JPH1178189A - Tape cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress the excessive rewinding of a printing tape by imparting load to the printing tape by contact resistance when the printing tape is to be rewound. SOLUTION: A tape guide part 28 for guiding a printing tape 24 in such a state that both upper and rear surfaces of the printing tape 24 come into contact with the different places of the opposed surfaces of a guide route 47 into which the printing tape 24 is inserted to move is provided in a cassette case 21. Therefore, when the printing tape 24 moves through the guide route 47 of the tape guide 28, contact resistance is applied to the printing tape 24 by the opposed inner surfaces of the guide route 47 when the printing tape 24 moves through the guide route 47 of the tape guide part 28 and, therefore, when the printing tape 24 is rewound, load is applied to the printing tape 24 by contact resistance and, by this constitution, it can be suppressed that the printing tape 24 is excessively rewound.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tape cassette for printing, and more particularly, to a tape cassette for color printing used in a color printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A tape cassette for color printing is provided with an ink ribbon in which yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) color inks are sequentially and repeatedly applied in a longitudinal direction. Some also have tape.
In such a tape cassette, in the cassette case,
A tape supply reel for supplying a printing tape, a ribbon supply reel for supplying an ink ribbon, and a ribbon take-up reel for winding the ink ribbon are provided, and the printing tape and the ribbon supply reel fed from the tape supply reel. The ink ribbon overlaps outside the cassette case, and printing is performed in this state. The ink ribbon is sequentially wound up on a ribbon winding reel every time printing is performed.

A printing apparatus for performing color printing using the tape cassette for color printing needs to sequentially print each color ink of Y, M, and C, so that one color ink, for example, Y ink is used for printing. After printing on the tape, the printing tape is automatically rewound and positioned at a predetermined position. Thereafter, the M ink is overprinted on the printing tape, and this is repeated for each color ink, thereby performing color printing. It is configured to perform. In such a color printing apparatus, when sequentially printing each color ink of Y, M, and C, the printing tape is automatically rewound to perform the alignment, so that the structure of the printing apparatus becomes complicated, The number of parts is large and the cost is very high.

In order to solve such a price problem, conventionally, the basic structure of a printing apparatus for color printing is made substantially the same as that of a printing apparatus for monochrome printing, that is, a printing apparatus for monochrome printing. When performing color printing, Y,
It has been studied to perform color printing by rewinding and aligning the printing tape by the user himself each time printing of each color ink of M and C is completed.

The tape cassette for color printing used in this printing apparatus has a configuration as shown in FIG. 12 because it is necessary to rewind the printing tape. That is, the tape cassette includes a cassette case 1, in which a tape supply reel 3 for supplying a printing tape 2, a ribbon supply reel 5 for supplying an ink ribbon 4, and an ink ribbon 4 Are respectively provided rotatably. In this case, the end of the tape supply reel 3 is exposed from the cassette case 1 to the outside, and a manual operation knob 7 is provided on the exposed portion, and the user operates the operation knob 7 by hand. The printing tape 2 is configured to be rewound. In addition, Y,
M and C color inks are sequentially and repeatedly applied in the longitudinal direction. Note that the cassette case 1 is provided with a notch 8 into which the print head is inserted.
An outlet 9 through which the printing tape 2 and the ink ribbon 4 overlap and are fed out is provided.

In this tape cassette for color printing,
When color printing is performed by mounting the printing tape on the printing apparatus, the printing tape 2 fed from the tape supply reel 3 and the ink ribbon 4 fed from the ribbon supply reel 5 are fed to overlap with the cutout 8 and printed in this state. 1 depending on the head
When the second printing, for example, the printing of the Y ink, is performed, the ink ribbon 4 is moved to the ribbon take-up reel 6 in the cassette case 1.
The printing tape 2 is sent out by the amount printed, and the user himself operates the operation knob 7 of the tape supply reel 3 to rewind the printing tape 2 and print the tape. By aligning with the start position, printing the M ink for the second time, and repeating this operation and the rewinding operation for each color ink,
Performs color printing.

[0007]

However, in such a tape cassette for color printing, the conveying path from the tape supply reel 3 to the feeding of the printing tape 2 to the feeding to the notch 8 is short, and the notch 8 Outlet 9 of 8
Since the printing tape 2 hardly comes into contact with the transport path other than the above, when the printing tape 2 is rewound, the printing tape 2 hardly receives contact resistance, and thus the printing tape 2 is rewound. In some cases, the leading end of the printing tape 2 may be rewound into the cassette case 1, and in such a case, there is a problem that the printing tape 2 cannot be pulled out from the cassette case 1. Further, in this tape cassette, since the printing tape 2 and the ink ribbon 4 are sent out from an outlet 9 provided in the notch 8 in an overlapping state, when the printed printing tape 2 is rewound, The printing surface of the tape 2 and the ink surface of the ink ribbon 4 rub against each other, and the ink ribbon 4
There is also a problem that the printing tape 2 becomes dirty due to the adhesion of the ink.

An object of the present invention is to apply a load due to contact resistance to a printing tape when rewinding the printing tape,
The purpose is to prevent the printing tape from being rewound too much. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily send the printing tape out of the cassette case even if the printing tape is rewound into the cassette case to its tip. Still another object of the present invention is to prevent the printing tape from coming into contact with the ink ribbon and becoming dirty when the printing tape is rewound and drawn into the cassette case.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A cassette case, a supply reel for the printing tape rotatably provided in the cassette case, and a guide path provided in the cassette case for inserting and moving the printing tape. And a tape guide portion for guiding the printing tape in a state where both sides of the printing tape are in contact with the inner surface of the printing tape. Therefore, according to the present invention, when the printing tape moves in the guide path of the tape guide section, contact resistance can be imparted to the printing tape by the inner surfaces opposing the guide path. When the tape is rewound, a load is applied to the printing tape due to the contact resistance, so that the printing tape can be prevented from being rewound too much.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cassette case, a printing tape supply reel rotatably provided in the cassette case, and a side surface of the cassette case located near the supply reel. And an opening through which the printing tape can be pulled out. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the printing tape is rewound into the cassette case to the tip thereof, the printing tape can be easily removed from the opening provided on the side surface of the cassette case located near the supply reel. The leading end of the printing tape that has been pulled out can be inserted into a cassette case and easily sent out from a predetermined location.

In this case, as described in claim 3, a guide path is provided in the cassette case, and the printing tape is inserted and moved, and both sides of the printing tape are provided on the opposing inner surfaces of the guide path. It is desirable to have a tape guide portion that guides the printing tape in a contact state, and an opening that can be pulled out of the printing tape provided on the side surface of the cassette case located near the supply reel,
In this way, the printing tape can be prevented from being rewound too much, and even if the leading end of the printing tape is rewound into the cassette case, the printing tape can be easily moved to the outside of the cassette case. Can be sent to

Further, if the guide path of the tape guide portion is formed in a curved shape, the load due to the contact resistance is further applied to the printing tape when the printing tape is rewound. In addition, the curl of the printing tape can be reduced. In addition, as described in the fifth aspect, if the protrusions for contacting the printing tape are provided on the inner surfaces of the guide paths facing each other, it is possible to reduce the load due to unnecessary contact resistance. Further, if the reinforcing portion is provided at the edge of the opening as described in claim 6, the strength of the cassette case can be ensured, so that the opening through which the printing tape can be drawn out is formed sufficiently large in the cassette case. be able to. Furthermore, as described in claim 7, if the supply reel is provided with an urging member that applies a predetermined load, when the printing tape is rewound, back tension can be applied to the printing tape. It is also possible to prevent the printing tape from falling apart on the supply reel due to the winding habit of the printing tape.

According to a further aspect of the present invention, a tape supply reel for printing tape and a ribbon supply reel for ink ribbon are provided rotatably in a cassette case, and the printing tape fed from the tape supply reel. In a tape cassette in which the ink ribbon fed from the ribbon supply reel is fed out of the cassette case, a tape feed port for sending a printing tape to the outside of the cassette case, and a ribbon feed port for sending the ink ribbon to the outside of the cassette case. Are provided separately from the cassette case. Therefore, according to the present invention, since the tape feeding port and the ribbon feeding port are separated, when the printing tape is rewound and drawn into the cassette case, the printing tape does not come into contact with the ink ribbon. Therefore, the ink of the ink ribbon does not adhere to the printing tape, and the printing tape can be prevented from being stained by the ink ribbon.

In this case, a deflecting point for deflecting the running direction of the ink ribbon substantially at a right angle is provided at the ribbon outlet, and a predetermined point with respect to the deflecting point is provided at the tape outlet. If the protruding portion is provided at an interval and the protruding end is located downstream of the deflection point and guides the running of the printing tape, the printing tape is more reliably prevented from being stained by the ink ribbon. Can be. According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the cassette case is provided with a ribbon intake for taking in the printed ink ribbon into the cassette case, and the ribbon intake is provided with a printing tape sent out of the cassette case. If the peeling section is provided to separate the ink ribbon from the ink ribbon taken into the cassette case, even if the printing tape is transported without peeling from the ink ribbon immediately after printing, the peeling section will move the ink ribbon into the cassette case. Just before being imported,
The printing tape and the ink ribbon can be forcibly peeled off, thereby preventing a jam due to a peeling failure between the printing tape and the ink ribbon. In particular, if the peeling portion is formed in a wedge shape as described in claim 11, the printing tape and the ink ribbon can be peeled reliably and satisfactorily.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS.
An embodiment of the tape cassette of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view in which the upper portion of the tape cassette has been removed in a state where the tape cassette is mounted on the printing apparatus, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the tape cassette, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

The printing apparatus 10 has substantially the same structure as a printing apparatus for monochromatic printing, that is, a printing apparatus for black and white printing. The printing apparatus 10 has a cassette housing 11. A platen roller 12 is rotatably provided on the upper right side in the cassette housing portion 11, and a print head 13 which comes into pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 12 so as to be capable of moving is provided upright. ing. In this case, the print head 13 is configured such that the heating elements are linearly arranged from the front surface to the back surface of the paper surface in FIG. 1, are pressed against the platen roller 12 during printing, and are separated from the platen roller 12 during non-printing. ing. A ribbon take-up shaft 14 is rotatably provided in the cassette housing portion 11. Further, a tape outlet 15 is provided at a position corresponding to a position between the platen roller 12 and the print head 13 in the apparatus main body 1, and a portion of the cutting device is opposed to the tape outlet 15 with the tape outlet 15 interposed therebetween. A pair of cutter blades 16a and 16b are provided to face each other.

In the cassette housing section 11, a tape cassette 20 for color printing is detachably mounted. The tape cassette 20 has a cassette case 21. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cassette case 21 includes a case main body 22 and an upper lid 23 joined to an upper portion of the case main body 22, and stores a printing tape 24 and an ink ribbon 25. It is configured.
In this case, in addition to the ink ribbon 25, each color ink of Y, M, and C is sequentially and repeatedly applied in the longitudinal direction.
A detection mark (not shown) for detecting the position of each color ink of Y, M, and C is provided, and the printing tape 2
4 is coated with black ink (not shown) for printing the alignment mark 24a for manual alignment.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a tape storage portion 27 for storing a tape supply reel 26 and a tape for guiding a printing tape 24 fed from the tape supply reel 26 are provided in the case body 22. Guide part 2
8. A ribbon storage unit 31 for storing the ribbon supply reel 29 and the ribbon take-up reel 30 for the ink ribbon 25 is provided. Further, a notch 32 into which the print head 13 is inserted is provided at the upper right of the cassette case 21 including the case body 22 and the upper lid 23. This notch 32
The side of the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the
3 and a ribbon feed port 34 are provided.
A ribbon intake port 35 is provided on the side surface on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 2) of the ribbon 2.

When the tape cassette is mounted in the cassette storage section 11 of the printing apparatus 10, the print head 13 is inserted into the cutout 32, and the ribbon take-up shaft 14 is inserted into the ribbon take-up reel 30. . In this state, the printing tape 24 fed from the tape supply reel 26 passes through the tape guide section 28, is fed into the cutout section 32 from the tape feed port 33, and the platen roller 12 and the print head 1 are moved.
3 and is sent out of the cassette case 21. The ink ribbon 25 fed from the ribbon supply reel 28 is fed from the ribbon feed port 34 to the notch 32, passes between the platen roller 12 and the print head 13 while overlapping the printing tape 24, and It is taken into the cassette case 21 from the take-in port 35 and is taken up by the ribbon take-up reel 30. When the printing tape 24 and the ink ribbon 25 overlap and pass between the platen roller 12 and the print head 13,
The print information is printed on the print tape 24 by the print head 13. In addition, the printed printing tape 24
Is sent out from the tape discharge port 15 of the apparatus main body 1, and in this state, a predetermined position is a pair of cutter blades 16 a of the cutting device,
16b.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tape supply reel 26 accommodated in the tape accommodating section 27 has a lower reel 36 around which the printing tape 24 is wound.
A coil spring that is disposed between the lower reel 36 and the bottom of the case body 22 to apply a load to the tape supply reel 26; (Biasing member) 38.
The lower reel 36 has an outer cylindrical portion 40 rotatably mounted outside a cylindrical shaft 39 erected in the center of the tape storage portion 27.
And a disk portion 41 provided below the outer cylindrical portion 40. As shown in FIG. 3, an engagement recess 40a is provided at the upper end of the outer tubular portion 40, and a spring for accommodating the coil spring 38 is provided at a lower portion of the outer tubular portion 40 as shown in FIG. A storage groove 40b is provided.

The upper reel 37 has an inner cylindrical portion 42 rotatably inserted into a cylindrical shaft 39 erected at the center of the tape storage portion 27, and a disk portion provided on the upper portion of the inner cylindrical portion 42. 43. On the lower surface of the disk portion 43, as shown in FIG. 3, an engagement protrusion 43a which engages with the engagement recess 40a of the outer tubular portion 40 and rotates integrally with the lower reel 36.
Is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface of the disk portion 43 is exposed upward through the circular hole 23a of the upper lid 23 except for the peripheral portion thereof. There is provided an inclined portion 44 for rotating the roller only in the rewinding direction. The inclined portion 44 is formed on an inclined surface on which the user's finger is caught on the step portion when rotating in the rewinding direction, and slips when rotated in the opposite direction. The coil spring 38 is disposed between the lower reel 36 and the bottom of the case body 22 in a state of being stored in the spring storage groove 40b of the lower reel 36, thereby urging the lower reel 36 upward. Then, the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the upper reel 37 is biased so as to be pressed against the edge of the circular hole 23 a of the upper lid 23.

A printing tape 24 wound around a tape supply reel 26 is provided on a side wall of the case body 22 located near the tape storage portion 27 in the cassette case 21.
Is provided. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, after the printing tape 24 is once drawn out of the cassette case 21,
The leading end of the printing tape 24 is inserted into the tape guide portion 28 in the cassette case 21 and is sent out from the tape outlet 33 of the cutout portion 32. For this reason, the opening 45 is formed so that its height is substantially the same as or slightly longer than the width of the printing tape 24, and the width of the opening 45 is formed longer than its height. The tape 24 is formed so that the tape 24 can be easily pulled out. In addition, as shown in FIG.
A reinforcing portion 46 formed by increasing the thickness of the case main body 21 is provided so as not to hinder the drawing out of the printing tape 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, the tape guide 28 guides the printing tape 24 from the vicinity of one end of the opening 45 to the tape outlet 33 of the notch 32. The guide path 47 into which the tape 24 is inserted and moved is formed in a gentle S-shaped curved shape,
As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the printing tape 24 is configured to move in a state where the front and back surfaces of the printing tape 24 are in contact with different portions on the inner surface of the guide path 47 opposite to each other. On the inner surface of the guide path 47 on the tape insertion side (the left side in the figure), a plurality of projections 48 with which the printing tape 24 makes line contact or point contact are perpendicular to the running direction of the printing tape 24 (see FIG. In the figure, it is provided in a direction from the front surface to the rear surface of the paper).

As shown in FIG. 1, the printing tape 24 fed from the tape supply reel 26 is provided on the side of the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the notch 32 with the guide path 4.
7, a tape feed port 33 that feeds to the notch 32, and the ink ribbon 25 fed from the ribbon supply reel 29.
Is provided at a distance from the ribbon sending port 34 for sending the ribbon to the notch 32. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the ribbon delivery port 34 is provided with a deflecting portion 34a for deflecting the traveling direction of the ink ribbon 25 substantially at a right angle. Further, the tape feeding port 33 is connected to the guide path 4 of the tape guide section 28.
7, the tape feeding port 33 has a deflecting portion 34 of a ribbon feeding port 34, as shown in FIG.
A projection 33a is provided at a predetermined interval α (approximately 0.5 mm) with respect to a and protrudes from the deflecting portion 34a toward the notch 32 of the cassette case 21 to guide the running of the printing tape 24. I have. In addition, each tip of the deflection part 34a and the protruding part 33a is chamfered in an arc shape.

Further, a discharge port 49 for discharging the printed printing tape 24 to the outside of the cassette case 21 is provided on the side surface on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1) of the notch portion 32, as shown in FIG. In addition, a ribbon inlet 35 for taking the ink ribbon 25 into the cassette case 21 is provided. The ribbon inlet 35 is provided with a wedge-shaped peeling portion 50 that separates the printing tape 24 discharged to the outside of the cassette case 21 from the ink ribbon 25 taken into the cassette case 21. As shown in FIG. 2, a ribbon window for exposing the ink ribbon 25 wound around the ribbon take-up reel 30 to the outside is provided on the side wall of the case main body 22 located near the ribbon storage unit 31 in the cassette case 21. 51 are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, a detection mark (not shown) provided for each color ink of the ink ribbon 25 is detected on the inner surface of the cassette housing section 11 of the printing apparatus 10 facing the ribbon window section 51. An ink sensor 17 is provided. The ink sensor 17 detects the position of each ink of Y, M, and C on the ink ribbon 25, and performs cueing of each ink.

Next, an operation flow when performing color printing using the tape cassette 20 for color printing is shown in FIG.
Description will be made based on 0. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the tape cassette 20 is mounted on the cassette storage section 11 of the printing apparatus 10. At this time, the print head 13 is separated from the platen roller 12, and the printing tape 24 is
And the ink ribbon 25 are arranged in an overlapping state. When printing is started in this state, step S1
Then, the printing tape 24 and the ink ribbon 25 are transported, and the ink sensor 17 detects a detection mark corresponding to the Y ink on the ink ribbon 25 to search for the head of the Y ink. Next, proceeding to step S2, the alignment mark 2 serving as a guide when manually rewinding the printing tape 24 is set.
4a is printed with black ink. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S3, in which the Y data is printed out of the print data input and stored in the printing apparatus 10, and the process proceeds to step S4, where the ink sensor 17 detects the head of the M ink to be printed next. Until the printing tape 24 and the ink ribbon 25 are transported.

When the ink sensor 17 detects the head of the M ink in step S4, the process proceeds to step S5,
The user removes the tape cassette 20 from the printing apparatus 10, and in this state, puts a finger on the inclined portion 44 of the tape supply reel 26 exposed from the upper lid 23 of the cassette case 21, and puts the tape supply reel 26 in the arrow direction shown in FIG. Rotate. Thereby, the printing tape 24 is rewound, and the alignment mark 24a printed in step S2 is aligned with the end 21a of the cassette case 21. in this case,
When the tape supply reel 26 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2, the finger is caught on the step portion of the inclined portion 44 of the tape supply reel 26.
Can be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, but if the user tries to rotate in the opposite direction, the finger slides along the inclined surface of the inclined portion 44, so that the tape supply reel 26 cannot be rotated in the opposite direction. . Therefore, there is no possibility that the printing tape 24 is sent out by mistake.

After the printing tape 24 is rewound and aligned in step S5, the tape cassette 20 is mounted on the printing apparatus again. At this time,
Since the ink sensor 17 has detected the head of the M ink on the ink ribbon 25 in step S4, the process proceeds to step S6, where the M data of the print data stored in the printing device 10 is printed, and the process proceeds to step S7. The printing tape 24 and the ink ribbon 25 are conveyed until the ink sensor 17 detects the head of the C ink to be printed next. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S8, where the user again removes the tape cassette 20 from the printing apparatus 10, and rotates the tape supply reel 26 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Then, the positioning mark 24a is aligned with the end 21a of the cassette case 21. Then, the tape cassette 20 is mounted on the printing apparatus 10 again, and the process proceeds to step S9 to print the C data among the stored print data. This allows
Color printing ends. After that, the color-printed printing tape 24 is cut into the cutter blades 16a and 1a of the cutting device.
Cut at 6b.

In such a tape cassette 20 for color printing, the printing tape 24
The tape guide portion 28 guides the printing tape 24 in a state where the front and rear surfaces of the printing tape 24 are in contact with different places on the inner surface of the guide path 47 where the guide path 47 is inserted and moves.
Is provided, the printing tape 24 is
When the printing tape 24 is rewound, contact resistance is given to the printing tape 24 by the opposing inner surfaces of the guiding path 47. , The printing tape 24 can be prevented from being excessively rewound. In this case, since the guide path 47 of the tape guide portion 28 is formed in a gentle S-shaped curved shape, when the printing tape 24 is rewound, a load due to the contact resistance is further applied to the printing tape 24. In addition, the curling of the printing tape 24 can be reduced. In addition, since the projection 48 is provided on the inner surface of the guide path 47 on the tape insertion side, the projection tape 48 to which the printing tape 24 makes line contact or point contact is provided, so that the load due to unnecessary contact resistance can be reduced. Thereby, the printing tape 24 can be satisfactorily rewound.

In this tape cassette 20, a cassette case 21 located near the tape supply reel 26 is provided.
Is provided with an opening 45 on the side surface of the printing tape 24 from which the printing tape 24 can be pulled out. Therefore, even if the printing tape 24 is rewound into the cassette case 21 to the tip thereof, the printing tape 24 can be easily pulled out from the opening 45. The leading end of the printing tape 24 drawn out is inserted into the cassette case 21 so that the guide path 4 of the tape guide portion 28 can be pulled out.
7 and can be easily sent out from the tape outlet 33. In this case, since the reinforcing portion 46 is provided at the edge of the opening 45 so as not to hinder the drawing of the printing tape 24, the strength of the cassette case 21 can be secured, and The withdrawable opening 45 of the tape 24 can be formed sufficiently large.

In the tape cassette 20, a coil spring 38 is disposed between the lower reel 36 and the bottom of the case body 22, and the lower reel 36 is urged upward by the coil spring 38 so that the upper reel 36 Since the peripheral edge of the upper surface of 36 is pressed against the edge of the circular hole 23a of the upper lid 23, a predetermined load can be applied to the tape supply reel 26, so that when the printing tape 24 is rewound, In addition to applying a back tension to the printing tape 24, it is also possible to prevent the printing tape 24 from falling apart in the tape supply reel 26 due to the winding habit of the printing tape 24.

Further, in the tape cassette 20, a tape feed port 33 for sending the printing tape 24 to the notch 32 of the cassette case 21, and a ribbon feed port 34 for sending the ink ribbon 25 to the notch 32 of the cassette case 21.
Are provided on the upstream side surface of the notch 32 so as to be separated from each other.
When the printing tape 24 is drawn into the ink ribbon 2,
5, the ink of the ink ribbon 25 does not adhere to the printing tape 24, and the printing tape 24 can be prevented from being stained by the ink ribbon 25. In particular, a deflecting portion 34a for changing the running direction of the ink ribbon 25 to a substantially right angle is provided at the ribbon delivery port 34, and the tape delivery port 33 is notched more than the deflecting portion 34a at a predetermined distance from the deflecting portion 34a. Projecting portion 33 which projects toward the portion 32 and guides the running of the printing tape 24.
a, the ink ribbon 2
5 can prevent the printing tape 24 from being stained.

Further, in the tape cassette 20, a ribbon take-in port 35 for taking the printed ink ribbon 25 into the cassette case 21 is provided on the downstream side surface of the cutout portion 32 of the cassette case 21. A wedge-shaped peeling portion 5 for separating the printing tape 24 sent out of the cassette case 21 from the ink ribbon 25 taken in the cassette case 21 is provided in the opening 35.
0 is provided, even if the printing tape 24 is conveyed without peeling off from the ink ribbon 25 immediately after printing,
Immediately before the ink ribbon 25 is taken into the cassette case 21 by the peeling section 50, the printing tape 24 and the ink ribbon 25 can be forcibly peeled off, thereby separating the printing tape 24 from the ink ribbon 25. Jams due to defects can be prevented. In this case, since the peeling portion 50 is formed in a wedge shape, the printing tape 24 is formed.
And the ink ribbon 25 can be reliably and satisfactorily peeled off.

In the above embodiment, the printing tape 2
The projecting portion 33a of the tape outlet 33 for sending the tape 4 to the notch 32 of the cassette case 21 is made to project more toward the notch 32 than the deflecting portion 34a of the ribbon outlet 34. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown, the projecting portion 33a of the tape feed port 33 may be provided so as to be located in the cassette case 21 more than the deflection portion 34a of the ribbon feed port 34.
Also in this case, the projecting portion 33a of the tape outlet 33 is provided at a predetermined interval α from the deflecting portion 34a of the ribbon outlet 34. Even in this case, when the printing tape 24 is rewound and drawn into the cassette case 21, the printing tape 24 does not come into contact with the ink ribbon 25.
4 can be prevented. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the tape cassette 20 for color printing is used for a printing device having substantially the same structure as a printing device for monochromatic printing, that is, a printing device for monochrome printing has been described. It can be used well for printing devices.

[0035]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cassette case has the guide path through which the printing tape is inserted and moves, and the printing is performed on the inner surface facing the guide path. A tape guide that guides the printing tape in a state where both sides of the printing tape are in contact with each other, so that when the printing tape moves in the guide path of the tape guide, a contact resistance is applied to the printing tape. Therefore, when the printing tape is rewound, a load is applied to the printing tape due to the contact resistance, so that it is possible to prevent the printing tape from being rewound too much.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, an opening through which the printing tape can be pulled out is provided on the side surface of the cassette case located near the supply reel, so that the printing tape can be moved to the cassette end. Even if the printing tape is rewound into the case, the printing tape can be easily pulled out from the opening provided on the side of the cassette case located near the supply reel. It can be easily inserted into the case and sent out from a predetermined location.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the tape feed port for feeding the printing tape to the outside of the cassette case and the ribbon feed port for sending the ink ribbon to the outside of the cassette case are separated from the cassette case. When the printing tape is rewound and drawn into the cassette case, the printing tape does not come into contact with the ink ribbon, so that the ink of the ink ribbon does not adhere to the printing tape, It is possible to prevent the printing tape from being stained by the ribbon.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a tape cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the upper portion of the tape cassette is removed and the tape cassette is cut off in a state where the tape cassette is mounted on a printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the tape cassette of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the tape guide section of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a tape outlet and a ribbon outlet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ribbon intake port of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a main part of the tape cassette, showing a state in which a printing tape has been pulled out from an opening of the tape cassette of FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an operation flow when color printing is performed by the printing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged sectional view showing a modified example of the tape feed port.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view showing a conventional tape cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Printing apparatus 13 Print head 20 Tape cassette 21 Cassette case 24 Printing tape 25 Ink ribbon 26 Tape supply reel 28 Tape guide part 29 Ribbon supply reel 30 Ribbon take-up reel 32 Notch part 33 Tape exit 33a Projection 34 Ribbon exit 34a Deflection unit 35 Ribbon intake 38 Coil spring 45 Opening 46 Reinforcement 47 Guide path 48 Projection 50 Peeling

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A cassette case, a printing tape supply reel rotatably provided in the cassette case, and a guide path provided in the cassette case for inserting and moving the printing tape. And a tape guide portion for guiding the printing tape in a state where both sides of the printing tape are in contact with inner surfaces of the guide path facing each other. 2. A cassette case; a supply reel for printing tape rotatably provided in the cassette case; and a supply reel for printing tape provided on a side surface of the cassette case located near the supply reel. A tape cassette comprising: a drawer opening; 3. A cassette case, a printing tape supply reel rotatably provided in the cassette case, and a guide path provided in the cassette case for inserting and moving the printing tape. A tape guide portion for guiding the printing tape in a state where both sides of the printing tape are in contact with inner surfaces of the guide path facing each other; and a tape guide portion provided on a side surface of the cassette case located near the supply reel. And an opening through which the printing tape can be pulled out. 4. The guide path of the tape guide section,
4. The tape cassette according to claim 1, wherein the tape cassette is formed in a curved shape. 5. A tape cassette according to claim 4, wherein a projection is provided on an inner surface of said guide path facing said printing tape, said projection being in contact with said printing tape. 6. The tape cassette according to claim 2, wherein a reinforcing portion is provided at an edge of the opening. 7. A tape cassette according to claim 1, further comprising an urging member for applying a predetermined load to said supply reel. 8. A tape supply reel for a printing tape and a ribbon supply reel for an ink ribbon are rotatably provided in a cassette case, and a tape supply reel fed from the tape supply reel and a ribbon supply reel for the ink ribbon are provided. In a tape cassette in which the fed ink ribbon is sent out of the cassette case, a tape feed port for sending the printing tape to the outside of the cassette case, and a ribbon feed port for sending the ink ribbon to the outside of the cassette case. Characterized in that the tape cassette is provided separately from the cassette case. 9. The ribbon delivery port is provided with a deflecting point for deflecting the running direction of the ink ribbon substantially at a right angle, and the tape delivery port has a predetermined interval with respect to the deflection point. 9. The tape cassette according to claim 8, wherein a protruding end is located downstream of the deflection point and a protruding portion is provided to guide the running of the printing tape. 10. The cassette case is provided with a ribbon intake for taking the printed ink ribbon into the cassette case, and the ribbon intake is provided with the printing tape fed out of the cassette case. The tape cassette according to claim 8, further comprising a peeling unit that separates the ink ribbon taken into the cassette case from the ink ribbon. 11. The tape cassette according to claim 10, wherein said peeling portion is formed in a wedge shape.