Patents by Inventor Allan E. Ellis

Allan E. Ellis has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Ink ribbon cartridge indication system for printer
    Patent number: 4586837
    Abstract: A printer includes a print mechanism defining a print region and a removable ink ribbon cartridge. The cartridge includes a body and two arms which are spaced apart and pivotally attached to the body with an ink ribbon across the gap between the ends of the arms in the print region. The printer includes an arm moving mechanism for moving the arms about their pivots on the body of the cartridge so that the portion of the ribbon in the print region can be moved laterally.One of the arms is formed with a first indicator which cooperates with a sensing system on the printer to indicate the lateral position of the ribbon in the print region. The sensing system can also determine whether the cartridge is installed correctly in the printer. A second indicator is located on the arm and the sensing system can detect the position of this second indicator to indicate the type of ribbon in the cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1984
    Date of Patent: May 6, 1986
    Assignee: International Business Machines Corp.
    Inventors: Shepard D. Johnson, Andrew French, Allan E. Ellis, Dennis R. Hedrick, Charles D. Helfenberger