US 11,850,873 B2
Ribbon transport mechanism and tape printing apparatus
Shinsaku Kosuge, Matsumoto (JP)
Assigned to SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Mar. 18, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/823,102.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-051758 (JP), filed on Mar. 19, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0298604 A1, Sep. 24, 2020
Int. Cl. B41J 33/22 (2006.01); B41J 32/00 (2006.01); B41J 3/407 (2006.01); B41J 2/325 (2006.01); B41J 33/14 (2006.01)
CPC B41J 33/22 (2013.01) [B41J 2/325 (2013.01); B41J 3/4075 (2013.01); B41J 32/00 (2013.01); B41J 33/14 (2013.01)] 11 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A ribbon transport mechanism provided in a tape printing apparatus, comprising:
a paying out rotor configured to engage a paying out core of a cartridge, wherein an ink ribbon is wound around the paying out core;
a winding rotor configured to engage a winding core that winds the ink ribbon paid out from the paying out core;
a transport motor that generates rotational power; and
a transport gear train that transmits the rotational power from the transport motor to the paying out rotor,
the transport gear train including:
an input gear that receives the rotational power from the transport motor;
an intermediate gear that engages with the input gear, receives the rotational power from the transport motor via the input gear, and transmits the received rotational power to the paying out rotor by engaging with another gear of the transport gear train;
a clutch mechanism that, when the cartridge is attached, suppresses the input gear from rotating in a first input direction and the intermediate gear from rotating in a first intermediate direction and permits the input gear to rotate in a second input direction and the intermediate gear to rotate in a second intermediate direction, the second input direction being opposite to the first input direction, the second intermediate direction being opposite to the first intermediate direction; and
an elastic member that applies force to the intermediate gear in the second intermediate direction to reserve a clearance between the input gear and the intermediate gear and next to a front end of the intermediate gear in the first intermediate direction, wherein
the input gear and the intermediate gear share a common axis and are rotatable relative to one another in a limited amount corresponding to the clearance.