JPH09220838A - Ink ribbon cassette for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink ribbon cassette of a printer with a rotation stop component for stopping the rotation of a ribbon spool shaft and preventing the insertion of a cassette into a printer in the state of stopping the rotation. SOLUTION: This ribbon cassette is provided with driving side shaft sections 9 and 10 with fitting holes 9a and 10a on one end side and follower side shaft sections 11 and 12 on the other end side of a ribbon feed spool shaft 6, on which an unused ink ribbon 7 is wound, and a ribbon rolling spool shaft 8 for rolling the unused ink ribbon are provided, and shaft sections 9, 10 and 11, 12 are fitted removably in bearing holes 2a and 3a and follower sections 4 and 5 respectively. Also the ribbon cassette is provided with stopper sections fitted into the fitting holes 9a and 10a of the shaft sections 9 and 10 as rotation stop means of the ribbon feed spool shaft 6 and the ribbon rolling spool shaft 8 on a stopper main body section 20 and rotation stop components extending from one end side of the ribbon feed spool shaft 6 side on the end of the stopper main body section 20 and engaged with a cassette case 1, and the stopper sections are integrated with a protruded hook section.

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 used in a printer for printing an information recorded image such as a video image as a hard copy, so-called color photograph.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, 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 housed in an ink ribbon cassette of this type. . The ink ribbon cassette is inserted into the printer device, and the printing operation is performed on the printing paper via the ink ribbon based on the image signal from the printing head. Then, the above-described ink ribbon cassette itself is provided for sale.

In the ink ribbon cassette constructed as described above, since the ribbon supply spool shaft and the ribbon take-up spool shaft are rotatably accommodated in the cassette housing, for example, both spools are sold when the ink ribbon cassette is sold or transported. Since the shaft may idle and the ink ribbon may be loosened, or the bearing portion of the cassette housing may be damaged due to vibration during transportation, a rotation stopping member for the spool shaft is provided to prevent this.

As the rotation stopping member, there is a method (not shown) such that the spool shaft is adhered to the cassette housing with an adhesive tape or the like to make it unrotatable, or a method as shown in FIG.

The structure of the ink ribbon cassette and an example of a conventional rotation stopping member for the spool shaft will be described below with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a cassette housing which constitutes the main body of the housing of the ink ribbon cassette. The cassette housing 1 has a substantially boat-like shape with an open upper part, and a pair of circular bearing holes 2a and 3a are formed in the bearing plates 2 and 3 on one end side thereof. Further, U-shaped bearing portions 4 and 5 are provided on the other end side.

On the other hand, reference numeral 6 is a ribbon supply spool shaft on which an unused ink ribbon 7 is wound, and 8 is a ribbon winding spool shaft on which a used ink ribbon is wound. Drive spools 9 and 10 are provided on one end sides of both spool shafts 6 and 8. Fitting holes 9a and 10a into which the drive shafts of a printer device (not shown) are engaged with the drive shafts 9 and 10.
And engaging ribs 9b, 10 on the inner walls of the fitting holes 9a, 10a.
b is formed. The drive side shaft portions 9 and 10 are rotatably supported in the bearing holes 2a and 3a of the cassette housing 1.

Further, driven side shaft portions 11 and 12 are provided on the other end sides of the spool shafts 6 and 8, respectively.
12 is supported by U-shaped bearings 4 and 5, and the shaft ends of the driven-side shafts 11 and 12 are pushed by a not-shown push spring provided in the cassette housing 1 to drive-side shafts 9. 1
It is urged to the 0 side.

The driven shafts 11 and 12 are prevented from coming off by being restrained by a stopper (not shown) provided in the upper casing 13 assembled from the top of the cassette casing 1. The ink ribbon 7 that crosses between the spool shafts 6 and 8 is exposed through a window hole (not shown) that is open at the bottom of the cassette housing 1.

The spool shaft anti-rotation member is a cylindrical stopper member 1 which is engaged with the fitting holes 9a, 10a of the drive side shaft portions 9, 10 at both ends of the plate-shaped main body portion 14, respectively.
5, 16 are provided on the surface of which rib-shaped protrusions 15a,
16a is formed.

The rotation stopping member described above is the stopper member 1.
5, 16 from the outside to the fitting holes 9a of the drive side shaft portions 9, 10,
Fitting holes 9a, 10a by fitting into 10a, respectively.
Engaging ribs 9b, 10b of the stopper ribs 15a, 16a of the stopper members 15, 16 are engaged with each other, whereby the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 and the ribbon take-up spool shaft 8 are engaged.
It is possible to stop the rotation.

[0012]

By the way, the above-described rotation stopping of the spool shaft by the adhesive tape has a problem that it is difficult to accurately attach the spool tape at a predetermined position in the step of attaching the adhesive tape. Moreover, the ink ribbon cassette to which the adhesive tape is attached can be inserted into the printer device, and the rotation stop of the spool shaft by the rotation stop member described above is of a size that can be accommodated in the wall surface of the cassette housing 1. Similarly, it can be inserted into the printer device. Therefore, if the user inserts the adhesive tape in the printer with the adhesive tape attached or with the rotation stopping member attached, there is a problem in that the printer is hindered and a failure occurs.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and prevents the ribbon spool shaft from being reliably rotated and prevents the cassette from being inserted into the printer when the rotation is stopped. It is an object to obtain an ink ribbon cassette of a printer provided with various rotation stopping members.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink ribbon cassette of a printer according to the present invention comprises:
A drive side shaft part having a fitting hole at one end side of 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, and a driven side shaft part at the other end side. In an ink ribbon cassette of a printer, wherein the drive-side shaft portion and the driven-side shaft portion are rotatably supported by the drive-side bearing portion and the driven-side bearing portion of the cassette housing, respectively, a ribbon supply spool shaft and a ribbon take-up spool. As a shaft rotation stopping means, a stopper portion is fitted in the stopper body portion in the fitting holes of the drive side shaft portions of both spool shafts, and extends from at least one end side of the stopper body portion to engage with the cassette housing. The rotation stopping member is integrally provided with the protruding hook portion.

With this structure, it is possible to reliably prevent the rotation stopping action of the spool shaft and the axial movement of the spool shaft.

Further, since the projecting hook portion is provided on the ribbon supply spool shaft side, the rotation stopping member can firmly fix the ribbon supply spool shaft side, whereby the ink ribbon is wound. It is possible to prevent the heavy weight of the ribbon supply spool shaft from moving in the axial direction, and to prevent the pressing spring from being damaged by the movement of the ribbon supply spool shaft in the axial direction.

Further, since the anti-rotation member is designed such that the protruding hook portion also functions as an insertion preventing member into the printer when the anti-rotation member is attached to the ink ribbon cassette, the cassette is inserted into the printer device with the anti-rotation member attached. Even if an attempt is made, the protruding hook portion abuts on the cassette insertion opening of the printer device, and the insertion can be prevented.

[0018]

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

FIG. 1 is a perspective view in which the ink ribbon cassette and the rotation stopping member are separated, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which the rotation stopping member is attached to the ink ribbon cassette.

The ink ribbon cassette has the same structure as that described with reference to FIG. That is, the cassette housing 1 constituting the main body of the ink ribbon cassette housing has a substantially boat-like shape with an open upper part, and the bearing plates 2 and 3 on one end side thereof have a pair of circular bearing holes 2a and 3a. Are formed. Also,
U-shaped bearings 4 and 5 are provided on the other end side.

On the other hand, reference numeral 6 is a ribbon supply spool shaft on which an unused ink ribbon 7 is wound, and 8 is a ribbon winding spool shaft on which a used ink ribbon is wound. Drive spools 9 and 10 are provided on one end sides of both spool shafts 6 and 8. Fitting holes 9a and 10a into which the drive shafts of a printer device (not shown) are engaged with the drive shafts 9 and 10.
And engaging ribs 9b, 10 on the inner walls of the fitting holes 9a, 10a.
b is formed. The drive side shaft portions 9 and 10 are rotatably supported in the bearing holes 2a and 3a of the cassette housing 1.

Further, driven side shaft portions 11 and 12 are provided on the other end sides of the spool shafts 6 and 8, respectively.
12 is supported by U-shaped bearings 4 and 5, and the shaft ends of the driven-side shafts 11 and 12 are pushed by a not-shown push spring provided in the cassette housing 1 to drive-side shafts 9. 1
It is urged to the 0 side.

The driven shafts 11 and 12 are prevented from coming off by being restrained by a stopper (not shown) provided in the upper casing 13 assembled from above the cassette casing 1. The ink ribbon 7 that crosses between the spool shafts 6 and 8 is exposed through a window hole (not shown) that is open at the bottom of the cassette housing 1.

The structure of the rotation stopping member according to the present invention will now be described. The rotation stopping member is made of, for example, polyphenylene (PP), polyethylene (PE), synthetic paper, or the like, and a flat member having a thickness of about 0.2 to 1.0 mm. Stopper pieces 21 and 22 having a width substantially equal to the inner wall diameters of the fitting holes 9a and 10a of the drive side shaft portions 9 and 10 are integrally formed at both ends of the stopper main body portion 20 that forms the main body portion. Further, a hook-shaped protruding hook portion 23 is integrally extended at one end of the stopper body portion 20 on the side of the stopper piece 21.

In the procedure for attaching the rotation stopping member thus configured, the protruding hook portion 23 is attached to the ribbon supply spool shaft 6
While engaging the bearing portion 2 of the drive side shaft portion 9 on the side, the stopper pieces 21 and 22 respectively correspond to the drive side shaft portions 9 and 10.
The rotation of the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 and the ribbon take-up spool shaft 8 can be stopped by inserting them into the fitting holes 9a, 10a while pressing them.

That is, the stopper pieces 21 and 22 of the stopper body 20 are fitted into the fitting holes 9a and 10 of the drive-side shafts 9 and 10, respectively.
By inserting the spool shafts 6 and 8 in a press-fitted state a, the spool shafts 6 and 8 become unrotatable due to the friction between the fitting holes 9a and 10a and the stopper pieces 21 and 22. The unused ink ribbon 7 that has been taken does not loosen and the commercial value of the ink ribbon cassette is not impaired.

Further, the stopper pieces 21 and 22 are fitted into the fitting hole 9
Even in the state of being loosely press-fitted into the a and 10a, the engaging ribs 9b and 10b of the fitting holes 9a and 10a abut against the stopper pieces 21 and 22 to prevent the rotation, so that the ink ribbon cover can be prevented as in the case described above. The commercial value of the set is not compromised.

Further, in the rotation stopping member of the present invention, at the same time as the rotation of the spool shafts 6 and 8 is stopped by the stopper pieces 21 and 22, the protruding hook portion 23 formed on one end side of the stopper body portion 20 is located on the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 side. Since it is fixed to the bearing plate 2, the ribbon feed spool shaft 6 is prevented from moving in the axial direction. That is, since the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 is a heavy spool shaft around which an unused ink ribbon is wound, the driven-side shaft portion is driven by the driving-side shaft portion due to vibration during conveyance without axial moving means. A push spring (not shown) integrally formed with the cassette housing 1 that is biased by the spring may be damaged. Therefore, the protruding hook portion 2
Since the movement of the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 in the axial direction can be prevented by means of 3, it is possible to avoid the above-mentioned damage of the pressing spring.

Further, when the spool shafts 6 and 8 are prevented from rotating by the rotation stopping member, the projecting hook portion 23 projects outside the bearing plate 2 of the cassette housing 1 as shown in FIG. When the ink ribbon cassette is inserted into the cassette insertion opening of the printer with the rotation stopping member attached, the cassette insertion opening is inserted so that the outer shapes of the bearing plates 2 and 3 of the cassette housing 1 are substantially the same. Since it has a large size, the protruding hook portion 23 does not abut against the outside of the cassette insertion port of the printer and be inserted. As a result, damage on the printer device side can be avoided.

In order to remove the rotation stopping member from the state shown in FIG. 2, the stopper piece 22 on the side opposite to the protruding hook portion 23 is pulled out from the fitting hole 10a of the ribbon take-up spool shaft 8.
After that, the stopper piece 21 may be pulled out from the fitting hole 9a of the ribbon supply spool shaft 6, and finally the protruding hook portion 23 may be removed from the cassette housing 1.

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 embodiment, the case where the protruding hook portion 23 is formed on one end side of the stopper main body 20, that is, on the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 side has been described.
By also forming the stopper body portion 20 on the other end side to prevent the ribbon take-up spool shaft 8 from moving in the axial direction, it is possible to prevent rotation of both spool shafts 6 and 8 and prevent movement in the axial direction.

Although the rotation stopping member according to the present invention is composed of a flat member, the stopper body is press-fitted into the fitting holes 9a, 10a of the drive side shaft portions 9, 10 of the spool shaft, and the stopper body. The shape is not limited as long as the protruding hook portion that engages with the cassette housing 1 is formed on at least one end side of the ribbon supply spool shaft 6 side.

[0034]

As described above, in the ink ribbon cassette of the printer of the present invention, the drive side shaft portions of both spool shafts are fitted to the stopper main body portion as the rotation stopping means of the ribbon supply spool shaft and the ribbon take-up spool shaft. Sales of ink ribbon cassettes are made up of a rotation stopper member that integrally includes a stopper portion that fits into the hole and a protruding hook portion that extends from at least one end side of the stopper body portion and that engages with the cassette housing. The rotation of both spool shafts is prevented together with the rotation of the spool shafts at the time of transportation or transportation, and the damage due to the looseness of the ink ribbon and the damage of the pressing spring on the cassette housing side can be avoided and the commercial value is not impaired.

Further, since the protruding hook portion is provided on the ribbon supply spool shaft side, the heavy weight ribbon supply spool shaft around which the ink ribbon is wound is prevented from moving in the axial direction, and the push spring is particularly easily damaged. Can be prevented from being damaged.

Further, the anti-rotation member is designed such that the protruding hook portion also functions as an insertion preventing member into the printer when the anti-rotation member is attached to the ink ribbon cassette, so that the cassette is inserted into the printer device with the anti-rotation member attached. Even if an attempt is made, the protruding hook portion abuts on the cassette insertion opening of the printer device, and erroneous insertion can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a separated state of a rotation stopper member and an ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a rotation stop member in a rotation stop state of a spool shaft.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional rotation stop member and an ink ribbon cassette in a separated state.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cassette housing, 2, 3 bearing plate, 2a, 3a bearing hole, 4, 5 bearing portion, 6 ribbon supply spool shaft, 7
Ink ribbon, 8 Ribbon take-up spool shaft, 9, 10
Drive side shaft part, 11,12 Driven side shaft part, 20 Rotation stop member 21,22 Stopper piece, 23 Projection hook part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A drive side shaft portion and a second end side having fitting holes at one end side of 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. An ink ribbon cassette of a printer comprising a driven side shaft portion, wherein the driving side shaft portion and the driven side shaft portion are rotatably borne by a driving side bearing portion and a driven side bearing portion of a cassette housing, respectively. As a rotation stopping means for the shaft and the ribbon take-up spool shaft, the stopper body is fitted into the fitting holes of the drive-side shaft portions of the both spool shafts, and from at least one end side of the stopper body. An ink ribbon cassette for a printer, comprising an anti-rotation member integrally provided with a protruding hook portion that extends and engages with the cassette housing. 2. The ink ribbon cassette of the printer according to claim 1, wherein the protruding hook portion is provided on the ribbon supply spool shaft side. 3. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protruding hook portion also functions as an insertion preventing member into the printer when the rotation stopping member is attached to the ink ribbon cassette. . 4. The ink ribbon cassette of the printer according to claim 1, wherein the rotation stopping member is composed of one flat member.