Seiko Epson Corporation

Akio Nomura

Toru Takami

Satoshi Nakajima

Hiroaki Hosomi

Yoshiharu Matsumoto

Yoshiki Kinoshita

Ayumu Nakamura

Hiroto Miyauchi

Rikuo Yamada

Hiroshi Wanibuchi

Takehiro Kobayashi

Keiji Murakoshi

A cutter can move a movable knife by two cutter drive gears without the movable knife becoming skewed. The cutterof a mobile printerhas a fixed knife, and a cutter drive mechanismthat moves the movable knifestraight to and away from the fixed knife. The cutter drive mechanismhas two cutter drive gearsthat are driven synchronously, and a cutter drive platedisposed between the two cutter drive gearsand the movable knife. The two cutter drive gearscause the cutter drive plateto move to and away from the movable knifeon a longitudinal axis Y (direction of travel), thereby moving the movable knifeto and away from the cutter drive plate. If the cutter drive platebecomes skewed when the two cutter drive gearsmove the cutter drive plate, the guide mechanismprevents skewing of the movable knife

Cutter drive mechanism, cutter, and printer

Printer

Problems related to being unable to convey recording paper in a printer due to the tension guide that guides the recording paper while tensioning the paper are eliminated. A removable guidecan be removably installed to the tension guideof the printer. The removable guidehas a second guide surface that is defined by a pair of rollers. When printing on recording paperA that has a high friction coefficient for making wrist bands, the removable guideis installed to the tension guide, the recording paperA is passed over the rollers, and the recording paperA is guided to the paper feed rollerwhile tension is maintained. The recording paperA can be reliably conveyed because the paper feed load of the removable guidepressed to the recording paperA by the tension guideis small.

A printer is provided with a cutter for cutting recording paper in arbitrary lengths or cutting recording paper with a part left after cutting. A pair of movable blades, at least one of which is displaced in a direction approximately orthogonal to the paper path, are driven in a cooperative relationship to effect a cutting operation with a fixed blade. The dispersion of force required for tearing off the cut recording paper is reduced, a torn trace of a left part after cutting the recording paper looks nice, and the position of a left part after cutting the recording paper can be arbitrarily set respectively without increasing the size in the direction of the recording paper width.

Cutter device and printer including a cutter device

A paper termination detecting apparatus for detecting an amount of a paper roll that is below a predetermined amount of paper, having: a detecting lever including a detecting piece being movable within a space of a core part of the paper roll, and a protruding piece spaced a predetermined distance apart from the detecting piece, the protruding piece being allowed to come in contact with a side of the paper roll; and a detecting switch for converting a motion of the detecting lever into an electrical signal when the detecting piece moves into the space of the core part of the paper roll.

Paper termination detecting apparatus

A printer comprising a cutting device for cutting the recording paper with a clean, straight edge is achieved. The printer comprises a pair of separable cutting blades, a fixed blade 14 and a movable blade 9, disposed with the cutting edges thereof mutually opposed in a substantially facing relationship on opposite sides of the paper exit 15 from which the recording paper is ejected. The movable blade 9 contacts fixed blade 14 at a point, and is driven with a scissors-like sliding action across fixed blade 14 by means of movable blade drive 10. Fixed blade 14 is supported on an openable cover frame 8 by support member 16 with a certain amount of play. Movable blade 9 is housed inside cutter unit frame 11. The cover frame supporting the fixed blade can be displaced between a cutting position wherein the fixed blade and the movable blade are disposed in an adjacent, substantially facing relationship and a non-cutting position wherein the fixed blade and movable blade are disposed at a distance from one another.

Printer having cutting apparatus and protective device for use in a

A printer in which a rolled recording paper is housed in a main unit, the printer includes: a housing unit which houses the recording paper, and which has plural guiding portions which cause the recording paper to be located at a predetermined position as a roll diameter of the recording paper becomes smaller; and paper end detecting unit having a detecting element, for, when the detecting element enters a space in a core portion of the recording paper, detecting that remaining amount of the recording paper is reduced to a fixed level or less, wherein the paper end detecting unit is rotatably attached to the housing unit such that the detecting element corresponds to one of the guiding portions.

Growing community of inventors

Shiojiri, Japan

Akio Nomura