Other

Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Casio Computer., Ltd.

Masayuki Ikeda

Kenzo Ito

Kenji Igarashi

Kenji Kobayashi

Kensaku Takeuchi

Satoshi Kimura

Kazutami Noguchi

Kenji Suyama

Koji Deguchi

This gear speed change device is provided with an input unitin which an eccentric guide portionis formed centered about an eccentric position x, on an input shafthaving an axial center x, an internal/external gearwhich has external teethand internal teethhaving the center of rotation at the eccentric position x, and one side of which is rotatably held by the eccentric guide portion, an output unitwhich has an output shafton the axis x and on one side of which are formed internal teeththat mesh with the external teethand that are centered about the axis x, and a rotation control unitfor controlling the rotational speed of the output unit

Gear speed change device

A feature for joining gear wheels includes a disk portionand external cogsprovided to an input means, a second cylindrical guiding portionprovided on one side of an internal/external gear wheeland coaxial with a first cylindrical guiding portion, an external gear wheelrotatably fit in and attached to the input meansand having external cogshaving a same shape as the external cogsof the input meansand engaging with internal cogsof the gear wheel, and an internal gear wheelhaving the internal cogsengaging with the external cogsand the external cogs, having an annular guiding portionto be guided by the second cylindrical guiding portion, arranged in between the disk portionand the internal/external gear wheel, and revolving along with the gear wheel

Transmission device

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

An identification label is affixed on a top surface of an image forming unit which is detachably installed in a main component of an image forming apparatus. The identification label is made of a thermosensitive paper on which a trademark logo is printed. A logo reader in the main component reads a pattern of the logo mark on the identification label. A control unit compares the read logo pattern with a previously stored pattern to discriminate whether the read logo mark is genuine or not. If the identification label has the genuine logo mark, the control unit executes printing. If the identification label has an irregular logo mark, printing is abandoned and an error message is displayed. When a genuine image forming unit is exhausted, the control unit controls a heating device to apply heat to the identification label in order to wholly or partially discolor the identification label so that the logo mark is transformed to unreadable one. That unit will be regarded as an irregular one thereafter. For authorized activity for reusing such treated unit, a newly prepared genuine label is affixed to the once exhausted image forming unit after refilling toner or replacing a photoconductor drum is done.

Reusable unit displaying a specific pattern and an image forming apparatus using the reusable unit when the specific pattern is displayed and rendering the specific pattern illegible when the reusable unit is exhausted

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

Three ink storage chambers stored into a main body case of an ink cartridge is isolated from four surfaces of this main case body by way of a partition and depressing partition portions projected from this portion. Also, these ink storage chambers are isolated from a bottom portion of the main body case by a stepped portion of a lower cylindrical portion, and is arranged by forming space between a lid and the own ink chambers. Only refilling hole portions of an upper cylindrical portion are communicated with an external portion via holes of the lid. A label on which a trademark &ldquo;ABC&rdquo; is printed is attached onto the upper portions of the three refilling hole portions. A label reading apparatus is provided on the side of an ink-jet printer, and a printing operation by any ink cartridge other than the genuine-labeled in cartridge is not carried out. As a genuine ink refilling member, at least ink bottles and a label are employed as a set of such a genuine ink refilling member. The ink cannot be refilled via a hole formed in any portion of an ink cartridge, except for the refilling hole portion.

Ink-jet recording apparatus capable of limitedly using only genuine ink cartridge, ink cartridge usable in the same, and ink refilling member

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.

Growing community of inventors

Kawaguchi, Japan

Masayuki Ikeda