Abstract: An orthotic for controlling the motion of and supporting the foot of a person is disclosed. The flexural strength of the orthotic is variable or adjustable. The means to achieve the variable flexural strength is primarily located under the medial arch portion of the orthotic. A thinner rigid orthotic and a thinner semiflexible orthotic are thereby achieved, neither of which rely upon the arch portion of the shoe of the wearer for support. The thinness of the orthotic provides for a low fit within the shoe resulting in a proper fit of the person's foot within the shoe. In one embodiment, a formed shell of two layers of plastic of contrasting colors is machined to remove a substantial amount of the bottom layer primarily along the lateral side thereby leaving a thickened portion at the medial arch portion. Heel and forefoot posts are machined into the bottom layer. In another embodiment, thin strips of plastic are heat welded to the medial underside of a formed shell of plastic.

Abstract: A needle-carrying head for a printing machine has needles controlled by electro-magnets. The coils of the electro-magnets are soldered to pins carried by support ears for the coils. The pins pass through printed circuit boards to which they are soldered. The coils are engaged on cores constituted by limbs of respective fork-shaped members the second limb of which serves to complete the magnetic circuit. The two limbs of each fork-shaped member are interconnected by means of a transverse portion constituting a yoke, secured by setting into one or the other of two plates forming, with a central plate made of plastics material, a cage-shaped frame of the needle-carrying head. The printed circuit boards are thus interposed between the electro-magnets and the front plate of the frame on the one hand, and between the electro-magnets and the rear plate on the other hand.

Abstract: A belt stamp comprises a housing (1), and a baseplate (11), which is hinged to a bottom end of the housing and is adapted to be swung open from a closed position and carries a printing plate (12). A stamping belt assembly (5) is mounted in the housing (1) and is adjustable therein by screws in a direction which is normal to the baseplate (11). The stamping belt assembly comprises stamping belts (9), which carry type (10), which is adapted to extend through a window (13) formed in the baseplate. In order to facilitate the assembling of the stamp and to simplify the replacement of the baseplate (11), the baseplate carries at its top a hinge pin (15), which is parallel to the baseplate and is pivoted in an inwardly open half-bushing (14), which is carried by the housing (1). Owing to that arrangement the hinge pin (15) can leave the half-bushing (14) when the baseplate (11) has been swung open and the baseplate (11) can then be removed from the housing.

Abstract: A ribbon shifting device has a cassette holder for holding a multicolor ribbon cassette, which is moved in a predetermined direction by a cam. The cam is driven by a driving means through a gear train consisting of at least two gears. When the cassette holder is located at the home position, a recess formed in one of the meshing gear is brought opposite to the other gear, so that the gears are disengaged, and then an urging means urges the cam in a direction to bring the gears into engagement. Thus, the adjustment of the home position of the cassette holder is achieved simultaneously, accurately and easily.

Abstract: A screen printing machine comprises a support frame comprising vertical and horizontal members and having a rear side, a front side spaced horizontally forward therefrom, and a plurality of stanchions projecting upward between the front and rear sides and an auxiliary frame lying and horizontally movable on the stanchions and projecting forward past the front side of the support frame. A screen is clamped to the auxiliary frame so that the screen is cantilevered on and projects forward beyond the front side of the support frame and lies fully forward of the front side of the support frame. A platen disposed below the screen and forward of the front side of the support frame is pivotal on this support frame at its rear side about a pivot axis so that the platen projects wholly beyond the front side of the support frame and access to the platen and the screen is afforded on all sides thereof except for rear edges of the screen and the platen which are proximal to the support frame.

Abstract: An ink-dot printer comprises a pair of slit forming members arranged to define a slit therebetween, an ink tank for storing ink in which the slit is immersed, a recording sheet opposed to the slit, a needle movable between a rest position and a projected position, a driving mechanism for moving the needle between the two positions, and an ink attracting unit for generating a magnetic or electric field in the slit, thereby attracting the ink from the ink tank into the slit to cause the ink to attach to the distal end portion of the needle located in the rest position, the ink attracting unit being adapted to generate an ink attracting magnetic or electric force of a necessary intensity for the ink to be attracted from the ink tank into the slit at the time of ink attraction, and to generate an ink holding magnetic or electric field of a minimum necessary intensity for a predetermined amount of ink to be held in the slit after the predetermined amount of ink is attracted into the slit, wherein the ink attaching

Abstract: A printing apparatus for printing on a sheet of paper via a thermal ribbon has a paper feeding device for feeding the sheet of paper; a thermal print head including heat generating elements which are held in pressed contact with the surface of the sheet of paper via the thermal ribbon, the heat generating elements being selectively energized to apply heat to an ink layer of the thermal ribbon to fuse the ink for adherence of the fused ink to the surface of the paper; and a smoothness improving device, disposed upstream of the thermal print head in the direction of feed of the sheet of paper by the paper feeding device, for improving the smoothness of the surface of the paper.

Abstract: The invention provides a paper loading device for a printer wherein, when paper is to be loaded onto a platen, in response to operation of a button or a lever with paper set in position, the platen is driven to cause the paper to be loaded thereto, and upon such loading of the paper, a paper bail roller is automatically moved away from the platen. After loading of the paper, the paper bail roller is returned to a position adjacent the platen.

Abstract: A printing medium detecting mechanism of a printer having a plurality of printing medium traveling paths includes a detecting groove provided in a circumferential portion of a platen other than a printing region thereof, a first printing medium detecting lever disposed on one of the plurality of the traveling paths to freely fit in the detecting lever, and a medium detecting sensor provided on a printer control circuit board. The printing medium detecting mechanism further includes a second printing medium detecting lever provided on any other medium traveling path of the plurality of the medium traveling paths. The first printing medium detecting lever is adapted to be interlocked with the second printing medium detecting lever, thereby enabling to provide a simplified printing medium detecting mechanism.

Abstract: An ink ribbon cassette is constructed such that it is unnecessary to wind off an ink ribbon at the start of every line printing process. The cassette includes two pairs of reels, each pair including an ink ribbon-winding off reel and an ink ribbon-winding up reel. The pairs of rails are rotatably mounted one above the other on a cassette casing which is detachably mounted on a carriage of a printer. The casing is provided with a driving shaft which is rotated in normal and reverse directions in response to reciprocal movement of the carriage. The driving shaft being provided with two one-way clutches transmitting the rotation of the shaft in opposite directions. Conveying members separately convey the ink ribbons for the respective pairs of reels and are driven by respective to the one-way clutches.

Abstract: A printer ribbon cartridge of the type employing two ribbon spools. In this one, the ribbon is driven by a belt engaging the spools and, in turn, the belt is engaged by both of two alternately driven drive rollers. The ribbon departure or arrival of a ribbon from or to a spool occurs on a side of a spool opposite to that of engagement of the belt with a spool.

Abstract: A printer device for the individual feed of pre-printed sheets or tickets through a sheet guide channel to a printer platen of an associated printer comprises at least two sensors. The at least two sensors are connected to the inputs of a control processor which processes the electrical states of the sensors. The outputs LINE FEED and SELECT of this control processor are conducted to inputs of the SELECT and LINE FEED function input circuits of the associated printer. Commercially available printers can be converted into specialized printers for data recording or for filling in pre-printed forms without substantial modification by employing this device.

Abstract: A printing mechanism for use in an impact printing system primarily intended for the transfer of a dry film impression onto an image carrying tape. The mechanism includes a hammer (130), and an anvil (126). The hammer is actuated by lever arm (164) which is in turn accuated by eccentric cam (194). At its upper end the hammer is biased by a pivotal spring mechanism (152) against a roller bearing (162). At its lower end the hammer (130) has a guide pin (140) which passes through an aperture (144) in a guide plate (142). The guide plate is adjustably mounted by means of slots (141) so that movement of the guide plate adjusts the inclination of the hammer.

Abstract: Apparatus for mounting a flexible printing plate comprises a printing cylinder having a surface upon which the printing plate is mountable, and a connection for applying subatmospheric pressure inside the cylinder. A plurality of valves selectively apply the subatmospheric pressure to the surface from inside the cylinder. These valves have depressable actuating members protrudable above the cylinder surface. Those actuating members contacted by the printing plate when applied to the cylinder surface are depressed thereby to effect application of subatmospheric pressure to beneath the printing plate to draw the plate against the cylinder. Preferably, grooves are provided in the cylinder surface for distribution of the subatmospheric pressure beneath the plate. Advantageously, the printing plate may have a thin, highly flexible and deformable fringe along its trailing edge to seal the surface grooves, at that location.

Abstract: An electronic typewriter has a right margin zone hyphenation system operable with an error correction function to provide a reasonably aligned right margin of printed lines on a work sheet. To hyphen a word or a partial word printed in the hyphenation zone, the operator positions a print mechanism to a hyphen position within the word and depresses a hyphen key. The electronics automatically erases the characters at the hyphen position and to the right of the hyphen position, prints a hyphen at the hyphen position, moves the print mechanism to a left margin, indexes the work sheet and prints the characters erased from the preceding line at the left margin on the next line. The hyphenation system is also operable to automatically erase an entire word in the hyphenation zone and reprint the word on the next line.

Abstract: A feeder device for feeding tags, cards, nameplates and the like to a rotary printer or marking machine. The feeder device is comprised of a chute for receiving a stack of tags. A reciprocatory pusher plate or shuttle is adapted to push a bottom-most tag through a narrow slot in a side wall of the chute onto a table of the printer. The table has a pair of guard rails spaced from one another and disposed in a converging relationship. The tags are pushed into a wide portion between the rails and advance into a tag engaging restricted portion between the rails where one of the rails is biasedly engageable against an edge of the tag. The tag is guided in a controlled manner as it is pushed underneath a printing wheel where the desired printing information is printed upon it.

Abstract: An operation lever controller for a two-color printing apparatus having first and second units adapted to perform printing independently of each other and arranged such that all steps of respective printing operations are performed by rotating respective operation levers in multiple stages. The operation levers, ratchet wheels, set cams for changing and positioning the operation levers in respective multiple stages and arms provided with respective magnets are fixed on corresponding drive shafts of the first and second units. Pairs of feed pallets are respectively provided on unit frames so as to be linked with forward-drive solenoids, backward-drive solenoids, and pallet-drive shafts such that the respective pairs of feed pallets are disengaged and engaged with the ratchet wheels by operations of the solenoids to perform feeding operations using the pallet-drive shafts. Operation lever detecting switches are turned on by the magents at respective positions of the operation levers.

Abstract: An arrangement for feeding a stencil frame having a stencil mounted therein to a silk screen printing machine and/or for discharging a stencil frame therefrom, in which the silk screen printing machine is provided with means for receiving a stencil frame and means for holding the stencil frame firmly in the printing machine. One or more stencil frame magazines are arranged between the printing machine a transfer and arrangement for feeding a stencil frame to the magazine and/or receiving a stencil frame therefrom.Each magazine is allocated horizontal planes for each of which there is provided means adapted to feed a stencil frame to the printing machine and/or adapted to remove a stencil frame from the printing machine.

Abstract: A grip and an arm orthogonal to each other are rotatably connected to be folded together. The grip accommodates dry cells. A plurality of projections for massaging are formed on the lower surface of the free end of the arm. An interior vibration device is provided in the free end of the arm. In use, the grip and the arm are extended orthogonally at the connection portion. When the projections are pressed against sore muscles, a temporary holding stopper retracts allowing a contact spring to close to operate the vibrator. Vibration is transmitted to the muscles through the projections.

Abstract: Disclosed is a record carrier feed device in which a guide bar is disposed in a position where the leading edge of a record carrier wound around a platen is on the point of separating from the cylindrical surface of the platen in a direction tangential thereto when the record carrier is to be fed past a printing region on the front side of the platen. The leading edge of the record carrier is guided along the guide bar to come into contact with guide rollers which are disposed on the proximal end side of the guide bar so that a fixed gap is defined between the guide rollers and the cylindrical surface of the platen. In the forward feed direction for the record carrier, the guide rollers rotate at a peripheral speed higher than that of the platen, exerting a frictional force in the forward feed direction on the record carrier. In the reverse feed direction, on the other hand, the guide rollers are kept from rotating, giving the record carrier a frictional force to pull back the same.