Patent Publication Number: US-7712985-B2

Title: Print cassette

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application claims priority from JP 2006-092077, filed Mar. 29, 2006, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The disclosure relates to a print cassette and a lettering tape. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Conventionally, a tape printer for producing a simple lettering tape disclosed in Japanese patent application laid-open No. S63(1988)-125340, for instance, has been used to produce the lettering tape to which desired characters and the like are transferred. With regard to the produced lettering tape, the transferred surface thereof is pressed against an object and rubbed thereover, and thus the characters can be retransferred to the object. 
   However, it is necessary to hard rub the lettering tape with a tool such as a stylus (transferring pen) to retransfer the characters and the like on the transferred surface of the lettering tape to the object. 
   SUMMARY 
   The disclosure has been made in view of the above circumstances and has an object to overcome the above problems and to provide a print cassette for producing a lettering tape with which ink can be retransferred to an adherend by a light pressure of fingers and the like. 
   To achieve the purpose of the disclosure, there is provided a print cassette capable of being installed in a printer, comprising an adhesive tape, an ink ribbon and an application tape inside a cassette case, wherein the adhesive tape, the ink ribbon and the application tape are wound respectively inside the cassette case, and the application tape comprises a printing surface to which ink of the ink ribbon is thermally transferred, and the adhesive tape comprises a release sheet and a adhesive layer, and the adhesive layer is formed with an adhesive coating a first side of the release sheet, and the adhesive is capable of being removed from the release sheet, but incapable of being removed from the application tape and the ink while the first side of the release sheet is adhered to the printing surface of the application tape to which the ink of the ink ribbon has been thermally transferred with the adhesive. 
   According to another aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a lettering tape comprising an adhesive tape and an application tape, wherein the application tape comprises a printing surface to which ink can be thermally transferred, and the adhesive tape comprises a release sheet and an adhesive layer, and the adhesive layer is formed with an adhesive coating a first side of the release sheet, and the lettering tape is composed of the application tape to which the ink has been thermally transferred and the release sheet of which the first side is stuck to the printing surface of the application tape with the adhesive, and the adhesive is capable of being removed from the release sheet, but incapable of being removed from the application tape and the ink. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a sectional view of a lettering tape taken along a line A-A in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a print cassette; 
       FIG. 3  is a plan view of the print cassette, from which an upper cassette case is removed; 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a process in which an adhesive tape, an application tape and an ink ribbon are guided on a lower cassette case; 
       FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the lettering tape when ink thereon is retransferred to an adherend; 
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the lettering tape when the ink thereon is retransferred to the adherend; 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view of the lettering tape when the ink thereon is retransferred to the adherend; 
       FIG. 8  shows how to use the lettering tape; 
       FIG. 9  shows the application tape which is removed from the adherend; 
       FIG. 10  is a plan view showing a lettering tape of another exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 11  is a plan view showing a lettering tape of another exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 12  is a plan view showing a lettering tape of another exemplary embodiment; 
       FIG. 13  is a plan view showing a lettering tape of another exemplary embodiment; and 
       FIG. 14  is a perspective view showing a lettering tape of another exemplary embodiment. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   A detailed description of an exemplary embodiment of a print cassette of the disclosure will now be given referring to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a print cassette. As shown in  FIG. 2 , a print cassette  1  of the exemplary embodiment comprises an upper cassette case  2  and a lower cassette case  3 . A lettering tape  5  is discharged from the print cassette  1  through a tape discharging port  4 . It is noted that a reference numeral  6  indicates an ink ribbon. 
     FIG. 3  is a plan view of the print cassette  1  from which the upper cassette case  2  (see  FIG. 2 ) is removed. As shown in  FIG. 3 , a tape spool  12  on which an adhesive tape  11  is wound, a film spool  14  on which an application tape  13  is wound, a ribbon supply spool  15  on which the ink ribbon  6  is wound, and a ribbon take-up spool  16  are provided on the lower cassette case  3  of the print cassette  1 , being rotatable with cooperation of respective spool support members (not shown) formed on the upper cassette case  2  (see  FIG. 2 ). 
   The application tape  13  includes a film tape made of a urethane sheet. An inside surface of the application tape  13  wound on the film spool  14  will be a printing surface. Therefore, the application tape  13  wound on the film spool  14  is guided to an arm part  19  formed on the lower cassette case  3 , via a guide pin  17  provided on the lower cassette case  3  in an upright position and a rotatable guide roller  18 . The application tape  13  is further guided out of the arm part  19 , being exposed outside a thermal head attachment space  20 . After that, the application tape  13  is discharged from the tape cassette  1  through the tape discharging port  4 , via a guide member  21  and a feed roller  22 . 
   The ink ribbon  6  is wound on the ribbon supply spool  15  with an ink-coated surface facing in an inward direction. The ink ribbon  6  wound on the ribbon supply spool  15  in this way is exposed out of the arm part  19  outside the thermal head attachment space  20 . The ink ribbon  6  is further guided while the ink-coated surface and the printing surface of the application tape  13  are overlapped each other. After that, the ink ribbon  6  is guided along an exterior of the guide member  21 , thereby getting separated from the printing surface of the application tape  13 . Finally, the ink ribbon  6  is taken up by the ribbon take-up spool  16 . 
   The adhesive tape  11  has an adhesive layer coating a release sheet. The adhesive tape  11  is wound on the tape spool  12  with the release sheet side outside. The adhesive tape  11  wound on the tape spool  12  in this way is guided by the feed roller  22  while the adhesive-coated surface of the adhesive layer and the printing surface of the application tape  13  are overlapped each other. As a result, the adhesive tape  11  is adhered to the application tape  13 , and discharged outside the print cassette  1  through the tape discharging port  4 . 
   Accordingly, the lettering tape  5 , which is composed of the application tape  13  and the adhesive tape  11 , is discharged from the print cassette  1  through the tape discharging port  4 .  FIG. 4  is a schematic view showing a process of the adhesive tape  11 , the application tape  13  and the ink ribbon  6  being guided on the lower cassette case  3  as described above. 
     FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of the lettering tape  5  taken along a line A-A shown in  FIG. 3 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the lettering tape  5  is composed of the application tape  13  and the adhesive tape  11 . The adhesive tape  11  comprises an adhesive layer  33  coating a release sheet  34 . A printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  to which ink  41  is thermally transferred from the ink ribbon  6 . The printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  with the ink  41  and the adhesive layer  33  are overlapped each other, so that the application tape  13  is stuck to the adhesive tape  11  to compose the lettering tape  5 . 
   Further, the lettering tape  5 , from which the release sheet  34  is removed so that the adhesive layer  33  is exposed, can be adhered to an adherend. Next, as shown in  FIG. 5 , a whole surface of the application tape  13  is pressed by a finger  71  over a top surface  13 B of the application tape  13  toward an adherend  61 , so that not only the ink  41  on the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  but also the printing surface  13 A is strictly adhered to the adhesive layer  33  on the adherend  61 . After that, the application tape  13  is slowly removed, and then as shown in  FIG. 6 , only the adhesive between the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  and the adherend  61  out of the adhesive forming the adhesive layer  33  is removed from the adherend  61  with the application tape  13 . As a result of this, as shown in  FIG. 7 , only the adhesive between the ink  41  and the adherend  61  out of the adhesive forming the adhesive layer  33  remains on the adherend  61 . Thus, the ink  41  which is thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  can be retransferred to the adherend  61 . 
   In order that the ink  41  on the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  is retransferred to the adherend  61  as described above, the adhesive making up the adhesive layer  33  includes an adhesive composition made of aqueous acrylate dispersions as main material, for instance, an adhesive corresponding to Primal PS83D by identification: Rohm &amp; Haas, Germany. With this adhesive, even in the case where the adherend  61  is made of resin or glass, the lettering tape  5  can be adhered thereto, so that the ink  41  thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  can be retransferred to the adherend  61 . 
   Incidentally, the print cassette  1  is set in a cassette mount of a tape printer (not shown) to produce the lettering tape  5 . In the cassette mount of the tape printer, there is provided a cutter device (not shown) having a cutter to cut the lettering tape  5  discharged from the print cassette  1  through the tape discharging port  4 . The structures of the print cassette  1  as explained with reference to  FIG. 2  and other figures and the tape printer in which the print cassette  1  is installed to produce the lettering tape  5  have been publicly known as well as the structures of a conventional tape printer to print characters and the like on a print tape and a conventional tape cassette installed therein and storing the print tape, so the detailed explanation of the process for producing the lettering tape  5  with the print cassette  1  and the tape printer is omitted. 
   Next, the way of using the lettering tape  5  will be explained with reference to  FIG. 8 . The lettering tape  5  is discharged from the print cassette  1  through the tape discharging port  4  of this exemplary embodiment, the print cassette  1  being set in the cassette mount of the tape printer (not shown). The lettering tape  5  is cut with the cutter device of the tape printer (not shown) to be a strip-formed lettering tape  5  composed of the adhesive tape  11  (the adhesive layer  33  and the release sheet  34 ) and the application tape  13  as shown in  FIG. 8(   a ). As shown in  FIG. 8(   b ), the release sheet  34  of the adhesive tape  11  is removed, so that the adhesive layer  33  of the adhesive tape  11  is exposed. Further, the adhesive layer  33  of the adhesive tape  11  is stuck to the adherend  61  as shown in  FIG. 8(   c ). 
   The whole surface of the application tape  13  is pressed by fingers and the like, and then slowly removed from the adherend  61  as shown in  FIG. 8(   d ). Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 8(   e ), the ink  41  is stuck to the adherend  61  with the adhesive layer  33 . The ink  41  has been thermally transferred from the ink ribbon  6  (see  FIG. 3  and other figures) to the printing surface  13 A (see  FIG. 1  and other figures) of the application tape  13  with the tape printer (not shown). 
   It is noted that the adhesive layer  33  is still stuck to the application tape  13  which has been removed from the adherend  61  as shown in  FIG. 9 . Herein, the adhesive layer  33  stuck to the application tape  13  is formed with a concave part  81  where the printing surface  13 A (see  FIG. 1  and other figures) of the application tape  13  is exposed. The concave part  81  is formed since the ink  41  thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A (see  FIG. 1  and other figures) of the application tape  13  is stuck to the adherend  61 , thereby hollowing the adhesive layer  33 . 
   As described in detail above, the print cassette  1  of the exemplary embodiment is set in the cassette mount of the tape printer (not shown) to produce the lettering tape  5  which is discharged from the tape printer (not shown). 
   The lettering tape  5  discharged from the printer (not shown) is cut by the cutter device of the tape printer (not shown), and then the release sheet  34  is removed from the adhesive tape  11  stuck to the application tape  13 , thereby exposing the adhesive layer  33  (see  FIG. 8(   b )). The exposed adhesive layer  33  is stuck to the adherend  61 , and then the whole top surface  13 B of the application tape  13  is pressed by the finger  71  and the like toward the adherend  61 , so that not only the ink  41  thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  but also the printing surface  13 A is strictly adhered to the adhesive layer  33  on the adherend  61  ( FIGS. 5 ,  8 C). After that, the application tape  13  is slowly removed from the adhesive tape  11  ( FIG. 8(   d )), and then only the adhesive between the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  and the adherend  61  out of the adhesive layer  33  is removed from the adherend  61  with the application tape  13  as shown in  FIG. 6 . On the other hand, only the adhesive between the ink  41  thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  and the adherend  61  out of the adhesive layer  33  remains on the adherend  61  (see  FIG. 8(   e )). Thus, the ink  41  which is thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A of the application tape  13  can be retransferred to the adherend  61 . 
   Accordingly, the print cassette  1  of the exemplary embodiment being set in the cassette mount of the tape printer (not shown) can produce the lettering tape  5  which can be retransferred to the adherend  61  by the pressure of the finger  71  and the like. 
   Especially, the lettering tape  5  is stuck to the adherend  61  with the adhesive of the adhesive layer  33  not including the base material, thereby being able to be stuck to a curved surface and the like of the adherend  61 . 
   The disclosure may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. 
   For instance, the print cassette  1  of this exemplary embodiment may be provided with multiple types of the ink ribbons  6  in different colors so that the print cassette  1  of the ink ribbon  6  in the desired color is selectively installed in the cassette mount of the tape printer (not shown). Thus, the lettering tape  5  can be produced with the ink of the desired color thermally transferred thereto. 
   Further, with regard to the lettering tape  5  which is produced in the tape printer (not shown) by using the print cassette  1  of this exemplary embodiment, for instance, the application tape  13  may have a width wider than that of the adhesive tape  11  as shown in  FIG. 10 . Alternatively, the application tape  13  may have a width narrower than that of the adhesive tape  11 , as shown in a plan view of  FIG. 12 . In this case, the adhesive layer  33  of the adhesive tape  11  may be narrower than the application tape  13  as shown in a plan view of  FIG. 11 . In both cases, the application tape  13  and (the release sheet  34  of) the adhesive tape  11  are different in width, which makes it easy to distinguish them and also to unstuck the application tape  13  and the adhesive tape  11 . 
   As shown in a plan view of  FIG. 13 , even in the lettering tape  5  having the application tape  13  as wide as the adhesive tape  11 , the presence of the application tape  13  can be emphasized with prints such as characters and patterns representing the application tape  13  preliminarily printed on the top surface  13 B (see  FIG. 5 ) of the application tape  13 , thereby facilitating a work to unstuck the application tape  13 . In addition, if the top and bottom of the lettering tape  5  can be distinguished by the characters and patterns preliminarily printed on the application tape  13 , the lettering tape  5  is allowed to adhered readily to the adherend  61  (see  FIG. 8  and other figures). 
   Accordingly, this disclosure having the characteristic like this is the print cassette disclosed in any one of claims  1  to  20 , having the prints preliminarily performed on the application tape. 
   Further, as shown in a perspective view of  FIG. 14 , the lettering tape  5  having the adhesive tape  11  where a half cut S 1  is preliminarily provided on the release sheet  34  can offer the convenience when the release sheet  34  of the adhesive tape  11  is removed. 
   In the lettering tape  5 , which is produced in the tape printer (not shown) by using the print cassette  1  of this exemplary embodiment, the application tape  13  may be a transparent and colorless tape or a colored and transparent tape. In the case of the transparent and colorless application tape  13 , this allows the ink  41  thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A (see  FIG. 1 ) of the application tape  13  to be visually identified therethrough, so that the top and bottom of the lettering tape  5  can be distinguished easily, thereby facilitating a work to stick the lettering tape  5  to the adherend  61 . On the other hand, the colored and transparent application tape  13  allows not only the ink  41  thermally transferred to the printing surface  13 A (see  FIG. 1 ) of the application tape  13  but also the presence of the application tape  13  itself to be identified visually. This can facilitate a work to stick the lettering tape  5  to the adherend  61  and a work to unstick the application tape  13 . 
   While the presently exemplary embodiment has been shown and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of illustration and that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the appended claims.