JPH07112560A - Ink sheet cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent an ink sheet contained in an ink sheet cartridge during the preservation or transport of the ink sheet cartridge from becoming loose and remove the looseness caused in the ink sheet when the ink sheet cartridge in use is taken out of the ink sheet cartridge. CONSTITUTION:An ink sheet cartridge is equipped with sliding cam parts 4, 5 which constitute a second biasing means respectively on the collar parts 2b, 3b of a winding feed reel 2 and a take-up reel 3 of an ink sheet 1. In addition, a biasing part 9 which constitutes a first biasing means is formed on a frame 6 for retaining each reel 2, 3 and at the same time, cam parts 7, 8 which constitute the second biasing means are formed. If each cam part 4, 7 and 5, 8 comes into contact with the other and each reel 2, 3 is biased in the axial direction by the biasing part 9, the ink sheet 1 is made tense by a biasing force acting on each reel 2, 3 and a rotating force in accordance with the gradient of an inclined surface at each cam part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cartridge containing an ink sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Today, recording devices such as facsimiles and printers are widely used, and it is possible to record on plain paper by adopting a so-called thermal transfer recording system using an ink sheet in these devices. There is something I did.

In the above-mentioned recording method, in order to facilitate handling of an extremely thin ink sheet, the ink sheet is housed in a cartridge to facilitate storage and transportation of the ink sheet or loading into the recording apparatus. There are many things.

In the ink sheet cartridge containing the ink sheet as described above, slack may occur in the contained ink sheet due to vibration during transportation. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, for example, the shaft ends 51a of the supply reel and the take-up reel are attached to the cartridge frame 53 by the tape 52.
Fixed to the supply reel, or as shown in FIG.
A high-friction member 54 is provided on a part of the take-up reel 51, and the contact friction between the member 54 and the cartridge frame 53 causes each reel 51
By restricting the rotation of the ink sheet, slack that occurs in the ink sheet 55 is prevented.

[0005]

However, the slack of the ink sheet may occur not only when it is transported but also when the tape is peeled off or when the ink sheet cartridge is taken out of the recording apparatus during use. Yes,
In the above conventional ink sheet cartridge, it is impossible to remove the looseness of the ink sheet once generated.

When an ink sheet cartridge accommodating a loosened ink sheet is loaded in a recording apparatus, the ink sheet may be entangled with the rollers or rolled up.

An object of the present invention is to prevent the ink sheet stored in the ink sheet cartridge from being loosened during storage or transportation, and to use the ink sheet cartridge when the ink sheet cartridge in use is taken out from the recording apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink sheet cartridge that can prevent looseness.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, a typical constitution of an ink sheet cartridge according to the present invention is a supply reel and a take-up reel for winding an ink sheet, By a frame body for holding the supply reel and the take-up reel, a first biasing means for axially biasing the supply reel and the take-up reel, and a biasing force of the first biasing means. A second urging unit that applies a rotational force to the supply reel and the take-up reel in a direction to apply tension to the ink sheet.

[0009]

In the above ink sheet cartridge, the supply reel and the take-up reel are axially urged by the first urging means, and the second urging means moves the supply reel and the take-up reel in response to the urging force. A torque is applied to the ink sheet in the direction of applying tension. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of slack in the ink sheet.

Further, when the ink sheet cartridge is taken out from the recording apparatus, the supply reel and the take-up reel rotate in a direction for applying tension to the ink sheet, whereby
It is possible to remove the slack generated in the ink sheet.

[0011]

EXAMPLE An example of an ink sheet cartridge to which the above means is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the configuration of an ink sheet cartridge,
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of the second biasing means, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the configuration of the second biasing means.

In the figure, an ink sheet 1 is formed by applying a heat transferable (heat melting, heat sublimation, etc.) ink to a long base film and wound around a supply reel 2 and a take-up reel 3. There is.

Pivot portions 2a and 3a are formed at one end portions of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3, respectively, and sliding cam portions 4 and 5 constituting second urging means are formed at the other end portions thereof. The collar portions 2b and 3b that it has are formed, and further, hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3c that project from the collar portions 2b and 3b and have claw portions 2d and 3d formed therein are formed.

The sliding cam portions 4 and 5 are composed of two inclined surfaces 4a and 5a inclined in the axial direction of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3, and a step portion 4b is provided at a connecting portion of these inclined surfaces 4a and 5a. , 5b are formed. In addition, the inclination direction of the slope 4a in the sliding cam portion 4 of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3
The inclined surfaces 5a of the sliding cam portion 5 are inclined in opposite directions.

That is, when the supply reel 2 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2 in a normal use state, the slope 4a of the sliding cam portion 4 causes the supply reel 2 to rotate counterclockwise (direction of arrow a). It has an inclination to rotate it. Further, in a normal use state, when the take-up reel 3 rotates clockwise in FIG. 2, the slope 5a of the sliding cam portion 5 causes the take-up reel 3 to rotate clockwise (direction of arrow b). It has such an inclination.

The frame 6 is made of synthetic resin, and has a supply reel storage portion 6a for storing the supply reel 2 and a take-up reel storage portion 6 for storing the take-up reel 3 at predetermined positions on both ends.
b is formed. Further, a recording window 6c is formed between the storage portions 6a and 6b.

On one side wall of each of the accommodating portions 6a and 6b, a cam which constitutes second urging means together with the sliding cam portions 4 and 5 of the collar portions 2b and 3b of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 are provided. Portions 7 and 8 are formed. The hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3 of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 are located at the centers of the cam portions 7 and 8, respectively.
A reel holding portion 6d for holding c so as to be rotatable is formed in an opening. The cam portions 7 and 8 are formed integrally with the frame body 6 and have slopes 7a and 8a and step portions 7b and 8b corresponding to the sliding cam portions 4 and 5, respectively.

Accordingly, when the sliding cam portion 4 of the supply reel 2 and the slopes 4a, 7a of the cam portion 7 are brought into surface contact with each other, and the supply reel 2 is urged so that the cam portions 4, 7 come into pressure contact with each other,
By the biasing force applied to the supply reel 2, each slope 4a,
A rotational force corresponding to the inclination angle of 7a is generated, and the supply reel 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow a.

When the sliding cam portion 5 of the take-up reel 3 and the slopes 5a, 8a of the cam portion 8 are brought into surface contact with each other and the take-up reel 3 is urged so that the respective cam portions 5, 8 come into pressure contact, the supply reel By the urging force applied to the slopes 3, the slopes 5a, 8a
A rotation force is generated according to the inclination angle of, and the supply reel 3 is rotated in the direction of arrow b.

An upright wall 6f is provided on the side wall 6e side opposite to the side wall on which the cam portions 7 and 8 of the storage parts 6a and 6b are formed, and the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 are pivoted on the upright wall 6f. A bearing portion 6g is formed to receive the shaft portions of the portions 2a and 3a. The distance between the side wall 6e and the standing wall 6f is set to be slightly longer than the length of the pivots 2a, 3a of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3. Further, a biasing portion 9 serving as a first biasing means is formed at a portion of the side wall 6e facing the standing wall 6f. The bearing portion 6g and the urging portion 9 are elastically deformable.

The urging portion 9 has a part of the side wall 6e previously formed on the standing wall 6e.
It is formed in a shape bent to the f side, and has a function of contacting the pivots 2a, 3a of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 to urge each reel 2, 3 in the axial direction (arrow c direction). In addition, it has a positioning function of setting the positions of the reels 2 and 3.

The ink sheet cartridge is constructed by attaching a supply reel 2 and a take-up reel 3 around which the ink sheet 1 is wound to a frame body 6. That is, the hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3c of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 are fitted into the reel holding portion 6d formed on the frame 6, and then the pivot portion 2a,
The ink sheet cartridge is assembled by forcibly fitting 3a into the bearing portion 6g provided on the upright wall 6f to rotatably and immovably attach the reels 2 and 3 to the frame 6.

In the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 attached to the frame body 6 as described above, the pivot portions 2a, 3a are brought into contact with the urging portion 9 so that the urging portion 9 urges it in the direction of arrow c. The sliding cam portions 4 and 5 are urged to correspond to the corresponding cam portions 7 and 8, respectively.
Press against. By the pressure contact between the cam portions 4 and 7 and the cam portions 5 and 8, a rotational force corresponding to the pressure contact force and the inclination angles of the slopes 4a, 7a, 5a and 8a in the cam portions acts on the reels 2 and 3, The supply reel 2 rotates in the direction of arrow a, and the take-up reel 3 rotates in the direction of arrow b.

By the rotation of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3, tension is applied to the ink sheet 1, and when the sheet 1 is loosened, the looseness is removed. When the tension acting on the ink sheet 1 reaches a certain value, this tension is maintained and the rotation of each reel 2, 3 is stopped. Therefore, when the ink sheet cartridge is stored or transported, an appropriate tension acts on the ink sheet 1 so that the ink sheet 1 is not loosened.

Next, a state in which the ink sheet cartridge configured as described above is loaded in the recording apparatus will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view illustrating a state in which the ink sheet cartridge is loaded in the recording apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a view illustrating a relationship between the ink sheet cartridge and a drive system of the recording apparatus.

In the figure, a reel base 11 is rotatably attached to a chassis 10 of the recording apparatus, and a supply reel 2 is provided.
During rotation, a constant load can be applied by a load means (not shown). The reel base 12 is rotatably attached to the chassis 10 similarly to the reel base 11, and is configured to rotate the take-up reel 3 by a drive unit (not shown) to wind up the ink sheet 1.

Each of the reel stands 11 and 12 has a shaft portion 11 fitted in the hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3c of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3.
a, 12a and abutting portions 11b, 12b that abut the tip surfaces of the hollow cylindrical portions 2c, 3c, and the shaft portions 11a, 12a have claw portions formed inside the hollow cylindrical portions 2c, 3c. 2d, 3d
Claw portions 11c and 12c that engage with are formed.

The main body of the recording apparatus is provided with a lid 13 that can be opened and closed. Inside the lid 13, a biasing spring that has a preset biasing force and that abuts against the frame 6 of the ink sheet cartridge. 14 is attached. When the ink sheet cartridge is loaded in the main body of the recording apparatus and the lid 13 is closed, the ink sheet cartridge is urged by the urging spring 14 in the direction of arrow d in FIG.

Along with the biasing of the ink sheet cartridge by the biasing spring 14 in the direction of arrow d, the shaft portions 11a of the reel stands 11 and 12 are inserted into the hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3c of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3. 12a is fitted, and the tip end surfaces of the hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3c come into contact with the contact portions 11b and 12b.

The tip surfaces of the hollow cylindrical portions 2c and 3c and the contact portion 11
Supply reel 2, take-up reel 3 by contact with b and 12b
Movement is regulated. However, the frame 6 of the ink sheet cartridge is urged by the urging spring 14, and the arrow d
Move in the direction. That is, the reels 2 and 3 are stopped with respect to the main body of the recording apparatus, and only the frame body 6 moves in the arrow d direction.

Therefore, the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 move relative to the frame 6 in the direction of arrow e in FIG. As a result, the contact between the sliding cam portions 4 and 5 of the reels 2 and 3 and the cam portions 7 and 8 provided on the frame body 6 is released, and the cam portions 4, 7 and 5, 8 interfere with each other. It is possible to rotate the reels 2 and 3 by retracting to a position where there is no.

With the relative movement of the supply reel 2, the take-up reel 3 and the frame body 6 as described above, the pivot portions 2a, 3a.
Deforms the urging portion 9 formed on the frame body 6 in the direction of increasing the urging force, so that the reels 2 and 3 and the reel bases 11 and 12 are firmly brought into contact with each other. At the same time, each reel 2 and 3 has reel stand 1 at both ends
It is defined by 1, 12 and the urging unit 9, and is positioned in the recording device.

When the lid 13 is opened when the ink sheet cartridge is taken out from the main body of the recording apparatus, the biasing spring 14
The urging of the frame body 6 in the direction of arrow d due to is released. At the same time, the urging portion 9 is attached to the frame body 6, the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3.
The urging force is applied to the cam portion 7 formed on the frame body 6,
8 and the sliding cam portions 4 and 5 of the reels 2 and 3 contact each other.

When the cam portions 4, 7 and 5, 8 come into contact with each other, an axial biasing force is exerted on the reels 2, 3 by the biasing portion 9, so that an ink sheet is applied to each reel 2, 3. Rotational force acts in the direction of applying tension to 1 (arrow a, b direction). When the ink sheet 1 is loosened due to the rotational force acting on the reels 2 and 3, the ink sheet 1 is tensioned after the looseness is removed.

Next, another embodiment of the ink sheet cartridge, particularly another embodiment relating to the second urging means will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 shows a supply reel 2 and a take-up reel 3.
Convex portion with a tip formed in an arc shape on the collar portions 2b, 3b of the
15 and 16 are provided. These convex portions 15 and 16 contact the inclined surfaces 7a and 8a of the cam portions 7 and 8 formed on the frame body 6 and slide according to the urging force applied to the reels 2 and 3 in the axial direction. , These reels 2 and 3 are rotated in the directions of arrows a and b.

In this embodiment, the convex portions 15 and 16 are formed by the same number as the number of the slopes 7a and 8a formed on the cam portions 7 and 8. Further, the sliding cam portions 4, 5 in the above-mentioned embodiment
By forming the convex portions 15 and 16 instead of the above, it is possible to reduce the contact area of the sliding portion and to share the supply reel and the take-up reel.

Collar portion 2 of supply reel 2 and take-up reel 3
As shown in FIG. 7, the protrusions 15 and 16 formed on b and 3b are
It is possible to form the tip like an edge, and FIG.
It is also possible to form a pivot shape as shown in FIG.

[0038]

As described above, the first biasing means axially biases the supply reel and the take-up reel, and the second biasing means applies a rotational force to each reel according to the biasing force. Since the ink sheet cartridge is configured by providing the biasing means, it is possible to prevent the slack by applying an appropriate tension to the ink sheet during storage or transportation of the cartridge, and take out the ink sheet cartridge from the main body of the recording apparatus. In this case, the slack generated in the ink sheet can be removed by the rotational force that acts on each reel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating the configuration of an ink sheet cartridge.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of second urging means.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of second urging means.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view illustrating a state in which the ink sheet cartridge is loaded in the recording apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an ink sheet cartridge and a drive system of a recording apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second urging unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second urging unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a second urging unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a reel fixing method in a conventional ink sheet cartridge.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a reel rotation restriction method using a high friction member in a conventional ink sheet cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-ink sheet, 2-supply reel, 3-winding reel,
2a, 3a-pivot part, 2b, 3b-flange part, 2c, 3
c-hollow cylindrical portion, 2d, 3d-claw portion, 4, 5-sliding cam portion, 4a, 5a-slope, 6-frame body, 6a-supply reel storage portion, 6b-winding reel storage portion, 6c- Recording window, 6d
-Reel holding part, 6e-side wall, 6f-standing wall, 6g-bearing part, 7,8-cam part, 7a, 8a-slope, 9-biasing part, 10-chassis, 11,12-reel stand, 11a , 12a-shaft part, 11b, 12b-abutting part, 11c, 12c-claw part, 13-lid,
14-biasing spring, 15, 16-projection

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A supply reel and a take-up reel for winding an ink sheet, a frame body for holding the supply reel and the take-up reel, and for urging the supply reel and the take-up reel in an axial direction. No. 1 urging means, and a second urging means for applying a rotational force in a direction for applying tension to the ink sheet to the supply reel and the take-up reel by the urging force of the first urging means. An ink sheet cartridge characterized in that. 2. The second urging means comprises a frame body, a convex portion or a concave portion formed on the supply reel and the take-up reel,
When the convex portion and the concave portion are engaged with each other, a biasing force from the first biasing means applies a rotational force to the supply reel and the take-up reel in a direction to apply tension to the ink sheet. The ink sheet cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: