Patent ID: 9539837
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: B41J

Claim:
1. A tape cassette comprising; a housing having a top wall and a bottom wall, the top wall comprising a top surface, a lower surface, and a connection portion connecting the top surface and the lower surface, the bottom wall comprising a bottom surface, the lower surface being positioned between the top surface and the bottom surface in a first direction from the top surface to the bottom surface, the first direction being perpendicular to the top surface or the bottom surface, the housing having a front surface extending from the bottom surface to the top surface, the housing defining a first corner portion, a second corner portion, a third corner portion, and a fourth corner portion, wherein the fourth corner portion and the second corner portion are disposed diagonally at opposite ends of the bottom wall, and wherein the lower surface is positioned in the second corner portion; a tape housed at least partly in the housing; a roller provided in the fourth corner portion to feed the tape along a predetermined feed path; an arm portion defined by a front arm wall and a rear arm wall, the front arm wall being a section of the front surface, the rear arm wall extending from the bottom surface to the top surface and being spaced from the front arm wall in a second direction perpendicular to the front surface, the front arm wall and the rear arm wall forming an exit, the tape fed in the arm portion being fed in a feed direction toward the exit, the feed direction being generally perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction; an opening extending through the housing in the first direction, the opening being defined by the rear arm wall, a first peripheral wall, and a second peripheral wall, the first peripheral wall and the second peripheral wall extending from the bottom surface to the top surface, the rear arm wall and the first peripheral wall facing each other, the rear arm wall being disposed between the first peripheral wall and the front surface in the second direction, the second peripheral wall connecting upstream ends of the rear arm wall and the first peripheral wall in the feed direction; an ink ribbon housed at least partly in the housing, the ink ribbon to be used for printing on the tape; and a ribbon take-up spool rotatably disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall to draw out and take up the ink ribbon, a center of rotation of the ribbon take-up spool being disposed on a rear side of the opening, wherein the lower surface further includes a first portion and a second portion, the first portion being between the connection portion and a side of the second corner portion, and the second portion being between the connection portion and a rear of the second corner portion, with a space between the first portion and the second portion, wherein an intersection of the connection portion and the lower surface includes a third portion that is a part of an edge forming the space between the first portion and the second portion, wherein at least a portion of the second peripheral wall is disposed upstream in the feed direction of a virtual straight line extending in the second direction through the center of rotation of the ribbon take-up spool, and wherein the opening includes a downstream side opening and an upstream side opening that communicate with each other in the feed direction, the downstream side opening being disposed downstream of the virtual straight line in the feed direction, the upstream side opening being disposed upstream of the virtual straight line in the feed direction.