US 5,730,536 AGranted

Tape printer having platen moving mechanism and mechanism for interlocking platen and tape feed roller with movement of cover

AssigneeBrother Kagyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorKoshiro Yamaguchi

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Abstract

A tape printer capable of performing multicolor printing and permitting an already printed tape to be rewound for printing two line character trains, bold printing and adding ornamental frames beside the first printed character train. The tape printer installs therein a tape cassette in which is housed a print tape and an ink ribbon formed with different colored ink portions at a set pitch in the lengthwise direction of the print tape. An ink ribbon take up mechanism is provided for taking up ink ribbon that passes between a platen and a print element provided external to the cassette. Tape transport mechanism is provided for transporting the print tape. The tape printer is constructed so that ink ribbon and the print tape are transportable in a forward direction for printing, and the ribbon take up mechanism stops and the platen is movable away from the printing section when the tape transport mechanism reversely transports the print tape.

Claims21

Dependent claims

A tape cassette for use in a tape printer, the tape printer including a tape transport mechanism for transporting a tape in a forward direction and a reverse direction, the tape transport mechanism having a drive source and a drive cam, a tape cassette receiving portion for receiving the tape cassette, the drive cam being positioned in the tape cassette receiving portion, and a print controller controlling printing operation to print an image on the tape, the drive cam including a central shaft portion and a plurality of protrusions radially outwardly projecting from the central shaft portion, the drive source including a reversible drive motor rotatable in a normal direction for providing the tape transport in the forward direction and in a reverse direction for providing the tape transport in the reverse direction, the drive cam being drivingly connected to the reversible drive motor only when the reversible drive motor is rotated in the reverse direction;

the tape cassette comprising:
a tape cassette case having a tape outlet port;
a ribbon and a ribbon spool, said ribbon being mounted on said ribbon spool;
a tape spool rotatably supported on the tape cassette case for windingly holding the tape, the tape being discharged outside through the outlet port when the tape is transported in the forward direction for printing an image on the tape, the tape spool having an inner peripheral surface provided with an engaging member interlockingly engageable with the drive cam at least when the tape is fed in the reverse direction, said engaging member driving said tape spool in the reverse direction so said tape is taken up by said tape spool when said engaging member is rotated in the reverse direction by the drive cam.

1 more element

A tape printer for forming an image on a tape, the tape being wound over a tape spool, the printer comprising:

a tape transport mechanism transporting the tape in a forward direction for printing an image on the tape and a reverse direction rewinding the tape over the tape spool, the tape transport mechanism having a drive source drivingly rotatable in a normal and a reverse direction, a power transmission mechanism connected to the drive source, and a first drive cam drivingly engageable with the tape spool when the drive source is rotated in the reverse direction, said first drive cam transporting the tape in the reverse direction wherein the tape spool winding thereon the tape is rotatably supported in a tape cassette;
and
a print controller controlling printing operation to print the image on the tape.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.