JP5696277B2 - Tape cartridge and tape printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a tape cartridge and a tape printing apparatus that rotatably support a tape core in a cartridge case so that a tape wound around the tape core can be fed out.

Conventionally, a core body in which a tape is wound around an outer peripheral surface, and a tape core having a disk-shaped rib portion that is provided at a middle position on the inner peripheral surface of the core main body and is rotatably supported by a protrusion of a lower case; A tape cartridge composed of a cartridge case that is divided into two parts is known (see Patent Document 1).
Since the tape core of the tape cartridge is provided with the rib part at the axially intermediate part of the inner peripheral surface of the core body, the direction of the tape core to be inserted into the protrusion may be either direction, and prevents mounting mistakes during assembly beforehand Be able to.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-071756

  However, since the tape core is pivotally supported only at the rib portion with a predetermined dimensional tolerance with respect to the protrusion, the tape core “rattles” or the like has occurred with the rotation of the tape core due to the feeding of the tape or the like. For this reason, when the force for pulling out the tape acts unevenly in the width direction of the tape, there is a problem that the tape core is inclined and the tape is fed out while being skewed.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape cartridge and a tape printing apparatus that can suppress the inclination of the tape core and stabilize its rotation.

The tape cartridge of the present invention is mounted on a tape printing apparatus having a cartridge mounting portion provided with a fitting shaft and a fitting protrusion partially protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the fitting shaft in the circumferential direction of the fitting shaft. A tape cartridge, comprising: a core body having a tape wound around an outer peripheral surface thereof; a tape core having a shaft hole formed in an axis of the core body; and a cartridge case that accommodates the tape core. A shaft support portion that is inserted through the shaft hole and rotatably supports the tape core, and a rotation guide portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft support portion, and the shaft support portion includes a hollow portion into which the fitting shaft is fitted. The rotation guide portion is provided with a recess into which the fitting protrusion is fitted , and the rotation guide portion is partially provided in the circumferential direction of the shaft support portion .

In this case, it is preferable that the tape cartridge is positioned with respect to the cartridge mounting portion by fitting the fitting shaft into the hollow portion of the shaft support portion and fitting the fitting protrusion into the concave portion of the rotation guide portion.

In this case, it is preferable that the rotation guide portion is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the core body .

In this case, it is preferable that the shaft support portion and the rotation guide portion are formed integrally with the cartridge case .

A tape printer of the present invention is a tape printer to which the tape cartridge can be mounted, and includes a fitting shaft and a fitting protrusion partially protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the fitting shaft in the circumferential direction of the fitting shaft. It has the cartridge mounting part provided with.

It is an external appearance perspective view of a tape printer with a lid opened. It is a top view of the tape cartridge which concerns on 1st Embodiment which fractured | ruptured the upper case. It is a front and back perspective view of a tape cartridge. It is a disassembled perspective view of a tape cartridge. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the tape cartridge shown in FIG. It is a top view of the tape cartridge which concerns on 2nd Embodiment which abbreviate | omitted the upper case. It is a tape cartridge which abbreviate | omitted the upper case, Comprising: (a) is a top view of the tape cartridge which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, (b) is a top view of the tape cartridge which concerns on the modification.

  Hereinafter, a tape printer of the present invention according to a first embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. This tape printer feeds the print tape and ink ribbon from the installed tape cartridge, performs printing while running in a tensioned state, cuts the printed portion of the print tape, and creates a label (tape piece) To do.

  The tape printer 1 and the like will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the tape printer 1 in an open state. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the tape cartridge 2 with the upper case 25a broken. The tape printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 10 that forms an outer shell thereof, a cartridge mounting portion 12 that is recessedly formed inside the opening / closing lid 11 and that detachably mounts a tape cartridge 2 containing a printing tape 21a and the like, Tape feeding means 13 for feeding the printing tape 21a from the tape cartridge 2 while feeding it out, and cutter means 14 for cutting the printed printing tape 21a are provided. The user operates the keyboard 15 disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 10 to execute a printing operation while confirming the display 16 displaying the operation result and the like.

  The tape cartridge 2 includes a tape body 21 formed by winding a printing tape 21a around a tape core 21b, a ribbon body 22 formed by winding an ink ribbon 22a around a ribbon core 22b, and a winding core 23 that winds up the used ink ribbon 22a. And a platen roller 24 that feeds the printing tape 21a out of the tape body 21.

  The tape feeding means 13 includes a plurality of drive shafts 17 for rotating the platen roller 24 and the take-up core 23 to run the printing tape 21a and the ink ribbon 22a in the tape cartridge 2 mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 12, and the tape core 21b. And a driving mechanism (not shown) for rotating the plurality of driving shafts 17 synchronously.

  When the tape cartridge 2 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 12, the thermal head 19 comes into contact with the platen roller 24 with the printing tape 21a and the ink ribbon 22a interposed therebetween and enters a print standby state (see FIG. 2). When printing is started, the ink ribbon 22a overlaps with the printing tape 21a at the platen roller 24 and runs side by side. Then, the printing tape 21a subjected to the printing process by the thermal head 19 is sent out to the outside of the tape cartridge 2 and the apparatus main body 10, and the printed portion is cut in the tape width direction by the cutter means 14, and a tape piece (label) Is created. On the other hand, the ink ribbon 22 a is sent along the predetermined path through the tape cartridge 2 and is wound around the winding core 23.

  Next, the tape cartridge 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a front and back perspective view of the tape cartridge 2. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the tape cartridge 2. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of the tape cartridge 2 shown in FIG. 2 and a cross-sectional view of the cartridge mounting portion 12. An outer shell of the tape cartridge 2 is formed by a cartridge case 25 including an upper case 25a and a lower case 25b. The tape body 21, the ribbon body 22, the winding core 23, and the platen roller 24 described above are connected to the cartridge case 25. Is housed inside. The upper case 25a and the lower case 25b are press-fitted and joined by pins and through-holes formed on the joining end face (can be disassembled and reused).

  The tape core 21b constituting the tape body 21 includes a core main body 26 having a printing tape 21a wound around the outer peripheral surface, a rib portion 27 projecting from an axially intermediate portion of the inner peripheral surface of the core main body 26, and a rib portion. The shaft hole 28 is formed integrally with the shaft center 27 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). The core body 26 has a hollow cylindrical shape, and the rib portion 27 has a hollow disk shape in which a shaft hole 28 is opened at the shaft center.

  Further, a reverse rotation prevention mechanism 31 for preventing the drawing end of the printing tape 21a from being drawn into the cartridge case 25 is incorporated in the inner peripheral surface of the core body 26 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). . The reverse rotation prevention mechanism 31 is formed on both the front and back surfaces of the rib portion 27 described above, and is a ratchet groove (not shown) composed of a saw-toothed pawl wheel formed so as to allow rotation only in the feeding direction of the printing tape 21a. ), An anti-reverse spring 32 (so-called coil spring) in which both ends are brought into contact with the rib portion 27 and the upper case 25a and linearly extending linear locking portions 33 are formed at the lower end portion, have.

  The lower case 25b is inserted into the shaft hole 28 and rotatably supports the tape core 21b, and a rotation guide portion 42 attached to the shaft support 41 so as to be in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the core body 26. ,have.

  The shaft support 41 has a hollow cylindrical shape standing from the lower case 25b, and a vertical groove 43 is formed from the upper end thereof. The vertical groove 43 is cut to a position lower than the ratchet groove of the tape core 21b attached to the shaft support portion 41 (see FIG. 5A).

  Therefore, when the linear locking portion 33 is aligned with the vertical groove 43 and inserted into the inner peripheral portion of the shaft support portion 41, the reverse locking spring 32 is placed on the ratchet groove. When the upper case 25a is attached in this state, the reverse rotation preventing spring 32 is compressed, and the linear locking portion 33 is pressed against the ratchet groove (see FIG. 5A). Thereby, the tape core 21b is allowed to rotate in the feeding direction (B direction in FIG. 2) of the printing tape 21a and is prevented from rotating in the opposite direction. On the other hand, when the tape cartridge 2 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 12, the positioning protrusion 18 presses the anti-reverse spring 32 from below, and the linear locking portion 33 is disengaged from the ratchet groove (FIG. 5B). )reference). That is, the linear locking portion 33 is separated from the ratchet groove, and the tape core 21b can freely rotate. The reverse rotation preventing spring 32 may be attached to the outer peripheral surface of the shaft support portion 41.

The rotation guide portion 42 protrudes from the shaft support portion 41 at the base end portion of the shaft support portion 41, has a predetermined thickness, and is integrally formed with the lower case 25b. In the present embodiment, the rotation guide portion 42 is provided at one location on the upper side in FIG. The portion of the rotation guide portion 42 that is in sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the core body 26 is formed with substantially the same curvature as that of the inner peripheral surface, so that the rotation of the tape core 21b is not hindered. According to such a configuration, when the tape core 21 b is supported by the shaft support portion 41 of the lower case 25 b, the rib portion 27 of the core body 26 is in sliding contact with the shaft support portion 41, and the rotation guide portion 42 is the inner periphery of the core body 26. Touch the surface. Therefore, the tape core 21b is rotatably supported in the lower case 25b at two locations, the shaft support portion 41 and the rotation guide portion 42. As a result, the tape core 21b can be prevented from being fed while being skewed while the tape core 21b rotates without tilting (inclined) and wound around the tape core 21b.

In addition, a fitting opening 44 in which a hollow portion 44a serving as an inner peripheral surface of the shaft support portion 41 and a concave portion 44b formed by the rotation guide portion 42 are integrated on the lower surface (back surface) of the lower case 25b. It is formed (see FIG. 3B).

Next, the cartridge mounting part 12 for detachably mounting the tape cartridge 2 will be described. As described above, the cartridge mounting portion 12 is provided with the positioning projection 18 that engages and positions the tape core 21b (see FIGS. 1 and 5). When the tape cartridge 2 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 12, the positioning projection 18 is engaged with the fitting shaft 18 a that fits into the hollow portion 44 a of the shaft support portion 41 and the recess 44 b formed by the rotation guide portion 42. The fitting protrusion 18b is integrally provided. That is, when the tape cartridge 2 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 12, the positioning projection 18 is fitted into the fitting opening 44 on the lower surface of the lower case 25b, and the tape cartridge 2 is positioned on the cartridge mounting portion 12 so that it cannot rotate. Fixed. As a result, “rattle” of the tape cartridge 2 itself in the cartridge mounting portion 12 can be eliminated, and the rotation of the tape core 21 b in the tape cartridge 2 can be stabilized.

  According to the above configuration, the rotation of the tape core 21b can be stabilized by the rib portion 27 and the rotation guide portion 42, and the printing tape 21a wound around the tape core 21b can be properly fed.

  In this embodiment, the rotation guide portion 42 is attached to the shaft support portion 41 and formed integrally with the shaft support portion 41. However, the rotation guide portion 42 is provided independently at a position separated from the shaft support portion 41. May be.

(Second Embodiment)
The tape cartridge 2 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Note that a description similar to that according to the first embodiment is omitted. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the tape cartridge 2 according to the second embodiment in which the upper case 25a is omitted. In the tape cartridge 2 according to the second embodiment, the rotation guide portion 42 is disposed on the normal line at the position where the printing tape 21a is fed out and the winding state is released. In this way, by providing the rotation guide portion 42 at the portion where the force that causes the tilting acts in a concentrated manner (where the most force is applied), the tape core 21b can be reliably prevented from tilting. Stable rotation without “stickiness” can be guaranteed.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 7A is a plan view of the tape cartridge 2 according to the third embodiment. Note that a description similar to that according to the first embodiment is omitted. The tape cartridge 2 is provided with a plurality of (four in this embodiment) rotation guide portions 42 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the shaft support portion 41. In this case, the number and position of the rotation guide portions 42 are arbitrary. According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent the tape core 21b from tilting in a plurality of directions, and it is possible to reliably prevent the tape core 21b from “rattle”.

(Modification of the third embodiment)
FIG. 7B is a plan view of a tape cartridge 2 according to a modification of the third embodiment. In the tape cartridge 2, the rotation guide portion 42 is provided over the entire circumference of the shaft support portion 41. According to this configuration, the inclination of the tape core 21b can be further prevented, and the “rattle” of the tape core 21b can be reliably prevented.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1: Tape printer, 2: Tape cartridge, 18b: Fitting protrusion, 21a: Printing tape, 21b: Tape core, 25: Cartridge case, 26: Core main body, 27: Rib part, 28: Shaft hole, 41: Shaft support part 42: Rotation guide part

Claims (5)

A tape cartridge mounted on a tape printer having a cartridge mounting portion provided with a fitting shaft and a fitting protrusion partially protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the fitting shaft in the circumferential direction of the fitting shaft. ,
A tape core having a core body in which a tape is wound around an outer peripheral surface, and a shaft hole formed in an axis of the core body;
A cartridge case for accommodating the tape core,
The cartridge case is
A shaft support portion inserted through the shaft hole and rotatably supporting the tape core;
A rotation guide part protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the shaft support part,
The shaft support portion is provided with a hollow portion into which the fitting shaft is fitted,
The rotation guide part is provided with a recess into which the fitting protrusion is fitted ,
The tape cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rotation guide portion is partially provided in a circumferential direction of the shaft support portion .   The tape cartridge is positioned with respect to the cartridge mounting portion by fitting the fitting shaft into the hollow portion of the shaft support portion and fitting the fitting protrusion into the concave portion of the rotation guide portion. The tape cartridge according to claim 1. The rotation guide portion, the tape cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that sliding contact with the inner peripheral surface of the core body. It said shaft support portion and the rotation guide section, the tape cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has been formed integrally with the cartridge case. A tape printer capable of mounting the tape cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
A tape printing apparatus comprising: the cartridge mounting portion provided with the fitting shaft and the fitting protrusion partially protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the fitting shaft in a circumferential direction of the fitting shaft .

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