WO2003072366A1

WO2003072366A1 - Winding core for ink ribbon of thermal transfer printer, ink ribbon cassette, and ink ribbon cassette holding mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2003072366A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/002371
Authority: WO
Inventors: Takahisa Misawa; Yutaka Kato
Original assignee: Max Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2002-02-28
Filing date: 2003-02-28
Publication date: 2003-09-04
Also published as: KR20050042202A; CN1612811A; TWI225830B; KR20040087313A; KR100545412B1; AU2003211545A1; CN1323850C; TW200400124A

Abstract

Cores (202, 203) for winding an ink ribbon comprise a hollow cylinder portion (a), a center hole (206) formed inside the hollow cylinder portion (a), a recess portion (205) formed in the upper end of the hollow cylinder portion (a), and clutch portions (207) provided protrudingly on the recess portions (205), extending radially from the center hole (206) and provided with taper faces. The end of the tapered portion of the clutch portion (207), at the upper end of the core, has a thickness smaller than the base part on the recess portion, and the part on the center side of the core has a thickness smaller than the part on the outer periphery side of the core, so that the tapered portion of the clutch portion (207) is inclined with respect to the direction perpendicular to the recess portion.

Description

Description Core for winding ink ribbon, ink ribbon cassette, and ink ribbon cassette holding mechanism of thermal transfer printing machine

The present invention relates to a core for winding an ink ribbon and a thin ribbon cassette used in a thermal transfer printing machine.

Further, the present invention relates to a ripon cassette holding mechanism for strongly holding an ink ribbon cassette in a thermal transfer printing machine. Background technique

Generally, in order to indicate the type and function of electric wires incorporated in electric equipment such as a switchboard, characters or symbols are displayed on electric wires. In that case, it is not possible to print directly on the electric wire, so characters and symbols are printed on a short tube and the electric wire is passed through this tube. In addition, tapes showing characters and contents are attached to the spine of books and binders, and these tapes also have titles and other characters printed on the surface.

In the case of misalignment or misalignment, printing is performed by a thermal transfer printing machine.However, a thermal transfer printing machine presses a tube or tape on the surface of a material to be printed such as a platen roller, and the ink ribbon Pressing the print head and the print head, the print head is heated to melt the ink of the ink ribbon, and the characters and symbols are thermally transferred to the tube or tape.

Before the ink ribbon cassette is mounted on the printer, the ink ribbon drawer core and the take-up core are in a free state, and the ribbon wound around the core may loosen. In some cases, the printing of characters sometimes failed. Also, since ink is a consumable item, the used ink ribbon must be removed and a new one must be loaded. The cassette loading method has been adopted in which ribbons are stored in cassettes in advance, and the entire cassette is loaded into the printing machine.

The advantage of the cassette method is that thin ink lipons can be easily handled and have good loadability. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that if the ink ribbon is used up, all cassettes will be discarded, which will damage the environment and increase the unit price.

In contrast to the cassette method, there is a core winding method that replaces only the ink ribbon wound on the core. Although the handling is different from the cassette method, the unit price is low and there are few parts to be discarded, so that the burden on the environment can be reduced.

When the above-described ink ribbon cassette is mounted on a thermal transfer printing machine, the ink ribbon cassette must be held so as not to move. For this reason, conventionally, the ink lip cassette was held by pressing or engaging with the elastic member made of a synthetic resin.

However, in order to prevent the internal ink ribbon from rotating on its own when the ink ribbon cassette is not mounted, a notch is formed in a part of the cassette container and a detent is formed by engaging with the ink ribbon shaft. There is something. In a cassette equipped with this type of detent, the tape reel rotating shaft provided on the printing machine main body pushes up the detent and disengages the tape reel by being mounted on the printing machine main body. It has become. According to this method, the push-up force applied to the ink lip cassette at the time of release is large, so that the conventional holding mechanism using a synthetic resin member cannot sufficiently hold the ink ribbon cassette. Disclosure of the invention

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and can eliminate the loosening of the ink ribbon when the ink ribbon is not mounted with a minimum number of parts. Providing is the first issue.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a core for winding an ink ribbon suitable for the ink ribbon cassette for thermal transfer.

Further, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides an ink lipper mounted on a thermal transfer printing machine. A third object is to provide an ink lip cassette holding mechanism for a thermal transfer printing machine which can hold a cassette securely.

In order to solve the first problem, a thermal transfer ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention is a thermal transfer ink ribbon cassette in which a core on which an ink ribbon is wound is housed in a cassette main body. The bottom wall has a through hole for engaging the lower end of the center hole of the core with the rotating shaft for the ink ribbon of the thermal transfer printing machine. The flap having a short axis portion engaging with the upper end portion of the center hole and an engaging claw engageable with a clutch portion formed radially around the upper end of the center hole of the core is vertically moved. It is characterized by being provided swingably.

The flap may be formed by making a cut in the upper wall of the cassette body.

Further, an opening may be formed in a side wall of the cassette body so that the core inside can be removed.

In order to solve the second problem, an ink ribbon winding core according to the present invention includes: a tubular portion; a central hole formed inside the tubular portion; and a concave portion formed at an upper end of the tubular portion. A plurality of clutch portions provided in a radial direction from the center hole and protruding from the concave portion and having a tapered surface, wherein the tapered surface of the clutch portion is located at the upper end side of the core. It is characterized in that the recess is inclined with respect to the vertical direction of the recess by making the thickness of the portion on the center side of the core smaller than the thickness of the portion on the outer peripheral side of the core. And

The clutch portion may include the first side surface formed as a tapered surface of the clutch portion, and the second side surface formed as a surface substantially perpendicular to the concave portion.

Further, the cylindrical portion may include a ridge formed in a longitudinal direction of an inner surface.

Further, a flange may be provided at each of the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical portion, and a small diameter portion may be formed on an outer surface of the cylindrical portion.

Further, in order to solve the second problem, the ink ribbon winding according to the present invention described above is provided. The first core and the second core each having the characteristics of the wearing core may be combined to form an ink ribbon winding core set.

In the first core and the second core, the above-described features of the ink ribbon winding core according to the present invention need not be common, and may be different from each other.

In order to solve the third problem, the ink ribbon force set holding mechanism of the thermal transfer printing machine according to the present invention includes a first mechanism for moving the platen roller and the print head relative to the thermal transfer printing machine body in a pressing or separating direction. And a second slide member disposed below the ink ribbon cassette and interlocked with the first slide member. The second slide member includes the platen roller and the first slide member. An engaging portion is formed to engage with the ink ribbon cassette when the printing head moves in the pressing direction from the separated state.

The engaging portion is formed in an inverted L-shape by an erecting piece erecting from the second slide member and an engaging claw protruding in a lateral direction from a tip of the erecting piece. An inclined portion that is inclined from the base portion to the distal end may be formed on the base, and the inclined portion may be engaged with a bottom wall of the incremental cassette. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of a thermal transfer printing machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the incripon cassette viewed from the bottom.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views showing the manner of mounting the ink ribbon cassette.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a sliding mode of the first slide member and the second slide member.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing a sliding mode of the first slide member and the second slide member.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view showing a sliding mode of the first slide member and the second slide member. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the printer body when the ink ribbon is replaced.

FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b) are perspective views of an inclip-on cassette.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view without the bottom wall.

FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a core (winding core), respectively.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of a main part of the ink ribbon cassette.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the rotation shaft of the thermal transfer printing machine pushes up the flap. FIG. 13 is a plan view of another ink lip cassette.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of another ink ribbon cassette.

Reference numerals in the figure, 104 is a first slide member, 108 is an ink lip cassette, 115 is a second slide member, 118 and 119 are engagement portions, 202 is a core, 203 is a take-up core, 204 is a cassette main body, 209 is an upper wall, 215 is a flap, 220 is a short shaft portion, and 221 is an engagement claw. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

First, with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, the configuration of the thermal transfer printing machine according to the present invention, in particular, the ink ribbon cassette holding mechanism and the ink ribbon cassette will be described.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes a thermal transfer printing machine main body. The thermal transfer printing machine main body 101 is provided with a platen roller 102 and a print head 103. The platen roller 102 is fixed at a fixed position. The print head 103 is rotatably provided in the main body of the printing machine in a horizontal direction, and is urged by a panel (not shown) so as to be separated from the platen roller 102. Further, the print head 103 is engaged with the upright piece 105 of the first slide member 104. Therefore, when the first slide member 104 slides, the print head 103 can move in a direction of pressing or separating from the platen roller 102.

The platen roller 102 and the print head 103 may be moved in a direction in which they are relatively pressed or separated. Therefore, the platen roller 102 is linked to the first slide member 104. Alternatively, the platen roller 102 may be moved to the fixed print head 103 in the pressing and separating direction.

Next, two rotary shafts 106 and 107 are provided on the thermal transfer printing machine main body 101, and an ink lip cassette 108 is mounted on these rotary shafts 106 and 107. Inside the ink ribbon cassette 108, an ink ribbon 109 and its take-up reel 110 are housed and arranged. As shown in FIG. 2, in the vicinity of the bottom wall 111 of the cassette 108, side walls at both ends corresponding to a line P crossing between the ink ribbon 109 and the take-up reel 110 are cut out. Coupling portions 112 and 113 are formed, and a through hole 114 is formed at one end.

Further, a plate-shaped second slide member 11 & is disposed below the ink ribbon cassette 108. The second slide member 115 is preferably made of a high-strength material such as a metal. As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the second slide member 115 has a pair of engagement portions 118, II ⁹ Are formed. Each of the engaging portions 118 and 1119 is composed of an erecting piece 116 and an engaging claw 117 formed to protrude laterally from the tip of the erecting piece 116. The upstanding piece 116 and the engaging piece 117 form an inverted L-shape. Is formed. An inclined portion 120 that is inclined from the base to the tip is formed inside each of the engagement claws 117. Note that the second slide member 115 is urged by the pull panel 121 so as to always move to the first slide member 104 side.

The engagement receiving portions 112 and 113 at both ends of the ink ribbon cassette 108 are formed so as to be attached to positions corresponding to the engagement portions 118 and 119 of the second slide member 115 at the time of attachment.

As shown in FIG. 4, a substantially triangular hole 122 is formed at the distal end of the second slide member 115, and a protruding shaft formed at the distal end of the first slide member 104 is formed in the triangular hole 122. 123 is engaged. Thus, the second slide member 115 is configured to slide in conjunction with the first slide member 104 in a certain range. The sliding amount of the first sliding member 104 is set to be about twice the sliding amount of the second sliding member 115.

In the above configuration, when the ink ribbon is replaced, the first switch is replaced by an appropriate means. The ride member 104 is slid to the right in the drawing to move the platen roller 102 and the print head 103 away from each other as shown in FIGS. When the first slide member 104 is slid in this manner, the protruding shaft 123 is positioned before the triangular hole 122 of the second slide member 115, that is, at the position shown in FIG. 4 on the first slide member 104 side. Therefore, the second slide member 115 does not move until the protruding shaft 123 moves only inside the triangular hole 122 until the protrusion slides about half of the slide amount. When the first slide member 104 exceeds half of the slide amount, the protruding shaft 123 comes into contact with the inner wall of the triangular hole 122 shown in FIG. 5. The second slide member 115 also moves to the position shown in FIG. 6 by pushing the 115 and resisting the panel force of the extension spring 121 in conjunction with the first slide member 104.

Next, the ink ribbon 109 is pulled out from between the platen roller 102 and the print head 103, the used ink ribbon cassette 108 is removed, and a new ink lip cassette 108 is mounted on the rotating shaft of the thermal transfer printing machine main body 101. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), one engagement portion 118 of the second slide member 115 passes through the through hole 114 of the bottom wall 111 of the ink cassette 108 to an intermediate portion thereof. After further sets the print-receiving material (not shown) between the print head 103 and the platen roller 10 ^2, the first head 103 to print the slides unit forest 104 is slid in the direction opposite the platen roller Move so as to press on 102.

When the first slide member 104 is slid, the protruding shaft 123 is located at the back of the triangular hole 122 of the second slide member 115 as shown in FIG. ), The second slide member 115 is constantly urged to move to the first slide member 104 side by the panel force of the tension spring 121, so that the first slide member 104 the second slide member II ⁵ in conjunction with also moved. When the second slide member 115 moves by the panel force, the engaging portions 118 and 119 also move in the same direction, and the inclined portions 120 of the engaging claws 117 of the engaging portions 118 and 119 move to the bottom of the ink lip cassette 108. The engagement with the engagement receiving portions 112 and 113 of the wall 111, but the bottom wall 111 is pressed down by the inclined portion 120 of the engagement claw 117, so that the ink ribbon cassette 108 is firmly held. At this point, the second slide member 115 stops at the position shown in FIG. No more moves. On the other hand, since the first slide member 104 further moves, the protruding shaft 123 moves toward the front side of the triangular hole 122 as shown in FIG. 4, and the print head 103 is pressed against the platen roller 102. This enables printing.

As described above, since the second slide member 115 moves together with the first slide member 104 and engages with the ink ribbon cassette 108, the second slide member 115 is made of a high-strength material such as metal. However, the ink ribbon cassette 108 can be securely held on the second slide member 115. Therefore, when the incremental tape cassette 108 is mounted on the printing press main body, the detent 125 of the ink ribbon cassette 108 is pushed by the rotating shafts 106 and 107 provided in the printing press main body as shown in FIG. 3 (b). Even when the rotation stopper is lifted to release the rotation, the ink ribbon cassette 108 can be held sufficiently firmly.

Also, the holding of the ink ribbon cassette 108 is completed in the first half of the stroke of the second slide member 115, and thereafter, the mechanical contact with the first slide member 104 is cut off. Since the second slide member 115 does not press the print head 103 and the print head 103 is pressed by the platen roller 102 with a constant pressure, the print quality is not affected.

The above-described movement of the first slide member 104 and the second slide member 115 is performed not only when exchanging consumables such as a printing tube or a tape, but also in the same manner as when replacing the ink ribbon cassette 108. .

Further, the engaging portion of the ink ribbon cassette and the portion of the second slide member engaging with the engaging portion are not limited to the above-described example.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 8A to 14, the configuration of the thermal transfer printing machine according to the present invention, in particular, the ink ribbon winding core and the ink ribbon cassette will be described.

8 (a) and (b) are perspective views of the ink lip cassette, FIG. 9 is a bottom view without the bottom wall, and FIGS. 10 (a) and (b) are perspective views of the core and respectively. It is sectional drawing. In the above figure, reference symbol A indicates an ink ribbon cassette for thermal transfer. The ink ribbon cassette A has a core 202 on which a thermal transfer ink ribbon 201 is wound and a core 203 for winding the ink ribbon 201, which are housed in a cassette body 204. 02 and the winding core 203 are made of a synthetic resin, and are provided with flanges b at the upper and lower ends of a central cylindrical portion a, and a center hole 206 formed inside the cylindrical portion a, and a concave portion at the upper end of the cylindrical portion a. A plurality of protruding piece-like clutch portions 207 are formed radially from the center hole 206 in the concave portion 205. A projection 208 is formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical portion a in the longitudinal direction.

In Figure 1 0 (a) and (b), the illustrated core in the case of particularly wind-up core 20 ³ as an example. The winding core 203 is provided with a small-diameter portion 261 on the outer surface of the cylindrical portion a to form a step. The ink ribbon 201 after being printed by the print head (not shown) may be distorted due to the influence of the portion where the ink has been printed and consumed. For this reason, when the ink ribbon 201 is wound on the winding core 203, the outer edge portion in the longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon 201 may be difficult to wind smoothly. However, by providing the small diameter portion 261, the ink ribbon 201 sent from the core 202 and printed by the print head can be smoothly wound up to the end.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, FIG. 13 and FIG. 14, the core 202 does not need to have the small diameter portion 261 and the flange b of the cylindrical portion a. May be wound directly. By not providing the small diameter portion 261 and the flange b of the cylindrical portion a, the core 202 and the winding core 203 can be arranged closer to each other inside the cassette main body 204, and the cassette main body can be downsized.

The arrangement of the core 202 and the take-up core 203 is not particularly limited, and may be an arrangement opposite to that shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and (b), the clutch portion 207 of the core 202 and the take-up core 203 has a tapered surface inclined with respect to the vertical direction of the concave portion 205. As shown in FIG. 10 (a), the tapered surface of the clutch portion 207 is formed such that the thickness of the tip portion corresponding to the upper end side of the core is smaller than that of the base end portion of the concave portion 205 side, and the thickness of the portion on the core center side It is formed by making the thickness smaller than the thickness of the portion on the outer peripheral side of the core. Further, the clutch portion 207 has a tapered surface on one side surface (first side surface 207a) of the two side surfaces that are engaged with the engagement claws 221 described later, and has the other side surface (second side surface 207a). 207b) is a surface that is substantially vertical to the concave portion 205. The cassette main body 204 is formed in a case shape from an upper wall 209, a bottom wall 210, and a side wall 211, and has a storage part 212 for rotatably storing the core 202 and the winding core 203 of the ink ribbon 201 therein. In addition, a pair of small ribbon pulleys 213 are provided for exposing the ink ribbon 201 while the ink ribbon 201 drawn out from the core 202 is wound around the winding core 203. The storage portion 212 is formed on the bottom wall 210 inside the arc-shaped protruding edge 214 for positioning the ink ribbon core 202 and the take-up core 203. A space is formed inside the small Ripon pulley 213, and a print head (not shown) of the thermal transfer printing machine is located in the space. Note that notches may be formed in the side walls at both upper and lower ends in FIG. 8A, like the engagement receiving portions 112 and 113 in the ink ribbon cassette 108 shown in FIG. Similarly, a through-hole may be formed in the bottom wall 210 of the cassette main body 204 as in the through-hole 114 in the ink ribbon cassette 108 shown in FIG. By forming the engagement receiving portion and the through hole in this way and combining with the above-described ink ribbon cassette holding mechanism, the ink lip cassette mounted on the thermal transfer printing machine can be reliably held.

Two flaps 215 are formed on the upper wall 209 of the cassette body 204 at positions corresponding to the core 202 and the take-up core 203. That is, the flap 215 is formed inside the cuts 217 and 218 by forming two long and short cuts 217 and 218 facing each other on the upper wall 209, and an L-shaped cut is formed between the two cuts 217 and 218. Are formed. As shown in FIG. 11, a short axis portion 220 is formed at one end of the flap 215 at a portion corresponding to each center of the core 202 and the winding core 203. A protrusion-shaped engaging claw 221 is formed at a portion of the core 202 and the winding core 203 corresponding to each clutch portion 207. Further, a pressing portion 222 that can be pressed from the outside is formed at the opposite end of the flap 215. When the pressing portion 222 is pressed, the flap 215 moves up and down around the connecting portion 219 in a seesaw shape.

According to the above configuration, the short axis portion 220 of the flap 215 of the cassette main body 204 is inserted into the upper portion of the center hole 206 of the ink ribbon core 202 and the take-up core 203 in the cassette main body 204. The ink ribbon core 202 and the take-up core 203 are It becomes freely rotatable around the short shaft portion 220. In addition, since the engaging claws 221 of the flap 215 engage with the radial clutch portion 207 around the upper end of the center hole 206 of the incremental core 202 and the winding core 203, both the core 202 and the winding core 203 are locked. State and cannot be rotated. Therefore, when it is not loaded into the thermal transfer printing machine, it does not rotate on its own. When the incremental 1 is slackened, the pusher 222 of the flap 215 is pushed in to swing the flap 215 as shown in FIG. After releasing the engagement with the 207, the core 202 or the winding core 203 exposed in the through hole 216 (see FIG. 8) of the bottom wall 210 may be turned with a finger or a stick.

The flap may not be formed integrally with the upper wall of the cassette, but may be formed separately from the upper wall of the cassette.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the ink ribbon cassette having the above configuration is loaded in the thermal transfer printing machine, the rotating shaft 226 provided in the thermal transfer printing machine is connected to the penetrating hole formed in the bottom wall 210 of the cassette main body 204. What is necessary is just to let it pass through the hole 216. Then, when the ink ribbon cassette is inserted into a predetermined position of the thermal transfer printing machine and fixed by means not shown, the upper end of the rotating shaft 226 pushes up the short shaft portion 220 of the flap 215, so that the flap 215 is moved and the engaging claw is engaged. The 221 is lifted up, disengaged from the clutch unit 207, and the locked state is released. A protrusion 223 is formed on the outer surface of the rotating shaft 226 along the longitudinal direction. When the rotating shaft 226 is passed from the through hole 216 of the ink ribbon cassette A to each of the center holes 206 of the ink ribbon core 202 and the take-up core 203, the ridge 223 of the rotating shaft 226 and the ridge 208 of the center hole 206 are formed. As the rotation shaft 226 rotates, the ink ribbon core 202 and the take-up core 203 rotate as well.

As described above, in the present embodiment, in the clutch portion 207, only the first side surface 207a of the two side surfaces engaged with the engagement claws 221 is a tapered surface, and the second side surface 207b is the concave portion 205. The surface is substantially vertical with respect to. Therefore, the resistance of the core 202 and the winding core 203 to the rotation in the open state can be changed according to the direction in which the core is rotated. That is, when the clutch portion 207 is rotated in the direction in which the tapered surface (first side surface 207a) of the clutch portion 207 and the engagement claw 221 are engaged, the second portion of the clutch portion 207 is rotated. The rotation can be easily performed as compared with the case where the rotation is performed in a direction in which the side surface 207b and the engagement claw 221 are engaged.

When the ink ribbon 201 is slackened in a state where the incremental transfer cassette is not loaded in the thermal transfer printing machine, the user needs to rotate the winding core 203 by himself. In such a situation, by adopting the configuration of the clutch unit as described above, the user can be urged to rotate only in one direction, and the slack of the incremental lip 201 can be easily eliminated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the edge of the through hole 216 corresponding to the winding core 203 is provided with an inclined surface 216a. When the winding core 203 is rotated by the inclined surface 216a in a state where the ink ribbon cassette is not loaded in the thermal transfer printing machine, one of the winding cores 203 exposed from the bottom wall 210 of the cassette body 204 is rotated. The part can be brought into smooth contact with the user's finger. This makes it possible to easily rotate the winding core 203 when the ink ribbon 201 sags.

FIG. 8 shows an example in which the inclined surface 216a is provided only in the through hole 216 corresponding to the winding core 203, but may be provided in the through hole 216 corresponding to the core 202.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of another ink ribbon cassette. As in the case of the cassette body 304 shown in this figure, an opening 224 may be formed by cutting out the side wall 211 on both sides of the cassette body. The opening 224 is formed in such a size that the internal ink ribbon core 202 and the take-up core 203 can be removed therefrom. Therefore, the ink ribbon winding core set including the ink ribbon core 202 and the winding core 203 can be freely attached and detached. That is, when attaching the core set for winding the ink ribbon, the pressing portion 222 of the flap 215 is strongly pressed so that the short shaft portion 220 is lifted up, and the ink ribbon core 202 or the winding core 203 is inserted from the opening 224. The flap 215 may be stored in the storage part 212 and the short axis part 220 of the flap 215 may be lowered. On the other hand, when removing the internal ink ribbon core 202 or the take-up core 203, similarly, the pressing portion 222 of the flap 215 is strongly pushed to lift the short shaft portion 220 upward, and the ink ribbon core 202 or the take-up core 203 is removed. The take-off core 203 may be pulled out from the opening.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of still another ink ribbon cassette. Shown in Figure 14 The cassette main body 404 has openings 224a and 224b similarly to the cassette main body shown in FIG. 13, but has a protruding ridge 225 formed on the bottom wall near the opening 224a where the core 202 is inserted and removed. ing. By providing the ridge 225, the contact resistance between the core and the bottom wall of the cassette body when the core is inserted and removed can be reduced, and the ink ribbon ribbon can be more easily replaced. Except for the ridges 225, the cassette body 404 shown in FIG. 14 is the same as the cassette bodies 204 and 304 shown in FIGS. 8 to 13, and a detailed description is omitted. Although FIG. 14 shows an example in which three ridges 225 are provided only on the opening 224a side, the shape, arrangement, and number of ridges are not particularly limited. Further, the ridge may be provided on the bottom wall of the opening 224b on the winding core 203 side.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the technical scope of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention extends to those modifications.

This application is based on a Japanese patent application filed on Feb. 28, 2002 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-0554824) and a Japanese patent application filed on Feb. 28, 2002 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-0554825). Here incorporated by reference. Industrial applicability

As described above, in the ink ribbon winding core and the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention, since the ink ribbon 201 is loaded in the cassette body 204, when the ink ribbon 201 is loaded in the thermal transfer printing machine, the ink ribbon 201 is provided in the thermal transfer printing machine. What is necessary is just to load the rotary shaft 226 so as to pass through the through hole 216 formed in the bottom wall 210 of the cassette body 204. Therefore, the handling of Incrippon 201 is easy and the loading property is good.

Further, when the flap is formed integrally with the upper wall of the cassette, it is possible to eliminate the looseness of the winding when the clip-on is not mounted with a minimum number of parts.

Further, when an opening is formed on the side of the cassette body 204, only the ink ribbon 201 wound around the core 202 can be replaced, so that the core winding method can be adopted. As a result, the handling is simple, the unit price is low, and there are few parts to be discarded. Both cassette type and core winding type are available.

The ink transfer cassette holding mechanism of the thermal transfer printing machine according to the present invention further includes:

The second slide member moves together with the first slide member and engages with the ink ribbon cassette. Thus, the ink ribbon cassette mounted on the thermal transfer printing machine can be reliably held by the second slide member.

Four

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. The barrel and

A center hole formed inside the cylindrical portion,

A concave portion formed at the upper end of the cylindrical portion,

A plurality of clutch portions projecting from the recess, provided radially from the center hole, and provided with a tapered surface;

The tapered surface of the clutch portion has a thickness at a tip portion on the core upper end side smaller than that at a base end portion on the concave portion side, and a thickness on a core center side portion has a thickness on a core outer peripheral portion portion. An ink-ribbon winding core that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction of the concave portion by making the concave portion thinner.

2. The clutch part is

The first side surface formed as a tapered surface,

2. The ink ribbon winding core according to claim 1, further comprising: the second side surface formed as a surface substantially perpendicular to the recess.

3. The ink ribbon winding core according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical portion includes a ridge formed in a longitudinal direction of an inner surface.

4. A flange is provided at each of the upper and lower ends of the cylindrical portion,

The ink winding core according to claim 1, wherein a small diameter portion is formed on an outer surface of the cylindrical portion.

5. The first core,

A first tubular portion;

A first center hole formed inside the first cylindrical portion,

A first recess formed at an upper end of the first cylindrical portion, A plurality of first clutch portions projecting from the first concave portion, provided radially from the first center hole, and provided with a first tapered surface;

The first tapered surface of the first clutch portion is configured such that the thickness of the first distal end portion on the upper end side of the first core is smaller than the thickness of the first base end portion on the first turn side. The first core, which is inclined with respect to the vertical direction of the first turn, is formed by making the thickness of the portion on the center side of the first core smaller than the thickness of the portion on the outer peripheral side of the first core. The core and

The second core,

A second cylinder,

A second center hole formed inside the second cylindrical portion,

A second recess formed at the upper end of the second cylindrical portion,

A plurality of second clutch portions projecting from the second concave portion and provided radially from the second center hole and having a second tapered surface;

A second tapered surface of the second clutch portion, wherein a thickness of a second distal end portion on the upper end side of the second core is smaller than that of a second base end portion on the second concave side; By making the thickness of the portion on the center side of the second core smaller than the thickness of the portion on the outer peripheral side of the second core, the second recess is inclined with respect to the vertical direction,

A second core having flanges at both upper and lower ends of the second tubular portion, and a second core having a small diameter portion formed on an outer surface of the second tubular portion.

6. Each of the first clutch part and the second clutch part is

6. The ink-ribbon winding core according to claim 5, comprising: the first side surface formed as a tapered surface of the clutch portion; and the second side surface formed as a surface substantially straight with respect to the concave portion. set.

7. The ink ribbon winding core set according to claim 5, wherein each of the first tubular portion and the second tubular portion has a ridge formed in a longitudinal direction of an inner surface.

8. a cassette body having a top wall and a bottom wall;

A core having a center hole and a plurality of clutch portions radially formed at an upper end of the center hole, an ink ribbon wound around the core, and a core rotatably arranged between an upper wall and a bottom wall of the cassette body; , Consisting of

The cassette body is

A through-hole formed in the bottom wall for engaging a lower end of a center hole of the core with a rotating shaft of a thermal transfer printing machine;

A thermal transfer provided on the upper wall, comprising a short shaft portion engaged with an upper end portion of the center hole, an engaging claw engageable with the clutch portion, and a flap capable of swinging up and down. Ink ribbon cassette.

9. The thermal transfer ink ribbon cassette according to claim 8, wherein the flap is formed by making a cut in the upper wall of the cassette body.

10. The ink transfer cassette for thermal transfer according to claim 8, wherein the cassette main body includes a side wall having an opening for removing the core.

11. The ink transfer cassette for thermal transfer according to claim 10, wherein a ridge is formed on the bottom wall near the opening.

12. The ink ribbon cassette for thermal transfer according to claim 8, wherein an inclined surface is provided at an edge of the through hole.

1 3. Ink ribbon cassette and

Platen roller,

Print head,

Relatively presses or separates the platen roller and the print head A thermal transfer printing machine main body including a first slide member to be moved, and a second slide member disposed below the ink ribbon cassette and interlocked with the first slide member;

The second slide member includes an engagement portion that engages with the ink ribbon cassette when the first slide member moves in the pressing direction from the separated state with the platen roller and the print head. The ink ribbon cassette holding mechanism of the thermal transfer printing machine equipped.

1 4. The engaging portion is

An erecting piece erecting from the second slide member;

An engagement claw formed to project laterally from a tip of the upright piece, wherein the engagement portion is formed in an inverted L-shape,

An inclined portion that is inclined from a base to a tip is formed on a surface of the engaging claw on the bottom wall side of the ink ribbon cassette,

14. The ink ribbon cassette holding mechanism for a thermal transfer printing machine according to claim 13, wherein said inclined portion is engageable with a bottom wall of said ink ribbon cassette.