Ink ribbon cassette and apparatus that uses the ink ribbon cassette
View Patent ↗An ink ribbon cassette includes first and second rotatable bodies that rotate with an ink ribbon held between the rotatable bodies in sandwiched relation. The second rotatable body includes a hole through which a shaft extends such that the second rotatable body is rotatably supported on the shaft. The shaft may have a circumferential surface conical toward the free end, and the hole may be a conical hole into which the conical shaft extends. The shaft may include a plurality of cylindrical shaft portions that are in line with one another and that have different diameters. The second rotatable body is formed with a plurality of cylindrical hole portions having different diameters corresponding to the cylindrical shaft portions such that the second rotatable body is rotatably supported on the shaft.
1. An ink ribbon cassette comprising:
a first rotatable body;
a second rotatable body comprising a hole that includes a large diameter end portion and a small diameter end portion;
an ink ribbon held between the first rotatable body and the second rotatable body in a sandwiched relationship; and
a shaft on which the second rotatable body is rotatably supported, the shaft comprising a free end, a small diameter portion and a large diameter portion, the small diameter portion being closer to the free end than the large diameter portion,
wherein the small diameter end portion of the hole of the second rotatable body is fitted with the small diameter portion of the shaft and the large diameter end portion of the hole of the second rotatable body is fitted with the large diameter portion of the shaft.
2. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the second rotatable body is detachably mounted on the shaft.
3. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the shaft is a conical shaft having a circumferential surface conical toward the free end, and the hole is a conical hole into which the conical shaft extends.
4. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 3 , wherein the first rotatable body and the second rotatable body are gears that loosely mesh with each other with the ink ribbon sandwiched therebetween.
5. An apparatus comprising an ink ribbon cassette according to claim 3 , and a printing section that prints on a print medium.
6. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 2 , wherein the shaft is a cylindrical shaft having a circumferential surface cylindrical toward the free end, and the hole is a cylindrical hole into which the cylindrical shaft extends.
7. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 6 , wherein the first rotatable body and the second rotatable body are gears that mesh with each other with the ink ribbon sandwiched therebetween.
8. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 6 , wherein the shaft includes a plurality of cylindrical shaft portions positioned in line with one another, the cylindrical shaft portions having different diameters;
wherein the second rotatable body is formed with a plurality of cylindrical hole portions having different diameters corresponding to the cylindrical shaft portions such that the second rotatable body is rotatably supported on the shaft.
9. The ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1 , further comprising a housing body in which the first rotatable body and the second rotatable body are accommodated;
wherein at least one of the first rotatable body and the second rotatable body includes an annular groove formed in a circumferential surface thereof, the annular groove extending in a circumferential direction of the at least one of the first rotatable body and the second rotatable body; and
wherein the housing body includes at least one projection that extends into the annular groove.
10. An apparatus comprising an ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1 , and a printing section that prints on a print medium.
11. An ink ribbon cassette according to claim 1 , wherein the second rotatable body is a gear.