JPS5863492A - Ink layer transfer type ribbon and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

A ribbon structure wherein the leader (64) and trailer (66) are formed by adhering over the inked side (14) of the ribbon a thin adhesive faced tape or foil (56) and where the tape or foil (56) is adhesively engaged with the substrate (12) in a region having had all or part of the ink removed therefrom to provide an adherent surface. The tape or foil (56) is further provided with a region (62) of adhesive engagement for attachment to supply and take-up spools.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to printing ribbons for printers and methods of manufacturing the same.

DESCRIPTION OF THE BACKGROUND ART In manufacturing ribbons, a substrate, such as cast polyethylene, is coated with an ink material in a series of wide rolls. This ink substance is applied to the substrate during printing.
can be transferred from to printing paper. When this coated material is sent from a group of large, wide rolls called jumbo rolls, it is cut vertically into a predetermined width by a slitter (cutting machine), and then individually cut into small ribbon cores (
6, which can later be used in a printer (including a printer). After a predetermined amount of ribbon has been wrapped around its core, the slitter is stopped. Then, a portion of the ribbon stock (raw material) that has not yet been cut lengthwise is separated. A member, usually without ink, is then spliced into the separated gap, and a league (tip piece when used for printing, but wrapped during manufacture onto what becomes the supply spool after manufacture) is spliced into the separated gap. forming a trailing end piece) and/or a trailer (the trailing end piece of the supply spool after manufacture). The material is then passed through a slitter, split into pieces of the same width as the ribbon being wound, and partially wound onto a spool in the slitter. At this point, the ribbon stock and slitter are stopped and the ribbon spool containing the ribbon and league is cut off near the center of the leader/trailer film.

A portion of the member becomes attached to the ribbon on the spool, forming a splice-on league. When the leader/ton 42 member is separated, the remaining portion is attached to another empty spool to form a spliced-on trailer. It is then wound with ribbon onto the spool to the desired diameter.

Initial cutting of this ribbon stock and subsequent gluing
The splice-in and vertical cutting of the trailer/trailer could result in misalignment and the spool was not wound evenly. When this happens, the ribbon spool and the ribbon wound thereon are thrown away as unsuitable for winding and are thrown away, ultimately increasing manufacturing costs. Also, the leader/
If the trailer is not securely attached between the wide ribbon stock, breakage of the seam can occur. In this case, it becomes necessary to pass the ribbon through the slitter again, and a large amount of ribbon is wasted during manufacturing.

Prior art techniques required assembling several separate lengths to form a leader/train composite and required that this wrapper be attached to a ribbon film.

US Pat. No. 3,286,808 shows an example of such a ribbon construction. It also discloses combining multiple tapes and foils with precise positioning control.

According to the above conventional examples and standard methods in this technical field,
Ribbon leagues are usually spliced in
The attachment for attaching the beginning of the ribbon to the take-up spool is a length that serves to carry the tape and to protect the operator from getting smeared with ink when loading the ribbon into a typewriter. Provides a function as a dirt-preventing handling part. Similarly, ribbon trailers are spliced-in combinations of tape and film, where the attachment used to attach the ends of the ribbon construction centrally, or to the hub of the supply spool, is a tape and film splice-in construction. There is a role to support this. This spliced trailer structure also serves to visually indicate the ribbon end because its color is conspicuous. This provides a print limit abort feature that terminates printing before ribbon advance is inhibited because no more ribbon can be supplied. If the feed is interrupted, the undesirable phenomenon of light and dark characters will occur.
You will then take the corrective action and then continue typing.

One undesirable phenomenon common to trailer elements that are colored for contrast is that when the typewriter runs out of ribbon, the typewriter hits the element and the colored element is transferred to the printing paper, and Usually it cannot be corrected.

Conventional techniques require multiple tapes or foils to create a leader and trailer composite, which can then be seamed into wide lengths of ribbon stock.
It has been impractical to automatically manufacture such lipo/structures because of the need (along with the removal of lengths of ribbon to accommodate the leader and train). Automation is difficult, especially when the material is thin and susceptible to tangling, wrinkling, and tearing (and where alignment of the leader/train complex as it passes through the slitter is critical).

Conventional ribbon slitters used in the art reduce the ribbon as it passes through the leader/train station.
In other words, the ink is transported with the ink surface or ink layer facing downward. The adhesive attachments used to attach the ends of the ribbon to each ribbon spool are typically provided as part of both the leader and train, but these attachments are simpler than having just the means. Even conventional leader and train configurations could only be made by cutting into long-like ribbons and then splicing the parts of the combined leader and train structure.

Summary of the Invention and Embodiments The ribbon structure of the present embodiment includes leader and train foils separate from the ribbon and having an adhesive surface on at least one side and capable of engaging the ink surface of the substrate of the ribbon structure. By locating and attaching the same to the ribbon, problems encountered with prior art ribbon structures and methods of assembly and manufacturing thereof are eliminated. In the simplest embodiment, both the leader and train consist of a single double-sided adhesive tape, with one adhesive side attached to the ribbon stock and the other adhesive side later attached to the respective take-up spools. Used to attach ribbon ends to hub. In a preferred embodiment, the leader and train are each a stack of variable length foils. And it is first mounted on the ribbon stock. The foil does not have an adhesive material on its back surface, that is, the outside thereof, and the above-mentioned ρ double-sided adhesive tape is further applied to the side without the adhesive material to obtain the above-mentioned laminate. To ensure proper adhesion of the adhesive foils forming the leader and trains, the ink layer on the ribbon substrate is removed from a band transverse to the direction of transport of the ribbon stock. A foil having an adhesive surface is applied to the substrate at the strip, and also to a portion of the ink layer adjacent to the strip, so that the ink layer in that portion is applied to the above-mentioned rider/trailer. Covered with foil. If the band-shaped part is attached diagonally upward to the adhesive surface of the leader/train, the leader/train will be firmly attached to the ribbon structure even if the ink layer is relatively easy to peel off due to the ribbon base material. be done. The trains attached to the ink side of the ribbon structure encapsulate the ink layer within the laminate structure. Therefore, even if it is struck by the printing element, it will not be transferred to the paper. Transfer does not occur unless colored substances are used in the printing paper.

Therefore, even when the ribbon is used up, the print on the printing paper will not be smeared. The length of the train can be adjusted accordingly to ensure that printing stops before the train is withdrawn from the spool of ribbon core.

Similarly, the length of the leader can be adjusted so that the ribbon portion coated with the ink layer does not stain hands when manually loading the ribbon.

Furthermore, a portion of the band-like portion of the ribbon structure Q, from which the ink layer is removed before attaching the leader/train, also serves to visually warn the operator that the ribbon end is near. Therefore, when the operator visually recognizes that this part of the trailer, that is, the transparent window, approaches the stamping position, the operator only needs to replace the ribbon. This replacement occurs before the transparent window can no longer be printed in a more normal manner, thereby allowing typing to continue without interfering with the printing operation.

This ribbon structure assembly process is created prior to longitudinally cutting the ribbon stock in a unique configuration as described below. That is, an adhesive tape is positioned on the lower surface of the ribbon stock, that is, the ink surface, in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis, and the adhesive tape is pressed and attached to the ink layer on the substrate, and the adhesive tape is removed from near the ink layer. pulling, thereby removing the ink layer from the ribbon substrate. This is easily done in the manner described below.

That is, adhesive tape is passed around a roller that can be moved across the width of the roll of ribbon stock. When this roller moves while rotating as shown above, the adhesive tape on its peripheral surface is pressed against the ink layer. As the roller rotates, the adhesive tape is wound onto the take-up spool, and the ink layer is also peeled off from the substrate by the adhesive tape. There are a plurality of rolls, and when the contact points between these rolls and the adhesive tape move in the direction across the ribbon stock and the multiple stripes of the ink layer are removed from the ribbon base material, The leader/trailer foil may be drawn from a separate roll and positioned under the entire width of the ribbon stock. At this time, the foil and ribbon are placed face to face with each other. And outside those lines, 1
When the two platens are pressed against each other, the foil and ribbon sandwiched therebetween form a sandwich. When the foil member is separated, the laminated structure of foil composite and ribbon stock may be cut longitudinally in a conventional manner.

The procedures disclosed herein for assembling a ribbon and trailer/leader composite structure and the benefits of the ribbon structure are important from the standpoint of reliability and cost reduction. ``The use of a laminate of foils in place of the traditional spliced-in leader and trailer arrangement allows the long ribbon to be guided, fed, and cut lengthwise. Integrity can be maintained without splicing, which improves the alignment of the ribbon as it passes through the slitter, and eliminates ribbons with defects such as kinked ribbons or pulled splices.・The number of rolls can be reduced.

Furthermore, cutting and winding operations are greatly improved by this apparatus and structure since the leader and trailer can be attached while the long ribbon stock remains connected.

Another advantage is that the end of the ribbon can be accurately indicated, and some ink layers, trailer colors, etc., are not erroneously transferred to the paper and spoil the appearance of the paper.

Detailed Description of the Example As before, the ribbon drawn from the jumbo roll
The stock is fed toward a slitter (not shown) in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the page of FIG. That ribbon
The stock 10, consisting of a substrate 12 and an ink layer 14, passes through a leader/trailer station 16 in FIG. ribbon stock 10
is positioned between upper platen 18 and lower platen 20.

Both platens 18 and 20 are flat plates, and can be moved to positions where they sandwich the ribbon 100 on both sides.

Platens 18 and 20 are retracted to and held in the retracted position of FIG. 1 by platen elevation controls 22 and 24. When both platens 18 and 20 are retracted from their side-by-side position, there is sufficient space for the carrier 26 to move the ribbon 10 laterally. At least one roller around which adhesive tape 30 is wrapped is carried on a carrier 26. In the embodiment, three rollers 28 (see FIG. 2) and an adhesive tape 30 are carried by the carrier 26.

Adhesive tape 30 is supplied from a supply spool 32 and is wound onto a take-up spool 34 after being used at the station 16 described above. Carrier 26 moves ribbon 1 from left to right
The drive device 36 winds up the used adhesive tape onto the take-up spool 54 as it moves laterally along the path 0.
is used. When the carrier 26 moves laterally, the roller 2
8 moves to the position shown by the imaginary line, at which time the roller 28
The adhesive tape 30 around is also in the state shown by the imaginary line.

While the carrier 26 is moving laterally from left to right, the upper platen 18 is lowered to a lower position by the platen elevation control device 22 and firmly supports the ribbon 10 from behind. Thus, substrate 12 and ink layer 14 are sandwiched between adhesive tape 30 and upper platen 18. The carrier 26 is driven by a carrier drive device 38 in the same manner as in the prior art, and is laterally moved from left to right. The carrier driving device 28 may be driven by a chain, driven by a combination of a rack and a shell, or driven by other suitable means, but the explanation thereof will be omitted since it is not important to the present invention.

When the carrier 26 is moved to its leftmost end by the drive action of the carrier drive 38, the gripper 40 carried by the carrier 26 engages the foil composite 42.

As the carrier 26 is moved to the right by the carrier driver 38, the gripper 40, under the action of the gripper control 440, grips the foil composite 42 and pulls the foil composite 42 out of the ribbon 10. spread over the entire width of the path. The foil composite 42 unwinds the roll-shaped winding foil 46 and at the same time pulls out the winding tape 48 having adhesive on both sides. The wound foil 46 has a sticky substance on its inner side when wound onto the supply spool 50.

The carrier 26 is inserted between the ribbon 10 and the platen 20 (
After retraction (to the right), the platen lift control device 24 is energized to raise the lower platen 20. As a result, the foil composite 42 and the rib/10 are sandwiched between the lower platen 20 and the upper platen 18, and the foil composite 42 is sandwiched between the lower platen 20 and the upper platen 18.
The sticky side of the ribbon 10 is pressed against the ink layer 14 of the ribbon 10.

The foil composite 42 may then be cut using any conventional technique, such as a hot wire or cutting machine. This leader/trailer structure now forms a composite laminate with ribbon 10. This laminate was sent to a subsequent processing station, such as a winder or slitter, of the type manufactured by John Dausenberry Corporation, Randolph, New Chassis, model number 655T, at right angles to the page of Figure 1. sent in the direction.

In FIG. 2, adhesive tape 50 is shown adhering to ribbon stock 10 as adhesive step 60 passes around roller 28. The three rollers 28 are mounted on a common shaft 52 for ease of movement and control on that shaft. sticky tape 30
is pulled down the ribbon 10 around the circumferential surface of the roller 28, so that that portion of the ink layer 14 is peeled off from the substrate 12 and adhered to the adhesive surface of the adhesive tape 30 instead. Once rollers 28 have passed, the structure of ribbon 10 is as shown in FIG. That is, the groove portion formed in the ink layer 14 in FIG. 3 corresponds to the portion of the ink layer 140 that has been peeled off by the adhesive force of the adhesive tape 30 as explained in FIG. 2. In FIG. 1, the carrier 26 moves to the right and now pulls the tape attached to the ink layer 14,
When peeling the ink layer 14 from the ribbon 2, the carrier 26 is also pulling the foil composite 42 across the width of the ribbon 100.

A foil composite 42 is shown in FIG. There may be separate foil composites for the leader and tray 2, respectively. The foil 560 side is the adhesive side 54 and is positioned to adhere to the ink layer 14 of the ribbon stock 10. If the foil 56 is present at the portion where the ink layer 14 has been peeled off, the adhesive surface 54 of the foil 56 will firmly adhere to the substrate 12 with its adhesive force. Non-adhesive side 5 of foil 56
8 further carries a double-sided adhesive tape 60. Since it is a double-sided adhesive tape, one adhesive side adheres to the non-adhesive side 58 of the foil 56, while the other adhesive side 62 is exposed.

Returning to FIG. 1, the explanation will continue. After the foil composite 42 is positioned across the path of the ribbon stock 10, both platens 18,20 are biased to squeeze the entire superimposed object between them. As a result, a laminated structure as shown in FIG. 4 is completed. Since the foil 56 having an adhesive surface is squeezed, the adhesive surface 54 adheres not only to the portion of the substrate 12 from which the ink layer 14 has been peeled off, but also to the portion where the ink layer 14 remains. The exposed adhesive side 62 of the double-sided adhesive tape 60 will provide a secure attachment to the ribbon spool.

When the ribbon is cut, the foil composite 42 extending across the width of the ribbon material becomes the train and leader. The leader 64 serves to attach the ribbon end to the take-up spool later when the ribbon is finally assembled. The train 66 also has the primary role of attaching the ribbon to the supply spool, particularly at its double-sided adhesive tape 600 portion. The length of the non-inked side of the foil 56 of the train 66 also provides an ink layer coverage that does not cause printing by ink transfer. The leader 64 can be formed to be longer if necessary to have a portion that covers the ink layer 14 of the ribbon, thereby making it possible to handle the ribbon without getting hands dirty.

The base material 12 is transparent or semi-transparent, and the ribbon stock 1
The ink layer 14 is formed in a band shape of a certain length so as to cross 0.
By peeling it off, it becomes transparent to light.

A foil 56 is later superimposed on this. Ink layer 14
This groove in the groove and the light transparency of the area visually alerts the operator that the end of the ink layer is near.

The ribbon portion 70 (FIG. 4) of the ribbon stock 10 is t
It is 1 piece worth of waste, and the ribbon stock is 10.
It is provided depending on the characteristics of the cutting technique used for cutting lengthwise. If a different type of slitter is used, the length of the ribbon portion 70 will also change.

FIG. 5 shows that the ribbon 10 is wound on the supply spool 72.
The state after the leader 64 is separated from the ribbon stock 10 is also shown. The advantage of extending the foil 56 to either side of the area where the ink layer 14 has been removed is that the sandwich-like laminate structure of the foil composite 42 with the ribbon stock 10 makes the laminate structure more attractive than the very thin ribbon 10 itself. This means that the rigidity and handling characteristics can be much improved.

FIG. 6 shows a train 66 of ribbon 10 being attached to a supply spool 72 with its double-sided adhesive tape 60. Foil 56, which now extends to the left from its deposited location and is superimposed on ink layer 14, provides a non-printing surface and provides a ribbon edge warning window 68. The length of the train 66 can vary depending on the preference of the person using the ribbon spool arrangement and the teeth of the ribbon feeding mechanism in which the ribbon spool arrangement is to be used.

FIG. 7 shows the leader 64 being attached to the take-up spool 74 with its double-sided adhesive tape 60. Base material 12
A foil 56 is laminated to the ribbon 10 to provide added rigidity, extending to one or both sides of the area from which the ink layer 14 has been removed. If it is desired to provide a clean handling surface over a long length of the ribbon end, a desired length of foil 5 can be applied toward the supply spool 72.
6 can be given. If the leader 64 is to be made longer, it can be made longer so that the area from which the ink is removed is closer to the end of the foil 56.

The enlarged views of the ribbon attached to the spool shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 are merely explanatory views for explaining how to engage the spool with the double-sided adhesive tape 60. It does not accurately indicate the dimensional relationship with the spool.

This leader and train structure not only simplifies manufacturing assembly of this ribbon structure with train and leader, but also provides the potential for fully automated manufacturing of the leader/train combination into ribbon stock 10. It should also be noted that it is very high. Gripper control device 44, carrier drive device 38, and drive device 68 for the take-up spool 64
, and platen lift controls 22,24 can all be any conventionally known automatic controls.

It should be noted that since ribbon 10 is continuous, all of these controls can be implemented manually and still result in the excellent ribbon structure described above.

Continuous ribbon 10 ensures proper alignment and feeding during cutting and winding operations, and therefore superior quality of the finished ribbon spool.

Another step is to position the double-sided adhesive tape 60 on the leader 64.
One advantage is that the take-up spool 74 does not have to be tied to the supply spool 72 when the ribbon is cut and completely wound onto the supply spool 72. The double-sided adhesive tape 60 is attached to the outermost wound portion of the ribbon 10 on the supply spool 72, as shown in FIG. Another advantage of the leader 64 is that the end of the ribbon 10 can be held in a fixed position. Since it now offers properties that are much easier to handle than the ribbon 10, it can provide sufficient stiffness for automated handling and manufacturing, which is desirable from a manufacturing standpoint. The ribbon end can protrude almost rigidly from the circumferential surface of the wound ribbon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows an apparatus for positioning and incorporating a foil composite into a ribbon structure. FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1 to illustrate the step of peeling the ink layer from the ribbon structure. FIG. 3 shows the ink layer removed from the ribbon structure and the position before the foil composite is applied to the ribbon structure. FIG. 4 shows the ribbon composite forming the leader and train attached and assembled into a sandwich. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a ribbon wound around a supply spool and a leader portion of the ribbon. FIG. 6 shows a supply spool with a train attached but not yet wrapped with ribbon. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the completed ribbon assembly with the leader portion of the ribbon wound on the supply spool attached to the take-up spool.・ 10... Ribbon or ribbon stock, 12...
- (ribbon) base material, 14... ink layer, 16...
・Leader/train station, 18... Upper platen, 20... Lower platen, 22.24...
...Platen elevation control device, 26...Carrier, 2
8... Roller (of carrier), 30... Adhesive tape, 32... Supply spool (of adhesive tape), 3
4...Take-up spool (of adhesive tape), 36...
- Drive device (for take-up spool), 38...Carrier driver, 40...Gripper, 42...Foil composite, 44...Gripper control device, 4゛6. ...Wound foil, 48...Wound tape, 50...(
foil) supply spool, 52...shaft, 54.6
2...Adhesive surface, 56...Foil, 58...
・Non-adhesive side, 6o・Double-sided adhesive tape, 64・・・・Leader, 66・・Train, 68・・Window, 7o・
...Ribbon part, 72... Supply spool (after manufacturing, that is, when using the printer), 74... Take-up spool (after manufacturing, that is, when using the printer), 76... Roll-shaped Wrapped ribbon. Applicant: Internashibokuru Business Machines Co., Ltd., Patent Attorney: Hitoshi Yamamoto (1 other person)

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An ink that has a laminated structure of a ribbon base material having both ends, a transferable ink layer, and an ink coating layer that covers the ink layer portion on the ribbon base material near at least one of the both ends. Layer transfer type ribbon. (2) From a large ribbon roll containing a ribbon consisting of a ribbon substrate and a transferable ink layer on one side of the ribbon substrate, a small ribbon of a predetermined width and quantity suitable for use in a printer is produced. - A method for manufacturing a roll, in which an ink coating layer without ink is applied to cover a portion of the ink layer of the ribbon from the large ribbon roll, and after manufacturing, the ribbon is attached to the leader and/or trailer. After forming the desired laminate, the ribbon and the laminate are cut to a predetermined width, and the cut ribbon and the laminate are wound in a predetermined amount onto a plurality of spools to form a large ribbon roll. A plurality of ribbon rolls of a predetermined amount are formed while being connected to each other, and the large-sized ribbon roll is formed near the laminate so that each small-sized ribbon roll after manufacturing includes a portion of the laminate near at least one end thereof. A method for manufacturing a small-sized ribbon roll of an ink layer transfer type ribbon, which comprises cutting the small-sized ribbon roll from a ribbon roll.