Tape cassette

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025206051-A1
Application number	US-202519019398-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jan 13, 2025
Priority date	Jun 30, 2009
Publication date	Jun 26, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A tape cassette that includes a housing having a front wall and a tape feed exit located on the front wall, a tape included at least partially within the housing, and a pressing portion and a first non-pressing portion on the front wall. The pressing portion and the first non-pressing portion are positioned to oppose tape type detecting switches of the label printer when the cassette is in the label printer. The pressing portion is configured to change a state of an opposing one of the tape type detecting switches, and the first non-pressing portion is configured to avoid changing a state of an opposing one of the tape type detecting switches. The first non-pressing portion is a planar area of the front wall extending in a tape width direction from a top surface of the housing to a bottom surface of the housing.

First claim

1 . A tape cassette comprising:
a cassette case having a first end portion and a second end portion separated from the first end portion in a first direction, and having a third end portion and a fourth end portion separated from the third end portion in a second direction; a first spool positioned in the cassette case, the first spool positioned closer to the third end portion of the cassette case than to the fourth end portion in the second direction, the first spool also positioned closer to the second end portion than to the first end portion in the first direction; a ribbon spool positioned in the cassette case, the ribbon spool positioned closer to the fourth end portion than to the third end portion in the second direction; a tape drive roller rotatable about an axis extending in a third direction, the drive roller configured to allow tape to be discharged from inside of the cassette case, the tape drive roller positioned closer to the first end portion of the cassette case in the first direction than to the second end portion, the tape drive roller positioned closer to the third end portion of the cassette case than the fourth end portion of the cassette in the second direction, wherein the cassette case includes an arm positioned at the first end portion, the arm having a first outer surface facing a portion of the cassette case in the first direction and a second outer surface facing away from the cassette case in the first direction, and the arm has an exit configured to allow ink ribbon to be discharged toward the tape drive roller from inside of the cassette case, and the arm includes a first protrusion and a hole, the first protrusion and the hole being offset in the second direction.

2 . The tape cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the arm includes a second protrusion, each of the first protrusion and the second protrusion are located at the respective one of the plurality of indicator locations at the second outer surface of the arm.

3 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are offset in the second direction and the third direction from each other.

4 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the arm includes a third protrusion that is spaced away from each of the first protrusion and the second protrusion.

5 . The tape cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the first protrusion has a cuboid shape.

6 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the second protrusion has a cuboid shape.

7 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the third protrusion has a cuboid shape.

8 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the second outer surface includes a surface between the first protrusion and the second protrusion.

9 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the second outer surface includes a surface between the first protrusion and the third protrusion.

10 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion protrude from the second outer surface by a same amount.

11 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the first protrusion and the third protrusion protrude from the second outer surface by a same amount.

12 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the second protrusion and the third protrusion protrude from the second outer surface by a same amount.

13 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the first protrusion has a cuboid shape with a first protruded end face, the second protrusion has a cuboid shape with a second protruded end face, and the first protruded end face and the second protruded end face are coplanar.

14 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the second protrusion has a cuboid shape with a second protruded end face, the third protrusion has a cuboid shape with a third protruded end face, and
wherein the second protruded end face and the third protruded end face are coplanar.

15 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the first protrusion has a cuboid shape with a first protruded end face, the third protrusion has a cuboid shape with a third protruded end face, and
wherein the first protruded end face and the third protruded end face are coplanar.

16 . The tape cassette according to claim 13 , wherein the first protruded end face and the second protruded end face are parallel to the second outer surface.

17 . The tape cassette according to claim 14 , wherein the second protruded end face and the third protruded end face are parallel to the second outer surface.

18 . The tape cassette according to claim 15 , wherein the first protruded end face and the third protruded end face are parallel to the second outer surface.

19 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the first protrusion and the second protrusion are adjacent protrusions.

20 . The tape cassette according to claim 4 , wherein the first protrusion, the second protrusion and the third protrusion being arranged in a zigzag pattern.

21 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the first protrusion is spaced apart from the second protrusion in the second direction and the third direction.

22 . The tape cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the second direction is orthogonal to the first direction, and
wherein the third direction is orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction.

23 . The tape cassette according to claim 22 , wherein the first protrusion is spaced apart from the second protrusion in the second direction and the third direction.

24 . The tape cassette according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a tape wound around the first spool.

25 . The tape cassette according to claim 24 ,
wherein the first protrusion indicates a width of the tape.

26 . The tape cassette according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second spool positioned in the cassette case, the second spool is positioned closer to the fourth end portion than to the third end portion in the second direction, the second spool is positioned closer to the second end portion than to the first end portion in the first direction.

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Yamaguchi Koshiro
• Nagae Tsuyoshi
• Imamaki Teruo

Classifications

• B41J17/32

  Detachable carriers or holders for impression-transfer material mechanism · CPC title

• B41J33/14

  Ribbon-feed devices or mechanisms · CPC title

• B41J15/044

  Cassettes or cartridges containing continuous copy material, tape, for setting into printing devices · CPC title

• B41J11/009

  Detecting type of paper, e.g. by automatic reading of a code that is printed on a paper package or on a paper roll or by sensing the grade of translucency of the paper · CPC title

• B41J3/4075 Primary

  Tape printers; Label printers · CPC title