Patent · US Expired

Reusable ink ribbon cassette for a label printer, the cassette being capable of accommodating ink ribbons having different widths

US5553952A · kind A · utility

85Cited by
2References
24Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateSep 22, 1994
Grant dateSep 10, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 22, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
  • CPC primaryB41J35/28
  • WIPO fieldTextile and paper machines
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A reusable ribbon cassette can be provided for a printer for printing on labels by using an ink transferred from the ribbon to the label material, wherein the ribbon cassette provides the ribbon for the printing. Such a re-usable cassette for a ribbon which is used up rapidly, in particular an ink ribbon in a thermal transfer printing process, has two parallel housing halves, one of which has vertically projecting pins onto which the other housing half can be pushed, and then maintained in position by friction. When the cassette is open, the tape, which is conventionally wound on a tape core, can be pushed onto the cores or core pairs of the cassette, and thereby become simultaneously non-rotationally connected to the cores. The connecting pins for the two housing halves advantageously simultaneously form deflector elements for the tape. The deflector pins are also detachable, so that the pins can be replaced by shorter or longer ones, thereby making it possible to use a narrower or wider tape for the cassette. The cores, or at least one core per core pair, can be coupled to the corresponding shaft by means of internal and external teeth, whereby one of the shafts is a drive shaft.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.