JPH06328823A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a tape cassette in which only a tape and an ink ribbon can be separately replaced, an ink ribbon is not wastefully used even with the use of a small-width tape, and an ink ribbon cost per unit tape length can be lowered. CONSTITUTION:A tape cassette 2 is so composed that an ink ribbon 9 and a tape 21 can be separately replaced. The ink ribbon 9 is formed into a device system and can be vertically reversed for use.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tape cassette of this type of tape making apparatus has a cassette case in which a tape and an ink ribbon having the same width are accommodated respectively, and the length of the tape and the ink ribbon is long. It was almost the same. And when you finish using the tape or ink ribbon,
The cassette case had been replaced. A tape cassette of this type is described in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-32990.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned conventional tape cassette has room for improvement in the following points.

As the amount of tape used increases, the amount of cassette cases to be discarded increases. Therefore, the effective use of resources as well as the burning and smoke damage generated when the cassette cases are incinerated cause environmental damage. Become. On the other hand, if the length of the tape and ink ribbon stored in the cassette case is significantly increased, the amount of tape cassette discarded per unit length of tape decreases, but it is necessary to increase the size of the cassette case. There is a problem in that the size of the tape making device in which the cassette case is used must also be increased.

Further, for users who use various types of tapes of various widths, colors, etc., it is necessary to prepare different cassette cases for each type or combination thereof, which is costly and also difficult for storing cassette cases. There is also the problem of taking up a large space.

Therefore, the present inventor has proposed a tape cassette for accommodating the ink ribbon and the tape in a replaceable manner, but this also has the following problems to be solved.

That is, if the tape cassette has one size, the ink ribbon has one width, and a narrow tape is used, a large amount of the unused portion of the ink ribbon remains in the width direction, which is uneconomical. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
An object of the present invention is to provide a tape cassette in which only the tape and the ink ribbon can be exchanged, the ink ribbon is not wasted even when a narrow tape is used, and the cost of the ink ribbon per unit length of the tape can be reduced.

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, a tape cassette used in a tape producing apparatus for exclusively printing on a tape using an ink ribbon of the present invention is
With respect to the tape cassette, the ink ribbon and the tape are respectively replaceable, and the ink ribbon is formed as a unit and can be turned upside down.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the width of the tape is set to about half the width of the ink ribbon, the tape is replaceable with respect to the tape cassette, and the center position in the width direction of the ink ribbon is set. It can also be installed offset to one side.

[0011]

According to the tape cassette of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, when one of the tape and the ink ribbon is used up, the one that has been used up, for example, in the case of the tape,
Only the tape can be replaced. It is also possible to use a multi-time type ink ribbon and turn it upside down and use it a plurality of times when the ink ribbon is used up.

In particular, when the tape width is approximately half of the ink ribbon width as described in claim 2, two tapes can be loaded and printing can be performed simultaneously. When you finish using the ribbon, you can use it by turning it upside down, and the cost of the ink ribbon per tape unit length (that is, printing cost)
Can be quite cheap.

[0013]

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

1 to 10 show a tape cassette, a main body of a tape producing apparatus and a sensor for discriminating a tape type according to a first embodiment of the present invention. First, the configuration of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a tape cassette (with the lid open).
2 is a plan view showing a state in which 2 is attached to the tape producing apparatus main body 1, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the tape producing apparatus main body 1 before attaching the tape cassette 2. 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line VV in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a ribbon unit 7 and a tape unit 19 are exchangeably housed in a cassette case body 3 of a tape cassette (cassette case) 2. The ribbon unit 7 covers the ribbon holder main body 100 and a ribbon holder main body 100 including an oval-shaped housing in plan view and a pair of arm portions 7a and 7b protruding from one side surface of the housing at a predetermined interval. It is composed of a ribbon holder lid 92. Ribbon holder body 100
A pair of ribbon spools 13 and 15 are provided inside. Ribbon guide rollers 17, 17 are rotatably supported at the tips of the respective arm portions 7a, 7b, and an outlet for the ink ribbon 9 is formed at the tip of the arm portion 7a on the ribbon spool 13 side. An inlet for the ink ribbon 9 is formed at the tip of the arm portion 7b on the ribbon spool 15 side. The ink ribbon 9 is wound around a spool 13, a part of which is exposed to the outside of the ribbon holder 100 from the outlet while being guided by the ribbon guide roller 17, and enters the inside of the ribbon holder 100 from the inlet again.
It is wound around the ribbon spool 15 while being guided by. By these ribbon guide rollers 17, 17, the exit,
The vertical position is restricted near the entrance.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ribbon guide roller 17
Is attached by two holes 112 and 110 formed at the tips of the arm portions of the ribbon holder main body 100 and the ribbon holder lid 92, respectively. When the ribbon unit 7 is attached to the cassette case main body 3, A shaft 114, which stands from the bottom surface of the cassette case body 3, penetrates through the roller 17 and is positioned, and at the same time, high rigidity is obtained. The shaft 114 is fitted and fixed in the hole 116 of the cassette case lid 5. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, sensor holes 25 and 27 are provided on the bottom surface of the ribbon holder body 100.

On the other hand, the tape unit 19 comprises a tape holder 102 having a U-shaped cross section.
The upper and lower surfaces are connected by a pair of ribs 102a and 102b. In this tape holder 102, the spool 1
A tape 21 wound around 18 is stored. Tape holder 1 between the pair of ribs 102a and 102b
A cutout portion 102c is formed in a part of 02, and the platen 47 is inserted into the cutout portion 102c when the tape cassette 2 is mounted in the tape production apparatus main body 1.
An insertion hole 129 for guiding the tape 21 to the outside of the tape unit 19 is formed in the pair of ribs 102a and 102b. The spool 118 is attached to the upper and lower holes 122 and 124 of the tape holder 102. When the tape unit 19 is attached to the tape cassette body 3,
The spool 118 is fitted and positioned in the boss 120 of the cassette case body 3. In this state, the spool 118 can slide and rotate with respect to the boss 120. The top and bottom of the tape 21 are guided by the insertion holes 129 of the ribs 102b near the outlet of the tape holder 102. Therefore, the vertical positions of the ink ribbon 9 and the tape 21 are regulated by the ribbon unit 7 and the tape unit 19, respectively, and the horizontal positions are regulated by the cassette case body 3 and the cassette case lid 5.

Next, the structure and operation of the tape producing apparatus body 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 or 3, a thermal head 45 is rotatably supported on a shaft 51 together with a gear 53 formed integrally with the thermal head 45 on the apparatus main body 1. A platen 47 integrated with a gear 90 is rotatably supported on the lever 49 about a shaft 126, and the gear 90 is integrated with a shaft 69 of the lever 49 into a gear 55.
Is meshed with. The platen 47 is rotated by transmitting the rotation of the motor gear 65 to the gear 90 via the gears 63, 61, 59, 55. Further, the motor gear 65 meshes with the ribbon drive gear 37, and the rotation of the ribbon drive gear 37 is transmitted to the ribbon drive cam 29 via the clutch spring 39 (FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, one end of the clutch spring 39 is locked to the gear 37, and the other end is wound around the ribbon drive cam 29 so as to be free. Ribbon drive cam 29 and clutch spring 39
And the ink ribbon 9
It serves to absorb the change in the winding amount of the ink ribbon 9 when the winding diameter 11 of the ink is changed and to generate the torque required to wind the ink ribbon 9.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a gear 57 is fixed on the lever 49, and the gear 57 is located below the gear 55. When the lever 49 is actuated leftward against the spring 67 from the state shown in the drawing, the gear 57 rotates counterclockwise, the gear 53 rotates clockwise, and the platen 47 moves rightward. The thermal head 45 moves to the left, and the platen 47 and the thermal head 45 are separated from each other. In the state shown in the figure, the thermal head 45 and the platen 47 are in a pressure contact state by the action of the spring 67. When the cassette case body 3 is mounted on the apparatus body 1, the thermal head 45 and the platen 47 are
Is separated from the opening 18 of the cassette case body 3,
The thermal head 45 and the platen 47 are loaded. At that time, since the ink ribbon 9 and the tape 21 are in the state of the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, they do not interfere with the thermal head 45 and the platen 47.

Further, ribbon sensors 71, 73 and 75 and a tape sensor 7 are provided on the apparatus main body 1.
7, 79 and 81 are mounted, and the type of the ink ribbon 9 and the type of the tape 21 are determined by the ON / OFF state of each sensor. As shown in FIG.
When the cassette case main body 3 is attached to the apparatus main body 1, the vertical position of the cassette case main body 3 is the rib 8 on the apparatus main body 1.
3 and the rib 85. Further, the ribbon drive cam 29 and the ribbon spool 15 are
The rotation is transmitted by engaging with the protrusion 29a formed on the upper end of the groove and the groove 15a formed on the ribbon spool 15. The ribbon supply cam 31 and the ribbon spool 13 also mesh with each other. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a back tension spring 41 is wound around the ribbon supply cam 31, and one end thereof is fixed by a rib 43 on the apparatus main body 1. When the ink ribbon 9 rotates clockwise in the state of FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 9 is tensioned by the frictional force between the ribbon supply cam 31 and the back tension spring 41.

Next, the tape cassette 2 will be described in more detail. As described above, the cassette case body 3
1, the ribbon unit 7 and the tape unit 19 are housed therein. The ribbon unit 7 includes ribs 136, 138, 140, 142, and 142 on the cassette case body 3.
The horizontal position is determined by 152, and the horizontal position of the tape unit 19 is determined by the ribs 144, 146, 148, 150, and 152. In addition, the magnet 134 is attached to the cassette case body 3.
As shown in FIG. 6, the magnet 1 is attached to the magnet 1
4 of the cassette case lid 5 attached corresponding to 34
The cassette case main body 3 and the cassette case lid 5 are fixed by the iron plate 200 at the portion. Therefore, the operator can easily remove the cassette case lid 5 from the cassette case body 3, and the ribbon unit 7 and the tape unit 19 in the cassette case body 3 can be easily replaced.

As shown in FIG. 8, a notch 130 and a notch 132 are formed on the left and right sides of the cassette case body 3 so that the ribbon unit 7 and the tape unit 19 can be replaced more easily.
It is provided in each place. These notches 130 and 132
Through the user, the ribbon unit 7 and the tape unit 1
You can grab 9. FIG. 8 is a side view when the ribbon unit 7 and the tape unit 19 are set on the cassette case body 3 and the cassette case lid 5 is attached. The cassette case body 3 is provided with openings 18, 202, 204, 206, 208 shown by the dotted lines in FIG. The circular openings 202 and 204 are respectively shown in FIG.
Of the ribbon drive cam 29 and the ribbon supply cam 31 are loosely inserted, and the rectangular openings 206 and 208 are the ribbon sensors 71, 73, and 7 of FIG. 3, respectively.
5 and the tape sensors 77, 79 and 81.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, the cassette case lid 5
The ribbon drive cam 2 is the same as the cassette case body 3.
9 and the circular opening 21 corresponding to the ribbon supply cam 31
2 and 210 are provided. Also, a pair of small-diameter holes 116
Is a hole into which the shaft 114 of the cassette case body 3 fits. As described above, there are four iron plates 200 corresponding to the magnets 134, and positioning ribs 214, 216, 218, 220 for positioning the cassette case main body 3 are provided at the corners. FIG. 9 shows the bottom surface of the ribbon unit 7. The ribbon unit 7 has a vertically symmetrical shape as shown in FIG. 9, and the sensor holes 25 and 27 on the upper surface of the ribbon unit 7 and the sensor holes 25b on the lower surface thereof. , 27b are provided at positions symmetrical with respect to the center line of the ribbon unit 7 in the longitudinal direction, and even if the ribbon unit 7 is mounted upside down, the ribbon sensors 71, 73, and 75 detect the same. It has become so.

The center portion of the ribbon guide roller 17 is a through hole as shown in FIG.
On the other hand, the shaft 114 of the cassette case body 3 penetrates regardless of whether it is mounted from above or below. Since the ribbon unit 7 has a vertically symmetrical shape in this manner, it can be mounted from any direction from above and below. In the conventional tape making apparatus, the one-time ribbon is generally used, but if the shape is like a ribbon holder as in the present invention, the multi-time ribbon can be mounted and used multiple times. The ribbon unit 7 is constituted by the ink ribbon 9, the ribbon spools 13 and 15 around which the ink ribbon 9 is wound in this way, the ribbon guide roller 17, the ribbon holder lid 92, and the ribbon holder main body 100, and the ribbon back tension spring 41 ( Springs such as those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) are installed on the apparatus main body 1 side. Therefore, the ribbon unit 7 is made up of very few parts, and is made up of only resin parts that do not include metal parts. Therefore, the number of discarded parts is very small, and the separate collection at the time of disposal is very easy.

FIG. 10 shows the tape unit 19. As described above, the tape unit 19 is composed of the tape holder 102 and the tape 21 wound around the spool 118, and the tape holder 102 has a hole on the bottom side. 25
0 and 252 are provided, and the tape sensor 77 of FIG.
It corresponds to 79 and 81. In the case of this tape unit 19, the tape sensor 77 and the tape sensor 79 are OFF, and the tape sensor 81 is ON. Further, the rib 102b of the tape unit 19 is provided with an insertion hole 129, and the tape 21 at the tape outlet
The vertical position of is regulated. The tape holder 102 and the spool 118 are made of the same resin material such as ABS resin, and when the tape 21 is used up, only these two parts remain. At that time, since it is composed of the same parts, it is not necessary to disassemble each by separate collection when discarding, and the material can be easily reused. Alternatively, the tape holder 102 may be formed of paper instead of resin so that it can be easily disassembled. As described above, both the tape unit 19 and the ribbon unit 7 have a small amount of discarded parts, and are easy to separate and collect and recycle materials.

The wide type tape 21 and the ink ribbon 9 have been described above.
As shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to use a tape 21 ′ that is narrower (about 1/2 width) than the width of the ink ribbon 9. At that time, the holes on the bottom side of the narrow tape unit 19 'are different from those in FIG.
It can be determined by the same 81. In this case, even when the ink ribbon 9 is one time, only half the width of the ink ribbon 9 is used for printing the narrow tape 21 ', and an unused portion remains, so that the ink ribbon 9
At the time of using, the ribbon unit 7 can be turned upside down, mounted on the cassette case 2, and reused. Although not shown, the tape holder 102 shown in FIG.
The boss 120 of the tape is extended and two narrow tape units 1
It is also possible to load 9'in two layers in the tape holder 102 and simultaneously print on the two narrow tapes 21 '.

In the above-described embodiment, the ribbon unit 7 is of the upside down type, and the back tension of the ink ribbon 9 is provided on the apparatus main body 1 side. However, when the one-time ink ribbon 9'is used, it is not necessary to use the upside down type ribbon unit 7, and the back tension of the ink ribbon 9 can be applied by the cassette case body 3c. Therefore, description will be made below with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 12, a boss 322 is provided on the cassette case body 3c, and a back tension spring 320 is attached to the notch of the boss 322.
When the ribbon unit 7c is attached to the cassette case body 3c, the ribbon spool 324 bends the back tension spring 320. Due to the spring force at this time, a frictional force is generated between the boss 322 and the spool 324, and a back tension is applied to the ink ribbon 9.
The spool 324 has ribs 15 such as the ribbon spool 15.
It has a cylindrical shape without a (FIG. 2). As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the cassette case lid 5c has the opening hole 21 shown in FIG.
0 is not provided, and the cassette case body 3c is the same as the above embodiment except that the circular opening 204 of FIG. 7 is replaced by the boss 322. As for the tape unit 7c (FIG. 14), the ribbon spool 13 of FIG.
The same as the above embodiment except that the spool 324 of FIG.

Next, a method of distinguishing between the ribbon sensor and the tape sensor will be described. The following Tables 1 and 2 are tables showing the method of discriminating between the ink ribbon and the tape. The type of ink ribbon and tape that is mounted is determined by the combination of the sensor to ON and OFF of the sensor.

Further, the maximum height or the maximum printing range in the width direction of the characters to be printed is determined by combining both the ribbon sensor and the tape sensor. In other words, when the user wears a ribbon unit with a different ribbon width and a tape unit with a different tape width,
There is a case where a narrow tape unit is used while being replaced with a ribbon unit of a different width. In that case,
If the printing range is not set to match the width of the tape, characters will stick out in the width of the tape.

Further, since the tape ribbon and the lettering ribbon have different ink compositions, the thermal head 45
Since different energy is applied to the tape and a normal image is printed on the tape, it is necessary to print a mirror image on the lettering sheet, and therefore the two are distinguished. Further, when the tape ribbon and the tape and the lettering ribbon and the lettering sheet are not properly combined, an error message is issued. For example, in the case of FIG. 8, a ribbon for 30 mm tape and a 30 mm tape are stored.

[0032]

[Table 1] Ribbon sensor discrimination table

[Table 2] Tape sensor discrimination table In addition to the examples described above, the following examples are possible. As shown in Fig. 11, the ribbon for 30mm tape and 12mm
Mount the tape unit 19C of the tape. Tape 21
C is offset downward from the center of the ink ribbon 9 and corresponds to the lower half range of the ink ribbon 9. Therefore, the lower half of the ink ribbon 9 is always used. When the ink ribbon 9 is completely used,
The ribbon unit 7 is inverted and attached to the cassette case body 3. By doing so, it is possible to print more by the length of the ink ribbon 9. Therefore, when a narrow tape is used, a long printing range can be secured with a small capacity. In this case, the ribbon sensor and the tape sensor are determined as shown in Table 3 below. That is, when a wide ink ribbon and a narrow tape are attached,
At the same time when it is determined that the tape is narrow, the printing range is set only below the thermal head 45, and the appropriate printing range is set for the tape position.

[0033]

[Table 3] Print position discrimination table The present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and can be applied within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, only two kinds of widths are shown for the tape and the ink ribbon, but it is possible to further increase the kinds.

[0034]

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

(1) The user can freely exchange the ink ribbon and tape, and can print efficiently with a small ink ribbon capacity. By using the multi-time type ink ribbon, upside down And can be used multiple times.

(2) In the tape cassette according to claim 2,
When using narrow tape, you can load two tapes at the same time and print at the same time. When using one tape at a time, turn the ink ribbon upside down when you are done using it. It is possible to reduce the printing cost per unit length of tape without waste.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a tape cassette of the present invention, and is a plan view of a state where the tape cassette is attached to the apparatus main body with a cassette case lid removed.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of the tape cassette of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the tape producing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line IV-IV of the tape making device of FIG.

5 is a sectional view of the tape cassette of FIG. 1 taken along line VV.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the cassette case lid.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the cassette case body.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the tape cassette, the ribbon unit, and the tape unit.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the ink ribbon unit.

FIG. 10 shows a tape unit, which is shown in FIG.
Is a plan view, FIG. 10 (b) is a front view, FIG. 10 (c) is a side view, and FIG. 10 (d) is a bottom view.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the tape cassette, the ribbon unit, and the narrow tape unit.

12 shows another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention and is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII of FIG.

FIG. 13 shows another embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention, and is a plan view showing a state where the cassette case lid is removed.

FIG. 14 is a plan view showing a tape unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a bottom view of a cassette case lid according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of a cassette case body according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 tape making device main body 2 tape cassette (cassette case) 3 cassette case main body 5 cassette case lid 7 ribbon unit 9 ink ribbon 19 tape unit 21 tape

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B41J 35/04 Z

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A tape cassette for use in a tape producing apparatus for exclusively printing on a tape using an ink ribbon, wherein the ink ribbon and the tape are replaceable with respect to the tape cassette. A tape cassette characterized by being unitized and formed so that it can be used upside down. 2. The width of the tape is set to approximately half the width of the ink ribbon, and the tape is attached to the tape cassette so as to be replaceable and offset from the center position in the width direction of the ink ribbon to one side. The tape cassette according to claim 1.