JPH11157191A - Ribbon cassette and thermal transfer printer employing the ribbon cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize the constant speed supply of an ink ribbon by arranging a supply core and winding core such that the length of a supply path of the ink ribbon from the supply core to a head insertion part becomes shorter than the length of a winding path of the ink ribbon from the head insertion part to the winding core. SOLUTION: The case main body 5 of a ribbon cassette 1 rotatably houses a supply core 2 and winding core 3 therein each having both ends of an ink ribbon 6 connected respectively, and in a head insertion part formed on one side part 11a of a lower case 5a, the ink ribbon 6 supported by guide rollers 7, 7 is led out of the case main body 5. Such a ribbon cassette has each core 2, 3 disposed in a manner that the length of a supply path of the ink ribbon 6 from the supply core 2 to the head insertion part 19 to the winding core 13 is made shorter than that of a winding path of the ink ribbon 6 from the head insertion part 19 to the winding core 3. Thus, ensuring a stable supply of an ink ribbon 6 and thereby enhancing its recording quality.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette containing a long ink ribbon and a thermal transfer printer using the ribbon cassette. More particularly, the present invention relates to a recording paper by sequentially supplying an ink ribbon from a supply core to a thermal head. And a thermal transfer printer using the ribbon cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a ribbon cassette used in a conventional thermal transfer printer, a long ink ribbon wound around a supply core and a take-up core, each of which is rotatably disposed at both ends, is housed. A plurality of guide rollers for guiding the ink ribbon are provided between the supply core and the take-up core, and a ribbon path is formed. In the ribbon cassette, the ink ribbon is once led out of the case body between the supply core and the take-up core. A head insertion portion for insertion is formed.

In the conventional ribbon cassette, the length of the supply path of the ink ribbon from the supply core to the head insertion portion is equal to the length of the ink ribbon take-up path from the head insertion portion to the take-up core. Is equal to
Or it was formed to be large.

Also, in the conventional thermal transfer printer, a carriage on which the ribbon cassette is mounted is formed according to the shape of the conventional ribbon cassette and the arrangement of the supply core. The distance from the supply bobbin to the thermal head is equal to or smaller than the distance from the thermal head to the winding bobbin engaging with the winding core.

Therefore, when the ribbon cassette is mounted on a carriage of a thermal transfer printer for recording, the winding force of the ink ribbon can be stabilized.

[0006]

However, in a conventional ribbon cassette and a thermal transfer printer using the ribbon cassette, the ink ribbon in the supply path may be curled due to the long supply path of the ink ribbon. In some cases, the static electricity may stick to the case body.

For this reason, there has been a problem that the ink ribbon cannot be stably supplied to the thermal head, and the ink ribbon is wrinkled, thereby deteriorating the recording quality.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and a ribbon cassette capable of stably supplying an ink ribbon to a thermal head to improve recording quality, and a thermal transfer printer using the ribbon cassette. The purpose is to provide.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ribbon cassette, wherein the length of a supply path of an ink ribbon from a supply core to a head insertion portion is equal to the length of the head insertion. The supply core and the take-up core are arranged so as to be shorter than the length of the take-up path of the ink ribbon from the section to the take-up core.
By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the ink ribbon in the supply path from curling or sticking to the case body, so that the ink ribbon can be stably supplied to the thermal head.

The ribbon cassette according to the second aspect is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the case main body is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the supply core and the winding core are formed in the longitudinal direction of the case main body and the longitudinal direction thereof. The point is that they are staggered so as not to overlap in any direction perpendicular to the direction. By adopting such a configuration, the longitudinal direction of the case body can be reduced, and the diameter of the winding core can be increased, so that the ink ribbon can be smoothly wound.

The thermal transfer printer according to claim 3 is characterized in that the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin are arranged such that the distance from the supply bobbin to the thermal head is smaller than the distance from the thermal head to the take-up bobbin. It is in the point where it was arranged. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the ink ribbon in the supply path from curling or sticking to the case body, so that the ink ribbon can be stably supplied to the thermal head.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the thermal transfer printer according to the third aspect, the ribbon cassette mounting portion of the carriage is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin are formed in the ribbon cassette mounting portion. In the longitudinal direction and in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. And by adopting such a configuration,
A ribbon cassette having a reduced length in the longitudinal direction of the case body can be used, and a ribbon cassette having a large winding core can be used, so that the ink ribbon can be smoothly wound.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a ribbon cassette 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a supply core 2 and a take-up unit in the embodiment of the ribbon cassette 1. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the arrangement of the core 3, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 4 of the present invention.

The ribbon cassette 1 according to the present embodiment includes a supply core 2 and a take-up core 3 in a case body 5.
A pair of cores 2 and 3 are rotatably housed. Both ends of the ink ribbon 6 are connected to the outer peripheral portions of these cores 2 and 3, respectively. The ink ribbon 6 is wound around the supply core 2 in advance.

The supply core 2 and the winding core 3
A plurality of guide rollers 7 for forming a ribbon path to guide the ink ribbon 6 to a thermal head 39 of the thermal transfer printer 4 described later are disposed between the rollers. The supply core 2, the winding core 3, and the ink ribbon 6 constitute a so-called pancake 8.

The case body 5 has a bottom 10 and side portions 11.
And a plate-shaped upper case 5b serving as a lid for the lower case 5a.

The lower case 5a and the upper case 5b
The carriage 12 is mounted on a carriage 12 to be described later.
The supply holes 14a and 14b and the take-up holes 15a and 15b through which the core support shaft 13 provided in the carriage 12 passes as shown in FIG. . Further, the guide rollers 7,
A plurality of guide roller holes 16a and 16b for inserting the ends of the guide rollers 7 to support the guide rollers 7 are formed.

Further, on the inner surface of the bottom portion 10 of the lower case 5a and at the outer peripheral position of the supply hole 14a, a substantially circular arc-shaped guide projection 17 is formed to position and position the supply core 2. It plays a role in preventing slippage.

The guide projections 17 may be formed not only on the lower case 5a but also on the upper case 5b.

Further, on one side 11a (left side in FIG. 1) of the lower case 5a facing a platen 37 of the thermal transfer printer 4 described later, an ink ribbon 6 supported by the guide rollers 7, 7 is provided. Is formed outside the case body 5, and a head insertion portion 19 for inserting the thermal head 39 is formed.

An upper head insertion portion 20 is formed in the upper case 5b so as to match the shape of the head insertion portion 19 of the lower case 5a.

On the other hand, disk-shaped flanges 21a and 21b are fitted to upper and lower ends of the winding core 3, respectively, and both ends in the width direction of the ink ribbon 6 wound on the winding core 3. Is to be guided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 have shaft holes 2 through which the core support shaft 13 of the carriage 12 is inserted.
2a and 22b are formed. A drive transmission member 23 rotatably fitted to the core supporting shaft 13 is inserted outside the shaft holes 22a and 22b and on the upper and lower surfaces of the cores 2 and 3, respectively. Mating grooves 24a, 24b
Are formed in an annular shape. Further, the engagement groove 24
Engagement projections 27a, 27b engageable with engagement projections 26a, 26b formed on the drive transmission member 23 are formed on the outer inner walls of the a, 24b.

For this reason, when the drive transmission member 23 on the take-up core 3 is driven to rotate by the driving force of the drive motor 30 on the carriage 12 side, the take-up core 3 rotates and the ink ribbon 6 Is supplied to the thermal head 39.

The reason why the engagement grooves 24a and 24b are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the cores 2 and 3 respectively is to consider a case where the ribbon cassette 1 is mounted on the thermal transfer printer 4 with the front and back surfaces thereof being changed. .

Further, as shown in FIG.
A guide groove 28 is formed in an annular shape at the upper and lower surfaces and at positions further outside the engagement grooves 24a and 24b. The guide protrusion 17 of the lower case 5a is inserted into the guide groove 28.

For this reason, by inserting the guide groove 28 into the guide protrusion 17 when replacing the ink ribbon 6 with a new ink ribbon 6, the supply core 2 can be easily positioned and the ink ribbon 6 can be moved along the ribbon path. The supply core 2 can be prevented from being displaced when it is routed.

The guide groove 28 is connected to the two cores 2,
3 are respectively formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the ribbon cassette 1.
This is because the case where the front and back sides are replaced and the case where the guide projection 17 is formed on the upper case 5b are considered.

The flange 21a of the winding core 3
A plurality of stopper grooves 30 for engaging a later-described loosening prevention stopper 31 are formed at a predetermined interval at an acute angle in an outer peripheral portion of the stopper groove 30.

The ribbon cassette 1 of this embodiment is provided with a stopper 31 for preventing the ink ribbon 6 from being loosened. This loosening prevention stopper 3
When the ribbon cassette 1 is detached from the carriage 12, the ribbon cassette 1 is rotated by the biasing force of a biasing member such as a torsion coil spring 32 and slidably comes into contact with the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2. The supply core 2 is prevented from rotating in the supply direction due to vibration or the like, so that the tension of the ink ribbon 6 is not loosened.

The loosening prevention stopper 31 is formed with a cylindrical stopper support portion 33 for supporting the carriage 12, and is formed on the supply core 2 from the outer peripheral surface of the stopper support portion 33. A guide groove contact arm 34 that contacts the inner wall of the guide groove 28, and a flange engagement arm 35 that engages with the stopper groove 30 formed on the outer peripheral portion of the flange 21 a of the winding core 3 respectively extend. ing.

The torsion coil spring 32 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the stopper support portion 33, and the guide groove contact arm 34 is constantly urged in the direction in which it comes into contact with the inner wall of the supply core 2. Have been.

The inner wall of the stopper support 33 is
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a taper is formed from the upper and lower ends toward the central axis. For this reason, when the stopper support portion 33 is inserted into a stopper support protrusion 54 of the carriage 12 described later, the stopper support portion 33 moves in the direction of arrow A shown in FIG. 6 and moves the guide groove contact arm 34 to the inner wall of the guide groove. Is separated from the

A bent portion 34a is formed at the distal end of the guide groove contact arm 34 to increase the area of the supply core 2 which is in sliding contact with the inner wall of the guide groove 28.

On the other hand, a projection 35a having an acute angle is formed at the distal end of the flange engaging arm 35, and is fitted into the stopper groove 30 so that the winding core 3 is formed.
Is fixed, and the loosening prevention stopper 31 itself is also fixed.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the ribbon cassette 1 is removed from the carriage 12, the projection 35a of the flange engaging arm 35 is
Into the stopper groove 30 and the loosening prevention stopper 31
Is fixed. The bent portion 34a of the guide groove contact arm 34 slides against the inner wall of the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2 to generate a frictional force, thereby preventing the supply core 2 from rotating due to vibration or the like. It has become.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, when the ribbon cassette 1 is mounted on the carriage 12, the slack preventing stopper 31 is formed by a taper formed on the inner wall 33a of the stopper support 33. It is designed to move along. Therefore, the guide groove contact arm 34 is engaged with the inner wall of the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2, and the flange engagement arm 35 is separated from the stopper groove 30 of the flange 21 a of the winding core 3. Is released, and the supply core 2 and the winding core 3 are rotatable.

The driving force transmitted from the carriage 12 to the supply core 2 can rotate in a direction opposite to that of the winding core 3 to generate back tension on the ink ribbon 6. I have.

The above-described loosening prevention stopper 31
The bent portion 34a of the guide groove contact arm 34 slides on the inner wall of the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2 to generate a frictional force. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the inner wall of the guide groove 28 is not limited thereto. A plurality of concave grooves (not shown) may be formed in the groove, and the rotation of the supply core 2 may be stopped by fitting the bent portion 34a of the guide groove contact arm 34 into the concave groove.

Next, the arrangement of the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 in the case body 5 will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 (a) shows a cassette for hot peeling, and FIG. 9 (b) shows a cassette for cold peeling.

The cold peeling cassette is provided with a cold peeling lever 36 near the thermal head 39.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the ribbon cassette 1 according to the present embodiment, the head insertion section 1 is moved from the supply core 2 to the head insertion section 1.
9 so that the length of the supply path of the ink ribbon 6 from the head insertion portion 19 to the take-up core 3 is smaller than the length of the supply path of the ink ribbon 6 from the head insertion section 19 to the take-up core 3. The taking core 3 is provided on the case body 5.

Therefore, the ink ribbon 6 can be supplied stably. On the other hand, since the peeling force from the winding core 3 is always applied to the ink ribbon 6 after printing, stable winding is possible, and no trouble occurs.

Further, in the ribbon cassette 1, the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 are orthogonal to the case body 5 formed in a substantially rectangular planar shape in the longitudinal direction and the longitudinal direction of the case body 5. It is arranged so as not to overlap in any of the directions.

For this reason, the longitudinal direction of the case body 5 can be reduced while the distance between the supply core 2 and the winding core 3 is secured, and the case body 5 can be downsized.
Alternatively, if the outer diameter of the winding core 3 is increased by using the space formed in the case main body 5 while keeping the size of the case main body 5 unchanged, the supply core 2 around which the ink ribbon 6 is wound may be used. Since the diameter difference from the ink ribbon 6 can be reduced, the ink ribbon 6 can be smoothly wound when being wound via the guide rollers 7 and 7.

Next, an embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The present embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 4 of the present invention is a recording apparatus which carries two ribbon cassettes 1a and 1b and performs bidirectional printing.

In the transfer printer 10 of the present embodiment, a plate-like platen 37 is provided at a desired position on a frame (not shown).
However, the recording surface is arranged so as to be substantially horizontal. Above the platen 37 in FIG. 10, two guide shafts 38a and 38b are disposed in parallel with the platen 37 at an interval in the vertical direction.

Also, the two guide shafts 38a,
38b, a thermal head 39 which can be brought into contact with and separated from the platen 37 and a carriage 12 on which the ribbon cassettes 1a and 1b are mounted are supported reciprocally along the platen 37.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the drive belt 4 is provided on the rear surface of the carriage 12 in FIG.
0 are connected to each other by an adhesive, a fixing member (not shown), or the like, and the driving belt 40 is connected to a pair of pulleys 42 of a stepping motor 41 disposed on both sides of the moving range of the carriage 12. It is wound around.

Therefore, the stepping motor 41
When the pulley 42 connected to the carriage 12 is driven to rotate, the drive belt 40 rotates and the carriage 12 reciprocates.

At this time, when the drive belt 40 is moved rightward to move the carriage 12 rightward, the carriage 44 is set with the right end fixing portion 44a between the drive belt 40 and the carriage 12 as an operation point. 12 to the right.

When the carriage 12 is moved to the left by moving the drive belt 40 to the left, the carriage 45 is moved to the left end fixing portion 45b between the drive belt 40 and the carriage 12 as an operating point. 12 is pulled to the left.

For this reason, the most effective traction force can be applied to the carriage 12.

The front side 17 of the carriage 12 (the front side in FIG. 10) is provided with the ribbon cassettes 1a and 1a.
The two mounting portions 46 having a substantially rectangular shape in a plane for mounting the
a, 46b are formed. Among them, the mounting portion 46a provided on the right side of FIG. 10 is a ribbon cassette 1 used for recording when the carriage 12 moves rightward.
The first mounting portion 46a for mounting the carriage 12a on the left side of FIG.
Is a second mounting portion 46b for mounting the ribbon cassette 1b used for recording when moving leftward.

The first mounting part 46a and the second mounting part 4
6b, a pair of cassette fixing claws 47, made of a flexible material for holding the ribbon cassettes 1a, 1b,
47 project from each other at positions substantially facing each other.

The first mounting portion 46a and the second mounting portion 46b have a supply bobbin 48 which engages with the supply core 2 of the ribbon cassettes 1a and 1b to supply the ink ribbon 6, and a ribbon cassette. A take-up bobbin 49 that engages with the take-up cores 3a and 1b to take up the ink ribbon 6 is provided.

The supply bobbin 48 and the take-up bobbin 49 are disposed such that the distance from the supply bobbin 48 to the thermal head 39 is smaller than the distance from the thermal head 39 to the take-up bobbin 49. ing.

Therefore, the supply of the ink ribbon 6 from the supply core 2 engaged with the supply bobbin 48 can be stably performed.

Further, the supply bobbin 48 and the take-up bobbin 49 are directed to the mounting portions 46a and 46b, which are formed in a substantially rectangular planar shape, in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the mounting portions 46a and 46b. Are arranged so as not to overlap in any direction.

For this reason, the length of the carriage 12 in the longitudinal direction can be reduced.

The first mounting portion 46a and the second mounting portion 46b are provided with a stopper support projection 54 which is inserted into the stopper support portion 33 of the loosening prevention stopper 31.

When the carriage 12 is moved rightward, the winding bobbin 49 of the first mounting portion 46a is moved.
When the ink ribbon 6 is wound, the ink ribbon 6 at an unused portion is pulled out from the supply bobbin 48 and supplied to the head insertion portion 19.

On the other hand, also when the carriage 12 moves to the left, the take-up bobbin 49 of the second mounting portion 46b performs the same operation to move the unused portion of the ink ribbon 6 from the supply bobbin 48. The ink is supplied to the front surface of the thermal head 39.

The thermal heads 39a and 39b include:
A plurality of heating elements (not shown) that selectively generate heat based on desired recording information are arranged.

When the carriage 12 moves rightward, the thermal head 39a provided on the first mounting portion 46a moves the ink ribbon 6 and the recording paper 50.
The heating element is selectively heated while being pressed against the platen 37 through the recording paper 50, and recording is performed on the recording paper 50.

On the other hand, when the carriage 12 moves to the left, the thermal head 39b disposed on the second mounting portion 46b is pressed against the platen 37 to perform recording on the recording paper 50. I have.

As described above, by using the thermal heads 39a and 39b for recording according to the moving direction of the carriage 12, the life of the carriage 12 is maintained long.

A paper feed roller 51 for transporting the recording paper 50 to the front of the platen 37 extends at a position behind the platen 37 in FIG. 10, and a plurality of paper feed rollers are provided above the paper feed roller 51. Guide rollers 7 are provided.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the ribbon cassette 1 of the present invention and the thermal transfer printer 4 using the ribbon cassette 1 will be described.

First, the operation of the embodiment of the ribbon cassette 1 of the present invention will be described.

The ribbon cassette according to the present embodiment is a so-called pancake exchange type ribbon cassette 1 in which only used pancakes 8 are replaced and reused.
It is.

When the ink ribbon 6 of the ribbon cassette 1 is supplied to the thermal head 39 of the thermal transfer printer 4, the driving force of the drive motor 30 on the carriage 12 is applied to the take-up core 3 from the engagement protrusion 26a. The rotation is transmitted to the projection 27a, and the winding core 3 is rotated. The ink ribbon 6 is rotated by the rotation of the winding core 3 so that the supply core 2
Are sequentially supplied from the outer peripheral portion, pass through the head insertion portion 19 via the guide roller 7, further engage with another guide roller 7, and are taken up by the take-up core 3.

At this time, since the supply path of the ink ribbon 6 from the supply core 2 to the head insertion section 19 is small, the ink ribbon 6 curls or sticks to the case body 5 due to generation of static electricity. There is no end.

Next, when the ink ribbon 6 has been used, the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 of the ribbon cassette 1 are connected to the core support shaft 13 on the carriage 12 side and the engagement protrusion. 26a and 26b are released from the engaged state, and the ribbon cassette 1 is
Remove from 2.

Then, the upper case 5b is removed from the lower case 5a, the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 are pulled out upward, and the used ink ribbon 6 is discarded.

Next, in order to replace the ink ribbon 6 with a new one, the guide projection 17 of the lower case 5a is used as a mark, and this guide projection 17 is used as the guide groove 2 of the supply core 2.
8 and the supply core 2 is disposed in the lower case 5a. At this time, the guide groove contact arm 34 of the loosening prevention stopper 31 is disposed by the action of the torsion coil spring 32 so as to contact the inner wall of the guide groove 28.

Subsequently, the ink ribbon 6 wound around the supply core 2 is fed out and a plurality of guide rollers 7, 7 are fed.
The supply path of the ink ribbon 6 is formed by engaging with the head insertion portion 19. At this time, even if the ink ribbon 6 is pulled, since the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2 is loosely fitted to the guide projection 17,
The position of the supply core 2 does not shift.

When the supply path of the ink ribbon 6 is formed, the lower surface of the winding core 3 is disposed so as to match the winding hole 15a of the lower case 5a. Form a take route. And
Supply hole 14b and winding hole 1 of upper case 5b
5b are respectively connected to the supply core 2 and the winding core 3
The upper case 5b is arranged on the lower case 5a so as to match the upper surface of the ink ribbon 6, and the replacement of the ink ribbon 6 is completed.

In this state, the flange engagement arm 35 of the loosening prevention stopper 31 is engaged with the stopper groove of the winding core 3 and the guide groove contact arm 34 is connected to the guide of the supply core 2. It is in contact with the inner wall of the groove.

Therefore, the supply core 2 does not rotate due to vibration, and the ink ribbon 6 forming the ribbon path does not sag.

Thereafter, when the ribbon cassette 1 is used, the shaft holes 22a, 22b and the engagement grooves 30a, 30b of the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 are respectively connected to the core 12 for supporting the core on the carriage 12 side. The ribbon cassette 1 is disposed on the carriage 12 by being rotatably fitted to the shaft 13 and the engagement protrusions 26a and 26b.

At this time, when the stopper support projection 54 formed on the carriage 12 is inserted into the stopper support portion 33, the loosening prevention stopper 31 is moved by the taper formed on the inner wall 33a of the stopper support portion 33 as shown in FIGS. 8, the guide groove contact arm 34 is separated from the inner wall of the guide groove, and the flange engagement arm 35 is separated from the stopper groove. Thereby, the supply core 2 and the winding core 3 can freely rotate.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 4 of the present invention will be described.

It is assumed that the carriage 12 is located at the left end of the platen 37 in the initial state of recording according to the present embodiment.

Under these conditions, first, the recording paper 5
A case where recording is performed in the right direction on 0 will be described.

When the paper feed roller 51 and the driven roller 52 sandwich the recording paper 50 and convey it to the front of the platen 37, the thermal head 39a formed on the first mounting portion 46a 37 is pressed against the recording paper 50 on 37. By activating the stepping motor 41, the pair of pulleys 42 rotates in the counterclockwise direction B in FIG. 10 by receiving the driving force, and the drive belt 40 wound around the pulleys 42 travels rightward. .

When the drive belt 40 travels rightward, the carriage 12 is pulled rightward with the right end fixing portion 44a on the rear surface of the carriage 12 as an action point, and is moved along the guide shafts 38a and 38b. Move smoothly to the right.

Further, as the carriage 12 moves rightward, the supply bobbin 4 of the first mounting portion 46a is moved.
The take-up bobbin 8 and the take-up bobbin 49 rotate in the clockwise direction C in FIG. 11, and the supply and take-up of the ink ribbon 6 are performed. At this time, the thermal head 3 of the first mounting portion 46a is
A heating element 9a (not shown) selectively generates heat based on predetermined recording information, and desired recording is performed rightward on the recording paper 50.

When the carriage 12 reaches the right end of the platen 37 and one line of recording is completed on the recording paper 50, the thermal head 39a of the first mounting portion 46a, which has been used for rightward recording, performs recording. The sheet is peeled off from the paper 50, and the recording surface of the next row of the recording paper 50 is positioned on the platen 37 by the paper feed roller 51.

Next, the case where recording is performed on the recording paper 50 in the left direction will be described.

In this case, the thermal head 39b formed on the second mounting portion 46b comes into pressure contact with a new recording surface of the recording paper 50 on the platen 37. Then, by activating the built-in stepping motor 53, the pair of pulleys 42a and 42b rotate in the clockwise direction D in FIG. 10, whereby the drive belt 40 wound around the pulleys 42a and 42b moves leftward. To travel.

When the drive belt 40 travels to the left, the carriage 12 is pulled leftward with the left end fixing portion 45b on the rear surface of the carriage 12 as the point of action, and the guide shafts 38a, 38b are pulled. Move smoothly to the left along.

With the movement of the carriage 12 to the left, the supply bobbin 48 and the take-up bobbin 49 of the second mounting portion 46b rotate counterclockwise E in FIG. A heating element (not shown) of the head 39b selectively generates heat based on predetermined recording information, and desired recording is performed on the recording paper 50 to the left.

As described above, the thermal transfer printer 4 of this embodiment performs bidirectional recording.

Therefore, according to the embodiment of the ribbon cassette 1 of the present invention, the length of the supply path of the ink ribbon 6 from the head insertion section 19 to the supply core 2 is longer than the length of the winding path from the head insertion section 19. Since the length of the winding path of the ink ribbon 6 up to the core 3 is made smaller, the ink ribbon 6 can be stably supplied to the thermal head 39, and the recording quality can be improved.

Further, the supply core 2 and the take-up core 3 are displaced so as not to overlap in any of the longitudinal direction of the case body 5 and the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal direction of the case body 5 can be reduced while keeping the distance between the supply core 2 and the winding core 3, so that the size of the case body 5 can be reduced, or the size of the case body 5 can be kept as it is. If the diameter of the winding core 3 is increased by utilizing the space formed in the case main body 5, the diameter difference between the supply core 2 around which the ink ribbon 6 is wound can be reduced.
It is possible to wind up the ink ribbon 6 smoothly.

Further, when the used ink ribbon 6 is replaced with a new ink ribbon 6, the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2 may be loosely fitted to the guide projection 17 formed on the lower case 5a, so that it is easy. The supply core 2 can be positioned.

Further, when the ribbon path of the ink ribbon 6 is formed, the supply core 2 is connected to the guide groove 28.
And the guide projections 17 are loosely fitted to each other, so that the position of the supply core 2 does not shift and a ribbon path can be easily formed.

Further, by utilizing the guide groove 28 of the supply core 2 and sliding the guide groove contact arm 34 of the loosening prevention stopper 31 against the inner wall of the guide groove 28, the ribbon cassette 1 The ink ribbon 6 does not become loose even when the ink ribbon 6 is removed.

On the other hand, according to the embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 4 of the present invention, the distance from the supply bobbin 48 to the thermal head 39 is set smaller than the distance from the winding bobbin 49 to the thermal head 39. Since the ink ribbon 6 is provided, the ink ribbon 6 supplied from the supply core 2 of the ribbon cassette can be prevented from curling or sticking to the case body 5.

The movement of the carriage 12 is controlled by the right and left end fixing portions 32a, 3a of the rear surface 14 of the carriage 12.
2b, the ribbon cassette 1a,
Even if the entire weight of the carriage 12 increases due to the mounting of two 1b, the carriage 12 can be pulled under the same conditions, and the driving belt 40 effectively exerts the pulling force. It can be moved smoothly along the guide shafts 38a, 38b.

In addition, bidirectional printing can be performed with the same precision in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 12.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified as needed.

For example, in the present embodiment, the guide groove 28 is formed only in the supply core 2. However, the guide groove 28 is also formed in the winding core 3, and the guide groove 28 is loosely fitted to the guide groove 28. The obtained guide projection 17 is connected to the lower case 5a,
Alternatively, it may be formed in both the lower case 5a and the upper case 5b.

In this embodiment, the guide grooves 28
Are formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the supply core 2, but may be formed on only one of the upper surface and the lower surface.

[0109]

As described above, according to the ribbon cassette and the thermal transfer printer using the ribbon cassette according to the present invention, the recording quality can be improved by stably supplying the ink ribbon to the thermal head. Has the effect of

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of a ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part around a supply core in the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a main part around a supply core in the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a carriage in the embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a loosening prevention stopper in the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement state of a loosening prevention stopper when the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention is mounted on a carriage.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation state of a loosening prevention stopper when the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention is removed from the carriage.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement state of a loosening prevention stopper when the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention is mounted on a carriage.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing an arrangement state of a supply core and a take-up core in the embodiment of the ribbon cassette according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the carriage moves to the right in the embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which the carriage moves to the left in the embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ribbon cassette 2 Supply core 3 Winding core 4 Thermal transfer printer 5a Lower case 5b Upper case 6 Ink ribbon 12 Carriage 17 Guide projection 28 Guide groove 30 Stopper groove 31 Loose prevention stopper 34 Guide groove contact arm 35 Flange engagement arm 37 Platen 39 Thermal head 48 Supply bobbin 49 Take-up bobbin

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A head in which a supply core and a take-up core formed by winding both ends of an ink ribbon are rotatably disposed in a case body, and a thermal head is inserted when the thermal head is mounted on a thermal transfer printer. A ribbon cassette having an insertion section, wherein a length of an ink ribbon supply path from the supply core to the head insertion section is equal to a length of an ink ribbon winding path from the head insertion section to the take-up core. A ribbon cassette, wherein the supply core and the winding core are arranged so as to be shorter than a length. 2. The case body is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the supply core and the take-up core do not overlap in any of a longitudinal direction of the case body and a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. 2. The ribbon cassette according to claim 1, wherein the ribbon cassette is displaced. 3. A carriage having a thermal bobbin which can be freely attached to and detached from a platen and having a supply bobbin and a take-up bobbin for rotating a supply core and a take-up core stored in a ribbon cassette. Wherein the supply bobbin and the take-up bobbin are arranged such that a distance from the supply bobbin to the thermal head is smaller than a distance from the thermal head to the take-up bobbin. And thermal transfer printer. 4. The ribbon cassette mounting portion of the carriage is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plane, and the supply bobbin and the winding bobbin are arranged in any one of a longitudinal direction of the ribbon cassette mounting portion and a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. 4. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 3, wherein the thermal transfer printer is arranged so as to be displaced so as not to overlap in the direction of.