Abstract: Recording machine such as electrostatic printer/plotter or facsimile plotter includes housing construction and associated operating components whereby overall external width reduction is accomplished without loss of function using liftable lid and method of cross-bracing. Machine serviceable through removable bottom closure panel supporting an electronic chassis. Operating stations, such as recording assembly including both electrostatic latent image recording station and a toner developing station, and web-cutting assembly each includes portions in both lid and base of housing to be yieldingly held together in cooperating relation by hinged latching panel in which the hinge pin supplies spring action to urge and retain the latching panel in its detented position.

Abstract: Record material feed apparatus for use with a printing machine of the type including a platen, means for rotating the platen about its axis, at least one roller, a lever capable of manual movement between first and second positions, and means coupled between the lever and the roller for maintaining the roller in engagement with the platen when the lever is in its first position and for maintaining the roller spaced a predetermined distance from the platen when the lever is in its second position.

Abstract: A hammer assembly comprising a housing having opposing open ends and an internal passage extending between the open ends. A hammer element is positioned in the housing for reciprocal movement in the passage between first and second positions. The hammer element has an opening formed therein in which a biasing member is positioned. When enabled, the biasing member is capable of biasing the hammer element in a desired direction relative to the first and second positions. Means are also included for enabling the biasing member when the hammer element is in at least its first position. The housing is desirably fabricated of a self-lubricating material with the area of the opening at one of its ends substantially larger than the cross-sectional area of the hammer element, taken along a plane perpendicular to the axis of motion of the hammer element at such one end in order for air to be freely vented from the passage during reciprocal movement of the hammer assembly.

Abstract: A read/write apparatus for magnetic recorders including a decoder for converting input digital control and data signals into a plurality of select signals, a voltage source switchably connected to the read/write heads of the apparatus such that individual select lines are enabled for determining which recording head is actuated for writing on a chosen magnetic medium, what orientation of magnetic flux will be written, and what magnitude of flux will be written. Also, the select lines operate, when the voltage source is disabled, to condition the heads to allow read-out of data recorded on the magnetic media, and to select which head is to perform this read-out. Also included in the recorder is a signal redigitizer to digitize data read from the magnetic media, and erase means for reducing edge and transient effects on the magnetic media.

Abstract: A serial printer comprises a carriage, a print member rotatably mounted to the carriage and including a plurality of character elements of a predetermined font style, drive means coupled to the print member for rotating the print member to a desired rotational position in order to place a selected character element at a printing position adjacent a record medium to be printed upon, print hammer means mounted to the carriage and capable when enabled of impacting the character element located at such printing position with a desired level of force, and hammer control apparatus coupled to the print hammer means for enabling the print hammer means when the selected character element has been rotated to the desired rotational position.

Abstract: Decoding apparatus for separating clock and data pulses from a double-frequency pulse train, including a retriggerable window one-shot, a bit shift compensation circuit, clock rate tracking means, data bit and clock bit gates, means for keeping track of whether a specific pulse is a data pulse or a clock pulse, and means for actuating the data bit and clock bit gates, based on the status of the system and the state of the window one-shot. The apparatus also provides means for detecting when a clock pulse is missing, including circuitry which simulates the detection of a clock pulse to the rest of the device to keep the system status and timing properly synchronized to the pulse train data.

Abstract: A serial printer comprises a carriage, a print member rotatably mounted to the carriage, drive means coupled to the print member for rotating the print member in a desired direction and at a desired speed, and control apparatus coupled to the drive means for generating a control signal to control the direction and speed of rotation of the print member.

Abstract: A keyboard encoding system which utilizes electronic hysteresis to prevent undesired key stroke encoding. The output of a capacitive switch matrix is supplied to a sense amplifier which has its sensitivity increased if a particular switch of the switch matrix was closed the last scan cycle. The status of the switches of the switch matrix during the last scan cycle is provided by a shift register having a number of stages equal to the number of switches of the matrix. The sense amplifier includes a comparator which receives an input indicative of the state of a particular matrix switch during the present scan cycle and an input from the shift register indicative of the status of the particular matrix switch the previous scan cycle. If the input from the shift register is high, the sensitivity of the sense amplifier is increased.

Abstract: An optical display comprised of an array of small focusable image elements in conjuction with a corresponding array of optical stops or filters, one optical stop or filter being aligned with each image element. Upon the application of a force field to selected ones of the image elements, the optical focal point of those image elements is changed to thereby allow ambient light incident upon those image elements to be focused differently than it was prior to the application of the electric field whereby the optical stops aligned with the selected image elements intercept a different portion of the ambient light reflected or transmitted the selected image elements than do the optical stops aligned with non-selected image elements to thereby provide a display having light and dark areas.

Abstract: A ribbon cartridge comprising a housing, a supply reel containing a supply of ribbon wound thereon, a take-up reel, means for rotatably mounting the supply reel at a first location in the housing, means for rotatably mounting the take-up reel at a second location in the housing, the second location being spaced both vertically and horizontally from the first location, and means for transferring ribbon along a predetermined path from the supply reel onto the take-up reel.

Abstract: An optical system for minimizing the speckle observed in a projected image, the image being produced by a projection display device. Coherent or non-coherent light illuminates the projection display device image and an image thereof is formed at an intermediate image plane. A narrow angle diffuser is positioned at the intermediate image plane and produces an enlarged illuminating aperture at the Fourier transform plane. The relatively large angle subtended by the illuminating aperture at a second image plane reduces the spatial coherence of the image formed thereat.

Abstract: In a serial printer comprising a carriage movable along a predetermined path, a print member rotatably mounted to the carriage and including a plurality of character elements, first drive means coupled to the print member for rotating the print member to a desired rotational position, second drive means coupled to the carriage for moving the carriage to a desired position along the path, and control apparatus coupled to the first drive means for controlling the direction and speed of rotation of the print member and coupled to the second drive means for controlling the direction and speed of movement of the carriage, the control apparatus comprising first means for receiving and storing a first signal indicative of the desired rotational position of the print member, second means for receiving and storing a second signal indicative of the desired linear position of the carriage, means coupled to the first and second means for receiving and storing for generating a third signal if the first signal was received

Abstract: An optical character recognition system for identifying typewritten characters and converting such to standard code for transmission. To achieve recognition of a character, the character, as it is scanned, is recorded in a corresponding array in memory and the memory address for each scan coordinate is then modified to correspond with the virtual character center. This coordinate center of the character is derived by inspection of the scanning array in parallel with the memory storing pass to determine the two adjacent all white rows and columns bounding the character. The coordinate center is then calculated by dividing the bounded row and column increment by two. The recognition of the character pattern is then performed by a set of Boolean discriminants selected to achieve the highest probability of in - character hits against a lowest probability of misses.

Abstract: A flying spot scanning system is provided by utilizing reflected light from a multifaceted rotating polygon which is then directed to the scanned medium. A light source illuminates at least two contiguous facets of the polygon during each scanning cycle, to provide the desired sequence of spot scanning. To assure a uniform spot size at the scanned medium, an optical convolution of elements is selected in combination with the light source such that an adequate depth of focus at the medium is assured. In each scanning cycle, information is transmitted to the scanned medium by modulating the light from the light source in accordance with a video signal.

Abstract: A method of making a buried-heterostructure (BH) diode injection laser capable of operating at low room temperature thresholds and in the lowest order TE, TM, or TEM modes. Following formation of a pump current confining layer in a substrate, an elongated groove or channel is formed in the substrate with the groove extending through the pump current confining layer. A first light guiding and carrier confining layer, an active layer, and a second light guiding and carrier confining layer are then grown successively on the grooved surface of the substrate with the active layer material having both a higher index of refraction and lower bandgap than the material(s) of the light guiding and carrier confining layers.

Abstract: A pin wheel feeding device includes a housing capable of being rotated about an axis. A plurality of substantially identical pins are disposed within the housing in respective alignment with a plurality of openings. Each pin includes a pair of opposing guide members. A cam member disposed within the housing is capable of being fixed in position relative to the housing. The cam member has a track formed thereon with which each of the pins is engaged with the pair of guide members thereof being located on either side of the track. The width of the track at first, second and third segments thereof is substantially coextensive with the locus of points traced by the closest adjacent points on the pair of guide members of each pin during movement of the pins along the first, second and third segments of the track.

Abstract: Apparatus for energizing a selected one or more of a plurality of actuation devices in order to cause a printing element associated with each selected actuation device to strike an adjacent recording medium.

Abstract: An apparatus which can function either in a copier mode or in a raster scan mode. A first unit of the apparatus, containing elements to produce an information modulated, scanning light beam, is movably mounted upon a second unit of the apparatus, containing optical elements for directing light upon a photosensitive medium, such that the movable unit can be located clear of the document supporting platen of the second unit to provide copier operation or can be located immediately adjacent the platen of the second unit to provide raster scanning operation. Optical means are provided in the movable unit to provide light focusing capabilities for the raster scan mode of operation.

Abstract: A keyboard encoding system having a pause built into the repeat key function. A multi-stage counter has a first of its stages coupled to a first bistable switching device and another, higher order stage coupled to a second bistable switching device. When a repeat key is closed, the counter is incremented past the first stage to the higher order stage which renders the second bistable switching device conductive and, due to the interconnection between the switching devices, primes the first bistable switching device. When the counter again increments to the first stage, the first bistable switching device conducts to produce, after the pause provided by the system, a repeat key encoding signal.

Abstract: An electrically pumped, solid-state laser device having a grating or physical periodic structure in a region, or adjacent a region, of semiconductor material that functions as a light wave guide. The spacing of the perturbations of the periodic structure are selected to be an integer number of half wavelengths of the desired laser wavelength. The electrically pumped, solid-state laser device can be a single heterojunction device or a double heterojunction device. Both devices are formed by a process which provides for formation of the periodic structure prior to formation of the light guiding layer or region. Due to this process a periodic structure having a desired spacing and substantial depth is produced, which structure produces Bragg Scattering which couples and reinforces light traveling through the light guiding layer in both directions in a coherent manner such that reflections are in phase, thus allowing laser operation in the absence of discrete end reflectors.This is a division of application Ser.