JPH08282044A - Ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an ink ribbon cassette enabling the reutilization of a cassette main body having a structure making a spool detachable to correspond to a problem of waste refuse. CONSTITUTION: Spool attaching and detaching openings 12 are provided to a cassette main body 1 on the single surface side thereof over the almost total length of a pair of spool housing parts 11 formed into a semicylindrical shape and the fitting shaft parts 22 of spools 2 are fitted in the round holes 16 provided to the end surface plate parts 5 on one end sides of the spool housing parts 11 to elastically press in an opposite direction by compression coil springs 3. U-shaped grooves 18 are formed to the end surface plate parts 17 on the other end sides of the spool housing parts from the spool attaching and detaching openings 12 and the rotation transmission parts 24 of the spools 2 are fitted in the U-shaped grooves 18. Annular groove parts 28 are provided to the other ends of the spools 2 opposed to the inner surfaces of the end surface plate parts 17 of the cassette main body 1. The projection parts 19 freely engageable with the groove parts 28 are provided to the end surface plate parts 17 so as to protrude from the deepest parts of the U-shaped grooves 18 toward the inside in the axial direction and the recessed parts 28 and the projection parts 19 are engaged by the springs 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette of a thermal transfer printer which transfers ink of an ink ribbon onto a recording medium by using a thermal head, and is characterized by a structure which enables reuse of the cassette body. I have.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a thermal transfer printer using a thermal head, an ink ribbon is housed in a cassette body so that the entire cassette body can be easily replaced. In such an ink ribbon cassette, the spool around which the ink ribbon is wound can freely rotate when it is attached to or detached from the thermal transfer printer or when it is left alone, so that the ink ribbon is likely to loosen. To prevent this, various slack prevention structures have been proposed.

For example, JP-B-4-44375, JP-A-5-155122 and JP-A-5-3057.
As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 45-45, between the end of the spool and the case body, a slack prevention mechanism for restricting the spool rotation of the cassette taken out from the thermal transfer printer and preventing the slack of the ribbon is provided. ing.

In such an ink ribbon cassette, the cassette main body for accommodating the spool is divided into two parts, and the spool is assembled in the two cassette main parts and then they are joined and integrated.

[0005]

For this reason, the ink ribbon cassette after all of the ink ribbon has been used is made disposable without being reused. In particular, since the conventional ink ribbon cassette for color printing using a line head has the slack prevention mechanism as described above, the slack prevention mechanism does not remove the spool even if the cassette body is opened on one side. The ink ribbon cassette as a whole is thrown away because it hinders the reuse of the cassette body, but it is necessary to improve it in terms of effective use of resources and waste disposal.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the structure in which the spool can be attached to and detached from the cassette main body enables the cassette main body to be reused and copes with the problem of resources and dust. The purpose is.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, spool storage portions are formed on both sides of an ink ribbon moving window opened in a cassette body, and spools are respectively provided in the spool storage portions. In an ink ribbon cassette that is rotatably fitted and that winds an ink ribbon wound on one spool onto the other spool, the cassette body has one side over substantially the entire length of a pair of semi-cylindrical spool accommodating portions. Provided with a spool attachment / detachment side,
An end face plate portion is integrally formed at one end and the other end portion of each spool housing portion, and a spool fitting portion is formed at each end face plate portion. The spool is attached to one end side of the rotary shaft portion. The fitting shaft portion fitted to the end face plate portion of the storage portion is provided with a rotation transmitting portion at the other end side for transmitting the rotation imparted by the printer to the rotation shaft portion. The elastic pressing portion is fitted to the portion, and the fitting shaft portion is slidably fitted to the spool fitting portion of the end face plate portion on one end side against the elastic pressing portion to rotate the spool. The ink ribbon cassette has a structure in which a transmission portion is slidably fitted to a spool fitting portion of an end face plate portion on the other end side.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink ribbon cassette according to the first aspect, a round hole is concentrically formed as a spool fitting portion on the end face plate portion on one end side of the spool housing portion, and the other end side thereof is formed. U as a spool fitting part on the end face plate part of
A groove is formed from the spool attaching / detaching opening side, and an annular groove is provided at the other end of the spool facing the inner surface of the end face plate provided with the U-shaped groove. In the face plate portion, a concave groove portion and a projecting portion that can be engaged and disengaged are provided so as to protrude axially inward from the deepest part of the U-shaped groove.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as the spool in the ink ribbon cassette according to the first aspect, the fitting shaft portion and the rotation transmitting portion are separately formed with respect to the rotation shaft portion, and the rotation shaft portion is formed separately. The fitting shaft portion is removably fitted to one end side, and the rotation transmitting portion is removably fitted to the other end side of the rotation shaft portion and engaged in the rotation direction.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a flange portion is integrally formed on the side fitted with the rotary shaft portion as the fitting shaft portion of the spool in the ink ribbon cassette according to the third aspect. A configuration is such that a locking claw portion having radial elasticity is integrally formed at an end portion, and an elastic pressing portion is fitted between the flange portion and the locking claw portion.

[0011]

According to the invention described in claim 1, when all the ink ribbons wound on the spool are used, the spool is moved in the axial direction against the elastic pressing portion, and The rotation transmitting portion is removed from one spool fitting portion of the cassette body, and further, while being taken out through the spool attaching / detaching opening, the fitting shaft portion on the opposite side of the spool is also removed from the other spool fitting portion of the cassette body.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the cassette body is taken out from the printer, the axial force acting on the spool from the printer side is released, and the spool is pushed by the elastic pressing portion in the cassette body. Move in the axial direction.
As a result, the rotation of the spool is regulated by the engagement of the annular groove of the spool with the protrusion of the cassette body.

When all the ink ribbons wound on the spool are used, the spool is pushed against the elastic pressing portion to release the engagement between the protrusion and the concave groove. With this, the rotation transmitting portion can be laterally displaced along the U-shaped groove, whereby the fitting shaft portion on the opposite side can be removed from the round hole of the end face plate portion while tilting the spool.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, after the used spool is removed from the spool accommodating portion of the cassette body, the fitting shaft portion and the rotation transmitting portion are disassembled from the rotating shaft portion, and these are reassembled. To use.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the spool is mounted in the spool accommodating portion of the cassette body, the locking claw portion having the radial elasticity is once reduced in diameter and the end face plate portion is fitted with the spool. The engaging portion is fitted into the mounting portion, the locking claw portion is engaged with the outer surface of the end face plate portion, and one end of the elastic pressing portion is engaged with the flange portion, and the other end is engaged with the inner side surface of the end face plate portion to form the flange portion. Elastically press. On the other hand, when the spool is taken out from the cassette body, the state in which the elastic pressing portion is integrally assembled between the flange portion and the locking claw portion at the fitting shaft portion of the spool is maintained.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described with reference to the first embodiment shown in FIGS.
An embodiment, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and a third embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described in detail.

First, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described. As shown in FIG.
Is provided with a spool attachment / detachment opening 12 on one side over substantially the entire length of a pair of semi-cylindrical spool housings 11.
A pair of spool accommodating parts (11) are integrally formed by connecting parts (13) at both ends, and an ink ribbon moving window (14) is formed between these semi-cylindrical spool accommodating parts (11).

A pair of spools 2a and 2b are rotatably fitted into the respective semi-cylindrical spool housing portions 11 through the spool attaching / detaching openings 12. One spool is an ink ribbon (not shown)
And the other spool winds the ink ribbon by being rotated by the thermal transfer printer. Hereinafter, in the description common to both spools 2a and 2b, it will be referred to as spool 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette body 1
A disk-shaped end face plate portion 15 is integrally formed at the lower end portion of each spool housing portion 11, and a round hole 16 as a spool fitting portion is formed in the center portion of these end face plate portions 15.

Further, a disk-shaped end face plate portion 17 is integrally formed on the upper end portion of each spool housing portion 11, and a U-shaped groove 18 as a spool fitting portion is formed up to the center of each end face plate portion 17. A notch is formed from the spool attaching / detaching opening 12 side.

On the other hand, the spool 2 is a hollow rotary shaft portion.
The lower end side of 21 is set as a fitting shaft portion 22, and a spring receiving flange portion 23 is integrally formed inside the fitting shaft portion 22 in the axial direction.

A cylindrical rotation transmission portion 24 is integrally formed on the upper end side of the rotation shaft portion 21, and the rotation imparted to the inner peripheral surface of the rotation transmission portion 24 by the thermal transfer printer is transmitted to the rotation shaft portion 21. A plurality of spool drive ribs 25 for integrally forming are integrally formed.

Further, a concave groove forming flange portion 26 is integrally formed on the inner side of the rotation transmitting portion 24 in the axial direction, and a cylindrical portion 27 is formed concentrically on the upper side of the outer peripheral edge of the flange portion 26 in the axial direction. As a result, an annular recessed groove portion 28 as shown in FIG. 3 is provided on the inner peripheral side of the cylindrical portion 27.

The fitting shaft portion 22 on the lower side of the spool 2 is fitted with the compression coil spring 3 as an elastic pressing portion and is rotatable in the round hole 16 of the end face plate portion 15 of the spool housing portion 11. Fits so that it can move axially. The compression coil spring 3 is located between the end face plate portion 15 and the spring receiving flange portion 23 and elastically presses the spool 2 upward in FIG.

The rotation transmitting portion 24 of the spool 2 is a U-shaped groove 18 of an end face plate portion 17 integrally formed on the upper end portion of the spool accommodating portion 11.
Is rotatably and axially movable.

The end surface plate portion 17 provided with the U-shaped groove 18 is provided with a projection portion 19 which can be engaged with and disengaged from the concave groove portion 28 of the spool 2 axially inward from the deepest portion of the U-shaped groove 18. It is integrally molded so that it protrudes.

The projection 19 is formed in a flat plate shape as shown in FIG. 2 (A), but the side surface is formed in a wedge shape, and is relatively moved by the axial movement of the spool 2. The groove 28 is in a detachable relationship.

In FIG. 2B, the spool 2a on the left side shows a state in which this cassette is mounted in the thermal transfer printer,
The spool 2b on the right side shows a state in which this cassette is taken out from the thermal transfer printer.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When this ink ribbon cassette is mounted in the thermal transfer printer, a downward axial force acts on the spool 2 from the thermal transfer printer side, as shown in the left spool 2a of FIG. Compression coil spring 3
The groove 28 of the spool 2 is a protrusion
It is off the bottom of 19.

Therefore, the spool 2 can freely rotate. At this time, the rotation transmitting portion 24 of the spool 2 is the end face plate portion.
Since it is fitted in the U-shaped groove 18 of 17 and is fitted in the drive shaft (not shown) on the thermal transfer printer side, it can rotate at a fixed position.

On the other hand, when this ink ribbon cassette is taken out from the thermal transfer printer, the axial force acting downward on the spool 2 from the thermal transfer printer side is released,
As shown in the right side spool 2b of FIG. 2B, the spool 2 is returned and moved axially upward by the compression coil spring 3 in the cassette body 1.

As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, an annular recessed groove portion 28 provided on the upper end surface portion of the spool 2 and a projection protruding from the upper end face plate portion 17 of the cassette body 1 toward the recessed groove portion 28. The rotation of the spool 2 is restricted by engaging with the portion 19.

In particular, as shown in FIG. 3, the flat plate-like protrusion 19 relatively inserted into the annular groove 28 has its wedge-shaped left and right side portions on the outer diameter side of the groove 28. It engages with the peripheral wall surface, that is, the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 27, and the central portion engages with the inner peripheral surface of the concave groove portion 28, that is, the outer peripheral surface of the rotation transmitting portion 24.

As described above, when the ink ribbon cassette is taken out from the thermal transfer printer, the spool 2 is always at a fixed position in the axial direction due to the spring pressure of the compression coil spring 3, and the protrusion 19 is located at an arbitrary position in the rotation direction. The rotation of the ink sheet is surely restricted, and the loosening of the ink sheet can be surely prevented.

Further, in this case, the protrusion 19 and the groove 28
Due to the engagement with the rotation transmission part 24 of the spool 2, the end face plate part is formed.
It is securely held in the U-shaped groove 18 of 17 and there is no risk of it coming off.

On the other hand, when all the ink ribbons wound around the spool 2 are used, the spool around which the used ink ribbon is wound is replaced.

To replace the spool, the spool 2 is pushed into the cassette body 1 against the compression coil spring 3.
By releasing the concave groove portion 28 of the spool 2 from the protruding portion 19 protruding to the inner surface of the cassette main body 1 to release their engagement, and by horizontally shifting the rotation transmitting portion 24 along the U-shaped groove 18, the spool 2 The fitting shaft portion 22 at the lower end portion can be pulled out and removed from the round hole 16 provided in the lower end face plate portion 15. Therefore, it is advisable to provide a slight gap between the fitting shaft portion 22 and the round hole 16 so that both are loosely fitted.

Therefore, when installing a new ink ribbon, the reverse operation to the above may be performed.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described. In the second embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, as the spool 2, the fitting shaft portion 22 and the rotation transmitting portion 24 are separately formed with respect to the rotation shaft portion 21 around which the ink ribbon 30 is wound. . The rotating shaft portion 21 may be formed of, for example, a paper material that is easy to dispose as dust and is inexpensive, while the fitting shaft portion 22 and the rotation transmitting portion 24 may be formed of durable synthetic resin.

The fitting shaft portion 22 is formed by integrally molding a small-diameter cylindrical portion 31 on the opposite side through the flange portion 23, and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 31 can be freely inserted into and removed from the one end side of the rotary shaft portion 21. To fit. On the other end side of the rotary shaft portion 21, there are two axial notch grooves.
32 is formed.

Further, the rotation transmitting portion 24 is provided with a flange portion 26.
A small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 is integrally formed on the opposite side of the above, and an axial convex portion 34 is integrally formed at two locations on the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 33.

The rotation transmitting portion 24 has its small-diameter cylindrical portion 33 removably fitted into the other end side of the rotating shaft portion 21, and
By fitting the ridge portion 34 into the notch groove 32 of the rotary shaft portion 21, the engagement in the rotational direction is secured and the driving rotation can be transmitted.

When all the ink ribbons 30 wound around the spool 2 are used up, the used spool 2 is replaced. At this time, after the used spool 2 is removed from the spool housing portion 11 of the cassette body 1 in the manner described in the first embodiment, the fitting shaft portion 22 and the rotation transmitting portion 24 are rotated from the rotation shaft portion 21. To recycle the fitting shaft portion 22 and the rotation transmitting portion 24, and since the rotation shaft portion 21 of the ink ribbon delivery side spool can be reused, the dust should be minimized. You can

Next, a third embodiment shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 will be described. In this third embodiment, the same parts as those of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 are designated by the same reference numerals and their description is omitted. Omit it.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the fitting shaft portion 22 of the spool 2 has a flange portion 23 on the side fitted with the rotation shaft portion 21 and the small diameter cylinder through the flange portion 23. The part (31) is integrally molded, and a pair of locking claw parts (37) having elasticity in the radial direction is integrally molded at the opposite ends.
The elasticity in the radial direction is determined by the fitting shaft portion 22 on both sides of each locking claw portion 37.
It is obtained by the slit 38 formed by cutting in the axial direction. A slope 39 is formed on the lower surface of the tip of the locking claw 37.

As shown in FIG. 6, the flange portion 23
The compression coil spring 3 as an elastic pressing portion is fitted between the locking claw portion 37 and the locking claw portion 37, and the fall of the compression coil spring 3 is locked by the locking claw portion 37, whereby the fitting shaft of the spool 2 is fitted. The compression coil spring 3 is integrally incorporated in the portion 22.

Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the spool 2 is mounted in the spool accommodating portion 11 of the cassette body 1, the shaft portion is fitted into the round hole 16 of the end face plate portion 15 as the spool fitting portion. By pushing 22 from the inside, a force to press the locking claw 37 inward is exerted by the engagement between the inclined surface 39 of the locking claw 37 and the inner peripheral edge of the round hole 16, and the slit 38 The locking claw portion 37 having the radial elasticity is temporarily reduced in diameter and then the end face plate portion 15
After being fitted into the round hole 16, the diameter is expanded to the original diameter by the elastic restoring force and is engaged with the outer surface of the end face plate portion 15.

At this time, one end of the compression coil spring 3 is engaged with the flange portion 23 and the other end is engaged with the inner surface of the end face plate portion 15, so that the flange portion 23 is elastically pressed to spool 2. Press to the other side.

On the other hand, the spool housing portion 11 of the cassette body 1
When the used spool 2 is removed from, the spool 2 is axially moved against the compression coil spring 3 and is taken out from the cassette body 1 from the rotation transmitting portion 24 on the opposite side.

This used spool 2 has a rotating shaft portion 21.
The fitting shaft portion 22 and the rotation transmitting portion 24 are disassembled and reused. In the reuse, the fitting shaft portion 22 is replaced with the flange portion 23.
It is possible to maintain the state in which the compression coil spring 3 is integrated between the locking claw portion 37 and the locking claw portion 37, and it is possible to integrally handle the fitting shaft portion 22 and the compression coil spring 3.

Next, in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the end face plate portion 17 of the spool housing portion 11 is provided with the U-shaped groove 18 as a spool fitting portion. The described invention also includes a spool fitting portion of the end face plate portion 17 that is a round hole similar to the round hole 16 provided in the end face plate portion 15 on the opposite side. The spool 2 can be attached / detached even if the spool fitting portions of both end face plate portions 15 and 17 are round holes.

Finally, in each embodiment, the compression coil spring 3 is used as the elastic pressing portion, and the spool 2 is pressed in the axial direction by this spring 3. However, an elastic member other than such a spring, for example, A resin spring, which is a substitute for the spring 3, may be integrally molded with the cassette body 1 made of synthetic resin, or a resin spring molded separately may be used.

[0054]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the spool body is moved in the axial direction against the elastic pressing portion, the rotation transmission portion of the spool is removed from the end face plate portion of the cassette body, and then the cassette body. The used spool can be taken out from the spool attachment / detachment opening and the new spool can be attached, so that the cassette body can be reused many times, which leads to effective use of resources and copes with waste disposal problems. be able to.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when the ink ribbon cassette is detached from the printer, the spool is returned to the axial direction by the elastic pressing portion, and an arbitrary portion of the concave groove portion on the spool side and the shaft on the cassette body side. Due to the engagement with the protrusion in the direction, the spool rotation can be regulated at an arbitrary position, and the slack of the ink ribbon can be completely prevented.

On the other hand, the used ink ribbon is disengaged by disengaging the projection groove projecting axially inward from the deepest part of the U-shaped groove on the end plate of the cassette body with the groove groove of the spool. You can easily remove the spool that has been wound and replace it with a new one.

Further, the ribbon slack can be prevented and the spool can be replaced by the extremely simple structure of the axial projection of the cassette body and the concave groove of the spool, and they can be easily manufactured and provided at low cost.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, after the used spool is taken out from the spool accommodating portion of the cassette main body, the fitting shaft portion and the rotation transmitting portion are disassembled from the rotating shaft portion to make them effective. It can be reused for any purpose, and it is possible to mold only the rotating shaft part with dissimilar materials that are easier to dispose as dust than the fitting shaft part and the rotation transmitting part and are inexpensive. be able to.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, even when the spool is taken out from the cassette body, the elastic pressing portion can be engaged and held between the flange portion and the locking claw portion of the fitting shaft portion of the spool. The fitting shaft portion and the elastic pressing portion separated from the rotating shaft portion can be handled as one body, which is convenient for handling when assembling and removing the spool from the cassette body.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of an ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 (A) is a plan view of the same cassette, and FIG. 2 (B) is a front view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a spool in the cassette.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a spool according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a spool showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which a spool is incorporated in one spool housing portion in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cassette Main Body 2 Spool 3 Compression Coil Spring as Elastic Pressing Part 11 Spool Housing 12 Spool Removable Opening 14 Ink Ribbon Moving Window 15 End Face Plate 16 Round Hole as Spool Fitting 17 End Face Plate 18 Spool Fitting U-shaped groove 19 Projection 21 Rotation shaft 22 Fitting shaft 23 Flange 24 Rotation transmission 28 Groove 37 Locking claw

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A spool accommodating portion is formed on both sides through an ink ribbon moving window opened in a cassette body, and spools are rotatably fitted in the spool accommodating portion and wound around one spool. In the ink ribbon cassette for winding the ink ribbon on the other spool, the cassette body is provided with a spool attaching / detaching opening on one side over substantially the entire length of a pair of semi-cylindrical spool accommodating portions, and one end of each spool accommodating portion is provided. Part and the other end part are integrally formed with end face plate parts, and each end face plate part is formed with a spool fitting part. The spool has an end face plate part of a spool accommodating part on one end side of a rotary shaft part. And a rotation transmission portion for transmitting the rotation imparted by the printer to the rotation shaft portion on the other end side, and the fitting shaft portion of the spool. The elastic pressing portion is fitted to the portion, and the fitting shaft portion is slidably fitted to the spool fitting portion of the end face plate portion on one end side against the elastic pressing portion to rotate the spool. An ink ribbon cassette, wherein a transmission portion is slidably fitted to a spool fitting portion of an end face plate portion on the other end side. 2. A circular hole is concentrically formed as a spool fitting portion on an end face plate portion on one end side of the spool accommodating portion, and a U-shaped groove is formed on the end face plate portion on the other end side as a spool fitting portion for spool attachment / detachment opening. Is formed from the side, and an annular groove is provided on the other end side of the spool that faces the inner surface of the end face plate portion provided with the U-shaped groove, and the U-shaped groove is provided on the other end side end face plate portion. 2. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, further comprising a concave groove portion and a projecting portion that is engageable with and disengageable from the deepest portion of the character groove in the axial direction. 3. The spool, wherein the fitting shaft portion and the rotation transmitting portion are separately formed with respect to the rotating shaft portion so as to be separable, and the fitting shaft portion is removably fitted to one end side of the rotating shaft portion. 2. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein the rotation transmission portion is removably fitted to the other end of the rotation shaft portion and is engaged in the rotation direction. 4. The fitting shaft portion of the spool has a flange portion integrally formed on the side fitted with the rotation shaft portion, and a locking claw portion having elasticity in the radial direction integrally formed on the end portion on the opposite side. 4. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 3, wherein the ink ribbon cassette is molded, and an elastic pressing portion is fitted between the flange portion and the locking claw portion.