JP5962908B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a printing equipment for forming a desired printing on the print-receiving tape.

  A printing apparatus that forms a desired print on a print-receiving tape is already known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this printing apparatus, when a tape cassette is loaded in the cassette holder (cassette loading section), the transport roller (platen roller) comes into contact with the print-receiving tape fed out from the print-receiving tape roll (print-receiving tape storage section). Transport. A print head (thermal print head) is brought into contact with the conveyed tape to be printed to form a desired print.

JP-A-7-9743

  In the above prior art, the tape to be printed is placed at a portion corresponding to the transport roller and the print head so that the transport roller and print head provided on the cassette holder side can come into contact with the print tape. The structure is exposed to the outside of the case (cassette body) (print head insertion recess). Therefore, when the tape cassette is mounted on the cassette holder, it is preferable that the exposed print-receiving tape and ink ribbon do not accidentally interfere with the print head and other surrounding structures. However, the above prior art has not taken such a point into consideration.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing equipment which can prevent interference with the print head or the like of the print-receiving tape at the time of attachment to the cassette holder of the tape cassette.

In order to achieve the above object, a printing apparatus according to the present invention is provided with a cassette holder capable of receiving and mounting a tape cassette having a print-receiving tape roll for feeding out a print-receiving tape in a predetermined first direction, and the cassette holder. A transport roller that transports the tape cassette in contact with the print-receiving tape fed out from the print-receiving tape roll when the tape cassette is mounted along the first direction; and provided in the cassette holder, A print head capable of forming a print by contacting the print-receiving tape fed from the print-receiving tape roll and conveyed by the conveyance roller when the tape cassette is mounted along the first direction. An apparatus, wherein the highest position in the height direction along the first direction is higher than the highest position of the print head. An engaging portion that is provided on the cassette holder and that performs concave and convex engagement with the engaged portion of the tape cassette to be mounted and guides the mounting when the tape cassette is mounted along the first direction. Yes, and the detecting means for detecting the attachment to the cassette holder of the tape cassette, characterized in that provided in the engaging portion.

  In the printing apparatus according to the present invention, when the tape cassette is mounted on the cassette holder, the transport roller comes into contact with the print-receiving tape fed out from the print-receiving tape roll to carry it. The print head is brought into contact with the conveyed print-receiving tape to form a desired print.

  Here, usually, the tape cassette has a case where the print-receiving tape is placed in a case corresponding to the transfer roller and the print head so that the transfer roller and print head provided on the cassette holder side can come into contact with the print-receiving tape. The structure is exposed to the outside. Therefore, when the tape cassette is mounted on the cassette holder, it is preferable that the exposed tape to be printed does not accidentally interfere with the print head and other surrounding structures.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the engaging portion is provided in the cassette holder. The engaging portion engages with an engaged portion provided in the tape cassette by a concavo-convex shape, and performs a guide when the tape cassette is mounted on the cassette holder. In particular, the highest position of the engaging part in the height direction is higher than the highest position of the print head, which ensures that the engaging part is mounted before the lower part of the tape cassette contacts the print head during mounting. Do a guide. As a result, when the user mounts the tape cassette, the tape cassette can be smoothly mounted in a state where the tape cassette has been accurately positioned in advance, thereby reliably preventing interference of the print-receiving tape with the print head or the like. be able to.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably prevent interference of the print-receiving tape with the print head or the like when the tape cassette is mounted on the cassette holder.

It is a perspective view of the printing label production apparatus with which the cassette of one embodiment of the present invention is mounted. It is a perspective view of the printed label production apparatus in the state where the cassette cover is opened. It is a perspective view showing the cassette mounting part in which a tape cassette and the said tape cassette are mounted | worn. It is a top view showing the internal structure of the tape cassette of the state which removed the cassette upper surface with the cassette mounting part in which the said tape cassette was mounted | worn. It is a block diagram which shows the electrical constitution of a printed label production apparatus. It is a top view showing the internal structure of the tape cassette of the state which removed the cassette upper surface at the time of mounting | wearing with the cassette mounting part of a printing label production apparatus. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a print label producing apparatus on which a cassette is mounted in a modification example in which an H-shaped guide convex portion is provided. It is explanatory drawing which expands and shows the relationship between the guide recessed part and guide convex part which are mutually engaged when a tape cassette is mounted in the cassette mounting part of a printing label production apparatus. It is a top view showing the internal structure of the tape cassette of the state which removed the cassette upper surface before mounting in the cassette mounting part of a printing label production apparatus. FIG. 8 is an arrow view from the direction A in FIG. 2, an arrow view from the direction B in FIG. It is the top view, bottom view, and side view in the modification which provided the inclined surface in the corner | angular part of a cassette case. It is principal part extraction sectional drawing showing the modification which provided the mounting | wearing sensor in the convex part for guides.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the lower left side of FIG. 1 is the front side, the upper right side of FIG. 1 is the rear side, the lower right side of FIG. 1 is the right side, and the upper left side of FIG. (See arrow display).

<Schematic configuration of printing label production device>
First, a schematic configuration of a print label producing apparatus (corresponding to a printing apparatus) used by mounting the tape cassette of the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the print label producing apparatus 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 liquid crystal display 5 capable of displaying input characters and symbols is provided. On the rear side of the liquid crystal display 5, for example, a lid-like cassette cover 6 that is opened and closed when the tape cassette 30 (see FIG. 4 described later) is replaced is provided. Inside the main body cover 2 corresponding to the cassette cover 6, there is provided a recessed cassette mounting portion 8 (corresponding to a cassette holder) that can receive and mount the tape cassette 30 from above. Note that the vertical direction in this example corresponds to the first direction and the third direction described in each claim. Note that the tape cassette 30 and the print label producing apparatus 1 provided with the cassette attaching portion 8 to which the tape cassette can be attached correspond to a print label producing system.

  A discharge slit 9 for discharging the printed tape to the outside is provided behind the left side surface of the main body cover 2. A discharge window 11 is formed on the left side surface of the cassette cover 6 to expose the discharge slit 9 to the outside with the cassette cover 6 closed. Near the center of the front surface of the cassette cover 6, a hook-like locking lock 4 that protrudes downward from the lower surface thereof is provided. The main body cover 2 is provided with a lock hole 7 at a position corresponding to the lock 4. When the cassette cover 6 is closed, the lock 4 is fitted into the lock hole 7 and locked. The natural opening of the cassette cover 6 is prevented.

<Internal structure>
Next, the internal structure of the main body cover 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the cassette mounting portion 8 moves down the tape cassette 30 inserted and mounted from the cassette bottom surface 31 </ b> A side of the cassette case 31 (corresponding to the case) provided in the tape cassette 30. Support from.

<Tape cassette details>
The tape cassette 30 includes the cassette case 31 that is substantially box-shaped and includes a cassette upper surface 31C and a cassette bottom surface 31A at the end in the vertical direction and a cassette side surface 31B at the horizontal end perpendicular to the vertical direction. doing. The cassette side surface 31B is provided with a tape discharge port 49a for discharging the printed tape 41, which has been printed so that the tape width direction is along the vertical direction, out of the cassette case 31.

  A tape spool 40 (winding member) that winds the print-receiving tape 41 around an axis k (see FIG. 4) in the vertical direction (corresponding to the third direction) on the left side of the rear portion in the cassette case 31. ) Is rotatably arranged via the support hole 65 (see FIG. 3). By this rotation, the print-receiving tape 41 can be continuously fed out from a tape roll 42 (corresponding to a roll) wound around the tape spool 40. A ribbon spool 43 around which the ink ribbon 60 is wound is rotatably disposed on the front right side in the cassette case 31. Between the tape spool 40 and the ribbon spool 43 in the cassette case 31, there is a ribbon take-up spool 44 that pulls out the ink ribbon 60 from the ribbon spool 43 and winds up the ink ribbon 60 used for printing characters and the like. , The support hole 67 (see FIG. 3) is rotatably arranged. 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. .

  On the front right side of the tape cassette 30, there is provided an arm portion 34 that extends slightly forward of the tape cassette 30 and is folded at a right angle toward the center. In the arm portion 34, the print-receiving tape 41 drawn from the tape spool 40 and the ink ribbon 60 drawn from the ribbon spool 43 are guided together. A gap surrounded by the inner surface of the arm portion 34 and the front surface of the tape cassette 30 is a head mounting portion 39 for fitting the thermal head 10 of the print label producing apparatus 1. Furthermore, an opening 34a (corresponding to a tape outlet) is provided at the tip of the arm portion 34 to supply the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 to the head mounting portion 39 in a superposed state.

  A support hole is provided on the downstream side of the head mounting portion 39 in the transport direction of the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 from the opening 34a of the arm portion 34 to the tape discharge port 49a. A drive roller 46 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable. The tape drive roller 46 pulls out the print-receiving tape 41 from the tape roll 42 in cooperation with the movable transport roller 14 facing the tape drive roller 46. A pair of upper and lower restricting members 36 are provided on the upstream side of the tape drive roller 46. The restricting member 36 restricts the print-receiving tape 41 on which characters are printed on the downstream side of the thermal head 10 in the width direction and guides it toward the tape discharge port 49a. In the vicinity of the regulating member 36, a guide wall 38 for separating the used ink ribbon 60 conveyed via the head mounting portion 39 from the print-receiving tape 41 and guiding it toward the ribbon take-up spool 44. Is erected. Between the guide wall 38 and the ribbon take-up spool 44, the used ink ribbon 60 guided along the guide wall 38 comes into contact with the print-receiving tape 41 wound around the tape spool 40. A separation wall 48 is provided for prevention.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the cassette case 31 has a right angle in a plan view at an intermediate portion in the height direction of a predetermined corner portion (specifically, a corner portion where the tape discharge port 49 a is not provided). A common portion 32 protrudes outwardly. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 2 described above, the cassette mounting portion 8 has a substantially rectangular recess 8a having rounded corners in plan view. Of the upper end edge of the recessed portion 8a, the plane adjacent to the rounded corner is the cassette support portion 8b that supports the common portion 32 of the tape cassette 30 mounted from below. That is, the common portion 32 is supported from below by the cassette support portion 8b when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8.

<Details of cassette mounting part>
On the other hand, a head holder 74 mounted with a thermal head 10 (corresponding to a print head; see also FIG. 5) provided with a heating element (not shown) is fixed on the front side of the cassette mounting portion 8. In this example, the vertical direction (that is, the height direction) dimension of the thermal head 10 is substantially the same as that of the head holder 74, and the upper end position of the thermal head 10 is substantially the same as the upper end position of the head holder 74. Yes. A tape feed motor 23 (see FIG. 3) which is a stepping motor, for example, is disposed outside the cassette mounting portion 8. 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. A ribbon take-up shaft 95 (see FIG. 3) for rotating the ribbon take-up spool 44 of the tape cassette 30 is erected on the upper surface of the gear 94. 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 (see FIG. 3) for rotating the tape drive roller 46 provided in the tape cassette 30 is erected.

  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. Thereby, the tape drive roller 46 of the tape cassette 30 in which the tape drive shaft 100 is inserted is rotationally driven.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the arm-shaped platen holder 12 is pivotally supported on the front side of the head holder 74 so as to be swingable about the pivotal support portion 12a. A platen roller 15 (corresponding to a conveying roller) provided so as to be able to contact and separate relative to the thermal head 10 and a tape drive roller 46 so as to be able to contact and separate are provided at the front end side of the platen holder 12. The movable conveyance roller 14 is rotatably supported by both.

  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. At the standby position, the platen holder 12 moves in a direction away from the cassette mounting portion 8, and 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 leftward, and the platen holder 12 moves toward the printing position. At the printing position, the platen holder 12 moves in the direction approaching the cassette mounting portion 8. If the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the platen roller 15 presses the thermal head 10 via the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60, which will be described later, and the movable transport roller 14 is printed. The tape driving roller 46 is pressed through the tape 41. Here, as will be described later, the print-receiving tape 41 includes a transfer layer (receptor layer) 41a that is made of a transfer-receiving material that can be printed by thermal transfer from the ink ribbon 60 and functions as a print-receiving layer. Yes. A desired print is formed on the transfer layer 41 a by the thermal transfer from the ink ribbon 60 by the pressing and the heat generation of the thermal head 10.

  In the transport path from the tape outlet 49a of the tape cassette 30 to the discharge slit 9, that is, the transport path for transporting the printed tape 41, the printed tape 41 is printed at a predetermined position. A cutting mechanism (not shown) that cuts the printed label is provided. The cutting mechanism includes a fixed blade and a movable blade that is supported to be movable in the front-rear direction so as to face the fixed blade. The movable blade is moved in the front-rear direction by a cutter motor 24 (see FIG. 5 described later).

  The cassette mounting portion 8 is provided with two positioning pins 102 and 103 (see FIG. 3). The positioning pins 102 and 103 are provided at positions corresponding to two pin holes (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8. The positioning pins 102 and 103 position the tape cassette 30 mounted on the cassette mounting unit 8 at an appropriate position in the cassette mounting unit 8.

<Electrical configuration of label making device>
Next, the electrical configuration of the printed label producing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the print label producing apparatus 1 includes a control circuit unit 70 formed on a control board. The control circuit unit 70 includes a CPU 71 that controls each device, a CG-ROM 72 connected to the CPU 71 via a data bus 69, a ROM 74, a RAM 75, an input / output interface 77, and the like.

  In the CG-ROM 72, for each of a large number of characters for printing characters such as alphabet letters and symbols, printing dot pattern data is classified for each typeface (Gothic typeface, Mincho typeface, etc.) For each typeface, six types (for example, dot sizes of 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, and 96) of print character sizes are stored in association with code data.

  The ROM 74 stores a display drive control program for controlling the liquid crystal drive circuit (LCDC) 25 in correspondence with character code data such as characters and numbers input from the keyboard 3, the thermal head 10, and the tape feed motor 23. A print drive control program for driving the number of pulses, a pulse number determination program for determining the number of applied pulses corresponding to the amount of energy to form each print dot, and a predetermined cutting of the print-receiving tape 41 that has been printed by driving the cutter motor 24 A cutting drive control program for cutting at a position, various programs necessary for controlling the print label producing apparatus 1, and the like are stored. That is, the CPU 71 performs various calculations based on these various programs.

  The RAM 75 is provided with a text memory, a print buffer, a counter, a total print dot number counter, a parameter storage area, and the like. Document data input from the keyboard 3 is stored in the text memory. In the print buffer, dot patterns for printing such as a plurality of characters and symbols, the number of applied pulses, which 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. The counter stores a count value of the number of print dots for one line printed by the thermal head 10. In the total print dot number counter, the total print dot number from the start time when printing by the thermal head 10 is stored. Various calculation data are stored in the parameter storage area.

  The input / output interface 77 includes the keyboard 3, the liquid crystal driving circuit (LCDC) 25 having a video RAM (not shown) for outputting display data to the liquid crystal display (LCD) 5, and the tape feed motor. A driving circuit 26 for driving the head 23, a driving circuit 27 for driving the thermal head 10, a driving circuit 28 for driving the cutter motor 24, and the like are connected to each other.

<Operation of label production device>
When a character or the like is input using the keyboard 3 in the printed label producing apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the text (document data) is stored in the text memory. Based on various programs, a dot pattern corresponding to characters or the like input with the keyboard 3 is displayed on the liquid crystal display 5. Then, the thermal head 10 is driven via the drive circuit 27 to print the dot pattern data stored in the print buffer. The tape feed motor 23 performs tape feed control in synchronization with the printing operation by the thermal head 10. At this time, in the thermal head 10, each heating element provided on the heating element (not shown) is selectively driven to generate heat corresponding to the printing dots for one line by the drive circuit 27. As a result, characters and the like input from the keyboard 3 are printed on the printing surface of the transfer layer 41 a of the print-receiving tape 41. The printed tape 41 having been printed is conveyed to the cutting position of the cutting mechanism, and is cut by the cooperation of the movable blade and the fixed blade, thereby generating a printed label.

<Printed tape>
At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, the print-receiving tape 41 in the present embodiment has a three-layer structure (see an enlarged view of the lower right part in FIG. 6). That is, the print-receiving tape 41 is composed of a transfer-receiving material that can be printed by thermal transfer from the ink ribbon 60 from the side wound inside the tape spool 40 toward the opposite side, and functions as a print-receiving layer. The transfer layer (receptor layer) 41a, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 41b provided with an appropriate pressure-sensitive adhesive, and the release material layer 41c are laminated in this order. As described above, the roll-shaped print-receiving tape 41 is fed out from the tape spool 40 and conveyed by the cooperation of the tape driving roller 46 and the movable conveying roller 14. The heat generating element of the thermal head 10 is selectively driven to generate heat with respect to the print-receiving tape 41 being conveyed, whereby thermal transfer from the ink ribbon 60 to the transfer layer 41a is performed, and printing is formed.

  The print-receiving tape 41 on which printing has been formed as described above is carried out of the tape cassette 30 from the tape discharge port 49a provided at the most downstream end of the tape transport path in the tape cassette 30. . Then, the printed tape 41 having been printed is conveyed to the cutting position of the cutting mechanism and cut to generate a print label (not shown). Thereby, the user can affix the printed print-receiving tape 41 (that is, the print label), which has been printed and discharged as described above, to an appropriate object to be attached by the adhesive layer 41b. .

<Recess for contact treatment>
As shown in FIG. 6, the tape cassette 30 of this embodiment includes a contact processing recess D on the upstream side of the tape discharge port 49 a along the transport path of the print-receiving tape 41. The contact processing recess D provides a processing space for carrying and printing on the print-receiving tape 41. That is, the contact processing recess D includes a contact recess D1 for transporting the movable transport roller 14 in contact with the tape drive roller 46, and an insertion recess D2 into which the thermal head 10 is inserted. Consists of That is, the contact processing recess D1 provides a processing space for contacting the print-receiving tape 41 fed out from the print-receiving tape roll 42 outside the cassette case 31 for carrying and printing.

  The tape cassette 30 includes a tape insertion part 49. The tape discharge port 49a is provided on the downstream side of the tape insertion portion 49 along the transport path, and the contact processing recess D (specifically, the contact recess D1) is provided on the upstream side of the transport path. Is provided with a tape inlet 49b. In other words, the contact recess D1 is provided on the upstream side of the tape discharge port 49a and on the downstream side of the tape introduction port 49b along the transport path. Thereby, the tape insertion part 49 allows the print-receiving tape 41 introduced from the tape introduction port 49b to be inserted into the tape discharge port 49a. On the other hand, the opening 34a is provided in a portion of the arm portion 34 facing the contact processing recess D (specifically, the insertion recess D2), and the print-receiving tape 41 fed out from the tape spool 40 is used for the contact processing. Derived into the recess D (specifically, the recess D2 for insertion). In other words, the insertion recess D2 is provided on the upstream side of the tape inlet 49b and on the downstream side of the opening 34a along the transport path.

<Features of this embodiment>
In the basic configuration described above, the greatest feature of this embodiment is that when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the exposed print-receiving tape 41 is erroneously attached to the head holder 74 (thermal A guide structure for preventing interference with other surrounding structures. Hereinafter, the configuration will be described in detail step by step.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the platen roller 15 is brought into contact with the print-receiving tape 41 fed out from the print-receiving tape roll 42 to carry it. Further, the thermal head 10 mounted on the head holder 74 comes into contact with the conveyed print-receiving tape 41 to form a desired print.

  As described above, the tape cassette 30 has the platen roller 15 and the thermal head 10 provided on the cassette mounting portion 8 side so that the platen roller 15 and the thermal head 10 can come into contact with the print-receiving tape 41. The print-receiving tape 41 is exposed to the outside of the cassette case 31 at a site corresponding to the thermal head 10 (the insertion recess D2). Therefore, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the exposed print-receiving tape 41 should not accidentally interfere with the thermal head 10, the head holder 74, or other surrounding structures. Is preferred.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, a guide convex portion 85 (corresponding to an engagement portion) is provided. The guide convex portion 85 is close to the opposite side of the head holder 74 to the thermal head 10 mounting side, and is a substantially vertically long rectangular rod extending in the vertical direction (corresponding to the first direction) from the bottom surface of the cassette mounting portion 8. It is erected in a shape. A rectangular guide recess 80 (corresponding to the engaged portion) is provided in the insertion recess D <b> 2 of the tape cassette 30 corresponding to the guide protrusion 85. The guide convex portion 85 is engaged with the guide concave portion 80 provided in the tape cassette 30 by using substantially the same concave and convex shapes, and guides when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8. . At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the highest position in the height direction of the guide convex portion 85 is higher than the highest positions of the thermal head 10 and the head holder 74 by Δh. As a result, the guide projection 85 reliably guides the mounting before the lower part of the tape cassette 30 contacts the thermal head 10 during mounting.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the cooperation between the guide concave portion 80 provided on the tape cassette 30 side and the guide convex portion 85 provided on the cassette mounting portion 8 side allows the user to When the tape cassette 30 is mounted, the tape cassette 30 can be mounted smoothly in a state of being accurately positioned in advance. Thereby, interference with the thermal head 10 etc. of the to-be-printed tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 which were mentioned above can be prevented reliably.

  In the present embodiment, in particular, the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 fed out from the print-receiving tape roll 42 are led out from the opening 34a to the contact processing recess D (specifically, the contact recess D1). . Then, after the conveyance and printing are performed by contact with the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 in the contact recess D1, the print-receiving tape 41 passes through the insertion recess D2 from the tape discharge port 49a to the cassette case 31. It is discharged outside. As described above, even in the structure in which the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 are exposed in the contact processing recess D between the opening 34a and the tape discharge port 49a, in this embodiment, the guide protrusion 85 and the guide The guide using the concave-convex engagement with the concave portion 80 can reliably prevent the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 from interfering with the thermal head 10.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and technical idea of the present invention. Hereinafter, such modifications will be described in order. In each modification, the same reference numerals are given to the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment and other modifications, and the description is omitted or simplified as appropriate.

(1) <When the guide convex portion is substantially H-shaped>
That is, as shown in FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 corresponding to FIGS. 1, 4, and 6 of the above embodiment, in this modification, the guide convex portion having a substantially H-shaped cross section 85 '(corresponding to the engaging portion) is provided. The guide convex portion 85 ′ includes a central connecting portion W and two flange portions F and F disposed on both sides of the connecting portion W in parallel with each other.

  Correspondingly, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the insertion recess D2 of the tape cassette 30 is provided with a substantially H-shaped guide recess 80 '(corresponding to the engaged portion). . The guide concave portion 80 ′ is provided corresponding to the connecting portion W, and is provided corresponding to the two protruding pieces 82 and 82 that face each other inward from the left and right inner walls, and the flange portions F and F. Insertion portions 81, 81. Thereby, when the guide convex portion 85 is engaged with the guide concave portion 80, the connecting portion W at the center of the guide convex portion 85 is sandwiched between the tips of the pair of left and right projection pieces 82, and Each of the pair of left and right projecting pieces 82 and 82 is sandwiched between flange portions F and F that are parallel to each other.

  Also by this modification, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment is acquired. In particular, in the present modification, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, the guide is reliably guided while preventing backlash in the front-rear direction with respect to the guide convex portion 85 of the tape cassette 30 and positioning with high accuracy. It can be performed. Even after the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8, it is possible to eliminate backlash in the front-rear direction with respect to the guide convex portion 85 of the tape cassette 30.

(2) When guiding the thermal head closer to the thermal head as it is mounted (Part 1)
This modification will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10A is an arrow view from the direction A in FIG. 2 showing the guide convex portion 85 and the head holder 74 in the embodiment. FIG. 10B is an arrow view from the direction B in FIG. 7 showing the guide convex portion 85 ′ and the head holder 74 in the modified example of the above (1).

  FIG. 10C is an arrow view equivalent to FIG. 10A and FIG. 10B showing the guide convex portion 85 ″ and the head holder 74, which are the main parts of this modification. As shown in Fig. 10 (c), the upper end of the guide convex portion 85 'of this modification is inclined so as to bend toward the front thermal head 10 (head holder 74). A portion 86 (corresponding to the first inclined portion) is provided, that is, in the inclined portion 86, as shown in the figure, the above-described connecting portion W and the two flange portions F and F maintain the mutual positional relationship. However, it is curved so as to be bent toward the front side as a whole.

  Also by this modification, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment is acquired. In particular, in the present modified example, with the above configuration, the inclined portion 86 is moved in the horizontal direction as the tape cassette 30 is attached after the guide starts due to the concave-convex engagement between the guide convex portion 85 ″ and the guide concave portion 80 ′. The position of the tape cassette 30 is gradually brought closer to the position of the thermal head 10 (head holder 74) in the horizontal direction. The distance between the tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 and the thermal head 10 (head holder 74) is relatively separated, and the distance between the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon and the thermal head 10 (head holder 74) as mounting progresses. When the mounting is completed, the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 and the thermal head 1 are (Head holder 74) and it can be reliably adhered to.

  According to this modification, it is possible to achieve both easy mounting at the start of mounting and high quality printing at the time of printing after completion of mounting. Instead of providing the inclined portion 86 in the guide convex portion 85 ″, an inclined surface (corresponding to the first inclined portion) capable of realizing an equivalent function may be provided at the edge of the cassette mounting portion 8. Also in this case, as described above, as the mounting of the tape cassette 30 after the guide starts, the inclined surface gradually moves the position of the tape cassette 30 in the horizontal direction relative to the position of the thermal head 10 (head holder 74). It can be made close to each other, and the same effect is obtained.

(3) When guiding the thermal head closer to the thermal head as it is mounted (Part 2)
FIG. 11A, FIG. 11B, and FIG. 11C show a plan view, a bottom view, and a side view showing the appearance of the tape cassette 30 of this modification, respectively.

  As shown in FIGS. 11A to 11C, in this modification, an inclined surface P (corresponding to the second inclined portion) is formed so as to be cut out at the front corner portion of the cassette bottom surface 31A of the cassette case 31. Provided. The inclined surface P thus provided has a surface position in the horizontal direction (corresponding to the fourth direction) gradually from the bottom surface side of the cassette case 31 in the vertical direction (from the position of the edge portion P0) toward the upper surface side. To change.

  Also by this modification, the same effect as the above-mentioned embodiment is acquired. In particular, in this modified example, as described above, a user who intends to mount the tape cassette 30 relatively increases the distance between the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 and the thermal head 10 (head holder 74) immediately after the start of mounting. In this state, the distance between the print-receiving tape 41 and the ink ribbon 60 and the thermal head 10 (head holder 74) can be made closer as mounting progresses. As a result, similar to the modification (2), it is possible to achieve both easy mounting at the start of mounting and high quality printing at the time of printing after completion of mounting. Instead of providing the inclined surface P at the lower end of the cassette case 31, an inclined surface (second inclined surface) that performs an equivalent function at the lower end portions of the guide concave portions 80, 80 with which the guide convex portions 85, 85 'are engaged. May be provided). Also in this case, as described above, the inclined surface can gradually bring the position of the tape cassette 30 in the horizontal direction closer to the position of the thermal head 10 (head holder 74), and the same effect is obtained.

(4) In the case where a mounting sensor is provided As shown in FIG. 12, in the present modification, a mounting sensor 90 (corresponding to a detecting means, which detects the mounting of the tape cassette 30 to the cassette mounting portion 8 is also shown. Is provided on the guide convex portion 85.

  The mounting sensor 90 includes a limit switch 205 and a substantially L-shaped lever 203. At this time, in this modification, a rear side opening 85a and a front side opening 85b are formed on the lower end side of the guide convex portion 85 similar to the above embodiment. The limit switch 205 attached to the head holder 74 faces the guide protrusion 85 from the front opening 202b. The limit switch 205 is always urged in the protruding direction (inward of the guide convex portion 85, left side in FIG. 12), for example, by a spring mechanism (not shown).

  At this time, the lever 203 is disposed below the guide convex portion 85. The lever 203 can swing in the front-rear direction via a pivot shaft 204 at the upper end. Then, the L-shaped rear end portion 203b of the lever 203 is pushed leftward in the drawing by the spring biasing force of the limit switch 205. As a result, the L-shaped tip portion 203a always protrudes outward from the rear opening 202a (a state represented by a solid line in FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, when the tape cassette 30 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8 (see arrow C), the L-shaped tip portion 203a of the lever 203 is pushed rightward in FIG. As a result, the lever 203 rotates counterclockwise about the rotation shaft 204, and the L-shaped rear end portion 203b presses the limit switch 205 against the spring biasing force of the limit switch 205 (arrow) D). As a result, the limit switch 205 is turned on, and a corresponding mounting completion detection signal is output to the control circuit unit 20. Thereby, it is possible to detect that the tape cassette 30 has been completely mounted on the cassette mounting portion 8.

(5) Others In the above description, the case where the print-receiving tape 41 includes the transfer layer 41a and the print is formed by thermal transfer from the ink ribbon 60 has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, instead of the transfer layer 41a, a heat-sensitive layer that develops color by heat may be provided. In this case, the ink ribbon 60 is not necessary.

  In addition, in the above, the arrow shown in the figure of FIG. 5 shows an example of a signal flow, and does not limit the signal flow direction.

  In addition to those already described above, the methods according to the above-described embodiments and modifications may be used in appropriate combination.

  In addition, although not illustrated one by one, the present invention is implemented with various modifications within a range not departing from the gist thereof.

8 Cassette mounting part (cassette holder)
10 Thermal head (printing head)
15 Platen roller (conveyance roller)
30 Tape cassette 31 Cassette case 34a Opening (tape outlet)
40 Tape spool (winding member)
41 Printed Tape 42 Printed Tape Roll (Roll)
49a Tape outlet 49b Tape inlet 80 Guide recess (engaged part)
80 'Guide recess (engaged part)
85 Convex part for guide (engaging part)
85 'convex part for guide (engagement part)
85 "guide convex part (engagement part)
86 Inclined part (first inclined part)
90 Wear sensor (detection means)
D Contact processing recess P Inclined surface (second inclined portion)

Claims (3)

A cassette holder capable of receiving and mounting a tape cassette provided with a print-receiving tape roll for feeding out the print-receiving tape in a predetermined first direction;
A transport roller that is provided in the cassette holder and transports in contact with the print-receiving tape fed from the print-receiving tape roll when the tape cassette is mounted along the first direction;
Provided on the cassette holder, when the tape cassette is mounted along the first direction, printing can be performed by contacting the print-receiving tape fed out from the print-receiving tape roll and conveyed by the conveyance roller. A print head,
A printing device comprising:
When the cassette holder is provided such that the highest position in the height direction along the first direction is higher than the highest position of the print head, and when the tape cassette is mounted along the first direction, have a engaging portion with respect to the engaged portion of the tape cassette to be mounted performing uneven engagement with the mounting guide,
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a detecting means for detecting attachment of the tape cassette to the cassette holder is provided in the engaging portion . The printing apparatus according to claim 1,
The engaging portion is
A printing device, wherein the printing device is a convex portion erected along the first direction from the bottom surface of the cassette holder in the first direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
As the mounting progresses after the guide starts, a first inclined portion that gradually brings the position of the cassette in the second direction orthogonal to the first direction to the position of the print head in the second direction. printing apparatus comprising: a.

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