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US 6,572,290 B2Granted
Tape printer
AssigneeEsselte N.V.
InventorsChris McCleave, Michel Woodman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A tape printer comprising a tape receiving portion for receiving a supply of tape on which an image is to be printed; printing means for printing an image on said tape; cutting means for cutting at least partially said tape; and a cutter operation arrangement for manually operating said cutting means, said cutter operation arrangement comprising a first operating portion and a second operating portion, at least one of said first and second operating portions being movable toward the other, said operating portions being such that in use a user contacts both of said portions in order to move the at least one moveable portion towards the other.
Claims22
A tape printer comprising:
- a tape receiving portion for receiving a supply of tape on which an image is to be printed;
- a printer for printing an image on said tape;
- a cutter assembly for cutting at least partially said tape;
- and
- an outer case defining a main body and substantially enclosing the tape receiving portion, the printer, and the cutter assembly, said case comprising a plurality of surfaces including at least one support surface adapted to support the tape printer on a flat surface during a printing and a tape cutting operation;
- wherein the cutter assembly comprises:
- a first cutting member;
- and
- a second cutting member, said second cutting member being movable toward the first cutting member and including a lever extending outward from the case, said lever being positioned and adapted to be manually movable between a cutting position and a non-cutting position, and said first and second cutting members are positioned and adapted to at least partially cut the tape when the lever is moved into the cutting position, wherein the user's movement of the lever from the non-cutting position to the cutting position provides the force to cut the tape;
- and
- wherein the case comprises a protruding portion positioned in an opposing relation to the lever, such that in use a user contacts both the lever and the protruding portion and moves the lever toward the protruding portion to move the lever into the cutting position.
8 more elements
A tape printer comprising:
- a tape receiving portion for receiving a supply of tape on which an image is to be printed;
- a printer for printing an image on said tape;
- means for cutting at least partially said tape;
- and
- a case defining a main body and substantially enclosing the tape receiving portion, the printer, and the cutter assembly;
- wherein the means for cutting comprises:
- a first cutting member;
- and
- a second cutting member comprising a cutting portion mechanically connected to a lever, wherein the cutting portion is movable toward the first cutting member, and the lever extends outward from the case, said lever being movable by the user between a cutting position and a non-cutting position, wherein movement of the lever by the user from the non-cutting position to the cutting position moves the cutting portion toward the first cutting member and provides the force needed to cut the tape;
- and
- wherein the case comprises an opposing protruding portion positioned in an opposing relation to the lever, such that in use a user contacts both the lever and the protruding portion simultaneously with a finger and thumb of one hand and moves the lever toward the opposing portion to move the lever from the non-cutting position into the cutting position.
8 more elements
A tape printer in combination with a supply of tape, said tape printer comprising:
- a tape receiving bay;
- printing means for printing an image on said tape;
- means for cutting at least partially said tape;
- a cutter operation arrangement for manually operating said means for cutting, said cutter operation arrangement comprising a first operating portion and a second operating portion, at least the first operating portion having a lever adapted to be moved by a user and thereby being movable by a user toward the second operating portion, wherein the user urging the operating portions together provides the force to cut the tape;
- and
- a case defining a main body and substantially enclosing the tape receiving portion, the printer, and the cutter assembly, wherein the lever extends out from the case to be accessible to the user, and wherein an opposing portion which is mechanically connected to the second operating portion are positioned and sized such that in use the user contacts the lever and the opposing portion with one hand in order to move the at least one movable portion towards the other.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.