Tohoku Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Mitsuyoshi Satoh

Kazuhiro Suzuki

Hideaki Matsuda

Mamoru Takezawa

Genji Oshino

Toshimitsu Okubo

Kenichi Kimura

Hideo Numabe

In a printer for printing on a recording medium using a transfer medium, a transfer medium capable of being repeatedly used at the same portion thereof (e.g., a multi-pass thermal transfer ribbon) is conveyed in the normal direction in performing the printing process by a recording means such as a thermal head etc. and the conveying amount of the transfer medium which is used for printing is measured at that time. The transfer medium is conveyed in the reverse direction by a given amount based on the result of the measurement and the reverse direction conveying ratio of the transfer medium to the used length of the transfer medium which is arbitrarily set by a transfer medium reverse direction conveying ratio setting means irrespective of the used amount of the transfer medium every time a unit of printing is completed. Thereafter the transfer medium is conveyed in the normal direction for printing. Repeating these processes, it is possible to use up the transfer medium so far as it is can be practically used for printing.

Printer and method of printing using the same

A printer using a thermal ribbon to print on paper with a thermal head facing a platen with a ribbon supply core and take-up core with the head between the cores wherein a tension member contacts and biases the ribbon in a direction to give tension and is rotated in a retracted direction by a ribbon feed force against a biasing force by the tension member when the ribbon is fed and a plate spring supported on the tension member gives a rotational load to the supply core and a release member separate from the head contacts the ribbon on the platen side of a tangent line of the platen at the printing position whereby a push-up force of the paper in contact with and supported by the release member prevents lowering of print quality as the push-up force is not applied to the thermal head.

Thermal printer with paper and ribbon separator

The invention relates to a bar code label printer including a label sheet feeding unit for feeding a label sheet on which plural labels are adhered to at regular intervals, a printing unit for printing a bar code on the respective labels, a label peeling unit for peeling the printed labels from the label sheet, a sheet drawing unit for drawing the label sheet after the peeling unit, a bar code verifying unit for verifying the bar code printed on the label to detect an ineffective bar code, a re-printing unit for re-printing the same bar code as the ineffective bar code on the next label when the bar code verifying unit detects the ineffective bar code, and an ineffective bar code label remaining unit for remaining the ineffective bar code label on the label sheet without peeling. A bar code label issuing method uses the above described bar code label printer to issue only effective bar code label in an automatically control manner.

Bar code label printer and bar code label issuing method

A thermal printer for printing on sheets of paper includes a drive motor having a gear train rotatably connected thereto. A ribbon take-up roll is rotated by rotation of the drive motor via the gear train and a thermal transfer ribbon is taken up by the ribbon take-up roll. A platen is provided on which a sheet of paper and the thermal transfer ribbon are held together during printing. A thermal head is supplied with electric printing signals when the thermal transfer ribbon and the sheet are held on the platen and selectively transfers ink from the thermal transfer ribbon to the sheet based on the electric printing signals. An electromagnetic actuator is actuated when no electric printing signals are supplied to the thermal head and a prescribed blank portion which need not be printed exists. While the actuator moves the thermal head away from the platen, the detent plate simultaneously engages with a gear of the gear train by movement of an actuator plate spring to stop rotation of the gear. A clutch mechanism operates when the detent plate is engaged and stops transmission of rotation of the drive motor to the ribbon take-up roll.

Thermal printer having ribbon conserving mechanism

A printer, such as a thermal printer, which can print on a paper, etc. The printer comprises: a supply core; a print ribbon which is wound onto the supply core; a paper which is put together with the print ribbon which is supplied from said supply core; a print head which is mounted facing a platen and prints on the paper by using said print ribbon when said paper put together with the print ribbon passes between the print head and the platen; a take-up core which pulls off the printed paper and takes up said print ribbon; a tension member which is in contact with said print ribbon between said supply core and said take-up core and biases the print ribbon in the direction to give tension and which can be rotated in the retracted direction against said biasing force by the ribbon feed force when said print ribbon having one end fastened to said supply core runs out; a shutter member which is supported with the tension member and maintained at the non-detecting position with said print ribbon when there is the print ribbon between said supply core and said take-up core and which can be moved to the detecting position when the print ribbon runs out; and a sensor which operates with a shutter member moved to the detecting position, operates with said tension member rotated in the retracted direction, and detects the ribbon end.

Thermal printer with shutter ribbon end detector

A platen for a printer includes a tubular body section, shaft sections extending from opposite ends of the body section away from each other and coaxially with the body section and an elastic layer provided on an outer periphery of the body section. The shaft sections are smaller in diameter than the body section.

Printer platen

A paper bail in a printer having a platen includes two bail levers rotatably mounted on the printer and pressed toward the platen by a spring. An elongate bail plate is formed as a flat metal sheet having a L-shaped section, one side of which extends substantially transverse to a line connecting the bail plate with a rotational axis of the bail levers. A bail roller on the bail plate is mounted thereon by an elastic member capable of permitting only axial movement of the bail roller when the bail roller is out of contact with the platen, and permitting only rotational movement of the bail roller when the bail roller is in contact with the platen.

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Shibata, Japan

Mitsuyoshi Satoh