JPH0872348A - Ink cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To contrive size and thickness reduction of a device easily without reducing the size of main components such as thermal head and a platen roller, and ensure a good ink sheet traveling, a good mount ability, easy manufacture and a good recording paper traveling. CONSTITUTION: A supply side guide part 18 and winding side guide part 19 are provided to form passage for an ink sheet 12, by which spaces where a thermal head, a pinch roller etc., are on stand-by are generated respectively near a supply side storage part 15 on the upper side of the passage of the ink sheet 12 and a winding side storage part 16 on the lower side of the passage of the ink sheet 12, thus minimizing a retract space for setting an ink cassette at a printer device.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cassette applicable to a thermal transfer type printer device for recording various information such as image information on recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a printer device, a device which records various video signals on a recording paper in full color has become widespread.

A conventional ink cassette will be described below. FIG. 3 shows a plan view and a front sectional view of a conventional ink cassette. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 is an ink sheet having ink applied on its lower surface, 2 is a supply reel on which the ink sheet 1 before use is wound, and 3 is a take-up reel for winding the ink sheet. Reference numeral 4 is a supply-side storage portion that stores the supply reel, 5 is a winding-side storage portion that stores the winding reel, and 6
Reference characters a and 6b are connecting portions that connect the supply-side storage portion 4 and the winding-side storage portion 5.

Also, the path of the ink sheet 1 in the opening area formed between the supply side storage section 4 and the winding side storage section 5 is shown in FIG.
It changes according to the change in the diameter of the supply reel 2 and the take-up reel 3 as indicated by the two-dot chain line.

On the other hand, FIG. 4 shows a front view when the ink cassette configured as described above is mounted in the printer device. 7 is a thermal head, 8 is recording paper, 9
Is a platen roller that holds the recording paper and the ink sheet 1 together with the thermal head 7, 10 is a capstan roller that conveys the recording paper 8, and 11 is a pinch roller that presses the recording paper 8 against the capstan roller 10.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, when the ink cassette is mounted on the printer device in the reel axial direction, the opening formed between the supply side storage portion 4 and the winding side storage portion 5 is formed. The thermal head 7 is located above the ink sheet 1, and the platen roller 9, the capstan roller 10 and the pinch roller 11 are located below the ink sheet 1 so as not to interfere with the path area of the ink sheet 1 and the projection portion of the connecting portion 6b. You must be retracted in the direction.
Therefore, a large retreat space for mounting the ink cassette is required in the printer device, which causes a problem that the printer device becomes large. Further, since it is difficult to mount the ink cassette horizontally to the printer device, it is difficult to make the printer device thin.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink cassette suitable for reducing the size and thickness of a printer.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, an ink cassette of the present invention comprises a supply reel around which an ink sheet is wound, a take-up reel around which the ink sheet is wound,
A supply side storage section for storing the supply reel, a winding side storage section for storing the winding reel, and a connecting section for connecting both storage sections,
When the ink application surface is on the lower side, the ink sheet in the opening area is wound on both reels with an opening formed between both storage portions. It has a path that is conveyed upward regardless of the diameter.

[0009]

With this configuration, when the ink cassette is mounted, spaces are provided near the supply side storage section on the upper side of the ink sheet path and near the winding side storage section on the lower side of the ink sheet path, respectively, where the thermal head and the pinch roller etc. stand by. . Therefore, the retreat space for mounting the ink cassette in the printer device becomes small, and the ink cassette can be mounted almost horizontally to the printer device, so that the printer device can be easily miniaturized and thinned.

[0010]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a front sectional view showing an ink cassette of this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the ink cassette of the same embodiment. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 denotes an ink sheet having ink applied to the lower surface, 13 a supply reel on which the ink sheet 12 before use is wound, 14 a take-up reel for winding the ink sheet, and 15 a supply reel. Supply side storage section 16, reference numeral 16a is a winding side storage section for storing the take-up reel, and 17a and 17b are connection sections for connecting the supply side storage section 15 and the winding side storage section 16, wherein the connection section 17b is
It is formed near the path of the ink sheet 12 on the projection plane in the reel axial direction while having a portion parallel to the straight line connecting the center of the supply reel 13 and the center of the take-up reel 14. Also, 1
Reference numeral 8 denotes a supply-side guide portion formed in the supply-side accommodation portion 15,
Reference numeral 9 is a winding side guide portion formed in the winding side accommodation portion 16. With these, regardless of the winding diameters of the supply reel 13 and the take-up reel 14, a path is formed in which the ink sheet 12 is always conveyed upward with respect to the straight line connecting the center of the supply reel 13 and the center of the take-up reel 14. Has been done.

The state and operation when the ink cassette configured as described above is mounted in the printer device will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).

Reference numeral 20 is a thermal head, 21 is a recording paper, and 2
2 is a recording paper 21 and an ink sheet 12 which is a thermal head 2
A platen roller 23 sandwiches the recording paper 21, a capstan roller 23 conveys the recording paper 21, a pinch roller 24 presses the recording paper 21 against the capstan roller 23, and a sheet guide 25. FIG. 2A shows a state in which the ink cassette is mounted, and the thermal head 20, the platen roller 22, the capstan roller 23, and the pinch roller 24.
Is disposed at a position where the path of the ink sheet 12 and the connecting portion 17b are retracted. In this state, the recording paper 21 is conveyed to a predetermined position in the platen roller 22 direction by the capstan roller 23 and the pinch roller 24. Further, as the take-up reel 14 rotates, the ink sheet 12 is conveyed to a predetermined position. Next, FIG.
As shown in (b), the thermal head 20 moves,
The ink sheet 12 and the recording paper 21 are sandwiched and pressed against the platen roller 22. Capstan roller 23 in that state
When a voltage is applied to the thermal head 20 while the take-up reel 14 rotates, a predetermined image is printed on the recording paper 21.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ink cassette is provided with the supply side guide portion 18 and the winding side guide portion 19 as shown in FIG. 12-side upper supply side storage unit 1
5 and the take-up side storage portion 16 below the ink sheet 12 path
In the vicinity, the thermal head 20 and the pinch roller 2 respectively
4 and the like have a space to stand by, the retreat space for mounting the ink cassette in the printer device becomes small, and further, since the ink cassette can be mounted almost horizontally to the printer device, the printer device can be made smaller and thinner. You can easily.

Further, the supply side guide portion 18 and the take-up side guide portion 19 are arranged so that the path of the ink sheet 12 is constant regardless of the winding start and winding end, and the ink sheet 1
2 is configured so that the side opposite to the ink application surface is in contact, the ink sheet 12 of FIGS. 2A and 2B is conveyed smoothly and at the time of printing, without causing scratches or the like on the ink application surface, and The ink sheet 12 can be stably conveyed and wound on the take-up reel side.

Further, the connecting portion 17b is formed near the path of the ink sheet 12 on the reel axial projection plane while having a portion parallel to the straight line connecting the center of the supply reel 13 and the center of the take-up reel 14. As a result, the ink cassette can be smoothly mounted without the connecting portion 17b interfering with the thermal head 20, the pinch roller 24, and the like, and the connecting portion 17b can be easily welded in manufacturing the ink cassette.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, the other end portion 15a of the supply-side storage portion 15 is formed at a position higher than the tip end position of the supply-side guide portion 18 at least on the paper entry path. By doing so, it is possible to prevent a paper jam when the paper enters.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the ink application surface is on the lower side, the ink sheet in the opening area is wound around the straight line connecting the center of the supply reel and the center of the take-up reel. Regardless of the above, by forming a path that is conveyed upward, when the ink cassette is mounted, the thermal head and the thermal head are respectively provided near the supply side storage section on the upper side of the ink sheet path and the winding side storage section on the lower side of the ink sheet path. There will be a space for the pinch rollers to stand by. Therefore, the retreat space for mounting the ink cassette in the printer device becomes small, and the ink cassette can be mounted almost horizontally to the printer device, so that the printer device can be easily miniaturized and thinned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view and a front sectional view of an ink cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a front view showing a state in which the ink cassette in the same embodiment is mounted on the printer device. FIG. 2B is a front view in a printing state of the printer device in the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view and a front sectional view of a conventional ink cassette.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a state in which a conventional ink cassette is attached to a printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 12 ink sheet 13 supply reel 14 take-up reel 15 supply-side storage section 16 winding-side storage section 17 connecting section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Tsuneharu Nishikura 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Takayuki Koike 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A supply reel around which an ink sheet is wound, a take-up reel around which the ink sheet is wound, a supply-side storage portion that stores the supply reel, and a take-up side that stores the take-up reel. When the ink application surface is on the lower side, the center of the supply reel and the center of the take-up reel include a storage portion, a connecting portion that connects the storage portions, and an opening formed between the storage portions. An ink cassette having a path through which the ink sheet in the opening area is conveyed upward with respect to a straight line connecting the two regardless of the winding diameters of the reels. 2. A guide portion for the ink sheet is provided in at least one of the storage portions so that the ink sheet path in the opening area is substantially constant regardless of the diameters of the supply reel and the take-up reel, and at least the supply side guide. The ink cassette according to claim 1, wherein the portion is in contact with the opposite side of the ink application surface of the ink sheet. 3. At least one connecting portion is formed in the vicinity of the ink sheet path area on both reel axial projection surfaces, and a portion parallel to the straight line connecting the center of the supply reel and the center of the take-up reel is formed in the connecting portion. The ink cassette according to claim 1, wherein the ink cassette is provided in at least one place. 4. The ink cassette according to claim 2, wherein the other end portion of the supply-side storage portion is formed at a position higher than at least the leading end position of the supply-side guide portion at least on the paper entry path.