JPH04357072A - Loading of ribbon cassette and ink ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a ribbon cassette in which an ink ribbon can be loaded easily and positively in a short time when the ribbon cassette which allows free replacement of an ink ribbon and an ink ribbon loading technique are employed. CONSTITUTION:The subject ribbon cassette consists of floor-side cases 10, 30 on which a ribbon roll 101 and a take-up shaft 102 are mounted, inner ribbon guides 12, 14 which are provided on the floor-side cases 10, 30 so that an ink ribbon 103 between the ribbon roll 101 and the take-up shaft 102 is guided along the ribbon guides 12, 14 from outside, and lid-side cases 20, 40 attached to the floor-side cases 10, 30 so that the tops of the floor-side cases 10, 30 are covered. In addition, an external ribbon guide 25 attached to the lid-side cases 20, 40 so that the ink ribbon 103 between the ribbon roll 101 and the take-up shaft 102 is guided along the ribbon guide 25 from inside is provided as a constituent element.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette in which an ink ribbon can be replaced and a method for loading the ink ribbon.

Ribbon cassettes using thermal transfer type ink ribbons are widely used in printers such as computers and word processors. Such thermal transfer ink ribbons are usually unusable after one use, but
If the entire ribbon cassette had to be replaced each time, running costs would be extremely high, and it would also go against resource conservation. Therefore, a ribbon cassette has been developed in which only the ink ribbon inside can be replaced.

0003

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 14 shows a conventional ribbon cassette 80 including a ribbon roll 101 and a ribbon winding shaft 10.
The ink ribbon 10 is placed on the floor case 81 on which the ink ribbon 10 and
an inner ribbon guide 82 that guides the ribbon along the ribbon from the outside;
84 and an outer ribbon guide 83 guided from the inside.
and is provided.

A groove 104 is formed between the central inner ribbon guides 82 for passing the thermal transfer print head therethrough, and the ink ribbon 103 is passed through the groove 104 on the outside thereof. and,
On both the left and right sides, the ink ribbon 103 is passed through an outer ribbon guide 83 provided slightly inward of the ribbon cassette 80, and is pushed by the outer ribbon guide 83 and guided inwardly in a concave shape. This prevents the ink ribbon 103 from becoming unnecessarily loose in the printing section, and provides a good printing condition.

When loading the ink ribbon unit 100 consisting of the ribbon roll 101 on which the ink ribbon 103 is wound multiple times and the winding shaft 102 into such a ribbon cassette 80, the ribbon roll 101 and the ribbon winding shaft 102 are The ink ribbon 103 between the ribbon guides 82
, 83, 84, and then the lid side case 85.
It is designed to close.

[0006]

[Problem to be solved by the invention] As mentioned above, conventionally,
When loading the ink ribbon unit, it was necessary to bend the ink ribbon 103 slightly on both the left and right sides of the central portion and to make it follow the inside of the outer ribbon guide 83. However, since the ink ribbon 103 is completely flat and has no rigidity, it is extremely difficult to bend it slightly at multiple points and pass it through to the correct position. Ribbon roll 1 was accidentally removed during work.
01, and as a result, the ribbon roll 101 unraveled and became unusable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to eliminate such conventional drawbacks and provide a ribbon cassette in which an ink ribbon can be easily and reliably loaded in a short period of time.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the ribbon cassette of the present invention is formed by winding an ink ribbon 103 multiple times, as shown in FIG. 1 for explaining an embodiment. A floor-side case 10, 30 on which a ribbon roll 101 and a winding shaft 102 to which the tip of the ink ribbon 103 is fixed are placed, and the ribbon roll 10.
1 and the above-mentioned winding shaft 102
The above-mentioned floor side case 10 is guided along from the outside.
, 30, and
Lid-side cases 20 and 4 attached to the floor-side cases 10 and 30 so as to cover the upper surfaces of the floor-side cases 10 and 30
0, the ribbon roll 101 and the winding shaft 102
The invention is characterized in that an outer ribbon guide 25 is provided on the lid-side cases 20, 40 so as to guide the ink ribbon 103 therebetween from the inside.

The lid case 20 may be rotatably attached to the floor case 10, or the lid case 40 may be slidably attached to the floor case 30. good.

The ribbon cassette of the present invention also includes a cassette case 50 that accommodates a ribbon roll 101 formed by winding an ink ribbon 103 multiple times and a winding shaft 102 to which the tip of the ink ribbon 103 is fixed. and,
Inner ribbon guides 12 and 14a are provided in the cassette case 50 to guide the ink ribbon 103 between the ribbon roll 101 and the winding shaft 102 from the outside, and the ribbon roll 101 and the winding An outer ribbon guide 2 is provided on the carriage 60 to which the cassette case 50 is attached, so as to guide the ink ribbon 103 between it and the take-up shaft 102 from the inside.
5 may be provided.

The outer ribbon guide 25 may be a rotatable guide roller, and the outer ribbon guide 25 may guide the ink ribbon 103 in a partially concave shape. Good too.

[0012] Furthermore, the ink ribbon loading method of the present invention includes:
The ribbon roll 101 formed by winding the ink ribbon 103 multiple times and the winding shaft 102 to which the tip of the ink ribbon 103 is fixed are placed on the floor case 10 of the ribbon cassette 1, and the ribbon roll 101 and the winding shaft 102 are placed on the floor case 10 of the ribbon cassette 1. The ink ribbon 103 between the take-up shaft 102 and the inner ribbon guides 12 and 14a formed on the floor side case 10 are aligned from the outside, and the ink ribbon 103 guided along the inner ribbon guides 12 and 14a is Partially indent the ribbon cassette 1 from the outside to the inside using a jig 29,
By placing the lid case 20 on the floor case 10 with the ink ribbon 103 recessed by the jig 29, the outer ribbon guide 25 provided on the lid case 20 is moved around the ink ribbon 103. A feature is that the jig 29 is removed after being placed outside.

[0013] The jig 29 may be provided with a pair of ribbon pushing parts 29a for pushing the ink ribbon 103 into the ribbon cassette 1, which are divided into left and right parts.

[0014]

[Operation] When loading an ink ribbon into the ribbon cassette, first the ink ribbon 103 is placed along the inner ribbon guides 12, 14a formed in the floor cases 10, 30 from the outside, then the lid cases 20, 40 to the floor case 10,
20, the ink ribbon 103 is guided from the outside by the outer ribbon guide 25.

Furthermore, when the outer ribbon guide 25 is provided on the carriage 60, when loading the ink ribbon into the ribbon cassette, it is only necessary to place the ink ribbon 103 along the inner ribbon guides 12, 14a from the outside, and the ribbon cassette can be loaded into the ribbon cassette. By attaching it to the carriage 60, the ink ribbon 103 is guided from the outside by the outer ribbon guide 25.

[0016]

[Embodiment] An embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a ribbon cassette 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a floor-side case in which walls are erected on both sides and the rear of the floorboard, and is formed of a plastic mold.

The upper surface and front surface of the floor case 10 are open, and both corners of the front surface are largely chamfered, and a ribbon guide plate (
An inner ribbon guide (12) is formed to protrude upward.

Further, in the center of the front surface of the floor case 10, there is a head housing groove 13 for passing the thermal transfer print head.
is formed to be concave inward, and surrounding the groove 13,
A U-shaped wall 14 is formed to protrude upward.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a lid case that opens and closes the upper surface of the floor case 10, and is made of plastic mold. Holes 22 are formed in the tongue pieces 21 that protrude downward from the rear ends of both sides of the lid-side case 20, and holes 22 are provided that protrude sideways near the rear ends of both sides of the floor-side case 10. The pin 16 is rotatably fitted, and the lid side case 2
0 rotates around the pin 16 to open and close the upper surface of the floor case 10.

At both corners of the front surface of the lid case 20, outer walls 24 are provided to protrude downward so as to contact the edges of the chamfered portion of the floor case 10 and the edges of the front surface.

In addition, a guide roller (outer ribbon guide) 25 protrudes downward and is rotatable at a position slightly inward from the front near the intermediate position between both sides and the center of the lid side case 20. It is provided.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide roller 25 is rotatably fitted to a rotary shaft 26 that projects downward from the lid case 20, and is formed at the base of the guide roller 25. The tip of the flange portion 25a is loosely sandwiched within a flange retainer 20a formed on the lid side case 20. Therefore, the guide roller 25 is connected to the lid side case 2.
Even if it is installed on the bottom surface of 0, it will not fall.

Returning to FIG. 1, the ink ribbon unit 10
0 is a ribbon roll 101 formed by winding an unused ink ribbon 103 multiple times, and the ribbon roll 101.
A take-up shaft 102 is attached to the tip of an ink ribbon 103 pulled out from the outer periphery of the ink ribbon.

The ink ribbon unit 100 is simply placed on the floor case 10. However, the floor side case 10 and the lid side case 20 are each provided with a hole in which the winding shaft 102 and the roll shaft 104 of the ribbon roll 101 are rotatably engaged. The ribbon roll 101 is positioned at that position.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 103 between the ribbon roll 101 and the take-up shaft 102 is
The ribbon guide plates 12 on both sides of the floor case 10 and the ribbon guide side (inner ribbon guide) 14 at the tip of the center wall 14
a, and must run inside the two guide rollers 25 of the lid-side case 20.

Therefore, the ink ribbon 103 is as shown in FIG.
It must be partially recessed inward at the location of the guide roller 25, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the ink ribbon unit 1 is installed in accordance with the following procedure shown in FIGS.
00 is loaded into the ribbon cassette 1.

When loading the ink ribbon, first, as shown in FIG.
The ink ribbon 103 between the ink ribbon 1 and the take-up shaft 102 is made to run along the inner ribbon guide (the ribbon guide plate 12 and the ribbon guide side 14a) from the outside.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the jig 29
Push the ink ribbon 103 into the floor case 10 from the outside. This jig 29 is formed with a U-shaped ribbon pushing portion 29a that is separated into left and right sides with a slightly wider interval than the U-shaped wall 14 of the floor case 10.

When the ink ribbon 103 is pushed into the floor case 10 by the jig 29, the ribbon pushing portion 29a of the jig 29 is located between the place where the guide roller 25 is to be housed and the wall 14 of the floor case 10. located between. Further, the tip of the ribbon pushing portion 29a pushes the ink ribbon 103 deeper (inward) than the place where the guide roller 25 is accommodated, thereby partially recessing the ink ribbon 103 inward.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the jig 29 is inserted into the ribbon cassette 1, and the ink ribbon 10 is
3 remains partially recessed inward, the lid side case 20 can be rotated to close the top surface of the floor side case 10. Then, when the jig 29 is pulled out, as shown in FIG.
along the outside of a and along the inside of the guide roller 25, it is guided in a partially concave shape.

In this way, loading of the ink ribbon unit 100 into the ribbon cassette 1 is completed.

FIG. 7 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a lid case 40 is provided to be slidable with respect to a floor case 30.

In this embodiment, the convex rails 31 formed on both sides of the cases 30 and 40 engage with the grooves 41, and the lid case 40 is attached and removed from the front of the floor case 30. be able to. The other parts are the first part mentioned above.
This is the same as the embodiment.

When loading an ink ribbon into the ribbon cassette of this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
, and the ink ribbon 103 is placed along the inner ribbon guides 12, 14a from the outside.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the lid case 40 is slid over the floor case 30 from the front. Then, the guide roller 25 attached to the lid case 40 gradually approaches the ink ribbon 103 from the outside, and when the lid case 40 is pushed all the way to the end and the top surface of the floor case 30 is completely closed, as shown in FIG. As shown at 9, the ink ribbon 103 is pushed inwardly by guide rollers 25, where it is guided in a partially concave shape.

In the second embodiment, loading of the ink ribbon into the ribbon cassette is completed in this way, and no jig is required for loading.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a guide roller 25 serving as an outer ribbon guide is provided on a carriage 60 of a printer.

The carriage 60, with the print head 61 and ribbon cassette 50 attached thereto, is guided along a guide shaft 62 and is driven back and forth while facing a platen (not shown).

The ribbon cassette 50 is obtained by removing the guide roller 25 from the lid-side case 20 of the first embodiment, and the guide roller 25 is provided on both the floor-side and lid-side cases 10 and 20. A guide roller accommodating groove 51 is bored from the front at the desired position. All other parts are the same as in the first embodiment.

When loading an ink ribbon into the ribbon cassette of this embodiment, it is only necessary to place the ink ribbon unit 100 in the floor case 10 and close the lid case 20. In this state, as shown in FIG. 11, the ink ribbon 103 is guided straight without being pushed into the guide roller 25.

As shown in FIG. 12, the print head 61 is passed through the head accommodating groove 13 on the rear side of the ink ribbon 103 in the central portion, and then the ribbon cassette 1 is pushed forward.

Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the guide roller 25 provided on the carriage 60 enters the guide roller accommodating groove 51 and partially pushes the ink ribbon 103 inward from the outside to create a recess. It will be in a closed state. This completes the installation of the ribbon cassette.

[0045]

According to the ribbon cassette of the present invention, there is no need to manually guide the ink ribbon along the ribbon guide when loading the ink ribbon into the ribbon cassette, and when replacing the ink ribbon, It has an excellent effect of allowing the ink ribbon to be loaded easily and reliably.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 30 Floor side case 12, 14a Inner ribbon guide 20, 40 Lid side case 25 Outer ribbon guide 101 Ribbon roll 102 Winding shaft 103 Ink ribbon

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A ribbon roll (101) formed by winding an ink ribbon (103) multiple times, and a ribbon roll (101) formed by winding an ink ribbon (103) in multiple layers;
A floor-side case (10, 30) on which a take-up shaft (102) to which the tip of the ink ribbon (103) is fixed is placed, and an ink ribbon (103) between the ribbon roll (101) and the take-up shaft (102). an inner ribbon guide (12, 14a) provided on the floor case (10, 30) so as to guide the ribbon case (103) from the outside;
30) above-mentioned floor side case (10, 30) so as to cover the top surface of the
) and the lid so as to guide the ink ribbon (103) between the ribbon roll (101) and the take-up shaft (102) from the inside. A ribbon cassette comprising: an outer ribbon guide (25) provided on a side case (20, 40). 2. The ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein said lid side case (20) is rotatably attached to said floor side case (10). 3. The ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein the lid case (40) is slidably provided with respect to the floor case (30). 4. A ribbon roll (101) formed by winding an ink ribbon (103) multiple times and a ribbon roll (101) formed by winding an ink ribbon (103) in multiple layers;
A cassette case (50) containing a winding shaft (102) to which the tip of the ink ribbon (103) is fixed, and an ink ribbon (103) between the ribbon roll (101) and the winding shaft (102). an inner ribbon guide (12, 14a) provided on the cassette case (50) so as to be guided along from the outside; and the ribbon roll (101).
and the winding shaft (102).
03) and an outer ribbon guide (25) provided on a carriage (60) to which the cassette case (50) is attached so as to guide the ribbon along the ribbon cassette from the inside. 5. A ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein said outer ribbon guide (25) is a rotatable guide roller. 6. Ribbon cassette according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein said outer ribbon guide (25) guides said ink ribbon (103) in a partially concave shape. 7. A ribbon roll (101) formed by winding an ink ribbon (103) multiple times and a ribbon roll (101) formed by winding an ink ribbon (103) in multiple layers;
103) and the winding shaft (102) to which the tip is fixed are placed on the floor case (10) of the ribbon cassette (1),
The ribbon roll (101) and the winding shaft (102)
) between the ink ribbon (103) and the floor side case (
Inner ribbon guide (12, 14a) formed in 10)
along the inner ribbon guide (12, 14) from the outside.
The ink ribbon (103) guided along a) is partially recessed inward from the outside of the ribbon cassette (1) by the jig (29), and the ink ribbon (103) guided along By placing the lid case (20) on the floor case (10) with the ink ribbon (103) recessed, the outer ribbon guide (25) provided on the lid case (20) is inserted into the ink ribbon (103). A method for loading an ink ribbon into a ribbon cassette, characterized in that the jig (29) is removed after the jig (29) is placed outside the ribbon cassette. 8. A pair of ribbon pushing parts (29a) for pushing the ink ribbon (103) into the ribbon cassette (1) are formed on the jig (29), separated into left and right parts. The method of loading an ink ribbon into a ribbon cassette according to claim 7.