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.

Date of Patent:
Dec. 05, 2000

Filed:

Oct. 17, 1997
Applicant:
Inventors:

John Bertalan, Riverton, WY (US);

Jeffery C Cooper, Riverton, WY (US);

Bernard V Masson, Nicholasville, KY (US);

James S Carter, Denver, CO (US);

Jimmy R Rowe, Riverton, WY (US);

Russel Hugh Marvin, Voorheesville, NY (US);

Assignee:
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B41J / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
400621 ; 400 54 ; 400 55 ; 101227 ; 101711 ; 101569 ; 101472 ;
Abstract

A printer in which loading of print media is greatly facilitated and in which modular construction is used in order to substantially reduce the number of parts normally needed for this type of printer. The printer includes a base and an associated cover that encloses an interior region of the printer. The cover is movable between opened and closed positions and mounts a spring biased platen roller which is engageable with a printhead fixed in the base, when the cover is closed. A cutter mechanism, including a fixed blade mounted to the cover and a reciprocating blade mounted in the base also separates whenever the cover is opened in order to further facilitate print media loading. The printhead is secured to a printhead mounting and control module which also includes componentry and circuitry needed to drive the printhead. The module which may be in the form of a circuit board assembly also mounts control switches which are actuatable by other printer structure or by buttons that are accessible from the exterior of the printer. A resilient alignment mechanism is used to promote uniform cutting contact between the fixed blade and reciprocating blade when the cover is closed.


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