Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Masashi Tanizaki

Yuya Nakamura

Shinji Kobayashi

Masashi Iwamoto

Koshiro Shimoda

Ryuichi Kanda

Nobuo Kato

Kazuma Hojo

Tetsuro Muramatsu

Yushi Kato

Yasuyuki Narumiya

Tsutomu Kato

Yuichiro Suzuki

Takahiro Miwa

Shimako Nakai

Ryoya Takahashi

Sho Asai

Shotaro Watanabe

A printer includes: a print head; a support frame elongated in a first direction and supporting the print head; a discharge slot for discharging a medium after printing is performed on the medium; and a cover member covering the print head and the support frame. The discharge slot and the cover member are both elongated in the first direction. The cover member includes a surrounding part and a first engagement portion. The surrounding part surrounds an entirety of the discharge slot and has a peripheral portion extending in the first direction and constituting a part of the discharge slot. The first engagement portion is in engagement with a frame engagement portion of the support frame.

Printer including cover member constituting part of discharge slot and engaged with frame supporting print head

There is provided a printing device to which an external component is attachable. The printing device includes: a housing; a print head provided inside the housing; a guide portion configured to guide a printing medium to the print head in a conveying direction; and a first engagement portion engageable with a first attaching portion of the external component. The housing includes a first frame, a second frame opposite the first frame in a widthwise direction crossing the conveying direction, and a connecting portion extending in the widthwise direction to connect the first frame to the second frame. The print head is supported by at least one of the first frame and the second frame. The guide portion is fixed to the connecting portion. The first engagement portion is formed in one of the guide portion and the connecting portion.

Printing device having engagement portion engageable with external component for stable attachment thereof to the printing device

A printer includes: a casing; a grooved part recessed from an outer surface of the casing; a switch unit provided in the grooved part; a controller inside the casing; an FPC connecting the switch unit to the controller; and a hole part formed at a prescribed end portion of a bottom surface of the grooved part. A bottom surface of the switch unit is fixed to the groove bottom surface through the FPC. The hole part is aligned with a center of the groove bottom surface in a prescribed direction. The hole part defines a first inner end and a second inner end opposing each other in the prescribed direction, the first inner end being farther away from the center of the groove bottom surface than the second inner end is in the prescribed direction. The first inner end is positioned outside of the grooved part in the prescribed direction.

Printer including switch unit positioned in groove of casing with FPC connected to controller through hole of groove

A print device includes a head, a medium holding portion, an opening/closing cover, a feed path, a sensor, a window portion, and a blocking wall. The medium holding portion holds the medium and open to allow the medium to be taken out and put in. The opening/closing cover opens and closes an opening in the medium holding portion. The feed path extends from the medium holding portion toward the head and feeding the medium. The sensor is provided in the feed path. The window portion is provided in a position corresponding to between the sensor and the head, in a wall portion of the case, and allows the inside of the case to be seen from outside. The blocking wall is provided between the sensor and the window portion, and blocks a light coming in through the window portion toward the sensor.

Print device

A printing apparatus, having a casing, a printer, and a battery cover, is provided. The casing includes a battery compartment, to which a battery is attachable, and a terminal arranged inside the battery compartment. The printer is powered by the battery to print an image on a printable tape. The battery cover is attachable to the casing and, when at an attached position, covers at least a part of the battery compartment. The casing includes a guide arranged outside the battery compartment to guide the battery cover toward the attached position in the casing. The battery cover includes a first wall portion, which contacts the guide at an outer face thereof and slides along the guide as the battery cover moves toward the attached position, and a pressing portion to press the battery in the battery compartment against the terminal as the first wall portion slides along the guide.

Printing apparatus

A printing device includes: a main body including an accommodating portion configured to accommodate a printing medium; a cover displaceable between an open position where the accommodation portion is opened and a closed position where the accommodation portion is closed; a platen roller attached to the cover and rotatably supported by the cover; a peeling roller attached to the cover and supported so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to a longitudinal direction of the platen roller; and a switching mechanism attached to the cover and configured to switch the peeling roller between a contact position where the peeling roller comes into contact with the platen roller and a non-contact position where the peeling roller is away from the platen roller in conjunction with displacement of the cover.

Printing device

A cutting device, having a supporting base, a cutter section, a protrusive part, is provided. The supporting base has a first area, in which a tape is placeable, and a second area on a surface thereof. The surface is formed of a resin coating layer in the first area alone between the first area and the second area. The cutter section has a blade and is movable to approach and separate from the surface. The protrusive part protrudes from the cutter section in a direction, toward which an edge of the blade points. When the cutter section approaches the surface of the supporting base, with the protrusive part contacting the surface of the supporting base in the second area, the blade cuts the tape located between the surface of the supporting base in the first area and the blade partly in a direction of thickness of the tape.

Cutting device and printer

A cutting device, having a full-cutting assembly, a half-cutting assembly, and a cam, is provided. The full-cutting assembly includes a first cutting blade and a facing part to cut a tape fully through in a direction of thickness of the tape by rotating a first arm about a first shaft. The half-cutting assembly includes a second cutting blade and a supporting base to cut the tape partly in the direction of thickness by rotating a second arm about a second shaft. The cam is rotatable bidirectionally about a third shaft and has a cam face, on which a first pressing part to press the first arm and a second pressing part to press the second arm are arranged. A distance between the cam face and the second arm is smaller than or equal to a distance between the cam face and the first arm.

A printing device includes a holder including: a first movable portion including a first support portion; a second movable portion including a second support portion; a pinion; a spring; an adjustment screw; a handle rotatable with the adjustment screw; and a stopper threadingly engaged with the adjustment screw. The first movable portion is movable in a first direction and a second direction opposite the first direction. The second movable portion is movable in the first direction and the second direction in accordance with movement of the first movable portion in the second direction and the first direction. The handle is positioned outside of a region defined between the first and second support portions positioned remotest from each other in the first direction. The stopper is in abutment with one of the first and second movable portions to restrict movements of the first and second movable portions.

Printing device including stopper for restricting movement of sheet supporting portions

A thermal-transfer printer, including a first case, a second case, an ink ribbon supporting member, a cover, and a head holder, is provided. The first case has a first opening on an upper side thereof. The second case is located on the upper side of the first case and attached movably to the first case to open and close the first opening. The second case includes a second opening on an upper side thereof and a third opening on a lower side thereof. The ink ribbon supporting member is attached to one of the first case and the second case. The cover is attached movably to the second case to open and close the second opening. The head holder is attached to the inner face of the cover and holds a printing head.

Thermal-transfer printer

A printing device includes a first support portion, a second support portion movable in a moving direction of the second support portion toward and away from the first support portion, a movable probe movably supported by a detector, and a permission mechanism. The movable range consists of a first range and a second range. The permission mechanism is configured to permit the movable probe to move in accordance with the movement of the second support portion in the separating/approaching direction relative to the first support portion in a case where the movement of the second support portion is within the first range, and is also configured to prevent the movable probe from moving irrespective of further movement of the second support portion relative to the first support portion in a case where the movement of the second support portion is within the second range.

Printing device having sheet support portion movable to range exceeding sheet width and also exceeding range of sheet width detection

The disclosure discloses a printer including a cartridge holder, a feeder, a printing head, a first sensor, and a second sensor. The cartridge holder is configured to attach and detach a medium cartridge having a print-receiving medium. The first sensor is configured to bring a detector into contact with the medium cartridge and thereby detect first information related to the print-receiving medium, based on a result of the contact. The second sensor is configured to project light to the medium cartridge and thereby detect second information related to the print-receiving medium, based on a result of light reception corresponding to the projected light. The first sensor and the second sensor are integrated as a sensor unit configured to perform an advancing/retreating motion toward/from the medium cartridge.

Printer and tape cartridge

A thermal-transfer printer, having a case, an ink ribbon supporting member, a movable member, a head holder, and an arm, is provided. When the movable member is at a first position, a first engageable portion in the head holder and a second engageable portion in the arm are separated. When the movable member is in transition from a first position to a second position, the first engageable portion and the second engageable portion contact each other, and the arm moves in conjunction with the movable member from a third position to a fourth position. A minimum distance between the first engageable portion and the movable member when the arm is at the fourth position is shorter than a minimum distance between those when the first engageable portion and the second engageable portion contact each other while the movable member is in transition from the first position to the second position.

A print device includes a housing, a lid body, a display device, and a mounting portion. An opening is formed in an upper portion of the housing. The lid body opens and closes the opening of the housing by a second end portion side of the lid body pivoting around a predetermined rotation axis provided at a first end portion of the lid body. The mounting portion is provided on an upper portion of the lid body when the opening is closed. The display device can be attached to and detached from the mounting portion along a predetermined attachment/detachment direction with respect to the lid body. The attachment/detachment direction is orthogonal to an extending direction of a tangent line. The tangent line is tangential to a circumferential direction of the rotation axis at a position of the second end portion of the lid body.

A printing device includes: a main body having an attachment surface; first and second mounting sections formed in the attachment surface respectively for detachably receiving first and second cassettes; first and second print parts; a body cover having an opposing surface; first and second pressing parts protruding from the opposing surface respectively toward the first and second mounting sections; first and second engaging parts provided at the main body; and third and fourth engaging parts provided at the body cover and engageable with the first and second engaging parts. A first center of gravity of load that the mounted first cassette applies to the first pressing part and a second center of gravity of load that the mounted second cassette applies to the second pressing part are located within a specific area on the opposing surface defined by virtual lines passing through locations on the third and fourth engaging parts.

Growing community of inventors

Kuwana, Japan

Masashi Tanizaki