Tape cassette

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9751349-B2
Application number	US-201414226165-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2014
Priority date	Dec 25, 2008
Publication date	Sep 5, 2017
Grant date	Sep 5, 2017

Abstract

A tape cassette that includes a housing having a top surface, a bottom surface, a tape feed path, a front wall, a tape feed exit adjacent to the front wall configured to expose a tape guided in the housing along the tape feed path in a tape feed path direction towards the tape feed exit, and a tape guide downstream, in the tape feed path direction, from the tape feed exit. The tape cassette also includes a tape at least partially included within the housing and configured to be fed along the tape feed path to the tape feed exit, and a first aperture formed in an area of the front wall. The area is positioned upstream, in the tape feed path direction, of the tape feed exit, and a length of the area in the tape feed path direction at the front wall is equal to or less than a distance between the tape feed exit and the tape guide in the tape feed path direction at the front wall.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tape cassette, comprising:
a housing having a top wall, a bottom wall, a tape feed path, a front wall, a pair of side walls including a first side wall and a second side wall, and a tape feed exit adjacent to the front wall and configured to expose a tape guided in the housing along the tape feed path in a tape feed direction towards the tape feed exit;
the tape at least partially included within the housing and configured to be fed along the tape feed path to the tape feed exit;
an arm portion formed by the front wall and an arm rear surface behind the front wall, wherein the arm portion partially surrounds an opening extending from the top wall to the bottom wall behind the front wall, wherein the tape feed exit is provided on a downstream end of the arm portion in the tape feed direction;
a tape discharge portion provided in the first side wall, wherein a portion of the tape is included within the arm portion, wherein another portion of the tape is exposed outside of the arm portion between the tape feed exit and the tape discharge portion, wherein the another portion of the tape is guided to the tape discharge portion, wherein a surface of the another portion of the tape is exposed to a front side of the housing;
a recess formed on a front surface of the front wall, wherein the recess extends from the bottom wall towards the top wall, wherein the recess is disposed between the tape feed exit and the second side wall in the tape feed direction;
a first aperture formed in the front wall and disposed between the tape feed exit and the recess in the tape feed direction;
a latching aperture formed in the front wall and disposed between the tape feed exit and the recess in the tape feed direction;
a rear indentation indented from a rear portion of the bottom wall toward the top wall up to a ceiling surface parallel to the top wall and the bottom wall, wherein the ceiling surface is between the top wall and the bottom wall in a vertical direction orthogonal to the top wall and the bottom wall; and
a rear aperture formed on the ceiling surface, wherein at least a portion of the rear aperture is positioned between a virtual line and the tape feed exit in the tape feed direction, wherein the virtual line extends in the vertical direction and passes through the latching aperture,
wherein a first distance between the virtual line and the tape feed exit in the tape feed direction at the front wall is equal to or less than a second distance between the tape feed exit and the tape discharge portion in the tape feed direction at the front wall, and
wherein a third distance between the tape feed exit and a downstream end of the recess in the tape feed direction at the front wall is equal to or less than the second distance.

2. The tape cassette of claim 1 , further comprising:
a tape regulating member, wherein the tape regulating member is positioned downstream of the tape feed exit and upstream of the tape guide.

3. The tape cassette of claim 2 , further comprising:
a second aperture formed in the front wall, wherein the second aperture is positioned upstream, in the tape feed direction, of the tape feed exit,
wherein a distance between the second aperture and the tape feed exit is equal to or less than the second distance, and
wherein a distance between a centerline of the first aperture and a centerline of the second aperture, in the tape feed path direction at the front wall, is in a range of N×(7% to 10%) of the second distance, where N is 1, 2, 3, or 4.

4. The tape cassette of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second aperture formed in the front wall, wherein the second aperture is positioned upstream, in the tape feed direction, of the tape feed exit,
wherein a distance between the second aperture and the tape feed exit is equal to or less than the second distance, and
wherein a distance between a centerline of the first aperture and a centerline of the second aperture, in the tape feed path direction at the front wall, is in a range of 3×(7% to 10%) of the second distance.

5. The tape cassette according to claim 1 , wherein
the first aperture and the latching aperture are located in a common trench in the front wall, and
wherein the common trench is positioned between the tape feed exit and the recess in the tape feed direction.

6. The tape cassette according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second aperture formed in the front wall, wherein the second aperture is positioned between the first aperture and the recess in the tape feed direction,
wherein the second aperture is formed on a bottom edge of the front wall, and
wherein the virtual line also passes through the second aperture.

7. The tape cassette according to claim 6 , wherein
the first aperture, the second aperture and the latching aperture are located in a common trench in the front wall, and
wherein the common trench is positioned between the tape feed exit and the recess in the tape feed direction.

8. A tape cassette for use with a label printer having a plurality of tape type detecting switches each having two possible states and a cassette latch, the tape cassette comprising:
a housing having a top wall, a bottom wall, a tape feed path, a front wall, a pair of side walls including a first side wall and a second side wall, a tape feed exit adjacent to the front wall and configured to expose a tape guided in the housing along the tape feed path in a tape feed direction towards the tape feed exit;
the tape at least partially included within the housing and configured to be fed along the tape feed path to the tape feed exit;
an arm portion formed by the front wall and an arm rear surface behind the front wall, wherein the arm portion partially surrounds an opening extending from the top wall to the bottom wall behind the front wall, wherein the tape feed exit is provided on a downstream end of the arm portion in the tape feed direction;
a tape discharge portion provided in the first side wall, wherein a portion of the tape is included within the arm portion, wherein another portion of the tape is exposed outside of the arm portion between the tape feed exit and the tape discharge portion, wherein the another portion of the tape is guided to the tape discharge portion, wherein a surface of the another portion of the tape is exposed to a front side of the housing;
a recess formed on a front surface of the front wall, wherein the recess extends from the bottom wall towards the top wall, wherein the recess is disposed between the tape feed exit and the second side wall in the tape feed direction;
a pressing portion on the front wall and a first non-pressing portion formed on the front wall, wherein the pressing portion and the first non-pressing portion are disposed between the tape feed exit and the recess in the tape feed direction, wherein the pressing portion and the first non-pressing portion are positioned to oppose the tape type detecting switches of the label printer when the tape cassette is in the label printer;
a latching portion formed on the front wall and positioned to oppose the cassette latch of the label printer when the tape cassette is in the label printer,
wherein the latching portion is disposed between the tape feed exit and the recess in the tape feed direction;
a rear indentation indented from a rear portion of the bottom wall toward the top wall up to a ceiling surface parallel to the top wall and the bottom wall, wherein the ceiling surface is between the top wall and the bottom wall in a vertical direction orthogonal to the top wall and the bottom wall; and
a rear aperture formed on the ceiling surface, wherein at least a portion of the rear aperture is positioned between a virtual line and the tape feed exit in th

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Yamaguchi Koshiro
• Nagae Tsuyoshi
• Imamaki Teruo
• Horiuchi Takashi
• Sago Akira
• Shibata Yasuhiro

Classifications

• 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

• B41J32/00

  Ink-ribbon cartridges · CPC title

• B41J35/36

  Alarms, indicators, or feed disabling devices responsive to ink ribbon breakage or exhaustion · CPC title

• B41J11/009 Primary

  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