Abstract: The precision measuring apparatus comprises a portal mounted to translate on a platform and comprising two uprights supporting a first cross-piece along which runs a carriage bearing a measuring head. The weight of the carriage is unloaded through resilient means on to a second cross-piece disposed parallel to and below the first cross-piece. The second cross-piece is a part of a second portal having two columns translating on the platform together with the first portal. The columns of the second portal are disposed inside the uprights of the first portal, which uprights are hollow, and are moved by the upwriters by means of opposed pairs of compression springs disposed between each column and the corresponding upright.

Abstract: The teleprinter is provided with a bialphabetic keyboard, for example latin and arabic, and a dot printing head controlled by two different character generating units corresponding to the two alphabets. The teleprinter is normally predisposed for one of the two alphabets and can be switched to the other alphabet by means of a sequence of characters. The arabic character generating unit is adapted to recognize predetermined sequences for generating composite characters, i.e. the lam-alef group. Furthermore, some characters at the end of a word are generated by adding a tail to the normal character in response to the spacing code. The teleprinter can be connected to the conventional existing teleprinters, since neither the composite characters, nor the tails are transmitted on the line.

Abstract: A cartridge for an endless inked ribbon for printing office machines comprises a container in which are disposed separating elements which define a storage zone. An endless inked ribbon is disposed in loops and is distributed at random in the storage zone. The inked ribbon passes from a slit to the exterior of the storage zone and through one aperture to the exterior of the container. A section of the inked ribbon is twisted through 180.degree. to form a Mobius loop, by guide elements which localize the twisted section in a zone of the container outside the storage zone. The inked ribbon passes back into a container through a second aperture and returns to the interior of the storage zone through an opening thereof. At least one curved wall, adjacent to the slit, defines an housing for receiving any loop which have escaped from the slit for preventing a plurality of loops of the ribbon emerging simultaneously from the storage zone.

Abstract: A removably mountable electrothermal print head for writing dots-matrix characters while moving along a thermosensitive recording medium and a mounting for the hand or a movable carriage of a printer, the head comprises a plurality of electrically energizable resistive printing elements coated on a support; the outer surface of said elements is partly cylindrical with the generatrices in parallel relation with a common direction which is transversal with respect to the printing line of the recording medium. The print head is positioned with respect to the recording medium with the part-cylindrical outer surface of the resistive printing elements in tangential relation with the recording medium. The printing head is positioned on and removably fixed to the carriage by a manually actuatable latch.

Abstract: Electrophotographic copying machine comprising a discharge device for discharging the area of the movable photoconductive element which exceeds the area of the copy-sheet residing in the machine. The discharge device comprises a lamp and a mask interposed between the lamp and the photoconductive surface, the mask has a plurality of slots, each slot being associated to a copy-sheet format; each slot comprises a first portion for discharging the margin zones of the photoconductive element, which zones has a length equal to the difference between the width of the photoconductive element and a dimension of the copy-sheet format selected; and a second portion for discharging the entire width of the photoconductive element, the second portion is positioned in front of the lamp after that a length of the photoconductive element equal to the other dimension of the format has been moved in front of the discharge device.

Abstract: A keyboard of a typewriter comprises a common actuator biased by a spring. The depression of a key causes a corresponding intermediate member to engage with the actuator to initiate an operating cycle and to move the intermediate member to a position which causes selection of an operation corresponding to the key which has been depressed. The engagement of the common actuator with more than one intermediate member consequent upon depression of more than one key causes the common actuator to move under the spring bias at a substantially reduced speed and a locking mechanism to lock selected operations. A reloading mechanism is responsive to the speed of the actuator for unlocking the locking mechanism and restoring the actuator and the intermediate member when the reduced speed is sensed.

Abstract: An arrangement for detecting the angular position for a rotatable part, for example, the printing head of an office machine comprises a shaft coupled to the rotatable part for rotating in synchronism therewith, a first rotatable cylinder arranged to rotate with the shaft and having disposed along a circumferential track a plurality of recognition apertures which are associated with predetermined discrete angular positions of the rotatable part. A first detecting unit is arranged to co-operate with the plurality of apertures to detect the predetermined discrete angular positions of the rotatable part. A second rotatable cylinder is rotatably mounted inside the first cylinder and is coupled to the shaft through speed reduction gears. On the second cylinder there is disposed at least one synchronizing element co-operating with a second detecting unit to detect complete revolutions of the rotatable part.

Abstract: A printing office machine of the type having a carriage, a controllable line spacing mechanism and a controllable carriage return mechanism for returning the carriage to the beginning of the printing line with a manually actuatable control actuated by a first key for enabling both the line spacing mechanism and the carriage return mechanism to effect both the line spacing and the return of the carriage to the beginning of the printing line. A manually actuatable stop device, actuated by a second key, is provided for preventing the movement of the carriage to override the carriage return mechanism to effect the line spacing of the carriage without the return of the carriage to the beginning of the printing line.

Abstract: A numerical control system for machining centers, having a RAM and two groups of peripheral units, comprises two proessors interconnected by means of a common signal bus and adapted to operate simultaneously sharing access automatically to the RAM and to the peripheral units.One of the two processors is specialized for executing the computations relating to the interpolation of the path of the center of the tool with respect to the workpiece to be machined, while the second processor is specialized in control of the said peripherals. One group of peripherals comprises input and output means for data and programs and another group comprises a series of units for measuring and controlling the movement of the said tool and the said workpiece. The said processors are connected to the said memory and to the said input and output means by means of one signal bus, the measuring and control units are interconnected by means of a second signal bus connected to the first bus through a bidirectional interface.

Abstract: A transducer for measuring linear positions comprises a scale formed of a tensioned flexible band and a slide movable with respect to the scale. A rigid guide plate fast with the slide extends over the whole area of the slide winding and cooperates with a resilient plate having guide lugs at each end of the guide plate and so bent as to have lips bearing against two edges of the band. A leaf spring element on the resilient plate urges the lips against the side of the band opposite to the plate.

Abstract: An electronic desk-top accounting machine is adapted to operate in the usual programmed mode as well as in a manual mode as an arithmetic calculator. It comprises a keyboard for entering numeric data and operative commands, a printing unit, a programming unit and an electronic data processing unit. A working memory contains data and processing results arising during execution of the accounting program. There are provided a selector switch for selecting the operating mode, programmed or manual, and a preserving memory. The execution of the accounting program can be interrupted, upon actuation of the selector switch, for enabling the use as an arithmetic calculator, while the content of the working memory is transferred into the preserving memory. The execution of the program can be resumed upon request and will take place from the data and processing results present in the working memory on the interruption of the execution of the program.

Abstract: A method of printing on thermographic paper according to which the heat for causing the imaging color change in the thermographic coating is generated by means of current in a portion of the coating dampened by a thin film of a conductive salt solution which is dispensed on the thermographic coating. The current is generated by a printing head having spaced electrodes in contact with the dampened portion of the coating. The conductive salt solution may be deposited on the thermographic coating in liquid film form, combined with a thermographic material to form a conductive coating for printing in the dry state, or mixed with the thermographic material in liquid form and dispensed on plain paper in a thin film in the path of the writing head.

Abstract: In a computer having a keyboard for entry of data represented by a series of bytes and/or instructions, processor is provided for processing data entered via the keyboard with a control unit controlling the entry and processing of data. An activatable guiding device including a single digit display instructs the operator by displaying as a number of machine conditions to the operator, a number of signals corresponding to a plurality of configurations of a single byte output from the processor. The control unit generates an activating instruction for activating the display.

Abstract: An autoadaptive working center for programmable automation comprises sensing means adapted to recognize a set of different situations of the working process, and program means for storing a program constituted by a set of subroutines corresponding to the said situations. The said sensing means are adapted to address, in response to the recognition of a given situation of the working process, the corresponding subroutine of the program. The working center comprises at least a pair of autoadaptive operating devices programmable separately and controllable by separate control units, under coordination made by a central unit as a function of the duration of the respective operations, the working positions of the various tools and the overall dimensions of the said heads. Each operating head is movable along at least two coordinates by numerical control units, each unit commanding a corresponding stepping motor.

Abstract: An electronic computer is provided with a numerical keyboard, a microprogrammed CPU, as well as RAMs and ROMs, some of them of pluggable type. A pluggable ROM stores a plurality of programs and comprises a portion formed of an associated plurality of registers each one storing a jump instruction and the associated programs. The numerical addresses of said registers are represented by a series of numerals which can be entered by the keyboard. Programs can be entered from the numerical keyboard into a RAM memory, in form of a sequence of numerical codes, each code corresponding to a subroutine prerecorded in a ROM. Each program so "learned" by the computer can be repeatedly executed by depressing a fixed code on the keyboard.

Abstract: Disposable toner cartridge for copying machine which has an outer casing with a first opening, and a container mounted within the casing and provided with a second opening. The container is movable between a position of containment of the toner, in which it is maintained during shipment, and a position of discharge, in which it is turned upon positioning of the cartridge in the copying machine and in which the first and second openings are aligned for discharging therethrough the toner into the copying machine. The casing is provided with clamping elements for clamping the container in the discharge position to prevent any subsequent movement of the container starting from the discharge position, so avoiding the re-use of the cartridge.

Abstract: In an electronic computer, an arrangement for retrieving by means of search key words, information records on a record carrier having index key words associated with the records. The search key word is compared in succession with the index key words for identifying the position of the index key word on the carrier. The position of the index key word on the carrier enables the identification of the location of the record associated with the search keyword. The location so identified is used for accessing the information record associated with the search key word.

Abstract: An inked ribbon cartridge is removably mountable in a printing machine of the type comprising a support for the cartridge, two transport elements engageable with two spools, respectively, of the cartridge around which the ribbon is wound, two sensing elements for sensing the amount of the ribbon wound on the two spools, respectively, of the cartridge, a ribbon movement reversing mechanism controlled by the sensing elements for determining the direction of the rotation of the two shafts, and a control element for shifting the sensing elements from an operative position in which they sense the ribbon to an inoperative position in which they are disengaged from the spools.

Abstract: A mechanism for reversing the movement of an inked ribbon in an office printing machine or the like comprising first and second rotors each for effecting the rotation of one of two ribbon spools on which the ribbon is mounted and a driving element for alternately imparting a driving force to one of the rotors. The driving element is alternately selectively coupled to one of the two rotors to effect the reversal of the movement of the ribbon. A reversing member is shiftable between a first position wherein the driving element is coupled to the first rotor and a second position wherein the driving element is coupled to the second rotor. The reversing member is resiliently coupled to the driving element for rotational movement therewith. The reversing member is maintained in one of the two positions and is permitted to shift to the other of the two positions in response to the application of a predetermined torque.