Ink ribbon cartridge with an elliptical take-up spool

Abstract

Dye cartridge adapted to reduce an exterior envelope of a printer and method of providing same. The printer comprises a housing having a front sidewall that has an aperture therethrough. A platen and a print head are disposed in the housing. The print head is movable from a first position spaced-apart from the platen to a second position adjacent the platen, such that the platen and the print head define a clearance therebetween when the print head is in the first position. A dye donor cartridge, which has an elongate neck portion defining a longitudinal axis therealong, is insertable through the aperture and into the housing to a position adjacent the print head. The neck portion, which is formed by a pair of spaced-apart parallel tines, is sized to be received through the clearance for interference-free insertion of the cartridge. Moreover, the cartridge includes a dye donor supply spool and also includes a dye donor take-up spool which is disposed in the neck portion. The take-up spool itself has an elliptically-shaped transverse cross section defining a major axis and is capable of being oriented such that the major axis of the take-up spool is parallel with the longitudinal axis of the neck portion during insertion of the cartridge, so that no portion of the take-up spool extends beyond the edges of the neck portion.