JPH0596803A - Ink sheet and cassette thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and certainly mount an ink sheet in a cassette by providing a specified leader at the front end of the ink sheet so that the ink sheet wound around a feed spool is easily positioned on a winding spool. CONSTITUTION:An ink sheet 1 is wound around a feed spool 12 in a roll shape, and a leader 16 is attached its front end. The leader 16 is made of synthetic resin and a latch 16a that is connected to a winding spool 13 is provided at its front end. Each of the feed spool 12 and winding spool 13 has a flange 14 larger in diameter than the main spool and a tip 15 smaller in diameter than the main spool, and rotatably fitted in a corresponding bearing 21 provided in a lower cassette 2a. Thereby, the cassette is openable and an ink sheet is replaceable independently. In addition, the ink sheets are replaceable with each other depending upon the purpose of the ink sheets as they are encased in cassettes.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a roll-shaped ink sheet used for thermal transfer recording of images and characters in a recording device such as a video printer, and a cassette for loading the ink sheet in the recording device, and more particularly to an ink sheet. The present invention relates to a structure suitable for mounting in a cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are various methods for loading an ink sheet on a recording apparatus for recording characters or images using a belt-shaped ink sheet formed by applying ink. Among the loading methods, for ease of handling, etc., there is widely used a method in which an ink sheet roll, which is a roll of ink sheet, is stored in a cassette in advance and the ink sheet is loaded into the recording device via this cassette. It is used.

Conventionally, this type of cassette has been disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 56-6.
It is described in "Thermal transfer recording apparatus" described in 7278 and is mainly used for home use.

[0004]

In the conventional example, a user purchases an ink sheet in a cassette in advance, loads the ink sheet into a recording apparatus, uses the entire amount of the ink sheet, and then uses the ink sheet together with the cassette. Had also been discarded. This is not preferable both economically and in terms of waste. That is, it is desirable that the cassette, which is a reusable portion, be reused and that the discarded portion can be limited to the ink sheet portion that cannot be reused.

Further, in the field of business where it is possible to envisage a user who has a particular skill, the ink sheet may be mounted in a cassette and then loaded in a recording apparatus. However, the roll-shaped ink sheet is mounted in the cassette. Requires skill and attention,
Not suitable for home use. Furthermore, the structure of the cassette for business use and the loading into the recording device are suitable for large-scale and high-speed printing, and various inks such as those for standard printing, sticker, cloth transfer, and postcard are used at home. It was unsuitable for the purpose of preparing sheets appropriately and printing them little by little while frequently exchanging them according to the purpose.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems, an ink sheet and a cassette which can be easily attached to or exchanged in a cassette, and a cassette structure which can be easily attached to or exchanged in a recording apparatus and can be repeatedly used. To provide.

[0007]

As means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is characterized by having the following constitution.

The cassette can be opened vertically or axially so that the ink sheet can be attached to or replaced with the cassette.

Corresponding to the case of opening up and down, a bearing portion using elasticity for rotatably bearing the shaft of the ink sheet provided on one half and a shaft stopper portion provided on the other half. In, the portion that defines the axial distance is inelastic.

A leader portion thicker than the ink sheet is provided at the tip of the ink sheet. A curling habit is attached to the leader part.

When the cassette can be opened in the axial direction, the ink sheet is mounted on the cassette in a state of being wound on both shafts. Therefore, a pickup shaft is provided on the cassette side for easy positioning.

Further, when the cassette and the lid are connected by a hinge, the hinge is provided on the side having the opening for printing.

In any case, the flange portion provided on the shaft of the ink sheet is provided with a rolling prevention portion such as a notch.

[0014]

By allowing the cassette to be opened, the ink sheet alone can be replaced, and the ink sheet in the cassette state can be freely replaced as in the conventional case.

Further, by making the shaft stopper on the cassette side rigid, even if the ink sheet is repeatedly exchanged for one cassette, the axial distance between the ink sheet shafts can be maintained and the occurrence of wrinkles can be suppressed.

The leader portion is provided at the tip of the ink sheet and is provided with a certain curl so that the position of the ink sheet on the take-up shaft can be adjusted when the ink sheet is wound from the supply shaft to the take-up shaft. Since it is specified, the occurrence of wrinkles can be suppressed.

The attacking axis serves as a guide when the ink sheet is inserted into the cassette.

Since the hinge is provided on the side of the opening, the strength of the cassette is maintained not only when locking but also when opening, and it is easy to handle.

The rolling prevention portion provided on the flange portion having a diameter larger than the diameter of the rolled ink sheet on the shaft of the ink sheet rolls the ink sheet during replacement of the ink sheet, and undesired unwinding of the ink. Effectively prevent the occurrence of.

[0020]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an embodiment of the ink sheet and cassette according to the present invention. The ink sheet 1 is wound around a supply shaft 12 in a roll shape, and a leader portion 16 is fixed to the tip thereof. Reader unit 1
6 is a synthetic resin of several tens of microns, which is much thicker than an ink sheet of several microns, and has a take-up shaft 13 at its tip.
A claw portion 16a for engaging with is formed. The supply shaft 12 and the take-up shaft 13 are each provided with a flange portion 14 thicker than the diameter of the shaft body and a tip portion 15 thinner than the diameter of the shaft body, and corresponding shaft bearing portions 21 provided on the lower cassette 2a. Is rotatably fitted in.

The ink sheet 1 is fixed to the take-up shaft 13 at right angles and without wrinkles via the leader portion 16, and when loaded in a recording device (not shown), the flange portion 14 serves as a shaft mechanism (not shown). Take-up shaft 13 that is engaged and used
Taken away by.

The position of the leader portion 16 with respect to the take-up shaft 13 is defined by the position of the claw hole 13a fitted into the claw portion 16a provided on the take-up shaft 13, and the claw portion 16a of the ink sheet 1 is provided. Since it is located substantially in the center in the width direction, when the winding torque is applied to the flange portion 14, the ink sheet 1 is wound around the winding shaft 13 without wrinkles.

The width of the leader portion 16 is set to the ink sheet 1
The width of the leader section 1 on the lower cassette 2a near the winding shaft 13 on the supply shaft 12 side.
A pair of restricting portions 2c, 2d having a gap with a width corresponding to 6
May be provided. In this case, when the leader portion 16 is fitted, the axial positions of the leader portion 16 with respect to the winding shaft 13 are restricted by the regulating portions 2c and 2d.
The ink sheet 1 can be wiped off without wrinkles. At this time, since the interval between the regulation portions 2c and 2d is larger than the width of the ink sheet 1, the ink sheet 1 does not touch the regulation portions 2c and 2d.

2 and 3 are perspective views showing another embodiment of the leader portion 16 of the ink sheet 1 shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, the leader portion 16 provided at the front end portion of the ink sheet 1 has a length that covers more than half the circumference of the winding shaft 13 as shown in FIG. That is, the radius of curvature is slightly smaller than the radius of the winding shaft 13.

Therefore, by mounting the supply shaft 12 and the take-up shaft 13 on the lower cassette 2a and then fitting the leader portion 16 to the take-up shaft 13, the ink sheet 1 and the take-up shaft 13 are easily engaged. It can be done.

FIG. 4 shows the reader unit 1 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
6 shows another embodiment. In FIG. 4, the leader portion 16 provided at the tip of the ink sheet 1 has a length that covers more than half the circumference of the roll-shaped ink sheet 1 wound around the supply shaft 12, as shown in FIG. 4A. In addition, as described above, the curvature is formed so as to elastically fit the winding shaft 13 without slipping. By supplying the leader portion 16 while covering the roll-shaped ink sheet 1 wound around the supply shaft 12, the ink sheet 1 is not unraveled before the cassette is mounted. Further, as in the embodiment of FIG. 2, after the supply shaft 12 and the winding shaft 13 are mounted on the lower cassette 2a,
By fitting the leader portion 16 to the winding shaft 13, the ink sheet 1 and the winding shaft 13 can be securely engaged with each other.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the reader unit 1 shown in FIG. 2, and FIGS. 6 to 8 show the relationship with the lower cassette 2a in the embodiment of FIG. In FIG. 5, when the leading end of the leader portion 16 provided on the leading end of the ink sheet 1 has, for example, three claw portions for engaging the take-up shaft 13 at three places, 16
It is provided as b, c, and d. Claws 16b, c, d
Unlike the claw portion 16a, is not bent in advance. The take-up shaft 13 has claw holes 13b, c for engaging with the claw portions,
d is provided, and when the nail portions are inserted into these nail holes and wound up, the nail portions are broken and the ink sheet is rolled up. Therefore, depending on the structure of the recording mechanism, the same ink sheet 1 may be rotated clockwise as shown in FIG. 6 or counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 8 and as shown in FIG. It can be commonly applied to long distances.

FIG. 9 shows the fitting of the upper cassette 3 to the lower cassette 2a shown in FIGS. The lower cassette 2a includes a bearing portion 21 for the supply shaft 12 and the take-up shaft 13.
However, the upper cassette 3 is provided with shaft stoppers 31 respectively, and the upper cassette 3 and the lower cassette 2a are engaged with each other by an engaging portion (not shown) to form the cassette 2, so that the supply shaft 12 and the like are rotatable. It can be handled like a conventional cassette while being held.

FIG. 10 shows a conventional example of the bearing portion 21 and the shaft stopper portion 31 in FIG. 9, and FIGS. 11 and 12 show the bearing portion 21.
An embodiment of the present invention of the shaft stopper 31 is shown. In FIG. 10, the bearing portion 21 is elastically formed by the slit 21a and the like, and when pushed outward, the bearing portion 21 is elastically bent and spread, and the tip end portion 15 of the shaft of the ink sheet 1 is expanded. The shaft of the ink sheet 1 can be thrown in and attached to the lower cassette 2a. In the conventional example, the shaft stopper 31 suppresses the shaft from the upper portion and functions as a stopper when engaging with the upper cassette 3. Normally, a tension is applied between the supply shaft 12 and the take-up shaft 13 by the printing mechanism. Therefore, in the configuration of this conventional example, the bearing portion 21 bends and the parallelism between the supply shaft 12 and the take-up shaft 13 is increased. Is easy to lose. Further, the bearing portion 21 may be gradually deformed by repeating the exchange of the ink sheet, and similarly, the parallelism may not be maintained.

In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the slit 21a of the bearing portion 21 is provided substantially horizontally, and the shaft stopper portion 31 which is sufficiently rigid as compared with the elastic bearing portion 21 has an ink sheet of both shafts. It is configured so as to prevent the approach due to the tension of No. 1 and the above-mentioned problems do not occur.

Further, in the embodiment of FIG. 12, the slit 21a of the bearing 21 is provided substantially vertically as in the conventional example of FIG. 10, but the outer portion of the bearing 21 is exclusively elastically deformed. As described above, since the inner part is narrow and the inner part is sufficiently wider and more rigid than the outer part, the above-mentioned problems do not occur.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the cassette 2 in which the ink sheet 1 is mounted. The cassette 2 is not bisected vertically but is bisected in the axial direction of the ink sheet 1.
In the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the cassette 2 is divided into a case portion 23 for accommodating the ink sheet 1 and a lid 24 provided with a bearing portion 21 for rotatably bearing the tip portions 15 of both shafts. .. The lid 24 opens and closes with the hinge 25 on the side having the ink sheet 1 with respect to the shaft. The ink sheet 1 is wound from the supply shaft 12 toward the take-up shaft 13 as shown by the broken line in the figure, and then inserted into the case portion 23, and the lid 24 is fitted into the case portion 23. Since the hinge 25 of the lid 24 is provided on the side where the ink sheet 1 having a large flat portion is provided, it can be made longer and has higher durability than the case where it is provided on the opposite side.

14 and 15 show another embodiment of FIG. In either case, since the ink sheet 1 is inserted into the case portion 23 from the side of the tip portion 15 contrary to the example of FIG. 13, the bearing portion 21 is integrated with the case portion 23, and the case portion 2
Since the positional accuracy with respect to 3 is easily obtained, wrinkles are less likely to occur. ..

As in the embodiment of FIG. 14, a separate cap 26 may be used instead of the lid 24 using the hinge 25. As a result, the case portion 23 can be easily molded, and the cap 26 is supplied together with the ink sheet 1, and the cap sheet 26 is replaced at the same time as the replacement of the ink sheet 1, thereby displaying the characteristics and type of the ink sheet 1. Four
By writing 0 on the cap, it is possible to display the characteristics and type of the ink sheet 1 inside the general-purpose cassette.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment in which the tip 15 of the shaft and the bearing 21 are spherical. Since the two spherical surfaces are fitted to each other by more than one hemisphere, the bearing portion 21 is elastically elastic.
After being deformed and fitted, it cannot be removed unless it is pulled in the axial direction. Since such a force does not normally work, the cap 26 described above is not necessary, and the economy is high.

Similar to the example of FIG. 13, FIG. 16 shows an embodiment in which the cap end 26 side of the shaft is a cap 26. Normal,
Since there is a hole 28 for engaging the shaft and the recording mechanism on the side of the shaft flange portion 14 of the cassette, in this embodiment, unlike the embodiment shown in FIG. It has a cylindrical shape with both ends open, making it easy to mold and reducing the tapping taper, so a relatively small cassette can be constructed and the recording mechanism can be made compact.

17 and 18 show another embodiment of FIG. In these embodiments, a sufficiently long core portion 27 is provided in the case portion 23 instead of the bearing portion, and the shaft 11 of the ink sheet 1 is hollow.

In FIG. 17, the tip of the core portion 27 extends to near the insertion opening of the case portion 23, and a taper portion 271 is provided, so that the shaft 11 can be easily attached to the core portion 27. In FIG. 18, since the core portion 27 is thin, the shaft 11 can be easily mounted, and at the same time, the root 272 has an outer diameter that supports the inner diameter of the shaft 11, so that the shaft 11 and the core portion 27 can be easily supported.
Can reduce the friction between.

FIG. 19 shows another embodiment of the shaft 11. The present embodiment is an example in which the shaft 11 is formed into a pipe shape with both ends open, and the flange portion 14 that fits with the recording mechanism is separately fitted into the shaft 11. According to this configuration, the shaft 11 may be a simple pipe, and only the flange portion 14 needs to have a shape corresponding to the recording mechanism. Therefore, the ink sheet 1 is highly versatile and economical.

FIG. 20 shows an embodiment in which a detent portion 29 is provided on a part of the flange portion 14. When the ink sheet 1 is mounted on the cassette, if it is accidentally dropped or placed on a desk or the like that is slightly inclined, the shaft may roll and the ink sheet 1 may be loosened. In any of the above cases, as shown in FIG. 20A, the outer diameter of the flange portion 14 can be made slightly larger than the diameter of the rolled ink sheet 1 shown by the broken line. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 20 (b), by providing a cutout 29 for preventing rotation in a part of the circumference of the flange portion 14,
It is possible to effectively prevent the above-mentioned loosening of the roll.

[0042]

According to the present invention, the ink sheet can be securely attached to the cassette by a simple operation, and
It is economical because it only needs to supply the ink sheet, and it also has the same good handleability as a conventional cassette, so it can be easily replaced with another ink in the middle according to the recording application. ..

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an embodiment of an ink sheet and a cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a leader portion 16 of the ink sheet 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another example of the above.

FIG. 3 is a leader portion 16 of the ink sheet 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another example of the above.

4 shows another embodiment of the reader unit shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG.

5 shows another embodiment of the reader unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing another embodiment of the cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a view showing another embodiment of the cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the cassette according to the present invention.

9 is a view of the lower cassette 2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5,
It is a figure which shows the fitting of the upper cassette 3.

10 is a view showing a conventional example of a bearing 21 and a shaft stopper 31 in FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a bearing 21 and a shaft stopper 31.

FIG. 12 is a view showing another embodiment of the bearing 21 and the shaft stopper 31.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of an embodiment in which the cassette is divided into two in the axial direction of the ink sheet 1.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a view showing an embodiment in which a small diameter side of the shaft is a cap.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing another embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a view showing another embodiment of the shaft 14.

FIG. 20 is a diagram of an embodiment in which a rotation stopping portion 29 is provided on a part of the flange portion 17;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Ink sheet, 2 ... Cassette, 3 ... Upper cassette, 1
2 ... Supply shaft, 13 ... Winding shaft, 16 ... Leader part, 21 ... Bearing part, 31 ... Shaft stop part, 24 ... Lid, 26 ... Cap.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Mikio Shiraishi 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Stock company Hitachi Media Imaging Laboratory

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink sheet coated with heat-sensitive ink, which is wound around a shaft in a roll shape, and a cassette which can be divided into an upper part and a lower part, which is to be loaded inside a recording mechanism. The half has a bearing portion that uses elasticity to rotatably support the ink sheet shaft and allows replacement, and a shaft stopper portion that is provided on the other half.
A cassette, characterized in that, of either the bearing portion or the shaft stopper portion, the portion that defines the axial distance is made inelastic. 2. An ink sheet coated with a heat-sensitive ink and wound around a supply shaft in a roll shape, a winding shaft for winding the ink sheet, and both of which are mounted inside and thus loaded in a recording mechanism. In a heat-sensitive ink cassette consisting of a cassette for carrying out ink, a leader portion, which is thicker and wider than the ink sheet, is provided at the tip portion of the ink sheet wound around the supply shaft and fixed to the take-up shaft. A cassette characterized in that the length is at least half the circumference of an ink sheet wound up in a take-up shaft or roll, and the leader portion has a winding habit having a radius smaller than the radius of the take-up shaft. 3. An ink sheet coated with a heat-sensitive ink and wound around a supply shaft in a roll shape, a winding shaft for winding the ink sheet, and both of them are mounted inside and thus loaded in a recording mechanism. In a heat-sensitive ink cassette consisting of a cassette for carrying out, a flange portion having a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the ink sheet rolled into a roll is provided at one end of the supply shaft and the winding shaft.
A cassette characterized in that a notch is provided in the flange portion.