JP4386653B2 - Ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette, and more particularly to a ribbon cassette that contains a thermal transfer ribbon, a hot stamp ribbon, and the like and has a reverse rotation prevention function that is used by being mounted on a recording apparatus such as a printer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a recording apparatus such as a printer, a thermal transfer system is known as a method for printing on a recording medium such as paper. As an example of this method, printing is performed by applying heat to the ink ribbon from the thermal head of the recording apparatus and transferring the ink on the ribbon to the paper while pressing the ribbon-like ink sheet formed by applying ink to the paper. Examples thereof include a thermal melt transfer type that records a pattern on paper.
[0003]
In the above method, from the viewpoint of easy attachment of the ink ribbon to the recording apparatus, a form using a ribbon cassette in which the ink ribbon is accommodated in the cassette case and attached to the recording apparatus together with the case is generally performed. It has been broken. In recent years, attempts have been frequently made to reduce the size of the cassette case from the viewpoints of space saving, resource saving, environmental protection, and the like. In addition, information may be leaked from the print marks on the ribbon after printing, and the use of a tightly sealed cassette case is also increasing from the viewpoint of preventing secret leakage of the ribbon after printing.
[0004]
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-77787 proposes an unwinding prevention mechanism using a gear formed integrally with a winding spool (core). This is a mechanism for preventing unwinding of the spool (core) when the cassette is removed from the printer, and a stopper is provided to remove the tip from the teeth when the cassette is attached to the typewriter. However, a gear must be provided separately, and for the purpose of the take-up spool to take up the ribbon, the gears larger than the maximum take-up diameter of the ribbon are used so that the stopper and the ribbon do not collide when all the ribbons are taken up. There is a problem that the cassette becomes large unless the device such as the upper and lower stages of the supply core and the winding core is devised as in this example. Further, when the upper and lower stages are arranged, the ribbon travel is twisted, which causes wrinkles and meandering problems and causes printing defects.
[0005]
In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-34043, a part of a reel (core) has a shaft part supported by a bearing part of a cassette case, a rotation prevention part located outside thereof, and an axial projection. The reel (core) pressing leaf spring provided prevents rotation when not in use, and when in use, the reel (core) is pushed in the opposite direction to unlock the rotation prevention part, allowing it to rotate freely. Has been proposed. In this case, the leaf spring that urges the locking force also serves as a stopper, so there are few problems when locking completely, but it is not suitable for fine rotation control such as rotation control in only one direction and is unstable. It was something. Also, due to the nature of leaf springs, it is designed to be biased slightly in the locking direction in order to ensure locking, but if the biasing force is too strong, the locking cannot be completely released during use There is also a possibility of causing a fatal problem that a defect occurs, which is not preferable.
[0006]
Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-67064 has a concavo-convex portion provided at the end of the core to be engaged with the engaging portion with the cassette body, and is wound by being biased in the core axial direction by a spring member. Proposals have been made to prevent loosening and to release the lock by using a force exceeding the biasing force of the spring from the printer side during use.
However, since the urging force at the time of use exceeds the urging force at the time of non-use, the cassette continues to be applied with a slightly stronger constant urging force even during use, and free rotation is hindered. In other words, since the vehicle runs while always applying a certain brake, a load is applied to the printer and the cassette body.
[0007]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-77787 [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-34043 [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-67064
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to propose a ribbon cassette that solves the above problems, and proposes means for solving such problems.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention has completed the ribbon cassette of the present invention by providing a core having a rib having a specific shape and a reverse rotation preventing member for suppressing rotation corresponding thereto.
That is, the present invention
"1. Prevention of reverse rotation, in which a supply core formed by winding at least a ribbon on a cassette body, a winding core for winding the ribbon, and a cassette body are non-rotatable and loosely slidable in a direction along the axis of the core. A ribbon cassette that is mounted on a printer and includes a member, performs recording via a ribbon fed out from the supply core, and winds the ribbon with the winding core, and a plurality of ribbon cassettes on the inner surface of the core The rib is formed by providing an inclined portion in which the rib end portion is positioned inward in the direction along the axial center from the core end portion and is inclined only with respect to one rotation direction of the core. A rib receiving portion provided with an opposing inclined portion inclined in the same inclination direction as the inclined portion of the rib is formed continuously, and the reverse rotation is prevented by an urging means provided between the cassette body and the reverse rotation preventing member. By biasing the member toward the core, The rib receiving portion of the anti-reverse member and the rib of the core are engaged, and when the printer is not installed, the core can be rotated only in one direction by the engagement of the rib of the core and the rib receiving portion of the anti-reverse member. When the printer is mounted, the rotating shaft of the printer is inserted into the core, and the tip of the rotating shaft pushes the anti-reverse member so that the rib receiving portion of the anti-reverse member and the core The core is configured to be rotatable while being separated from the rib , and an end portion of the rib formed on the core has the obliquely inclined portion and a notch portion provided on the opposite side in the rotation direction. Ribbon cassette characterized by. "
[0010]
According to the above ribbon cassette, even if the ribbon is accidentally loosened when not in use, it can be taken up quickly. Especially when it is used for a take-up core, the ribbon after printing becomes difficult to be pulled out deliberately, so there is a secret leak. In addition to being able to prevent this, it is possible to reliably prevent reverse rotation regardless of the ribbon winding amount, and to obtain excellent effects such as miniaturization of the cassette.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011]
The ribbon cassette of the present invention is equipped with a cassette main body 9, a supply core 1-1 wound around at least a ribbon 10 accommodated therein, and a winding core 1-2 that winds up the ribbon 10, and meshes with the core. The reverse rotation preventing member 6 is provided, the ribbon 10 is fed out from the supply core 1-1, and is wound by the ribbon 10 while being wound by the winding core 1-2 into which the winding rotary shaft 13 of the printer is inserted. A ribbon cassette used in a recording mechanism for performing recording.
[0012]
The core 1 has a cylindrical shape having a plurality of ribs 2 on the inner surface so that the rotary shaft 13 of the printer can be inserted, and the end of the rib 2 is the core end 4 as shown in FIG. It has an inclined portion 3 that is located on the inner side in the direction along the axial center (L1 portion) and that is inclined only with respect to one rotation direction of the core 1, and cannot rotate with respect to the main body. The reverse rotation can be prevented by engaging with the reverse rotation prevention member 6 that is slidably fitted in a direction along the axis of the shaft 1.
[0013]
The reverse rotation preventing member 6 is formed by continuously forming a rib receiving portion 7 provided with an opposite inclined portion inclined in the same inclination direction as the inclined portion 3 of the core rib 2, and a protrusion is formed on the side surface of the reverse rotation preventing member 6 on the cassette body 9. Is fitted loosely on the cassette body so as to be non-rotatable and slidable in the direction along the axis of the core by providing a slide groove dug only in the core axis direction.
[0014]
The ribbon cassette of the present invention is inserted so that the rib receiving portion 7 of the reverse rotation preventing member 6 faces the step portion 5 formed by the rib 2 positioned inward in the direction along the axis with the core end portion 4. By urging the reverse rotation prevention member 6 toward the core by the biasing means 8 provided between the cassette body 9 and the reverse rotation prevention member 6, the rib receiving portion 7 of the reverse rotation prevention member 6 and the When the rib 2 of the core 1 is engaged and the printer 2 is not mounted (FIG. 3A), the core 2 can rotate only in one direction due to the engagement between the rib 2 of the core 1 and the rib receiving portion 7 of the reverse rotation preventing member 6. None, when the printer is mounted (FIG. 3B), the rotation shaft 13 of the printer is inserted into the core 1 and the tip portion of the rotation shaft pushes the reverse rotation prevention member 6 so that the reverse rotation prevention member 6 rib receiving portion 7 and rib 2 of core 1 1 is what is configured to be rotatable.
[0015]
That is, the end portion of the rib 2 is inclined in only one direction, and the reverse rotation preventing member 6 is slidably provided with the urging means 8 in the direction along the axis of the core. Therefore, the rotation is controlled. The two inclined portions are arranged so as to face each other. However, when the core 1 is rotated in the inclined direction, the inclined portion 3 is shifted so as to climb the inclined portion 3, that is, the reverse rotation preventing member 6 is moved in the core axial direction. It slides against the urging force so as to escape from the core 1. Thereafter, the original meshing state is achieved by the urging force of the urging means 8 at the end of the inclined portion, so that the core 1 functions to rotate in one rotation direction. On the other hand, even if the non-tilt part, that is, the surfaces upright in the direction along the axis of the core, rotate in the relative direction, they rotate in the reverse direction because they are meshed with each other in reverse gears. This prevents the reverse rotation. As a result, even if the ribbon is unintentionally fed out by another core that does not have the mechanism of the present invention when not in use, the ribbon can be wound up by the mechanism of the present invention, so there is no risk of being attached to the printer while being loosened. In the case where it is adopted as a winding core, the ribbon after printing is hardly pulled out intentionally, so that it is particularly preferable because secret leakage can be prevented. Needless to say, it is more effective if used for both the supply core and the winding core.
[0016]
Here, the secret leakage prevention function cannot be released unless it is operated in the same manner as the printer bias release means when attempting to release it when the ribbon is not used. In other words, a rod having a length exceeding the core length is inserted into the core from the core opening into which the printer rotation shaft is inserted, and the reverse rotation preventing member 6 is pushed to release the engagement unless it is disengaged. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent secret leakage for a simple structure compared to other stopper mechanisms.
[0017]
On the other hand, if the rotation of the core is prohibited in both directions and is completely fixed when not in use, even if the ribbon is loosened for some reason, the loosening cannot be taken up. In addition, it has been found that manual winding of the ribbon by the user before loading the ribbon is less likely to hinder the printing operation after loading the printer. If you want to try it, try a running test manually, but with the fully fixed type you can not do those trials, and it also causes a sense of anxiety whether you will drive safely, so there were many problems . According to the structure of the present invention, these problems can be solved.
[0018]
In addition, since the meshing locking portion for preventing reverse rotation also serves as the rib of the core, a locking portion is provided inside the core, and there is no need for an externally exposed gear or the like, and the ribbon is wound when the ribbon is wound. It is possible to design a free cassette without worrying about the outer diameter. That is, when the gear 11 or the like is provided outside as shown in FIG. 6, the wound ribbon 10 and the locking member 12 do not come into contact before use (supply core) or immediately before use (winding core). Thus, it is necessary to devise such as designing a gear 11 having an outer diameter exceeding the winding outer diameter, and as shown by a dotted line, an outer diameter difference is generated between the outer peripheral surface of the core 1 and the ribbon outer peripheral surface 10, thereby It is necessary to provide a large gear 11 in accordance with 10, but according to the configuration of the present invention, this is not necessary, and when the amount of ribbon to be used is small, a small cassette can be used, and the amount of ribbon has increased. Even in this case, since the cassette design is not made considering the amount of the take-up ribbon as a primary matter, it is possible to reliably prevent reverse rotation. In addition, since the core can be made compact, there is an effect that space can be saved even when it is distributed as a member. In general, the ribbon outer diameter of the ribbon after use, that is, immediately before the end of the ribbon wound around the winding core is larger than the outer diameter of the ribbon wound around the supply core before starting use. Employing the present invention is more effective and preferable.
[0019]
The core 1 of the present invention is such that the end of the rib 2 is positioned on the inner side in the direction along the axial center than the core end 4 (FIG. 1: L1 portion). Thereby, the step part 5 in which the reverse rotation preventing member 6 is inserted into the core can be formed, rattling of the reverse rotation preventing member 6 is prevented, and the reverse rotation preventing member 6 is satisfactorily seated. Further, if the end of the rib 2 is positioned inward by the height of the reverse rotation preventing member 6, that is, if the L1 length is longer than the height of the reverse rotation preventing member 6 (L2 length), the core of the cassette body There is no protrusion in the axial direction portion, and the cassette can be miniaturized. (Not shown)
[0020]
Further, the inclined portion 3 can be formed so that the end portion of the rib 2 of the core 1 has the inclined portion 3 and a notch portion 14 provided on the opposite side in the rotational direction. As the rotation direction length of the inclined portion 3 with respect to the core circumferential length, that is, the rotation angle occupied by the inclined portion 3 of one rib 2 is smaller, the feeding pitch can be reduced. Even when the width of the rib 2 is determined by the relationship with the drive shaft 13 of the printer or the like, the rotation pitch can be reduced, so that the tension and looseness of the ribbon can be reduced as much as possible. This is because finer rotation control can be performed as the rotation pitch is smaller.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, even when the ribbon is unintentionally loosened when not in use, the ribbon can be wound immediately. Particularly, when used in a winding core, the ribbon after printing is not easily pulled out intentionally. As a result, it is possible to prevent secret leakage and to reliably prevent reversal regardless of the amount of ribbon wound up, and to achieve excellent effects such as miniaturization of the cassette.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a core and an anti-reverse member according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a ribbon cassette according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another example of the core of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional core.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Core main body 1-1 Supply core 1-2 Winding core 2 Rib 3 Inclined part 4 Core edge part 5 Step part 6 Reverse rotation prevention member 7 Rib receiving part 8 Energizing means 9 Cassette main body 10 Ribbon 11 Reverse rotation prevention gear 12 Engagement Stop member 13 Printer rotation shaft (biasing release means)
14 Notch

Claims (1)

At least a supply core formed by winding a ribbon around the cassette body, a winding core for winding the ribbon, and a reverse rotation preventing member that is loosely fitted to the cassette body so as to be non-rotatable and slidable in a direction along the axis of the core. A ribbon cassette that is mounted on a printer, performs recording via a ribbon fed out from the supply core, and winds up the ribbon with the winding core, the inner surface of the core having a plurality of ribs The rib end portion is formed inside the core end portion in the direction along the axial center, and is provided with an inclined portion that is inclined only with respect to one rotation direction of the core. A rib receiving portion provided with an opposing inclined portion that is inclined in the same inclination direction as the inclined portion is formed continuously, and the reverse prevention member is cored by biasing means provided between the cassette body and the reverse prevention member. By urging to the side, the reverse The rib receiving portion of the stop member and the rib of the core are meshed, and when the printer is not mounted, the core can be rotated only in one direction by the meshing of the rib of the core and the rib receiving portion of the reverse rotation preventing member, When the printer is mounted, the rotation shaft of the printer is inserted into the core and the tip of the rotation shaft pushes the reverse rotation prevention member, so that the rib receiving portion of the reverse rotation prevention member and the rib of the core And the end of the rib formed on the core includes the inclined portion and a notch provided on the opposite side in the rotation direction. Characteristic ribbon cassette.

Images