JPH0737277B2 - Havelock device for tape cartridge - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hub cartridge device for a tape cartridge, and more particularly to a hub lock device for preventing loosening of a tape of a tape cartridge used in a tape printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Tape printers for printing letters and symbols to make lettering tape for adhering to documents and drawings are widely used. The tape cartridge used in this tape printer is formed such that an adhesive tape with a backing paper is wound around a hub and stored, and the adhesive tape is sent out from a tape discharge port of the tape cartridge by a drive mechanism of the tape printer.

[0003]

In the conventional tape cartridge, the hub around which the tape is wound may rotate due to vibration or the like to loosen the tape. In this type of adhesive tape, loosened tapes may adhere to each other due to the adhesive layer exposed on both ends. When the loosened tape is run from the hub, several tapes run in a piled state. Sometimes, the tape may become jammed in the tape guide or the like, and the tape may be bent and damaged, or the tape may not be pulled out.

Therefore, there are technical problems to be solved in order to prevent accidents such as damage or unusability of the tape due to slack of the tape, prevent lowering of work efficiency, and improve reliability. Aims to solve the problem.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is proposed in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, and a hollow shaft 22 penetrating in the vertical direction is provided in the central portion of the tape cartridge 3, and the tape is attached to the shaft 22. The hub 28 around which the tape 5 is wound is loosely fitted, the shaft 22 is loosely inserted into the lock member 31 of the tape printer 1 to which the tape cartridge 3 is to be mounted, and the lock member 31 is rotated to be fixed to the tape printer 1. In the tape cartridge 3 formed as described above, a ratchet 32 is provided on the lower portion of the outer periphery of the hub 28, and a spring 33 is locked on the inner bottom portion of the tape cartridge 3.
Is engaged with the ratchet 32, a window 34 is opened at a position corresponding to the spring 33 on the bottom surface of the tape cartridge 3, and a crank plate 51 is provided below the lock member 31 of the tape printer 1. The crank pin 52 of the crank plate 51 is projected into the tape cartridge 3 from the window 34 of the tape cartridge 3 in the mounted state, and the crank pin 52 is interlocked by the rotation operation of the lock member 31. A tape cartridge hub lock device, characterized in that the spring 33 is formed so as to be pushed away from the ratchet 32, is used as a means for solving the problem.

[0006]

When the tape cartridge is removed from the tape printer, the spring engaged in the tape cartridge meshes with the ratchet provided on the hub around which the tape is wound, so that the hub cannot rotate. When this tape cartridge is placed at a predetermined position of the tape printer, the crank pin connected to the lock member for fixing the cartridge projects into the inside of the cartridge through the window opened on the bottom surface of the cartridge.

When the lock member is rotated to perform the cartridge fixing operation, the crank pin is rotated in conjunction with the lock member, and the spring is pressed to release the ratchet from the ratchet.
Make the hub rotatable.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a tape printer 1.
In the tape printer 1, an ink ribbon cassette 2 and a tape cartridge 3 are mounted on the right side of the upper surface, and a thermal head 4 of the main body of the tape printer 1 prints on a tape 5 contained in the tape cartridge 3. The tape 5 accommodated in the tape cartridge 3 is an adhesive tape with a backing paper, and various kinds of colors like the ink ribbon 6 of the ink ribbon cassette 2 are prepared. The ink ribbon cassette 2 and the tape cartridge 3 of the tape printer 1 are provided with first and second driving rollers 7 and 8, and a thermal head 4 and a second driving roller 7 which can be pressed against the first driving roller 7 also serving as a platen. A pinch roller 9 that can be pressed against the roller 8, a take-up reel shaft 10 for the ink ribbon 6, and a supply reel shaft 11 are provided.

When the arbitrarily selected ink ribbon cassette 2 and tape cartridge 3 are mounted in the tape printer 1, respectively, the ink ribbon 6 and the tape 5 become the first and second tapes.
The driving rollers 7 and 8 are set in the gap between the thermal head 4 and the pinch roller 9. Then, by rotating the lock knob 12 provided in the tape printer 1 and penetrating through the center hole of the tape cartridge 3 and protruding upward in the direction of the arrow L, the tape cartridge 3 and the ink ribbon cassette 2 are fixed at the same time. The thermal head 4 and the pinch roller 9 are respectively the first and second drive rollers 7 and 8.
Then, the tape 5 and the ink ribbon 6 are clamped.

When a character, a symbol or the like is input from the keyboard 13 of the tape printer 1, the content thereof is displayed on the display unit 14, and the first and second drive rollers 7 are operated in accordance with a print command by pressing a print key 15 in the keyboard 13. , 8 are rotated, the tape 5 and the ink ribbon 6 are moved to the left in the figure while being in close contact with each other, and the thermal head 4 transfers the heat-sensitive transfer ink of the ink ribbon 6 to the surface of the tape 5 according to the input contents. To do. The ink ribbon 6 is
By rotation of the take-up reel shaft 10 of the tape printer 1, the tape 5 is taken up by the take-up reel 16 in the ink ribbon cassette 2 in association with the running of the tape 5. Printed tape 5
Is ejected to the left side of the tape cartridge 3, and the cutting mechanism (not shown) provided in the tape printer 1 is used as the cut key 17
It is cut by activating by pressing the key.

FIG. 2 shows the tape cartridge 3, in which the upper part of a plastic case formed by dividing the tape cartridge into upper and lower parts is removed. The lower case 21 has a cylindrical shaft 2 in the central portion.
2 are erected, and the first opening shown in FIG.
And holes 24 and 25 into which the second drive rollers 7 and 8 are loosely inserted.
Has been opened. Further, guide posts 26, 26, ... Are erected at various places in the path of the tape 5. 27, 27, 2
Reference numeral 7 is a rib for smoothing the rotation of the tape 5 wound around the hub 28 loosely fitted to the shaft 22.

The inner bottom of the shaft 22 has side edges 29,
The long hole 30 is opened leaving 29, and the lock member 3 described later is formed.
It is formed so that 1 can be inserted. The hub 28 loosely fitted to the shaft 22 is provided with ratchets 32, 32 ... At the lower end of the outer periphery, and when the tape cartridge 3 is removed from the tape printer 1 as shown in FIG.
The tip of the spring 33 locked to the ratchet 32, 32 ...
To prevent the hub 28 from rotating and prevent the tape 5 from loosening. 34 is a window opened in the lower case 21,
It is used to release the engagement of the spring 33.

Reference numerals 35, 36, 36, 35, 36, and 36 are tape guides integrally formed with the lower case 21, and the upper end position of the tape 5 is regulated by the central tape guides 35 and 35, and the tape guides 36 on both sides are provided. , 36 ... Limit the lower end position. Further, the rotating lever 41 pivotally mounted in the vicinity of the front opening 23 so as to be vertically rotatable is pressed against the inner bottom surface of the lower case 21 by the urging force of the spring 42, and the front end of the rotating lever 41 contacts the back surface of the tape 5. By pressing, the tape 5 is projected forward of the hole 24. Therefore, the tape cartridge 3
1 when mounting the tape to the tape printer 1 shown in FIG.
The tape 5 is not caught on the drive roller 7 and the tape cartridge 3 can be reliably and easily mounted. Moreover, FIG.
The engaging piece 43 extends laterally from the intermediate portion of the rotating lever 41 shown in FIG.
And the engaging piece 43 of the lower case 21.
The lower surface opening 44 is provided by notching the portion immediately below. A fixed post 45 is provided upright at an intermediate portion between the first and second drive rollers 7 and 8 of the tape printer 1 shown in FIG. 1, and when the tape cartridge 3 is placed at a predetermined position, it is shown in FIG. As described above, the engaging piece 43 of the rotating lever 41 contacts the fixed post 45 and is rotated upward, so that the rotating lever 41 is retracted from the traveling path of the tape 5.

4 and 5 show a lock knob 12 of the tape printer 1, a lock member 31 is integrally formed under the lock knob 12, and a crank plate 51 is integrally formed under the lock member 31, which is rotatably attached to the chassis 18. Has been. A crank pin 52 is provided near the end of the crank plate 51 so as to project upward. The lock member 31 is formed in substantially the same shape as the elongated hole 30 of the tape cartridge 3 shown in FIG. 2, and is erected on the crank plate 51 via a small-diameter cylindrical portion 31a at the lower portion thereof. If the rotational position of the lock member 31 is aligned with the direction of the elongated hole 30 of the tape cartridge 3, the lock member 31 can be inserted into the shaft 22. When the lock knob 12 is rotated in the direction of the arrow L described above after the insertion, as shown in FIG. 3, the lock member 31 engages with both side edges 29, 29 of the elongated hole 30 provided at the bottom of the shaft 22, The tape cartridge 3 is fixed to the tape printer 1 in a non-removable state.

Further, the tape cartridge 3 is placed at a predetermined position of the tape printer 1, and the lock member 31 is inserted into the shaft 22 of the tape cartridge 3, and at the same time, the crank pin 52 is inserted into the tape cartridge 3 through the window 34. Project to. Then, it rotates in conjunction with the above-described locking operation, presses the spring 33 to bend it, and disengages the spring 33 from the ratchets 32, 32, ... As shown in FIG. Therefore, the hub 28 around which the tape 5 is wound becomes rotatable,
It is possible to print by running the tape 5.

The tape cartridge 3 is attached to the tape printer 1.
When the lock knob 12 is rotated in the direction opposite to the above-mentioned direction when the lock member 12 is removed from the above, the engagement between the lock member 31 and both side edges 29, 29 of the elongated hole 30 is released, and at the same time, the spring is released. 33 is released from the pressure applied by the crank pin 52 and meshes with the ratchets 32, 32, ..., The hub 28 cannot rotate and the tape 5 does not loosen.

In this way, the rotation of the hub 28 during transportation and attachment / detachment can be restricted, and accidents due to the loosening of the tape 5 can be prevented. The present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention extends to the modified version.

[0018]

Since the present invention is constructed as described in detail in the above embodiment, the tape accommodated in the tape cartridge does not loosen during transportation, storage or attachment / detachment of the tape cartridge. Therefore, the risk of tape jamming and tape damage due to tape loosening is eliminated. Further, since the lock release of the hub is performed in synchronization with the mounting operation of the tape cartridge, no special operation is required, and the reliability and the ease of handling can be improved without lowering the operability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a tape printer.

FIG. 2 is an exploded plan view of the tape cartridge.

FIG. 3 is an exploded plan view of the tape cartridge showing a state where the tape cartridge is mounted in the tape printer.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a lock knob.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a lock knob.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Tape Printer 3 Tape Cartridge 5 Tape 22 Shaft 28 Hub 31 Locking Member 32 Ratchet 33 Spring 34 Window 51 Crank Plate 52 Crank Pin

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hollow shaft 22 penetrating in the vertical direction is provided in the central portion of the tape cartridge 3, a hub 28 around which the tape 5 is wound is loosely fitted to the shaft 22, and the tape cartridge 3 is to be mounted. In the tape cartridge 3 formed so that the shaft 22 is loosely inserted into the lock member 31 of the tape printer 1 and the lock member 31 is rotated to be fixed to the tape printer 1, the ratchet 32 is provided on the lower outer periphery of the hub 28. Is provided, the spring 33 is locked to the inner bottom of the tape cartridge 3, the tip of the spring 33 is meshed with the ratchet 32, and the window 34 is opened at the bottom of the tape cartridge 3 and at a position corresponding to the spring 33. A crank plate 51 is provided below the lock member 31 of the tape printer 1, and the crank pin 52 of the crank plate 51 is attached to the mounting member. Of the tape cartridge 3 in the state described above is projected into the tape cartridge 3 from the window 34, and the crank pin 5 is rotated by rotating the lock member 31.
A hub lock device for a tape cartridge, characterized in that 2 is interlocked to press the spring 33 so that the spring 33 separates from the ratchet 32.