Abstract: A carriage scanning period required for moving from completion position of printing of the preceding line to start position of printing of the next line is compared to a printing medium feeding period required for feeding a printing medium in a predetermined amount after printing in the preceding line. The carriage is temporarily decelerated and stopped after printing of the preceding line and maintained the carriage in stand-by state for a predetermined period so that scanning of carriage to the start position of printing of the next line after printing of the preceding line and feeding the printing medium for a predetermined amount are simultaneously completed when the carriage scanning period is less than the printing medium feeding period. The carriage is accelerated to reach the start position of printing of the next line at a predetermined speed. Thus, respective printing pattern can be printed at the minimum printing period.

Abstract: In monochrome printing mode, a first correction value is set for correcting printing positional deviation between ink droplets printed during forward and reverse main scanning passes. In color printing mode, a second correction value is set for correcting printing positional deviation between ink droplets printed during forward and reverse main scanning passes. An adjustment value is determined for reducing printing positional deviation during forward and reverse main scanning passes. For this, in monochrome printing mode the first correction value is used as an adjustment value, and in color printing mode at least a second correction value is used to determine an adjustment value. Following this, the adjustment value is used to adjust printing positions during forward and reverse main scanning passes.

Abstract: An extension guide unit 30 is provided on a side portion of a recording medium conveying passage. An extension guide 36 is held in a wound state in an extension guide holder 31 of the extension guide unit 30. In order to convey a recording medium, the extension guide 36 is drawn out, by which the recording medium is guided. This enables the recording medium to be smoothly conveyed.

Abstract: A hammer bank mounted on direct drive bearings reciprocally moves along a shaft. Springs provided at each end of the shaft supplies repulsive force to the hammer bank. When sheet feed operations for a plurality of carriage returns are performed, the hammer bank is stopped at a predetermined position away from the springs. When the reciprocal movement of the hammer bank is restarted, the hammer bank is first moved to a reverse position where the repulsive force of the spring is in the maximum. Then, the hammer bank is accelerated by utilizing the repulsive force of the spring and restarts the reciprocal movement.

Abstract: A method of printing in which, when an image is divided to be printed into a plurality of lines, the feeding amount of a printing medium is equalized in each line for eliminating a feeding error of the printing medium to print a high-quality image. The image to be printed in a top line of the printing medium is formed into a printable image by ink ejection ports located at an upstream side with respect to a printing medium feeding direction of a print head, and a width of the image printed in the top line is an adjusting width for unifying the width of image printed in other lines to a specified width according to the print head.

Abstract: It is intended to expand the recording width of the serial printer by executing the one-directional recording, instead of the two-directional recording, according to the required recording width. For this purpose there is provided a serial recording apparatus comprising a carrier for mounting a recording head for executing recording on a recording medium, a scanning section for causing the carrier to execute a reciprocating scanning motion along the recording medium and a recording section for executing the recording in the scanning motions in two directions of the carrier in case the recording width required for the recording along the scanning direction of the carrier does not exceed a predetermined reference recordable width, and executing the recording in the scanning motion of the carrier in one direction only in case the required recording width is larger than the predetermined reference recordable width.

Abstract: A serial printer apparatus comprises a print heat for printing on a medium according to a received character signal, a carrier on which the print head is provided and which runs the print head over an unprintable region and a printable region, and a control circuit for monitoring the running speed of the carrier and controlling the speed of the carrier by accelerating or decelerating the carrier while suppressing the amount of fluctuation of the speed at least in the printable region.

Abstract: A printing device comprises a print head for printing an image on a recording medium, a carriage mounted for movement along the recording medium and supporting thereon the print head, an encoder member having division lines, and a sensor supported by the carriage for movement therewith for reading the division lines of the encoder member and outputting pulse signals corresponding to reading of the division lines. A position calculating device calculates a position of the carriage in accordance with the pulse signals from the sensor. An error detection/correction device detects an error in reading the division lines of the encoder member by the sensor and outputs an error correction signal to the position calculating device. The position calculating device calculates a correct position of the carriage in accordance with the error correction signal from the error detection/correction device.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device has a correction value storage memory which stores a plurality of correction values for the previously set sheet feed error of the sheet feeding mechanism. The drive-control section operates to control the sheet feed amount by one correction value which allows the feed error of the sheet feeding mechanism to be minimized, the value being selected from the correction values stored in the correction value storage memory. In such the manner, the sheet feed amount is corrected by the correction value, so that the feed error of each component of the sheet feeding mechanism can be easily corrected.

Abstract: An indexing stop is moveable relative to a printer carriage that carries cartridges for printing a swath at a time. Part of the stop is in the path that the carriage travels. The stop is advanced while the cartridges print one, "first" swath (that is, while the carriage is stationary). The stop is advanced to a position corresponding to the location where the carriage is to be moved to facilitate printing of the next, "second" swath. Once the first swath is printed, the carriage is controlled to move toward and abut the stop, thus arriving in the location for printing the second swath. The stop simplifies and speeds the carriage movement between swaths, thereby increasing printer throughput.

Abstract: In a dot line printer having a plurality of print hammers which are arranged to print a plurality of dot lines simultaneously when a hammer bank on which the print hammers are mounted performs one scan from one extreme to another, the dot lines originally assigned to the print hammers for printing are changed provided that a particular print hammer is driven an undue number of times when the originally assigned positions of the print hammers are maintained in the subsequent scans of the hammer bank.

Abstract: A reference pattern is printed on one of the printing regions as the printing head moves in one direction, and a comparison pattern, which is to become a pattern identical to the reference pattern, is printed on the other of the printing regions as the printing head moves in both directions. A judging process is provided in which the comparison pattern is compared with the reference pattern so as to judge whether the two patterns are identical or not. The relative positional relation is determined to be proper if the two patters have been judged to be identical.

Abstract: In an image formation apparatus receiving image data from a host computer and having an automatic paper-feed mode and a manual paper-feed mode, a method for the automatic correction of the printing margin in the manual paper-feed mode, includes the steps of: storing in a memory of the image formation apparatus a margin differential value corresponding to a difference between printing margins of each mode; selecting one among the automatic and manual modes and generating a signal indicative of the selected mode; and determining whether the generated signal corresponds to the manual paper-feed mode and then correcting the received image data according to the stored margin differential value. Thus, a margin differential existing between automatically fed paper and manually fed paper can be corrected automatically, without separate software manipulation by the user.

Abstract: The present invention realizes excellent controllability of print position even when a print head is driven at accelerating or decelerating speed while keeping advantages of fine and high resolution printing quality. A position information signal generator 9 in an ink-jet plotter comprises an interpolating circuit 12 which generates a first position information signal based on an A-phase output of A-phase and B-phase outputs from a sensor 5, an edge detector 13 which generates a second position information signal by multiplying the A-phase and B-phase outputs by four, a selector which selects the outputs from the interpolating circuit 12 and the edge detector 13, and a select control circuit 15 which switches the selector 14.

Abstract: A printer comprising a carriage making reciprocating movement and a printing head mounted thereon, the movement of the carriage comprising an outward section from a home position to the other position, a homeward section from the other position to the home position, and two reverse sections to change the direction of the movement, a printing being made on a printing paper by defining the outward and homeward sections as a printing area, in which, when printing includes a mark printing to print a mark on an edge of the printing paper, the mark printing is carried out by using one of the reverse sections.

Abstract: A method for printing in a draft mode of a serial printer includes a first printing step for printing information data in a first direction on a first line, and a second printing step for printing information data in a second direction opposite to the first direction on a second line. The second printing step includes checking the number of dots corresponding to the data to be printed, and aligning the dots to be printed corresponding to the first and second lines in a predetermined form by determining dots to be printed according to the checked number of dots. According the principles of the present invention, every other dot is skipped and printed in turns, that is, a first dot is printed and a next dot is not printed when the number of the adjacent dots is an odd number. To the contrary, when the number of the adjacent dots is an even number, a first dot is not printed and a next dot is printed.

Abstract: A printer including a driving shaft having first, second and third worms for feeding a recording paper, advancing a printing ribbon, and moving a carriage, respectively. The third worm for moving the carriage may be replaced by a belt. The driving shaft may include two separate portions, with the first, second and third worms connected to ends of the separate portions. The driving shaft may be rotatably supported adjacent the first, second and third worms.

Abstract: A portable ink-jet printer and sheet feeder which can be battery powered. The printer may be manually fed paper for operation independent of the sheet feeder. The printer and sheet feeder are mounted on a base and locked at 90 degrees to one another. They may then be rotated into two operating modes in which automatic sheet feeding occurs, one of which provides a straight paper feed path for relatively stiff print media and/or printing relatively dense graphics. A paper output system includes a pair of wings and a deflector which place various arches in the paper as it emerges from the printer to maintain it over the previously printed sheet to permit it to dry. The printer may be configured by driving a print carriage having an arrow thereon to different positions adjacent a menu. When the arrow is opposite a desired configuration option, the option is selected by pressing a button.

Abstract: A method for setting an apparatus, such as a printer, wherein a sensor is mounted to sense the position of a settable detection object during operation of the apparatus. The apparatus may be set as a function of the occurrence of an output from the sensor that is above or below a predetermined level at predetermined setting positions, as a function of the setting position that is close to the middle point of a range defined by adjacent positions at which the output level of the sensor rises above and falls below the predetermined level, or as a function of the position at which the highest output from the sensor is detected.

Abstract: Method of feeding a sheet of paper in a small-sized paper having small transport rollers mounted downstream of the print head. The feeding of the sheet is stopped temporarily when the sheet arrives at each of a number of positions located before the discharge rollers during a line feed operation. Under this interrupted condition, the print head is reciprocated once idly in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the sheet is fed. Therefore, even if the front end portion of the sheet curls to a great extent, the curl is reduced by the idle movement of the head immediately before the front end of the sheet arrives between the discharge rollers. This ensures that the sheet is fed between the discharge rollers even if the diameter of the rollers is small.

Abstract: A serial printer comprises a movable carrier, a print head mounted on the carrier, sliders mounted to either a fixed member of the printer or the carrier and selectively slidable to a plurality of positions to select a desired print mode, a sensor mounted to the other member and movable relative to the sliders when the carrier is moved so as to sense the position of the sliders, and an initial condition control system for changing print modes in response to the position of the sliders as sensed by the sensor.

Abstract: A printer is disclosed having an improved paper feed mechanism. The improved paper feed system has a reduced cost and accepts a wide variety of paper types including continous forms and single cut sheets fed both by hand and from a paper tray. Furthermore, the printer is capable of switching from one paper source to another without requiring the operator to unload and reload paper. The mechanism operates with only two motors and no solenoids. Control over the paper path is maintained by employing the carriage to select the paper path and lift the ball. The printer also has a novel paper sensor.

Abstract: A data card for a printer includes a plurality of data areas. Data readable by a sensor can be written in the data areas to control specifications or functions of a serial printer. A standard mark is printed on the data card to provide a reference position. The serial printer includes the data card, a card receiver into which the data card is detachably inserted, a sensor for reading data written in the data card, and a carriage having a printing head thereon. Either the card receiver or the sensor is mounted to the carriage. The other component is fixedly arranged within the serial printer. The serial printer further includes a memory for storing the data, and a controller for controlling a printing mechanism according to the data stored in the memory.

Abstract: According to the present invention, setting contents of a specified mode are selected in accordance with positions to which a printing head shifts, and the setting contents are set by operating switches in those positions. A switch for shifting the printing head and a setting switch serve as switches for executing other functions peculiar to a printer.

Abstract: Disclosed is a device for carrying a printing head which comprises, a first guide shaft disposed in parallel with a platen, a second guide shaft disposed in parallel with the first guide shaft, a carriage slidably supported by the first and second guide shafts, a printing head mounted on the carriage so as to be opposite to the platen, and a permanent magnet provided on the carriage so as to be opposite to an outer peripheral surface of the first guide shaft. The magnetic attraction force of the magnet with respect to the first guide shaft is set to be larger than gravity acting onto the printing head and the carriage when the magnet is arranged to be in opposition to a lower side portion of the outer peripheral surface of the first guide shaft, while set to be large enough to prevent the carriage from floating due to printing force of the printing head against the platen when the magnet is arranged to be in opposition to an upper side portion of the outer peripheral surface of the first guide shaft.

Abstract: The present invention is concerned with the control of the format of documents, such as letters, prepared automatically on a printer in response to code signals read from a record medium (magnetic storage medium), and to mode control means for associated apparatus. The invention concerns itself particularly with the handling of left margins and indentation levels for different paragraphs in a document especially when a document under preparation has line lengths that are either shorter or longer than the line lengths of an original document that was prepared concurrently with the storage of the coded signals on the record media. A preferred embodiment includes an input/output printer having a keyboard for entry of information and a single element print head for printing of information and an associated unit including an associated recorder for recording key entries as code signals on a magnetic tape record medium and an associated reader for subsequently reproducing the code signals for printing.

Abstract: A method for controlling the temperature of the printing head of an impact printer, capable of selectively changing the printing mode of the impact printer between the bidirection printing mode in which the printing head performs printing operation while it is moved in either of the reciprocating directions, the single direction printing mode in which the printing head performs printing operation while it is moved in one of the reciprocating directions and the idle reciprocation mode in which the printing head is merely reciprocated without performing printing operation, according to output signals of a low-level comparator which compares the measured temperature of the printing head with a low-level reference value and gives an alarm signal when the measured temperature is higher than the low-level reference value and a high-level comparator which compares the measured temperature with a high-level reference value and gives an alarm signal when the measured temperature is higher than the high-level reference

Abstract: A counterbalanced bidirectional drive for a hammer bank shuttle assembly within a line printer utilizes a band formed into an endless loop extending around and between an opposite pair of rotatable pulleys on opposite sides of the pulleys. A hammer bank-carrying shuttle assembly is coupled to a portion of the band between the pulleys on one side of the pulleys and is counterbalanced by an elongated bar of similar mass coupled to a portion of the band between the pulleys on the opposite side of the pulleys from the shuttle assembly. A DC motor coupled to one of the pulleys is alternately energized in opposite senses so as to bidirectionally drive the shuttle assembly along a linear path between opposite limits defined by resilient members impacted by an element mounted on the counterbalancing bar.