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US 4,966,476 AGranted
Tape printer
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsSusumu Kuzuya, Yoshiaki Nagao, Hideo Asakura, Shigenori Hattori
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tape printer for use with a detachably loaded tape cassette including a thermal printing head secured to a frame, and a platen roller mounted together with a tape feed roller in a platen holder rotatably mounted on the frame. When the tape cassette is loaded in the tape printer, an image source tape in the cassette is biased by a spring member outwardly of a head insertion recess. In a subsequent printing operation preparation, the spring member is engaged with a spring pushing piece on the platen holder to release the biasing to the image source tape and permit contact thereof with the printing head.
Claims12
A tape printer comprising:
- a frame within which a printing area is defined;
- a printing head and a platen both disposed in the printing area in said frame, said platen being relatively movable between an inoperative position, at which the printing head and the platen are spaced apart, and an operative position, at which the printing head and the platen are in contact with each other;
- biasing means;
- disabling means;
- and
- a tape cassette for being detachably loaded in said frame when said printing head and platen are at said inoperative position;
- said tape cassette including:
- a housing having a tape outlet;
- an image source tape and an image receiving tape both accommodated in said housing and both being driven through between said printing head and platen;
- a recess permitting advancement and retreat of said printing head in accordance with the loading and unloading of said tape cassette in and out of said frame;
- and
- tape guide means for guiding a portion of said image source tape facing said platen;
- said printing head being secured to said frame and said platen being movable between said operative position and said inoperative position, wherein:
- said portion of said image source tape facing said platen partially extends in said recess;
- said biasing means biasing said portion of said image source tape facing said platen outwardly of said recess and away from a tape path loading to said printing head;
- and
- said disabling means disabling the biasing of said biasing means in response to the loading of said tape cassette in said frame.
14 more elements
A tape printer comprising:
- a frame having a tape outlet;
- a printing head disposed in a printing area in said frame and secured to said frame;
- a platen holder rockable between a first position and a second position;
- urging means for urging said platen holder from said first position toward said second position with a first urging force;
- a platen roller mounted on said platen holder, means mounting said platen roller for movement toward and away from said print head relative to said platen holder, said platen roller being moved between an inoperative position, at which the platen roller is held disengaged from said printing head when said platen holder is located at said first position, and an operative position, at which the platen roller is engaged with said printing head when said platen holder is urged to said second position by said urging means;
- an image source tape and an image receiving tape both movable through and between said printing head and platen roller;
- first feed roller means rotatably mounted on said frame for feeding said image receiving tape to said tape outlet of said frame;
- second feed roller means rotatably mounted on said platen holder in a state that said second roller means is located at a distance from said platen roller, said second feed roller means being movable between an operative position, at which the second feed roller means is engaged with said first feed roller means to feed said image receiving tape in co-operation with said first feed roller means when said platen holder is urged to said second position by said urging means, and an inoperative position, at which the second feed roller means is held disengaged from said first feed roller means when said platen holder is located at said first position;
- and
- elastic biasing means mounted on said platen holder and stretched between said platen holder and said platen roller for elastically biasing said platen roller with respect to the platen holder with a second urging force and permitting slight movement of said platen roller relative to said platen holder, thereby permitting said platen roller to urge at said operative position thereof said image source tape and image receiving tape against said printing head with said second urging force of the elastic biasing means independently of said first urging force of the urging means.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.