Tape and tape cassette

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11643236-B2
Application number	US-202117178703-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 18, 2021
Priority date	Sep 21, 2017
Publication date	May 9, 2023
Grant date	May 9, 2023

Abstract

A tape having a strip shape extending in a lengthwise direction and a widthwise direction includes: a subject surface located on the tape and exposed in a thickness direction; a first marker provided on the subject surface and being greater than the subject surface in reflectivity to light with a particular wavelength; and a second marker provided on the subject surface and being less than the subject surface in the reflectivity. At least a portion of the first marker and at least a portion of the second marker are identical to each other in position in the widthwise direction. At least a portion of one of the first marker and the second marker and at least a portion of another of the first marker and the second marker are different from each other in position in the lengthwise direction.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tape having a strip shape extending in a lengthwise direction and a widthwise direction orthogonal to the lengthwise direction, the tape comprising a first surface having a first ground color, and a second surface, the first surface comprising:
a first marker greater than the first ground color of the first surface in a reflectivity to light with a particular wavelength; and
a second marker spaced apart from the first marker in the lengthwise direction by a predetermined distance, a position of a portion of the second marker in the widthwise direction being identical to a position of a portion of the first marker in the widthwise direction, the second marker being less than the first ground color of the first surface in the reflectivity.

2. The tape according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first sheet; and
a second sheet peelably stuck to the first sheet, with a printing layer and an adhesive layer interposed between the first sheet and the second sheet,
wherein the second sheet comprises a plurality of die-cut labels arranged in the lengthwise direction,
wherein the first surface is provided on at least one of the first sheet and the second sheet,
wherein a plurality of markers at least comprising: a plurality of first markers each as the first marker; or a plurality of second markers each as the second marker are provided on the first surface, and
wherein at least a portion of each of the plurality of markers is located, in the lengthwise direction, within an area on which a corresponding one of the plurality of die-cut labels is formed.

3. The tape according to claim 2 ,
wherein the plurality of markers comprise the plurality of first markers and the plurality of second markers,
wherein the plurality of die-cut labels comprise: a plurality of first die-cut labels corresponding to the plurality of first markers; and a plurality of second die-cut labels corresponding to the plurality of second markers,
wherein each of the plurality of first markers is located, in the lengthwise direction, within an area on which a corresponding one of the plurality of first die-cut labels is formed, and
wherein each of the plurality of second markers is located, in the lengthwise direction, within an area on which a corresponding one of the plurality of second die-cut labels is formed.

4. The tape according to claim 1 ,
wherein one of the first marker and the second marker is formed directly on the first surface, and
wherein at least a portion of another of the first marker and the second marker is located on an opposite side of at least a portion of the one of the first marker and the second marker from the first surface in a thickness direction orthogonal to each of the lengthwise direction and the width direction.

5. The tape according to claim 4 ,
wherein the second sheet comprises a plurality of die-cut labels arranged along the lengthwise direction,
wherein a plurality of first markers each as the first marker and a plurality of second markers each as the second marker are provided on the first surface,
wherein the plurality of first markers comprise:
a first separation marker that is one of the plurality of first markers, an entirety of the first separation marker being spaced apart from the plurality of second markers; and
a first stacked marker that is one of the plurality of first markers and that is different from the first separation marker, at least a portion of the first stacked marker being stacked on at least a portion of the plurality of second markers in the thickness direction,

wherein the plurality of second markers comprise:
a second separation marker that is one of the plurality of second markers, an entirety of the second separation marker being spaced apart from the plurality of first markers; and
a second stacked marker that is one of the plurality of second markers and that is different from the second separation marker, at least a portion of the second stacked marker being stacked on at least a portion of the plurality of first markers in the thickness direction, and

wherein at least a portion of each of the first separation marker, the first stacked marker, the second separation marker, and the second stacked marker is located, in the lengthwise direction, within an area on which a corresponding one of the plurality of die-cut labels is formed.

6. The tape according to claim 1 , wherein the first marker is greater than white in the reflectivity.

7. The tape according to claim 1 , wherein the first marker is formed of ink containing a white pigment.

8. A tape cassette, comprising:
a tape roll that is a roll of a tape having a strip shape extending in a lengthwise direction and a widthwise direction orthogonal to the lengthwise direction, the tape comprising a first surface having a first ground color, and a second surface, the first surface comprising (i) a first marker greater than the first ground color of the first surface in a reflectivity to light with a particular wavelength; and (ii) a second marker spaced apart from the first marker in the lengthwise direction by a predetermined distance, a position of a portion of the second marker in the widthwise direction being identical to a position of a portion of the first marker in the widthwise direction, the second marker being less than the first ground color of the first surface in the reflectivity; and
a cassette casing which accommodates the tape roll and in which the tape drawn from the tape roll is conveyed along a particular direction,
wherein the first marker nearest to a downstream end portion of the tape roll in the particular direction is provided downstream, in the particular direction, of the second marker nearest to the downstream end portion of the tape roll in the particular direction.

9. The tape cassette according to claim 8 ,
wherein the cassette casing comprises an opening through which a portion of the tape located in the cassette casing is exposed to an outside of the cassette casing, and
wherein at least a portion of the first marker is opposed to the opening in a thickness direction, the thickness direction orthogonal to both of the lengthwise direction and the widthwise direction.

10. The tape according to claim 1 , wherein the first ground color of the first surface has a constant reflectivity throughout the entire first surface, and the constant reflectivity is less than a reflectivity of the first marker and greater than a reflectivity of the second marker.

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Murayama Kentaro
• Matsumoto Haruki
• Takami Yukiko
• Inoue Harumitsu

Classifications

• B65C11/0289

  using electrical or electro-mechanical means (B65C11/0205 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B41J11/42 Primary

  Controlling {printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering} · CPC title

• B41J11/46

  by marks or formations on the paper being fed · CPC title

• B41J3/4075

  Tape printers; Label printers · CPC title

• G06K15/024

  for printing on segmented surfaces, e.g. sticker sheets, label rolls · CPC title