JPH07108730A - Ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase a winding amount of a ribbon and to easily replace the ribbon. CONSTITUTION:The ribbon cassette comprises a cassette body 120 having a core container 121 and a head container 125 independently provided, and a cover 130. A supply core 102 and a take-up core 103 are contained in a substantially erected state in the container 121. The container 125 is disposed at an opposite position to the core 103 through the core 102. The cover 130 and the body 120 have a guide pin 150 and a reception hole 155 for positioning the cover 130 are respectively provided at the cover 130 and the body 120. A substantially latticelike reinforcing unit 129 cooperated with side plates 126-128 is provided at an upper end of the container 125. On the other hand, a protrusion corresponding to a frame shape of the unit 129 is provided at a lower side of the cover 130. At the time of mounting the cover 130, they coincide to rigidly fix the plates 126-128.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette, and more particularly, to an ink ribbon cassette which accommodates a thermal transfer ink ribbon and is used by being attached to a recording device such as a printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a recording apparatus such as a printer, a thermal transfer method is known as a method for printing on a recording medium such as paper. In this method, a ribbon-shaped ink sheet formed by applying ink is pressed against paper or the like, and heat is applied to the ink ribbon from the thermal head of the recording device to transfer the ink on the ribbon to the paper, thereby forming a print pattern paper. To record to.

In the above method, from the viewpoint of ease of attaching the ink ribbon to the recording apparatus, etc., a ribbon cassette in which the ink ribbon is housed in a case (cassette case) and the case is attached to the recording apparatus is provided. It is generally used. Further, from the viewpoint of resource saving and environmental protection, in recent years, a type in which a cassette case can be repeatedly used and an ink ribbon can be replaced has become popular.

In such a replaceable type conventional ribbon cassette, as shown in FIG. 11, the ribbon 1 is unwound from a supply core (reel) 2 formed by winding the ink ribbon 1 and wound by a winding core 3. It was. The thermal head (not shown) is inserted through the space 4 provided between the supply core 2 and the winding core 3.

Further, as shown in the figure, for example, in the case of a cassette having a ribbon width of about 60 mm or more, the rotation axes of the cores 2 and 3 indicated by the one-dot chain line, It was supposed to be divided into two approximately even parts on a plane that passes through Lolo (divided surface). When replacing the ribbon,
By separating the pair of half cases 5 and 6 which are divided,
The used ribbon 1 was replaced with a new one, and the half cases 5 and 6 were integrated again.

[0006]

However, the present inventor has revealed that the above-described ribbon cassette has the following problems. That is, for example, when the use of a new ribbon is started, the ribbon 1 is entirely wound around the supply core 2, so that the supply core 2 is in the thickest state. Alternatively, when the ribbon 1 is almost used, the ribbon 1 is almost wound around the winding core 3,
The winding core 3 comes close to the thickest state. In such a thick state, the supply core 2 and the winding core 3 were separated more than necessary in order to prevent the ribbon 1 wound around the core from coming into contact with the thermal head. Therefore, the cases 5 and 6 were too large with respect to the winding amount of the ribbon 1. In other words, the amount of winding of the ribbon 1 was small for the size of the cassette, and the ribbon had to be replaced frequently.

Further, since the thermal head is inserted between the supply core 2 and the winding core 3, there is a drawback that there are many design restrictions on the recording apparatus side. That is, when the ribbon cassette is attached to the recording apparatus, the pair of cores 2 and 3 are arranged so as to sandwich the head, and therefore, the periphery of the thermal head must be widely opened.

All of the above-mentioned drawbacks are caused by the conventional ribbon cassette structure in which the thermal head is inserted between the supply core 2 and the winding core 3. Therefore, the present inventor, as shown in FIGS.
The ribbon cassette 100 is configured such that the supply core 102 and the winding core 103 are arranged near the center of the ribbon cassette 100, and the thermal head 9 (shown by a chain double-dashed line) can be inserted at a position near the side end. Thought.

In this way, the supply core 10 can be used in the process from the start of use of the ink ribbon 101 to the end of use.
2 and a ribbon roll 1 wound around the winding core 103
Ribbon 1 so that 01a and 101b do not contact each other
There is an advantage that the winding amount of 01 can be increased.
Further, according to this ribbon cassette 100, in the recording apparatus, the core 1 is attached when the ribbon cassette 100 is mounted.
As a space for accommodating 02 and 103, one side of the thermal head 9 must be opened, but it is not necessary to leave at least the opposite side of the thermal head 9 open.
There is also an advantage that the constraints on the device design are significantly relaxed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 101 is routed, that is, fed from the supply core 102 to the front side, passes in front of the thermal head 9 and reaches the rear side, and further behind the supply core 102. The path through which the winding core 103 is wound up is complicated. Therefore, as in the conventional case, a plane passing through the rotation axes of the cores 102 and 103 (a plane which is substantially the same as the one-dot chain line shown in FIG. 1 for designating the cross section of the longitudinal sectional view shown in FIG. If the ribbon cassette 100 is divided into two substantially evenly with the dividing plane as the dividing surface, it is extremely difficult to allow the ribbon 101 to follow the complicated path as described above.

Therefore, the present inventor newly uses the surface perpendicular to the conventional dividing surface (that is, the plane passing through the half-length position of each of the cores 102 and 103) as the dividing surface. A configuration is considered in which the cassette 100 is divided into two substantially vertically. With such a divided format, the ink ribbon 1
01 can be easily followed along a complicated route.

However, in such a structure in which the upper and lower parts are substantially evenly divided, the following problems may occur. That is, the problem is that in order to feed the ink ribbon 101 along the above-mentioned complicated route, as shown in FIG. 1, the direction change is made to a corner portion of the route, that is, a portion where the feeding direction of the ribbon 101 changes. Pass roller (guide rod) for
10 must be provided. Therefore, when replacing the ribbon 101, it is necessary to fit the lower case and the upper case, which are divided in two, while correcting the collapse of the pass roller 110 and the cores 102 and 103, which is difficult to perform. It is a thing.

In particular, when the width of the ribbon is wide, the upper and lower cases have deep concave shapes. Therefore, the central portions of the pass roller and the core are supported by hand, and their upper ends are respectively positioned at predetermined positions of the upper case. It is extremely difficult to fit the upper and lower cases while subtly matching them, and it is inevitable that the hands of the person who is replacing them will get dirty. The problems described above are not limited to ink ribbon cassettes such as printers, but are common to cassettes such as video tapes and audio tapes whose ribbons are magnetic tapes and information is recorded on the magnetic tapes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of increasing the winding amount of the ribbon and making it possible to easily replace the ribbon.
Its main purpose is to provide cassettes.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, the present inventor has made various studies on the structure of the ribbon cassette as described above, and as a result, the supply core and the take-up core are located near the center of the ribbon cassette. And a ribbon cassette in which the head can be inserted at a position closer to the side edge, the cassette is divided into two parts up and down unevenly, and the lower divided part has a size substantially the same as the cassette itself. It has been found that the ribbon replacement work is remarkably improved by forming a case and a lid having a substantially flat plate shape that can close the lower case for the upper divided portion.

The present invention has been made based on the above findings, and is a ribbon cassette used in a recording mechanism in which recording is performed by the ribbon while the ribbon is unwound from a supply core formed by winding the ribbon and wound by the winding core. And a cassette main body having a core accommodating portion capable of accommodating most of the supply core and the winding core in an upright state, and a lid detachable from the cassette main body and capable of closing at least the core accommodating portion. The cassette main body is provided with a head insertion portion into which the head of the recording mechanism can be inserted, independently of the core storage portion.

The other core may be located between one of the supply core and the winding core and the head insertion portion.

Further, the cassette body and the lid body are preferably provided with a guide female portion for positioning the lid body when the cassette body is mounted and a guide male portion which can be fitted into the female portion. .

Further, at the end of the head insertion portion on the side where the lid is provided, a plurality of side plates that define the head insertion portion are interconnected to each other and are reinforced by a skeleton reinforcing member. On the other hand, at least one protrusion corresponding to the frame shape of the reinforcing portion is formed on the lid body, and when the lid body is mounted on the cassette body,
It is more preferable that the protruding portion substantially matches the frame of the reinforcing portion.

Furthermore, at least one guide rod for guiding the feeding of the ribbon is provided upright on the cassette body in the passage path of the ribbon from the supply core to the winding core, and the guide rod is provided. In the lower half of the cassette except the contact portion with the ribbon, a fall prevention portion standing upright from the bottom plate of the cassette body may be provided.

[0021]

According to the above-mentioned means, the ribbon cassette is composed of the cassette body and the lid body, and further, in the cassette body,
Since the core accommodating portion having a size capable of accommodating both the supply core and the take-up core and the head inserting portion into which the head can be inserted are provided independently, the winding amount of the ribbon can be reduced as described above. Needless to say, the number can be increased, but the workability of exchanging the ribbon can be improved. In other words, when replacing the ribbon, you only have to remove the lid from the cassette body, attach a new ribbon in place of the used ribbon, and attach the lid again, and at that time you can correct the collapse of the core or the pass roller. This is because it is easy because the vicinity of the upper end can be grasped by hand.

Further, if one of the supply core and the take-up core is located between the other core and the head insertion portion, as described above, the design of the recording apparatus is considered. The restrictions of are significantly relaxed.

Further, if the cassette body and the lid body are provided with the guide female portion and the guide male portion, when the lid body is mounted on the cassette body, the guide male portion is simply fitted into the cassette female body. Since the position of the lid with respect to the main body is determined, the lid can be easily attached.

Furthermore, a reinforcing portion formed by skeletonizing an aggregate is provided at the upper ends of a plurality of side plates that define the head inserting portion, and the reinforcing portion when the lid is mounted on the cassette body. If the protrusions of the lid body are substantially aligned with the skeleton, it is possible to prevent the side plates that define the head insertion portion from collapsing, and the protrusions of the lid body are aligned with the reinforcing portions. As a result, the side plates can be firmly fixed.

Further, since the lower half portion of the pass roller provided on the ribbon passage is provided with the fall prevention portion standing upright from the bottom plate of the cassette body, the fall of the pass roller can be prevented.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The ribbon cassette according to the present invention will be described below when it is applied to an ink ribbon cassette used in a print recording apparatus such as a thermal transfer printer. 1 and 2 respectively show a plane cross section and a vertical cross section of an example of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention. As shown in these figures, this ribbon cassette 100
Is composed of a cassette body 120 and a lid 130. Further, the cassette body 120 includes a core storage portion 121.
And the head storage portion 125 are independently provided.

In the core housing 121, the supply core 102 and the take-up core 103 are almost housed in an upright state. Further, the head housing portion 125 is located on the opposite side of the winding core 103 with the supply core 102 interposed therebetween. That is, the head accommodating portion 125 is located beside the cores 102 and 103 so that the thermal head 9 is not inserted between the cores 102 and 103.

FIG. 3 shows the ribbon cassette 100 in a disassembled state. As shown in the figure, the core housing portion 121 has a container shape including a bottom plate 122 (see FIG. 2) and a side plate 123.
2 and receiving holes 124, 124 for rotatably receiving the lower ends of the winding core 103. Further, the lid 130 is provided with receiving holes 131, 131 that rotatably receive the upper ends of the supply core 102 and the winding core 103. The lid 130 is attached to the cassette body 120 by engagement of locking portions 140 and 141 provided on the cassette body 120 and the lid 130, respectively.

The head accommodating portion 125 includes side plates 126, 12
It is defined by 7,128 and is opened so as to face downward and forward. The thermal head 9 is inserted into the head housing portion 125 from below with its dot pin (not shown) facing forward. Side plate 1
The reference numeral 26 also serves as a partition from the core storage portion 121, and extends further rearward of the side plate 127. In addition, the side plates 126, 127, 12 are provided at the upper end of the head storage portion 125.
A reinforcing portion 129 having a substantially lattice shape, which is formed by connecting 8 to each other, is provided, and by this reinforcing portion 129, the side plates 126, 1
It prevents the fall and deformation of 27 and 128. Instead of opening the front of the head storage portion 125, the side plate 128 is used.
You may make it open the part of.

Pass rollers 110 are provided upright near the front ends and the rear ends of the side plates 126 and 128, respectively. By these pass rollers 110, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ink ribbon 101 can change its feeding direction and follow a complicated path. Then, near the front end and the rear end of the side plate 126, and the side plate 127,
In the vicinity of the boundary of 128, slits 145, 146, respectively.
147 is provided so that the ink ribbon 101 passes from the core storage portion 121 to the front side of the head storage portion 125, passes behind the head storage portion 125, and returns to the inside of the core storage portion 121 again.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the lid 130 and the cassette body 120 are provided with guide pins (guide male portions) 150 and receiving holes (guide female portions) which are used for positioning when the lid 130 is mounted. 155 are provided respectively. The length of the guide pin 150 is, as shown in FIG. 6, before the lid 130 comes into contact with the cassette body 120, the winding core 103, or the like, that is, when the lid 130 floats from the cassette body 120. The tip of the guide pin 150 can be just inserted into the receiving hole 155. Further, the tip end portion of the guide pin 150 has a tapered shape in order to enhance the insertability into the receiving hole 155. The cassette body 12
0 may be provided with a guide pin and the lid 130 may be provided with a receiving hole, or the receiving hole may be formed in a tapered shape.

FIG. 7 shows the reinforcing portion 1 of the cassette body 120.
29 and the corresponding portion of the lid 130 are shown enlarged. As shown in the figure, the reinforcing portion 129 is provided, for example, on the aggregates 160, 16 passed between the side plates 126, 128.
1, 162, and an aggregate 163 formed between the aggregate 160 and the side plate 127, which are located on the front side of them. In addition, at a position where the aggregate 160 and the side plates 126 and 128 are in contact with each other, the ring portion 16 is formed by the curved aggregate 164.
5 is formed.

On the lower side of the lid 130, there is provided a protrusion 132 that substantially matches the ring portion 165. Further, the protrusions 133, 134, 135, 136, which roughly match the rectangular portions 166, 167, 168, 169 of the substantially rectangular shape defined by the aggregates 161, 162, 163, are also provided on the lower side of the lid 130. ing.

In FIG. 8, the ring portion 165, the rectangular portions 166, 167, 168, 169 and the protrusions 132, 13 are shown.
The state of agreement with 3,134,135,136 is shown. As shown in the figure, the protrusion 132 has a ring portion 165.
To contact at least a part of the. Also,
The protrusions 133, 134, 135 and 136 are rectangular portions 1 respectively.
At least a part of 66, 167, 168, 169 is contacted. Thereby, the cassette body 1
When the lid 130 is attached to the head 20, the head storage portion 125
The side plates 126, 127, 128 of are firmly fixed. Or, instead of contacting a part, the protrusions 132, 133, 13
4,135,136 may be matched with the corresponding portions without a gap.

On the lower side of the lid 130, the protrusion 13
7 and the protruding portion 170 that is continuous with the protruding portion 137,
Further, a ridge portion 171 facing the ridge portion 170 is provided. The protrusion 137 is provided in the head storage portion 125.
The upper end portion of the side plate 127 of the above can be abutted from the rear side, and the above-mentioned protrusions 132, 133, 134, 135, 13
6, and is used to reinforce the head storage portion 125. The ridges 170 and 171 are the side plates 12 of the head storage portion 125.
6, the upper end edge of the rear half portion 126a of FIG.
When the 0 is attached, the upper edge of the rear half portion 126a is fitted between the ridges 170 and 171 so that the side plate 1
Preventing 26 falls.

FIG. 9 shows a supporting state of the pass roller 110 which is erected in the vicinity of the front end of the head accommodating portion 125. As shown in the figure, a fall prevention portion 180 which is provided upright on the bottom plate 122 of the cassette body 120 is attached to the lower half portion of the pass roller 110. As a result, the pass roller 110 does not fall. The fall prevention unit 180 has an arcuate planar shape so as to fit exactly on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the pass roller 110, and the fall prevention unit 180 prevents the pass roller from contacting the ink ribbon 101. It does not cover 110. Similarly, the pass rollers 110 provided near the rear ends of the side plates 126 and 128 are also provided with a fall prevention portion 180 in the lower half thereof (see FIG. 5).

As shown in FIG. 5, a curved through-hole portion 185 is provided behind the head accommodating portion 125 so as to penetrate a bottom plate portion 122a formed by extending the bottom plate 122 of the core accommodating portion 121. Has been. A tension rod of a print recording device (not shown) in which the ribbon cassette 100 is mounted is inserted into the through hole portion 185, and the tension rod is inserted into the through hole portion 185.
Ink ribbon 10 by moving along the shape of
The tension is applied to the ribbon 1 so that the ribbon 101 does not sag.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the winding core 10
A knurl is carved on the upper end of the knurl 3, and the knurl portion 104 projects from the lid 130 (see FIG. 2). As a result, the winding core 103 can be rotated by hand, and the ribbon cassette 100 can be attached to the print recording device.
The slack of the ink ribbon 101 can be eliminated when mounting the ink ribbon.

According to the above embodiment, the cassette body 120
Since the head accommodating portion 125 is provided on the side of the printer, the thermal head 9 of the printing and recording apparatus is installed in the supply core 102 and the winding core 10.
Ink ribbon 10
Not only can the winding amount of 1 be increased, but also in the design of the print recording apparatus, the regulation is relaxed, which is advantageous.

Since the cassette body 120 and the lid 130 are combined, the cores 102 and 103 are formed.
And pass roller 110 and side plates 123, 126, 127, 1
Even if 28 or the like is tilted or deformed, the lid 130 can be easily attached to the cassette body 120 while correcting the tilt or the like, and the ink ribbon 101 can be easily replaced. In particular, when the cassette body 120 is formed of a plastic material by injection molding, the side plates 123, 126, 127, 128 are thin and high in height, and the side plates 126, 127, 128 have no bottom plate. Deformation is likely to occur when the molten plastic that is injected cools and solidifies, but even in such a case, the guide pin 150 and the receiving hole 155, the reinforcing portion 129, and the reinforcing portion 129 and the protrusion Parts 132, 133,
Alignment with 134, 135, 136, 137 and the side plate 12
By fitting the rear half portion 126a of No. 6 and the protruding portions 170 and 171, the deformation and collapse of the side plates 126, 127 and 128 are suppressed as much as possible, and therefore the mountability of the lid 130 is not impaired.

As in the other example of the ribbon cassette shown in FIG. 10, the pass roller 110 behind the side plate 126 is located closer to the front side than the side plate 123 of the core accommodating portion 121, and the side plate 123 is accommodated in the head. The ink ribbon 1 is extended to the outside of the side plate 128 of the portion 125, and is placed in the gap between the extended portion 123 a and the side plate 128.
01 through the ink ribbon 101 to the head storage portion 125.
It may be exposed only in front of. With this arrangement, when a foreign substance enters the print recording apparatus during printing, the foreign matter enters the ink ribbon 101.
The risk of being cut off is reduced.

Further, the cassette body 120 and the lid 130
It is needless to say that various modifications can be made to the shape and the like. For example, the winding core 103 may be located between the supply core 102 and the head housing 125. Needless to say, the head housing 125 may be located between the supply core 102 and the winding core 103 as long as the core housing 121 and the head housing 125 are independent.

Further, the cassette body 120 and the lid 130
Ribbon cassette 1 instead of the combination of
It is needless to say that 00 may be vertically divided into two substantially evenly.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the ink ribbon cassette used in the print recording apparatus has been described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to a cassette containing a magnetic tape for VTR or audio. Applicable.

[0045]

According to the ribbon cassette of the present invention, the ribbon main body is composed of the cassette body and the lid body, and the core housing portion and the head insertion portion are independently provided in the cassette body. Of course, the winding amount can be increased, but the workability of replacing the ribbon can be improved. At that time, a female guide portion and a male guide portion are provided on the cassette body and the lid body, or the protruding portion of the lid body substantially matches the reinforcing portion of the frame structure provided at the upper end of the head insertion portion. In addition, since the fall prevention portion is provided in the lower half of the pass roller, the ribbon replacement workability can be further improved. Also, between one of the supply core and the winding core and the head insertion portion,
If the other core is located, the design constraint in the recording device is remarkably relaxed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan sectional view of an example of a ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the ribbon cassette taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ribbon cassette.

FIG. 4 is an overall perspective view of the ribbon cassette with a lid removed.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ribbon cassette with a lid removed.

FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view showing a state where the lid of the ribbon cassette is being attached.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining a matching state between a reinforcing part and a protruding part of the ribbon cassette.

FIG. 8 is a plan cross-sectional view for explaining the matching state of the reinforcing portion and the protruding portion of the ribbon cassette.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a main part of a pass roller of the ribbon cassette.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of another example of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional ribbon cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 Head 100 Ribbon Cassette 101 Ribbon 102 Supply Core 103 Winding Core 110 Path Roller (Guide Rod) 120 Cassette Main Body 121 Core Storage Part 122 Bottom Plate 125 Head Storage Part 126, 127, 128 Side Plates (Plural Parts That Define Head Insertion Part) Side plate) 129 Reinforcement part 130 Lid body 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137 Protrusion part 150 Guide pin (guide male part) 155 Receiving hole (guide female part) 160, 161, 162, 163, 164 Aggregate 180 Tipping Prevention part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A ribbon cassette for use in a recording mechanism, wherein a ribbon is wound from a supply core formed by winding a ribbon and wound by a winding core, and recording is performed by the ribbon, wherein the supply core and the winding core are provided. A cassette main body having a core storage portion that can store almost all in an upright state, and a lid body that is attachable to and detachable from the cassette main body and that can close at least the core storage portion. A ribbon cassette, wherein a head insertion portion into which the head of the recording mechanism can be inserted is provided independently of the core storage portion. 2. The ribbon according to claim 1, wherein the other core is positioned between one of the supply core and the winding core and the head insertion portion.
cassette. 3. The cassette body and the lid body are provided with a guide female portion for positioning the lid body when mounted on the cassette body and a guide male portion that can be fitted into the female portion. The ribbon cassette according to claim 1 or 2, which is characterized in that. 4. A reinforcing portion is provided at the end of the head insertion portion on the side where the lid is provided with a skeleton that connects and interconnects a plurality of side plates that define the head insertion portion. On the other hand, at least one protrusion corresponding to the frame shape of the reinforcing portion is formed on the lid body, and when the lid body is mounted on the cassette body, the protrusion is formed on the frame of the reinforcing portion. A ribbon cassette according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the parts are adapted to be substantially in agreement. 5. A ribbon passing path from the supply core to the winding core is provided with at least one guide rod standing upright on the cassette body for guiding the ribbon feeding. The ribbon cassette according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, wherein a lowering portion excluding the contact portion with the ribbon is provided with a fall prevention portion standing upright from the bottom plate of the cassette body. .