Abstract: In a serial impact printer including a platen for supporting an image receptor, the platen having a central shaft and a cylindrical impact absorbing sleeve secured thereto, a platen mounting arrangement is provided which is capable of withstanding rapidly repeating, long duration, high impact loads without generating extraneous noise. The ends of the shaft are captured in seats capable of withstanding, without distortion, a high impact printing force in the impacting direction, and are retained in the seats by spring biased arms which restrain the ends of said shaft from rebound movement in a second direction substantially opposite to the impacting direction.

Abstract: An ink jet printer having a marking head, a number of ink supply containers, and conduit means interconnects the marking head with the ink supply containers. Selector means is associated with the marking head for receiving ink from the conduit means and being repositionable for allowing one of the color inks to pass therethrough to the ink ejecting orifices.

Abstract: A high voltage thin film transistor comprising a substrate upon which is supported a non-single crystal semiconductor active layer, spaced from a pair of conductive gate electrodes by a gate dielectric layer, wherein one of the gate electrodes is the device control electrode and the other is a dummy-drain electrode. Heavily doped semiconductor source and drain electrodes are in substantially alignment with the outer edges of the gate electrodes, the source electrode being aligned with the device control electrode and the drain electrode being aligned with the dummy-drain electrode. The active layer has intrinsic or virtually intrinsic region thereof in opposition to the bodies of each of the gate electrodes, and an offset region, between the gate electrodes, having a lower dopant level than the source and drain electrodes, which is aligned with the inner edges of the gate electrodes.

Abstract: An improved double implanted and aligned LDD transistor comprising a gate having a central alignment member and a pair of outboard alignment members having portions contiguous with the gate oxide layer. A lightly doped junction is aligned with the central alignment members and a heavily doped junction is aligned with the outboard alignment members.

Abstract: A method of forming large grain polycrystalline films by deep ion implantation into a composite structure, comprising a layer of amorphous semiconductor material upon an insulating substrate. Implantation is of a given ion species at an implant energy and dosage sufficient to distrupt the interface between the amorphous layer and the substrate and to retard the process of nucleation in subsequent random crystallization upon thermal annealing.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for transporting electrically charged particles suspended in a fluid, such as ions or the like, through said fluid, in a transport direction by means of a traveling electrostatic surface wave. The apparatus includes an array of transport electrodes to which a source of AC multi-phase potential is applied to create a stable and controllable particle transport system in which the charged particles have a compound motion comprising a generally cyclical movement and drift movement through the fluid, in the transport direction. The locus of charged particle movement is maintained above the surface of the electrode array.

Abstract: A serial impact printer and including a single cam member for properly establishing and maintaining the throat gap distance between a character imprinting surface and the platen at a print point and for raising and lowering a selected ribbon, of a composite marking correcting ribbon pack assembly, to and from the print point. A short throat gap distance is needed for commercially acceptable printing speeds in this hammer mass printer, and is needed for high quality printing; conversely, a long throat gap distance is needed for print point visibility at all other times. The cam member has plural camming surfaces which coordinate ribbon position with throat gap distance.

Abstract: An impact mechanism for use in an impact printer, to deliver a printing force to drive a character element against a platen by means of a print tip movable toward and away from the platen. A rockable bail bar having an axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of the platen is constrained to limited angular movement toward and away from the platen by a prime mover connected to the bail bar. A push rod interconnects the print tip and the bail bar for delivering impact forces to the platen as the bail bar is moved toward the platen. The push rod is normally coupled to the bail bar for delivering impact forces to the platen and may be decoupled from the bail bar for drawing the pring tip away from the platen so as to allow the character element to be removed. A decoupling mechanism is provided to lift the push rod off of the bail bar and to recouple it to the bail bar as required.

Abstract: An impact mechanism for use in an impact printer, to deliver a printing force to drive a character element against a platen by means of a print tip movable toward and away from the platen. A rockable bail bar having an axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of the platen is constrained to limited angular movement toward and away from the platen by a prime mover connected to the bail bar. A push rod interconnects the print tip and the bail bar for delivering impact forces to the platen as the bail bar is moved toward the platen. The push rod is normally of a first length and rigid delivering impact forces to the platen and is collapsible to a second length, shorter than the first length, for drawing the print tip away from the platen so as to allow the character element to be removed. A collapsing mechanism is provided to convert the push rod from the first length to the second length.

Abstract: An impact mechanism for use in an impact printer, to deliver a printing force to drive a character element against a platen by means of a print tip movable toward and away from the platen. A rockable bail bar having having an axis of rotation substantially parallel to the axis of the platen is constrained to limited angular movement toward and away from the platen by a prime mover connected to the bail bar. A push rod interconnects the print tip and the bail bar so as to close the throat distance for delivering an impact force to the platen as the bail bar is moved toward the platen. A repositioning element, having a portion thereof in alignment with the bail bar, allows the push rod to be drawn away from the platen while being interconnected thereto so as to allow access to and removal of the character element.

Abstract: A method of depositing a delamination bubble-free PECVD thin film n+ amorphous silicon layer, from the decomposition of a gaseous mixture of silane and phosphine, upon a substrate having one or more thin film layers thereon, wherein there is contamination upon the exposed surface of the outer thin film layer, comprising purging the plasma chamber with pure silane gas, igniting the plasma and then introducing the gaseous mixture of silane and phosphine into the plasma chamber to complete the formation of the n+ layer.

Abstract: A heater for an ionographic marking apparatus including a housing, means for generating a supply of marking ions within the housing, means for transporting the marking ions through and out of the housing, and an array of modulation electrodes upon a substrate for controlling the transport of ions out of the housing, the modulation electrodes being spaced from one another by electrically insulating regions. The heater is associated with the array for raising the temperature of the electrically insulating regions so as to prevent the condensation of moisture thereon.

Abstract: A print wheel for serial printing devices of the type wherein print fonts are arranged upon a disc print wheel member. The print wheel has both coarse alignment and fine alignment means formed therein; the coarse alignment means for driving the print wheel, and the fine alignment means for accurately positioning the wheel during hammer impact.

Abstract: An electrostatic discharge protection network for large area transducer arrays in which each transducer has associated therewith an addressing circuit for changing the state of the transducer element. Each addressing circuit includes at least one thin film transistor having a resistive path provided between the thin film transistor gate electrode and one or both of the transistor's other two terminal electrodes in order to provide current leakage paths for equalizing the potential between the gate electrode and the other two terminals during electrostatic discharge.

Abstract: A marking array for use in an ionographic marking apparatus in which the ion modulation structure is subject to a lighly corrosive atmosphere. Improved marking electrodes are provided which comprise a thin film body of a conductive material having a surface which is chemically neutral to the corona effluents.

Abstract: A printing system for increasing the printing speed of a multi-color printer when utilized in a single color mode by repositioning a recording head cartridge from a first level to a second level so as to enable at least two lines of information to be created upon the surface to be marked during a single scanning pass when it has been determined that the cartridge mounted in the repositionable support is the same color as the single color recording head cartridge.

Abstract: A high voltage amorphous silicon thin film transistor including a gate electrode which controls the injection of charge carriers from a superimposed n+ doped amorphous silicon source electrode into an amorphous silicon charge carrier transport layer, spaced from the gate electrode by a dielectric layer, for causing current conduction through the transport layer to a laterally offset drain electrode. The source electrode is in charge injecting contact with the transport layer and the drain electrode is in collecting contact with the transport layer.

Abstract: A method of depositing spots of liquid ink upon selected pixel centers on a substrate having poor ink absorptive properties so as to prevent the flow of liquid ink from one spot to an overlapping adjacent one. The line of information is printed in at least two passes so as to deposit spots of liquid ink on selected pixel centers in a checkerboard pattern wherein only diagonally adjacent pixel areas are deposited in the same pass. On the second pass the complementary checkerboard pattern is deposited. Ink is not deposited on horizontally or vertically adjacent pixel areas during the single pass since the spots on these adjacent areas have overlapping portions.

Abstract: A marking array for use in an ionographic printer in which the transport fluid entrained ions presents a highly corrosive atmosphere to the modulation electrodes. Marking electrodes formed of an alloy of aluminum and copper wherein the copper is in the range of 0.5 to 4% exhibit a remarkably extended lifetime over unalloyed aluminum electrode.

Abstract: An impact mechanism for an improved serial impact printer for delivering a printing force to drive a character element against a platen by means of a print tip movable toward and away from the platen. The print tip is supported upon a carriage mounted upon the printer for reciprocating movement in a path substantially parallel to the axis of the platen. The impact mechanism includes a bail bar extending substantially across the printer and mounted for rocking movement toward and away from the platen, its axis of rocking being substantially parallel to the axis of the platen. A prime mover is connected to the bail bar for imparting controlled rocking movement thereto. The print tip and the bail bar are interconnected so as to move the print tip toward and away from the platen as the bail bar is rocked.