Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Casio Computer., Ltd.

Kensaku Takeuchi

Kenji Kobayashi

Kenzo Ito

Kenji Igarashi

Masayuki Ikeda

Satoshi Kimura

Kenji Suyama

Koji Deguchi

A tape cassette is set in a cassette accommodating section of a tape printer. A magnetically affixable printing tape is fed out from a holding reel along with an ink ribbon having a non-magnetic ink layer formed thereon across a cut in the tape cassette and conveyed through between a thermal head and a platen roller while being pressed by those elements. The printing tape comprises a printing layer and a magnetic layer pasted to the printing layer. The magnetic layer is magnetized such that S and N poles are alternately arranged longitudinally of the tape to thereby prevent turns of the tape roll from shifting widthwise. The magnetic layer has a coated fluorine layer formed thereon or has wrinkles formed thereon to thereby prevent blocking from occurring on a printing face of the tape due to its winding. Thus, the printing tape is conveyed in a correct attitude to enable a high quality image to be printed thereon.

Cassette containing magnetically affixable printing tape and tape printer which use the cassette

A printing tape cassette contains a printing medium tape wound around a reel and held so that its coloring layers appear outside. The coloring layers are colored in different colors at corresponding temperatures and fixed by fixing rays of different wavelengths. The cassette is a substantially square box made of a ray cutting material. The cassette is set on a printer and has a slit-like port through which the printing tape is fed out, a window which cuts the fixing rays and through which window the printing tape accommodated in the cassette is confirmable visually. The printer comprises a reel drive shaft, a platen roller, a guide plate, a tape sensor, a thermal head, a ray cutting shutter, a fixing ray irradiator and a cutter.

Tape printers and printing medium containing cassettes

A tape cassette which contains a roll of a magnetically affixable printing tape formed around a holding reel and a roll of an ink ribbon formed around a holding reel and having a non-magnetic ink layer formed on the ribbon is set in a cassette accommodating section of a tape printer. The printing tape and the ink ribbon are fed out from their holding reels within the cassette across a cut in the tape cassette and through between a thermal head and a platen roller while being pressed by those elements to thereby perform printing. The printing tape comprises a printing layer and a magnetic layer pasted to the printing layer. S and N poles which extend lengthwise of the tape are alternately arranged widthwise on the magnetic layer. Thus, two overlapping poles of any two adjacent turns of the tape have the same polarity at any peripheral position. Thus, a relatively small force is required to draw the printing tape out from the tape cassette, and stabilized conveyance of the tape and satisfactory printing are achieved.

Cassette containing magnetically affixable printing tape

Growing community of inventors

Kokubunji, Japan

Kensaku Takeuchi