US 12,304,229 B2Granted

Tape cassette

AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsKoshiro Yamaguchi, Masato Kato, Tsuyoshi Nagae, Teruo Imamaki, Takashi Horiuchi, Akira Sago, Yasuhiro Shibata

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A tape cassette that includes a housing having a front wall and a tape feed exit located on the front wall, a tape at least partially included within the housing and configured to be fed along a tape feed path extending to the tape feed exit, and tape type indicator apertures formed on the front wall of the housing. A combination of the tape type indicator apertures forms a pattern corresponding to a type of the tape at least partially included within the housing. The tape type indicator apertures include a first tape type indicator aperture and a second tape type indicator aperture, and the tape type indicator apertures are positioned such that the first tape type indicator aperture is not aligned with the second tape type indicator aperture in a direction orthogonal to the tape feed path and parallel to the front wall.

Claims40

Dependent claims

A tape cassette comprising:

a cassette case having a first end portion and a second end portion separated from the first end portion in a first direction, and having a third end portion and a fourth end portion separated from the third end portion in a second direction;
a first spool positioned in the cassette case, the first spool positioned closer to the third end portion of the cassette case than to the fourth end portion in the second direction, the first spool positioned closer to the second end portion than to the first end portion in the first direction;
a ribbon spool positioned in the cassette case, the ribbon spool positioned closer to the fourth end portion than to the third end portion in the second direction;
and
a tape drive roller rotatable about an axis extending in a third direction, the tape drive roller configured to allow tape to be discharged from inside of the cassette case, the tape drive roller positioned closer to the first end portion of the cassette case in the first direction than to the second end portion, the tape drive roller positioned closer to the third end portion of the cassette case than the fourth end portion of the cassette in the second direction, wherein
the cassette case includes an arm positioned at the first end portion, the arm extending in the second direction, the arm having a first outer surface facing a portion of the cassette case in the first direction and a second outer surface facing away from the cassette case in the first direction, and the arm has an exit configured to allow ink ribbon to be discharged toward the tape drive roller from inside of the cassette case, wherein
the arm includes a first indicator and a second indicator arranged at the second outer surface in a predetermined pattern, a position of the first indicator is different from a position of the second indicator in the second direction and the third direction,
wherein the arm has a fifth end portion and the sixth end portion separated from the fifth end portion in the third direction, the arm further includes:
a latching hole positioned at the second outer surface, a portion of the latching hole being farther from the third end portion than the first indicator and the second indicator in the second direction, and
wherein the latching hole is positioned closer to the fifth end portion than the first indicator and the second indicator to the fifth end portion in the third direction.

7 more elements

A tape cassette comprising:

a cassette case having a first end portion and a second end portion separated from the first end portion in a first direction, and having a third end portion and a fourth end portion separated from the third end portion in a second direction;
a first spool positioned in the cassette case, the first spool positioned closer to the third end portion of the cassette case than to the fourth end portion in the second direction, the first spool positioned closer to the second end portion than to the first end portion in the first direction;
a ribbon spool positioned in the cassette case, the ribbon spool positioned closer to the fourth end portion than to the third end portion in the second direction;
and
a tape drive roller rotatable about an axis extending in a third direction, the drive roller configured to allow tape to be discharged from inside of the cassette case, the tape drive roller positioned closer to the first end portion of the cassette case in the first direction than to the second end portion, the tape drive roller positioned closer to the third end portion of the cassette case than the fourth end portion of the cassette in the second direction, wherein
the cassette case includes an arm positioned at the first end portion, the arm extending in the second direction, the arm having a first outer surface facing a portion of the cassette case in the first direction and a second outer surface facing away from the cassette case in the first direction, and the arm has an exit configured to allow ink ribbon to be discharged toward the tape drive roller from inside of the cassette case, wherein
the arm includes a first pressing portion and a first non-pressing portion both positioned at the second outer surface, the first pressing portion and first non-pressing portion spaced away from each other in the first direction,
wherein the arm has a fifth end portion and the sixth end portion separated from the fifth end portion in the third direction, the arm further includes:
a latching hole positioned at the second outer surface, a portion of the latching hole being farther from the third end portion than the first pressing portion and the first non-pressing portion in the second direction, and
wherein the latching hole is positioned closer to the fifth end portion than the first pressing portion and the first non-pressing portion to the fifth end portion in the third direction.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/677,455Filed 22 Feb 2022 · continuation
Priority: JP 2008-33163425 Dec 2008
Published: US 2022/0250400 A111 Aug 2022
Granted: 20 May 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

B41J 33/14
Apparatus or arrangements for feeding ink ribbons or like character-size impression-transfer material: ribbon-feed devices or mechanisms
B41J 2/32
Characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material: using thermal heads
B41J 3/4075
For marking on special material: tape printers; Label printers
B41J 11/009
Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in…:…

Family

Application12/644,555Parent of this division · filed 22 Dec 2009
Application13/755,174Parent of this division · filed 31 Jan 2013
US 8,382,389 B2Parent of this division · filed 26 Feb 2013
Application13/848,750Parent of this continuation · filed 22 Mar 2013
US 8,651,756 B2Parent of this division · filed 18 Feb 2014
Application14/226,373Parent of this continuation · filed 26 Mar 2014
US 9,498,997 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 22 Nov 2016
Application15/832,531Parent of this continuation · filed 5 Dec 2017
US 9,855,779 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 2 Jan 2018
Application16/782,368Parent of this continuation · filed 5 Feb 2020
US 10,661,589 B2Parent of this continuation · filed 26 May 2020
US 2022/0250400 A1Pre-grant publication · published 11 Aug 2022
US 11,285,749 B2Parent of this continuation
Application13/848,750Parent of this division
US 2010/0166480 A1Published application
US 2013/0142560 A1Published application
US 2013/0315644 A1Published application
US 2014/0205349 A1Published application
US 2018/0099517 A1Published application
US 2020/0171868 A1Published application
US 9,469,141 B2Related patent
US 12,304,229 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.