Abstract: A thermal printer has a thermal head for image recording to a thermosensitive recording sheet while applying pressure to the recording sheet. A plate-shaped platen supports the recording sheet during the pressure application of the thermal head to the recording sheet. The platen includes first, second and third plates serially laid on one another and secured to one another. The first plate is rigid. The second plate is resilient. The third plate has higher rigidity than the second plate, and has a smooth surface contacting the recording sheet.

Abstract: A vacuum platen and method for use thereof in a printing device are disclosed. An apparatus embodiment includes a first surface having a plurality of first apertures therethrough, a labyrinth configured to include a plurality of passageways each of which is fluidly coupled to at least one of the first apertures, and a second surface having a plurality of second apertures therethrough each of which is fluidly coupled to the vacuum source and at least one of the passageways thereby establishing an airflow from the first apertures, through the passageways, and out the second apertures. The vacuum platen also includes at least one receptacle in each of the passageways, each receptacle configured to collect debris from the airflow as it travels through the labyrinth.

Abstract: A wide format thermal printer for printing a multicolor graphic product on a printing sheet; a vacuum workbed for supporting a sheet material for performing work operations, such as cutting, printing or plotting, thereon; a replaceable donor sheet assembly, which includes a memory, for use with a thermal printer; methods and apparatus for improved thermal printing, including methods and apparatus for conserving donor sheet and reducing the amount of time required to print a multicolor graphic product; a thermal printhead including a memory; methods and apparatus for the alignment of a sheet material for printing or performing other work operations on the sheet material; and methods and apparatus for controlling the tension of the donor sheet during printing with a wide format thermal printer. The wide format thermal printer can include provision for the automatic loading of cassettes of donor sheet from a cassette storage rack.

Abstract: To avoid the effects of unwanted variations in the pen-to-paper spacing of a printer, deliberate and effectively randomised variations are introduced by using paper drive rollers (20) with an irregular cross-section. In one embodiment, an overdrive roller comprises rollers (23-26) the surfaces of which incorporate flattened portions (27, 28) of differing widths and spacings. The number, size and/or spacing of the portions (27, 28) differ from roller to roller. Instead or in addition, variations may be incorporated into a pinch wheel (101), platen (15) or other component of the paper drive system.

Abstract: An apparatus and method technique to secure smooth transporting of a recording medium in a printing device. A gap between the print head and the platen is included in a transport path for another purpose, e.g., reading of magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) characters on the recording medium, through use of a platen which is rotatable between two positions: a support position and a guide position. The gap adjacent the platen is minimized in the guide position.

Abstract: A printing assembly for use with a printing device as provided. The printing assembly includes an adjustable platen assembly including a platen having a jack member constructed and arranged to adjustably maintain the platen in parallel relation to a print head when the print head is in a first position, so as to prevent deformities in the printed image as an article passes through the printing assembly.

Abstract: Disclosed are printers capable of easy and precise head gap adjustment. In the printer, a cam mechanism 61 consisting of a fixed cam 62 and a rotatable cam 63 put between each end of a platen 10 and a swing frame 4. The platen 10 is normally biased to the swing frame 4 by a torsion coil spring 14. A driving gear 64 rotatably supported on the swing frame 4 is engaged with a driven gear 63a formed on the rotatable cam 63. The driving gear 64 is rotated by an operating tool 66 inserted from above, whereby the rotatable cam 63 is rotated by gear drive. In accordance with the rotation of the rotatable cam 63, the platen 10 vertically moves with the fixed cam 62, whereby head gap with respect to a printing head is adjusted. The driving gear 64 can be unrotatable by securing a screw 65 as a rotatable axis thereof by operation from above, whereby the platen 10 is secured.

Abstract: A self-adjusting printing assembly for accommodating generally planar media of differing thickness comprising a printing head for placement of indicia on said media, a guide assembly positioned adjacent said printing head for guiding said media to said printing head. The guide assembly includes a planar platen for continuously supporting one surface of said planar media and a planar shield member fixedly supported with respect to said platen for continuously supporting said surface of said planar media. The assembly also includes means for movably mounting said platen with respect to said shield for movement in a direction toward and away from said planar shield while maintaining said planar platen generally parallel to said shield for accommodating said media of differing thickness, and a drive means for urging said media through said guide assembly and towards said printing head.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus having a recording section for recording an image on a thermosensitive sheet paid out from a roller with a record head and a platen roller, and a reading section for reading a document with a scanner and a conveyor roller. The apparatus holds the head, presses the head against a platen roller, and has a conveyor roller mounted to the recording section, each in a unique configuration so as to reduce the number of parts and facilitate assembly.

Abstract: In the present invention, the platen bar is compositely formed of three materials. For a sole layer, a material is used which has high hardness and strength, and has a property that the repulsion against the impact of the print wires is large. For an elastic layer, a material is used which transmits less vibration to the platen base in the print operation and absorbs the impact when the wires of a printhead strike the sole layer. For platen bases, a material is used which has a very high hardness, a high molding precision, and less dimensional change due to temperature change or change with time. The elastic layer is exposed on the surface and a gap roller is positioned at the exposure location. With this, the occurrence of the dent by the gap roller can be prevented when the printing on a copy form is performed.

Abstract: A printer system and method for sealing a printer system within a housing by moving a back-up plate toward a print head access opening of the housing and into engagement with a first perimeter thereof to sealingly close the housing, whereby the printer system is sealingly enclosable within the housing when not printing. The printer system includes a main plate assembly supporting a print head removably mountable in an opening of the housing, and matably engageable with at least a portion thereof to form a seal therebetween, and a cassette assembly mountable onto the main plate assembly and matably engagable with a cassette access opening of the housing to form a seal therebetween. A back-up plate is adjustably alignable relative to a print head by moving it into engagement with a print head access opening of a housing, fixing the alignment thereof, and then moving the aligned back-up plate away from the housing for printing operations.

Abstract: An improved thermal printing apparatus having a frame for supporting an elongate thermal print head extending opposite to an elongate print roller. The thermal print head being responsive to a microcontroller for printing on an article positioned between the thermal print head and the print roller. The improvement comprises: a drive housing pivotally mounted to the frame, the print roller rotatively mounted to the drive housing, an eject roller rotatively mounted to the drive housing parallel to the print roller, backing means located opposite the eject roller, means responsive to said microcontroller for causing said drive housing to pivotally displace to a first position biasing the print roller in the direction of the thermal print head and against the article for printing, and for causing the drive housing to pivotally displace to a second position biasing the eject roller in the direction of the backing means and against the article when the microcontroller has completed printing.

Abstract: A tape printing apparatus has a main body, a print device mounted on the main body, and a tape wound body being rotatably supported on the main body. The tape wound body has an annular core member, and a print tape wound on the annular core member. The print tape includes a tape base material including a print surface, and an adhesive layer being exposed to a surface opposite to the print surface of said tape base material. The print device prints data on the print surface of the print tape wound on the tape wound body. The print device contacts an outermost print surface of the print tape. The main body includes a bias device for urging the tape wound body toward the print device, a tape feeder for rotating the tape wound body in contact with an outer circumferential surface of the tape wound body, and a tape separator for separating the print tape by peeling off the print tape in a wound state.

Abstract: A printer assembly that can handle media of different width and thicknesses has a pivotable platen with a lower body portion and a curved upper portion which extends from the lower portion. The curved portion is pivoted forward to contact the carrier material. A wound torsion spring, with one end held against a stop and the other end free to move the platen, is utilized to urge the platen in a forward direction to contact the carrier strip. The spring pressure is sufficient to keep the platen from being moved by the force of printing elements striking the material to be printed on. The assembly is also provided with spring-mounted edge guides for handling different widths of printing media to be fed through the printer assembly.

Abstract: The platen roller assembly is particularly suited for a thermal printing postage meter having a base supporting a registration wall and a deck, and a thermal print head fixably mounted to said registration wall above a portion of said deck to define a print station. A linking assembly is mounted in the base for rotatively supporting a platen roller in a home position below said deck when an envelope is to be received at said print station and biasing said platen in a second position above said deck in the direction of said thermal print head through an aperture in said deck during a print cycle. An ejection plate fixably mounted to said registration wall above said deck longitudinally in line with said thermal print head.

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: An ink jet printer includes a platen having a planar surface sized to hold a sheet upon which an image is to be printed flat on the planar surface. The platen is movably mounted for linear reciprocal movement between a sheet receiving position and a sheet releasing position. In operation, a sheet is fed onto or otherwise acquired on the platen. The sheet can be held on the platen by a holddown force such as by vacuum or electrostatic attraction. The platen moves a sheet held thereon across a full width printhead located between the two positions to print an image on the sheet. Sheets are released from the platen at the sheet releasing position which may include an output tray. After the sheet is released from the platen, the platen is reciprocated back to the receiving position to accept another sheet.

Abstract: A thermal printer of the present invention includes a platen for pressing a thermal head onto a print sheet through a print ribbon at the time of printing, the head is fixed, and a device for resiliently pressing the platen and the head and a device for switching the operation of applying or releasing a pressure between the platen and the head are provided on the platen side.

Abstract: A thermal transfer recording apparatus wherein printing on record paper is performed with the record paper fixed on a platen roller is constituted such that, when the record paper is to be fixed, transmission of power to the platen roller is interrupted and the platen roller is fixedly held at a predetermined position, which enables realization of a transporting system for a transport system of a thermal transfer recording apparatus of the record paper fixing type which system includes a single motor therein.

Abstract: A line-type thermal printing apparatus includes a thermal head for recording on a sheet whose thickness is even in the feeding direction thereof and uneven in the print line direction. The apparatus also includes a platen having a platen body portion that rotates integrally with a platen shaft and that feeds the sheet by pinching a part of the sheet between the thermal head and the platen body portion, and separate platen portion that face other parts of the sheet which have thicknesses different from that of the part of the sheet pinched between the thermal head and the platen body portion. The separate platen portions have center holes that are dimensioned to loosely fit the platen shaft. Urging mechanisms are provided for urging the separate platen portions so as to press the other parts of the sheet against the thermal head. For example, a part of a sheet is located opposite to the platen body portion and the other parts of the sheet are located opposite to the separate platen portions.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus composed of a print head of the on-demand type for ejecting an ink droplet according to print data and a platen having a flat section opposed to the head and extending at least over a region corresponding to a printing span through which the head is displaced to effect printing. The flat section of the platen is formed with a plurality of opening holes each having a relatively small diameter. A vacuum device creates a vacuum beneath the platen to attract a recording medium onto the flat section to enable the recording medium to receive ink droplets ejected from the head so as to print an image. The dimensions or the density of the opening holes is gradually reduced so as to compensate for differences in width of the recording media to thereby effectively avoid floating of a medium.

Abstract: A platen roller comprises a rubber material having a glass transition temperature within the range of from -10.degree. C. to 40.degree. C. mounted around a core metal material.

Abstract: A thermal printer which includes a thermal print head (15) which is displaceable in the line direction and a print bar (6) which extends in the line direction, the print bar being located opposite the print head and being pivotable about an axis parallel to the line direction. A supporting part (19) of the print bar constitutes an abutment for the print head, and is connected by an elongated resilient hinge part (20) to a mounting part (21) of the print bar.

Abstract: In a device having a driving mechanism for moving a writing medium over a platen disposed adjacent the mechanism and having a generally horizontal table portion and a curved outer portion where the writing medium is smoothly curved from a generally horizontal supported state to an unsupported vertically hanging state an improvement to the platen for eliminating static charge buildup problems. In its simplest form, it comprises a plurality of horizontal grooves in the upper surface of at least the curved outer portion of the platen at spaced intervals. Preferably, the plurality of horizontal grooves are substantially V-shaped in cross-section so as to create, in effect, a series of overlapped plates on the surface of the platen which, in turn, cause the creation of areas of air turbulence which partially support the moving medium.

Abstract: A platen assembly has a pipe shaft having an elastomeric layer therearound, an end of the pipe shaft having cutouts therein extending parallel to the axis thereof and having locking holes therein between the cutouts, and a power transmission member connected to the end of the pipe shaft, the power transmission member having first convexities removably engaged in the cutouts for holding the member against rotation relative to the pipe shaft, and second convexities resiliently removably engaged in the locking holes for holding the member against disengagement from the pipe shaft.

Abstract: An apparatus for forming an image on an image-receiving means comprises an inlet section for guiding the image-receiving section inserted along a path, a supporting section for supporting the image-receiving means inserted from the inlet section, a printing section, opposed to the supporting section through the image-receiving means, the printing section being movable between an operative position where the printing operation is achieved and an inoperative position where the image-receiving section passes smoothly through, and an adjusting section for adjusting the image-receiving means inserted from the inlet section when the printing section is moved to the inoperative position.

Abstract: An actuating mechanism for a printing head of a printing machine in which a printing head is movable to be pressed against a platen roller and an information recording medium is passed between the platen roller and the printing head. The printing head is swingable around a pivot. A set spring is interlocked with the printing head to move the same toward the platen. The set spring is also connected with an actuating lever that is pivotable between first and second detented positions. To avoid the strong banging of the printing head against the platen roller during setting in of the information medium, also connected with the actuating lever is a suppressing member link which holds the printing head off the platen roller and against the force of the set spring when the actuating lever, also connected with the suppressing member link, is pivoted to move the suppressing member link to raise the printing head.

Abstract: A paper guiding device and operating method for use in an office writing machine, the device including a platen carried by a shaft and constituting a paper support, the platen shaft and platen being rotatable in a first direction for insertion of a paper sheet in the machine and in a second direction opposite to the first direction, a paper holding rail disposed adjacent the platen and carrying a plurality of pressure rollers which are pressed toward the platen, a rocker member supporting the rail and mounted to undergo pivotal movement about the axis of rotation of the platen shaft between a paper insertion position and a normal printing position; and a coupling member coupling the rocker member and platen such that rotation of the platen in the second direction effects pivotal movement of the rocker member into the paper insertion position for insertion of the leading edge of a paper sheet between the rollers and the platen and rotation of the platen in the first direction effects pivotal movement of the ro

Abstract: In a printing device, including a drive means such as a stepping means and a driven shaft for advancing a form, a form aligning mechanism comprises a generally cylindrical hollow knob mounted concentrically with the driven shaft by a mounting means which converts a force of sufficient magnitude applied in almost any direction to the generally cylindrical hollow knob into a longitudinal displacement of the driven shaft so as to disengage the driven shaft from the drive means, thereby permitting fine adjustment of the vertical position of the form in the printing device.