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US 5,672,017 AGranted
Thermal printer
AssigneeAlps Electric Co., Ltd.
InventorJun Taniguchi
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thermal printer which is designed to reduce costs by reducing the number of parts, and which can easily drive a carriage using an inexpensive low-power drive motor by reducing a load acting on the part of the carriage which carries a thermal head. The carriage is provided so as to travel reciprocatively along a platen. A thermal head is directly attached to the opposite side of the carriage to the platen without any intervening member. A biasing member is disposed for urging the carriage toward the platen.
Claims2
A thermal printer comprising:
- an external frame;
- a platen fixedly mounted on the external frame;
- a carriage movably mounted on the external frame such that the carriage is restricted to reciprocate parallel to the platen, the carriage having a first surface facing the platen and a second surface facing away from the platen;
- a thermal head attached to the carriage on the first surface;
- a biasing member for urging the carriage toward the platen;
- and
- an elongated abutment section mounted on the external frame and aligned parallel to the platen;
- wherein the biasing member includes a leaf spring having a first end fixedly attached to the second surface of the carriage and a second end abutting the abutment section such that the second end of the leaf spring slides against the abutment section as the carriage reciprocates along the platen.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.