Cassette

Abstract

To provide a cassette in which a space in which an ink ribbon is arranged can be reduced in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a vertical direction.SOLUTION: In a cassette 210, at least a part of a supply spool 270 and at least a part of a winding spool 276 are overlapped in a first direction with a print tape roll 226. This allows the print tape roll 226, an ink ribbon 268 and the winding spool 276 to be arranged separately in a tape case 220 and a ribbon case 221, so that the cassette can be downsized in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to a first direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 35

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cassette that is detachably mounted in a printing device. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a cassette having a print tape and an ink ribbon for printing on the print tape is known. For example, the ink ribbon cartridge described in Patent Document 1 includes a ribbon cartridge and a print sheet cartridge. The ribbon cartridge contains an ink ribbon roll and a take-up spool for winding up the ink ribbon. The print sheet cartridge contains a print tape roll. A plurality of set claws are provided on the outer peripheral wall of the print tape cartridge. The plurality of set claws engage with the ribbon cartridge, so that the print tape cartridge is superimposed above the ribbon cartridge and integrated with the ribbon cartridge. The ribbon cartridge is provided with a head opening into which the printer head is inserted. A tape opening through which the print tape passes is provided at a position of the print tape cartridge opposite to the head opening with respect to the print tape roll. After the print tape is pulled out from the print tape roll, it is taken out of the print tape cartridge through the tape opening. The print tape then passes around the outer peripheral wall of the print tape cartridge and passes through the head opening. At the head opening, the print tape and the ink ribbon are superimposed on each other, and printing is performed by the printer head. The printed print tape is guided by a set pawl on the head opening side to a film gate for discharging the print tape. The ink ribbon used for printing is taken up by a take-up spool. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-156762 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The ink ribbon cartridge described above is made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction by providing the ink ribbon and the print tape roll at different positions in the axial direction of the take-up spool, i.e., in the vertical direction. However, there is a demand for the cassette to be further made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0005] The present invention has been made in light of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a cassette that can be made smaller in a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the ink ribbon. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The gist of the first invention is that it comprises (a) a printing tape roll around which a printing tape, which is a printing medium, is wound, (b) a rotatable supply spool around which an ink ribbon used for printing on the printing tape is wound, and a take-up spool that is rotatable to take up the ink ribbon supplied from the supply spool, (c) the supply spool and the take-up spool are located on one side of the printing tape roll in a first direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool, and (d) at least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

[0007] The gist of the second invention is that the center of rotation of the take-up spool overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

[0008] The gist of the third invention is that the center of rotation of the supply spool overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

[0009] The gist of the fourth invention is that the printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, and at least a portion of the ink ribbon wound around the take-up spool overlaps with the printing tape spool in the first direction.

[0010] The gist of the fifth invention is that at least a portion of the take-up spool overlaps with the tape spool in the first direction.

[0011] The gist of the sixth invention is that the printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, and in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to the first direction, the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the center of rotation of the printing tape spool is shorter than the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the center of rotation of the printing tape spool.

[0012] The gist of the seventh invention is that in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, the distance between a central position of the cassette that is the center in the second direction and the center in the third direction and the center of rotation of the printing tape roll is smaller than both the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the central position and the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the central position.

[0013] The gist of the eighth invention is that the dimension of a convex envelope defined by the printing tape roll, the take-up spool, and the supply spool in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is greater than half the dimension of the cassette in the second direction, and the dimension of the convex envelope in a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions is greater than half the dimension of the cassette in the third direction.

[0014] The gist of the ninth invention is that it comprises a tape case in which the printing tape roll is housed, and a ribbon case located in one side of the first direction relative to the tape case and in which the supply spool and the take-up spool are housed, the ribbon case having an outlet through which the printing tape supplied from the printing tape roll and the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool are discharged from the ribbon case, and an inlet through which the ink ribbon discharged from the outlet is brought into the ribbon case, and the ink ribbon brought in from the inlet is wound around the take-up spool.

[0015] The gist of the tenth invention is that a portion of the ink ribbon located between the entrance and the position where the ink ribbon is wound onto the take-up spool overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

[0016] The gist of the eleventh invention is that the ribbon case is provided with a laminating tape roll around which a laminating tape to be laminated to the printing tape is wound, and at least a portion of the laminating tape overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

[0017] The gist of the twelfth invention is that the printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, and at least a portion of the laminating tape roll overlaps with the printing tape spool in the first direction.

[0018] The gist of the thirteenth invention is that the splicing tape roll is configured by winding the splicing tape around a rotatable splicing tape spool, and the center of rotation of the splicing tape spool overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

[0019] The gist of the fourteenth invention is that the printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, and at least a portion of the laminating tape spool overlaps with the printing tape spool in the first direction.

[0020] The gist of the 15th invention is that it comprises (a) a printing tape roll around which a printing tape, which is a printing medium, is wound, (b) a rotatable supply spool around which an ink ribbon used for printing on the printing tape is wound, (c) a take-up spool that is rotatable so as to take up the ink ribbon supplied from the supply spool, and (d) a spacer film that abuts against the printing tape roll in a first direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool, and (e) at least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap with the spacer film in the first direction. Effect of the Invention

[0021] According to a first aspect of the invention, the cassette includes: (a) a printing tape roll around which a printing tape, which is a printing medium, is wound; (b) a rotatable supply spool around which an ink ribbon used for printing on the printing tape is wound; and a take-up spool rotatable to take up the ink ribbon supplied from the supply spool; (c) the supply spool and the take-up spool are located on one side of the printing tape roll in a first direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool; and (d) at least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap with the printing tape roll in the first direction. As a result, the printing tape roll, the supply spool, and the take-up spool are provided separately in the first direction, and at least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap with the printing tape roll in the first direction, so that the cassette can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0022] According to the cassette of the second invention, the center of rotation of the take-up spool overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than in a case where the center of rotation of the take-up spool does not overlap with the print tape roll in the first direction.

[0023] According to the cassette of the third aspect of the invention, the center of rotation of the supply spool overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than if the center of rotation of the supply spool did not overlap with the print tape roll in the first direction.

[0024] According to a cassette of the fourth invention, the print tape roll is formed by winding the printable tape around a rotatable print tape spool, and at least a portion of the ink ribbon wound around the take-up spool overlaps with the print tape spool in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which at least a portion of the ink ribbon wound around the take-up spool does not overlap with the print tape spool in the first direction.

[0025] According to a cassette of the fifth aspect of the invention, at least a portion of the take-up spool overlaps with the tape spool in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which at least a portion of the take-up spool does not overlap with the print tape spool in the first direction.

[0026] According to a cassette of the sixth aspect of the invention, the print tape roll is formed by winding the print tape around a rotatable print tape spool, and in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to the first direction, the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the center of rotation of the tape spool is shorter than the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the center of rotation of the print tape spool. This allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the first direction than in a case where the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the center of rotation of the print tape spool is longer than the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the center of rotation of the print tape spool.

[0027] According to the cassette of the seventh aspect of the invention, in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, the distance between a central position that is the center of the cassette in the second direction and the center in the third direction and the center of rotation of the printing tape roll is smaller than both the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the central position and the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the central position. A larger overlap between the printing tape roll and the supply spool and the take-up spool can be obtained than in a case where the distance between the central position and the center of rotation of the printing tape roll is not smaller than either the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the central position or the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the central position, and the cassette can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0028] According to the cassette of the eighth aspect of the invention, the dimension of a convex envelope defined by the printing tape roll, the take-up spool, and the supply spool in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is greater than half the dimension of the cassette in the second direction. Furthermore, the dimension of the convex envelope in a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions is greater than half the dimension of the cassette in the third direction. This increases the proportion of the space within the cassette that is occupied by the printing tape roll, the take-up spool, and the supply spool, making it possible to reduce the size of the cassette in the perpendicular direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0029] According to a ninth aspect of the invention, the cassette includes a tape case that houses the print tape roll, and a ribbon case that is located on one side of the first direction relative to the tape case and houses the supply spool and the take-up spool, the ribbon case includes an outlet through which the print tape supplied from the print tape roll and the ink ribbon wound on the supply spool are discharged from the ribbon case, and an inlet through which the ink ribbon discharged from the outlet is brought into the ribbon case, and the take-up spool is wound with the ink ribbon brought in from the inlet. As a result, the ink ribbon that is once discharged from the outlet and then brought in from the inlet is taken up by the take-up spool, so that a space for forming a path is not required compared to when the ink ribbon is taken up around the take-up spool along a path formed in the ribbon case, and the cassette can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction.

[0030] According to the cassette of the tenth aspect of the invention, a portion of the ink ribbon located between the entrance and the position where the ink ribbon is wound around the take-up spool overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which a portion of the ink ribbon located between the entrance and the position where the ink ribbon is wound around the take-up spool does not overlap with the print tape roll in the first direction.

[0031] According to the cassette of the eleventh aspect of the invention, the ribbon case includes a lamination tape roll around which a lamination tape to be laminated to the print tape is wound, and at least a portion of the lamination tape roll overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which at least a portion of the lamination tape does not overlap with the print tape roll in the first direction.

[0032] According to a cassette of the twelfth aspect of the invention, the print tape roll is formed by winding the print tape around a rotatable print tape spool, and at least a portion of the laminated tape roll overlaps with the print tape spool in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which at least a portion of the laminated tape does not overlap with the print tape spool in the first direction.

[0033] According to a cassette of the thirteenth aspect of the invention, the splicing tape roll is configured by winding the splicing tape around a rotatable splicing tape spool, and the center of rotation of the splicing tape spool overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which the center of rotation of the splicing tape spool does not overlap with the print tape roll in the first direction.

[0034] According to a cassette of the fourteenth aspect of the invention, the print tape roll has the print tape wound around a rotatable print tape spool, and at least a portion of the laminated tape spool overlaps with the print tape spool in the first direction, which allows the cassette to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction than a cassette in which at least a portion of the laminated tape spool does not overlap with the print tape spool in the first direction.

[0035] A cassette according to a fifteenth aspect of the invention includes (a) a print tape roll around which a print tape serving as a print medium is wound, (b) a rotatable supply spool around which an ink ribbon used for printing on the print tape is wound, (c) a take-up spool that is rotatable so as to take up the ink ribbon supplied from the supply spool, and (d) a spacer film that contacts the print tape roll in a first direction that is the width direction of the ink ribbon wound on the supply spool, and (e) at least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap with the spacer film in the first direction. This allows the cassette to be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the first direction, compared to a case in which the spacer film does not overlap with the supply spool and the take-up spool in the first direction. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0036] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the top side of a laminate type cassette according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 2 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the cassette in FIG. 1. [Diagram 3] 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a case and the internal configuration of the cassette in FIG. 1, with a first case member, a second case member, a third case member, and a fourth case member that configure the case being separated. FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the first case member of FIG. 1. [Diagram 5] 2 is a perspective view showing the underside of the first case member of FIG. 1. [Figure 6] 2 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the second case member in FIG. 1 together with the print tape roll. [Figure 7] 2 is a perspective view showing the cassette of FIG. 1 with a first case member removed. FIG. [Figure 8] 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6, showing a state in which the print tape is stretched from inside the tape case to inside the ribbon case. [Figure 9] 2 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the second case member of FIG. 1. [Figure 10] 2 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the third case member of FIG. 1. [Figure 11] 2 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the third case member of FIG. 1. [Figure 12] 2 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the fourth case member of FIG. 1. [Figure 13] 1. FIG. 4 is a bottom view showing the bottom side of the fourth case member in FIG. [Figure 14] This figure shows the underside of the third case member in Figure 1, and illustrates the paths of the printing tape pulled out from the printing tape roll and the laminating tape pulled out from the laminating tape roll, as well as the path of the ink ribbon pulled out from the ink ribbon. [Figure 15] 2 is a diagram illustrating a stack of a printing tape and a laminating tape fed out from the cassette of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 16] 2 is a plan view of the cassette of FIG. 1, showing the relative positions of a print tape roll, a laminating tape roll, an ink ribbon, and a take-up spool. [Figure 17] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVII-XVII of FIG. 6. [Figure 18] 2 is a diagram illustrating a cassette mounting portion of a printing device into which the cassette of FIG. 1 is mounted. FIG. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the top side of a non-laminate type cassette according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] 20 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the cassette of FIG. 19. FIG. [Figure 21] 20 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the case and the internal configuration of the cassette in FIG. 19 with a first case member, a second case member, a third case member, and a fourth case member that configure the case separated. FIG. [Figure 22] 20 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the first case member in FIG. 19. [Figure 23] 20 is a perspective view showing the underside of the first case member in FIG. 19. [Figure 24] 20 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the second case member in FIG. 19 together with the print tape roll. [Diagram 25]20 is a perspective view of the cassette of FIG. 19 with a first case member removed. FIG. [Figure 26] 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XXVI-XXVI in FIG. 24, showing a state in which the print tape is stretched from inside the tape case to inside the ribbon case in the cassette of FIG. 19. [Figure 27] 20 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the second case member in FIG. 19. [Figure 28] 20 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the third case member in FIG. 19. [Figure 29] 20 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the third case member in FIG. 19. [Diagram 30] 20 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the fourth case member in FIG. 19. [Diagram 31] 20 is a bottom view showing the bottom side of the fourth case member in FIG. 19. FIG. [Diagram 32] 22 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the cassette of FIG. 19, taken along line XXXII-XXXII of FIG. 24. [Diagram 33] 20 is a diagram showing the bottom surface of the third case member in FIG. 19, illustrating the path of the print tape pulled out from the print tape roll and the path of the ink ribbon pulled out from the ink ribbon. [Diagram 34] 20 is a diagram illustrating a stack of printing tape and laminating tape fed out from the cassette of FIG. 19. FIG. [Diagram 35] 20 is a plan view of the cassette of FIG. 19, showing the relative positions of the print tape roll, the ink ribbon, and the take-up spool. [Diagram 36] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a cassette according to another embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0037] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. EXAMPLES

[0038] [Embodiment 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cassette 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, shown from the front side, i.e., from the top. In the description of this embodiment, the upper side of FIG. 1 is the front side of the cassette 10, the lower side is the rear side of the cassette 10, the right side is the left side of the cassette 10, the left side is the right side of the cassette 10, the upper left side is the upper side of the cassette 10, and the lower right side is the lower side of the cassette 10. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cassette 10 shown from the back side, i.e., from the bottom. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of the cassette 10, with the first case member 12, the second case member 14, the third case member 16, and the fourth case member 18 of the cassette 10 separated. The cassette 10 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and is detachably mounted in a cassette mounting section 104 of a printing device 102 shown in FIG. 18, which will be described later. Cassette 10 includes a first case or tape case 20 composed of a first case member 12 and a second case member 14, and a second case or ribbon case 21 composed of a third case member 16 and a fourth case member 18. The stacking direction of first case member 12 to fourth case member 18, i.e., the up-down direction shown in Fig. 1, corresponds to a first direction in the present invention. Moreover, the front-rear direction shown in Fig. 1 corresponds to a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the left-right direction shown in Fig. 1 corresponds to a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions.

[0039] The ribbon case 21 is located on one side in the up-down direction relative to the tape case 20. In this embodiment, the ribbon case 21 is located on one side in the up-down direction, that is, the lower side, relative to the tape case 20. The tape case 20 is provided with a print tape roll 26 around which a print tape 22, which is a print medium, is wound in a first space S1 formed inside. The ribbon case 21 is provided with an ink ribbon roll 72 and a lamination tape roll 64 in a second space S2 formed inside.

[0040] The ink ribbon roll 72 is configured by winding a strip-shaped ink ribbon 68 around a take-up spool 76 so that the width direction is the up-down direction. The ink ribbon 68 is used for printing on a strip-shaped print tape 22. The radial direction of the ink ribbon roll 72 is the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and the radial direction is an orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction. The orthogonal direction can also be said to be any direction parallel to a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction. The laminating tape roll 64 is configured by winding a strip-shaped laminating tape 60 to be laminated to the printed print tape 22 around a laminating spool so that the width direction of the laminating tape 60 is the up-down direction. The first case member 12, the second case member 14, the third case member 16, and the fourth case member 18 are fixed to each other in a state where they are stacked on top of each other in the up-down direction by the engagement of a plurality of locking claws 27 and fixed claws 28 provided between the outer peripheral walls of the respective cases and by positioning by the positioning protrusions 29. In this embodiment, the upper surface of each of the case members 12 to 18 is referred to as the upper surface or front surface, and the lower surface is referred to as the lower surface or back surface.

[0041] 2, a take-up spool support hole 94 that penetrates in the vertical direction is provided in the bottom surface of the fourth case member 18 of the cassette 10. In addition, a recess 99 is formed in the front surfaces of the third case member 16 and the fourth case member 18, i.e., the front surface of the ribbon case 21, into which a print head 106 (described below) provided in the cassette mounting portion 104 is inserted when the cassette 10 is mounted in the cassette mounting portion 104 of the printing device 102.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the first case member 12, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the first case member 12. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the second case member 14. Note that in FIG. 6, the print tape 22 pulled out from the print tape roll 26 is omitted. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the second case member 14. Also, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6, showing the state in which the print tape 22 is stretched from inside the tape case 20 to inside the ribbon case 21. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the second case member 14, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the third case member 16, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the third case member 16. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the fourth case member 18, and FIG. 13 is a bottom view showing the lower surface side of the fourth case member 18.

[0043] A first space S1 is formed between the first case member 12 and the second case member 14. In the first space S1, the print tape roll 26 is accommodated so as to be rotatable about a first rotation center line C1 that is parallel to the up-down direction. The first rotation center line C1 is the rotation center of the print tape roll 26 and also the rotation center of the print tape spool 24. The print tape roll 26 is configured by winding the print tape 22 around the print tape spool 24, which is a cylindrical core material. The first case member 12 and the second case member 14 are rectangular, and the first rotation center line C1 is located approximately to the right of the center in the left-right direction, which is the second direction, and approximately near the center in the front-rear direction, which is the third direction, of the first case member 12 and the second case member 14.

[0044] The printing tape 22 is a print medium on which printing is performed by the print head 106. The printing tape 22 is configured, for example as shown in Fig. 15, by laminating a peeling tape 22c on the surface opposite to the printing surface of a printable tape 22a via an adhesive 22b.

[0045] As shown in Figs. 3 and 5, a cylindrical first support protrusion 30 and a first circumferential wall 34 are provided on the lower surface side of the first case member 12. The first support protrusion 30 is inserted into the cylindrical print tape spool 24 to rotatably support the print tape roll 26. The first case member 12 has an outer peripheral wall 44 having a short side portion 44a and a long side portion 44b. The first circumferential wall 34 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the print tape roll 26. The first support protrusion 30 and the first circumferential wall 34 protrude downward from the lower surface side of the first case member 12 with the same center line as the first rotation center line C1. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, a cylindrical second support protrusion 32 and a second circumferential wall 36 are provided on the upper surface side of the second case member 14. The second support protrusion 32 is inserted into the cylindrical print tape spool 24 to rotatably support the print tape roll 26. The second circumferential wall 36 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the print tape roll 26. The second support protrusions 32 and the second circumferential wall 36 protrude upward from the upper surface side of the second case member 14, with their center line coinciding with the first rotation center line C1. The print tape roll 26 is disposed between the first case member 12 and the second case member 14, with circular spacer films 38, each having approximately the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the print tape roll 26, interposed above and below the print tape roll 26.

[0046] As shown in Figures 5 and 6, print tape gates 40, 42 are formed on the bottom surface of the first case member 12 and the top surface of the second case member 14 by cutting out parts of the first circumferential wall 34 and the second circumferential wall 36 in order to pull out the print tape 22 from the print tape roll 26 from a fixed position. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, a guide wall 50 is formed on the top surface of the second case member 14 extending leftward from the left end of the print tape gate 42 in order to guide the print tape 22 pulled out from the print tape roll 26 in a fixed direction.

[0047] As shown in Figure 6, the guide wall 50 extending leftward from the left end of the printing tape gate 42 bends toward the long side portion 46b, i.e., backward, before reaching the short side portion 46a of the outer peripheral wall 46, and extends along the second circumferential wall 36 to connect to the long side portion 46b.

[0048] 6, a through hole 52 that is generally L-shaped in front view and extends in the front-rear and left-right directions along the guide wall 50 and the long side portion 46b of the outer circumferential wall 46 is formed in the bottom plate 14a of the second case member 14. A plurality of guide ribs 54 are formed in the bottom plate 14a between the through hole 52 and a portion of the second circumferential wall 36 that faces the guide wall 50 and the long side portion 46b. The multiple guide ribs 54 guide the printing tape 22 that is unwound from the printing tape roll 26 and fed through the printing tape gates 40 and 42 into the through hole 52.

[0049] Fig. 7 shows the cassette 10 without the first case member 12. As shown in Fig. 7, the printing tape 22 unwound from the printing tape roll 26 is guided through the through hole 52 into the second space S2 between the third case member 16 and the fourth case member 18. The printing tape 22 is stretched across the tape case 20 and the ribbon case 21 through the through hole 52 formed in the bottom plate 14a, which functions as a plate member that divides the first space S1 and the second space S2.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 8, the printing tape 22 is hung diagonally from inside the tape case 20 into inside the ribbon case 21 through the through hole 52. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 14 described later, the printing tape 22 is hung up to the recess 99 of the ribbon case 21. FIG. 9 shows the lower surface side of the second case member 14. As shown in FIG. 9, a through hole 52 is opened on the back surface of the bottom plate 14a of the second case member 14, and a guide wall 56 is provided vertically along the through hole 52. FIG. 10 shows the upper surface side of the third case member 16. A through hole 58, a lamination tape roll support hole 66, an ink ribbon support hole 74, a take-up spool support hole 78, and a roller support hole 82 are formed in the ceiling plate 16e of the third case member 16. The through hole 58 is formed at a position corresponding to the through hole 52 of the second case member 14 in order to pass the printing tape 22 pulled out from the printing tape roll 26 into the second space S2. In other words, a portion of the through hole 52 and a portion of the through hole 58 overlap each other in the vertical direction.

[0051] The bottom plate 14a of the second case member 14 and the ceiling plate 16e of the third case member 16 separate a first space S1 in the tape case 20 and a second space S2 in the ribbon case 21.

[0052] The laminating tape roll support hole 66 receives one end of the laminating spool 62 around which the laminating tape 60 is wound, and supports the laminating tape roll 64 rotatably around a second rotation center line C2 parallel to the first rotation center line C1. The second rotation center line C2 is the rotation center of the laminating tape roll 64 and also the rotation center of the laminating tape spool 62. As shown in FIG. 15, the laminating tape 60 is made of a transparent film 60a with an adhesive 60b applied to one surface that comes into contact with the printing surface of the printing tape 22 to protect the printing surface of the printing tape 22. The ink ribbon support hole 74 receives one end of the supply spool 70 around which the ink ribbon 68 is wound, and supports the ink ribbon roll 72 rotatably around a third rotation center line C3 parallel to the first rotation center line C1. The third rotation center line C3 is the rotation center of the ink ribbon roll 72 and also the rotation center of the supply spool 70. The take-up spool support hole 78 receives one end of the take-up spool 76 that winds up the ink ribbon 68 unwound from the ink ribbon roll 72, and supports the take-up spool 76 rotatably about a fourth rotation center line C4 parallel to the first rotation center line C1. The fourth rotation center line C4 is the rotation center of the take-up spool 24. The roller support hole 82 receives one end of the roller 80 that presses the printing tape 22 and the laminating tape 60 between itself and the roller of the printing device 102 to press the printing surface of the printing tape 22 and the adhesive surface of the laminating tape 60 together, and supports the roller 80 rotatably about a fifth rotation center line C5 parallel to the first rotation center line C1.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 11, a laminated tape roll holding wall 84, an ink ribbon roll holding wall 86, a cylindrical protrusion 88, and an arc-shaped wall 92 are formed on the bottom surface of the third case member 16. The laminated tape roll holding wall 84 and the arc-shaped wall 92 are formed in an arc shape around the laminated tape roll support hole 66 to define the position of the laminated tape roll 64. The ink ribbon roll holding wall 86 is formed in an arc shape around the take-up spool support hole 78 to define the position of the ink ribbon 68 taken up on the take-up spool 76. The cylindrical protrusion 88 protrudes downward from the periphery of the ink ribbon support hole 74, and has unevenness arranged in the circumferential direction on its tip surface. The third case member 16 has a short side portion 16a and a long side portion 16b as an outer peripheral wall, and a U-shaped recess wall 16c arranged to surround the recess 99. A support protrusion 93 is provided on the lower surface of the third case member 16 for rotatably supporting the upper end of an adhesion prevention roller 91 that prevents the lamination tape 60 from sticking. As shown in Fig. 12, a support protrusion 95 is provided on the upper surface of the fourth case member 18 for connectably supporting the lower end of the adhesion prevention roller 91.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 3, a clutch spring holder 90 containing a clutch spring is fitted to the other end of the supply spool 70 around which the ink ribbon 68 is wound, and the clutch spring in the clutch spring holder 90 provides an appropriate rotational resistance to the ink ribbon roll 72 of the supply spool 70.

[0055] 12 and 13 show the upper and lower surfaces of the fourth case member 18. A take-up spool support hole 94 is formed in the fourth case member 18, penetrating the fourth case member 18 in the vertical direction, into which the other end of the take-up spool 76 is fitted to rotatably support the take-up spool 76. A connecting hole 96 formed in the end face on the other end side of the take-up spool 76 is exposed to the lower surface of the fourth case member 18 through the take-up spool support hole 94, as shown in FIG. 2. When the cassette 10 is mounted in the printing device 102, a take-up spool drive shaft 108 of the printing device 102, which will be described later, is inserted into the connecting hole 96 and connected to the take-up spool 76, and the take-up spool 76 is rotated by the take-up spool drive shaft 108. In addition, a cylindrical support protrusion 97 is formed in the fourth case member 18, into which the other end of the supply spool 70 is fitted to rotatably support the supply spool 70.

[0056] The fourth case member 18 is provided with a roller exposure hole 98 that exposes the shaft end of the roller 80 at a position corresponding to the roller support hole 82 formed in the third case member 16. A connecting portion 80a formed at the end of the roller 80 on the fourth case member 18 side is exposed on the lower surface of the fourth case member 18 through the roller exposure hole 98 as shown in FIG. 2. When the cassette 10 is mounted in the printing device 102, a roller drive shaft 110 of the printing device 102 described below is connected to the connecting portion 80a, and the roller 80 is driven to rotate by the roller drive shaft 110. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the fourth case member 18 is formed with a U-shaped notch 18a that corresponds to the recess wall 16c. The recess wall 16c and the notch 18a form a recess 99.

[0057] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the bottom surface of the third case member 16 when the cassette 10 is mounted in the cassette mounting portion 104 of the printing device 102. As described above, the printing tape 22 is pulled out from the printing tape roll 26 and is diagonally spanned from the first space S1 in the tape case 20 to the second space S2 in the ribbon case 21 through the through hole 52 and the through hole 58. Therefore, in FIG. 14 showing the third case member 16, the printing tape 22 is drawn from the through hole 58 at the rear of the third case member 16. As shown in FIG. 14, the printing tape 22 and the laminating tape 60 are clamped between the roller 80 and the pressure roller 118 of the printing device 102, and are pulled out from the printing tape roll 26 and the laminating tape roll 64, respectively, by the drive of the roller 80. The ink ribbon 68 is pulled out from the ink ribbon roll 72 by the drive of the take-up spool 76, and is taken up on the take-up spool 76. The printing tape 22 is shown in phantom, the laminating tape 60 in dashed lines, and the ink ribbon 68 in dashed lines.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 14, the ink ribbon 68 is discharged from the ribbon case 21 of the cassette 10 together with the printing tape 22 from the discharge port 130 formed in the ribbon case 21, i.e., the third case member 16, toward the printing location P. At the printing location P between the print head 106 and the platen roller 116, the printing tape 22 is pressed against the print head 106 via the ink ribbon 68. In this state, a plurality of heating elements arranged on the surface of the print head 106 are selectively driven to generate local heat, so that a portion of the ink 68a provided on one side of the ink ribbon 68 is transferred to the printing tape 22, and characters, symbols, etc. are printed on the printing tape 22. The used ink ribbon 68 that has passed through the printing location P is carried into the ribbon case 21 from the carry-in port 132 and taken up on the take-up spool 76. The printed surface of the printing tape 22 that has passed through the printing location P is bonded by being sandwiched between the roller 80 and the pressure roller 118 of the printing device 102 and the transparent laminating tape 60. As a result, the printing surface of the printing tape 22 is protected by the laminating tape 60 .

[0059] FIG. 15 shows a schematic diagram of a laminate of the printing tape 22 and laminating tape 60 fed out from the cassette 10. Laminating tape 60, which is made of a transparent film 60a with an adhesive 60b applied to one surface, is attached to the printable tape 22a side, i.e., the printing surface side, of the printing tape 22. This protects the ink 68a transferred to the printing surface of the printing tape 22. Note that the sizes and dimensional ratios of the members 22a-22c, 60a, 60b, 68a of the laminate depicted in FIG. 15 are not necessarily accurate.

[0060] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the bottom surface of the third case member 16. In the second space S2 between the third case member 16 and the fourth case member 18, i.e., in the ribbon case 21, the laminated tape roll 64, the ink ribbon roll 72, the take-up spool 76, and the roller 80 are arranged. As described above, the ribbon case 21 is arranged to be stacked below the tape case 20. When the print tape roll 26 and the spacer film 38 housed in the tape case 20 are projected in the vertical direction onto a projection plane extending in the front-rear and left-right directions in the second space S2, the projected positions of the print tape roll 26 and the spacer film 38 are shown by the dashed line in FIG. 16. Note that since the spacer film 38 has approximately the same diameter as the print tape roll 26, only the dashed line representing the print tape roll 26 is shown in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, the laminated tape roll 64, the ink ribbon roll 72, and the take-up spool 76 are arranged to be stacked in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26. At least a portion of the laminating tape roll 64 and at least a portion of the laminating tape spool 62 vertically overlap the printing tape roll 26. More specifically, a portion of the laminating tape roll 64 and a portion of the laminating spool 62 vertically overlap the printing tape spool 24 and the printing tape 22 wound around the printing tape spool 24, respectively.

[0061] 16, the printing tape roll 26 overlaps in the up-down direction with the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64, the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72, and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76. In other words, the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64, the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72, and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76 are located within the vertical projection plane of the printing tape roll 26. The third rotation center line C3 is also the rotation center of the supply spool 70, and the fourth rotation center line C4 is the rotation center of the take-up spool 24. A part of the laminating tape roll 64 and the laminating spool 62 overlap in the up-down direction with the printing tape roll 26 and the spacer film 38. At least a portion of the supply spool 70, at least a portion of the ink ribbon roll 72, at least a portion of the take-up spool 76, at least a portion of the ink ribbon 68 wound on the take-up spool 76, and at least a portion of the used ink ribbon 68 that has passed through the printing location P overlap in the vertical direction with the printing tape roll 26 and the spacer film 38. In other words, at least a portion of each of the laminating tape roll 64, the laminating spool 62, the supply spool 70, and the ink ribbon roll 72 is located within the projection plane of the printing tape roll 26 and the spacer film 38 in the vertical direction.

[0062] 16, the distance between the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64 and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72 is greater than the distance between the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76 and the distance between the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76. The distance between the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76 is greater than the distance between the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76.

[0063] 16, the first rotation center line C1 of the print tape roll 26 is located near the midpoint of the straight line connecting the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64 and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72. The first rotation center line C1 overlaps with the laminating tape roll 64 in the front-rear and left-right directions. That is, the rotation center of the print tape roll 26, in other words, the rotation center of the print tape spool 24 overlaps with the laminating tape roll 64 in the up-down direction. The fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76 is located on the opposite side of the straight line to the recess 99. The distance between the fourth rotation center line C4 and the first rotation center line C1 is shorter than the distance between the third rotation center line C3 and the first rotation center line C1 and shorter than the distance between the second rotation center line C2 and the first rotation center line C1.

[0064] In addition, the take-up spool 76, at least a portion of the ink ribbon 68 taken up on the take-up spool 76, and at least a portion of the ink ribbon 68 that passes through the printing location P and is positioned between the feed entrance 132 and the position where it is wound onto the take-up spool 76 overlap in the vertical direction with the printing tape roll 26, the printing tape spool 24, and the spacer film 38.

[0065] As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the outer peripheral wall of the third case member 16 constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the cassette 10. The size of the third case member 16 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is approximately equal to the size of the cassette 10 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. Therefore, the center position of the third case member 16 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction approximately coincides with the center position of the cassette 10 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. As shown in Fig. 16, in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction (orthogonal direction), the distance between the center position M, which is the center of the cassette 10 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and the first rotation center line C1 of the printing tape roll 26 is shorter than the distance between the center position M and the second rotation center line C2 of the laminating tape roll 64, the distance between the center position M and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 72, and the distance between the center position M and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76. That is, in a direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, the first rotational center line C1 is disposed at a position closer to the center of the cassette 10 than any of the second rotational center line C2 to the fourth rotational center line C4.

[0066] In addition, the diameter of the printing tape roll 26 is larger than the diameter of the laminating tape roll 64, and the size (diameter dimension d) of the printing tape roll 26 in each of the directions, that is, the front-to-back direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the left-to-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-to-back direction, is larger than half the size of the cassette 10 in each of the directions, that is, the front-to-back direction and the left-to-right direction, e.g., half the long side L.

[0067] Figure 17 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XVII-XVII of Figure 6. In the vertical direction, the distance D between one end (lower side) in the vertical direction of the printing tape roll 26 and the other end (upper side) in the vertical direction of the laminating tape roll 64 is smaller than the width dimension W1 of the laminating tape 60. Since the printing tape 22 and the laminating tape 60 have the same width dimension, the distance D is smaller than the width dimension of the printing tape roll 26.

[0068] In the front-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction, the distance from the center position M, which is the center of the cassette in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, to the first rotation center line C1, which is the rotation center of the printing tape roll 26, is smaller than the distance from the center position M to the second rotation center line C2, which is the rotation center of the bonding tape roll 64. The diameter of the printing tape roll 26 is larger than that of the bonding tape roll 64. The dimension in the front-rear direction of the convex envelope (line) H formed by connecting the outer circumferential circles of the printing tape roll 26, the take-up spool 76, and the supply spool 70 around which the ink ribbon 68 is wound, is larger than half the dimension in the front-rear direction of the third case member 16. The size in the left-right direction of the convex envelope (line) H is larger than half the dimension in the left-right direction of the third case member 16. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral wall of the third case member 16 constitutes a part of the outer peripheral wall of the cassette 10. Therefore, it can also be expressed that the dimensions of the convex envelope (line) H in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction are each larger than half the dimensions of the cassette 10 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction.

[0069] FIG. 18 shows a cassette mounting section 104 provided in a part of a printing device 102 included in a printing system 122. The cassette mounting section 104 is provided with a rectangular positioning hole 112 for positioning the inserted cassette 10, and a take-up spool drive shaft 108 and a roller drive shaft 110 erected on the bottom surface of the positioning hole 112. The positioning hole 112 functions as a housing section for housing a part of a ribbon case 21, which is the lower case of the cassette 10. The take-up spool drive shaft 108 and the roller drive shaft 110 are rotated in the same direction by a step motor (not shown) via a gear mechanism. In addition, a head holding plate 114 to which a thermal print head (thermal print head) 106 is fixed is erected on the bottom surface of the positioning hole 112 of the cassette mounting section 104, and a platen holding member 120 having a platen roller 116 and a pressure roller 118 rotatably provided at its tip end is provided rotatably around its base end. The head holding plate 114 is a metal plate made of, for example, aluminum, and also serves as a heat sink for the print head.

[0070] When the cassette 10 is mounted in the cassette mounting section 104 of the printing device 102, a take-up spool drive shaft 108 and a roller drive shaft 110 erected in the cassette mounting section 104 are connected to the take-up spool 76 and roller 80. Next, when a cover (not shown) of the printing device 102 is closed with the cassette 10 mounted in the cassette mounting section 104, the platen holding member 120 is rotated about its base end, and the platen roller 116 and the pressure roller 118 are pressed against the print head 106 and roller 80 of the cassette 10. The printing device 102 and the cassette 10 constitute a printing system 122.

[0071] The cassette 10 of this embodiment includes a printing tape roll 26 around which the printing tape 22, which is a print medium, is wound, a rotatable supply spool 70 around which the ink ribbon 68 used for printing on the printing tape 22 supplied from the printing tape roll 26 is wound, and a take-up spool 76 rotatable to take up the ink ribbon 68 supplied from the supply spool 70, the supply spool 70 and the take-up spool 76 being located on the lower side of the printing tape roll 26 in the vertical direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon 68 wound around the supply spool 70, and at least a part of the supply spool 70 and at least a part of the take-up spool 76 overlap the printing tape roll 26 in the vertical direction. As a result, the printing tape roll 26, the supply spool 70, and the take-up spool 76 are provided separately in the vertical direction, and at least a part of the supply spool 70 and at least a part of the take-up spool 76 overlap the printing tape roll 26 in the vertical direction, so that the cassette 10 can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0072] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the fourth rotation center line C4, which is the center of rotation of the take-up spool 76, overlaps in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 76 did not overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26.

[0073] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the third rotation center line C3, which is the center of rotation of the supply spool 70, overlaps in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the third rotation center line C3 of the supply spool 70 did not overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape roll.

[0074] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the print tape roll 26 is formed by winding the print tape 22 around the rotatable print tape spool 24, and at least a portion of the ink ribbon 68 taken up around the take-up spool 76 overlaps in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than in a case where at least a portion of the ink ribbon 68 taken up around the take-up spool 76 does not overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26.

[0075] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, at least a portion of the take-up spool 76 vertically overlaps with the print tape spool 24. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if at least a portion of the take-up spool 76 did not vertically overlap with the print tape spool 24.

[0076] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the print tape roll 26 is formed by winding print tape around a rotatable print tape spool 24, and in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4 which is the rotation center of the take-up spool 76 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 24 is shorter than the distance between the third rotation center line C3 which is the rotation center of the supply spool 70 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 24. As a result, the cassette 10 can be made smaller in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction than in a case where the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4 which is the rotation center of the take-up spool 76 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 24 is longer than the distance between the third rotation center line C3 which is the rotation center of the supply spool 70 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 24.

[0077] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction, the distance between the center position M, which is the center of the cassette 10 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and the first rotation center line C1, which is the rotation center of the print tape roll 26, is smaller than both the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4, which is the rotation center of the take-up spool 76, and the center position M, and the distance between the third rotation center line C3, which is the rotation center of the supply spool 70, and the center position. Since the diameter of the print tape roll 26 is larger than that of the laminated tape roll 64, a larger overlap between the print tape roll 26 and the supply spool 70 can be obtained than in a case where the distance between the center position M and the rotation center of the print tape roll 26 is not smaller than either the distance between the rotation center of the take-up spool 276 and the center position M, or the distance between the rotation center of the supply spool 270 and the center position M, and the cassette 10 can be made smaller in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0078] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the dimension of the convex envelope H defined by the outer circumferential circles of the printing tape roll 26, take-up spool 76, and ink ribbon roll 72 or supply spool 70 and the tangents thereto in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction is larger than half the dimension of the cassette 10 in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, the dimension of the convex envelope H in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction is larger than half the dimension of the cassette 10 in the left-right direction. As a result, a proportion of the space inside the cassette 10 is occupied by the printing tape roll 26, take-up spool 76, and supply spool 70, so that the cassette 10 can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0079] In addition, the cassette 10 of this embodiment comprises a tape case 20 in which the printing tape roll 62 is housed, and a ribbon case 21 located vertically below the tape case 20 and in which a supply spool 70 and a take-up spool 76 are housed, the ribbon case 21 having an outlet 130 through which the printing tape 22 supplied from the printing tape roll 62 and the ink ribbon 68 wound on the supply spool 70 are discharged from the ribbon case 21, and an inlet 132 through which the ink ribbon 68 discharged from the outlet 130 is carried into the ribbon case 21, and the ink ribbon 68 carried in from the inlet 132 is wound around the take-up spool 76. As a result, the ink ribbon 68, which is first discharged from the discharge port 130 and then brought in from the inlet 132, is wound up by the take-up spool 76, so there is no need for space to form a return path for the ink ribbon 68 within the ribbon case 221, as opposed to when the ink ribbon 68 is wound around the take-up spool 76 via a path formed within the ribbon case 21, and the cassette 10 can be made smaller in the perpendicular direction perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0080] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, a portion of the ink ribbon 68 located between the carry-in entrance 132 and the position where the ink ribbon 68 is wound around the take-up spool 76 vertically overlaps with the printing tape roll 26. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the portion of the ink ribbon located between the carry-in entrance 132 and the position where the ink ribbon 68 is wound around the take-up spool 76 does not vertically overlap with the printing tape roll 26.

[0081] Furthermore, according to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the ribbon case 21 is provided with a laminating tape roll 64 on which the laminating tape 60 to be laminated to the printing tape 22 is wound, and at least a portion of the laminating tape 60 vertically overlaps with the printing tape roll 26. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than in a case where at least a portion of the laminating tape 60 does not vertically overlap with the printing tape roll 26.

[0082] According to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the print tape roll 26 is formed by winding the print tape 22 around a rotatable print tape spool 24, and at least a portion of the laminating tape roll 64 overlaps in the vertical direction with the print tape spool 24. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if at least a portion of the laminating tape roll 64 did not overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape spool 24.

[0083] According to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the laminating tape roll 64 is configured by winding the laminating tape 60 around a rotatable laminating tape spool 62, and the center of rotation of the laminating tape spool 62 vertically overlaps with the print tape roll 26. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the center of rotation of the laminating tape spool 62 does not vertically overlap with the print tape roll 26.

[0084] According to the cassette 10 of this embodiment, the print tape roll 26 is formed by winding the print tape 22 around the rotatable print tape spool 24, and at least a portion of the lamination tape spool 62 vertically overlaps with the print tape spool 24. This allows the cassette 10 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if at least a portion of the lamination tape spool 62 did not vertically overlap with the print tape spool 24.

[0085] Moreover, the cassette 10 of this embodiment includes the printing tape roll 26 on which the printing tape 22, which is the printing medium, is wound, a rotatable supply spool 70 on which the ink ribbon 68 used for printing on the printing tape 22 is wound, a take-up spool 76 that can rotate to take up the ink ribbon 68 supplied from the supply spool 70, and a spacer film 38 that abuts against the printing tape roll 26 in the vertical direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon 68 wound on the supply spool 70, and at least a portion of the supply spool 70 and at least a portion of the take-up spool 76 vertically overlap the spacer film 38. As a result, the cassette 10 can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, compared to a case in which the spacer film 38 and the ink ribbon 68 do not vertically overlap.

[0086] [Embodiment 2] Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, parts common to the embodiments are designated by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

[0087] FIG. 19 is a perspective view of a cassette 210 according to another embodiment of the present invention, shown from the front side, i.e., from the top. In the description of this embodiment, the upper side of FIG. 19 is the front side of the cassette 210, the lower side is the rear side of the cassette 210, the right side is the left side of the cassette 210, the left side is the right side of the cassette 210, the upper left side is the upper side of the cassette 210, and the lower right side is the lower side of the cassette 210. FIG. 20 is a perspective view of the cassette 210 shown from the back side, i.e., from the bottom. The cassette 210 is generally rectangular parallelepiped-shaped, and is detachably mounted in a printer configured similarly to that shown in FIG. 18, except that the dimensions are slightly different and the roller drive shaft 110 is not provided. In the following description, the printer 102 shown in FIG. 18 is used as the printer. The cassette 210 of this embodiment is a non-laminate type that does not include the lamination tape roll 64 and the roller 80, and is therefore smaller in size than the cassette 10, which is a laminate type. FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating the internal configuration of cassette 210 with first case member 212, second case member 214, third case member 216, and fourth case member 218 of cassette 210 separated.

[0088] Cassette 210 includes a first case, i.e., tape case 220, which is composed of first case member 212 and second case member 214, and a second case, i.e., ribbon case 221, which is composed of third case member 216 and fourth case member 218. The stacking direction of first case member 212 to fourth case member 218, i.e., the up-down direction shown in Fig. 19, corresponds to the first direction in the present invention. Moreover, the front-rear direction shown in Fig. 19 corresponds to the second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and the left-right direction shown in Fig. 19 corresponds to the third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions.

[0089] The ribbon case 221 is located on one side in the up-down direction relative to the tape case 220. In this embodiment, the ribbon case 221 is located on one side in the up-down direction, that is, the lower side, relative to the tape case 220. The tape case 220 includes a print tape roll 226 around which a print tape 222, which is a print medium, is wound in a first space S1 formed inside. The ribbon case 221 includes an ink ribbon roll 272 in a second space S2 formed inside.

[0090] The ink ribbon roll 272 is configured by winding a strip-shaped ink ribbon 268 around a take-up spool 76 so that the width direction is the vertical direction. The ink ribbon 268 is used for printing on a strip-shaped print tape 222. The radial direction of the ink ribbon roll 272 is the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and the radial direction is an orthogonal direction that is perpendicular to the vertical direction. The orthogonal direction can also be said to be any direction parallel to a plane perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0091] The first case member 212, the second case member 214, the third case member 216 and the fourth case member 218 are stacked on top of each other in the vertical direction and fixed to each other by engagement between a plurality of locking claws 227 and fixing claws 228 provided between the outer circumferential walls of the case members and positioning by positioning protrusions 229, thereby constituting a cassette 210. In the second embodiment, the upper surface of each of the case members 212 to 218 is referred to as the upper surface or front surface, and the lower surface is referred to as the lower surface or back surface.

[0092] 20, a take-up spool support hole 294 that penetrates in the vertical direction is provided in the bottom surface of the fourth case member 218 of the cassette 210. Also, a recess 299 is formed in the front surfaces of the third case member 216 and the fourth case member 218, i.e., the front surface of the ribbon case 221, into which a print head 106 (described below) provided in the cassette mounting portion 104 is inserted when the cassette 210 is mounted in the cassette mounting portion 104 of the printing device 102.

[0093] FIG. 22 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the first case member 212, and FIG. 23 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the first case member 212. FIG. 24 is a front view showing the upper surface side of the second case member 214. Note that in FIG. 24, the print tape 222 pulled out from the print tape roll 226 is omitted. FIG. 25 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the second case member 214. Also, FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXVI-XXVI of FIG. 24, showing the state in which the print tape 222 is stretched from inside the tape case 220 to inside the ribbon case 221. FIG. 27 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the second case member 214, FIG. 28 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the third case member 216, and FIG. 29 is a perspective view showing the lower surface side of the third case member 216. FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing the upper surface side of the fourth case member 218, and FIG. 31 is a bottom view showing the lower surface side of the fourth case member 218.

[0094] A first space S1 is formed between the first case member 212 and the second case member 214. A print tape roll 226 is housed in the first space S1 so as to be rotatable around a first rotation center line C1 that is parallel to the up-down direction. The print tape roll 226 is configured by winding the print tape 222 around a print tape spool 224 that is a cylindrical shaft core material. The first case member 212 and the second case member 214 are rectangular, and the first rotation center line C1 is located approximately to the right of the center in the left-right direction, which is the second direction, and approximately near the center in the front-rear direction, which is the third direction, of the first case member 212 and the second case member 214.

[0095] The printing tape 222 is a print-receiving medium on which printing is performed by the print head 106. The printing tape 222 is configured, for example as shown in Fig. 34, by laminating a peeling tape 222c on the surface opposite to the printing surface of a print-receiving tape 222a via an adhesive 222b.

[0096] As shown in Figs. 21 and 23, a cylindrical first support protrusion 230 and a first circumferential wall 234 are provided on the lower surface side of the first case member 212. The first support protrusion 230 is inserted into the cylindrical print tape spool 224 to rotatably support the print tape roll 226. The first case member 212 has an outer circumferential wall 244 having a short side portion 244a and a long side portion 244b. The first circumferential wall 234 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the print tape roll 226. The first support protrusion 230 and the first circumferential wall 234 are provided to protrude downward from the lower surface side of the first case member 212 with their center line being the same as the first rotation center line C1. As shown in Figs. 24 and 25, a cylindrical second support protrusion 232 and a second circumferential wall 236 are provided on the upper surface side of the second case member 214. The second support protrusion 232 is inserted into the cylindrical print tape spool 224 and rotatably supports the print tape roll 226. The second circumferential wall 236 has an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the print tape roll 226. The second support protrusion 232 and the second circumferential wall 236 protrude upward from the upper surface side of the second case member 214 with their center line coinciding with the first rotation center line C1. The print tape roll 226 is disposed between the first case member 212 and the second case member 214 with circular spacer films 238 having approximately the same outer diameter as the outer diameter of the print tape roll 226 interposed above and below the print tape roll 226.

[0097] As shown in Figures 23 and 24, print tape gates 240, 242 are formed on the lower surface side of the first case member 212 and the upper surface side of the second case member 214 by cutting out parts of the first circumferential wall 234 and the second circumferential wall 236 in order to pull out the print tape 222 from the print tape roll 226 from a fixed position. As shown in Figures 24 and 25, a guide wall 250 is formed on the upper surface side of the second case member 214, extending leftward from the left end of the print tape gate 242 in order to guide the print tape 222 pulled out from the print tape 226 in a fixed direction. In this embodiment, the guide wall 248 is formed by part of the second circumferential wall 236.

[0098] 23, the guide wall 248 of the first case member 212 extends leftward from the print tape gate 240 and is connected to the short side 244a of the outer circumferential wall 244. As shown in FIG 24, the guide wall 250 of the second case member 214 extends leftward from the print tape gate 240 and is connected to the short side 246a of the outer circumferential wall 246.

[0099] 24, a through hole 252 is formed in the bottom plate 214a of the second case member 214, which is a third opening that is generally L-shaped in front view and extends in the front-rear and left-right directions along between the second circumferential wall 236 and the short side portion 246a and long side portion 246b of the outer circumferential wall 246. A plurality of guide ribs 254 are formed in the bottom plate 214a between the through hole 252 and a portion of the second circumferential wall 236 that faces the corners of the short side portion 246a and long side portion 246b. The plurality of guide ribs 254 guide the printing tape 222 that is unwound from the printing tape roll 226 and fed through the printing tape gates 240 and 242 into the through hole 252.

[0100] Fig. 25 shows the cassette 210 with the first case member 212 removed. As shown in Fig. 25, the printing tape 222 unwound from the printing tape roll 226 is guided into the second space S2 between the third case member 216 and the fourth case member 218 through the through hole 252. As a result, the printing tape 222 is stretched across the tape case 220 and the ribbon case 221 through the through hole 252 formed in the bottom plate 214a which functions as a plate member that divides the first space S1 and the second space S2.

[0101] As shown in FIG. 26, the print tape 222 is hung diagonally from inside the tape case 220 into inside the ribbon case 221 through the through hole 252. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 33 described later, the print tape 222 is hung up to a recess 299 of the ribbon case 221. FIG. 27 shows the lower surface side of the bottom plate 214a of the second case member 214. As shown in FIG. 27, a through hole 252 is opened on the back surface of the bottom plate 214a of the second case member 214, and a guide wall 256 is provided vertically along the through hole 252. FIG. 28 shows the upper surface side of the third case member 216. A through hole 258, an ink ribbon support hole 274, and a take-up spool support hole 278 are formed in the ceiling plate 216e of the third case member 216. The through hole 258 is formed at a position corresponding to the through hole 252 of the second case member 214 in order to pass the print tape 222 through to the second space S2. In other words, a portion of the through hole 252 and a portion of the through hole 258 overlap each other in the vertical direction.

[0102] A bottom plate 214a of the second case member 214 and a ceiling plate 216e of the third case member 216 separate a first space S1 in the tape case 220 and a second space S2 in the ribbon case 221.

[0103] The ink ribbon support hole 274 receives one end of the supply spool 270 around which the ink ribbon 268 is wound, and supports the ink ribbon roll 272 rotatably about a third rotation center line C3 parallel to the first rotation center line C1. The take-up spool support hole 278 receives one end of a take-up spool 276 that takes up the ink ribbon 268 unwound from the ink ribbon roll 272, and supports the take-up spool 276 rotatably about a fourth rotation center line C4 parallel to the first rotation center line C1.

[0104] As shown in Fig. 29, an ink ribbon roll holding wall 286 and a cylindrical protrusion 288 are formed on the bottom surface of the third case member 216. The ink ribbon roll holding wall 286 is formed in an arc shape around the take-up spool support hole 278 to determine the position of the ink ribbon 268 wound around the take-up spool 276. The cylindrical protrusion 288 protrudes downward from the periphery of the ink ribbon support hole 274, and has unevenness arranged in the circumferential direction on its tip surface. The third case member 216 also includes a short side portion 216a and a long side portion 216b as an outer peripheral wall, and a U-shaped recess wall 216c arranged to surround the recess 299.

[0105] As shown in Figure 21, a clutch spring holder 290 containing a clutch spring is interposed between one end of the supply spool 270 around which the ink ribbon 268 is wound and the tip surface of the cylindrical protrusion 288, and the clutch spring in the clutch spring holder 290 provides the ink ribbon roll 272 with an appropriate rotational resistance.

[0106] 30 and 31 show the upper and lower surfaces of the fourth case member 218. A take-up spool support hole 294, into which the other end of the take-up spool 276 is fitted to rotatably support the take-up spool 276, is formed in the fourth case member 218, penetrating the fourth case member 218 in the vertical direction. Also, a cylindrical support protrusion 297, into which the other end of the supply spool 270 is fitted to rotatably support the supply spool 270, is formed in the fourth case member 218. A connection hole 296 formed in the end face on the other end side of the take-up spool 276 is exposed to the lower surface of the fourth case member 218 through the take-up spool support hole 294, as shown in FIG. When cassette 210 is attached to printing device 102, take-up spool drive shaft 108 of printing device 102 is inserted into coupling hole 296 and coupled to take-up spool 76, and take-up spool 276 is rotationally driven by take-up spool drive shaft 108. As shown in Figures 30 and 31, fourth case member 218 is formed with a U-shaped cutout 218a corresponding to recess wall 16c. A recess 299 is formed by recess wall 216c and cutout 218a.

[0107] Fig. 32 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXXII-XXXII of Fig. 24. Between the tape case 220 and the ribbon case 221, i.e., between the bottom plate 214a of the second case member 214 and the ceiling plate 216e of the third case member 216, a third space S3 having a predetermined volume is formed.

[0108] Fig. 33 is a diagram showing the bottom surface of the third case member 216. Fig. 33 shows the paths of the printing tape 222 pulled out from the printing tape roll 226 and the ink ribbon 268 pulled out from the ink ribbon roll 272 when the cassette 210 is mounted in the cassette mounting section 104 in which the take-up spool drive shaft 108 is provided. As described above, the printing tape 222 is pulled out from the printing tape roll 226 and is hung obliquely from the first space S1 in the tape case 220 to the second space S2 in the ribbon case 221 via the through hole 252 and the through hole 258. Therefore, in Fig. 33 showing the third case member 216, the printing tape 222 is drawn from the through hole 258 at the rear of the third case member 216. The take-up spool 276, which is driven to rotate by the take-up spool drive shaft 108, takes up the ink ribbon 268, and the printing tape 222, which is clamped together with the ink ribbon 268 between the print head 106 and the platen roller 116, is pulled out from the printing tape roll 226. In Figure 33, the path of the printing tape 222 and the path of the ink ribbon 268 pulled out from the ink ribbon roll 272 by the drive of the take-up spool 276 are shown by two-dot chain lines and dashed lines, respectively.

[0109] At the printing location P between the print head 106 and the platen roller 116, the print tape 222 is pressed against the print head 106 via the ink ribbon 268. In this state, a plurality of heating elements arranged on the surface of the print head 106 are selectively driven to generate local heat, so that a portion of the ink 68a provided on one side of the ink ribbon 268 is transferred to the print tape 222, and characters, symbols, etc. are printed on the print tape 222. The ink ribbon 268 is discharged toward the printing location P together with the print tape 222 from a discharge port 300 formed in the ribbon case 221 of the cassette 210, i.e., the third case member 216. The used ink ribbon 268 that has passed through the printing location P is carried into the ribbon case 221 from a carry-in port 302 and taken up on the take-up spool 276. The discharge port 300 is provided in the ribbon case 221, which is on the lower side in the up-down direction with respect to the print tape roll 226 in the cassette 210. The entrance 302 is provided in the ribbon case 221 , which is on the lower side of the print tape roll 226 in the vertical direction in the cassette 210 .

[0110] Fig. 34 shows a schematic diagram of the laminated structure of the printing tape 222 fed out from the cassette 210. The printing tape 222 is a laminated body of a print-receiving tape 222a and a release tape 222c attached to the non-printing surface of the print-receiving tape 222a via an adhesive 222b. Ink 268a from the printing tape 222 is transferred to the printing surface of the print-receiving tape 222a. Note that the sizes and dimensional ratios of the members 222a to 222c and 268a of the laminated body shown in Fig. 34 are not necessarily accurate.

[0111] FIG. 35 is a diagram showing the bottom surface of the third case member 216. In the second space S2 between the third case member 216 and the fourth case member 218, i.e., in the ribbon case 221, the ink ribbon roll 272 and the take-up spool 276 are housed. As described above, the ribbon case 221 is arranged to be stacked below the tape case 220. When the print tape roll 226 and the spacer film 238 housed in the tape case 220 are projected in the vertical direction onto a projection plane extending in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction perpendicular to the vertical direction in the second space S2, the projection positions of the print tape roll 226 and the spacer film 238 are shown by the dashed line in FIG. 35. Note that since the spacer film 238 has approximately the same diameter as the print tape roll 226, only the dashed line representing the print tape roll 226 is shown in FIG. 35. As shown in FIG. 35, the ink ribbon roll 272 and the take-up spool 276 are arranged to be stacked in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 226. As shown in FIG. 35, the diameter of the print tape roll 226 is larger than the diameter of the ink ribbon roll 272 , which is larger than the diameter of the take-up spool 276 .

[0112] 35, the print tape roll 226 overlaps in the up-down direction with the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 272 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 276. In other words, the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 272 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 276 are located within the vertical projection plane of the print tape roll 226. The third rotation center line C3 is also the rotation center of the supply spool 270. In addition, at least a portion of the supply spool 270, at least a portion of the ink ribbon roll 272, at least a portion of the ink ribbon 268 wound around the take-up spool 276, and at least a portion of the used ink ribbon 268 that has passed through the printing location P overlap with the print tape roll 226 and the spacer film 238 in the up-down direction, i.e., the first direction.

[0113] In addition, the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 276 and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 272 is longer than the distance between the first rotation center line C1 of the print tape roll 226 and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 272. The distance between the first rotation center line C1 of the print tape roll 226 and the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 276 is shorter than the distance between the first rotation center line C1 of the print tape roll 226 and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 272, and is 1 / 3 or less. The first rotation center line C1 of the print tape roll 226 is located on the printing location P side of the straight line connecting the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 276 and the third rotation center line C3 of the ink ribbon roll 272.

[0114] 35, in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction of the cassette 210 and in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction, the distance between center position M, which is the center in the front-rear direction of the cassette 210, i.e., the middle of the depth dimension L1 and the center in the left-right direction, i.e., the center of the left-right dimension L2, and the first rotation center line C1, which is the rotation center of the printing tape roll 226, is smaller than the distance between center position M and the rotation center of the take-up spool 276, i.e., the fourth rotation center line C4, and the distance between center position M and the rotation center of the supply spool 270 around which the ink ribbon 268 is wound, i.e., the third rotation center line C3. In addition, the front-rear dimension of a convex envelope (line) H formed by connecting the outer circumferential circles of the printing tape roll 226, the take-up spool 276, and the ink ribbon roll 272 or the supply spool 270 with tangents tangent to them, is larger than half the front-rear dimension of the third case member 216. The left-right dimension of the convex envelope (line) H is greater than half the left-right dimension of the third case member 216. As shown in Fig. 19, the outer peripheral wall of the third case member 216 constitutes part of the outer peripheral wall of the cassette 210. Therefore, it can also be expressed that each of the front-rear and left-right dimensions of the convex envelope (line) H is greater than half the front-rear and left-right dimensions of the cassette 210. Note that in this embodiment, since the entire take-up spool 276 overlaps with the print tape roll 226 in the up-down direction, the convex envelope H is formed by connecting the outer peripheral circles of the print tape roll 226 and the supply spool 270 with tangents that touch them.

[0115] The cassette 210 of this embodiment comprises a printing tape roll 226 on which the printing tape 222, which is the printing medium, is wound, a rotatable supply spool 270 on which the ink ribbon 268 used for printing on the printing tape 222 supplied from the printing tape roll 226 is wound, and a take-up spool 276 which is rotatable so as to take up the ink ribbon 268 supplied from the supply spool 270, the supply spool 270 and the take-up spool 276 being located on the lower side of the printing tape roll 226 in the vertical direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon 268 wound around the supply spool 270, and at least a portion of the supply spool 270 and at least a portion of the take-up spool 276 overlap the printing tape roll 226 in the vertical direction. As a result, the printing tape roll 226, the supply spool 270, and the take-up spool 276 are arranged separately in the vertical direction, and at least a portion of the supply spool 270 and at least a portion of the take-up spool 276 overlap the printing tape roll 226 in the vertical direction, so that the cassette 210 can be made smaller in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0116] According to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, the fourth rotation center line C4, which is the center of rotation of the take-up spool 276, overlaps in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 226. This allows the cassette 210 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the fourth rotation center line C4 of the take-up spool 276 did not overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 226.

[0117] According to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, the third rotation center line C3, which is the center of rotation of the supply spool 270, vertically overlaps with the print tape roll 226. This allows the cassette 210 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the third rotation center line C3 of the supply spool 270 did not vertically overlap with the print tape roll 226.

[0118] According to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, the print tape roll 226 is formed by winding the print tape 222 around a rotatable print tape spool 224, and at least a portion of the ink ribbon 268 wound around the take-up spool 276 overlaps in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 226. This allows the cassette 210 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than in a case where at least a portion of the ink ribbon 268 wound around the take-up spool 276 does not overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 226.

[0119] According to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, at least a portion of the take-up spool 276 vertically overlaps with the print tape spool 224. This allows the cassette 210 to be made more compact in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if at least a portion of the take-up spool 276 did not vertically overlap with the print tape spool 224.

[0120] According to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, the print tape roll 226 is formed by winding the print tape 222 around a rotatable print tape spool 224, and in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4 which is the rotation center of the take-up spool 276 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 224 is shorter than the distance between the third rotation center line C3 which is the rotation center of the supply spool 270 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 224. This allows the cassette 210 to be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction than in a case where the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4 which is the rotation center of the take-up spool 276 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 224 is longer than the distance between the third rotation center line C3 which is the rotation center of the supply spool 270 and the first rotation center line C1 which is the rotation center of the print tape spool 224.

[0121] Furthermore, according to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, in the front-to-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction, and in the left-to-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-to-rear direction, the distance between the center position M, which is the center of the cassette 210 in the front-to-rear direction and the center in the left-to-right direction, and the first rotation center line C1, which is the center of rotation of the printing tape roll 226, is smaller than both the distance between the fourth rotation center line C4, which is the center of rotation of the take-up spool 276, and the center position M, and the distance between the third rotation center line C3, which is the center of rotation of the supply spool 270, and the center position. Since the diameter of the printing tape roll 226 is larger than those of the ink ribbon roll 272 and the take-up spool 276, this results in a greater overlap between the printing tape roll 226 and the supply spool 270 and take-up spool 276 than when the distance between the center position M and the center of rotation of the printing tape roll 226 is not smaller than either the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool 276 and the center position M or the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool 270 and the center position M, and enables the cassette 210 to be made smaller in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0122] Furthermore, according to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, the dimension of the convex envelope H defined by the outer circumferential circles of the printing tape roll 226, the take-up spool 276, and the ink ribbon roll 272 or the supply spool 270 and the tangents thereto in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the up-down direction is larger than half the dimension of the cassette 210 in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, the dimension of the convex envelope H in the left-right direction perpendicular to the up-down direction and the front-rear direction is larger than half the dimension of the cassette 210 in the left-right direction. As a result, a proportion of the space inside the cassette 210 is occupied by the printing tape roll 226, the take-up spool 276, and the supply spool 270, so that the cassette 210 can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0123] The cassette 210 of this embodiment includes a tape case 220 in which a printing tape roll 226 is housed, and a ribbon case 221 located on one side of a first direction relative to the tape case 220 and housing a supply spool 270 and a take-up spool 276. The ribbon case 221 includes an outlet 300 through which the printing tape 222 supplied from the printing tape roll 226 and the ink ribbon 268 wound around the supply spool 270 are discharged from the ribbon case 221, and an inlet 302 through which the ink ribbon 268 discharged from the outlet 300 is carried into the ribbon case 221. The ink ribbon 268 carried in from the inlet 302 is wound around the take-up spool 276. As a result, the ink ribbon 268, which is first discharged from the discharge port 300 and then brought in from the entrance 302, is wound up by the take-up spool 276. This eliminates the need for space to form a return path for the ink ribbon 268 within the ribbon case 221, as opposed to when the ink ribbon 268 is wound around the take-up spool 276 via a path formed within the ribbon case 221, and allows the cassette 210 to be made smaller in the perpendicular direction perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0124] According to the cassette 210 of this embodiment, a portion of the ink ribbon 268 located between the carry-in entrance 302 and the position where the ink ribbon 268 is wound around the take-up spool 276 vertically overlaps with the print tape roll 226. This allows the cassette 210 to be made smaller in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction than if the portion of the ink ribbon 268 located between the carry-in entrance 302 and the position where the ink ribbon 268 is wound around the take-up spool 276 does not vertically overlap with the print tape roll 226.

[0125] The cassette 210 of this embodiment includes a print tape roll 226 around which the print tape 222, which is the print medium, is wound, a rotatable supply spool 270 around which the ink ribbon 268 used for printing on the print tape 222 is wound, a take-up spool 276 that can rotate to take up the ink ribbon 268 supplied from the supply spool 270, and a spacer film 238 that abuts against the print tape roll 226 in the vertical direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon 268 wound around the supply spool 270, and at least a portion of the supply spool 270 and at least a portion of the take-up spool 276 vertically overlap with the spacer film 238. As a result, the cassette 210 can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, compared to a case in which the spacer film 238 and the ink ribbon 268 do not vertically overlap.

[0126] It should be noted that the above is merely one embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0127] For example, the cassette 10 in the first embodiment includes the roller 80, but may not include the roller. In addition, the print tape roll 26, 226, the laminating tape roll 64, the ink ribbon roll 72, 272, and the take-up spool 76, 276 in the above embodiment are arranged horizontally in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction, but they may not be arranged horizontally. For example, if the ink ribbon roll 72, 272 is not arranged horizontally in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction, the first direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon 68, 268, is different from the up-down direction in the above embodiment. In this case, the second direction perpendicular to the first direction, which is the width direction of the ink ribbon 68, 268, and the third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions are different from the front-rear direction and the left-right direction in the above embodiment. In addition, the transport paths of the print tape 22, the laminating tape 60, and the ink ribbon 68 are not limited to the paths shown in FIG. 14, and various paths may be appropriately adopted. For example, the ink ribbon 68 may be carried into the ribbon case 21 from the carry-in opening 132, and then pass through the left side and rear side of the laminating tape roll 64 and be wound up on the take-up spool 76. Even in this case, if at least a part of the ink ribbon 68 carried in from the carry-in opening 132 overlaps with the printing tape roll 26 in the vertical direction, the cassette can be made smaller in size in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. Similarly, the transport path of the printing tape 222 and the ink ribbon 268 is not limited to the path shown in FIG. 33, and various paths can be appropriately adopted. In addition, the arrangement of the laminating tape roll 64, the ink ribbon rolls 72, 272, and the take-up spools 76, 276 is not limited to the positions shown in the above embodiment. For example, the laminating tape roll 64 may be arranged to the right of the take-up spool 76, and the take-up spool 276 may be arranged to the right of the ink ribbon roll 272. In addition, in embodiment 1, the laminating tape roll 64, the supply spool 70, and the take-up spool 76 were all positioned so as to overlap vertically with the printing tape roll 26, but only the supply spool 70 and the take-up spool 76 may be positioned so as to overlap vertically with the printing tape roll 26.

[0128] In addition, the cassette 10, 210 in the above-mentioned embodiment is configured by stacking four case members, the first case member 12, 212, the second case member 14, 214, the third case member 16, 216, and the fourth case member 18, 218, in the vertical direction, but the cassette 10 is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in Fig. 36, the cassette 10 may be configured by stacking three case members, the first case member 12, 212, the fifth case member 501, and the fourth case member 18, 218, in the vertical direction. The fifth case member 501 has a through hole 502 that penetrates vertically corresponding to the through holes 52, 58, 252, 258 in the above-mentioned embodiment, and partitions the first space S1 and the second space S2. The fifth case member 501 may have an upper surface configured in the same shape as the upper surface of the second case member 14, 214, and a lower surface configured in the same shape as the lower surface of the third case member 16, 216. In the case of this modification, the first case member 12, 212 and the fifth case member 501 form the tape case 20, 220 having a first space S1 therein, and the fifth case member 501 and the fourth case member 18, 218 form the ribbon case 21, 221 having a second space S2 therein.

[0129] Furthermore, the print tape roll 26, 226 in the above-described embodiment is configured by winding the print tape 22, 222 around the print tape spool 24, 224, which is a cylindrical core material, but the print tape 22, 222 may not be wound around the print tape spool 24, 224, but may be wound around the first support protrusions 30, 230 and the second support protrusions 32, 232 to configure the print tape roll 26, 226. Similarly, the lamination tape 60 may be wound without being wound around the lamination spool 62, and the outer periphery of the lamination tape 60 may be defined and disposed by the lamination tape roll holding wall 84 and the arc-shaped wall 92. In addition, the print tape roll 26,226 is not limited to the dimensions shown by the dimensional ratio to the third case member 16,216 shown in FIG. 16 or FIG. 35 of the above embodiment. For example, the diameter of the print tape roll 26,226 may be large enough to contact the inside of the side wall of the tape case 20,220. In this case, when the print tape 22,222 is pulled out from the tape case 20,220 to the printing location P via the discharge opening 130,300, the print tape roll 26,226 will overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape 22,222 discharged from the discharge opening 130,300. In this case, the print tape 22,222 transported inside the ribbon case 21,221 will overlap in the vertical direction with the print tape roll 26,226 before being discharged from the discharge opening 130,300. Even if such a configuration is adopted, it is possible to reduce the size of the cassette in the orthogonal direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.

[0130] It should be noted that the above is merely an embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0131] 10, 210: Cassette 12, 212: First case member 14, 214: Second case member 16, 216: Third case member 18, 218: 4th case member 20, 220: Tape case (first case, upper case) 21, 221: Ribbon case (second case, lower case) 22, 222: Printing tape (printing medium) 22a, 222a: Printed tape 22b, 222b: adhesive 22c, 222c: peeling tape 24, 224: Printing tape spool 26, 226: Printing tape roll 27, 227: Locking claw 28, 228: Fixed claw 29, 229: Positioning protrusion 30, 230: 1st support protrusion 32, 232: 2nd support protrusion 34, 234: First circumferential wall 36, 236: Second circumferential wall 38, 238: Spacer film 40, 240: Printed tape gate 42, 242: Printed tape gate 44, 244: Outer wall of first case member 44a, 244a: Short side 46, 246: Outer wall of second case member 46a, 246a: Short side 46b, 246b: Long side 48, 248: Guide wall 50, 250: Guide wall 52, 252: Through holes 54, 254: Guide rib 56, 256: Guide wall 58, 258: Through holes 60: Laminating tape 60a: transparent film 60b: Adhesive 62: Laminated tape spool 64: Laminated tape roll 66, 266: Laminated tape roll support holes 68, 268: Ink ribbon 68a, 268a: Ink 70, 270: Supply spool 72, 272: Ink ribbon roll 74, 274: Ink ribbon support hole 76, 276: Take-up spool 78, 278: Take-up spool support hole 80, 280: Laura 80a, 280a: Connection part 82: Roller support hole 84: Laminated tape roll holding wall 86, 286: Ink ribbon roll holding wall 88, 288: Cylindrical protrusion 90, 290: Clutch spring holder 91: Anti-stick roller 92: Arc Wall 93: Support protrusion 94, 294: Take-up spool support holes 96, 296: Connection holes 98: Roller exposure hole 99, 299: recess 102:Printing device 104: Cassette mounting section 106: Print head 108: Take-up spool drive shaft 110: Roller drive shaft 112: Positioning hole 114: Head holding plate 116: Platen roller 118: Pressure roller 120: Platen holding member 122: Printing system 130, 300: Outlet 132, 302: Loading entrance S1: 1st space S2:Second space C1: First rotation center line C2: Second rotation center line C3: Third rotation center line C4: 4th rotation center line C5: 5th rotation axis

Claims

1. a printing tape roll on which a printing tape serving as a printing medium is wound; a rotatable supply spool on which an ink ribbon used for printing on the printing tape is wound; a take-up spool rotatable to take up the ink ribbon supplied from the supply spool; Equipped with the supply spool and the take-up spool are located on one side of the printing tape roll in a first direction, which is a width direction of the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool; At least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap the print tape roll in the first direction. A cassette characterized by:

2. 2. The cassette according to claim 1, wherein a rotation center of the take-up spool overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

3. 3. The cassette according to claim 1, wherein a center of rotation of the supply spool overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction.

4. The printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, 4. A cassette according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the ink ribbon wound around the take-up spool overlaps with the printing tape spool in the first direction.

5. 5. The cassette of claim 4, wherein at least a portion of the take-up spool overlaps with the print tape spool in the first direction.

6. The printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, 6. A cassette as described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to the first direction, the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the center of rotation of the printing tape spool is shorter than the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the center of rotation of the printing tape spool.

7. A cassette as described in any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, the distance between a central position that is the center of the cassette in the second direction and the center of the third direction and the center of rotation of the printing tape roll is smaller than either the distance between the center of rotation of the take-up spool and the central position or the distance between the center of rotation of the supply spool and the central position.

8. a dimension of a convex envelope defined by the printing tape roll, the take-up spool, and the supply spool in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is greater than half a dimension of the cassette in the second direction; A cassette as described in any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a dimension of the convex envelope in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction is greater than half the dimension of the cassette in the third direction.

9. a tape case in which the printing tape roll is housed; a ribbon case located in one direction relative to the tape case in the first direction and housing the supply spool and the take-up spool; Equipped with The ribbon case includes: an outlet through which the printing tape supplied from the printing tape roll and the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool are discharged from the ribbon case; an inlet through which the ink ribbon discharged from the outlet is carried into the ribbon case; Equipped with 9. The cassette according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon introduced through the inlet is wound around the take-up spool.

10. 10. The cassette according to claim 9, wherein a portion of the ink ribbon located between the entrance and a position where the ink ribbon is wound around the take-up spool overlaps with the print tape roll in the first direction.

11. the ribbon case includes a lamination tape roll around which a lamination tape to be laminated to the printing tape is wound; 11. The cassette according to claim 9 or 10, wherein at least a portion of the laminating tape roll overlaps with the printing tape roll in the first direction.

12. The printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, 12. The cassette of claim 11, wherein at least a portion of the laminating tape roll overlaps the printing tape spool in the first direction.

13. The lamination tape roll is configured by winding the lamination tape around a rotatable lamination tape spool, 13. The cassette according to claim 11, wherein a rotation center of the lamination tape spool overlaps with a rotation center of the printing tape roll in the first direction.

14. The printing tape roll is formed by winding the printing tape around a rotatable printing tape spool, 14. The cassette of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the lamination tape spool overlaps with the printing tape spool in the first direction.

15. a printing tape roll on which a printing tape serving as a printing medium is wound; a rotatable supply spool on which an ink ribbon used for printing on the printing tape is wound; a take-up spool rotatable to take up the ink ribbon supplied from the supply spool; a spacer film that contacts the printing tape roll in a first direction, which is a width direction of the ink ribbon wound around the supply spool; Equipped with At least a portion of the supply spool and at least a portion of the take-up spool overlap with the spacer film in the first direction. A cassette characterized by:

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