JPH0383682A - Ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply and rapidly replace of an ink ribbon by forming the engaging pawl engaged with either one of lower and upper cases to the shaking arm mounted at the outside position of the running route of the ink ribbon. CONSTITUTION:When an ink ribbon 4 is replaced, the upper case of a ribbon cassette 1a is detached to release the engagement of the engaging pawl 19 of a shaking arm with the upper case and the shaking arm 16 is shaken to the outside of a lower case 2 centering around a pivot 17 by the energizing force of an energizing spring to be held to an open state. By this mechanism, the ink ribbon 4 can be detached from the lower case 2 in an extremely easy manner only by detaching a taking-up reel 3. After a novel ink ribbon 4 is mounted, the upper case in engaged with the lower case 2 and, thereafter, only by pushing the shaking arm 16 in the opening parts of both of the lower case 2 and the upper case, the ink ribbon 4 can be drawn around so as to pass through a predetermined running route and the replacement of the ink ribbon 4 can be performed in an extremely easy manner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette, and more particularly to a ribbon cassette that allows easy exchange of an ink ribbon installed inside the ribbon so that it can run freely along a predetermined running route. .

[Conventional technology]

Generally, a long ink ribbon is wound around a take-up reel.
Ribbon cassettes, which are made of ribbon cassettes that are movable inside a case, are used in a variety of devices such as printers.

FIGS. 3 to 6 show a conventional ribbon cassette of this type. This ribbon cassette 1 has a lower case 2 having a substantially angular shape, and is engaged with an upper case (not shown). By this, the ribbon cassette 1 is constructed. A pair of take-up reels 3.degree. 3 are rotatably disposed inside the lower case 2, and an ink ribbon 4 is wound around the take-up reels 3. The ink ribbon 4 is formed so as to be wound around the left-hand take-up reel 3 in FIG.
Moreover, it is formed to be able to run freely.

The running route is formed in the lower case 2, and includes an inner running guide member that supports and guides the ink ribbon 4 from the inner side, and an outer running guide member that supports and guides the ink ribbon 4 from the outer side. It is formed from. The inner running guide member includes a rotatable guide roller 5 that allows the ink ribbon 4 to run smoothly, an arcuate guide member 6 that supports and guides the ink ribbon 4 during its run, and exposes the ink ribbon 4 to the outside of the ribbon cassette 1. It consists of a substantially U-shaped exposure gap 1s7 that supports and guides the ink ribbon 4 while moving the ink ribbon 4, and a winding guide member 8 that smoothly winds the ink ribbon 4 onto the winding reel 3.

Further, the outer running guide member has three leaf spring members 9, 10° 11 that apply an appropriate tension to the ink ribbon 4 guided by the inner running guide member. Base ends 9a, 10a of member 9.10°11
, 11a are supported by the lower case 2. Also,
Felt 12° 12... is fixed to the tip of each of the leaf spring members 9, 10.11, and the lower case 2
are pressed toward the outer surface of the ink ribbon 4 by the back support members 13, 13, . The guide roller 5, the arcuate guide member 6, and the winding guide member 8 are adapted to apply appropriate pressure to each other.

In the ribbon cassette 1, the ribbon cassette 1 is mounted on the carriage of a printer (not shown) so that its print head is positioned in the exposed recess 7, and the take-up reel 3 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. By driving the print head based on a desired print signal while winding up the ink ribbon 4,
It is now ready to print.

However, in the conventional ribbon cassette, the printer user can replace the ink ribbon 4 after using the ink ribbon 4. 4, conventionally, the upper case is removed and each leaf spring member 9, 10, 11 is separated from each guide roller 5, arcuate guide member 6, and winding guide member 8 by resisting their elasticity. Then, after inserting the ink ribbon 4 from above between the two, the upper case is engaged with the lower case 2 again.As a result, the drawing of the ink ribbon 4 is complicated. There are problems in that the ink ribbon 4 may be routed incorrectly, it takes a lot of effort to replace the ink ribbon 4, and the ink ribbon 4 cannot be easily replaced.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a ribbon cassette that allows ink ribbons to be replaced extremely easily and quickly.

(Means for Solving Problem 01) In order to achieve the above object, the ribbon cassette according to the present invention has a lower case and an upper case that are engaged with each other to be integrally formed, and a long ink cartridge is provided inside the lower case. - A ribbon cassette in which a pair of take-up reels around which a bong is wound are rotatably arranged, and the ink ribbon is guided along a predetermined running path of the lower case; A swinging arm is swingably attached to one of the upper cases at a position outside the running path of the ink ribbon, and is biased in the opening direction and exposes the running path of the ink ribbon to the outside in the open state. A feature of this device is that a locking claw is formed on the swing arm to be locked to either the case or the upper case.

[Function] According to the present invention, when replacing the ink ribbon after using the ink ribbon, a case other than the case to which the swinging arm of the ribbon cassette is attached, for example, the upper case, is removed and the swinging arm is removed. By disengaging the locking claw of the arm from the upper case or the lower case, the swinging arm swings toward the outside of the lower case due to the biasing force in the opening direction, thereby exposing the ink ribbon. Therefore, the ink ribbon can be removed from the lower case extremely easily. After a new ink ribbon is attached to the lower case, the upper case is engaged with the lower case, and each swinging arm is swung inward against the biasing force in the opening direction. By engaging the locking claw of the arm with the upper case, the ink ribbon is installed so as to be guided along a predetermined travel path.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
The same parts as in FIGS. 3 to 6 will be described with the same reference numerals.

1 and 2 show a ribbon cassette 1a according to the present invention.
This shows an example. In this example, the lower case 2 is formed symmetrically.
An exposed recess 7 in which a print head mounted on a carriage (not shown) is placed is formed in the center of the front side of the printer. Further, on both sides of the lower case 2, there are recessed sensor slits 14 in which sensors (not shown) are arranged to detect the terminal end of the ink ribbon 4 or markers for detecting each color on the multicolor ink ribbon 4. 14
A pair of take-up reels 3.3 are rotatably disposed inside the lower case 2. An ink ribbon 4 is wound around the take-up reel 3, and the ink ribbon 4 is formed so as to be taken up by the take-up reel 3 on the left side in the figure.

Furthermore, engagement recesses 15.15 are formed between the exposed recesses 7 of the lower case 2 and each of the sensor slits 14, respectively. On the outside of f5 and the engagement recess 15, there is a hole 1.
Swing arms 16 each having a letter-like shape are arranged such that their protruding portions are engaged with the engaging recesses 15, respectively. This swinging arm 16 is able to swing freely around support shafts 17 attached to both ends of the lower case 2. A biasing spring (not shown) is disposed to bias the two outwardly. Further, a guide roller 18 is rotatably attached to the tip of the protruding portion of the swing arm 16, and a guide roller 18 is attached to the tip of the swing arm 16 so that the swing arm 16 is attached to the front surface of the lower case 2. A locking pawl 19 is formed which is engaged with an upper case (not shown) in the engaged state.

Furthermore, guide bins 20, 20 for guiding the ink ribbon 4 are provided on both sides of the exposed recess 7, each sensor slit 14, and the engagement recess 15 of the lower case 2, respectively.
・is formed.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 1 shows the ribbon cassette 1a assembled and ready for use. In this state, the ink ribbon 4 is
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 4 is wound up by being guided by each guide bin 20 and the guide roller 18 of the swing arm 16, and by rotating the take-up reel 3 on the left side in the figure. It has become.

When the user wants to replace the ink ribbon 4 after using the ink ribbon 4, by removing the upper case of the ribbon cassette 1a, the swing arm 16 is locked as shown in FIG. The engagement between the claw 19 and the upper case is released, and the swing arm 16 swings outward of the lower case 2 around the support shaft 17 by the urging force of the urging spring.
The swing arm 16 is held open. As a result, the ink ribbon 4 is exposed to the front side of the lower case 2, and the ink ribbon 4 can be removed from the lower case 2 very easily simply by removing the take-up reel 3.

Then, the take-up reel 3 on which the new ink ribbon 4 is wound is attached to the lower case 2, and the upper case is attached to the lower case 2 with the ink ribbon 4 exposed on the front side of the lower case 2. engage. Thereafter, each of the swing arms 16 is moved inward about the support shaft 17 against the biasing force of the bias spring, and the swing arms 16 are engaged with the engagement recesses 15 of the lower case 2. , swing arm 1
The locking claws 19 of 6 are engaged with the upper case. This results in
The guide roller 18 of the swing arm 16 pushes the ink ribbon 4 from the outside into the engagement recess 15 of the lower case 2, and the ink ribbon 4 is pushed into each guide bin 20.
20... and guide rollers 18, the vehicle is guided along a predetermined travel route.

Therefore, in this embodiment, simply by removing the upper case, the swinging arm 16 automatically opens and the ink ribbon 4 is opened.
The ink ribbon 4 can be exposed easily.
can be taken out. Moreover, new ink ribbon 4
After mounting the ink ribbon 4, the ink ribbon 4 can be easily moved along a predetermined running path by simply engaging the upper case with the lower case 2 and then pushing the swinging arm 16 into the opening between the lower case 2 and the upper case. The ink ribbon 4 can be replaced very easily.

Note that the swing arm 16 may be pivoted to the upper case, and the locking claw 19 protruding from the swing arm 16 may be engaged with the lower case 2.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but can be modified in various ways as necessary.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the ribbon cassette according to the present invention, simply by removing the case to which the swinging arm is not attached, the swinging arm opens and the ink ribbon can be exposed, making it easy to take out the ink ribbon. Moreover, after installing a new ink ribbon and engaging the upper and lower cases with each other, simply pushing the swinging arm into the opening of the case and engaging the locking claw allows the ink to be removed easily. The ribbon can be routed along a predetermined running route, and the ink ribbon can be replaced extremely easily.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the ribbon cassette of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a plan view showing how the ribbon cassette is used, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing how the ink ribbon is replaced. , FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a conventional ribbon cassette,
Figures 4, 5 and 6 are the part ■ in Figure 3, respectively.
It is an enlarged view of the V section and the ■ section. 1a... Ribbon cassette, 2... Lower case, 3...
・Take-up reel, 4... Ink ribbon, 7... Exposure recess, 14... Sensor slit, 15... Engagement recess, 16... Swing arm, 18... Guide roller, 1
9...Latching claw, 20...Guide bin.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A lower case and an upper case are engaged and formed integrally, and a pair of take-up reels on which a long ink ribbon is wound are rotatably disposed inside the lower case, and the ink ribbon is In the ribbon cassette, the ink ribbon is guided along a predetermined running path of the lower case, and is biased in the opening direction to a position outside the running path of the ink ribbon in either the lower case or the upper case. , a swinging arm that exposes the traveling path to the outside in the open state is swingably attached, and a locking claw that is locked to either the case or the upper case is formed on the swinging arm. Ribbon cassette.