Tape cassette

A tape cassette detachably mountable to a printer, the printer including a latch portion, a head holder and a plurality of detecting switches, the tape cassette comprising:

• a box-like housing having a top surface, a bottom surface and a front wall, the front wall extending in a direction that is orthogonal to the top surface and the bottom surface, and connecting the top and the bottom surfaces;
• a wound tape mounted within said housing, said housing directing said tape along a path to an exit, at least a portion of said path extending parallel to said front wall, a portion of said tape being exposed;
• an ink ribbon to be used for printing on the tape, the ink ribbon being wound and mounted within the housing;
• a ribbon take-up spool rotatably supported within the housing by support holes respectively provided in the top surface and the bottom surface, the ribbon take-up spool being configured to take up the ink ribbon after printing;
• an arm portion defined by the front wall and an arm rear wall of the housing, the arm rear wall extending from the bottom surface toward the top surface and being rearwardly spaced from the front wall, the front wall and the arm rear wall forming the exit, the arm portion directing the tape between the front wall and the arm rear wall along the portion of the path to the exit;
• a head insertion portion surrounded by the arm rear wall and a peripheral wall extending continuously from the arm rear wall, the head insertion portion extending through the housing in a vertical direction in which the top surface and the bottom surface are opposed each other, the head insertion portion being configured to receive the head holder inserted therein,
• a tape guide spaced downstream of said exit whereby said exposed portion of said tape is exposed between said exit and said tape guide;
• and
• a latching hole and an indicator portion formed in said front wall proximal to said exposed portion of said tape, said latching hole being configured to receive the latch portion inserted therein, said indicator portion indicating a type of the tape and comprising a first aperture, said first aperture extending generally parallel to said top and bottom surfaces and perpendicular to said portion of said path, said first aperture being configured to receive one of the plurality of detecting switches inserted therein, wherein
• the latching hole and the first aperture are at least partly disposed downstream of an upstream end of the arm rear wall in a feed direction of the tape directed in the arm portion along the portion of the path,
• the latching hole is at least partly disposed in a specific area of the front wall, the specific area being an area whose both end positions in the feed direction are the same as both end positions of the support holes in the feed direction, and
• the first aperture is disposed downstream of the support holes in the feed direction.