Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information... – Cartridge system
Patent
1998-04-22
2000-11-14
Nguyen, John Q.
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Unwinding and rewinding a machine convertible information...
Cartridge system
2423565, 242336, 400236, G03B 104, G11B 1532, B41J 3314
Patent
active
061457698
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a tape winding device which engages with a reel in a cassette around which a tape-like long material such as a printing tape, ink ribbon, acoustic or video recording tape, cellulose tape, or label tape with a pattern is wound by changing the winding force depending on the strength of the tape-like material.
BACKGROUND ART
Conventionally, for example, an ink ribbon winding device of a heat transfer type printer is known. Set in the printer is a ribbon cassette which contains an unused ink ribbon as a tape-like long material and a reel around which as a portion of the ink ribbon is used, the used ink ribbon portion is wound. The ink ribbon winding device engages with the reel around which the used ink ribbon is wound to transfer power from a drive source via a clutch mechanism to the winding reel. The clutch mechanism transfers drive torque by a frictional force generated by a press load of a spring to the winding reel and runs idle when the winding resistance exceeds a predetermined limit. By this arrangement, the clutch mechanism absorbs an increase in the tensile strength of the ink ribbon due to an increase in the diameter of the ink ribbon as the ink ribbon is wound and maintains the winding force of separating from printing paper the ink ribbon which adheres to the printing paper by the melting and transfer of the ink.
When the used ink ribbon portion is wound in the heat transfer type printer, resistance to separation of the ink ribbon from the printing paper varies depending on the density of the printing and the width of the ink ribbon. Thus, for example, a required slip torque of the clutch mechanism (a limit torque beyond which a slippage of the clutch mechanism occurs against the frictional force) must decrease as the width of the ink ribbon decreases and vise versa.
However, as described above, there is a probability that a drive torque with which a wider ink ribbon is wound will become insufficient because the slip torque of the clutch mechanism is constant. If the slip torque and hence the drive torque are increased to avoid such insufficient drive torque, the drive torque would be excessive for a narrower ink ribbon, so that the ink ribbon may be broken during its winding.
In order to solve this problem, before shippage of tape winding devices which include respective clutch mechanisms from a factory, a try-and-error selection method is employed which includes actually giving the winding test of the winding devices in wider and narrower ink ribbons in winding and selecting only winding devices which include respective clutch mechanisms having an appropriate slip torque. For the clutch mechanism which brought no good result of the testing, the respective components of the clutch mechanism involved in the generation of the frictional force are replaced with other appropriate ones and the resulting clutch mechanism is then actually tested again, which is very troublesome.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a tape winding device which is capable of winding a tape-like long material in an always stabilized manner with an slip torque depending on the tensile strength of the tape-like long material.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provided a tape winding device provided on an apparatus body and engaged with a long tape-like material winding reel of a tape cassette set in the apparatus body for transmitting a drive force from a drive source of the apparatus body to the reel, comprising: to drive the reel in a winding direction; abutting portion which abuts slidably on a frictional member; force from the apparatus body; and separating the relay means and the rotating body from each other and for biasing the relay member so that the relay member is pressed against the abutting portion of the rotational shaft through the frictional member.
Thus, the long tape-like material is wound in an always stabilized manner with a slip torque depending on the tensile strength of
REFERENCES:
patent: 4015792 (1977-04-01), Thenon et al.
patent: 4611937 (1986-09-01), Sato et al.
patent: 4917328 (1990-04-01), Kobayashi et al.
Mochizuki Yoshiaki
Shiraishi Yasushi
Casio Computer Co. Ltd.
Nguyen John Q.
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