Thermal transfer printer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A printer comprising:
- a platen for holding a sheet of print paper thereagainst;
means for advancing said platen and the print paper incrementally in successive line feeding;
a print head movable axially along said platen for bidirectional printing in opposite first and second directions;
an ink tape having a stretch thereof facing said platen for being advanced and pressed against said sheet of print paper by said print head in successive printing operations, said ink tape having a width allowing printing along at least two transversely spaced lines thereon; and
means for positioning a stretch on one line of said tape in front of said print head and advancing said tape in the first direction as said print head is moved in the first direction for printing, and following a line feed of said print paper, for positioning a stretch on a second line of said tape in front of said print head and advancing said tape in the second, opposite direction as said print head is moved in the second direction for printing; and
means for winding the tape a selected length after printing thereon in said first and second directions in order to bring a fresh section of said tape to a starting position for subsequent bidirectional printing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermal transfer printer comprises a platen for holding a sheet of print paper thereagainst, a thermal head movable axially along the platen in opposite first and second directions and also movable toward and away from the platen, an ink tape including a stretch facing the platen for being pressed against the sheet of print paper by the thermal head, the ink tape having a width allowing printing along a plurality of transversely spaced lines on the stretch, and means for relatively positioning the thermal head and the stretch of the ink tape selectively on one of the transversely spaced lines at a time.
48 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A printer comprising:
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a platen for holding a sheet of print paper thereagainst; means for advancing said platen and the print paper incrementally in successive line feeding; a print head movable axially along said platen for bidirectional printing in opposite first and second directions; an ink tape having a stretch thereof facing said platen for being advanced and pressed against said sheet of print paper by said print head in successive printing operations, said ink tape having a width allowing printing along at least two transversely spaced lines thereon; and means for positioning a stretch on one line of said tape in front of said print head and advancing said tape in the first direction as said print head is moved in the first direction for printing, and following a line feed of said print paper, for positioning a stretch on a second line of said tape in front of said print head and advancing said tape in the second, opposite direction as said print head is moved in the second direction for printing; and means for winding the tape a selected length after printing thereon in said first and second directions in order to bring a fresh section of said tape to a starting position for subsequent bidirectional printing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification