CN2885586Y - Ink ribbon box - Google Patents

Abstract

An ink ribbon cassette is provided, which includes a cassette frame, a take-up spool connection, and a supply spool connection. The take-up spool link supports and rotatably connects the end of the take-up spool to the cassette frame, and the supply spool link supports and rotatably connects the end of the supply spool to the cassette frame. At least one take-up spool connection includes a rotating member, an intermediate body, a push member, and a spool portion disposed generally within the supply spool. The intermediate body is arranged between a part of the inner surface of the rotating member and a part of the outer surface of the box frame, and the pushing member is arranged substantially in at least one of the reel portion and the rotating member, and pushes the inner surface of the rotating member closer to the box the outer surface of the frame.

Description

ink ribbon box

related application

This application claims Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-072395 filed on March 15, 2004; and Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2004-188430, 2004-188509, 2004-188471 all filed on June 25, 2004, and priority of 2004-188498, the entire contents of which applications are incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The utility model relates to an ink ribbon box, in particular to an attachable/detachable ink ribbon box.

Background technique

Image forming apparatuses such as printers and facsimile machines that print images/data by a thermal transfer method generally use an ink ribbon to form an image on an image recording medium. The ink ribbon is usually held in an ink ribbon cassette which is detachably arranged in the image forming apparatus. An ink ribbon cassette generally includes a supply shaft, a take-up shaft and a cassette frame. The supply spool holds an unused portion of the ink ribbon, typically the unused portion of the ink ribbon remains on the spool in the form of a spool. The used ink ribbon is held on the take-up spool, and generally, the portion of the used ink ribbon is held on the spool in the form of a spool. In order to print an image on an image recording medium, an ink ribbon supplied (eg, unwound) from a supply shaft is overlapped with a recording medium (eg, paper) and heated by a thermal head. The heat causes the pigments on the ink ribbon to transfer to the image recording medium. The spent ink ribbon portion is then taken up (eg, rolled up) by the take-up spool.

One way to improve the quality of images produced using such a heat transfer method is to subject the ink ribbon to a sufficient amount of tension so that the portion of the ink ribbon extending from the supply spool to the take-up spool does not slack and/or lift. wrinkle so that the corresponding unwrinkled/stretched portions of the ink ribbon and recording medium overlap each other in conformity. If the ink ribbon is slack and/or wrinkled, the pigment on the ink ribbon cannot be properly transferred to the image recording medium, because some ink components may not be transferred to the recording medium at all, and/or some ink components may be transferred to an inappropriate area of the recording medium. In such a case, image portions may become smudged, missing, shifted, toned, etc., whereby the quality of the formed image suffers. One way to reduce and preferably completely prevent ribbon slack and/or wrinkling is to apply a tension to the supply shaft so as to prevent excessive rotation of the supply shaft in a direction that releases some of the ink ribbon.

In order to reduce the occurrence of loose or wrinkled ink ribbons, JP 2001-130075 discloses a rear tension mechanism, which provides a predetermined rotational resistance to the supply shaft of an ink ribbon cassette. The back tension mechanism disclosed therein utilizes a spool of resin rotatably mounted on one end of the supply shaft and a spring which presses the spool of resin against the cartridge frame. When a surface of the resin cartridge rubs against a surface of the resin supply reel, a frictional force is generated therebetween. Accordingly, a back pull (ie, rotational resistance) acts to prevent rotation of the resin spool with unused ink ribbon (ie, prevents release of the ink ribbon on the resin supply spool). The applied back tension helps to prevent excessive rotation of the ink ribbon (ie, supplying the ink ribbon more than necessary), thereby preventing slack and/or wrinkling of the ink ribbon.

However, the back tension mechanism used in JP 2001-130075 relies on the friction force generated between a surface of the resin supply spool and a surface of the resin cartridge frame (i.e., two resin surfaces). The magnitude of the frictional force between the two resin parts depends on changes in the environment, and thus, the magnitude of the frictional force between the surface of the resin supply spool and the corresponding surface of the resin cartridge frame, for example, may vary based on ambient temperature. Therefore, a consistent back pulling force cannot be applied to the resin supply spool because the pulling force applied to the resin supply spool depends on the ambient temperature of the image forming apparatus using such an ink ribbon cartridge. Therefore, due to the difference in the environment, the generated frictional force cannot be uniformly substantially equal to the desired predetermined amount. In such cases, the friction generated is not sufficient to apply the necessary back pull to prevent rotation of the supply shaft, which can hinder the quality of the formed image as a result of the wrinkled/slack ink ribbon.

JP 9-109524 discloses another rear tension mechanism for the supply shaft of the ink ribbon cassette. The back tension mechanism disclosed therein uses a felt disposed between a disc portion and a circular plate. A spring pushes the disk portion against the felt and disc, and a back tension is applied to the ink ribbon through the friction created between the corresponding surfaces of the felt and disk portion. In the structure disclosed therein, for example, a spring and a circular plate are provided on the outer circumference of the rotary shaft and are part of the printer. The spring is arranged between a surface of the gear and a first surface of the disk part, one surface of the felt is fixed to the circular plate, and at the same time, the spring pushes the other surface of the felt into contact with the second surface of the disk part . Therefore, in order to use the disclosed back tension mechanism, space for at least the spring and the disc for the back tension mechanism must be allocated within the main body of the printing device. Therefore, an image forming apparatus using the rear tension mechanism disclosed in JP 9-109524 may require an increase in size in order to accommodate components of the rear tension. Furthermore, as a result of wear and tear, for example, the felt would deteriorate and the resulting resistance would be approximately equal to the predetermined desired rotational resistance. However, in the disclosed back tension mechanism, the back tension mechanism is fixed (ie, screwed) to the printer. Therefore, if the felt needs to be replaced, it will require the rear tension mechanism to be removed from the printer.

Another way to improve an attachable/detachable ink ribbon cartridge is to provide a cartridge frame that allows for easier handling and attaching/detaching of the graphics forming device. Generally, for example, the ink cartridge disclosed in JP 2003-182130 adopts a structure in which an ink ribbon supporting shaft is rotatably connected to a frame member. The frame member disclosed in JP 2003-182130 uses a pair of side frame members, which are independent of each other. The right end of the ribbon shaft is supported by a support that is rotatably attached to the right side frame, and the left end of the ribbon shaft is supported by a support that is rotatably attached to the left side frame. In addition, all supports are attached to and detached from the side frame members.

The attachment and detachment of such an ink cartridge can become difficult and time-consuming, because it is necessary to install all the attachment/detachment parts of the ink cartridge accurately, in some cases, for example, when assembling a set of attachable/detachable while another set of attachable/detachable parts is detached from the frame. Also, a cartridge with a frame that includes only two side members can become wobbly and unstable, making handling and attaching and detaching more difficult.

Another way to improve an ink cartridge is to provide an attachable/detachable ink cartridge, which has the ability to retain the corresponding parts during the attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge, and/or during the replacement of the ink ribbon. its connected parts. An example of a known support 100 is shown in FIG. 23 . The known support member 100 comprises a gear member 102 equipped with a drive gear 101 and a spool member 103 . One end of the reel portion is inserted into the receiving portion of the T-rotation shaft body, and the other end of the reel portion has an elastic member 104 protruding therefrom. The gear member 102 has an engagement hole 105 receiving the elastic member 104 of the reel portion. The engaging protrusion 104a on the elastic member 104 is engaged with the engaging hole 105, whereby the spool member and the gear member are connected to each other. However, when such a structure is inclined, since an external force is applied from one side of the scroll member 103, for example, during removal of the connected shaft, the elastic member 104 receives a force that separates the elastic member from the engagement hole 105. Therefore, in such a structure, the spool member 103 and the gear member are too easily separated.

Contents of the invention

It is an aspect of the present invention to provide a compact structure that applies consistent back tension to a supply spool of an ink ribbon cassette.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cartridge having non-attachable/non-detachable components to facilitate quick and accurate assembly, and attachment/detachment of the ink cartridge in an image forming apparatus.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cartridge that is attached to/detached from an image forming device and has a non-detachable connector for attaching the ink ribbon to it. The shaft is connected to the ink ribbon cassette, and the non-detachable connection includes a drive gear.

Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a mechanism for applying back tension on the ink ribbon cartridge.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an ink ribbon cassette is provided, which includes a cassette frame, a take-up reel connector, and a supply reel connector. The take-up spool link supports and rotatably connects the end of a take-up spool to the cassette frame, and the supply-spindle link supports and rotatably connects the end of a supply spool to the cassette frame. At least one supply shaft connection includes a rotating member, an intermediate body, a pusher, and a spool portion disposed substantially within the supply shaft. The intermediate body is arranged between a part of the inner surface of the rotating member and a part of the outer surface of the box frame, and the pushing member is basically arranged in at least one of the reel portion and the rotating member, and pushes the inner surface of the rotating member closer to The outer surface of the box frame.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an ink ribbon cartridge is provided, which includes housing means, first and second supply shaft coupling means, and first and second take-up shaft coupling means. The housing device rotatably supports the take-up shaft and the supply shaft, and is attachable and detachable with respect to the image forming device. The first supply shaft coupling connects one end of the supply shaft to the housing unit, the second supply shaft coupling connects the other end of the supply shaft to the housing unit, and the first take-up shaft coupling connects one end of the take-up shaft to the housing unit , and the second take-up spool connecting device connects the other end of the take-up spool to the housing device. The first supply shaft connection device includes a rear tension applying device for applying a rear tension force to the supply shaft, and the rear tension application device includes a pushing device, which is generally located in the inner space of the first supply shaft connection device.

According to another aspect of the present invention, an ink ribbon cassette is provided, which includes an attachable and detachable cassette frame, a take-up spool connection, and a supply spool connection. The cassette frame is attachable and detachable with respect to the image forming apparatus, the take-up shaft connector is attachable and detachably connects the take-up shaft to the cassette frame; and the supply shaft connector is attachable and detachably connects the supply shaft Attached to box frame. At least one supply shaft connector includes a rear tensioning mechanism that applies a substantially predetermined amount of tension to the supply shaft, and the rear tensioning mechanism is attachable and detachable relative to the cartridge frame and includes a rear tensioning mechanism adjacent to at least one supply shaft. Intermediate piece of the rotating part of the shaft connection. And the rear tension applying mechanism further includes a pushing member, which is basically accommodated in at least one supply shaft connecting member.

Optional features and possible advantages of the above and other various aspects of the present invention are presented in the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of systems and methods implementing the present invention, or can be obtained from the following description be understood.

Brief description of the drawings

An exemplary embodiment of the utility model will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

1 is a general block diagram of an exemplary facsimile machine using an ink ribbon cartridge according to one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary ink ribbon cassette utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a left side perspective view of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a right side perspective view of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a top view of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a rear view of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a front view of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in Figure 2;

Figure 8 is a perspective view from the bottom of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, with an exploded view of an exemplary embodiment of a supply spool utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 9 is an exploded view of the exemplary supply spool shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the exemplary supply spool shown in Figure 8;

Figure 11 is a side view of the exemplary supply spool shown in Figure 8;

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary supply reel employing one or more aspects of the present invention;

13 is a view of an exemplary fixed or rotational resistance slot formed on a portion of an exemplary cartridge frame utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of an exemplary fixed or rotational resistance protrusion formed on an inner surface of a rotational member utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

15 is a perspective view of other exemplary fixed or rotational resistance protrusions formed on an outer surface of a cartridge frame utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

16 is a perspective view showing an exemplary fixed or rotational resistance groove formed on an inner surface of an exemplary rotating member using one or more aspects of the present invention;

17 is a perspective view showing other exemplary fixed or rotational resistance grooves formed on an inner surface of an exemplary rotating member using one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 18 is a perspective view from the front of a portion of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2 and from a position slightly to the right thereof, with an exploded view of an exemplary take-up spool utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention view;

Figure 19 is a perspective view of the front of a portion of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in Figure 18 and viewed from a position slightly to the left thereof;

20A and 20B are perspective views illustrating an exemplary reel with a gear using one or more aspects of the present invention;

21 is a cross-sectional view taken from the bottom of an exemplary reel with a gear assembly utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 22 is another cross-sectional view of the reel with the gear assembly shown in Figure 21;

23A and 23B are perspective views of a known reel with gears;

24 is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of an exemplary paper supply portion of an exemplary facsimile machine and an exemplary ink ribbon cassette utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 25 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional view of a portion of an exemplary paper supply portion and an exemplary ink ribbon cassette of the facsimile machine shown in Figure 24;

26A and 26B are perspective views of an exemplary heat sink and an exemplary thermal head of the exemplary facsimile machine shown in FIG. 1, respectively;

FIG. 27 is a general schematic diagram of a section view of a portion of a facsimile machine and an ink ribbon cartridge utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figure 28 is a top view of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, including dimension lines;

Figure 29 is a top view of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, including dimension lines;

Figure 30 is a front view of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, including dimension lines;

Figure 31 is a left side perspective view of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, including dimension lines;

Figure 32 is a left side perspective view of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, including additional dimension lines;

Figure 33 is a right side perspective view of the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, including dimension lines;

Figure 34 is a perspective view of an exemplary reel, including dimension lines, utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

35 is a perspective view of the exemplary reel shown in FIG. 34 , including additional dimension lines, according to one or more aspects of the present invention;

Figures 36A and 36B are perspective views, including dimension lines, of an exemplary rotor and exemplary reel sections utilizing one or more aspects of the present invention;

37A and 37B are perspective views of an exemplary rotor and an exemplary reel portion, including other dimension lines, using one or more aspects of the present invention; and

38A and 38B are perspective views, including dimension lines, of an exemplary take-up spool including a gear member using one or more aspects of the present invention.

Detailed ways

Throughout the following description, numerous specific concepts and structures are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. The practice of the present invention may not necessarily utilize all these special concepts and structures. In other instances, well known elements have not been shown or described in detail so that emphasis can be focused on the present invention.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention there is provided an ink ribbon cassette having a supply shaft subjected to a substantially uniform back pull, substantially without increasing, and preferably reducing, the size of the ink ribbon cassette. According to other aspects of the present invention, there is provided an ink ribbon cassette which can be easily handled during attachment/detachment and ink ribbon replacement. In accordance with other aspects of the present invention there is provided an ink ribbon cassette having a plurality of substantially non-removable spools (i.e., if the spools are properly assembled, they are not easily removed from the frame without force, e.g., prying, intentional disassembly). detachment), which makes the attach/detach process easier by reducing the number of parts that need to be assembled. In accordance with other aspects of the present invention there is provided an ink ribbon cassette that includes a take-up spool with an input gear fixedly attached so that the input gear does not separate from the spool when the take-up spool is removed and/or tilted. The above and other aspects of the invention are described below and can be used individually and/or in any combination.

In the following description, an exemplary ink ribbon cartridge is shown for a facsimile machine. However, various embodiments of the ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention may be provided in other image forming devices, such as printers, copiers, or multi-function fax/printing/copying devices.

In the following description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the side of the exemplary facsimile machine 1 where the output roller 12 of the image input medium is disposed will be referred to as "front" or "front side", and the hinge 5a is disposed thereon. The generally opposite side of the body will be referred to as the "dorsal" or "dorsal side". With respect to various individual components of the fax machine and/or a ribbon cassette housed therein, the sides of the individual components will similarly be identified according to the placement/attachment of the components on/in the exemplary fax machine. That is, when an object is viewed from the front of the exemplary facsimile machine while the object is disposed therein, if the part is located on the left side, the side will be referred to as "left side", and when the object is viewed from the front of the exemplary facsimile machine while the If the part is on the right side when the object is arranged therein, that side will be referred to as the "right side".

Various embodiments of the present invention provide an ink ribbon cartridge, which may include an attachable/detachable ink ribbon 23 . The ink ribbon cassette is attachably/detachably mounted on the main body of an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, a facsimile and/or a copier, which prints an image by a thermal transfer method.

In general, a facsimile machine is capable of reading an image from a document, and generates image data corresponding to the read image, and transmits the image data to another facsimile machine through a communication line (for example, a telephone line), and is Another device (for example, another facsimile machine) receives the image data, and forms an image on a recording medium (for example, paper) based on the image data. A facsimile machine also serving as a printer receives print data by radio transmission or a printer cable connected to a personal computer and a facsimile machine, and forms an image on a recording medium based on the received image data.

FIG. 1 shows the general structure of a facsimile machine using an ink ribbon cartridge according to an exemplary embodiment of one or more aspects of the present invention. The exemplary facsimile machine 1 shown in Figure 1 includes a main body housing 4 which typically includes a telephone handset (not shown). The facsimile machine 1 may include an upper body cover 5 . The upper body cover 5 can be opened (eg, lifted) and closed (eg, closed onto a corresponding portion of the main body cabinet 4 ). In the exemplary facsimile machine 1, the rear lower portion of the upper body cover 5 is connected to a rear upper portion of the main body casing 4 by a hinge 5a, so that the upper body cover 5 can be opened and closed by the hinge 5a.

A control panel 6 including switches/buttons/keys 6a and a liquid crystal display 6b may be provided on the front portion of the upper body cover 5 . A recording medium supply tray 7 carrying a recording medium 3 (for example, paper) may be provided at a rear end portion of the upper body cover 5 . The recording medium supply tray 7 is arranged at an oblique angle such that the lower portion of the recording medium supply tray 7 is connected to the upper body cover 5 and the upper end of the recording medium supply tray 7 extends into the surrounding space at an upward angle. An input tray 8 may be provided in front of the recording medium supply tray 7 on the upper body cover 5 . Input tray 8 supports input image media 2 , such as documents with images to be printed, copied and/or teletransmitted. The input tray 8 may also be arranged inclined so that the lower part of the input tray 8 is connected to the upper body cover 5 and the upper end of the input tray 8 extends into the surrounding space at an upward angle.

In the main body casing 4 of the exemplary facsimile machine 1, for example, below the control panel 6, an input image medium transport roller 9a for transporting the input image medium 2 from the input tray 8, a pressure member 9b, contact Type image scanner (CIS) 10, an input image medium pressure member 11, and a pair of input image medium output rollers 12. For example, a recording medium supply portion 16 may be provided below the recording medium supply tray 7 . The recording medium supply section 16 may include a recording medium supply roller 13 and a separating member 15 . The recording medium supply roller 13 conveys the recording medium 3 from the recording medium supply tray 7 to the printing section of the facsimile machine 1 one by one with the help of the separating member 15 . The separation member 15 is pressed against the lower peripheral surface of the recording medium supply roller 13 by a compression member such as a spring 14, and helps to separate a sheet of recording medium from other sheets. In the exemplary embodiment, the separating member 15 extends obliquely with respect to the bottom of the facsimile machine 1, while its upper end is pivotable about its lower end. In the exemplary embodiment, a rubber member 15a is provided on a surface of the separating member 15 facing the recording medium supply drum 13 .

In the exemplary embodiment of the facsimile machine 1 as shown in FIG. 1, the printing section is arranged substantially at the center of the facsimile machine 1. For example, the printing section includes a roller-shaped platen 17 , a thermal head 20 , a heat sink 19 , a spring 18 and an ink cartridge receiving section 22 . The thermal head 20 is arranged on the heat sink 19, and the heat sink 19 is pressed against the lower surface of the roller-shaped platen 17 during printing. When the ink ribbon cassette 30 is arranged in the ink cassette receiving portion 22, the ink ribbon 23 extends from the supply shaft 32 (FIG. 2) of the ink ribbon cassette, below the roller-shaped platen 17, above the thermal head 20, and further towards the facsimile machine. The front of the ink ribbon cassette 30 is then taken up by the take-up shaft 33 ( FIG. 2 ).

In addition, when the ink ribbon cassette 30 is arranged in the ink cassette receiving portion 22, the ink ribbon cassette 30 is slightly inclined so that the rear end of the ink ribbon cassette 30 is slightly higher than the front end of the ink ribbon cassette 30, and the The lowermost portion of the front portion is closer to the bottom surface of the facsimile machine 1 than the lowermost portion of the rear portion of the cartridge receiving portion 22 . Therefore, the space between the lower surface of the rear portion of the ink cartridge receiving portion 22 and the bottom of the facsimile machine 1 is larger than the space between the lower surface of the front portion of the ink cartridge receiving portion 22 and the bottom of the facsimile machine 1 .

When the ink ribbon cassette 30 is arranged in the ink cartridge receiving portion 22, the left supply spool 50 and the right supply spool 39 are located approximately at the rear of the facsimile machine 1, while the left take-up spool 40 and the right take-up spool 38 are located approximately at the rear of the facsimile machine 1. front center. In the exemplary embodiment of the facsimile machine 1, the left supply spool 50 and the right supply spool 39 are located at a height slightly higher than the left take-up spool relative to the bottom surface of the facsimile machine 1 when the ink ribbon cassette 30 is disposed therein. 40 and the height of the right take-up reel 38.

In the spaces under the rear and front portions of the ink ribbon cassette 30, a first control board 29a and a second control board 29b may be disposed, respectively. In view of the larger amount of space under the rear portion of the cartridge receiving portion 22, the first control board 29a may be larger than the second control board 29b.

When printing takes place, a corresponding portion of the ink ribbon 23 is sandwiched together with the recording medium 3 between the platen 17 and pressed against the lower surface of the platen 17 and the thermal head 20 . The ink supply surface of the ink ribbon 23 is its upper surface, and the ink ribbon 23 may include one or more colors. To print an image, the recording medium 3 is superimposed on the ink supply surface (upper surface) of the ink ribbon 23, and the superimposed sheet is sandwiched between the platen 17 and the thermal head 20 in the printing section of the facsimile machine 1. Printing occurs when the thermal head 20 heats the ink on the upper surface of the ink ribbon 23 and causes the ink thereon to melt. The melted ink is pressed against the recording medium 3 by the platen 17 , and the melted ink adheres to the recording medium 3 .

After the image is printed on the recording medium 3 , the recording medium 3 is transported along the upper surface of the partition 27 and output from a substantially upper-rear-central portion of the main body cabinet 4 by a pair of recording medium output rollers 28 . The partition 27 is located approximately above the take-up reels 38 , 40 and serves as a transport ramp for transporting the printed recording medium out of the interior of the facsimile machine 1 . Baffles 27 guide the recording medium 3 to pairs of recording medium output rollers 28 which transport the printed recording medium out of the interior space.

In the exemplary facsimile machine 1, for the ink ribbon 23, after the image is printed on the recording medium 3, the ink ribbon 23 is bent downward at the top front surface of the tension member 26, and passes through the spacer 27, and then , are taken up along the lower rear portions of the left and right take-up spools 40,38. When the ink ribbon 23 is bent over the top front surface of the tension member 26 and pulled by the take-up spools 38 , 40 , the corresponding portion of the ink ribbon is separated from the corresponding portion of the recording medium 3 .

According to one or more aspects of the present invention, the ink ribbon cassette having a frame does not require an increase in the size of the facsimile machine 1 in which the ink ribbon cassette is accommodated, because the frame provided with the ink ribbon cassette allows easier handling and easier replacement. Attachment/detachment of the ink ribbon, and easier attachment/detachment of the ink ribbon cassette to/from the image forming apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 2-7, an exemplary ink ribbon cassette 30 using one or more aspects of the present utility model includes a cassette frame 31, a supply shaft 32, and substantially all unused ink ribbon 23 is wound on it. part, and a take-up reel 33 on which substantially all of the used part of the ink ribbon 23 is wound. In the exemplary embodiment of the cassette frame shown in Figure 2, the frame 31 has a rectangular shape (at least in terms of its roughly 4 corners). However, frame 31 may have other general shapes depending on the number of frame members and how they are connected together, or the shape of the individual frame members.

Supply shaft 32 and take-up shaft 33 are typically at least partially hollow members (e.g., tubular shafts or hollow-ended shafts) such that at least some portion of the ink ribbon cartridge (e.g., spool, back tension mechanism) can be inserted into/ Stored therein to facilitate connecting components and/or to reduce the amount of space required by the ink ribbon cassette and/or image forming apparatus. For example, in certain embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, as described below, the compression spring 52 of the exemplary back tension mechanism is stored within the tubular shaft of the supply shaft 32 . In other embodiments, the compression spring 52, or other biasing member, may be disposed within the exterior of the rotating member (ie, the shaft portion), such that the biasing member or spring does not require additional space within the fax machine.

However, in some embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present utility model, wherein no rear tension mechanism is provided or a pushing member is not used, or in some embodiments, wherein the push force of the rear tension mechanism The pressing member is provided at any place, for example, the supply shaft 32 and/or the take-up shaft 33 may be a solid member which integrally includes a portion rotatably supported by the frame. In addition, in some embodiments, instead of using a compression spring as the urging member, for example, a tension spring provided outside of the connecting portion disposed approximately on the outer surface of the cartridge frame and disposed approximately at the Between the insides of the connecting parts in the area formed by the box frame, such that when the connecting piece is arranged in the slot of the box frame, the tension spring pulls the outside and the inside of the connecting means towards each other.

The cartridge frame 31 includes a pair of bearing members 34a, 34b, and a pair of connecting members 35a, 35b, which will be referred to as a left bearing member 34a, a right bearing member 34b, a front connecting member 35a, and a rear connecting member for convenience of description. 35b. Front and rear connectors 35a, 35b connect the ends of the left bearing member 34a and the right bearing member 34b together. The front connecting member 35a substantially connects the front end portions of the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b, and the rear connecting member 35b substantially connects the rear end portions of the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b. However, in other embodiments, the connectors may be arranged differently.

Additionally, while two connectors are shown, in various embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, a single connector and/or more than two connectors may be provided. In some embodiments of the ink ribbon cassette according to one or more aspects of the present invention, depending on the strength of the material used for the frame, a single connecting piece along with the left and right bearing pieces during attachment/detachment 34a, 34b can adequately maintain the shape of the box. Likewise, for example, one of the left or right bearing members 34a may comprise two separate parts (i.e., one part for supporting the supply shaft and the other part for supporting the take-up spool without an intermediate connector in between).

In an exemplary embodiment of one or more aspects of the ink ribbon cassette 30 according to the present invention, the ends of the connecting members 35a, 35b are connected to the upper edges of the bearing members 34a, 34b at their approximate ends, And the ink ribbon box has a rectangular shape as shown in Fig. 2-7. In other embodiments, for example, one or both of the connecting members 35a, 35b may be connected to the bottom edge of the bearing member 34a, 34b. In this exemplary embodiment, the connecting members 35a, 35b are integrally formed with the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b. When the ink ribbon cassette is arranged in the image forming apparatus, portions of the bearing members 34a, 34b attached to the connection members 35a, 35b are subordinate to the structure surrounding the ink ribbon cassette. In various embodiments of an ink ribbon cartridge according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the connecting members 35a, 35b and the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b may be made of a resin such as polystyrene (PS) .

In the exemplary ink ribbon cassette shown in Figure 2, the front connecting member 35a is supported by and connected to the front upper edge of the bearing members 34a, 34b, the front connecting portion is substantially located at the take-up above at least a portion of the shaft 33 . A pair of grip portions 80 are provided on the front connecting piece 35a. The grip portion 80 protrudes substantially upward from the upper surface of the front link 35a. The grip portion 80 facilitates handling of the ink ribbon cassette 30 during replacement of an ink ribbon and/or during attachment/detachment of the ink ribbon cassette 30 to the image forming apparatus. Although two holding parts are provided in the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the holding part is an aspect of the present utility model, and in different embodiments of the present utility model, the holding part may not be provided, or One, two, or more than two etc. gripping portions are provided. Furthermore, in certain embodiments of the ink ribbon cassette according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the gripping portion may be in the form of any generally protruding portion of the frame, during the attachment/detachment of the ink ribbon cassette and/or during the process of changing the ink ribbon, the holding part can be used for holding.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 24, the front connecting member 35a is located substantially below the input image medium transport roller 9a of the facsimile machine 1 when the ink ribbon cassette is disposed in the facsimile machine. In an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present utility model, the grip portion 80 is arranged on both sides of the upper surface of the front connecting member, so that the center of the upper surface of the front connecting member 35a is located at a low height (that is, the height closer to the bottom surface of the fax machine). Therefore, a part of the input image medium transfer roller 9a can be accommodated between the holding portions 80 to help reduce the size of the facsimile machine 1 in which the ink ribbon cassette is arranged, and at the same time, provide a cassette frame 31 which allows the ink ribbon cassette 30 to be more compact. Easy to operate.

Each grip portion 80 can be opened along its back side, during the attachment/detachment of the ink ribbon cassette 30 and/or during the replacement of the ink ribbon 23, so that the fingers can be bypassed and gripped into the open space and Grip the bottom surface of the grip portion 80a. A plurality of ribs 80b may be formed on the front of the grip portion 80 to help prevent slippage during cartridge attachment/detachment. In certain exemplary embodiments, the rib 80b may extend in a direction substantially parallel to the extension of the supply and take-up shafts 32 , 33 . In certain exemplary embodiments, a pair of support ribs 81 may be disposed between the grip portions 80 .

As mentioned above, according to one or more aspects of the present invention, it may be required to provide a cartridge frame 31, if necessary, the cartridge frame is housed or worked around the part of the image forming apparatus in which the ink ribbon cartridge is used, so as to provide a smaller overall device. Therefore, in the exemplary facsimile machine 1 and the ink ribbon cassette 30, the cassette frame 31 accommodates at least a portion of the input image medium conveying roller 9a between the gripping portions 80, such that the maximum height of the support rib 81 depends on the input image medium formed by the input image medium. The amount of space required for the transfer drum 9a. The portion of the upper surface of the front connector 35a along which the gripping portion 80 is formed depends at least in part on the structure surrounding the ribbon cassette when the ribbon cassette is disposed within the image forming apparatus. Likewise, the shape and size of other frame components (i.e., the rear link, left and right bearings) can also depend on the surrounding area of the facsimile machine, so that the internal space can be effectively used and image formation can be reduced. The dimensions of the device.

The rear connector 35 b is supported by and connected to the upper edges of the bearing members 34 a , 34 b , the rear connector being located substantially above at least a portion of the supply shaft 32 . As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the shape of the cross-section of the rear connecting member 35 b is substantially arcuate, and its arc substantially corresponds to the main diameter of the rotating supply shaft 32 . The rear connector 35b may include one or more penetration holes 82 . In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 2-7, the through hole 82 is located substantially at the center of the rear connecting member 35b and has a substantially rectangular shape. As shown in FIG. 25, the penetration hole 82 allows a part of the support 83 supporting the spring 14 to be accommodated below the upper surface of the rear link 35b. In such a case, the height of the facsimile machine 1 can be reduced accordingly.

In certain exemplary embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, a plurality of through holes and/or slots may be provided along the box frame 31 so as to allow various parts of the facsimile machine 1 to be accommodated therein, In order to reduce the overall size of the facsimile machine, as long as the components (e.g., front and rear connectors or left and right supports) are still strong enough to leave a stable cartridge frame, so as to allow easier attachment/detachment and Ink ribbon replacement. That is, for example, although a hole or opening 82 is shown in FIG. 5, a slot or cut-out could also be provided along the edge of the component to accommodate a portion of the exemplary facsimile machine 1.

As shown in FIGS. 2-8, in the exemplary ink ribbon cassette frame 31, a portion of the ink ribbon extending between the supply shaft 32 and the take-up shaft 33 is exposed (ie, not covered by the frame), which is the frame Most of the front, rear and bottom sides of the . The space between the front edge of the rear connector 35b and the rear edge of the front connector 35a exposes the top and bottom surfaces of the ink ribbon, which during printing traverses the heat sink 19 and the heat sink 19 below the platen 17. The thermal head 20 is extended.

In the exemplary facsimile machine, a thermal head 20 is arranged on a heat sink 19 as shown in FIGS. 26A, 26B and 27 . The heat sink 19 has approximately the same length as the thermal head 20 . In the exemplary facsimile machine, protrusions 19 a are provided on both ends of the front side of the heat sink 19 , the protrusions are connected to the back of a holder 84 connected to the shaft of the pressure plate 17 . The holder 84 supports the platen 17 above the heat sink 19 .

As described above, one or more aspects of the present invention provide a cartridge frame that facilitates handling of the ink cartridge without increasing the overall size of an image forming apparatus in which the ink cartridge is used (due to the frame). Thus, for example, where the heat sink 19 and thermal head 20 of a facsimile machine are longer than the supply shaft 32 and/or take-up shaft 33, corresponding portions of one or both of the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b may be outwardly protrudes (as shown in Figure 26A) so as to occupy a portion of the available interior space within the facsimile machine, while at the same time providing a substantially stable and easily maneuverable frame.

Although the ink cartridge frame 31 can be extended farther than required to accommodate the components of the ink cartridge itself so that the heat sink 19 and the end of the thermal head 20 are accommodated within the boundaries of the ink cartridge frame 31, the interior space of the facsimile machine can be more Effectively used, it is therefore possible to reduce the size of an image forming apparatus using such an ink ribbon cassette frame.

3, 4, 6 and 8 illustrate exemplary left and right bearing members 34a, 34b embodying one or more aspects of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the right bearing member 34b includes a front groove 36 and a rear groove 37. As shown in FIG. The front groove 36 rotatably supports the shaft portion 38a of the right take-up spool 38, which is mounted on the right end of the take-up shaft 33, and the rear groove 37 rotatably supports the shaft portion 39a of the right supply spool 39, which is mounted on the supply shaft 32. on the right end of the .

The front slot 36 and the rear slot 37 are formed by cutouts in the right bearing member 34b corresponding to a portion generally below the front and rear attachment members 35a, 35b, and the slots 36, 37 allow corresponding portions of the right scroll shaft 38, 39 to move from the The bottom of the cartridge frame 31 is engaged therein. Although the exemplary embodiment of the ink cartridge includes slots 36, 37 leading to the bottom of the ink cartridge, the slots 36, 37 depend on other components of the frame (e.g., front and rear connectors 35a, 35b, left and right bearings 34a, 34b, etc.) Can pass forward, backward or upwards. As shown in FIG. 4, the exemplary right bearing member 34b includes a portion with a rear groove 37 that accommodates the supply shaft 32, a portion with a front groove 36 that accommodates the take-up shaft 33, and a projection as described above. , which accommodates the space of the thermal head 20 and the heat sink 19 .

An exemplary embodiment of the left bearing member 34a will now be described with reference to FIGS. 2 , 3 , 8 and 9 . In the exemplary embodiment, the left bearing member 34a is disposed at opposite ends of the supply shaft 32 and the take-up shaft 33 substantially parallel to the right bearing member 34b. As shown in FIG. 8, opposite ends of the supply shaft 32 and the take-up shaft 33 are connected to the left bearing member 34a at positions substantially opposite to the front groove 36 and the rear groove 37 of the right bearing member 34b. As shown in Figures 9 and 19, holes 31a and 31b are provided in the left bearing member. Although holes are shown in the exemplary left bearing member, slots may be provided instead of holes, and/or combined slots and holes. The exemplary left bearing member 34a includes a portion with a rear hole 31a that accommodates the supply shaft 32, a portion with a front hole 31b that accommodates the take-up shaft 33, and a protrusion as described above that accommodates the thermal head 20. and heat sink 19 spaces.

As shown in FIG. 2, the projecting portions of the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b extend outwardly in a generally "u" shape with a relatively flat bottom. In some embodiments, the protruding member may not have a general "u" shape, and the protruding portion may curve downward, upward, and/or outward to efficiently utilize the interior space of the facsimile machine in which the ink cartridge is housed, while providing an improved ink cartridges. In addition, the protrusions of the left and right bearing members 34a, 34b may have different heights and/or widths depending on the required strength of the components and/or the shape of the interior space of the facsimile machine accommodated therein.

As shown in FIG. 7 , right take-up spool 38 and right supply spool 39 are attachable to and detachable from cassette frame 31 through front slot 36 and rear slot 37 . In the exemplary right take-up and supply spools, the right take-up and supply spools 38, 39 are one piece. However, the right take-up and supply spools 38, 39 may be formed from multiple connected single pieces as long as their connection is secure enough not to be inadvertently separated. When the right take-up and supply spools 38, 39 of an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention are disengaged from the receiving slots 36, 37, the take-up spool 33 and/or the supply spool 32 can be removed from the cassette frame. The bottom side of 31 is removed.

As shown in FIG. 8, a right take-up spool 38 and a right supply spool 39 are connected to right ends of the take-up spool 33 and the supply shaft 32, respectively. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the right take-up spool 38 is substantially the same as the left take-up spool 39, therefore, the right take-up spool 38 and the right supply spool 39 can be interchanged and/or positioned on opposite sides of the ink ribbon cassette. end. Right take-up spool 38 and right supply spool 39 include shaft portions 38a, 39a, generally disk-shaped portions 38b, 39b, and spool portions 38c, 39c inserted into the right ends of the take-up and supply spools, respectively. The shaft portions 38a, 39a and the reel portions 38c, 39c are arranged along the same axes as the rotation axes of the take-up shaft 33 and the supply shaft 32, respectively. In the exemplary embodiment, shaft portions 38a, 39a are portions of right take-up spool 38 and right supply spool 39 that are inserted into front and rear slots 36, 37, respectively. The shaft portions 38a, 39a are rotatably supported by the right bearing member 34b through the front and rear grooves 36, 37, respectively. The disk portions 38d, 39d are arranged along a plane substantially parallel to the portion of the right bearing member 34b including the front and rear grooves 36,37. When the spool portions 38c, 39c are inserted into the corresponding tubes 33a, 32a of the take-up and supply shafts 33, 32, respectively, the disc-shaped portions 38b, 39b having a diameter greater than the inner diameter of the tubes 33a, 32a act to stop the rest of the spools 38, 39. Some enter into the tubes 33a, 32a.

Engagement protrusions or rib-shaped members 38d, 39d are provided on the outer circumferential surfaces of the spool portions 38c, 39c of the right take-up spool 38 and the right supply spool 39, respectively. These engagement protrusions 38d, 39d contact the inner surfaces of the corresponding shaft tubes 32a, 33a. Supply reel tube 32a and take-up reel tube 33a are each capable of expanding slightly to grip spools 38,39. That is, since the corresponding portions of the take-up reel 33 and the supply reel 32 have corresponding slits 32b, 33b, when the take-up reel 38 and the supply reel 39 are inserted into the right ends of the take-up reel 33 and the supply reel 32, respectively, The take-up shaft tube 33a and the supply shaft tube 32a can be slightly expanded. The outer diameter of the spool portion along these engaging projections 38d, 39d is slightly larger than the inner diameters of the take-up shaft 33 and the supply shaft 32 .

When the spool sections 38c, 39c are inserted into the right ends of the spool tubes 32a, 33a, the right take-up spool 38 and the right supply spool 39 are connected to the take-up spool 33 and the supply spool 32 so that each spool section 38c, 39c along with the corresponding spool 33 , 32 rotate together respectively. That is, the take-up spool 38 is engaged with the take-up spool 33 by the engagement protrusion 38d of the take-up spool 38, thereby causing the take-up spool 33 and the take-up spool to be attached so that they rotate together without rotating independently of each other. Likewise, the right supply spool 39 is engaged with the supply shaft 32 by the engagement protrusion 39d of the supply spool 39c, thereby causing the supply shaft 32 and the supply spool to be attached so that they rotate together and do not rotate independently of each other. In this exemplary embodiment in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention, the right take-up spool 38 and right supply spool 39 are attachable/detachable from corresponding shafts 33 , 32 .

The left ends of the supply shaft 32 and the take-up shaft 33 are connected to the left bearing member 34a through the left supply reel 50 and the left take-up reel 40, respectively. As discussed below, the corresponding spool portions 93, 51 of the left take-up spool 40 and left supply spool 50 are inserted into and connected to corresponding tubes 33a, 32a of the supply spool 32 and take-up spool 33, thus being left The reels 50, 40 rotatably supported by the holes 31a, 31b of the bearing member 34a are connected to the supply shaft 32 and the take-up shaft 33, respectively. When connected to supply reel 32 and take-up reel 33, supply and take-up spools 50, 40 rotate with their respective axes such that supply spool 50 does not rotate independently of supply reel 32 and take-up spool 40 does not rotate independently of The take-up shaft 33 rotates.

Take-up spools including right and left take-up spools 38, 40, and supply spools including right and left supply spools 39, 50 are rotatably supported by right and left bearing members 34b, 34a, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8 , an input gear 43 is provided with the left take-up spool 40 . An output gear (not shown) which is driven by a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) of the facsimile machine 1 meshes with the input gear 43 . When driving force is applied to the input gear 43 on the left take-up spool 40 , the take-up spool 33 rotates together with the right and left take-up spools 38 , 40 . The right and left supply spools 39, 50 are also driven by the driving force applied to the take-up spool (i.e., as the take-up spool turns and pulls the ink ribbon 23, the supply spool also turns another portion of the unused ink ribbon) .

Next, an exemplary embodiment of a left supply spool 50 including a relatively compact back tension mechanism in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention will be described. For example, the left supply reel 50 includes a rotating member 60 , an intermediate member 53 (eg, felt member, rubber member), a compression spring 52 , and a spool portion 51 . For example, the rotary member 60 includes a shaft portion 63, a disc portion 62, a shaft insertion portion 61, and a pair of engaging protrusions 61a. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9, at a position substantially opposite to the rear groove 37 of the right bearing member 34b, the shaft insertion portion 61 of the rotating member 60 of the left supply reel 50 is inserted into the left bearing member 34a and is rotatably held. The left bearing member 34a supports it. In the exemplary embodiment, spool portion 51 is substantially cylindrical.

In an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 10 , a compression spring 52 is stored within a spool 51 , and the spool portion 51 includes the compression spring 52 . In the exemplary embodiment, the scroll portion 51 and the compression spring 52 are arranged on the inner side of the left bearing member 34a (ie, the side facing the right bearing member 34b), while most of the intermediate member 53 and the rotating member 60 are arranged on the left side, respectively. The outer surface of the bearing member 34a. By storing the compression spring 52 as a means for urging the corresponding surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface 60a of the rotating member 60 together, the ink ribbon cartridge and/or the image formation using the ink ribbon cartridge can be reduced. The dimensions of the device.

FIG. 10 shows a side cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a left supply spool 50 . As described above, the back tension mechanism applies a back tension to the ink ribbon 23 to help reduce wrinkling/slack of the ink ribbon 23 . The exemplary reel portion 51 includes a bulkhead 54, an insertion port 51b, engagement protrusion 61a, engagement groove 51c, and slot 54a (FIG. 11). The inner space of the reel portion 51 is partially divided by a partition wall 54 extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction substantially at a central portion of the reel portion 51 so as to form two substantially cylindrical inner portions. The partition wall forms an insertion port 51b and a slot 54a, and extends from the inner circumference of the reel portion 51 into the inner space of the reel portion. The end of the partition wall forms a substantially circular opening (ie, insertion port 51 b ) in the approximate center of the inner space of the spool portion 51 . A portion of the partition wall extends into the inner space of the reel portion 51 by a short amount and forms a slot 54a along the outer circumference of the insertion port 51b.

The shaft insertion portion 61 of the rotary member 60 is inserted into the insertion port 51 b , and the engagement protrusion 61 a provided near the end of the shaft insertion portion 61 is inserted into the corresponding slot 54 a of the reel portion 51 . When the shaft insertion portion 61 is inserted into the insertion port 51b, if the engaging protrusion 61a is aligned with the corresponding slit 54a, the engaging protrusion 61a passes through the corresponding slit 54a. After the engagement protrudes through the slot, and the intermediate piece is sandwiched between the inner surface 62a of the disc portion 62 and the outer surface of a corresponding portion of the left bearing member 34a (eg, the portion of the left bearing member surrounding the opening 31a), the rotating member rotates The rotary member 60 is attached to the reel portion 51 so that the engaging protrusion 61 a is not aligned with the corresponding slot 54 a because the engaging protrusion 61 a is blocked by the partition wall 54 . In addition, the above-mentioned compression spring 52 exerts a force that pushes the partition wall 54 toward the engagement protrusion 61a and away from the inner surface of the left bearing member 34a. As shown in FIG. 10, a compression spring 52 is arranged in the inner space of the spool portion 51 between the partition wall 54 and the left bearing member 34a. Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention, by providing the compression spring 52 within the inner space of the spool portion 51, the size of the ink ribbon cassette 30 can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11 , engaging projections 51 a are provided on the outer surface of the reel portion 51 . These engagement protrusions 51a are engaged with corresponding slots 32b formed in the supply shaft 32, so that the supply shaft 32 and the reel portion 51 are connected to rotate together without one being able to rotate without the other.

The spool portion 51 includes a groove 51c formed at its end along a flange-like collar protruding from the outer surface of the spool portion 51, the groove 51c being substantially adjacent to the left bearing when the spool portion is arranged as shown in FIG. The inner surface of member 34a. When the left supply spool 50 is disposed within the ink ribbon cassette 30, the outer surface of the collar portion substantially abuts the inner surface of the left bearing member 34a. The collar portion includes an engaging groove 51c which engages with the protruding end portion 52a of the compression spring 52, so that the compression spring 52 rotates together with the spool portion 51 without one being able to rotate without the other.

In the illustrated exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the rotating member 60 includes a disc portion 62 , a shaft insertion portion 61 , and a substantially cylindrical shaft portion 63 . As described above, when the shaft insertion portion 61 is inserted into the reel portion 51, the inner surface 62a of the disk portion 62 faces the left bearing member 34a. The shaft insertion portion 61 protrudes from approximately the center of the disk portion surface 62 a in a direction approximately perpendicular to the plane of the disk portion 62 . Exemplary shaft portion 63 protrudes from approximately the center of the outer surface of disk portion 62 in an outward direction relative to ink ribbon cassette 30 and has a substantially hollow inner cylindrical space. When the ink ribbon cassette 30 is arranged in the facsimile machine 1, a shaft portion (not shown) is inserted into the space in the shaft portion 63 from another part of the facsimile machine 1 so that the shaft portion 63 is engageably supported therein.

In certain exemplary embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, it may be desirable to provide a rotating member 60 made of a resin harder than the resin material from which the ink ribbon cartridge 30 is made. In other embodiments, it may be desirable to provide a rotating member 60 made of a resin softer than the resin material from which the ink ribbon cartridge 30 is made. Thus, in such cases, for example, polyacetal resin (POM) can be used for parts that require a stiffer part (for example, a cartridge frame or a rotor), while softer resins such as polystyrene can be used for other parts. part. Of course, the same resin material can also be used, depending on cost and the like.

As described above, the shaft insertion portion 61 of the rotating member 60 is inserted into the rear bearing hole 31a in the left bearing member 34a of the cartridge frame 30, and the end of the shaft insertion portion 61 is inserted into the insertion port 51b of the reel portion 51. As described above, the exemplary shaft insertion portion 61 includes a pair of engaging protrusions 61a disposed on the outer surface generally near the inner end. As shown in FIG. 11, the shaft insertion portion 61 has a center diameter which is slightly smaller than the inner diameter D1 of the insertion port 51b so that the shaft insertion portion 61 can be inserted into the insertion port 51b. The distance D2 between the opposite ends of the opposite slots 61a is greater than the inner diameter D1 of the insertion port 51b. As described above, after the shaft insertion portion 61 of the rotating member 60 is inserted into the insertion port 51b of the spool portion 51, the shaft insertion portion 61 and the spool portion 51 are rotated relative to each other so that the engaging protrusion 61a and the partition wall 54 forming the insertion port 51b join. Thereby, the position of the rotating member 60 relative to the spool portion 51 is adjusted.

When the compression spring is arranged in the spool portion 51, the compression spring 52 is compressed and deformed, as described above, the protruding end portion 52a of the compression spring 52 is engaged with the engaging groove 51c of the spool portion 51, and the other end of the compression spring 52 is engaged with the partition wall 54 touch. Due to the spring force, the spool portion 51 receives a force pushing the spool portion away from the inner surface of the left bearing member 34a, so that the disk portion 62 of the rotating portion 60 is pressed against the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a.

FIG. 12 shows another exemplary structure for engaging the rotating member 60 with the spool portion 51 . Only the differences between the exemplary structure shown in FIG. 12 and those discussed above will be discussed below. As shown in FIG. 12 , in this exemplary structure for the rotating member according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the rotating member 70 includes an engagement groove 71 a along its outer surface near the shaft insertion portion 71 . For example, the shaft insertion portion 71 has a substantially cylindrical shape. The tip of the shaft insertion portion 71 of the exemplary embodiment may have a tapered surface 71b. The rest of the rotating member 70 corresponds to the rotating member 60 as described above.

As shown in FIG. 12 , the inner space of the reel portion 72 is partially divided by a partition wall 73 arranged approximately at the center of the reel portion 72 . The partition wall 73 extends into the inner space of the reel portion 72 substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the shaft insertion portion 71 and forms an insertion port 73a into which the shaft insertion portion 71 of the rotating member 70 can be inserted. A substantially cylindrical inner portion 74 protrudes from the end of the partition wall and extends substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the shaft insertion portion 71 toward the inner wall of the left bearing member 34a. The cylindrical portion 74 contacts the outer circumferential surface of the shaft insertion portion 71 when the shaft insertion portion 71 is inserted into the reel portion 72 . In the exemplary embodiment, compression spring 52 is disposed in the space between the outer wall of cylindrical portion 74 and the inner wall of spool portion 72 . The space in which the compression spring 52 is arranged has a height substantially equal to the corresponding partition wall portion 73 .

For example, flexible pieces 75 extend from the end of the partition wall 73 in a direction substantially opposite to the direction in which the cylindrical inner portion 74 extends, and these flexible pieces 75 include engagement protrusions 75 a that engage with corresponding engagement grooves 71 a of the shaft insertion portion 71 . When the shaft insertion portion is inserted into the spool portion 72, the flexible member 75 is bent outward, and at this time, a portion of the shaft insertion portion 71 other than the engagement groove 71a is in contact with the engagement protrusion 75a. When the engagement protrusion 75a is aligned with the engagement groove 71a and fitted into the engagement groove 71a, the flexible member is substantially parallel to the insertion direction of the shaft insertion portion 71 . As shown in FIG. 12, the end of the shaft insertion portion 71 may have a tapered surface 71b, and the inner side of the engagement protrusion 75a may be tapered to help reduce bending of the flexible member 75. When the engaging projection 75a of the flexible member 75 of the rotating body 70 is inserted into its corresponding engaging groove 71a, the rotating body 70 is engaged with the spool portion 72, so that both rotate together and cannot rotate independently.

Various exemplary retaining grooves/protrusions, rotational resistance grooves/protrusions of the disc portion 62, and corresponding outer surface portions of the left bearing member 34a will now be described with reference to FIGS. 13-17. As shown in FIG. 9, and as mentioned above, when the rotating member is inserted into the rear opening 31a of the left bearing member 34a, the portion of the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a surrounding the rear opening 31a is substantially aligned with the inner surface 62a of the disc portion 62. relatively. The middle piece 53 is arranged therebetween.

In certain embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, a plurality of substantially concentric partially and/or fully circular annular grooves 77 (i.e., rotation resistance protrusions/grooves) may be formed around the bearing On the left bearing member 34a of the hole 31a, for example, as shown in FIG. 13 . In such an embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 76 (ie, fixed protrusions/slots) may be formed on the corresponding inner surface 62a of the rotating member. The fixing protrusion/groove may be formed on a part of the inner surface 62a of the rotating member 62, or on the surface across the entirety thereof. For example, the protrusions 76 may be conical protrusions with generally arrowhead ends, which grip onto the intermediate body 53 (eg, felt, rubber). On the inner surface 62a of the disc portion 62 of the rotating body 60 shown in FIG. The free area is sandwiched in between. In this exemplary embodiment, the substantially linearly protruding free area comprises the area of the disc portion 62 into which the shaft insertion portion 61 is inserted.

The intermediate member 53 in the exemplary embodiments has a generally annular shape corresponding to the shape of the disc portion 62 of the rotating member 60 . As described above, the compression force of the compression spring 52 is received between the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface 62a of the disk portion 62 . Thus, the intermediate member 53 sandwiched between the inner surface 62a of the disc portion 62 and the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a contacts both surfaces (ie, the inner surface 62a and the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a).

When the drive motor rotates the take-up shaft 33 and the ink ribbon 23 starts to take up, the supply shaft 32 rotates. Accordingly, the spool portion 51 and the rotary member 60 of the left supply spool 50 also rotate. As mentioned above, the intermediate member 53 bears a pressure between the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface 62a of the disc portion 62. Thus, the protrusion 76 cuts into the surface of the intermediate piece 53, creating a strong frictional force.

Frictional forces are also generated between substantially annular grooves 77 formed on the outer surface of the left bearing member 34 a and in contact with the inner surface of the intermediate member 53 . However, the frictional force generated between the annular groove 77 and the corresponding surface of the intermediate member 53 is weaker than the frictional force generated between the protrusion 76 and the corresponding surface of the intermediate member 53 . Since the frictional force between the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface of the intermediate member 53 is weaker than the frictional force between the outer surface of the intermediate member 53 and the inner surface 62a of the disk 62, when the reel portion 51 rotates, , the middle part rotates with the rotating part 60 and slides along the outer surface of the left bearing part 34a. A frictional force (rotational resistance) is generated between the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface of the intermediate member 53 (for example, felt or rubber), which is sufficient to be a rear pulling force on the supply shaft 32. For example, by using an intermediate member 53 made of felt, rubber, or cork, the frictional force does not depend on the surrounding environment as compared with the case where the intermediate member 53 is made of resin.

It should be understood that although the above description refers to annular grooves and cylindrical components, various other shapes may be used for the various components of the cartridge. In addition, although the exemplary embodiments described above utilize fixing grooves/protrusions, in other exemplary embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the corresponding surface of the intermediate member may be fixed to the rotating member or the case with an adhesive. The corresponding surface of the frame. Furthermore, while the exemplary embodiments described above utilize rotational resistance grooves/protrusions, in other exemplary embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, other means of creating rotational resistance, such as roughened surfaces, may also be used. .

15-17 illustrate other exemplary embodiments of rotational resistance protrusions/slots and fixed protrusions/slots implemented in accordance with one or more aspects of the present invention. In this exemplary embodiment, the rotational resistance protrusions/slots are provided on the outer surface of the left bearing member 34 a, while the fixed resistance protrusions/slots are provided on the inner surface 62 a of the disc portion 62 of the rotational member 60 .

As shown in FIGS. 15-17, in this exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the fixing groove/protrusion is formed on the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a around the rear opening 31a, and the rotation resistance groove /Protrusions are formed on the inner surface 62 a of the rotary member 62 . For example, as shown in FIG. 15 , a plurality of tapered protrusions 76 may be formed on the outer surface of the left bearing member 34 a while a plurality of generally concentric, partially annular grooves 77 are formed on the corresponding inner surface 62 a of the disc portion 62 . Figures 16 and 17 show different exemplary shaft insert portions 61, 71 and rotating members 60, 70 which, as described above, have generally concentric part-annular grooves as rotation resistance grooves/protrusions on the inner surface 62a.

In an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention shown in FIGS. , the supply reel 50 and the reel portion of the rotating member 60 also rotate. As mentioned above, the intermediate member 53 bears a pressure between the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface 62a of the disc portion 62. Therefore, the protrusion 76 of the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a cuts into the surface of the intermediate member 53, thereby generating a strong frictional force. A frictional force (ie, resistance to rotation) is also generated between generally annular grooves 77 formed on the inner surface 62a of the rotating member 60,70 and contacting the outer side of the intermediate member 53.

However, the frictional force generated between the partial annular groove 77 and the intermediate piece 53 is weaker than the frictional force generated between the protrusion 76 and the intermediate piece 53 . In this exemplary embodiment, due to the frictional force (ie, fixing force) generated between the outer surface of the middle member 53 and the inner surface of the disc 62a, the outer surface of the left bearing member 34a and the inner surface of the middle member 53 The friction generated between the surfaces is weak, so the middle member 53 is held stationary (i.e., does not rotate with the spool 51) by the greater friction between the protrusion 76 and the inner surface of the middle member (e.g., felt or rubber), The inner surfaces 62a of the rotating members 60, 70 slide thereon.

Therefore, in this exemplary embodiment, the middle member 53 (for example, felt or rubber) is fixed on the outer surface of the cartridge frame 30 and does not rotate with the rotating member 60 . The friction generated between the partially annular groove 77 and the outer surface of the intermediate piece (eg, felt or rubber) is sufficient to act as a back pull on the supply shaft 32 .

Various embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention utilize an intermediate piece to provide back tension (rotational resistance) on the supply shaft 32, and the intermediate piece has the characteristic that, based on the frictional force generated between the intermediate piece 53 and the cartridge frame Between the annular groove 77 on the left bearing member 34a of 30, so, they have nothing to do with the surrounding environment substantially. Various embodiments of the present invention provide a structure by which a substantially stable/consistent back pull is achieved regardless of changes in the environment, as compared to a structure in which the back pull is provided by resin-on-resin-generated friction. Pull force is applied to the supply shaft.

By forming fixed and rotational resistance grooves/protrusions on the outer surface of the cartridge frame or on the surface of a component located outside the cartridge frame, as in various exemplary embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention Provided, this substitution on the inside surface of the box frame simplifies the molding process for forming the box frame. Specifically, forming the cartridge frame with the annular groove or protrusion on its outer surface can be more easily separated from the mold than the image cartridge frame having the annular groove or protrusion on the inner surface.

As noted above, while one aspect of the present invention provides a compact structure to apply a consistent back pull to the ink cartridge supply spool, another aspect of the present invention provides an attachable Attachable/detachable cartridge frame-to-frame connectors, for example, to aid in quick and accurate assembly and attachment/detachment of ink cartridges within the image forming apparatus. The exemplary supply reel described above addresses these exemplary aspects and other aspects of the invention. That is, once attached to the bearing wall, the exemplary embodiment of the left supply spool 50 discussed above is not easy to attach/detach to the cartridge frame 30 because the internal compression spring 52 pushes the engaging protrusion of the shaft insertion portion against the supply spool local wall. Furthermore, since the compression spring 52 is provided within the inner space of the spool portion 51, 71, the size of the picture cartridge having such a substantially uniform back tension mechanism can be kept compact. Additionally, in other exemplary embodiments, a spool such as exemplary supply spool 50 may be provided that passes through a slot in the cassette frame so that the end of the supply shaft to which the exemplary supply spool is attached can pass through the slot. slide out. In such an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the ink ribbon and shaft can be replaced without having to contact parts of the spool, while the supply shaft is Provides a back pull.

As described above, another aspect of the present invention provides an ink cartridge which is attached/detached to an image forming apparatus and has a holder equipped with a driving gear. The exemplary take-up spool described below is an exemplary substantially non-detachable retainer that may be configured to allow quick and accurate attachment and detachment of the ink cartridge into the image forming apparatus. The exemplary take-up reel described below also provides a retainer that is equipped with a drive gear that cannot be easily and inadvertently disengaged.

18 and 19 are exploded perspective views of a take-up spool and ink ribbon cassette 30 according to an exemplary embodiment of one or more aspects of the present invention. Take-up spool 40 rotatably supports the left end of take-up shaft 33 and is rotatably held by a portion of left bearing member 34a substantially opposed to front groove 36 on right bearing member 34b as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 , the exemplary take-up spool 40 includes a gear member 90 and a spool member 93 . The gear member 90 of the exemplary left take-up spool includes a drive gear 43, a shaft portion 42, a connecting portion 43a, an arm portion 91, an engaging portion 41, a flexible portion 92, a protrusion 92a, a curved back portion 92b, and a tapered surface. 92c, and tapered surface 92d.

The engagement portion 41 protrudes from the end of the arm portion 91 and is connected to the spool portion 93 of the take-up spool 40 . The engagement protrusion 41 engages a groove (not shown) formed by a cutout in the take-up spool tube 33a. When the engaging portion 41 is inserted into the spool portion 93, the engaging portion 41 passes through the front opening 31b, the interior of the spool portion, and protrudes outward through the insertion groove 93a and a groove (not shown) in the take-up spool tube 33a. Therefore, in an exemplary embodiment according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the engagement protrusion 41 engages with the innermost opening 93a of the scroll portion 93 (as shown in FIG. 8 ). The take-up spool 33 and the take-up spool 40 are integrally connected by the engaging portion 41, so that they rotate together and one cannot rotate without the other. After the engagement portion 41 protrudes from the insertion hole 93a of the spool portion 93, the spool portion 93 and the gear member 90 are not easily separated unless the engagement protrusion is pressed into the spool portion 93 while the gear member is pulled out from the spool portion. Therefore, the gear member 90 on one side of the left bearing wall 34a and the spool portion on the other side of the left bearing wall are connected together so that the left take-up spool is not easily detached from the cartridge frame 31 .

The shaft portion 42 of the gear member 90 protrudes outward beyond the cartridge frame 30, and the driving gear 43 is connected to an output gear (not shown) to which a driving force can be applied by a driving motor (not shown) of the main body. The gear member includes a shaft portion 42 and a drive gear 43 . The spool member 93 is inserted substantially within the take-up spool tube 33a of the take-up spool 33, thereby supporting the take-up spool 33 and any ink ribbon rolling thereon.

The exemplary spool portion 93 has a generally cylindrical shape including portions of different diameters, and a substantially open side for receiving a corresponding portion of the gear member 90 . As shown in Figures 20A and 20B, the exemplary reel portion 93 includes a receiving portion including a tapered surface 93b, a cutout portion 93c, an engagement hole 94, a flange portion 95, a first substantially cylindrical portion, and a A second substantially cylindrical portion having an insertion hole 93a.

As described above, the engagement portion 41 is inserted into the spool portion 93 and protrudes from the insertion hole 93 a so as to engage the spool portion 93 and the gear member 90 . The flange portion 95 protrudes approximately radially around the rotation axis, and has a diameter larger than that of the other portions of the spool portion 93 . The first generally cylindrical portion is connected on one end to the flange portion 95 and on the other end to the second generally cylindrical portion. The first generally cylindrical portion has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the flange portion 95 and the diameter of the receiving portion, but greater than the diameter of the second generally cylindrical portion. The engaging hole 94 receives the engaging protrusion 92 a of the flexible member 92 of the gear member 90 . The engagement holes 94 are provided at substantially symmetrical positions with respect to the outer circumference of the receiving portion of the spool portion 93 . The other end of the flange portion 95 (ie, the flange side facing the gear member 90 ) is connected to a receiving portion of the spool portion 93 . The receiving portion includes a tapered surface 93 b , a cutout portion 93 c , an engaging hole 94 , and the receiving portion extends from the corresponding side of the flange portion 95 to the end of the spool portion connected to the gear member 90 . Other exemplary spool portions may have a slanted one-piece spool portion such that the diameter of the spool portion adjacent the flange portion is greater than the diameter of the spool portion at its innermost end. Additionally, other exemplary reel sections may include more than two reel sections of different sizes.

Referring to Figures 20A and 20B, when the gear member 90 is inserted into the spool portion 93, the tapered surface 93b of the spool portion 93 bends outward to allow the flexible portion 92 of the gear member to pass therethrough. In the exemplary embodiment, a pair of flexible portions 92 are provided at approximately the bottom end of the arm 91 at the input gear 43 . The flexible portion 92 is arranged symmetrically around the rotational axis of the take-up spool 40 and has a shape similar to that of the open side of the spool member 93 . The outermost diameter of the flexible portion 92 is slightly larger than the innermost diameter formed by the tapered surface 93b, so that the tapered surface 93b curves outward to allow the flexible portion to pass therethrough more easily. The flexible portion 92 extends outwardly from the input gear portion 43 toward the insertion direction, and has a bent-back portion 92b having a substantially "u" shape, wherein the opening of the "u" faces the input gear 43, and the opening of the "u" The bottom faces the direction of insertion. Therefore, when the gear member 90 and the spool member 93 are connected, the outer surface of each bent-back portion 92b contacts the inner surface of the receiving portion of the spool member 93 .

As shown in FIG. 21, each backbend portion 92b forms a tapered surface 92c around the outer surface of the bottom of the backbend-surfaced "u". The tapered surface 92c makes it easier to insert the gear member 90 into the spool member 93 . The flexible portion 92 also includes engaging protrusions 92 a that engage with corresponding engaging holes 94 of the spool portion 93 . The engagement protrusion 92a has a tapered outer surface 92d such that the diameter of the engagement protrusion 92a becomes gradually larger toward the bottom of the protrusion (ie, the outer surface of the bent back portion). When the gear member 90 is connected to the spool portion 93, the tapered surface 92d is guided by the tapered surface 93b of the spool portion. By pressing the reel member 93 and the gear member 90 together, each flexible portion 92 is engaged with the corresponding engaging hole 94, and the reel 40 is connected to the cartridge frame 31 in a manner that is not easily detached. When the engaging protrusion 92a of the end portion of the flexible portion 92 is engaged with the corresponding engaging hole 94, an "S" shape is formed by the corresponding surface thereof.

Furthermore, when the gear member 90 and the spool portion 93 are assembled, the connecting portion 43a of the gear portion 43 of the gear member 90 is fitted into the cutout portion 93c along its outer surface, as seen in FIG. 20B.

As noted above, a take-up spool and gear structure according to one or more aspects of the present invention provides a take-up spool support member that rotatably supports the take-up spool and operates according to the The driving force of the gear of the gear member rotates the take-up shaft to take up the used part of the ink ribbon.

Various embodiments of a take-up spool according to one or more aspects of the present invention provide a take-up spool that cannot be easily detached from the cartridge frame to facilitate attachment/detachment of the cartridge. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 22, if the exemplary reel member 40 is inclined with a strong force, the engaging protrusion 92a is clamped on the inner wall C of the engaging hole 94 and the peripheral edge of the front bearing hole 31b in the left support member 34a portion of the cartridge frame 30. Between part D.

The above-described exemplary supply and take-up reels according to one or more aspects of the present invention are not easily attached/detached from the ink cartridge, thus allowing the ink ribbon to be easily attached/detached from the ink ribbon cartridge, as well as making the ink ribbon The cartridge is easily attached/detached from the image forming apparatus.

In the above description, a part is said to be attachable or detachable if it can be easily attached/detached to another part, e.g. Attachable/detachable. Thus, although a part may be called non-removable, if it is deliberately pried open or if a screw is removed, the part can be disassembled. Likewise, although a component may be referred to as removable, it is meant that the component is easily removable, for example, by simply pulling it out, or after a release device is engaged.

Since there is always a need for a smaller, lighter and more portable image forming device, another aspect of the present invention is to provide a compact ink ribbon cartridge, which has the basic features of an ink cartridge, while being small and compact so that the interior of the facsimile machine can be effectively used. According to another aspect of the present invention, the following provides the approximate dimensions of various exemplary components and features of an ink cartridge embodying one or more aspects of the present invention, with reference to FIGS. 28-38. Exemplary sizes of various components enable efficient use of the internal space of an image forming apparatus employing an ink ribbon cartridge according to one or more aspects of the present invention.

28 and 29 show top views of the exemplary ink ribbon cartridge shown in FIG. 2 . The length 502 of the front connector 35a between the left and right bearings 34a, 34b of the ink cartridge 31 is about 225.0mm, not more than 226.5mm, so that the front connector contacts the left and right bearings to provide a more A stable ink ribbon cassette that can be handled more easily without increasing the size of the corresponding image forming apparatus. In an exemplary ink ribbon cassette as shown in FIG. 28, the front connecting member extends between the left and right bearing members and connects the front upper edges thereof. However, the length of the front connector may be longer if the front connector extends beyond (ie protrudes beyond the outer edge of the left and/or right bearing members).

The thickness of the frame member is generally required to be as thin as possible in order to keep a small ink cartridge (that is, not requiring more than the internal space provided) and the image forming device, and at the same time, the strength is required to be large enough to provide a sufficiently stable frame, which Allows for easier attachment/detachment of the cartridge frame. Specifically, the frame is made of resin (polystyrene) having a thickness of 1.5 mm at the thinnest point as a standard. However, according to this embodiment, the thickness of the resin frame is in the range of 1.5 mm to 3.0 mm. More preferably, the thickness of the frame is 2.0mm. However, in other embodiments of one or more aspects of the present invention, the weight of the image forming device may appear to be important or more important than the size, so that the thickness of the part may actually be thicker with lighter materials. Additionally, in the following description, the word "about" is used to refer to the word "about" followed by the provided value, as well as to approximate the value provided, given that the dimensions of other parts are made according to the range of possible dimensions provided by certain components. The change. Furthermore, not all aspects of the invention may be implemented in the various exemplary embodiments of the invention.

Referring to Fig. 29, the length 528 of the right side of the ink cartridge is about 102.0 mm, not more than 107.0 mm. The length 540 of the left side is about 102.0 mm, not more than 107.0 mm.

As shown in Fig. 29, an ink ribbon having a width of about 216.0 mm is accommodated in the exemplary ink cartridge. The maximum thickness of the ribbon roll depends on the thickness of the supply and take-up spools, and the space between the supply and take-up spools and the rear or front connector (if included in the frame), or when the ribbon cassette is installed in the image forming unit When inside, the space between the supply and take-up shaft and the parts surrounding/near the shaft.

To facilitate handling the ink cartridge, as shown in FIG. 28, a grip portion may be formed on the front connector, and the length 504 of the left grip portion 80 is about 73.2 mm and not greater than about 91.0 mm. The length 508 of the right grip portion 80 is about 72.5 mm and not greater than about 91.0 mm. Depending on the amount of space available in the fax machine that can be allocated to the grip 80, the grip can be wide enough to allow one or more fingers to enclose the grip to facilitate its operation. The length 504 and length 508 of the grip portion are generally as large as possible to provide sufficient room for one or more fingers. However, the rib 81 should be wide enough to provide clearance for the drum 9a of the facsimile machine, while the overall length 502 of the ink ribbon cassette 30 should be as short as possible to reduce the size of the ink ribbon cassette 30, the lengths 504 and 508 being limited to a certain extent. With reference to Fig. 29, in the exemplary embodiment shown in Fig. 29, the height 572 of the inclined rib portion of gripping portion 80 is about 10.5mm (starting from the top front edge connection lid), and the inclined rib portion of gripping portion 80 grips Partially sloped such that the sloped portion extends rearwardly by about 4.2mm (i.e., one of the top edges of the sloped rib portion protrudes approximately 4.2mm behind the front edge of the frontmost edge of the front connector), the topmost edge of the front cover is at a distance from the take-up shaft The axis of rotation is about 18.5mm. The width 544 of the top surface of the grip portion 80 is about 9.7 mm and not greater than about 11.5 mm. Referring to Figure 30, the height 566 from the front edge of the front connector to the top surface of the grip portion is about 15.0 mm. The height 568 from the front edge of the front connector to the top surface of the front connector is about 9.0mm.

As shown in FIG. 28, the length 506 of the surface of the front connecting member 35a between the holding portions 80 is about 69.0 mm and not less than about 42.0 mm, so as to accommodate the part of the facsimile machine. In the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 29, the width 542 of the portion of the front connector between the gripping portions 80 is about 14.1 mm. The portion of the front link between the gripping portions 80 has an upper surface about 23.4 mm and no more than about 26.9 mm from the axis of rotation of the take-up spool to accommodate the drum 9a of the exemplary facsimile machine 1 .

28, the distance 524 between the inner surfaces of the outermost protruding surfaces of the left and right bearing members housing the heat sink 19 and the thermal head 20 is about 240.0 mm and not less than about 216.0 mm (ie, the width of the ink ribbon) and Not greater than about 245.0mm. Referring to FIG. 29, the distance 538 of the part of the left bearing member that accommodates the heat sink 19 and the thermal head 20 is about 41.6 mm and not greater than about 53.0 mm and not less than about 36.0 mm (that is, roughly a thermal head 20, a heat sink 19, a spring 18 and the width of an ink cartridge receiving portion 22). The protrusions, including the side protrusions (ie, the arms of the generally "u" shaped protrusions) have an overall length in the direction of extension (ie, the length that protrudes from the bottom of the bearing member). The protrusion protrudes outwardly along the left bearing member from the bottom of the left bearing member (see first reference line at the end of the arrow referring to 510 in FIG. 28 ) for a distance of between about 4.5mm and 13.4mm. The protrusion protrudes outwardly along the right bearing member from the bottom of the right bearing member (see first reference line at the end of the arrow referring to 512 in FIG. 28 ) for a distance of between about 5.5mm and 11.8mm.

As shown in Figure 29, the distance 536 of the exemplary left bearing member from its rear edge to the rear end of the left outwardly projecting portion of the left bearing member (i.e., the portion approximately corresponding to the left end of the supply shaft) is about 32.0 mm and not less than About 30.0mm. The distance 534 from the front edge of the left bearing member to the front edge of the protruding portion of the left bearing member (ie, the portion roughly corresponding to the left end of the take-up spool) is about 27.0 mm and not greater than about 30.0 mm.

Still referring to FIG. 29 , the distance 526 between the rear edge of the right bearing member and the rear edge of the right outwardly projecting portion of the right bearing member is about 33.3 mm and not less than about 30.0 mm. The distance 522 from the rear edge of the nose to the front edge of the nose of the right bearing member is about 42.8 mm and not greater than about 47 mm and not less than about 30.0 mm. The distance 524 from the front edge of the front link to the front edge of the ledge of the right bearing member is about 26.3 mm and not greater than about 28.0 mm.

Still referring to FIG. 29, the distance 530 between the edges of the through holes is approximately 9.0 mm to accommodate the parts of the facsimile machine in which the ink cartridge is disposed. Referring to Figure 28, the distance 514 between the other pair of facing edges of the penetration hole of the rear connector is about 15.8mm and at least about 12.0mm, to accommodate a part of the facsimile machine, when the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the facsimile When in the machine, these parts can protrude into the space. The distance 516 from the left edge of the rear connector to the left edge of the penetration hole is about 103.0 mm and not greater than about 110.0 mm. The distance 518 from the right edge of the rear connector to the right edge of the penetration hole is about 103.5 mm and not greater than about 106.0 mm. The length 520 of the rear link between the left and right bearing members is about 224.0 mm and not greater than about 226.5 mm. The distance 512 from the left edge of the exemplary front connector to the left edge of the left grip portion 80 is about 4.8 mm. The distance 510 from the right edge of the front connector to the right edge of the right grip portion 80 is about 5.2mm.

Referring to FIG. 29, the distance 532 between the rear edge of the top surface of the rear connector to the front edge of the top surface of the rear connector is about 23.0 mm and not greater than about 30.0 mm in order to expose a sufficient amount of ink ribbon. The distance 644 between the front edge of the rear support and the rear edge of the front support is about 64.0 mm and not less than about 37.0 mm to allow a sufficient amount of ink ribbon to be exposed to the printing portion of the fax machine.

Referring now to Figure 31, the distance 562 between the inner edge of the take-up spindle to the inner edge of the supply spindle is approximately 68.0 mm. The distance 564 between the outer edge of the take-up spindle and the outer edge of the supply spindle is about 82.0 mm. The distance 560 between the approximate center of the take-up spindle and the approximate center of the supply spindle is about 75.5 mm so that a sufficient distance exists between the take-up spindle and the supply spindle so that the printing portion of the facsimile machine can Provide a sufficient portion of the ink ribbon exposed therebetween.

As mentioned above, the left bearing member can have different sections with different heights, widths, thicknesses, etc. depending on the amount of space provided by the machine and/or the necessary strength of the components. Referring now to Figure 32, the distance 558 from the center of the supply mandrel to the bottom surface of the rear connector is about 12.4 mm and not greater than about 16.0 mm. The distance 570 between the axis of rotation of the supply shaft and the uppermost surface of the rear link is about 20.5 mm and no greater than about 22.0 mm. The distance 546 from the bottom surface of the left bearing member to the top surface of the front connector is about 42.0 mm. The distance 548 from the bottom surface to the top surface of the left bearing member below the front attachment is about 35.9mm. The distance 547 between the rotation axis of the take-up shaft and the uppermost part (or the uppermost surface of the front connection part) of the portion of the front connector between the gripping parts 80 is about 23.4mm, and is not far from the rotation axis of the take-up shaft. Greater than about 26.9mm. The distance 549 between the axis of rotation of the take-up spool and the uppermost surface of the grip portion 80 is about 28.7 mm and not greater than about 34.7 mm.

In the exemplary embodiment of the ink ribbon cartridge, the height 550 of the first portion of the left bearing member is approximately 10.0 mm. The height 552 of the second portion of the left bearing member is approximately 16.0mm. The height 554 of the third portion of the left bearing member is approximately 17.3 mm. The height 556 of the fourth portion of the left bearing member is approximately 13.7 mm. However, the heights of the various sections may vary in various embodiments, and/or the generally u-shaped sections may have a single height throughout.

Likewise, the right bearing member may have different sections having different heights, widths, thicknesses, etc. depending on the amount of space provided by the fax machine and/or the necessary strength of the components. Referring now to Figure 33, the height 570 of the first portion of the right bearing member is about 20.5mm and not greater than about 22.0mm. The height 572 of the second portion of the right bearing member is approximately 17.0 mm. The distance 574 from the bottom surface of the supply end of the right bearing member to the top surface of the rear connector is about 34.1 mm and not greater than about 38.0 mm. The distance 576 from the bottom surface of the ribbon roll to the top surface of the rear connector is about 38.0 mm. The distance 578 from the bottom surface of the right bearing member below the rear attachment to the top surface of the attachment is about 30.0 mm and not greater than about 38.0 mm.

Referring to Figures 34 and 35, for the attachable/detachable support, the distance 580 of the shaft portion of the rotator is about 12.2mm and not greater than about 14.0mm. The distance 586 of the detachable/attachable spool is about 35.0mm. The distance 582 of the disk portion is about 1.0 mm so that the portion has sufficient strength and does not take up undue space. The distance 584 of the inset portion of the attachable/detachable support is about 20.9 mm, so that the components can be removed relatively easily as required during an ink ribbon change. The shaft portion distance 590 is about 6.9 mm and no greater than about 7.1 mm. The disc portion distance 588 is about 18.0 mm. The distance 592 of the spool portion is about 12.4mm.

For difficult-to-remove (i.e., non-removable) supply reels, as shown in FIGS. Small enough to reduce cost etc. The disc portion distance 596 is about 1.0 mm so that the disc portion has sufficient strength to prevent the shaft portion from slipping into the supply shaft and take up unnecessarily excessive space. The distance 598 of the shaft portion is about 8.5 mm so that the shaft portion has sufficient strength to rotatably support the supply shaft and connect to the bearing member without taking up unnecessarily excessive space. The total length 600 of the shaft portion and disc portion is approximately 9.5mm. The distance 602 of the collar piece is about 1.0 mm so that the collar piece has sufficient strength without taking up unnecessarily excessive space. The distance 618 of the inserted portion of the supply spool including the protrusion on the outer circumference of the supply spool is about 2.9mm. For example, the protruding portion may protrude from an outer surface of the insertion portion of the supply spool to a substantially corresponding inner surface of the spool portion. The distance 604 of the protrusion is about 5.4 mm so that the protrusion is strong enough to resist the pressure it is subjected to without being unnecessarily large when engaging a corresponding groove in the supply shaft. The distance 608 of the spool portion is about 18.6 mm so that the supply spool can be removed from the spool portion relatively easily as desired during ribbon replacement. The diameter 612 of the spool portion is approximately 12.5 mm so that the spool portion is sufficiently securely retained within the supply shaft to rotatably support the supply shaft. The diameter 610 of the collar portion is about 16.5mm, so that the disk portion has a larger diameter than the spool portion. The diameter 616 of the disc portion is about 20.0 mm such that the disc portion prevents the shaft portion from entering the opening 31a in the bearing member. The diameter 614 of the shaft portion is about 6.9 mm and not greater than about 7.1 mm, so that the shaft portion has sufficient strength to rotatably support the supply shaft, while not winding up undue space and fitting into the corresponding groove of the bearing wall / opening to allow the supply shaft to rotate.

For a take-up reel with a gear member, as shown in FIGS. 38A and 38B, the width 636 of the groove of the gear member is about 4.0mm and not less than about 2.0mm and not more than about 7.0mm, so that the groove can engage the drive The corresponding slot of the output gear of the device. The first extension distance 640 is about 13.3mm, and the second extension distance 642 is about 10.9mm, so that the parts have sufficient strength, while providing a Narrow reel section. The inner portion of the take-up spool into which the second extension is inserted is an opening having a distance of about 7.4 mm at least in one cross-section thereof. The inner portion of the take-up spool substantially surrounding the first extension is about 9.7 mm. In various embodiments, the inner opening into which the second extension part is inserted may have a circular or a polygonal shape. The diameter 620 of the shaft portion is about 6.9 mm and not greater than about 7.1 mm so that the output gear of the facsimile machine can be properly connected thereto.

Still referring to FIGS. 38A and 38B , the length 622 of the inner circumference of the input gear is about 19.4 mm, and the length 624 of the outer circumference of the input gear is about 23.1 mm and not greater than about 23.2 mm. The distance 644 between the outermost facing edges of the slots is approximately 1.9mm. The distance comprising three consecutive slots is about 8.5 mm and not more than about 8.6 mm and not less than about 8.4 mm for the input gear to properly mesh with the slots of the output gear of the facsimile machine. The diameter 630 of the receiving portion is about 12.9 mm to securely connect the corresponding portions of the input gear to each other. The diameter 632 of the flange portion is approximately 18.5 mm. The distance of the collar is about 1.0 mm so that the collar has enough strength to prevent the take-up spool from slipping further into the take-up spool, while not becoming unnecessarily large. The diameter 628 of the first extension is approximately 9.6 mm. The diameter 626 of the second extension is about 7.3 mm.

In various embodiments of the ink ribbon cassette according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the outer diameter of the take-up spool and the size of the gears should be such that when the input gear of the take-up spool is exemplified by the facsimile machine 1 When driven by the output gear, as described above, the ink ribbon advances at a rate of about 0.07367 mm/step, typically in the range of about 0.06000 mm/step to 0.30000 mm/step. In an exemplary facsimile machine, the paper is driven at a speed of about 0.06428 mm/step, such that the speed at which the paper is driven is less than the speed at which the ink ribbon is driven.

In the above exemplary embodiments of the ink ribbon cassette according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the shape of the cassette frame is shown as a rectangle. The structure allows the supply and take-up spools to be housed between a pair of wall-shaped bearing members which allow the supply and take-up spools to rotate. Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention, when the ink cartridge is arranged in the facsimile machine, it is easier to take out the ink cartridge by the protruding grip portion provided on the front connecting member. However, in certain embodiments according to one or more aspects of the present invention, the shape of the cartridge frame may have a different shape than rectangular.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the ink cartridge frame allows the ink cartridge to be attached/detached more easily without increasing and preferably also reducing the size of a facsimile machine using the ink cartridge.

According to another aspect of the present invention, not all of the support members of the supply and take-up spools are removed from the frame during ink ribbon replacement. Therefore, according to an aspect of the present invention, a substantially fixed support is provided so as to reduce the number of parts to be connected and handled during the attachment/detachment of the ink cartridge.

Various embodiments of the present utility model provide a back pulling force (rotational resistance) to supply shaft by all parts that are arranged on the supply shaft, like this, have implemented the image forming apparatus of the use ink cartridge of various features of the present utility model, cause for A smaller ink cartridge and/or image forming unit.

Although the invention has been described in conjunction with the foregoing exemplary embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changes, modifications and variations are possible. Therefore, the exemplary embodiments set forth above are for illustration only and not for limitation. Various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (44)

1. an ink ribbon cartridge, it comprises:

One box framework;

The take-up spool connector, take-up spool connector supporting the and rotationally end of a take-up spool is connected to box framework; And

The feed spool connector, feed spool connector supporting the and rotationally end of a feed spool is connected to box framework, wherein, at least one feed spool connector comprises:

One tumbler;

One intermediate;

One thrust piece; And

One spool part, this spool part is arranged in the feed spool basically, it is characterized in that:

Intermediate is arranged between the part of outer surface of the part of inner surface of tumbler and box framework, and

Thrust piece is arranged in in spool part and the tumbler at least one basically, and pushes the outer surface of the more close box framework of inner surface of tumbler.

2. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 1 is characterized in that, this part of the inner surface of tumbler is as one in fixed surface and the on-fixed surface, and this part of the outer surface of box framework is used as another in fixed surface and the on-fixed surface.

3. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that,

This part of the inner surface of tumbler is as fixed surface, so that this of the inner surface of tumbler is fixed to the outer surface of middleware, like this, when tumbler rotated, middleware also rotated, and

This part of the outer surface of box framework is as the on-fixed surface, and like this, when tumbler rotated, the inner surface of middleware slided against the on-fixed surface of box framework.

4. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that, the fixed surface of tumbler is by the outer surface of adhesive securement to middleware.

5. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that, the fixed surface of tumbler is fixed to the outer surface of middleware by in a plurality of holddown grooves at least one.

6. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 3 is characterized in that, the fixed surface of tumbler is fixed to the outer surface of middleware by a plurality of at least one of fixing in giving prominence to.

7. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 4, it is characterized in that the on-fixed surface of box framework comprises that a plurality of rotary resistances are outstanding, when tumbler rotates together with middleware fixed thereon, form a rotary resistance, so that the inner surface of middleware slides against the on-fixed surface of box framework.

8. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 4, it is characterized in that the on-fixed surface of box framework comprises a plurality of rotary resistance grooves, when tumbler rotates together with middleware fixed thereon, form a rotary resistance, so that the inner surface of middleware slides against the on-fixed surface of box framework.

9. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 5, it is characterized in that the on-fixed surface of box framework comprises that a plurality of rotary resistances are outstanding, when tumbler rotates together with middleware fixed thereon, form a rotary resistance, so that the inner surface of middleware slides against the on-fixed surface of box framework.

10. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 6, it is characterized in that the on-fixed surface of box framework comprises a plurality of rotary resistance grooves, when tumbler rotates together with middleware fixed thereon, form a rotary resistance, so that the inner surface of middleware slides against the on-fixed surface of box framework.

11. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 9 is characterized in that holddown groove is formed from a resin, its intensity is greater than the intensity of the resin that is used for making rotary resistance.

12. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 10 is characterized in that, fixing outstanding being formed from a resin, and its intensity is greater than the intensity of the resin that is used for making rotary resistance.

13. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 10 is characterized in that, fixing outstanding the outstanding of taper that comprise.

14. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that,

This part of the inner surface of tumbler is as the on-fixed surface, and like this, when tumbler rotated, the inner surface of tumbler slided against the outer surface of middleware, and

This part of the outer surface of box framework is as fixed surface, and like this, when tumbler rotated, this part of the inner surface of middleware kept transfixion with respect to the outer surface of box framework.

15. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 14 is characterized in that, the fixed surface of box framework is by the inner surface of adhesive securement to middleware.

16. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 14 is characterized in that, the fixed surface of box framework is fixed to the inner surface of middleware by in a plurality of holddown grooves at least one.

17. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 14 is characterized in that, the fixed surface of box framework is fixed to the inner surface of middleware by a plurality of at least one of fixing in giving prominence to.

18. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that, the on-fixed surface of tumbler comprises a plurality of rotary resistance grooves, with form one with the rotary resistance of the outer surface of middleware, simultaneously, the inner surface of middleware is fixed to the fixed surface of box framework.

19. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 15 is characterized in that, the on-fixed surface of tumbler comprises that a plurality of rotary resistances are outstanding, with form one with the rotary resistance of the outer surface of middleware, simultaneously, the inner surface of middleware is fixed to the fixed surface of box framework.

20. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 16 is characterized in that, the on-fixed surface of tumbler comprises that a plurality of rotary resistances are outstanding, with form one with the rotary resistance of the outer surface of middleware, simultaneously, the inner surface of middleware is fixed to the fixed surface of box framework.

21. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 17 is characterized in that, the on-fixed surface of tumbler comprises a plurality of rotary resistance grooves, with form one with the rotary resistance of the outer surface of middleware, simultaneously, the inner surface of middleware is fixed to the fixed surface of box framework.

22. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 20 is characterized in that holddown groove is formed from a resin, its intensity is greater than the intensity that is used for making the outstanding resin of rotary resistance.

23. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 21 is characterized in that, fixing outstanding being formed from a resin, and its intensity is greater than the intensity of the resin that is used for making the rotary resistance groove.

24. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 21 is characterized in that, fixing outstanding the outstanding of taper that comprise.

25. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 2 is characterized in that, tumbler comprises the bead part of a shaft portion, a dish type, and an insertion portion.

26. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 25 is characterized in that, the inner surface of disk-shaped flange part is a fixed surface.

27. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 25 is characterized in that, the inner surface of disk-shaped flange part is non-fixed surface.

28. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 25 is characterized in that, the outwards outstanding outer surface that surpasses box framework of shaft portion.

29. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 25 is characterized in that, spool part has one on its outer surface and engages outstandingly, and it engages with the interior receiving portion of feed spool.

30. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 25, it is characterized in that, the axle insertion portion is outstanding by first groove in the axle insertion portion insertion box framework wherein or at least one of first hole, within it in the portion space, spool is partly admitted the part of an insertion portion, the outstanding corresponding inner surface that surpasses box framework of the part of axle insertion portion.

31. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 30 is characterized in that, spool partly comprises a next door, its form inside of spool part empty as between in one insert port, the end of axle insertion portion is inserted into and inserts in the port at least.

32. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 31 is characterized in that, it is outstanding that the axle insertion portion comprises that on its outer surface at least one engages.

33. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 32, it is characterized in that the next door forms at least one groove, insert in the process of spool part at the axle insertion portion, the joint of axle insertion portion is outstanding can be by in this groove, the joint of axle insertion portion is outstanding to be engaged with the receiving portion in next door, and tumbler is connected to the spool part, like this, when tumbler rotates, the spool part is also rotated, and when spool partly rotated, tumbler also rotated.

34. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 31 is characterized in that, thrust piece is a compression spring, and it is arranged to make a surface in the contiguous next door of an end of compressing spring, and the other end of compression spring is pressed against the inner surface of box framework.

35. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 34 is characterized in that, the compression spring is connected to the spool part, so that the compression spring partly rotates with spool.

36. an ink ribbon cartridge, it comprises:

Canning, canning are used for rotatably support take-up spool and feed spool, and attachable and detachable with respect to image processing system;

One first feed spool jockey, it is used for an end of feed spool is connected to canning;

One second feed spool jockey, it is used for the other end of feed spool is connected to canning;

One first take-up spool jockey, it is used for an end of take-up spool is connected to canning;

One second take-up spool jockey, it is used for the other end of take-up spool is connected to canning, wherein, the first feed spool jockey comprises a back pull bringing device, be used for feed spool is applied a back pull, then tension application device comprises a pressing device, it is characterized in that, this pressing device roughly is positioned at the inner space of the first feed spool jockey.

37. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 36 is characterized in that, the back pull bringing device comprises that a resistance produces part, between the part of the first feed spool jockey that it rotates when being clipped in the feed spool rotation and the surface of attachable and detachable canning.

38. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 37, it is characterized in that, the back pull bringing device comprises a fixture, and it is arranged on the surface on surface of the first feed spool jockey and a surface of canning, and is positioned at another lip-deep rotary resistance generation device.

39. an ink ribbon cartridge, it comprises:

One attachable and dismountable box framework, box framework is attachable and detachable with respect to image processing system;

The take-up spool connector, the take-up spool connector is attachable and removably take-up spool is connected to box framework; And

The feed spool connector, the feed spool connector is attachable and removably feed spool is connected to box framework, wherein, at least one feed spool connector comprises a back pull applying mechanism, it is applied to a roughly predetermined pulling force amount on the feed spool, it is characterized in that the back pull applying mechanism is attachable and detachable with respect to box framework, and comprise the middleware of the rotating part of contiguous at least one feed spool connector; And the back pull applying mechanism also comprises a thrust piece, and it is contained at least one feed spool connector basically.

40. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 39 is characterized in that, middleware is clipped between the surface of surperficial and attachable and a dismountable box framework of rotating part of at least one feed spool connector.

41. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 40, it is characterized in that, the back pull applying mechanism comprises a fixture, be used for the surface of rotating part is fixed to the first surface of middleware, and a rotary resistance generation device, be used for producing a rotary resistance between the surface of the second surface of middleware and attachable and dismountable box framework.

42. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 40 is characterized in that, middleware is made by in felt, rubber and the cork at least one.

43. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 42 is characterized in that, box framework comprises a clutch shaft bearing spare and one second bearing part, and the clutch shaft bearing spare and second bearing part are parallel to each other basically.

44. ink ribbon cartridge as claimed in claim 43 is characterized in that, box framework also comprises at least one connector, and it is connected to second bearing part with clutch shaft bearing spare.

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