JPH06328802A - Tape forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a tape forming device in which only a tape can be simply replaced by a user, a plurality of kinds of tapes can be used in the same tape casstte, and the kind of the tape is automatically discriminated for always securing a proper printing result. CONSTITUTION:A tape containing cassette case 19 is so composed as to replaceably house tapes 17 of a plurality of kinds of width each formed into an individual device system. A discriminating means for discriminating the kind of the tape 17 is provided on a device body. A projection as a means to be discriminated is provided on a tape device 15 in accordance with the kind of the tape 17.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape forming apparatus for exclusively printing on a tape-shaped print medium (hereinafter, simply referred to as tape).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a cassette case (also referred to as a tape cassette) of a tape making apparatus of this type has a tape and an ink ribbon which are accommodated in substantially the same length in one cassette case. Or, when the ink ribbon is used up, the cassette case is replaced. As a prior art of a tape making apparatus using such a type of cassette case, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-32990.

[0003]

However, the above-described conventional tape forming apparatus has room for improvement in the following points.

As the amount of tape used increases, the amount of cassette cases to be discarded increases, which is against effective use of resources and causes environmental damage. On the other hand, if the length of the tape and ink ribbon stored in the cassette case is increased to reduce the amount of discarded cassette case, it is necessary to increase the external dimensions of the cassette case and the cassette case is used. However, there is a problem that the size of the tape producing device must be increased.

For users who use various tapes such as tape widths and colors, it is necessary to prepare separate cassette cases for each type of tape, which is costly and large in storing cassette cases. The problem of taking up space will also occur.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and a user can easily replace only the tape, and a plurality of types of tape can be used in one cassette case. It is an object of the present invention to provide a tape making apparatus which can automatically discriminate between the above and always obtain proper printing.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in a tape producing apparatus of the present invention, in a tape producing apparatus dedicated to printing on a tape, a cassette case for accommodating the tape is provided as a unit. It is configured such that the tapes having a plurality of different types of widths can be exchangeably housed, and the discriminating means for discriminating the type of the tape is provided in the main body of the tape producing apparatus, and the discriminating means corresponding to the type of the tape. Are provided in the tape unit.

[0008]

According to the tape making apparatus of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, various tapes can be stored and used in one cassette case, and only the tape can be replaced when the tape is used up. Therefore, unlike the conventional case, it is not necessary to discard the cassette case every time the tape is used up. Further, even when a plurality of types of tapes having different widths and colors are used, since one cassette case can be shared, only a plurality of tapes (units) need be prepared. Then, after selecting the tape to be used and accommodating it in the cassette case, simply by mounting the cassette case in the main body of the device, the discriminating means automatically determines the type of tape based on the discriminated means of the tape unit. To detect. Therefore, proper printing is performed according to the width of the tape.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 14 show a tape cassette, a tape producing apparatus main body and a sensor for discriminating a tape type in the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a tape cassette (with the lid open).
Is attached to the main body of the tape making apparatus, and FIG. 2 shows a schematic configuration of the main body of the tape making apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink ribbon 1 and a take-up spool 3 wound around a spool are housed in a cassette case 19. The ink ribbon 1 is guided by guide pins 7 and 9 and the take-up spool 3 is provided. It has been wound up. Cassette case 1
9 is attached to the main body 21 of the tape producing apparatus, and in this state, the take-up spool 3 is engaged with the ribbon drive cam 5 on the main body 21 side of the apparatus. Therefore, the ink ribbon 1 is sequentially wound by the rotation of the ribbon drive cam 5. The length of the ink ribbon 1 has a capacity of about 5 times the length of the tape 17 in this example.

The cassette case 19 is provided with an opening 18 penetrating in the vertical direction.
When the tape is mounted on the tape producing apparatus main body 21, the thermal head 11 provided on the apparatus main body 21 side is inserted into the opening 18. And the thermal head 11
Is a separated position indicated by a chain double-dashed line 11 a that is separated from the platen roller 13 and a solid line 1 that is in pressure contact with the platen roller 13.
It is rotatably provided at the printing position 1b.

The position of the thermal head 11 is selected by operating a lever 12 integrated with the thermal head 11 via a spring 23 as shown in FIG. For example, when the pulling force of the spring 23 is applied to the lever 12, the lever 12 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 2 and the thermal head 11 is arranged at the printing position. Further, by rotating the lever 12 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 against the pulling force of the spring 23, the thermal head 11 is arranged at the separated position.

Then, the cassette case 1 is attached to the apparatus main body 21.
The thermal head 11 is arranged at the above-mentioned separated position when 9 is mounted, and the thermal head 11 is arranged at the printing position when printing is performed after the cassette case 19 is mounted on the apparatus main body 21. The operation of rotating the lever 12 to arrange the thermal head 11 at the printing position or the separation position is performed by the user.

A tape unit 15 and a platen roller 13 are previously housed in the cassette case 19, and the tape unit 15 and the platen roller 1 are provided.
3 can be removed from the cassette case 19. When the cassette case 19 is attached to the apparatus main body 21, the platen 13 engages with the platen gear 73 as shown in FIG. The ribbon drive cam 5 is engaged with the ribbon drive gear 85 via a clutch spring (not shown), and the rotation of the motor gear 75 is transmitted to the ribbon drive gear 85 via the gear 77, and at the same time, the gears 77, 79, It is transmitted to the platen gear 73 via 81 and 83.

The cassette case 19 has a structure as shown in FIG. 4, and the size of the cassette case 19 is one regardless of the width of the tape used. The cassette case 19 is provided with a lid 25 that can be opened and closed on the upper surface of the storage portion of the tape unit 15, and the lid 25a is fixed at the portion where the ink ribbon 1 is stored. Further, a partition wall 40 is provided at the boundary between the storage unit of the tape unit 15 and the storage unit of the ink ribbon 1, so that the user does not interfere with the ink ribbon 1 when the user replaces the tape unit 15. . The lid 25 is centered on the fulcrum 38 and is shown in FIG.
It has a hinge shape that rotates in the clockwise direction of
The lid 25 is fixed in the closed state by the side claw 35 engaging with the hole 37 on the cassette case 19 side. When replacing the tape unit 15, the lid 25 can be opened by disengaging the claws 35 and the holes 37 from each other. The holes 37 are provided on both sides of the cassette case 19, and the claws 35 are also provided on both sides of the lid 25.

An opening hole 1 is provided on the bottom surface of the cassette case 19.
50 and an opening hole 65 are provided. The opening hole 150 is provided with a protrusion 49, which will be described later, of the tape unit 15 in the cassette case 1.
9 is a hole that escapes to the outside, and the opening hole 65 corresponds to the position of the sensor switch 61 in FIG. Further, openings 27 are provided on both sides of the cassette case 19 so that the user can easily replace the tape unit 15, and the tape unit 15 is positioned in the cassette case 19 so that the cassette unit 19 can be easily replaced. Guide ribs 29,
31, 33 are provided.

Next, the construction of the tape unit 15 is shown in FIGS.
Will be explained. FIG. 5 shows a wide type tape unit 15a, and FIG. 6 shows a narrow type tape unit 15b. The width direction dimensions of the wide tape unit 15a and the narrow tape unit 15b are the same. First, the wide type tape unit 15a will be described. The tape unit 15a has a substantially U-shaped cross-section, and the front ends of the upper and lower surfaces thereof are a front rib 41a and a rib 43a.
It is connected with. Tape 17a is tape spool 5
The tape unit 15a is wound around the tape unit 15a.
The tape 17a is about 1/5 of the length of the ink ribbon 1. Tape spool 5
1 is adapted to rotate by being fitted in the upper and lower holes 53 of the tape unit 15a. A circular adhesive film 63 having a central opening is attached to both upper and lower surfaces of the tape 17a wound around the tape spool 51 so that the tape 17a does not come apart from the tape spool 51. The tape 1a is passed through the tape passage 45a and the tape passage 47a, which are long holes formed in the ribs 41a and the ribs 43a, respectively.
7a is prevented from shifting in the vertical direction. A protrusion 49 is provided at one location on the bottom surface of the tape unit 15a, and the protrusion 49 corresponds to the position of the sensor switch 59 shown in FIG.

Next, the narrow type tape unit 15b will be described with reference to FIG. The tape 17b is wound around the central portion of the tape spool 51, and like the wide type tape, a circular adhesive film 63 having a central opening is attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the tape 17b wound around the tape spool 51. It is attached. Rib 41b,
The tape passages 45b and 47b, which are formed of elongated holes in each of the tapes 43b, have small elongated holes corresponding to the width of the tape, so that the positional deviation in the vertical direction is prevented even if the tape width is narrow. Three protrusions 49 are provided on the lower portion of the tape unit 15b.
Corresponds to position 9. Although only two types of tape widths are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, when a tape having a width different from those is used, the tape 17 is wound around the center of the spool 51, and the tape passages 45 and 47 are provided with tapes. This can be done by changing the length of the long holes according to the width.

Next, a method of attaching the tape unit 15 to the cassette case 19 will be described. First lid 25
With the (FIG. 4) open, the platen 13 is removed. In this state, attach the tape unit 15 to the cassette case 1
The guide ribs 29, 31, and 33 of FIG. At this time, there is nothing that interferes with the tape 17 when the platen 13 is removed, so that the tape unit 15 can be mounted without trouble. Ink ribbon 1
Is surrounded by the partition wall 40, the ink ribbon 1 is not caught when the tape unit 15 is attached. After attaching the tape unit 15,
The platen 13 is attached so as to hold the tape 17 from right to left in the figure. After that, the lid 25 (FIG. 4) is closed and the claw 35 is engaged with the hole 37, whereby the mounting work is completed. At this time, the protrusion 49 on the bottom surface of the tape unit 15
It projects from the opening hole 150 of the cassette case 19 to the outside of the cassette case 19. In this way, the user can freely replace the tape unit 15, so that if he has only one cassette case 19, he can use tapes of all kinds of colors or widths while exchanging them depending on the purpose. Can be done.

When the cassette case 19 to which the tape unit 15 is attached as described above is attached to the main body 21 of the tape making apparatus, the lever 12 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 2 to move the thermal head 11 to the separated position. Deploy. In this state, the cassette case 19 is attached to the tape producing apparatus main body 21.
The thermal head 11 is inserted into the opening 18, the take-up spool 3 engages with the ribbon drive cam 5, and the platen roller 13 engages with the platen gear 73. In addition, the cassette case 19 is attached to the main body 2 of the tape production device.
When it is attached to No. 1, the sensor switches 55 to 61 corresponding to the protrusion 49 on the bottom surface of the tape unit 15 protruding from the opening hole 150 of the cassette case 19 are turned on.

7 and 8 are sectional views showing a state in which the tape unit 15 is attached to the cassette case 19. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the wide type tape unit 15a is attached. The ink ribbon 1 and the tape 17a are opposed to each other, and the protrusion 49 protruding from the cassette case 19 presses the corresponding sensor switch 59 to turn it on. ing. Further, FIG. 8 shows a state in which the narrow type tape unit 15b is attached, and the tape 17b is the ink ribbon 1.
Of the cassette case 1
The sensor switch 5 corresponding to the protrusion 49 protruding from 9
5, 57 and 59 are pressed to be in the ON state.

After mounting the cassette case 19 on the main body 21 of the tape making apparatus in this way, the pulling force of the spring 23 is applied to the lever 12 to rotate the lever 12 counterclockwise in FIG. By arranging at the printing position, it becomes possible to print characters, symbols, etc. on the tape 17.
Further, when removing the tape unit 15 from the cassette case 19 in order to replace the tape unit 15,
First, the lever 12 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 2 to dispose the thermal head 11 at the separated position. In this state,
The cassette case 19 is removed from the tape production device body 21. Then, the claws 35 of the lid 25 of the cassette case 19 are disengaged from the holes 37, and the lid 25 is opened.
After removing 3, the tape unit 15 can be removed from the cassette case 19 by holding the tape unit 15 through the openings 27 on both sides of the cassette case 19 and moving the tape unit 15 upward.

In the above embodiment, the type in which the platen 13 is built in the cassette case 19 has been described, but the platen may be provided on the apparatus main body 21 side.

Another embodiment will be described below.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the platen 100 is mounted on the apparatus main body 21 integrally with the gear. FIG. 11 shows a state in which the cassette case 19 is attached to the apparatus main body 21 and the thermal head 11 is pressed against the platen 100.
The cassette case 19 has an opening 102 penetrating vertically.
Is provided, and by mounting the cassette case 19 on the apparatus main body 21, the thermal head 11 and the platen 1
00 is inserted into the opening 102. The cassette case is mounted by operating the lever 12 so that the thermal head 11 is separated from the platen 100 (11a). In this state, a gap is provided between the platen 100 and the tape 17, and a gap is also provided between the thermal head 11 and the ink ribbon 1. Therefore, the ink ribbon 1 and the tape 17 are not clogged when the cassette case 19 is attached to the apparatus body 21. Next, a method of discriminating the types of the tape and the ink ribbon will be described. The following table is a table of tape width types and ink ribbon color types that are determined by the combination of ON and OFF states of the switches 55 to 61.

[0026]

[Table 1] Discrimination of tape width

[Table 2] Discrimination of ink ribbon type According to the specifications of this embodiment, the tape width is 6, 9, 12, 18, 2
At 4 and 32 mm, the ink ribbon 1 is black ink and other color inks. Since the required thermal energy (heating temperature) is different between black ink and color ink due to the nature of the ink, the thermal head 1 is determined by determining the type of ink ribbon 1.
It is necessary to change the heat energy given to 1. 12
14 to 14 show detection states of the switch 55 to the switch 61 when the cassette case 19 is attached to the apparatus main body 21. For example, in FIG. 12, the switch 55 and the switch 57 are in the OFF state, and the switch 5
Since 9 and the switch 61 are in the ON state, the black ink is contained in the tape having a width of 32 mm. Similarly, FIG. 13 shows a 12 mm wide tape containing black ink, and FIG. 14 contains an ink ribbon 1 of black ink.
7 is not stored.

Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, but can be applied without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, if a thermal type tape (not shown) is used, it is possible to print directly with the thermal head 11 without using the ink ribbon 1.

[0028]

As is apparent from the above description, the tape making apparatus of the present invention has the following excellent effects.

(1) Since it is sufficient to prepare one cassette case for a plurality of types of tapes, it is economical and requires a small storage space.

(2) Unlike the conventional device, since it is not necessary to replace the cassette case after each use of the tape, the amount of waste disposal of the cassette case is reduced, and in terms of effective use of resources and environmental protection. desirable.

(3) Since the type of tape is automatically discriminated by the discriminating means, proper printing is always performed on the tape,
Never waste tape.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a state in which a cassette case is attached to a tape making device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the tape producing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an engagement state between a platen and a platen gear when the cassette case is attached to the apparatus main body.

FIG. 4 shows a structure of a cassette case in which a tape unit is not housed, FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view,
FIG. 4B is a side view.

FIG. 5 shows a wide type tape unit, FIG. 5 (a) is a front view, FIG. 5 (b) is a left side view, FIG. 5 (c) is a right side view, and FIG. 5 (d) is a plan view. It is a figure.

FIG. 6 shows a narrow type tape unit, FIG. 6 (a) is a front view, FIG. 6 (b) is a left side view, FIG. 6 (c) is a right side view, and FIG. It is a top view.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a cassette case accommodating a wide tape and a determination switch.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a positional relationship between a cassette case accommodating a narrow tape and a determination switch.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a state in which a cassette case is attached to a tape making device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the tape producing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing a positional relationship between the platen and the cassette case when the cassette case is attached to the apparatus main body.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing an operating state of a discrimination sensor.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing another operating state of the discrimination sensor.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram showing still another operating state of the discrimination sensor.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Ink Ribbon 11 Thermal Head 15 ・ 15a ・ 15b Tape Unit 17 ・ 17a ・ 17b Tape 19 Cassette Case (Tape Cassette) 21 Tape Making Device Main Body 49 Projection (Discrimination Means) 55 ・ 57 ・ 59 ・ 61 Sensor Switch (Discrimination Means) )

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A tape forming apparatus for exclusive use of printing on a tape, wherein a cassette case in which the tape is housed is configured so that a unitized tape having a plurality of types of width can be housed in a replaceable manner. A tape creating apparatus, wherein a judging means for judging the kind of the tape is provided in the tape making apparatus main body, and a means to be judged corresponding to the kind of the tape is provided in the tape unit.