JPH0761081A - Ribbon tray - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent winding slack due to idling of a bobbin of a thermal transfer ribbon by arranging stoppers in a shape corresponding to idling preventing sections provided at a thermal transfer ribbon feed bobbin and a wind-up bobbin. CONSTITUTION:In a tray for housing a thermal transfer ribbon, bearings 13 corresponding to roundness of bobbin are formed in circular arcs on a side wall in the longitudinal direction of bobbins (feed bobbin U and wind-up bobbin) on which a ribbon is to be wound. On an upper periphery of a tray body 1, a horizontal part 11 and a folded part 12 continuing to it are provided. On the upper part of the tray body 1, a cover body 3 having protruding shapes 33 corresponding to the roundness of the bobbin formed in the same way is embedded and fixed. At the bottom of this ribbon tray, stoppers 27 for preventing idling are integrally formed being engaged with recesses of irregularly shaped sprockets 26 provided at the bobbins U and R so as to prevent winding slack of a ribbon 2.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer ribbon for a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a thermal transfer ribbon supply bobbin and a bobbin for winding a transferred ribbon. A ribbon tray for packaging that stores

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to facilitate the loading of a thermal transfer ribbon to be supplied to a thermal transfer printer, a supply bobbin for winding the thermal transfer ribbon into a cassette case designed specifically for the printer and having good dimensional accuracy, and a winding bobbin for winding the thermal transfer ribbon. It was configured to house a bobbin to raise. A cassette case for such a thermal transfer ribbon is a plastic film bag that is a composite of aluminum foil with excellent light-shielding and moisture-proof properties to protect the thermal transfer ribbon during storage after production, shipment from the factory, and distribution. They were individually sealed, then wrapped in a cosmetic box, and then packed in cardboard for distribution.

[0003]

The conventional cassette case accommodating the thermal transfer ribbon is discarded without being reused after the ribbon is used, and the cassette case requiring quality accuracy is However, there is a problem that the product is expensive in price including the mold. Since this cassette case is larger in volume than the thermal transfer ribbon occupies, a large amount of the composite packaging material is used when the bag is packaged in the pillow type form shown in FIG. 2, and the packaged product is bulky. It was necessary to have a large size, cardboard, etc.

According to the present invention, it is possible to store the thermal transfer ribbon in an expensive cassette case and supply the ribbon directly to the printer without supplying the ribbon to the printer. It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent thermal transfer ribbon tray.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the ribbon tray of the present invention incorporates a bobbin for supplying a thermal transfer ribbon and a bobbin for winding a transferred ribbon, directly or in a printer. In a plastic ribbon tray containing a thermal transfer ribbon configured to be loaded via a cassette attached to a printer, a stopper corresponding to a slip prevention part formed on a bobbin of the ribbon has a tray body and / or a lid body. It is provided in. Then, the slip-preventing uneven portion, which is one form of the slip-preventing portion formed on the bobbin, has a continuous shape,
Further, the storage interval of the bobbin when packaging the thermal transfer ribbon can be made narrower than the interval when the bobbin is loaded into the printer.

[0006]

The ribbon tray of the present invention is provided with a stopper having a shape corresponding to the idling prevention portions provided on the ribbon supply bobbin and the winding bobbin of the thermal transfer ribbon. Then, the thermal transfer ribbon stored in the ribbon tray and wrapped in the inner bag has no winding slack due to bobbin spinning.
In addition, since it does not include a large-capacity cassette case, it serves to reduce packaging materials, storage, physical distribution costs, and waste because packaging is performed.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS No. 1 of the preferred example of the ribbon tray 1 of the present invention.
As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 1, the tray body 1 and the lid body 3 in which the stoppers 27 having an uneven shape corresponding to the uneven sprockets 26 provided on the bobbin of the thermal transfer ribbon 2 are formed.
And can be processed by conventionally known pressure molding or vacuum molding of plastic.
Then, plug assist can be used to accurately shape the uneven portion provided on the tray.

The plastic sheet used for molding the tray body 1 is polystyrene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, ABS resin, polycarbonate, polymethylmethacrylate, polyester, ethylene / acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene / acrylic acid ester copolymer. There are sheets of ionomer, etc., or composites thereof, and polystyrene sheets are preferable. By filling these molding materials with an inorganic substance such as calcium carbonate, talc, or clay, the amount of heat at the time of incineration is reduced,
It is also possible to impart microbial disintegration by adding edible substances such as starch. The thickness of the sheet is determined by the inherent strength of the sheet and the size and weight of the thermal transfer ribbon, but preferably 0.4 to 1.2.
mm.

The tray is molded into the shape shown in FIG. 1 and is sized to fit the thermal transfer ribbon to be stored therein. On the side wall in the longitudinal direction of the bobbin, a bearing portion 13 corresponding to the roundness of the bobbin wound with the thermal transfer ribbon is formed in an arc shape. A horizontal portion 11 and a folded-back portion 12 are provided continuously around the upper portion of the tray body 1. The molded product is punched at the tip of the folded-back portion. Although not shown in the figure, the horizontal portion 11 may be provided with a protrusion or a recess on any side so that the horizontal portion 11 can be fitted and fixed to the lid. Also,
At the bottom of the tray, the uneven sprocket 26 provided on the supply bobbin U and the winding bobbin R of the thermal transfer ribbon 2 is provided.
There is provided a stopper 27 that fits into the recess of the above to prevent idling.

The uneven sprocket 26, which serves as a mechanism for preventing the winding looseness, may be any portion other than the sliding portion of the portion to be inserted into the printer, and its location is not critical. Further, the uneven shape serving as the mechanism for preventing the winding looseness is not limited to the sprocket shape, and may be any shape that fits with the uneven shape provided on the tray and can prevent idling. For example, a star shape or a cross shape may be used. The idling prevention portion formed on the bobbin is not limited to a special member such as the sprocket 26, and as shown in FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, the bobbin shaft has a polygonal shape (preferably a 3 to 6 hexagonal shape). ) Can be used. in this case,
The stopper provided on the tray body and / or the lid body,
The stopper 13 of the sprocket 26 does not have an uneven shape corresponding to the uneven shape of the sprocket 26, but the bearing 13 of the bobbin has a polygonal shape corresponding to the polygonal shape of the shaft.

It is desirable that the distance A between the two bobbins provided on the tray is matched with the distance between the parts to be mounted on the ribbon cassette of the printer when the thermal transfer ribbon of the present invention is mounted on the printer. The thermal transfer ribbon thus set is taken out from the hermetically sealed inner bag 21 shown in FIG. 2 and the lid 3 is removed, and the ribbon is directly attached to the printer of the present invention or the printer attached to the printer shown in FIG. It can be attached to the ribbon cassette 50. In this case, since the bobbin interval is not changed, the thermal transfer ribbon composed of a thin film having a thickness of 3 to 10 μm can be easily attached without wrinkles. Then, the color material is transferred from the opening 57 provided in the lid 56 of the cassette.

However, the space A between the two bobbins does not necessarily have to be the one when the bobbin is mounted in the cassette of the printer. The bobbin interval can be as close as possible to 0 if it can be extended to the interval A required by the printer and can be mounted on the printer without the wrinkling of the film. The smaller bobbin spacing means that the size of the tray can be reduced to the width required for the bobbin diameter.
For example, the tray main body and the lid are formed of two parts that can move in parallel, and the bobbin space is narrowed to accommodate the ribbon. Then, by moving the tray main body and the lid in parallel, the tray main body and the lid can be extended to the interval of the portion to which the thermal transfer ribbon is attached and can be used in the printer. Therefore, by reducing the size of the molding sheet, the inner bag, the cosmetic box, and the cardboard box, it is possible to greatly contribute to the reduction of the total physical distribution cost including the transportation cost as well as the packaging cost and the warehouse cost.
As shown in FIG. 6, the winding bobbin and the supply bobbin housed in the ribbon tray are preferably fixed by a fixing member 60 that fixes these bobbins according to the housing interval in the ribbon tray. The fixing member 60 not only has a function of preventing winding looseness by fixing the interval between both bobbins, but also has a function of facilitating carrying when mounting a ribbon from a ribbon tray to a printer or a cassette. Further, the fixing member 60 also functions as a ROM discriminating mechanism of the printer by changing its shape or giving an arbitrary mark. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the type of the ribbon is discriminated (the standard ribbon and the OHP ribbon are discriminated) by the shape, size, position, etc. of the protrusion 61 provided in the central portion of the fixing member 60, and Therefore, it becomes possible to adjust the printing conditions of the printer, the type of the transferred sheet to be used, etc.

The lid 3 is made of a material similar to that of the tray body and is formed into the shape shown in FIG. 1 by vacuum molding or pressure molding, and the periphery thereof is the periphery 1 of the tray body.
It may be molded with a shape that fits the outer dimensions of 2. The central portion is formed into an uneven shape 33 corresponding to the roundness of the bobbin used in the heat transfer ribbon to be stored. Further, a folded-back portion 32 is formed on the outer side continuously from the horizontal portion 31 around the periphery of the lid body, and the tip of this folded-back portion is punched out after molding. Although not particularly shown in the drawing, a portion corresponding to the fitting / fixing protrusion or recess provided on the horizontal portion 11 of the tray body can be formed on the horizontal portion 31 around the lid. Further, it is preferable that the lid body also be provided with a stopper corresponding to a stopper that fits into the concave portion of the uneven sprocket 26 provided on the supply bobbin U and the winding bobbin R of the thermal transfer ribbon 2. Further, in the case where the bobbin shaft has a polygonal shape to form the idling prevention portion, it is preferable that the bobbin bearing portion 33 of the lid body also has a shape corresponding to the polygonal shape of the shaft and serves as a stopper, as shown in FIG. .

The lid 3 is not packed in a bag,
It is provided when the circumference of the thermal transfer ribbon protrudes from the upper part of the tray, or is provided for a type of product that is frequently attached and detached by a printer, and is not necessarily required in the case of the present invention. In such a case, the thermal transfer ribbon stored in the ribbon tray main body 1 can be directly sealed with an interior film and then packaged in a makeup box. A slip prevention mechanism 4 is preferably provided on the bottom surface of the lid body and / or the ribbon tray body.
The anti-slip mechanism 4 prevents vibration such as side slip of the ribbon tray itself, which is one of the causes of loosening of the ribbon. The non-slip mechanism 4 is formed by coating a resin layer containing a filler at the time of forming a tray, or by performing surface treatment such as surface unevenness treatment on the bottom surface of the ribbon tray main body and / or the lid surface as shown in FIG. Composed.

[0015]

As described above, the thermal transfer ribbon of the present invention is stored and packaged in a ribbon tray in a state of being loaded in a printer, and the storage and the physical distribution of the thermal transfer ribbon are prevented even after the storage and distribution processes. It can be loaded into a printer or a cassette attached to the printer without any problem. Unlike the thermal transfer ribbon supplied in a conventional cassette, an expensive cassette is not discarded after use, which greatly contributes to resource saving and reduction of physical distribution cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a thermal transfer ribbon and a ribbon tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram in which a thermal transfer ribbon is housed in a tray and sealed with an inner bag.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a state in which a thermal transfer ribbon is loaded in a cassette attached to the printer.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a thermal transfer ribbon and a ribbon tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a thermal transfer ribbon and a ribbon tray according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a thermal transfer ribbon and a fixing member according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Ribbon Tray Main Body 2 Thermal Transfer Ribbon 3 Lid 4 Non-slip Mechanism 11 Horizontal Part of Tray Main Body 12 Folding Part Continued from Horizontal Part of Tray Main Body 13 Bobbin Bearing Part 21 Thermal Transfer Ribbon Inner Bag 26 Uneven Sprockets 27 Stopper 31 Horizontal part of tray lid 32 Folded part continuous from horizontal part of tray lid 33 Bearing part of bobbin of lid 50 Main body of cassette attached to printer 56 Cover of cassette attached to printer 57 Attached to printer Opening provided in the lid of the cassette 60 Fixing member 61 Protrusion of fixing member A A bobbin interval when stored in the ribbon tray or loaded in the printer U Supply bobbin R Winding bobbin

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A thermal transfer ribbon configured to be loaded into a printer directly or via a cassette attached to the printer by incorporating a bobbin for supplying a thermal transfer ribbon and a bobbin for winding a transferred ribbon. In the plastic ribbon tray described above, a stopper corresponding to an idling prevention portion formed on the bobbin of the ribbon is provided on the tray body and / or the lid body. 2. A ribbon tray, wherein the bobbin of the tray for accommodating the bobbin according to claim 1 is provided so that a bobbin interval can be made smaller than that when the bobbin is loaded in a printer.