JPH01292685A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a tape cassette superior in an external appearance by forming the periphery part of various kinds of holes for various detections, etc., provided on the surface of a cassette shell so as to be an acute angle in a section. CONSTITUTION:After a thermal transfer film F is superposed and bonded over the upper surface side of a hole part 3 on the surface of a cassette shell 2 through an adhesive layer (c), an ink layer (i) is bonded to the surface of the shell 2 by melting the layer (c) by pressing and rolling a roller R made of heat treated Si rubber, etc. on the external surface side of the film F. Then, the layer (c) is pushed into the hole part 3 together with the layer (c) by rolling, and the layer (i) is sheared by the periphery 3a of the hole part 3 which is an acute angle shape in the section. Thus, the layer (i) of the film F is bonded at a position corresponding to the surface of the shell 2 by the melting of the layer (c), and at the position corresponding to the hole part 3, it is not bonded but is sheared along the periphery 3a of the hole part 3. As the result, an ink printing layer (a) is opened at the hole part 3, but the periphery shape of the hole part 3 is finished in good order because of being sheared at the periphery part of the hole part 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a tape cassette in which a printed film is formed on the surface of a cassette shell by thermal transfer.

[Summary of the invention]

The tape cassette according to the present invention has holes provided on the surface of the cassette shell that serve as various detection parts, etc., and the periphery of the hole is formed with an acute angle in cross section, and an ink layer is formed on the upper surface of the hole in the same plane as the surface of the cassette shell. By adhering the thermal transfer film and applying heat and pressure for thermal transfer, the ink layer on the top side of the hole is cut by the edge with an acute angle in cross section, and when the film is peeled off, the ink layer is not adhered to the film. The ink transfer layer on the surface of the cassette shell becomes a clean shape along the periphery of the hole.

(Prior art) A conventional tape cassette with a desired printing film on its surface is
A printed film with a desired pattern was formed on the surface of the cassette shell by thermal transfer using a thermal transfer film.

114, a thermal transfer film is superimposed on the surface of the cassette shell with the ink layer side interposed through the heat-sensitive adhesive layer, and when the film is heated and pressed from the front side with a heating pressure roller,
By melting the adhesive layer, the ink layer was adhered to the surface of the cassette shell, and by peeling off the film in this state, a printed film with a desired pattern was formed.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In this way, in a tape cassette in which a printed film is formed using a thermal transfer film, holes are provided on the surface of the cassette shell as various detection parts, etc. Even if they are adhered on the same surface, the ink layer corresponding to the hole is not adhered to the cassette shell side, so when the film is peeled off, it is removed while remaining adhered to this film side, and the hole remains open. It turns out.

However, in conventional tape cassettes, the holes provided on the surface of the cassette shell have a perpendicular edge or a rounded cross section, so even if a thermal transfer film is heated and pressed on the surface of the cassette shell, the ink layer remains on the surface of the cassette shell. On the other hand, the hole only separates the adhesive and non-adhesive areas, so when the film is peeled off, the ink layer that corresponds to the hole and remains on the film is different from the ink layer that is adhered to the surface of the cassette shell. The cut box, that is, the area along the periphery of the hole, is rough, so-called loose, which spoils the appearance and reduces the value of the product.

In order to solve this problem, it is possible to form the ink layer of the thermal transfer film as a printing pattern that avoids the holes, and to make the edges of the transfer ink layer corresponding to the edges of the holes naturally, but in this case, If it is difficult to align the blank area of the printing pattern corresponding to the hole of transfer ink 1- with the hole of the cassette shell, and this misalignment causes the transfer ink layer to protrude into a part of the hole, it will be difficult to When peeling off the film, the transfer ink layer is torn off at the periphery of the hole, as in the case described above, and a blank area of the ink layer is created at the other edge of the hole, which spoils the appearance. There is a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional technology, and its purpose is to apply transfer ink to the peripheral contours of various detection holes provided in the cassette shell. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape cassette that can form layers accurately and smoothly.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the tape cassette of the present invention has holes for various detection purposes provided on the surface of the cassette shell, the periphery of which has an acute-angled cross section, and the upper surface of the hole formed with the surface of the cassette shell. A thermal transfer film coated with the required ink layer on one side is adhered to the same surface, and heated and pressed to thermally transfer the required ink layer onto the surface of the cassette shell. It is designed to be cut along the periphery.

[Effect]

The tape cassette according to the present invention is a thermal transfer film with a required ink layer formed on one side of the cassette shell surface by forming the periphery of the various detection holes provided on the cassette shell surface into an acute-angled cross section. When the ink layer is bonded and heated and pressurized, the ink layer is pressed onto the cassette shell surface, but at the hole, it falls into the hole, and at this time, the ink layer adheres to the shell surface and corresponds to the hole. The sharp edge of the hole comes into contact with the boundary between the two parts, and a shearing stress is applied to shear the ink layer.

In this way, the portion of the ink layer corresponding to the hole is sheared, so when the film is peeled off, the portion corresponding to the hole is removed while remaining adhered to the film, that is, the transfer ink layer is removed from the portion corresponding to the hole. is removed in an accurately and smoothly punched state, and a transfer ink layer is gracefully formed on the surface of the cassette shell, resulting in a tape cassette with excellent appearance.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the figure (11 is ink printing 15 required for decoration etc.)
11a shows the entire tape cassette throat formed by thermal transfer, (2) is the cassette shell, and (3) is the hole for various detections etc. provided in the cassette shell (2). These include a reference hole for setting the disc in the player, a hole for distinguishing sides A and B, a hole to prevent accidental erasure, and a screw hole for combining the shells. (4a) and (4b) are reel hubs, and (5) is an opening/closing lid.

The periphery (3a) of this hole (3) is formed to have an acute-angled cross section. In this example, the periphery (3a
) are formed on the outer periphery of the four gently rounded portions (3b), and the acute cross-sectional angle θ of the periphery (3a) is set, for example, from 50° to 7.
It is formed at 0°.

By making the outer periphery recess (3b) of this hole (3) into a gentle R shape, the light irradiated to this area will be diffusely reflected, making the recess (3b) less noticeable. The specular reflection of light on each inner surface makes the concave portion clearly visible, causing a problem in appearance.

A desired ink printing film a is formed on the surface of the cassette shell (2) thus formed by a thermal transfer method using a thermal transfer film F.
As shown in the figure, a desired ink layer i is coated on a heat-resistant polymer film f such as a polyester film having a thickness of about δμ frost through a protective layer, and a transparent heat-sensitive adhesive is applied on this ink layer i. Layer C is formed and the stacking thickness of both layers is 7.
Use one that is about μm thick.

Next, use this thermal transfer film F to apply the cassette shell (
2) The step of thermally transferring onto the surface will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

First, as shown in Fig. 3, the thermal transfer film F is overlaid and adhered to the surface of the cassette shell (2) over the upper surface of the hole (3) via the adhesive layer C, and then as shown in Fig. 4. A heated pressure roller R made of silicone rubber or the like heated to around 200° C. is brought into pressure contact with the outer surface of the film f and transferred, whereby the adhesive layer C is melted and the ink layer l is applied to the surface of the cassette shell (2). Can be adhered to.

When the heated stoichiometric roller R moves over the upper surface side of the hole (3) of the cassette shell (2) (the state shown in FIG. 4), the ink layer i corresponding to this hole (3) is an adhesive layer. Since the ink is pushed into the hole (3) along with C, the ink Imi
together with the adhesive layer C, the periphery (3
Sheared by a).

In this way, the ink layer 1 of the thermal transfer film F is bonded by force and by melting of the adhesive layer C in the portion corresponding to the surface of the cent shell (2), and is not bonded in the portion corresponding to the hole portion (3). The periphery (3) of the hole (3) without
It will be sheared along a).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, by peeling off the film f, the part of the ink layer l corresponding to the surface of the cassette shell (2) remains adhered, forming an ink printing film a, and filling the hole part (3). The corresponding part is removed while still being adhered to the film f, and the hole (3) is opened, but the ink printing l!
i! By shearing a at the periphery of the hole (3), the shape of the periphery of the hole (3) is neatly finished.

In addition, the periphery (3a) of the hole (3) of the cassette shell (2)
) The cross-sectional shape of the cassette shell (2) is as shown in Figure 6.
) can be formed to have an acute angle θ in cross section by flattening the surface side and forming a protrusion (3c) on the inner circumferential side so as to be narrow in the opening direction.

By forming the hole (3) of the cassette shell (2) in this way, the thermal transfer film F can be adhered flatly over the entire surface, and the heating and pressure roller can press and roll the cassette shell (2). In addition to being able to reliably adhere to the surface of the hole (3), the upper surface side of the hole (3) is pushed into the hole (3), and the adhesive layer and The ink layer is sheared. By peeling off the film, the sheared holes (
3) The ink layer on the upper surface side is removed together with the adhesive layer while remaining attached to the film, leaving the hole (3) open, and the ink printing film a adhered to the surface of the cassette shell (2) is removed from the hole (3). The shape neatly follows the periphery of 3).

Although the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the shape of the hole may be circular. However, it can also be applied to triangles, quadrilaterals, etc. Further, the present invention is applicable not only to (1)0 tape cassettes but also to those in which a printed film is formed by a thermal transfer film on a surface having holes.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the periphery of the holes for various detection purposes provided on the surface of the cassette shell is formed to have an acute-angled cross section, so that when a transfer ink layer is formed on the surface of the cassette shell using a thermal transfer film. When the transfer film is heated and pressurized, the ink layer of the thermal transfer film is sheared by the acute-angled periphery of the hole on the upper surface side of the hole, and rigid edges are formed on the surface of the cassette shell in an orderly manner along the contour of the hole. A tape cassette with an extremely good finish and excellent appearance can be obtained.

In addition, the thermal transfer film does not require a pattern that corresponds to the outline of the hole, so there is no need for alignment, and the transfer can be performed by simply placing the thermal transfer film on the surface of the cassette shell and applying heat and pressure. Sexuality also improves,
This has effects such as being advantageous in terms of cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of essential parts of an example tape cassette according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same tape cassette, and FIG.
5 to 5 are sectional views of the main parts showing the transfer printing process for the cassette shell of the tape cassette 7, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the main parts of the tape cassette on the other side. Tape cassette, (2) is a cassette shell, (3) is a hole, (3a) is an acute cross-section peripheral edge, a is a printed film, F is a thermal transfer film, f is a film, i is an ink layer, C is an adhesive layer , R is a heating pressure roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a tape cassette in which a desired printed film is formed on the surface of the cassette shell by thermal transfer, the periphery of the holes for various detection purposes provided on the surface of the cassette shell is formed to have an acute angle in cross section, On the top side of the above hole, flush with the cassette shell surface,
A thermal transfer film coated with the required ink layer is adhered to one side, heated and pressed to thermally transfer the required ink layer to the surface of the cassette shell, and the ink layer on the upper surface side of the hole is cut by the periphery with the acute angle in cross section. A tape cassette characterized by: