Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Yoshihiro Ota

Keisuke Nishihara

Toshihiro Takahashi

Atsushi Fujioka

Tatsuaki Mori

Koichi Sugiura

A printer includes a conveyor to convey a tape having a plurality of marks in a conveyance direction, the marks including a first mark, and a second mark formed downstream of the first mark in the conveyance direction, a print head to print an image on the tape, a reflection sensor to detect the marks on the tape by emitting light toward the tape and receiving reflected light from the tape, and output a detection signal according to the reflected light when detecting the marks, and a controller. The controller is configured to set a threshold to be variable based on a level of the detection signal when the reflection sensor detects the second mark, and identify a position of the first mark based on a result of comparison between the threshold and a level of the detection signal when the reflection sensor detects the first mark.

Printer and tape for accurately detecting position of mark on the tape

A printing device includes a battery, a print head and a controller. The battery is charged by a charging power and supplies a power to the print head. The controller has multiple operation modes and is configured to operate in one of the multiple operation modes. The controller consumes an operating power corresponding to the operation mode. An external power source has multiple power profiles and outputs a supplying power corresponding to one of the power profiles to the printing device. The supplying power is used as the operating power for driving the controller. The controller obtains the multiple power profiles from the externa power source. The controller determines whether the supplying power is greater than a sum of the charging power to charge the battery and the operating power, and determine an operation mode when the battery is being charged.

Printing device

A cartridge unit for a printer including a cartridge and a circuit assembly. The circuit assembly includes a base member and a circuit substrate having a memory module and a plurality of second electrical contacts. In a cartridge attached state, the circuit assembly is configured to be in a circuit assembly attached state where the circuit assembly is arranged between the plurality of first electrical contacts of the printer and the particular cartridge side wall, the plurality of first electrical contacts electrically contacting the plurality of second electrical contacts, respectively. In a circuit assembly unattached state, the circuit assembly is not arranged between the plurality of first electrical contacts and the particular cartridge side wall. A thickness of the circuit assembly is larger than a distance between the plurality of first electrical contacts and the particular cartridge side wall in the cartridge attached and the circuit assembly unattached state.

Cartridge unit, circuit assembly and cartridge attaching method

A tape cassette configured to contain a tape has a box-like cassette case having a wall formed with one of a recess and a hole, and a substrate having a first surface and a second surface opposite to the first surface, at least two conductive electrodes being provided to the first surface, a storage electrically connected to the pair of conductive electrodes being provided to the second surface. The at least one of the recess and the hole being arranged at a central area, in a particular direction, of the wall, and the substrate being attached on the wall such that the substrate is arranged at the one of the recess and the hole, and the at least two conductive electrodes are aligned in the particular direction regardless of whether the substrate is attached on the wall in a first orientation or a second orientation which is a reversed orientation with respect to the particular direction.

Tape cassette

A tape cassette configured to accommodate a tape has a cassette case having first-sixth outer walls, a substrate having first and second surfaces. A storage is provided to the second surface. The third wall is formed with a first recess having a bottom wall, which is formed with a second recess or a hole. The substrate is arranged in the first recess with an adhesive layer being sandwiched between the bottom wall and the second surface. The storage or a molded part protecting the storage is arranged in the second recess or the hole. The first recess is formed with an opening part, at least a part of the adhesive layer being accessible through the opening part, and the cassette case is provided with a blocking member overlapping the one of the storage and the molded part in a first direction at the particular position.

A tape cassette having a box-like case having first through sixth outer walls. The first and second outer walls extend in parallel and arranged in a first direction perpendicular to the first and second outer walls, the third and fourth outer walls extend in parallel and arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the third and fourth outer walls, the fifth and sixth outer walls extend in parallel and arranged in a third direction perpendicular to the fifth and sixth outer walls, and the first, second and third directions are perpendicular to each other. A discharging port is provided on the fourth outer wall, and a substrate having a storage storing electronically-retrievable information regarding the tape cassette. The substrate is provided to the third outer wall, and at least a part of the substrate overlaps at least a part of the discharge port in the second direction.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Yoshihiro Ota