Tape cartridge

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9469139-B2
Application number	US-201514741270-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2015
Priority date	Mar 24, 2014
Publication date	Oct 18, 2016
Grant date	Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

A tape cartridge to be installed in a tape printing apparatus by which a printing tape is fed out to perform printing on the printing tape, includes the printing tape, a cartridge casing in which the printing tape is accommodated, and a reaction force application portion that is provided on a front surface of the cartridge casing, displaced by a pressing force of a pressing portion of the tape printing apparatus, and applies a reaction force against the pressing force to the pressing portion according to a displacement of the reaction force application portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tape cartridge to be installed in a tape printing apparatus by which a printing tape is fed out to perform printing on the printing tape, the tape cartridge comprising:
the printing tape;
a cartridge casing in which the printing tape is accommodated; and
a reaction force application portion that is provided on a front surface of the cartridge casing, displaced by a pressing force of a pressing portion of the tape printing apparatus, and applies a reaction force against the pressing force to the pressing portion according to a displacement of the reaction force application portion,
wherein:
the reaction force application portion includes an elastic portion elastically deformed by the pressing force,
the elastic portion includes an elastic piece having a part with which the pressing portion comes in contact, the part being provided at an area formed by linearly cutting off a casing wall of the cartridge casing, and
the elastic piece is formed by cutting off the casing wall into a “U”-shape.

2. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the reaction force is increased in proportion to a displacing amount of the reaction force application portion.

3. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the cartridge casing has a shell structure.

4. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the elastic piece is formed on the front surface of the cartridge casing at a corner portion of the front surface.

5. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the tape printing apparatus includes:
a cartridge installation portion on which the tape cartridge is installed;
an opening/closing cover that opens/closes the cartridge installation portion about a hinge portion; and

the pressing portion that is provided on the opening/closing cover, and
the elastic piece extends in a direction crossing an extending direction of the hinge portion, a side of the hinge portion of which is a base end.

6. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the reaction force application portion includes:
a receiving recessed portion that is formed on a casing wall of the cartridge casing and receives the pressing portion; and
an elastic member that is provided at the receiving recessed portion and constituted separately from the cartridge casing.

7. The tape cartridge according to claim 6 , wherein
the elastic member is made of at least one of a resin elastic material and a metal elastic material.

8. The tape cartridge according to claim 7 , wherein
the resin elastic material is made of at least one of rubber and a sponge.

9. The tape cartridge according to claim 7 , wherein
the metal elastic material is made of at least one of a leaf spring and a coil spring.

10. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the reaction force application portion faces the pressing portion and is provided on one surface of the cartridge casing crossing an installation direction, and
a detected portion that detects attribute information of the printing tape is provided on the other surface of the cartridge casing.

11. The tape cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein
the reaction force application portion is disposed inside an outer contour line of the cartridge casing at a face of the cartridge casing facing the pressing portion.

12. A tape cartridge to be installed in a tape printing apparatus by which a printing tape is fed out to perform printing on the printing tape, the tape cartridge comprising:
the printing tape;
a cartridge casing in which the printing tape is accommodated; and
a reaction force application portion that is provided on a front surface of the cartridge casing, displaced by a pressing force of a pressing portion of the tape printing apparatus, and applies a reaction force against the pressing force to the pressing portion according to a displacement of the reaction force application portion,
wherein:
the reaction force application portion includes an elastic portion elastically deformed by the pressing force, and
the elastic portion includes:
an elastic piece that is formed in an L-shaped cross section on a plane section crossing the front surface of the cartridge casing, extends from a casing wall of the cartridge casing to an inside of the cartridge casing which is at an opposite side to the front surface, and with which the pressing portion coming in contact; and
a reception opening that is formed on the casing wall and receives the pressing portion.

13. The tape cartridge according to claim 12 , wherein
the reception opening includes two sides corresponding to both side ends of the elastic piece, and
the tape cartridge is positioned by the pressing portion in a direction crossing the two sides.

14. A tape cartridge to be installed in a tape printing apparatus by which a printing tape is fed out to perform printing on the printing tape, the tape cartridge comprising:
the printing tape;
a cartridge casing in which the printing tape is accommodated; and
a reaction force application portion that is provided on a front surface of the cartridge casing, displaced by a pressing force of a pressing portion of the tape printing apparatus, and applies a reaction force against the pressing force to the pressing portion according to a displacement of the reaction force application portion,
wherein:
the reaction force application portion includes an elastic portion elastically deformed by the pressing force,
the tape printing apparatus includes an installation base surface that positions the tape cartridge in the installation direction,
a plurality of types of cartridge casings having a different thickness in the installation direction is available as the cartridge casing to be installed in the tape printing apparatus, and
the reaction application portion in each of the cartridge casings is disposed such that a distance between the installation base surface and a part of the reaction application portion with which the pressing portion comes in contact becomes substantially equal among the plurality of types of the cartridge casings.

15. The tape cartridge according to claim 14 , wherein
the cartridge casing includes two casings having a split structure, and
the reaction force application portion is provided on one of the two casings.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Sakano Hideki
• Sodeyama Hideo

Classifications

• B41J32/00 Primary

  Ink-ribbon cartridges · CPC title

• B41J15/044 Primary

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

• B41J3/4075

  Tape printers; Label printers · CPC title

• B41J15/04 Primary

  Supporting, feeding, or guiding devices; Mountings for web rolls or spindles · CPC title