US 6,556,231 B2 · Thermosensitive printer

Abstract

To record an image on a thermosensitive color recording material, a heating element array of a thermal head is pressed onto an obverse side of the thermosensitive color recording material while a platen roller supports the color recording material from its back side. The thermosensitive color recording material is conveyed first in a forward direction for recording a yellow frame, next in a backward direction for recording a magenta frame, and then again in the forward direction for recording a cyan frame. A rotary shaft of the platen roller is mounted to bearing members that are caused by a pair of piezoelectric actuators to slide back and forth along conveying directions of the thermosensitive color recording material, thereby to displace a rotary center of the platen roller upstream from a center of the heating element in either conveying direction of the thermosensitive color recording material.

Claims11

Dependent claims

A thermosensitive printer that records an image on a thermosensitive recording material by heating the thermosensitive recording material through an array of plural heating elements of a thermal head as the thermosensitive recording material is conveyed in a conveying direction perpendicularly to the array of the heating elements, said thermosensitive printer comprising:

a platen roller placed in opposition to the array of the heating elements, for supporting the thermosensitive recording material from its back side while the heating elements are pressed onto an obverse side of the thermosensitive recording material;
and
an offset adjusting device for adjusting offset amount and offset direction of a rotary center of the platen roller from a center of the heating element in the conveying direction of the thermosensitive recording material.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Thermosensitive printer

Life of this patent

Thermosensitive printer

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11