Citizen Systems Japan Co., Ltd.

Citizen Watch Company, Ltd.

Citizen Holdings Company, Ltd.

Yasuyuki Mori

Katsutoshi Mukaijima

Gen Matsushima

Takehiro Kikui

A printer includes a body; a cover configured to open and close relative to the body; a winding shaft in the cover for winding an ink ribbon; a regulation member in the cover to change a position in accordance with an open and closed state of the cover; a passive member connected to an end of the winding shaft to receive driving force; and a ribbon flange provided axially inside the passive member to rotate with the winding shaft. The ribbon flange includes a cam face on the inner side than an outer circumference of the ribbon flange. A radial distance of the cam face from a center axis of the shaft varies in accordance with a rotation angle position of the ribbon flange. An upper end portion of the lock member restricts the rotation of the ribbon flange by contacting the cam face when the cover is open.

Printer

An inner ribbon mounting opening is provided at a lower side of a cover member () that is rotatably connected with a housing (), the cover member () housing a ribbon unit that holds an ink ribbon () held so as to be freely fed and freely taken up. An outer ribbon mounting opening () is further provided at an upper side. Thus, work can be performed from both directions above and below the cover member (). As a result, work can be performed selectively using the outer ribbon mounting opening () or the inner ribbon mounting opening, and the workability for mounting and removing the ink ribbon can be enhanced.

A printer includes support members having a convex portion and a support hole as two support portions, and a shaft that includes, in both end portions thereof, a concave portion and a projection portion as supported portions engaging with the support members, respectively, and supports an ink ribbon, the convex portion is rotatable, the convex portion is fitted into the concave portion, the convex portion includes a portion having a pentagonal truncated pyramid liked shape extending in an axis direction, the concave portion includes an inner circumference surface having a polygonal liked shape corresponding to the number of corners of the portion having the truncated pyramid liked shape, and includes a coil spring that elastically displaces the shaft in which the concave portion is formed in a withdrawing direction.

Ink ribbon support mechanism, and printer

In a printer including a reflection type optical sensor and a transmission type optical sensor arranged to oppose each other across a paper conveyance path, a sensor spring and a plate spring are elastically deformed consequent to the wave shape of a guide unit and a guide unit, according to the positions of the reflection type optical sensor and the transmission type optical sensor along the width direction of the printer, enabling the reflection type optical sensor and the transmission type optical sensor to be moved based on the pitch of the wave shape along the width direction of the printer while transmitting a click feeling to an operator each time the sensor spring and the plate spring climb over a protruding portion of the wave shape.

A thermal printer includes a thermal printhead, a head cover configured to partially cover the thermal printhead, a paper container configured to house a paper, and a damper disposed on a paper feeding path between the thermal printhead and the paper container and configured to press the paper fed on the paper feeding path. The damper is combined with the head cover.

Thermal printer

A thermal print head device includes a thermal print head placed to face a platen roller, a head holding member configured to hold the thermal print head, the head holding member extending in a tangential direction of the platen roller and being supported to be swingable about a portion away from the platen roller, a biasing member configured to bias the thermal print head or the head holding member, the biasing member having one end placed on a side of the thermal print head or the head holding member to press the thermal print head against the platen roller, and a point-of-action switching member disposed between the biasing member and the thermal print head or the head holding member biased by the biasing member.

Thermal print head device and thermal printer

A thermal printer in which papers in a plurality of different widths are usable is configured of a platen roller unit including a platen roller; a thermal printhead unit including a thermal printhead and an exothermic element array; and a plurality of bias elements arranged on the thermal printhead in a width direction to press the thermal printhead onto the platen roller, in which the number of the bias elements is a value obtained by dividing a maximum width of the different widths by a highest common factor of the different widths; the bias elements are arranged with an equal interval which is the highest common factor of the different widths; and among the bias elements, a bias element arranged outside of the width of a paper in use is configured not to apply a load to the thermal printhead to press the platen roller.

A thermal printer includes a body detachably including a platen roller unit having a platen roller, and a cover element movable relative to the body between an open position and a closed position, detachably including a thermal printhead unit. The cover element further includes a claw protruding backward, a stepped pin extending downward, including a step portion at a bottom end, and a stepped pin adjuster element. The thermal printhead unit includes an exothermic element array, a supported portion to be hooked on the claw, and a notch portion to be hooked on the step portion. The platen roller unit and the thermal printhead unit include respective positioning elements which engage with each other to restrict a relative movement of the exothermic element array and the platen roller while the cover element is in a closed position.

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Higashikurume, Japan

Yasuyuki Mori