The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 07, 1985
Filed:
Dec. 22, 1983
Tsuneo Yasui, Nagoya, JP;
Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Nagoya, JP;
Abstract
A printer having a thermal print head capable of printing directly on heat-sensitive paper, and printing on non-heat-sensitive paper through a thermal ribbon. The printer comprises a carriage drive circuit for moving the thermal print head along a platen for printing each line of characters, and a detector for sensing the thermal ribbon to check if the thermal ribbon is usable or not. The printer further comprises a control device responsive to a signal from the detector, for selecting, while the thermal ribbon is sensed, a unidirectional printing mode in which the printing movements of the thermal print head take place in a predetermined one of the opposite longitudinal directions of the platen, and selecting, while the thermal ribbon is not sensed, a bidirectional printing mode in which the printing movements take place in either one of the opposite longitudinal directions.