Abstract: An improved platen roller is particularly suited for a thermal printing postage meter. The postage meter includes a registration wall, a print deck, a thermal print head mounted to the registration wall and extending over the deck to define a print station, a platen roller support assembly for supporting the platen roller parallel to the thermal print head and causing the platen roller to bias an envelope against the thermal print head and causing the envelope to traverse the thermal print head during a print cycle of the thermal postage meter. The platen roller is unitary in material construction of cellular urethane. The platen roller has a first and second end section, each section having a conical configuration a surface taper angle of between -2.0.degree. degrees and -3.0.degree. degrees.

Abstract: The thermal printing postage meter includes a base supporting a registration wall and a deck, and a thermal print head mounted to the registration wall above a portion of the deck to define a print station. A position sensing assembly is provided for sensing the presence of the envelope's leading edge in the print station and informing a microcontroller. A thermal tape cassette is mounted to the registration wall such that a portion of the thermal ribbon passing below the thermal print head. A platen roller assembly and position assembly are responsive to instruction from the microcontroller for causing the platen roller to assume either a position biasing the envelope against the thermal ribbon and thermal print head or a retracted position. An ejection roller assembly having position assembly is responsive to instruction from the microcontroller for causing the ejection roller to assume either a retracted position or a position biasing the ejection roller against the envelope and an ejection plate.

Abstract: A thermal ribbon cassette includes a take-up spool and a supply spool rotatively mounted in the cassette housing. The spools are aligned to respective aperture in the rear wall of the housing. The housing has a print head opening located between the supply spool and the take-up spool dividing the cassette into the respective supply side and the take-up side. The thermal ink transfer ribbon supply is wrapped around the supply spool and extending to the take-up spool. An encoder post is rotatively mounted to the rear wall to the supply side of the cassette aligned to an aperture in the rear wall. A first drag post is fixably mounted to the rear wall on the supply side of the cassette and a feed post is fixably mounted to the rear wall on the supply side of the cassette just prior to the print head opening. A drag clutch is provided for preventing the supply spool from turning in the non-feed direction and for providing a predetermined amount of drag to the supply spool.

Abstract: There is disclosed a cutting apparatus which is an improvement over co-owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,151 including a mechanism for accelerating the cutting mechanism prior to transverse severing of a traveling web; wherein an elongate knife and a cooperating rotatable knife are mounted on separate mounting members which are biased to urge the knives into cutting cooperation; wherein an electric motor is stationarily mounted and the cutting mechanism moves together with the traveling web, and the electric motor causes the rotatable knife to travel through a flexible drive connection; and wherein the rotatable knife is mounted for sliding movement on a slide mounted on a rod, with the slide having a bearing protected by and between a pair of spaced floating seals received on the rod.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher having a manually engageable handle and a hopper for holding a stack of tags, a feeder for feeding tags one-at-a-time from the stack in the hopper to an attaching position, the hopper being constructed to position the stack at an acute angle relative to the axis of the attacher, the attacher having a hollow needle and a push rod for pushing a bar section of a fastener through a tag at the attaching portion behind the needle and into and through the needle, a mechanism for feeding fasteners one-at-a-time into alignment with the needle, and an actuator disposed at the handle and operable twice to complete a cycle of operating the tag feeder, the push rod and the feeding mechanism.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher having a manually engageable handle and a hopper for holding a stack of tags, a feeder for feeding tags one-at-a-time from the stack in the hopper to an attaching position, the hopper being constructed to position the stack at an acute angle relative to the axis of the attacher, the attacher having a hollow needle and a push rod for pushing a bar section of a fastener through a tag at the attaching portion behind the needle and into and through the needle, a mechanism for feeding fasteners one-at-a-time into alignment with the needle, and an actuator disposed at the handle and operable twice to complete a cycle of operating the tag feeder, the push rod and the feeding mechanism.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher having a manually engageable handle and a hopper for holding a stack of tags, a feeder for feeding tags one-at-a-time from the stack in the hopper to an attaching position, the hopper being constructed to position the stack at an acute angle relative to the axis of the attacher, the attacher having a hollow needle and a push rod for pushing a bar section of a fastener through a tag at the attaching portion behind the needle and into and through the needle, a mechanism for feeding fasteners one-at-a-time into alignment with the needle, and an actuator disposed at the handle and operable twice to complete a cycle of operating the tag feeder, the push rod and the feeding mechanism.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher having a manually engageable handle and a hopper for holding a stack of tags, a feeder for feeding tags one-at-a-time from the stack in the hopper to an attaching position, the hopper being constructed to position the stack at an acute angle relative to the axis of the attacher, the attacher having a hollow needle and a push rod for pushing a bar section of a fastener through a tag at the attaching portion behind the needle and into and through the needle, a mechanism for feeding fasteners one-at-a-time into alignment with the needle, and an actuator disposed at the handle and operable twice to complete a cycle of operating the tag feeder, the push rod and the feeding mechanism.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher having a manually engageable handle and a hopper for holding a stack of tags, a feeder for feeding tags one-at-a-time from the stack in the hopper to an attaching position, the hopper being constructed to position the stack at an acute angle relative to the axis of the attacher, the attacher having a hollow needle and a push rod for pushing a bar section of a fastener through a tag at the attaching portion behind the needle and into and through the needle, a mechanism for feeding fasteners one-at-a-time into alignment with the needle, and an actuator disposed at the handle and operable twice to complete a cycle of operating the tag feeder, the push rod and the feeding mechanism.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher for attaching tags to merchandise and the like. The attacher includes a hopper for holding a stack of tags to be attached, a tag feeder for feeding one tag at a time into alignment with a needle at an attaching position, mechanism for advancing the needle through the tag at the attaching position, a push rod for pushing a bar of a fastener through the needle, and means for feeding fasteners one-by-one to the needle, wherein the tag feeder, the needle advancing mechanism, the push rod and the fastener feeding means operate in sequence by one-hand operation by the user.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held tag attacher having a manually engageable handle and a hopper for holding a stack of tags, a feeder for feeding tags one-at-a-time from the stack in the hopper to an attaching position, the hopper being constructed to position the stack at an acute angle relative to the axis of the attacher, the attacher having a hollow needle and a push rod for pushing a bar section of a fastener through a tag at the attaching portion behind the needle and into and through the needle, a mechanism for feeding fasteners one-at-a-time into alignment with the needle, and an actuator disposed at the handle and operable twice to complete a cycle of operating the tag feeder, the push rod and the feeding mechanism.

Abstract: There is disclosed a multi-line print head for a labeler. The print head includes a plurality of lines of printing members and a selector for each line. Each selector includes a shaft rotatable by a respective knob. The knobs are close to each other in certain axial positions. Each knob can transmit rotation and axial movements to its respective shaft. However, any knob can be shifted axially to a limited extent relative to its respective selector shaft to a position clear of any other knob. Thus, the other knob or knobs do not interfere with manual rotation of the selected knob.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held labeler which has a housing that carries a supply roll of labels. The labels can be successively dispensed in response to actuation of a manually operable actuator. The supply roll is prevented from unraveling by means of an improved retainer having a pair of arms which prevent the supply roll from telescoping. The arms have flanges which prevent the roll from excessive unwinding or mushrooming.

Abstract: A hand held portable labeler includes a housing enclosing a movable print head, and the housing has a pivotal cover section which covers the print head. A molded plastic frame is pivotally supported by the cover section and has spaced U-shaped bearing surfaces for receiving the end journals of an ink roller positioned to apply ink to the selected printing characters of the print head. The journals are confined in the bearing surfaces by spaced arms of a molded plastic retainer pivotally supported by the frame and releasably secured by a finger depressable positive latch so that the ink roller may be quickly and conveniently replaced without contacting the ink applying surface of the roller.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held labeling machine which has a housing that carries a supply roll of labels. The labels can be successively dispensed in response to actuation of a manually operable actuator. The supply roll is prevented from unraveling by means of a U-shaped retainer which is movable between a first position out of straddling relationship with the roll to enable a full label roll to be inserted into an access opening in the housing and a second position in which the retainer straddles the label roll.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held apparatus for attaching tags to merchandise. Apparatus according to the invention uses a fastener assembly having a plurality of fasteners. Each fastener has a bar section and a button or head section joined by a filament section. Each bar section is connected to a common runner or rail by a respective neck or connector. The apparatus causes one fastener at a time to be severed from the connector at the intersection of its bar section and the respective connector. The bar section of the severed fastener is pushed by a push rod through an elongated bore of a needle while the filament section passes along a side opening in the needle which communicates with the needle bore. Fastener assembly advancing means includes a toothed member and a movable member.

Abstract: There is disclosed a hand-held apparatus for attaching tags to merchandise. Apparatus according to the invention uses a fastener assembly having a plurality of fasteners. Each fastener has a bar section and a button or head section joined by a filament section. Each bar section is connected to a common runner or rail by a respective neck or connector. The apparatus causes one fastener at a time to be severed from the connector at the intersection of its bar section and the respective connector. The bar section of the severed fastener is pushed by a push rod through an elongated bore of a needle while the filament section passes along a side opening in the needle which communicates with the needle bore. Fastener assembly advancing means includes a toothed member and a movable member. A guide is provided for the movable member and a flexible resilient arm connected to the movable member exerts a force on the guide. The arm enables the movable member to deflect as it moves relative to the guide.