JPH0354068B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an endless ink ribbon cassette that is used in a printer that prints on recording paper and is constantly fed in a fixed direction.

The ribbon cassette of a conventional printer that prints on recording paper is a band-shaped object in which ink ribbon is endlessly welded and tied together so that the ink ribbon is always fed in a fixed direction. In order to extend the life of this ink ribbon, when welding the ink ribbon and splicing it endlessly, it looks like a Möbius strip.
By twisting the ink ribbon by 180 rotations, printing is performed on the entire top and bottom of the ink ribbon. Conventionally, the ink ribbon formed into a Möbius strip like this is assembled and stored in a case. In this case, as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 4, and as another example, as in U.S. Pat.
The method used was to twist the ink ribbon 180 degrees in a straight line between 10 and 10 degrees, but this method uses a large amount of space in the case at the twisting part, so there is little storage space for other ribbons, and long ink ribbons cannot be accommodated. It has a drawback. Another method is to utilize the arm part of the case and invert it, as shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 5, but it requires a width of 20 mm or more as a passage for the ink ribbon. However, it has the disadvantage that it becomes a large ink ribbon cassette.

Furthermore, if you twist the ink ribbon 180 degrees on a straight line to create a Möbius strip, the ink ribbon will fold and become heavy at the twisted point. This phenomenon tends to occur particularly when the number of printing is large and the ink ribbon becomes stiff.

The present invention eliminates all of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to make the ink ribbon compact in its case and to extend its lifespan even though the ink ribbon is an endless Möbius strip. To provide a highly reliable ink ribbon cassette that maintains the number of prints and clear prints for a long time.

Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 is an external view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an internal sectional view, and FIG. 3 is an inverted view of the ink ribbon.

In Figures 1 and 2, 1 is a case, 2 is a lid, 3 is an ink ribbon, 4 is a feed roller, 5 is a presser roller, 6 is a presser roller holder, 7 is a presser spring,
8 is a folding shaft, and 9 is a brake spring.

To explain the operation of the ink ribbon cassette of this embodiment, an ink ribbon 3 is housed in a case 1 and a lid 2. As shown in FIG. The ink ribbon 3 is a feed roller 4
and the pressing roller 5, and as the feed roller 4 rotates (rotated by another drive source, the explanation is omitted here), the paper is fed into the storage section 1a of the case 1. , the pulled-out side of the ink ribbon 3 passes through a brake spring 9 for applying tension to the ink ribbon 3, and then, with the folding shaft 8 as the base point, the ink ribbon 3 is rotated 180 degrees as shown in 3a. It is pulled out while being turned upside down. The details of this reversal are shown in the reversal view of the ink ribbon in FIG.
It is twisted at the part 3b, and is welded at the part 3b, and twisted at the part 3a so as to be reversed 180 degrees about the folding axis 8. Therefore, for example, if the printing position at the top of the ink ribbon 3 is 3c, after passing through the folding shaft 8, the printing position changes to the bottom, as shown at 3d. The next printing location will be location 3e, which means that the printing will be done on the entire surface of the fabric above and below the ink ribbon 3, which will be used effectively, and especially the welded part 3b of the ink ribbon 3 will have twice the durability. It is now possible to improve In addition, by providing the folding shaft 8 and folding it back, the space for the case 1 is reduced to half compared to the conventional case that is twisted linearly by 180 degrees, and furthermore, the ribbon can be folded at the twisted point. A highly reliable ink ribbon cassette without folding can be obtained.

Moreover, by making the shape of the folding shaft 8 into a concave shape at the center as shown in 8a, the ink ribbon 3
It is possible to prevent this from shifting to the left or right. For example, if the folding shaft has a flat cylindrical shape, the phenomenon of deviation is likely to occur if there is variation in the tensile force between the left and right sides of the ink ribbon or if there are wrinkles in the ink ribbon fabric due to printing. In this embodiment, by forming the central portion into a concave shape, the tension is concentrated at the center, so that the ink ribbon can be reversed without any trouble, and the reliability when reversing the ink ribbon can be improved.

As explained above, the ink ribbon cassette according to the present invention has the following remarkable effects.

A small section for reversing the ink ribbon is provided on the side of the storage section, and this small section has a folding shaft member near the end opposite to the ink ribbon exposed section, approximately parallel to the moving direction of the ink ribbon. The ink ribbon is placed and pulled out from the outlet provided at the end of the storage section, twisted approximately 90 degrees, wrapped around the folded shaft member, and then twisted approximately 90 degrees again and stretched over the outlet of the small compartment. It has become possible to flip the ink ribbon 180 degrees by simply adding a small section with a volume equal to the width of the ink ribbon plus a small margin in the width direction of the ink ribbon cassette. As a result, the capacity of the storage section of the ribbon cassette can be increased, and an ink ribbon cassette with a longer life can be realized.

Moreover, the ink ribbon twists at only one point, and is a simple mechanism with few components, which reduces the driving force of the ink ribbon and improves reliability compared to a ribbon cassette that has many twist points. Furthermore, the work of replacing the ink ribbon has become easier.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an outline drawing showing one embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an outline drawing showing an embodiment of the present invention;
3 is an inverted view of the ink ribbon, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views showing examples of conventional ink ribbon cassettes. 1... Case, 2... Lid, 3... Ink ribbon, 4... Feed roller, 5... Presser roller, 8...
...Folding axis.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an ink ribbon cassette in which an ink ribbon is exposed on one side and an endless ink ribbon is stored inside in the shape of a Möbius loop, the ink ribbon is folded up. a storage section in which the ink ribbon is housed and provided with an outlet; a small section attached to a side of the storage section; and a section near the opposite end of the one side of the small section in the direction of movement of the ink ribbon. and a folded shaft member arranged substantially parallel to the folded shaft member, and the ink ribbon pulled out from the outlet provided at the end located on the one side of the storage section is twisted approximately 90 degrees to the folded shaft member. An ink ribbon cassette characterized in that the ink ribbon cassette is stretched over an outlet of the small section, twisted approximately 90 degrees, and then stretched over an exit of the small section.