JPH0338368A - Ink ribbon cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize an ink ribbon case and to facilitate handling or the replacement of an ink ribbon by providing a cylindrical case receiving an ink ribbon on a supply side and the spool holder holding a spool on a taking-up side in a detachable manner and incorporated in the cylindrical case and forming protruding part recognizable by a sensor to a part of the cylindrical case. CONSTITUTION:A cylindrical ink ribbon case 1 receiving an ink ribbon 4 on a supply side, the spool 2 on a taking-up side to which the leading end of the ink ribbon 4 is mounted and spool holders 3A, 3B holding the spool 2 on the taking-up side in a detachable manner and incorporated in the ink ribbon case 1 are provided. The ink ribbon 4 is drawn out of a drawing-out opening part 1A to be passed between a platen 5 and a thermal head 6 and the used part of the ink ribbon 4 printed on paper 8 by the thermal head 6 is taken up around the spool 2 on the taking up side by a taking-up drive shaft 7. The protruding parts 1B, 1C formed to the ink ribbon case 1 are detected by sensors 9A, 9B to detect the kind of the ink ribbon 4 to be used and the alteration of the mode of a printer or the change-over of the program thereof is automatically performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cartridge, and particularly to an ink ribbon cartridge used in a line-type thermal transfer printer or the like.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of ink ribbon cartridge has an ink ribbon supply case and a take-up case integrally constructed.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon cartridge showing an example of such a conventional ink ribbon cartridge.

As shown in FIG. 3, the conventional ink ribbon cartridge has a supply side ink ribbon storage section 11A and a take-up side ink ribbon storage section 11B that are integrated, and the stored supply side ink ribbon 12 is pulled out from the drawer opening. The used portion of the ink ribbon 12 that is pulled out from the section 13A is pulled in through the winding side opening 13B and wound onto the winding spool 14.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional ink ribbon cartridge mentioned above, the supply side and take-up side are integrated, so the ink ribbon case becomes large, which increases the cost of the cartridge, requires a large amount of maintenance space, and makes handling difficult during transportation. There are disadvantages in that the shift and the printer device itself that incorporates it becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cartridge that can reduce the size of such an ink ribbon case, be lightweight, and be manufactured at low cost, as well as facilitate transportation and exchange of the ink ribbon.

[Means to solve the problem]

The ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention includes a cylindrical case that has an opening through which the ink ribbon is pulled out and that stores the ink ribbon on the supply side, and a take-up spool that is detachably held and integrated into the cylindrical case. It has a spool holder to be incorporated, and is configured by forming a protrusion or a hole, etc. that can be recognized by a sensor in a part of the cylindrical case.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 is an oblique view of the installation of an ink ribbon cartridge showing one embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, this embodiment consists of a cylindrical ink ribbon case 1 that stores an ink ribbon 4 on the supply side, a removable take-up spool 2 to which the tip of the ink ribbon 4 is attached, and a take-up spool 2 for taking up the ink ribbon. It has spool holders 3A and 3B built into the ink ribbon case 1 that holds the side spool 2, and the take-up side spool 2 enables the spool holders 3A and 3B. Therefore, pull out the ink ribbon 4 from the ink ribbon drawer opening 1A of the ink ribbon case l,
If it passes between the platen 5 and the thermal bed 6 and is attached to the take-up drive shaft 7 driven by a motor, the used part of the ink ribbon 4 printed on the paper 8 by the thermal head 6 will be removed as shown by the arrow. Then, it is wound up by the winding drive shaft 7. The spool holders 3A and 3B are automatically stored in the side of the ink ribbon case 1 when the take-up spool 2 is removed, so that they do not interfere with the running of the supply ink ribbon 4. Further, the protrusions IB and IC formed on the ink ribbon case 1 automatically detect the type of the ink ribbon 4 to be used, such as black, two-color, or four-color, using the sensors 9A and 9B. The printer mode can be changed automatically and the program can be switched automatically depending on the difference in the printer mode.

FIG. 2 is a partially detailed view of the cartridge shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of spool holders 3A and 3B integrally formed at both ends of the cylindrical ink ribbon case 1 are attached to a plate when the take-up spool 2 is removed. The ink ribbon is automatically stored in the side of the cylindrical ink ribbon case 1 by springs IOA and IOB.

Note that the ink ribbon case 1 is formed with protrusions IB and IC that face the sensors 9A and 9B shown in FIG. The same effect can be achieved even if the method is replaced by a means.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the ink ribbon cartridge of the present invention integrates a cylindrical case that stores the ink ribbon on the supply side and a spool holder that can detachably hold the spool on the take-up side, and recognizes it as a part of the case. By forming possible protrusions, holes, etc., it is possible to reduce the size and weight, reduce the cost, and facilitate transportation handling and ink ribbon replacement.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an installation perspective view of an ink ribbon cartridge showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a partially detailed view of the cartridge shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon cartridge showing a conventional example. It is a diagram. 1... Ink ribbon case, IA... Drawer opening,
IB, IC...Protrusion, 2...Take-up side spool, 3
A3B...Spool holder, 4...Ink ribbon,
5...Platen, 6...Thermal head, 7...
Winding drive shaft, 8...Paper, 9A, 9B...Sensor,
10A. 10B...plate spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In an ink ribbon cartridge that stores ink ribbons used in line-type thermal transfer printers, the cylindrical case has an opening through which the ink ribbon is pulled out and stores the ink ribbon on the supply side, and the spool on the take-up side can be attached and detached. An ink ribbon cartridge comprising: a spool holder for holding the ink ribbon and being integrated into the cylindrical case; and a protrusion or hole that can be recognized by a sensor is formed in a part of the cylindrical case.