Airborne thermal printer

A printer comprising:

• a) a housing defining an opening communicating with an interior of the housing for receiving a roll of paper;
• b) a print head fixed with respect to an interior wall of the housing;
• c) an idler assembly fixed with respect to the interior wall of the housing;
• d) an idler roll rotatably supported by the idler assembly;
• d) a carriage pivotably supported by the idler assembly;
• e) a platen roll rotatably supported by the carriage for pivotal movement toward and away from the print head, wherein the carriage is biased for movement of the platen roll toward the print head;
• f) a door pivotably coupled to the housing for movement toward and away from the opening;
• and
• g) an arm fixed to the door defining a cam constructed and arranged to engage the carriage to induce movement of the platen roll away from the print head and toward the idler roll to define a paper-engaging nip when the door is pivoted away from the opening and to release the carriage from engagement to allow movement of the platen roll toward the print head when the door is pivoted toward the opening.

A printer comprising:

• a) a housing defining an opening communicating with an interior of the housing for receiving a roll of paper supported on a hollow mandrel;
• b) a print head fixed with respect to an interior wall of the housing;
• c) an idler assembly fixed with respect to the interior wall of the housing
• d) an idler roll having a smooth metallic axial surface rotatably supported by the idler assembly;
• d) a carriage pivotably supported by the idler assembly;
• e) a platen roll rotatably supported by the carriage for pivotal movement toward and away from the print head, wherein the carriage is biased for movement of the platen roll toward the print head;
• f) a door pivotably coupled to the housing for movement toward and away from the opening by means of an arm which defines a cam, the cam being constructed and arranged to:
• engage the carriage to induce movement of the platen roll away from the print head and toward the idler roll to define a paperengaging nip when the door is pivoted away from the opening, and
• release the carriage from engagement to allow movement of the platen roll toward the print head when the door is pivoted toward the opening;
• g) a pair of mandrel support blocks fixed in the interior of the housing with recesses opening toward the opening for receiving and rotatably supporting mandrels on a mandrel roll;
• h) at least one brake supported by one of the mandrel support blocks for engagement with one of the mandrels or the roll of paper supported by such mandrels;
• and
• i) a prime mover fixed to the carriage and engaging the platen roll for advancing the paper through the nip between the platen and idler rolls and relative to the print head.