Abstract: A dot matrix printing device for electronic calculator comprising a plurality of electrically heatable dots of an insulating plate aligned therebetween and spaced according to a constant pitch to print the digits of the calculator amounts. A symbol dot is located adjacently to the terminal digit dot which prints the least significant digit of the amount, aligned with the other dots of the plurality. The symbol dot is spaced from the terminal digit dot by a distance greater than the constant pitch of the other dots and prints the explanatory symbols of the amounts leaving a blank between the digits and the symbols of the amounts.

Abstract: A type-carrier disk with flexible tongues for a printing device includes a central part for fixing onto a selection shaft and a peripheral notched crown from which issue several flexible tongues each tongue ending with a base from which projects a corresponding character. For different fonts, in the corresponding disks, the characters present a similar angular position and the base of a similar character has the same dimension and form able to edge the envelope of the different fonts. A positioning wedge protrudes from the base of the character and cooperates with a V notched hammer of the machine. The tongues are regularly spaced following regular angular spaces and in the disk used for differential spacing characters, the axis of the characters are angularly shifted in relation to the wedges of the tongues in inverse ratio to the sizes of the character and to the spacing steps of which the disk is to be spaced after the printing of said characters.

Abstract: A non impact dot matrix printer of the serial-parallel or parallel type having a base member extending parallel to the line of print direction on which a plurality of adjacent printing heads is independently mounted; each head has a planar surface carrying thereon a row of dot size printing elements facing the recording medium, the rows of all the heads being aligned to form a single long row of printing elements extending parallel and equally spaced along the line of print direction; each head is fixed to an end of a resilient lamina, the other end of which is fixed to the base member, the lamina by flexing and twisting allows uniform contact of resistive elements of each head against recording medium; in the printer, the base member is reciprocated along the line of print direction by a pair of cam following rollers cooperating with a cam.

Abstract: In a capacitive keyboard using a polarized dielectric commonly called an electret, the keys are organized according to a matrix by rows and columns, the signals generated on the column conductors being of opposite polarity with respect to those generated on the row conductors. The movable armatures of the variable capacitors of the keys also act as bridging elements to allow the crossing of the row and column conductors and as snap elements.

Abstract: A cartridge for an inked ribbon for printing machines, in particular wire printers, comprises a container and a pair of rollers for the feeding of the ribbon. The container comprises a storage zone, in which an inked ribbon is disposed in loops and is distributed at random, and a guide zone which surrounds the printing head of the machine. The guide zone comprises a series of ribs which twists a section of the inked ribbon through 180.degree. to form a Mobius loop. The rollers are free to move radially in corresponding seats of the container and are able to engage a pair of pins of the machine. One pin is a motor pin and rotates one of the rollers, and the other pin is a pressure pin which engages the other roller and is urged by a spring against the motor pin. The pressure pin causes the ribbon to be nipped between the two rollers to be fed by the motor pin.

Abstract: An apparatus for recording binary information on a flexible magnetic disk of small dimension, comprises a rotatable hub connected to a plate on a first surface of which is formed a spiral guide. The hub has a cylindrical portion engageable accurately with a corresponding central hole of the disk and it is provided with a radial driving dog engageable on the fly, and with play, with a corresponding radial notch opening out of the central hole. A recording head is mounted at the end of an arm which has an element cooperating with the spiral guide of the plate for being moved, radially with respect to the disk, in synchronism with the rotation of the plate and of the same disk.

Abstract: In an apparatus for recording binary information on a flexible magnetic disk, a plate, is provided connected to an electric motor, for rotating the disk, and a spiral guide is formed on a first surface of the plate for moving a recording head radially with respect to the disk, in synchronism with the rotation of the plate and the disk. The improvement comprises an electronic circuit, which controls the angular speed of the motor, and quickly accelerates the motor, when the last binary information has been recorded on the disk, for shortening the time taken by the head to return to the rest position.

Abstract: The apparatus is adapted to simultaneously treating a pair of magnetic tape cassettes. The apparatus comprises two pairs of hubs, which cooperate with the reels of the magnetic tapes, and which can rotate in both directions at a substantially constant angular speed under the control of a single electric motor. A pair of magnetic heads are employed for writing and/or reading binary information on the two tapes. The data read by the heads are regarded as information only if they exceed a predetermined threshold value defined by a voltage generator. A control circuit, comprising a variable gain amplifier, maintains the ratio between the peak of the data detected and the value of the threshold substantially constant, taking into account the variations of the linear speed of the tapes.

Abstract: A text processing system comprises a keyboard, a printing unit, a display unit having the capacity of displaying up to a line of entered text and a control unit which updates the display unit upon each entry of a character from the keyboard, and enables the printing unit to print the last entered line upon reception of an end of line signal from the keyboard. An auxiliary buffer is provided for storing the line last entered via the keyboard. The keyboard includes a line preceding key operative during entry of a line on the keyboard for conditioning the display unit to display at least a portion of the line of text stored in the auxiliary buffer.

Abstract: In a device for encoding and recording digital signals on a magnetic recording medium, precompensation in respect of errors which arise with high bit packing densities is effected by selectively advancing and delaying the signals. The delay or advance is obtained by presetting a counter according to the value of following and preceding signals.

Abstract: The operative memory of the computer is of the MOS type and is cyclically refreshed under the control of logic circuits, in turn controlled by the timing unit during the microinstructions decoding. Particularly, every machine cycle in which an odd microinstruction is fetched, a row of memory locations is addressed for being refreshed during the same cycle, before the next following machine cycle is started, thus preventing any overlapping of refreshing operation with the CPU operation on the memory.

Abstract: A sorting and collating apparatus for sorting sheets from a reproduction machine capable of producing simplex or duplex copies, comprising an array of regularly spaced trays fixedly mounted on a suitable frame, a sheets conveyor extending along first and second paths parallel to the opposite sides of the array respectively, a deflector for deflecting sheets to the first path of the conveyor or the second path of the conveyor depending on whether a simplex or duplex sorting is selected, first and second delivering devices connected together and mounted on said conveyor for delivering a transported sheet to a selected tray from either side of the array and a single device for incrementally moving the first and second delivering devices along the array in opposite direction.

Abstract: A keyboard comprises a plurality of keys which, when depressed, elastically deform conductive laminae which thereby go with a snap action from a stable configuration to an unstable configuration to complete an electrical circuit associated thereto. Each lamina has the form of two mutually transverse pairs of parallel edge strips spanned by a diagonal strip and the edge strips have permanent bends set into them such that the diagonal strip is bowed in the stable configuration towards the corresponding key. A fixed contact on the lamina is located adjacent one end of the diagonal strip and a movable contact is located in the central region of the diagonal strip. A single key actuates two identical laminae, one through an actuator resiliently coupled to the key and the other through an actuator fixed to the key.

Abstract: In an electronic computer a device for selecting the number of decimal digits to be printed in the results is adapted to cause the automatic setting of the decimal point in each result to be printed. Inhibition of this automatic setting is obtained by depressing the conventional decimal point key on the computer keyboard. The computer is of the microprogrammed type and includes a read-only memory storing micro-programs for detecting and testing the position of the selecting device.

Abstract: A correctable print is obtained by using an easily sublimable ink. Said print is completely erased when heated at a temperature insufficient to cause the darkening of the paper, by means of a hot point, of hot air, or of radiant energy.

Abstract: An arrangement is disclosed which enables the variation of the working environment of a computer comprising a working memory, a central processor unit and a plurality of peripheral units including an external memory. The arrangement comprises a switch having a plurality of positions associated with respective working environments and a logic control device responsive to the switch to introduce a group of microprograms, programs forming the operative system and at least one application program associated with the selected position of the switch from the external memory into the working memory. The programs and microprograms introduced into the working memory then are used to control the peripheral units in such a manner to establish different groups of functions, each group specializing the computer for the selected environment.

Abstract: A typing device comprises a character-bearing disc having a central part for being fixed on a selector shaft and a peripheral rim with a plurality of selectable flexible laminae. Each lamina carries a particular character and striking means flexes the selected lamina to strike against a typing point of a sheet carrying platen for typing. A positioning element, for angular positioning the characters with respect to the typing point, comprises a recess cooperating with a wedge-shaped profile of each one of the selected laminae when the character strikes on said platen. The laminae carry alphabetic and numerical characters and a gap on the peripheryof the disc enables the last typed characters of a typing line to be seen and read. Further a hooked element cooperates with an elastic means of a flange integral with the selector shaft to removably fix the character bearing disc to the selector shaft.

Abstract: A device for facilitating location of the printing point and/or the correction of characters comprises a mechanism actuated by a back space key to shift the printing point back. A second mechanism, also actuated by the back space key, moves a pointer to a set position over the printing point simultaneously with the back spacing. A restoring element controlled by a typing mechanism automatically restores the pointer to an inoperative position clear of the printing point before the typing of the selected character. A correcting key, when actuated, sets a suppressor which arrests the movement of a spring actuated actuator to lock the escapement and prearranges a lift mechanism for raising a correcting ribbon into an operative position. A positioner connected to the lift mechanism holds the suppressor in the set position in opposition to the action of a returning spring when the mechanism is prearranged for use and releases the suppressor when the correcting ribbon is raised into the operative position.

Abstract: A high-speed wire printing device wherein the wires are slidably mounted on a carriage movable in front of a recording medium and individually actuated by controlling electromagnets to print alphanumeric characters and graphic symbols on the medium in accordance with a dot matrix formed of lines and columns. The printing extremities of the wires are aligned on two side-by-side columns. At each actuation cycle of the electromagnets, the carriage is shifted at a constant speed in front of the medium by a distance that is substantially equal to twice the distance between two columns of the matrix. An electronic circuit for the actuation of the electromagnets actuates both selectively and alternately the wires arranged in two side-by-side columns.