Abstract: A printer head is connected to its counterbalance by a counter drive in a manner to reduce shock and noise when the printer head is reciprocated by a linear motor. The counter drive comprises a pulley and a pair of belts or wires which are wound approximately half way around the pulley in respective opposite directions on opposite sides of the pulley, with one end of each belt being connected to the counterbalance, and the other end of each belt being connected to the printer head. Thus, the counterbalance moves in the opposite direction of the printer head. A movable element of the linear motor is connected coaxially to the counterbalance, in a manner such that the weight of the movable element is included in the total weight of the counterbalance. The printer head is mounted on a carriage which the carriage has a roller spaced laterally from the shaft. slides along a shaft.

Abstract: The structural base unit of the machine is made of a one-piece shaped beam (40) which extends along a first direction (Y) with a first portion (41) which, due to its own stiffness, supports and guides the carriage (12) carrying the writing head (11) along its translational motion in the first direction (Y), and with second and third portions (45) which defines supporting surfaces for the drum (20) driving the printing medium in a second direction (X) perpendicular to the first direction (Y). Guiding of the carriage (12) is ensured by rails (43, 44) formed integral with the beam or attached to it, and a slot (50) cut in the shaped beam (40) along the action area of the writing head for providing a passage for the printing medium and its engagement with the drum (20).

Abstract: A printer includes a stationary paper chute extending along the outer peripheral surface of a platen over a limited angular extent thereof so as to define therebetween a paper feed passage, the paper chute having an opening through which a pinch roller is movable into and out of the paper feed passage for releasably locking a paper on the platen. The printer further has a pinch roller actuating mechanism which includes a pressure spring disposed adjacent to the paper chute for biasing the pinch roller against the platen, the pressure spring being composed of a cantilevered resilient strip having a free end on which the pinch roller is rotatably supported, and a release camshaft rotatably disposed between the paper chute and the pressure spring and angularly movable to resiliently displace the pressure spring in a direction to move the pinch roller away from the platen.

Abstract: A printer housing which can be adapted for both cut sheet printing paper and continuous printing paper without replacing any of its paper guide members with any external paper guide members. The printer housing comprises a first cover which is pivotably supported at its front end and a second cover which is povoted to the first cover at its middle part and can cover an opening in the upper face of the printer housing main body by complementing the first cover. When the second cover is thus covering the upper opening of the printer housing main body in cooperation with the first cover, the printer housing is adapted for continuous printing paper. When the second cover is brought to an oblique position, the second cover can serve as a guide for feeding cut sheet printing paper into the printer. The printer is preferably provided with a tractor feeder which can be thrown backward to be out of way for cut sheet printing paper and to support the second cover at its oblique position.

Abstract: This theater ticket issuing machine uses a single print head to print on any selected one of three differently-colored ticket stocks. Guides establish three separate ticket stock paths, one for each color of ticket stock. These three paths converge into a common path where printing takes place. Each path has its own feed rollers driven by reversible stepping motors under microprocessor control. A cutter is located beyond the print head in the normal direction of ticket stock movement. After cutting, ticket stock is withdrawn by reverse operation of the appropriate feed rollers to clear the common path, at least where a different ticket stock is to be fed in the next issuing operation. The microprocessor can be made to eliminate the clearing step when the color of the next ticket to issue is the same as that of the last ticket issued.

Abstract: An electropic typewriter includes a changing unit for changing margin positions; a storage device for storing hot zone position information; and a deriving unit responsive to the change of the margin positions caused by the changing unit for deriving a new hot zone so as to modify the hot zone position stored in the storage device.

Abstract: A printing machine which has a printing cylinder (1) having automatically incremented numbering barrels (2) includes drive means (40-45) which normally maintain the printing cylinder in speed and phase synchronization with a train of documents on a web (11). The drive means is operable to decelerate the printing cylinder and then to cause the printing cylinder to regain its normal operating speed so that the web overtakes the printing by a selected distance before the next printing nip is formed.

Abstract: An endless loop ribbon cassette wherein the storage of a ribbon in a ribbon cassette is effected by a belt assembly which causes the ribbon to move along a generally linear path substantially corresponding to one dimension of a storage cavity. This effects an ordered, rather than a random, storage of a ribbon. In addition, a ribbon is obliquely positioned with respect to a line of print of a printer with which a cassette is to be used.

Abstract: A document feed device provided with a pin tractor assembly which includes a pin tractor member supporting a number of feed pins and rotated by a feed shaft, and a body member nonrotatably mounted on the tractor member. Elastically deformable projecting bar with a slit protrudes from the body member. A stationary frame member is formed with a slot extending in the axial direction of the feed shaft. An eyelet portion is formed at each end of the slot. The projecting bar elastically engages the slot, thereby preventing the body member from rotating. As the rotating bar slides within the slot, the pin tractor assembly can move along the feed shaft so that its position is adjusted according to the width of a perforated sheet of material. The assembly may be located in either of two positions, depending on the width of the sheet, as the projecting bar alternatively engages the eyelet portions of the slot. The position of the assembly is shifted by manually operating a knob formed on the body member.

Abstract: There is disclosed an improvement upon a cancellation type printing mechanism or a stored energy type printing mechanism having magnetic members, so-called armatures, attracted by a permanent magnet while resiliently deflecting resilient members connected to one end thereof. The magnetic members are associated with corresponding electro-magnets which are adapted to be energized selectively to release the associated magnetic members by cancelling the magnetic attracting force of the permanent magnet, so that the magnetic member is actuated by the energy stored in the corresponding resilient members thereby to drive the printing elements. One end of the magnetic member contacts the magnetic pole surface of the permanent magnet or a yoke mounted on the permanent magnet so as to form a fulcrum for the rotation of the magnetic member. A recess is formed on one side of the magnetic member facing a core of the electro-magnet, so that the magnetic member does not engage the corner of the core of the electro-magnet.

Abstract: A paper feeder for a printer having a platen and a tractor feeder which is provided with a pin belt having pins projecting from upper and lower surface of the tractor feeder, and the tractor feeder can be selectively placed either one of a first position in which the paper feeding plane of the paper feeding pins of the lower surface of the tractor feeder aligns with a tangential direction of a lower part of the platen and a second position in which the paper feeding plane of the paper feeding pins of the upper surface is aligned with a tangential direction of an upper part of the platen. Preferably, the tractor feeder can be held at a third position which is intermediate between the first and the second position and a middle plane between the upper and the lower paper feeding plane align with a radial line of the platen.

Abstract: A drive arrangement for an ink ribbon cassette or the like having a transport roll arranged inside of the cassette permits the cassette to be inserted and ejected in a direction perpendicular to the transport roll axis relative to the receiving compartment of a ribbon device and also provides an automatic coupling between the transport roll and a drive shaft forming part of the device. The drive shaft is shiftable between a coupling position and a decoupling position set back from the coupling position against the force of spring means. On the forward end of the cassette as it is inserted perpendicular to the transport roll axis is a ramp which during the inserting movement of the cassette runs against the drive shaft and pushes it to its decoupled position. When the cassette reaches its fully inserted position the drive shaft automatically catches into the transport roll. Special actuating means are provided for decoupling the drive shaft from the transport roll.

Abstract: A printer ribbon cartridge of the type employing two ribbon spools mounted in spaced relation in the cavity formed in the case of the cartridge. 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. Alignment and guide devices keep the center lines of the ribbon and belt in coincident alignment and also keep the edges of the ribbon from frictional engagement with the top and bottom of the case.

Abstract: A protective member in the form of an opaque brush operates as a non-reflective shield to an optical sensor while protecting such sensor against ambient light. The brush also provides for removal of contamination from the surface of the optical sensor as a slip or like document is inserted along a guide by causing the brush to swing across such surface.

Abstract: A printer device having a hammer mechanism for printingly impacting a type drum by means of hammer springs. Hammers are rotatably controlled to retracted positions where the hammers are not brought into contact with a reset cam in each printing cycle, so that unnecessary contact between the hammers and the reset cam can be eliminated, frictional loss and noise can be reduced. The hammers are temporarily reset to first retracted positions upon completion of printing, and thereafter, turned to the aforesaid second retracted positions.The release of locking of the hammers is effected by feeding a printing command to electromagnetic means, whereby an armature of the electromagnetic means moves hammer holding members to thereby release locking of the hammers.

Abstract: An angular bar is mounted on each opposing lower portion of a wheelchair frame for securement of the pelvis of a person seated in the wheelchair. Each bar has a side portion that extends across the lateral regions of the hip and a front portion that extends in front of the hips above the thighs. Universal adjustment means with a quick release mechanism are provided for independent adjustment of each arm.

Abstract: A printer apparatus including a timer, for setting a period T1 when the print head moves forward toward a platen, and a period T2, which is longer than period T1, when the print head moves away from the platen. In response to an interrupt signal from the timer, a CPU supplies a signal, for changing over the exciting phase of the stepping motor, to a motor driving circuit. As a result, the motor driving circuit operates to speed up the rotation of the stepping motor when the print head moves forward, providing a low level of torque with which to move the print head toward the platen. On the other hand, the motor driving circuit operates to slow down the rotation of the stepping motor when the print head moves away from the platen, providing a high level of torque with which to move the print head away from the platen.

Abstract: A printing plate is directly mounted on a plate cylinder by first placing small holes in the non-image area of the printing plate on register holes in the plate cylinder and by then inserting register pins through the small holes and into the register holes so that the two holes are brought into complete registry with each other. Remounting a removed printing plate at the same position on the cylinder at which it was mounted before may be readily performed by relying on X-Y coordinates of the previous position for finding the corresponding register holes and then by reperforming the method as described above. This will result in a considerable reduction in the manpower required for the plate mounting operation and in the subsequent work to bring the plate into accurate registry with the cylinder.

Abstract: A print wheel for serial printing devices of the type wherein print fonts are arranged upon a disc print wheel member. The print wheel has both coarse alignment and fine alignment means formed therein; the coarse alignment means for driving the print wheel, and the fine alignment means for accurately positioning the wheel during hammer impact.

Abstract: A word typewriter is disclosed. An entire syllable is typed by simultaneously pressing a chord of keys on a keyboard. The chord of keys is decoded according to certain decoding rules and priority rules. The invention produces an output of written text in standard format. The invention produces an output in standard format like a conventional typewriter, but at a speed which is faster than a conventional shorthand machine. A butterfly-shaped keyboard is used which has a center group of vowel keys. Eleven of the most frequently used consonants are placed on either side of the vowel keys, which are arranged in mirror images of each other. Less frequently used letters which are missing from the keyboard are formed by simultaneously pressing two keys.