Alps Electric Co., Ltd.

Kazuo Ueda

Hideki Yorozu

Hiroshi Kobayashi

Ikuo Hibino

Yoshibumi Abe

Yuji Inada

Yuji Nagahamaya

Yuusai Ishitobi

Hisashi Takahashi

Hideshi Takahashi

A recording unit is mounted on a thermal transfer printer in which heating elements of a thermal head are heated to thermally transfer ink a recording material. The recording unit includes a head unit having the thermal head; and a cooling unit having a cooling medium flow path for circulating a cooling medium to cool the thermal head. The cooling unit is configured to cause the head unit to be held at an immovable state relative to the cooling medium flow path so as to surround the cooling medium flow path by the pressure contact of the cooling medium flow path by means of a pressure contact and release mechanism. Separation of the head unit from the cooling unit body is allowed by the release of the pressure contact and release mechanism.

Recording unit

Projections 4-formed on a circumferential surface of a roller portion of the sheet feed roller comprise straight grain projections whose projecting direction faces to the rotation direction of the roller portion, and reverse grain projections that are formed in a direction opposite to the surfaces of the straight grain projections. The straight grain projections are formed so as to be adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the roller portion, that is, in the direction of arrow B and are also formed in two or more rows in the circumferential direction of the roller portion, that is, in the direction of arrow A. The reverse grain projections are formed so as to be adjacent to each other in the axial direction of the straight grain projections and are also formed in the circumferential direction.

Method of manufacturing a sheet feed roller

According to the thermal transfer printer, a plurality of cassette holder plates each for holding ribbon cassettes stacked in plural stages are arranged side by side on a holding cover on the side opposed to a carriage, a fixed holding arm for holding the ribbon cassettes and a movable holding arm for pressing the ribbon cassettes toward the fixed holding arm are disposed respectively on both sides of each cassette holder plate of the holding cover, holding guides are erected on the holding cover at positions corresponding to ribbon cores of the ribbon cassettes in such a manner as to extend through the cassette holder plate, and a holding arm for holding the peripheral edge portion of one ribbon core of each ribbon cassette is formed integrally with one holding guide, while ribs for engagement with the other ribbon core of the ribbon cassette are formed on the other holding guide.

Thermal transfer printer with a plurality of cassette holder plates

A cassette transfer mechanism for a thermal transfer printer with a cassette platform and a cassette holder for holding a plurality of ribbon cassettes. The cassette transfer mechanism transfers a ribbon cassette between the cassette platform and the cassette holder by driving the platform and holder to come into and out of contact with each other. The cassette holder and the cassette platform each have movable members and stationary members for engaging a ribbon cassette. A further embodiment includes elastic members on the cassette holder for abutting the reels of the ribbon cassette to elastically bias the reels in one direction.

Thermal transfer printer with cassette transfer mechanism

A thermal printer includes a thermal head and a printing and erasing common-use ribbon. The thermal head is configured to move during erasing operation in a direction opposite to that during printing operation so as to reuse for subsequent printing operation a portion of the ribbon once used for preceding erasing operation.

Growing community of inventors

Fukushima-ken, Japan

Kazuo Ueda