Printer with type-bearing printing bands

• US 20020170447A1
• Filed: 04/24/2002
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Sato
• Original Assignee: CHECKPOINT SYSTEMS, INC. (CCL Industries Incorporated)
• Inventors: Heckmann, Rainer
• Granted Patent: US 6,857,360 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 101/111
• CPC Class Codes: B41K 1/10 having movable type-carrying bands or chains
• CPC Class Codes: B41K 3/06 having type-carrying bands or chains

Abstract

A printer (15) for hand-labeling devices (1) has printing bands (57) bearing print types (17). Each band is positively guided around a selector wheel (53) and around a counter-pressure element (55) spaced apart from the wheel. Selected types (17) are set into printing position on the counter-pressure element (55) by rotation of the selector wheel (53). The selector wheel (53) has engagement recesses (60) into which a stop member elastically engages when a printing position is reached, thereby fixing the selector wheel (53), and hence the printing band (57), in the printing position. The stop member is provided as a comb-shaped stop spring (66) having individual teeth or elastic tongues (61a thru 61x), with one elastic tongue being associated with each selector wheel (53).

Claims

1. A printer (15), comprising a plurality of printing bands (57), each printing band bearing a plurality of print types (17) and each printing band being positively guided around a selector wheel (53) and around a counter-pressure element (55) spaced apart from the selector wheel, wherein selected print types (17) are set into printing position on the counter-pressure element (55) by rotation of the selector wheel (53), the selector wheel (53) having engagement recesses (60) and a stop member associated with the selector wheel (53), such that the stop member elastically engages in one of the engagement recesses (60) when a printing position is reached, thereby fixing the selector wheel (53) and hence the printing band (57) in the printing position, wherein the stop member comprises a comb-shaped stop spring (66) having individual elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) with one of the elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) being assigned to each selector wheel (53).

2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) are formed on a common base part (63), the tongues having a spacing equal to a spacing of the selector wheels (53).

3. The printer according to claim 2, wherein the elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) and the base part (63) comprise a metal or a metal alloy.

4. The printer according to claim 3, wherein the metal or metal alloy comprises spring sheet steel.

5. The printer according to claim 4, wherein each of the elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) has a section (64) that engages in a respective engagement recess (60) of a respective selector wheel (53) and wherein the section (64) has a shape adapted to a shape of the engagement recess (60).

6. The printer according to claim 5, further comprising a retaining block (65) into which the base part (63) positively engages.

7. The printer according to claim 1, wherein each of the elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) has a section (64) that engages in a respective engagement recess (60) of a respective selector wheel (53) and wherein the section (64) has an arcuate shape.

8. The printer according to claim 1, wherein each of the elastic tongues (61a thru 61x) has a section (64) that engages in a respective engagement recess (60) of a respective selector wheel (53) and wherein the section (64) has a shape adapted to a shape of the engagement recess (60).

9. The printer according to claim 2, further comprising a retaining block (65) into which the base part (63) positively engages.

10. The printer according to claim 1, which comprises part of a labeling and marking device.

11. The printer according to claim 10, wherein the device is a hand-labeling device.