JPH0737641U - Ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To provide a ribbon cassette with improved storage efficiency without damaging the ink ribbon when attached and detached. [Structure] A recess 103 that allows the thermal head 83 to move back and forth is formed on the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 35, and both edges of the recess 103 are substantially parallel to the thermal head 83. A first guide plate 105 and a second guide plate 107 are provided upright. A support pin 109 is projected below the first guide plate 105, and a coil spring 111 is attached to the support pin 109. The coil spring 111 connects the heat transfer ribbon 91 located between the right end of the first guide plate 105 and the right end of the second guide plate 107 and the transparent tape 25 to the outside of a straight line connecting the right ends of the guide plates 105 and 107. We are urging us toward. Therefore, a sufficient space for moving the thermal head 83 back and forth is secured.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette that accommodates an ink ribbon that travels between a print head and a platen that are relatively close to and away from each other, and that is attached to and detached from a printing device in a state where the print head and the platen are separated from each other.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Conventionally, one of the ribbon cassettes of this type is a ribbon cassette used in a thermal transfer printer. In a typical thermal transfer printer, a carriage is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along a long platen, and a thermal head for pressing and releasing the platen is arranged on the carriage.

The ribbon cassette is attached to and detached from the carriage while the thermal head is released from the platen. In this ribbon cassette, there is a recess that allows the thermal head in the release state to move back and forth. Is generally provided, and the ink ribbon travels in front of the recess, that is, between the thermal head and the platen.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the above-described conventional ribbon cassette, the size of the recess has a margin in order to ensure the forward / backward movement of the thermal head in the released state.

As a result, the space for accommodating the ink ribbon, which is the original function of the ribbon cassette, is occupied by the recess, and there is a problem that the efficiency of accommodating the ink ribbon with respect to the size of the ribbon cassette is poor. .

In addition, in order to improve the storage efficiency, when the size of the recess is minimized, the thermal head is caught by the ink ribbon in front of the recess when the ribbon cassette is mounted on the carriage. As a result, problems such as damage to the ink ribbon and urging of the ink ribbon will occur.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a ribbon cassette with improved storage efficiency without causing damage to the ink ribbon during attachment / detachment.

[0008]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the ribbon cassette of the present invention accommodates an ink ribbon that runs between a print head and a platen that are relatively in contact with and separated from each other, and prints with the print head and the platen separated from each other. In the ribbon cassette that can be attached to and detached from the device, a pair of ribbon guides that guide the ink ribbon in the portion facing the print head, and a position on the opposite side of the platen with respect to the ink ribbons guided by the pair of ribbon guides. The print head includes a recess that allows the print head to move forward and backward, and a biasing unit that biases and guides the ink ribbon guided by the pair of ribbon guides outward from the recess.

[0009]

[Action]

 In the ribbon cassette of the present invention having the above-mentioned configuration, the biasing means biases the ink ribbon guided by the pair of ribbon guides from the recess toward the outside, so that the print head in the recess does not move. A space for advancement and retreat is secured.

[0010]

【Example】

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

FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of the tape printer 1. On the upper surface of the housing 3 of the tape printer 1, a character selection dial 5 that can be rotated is provided. The character selection dial 5 has an annular shape, and characters such as alphanumeric characters, symbols and codes are displayed on the annular dial surface 7 at equal intervals. Hereinafter, in order to avoid complexity, these characters are typically referred to as characters.

On the upper surface of the housing 3, an alignment point 9 is provided adjacent to the character selection dial 5 to define the character selection position of the character selection dial 5. Inside the character selection dial 5, a confirmation key 11 that is operated to confirm the character to be printed is provided concentrically with the character selection dial 5. After the character selection operation of the character selection dial 5, the confirmation key 11 is pressed, so that the character positioned at the alignment point 9 is confirmed as the input character. The characters sequentially aligned with the alignment point 9 are sequentially displayed on the lowest digit of the liquid crystal display 13 on the upper surface of the housing 3 based on a character selection mechanism and control means (not shown), and each time confirmation processing is performed by the confirmation key 11. The displayed characters are scrolled one digit at a time to the upper digit side. Moreover, the input characters are sequentially stored in the internal memory.

On the upper surface of the housing 3, a print key 17 and a plurality of function keys 19 used for controlling the tape printer 1 are provided adjacent to the character selection dial 5. . Then, when the print key 17 is operated, the adhesive tape 21 on which the print image corresponding to the character displayed on the liquid crystal display 13 and stored in the internal memory is formed is prepared and provided on the side surface of the housing 3. The tape is sent out from the tape outlet 23 to the outside of the housing 3, and the adhesive tape 21 is cut to an appropriate length and applied to a desired adhesive receiver for use.

Here, the configuration of the adhesive tape 21 produced by the tape printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The adhesive tape 21 is composed of a transparent tape 25 and a double-sided tape 27 adhered to the transparent tape 25. The double-sided tape 27 is composed of a first adhesive surface 27b and a second adhesive surface 27c formed on both surfaces of a transparent base material 27a, and a release paper 27d attached to the second adhesive surface 27c. A printed image 29 of characters is formed on the back surface of the transparent tape 25 so as to be a normal image when viewed from the front surface of the transparent tape 25. The back surface of the transparent tape 25 and the first adhesive surface 2 of the double-sided tape 27 are formed. 7b and 7b are pasted together. Therefore, since the printed image 29 is sandwiched between the transparent tape 25 and the double-sided tape 27, it does not become dirty or scratched due to external friction or the like.

Then, the adhesive tape 21 is cut to an appropriate length and then adhered to a desired adhesive receptor by the adhesive force of the second adhesive surface 27c exposed by peeling the release paper 27d. Used and used.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tape printer 1 as seen from the rear side. As shown in FIG. 4, a cassette storage recess 31 is formed on the rear surface of the housing 3 and the storage recess 3 is formed. By mounting the cassette cover 33 having a shape that closes the tape 1, the tape printer 1 forms one housing. A release lever 34 is slidably provided above the cassette storage recess 31, and when the lever 34 is slid to the right in FIG. 4, a roller holder described later is operated by the action of a cam mechanism (not shown). 59 is lifted upward, and the thermal head 83 and the platen roller 75 are released.

Next, the configuration of the cassette 35 mounted in the cassette housing recess 31 and the printing mechanism of the tape printer 1 will be described.

FIG. 1 is a rear view in which the housing 3 is cut along a plane passing through the tape discharge port 23 and a part of the cassette 35 is cut away. As shown in the figure, inside the housing 3, a side frame 37 is provided adjacent to the tape outlet 23. A cam shaft 43 having a cam portion 41 at one end is rotatably fitted in a shaft hole 39 formed at the lower end of the side frame 37, and the other end of the cam shaft 43 protruding outside the housing 3 is inserted. Has a cutter lever 45 fixed.

Further, the side frame 37 is formed with two elongated holes 47 which are long in the vertical direction. Then, a cutter holder 51 having a cutter 49 at the upper end is attached by two flat screws 53 through the elongated holes 47, and is vertically movable along the side frame 37 of the elongated holes 47.

The cutter holder 51 is constantly urged downward by a tension spring (not shown), but the lower end of the cutter holder 51 contacts the cam body 1 of the cam shaft 43, so that the downward movement of the cutter holder 51 is restricted. Has been done. The cutter holder 51 is configured to move up and down by changing the contact position between the cam portion 41 and the lower end of the cutter holder 51 according to the rotation of the cutter lever 45.

A tape passage 55 is formed in the upper part of the side frame 37 at a position facing the tape outlet 23 to allow the adhesive tape 21 to travel. A roller holder 59 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 57 formed further above the tape passage 55 between a release position shown in FIG. 1 and a pressure contact position shown in FIG. Is always urged downward by the elastic restoring force of the leaf spring 61 having a curved shape with one end fixed to the side frame 37. Note that FIG. 1 shows a state where the release lever 34 is slid to the right and the roller holder 59 is lifted upward against the biasing force of the leaf spring 61.

As shown in FIG. 5, the roller holder 59 is composed of an upper plate portion 59a and hanging portions 59b and 59c hanging downward from both ends of the upper plate portion 59a. In the hanging parts 59b and 59c, the rotation shaft hole 63 that fits with the support shaft 57 of the side frame 37, the feed roller shaft hole 65, and the oval platen roller shaft 67 are located at the opposite positions. Is formed in.

In the feed roller shaft hole 65, a feed roller body 73 having a driven feed roller 69 and a driven gear 71 coaxially mounted is rotatably attached. On the other hand, a platen roller 75 is attached to the platen roller shaft hole 67 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable within the range of the platen roller shaft hole 67.

Further, a pair of short shafts 77 are provided in a projecting manner on the facing surfaces of the ends of the hanging parts 59b and 59c, and the platen roller pressing spring 79 has two coil spring portions 79a on the short shafts 77. It is configured to be connected by the connecting portion 79b, and the arm portions 79c extend from the ends of the coil spring portions 79, respectively.

In the platen roller pressing spring 79, the coil spring portion 79a is fitted into the short shaft 77, the connecting portion 79b is brought into contact with the lower surface of the upper plate portion 59a of the roller holder 59, and the arm portion 79c is further provided. The platen roller 75 is attached in a state of being engaged with stepped portions 75a formed at both ends.

Therefore, the platen roller 75 is always urged downward by the elastic restoring force of the coil spring portion 79 a of the platen roller pressing spring 79. The force of the platen roller pressing spring 79 for urging the platen roller 75 is set to be weaker than the force of the plate spring 61 for urging the roller holder 59.

Further, a spring pressing portion 81 protruding downward is formed at the tip of one hanging portion 59b of the roller holder 59.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, below the platen holder 59, a thermal head 83 having a printing element 83a formed by arranging a number of heating resistors arranged in a line is fixed to a frame (not shown). ing. The thermal head 83 is positioned so that the printing element 83a is located on the locus of the platen roller 75 that moves with the rotation of the roller holder 59.

A ribbon winding body 85 and a tape feeding body 87, which are driven to rotate in opposite directions by a step motor and a power transmission mechanism (not shown), are provided at predetermined positions on the frame. A slip mechanism is included in a part of the power transmission mechanism for the ribbon winding body 85, and the amount of rotation of the ribbon winding body 85 depends on the load applied to the ribbon winding body 85 due to the action of the slip mechanism. It will change accordingly. Further, the tape feed body 87 is provided with a drive gear (not shown) that meshes with the driven gear 71 of the feed roller body 73 so as to be integrally rotatable.

Inside the ribbon cassette 35, a transparent tape spool 89 around which the transparent tape 25 is wound, a ribbon transfer spool 93 around which a thermal transfer ribbon 91 is wound with its ink surface inside, and a ribbon supply spool 93 A ribbon take-up spool 95 for winding the drawn thermal transfer ribbon 91 and a double-sided tape spool 97 with the double-sided tape 27 wound with the release paper 27b on the outside are rotatably supported at the positions shown in FIG. ing. The ribbon winding spool 95 has six claws 95a that engage with the ribbon winding body 85 on its inner peripheral surface.

An opening 99 is provided at the side wall of the ribbon cassette 35, at a position facing the tape passage 55 when the ribbon cassette 35 is mounted in the tape printer 1, and allowing the pasting tape 21 to pass therethrough. . A cylindrical drive feed roller 101, which has flanges on both sides and is engageable with the tape feed body 87, is rotatably supported near the opening 99. The length of the cylindrical portion of the drive feed roller 101 and the widths of the transparent tape 25 and the double-sided tape 27 are substantially the same.

A recess 103 is formed on the bottom surface of the ribbon cassette 35 to allow the thermal head 83 to move forward and backward, and both edges of the recess 103 are arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the thermal head 83. A first guide plate 105 and a second guide plate 107 are provided upright. A support pin 109 is provided below the first guide plate 105, and a coil spring 111 is attached to the support pin 109. One arm of the coil spring 111 engages with the ribbon take-up spool 95, and applies a rotational load to the ribbon take-up spool 95 to prevent the wound thermal transfer ribbon 91 from being inadvertently pulled out. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the other arm of the coil spring 111 has a crank portion 111 a formed in the middle thereof and extends to a position beyond the printing element 83 a of the thermal head 83, and at that position. A portion bent to be parallel to 83a is a ribbon guide arm 111b. The crank portion 111a is formed so as to be located on the locus of the spring holding portion 81 that moves with the rotation of the roller holder 59 when the ribbon cassette 35 is attached to the tape printer 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal transfer ribbon 91 pulled out from the ribbon supply spool 93 is provided with a guide pin 113, a first guide plate 105, a ribbon guide arm 111b, and a second guide, which are provided to project in the ribbon cassette 35. It is wound on a ribbon winding spool 95 which is guided by each of the plates 107. One end of a separate film 117 coated with silicon is fixed to the support plate 15 provided in the vicinity of the ribbon supply spool 93, and the other end of the separate film 117 is enlarged in FIG. As shown in FIG.

The transparent tape 25 pulled out from the transparent tape spool 89 is superposed on the thermal transfer ribbon 91 via the separate film 117 at the portion of the guide pin 113, and then guided by the first guide plate 105 and the thermal head. Although it is delivered to the opening 99 through the upper part of 83, when it reaches the feed roller 101, it is attached to the double-sided tape 27 pulled out from the double-sided tape spool 97, so it is sent out of the ribbon cassette 35. When it is applied, it is already in the form of the adhesive tape 21.

Further, in the ribbon cassette 35, a back tension spring 121 is supported by three ribs 119 provided on the left side of the supply spool 93 in FIG. The back tension spring 121 is formed by processing one plate material as shown in FIG. 6, and includes a pair of pressing portions 121a extending from the fixed end side supported by the ribs 119, and the pressing portion 121a. At the center of 121a, a pressing arm 121a and an abutting arm 121b extending independently from each other are formed.

The contact arm 121 b is bent at the center thereof, and the tip end portion thereof contacts the transparent tape 25. The contact arm 121b bends and biases the transparent tape 25 and the thermal transfer ribbon 91 in the superposed state so as to follow the left end portions of the guide pin 113 and the first guide plate 105, and the upper and lower ends of the tip portion. It has a function of restricting the movement in the width direction by the eaves 121c formed by bending the tape, and plays a role of preventing the meandering of the transparent tape 25 and the thermal transfer ribbon 91. In addition, since it is possible to vary depending on the tension applied to the tape 25 and the ribbon 91 at the portion contacting the contact arm 121b, the above-described action can always be performed.

The operation and operation of the tape printer 1 having the above configuration will be described below.

First, the cassette cover 33 is removed, the release lever 34 (see FIG. 4) is slid to the right, and the roller holder 59 is lifted upward, that is, the platen roller 75 and the driven feed roller 69 are respectively moved. The ribbon cassette 35 is held in a state where it is released from the thermal head 83 and the drive feed roller 101, and the ribbon cassette 35 is mounted in the cassette storage recess 31. Accordingly, the ribbon take-up spool 95 is engaged with the ribbon take-up body 5 and the drive feed roller 101 is engaged with the tape feed body 7. When the ribbon cassette 35 is mounted, the tip portion of the thermal head 83 is set so as to be located outside the ribbon cassette 35 with respect to the straight line connecting the right ends of the first and second guide plates 105 and 107. ing.

However, when the ribbon cassette 35 is mounted, as shown in FIG. 1, the ribbon guide arm 111b of the coil spring 111 is placed between the right end of the first guide plate 105 and the right end of the second guide plate 107. Since the thermal transfer ribbon 91 and the transparent tape 25 located there are biased toward the outside of the straight line connecting the right ends of the guide plates 105 and 107, there is sufficient space for the thermal head 83 to move forward and backward. Has been secured. Therefore, when the ribbon cassette 35 is mounted, the thermal head 83 is not caught by the thermal transfer ribbon 91 or the transparent tape 25, and they are not damaged or meandered.

When the release lever 34 is slid to the left after the ribbon cassette 35 is completely attached, the lifting of the release lever 34 based on the cam mechanism (not shown) is released, and the roller holder 59 becomes a leaf spring. By the action of 61, it moves to the pressure contact position shown in FIG.

Then, the driven feed roller 69 is strongly pressed against the drive feed roller 101 via the transparent tape 25 and the double-sided tape 27, and at the same time, the driven gear 71 (see FIG. 5) of the feed roller body 73 is driven by the drive feed roller. It is meshed with a drive gear (not shown) of 101. The platen roller 75 is pressed against the thermal head 83 via the transparent tape 25 and the thermal transfer ribbon 91.

By the way, the platen roller 75 positioned at the lower end of the platen roller shaft hole 67 by the action of the platen roller pressing spring 79 is attached to the thermal head 83 before the driven feed roller 69 and the drive feed roller 101 are pressed against each other. The relationship is set to start pressure welding.

However, since the biasing force of the platen roller pressing spring 79 is set to be weaker than that of the plate spring 61, the platen roller pressing spring 79 is elastically deformed so that the platen roller 75 moves along the platen roller shaft hole 67. By retracting, the pressure contact between the both feed rollers 69 and 101 and the pressure contact between the platen roller 75 and the thermal head 83 are achieved.

Then, the pressing force between the platen roller 75 and the thermal head 83 is regulated by the urging force generated by the platen roller pressing spring 79 elastically deformed according to the retracting of the platen roller 75 at this time. Further, since the platen roller 75 is independently biased by the arm portions 79c of the platen roller pressing spring 79 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, the platen roller 75 is temporarily contacted with the rotary axis of the roller holder 59 and the thermal head 83. Even if the parallelism with the contact surface (that is, the printing element 83a) has some roundness, the roundness is corrected and the thermal head 83 is pressed reliably with no bias.

Further, with the movement of the roller holder 59 to the pressure contact position, the crank portion 111 a of the coil spring 111 is pressed down to the position shown in FIG. As a result, the ribbon guide arm 111b is positioned inward of the straight line connecting the right ends of the first and second guide plates 105 1 and 107 2, which hinders the pressure contact operation of the platen roller 75 1 with the thermal head 83. It does not affect the running of the thermal transfer ribbon 91.

With the above operation, the tape printer 1 is made ready for printing.

When the print key 17 is operated after the input characters are stored in the internal memory by the operation of the character selection dial 5 and the enter key 7, etc., the print element 83a is appropriately changed as the step motor is rotated. The heat is generated and the printing operation is performed.

When the step motor is rotated, the tape feeding body 87 is rotated clockwise in FIG. Then, the drive roller 101 is rotated in the clockwise direction, and the driven feed roller 69 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction via the driving gear and the driven gear 71, and is sandwiched between the rollers 69 and 101. The transparent tape 25 and the double-sided tape 27 are sent toward the outside (right side in FIG. 2) of the opening 99 while being bonded.

On the other hand, when the step motor is rotated, the ribbon winding body 85 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. By the way, the thermal transfer ribbon 91 and the transparent tape 25 are sandwiched between the platen roller 75 and the thermal head 83, and the frictional force acting between the thermal transfer ribbon 91 and the transparent tape 25 at this portion is It is larger than the winding force of the ribbon take-up spool 95 to which the rotation of the step motor is transmitted via the slip mechanism.

Therefore, the amount by which the take-up spool 95 winds up the thermal transfer ribbon 91 is limited by the frictional force, and the amount is fed by the action of the driving feed roller 101 and the driven feed roller 69. The amount of feed of the transparent tape 25, the thermal transfer ribbon 91, and the double-sided tape 27 that pass through the gap between the thermal head 83 and the platen roller 75 is governed by the amount of rotation of both feed rollers 101 and 69. Become.

The printed image 29 is formed on the transparent tape 25 via the thermal transfer ribbon 91 sent in this manner. The printing method is well known except that the printed pattern is reversed right and left. Since it is the same as the thermal printer, detailed description is omitted.

As described above, since the transparent tape 25 and the thermal transfer ribbon 91 sent by the rollers 101 and 69 are provided with back tension by the action of the pressing portion 121a of the back tension spring 121, these The tape 25 and the ribbon 91 are not pulled out more than necessary, and the contact arm 121b is mutated according to the back tension, so that the tape 25 and the ribbon 91 are always prevented from meandering. There is.

A sticking tape 21 formed by forming a print image on the transparent tape 25 and adhering it to the double-sided tape 27 is used when the last printed print image passes above the cutter 49. After the required amount of feeding is performed, the cutter lever 45 is rotated and cut by the cutter 49 for use.

When the ribbon cassette 35 is removed after printing is completed, the release lever 34 may be slid rightward again. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the platen holder 59 moves to the release position, and the coil spring 111 elastically restores accordingly, and the ribbon guide arm 111b secures a space for moving the thermal head 83 back and forth again. Therefore, the ribbon cassette 35 can be removed smoothly.

As is apparent from the above, in this embodiment, the transparent tape 25, the thermal transfer ribbon 91 and the double-sided tape 27 are housed in the ribbon cassette 35, and the transparent tape 25 is provided on the back surface of the transparent tape 25. A printed image 29 of characters is formed so as to be a normal image when viewed from the front surface, and the back surface of the transparent tape 25 and the first adhesive surface 27b of the double-sided tape 27 are bonded together. Therefore, the printed image 29 is sandwiched between the transparent tape 25 and the double-sided tape 27, and is not stained or smeared by external friction or the like. Further, by peeling off the release paper 27b, it can be attached to an object by the adhesive force of the second adhesive surface 27c, and the user can visually recognize the printed image 29 from the surface of the transparent tape 25 as a normal image.

Further, as is apparent from FIG. 2, since the double-sided tape 27 is arranged in the cassette 35 so as to be closer to the opening 99 than the transparent tape 25 and the ribbon 91, the first adhesive surface 27b. It is possible to shorten the path of the double-sided tape 27 where the tape is exposed as compared with other tape and ribbon paths. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the first adhesive surface 27b of the double-sided tape 27 from being abruptly stuck to another member.

[0059]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a ribbon cassette with improved storage efficiency without damaging the ribbon cassette during attachment / detachment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing a housing of a tape printer and a part of a cassette in a cutaway view, showing a state where a roller holder is in a release position.

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the housing of the tape printer and a part of the cassette in a broken state, showing a state in which the roller holder is in a pressure contact position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the tape printer as seen from the front.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tape printer as seen from the rear.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration of a roller holder and a configuration around a thermal head.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view showing a configuration around a back tension spring.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing a configuration around a guide pin.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view of a sticking tape created by a tape printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 35 cassette 75 platen roller 83 thermal head 103 recess 105 first guide plate 107 second guide plate 111 coil spring

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A ribbon cassette for accommodating an ink ribbon which runs between a print head and a platen, which are relatively close to and separated from each other, and which is attached to and detached from a printing device in a state where the print head and the platen are separated from each other. A pair of ribbon guide portions that guide the ink ribbon at a portion facing the print head, and allow the print head to move back and forth at a position opposite to the platen with respect to the ink ribbon guided by the pair of ribbon guide portions. And a biasing means for biasing and guiding the ink ribbon guided by the pair of ribbon guide portions outward from the recess.