BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
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The present invention relates to a a film transfer roller for use in pressure transferring an adhesive transfer film such as a printed character correction film, an ornamental coloring film, a bonding adhesive film or the like to a target surface of a paper sheet or the like. The invention more particularly relates to a film transfer roller having a roller unit rotatable while pressing one side of a flexible base material to transfer a transfer film on the other side of the base material on to the target surface and also a film transfer apparatus having such roller unit.
2 DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
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Conventionally, with a film transfer roller of the above-noted type, a pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit is formed flat and smooth across opposed axial ends thereof with respect to the rotational axis (e.g. Japanese un-examined patent publication No. 6-286927). In operation, in case the flexible base material having the transfer film on the other side thereof is wound about a feed core, the transfer film is pressed against a target surface while the one side of the base material withdrawn from the feed core is being pressed by the roller unit. Then, under this condition, the roller unit is rolled to the downstream side of the transferring direction. In the course of this, the adhesiveness of the transfer film relative to the target surface causes the base material together with the transfer film thereon to be unwound from the feed core to the roller unit; and also, the adhesive force generated between the one side of the base material and the pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit serves to keep the roller unit rolling; whereby the transfer film may be continuously transferred on to the target surface.
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As a general practice, on the other side of the base material on which the transfer film to be transferred in association with the pressing and rolling of the film transfer roller, there is applied a releasing agent such as of silicone resin so as to allow the film to be smoothly transferred on to the target surface even with a weak pressing force. That is, the agent is provided for the purpose of improving the releasability of the transfer film from the base material.
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However, in transferring the transfer film on to the target surface, it sometimes happens that no transfer film is present at a particular area of the base material where the material is pressed by the roller unit. For instance, if a portion of the transfer film more upstream than the particular area of the base material pressed by the roller unit was inadvertently removed during a previous film transfer operation, the target surface and the other side of the base material will come into direct contact with each other, as illustrated in Fig. 13. In such case, friction therebetween is reduced due to the presence of the above-described releasing agent applied to this other side of the base material 1. The reduction of friction will be more conspicuous especially when the target surface A is made of a relatively slippery material such as paper, so that slippage is likely to occur between the base material 1 and the target surface A. Accordingly, when the roller unit 03 is rolled downstream in the film transferring direction, the transfer film together with the base material 1 may not be smoothly withdrawn to the position to be pressed by the roller unit 03. Consequently, there may occur a failure or trouble in the transfer of the transfer film on to the target surface A.
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The present invention attends to the above-described state of the art and its object is to provide an improved film transfer roller which may restrict occurrence of transfer failure or trouble at the time of initiating a film transfer operation even if no transfer film is present at a portion of the base material to be pressed by the roller unit and to provide also a film transfer apparatus having the improved film transfer roller.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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For accomplishing the above-noted object, a film transfer roller, according to the present invention, comprises:
- a roller unit rotatable while pressing one side of a flexible base material to transfer a transfer film on the other side of the base material on to a target surface;
- a projection provided adjacent at least one of opposed axial ends of the roller unit in a direction of rotational axis of the roller unit, the projection projecting radially outward from a pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit by a projecting amount greater than a thickness of the base material; when the projection comes into contact with the target surface, the projection providing torque to the roller unit so as to allow the transfer film to be transferred on to the target surface, the projection being provided continuously or intermittently along a peripheral direction of the pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit.
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With the above construction, the projection is provided continuously or intermittently along the peripheral direction of the pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit. Then, even when no transfer film is present at a particular portion of the base material to be pressed by the roller unit, with rolling the roller unit to the downstream side in the film transferring direction while pressing one side of the base material, the projection is rotated while contacting the target surface, thereby to provide torque to the roller unit to keep it rolling; and also the frictional force generated between the pressing peripheral surface of this roller unit under rotation and the one side of the base material causes the base material portion having no transfer film to be fed downstream in the rotational direction of the roller unit. Therefore, this construction is capable of restricting occurrence of slippage between the base material portion pressed by the roller unit and the target surface, so that the subsequent transfer film may be smoothly withdrawn to the position where the base material is pressed by the roller unit.
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As a result, even when no transfer film is present at the base material portion to be pressed by the roller unit when a film transfer operation is initiated, this base material portion may be withdrawn downstream with rotation of the roller unit until a subsequent base portion having the transfer film is moved to the position to be pressed by the roller unit. Therefore, in comparison with the conventional construction described supra, the construction according to the present invention may effectively restrict occurrence of failure or trouble in the transferring operation of the transfer film.
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Preferably, the radial projecting amount of the projection is set to be greater than a sum of the thickness of the base material and a thickness of the transfer film; and the projection is elastically deformable to a state for allowing the pressure contact between the transfer film and the target surface.
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With the above construction, the projection and the target surface are placed in contact with each other when the transfer film is pressed against the target surface to be transferred on to the surface. Thus, under this condition too, the roller unit may be directly rotated without interposition of the base material.
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As a result, during a normal film transfer operation when the transfer film is present at the pressed base material portion too, the friction between the pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit and the base material and the further friction between the projection and the target surface together function to rotate the roller unit together with the base material. Therefore, this construction can advantageously provide greater smoothness in the withdrawal of the base material from the roller unit, in comparison with the case where the roller unit is rotated only by the friction between the pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit and the base material.
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Moreover, unless the projection is elastically deformed, the transfer film is not pressed against the target surface. Accordingly, this construction provides a further advantage of preventing the transfer film present on the base material portion pressed by the roller unit from being inadvertently transferred on to the target surface.
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In addition, the projecting amount of the projection is set to be greater than the sum of the thickness of the base material and the thickness of the transfer film. This has an advantage of requiring lower manufacture precision in the maximum projecting amount of the projection, in comparison with a case where the projecting amount of the projection is set to be greater than the base material thickness and smaller than the sum of this thickness and the transfer film thickness. As a result, the manufacture of the projection may be facilitated, and also the base material and the transfer film may be located within the projecting amount between the pressing peripheral face of the roller unit and the leading end of the projection.
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According to a further aspect of the present invention, a pair of the projections are provided at both of the opposed axial ends of the roller unit relative to the rotational axis thereof; and opposed faces of the two projections provide restricting faces for restricting movement of the base material along the direction of rotational axis of the roller unit.
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With the above construction, when the base material is withdrawn in an unstable or meandering manner, with the restriction of the movement by the base material in the direction of the rotational axis of the roller unit, the base material will not or hardly be moved about beyond the pressing peripheral surface of the roller unit in the direction of the rotational axis of the unit.
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As a result, it becomes possible to restrict occurrence of trouble in a film transfer operation due to movement of the base material off and beyond the roller unit.
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A film transfer apparatus, according to the present invention, comprises:
- an apparatus case;
- a transfer ribbon cassette detachably mounted within the apparatus case;
- the transfer ribbon cassette including,
- the film transfer roller described above,
- a cylindrical storage member made of synthetic resin on which a transfer ribbon is stored in a wound state with one side of the ribbon carrying a transfer film being oriented outside,
- a cylindrical takeup core for taking up the used transfer ribbon after transfer of the transfer film by using the roller unit of the film transfer roller, and
- a holder plate rotatably mounting thereon the film transfer roller, the cylindrical storage member and the cylindrical takeup core.
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With the above, the invention has achieved an improved film transfer apparatus capable of effectively restricting occurrence of failure or trouble in a film transfer operation.
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Further and other objects, features and effects of the invention will become more apparent from the following more detailed description of the embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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- Fig. 1 is a section view taken along a direction of a rotational axis of a film transfer roller for illustrating an operational principle of the roller when a transfer film is present at the position of a roller unit,
- Fig. 2 is a section view taken along a direction normal to the rotational axis of the film transfer roller for illustrating the operational principle of the roller when the transfer film is present at the position of the roller unit,
- Fig. 3 is a section view taken along the direction of the rotational axis of the film transfer roller for illustrating an operational principle of the roller when the transfer film is not present at the position of the roller unit,
- Fig. 4 is a section view taken along the direction normal to the rotational axis of the film transfer roller for illustrating the operational principle of the roller when the transfer film is not present at the position of the roller unit,
- Fig. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a transfer ribbon cassette,
- Fig. 6 is a section view showing a condition when a transfer ribbon cassette is attached in an apparatus case,
- Fig. 7 is a plan view showing an opened condition of the apparatus case,
- Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing an in-use condition of a film transfer apparatus,
- Fig. 9 is a section view showing principal portions of a construction relating to a second embodiment,
- Fig. 10 is a side view showing principal portions of a construction relating to a third embodiment,
- Fig. 11 is a partial section view showing a construction relating to a fourth embodiment,
- Fig. 12 is a partial section view showing a construction relating to a fifth embodiment, and
- Fig. 13 is a section view showing a conventional construction.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
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Preferred embodiments of a film transfer roller and a film transfer apparatus relating to the present invention will be described in details hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[first embodiment]
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Figs. 1 through 4 illustrate the operational principle of a film transfer roller 10 relating to the present invention. This film transfer roller 10 includes a cylindrical roller unit 3 made of synthetic resin or natural resin. The roller unit 3 is rotatable while pressing one side of a tape 1 as a base material having flexibility. With this, the roller unit 3 transfers an adhesive transfer film 2 such as a printed character correction film, an ornamental coloring film, a bonding adhesive film or the like to a transfer target surface A of a paper sheet or the like. On the other hand, a film transfer apparatus includes a cylindrical storage member 11 on which an un-used transfer ribbon R comprised of the tape 1 and the transfer film 2 is stored in a wound state. Then, the roller unit 3 is rotatably assembled with the film transfer apparatus with at least a portion of the unit 3 being exposed to the outside of the apparatus. Under the assembled condition, the transfer ribbon R withdrawn from the storage member 11 is wound about the exposed surface of the roller unit 3 with the side of the ribbon R carrying the transfer film 2 being oriented outside.
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The film transfer roller 10 includes a cylindrical shaft 4 made of synthetic resin and the cylindrical roller unit 3 made of synthetic or natural resin mounted on the cylindrical shaft 4. Along outer peripheral edges of opposed axial ends of the roller unit 3 relative to a rotational axis P of the unit 3, there are integrally formed projections 5 extending continuously along the peripheral direction and projecting radially outward from a pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 for pressing one side of the tape 1. Each projection 5 has a projecting amount T which is greater than a sum of a thickness t1 of the tape 1 and a thickness t2 of the transfer film 2 which may be transferred on to the target surface A by means of the roller unit 3. In the instant embodiment, the projecting amount T comprises the amount of radially outward projection from the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3.
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Each projection 5 has a symmetrical right-angled triangular cross section, and faces of these projections 5 extending continuously in flush with the respective axial end faces of the roller unit 3 in the direction of the rotational axis P are formed substantially parallel with each other. Whereas, the other, i.e. inner opposed faces 5a of the projections 5 are formed as inclined faces extending farther from each other in the radially outward direction of the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3.
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Further, an opposing distance between the opposed inclined faces 5a of the projections 5 as measured at the root ends thereof, that is, a width W1 of the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 is set to be equal to a width W2 of the tape 1. Then, when the tape 1 is located at the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3, width-wise edges of the one side of the tape 1 are placed in contact with the respective inclined faces 5a of the opposing projections 5, so that movement of this tape 1 along the direction of the rotational axis P is restricted. That is to say, the opposed inclined faces 5a constitute restricting faces for restricting movement of the tape 1 along the direction of the rotational axis P of the roller unit 3.
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When the projections 5 are pressed against the target surface A, the contacting portions of these projections 5 are elastically deformable, by the pressing force, in a mutually departing direction along the rotational axis P and also in the radially inward direction until the projecting amount T of each projection radially outward from the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 is reduced to become at least equal to the thickness tl of the tape 1, thereby to allow frictional contact between the transfer film 2 and the target surface A as well as frictional contact between the tape 1 and the target surface A.
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Further, when the transfer film 2 is present at the portion of the tape 1 to be pressed by the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 (i.e. the condition illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2), if the projections 5 are pressed against the target surface A and the roller is moved to the downstream side in the film transferring direction with maintaining the pressed contact between the transfer film 2 and the target surface A, the frictional contact between the projections 5 under rotation and the target surface A provides torque to the roller unit 3, whereby this roller unit 3 is rotated. With this, the friction between the roller unit 3 and the one side of the tape 1 and the adhesive friction between the transfer film 2 of the ribbon R and the target surface A together cause the used transfer ribbon R to be moved to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the roller unit 3 and also causes the un-used transfer ribbon R to be withdrawn from the storage member 11 to the roller unit 3.
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On the other hand, when the transfer film 2 is not present at the portion of the tape 1 to be pressed by the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 (i.e. the condition illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4), if the roller unit 3 is pressed pressed against the target surface A and moved to the downstream side in the film transferring direction with maintaining the pressed contact between the tape 1 and the target surface A, in association with the contact between the projections 5 and the target surface A, torque is applied to the roller unit 3 to rotate this roller unit 3. With this, the friction between the roller unit 3 and the one side of the tape 1 causes this portion of the tape 1 having no transfer film 2 to be moved to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the roller unit 3 and also causes a subsequent portion of the un-used transfer ribbon R having the transfer film 2 to be withdrawn from the storage member 11 to the roller unit 3.
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Incidentally, with release of the pressing force from the elastically deformed portions of the projections 5, these portions are elastically returned to the original shape.
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At one terminal end of the cylindrical shaft 4, there is integrally formed an annular flange 6 extending radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of this cylindrical shaft 4.
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The roller unit 3 and the projections 5 are formed of a synthetic resin material such as elastomer, acrylonitrile, butadiene rubber (NBR), silicone rubber or the like or a natural resin material such as natural rubber or the like. The cylindrical shaft 4 and the flange 6 are formed of a synthetic resin material such as polyacetal, polypropylene or the like.
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Next, with reference to Figs. 5 through 8, there will be described an adhesive film transfer apparatus for pressure-transferring a bonding adhesive film (one example of the transfer film) on to the target surface A, as an example of the film transfer apparatus including the film transfer roller 10 according to the above embodiment,
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This adhesive film transfer apparatus includes an apparatus case C to be described later, a transfer ribbon cassette CA detachably mounted within the apparatus case C. The transfer ribbon cassette CA includes the film transfer roller 10 described above, a cylindrical feed core (an example of a storage member) made of synthetic resin on which the transfer ribbon R is stored in a wound state with one side of the ribbon carrying the transfer film 2 being oriented outside, a cylindrical takeup core 12 for taking up the used transfer ribbon R after transfer of the transfer film 2 on to the target surface A by using the roller unit 3 of the film transfer roller 10, and a holder member 13 in the form of a flat plate for rotatably mounting thereon the film transfer roller 10, the cylindrical feed core 11 and the cylindrical takeup core 12. The transfer ribbon R includes a synthetic resin tape 1 having a thickness tl of 0.025 mm and a width W2 of 8 mm and the bonding adhesive film 2 having a thickness t2 of 0.02 mm applied to the other side of the tape 1.
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Further, the transfer film 2 to be pressure-transferred on to the target surface A is releasable from the tape 1 by a silicone type releasing agent applied to the other side of the tape 1.
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Each of the projections 5 of the film transfer roller 10 used in the above-described bonding adhesive film transfer apparatus has the projecting amount T set at 0.15 mm and the width of 0.75 mm in the direction of rotational axis P. Also, the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 has a width W1 of 8 mm in the direction of the rotational axis P.
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As shown in Figs. 5 through 7, the respective cores 11, 12 integrally include, adjacent one end relative to the ribbon width, cylindrical rotary shafts 11A, 12A. Further, these rotary shafts 11A, 12A respectively and integrally include flanges 11a, 12a forming annular grooves for allowing attachment of the holder member 13.
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In the inner peripheral surface of the feed core 11, there are integrally formed a plurality of ribs 11b engageable with engaging projections 21a formed integrally on the outer peripheral surface of a feed core cylindrical shaft 21 disposed inside the apparatus case C for co-rotation. The inner peripheral surface of the takeup core 12 integrally forms four retaining elements 12b having ridges engageable with grooves and projections formed in the outer peripheral surface of a takeup core cylindrical shaft 23 disposed inside the apparatus case C for co-rotation.
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As shown in Fig. 5, the holder member 13 defines, as semicircular through holes, a feed core holding hole 14, a takeup core holding hole 15 and a transfer roller holding hole 16 for respectively engaging into annular grooves formed between the flanges 11a, 12a of the cores 11, 12 and the respective one faces of these cores 11, 12 and an annular groove formed between the flange 6 of the film transfer roller 10 and the one end face of the roller unit 3 so as to rotatably hold these cores 11, 12 and the film transfer roller 10 at the respective one axial end thereof.
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More particularly, the respective holding holes 14, 15, 16 define, as cutouts, a feed core guide passage 17, a takeup core guide passage 18 and a film transfer roller guide passage 19 for allowing engagement and disengagement of the cores 11, 12 and of the film transfer roller 10 to/from the outer peripheral edge of the holder member 13. The guide passages 17, 18 and 19 are formed substantially parallel with each other along one direction and extend continuously from the respective holding holes 14, 15, 16 to be opened on the same outer peripheral side of the holder member 13.
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As shown in Figs. 6 through 8, the apparatus case C includes a body case member C1 and a lid case member C2 formed integrally together of a synthetic resin material to be connectable with each other along the direction of ribbon width. Further, a plate like interconnecting portion between these case members C1, C2 is formed thin so as to constitute a pivotable hinge 20, so that the case members C1, C2 may be pivotally opened and closed relative to each other across the hinge 20.
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The body case member C1 integrally forms inside thereof a feed core support shaft 22, a takeup core support shaft 24 and a film transfer roller support shaft 25. Then, when the transfer ribbon cassette CA is mounted inside the apparatus case C, the feed core support shaft 22 rotatably mounts thereon the feed core cylindrical shaft 21 having the engaging projections 21a engageable with the ribs 11b of the feed core 11; the takeup core support shaft 24 rotatably mounts thereon the takeup core cylindrical shaft 23 having the grooves and projections engageable with the ridges of the retaining elements 12b of the takeup core 12; and the film transfer roller support shaft 25 rotatably mounts thereon the cylindrical shaft 4 of the film transfer roller 10.
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As shown in Fig. 6, the feed core cylindrical shaft 21 integrally forms a large gear 26, whereas the takeup core cylindrical shaft 23 integrally formed a small gear 27. Then, through meshing between these gears 26 and 27 and also the engagement between the grooves and projections of the takeup core cylinder shaft 23 and the ridges of the retaining elements 12b, rotation of the feed core 11 is associated with rotation of the takeup core 12, thereby to provide a gear interlocking mechanism 28 for allowing the used transfer ribbon R to be taken up about the takeup core 12 when the feed core 11 is rotated in association with feeding of the ribbon R from the ribbon cassette CA mounted inside the apparatus case C. In this gear interlocking mechanism 28, the gear ratio between the two gears 26, 27 is set such that a ribbon takeup rate of the takeup core 12 remains higher than a ribbon feeding rate of the feed core 11 even when the winding diameter of the ribbon R about the feed core 11 is diminished, whereby the used transfer ribbon R may be reliably taken up about the takeup core 12.
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Incidentally, when an excessive tension is applied to the transfer ribbon due to a difference between the ribbon feeding rate and the ribbon takeup rate, there is generated a meshing force exceeding a predetermined magnitude between the uneven surface of the takeup core cylinder shaft 23 and the retaining elements 12b of the takeup core 12, which force causes elastic deformation of the retaining elements 12b in a direction to releasing the meshing engagement (i.e. radially outwardly of the takeup core 12). So that, the engagement between the uneven surface and the ridges is released to break force transmission between the takeup core cylinder shaft 23 and the takeup core 12, whereby the difference between the ribbon feed rate and the ribbon takeup rate may be absorbed intermittently.
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Referring to Fig. 8, when the bonding adhesive film transfer apparatus is used, a user presses the transfer film 2 of the transfer ribbon R against the target surface A with holding the apparatus case C. With this, as described hereinbefore, the contacting portions of the opposed projections 5 of the film transfer roller 10 are elastically deformed to allow the transfer film 2 to be pressed against the target surface A. Under this condition, the user will move the apparatus case C to the downstream in the film transferring direction. With this, torque is applied to the roller unit 3 via the projections 5 in association with the pressed contact between these projections and the target surface A, whereby the roller unit 3 too is rotated to transfer the transfer film 2 on to the target surface A.
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In the above, it sometimes happens that no transfer film 2 is present at the portion of the tape 1 pressed by the roller unit 3, because the portion of the transfer film 2 disposed upstream the tape portion pressed by the roller unit 3 was erroneously removed during a previous film transfer operation, for example. In such case, the contacting portions of the projections 5 will be elastically deformed by pressing until the tape 1 is pressed against the target surface A and then under this condition, the film transfer roller 10 will be moved in the transferring direction of the transfer film 2. With this, the friction generated in association with the pressed contact between the target surface and the opposed projections 5 provides torque to the roller unit 3 thereby to rotate this roller unit 3, so that the portion of the tape 1 having no transfer film 2 will be advanced to the downstream side in the rotational direction of the roller unit 3 and a subsequent portion of the tape 1 having the transfer tape 2 will be withdrawn from the feed core 11.
[second embodiment]
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In the first embodiment described above, the projecting amount T of the projection 5 is set to be greater than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2. Alternatively, this projecting amount T may be set to be smaller than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2.
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Especially, when the transfer ribbon R is constantly subjected to a tension and the one side of the tape 1 of the ribbon R is pressed against the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3, as illustrated in Fig. 9, the projecting amount T of the projection 5 should be set to be smaller than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 2 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2, while the roller unit 3 and the projections 5 should be made of material hardly elastically deformable, such as ABS resin, aluminum alloy or the like.
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The rest of the construction will remain the same as the first embodiment.
[third embodiment]
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Fig. 10 shows a further embodiment of the film transfer roller. In this roller, on and along the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3, there are continuously formed a plurality of projections 5 in the form of plural arcs as seen from the direction of the rotational axis P, each projection 5 having a maximum projecting amount T which is greater than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2.
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The rest of the construction will remain the same as the first embodiment.
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Some other embodiments of the invention will be specifically described next.
- (1) In the foregoing embodiments, the projections 5 are formed on both of the opposed axial ends of the roller unit 3. Instead, a single projection 5 may be formed on either one of the axial ends of the roller unit 3.
- (2) In the foregoing embodiments, the projection 5 has the right-angled triangular cross sectional shape. The cross sectional shape of the projection 5 is not limited thereto in this invention. Instead, as shown in Fig. 11, the projection 6 may have a rectangular cross section, for instance. In this case, the projection 5 is made of elastically deformable material and has a projecting amount T which is set to be greater than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2. In this case, when being pressed, this projection 5 is elastically reduced in the radial direction, unlike the projection having the rectangular cross section.
- (3) In the foregoing embodiments, the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 is formed as a peripheral surface extending in parallel with the rotational axis P. Instead, as shown in Fig. 12, this pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 may be formed a concave peripheral surface which is continuously reduced in diameter from opposed inclined faces 5a, 5a of the projections 5, 5. In this case, the projecting amount T corresponds to a radial distance between the tape 1 and the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3. And, this projecting amount T is set to be greater than the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and smaller than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2.
However, if the projection 5 is formed of elastically deformable material, its projecting amount T may be set to be greater than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2, like the construction of the first embodiment.
- (4) The projection 5 may be constructed in the form of a plurality of gear teeth provided intermittently along the periphery of the roller unit 3 at the opposed ends of the roller unit 3 relative to its rotational axis P, with each projection 5 having a projecting amount greater than the sum of the thickness t1 of the tape 1 and the thickness t2 of the transfer film 2.
- (5) The width W1, in the direction of the rotational axis P, of the pressing peripheral surface 3A of the roller unit 3 may be slightly greater than the width W2 of the tape 1.
- (6) The roller unit 3 and the cylinder shaft 4 may be formed integrally with each other.
- (7) In the foregoing embodiments, the synthetic resin tape is employed as the base material 1 having flexibility. The base material 1 is not limited thereto, but may comprise a paper tape having releasing agent applied to the other side thereof or a releasing film affixed to the other side thereof.
- (8) In the foregoing embodiments, a bonding adhesive film is employed as the transfer film 2. Instead, the transfer film 2 may comprise a printed character correction film, a fluorescent transfer film, an ornamental coloring film or the like. That is, in this invention, the type, function and usage of the transfer film are not particularly limited.
- (9) In the case of the film transfer apparatus of the foregoing embodiment, the used transfer ribbon R is taken up about the takeup core 12. The apparatus may be alternatively constructed such that the used portion of the transfer ribbon R is cut and disposed of with each use of the transfer film 2.
- (10) In the case of the film transfer apparatus of the foregoing embodiment, by mounting the transfer ribbon cassette CA in the apparatus case C, the film transfer roller 10 and the storage member 11 are assembled with the apparatus case C. Instead, the apparatus may be alternatively constructed such that the film transfer roller 10 and the storage member 11 respectively are assembled directly in the apparatus case C to be held therein.
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In this case, it is conceivable to construct the film transfer roller 10 solely from the roller unit 3 having an axial through hole in the direction of the rotational axis P, so that the support shaft of the apparatus case C will be inserted into the axial through hole to rotatably support the roller unit 3 in the apparatus case C.
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The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.
