Sony Corporation

Hosiden Electronics Co., Ltd.

Yoshinori Yamane

Katsuhisa Ono

Katsutoshi Amano

Tadayoshi Ezure

A simple and lightweight torque clutch apparatus capable of freely changing a torque and a printer apparatus capable of tension controlling of ink ribbon in a simplified structure are proposed. A torque clutch apparatus includes a shaft, a first gear rotatably fitted to the shaft, first and second sandwiching members fitted to the shaft so as to sandwich the first gear therebetween and to rotate integrally with the shaft, a second gear rotatably screwed on the shaft, and a spring arranged between the second gear and the first or second sandwiching member opposing the second gear. A printer apparatus includes first torque-generating means for generating a variable load torque to a feed reel of ink ribbon, second torque-generating means for generating a variable rotational torque to a winding reel, and controlling means for controlling the first and/or second torque-generating means so as to generate the load torque or rotational torque corresponding to the diameter of the roll of ink ribbon wound on the feed reel and/or winding reel.

Torque clutch apparatus and printer apparatus

Female contacts are fixedly held in insertion channels formed in a body of a connector socket. A conductive plate is disposed on a front face of the body in contact therewith. In the conductive plate are formed small holes of a diameter slightly greater than that of conductive pins of a plug, in opposing relation to the insertion holes. The conductive plate has an integral grounding terminal. The arrangement is such that, when the plug pins are inserted into the holes of the conductive plate, as the plug pins are being inserted into the female contacts of the socket, any electrostatic charge on the pins is discharged to ground via the conductive plate and grounding terminal rather than being discharged from the pins to the socket contacts.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Yoshinori Yamane