JP4651493B2 - Ink cartridge housing structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a housing structure of an ink cartridge that enables strong bonding that can withstand external force due to dropping or unnecessary distortion even if the size is increased.

  An ink cartridge used in a printer having a thermal head or the like has the following configuration. In other words, the ink cartridge has a casing, two cores (for winding and sending) housed in the casing, and both ends are fixed to these cores and wound around the core. To the other core, and an ink ribbon having ink applied on the surface.

  Since the ink cartridge needs to be assembled by inserting (arranging) the core inside the casing at the time of manufacture, the casing is accommodated in a storage body that stores the core and a lid that covers the insertion opening of the core in the storage body. The body is divided, and after inserting (arranging) the core, the storage body and the lid are joined together.

  Conventionally, the following methods are known for joining the divided housings into one. For example, the following Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 show that a pin and a hole are fitted or a claw is engaged. For example, it is shown in the following Patent Document 3 that bonding is performed.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No.7-111346 JP 2002-46330 A JP-A-8-80657

  In addition to the above, a method of fitting the pin and the hole or engaging the claw and bonding the fitting part or the engaging part is also possible.

  By the way, in recent years, in a printer provided with a thermal head or the like, in order to increase the printing speed, the area of the thermal head is increased to print a large area at a time. Along with this, the ink ribbon in the ink cartridge is also widened.

  Naturally, the height (thickness) of the housing increases as the width of the ink ribbon increases, and if the amount of ink ribbon used is increased, the amount of ink ribbon wound around the core is the same as the winding diameter. The body width and depth will also increase.

  The above method used when joining the divided housings in the conventional cartridge structure has the following problems. The joining method for fitting the pin and the hole is only depending on the friction between the fitted pin outer periphery and the inner periphery of the hole, so it is relatively small as well as a large external force such as a drop impact. Even if it is an external force, it will come off easily.

  The joining method for engaging the claws is the same as the joining method for fitting the pins and the holes, so that the claws are easily disengaged by an external force such as a drop impact.

  As described above, since the case of the ink cartridge becomes larger as the ink ribbon becomes wider, the frequency of receiving unnecessary external force such as distortion of the case increases as the case becomes larger. .

  Since the core is just a sandwiched case that sandwiches both ends of the shaft, if the case is easily disconnected, loosened, or has a gap due to external forces, the core will be displaced and the core will It becomes impossible to rotate, or the core does not mesh with the drive system of the printer, which reduces the reliability of the product.

  The bonding method by bonding is stronger than the two methods described above, but an adhesive or the like (hereinafter referred to as an adhesive) may protrude from the bonding location, which is not the case. Other structures inside may be bonded, or the adhesive may solidify to generate an unnecessary member as a so-called burr, or may protrude from the casing to significantly deteriorate the appearance.

  Moreover, even if a joining method for fitting a pin and a hole or a joining method by engaging a claw and a joining method by adhesion may be simply combined, strong joining may be possible. The above-mentioned problems of the joining method are not solved.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is that, when joining the divided housings at the time of manufacturing the ink cartridge, the housing is firmly joined by the joining method of fitting the pins and holes and the joining method of engaging the claws. In addition, it eliminates the possibility that other structures may be bonded, burrs may occur, or the appearance may be impaired due to the adhesive sticking out in the bonding method using an adhesive. There is.

The casing structure of the ink cartridge according to the present invention includes a casing that houses a winding core wound with an ink ribbon and a delivery core, and a lid that covers an opening through which the core is inserted into the casing. In order to join the storage body and the lid body, the cylindrical joint portion is connected to the storage body, the perforated contact portion where the cylindrical hole of the joint portion communicates and the end surface of the joint portion abuts, and the perforated contact Wall portions that contact the outer periphery of the joint portion around the contact portion are formed on the lid body, and the joint portion is fitted into the perforated contact portion on the inner side surrounded by the wall portion, and the perforated contact portion In addition, the contact portion between the wall portion and the joint portion is bonded, and a part of the wall surface between the joint portions in the storage body is omitted, and a convex rib or a concave groove or curved surface is left on the remaining wall surface. To form a structure.

  In addition to the above, the casing structure of the ink cartridge according to the present invention has a step portion formed so that the diameter increases from the end portion inserted into the perforated contact portion at the joint portion, and the perforated portion is formed at the wall portion. A step portion may be formed so that the diameter becomes narrow toward the contact portion, and a contact surface between the step portions may be bonded.

  In addition to the above, the housing structure of the ink cartridge according to the present invention includes a joint portion, a perforated contact portion, and a wall portion at a position corresponding to the positioning pin for the ink cartridge in the carriage on the printer side. It is good also as a structure.

In the housing structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention, omitting a part of the wall surface between the joints in the storage body means that the space in the housing is effectively used rather than the purpose of protecting the inside of the housing 2. It is aimed. In the case of the ink cartridge casing according to the present invention, in order to improve the strength against torsion and distortion which are reduced by omitting a part of the wall surface between the joints, the ribs convex on the remaining wall surface Alternatively, a concave groove or a curved surface is formed .

  The casing structure of the ink cartridge according to the present invention can reliably position the end of the joint on the container side in the wall on the lid, and in this state the perforated contact part on the lid and the wall Since the bonding portion surrounded by these is bonded, it is possible to firmly bond and prevent the adhesive from protruding.

  In addition to the above, when a stepped portion that contacts each other is formed on the joint portion and the wall portion, the stepped portion is adhered to the hole of the joint portion and the hole of the perforated contact portion. It is possible to prevent the agent from protruding.

  Further, in addition to the above, the ink cartridge is formed in the hole of the hole contact portion and the hole by forming the joint portion, the hole contact portion and the wall portion at a position corresponding to the positioning pin on the printer side. The positioning pin can be received in the hole of the joint portion communicating with the hole. Therefore, the ink cartridge can effectively use the space in the housing and can be reversed after being used on one side and used on the other side.

  Further, in addition to the above, by omitting a part of the wall surface between the joints in the storage body, the winding diameter can be increased (the length of the ink ribbon can be increased). The bonding strength due to is not reduced.

  The present invention can be implemented by the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 show a storage body in the casing of the ink cartridge. 5 to 8 show a lid in the casing of the ink cartridge. FIGS. 9-10 shows the joining condition of a storage body and a cover body. 11 to 12 show a state in which the joint portion is partially broken and enlarged. 13 and 14 show another configuration.

  The ink cartridge is used in, for example, a printer having a thermal head and has the following configuration. The ink cartridge has a housing 2 and two cores (not shown and reference numerals) for winding and delivery in the housing 2. These two cores are fixed at both ends of an ink ribbon (not shown and reference number) having ink applied to the surface. The ink ribbon is wound around the sending core in the initial state, and is sent to the winding core by driving the printer.

  The housing 2 includes a storage body 2A that mainly inserts (places) the core, and a lid body 2B that covers an insertion opening of the core in the storage body 2A. In addition, the housing 2 has a function of mounting not only the core around which the ink ribbon is wound as described above, but also mounting it on the printer.

  The storage body 2A has the configuration shown in FIGS. Incidentally, FIG. 2 is viewed from the direction in which the joint portion with the lid 2B is the front, and when this is the front, FIG. 1 is the plane of FIG. 2, FIG. 3 is the right side of FIG. b) The left side, FIG. 4 has shown the state seen from the bottom face of FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the storage body 2 </ b> A includes an arrangement surface 2 a on which the core is arranged, and a pivot portion 2 b that pivotally supports the core on the arrangement surface 2 a. For example, the pivot 2b is fitted into the shaft of the core. In addition, in the storage body 2A, a cylindrical joint portion 3 in which a hole penetrating from one end to the other end is formed is provided at a place shown in FIG. 2, for example.

  That is, the joint portion 3 has four corners (joint portions 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D) on the placement surface 2a and two central locations (joint portions 3E, 3F) between the cores in the longitudinal center portion of the placement surface 2a. In addition, at six positions (outside of the area of the arrangement surface 2a), two positions (joint portions 3G and 3H) are provided at the end positions of the leg portions continuously extending from the lower end portion shown in FIG. It has been. That is, in this example, a total of eight joints 3 are provided in the storage part 2A.

  Of course, although the formation position (joint location) of the junction part 3 is not restricted to the above, especially the presence of the junction parts 3E and 3F between the cores can increase the number of the junction parts 3 unnecessarily or a wall body 2C described later. Even if it is not excessively provided, it is possible to prevent a joint failure between the housing 2A and the lid 2B due to twisting or distortion.

  Furthermore, by setting the joint portion 3 to be particularly the joint portions 3A to 3D, 3G, and 3H, the ink cartridge 1 can be turned upside down on the paper surface after all the ink ribbon is sent from the delivery core to the take-up core. By reversing, the ink ribbon can be sent out from the winding core to the sending core and reused.

  In other words, the housing structure of the ink cartridge 1 according to the present invention is such that the joint portion 3 and the hole contact portion 4 described later do not block each other's holes by joining the respective members. By forming the joint portion 3 at a location corresponding to the positioning pin, the space in the housing can be used effectively, and can be reused after being reversed.

  Furthermore, in this example, the storage body 2A has a joint portion 3C, centering on the joint portion 3F, from the joint portion 3A to the joint portion 3C, to the middle portion from the joint portion 3B to the joint portion 3D, and the joint portion 3F. A wall 2C (see FIGS. 3 and 4) is formed halfway up to each of the 3Ds. In this example, the wall 2 </ b> C is provided for the purpose of improving the strength against twisting and distortion rather than the purpose of protecting the inside of the housing 2.

  When the space in the housing 2 is used effectively, that is, when the winding length of the ink ribbon becomes long and the winding diameter becomes large, contact between the outermost periphery of the wound ink ribbon and the wall 2C is avoided. Therefore, the wall 2C of the contact portion is omitted (see FIG. 14). At this time, the strength against twisting of the housing 2 may be reduced. In that case, you can do the following: For example, convex ribs or concave grooves perpendicular to the torsion axis are formed on the remaining wall 2C in the entire height or width direction of the housing 2. Further, for example, the remaining housing 2C is formed into a curved surface having an axis orthogonal to the torsion axis. Alternatively, the two are formed in combination. In this way, even if the area of the wall 2C is small, the strength against torsion can be sufficiently increased.

  On the other hand, the lid body 2B has a configuration shown in FIGS. Incidentally, FIG. 6 is seen from the direction in which the joint portion with the storage body 2A is the front, and when this is the front, FIG. 5 is the plane of FIG. 6, FIG. 7 is the bottom of FIG. The (a) right side surface and (b) left side surface of FIG.

  In FIG. 6, the lid 2B also has an arrangement surface 2a on which the core is arranged, and a pivot portion 2b that pivotally supports the core on the arrangement surface 2a, like the housing 2A. The lid 2B has a configuration in which the joint 3 is fitted and bonded, and does not have the wall 2C.

  A perforated contact portion 4 (4A to 4H) that is coaxial with the joint portion 3 and has a hole with the same diameter is formed at a position corresponding to the joint portion 3 (3A to 3H) in the lid 2B. . And the wall part 5 (5A-5H) which contacts the outer peripheral surface of this junction part 3 around these perforated contact parts 4 is formed.

  Furthermore, in this example, a welding rib 4a (see FIGS. 9 and 10) for ultrasonic welding is formed in advance at a contact portion of the perforated contact portion 4 surrounded by the wall portion 5 with the joint portion 3. Has been. The welding rib 4a is formed in advance for ultrasonic welding, and the wall 5 and the joint 3 that comes into contact with the perforated contact 4 surrounded by the wall 5 are used as a normal adhesive. You may adhere using. When ultrasonic welding is performed using the welding rib 4a, the welding rib 4a and the perforated contact portion 4 can be integrally formed in advance, so that it is not necessary to apply an adhesive and workability is improved. To do.

  The ink cartridge 1 adopting the structure of the present invention has the housing 2 joined as follows. That is, FIG. 11 shows a situation in which the joint portions 3C and 3G are joined to the perforated contact portions 4C and 4G and the wall portions 5C and 5G. In addition, FIG. 12 shows a situation where the joint portions 3E and 3A, the perforated contact portions 4E and 4A, and the wall portions 5E and 5A are joined.

  In the ink cartridge 1, a core having an ink ribbon wound around a storage body 2A is disposed, and a lid 2B is overlaid on the storage body 2A. At this time, in this example, each joint portion 3 is fitted into the corresponding wall portion 5, and the end surface of the joint portion 3 is brought into contact with the perforated contact portion 4. 4a is melted and bonded.

  As described above, the ink cartridge 1 is a fitting method of the joint portion 3 and the wall portion 5, but can be joined with high accuracy without causing a gap, and the wall portion 5 restricts the movement of the joint portion 3. Therefore, for example, the joint between the housing 2A and the lid 2B is not shifted due to an impact such as dropping.

  Further, since the ink cartridge 1 adheres the joint portion 3 in the wall portion 5, it does not protrude from the portion where the welding rib 4 a or the adhesive is not planned, and as a result, the occurrence of burrs and the appearance are impaired. It is possible to prevent a problem such as a problem or an extra part being adhered.

  Further, in addition to the above, the case structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention may be as shown in FIG. That is, in the joint portion 3, the step portion 3 a is formed so that the diameter becomes wider from the end portion that is inserted toward the perforated contact portion 4. On the other hand, in the wall portion 5, the step portion 5 a is formed so that the diameter becomes narrower toward the perforated contact portion 4.

  And the welding rib 4a is formed on the step part 5a of the wall part 5. As shown in FIG. By doing in this way, it not only prevents that the welding rib 4a protrudes out of the wall part 5, but also prevents that it protrudes into the hole of the cylindrical junction part 3 or the hole of the perforated contact part 4. Can do.

  Further, in the case structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention, the portion shown in FIG. 14 and the wall 2C at the portion closest to the outermost circumference of the winding diameter of the ink ribbon may be omitted. Recent ink cartridges are trying to achieve the purpose of increasing the capacity of the ink ribbon and reducing the size of the ink cartridge.

  The above object is contradictory in that the ink cartridge becomes larger in size if the volume of the ink ribbon is increased and the winding diameter is increased. In order to overcome this contradiction, a part of the wall 2C of the housing 2 is removed.

  However, simply removing all of the wall body 2C significantly reduces the rigidity against distortion of the housing 2, and therefore, in the present invention, the wall body 2C at a position closest to the outermost circumference of the winding diameter of the ink ribbon is removed and omitted. It was decided. In this way, the winding diameter of the ink ribbon can be increased without changing the rigidity. When part of the wall 2C is removed in this way, the remaining wall 2C can be made difficult to twist by forming convex ribs, concave grooves, or curved surfaces as described above.

  Embodiments and effects relating to the casing structure of the ink cartridge according to the present invention will be described below. The experimental condition is that the casing 2 of the ink cartridge 1 having the following structure (a state in which the housing 2A and the lid 2B are joined) is dropped from a height of 1 m on each of the six surfaces of the casing 2 to form a gap. It was confirmed whether or not any trouble occurred (hereinafter referred to as a six-sided drop test). Hereinafter, the conditions of each example are different only in the described portions, and the other configurations are the same.

(Invention)
The present invention relates to a method for joining the housing 2A and the lid 2B in the configuration shown in FIGS. 1 to 14, in particular, by fitting the joint 3 into the wall 5 and the wall at the joint 3. It is about the structure which adhere | attached the site | part which contacts the part 5 and the perforated contact part 4. FIG.

(Comparative Example 1)
The comparative example 1 is about the structure which fitted the pin and the hole about the method of joining 2 A of storage bodies, and the cover body 2B.
(Comparative Example 2)
Comparative Example 2 is a structure in which the fitting part of the pin and the hole is further bonded in Comparative Example 1.

  According to the present invention, the six-sided drop test did not cause any problems on the entire surface. Moreover, the welding rib 4a did not protrude outside the housing 2 and the wall portion 5, and no defects in appearance were observed.

  In Comparative Example 1, there was a problem that the joint between the storage body 2A and the lid body 2B was easily disengaged on any surface in the six-surface drop test, or the pivot of the core was displaced due to a gap.

  In Comparative Example 2, the six-sided drop test did not cause any problems on the entire surface. However, the welding rib 4a protrudes out of the housing 2 and out of the fitting portion between the pin and the hole, resulting in a burr that impairs the appearance.

  From the above, according to the present invention, first, regarding the joining of the storage body 2A and the lid body 2B, the joint portion 3 is fitted into the wall portion 5, and the joint portion 3, the wall portion 5 and the perforated hole are fitted. Since the contact portion with the contact portion 4 is adhered, it is possible to prevent a gap from being generated or to be disconnected from the distortion or twist of the housing 2.

  Furthermore, since the present invention is performed in the wall portion 5 at the bonding portion, the bonding solvent or the like does not excessively protrude from the portion to be bonded, and the appearance may not be impaired. found.

  In the above experiment, the step 3a in the joint portion 3 and the step 5a in the wall portion 5 were not mentioned in terms of bonding via the welding rib 4c, but in that case, in addition to the above results, further welding was performed. In addition to preventing the rib 4 a from protruding outside the wall portion 5, it is possible to prevent the rib 4 a from protruding into the hole of the joint portion 3 and the hole of the perforated contact portion 4.

  Furthermore, in the above experiment, the joint location was not mentioned, but in particular, when it is provided at a position corresponding to the positioning pin of the ink cartridge in the carriage on the printer side, the space in the housing can be used effectively and the so-called A surface can be used. It can be used as an ink cartridge having a mounting surface on the B surface (the front surface and the back surface of the housing 2).

  Moreover, in the said experiment, it did not mention about removing and removing a part of wall 2C of the housing | casing 2, However, Even in that case, if it is the structure of this invention, rigidity and intensity | strength will fully endure. In addition, since the ink ribbon can be wound long, it is possible to cope with an increase in winding diameter.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a storage body of a casing of an ink cartridge viewed from a plane direction. FIG. 5 is a diagram of a storage body of a casing of an ink cartridge as viewed from the front. FIG. 5A is a view of a container housing of an ink cartridge as viewed from the right side, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a view of a housing body of the ink cartridge housing as viewed from the bottom. FIG. 3 is a diagram of a lid body of an ink cartridge housing viewed from a plane direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram of a lid body of the ink cartridge housing as viewed from the front. It is the figure which looked at the cover body of the housing | casing of an ink cartridge from the bottom face direction. FIG. 4A is a view of a lid body of an ink cartridge housing as viewed from the right side surface, and FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a wall part and a perforated contact part partially. It is a perspective view which expands and shows a wall part and a perforated contact part partially. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the joining condition of a cover body and a storage body. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the joining condition of a cover body and a storage body. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structure of a junction part and a wall part. It is a figure which shows the omission location of a wall.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge 2 Case 2A Storage body 2B Lid 2C Wall body 3 Joining part 4 Perforated contact part 5 Wall part

Claims (3)

A casing of an ink cartridge comprising: a winding and sending core around which an ink ribbon is wound; a casing that stores and arranges the core; and a casing that covers an opening through which the core is inserted into the storing body. It is a body structure, and a cylindrical joint is formed in the storage body, and a cylindrical hole of the joint is communicated with the lid, and a perforated contact part with which an end surface of the joint comes into contact And a wall portion that is in contact with the outer periphery of the joint portion is formed around the perforated contact portion, and on the inner side surrounded by the wall portion, the joint portion is fitted into the perforated contact portion, and The contact portion between the perforated contact portion and the wall portion and the joint portion is bonded to join the housing body and the lid body, and a part of the wall surface between the joint portions in the housing body characterized thereby omitted, to form a rib or concave convex remaining walls of the groove and curved surface Chassis structure of the ink cartridge.   A step portion is formed so that the diameter increases from the end portion inserted into the hole contact portion at the joint portion, and a step portion is formed so that the diameter decreases toward the hole contact portion in the wall portion, The ink cartridge casing structure according to claim 1, wherein the contact surfaces of the stepped portions are bonded.   3. The ink cartridge housing according to claim 1, wherein a joint portion, a perforated contact portion, and a wall portion are formed at positions corresponding to the positioning pins of the ink cartridge in the carriage on the printer side. Body structure.

Images