JPH0534948Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette used in printers and the like, and particularly to a ribbon cassette of the type that replenishes ink in an ink tank to an ink ribbon.

Conventional technology Conventionally, a ribbon cassette that replenishes ink from an ink tank transfers ink from an ink coating material protruding from the ink tank to a ribbon feed-in roller via a transfer roller, and replenishes the ink ribbon. It was hot.

Problem to be Solved by the Invention However, with this ribbon cassette equipped with a transfer roller, the pressing force of the transfer roller is directly applied to the feed roller, so if the pressing force of the transfer roller is weak, ink transfer will be reduced, and the pressing force of the transfer roller will be reduced. If it is too strong, the driving torque increases, and it is difficult to set a pressing force that satisfies both conditions at the same time.

Also, if the transfer roller is pressed against the driven roller of the feed-in rollers, the unfixed driven roller may move back and forth during ribbon feed-in, and may separate from the transfer roller without meshing with the transfer roller. When pressed directly, there were drawbacks such as further increase in driving torque and hindrance to the operation of the printer.

The present invention was made to address these drawbacks, and even if the transfer roller applies a pressing force that is sufficient to transfer ink, the pressing force is not applied to the drive roller, so that the drive torque does not increase. The purpose is to create a ribbon cassette.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the ribbon cassette of the present invention replenishes ink to an ink ribbon, and includes a drive roller, a swingable holder, and an ink applicator in the cassette case. a protruding ink tank, the holder is provided with a groove opening toward the driving roller side and a groove opening toward the ink tank side, and the driven roller and the transfer roller are pivotally supported in the two grooves so as to rotate while contacting each other; The holder is spring-loaded in the direction of the driving roller, the driven roller is pressed against the driving roller, and the transfer roller is pressed against the ink coating material.

Function: Due to these configurations of the present invention, the transfer roller and the driven roller rotate while contacting each other, but since the longitudinal directions of the grooves supporting the rollers are oriented in different directions, no pressing force is transmitted to each other. .

Therefore, if the outer diameters and pitches of the transfer roller and the driven roller are set in advance, ink can be sufficiently replenished.

At this time, the pressure that the drive roller receives from the driven roller is due to a spring that presses the entire holder.
The pressure of the transfer roller is not relevant.
If the elastic force of the spring is set to a suitable value in advance, the drive torque will not increase.

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

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the ink tank partially cut away with the lid open, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder.

In Figures 1 and 2, 1 is a cassette case;
A pair of arm-shaped guide parts 2 and a storage part 4 for folding and storing an ink ribbon 3 are provided, and an ink tank 5 is fixed to one end of the storage part 4. On one side of the storage section 4, there is a drive roller 6 with uneven lines on the outer periphery.
A holder 8 is rotatably supported on a shaft, and one end of a holder 8 is swingably supported on a pin 7 erected in the cassette case 1 so as to face the drive roller 6 and the ink tank 5.

The holder 8 is provided with a groove 9 that opens toward the drive roller 6 side and a groove 10 that opens toward the ink tank 5 side, so that the ink is sufficiently transferred to the driven roller 11 in the groove 9 and the transfer roller 12 in the groove 10. They are pivoted at a pitch that allows them to rotate while pressing against each other.
The outer peripheries of the two rollers 11 and 12 are provided with uneven lines.

The two rollers 11 and 12 are arranged so that when the driven roller 11 comes into contact with the driving roller 6, the driving roller 6, the driven roller 11, and the transfer roller 12 are almost in a straight line.

On the outer surface of the holder 8 on the transfer roller 12 side,
A protrusion 13 is provided upright to serve as a receiver for a spring 14, and receives the elastic force of the spring 14 inserted between the side wall of the cassette case 1. The spring 14 is connected to the driven roller 11
The ink ribbon 3 is set to be strong enough to pinch and retract the ink ribbon 3 with the drive roller 6, but not to increase the drive torque.

The ink tank 5 is filled with an ink-impregnated body 15 made of a sponge or the like, and an ink application material 16 made of felt or the like is inserted into one side thereof. One end of the ink coating material 16 is made to protrude from the ink tank 5 so as to press the transfer roller 12 at all times.

In such a configuration, when the cassette case 1 is attached to a printer (not shown) and the drive roller 6 is rotated, the ink ribbon 3 is held between the drive roller 6 and the driven roller 11, and is retracted and runs. At the same time, the ink in the ink tank 5 is transmitted to the driven roller 11 via the transfer roller 12, and the ink ribbon 3 is replenished with ink.

At this time, the driven roller 1 that supplies sufficient ink
The pressing force between transfer roller 1 and transfer roller 12 is determined by the outer diameter and pitch of both rollers. Further, since the pressing force between the driving roller 6 and the driven roller 11 is determined by the strength of the spring 14, the pressing force of the transfer roller 12 is not applied to the driving roller.

Effects of the invention As described above, the ribbon cassette of the invention has a configuration in which the force with which the transfer roller presses against the driven roller and the pressing force that the drive roller receives from the driven roller can be set separately, so that sufficient ink can be supplied. Although a pressing force is obtained, the drive roller receives a spring force sufficient to draw in the separately set ink ribbon, so the drive torque does not increase. Also,
Since the structure is simple, the number of parts is small and assembly is easy, resulting in cost reduction.The holder space is small, so a large ink tank can be accommodated, and there are various other advantages.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of an embodiment of the present invention with the lid removed, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the holder of the same embodiment. 1...cassette case, 3...ink ribbon,
5... Ink tank, 6... Drive roller, 8...
Holder, 11...driven roller, 12...transfer roller, 14...spring, 16...ink coating material.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In the ribbon cassette that supplies ink to the ink ribbon, a drive roller 6 is installed inside the cassette case 1.
A swingable holder 8 and an ink tank 5 from which the ink coating material 16 is projected are provided.
A groove 10 opened on the side is provided, and two grooves 9, 10 are formed.
The driven roller 11 and the transfer roller 12 are pivotally supported so as to rotate while contacting each other, and the holder 8 is supported by a spring 1.
4, the ribbon cassette is formed by causing the driven roller 11 to bounce in the direction of the driving roller 6, and pressing the driven roller 11 against the driving roller 6, and the transfer roller 12 against the ink coating material 16.