JPH04279478A - Tape cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the need to cut off tape manually by permitting the blank space part of the lettering tape made by a tape printer to be severed simultaneously with the printing. CONSTITUTION:A cutter 61 and a pressing member 62 are arranged in the travelling passage of tape 5 in a tape cartridge 3 with the tape 5 interposed therebetween. The pressing member 62 is adapted to be freely pressed against and released from the cutter 61. When the pressing member 62 is pressed against the cutter 61, the tape 5 is compressed therebetween and run upon printing to be cut into a predetermined width by the cutter 61.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cartridge for producing lettering tape, and more particularly to a tape cartridge provided with a cutting mechanism for cutting the margin portion of the tape.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, tape printers that print letters and symbols on tape to create lettering tapes that can be attached to drawings, documents, etc., are equipped with tape cartridges containing tape and ink ribbon cassettes. There is a type that can be thermally transferred. This tape printer uses a drive roller that also serves as a platen and a thermal head to pinch an ink ribbon and a tape with a backing paper stored in a tape cartridge, and while the drive roller runs the tape and the ink ribbon, the thermal head It is printed.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The above-mentioned tape printer is designed to be able to handle various character sizes due to its nature, and when characters whose size is half or a fraction of the tape width are used. There are also many. In this case, depending on where the tape is pasted, it may be necessary to cut the width of the printed tape to match the character size, and the printed tape must be cut with a cutter, scissors, or the like. However, frequent cutting is cumbersome and may result in failure in cutting or damage to printed characters, resulting in problems with work efficiency.

[0004] Therefore, a problem arises that needs to be solved in order to eliminate the need for manual cutting work and improve workability, and the present invention aims to solve this problem.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a cutter 6 along the running path of the tape 5 in the tape cartridge 3 in parallel to the running direction of the tape 5.
1, a pressing member 62 is provided facing the cutter 61 with the tape 5 in between, and the pressing member 62 and the cutter 61 are formed in such a manner that the pressing member 62 and the cutter 61 can be brought into and out of pressure contact with each other.

[0006]

[Operation] If the tape is run with the cutter and the pressing member disposed on the tape running path separated from each other, the tape will not be cut as in a normal tape cartridge. When the cutter and the pressing member are brought into pressure contact, the tape is pressed between the cutter and the pressing member, and when the tape is run in this state, the tape is cut to a predetermined width by the cutter and ejected from the tape cartridge. .

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the configuration of the tape printer will be explained first. FIG. 1 shows a tape printer 1. As shown in FIG. The tape printer 1 has an ink ribbon cassette 2 and a tape cartridge 3 mounted on the right side of the top surface, and prints on a tape 5 stored in the tape cartridge 3 using a thermal head 4 of the main body of the tape printer 1. The tape 5 stored in the tape cartridge 3 is an adhesive tape with a backing paper, and like the ink ribbon 6 of the ink ribbon cassette 2, various colors are available. First and second drive rollers 7 and 8, and a first drive roller 7 which also serves as a platen, are installed at the installation site of the ink ribbon cassette 2 and tape cartridge 3 of the tape printer 1.
A thermal head 4 that can press against the ink ribbon, a pinch roller 9 that can press against the second drive roller 8, a take-up reel shaft 10 for the ink ribbon 6, and a supply reel shaft 11 are provided.

When the arbitrarily selected ink ribbon cassette 2 and tape cartridge 3 are installed in the tape printer 1, the ink ribbon 6 and tape 5 are placed in the first and second
The thermal head 4 and the pinch roller 9 are set in the gap between the drive rollers 7 and 8 and the thermal head 4 and the pinch roller 9. When the locking knob 12 provided on the tape printer 1 and projecting upwardly through the center hole of the tape cartridge 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow L, the tape cartridge 3 and the ink ribbon cassette 2 are fixed at the same time. The thermal head 4 and the pinch roller 9 are connected to the first and second drive rollers 7 and 8, respectively.
The tape 5 and the ink ribbon 6 are pressed together.

When characters, symbols, etc. are input from the keyboard 13 of the tape printer 1, the contents are displayed on the display section 14, and the first and second drive rollers 7 are activated in accordance with a print command by pressing the print key 15 in the keyboard 13. , 8 rotate and run the tape 5 and ink ribbon 6 to the left in the figure while keeping them in close contact, and the thermal head 4 transfers the thermal transfer ink of the ink ribbon 6 onto the surface of the tape 5 according to the input contents. do. The ink ribbon 6 is
The rotation of the take-up reel shaft 10 of the tape printer 1 causes the tape 5 to be taken up on the take-up reel 16 in the ink ribbon cassette 2 in conjunction with the running of the tape 5 . printed tape 5
is ejected to the left side of the tape cartridge 3, and a cutting mechanism (not shown) provided in the tape printer 1 is pressed by a cut key 17.
It is disconnected by activating it by pressing the key.

FIG. 2 shows the tape cartridge 3, with the upper part of the plastic case formed by dividing it into upper and lower halves removed. The lower case 21 has a cylindrical shaft 2 in the center.
2 is installed upright, and the first one shown in FIG.
and holes 24 and 25 into which the second drive rollers 7 and 8 are loosely inserted.
has been opened. Further, guide posts 26, 26, . . . are erected at various places along the path of the tape 5. 27, 27, 2
Reference numeral 7 denotes a rib, which smoothes the rotation of the tape 5 wound around the hub 28 loosely fitted onto the shaft 22.

The inner bottom of the shaft 22 has both side edges 29,
An elongated hole 30 is opened, leaving the hole 29, so that a lock member 31 connected to the lower part of the lock knob 12 shown in FIG. 3 can be inserted therein. The hub 28 loosely fitted onto the shaft 22 is provided with ratchets 32, 32, . Stopped spring 33
The tips of the hub 28 engage with the ratchets 32, 32...
This prevents rotation of the tape 5 and prevents the tape 5 from loosening. A window 34 is opened in the lower case 21 and is used to release the spring 33 from engagement.

Reference numerals 35, 36, 36, 35, 36, and 36 are tape guides integrally molded with the lower case 21. The central tape guides 35, 35 regulate the upper end position of the tape 5, and the tape guides 36 on both sides , 36... regulate the lower end position. Further, a rotary lever 41 pivotably mounted near the front opening 23 so as to be freely rotatable in the vertical direction is pressed against the inner bottom surface of the lower case 21 by the bias of a spring 42, and its tip touches the back surface of the tape 5. The tape 5 is pushed forward beyond the hole 24 by pressing. Therefore, tape cartridge 3
When installing the tape printer 1 into the tape printer 1, the first
The tape 5 is not caught on the drive roller 7, and the tape cartridge 3 can be reliably and easily mounted. Also, Figure 2
An engagement piece 43 extends laterally from the intermediate portion of the rotating lever 41 shown in FIG.
is provided protrudingly, and the engaging piece 43 of the lower case 21
A lower surface opening 44 is provided by cutting out the portion immediately below. A fixed post 45 is erected between the first and second driving rollers 7 and 8 of the tape printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, and when the tape cartridge 3 is placed in a predetermined position, As shown, the engaging piece 43 of the rotary lever 41 comes into contact with the fixed post 45 and is rotated upward, and the rotary lever 41 retreats from the running path of the tape 5 and does not affect the running of the tape 5 in any way. .

When the lock knob 12 of the tape printer 1 is set to the release position and the rotational position of the lock member 31 is aligned with the elongated hole 30 of the tape cartridge 3, the lock member 31
can be freely inserted into and removed from the shaft 22, that is, the tape cartridge 3 can be freely attached to and removed from the tape printer 1. As shown in FIG. 3, a crank plate 5 is located further below the lock member 31.
1, and a crank pin 52 is provided to protrude upward from the crank plate 51. When attached to the tape printer 1, the crank pin 52 protrudes from the window 34 into the tape cartridge 3. Then, when the locking knob 12 is rotated in the aforementioned locking direction, the locking member 31 and both side edges 29, 29 of the elongated hole 30 are engaged, and the tape cartridge 3 is fixed, as shown in the figure. , the crank pin 52 rotates in conjunction, presses the spring 33 and releases the engagement with the ratchet 32, and the hub 28 becomes rotatable.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cutter 61 and a pressing member 62 are disposed near the hole 25 for the second drive roller 8 with the tape 5 sandwiched therebetween. As shown in FIG. 4, the cutter 61 has a roller 63 pivotally supported by upper and lower cases 20 and 21, and a blade 64 built into the middle of the roller 63, with the blade edge arranged parallel to the traveling direction of the tape 5. It is set up.

The roller 63 has a coil spring 65 interposed around its lower shaft, and as shown in FIG. The roller 63 is engaged with a post 68 to apply rotational force to the roller 63 in the clockwise direction in the figure. Further, a stopper 69 is provided protruding from the other side of the roller 63, and the stopper 69 comes into contact with the side wall 21a of the lower case 21, thereby regulating the rotation of the roller 63 and causing the tip of the blade 64 to face the tape 5. ing. The amount of protrusion of the tip of the blade 64 is such that when cutting the tape 5, which will be described later, only the tape 5 is cut and the backing paper is not cut.

As shown in FIG. 4, the pressing member 62 is pivotally supported by the upper and lower cases 20 and 21, and is formed into a kind of eccentric cam shape, and can be rotated by manual operation by fitting a knob 70 to the upper part. . The lower shaft 62a of the pressing member 62 is formed into a square prism shape as shown in FIG.
, 72, 72, and these elastic contact pieces 72, 72, 72,
72 clamps the lower shaft 62a. Therefore, the pressing member 62 is rotatable by manual operation, and the elastic contact pieces 72, 72, 72, 72 are pressed 90 degrees by the pressing force.
Since it exerts a detent effect at every turn, it will not rotate accidentally even if you release your hand, and will be locked in a predetermined position.

When the large diameter portion 62b of the pressing member 62 is brought into contact with the blade 64 of the cutter 61, the tape 5 is pressed against the pressing member 6.
2 and the blade 64, the tape 5 runs along with the printing operation of the tape printer 1, and only the tape 5 excluding the backing paper 5a is cut at a predetermined width. At this time, a rotational force is applied to the cutter 61 in the counterclockwise direction in the figure due to the running friction of the tape 5, but the blade 64 is pressed against the tape 5 with a constant pressure by the bias of the coil spring 65 mentioned above. disconnect.

If it is not necessary to cut the tape 5, the tape 5 will not be cut by rotating the pressing member 62 manually and locking it at a position away from the cutter 61 as shown in FIG. Run to. Note that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and contrary to this embodiment, the cutter 61 may be of a detent rotating type and the pressing member 62 may be pressed against the cutter 61 by a spring. Also, blade 64
The height position and number of sheets can be modified in various ways, and it goes without saying that the present invention extends to those modifications.

[0019]

According to the present invention, as described in detail in the above-mentioned embodiment, a cutter that can press on and release the tape is provided in the tape cartridge, so there is no need to manually cut the printed tape. Therefore, the complicated cutting process becomes unnecessary, and the risk of failure in cutting or staining the printed characters is eliminated, the quality of the finished product is improved, and it is possible to contribute to improving work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape printer.

FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view of the tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view of the tape cartridge, showing the tape cartridge installed in the tape printer.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional end view of the main part of the tape cartridge showing a cutter and a pressing member.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of main parts showing a cutter and a pressing member.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 Tape cartridge 5　Tape 61 Cutter 62 Pressing member 63 Roller 64 Blade

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cutter 6 is installed along the running path of the tape 5 in the tape cartridge 3 in parallel to the running direction of the tape 5.
1, a pressing member 62 facing the cutter 61 with the tape 5 in between, and the pressing member 62 and the cutter 61 being able to be brought into and out of pressure contact with each other.