JPH09156177A - Ink ribbon case for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate mounting of a spool shaft onto a housing and demounting of spool shaft therefrom by proving one integrally bent spring piece of a spool push spring with a shaft hole for passing a driven side shaft part and providing the other spring piece with a punch hole for passing a bearing part and engaging the fringe part of punch hole with the rear surface of bearing part. SOLUTION: Under a state where a bearing part 19 is born on a driven side shaft part 8, fringe part 23a of a hole 23 punched through the other spring piece 21b is engaged with the rear surface of bearing part 19 and it does not project upward. Since the punch hole 23 of a spool push spring 21 is fitted over the bearing part 19, the spool push spring 21 is supported stably without being shifted laterally. Furthermore, since the forward end part of spring piece 21b of the spool push spring 21 is formed at a curled part 24, the spool push spring 21 is set in place while preventing the forward end part thereof from sticking a wall plate 15 to be caught thereby in the way of setting.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is used in a printer for printing a recorded image such as a video image as a hard copy, a so-called color photograph, and accommodates an ink ribbon unit in which an ink ribbon is wound around a spool shaft. The present invention relates to an ink ribbon housing that constitutes a shell of the ink ribbon cartridge described above.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink ribbon cartridge used in a printer of this type is mounted in a printer and a printing operation is performed on photographic paper. This ink ribbon cartridge is generally sold together with the ink ribbon unit.

The conventional ink ribbon cartridge described above will be described with reference to FIGS. The ink ribbon cartridge generally includes a lower shell 40, an upper shell 41, and an ink ribbon unit 1 as shown in FIG.

First, the structure of the lower shell 40 will be described. The lower shell 40 has a pair of substantially semicircular spool shaft accommodating portions 42, 43 on the left and right, and both spool shaft accommodating portions 42, 4 are provided.
Both ends of 3 are connected by wall plates 44 and 45.
One wall plate 44 has an ink ribbon unit 1 which will be described later.
Bearing holes 4 for receiving the drive side shafts of both spool shafts
6, 47 are provided, and the bearing hole 4 is provided in the other wall plate 45.
U-shaped bearing portions 48 and 49 are provided so as to face the shaft portions of the driven shafts of both spool shafts, respectively. An opening 50 is formed between the spool shaft storage portions 42 and 43 described above. Both spool shaft storage parts 42,
Ribs 51, 51 are formed on the outer edge of 43.

[0005] The upper shell 41 has an opening 52 having substantially the same size as the opening 50 of the lower shell 40 on the upper surface thereof. Configure. In addition, upper shell 4
Ribs 53, 53 are also formed on the outer edge of the first member.

On the other hand, the ink ribbon unit 1 is constructed as follows. Reference numeral 2 denotes a ribbon supply-side spool shaft on which an unused ink ribbon 3 is wound, and reference numeral 4 denotes a ribbon winding-side spool shaft on which a used ink ribbon is wound. Hollow drive-side shafts 5 and 6 are provided at one ends of the spool shafts 2 and 4 via flanges 5a and 6a, and a printer device (not shown) is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drive-side shafts 5 and 6. The protrusions 5b and 6b that engage with the drive shaft are formed.

[0007] At the other end of both spool shafts 2 and 4, driven shafts 7 and 8 are provided. A ribbon code reading ring 9 is rotatably supported on a shaft portion between the ribbon supply side spool 2 and the driven side shaft portion 7.

In assembling the ink ribbon car cartridge thus constructed, first, the drive side shaft portions 5, 6 of both spool shafts 2, 4 of the ink ribbon unit 1 are attached to the lower shell 40.
Then, the driven shafts 7, 8 are respectively supported by the driven shafts 48, 49, and the spool shafts 2, 4 are housed in the spool shaft housings 42, 43, respectively. After that, the upper shell 41 is united with the lower shell 40, and the ribs 51 and 53 that join the two shells 40 and 41 are welded and fixed by spot welding 54 using ultrasonic waves.
The ink ribbon cartridge shown in FIG. 5 is configured. Therefore, the ink ribbon 3 which traverses from the ribbon supply side spool shaft 2 to the ribbon take-up side spool shaft 4 is provided in both shells 40, 4.
It is exposed from the first openings 50 and 52. Further, a part of the ribbon code reading ring 9 is exposed from the cutout portions 40a and 41a formed in the shells 40 and 41, respectively.

[0009]

By the way, when the conventional ink ribbon cartridge described above is mounted in a printer and used for a printing operation and all the ink ribbons are used up,
The ink ribbon cannot be reused and is discarded.
However, since the functions of the lower shell 40 and the upper shell 41 forming the casing of the cartridge are not impaired at all, it is possible to use them again if the ink ribbon unit is taken out from within the shell. However, since both shells 40 and 41 are fixed by welding, it is difficult to separate them. Therefore, in the conventional art, the entire ink ribbon cartridge has to be discarded.

Further, when disposing of the ink ribbon cartridge, it is necessary to separate the cartridge and separate the used ink ribbon from the shell and the spool shaft, which is troublesome and costly. Met.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the ink shell of a printer can be reused while the cartridge shell can be repeatedly reused. The purpose is to obtain a housing for.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink ribbon housing of a printer according to the present invention has a ribbon supply spool shaft around which an unused ink ribbon is wound and a used ink ribbon. In an ink ribbon housing of a printer having a spool shaft housing portion in which a ribbon winding spool shaft for winding is rotatably housed, a pair of substantially parallel ink ribbon housings each having an opening at a central portion thereof. A semi-circular spool shaft accommodating portion, a bearing hole in which the drive side shaft portions of both spool shafts are supported by a first wall plate connecting one end side of the spool shaft accommodating portion, and the other end side of the spool shaft accommodating portion. A bearing portion for receiving the driven side shaft portions of both spool shafts on a second wall plate connecting the spool shaft and the spool shaft to the drive side shaft portion side, which is interposed between the second wall plate and the driven side shaft portion. Consisting of a biasing spool push spring The spool pushing spring has a shaft hole through which the driven side shaft portion of one spring piece integrally bent is inserted, and a hole through which the bearing portion is inserted into the other spring piece. The opening edge of the hole is engaged with the back surface of the bearing.

With this structure, it is possible to prevent the driven side shaft portion from dropping off from the bearing portion together with the spool pressing spring. Therefore, the conventional upper shell becomes unnecessary and the spool shaft The attachment / detachment operation can be performed easily and easily and can be manufactured at a low cost with a simple structure.

Further, the spool push spring is formed of a leaf spring member such as phosphor bronze formed in a substantially inverted U shape, and has a shaft hole in which a driven side shaft portion of one spring piece of the spool push spring is supported. Since the other spring piece of the spool push spring has a hole through which the bearing part is inserted, and the opening edge of the tip of this hole is engaged with the back surface of the bearing part, the spool push spring does not fall off. In addition to the above, the conventional upper shell is not required, and it can be manufactured at a low cost with a simple structure.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an ink ribbon housing of a printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon cartridge according to this embodiment, showing the ink ribbon unit, the ink ribbon housing of the present invention and its accessories in a separated state.

The ink ribbon unit has the same structure as the ink ribbon unit 1 described with reference to FIG. 4, and a ribbon supply side spool shaft 2 around which an unused ink ribbon 3 is wound up and a ribbon around which a used ink ribbon is wound up. It is composed of the winding side spool shaft 4. Hollow drive-side shafts 5 and 6 are provided at one ends of the spool shafts 2 and 4 via flanges 5a and 6a, and a printer device (not shown) is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the drive-side shafts 5 and 6. Projection 5 that engages with the drive shaft of
b, 6b are formed.

Further, driven side shaft portions 7 and 8 are provided at the other end portions of both spool shafts 2 and 4. A ribbon code reading ring 9 is attached to the driven side shaft portion 7 of the ribbon supply side spool 2.
Is rotatably inserted. Incidentally, 3a is a label for displaying the winding start of the ink ribbon 3.

Next, the structure of the ink ribbon housing of the present invention will be described. The entire ink ribbon housing (hereinafter, simply referred to as a housing) is indicated by reference numeral 10. The housing 10 has a pair of parallel semi-circular spool shaft accommodating portions 12 and 13 arranged in the center with an opening 11 in between, and both end portions of both spool shaft accommodating portions 12 and 13 have a first portion. Are connected by the wall plate 14 and the second wall plate 15. One wall plate 14 is provided with bearing holes 16 and 17 for receiving the drive side shaft portions 5 and 6 of the spool shafts 2 and 4 of the ink ribbon unit 1, and the other second wall plate 15 is provided with both bearing holes 16. U-shaped bearing portions 18 and 19 are provided on which the driven shaft portions 7 and 8 of the spool shafts 2 and 4 are supported. The wall plate 15 is reinforced by the reinforcing ribs 20. Further, a cutout portion 12a for exposing the ribbon code reading ring 9 laterally is formed on the outer side portion of the spool shaft housing portion 12.

Reference numeral 21 is interposed between the driven side shaft portions 7 and 8 and the second wall plate 15 to urge the spool shafts 2 and 4 to the drive side shaft portions 5 and 6 by a spring, and the bearing portion 18. , 19 is a spool pressing spring of the present invention capable of bearing the driven side shaft portions 7 and 8 without dropping.

The spool pressing spring 21 is composed of a leaf spring of, for example, phosphor bronze or the like formed in a substantially inverted U shape. The spool pressing spring 21 has a shaft hole 22 through which the driven side shaft portion of the ink ribbon spool shaft is inserted in one spring piece 21a, and a hole other than the other spring piece 21b and the shaft hole 22 is formed in a hole 23. It is processed. In addition, the spring piece 21
The tip of b is formed in the curl portion 24 inward.

In the procedure for accommodating the ink ribbon unit 1 in the housing 10 constructed as described above, first, the ribbon code reading ring 9 is attached to the driven side shaft portion 7 of the ribbon supply side spool shaft 2 of the ink ribbon unit 1. Insert the shaft holes 22 of the spool pushing springs 21 and 21 into the driven side shaft portions 7 and 8.
Insert 22. In this state, both drive side shaft parts 5, 6
After being inserted into the bearing holes 16 and 17 of the corresponding casings, the spool push springs 21 and 21 are inserted into the bearing portions 18 and 19 of the corresponding casing 10, respectively.

This situation will be described with reference to the bearing portion 19 of the ribbon take-up side spool shaft 4 shown in FIG. 2. The other spring piece 21b of the spool pushing spring 21 inserted into and supported by the driven side shaft portion 8 is replaced by one spring. The hole 2 while narrowing to the side of the piece 21a
The bearing work is completed by inserting 3 into the bearing portion 19 and bearing the driven side shaft portion 8 in the bearing portion 19 and then releasing the pressing force of the spool pressing spring 21.

FIG. 3 shows an ink ribbon unit 1 in a housing 10.
The ribbon spool side spool shaft 4 in the drawing.
The sectional view of the example of the state in which was attached is shown.

That is, in the ribbon take-up side spool shaft 4, when the driven side shaft portion 8 is supported by the bearing portion 19, the spool pressing spring 21 has both spring pieces 21a and 21b between the end surface of the spool shaft 4 and the wall surface 15. Therefore, the spool shaft 4 is spring-biased toward the drive-side shaft portion 6 side by the spring repulsive force of the spool pressing spring 21, so that the drive-side shaft portion 6 is spring-loaded toward the bearing hole 17 side of the housing 10. Bearings are energized.

In the bearing state of the driven side shaft portion 8 with respect to the bearing portion 19, the spool pressing spring 21 has the other spring piece 21.
The opening edge 23a of the punched hole 23 formed in b is the bearing portion 1
Since it engages with the rear surface of the spool 9, it does not come out upward. Further, since the hole 23 of the spool pushing spring 21 is inserted from the outside of the bearing portion 19, the spool pushing spring 21 is positioned laterally. It can be stably supported without shifting.

Further, the spring piece 21 of the spool pushing spring 21
Since the tip end portion of b is formed in the curl portion 24, the tip end portion does not pierce the wall plate 15 at the time of insertion of the spool push spring 21 and is caught on the way, and can be inserted in the original position.

FIG. 3 shows a case where the ink ribbon unit 1 in which the ink ribbon has been used is taken out from the housing 10.
The spring piece 2 of the spool push spring 21 will be described.
With the curl portion 24 of 1b closed by a tool etc., the hole 2
3 is pulled out from the bearing portion 19 and the driven side shaft portion 7 is pulled up,
After that, the drive side shaft portion 6 may be extracted.

Thus, the housing 10 according to the present invention is shown in FIG.
The structure of the lower shell 40 used in the related art described in 1) is used as it is, and the two spool pushing springs 2 of the present invention are used.
It is possible to configure an ink ribbon housing in which the ink ribbon unit 1 can be easily attached and detached only by using 1. For this reason, although the used ink ribbon unit is discarded, a new ink ribbon unit can be accommodated in the housing, so that the ink ribbon housing can be reused repeatedly.

The ink ribbon housing itself may have the same structure as the conventional lower shell 40, and the upper shell 41 is not required. Therefore, the structure is extremely simplified and can be manufactured at low cost. Can be saved.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

In the present invention, the case 10 is described as a single type having the same structure as that of the conventional lower shell. However, although not shown, the case 10 corresponds to the upper shell or The lid may be configured to close the upper part of the housing 10. In this case, it is necessary to open and close the casing and lid corresponding to the upper shell with respect to the casing 10 by the hinge means.
As a result, the ink ribbon unit can be attached to and detached from the housing 10, and the housing 10 can be repeatedly used.

[0033]

As described above, the ink ribbon housing of the printer of the present invention accommodates a pair of parallel semi-circular spool shafts in which the ink ribbon housing is arranged in the center with an opening. Part, a bearing hole for receiving the drive side shaft portions of both spool shafts in a first wall plate that connects one end side of the spool shaft housing portion, and a second wall that connects the other end side of the spool shaft housing portion A bearing portion for supporting the driven shaft portions of both spool shafts in the plate in the drive side shaft portion direction is interposed between the second wall plate and the driven side shaft portion, and urges the spool shaft toward the drive side shaft portion side. The spool push spring has a shaft hole through which the driven side shaft portion of one spring piece integrally bent is inserted, and the spool push spring is inserted into the bearing portion of the other spring piece. Have holes,
Since the opening edge of the hole is configured to engage with the back surface of the bearing, the spool shaft can be easily attached to and detached from the housing, and as a result, the ink ribbon can be replaced. Therefore, there is an effect that the ink ribbon housing can be repeatedly reused.

Further, the ink ribbon housing itself may have the same structure as the conventional lower shell, and the upper shell is not required. Therefore, the structure is extremely simplified and can be manufactured at low cost, and at the same time, resource saving is achieved. Can be achieved.

Further, the spool push spring is formed of a leaf spring member formed in a substantially inverted U shape, and has a shaft hole in which the driven side shaft portion of one of the spring pieces of the spool push spring is received. Since the other spring piece has a hole to be inserted into the bearing and the opening edge of the tip of this hole is engaged with the back surface of the bearing, the spool push spring can be prevented from falling off. There is no need for a conventional upper shell,
It can be manufactured at low cost with a simple structure.

Further, since the curl portion formed at the tip of the other spring piece is brought into contact with the second wall surface of the spool push spring, the tip end is caught in the middle of the wall plate when the spool push spring is inserted. It can be inserted into a predetermined position without any need.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon housing and an ink ribbon unit of the present invention in a separated state.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bearing structure of the ink ribbon housing of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a state in which a spool shaft is supported by the ink ribbon housing of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional ink ribbon cartridge in a disassembled state.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a conventional ink ribbon cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Ribbon Unit 2 Ribbon Supply Side Spool Shaft 3 Ink Ribbon 4 Ribbon Winding Side Spool Shaft 5,6 Drive Side Shaft 7,8 Driven Side Shaft 10 Ink Ribbon Housing 12,13 Spool Shaft Storage 14 First Wall plate 15 Second wall plate 16,17 Bearing hole 18,19 Bearing portion 21 Spool push spring 22 Shaft hole 23 Drain hole 24 Curl portion

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink for a printer having a spool shaft accommodating portion in which a ribbon supply spool shaft around which an unused ink ribbon is wound and a ribbon take-up spool shaft around which a used ink ribbon is wound are rotatably accommodated. In the ribbon housing, the ink ribbon housing has a pair of substantially semicircular spool shaft accommodating portions arranged in parallel with an opening in the center and a first end connecting the spool shaft accommodating portion with one end side thereof. Bearing holes through which the drive-side shaft portions of both spool shafts are borne, and the second side wall plate that connects the other end side of the spool shaft housing portion with the driven-side shaft portions of both spool shafts. And a spool pushing spring that is interposed between the second wall plate and the driven side shaft portion and biases the spool shaft toward the drive side shaft portion side. Spool push spring is integrated One of the bent spring pieces has a shaft hole through which the driven side shaft portion is inserted, and the other spring piece has a hole through which the bearing portion is inserted, and the opening edge portion of the hole is formed. A casing for an ink ribbon of a printer, characterized in that the spool pushing spring is engaged with the back surface of the bearing portion to prevent the spool pushing spring from falling off. 2. The ink ribbon casing for a printer according to claim 1, wherein the spool push spring is a leaf spring member formed in a substantially inverted U shape, and one of the spring pieces of the spool push spring is driven by the follower. The side shaft portion has a shaft hole for bearing, and the other spring piece of the spool pressing spring has a hole for insertion into the bearing portion. A housing for an ink ribbon of a printer, characterized in that it is engaged with the back surface. 3. The ink ribbon casing for a printer according to claim 1, wherein the spool pushing spring is configured such that a curl portion formed at a tip end portion of the other spring piece is brought into contact with the second wall surface. A housing for an ink ribbon of a printer, which is characterized in that