Patent ID: 7651287

Claim:
A printer device that prints an image to a printing medium by heating the printing medium with an ink ribbon closely attached thereto, the printer device comprising: a base chassis that accepts therein and ejects therefrom the printing medium; a top chassis that is disposed to be able to freely open and close in a direction vertical to the basis chassis; an ink ribbon cartridge holder that is operably connected to the top chassis, is disposed between the top chassis and the base chassis, and is attached with an ink ribbon cartridge including therein the ink ribbon; a thermal head that prints an image to the printing medium by heating the ink ribbon in the ink ribbon cartridge attached to the ink ribbon cartridge holder; and a protection plate sized to cover, at least in part, the thermal head, the protection plate being pivotably mounted to the ink ribbon cartridge holder, wherein when the printer device is to be opened, the top chassis moves to an opened position angularly away from the base chassis and the ink ribbon cartridge holder moves at least in part simultaneously with the top chassis to an insertion/removal position where the ink ribbon cartridge is inserted to and removed from a front surface side of the base chassis while being faced outside of an upper surface thereof, and when the printer device is to be closed, the top chassis moves to a closed position to cover the base chassis and the ink ribbon cartridge moves at least in part simultaneously with the top chassis to a printing position inside the printer device where the printing medium is printed and the protection plate pivots relative to the ink ribbon cartridge and is in slidable contact with the thermal head as the top chassis moves between the opened position and the closed position.