Axiohm Transaction Solutions, Inc.

Smith Corona Corp.

Atsi Holdings, Inc.

Scott J Longrod

Phillip M Martinez

Charles M Curley

Robert Delaney

Jeffrey S Koepele

Michael John Smith

The present invention contemplates a hybrid printer having printing capabilities at its back end and imagining capabilities at its front end. A conventional receipt printer with a MICR read head has been modified by replacing its front cover with a cover having the same platform but that incorporates a pair of opposed imagers, a second MICR read head, a diverter, and rollers for moving media therethrough.

Imager kit with MICR head for hybrid printer

A transactional printer having a wheel interconnected to a knife cutting assembly for frictionally engaging a severed slip and ejecting it into a receiving bin. The wheel is moved out of engagement with an ejected slip during the cutting operation of the knife. As the knife blade is restored to its pre-cut position, the wheel is moved into engagement with the slip and rotated to eject the slip into the bin. A depression in the printer housing prevents contact between the housing and the wheel when the wheel is in frictional engagement with a slip. A stop interconnected to the wheel prevents contact between the wheel and the depression.

Transactional printer with slip processing mechanism

A compact drive mechanism for both driving a paper web and severing a printed receipt in a transaction or point-of-sales printer. Both driving the paper web and cutting the printed receipt is accomplished through a bi-directional stepper motor that is operative through a one-way clutch.

Drive mechanism for transaction printer

A transaction printer includes the MICR encoding of indicia at a precise location called the amount field. In order to accomplish this, an optical sensor is provided in a transaction printer at a point-of-sale, to detect the edge of the check and stage it at a known location from the thermal, MICR print head. A clutch mechanism is used to engage the print head with a platen, and to engage two MICR read heads with the check, so that indicia can be sequentially imprinted and read within the transaction printer in a single, sequential operation.

Thermal transfer MICR printer

A transaction printer includes the MICR encoding of indicia at a precise location called the amount field. In order to accomplish this, an optical sensor is provided in a transaction printer at a point-of-sale to detect the edge of the check and stage it at a known location from the thermal, MICR print head. A clutch mechanism is used to engage the print head with a platen, and to engage a read head with the check, so that indicia can be sequentially imprinted and read within the check processing machine in a single, sequential operation. During the MICR encoding operation, the main paper feed rolls are disengaged and moved away from the paper path to help provide a clear paper path.

A compact ribbon cassette for dispensing and storing a ribbon or tape. The supply and take-up rolls of ribbon or tape are disposed upon a common rotatable shaft mounted for rotation within the housing. A unique chevron disposed adjacent the take-up roll and on the post-printing portion of the cassette causes the dispensed ribbon to reverse direction and change level and to be presented for storage upon the take-up roll. The ribbon cassette also includes a partition disposed between the supply and take-up rolls for preventing ink particles in the take-up portion of the housing from migrating and thereby contaminating the printing ribbon.

Ribbon cassette with coaxial spools on common shaft with partition for

In an MICR encoder of a point-of-sale transaction printer, the MICR characters must be printed at a precise distance to the right edge of the check in order to place the MICR in the proper field site. In order to accomplish this, an optical sensor is provided in a check processing mechanism of a point-of-sale printer, to detect the edge of the check and stage it at a known location from a thermal, MICR printhead. It then becomes an easy matter to advance the check by a stepper, drive and print motor a fixed number of step increments in order to start the printing sequence.

Check processing MICR printer and encoder

A compact ribbon cassette for dispensing and storing a ribbon or tape. The supply and take-up rolls of ribbon or tape are disposed upon a common rotatable shaft mounted for rotation within the housing. A unique chevron disposed adjacent the take-up roll and on the post-printing portion of the cassette causes the dispensed ribbon to reverse direction and change level and be presented for storage upon the take-up roll. The supply roll is under tension because a plurality of spring fingers push against a friction plate, thereby pressing the supply roll against an inner partition plate. The ribbon moves straight off the supply roll without bunching. A spring-loaded ribbon tensioner reduces slack in the ribbon by applying tension to the ribbon.

Ribbon cassette having housing with integrally formed biasing fingers

A compact ribbon cassette for dispensing and storing a ribbon or tape. The supply and take-up rolls of ribbon and tape are disposed upon a common rotatable shaft mounted for rotation within the housing. A unique chevron disposed adjacent the take-up roll and on the post-printing portion of the cassette causes the dispensed ribbon to reverse direction and change level and be presented for storage upon the take-up roll. Ink particles are removed by a wiper from the ribbon prior to printing.

Ribbon cassette with coaxial spools on common shaft and ribbon wiping

A compact ribbon cassette for dispensing and storing a ribbon or tape. The supply and take-up rolls of ribbon or tape are disposed upon a common rotatable shaft mounted for rotation within the housing. A unique chevron disposed adjacent the take-up roll and on the post-printing portion of the cassette causes the dispensed ribbon to change level and reverse direction and be presented for storage upon the take-up roll. A partitioning plate in the ribbon cassette separates the supply roll from the take-up region of the cassette. Ink particles are thereby prevented from migrating from the post-printing, take-up region of the cassette to the pre-printing, supply region thereof.

Ribbon cassette with coaxial spools on common shaft with partitioning

A media presenting device that allows for the presenting of various media, such as receipts, slips, forms, labels, tickets, tags, etc. The media are introduced into the device by an adjacently disposed printer or supply roll of paper. The web of the paper enters a curved raceway of a presenting device and is folded upon itself, thereby changing its direction by ninety degrees with respect to the normal flow direction.

Receipt printing and discharge mechanism

A compact ribbon cassette for dispensing and storing a ribbon or tape upon integrally formed dispensing and storage spools. The dispensing and storage spools are disposed upon a common rotatable shaft mounted for rotation within the housing. An integral, self-adjusting friction plate bears upon the ribbon on the dispensing spool and provides a predetermined, varying drag to maintain uniform ribbon taughtness.

Compact ribbon cassette with integral friction plate

A compact ribbon cassette for dispensing and storing a ribbon or tape upon integrally formed dispensing and storage spools. The dispensing and storage spools are disposed upon a common rotatable shaft mounted for rotation within the housing. A pair of meshing gears provide a positive ribbon drive that ensures that fresh ribbon is in place at the thermal print head for each MICR encode operation. The meshing gear positive ribbon drive system provides the optimum amount of ribbon for the print cycle to assure that MICR encode characters meet accepted industry quality standards.

Compact ribbon cassette with meshing gear positive drive

The present invention features a new type of spring-loaded axle. The spring-loaded axle of this invention has a single element. The single component of this invention has a specially-designed spring that acts both as a detent and an axle, all in one. The spring includes an elongated, flexible, coiled, spring portion that has a compressible, coiled midsection that is flanked by a generally non-compressible, coiled section on either side of the compressible, coiled midsection. At the distal end of each of the non-compressible, coiled sections is located a flexible, generally non-compressible, curvilinear, coiled end section. Each of the conically-shaped, coiled end sections acts like a detent; further, because of their conical shape, they can automatically adjust to the bores of the supporting frame. The elongated, coiled spring portion acts like an axle. The compressible, coiled midsection allows the conically-shaped, coiled end sections to axially adjust to the end bores in the support frame by providing an axial spring-biasing to them. The device is inserted into a hollow bore of a roller, thus allowing the roller to rotatively move about the device, as well as the support frame. The conically-shaped, coiled end sections assist in locating and anchoring the roller for rotation about the support frame. The flexibility of the device, as provided by its coiled configuration, allows it to withstand a greater degree of transverse loadings and side forces.

Flexible, detented axle

A point-of-sale printer including a facility for encoding MICR indicia at a precise location called the amount field. A single stepper motor in combination with a unique bi-direction clutch mechanism is used to engage the print head with a platen, and to engage a read head with the check, so that indicia can be sequentially imprinted and read within the transaction printer.

Growing community of inventors

Lansing, NY, United States of America

Scott J Longrod