small diameter portion 223b. The shaft member 223 is fixed to the sub-frame 19 on the large diameter portion 223a side, and the small diameter portion 223b supports the block body 222. The block main body 222 is formed in a substantially semicircular shape in a side view, and one end surface of the block main body 222 is formed with a long groove 224 with which the second pin 221 of the swing link 213 is engaged, and abut on the cam block 212. The contact protrusion 225 is formed so as to project.

When the eject plate 131 is in the loading position, the chord surface 222a of the block body 222 faces the connecting plate portion 196 of the roller supporting member 192 with a gap, but the eject plate 131 is in the loading position. When the block main body 222 is rotated to the set position, the arc surface 222b of the block main body 222 comes into contact with the connecting plate portion 196 and presses it. On the contrary, when the eject plate 131 is rotated from the set position to the loading position, the arc surface 222b of the block body 222 is connected to the connecting plate portion 1.
It is separated from 96, and the pressing of the connecting plate portion 196 is released.

A tension spring 226 for attracting the block body 222 is wound around the large diameter portion 223a of the shaft member 223. One end of the tension spring 226 is fixed to the sub-frame 19 and the other end thereof is fixed. It is fixed to the block body 222. The cam block 212 is attached to the sub-frame 19, and a cam slant surface 212a along the rotation direction of the block main body 222 is formed at a portion where the contact protrusion 225 slides. That is, the contact protrusion 225 of the block body 222 and the cam block 21
The second cam slope 212a constitutes a cam mechanism for advancing the block main body 222 in the left-right direction, and the tension spring 226 retracts the block main body 222 to make the cam mechanism positive.

When the block main body 222 rotates clockwise in the drawing, the cam action between the contact protrusion 225 of the block main body 222 and the cam slope 212a of the cam block 212 causes
The block body 222 moves forward to move the roller support member 192.
It advances to above the connecting plate portion 196 of. When this rotation further proceeds, the block main body 222 that has advanced onto the connecting plate portion 196
The arcuate surface 222b presses the connecting plate portion 196 from above.
Conversely, when the block body 222 rotates counterclockwise in the figure from this state, the arc surface 222b of the block body 222 separates from the connecting plate portion 196, and the cam action between the contact protrusion 225 and the cam slope surface 212a and Tension spring 22
6, the block main body 222 is retracted, and the connecting plate 1
96 Evacuate from above.

Now, referring to FIGS. 15 and 17,
A series of operations of the sub roller introducing mechanism 17 will be described. Figure 1
When the open / close lid 7 is closed from the open state shown by the phantom line of 7, the lid opening spring 200
The other end of the plate falls and contacts the upper surface of the eject plate 131. At the same time, the roller support member 192 falls and the sub driven roller 191 comes into contact with the lami drive roller 46. When the closing operation of the opening / closing lid 7 progresses to reach the state immediately before the closing, the interlocking mechanism (not shown) is activated, and the eject plate 131 is rotated to the set position in accordance with the final closing operation of the opening / closing lid 7.

In this way, when the eject plate 131 rotates from the loading position to the setting position, the swing link 2
Block main body 22 of the pressing block 211 via
2 is rotated while advancing in the left-right direction, and the roller support member 1
Press 92 from above. This pressing causes the roller supporting member 192 to slightly sink, and the sub driven roller 1
Upon receiving 91, the torsion coil spring 193 bends, and the sub driven roller 191 is biased toward the lami drive roller 46 side (see FIG. 15).

On the other hand, when the opening / closing lid 7 is opened from the state shown in FIG. 15, the eject plate 131 rotates from the set position to the loading position, and when the opening further proceeds, the other end of the lid opening spring 200 stands up. Go on. At this time, the other end of the lid opening spring 200 is caught by the roller supporting member 192, and the roller supporting member 192 is moved up to the retracted position so as to stand up.

As described above, since the sub driven roller 191 which is in point contact with the laminating drive roller 46 is provided on the apparatus main body 2 side, it is roughly classified into two types regardless of whether or not the tape cartridge 4 has a laminated tape. Either of the tape cartridges 4a and 4b can be used.
Further, the sub-tape introducing mechanism 17 can automatically introduce the sub-driven roller 191 only when the tape cartridge 4b without the laminating tape is mounted.

In the present embodiment, the tape cartridge to be mounted on the ink jet type tape printer has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to the tape cartridge to be mounted on the thermal transfer type tape printer or the like. Absent.

[0111]

As described above, according to the tape feeding device of the present invention, the tape can be put in an appropriate feeding standby state in association with the mounting of the tape cartridge in the main body of the device, and the tape cartridge can be placed in the device. It can be easily detached from the main body, and handleability can be improved.

According to the tape printer of the present invention,
For example, both a tape cartridge equipped with a printing tape and a tape cartridge equipped with a printing tape and a laminating tape can be used.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a tape printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a mounting body of the tape printing apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cut side view of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cut plan view of the tape cartridge according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a structural diagram of a printing tape mounted in a tape cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of a tape shaft of a tape cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a structural diagram of a laminated tape mounted in a tape cartridge.

FIG. 8 is a structural diagram of a laminating tape shaft of a tape cartridge.

FIG. 9 is a cut side view of another tape cartridge according to the embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the eject mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of an eject mechanism.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a lock / unlock mechanism.

FIG. 13 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation (loading position) of the eject mechanism.

FIG. 14 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation (set position) of the eject mechanism.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a sub roller introducing mechanism.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a sub roller introducing mechanism.

FIG. 17 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of the sub roller introduction mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 tape printer 2 installation body 4 tape cartridges 7 Open / close lid 11 Tape feeder 11a Printing tape side feeding mechanism 11b Laminating tape side feed mechanism 12 Printing device 17 Sub roller introduction mechanism 18 equipment frame 19 subframes 41 Feed roller 42 Feed driven roller 43 Feed drive roller 44 Laminating roller 45 Lami driven roller 46 Lami drive roller 61 Main accommodation 62 Sub-accommodation section 131 eject board 191 Sub driven roller 192 Roller support member 193 torsion coil spring 194 Pressing cam mechanism 200 Lid opening spring 201 Sub roller shaft 202 center roller 203 Side roller 211 Press block 212 cam block 213 Swing Link T1 printing tape T2 laminated tape

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 3/36 B41J 15/04 B41J 29/12

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A which has a driving roller and a driven roller for rotary feed while feeding it sandwiches the tape mounted in the tape cartridge, the driven roller
A cartridge-side driven roller that can feed tape instead
1st tape cartridge installed and 2nd not installed
An apparatus main body to which each tape cartridge can be attached , and the driven roller is transferred to the drive roller in association with a series of attachment / detachment operations of the tape cartridge with respect to a set position where the apparatus main body can access the tape cartridge. the tape feeding device and a roller introduction means is moved between the introduction position and a retracted position disengaged from the drive roller in contact, the rollers introducing means, pivotally apparatus frame while supporting the driven roller A roller support member that is supported by the roller support member and is movable so as to fall from the retracted position to the introduction position together with the driven roller in a free state; and a series of attachments and detachments of the tape cartridge facing the lower side of the roller support member. Interlocked with the operation, retract the driven roller from the introduction position via the roller support member. A support member moving mechanism for moving the location, in conjunction with a series of detachable operation of the tape cartridge, guide
Possess a pressing mechanism for the release pressing and pressing the driven roller to the driving roller in the <br/> introduction position to face the roller support member in a state in which fell dramatically to ON position, the roller support member, said device main body Attached to the first
1 Tape cartridge prevents its collapse
And the second tape cart attached to the apparatus body
A tape feeding device characterized by a ridge that allows it to collapse . 2. The driven roller has a roller shaft supported by the roller support member, and a roller main body mounted on the roller shaft and rollingly contacting the drive roller, the roller main body comprising: The main roller main body is disposed at an intermediate position in the axial direction, and a plurality of sub roller main bodies are disposed symmetrically with gaps on both sides of the main roller main body. The described tape feeder. 3. The tape feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising an urging member for urging the driven roller toward the driving roller by receiving the roller supporting member. . 4. A series of detaching operations of the tape cartridge includes opening / closing operation of an opening / closing lid for opening / closing a cartridge mounting portion of the apparatus main body, and the support member moving mechanism opens the opening / closing lid. A spring that urges in the direction, one end of which is fixed to the opening / closing lid and the other end faces the lower side of the roller support member, and the driven roller retracts in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening / closing lid. The tape feeding device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the tape feeding device is moved to a position. 5. A tape feeding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the tape printing apparatus characterized by comprising a printing apparatus for printing on a tape fed by the tape feeding device.