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:
Sep. 01, 1998
Filed:
Jan. 31, 1996
Alps Electric Co., Ltd., , JP;
Abstract
A thermal printer is provided which is capable of easily controlling the operations of a carriage and conveyance rollers by only one drive motor thereof and which enables the size and cost to be reduced. A thermal printer including a carriage capable of reciprocatively moving along a platen when a carriage drive shaft is rotated; a thermal head provided for the carriage to oppose the platen; an urging member for urging the thermal head to the platen; a cam portion for separating the thermal head from the platen against the urging force of the urging member when the thermal head has passed a printable range as a result of movement of the carriage; conveyance rollers to be rotated when a roller drive shaft is rotated and arranged to convey a recording medium; a drive motor for rotating the carriage drive shaft and the roller drive shaft; and drive-force transmission device which always transmits the drive force of the drive motor to the carriage drive shaft and which transmits the drive force of the drive motor to the roller drive shaft only when the carriage is moved in either direction and when the thermal head has passed the printable range.