Seiko Instruments Inc

Sii P & S Inc.

Kawasaki Steel Corporation

Research Development Corporation

Solex Research Corporation of Japan

Minoru Hoshino

Yoshinori Sato

Tatsuya Obuchi

Masanori Takahashi

Norimitsu Sanbongi

Shinichi Yoshida

Hiroyuki Kohira

Norimitsu Sambongi

Akihiko Ito

Yoshio Nakazato

Toshio Watanabe

Kazuhiro Uchino

Akihiro Iino

Shinji Nureki

Shuji Tozaki

Shinichi Hayashizaki

Ko Yamazaki

Katsuari Sato

Akira Yamamoto

Noboru Ishihara

Kanji I

A printing mechanism has: a head mechanism including a printing head configured to print on a recording paper; a platen mechanism including a platen roller configured to nip the recording paper with the printing head to feed the recording paper; a fixed blade arranged in one mechanism of the head mechanism and the platen mechanism; and a movable blade arranged in another mechanism of the head mechanism and the platen mechanism in a slidable manner and configured to cut the recording paper with the fixed blade, the another mechanism comprising: a movable blade guide wall arranged upstream of the movable blade in a paper path direction of the recording paper; a first rib protruding from the movable blade guide wall to downstream of the paper path direction; and a second rib formed at a position on the movable blade guide wall, which is separated from the fixed blade with respect to the first rib in a movement direction of the movable blade.

Printing mechanism and thermal printer

A heat-sensitive adhesive label manufacturing device has a thermal head for heating and thermally activating the heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet, and a platen roller for conveying the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet between the platen roller and the thermal head to transport the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet in a transport direction. At least one discharge roller is disposed on a downstream side of the thermal activation section and is configured to undergo rotation at a peripheral speed different from a peripheral speed of the platen roller to convey the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet in the transport direction. A guide member is disposed opposite and spaced apart from the at least one discharge roller to provide a space therebetween along which the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is conveyed by the at least one discharge roller without being sandwiched between the at least one discharge roller and the guide member.

Adhesive label manufacturing device and adhesive label manufacturing method

There are disclosed a platen roller capable of inhibiting drop of an adhesive force of a thermally active adhesive layer, which is seen in a case where recording and thermal activating are performed with respect to a thermally active adhesive sheet having the thermally active adhesive layer on a backside of a recording surface of a sheet-like substrate, a method of manufacturing the platen roller, and a recording device and a sticking label printer which are provided with the platen rollers. As the platen roller for conveying the thermally active adhesive sheet having the thermally active adhesive layer on the backside of the recording surface of the sheet-like substrate, a platen roller is used which is subjected to a contact treatment to bring the surface of a roller portion into contact with a compound (a) containable as a solid plasticizer in the thermally active adhesive layer.

Method of manufacturing a platen roller for conveying a thermally active adhesive sheet

A platen roller is provided for conveying a thermally active adhesive sheet having a recordable surface formed on one side of a sheet-like substrate and a thermally active adhesive layer formed on the other side of the sheet-like substrate. The platen roller comprises a roller portion containing a compound suitable for use as a solid plasticizer in the thermally active adhesive layer of the thermally active adhesive sheet.

Platen roller and recording device and sticking label printer provided with platen roller

A thermal activator has a heating device that heats a heat sensitive adhesive layer of a heat sensitive adhesive sheet to activate the adhesive layer. The adhesive sheet has a printable surface formed on one side of a sheet-like base and the heat sensitive adhesive layer formed on the other side thereof. A transporting device transports the heat sensitive adhesive sheet in a predetermined direction. A sheet material prevents a heat sensitive adhesive of the heat sensitive adhesive layer or a denatured product of the heat sensitive adhesive from adhering to the transporting device.

Thermal activator for heat sensitive adhesive sheet and printer apparatus utilizing the thermal activator

A thermal head has heating elements that can be selectively driven independently from one another during a driving operation to directly heat, and thereby thermally activate, regions of a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet while the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is moved relative to the thermal head with the heating elements disposed in opposing relation to the respective regions of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer. All but at least one of the heating elements are selectively driven so that (a) a preselected region of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer disposed in opposing relation to each non-driven heating element is not directly heated, and thereby not directly thermally activated, by the non-driven heating element, (b) the regions of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer disposed in opposing relation to the respective driven heating elements are directly heated, and thereby directly thermally activated, by the respective driven heating elements, and (c) each preselected region of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer opposed to a non-driven heating element is thermally activated with heat transmitted from surrounding directly heated regions of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet.

Thermal activation method and thermal activation device for a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet

A thermal activation device has a thermal activation head that thermally activates a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a sheet material having a printing layer on one surface of a sheet-like base material and the heat-sensitive adhesive layer formed on the other surface thereof. A platen roller conveys the sheet material and is disposed in pressure contact with the thermal activation head so that the platen roller and the thermal activation head apply a holding force on the sheet material. A pair of conveyor rollers hold and convey the sheet material and are disposed on a downstream side of the thermal activation head in a conveying direction of the sheet material. A holding force applied on the sheet material by the pair of conveyor rollers being larger than a holding force applied on the sheet material by the platen roller and the thermal activation head.

Thermal activation device and method of conveying sheet material

A thermal activation device includes a platen lock mechanism for locking a platen roller of a platen unit and a heating unit or printing unit into press contact with each other. The platen lock mechanism has a lock arm mounted to undergo rotation about a rotational axis, a shaft member provided in one of the platen unit and the lock arm, an engagement recess for engagingly receiving the shaft member and provided in the other of the platen unit and the lock arm, and an urging member for urging the lock arm in a direction for bringing the shaft member into engagement with the engagement recess. In a state in which the heating unit or printing unit is in press contact with the platen roller, a distance between the rotational axis of the lock arm and an axis of the shaft member is greater than a distance between the rotational axis of the lock arm and the rotational axis of the platen roller.

Thermal activation device and printer

A printer selectively prints on heat-sensitive adhesive sheets and ordinary sheets that have no heat-sensitive adhesive. The printer has a printing unit that prints on one surface of a sheet and a printing platen roller that transports the sheet in a forward direction. A cutter unit cuts the printed sheet to a predetermined length, and a thermal activation unit disposed downstream of the cutter unit has a thermal head for heating the other surface of the sheet and a thermal activation platen roller that transports the sheet in the forward direction. A detector detects whether the sheet is a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet or an ordinary sheet, and a control device controls operation of the thermal activation unit so that both the thermal head and the thermal activation platen roller are operated in response to detection of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet and so that the thermal activation platen roller but not the thermal head is operated in response to detection of an ordinary sheet.

Printer for printing on both a heat-sensitive adhesive label and an ordinary label

A thermal activation device has a thermal head and a platen roller that is in contact with an upwardly inclined surface of the thermal head and that is rotationally driven to convey a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet along the upwardly inclined surface between the thermal head and the platen roller while the thermal head thermally activates a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet. A discharge roller is positioned downstream of the platen roller with a part of an outer circumference of the discharge roller above the level at which the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet exits from between the thermal head and the platen roller. The discharge roller is rotationally driven to convey the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet on the outer circumference of the discharge roller to a discharge port. A discharge guide is positioned above the discharge roller, and spaced from the discharge roller a distance larger than a thickness of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet, to guide the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet onto the discharge roller. The discharge roller is configured such that a part of the roller outer circumference thereof is offset by 0.3 mm or more to the platen roller side from a reference plane obtained by extending a head surface of the thermal head.

Thermal activation device

An adhesive label printer has a thermal activation device that thermally activates a thermally active adhesive layer of a thermally active adhesive sheet. The thermally active sheet has a recording surface formed on one side of a sheet-like base and the thermally active layer formed on the other side thereof. A recording device records information on the recording surface of the thermally active adhesive sheet. A platen roller conveys the thermally active adhesive sheet and has a roller portion made of least a fluorine atom containing rubber material.

Thermal activation device and adhesive label printer provided with platen roller

A thermal activation apparatus includes a thermal head for thermal activation, a platen roller for thermal activation pressed against the thermal head, and an air cooling mechanism. The air cooling mechanism includes partitions for separating the thermal activation apparatus from the outside, an air outlet in a lower part thereof, first and second air inlets in an upper part thereof, and a fan for exhausting air through the air outlet. While a heat-sensitive adhesive agent layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet is heated by the platen roller and the thermal head to be thermally activated during transporting the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet, the fan is actuated to generate airflow from the first and second air inlets and around the platen roller, the thermal head, and a heat sink, in this order, to be discharged to the outside from the air outlet.

Thermal activation apparatus, printer, thermal activation method, and method of manufacturing adhesive label

A thermal activation apparatus comprises a housing having an insertion slot for insertion therethrough of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet. A sensor detects the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet inserted through the insertion slot and outputs a corresponding detection signal for determining a start time of the thermal activation apparatus. A transfer unit transfers the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet and a thermal activation unit thermally activates a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet. An ejection unit ejects the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet after thermal activation. A control unit disposed within the housing controls operation of the thermal activation apparatus and includes a printer communication unit for communicating the thermal activation apparatus with a printer for printing on a printable surface of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet before or after thermal activation of the heat-sensitive adhesive layer of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet.

Thermal activation apparatus

Provided is a thermal activation device including a thermal activation head () for thermally activating a heat-sensitive adhesive layer of a sheet material () having a printing layer provided on one surface of a sheet-like base material and having the heat-sensitive adhesive layer provided on the other surface thereof, and a platen roller () for holding and conveying the sheet material (), the platen roller () being brought into press contact with the thermal activation head (). Moreover, the thermal activation head () thermally activates the heat-sensitive adhesive layer asymmetrically with respect to a centerline in a width direction perpendicular to a conveying direction of the sheet material (). Furthermore, a plate spring () which urges the sheet material () to be pressed onto a peripheral surface of the platen roller () is provided, the plate spring () being located on an upstream side of the thermal activation head () in the conveying direction of the sheet material ().

A thermally activating device has a pair of conveyor rollers which convey a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet while sandwiching the sheet therebetween, and a guide member provided at an anterior stage of the conveyor rollers for abutting on one surface of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet to guide a path of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet. A guide tip end nearest the conveyor rollers on a guide surface of the guide member is configured to be placed at a position displaced from a reference line in a direction opposite to a side toward which the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet bends, the reference line being a tangential line of the conveyor rollers and passing through a contact point of the pair of conveyor rollers. The guide surface of the guide member is configured to be inclined so that a distance between the guide surface and the reference line is shortened as the guide surface approaches the conveyor rollers.

Growing community of inventors

Chiba, Japan

Minoru Hoshino