Abstract: A device (10) for feeding sheets from a ream (22) comprising a main feeding roller (24) subdivided into a plurality of sleeves (32) which rotate in contact with an uppermost sheet (23a), coming from the ream, to feed it along a path (30), and an auxiliary separating roller (26) adapted for separating the uppermost sheet (23a) from the other sheets of the ream (22), wherein the feeding and separating rollers (24, 26) are both arranged on the same side with respect to said path (30) and therefore rotate in contact with one and the same side of the uppermost sheet (23a). The separating roller (26) is accommodated in a central seat (34) made between the sleeves (32) of the main feeding roller (24) and is arranged prevalently inside the radial working envelope of the sleeves (32) of the main feeding roller (24), so that the feeding device (10) has an extremely compact structure.

Abstract: This invention relates to an electronic device, for a fax machine in particular, comprising controlling means (11) capable of associating compression codes or code words with strings of source information in accordance with a first processing speed, and storing means, for example shift registers (31, 32) capable of appending the code words to one another so as to form blocks of compressed information, in accordance with a second processing speed, greater than the first. The device is also capable of “extracting” the single code words from blocks of compressed information at this second processing speed. By way of the technique of using different processing speeds, the device makes it possible to obtain total speeds of compression and/or decompression of the information respectively to be transmitted and/or received much greater than those obtainable up to now with the known devices.

Abstract: A method for detecting the volume (Vol) of the droplets of ink (22) ejected by a thermal ink jet printhead (11), comprising a continuous driving cycle during which one or more thermal ejection actuators (17) of the printhead (11) are driven in pulsing fashion with a driving energy (Ep) progressively increasing from a condition where no droplets are ejected, while the printhead (11) is maintained at a substantially constant stabilization temperature (Ts), notwithstanding the progressive increase in driving energy (Ep), by means of a heat control member (28) which absorbs and dissipates an appropriate feedback energy.

Abstract: An ink jet color printer (10) comprises a printer body (15) having a casing with a rear wall (17) provided with a slot (13) in which an interchangeable, disposable type paper cassette (18) containing printing media with given common characteristics is removably inserted; the paper cassette bears are at least 5-bit binary (19) indicating the characteristics of the printing media it contains inside and which is read by the electronic controller (21) of the printer so as to automatically select the optimum printing mode in relation to the specific characteristics of the printing media, thus avoiding mistakes on the part of the user.

Abstract: The single heads (40) mounted on a single print carriage of an ink jet printer comprise a column (50) of phototransistors (51-i), built directly into the chip of each head in the same process steps as used for the circuits for selecting and driving the actuating resistors; an illuminating device (43) on board the printer focuses a light spot (70) on the column (50) of phototransistors (51-i) which, scanned in sequence, provide the electronic controller of the printer a video output (57); from the output (57), processing and computing means produce a measurement of the vertical and horizontal misalignment of each head (40), a measurement used subsequently to automatically compensate this misalignment.

Abstract: An actuator assembly (81) for ink jet printheads, both monochromatic and colour, with a large number of nozzles (62), consists of a die (58) stuck on a rigid substrate (166) and divided into two parts lengthwise to permit the flow of ink from the tank to the nozzles (62), and a flat cable (130) with nozzles (62) stuck on the die (58); the actuator assembly (81) is produced by means of the operations of sticking the die (58) on the rigid substrate (166), making a through cut (173) along the entire length of the die (58), sticking the flat cable (130) with nozzles (62) on the die (58) and sealing the ends of the longitudinal cut (173) with glue. The object of the actuator assembly (81) and the relative manufacturing process is to prevent particularly long dice from breaking during manufacture of the head.

Abstract: A parallelepiped shape printer (20) suitable being stacked with equipment, comprising a fixed structure (65) upon which an outer casing (22) of the printer is mounted; a movable cassette (21) bearing a printing assembly (33); and a feeding tray (34) which contains a ream (36) of sheets of paper (37), wherein the cassette (21) may be manually extracted from and inserted in the outer casing (22) through a front side (23) of the printer (20).

Abstract: An actuator assembly (81) for ink jet printheads, both monochromatic and color, with a large number of nozzles (62), consists of a die (58) stuck on a rigid substrate (166) and divided into two parts lengthwise to permit the flow of ink from the tank to the nozzles (62), and a flat cable (130) with nozzles (62) stuck on the die (58); the actuator assembly (81) is produced by means of the operations of sticking the die (58) on the rigid substrate (166), making a through cut (173) along the entire length of the die (58), sticking the flat cable (130) with nozzles (62) on the die (58) and sealing the ends of the longitudinal cut (173) with glue. The object of the actuator assembly (81) and the relative manufacturing process is to prevent particularly long dice from breaking during manufacture of the head.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device for printers and other machines comprises a movable support (17) whereon a stack of sheets may be arranged and resiliently urged against selection wheels (19). A retracting mechanism (50) is arranged so as to push back during one phase of a selection cycle the movable support (7) by a predetermined distance which is substantially constant and independent of the thickness of the stack of sheets. The retracting mechanism (50) for this purpose comprises a connecting rod (58) displaced by a cam wheel (66) following a backward and forward movement. The connecting rod (58) bears a pawl (57) cooperating with a ratchet wheel (56) suitable for driving a lever (51) integral with the movable support (17). Additionally an actuating mechanism permits the partial opening of the guiding channel (28) when the sheet arrives in a printing zone (35).

Abstract: An ink jet printhead optimally utilizes the surface area of the upper face of a silicon die, even in the case of a non-monochromatic head having plural ink tanks. For each tank of ink, the ink includes one pass-through slot that departs from the lower face of the silicon die and terminates in a wider trench in the upper face. The pass-through slot is made using a chemical etching type incision technique known as “inductively coupled plasma” (ICP), thus maximizing the distance between the different ink tanks and, simultaneously, minimizing the distance between the different groups of nozzles on the upper face of the die. Accordingly, the risk of the silicon substrate breaking during any of the various stages of manufacture is considerably reduced.

Abstract: The individual monochromatic printheads mounted simultaneously on the scanning carriage of an ink jet printer are provided with an opto-electronic position detector of the four-quadrant type, which is integrated directly in the chip of each head by means of the same MOS technology used for the circuits for selection and driving of the emission resistors; an illumination device fixed onto the printer focuses a light spot on the position detector which thus provides the electronic control unit of the printer with a measurement of both the vertical and horizontal misalignment of each head, a measurement which is subsequently used in order to compensate automatically for the misalignment thereof.

Abstract: In a thermal ink jet printhead, an emission resistor includes a layer of electrically conductive material for making connections to the resistor. A temperature sensor and a reference temperature sensor, provided for detecting the temperature of enucleation of a bubble and used to directly determine the amount of energy needed for the emission resistor to effectively reach the temperature of enucleation, are arranged in correspondence with an integrated test resistor identical in construction to the emission resistor. The temperature sensor is formed from the layer of electrically conductive material. A differential amplifier having inputs connected to the temperature sensor and the reference temperature sensor effects regulation of a variable duration of pulses applied to the emission resistor.

Abstract: A device 100 for the feeding of sheets 14 from a ream 18, with a main rotating, feeding roller 27; a tray 13 containing the ream 18; and an auxiliary roller 130 arranged adjacent to the feeding roller 27, wherein the tray 13 is suitable for moving cyclically to bring the ream 18 into contact with the feeding roller 27, so that the latter picks one at a time the sheets 14 from the ream 18 and feeds them along a path 131; and wherein the auxiliary roller 130 is adapted for rotating in contact with the sheets 14 picked by the feeding roller 27, but without pulling them and in the direction opposite their feeding direction, the object being that of opposing the picking of double sheets from the ream 18.

Abstract: A facsimile machine (10), connected to a telephone line (L), includes a telephone handset (17) and a flip-up lid (12) having a cradle (19) for removably accommodating the telephone handset (17). The lid (12) is provided with catches (22a,22b) that cooperate with the telephone handset, (17) releasing it so that it can be picked up when the lid (12) is closed on the casing of the facsimile machine (10), and retaining it on the lid (12) to prevent it from falling out of its cradle (19), when the lid (12) is flipped up. The availability and use of the telephone line (L) for making voice telephone calls through the handset (17) are controlled in relation to presence of the latter (17) in its cradle (19) and to the position of the lid (12). In particular, the telephone line (L) will remain free even when the lid (12) is flipped up with the telephone handset (17) in its cradle, thus permitting the reception of incoming voice telephone calls.

Abstract: The method of testing units for the processing of magnetic disks comprises the insertion of a suitably modified disk into the testing unit and the reading of this disk when operations controlled by a testing programme are carried out. The disk for testing is modified and has a plurality of concentric tracks recorded on one or both sides in such a way that the distance between two tracks is slightly greater than the distance between the tracks of standard disks. Only the central track coincides exactly with the corresponding central track of standard disks. After the modified disk has been inserted in the testing unit, the magnetic head is firstly positioned on the central track of the disk and then displaced on the tracks moving increasingly further from the central track.