Abstract: A cassette tape transport has a base for supporting the transport's head assembly and drive motors which is tilted appreciably relative to the transport's front plate through which the cassette is loaded into the transport. The unit also includes a cassette holder with a retractable slider and which is swingable relative to the base between a loading position wherein it is aligned with the slot and defines, with the base and plate slot, a right triangle and an operating position wherein it lies adjacent the base so as to position the cassette therein accurately relative to the head assembly.The head assembly can be operated to move the head toward and away from the base against which the cassette is supported by the holder between fixed positions so that the transport can write on and read from a plurality of parallel tracks along the cassette tape.

Abstract: A chart recorder has all of its components mounted in a housing formed of a self-lubricating plastic material. The unit employs a single drive roller which is driven through a speed-reducing gear train by a low-torque motor and belt drive, which produces minimal noise. A special tilt plate is mounted behind the drive roller. The recorder has a swing-down front door which is movable between an open paper-roll-loading position, an intermediate paper-feed position and a closed operating position. When the door is in its paper-feed position, paper drawn from the roll can be fed manually between the roller and the tilt plate so that the recorder can be threaded up without power. When the door is closed, it resiliently biases the tilt plate against the paper trained around the drive roller so that, when the drive train is energized, the paper is advanced promptly and smoothly. A simple wire bail and cam surface locks the door in its intermediate and closed positions while simultaneously raising the recorder stylus.

Abstract: A device for reciprocally rotating an output element such as a scanning mirror by means of an electric motor employs a two-degree-of-freedom suspension in which the motor armature is constrained by a first torsional suspension and the output element is supported from the armature by an independent second suspension. The resonant frequency of the armature and its suspension is substantially equal to the resonant frequency of the output element and its suspension.

Abstract: A front loading tape cassette holder comprises a support surface which supports a read/write head and a pair of abutments defining positioning surfaces and mounted to the support surface on each side of the read/write head. A door is hinged to the support surface adjacent the abutment positioning surfaces and the door is swingable between a closed position parallel to the support surface and an open position wherein it is oriented at an acute angle with respect to the support surface. Cantilevered leaf springs are mounted to the surface of the door opposite the abutments. When a cassette is placed on the door, the leaf springs guide the active edge of the cassette to the abutments and, when the door is swung toward its closed position, the springs urge that edge onto the positioning surface in a centered condition with respect to the read/write head. Also, when the door is fully closed, the springs bias the cassette against both the support surface and the abutments.

Abstract: A vibration damper for a transducer positioning system of a diskette system employing a stepping motor for driving a moveable transducer carriage that is coupled to the stepping motor drive means. The mass of the carriage and the coupling means form a vibratory system having a natural frequency of oscillation significantly different from the frequency of the pulses applied to the stepping motor so that while the motion of the carriage reflects the total motion of the shaft, the incremental motions of the shaft are not transmitted to the carriage thereby minimizing noise ancillary to the positioning of the carriage.

Abstract: An optical scanner capable of scanning parallel to two intersecting axes. The scanner comprises a single electromechanical transducer and a compliant link interconnecting the transducer with an optical element to which the two-axis movement is to be imparted. The link is selectively compliant to two planes containing the two axes and it is oriented to receive from the transducer force components in both planes. The transducer is driven at the frequencies of the resonances associated with the link compliances and the masses involved therewith. The link thereby imparts amplified motion to the optical element simultaneously in both planes, the resulting path described by the element thus being a Lisssajous pattern.

Abstract: Apparatus for moving a transducer carriage intermittently along a tract relative to a recording medium employs belting arranged in a closed loop that is tensioned by engagement around at least one idler and connected to the carriage. Belt end segments comprising the loop are wrapped in opposite directions around the periphery of a stepping motor-driven capstan and their ends are secured thereto at axially spaced apart locations thereon. The belting and idlers are arranged so that all of the belt segments wrapped around the capstan remain parallel to the carriage track as the capstan rotates so as to advance the carriage a maximum number of increments along its track.

Abstract: A floppy disk drive system employs an inside-out DC motor whose centrally located stator is mounted directly to the chassis. The motor has a tubular rotor that encircles the stator and it is supported co-axially with the stator by the rotary disk drive spindle. A timing and commutation disk is mounted directly on the rotor and, together with speed control and commutation networks, maintains uniform motor speed.

Abstract: The armature of a limited-rotation motor which rotates about an axis relative to a stator is extended axially beyond the stator between arcuate, non-magnetic capacitor plates disposed in a cylindrical array coaxial with the rotation axis. The capacitor plates are connected in a bridge circuit whose output is a selected function of armature displacement. The capacitor plates are installed at the end of the motor stator during assembly of the motor as tines of a unitary slotted bushing that is reamed simultaneously with the motor stator, following which the bushing is circumferentially cut to electrically isolate the bushing tines to form the individual plates.

Abstract: A tape drive for moving a tape with a prerecorded clock track past a transducer at a constant velocity. An output signal from a speed servo circuit controls the energization, and hence the speed, of a tape driving motor. It responds to a tape speed signal derived in part from a power supply voltage and a speed reference signal derived from the power supply voltage. Voltage variations and temperature-induced variations in the power supply have a minimal effect on tape velocity. Tension servo circuits control the power to a driven motor in response to the speed reference signal and the speed servo output signal thereby to maintain the tape under tension. A brake and park gating circuit slows the tape and maintains the tape under tension when it stops. The speed reference signal undergoes an exponential rise during starting operations to minimize acceleration.

Abstract: The armature of a limited-rotation motor which rotates about an axis relative to a stator is extended axially beyond the stator between arcuate, non-magnetic capacitor plates disposed in a cylindrical array coaxial with the rotation axis. The capacitor plates are connected in a bridge circuit whose output is a selected function of armature displacement. The capacitor plates are installed at the end of the motor stator during assembly of the motor as tines of a unitary slotted bushing that is reamed simultaneously with the motor stator, following which the bushing is circumferentially cut to electrically isolate the bushing tines to form the individual plates.

Abstract: A signal generator for producing signals indicative of the speed of tape driven reel to reel in a tape cassette transport in lieu of timing signals recorded directly on the tape is used to control the reel motors that drive the cassette. The tape-engaging drive wheel is designed to minimize slippage between the moving tape and the drive wheel so that the generator output accurately reflects tape speed.

Abstract: A limited-displacement device is provided with an extended frequency range by critically damping it and compensating its frequency characteristics with a pair of series lead compensation circuits whose break-point frequency matches the natural frequency of the mechanical parts of the system.

Abstract: A drive for a magnetic tape cassette. Edge and corner blocks mounted on a planar frame receive the leading edge of a magnetic tape cassette adjacent the corners thereof and position the cassette with respect to drive spindles which engage tape reels in the cassette and to a transducer located with respect to the blocks. The cassette has a notch offset from the center in the railing edge thereof. In one of two operating positions of the cassette, the notch registers with a switch, so the switch is not actuated. In the other position, the bottom surface of the cassette actuates the switch. A second switch registers with a selectively plugged recess in the trailing edge of the cassette thereby to enable or disable writing operations. A light source, disposed in the frame, transmits light along a first axis toward a detector housing. A prism in the housing intercepts and redirects the light toward a photosensitive detector.

Abstract: A printer for recording images on thermally sensitive paper. It includes a head that comprises a set of longitudinally extending fingers comprising laminated highly conductive and resistive heating layers. Gaps in the electrically conductive layers traverse the fingers to form discrete printing areas in the resistive layers. An electrical current selectively passed through a finger heats the printing area therein and thereby records a dot image at a corresponding portion of the paper.

Abstract: A line printer for printing successive lines of information on a ticket. As the ticket is guided toward ticket printing and advancing mechanisms, a first ticket sensor energizes a latch circuit and shifts the ticket advancing mechanism from a normally closed condition to an open condition. The ticket then moves freely into the printer to a predetermined position defined by a stop. A second ticket sensor at the stop is then actuated to close the ticket advancing mechanism and enable ticket advancement.

Abstract: A printer for printing characters on a printable medium. The printer contains a plurality of printing actuators which are selectively energized from a power supply to print the characters. Control circuitry in the printer receives character codes and energizes the printing actuators individually in sequence thereby to reduce the loading on the power supply.

Abstract: An escapement mechanism for driving a shaft about an axis in a line printer each time a solenoid is actuated. An armature in the solenoid moves along a second axis which is normal to the axis of rotation and intersects it. An integrally molded escapement arm is pivotally mounted to the armature and also to a frame for rotation about a third axis which is parallel to the axis of shaft rotation and is spaced from the second axis. A resilient spring on the escapement arm engages a ratchet wheel mounted on a shaft. When the solenoid is actuated, the armature withdraws the escapement arm and the spring. When the solenoid is de-energized, a return spring on the solenoid advances the armature so the drive member engages the ratchet wheel and rotates the shaft. A second ratchet wheel oppositely oriented with respect to the first engages a positioning member on the escapement arm thereby to orient properly the shaft.

Abstract: The armature of a limited-rotation motor which rotates about an axis relative to a stator is extended axially beyond the stator between arcuate, non-magnetic capacitor plates disposed in a cylindrical array coaxial with the rotation axis. The capacitor plates are connected in a bridge circuit whose output is a selected function of armature displacement. The capacitor plates are installed at the end of the motor stator during assembly of the motor as tines of a unitary slotted bushing that is reamed simultaneously with the motor stator, following which the bushing is circumferentially cut to electrically isolate the bushing tines to form the individual plates.