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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7223033 | Pinch control in a printer A pinch control apparatus in a printer for controlling a pinch force exerted on a medium which is being fed into a printing zone is provided. The pinch control apparatus includes a camshaft rotatably mounted across a width of the medium, at least one cam attached to... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7025296 | Tape cassette and tape unit A tape unit has a support including a rotation support section rotatably supporting a tape spool and facing a roll part of a print tape, and a junction section extending from the rotation support section. A guide groove for guiding the print tape pulled out from the... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6307583 | Thermal printer with reversible ribbon and method therefor A thermal printer that transfers print from a ribbon onto a moving web, and methods therefor, by dispensing ribbon from a supply spindle with one or more feed rollers rotating in a first direction, and winding the ribbon on a rewind spindle when dispensin... | 10/23/2001 |
| 6065883 | Franking apparatus and printing means thereof A method and apparatus is disclosed for controlling energization of a take-up motor driving a take-up spool of used ink ribbon in thermal printing apparatus. Prior to a printing cycle, the take-up motor is energized to rotate the take-up spool until terns... | 05/23/2000 |
| 5567064 | Ribbon cartridge The present invention relates to a ribbon cartridge comprising a housing with an upper and a lower half, a ribbon received in said housing, a driving means comprising two driving gears for driving said ribbon, said driving gears rotatably supported in the... | 10/22/1996 |
| 5527119 | Ink ribbon mechanism A pair of feed rollers for sending an ink ribbon into a ribbon case have a number of grooves on the circumferential faces thereof such that opposed grooves do not mesh with each other. A heater is disposed in a travel path for the ink ribbon, for heating ... | 06/18/1996 |
| 5472286 | Ink ribbon cassette One of a ribbon feed roller (32) and a pressure roller (34) for making an endless ink ribbon (30) run is displaceable relative to the other roller thereof for facilitation of replacement of the ink ribbon, and can be locked at a withdrawn position thereof... | 12/05/1995 |
| 5459504 | Thermal printer The heat transfer ribbon can be held by a heat transfer ribbon feed roller and a heat transfer ribbon pinch roller and can be fed in the direction opposite to the normal feeding direction for printing and also effectively used even if there appears a larg... | 10/17/1995 |
| 5415482 | Thermal transfer printer with controlled ribbon feed A thermal transfer printer includes an arrangement for continuously and automatically varying the rate of advance of the thermal transfer ribbon during printing, the rate of advance being correlated with the nature of the image being printed, and the vari... | 05/16/1995 |
| 5281977 | Thermal transfer recording apparatus There is disclosed a thermal transfer recording apparatus capable of regulating the amount of transport of ink sheet according to the selected recording sheet, thereby maintaining uniform quality of image recording. The apparatus is provided with an ink s... | 01/25/1994 |
| 5280303 | High precision donor web positioning apparatus and method for a thermal printer A thermal printer has a donor web positioning system that uses a single sensor in conjunction with a capstan roller. The roller is driven by a stepper motor to precisely meter the donor web. The roller is positioned between the print drum and the take-up ... | 01/18/1994 |
| 5260716 | Apparatus and method for thermal printing wherein donor slack is controlled by a capstan roller A thermal printer has a rotatably mounted supply spool, and a rotatably driven print drum for unwinding a dye donor web from the supply spool and advancing the web past a thermal print head at a print zone where dye is transferred to a print receiving med... | 11/09/1993 |
| 5215012 | Ribbon cartridge for printers A replaceable ribbon cartridge for printers is disclosed and which has a user controllable re-inking capability. The cartridge includes both an ink transfer roller and a drive roller, both of which contact the advancing ribbon during printing operations. ... | 06/01/1993 |
| 5211490 | Ink ribbon cassette with re-inking and drive gear An inked ribbon cassette comprising an ink supply felt, a first gear arranged in contact with the felt and a second gear in engagement with the first gear. An ink ribbon is pinched between the first and the second gears and driven by the first and the sec... | 05/18/1993 |
| 5145268 | Cassette containing an inked ribbon In the proposed cassette containing an endless inked ribbon, at least one pulling roller is partly supported in a rotatable manner, in at least one slot provided in a wall of the cassette, and is at least partly supported in a rotatable manner in a carria... | 09/08/1992 |
| 5083878 | Ribbon cartridge having integral gear supports A ribbon cassette having top and bottom enclosures forming a cavity including a ribbon storage compartment. Ribbon drive means, which includes a pair of spaced elements, is mounted in the cavity for engaging or "pinching" the ribbon therebetween for advan... | 01/28/1992 |
| 5056940 | Thermal printing device and tape supply cartridge therefor A thermal printing device or the like and a tape or tape-ribbon cartridge designed for operative insertion into and use with such device. The device and cartridge of the present invention includes a tape drive system for driving the tape or tape and ribbo... | 10/15/1991 |
| 4917515 | Inking ribbon cassette A symmetrically constructed inking ribbon cassette is provided that is substantially rectangular in shape and which has two openings symmetrically arranged at the shorter sides of the cassette for receiving capstan drive shaft and a light barrier. The cas... | 04/17/1990 |
| 4900170 | Reloadable endless ribbon cassette A ribbon cassette having a casing with a releasable cover, includes a pulley mounted for rotation in the casing, key-means project beyond the casing of the cassette for engagement with an external drive, a pressure roller is rotatably mounted in the case,... | 02/13/1990 |
| 4874262 | Printer having pivotable ribbon guide A printer including a first and a second guide shaft which extend parallel to an elongate platen, to slidably support a carriage on which a print head is mounted. The second guide shaft is spaced by a greater distance away from the platen than the first g... | 10/17/1989 |
| 4860028 | Print head assembly A printer head includes a platen roller, a drive frame movable toward and away from the platen roller, a support block provided on the drive frame, a printing head element secured to the support block to be movable toward and away from the platen roller w... | 08/22/1989 |
| 4789256 | Ribbon cartridge for printing machines The ribbon (17) has an external run between the type element (25) and platen of a daisy-wheel typewriter. This run stretches between terminal members (59) which protrude from side arms (33 and 34) of the cartridge casing (18) and are fixed to the distal e... | 12/06/1988 |
| 4772144 | Ribbon cartridge having removable capstan A ribbon cartridge for use with a printer is disclosed having a removable capstan. The removable capstan may be interchanged with other capstans having different circumferences and configurations for engaging printer drive mechanisms of different printers... | 09/20/1988 |
| 4770554 | Ribbon drive with invertible gear for printer ribbon cartridge A cartridge is provided with an improved drive which meters ribbon to a constant and selected rate of ribbon advance. At least one ribbon drive cylinder is provided around which the ribbon is wrapped. The drive cylinder is preferably a rubber cylinder of ... | 09/13/1988 |
| 4747713 | Ink ribbon cassette including gear teeth configured to re-ink the ribbon An ink ribbon cassette to be used in wire dot printer has an ink supply to lengthen a life cycle thereof. An ink ribbon is held between a drive gear and an idle gear and is delivered thereby. The ink supply contacts the idle gear so that ink is supplied f... | 05/31/1988 |
| 4732500 | Drive mechanism including floating pressure ring for ink ribbon cassette An improved drive mechanism for an ink ribbon cassette for advancing an ink ribbon particularly well suited for use in a typewriter is provided. The drive mechanism includes a drive roller rotatably supported in the casing with a free floating pressure ri... | 03/22/1988 |
| 4712931 | Color printer including a multiple color ink ribbon cartridge and tensioning device A color printer includes a carriage slidably movable on a printer frame. A print head is mounted on the carriage. A multiple-color ink ribbon having bands of color is stored in a cartridge which guides the multiple-color ink ribbon to the print head. A co... | 12/15/1987 |
| 4657418 | High capacity ribbon supply arrangement A ribbon supply arrangement for a printer is provided with a first ribbon supply portion having supply and take-up reels therein, the ribbon being provided to a second ribbon supply portion which is installed on a carriage of the printer. In one embodimen... | 04/14/1987 |
| 4650356 | Ribbon cartridge motion control with a non-concentric drive A cartridge (1) is attached to a carrier and tiltable around a tilting axis (2). The carrier is movable along platen (3) and parallel to the print line and tilting axis (2). On the rear and on the bottom of the cartridge a drive knob (4) is provided as pa... | 03/17/1987 |
| 4650357 | Universal ribbon cartridge A ribbon take-up drive mechanism for a universal ribbon cartridge. The cartridge is adapted to engage the ribbon drive shafts of printers of two different designs. The drive shaft positions are different, and the direction of drive shaft rotation is oppos... | 03/17/1987 |
| 4623271 | Ink ribbon cartridge for a printer including means for transversely displacing and advancing the ink ribbon in the cartridge An ink ribbon cartridge for a printer comprising a storage reel for an ink ribbon, a take-up reel for the ink ribbon, drive wheels for longitudinally advancing the ink ribbon from the storage reel to the take-up reel for printing on the ribbon and a pulle... | 11/18/1986 |
| 4623273 | Cartridge for a ribbon for typewriters The cartridge comprises a container (7) of substantially parallelepipedal form with its corners radiused and rounded off. The container is provided with a back (8) having a slot (27) adapted to guide a slide (26) on the ends of which are rotatably mounted... | 11/18/1986 |
| 4614448 | Ribbon cassette cam means to selectively separate ink ribbon feed and pinch rollers An ink ribbon feeding mechanism includes a rotatably supported capstan roller which is fixed in position and a rotatably supported pinch roller which is movable with respect to the capstan roller and normally biased toward the capstan roller to be pressed... | 09/30/1986 |
| 4611938 | Mechanism for raising and feeding ink ribbons in typewriters and similar machines The invention concerns a mechanism for raising and feeding different types of ink ribbons in typewriters and similar machines. With a simple design and using only one motor under programmed control, the mechanism is capable of utilizing ink ribbons econom... | 09/16/1986 |
| 4588996 | Thermal ribbon cartridge transport in a postage meter thermal printer A postage meter which includes a thermal print head for printing indicia, postal value, and the like is disclosed. In accordance with the invention, thermal elements in the thermal print head are electronically pulsed in appropriate serially time patters ... | 05/13/1986 |
| 4568210 | Reversible ribbon cartridge A reversible typing ribbon cartridge has two pairs of pinch roll pairs for moving the ribbon in the direct and inverted positions respectively. When the cartridge is off the typing machine both pinch pairs are engaged with the ribbon, but as the cartridge... | 02/04/1986 |
| 4568950 | Postage meter-thermal tape pressure and drive control printer A postage meter which includes a thermal print head for printing indicia, postal value, and the like is disclosed. In accordance with the invention, thermal elements in the thermal print head are electronically pulsed in appropriate serially timed patters... | 02/04/1986 |
| 4564303 | Nontiltable, straight line path ribbon cartridge shifting means for multicolor ribbon including MICR ink A printer for use with a data processor and a ribbon cartridge for use in the same are disclosed. The cartridge has at least two separate ribbon supplies which may differ in the type of ink on the ribbon (MICR vs. ordinary) and/or in color of ink or other... | 01/14/1986 |
| 4561791 | Alternate ribbon feed mechanism for fabric and carbon ribbon cassettes A ribbon feeding mechanism for a typewriter or printer includes a pivotally mounted platform for removably receiving a fabric or carbon ribbon cassette. A manually operable lever carries ribbon feeding components including a toothed wheel for engaging the... | 12/31/1985 |
| 4558963 | Feed rates and two-mode embodiments for thermal transfer medium conservation Conservation of ribbon 40 is achieved by underfeeding ribbon 40 relative to movement of thermal printhead 16. Pressure of printhead 16 may be low enough that smearing from a typical ribbon 40 does not occur. Gears 208, 210, 212, 214 and 216 may be positio... | 12/17/1985 |
