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US 5,478,160 AGranted
Multi-ply printer ribbon cartridge and method
AssigneeNER Data Products, Inc.
InventorWilliam W. Radcliffe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A point of sale printer ink cartridge includes a mobius loop endless ribbon with at least two ply of woven twisted nylon fabric sealed along lengthwise edges with or without a third ink absorbing layer interposed between the two ply of nylon yielding synergistic ink capacity increases, long print life, long ribbon durability, and increased butt weld strength of the ends of the ribbon.
Claims18
An inked endless ribbon cartridge for use in a printer comprising striking means comprising a multiplicity of pins to impact said ribbon, the cartridge comprising:
- (a) a housing comprising:
- (i) exterior wall means enclosing an internal chamber, and
- (ii) first and second openings through the exterior wall means both opening to the internal chamber,
- (b) said endless ribbon comprising a major length in the internal chamber and a section trained out of the first opening and back into the internal chamber through the second opening,
- wherein the endless ribbon comprises two plies of woven fabric and sealing means along lengthwise edges of the ribbon to connect the lengthwise edges together,
- (c) guide means to guide the section of the ribbon along a path outside the housing from the first opening to the second opening,
- (d) moving means responsive to external rotative force to pull the ribbon out of the internal chamber through the first opening, along the guide means, and into the second opening and push the ribbon into the internal chamber, and
- (e) ink means adsorbed onto the ribbon capable of providing a visible mark on paper when the ribbon is interposed between the paper and the striking means to receive an impact on the ribbon,
- wherein the ink means is of a formulation to avoid any significant wear on said pins.
6 more elements
A method of printing comprising:
- (A) providing printing means that prints indicia on a continuous length of paper, wherein the printing means comprises a multiplicity of pins and means to cause the pins to strike the paper in a selective pattern to print said indicia,
- (B) providing an inked endless ribbon cartridge for use in the printing means, the cartridge comprising:
- (i) a housing comprising:
- (a) exterior wall means enclosing an internal chamber, and
- (b) first and second openings through the exterior wall means both opening to the internal chamber,
- (ii) an endless ribbon comprising a major length in the internal chamber and a section trained out of the first opening and back into internal chamber through the second opening,
- (iii) guide means to guide the section of the ribbon along a path outside the housing from the first opening to the second opening, and
- (iv) moving means responsive to external rotative force to pull the ribbon out of the internal chamber through the first opening, along the guide means, and into the second opening and push the ribbon into the internal chamber,
- wherein the endless ribbon comprises two plies of woven fabric and sealing means along lengthwise edges of the ribbon to connect the lengthwise edges together,
- (v) ink means adsorbed onto the ribbon capable of providing a visible mark on paper when the ribbon is interposed between the paper and the pins to receive an impact on the ribbon,
- wherein the ink means is of a formulation to avoid any significant wear on said pins, and
- (C) connecting the cartridge into the printing means positioning the ribbon between the pins and the continuous length of paper, such that when the printing means is actuated to cause the multiplicity of pins to strike the paper the ribbon will be positioned between the pins and the paper.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.