JP5637268B2 - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tape cassette that is detachable from a tape printer.

  Conventionally, when mounted on a cassette mounting part of a printing device, color information (tape color, character color, etc.) of the tape cassette is printed by selectively pressing a plurality of detection switches provided on the cassette mounting part. A tape cassette to be detected by the apparatus is known (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2). Specifically, a cassette detection unit in which through holes are formed in a pattern corresponding to color information is provided on a part of the lower surface of the tape cassette. When the tape cassette is mounted on the cassette mounting portion, the plurality of detection switches that are always biased upward are selectively pressed according to the pattern of the through holes formed in the cassette detection portion. In the printing apparatus, color information of the tape cassette mounted on the cassette mounting portion is detected in accordance with a combination of pressing or non-pressing on the plurality of detection switches.

JP-A-4-133756 Japanese Patent No. 3543659

  However, since the pattern of the through holes formed in the cassette detection unit is only required to be able to detect the color information by the printing apparatus, a random pattern is assigned so as to differ depending on the color information. In other words, these through-hole patterns do not have regularity that is recognizable in appearance, so that it is difficult to discriminate color information even by human eyes. Therefore, for example, in the tape cassette manufacturing process, it is difficult for an operator to visually check the appearance of the tape cassette and confirm the tape, the ink ribbon, and the like to be stored in the cassette case.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tape cassette capable of recognizing color information by visually observing the appearance of the tape cassette.

To achieve the above object, the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 1 includes a plurality of detection switches facing the tape cassette mounted on the cassette mounting portion, and whether or not each of the plurality of detection switches is pressed. A tape cassette that can be used in a tape printer capable of acquiring information according to the combination of the cassette case, and has a top surface, a bottom surface, a front surface, and a pair of side surfaces, and a cassette case having a shape that can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion; A tape storage area that is provided in an outer periphery of the cassette case defined by the upper surface, the bottom surface, the front surface, and the pair of side surfaces, and that can store a tape; an outer periphery of the cassette case and the tape storage area; And in a specific area adjacent to the tape storage area on the rear end side of the bottom surface, And a color specifying unit for specifying the information, the color specifying unit, wherein the pair of side surfaces in the cassette case is provided substantially at the center of the left-right direction is a direction opposing said cassette mounted on the cassette mount opposite the plurality of detecting switches that protrude toward the bottom surface of the case, in the prescribed pattern corresponding to the color information, and the pressing part is a surface portion which presses the detection switch facing, said detection switch facing and a non-pressing portion which is a hole or groove is disposed without being pressed further, forms a strip along the leading Kihidari right in the specific area, the plurality of arranged in the front-rear direction of the cassette case A horizontal information area, and a first horizontal information area of the plurality of horizontal information areas is provided adjacent to a rear edge of the bottom surface in the specific area, and is used as the color information. A prescribed pattern corresponding to the medium color of the tape includes at least one of the pressing portion and the non-pressing portion at a position facing the detection switch, and a second lateral information area of the plurality of lateral information areas is In the specific area, the pressing portion and the position are provided in front of the first lateral information area, and in a specified pattern corresponding to the print color of the tape as the color information, at a position facing the detection switch. see contains at least one of the non-pressing portion, the tape housing area, said the first of the first tape housing area tapes capable of accommodating a tape, the tape as a second second tape housing area tapes capable of accommodating And the first tape storage area and the second tape storage area are provided on the left and right sides of the cassette case with the color specifying part interposed therebetween, The first tape storage area has a substantially circular plan view shape corresponding to the first tape roll around which the first tape is wound, and the second tape storage area is wound by the second tape. The first tape storage area and the second tape storage area have a substantially circular plan view shape corresponding to the rotated second tape roll, and the first tape storage area and the second tape storage area are in contact with the outer peripheral edges of each other in the cassette case. The non-pressing portions provided side by side in the left-right direction and included in at least one of the first lateral information area and the second lateral information area are the outer peripheral edge of the first tape storage area and the second tape storage area. It is located on the reference line which is a virtual line along the front-back direction passing through the contact point with the outer peripheral edge .

A tape cassette according to a second aspect of the invention is provided with an ink ribbon storage area that is provided in an outer periphery of the cassette case and can store an ink ribbon, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect of the invention. The color is an ink color of the ink ribbon.

A tape cassette according to a third aspect of the present invention is the tape cassette according to the second aspect , in addition to the configuration of the second aspect , wherein in the cassette case, the tape storage area is provided biased toward the rear side in the cassette case. The storage area is provided to be biased toward the front side in the cassette case.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the tape cassette according to the first aspect, in addition to the configuration according to any one of the first to third aspects, the color specifying unit specifies the specific color as the medium color of the tape. Regardless of whether or not two lateral information areas include the non-pressing part, the specific position of the first lateral information area includes the non-pressing part.

The tape cassette according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the tape cassette according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the color specifying portion includes the non-pressing portion when the second lateral information area includes the non-pressing portion. While specifying that the printing color of a tape is black, when the said 2nd horizontal information area contains the said press part, it specifies that the printing color of the said tape is colors other than black, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

A tape cassette according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the tape cassette according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein the color specifying portion has a belt shape along the front-rear direction in the specific region, A plurality of vertical information areas arranged in the left-right direction, wherein the pressing part and the non-pressing part included in at least one of the first horizontal information area and the second horizontal information area are any of the plurality of vertical information areas It is contained in.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 7 , in addition to the configuration of the invention of claim 6 , the non-pressing portion spaced from the rear edge of the bottom surface is formed in the predetermined longitudinal information area, and When the rear side of the non-pressing part is the pressing part adjacent to the rear edge of the bottom surface, the overlapping area of the predetermined vertical information area and the first horizontal information area includes the pressing part, and The overlapping area between the predetermined vertical information area and the second horizontal information area includes the non-pressing portion.

In the tape cassette according to an eighth aspect of the invention, in addition to the configuration of the invention according to the sixth or seventh aspect , the color specifying unit includes the first horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersecting and overlapping. In the case where at least two overlapping regions include the non-pressing portion among a plurality of overlapping regions including a region and a region where the second horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersect and overlap each other, they are independent from each other. A plurality of the non-pressing parts are included.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the tape cassette according to the sixth aspect , in addition to the configuration according to the sixth or seventh aspect , the color specifying unit includes the first horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersecting and overlapping. Among the plurality of overlapping regions composed of a region and a region where the second horizontal information section and the plurality of vertical information sections intersect and overlap, the overlapping is different when at least two overlapping regions include the non-pressing portion. It includes at least one non-pressing portion extending over a region.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 1, color specification for specifying color information relating to the tape in a specific region adjacent to the tape storage region between the outer periphery of the cassette case and the tape storage region and on the rear end side of the bottom surface. A part. Of the plurality of lateral information areas included in the color specifying part, the first lateral information area includes at least one of a pressing part and a non-pressing part in a specified pattern corresponding to the medium color of the tape, and the second lateral information area is a tape. Including a pressing portion and a non-pressing portion in a prescribed pattern corresponding to the print color. Therefore, a human can identify the medium color and the print color of the tape as the color information by visually observing the first lateral information area and the second lateral information area included in the color identifying portion of the tape cassette. The pressing portion can be formed by the surface portion, and the non-pressing portion can be formed by the hole portion or the groove portion. The color specifying portion provided at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the cassette case can be disposed between the first tape storage area and the second tape storage area. A human specifies a reference line using the contact point between the outer peripheral edges of the two tape storage areas as an index, and whether or not each of the first lateral information area and the second lateral information area includes a non-pressing portion based on the reference line. Can be identified.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 2 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1 , the human specifies the ink color of the ink ribbon as the print color of the tape only by visually observing the second lateral information area. Can do.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 3 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2 , humans accurately determine the tape color indicated by the first lateral information area and the ink color indicated by the second lateral information area. Can be identified.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 4 , in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , when the specific position of the first transverse information area includes a non-pressing portion, the second transverse information area Without being affected by whether or not includes a non-pressing portion, a human can specify that the medium color of the tape is a specific color.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 5 , in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , is the human only observing the second lateral information area and whether the print color of the tape is black? You can specify whether or not.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 6 , in addition to the effect of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , a human is capable of having a plurality of vertical information areas, a first horizontal information area, and a second horizontal information area. Color information can be specified only by confirming whether or not the overlapping region includes a pressing portion or a non-pressing portion.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 7 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6 , the human specifies the range in which the second lateral information area is provided by using the pressing portion and the non-pressing portion arranged in the front-rear direction as an index. And the print color of the tape can be specified by the non-pressing portion of the second lateral information area.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 8 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6 or 7 , it becomes easy for a human to distinguish and recognize the non-pressing portion of each longitudinal information area.

In the tape cassette of the invention according to claim 9 , in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 6 or 7 , when manufacturing the tape cassette, for example, the non-pressing portion of the adjacent vertical information area may be continuously formed. Therefore, the strength of the mold constituting the non-pressing portion can be ensured, and manufacturing is easy. In addition, since the non-pressing portion formed across at least two rows of vertical information areas has a different shape from the independent non-pressing portion, the tape type can be easily identified by recognizing the difference in shape. it can.

It is a perspective view of the tape printer 1 in the state where the cassette cover 6 is closed. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the tape cassette 30 and the cassette mounting part 8. FIG. It is a top view of the cassette mounting part 8 in which the laminate type tape cassette 30 was mounted when the platen holder 12 was in the standby position. It is a top view of the cassette mounting part 8 in which the laminate type tape cassette 30 was mounted when the platen holder 12 was in the printing position. It is a top view of the cassette mounting part 8 in which the receptor type tape cassette 30 was mounted when the platen holder 12 was in the printing position. It is a top view of the cassette mounting part 8 in which the thermal type tape cassette 30 was mounted when the platen holder 12 was in the printing position. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the direction of the arrow in the II line in FIG. 2. It is the elements on larger scale of cassette opposing surface 12B in which the arm detection part 200 was provided. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the tape printer 1. FIG. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the tape cassette 30 from the upper surface 30A side. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the tape cassette 30 from the bottom face 30B side. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view in which an arm portion 34 of the tape cassette 30 is enlarged. It is a bottom view of the tape cassette 30 which expanded the back recessed part 68C. It is a top view of the tape cassette 30 which expanded the back recessed part 68C in the state which removed the upper case 31A. It is a top view of the tape cassette 30 which expanded the back recessed part 68C in the state which removed the upper case 31A in a 1st comparative example. It is a top view of the tape cassette 30 which expanded the back recessed part 68C in the state which removed the upper case 31A in a 2nd comparative example. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 8, showing a state where the arm detection unit 200 shown in FIG. 8 faces the arm identification unit 800 shown in FIG. 12. It is the II-II arrow direction sectional view taken on the line in FIG. 4 which shows the state which the back detection part 300 shown in FIG. 7 opposes the back identification part 900 shown in FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing related to printing by the tape printer 1. It is a figure which shows the data structure of the color information table 520. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the tape cassette 30 in the modification from the bottom face 30B side. It is a bottom view of tape cassette 30 which expanded back crevice 68C in a modification. It is a top view of tape cassette 30 which expanded rear crevice 68C in the state where upper case 31A was removed in a modification. It is the II-II arrow directional cross-sectional view in FIG. 4 which shows the tape cassette 30 of a modification.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the drawings to be referred to are used for explaining the technical features that can be adopted by the present invention, and the configuration of the described apparatus is not intended to be limited thereto, but is merely an illustrative example. is there.

  The tape printer 1 and the tape cassette 30 according to the present embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. In the description of this embodiment, the lower left side of FIG. 1 is the front side of the tape printer 1, the upper right side of FIG. 1 is the rear side of the tape printer 1, and the lower right side of FIG. 1 is the left side of the tape printer 1. 2 is the front side of the tape cassette 30, the upper left side of FIG. 2 is the rear side of the tape cassette 30, the upper right side of FIG. 2 is the right side of the tape cassette 30, and the lower left side of FIG. The left side of the cassette 30 is assumed.

  In practice, the gear group including the gears 91, 93, 94, 97, 98, and 101 shown in FIG. 2 is covered with the bottom surface of the cavity 8A, but these gear groups will be described. As necessary, the bottom surface of the cavity 8A is not shown in FIG. 2 to 6 schematically show the side wall that forms the periphery of the cassette mounting portion 8, this is merely a schematic diagram, and for example, the side wall shown in FIG. 2 is drawn thicker than the actual side. It is. 3 to 6 show the state in which the various tape cassettes 30 are mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8 with the upper case 31A removed, in order to facilitate understanding.

  First, a schematic configuration of the tape printer 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. In the following, thermal type tape cassette 30 containing only thermal paper tape, receptor type tape cassette 30 containing printing tape and ink ribbon, laminated type containing double-sided adhesive tape, film tape and ink ribbon A tape printer 1 configured as a general-purpose machine that can commonly use a plurality of tape cassettes 30 of different tape types, such as the tape cassette 30 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the tape printer 1 includes a main body cover 2 having a rectangular shape in plan view. On the front side of the main body cover 2, a keyboard 3 including character keys such as characters, symbols, and numbers, various function keys, and the like is disposed. On the rear side of the keyboard 3, a display 5 capable of displaying input characters and symbols is provided. A cassette cover 6 that is opened and closed when the tape cassette 30 is replaced is provided on the rear side of the display 5. Although not shown, a discharge slit for discharging the printed tape to the outside is provided behind the left side surface of the main body cover 2, and the cassette cover 6 is provided on the left side surface of the cassette cover 6. A discharge window for exposing the discharge slit to the outside in the closed state is formed.

  Next, the internal structure of the main body cover 2 corresponding to the cassette cover 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, inside the main body cover 2 corresponding to the cassette cover 6, a cassette mounting portion 8, which is an area in which the tape cassette 30 is detachable, is provided. The cassette mounting portion 8 is recessed so as to substantially correspond to the shape of the bottom surface 30B of the cassette case 31 to be described later when the tape cassette 30 is mounted, and includes a cavity 8A having a flat bottom surface and an outer edge of the cavity 8A. And a cassette support portion 8B which is a flat portion extending horizontally.

  The planar view shape of the cassette support portion 8B is a rectangle that is long in the left-right direction, substantially corresponding to the planar view shape of the tape cassette 30. The rear edge portion of the cavity 8A has a shape in which two arcs are arranged side by side in a plan view. A part of the cassette support portion 8B located between these two arcs is referred to as a rear support portion 8C. The rear support portion 8C is a portion facing the rear recess 68C (see FIG. 11) of the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8. The cassette support portions 8B other than the rear support portion 8C are connected to the cassette mounting portion 8. This is a portion facing the lower surface of the common portion 32 (specifically, a corner portion 32A described later) of the tape cassette 30 that is mounted.

  A rear support pin 301 and a rear detection unit 300 are provided in the rear support unit 8C. The rear support pin 301 is a cylindrical member that protrudes upward from the rear support portion 8C in the vicinity of the connecting portion of the two arcs at the rear edge of the cavity 8A. When the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the rear support pin 301 supports a rear recess 68C of the tape cassette 30 described later from below.

  The rear detection unit 300 includes a plurality of detection switches 310, and a switch terminal 322 of each detection switch 310 protrudes upward from a through hole 8D provided in the rear support unit 8C. In the present embodiment, the rear detection unit 300 includes five detection switches 310A to 310E, four of which (detection switches 310A to 310D) are arranged at the rear end of the rear support unit 8C in order from the left side (right side in FIG. 7). The remaining detection switches 310E are arranged in front of the second detection switch 310C from the right. Hereinafter, the detection switch 310 provided in the rear detection unit 300 is referred to as a rear detection switch 310.

  Here, the detailed structure of the rear detection switch 310 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, each of the rear detection switches 310 (rear detection switches 310 </ b> A to 310 </ b> E) includes a substantially cylindrical main body portion 321 installed below the rear support portion 8 </ b> C, that is, inside the main body cover 2, and the main body portion 321. And a rod-like switch terminal 322 that can be advanced and retracted in the axial direction from one end side. The other end side of the main body 321 of each rear detection switch 310 is attached to the switch support plate 320 and is installed inside the main body cover 2. Further, on one end side of each main body portion 321, the switch terminal 322 can advance and retreat through a plurality of through holes 8 </ b> D formed in the rear support portion 8 </ b> C. Each switch terminal 322 is always held in a state of being extended from the main body 321 by a spring member (not shown) provided inside the main body 321. That is, when the switch terminal 322 is not pressed, the switch terminal 322 extends from the main body 321 (off state), and when the switch terminal 322 is pressed, the switch terminal 322 retreats into the main body 321 (on state). Become.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the tape cassette 30 is not mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, all the rear detection switches 310 are turned off because the rear detection switch 310 is in a state of being separated from the tape cassette 30. . On the other hand, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8, the rear detection switch 310 faces a rear identification unit 900 of the tape cassette 30 described later, and the rear detection switch 310 selectively presses the rear detection switch 900. Is done. Based on the on / off combination of the rear detection switch 310 at this time, the type of tape stored in the tape cassette 30 (hereinafter referred to as tape type) is detected. The detection of the tape type by the rear detection unit 300 will be described later separately.

  As shown in FIG. 2, two positioning pins 102 and 103 are provided at two locations on the cassette support portion 8B. More specifically, a positioning pin 102 is provided on the left side of the cavity 8A, and a positioning pin 103 is provided on the right side of the cavity 8A. The positioning pins 102 and 103 are pin holes 62 and 63 which are two concave portions formed on the lower surface of the common portion 32 of the tape cassette 30 when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8 (see FIG. 11). Are provided at corresponding positions. The positioning pins 102 and 103 are inserted into the pin holes 62 and 63 when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, and support the tape cassette 30 from below at the left and right positions of the peripheral edge of the tape cassette 30.

  The cassette mounting portion 8 is provided with a transport mechanism that pulls out the tape from the tape cassette 30 and transports it, a printing mechanism that prints characters and the like on the surface of the tape, and the like. As shown in FIG. 2, a head holder 74 on which a thermal head 10 including a heating element (not shown) is mounted is fixed on the front side of the cassette mounting portion 8.

  A tape feed motor 23, which is a stepping motor, is disposed outside the cassette mounting portion 8 (upper right side in FIG. 2). A drive gear 91 is fixed to the lower end of the drive shaft of the tape feed motor 23. The drive gear 91 is engaged with the gear 93 through the opening, and the gear 93 is engaged with the gear 94. On the upper surface of the gear 94, a ribbon take-up shaft 95 is provided upright for rotating the ribbon take-up spool 44 described later. Further, a gear 97 is engaged with the gear 94, a gear 98 is engaged with the gear 97, and a gear 101 is engaged with the gear 98. On the upper surface of the gear 101, a tape drive shaft 100 is erected to rotate the tape drive roller 46 described later.

  When the tape feed motor 23 is driven to rotate counterclockwise with the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the ribbon take-up shaft 95 is moved counterclockwise via the drive gear 91, gear 93, and gear 94. It is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction. The ribbon take-up shaft 95 rotates the ribbon take-up spool 44 in which the ribbon take-up shaft 95 is inserted. Further, the rotation of the gear 94 is transmitted to the tape drive shaft 100 through the gear 97, the gear 98, and the gear 101, and the tape drive shaft 100 is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction. The tape drive shaft 100 rotates the tape drive roller 46 in which the tape drive shaft 100 is inserted.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, an arm-shaped platen holder 12 is pivotally supported on the front side of the head holder 74 so as to be swingable about the shaft support portion 12 </ b> A. At the front end side of the platen holder 12, a platen roller 15 provided so as to be able to contact and separate relative to the thermal head 10 and a tape drive roller 46 into which the tape drive shaft 100 is inserted is provided so as to be able to contact and separate. The movable transport roller 14 is rotatably supported together.

  The platen holder 12 is connected to a release lever (not shown) that moves in the left-right direction in conjunction with opening and closing of the cassette cover 6. When the cassette cover 6 is opened, the release lever moves in the right direction, and the platen holder 12 moves toward the standby position shown in FIG. In the standby position shown in FIG. 3, the platen holder 12 is moved away from the cassette mounting portion 8, so that the tape cassette 30 can be attached to and detached from the cassette mounting portion 8. The platen holder 12 is always elastically biased to the standby position by a winding spring (not shown).

  On the other hand, when the cassette cover 6 is closed, the release lever moves to the left, and the platen holder 12 moves toward the printing position shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the platen holder 12 is moved in the direction close to the cassette mounting portion 8. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, when the laminate type tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the platen roller 15 moves the thermal head 10 via the film tape 59 and the ink ribbon 60. And the movable conveying roller 14 presses the tape driving roller 46 via the double-sided adhesive tape 58 and the film tape 59.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 5, when the receptor type tape cassette 30 is mounted, the platen roller 15 presses the thermal head 10 via the print tape 57 and the ink ribbon 60 and is movable. The conveying roller 14 presses the tape driving roller 46 via the printing tape 57. As shown in FIG. 6, when the thermal type tape cassette 30 is mounted, the platen roller 15 presses the thermal head 10 via the thermal paper tape 55, and the movable conveyance roller 14 moves to the thermal paper tape 55. Then, the tape driving roller 46 is pressed. Thereby, at the printing position shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, printing can be performed using the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8. Details of the thermal paper tape 55, the printing tape 57, the double-sided adhesive tape 58, the film tape 59, and the ink ribbon 60 will be described later.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a transport path for transporting the printed tape 50 is provided between the tape discharge port 49 of the tape cassette 30 and the discharge slit (not shown) of the tape printer 1. Yes. A cut mechanism 17 that cuts the printed tape 50 at a predetermined position is provided in the transport path. The cutting mechanism 17 includes a fixed blade 18 and a movable blade 19 that is opposed to the fixed blade 18 and is movably supported in the front-rear direction (vertical direction shown in FIGS. 3 to 6). The movable blade 19 is moved in the front-rear direction by a cutter motor 24 (see FIG. 9).

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 and FIG. 8, the rear side surface of the platen holder 12, that is, the surface facing the thermal head 10 (hereinafter referred to as the cassette facing surface) 12B has an intermediate position in the longitudinal direction. An arm detection unit 200 is provided slightly on the right side. The arm detection unit 200 includes a plurality of detection switches 210, and a switch terminal 222 (see FIG. 17) of each detection switch 210 is the front surface of the tape cassette 30 existing in the cassette mounting unit 8 (more details will be described later). It protrudes backward so as to face the arm front surface 35). Similarly to the switch terminal 322 described above, the switch terminal 222 of each detection switch 210 is in an extended state (off state) when not pressed, and in a retracted state (on state) when pressed. It becomes. Hereinafter, the detection switch 210 provided in the arm detection unit 200 is referred to as an arm detection switch 210.

  In the present embodiment, five through holes 12C are arranged in three rows in the vertical direction on the cassette facing surface 12B of the platen holder 12. More specifically, the arrangement is two in the upper row, two in the middle row, and one in the lower row. And the position of each through-hole 12C in the left-right direction is different. Specifically, the five through holes 12C are zigzag in order from the left side of the cassette facing surface 12B (right side in FIG. 8) to the left side of the middle row, the left side of the upper row, the right side of the middle row, the right side of the upper row, and the lower row. Is arranged. Corresponding to these five through holes 12C, five arm detection switches 210A, 210B, 210C, 210D, and 210E are provided in order from the left side of the cassette facing surface 12B. Each of the arm detection switches 210 </ b> A to 210 </ b> E is provided at a height position facing an arm identification unit 800 described later in a state where the tape cassette 30 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting unit 8.

  When the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, when the platen holder 12 moves toward the standby position (see FIG. 3), each arm detection switch 210 is separated from the tape cassette 30, so that all arm detections are performed. The switch 210 is turned off. On the other hand, when the platen holder 12 moves toward the printing position (see FIGS. 4 to 6), the arm detection switch 210 faces the front surface of the tape cassette 30 (more specifically, the arm front surface 35 described later). The arm detection switch 210 is selectively pressed by the arm identification unit 800. The tape type is detected based on the ON / OFF combination of the arm detection switch 210 at this time, which will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, the cassette facing surface 12 </ b> B of the platen holder 12 is provided with a locking piece 225 that is a plate-like protrusion extending in the left-right direction. Similarly to the switch terminal 222 of the arm detection switch 210, the locking piece 225 protrudes substantially horizontally from the cassette facing surface 12 </ b> B toward the cassette mounting portion 8. That is, it protrudes so as to face the front surface of the tape cassette 30 existing in the cassette mounting portion 8 (more specifically, the arm front surface 35 described later). The locking piece 225 is a height that faces a locking hole 820 (see FIG. 2) provided in the arm front surface 35 of the tape cassette 30 to be described later in a state where the tape cassette 30 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting portion 8. It is provided in the position.

  Next, the electrical configuration of the tape printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the tape printer 1 includes a control circuit unit 400 formed on a control board. The control circuit unit 400 includes a CPU 401 that controls each device, a ROM 402, a CGROM 403, a RAM 404, an input / output interface 411, and the like connected to the CPU 401 via a data bus 410.

  The ROM 402 has a display drive control program for controlling the liquid crystal drive circuit (LCDC) 405 in correspondence with character code data such as letters and numbers inputted from the keyboard 3, and printing for driving the thermal head 10 and the tape feed motor 23. Drive control program, pulse number determination program for determining the number of applied pulses corresponding to the amount of energy to form each printing dot, cutting drive control program for driving the cutter motor 24 to cut the printed tape 50 at a predetermined cutting position, etc. Various programs necessary for control of the tape printer 1 are stored. That is, the CPU 401 performs various calculations based on these various programs. The ROM 402 also stores various tables for specifying the tape type of the tape cassette 30 attached to the tape printer 1, which will be described in detail later.

  In CGROM 403, dot pattern data for printing is classified for each typeface (Gothic typeface, Mincho typeface, etc.) for each of a large number of characters for printing characters such as alphabet letters and symbols. Are stored in correspondence with code data for six types (for example, dot sizes of 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, and 96).

  The RAM 404 is provided with a plurality of storage areas such as a text memory and a print buffer. Document data input from the keyboard 3 is stored in the text memory. In the print buffer, a dot pattern for printing such as a plurality of characters and symbols, the number of applied pulses that is the amount of energy for forming each dot, and the like are stored as dot pattern data. That is, the thermal head 10 performs dot printing according to the dot pattern data stored in the print buffer. In the other storage area, various calculation data and the like are stored.

  The input / output interface 411 includes arm detection switches 210A to 210E, rear detection switches 310A to 310E, a keyboard 3, and a liquid crystal drive circuit (LCDC) having a video RAM (not shown) for outputting display data to a display (LCD) 5. 405, a drive circuit 406 for driving the thermal head 10, a drive circuit 407 for driving the tape feed motor 23, a drive circuit 408 for driving the cutter motor 24, and the like are connected to each other.

  Next, the configuration of the tape cassette 30 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 and FIGS. 10 to 18. In the following, as a general-purpose cassette that can mount various tape types such as thermal type, receptor type, laminate type, etc., by changing the type of tape stored in the inside and the presence or absence of ink ribbon as appropriate The tape cassette 30 comprised is illustrated. However, the tape cassette shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and FIGS. 10 to 14 is a double-sided adhesive tape having a base color “White” on a tape cassette 30 having a width of 36 mm, which is equal to or greater than a predetermined width (for example, 18 mm). 58 and a laminate type in which an ink ribbon 60 of ink color “Black” is housed are shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, the tape cassette 30 has a cassette case 31 which is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped (box-shaped) casing having rounded corners in plan view as a whole. The cassette case 31 includes a lower case 31B including the bottom surface 30B of the cassette case 31, and an upper case 31A including the upper surface 30A of the cassette case 31 and fixed to the upper portion of the lower case 31B. When upper case 31A and lower case 31B are fixed to each other, side surface 30C having a predetermined height is formed across the outer edges of upper surface 30A and bottom surface 30B. That is, the cassette case 31 has a pair of upper surface 30A and bottom surface 30B that form a rectangular plane opposed to each other in the vertical direction, and a side surface 30C (at a predetermined height across the outer edges of the upper surface 30A and the bottom surface 30B). Here, it is a box-shaped case body having a front surface, a back surface, a left side surface, and a right side surface.

  The cassette case 31 does not have to be surrounded by the side surface 30C on the entire periphery of the top surface 30A and the bottom surface 30B, and has an opening that exposes the inside of the cassette case 31 to a part of the side surface 30C (for example, the back surface). The boss | hub which connects the upper surface 30A and the bottom face 30B may be provided in the position which faces the opening part. Hereinafter, the distance (vertical length) from the bottom surface 30B to the top surface 30A is referred to as the height dimension of the tape cassette 30 or the cassette case 31. In the present embodiment, the vertical direction of the cassette case 31 (that is, the direction in which the top surface 30A and the bottom surface 30B face each other) substantially coincides with the attaching / detaching direction of the tape cassette 30.

  Regardless of the type of the tape cassette 30, the cassette case 31 has a corner portion 32 </ b> A formed with the same width (the same length in the vertical direction). The corner 32A protrudes outward so as to form a right angle in plan view. However, the lower left corner 32A in plan view is not perpendicular because the tape outlet 49 is provided at the corner. The lower surface of the corner portion 32 </ b> A is a portion facing the cassette support portion 8 </ b> B described above in the cassette mounting portion 8 when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8. A portion (including the corner portion 32A) that surrounds the entire side surface of the cassette case 31 with the same position and the same width as the corner portion 32A in the vertical (height) direction of the cassette case 31. That's it. More specifically, the common portion 32 is a portion formed symmetrically in the vertical direction with respect to the center line in the vertical (height) direction of the cassette case 31.

  The height dimension of the tape cassette 30 varies depending on the tape width of the tape (here, the thermal paper tape 55, the printing tape 57, the double-sided adhesive tape 58, the film tape 59, etc.) stored in the cassette case 31. However, the height dimension of the common portion 32 is set to the same dimension regardless of the tape width of the tape cassette 30. For example, when the height dimension of the common portion 32 is 12 mm, when the tape width of the tape cassette 30 is increased (for example, 18 mm, 24 mm, 36 mm), the height dimension of the cassette case 31 is increased accordingly. The height dimension of the part 32 is constant.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 10, and 11, a first tape spool 40, a second tape spool 41, and a ribbon take-up spool 44 described later are rotatably supported on the upper case 31A and the lower case 31B, respectively. Support holes 65A, 66A, and 67A and support holes 65B, 66B, and 67B are provided. The support holes 65A and 65B communicate with a substantially central position in a plan view of the first tape storage portion 33A (see FIGS. 3 to 6) provided in the left region inside the cassette case 31. The support holes 66A and 66B communicate with a substantially central position in a plan view of the second tape storage portion 33B (see FIGS. 3 to 6) provided in the right region inside the cassette case 31.

  33 A of 1st tape accommodating parts have the substantially circular planar view shape corresponding to the tape (FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 double-sided adhesive tape 58) wound around the 1st tape spool 40. As shown in FIG. The second tape storage portion 33B has a substantially circular plan view shape corresponding to the tape wound on the second tape spool 41 (film tape 59 in FIGS. 3 and 4). The tape storage portions 33A and 33B are provided side by side in the cassette case 31 with the left-right direction as the longitudinal direction so that the outer edges are adjacent to each other in plan view. In addition, an ink ribbon storage portion 33C positioned in front of the tape storage portions 33A and 33B is provided at the right front portion in the cassette case 31.

  In the laminate type tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the double-sided adhesive tape 58 wound around the first tape spool 40, the film tape 59 wound around the second tape spool 41, and the ribbon spool 42 are wound. Three types of tape rolls of the rotated ink ribbon 60 are stored in the cassette case 31. And the 1st tape spool 40 which wound the release paper of the double-sided adhesive tape 58 toward the outer side is accommodated rotatably in the 1st tape accommodating part 33A via the support holes 65A and 65B. The second tape spool 41 around which the film tape 59 is wound is rotatably stored in the second tape storage portion 33B via the support holes 66A and 66B. The ink ribbon 60 wound around the ribbon spool 42 is rotatably arranged in the ink ribbon storage portion 33C.

  Between the first tape spool 40 and the ribbon spool 42 in the cassette case 31, a ribbon take-up spool that pulls out the ink ribbon 60 from the ribbon spool 42 and winds up the ink ribbon 60 used for printing characters or the like. 44 is rotatably arranged through the support holes 67A and 67B. A clutch spring (not shown) is attached to the lower portion of the ribbon take-up spool 44 to prevent the ink ribbon 60 taken up by the reverse of the ribbon take-up spool 44 from loosening. .

  In the receptor type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 5, two types of tape rolls, that is, a printing tape 57 wound around a first tape spool 40 and an ink ribbon 60 wound around a ribbon spool 42, are placed in a cassette case 31. It is stored. This receptor type tape cassette 30 does not include the second tape spool 41.

  In the thermal type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 6, one type of tape roll of the thermal paper tape 55 wound around the first tape spool 40 is accommodated in the cassette case 31. The thermal type tape cassette 30 does not include the second tape spool 41 and the ribbon spool 42.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a semicircular groove 34 </ b> K, which is a substantially semicircular groove in a plan view, is formed on the front surface of the cassette case 31 in the height direction of the cassette case 31 (that is, from the top surface 30 </ b> A to the bottom surface 30 </ b> B). It is provided over. A portion of the front surface of the cassette case 31 that extends to the left from the semicircular groove 34 </ b> K is referred to as an arm front surface 35. A portion extending from the right front portion to the left side of the tape cassette 30 defined by the arm front surface 35 and the arm back surface 37 provided across the height direction at a position spaced rearward from the arm front surface 35 is referred to as an arm portion 34.

  As shown in FIG. 12, in the arm portion 34, a tape travel path for guiding the travel of the film tape 59 and a ribbon travel path for guiding the travel of the ink ribbon 60 are separately formed by the separation wall 34D. . The film tape 59 and the ink ribbon 60 are superposed at the opening 34A after being guided along each travel route, and are discharged from the opening 34A to the head insertion portion 39. 12 illustrates a laminate-type tape cassette 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), the same applies to the arm portion 34 of another type of tape cassette 30. However, in the receptor-type tape cassette 30 (see FIG. 5), the print tape 57 is guided along the tape travel path, and the ink ribbon 60 is guided along the ribbon travel path. In the thermal type tape cassette 30 (see FIG. 6), the thermal paper tape 55 is traveled and guided along the tape travel path, and the ribbon travel path is not used.

  By the way, when the platen holder 12 moves toward the printing position with the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8 (see FIGS. 4 to 6), the arm detection unit 200 and the engagement unit provided on the cassette facing surface 12B. The stop piece 225 faces the arm front surface 35. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 12, on the arm front surface 35, by selectively pressing the arm detection switch 210, an arm identification unit 800, which is a part for causing the tape printer 1 to detect the tape type, A locking hole 820 into which the locking piece 225 is inserted is provided.

  The arm identification unit 800 includes a plurality of identification units configured by any one of the non-pressing unit 801 and the pressing unit 802 at positions corresponding to the plurality of arm detection switches 210. The plurality of identification portions are patterns according to information (printing information) that is essential for executing proper printing in the tape printer 1 among the tape types of the tape cassette 30, and the non-pressing portion 801 and The combination of the press part 802 is comprised. In the present embodiment, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the five arm detection switches 210 </ b> A to 210 </ b> E are configured by either the non-pressing portion 801 or the pressing portion 802 at positions facing each other. It has two identification parts 800A-800E.

  The non-pressing portion 801 is a vertically long rectangular switch hole in front view in which the switch terminal 222 (see FIG. 17) of each arm detection switch 210 can be inserted and removed. The arm detection switch 210 facing the non-pressing portion 801 is turned off when the switch terminal 222 is inserted into the non-pressing portion 801. The pressing part 802 is a surface part into which the switch terminal 222 of the arm detection switch 210 cannot be inserted. The arm detection switch 210 facing the pressing portion 802 is turned on when the switch terminal 222 contacts the pressing portion 802. The locking hole 820 is a slit-like through hole extending in the left-right direction above the right side of the arm identification unit 800. When the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the locking hole 820 is opposed to the locking piece 225 (see FIG. 8) so as to be detachable.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the head insertion portion 39 is seen in a plan view penetrating the tape cassette 30 in the vertical direction, surrounded by the arm back surface 37 and a peripheral wall surface provided continuously from the arm back surface 37. It is a substantially rectangular space. A head holder 74 that supports the thermal head 10 of the tape printer 1 is inserted into the head insertion portion 39, and the tape (the thermal paper tape 55, the printing tape 57, or the film tape 59 is discharged from the opening 34 </ b> A of the arm portion 34. ) Is printed by the thermal head 10.

  Further, a support hole 64 (see FIG. 11) is provided on the downstream side of the head insertion portion 39 in the tape transport direction from the opening 34A of the arm portion 34 to the tape discharge port 49, and the tape is disposed inside the support hole 64. A drive roller 46 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable. When the laminate type tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the tape drive roller 46 moves from the second tape spool 41 in cooperation with the opposed movable transport roller 14. The film tape 59 is pulled out, and the double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive tape 58 is pulled out from the first tape spool 40 and guided and adhered to the printing surface of the film tape 59.

  A pair of upper and lower restricting members 36 are provided on the upstream side of the tape drive roller 46. The base of the regulating member 36 regulates the printed film tape 59 in the vertical direction (tape width direction) and guides it toward the tape discharge port 49 on the downstream side of the thermal head 10. The adhesive tape 58 is properly bonded without causing a positional shift. In the vicinity of the regulating member 36, a guide wall 47 is provided for separating the used ink ribbon 60 conveyed via the head insertion portion 39 from the film tape 59 and guiding it toward the ribbon take-up spool 44. It is installed. Between the guide wall 47 and the ribbon take-up spool 44, a used ink ribbon 60 guided along the guide wall 47 and a double-sided adhesive tape 58 wound around and supported by the first tape spool 40 are provided. A separation wall 48 is erected to prevent contact with each other.

  When the receptor type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 5 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the print tape 57 is pulled out from the first tape spool 40 by the cooperation of the tape drive roller 46 and the movable transport roller 14. . On the downstream side of the thermal head 10, the printed print tape 57 is guided toward the tape discharge port 49 while being regulated in the vertical direction (tape width direction) at the base portion of the regulating member 36. Further, the used ink ribbon 60 conveyed via the head insertion portion 39 is separated from the print tape 57 by the guide wall 47 and guided toward the ribbon take-up spool 44.

  When the thermal type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 6 is mounted, the thermal paper tape 55 is pulled out from the first tape spool 40 by the cooperation of the tape driving roller 46 and the movable conveying roller 14. On the downstream side of the thermal head 10, the printed thermal paper tape 55 is guided toward the tape outlet 49 while being regulated in the vertical direction (tape width direction) at the base of the regulating member 36.

  As shown in FIG. 11, pin holes 62 and 63 corresponding to the positioning pins 102 and 103 of the tape printer 1 described above are provided at two locations on the lower surface of the corner portion 32A. Specifically, at the rear (upper in FIG. 11) of a support hole 64 (described later) provided in the left front portion (lower right side in FIG. 11) of the cassette case 31, a recess provided in the lower surface of the corner portion 32A, A pin hole 62 into which the positioning pin 102 is inserted. Further, in the vicinity of the central portion of the right end portion (left side in FIG. 11) of the cassette case 31, a concave portion provided on the lower surface of the corner portion 32A is a pin hole 63 into which the positioning pin 103 is inserted. In FIG. 11, the tape driving roller 46 and the like are omitted.

  The distance between the positions of the pin holes 62 and 63 in the vertical direction (height direction) of the tape cassette 30 and the central position in the vertical direction of the film tape 59 which is a printing medium stored in the cassette case 31 is the tape of the tape cassette 30 Regardless of the type (for example, tape width), that is, even if the height dimension of the tape cassette 30 is different, it is constant.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 10, the rear surface 68 of the cassette case 31 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction of the upper surface sticking portion 68 </ b> A having a rectangular shape in plan view provided on the rear portion of the upper surface 30 </ b> A. A rear surface sticking portion 68B having a rectangular shape in a rear view and a rear concave portion 68C having a substantially triangular shape in a bottom view provided at the rear portion of the bottom surface 30B are provided. The upper surface sticking portion 68A, the back surface sticking portion 68B, and the rear concave portion 68C are provided with the same width at the substantially central position in the left-right direction in the rear portion of the cassette case 31, and are continuous over the three surfaces of the upper surface 30A, the side surface 30C, and the bottom surface 30B. The formed area is formed.

  In the upper surface attaching portion 68A and the back surface attaching portion 68B, a label sheet (not shown) indicating the tape type or the like of the tape cassette 30 is attached to the two surfaces of the upper surface 30A and the side surface 30C (specifically, the back surface). It is a part. The rear concave portion 68C is a step portion formed between the first tape storage portion 33A and the second tape storage portion 33B (see FIGS. 3 to 6 and 14) in the rear portion of the cassette case 31. In other words, the rear recess 68C is provided between the rear wall 31C (see FIGS. 13 and 14), which is the wall portion constituting the back surface, of the side surface 30C of the tape cassette 30, and the tape storage portions 33A and 33B.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the rear concave portion 68C is a surface portion recessed in the bottom surface 30B in a shape substantially corresponding to the shape of the rear support portion 8C shown in FIG. 2, and is the same as the lower surface of the corner portion 32A. In the height position. As described above, the common portion 32 is formed symmetrically in the vertical direction with respect to the center line in the vertical (height) direction of the cassette case 31, and the height dimension T is related to the tape width of the tape cassette 30. Instead, they are set to the same dimensions. Therefore, the distance from the center line in the vertical (height) direction of the cassette case 31 to the rear concave portion 68C is constant regardless of the tape width of the tape cassette 30 as in the common portion 32.

  By the way, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting portion 8, the rear support pin 301 provided in the rear support portion 8C comes into contact with the rear recess 68C, and the rear detection portion 300 faces the rear recess 68C. To do. Therefore, the rear recess 68C is a part that allows a human to specify the tape type, and selectively presses the rear detection switch 310 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) to cause the tape printer 1 to receive the tape type. There is provided a rear identification unit 900 that is a part for detecting.

  Below, with reference to FIGS. 13-16, the detailed structure and function of 68 C of back recessed parts containing the back identification part 900 are demonstrated.

  As described above, the tape cassette 30 according to the present embodiment allows the tape type to be determined by visually observing the rear identification unit 900 when a single person views the tape cassette 30 that is not attached to the tape printer 1. It is configured so that it can be identified. In addition, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8 of the tape printer 1, the tape detector 1 detects the tape type by detecting information indicated by the rear identification unit 900 by the rear detector 300. It is configured so that it can be identified. In the present embodiment, the tape type specified by the rear identification unit 900 is color information related to the tape mounted on the tape cassette 30. First, the area | region which the back recessed part 68C has, and the structure in the area | region are demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the rear recess 68 </ b> C includes a specific region R <b> 0 that is a region extending forward from the rear wall 31 </ b> C that is a wall portion constituting the back surface of the side surface 30 </ b> C of the tape cassette 30. That is, the specific region R0 is a region adjacent to the rear wall 31C in the rear recess 68C, and in the present embodiment, the entire rear recess 68C forms the specific region R0. The specific area R0 includes a longitudinal information area X that is a plurality of strip-like areas extending along the front-rear direction (vertical direction in FIG. 13) that forms the short direction of the cassette case 31, and the left-right direction that forms the longitudinal direction of the cassette case 31 ( 13 includes a lateral information area Y which is a plurality of strip-like areas extending in the horizontal direction.

  The vertical information section X of this embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 includes four vertical information sections X1 to X4. The vertical information sections X1 to X4 are arranged side by side at equal intervals in the left-right direction of the cassette case 31. The vertical information section X1 is located on the leftmost side (right side in FIG. 13) among the vertical information sections X1 to X4. Vertical information sections X2, X3, and X4 are sequentially provided from the vertical information section X1 toward the right side (left side in FIG. 13). The vertical lengths of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 (that is, the lengths in the left-right direction) are substantially equal, and adjacent vertical information sections in the vertical information sections X1 to X4 are adjacent to each other at equal intervals.

  However, the vertical information section X3 includes a portion (contact point P shown in FIGS. 3 to 6) where the outer edges of the tape storage portions 33A and 33B are adjacent in a plan view. In other words, the vertical information section X3 includes a virtual line (hereinafter referred to as a reference line Z) along the front-rear direction passing on the contact P. In the vertical information section X3 of the present embodiment, the reference line Z is located slightly to the left (rightward in FIG. 13) from the approximate center position in the left-right direction of the vertical information section X3.

  The lateral information section Y of this embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 includes two lateral information sections Y1 and Y2. The lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 are arranged side by side in the front-rear direction of the cassette case 31 (vertical direction in FIG. 13). The lateral information section Y1 is provided adjacent to the rear wall 31C in the specific region R0. The lateral information section Y2 is provided in front of the lateral information section Y1 (downward in FIG. 13) in the specific region R0. The width lengths (that is, the lengths in the front-rear direction) of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 are substantially equal.

  The specific area R0 is an area that faces the rear detection switch 310 of the tape printer 1 when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, and is the tape type (in this embodiment, the color of the tape cassette 30). Information) is included. A hole is formed in at least one of the horizontal information areas Y1 and Y2, and a pattern in which holes are formed in the horizontal information areas Y1 and Y2 is determined in advance according to color information. The rear identification unit 900 is a part that includes the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2, and specifies color information based on a combination of whether or not a hole is formed in each of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2. Then, a human can recognize the color information by viewing the combination of the holes formed in the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 of the rear identification unit 900.

  The positions where the holes are formed in the left-right direction of the lateral information sections Y1, Y2 may be determined for each of the lateral information sections Y1, Y2. For example, at least one overlapping area is identified in each of the horizontal information sections Y1 and Y2 among a plurality of areas where the horizontal information sections Y1 and Y2 intersect with the vertical information sections X1 to X4 (hereinafter referred to as overlapping areas). The color information may be specified by a combination of whether or not a hole is formed in the identification part. In this case, if the position corresponding to the rear detection switch 310 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) of the tape printer 1 is determined as the identification unit, the color information can be specified by the tape printer 1 as well as the human eyes. It becomes.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the five overlapping regions facing each of the five rear detection switches 310A to 310E shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. The plurality of identification units 900A to 900E included in the unit 900 are used. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13, a region where the horizontal information section Y1 and the vertical information section X1 intersect and overlap functions as an identification unit 900A that faces the rear detection switch 310A. A region where the horizontal information section Y1 and the vertical information section X2 intersect and overlap functions as the identification unit 900B facing the rear detection switch 310B. A region where the horizontal information section Y1 and the vertical information section X3 intersect and overlap functions as the identification unit 900C facing the rear detection switch 310C. A region where the horizontal information section Y1 and the vertical information section X4 intersect and overlap functions as the identification unit 900D facing the rear detection switch 310D. A region where the horizontal information section Y2 and the vertical information section X3 intersect and overlap functions as the identification unit 900E facing the rear detection switch 310E.

  In the example shown in FIG. 13, holes are formed in the identification portions 900A and 900E. On the other hand, the identification portions 900B, 900C, and 900D are surface portions that are not formed with holes and are flush with the rear recess 68C. As described above, each of the identification units 900A to 900E is configured by a hole or a surface. This hole portion or surface portion can be identified by human eyes and functions as a non-pressing portion 901 that does not press the rear detection switch 310 or a pressing portion 902 that presses the rear detection switch 310 when facing the rear detection switch 310. The tape printer 1 is caused to specify color information. The relationship between the identification units 900A to 900E and the rear detection switch 310 will be described in detail later.

  By the way, in this embodiment, while the one identification part is provided in each of the vertical information area X1, X2, X4, it is the arrangement | positioning aspect which provided the several identification part in the vertical information area X3. This is because the specific region R0 is a substantially triangular rear recess 68C defined by the tape storage portions 33A and 33B and the rear wall 31C in plan view, and the rear recess 68C is long in the front-rear direction on the reference line Z described above. Is the largest. That is, the longitudinal information section X3 including the reference line Z has the longest longitudinal direction length among the longitudinal information sections X1 to X4. Therefore, when arranging a plurality of identification units in the front-rear direction in the rear recess 68C, it is most preferable to arrange them in the vertical information section X3 as described above.

  With the configuration as described above, in the tape cassette 30 of the present embodiment, identification elements (hole portions or surface portions) are formed in any of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 and the identification portions 900A to 900E by human eyes. It becomes possible to recognize easily. Hereinafter, the reason will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 show the rear recess 68C (specific region R0) in the tape cassette 30 of the present embodiment, while FIGS. 15 and 16 show the hole portion in the rear recess 68C (specific region R0). The comparative example which changed the formation pattern is shown.

  If a human can grasp in which of the lateral information areas Y1 and Y2 the hole is formed by visually observing the rear recess 68C, it is only necessary to confirm the combination of the holes in each of the lateral information areas Y1 and Y2. The color information of the tape cassette 30 can be specified. Here, the following two patterns are assumed as a mode in which the human visually observes the rear recess 68C. The first is a mode in which a human views the tape cassette 30 in a plan view with the upper case 31A removed, and the rear recess 68C is viewed from above. Second, a human can view the rear recess 68C by viewing the tape cassette 30 from the bottom. If the positions of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 are not grasped, the elements of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 are specified by the following method according to the manner in which the human visually observes the rear recess 68C. Can do.

  First, element specification of the lateral information section Y1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, when viewing the rear recess 68C from above (that is, from the inside of the lower case 31B) with the upper case 31A removed, a human is left and right adjacent to the rear wall 31C in plan view. A region extending in the direction can be specified as the lateral information section Y1. Thereby, the hole formed adjacent to the rear wall 31C can be specified as the hole provided in the lateral information section Y1. Moreover, the site | part in which the hole is not formed among the area | regions adjacent to 31 C of back walls can be specified as a surface part provided in the horizontal information area Y1.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13, when viewing the rear recess 68C from below (that is, from the outside of the lower case 31B), a human cannot directly view the rear wall 31C. However, since the rear wall 31C is thin and has a small thickness (length in the front-rear direction), the position in the front-rear direction of the rear wall 31C is the position in the front-rear direction of the contour line formed by the back surface when the tape cassette 30 is viewed from the bottom. Almost matches. Therefore, the human can specify the region extending in the left-right direction adjacent to the contour line formed by the back surface in the bottom view as the lateral information section Y1. Thereby, the hole part and surface part which were provided in the horizontal information area Y1 can be specified similarly to the above.

  Next, element specification of the lateral information section Y2 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, when viewing the rear recess 68C from above, a human can recognize the contact P (see FIGS. 3 to 6) adjacent to the outer edges of the tape storage portions 33A and 33B in plan view, and further contact A reference line Z passing through P can be recognized. Then, using the reference line Z as a reference, the elements of the lateral information section Y2 can be specified as follows.

  First, among the holes formed adjacent to the rear wall 31C (that is, the holes provided in the lateral information section Y1), the hole closest to the reference line Z is defined as a reference hole. To do. However, when there is a hole that overlaps the reference line Z in plan view (that is, a hole provided in the vertical information section X3), the most from the reference line Z except for the hole on the reference line Z. A hole located at a close position is defined as a reference hole. The end portion of the reference hole that is farthest from the reference line Z is defined as a reference end portion, and the length in the left-right direction between the reference line Z and the reference end portion is defined as a distance D1. In the example illustrated in FIG. 14, the hole formed in the identification portion 900 </ b> A located at the left end among the identification portions of the lateral information section Y <b> 1 corresponds to the reference hole portion. The length in the left-right direction to the reference line Z is obtained as the distance D1 with the left end portion of the hole (identification portion 900A) as the reference end portion.

  When the length in the front-rear direction between the rear wall 31C and the lateral information area Y2 is the distance D0 (see FIG. 13), the position of the lateral information area Y2 is set so that the distance D0 is less than twice the distance D1. Is defined (see FIG. 14). That is, in the rear concave portion 68C, at least a part of the lateral information section Y2 is included in the range extending forward from the rear wall 31C to twice the distance D1 (in the range of the distance D2 in FIG. 14, D2 = D1 * 2). It is.

  From the above, in the rear recess 68C, there is at least a part of the lateral information area Y2 in front of the lateral information area Y1 within the range extending forward from the rear wall 31C to twice the distance D1 (within the distance D2). Can be identified. Thereby, in the case where a hole portion separated from the rear wall 31C (that is, a hole portion that is not a hole portion provided in the lateral information section Y1) is formed within the range of the distance D2 in the rear recessed portion 68C, The hole can be specified as a hole provided in the lateral information section Y2. In particular, if only one identification part is provided in the lateral information area Y2, whether or not a hole is provided in the lateral information area Y2 even if the position of the identification part is not clearly understood can do.

  By the way, according to the above method, the distance D1, and thus the distance D2, varies depending on the position of the reference hole. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 14, the distance D1 and the distance D2 are the largest because the hole provided in the identification part (identification part 900A in FIG. 14) farthest from the reference line Z is the reference hole. Become. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 15, the hole formed in the identification portion 900B closest to the reference line Z among the identification portions of the lateral information section Y1 corresponds to the reference hole portion. In this case, the distance D1 and the distance D2 are the smallest.

  Also, as in the example shown in FIG. 16, when a plurality of holes are formed in the lateral information area Y1, the hole closer to the reference line Z (in FIG. 16, the hole of the identification part 900D) ) Corresponds to the reference hole. Since the hole closer to the reference line Z (the hole of the identification part 900D in FIG. 16) corresponds to the reference hole, the hole farther from the reference line Z (in FIG. 16). The distance D1 and the distance D2 are smaller than when the identification hole 900A is a reference hole.

  In the present embodiment, regardless of the formation pattern of the hole in the lateral information section Y1, at least a part of the lateral information section Y2 is included within the minimum distance D2 (corresponding to the example of FIG. 15). The vertical direction position of the horizontal information area Y2 is defined in advance. Therefore, if there is at least one hole in the lateral information area Y1, regardless of the formation position of each hole, the reference hole part that is the farthest hole from the reference line Z is used as a reference in the lateral information area Y2. The presence or absence of a hole can be specified.

  By the way, when viewing the rear concave portion 68C from below (see FIG. 13), since the human cannot directly see the tape storage portions 33A and 33B in a plan view, the contact P (see FIGS. 3 to 6) and the reference line Z are It may be difficult to recognize. Therefore, when the rear recess 68C is viewed from below, it may be difficult to specify the element of the lateral information section Y2 by the above method. In this case, it is possible to specify the element of the lateral information area Y2 by the following method.

  In the rear identification unit 900 of the present embodiment, a hole pattern and a surface pattern associated with color information in advance are provided. And when it corresponds to the color information (for example, tape color: Clear, character color: Black, etc.) relating to the main tape that is mounted on the tape cassette 30 in a large proportion, it is provided in each of the lateral information sections Y1, Y2. Among the two identification parts arranged in the front-rear direction, a hole is provided in the front identification part, and a surface part is provided in the rear identification part. For example, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 13 to 16, the two identification portions 900 </ b> C and 900 </ b> E through which the reference line Z passes are each configured by a combination of a surface portion and a hole portion.

  As a result, when the rear concave portion 68C is viewed from below, in many tape cassettes 30, in two identification portions arranged in the front-rear direction, a hole portion that is always separated from the rear wall 31C is in front of the identification portion constituted by the surface portion. Since the configured identification portion is provided, the hole provided in the lateral information section Y2 does not adjoin the rear wall 31C. That is, the hole portion separated from the rear wall 31C can be specified as the hole portion provided in the lateral information section Y2. Therefore, a human can visually identify the lateral information area Y1 based on the surface portion of the identification unit 900C, and can further identify the lateral information area Y2 based on the hole of the identification unit 900E.

  Of the two identification units provided in the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 and arranged in the front-rear direction, the rear identification unit may be a hole and the front identification unit may be a surface. For example, although not shown, the two identification parts 900C and 900E through which the reference line Z passes are each configured by a combination of a hole part and a surface part. According to this, when the rear concave portion 68C is viewed from below, in the two identification portions arranged in the front-rear direction, the identification portion constituted by the hole adjacent to the rear wall 31C is always provided behind the identification portion constituted by the surface portion. Therefore, the hole adjacent to the rear wall 31C is not provided over the lateral information section Y2. That is, the surface portion positioned in front of the hole adjacent to the rear wall 31C can be specified as the surface portion provided in the lateral information section Y2. Therefore, a human can visually identify the lateral information area Y1 based on the hole of the identification unit 900C, and can further identify the lateral information area Y2 based on the surface portion of the identification unit 900E.

  In addition, since the rear recessed portion 68C of the present embodiment can recognize the formation pattern of the hole and the surface portion from above, even when the rear recessed portion 68C is viewed from above (see FIGS. 13 to 16), the same as above. Thus, it is possible to specify the hole or surface portion of the lateral information area Y2.

  Furthermore, as in the example of FIG. 13, among the plurality of overlapping areas formed by the horizontal information sections Y1 and Y2 and the vertical information sections X1 to X4, the overlapping area of the horizontal information section Y1 and the vertical information sections X1 to X4. Respectively function as identification parts 900A to 900D, the overlapping area of the horizontal information area Y2 and the vertical information area X3 functions as the identification part 900E, and whether or not holes are formed in the identification parts 900A to 900E. Is identified, it is necessary to identify which of the identification portions 900A to 900E has a hole. If all the horizontal positions where the vertical information sections X1 to X4 are arranged in the rear concave portion 68C are grasped, which of the identification portions 900A to 900E corresponds to the hole provided in the horizontal information sections Y1 and Y2? Can be specified with reference to the vertical information sections X1 to X4. That is, humans determine whether the holes provided in the specific region R0 are provided in the identification units 900A to 900E provided in the overlapping regions of the horizontal information sections Y1 and Y2 and the vertical information sections X1 to X4. It can be identified visually.

  The positions of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 in the left-right direction can be specified as follows by the human viewing the rear recess 68C. As described above, since the reference line Z is included in the vertical information section X3, the position of the vertical information section X3 in the left-right direction with respect to the reference line Z can be determined by viewing the rear recess 68C from above (see FIG. 14). Can be specified. Furthermore, the vertical information sections X1 to X4 are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the left-right direction in the specific region R0. Therefore, it is possible to specify the vertical information sections X2 and X1 that are sequentially arranged at equal intervals in the left direction and the vertical information section X4 that are arranged at equal intervals in the right direction with reference to the vertical information section X3. As described above, even when the horizontal information positions of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 are not grasped, the positions of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 can be specified on the basis of the reference line Z that can be easily grasped visually.

  Further, when the rear concave portion 68C is viewed from below (see FIG. 13), the vertical portion including the identification portions 900C and 900E is based on the identification portions 900C and 900E configured by a combination of holes and face portions arranged in the front-rear direction. The position in the left-right direction of the information area X3 can be specified. Therefore, similarly to the above, it is possible to specify the vertical information sections X1 to X4 that are arranged at substantially equal intervals in the left-right direction in the specific region R0. Thus, even when the horizontal position of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 is not grasped, the positions of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 are specified based on the identification parts (combination of the hole and the face part) arranged in the front-rear direction. can do.

  Therefore, it is possible to specify which of the identification units 900A to 900D is the hole depending on which of the vertical information sections X1 to X4 is the hole provided in the lateral information section Y1. Further, whether or not the identification unit 900E is a hole can be specified by determining whether or not the hole provided in the horizontal information area Y2 is provided in the vertical information area X3. Thus, the tape cassette 30 of this embodiment can specify the combination of the hole part and surface part in each identification part 900A-900E, when a human visually observes the back recessed part 68C.

  Next, identification of color information by a combination of whether or not a hole is formed in each of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 or each of the identification units 900A to 900E will be described. In the present embodiment, an example in which the tape color and the character color of the tape cassette 30 are specified as the color information of the tape cassette 30 will be described. The tape color included in the color information indicates the base color of the tape (thermal paper tape 55, print tape 57, double-sided adhesive tape 58). The character color included in the color information indicates the ink color of the ink ribbon 60 in the case of the thermal transfer method using the ink ribbon 60, and indicates the color that the thermal paper tape 55 develops in the case of the thermal method in which the thermal paper tape 55 is colored.

  The elements of the color information specified by the horizontal information sections Y1 and Y2 are determined in advance. In the present embodiment, the horizontal information area Y1 is defined as an area indicating information specifying the tape color in the color information, and the horizontal information area Y2 is defined as an area indicating the character color in the color information. . As described above, the tape cassette 30 is configured to be able to specify the corresponding color information element only in each horizontal information area regardless of the configuration of other horizontal information areas.

  Furthermore, when a specific overlapping area functions as the identification units 900A to 900E in the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2, the identification units 900A to 900E identify the corresponding one of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2. The element of color information to be determined is determined. That is, the identification units 900A to 900D are identification units that specify the tape color in the color information, and the identification unit 900E is an identification unit that identifies the character color in the color information. That is, the lateral information area Y1 and the identification units 900A to 900D each function as a tape color identification unit, and the lateral information area Y2 and the identification unit 900D each function as a character color identification unit, but in the following, the colors by the identification units 900A to 900E An information specifying method will be described as an example.

The tape color and the character color specified by each specifying unit will be described with reference to Tables 1 to 3. For convenience, in the table, “0” indicates that holes are formed in the identification portions 900A to 900E, and “1” indicates that the holes are not formed in the identification portions 900A to 900E. ing. In addition, when color information is specified by the combination of the hole part and surface part which are formed in horizontal information area Y1, Y2, the identification part 900B-900D of Table 1 is provided with three hole parts provided in horizontal information area Y1. The main tape color can be specified in the same manner as described below by replacing with the combination of the surface portions. By replacing the identification portions 900A to 900D in Table 2 with a combination of four holes and face portions provided in the lateral information section Y1, a special tape color can be specified in the same manner as described below. The identification color 900E in Table 3 can be replaced with one hole or surface provided in the lateral information area Y2, and the character color can be specified in the same manner as described below.

  First, a method for visually identifying the tape color mounted on the tape cassette 30 will be described. In the present embodiment, the identification units 900A to 900D (identification units on the lateral information area Y1) are configured to indicate a tape color by a combination of a hole and a surface part. In particular, the tape color of the main tape that is mounted on the tape cassette 30 is configured so that it can be identified by visualizing only the three identification units 900B to 900D. A part of the tape color of a special tape that is mounted on the tape cassette 30 is configured so that it can be identified by visually observing the four identification parts 900A to 900D.

  As shown in Table 1, corresponding to the combination of whether the identification portions 900B to 900D constituting the tape color specifying portion are each formed by a hole portion or a surface portion that is not a hole portion, Three colors of “Clear”, “Blue”, and “Black” are defined as tape colors. Therefore, the human can recognize the tape color of the main tape mounted on the tape cassette 30 only by visually observing the identification units 900B to 900D existing in the lateral information area Y1 in the rear identification unit 900. it can.

  Specifically, when the identification portions 900B to 900D are a surface portion, a surface portion, and a hole portion (a combination of “1, 1, 0” in Table 1), the tape color is “Clear”. When the identification portions 900B to 900D are a hole portion, a surface portion, and a surface portion (a combination of “0, 1, 1” in Table 1), it indicates that the tape color is “Blue”. When the identification portions 900B to 900D are holes, holes, and surfaces (combination of “0, 0, 1” in Table 1), the tape color is “Black”. For example, in the tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 15, since the identification portions 900B to 900D are a hole portion, a surface portion, and a surface portion, respectively, it can be specified that the tape color is “Blue”. In the tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 16, since the identification portions 900B to 900D are a surface portion, a surface portion, and a hole portion, respectively, it can be specified that the tape color is “Clear”.

  Here, since the identification unit 900C is provided in the vertical information area X3 that can be identified with reference to the reference line Z, among the identification units 900A to 900D on the horizontal information area Y1, the identification unit 900C is most easily identified by human eyes. Is possible. Further, the identification units 900B and 900D provided in the vertical information sections X2 and X4 located on the left and right sides of the vertical information section X3 can also be easily identified by human eyes. That is, the main tape colors can be easily identified by simply checking the identification units 900B to 900D that can be identified by human eyes among the identification units 900A to 900D on the lateral information area Y1.

  As shown in Table 2, the combination of whether the identification parts 900A to 900D constituting the tape color specifying part are each formed by a hole or a surface part that is not a hole corresponds to a special combination. Three colors of “White”, “Yellow”, and “Red” are defined as tape colors. Therefore, a person can recognize the tape color of a special tape mounted on the tape cassette 30 only by visually observing the identification units 900A to 900D existing in the lateral information section Y1 in the rear identification unit 900. it can.

  Specifically, when the identification portions 900A to 900D are a hole portion, a surface portion, a surface portion, and a surface portion (a combination of “0, 1, 1, 1” in Table 2), the tape color is “White”. . When the identification portions 900A to 900D are a surface portion, a hole portion, a surface portion, and a hole portion (a combination of “1, 0, 1, 0” in Table 2), it indicates that the tape color is “Yellow”. When the identification portions 900A to 900D are a hole portion, a surface portion, a hole portion, and a surface portion (a combination of “0, 1, 0, 1” in Table 2), it indicates that the tape color is “Red”. For example, in the tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, since the identification portions 900A to 900D are a hole portion, a surface portion, a surface portion, and a surface portion, respectively, the tape color can be specified as “White”.

  As shown in Table 3, the character color is “Black” or “other than Black” depending on whether the identifying portion 900E constituting the character color specifying portion is a hole portion or a non-hole surface portion. Is stipulated. Therefore, the human can recognize the character color of the tape mounted on the tape cassette 30 only by visually observing the identification unit 900E existing in the lateral information section Y2 in the rear identification unit 900. Specifically, when the identification portion 900E is a hole (“0” in Table 3), it indicates that the character color is “Black”. When the identification portion 900E is a surface portion (“1” in Table 3), it indicates that the character color is “other than Black”. For example, in any of the tape cassettes 30 shown in FIGS. 13 to 16, since the identification portion 900E is a hole, it can be specified that the character color is “Black”.

  As described above, in the tape cassette 30 of the present embodiment, humans can use the main tape colors shown in Table 1 regardless of whether the other identification portion 900E provided in the specific region R0 is a hole portion or a surface portion. It is possible to specify the identification parts 900B to 900D simply by visually observing, and the special tape colors shown in Table 2 can be specified only by human eyes of the identification parts 900A to 900D. The character colors shown in Table 3 can be identified by merely observing the identification unit 900E by a human regardless of whether the other identification units 900A to 900D provided in the specific region R0 are hole portions or surface portions.

  In particular, in the cassette case 31, the tape storage portions 33 </ b> A and 33 </ b> B are provided biased toward the rear side, while the ink ribbon storage portion 33 </ b> C is biased toward the front side. Therefore, in the tape cassette 30 that uses the ink ribbon 60, the tape (in the case of FIGS. 3 and 4, the double-sided adhesive tape 58, FIG. 5) corresponds to the arrangement order of the lateral information sections Y1, Y2 in the front-rear direction. Then, the printing tape 59) and the ink ribbon 60 are arranged in the front-rear direction. Accordingly, the base information color of the tape located on the rear side of the ink ribbon can be specified by visually observing the horizontal information section Y1 indicating the tape color on the rear side of the horizontal information section Y2. Further, the ink color of the ink ribbon positioned in front of the tape can be specified by visually observing the lateral information area Y2 indicating the character color in front of the lateral information area Y1. That is, based on the arrangement of the tape and the ink ribbon in the cassette case 31, a human can accurately specify the color information indicated in each of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2.

  In addition, the content of the color information (tape color and character color) specified by each specifying unit is not limited to Tables 1 to 3, and can be changed as appropriate. The total number of color information combinations defined in Tables 1 to 3 is 28, but not all of them need to be used. However, it is preferable that the combination of the hole and the surface corresponding to the color information is defined according to at least the following regularity.

  First, the identification units 900A, 900B, and 900D excluding the identification unit 900C that can be easily specified using the reference line Z as an index is a combination in which at least one is configured with a hole and at least one is configured with a surface. It is desirable. Thereby, when a person looks at the identification parts 900A-900D, the visibility of the combination of the hole part and surface part in each identification part can be improved, and identification of the combination can be facilitated.

  Second, a combination in which all of the identification units 900A to 900D existing in the lateral information section Y1 become surface portions or a combination in which all of the identification portions 900A to 900E existing in the specific region R0 become surface portions may not be adopted. desirable. In such a combination, the entire rear recessed portion 68C becomes a surface portion in which no hole is present or a surface portion in which only one hole is formed at a position separated from the rear wall 31C. It becomes difficult for humans to grasp that 900 is provided. Therefore, by providing at least one hole at a position adjacent to the rear wall 31C, it is possible to clarify that the rear identification portion 900 is provided in the rear recess 68C.

  Third, the color information of the tape that is frequently mounted in the tape cassette 30 employs a combination in which one of the identification parts 900C and 900E arranged in the front and rear in the rear recess 68C is a hole and the other is a surface part. It is desirable to do. As described above, this is because the person can identify the element of the lateral information area Y2 by viewing the rear recess 68C.

  Fourth, when the tape color of the tape cassette 30 is specified by human visual observation, the identification units 900B to 900D are respectively identified as the hole portion or the surface portion regardless of whether the tape color is the main color or the special color. Whether or not there is information necessary for specifying the tape color. Therefore, the color information corresponding to the special tape colors shown in Table 2 is preferably defined so as not to include the color information corresponding to the main tape colors shown in Table 1. Specifically, in the color information (see Table 2) of a special tape color, the identification units 900B to 900D are “surface portion, surface portion, hole portion”, “hole portion, surface portion, surface portion”, “hole portion, hole portion, It is desirable not to include a combination of “surface portion”. As a result, when a human visually observes the rear recess 68C, the main tape color can be clearly distinguished from other tape colors, and the tape color can be easily specified.

  So far, the configuration for the rear identification unit 900 to specify the color information and the method for the human to identify the color information by viewing the rear identification unit 900 have been described. Below, the structure of the back identification part 900 seen in relation to the back detection switch 310 of the tape printer 1, and the specific aspect of the color information by the back detection switch 310 are demonstrated.

  First, the configuration of the rear identification unit 900 viewed from the relationship with the rear detection switch 310 of the tape printer 1 will be described. As described above, in the tape printer 1 of this embodiment, the rear detection unit 300 provided in the rear support unit 8C includes the five rear detection switches 310A to 310E (see FIGS. 2 and 7). In the tape cassette 30, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8, the overlapping areas facing the rear detection switches 310A to 310E are the identification units 900A to 900E (FIGS. 13 and 14). reference).

  When facing the rear detection switch 310, the hole functions as a non-pressing portion 901 that can insert and remove the switch terminal 322 of the rear detection switch 310 and does not press the switch terminal 322. The non-pressing portion 901 is formed as a circular through hole in a plan view corresponding to the shape of the identification portion (overlapping region). The rear detection switch 310 facing the non-pressing portion 901 is turned off when the switch terminal 322 is inserted into the non-pressing portion 901.

  The surface portion functions as a pressing portion 902 that presses the switch terminal 322 when facing the rear detection switch 310. The rear detection switch 310 facing the pressing portion 902 is turned on when the switch terminal 322 contacts the pressing portion 902. In the example of FIGS. 13 and 14, the identification portions 900A and 900E are holes (that is, non-pressing portions 901), and the identification portions 900B to 900D are surface portions (that is, pressing portions 902).

  As described above with reference to Tables 1 to 3, the identification parts 900A to 900E of the rear identification part 900 have a hole (non-pressing part 901) and a surface part (pressing part 902) in a prescribed pattern according to the color information. One of these is formed. Therefore, the tape printer 1 can specify the color information based on the combination of the on / off state of the rear detection switch 310 that is selectively pressed by the rear identification unit 900. More specifically, as described above, a predetermined pattern (a combination of a hole and a surface) determined in advance for the identification units 900A to 900E is used as a detection pattern (on state and off state) of the corresponding rear detection switch 310A to 310E. The color information can be specified with reference to a table in which each is associated with color information.

  A color information table 520 shown in FIG. 20 is an example of a table used for specifying color information by the tape printer 1 and is stored in the ROM 402 of the tape printer 1. In the color information table 520, the color information of the tape cassette 30 is defined according to the combination of ON / OFF of the five rear detection switches 310A to 310E. In the color information table 520 shown in FIG. 20, the rear detection switches 310A to 310E correspond to the switches “ST1” to “ST5”, respectively, and each of the rear detection switches 310 is turned off (OFF) and turned on (ON). ) Correspond to “0” and “1”, respectively.

  Further, the color information table 520 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of color tables in which different color information is defined for each detection pattern of the rear detection switches 310A to 310E. In the example shown in FIG. 20, the first color table 521 in which the first color information is defined and the second color table 522 in which the second color information is defined according to the detection patterns of the rear detection switches 310A to 310E. Including. In the present embodiment, the first color table 521 is a standard color table indicating color information having a high use frequency, and the second color table 522 is a special color table indicating color information having a low use frequency. In the tape printer 1, the first color table 521 and the second color table 522 are selectively used, and color information corresponding to the detection patterns of the rear detection switches 310A to 310E (first color information or second color information). Information) is specified, details will be described later.

  The table used in the tape printer 1 is not limited to the color information table 520 shown in FIG. For example, a table in which other arbitrary color information is added to the detection pattern corresponding to “reserved” in the color information table 520 can be used. Alternatively, the color information registered in the color information table 520 may be deleted, the correspondence between each detection pattern and the color information may be changed, or a table in which the content of the color information corresponding to each detection pattern is changed may be used. Good. In this case, the hole formation pattern determined for the above-described visual color information specification is also changed as appropriate.

  Next, a mode in which the tape printer 1 detects the tape type of the tape cassette 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, with reference to FIG. 3 to FIG. 6 and FIG. 17, a detection mode of the arm identification unit 800 by the arm detection unit 200 will be described. When the user mounts the tape cassette 30 at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting portion 8 and closes the cassette cover 6, the platen holder 12 moves from the standby position (FIG. 3) toward the printing position (FIGS. 4 to 6). To do. Then, the position of the arm detection unit 200 and the locking piece 225 provided on the cassette facing surface 12B of the platen holder 12 is opposed to the arm identification unit 800 and the locking hole 820 provided on the arm front surface 35 of the tape cassette 30, respectively. Move to.

  If the tape cassette 30 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting portion 8, the locking piece 225 is inserted into the locking hole 820. Therefore, the switch terminals 222 of the arm detection switch 210 protruding from the cassette facing surface 12B are not interfered by the locking piece 225, and the identification units 800A to 800E (non-pressing) provided at the corresponding positions of the arm identification unit 800. Part 801 or pressing part 802) is selectively pressed. That is, the arm detection switch 210 facing the non-pressing portion 801 is inserted into the switch hole that is the non-pressing portion 801 and is turned off. The arm detection switch 210 facing the pressing portion 802 is pressed by the surface portion of the arm front surface 35 which is the pressing portion 802 and is turned on.

  For example, when the tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 2 and 10 to 14 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting portion 8, as shown in FIG. 17, the arm detection switches 210A, 210C, and 210D are non-pressing portions. Since the identification units 800A, 800C, and 800D that are 801 are opposed to each other, the off state is “0”. On the other hand, the arm detection switches 210B and 210E face the identification parts 800B and 800E, which are the pressing parts 802, respectively, so that they are in the on state “1”. That is, the on / off states of the arm detection switches 210A to 210E are specified as “0”, “1”, “0”, “0”, and “1”, respectively.

  In the tape printer 1, the printing information is specified as the tape type of the tape cassette 30 based on the detection pattern of the arm detection unit 200 (here, the combination of ON / OFF of the five arm detection switches 210 </ b> A to 210 </ b> E). . In the present embodiment, the tape width and the printing mode are included as the printing information of the tape cassette 30. “Tape width” included in the printing information indicates one of seven types of tape widths from 3.5 mm to 36 mm. The “printing mode” included in the printing information indicates whether it is mirror image printing (laminate) or normal image printing (receptor).

  The ROM 402 of the tape printer 1 stores a printing information table (not shown) in which the printing information of the tape cassette 30 is defined in accordance with the on / off combination of the five arm detection switches 210A to 210E. Yes. In the above example, the print information table (not shown) is referred to and the arm detection switches 210A to 210E are turned on / off to “0”, “1”, “0”, “0”, “1”. For example, “tape width: 36 mm, printing mode: laminate” is specified as the corresponding printing information.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 18, the detection aspect of the back identification part 900 by the back detection part 300 is demonstrated. When the tape cassette 30 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting unit 8 by the user, the rear detection unit 300 provided in the rear support unit 8C of the tape printer 1 is provided in the rear recess 68C of the tape cassette 30. Opposite the rear identification unit 900. More specifically, the switch terminal 322 (see FIGS. 2 and 7) of the rear detection switch 310 protruding from the rear support portion 8C is an identification portion (non-pressing portion 901 or 901) provided at a corresponding position of the rear identification portion 900. It is selectively pressed against the pressing portion 902). That is, the rear detection switch 310 facing the non-pressing portion 901 is inserted into the non-pressing portion 901 and turned off. The rear detection switch 310 corresponding to the pressing part 902 is pressed by the pressing part 902 and turned on.

  For example, when the tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 2 and 10 to 14 is mounted at an appropriate position of the cassette mounting portion 8, the rear detection switches 310 </ b> A and 310 </ b> E are non-pressing portions 901 as shown in FIG. 18. Since each of the identification units 900A and 900E is opposed to each other, the state is turned off. On the other hand, the rear detection switches 310 </ b> B to 310 </ b> D are turned on because they face the identification units 900 </ b> B to 900 </ b> D that are the pressing units 902. That is, the on / off states of the switches “ST1” to “ST5” corresponding to the rear detection switches 310A to 310E are respectively identified as “0”, “1”, “1”, “1”, and “0”. The

  In the tape printer 1, the color information is specified as the tape type of the tape cassette 30 based on the detection pattern of the rear detection unit 300 (here, the combination of ON / OFF of the five rear detection switches 310 </ b> A to 310 </ b> E). In the above example, referring to the color information table 520 (see FIG. 20) described above, the on / off states “0”, “1”, “1”, “1”, “0” of the rear detection switches 310A to 310E. "Is identified. However, the specified color information differs depending on which of the plurality of color tables 521 and 522 included in the color information table 520 is used. Here, a standard first color table 521 is used in accordance with an OFF state of an arm detection switch 210D described later, and “tape color: White, character color: Black” is set in the same manner as the visual identification result described above. Identified.

  Next, processing relating to printing by the tape printer 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the processing relating to printing shown in FIG. 19 is executed by the CPU 401 based on a program stored in the ROM 402 when the tape printer 1 is powered on. More specifically, in the tape printer 1, the CPU 401 executes processing related to printing each time printing is instructed from the keyboard 3 or the like. That is, the following processing relating to printing shows a flow of processing relating to one printing executed by the tape printer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 19, in the process related to printing, system initialization of the tape printer 1 is first executed (step S1). For example, in the system initialization in step S1, the text memory in the RAM 404 is cleared, or the counter is initialized and returned to a default value.

  Next, the printing information of the tape cassette 30 is specified based on the detection pattern of the arm detection unit 200 (that is, the combination of ON / OFF of the plurality of arm detection switches 210) (step S3). In step S3, as described above, with reference to the printing information table (not shown) stored in the ROM 402, the printing information corresponding to the combination of ON / OFF of the arm detection switches 210A to 210E is specified. .

  Subsequently, it is determined whether or not among the plurality of arm detection switches 210, an arm detection switch 210D (hereinafter, switch SW4) is in an ON state (step S5). When the switch SW4 is in the OFF state (step S5: NO), the first color table 521 is selected from the color tables included in the color information table 520 stored in the ROM 402 (step S7). When the switch SW4 is in the on state (step S5: YES), the second color table 522 is selected from the color tables included in the color information table 520 stored in the ROM 402 (step S9).

  Then, the color information of the tape cassette 30 is specified based on the detection pattern of the rear detection unit 300 (that is, the combination of ON / OFF of the plurality of rear detection switches 310) (step S11). In step S11, the color information corresponding to the on / off combination of the plurality of rear detection switches 310 is specified with reference to the color table selected in step S7 or step S9. However, in this embodiment, in the tape cassette 30 of the tape type with a large production amount, the identification unit 800D corresponding to the arm detection switch 210D is configured as the non-pressing unit 801. Therefore, in step S11, color information is specified in many cases with reference to a standard first color table 521.

  Thereby, in this embodiment, the color table used for specifying the color information of the tape cassette 30 is selected according to the detection state of the specific arm detection switch 210 (here, the on / off of the arm detection switch 210D). Is done. Therefore, the number of color information patterns that can be specified by the tape printer 1 can be increased without increasing the number of the rear detection switches 310 (that is, without increasing the area occupied by the rear detection unit 300). .

  Returning to the processing relating to printing (FIG. 19), the printing information specified in step S3 and the color information specified in step S11 are displayed as text information on the display 5 (step S13). For example, when the above-described tape cassette 30 (see FIGS. 2 and 10 to 14) is properly installed, a “36 mm laminate type tape cassette has been installed on the display 5. "The color is Black" is displayed.

  Next, it is determined whether or not there is an input from the keyboard 3 (step S15). When there is an input from the keyboard 3 (step S15: YES), the CPU 401 accepts characters or the like input from the keyboard 3 as print data and stores the print data (document data) in the text memory of the RAM 404 (step S15). S17). If there is no input from the keyboard 3 (step S15: NO), the process returns to step S15, and the CPU 401 waits for an input from the keyboard 3.

  Thereafter, for example, when printing is instructed from the keyboard 3, the print data stored in the text memory is processed in accordance with the printing information specified in step S3 (step S19). For example, in step S19, the printing range and printing size corresponding to the tape width specified in step S3, the printing position corresponding to the printing mode (mirror image printing or normal image printing) specified in step S3, and the like are reflected. Thus, the print data is processed. Based on the print data processed in step S19, a print process on a tape, which is a print medium, is executed (step S21). After the printing process is executed, the printing process (FIG. 19) ends.

  The above-described printing process (step S21) will be specifically described. When the laminate type tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is mounted, the tape drive roller 46 that is rotationally driven via the tape drive shaft 100. However, the film tape 59 is pulled out from the second tape spool 41 in cooperation with the movable conveyance roller 14. Further, the ribbon take-up spool 44 that is rotationally driven via the ribbon take-up shaft 95 pulls out the unused ink ribbon 60 from the ribbon spool 42 in synchronization with the printing speed. The film tape 59 pulled out from the second tape spool 41 is transported along the transport path in the arm portion 34 while passing the outside of the ribbon spool 42.

  Further, the film tape 59 is supplied from the opening 34 </ b> A to the head insertion portion 39 with the ink ribbon 60 superposed on the surface thereof, and is transported between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 15 of the tape printer 1. Then, characters, figures, symbols and the like are printed on the printing surface of the film tape 59 by the thermal head 10. Thereafter, the used ink ribbon 60 is peeled off from the printed film tape 59 by the guide wall 47 and taken up on the ribbon take-up spool 44.

  On the other hand, the double-sided adhesive tape 58 is pulled out from the first tape spool 40 by the cooperation of the tape driving roller 46 and the movable conveying roller 14. The double-sided adhesive tape 58 is overlapped and stuck on the printing surface of the printed film tape 59 while being guided and wound between the tape driving roller 46 and the movable conveying roller 14. The printed film tape 59 with the double-sided adhesive tape 58 attached (that is, the printed tape 50) is further conveyed toward the tape discharge port 49 and cut by the cutting mechanism 17.

  When the receptor-type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 5 is mounted, the tape drive roller 46 that is rotationally driven via the tape drive shaft 100 prints from the first tape spool 40 in cooperation with the movable transport roller 14. Pull out the tape 57. Further, the ribbon take-up spool 44 that is rotationally driven via the ribbon take-up shaft 95 pulls out the unused ink ribbon 60 from the ribbon spool 42 in synchronization with the printing speed. The print tape 57 drawn out from the first tape spool 40 is folded leftward at the lower right portion of the cassette case 31 in a plan view, and is conveyed along the conveyance path in the arm portion 34.

  Further, the printing tape 57 is supplied from the opening 34 </ b> A to the head insertion portion 39 with the ink ribbon 60 superposed on the surface thereof, and is conveyed between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 15 of the tape printing apparatus 1. Then, characters, figures, symbols, etc. are printed on the printing surface of the printing tape 57 by the thermal head 10. Thereafter, the used ink ribbon 60 is peeled off from the printed printing tape 57 by the guide wall 47 and taken up on the ribbon take-up spool 44. On the other hand, the printed printing tape 57 (that is, the printed tape 50) is further conveyed toward the tape discharge port 49 and is cut by the cutting mechanism 17.

  When the thermal type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 6 is mounted, when printing is performed, the tape drive roller 46 that is rotationally driven via the tape drive shaft 100 cooperates with the movable conveyance roller 14. To pull out the thermal paper tape 55 from the first tape spool 40. The thermal paper tape 55 pulled out from the first tape spool 40 is folded leftward at the lower right portion of the cassette case 31 in a plan view and is conveyed along the conveyance path in the arm portion 34.

  Further, the thermal paper tape 55 is discharged from the opening 34 </ b> A of the arm portion 34 and conveyed between the thermal head 10 and the platen roller 15. Then, characters, figures, symbols, etc. are printed on the printing surface of the thermal paper tape 55 by the thermal head 10. Thereafter, by the cooperation of the tape driving roller 46 and the movable conveying roller 14, the printed thermal paper tape 55 (that is, the printed tape 50) is further conveyed toward the tape discharge port 49 and is cut by the cutting mechanism 17. .

  By the way, in the above printing process (step S21), when the laminate type tape cassette 30 is mounted, the mirror image printing in which the ink of the ink ribbon 60 is transferred to the film tape 59 so as to display characters or the like as a mirror image. Is done. On the other hand, when the receptor type tape cassette 30 is mounted, normal image printing is performed in which the ink on the ink ribbon 60 is transferred to the print tape 57 so as to display characters and the like as normal images. Further, even when the thermal type tape cassette 30 is mounted, the thermal normal image printing is performed so that characters and the like are developed on the thermal paper tape 55 as a normal image.

  In the present embodiment, “laminate” as a printing mode means a tape cassette 30 on which mirror image printing is performed, and “receptor” as a printing mode means a tape cassette 30 on which normal image printing is performed. Therefore, the “receptor” as a printing mode includes not only the receptor type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG. 5 but also the thermal type tape cassette 30 shown in FIG.

  By the processing relating to printing (FIG. 19), in the tape printer 1, the tape of the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8 by the detection pattern of the arm detection unit 200 and the detection pattern of the rear detection unit 300. The type is recognized. That is, arm detection switches 210A to 210E of the arm detection unit 200 are selectively pressed by the arm identification unit 800 provided on the side surface (specifically, the arm front surface 35) of the tape cassette 30 to print the tape cassette 30. Information is identified. Further, the rear detection switches 310 </ b> A to 310 </ b> E of the rear detection unit 300 are selectively pressed by the rear identification unit 900 provided on the bottom surface 30 </ b> B (specifically, the rear recess 68 </ b> C) of the tape cassette 30. Color information is specified.

  As described above, the tape cassette 30 of this embodiment can specify the tape type (here, color information) by viewing the rear recess 68C when a person views the tape cassette 30 alone. It is configured. In addition, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8 of the tape printer 1, the tape detector 1 detects the tape type by detecting information indicated by the rear identification unit 900 by the rear detector 300. It is configured so that it can be identified. Among these, since it is configured so that a human can recognize color information by visual observation of the rear identification unit 900, the following effects are particularly obtained.

  In a conventional tape cassette manufacturing method, a tape or the like is generally stored in a cassette case according to the type of tape to be mounted on the tape cassette. For example, depending on the color information (a combination of tape color and character color) of the tape mounted on the tape cassette, the base color tape matching the tape color and the ink color ink ribbon matching the character color Is stored in a cassette case by an operator. However, since there are a wide variety of combinations of tape colors and character colors, there is a risk that an operator may store a tape or ink ribbon that is different from the color information that the operator erroneously mounts on the tape cassette.

  According to the tape cassette 30 of the present embodiment, for example, before the upper case 31A is assembled in the manufacturing process of the tape cassette 30, before the human visually observes the rear recess 68C from above or stores the tape or the like. The rear identification unit 900 can be confirmed by turning the lower case 31B upside down and visually observing the rear recess 68C from the back side of the cassette case 31. And the color information mounted in the tape cassette 30 can be specified, and the tape color and the character color to be stored in the cassette case 31 can be grasped. Therefore, in the manufacturing process of the tape cassette 30, the operator can work while confirming the contents to be mounted on the cassette case 31, so that manufacturing errors of the tape cassette 30 can be reduced.

  Further, after the tape cassette 30 is shipped, the user can recognize the color information by viewing the tape cassette 30 from the bottom even if the label indicating the tape type or the like cannot be read for some reason. Therefore, the user can easily select the tape cassette 30 having desired color information from the plurality of tape cassettes 30.

  Further, the rear identification unit 900 has a simple configuration of a combination of presence / absence of holes in each of the lateral information sections Y1 and Y2 (identification units 900A to 900E) (that is, a combination of the non-pressing part 901 and the pressing part 902). In order to specify the information, it is easy to form the cassette case 31 in advance. For this reason, it is not necessary to print the contents mounted on each cassette case 31 or attach a label indicating the mounted contents at the time of manufacturing the cassette case 31, and the manufacturing error of the tape cassette 30 is eliminated. It can be suppressed at a low cost.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, the tape cassette 30 which comprised the general purpose cassette to the laminate type is used with the tape printer 1 which is a general purpose machine. Accordingly, one tape printer 1 can be used for various types of tape cassettes 30 such as a thermal type, a receptor type, and a laminate type, and it is not necessary to use a different tape printer 1 for each unit. In addition, the tape cassette 30 is usually formed by combining a plurality of dies and then pouring resin into the tape cassette 30. If the tape cassette 30 corresponds to the same tape width, the tape cassette 30 includes a portion for forming the rear identification portion 900. Since a common mold can be used except for the mold, the cost is greatly reduced.

  By the way, in specific area R0 of back recessed part 68C, either the hole (namely, non-pressing part 901) or the surface part (namely, pressing part 902) corresponding to color information in the overlapping area which functions as identification part 900A-900E. As described above, an example is provided. In this case, holes and surface portions can be freely formed in the specific region R0 as long as the functions as the identification portions 900A to 900E are ensured.

  Specifically, in the above-described tape cassette 30 (see FIGS. 2 and 10 to 14), all of the regions that do not function as the identification units 900 </ b> A to 900 </ b> E in the specific region R <b> 0 are flush with the pressing unit 902. It is a face part. Therefore, all the holes (non-pressing portions 901) provided in the specific region R0 are independent, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the specific region R0, one hole (groove) having a size and shape that includes at least two of the plurality of non-pressing portions 901 may be formed. However, when forming one groove part, it is necessary to form it so that the site | part which functions as the press part 902 may not be included.

  The tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 21 to 23 illustrates an example in which the non-pressing portions 901 provided in the identification portions 900A and 900B are made continuous to form one groove portion 903. In addition, in the tape cassette 30 shown in FIGS. 21 to 23, the identification units 900 </ b> A to 900 </ b> E are a hole, a hole, a surface, a surface, and a hole, respectively. Are also specified as the tape color “Blue” and the character color “Black”.

  21 to 23, in the tape cassette 30 provided with the groove portion 903 in which the plurality of non-pressing portions 901 provided in the lateral information area Y1 are continuous, the rear concave portion 68C is moved upward or downward. When the element of the lateral information area Y2 is identified by visual inspection from the viewpoint, the groove 903 is handled as one hole. Therefore, if the hole closest to the reference line Z is the groove 903, the groove 903 becomes the reference hole, and the end (left end in FIG. 23) that is the most distant from the reference line Z in the groove 903 is the reference end. Become. For this reason, even when the groove portion 903 is provided in the lateral information section Y1, it is possible to identify the elements of the lateral information section Y2 by visually checking the rear concave portion 68C in the same manner as described above.

  In the above embodiment, the rear detection switches 310A to 310E correspond to “a plurality of detection switches” of the present invention. The thermal paper tape 55, the printing tape 57, the double-sided adhesive tape 58, and the film tape 59 housed in the cassette case 31 of the tape cassette 30 correspond to the “tape” of the present invention. The first tape storage section 33A and the second tape storage section 33B correspond to the “tape storage area” of the present invention, the first tape storage section 33A corresponds to the “first tape storage area” of the present invention, and the second tape The storage portion 33B corresponds to the “second tape storage area” of the present invention. The ink ribbon storage portion 33C corresponds to the “ink ribbon storage area” of the present invention. The rear identification unit 900 corresponds to the “color identification unit” of the present invention. The lateral information areas Y1 and Y2 correspond to “a plurality of lateral information areas” according to the present invention, the lateral information area Y1 corresponds to the “first lateral information area” according to the present invention, and the lateral information area Y2 corresponds to the “first lateral information area” according to the present invention. It corresponds to “2 horizontal information area”. The vertical information areas X1 to X4 correspond to “a plurality of vertical information areas” of the present invention.

  Note that the tape cassette 30 and the tape printer 1 of the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

  The shape, size, number, and arrangement pattern of the non-pressing portion 901 and the pressing portion 902 in the rear identification unit 900 are not limited to those exemplified in the above embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the non-pressing portion 901 (hole portion) of the rear identification portion 900 is a through-hole having a circular shape in plan view provided so as to occupy almost the entire overlapping region that functions as the identification portions 900A to 900E. However, it can be modified within a range of size and shape almost completely including the overlapping region that functions as the identification units 900A to 900E. For example, it may be a through-hole having a square shape in plan view that has a shape that substantially coincides with the overlapping region, or may have another different shape.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 24, the non-pressing portion provided in the rear identification portion 900 may be a recess 910 formed in the rear recess 68C instead of the through hole. In the example shown in FIG. 24, when a human visually observes the rear concave portion 68C from below, the non-pressing portion 901 (the concave portion 910) that is recessed upward in the rear concave portion 68C is a hole portion as in the case where it is formed as a through hole. Recognized as On the other hand, when a human visually observes the rear concave portion 68C from above, the non-pressing portion 901 (the concave portion 910) protruding upward in a substantially cylindrical shape in the rear concave portion 68C is recognized as a convex portion, contrary to the hole portion. Therefore, when viewing the rear concave portion 68C from above, a human replaces the convex portion formed by the non-pressing portion 901 (the concave portion 910) with a hole portion and recognizes the color information indicated by the rear identification portion 900 as described above. Can be specified.

  The color information table 520 includes a first color table 521 and a second color table 522, and selects either the first color table 521 or the second color table 522 based on the detection result of the arm detection switch 210D. However, the color information table 520 may consist of only one color table.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tape printer 8 Cassette mounting part 10 Thermal head 23 Tape feed motor 30 Tape cassette 31 Cassette case 33A 1st tape storage part 33B 2nd tape storage part 33C Ink ribbon storage part 55 Thermal paper tape 57 Printing tape 58 Double-sided adhesive tape 59 Film Tape 60 Ink ribbon 68C Back recess 100 Tape drive shaft 310 Back detection switch 401 CPU
402 ROM
520 Color information table 521 1st color table 522 2nd color table 900 Back identification part 901 Non-pressing part 902 Pressing part 903 Groove part 910 Recess X Vertical information area Y Horizontal information area R0 Specific area

Claims (9)

A tape cassette that can be used in a tape printer that includes a plurality of detection switches facing the tape cassette mounted in the cassette mounting portion and that can acquire information according to a combination of whether or not each of the plurality of detection switches is pressed. Because
A cassette case having a top surface, a bottom surface, a front surface, and a pair of side surfaces, and having a shape attachable to the cassette mounting portion;
A tape storage area provided in an outer periphery of the cassette case defined by the top surface, the bottom surface, the front surface, and the pair of side surfaces;
A color specifying unit that is provided between the outer periphery of the cassette case and the tape storage region and in a specific region adjacent to the tape storage region on the rear end side of the bottom surface and that specifies color information about the tape; ,
The color specifying unit is
The cassette case is provided substantially at the center in the left-right direction, which is the direction in which the pair of side surfaces oppose each other , and faces the plurality of detection switches protruding toward the bottom surface of the cassette case mounted on the cassette mounting portion. ,
A pressing portion that is a surface portion that presses the opposing detection switch in a prescribed pattern corresponding to the color information, and a non-pressing portion that is a hole or a groove portion that is disposed without pressing the opposing detection switch. Including
Further, a beltlike shape along the leading Kihidari right in the specific area, including a plurality of lateral information sections arranged in the longitudinal direction of the cassette case,
The first horizontal information area of the plurality of horizontal information areas is provided adjacent to the rear edge of the bottom surface in the specific area, and the color information is defined according to the medium color of the tape. The pattern includes at least one of the pressing portion and the non-pressing portion at a position facing the detection switch,
A second horizontal information area of the plurality of horizontal information areas is provided in front of the first horizontal information area in the specific area, and a prescribed pattern corresponding to the print color of the tape as the color information in, look contains at least one of the pressing portion and the non-pressing portion at a position opposite to the detection switch,
The tape storage area includes a first tape storage area that can store a first tape as the tape, and a second tape storage area that can store a second tape as the tape,
The first tape storage area and the second tape storage area are provided on the left and right sides of the cassette case with the color specifying part interposed therebetween,
The first tape storage area has a substantially circular plan view shape corresponding to a first tape roll around which the first tape is wound,
The second tape storage area has a substantially circular plan view shape corresponding to a second tape roll around which the second tape is wound,
The first tape storage area and the second tape storage area are provided side by side in the left-right direction so as to contact each other's outer peripheral edge in the cassette case,
The non-pressing portion included in at least one of the first lateral information area and the second lateral information area passes through a contact point between an outer peripheral edge of the first tape storage area and an outer peripheral edge of the second tape storage area. A tape cassette that is located on a reference line that is a virtual line along a direction . Provided in the outer periphery of the cassette case, comprising an ink ribbon storage area capable of storing an ink ribbon;
Said tape printing color, tape cassette according to claim 1, characterized in that the ink color of the ink ribbon. In the cassette case, while the tape housing area is provided biased to the rear side of the said cassette case, to claim 2, wherein the ink ribbon housing area is provided biased to the front side within the cassette case The tape cassette described. When the color specifying unit specifies a specific color as the medium color of the tape, the specific position of the first horizontal information area is determined regardless of whether or not the second horizontal information area includes the non-pressing part. The tape cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising the non-pressing portion. The color specifying unit is
When the second lateral information area includes the non-pressing portion, the print color of the tape is specified to be black,
When said second lateral information section includes the pressing portion, the tape cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that identifying the print color of the tape is a color other than black. The color specifying unit has a band shape along the front-rear direction in the specific region, and includes a plurality of vertical information areas arranged in the left-right direction,
The pressing part and the non-pressing part included in at least one of the first lateral information area and the second lateral information area are included in any of the plurality of vertical information areas. The tape cassette according to any one of 5 . In the predetermined vertical information area, when the non-pressing part spaced from the rear edge of the bottom surface is formed, and the rear side of the non-pressing part is the pressing part adjacent to the rear edge of the bottom surface The overlapping area between the predetermined vertical information area and the first horizontal information area includes the pressing part, and the overlapping area between the predetermined vertical information area and the second horizontal information area is the non-pressing part. The tape cassette according to claim 6 , comprising: The color specifying unit includes: a region where the first horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersect and overlap; and a region where the second horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersect and overlap. among the plurality of overlapping areas formed of, when at least 2 of the overlap region comprises the non-pressing portion, the tape cassette according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of the non-pressing portion for mutually independent. The color specifying unit includes: a region where the first horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersect and overlap; and a region where the second horizontal information area and the plurality of vertical information areas intersect and overlap. composed of the plurality of overlapping regions, when at least 2 of the overlap region comprises the non-pressing portions, according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that the non-pressing portion across different the overlap region including at least one Tape cassette.

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