JPH0752487A - Ink ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent rotation of each bobbin by fixing it surely when a cassette is not fitted to a printer and also to cancel the fixation of each bobbin when the cassette is fitted to the printer. CONSTITUTION:In a cassette body 1, a bobbin 2 for supply and a bobbin for winding on each of which an ink ribbon 4 is wound are supported rotatably and movably in the direction of an arrow B. In a holding part for the bobbin 2 for supply, the bobbin 2 for supply is actuated rightward in the figure and also a bobbin pushing spring 8 having a lock pawl 8c provided integrally is fixed in one end part in the cassette body 1. The bobbin 2 for supply is provided with a lock plate 6 having a plurality of lock grooves 6a formed radially. When the bobbin 2 for supply is positioned at the right end in the figure by an actuating force of the bobbin pushing spring 8, the lock pawl 8c is in engagement with the lock groove 6a, while the engagement of the lock pawl 8c is canceled with the elastic deformation of the bobbin pushing spring 8 when the bobbin is moved against the actuating force of the bobbin pushing spring 8. This constitution is also the same on the side of the bobbin for winding.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink ribbon cassette used in a thermal transfer type color printer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, color ink ribbon cassettes used in thermal transfer printers are yellow, magenta,
An ink ribbon in which ink such as cyan is successively applied is wound around a supply bobbin and a winding bobbin. The conventional ink ribbon cassette will be described below with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional ink ribbon cassette. As shown in FIG. 6, the cassette body 101 for accommodating the ink ribbon 104 has hollow accommodating portions 101a and 101b formed on both sides thereof.
A supply bobbin 102 and a winding bobbin 103 around which an ink ribbon 104 is wound are rotatably supported by 01a and 101b, respectively. An opening 101c is formed in the center of the cassette body 101. By rotating the winding bobbin 103 in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, the ink ribbon 104 wound around the supply bobbin 102 is opened 101c. It is conveyed through the roll and wound on the winding bobbin 103.

The bobbin lock portion 10 made of an elastic piece is provided at one end of each of the storage portions 101a and 101b.
5 is integrally provided so as to sandwich one end of each bobbin 102, 103 from above and below. This allows
The outer peripheral surface of each bobbin 102, 103 and the bobbin lock portion 10
A frictional force always acts between the bobbins 102 and 10 when the ink ribbon cassette is not attached to the printer.
3 is prevented from rotating unnecessarily, and the slack of the ink ribbon 104 is prevented.

On the other hand, a printer (not shown) to which the ink ribbon cassette is attached has a bobbin driving means (not shown) fitted to one end of the winding bobbin 103 to rotate the winding bobbin 103. It has a bobbin load means (not shown) which is fitted to one end of the supply bobbin 102 and applies back tension to the supply bobbin 102. When the ink ribbon cassette is attached to the printer and the recording operation of the printer is started, the winding bobbin 103 is rotated and the ink ribbon 104 is conveyed while the back tension is applied to the supply bobbin 102, and the ink ribbon 104 is opened. The recording paper (not shown) is pressed by a thermal head (not shown) in the portion 101c and is used for recording.

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional ink ribbon cassette, since the bobbin is held by the bobbin lock portion to prevent unnecessary rotation of each bobbin, the state where the bobbin is mounted in the printer is eliminated. However, each bobbin is clamped by the bobbin lock part, and when each bobbin is rotated to convey the ink ribbon during recording, the outer shape of each bobbin will be generated due to heat generation and wear due to friction between each bobbin and the bobbin lock part. There was a risk of change. Then, for example, when the abrasion of the bobbin at the nipping portion by the bobbin lock portion progresses and eccentricity occurs, the balance of the tension of the ink ribbon and the parallelism of each bobbin collapse when the ink ribbon is conveyed at the time of recording. Wrinkles occur on the ribbon. When the ink ribbon is wrinkled, the ink applied to the ink ribbon is not pressed against the recording paper at the wrinkled portion, so that the ink is not transferred and the recording quality is deteriorated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cassette in which each bobbin is securely fixed when it is not mounted in the printer to prevent rotation, and the bobbin is unfixed when it is mounted in the printer. Especially.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, in the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention, bobbins around which the ink ribbon is wound are rotatably supported in the storage portions formed on both sides of the cassette body. In the ink ribbon cassette, each bobbin is supported so as to be movable also in the axial direction of each bobbin, and each bobbin is always at the other end side of each accommodating part at one end in each accommodating part. A spring member for urging the bobbin to be engaged with each of the spring members when the bobbin is located at the other end of the accommodation portion by the urging force of the spring member. , A lock claw that is disengaged from each bobbin due to elastic deformation of each spring member when each bobbin moves against the biasing force of each spring member There, characterized in that integrally provided.

The locking claws of the spring members extend in the axial direction of the bobbins, respectively, and the tip ends of the locking claws are in contact with one end of the bobbins. A flange-like lock plate is integrally provided at one end of each bobbin, and is projected toward the end, and each of the lock plates has a surface facing the lock claws. A plurality of grooves that engage with the lock claws may be formed radially.

[0010]

With the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention configured as described above, when not attached to the printer,
Each bobbin around which the ink ribbon is wound is located at the other end of the accommodating portion of the cassette body by the urging force of the spring member, and each bobbin is engaged with the lock claw integrally provided on the spring member. Therefore, rotation of each bobbin is prevented. This eliminates the slack of the ink ribbon due to the unnecessary rotation of each bobbin.

On the other hand, when the ink ribbon cassette is mounted on the printer, each bobbin is connected to the bobbin rotating means provided in the printer to rotate each bobbin while applying tension to the ink ribbon, and the biasing force of each spring member is applied. Moved against. As a result, each spring member is elastically deformed, and accordingly, the engagement of each bobbin by the lock claw is released. As a result, since each bobbin can freely rotate, heat generation and wear of each bobbin due to the rotation of each bobbin does not occur in each bobbin, and the balance of tension of the ink ribbon and the parallelism of each bobbin are not lost. .

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the ink ribbon cassette of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette body 1 for accommodating the ink ribbon 4 has hollow accommodating portions 1a and 1b formed on both sides thereof.
A supply bobbin 2 and a winding bobbin 3 each having an ink ribbon 4 wound thereon are rotatably supported on 1b. Further, the opening 1 is provided at the center of the cassette body 1.
c is formed, and by rotating the winding bobbin 3 in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the ink ribbon 4 wound around the supply bobbin 2 is wound around the winding bobbin 3 through the opening 1c. To be The ink ribbon 4 is one in which a plurality of colors of ink are successively applied in the longitudinal direction. This ink ribbon cassette is used by being attached to a printer, and the ink ribbon 4 has an opening 1c during recording.
In the above, the recording sheet (not shown) is pressed by a thermal head (not shown) to be used for recording.

Next, the internal structure of the cassette body 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a storage portion that supports the supply bobbin of the ink ribbon cassette shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the supply bobbin 2 is rotatably supported by the cassette body 1 in the direction of the arrow B in the figure with play. It is protruding. A flange-shaped stopper 5 is integrally provided on the bobbin end 2a, and the stopper 5 regulates the amount of movement of the supply bobbin 2 to the right in the figure. The bobbin end 2a is fitted to the bobbin loading means 20 provided in the printer when the ink ribbon cassette is mounted on the printer (not shown). The bobbin loading means 20 is for preventing the slack of the ink ribbon 4 by applying back tension to the supply bobbin 2 by utilizing friction such as felt when winding the ink ribbon 4. A collar-shaped lock plate 6 and a tip shaft portion 7 are integrally provided on a bobbin end 2b on the left side of the supply bobbin 2 in the drawing. As shown in FIG. 3, the lock plate 6 has a large number of lock grooves 6a radially formed around the rotation shaft on the surface on the tip shaft portion 7 side. The lock claw 8c of the bobbin pressing spring 8 as a member is engaged.

At the left end in the figure of the inside of the cassette body 1,
The bobbin pressing spring 8 is fixed. The bobbin pressing spring 8 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bobbin pressing spring shown in FIG.
The bobbin pressing spring 8 is formed by integrally pressing an elastic material such as a stainless steel material for a spring by pressing or the like, and serves as a cantilever-shaped pressing portion that is erected perpendicularly to the axis of the supply bobbin 2. Bobbin pushing portion 8a and bobbin pushing portion 8
It has two lock claws 8c formed toward the lock plate 6 from both sides of a. The bobbin pushing portion 8a is formed with a protrusion 8b that abuts against the tip shaft portion 7.
When b comes into contact with the tip shaft portion 7, the supply bobbin 2 is biased rightward in the drawing as shown in FIG. Also,
As shown in FIG. 2, when the supply bobbin 2 is located in the rightmost position in the cassette body 1 as shown in FIG. 2, the tips of the lock claws 8c engage with the lock grooves 6a of the lock plate 6. The rotation of the supply bobbin 2 is prevented.

Although the side of the supply bobbin 2 has been described above, as shown in FIG.
Like the supply bobbin 2, one bobbin end 3b is integrally provided with a lock plate 6, and the other bobbin end 3a is integrally provided with a stopper (not shown). The bobbin pressing spring 8 is fixed in the storage portion 1b. The other bobbin end 3a of the winding bobbin 3 is fitted into a bobbin driving means (not shown) provided in the printer when the ink ribbon cassette is mounted in the printer. When driven, the winding bobbin 3 rotates in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 1, and the ink ribbon 4 is wound up.

Next, the operation of the ink ribbon cassette according to this embodiment will be described by focusing on the supply bobbin 2.

When the ink ribbon cassette is not attached to the printer, the lock claw 8c of the bobbin pressing spring 8 engages with the lock groove 6a of the lock plate 6 as shown in FIG. It is prevented. And
When mounting the ink ribbon cassette on the printer, the cassette body 1 is pushed to the right in the drawing and the bobbin end 2a on the right in the drawing of the supply bobbin 2 is fitted to the bobbin loading means 20. This bobbin end 2a is the bobbin loading means 20.
5, the supply bobbin 2 is pushed to the left in the drawing relative to the cassette body 1 against the spring force of the bobbin pressing spring 8, as shown in FIG. Then, the bobbin pushing portion 8a of the bobbin pushing spring 8 is pushed by the tip end shaft portion 7 of the supply bobbin 2 and elastically deforms, and the lock claw 8 accordingly.
c rotates in the direction of arrow C in the figure. As a result, the engagement between the lock claw 8c of the bobbin pressing spring 8 and the lock groove 6a of the lock plate 6 is released, and the supply bobbin 2 can freely rotate. Further, the positional deviation between the supply bobbin 2 and the cassette body 1 is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the bobbin pushing portion 8a.

The operation of the winding bobbin 3 is similar to that of the supply bobbin 2 described above. Therefore, when the ink ribbon cassette is not attached to the printer, the supply bobbin 2 and the winding bobbin 3 are prevented from rotating by the lock claws 8c of the bobbin pressing spring 8, respectively, and the slack of the ink ribbon 4 occurs. There is no such thing. At this time, the engagement positions of the lock claw 8c and the lock groove 6a are not continuous, and depending on the position of each bobbin 2, 3, each bobbin 2, in the direction in which the ink ribbon 4 sags.
There is a case where the lock claw 8c and the lock groove 6a engage with each other after the rotation of 3, but this is not a problem if the pitch of the lock groove 6a is sufficiently small.

On the other hand, by mounting the ink ribbon cassette on the printer, the supply bobbin 2 and the winding bobbin 3 can be automatically rotated as described above. As a result, even if the bobbin driving means rotates the winding bobbin 3 while applying the back tension to the supply bobbin 2 by the bobbin loading means, the supply bobbin 2 and the winding bobbin 3 do not generate heat or wear. First, when the ink ribbon is conveyed during recording, the ink ribbon 4
Also, the balance of the tensions and the parallelism of the bobbins 2 and 3 are not lost. Therefore, the wrinkles of the ink ribbon do not occur and the recording quality does not deteriorate.

Further, the bobbin pushing spring 8 is integrally provided with a lock claw 8c, and the elastic deformation of the bobbin pushing spring 8 caused by the movement of the bobbins 2 and 3 is utilized to lock and unlock the bobbins 2 and 3. Therefore, the above-mentioned effect can be obtained with a very simple structure and a minimum number of parts.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, each bobbin is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction as well, and at one end of each accommodating portion of the cassette body, a lock claw that engages with each bobbin is integrally formed. With a very simple structure of providing a spring member that is provided for each of the bobbins, the bobbin is prevented from rotating when the ink ribbon cassette is not mounted in the printer, and the lock claws for the bobbins are locked by mounting the ink ribbon cassette in the printer. Can be automatically released. As a result, the slack of the ink ribbon due to unnecessary rotation of each bobbin when not mounted in the printer is prevented. In addition, since the bobbins are not deformed due to heat generation and wear due to the rotation of the bobbins during the recording operation with the printer mounted, it is possible to achieve good recording without ink ribbon conveyance abnormality.

Further, since the lock claw is integrally provided on the spring member and the spring member has both the lock function and the release function of the bobbin, the number of parts can be minimized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an ink ribbon cassette of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a storage portion that supports a supply bobbin of the ink ribbon cassette shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the vicinity of the lock plate shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bobbin pushing spring shown in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view of a storage unit that supports a supply bobbin when the ink ribbon cassette shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on a printer.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional ink ribbon cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 cassette body 1a, 1b storage part 1c opening 2 supply bobbin 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b bobbin end 3 winding bobbin 4 ink ribbon 5 stopper 6 lock plate 6a lock groove 7 tip shaft part 8 bobbin pressing spring 8a bobbin Push part 8b Protrusion 8c Lock claw 20 Bobbin load means

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] March 14, 1994

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

The bobbin lock portion 10 made of an elastic piece is provided at one end of each of the storage portions 101a and 101b.
5 is integrally provided so as to sandwich one end of each bobbin 102, 103 from above and below. This allows
The outer peripheral surface of each bobbin 102, 103 and the bobbin lock portion 10
A frictional force always acts between the bobbins 102 and 10 when the ink ribbon cassette is not attached to the printer.
3 is prevented from rotating unnecessarily, and the slack of the ink ribbon 104 is prevented (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-74378).

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ink ribbon cassette in which bobbins, on which ink ribbons are respectively wound, are rotatably supported in accommodating portions formed on both sides of a cassette body, wherein each bobbin is arranged in an axial direction of each bobbin. While also movably supported, at one end portion in each of the storage portion, a spring member that constantly urges each bobbin to the other end side of the storage portion is provided, and each spring member, When each bobbin is located at the other end of each accommodation portion by the biasing force of each spring member, it engages with each bobbin, and each bobbin moves against the biasing force of each spring member. The ink ribbon cassette is characterized in that a lock claw that is disengaged from each bobbin due to elastic deformation of each spring member is integrally provided. 2. The lock claw of each spring member extends vertically in the axial direction of each bobbin, and has a cantilever-shaped pressing portion whose tip contacts one end of each bobbin. It is projected toward the end, and a collar-shaped lock plate is integrally provided at one end of each bobbin, and each of the lock plates has a surface facing the lock pawls. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of grooves that engage with the lock claws are radially formed.