Patent ID: 7106354

Claim:
A printer apparatus comprising: a thermal head for printing which performs printing in contact with a heat-sensitive coloring layer of a heat-sensitive adhesive sheet having a printable surface constituted by the heat-sensitive coloring layer and a heat-sensitive adhesive layer formed on opposite sides of a sheet-like base material, respectively; a thermal head for activation which heats the heat-sensitive adhesive layer to activate the same and which includes conveying means for conveying the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet in a predetermined direction; means defining an ejection hole for ejecting the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet out of the apparatus; and sheet holding means for spacing a trailing end of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet which has been subjected to the printing process by the thermal head for printing and the activation process by the thermal head for activation from the thermal head for activation and for holding the sheet with part of the same exposed to the outside from the ejection hole, the sheet holding means comprising a first rotating body which is driven for rotation in the conveying direction with a circumferential surface thereof in contact with the heat-sensitive adhesive layer, a contact member disposed opposite to the circumferential surface of the rotating body with a gap equal to or smaller than the thickness of the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet left therebetween, driving means for rotationally driving the rotating body, and control means for controlling the driving means such that the heat-sensitive adhesive sheet conveyed through the thermal head for activation is sandwiched between the circumferential surface of the rotating body and the contact member and conveyed a predetermined distance with the conveying means so as to space the trailing end of the sheet from the thermal head for activation and such that the rotation of the rotating body is stopped with part of the sheet exposed to the outside from the ejection hole.